THE VARSITY
STUDENT
PROTESTERS RETURN TO KING’S COLLEGE CIRCLE FOR BACK-TO-SCHOOL RALLY
Protesters, student unions discuss U of T’s protest policies
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Vol. CXLV, No. 2 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.
Letter from the Editor: Reporting can provide solace
Volume 145 will be a record of students’ stories of pain and resilience
Eleanor Yuneun Park Editor-in-Chief
Much before I embarked on my journey at U of T, a beautiful man named James Baldwin held Giovanni’s Room to my temple and whispered that I had no choice but to study his language when given the chance. As I write this letter on a fall morning as a fourth-year English student, there’s no denying that his novels have vibrated my every cell and validated my every pain. And as Baldwin knowingly told LIFE magazine in 1963, “You think your pain and your heartbreak are unprecedented in the history of the world, but then you read.”
Of course, Baldwin was alluding to the works of Fyodor Dostoevsky and Charles Dickens: his literary mentors who taught him not only how to tell stories but also how to live them. Baldwin’s novels provide comfort to me the way Dostoevsky’s did to Baldwin — but I dare add that, to me, his quote is altered as follows: “You think your pain and your heartbreak are unprecedented in the history of the world, but then you read the news.”
Both in their print and digital form, newspapers generally record everything from the loudest breaking news to a city’s everyday construction updates. As U of T’s official tricampus student newspaper since 1880, we are also tasked with reporting what you — as
a tuition-paying student of this institution — have the right to be informed about.
A suspicious package was found at UTSC North Campus? We’re covering it. The university’s budget committee set the budget and your tuition fees for the upcoming year? We’re breaking it down. The Canadian Union of Public Employees’ (CUPE) members at U of T are fighting against an Ontario bill that capped employees’ annual wage increases at one per cent? We’re on it. A UTM student and artist is holding an exhibition at Visual Arts Mississauga? We’re there, of course!
The Varsity has been dedicated to delivering you campus and city news that has been keeping students informed for the past 144 years. But what I’ve observed these past years is a heightened need for a keen lens into what pains students, especially when there may be no other platform available to share them.
It’s been a violent couple of years. Students are observing Ukraine in a destructively long war that disturbingly intensified in the past two years and a half. Students are vocalizing their demands for the world to support Palestinians’ right to exist peacefully. Students have stood in support of students in Bangladesh who faced brutal police crackdowns. Students have rallied in solidarity with Iran’s national protests following the death of Mahsa (Jina) Amini. On top of that, U of T’s Student Equity
Census from 2023 recorded that nearly 62 per cent of students across all three campuses are dealing with a form of mental health condition — including depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, and anxiety.
It seems plain to me that what pains students the most — and simultaneously drives them — is the violation of the basic human right to exist peacefully. And yet, with a community of students from 180 countries and regions, the administration has emphasized its dedication to issuing “fewer institutional statements” on social and political discussions through its Memo on Institutional, Divisional, and Departmental Statements.
So, The Varsity reports. I believe your pain and heartbreak will find comfort in some sense through reading our reporting, guided by our Code of Journalistic Ethics. And I hope that by reporting and recording in history what you are celebrating, crying, and protesting about, a future student will also find solace.
CORRECTIONS
In last week’s issue of The Varsity, a News article titled “UTGSU discusses financial budgets and changes in policies and bylaws” originally stated that BOD members will receive $300 for every meeting they attend. In fact, they will receive $300 each semester. Additionally, this article has been edited to accurately reflect that the union’s overall budget does not exceed five per cent of the planned amount, but that its legal and membership meetings budget will exceed the planned amount by five per cent.
In last week’s issue of The Varsity, a News article titled
Vacant Caroline Ho
ARTHUR DENNYSON HAMDANI/THE VARSITY
Student protesters return to King’s College Circle for back-to-school rally
Protesters, student unions discuss U of T’s protest policies
On September 6, UofT Occupy for Palestine (O4P) organized a back-to-school rally at King’s College Circle, continuing their demands for U of T to disclose its financial holdings, divest from companies supplying Israel with weapons, and cut ties with Israeli academic institutions.
This follows the 63-day encampment at King’s College Circle, which student protestors cleared after the university granted them an amnesty offer. In August, protesters also staged an occupation of the University of Toronto Asset Management Corporation (UTAM) headquarters, the company responsible for investing in U of T’s endowment portfolio.
Start of year student rally
O4P held the rally at 12:00 pm to continue pressing their demands against the university. Around 100 protesters gathered in a circle on the field in front of Simcoe Hall.
O4P announced the rally in an Instagram post on August 28. “We are showing up to make it known to the University of Toronto administration that our advocacy for Palestine will continue until they cease their financial and ideological support for the criminal state currently committing genocide in Gaza,” it wrote.
In an interview with The Varsity , Erin Mackey, a recent alumna and former O4P spokesperson, discussed the significance of the back-to-school rally.
“I think that students are here continuing to show this administration that we will continue to show up day in and day out to demand divestment [and] ensure that U of T is no longer complicit in the ongoing genocide that’s happening in Palestine,” she said.
As of writing, over 41,000 Palestinians and more than 1,000 Israelis have been killed since October 7. In an International Court of Justice ruling in January, the court found that it is “plausible” that Israel has committed acts against Palestinians that violate the Genocide Convention.
A university spokesperson has stated that any claims connecting the university to Israeli military action have “no basis in fact.”
A group of approximately 20 counterprotesters arrived on the field soon after the rally began, with a line of Campus Safety and security officers positioned between them and the protesters. The protesters continued chants, including “disclose, divest, we will not stop, we will not rest.”
Eight minutes later, a group of around 30 Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU) students joined the circle. The students were met with cheers, and the protesters chanted altogether, “same struggle, same fight, all the students must unite.”
By 12:40 pm, the protesters left King’s College Circle, leaving small Palestinian paper flags across the lawn.
They then made their way to Queen’s Park where they stopped to hold a Jummah prayer — a Friday prayer performed by Muslims — in the middle of College Street, just outside King’s College Road. As the prayer ended, counterprotesters shouted, “free the hostages now.”
As of September 8, the Israeli government has estimated that more than 100 hostages are still being held in Gaza.
The protesters then continued heading down College Street.
U of T policies on protests
In August, the university developed a User Guide to U of T Policies on Protest and Use of Campus Spaces.
“Peaceful protests are a form of free expression and have been a force for progressive change at the University of Toronto (U of T) and elsewhere for generations,” the guide read.
However, it noted that “there are limits,” and that “[v]arious laws and long-standing U of T policies and guidelines place limitations on protest and other forms of expression.”
The guide was informed by the court order for students to end the encampment on July 2, the Code of Student Conduct, and free speech policies, aiming to “assist community members who wish to participate in protests or other similar events… to do so peacefully and without consequence.”
The guide reiterates that the university prohibits occupying or entering U of T premises without authorization, restricts protests from 11:00 pm to 7:00 am, and forbids occupying spaces overnight. The university also allows peaceful protests that don’t interrupt “[u]niversity activities,” including classes and meetings. Violence, excessive noise that might result from microphones, speakers, or megaphones, blocking access to spaces, intimidation or harassment, certain posters or signs, health and safety risks, discrimination, and exclusivity are not permitted either.
The university also prohibits setting up tents, encampments, fences, barriers, or other structures on campus.
“Engaging in these prohibited activities can result in consequences under law and U of T policies, including arrest, suspension, trespass from property, and expulsion,” according to the university guidelines.
In a statement from various organizations across U of T, the groups condemned the university’s “new restrictions on protests and free expression.” However, a U of T spokesperson noted that the university has not made any changes to its protest and free speech policies for the fall term.
“We, the signatories, are outraged, appalled, and disgusted by U of T’s decision to adopt these regulations and call on the University to rescind this policy immediately and commit to divestment from weapons manufacturers and companies complicit in Israeli apartheid,” read the statement.
“Simply put, our administration permits protests as long as they remain unheard, unseen, and unfelt by the halls of power at our [u]niversity.”
The statement has been signed by 31 student groups and academic workers — including the Scarborough Campus Students’ Union (SCSU), the University of Toronto Mississauga Students’ Union (UTMSU), the U of T Graduate Students’ Union, the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) 3902, the Pears Project, and Climate Justice UofT.
SCSU Vice-President External Omar Mousa, believes that the university’s rules threaten students’ autonomy and infringe on their rights.
“It completely goes against [the university’s] whole idea and their whole belief… of academic inclusion because nothing is inclusive when you’re silencing people,” he said in an interview with The Varsity.
UTMSU President Joelle Salsa also spoke to The Varsity about the university’s protest policies.
“I think that this is a continuation of [U of T’s] patterns of silencing students,” she said. “Implying fear in students, trying to stop them
from speaking up, masking it as [if] they support protest[s] when they don’t.”
UTAM protest
On the same day as the back-to-school rally, O4P organized a student sit-in at the UTAM building.
At 1:50 pm, around 150 protesters headed to the UTAM office on 777 Bay Street. By the time they arrived, Toronto Police Service (TPS) officers had already begun blocking the entrance, while a group of about 20 protesters were inside the building’s lobby.
After chanting outside of the building, protesters moved to the front of the office.
At around 2:15 pm, TPS officers began removing those who were occupying the inside. Multiple protesters were peppersprayed by the officers.
Protesters outside the building started chanting, “shame on TPS.” Fifteen minutes later, the protesters continued heading up College Street.
In an interview with The Varsity , Mohammad Yassin, a recent U of T alumnus and O4P spokesperson, condemned the police’s conduct.
“We were here entirely peacefully. We weren’t doing anything, we were protesting peacefully. We were chanting and even the occupation of the [UTAM] lobby was peaceful,” he said.
Yassin claimed that roughly five to six student protesters had been pepper-sprayed by the police and noted that the students used water to wash their eyes.
“The cops essentially came down on us with force while we weren’t using any, and that’s been their tactic to stamp down on protests continuously,” he said.
In an email to The Varsity , TPS Media Relations Officer Cindy Chung wrote that the police were called in after protesters did not leave the building when asked to do so.
Police and Campus Safety keep watch of students at King's College Circle. AKSAAMAI ORMONBEKOVA/THE VARSITY
Students leave Palestinian flags behind as they leave King's College Circle. KAISA KASEKAMP/THE VARSITY
James Bullanoff Deputy News Editor from cover.
“To be clear, this escalation occurred when demonstrators became aggressive after not being permitted to be on private property,” wrote Chung. “Police were blocking demonstrators from entering the rest of the building and were clearly asking them to stay back while also telling them that it was time to leave.”
Chung added that several protesters resisted and were escorted off the property by the police. Chung wrote that “many of the demonstrators continued to resist and became assaultive towards officers and pepper spray was deployed.” One woman was arrested for striking an officer and charged with assault, but The Varsity was unable to confirm whether she was a student.
“We have consistently communicated, [sic] our respect for the right to peaceful assembly and expression. However, this
right comes with legal responsibilities,” wrote Chung. “Those who attend demonstrations and engage in criminal activity, including obstructing police, should be aware that such actions can escalate tensions and lead to confrontations with officers, potentially resulting in arrests.”
After heading up College Street, the protesters turned onto Church Street and made their way to TMU. The protest ended at around 3:30 pm.
Yassin mentioned that the protesters will continue fighting for their cause — regardless of the policies the university chooses to impose.
“I want to see our institution change and I want to be proud of our institution, but I can’t be proud of them when they continue to funnel money into weapons manufacturers the way they do,” he said.
UTM sees construction of New Science Building, Student Services Hub
UTM Co-op Internship Program offers new employment opportunities to students
Razia Saleh UTM Bureau Chief
As the academic year kicks off, the UTM community saw the opening of the New Science Building and the Student Services Hub on campus. These new developments are accompanied by other significant changes at UTM — including an end to union efforts to expand the Student Centre and changes to UTM’s internship program.
New buildings on the block
One of the most visible changes on campus is the finished construction of the New Science Building and the Student Services Hub. These facilities are designed to meet the evolving needs of students, faculty, and staff.
The New Science Building — attached to the Davis Building — is home to the Medicinal Chemistry and Forensic Science department. This project has expanded the research facilities at UTM, introducing the SpinUp entrepreneurship lab space, lecture halls, and study spaces.
Notably, UTM’s new science facility maintains a low carbon footprint.
The building falls in line with the university’s commitment to reduce its carbon footprint to 37 per cent below 1990 levels by 2030. The facility uses sustainable energy systems, including a rooftop solar panel and an on-site groundsource heat pump field, which uses solar energy from the ground for heating. These features allow the building to be mostly run by electricity and with minimal reliance on fossil fuels.
The new Student Services Hub — located across UTM’s food court — is a student’s one-stop centre for student resources. This hub consolidates student services originally
Student Centre expansion halted Beyond changes to infrastructure on campus last year, the University of Toronto Mississauga Students’ Union (UTMSU) faced backlash over their failed referendum to fund an expansion of the Student Centre.
Of the 9.6 per cent of UTM students who voted, the majority voted against increasing fees for a larger centre due to concerns about inadequate planning and a lack of transparency.
the mandatory “Work-Readiness modules.”
The program is available for full-time students entering their second year in the departments of Biology; Chemical & Physical Sciences; Economics; Mathematical & Computational Sciences; as well as the Institute of Communication, Culture, Information and Technology. Entry requirements differ by department.
Applications for the 2024–2025 year closed on August 23, and will reopen for 2025–2026 in March 2025.
scattered across campus, allowing students to better navigate academic support, guidance, and resources.
The Hub includes Accessibility Services, a Career Centre, a Centre for Student Engagement, an International Education Centre, and the Health & Counselling Centre’s Health Promotion team — which consists of health promotion experts that provide resources, workshops, and events focused on overall holistic wellness to students.
In an email to The Varsity, UTMSU President Joelle Salsa wrote that, “The UTMSU will not be advocating for or holding another referendum on a Student Centre [e]xpansion anytime soon.”
Co-op Internship Program
Another change to campus includes the UTM Co-op Internship Program (UTM CIP), which will allow students in certain programs to gain work experience.
Students enrolled in UTM CIP do 12- or 16-month paid full-time work and gain “professional development and work readiness support before and during their work experience,” such as through
With the launch of the program, UTM students will no longer take the Professional Experience Year (PEY) Co-op Program offered by the Faculty of Applied Science and Engineering.
UTM students in the Department of Mathematical & Computational Sciences currently enrolled in the PEY Co-op Program can continue the program but cannot transfer over to the UTM CIP.
“All UTM students interested in co-op internship programming but not yet enrolled in the PEY Coop Program will be directed to the UTM CIP going forward,” according to the PEY Co-op Program website.
Students gather at King's College Circle. ZEYNEP POYANLI/THE VARSITY
Students protest outside of UTAM headquarters.
KAISA KASEKAMP/THE VARSITY
Urooba Shaikh UTSC Bureau Chief
UTSC going green with ongoing construction Campus addresses sustainability with opening of Sam Ibrahim building
The beginning of the semester marked the opening of the Sam Ibrahim building at UTSC, which will be the new home of the Office of Student Experience & Wellbeing, Accessibility Services, Health & Wellness, and the Academic Advising & Career Centre.
The building is one of the multiple expansion projects UTSC has taken on as part of its Master Plan for campus growth.
UTSC expansion
According to UTSC’s Office of Business, Operations, and Strategic Affairs, “UTSC’s North Campus has the long-term capacity to grow by up to an additional six million square feet of new space.”
Along with the Sam Ibrahim building, the Scarborough Academy of Medicine and Integrated Health (SAMIH) is also part of the current expansion. Under construction and set to open in 2026, SAMIH will house the Temerty Faculty of Medicine, the Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy, and the Lawrence Bloomberg Faculty of Nursing. The medical building aims to address the shortage of healthcare professionals in Toronto’s east end.
However, the expansion of UTSC will also mean greater land development and usage, as well as more resources such as electricity and natural gas for the new buildings to function.
According to UTSC’s Energy Conservation and Demand Management (CDM) Plan, UTSC’s annual greenhouse gas emissions have been around 10,000 tonnes for the past five years. Over 80 per cent of the emissions were produced by natural gas, mostly for the purpose of heating spaces.
Sustainability on campus
The construction of Highland Hall — which opened at UTSC in 2018 — resulted in increased natural gas and electricity usage over 2018 and 2019. However, according to UTSC’s CDM Plan, plans to reduce greenhouse gas emissions were also accelerated during this time period, which focused on upgrading existing buildings with energy-efficient technologies.
“New campus developments are being designed with utilities and infrastructure efficiency such as geothermal heating to mitigate greenhouse gases. Water conservation and onsite stormwater management are priorities as is universal accessibility,” according to the UTSC Master Plan announcement.
Students, professor weigh in on cellphone use in schools
Ontario schools ban cellphones in the classroom for elementary, high school students
Amy Mann Varsity Contributor
Returning to classes this year, Ontario high school students won’t have their phones. Starting this September, students in grades seven to 12 will no longer be permitted to use their cellphones during class unless explicitly instructed to do so. All social media platforms will also be blocked on school networks and devices.
The province’s push to ban cellphones during class time comes from concerns about the impact of cellphones on learning and mental health outcomes. University professors and students have also weighed in on the effects of cellphone use in the classroom.
While supporting the ban’s mental health benefits is divided, some studies have found positive impacts on learning outcomes when schools ban cellphones — although others continue to disagree.
Rhonda McEwen, president of Victoria College and a professor at the Institute of Communication, Culture, Information, and Technology at U of T’s iSchool, is opposed to the cellphone ban. In an interview with The Varsity, she argued that schools lack the required enforcement capacity to regulate the ban and that technology has a place in the classroom — especially for students who need accessibility and academic support.
Despite these concerns, she acknowledged that there are real academic challenges posed by students using phones in class. “What we find is that the way that social media has been architected from the start is to keep you on and commenting, liking, viewing, interacting, or engaging as much as possible,” she said.
McEwen noted that in teaching and learning environments, students become unable to
control how much of their attention is focused on the instruction, compared to their device.
She also brought up the example of Bisphenol A , a harmful chemical compound, which was extensively used in baby bottles until Health Canada banned it in 2010.
“There was enough of an uproar that eventually the manufacturers are thinking, ‘Can we do the same thing without something quite as toxic?’” she explained. “The government [then] came in with some rules around [Bisphenol A], and then they were enforced.”
McEwen believes that we’re in a similar scenario with cellphones, where the responsibility should be on the software developers to fix the problem they have created and that the government may need to play a role in facilitating this.
Cellphones in university
Disrupted learning is not only a problem at the high school level. In a widely shared incident, a MAT224 class in fall 2023 had a 29 per cent average on a final last term, sparking debate over how U of T teaches and assesses students.
While increases in absences and pandemicrelated learning loss may be contributing to declining student performances, the last few years have made clear that existing in the physical world — not just the virtual one — is important for learning.
At the university level, several studies have found a negative correlation between cellphone use and academic performance, as well as satisfaction with life. There has even been found a positive correlation between cellphone use and levels of anxiety. A recent study by the University of Texas at Austin found that the mere presence of a smartphone may reduce cognitive performance. Some professors have experimented with
The sustainability targets achieved by the Sam Ibrahim building include a green roof on the upper floors. The building has also reduced its energy use by 40 per cent compared to standard buildings through the use of thermal insulation and geothermal energy. These standards are set out in the Toronto Green Standards, which set emission limits for buildings based on their size and use.
Future developments
UTSC intends to continue future developments in the North Campus zone — north of Ellesmere Road — while preserving the environment of the Highland Creek ravine. SAMIH is currently being developed at the intersection of Military Trail and Morningside Avenue.
digital detoxes in the classroom. Alastair Daniel, a second-year student in Near and Middle Eastern studies and philosophy, took one such class over the summer: PHL217 — Introduction to Continental Philosophy.
“[The professor] gave us a giant binder of readings on paper and he asked us to physically mark them up and bring them to every class,” Daniel told The Varsity, commending the professor’s approach. “I kind of hate online things. I find they detach me from the class a lot, and they sort of reduce my attention… no phones in class really [lets] you focus on the material.”
Eliana SanFilippo, a first-year student planning to study literature and critical theory, decided to ditch her smartphone entirely. “I found it very distracting. Some of my friends really laughed a lot because they were like ‘you, of all people, you’re the most YouTube Shorts-addicted of all of us.’”
“That was exactly why I needed to get rid of it,” she explained in an interview with The Varsity. “I realized that I was spending a ridiculous amount of my life doing things that I thought were dumb things to do… You kind of resent the device.”
SanFilippo opted to get a flip phone the summer after high school and said she is grateful to have made that choice. “Carrying something around
In an interview with The Globe and Mail Don Schmitt, principal of Diamond Schmitt Architects — one of the firms that designed the building — noted that “The design of SAMIH is focused on healing. Not only in its role as a place of integrated health education, medical education and research, and commitment to healing people, but to envisioning an architecture that is healing for the environment.”
The firm’s website mentions the building will use wood and greenery to draw on connections with UTSC’s landscape. The structure is built around a 9.6-metre steel grid to allow labs to be updated and rearranged without producing much waste material and embodied carbon — the carbon footprint resulting from construction.
The other architectural firm that designed the building is Netherlands-based MVRDV. The firm has a dedicated climate team, which uses the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals to assess the sustainability of the firm’s projects.
On their sustainability page, MVRDV wrote that their objective is to reduce embodied carbon and operational carbon — the sum of all carbon produced over a building’s lifetime.
As UTSC expands its campus to meet the growing needs of its community, it will continue to assess sustainability targets to ensure infrastructure can keep up. The Indigenous House is slated to open in 2025, and the Environmental and Related Technologies Hub (EaRTH) and Centre for Literatures, Arts, Media and Performance are also both slated for opening in 2026–2030.
that’s always demanding of you is so exhausting. So now what I carry around is a tool, and I don’t have to think about it, and it doesn’t take up any of my energy or brain space, because it’s solely about being able to contact people that I need to contact,” she said.
For students dissatisfied with their cellphones, opting out is not always easy. “So much social stuff related to university has been entirely dependent on having an Instagram, and that’s so ridiculous,” SanFilippo said.
“The default is to ask for someone’s Instagram, and it seems… weirdly personal now to ask for someone’s number,” she explained. “Rather than some people choosing to have a social media presence… you’re missing [out] if you choose not to have one.”
She noted that the university should do more institutionally to accommodate students without smartphones. “It’s not just a problem of social norms. It’s a problem of clubs, for example, using exclusively QR codes and Instagram links.”
Despite these challenges, SanFilippo does not regret getting rid of her device. “I think I hear far, far more negative talk about social media than positive,” she wrote to The Varsity. “Not having Instagram is a great way to make only the really good kind of friends. It narrows your pool to people who want to have a real solid friendship and not a passing ‘likes your stories’ acquaintances. And of course, the more people opt out of a social norm,
Inside the new Sam Ibrahim building at UTSC. JAMES BULLANOFF/THE VARSITY
Business & Labour
September 10, 2024
thevarsity.ca/category/business biz@thevarsity.ca
Can we build more affordable housing while meeting Canada’s climate commitments?
U of T’s Centre for the Sustainable Built Environment’s simulation model may be of use
Medha Barath Associate Business & Labour Editor
Home prices remain out of reach for many Canadians. According to the Bank of Canada, housing affordability reached its worst level in 41 years last December. The Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) — a national agency dedicated to improving access to quality homes — has recommended measures to address this issue. One measure is to build 5.8 million new houses in Canada by 2030 to help restore affordability.
However, the CMHC’s proposed targets may conflict with Canada’s greenhouse gas emission
cent of 2005 levels, when 747 megatonnes of carbon dioxide were emitted. Currently, buildings already account for 12 per cent of Canada’s total greenhouse gas emissions. This figure does not include embodied emissions — those released during the production and transportation of raw materials used in manufacturing.
Given the challenge of balancing Canada’s housing and climate goals, U of T’s Centre for the Sustainable Built Environment (CSBE) developed the Future Infrastructure Growth (FIG) model to explore how the country can sustainably build the required number of homes.
What is the FIG model?
Five
mistakes
construction strategies for building new homes in Canada. It is based on open data from 50,000 neighbourhoods across the country.
Keagan Rankin — a U of T’s Civil Engineering Department PhD candidate and the first author of the research paper introducing the model — said in an interview with The Varsity that the data the team collected went beyond just emissions data.
“We have this data on every single house across Canada, including the locations of roads and water infrastructure,” he said.
The model uses this data to quantify the embodied emissions that constructing an individual neighbourhood in Canada produces. It identifies the housing materials used in constructing each home and calculates the emissions associated with these resources. Since data is sparse in certain areas of Canada, the team used machine learning to predict the associated embodied emissions.
The FIG model then forecasts future emissions by considering the emissions released from constructing new developments on unused land or adding housing to existing developments. It also allows adjustments for factors such as the type of housing built.
Alternative sustainable construction strategies
CSBE researchers investigated potential future emissions in Canada based on different construction strategies for new housing. They evaluated specific techniques such as placing new homes in existing neighbourhoods or reusing current infrastructure for new buildings.
They found that “building housing at the rate required to restore affordability without any
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changes to construction practices” would lead Canada to exceed its emission targets by 437 per cent. However, more sustainable strategies — such as creating smaller basements to reduce the usage of carbon-intensive building materials — could bring emissions down to acceptable levels.
One solution that stands out for its affordability and significant impact on reducing emissions is building more medium-density housing, such as duplexes and triplexes. These homes have more living units per hectare than single-family homes but fewer than larger apartment complexes. However, the GTA is known for offering very few medium-size houses.
Rankin explained that medium-density housing can be more financially practical. “The main reason [middle-unit housing] promotes affordable housing is because it allows for more supply,” he said. “You’re creating more housing with less materials, and less materials means less cost, which means that the builder isn’t passing on the cost to the final user.”
The feasibility of the model’s recommendations
Rankin acknowledges that implementing the FIG model’s recommendations is quite ambitious. “You’d only [need] to build in existing cities… [avoid] new developments… [and essentially not construct any] single-family homes. So obviously that’s pretty hard,” he said.
However, Rankin emphasizes that the resources to build more sustainably are available. “You don’t have to [create] some high-tech material or [make] crazy design changes to get more sustainable buildings,” he said.
He pointed to one of the findings from the FIG model and said, “One of the best strategies for reducing emissions was just building simple design choices.” For example, limiting underground construction reduces material emissions and is more financially beneficial.
The CSBE is continuing to work on sustainable housing, with researchers exploring areas such as renovations, the sustainability and financial efficiency of high-rise buildings, and more.
Shreyaa Samtani Varsity
Contributor
Gone are the days when job seekers would rely on paper résumés. With applicant tracking systems (ATS) — which automates the recruiting process by organizing job postings, résumés, and candidate profiles in a single platform — becoming increasingly prominent, it’s vital to craft a résumé that resonates with both technology and human readers. With recruitment season right around the corner, The Varsity interviewed hiring managers to offer key tips on crafting the optimal résumé for the modern market.
Failing to customize your résumé for ATS compatibility
According to Sheila Lau, an employment strategist at the UTM Career Centre, ATS often stands between the résumé and the recruiter. She noted that software like an ATS scans candidates’ submitted documents, LinkedIn profiles, and online portfolios. As a result, it’s important to enhance your digital presence and incorporate relevant keywords from the job description in your résumé. Lau advised students to “avoid generalized statements, and instead quantify or qualify your impact.”
For instance, instead of saying you “managed projects,” you could say that you “led a team of five to complete [a project], resulting in [a] 15 per cent increase in efficiency.’
Linnet Kocheril, Placement and Employer Relations Manager at UTM, emphasized that candidates should ensure the qualities they
convey in writing align with the employer’s listed qualifications to pass the initial screening. Drawing from personal experience, he advocates for the “T-chart approach” — a method that involves listing keywords from the job description on one side of the chart and matching them with your relevant experiences on the other.
Overusing templates
Kocheril warns against overusing résumé templates. While they are a strong starting point, he strongly advised that “this is your résumé — make it yours.”
While acknowledging that most résumés may look similar, he emphasized personalization and adding fresh perspectives. “My best recommendation is go talk to people with different résumés… talk to someone who recently just got into the role.”
Earl Chua — manager at BuildABILITY, a construction and design company that focuses on real estate development — recommends that job seekers send résumés in accessible formats and run tests to confirm they can be opened without issues. Additionally, Chua said successful résumés are “to the point, concise, and straightforward,” further emphasizing that “effective communication is one of the most important skills to have as a young professional.”
Being too conventional in your job experience
The eternal question: “How do I get a job if I have no job experience?”
As Kocheril noted, breaking into the job market without prior experience can seem daunting, but it’s not impossible. There are opportunities available online, whether through voluntary work or personal initiatives and it is important to develop “technical skills” through each project. Lau also emphasized the importance of “[getting] outside, beyond the classroom,” obtaining certifications, and attending workshops.
Each of these experiences helps you develop and showcase your skills, ultimately building a portfolio that highlights your abilities and commitment to a job. By seeking out and engaging in these opportunities, you can effectively create a pathway to your desired career, even without the traditional job experience.
Failing to maintain details over time
While many students face a full-time course load, part-time jobs, and extracurricular activities, it becomes increasingly important to maintain what Kocheril calls a “master résumé.”
Essentially, a master résumé is a document that keeps track of “every iteration of a résumé you’ve made.” This serves as a comprehensive record of all your experiences, skills, and accomplishments, allowing you to easily tailor your applications.
Additionally, Lau urges applicants to focus on “skills, as opposed to just listing responsibilities and tasks” in their résumés.
This allows for a more efficient application process, where job-seeking students can easily reference and tailor specific experiences.
Fearing rejection in networking
Kocheril stressed the importance of networking when building one’s résumé, claiming that networking and attending events will help students. He emphasized that students should not shy away from opportunities and advised using the “buddy-method” — bringing a friend with you to events to help you feel more comfortable — to combat any nerves.
Kocheril further highlighted the importance of interacting with junior associates at networking events rather than focusing on senior-level representatives. He suggested that engaging with junior associates helps ensure that your name is better remembered during debriefing sessions among company employees across all levels.
Overall, networking opportunities can help you compose a stronger résumé and increase the chances of delivering your résumé directly to recruiters.
ZUHAL OLOMI/THE VARSITY
Housing affordability hit its worse level in 40 years.
ZOË ANYSA & VICKY HUANG/THE VARSITY
Opinion
September 10, 2024
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U of T’s academic tribunal is rigged
standard of proof — something’s wrong
Devin Botar Varsity Contributor
Anyone can go online and access the case records of U of T’s University Tribunal, where the university prosecutes students accused of academic misconduct — plagiarism, cheating on exams, things like that. Since 2000, the tribunal has processed 578 cases, with only nine cases that resulted in a not-guilty verdict. This puts the University Tribunal’s conviction rate at 98.4 per cent.
I would expect to see this high of a conviction rate in an authoritarian regime, not a premier global research institution. In many of the tribunal hearings, students receive no defence, and the standards to prove a student’s guilt is shockingly low. Therefore, at U of T’s academic tribunal, I believe students are set up to fail.
Proof
The University Tribunal doesn’t follow the same standard of proof as a regular court. If you are accused of a crime in Canada, you don’t have to prove your innocence. Instead, prosecutors must prove you are guilty — ‘beyond a reasonable doubt,’ meaning the judge or the entire jury is left with no other possible alternatives other than the defendant being guilty.
At the University Tribunal, however, guilt is determined on ‘a balance of probabilities.’ This means the judges ask themselves whether it seems “more likely than not” that the accused is guilty. How I see it is if you seem 50.1 per cent likely to be guilty — but 49.9 per cent innocent — that’s it. You’re convicted.
An essential component of any fair trial is that the accused can present their perspective and have a competent argument made in their defence
through a lawyer. However, my calculations show that only 42.4 per cent of students who appeared in trials for tribunal cases from the 2023–2024 academic year had legal representation.
I should note that all students can access free legal representation through Downtown Legal Services: U of T Faculty of Law’s community legal clinic. However, The Varsity reported in 2021 that a university registrar warned a student against seeking legal representation by suggesting that the university would respond unfavourably to students who do so.
The University Tribunal’s information page emphasizes that students are not required to seek legal representation, noting that they’re “accustomed to having students attend without [it].” Meanwhile, the university hires pricey corporate lawyers to lead its own prosecutions.
This seems to me like a terrible imbalance. If 60 per cent of defendants in Canada’s criminal courts had no legal representation, I bet that there’d be a 98.4 per cent conviction rate there too.
Absence
Only about 39.4 per cent of accused students in the 2023–2024 tribunal cases were present for their hearing. The university does make an effort to ensure attendance by calling and sending multiple emails before scheduling the trial. While these absences may not be entirely the university’s fault, it is still a major problem.
When a student is absent without legal representation, the hearing proceeds without them. This means the tribunal only hears one side of the story and forms decisions on an impaired basis.
If the university cannot directly resolve these absences, it should at least try to account for it by maintaining a high standard of proof, being cautious to convict, and exercising restraint in
punishments. On all counts, however, it seems to me that they do the opposite.
Penalty
The tribunal’s most common punishment last academic year was a five-year suspension. I’m sure that taking a gap in the middle of your studies, without having earned a degree yet, would throw a wrench into anyone’s life. It could even jeopardize international students’ immigration status.
Most cases of academic offences don’t actually end up at the tribunal. First, the student meets with the instructor of the course. If the case is not resolved, the student meets their department and then their faculty — who either dismisses the accusations or imposes light penalties. The cases sent to the tribunal are the more serious ones and are those where the accused student repeatedly pleads innocence.
If you are innocent and you insist on it every step of the way — but the university does not believe you — your case will be sent to the tribunal, with its 98.4 per cent conviction rate.
Threat
A 2022 article from Ultra Vires, U of T Faculty of Law’s student newspaper, describes how a dean’s
designate threatened a student with a drawn-out tribunal process to pressure them into pleading guilty.
Among the 2023–2024 University Tribunal cases, the average time between the date of an alleged academic offence and the tribunal hearing was nearly 22 months — excluding a seven-yearlong case in which a PhD candidate was accused of academic misconduct five years after submitting her thesis and another on-going case where the student is appealing the verdict.
If a student wanted to prove their innocence but was set to graduate, their graduation would be postponed until the tribunal hearing was concluded. If I were in that position, I’d feel pressured to plead guilty too.
Along with the story of the registrar and the consequences of seeking legal representation, I see a disturbing pattern. Students have been guided by university administrators to fear the tribunal long before they ever face it, pressuring them to plead guilty out of fear. Even if only a fraction of students with a case appear before the tribunal, its dysfunction is felt all the way down. Students should not cheat. At the tribunal though, it may not matter whether you actually did or not since you’re judged on such a low standard of proof. I think it’s only a matter of time before we see a wrongful conviction — assuming there haven’t been any already. Something needs to
COURTESY OF DEVIN BOTAR
Ontario's healthcare system is on life support
We are in a family doctor famine
Matt Lee Varsity Contributor
Last winter, I developed severe abdominal pain and nausea that persisted for several days. Without a family doctor, I had no choice but to visit a crowded emergency room (ER) at a downtown Toronto hospital.
After six excruciating hours, a doctor finally saw me — but he seemed rushed and distracted. He quickly diagnosed me with gastritis, prescribed some medication, and sent me on my way without addressing my concerns about underlying causes or follow-up care. The entire experience felt impersonal and inadequate.
Two weeks later, when my symptoms worsened, I returned to the ER. However, I arrived only to face another long wait and a different doctor who gave me a conflicting diagnosis of gallstones. This lack of continuity in care and the inability to build a relationship with a primary care physician who knows my medical history left me feeling vulnerable and uncertain about my health.
My experience highlighted the importance of having a family doctor who can provide consistent, comprehensive care, and act as a gateway to specialized services when needed. It also made me aware of the strain on our emergency services, which are increasingly burdened by millions who — like me — have nowhere else to turn for primary care.
The growing crisis
According to the Ontario Medical Association (OMA), approximately 2.3 million Ontarians currently do not have a family doctor and this number is expected to nearly double in only two years.
On January 29, OMA President Dr. Andrew Park emphasized the severity of the situation in a news release, writing that “The implications
of people not being able to access primary care are severe.” Park warned that the medical crisis is unfolding in cities such as Sault Ste. Marie — where thousands have been left without a family doctor — could replicate across Ontario if immediate action is not taken.
The situation is particularly dire in Toronto, where over 516,000 residents currently lack a family doctor. As residents of Toronto, I think we should all be concerned about the Ontario healthcare system.
Underlying causes
One significant issue that intensifies this family doctor shortage is the aging physician workforce. The Ontario College of Family Physicians (OCFP) reports that 1.74 million Ontarians in 2022 had a family doctor over the age of 65, nearing retirement.
Additionally, family doctors face a heavy administrative burden, spending up to 19 hours per week on paperwork which detracts from patient care time. This bureaucratic load not only reduces the time available for direct
patient interaction but also contributes to job dissatisfaction among physicians.
Job dissatisfaction and burnout can also exacerbate retention issues in our healthcare system. A survey by OCFP shows that nearly 65 per cent of family doctors are planning to change or leave their practice in the next five years. Furthermore, in 2008, 77 per cent of family doctors in Ontario spent most of their time providing comprehensive care: the prevention and management of multiple physical and emotional health problems of a patient over a period of time. However, this declined to 65 per cent by 2022.
The shift away from long-term family medicine is occurring across all career stages of physicians, including mid-career and latecareer family doctors. Even worse is that the number of medical school graduates choosing to pursue family medicine is at its lowest in 15 years. Therefore, as physicians retire, there are not enough younger doctors to take over their practices.
This downward trend is leaving a gap in the
Kamala Harris offers momentum and fresh hope for the Democrats
Democracy relies on her more than ever
Crucially, there is a key demographic of voters that remains relatively undecided: young voters.
July, 2024. Arguably, the month from hell for the US Democratic party. The debate between Joe Biden and Donald Trump made Richard Nixon’s erratic sweating in the 1960 presidential debate seem like Barack Obama’s fresh voice in 2008.
On July 21, Biden stepped down and endorsed Kamala Harris, his vice-president, to take up the fight for the presidency. Harris quickly had the Democratic party united around her, raising 81 million USD within 24 hours of announcing her campaign as she promised a new direction from the Trump-Biden combo. As of September 7, polling shows Harris at a three-point advantage of defeating Trump, which I feel is significant given the seemingly inescapable hole that Biden was in.
In the 2020 US election, 65 per cent of voters under the age of 25 voted for Biden, 11 per cent higher than any other age group. However, I’m concerned the support for the Democratic candidate is declining in the polls. Around 50 per cent of young voters said they would vote for Harris, while 34 per cent indicated they would vote for Trump.
This is concerning because the young have traditionally voted Democrat. Furthermore, only 50 per cent of eligible young people voted in the last presidential election. Ultimately, young democrats who feel alienated by the party must remember the great stakes in this election.
The American economy
I believe the first reason for young voters’ alienation from the Democratic party is the economy. The US economy rebounded quite well from the COVID-19 pandemic. Growth was faster than projected. Over the four years, many of the 8.6 million occupation shifts resulted in better-paying jobs, and wages are keeping up with inflation. Yet, according to a Pew Research Center study, only 21 per cent of Democratic voters under 30 felt that the economy was doing well.
I think much of this misunderstanding comes down to communication.
Anyone who watched the presidential debate could tell that Biden is not the communicator he once was. This contrasts with Trump, who has the ability to communicate what he wants about the
spectrum of medical support that Ontarians depend on, which may potentially lead to undetected health issues in patients and increase the strain on emergency departments.
Potential solutions
Based on my experience with seeking healthcare, I believe there are several strategies individuals can consider while struggling to find a family doctor.
These include registering with Health Care Connect, a program that helps match any Ontarian without a family health care provider, as long as you have an Ontario health card and an associated mailing address. Another option is exploring Community Health Centres, which are non-profit community organizations that provide primary health care and health promotion programs. These centres offer a range of services and may be more accessible than traditional family practices. Additionally, you can utilize telemedicine services by phoning and video-calling licensed healthcare providers. Overall, it’s clear to me that Ontario’s family doctor shortage is a complex issue requiring multifaceted solutions. The OCFP is calling on the Ontario government to take urgent action, including expanding access to team-based care — where multiple health professionals collaborate to provide comprehensive care — reducing unnecessary administrative tasks and ensuring fair compensation to doctors that keeps pace with inflation.
By exploring alternative healthcare models and implementing innovative solutions, I hope that Ontario can work toward ensuring that all residents have access to the primary care we need.
Matt Lee is a third-year student at Innis College studying English and history and philosophy of science and technology. He is the production team leader at CIUT.FM.
pushed for, a liberal voter might admire her fight against capital punishment and her promotion of racial bias training in the OpenJustice initiative to track crime statistics in 2015.
economy — regardless of whether it is true. However, I sense a reversal between the current presidential candidates. A poll from the Financial Times and the University of Michigan Ross School of Business found that Harris is more trusted than Trump with the economy, reversing a seven-point lead that Trump had on the same poll under Biden.
Israel-Palestine and a bi-partisan line
I believe another factor contributing to the growing distrust among young Democrats is the situation between Israel and Palestine. Another Pew Research Center study found that 33 per cent of those under the age of 30 identify as proPalestine while 14 per cent are pro-Israel. This sentiment from young voters contrasts with the American government’s political and economic support of Israel for the past 70 years.
However, Harris has made a clear commitment to a ceasefire while also maintaining Biden’s support for a two-state solution. While this may not seem like much, I believe this marks a careful diplomatic effort to bring an end to the war, including working behind the scenes between the two sides for peace negotiations.
If anything, I think young voters can learn a lot from this kind of diplomacy and moderation, not seeing issues in black and white but as evolving issues that require us to make compromises and change.
Balancing two sides
The theme of compromise can be further noted in her legal career, in which I would argue that her record as a prosecutor is relatively bipartisan. While a more conservative voter may agree with the longer criminal sentences she
Former Governor Tim Waltz, Harris’ runningmate, has a similar voting record that I think would further appeal to young liberals. One example is Waltz’s signing of a 2023 bill which created free meals for all school children in Minnesota. Yet, I suspect his charming middleAmerican patriotism makes him far more likely to win over Republicans who have since felt alienated by Trump.
The Trump factor
Finally, it is most important to keep in mind the threat being posed to democracy.
On July 13, Trump survived a brush with death. Afterward, a rather powerful image of Trump rising from the ground with his fist out galvanized his lead over Biden at the time. Thus, while Harris currently maintains a lead in the race, it is clear that a Democratic win remains precarious and we need to maintain her campaign’s momentum.
While Trump has not officially endorsed Project 2025, essentially a ‘wishlist’ written by Republicans from Trump’s previous administration, his running mate JD Vance has praised the Project’s leader. This suggests a very unsettling future as the policies range from mass deportations to tariffs that I believe could tank the economy. Most worryingly, it removes checks and balances that ensure a separation of powers among the US government.
In my opinion, a second Trump presidency risks pushing America into authoritarianism, making this an election in which democracy is very much on the ballot. I believe that Kamala Harris aims to save democracy, but this can only happen if young people who share a love for democracy and freedom allow her to. Otherwise, fundamental freedoms are at risk.
Felix Hughes is a second-year student at Trinity College studying history and political science.
Felix Hughes Varsity Contributor
This election is one in which democracy is very much on the ballot. COURTESY OF GAGE SKIDMORE
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September 10, 2024
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Exploring AI in Healthcare: Ethical, clinical, and equitable innovations
Perspectives from the 2024 Absolutely Interdisciplinary conference
Aida Qazi
Varsity Contributor
On May 6, 2024, the graduate workshop of Absolutely Interdisciplinary at the Schwartz Reisman Institute for Technology and Society began with an introduction and transitioned into a discussion about artificial intelligence (AI) in healthcare. Dr. Mamatha Bhat, Daniel Buchman, and Muhammad Mamdani presented their research on AI and how it is being applied in their healthcare fields.
Computer science and equitable liver transplantation
Dr. Bhat, a hepatologist specializing in liver disease at the University Health Network, delivered a talk titled “Leveraging Interdisciplinary Approaches for Equitable Outcomes in Transplant.” During her PhD at U of T, she developed an interest in AI and recognized its potential to enhance hepatology by predicting complex, personalized liver tissue patterns. She also identified how doctors can use AI in liver transplantation.
She observed inequities in the liver transplant waitlist, noting that the prioritization system in the US disadvantages women and individuals with liver disease. Her analysis revealed a shift in the patient population since the system was first implemented: women and individuals with liver disease now represent a different percentage of the patient population, but the system still prioritizes transplants according to the old numbers. To address this, Dr. Bhat collaborated with computer scientists to better align patient data with AI models. She noted that this collaboration could result in a new tool that adjusts the prioritization system.
Dr. Bhat emphasized the tool’s potential for
Charlie Bendell
Varsity Contributor
achieving more equitable outcomes in critical situations requiring liver transplants on an international scale. She concluded by highlighting the crucial role of effective communication between computer scientists and healthcare professionals in advancing medical practices, including transplantation.
Ethical concerns of AI in psychiatry: Can stigma be trained?
Buchman, a scientist at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, delivered a talk titled “Potential Unintended Ethical Consequences of AI in Psychiatry.” He explored how professionals could lead efforts to address issues of mental health stigma and low compassion for patients to improve treatment and patient care. To illustrate his points, Buchman used an example involving a patient, a machine learning (ML) — computer systems that learn from data without explicit instructions — program, and a surveillance tool for prescription information. He questioned whether professionals could guide AI development to better address inequity issues in treating patients.
Buchman highlighted that patient-centred care, which emphasizes treating each patient with dignity and respect, continues to be challenged by mental health stigmas — particularly impacting already disadvantaged populations. People facing various mental health and substance abuse issues often encounter biases, and changing societal perceptions of technology remains difficult. Individuals with mental illness frequently experience epistemic injustice, where their experiences are devalued because their knowledge is discredited based on their perceived identity.
Buchman recommended promoting epistemic humility using AI and ML in psychiatry. This involves carefully balancing scientific evidence, clinical judgment, and patients’ personal experiences to build trust. He also cautioned that biases in the data used to train AI could affect the objectivity and fairness of systems directly involved in patient care.
How can AI improve risk assessment in clinics?
Mamdani then took the stage to discuss the role of AI in clinics. He began by highlighting the work of internal medicine doctors in helping patients survive. While many patients’ deaths are inevitable, Mamdani emphasized that AI can predict which patients are at risk of dying. For example, CHARTWatch, an AI tool used by Unity Health Toronto helps flag patients at high risk. During the development of CHARTWatch, Mamdani looked into how clinicians typically perform in risk prediction and noted that they often perform poorly. This provides a benchmark for algorithms to improve upon.
Rather than working with researchers, Mamdani’s team collaborates with clinicians implementing the AI tool, who best understand the problems with the technology. Their AI solutions offer realtime predictions, which are crucial for effective intervention. Data engineers and architects handle the technical aspects, while software developers work closely with psychologists and change management experts to ensure these solutions lead to sustainable behaviour changes.
Mamdani stressed the importance of bias assessment in using AI, acknowledging its complexity and lack of complete data. He noted that clinical predictions about patient outcomes are accurate less than a third of the time, highlighting the need for a combined reliance on algorithms and clinical intuition. Trust and reliability between the algorithm and the clinicians are vital, so they begin with piloting new features in small-scale launches. This allows them to continuously refine the system through detailed feedback, ongoing testing, and evaluation.
After implementing the tweaked system, data scientists remain involved as the algorithm evolves. Successful integration of AI in healthcare demands robust data, infrastructure, effective data governance, skilled personnel, and supportive clinical environments. Mamdani also highlighted the necessity for bold leadership to advance these innovations.
The presentation concluded with the experts answering questions from the audience about their insights and findings. Overall, it was an eye-opening experience, and I gained valuable knowledge from the speakers. Their discussions were especially valuable for those of us interested in integrating medicine with technology. The session highlighted how AI can revolutionize healthcare and enhance patient outcomes. For someone aiming to work at the intersection of these fields, it was a fantastic opportunity to grasp the exciting possibilities and challenges of integrating advanced technology into medical practice.
Can AI agents make us better humans? Perspectives
from the 2024 Absolutely Interdisciplinary conference
AI embodiment makes it easier to form bonds
The Schwartz Reisman Institute for Technology and Society’s 2024 Absolutely Interdisciplinary conference transported audience members into a near future where artificial intelligence (AI) and humans coexist in workplaces, learning environments, and homes.
During the session on May 7 titled “Designing Human-Machine Coexistence,” Huili Chen, a research fellow at the Berkman Klein Centre for Internet & Society at Harvard University, spoke to the audience about the socioemotional aspect of human-robot interaction. She explored overlooked design elements in social AI, which could be utilized to enhance AI agents as positive influences on humans.
What makes a successful social AI agent?
AI agents are artificial intelligence systems capable of performing complex tasks without human interference. When designed for social settings, these agents can engage in entire conversations with humans, serve as learning tools, or even help us understand our own social behaviours.
Chen stressed the importance of considering the socioemotional experience of humans when designing AI agents and introduced three key approaches for achieving positive interactions: creating an appealing physical embodiment, enabling the replication and expression of emotions, and modelling desired human behaviour. These approaches have the potential to help us, as humans, thrive in our own social and learning environments.
When introducing the concept of embodied sociability — giving a physical form to social AI — Chen posed a question she’s heard often, “Is it even necessary for a system to have a physical embodiment? What is the difference between a virtual agent and an embodied agent?”
Studies have shown that humans find it much easier to form bonds with embodied systems, especially those that exhibit human mannerisms. This is largely due to the nature of human communication. Chen notes that a large part of inferred meaning in conversation comes from nonverbal cues, like gestures, volume of speech, and body language. Interacting with a welldesigned AI embodiment that exhibits appropriate mannerisms can make one feel seen, heard, and understood — key elements of a satisfying and meaningful conversation.
Creating a body capable of meaningfully interacting with humans is complex. The “uncanny valley,” coined by Masahiro Mori in 1970, describes the phenomena where human-inspired robots become too lifelike and thus repulsive. This effect is triggered for some objects like porcelain dolls, early CGI humans, or mannequins. Avoiding the uncanny valley effect is important, as it can cause people to hesitate when interacting with embodied AI agents.
Beyond embodiment: Emotional appeal
Designing fundamentally emotionless beings with emotion in mind may seem like a fruitless endeavour, but in certain robots, having human-like portrayals of emotion may appeal to humans. One example of this phenomenon is Kip, the ‘empathy object.’ Designed by the Media Innovation Lab at the Institute for Development and Communication,
Kip aims to reflect emotion and help speakers become aware of their tone.
Kip is shaped like a desk lamp and is designed to observe human conversation. Though Kip never speaks, it’s highly expressive and somewhat adorable. It cranes its ‘neck’ in interest when someone is speaking and shakes in fear when a conversation becomes hostile. This causes speakers to see the impact of their behaviour reflected in Kip and become more conscious of how they speak.
AI as a role model
Human mimicry is the tendency for people to subconsciously ‘mirror’ the behaviour of a conversational partner. Examples of this psychological phenomenon include using similar hand movements, vocabulary, posture, and tone of voice. This urge in humans is so strong that we can even begin to mimic robot conversational partners, leading to the development of trusting bonds with robots that, potentially in turn, mimic us.
This phenomenon is especially relevant when considering the teaching potential of AI. Chen cited the example of AI agents who played learning games with children. These agents were able to teach perseverance by simply displaying a growth mindset, which the children would eventually adopt. Children interacting with the ‘growth mindset’ AI persisted longer in challenging learning activities compared to those without their AI peers.
In short, yes, AI agents can and likely will make us better humans. There is a place for AI agents in our future, but it is important to critically consider the roles they will take on. We will always see reflections of our human needs and desires in their design.
Huili Chen introduced socially interactive AI technologies as not only tools and interfaces, but as agents and peers.
COURTESY OF JOHNNY GUATTO CC SCHWARTZ REISMAN INSTITUTE FOR TECHNOLOGY AND SOCIETY
Bhat, Buchman, and Mamdaini discussed AI in the context of healthcare.
COURTESY OF JOHNNY GUATTO CC SCHWARTZ REISMAN INSTITUTE FOR TECHNOLOGY AND SOCIETY
Home is where?
U of T international students on the elusive concept of home
Jilliane Tan
Varsity Contributor
I position my carry-on luggage beside me to pull out my passport in front of the airport kiosk. It scans my information and my name pops up on screen. I click to the next page. It asks, “Where do you reside?” I pause. I am staying in Canada for over eight months of the school year, but I have also been living in the Philippines for 19 years of my life. My hand hovers over the screen, not knowing where to go.
If they are given the chance, international students at U of T go back and forth between Canada and their home country during the winter, spring, and summer breaks. These students are often seen anticipating their homecoming, pondering what they will do when they arrive home.
But once in a while, these students may use ‘home’ to refer to Canada when in conversation with fellow international students. So, where is ‘home’ for them?
Home is: Your home country
Last Christmas, I was able to snag last-minute tickets to go home to the Philippines for my short three-week break. Supply and demand drive ticket prices, so I booked a flight with a ten-hour layover in Taiwan to avoid spending next month’s rent on tickets. I explored the airport from end to
[administrative] stuff like go see a dentist, get a haircut. It’s so expensive here in Canada.”
“My mom took two days [off work] and was driving me around… and I was just jetlagged, sleeping in the car,” she said.
For some students, living in Canada can feel temporary. This means waiting for the next time they go back home to properly practice self-care where they are used to doing it. I also find that whenever I am back home, my calendar is packed with people who want to reconnect: every day is booked for a group lunch, dinner, and sometimes breakfast, drinks, or coffee. As depleting of my social battery as constant meet-ups may be, it is a nice reminder that I am loved and remembered even while I’m away.
Charlene Choi, a UTSC psychology specialist co-op student from Hong Kong, finds that the overarching theme for her homecoming is gratitude. She feels grateful to return to homecooked meals and a clean house: “My mom keeps her house so clean… I appreciate that she’s so meticulous about everything.”
Like Choi, many international students return to living with their families, reconnect with old friends, and take a break from the independence they experienced in Canada. Gorn describes how cathartic it was to go back to Russia after a stressful and difficult first semester.
“It was just a relief to come back, to recharge,
“ Home is a more philosophical concept connected to one’s stability, character, and values. “
visiting both the Philippines and Bahrain last summer, he said, “I feel like [an] outsider the longer I stay away from these places… but even then, whenever I go back home, I still feel a huge sense of nostalgia and it still feels welcoming.”
is a good indicator of how much she has grown in Canada.
To address the disconnect from his home countries while living in Canada, Cabalit recalls extra effort to connect with his roots. Despite the limits of fully grasping a culture he isn’t always immersed in, he made efforts to improve his proficiency in the Bisaya language and his understanding of Filipino culture.
Likewise, Gorn noted that rather than feeling distanced from her culture while abroad, she has developed a greater interest in Russian culture, including Russian rap music. “I think even though I’m physically far, emotionally, I might be more involved and more Russian than I’ve ever been,” she said.
Choi said, “[International students] buil[t] a life over there and now we’re moving to another country and trying to start [over]. I feel like that process really changes anyone. And it has changed me.”
“But I still feel like myself. It’s more of a change in the sense that I’m exploring who I am.”
Home is: You
Despite only being in Canada for two years, Cabalit finds a sense of pride in being associated with the culture. For example, Cabalit’s Canadian identity is developed through his investment in Toronto’s sports teams, of which he is “a big fan.”
Cabalit also believes that his home countries are not static. Time does not stop while he is away — instead, he changes as a person, making
“I feel like the life that I’ve lived is a completely different world from [what my friends and relatives back home] experienced. And so… I’m experiencing a sort of culture shock to my own culture,” he said. He still feels like he belongs to Bahrain and the Philippines but needs time and his Bahraini and Filipino peers’ support to
Choi shares similar sentiments and occasionally feels that she does not fit in back home. She recalls instances where people in Hong Kong stare at her on the subway because of her outfits or ask if she speaks the native language.
Hong Kong is still home to Choi, but she is not in a rush to go back. She finds that she can grow more in Canada because it allows her to be more independent and explorative. “I’ve been in Hong Kong for… my whole life since I was 18,” she said. “And being in Canada, I was able
Being independent in a diverse country like Canada has allowed Choi to develop mentally and emotionally in a way that she believes her home country could not have allowed. This experience made her reevaluate her priorities and values, which meant outgrowing some peers
“I guess I’ve changed in that I have to… be mature about how you want your life to go, how you want my grades to be, how you want to look, and how healthy you are. These are things that you have to decide [for] yourself instead of relying on your parents… to help you with
Gorn says that — similar to Choi — she doesn’t feel the need to go back home in search of the relief she felt in her first-year thanks to a more established support system and deeper connections in Canada. She feels that she is now more adept at regulating her life alone and does not need to rely on her parents as much as before.
She also noted that she would not fit back into her old home life, which she believes
When I asked all three international students “where is home?”, I expected them to choose between Canada or their home country. Instead, they elaborated that they realized that home is not tied to a single place, but rather to their experiences with the people and memories they make as they grow.
Cabalit feels that he has multiple homes simultaneously: Bahrain, the Philippines, and Canada. He believes that a home is defined by childhood memories and the people connected to that place. He also finds that building a good support system can help minimize the challenges of moving around. “Just know that you can always find support [around] you. While I feel secure and safe back home in the Philippines, I’ve created a safety net for myself as well here, by fostering relationships and creating a network of friends that I trust,” he said.
Choi also believes that the people make a place feel like home, rather than the place.
“I swear, the closer I got with the people here, the more I felt at home,” she said. “I feel like home is the people that I’m with. And just because they’re in different corners of the world, that doesn’t mean my home has changed, because I’m always going to be really close with those people. No matter what, no matter where they [are], they’re still my home.”
Gorn also shares Choi’s and Cabalit’s sentiments, expressing that she does not view Toronto or Moscow as her sole home. Instead, she believes that home is a more philosophical concept connected to one’s stability, character, and values.
Gorn gave multiple definitions of home. She reflected on how she is used to making her environment feel like home, since she has constantly moved around. On the Zoom call with me, she lights up when discussing how decorating her room helps make the place feel more familiar. She points out posters, photo strips, and knick-knacks in the background that symbolize her ownership of the space.
“I would define a home as a place where I have people I trust, people I care for, people who I can support, and who support me.”
To Gorn, home is “...something I have to put effort into actually creating. I guess a home is wherever I go, as cliché as it sounds.”
Home is: Up to me
I relate to Gorn’s experiences, as someone who would play Original Pilipino Music — pop genre music from Filipino artists — from bands like Any Name’s Okay or girl group BINI in my first-year dorm room whenever I was feeling sad. I would also keep up with Filipino news through social media. Being away made me more conscious of staying connected to my Filipino roots and remembering where I came from.
I’m still sweating in front of the immigration terminal, unsure what country to choose.
“Where do you reside?”
I click “Canada” for now and complete my immigration process. As I walk past the “Welcome to Canada” sign, I put in my airpods and play a song from BINI.
Arts &
Culture
Thinking in translation
On names in translation and losing what has never been yours
September 10, 2024
thevarsity.ca/category/arts-culture arts@thevarsity.ca
Protect
your
peace: University
is fun if you’d just chill
My Korean surname has always stood out.
Like any other word in any other language, 김, or Kim, has its translations. The English Kim is a clear denotation of a Korean surname, and 金 jīn, a Chinese character that serves the same purpose. I have always been unmistakably Korean on paper.
My Korean given name is Mina, 미나, but it is not used. Why would it be?
My Chinese name is 美儒 měi rú, generational — its second character, 儒 rú, inherited from my grandfather — but my English given name Ola has no linguistic connotation and is used only as filler, and to have an English name. You must wonder whether having a given name with meaning would have made any difference. Language is meaningful. Names gain meaning through use, but simple sounds gain meaning on their own.
A monolingual white man once told me that I was a “failure to my country” because I didn’t speak Korean. He had assumed me to be quadrilingual and found it an offence that I wasn’t. I was in middle school and had never held a connection to Korea besides a surname. Being born and raised in Hong Kong, I had never considered myself anything but Chinese.
Still, I wonder. If I were 김미나, Mina Kim, Korean in nothing but my name — without Ola, or Chinese, or Cantonese to buffer — would that man’s words have cut to the core instead? That man’s haughty and disdainful disposition of a culture to which I belong?
We spoke English in the household because my father is largely monolingual despite his Korean birth. Cantonese is the language of the average Hong Kong household, but my mother — Cantonese by birth — never spoke it with us in her attempt to lingually unify the family. She succeeded. She regrets it now when we stutter our way through Cantonese. I suppose we sound like our father.
Now, I am teaching myself Cantonese. A poor, late adaptation for what should have been instilled in me a long time ago, but growing up surrounded by the language is not without benefits. Cantonese phonetics are easy, the grammar intuitive. Never underestimate what latent learning can do for a child.
I am also learning Korean. I reap no benefits from this — not while my Korean father speaks to me solely in English. Still, there is comfort and ease in my distance from the language: the feeling of peering into South Korea through a window instead of a home.
I lack Cantonese and it is a bruise. I lack Korean and feel nearly nothing. Why would I? I am Korean only in name and not in language: a product of growing up where I did. I am Cantonese in name as well as experience, and not speaking Cantonese like my mother haunts me more than I have the words for. It is an emotional language barrier. My government name is Cantonese, courtesy of my Cantonese family. My brother’s government
name is Korean instead, courtesy of our Korean family. And, maybe that is the largest blessing of all. I appear Cantonese. I have escaped the perception of being Korean and the idea of belonging to a country I do not know. I have escaped the enormity of it.
Still, I wonder. If I were Mina Kim, without the shield of Cantonese, or buffer of a name, could I bear to reach out and learn Korean at all?
Sometimes I envy my friends from home, most of whom are full-Chinese. I wish I was clear-cut like them. I have never learned how to live with a foot in each door. I have never learned how to be both Chinese and Korean, so I picked one — or one was picked for me by nature of growing up where I did — and I was none the wiser. So, I am like my friends from home. I am just as Chinese as them in every way besides the duty that I have that they do not: the responsibility to a language and culture that I don’t know any more than they do, because heritage is nothing without experience. Because I am Korean in name and name only.
Still, something about Korea calls me. I could chalk it up to my linguistics degree. Or, I could chalk it up to everything hanging in the balance, finally falling into place.
Ultimately, my name is grounding. It is Cantonese, like I am. One day, I will earn it. Cantonese is a southeast variety of Chinese, smaller than the whole of Mandarin. Hong Kong is even smaller.
Cantonese is not a language someone speaks without attachment, without a personal stake. I hear Mandarin and feel joy. I hear Cantonese and think ‘home.’
One day, I will have the words to express it all.
One day, I will have all four languages — English, Korean, Cantonese, and Mandarin — at my disposal. I am over halfway there, so there is less than halfway to go.
None of my names in English, Chinese, or Cantonese really work in another language like Japanese — a fifth language I want to learn after all my stones have been turned — despite the language’s derivation from Chinese. The name that does work phonetically seamlessly is my Korean one.
Maybe giving Mina a new life will be its saving grace. Maybe Korean on its own is too large a thing to battle but as a tool and as a means to progress, the name Mina is more than the sum of its parts. It is a Korean name, but a transmission of language too. That — I can work with. That is all I have ever been working with.
Romanizing my Chinese name has always looked odd to me. I have never thought of myself as Mei Ru. I have only ever been 美儒
There is a certain intimacy in seeing your name written out in a different script. I have never known my own surname, Kim, 金 , in its original language. The sight of it, 김 , unravels something that I didn’t know was tied into knots.
One day, I will have earned it. I am not 미나 , Mina. Not yet. When I can express this all in a language that is mine by birth, maybe I will feel like it. Maybe Mina will welcome me home.
Nora Zolfaghari Varsity Contributor
You don’t have to go to the Maddy if you don’t want too
I was always told that my twenties are the best years of my life and that once they are gone, I’d do anything to get them back. Once you start thinking about how little time you have as a university student, you never stop. Everything is measured in time: ETAs, deadlines, the difference between a single workout routine, and a fitness journey, or the distance between you and a class you’re late enough for that you might as well skip. The question of how many years you have left of your youth becomes a serious one. How long before age overtakes you like the plague too?
Even though I should’ve known better, growing up with comedy movies like Neighbors or 21 & Over nurtured within me some barbaric idea of what my college experience should look like. Some part of me romanticized drinking my liver into the ground and being as edgy and contrarian as I possibly could for fear that if I didn’t, I’d regret it. (Even though, in this case, I did know better.)
and the ever-present reminder that my time was running out, I developed an intense, gut-churning case of fear of missing out. Growing up in a relatively unremarkable city, there wasn’t much I could do about it. When I decided to come to U of T, though, I succumbed to the teeming pressure and excitement that I had built up over my years at home. I had an irrevocable need to live the “college experience,” and I did the best I could with what I got.
I find that U of T’s club culture is quite special: bars and clubs practically surround the downtown campus, and a detour on your walk home with a friend can easily turn into an entire night out. You’d never say no because what if this turned out to be the best night out of your life? What if you just missed out on the story of a lifetime, one you’ll tell your children when you reminisce and lament about how much you miss your 20s?
However, recently, I had breakfast with my cousin who I hadn’t seen in years. She turned 32 last week, and we had a long and extensive conversation about getting older — back pain, memory loss, and we’re not even in our 40s yet. “But I feel like I only really became a person, like, last year,” she told me.
Everyone gets excited about reaching the age where they can do whatever they
As late celebrated chef Anthony Bourdain
Ola Kim Varsity Contributor
JAYLIN KIM/THE VARSITY
Review: The Sympathizer
Park Chan-wook’s adaptation has some misses but considerably elevates its source material
Victor Zhang Varsity Contributor
Viet Thanh Nguyen’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel The Sympathizer (2015) could not have found better hands for its TV adaptation.
Oldboy (2003) director Park Chan-wook tells the story of a North Vietnamese spy, a communist sympathizer in the South Vietnamese military force, immediately after the communist North Vietnam’s victory in the Vietnam War. The Viet Cong — a South Vietnamese guerilla army backed by North Vietnam’s forces — orders the unnamed half-Vietnamese, half-French secret police captain sympathizer (Hoa Xuande) to stay undercover after the fall of Saigon. He is ordered to follow the South Vietnam general and other dissidents against America to report on their counterrevolutionary activities.
For readers of Nguyen’s novel, the show’s plot somewhat diverges from its source material, offering a fresh take on a few pieces of the story.
An audacious decision is casting Robert Downey Jr. as multiple characters: the captain’s CIA handler and mentor Claude; his old professor of “Oriental Studies” at the University of California, Los Angeles; an ex-green beret congressman; and an overbearing Hollywood filmmaker. Each of these old white men is clothed ostentatiously and distinctly. The show makes it obvious that the characters are all the same actor and Downey Jr. puts on a wonderfully eccentric performance for each of them.
I read this as an ironic take on the stereotype that all non-white people look the same to a white person — or the cross-race effect — as
the police captain seems to be unable to distinguish between Downey Jr.’s various shades of white. I also see it as a comment on the interconnectivity of all the sources of white chauvinism: they all wear the same face.
The show mostly shines in its cinematography and editing as Park combines unconventional but enrapturing shots with a brisk pace that makes each scene exhilarating to watch unfold. Even in scenes where characters are only speaking, the cameras conjure exciting motion, drawing the viewer’s eye to areas of interest.
In one scene, the 180-degree rule is outright broken to convey the conversation’s intensity. For the surreptitious Claude, the camera reels the viewer into a sense of comfort before he abruptly comes into frame, surprising both the captain and the viewer. A dutch angle — which is a diagonally tilting camera shot — as the secret police turn the corner of the stairwell, and a piece of polemic vandalism stares you in the eye.
None of this feels at all contrived or unnatural. Park and his co-directors — Fernando Meirelles and Marc Munden — simply have a brilliant eye for beautiful and powerful shots and sequences.
Despite the show’s fresh take on the novel, its plot divergence creates a cinematic hastiness that ends up overlooking some of the novel’s nuances. In the novel, the ex-South Vietnamese secret police officers slump into a lethargic slumber in their months of idleness as disguised refugees in America. Their once mighty prestige and power become useless in their new home. For the homesick émigrés — people who emigrate for political reasons — who share
almost nothing with the culture and peoples of their host, their ejection from their homeland feels like an exile to purgatory. This makes their rejuvenation at even the slimmest hope of resistance more compelling.
The show does not convey any of this effectively. Instead, it takes at face value the officers’ claim of taking a temporary retreat before returning to the glorious fight. The novel’s captain has sympathy and pity towards the refugees, which adds depth to his moral calculations and his keen eye for reading people. The show’s captain barely pays attention.
I found that the characterization of the captain is where the show mostly fails. Nguyen’s captain in the novel is charming and witty on the surface, but only to a degree where he seems harmless and agreeable. Inside, he is a contemplative thinker who struggles with great personal demons. It is in his head where we find poignant commentary about race and politics, allowing readers to understand him as a complex and thoughtful individual while he fulfills his role as a mole. This also adds a delightful irony when
Muscle mommies gone wild: Passion, violence, and vengeance in
Content Warning: This article mentions substance usage, violence, and murder.
This review contains spoilers.
Set in 1989, Love Lies Bleeding is an erotic neonoir crime thriller film directed and co-written by Rose Glass. The film follows the explosive relationship between Lou (Kirsten Stewart), a scruffy gym manager, and Jackie (Katy O’Brian), a hunky hitchhiking athlete stopping by in a small town in New Mexico on her way to a bodybuilding competition in Las Vegas.
The two meet at Lou’s gym, where Jackie hesitantly accepts Lou’s offer of steroids. They go back to Lou’s place, and one steamy montage later, Jackie moves in with Lou.
Love Lies Bleeding features impressive performances from the two leads. Stewart easily won me over with her intensity and vulnerability, while O’Brian came across as simultaneously lovable and terrifying without being overshadowed by her co-star’s charm. They both manage to be vulnerable and sympathetic and their performances balanced with their incredible acts of violence.
The situation starts to deteriorate when Jackie and Lou meet up with Lou’s impressionable sister Beth (Jena Malone) and her violently abusive husband JJ (Dave Franco). Lou feels responsible for protecting her sister and, in a moment of anger, tells Jackie she wishes JJ were dead. The next day, when Beth is admitted to the hospital for injuries caused by her husband, Jackie pays JJ a visit. In a display of brute strength and steroid-enhanced rage, she beats him to a pulp and repeatedly smashes his head against the coffee table, — killing him.
JJ’s death is the first of many extremely violent scenes that follow Jackie and Lou as they navigate
he comes up with witty remarks that he cannot vocalize.
Of course, Xuande’s splendid poker face and good physical acting alone cannot fully translate an internal monologue to the viewer, and a voiceover needs to be sparingly used in further expressing this. The Sympathizer applies a few creative tricks here to render the thoughts of Xuande’s captain, such as him saying something impertinent before revealing he only wished for it. Unfortunately, the show does not fully capture the depth of Xuande’s character. It sometimes feels like he just wanders into random situations and quips about racism.
Park’s film is worth watching for the cinematography alone. While it does not fully succeed at adapting some of the depth of its source material, it is an excellent show on its own. My personal recommendation is to read the novel and watch the show, as both pieces support each other and, together, make a spellbinding espionage tale and an effective blend of politics, prose, and style.
Love Lies Bleeding
Rose Glass combines romance and roid rage in her 2024 sapphic crime thriller
their messy situation. Through murdering JJ, Jackie saves Beth from her abusive husband and frees Lou from being stuck in her hometown to look after her sister. However, by helping Lou frame JJ’s death on her crime lord father, Jackie launches a complicated mess with the local authorities, the FBI, and Lou’s vengeful father, Lou Sr (Ed Harris). Between the horror and gore, the audience is also treated to closeups of Jackie’s bulging muscles, which visibly grow and stretch. Where the long arm of the law fails, Jackie provides swift fists of righteous anger. Her muscles function symbolically, suggesting that women and other queer bodies may reclaim power from the men who control them by speaking men’s language of violence. For the rest of the movie, Jackie erratically struggles through some combination of love-induced terror and steroid-induced psychosis.
Despite Jackie’s behaviour, Lou meets her where she is at every step of the way, which is where Love Lies Bleeding succeeds. The couple idealizes each other to the extreme — in some ways mirroring Beth and JJ’s marriage — despite Lou’s frustration with her sister’s situation. There are moments when Lou looks at Jackie with real fear in her eyes, but her love for Jackie leaves Lou with no choice but to follow her into the vortex of crime, covering up her lover’s carnage as they go.
Glass explained in an interview with CBC that the movie aims to show that “[Queer women] can be awful people as well.” Love Lies Bleeding does not fall into the trope of portraying sapphic relationships as utopic safe havens from patriarchal violence, but instead provides a nuanced portrayal of sapphic love. Though Lou and Jackie may idealize each
other, the characters are portrayed as they are: messy, fallible, and reaching extreme lengths to keep their feeble connection alive.
The ending reads as a surrealist revenge fantasy reminiscent of the football field massacre at the end of Emma Seligman’s comedy film Bottoms (2023).
After surviving a gunshot wound from her father, Lou has no way to escape. This is when Jackie comes to her rescue. In the ultimate display of roid rage, Jackie hulks out of her tank top, grows to triple her size, and pins Lou Sr down.
Though Jackie gets Lou in a lot of trouble, she also ultimately sets her free — at least, that’s how Lou sees it as she gazes up at Jackie’s giant form looming over her father. The couple then escapes, now both as giants, running through clouds and stars.
Of course, they don’t get away that easily. There is a lingering sense that their actions will continue to haunt them. In their getaway car, while heading to dispose of the body of Lou’s ex — who they tried to kill amid the chaos — Lou notices the body starting to move.
In the film’s final scene, Lou sits in the back of her pickup truck and chokes her ex to death before dragging her body out into the desert while Jackie sleeps in the passenger seat, oblivious. Lou and Jackie have both become monsters — through their giant physical form and their actions. Their monstrosity forces them into the margins of society, but also serves as an opening; an opportunity for the two to operate outside of societal norms.
The chilling final image suggests that the couple’s dynamic will persist well after they leave the audience behind and ride off into the sunset. Lou will keep cleaning the messes Jackie leaves in her wake as long as they are together. This is the price she pays to keep their love alive.
Sofia Moniz Varsity Contributor
JISHNA SUNKARNA/THE VARSITY
JISHNA SUNKARNA/THE VARSITY
Sports
September 10, 2024
thevarsity.ca/section/sports sports@thevarsity.ca
Letter from the Sports Editor: Go watch the Blues!
Jake Takeuchi Sports Editor
I’m not the first person to make this observation, but U of T has a reputation for being a non-athletic school. This idea is simply wrong. Both historically and contemporarily, U of T has an incredibly strong athletics program that I would grandly proclaim — with bias — as one of the most underrated in Canada.
The NHL’s playoff MVP trophy is named after legendary U of T alumnus Conn Smythe. U of T alumni represented Canada in ice hockey and won gold at the 1928 Olympics in Switzerland. The Varsity Blues won the inaugural Grey Cup and we now have four Grey Cups to our name. U of T’s athletic history runs deep and in
places, you might not expect.
Today, our swimming program regularly sweeps Ontario University Athletics (OUA) awards. Among their alumni is world-class swimmer and captain of the Canadian Olympic swimming team Kylie Masse who has won five Olympic medals (two silver and three bronze) over three Games (Rio 2016, Tokyo 2020, and Paris 2024). Last year, the women’s ice hockey team won silver at the U SPORTS Championship. Our dance team dominates in competitions and our racquet sports program picks up OUA championships like there’s no tomorrow.
Our athletes regularly get drafted or signed to professional leagues across the world. There are really too many to name here, but some standouts are soccer winger Dapo Afolayan, who recently got
promoted to the Bundesliga in Germany; Callum Baker, who was drafted second overall this year in the Canadian Elite Basketball League — which is the highest level of domestic basketball; and of course our UofT-lympians. Athletes like Michelle Li, Heather Bansley, Jazz Shukla, and Lucia Stafford represented our nation at the Paris 2024 Olympics and are Team Canada staples in their respective sports.
This is part of the fun about collegiate athletics. You get the opportunity to watch and scout the stars who might go on to be trailblazers in their sports. You can watch Masse on the podium and say, “I watched her dominate the water for my school.” Maybe that Varsity Blues athlete you watch after class — the one you share a tutorial with — may become a world-class Olympian.
It’s unfathomable to me that these student-athletes pursue perfection in their bodies and sport all the while completing degrees, stressing about essays, and planning for exams. Along with a huge network of coaches, staff, kinesiology students, event planners, and game day hosts, the Blues are
supported by a huge network of students in our community that make the Varsity Blues what it is today. In the labyrinth of the 100,000-person community of U of T, the Blues are truly a uniting force. With regular home games throughout the year and stadiums and arenas close to St. George campus, Varsity Blues games are incredibly accessible. You could pop by the Varsity Arena after lecture and catch competitive sports almost every week — and I highly recommend that you experience the unique atmosphere that only collegiate sports can provide. Not to mention that tickets are free for all U of T students.
My goal this year as Sports Editor is to provide top-notch coverage of our fellow students who proudly wear our logo and name on their chest, leaving their sweat and blood on the court, ice, and field. Along with entertaining and relevant articles as well as fascinating U of T sports history, I hope to bring you the pride and joy I feel when the Blues put those points on the board. I can’t wait to see you at the Varsity Stadium losing my voice and losing my mind.
Varsity Blues lose to Guelph in sold-out home opener
Oseen’s single touchdown, 93-yard game not enough for Blues football comeback
Caroline Ho Associate Sports Editor
In their season home-opener on September 1, the Varsity Blues football team looked to improve their 1–0 record against the Guelph Gryphons at the Varsity Stadium.
Coming off a 31–29 comeback win against the Waterloo Warriors on August 25 — where rookie quarterback Kaleb O’Donoghue was named Ontario University Athletics (OUA) Offensive Player of the Week for his 268-yard performance. The Blues looked to continue their winning record, with the Varsity Stadium at full capacity, with over 4000 fans cheering in the stands.
What happened?
The Blues struggled in the opening quarter, failing to rush the ball against a strong Guelph defense. As the Blues’ own defense looked to settle, the Gryphons hit three early touchdowns and scored an extra point with the kickoff to end the quarter 0–22.
Although the Blues’ comeback seemed difficult from the get-go, spectators remained hopeful as the team completed a comeback under a similar situation in their previous game against the Warriors; winning after being down eight points after the first quarter.
The Blues remained scoreless in the second quarter until receiver Jake Oseen rushed 44 yards
first touchdown with just under six minutes remaining in the game. U of T held Guelph back, as the Gryphons scored only four points in the second and third quarters against excellent defense headed by Blues’ Owen Cassie and Lachlan Scardina with six tackles each.
With ten minutes left in the third quarter, kicker
Sam Henke scored an 18-yard field goal to close the gap to 13. However, the Gryphons fought back with another field goal with nearly eight minutes remaining — resulting in a 10–26 score heading into the final quarter.
The Blues seemed to run out of steam in the last quarter, giving up 21 points to end the game with a final score of 10–47.
What’s next?
“Everybody fought right until the end [and] tried to do the best we could, but the result obviously wasn’t what we wanted,” said Oseen, the Blues’ sole touchdown scorer who racked up 93 scrimmage yards. “[Scoring] was a great feeling obviously, [but] I feel like [we] could have had a lot better of a result”.
However, Oseen remains hopeful for a successful rest of the season.
“We’re just going to … get dialed in and be ready for McMaster on the road. If we prepare like we did and how we thought we did for this week, I think we will have the result we want.”
Varsity Blues
Jake Takeuchi Sports Editor
The Varsity Blues women’s soccer team dominated their season- and home-opener on August 31, beating the Royal Military College of Canada Paladins (RMC) 4–0 with an impressive second-half performance at the Varsity Arena. Prior to this game, riding a 19-game win streak against the Paladins, the Blues had an undefeated record of 25 wins, zero losses, and one draw against their opponent. With this game, the Blues extended their streak to 20 and secured their 26 total victories against the Paladins, kicking off the Ontario University Athletics (OUA) regular season with positive momentum.
What happened?
The Blues opened the game with calm and steady possession, controlling the ball along the backline. With a lack of pressure by the Paladins’ forwards, the Blues’ defense led by Taya Semeniuk and Bryanna Campbell led the patient build-up play along the halfway line in the first 10 minutes of the game. At the 14-minute mark, a deep free-kick from the Blues led to a one-on-one opportunity at the back post for captain and defender Hannah Chown,
who saw her attempt saved at close range by Paladins goalkeeper Brianna West. Shortly after, Chown came through at the other end of the field as she made a clutch goal-line clearance after a misplay at the Blues’ backline, which was the RMC’s only chance of the first half.
The Paladins struggled under the intense high defensive line pressure of the Blues forwards, who created multiple chances to break the deadlock but were thwarted by West’s undeniably heroic saves. Despite the home team controlling the vast majority of possession and shots, the first half ended with zeros on the board for both teams.
The second half of the game saw the Blues continue their intense game style, with the high press rewarding the Blues with a bevy of early chances. The floodgates finally burst open at the 56-minute mark as Blues forward Marissa Castellano showed nifty footwork along the left wing before laying it off for fellow forward Julia Cristovao, who smashed the ball into the net after surging into the box.
The goal saw the Blues grow in confidence, and at the 77-minute mark, forward Anne Yeomans added to the tally by converting winger Naomi Atem’s perfectly weighted cross cutting through the six-yard box, making the score 2–0.
The onslaught continued, as less than two
minutes later, Chown coolly converted a penalty earned by the surging run of Blues forward Hannah Harkin. Chown had an excellent all-round game, seemingly covering the entire left half of the pitch while contributing a team-high six shots from defense.
Blues forward Natasha Budisa finished off the game at the 84-minute mark by converting a rebound from midfielder Antonia Figueroa’s shot. The game ended with the Blues firmly in control, putting up 29 attempted shots — 18 on goal
— while RMC finished with just two attempts — one on goal — for a relatively untested and clean record for Blues goalkeeper Juliana Ottoni.
What’s next?
The Blues continued their three-game home stand on September 6, as they hosted TMU Bold in a narrow 2–1 loss at the Varsity Stadium in the first ‘Line 1 derby’ of the year. The Blues look to build upon their clean performance and explosive attack as they prepare for the long OUA season ahead.
The Blues prepare for the kickoff against the Guelph Gryphons. CAROLINE HO/THE VARSITY
Blues' captain Hannah Chown and goalkeeper Julian Ottoni prepare
Full out and on top: Varsity Blues Dance Team dominates the 2024 season
Team captains on steps to success, collaborating across styles, giving back
Jessie Schwalb Varsity Contributor
A crowd of grey-clad students reaches out, grasping at the air, and kneel down as the music coalesces around a single violin note. They collapse to the floor in perfect unison, with one dancer looping through movements like a broken record. This isn’t a thriller movie: it’s the Varsity Blues Dance team performing “In Memory Of”, a routine that earned them the top score at the View Dance Challenge in March and secured their title as the top team of 2024.
After coming out on top in three separate competitions, the co-captains of the 2024 Blues Dance team spoke with The Varsity about their teamwork across different styles, preparing for a busy competition month, and their upcoming projects and performances to watch.
Cue the training montage
The Blues Dance Team dominated the university scene in 2023, winning top team awards in all three dance competitions they entered — a first for U of T.
Co-captain Marium Rizvi, a fourth-year management specialist, told The Varsity that as the team entered the 2024 season, they focused on ensuring their past success didn’t affect their work ethic or approach to other teams.
“We want to be remembered as good people first, good dancers second,” said Sara Da Silva — team co-captain and a fourth-year student studying neuroscience and immunology.
The Blues kicked off 2024 with a January 25 showcase at Hart House titled “Sonder.”
According to Rizvi, the performance provided them a platform to work through any nerves before the competition season. She also emphasized that the showcase helped them “feel the community around the team” — from the crew members who assisted with lighting and sound to the students, family members, and alumni who attended the performance.
In preparation for the competition season, the dancers prepared over 40 routines. Team members — typically those who have been on the team for at least one year — choreograph each piece, with styles ranging from contemporary to hip-hop to jazz.
Step up
The Blues dominated the competition, winning the top team award at the University Dance Challenge hosted by Terpsichore Canada on March 9–10. The following weekend, at the Be U: Varsity Challenge by Be Dance Competition, the Blues outshone 20 other teams to become the first team to win the title two years in a row. The team won the top team award at the View Dance Challenge on March 23–24, capping off the season.
Performances ranged from solos to groups of more than 25 dancers. Both Rizvi and De Silva told The Varsity that the line performances — those featuring more than 16 dancers — were among their highest-scoring routines and the ones they were most proud of.
“The fact that you can have 35 people holding
the same common goal and working together is such a special feeling,” said De Silva.
The competition season also featured fun moments, including handstand and lip-syncing competitions. At the end of the day, a drag queen performance during the Be U competition stole the show. “That was the time of our lives,” said Rizvi.
Star power
The team documented their competition season highlights on Instagram and TikTok, using money they won in their 2023 competitions to fund a professional-quality photo shoot with freelance photographer Taylor Nkiruka. Rizvi noted that these photographs boost the team’s visibility and provide members with material to advance their individual dance careers.
In July, the Blues dance team launched a photo series called “Nutrients in Colour.” Team member
physiology and human biology — collaborated with Professor Kenneth Yip from the Department of Cells & Systems Biology to create the series, which highlights various cancer-preventing nutrients. Rizvi explained that they connected Picache with other team members who posed with foods containing these nutrients, adding a creative angle to public health outreach.
The team has also collaborated with Best Buddies Canada to offer accessible dance classes to people with and without disabilities. “That was a very meaningful collaboration — to be able to provide something that we love so much, to be able to share it with people,” said Rizvi.
You can watch the Blues Dance Team perform at basketball games throughout the fall season or at their showcase in January 2025. Details about the showcase will be posted on their Instagram as the date approaches.
The Blues fly past Trent University 4–1 in home opener game
Men's soccer team puts on their own show,
dominating season opener
Bruno Macia Sports Columnist
The last time the Blues men’s soccer team held an opening game at the Varsity Stadium was in 2021. This year, they did it again to kick-off the 2024–2025 Ontario University Athletics soccer season against Trent University Excalibur.
On Friday evening, while the sky was still filled with the echoes of the Canadian International Air Show’s flight rehearsals, the Varsity Blues men’s soccer team put on a spectacle for the audience. The Blues — who haven’t lost to
The Blues’ first goal of the season came around minute 16. In a brilliant move, Schifano executed a jaw-dropping bicycle kick, connecting with the ball midair and placing it into the left side of the net. With the score at 1–0, the stage was set for the rest of the match.
Excalibur struggled to create opportunities in the first half, managing only four shots, with two saved by Blues goalkeeper Alex Lin. They also ended the period with two yellow cards, reflecting their attempts to prevent the Blues from advancing to the goal area.
The second half of the game
pressure on the Blues. Just a minute and a half after coming on as a substitute, Excalibur’s forward Oliver Parratt equalized, making it 1–1 within the first 10 minutes of the second half.
The Blues’ head coach, Ilya Orlov, didn’t let that setback affect the team. He quickly substituted midfielder Russell Stewart with Niklas Hallam. Hallam, who joined this year’s roster as a midfielder, was named soccer MVP and male athlete of the year during his senior high school season.
Drama unfolded in minute 70 of the match, when Excalibur’s defender Anthony D’Souza
What’s next?
Orlov said in a recent interview, “We have a good mix of older experienced players and new recruits that will add to the team from last year.” These words resonated strongly throughout that evening.
The team’s head coach’s statement was validated once again on August 31 at the Varsity Stadium. In that match, Hallam’s hattrick led the Blues to an impressive 8–0 victory over the Royal Military College of Canada.
Schifano takes a Trent defender on along the wing. COURTESY OF ARU DAS/VARSITY BLUES MEDIA
ACROSS
Elise Corbin Varsity Contributor