November 18, 2019

November 18, 2019

THE VARSITY The University of Toronto’s Student Newspaper Since 1880

Vol. CXL, No. 10

NO NO REST REST FOR FOR PRO-HONG PRO-HONG KONG KONG STUDENTS STUDENTS

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Hong Kong anti-extradition group aims to spread awareness in Canada Hannah Carty Associate News Editor

As the months-long protests in Hong Kong show no signs of slowing down, U of T students have continued to bring the protests to Toronto.

Pro-Hong Kong students set up a Lennon Wall on the UTSG campus and organized a 48-hour hunger strike, though the strike ended prematurely due to worsening weather conditions at the recommendation of first-aid volunteers on site.

The protests in Hong Kong, ongoing since June, were sparked by an extradition bill which would have allowed for detainees in Hong Kong to be extradited to mainland China. The bill has since been withdrawn, though the protests have continued and grown in scope, now encompassing greater demands for full democracy and freedoms.

As the protests continue, violence has escalated as demands by protestors have expanded — universities in Hong Kong have become grounds for petrol bombs and tear gas as protestors and police clash amidst heightened protests against police brutality and calls for full democratic elections.

Lennon Wall The U of T Hong Kong Extradition Law Awareness Group (UTHKELAG) put up a Lennon Wall outside of the University of Toronto Students’ Union (UTSU) building on the night of November 5, as a forum for expressing pro-Hong Kong sentiments. Lennon Walls, which are collaborative mosaic walls that originated in Prague during the 1980s, have been a part of the antiextradition law protests in Hong Kong over the past few months.

The U of T Lennon Wall features over a hundred coloured sticky notes on which students have

written messages such as “Free Hong Kong,” and “Democracy Now!” In the middle of the wall is a memorial to Alex Chow Tsz-Lok, a student at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology who died on November 8 after falling off a parking garage during a police raid days earlier.

Chow was reportedly attempting to escape tear gas when he fell, though the exact circumstances surrounding his death remain unclear. His death has further fuelled global protests, and it has been cited as one of the only deaths linked directly to police interference.

“Lennon Walls have popped up around Hong Kong mostly as sites for expression of views, largely pro-democracy, in favor of the protests and our objectives,” said Milton Chow, a fourthyear student at U of T and a member of UTHKELAG. He said that the purpose of the wall is “to allow the U of T community to see [that] what’s going on in Hong Kong matters to our Hong Kong student community right now, especially since Toronto is home to one of the largest Hong Kong diasporas anywhere in the world.”

Milton explained that the group hopes to keep the wall up for “as long as we possibly can,” to show the spirit of their activism.

“It’s pretty clear that it is named after former Beatles frontman, John Lennon,” said Milton.

“But, in large part it revolves around his messages of peaceful yet radical change, and moving toward greater freedom and democracy for all.”

Michael Junior Samakayi, UTSU’s VicePresident, Equity, said that the UTSU’s decision to allow the wall on their building was a show of solidarity with the people of Hong Kong: “If we’re not standing up for them, then what are we really doing as a student union?”

Hunger strike This weekend, the student protestors set up chairs, posters, and a tent outside of Old City Hall as they attempted to wait out a 48-hour hunger strike from 10:00 am on November 16 to 10:00 am on November 18. However, 12 hours in, the strike ended early due to safety concerns regarding the cold weather.

Marco So, a first-year student from Hong Kong at the strike, described the current wave of protests as “maybe the last fight for [the] democracy of the Hong Kong people.” He called the hunger strike “a way of self-sacrificing,” and cited his own reason for getting involved in the strike as not having participated in Hong Kong protests before: “And I feel a little bit of regret about that.”

Man Kin Sum, an exchange student at U of T from the Chinese University of Hong Kong participating in the strike, said he was motivated by the recent violence at his home university, where students and police clashed in an hourslong skirmish.

“In the past few days, Hong Kong police tried to get into our school, and there are like a thousand cans of tear gas and they tried to use [a] water cannon and even rubber bullets to attack students,” said Sum. Hogan Lam, one of the organizers of UTHKELAG, said that the purpose of the hunger strike was to show solidarity with Hong Kong and to get the attention of U of T and Canada.

Due to the nature of the attack at a university, Lam said, “I feel like U of T, as one of the biggest educational institutions in the world, they really have to say something or at least make a stand.”

The Varsity has reached out to U of T Media Relations for comment.

Business How a full-time U of T student became a fulltime content creator on YouTube

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Comment Brace yourselves, UTSG admin, winter is coming — don’t fail us again

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Feature Linking two crises: climate and mental health

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Arts & Culture Who knew setting up dates could pay off

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Science Chronic cannabis users: be aware of the side effects!

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Sports From field hockey to running — an athlete’s journey through injury

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Lennon Walls have become a symbol of peace and freedom.

SAMANTHA YAO/THE VARSITY

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Mental health crisis hotlines If you or someone you know is in distress, you can call: Canada Suicide Prevention Service phone available 24/7 at 1-833-456-4566 Good 2 Talk Student Helpline at 1-866-9255454 Ontario Mental Health Helpline at 1-866531-2600 Gerstein Centre Crisis Line at 416-929-5200 U of T Health & Wellness Centre at 416-9788030

Warning signs of suicide include: Talking about wanting to die Looking for a way to kill oneself Talking about feeling hopeless or having no purpose Talking about feeling trapped or being in unbearable pain Talking about being a burden to others Increasing use of alcohol or drugs Acting anxious, agitated, or recklessly Sleeping too little or too much Withdrawing or feeling isolated Showing rage or talking about seeking revenge Displaying extreme mood swings

The more of these signs a person shows, the greater the risk. If you suspect someone you know may be contemplating suicide, you should talk to them, according to the Canadian Association for Suicide Prevention.

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NOVEMBER 18, 2019

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U of T to review policies after UTM student handcuffed while seeking mental health support Student Natalia Espinosa speaks on her experience, intersection of mental health with racialized identity Kathryn Mannie Deputy News Editor

Content warning: this article contains mentions of suicide.

On October 2, Natalia Espinosa, a third-year student at UTM, was handcuffed by campus police at the Health & Counselling Centre (HCC), as first reported by The Medium. Though she had arrived at the HCC that day to seek support for suicidal ideation, Espinosa told The Varsity in an interview that she left the HCC in police custody, and was then escorted to Credit Valley Hospital.

In the aftermath of the news, student groups around U of T have strongly criticized the university’s policies, further strengthening their calls for change around how the administration is handling mental health. Though the university explained that its procedures are in line with local law enforcement practices, it told The Varsity that it will be reviewing its policies in light of this event.

The events of October 2 Espinosa described how, as a UTM student, she had always been told that she should go to the HCC in the event of a mental health crisis. Her friend and fellow U of T student, Anita Mozaffari, urged her to seek help, and Espinosa, with Mozaffari by her side, obliged and went to the HCC to request a meeting with a psychiatrist.

Upon arrival they were informed that the process of seeing a psychiatrist involved three steps. Espinosa would have to be seen by a mental health nurse, and then a doctor, before she’d finally be able to discuss her health issues with a psychiatrist. This process, they were told, could take a month or more.

Then the HCC receptionist notified them that the mental health nurse was not in that day. Espinosa told The Varsity that she became distressed upon hearing that she may not be able to immediately receive care. As she became more and more visibly upset, the HCC receptionist reportedly allowed Espinosa in to see a regular nurse.

With the nurse, Espinosa developed a safety plan which involved her staying the night with Mozaffari. After the plan was approved, the nurse then told Espinosa that, per U of T protocol, she would have to call campus police to have a “10– 15 minute talk” with her before she could leave.

Two campus police constables arrived and Espinosa told them about her prior intention to end her life, and that her plan had included a specific location. The officers then told Espinosa that because her plan included a real location, they would have to place her under arrest and transport her to a hospital.

“I told them that I would be more than willing to go to the hospital,” said Espinosa, and yet campus police insisted that she needed to go in handcuffs. Once the handcuffs were placed on her, Espinosa began to experience a panic attack.

She recounted how her distress was met with silence from the constables: “It seemed like the police didn’t know what they were doing.” In fact, it was Mozaffari who jumped in to calm her down.

Mozaffari described to The Varsity that the officers were ready to take Espinosa to their car, even while she was actively experiencing mental distress. “They didn’t even think to stop and calm her down and care for her.”

Espinosa was led out of the HCC and through the Davis Building, with a jacket placed over her handcuffs. Since the police car was not ready, she had to stand in the entrance to the building and face the stares of those passing by, making her feel criminalized.

They would not let Mozaffari ride with Espinosa to the hospital, and while she was alone in the back of the police cruiser, Espinosa experienced another panic attack and vomited.

Espinosa was admitted to the hospital and her handcuffs were eventually taken off. She was able to receive care and will continue seeking support there. In light of this incident, she said that she no longer trusts the mental health services provided by U of T. Mozaffari sees this event as being indicative of a larger issue at U of T. Not only does she find the handcuffing protocol to be damaging, but she was shocked that someone who was suicidal, as Espinosa was that day, was asked to wait a month or more to receive care.

Espinosa also believes that U of T is not doing enough to combat mental health issues on campus and is angered by the actions of campus police in this situation. In light of her treatment, she has filed an official complaint with U of T.

Law enforcement policy on mental health In an email to The Varsity, a U of T spokesperson explained that while they cannot comment on any specific case, “The safety and wellbeing of those involved is the primary consideration in any situation” for the university. U of T will be reexamining their policies in light of this incident.

Mark Overton, Dean of Student Affairs at UTM, further explained that not all cases in which a student is suicidal will result in campus police bringing the student to the hospital. “It’s very much on a case-by-case basis.”

A number of considerations go into whether or not a campus police constable decides to handcuff and transfer a student to a hospital, with one main consideration being the expression of specific intentions to harm oneself. Overton went on to clarify that handcuffs are involved in order to ensure that individuals deemed at risk are safely brought to the hospital.

Both Espinosa and Mozaffari agree that having a protocol that involves handcuffing students who are reaching out for mental health support will deter those who are most vulnerable from coming forward. “When you’re in such a vulnerable position, you need to be treated with dignity and respect, and you need to be treated with care, because ultimately I believe this is a health care matter. It is not a police matter,” said Mozaffari.

Espinosa also claimed that, “The fact that they’re using handcuffs… is criminalizing and creating more stigma around mental health.” She further noted that she finds it unacceptable that law enforcement can act in mental health situations without health care professionals present.

Mental health at the intersection Espinosa and Mozaffari believe that mental health is particularly pressing for those at an ‘intersection,’ such as women, racialized peoples, and members of the LGBTQ+ community.

As a racialized woman, Mozaffari acknowledged that there are barriers to accessing mental health services for some more than others, and that police interactions can take on a radically different tone depending on your identity. “There will always be a slight fear when you’re interacting with police because statistically, they will treat you with more violence.”

Espinosa would like to see more services and

Campus police are called in on a case-by-case basis.

STEVEN LEE/THE VARSITY

initiatives aimed specifically at members of marginalized groups who experience mental health issues. She also wishes to see more diverse representation among those who handle people experiencing mental health crises, noting that her interaction with a female police officer that day was a much more calming experience than when she was interacting solely with male police officers.

After the events of October 2, Espinosa and Mozaffari told their story to Beverly Bain, who teaches at UTM. Bain has since begun advocating on behalf of Espinosa and will soon be releasing and circulating a letter to raise awareness of what happened to her.

Bain spoke with The Varsity to discuss the issues at hand.

Bain believes that for racialized women such as Espinosa, there is a greater vulnerability inherent in reaching out for mental health support. “It exposes them, it also puts them in a situation where they feel that their agency is denied…

When they try to assert agency and voice [their needs] can easily be put in a situation where they can be put in danger by those law enforcement individuals.”

Bain sees the reason for this being that “women are not supposed to speak up, they are not supposed to say no, they’re not supposed to challenge authority.”

Community responses In response to the events of October 2, the UTMSU released a statement condemning the actions of the police constables who put Espinosa in handcuffs and the policies that allowed this to unfold. “These actions taken by the HCC and the police are shameful and further the intimidation and discrimination that students face on our campus when accessing mental health services.” The University of Toronto Students’ Union (UTSU), the Association of Part Time Undergraduate Students, and the U of T Students’ Law Society all announced their support for the statement.

A petition has also been released calling for the university to publicly apologize for handcuffing Espinosa and to improve mental health services on campus. As of publishing time, the petition has over 130 signatures.

University Affairs Board presents updates on mandated leave policy, reviews sexual violence policy Vice-Provost, Students, explains long Student Choice Initiative winter opt-out period

On November 13, the Governing Council’s University Affairs Board passed its yearly review of the university-mandated leave of absence policy (UMLAP), its three-year review of the Policy on Sexual Violence and Sexual Harrassment, and the university’s report on non-academic disciplinary cases. The report on the UMLAP revealed that out of eight cases in the past year, two students requested a review of the decision to use the policy on them, though the university ultimately upheld its original decisions.

universities to create an opt-out option for some incidental fees. The winter opt-out period for students — running from November 1 to January 20 — has already begun, Welsh announced at the meeting.

Welsh attributes its lengthy time-frame, weeks longer than the summer opt-out period, to the deadline for adding and dropping classes, and its effect on a student’s full-time or part-time status.

The vice-provost also announced that between the last fall collection period and this past one, there was a two per cent reduction in incidental fees collected through the university due to the SCI.

Student Choice Initiative Vice-Provost, Students Sandy Welsh led most of the meeting, giving reports on the various policies up for review and on the Student Choice Initiative (SCI) — the province’s mandate for

University-mandated leave of absence policy The UMLAP received an update since its implementation last year. The controversial policy has seen an Ontario Human Rights Commission complaint and waves of student protests.

Andy Takagi News Editor

Welsh reported that the policy had been used in eight cases in the past year, emphasizing that it was only used as a last resort. Two of the student cases took voluntary leave from the school. Of the remaining six, two students requested a review of the policy’s implementation. For both, the policy was sustained, with one student requesting a tribunal, withdrawing the case before the hearing, according to Welsh.

Following her report, Welsh addressed concerns raised about the policy. Specifically, some worry of a broader deterring effect that the policy might have on students in seeking help from mental health resources within the university.

Welsh, again, emphasized the extreme and serious nature of the cases on which the policy was enacted, which included risk of harm to others.

She further pointed out that any request to invoke the policy needed to be made by a divisional head.

Sexual violence policy updates, non-academic discipline report During Welsh’s presentation of the revisions for the Policy on Sexual Violence and Sexual Harrassment in its first three-year review, she lamented the Ontario government-imposed deadline for the report, which tightened the timeline for consultations, after winter exams had already began. Changes were also passed to the Code of Student Conduct to reflect the jurisdictional divide between the two policies.

Finally, Welsh presented the university’s annual report on cases of non-academic discipline: the governance document details specific counts of incidents. Among 12 cases there were 17 offences: 10 offences against persons, four offences of unauthorized use of university equipment, one offence against property, one abetting offence, and one offence of disruption.

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Review of sexual violence policy finds 56 reports in three years, only one tribunal

As the policy undergoes governance review, data points toward under-reporting Andy Takagi News Editor

At the University Affairs Board meeting on November 13, in a relatively empty Governing Council chamber, the university’s sexual violence policy went through its first three-year review.

The report found that from early 2017 to late 2018, there were 56 cases reported through the Sexual Violence Prevention & Support Centre (SVPSC), but during that same time, only one hearing was held.

That hearing saw the respondent admitting to “non-consensual touching.” The respondent was sanctioned with a one-year suspension, a fiveyear notation on their transcript, and a one-year probationary period after the suspension, limiting contact with the survivor.

This review was part of the mandate of the Sexual Violence and Harassment Action Plan Act that was passed under former Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne, which sparked the policy’s creation in the first place. U of T’s proposed revised policy clarified language, but included no substantial changes.

At the same meeting, the university released its numbers for non-academic offences, which included the number of tribunals held in cases where the respondent to a report of sexual violence is a student.

“Cases can be resolved in different ways.

Where the respondent is a student, cases may be referred to a hearing under the Code of Student Conduct, but may be resolved before the hearing is conducted,” wrote Sandy Welsh, Vice-Provost, Students, in an email to The Varsity.

“In making a decision as to whether a matter is referred to a hearing, the wishes of students who come to the centre are always considered,” wrote Welsh. “In some cases they may not want a hearing, and would prefer the matter be resolved in another way.”

How we got here In 2016, the provincial legislature enacted the Sexual Violence and Harassment Action Plan Act, which, through the then-Ministry of Advanced Education and Skills Development, mandated that universities and colleges were to develop independent sexual violence and assault policies. Up until then, U of T’s policy was embedded among several other policies, including the Student Code of Conduct and the university’s Policy and Procedure on Sexual Harassment. Following calls to action from the U of T community, and part of a wider movement across North America in 2014, the university began the process of consulting on revisions for a new policy.

By the time the then-bill reached royal assent in 2016, U of T’s Policy on Sexual Violence and Sexual Harassment was undergoing consultations, with the university releasing a draft in September and a final version in November of that year. The policy was the work of years-long consultations, research, and various task force and committee recommendations — including the development of a tri-campus SVPSC. Since then In 2017, a year after its release, U of T’s policy received a “C” grade for its sexual violence policies from Our Turn, a coalition of 20 Canadian student unions. The policy was marked down for lacking mandatory sexual violence sensitivity training, not acknowledging the existence of a rape culture at the university, and not having clearly defined timelines for reports and investigations. The same year, Tamsyn Riddle, a U of T student, filed a human rights complaint against U of T and Trinity College, citing a failed 17-month sexual assault investigation in 2015 and failure of

the college to enforce the interim measures imposed on her assailant.

Various reports were released in 2019, reflecting the policy’s first three years: the university’s own SVPSC 2018–2019 report, a report from the U of T student advocacy group for sexual assault survivors Silence is Violence, and the Ontario provincial survey on sexual violence at postsecondary institutions.

The SVPSC reported that 56 cases of sexual violence were filed under the university’s sexual violence policy from the office’s first two years of operation.

Silence is Violence, a grassroots student advocacy group, collected its own data, surveying 544 anonymous students. Of its respondents, 109 reported experiencing at least one instance of sexual violence or were uncertain whether the incident they experienced was an act of sexual violence during their time at U of T. Thirty per cent of respondents indicated that they knew someone who had experienced sexual violence on campus.

The provincial Student Voices on Sexual Assault survey released on March 19 reported that of 26,824 U of T respondents, 4,628 reported experiences of stalking and 12,293 reported instances of sexual harassment, including discrimination and online and physical harassment. It also found that 3,602 U of T students reported non-consensual sexual experiences, which makes up 13.42 per cent of U of T’s respondents.

The revised policy, with clarified language but lacking any substantive additions, will continue through the governance process, where it will ultimately be voted for approval at the December 12 meeting of Governing Council.

The Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities was unable to comment at the time of publication.

The University Affairs Board met in the council chambers on the afternoon of November 13.

STEVEN LEE/THE VARSITY

Ford government releases annual report on freedom of speech on campus U of T continued with existing policies, highlighted two on-campus events that spurred free speech debate

Mikaela Toone Associate News Editor

As part of the Ontario government’s 2018 directive that all colleges and universities must develop and report on free speech guidelines, the Higher Education Quality Council of Ontario (HEQCO) released its first annual report on November 4 regarding the state of free speech on campuses. It revealed that U of T did not have to make any alterations to its freedom of speech policy in order to comply with governmental regulations.

Background on the policy Doug Ford unveiled his free speech policy requirements in August 2018, stating that institutions found to be non-compliant with the government’s free speech requirements are at risk of losing funding.

The policy is based on the Chicago principles for free expression, which were outlined in a 2014 document from the University of Chicago that summarizes its commitments to freedom of expression.

The HEQCO was tasked with monitoring the implementation of this directive, which falls under its mandate to evaluate the postsecondary education system in Ontario.

The state of free speech at U of T In U of T’s “Annual Freedom of Speech Report” — which each university and college is now required to produce as part of Ford’s policy — U

of T highlighted two cornerstone free speech documents that were passed in 1992, as well as a number of expansions to the policy framework over the years.

Universities were also required to note any free speech issues or complaints in their reports. U of T highlighted an event held in March 2019 at UTM where the controversial scholar, Norman Finkelstein, spoke about the Israel-Palestine conflict. Finkelstein’s lecture, which primarily argued against the right of Israeli guards in

noted that CNP Leader Travis Patron had come under RCMP investigation for a hate crime earlier this year. Patron was also recently charged with assault and aggravated assault in Regina FION A TU NG/T on November 2, where two women HE V ARSIT Y alleged that Patron attacked them after Gaza to they refused his offer of a ride. self-defence, The HEQCO report identified one isfaced criticism and sue in regard to compliance with the Chicago calls for cancellation principles in Ontario. The report notes that both from within the university and the public.

In addition, U of T was the only institution a central feature of the Chicago principles is to cancel an event during the January to August that free speech “takes precedence over civilreporting period, when a space booking by the ity and respect.” This section of the Chicago Canada Nationalist Party (CNP) was denied principles was not explicitly stated in the Ford due to security concerns. In its report, U of T government’s minimum requirements, but the

HEQCO asserts that it is not evident in all of Ontario’s postsecondary institution’s free speech policies.

“Universities in general and U of T in particular have been pretty vigorous in defending free speech on campus… universities were doing perfectly well protecting free speech before [the Ford government initiative] came along,” said Wayne Sumner, University Professor Emeritus in the Department of Philosophy, to The Varsity in an interview.

Sumner believes free speech initiatives are the result of “overblown” fears that right-wing speakers are being targeted on campus. However, Sumner does not believe any harm has come from this initiative, saying, “The Chicago principles are the right framework for freedom of speech on campus.”

A Globe and Mail article quoted James Turk, the director of the Centre for Free Expression at Ryerson University, who went further, saying, “This was all part of Ford playing to a right-wing base, suggesting that the elites in these liberal institutions need to be reined in so they respect freedom of expression.”

In an email to The Varsity, Ciara Byrne, a spokesperson for the Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities wrote that “postsecondary institutions across the province are already seeing an improvement in the upholding of free speech,” despite the policy being in place for less than a year. Byrne emphasized that while the government wishes to uphold free speech, hate speech will not be tolerated.

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NOVEMBER 18, 2019

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Ontario universities sees dramatic increase in international enrollment, tuition over past decade Toronto Star investigation suggests boom in international enrollment acts as replacement for government funding Lauren Alexander Varsity Contributor

U of T is one of the many colleges and universities in Ontario that, according to a recent survey by the Toronto Star and the St. Catharine’s Standard, are experiencing a boom in international student enrollment. Accompanied by increasing international student tuition costs, this suggests that these universities may see international tuition fees as a viable replacement for government funding.

While the university is currently encountering financial pressures from decreased provincial funding, these growths corroborate earlier estimations made by The Varsity that the university would use international tuition to replace funding lost as a result of the Ford government’s new policies.

The investigation found that international student enrollment in Canada has increased by 73 per cent since 2014, partially due to new laws that make it easier for non-Canadian students to work and attain permanent resident status. U of T alone has seen an increase in international student enrollment from 10 per cent of the total student body in 2008–2009 to 24 per cent in 2019–2020.

For many schools, international students are a lucrative alternative to provincial grants — the demographic brought in $21.6 billion to the Canadian economy in the last year alone, reported the Star.

For the 2018–2019 year, the average tuition for

a domestic student at U of T was between $6,780 and $15,760, while international student tuition ranged from $34,180–54,840. In an email to The Varsity, a U of T spokesperson commented that “tuition is similar to that of other globally leading universities.”

While domestic fees are government regulated, international tuition fees are unregulated and decided by the university. For the 2019–2020 academic year, 87 per cent of U of T’s operating revenues will come from tuition, other student fees, and provincial operating grants — with the proportion from provincial grants declining.

Enrollment-related revenue is expected to increase by 2.9 per cent in the 2019–2020 school year, despite there being no increase in provincial operating grants, and the 10 per cent reduction of domestic tuition fees mandated by the Ford government, both of will have been offset by a 5.4 per cent average yearly increase in international tuition fees.

In response to the higher tuition fees for international students, the U of T spokesperson wrote, “universities don’t receive provincial funding for international students as we do for Canadian students. Canadian students and their families pay taxes that flow back to universities and colleges, so we ask international students to pay their share.”

The three-part investigation from the Star and the Standard offered a few suggestions to prevent universities from taking advantage of international

BELINDA HOANG/ THE VARSITY

students. Among them being increased provincial operating grants and government support for incoming international students — or that schools could offer training to staff, better language support, and more robust support services.

U of T plans to continue to invest in academic and co-curricular programming, counselling, and support services for international students, according to the U of T spokesperson, who also mentioned other services that the university provides to international students, “such [as] lan-

guage assistance, additional orientation and advisors to help them learn everything from navigating the TTC to understanding U of T’s academic culture and expectations.”

“International students benefit from studying at the University of Toronto and we benefit from their presence,” wrote the spokesperson. “International students enrich our community with their experiences, fostering a vibrant exchange of perspectives and opinions and helping us build relationships around the world.”

Remembrance Day service marks 100th anniversary of Soldiers’ Tower Flying Officer Edwards of Victoria College commemorated as first RCAF pilot to lose life in combat Kathryn Mannie Deputy News Editor

Wreaths laid down by attendants at Soldier’s Tower on Remembrance Day. KATHRYN MANNIE/THE VARSITY

Amidst heavy snowfall and below-freezing temperatures, more than a hundred people gathered at the foot of Soldiers’ Tower to take part in U of T’s Service of Remembrance. This year’s service marks the 100th anniversary of the laying of the first cornerstone of Soldiers’ Tower.

The Soldiers’ Tower Committee has been holding Remembrance Day services since 1924, when the tower was officially unveiled. In her opening remarks, Michelle Alfano, Chair of the Soldiers’ Tower Committee, said “to those who served and all their families, we see you, we acknowledge the courage of your actions, and as long as the Tower stands, we will honour and remember your sacrifices.”

While the ceremony honours the 16,000 U of T community members who served during World War I, World War II, and other military conflicts, this year, tribute was paid to one serviceperson in particular.

Flying Officer Robert Lesley Edwards is remembered not only for being a part of the No. 1 Squadron Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF), but also as a BA graduate from Victoria College who resided in Burwash Hall. Edwards was killed during the Battle of Britain on August 26, 1940. He was the first RCAF member to lose his life in the service of his country.

St. Michael’s College student, Master Corporal Isaiah Samson of the 32 Service Battalion read a brief description of events during the Battle of Britain. Two days after the German air force launched an aerial assault on London, an Allied patrol engaged German bomber planes, known as Dornier 215s.

“Flying Officer Robert Lesley Edwards of Cobourg, Ontario, opened fire at very close range and shot the tail off a bomber but his aircraft was hit by heavy crossfire from the enemy gunners, and it followed the Dornier to earth.” At 28 years old, Edwards left behind a mother and a wife.

Memorial prayers were given throughout the service, first by Rabbi Julia Appel who recited El Ma’alei Rahamim, and then by Imam Yasin Dwyer of the Muslim Chaplaincy of Toronto. The service

came to an end with Major The Reverend Richard Ruggle’s prayer of remembrance, followed by the playing of the Last Post and a two minute silence.

“In Flanders Fields,” the iconic Canadian poem, was also recited during the service. The author of the poem and Lieutenant-Colonel John McCrae was a U of T alum who served in combat, graduating from the Faculty of Medicine as a member of the Zeta Psi Fraternity. His poem was read by a fellow Zeta Psi Fraternity member, Second Lieutenant Tom Ellard.

In an interview with The Varsity, Ellard spoke about his own experiences as a serviceperson. Reflecting on loss and sacrifice, he recounted how a fellow soldier and friend lost his life in Afghanistan. He said that was the moment “it really came home that what we do is dangerous, and people do pay a price.”

When asked about the ceremony, Ellard expressed how proud he was with the student body for continuing the legacy of honouring Canada’s servicepeople. “There’s a lot of people that arrived to stand in the snow and inclement weather, because I think there’s a recognition that both their grandparents, their brothers or sisters, or they [themselves] might be called upon to do something similar.”

“That’s an important commitment, this freedom we enjoy isn’t free. There are prices to be paid and sometimes it’s the ultimate sacrifice.”

Members of the U of T community, along with overseas visitors, laid wreaths beside Soldiers’ Tower during the service. President Meric Gertler, Vice-President and Provost Cheryl Regehr, Chancellor Rose Patten, and Chair of the Governing Council Claire Kennedy laid the wreath for the university.

Federal MP and Minister of Foreign Affairs Chrystia Freeland, MPP Jessica Bell, and City Councillor Mike Layton, all elected representatives for University—Rosedale, laid the wreath for the government. The Honourable Kevin Rudd, former Prime Minister of Australia, was also in attendance and laid the wreath for the Commonwealth.

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November 18, 2019 var.st/business biz@thevarsity.ca

COURTESY OF CAITLIN DA SILVA

Meet a Rotman alum who made YouTube her full-time career

Talking content creation, marketing with Caitlin Da Silva Srivindhya Kolluru Business Editor

“Hello everyone! My name is Caitlin, and I’m here to introduce my new channel, Just Around the Corner,” is the introduction Caitlin Da Silva gave to her newly-minted YouTube channel on July 25, 2014.

Since that first video, Da Silva, a U of T graduate, has grown her channel to over 183,000 subscribers and her videos have been viewed over 15 million times. Her channel, now named “Caitlin’s Corner,” is a mix of vlogs, hauls, how-tos, and routine videos.

She’s now creating content on YouTube as her full-time job.

Living a double life Da Silva enrolled as a Management Specialist in the Rotman Commerce program, with a focus in marketing, in 2015.

As Da Silva’s channel grew during her undergraduate career while she created vlogs about her life as a student, she noticed that more and more people recognized and approached her on campus.

“It’s cool running into people and hearing that these videos have… helped international students that maybe didn’t know anything about Toronto life or what it was like to be at U of T, [and the videos] helped them make their decision to come here,” said Da Silva in an interview with The Varsity.

She said that fellow Rotman students also approached her on campus and found comfort in knowing that they weren’t the only ones struggling with their courses.

“I think as students you often think that you’re alone in your suffering as we like to call it, but you know, everyone’s just trying to get through it,” Da Silva said.

As a student, she found that being a content creator was a practical approach to bridging what

Michael Sabia will replace interim director Randall Hansen in February 2020.

COURTESY OF CAISSE DE DÉPÔT ET PLACEMENT DU QUÉBEC

she was learning in her classes. In fact, Da Silva gave a presentation on her YouTube channel for one of her marketing classes.

“I got to use a lot of the stuff that I was doing on YouTube to help me not just… have an opportunity to talk in front of the class, but also just create ideas for projects or assignments,” she said.

On top of being a full-time student, Da Silva produced content for her YouTube channel and Instagram account on a regular basis.

On making a full-time career out of YouTube After graduating in June, Da Silva decided to take the leap and produce content for YouTube full-time.

Most of Da Silva’s content has a student focus.

Her digital note-taking video is the most viewed video on her channel, with over one million views, and her Woodsworth College Residence dorm tour video has been viewed over 600,000 times.

When asked whether her channel’s focus

Caitlin Da Silva graduated from Rotman’s Commerce program in June.

COURTESY OF NIKOLE GONCALVES

Kin Community, a digital media company, helps Da Silva land brand sponsorships and negotiate fair deals with brands. She’s partnered with Crayola, Logitech, SiriusXM Canada, and the Toronto Star, to name a few.

“That was really helpful, especially during school, because there was only so much I could really take on, on my own,” she said.

would shift post-graduation, Da Silva said, “Whatever is going on in my life is what the content is going to reflect.”

“That being said… I did my final big batch of back-to-school videos,” she said. “So next year, when [September] comes around, I don’t know if I’ll be doing it in the same way as I did those videos because I’m no longer a student.”

Now that she has graduated, she hopes to be

come more involved in the business aspect of her brand and explore new ways to create content.

While her career might sound “luxurious” to some, much of the content she produces requires extensive forethought and planning.

“I think the goal of a video is for it to look seamless,” she said. “But to get it to look like that, there’s usually a lot of work on the back end, so I think that’s what people still sometimes don’t see.”

For Da Silva, the goal is to create content that resonates with her audience while being true to herself.

“There’s different communities for everyone,” she said. “You just have to create what you like, and other people who like those things will come eventually.”

The potential for Canadian content on YouTube There are around 160,000 content creators on YouTube based in Canada, and a quarter of them are eligible for YouTube’s Partner Program. The Partner Program allows eligible content creators to monetize their channel.

Even though the market for Canadian content creators is growing, The Canadian Press reported that YouTube’s “record for supporting Canadian content has been spotty.”

YouTube has launched Canada-specific initiatives like Encore+, which features content that is no longer aired on TV, and Creator on the Rise, a feature on YouTube’s trending page that highlights up-and-coming creators.

Yet initiatives like YouTube’s Spotlight Canada channel, which was launched in 2017 to highlight Canadian content, hasn’t been updated in 11 months. And in May, YouTube announced it would be closing its Toronto creator space, the only one of its kind in Canada. The space had opened in 2016.

While there may be a larger market for content creators in the United States, Da Silva doesn’t have plans to relocate any time soon.

“I’m really proud to be a Toronto content creator, and I think there are more and more voices coming out of this city,” said Da Silva. “My content is really focused on me and my life, and my life is ultimately here.”

Michael Sabia appointed as director of the Munk School

U of T alum is CEO of Canada’s second-largest pension fund Srivindhya Kolluru Business Editor

On November 12, Governing Council’s Agenda Committee approved Michael Sabia’s appointment as Director of the Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy, effective February 2020. Sabia will replace interim director Randall Hansen and serve in this role until 2024.

The Agenda Committee is a division of the Academic Board, one of three

Governing Council boards at U of T, which “approves academic administrative appointments.”

Sabia earned his bachelor’s degree in political economy from U of T. He currently serves as the president and CEO of the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ), which is Canada’s second largest pension fund. Sabia has served in this role since 2009.

Based in Québec, CDPQ’s assets under management have grown to over $325 billion, from $120 billion under Sabia’s leadership.

While his official mandate at CDPQ ends on March 31, 2021, he is leaving the company one year earlier than anticipated to join the Munk School.

U of T President Meric Gertler told The Globe and Mail that U of T was looking for someone who could bridge academic research in the Munk School with applications in public policy and global affairs.

“This appointment will allow me to continue working on issues that I think are particularly important in the current state of world affairs,” explained Sabia in a statement.

In a letter to students and staff at the Munk School, Gertler elaborated further, “The Dean of Arts & Science, the Provost, and I have also asked the Director to lead a consultative process within the University to determine whether establishing the Munk School as a free-standing Faculty would be a constructive step forward.”

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November 18, 2019 var.st/comment comment@thevarsity.ca

Let’s normalize CR/NCR and Late Withdrawal

Do what’s best for you — academic choices should reflect your mental health Mélina Lévesque Varsity Contributor

If you find yourself struggling in a course, or even on the verge of failing it, the Late Withdrawal (LWD) and Credit/No Credit (CR/NCR) options are there to support you.

CR/NCR gives students the option of receiving a credit if their mark is above 50 per cent, while a LWD appears on your transcript and no credit is given. These options protect your GPA from irreversible harm if you haven’t done your best in a course. By offering students significant breathing room in U of T’s academically-focused environment, these remind all of us that it is okay to slip up and make mistakes.

The LWD and CR/NCR options can also encourage students to expand their breadth of course selections, and explore other areas of interest, while protecting their GPA if the courses are out of their academic comfort zone.

However, these options are not always freely taken up by students. In an academic environment where expectations for excellence are high and everyone around you seems to be battling it out for a gold star on their transcript, it may feel impossible to admit that you’re not doing well.

However, it’s important to keep in mind that pushing through to the end of the semester and turning each course into a competition will end up hurting us in the end.

The toxic attitude which equates stress to success often goes unaddressed at U of T and it can lead some students to regard lower grades as

inexcusable.

Feeling overwhelmed, some students may push themselves too far, and suffer physical and

mental health consequences as a result of sleep deprivation, stress, and unhealthy eating habits. This should never happen. Doing your best means doing what’s best for you, and that means recognizing when coursework has become too overwhelming.

However, for some students, choosing to use LWD or CR/NCR may feel like giving up or showing weakness. There is a stigma that sur-

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rounds these options. They can be seen as blemishes on an otherwise flawless transcript or even as academic failure.

This is a fundamental misrepresentation of the choice to use these options, which is evidence of the impacts of a

toxic academic culture that prioritizes academic success over well-being.

Choosing these options should be seen as a natural part of our academic journey.

In September, yet another student died at U of T. Normalizing the use of these options, and establishing a more supportive academic environment, is especially necessary to combat the ongoing mental health crisis on campus.

We must also understand that education should be a space for positive growth, and deconstructing a toxic academic environment starts with the understanding that there is no one way to go through university. Members of our community should not have to feel restricted by a pressure to succeed in a predetermined path that is not for everyone.

For instance, finishing school in four years is unrealistic for many students, especially those from lower-income backgrounds who often work to support themselves throughout school and take lower course loads.

Only be embracing non-linear educational paths can we build a university that works for everyone. Destigmatizing LWD and CR/NCR will go a long way to this end.

Mélina Lévesque is a fourth-year Anthropology and Political Science student at Victoria College.

UTSG’s new weather cancellation policy is a step in the right direction Administration must always prioritize student voices, safety

Laura Peberdy Varsity Contributor

This November has seen the return of heavy snow and ice — which means all eyes are on the U of T administration’s decisions surrounding campus closures. However, recent updates to its weather cancellation policy — following significant backlash for UTSG’s decisions not to close campus in light of heavy weather last year — provide hope on this matter.

The errors of the past In the past, UTSG has been exceptionally late in its closure announcements due to severe winter weather. Most egregiously, on January 28, UTSG cancelled classes starting at 6:00 pm, notifying students just minutes before, long after the Environment Canada warning.

At the time, I was a student living on residence.

When the announcement came, I was already standing outside of my class, confused. I had a 10-minute walk. If you had a two-hour transit ride — as is the case for many students — you would have already completed your dangerous commute by the time you heard that you didn’t need to be there, and would then need to make that same trek back home.

This led to vocal criticism from students over the way that cancellations were handled. Afterward, Regehr said that Robarts Library would remain open around-the-clock, even during winter storms, and that students could always stay there overnight if they found themselves stranded on campus. Many students further criticized this solution as absurd. Cancelling classes is a much better course of action than students sleeping overnight in Robarts.

On February 12, the Toronto District School Board closed for the first time since 2011, and Ryerson University, York University, UTM, and UTSC all closed first thing in the morning, while UTSG stayed open until 4:00 pm.

This was criticized by students as other downtown schools declared travel unsafe, while UTSG seemed to either not realize or not care about the worsening conditions. Instead, the administration only announced around noon that classes would be cancelled later that afternoon, while many students still needed to get to campus for earlier classes, putting their safety at risk.

Students should not need to worry about their safety trying to get to class. Last year a student was rear ended while driving and another fell, potentially sustaining a concussion. Both students were on their way to and from class, with

one commenting on how they felt they needed to choose between their safety and attendance, a decision that students should never need to make.

The last academic year’s experiences, in sum, raised questions about the devaluation of student voices and experiences by UTSG’s administration.

A step in the right direction But recent changes to the procedure concerning the cancellation of classes — sent out by VicePresident and Provost Cheryl Regehr and VicePresident, Human Resources & Equity Kelly Hannah-Moffat — are a step in the right direction. The changes, which were announced on October 31, signal a positive adjustment to the way the administration is responding to student concerns regarding the university’s lack of timely closure during extreme weather.

The first heading of the announcement is titled “We heard your concerns,” and unlike previous responses from the administration, I actually feel heard. Student safety should always come first, and this is a good first step in recognizing that.

This year, the university plans to have more coordination with other schools and transit systems regarding closures and to broadcast cancellations on social media, making them more accessible to students.

One positive change is monitoring the GO Train service and local and regional highways for closures and delays, which will be beneficial for many students commuting from all throughout the GTA. All that being said, there is still room for improvement. In the announcement, there was no reference to what they would do to ensure that cancellations are announced in a timely fashion.

In an email to The Varsity, university spokesperson Elizabeth Church clarified that the administration will try to make sure that cancellations are announced by 6:30 am this year because it recognizes that many students commute great distances.

Church also wrote, “It’s important that we hear from our students on this and other areas where we are working to update our policies and practices.”

I hope that the recent update marks a new beginning in how administration treats concerns brought forward by students. As the winter begins, we can see if it follows through on the promises it has made in this statement. Moving forward, we need an administration that always listens and that takes our concerns seriously.

Laura Peberdy is a second-year Global Health student at Victoria College.

Students criticized UTSG over their handling of class cancellations last winter.

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Elect to explore your academic options Experimenting with courses can help you find your passion, benefit you academically Efe Akan Varsity Contributor

Although each university is challenging in its own way, and each student may experience these challenges differently, I think we can all sympathize with how daunting and tedious our studies at U of T can be.

The culture of academic excellence at U of T — fueled by demanding professors, competitive students, and threats of grade deflation — becomes a huge component of our lives from the very first step we take on campus.

When you take into account assignments, midterms, and of course, readings, our studies may almost become as demanding and time consuming as full-time jobs.

This being the case, I think that many people ignore the importance of choosing the right subjects to study and how significant this decision may be to their university experience.

People often feel pressured to take certain pathways to success, even though these paths may not necessarily lead to positive experiences or even financial stability. When choosing courses, we need to sincerely consider our interests and our ability to perform in these positions.

Many people choose areas of study that are traditionally thought of as high-paying and secure, even if they do not enjoy doing the work. This might be great if you develop a love for what you study or show great skills in your work, but it may also be damaging if you’re forcing yourself into a field that you don’t find fulfilling.

I believe that choosing to study something you will not enjoy can only worsen the anxieties associated with a challenging academic culture.

At U of T, most programs — even those with rigid and unalterable requirements — give students the ability to take a number of elective courses. Electives are a great opportunity to explore other subjects, and to indulge interests beyond your field of study.

In fact, many people often find themselves gravitating toward areas of study related to their elective choices. The flexibility of U of T’s degree programs allows students to take extra years to complete degrees, especially if they choose to switch majors halfway through their program.

For instance, when I enrolled at U of T, I had no idea how much I would enjoy studying philosophy. Instead, I chose to study social sciences.

I was taking courses in five different departments when I enrolled in an introductory philosophy

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course by chance.

I soon came to realize that I really love the subject, and I am relatively good at studying it.

I decided to take more philosophy courses, and eventually became a philosophy specialist.

This was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made. Studying something that I love makes me enjoy the journey and tolerate the challenge. If it wasn’t this easy and convenient to experiment in courses from different departments, I might be studying something that I do not enjoy as much and, consequently, feel less enthusiastic about school.

I believe that when we find and study something we truly enjoy — even if only as a minor or a single course we are interested in — U of T may become less challenging.

So do not be afraid to enroll in different courses. You might find your passion where you least expect it to be, like I did. In turn, you may find U of T’s academic environment less toxic, more enjoyable, and more endurable — a challenge that you might even enjoy.

Efe Akan is a third-year Philosophy student at St. Michael’s College.

On the climate crisis, we need sustained action

Youth activism is taking the world by storm, but Toronto is a worrisome exception Nadine Waiganjo Columnist

Internationally, youth activists and youth movements are creating unprecedented change. In a survey of over 6,000 participants in the current Hong Kong protests, a Chinese University of Hong Kong survey reported that more than 57 per cent of participants were under the age of 30. Sixty-one per cent of Sudan’s population is under the age of 25, and many of them were on the streets earlier this year, demonstrating against the corrupt government of President Omar al-Bashir. In Chile, the protests against the rise in transit fares, which sparked the current movement, were started by high-school students.

Of course, the trials Hong Kong, Chile, and Sudan have faced are incomparable to the dayto-day lives of Torontonians. However, the radical action that each youth-led movement embraces in those protests sends a very clear message, especially as we face Canada’s role in the climate crisis: we can do more. If, against all odds, these movements have managed to change government policy, we certainly should be able to do so as well.

Consistency is key This past September, the Global Climate Strikes in Canada were a wonderful expression of just

how many people cared and wanted to see change. The protests amassed around 500,000 people in Montréal and 100,000 in Vancouver.

Toronto, however, saw only 15,000 people march — a relatively disappointing number. Students here at the University of Toronto are also not doing enough. Aptly put by fellow student and head of the Friday’s for Future Toronto chapter Allie Rougeot in a previous Varsity article, “This school doesn’t feel like it’s resisting at all.”

Rougeot initially believed in a moderate transition instead of a revolutionary solution to the climate crisis. But after taking into account the fact that the root causes of the crisis were profitseeking companies denying the climate crisis and extractive colonialism, she could no longer continue to ask for or invest in minor, moderately applied bandage solution to a rapidlygrowing wound.

While the protests generated great energy across the country, we have not since seen the tangible, radical change that is necessary to address the crisis. When the same numbers are needed in subsequent efforts, when the cameras are gone, we simply aren’t there. Looking back now, it’s become an expression of just how, in Toronto, we aren’t as committed as we claim to be.

When Greta Thunberg began her movement in 2018, she protested in front of the Swedish parliament in order to demand Sweden meet their emissions reduction target. Now, she

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strikes every Friday, hence the name Fridays for Future. In Toronto, what we can take away from Thunberg and other youth-led protests is that consistent, sustained action is key.

Had they stopped their fight when the cameras were no longer on — when all there was to post on social media were dumpster fires and tear gas — nothing would’ve changed. They only have the power they do because they were persistent in their passion. They knew that if they did not protest, no one else would.

The clock is ticking It is vital that we do the same here when it comes to our own political action.

Political dissent isn’t ineffective, but the limited scope of action that we’ve been seeing at the University of Toronto and in Canada as a whole, is. Considering that the future of the planet is at stake, we simply cannot allow this to continue.

Especially now, as we stare down the barrel of the climate crisis, we must act. Just recently, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change reported that the “climate crisis [is] reducing land’s ability to sustain humanity.” The document should be read as a terrifying plea for life.

That is exactly what the climate crisis is. People have died and will continue to do so, populations have been displaced, and here in Canada, we are warming at a rate twice as high as any other country in the world.

There are droves of solutions, most including widespread, aggressive divestment in fossil fuels.

We cannot continue to build pipelines and invest in the tar sands. The list goes on and on, yet students with the power to demand change are simply not showing up. We are not consistently and aggressively holding our government and corporations responsible for their lack of action.

When we do act, when we show the power we have, change is made without fail. The government has to listen when we speak. It might be cliché to reiterate, but the power is truly in the hands of the people and especially in the hands of the students.

The government is not doing nearly enough.

And yet, apathy on campus and in the country could convince anyone that they are. We seem to be waiting for someone to tell us when the next march is and whom to follow.

But the longer we wait and the more time we spend agonizing over the fact that our leaders aren’t listening is time we could spend making them listen. Those in power with the tools to create the change we need are ready to say how high — we need to stop waiting for somebody else to say “jump.”

Nadine Waiganjo is a second-year International Relations student at University College. Waiganjo is a columnist for The Varsity’s comment section.

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How can journalists ethically report on a student’s death?

Experts say reporting can cause contagion — where does The Varsity stand on principled journalism in these cases?

Osobe Waberi Public Editor

Content warning: discussions of suicide.

Some journalistic practices, such as including details about suicide or adding the word “suicide” in headlines, can potentially make suicide contagious, according to a study published by the Canadian Medical Association Journal (CMAJ).

The study identified significant associations between elements of media reports and suicide deaths. It touched on how reporting on suicide can have a meaningful impact on suicide deaths.

In short, it says that journalists and media outlets should carefully consider the specific content of articles before publication.

Following the death by suicide of a University of Toronto student at UTSG more than a month ago, the question of whether The Varsity does a good enough job reporting on suicide is something worth looking into.

For the most part, The Varsity has noticeably taken steps to ensure that its readers are properly being walked through sensitive storytelling. For example, every story pertaining to the topic of suicide begins with an advisory message, such as “Content warning: discussions of suicide.”

It’s a popular belief in many newsrooms that one should only report on suicide if there is some overriding public interest in doing so, an

example of this is the Toronto Star’s policy on the matter.

In our case, reporting on a student’s death can be of public interest, seeing as this was the third death by suicide of a U of T student in the span of over 16 months, and students across all three campuses have been demanding better access to mental health support for some time now.

In an interview with Time, Dr. Ayal Schaffer, a psychiatry professor at U of T who coauthored the CMAJ study, said that reporting on suicide is not the problem, rather it’s how it’s being done where the trouble lies.

“Our goal is not to blame journalists; it’s not to tell journalists how to do their jobs. But it is to provide a pretty strong research base to support specific guidelines about how reporting on suicide should be done,” Schaffer said in the interview.

Time noted that the research analyzed stories published between 2011 and 2014 on the topic of suicide that appeared in 13 publications with wide circulations in Toronto. It found nearly 17,000 stories that mentioned suicide, including 6,367 articles where suicide was the major focus. It is worth noting that about 950 people in Toronto reportedly died by suicide during this timespan.

When searching for how many stories The Varsity has written with the word “suicide” mentioned, there were over 500 results. To some, this is a large number of stories circulating around suicide, and to others — given that The Varsity has written countless stories over the years — it is an insignificant number.

According to Josie Kao, Editor-in-Chief of The Varsity, she found herself, like many journalists, covering an “alarming number of deaths on campus” when she was acting as News Editor last year. Kao then decided that The Varsity needed a responsible guide on reporting on suicide.

“We know that we have a huge responsibility as a media organization to prevent contagion and at the same time de-stigmatize mental illness,” Kao wrote.

These guidelines included which terms to use when reporting on suicide, as well as in the event that a death occurs on campus in a public place, on campus in a private place, or off campus.

“Not all situations warrant reporting on… because the risk of suicide contagion is so high.

I’m extremely proud of the work that the paper has undertaken since I began working here, and I truly believe that student journalism is at the forefront of responsible reporting on suicide,” Kao added.

It’s important to ask how students on all three campuses at U of T feel about upsetting stories that are told every day. Does it make them feel informed about what is going on on campus and equip them with all the information needed to confront the school and demand change?

Or does it instead make them feel scared that someone who walked the same halls, sat in the same lecture hall, ate at the same cafeteria, wrote the same exams, might one day want to end their life? Or what if they themselves feel that they can also take their life because others are doing so?

I would like to know how readers feel about this topic and where they stand, reading the tragic circumstances surrounding one of their own.

As your newest public editor, I want to make it my mission to look at both sides of the reader’s perspective so that we can work together in creating an educational, yet safe, environment for all.

Osobe Waberi is The Varsity’s Public Editor and can be reached at publiceditor@thevarsity.ca.

Disclosure: Waberi is currently a staff writer at the Toronto Star.

UTSU outreach has much room for improvement Lack of representation, diversity of voices factor into low student interest Andre Fajardo Varsity Contributor

Throughout the University of Toronto Students’ Union’s (UTSU) fall Annual General Meeting (AGM), a variety of questions from constituents were took issue with the UTSU’s level of engagement with the student body that it represents. The AGM itself lost quorum, leaving some agenda items unaddressed.

Lack of democratic participation is not just limited to the AGM. Voter turnout for the UTSU elections is low; this year’s elections were recorded at a 4.2 per cent turnout.

Questions honing in on this point produced one takeaway: concerns are consistently being raised that the UTSU is failing to tackle issues of declining participation, especially on the topic of voting.

At a glance, student governance seems to be becoming less and less prominent in student life at U of T. Not only that, but the selection

of those that do take up the mantle of student governance is small and comes from a narrow spread of the U of T community, as more and more students appear to be less interested in the UTSU’s affairs and operations.

Is this something the UTSU needs to deal with? Or is this just the chartered course for student unions at large? And, most importantly, how can we fix it?

The scale of the problem The UTSU plays a vital role in representing the student body and acting as a voice and liaison between them, the university administration, and outside bodies.

Nevertheless, especially for commuters, it’s not always obvious how its efforts have impacted or made changes to student life in and out of campus. For me personally, discussion and

attention paid to the UTSU flared as the 2018 U-Pass referendum swung into full force, but with its conclusion, I don’t recall public discussion about the issues that the UTSU faced during the spring elections this year — especially when several board positions were uncontested.

My experience shows that the UTSU has failed to attract student attention beyond interest in U-Pass.

Other student unions across Canada see greater participation rates. While the UTSU has had a low average of 12.8 per cent turnout in its general elections from 2016–2019, unions of similar executive sizes and lower student populations are seeing different results.

The Students’ Society of McGill University serves the interests of around 27,000 undergraduate students for the fall 2018 term. It has a 25.2 per cent turnout rate from 2013–2019. Mean-

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while, the University of Alberta Students’ Union similarly represents a student body of just over 39,000 students for the 2018–2019 year. Since 2016, it has had an average voter turnout of 21.8 per cent, well-above U of T’s rates.

How do we increase participation?

A recent Varsity article concludes with a quote from current UTSU President, Joshua Bowman: “I want to incentivize students to vote, period.”

If the UTSU wants to seriously tackle decreasing engagement, it should consider efforts to exemplify the UTSU’s focal point of representation by matching its size to the vast and diverse student body.

Forming and introducing more positions and opportunities for involvement in the UTSU, especially with the intention to promote particular representation of specific groups and organizations is a good start. For example, each of the colleges are represented by at least one member on the board, but that minimum can rise in order to diversify the representative influence on the union, such as including multiple representatives from lower and upper years, an initiative which has begun through the UTSU’s First Year Council.

The administrative duties of the union cannot be overstated, but outreach and promotion of the UTSU is a key part of its operations.

Although the practice of working behind the scenes is quintessentially accepted in government, student unions need to take advantage of their special affinity with the membership they represent, come from, and will return to after their posts. To fall short in this task contravenes the special relationship that makes student governance an empowering opportunity for both sides of the table.

Andre Fajardo is a fourth-year Political Science and Philosophy student at Innis College.

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THE VARSITY

FEATURES

In 1896, Swedish scientist Svante Arrhenius first introduced the world to the possibility of global warming.

His research focused on the widespread effects of coal burning. However, his research was oversimplistic. People couldn’t imagine a future of mass extinction and forest fires, so his findings did not lead to widespread fear.

In 1956, a news report on long-term environmental changes from greenhouse gas emissions appeared in The New York Times. However, the article noted that as there was little risk of running out of fossil fuels, industries would likely continue consuming them. As long as it paid to consume coal and oil, and those resources were cheap and plentiful, then such practices would soldier on to generate profits. And so they did.

Now, half a century later, elementary school children are seeking psychiatric care to cope with debilitating panic and anxiety over the environmental crisis. A study conducted by Caroline Hickman at the University of Bath showed that 45 per cent of children suffer from depression after a nature disaster.

‘Eco-anxiety’ is a recently-coined term that encapsulates the rising emotional and psychological responses to the climate crisis. From 2008–2009, the American Psychological Association put together a task force that investigated the relationship between the climate crisis and human psychology.

The results for this study revealed that people remained more or less blasé about the climate crisis.

In 2018, however, a Yale University and George Mason University study group reported that 29 per cent of Americans were “alarmed” about the climate, up 11 per cent from 2009. The denial that was prevalent just a decade ago is dissolving, and in some cases is being replaced by paralyzing fear.

The necessity for an intersectional approach While eco-anxiety has only garnered attention in recent years, people are no strangers to our psychological states being under environmental influence.

Dr. Romila Verma of U of T’s Department of Geography and Planning gave three possible reasons why the global population has seen a sharp increase in climate change-specific mental health issues.

As the climate crisis persists, environmental destruction becomes more visible and more serious, as Verma wrote to The Varsity. We’re told that if we haven’t suffered an extreme climate event yet, we will, and in the meantime, we’re being “bombarded” day-in and day-out with news of devastation occurring elsewhere.

Verma also mentioned social media being a con-

tributing factor to anxiety in general, be it climatespecific or otherwise. “Before the advent of social media,” she wrote, “[a crisis] was not as visible unless you were directly hit by these issues.”

According to a press release from the United Nations in March, there are only “11 Years Left to Prevent Irreversible Damage from Climate Change.” Verma believes that this has increased anxiety among young people especially. This timeline tabled an ultimatum that children are forced to confront. Much of the action and campaigning since then was born of this responsibility, a burden that children know they inherited as the byproduct of centuries of reckless economic dreams.

While mainstream media tells us that eco-anxiety is a new, emerging dimension of the climate crisis, we would be ignorant to assume that this concern really is brand new for all populations. We would be just as mistaken to consider eco-anxiety an equal-impact phenomenon. Like many other crises, the climate crisis and eco-anxiety run along intersectional race, class, and gender lines.

For Indigenous communities, a loss of land and disrespect for the sacredness of the non-human is not a recent occurrence, but rather part of a centuries-long history. Furthermore, for individuals with disabilities, well-intentioned but underresearched practices, such as the plastic straw ban, come at the expense of accessibility. Exposure to natural disasters such as tsunamis and earthquakes has also been shown to increase the risk of genderbased violence, as it exacerbates the already vulnerable position of women.

There have been strides made in understanding the impacts of climate crisis. In recent decades, there has been recognition that gender is an important factor in the realm of developmental policy. In the 1970s, the concept of environmental refugees emerged, with particular regard to the desertification occurring in parts of Africa. These intersectional factors must influence the theory and methods of addressing the climate crisis.

“There are many instances of environmental injustices which are in direct violation of [the] human rights of indigenous, disabled, minorities, immigrants, refugees, homeless people,” wrote Verma, and not all have the 11 years to wait. “The vulnerable populations around the world are already being denied basic needs like food, water, and shelter.”

The harrowing reality is that regardless of a universal trend of growing urgency, we as a society still invest in climate protection for privileged populations at the expense of the already disadvantaged. Furthermore, we still believe that the limitation of harmful corporate activities for the safety of the marginalized is transgressive.

Eco-anxiety’s long history Before the industrial revolution, before contemporary capitalism, and before modern urban development was the long history of Indigenous peoples battling colonialist environmental destruction. These struggles date back to early European settlement that operated on the ideology of ‘terra nullius’ — the concept of no man’s land, in which land that is deemed unoccupied can be occupied by a sovereign state. This was used by European settlers to justify expanding into Indigenous territory and incite genocide against Indigenous peoples.

Everything that has come of these territories since has been built on the notion that the Earth was made solely for human extraction. For the Indigenous peoples who fought to protect their land back then, eco-anxiety is far from a post-2000s phenomenon.

In a Toronto Star project, Anishinaabe journalist, Varsity alum, and Indigenous Issues Columnist Tanya Talaga highlighted the seven Cree communities that form the Mushkegowuk Tribal Council lining the James Bay coast. She writes that, ecoanxiety for them has been “a reality for decades.”

In Concordia University Magazine, William Gagnon posits that among Indigenous peoples, there is a growing understanding of a socially created feeling of homesickness without even leaving home, which he dubs “solastalgia.” In watching one’s own home environment break down, a longing forms for a home and safety that existed in a different time.

Beyond the experiences being multiplied temporally, there’s also a verticality to Indigenous stress.

Talaga further elaborates, commenting that “when you don’t have access to health care such as clinics with doctor or nurses, or communities with high school or safe housing, clean water or working sewage, watching the land change before your eyes due to [the climate crisis] adds another layer of despair.”

Talaga also noted that few research studies have been conducted on Indigenous sites. However, In-

digenous peoples have a wealth of knowledge in oral histories passed down for many generations full of climate understanding.

In the past several years there has been a growing interest in the application of Indigenous knowledge to land-use and land-management practices, reviving traditional ecological knowledge and recognizing — for perhaps the first time in a long time — the value that had been displaced.

Just as the Anthropocene — the current geological age of human influence on the Earth — is not new, nor does it only date as far back as the invention of Western machinery and technology. Mindful practices are not new either; in fact, they’ve existed for far longer than we think.

Racism and climate refugees In North American suburbia, placing polluters near Black neighborhoods is not an unknown practice.

This doesn’t occur out of explicit malicious and racist intent, but rather because it is the least expensive option.

On a more worldwide scale, racial tensions can be found in issues such as food insecurity, economic decline, and, more recently, forced migration. In the wake of a drastically changing climate, the term ‘climate refugee’ has been used to describe people who have been displaced or are at risk of temporary or permanent displacement due to environmental change.

This conflict does not end with the environmental movement itself. Competition, ethnic tension, and distrust between migratory and host societies are highly common. This low level of social cohesion has been linked to greater vulnerability, and further disconnects disadvantaged communities from institutions. As the movement of large bodies of

features@thevarsity.ca

Confronting the rise of eco-anxiety Writer: Paige Chu Illustrator: Lauren Turner

people increases in frequency — although the required aid upon arrival becomes greater as well — disputes follow ethnic divisions fiercely.

In the sphere of international law, the question of responsibility is tabled: who will protect these climate refugees?

Political ecologists point out that the challenges of the climate crisis deepen questions of distribution and access to resources from water, land, and infrastructure, to more complex ‘items’ such as capital, education, and aid.

Climate refugee narratives often mobilize racist fears that the arrivals of impoverished populations are threats to national security, and thus could prompt pre-emptive reactionary policies, preventing movement before it has even begun. These sweeping assumptions of bodies in motion could further international divides, adding to the existing eco-anxiety of disempowered populations, and are a great failure to address the very fundamental question of social inequity.

The ones bearing the brunt of it: children In an interview with Reuters, Hickman remarked that the current state of our climate leaves today’s youth with feelings of betrayal and abandonment.

She further emphasized that “fear from children needs to be taken seriously by adults.”

Leaving these issues unaddressed could further compound their fears.

Children are a particularly vulnerable age group,

not only because the climate crisis weighs disproportionately heavy on their futures, but also because posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) following catastrophes, depression, aggression, and social withdrawal are more common for them, and their symptoms tend to be more long-term when compared to adults.

Verma pointed out that many young people have not hesitated to be at the forefront of movements like Fridays for Future, which was pioneered by 16-year-old Greta Thunberg and picked up later by equally-impassioned students such as Wiikwemkoong First Nation water protector Autumn Peltier and U of T's own Allie Rougeot.

“There is no right or wrong age to be a changemaker,” Verma wrote. “Since young people are the future adults, and they will face more severe consequences of climate change, they should become part of the solution.”

Verma explained that in her personal experiences advocating for climate justice, she sees today’s youth as key voices in forcing those in power to implement and innovate accordingly. She also said that there are the mental health challenges that come with such a large undertaking. She believes

“Who am I in the context of climate crisis?”

that in order to adequately care for child activists it is important to examine our broken mental health systems.

“There are incidents of these activists being bullied, harassed and made fun of,” wrote Verma.

“In the face of adversity, it takes a lot of courage and resiliency to withstand this onslaught.”

“My concern is that some of these climate activists might face emotional turmoil.”

Where do we go from here?

Eco-anxiety means different things for everyone.

It may be necessary to take a step back from the events of the climate crisis and ask ourselves, “who am I in the context of climate crisis?”

“Climate change impacts are felt in every section of society however, the main burden of its consequences falls on marginalized and vulnerable populations,” wrote Verma.

As students and faculty of this institution, we each come from one form of privilege or another.

Our identities are not without the protections offered by our race, gender, class, or other identity

groups. For most of us, it is important to understand our anxieties and our positions in relation to those who have been disadvantaged for much longer than media and history has allowed us to realize.

For students like ourselves, our futures hang over a precipice. What is our role in this fight?

What are the decisions that we’re obligated to make? In the face of mass extinctions, food strikes, and forced migration, family-building has become an unethical dream. The uncertainties linger like smog in the air.

We have to look at both ourselves and each other and ask: what do we owe to our own futures in order to create a livable world for all?

Arts & Culture

November 18, 2019 var.st/arts arts@thevarsity.ca

In conversation with the cast of Portia’s Julius Caesar How a Hart House play redefines the role of women in a Shakespeare classic

Whitney Ampadu, flanked by the set design of Rachel Forbes, laments as the dutiful Calpurnia.

COURTESY OF SCOTT GORMAN/HART HOUSE

Liam Bryant Associate Arts & Culture Editor

In the cozy lobby of the Hart House Theatre, The Varsity sat down with two of the cast members from its newest production: Portia’s Julius Caesar.

The play is inspired by Shakespere’s Julius Caesar, but takes on an “unapologetically feminist take” on the classic tale. In the conversation were the fantastic Whitney Ampadu — who plays Calpurnia, Caesar’s wife — and Athena Trinh — who plays Portia, Brutus’ wife. Both brilliantly imported their characters to a contemporary audience. Join The Varsity to explore what makes this production unique, its characters fresh, and its excitement palpable.

The Varsity: Hart House has done so many fantastic plays, but [it] often doesn’t have this unique, play-written glean to it. My first question was actually about the way that you as actors are making your characters.

Whitney Ampadu: Well, the writing, it helps a lot because the way [our playwright] Kaitlyn [Riordan] has written Calpurnia. [Calpurnia] is not — and not to diss the older works — but she’s not as passive as before. She is active in her support for Julius, and even after his death we see her take on a role, a persona that we don’t see in the earlier works. And [from] the beginning of the play, it’s like a whole 360 [degrees] for her.

TV: She grows?

WA: She does. She does. And it’s so fun to play it with a kickass monologue. Even as an oppressed woman in ancient Rome, she’s strong and bold and will do all she can for what she thinks is right.

TV: People often put Calpurnia and Portia against each other in characterization. Portia is always considered to be very active. She’s the one who stabbed herself in the leg, she swallows the hot coals. She is so adamant telling Brutus

what she thinks and then you have Calpurnia who is like, “I’ll do anything for you.” I think it’s fantastic that there’s this sort of liveliness added to it. Did you find that there is a change in the way that Portia is portrayed, or the way that you would like to portray Portia?

Athena Trinh: I don’t necessarily think there’s a change in the route that Portia was already going on. I think Kaitlyn does a really beautiful job of digging deep for this character because after [the play ends], we don’t really know what happened.

I think Calpurnia and Portia’s relationship is such a beautiful balance of womanhood, of what it means to be a woman. We do have these juxtaposing positions of course, because we are our own people, and Portia and Calpurnia are their own people.

But I think it’s interesting how we can [use] their emotions, [use] their status. It flips our idea of what it means to be the ‘crazed woman.’ Because sometimes that can be seen as a weakness.

But in the case of Portia and Calpurnia, especially the way Kaitlyn has written and put together Shakespeare’s work, really shows their growth and their strength, and using these things that we have and using how the world sees us.

WA: And it’s so open and intelligent, and we don’t see a lot of — or I personally haven’t seen a lot of — women in classical plays talk about their situation, the way they do in-depth, and openly.

TV: Do you find that Shakespeare is often contemporized appropriately? Is it enough in this day and age, to just do Julius Caesar? Would it be enough for you guys to just be Calpurnia and Portia on stage without it being reasserted in the way this production does?

WA: You know, I’m tired of seeing the same things when it comes to Shakespeare. Seeing casts that are not diverse, or seeing it not relate to issues we’re dealing with now, because it’s great entertainment, but then, why are we doing this?

With theatre, I think the goal should always be to push forward, to bring new ideas and new perspectives — because that’s what we do with art.

That’s the beauty of art, that’s the necessity of art.

And with this play it’s just amazing to look at our cast and see how diverse it is, and to see things from a different lens. It’s not enough to just do the same thing.

TV: Do you think there’s a place in our day and age for a Portia as she’s been portrayed since the sixteenth century? Or do you think that our Portias have to be like yours?

AT: I think that’s an interesting question because it’s multi-tiered. I think the stories that Shakespeare told, he had the privilege of being a white man, right? He had the privilege to have his voice heard and stories told through his lens.

The reason why they’re transcendent is because they come down to the basic necessities of life, whether it’s love, friendship, what we need from each other. [We] can dive into the human condition; we’re able to transport ourselves to feel the rhythm in those beats — the heartbeat that’s behind the iambic pentameter.

Any show that we do is a statement. But it’s not to say that [we’re] going to switch up the lines; it’s still going to be Shakespeare’s words.

Sometimes it’s not going to be how Kaitlyn changes and rearranges things. It’s going to be through the body, voice, and mind experience of [someone] completely different than if it were to come from me, or from a white male perspective.

We perform Shakespeare now, being able to tell these stories through unique voices. So putting a person of colour in Hamlet, or putting Whitney as Calpurnia instead of a white woman, putting me as Portia instead of a white woman — it says something without having to change any words.

This would be a completely different show if it was an all-white cast, but we have Yusuf [Zine] as Julius Caesar — that says something. We have Hardi [Zala] as Mark Antony — that says something. Being able to tell these stories and acknowledge the diversity that’s already in our dayto-day lives. It can still be the same words. It can still be Shakespeare, but it’s completely different coming from our mouths and our experiences.

AT: Kaitlyn’s really nailed that thing that Shakespeare had: that gut, that animosity, that juxtaposing gentleness. Without taking the credit away from Kaitlyn, she has embodied, chased fear, and like you said, heightened [Shakespeare] in some ways, and has really made it her own.

And in her doing that, it gives us the agency to make it our own.

With Kaitlyn and [our director] Eva spearheading this whole thing, especially with the women in our cast, I feel like owning these words is so important because [these characters] don’t [normally] get the chance to have big monologues aside to the audience: deep pondering questions of twenty minutes asking “To be or not to be.” Because Kaitlyn claims this work, we’re able to — as actors — enter the work so easily, just like if it were Shakespeare.

TV: Do you think that for the viewers of this production, there’s going to be that opportunity to be like, “oh, I get Shakespeare”? Did she [help] you unlock the potential of Shakespeare’s prose?

WA: Absolutely. Working with Eva and Kaitlyn has been a great experience because I went to theatre school and I’ve done Shakespeare, but it’s still difficult. It’s hard to take on the language and the images and the world of it all. I’ve been able to really sit down and dig deep into the language and build the images in a way that others can understand. I really believe that when you bare it all on stage, it’s not hard to understand. We’ve been lucky to have [Eva] and Kaitlyn to guide us.

AT: And I think it ties back to what we were saying before, about the reason why [Shakespeare] transcends things. It’s because his themes come down to those basic things that all humans can understand. When we are on stage, and we get to fully do those intentions and fully feel those things, it’s so exciting to be able to share this with people.

WA: Come and see this play! It’s good. It’s interesting. It’s professional. It’s amazing.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Portia’s Julius Caesar plays at the Hart House Theatre from Wednesday through Saturday, until November 30.

TV: Do you see this production as the ‘words’ of Shakespeare? Is it still Shakespeare, at its core?

WA: There are a lot of texts from Shakespeare’s works, as well as Kaitlyn’s own words that she’s added. And it’s still that heightened text. It still lives in that world of heightened [prose], of poetry, of big feelings, images, and emotions. So I’d say it’s Shakespeare in that sense. And with that idea in mind.

Athena Trinh as Portia heads off against Felix Beauchamp’s Brutus.

COURTESY OF SCOTT GORMAN/HART HOUSE

var.st/arts

NOVEMBER 18, 2019

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Film Review: Martin Scorsese’s The Irishman An epic master class in film-making

Will Gotlib Varsity Contributor

The Irishman is not a typical Martin Scorsese gangster movie. It is also named I Heard You Paint Houses, a reference to the coded question which potential employers ask for-hire assassins — a tantalizing glimpse into its plot.

Many of Scorsese’s most famous films, like Goodfellas and The Wolf of Wall Street, are tales of when crime does pay, and ultimately condemn the systems and actors that perpetuate criminal activity. The Irishman offers a different, and perhaps more mature, perspective. By stripping away the mystique and glamour of criminal involvement, the film gives a melancholic look at a life of crime through the lens of aging and regret.

The Irishman follows Robert De Niro’s Frank Sheeran, the Irishman himself, from his thirties working as a truck driver, to his fifties, as both a hitman for the Bufalino crime family and confidant to famous union leader Jimmy Hoffa (Al Pacino). Sheeran’s dealing with the frequent and messy intersection between his two worlds is one of the central tensions of the film. Frank is not an outwardly emotional character, but De Niro excellently captures his inner struggles. We’re witness to his life all the way to his eighties, where, at the end, he sits in a hospice, waiting to die, narrating the story of his life.

The most striking feature of the movie is likely its enormous runtime of 209 minutes, clocking in just below three-and-a-half hours. It definitely could have been shorter, but the length feels justified on the whole. The extended runtime allows the film to create a huge level of depth. We really get to know Sheeran, the many colourful characters that he orbits, and their complex relationships to each

other. In this regard, the film has an impressively fast pace and is greatly entertaining.

The Irishman also gives some of the best film performances of the year. Joe Pesci as Russell Bufalino, Sheeran’s best friend within the mob, is intense and terrifying through his calm secretiveness. Pacino gives a great comedic performance as Hoffa, whose emotional outbursts provide a refreshing contrast with the other, more closedoff leads.

Steve Zaillian’s script is a significant part of what makes The Irishman so great. It’s a complete, excellently crafted package, and a structural wonder. The classic Scorsese back-and-forth framing device, this time delivered to us by Sheeran’s selfreflecting narration during the end of his life, is one of the greatest factors in making this epic feel brisk and constantly engaging.

The script gradually recontextualizes itself in interesting and rewarding ways. There are so many plot threads and minor characters that the level of complexity could be overwhelming as a viewer, but Zaillian and Scorsese weave these parts together seamlessly. Over the story of Sheeran’s life there is a wealth of great singlescene characters, and an impressive number of them receive pay-offs, some-

times hours after their last appearance.

It’s extremely satisfying to see the plot resolved in such a complicated story.

The dialogue is also fantastic. Each of the major characters are so fully realized and wonderfully written that their arguments always feel like genuine clashes. It’s clear how each character’s personality directly leads into everything they do.

Another aspect of the film sure to draw attention is the use of digital de-aging effects, which skyrocketed the budget to rank among action blockbusters. De Niro is 76 years old, so no amount of makeup and suspension of disbelief could convincingly turn back the clock as far as the film needed. Yet, the digital effects are also not perfect. Especially in the beginning of the film, when De Niro was younger, they were particularly egregious, but overall much more believable than traditional methods.

Pesci and Pacino receive the same digital makeover, and it was almost seamless. However, this relative success might be attributed to the fact that their transformation needed to be less drastic than De

Niro’s. Overall, the effects were well done, and didn’t distract me once I had settled into them.

Having these effects lets Scorsese guide us freely through Sheeran’s life, and gives the film a greater sense of gradual progression. Literally seeing the characters grow old in front of our eyes is incredible.

The film deals heavily with the men aging — what it does to people physically and emotionally, and what really matters at the end of one’s life. The final chapter of both the film and Sheeran’s life ties the whole story together in a beautiful way, harnessing everything that came before to create catharsis.

While the lead-up is excellent on its own, this finale is what really elevates the movie to another level. Simply put, Scorsese’s The Irishman is one of the best films of the year. Watching it might seem daunting, but fully committing to it is an extremely rewarding experience, and certainly not one you should miss.

The monstrous runtime will certainly be a deterrent for many to see it in theatre. It does seem well suited for a multi-part home viewing. However, an epic like this doesn’t come around all that often, and deserves to be seen in the immersive, shared space of a theatre. So until then, head to the cinema while you still have the chance!

The Irishman is in theatres now at the TIFF Bell Lightbox. The film will premiere on Netflix on November 27.

De Niro, Pacino, Scorsese: for the first time, the trio work together in The Irishman.

COURTESY OF NIKO TAVERNISE/NETFLIX

Overlooked: Speechless

Centring disability: ABC’s best cancelled family sitcom Sandakie Ekanayake Varsity Contributor

SKYLAR CHEUNG/THE VARSITY

“Inspiration porn, what’s that?” asked Kenneth.

“It’s a portrayal of people with disabilities as one-dimensional saints who only exist to warm the hearts and open the minds of able-bodied people,” answered Ray. “I blame Tiny Tim,” JJ added.

This humourous and to-the-point explanation comes courtesy of the ABC show Speechless. A couple years ago, in my NEW241Y1 — Introduction to Disability Studies course, my professor played this clip. I remembered being drawn to the show out of curiosity.

I originally dipped into it with a purely analytical purpose; as a student

studying equity and disability, I was intrigued.

What I encountered was a thoughtful, wellwritten, and genuinely funny show that quickly became one of my favourites. Micah Fowler stars as JJ DiMeo, a teenager with cerebral palsy. He uses a wheelchair and is non-verbal, hence the title of the show.

The series follows his family: his mother Maya (Minnie Driver), father Jimmy ( John Ross Bowie), and younger siblings Ray (Mason Cook) and Dylan (Kyla Kennedy). The series begins with a move to an upscale new town in order to allow JJ to attend a more accessible school.

Cedric Yarbrough plays Kenneth Clements, the school janitor-turned personal aide. Being racialized, Kenneth is able to connect with JJ using their shared experiences of oppression.

The show is for all audiences, as the driving story arcs are common and relatable problems for most families; they just have the added element of disability and access. Something I distinctly love about Speechless is its depiction of a low-income household: the DiMeo’s make ends meet, but they certainly can’t afford nice things, and their working-class poverty becomes a point of contention throughout the show. The representation of such a common experience is profound for mainstream television.

Speechless is in a league of its own; centring a disability narrative has never been done in this

way. On the rare occasion a disability does appear in mainstream television or movies, it is often as an afterthought, a threat, or a portrayal of some sort of trope. Characters with disabilities often exist only to aid the journey and build the character of the central figure who doesn’t have a disability. Disability is portrayed as something undesirable, and rarely as a viable, livable reality.

Scott Silveri, the creator of the show, based the story on his own experiences, as his brother has cerebral palsy. It’s also important to note that Fowler is an actor with a disability playing a character with a disability — something relatively unheard of. Fowler is a wheelchair user and has cerebral palsy.

Speechless asks the real questions. Will JJ ever be able to live independently? Can he ever have a family of his own? Will he graduate high school and continue along a normative path of education to success? The conversations are uncomfortable at times, and the answers are not always blackand-white, but this is exactly why we, as viewers, must challenge our beliefs and grow toward uncertainty.

Even though we are in the midst of a cultural awakening, much too often disability oppression is left out of our activism. Speechless is a breath of fresh air and exactly what we need right now.

And it’s actually funny — trust me!

Everyone should be watching Speechless.

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THE VARSITY

ARTS & CULTURE

arts@thevarsity.ca

Getting paid to set up dates I’m never going to go on

Let’s talk about sex, dating profiles, and catfishing Ali Hendricks Varsity Contributor

I started to work as a dating ghostwriter about three months ago after trying and failing to secure a job as a journalist at a major media outlet. I wanted to keep writing, so I settled for anything. For the past few months, I’ve been conjuring Match.com profiles for clients I have never met and chatting to their matches.

Every night, I squeeze wafts of romance from my fingers to my laptop keyboard as I reply to messages, and focus on the commission I’ll receive if I get the two to agree to meet one another — even just once. Three years ago, when I ghostwrote college applications for cash, I thought my bar couldn’t sink any lower.

Clearly, I was wrong.

Over time, I’ve started to grasp that all the jobs I’ve taken during my miserable writing career were no different to that of a salesperson. Although what we’ve got in the back of our trunk may vary in appearance, they share the same consecrated destiny of being sold.

While a traditional salesperson sells to their clients, a dating ghostwriter sells their clients.

Due to them being downright boring and selfcentred, with a breadth of self-contradicting hypocrisy that is too hard to miss, our clients need to be sold, and I should only be glad that there is no return policy. Whether they are to be kept or discarded, it’s no longer my business.

Having set my conscience straight, I still struggled with my sales record. One of my very few successes involved adultery. The match to my client was a married woman who couldn’t decide whether or not to leave her husband.

“Why did you marry him?” I asked. She didn’t reply until a day later, confessing that like many women, she was desperate when she entered her marriage. She was 37, and had been single for three years. While she was single, she had been to weddings where the brides were younger than her sister’s kids. The ticking clock gnawed at the core of her self-esteem, and she was grateful when the husband, who didn’t seem to care much about her baggage, came along.

He liked her for who she was. He tolerated her when she threw a tantrum. He didn’t like to be outdoors and neither did she. They seemed to be a perfect match. But there

has never been a day where she could close her eyes with a smile of certainty that the man at the end of the aisle was the right one. She signed the certificate that bonded her to this man without ever being content, and that’s why she kept on looking.

“He is nothing like I have ever imagined for a husband,” she wrote. “Does that make me a bad person?”

I looked down at my phone and wondered how much a therapist makes an hour. Probably more than me. Tilting my head as I glimpsed over at my boyfriend snoring next to me, I thought about the great loves I had and then lost, the possibilities I squandered, and the secrets buried by the passing of time. But no matter how many layers have been laid over the top, the lament that our past hums still sends shockwaves that get us every time.

So I made something up. I told her: “You know how people always try their clothes on in the fitting room before they decide whether they should bleed cash on them? Well, we believe that what’s fitting must be the best — sound reasoning. But I know a woman who always buys clothes that fit her ideal, hangs them in the bedroom where she can see them

every day, and reminds herself that’s the body she will work for. Your husband fits you now, but you aren’t the person you want to be when you’re with him. That’s why you keep looking. It doesn’t make you a bad person.”

She asked me if the woman who bought unfit clothes was my ex. I shrugged and planted the fictional character on my mother.

I have no idea what happened on their first date, or to their marriage, but I did get my commission.

In most cases, I chat to charm. I fish for the weakness in my matches and pamper it. Sometimes it works, a lot of times it doesn’t, and I keep telling myself that most writers make ends meet by ghostwriting these days. Either ghosting someone’s profile or memoir, we sell our authorship, and we often sell it cheap. But what isn’t to be sold in the world that we know anyway? And wherever there is a need, there is a market, right?

I remember the big dream I had for myself when I was a kid to be some writing hotshot and laugh. I laugh so hard that I nearly choke on the last sip of my latest bottle of gin.

It’s no wonder writers drink.

unique to scammers; similar techniques were and are used by revered masterminds like Larry Ellison of Oracle and Elon Musk of Tesla.

Even Uber, the ride-hailing app everyone has come to hate but still habitually use, was populated by software engineers, executives, and managers whose paychecks depended on scamming. They secretly ran Greyball: a software tool that allowed them to deny service to officials in cities where they were illegally operating Uber vehicles. If the practice of deceit and unethical practices made one a scammer, then it seems that most — if not all — of Silicon Valley is run by scammers.

Tolentino encourages readers to reconsider who and what is a scam, then bluntly concludes: “The choice of this era is to be destroyed or to morally compromise ourselves in order to be functional — to be wrecked, or to be functional for reasons that contribute to the wreck.”

In sum, her collection of essays is strung together by the theme of the digital age, which carries along subthemes like capitalism, religion, and feminism. She is able to speak critically on popular ideas without brashly offending anyone — a skill I still struggle to hone.

She calls out the hypocrisy supporting marketable feminism by asking how we can have She-EOs and no federally-mandated child care. She calls herself out on the share of scams she practiced to get where she is today. At the start of her journalism career, she rode on the capitalistic wave of feminism to break from writing wealthy high schoolers’ college essays: another scam.

Tolentino’s gripping commentary on the state of Western life in the twenty-first century is woven together with personal anecdotes and current news. The essays stand to help us transcend one step closer to her level of enlightenment, to push us to analyze popular practice more critically.

Independent thinking is priceless, and it is becoming increasingly difficult to do in digital spaces where unpopular opinions are attacked and censored. Tolentino reminds readers of how to formulate arguments against conventional thinking, as well as how such arguments can bear logical and valuable insights. She speaks with no hidden agenda.

The bundle of essays she offers us proves her competence in crystal-clear thinking and writing. If you’re a fan of her witty work in The New Yorker, be sure to add Tolentino’s Trick Mirror to your reading list. Get ready to have your woes articulated into essays so clever that they would knock the socks off of even your toughest teaching assistant.

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Book Club: Trick Mirror: Reflections on SelfDelusion by Jia Tolentino

A brilliant collection of essays on millennial existence Skylar Cheung Varsity Contributor

Jia Tolentino’s Trick Mirror is much more than a bundle of 4,000-word papers. I never thought to purchase additional essays on top of the stapled New Yorker magazines that arrive at my doorstep weekly; but giving Tolentino’s breakout novel a read was easily one of the best decisions I made last month. Commentary on topics that are so relevant alongside writing so concise is as hard to come across as snow in July.

For the unfamiliar, Tolentino is a staff writer on pop culture at The New Yorker. Her labelling

as the “Joan Didion of our time” by Vulture is apt; she speaks on seemingly mundane things like gifs and “cursed energy” on the internet with an impossibly great deal of insight and conviction.

Tolentino acts as the omniscient eye on behalf of us drooling app-addicted adult-babies.

She reminds us of what we are doing and what it all means. Though she seldom proposes solutions for the problems she explores, her works by no means are inconclusive. The theme of her every article — and in this case, her every essay — suffices as a conclusion in and of itself.

For instance, one of Trick Mirror’s chapters in “The Story of a Generation in Seven Scams” is on the presentation of wealthy scammers in the media. Though it has been made clear by the likes of Netflix and HBO that Fyre Fest founder Billy MacFarland and Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes were both unethical and deceitful, I had never regarded them as scammers.

I do believe, however, that they manipulated the public’s beliefs to pursue lofty goals while neglecting transparency. Yet, this practice is not

IRIS DENG/ THE VARSITY

Science

November 18, 2019 var.st/science science@thevarsity.ca

Undergraduate students, included those at U of T, presented research at the McGill physics conference.

COURTESY OF GERALT/PIXABAY

U of T shines at 55th annual Canadian Undergraduate Physics Conference Students, alumni share their knowledge and passion in Montréal

Valeria Khudiakova Varsity Staff

The 55th Canadian Undergraduate Physics Conference was held from November 7–10 at McGill University and was attended by students from across the country, including those from U of T. While their research interests were diverse — ranging from imaging the brains of zebrafish to modelling galactic interactions with black holes — all shared the same burning passion for physics.

During the three-and-a-half days of the conference, visitors attended keynote lectures by top scientists and presentations by their fellow colleagues, as well as participated in panel discussions.

Keynote lectures Dr. Ania Kwiatkowski, a keynote speaker at the conference, discussed her research of ion trapping techniques. These techniques can help measure masses, separate existing isomers, and discover new ones.

Kwiatkowski works at TRIUMF, Canada’s national particle accelerator that is co-managed by 21 universities, which includes U of T. The applications of her research are valuable to the

field of astrophysics: since star formation is brought about by nuclear reactions and decays, scientists can model them in an accelerator to better their understanding of how stars are formed and destroyed. This may ultimately even help us understand why the universe was formed in the way that it was.

Another noteworthy keynote lecture was by Dr. Donna Strickland, who received the Nobel Prize in Physics for her research into nonlinear optics last year. In 1985, Strickland and her supervisor Gérard Mourou invented chirped pulse amplification, a technique for creating extremely intense pulses of light much more efficiently than before. Applications of the invention include laser eye surgery and high-precision laser cutting.

U of T’s student talents During the poster session, undergraduate students from all over Canada presented their research on topics ranging from tiny low-energy atoms and thermal conductor microscopes to distant pulsating stars. The Varsity spoke with four U of T undergraduates who presented their posters at the conference.

Hanzhen Lin investigated a novel way of cooling atoms using a special cooling chamber and magnetic fields. Cold atoms are essentially very

low-energy atoms that have low speeds and momenta, which means that they exhibit stronger wave-like properties than ‘regular’ atoms. The applications of cold atoms include quantum computing and quantum simulation, as well as creating exotic states of matter that cannot be observed in nature.

Grace Li set up an apparatus with a onedimensional crystal at one end and a series of weights and sensors all along it. She then recorded the resonance frequencies of the sensors while varying the number of weights attached and the frequency of the oscillations, which allowed her to ‘translate’ quantum mechanics into classical mechanics.

Rica Cristina Cruz looked into the trends in methane emissions in Toronto. She found that, although the levels of methane emissions seem to be decreasing over time, it is difficult to say whether the city is going in the right direction, since the emissions of other greenhouse gases may very well be increasing.

This summer, Lucy Ma and her team set about building a portable rubidium atomic clock that would not lose its accuracy in a weaker gravitational field due to special relativity, unlike regular clocks. The team members travelled to Timmins, Ontario, to launch the clock they had built on

a hot air balloon, where they were then able to confirm that the clock was still accurate further away from the planet.

Diversity in physics During a panel discussion on equity, diversity, and inclusivity in physics, all four panelists acknowledged that there are still massive disparities in the representation of marginalized groups.

This includes racialized peoples, Indigenous peoples, women, and gender and sexual minorities — even as people nowadays are much more aware of the importance of diversity in science.

U of T alum Dr. Kevin Hewitt, who is now a professor at Dalhousie University, has been involved in outreach programs for Black Canadian junior high and high school students in Nova Scotia for almost two decades. His goal has been to bridge the achievement gap and encourage more Black youth to get involved in STEM subjects. He spoke with panelists Drs. H. Cynthia Chiang, Marie-Cécile Piro, and Michael Ramsey-Musolf.

Hewitt also agreed with the other speakers concerning the significance of role models for children looking into science as a career option. “You cannot be what you cannot see,” he stressed.

Tracking the effects of Alzheimer’s through a patient’s journal entries

Linguistic research shows changes in language use as disease progresses Catherine Lu Varsity Contributor

U of T researchers have found a correlation in a Canadian woman’s diary entries and her cognitive decline due to Alzheimer’s, inviting further research into the change of language choice in older adults.

This yet unpublished study — presented at New Ways of Analyzing Variation 48 conference in October 2019 — analyzed 97 diaries by the late Vivian White, spanning from 1985–2016, an incredible 31 years of raw data. Paired with White’s medical records and her daughter Sheila White’s support, it’s possible to draw a timeline of Vivian’s health in comparison to her diary entries.

Dr. Sali Tagliamonte, Chair of the Department of Linguistics and co-author of this study, sat down with The Varsity to discuss some of her findings.

Changes in language over time One of the significant surface level language changes was subject omission, such as dropping the ‘I’ pronoun at the beginning of a sentence.

This happens frequently in a diary writing style, which may include sentences sentence like “fed the squirrels.”

All the subject omissions or lack of omission were marked in 97 diaries, and a decreasing trend was noticed, according to data compiled with the help of two undergraduate research assistants.

Subject omission rates were stable for the first two thirds of the writing, but after Vivian started using ‘I’ more frequently in her diary, her family noticed a decline in her memory. When the diagnosis of mild cognitive decline was made, the rate had almost halved.

As the diagnosis moved into severe dementia, there was a drastic drop, culminating in a complete lack of subject omission in 2016, the year she passed away.

Research is based on 31 years of raw data from continuous diaries.

COURTESY OF AARON BURDEN/UNSPLASH

Tagliamonte noted that a drastic decline in cognition is common in Alzheimer’s, and this drop in subject omission correlates with medical records, representing Vivian’s decline through her sentence structures.

Research supported by Vivian’s daughter While this wealth of data only comes from one person, further conversation with Sheila revealed that Vivian’s maternal grandfather also kept a diary for roughly 58 years. Throughout, he had consistent subject omission rates with no evidence of cognitive problems, unlike Vivian. This provided more verification for the theory that Alzheimer’s was associated with Vivian’s style changes.

This surprise find of another stack of diaries could not have occurred without a good relationship with Vivian’s family. Sheila was, and is, tremendously supportive of the research opportunities that her mother created, according to Tagliamonte.

“The family has asked us to always use her real name,” said Tagliamonte. “This is the kind of work [people in the real world] can relate to.”

However, as the findings are confined within a single family, further research is needed. More indepth analyses of other diary collections, as well as interdisciplinary research on cognitive decline will create knowledge in computing, medicine, and linguistics, and also help families affected by dementia.

By sharing her mother’s story through this scientific study, Sheila hopes more people can offer something and participate in research. It’s something Vivian wanted, after all.

“This diary will be partly an aid to memory, partly a goal to make me accomplish more, & partly something else — perhaps an attempt to assure myself that my life has some significance?” wrote Vivian on March 23, 1985, at the age of 59.

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SCIENCE

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Cannabis hyperemesis: a rare case of severe side effects due to heavy cannabis usage

Chronic users may be at risk of severe nausea and vomiting Nicole Schwab Varsity Contributor

Cannabis has become readily accessible in Toronto, with five legal dispensaries. Students can pick up the goods with nothing but their ID and a short walk from UTSG. Furthermore, cannabis use has become mainstream, both recreationally and medicinally.

Patients have taken it for conditions including anxiety, headaches, insomnia, gastro-intestinal disorders, and chronic pain.

With this uptick in usage, Dr. Peter Wu, an internal medicine specialist, clinical pharmacologist, and toxicologist at Toronto General Hospital, urges users to be aware of the unwanted side effects of using cannabis, particularly the emergence of a condition called cannabinoid hyperemesis syndrome (CHS).

What is cannabinoid hyperemesis syndrome and how common is it?

CHS is a condition that presents severe, intractable nausea and vomiting, which can typically only be relieved with a hot shower, as Wu explained in an interview with The Varsity.

This syndrome is distinct from the phenomenon of ‘greening out’ from cannabis use, which is when a user feels nauseous and distressed from overconsumption of the drug.

“These reactions are unpredictable,” said Wu. “Having said that, there are some risk factors that [give us] a better sense of… who could get cannabis hyperemesis.”

Major factors include the consumption of large amounts of cannabis at once, as well as over a long period of time.

Patients with the syndrome are typically treated in the emergency room with intravenous fluids for rehydration, given anti-nausea medication, and checked for kidney function and blood pressure changes. These evaluations are critical, as severe vomiting can induce kidney failure from dehydration, explained Wu. The most effective solution is for a patient to stop using cannabis.

Abstention from cannabis is the only long-term effective therapy for the syndrome.

MY 420 TOURS/CC WIKIMEDIA

New treatment options in development Although the course of treatment for the syndrome typically consists of anti-nausea medication, some clinical trials are starting to identify novel treatment options. Capsaicin cream — made from a chemical found in chili peppers — is one of these.

Patients with the syndrome may find relief from applying capsaicin cream topically, explained Wu. The cream can activate receptors thought to be involved in the syndrome’s mechanism of action.

Currently, Wu receives approximately one patient referral per month with CHS from the emergency room. “[The prevalence is] hard to say — I think whatever number we have written in the literature is definitely an underestimation,” he said. “It’s impossible to know how many patients [who have] milder forms of [CHS] resolve it on their own.”

Cannabis hyperemesis syndrome is by no means an epidemic, but Wu emphasized that it is important that people be appropriately informed and aware of the risks and side effects of cannabis, similar to how we approach other prescription medications, such as antibiotics.

Most common antibiotics come with a list of side effects to watch out for, including those that warrant immediate medical attention.

One of the main challenges in treating CHS is

that patients sometimes have a hard time believing that cannabis is the culprit. After all, many individuals use cannabis to treat nausea.

This can lead to a cycle in which a person suffering from CHS attempts to treat their nausea with more cannabis, ultimately only making their condition worse. Nausea and vomiting by themselves are very non-specific symptoms, so people often attribute them to causes, such as their cannabis use.

Cannabis is a beneficial drug for the treatment of a variety of medical conditions, from types of epilepsy to multiple sclerosis. However, it is important that the conversation surrounding cannabis includes a discussion of its potential side effects and unwarranted reactions.

As cannabis becomes mainstream in Canada, it is especially important for individuals to make informed decisions regarding their health and well-being.

How do I know if I have CHS and what should I do if so?

If you have severe nausea and vomiting after chronic ingestion of cannabis, and it is relieved by a hot shower or stopping use, then it may be CHS. There is currently no single effective diagnostic test, and the syndrome is only diagnosed clinically.

According to a 2019 review paper of the syndrome in The BMJ, “The only long term effective therapy is cannabis cessation, with complete and permanent resolution of symptoms within the first two weeks after cannabis weaning.”

If you are experiencing extreme vomiting such that you cannot keep down any food or water, a hospital stay may be required for treatment, according to Cedars-Sinai Hospital.

How inflammation could link Parkinson’s, Crohn’s, and leprosy U of T Dr. Shutinoski on high-impact genetics study

Ava Harrington Varsity Contributor

For years, the cause of the genetic link between Parkinson’s disease, Crohn’s disease, and leprosy has largely remained a mystery. However, a recent U of T-affiliated research effort has made significant strides by demonstrating that the cause seems to stem from inflammation.

Dr. Bojan Shutinoski, the first author of the study published in Science Translational Medicine at The Ottawa Hospital, explained to The Varsity that the gene in question, LRRK2, has been previously studied in relation to Parkinson’s and neuronal function. Shutinoski worked with coauthors, including Dr. Juliana Rocha of U of T, to complete the study.

Parkinson’s is caused in part by a lack of dopamine, which is produced by some neurons.

This would suggest that the gene influences the neurons’ health. However, the study is the first to link a mutation in the gene to the immune system’s function.

The mutation in question is named ‘p.G2019s,’ and was linked by the study to an increased risk for developing Parkinson’s disease, Crohn’s disease, and leprosy. The risk stems from the mutation’s ability to cause the immune system to become hyperactive during periods of infection, which leads to high levels of inflammation.

The study’s design Mice carrying the mutation, as well as ‘wildtype’ mice without the mutation, were infected with Salmonella typhimurium — a strain of bacteria that can cause sepsis.

Another experiment in the study infected mutated mice with a virus limited specifically to the peripheral system — the nervous system outside of the brain and spinal cord — and the mice were then compared with wild-type infected mice.

The analysis demonstrated that mice expressing the mutation were better able to control infection with higher levels of inflammation than the wild-type mice. However, this inflammation can be damaging.

The impact of inflammation on disease development Inflammation specifically leads to an increased

production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in the brain, which can damage cell structures in high concentrations. These species damage or even destroy the neurons that produce dopamine, strengthening the link to Parkinson’s.

According to Shutinoski, one unique discovery from this experiment is that even in mice infected with the bacteria that did not infect the brain, inflammation still had an impact on the brain.

Another interesting finding of this study is that female mice with the mutation were found to have higher levels of inflammation than male mice. Similarly, in humans, Parkinson’s generally affects more men than women.

However, when Parkinson’s in humans is linked to p.G2019s, the opposite is true, and women have higher rates of the disease. This correlates with the findings in mice, yet the differences between the sexes are still open questions in science.

Applications of the study Shutinoski suggested two clinical applications from this enhanced understanding of LRRK2.

Primarily, since the LRRK2 gene produces an enzyme named dardarin, there are specific inhibitors that could hamper its activity.

However, more work must be done to ensure that the inhibitors are exclusive to the enzyme — otherwise, inhibiting other similar enzymes could harm the immune system response. Additionally, the regulation of ROS production could yield positive results in patients with increased inflammation, as a decrease in ROS could lead to healthier neurons and more regular dopamine production.

There is still much to learn about LRRK2, Parkinson’s, and inflammation, and this study has opened up a wide range of questions for researchers to tackle in the future.

One final aspect of this study is that it was a collaborative effort across several research groups. The main group working with LRRK2 worked with Crohn’s researchers in the local area.

To Shutinoski, the teamwork of the researchers was crucial to the study’s success.

“Science thrives in collaboration,” he said.

“Our paper is… proof that collaboration works.”

CAROLINE BIEL/THE VARSITY

var.st/science

NOVEMBER 18, 2019

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A new dynamic strategy to protect biodiversity: transient protected areas In conversation with Dr. Marie-Josée Fortin on a new approach in response to the climate crisis Beverly Teng Varsity Contributor

An innovative, comprehensive approach to biodiversity conservation has been proposed by a research paper affiliated with the University of Toronto in the form of ‘Dynamic Protected Areas,’ which would be transient protected areas that change according to the biological concerns of the meta-population.

In an interview with The Varsity, Dr. Marie-Josée Fortin, a co-author of the paper and a professor at the Department of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, broke down the advantages and disadvantages of both the extant strategy and the new strategy proposed in the paper.

The integration of the new conservation strategy would require significant updates of preestablished notions about biodiversity, conservation, and legislation. The co-authors ultimately concluded that the new strategy would be worthwhile, as current strategies will not be enough to keep up with the climate crisis.

Dynamic protected areas are a new alternative to protect biodiversity.

COURTESY OF TOMAS SOBEK/UNSPLASH

What is biodiversity?

It is widely accepted that strategies to address the climate crisis must be multi-faceted in order to adequately treat a variety of connected issues, from flawed socioeconomic systems to biological limitations.

The term ‘biodiversity’ refers to the variety of all life on Earth. Biodiversity can be quantified or analyzed in a number of ways, which makes it a blanket term that encompasses many measures of diversity. Such measures include genetic variety

in a single species, and species richness in specific regions.

Currently, the ‘Permanent Protected Area’ status is one of the main methods of preserving biodiversity in Canada. Permanent protected areas are fixed spaces that are set aside to minimize human intervention. Algonquin Provincial Park is an example of a permanent protected area, right here in Ontario.

The limitations of permanent protected areas Fortin and her colleagues’ suggestions came from the limitations of ‘Permanent Protected Areas.’

Whether a provincial or national park, Fortin noted that permanent protected areas can take a long time to come into effect because the legislative process can be slow.

Furthermore, as more natural environments are converted for human use, it will be increasingly difficult to find land for permanent protected areas.

The static nature of permanent protected areas also poses a significant ecological dilemma. Fortin explained that biological organisms are categorized at many different levels, but the paper specifically addresses meta-populations, metacommunities, and meta-ecosystems.

The ‘meta’ prefix suggests a broader organization of each grouping. For example, a ‘metapopulation’ refers to many populations at once and considers how they interact with one another, between different locations instead of one

fixed location.

With these terms in mind, it’s no wonder that permanent protected areas alone may be inadequate in preserving biodiversity. The species within these areas are not completely isolated from their surrounding environments — they may engage in significant interactions with outside, unprotected environments, and vice versa.

Dynamic protected areas as an alternative To better illustrate the concept of dynamic protected areas, Fortin referred to already-existing ‘no-take zones,’ which are marine areas that ban the exploitation of resources within that specific area, typically only until that resource is able to replenish itself. In other words, the region is only protected for as long as the environment demands.

The alternative idea of ‘Dynamic Protected Areas’ that Fortin highlighted would focus on terrestrial species that undergo annual migration. For example, if a particular species migrates south for the winter, the government could establish dynamic protected areas that travel with that species and that only last as long as the migration does.

With dynamic protected areas, there are still economic and legislative considerations. Nevertheless, Fortin and her colleagues support the strategy’s implementation, because it acknowledges that the environment has been and always will be undergoing change.

Drug therapy and frailty among the elderly: which causes which?

In conversation with Dr. Paula Rochon on optimizing the use of prescription drugs Aanya Bahl Varsity Contributor

Frailty among the elderly has been a common cause for concern for decades. The arrival of modern medicine has, to an extent, eased this worry and improved physical weaknesses among senior citizens. However, could there be something exacerbating this infirmity?

According to a recent editorial co-authored by Dr. Paula Rochon, a professor at U of T’s Department of Medicine and Institute of Health policy, Management and Evaluation, the answer may be yes, due to the relationship between the intake of a cocktail of prescription drugs and frailty among the elderly.

The Varsity spoke to Rochon, who also serves as the vice-president of research at Women’s College Hospital, a geriatrician, and as the The Retired Teachers of Ontario/Les enseignantes et enseignants retraités de l’Ontario chair in geriatric medicine at the U of T. She has a longstanding interest in improving the health and wellness of older adults, particularly women, who make up most of this demographic.

One area which she has studied extensively is the optimization of drug therapies for older adults in order to maximize their benefits and minimize harm.

What came first, the chicken or the egg?

Frailty is a geriatric syndrome characterized by “age-related decreases in physiologic reserves, resulting in vulnerability to health declines following even minor stressor events,” according to the co-authors. Polypharmacy is a situation in which patients take a combination of prescription drugs — or a drug cocktail, as it’s commonly called.

While both frailty and polypharmacy are known to be linked and have co-existed for quite some time, little is known about the extent of their relationship. Scientists are unable to discern whether drug therapies manage frailty and accompanying chronic medical illnesses, or whether they prompt health declines characterized as frailty.

Similar to the philosophical question of the

chicken and the egg, we are unsure which factor causes what.

Unravelling the mystery of the relationship To determine the type of association between frailty and polypharmacy, two longitudinal studies were published in Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, in order to further explore the question.

Shahar Shmuel, a researcher at the University of North Carolina, and colleagues conducted a longitudinal study of older adults. Their study notes the high prevalence of frailty and polypharmacy in older adults, and suggests that there is a relationship between polypharmacy and frailty.

The researchers note that further research can be conducted to see whether lowering the number of prescriptions would reduce frailty.

Dr. Andrew Bergen at the Oregon Research Institute and his colleagues conducted a longitudinal analysis of more than 1,400 communitydwelling older adults. Their study found that the prescription of drugs for sleep and pain was associated with increased frailty.

In both studies, a relationship was found between prescription drugs and frailty, even though one was looking at polypharmacy and the other was looking at specific drug classes for pain and sleep. However, while both studies established a relationship, the chicken-and-egg scenario still remains.

For this reason, Rochan believes that the association between frailty and polypharmacy is extremely difficult to entangle. Scientists need to be able to study the sequence of events in order to determine if polypharmacy causes frailty, or whether it is the frailty that leads to polypharmacy, she noted.

Future steps of research Rochan suggested that researchers investigate and conduct medication reviews on all pre-frail and older adults to identify the possibility of ‘deprescription’ — decreasing the dose of the

prescription or even possibly discontinuing the prescription. She wrote that identifying drugs that could make frailty worse should be the first step.

Identifying cascades is also an important priority, she added. In other words, drug therapies that lead to the growth of medical conditions and additional drug cocktails to treat these conditions also make frailty worse.

Lastly, in the usage of drug therapy for an individual, course of life must also be considered. In many cases frailty is associated with death and this association or connotation must be accounted for when making prescriptions. A patient’s life expectancy and a drug’s lag time should also be accounted for, she further noted.

While both Shmuel and Bergen’s studies provide useful information, none are able to completely solve the puzzle. The current conclusion is that polypharmacy and frailty have an effect on each other, but this relationship remains ambiguous.

It is possible that we may never know the answer to the chicken-and-egg question. But in the meantime, there are steps that we can take to answer this one — one of them being to focus on optimizing drug therapy for frail or pre-frail adults.

DIANA PHAM/THE VARSITY

Sports

November 18, 2019 var.st/sports sports@thevarsity.ca

Ending my varsity career — on my own terms

I didn’t want an injury to be my final moment of varsity athletics, so I switched sports Julia Costanzo Varsity Contributor

Crying and clutching my coach’s forearms as I staggered to the bench was the moment I thought would mark the end of my varsity athletic career forever. In a 2018 pre-season match for the Toronto Varsity Blues women’s field hockey team, an errant elbow walloped my skull — leaving me with my second major concussion in less than a year.

I missed every game of my fourth-year eligibility season and, after five agonizing months of headaches, dizziness, and vision problems, my doctor told me I could never play the sport again.

In the weeks after my doctor delivered the life-changing verdict, I spent a lot of time contemplating my last moments in a blue-and-white uniform. It hit me that I’d never get another chance to end my career: to play with the awareness of my last home game — the last game with my parents in the stands and my last time as a varsity student athlete. Almost every varsity athlete experiences that. It was all I wanted.

Eight months after my injury, I stopped waking up with daily headaches and was eager to compete again. Field hockey, and most other territorial sports I’d enjoyed throughout my life, were no longer an option for me. So I turned to running. I started slow, really slow. During those first few weeks, I was just happy to be active.

It was then that I realized I couldn’t sit and torture myself watching a field hockey season where I couldn’t help but picture myself on the field. As a UTM student, I decided I’d try out for the UTM Eagles cross country team.

I thought that with three more months of summer running I could surely get myself fit enough to make the training team. Maybe they’d even let me race an invitational or two. I had to do something, and running was at the top of the short list of sports that I could still compete in.

Three months later, as the field hockey team was opening their regular season, I tried out for cross country, made the development team, and raced my first Ontario Colleges Athletic Association (OCAA) six-kilometre race. I loved it. I wasn’t sure if it was running, being part of a team again, or having something on my mind other than missing out on field hockey, but I knew I wanted this feeling to continue.

Around this time, a lot of people in my life imposed narratives on my running success. They’d tell me, “You’re so strong” or “what a comeback.”

I’ve definitely said this to other people, but it took me being on the other side of these comments to see why they’re problematic.

I’ve always appreciated the positive sentiment, but I wondered what people would have thought if I responded to my career-ending concussion in a different way. What if the best thing for me was to leave athletics completely? Would that have made me weak?

I didn’t start running to assert my strength over my life-changing injury. I ran cross country not only because it was the best decision for me, but also because it was the best way to get what I believed I needed: a new conclusion to my varsity career and an opportunity to occupy myself with something athletic that wasn’t field hockey.

As a member of the UTM Eagles, I raced three college invitationals, OCAA provincials — where I ran my personal best time of the season, faster than I ever imagined I’d run in my life — and Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association nationals in Grand Prairie, Alberta.

Cross country gave me another chance to pursue achievements that I believed were out of the question for me. I was UTM athlete of the week, my team finished on the podium at provincials, and I competed at one more national championship. But there was a catch: I only did all of this because I loved field hockey, and I lost field hockey.

Cross country never helped me get over field hockey. Running is something new that I can only appreciate because of field hockey. I take issue with people who congratulate me for ‘moving on’ after my injury, because it implies that my field hockey experiences were just moments I should probably leave behind.

When my concussion abruptly ended my field hockey career, my life didn’t immediately split into ‘before’ and ‘after’ field hockey. I still love field hockey and I still miss it. Running cross country didn’t erase the pain of losing field hockey. In fact, I cried over field hockey more than once while I was reaching major milestones with running.

I’ll never move on from it, and now I’ll never move on from cross country. I’ll carry both of these experiences with me forever.

If I’ve learned one thing from this experience, it’s that I am owed nothing. Just because I thought I’d end my varsity career with anticipation, awareness, and appreciation of my five years as a field hockey player, and just because most varsity athletes get that, doesn’t mean it’s guaranteed. If there’s something I want, I need to make it happen.

After I crossed the finish line at nationals, I turned around and scrambled to catch one of my

teammates wobbling through the snow and over the finish line until she collapsed into my arms.

Race marshals rushed us into the crowded medical tent, where we were joined by the rest of our team as they staggered to find seats and began to wrap themselves in space blankets.

I had no idea what place I got, how well our team did, or what was going on outside that tent. All I knew was that we did it. We just completed the most successful women’s cross country season in UTM Eagles history. I did it. After eight months of sitting in the dark and only four months of running training, I

raced with the best college runners in Canada.

As I surveyed the post-race chaos, holding my faint teammate with one hand and my soggy gloves in the other, I started sobbing. I got the moment I really wanted: my final competition in a varsity uniform. It wasn’t anything like I imagined, but it was everything I needed. It was messy and complicated and heartbreaking and beautiful, just like my varsity career.

Julia Costanzo grabs her teammate as she collapses after a snowy race.

COURTESY OF RANDY VANDERVEEN/CANADIAN COLLEGIATE ATHLETIC ASSOCIATION

Blues men’s hockey win ninth straight game Toronto defeats Western 6–3 to keep winning streak alive

Silas Le Blanc Sports Editor

The Toronto Varsity Blues men’s hockey team defeated the Western Mustangs on Saturday at the Varsity Arena. This win moved the Blues record to 11-2 and vaulted them into first place in the Ontario University Athletics West standings.

The Blues got off to a slow start, with Mustangs left winger Kolten Olynek getting on the board with an early powerplay goal. The Blues responded when newcomer Kyle Potts buried a rebound off a shot from Justin Brand. Toronto’s pressure continued, and they got another goal to end the first period with the lead when Ross Krieger shot home a one-timer off a two-on-one opportunity with only a minute left in the first period.

Toronto’s leading scorer, David Thomson, continued his hot start to the season, firing an innocent-looking shot on the Western goal, which found its way into the net, giving the Blues a 3–1 lead.

With roughly five minutes left in the frame, Krieger entered the zone with a burst of speed, and tried to go wide on the Western defenseman, but was knocked down. Krieger then regained his foot-

Men’s hockey continues a stellar winning streak.

COURTESY OF HENRY ZHAO/VARSITY BLUES

ing, deked past two Western defenders, and found Kyle Clarke for the tap-in goal. Western was able to get another goal on the board before the period ended, but Toronto was feeling confident going into the third period, having doubled their lead from the previous intermission.

Toronto scored two more goals in the third period, the first a deflection from Chase Olsen, and the second a goal batted out of mid air by Oliver Benwell. Though Western was able to get one more goal, they weren’t close enough, as Toronto cruised to a 6–3 victory.

Toronto outshot Western 35–25, and goalie Alex Bishop had a 0.880 save percentage to earn the win.

Toronto’s next home game is against the Waterloo Warriors on Saturday, November 30, at the Varsity Arena, where they will hopefully continue to be undefeated.

var.st/sports

NOVEMBER 18, 2019

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Blues basketball teams go 1–1 in doubleheader against Lions Women lose a close contest, men win handily Sara Fredo Varsity Contributor

Women’s team The Varsity Blues women’s basketball team lost a heartbreaking 52–47 decision to the York Lions on November 15, dropping their fifth straight game of the season to their cross-town rivals.

The match was tight right from the opening tipoff, with both teams using their physicality and speed to force turnovers and errant passes.

York drew first blood with a pair of free throws, but Toronto stormed back, ending the first quarter with a score of 13–10, thanks to a pair of three-pointers from standouts Christine Jurcau and Ellen Ougrinov.

The physicality match continued into the second quarter, with Blues veteran Sarah Ben-

COURTESY OF HENRY ZHAO/VARSITY BLUES

nett using her speed and ball-handling skills to force York to foul in their attempts to defend from her. The Lions struggled to contain Bennett, as she went on to score a team-leading 18 points. Rookie Nakeisha Ekwandja was all over the court, scooping up six defensive rebounds throughout the game. The Blues ended the first half with a six-point lead.

As the second half wore on, it was evident that both teams were growing tired from the chippy style of play. Numerous players from both teams hit the deck, sacrificing their bodies in desperate attempts to gain their team precious points.

The Blues saw their lead diminish to a mere two points by the end of the third quarter, despite the tenacious play from Bennett and Samantha Robertson. York began to roar to life toward the end, peppering Toronto with scoring attempts and capitalizing on their free throws.

Unfortunately, the Lions’ upward swing was too much for the Blues to overcome in the fourth quarter. York gained their first lead of the game with seven minutes left on the clock and eventually pulled away to win the match.

It was evident from the game that the Blues’ last-place standing in the Ontario University Athletics (OUA) Centre conference is not reflective of their abilities.

Despite the lackluster fourth quarter, the Blues displayed impressive skill and heart, and showed great potential for improvement over the course of the season. The Blues will return home to face the Mc-

Master Marauders on November 30 — hopefully with a win in their pocket.

Men’s team The Varsity Blues men’s basketball team showed off their shooting skills on Friday as they trounced the York Lions 95–81. The win moved Toronto up to a 2–3 record, while keeping York firmly at the bottom of the OUA conference table.

Despite the final score line, the first quarter was a tightly contested affair, with York notching the first four points of the game. The two teams traded the lead position repeatedly, but Toronto eventually pulled away as Evan Shadkami, Chris Barrett, Eric Rwahwire, Eli Mouyal and Jeremy Aibi all notched at least one basket from outside the arc. Using their impressive accuracy — a 75 per cent success rate on their three-point shots alone — the Blues headed into the second quarter with a commanding 32–21 lead.

York struggled to contain the surging Blues, resorting to taking four team fouls before the half was over. The Lions were able to cut slightly into Toronto’s lead, but the Blues’ pinpoint accuracy was too much to overcome. Toronto led the game 55–48 at half time, boasting a 66.7 per cent accuracy rate for three-pointers versus York’s paltry 18.2 per cent. Rwahwire and Shadkami scored 14 and 13 points, respectively, with sophomore Somachi Agbapu notching an emphatic block.

The third quarter saw Toronto extend their lead once as the chippy Lions garnered their

Although the women’s team lost, the men’s team boosted morale with a win.

COURTESY OF HENRY ZHAO/ VARSITY BLUES

10th team foul — a number which continued to grow throughout the quarter. Toronto continued to stand tall against the onslaught, using their speed to both force and capitalize on York errors. This led to a total of six steals by the end of the game.

Toronto entered the final quarter with a 12-point lead and would not let up, sinking an additional 19 points in the final frame alone on their way to their second season win.

Rwahwire and Shadkami were the indisputable stars of the game, notching 24 and 21 points, respectively, while Barrett was a crucial playmaker in his 12-point performance. Daniel Johansson was a pivotal force on offense, notching a team-high three offensive rebounds. The men will return home on November 30, where they hope to deliver another electric match against the McMaster Marauders.

High steaks: new study with controversial methods questions whether red meat is all that bad U of T professor David Jenkins, other researchers criticize study’s methods

Laura Ashwood Associate Sports Editor

Last month, the Annals of Internal Medicine published an article co-authored by Dr. Bradley C. Johnston — an associate professor at Dalhousie University — that criticizes the scientific backing of public health advice to eat less red meat in order to counter heart disease, diabetes, and other conditions.

Johnston’s study attacked the quality of research of other nutritional studies with a method named the Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development and Evaluation (GRADE), which is used to judge the quality of clinical drug trial research.

GRADE ranks studies based on precision and accuracy. Due to GRADE’s design, it automatically ranks the “large observational studies and randomized trials” common in nutritional science as low-quality research.

Johnston and his team, evaluating the nutritional studies that link meat consumption and health ailments using the tool, could conclude that all studies that find this connection are low quality. As a consequence, this delegitimizes nutritional science.

But the nutritional science community has been vocal in its opposition of the study, largely citing a misuse of GRADE. “You

can’t do a double-blinded placebo-controlled trial of red meat and other foods on heart attacks or cancer,” Dr. Frank Hu of the nutrition department at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health said to The New York Times. “For dietary and lifestyle factors, it’s impossible to use the same standards for drug trials.”

Dr. David Jenkins, a U of T professor in the Department of Nutritional Sciences and Faculty of Medicine, has also been vocally opposed to this methodology. “What [nutritional scientists] rely on is perspective cohorts — [we]take a group of people and follow them over time and work out what they’ve eaten and what their lifestyle is,” Jenkins told The Varsity. “It works well, but people who smoke, [for example,] tend to have other bad habits.”

ZACH KOH/THE VARSITY

In other words, it’s hard to control for a single factor, and thus GRADE “automatically ranks these studies as low-quality, even if there is a consistent response.”

The misuse of GRADE has real-world repercussions on the face of public health. “I’m concerned about the damage that has already been done to public health recommendations,” Hu told The New York Times. “Certainly, the data are regarded as low-quality [according to GRADE] — let’s accept that,” said Jenkins.

“But it’s not about just one thing. It doesn’t just relate to diabetes or heart disease or an increased cancer incidence — it relates to all of them. Surely, then there must be some significance. It’s the scope… it’s not strong, it’s broad.”

In response, public health organizations are taking action. For example, the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, which advocates for veganism, filed a petition to the Federal Trade Commission against the journal

that published the article due to concerns that it delivers “dangerous advice.”

Furthermore, Johnson was a senior author on a study aiming to discredit international health guidelines that advised against high sugar consumption. The study was sponsored by food and pharmaceutical companies like Pepsico and McDonald’s.

Jenkins also ventures that health should not be the only motivating factor in considering to eat less meat. “We’ve got a global warming situation,” he warns. “We have as many — or more — four legged friends that we eat on the planet than there are of ourselves. We have to consider all the mechanization that’s used to produce feed for them, which use fossil fuels, and all the required energy and land.”

Dr. Gordon Guyatt, the chair of the peer review panel for the article, said to Coast Mountain News that it is “hysterical… It’s completely predictable and they’re doing themselves no favours from my point of view about these sort of hysterical statements.”

Jenkins is nevertheless eager to reach a point of agreement in the meat debate. “It’s not low quality about just one thing. It doesn’t just relate to diabetes or heart disease or an increased cancer incidence — it’s related to all of them.”

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THE VARSITY

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