December 4, 2017

Vol. CXXXVIII, No. 12 December 4, 2017 thevarsity.ca —— University of Toronto’s Student Newspaper Since 1880

EDITORIAL

ARTS

SCIENCE

Reporting in a vacuum

Guillermo del Toro’s new film, The Shape of Water

Would you like crickets with that?

Refining our philosophy on journalistic bias

Director emphasizes learning to love and understanding ‘the other’ page 12

Nutritious insects may be the future of food

page 9

TCM constitutional amendment addresses clubs funding

page 15

Grey areas on green issues

Clubs with ties to Finance Committee receive up to three times more than those without Carey Davis Varsity Contributor

Trinity College’s direct democracy student government will address potential conflicts of interest affecting club funding at their meeting on December 4.

A constitutional amendment is on its way to the floor of the Trinity College Meeting (TCM) regarding the correlation between the Trinity College Finance Committee’s (FC) allocation of club funding and its members’ affiliations with those clubs.

Trinity student Jessica Rapson proposed the amendment after calculating that, this fall, Trinity clubs with previous or current executives on the FC received on average over three times the amount of funding as clubs without executives on the FC. The motion would amend the Conflict of Interest clause of the TCM’s constitution regarding procedures of the FC. The altered clause would read: “No member of the FC shall vote on matters pertaining to the budgets of levied or non-levied clubs of which they are current or previous executive members or signing officers. Furthermore, no member of the FC shall be present during any in camera

Although one of Canada’s most environmentally friendly employers, U of T does not make some major environmental stats publicly available page 4

Trin, page 5

Black Students’ Association organizes in response to racism in Faculty of Applied Science and Engineering Town hall held November 28 after recent incidents of racial harassment Nouran Sakr Varsity Staff

The Black Students’ Association (BSA) organized a town hall on November 28 in response to a recent series of racist incidents in the Faculty of Applied Science and Engineering.

Dozens of students and faculty members gathered at the Sandford Fleming Building to share their experiences with anti-Black discrimination, find ways to eliminate racism on campus, and create a sense of community.

U of T’s Black Liberation Collective (BLC) and the National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE) attended and co-organized the event.

In September, an international student in her first year of engineering approached the BSA with screenshots of two group chats in which three non-Black students repeatedly used the n-word and sent a picture depicting blackface.

One of the group chats consisted mainly of

engineering students attending an orientation for incoming international undergrads. The racist remarks were initiated by one of the orientation leaders. The other group chat was a first-year civil engineering group.

In response to an email from the BSA, BLC, and NSBE outlining the racist incidents, Dean of the Faculty of Applied Science and Engineering Cristina Amon met with the respondents — the three students implicated in the anti-Black racism — to inform them that the incidents had been brought to her attention. Shortly after, an official investigation was initiated.

The email was also sent to Vice-Provost Students Sandy Welsh and the Anti-Racism and Cultural Diversity Office.

According to BSA President Anyika Mark, the three investigated students subsequently reached out to several Black students in hopes of finding the student who filed the complaint. Mark said that she is concerned about the safety of the complainant,

especially with the recent white supremacist posters on campus.

“We’ve literally had to create a safety plan for her,” she said. “She’s the only Black student in her class so, sometimes we walk with her from classes and tutorials.”

Criticism, calls to action from the BSA The BSA called for the expulsion of the three respondents, in addition to a $500 fine and 25 hours of community service, which are stipulated as possible sanctions in the Code of Student Conduct. Mark believes that there must be serious consequences in order to set a precedent for anyone who thinks that racial harassment is acceptable.

Other demands include an independent Black studies department, funding an antiBlack racism campaign on campus, funding NSBE, and a higher recruitment of Black faculty and staff members in the Faculty of Applied Science and Engineering.

Mark also added that they were told

BSA, page 4

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THERE WAS NO PLACE LIKE THIS PLACE, ANYPLACE! Vol. CXXXVIII, No. 12

Push me to the edge, Honest Ed’s is dead

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Ed once said, “Before you jump into anything big, always check the details first.” Guess I forgot to check if Honest Ed’s was still open...

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“Why didn’t Drake save Honest Ed’s?” “If you’re reading this, it’s too late [to save Honest Ed’s].”

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“The squirrels are looking for Honest Ed! At his prices they think he’s ‘nuts!’” Me too, squirrels — where is Honest Ed’s now?

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“Come in and get lost.” Looks like what we’re really losing is Honest Ed’s. Thank you for the 68 years: 1948–2016.

DECEMBER 4, 2017 u 3

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29 per cent of UTSU BoD missed enough meetings to effectively abandon office, according to union bylaws Average attendance at board meetings is 55 per cent Alex Tough Varsity Staff

Fourteen of the 49 sitting members of the University of Toronto Students’ Union’s (UTSU) Board of Directors have effectively abandoned office. There are 57 positions on the board, eight of which are unfilled.

According to Section 2 of the union’s Bylaw X, a Division I or II director “shall be deemed to have delivered their resignation, confirmed by a simple majority vote of the Board” whenever said member has failed to send regrets for two missed meetings, failed to attend three consecutive meetings or any four meetings regardless of sent regrets, or failed to attend any three committee meetings. Division I and II directors include everyone except University of Toronto Mississauga Students’ Union directors, General Equity directors, and members of the UTSU executive. At least one of the resignation conditions outlined in the bylaw has been met by approximately 29 per cent of the directors beholden to it: 14 people.

The Varsity’s attendance calculations are based on an attendance record spreadsheet supplied by UTSU executives. It includes board meeting attendance at six scheduled meetings and the Annual General Meeting (AGM). The attendance from the November meeting was not available. All absences at the AGM are recorded here as being with regrets.

The seven meetings have been attended by a rough average of 55 per cent of the board. Of these meetings, a director misses an average of three meetings. In addition, 22 people have missed at least four meetings this year.

Directors who have effectively abandoned office include New College Director Chengye Yang; St. Michael’s College Directors Myron Atta-Mensah and Garnet Ryu; Trinity College Director Nish Chankar; University College Director Anushka Kurian; Woodsworth College Directors Sara Zamani and Justin Zelnicker; AtLarge Director Stephanie Hovdestadi; Faculty of Dentistry Director Joanna Man; Faculty of Music Director Rebekah Tam; Faculty of Pharmacy Director Jakov Krezic; Computer Sciences Director Lisa Guo; Rotman Commerce Director Kevin Wang; and Transitional Year Program Director Osman Osman, whose term ended in October but met the resignation benchmark prior to that.

When asked about the directors who have effectively abandoned office, UTSU President Mathias Memmel wrote, “The role of the board is to hold the executives accountable, so it would be inappropriate for us to start disciplining directors or trying to remove them from the board.”

UTSU Vice-President Internal Daman Singh wrote that although “the Board has a lot more power and autonomy than previous years, this year’s Board faces the same issues that previous years have faced as there is a small group of very involved directors but a larger group of directors who are less involved.” Singh said that the board is “too large,” and because of its size, “it’s difficult for individual Directors to feel meaningfully engaged in the work of the organization.”

The UTSU attendance record occasionally differs from what is published in official meeting minutes. Aidan Fishman, Faculty of Law Director, is listed on the attendance record as being one absence away from a deemed resignation. His absence here is noted on June 20, despite him being marked in the meeting minutes as being present and even moving a motion. Conversely, Carol Yeung, At-Large

Mathias Memmel

Daman Singh

Anne Boucher

Chimwemwe Alao

Stuart Norton

Shivani Nathoo

José Wilson

Amal Ismail-Ladak

Prashansa Atreay

Chengye Yang

Myron Atta-Mensah

Nyestanak

Garnet Ryu

Nish Chankar

Kshemani Constantinescu

Anushka Kurian

Aidan Swirsky

Jayde Jones

Sara Zamani

Justin Zelnicker

Stephanie Hovdestadi

Carol Yeung

Yasmine El Sanyoura

Joanna Man

Chris Dryden

Aidan Fishman

Donald Wang

Rebekah Tam

Melissa Dizon

Jakov Krezic

Lisa Guo

Kassandra Neranjan

Valerie Steckle

Wilson Wu

Kevin Wang

Amanda Harvey-Sánchez

Ali Al-Hassan

Rasha Al-Rammahi

Shirley Cui

Jessica Duggan

Amy Jin

Kelly Tsai-Ying Liu

Zahira Tsabehji

Andrea Bermudez

Grace Marshall

Ziigwen Mixemong

Ozioma Nwankwo

Osman Osman

Three or less total missed meetings

Director, is marked present in the attendance record for June 20 but is not marked present in the meeting minutes.

“The minute-taker doesn’t always know who everyone is, and keeping track of fifty-seven people can be difficult,” said Memmel. “That’s why the speaker keeps a separate record, which is traditionally more accurate. We update the minutes later on.”

Two of the directors’ resignations — those of Chengye Yang and Nish Chankar — are determined by an absence without regrets at

Four or more total missed meetings

the first board meeting, which was held on April 29. The official attendance record notes that absences without regrets at the first meeting are considered absences with regrets — ‘freebies,’ if you will. This is not reflected in the bylaws, and it is not factored into The Varsity’s calculations.

Chankar told The Varsity that she moved to Germany for a couple of months, packing on April 29 and departing on April 30. She claimed that she notified the UTSU’s Speaker, Billy Graydon, and Memmel, and that her regrets should have been recorded. According to the

Meets Bylaw X requirements

bylaws, regrets must be sent to the Speaker and Vice-President Internal.

Resignations must be accepted by a motion put forth by a board member at a board meeting.

According to Graydon, a motion to accept the resignation of a member has only happened once in the past three years.

If all the de facto resignations presented here were accepted, Canada’s largest student union by membership would lose almost one third of its representatives.

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How green are we compared to other Canadian campuses?

U of T lacks published stats on greenhouse gas emissions, water consumption

UTSG does have one of the highest waste diversion rates in Canada. STEVEN LEE/THE VARSITY

Josie Kao Associate News Editor

Despite its environmental accomplishments — like being named one of the country’s greenest employers — U of T does not publish annual statistics on its greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) and water consumption, unlike some other schools in Canada.

Here, The Varsity takes a look at what other schools are accomplishing around the country — and how U of T compares.

GHG emissions and water consumption are two of the most important measurements of greenness, so it is difficult to quantitatively compare U of T’s accomplishments with those of other schools across Canada.

Greenhouse gas emissions Some schools, like Université Laval and the University of Northern British Columbia are already carbon neutral, meaning that they don’t produce more carbon than they offset.

The University of Calgary (UCalgary) has decreased its GHG emissions per student by 35 per cent between 2008 and 2016, while the University of British Columbia (UBC) saw a 30 per cent reduction between 2007 and 2016. McGill University, as of 2015, reduced its GHG emissions by 25 per cent since 1990, and it has recently announced plans of to go carbon neutral.

Amelia Brinkerhoff, a sustainability strategy coordinator at McGill, said that they wanted to put something more ambitious on the table to work toward. “It’s one thing just to say that you’re going to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, but it’s more interesting to say let’s go for zero.”

While U of T does not publish statistics on its GHG reductions, the annual Sustainability Yearbook that the school releases does highlight some savings in carbon dioxide. Notably, as of 2015, Robarts Library has saved 1,221 tonnes of carbon dioxide per year, while the Medical Sciences Building has saved 1,205 tonnes.

According to Ron Swail, U of T’s Chief

Operations Officer for Property Services & Sustainability, the university has managed to decrease GHG emissions despite the “massive growth” U of T has seen since 2000.

“We use less energy today... than we did in the year 2000. We’ve been able to avoid over 50,000 tonnes of greenhouse gases, which is the equivalent to taking 2,000 cars off the road,” said Swail.

UBC Sustainability Initiative, said, “We don’t really have water shortages on the campus, we have [a] pretty good water supply, but we still [report on water reductions] in order to demonstrate leadership.”

Though U of T does not measure water consumption as these other schools do, Swail said that the school does use less water today than in the year 2000.

Water consumption Water consumption is another major indicator of whether a school is achieving its sustainability goals. At UBC, water use per student has gone down 59 per cent between 2000 and 2016.

According to the same metric, UCalgary has decreased consumption per student by 27 per cent between 2008 and 2016. The University of Waterloo has decreased water use per square metre by 22.1 per cent between 2010 and 2016.

James Tansey, Executive Director of the

Water diversion and releasing statistics One statistic that U of T does publish is its waste diversion rate, which measures how much material is diverted from landfills.

UTSG has one of the highest rates in Canada, diverting 70.6 per cent of its waste. In comparison, UBC was at 67 per cent in the 2015-2016 academic year, the University of Ottawa is at 64.5 per cent, and Waterloo is at 41 per cent.

however, stated that the legal terms used in the code may also cover online harassment.

Students at the town hall shared their experiences with anti-Blackness, expressed their frustration, and urged the university to support its Black students, faculty, and staff.

“Black representation in STEM matters,” said Mikhail Burke, a PhD candidate at U of T. He believes that anti-Blackness in the science community is due to a lack of representation. “We need to tackle one in order to tackle the other.”

Chimwemwe Alao, Vice-President Equity of the University of Toronto Students’ Union (UTSU) was present at the event, but not in his capacity as a representative of the union.

“There’s been a lot of conversation about racism on campus that I experience every single day,” said Alao. He said he was supporting his community and engaging in an “important conversation.” As a Black student, he said that racism is a daily experience and includes anything “from microaggression and small interactions to very overt incidents of anti-Blackness.”

Despite no official UTSU presence at the town hall, UTSU President Mathias Memmel said that anti-Blackness is a systemic problem. “The BSA’s efforts to counter antiBlack racism are important, and we support them.”

BSA, from cover that the investigation may take up to a year. She believes that this process is long, bureaucratic, and intended to tire people out.

“It’s meant to derail conversations about real social change,” she said.

The duration of Code of Student Conduct investigations varies on a case-by-case basis, according to U of T’s Director of Media Relations, Althea Blackburn-Evans. More complex cases may last up to 18 months, but resolutions are usually reached much sooner.

“The goal is to have a fair process in a timely manner if possible,” said BlackburnEvans.

The BSA contested the language of the Code of Student Conduct, stating that

the inclusion of specific terms such as “anti-Blackness” and “anti-Black racism” was crucial. U of T keeps its definition of discrimination very broad.

Blackburn-Evans emphasized that, because of the university’s diverse campus, its policies must remain broad in order to include all kinds of discrimination. “We make these broad references to ensure that our very diverse community is included in those policies.”

Another concern raised by Mark was the lack of policies that specifically address cyberbullying. U of T’s Code of Student Conduct does not include any mention of online harassment. Blackburns-Evans,

The town hall, hosted by the BSA, responded to a number of racist incidents that occured at the Engineering Faculty. STEVEN LEE/THE VARSITY

DECEMBER 4, 2017 u 5

var.st/news Trin, from cover discussion of the budgets of levied or non-levied However, both Martin and the FC Chair Amanda clubs of which they are current or previous ex- Cutinha told The Varsity that Rapson had not ecutive members or signing officers.” presented her calculations to them prior to The Rapson commenced her investigation after Varsity’s request for comment. On November 26, hearing that several well-established clubs, in- Rapson posted her findings to a private Facebook cluding two of which she is Treasurer, received event for fellow Trinity students. Martin was in“very little from the FC.” She used the publicly vited to the group. On November 30, Rapson also shared FC budget proposals to calculate the re- publicly posted her data to the TCM’s Facebook sults. event, for all members of the college to review.

Fellow Trinity student Luis Lopez ran a statisAccording to Cutinha and Martin, as of this tical regression on Rapson’s calculations through academic year, no FC discussions occur in camthe system Stata and determined the relationship era, so minutes are taken and available to the to be statistically significant with a 99 per cent membership. confidence level. In his published report, Lopez Both chairs believe Rapson is generating imcautioned against assuming a causal relationship. portant discussion for Trinity’s direct democracy.

“As I state in my research, the simple fact that However, both also told The Varsity that they will the evidence seems to confirm a relationship investigate the calculations further to see if other could be problematic, since it could signal to Trin- factors are at play before assuming a causal relaity students that there is preferential treatment in tionship between FC members’ involvement with the FC — even if that is not the case,” wrote Lopez clubs and the funding those clubs receive. to The Varsity. “Perceptions in politics matter.”

In order for the constitutional amendment to While FC members must abstain from voting pass, there must be a two-thirds vote in favour of on their club’s received budget, Rapson believes the motion both on the December 4 meeting as this is inadequate in mitigating possible impar- well as the subsequent meeting in January. tiality.

Rapson suggested that club executives sitting on the FC wield influence over budget allocation through their presence in the room. Their presence, said Rapson, pressures fellow committee members during voting. They are also able to answer questions about their clubs during discussion.

Rapson does not believe there is malicious intent on the part of the FC, or that members are actively misallocating funds to disproportionately benefit their clubs. However, she does think her numbers illuminate an issue that must be addressed.

“I think [the amendment] gives a better chance to people who are not really involved in student governance but who still want to have a Trinity club and make an impact on Trinity life,” said Rapson. “And it will also just level the playing field for everyone.”

TCM Chair Leila Martin confirmed that she The relationship is significant with a 99 per cent received the amendment “about a month ago.” confidence level. SOFIA LUDWIG/THE VARSITY

University creating advisory group to find “alternative sources of funding” Admin motivated by decline in provincial public funding, low student funding Silas Le Blanc Varsity Staff

The university is looking for faculty, staff, students, alumni, and governors who have expertise in generating funding as provincial public funding declines on an annual basis.

U of T Vice-President and Provost Cheryl Regehr sent a memo calling for nominations for an advisory group to find alternative sources of funding.

“Ontario universities, as we said in the memo, are facing increased financial pressure,” said Regehr. The provincial grant, which comprises 27 per cent of U of T’s current operating budget, decreases by about 1.5 per cent per year. “On top of that, we have among the lowest student funding in the country and our tuitions are regulated, so in order to continue the great world-class research and teaching that we do, we need to think of new ways to support it,” said Regehr.

The initiative raises questions about how the university will go about finding alternative sources of funding, and what moral and legal obligations they will abide by. There is precedence for Canadian universities being swayed to make decisions based on third-party interest from donors. In 2010, Carleton University accepted a $15 million donation from Calgary businessman Clayton Riddell, which allowed the Riddell Foundation to appoint three of five people on a steering committee, ultimately influencing the curriculum in their school of political management. In 2012, an

agreement between York University and the Centre for International Governance and Innovation, which would have funded study in international law, fell through due to faculty opposition.

The university is still looking for nominations for positions on the advisory board. They will be bringing in experts from different fields to discuss and analyze different types of feasible sources of funding. The assessors are looking for nominees with expertise on how funds are generated in a wide variety of sectors.

The advisory group supposedly has one year to fulfil its mandate, which includes coming up with a set of principles aligned with the university’s values, examining a wide set of options for alternative funding, and recommending a set of options for diversifying funding sources.

The advisory group will be discussed by Regehr, Senior Strategist Sally Garner, and U of T President Meric Gertler. They will form a representative group to decide which of the nominees will be on the advisory group.

“The committee hasn’t been struck yet, so I can’t say what they’re going to look at,” continued Regehr. “My colleague Sally [Garner] will be sitting on the committee as a senior assessor assisting the committee, and they’ll look at a broad range, but I wouldn’t want to say what it’s going to be. That’s why we’re bringing in experts so they can think outside the box, in ways that we haven’t yet.”

Nominations can be submitted by email to provost@utoronto.ca before Friday, December 8.

Resisting Education event reflects on diverse barriers in postsecondary institutions Panel discusses tuition fees, Indigeneity, racism, part-time students

The panelists were Nour Alideeb, Francis Pineda, Phyllis McKenna, and Michelle Mabira.

SHANNA HUNTER/THE VARSITY

Andy Takagi Varsity Contributor

Resisting Education: Stories of Defiance and Perseverance — an event held by the Association of Part-Time Undergraduate Students (APUS) — took place in UTSG’s Claude T. Bissell Building on November 30 to discuss issues faced by students in postsecondary institutions across Ontario.

The event featured a panel of guests that included Nour Alideeb, former University of Toronto Mississauga Students’ Union (UTMSU) President and current Chairperson for the Canadian Federation of Students–Ontario (CFS-O);

Francis Pineda, President of the Continuing Education Students’ Association of Ryerson (CESAR); Michelle Mabira, 2016–2017 President of U of T’s African Students’ Association; and Phyllis McKenna, Vice-President Equity and Campaigns of CESAR. Moderating the event was Mala Kashyap, President of APUS. A range of issues concerning postsecondary students were raised by the panelists. Alideeb started the discussion by saying that access to postsecondary education is a “right, not privilege.” Citing the funding structure for public postsecondary institutions, particularly U of T, Alideeb said the university has become a “pub-

licly assisted institution” instead of “publicly funded,” with some of the highest tuition costs in Canada as well as steep costs for international students.

“Is our degree that great just because we slap on ‘U of T’?” asked Alideeb. She also pointed out solutions from her work at the CFS-O, in particular her lobbying for the Ontario Student Grant, as a starting point for reducing student fees and eliminating provincial interest on student loans.

McKenna focused on Indigeneity and the issues Indigenous students face when it comes to access to education. As an Indigenous woman, McKenna criticized the low graduation rates for Indigenous students in postsecondary institutions, as well as limitations on funding for bursaries and grants due to inadequate government funding.

Mabira relayed a perception of apathy on the part of the university administration toward marginalized students. Describing the process of reporting racism to university administrators as a “lottery,” Mabira attributed deep-rooted racism within the university to a “culture of persecuting people who can challenge the way the system is built and run.” She alluded to recent reports of anti-Black racism on campus as the product of a culture of racism and ignorance.

A part-time student at Ryerson University, Pineda discussed the importance of improving access to postsecondary education, as well as keeping in mind the struggles that part-time

students face at these institutions. Accessing bursaries and grants is difficult for part-time students, especially those who may incur debt over an extended period during school, said Pineda. He described in detail his own experiences as a part-time student dealing with debt and the long period of time it took for him to earn his degree.

In response to a question about solutions to the particular issues raised by the panel, McKenna conveyed a hope for diversifying approaches to education and changes to “the idea that Western worldviews are not the epitome of education.”

Alideeb, speaking from her experience with the UTMSU, said that discussion and trust are the basis for change. “If we don’t have the mechanisms to talk to each other about the things that we have problems with, we cannot find solutions to them and move forward.”

When asked about the practicality of solving issues that were raised by her fellow panelists, Alideeb responded with optimism about future conversations, specifically mentioning her past success with the ‘Fight the Fees’ campaign and the Ontario Student Grant. She emphasized the importance of the University of Toronto Students’ Union collaborating with student groups to work on tackling issues. “We need to be working with people to understand the issues — that way we can tackle them.”

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Ryerson Students’ Union condemns U of T’s proposed mandatory leave of absence policy

Michelle Obama speaks on girls’, women’s rights at Plan International Canada event

VP Equity calls policy “shameful”

Former First Lady speaks to 3,000 at event with free tickets for youth 14–24

Ilya Bañares Associate News Editor

Ann Marie Elpa Varsity Contributor

The Ryerson Students’ Union (RSU) has passed a motion to co-sign a letter condemning U of T’s proposed university-mandated leave of absence policy. The policy has already stirred up controversy at U of T. Hollie Olenik, an RSU board member from the Faculty of Communications and Design, introduced the motion at the November 23 Board of Directors meeting.

The proposed leave policy, in its current format, would allow the university to put students whose mental health issues pose a physical threat to themselves or others, or impact their academics negatively, on a non-punitive yet mandatory leave of absence. The proposed policy is distinct from regular mandatory leaves. Students in this situation would currently be placed on leave in accordance with the Code of Student Conduct.

At the meeting, Olenik called the policy “damaging,” adding, “I would not be this riled up about it if it wasn’t this important.”

The RSU’s co-signer of the letter is RyeACCESS, the university’s centre for disabilities.

“The employees [at RyeACCESS] wrote a letter of solidarity and support for Students for Barrier Free Access and asked if I would help get the support of the RSU,” said Olenik. “I thought that the policy was an important one to speak out against and brought the motion forward.”

Regarding why the RSU board condemned an action at another university, Olenik said, “I

think it’s important as a board member to advocate for all students, regardless of which institution they attend. A policy [like this] as always has the potential to be adopted by the Ryerson administration.”

Ryerson University does not currently have a mandatory leave of absence policy. Lauren Clegg, Media Relations Officer at Ryerson, declined to comment on the RSU’s motion or U of T’s leave policy.

Susanne Nyaga, President of the RSU, wrote to The Varsity, “Historically we have seen one University adopt a policy and similar policies pop up on other campuses. This policy does more harm than benefit to students who are facing mental health issues and if this were adopted at Ryerson the impact would be devastating.”

Nyaga said that although the RSU primarily represents Ryerson students, “it is not odd for us to stand in solidarity with students, especially marginalized students.”

Camryn Harlick, Vice-President Equity of the RSU, decried the policy as “shameful,” adding that “this policy is extremely ableist and as a mad identifying student [it] is scary to think that an institution could decide whether or not I am capable of staying in classes.”

Mathias Memmel, President of the University of Toronto Students’ Union (UTSU), said, “What the RSU does and doesn’t do has no bearing on the UTSU’s position. We remain opposed to the policy without the amendments we’ve proposed.”

The letter of condemnation was co-signed by the RSU and the university’s centre for disabilities.

MIN HO LEE/THE VARSITY

Crowds of eager attendees filled the Mattamy Athletic Centre at Ryerson University on November 28 in anticipation of Michelle Obama’s arrival. The former First Lady visited Toronto in her first Canadian appearance since leaving the White House.

The event was organized by Plan International Canada and The Economic Club of Canada, and it highlighted the importance of education for young girls and gender equality rights across the globe.

The talk format was a conversation between Obama and Rhiannon Traill, President and CEO of The Economic Club of Canada and a Ryerson alumna. Among the attendees were newly elected New Democratic Party leader Jagmeet Singh, MPP Michael Coteau, and Sophie Grégoire Trudeau.

Obama spoke about her upbringing as a young Black girl, being raised by two parents working blue collar jobs, and living in Chicago’s South Side. She credits the sacrifices her parents made and the challenges she overcame for her success as a lawyer.

“I tell my story so often because I think our stories are important, really important, but I think in our society, we’ve come to think that there are only a certain set of stories of ascension that are valid,” said Obama. “Success looks like one thing: it has a race, it has a gender, and as a result of our misperception of how different or diverse our stories are, some of us are ashamed of our stories.”

Obama also talked about issues facing young women in education, one being the intimidation of pursuing careers in STEM. Tickets for the talk were priced from $250 upwards to $1,500. For every ticket sold, a free ticket was given to a youth aged 14–24.

Spoken word artist Nadine Williams and singer-songwriter Milck opened the event, commenting on their past struggles and societal and cultural standards as women. Milck spoke of her battle with anorexia and Asian societal standards.

Milck delivered a performance of her song, “Quiet,” which she wrote based on personal experiences.

Chief R. Stacey Laforme of the Mississaugas of the New Credit First Nations addressed the crowd, delivering a prayer and recalling the role

The event took place on November 28.

THE WHITE HOUSE/PUBLIC DOMAIN

of women in the Anishinabek creation story.

Trudeau paid a surprise visit to the event and addressed the crowd regarding women’s issues in the world, including education for girls, forced marriage, and human trafficking.

“Education is the most important element for this reality to take shape and is a guarantee for the social and spiritual well-being of a nation.

Education should be unbiased and based on facts,” she said.

Trudeau noted that, in the duration of the event, 3,000 people were married off to much older men and forced to drop out of school.

“This is the fact. Two out of three adults who haven’t had the opportunity to read or write on this planet are women,” she said. “Ninety-eight per cent of all the millions of victims of sexual exploitation are women and girls, and right here in Canada and in the US. Human trafficking is the fastest growing crime against women.”

UTSU report outlines university’s commitment to accessible, gender-neutral washrooms University says Vice-Provost Students had “brief conversation” with UTSU on matter Jillian Schuler Associate News Editor

The University of Toronto Students’ Union’s (UTSU) Vice-President Equity, Chimwemwe Alao, stated in his November 2017 report that the university has committed to making “all future buildings have ‘universal washrooms’ (washrooms that are accessible, and all-gendered in their design).”

Alao also reported that the university will

establish “a committee in order to look at how current gendered washrooms can be retroactively fit to accommodate these universal washrooms.”

Althea Blackburn-Evans, Director of Media Relations at the university, confirmed that a meeting between the UTSU and the Office of the Vice-Provost Students involved a “brief conversation” on planning for more gender-neutral washrooms in the future.

In the report, Alao called the move toward

universal washrooms “a huge victory,” and he said that the union is “waiting for the administration to allow us to share this information with our members.”

Blackburn-Evans said that the university’s Facilities & Services team have worked alongside the Sexual & Gender Diversity Office to include more gender-neutral washrooms and single-stall washrooms on campus, and to determine “gaps in washroom access.”

In addition, she explained that for several

years now, Facilities & Services, in partnership with departments, have added many single-use bathrooms to buildings and will continue to do so.

The Centre for Women and Trans People has a map of all the public gender-neutral washrooms and single-stall washrooms available on campus.

Alao declined The Varsity’s request to comment further on this subject.

Comment

December 4, 2017 var.st/comment comment@thevarsity.ca

What does it mean to respect religious freedom?

Québec’s Bill 62 represents a limited and disingenuous understanding of basic liberties Zach Rosen Current Affairs Columnist

Québec’s Bill 62 , which was passed into law on October 18, has caused considerable controversy due to the broad restrictions it imposes on religious people seeking to interact with state institutions in normal, commonplace ways.

The bill bans people from wearing face coverings — including religious garments like the niqab and the burqa — when interacting with government representatives or using government-provided services, except in emergencies.

The government of Québec provided some examples of how the bill will be applied in practice: a person with their face covered will be able to browse through the library, but not take out a book; they will be allowed to visit a family member in the hospital, but not interact with the nurses. Perhaps most burdensome of all, they will not be able to sit in a publicly funded university lecture or high school class — a formidable barrier for students pursuing an education in the province.

The government has claimed that the women who cover their faces for religious reasons may be eligible for an exemption, but this is little more than a formality. Minister of Justice Stéphanie Vallée has confirmed that, in the bill’s current form, all face coverings will be banned, regardless of their nature. And although exemptions are theoretically possible, the bar for such exemptions is set very high: the bill mandates that any accommodations should be “consistent with the principle of state neutrality,” and should not "impose undue hardship" on "public safety."

These provisions are intended to give lawmakers recourse to deny accommodations requested on religious grounds. It is an unavoidable fact

that religiously motivated face coverings are the explicit target of this legislation.

Citing significant concerns about religious discrimination, a Québec Superior Court judge recently issued a temporary suspension of this portion of the bill, calling on the government to clarify how restrictions on face coverings would be implemented in practice. With this in mind, there is certainly reason to be skeptical about the bill's intentions.

The justifications that have been offered for these restrictions are varied. The government has provided a confused plethora of reasons — some combination of concern over identification, communication, and public safety. Québec Premier Philippe Couillard defended the new law on the ground that “we are in a free and democratic society. You speak to me, I should see your face, and you should see mine. It’s as simple as that.”

Questioned by reporters about the consequences of refusing to uncover one’s face, Vallée made the bluntest statement of all: “It’s the person’s choice to have access to services or not.” In short, if individuals want access to government services, all they have to do is abandon their religious beliefs. No problem.

This summarizes the true nature of Bill 62.

It is intended to make the religious practices of some individuals a barrier to their participation in public life and to their access to public services. The official objectives of the legislation — security, communication, and identification — suppose only the most restrictive view on religious liberty: that the only responsibility of the government is to ensure that religious beliefs and practices are not strictly banned.

This limited understanding of religious liberty is flawed. Under section 2(a) of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, the govern-

ment has a responsibility to uphold religious freedom. This means allowing for a wide range of beliefs to be actionable in the public sphere. It is not enough to make religious beliefs formally legal; they must be substantively unassailed as well.

Instead of regressing to the restrictive principles that underlie Bill 62, we need to assume an expansive accommodationist view of religious freedom that recognizes the fundamental goal of the principle itself: to make room within society for each individual to pursue their life in accordance with their particular beliefs, views, values, and ideals.

Following this more favourable principle, the problem with Bill 62 becomes evident. The defenders of the bill refuse to take seriously the fact that, by making it impossible for a person to board the bus with their face covered, it becomes functionally illegal for certain Muslim women, who cover their faces for religious reasons, to ride the bus. This would force these women, and others in similar positions, to make a choice between exercising a religious practice and using a public service — thereby establishing the observation of their Muslim faith as a legally sanctioned barrier to accessing the public sphere.

The establishment of such a barrier is absolutely incompatible with the ideal of religious freedom, central to which is the principle that the government may not discriminate on the basis of religious belief or practice.

Vallée can hide behind the artificial distinction between outlawing a practice and simply making that practice incompatible with public life. But this is disingenuous and discriminatory. Taking religious freedom seriously means far more than refraining from making some religion or religious practice entirely illegal. It entails taking care not to force minority citizens

into choosing between their religion and their government. It means making sure that religion is never a consideration when a person 'decides,' as Vallée claims, whether to access public services or not.

The fact that this type of legislation inevitably falls hardest on members of marginalized or underrepresented religious communities demonstrates yet another one of its flaws — that the burden of choosing between the law and religious belief is not distributed evenly. Rather, it is unfairly shouldered by members of groups who may not have the political clout to sway the vote in the opposite direction.

Supporters of the law claim that it is not the responsibility of the government to set up society in a way that is most ‘convenient’ for Muslims, but this assertion ignores the fact that Canadian society is already set up to convenience nonMuslims. The institutions of Canadian society are already moulded so as not to interfere with the religious beliefs and values of populations who have historically had a significant presence here. The tough choices that Vallée prescribes only need to be made by those who lack the influence to avoid them.

Religious expression is crucial for ensuring that all people have a far-reaching freedom to pursue their life in a way that is in accordance with their particular beliefs and values. The ability to attend class, pay for a bus ticket, ask a doctor a question, and borrow a book from a library must be included in that freedom. Bill 62’s intentions — and the majority support it apparently enjoys from Canadians within and outside Québec — reflect a total betrayal of that ideal.

Zach Rosen is a second-year student at Trinity College studying History and Philosophy. He is The Varsity’s Current Affairs Columnist.

RIHAM ABU AFFAN/THE VARSITY

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Op-ed: Building a student centre The poorly managed Student Commons project has the potential to bankrupt the UTSU — but we’re working on a plan to fix it

Though initially proposed to be built on Devonshire Place, the Student Commons was eventually pushed to its current perch on College Street. NATHAN CHAN/THE VARSITY

Mathias Memmel Varsity Contributor

The Student Commons is opening next year.

If you don’t know what that means, you’re not alone — and even if you are not aware of what the Student Commons is, you’re paying for it.

Ten years ago, in the fall of 2007, students voted to let the University of Toronto Students’ Union (UTSU) build a student centre. They

even voted to pay for it themselves, by way of a new UTSU fee that has now grown to $10.24 per semester. At the time, students were promised a 600-seat auditorium, three restaurants, and office space for campus groups. The building would be in a central location on Devonshire Place, and it would be under the complete control of students — or, rather, of the UTSU. Most of those goals were never realistic.

The university ultimately gave the Devonshire plot to the Goldring Centre for

High Performance Sport, and the Student Commons was forced to relocate to College Street. The original business plan was discarded and never replaced, and work on the project continued without regard for the financial sustainability of the UTSU. Nonetheless, in April of 2015, the UTSU went ahead and signed a binding agreement with the university, outlining the operational arrangements between the university and the UTSU, operating costs, financial controls, and a management structure. At that point, the project could no longer be stopped.

In June 2016, we calculated the cost of operating the Student Commons for the first time. In the process, we discovered that the Student Commons levy wouldn’t even come close to keeping the building, and ultimately the UTSU itself, afloat. If nothing were done, we were facing a deficit of approximately $500,000 in 2018–2019 and a carried-forward deficit of $3.8 million by the 2027 academic year. Bankruptcy became a real possibility.

So, where are we now?

We’ve spent the last 18 months coming up with a plan to save both the Student Commons and the UTSU, and we’re doing well. If it had been possible to cancel the project, we would have, but the UTSU is contractually obligated to press on — for better or for worse. The people who decided to spend millions of dollars on the mere idea of a student centre have long since left the UTSU. Still, there’s no turning back.

On a day-to-day basis, the Student Commons project doesn’t excite me; it frustrates me. We shouldn’t be in this situation. When the student union at the University of British Columbia decided to build a new student centre, they

provided detailed plans before they asked students to commit. The UTSU did no such thing. Needless to say, students aren’t getting what they voted for in 2007.

However, while the Student Commons really does threaten the existence of the UTSU, it’s also a great opportunity. Students voted for a student centre, and the fact that they’re getting one is a good thing. Even if the building that’s opening next fall isn’t the building that was promised, it can still make campus better.

There’s a need for accessible, 24-hour space for clubs and students, and the Student Commons will provide that. It will also create more space for clubs and other campus groups. There won’t be a 600-seat auditorium, and it will take the better part of a year to get the building up and running, but the end result will still be a student centre where St. George students can innovate and conduct research, study and learn, attend and organize events, and access student-facing services. Everything else aside, that’s a big deal.

The next step is to show students the mysterious ‘plan’ that we’ve been working on since last summer. That will happen early in 2018. Then, we’ll start rolling out the new programming, and it will finally be safe to get excited about the project again. There really is light at the end of this very long tunnel — the age of the dumpster fire is over.

Mathias Memmel is a student at University College studying Computer Science and Political Science. He is the President of the University of Toronto Students’ Union.

Spending more time in Robarts Why the library should offer 24/7 access to all study spaces during exams Nick Papageorge Varsity Contributor

Ever since joining the Faculty of Law in 2015, I have noticed one shortcoming at UTSG: insufficient access to library space during exam season. I am not referring to difficulties finding a space in one of our many libraries during peak hours — this is an unavoidable part of student life — but to finding a space when the lights in most of those libraries have gone down.

At Queen’s University, where I completed my Bachelor of Arts, there is no such problem.

Queen’s students can avail themselves of the entire space offered by Joseph S. Stauffer Library, the school’s main library, at any time of the day or night during the exam period. While services like the circulation desk and amenities like the café close for the night, every floor of the library remains open and accessible to students.

Though some at Queen’s have criticized this policy, largely because they contend it increases anxiety among students, I argued that this isn't true in a piece for the The Queen’s Journal.

I firmly believe that Robarts Library, our Stauffer equivalent, ought to offer 24/7 opening hours for the entire building during exams.

My focus is on Robarts because it is both the largest library on campus and the only one currently offering 24-hour access, which makes it a logical and more modest starting point for the modification of opening hours. What does remain open during the exam period is woefully inadequate for students seeking any study

space, let alone a place for concentrated reading and immersive studying.

Currently, only the first three floors of Robarts stay open to students through the night, and those are mostly comprised of common space. Anyone using the study rooms and spaces on the upper floors of Robarts during exam time must leave the library or relocate to these floors at 11:00 pm. There is only a single formal Reading Room on the second floor, and students trying to relocate from the upper floors are, by that time, likely to find this room scant of space. It would strain credulity to suggest that this offering is proportionate to the more than 60,000 undergraduate and graduate students enrolled at the St. George campus.

There are four reasons to support more expansive opening hours during exams.

First, a 24/7 policy that grants students access to the entire library is the only way to accommodate the diverse study habits and sleep patterns of students. Conventional morning-to-midnight hours assume every studying student thrives during this time period, but it would be unreasonable to assume this is true: some of us do our best work after dark, and some are surely capable of the same in the very early morning hours. A university with the size and wealth of resources that U of T boasts should do everything it can to foster the success of all of its students.

Second, extended hours will have a knock-on benefit to those students who are perfectly happy with the conventional morning-to-midnight

hours. If students who prefer to work late nights and early mornings know that they have this option, they might reasonably choose not to vie for a coveted spot in the library during peak hours.

Extending hours in Robarts might thereby alleviate some of the daytime congestion in our libraries during the exam period.

Third, a more expansive opening policy could have a beneficial effect on the mental health of students. There are few things less desirable for a student beset by exams and deadlines than having a good, productive flow of study disrupted.

And every student has likely experienced a moment of despondency upon discovering that the time they budgeted for a certain assignment or topic of study is insufficient. There is no reason to exacerbate that fretting by forcing students to race against the clock as well. Students would gain peace of mind knowing that they are free to stay in their spot at the library until the work they set out to do is finished.

Finally, all the benefits mentioned outweigh what I understand to be the costs of amending the current opening hours. I reached out to several university libraries across Canada, and 12 were kind enough to respond. Those that were able to return estimates of the costs associated with their extended hours noted that those costs were primarily associated with security. The respondent universities pegged these costs in the tens-of-thousands range.

Our school is the largest in Canada, meaning the costs of this change may surpass those incurred at other schools. That said, those costs

VIVIAN TONG/THE VARSITY

are likely to be manageable relative to our larger enrolment numbers and annual operating budget of what is proposed to total $2.47 billion for the 2017–2018 fiscal year.

I am by no means intimating that we spend more money to keep library services like circulation perpetually available, or that harried librarians should be burning the midnight oil. That would likely be disproportionately expensive and, in any event, none of the schools I surveyed offer a full panoply of library services throughout their extended hours. U of T could employ the same approach as these schools: regular hours for full-time library staff supplemented by security guards to check IDs and patrol the stacks through the night.

None of this is meant to denigrate our school’s library services. My informal survey of other university libraries revealed that, while U of T may not be the best in this department, it is among the more generous. But the school need not be complacent — it can be better. U of T is a preeminent university whose students are passionate about the work that they do here. Giving us greater access to Robarts during exam time would be conducive to the success upon which U of T prides itself.

Nick Papageorge is a third-year student in the Faculty of Law.

Editorial

December 4, 2017 var.st/comment editorial@thevarsity.ca

There’s no such thing as unbiased reporting Relying on elusive standards of journalistic ‘objectivity’ is misleading, and it is in our best interest to adopt more attainable ideals The Varsity Editorial Board

A study conducted by prominent American journalists Walter Lippmann and Charles Merz in 1920 revealed some inconvenient truths about The New York Times’ coverage of the then-recently concluded Russian Revolution: one of the most prominent news organizations in the western world had effectively bungled their coverage of a major historical event. Lippmann and Merz found that the Times’ stories on the revolution were rarely based in fact, but rather shaped by the “hopes of the men who composed the news organization.” Influenced by the outcomes they were banking on, the reporters’ writing lacked the factual accuracy or balanced perspective necessary to deliver an informed report.

Essentially, Lippmann and Merz decried the Times’ coverage as biased. And so, the authors of the study, and presumably much of the public who read it, lost trust in the so-called ‘biased’ tendencies of major media outlets. By way of solution, Lippmann argued that journalism should embrace more of a “scientific spirit” — believing that ultimate fairness, or ‘objectivity,’ could be achieved in journalism so long as the journalists made the study of evidence of verification to be the cornerstone of their work. Thus ensued the era of supposedly ‘neutral’ journalism, when well-trusted news anchors like Walter Cronkite and Chet Huntley would deliver stories seemingly without bias and seemingly without lack of context.

The notion of bias in news writing has since become one of colloquial discussion, and it is now one of the most common criticisms of the media. Most often, the label is imparted to news that readers believe is lacking relevant context, or to media outlets whose political views the reader disagrees with. At its most extreme, it is plastered across outraged comment sections and blog posts on the deep web, rooted in a conspiratorial belief that news organizations have pre-determined political agendas and feed purposely slanted reports to the masses.

Such polarization within the news world has resulted in publications whose self-imposed purpose is to provide contrast to what they see as an irreparably biased media landscape. Publications like Breitbart dedicate copious coverage to “Big Journalism,” aimed at debunking the “spin and narratives from the Democrat-media complex,” while outlets like The Intercept position themselves to be highly critical of the methods of mainstream channels like CNN. Even at the university level, publications like The Toronto Beacon claim to have been founded “as a reaction to the current state of journalism,” making specific reference to The Varsity’s coverage of a campus rally in 2016, among other incidents.

None of these publications can be equivocated, but they do illustrate the extent to which people are frustrated with mainstream media coverage.

At the same time, it is counterproductive to leave blanket accusations of bias at that — for eliminating all bias from reporting is an impossible task. Reports are created by authors and shaped by editors whose perspectives and personal experiences are inherently injected into the final product. Even when reporting from the scene of the story, journal-

DARREN CHENG/THE VARSITY

ists make a series of judgment calls based on what they consider to be newsworthy. These decisions may alter information in the story depending on who is tasked with telling it.

In this vein, it should be acknowledged that the notion of ‘objectivity’ underlying the journalistic profession was developed and continues to operate within a context that privileges certain perspectives. It is no coincidence that Lippmann, Merz, Cronkite, and Huntley were all white men, a demographic that continues to hold a steadfast grip on the North American media profession, despite the substantial progress being pursued in this area.

Paradoxically, being ‘unbiased,’ ‘objective,’ or ‘neutral’ are themselves ideals laden with normative content, inherently dependent on the standards journalists use to determine the importance of information and to communicate what they believe is the truth. A bigger problem is that the normative nature of bias is effectively masked by widely accepted, seemingly neutral codes of ethics and best practices that have permeated the journalism industry. Figures like Cronkite were not delivering an unbiased account of the news, but rather an account shaped by the collective decisions of the CBS news team. In the codes of ethics of countless publications — The Globe and Mail, The New York Times, and, yes, The Varsity — objectivity and impartiality are portrayed to be the ideal standard of a news report, despite that standard being ultimately unachievable.

The assumption that journalists need to annihilate all bias from their reporting imparts on them an insurmountable undertaking. This is certainly not intended to diminish the critical role journalism plays in our society; information-gathering and truth-telling are undoubtedly in the public interest. But pursuing best practices should entail a reconsideration of the language we use to describe the ideal state of the media, and in turn, shift our understanding of journalism away from amorphous or unattainable standards.

One solution that has been offered, including by our former Editor-in-Chief last year,

is to substitute ‘unbiased’ coverage with ‘balanced’ coverage. The idea of balance, in the journalistic context, is based on the deceptively simple notion that all figures and institutions relevant to a story be given a fair chance to play a part in telling it. This also entails all pieces of information being put in factual perspective, meaning that truths and mistruths should never be given equal footing. Sometimes this is straightforward; in most cases, it isn’t.

There are also certainly things we can do to address the biases that underlie all journalistic work. The importance of the journalistic process demands such efforts, guided not by an impossible lack of normative ideals, but ultimately by better ones. More importantly, we can make the process by which we determine those ideals public, and we can encourage readers to subject them to thorough scrutiny.

The Varsity’s Code of Journalistic Ethics reads, “Fairness is a balanced and impartial presentation of all the relevant facts in a news report, and of all substantial opinions in a matter of controversy. Fairness demands that journalists place inaccurate or misleading public statements in factual perspective.”

As opposed to ‘objectivity,’ the goal thereby becomes to strive for balance, which is arguably more concrete.

The procedures that underlie the operations of The Varsity and many other publications reflect that ideal. These include ensuring all figures implicated in a story are given the chance to comment, offering disclosures about potential conflicts of interest, and making source materials available upon request. At a fundamental level, it also includes pulling back the curtain on how the news is made. The Varsity has endeavoured to do this by hosting a Reddit AMA earlier this year, by opening our office to the public, and by writing editorials like this one.

When publications fall short of achieving their objectives, public editors step in.

The role of Sophie Borwein’s column in The Varsity, for instance, is not only to critique the publication and respond to reader com-

plaints, but also to offer a perspective that we cannot, in acknowledgment that the journalists who write the news are intrinsically tied to its making.

We can also look to other outlets for guidance. Publications like The Intercept will publish the documentation that an article is based on alongside the original stories.

Meanwhile, the Times uses The Reader Center to justify its journalistic choices to its audiences, a tool that has come in particularly useful following the controversy surrounding its profile on a Nazi sympathizer from Ohio.

These methods, and others like them, arguably reflect the idea that a newspaper should be in direct, democratic dialogue with its readership.

Finally, recalling concerns about whitewashed, male-dominated newsrooms, promoting a diverse range of perspectives is integral to the pursuit of fair and balanced reporting. Striving for diversity also means being sensitive to the responsibility that journalists have to those persecuted, marginalized, and disaffected members of our society — to offer them a voice and to probe and critique the institutions that hold power against them. This responsibility is not characterized by neutrality, either; it is principled and normative, as it should be.

In the 1920s, Lippmann and Merz rightfully exposed the blatant political slant underlying the methods of a major journalistic institution. In today’s highly fraught media climate, with accusations of bias and fake news flying left and right, our community finds itself at a similar pivotal moment, and the way forward remains unclear. Our shift in perspective toward media bias, however, should also prompt a shift in how readers respond to it, for that response will be integral in shaping what the profession eventually becomes.

The Varsity’s editorial board is elected by the masthead at the beginning of each semester.

For more information about the editorial policy, email editorial@thevarsity.ca.

H

oliday season is the only time when my mind relaxes completely. It’s a strange inbetween of school being over and the new year beginning. No one is in a hurry to ask you for anything.

My family has gone to the cottage for Christmas every year since I can remember. Driving to the cottage has become a sort of meditation: I download podcasts and pack my favourite pillow. We drive some, then we hit Barrie. The air is clearer, and the stress melts away like ice cream on a hot day.

Christmas Day? It’s my favourite. Nat King Cole is crooning in the background. A fire is crackling — it feels as though it may or may not burn my feet. My stomach is full of Christmas brunch, also of laughter, Christmas cookies, mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce, turkey, and stuffing. I am smiling. Partly because any diet has been destroyed until January 1, and partly because I am with my favourite people in the world: my family. Cheesy holiday movies are on the television. Despite them being the same ones that played the year before, every year they’re new to me.

Advent has always been special to me. Before my family escapes to our cottage oasis, we go to church. We sing carols and listen to sermons. For the first time in months, I don’t feel like I have something else to do. My spirit is renewed. For me, Christmas is about reflection and hope, it is about spiritual awakening and relaxation. It is about getting drunk with sleep because I finally feel so peaceful. It is about catching up on those books I kept saying I would read. It is about the taste of apple cider and long walks in the woods.

It is about talking to God and saying thank you for getting me through this year — thank you for making me a little bit better.

— Gabrielle Warren

L

O

nce you reach the point when ‘coming home from school’ no longer means getting on the bus, subway, or bike to make it home for dinner, it’s a big change. Leaving home for school in my first year of university meant a three-hour bus ride from Bristol to London, followed by eight hours of intercontinental flying, broken up by a not-so-brief layover in Iceland. It goes without saying that this was not a frequently made trip. To the large number of international students at U of T, I’m sure this is a familiar story. Living far away from home for the bulk of the year changes what it means to come home.

It might even change what ‘home’ means, especially around the holidays.

I needed home when the winter break came around last year. My own country, and the people I had left behind, weren’t just the setting and characters of a bygone childhood. Coming home was a recognition of the fact that these things were as essential to me as the ambitions that had taken me away from them.

One of the reasons we go away, I realized, is to come back home.

Winter break was a refresh, in every sense of the word. Last December, I saw the world I’d left behind only a few months earlier — somewhat comforting yet somewhat alien, I saw the changes that had occurred in me in such a short period and I saw a glimpse of how my life would take shape over the course of my university career. Sleeping in your own bed, enjoying that smell your house gives off that you didn’t even notice when you lived there, walking down the same streets as a different person — it gives perspective, it recharges, and it lets you stop and think for a little while about where everything is going for you.

As a Canadian, you don’t realize how nice of a feeling it can be to have air so cold it hurts your face and stings your lungs. Coming home might just be the first time I really stopped to inhale.

— Ronan Mallovy

ike many American students, the break from school is a time when I travel to the US to visit my extended family. There’s something magical about packing up and leaving. The road trip is always one of the best parts of the break as we get to drive through different cities and states.

The break also allows me to spend time with my nieces and nephews. I have time to bake brownies or muffins with them, and if we’re lucky and there’s snow outside, it’s the perfect time to make snowmen and snow angels. I’ve realized that the colder it is, the better the hot chocolate tastes. During the break, I can transition from a stressed-out aunt to a semicool one. It is also a time when I can feel nostalgic for the late ’90s while watching Home Alone marathons with my family.

Like many other students, over the holidays, I can finally catch my breath. It’s the only time that we are truly free from school responsibilities. This provides an opportunity for me to focus on things that I would otherwise not have time for, including leisure reading, baking, crocheting, or just catching up on my TV shows. Since I am unable to see old friends during the school year, the break also gives me time to finally catch up with them.

During this time, I self-reflect, think about the past year, and set goals for the upcoming year. After living every day with a strict schedule, it is relaxing to not have to follow a routine for a while. I can clear my head, relax, and prepare for the upcoming semester.

— Aisha Mali

I

find myself happiest around Christmas. Perhaps it’s because of the snow, which, despite the bitter wind, falls like a blanket around my shoulders and pinches my cheeks when I walk outside.

Or maybe it’s because I feel closest to my parents around Christmas. My parents divorced when I was young, but they maintained a close enough relationship for us to spend Christmas Day together each year. Since I was eight, at around 10:00 am on Christmas morning, my mom and I would pack her car with boxes and bags of gifts and make the trek to my father’s house. It’s not that far of a drive — six minutes, tops — but with the wicked weather that Winnipeg brings, the drive seems to get longer as I grow older.

It’s strange, going from the little girl who watched her parents add Bailey’s Irish Cream to their coffee on Christmas to the young adult who adds some herself.

As I age, I find myself increasingly excited to eat the feast of a breakfast my dad prepares on Christmas morning, rather than sitting down and opening the presents. I think it’s because the best conversations I’ve had with my parents happened at the table; it’s at the old wooden table that I’ve learned the most from them.

For me, Christmas is a time of learning, laughing, and most importantly, indulging myself a little and enjoying some Irish Cream.

— Ava Truthwaite

Students share their winter break 10

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uring Christmas time, my family home, a 1930s mock Art Deco in South West London, smells glorious. The intermingling of pine and shortbread wafts past the fairy lights dotted around the ground floor. Among these storybook-esque delights, the house itself is incredibly cold. Every year, on October 15, my mum — she makes the rules — allows us to turn on the heating. It is usually slightly nippy by this point, and by mid-November we are all wearing multiple sweaters, socks and scarves.

Despite having grown up in a freezing house, my dad made winter as magical as he could for me and my younger sister. He loves Christmas with every inch of his being. He’s enthralled by it all: the tree, the turkey, the toys — you name it, and he will have planned how to execute it perfectly.

My mum, on the other hand, tends to be slightly more British about the holiday season. She often jokes that, if she hadn’t married a Canadian, she would still be having daal and roti as her Christmas dinner.

Personally, I fall between them both: I find Christmas Day to be underwhelming, but I completely adore the build-up. This time last year, I was volunteering in the outskirts of Delhi. It was 20 degrees, vibrant, and colourful; I was exploring a new city and doing something stimulating every day, yet I still craved our familial Christmas routines.

This year is no different, except the weather is considerably cooler, of course. For me, the winter break is synonymous with my dad, and I am incredibly excited to see him at Heathrow Airport on December 20. Until then, I’ll be procrastinating in my warm room with a nice cup of tea.

— Kashi Syal

stories

s a student in my fourth and final year at U of T, the one thing that hasn’t changed is the excitement I feel when the holiday break approaches. Yes, there’s that sense of ‘finally, I get a break from school,’ but I also get excited about the prospect of going home and seeing my family. My parents live in Turkey, where I grew up.

For me, going home means re-grounding myself. The stress of the school year and any worries I have about my future seem to disappear the minute I get on the plane. It isn’t easy living away from my family. I feel extremely alone sometimes, and it feels as though I have grown up without them. The holidays give me a chance to ease my anxieties — and probably theirs as well — about if we did the right thing by sending me here for school.

The break is first and foremost an opportunity to spend time with my family, but it’s also an opportunity to reflect on how much I have grown as a person. Going back home every six months allows me to approach things differently and appreciate the people around me. I realize how fleeting time can be, and I understand that everything happens for a reason. It’s the ideal time to re-evaluate your priorities and set new goals. Ultimately, the break is a rollercoaster: you find yourself interacting with many people throughout your time at home, but if you take the opportunity to have some time to yourself, you reap the benefits.

I see the holidays as an opportunity to return to school recharged and optimistic, while still granting myself time to spend with the people I love.

This in turn helps me appreciate the people I have in my second home: Toronto.

— Sila Naz Elgin

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ear after year, my family doesn’t really celebrate anything in December except my birthday — and Boxing Day if my mother wants to stock up on gifts for my relatives back home. I come from a Muslim family and country, and since Muslim celebrations are based on the lunar calendar and change dates every year, my family and I never learned to celebrate December with the same zeal as people in North America. By the time we immigrated to Canada, we were too set in our ways.

Nevertheless, the holiday season still holds a special place in my heart. Apart from finally celebrating my birthday after waiting all year, the December holidays are a chance for me to relax after a stressful semester and, best of all, reunite with my friends, many of whom I have not seen since last December.

If you have friends who go to different schools — or even friends who go to the same school — making plans that coordinate with everyone’s schedule can be harder than making ‘fetch’ happen. Since few of us have exams or midterms to study for during winter break, nothing — not my empty wallet, not the threat of hypothermia, and certainly not measly excuses like ‘I’m busy’ — can stop me from meeting my friends.

Over the break, as I sit laughing alongside people who willingly put up with me and my quirks, complain about my professors, and lament my poor GPA, it hits me that although I may not celebrate Christmas, I still make merry.

— Zeahaa Rehman

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etting up my family’s Christmas tree has been my tradition for the past three years. This labourious task involves hauling plastic tree pieces stored in two giant cardboard boxes, a precarious cylindrical tub of baubles from Martha Stewart’s holiday collection, and flaking ropes of tinsel up from the depths of my basement. I spend a whole Saturday dancing around my living room listening to holiday albums while I stack tree segments together, marveling at their relative sturdiness given their nine-year lifespan.

After my family immigrated to Canada, there was no continuity in my winter breaks. One year we could be embarking on a 16-hour flight to Taiwan; the next we could be driving to New York City and staying in an Airbnb in our old Manhattan neighbourhood. I have never maintained meaningful traditions during the holidays, mostly due to the secular nature of my upbringing.

However, immigrating to North America at a young age makes you susceptible to the elusive ‘holiday spirit.’ I was jealous of raucous Christmas dinners, the pure belief in Santa my elementary school classmates possessed, and the overflow of presents everyone seemed to receive. The closest I came to a holiday tradition was the recurring desire to travel away from Canada because my best winter memories have always taken place elsewhere. Hearing saxophones playing “Hark the Herald Angels Sing” down Manhattan streets or having the luxury of returning to fifth grade two weeks late in January after an extended trip were the highlights of my holiday breaks.

In recent years, I have tried to create my own tradition through decorating my family’s battered Christmas tree. Despite my determination to keep the remnants of Christmas alive in my household, I still associate the holidays with a sense of departure — away from schoolwork, replaced by the thrill of distance from the familiar. This December, I will not be putting up a Christmas tree. First year is a time for first traditions.

— Georgia Lin

ILLUSTRATIONS BY MIA CARNEVALE

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Arts&Culture

December 4, 2017 var.st/arts arts@thevarsity.ca

A Cold War fairytale The Shape of Water is Guillermo del Toro's latest flick The film is set in 1962 Baltimore, during the period of the Cold War and space race. PHOTO BY KERRY HAYES, COURTESY OF REBECCA SHAOLTS

Edgar Vargas Varsity Columnist

Auteur director Guillermo del Toro’s newest film, The Shape of Water, is the perfect distillation of the director’s work with both the fantastic and the human. The film follows the growing relationship between mute custodial worker Elisa Esposito (Sally Hawkins) and a mysterious, humanoid sea creature (Doug Jones) being studied in the underground research facility where Elise works.

The film features incredible performances, not only from Hawkins’ mute protagonist, but also from the rest of its star-studded cast. Characters play off of each other’s unique qualities to

elevate the film’s tone.

American actor Michael Shannon plays the role of Elisa’s evil boss, who threatens the other characters at every moment. Octavia Spencer and Richard Jenkins play Elisa’s best friends, who grow in tandem with her character, despite their abundance of lines in comparison to hers.

The Varsity was able to speak with del Toro in a conversation with other student newspapers from across North America about his new film and his career thus far. del Toro noted that the film’s setting in 1962 Baltimore evokes memories of the Cold War and the space race. “It’s [also] the last fairytale time in America, a time in which America dreams

itself into what we conceive as the modern America.”

“The country becomes obsessed with the idea of the future,” he said. “I thought that, and the Cold War, were perfect settings to bring a creature from the ancient past and a love story in a time of difficult communication.” del Toro uses the supernatural qualities of the fantasy genre to create a tale all about interacting with “the other,” which any society can imbue with its own specific interpretation.

The film’s morals and themes extend beyond the constraints of its own world. Instead, it indirectly comments on many of the swirling feelings in this intense political moment.

del Toro, though, has tried to focus on letting the film present a timeless message. “[The Shape of Water] is a movie about our problems today and about demonizing the other and about fearing or hating the other, and how that is a much more destructive position than learning to love and understand,” he said.

“If I say, ‘Once upon a time, in 1962,’ it becomes a fairytale for troubled times. People can lower their guard a little bit more and listen to the story and listen to the characters and talk about the issues rather than the circumstances of the issues,” said del Toro.

The film is not only entertaining, but it is emotionally potent, incorporating powerful themes of acceptance, sometimes without uttering a word. Its characters overcome societal obstacles, including class and disability, to create the best lives for themselves and those around them.

The people who care about each other in the film are able to do so despite any preconceived societal barriers of class, sexuality, or physical disability. The film is, at its core, a story about the power of both platonic and romantic love.

“It’s impossible to talk about love. You can sing about love but you cannot talk,” said del Toro, commenting on his reasoning for eschewing dialogue between the two misfit protagonists.

The Shape of Water is the perfect combination of fantasy and reality. All in all, the film's stunning cinematography and performances are no far cry from much of del Toro’s previous work.

TICKET GIVEAWAY Snap us a photo of your favourite article in The Varsity Fall Magazine for a chance to win tickets to The Shape of Water on December 6. the.varsity

Your holiday gift guide, meme-ified Founded by Rotman students, DankTank sells everyday objects with a twist

This is a bath bomb. PHOTO COURTESY OF DANK TANK

George Moshenski-Dubov Varsity Contributor

The holiday season brings with it cold weather, exams, new Starbucks cups, and ongoing anxiety to find the perfect gifts. One company has stepped in to help you find the best present for your meme-loving friends and family.

Dank Tank, founded by third-year Rotman student Jonathan Ge and his partner, Jason Wong, ‘meme-ify’ everyday products to give them a fresh twist. Alongside their team of five, including two “meme researchers,” Dank

Tank is making the products you never knew you wanted.

In December 2016, Dank Tank launched their first product, Holy Méme Bible, an adult colouring and activity book that included all of the most viral memes of 2016. The first edition generated $200,000 in sales in just three weeks.

This year, Holy Méme Bible: New Testament showcases all of 2017’s most popular memes in over 60 pages of activities. From connecting the dots of Mocking SpongeBob to learning some meme trivia, the book inspires

hours of fun.

New Testament also pokes fun at US President Donald Trump on several pages, which Ge attributes to his unpredictable and random nature. “In 2017, Trump himself perpetuated the meme game. He probably takes up five per cent of the total meme space,” says Ge. If colouring is not your thing, Dank Tank also offers meme-inspired bath bombs. The current stock includes a fidget spinner bath bomb with the scent of Summer Berry, and one Cherry Blossom-scented bath bomb with the inscription “Send Nudes.”

Ge also hints at future designs that will include bath bombs in the shape of the Swirling Mr. Krabs meme, and another paying respect to the widely popular game The Floor Is Lava.

One of Dank Tank’s products is slightly different than the rest: the candles. “They’re not based off memes. Realistically, we call them Relatable Candles because their scent and text is meant to convey a certain meaning,” says Ge. Candles such as the “smell of your bed sheets when you cry yourself to sleep at night” and the “smell of the perfume from the crush that you never got to ask out” will surely strike a chord with many.

Though Dank Tank only has three products currently for sale, Ge gave The Varsity some insight into its future developments. The Lean Méme Cuisine Cookbook, currently available for pre-order, offers close to 20 meme-inspired recipes, including Cashew Me Outside and the Idiot Sandwich.

Ge also reports that “condoms that look like

sauce packets” will also be for sale sometime in 2018. The meme team also plans to release a meme encyclopedia that categorizes, describes, and provides information for over 300 different memes disseminated from 2003 to 2017.

“Memes are one of the most important pieces of our generation,” says Ge on his inspiration.

From leading political movements to vouching for social change, Ge believes we have yet to reach the heights of meme culture’s success.

Despite the initial success of Dank Tank, Ge doesn’t have plans to leave school. He says he has a lot to learn, including marketing strategies and how to properly manage a company’s finances. Ge also attributes the optimization skills learned during his Rotman education as a key element that has helped his company’s financial gain.

“If you want to become an entrepreneur, just do it. You have to stop thinking, ‘This might not be a good idea,’” says Ge. “If you want to genuinely impress employers, start your own business. That shows strength and initiative,” he added.

Dank Tank’s products are the perfect gifts for this holiday season. Whether you choose the Holy Méme Bible, meme bath bombs, or the Relatable Candles, each item will certainly serve as a conversation starter, in addition to a practical purpose.

Ge guarantees that the recipient of any Dank Tank product will be surprised by your choice of gift.

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How to get cheap tickets this winter break Go out without breaking the bank

FIONA TUNG/THE VARSITY

Isabel Armiento Varsity Contributor

Winter is drawing nearer, and with it comes Toronto’s dazzling extravaganza of wintertime shows and concerts. Unfortunately, for many students who lack the funds to dish out over $100 on a Mirvish ticket, or even $40 on a Canadian Stage ticket, this might mean admiring throngs of well-dressed theatregoers from afar, rather than lavishing in their midst.

To all these wistful wannabes — don’t despair! From the symphony to the theatre, the Toronto theatre scene is awash with student discounts that will light up any student’s winter break and let them bask in the luxury and pomp of live entertainment.

Ballet While largely a relic of a time before television devastated the public’s appreciation for the fine arts, the ballet is still a coveted destination. During the winter months especially, the National Ballet of Canada boasts a strong rep-

ertoire of shows.

The Winter’s Tale is breathtaking in its detailed and whimsical set, elegant contemporary choreography, and incredible dancing technique, while The Nutcracker is celebrated for its brilliant costuming, enchanting music, and dizzying sequences of perfect à la seconde turns.

This winter, you can sign up for the National Ballet’s free DanceBreak program, which allows users between 16 and 29 years of age to purchase discounted tickets the day of the show, making the prestigious pastime of attending the ballet much more attainable.

Opera Like the ballet, opera is an ostensibly outdated form of entertainment. But as antique becomes chic, opera is once again a viable — not to mention classy — way to spend a Saturday afternoon.

The Canadian Opera Company offers an Opera Under 30 program, through which people 29 and younger can buy opera tickets for $22. The Opera Atelier’s OPERATIX pro-

The Christmas Market incorporates new music into holiday tradition The Distillery District's iconic festival features local Canadian talent

IRIS DENG/THE VARSITY

Matias Gutierrez Varsity Contributor

Like its previous incarnations, this year’s Christmas Market in the Distillery District succeeds in transporting visitors to a bygone era, with Christmas cheer engulfing the neighbourhood’s nostalgic brick buildings and cobblestone pathways. Between the crowds and shops, carolers fill the streets with song, working seamlessly with the lights and décor to provide a one-of-akind Christmas experience.

One of the most interesting features of the month-long event is the musical acts that have been added to the schedule. From Tuesday to Sunday, bands and acts will perform on the main stage, each day assigned a different genre of music. Most notable is Saturday, with a pop and rock focus that showcases emerging local artists in the afternoon and featured artists in the evening.

While the artists are not necessarily big names, the fact that the majority of them are local Canadian talent makes each performance an

intimate experience.

Spencer Mackenzie, a prodigious blues guitarist; Melina Melle, an 18-year-old singersongwriter from Belleville; and Avery Raquel, an up-and-coming soul singer, lead the youthful musical talent on display this year. These artists will perform at the final three Saturday shows.

Combined with various Toronto-based choirs, acappella groups, and jazz ensembles, the Christmas Market has something for everyone’s musical tastes.

Family-friendly attractions, such as the Ferris wheel, carousel, and Santa House, are also open for holiday cheer. For more mature audiences, the beer gardens serve varieties of craft beers, mulled wines, and Christmas cocktails.

Be sure to check out the Heart of Christmas, the perfect photo-op, and this year’s unbelievably large Christmas tree, donated by Forests Ontario and Ontario Wood.

The Christmas Market in the Distillery District ends December 23.

gram is similar, offering $15 opera tickets to those aged 15–30.

Music The Toronto Symphony Orchestra (TSO) offers a shockingly low price of $16 for tickets bought a few days prior by music lovers aged 15–35. Students should sign up for the TSO’s TSOUNDCHECK program to reap these benefits during the holidays, perhaps by enjoying a discounted pass to see Howard Blake's genius with the production of The Snowman.

Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra and Chamber Choir will also host a festive singalong production of Handel’s “Messiah;” the venue offers discounted tickets to the under-35 crowd through a subscription to the Tafelscene club.

Theatre Toronto’s rich amalgam of quality theatrical productions has lent it the title of “Broadway of the North,” and the holidays are an especially exciting time to visit Toronto’s many theatres.

Mirvish makes merry with a run of the new

production of the original Broadway musical Million Dollar Quartet, and Ross Petty has a whacky take on A Christmas Carol, a Yuletide must-see with its witty script adaptation, excellent acting, and beautiful costumes. This feelgood Christmas classic, soaked in nostalgia and heartwarming storytelling, is sure to delight even the Scrooges in the audience. Students 21 and under can get rush tickets at Soulpepper and delight in Dickens’ masterpiece for only $37, compared to a full price of $95.

For further theatrical discounts, Canadian Stage’s C-Stage program offers youth under 30 access to $15 tickets, and the Sony Centre’s Under 30 Rush Club offers tickets to a variety of shows for the same price. hipTIX.ca also offers $5 student tickets to a variety of shows, including comedy showcases, musicals, and dramatic productions.

It’s a great time to be a student — take advantage of these deals this winter season, and enjoy the karmic reward for all those hours spent on papers and studying. Remember to bring student ID as you celebrate Christmas break with class!

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Win your next potluck with this killer mac and cheese A comfort food classic for the holiday season Liz Worndl Varsity Contributor

I love holiday potlucks — in theory. In an attempt to impress my friends and steer away from the usual chips, dips, and desserts, I always end up plotting something far too complicated. Last year, I spent an entire day in the kitchen trying — and failing — to produce some magnificent enchiladas I had dreamed up, only to show up at the party with something that strongly resembled brown mush with a side of guacamole. Needless to say, it was not the first dish to run out.

This year, I’m determined to have a popular dish, and what better way to please my friends than with a dish that all students love? So I’m cooking up a creamy, gooey,

homemade mac and cheese that even the pickiest of students will devour.

This potluck season, keep it simple and give the people what they want. Put those traumatizing potluck memories behind you, lace up your apron, and be prepared to win potluck season with this killer mac and cheese.

If you’re making this dish ahead of time, cool the pasta and cheese sauce separately before combining them in the baking dish.

Cover and refrigerate up to two days. When you remove it from the fridge, heat for 20 minutes at 350º F, then stir in ½ to 1 cup of warm milk. Return to the oven and bake for another 25 minutes. Top with bread crumbs, broil for two to three minutes, and then cover and keep warm until serving!

Homemade mac and cheese Total time: 30 minutes Serves: 8 4 cups macaroni pasta (1 lb) 2 tbsp salt 1 onion, grated 3 ½ cups milk + extra as needed 2 tbsp butter 2 ½ tbsp flour ½ to 1 tsp cayenne pepper 1 tbsp Dijon mustard 1 tsp salt 1 tsp pepper 3 cups sharp cheddar cheese, shredded ¾ cup panko bread crumbs 2 tbsp parsley, finely chopped

FIONA TUNG/THE VARSITY

1. Preheat oven to 350º F. 2. Cook pasta in a large pot of boiling salted water — use about 1 tbsp of salt for each pound of pasta — until al dente, or until just slightly crunchy and undercooked. Drain the pasta into a colander and let cool while making the sauce.

Don’t keep the pasta cooling in the pot you cooked it in, otherwise it will stick to the bottom!

3. Warm the milk in a pot over the stove or in a microwave-safe container in the microwave until hot but not boiling, which should take about two and a half minutes. Set aside. Cook 1 tbsp butter and grated onion in a pan for two minutes over medium heat. Add the flour and whisk the mixture together. Don’t worry if it clumps! Cook the mixture like this for one minute. Very slowly, pour in the hot milk, whisking vigorously to remove the clumps.

4. Stir in the salt, pepper, ½ tsp cayenne, and mustard and let the sauce simmer over medium heat until thickened, about five to seven minutes. Taste for seasoning and add more cayenne, salt, and pepper as needed. Take the pot off the heat and slowly whisk in the grated cheddar until melted and smooth.

5. Return the pasta to the pot and pour in the sauce. Stir until combined. The mixture should be creamy but still quite runny — aim for the runniness of Kraft Dinner. If it’s too thick, slowly add about a ½ cup more milk until you achieve a runnier texture.

6. Pour the pasta into a two-quart baking dish and bake for 10 minutes.

7. Melt 1 tbsp butter and stir in breadcrumbs and parsley. Remove the pasta from the oven, sprinkle the breadcrumb mixture evenly on top, and broil for two to three minutes, or until the top is golden brown.

Remove and serve!

Alone: A Love Story is a tale of heartbreak and resilience The Varsity speaks with the creator of the CBC podcast Carol Eugene Park Varsity Contributor

When I was in middle school, I was obsessed with sadness — the feeling itself, the comfort foods I associated with it, the Tumblr posts that resonated with me. 'I'm addicted to a certain kind of sadness' was my life motto for a while.

Two summers ago, I experienced a feeling of isolation and loneliness I had never known before. To say it was one of my darkest moments would be an overstatement, but at the time, I thought that I would never feel joy. By chance, I discovered CBC Radio’s original podcast Love Me during that summer, and I was hooked.

Even after the podcast’s first season ended, I listened to the episodes on repeat constantly, waiting for the hiatus to be over, immersing myself in its stories of hurt and loneliness. I needed more personal stories about “the messiness of human connection.”

CBC Radio released Alone: A Love Story this fall. It's a podcast and memoir written by Michelle Parise, who recounts her life as a young journalist living in Toronto during the ’90s and early 2000s, and her passionate but complicated relationship with her husband, referred to as ‘The Scientist.’

Parise shares her journey from love through heartbreak and the aftermath of what she terms ‘The Bomb’ with such refreshing honesty that I found myself made uncomfortable by how much her story resonated with me.

A major theme Parise discusses in Alone is learning how to be alone. She reveals her experience with postpartum depression, the loneliness of maternity leave, and unhealthy attempts to cope with The Scientist’s ultimate betrayal.

When I asked her how long it took her to stop feeling lonely after The Fallout, Parise responded, “It’s still a struggle but definitely now, five years later, it’s not as profound. I can definitely go home and hang out by myself. And in fact, I look forward to that, where before, at least until this year… I still had trouble going home to an empty house.”

Parise’s talent for storytelling reeled me in to learning more about her, her story, and her feelings. But the production of the podcast — its mixing and soundtrack — also heightened and amplified my engagement with her journey through heartbreak.

“I wanted it to be cinematic, where [listeners] feel like they watched a movie even though they just heard something,” said Parise. “I wanted to immerse people in the story, and I wanted to tell this specific story so that it would draw out universal truths. Through these specific stories is how we understand each other and ourselves better.”

Even while listening to Alone for the second time, I was struck by the effect of her long pauses in between sentences, the hurt in her voice when recounting The Bomb, and her ability to make the listener feel as if a close friend were telling the story.

Michelle Parise.

PHOTO BY PASCAL CHIARELLO, COURTESY OF CBC PORTRAIT

“These first 10 episodes are really just the first part of a larger piece that I wrote. I have enough material for three seasons, already written. I could keep on writing forever because it’s a living document. Because it’s my life,” she remarked, laughing.

Now when I reflect on my middle school self, I realize it wasn’t sadness I had been addicted to, but rather the shared and communal feeling of sadness and loneliness that the online community offered me.

Tumblr, despite its unfortunate tendency to romanticize mental illness, had introduced me to a community of people connected through emotional hardship who felt alone in their real lives and resorted to the internet to feel a sense of belonging.

I think that’s why I fell in love with Parise’s memoir. She reminded me of the power of vulnerability and storytelling, and the importance of using one’s craft and artistic expression to give voice to universal truths.

Parise’s story is not unique, nor is it the first of its kind to be shared. But the medium through which she presents it gives shape to a shared experience that offers a new perspective.

“As an artist, I feel like it’s my job to tell these stories because they’re other people’s stories as well,” said Parise. “Shared experience is really important in human existence.”

Season one of Alone is available on iTunes and CBC Radio. Season two is expected to release in spring 2018.

Science

December 4, 2017 var.st/science science@thevarsity.ca

Bugs: the food of the future?

Crickets may be the new chicken Carol Chen Varsity Contributor

Would you like some crickets with your guac?

It may not be long before you see six-legged creatures sharing menu real estate with beef and pork. With the global human population set to reach nine billion by 2050, experts say that conventional protein sources will soon be insufficient to feed everyone. Insects have been proposed by several groups as a protein alternative due to their high nutritional content and economic and environmental benefits.

Over 2,000 insect species are edible; the most commonly consumed species include beetles, caterpillars, wasps, bees, and ants, followed by grasshoppers, locusts, and crickets. Insects are already frequently consumed and are considered a delicacy in 113 countries. In fact, chapulines, a type of grasshopper, are a national dish in Mexico.

Nutritional composition is highly varied among insect species. Within a species, it depends on the stage of metamorphosis, the origin of the insect, and how the insect is prepared.

Most edible insects meet the essential protein and energy requirements for human consumption, and they also contain beneficial vitamins, minerals, and fatty acids.

The Nutrient Value Score (NVS) is a tool used to evaluate the nutritional content of food based

on energy, protein, fat, and eight micronutrients. A 2016 study used NVS and found that palm weevil larvae and mealworms were significantly healthier than both beef and chicken. The study also revealed that the median iron content of crickets and honeybees were 180 and 850 per cent greater than beef, respectively.

Eating insects may also benefit gut microbiome. Gut microbiota must consume prebiotics, a type of non-digestible fibre, to grow efficiently. The exoskeletons of insects are rich in prebiotic fibre, and they can even be crushed to a powder and added to salad dressings and shakes as a protein and fibre booster.

The attraction of insects as an alternative protein source goes beyond just their nutritional benefits. Compared to conventional livestock, farming insects emits fewer greenhouse gases, requires less land, and causes less water pollution. Insects that are usually considered pests can be farmed for human consumption, which may reduce the use of pesticides for agriculture and alleviate the financial burden of pest control for farmers.

There are even economic benefits: 70 per cent of livestock production costs involve producing feed for animals. Feed conversion efficiency is the measure of an animal’s ability to convert their feed mass into body mass. Insects tend to have higher feed conversion efficiencies than conventional meats. Another 2016 study found that the house cricket has twice the feed conver-

Insects have been proposed as an alternative protein source. STEVEN LEE/THE VARSITY

sion efficiency of chickens, four times that of pigs, and 12 times that of cattle.

However, the consumption of insects does not come without drawbacks. Some insects produce toxic compounds and contain heavy metals that can transfer to humans upon consumption. Many insects also have more sodium and saturated fat than conventional meats, which can increase the chance of coronary heart disease. The processing and storage methods for mass insect production

are still being investigated.

Despite these drawbacks, consuming insects may be the best alternative protein source in a rapidly growing world. Their high nutrient and protein content make insects an attractive option for regions with high food insecurity and malnourishment. As traditional meat sources face increasing environmental, social, and economic pressures, the choice to eat insects may soon become a necessity.

U of T professor named Ontario’s first Chief Scientist Molly Shoichet will aid the Ontario government in science policy Emily Deibert Varsity Staff

Shoichet is currently a professor in Chemical Engineering & Applied Chemistry.

PHOTO BY BRIGETTE LACOMBE, COURTESY OF MOLLY SHOICHET

Earlier this month, U of T’s Molly Shoichet was appointed to the Government of Ontario’s newly created position of Chief Scientist.

Currently a University Professor in Chemical Engineering & Applied Chemistry and a director at the Institute for Biomaterials & Biomedical Engineering, Shoichet will begin her new role in January.

Shoichet will be responsible for advising Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne on sciencebased policies. “As we tackle some of today’s biggest challenges, science plays an increasingly vital role in helping governments make informed decisions,” said Wynne in a press release.

The recruitment of a Chief Scientist is part of Ontario’s five-year Business Growth Initiative, which aims to accelerate Ontario’s knowledge-based economy through innovation; $650 million has been committed to the initiative.

Part of Shoichet’s role as Chief Scientist will be to help create science-based jobs and economic strategies for the province. Linked to this is Ontario’s plan to increase the number of students graduating from science, technology, engineering, and mathematics disciplines by 25 per cent over the next five years.

The decision to create a Chief Scientist position for Ontario was first announced by Wynne in June 2016. Part of the recruitment process involved an online consultation with both the scientific community and the public to determine the skills and qualifications a Chief Scientist should possess.

Among many other attributes, the feedback from the online consultation suggested that the

Chief Scientist should have a strong academic record, familiarity with government policy, and an understanding of the Ontario research system.

“The [Chief Scientist] should… have an unwavering desire to see Ontario become a preeminent location for scientific research and innovation,” said one online respondent in a sentiment echoed by many who participated in the consultation.

Described by Minister of Research, Innovation, and Science Reza Moridi as “one of the top biomedical scientists in the country,” Shoichet certainly fits this description. Shoichet has both academic and industry-based experience with past positions held at Brown University, the matREGEN Corporation, CytoTherapeutics Incorporated, and others.

Shoichet’s research on tissue regeneration and drug delivery has earned her the Tier 1 Canada Research Chair in Tissue Engineering and the Order of Ontario, the province’s highest honour. She is also the only person to be a Fellow of all three of Canada’s National Academies: the Canadian Academy of Sciences of the Royal Society of Canada, the Canadian Academy of Engineering, and the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences. At U of T, she holds the highest faculty distinction of University Professor, a title shared by less than two per cent of the university’s faculty.

“Scientists right here in Ontario are doing amazing research that is fundamental to our progress and prosperity,” said Wynne. “I look forward to her thought leadership and advice on how we can strengthen the research and innovation happening across our province.”

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Preparing for the apocalypse A look at natural disaster research at U of T and the risks that Toronto faces Josie Kao Associate News Editor

On October 16, 1954, Toronto suffered one of its worst natural disasters in recent memory. Hurricane Hazel dumped 65 billion gallons of water on Toronto virtually overnight and resulted in catastrophic floods that killed 81 people, left 1,868 homeless, and caused damage equivalent to $1 billion today.

Hurricanes are not typically associated with Toronto, and since Hazel, they have largely fallen off the public’s radar. Yet, according to U of T PhD candidate Athena Masson, whose work focuses on hurricanes, we are not immune.

“Eventually we will have another Hurricane Hazel.”

What can Toronto do to prepare for these inevitable events? U of T is home to several researchers conducting work on natural disasters, from tornado occurrence modeling to the development of earthquakeresistant structures. This research is not only applicable on a global scale, but it can be potentially applied to Toronto as well.

MIA CARNEVALE/THE VARSITY

Hurricanes As a child growing up in Florida, Masson’s fascination with natural disasters began when Hurricane Andrew devastated her state in 1992.

Her interest eventually brought her to U of T, where she is developing a new scale for measuring hurricanes in the North Atlantic Basin.

The currently used scale, known as the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale, measures the strength of a storm based on its maximum sustained wind speed. Masson, however, believes that just measuring wind is not enough — there are additional components of a hurricane that need to be calculated to truly grasp its severity, such as size, pressure, and storm surge.

With the development of a new scale that includes these factors, Masson hopes that this research will help improve the public’s understanding of the dangers associated with hurricanes and motivate people to evacuate.

She believes that Toronto is illequipped to handle a hurricane. “The problem with Toronto is that I don’t think that their drainage system is really up to speed… That puts Toronto [in] a very vulnerable position — especially the downtown campus.”

Masson referenced the half-hour thunderstorm in July 2013 that flooded the Don Valley Parkway: “It crippled this city and it was just a simple storm.”

Earthquakes While hurricanes are hard to forecast, a natural disaster that remains even more unpredictable is the earthquake. Since there is no reliable way of knowing when and where an earthquake will occur, one of the best ways to prepare is to build structures that can withstand the shocks. Professor Constantin Christopoulos in the Department of Civil Engineering is doing just

that. His work revolves around how to “develop new structural systems that are more resilient to extreme earthquake loading.”

“This is done by using new technologies that allow structures to absorb the seismic energy without damaging the main structural elements and while also reducing overall damages to content and equipment that is housed in these structures,” he said.

MIA CARNEVALE/THE VARSITY

Although active research on earthquakes is taking place at U of T, Torontonians do not have the same awareness of this type of disaster as, for instance, Canadians on the west coast do.

“The seismic hazard on the eastern side of the country… is generally lower than it is in BC,” said Christopoulos. “However, the vulnerability of the buildings is generally higher as the construction industry and people in general are less concerned with earthquakes on this side of the country.”

He also added that not enough is known about earthquakes in eastern Canada, which adds to the dan-

ger. “There is still potential risk of seismic damages and losses in big cities like Montreal, Ottawa and Toronto.”

Tornadoes While hurricanes and earthquakes may seem unlikely to the public, the Greater Toronto Area is familiar with tornadoes. This past summer was marked by tornado warnings in southwestern Ontario, with a few actually touching down and wreaking havoc in the countryside.

But what if a tornado were to touch down near downtown Toronto?

“The problem with tornadoes in Canada is that a lot of buildings do not have underground basements, or they’re high-rises and they don’t have a safe place for residents to really go and evacuate,” said Masson. “For the most part, especially in a populated city like Toronto, a lot of people do not own houses [with basements].”

U of T Issues and Media Strategist Elizabeth Church wrote to The Varsity that the university “has policies and procedures in place to respond to a variety of instances and does so in co-ordination with local emergency services. The Policy on Crisis Preparedness and Response is on the Governing Council web site.”

The most recent available version of this document dates back to 2005 and makes no specific mention of natural disasters. Furthermore, the links included in the policy all lead to broken web pages.

If the university has a natural disaster strategy, it is not available to the public.

While it is important to have a plan to deal with a force as strong as nature, it also bears noting that sometimes our plans will never work. “I don’t think that any city or the human race in general will ever be fully prepared,” said Masson.

“Mother nature will always win in the end.”

Love makes scents

If you think the smell of Axe is bad, be glad you’re not a lemur. In a study led by Amber D. WalkerBolton, a UTSC professor in the Department of Anthropology, researchers found that male ringtailed lemurs use their ‘stink’ to impress potential mates.

This unique behaviour allows lemurs to display their rank among other males and attract suitable mates, albeit at a cost.

Lemurs belong to the Strepsirrhine sub order and live in male groups that have a core female lineage. Each of these groups have dominant central males and periphery males, where

rank is correlated with age.

‘Stink-flirting’ refers to male display of tail anointing and wafting, which is considered “a submissive display prior to a close approach.”

The study found these displays are associated with male dominance and that they are reciprocated by females. Females preferred the exaggerated displays and are said to set the male apart from the rest of the population.

Additionally, the study found females showed a preference for dominant resident males as opposed to lower-ranking immigrant males. Immigrants are rarely found mating with females of the group.

Surprisingly, male lemurs are more frequently faced with aggres-

Charmaine Nyakonda Varsity Staff Forward and Reverse Clinical Translation with RNA Aptamers Dr. Bruce Sullenger, a professor of experimental surgery at Duke University, researches the versatility of RNA-based therapies for cardiovascular diseases and immune modulation. Sullenger will discuss his experience working with RNA aptamers, including challenges he has faced translating his research to a clinical setting.

Date: Monday, December 4 Time: 1:00 pm Location: Sunnybrook Research Institute, 2075 Bayview Avenue, Seminar Room SG-22 Admission: Free Ethics of AI: Algorithmic Ethics and Personhood with Molly Sauter Could our dependency on predictive algorithms and generative models ultimately displace us? This talk will examine how modeling systems, especially in politics, can turn personhood into mere “data objects.”

Date: Tuesday, December 5 Time: 4:00–6:00 pm Location: Larkin Building, 15 Devonshire Place, Room 200 Admission: Free with registration Laser cell nanosurgery and diagnostics using plasmonic nanoparticles In this seminar, Dr. Michel Meunier will discuss how nanoparticles like gold or silver can be used in nanomedicine and how they can change surgical and diagnostic methods.

Date: Thursday, December 7 Time: 11:00 am Location: Donnelly Centre for Cellular and Biomolecular Research, 160 College Street, Cecil C. Yip Red Seminar Room Admission: Free

UTSC professor’s study finds ring-tail lemurs use ‘stink-flirting’ to attract mates Anya Rakhecha Varsity Contributor

Science Around Town

ALICE KIM/THE VARSITY

sion from both females and other males when they perform stinkflirting displays compared to other mating rituals. Only when females in estrus were receiving the olfactory display would they then mate.

Some of the females are also mateguarded by a male. These guarded females were found to receive a higher rate of displays than non-guarded females. Although mate-guarding doesn’t completely eliminate dis-

plays from other males, it hinders approach to guarded females.

While the majority of females chose the most dominant mate, the opposite was not the case. According to the study, male ring-tailed lemurs did not “preferentially target high-ranked females for olfactory displays.”

In the future, Walker-Bolton’s team hopes to study the correlation between ‘stink-flirting’ and reproductive success.

A Scienterrific Holiday Pop-up!

The Toronto Etsy Street Team is hosting sci-art vendors at this science-themed Christmas Market. Vendors will have on display a variety of handmade products such as solar system scarves, DNA necklaces, and more science-themed jewellery, accessories, and ornaments.

Date: Saturday, December 9 and Sunday, December 10 Time: 10:00 am to 8:00 pm Location: 906 Queen Street West Admission: Free

Sports

December 4, 2017 var.st/sports sports@thevarsity.ca

Alina Dormann: spiking her way to success The Blues volleyball star talks friendships, family, and life in Toronto Jackie Emick Associate Sports Editor

‘Hectic’ can only start to explain the life of Varsity Blues women’s volleyball right side Alina Dormann. That isn’t to say that she’s not enjoying every minute of it. Upon first meeting her, it’s not hard to feel intimidated by her towering six-foot-two stature.

Dormann spent last summer away from Toronto, training in Richmond, British Columbia with Canada’s women’s indoor national team. She found herself a piece of home in her close friend Anna Feore, her teammate on the Blues and the national team. The pair first met while they were playing on the provincial team together in high school. “This past summer I lived in Vancouver with [Anna] and we’ve become closer as friends.”

Whenever the pair aren’t training or studying, they find ways to have fun. As a result, Dormann and Feore founded @george_feoremann_grill, a joint Instagram account with the sole focus of displaying their meals and foodie adventures. The two seem to have a great time together, creating silly captions to accompany the photos. One of the funniest posts is a photo of the two after a game, holding a box of donuts and detaling it as a “high cal, low protein” and “easily digestible” post-game meal.

The tight bonds between each player appear to be a key factor in the team’s past success. With a national championship on the line, there’s no room for frustration or fighting on the court. Dormann places emphasis

on the team’s bonding activities, including their nutrition sessions. The trust built off the court translates into teamwork that can be seen on the court, a key factor needed for the Blues to earn their second national championship in the past three seasons.

Dormann finds time for her hobbies and friends between classes, as well as practices that can sometimes reach three hours and that occur nearly every day. Maintaining a strong balance between academics and social life can sometimes feel like a challenge while playing on a varsity team.

In Toronto, Dormann enjoys pursuing her love for a nice latte by exploring coffee shops in Yorkville and Kensington Market. Hailing from Ottawa, Dormann explains she didn’t face many issues with her transition away from living with her family. “I really love living in Toronto. It’s super fun and there is lots to do. I’m also close to home and can go back to visit on long weekends.”

As a Life Sciences student, Dormann has to find time to complete assignments and attend lectures.

“My majors right now are health and disease and biology.” Her future, like that of many of her peers, hasn’t been fully planned out yet. “I have no idea what I want to do but [school is] super interesting right now,” she adds.

Although school can be stressful at times, she explains the importance of taking time to be with her teammates. “We spend so much time together, it’s awesome to have close

Varsity Blue Alina Dormann all smiles beside her teammate. PHOTO BY MARTIN BAZYL, COURTESY OF THE VARSITY BLUES

relationships on and off the court,” she says. “They are people you enjoy spending time with off the court.”

As a well-rounded athlete, Dormann competed in many sports in her younger years. Track and field, basketball, and touch football are some of the sports she played. Being avidly involved in basketball throughout her time at Brookfield High School was also one of her passions.

Dormann’s stellar high school athletics career was acknowledged when she was named Most Valuable Player in 2013, 2014, and 2015, and Athlete of the Year in 2012–2013 and 2014–2015.

With many star athletes coming from athletic lineage and being trained from a young age, it surprised me when Dormann explained

her situation. “My parents both came to Canada from Europe, my dad came from Germany and my mom came from Ukraine.” She explains that although they were both athletic, they never played volleyball.

Dormann started playing volleyball in grade eight.

Being involved with competitive volleyball throughout high school, Dormann recounts her travels with the various teams she has played for.

“When I was playing club volleyball we would play a lot in Toronto,” says Dormann. “As I got older we started to go further. And now with the national team, starting to go a little further.”

Dormann has traveled to many countries over the course of her volleyball career, including the Domini-

can Republic for the 2016 Pan Am Cup. She represented Canada this past summer at the FISU Summer Universiade in Taipei. “It was an amazing experience,” says Dormann.

“A lot of hours and hard work, but it’s worth it. Representing Canada is always an honor.”

But the Canadian National Team is not the only goal she has her sights set on. “Personally I want to contribute the best way I can to our goal of being a championship team and winning the OUA championship,” says Dormann.

“We’ve talked a lot about what it takes to be that championship team and every day whether it be the gym or on the court, and we are taking a lot of positive steps towards that direction.”

POUND classes hosted at Hart House New fitness class incorporates drumming

MIA CARNEVALE/THE VARSITY

Rachel Takacs Varsity Contributor

Upon arriving to POUND, I saw a few faces who had come to try something new, in addition to a few who had already heard about the new workout craze. The sun shone through the beautiful Hart House gym windows as we waited for the class to start.

We were greeted by trainer Melissa Mazzucco, who instructed us to grab a mat and a pair of neon-green drumsticks.

If you’ve got no idea what POUND is, you’re not alone. The new fitness phenomenon combines the intense rhythm movement of drumming with common exercises, which makes the workout extremely engaging and helps one build their own sense of rhythm. POUND is an excel-

lent substitute for cardio. It involves repetitive movement that takes place on the spot. This form of exercise is great for those who don’t want to get involved with running, which is a huge bonus for those who are wary about knee injuries.

This year, Hart House began hosting POUND as a part of its drop-in fitness programs. The class takes place every Friday from 9:10–10:00 am in the lower gym.

I’ll be honest — at first I expected actual drums, but I then realized that would have been way too heavy for the trainer to carry to class. The music started, a remix of Nina Simone’s “Feeling Good,” and we began hitting our drumsticks together in unison with the beat. We then launched into a variety of movements up and down, side to side, and began hitting

our mats by squatting and drumming at the same time. Many of the exercises involved lunging backward and forward, and side to side, squatting up and down, then eventually doing some core work. These exercises mainly tackle the leg, gluteus, and abdomen muscles. I was certainly very sore the next day, and I felt that this class effectively promoted us into doing many, many squats.

POUND was founded by former drummers Kirsten Potenza and Cristina Peerenboom. As Mazzucco told us, they were looking for a new form of exercise when they took it upon themselves to take their drumming skills to the next level. They began incorporating all forms of fitness movements with the use of drumming sticks, hitting off various surfaces while inducing movement and

following the rhythm of the music.

It turned into an international organization that continues to update its routines with new music and new moves.

A great quality of the class is that it’s in the morning – the perfect time for people to begin their day.

Mazzucco has a background in dance training, is certified in many forms of fitness training, and is certain to expand your knowledge to beyond that of the class alone.

Traditional gymgoers may hesitate at first taking one of these classes. I used to play a lot of intense sports and worked out occasionally, but once I took a Zumba class, I was amazed to see how tired I was afterward.

One can certainly equate the intensity of these rhythm classes to that of

traditional exercises. POUND runs at an intense rhythm. Like Zumba, you are constantly moving to the beat of the music that won’t slow down until the end of the class. What’s great about both POUND and Zumba is that you feel like you’re dancing the entire time while getting in a great workout.

Overall, these classes are great for accommodating to the needs of people of all abilities and ages. The instructors insist on this to make sure that you don’t feel an absolute need to keep up with everything. The instructor will help adjust exercises in a manner that accommodates to any level one feels comfortable with.

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sports@thevarsity.ca

Our favourite athletes from childhood The people who first taught us about the beauty and importance of sport Four Varsity contributors look back on their favourite athletes from when they were young.

Misty Copeland. GILDASQUIRE/CC WIKIMEDIA

MISTY COPELAND The beauty of Misty Copeland is in her intersectionality — she combines art with athleticism and strength with grace unlike any other. She has overcome painfully real barriers, and when I was a competitive dancer in high school, she was a beacon of hope.

Copeland is known for being the first Black woman to be named a Principal Dancer at the American Ballet Theater (ABT) in 2015, though she caught the public eye and my own attention before that.

The first time I saw a picture of her, I was stunned by her physique. There was something heartening in the broadness of shoulders and the fact that her thighs were actually wider than my forearms. She was a beautiful change of pace from the usual lily white, ultra-thin ballerinas who fill professional ballet companies.

Dancers’ athletic prowess tends to be overlooked or discounted more than that of athletes in other disciplines. Pointe — dancing on the tips of the toes in rock-hard shoes — is difficult, painful, and requires grueling work and dedication. You wouldn’t know it to watch Copeland, who performs effortlessly and with obvious joy. Still, she has been open about the bumpy road she traveled to achieve what she has.

Copeland struggled with an eating disorder when her body filled out, after suffering the ABT artistic staff’s not-so-subtle demands for her to lose weight. In an article she wrote for Self, she remembers being called in “for The Talk, and the bingeing began.” She endured a dark period in her life, but she eventually triumphed, emerging confident and unapologetic.

Subsequently, Copeland has become a pioneer: she looks strong in a crowd that leans toward looking sickly, and she has refused to let an unhealthy industry change her — instead, she is single-handedly changing the industry. She may be an outlier now, but the progress and hope that she embodies will inspire a new generation to follow in her steps.

— Blythe Hunter

GIANLUIGI BUFFON I have participated in dozens and dozens of sports throughout my life — everything from land-based to aquatic. However, one sport that was near and dear to my heart was soccer, especially as an Italian. I played soccer for the better half of a decade and loved every minute of it. There is one memory about soccer that vividly stands out in my youth, and that was the 2006 FIFA World Cup. As an avid defender and goalkeeper myself, watching the impenetrable Italian defense was mesmerizing. They were legendary. During that World Cup in particular, they only conceded two goals, thanks in part to their incredible goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon.

He was 65 minutes shy of beating the World Cup record for the longest shutout streak, ironically held by another Italian goalkeeper, Walter Zenga, in 1990. Buffon was and still is at the root of Italy’s worldfamous defense line. He is an inspiration and my role model.

Buffon is known by most as one of the greatest goalkeepers of all time, which only seems fitting because he currently holds numerous records at club level, including one for the longest streaks without conceding a goal.

Despite Italy’s failed attempt at qualifying for the World Cup this year, there is no denying Buffon’s sheer talent and skill. It is why he was named in FIFA 100’s list of the world’s greatest living players in 2004, won Serie A Goalkeeper of the Year award a record 12 times, and is the only goalkeeper ever to have won the UEFA Club Footballer of the Year. As he once said in an interview, “If I do something, I do it with the idea to get to the top — without that, I would stop living.” It’s a motto I haven’t stopped living by.

— Jordan LoMonaco

Gianluigi Buffon. DUDEK1337/CC WIKIMEDIA

Park Ji-Sung. CROPBOT/CC WIKIMEDIA

PARK JI-SUNG As an Aston Villa fan from Ajax, I would often eschew the traditional Saturday morning cartoons in favour of low-resolution broadcasts from Birmingham, watching the rise of English stars Gareth Barry, James Milner, and Gary Cahill. Even when I played for my local club’s youth teams, I used to try to emulate my heroes, wondering if I could get the job done on a cold, rainy night in Stoke. But despite my loyalty to the claret and blue, I soon developed a soft spot for Manchester United, and that was all thanks to Park JiSung.

The time of the classic English 4-4-2 was drawing to an end, and with it was Sir Alex Ferguson’s reign. His fledglings of the Class of ’92 had moved on, save Paul Scholes, Ryan Giggs, and Gary Neville. Phil Neville moved to Everton, and Nicky Butt left for Newcastle, while David Beckham departed for Madrid.

It was the Prem in the mid-noughties, and Sir Alex’s Red Devils sought aid for their thinning midfield, finding it in an up-andcoming South Korean midfielder from PSV Eindhoven.

In his playing days, Park was a hardworking and consistent midfielder with the ability — and willingness — to play whatever position he was asked. Be it in the wide midfield positions, or a more central role, Ferguson relied on him to put in a good effort for his side, particularly in big games against talented opposition.

Though he was technically unspectacular, Park always paired his otherworldly work ethic with intelligent movement off the ball, which ultimately led to him enjoying seven trophy-laden seasons in the red half of Manchester. His teammates and manager at United were always quick to sing his praises to the media, but no praise was higher than that of Italian legend Andrea Pirlo, who described Park as being “the first nuclear-powered South Korean in history, in the sense that he rushed about at the speed of an electron.” Poor Pirlo always had a rough night when his AC Milan came up against Fergie’s United, as Park Ji-Sung would be the man to mark the playmaker nearly out of existence.

With versatility and work ethic not seen since Rinus Michels’ Total Football, Park was the ideal team player and the crutch that supported the world’s best club.

— Matthew Gene

JONATHAN TOEWS Growing up in a no-Jets Winnipeg, there were few sporting events that inspired pride, happiness, or excitement. My family and I would go to Manitoba Moose hockey games and even attended a Winnipeg Goldeyes baseball game once, but the two minor league teams did little to build a potent sports atmosphere throughout the city. The Blue Bombers — Winnipeg’s CFL team — hadn’t won a cup since 1990, and overall, there was little to be excited about when it came to sports. The legacies of Bobby Hull and Dale Hawerchuk were all that was keeping any hockey spirit alive.

And then, in 2010, Jonathan Toews captained the Blackhawks to their fourth Stanley Cup — bringing victory to Chicago and pride to Winnipeg. It was an exciting moment.

Raised in St. Vital — a neighbourhood 15 minutes away from the one I grew up in — Toews was Winnipeg’s proudest export: an athlete who represented the city on and off the ice. At 22, he already had a key to the city and a lake named after him — yes, in northwestern Manitoba exists Toews Lake.

I remember being confused about why my dad was so happy about the Blackhawks’ win. “Their captain is one of our own!” he explained. That was the moment I began to understand the importance of representation and inclusion in sports. We look and cheer for people who come from the same backgrounds as us — ones we can relate to.

Toews’ French in bilingual interviews stands as a staunch reminder to Winnipeg’s often overlooked francophone community. He plays, speaks, and behaves like a Winnipegger, and when I think of childhood hockey heroes, Toews is the first to come to mind.

I now live in Toronto, and I am subsequently a diehard fan of all things Blue Jays, Raptors, and Maple Leafs. Living in a city where sport developments and teams are the definition of exciting, how much Toews meant to Winnipeg back in 2010 is put into perspective. We didn’t have young phenoms like Auston Matthews and Marcus Stroman playing for us — our own phenoms were playing across the border, but that didn’t stop us from cheering loudly and proudly.

— Michelle Krasovitski

Jonathan Toews. SECRETNAME101/CC WIKIMEDIA

DECEMBER 4, 2017 u 19

var.st/sports

The Jays can extend their World Series window An insight into the Toronto Blue Jays’ offseason

A scenic view of the Rogers Centre. BINCHE/CC WIKIMEDIA

Matthew Aaron Gene Varsity Contributor

Entering last season, expectations for the Toronto Blue Jays were high, despite the losses of slugger Edwin Encarnacion and relief pitcher Brett Cecil. However, the Blue Jays were unable to deliver on experts’ predictions of a playoff finish, ending the 2017 season with a .469 record, nine games back of the final wildcard spot in the American League.

Missing the playoffs after consecutive trips to the American League Championships Series has left fans pondering a dangerous question: has the Blue Jays’ World Series window slammed shut? If so, then a rebuild would be on the cards, and a difficult one at that. Toronto boasts one of the oldest rosters in the MLB, and they are burdened by the untradeable contracts of veterans Troy Tulowitzki and Russell Martin, both earning $20 million for each of the next two seasons. The future is bright with Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Bo Bichette on the way, but they still find themselves playing High-A ball in Dunedin.

With the notion of a rebuild out of the question, how can the Jays squeeze out another shot at the playoffs? Let’s consider the team’s options this offseason.

The addition of an infielder The Jays boasted a middle infield comprised of Ryan Goins, Tulowitzki, and the oft-injured Devon Travis last season. A healthy Travis started at second, with Tulowitzki at shortstop, and Goins deputizing both positions.

Injuries to Travis, Tulowitzki, and Josh Donaldson exposed the lack of depth in the infield and resulted in Toronto playing some combination of Darwin Barney, Chris Coghlan, Rob Refsnyder, and Goins — none of whom are with the club today — alongside Justin Smoak. This leaves Richard Urena and Gift Ngoepe as the Jays’ only depth at middle infield, making a utility infielder a top priority.

Eduardo Núñez is one such utility infielder. Valued at almost $12 million, he can play virtually anywhere in the field should a starting player go down with an injury. Batting .313/.341/.460 with 12 home runs, 58 runs batted in, and 24 stolen bases last season with the San Francisco Giants and Boston Red Sox, Núñez would bring some speed to an aged squad.

Speaking of speed, Dee Gordon may find himself leaving Miami soon, as new Marlins CEO Derek Jeter attempts to lower the club’s salary. A left-handed batter with a high on-base percentage makes Gordon the ideal leadoff man. He even snagged 60 bases last season, making him an attractive trade option for the Jays. Gordon would take over

at second full-time, benching Travis, and making Goins the backup shortstop, creating depth by pushing the incumbent starters down the chart.

Depth at starting pitcher The Jays’ rotation currently features Marcus Stroman, Marco Estrada, Aaron Sanchez, and JA Happ, leaving a vacant starter slot.

Toronto have rightly expressed interest in Jake Arrieta, one of the top pitchers on the market and a World Series winner with the Chicago Cubs. With a Cy Young Award and two no-hitters to his name, Arrieta’s proven track record makes him a tantalising option for the Jays. The downside? Arrieta would command almost $27 million per year on a long-term contract.

The most interesting option is dual-threat Shohei Ohtani, who is free to be signed on a minor league contract. Unproven against MLB opposition, he is considered a promising starter with a good bat. The one caveat to signing Ohtani is that all teams in MLB have a shot at signing him, so the Jays need a contingency plan should they fail. Toronto should take a run at him, but they will show reluctance to play him in the field if they succeed, as they’ve shown reluctance to push young players, such as Sanchez, too hard for fear of injuries.

Expect Toronto to pick up a few low-cost starters to improve pitching depth. Don’t rule out a return for Brett Anderson.

Not splurging on sluggers The loss of Jose Bautista has left the Jays short of a slugger in right field. With bigmoney power threats JD Martinez and Jay Bruce hitting free agency, it can be tempting for a club to spend big on a long-term deal for either, but they shouldn’t. If Toronto is serious about reaching the World Series in 2018, they need more than just Martinez or Bruce — they’d need to improve the infield depth and the pitching rotation to stand a chance against teams like Houston. Such moves would prove costly in the long term, as the Jays would be stuck with the hefty contracts of Martin, Tulowitzki, and any free agent acquisitions.

Instead, the team should place their faith in Teoscar Hernández, who showed some pop during a September call-up, to spare themselves the stress of carrying several overpaid veterans in the future.

Verdict: the Jays will express caution, making deals to improve depth and hope that last season’s misfortunes were but a blip. This team is good enough to turn things around on their own, and should get back to winning ways with minimal alterations.

WEEKLY BOX SCORES BASKETBALL MEN’S November 29

Varsity Blues

69–78

Ryerson Rams

85–69

December 1 Varsity Blues

Lakehead Thunderwolves

WOMEN’S November 29

Varsity Blues

December 1 Varsity Blues

63–71

72–64

Ryerson Rams

Lakehead Thunderwolves

HOCKEY MEN’S 4–6

December 1 Varsity Blues

December 2 Varsity Blues

2–4

Guelph Gryphons

Brock Badgers

WOMEN’S December 2 Varsity Blues

3–0

Laurier Golden Hawks

DIVERSIONS

DECEMBER 4, 2017 • 20

SUDOKU

The Varsity‘s Fall Magazine On stands this week!

The Varsity Magazine Vol. XI No. 1 Fall 2017 Female leadership — from a spaceship page 10

What will society’s response to technological innovation be? page 16

Will a ban destroy a culture? page 32

U E

U F

F

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A reflection of what the future holds for us page 54

An escape from school leads to pondering post-undergrad life page 8

What will tomorrow’s Toronto look like? page 49

An examination of the true value of a university degree page 62

Launch Party!

Join us at Future Bistro

Last Week’s Answers:

Tuesday December 5th 7:00pm - 10:00pm