THE VARSITY
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T HE V
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Vol. CXLV, No. 12 MASTHEAD
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The Varsity acknowledges that our office is built on the traditional territory of several First Nations, including the Huron-Wendat, the Petun First Nations, the Seneca, and most recently, the Mississaugas of the Credit. Journalists have historically harmed Indigenous communities by overlooking their stories, contributing to stereotypes, and telling their stories without their input. Therefore, we make this acknowledgement as a starting point for our responsibility to tell those stories more accurately, critically, and in accordance with the wishes of Indigenous Peoples.
U of T announces PhD/SJD base funding increase, graduate students share
their concerns
$40,000 will be guaranteed to funded cohorts, masters students not included
Matthew Molinaro Graduate Bureau Chief
On November 12, U of T announced that all current and incoming students in funded PhD and doctor of juridical science (SJD) programs will be individually guaranteed annual base funding of $40,000, including tuition, for the first four or five years of their programs. Following two years of meetings and negotiations, the announcement stated that this increase in base funding aims to alleviate the financial stress of doctoral work, advance equity in graduate school education, and enhance the research outcomes of graduate students.
In fall 2022, U of T’s School of Graduate Studies (SGS) convened a Graduate Funding Working Group made up of faculty and students to study and make funding recommendations based on the university’s current graduate funding packages. In its fall 2023 report, the group made 29 recommendations to the university on enhancing graduate funding practices. According to U of T, this new measure will increase the funding of 2,800 domestic and international PhD students.
Graduate students weigh in In a statement released on November 12, the University of Toronto Graduate Students’ Union (UTGSU) Base Funding Committee (BFC) welcomed the increase while reiterating several priorities they believe were overlooked in the announcement: masters students who are not covered by the increase, professional students who do not receive funding and pay higher tuition than doctoral students, and international students who “face uncertainty and financial precarity due to rapidly changing provincial and federal policy.”
At the fall 2023 UTGSU annual general meeting, the union voted to establish BFC to advocate for graduate students’ needs. This committee, established in January, included several graduate student members who organized at the departmental level to increase funding and make graduate school more accessible. Their efforts included the Support Our Science campaign, letter-writing campaigns, boycotts of recruitment events,
and collective action to raise awareness among departmental chairs and leadership.
BFC Chair and UTGSU Vice-President Academics 3 & 4 Julian Nickel addressed the ambiguities of the increase, noting that the varied amounts of funding across departments mean that, for some, the base funding increase does not significantly improve their funding support. He also highlighted the complex ways in which funding streams — from teaching and research assistantships, the provincial government, and the university — are combined.
“Every time we have a meeting, we find someone who has another exception to the [new] rule. But the gist of what we know for now is there’s no concrete policy on how the 40k is to be achieved,” Nickel said in an interview with The Varsity, “It’s really going to be department by department on how much of that labour can contribute to the 40k and that’s something we’re very concerned about… I’d call this a clawback.”
The BFC urged the university “not to use this funding improvement as an excuse to increase already high student fees” and outlined three priorities for the funding increase going forward: “Ensuring the new funding structure does not unreasonably increase graduate students’ already substantial research and teaching workload,” “establishing mechanisms for funding to keep pace with inflation and Toronto’s rising living costs,” and “advocating for provincial and federal governments to match this support through increased operating grants and research funding.”
“There’s been a huge student impact [from the funding increase] at all levels, but at the end of the day, students are never really the decision makers,” Nickel explained. “So even though we’ve been trying to push this forward in all these different ways, you can tell by our petition that only one out of three of the… main asks [increase to 40,000] was accounted for.”
In this petition, the BFC also highlighted labour and accountability concerns, demanding that at least $30,000 of that base funding sum be achieved without additional labour that does not contribute toward graduation, as well as providing annual increases to account for inflation.
In an interview with The Varsity , fifth-year political science PhD student Taruneek Kaur Kapoor pointed to the several groups of students and areas of equity that the university left unaddressed.
For Kapoor, “one big issue is [that] years of completion [don’t] correspond with years of funding. So, there’s no real way to secure funding for upper years, including myself.”
She called on the university to promote more equitable initiatives that would address the concerns of commuter students, international students, and students paying off their student loans. Graduate students, Kapoor argued, are “the backbone of this university.”
“We don’t want our funding to be at the expense of any groups of students. There [are] conversations about cutting cohort sizes to accommodate tuition or have tuition increases, which often falls upon [undergraduates] and international students,” said Kapoor. “They don’t factor into this conversation at all.”
In an email to The Varsity , the UTGSU International Students Caucus (ISC) co-chairs expressed frustration that the university had excluded international students from the conversation about “fair funding packages.”
According to the Co-Chairs, by not considering their specific needs related to immigration policy, the Toronto housing market, and provincial and federal funding, the SGS was not setting them up for success. They argued that the funding increase does not address the barriers or discriminatory practices faced by international students.
“Most members of UTGSU, who are masters and unfunded graduate students, will still be pushed to find a way to survive with the 20k base funding. This bare minimal funding creates conditions for financial, mental, and academic instability,” wrote the ISC co-chairs. They added, “International students face many challenges, including fair access to major scholarships like [those from] [the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council] and [Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council], finding affordable housing on/off campus, and competing over the limited spots for study permits due to recent changes in immigration policy. Compounded by inflation, this base funding increase barely changes anything for us.”
For the next steps, Nickel and Kapoor led a Graduate Funding town hall at Sidney Smith Hall on November 26, emphasizing the need to maintain the momentum.
“We don’t just want more of the pie at the university, we want the pie to be bigger,” Nickel said.
In an email to The Varsity , a spokesperson for the university declined to comment on these priorities, stating that the university will address UTGSU’s concerns with the union directly.
“Students can find information about the increase in base funding for PhD and SJD scholars via this U of T News story and the School of Graduate Studies, which includes this FAQ,” they wrote. “Students can seek information not available there by contacting their graduate unit.”
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U of T students, groups call on university to better address antisemitism on campus
Students
raise
concerns
over antisemitic graffiti, incidents at UTSG
Selia Sanchez News Editor
Content warning:
This article discusses antisemitism.
On October 7, 2023, the Hamas-led attack on Israel killed approximately 1,200 people and resulted in the capture of over 200 hostages. Since then, Israel has intensified its war on Gaza, killing over 45,000 Palestinians.
In September, Israel escalated its attacks on Hezbollah, a Lebanese political party and militant group, killing more than 2,000 people in Lebanon. Most recently, Israel’s security cabinet approved a US-proposed 60-day ceasefire deal with Lebanon.
The ongoing violence in the Middle East has sparked student activism across U of T’s campuses. Over the past year, the university has seen protests, vigils, and a pro-Palestinian student encampment, leading to divisions within the university community.
Since the October 7 attacks, Jewish students, campus groups, and the university administration have raised concerns about rising antisemitism at U of T. In interviews with The Varsity, members of the U of T community reflected on antisemitic incidents, the administration’s response, and the support available.
Rising hate crimes
Jenn Ferman, Senior Campus Director at Hillel U of T, wrote in an email to The Varsity that over the past academic year, Hillel recorded “a staggering 11 [times] increase in reports of antisemitism across our nine campuses in Ontario, of which U of T is part.”
She explained that “this matches the trend in our own city,” referring to the increase in hatemotivated crimes committed against Jewish people in Toronto.
As of March, 56 per cent of reported hate crimes in the city targeted Jewish people, with February seeing the highest number of antisemitic hate crimes in any month over the past three years.
According to Statistics Canada, Jewish people were targeted in 70 per cent of all religiously motivated hate crimes in 2023, despite comprising only one per cent of Canada’s population. In response to a rise in antisemitic incidents, Ferman urged U of T to “do everything in its power to ensure that those who violate policy and incite hatred against Jews are held to account — and strengthen policies and procedures if necessary.”
Antisemitic incidents on campus
Ron Ulitsky, a fourth-year student studying computer science and a University of Toronto Student Union board member, noted an “explosive increase in reports of antisemitic graffiti and incidents around campus and the City of Toronto,” since October 7.
“In the last academic year, there were constant reports of graffiti, usually in the form of swastikas, praise of listed terrorist entities, and calls for violence,” wrote Ulitsky in an email to The Varsity “More concerningly, graffiti was commonly found
within the vicinity of the Wolfond Center, which houses Hillel, and many Jewish students consider to be their cultural home on campus.”
Third-year anthropology and sociology student Ryn Van Leeuwen explained that antisemitic graffiti at U of T has been a notable issue since 2016.
“[The graffiti] seem to come in waves now, around the start of each semester, but occasionally in between; I hoped not to see them again this year but that is not the case,” they wrote in an email to The Varsity. “Over the past two years or so, I have seen swastikas near UTS on Spadina, around the borders of Queen’s Park, along Carlton Street on the way home from the QP subway station, and near the ROM and the Gardiner Museum.”
Van Leeuwen noted that the best way to address the problem “is not to increase policing or surveillance,” but to “create a culture that listens to students, provides space to collaboratively address students’ concerns, and ensures equitable access to the university.”
In addition to the graffiti, Ulitsky added that there were incidents of “overt threats made to Jewish students” and claimed that “Jewish students have seen many of their peers and respected academics praised for justifying political violence against Jewish civilians.”
“To top it off, instead of finding sympathy and solace in the university and student community, Jewish students often find themselves being lectured about what is or isn’t antisemitic,” he wrote. “Such lectures are unfortunately common on campus, with many student groups and guest speakers taking it upon themselves to instruct Jewish students [on how] they should be feeling.”
“Tangible action”
Van Leeuwen and Ulitsky also expressed concerns about the university’s response to antisemitism.
For Ulitsky, “the University will only act if its lawyers believe they are on a completely solid legal footing, such as explicit threats, depiction of nazi symbolism, or violations of their property rights.”
He claims that “the university has made gestures, such as sending administrators to speak with concerned students, or to make broad virtue-signalling statements at conferences, but it fails to take any truly brave steps towards dealing with this crisis.”
“The last time I reported an incident to the Victoria College Dean, I did not get a response back,” Van Leeuwen explained. “The only time I got the university to take action was when I was referred to Campus Security who notified [the] Toronto Police [Services]. However, all they did was take down the swastikas I specifically pointed out — most of which I had already covered up myself.”
A spokesperson for Victoria University confirmed that the antisemitic graffiti Van Leeuwen had reported has since been removed.
For Van Leeuwen, “U of T blames its own bureaucratic intricacies for not taking action — ‘it’s complicated!’ — but if they are committed to giving all students a good environment to
learn, they need to be proactive and prioritize community-oriented, tangible action over press releases and platitudes.”
U of T’s response
Since October 7 of last year, the university administration has publicly condemned antisemitism at U of T.
On September 23, U of T President Meric Gertler delivered remarks at a Conference on Historical and Contemporary Antisemitism. During the conference, he discussed the October 7 attacks on Israel, noting that their aftermath had led to a “dramatic and deeply troubling upsurge in antisemitic acts and speech.”
On November 22, Gertler released a statement on “reaffirming our commitment to fighting antisemitism.”
“The University of Toronto stands resolutely against antisemitism, as it does against all forms of hate and discrimination,” he wrote. “We have consistently and repeatedly condemned antisemitism and have taken strong steps to combat this pernicious form of hate, including enhancing our policies, training, and enforcement.”
Gertler noted that the university is working on a definition of antisemitism, “so that we may recognize it and respond to it more effectively,” while also reviewing U of T’s existing Statement on Prohibited Discrimination and Discriminatory Harassment. In September, Gertler rejected the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s working definition of antisemitism, which has been criticized for conflating anti-Zionism with antisemitism and suppressing pro-Palestinian advocacy.
In the November 22 statement, he noted that U of T has “initiated a community-wide process to enhance the capacity of our students, faculty and staff to ‘disagree well.’” The university also plans to counter antisemitism through its “core mission of scholarship and teaching.”
A U of T spokesperson wrote in a statement to The Varsity that, “providing an inclusive environment for everyone in our community means ensuring our physical spaces remain free from hateful or discriminatory messages based on race, place of origin, gender and sexual identities, creed/religion, or any of the prohibited grounds identified in the Ontario Human Rights Code.”
“Vandalism or graffiti on university property should be reported to the relevant Campus Safety service or equity office,” wrote the spokesperson. “U of T community members who have concerns about vandalism or graffiti in off-campus locations should report them to the relevant municipal police service.”
The spokesperson added that the university has launched consultations for a draft Guide to Law and Policy regarding Antisemitism and AntiIsraeli Discrimination at U of T. The guide aims to help the university community “better recognize
and respond to antisemitism and anti-Israeli discrimination on our campuses, and to make our teaching, learning, and working environments more inclusive.”
Student support
Both Van Leeuwen and Ulitsky called for the establishment of more grassroots Jewish advocacy groups on campus.
Ulitsky noted that “Hillel U of T is generally the go-to resource for all things Jewish on campus,” but the lack of additional student groups “results in a natural gap of support in most campus environments.”
He explained that he founded a chapter of the Canadian Union of Jewish Students at U of T in hopes of filling the “grassroots advocacy gap.”
Van Leeuwen found Hillel U of T to be “a somewhat corporatized but social space for students.”
“I know they have resources for reporting antisemitism, but my awareness of this coincided with my awareness of how they continue to uncritically support Israel (both socially and economically through excursions) and conflate Israel with Jews as a whole, even as the death toll of Palestinian civilians and children killed by the Israeli forces rose exponentially after Oct 7,” they wrote.
“Hillel does not represent all Jews on campus—and in that vein, I believe U of T needs to encourage the formation of alternative, bottom-up Jewish student groups,” Van Leeuwen explained.
“We should have a space where we are on equal footing to discuss and support each other. I am not going to ask U of T to make another committee; whatever it does next should be student-focused, and should promote connection and conversation through guidance, not oversight,” they wrote.
If you or someone you know has experienced harassment or discrimination based on race, ancestry, place of origin, colour, ethnic origin, citizenship and/or creed at U of T, report the incident to the Anti-Racism and Cultural Diversity office: https://antiracism.utoronto.ca/help/. You can report antisemitic incidents at U of T to Hillel U of T at https://hillelontario.org/uoft/ report-incident/.
If you or someone you know has experienced antisemitism and is in distress, you can contact:
• Hillel Ontario at counselling@hillelontario. org
• Chai Lifeline Canada’s Crisis Intervention Team at 1 (800) 556-6238 or CIT@ chailifeline.ca
• Jewish Family and Child Services of Greater Toronto at 416 638-7800 x 6234
• The Hamilton Jewish Family Services at info@hamiltonjfs.com
Hand sanitizer fire in Bahen Centre washroom deemed arson
No injuries reported, TPS says there’s an ongoing investigation
James Bullanoff Deputy News Editor
On November 27, the Toronto Police Service (TPS) received a call for a fire at around 2:03 am at a U of T building on St. George Street and College Street. In an email to The Varsity, TPS Media Relations Officer Laura Brabant wrote that the fire was in a third-floor washroom and that they believe a hand sanitizer caught fire.
Brabant added that this is an active investigation and that anyone with information should contact TPS.
In an email to The Varsity, Toronto Fire Service (TFS) District Chief, Public Information Office Dan Vieira wrote that TFS attended a call for a fire, where U of T Campus Safety directed them to a third-floor bathroom. They quickly extinguished the fire and the alarm system was reset. TFS then left the scene in the care of Campus Safety.
Vieira added that there were no reported injuries. U of T students took notice and posted on Reddit about the active fire in the Bahen Centre for Information Technology. The post has since been deleted. Another student posted a photo of the building’s third-floor men’s washroom on Reddit after the fire was put out.
In a statement to The Varsity, a U of T spokesperson wrote, “Campus Safety is working with the Toronto police and fire services to address
the incident and ensure the safety of the university community.”
On November 30, TPS Media Relations Officer Shannon Eames wrote in an email to The Varsity that the fire was deemed arson. There were no witnesses or video footage, and TPS does not have any suspect information.
“At this time, the investigation is ongoing,” wrote Eames. “All I can say is at this time we do not have further updates.”
Students pass by graffiti at the UTSG campus. ZEYNEP POYANLI/THE VARSITY
U of T community members honour Trans Day of Remembrance and Resilience
Sexual and Gender Diversity Office hosts vigil, arts event
Genevieve
Sugrue Long-Form Video Editor
Content warning: This article discusses anti-trans violence and mentions death.
November 20 marked the 25th annual Transgender Day of Remembrance and Resilience (TDRR). The event honours trans, two-spirit, and gender-diverse people who lost their lives to transphobic violence.
From November 18–22, the Sexual and Gender Diversity Office (SGDO) hosted a week of programming — including a vigil, movie night, crafting sessions, and healthcare seminar — for Trans Awareness Week, which aims to increase awareness, visibility and knowledge of trans people and the issues faced by members of trans communities.
Trans Day of Remembrance and Resilience Transgender Day of Remembrance was started in 1999 by transgender advocate Gwendolyn Ann Smith to honour the life of Rita Hester, a Black trans woman who was murdered a year prior. Hester’s death was a catalyst for Smith to begin the web project Remembering Our Dead, which provides records of trans people who have been killed, and shortly thereafter create TDRR as an annual vigil.
In a 2014 op-ed for Louisiana newspaper The Advocate, Smith wrote, “When the Transgender Day of Remembrance first began, trans people were nameless victims in many cases. Our killers would do their best to erase our existence from the world. And law enforcement, the media, and others would continue the job.”
According to the 2021 Canadian census, around two out of five trans or nonbinary people aged 15 and older nationwide live in Ontario, with 15.3 per cent of non-binary people living in Toronto. In February, the Canadian Security Intelligence Service warned that serious violence against the 2SLGBTQ+ community was expected to be an ongoing threat throughout 2024.
In a 2018 Statistics Canada study, transCanadians were found to be more likely than cisgender Canadians to have been physically or sexually assaulted. An updated statistic is scheduled to come out in 2026.
Transgender Day of Resilience was coined by BreakOUT — a US-based 2SLGBTQ+ organization that provides support, and resources for professional development, and organizes events — in 2015. Transgender Day of Resilience aims to celebrate trans lives while also recognizing the disproportionate rate at which trans people, specifically trans women of colour, are targeted by violence.
This year, groups and universities across Toronto held events to mark TDRR, including 2SLGBTQ+ organization The 519 and York University.
The vigil
On November 20, the SGDO hosted a candlelight vigil at the Multifaith Centre. The SGDO is a tricampus office that aims to “build supportive learning and working communities” at UTSG. The office provides community members with education, programming, resources, and advocacy on sexual and gender diversity through events, workshops, and roundtable discussions.
SGDO Program Coordinator Scout Swartz led the vigil, which had around 35 community members in attendance.
Many in attendance spoke among themselves and shared stories while the room was lit with tea lights. The vigil was quiet and intimate, and a minute of silence was held for a moment of reflection.
The event also included a poetry reading from the collection The Black Trans Prayer Book, titled “Blessings of our ancestors, our praying grandmothers” by Déjà Baptiste, a trans and genderqueer writer and artist.
Swartz concluded by reading “A Eulogy for Trans Lives” from the Trans Remembrance Project, a trans-led civil rights group of policy advocates for 2SLGBTQ+ rights. The eulogy mentioned Kintsugi, the Japanese art of repairing pottery with gold and precious metals.
“[Kintsugi] pulls the pieces together to reform the whole. It does not seek to hide the damage or make it ‘like new,’ but instead highlights the broken places,” Swartz recited to the crowd.“Mourning can be an act of creation. We can put our pieces together, not without the people we’ve lost, but
SCSU BOD discusses need for prayer spaces, student advocacy, AMM motions
Motions calling for disciplinary action for SCSU members deemed out of order
Urooba Shaikh UTSC Bureau Chief
Content warning: This article mentions violence and genocide.
The Scarborough Campus Students’ Union (SCSU) held its November Board of Directors (BOD) meeting on November 22. Members discussed the need for more multi-faith prayer spaces on campus, ongoing campaigns, and approved the Policy and By-law Committee’s review of motions to be presented at the Annual Members’ Meeting (AMM) — formerly known as the Annual General Meeting.
Executive updates
SCSU President Hunain Sindhu began the meeting with various updates. He shared that the SCSU has been in talks with the Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) at UTSC to request that more multifaith prayer spaces be made available across the UTSC campus, as only one such space is currently available in the Student Centre. In contrast, there are at least 11 such spaces available for students at UTSG.
However, Sindhu claimed that he was told by the CAO that due to the university being a secular space, “[UTSC] can’t have space for prayers or multi-faith prayer on campus anywhere else, other than student centres, because student centres are run by the SCSU.” Sindhu said the plan is to create a petition and gauge the need for more prayer spaces on campus.
“We want to collect some data and try and present the fact that there is a significant need, and that it is the responsibility of the university to fulfill that need for students,” he added.
Vice-President (VP) Academics Zanira Manesiya shared that, in her most recent meeting with the
Office of Vice-Principal Academic & Dean and the Registrar’s Office, she discussed implementing an extension for the Second Attempt for Credit policy.
The policy currently allows students to retake one full credit of a previously passed course to replace their previous grade with a new one on their academic transcripts. The extension would allow for field courses, which are small classes that take place away from campus, to also be included in the policy.
Manesiya also shared that there is progress on the ongoing campaigns for the Credit/No Credit deadline extension and lowering the GPA cutoff for academic good standing at UTSC from 1.6 to 1.5 to match UTSG and UTM. The updates will be presented at the next UTSC Academic Affairs Committee meeting on January 9.
VP External Omar Mousa then shared updates on advocacy efforts regarding the UTSC Campus Farm, a vacant 10-acre site “dedicated to teaching, research, and community engagement.” Recently, many community members have been concerned about the non-renewal of the Campus Farm Coordinator Béatrice Lego’s contract. Mousa said that he has been meeting with the Environmental and Physical Sciences Students’ Association to collaborate on a petition calling on the UTSC administration to reverse the decision.
“Shame on Starbucks”
The BOD also reviewed and approved the recommendations made by the Policy and By-law Committee to amend motions to be presented at the SCSU’s AMM on November 27.
Students submitted motions to be discussed at the AMM in advance — some of which got revised by the BOD. One of the motions called for the SCSU to write an apology to the Health and Wellness Centre Director Shari Russell Opara for disrupting
the HealthyU Experience during a walkout for Gaza on October 10.
The motion included a clause that claimed Sindhu used a microphone to “exhort protesters in the Meeting Place to condemn Starbucks and leads the protesters in yelling chants directed at employees like ‘Shame on Starbucks.’”
In an email to The Varsity, Sindhu wrote, “A chant like ‘shame on Starbucks’ is in no way a chant towards the employees, but rather, it’s calling out the corporation that is Starbucks for being complicit in the [g]enocide of the Palestinian people.”
He added that the SCSU did not receive any complaints from Starbucks employees or from Health and Wellness employees or volunteers.
The motion also called for the SCSU to purchase a Starbucks beverage for all Health and Wellness Centre employees every day from January 6 to February 17, 2025, as part of this apology. This clause was deemed to be out of order as it violated the SCSU’s Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) policy. According to the policy, the SCSU plans to “reaffirm its commitment to the BDS movement by committing to actively support initiatives that raise awareness about Israel’s ongoing occupation of Palestine and war crimes against Palestinian peoples.”
While Starbucks is not on the official boycott list managed by the Palestinian-led BDS movement, some pro-Palestinian activists cite Starbucks condemning and suing Starbucks Workers United for posting a solidarity tweet with Palestine as support for Israel.
“Despite [Starbucks’] claims of being nonpolitical and not directly supporting [Israel], they are a prime example of management suppressing workers for supporting Palestine,” Sindhu wrote. “They suppress and punish the marginalized voices, making them complicit in the genocide.”
On armed resistance
Another motion called on the union to penalize the SCSU staff and executives involved in inviting
highlighting the impact they’ve had on our lives. By filling the cracks and spaces of their absence, we’re left with an indelible memory of them.”
If you or someone you know, who identifies as a member of the 2SLGBTQ+ community, is in need of support:
• Call the U of T Sexual & Gender Diversity Office at 416-946-5624, or email at sgdo@ utoronto.ca;
• Email LGBTOUT, an LGBTQ+ student organization at U of T, at lgbtout@utoronto. ca;
• Call The 519 at 416-392-6874 or email at info@the519.org;
• Call Access Alliance at 416-324-8677;
• Email Sherbourne Health at info@ sherbourne.on.ca for 2SLGBTQ+ specific mental health services.
If you are concerned for your safety, you can also request help from Rainbow Railroad at www. rainbowrailroad.org/request-help. For more resources, visit lgbtout.sa.utoronto. ca/resources-list/.
the Qawim Collection, a pro-Palestinian jewelry and accessory store, as a vendor at UTSC. A clause in the motion criticized the Collection for including “violent imagery such as military rifles that their own website claimed celebrated resistance against Israel and Israelis.” Sindhu explained that the SCSU “recognizes that armed resistance in Palestine is justified due to the decades of systematic oppression, annexation, and now genocide that has been inflicted upon the Palestinian people by the Israeli government.” He added, “[the] SCSU will be making sure that no symbols of violence are present through any of the vendors at future events.”
This motion called for the formal censure of staff involved, withholding part of the Executive Director and SCSU president’s salaries, and identifying the executives who invited the Qawim Collective in a report presented to the BOD. These three clauses were accepted to be out of order on the basis that the SCSU does not implement disciplinary action as per Ontario’s Employment Standards Act and that the BOD cannot discuss corrective actions for staff as per the SCSU’s Collective Agreement.
According to Sindhu, “employers are generally prohibited from withholding or deducting any portion of an employee’s wages as a corrective measure, such as for disciplinary reasons.”
He explained that the Collective Agreement applies to the SCSU’s unionized full-time staff, outlining employees’ rights and that disciplinary actions can only be made by Supervisors, not members of the union or the BOD.
However, The Varsity was unable to obtain the SCSU’s Collective Agreement.
Financial statements
Another motion called on the SCSU to publish audited financial statements for the first two quarters of the 2024–2025 fiscal year with a breakdown of funds allocated to pro-Palestine events and rallies. This clause was said to be out of order because the SCSU only publishes audits for an entire fiscal year at a time.
The BOD approved the referral of the revised motions to the AMM.
Outside the Multifaith Centre, where SGDO held a candlelight vigil for Trans Day of Remembrance and Resilience. LUCAS GARCIA VIDAL/THE VARSITY
UTGSU sets new terms of affiliation with OISE GSA, discusses solidarity work Special BOD approves calling referendum on Health and Dental Plan’s inflation increases
Matthew Molinaro Graduate Bureau Chief
On November 13, the University of Toronto Graduate Students’ Union (UTGSU) convened a special Board of Directors (BOD) meeting to discuss a referendum on the union’s Health & Dental Plan.
The union then convened for its second meeting of the month on November 20. It deliberated over the affiliation of the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE) Graduate Students’ Association (GSA), ratified its audit, discussed bylaw and policy amendments for the union’s ongoing infrastructure, and gave updates on its solidarity work.
Special BOD meeting
The November 13 BOD meeting focused on a proposed referendum question on the Health and Dental Insurance Plan’s proposed inflation increase and cap.
Referendums are questions posed to the student body to vote on. Often they involve a fee the UTGSU collects on behalf of a student organization.
Executive Director Corey Scott presented how the union would update the referendum question to make changes to the Health and Dental Plan more “definitive” and “accountable” to UTGSU members.
The proposal included introducing a 10 per cent maximum permitted healthcare and dental care annual fee increase and requiring a referendum when increases above the cap are needed.
For example, from 2022–2023, the BOD increased health fees by 16.8 per cent and dental fees by 10.9 per cent without a referendum. The graduate students pay the fee, but there is an opt-out option for students with equivalent insurance that’s not OHIP or UHIP. These changes would allow the UTGSU to mimic all four of the undergraduate students’ unions, which have maximum permitted inflationary increases of 10 per cent annually.
The motion to update the referendum question passed. The campaign for the referendum will be between November 27 and December 7, and the voting period will start December 4 and end December 7 at 9:00 am. Voting will be online, requiring one’s UTORID and password.
OISE GSA
At the November 20 meeting, UTGSU President Amir Moghadam updated the BOD about discussions on the union’s affiliation with OISE’s GSA. After a 2019 audit that found that the OISE GSA had violated its constitution during the course union’s elections, the UTGSU Council decided to disaffiliate with the OISE GSA.
The OISE GSA went inactive in 2019, until March 2023 when OISE students voted to reactivate it. According to the OISE GSA, the “UTGSU continued to collect student fees from OISE students during the inactive periods.”
When reactivated, the OISE GSA only received funding from OISE, which amounted to around $4,000 per year. Due to the lack of funding, the GSA started campaigning for funding from UTGSU.
In October 2023, the UTGSU discussed a motion to redesignate the OISE GSA as a course union. The motion also proposed reworking the GSA’s funding so it could receive 65 per cent of UTGSU’s membership fees — the full amount it received before the UTGSU disaffiliated with the GSA in 2019. The motion failed.
After, the OISE GSA requested to reaffiliate as an affiliate organization, such as the UTM’s Association of Graduate Students and the Graduate Students’ Association at Scarborough. At the UTGSU July 15 BOD meeting, the union motioned to redesignate the GSA as a course union instead.
Now in November, the UTGSU motioned to rescind the previous motion, make the OISE GSA an affiliate organization, and have the GSA receive 35 per cent of membership fees
The Breakdown: UTSC campus food prices
The ultimate guide to UTSC’s food scene
Jazmeet Saxena Varsity Contributor
There are numerous different places to dine at UTSC, offering a variety of choices like sushi, coffee, bubble tea, and much more. While some food spots offer options, ranging from around one dollar to $36, The Varsity spoke with students who expressed concerns over affordability on campus.
Food options
When it comes to pricing, UTSC has a large variety for students. The most affordable and accessible option would be Tim Hortons, with a range of donuts, drinks, and snacks in the two dollars range. Tim Hortons is located between the Academic Resource Centre and the Bladen Wing, with prices ranging from $1.51 for a honey cruller donut to $36.15 for a classic breakfast bundle that serves 4–6 people.
There are two main food hubs at UTSC: the Student Centre — operated and managed by the Scarborough Campus Students’ Union (SCSU) — and MarketPlace which is managed by American food services provider Aramark under a contract with UTSC administration.
The Student Centre has a lot of options, such as a Subway on the main level. Prices range
from $1.19 for a chocolate chip and M&M’s cookie to $13.29 for a six-inch steak and cheese sub combo. Other options include KFC, Asian Gourmet, Hero Burger, Pita Lite, and the INS Market.
Downstairs is the SCSU’s pub-style restaurant: 1265 Bistro. The menu is simple but budgetfriendly. Prices range from $3.25 for a canned pop to $14.00 for fish and chips.
MarketPlace in the Humanities Wing also has many options. Bento Sushi is one of the cheapest, with prices ranging from $1.94 for miso as a side dish to $11.66 for a salmon combo.
Student eating habits
While some affordable dining options are available at UTSC, students believe that there needs to be more affordable options at UTSC.
Dunia Mohammed Abdel Karim Khalil — a first-year journalism student at UTSC — wrote in an email to The Varsity that she prefers to bring food from home to save money.
“I always recommend Pita Lite, as I love shawarma,” wrote Khalil. “I eat around once a week [on] campus for the sake of saving money.”
Variety is important to Khalil and she believes that UTSC’s diversity is reflected in the many halal options available.
similar to other affiliate organizations. The union expects this to facilitate a better relationship with the GSA that would be equitable to affiliate organizations and course unions.
OISE GSA President Aytaj Pashayeva presented to the BOD that the new agreement respects OISE GSA’s independence, history, and ability to unite OISE students across departments. She also criticized previously suggested options — such as the referenda to increase student fees, to disaffiliate, and the annual fundraising efforts — all of which she argued would be unsustainable for OISE GSA and students.
Division 2 Director Interim Susanne Nyaga echoed Pashayeva’s remarks, stressing that without this agreement, OISE’s abilities to build community and connect would be drastically impacted. The motion carried.
Audit, finances, bylaws
Scott presented the UTGSU audit on behalf of absent VP Finance Farshad Murtada. Scott presented a report on the union’s short-term investments and restricted funds and discussed their surplus report.
The UTGSU allocated $60,000 to the Student Conference Bursary Fund, $100,000 to the Graduate Community Development Fund, $80,000 to the Black Graduate Student Bursary Fund, $300,000 to the Building, Planning & Accessibility Fund, and $310,000 to the UTGSU Reserve Fund.
From the Building, Planning & Accessibility
Fund, VP Academic 3 & 4 Julian Nickel discussed allocating $40,000 to use for building maintenance, particularly fixing the air conditioning in the UTGSU building as well as repainting the Grad Student Pub, repairing the pub and Building Ambassador Office, making their building more accessible, maintaining the UTGSU gym floors, and operating the Grad Loft Backroom. The motion carried.
The union also made bylaw and policy amendments to split the two positions of Vice-Presidents (VP) Academic into one VP Academic and VP Graduate Life for the next academic year. The academic position would focus on university affairs, while the graduate life position would focus on organizing events for graduate students.
The union will be hosting their Annual General Meeting on December 5 from 6:00–9:00 pm in the Earth Sciences Auditorium.
Solidarity statements
During the meeting, Nickel informed the BOD about the union recently joining the University of Toronto Employees’ Associations and Unions’ statement of opposition regarding the U of T User Guide on Protest.
The union also offered support to RBC Off Campus — a student environmental activist group — for pressuring universities, including U of T, to divest from big banks like RBC because of the bank’s investment in fossil fuel companies. The Varsity was unable to obtain a copy of this statement.
Alex Bustos-Salinas — a first-year journalism student at UTSC — wrote in an email to The Varsity that she eats at restaurants on campus like Pita Lite and Tim Hortons, but that she “Often bring[s] food from home, [and] very rarely eat[s] on campus.”
Affordability is the biggest issue here, “I would hope that [the food gets] slightly cheaper. [It] doesn’t need to be by much[,] but why does most of the food cost over 20 dollars?”
Other students have also shared concerns over affordability and the nutritional value of campus food options.
In a statement to The Varsity, a UTSC spokesperson wrote that “A variety of food options are available at UTSC and across the other campuses to meet a range of food preferences, dietary needs and budgets.”
They mentioned that UTSC has many initiatives to achieve this, such as inviting local vendors and
food trucks: “Working with vendors to ensure they are providing meals at a variety of price points that include suitable protein options,” and “Offering special menus by staff that feature their traditional recipes.”
UTSC also hosts food popups and ensures they “use certified and sustainable seafood and provide high-quality protein options at Harmony Commons and the Market[P]lace.”
The campus intends to add new permanent food vendors on campus, recently adding Blessinglicious — a Nigerian street food restaurant in Scarborough — in the Kina Wiiya Enadong Building. UTSC will announce two new vendors soon.
“We invite students who have feedback to join our Food User Committee,” wrote the spokesperson. “Staff follow up on all feedback provided, whether that’s working with existing vendors or bringing new options to campus.”
MarketPlace at UTSC, one of the main food hubs on campus. AAKASH
UTGSU discusses new terms of affiliation with OISE GSA, referendum on the Health and Dental Plan.
Business & Labour
December 3, 2024
thevarsity.ca/category/business biz@thevarsity.ca
2023 Ontario Sunshine List revealed almost 6,000 U of Temployees earning over $100,000
Top 69 highest-earning Rotman Faculty members averaged over $450,000 in salaries
On March 28, Ontario released its 2023 Sunshine List — the annual record of all public sector employees in the province with salaries over $100,000 per year.
The list revealed that 69 out of the top 100 highest earners in the university hold positions in or are otherwise affiliated with the Rotman School of Management, with their average salary being $453,422. The Varsity has previously reported that Rotman professors are among the highest-paid employees at the school, but why is this the case?
In honour of the Money Issue, The Varsity broke down U of T’s 2023 Sunshine List and examined why Rotman faculty members are on top.
2023 Sunshine List statistical overview
The 2023 Ontario Sunshine List featured a total of 5,946 U of T employees, with the average salary being $169,607.
The university’s overall top earner was Strategic Management Professor Brian Golden, who earned $650,860. He is followed by Strategic Management Professor Brian Silverman and Accounting Professor WeiYi (Scott) Liao, who earned $611,828 and $570,724, respectively. All three professors hold positions at Rotman, and have maintained their spots on the ranking from 2022.
U of T President Meric Gertler earned the most out of the university’s administrative sector, with a salary of $486,192. This makes him the 23rd highest-earning employee of the university — up one-spot from the previous year, when he earned $438,892. He is followed by former Vice-President and Provost Cheryl Regehr, who earned $441,155 as the 37th highest paid employee overall.
The most common position for employees on the list was Senior Research Associate, with 75 individuals holding this title and an average salary of $124,092. This was followed by electrical and computer engineering professors, who earned an average of $245,219, and professors of education, with an average salary of $219,004.
Among the list’s 5,946 employees, 47.3 per cent were women, with an average salary of $157,973 compared to $180,599 for men.
U of T’s 2023 list featured 13.3 per cent more employees than in 2022, with a 17.1 per cent increase in total salaries paid. Senior Executive Director, Student Mental Health Systems, Policy and Strategy, Christina Bartha, received the highest salary increase at 155.55 per cent, raising her salary from $105,580 to $274,036 in 2023.
U of T’s three federated colleges, which are incorporated separately from the university, have their own Sunshine Lists. The University of St. Michael’s College featured 39 employees in 2023, with an average salary of $150,030. Victoria University had 63 employees, with an average salary of $146,308, while Trinity College listed 26 employees with an average salary of $137,998.
The highest earning employees at each college were President and Vice-Chancellor David Sylvester ($326,000), Bursar Raymond Desouza ($235,247), and Faculty of Divinity Professor Marsha Hewitt ($240,545), respectively.
Rotman on top Employees affiliated with Rotman are paid handsomely. Of the 100 highest-paid U of T employees in 2023, 69 held positions, crossappointments, or taught courses at Rotman. 27 of these employees ranked in the top 30 on the highest-paid list. The average salary among these 69 employees was $453,422, with the median salary being $434,003.
Beyond the top earners, salaries for Rotman professors remain high. The 12 finance professors on the 2023 Sunshine List had
an average salary of $461,687, while the 11 accounting professors averaged $427,666.
For comparison, the average salary for political science professors was $201,366, and for English professors, $207,624.
Why are Rotman faculty members so well paid? In an interview with The Varsity , Finance Professor and CIT Chair in Structured Finance Laurence Booth explained that it all boils down to supply and demand. “The demand for MBAs, Masters in Finance, Masters in Risk Financial Management is very high,” he said, adding that this demand results in higher wages.
Booth recounted that during the early 2000s, Rotman faced significant challenges in recruiting faculty who met U of T’s tenure standards. Additionally, the school struggled to compete against private firms and top US business schools, such as UCLA and the University of Michigan, for faculty members.
“The reason was… we were paying half the salaries of our US peer group with twice the teaching load,” Booth explained.
The solution? Dramatically increase salaries to attract higher-quality faculty members who can achieve tenure and make Rotman a more competitive business school.
“If you want a school competing with
Michigan, UCLA, and North Carolina, you have to hire the faculty that are equivalent in quality to produce students that are equivalent in quality,” Booth said.
From 2000 to 2023, finance professors and accounting professors’ wages increased by 216.6 per cent and 169.1 respectively. On the contrary, political science and English professors saw their wages increase by 80.8 per cent and 84.4 per cent in the same time frame.
In an email to The Varsity , a spokesperson for the university explained that the school competes with top universities worldwide for faculty members. “Many of our professional Faculties also compete with employers in the private sector, where compensation is typically higher than in the post-secondary education sector. This reality can result in salaries above the usual range for a small number of faculty members,” they wrote.
However, Booth also warned that looking at the salaries of Rotman professors on the Sunshine List may be misleading. “A lot of the salaries on the Sunshine List aren’t their regular salaries. They’re their salaries plus amounts for being a dean or for doing special things, [such as] extra services.”
Rubin Beshi Business & Labour Editor
U of T is taking financial hits from Canada’s federal policies
Business Board discusses the university’s marketing, UTAM investment performance
Jessie Schwalb Governance Correspondent
The November 27 Business Board meeting focused on brands — both U of T’s and Canada’s more broadly.
Vice-President (VP) Communications Christine Szustaczek walked Board members through how U of T became the most visible public university in the world, according to the 2024 Global University Visibility Rankings, due to its methods for “reputation management.”
However, university administrators told the board that federal immigration policies have framed Canada as less open to international students. Alongside financial hits from U of T enrolling fewer international students, U of T’s investments underperformed this year.
Administrators also presented ways that the university hopes to bolster its budget — including seizing opportunities in the wake of the 2024 US elections and expanding the housing and academic programs it offers.
The meeting was closed off to the general public in-person in-person due to security concerns about a potential protest.
Canada’s brand problems
According to VP Operations and Real Estate Partnerships Scott Mabury, Canada is experiencing brand problems.
After announcing in January that it would cut international student study permits by 35 per cent, Immigration Refugees and Citizenship Canada announced another 10 per cent cut in September. That same month, the government also tightened restrictions on post-graduation work permits. On November 8, Canada abruptly ended the Student Direct Stream that fast-tracked visa applications for students from 13 countries — including India, China, Pakistan, and the Philippines.
According to Mabury, government officials have told U of T that they hope these policies will target colleges, not universities. However, the changes “are not helpful with the perception of Canada being open for international students.”
Due to changing perceptions, U of T’s international enrolment fell six per cent below target — resulting in a $62 million decrease in the university’s budget, according to Mabury’s
calculations. U of T offset this loss by enrolling more domestic students, retaining more students overall, and increasing summer enrolment, leaving the university only $30 million below budget. However, the effects of the government’s tightened restrictions on international students will carry into the next few years, as the class of 2028 works its way through the university.
U of T President Meric Gertler continues to visit countries including India, Singapore, and Hong Kong, generating publicity that can drum up international student enrolment. Mabury suggested that recent election results in the US might allow the U of T to pick up international students dissuaded from attending institutions in the US. “What happened south of the border — that’s an opportunity,” he told the board.
U of T and the province also continue to negotiate a new strategic mandate agreement that the university hopes will provide it with more funding in light of the increasing numbers of Ontario high school graduates, according to Mabury. To capitalize on the provincial government’s focus on STEM in this round of the agreement negotiations, U of T proposed adding 5,500 funded slots for STEM students across the three campuses.
Mabury also hinted that the university has room to increase productivity, and described the university as “10 years behind” technologically speaking. U of T also hopes to bring in more money by offering microcredentials and plans to “go to the market with a very major housing initiative” on December 6.
U of T’s brand upkeep Szustaczek’s annual report gave a glimpse into how the university maintains its “brand.”
During the fiscal year from May 2023 to April 2024, U of T secured more than 3.2 million views of its web pages and the number one spot in the 2024 Global University Visibility Rankings among public institutions. The communications department won multiple awards from business communications associations, such as the International Association of Business Communicators — which the report describes as “the standard of excellence” in the communications industry.
Communications plans its marketing so that it releases ads in the period when academics complete surveys that magazines such as The
Times use to rank universities. “There’s a very strategic intent to that work,” Szustaczek told the board. In 2024, the university ranked 21st in the Times Higher Education rankings.
Global news mentioned U of T more than 310,000 times this past fiscal year, with 92 per cent of coverage classified as “positive or neutral.” However, these numbers don’t reflect news coverage during and after this summer’s proPalestine encampment in King’s College Circle. The report acknowledges “notable unfavourable themes” such as on-campus protests as well as international student enrollment and housing.
The department’s “reputation management” efforts include reading any news coverage and notifying newspapers if they make factual errors, along with “monitoring online conversations” to address problems before they gain traction. The Varsity was able to independently verify this.
Communications sends documents to “communicators” across the university “to create institutional alignment and coherence on timely issues-related topics, including the Israel-Hamas war,” according to the report. It also helped craft the Memo on Institutional, Divisional, and Departmental Statements that U of T released in April. The memo acknowledges discontent with some of U of T’s official statements and states that U of T should only release statements “in which the mission of the University and its most fundamental values are being challenged.” The memo reads, “The University’s role is… not to act as an arbiter among competing positions.”
UTAM’s recent losses
Chuck O’Reilly — president and chief investment officer for the University of Toronto Asset Management (UTAM) corporation — gave his semi-annual report. The report showed that U of T’s investments in its Long-Term Capital Appreciation Pool — which consists of the university’s endowed trust funds and a few other funds of a permanent or long-term nature — were 1.3 per cent below target in the past year, despite consistently remaining above target in the past decade.
Since fall 2023, the market has performed well with major indexes, such as the S&P 500 which returned 23 per cent, according to O’Reilly. However, he explained that U of T didn’t fully cash
in on these gains because the university’s policies require that UTAM diversify its portfolios, and “it’s really just a handful of really big companies that have performed extremely well over this period.” Instead of comparing to the market as a whole, UTAM assesses its active management style — where it relies on managers to change up U of T’s investments in response to market trends — by placing some of its money in a diversified portfolio and comparing the two investment portfolios. Even after accounting for UTAM’s costs, active management increased U of T’s returns in its Long-Term Capital Appreciation Pool by $350.8 million over the past 10 years, compared to the reference portfolio.
U of T’s targets for returns will be “more challenging” to meet in future years, in part due to rising inflation. O’Reilly also said he’s currently talking with administrators about how to reduce interest rate risk in order to protect the university budget.
Mabury introduced a large program where the university would take on debt to address its maintenance backlog — the building updates that the university has put off because it lacks funds. The value of these updates ballooned to $1.2 billion in 2023. The administration hopes to bring the program to the Business Board for approval in January.
Behind closed doors
In the minutes before the meeting began, multiple campus safety officers stood outside Simcoe Hall to vet those trying to enter. One Campus Safety officer told The Varsity that U of T had posted additional security because it expected a possible protest. On November 21, the student activist group Occupy for Palestine held a protest outside of Simcoe Hall and confronted those attending that day’s University Affairs Board meeting.
In an email to The Varsity, a spokesperson for the university wrote, “Open sessions of governance meetings are accessible to the public via in-person attendance and livestream. In the event access to a building where a governance meeting is taking place is restricted, only members, registered guests and credentialed media are permitted to attend in person; all others are welcome to watch online.”
JENNIFER AHN/THE VARSITY
What happens to the leftover money on my meal plan?
An overview of the policies about leftover meal plan balances across U of T
Medha Barath Associate Business & Labour Editor
At the end of each academic year, students using UTSG’s meal plans may find themselves in a tricky situation — they have too much money left on their plan to use up before the end of the year. These circumstances can often result in students doing all they can to use up the points, from buying more convenience items to paying for friends’ meals.
Prices for meal plans on campus can be higher than $7,000 at some residences. Given this large expense, it’s natural for students to wonder what happens to their leftover balances. Is it possible for them to receive a refund on unused dollars? The Varsity looked into UTSG’s different meal plans offered to students across colleges and residences to find out.
Meal
plans on campus
All campus residences — except for Woodsworth and Innis Colleges — mandate their students to purchase meal plans This includes residences operated by the three federated colleges: Trinity College, St. Michael’s College, and Victoria College.
Victoria College operates on a constrained meal swipe system, where one swipe equates to one meal in the college’s dining hall. St. Michael’s College uses an all-you-can-eat system, where students can have their meals during set hours in the dining commons for either five days of the week or all seven days of the week. Trinity College, University College (UC), and Knox College all make use of a declining balance system, where the cost of a student’s purchases at their college’s food facilities is deducted each time they use their TCard.
Students residing at New College, CampusOne, or the Chestnut Residence must purchase a plan from U of T Food Services.
A portion of funds is dedicated for use at each residence’s dining commons, while the remaining funds are allocated as ‘Campus Flex Dollars’ — which can be used to purchase food, beverage, and other items at participating Food Services locations across campus, like the food halls at Robarts Library or the Medical Sciences Building — and as TBucks, which can be used to pay for textbooks or printing.
Commuter students and students living in residences without a dining hall can also purchase meal plans for themselves. U of T Food Services offers a Commuter Plan where students are provided with funds to make purchases at the dining halls in CampusOne, Chestnut, and New College residences or at any of the other campus vendors. These commuter options are also provided with TBucks included in the cost of purchasing this plan. Individual colleges also may provide their own version of commuter meal plans.
What happens to my leftover balances?
Typically, meal plan swipes or dollars dedicated to being used at a residence’s dining hall cannot be carried over to the next year and are not refundable.
At Chestnut Residence, for the cheaper two of its three offered meal plans, students are allocated a given number of entry swipes per week to access the dining hall. These swipes expire if students don’t use them by the end of the week. At CampusOne — where students are provided with meal plan dollars that they can only use at the CampusOne dining hall — any leftover funds at the end of the year are neither refundable nor can they be carried over.
Similar rules are in place at dining halls that
Student non-profit aims to streamline resource access for people with autism
Founder Odosa Obasuyi speaks on Autinerary’s mission and operations
Aunkita Roy Entrepreneurship Correspondent
Navigating autism can be challenging for families and individuals, seeking reliable resources and support online. To address this, Odosa Obasuyi — a third-year computer science, math, and cognitive science student at U of T — founded Autinerary, a non-profit organization aimed at providing a clear, step-by-step roadmap for accessing essential resources for individuals on the autism spectrum. In an interview with The Varsity, Obasuyi shared insights into Autinerary’s mission and goals.
Changing the perception of the autism journey
Individuals and families with loved ones on the autism spectrum founded the term autinerary — a blend of the words ‘autism’ and ‘itinerary.’They recognized a critical need for accessible information, services, and community support. Rather than creating new resources, Autinerary focuses on curating and organizing existing ones to make them easily accessible while also driving innovation to address gaps and develop new solutions. As Obasuyi explained, Autinerary is the resource its team of volunteers “wish [they] had on their own journeys.” Through its website, Autinerary provides information services and community support in one centralized platform built on two critical pillars: positivity and innovation.
Through numerous conversations with the parents, siblings, autistic adults, and others connected to the autism community, the Autinerary team identified a significant need for positivity. The negative stigma surrounding autism and the challenges of the autism journey highlighted the importance of fostering a positive, empowering environment.
The second pillar, innovation, focuses on leveraging technology to develop a comprehensive service platform. This platform aims to provide accessible information and tools, helping individuals learn more about autism and become better allies to those on the spectrum.
Currently, Autinerary’s main service is providing immediate, reliable access to essential resources. At the heart of this is the Service Hub, a system powered by Google Maps API, software that allows developers to integrate Google Maps features into their websites. The Service Hub helps users locate nearby services and professionals related to autism therapy, job hiring and training for neurodivergent individuals, and financial support. According to Obasuyi, these services are often underrepresented and difficult to access for neurodivergent individuals. The Autinerary team wants to bridge this gap by making these resources more visible and accessible.
In addition, Obasuyi places a strong emphasis on community-building. One of Autinerary’s key initiatives is Sibchat, an online platform designed for the siblings of individuals on the spectrum
are not operated by U of T Food Services. At UC, any unused dollars cannot be transferred or refunded.
Mila Bhaloo, a third-year UC student studying cognitive science, computer science, and statistics, wrote to The Varsity in an email, “I had around $800 left on the plan that I couldn’t get reimbursed or carry over to the next year. To try and use up the remaining balance, I stocked up on drinks and took them home since I live in the city. While the meal plan itself was convenient, it was frustrating to have so much unused money go to waste.”
For some meal plans, unused funds can carry over into the next year. For students living at Chestnut and New College who are under the U of T Food Services’ meal plans, unused dining hall funds at the end of the year are converted to Campus Flex Dollars.
At Victoria College, student meal plans also provide a set amount of ‘Vic Dollars’ for students to use in addition to their meal swipes. Leftover dollars can be used up to one year after they were purchased.
Ekaterina Brechko, a third-year at Victoria College studying computer science, mathematics, and art history, wrote in an email to The Varsity that she carried over some Vic
Dollars she had left over after her first year on residence. She wrote that she “decided [she] wanted to keep some for when I moved off campus.”
Justin Liou, a second-year political science, French languages and linguistics, and European affairs student at Victoria College, also had leftover meals and Vic Dollars after his first year. He wrote to The Varsity that he “would be happier if there was another meal option with even fewer meals than any currently offered plans.”
In certain cases, students can also request refunds on leftover balances. Students can get a refund on their ‘Campus Flex Dollars’ provided on the plans by U of T Food Services if they withdraw from U of T or complete their degree. However, they will incur a $50 administration fee — balances below this amount won’t be refunded.
When asked about policies on leftover balances on meal plans, a spokesperson from the university wrote to The Varsity that “meal plan policies are communicated to students prior to the residence application process and throughout the year. Students can contact [U of T] Food Services or their residence office at any time to discuss their plan and specific circumstances.”
to connect, share experiences, and support one another. Sibchat is free to access through Autinerary’s website, requiring only a simple user signup. The team is currently working on redesigning the platform’s interface to enhance the user experience.
Recent campaigns and next steps
The Autinerary team recently concluded its “Crisscross Challenge” campaign on TikTok where participants had the chance to win $1,000. The prize is split with $500 given to the winner and $500 to be donated to a family in need. It was targeted towards supporting one of the 60,000 families in financial need on the waitlist for the Ontario Autism Plan (OAP). The OAP is a government initiative that provides support to families with children and youth on the autism spectrum.
Autinerary’s upcoming “Autism Is” campaign aims to foster open conversations about the autism journey, both for individuals on the spectrum and for those who may be unaware or misinformed about autism. The team will invite
participants to answer a series of five questions related to autism. Obasuyi hopes the campaign provides a deeper understanding of the autism experience directly from those who live it by having participants share honest responses.
Obasuyi and his team plan to launch a revamped Service Hub on its website next year, featuring an artificial intelligence-powered search bar that will provide users with curated service and community recommendations. The updated Service Hub will also integrate the Google Maps API and other tools to provide both 2D and 3D street view maps of the services listed in Autinerary’s Service Directory, enhancing the user experience and making it easier to locate and explore resources.
Obasuyi emphasized that one of the most important lessons he learned is the value of teamwork, noting that, even as a founder, “you really cannot do it alone.” With a dedicated team of 11 volunteers, Autinerary continues to develop new features, including a newsletter raising awareness about autism.
Autinerary provides information services and community support on its website.
COURTESY OF ODOSA OBASUYI
Arts & Culture
December 3, 2024
thevarsity.ca/section/arts-and-culture arts@thevarsity.ca
The Ozempic effect — the body and the price of thinness
What’s good for you?
Patrick Ignasiak Film Columnist
Why are celebrities so thin? Probably Ozempic. And if, like Ice Spice or Jesse Plemons, a celebrity claims their weight loss is due to another method, there’s an orchestrated media pressure for them to prove they’re not just on Ozempic. Being gaunt and raw-boned in the Ozempic fashion has become trendy.
It’s very profitable to sell a needle full of skinniness, which makes me a little anxious because commodifying Ozempic as some miracle fat-remover is a little dangerous. At the same time, reducing Ozempic to a mere set of chemical interactions is also useless, since those interactions are only intelligible as abstractions, like a lack of hunger. I can’t experience Ozempic for you — and I’m pretty sure you can’t experience it for yourself either. Drug use is a spectacle. We can watch it affect our surfaces, but we can’t follow it into our bodies.
On the surface, I’m a latticework of caffeinated tubes. I self-administer a 100-milligram dose of caffeine about two or three times a day, and so do many of my friends. Our bodies are pretty much inseparable from the social relationships that control the production and consumption of our preferred substance. Abstractly, I imagine all my jitteriness, caffeine-related or not, as participation in the shared nervous system of global caffeine circulation. Even when I’m not high on coffee, I’m part of that interplay.
In my view, other forms of drug-use are similarly mapped. For instance, someone swallowing a pill of Ritalin, a stimulant
prescribed to improve focus and attention, has a mental image of the altered state they expect to experience. Maybe they watched 22 Jump Street , or read a Tao Lin novel, but regardless, when they take that pill, they’ll conceive of their drugged body through those preconceptions.
That’s what’s happening with Ozempic, which, by the way, isn’t a particularly complicated synthetic drug. The active ingredient is a slight modification of a hormone found in the venom of the Gila monster reptile, and the drug works by overclocking some natural bodily functions, like gastric emptying — the process that controls how fast the food leaves the stomach — and insulin production — which regulates blood sugar levels. But you can’t just reduce your sensations to that particular level of objecthood — which is frustrating, because the drug is actively reengineering your organs, and subtly reshaping your biology in ways you can’t easily control.
Ozempic has an agency over the biological function of your body, even if that agency remains completely sub-perceptible. That’s how drugs work. You can imagine tiny peptides — chains of amino acids organized into proteins — sorting themselves into your brain’s various slots, but you can’t intuitively understand from those interactions why you’re passing on a mid-afternoon snack you would have otherwise eaten.
It makes sense that your connection to food would be manipulated, since Ozempic stabilizes hunger regulation, but a 2024 study in JAMA Network Open suggests that your dopamine and serotonin responses are similarly controlled. If you’re curious,
Why Hollywood keeps missing the mark on classic literary adaptations
Classic literary adaptations come at the expense of the original works' integrity
Kamilla Bekbossynova
Varsity Contributor
In recent years, Hollywood has frequently attempted to reimagine classic literature for modern audiences — often with disappointing results. From Netflix’s Persuasion (2022) to upcoming adaptations of Wuthering Heights and The Picture of Dorian Gray, studios seem intent on reshaping beloved novels to align with Gen Z aesthetics and sensibilities. However, these efforts often face backlash from the original sources’ dedicated fans. Whether through questionable casting choices, the use of modern slang in period settings, or plot overhauls that compromise the authors’ original messages, these adaptations risk stripping classic works of their depth and relevance, reducing them to mere surface level entertainment.
Modernization at the expense of integrity
Netflix’s Persuasion starring Dakota Johnson as Anne Elliott — Jane Austen’s quietly resolute heroine — exemplifies the pitfalls of prioritizing modern trends over the essence of the source material. Marketed as a reimagined period piece, the film incorporates Fleabag-style fourth-wall breaks with Johnson speaking directly to the camera in modern slang. Lines like, “We’re worse than exes — we’re friends,” feel more suited for a contemporary romcom, devoid of the depth and subtlety that define Austen’s nuanced exploration of regret, resilience, and second chances.
Reviewers criticized Persuasion for apparently assuming that modern viewers wouldn’t appreciate Austen’s original themes without the added layer of ‘relatability.’ Rather than drawing on the subtle
wit and introspective depth that defines Austen’s work, this adaptation relies on jokes about ‘selfcare’ and ‘ghosting,’ choices that dilute and detract from the novel’s quiet power. While the cast boasts talented actors like Nikki Amuka-Bird and Richard E. Grant, who bring complexity to their roles, they’re overshadowed by a script more focused on awkwardly forcing period-inaccurate humour than honouring Austen’s social critique.
On the other hand, Emerald Fennell’s upcoming Wuthering Heights adaptation — starring Margot Robbie and Jacob Elordi as Catherine and Heathcliff, respectively — is stirring controversy long before its release. Fans of Emily Brontë’s novel are particularly concerned that Robbie and Elordi — both known for their highly aestheticized, social media driven personas — may fail to embody the raw, brooding energy of Brontë’s protagonists, sacrificing them for the reward of surface level appeal instead.
More troubling is the casting of Elordi — a white man — as Heathcliff, a character described as darkskinned. It risks overlooking the racial complexities present in the character’s ambiguous background.
Heathcliff’s story in Wuthering Heights carries a subtext of racial otherness, his marginalization as a dark-skinned outsider. It is a theme often glossed over or ignored in previous adaptations, and with Fennell’s forthcoming film there remains the likelihood of once again reducing him to a tortured lover rather than a deeply marginalized, vengeful figure shaped by racial and social exclusion.
Similarly, the anticipated television adaptation of The Picture of Dorian Gray reportedly turns the characters of Basil and Dorian into siblings, a choice that flattens the novel’s complex dynamic
that’s why Ozempic might have potential in addiction-targeting therapies — because it’s easier to stifle an opioid craving by dampening the sensation of reward your brain experiences when you eventually get the rush of the hit. This could have legitimate applications in harm reduction, particularly as Ozempic is easy to self-administer.
Ozempic is, however, expensive. Currently, its most palpable cultural effect is the stark inequality of access. In Canada, a month’s worth of doses costs between $200 to $300, while the cost of producing that batch may be only five dollars — a 98 per cent reduction from the market price.
The routine of consuming Ozempic then becomes a constant financial exercise fuelled by inelastic demand — meaning people are less likely to stop using it despite price increases. This creates a powerful regulatory situation, where it’s hard to move on and off Ozempic when access is so limited. It’s essentially a form of social grouping: to present your body as a skinny body, you need to have some advantage in these pre-given conditions wherein Ozempic is accessible in the first place. For diabetics, this could be a serious issue, as Ozempic might be crucial to the construction of a healthy body.
This brings me to my point: Ozempic is a set of relationships. It’s difficult to disentangle the experience of Ozempic’s effect on the brain from the person-to-person relationships, beliefs, and social standards that judge certain bodily presentations as natural and others as artificial. Ozempic moves through your bloodstream on a register you can’t perceive, yet this subtle materiality experts extreme agency over how your body functions and how you experience it.
So, understanding the precise hormonal changes instigated by an Ozempic injection can only take us so far, because there’s always the optics of cultural mediation. Try it this way: what kind of person are you on Ozempic? Which pleasures and displeasures become available?
Ozempic is one way to mobilize your organic material. Your body is more complex than your ability to manipulate a small part of its nervous system. Ozempic can adjust the specifics of how that self interacts with basic biological functions. So, you’ll definitely be different after using Ozempic, but you might not necessarily be ‘better’ — and that’s okay.
and all but erases the homoerotic tension Wilde deliberately wove into their relationship. Instead of the morally complex and obsessive admiration that Basil holds for Dorian’s beauty, we will likely be left with a sibling rivalry framed through the beauty industry — as if that somehow preserves the core of Wilde’s biting critique.
Is this the direction new adaptations are taking — rewriting a story to trade queer nuance and social commentary for an Instagram-filtered story about vanity? I feel that this shift reflects a broader trend in Hollywood: where race, queerness, and ambiguity are smoothed over to fit clean and consumable narratives, as if complexity is just too risky for mainstream audiences.
What’s lost in translation
Classic novels endure because of complex characters, moral ambiguity, and social critiques that resonate across generations. Modernizing these stories to appeal to a younger audience isn’t inherently misguided. Films like Clueless and Fire Island demonstrate how thoughtful updates can reinterpret themes for new contexts without compromising their depth. However, many recent adaptations seem to prioritize style over substance, offering surface level updates that fail to engage with the original works’ core messages.
In Persuasion, for example, the frequent fourthwall breaks don’t deepen our connection to Anne or her struggles; rather, they create distance, with
Johnson’s Anne almost winking at the audience in exasperation. Similarly, Fennell’s casting choices in Wuthering Heights may draw attention to their glamour, inherently risking the reduction of Brontë’s searing exploration of passion and revenge into a sparklingly tense romance. In The Picture of Dorian Gray, Wilde’s biting critique of society’s obsession with youth and beauty could lose its edge in a contemporary setting, especially if the subtleties of Wilde’s social commentary are sacrificed for a more straightforward satire.
The appeal of timelessness
The enduring popularity of classic literature suggests that audiences are drawn to stories that offer more than just surface appeal. Viewers don’t necessarily need modern slang or trendy references to appreciate Austen’s insight into social mobility, Brontë’s critique of toxic love, or Wilde’s reflections on vanity. By assuming otherwise, these adaptations risk reducing rich, timeless stories to easily digestible content that lacks the depth and complexity of the originals.
The trend of ‘updating’ classics may attract new viewers, but at what cost? If adaptations continue to prioritize pandering over preserving, they risk eroding the legacies of these timeless works, ultimately leaving shallow imitations. Hollywood would do well to remember that timeless stories resonate because of their depth and complexity — not despite it.
Finance
bros and office sirens: what’s the deal?
Financial stability has a way of making you consider things you never thought you would
Moniz, Divine Angubua
Associate Arts & Culture Editor, Arts & Culture Editor
It happens to the best of us: an Instagram acquaintance debuts her new boyfriend — a forgettable white man clad in a Patagonia vest over a pale blue dress shirt, or just a Rotman student dressing the part of a Wall Street executive. His Instagram feed is a hyper-minimalist flood of expensive watches, gym content, and painfully curated shots of skyscrapers in the financial district stabbing the sky like steel blades. He looks perfect, but in a simple, uninspiring way that clearly embodies the energy and style of having and loving money.
We quickly scroll past, a little disappointed to see yet another angel lose her wings, falling into this common pattern of romantic partners. But, of course, it’s hard to fault our acquaintance for her choices. The finance bro is back in fashion, and honestly, we get the appeal.
The rise and return of the “finance bro” is both revelatory and reductive, emblematic of modern capitalism’s excesses and successes. Characters like Patrick Bateman of American Psycho (2000) and Jordan Belfort from The Wolf of Wall Street (2013) have been canonized as near-mythical embodiments of power, privilege, and relentless ambition. These characters embody the finance bro persona as the white-collar symbol of status, thriving on a consumerist mindset that equates the pursuit of prestige with the expression of virtue. Beneath their polished exteriors lies a profound moral and emotional emptiness — but in their world, this is inconsequential, as wealth, excess, and comfort reign supreme.
Besides these films, TV shows like HBO’s Succession and Industry similarly solidified the finance bro archetype in recent cultural memory, continuing through their characters the legacy markings of sharply tailored suits, torturous self-absorption, latent pathology, and chilling emotional detachment to bring this corporate persona vividly to life.
This summer, it was fascinating to see this finance bro fantasy resurrected into the music zeitgeist as well, chiefly through David Guetta and Girl On Couch’s viral party anthem, in which a robotic woman’s voice intones, “I’m looking for a man in finance / Trust fund, 6’5, blue eyes.” In this shift, we observed the finance bro being elevated from an aesthetic archetype to an unabashed sex object.
Guetta’s summer jam release in June coincided with two milestones: the second anniversary of the US Supreme Court overturning Roe
v. Wade, empowering states to regulate or ban abortion, and Canada’s reopening after COVID-19 lockdowns, which spotlighted the economic divide as privileged tech and finance elites who easily adapted to remote and online work amassed wealth while low-income workers bore the pandemic’s hardships. The finance bro transformed into a corporate gladiator, embodying the Eurocentric ideal of a tall, white saviour who rescues the damsel in sexual and economic oppression. As a reflection of a colonial framework where wealth is tied to both power and desirability, this character has become aspirational, reinforcing historical tropes of white male dominance and saviourism.
The office siren
While the finance bro embodies the idealized corporate knight, his woman counterpart — the “office siren” — is even more fascinating. She is just as curated and calculated as the corporate man, with a far more subversive agenda. While the finance bro benefits from inherited privilege, the office siren uses the same systems to not only navigate but also sometimes subvert the corporate grind. If the finance bro is capitalism’s prince, the office siren is its subversive siren song: alluring, enigmatic, and far more dangerous than she seems. She promises success and power to her aspirants, and unlike the finance bro who dominates through overt displays of wealth and authority, the office siren navigates corporate structures with intellect and charm, turning exploitation into empowerment.
Parallel to the rise of the finance bro, the office siren emerged as a new way to romanticize corporate hell as the object of the finance bro’s desire. Beginning in the ultra-chic corporate fashion runway shows of the 1990s and early 2000s, and popularized in this decade via TikTok, the office siren, much like the finance bro, is uniform in her execution. She’s typically a slim, attractive woman draped in neutral colours and oversized blazers, often with a button-up shirt half undone, squinty eyes, and Bayonettastyle glasses perched on her nose. The look is undeniably seductive à la Ralph Lauren FallWinter 2000, yet strangely lifeless — a hollow flame meant to attract finance executives and hedge fund managers, offering a one-dimensional take on women’s office attire that mirrors the void of the corporate environment it represents.
This particular kind of sirenic figure seems
focused solely on seducing the finance bro as the sexy secretary or clumsy intern, and while we agree that clothing can serve as a form of resistance to the dehumanizing aspects of corporate life, the siren seemingly consciously embraces this dehumanization and objectification through her fashion choices, outwardly signalling an active surrender of subjectivity and personal agency.
And yet, we understand why people try to fit into the corporate aesthetic. If Patrick Bateman told me to wear a beige pencil skirt and address him as “my lord and saviour,” I’d probably do it. Financial stability has a hypnotic way of making you consider things you never thought you would.
Beyond the fantasy
We’d like to think there’s more to the office siren than the vapid “hot-girl-at-work” fantasy. Sirens, after all, are meant to be both beautiful and dangerous, drawing men in only to destroy them — sometimes literally. What if the office siren isn’t just a passive figure in this power dynamic, but an active player with an agenda: seeking control over her venture capitalist, financial analyst, or corporate lawyer love interest?
In a world where women are often confined to the periphery of the corporate landscape, the challenge becomes subverting patriarchy to make it work for you. If your romantic interest is a wealth manager endlessly consumed by the corporate grind, it’s not entirely illogical to infiltrate his space to seduce him. Perhaps if the finance bro sees everything as transactional, the office siren is simply outsmarting him — playing the game better by using the very system he’s constructed to entrap others, and turning it against him.
Finance bros do offer a certain brand of romance — luxury, excess, and access to privilege most can only dream of. Picture a $500 dinner of tiny, unpronounceable dishes paired with tasteless jokes about the less fortunate. Imagine spirited debates over the perfect shade of eggshell or bone for business cards or the subtle art of matching a watch to cufflinks. All this, and more, could be yours for the price of sitting across from a man with a 12-step skincare routine who won’t ask you a single question about the mind beneath your pretty face. But in his orbit, the noise of public construction outside your decrepit two-bedroom apartment fades, and the crushing weight of paying rent in a city you can no longer afford melts away.
What makes the finance bro so enticing is the safety he offers, especially in a time of endless rising costs and economic instability. With a management consultant or corporate lawyer, we feel as though we know exactly what we’re getting into. We think they are all cut from the same cloth: alumni from top business schools, collectors of status symbols like rare, customdesigned sneakers, bespoke suits, and obscure high-end gadgets — things that no one really needs but everyone seems to want.
Their lack of individuality, we think, is oddly comforting because it allows us to project whatever we want onto them. They’re blank slates, offering a life of stability in exchange for our personal autonomy — a seemingly fair trade within the world economy, where money is capital, and the sex economy, where women’s bodies are commodified. We figure that if we’re going to be unhappy, why not be unhappy and rich? There is comfort to be found in swiping your card without even glancing at the charge.
Of course, the catch is that the finance bro’s allure inevitably comes at an emotional price. While the financial perks and stability are undeniable, a relationship which feels transactional, built on appearances, wealth, and status, will hold little space for vulnerability or depth. If you’re willing to settle for that, the rewards may well be worth it.
There also remains the possibility that we are still underestimating the finance bro. Beneath the polished exterior, what if there is a complicated soul we’ve been too quick to dismiss? This is what makes the finance bro truly unsettling — not his shallowness, but the possibility that he is earnestly and consciously calculated yet unknowable as the systems he thrives in. After all, didn’t Patrick Bateman have washboard abs, an enviable music collection, and — if you squint hard enough — a troubling kind of charm? The possibility that he actively submits to these structures intensifies the unease, suggesting he is not merely shaped by capitalism but fully embodies its cold, ruthless logic.
Like the office siren, what makes men like Patrick Bateman so undeniably magnetic might not be bad feminism, but something deeper: the uncomfortable allure of power combined with the mystery of what lies beneath it. It’s not just about wealth or luxury but the quiet danger of engaging with someone who is both irresistible and unknowable. In the end, this is what keeps us coming back for more.
Sofia
A student’s guide to financial affirmations
Let us glamourize the art of being broke
Debbie Wong Varsity Contributor
Money isn’t just a necessity — it’s a love language. Sure, it doesn’t text you back on those dark and lonely nights or help you with your group project, but it always knows how to take your breath away — like when you check your bank balance after your rent payment clears.
For many students, money is more than a means to an end. It’s a reflection of our inner abundance or lack thereof. Happiness? It’s measured in triple-shot lattes and Ubers to campus. Self-love? That’s splurging on overpriced matcha because you ‘deserve it’ even if your credit card disagrees.
In a world where paying tuition costs feels like a hostage negotiation and textbooks cost more than a high-end tablet that could replace them entirely, the only way to thrive is to turn every financial decision into an empowering mantra. So let us take a moment to affirm ourselves, not in the mirror, but at the checkout counter. Here are five affirmations you didn’t know you needed to manifest your way through university life. Now, say them with me:
1.
I may not have a trust fund, but my student loans are doing a great job of funding my questionable life choices — and the major my parents chose for me.
3.
As an economics major, I shall not skip class to pick up a shift because I need to pay my rent and survive; I will do it because I love to use my major in the real world by upholding the core values of my employer and making the shareholders happy. And no, my GPA won’t suffer because of this — because it’s not a measure of my self-worth, obviously.
2.
If I fail my midterms, I shall treat myself to Uber Eats as an act of self-love and an investment in my mental health — the more groceries I leave to rot in my fridge, the happier I will be.
4. 5.
Every credit card swipe at the bookstore is a blissful reminder that knowledge is priceless — even if the card reader says it’s $400.
Every dollar I spend at Aritzia is a manifestation of the future girlboss CEO I pretend to be in my LinkedIn posts. Every $300 purchase shall get me one step closer to breaking the glass ceiling and dominating the boardroom in matching suit sets of rich mocha brown, nomad taupe, and smoky sage. #womeninmaledominatedfields.
Opinion
December 3, 2024
thevarsity.ca/category/opinion
opinion@thevarsity.ca
Letter to the Editor: On TheVarsity’s Middle East coverage
Edward Breuer Varsity Contributor
To the Editors of The Varsity,
I am a visiting professor at U of T, and I have made it a point to read every issue of The Varsity this semester. As I prepare to leave campus, I am writing to express my profound disappointment in your publication.
In my encounter with U of T students, undergraduates and graduates alike, I find a diverse student body exhibiting curiosity about the world, a willingness to learn, an openness to hearing
other points of view, and even a certain humility in acknowledging the gaps in their knowledge. The students I speak to understand that education is an ongoing process of exploration and learning.
What I see in the pages of The Varsity stands in stark contrast. The reportage concerning the tragic war in Israel, Gaza, and Lebanon, and its reverberations on campus, is dreadful. It lacks all the things that U of T students are taught: that context matters, that nuance is crucial, that questions should be thoughtful and genuinely open-ended, and that the best answers are carefully formulated, modest, and perhaps even a little tentative.
I am not advocating for a point of view. My focus is on the quality of the reporting and the opinion pieces.
Week in and week out, what The Varsity offers in its coverage of the issues that concern Palestine and Israel is simplistic and shallow. The hard and honest questions are eschewed in favour of self-righteous editorializing; the handling of issues such as antisemitism and freedom of speech is intellectually embarrassing, and the thoughtless presentation of contentious subjects undercuts the possibility of honest debate.
In an otherwise wonderful semester at a premier institution of higher learning, I am simply flabbergasted at the poor quality of The Varsity. I am happy to be proven wrong, but the arrogance and myopia that emerge from the pages of this publication suggest that this letter will be consigned to the trash. That would be a shame because wisdom begins with honest selfreflection.
Edward Breuer is a Shoshana Shier Distinguished visiting professor from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
Forum: Should you pick your university degree based on money and employability?
TheVarsity asked one STEM and one humanities student to answer this question
Mekhi Quarshie, Laiyena Imran Varsity Contributors
There’s a common belief among students that STEM degrees are ‘money-makers,’ while humanities and arts degrees are a pipeline to unemployment. But is this really the case? And, even if it is, should it ultimately determine the degrees we choose to pursue?
The Varsity asked one STEM and one humanities student whether they believe students should choose their university degree based on financial and economic factors.
A humanities degree is not a dead-end I remember the conversations I had with friends and family after deciding to major in journalism at U of T. One day, on our way home from Starbucks, my mom said, “I was just speaking with the sweetest barista — and guess what? He majored in journalism just like you!”
The comments didn’t stop there. The summer before university, I heard about the philosophy graduate who couldn’t find a job, the history major who still lived with his parents, and the English graduate who’d be making six figures — if quoting Shakespeare was a viable career.
These stories highlight a disheartening reality — humanities graduates often face greater challenges finding employment than their STEM counterparts. And when they do manage to break through the sinkhole of unemployment, they tend to land lowerpaying jobs. According to a 2023 Statistics Canada report, certain careers for STEM graduates allow you to earn up to an average of $70,300, compared to an average of $48,640 for humanities graduates.
If money is important to you, the raw numbers paint a seemingly dismal tale for the fate of humanities majors. But I believe what these numbers often miss is that — if approached strategically — a humanities degree can still be a practical path to financial stability.
Rather than an end destination, a humanities degree can serve as the first step toward a sustainable career. Many graduate programs admit more humanities students than STEM students. For instance, 40 per cent of the 2024 first-year class at the U of T Faculty of Law had a humanities background, compared to 15 per cent from the STEM field. Juris Doctor graduates in Canada can earn an average income of $108,700 — higher than the expected earnings for STEM graduates and well above the national average of $64,850.
Now, I’m not saying you have to sell your soul to corporate law to make a living with a humanities degree. A 2016 Journal of Cost Benefit Analysis study found that individuals with a combination of business and a liberal arts degree earn more than those with a single major. As a double major in political science and journalism, potential employers and admissions officers told me that my journalism
background makes me a more compelling candidate than a typical political science student.
With the right strategy, a humanities major can be financially rewarding and get one above the average Canadian income. Although switching from the humanities to STEM may lead to higher earnings, research indicates that individuals with a combination of liberal arts and STEM majors, or those with a businessSTEM mix, are less likely to report high job satisfaction.
So with that in mind, study what you love.
bad backup plan.
Mekhi Quarshie is a fourth-year student at UTSC majoring in journalism and political science. He was the Managing Online Editor for Vol. 144 of The Varsity.
The price of passion and stability
Growing up in a South Asian immigrant family, they taught me that careers in engineering, medicine, or law were the only ‘respectable’ paths. If you’re spending thousands of dollars on
a degree, it should be a profitable investment, securing a stable, well-paying career. With this mindset, I firmly believed that following one’s passions came at the cost of future security. I saw this idea reflected in my parents’ lives. We lived in Abbottabad, Pakistan, a city that would later gain notoriety as Osama Bin Laden’s hideout. Consequent escalating terrorism led to the decision to immigrate to Canada. Though trained as physicians in Pakistan, the Canadian healthcare system did not recognize their credentials, so they had to restart their medical careers from scratch while juggling residencies and raising three children.
When the COVID-19 pandemic hit and layoffs plagued many industries, my parents’ profession stood resilient. At 16, they often pointed out how a career in medicine offers stability and financial freedom, regardless of political or economic uncertainty.
So, I arrived at U of T with a clear plan: specialize in biochemistry, ace my GPA, and go to medical school. But the pressure of this path quickly unravelled me. What if I didn’t make it to medical school? Would I be stuck with a degree that offered neither satisfaction nor a decent salary? Driven by cultural expectations and fear of failure, I switched to computer science — a ‘hot’ field at the time — alongside biochemistry. Yet, I still found myself miserable. By the end of my first year, I was lost. My father met my conversations about exploring writing or politics with disappointment. I carried immense guilt, knowing the sacrifices my parents made. How could I reject the stability they worked so hard to provide? Still, I couldn’t shake the anxiety and lack of motivation I felt in my premed courses.
Eventually, my academic advisors suggested that I take POL101 just to dip my feet in the field. For the first time, I truly enjoyed what I was learning. The lectures on human rights and Indigenous health resonated deeply, leading me to explore U of T’s global health program. In this program, I could integrate my interests in politics, writing, and health. Proving to my father that I could excel in this field took time, but through strong grades and extracurricular involvement, I earned his trust.
Today, I’m majoring in global health with minors in political science and physiology. This experience taught me that stability isn’t just financial — it’s mental and emotional, too. Whether in STEM or any other field, true success comes when talents and ambitions are nurtured. For me, finding the intersection of my interests allowed me to chart a path that aligns with who I am.
Laiyena Imran is a fourth-year student at University College studying global health, political science, and physiology.
Besides, flirting with moms at local coffee shops isn’t a
NILIMA PAUL/THE VARSITY
Toronto’s swastika problem reveals a campus culture that tolerates hate
As a Jewish student, U of T’s crusade against antisemitism isn’t keeping us safe
Ryn
Van Leeuwen
Varsity Contributor
Content warning:
This article discusses antisemitism, Nazism, police brutality, and anti-Palestinian racism.
Unless you’re too busy rushing to class, you may have noticed the clusters of swastikas appearing on the edges of the UTSG campus — some near Queen’s Park and others at the intersections of Bloor and St. George Street. As a Jewish student at U of T, it’s impossible to look away.
I first started seeing them two years ago, but I’ve seen this occurring sporadically on campus since at least 2016. I have noticed a pattern: the swastikas often appear on top of socialist or leftistissue posters and at the very edge of campus. Their placement may be a purposeful strategy, both to catch students’ attention and frustrate any attempts at stopping the perpetrators. Whenever
I notify the administration, I am told that while the symbols are near campus, they are technically on city property and the university’s ability to intervene is limited.
Nazi sympathizers have felt safe near campus and in Toronto to display antisemitic graffiti for so long without facing repercussions. So, what is U of T doing with its resources to supposedly “combat antisemitism?” Well, for starters, U of T spent $3.8 million on “lawyers,” “increased security[,] and repairs” related to the King’s College Circle pro-Palestinian encampment, attempting to end the encampment partially on the basis of the protest being antisemitic. However, a court ruling
concluded that the protests were, in fact, not antisemitic.
I argue that U of T is not only ineffective in addressing real antisemitism, but also, by targeting student activists, perpetuates a culture that normalizes hate, fosters an unsafe campus for everyone, and distracts from genuine efforts to combat antisemitism.
Antisemitism and hate: past and present
Despite U of T President Meric Gertler and his administration claiming to care about antisemitism, the issue of antisemitic graffiti continues to fall through the cracks. When I finally contacted Campus Safety, I was told that they would notify the City to have them removed. Yet, rather than U of T taking a proactive approach, it falls on Jewish students like me to report these incidents. Besides, I’ve already been covering them up myself.
When confronting Nazi symbols, we must remember their history. Nazi ideology was not limited to anti-Jewish sentiment; it also perpetuated anti-queer, anti-racialized minority, and progenocide rhetoric. Nazi propagandist Wolfgang Diewerge wrote in 1941, “It is a matter of who shall live in Europe in the future: the white race with its cultural values… or Jewish subhumanity ruling over the stupid, joyless, enslaved masses doomed to death.”
One might assume that such explicit hatred is a thing of the past, or at least shunned by those in power. Yet, I hear eerily similar genocidal rhetoric from prominent Israeli politicians, a state closely tied to Canada’s arms industry and supported by many Canadian institutions.
Internet aesthetics are
In October 2023, Nissim Vaturi, a member of the far-right Likud party led by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, wrote in Hebrew on X, “Erase Gaza. Nothing else will satisfy us. It is not acceptable that we have a terrorist authority next to Israel. Do not leave a child there, expel all the remaining ones at the end, so that they will not have a resurrection.”
Despite such rhetoric from Israeli leaders, Gertler refuses to sever ties with Israeli universities built on illegally occupied Palestinian territories, as established by the International Court of Justice. The university continues to employ David Goldreich, a Rotman School of Management professor who tore down posters about a student strike in support of the humanitarian crisis in Palestine.
Furthermore, while the Toronto Police Services (TPS) criminalize and attack pro-Palestine activists, U of T has allowed a group known as JForce, which proclaims to be “defenders of Israel,” to be present on campus. On their website, JForce claims to protect Jewish students from protesters.
What does safety for everyone really mean?
U of T and the TPS are quick to counter claims of their alleged antisemitism through over-policing pro-Palestine students and activists. But where are they when swastikas are staring at us in the face? It makes me question how much the university truly cares about antisemitism and Jews outside of their political and financial interests. From my perspective, U of T uses the label of antisemitism as a convenient excuse to silence criticism of its
protest policies and its potential investments in the arms industry.
It is undeniable that antisemitism is on the rise in Canada, with antisemitism accounting for 56 per cent of reported hate incidents in early 2024. However, in a world where Israeli soldiers draw the Star of David on destroyed Palestinian homes, carrying out institutional and state-sanctioned violence against pro-Palestine supporters in the name of protecting the Jewish people doesn’t make us safe. On the contrary, I argue that it lowers our guard against the violent ideologies and actions of those who target marginalized groups. This could ultimately lead to actual antisemitism being dismissed or not taken seriously.
I also see that the global stage’s excuse of ‘keeping Jewish people safe’ has shielded Israel’s genocidal rhetoric and actions from meaningful criticism during the past year — and the 76 years since the Nakba, when over half of the Palestinian population was displaced in 1948 from what is now the settler-colonial state of Israel. From this, I believe both Zionism and Nazism to be rooted in the dehumanization and marginalization of ‘others.’
If we are to solve U of T’s antisemitism problem, we must remember that lasting safety for one group cannot be achieved through the subjugation of another.
Ryn Van Leeuwen is a third-year student studying sociology and anthropology. They are Head of Admin for the Anthropology Students’ Association.
exploiting you for profit
Escapism through internet aesthetics corrupts culture and alienates it from its origin
In his book Society of the Spectacle, French philosopher Guy Debord argues that the present state of social life is becoming dominated by “productions of the economy” and shifting our reality “from having to appearing.” He suggests that people are not able to engage with what is real and can only engage with a representation of reality because of modern working conditions. This skewed image of reality affects what people then strive to achieve.
When Debord was writing in 1967, culture was already turning from reality into representations. ‘Hippie’ culture slowly abandoned its anti-war roots and moved towards the image of sex, drugs, and rock music. Only four years after Debord’s book, Coca-Cola broadcasted its Hilltop commercial, showing a diverse array of people using hippie ‘peace and love’ ideology to sell soda.
With the advent of the internet, culture has been made more vulnerable to commodification.
Now, people can scroll through “hippie aesthetic” pictures on Pinterest and buy “hippie clothes” on Amazon. While internet aesthetics may provide an easy remedy for modern woes, I see a growing phenomenon in which unique culture or lifestyle is being turned into an aesthetic, a collection of images obscured from reality.
Modern economy and the epidemic of depression
A 2012 National Health Institute study suggests that we may currently be in an “epidemic” of depression that is associated with modern economic struggles. According to a 2007 World Health Organization survey on mental health, most “developed” countries tend to have higher rates of depression. In these developed countries, there tends to be a higher rate of psychiatric disorders amongst those who live in urban environments rather than rural ones.
Workplace burnout is a problem that has only been growing in recent years. And, according to a 2020 report from the Massachusetts Institute of
Technology, those with lower incomes are usually 1.5 to three times more likely than the rich to experience anxiety and depression.
Modern economic conditions are increasing income inequality, burnout, and other circumstances that contribute to increased depression diagnosis, it’s natural that people will want some form of mental escape. Given the parallel rise of internet aesthetics, I think they provide an easy remedy for escaping depressive realities.
An escape from capitalism-induced depression?
Cottagecore, one of the internet’s more popular aesthetics, idealizes off-the-grid country living in an attempt to escape from modernity. Similarly, the “dark academia” aesthetic romanticizes the early twentieth-century academic style and a life dedicated to literature with no worry about work. I think that adhering to these aesthetics is simply an easy way to feel like you are escaping the economic conditions you live under.
To make something into an aesthetic is to make it into an image. When people engage with an aesthetic, they don’t engage with the lifestyle or culture that informed that aesthetic, but purely with its image-based representation. As French sociologist and philosopher Jean Baudrillard puts it, “reality itself, entirely impregnated by an aesthetic which is inseparable from its own structure, has been confused with its own image.”
In other words, when people engage with internet aesthetics, they are only engaging with a representation of culture alienated from its origin. Adhering to the punk aesthetic rather than punk culture ignores punk’s political, social, and musical origins. The qualifications to be a punk quickly turned from rebelling against oppressive institutions to buying designer Vivienne Westwood jewelry. Now, all one needs to be a punk is to shop for the aesthetic on Amazon.
Lifestyles that genuinely attempt to escape modern working conditions — like protesting
American imperialist wars, living in the countryside, or singing punk songs about perverted Nancy Reagan sexual fantasies — are completely diluted when aestheticized, giving capitalism something it can easily sell, an image. Contemporary punk culture bears no resemblance to antiestablishment movements. It exists to coerce people into buying from Hot Topic.
Internet aesthetics strengthen capitalism I argue that adherence to aesthetics supports the capitalist system by giving it something to profit from. When the cottage lifestyle became the cottagecore aesthetic, companies used this to sell clothing. Multi-million dollar fast fashion company PrettyLittleThing has an entire section of its website dedicated to selling cottagecore clothing, which it describes as “fiercely feminine and seriously chic”. For me, this is a clear deviation from even cottagecore’s origins, which was intended to represent a humble and modest lifestyle.
Although living a self-sufficient life in a cottage away from the city may be a way to escape capitalism, the aesthetic in itself does nothing because it does not require any change in lifestyle. While attempting to free themselves from modernity’s grasp, those who rely on aesthetics are inherently strengthening their grasp on them. I think that the only way to truly escape modern conditions is to ignore internet aesthetics entirely. We must make sure that our ideas are as unmotivated by images and are as informed by reality as possible. Only then will we be able to emancipate ourselves from the chains of modernity.
Alexandra Owens is a second-year student at St. Michael’s College studying philosophy, political science, and Slavic literature. She is the visual arts director for the Philosophy Course Union and events executive for Philosophers for Humanity.
Alexandra Owens Varsity Contributor
Editorial
The Varsity Editorial Board
Financial anxiety at university is all too common. On ACORN, the red number at the bottom of the Finances page looms menacingly over students. Yet, many U of T courses require students to purchase hundreds — if not thousands — of dollars in textbooks, software, and other auxiliary fees on top of our already costly tuition.
The term “microtransaction” typically derives from video games. Specifically, microtransactions are purchases that provide extra content or competitive advantages that were previously unavailable to the user upon the initial purchase of the game. We believe that the university is engaging in a similar practice by not declaring additional fees until a student can access the syllabi which reveals what material is necessary for their courses.
Student loan programs provide funding aid for students, including their tuition, housing, and books. A 2023 evaluation of Canadian student loan programs by the Canadian government found that over 40 per cent of survey respondents, who are all in the federal and provincial loan program, indicated “financial reasons” as a cause of concern when completing their studies. Of those who dropped out of university, 56 per cent cited “unexpectedly higher education costs” and 64 per cent cited “unexpectedly higher living costs” as one of the main causes.
With such pervasive financial inequalities across university campuses, The Varsity ’s Editorial Board believes the university and our student union must do more to support students; namely by reducing educational microtransactions.
The cursed costs of classes
Each academic year, every U of T student pays $59.25 to the Student System Access Fee — this includes our account access to universitymandated Student Web Service, ACORN.
U of T’s school-mandated course portal Quercus can host quizzes and interactive discussion boards. Despite Quercus’ various functions, some professors require students to purchase additional services such as TopHat or iClicker, which provide the same function as the portal.
The iClicker, a remote for answering live questions in lectures, is registered with each student’s Quercus account and was supposedly necessary for courses such as AST101 — The Sun and Its Neighbours because it prevents students from taking quizzes from home.
Yet, our Editorial Board believes that courses requiring additional service purchases only exploit students’ wallets, as these services are entirely unnecessary. Especially in large lecture spaces like Convocation Hall, for which iClickers are deemed most effective, students could bring their absent friends’ iClickers to the class and answer questions for them. We further doubt that this is the most effective and equitable route to education, considering Quercus’s password-protected quizzes serve as a way to prevent absent students from accessing them.
Issues with iClickers are not exclusive to U of T. Stanford University’s student paper, The Stanford Daily , reported on the prevalence of iClicker cheating on campus. Meanwhile, students at Simon Fraser University in BC voiced their opinions on the “banality of the iClicker” in 2019, even calling it a “useless device” in 2022. The consensus among many North American post-secondary students seems to be that iClickers are not worth it.
TopHat provides a similar service, giving students access to digital textbooks and
December 3, 2024
thevarsity.ca/section/comment comment@thevarsity.ca
U of T’s microtransaction problem is not micro at all
The price of knowledge and its strain on students
e-learning materials, but it is sneakier because the cost of these materials will “include” the textbook fee. When these digital textbooks are provided through online subscriptions, publishers can essentially control when and for how long students can access their learning materials, putting our education at the mercy of others.
U of T frequently imposes additional costs on students, even for everyday services such as general printing. The university charges $0.15 per page of letter-sized black-and-white paper and $1.00 per page of coloured paper. In comparison, Toronto Metropolitan University offers printing at half the cost, charging $0.07 per page for black-and-white paper and $0.50 for coloured paper, highlighting the disparity in costs between the two institutions.
encouraging professors to bundle ebook versions of required textbooks with supplementary learning tools and homework platforms. Under the guise of reducing print costs and mitigating material costs, the effect creates little room for professors to reduce costs for students, and corporations become embedded deeper into our educational system.
For instance, in 2020, a former UTM sessional lecturer Mitchell Huynh offered students a five per cent top-up to their grade if they bought his book Dumb Money , got it signed by him, followed him on Twitter and Instagram, and connected with him on LinkedIn.
An academic environment in which a professor’s career advancement may be linked to their publication and sales records creates an incentive for professors to embed
Our Editorial Board urges the UTSU to initiate a campus-wide loan system where students resell academic supplies, such as textbooks and participation devices, to help students save money. UTM and UTSC’s student unions also do not have these programs, but perhaps all unions across U of T incorporating this system would be a first step in making our education more accessible.
In 2019, then-UTSU Vice-President, University Affairs Joshua Grondin wrote to The Varsity in a statement that the union would prepare a report for the Business Board of Governing Council. He wrote that the report would include student feedback and data on lectures that use digital learning services. Grondin stated that the union’s ultimate goal is for the university to purchase an “institution-
Understanding how the costs of additional academic resources at U of T surpass neighbouring universities makes us question why these microtransactions should govern our educational life. Our Editorial Board believes that more affordable alternatives are available and that they should be actively pursued to make learning more accessible and equitable to students.
Of professors and publishers
We must now acknowledge the role professors play in perpetuating an academic culture of microtransaction. Unfortunately, our instructors may find themselves as participants — reluctant or not — in an inequitable academic environment.
In 2015, The Guardian highlighted how academic publishers push authors to assign their books to students to maximize sales. Professors are no different — given that the textbooks they assign are often essential to their courses. This profit model thrives in the academic world, where demand is fixed.
With the rise of online resources posing a threat to the print market, a 2019 Wired article similarly observed some publishers
microtransactions in their syllabi. We believe this ‘publish or perish’ environment turns accessibility and equity into a privilege that many students cannot afford.
Tackling these transactions
The UTSU currently funds a financial assistance system for students in need of academic supplies through the Student Aid Program. To be eligible, students must fill out a document declaring their annual income, living situation, and the approximate amount needed from the program to afford the supplies.
The maximum amount a student can receive from the program is $500 per year. But this may not do much for an average student. The Varsity Editorial Board members calculated the amount of money they spent on class material during their first year, and it ranged from $450 to $600.
In addition, admission to the Student Aid Program is not always guaranteed. While the program asks applicants to make a case for their urgent need for financial aid, it is also not guaranteed that students will be accommodated for the maximum $500 amount they can request.
wide subscription for digital learning services” or “stronger regulations on these services.” At the very least, Grondin hoped that “prices for digital learning services are included in course descriptions.”
As of writing, however, it seems the UTSU had made little to no progress, and the union did not respond to The Varsity when we inquired about their plans on tackling microtransactions. Though financial assistance is a great step forward, microtransactions which factor directly into financial stress on students, should be directly targeted rather than retroactively mediated — something that the university should begin to seriously tackle but also something the student unions should also help initiate.
In the meantime, we believe Grondin was right — the university should have the responsibility to declare the costs of their courses in the academic calendar, for digital learning services or textbooks, before students enroll in courses and sink in hundreds of dollars.
The Varsity ’s masthead elects the editorial board at the beginning of each semester. For more information about the editorial policy, email opinion@thevarsity.ca.
NICOLAS ALBORNOZ/THE VARSITY
December 3, 2024
thevarsity.ca/category/science science@thevarsity.ca
How much does it cost to use artificial intelligence?
Exploring the monetary and environmental costs of running AI
Ridhi Balani Associate Science Editor
Artificial intelligence (AI) is no longer a futuristic concept. The technology is being woven into the fabric of our daily lives. From the facial recognition features on our phones to Netflix’s algorithmically tailored show recommendations, AI powers countless conveniences. It’s even revolutionizing fields like healthcare, helping doctors analyze CT and MRI scans more efficiently.
Tools like ChatGPT can craft emails you’re overthinking or summarize lecture topics just in time for the midterm you’re procrastinating studying for. Yet, behind its seamless functionality lies a cost that most users are unaware of. To truly understand the price of AI, we must first explore how it is developed and operated.
The cost of AI development
AI refers to computer software designed to mimic human intelligence and learning. It is developed using machine learning, a research branch of computer science that employs data analysis algorithms to simulate how humans learn. Instead of programming every possible input and its corresponding response, machine learning enables software to identify patterns and connections in new information based on the data it was trained on — like images, texts, and videos. Over time, it can adapt and improve its responses by learning from its mistakes, much like how humans learn.
Generative AI systems like ChatGPT are capable of creating new content, whether it’s text, images, or video. These systems use an even more sophisticated subset of machine learning called deep learning in order to make artificial neural networks, which are AI models inspired by the makeup of the human brain.
The human brain is made of specialized cells called neurons, which exist as an interconnected network. These neurons communicate with each other through links called synapses, which are weakened or strengthened based on how actively the synaptic connection is used. The brain builds stronger connections between different pieces of information as it becomes more familiar. For example, certain synapses will become stronger when you learn that ‘hola’ means ‘hello’ in Spanish. In contrast, human babies initially have the neuron links to differentiate between the faces of monkeys, but because these synapses are not commonly utilized as children grow up, these links are quickly broken.
Deep learning aims to recreate similar neural networks within AI. However, attempting to reach even a fraction of the brain’s complexity is an expensive task.
Training these models is resource-intensive. For example, training OpenAI’s GPT-3 reportedly cost an estimated 4.6 million USD in computational resources required to train the model alone. More advanced models, like GPT-4, cost around 63 million USD to train. By 2027, the largest AI training runs are projected
Science is more than just research, lectures, theories, and labs
Top five social media accounts to check out to learn while you scroll
Mashiyat Ahmed Associate Science Editor
As a neuroscience student, people often assume that I have a solid understanding of the complex and often inaccessible world of science beyond my field. They think that just because I managed to memorize brain anatomy, I’m somehow equally equipped to comb through a chemistry research paper.
While my degree has fostered a deep appreciation of the interconnectedness of all the natural sciences, it’s left me with an uncomfortable
specific 'expertise,' beyond which, I struggle just as much as someone who isn’t studying something science-related at all. I have no problem rambling on about how cool our brains and minds are over a cup of coffee, but when someone asks me questions beyond high school genetics, I freeze with embarrassment, trying to quickly change the subject.
As students, our learning confined within our lecture halls’ walls might fail to give us a holistic understanding of science and its place in society. That’s why science communication — the practice of connecting science with society, and communicating to the public what’s happening in the scientific world to stay informed — is essential. I have listed my top five picks for the best social media platforms below to help you discover or rediscover the incredible science research happening all around us!
Ben Rein: The accessible neuroscientist In a world of pricey scientific journal subscriptions, inaccessible publications, and misinformation, access to information is incredibly important. Neuroscientist and science communicator Ben Rein — with more than one million followers across multiple social media platforms — aims to bridge the gap between science and the public with his bite-sized summaries and commentary on all things relating to neurology, psychology, and society. Interested in knowing how someone can survive without their brain? Rein’s video on the topic is funny and informative.
With various research papers as his green-screen background, Rein’s short
to exceed $1 billion in costs. Beyond hardware and computational costs, companies also invest heavily in teams of researchers, engineers, and coders to design and refine these systems.
The environmental costs of AI AI is also incredibly energy-expensive. Based on its current rapid rate of development, major AI companies like NVIDIA are expected to ship around 1.5 million AI server units annually by 2027. Running at full capacity, these servers would use around 85.4 terawatts of electricity in a year — comparable to the energy used by a country like Sweden, Argentina, or the Netherlands in a year.
If Google ran a neural network as robust as ChatGPT, its search engine alone would require as much electricity as all of Ireland. If every data center adopted AI at this scale, the global energy consumption of data centers would increase tenfold, which is ridiculously unsustainable.
videos often feature digestible explanations of fascinating medical cases that have captured public interest. Amidst misunderstandings of scientific research and widespread misinformation, Ben Rein (@doctor.brein) is there to debunk medical myths and provide evidence-based answers to all the questions and curiosities you might have about what’s going on inside your skull.
Morgan McSweeney:
Health, fitness, and nutrition
Are scented candles actually bad for you? How concerned should I be about GMOs? News headlines about all the sneaky ways pollutants impact us have dominated our Instagram feeds lately. With shame, I can say that until last month, I had no idea that the hygiene products I used could have “hormone-disrupting chemicals” in them. Most people don’t have the time, energy, or scientific literacy to understand the various ways chemicals can impact our health.
That’s why someone like Morgan McSweeney — also known as @dr.noc on TikTok — who holds a PhD in pharmaceutical sciences and immunology is here to break down the science behind these headlines and tell us exactly if we need to worry about them. His short videos and frequent Instagram Q&As have amassed over 600,000 followers. He blends science with comedy, covering a range of topics from where sunsets get their colourful hue to how implicit biases beyond our conscious control shape public opinions and politics.
Linguistics and etymology aren’t always painful to study
In my first year of university, I sat slouched in an introductory linguistics course as the professor went over the structure of language and how we can process its complexity. I barely passed the class, and looking back, I wish I had someone on social media to ignite an interest in linguistics for me.
Did you know that some dialects — like French and Spanish — have gendered words which originated in Southwestern England? Or are you a map fanatic interested in how our physical environments influence everything from agriculture
Efficiency improvements are one way to mitigate this demand. For example, newer AI models use techniques like knowledge distillation to create smaller, more efficient systems without sacrificing performance. Knowledge distillation transfers what a ‘teacher model’ has learned to a ‘student model,’ saving time and resources. However, as AI becomes more efficient, demand tends to increase, which offsets any lowered energy costs.
How can the growing energy demands of AI be met with renewable resources? Transparency about energy usage and sustainability practices from AI developers is scarce. As climate instability worsens, addressing the environmental footprint of AI is critical. Do we truly need AI systems of this scale and complexity?
These are just some questions to ponder the next time you use ChatGPT. After all, every convenience has its cost.
to voting tendencies to the military? Then I’d check out Adam Aleksic (@etymologynerd) — a Harvard linguist — or YouTuber @humanteneleven if you want to learn more. Both of these creators use modern culture, history, language science, and sociology to craft quick and easy linguistic lessons that you can use to make any boring dinner conversation more fun.
Dr. Southard: Appreciating our healthcare workers — and becoming one ourselves I started watching @Dr. Rachel Southard when I was in high school, back when I had ambitions of going to medical school. Dr. Southard is an obstetrician and gynecologist — a physician who specializes in pregnancy, childbirth, and the female reproductive system. Her YouTube videos — ranging from long-form vlogs to sit-down Q&A’s — document the fast-paced and emotionally charged life of a second-year physician navigating everything from hospitals to life’s biggest milestones while sometimes working over 80 hours a week. Mostly encompassing lifestyle content, Southard also weaves in bits of educational content about anatomy, women’s health, pregnancy’s trials and tribulations, and how to manage residency burnout. If you are interested in getting a glimpse into medicine as a career and what studying for the MCAT is like, her channel could have the answer. Through her content, Southard cultivates a profound appreciation for healthcare workers and the journey it takes to pursue such a career.
All of these accounts accomplish something that traditional scientists oftentimes are not willing, interested, or able to do. Blending lived experiences, humour, and culture with academics is not easy, and these accounts not only do it with grace and accuracy but in a deliverable format that’s accessible as a swipe on our feeds. So why not learn something new as you scroll?
JENNIFER AHN/THE VARSITY
December 3, 2024 thevarsity.ca/section/sports
Blues football set sights on redemption in 2025
Head Coach Darryl Adams’ tough debut season leaves him planning for next year
Donald McCarthy Varsity Contributor
The 2024 U Sports football season came to an end on November 23, as Laval University hoisted the Vanier Cup before a crowd of 9,500 people at
dominant post-secondary football team of the past 25 years.
It was a different story this season for the Varsity Blues. Expectations were high as first-year Head
Coach Darrell Adams took the reins. The Blues began the season with a promising 31–29 victory over the Waterloo Warriors in week one, propelled
against rival York Lions but couldn’t secure a victory, falling 17–19 at home in a heartbreaking game.
None of their other matchups were close, and the Blues ended the season in 10th place in the Ontario University Athletics (OUA) with a 1–7 record.
over the place.” The team relied on many first- and second-year players, including OUA All-Rookie defensive back Oskar McPhie, who performed admirably in the secondary, collecting 12 tackles and two fumble recoveries.
Nonetheless, the team’s youth was evident against their more experienced OUA opponents, and the end of season statistics reflect this disparity. On offence, the Blues scored the fewest points with 91 and gained the fewest yards with 2,123 total yards in the OUA. The defence didn’t fare much better, allowing the second-most points with 331, and second-most yards per game with 446.6 in the province. That said, the Blues had their share of statistical outliers; third-year receiver Chris Joseph recorded 515 receiving yards and 17.2 yards per catch, ranking seventh and fourth best in the province respectively.
Varsity Blues suffer tough loss against Gee-Gees at home
Rookie guard Lia Barbieri shines despite the Blues losing woes
Timothy Chua Varsity Contributor
The Varsity Blues women’s basketball team fell short against the University of Ottawa Gee-Gees on November 29 at the Goldring Centre.
The loss puts the Blues record now at 1–10 and the Gee-Gees at 9–1. The Blues tried to break a tough seven-game losing streak in their Ontario University Athletics season. Although the Blues could not achieve their win, they put up a valiant effort.
What happened?
The first quarter started off strong for the Blues. They played with a hectic defense and made timely shots, giving themselves a twopoint lead at the end of the quarter. A notable player was rookie guard Lia Barbieri, who ended the quarter with seven points. Barbieri would end the game with 13 points, tying a season and career-high. Other standouts include forward Jade Diwandja Djemba who was active on defense and got three blocks on the night, while guard Kaylee Williams contributed with clutch steals in the Blues’ half. As the game continued, momentum shifted to the Gee-Gees as they tightened
Nevertheless, there was a significant gap in statistical production between the Golden Hawks, the Yates Cup champions as the top team in Ontario this season, and the Blues. In the regular season, the Golden Hawks produced 306 total points and gained 4,004 yards of offence. On defence, they allowed only 180 points and 397.5 yards per game. The Blues must narrow these statistical gaps if they are to make the postseason in 2025.
While the Blues didn’t light up the scoreboard this season, there is much to be hopeful about in 2025. The team will be a year older and boast a roster full of seasoned, young starters. Adams will return to the helm with a full offseason to prepare his team. Most importantly, the Blues will be playing with a chip on their shoulders. “We kept the receipts,” remarked Adams. “We understand that we lost seven in a row by an average of 35. We didn’t forget… We’re putting that all in the bank to motivate us to squat one more rep, to bench one more, to run one more sprint, to study for another hour… because our time will come and I firmly believe that.” A Vanier Cup might be a longshot for now, but a gritty, more seasoned team might very well prove the naysayers wrong in 2025.
their defense and began to make shots that weren’t successful in the first quarter. The Blues would ultimately lose their lead by the seven-minute mark of the second quarter and were unable to recover from it.
Through hustle and effort from fifth-year forward Thuraya Abdul Hamid, the Blues kept the score close. At halftime, the Blues were at 24–28. Hamid ended with a game-high 10 rebounds and added six points to the scoreboard. Hamid’s particularly flashy move was when she sealed her defender in the post and spun off her for an offhand hook shot.
It was the second half, which was the beginning of the end for the Blues. The Gee-Gees’ strategic shift by starting in the third quarter had the team play a press against the Blues. The Blues’ coaching and players’ inability to react to this new defensive pressure resulted in starting guards Barbieri and Raya Hafez dribbling into traps, stalling the Blues’ offense and mounting their number of turnovers. Strong play by Barbieri — most notably on the break — would keep the score respectable, as the Blues ended the third quarter at 37–45.
The Blues, likely affected by fatigue and greater pressure from the Gee-Gees trap defense, eventually suffered a blowout in the fourth quarter, losing the game 39–67.
What’s next?
The Blues will regroup as they prepare for 2025, in which they will open the new year against the Carleton Ravens. Going forward, the Blues can better support their guards in better navigating the defensive traps seen in this game. The next matchup is set for January 10 at the Goldring Centre, with tip-off scheduled for 6:00 pm.
The Blues prepare for a game at the Varsity Stadium. COURTESY OF ARU DAS/VARSITY BLUES MEDIA
Guard Nia Wright contends for a floating ball. COURTESY OF ARU DAS/VARSITY BLUES MEDIA
Women’s volleyball team take third season win against TMU Bold 3–1
A champion victory over last year’s season enders
Ola Kim Varsity Contributor
Winter brings with it our favorite part about this time of year — the OUA volleyball season. On November 23, the Varsity Blues took their third win of this season: 3–1 against the TMU Bold in the ‘Line 1 Derby’, as The Blues lost to the Bold in last year’s OUA season playoffs. An auspicious start to only their second matchup of the season, the Blues double down on this recent victory and look ahead to the season coming.
“It was the first win of our OUA season,” said
middle blocker Anna Gadomski in an interview with The Varsity. “We're just so happy that we trusted our systems and we made it ‘til the end because we won, and there's more volleyball tomorrow.”
What happened
The Blues took the first point of the first set and maintained a steady lead, with their points hitting double-digits first at 10–6 and pushing on, forcing the Bold to call a timeout at 19–14. The Blues continued on to hit hard, forcing another Bold timeout at 22–16, Blues setter Robin Melnick ended the set at 25–18 with a
The price of prime-time: How lucrative TV deals impact athlete health
Broadcasting contracts fuel the profits of professional sports, but at what cost?
In the ever-evolving world of professional sports, lucrative television deals have become a cornerstone of the industry’s economic growth. From billion-dollar NFL broadcasting contracts to global broadcasting agreements for the Olympics, these partnerships fuel major sports leagues’ visibility, popularity, and financial success. However, the rise of such deals comes with significant implications beyond finances.
Television networks are eager to maximize viewership and advertising revenue so they heavily influence the scheduling of games and events. This drive for optimal broadcast slots often results in tight game schedules and gruelling travel demands for athletes. While beneficial for fans and stakeholders, these dynamics pose growing concerns about their impact on athlete health, which include heightened fatigue risks, injury, and burnout.
The rise of lucrative TV deals in sports
The sports industry has witnessed an extraordinary transformation in recent decades, driven largely by lucrative television rights deals.
Soccer, football, and basketball are prime examples of how media partnerships have redefined the financial landscape of sports. Historically, soccer leagues like the English Premier League (EPL) paved the way with contracts totalling into the billions, such as their landmark deal with Sky Sports in the 1990s. Similarly, the NFL’s agreements with networks such as CBS, Fox News, and NBC have been incredibly lucrative, with recent contracts surpassing $100 billion over roughly a decade. The NBA has benefitted from its partnerships with ESPN and Turner Sports, bringing in billions while solidifying basketball’s global reach.
These agreements reflect sports’ increased commercialization as the audience demands more games and content. With expanding fan bases and greater financial stakes, sports leagues have sought to maximize revenue by increasing the number of matches, introducing new tournaments, and extending seasons. However, these financial imperatives have come at a cost, particularly for the athletes expected to meet these intensified schedules’ gruelling demands.
Increased matches and player fatigue
Top European soccer leagues like the EPL, La Liga, and Serie A already contend with congested domestic schedules. International competitions
further exacerbate this issue, with tournaments such as the UEFA Champions League, the UEFA Nations League, and an expanded FIFA World Cup format adding to players’ workloads. Games often occur in rapid succession, which leaves players with a short number of days for recovery and physical or mental recuperation between matches.
The results are evident; top players frequently suffer from injuries like muscle strains and ACL tears, often missing crucial parts of their seasons. The sport’s relentless pace amplifies these risks, demanding peak physical performance weekly. Women athletes are especially vulnerable to ACL injuries — up to two to six times more likely — with very little study in the field thus far.
Manchester City midfielder and 2024 Ballon d’Or winner Rodri exemplify how congested schedules can impact players. Known for his relentless work effort and ability to dominate midfield battles, Rodri has been a key figure for both his club and the Spanish national team. However, the sheer volume of matches he’s played during the 2024–2025 season has visibly taken its toll. Rodri was featured in almost every Premier League and UEFA Champions League match for Manchester City, often playing the full 90 minutes due to manager Pep Guardiola’s reliance on his tactical intelligence and consistency. In September, Rodri suffered an ACL injury that sidelined him for the rest of the season.
In addition to his club commitments, Rodri has been a cornerstone for Spain in the UEFA Nations League and the Euro 2024 qualifiers. His inclusion in these high-stakes matches underlines his importance to the team and increases his risk of fatigue and injury during matches. In October, a tight schedule saw him play three games in seven days, which culminated in a minor hamstring strain during a Premier League game. By November, Rodri had already played over 35 matches in just four months.
Soccer isn’t the only sport with issues. A recent example highlighting concerns about player health due to the NFL’s condensed schedules occurred during the 2024 season.
In Week 11, several players sustained significant injuries during Thursday Night Football. Denver Broncos linebacker Alex Singleton tore his ACL, ending his participation in the season early. Similarly, New Orleans Saints wide receiver Chris Olave suffered a concussion and was placed on injured reserve. These injuries are part of a larger pattern where the limited recovery time between Sunday
clean float service ace, her second ace of the set.
The second set opened with a 4–0 lead, but the Blues found themselves stuck at nine points as the Bold caught up, with the Blues calling a timeout at 8–9. The Bold took the lead at 14–11, leading the Blues to substitute in hardhitter Olivia Zhu, who quickly scored two of the next four points. TMU called a timeout with the scores 19–16 as the Blues began to catch up, but ultimately took the set at 25–18.
The Bold started off the third set until the Blues called a timeout at 7–2 and tried to close the five-point gap. The Bold still led at 19–14, at
games and Thursday matchups. This increases the physical toll on players, exacerbating the risk of both immediate injuries and longterm health concerns like chronic traumatic encephalopathy
The NBA’s gruelling schedule and its implications on player health occurred during the 2023–2024 season. Prominent players, including Joel Embiid, Kawhi Leonard, and Jimmy Butler, dealt with injuries that significantly impacted their teams.
Embiid had to strategically sit out on games in back-to-back schedules to manage his physical condition, reflecting the broader trend of ‘load management’ to prevent stress-related injuries from a demanding calendar. Leonard also faced setbacks, such as persistent knee issues that sidelined him during critical stretches, including the 2024 playoffs Additionally, mid-season tournaments and frequent travel further exacerbate player fatigue. Butler suffered an MCL sprain during a crucial play-in game in last year’s playoffs, sidelining him at a pivotal moment for his team. Such injuries underline concerns about the toll of an 82-game season on even the league’s top athletes
These incidents illustrate how the NBA’s schedule pressures players physically and mentally, leading teams to weigh a need for rest against competitive priorities. This issue continues to shape debates about the future of the league’s structure.
The sports leagues’ financial dependency on TV revenue often outweighs concerns for athlete health. While leagues have implemented some measures, such as the NFL making 50 changes since 2002 to address safety concerns or soccer’s permanent increase of the number of substitutes from three to five in 2020, these solutions are often insufficient. The tension between financial gain and ethical responsibility remains a pressing issue.
Specifically in soccer, UEFA President Aleksander Čeferin recently addressed concerns about the strain on professional soccer players due to demanding schedules. He proposed that
which the Blues called another timeout for, but they quickly regained their pace, hitting scoring point after point to tie the points at 20–20. The Bold struggled to pull ahead and the Blues took the set at 25–23 despite their earlier fallback, which is evidence of a well-played set.
The final set had second-year setter Anna Arellano substituted-in to toss and the set was slow going for the most part. Both teams reconvened at several points to try and pull ahead, but the set quickly turned to a deuce as they battled it out. Taking the game into the final moments, the Blues took the final point at 33–31.
What’s next
“I feel so excited and ready for the future,” shared Melnick in a post-game interview with The Varsity . “I feel so strongly about how we’re going to perform… how hard we battle, and how we’re ready to keep playing.”
The team then travelled to Kingston for a pair of games on November 29 and 30, losing cleanly in both games against the Queens Gaels 3–0. The Blues are off for the winter break and play their next games on January 17–18 at the University of Ottawa.
to balance the financial implications of reducing the number of matches, clubs might need to lower player salaries. Čeferin emphasized the importance of aligning the financial aspects with competitive fairness, ensuring that any reforms are sustainable for both the clubs and players.
To explore this, UEFA has initiated discussions with stakeholders, including the European Club Association and the global soccer players' union, FIFPRO. UEFA is also considering measures like salary caps or other financial controls as part of a broader effort to maintain competitive balance and ensure the long-term viability of European football. Critics — including representatives of players’ associations — argue that such measures might unfairly target players and smaller clubs while benefiting wealthier clubs that can navigate such changes more easily. These debates are part of a larger context where financial sustainability rules — such as UEFA’s Financial Sustainability Regulations — are already in place, linking club spending on wages and transfers to their revenue. Moving forward, any structural changes, such as salary caps, would require collective agreements and legal frameworks to accommodate variations in taxation and financial systems across Europe. Still, at the very least, the changes could financially benefit overworked players.
Where to go from here
The rise of lucrative TV deals in soccer, football, and basketball has undeniably fueled the growth of professional sports. However, these financial successes have also introduced significant health and well-being challenges for athletes. As leagues continue to expand and schedules grow more demanding, it is essential to prioritize sustainable practices that safeguard players’ physical and mental health. Balancing commercial success with ethical responsibility is both a moral imperative and vital to the longevity of the sports that captivate millions worldwide.
Musa Shah
Varsity Contributor
BENNY PAUL/THE VARSITY
The Blues celebrate.
COURTESY OF TERRENCE TONG/VARSITY BLUES MEDIA
Review: A post-relocation retrospective of Moneyball
It’s hard not to be romantic about cold hard cash
Jake Takeuchi Sports Editor
On September 26, the Oakland Athletics played their final game at the Oakland Coliseum, defeating the Texan Ranger 3–2. Loyal fans expressed a range of emotions, from nostalgia to sorrow, as the occasion turned out to be more requiem than a ball game. With the Athletics’ departure, Oakland has now lost its third franchise in five years, following the relocation of the Golden State Warriors to San Francisco in 2019 and the Raiders move to Las Vegas in 2020.
As of a month ago, the team officially dropped ‘Oakland’ from their name as they prepare for a temporary relocation to West Sacramento for the next three seasons before their permanent move to Las Vegas in 2028.
The move follows three decades of failed attempts to secure a new stadium in the Oakland area. The legendary Oakland Coliseum, home of the A’s since 1968 and built in 1966, has deteriorated over the years, with issues such as sewage problems, mice infestations, and light malfunctions adding to an ever-growing list of structural issues. At the centre of this saga stands the chief villain of the Oakland A’s story: John Fisher — their owner and heir to The Gap clothing store. He is a fitting antagonist for this tale, as fickle as the shirts that helped build his empire, a worthy villain in a Disney classic.
The 2011 film Moneyball, directed by Bennett Miller, follows the unforgettable 2002 season of the Oakland Athletics, and the drama surrounding the revolutionary team-building strategies of legendary
Athletics General Manager (GM) Billy Beane (Brad Pitt). Based on Michael Lewis’s 2003 nonfiction book, Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game, the film is a commercial and critical success. Lewis is also known for his other nonfiction books, The Big Short and The Blind Side, both of which were adapted into successful films.
Moneyball grossed 111 million USD worldwide on a budget of 50 million USD, earning a 7.6/10 IMDb rating, a 94 per cent score from Rotten Tomatoes critics, and an average rating of 3.9/5 on Letterboxd. A favourite among sports fans, it has also been featured on The Varsity’s top five sports films of all time, and top five sports films based on true stories.
Despite operating on less than half the budget of other MLB teams, Beane used advanced baseball metrics to sign statistically undervalued players on below-market contracts. For example, Beane focuses on maximizing on base percentage rather than the more conventional metric of batting average to scout effective hitters. He signed or traded for players such as David Justice (Stephen Bishop) and Scott Hatteberg (Chris Pratt), who the other teams overlooked due to their age and injury histories.
Today, rigorous statistical analysis of players is commonplace in every sport — teams like the Maple Leafs, Blue Jays, and Raptors all have dedicated analytics departments — but at the time, Beane’s approach was revolutionary. He faced both internal and external criticism for his unorthodox approach to baseball, a game steeped in tradition and resistant to change.
In Moneyball, Pitt leads an all-star cast comprising
NCAA lifts eligibility ban on CHL players
What the newly lifted ban means for aspiring student athletes
the NCAA’s amateur status.
On November 7, the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I council announced the removal of its long-standing eligibility ban on Canadian Hockey League (CHL) players, allowing them to compete in NCAA Division I hockey after their careers in Canada’s premier development league. The historic policy shift, effective August 1, 2025, removes barriers for CHL athletes, enabling them to choose between professional aspirations and academic opportunities. Beyond its ramifications, the change also carries significant financial consequences for aspiring studentathletes, offering greater access to scholarships and financial aid.
Prior to the ban being lifted, the NCAA deemed CHL players ineligible for NCAA Division I hockey because the NCAA classified the hockey league as professional since players received a maximum monthly stipend of $600, disqualifying them from
As a result, CHL players who did not turn professional faced financial hurdles when pursuing post-secondary education. While Canadian universities offer competition through the U SPORTS leagues, they lack the NCAA programs’ resources and exposure.
For example, in two of the last four NHL drafts, the first overall pick were Canadians Owen Power and Macklin Celebrini who chose the NCAA route, with Power and Celebrini attending Michigan University and Boston University, respectively. In contrast, one of the most recent U SPORTS athletes to earn an NHL roster spot is Washington Capitals goaltender Logan Thompson, who played for Brock University’s hockey team in 2019 — though such cases are far rarer. By comparison, the CHL accounted for nearly 40 per cent of all players drafted to the NHL last season, and consistently ranks as the world’s top-talent producing league.
From an academic standpoint, while the CHL offers post-secondary education packages, the
actors such as Philip Seymour Hoffman, Jonah Hill and Pratt. However, Pitt’s stellar performance truly steals the show as the charismatic GM, delivering a cool and effortless charm that you’d expect from a professional sports executive.
Miller brilliantly captures the unique drama of sports while telling a compelling underdog story in a well-paced film. You can’t help but root for the As, and you can’t help but echo the sentiment of Beane’s iconic line: “It's hard not to be romantic about baseball.” The film received six Academy Award nominations in 2012, including Best Picture, Pitt for Best Actor, and Hill for Best Supporting Actor.
Unfortunately for reality, the issue is that it’s much easier for any MLB team to start an analytics department than it is for a small market team like the A’s to triple their budget. This season, the Athletics had a roster payroll of 47 million USD — 25 million USD behind the next lowest, the Pittsburgh Pirates, a fraction of the league-high 290 million USD of the New York Yankees, and a third of the 150 million USD average across MLB.
It’s a surprise that the Athletics have made the playoffs nine times since the 2002 season. Their feature in the 2006 American League Champions Series — which is the equivalent of the World Series semifinal — is all the more impressive, considering the A’s have constantly been underfunded.
Oakland fans will definitely blame franchise owner Fisher for losing their team. Fisher has frequently been described as the worst owner in professional sports since acquiring the A’s in 2005. The billionaire has continually neglected the team, refusing to invest in a historical franchise that won
benefits are contingent on the length of time a player spends in the league and often have limits, sometimes covering only a portion of tuition and related expenses. As a result, the former CHL model primarily favoured those trying to pursue professional hockey over balancing academics and sport.
By contrast, CHL players will now have access to the extensive athletic and financial benefits that the NCAA program offers. Among these benefits, scholarships play the most significant role in providing financial support to student-athletes. Beginning in the 2025–2026 academic year, only Division I hockey teams can offer scholarships to all 26 players on their roster. With scholarship values reaching over $50,000 at some US schools — and the average Division I hockey scholarship valued at approximately $17,000 — the financial support surpasses the CHL’s current offerings. In comparison, CHL players receive a maximum of $600 for living expenses and a capped tuition benefit for every year spent competing in the league.
Players will benefit from scholarship funds and be eligible for the recent “name, image, and likeness” (NIL) opportunities available to NCAA athletes. Depending on their performances and personal brand built during their college careers, they may earn additional income through endorsements and sponsorships. For top-tier and high-profile athletes, these earnings can exceed one million dollars.
three consecutive World Series titles from 1972–1974. Under Fisher, the team payroll ranked an average of 27th out of 30 teams. The list of Fisher’s missteps is infamous as it is lengthy.
In an era in which the 2024 World Series winners Los Angeles Dodgers have constructed a superteam headlined by Shohei Ohtani’s 700 million dollar USD contract, the underdog tale in MLB seems like a relic of the past. Theoretically, if you had three of Ohtani’s historic 50/50 home run ball — which recently sold at auction for 4.4 million dollars — you could nearly cover the entire cost of the largest free-agent contract handed out by Fisher, Joakim Soria’s two-year $15 million USD deal signed in 2019.
Thanks to the MLB’s revenue-sharing program, the Athletics receive a share of 48 per cent of local revenue across the league, split among the 30 MLB teams. This means the Athletics make a hefty profit on their dismal payroll. In 2023, the team received 3.3 per cent of an estimated revenue total of 11.6 billion USD, or about 386 million USD.
No wonder the Oakland faithful despair. Following their miracle run in 2002, Beane himself turned down a five-year, $12.5 million offer from the Boston Red Sox. Had he accepted, he would have been the highest-paid GM in history.
In the face of relocation, Moneyball, and its underdog themes are all the more moving. Unfortunately, the film is almost prophetic in its conclusion. Beane cryptically states “I know these guys. I know the way they think, and they will erase us. And everything we’ve done here, none of it’ll matter.” Lewis is right. Baseball is an unfair game and maybe it has always been ‘Moneyball.’
Therefore, the NCAA’s decision to lift this eligibility ban marks the beginning of a new era — for both CHL players and Canadian hockey players as a whole — who can now pursue their athletic aspirations without compromising their academic potential. With access to scholarships, NIL opportunities, and extensive academic resources, these players are better positioned to excel both on and off the ice.
Luke Taylor
Varsity Contributor
ZAHRA DANAEI/THE VARSITY
AKSAAMAI ORMONBEKOVA/THE VARSITY
Peak Load Mode
44 ___ dutch (Charli XCX
from her album Brat)
Pause for a moment
*Rent or mortgage payment
Bring home from the shelter, as a pet 58 US state that borders
-Across
Pulp Fiction actress Thurman 61 Incompetent prime minister or president 63 Unit at a gas station (US spelling) 65 Southernmost lake of the Great Lakes 66 Greater (than)
67 Administrative U of T website that’s extremely slow on course enrolment days… or a hint to the letters missing from the five starred entries
68 Common prescription item 69 Nudge 70 Say “That didn’t happen”
This one goes out to everyone who had to enroll in classes on July 10, 2024.
Hint: Some letters in this puzzle may be slow to appear.
Absolutely love
Bring down 8 Not save, as money 9 ___ Mountains range in North Africa
1 Taco topping
2 Take in from a shelter, as a pet
3 Beach necessity 4 Scotiabank ___ is where the Maple Leafs play
5 Candy with a studious name
1 Season when leaves change 5 Bean from which chocolate is made 6 Injures
7 To join forces 8 “____ in China”
1 Flora’s counterpart 2 Pungent
3 You might order a pumpkin-spiced one of these during 1-across
4 If you play paper against scissors, you’d 5 Fishing bait DOWN
Elise Corbin Varsity Contributor
Elise Corbin Varsity Contributor
