November 25, 2019

November 25, 2019

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

STRUCK DOWN

Vol. CXL, No. 11

Graduate Students’ Union accused of antiSemitism in kosher food dispute UTGSU formally apologizes after criticisms from Jewish campus group Hillel UofT Hannah Carty Associate News Editor

The University of Toronto Graduate Students’ Union (UTGSU) is facing allegations of antiSemitism for its original reluctance to support the Kosher Forward campaign, an initiative by Hillel UofT to bring kosher food to campus.

Hillel UofT, a prominent Jewish organization on campus, has criticized the union for “conflating the Jewish fight for kosher food with [its] support of the Jewish state.” The UTGSU has since apologized and External Commissioner Maryssa Barras resigned on November 21 in the midst of the dispute.

“We are again existing in a state of uncertainty”: unions respond to Divisional Court ruling Andy Takagi and Mikaela Toone News Editor and Associate News Editor

On November 21, the Divisional Court of Ontario unanimously ruled in favour of the Canadian Federation of Students–Ontario (CFS–O) and the York Federation of Students (YFS) in a legal challenge that repealed the provincial government’s Student Choice Initiative (SCI).

The SCI — which took effect at the beginning of the 2019–2020 academic year — was a controversial directive from the province’s Ministry of Colleges and Universities (MCU) that allowed postsecondary students to opt out of certain incidental fees deemed “non-essential.”

While student groups have been celebrating their victory over the Ford government in court, the specifics of the SCI’s demise remain in legal ambiguity.

Substantial funding changes for student groups The SCI was created by the provincial government to direct colleges and universities to allow students to opt out of “non-essential” incidental fees, with guidelines for “essential” fees laid out by the province.

“Students are adults and we are treating them as such by giving them the freedom to clearly see where their fees are currently being allocated,” announced then-Minister of Training, Colleges and Universities Merrilee Fullerton at a press conference on January 17.

The policy was part of a broader set of sweeping changes to postsecondary education, including to domestic tuition and the Ontario Student

Assistance Program (OSAP).

Despite multiple student associations organizing marches, and critics opposing the policy, the province went forward with its directive to universities and colleges, and categorized fees as “essential” and “non-essential.” The opt-out policy’s guidelines were officially released in March, and were implemented at the start of the 2019–2020 academic year.

During its Annual General Meeting in October, the University of Toronto Students’ Union (UTSU) revealed the opt-out rates for specific fees, and noted that it saw an average opt-out rate of 23.6 per cent. Substantial funding changes were made to student aid, clubs funding, and orientation as a result. The SCI also had an impact on other student groups, including college student societies, levy-funded groups, and campus media — including The Varsity.

The success of legal resistance In their application for judicial review that was filed on May 24, the CFS–O and the YFS claimed that the MCU lacked the legal authority to implement the SCI, and was also in breach of procedural fairness as it failed to consult with or adequately notify student groups.

On October 11, Honourable Justices Harriet Saches, David Corbett, and Lise Favreau heard arguments from the applicants, the CFS–O and YFS; the province; and two intervenors: the University of Toronto Graduate Students’ Union

(UTGSU) in favour of the CFS–O and YFS; and B’Nai Brith of Canada League for Human Rights, in favour of the government.

The Divisional Court of Ontario concluded on November 21 that “Ontario does not control [the relationships of student associations and universities] directly or indirectly.” It went on to note that the province’s cabinet and ministry had no authority to interfere in the internal affairs of student associations.

The court ruled that the application of certiorari — an appeal of legislation and court decisions — was granted and revoked the SCI. Responses to the ruling “I’m ecstatic about this,” said MPP for Spadina– Fort York, and the Ontario New Democratic Party’s postsecondary critic, Chris Glover, in an interview with The Varsity. Glover has been a vocal advocate against the SCI since its announcement. He joined CFS–O National Representative Kayla Weiler and YFS President Fatima Babiker at a press conference on November 22, announcing the end of the SCI. “You cannot just undermine the legal rights of students and their unions and the services that they provide on campus,” said Glover. He also expressed his belief that the language of the court’s decision would impede any attempt by the province to reinstate a similar mandate. “So, this is a landmark decision.”

SCI, page 3

Hillel criticizes the UTGSU The controversy began when a UTGSU Board of Directors member reached out to Barras to ask if the UTGSU Executive Committee would present an Executive Motion at its upcoming General Council meeting in support of the Kosher Forward campaign. The response given by Barras, according to the UTGSU’s statement, “mistakenly… insinuated that the UTGSU Executive Committee might be reluctant to bring the motion forward to the UTGSU General Council/ Board-of-Directors as a result of Hillel being ‘pro-Israel.’”

However, in her response Barras also directed the member to other avenues to submit the motion, according to the UTGSU’s statement.

In its press release, Hillel condemned the conflation of Israel and all Jewish issues as a form of anti-Semitism.

Responding to Hillel’s press release, the UTGSU wrote on November 17 that the original comments were “not on behalf of the UTGSU’s executive committee,” and stated that it provided the student with an avenue to submit the motion through the Equity and Advocacy Committee.

Hillel’s central complaint with the UTGSU’s apology was that it did not “address the anti-Semitic nature of their original response.”

This is not the first time that the UTGSU and Hillel have been in conflict. Last February, the UTGSU enacted a permanent Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions Committee on Israel, leading Hillel to comment that they were “very disappointed” with the decision.

UTGSU external commissioner resigns After representatives from both Hillel and the UTGSU met for discussions, the UTGSU announced in a November 21 press release that Barras had submitted her resignation. The press release notes that the resignation was due to “the anti-Semitic comments written regarding the Kosher Forward Campaign.”

Hillel, page 3

2

THE VARSITY

NEWS

news@thevarsity.ca

Comics of the week Vol. CXL, No. 11 21 Sussex Avenue, Suite 306 Toronto, ON M5S 1J6 (416) 946-7600 thevarsity.ca

the.varsity

thevarsitynewspaper

the.varsity

@TheVarsity

The Varsity

MASTHEAD Josie Kao Editor-in-Chief

editor@thevarsity.ca

Julie Shi Creative Director Ibnul Chowdhury Managing Editor Ilya Bañares Managing Online Editor

creative@thevarsity.ca managing@thevarsity.ca online@thevarsity.ca

Ori Gilboa Senior Copy Editor

copy@thevarsity.ca

Andy Takagi News Editor

news@thevarsity.ca

Angela Feng Comment Editor Stephanie Bai Features Editor Kashi Syal Arts & Culture Edittor Adam A. Lam Science Editor

comment@thevarsity.ca features@thevarsity.ca arts@thevarsity.ca science@thevarsity.ca

Silas Le Blanc Sports Editor Srivindhya Kolluru Business Editor Megan Brearley Deputy Senior Copy Editor Kathryn Mannie Deputy News Editor

sports@thevarsity.ca biz@thevarsity.ca deputysce@thevarsity.ca deputynews@thevarsity.ca SARINA WONG/THE VARSITY

William Xiao Design Editor

williamx@thevarsity.ca

Aditi Putcha Design Editor

aditi@thevarsity.ca

Dina Dong Photo Editor

photos@thevarsity.ca

Iris Deng Illustration Editor

illustration@thevarsity.ca

Nathalie Whitten Video Editor

video@thevarsity.ca

Kevin Lu Front End Web Developer

kevin@thevarsity.ca

Stephanie Zhang Back End Web Developer

stephanie@thevarsity.ca

Osobe Waberi Public Editor

Vacant Associate Senior Copy Editor

publiceditor@thevarsity.ca

Laura Ashwood Associate Sports Editor

Hannah Carty, Mikaela Toone Nicole Shi Associate Business Editor Associate News Editor Hafsa Ahmed Associate Comment Editor

Vacant Associate Design Editor

Jadine Ngan Associate Features Editor

Joshua Chua, Samantha Yao Associate Photo Editor

Liam Bryant Associate A&C Editor Javiera Gutierrez Duran, Tahmeed Shafiq Associate Science Editor

Fiona Tung Associate Illustration Editor Haley Sheh Associate Video Editor

Lead Copy Editors Jacob Harron, Valeria Khudiakova, Khyrsten Mieras, Maya Morriswala, Eva Wissting Copy Editors Amena Ahmed, Toryanse Blanchard, Yousef Chaparian, Sidney Choi, Emily Hurmizi, Mary Katharine Kennedy, Nicola Lawford, Marissa Lee, Matthew Lee, Ingrid Ma, Farheen Sikandar

BUSINESS OFFICE Algimantas Janusis Business Manager

business@thevarsity.ca

Vacant Advertising Executive

The Varsity is the University of Toronto’s largest student newspaper, publishing since 1880. It is printed by Master Web Inc. on recycled newsprint stock. Content © 2019 by The Varsity.

All rights reserved. Any editorial inquiries and/or letters should be directed to the sections associated with them; emails listed above. The Varsity reserves the right to edit all submissions.

Inquiries regarding ad sales can be made to ads@thevarsity. ca. ISSN: 0042-2789

SKYLAR CHEUNG/THE VARSITY

var.st/news

NOVEMBER 25, 2019

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 416978-8030

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.

Hillel, from cover The UTGSU “[recognizes] that this incident reveals a larger issue of anti-Semitism and discrimination,” also noting that the Executive Committee will undergo anti-oppression training in order to address anti-Semitism in their organization.

After the resignation press release, Hillel wrote that it is “grateful” that the UTGSU has expressed a “willingness to bring forward a motion to support the Kosher Forward campaign,” and suggested the possibility of the two groups working together to prevent similar incidents in the future.

Following Barras’ resignation, the UTGSU now has two vacant positions on its Executive Committee, since it was announced earlier this year that its finance commissioner, Branden Rizzuto would also be resigning in a decision separate from the dispute between the two groups.

Kosher Forward Hillel represents U of T’s Jewish student population, which is estimated at 1,000–1,500 students.

It started the Kosher Forward petition for greater access to kosher food on campus, led by students Sofia Freudenstein and Chaim Grafstein.

Grafstein said that the motivation behind the project was “this sense that as a Jewish student on campus you have to ask for a lot in order to get kosher food, and you feel this huge burden to make a case for yourself wanting or needing kosher food.”

Grafstein said that he wanted to get involved in the cause when he was invited to a conference held by his department, which he claims did not provide kosher food for those who required it.

“And there was a noticeable group of people who kind of felt excluded, because they just couldn’t eat anything.”

Currently, students who keep kosher have no options for kosher food in residence meal plans or from U of T-run food vendors on campus. There are no kosher meal plans in the residence system, and students who keep kosher cannot share a kitchen that is not kept kosher. In the meantime, Hillel has been filling the need for kosher food by providing access to kosher dinners during the week and kosher snacks in its office.

U of T cancels Summer Abroad program in Hong Kong

University cites students’ safety as reason for cancellation, in contact with 20 students in Hong Kong

Hannah Carty Associate News Editor

The University of Toronto has cancelled its Hong Kong Summer Abroad program for this summer, amidst growing protests, especially on university campuses. In the past month, there have been significant conflicts between police and protestors at the Chinese University of Hong Kong and Hong Kong Polytechnic University.

The university is also in contact with 20 students who are currently registered to study in Hong Kong.

“The safety of our students is a top priority,” wrote a university spokesperson in an email to The Varsity.“We have been carefully monitoring the situation in Hong Kong, and after much consideration, we have decided to cancel the summer abroad program in Hong Kong this year.” U of T is partnered with the Chinese University of Hong Kong for its Summer Abroad and exchange programs.

The situation escalated earlier last week when police stormed the Hong Kong Polytechnic University in a siege on protestors, leaving hundreds of people trapped inside for days. Students from universities all over the world have left the city as the conflict continues. Other universities across Canada, including the University of British Columbia (UBC) and the University of Calgary, have recommended that their exchange students vacate Hong Kong. UBC announced that 20 of its 31 students studying abroad in Hong Kong have left the city, and that more have plans to leave.

A university spokesperson wrote that “We have been in continual contact with registered U of T students in [Hong Kong] throughout the summer and fall,” noting that U of T has 20 students registered in Hong Kong. “We have worked with each student and their partner organization to ensure their safe transition back to U of T and the completion of their fall semester.”

3

SCI, from cover Glover also called on the Ford government to pay student groups the fees that were lost in the first opt-out period for the fall 2019 term.

CFS–O Chairperson Felipe Nagata is celebrating alongside Glover and his colleagues.

Despite the CFS fee having one of the highest opt-out rates that the UTSU reported, Nagata is dedicated to a collective union: “Victories like this one today just show how much strength in numbers that we have.”

Michael Mostyn, CEO of the intervenor group B’nai Brith Canada, lamented the government’s loss in court and promised to intervene again if the government decides to appeal the decision: “There may also be a legislative solution to ensuring that Jewish students are no longer obligated to self-discriminate against themselves through mandatory student union dues, and we will be sharing our further thoughts in this regard with the Government of Ontario.”

In the past, B’nai Brith has criticized student groups, including the CFS, for supporting the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions Israel movement, which it calls anti-Semitic. B’nai Brith also led an opt-out campaign against the CFS under the SCI. However, the UTGSU, the other intervener, called the decision a “historic victory not just for the UTGSU, but for students across the province and for the student movement broadly.” Branden Rizzuto, former Finance Comissioner of the UTGSU, writing on behalf of the UTGSU’s Legal Ad-Hoc Committee, agreed with the court’s ruling and recognized the SCI as an “attack on the democratic autonomy of Ontario student associations.”

“We don’t know the ramifications of this decision” Other unions have expressed similar sentiments of relief at the court’s decision, although with some hesitation. UTSU President Joshua Bowman wrote that the union will continue to operate as if the ruling had not happened, and explained that this is “because we don’t know the ramifications of this decision, and because it is apparent that the university doesn’t either.”

Apprehensive of the court’s decision and action that could still be taken by the province — such as an appeal to the decision or legislation to enact similar policies — Bowman is skeptical of the real impacts of the SCI being overturned.

“The underlying message of this decision is that the provincial government does not have the authority to circumvent student unions and university governance structures through ministerial action,” wrote Bowman. “This decision has not led to us being consulted further, or even being communicated with further.”

In response to the announcements in court, U of T preferred not to comment until a later date.

“The University is aware of the decision of the Divisional Court and is evaluating the technical impact. There will be an update next week,” wrote a university spokesperson to The Varsity.

An MCU spokesperson also deferred commenting on the decision, writing to The Varsity that it is “currently reviewing the decision… We will have more to say on this at a later date.”

“Their time on campus is marked by food uncertainty,” reads the petition’s description of students who keep kosher, noting that many other universities provide more kosher options than U of T. As the campaign ended on November 23, the petition and its signatures were sent to the Office of the President, with whom Hillel is requesting a meeting in order to discuss the petition. Although Grafstein noted that the petition already has a few hundred signatures, he emphasized that “It’s an issue of accessibility, not an issue of numbers.”

ment and an apology that doesn’t even use the word anti-Semitism and instead uses phrases like ‘harmful toward Jewish students at U of T… is really hurtful and it feels like my participation in equity in the UTGSU is compromised as a Jewish student.”

A university spokesperson wrote in a statement to The Varsity that the UTGSU is an “autonomous student organization that acts independently from the University of Toronto.”

The UTGSU “[is] required by university policy to operate in an open, accessible and democratic manner and to allow a diversity of perspectives to be heard. We have written to the group to remind them of this obligation,” noted the spokesperson.

The university also expressed willingness to discuss the campaign and explore further options for kosher food on campus in an email to The Varsity.

The University of Toronto Students’ Union, representing undergraduate students, released a statement in support of the petition.

Community response Freudenstein and Grafstein expressed their disappointment at the campaign being politicized: “I very much care about the kosher campaign and saw it as a non-partisan issue,” said Freudenstein. “This kind of exploding — I just didn’t sign up for this.”

Grafstein commented that as a graduate student, he felt that the UTGSU’s apology was lacking. “At the beginning of [UTGSU] meetings there’s an equity statement that’s read [and] included in that is anti-Semitism, so to see a stateHogan Lam, an organizer with the U of T Hong Kong Extradition Law Awareness Group (UTHKELAG), expressed ambivalence about the cancellation. “To be honest, I don’t know whether it’s a good decision according to the current situation in Hong Kong right now,” said Lam. “I personally [think] it is a pity because I feel like learning in Hong Kong is so different from learning from any other places, because it’s a really unique city.”

UTHKELAG has also released an open letter

—With files from Hannah Carty.

The UTGSU and Barras declined The Varsity’s requests for comment. asking the university to take action on the situation in Hong Kong, as part of its continued activism efforts, including a hunger strike and multiple sit-ins.

The letter’s demands include condemning the Hong Kong police force, assisting university members in Hong Kong, and contacting the Chinese University of Hong Kong to ensure measures are in place to stop conflicts from happening at the university in the future.

Students in Toronto have also been calling on Canada to support those in Hong Kong.

SAMANTHA YAO/THE VARSITY

4

THE VARSITY

NEWS

news@thevarsity.ca

Mixed reactions from student groups over U of T’s mental health task force Criticisms about lack of diverse student representation

Mikaela Toone Associate News Editor

Content warning: this article contains mentions of suicide.

U of T’s Presidential & Provostial Task Force on Student Mental Health wrapped up its monthslong consultation period on November 25, leaving mixed reviews from student groups that participated. The consultations touched on numerous topics, including student representation, the academic climate at U of T, and the university-mandated leave of absence policy (UMLAP).

Background The task force was formed on March 28 as part of President Gertler’s action plan to address student mental health and wellness, following two student deaths by suicide on campus between January and March of 2019. Throughout the summer and fall, the task force has been engaging in its outreach process to review U of T’s current services relating to mental health and potential new solutions.

Earlier this month, the task force released a draft summary of the themes that arose during its consultations, and is scheduled to provide its recommendations to U of T in December.

In addition to reaching out to individual community members through online forms and inperson feedback sessions, the task force highlighted a number of student organizations that it would consult with. The Varsity contacted these groups to hear about their experiences.

Most interviewed student groups had positive feedback to share along with their criticisms, including feeling validated during consultations.

The Innis College Student Society and the St. Michael’s College Student Union had only positive feedback to report.

Concerns about representation The UofT Mental Health Policy Council (MHPC), a newly created mental health advocacy group on campus, wrote to The Varsity that “the Task Force’s structure and mandate make it

ZACH KOH/THE VARSITY

a poor [representation] of student interests.” The MHPC also took issue with the prioritization of professional and academic experience above the lived experiences of applicants for the four student representative positions on the task force.

The University of Toronto Students’ Union (UTSU) Vice-President, Operations, Arjun Kaul, wrote to The Varsity explaining that the union “took the time to criticize their non-student-led model” when meeting with the task force. Kaul also noted that no changes to the task force’s structure were made following the UTSU’s suggestions.

Scarborough Campus Students’ Union President Chemi Lhamo wrote that there is no representation of UTSC in the student members of the task force, even though it has its own nuances as a satellite campus. The student representatives on the task force are composed of two graduate students, an undergraduate student from UTM, and an undergraduate student from UTSG. Of the student groups that responded to The

Varsity’s request for comment, only the University of Toronto Mississauga Students’ Union confirmed that student representatives from the task force were present at its consultation.

A spokesperson from U of T clarified that in order to ensure confidentiality and comfort of students at these consultations, Professor Bonnie Kirsh from the Department of Occupational Science & Occupational Therapy, and Director of Critical Incidents, Safety, and Health Awareness for the Faculty of Arts & Science Caroline Rabbat, led the sessions. Kirsh and Rabbat then shared the feedback they received with other members of the task force.

Harmful academic culture Kaul believes that the draft summary of themes was “a good step,” however, he does not believe that the themes have put enough onus on U of T itself. Kaul cited the section in the themes document on culture at U of T and pointed out that

the task force largely used language relating to students’ perception and beliefs about harmful academic culture.

“The reality is that there is an institutional rot at the heart of U of T’s academic system, not a simple problem with students’ perception,” wrote Kaul.

Morgan Watkins, President of the Students’ Law Society, wrote that “mental health needs should be a priority consideration in all university policy areas.” Watkins gave the example of taking a wider scope when it comes to mental wellness during exam times. That is, considering the structure of curricula from a mental health perspective could mean refraining from “automatically deferring to 100% exams” in the Faculty of Law, rather than simply providing extra resources during exam time.

Watkins asserted that this type of an approach to harmful academic culture focuses in on “structural barriers to addressing mental health & wellness on campus, rather than being reactionary.”

A U of T spokesperson noted that the draft summary of themes is still in the editing process and feedback from students will be taken into consideration.

University-mandated leave of absence policy While Mental Wellness Commissioner on the University College Literary and Athletic Society, Aanya Bahl, did “appreciate the time… and attention to detail” in the draft summary of themes, she did not feel that students’ concerns in regard to the UMLAP were adequately presented. “[UMLAP] was only spoken about twice in the drafted list of themes… they’re not admitting that it’s the policy that needs to be changed,” Bahl told The Varsity.

One suggestion for the UMLAP that Bahl had was that the policy should enter into specifics about what supports they provide a student once they’re removed from study.

The U of T spokesperson informed The Varsity that university staff are working on an awareness campaign to counter misconceptions about the UMLAP. Disclosure: Aanya Bahl writes for The Varsity’s Sceince Section in Volume 140.

New Liberal cabinet includes U of T law professor, University–Rosedale MP

New additions and old positions: Anita Anand, Chrystia Freeland round out Trudeau’s ministers Kathryn Mannie Deputy News Editor

On November 20, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced his new cabinet, welcomed a U of T law professor into the ministerial ranks, and resurrected the title of Deputy Prime Minister for University– Rosedale MP Chrystia Freeland. Freeland, whose riding includes UTSG, is also charged with the office of the minister of intergovernmental affairs. Newly elected Oakville MP and U of T law professor Anita Anand was also named the minister of public services and procurement.

Freeland and Anand are among Freeland gained new titles following Trudeau’s cabinet announcement.

SHANNA HUNTER /THE VARSITY

the 18 women who make up half of Trudeau’s cabinet, in continuation of the prime minister’s 2015 commitment to gender parity; Trudeau himself tips the balance with 19 men.

Chrystia Freeland, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs Freeland is the first to serve as deputy prime minister since Anne McLellan under former Prime Minister Paul Martin in 2006. The title was first used in Canada by Justin Trudeau’s father, Pierre Elliott Trudeau, in 1977.

While the role comes with no formal duties, deputy prime ministers have historically answered questions on behalf of the prime minister during Question Period, and almost all deputy prime ministers have held other ministerial positions.

How much power Freeland will hold and where that power will lie will depend on Trudeau’s vision for the role, which will not be clear until her mandate letters are released. Freeland did affirm in an interview with CTV News that she “did not take on this job to be a spokesmodel.”

Unlike vice presidents in the United States, deputy prime ministers do not automatically become the head of the government in the event that the prime minister dies or resigns. However, in the cabinet’s order of precedent for succession, Freeland is now second, outranked only by the prime minister.

Freeland, who previously held the foreign affairs portfolio, has also been named Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs. This role will have her overseeing the federal government’s relations with the 13 provincial and territorial governments of Canada.

Anita Anand, Minister of Public Services and Procurement Anand is not only new to cabinet, but also to parliament. Her political career began this past October after she was elected federal MP for the riding of Oakville. Anand’s new role as minister of public services and procurement will have her overseeing the internal administration of the federal government as its principal banker, including oversight of the controversial Phoenix pay system which processes payroll for federal employees.

Minister Anand is a U of T Faculty of Law professor and is cross-appointed to the Rotman School of Management and the Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy. She is currently on leave from the university to attend to her new positions.

For the past two decades, Anand has been a legal academic specializing in capital market regulation, corporate governance, and the rights of investors.

Besides being an award-winning scholar, Anand has also provided expert consultation to the Ontario government through a number of committees.

Anita Anand is a U of T law professor and a new cabinet minister.

COURTESY OF PMO

She is the first Hindu person to be appointed as a Canadian minister.

Cabinet by the numbers While gender parity remains a constant from 2015, this cabinet sees the largest share of Ontario and Québec ministers, at 78 per cent, since 1965, according to CBC News. 17 ministers hail from Ontario ridings — including Freeland and Anand — and 11 from Québec, for a combined total of 28 out of 36 ministers coming from just two provinces. While Ontario and Québec are the most populous of the provinces and territories, their share only makes up just over 61 per cent of Canada’s overall population, meaning that they are overrepresented in cabinet.

14 cabinet ministers from 2015 have notably not maintained their positions in the new 2019 cabinet. Among them, six ministers resigned, four were removed, two lost their ridings, and two were moved to different appointments within the government.

var.st/news

NOVEMBER 25, 2019

5

“We heard your concerns”: UTSG adjusts adverse weather closure policy

Administration responds to student outrage, outlines efforts to announce closures by 6:30 am

Rachel E. Chen Varsity Contributor

On October 31, U of T’s Vice-President & Provost Cheryl Regehr and Vice-President, Human Resources & Equity Kelly Hannah-Moffat released a memo outlining new adjustments to its adverse weather closure policy, which commits to notifying students of closures and cancellations by 6:30 am through the communications department of each campus.

The memo follows widespread student outrage toward the school’s approach to weather-related closures and cancellations last winter — in particular, delayed notices to students and late closures relative to other universities in the Toronto area, as well as uncleared sidewalks. U of T reassures its students that it “will continue to listen to [the] community” as new information brings about opportunities for new policy and improvements.

Key changes to UTSG’s weather closure policy The memo highlighted that the university will not only coordinate with other schools, but also with multiple transit systems when deciding whether to close the UTSG campus or not. In particular, U of T has committed to monitor the GO Train service and surrounding highways for closures and delays.

“We know that many members of our community face extended commute times to our campuses, especially in bad weather,” wrote U of T spokesperson Elizabeth Church to The Varsity.

“For that reason, efforts will be made to announce any cancellations or closures by 6:30am.”

Updates will be posted to each campus’ homepage and on social media. The university also reminded students that updates can be accessed from the new U of T alert system. Students can subscribe to the system and receive information on cancellations and closures through email or text message.

Campus closures and commuter students In 2015, U of T participated in a study that focused on student transportation across 10 university and colleges called StudentMoveTO. “The population for postsecondary students is always underrepresented,” said Khandker Nurul Habib, an associate professor in the Department of Civil & Mineral Engineering at U of T and a coapplicant at StudentMoveTO, “because of very narrow population growth, and a significant portion of the student population lives in dorms and apartments, they are basically missed in terms of representation in regional household surveys.”

According to Habib, almost all participating schools allowed the study to access the entirety of its student population for random sampling, however, he claims that U of T only provided a limited sample.

“This survey is bold,” Habib said, “[it gives] a snapshot of your life… so it gives us information to do a lot of statistical exercises.” “[This] can explain peoples and students’ reactions to different transportation systems.”

Comparing to other universities U of T’s closure policy statement on its website notes that the school makes closure decisions with information from “University Operations and Real Estate Partnerships, Environment Canada, TTC, city and provincial police, and other relevant agencies and institutions, including [Toronto District School Board], Ryerson University, George Brown College and Sheridan College.”

Ryerson University decides campus and class closures through an internal assessment of weather conditions done by the director of integrated risk management advising the school’s vice-president, administration and finance, who, alongside the president to the provost and vicepresident academic, will delegate the final decision.

OCAD University’s website claims that its weather policy is dependent on the school’s president or designate’s decision. George Brown’s website has no mention of its internal decision making procedure.

Social Justice Education caucus breaks off from OISE Graduate Students’ Association

Dissociation the result of UTGSU investigation into constitutional violations of OISE GSA Adam A. Lam Science Editor

The Social Justice Education (SJE) Student Caucus has decided to break away from the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education Graduate Students’ Association (OISE GSA), following findings of constitutional violations. The SJE Student Caucus is now a course union under the University of Toronto Graduate Students’ Union (UTGSU), which recognized the caucus on October 29.

The SJE course union represents students at the Department of SJE, which is part of OISE. Dissociation of the association The UTGSU Executive Committee confirmed to The Varsity that “The SJE Student Caucus reached out to inquire about all possibilities for their fellow members in early October.”

Nolan Fontaine, the SJE Student Caucus’ Internal Coordinator, explained in an interview that the dissociation followed an online referendum among SJE students. The referendum, which occurred that month, showed that a majority of voters wanted to form their own course union with the UTGSU, according to Fontaine.

When asked about the motivation behind the dissociation, Fontaine said that the conclusions of the UTGSU’s investigatory committee that examined the matter were “pretty glaring in terms of constitutional violations.”

The committee found 20 constitutional violations in the OISE GSA’s April elections. As a result, the UTGSU General Council voted to de-affiliate the OISE GSA from the UTGSU in a meeting on September 27.

According to the UTGSU’s documentation, “the OISE GSA executives individually submitted [their] resignations as of October 1st, 2019.”

What does this mean for Social Justice Education students?

In an email to The Varsity, the UTGSU Executive Committee wrote that the “SJE Caucus, like all other course unions, is eligible to receive funding [from the UTGSU] in the form of a head grant.” Head grants are funds distributed by the UTGSU to its recognized course unions and are paid by the annual fees collected from graduate students.

It continued, “[The SJE course union] will also be represented on the UTGSU General Council/ Board-of-Directors; the SJE course union will have three seats (votes) on the board of directors as per UTGSU Bylaw.” Fontaine noted that an additional advantage for the SJE Caucus following this move was increased autonomy for its group. However, he said that he is not personally opposed to the OISE GSA. “Course unions and departmental student associations are more of a community for a lot of students,” he remarked. “For us to just turn our backs, just on the actions of… a few [executives], doesn’t help the greater [student body] from a utilitarianist sense.”

“We really just want to move forward [with a] clean slate, and really see [to the needs of our] students and constituents.”

The Varsity has reached out to the OISE GSA for comment.

The UTGSU found evidence of constitutional violations committed by the OISE GSA. MICHAEL CHAHLEY/THE VARSITY

Hart House is now a 100-year-old campus institution.

STEVEN LEE/THE VARSITY

The Breakdown: Hart House celebrates 100th anniversary

Yearlong celebration to highlight student centre and U of T staple Lauren Alexander Varsity Contributor

This year, November 11 marked the 100th anniversary of the opening of Hart House, one of the oldest student centres in North America. A yearlong series of events and exhibits has been dedicated to the milestone’s celebration, including a fundraising gala, concerts, and fairs, along with new historical and artistic exhibits throughout the building that highlight its history.

Key celebrations Hart House kicked off the celebrations on November 12 with the Gala of the Century. The gala unveiled the Hart House Centennial Art Commission, which is a sculptural piece by Anishinaabe artist Rebecca Belmore and Cubanborn artist Osvaldo Yero. The piece, titled waabidiziiyan doopwining, meaning “to see yourself at the table,” is intended to recognize the history of Indigenous peoples. Upcoming events include a series of concerts featuring the Hart House Jazz Ensemble, among others.

“The Hart House 100th Anniversary Advisory Committee was set up over a year ago and we have students involvement at the strategic planning level since the beginning,” wrote Davina Chan, Senior Director of Marketing, Communications and Information Services at Hart House. “We plan each of the events with the lens of ensuring the regular operations of what Hart House offers remains uninterrupted.”

History of Hart House Hart House was commissioned by the promi-

nent Massey family as a gift to U of T, with the aim to build a student centre for non-academic student communities and activities. Vincent Massey named the building after his grandfather, Hart Massey. The building’s construction began in 1911, and it opened officially on November 11, 1919. During World War I, it was used for trench warfare drills. Students enlisted in the Canadian Officers’ Training Corps used a set designed by Lawren Harris to look like a war-torn Belgian village for rifle practice — Harris later became a famous Canadian landscape artist.

It continues to host a number of studentrun clubs and events throughout the year. Hart House debates have hosted generations of U of T alumni to debate issues like the notwithstanding clause, and has hosted speakers such as John F. Kennedy, Margaret Atwood, and Noam Chomsky.

The place of women at Hart House Until 1972, women were not admitted as full members — as Vincent Massey’s donation specified that the building not allow women, which was not changed until his death. In 1954, women were allowed to enter after 3:00 pm, and later a women’s washroom and women’s entrance were added.

In 1957, when future US president John F. Kennedy debated Stephen Lewis, female students were not allowed to attend. This incited a protest of Hart House’s exclusion of women, and some women even attempted to enter disguised as men. When security saw their nail polish, they were removed, and joined the protests.

Business

November 25, 2019 var.st/business biz@thevarsity.ca

Going beyond the degree

U of T students share career insights with peers, one episode at a time Sarah Folk Varsity Contributor

Finding accessible and honest career advice can be a challenge.

Beyond the Degree, a podcast hosted by U of T students Angad Arneja, Talal Fahoum, Tate Claggett, and Max Baevsky, tackles this issue head-on.

Launched in September, the podcast features interviews with U of T alumni who have gone on to build successful careers in industries like finance, technology, and human resources.

Less talking, more recording Arneja, Fahoum, Claggett, and Baevsky wasted no time bringing their idea into fruition.

“I was sitting with a few friends during dinner and we were talking about this other podcast, a similar student podcast, and I got the idea of doing a podcast where we interview U of T alumni,” Fahoum, a second-year math and statistics student, commented.

Fahoum shared his idea with Arneja, Claggett, and Baevsky, and within two weeks, the four students bought equipment and invited their first guest. Natural networkers, Arneja and Fahoum made valuable connections in their first year that they felt compelled to share through this podcast.

“We thought that we were learning so much through these coffee chats, so [we] might as well invite these people and record them so everyone

From left to right: Angad Arneja, Tate Claggett, Max Baevsky, and Talal Fahoum.

COURTESY OF MICHAL PETRENKO

else at U of T, thousands of people, can benefit from this instead of just us,” said Arneja, a second-year Rotman Commerce student.

During each 40-minute episode, the guests share their career path and offer practical advice, like networking tips or how to make the best of U of T’s services, like the Career Learning Network.

Learning on the job While the team works well together and learns from each episode, the process was not always so seamless.

“Before you start working on something, it just feels a little daunting,” Arneja said on launching the podcast.

According to Arneja, he sometimes felt intimidated hosting the podcast during the first few episodes, but soon realized that the guests were all once students as well.

“They were also a U of T student at some point and so it was just learning how to speak more informally and how to connect with the guest,” Arneja said.

A personal touch Beyond the Degree brings U of T students insight from professionals who can demonstrate that the path to success is anything but linear.

“Learning the ins and outs of a specific role or job and learning how to sort of pave your way to that role is a much different experience [when] hearing it from someone who’s been in your shoes rather than at some career center, a networking event, or anything like that,” Fahoum said.

The podcast featured a diverse group of guests, ranging from computer scientists to entrepreneurs.

“I think short-term goals include trying to get people from many different areas,” Arneja remarked.

Falhoum explained that the team chooses guests based on their personal story or journey.

For example, in their most recent episode, U of T alum Savana Elsays discusses switching into an human resources career at SnapTravel after earning a degree in life sciences.

Through hosting Beyond the Degree, Fahoum and Arneja have also learned about different business practices.

Fahoum advises founders to find a good team to work with: “It’s important to do it with the right people.”

With respect to starting a new venture, Arneja said that, “The most important piece of advice that I would give is don’t spend too much time just talking about [doing] things.”

Planning and Budget Committee approves space lease for the Faculty of Arts & Science Strategic Mandate Agreement, Student Choice Initiative, new Rotman academic plans discussed Srivindhya Kolluru and Nicole Shi Business Editor and Associate Business Editor

On October 31, the Planning and Budget Committee (PBC) of U of T’s Governing Council voted to recommend leasing the 17th floor of the Ontario Power Generation Building, located at 700 University Avenue. This would serve to accommodate additional space needs for the Faculty of Arts & Science (FAS).

The PBC also presented updates from the university’s Strategic Mandate Agreement (SMA) with the province, as well as the Student Choice Initiative (SCI). It further proposed changes to the Rotman School of Management’s long-term academic plan, and discussed the ongoing Budget Model Review.

The PBC, which is overseen by the Academic Board, is responsible for “monitoring, reviewing, and making recommendations” on issues that involve the use of U of T’s resources, such as funds, land, and facilities.

Leasing the 17th floor of the Ontario Power Generation Building The PBC unanimously voted to recommend the leasing of the 17th floor of the Ontario Power Generation Building to accommodate space needs for the FAS, mainly to house the Department of Sociology.

The project, if approved, will move the Department of Sociology to this more central location, as the department is currently located in the northwest corner of UTSG by Bloor Street West and Spadina Avenue.

Part of the Vector Institute and several other FAS units will also be housed on the same floor.

Strategic Mandate Agreement The SMAs are bilateral agreements between

the province and each of Ontario’s 45 publicly assisted colleges and universities, and determine the amount of funding they receive. The current SMAs are set to expire in 2020.

The provincial government has introduced new performance-based funding frameworks for existing funds for universities and colleges across Ontario. The 10 performance metrics fall into the broader categories of skills and jobs, community impact, and economic impact. For example, graduation rates and employment rates fall under the area of skills and jobs.

To evaluate U of T’s performance as an academic institution and determine the amount of funding allocated for U of T, the provincial government will look at the trends over time for each metric. U of T will work with the provincial government to finalize the allocation of provincial funding across the ten performance metrics by March 21, 2020.

In 2020–2021, U of T projects that it will receive $170 million — 12 per cent of its total operating budget — through its SMA with the provincial government, and anticipates this amount will grow to $400 million by 2024–2025.

Student Choice Initiative The provincial government’s SCI, which took effect this fall, allowed students to opt out of incidental fees that are categorized as “nonessential.”

Meredith Strong, Director of the Office of the Vice-Provost, presented the opt-out numbers and data on the effects of the SCI on student services and societies for the fall 2019 term.

There were a total of 523 optional fees across U of T, with 30 or more fees deemed optional for

Members discussed a new academic plan for Rotman undergraduate and graduate students at the second PBC meeting, among other items.

STEVEN LEE/THE VARSITY

each student, depending on their program.

Fees which students could opt-out of ranged from $15 to $380 per term. If a student opted out of all their incidental fees, they saved anywhere from three to 36 per cent in incidental fees, depending on their program and campus.

Opt-outs from non-essential incidental fees resulted in a $300,000 reduction in total revenue for student services, and a $1 million reduction in total revenue for student societies.

In response to a member’s question on what would happen if the Canadian Federation of Students–Ontario’s (CFS–O) and the York Federation of Students’ (YFS) judicial review of the policy was successful, Strong said that U of T is monitoring the case and that the SCI would continue to be implemented until the government directs the university to do otherwise.

On Thursday, the Divisional Court of Ontario ruled in favour of the CFS–O and CFS, deeming the SCI unlawful and ultimately finding that the provincial government lacked the legal authority to regulate the collection of student union fees.

Miscellaneous items Trevor Rodgers, Assistant Vice-President of

Planning & Budget, spoke on the ongoing Budget Model Review. U of T adopted a new budget model in 2006, which has five pillars: inter-divisional teaching working, alternative funding sources, Strategic Mandate Agreement, operational excellence, and tri-campus budget relationships.

New recommendations from the review include aligning academic priorities according to the provincial government’s performance metrics and implementing teaching methods from UTSG to UTM and UTSC. The Dean of Rotman School Tiff Macklem presented changes for Rotman’s academic plan for 2019–2024.

The plan centers on four core goals: advancing research scholarship, focusing on experiential learning and personal development, extending thought leadership in the global community, and strengthening alumni engagement and Rotman’s global network.

Members of the PBC also discussed a proposal to construct a new building for undergraduate Rotman students.

The next PBC meeting is on January 9, 2020.

Comment

November 25, 2019 var.st/comment comment@thevarsity.ca

Why I’m boycotting Black Friday for climate action Protest mass consumerism, strike with Fridays for Future Emma Ellingwood Varsity Contributor

Black Friday has become a popular holiday in Canada. In a 2018 McKinsey & Company survey, 81 per cent of surveyed Canadians planned to take part in Black Friday sales. However, while these sales may benefit some lower income Canadians, the trend toward consumerism also has negative implications for the environment.

Of course, the desire to take advantage of the deals is understandable. The Canadian Payroll Association’s 2018 survey found that 44 per cent of Canadians lived paycheck-to-paycheck at the time. However, the previously mentioned McKinsey survey also showed that Black Friday purchases tend to be spontaneous.

Furthermore, the mob mentality of mass-consumerism works to benefit companies, but to the detriment of individuals who may not have the budget for these spontaneous purchases.

In the past, clothing was made to last, and people repaired clothes once they wore out. Now, we keep items of clothing for half as long as we did 15 years ago. We rely on a system of fast fashion.

Fast fashion refers to the modern phenomenon of the rapid change in trends, resulting in cheaply made items. This clothing tends to be lower qual-

RIL

ity, and efficiency is placed above durability. The most common fabric used in the fashion industry is polyester, which makes up 51 per cent of the textiles used in clothing. Polyester is made from plastic — but why should we be concerned about plastic in our clothing?

In 2018, The Independent described the damage that polyester has on our environment through its creation of microfibres. Polyester breaks down into microplastic fibres, which do not biodegrade, and move through our sewage until they eventually reach the ocean. As sea creatures eat the microfibres, they eventually move through the food chain, and are eaten by humans.

Furthermore, in 2015, polyester production emitted a total of 1.5 trillion pounds of greenhouse gases. This is the equivalent of 185 coal-fired power plants’ annual emissions. Overall, the fashion industry makes up eight per cent of worldwide greenhouse gas emissions, and these numbers are rising.

These trends are only exuberated through sale events like Black Friday, and the ease of online shopping. The desire to purchase more products which we do not need is directly correlated with

an increase in fast fashion as the societal norm. The 2017 Global Fashion Agenda estimates that the fashion industry’s carbon emissions will increase by more than 60 per cent by 2030.

Alternatives Journal found that the average Canadian throws away 32 kilograms of textiles pre year. This could be because of cheap quality of clothing, or it could be due to the nature of fast fashion, where trends come and go quickly.

Either way, much of what enters our landfills ends up in the ocean, leading to the microplastic phenomenon.

Canada is a country which claims to care about the environment, but we are not on track to meet our Paris Agreement targets, and the government continues to enact little impactful change in the face of the climate crisis.

But there is still hope.

It is not too late to stop the climate crisis. It is up to students and youth to fight to save our future.

We must continue to strive for change, even when it seems like our voices will not be heard. It is our future that we are fighting for, and we must show our representatives what we care about.

Fridays for Future, the organization which has

LA

WA N

G/ T

HE

VA RS IT

Y

led to millions of students to strike worldwide, is holding its next climate strike on November 29, at Queen’s Park on Black Friday. The Toronto branch, led by U of T student Allie Rougeut, posted about the strike on their Facebook page: “We invite all Canadians, regardless of how they cast their votes, to help us demand justice for our youth and for those who will suffer the most from the climate crisis by joining us that day.”

“You are in the midst of a climate crisis. Only mass action can save us now.”

By boycotting Black Friday, and joining the Fridays for Future strike instead, you can help pressure the corporations that are damaging our environment and putting our futures at risk.

Millions of youth across the world are protesting to save the future of humanity. Your individual actions, whether by striking or by boycotting fast fashion, have an impact. It was, after all, just one young girl in Sweden who began the student-led movement which has brought a platform to millions of voices worldwide.

Emma Ellingwood is a second-year History student at UTSC.

Expand and promote on-campus vaccinations

Bringing health care to students is a great step toward accessible well-being

Angad Deol Varsity Contributor

It’s that time of year again. As lecture halls fill with sounds of coughing, sneezing, and sniffling, courtesy of students who refuse to cover their germ-laden mouths in class, you can be sure that flu season is upon us.

As a child, I dreaded going to the doctor and getting stabbed in the arm with an obnoxiously long needle — and honestly, I still do. However, one thing I do appreciate is how easy it is to go in to my local walk-in clinic and get vaccinated.

This ease of access — a privilege that many do not have — saves me tons of time.

The availability of immunizations on campus is a huge step toward establishing health care that is both equitable and accessible.

For commuter students like myself, the act of getting a flu shot has become an afterthought.

When I’m commuting an hour and a half to get to class, where I’ll be from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm, when will I find the time to get a flu shot?

However, this November, I was able to get my flu shot after just a two-minute walk to Sidney Smith Hall. Instead of having to miss a lecture — or worse yet, a tutorial quiz — I was immunized in just a few minutes.

While the university has taken a step in the

right direction, there are still a number of ways that administration can improve the availability and awareness of these programs.

For example, the lack of advertising was astounding. I only heard about the flu shots through word of mouth, which, given the university’s resources, is not a very effective method for conveying this information.

U of T should further utilize online resources such as social media posts to communicate these beneficial programs to students. As of the time of writing, U of T’s Instagram account has roughly 105,000 followers. By amplifying the presence of on-campus immunizations, U of T could foster a larger turnout for next year. Increasing the total number of students who are able to get their flu shot ultimately helps the entire school community.

Moreover, in-person advertising, such as an information booth outside Sidney Smith Hall, would also increase general awareness of these vaccination areas.

Additionally, in order to increase ease of access for students living in residence, it would be specifically helpful to have immunization centres inside colleges. It’s important to keep

in mind that these are students who might be taking responsibility of their own health for the first time ever. Personally, if St. Michael’s College hosted pop-up immunization stations at Brennan Hall, I would certainly take advantage of this opportunity.

Bringing accessible health care to the student body, rather than expecting students to access it outside of campus, has been a positive development for U of T students, especially commuters.

Moving forward, we must continue to expand these efforts, not only through increased advertising, but also by diversifying the locations of on-campus flu shots beyond just a few near the centre of campus.

Vaccinations are crucial in ensuring that student health is maintained. Complications that arise with failing health impede physical wellness and academic functionality. Ensuring that students are able to prevent illnesses in a free and accessible manner gives everyone more time to study for those awful finals that are coming up.

Angad Deol is a first-year Life Sciences student at St. Michael’s College.

ZAHRA DANAEI/THE VARSITY

8

THE VARSITY

COMMENT

comment@thevarsity.ca

Op-ed: Reconciling mental health and faith — how the Muslim chaplaincy on campus has helped me get better

Finding faith and community-based support at U of T Muntaka Ahmed Varsity Contributor

Several months ago, I stood in the Emmanuel College basement waiting for my 3:15 pm appointment. I watched patiently for the doors of the Muslim chaplaincy office to open for my scheduled 45-minute counselling session, my second one this month. I had visited the chaplaincy before and I was pretty sure Ustadh Amjad Tarsin — the Muslim Chaplain at the time — was tired of seeing me and dealing with my tantrums.

However, as soon as the clock struck 15 minutes past the hour, Amjad’s familiar face, graced with the same bright smile as always, popped out from behind the door and called for me to come in.

I immediately felt safer than I had just minutes ago when I was standing alone with my thoughts.

My second year had been rough, just like it is for every other life sciences kid who takes HMB265 — Human Biology and BCH210 — Biochemistry at the same time. But, this year, the feeling of inadequacy was particularly inescapable. Circumstances in my personal life, coupled with the crippling pressure of surviving the academic year, were taking a toll on me like never before.

It felt like there was no foreseeable light at the end of my tunnel and, for the first time in my life, I began questioning the value of my very existence.

Gone were the days when my biggest worry was finding the right hijab to match my outfit for the day. Now, I found myself lying in bed every night thinking about what would happen if I

didn’t wake up the next morning. It was an emotional shift I wasn’t ready to acknowledge and, in an effort to minimize the amount of space I was taking up, I began to shut myself out from the people that really cared about me. I was rapidly losing touch with my friends, family, and, most importantly, my faith.

My mental health also began impacting my involvement in the Muslim Students’ Association (MSA), which was — and still is — arguably the biggest part of my life besides academics. I have been an active member, volunteer, and director for the past year and a half, but my relationship with the community had become strained as I have moved further away from a place of mental and spiritual stability. I wasn’t allowing myself to be vulnerable to anyone or anything, and that included my faith.

I contacted the Muslim chaplaincy as a lastditch effort to pull myself out of the emotional black hole that was my life. I scheduled my first ever counselling session with Amjad, who I had only met once or twice before at a few MSA events.

I had no idea what I was getting myself into, and at one point I regretted not going to the Health & Wellness Centre just like everyone else.

Little did I know that the chaplaincy would soon become integral to my mental health and religious life on campus.

After countless meetings with Amjad, which usually started with me in tears and ended with me leaving a little more hopeful every time, I began to see myself turn back into the person I was before. It sounds cliché, but it felt like the sun had

Emmanuel College offers a number of non-secular counselling options for U of T students.

TARIK HAIGA/THE VARSITY

come out after months of endless rain — even though it was mid-February and the sun was actually nowhere to be seen.

Amjad and the chaplaincy had done for me what I could never have expected a regular counsellor to do, and that was taking into account my faith and religious background as factors that were conducive to my mental and spiritual health.

For the first time, I felt like I was being heard and presented with solutions that I could actually use to take care of myself.

My mental health has always been deeply rooted in my faith and sense of community. I experienced some of my biggest downfalls in life when my faith was weak or when I had lost touch with those around me.

I am lucky that I get to serve my community through the work I do in the MSA, but in reality, the MSA has done a lot more for me than I have done for it.

I came across the Muslim chaplaincy through the MSA and had the opportunity to meet people like our past chaplain, Amjad, and our current chaplain, Imam Yasin Dwyer, who have both changed my life for the better.

It is essential for organizations like these to receive adequate support from the university and its constituents in order to provide their muchneeded on-campus services and programming.

The MSA and Muslim chaplaincy continue to play a huge role in my life, and I am sure I speak for many when I say that they both strive to provide a safe space for students who are trying to navigate their faith and mental health in this large, secular, and often overwhelming campus.

Muntaka Ahmed is a third-year Health and Disease and Immunology student at St. Michael’s College.

Muntaka is the Vice-President, Finance of the Muslim Students’ Association.

Letters to the Editor

LISA WONG/ THE VARSITY

Reading week should be before midterm madness

A break before major assessments would bring health and academic benefits James Yuan Columnist

Four years ago, students voted in a referendum that brought fall reading week back to arts and science students at U of T, something that the Arts and Science Students’ Union also plans to encourage other faculties to adopt in the longterm.

While students voted for adding a fall reading week, the timing of the break was not voted on.

Rather, an administrative working group, which included student representatives, selected early November as the dates for the week and extended a pre-existing two-day break into a week. It also reasoned that it would provide a break between the two major stressors: midterms and finals.

But many students feel, and have felt in the past, that this reasoning is misguided. While, of course, a weeklong break is welcome after the chaos of midterms, a break preceding midterms would likely help students practice healthy study habits, like many other universities and in our satellite campuses. In fact, an October reading week would benefit us both academically and mentally.

A recent survey at McMaster University found that students overwhelmingly felt that their premidterm break reduced stress across the entire fall term. In comparison, U of T students spend two-

thirds of the fall semester without a break.

Academically, we are faced with both existing assignments and upcoming exams, with many students experiencing cognitive fatigue and sleep deprivation, both of which are scientifically known to impact cognition and student performance, even at minor levels.

Sleep, in particular, is critical to learning new facts and committing them to memory, a technique which is vital to any student taking an exam. Something as simple as having the time to sleep restfully the week before midterms, rather than cramming in time to study between other assignments, would certainly benefit students academically.

Reading week is an opportunity to rest and enjoy a much-needed opportunity to have some social time.

An October reading week would reap these benefits by giving students time to alleviate mental and physical stress through periods of self-motivated study, rest, and relaxation. Moving forward, the administration should seriously consider making this change for the benefit of students.

James Yuan is a first-year Life Sciences student at Victoria College. Yuan is a columnist for The Varsity’s Comment section.

Re: Divisional court strikes down Ford government’s Student Choice Initiative “I sure hope the gov’t appeals this. No students should be forced to support neo-marxist student unions!”

—Bruce Evans (from web) “This is GREAT news!”

—Jean Yoon (from web) “I’m over the moon with this.”

—Maklane Dewever (from web) Re: Opinion: Elect to explore your academic options “Great article! I took env100 and ggr124 as electives in first year, then I learned I loved environmental studies and geography and decided to do minors in those (in addition to majoring in cs)” —Monica Iqbal (from web) Re: Opinion: Let’s normalize CR/NCR and Late Withdrawal “This but also let’s abolish Late Withdrawal as a category altogether, you should be able to withdraw from a class right up until the morning of the exam.”

—Tom Fraser (from web)

Re: Opinion: UTSG’s new weather cancellation policy is a step in the right direction They’re gonna call off 6-9 classes one day this winter when its so cold that hell freezes over” —Christopher Wu (from web) Re: Pro-Hong Kong student group sets up UTSG Lennon Wall, organizes hunger strike “UofT Admins should help exchange students who are trapped in PolyU right now. The Canadian Consulate in Hong Kong just said students should not protest and stay somewhere safe.

How about people who were trapped there against their will? UofT needs to offer support to their students overseas as well.”

—Connan Chan (from web) Re: Participation in student government elections at U of T among lowest in Canada “we’re too stressed to vote fam” —Eric Raju (from web) Re: Campus police issue community alert for robberies at UTSG "It’s a shame that campus police do not respond to calls for assistance.”

—David Timerman (from web)

var.st/comment

NOVEMBER 25, 2019

9

UTM Health & Counselling Centre arrest further alienates students

Another stark reminder of the inefficacy of U of T’s mental health policies and gross disregard for student well-being The arrest of a student seeking support at the Health & Councelling Centre has brought attention to policies regarding involvement of campus police in mental health services.

MALLIKA MAKKAR/THE VARSITY

Hafsa Ahmed Associate Comment Editor

Content warning: discussion of suicide.

As first reported by The Medium, a third-year student at UTM was handcuffed on October 2 after she sought help at UTM’s Health & Counselling Centre (HCC) for “suicidal ideation.” According to the article, calling campus police and arresting the student was necessary due to “protocol.”

The student was fully cooperative and made it clear that she would willingly go with the officers to the Credit Valley Hospital, where they intended to take her. However, campus police proceeded to handcuff her, putting her through an exceptional amount of distress, which she details in an op-ed piece in The Medium.

This incident displays a gross level of disregard

by U of T for student safety and well-being, and further contributes to the stigmatization of mental illness and the criminalization of people who

live with it.

Students who are in need of help should feel accepted and supported by their educational institutions. They should have access to practical and professional mental health resources that are considerate of diverse student needs, and this support should be prompt and respectful of students’ privacy.

The way that U of T handled this situation was discriminatory, humiliating, and traumatic for the student. Furthermore, the process was unprofessional by medical standards, and unbecoming of any postsecondary institution, let alone those of Canada’s top university. U of T should be leading the country in student mental health and well-being, but instead we are criminalizing mental illness and ostracizing students who experience it.

The involvement of campus police during this

incident highlights just how severely U of T has failed to assess what is necessary and appropriate when responding to mental health crises, while also displaying how grossly misinformed and ineffectual their mental health policies and protocols are.

Mental health services must be accessible and professional, and police force should not be unnecessarily involved.

Standards for addressing student mental health concerns should take students’ well-being and dignity into account, work toward de-escalating tensions, and create a safe and accessible means of receiving support.

Seeking help for mental illness is already difficult for many people, and this incident may further deter students from doing so. As reported in an article by CBC News, the student explained, “I felt like this was basically all my fault for com-

ing to get help.”

Students are losing their lives to suicide and being penalized for seeking mental health support, and yet U of T is still not doing enough to sufficiently address this crisis. Students have been calling for mental health reform since September, yet little progress has been made by bureaucracy.

Students seeking support for mental illness should not have to fear for their safety, or experience mental or emotional distress, and they should never have to face arrest by campus police.

U of T has an obligation to its students to deliver proper mental health services, and cannot continue to ignore this crisis if it cares at all for its students’ lives and mental well-being.

Hafsa Ahmed is a third-year Political Science student at UTM. She is an Associate for The Varsity’s Comment section.

Access to kosher food should not be an issue Accommodating the needs of the Jewish community is long overdue Oscar Starschild Varsity Contributor

While U of T offers its students many diverse food options, there remains a lack of kosher food on campus.

Hillel UofT’s Kosher Forward campaign was motivated in response to this lack of access to kosher options, and features a petition that called for U of T to increase the availability of Kosher food options on campus.

Disappointingly, opposition to the petition was rife with anti-Semitic and discriminatory statements by students on social media.

Furthermore, as reported by The Varsity, after being sent to the University of Toronto Graduate Students’ Union (UTGSU) the petition faced hesitation from an executive, “as a result of Hillel being ‘pro-Israel.’” The UTGSU has since apologized and the external commissioner resigned last week.

It is deplorable that a petition requesting better food accessibility for U of T’s Jewish population should be so controversial. Arguments

against supporting Hillel’s petition conflate access to food with larger geo-political notions, which is an association that is steeped in antiSemitism, and is irrelevant to the topic of campus food accessibility.

Regardless of Hillel’s affiliations with proIsraeli groups, the call for equitable food access is a measure that will benefit the entire U of T community as a whole because it will increase the diversity of options for consumers and will therefore broaden accessibility on campus.

Food accessibility is relevant to all. Supporters of this movement come from all walks of life, and are not limited to the Jewish community.

While pushback has been steeped in religious and ethnic discrimination, Hillel’s petition is focused on increasing accessibility and equity.

Accessibility of food options is inextricably linked to student wellness. Not only does it signal a minority groups’ belonging to a larger community, but furthermore, providing students

with access to sustenance on campus is a basic necessity.

Despite the pushback, this campaign should be supported by anyone who cares about increasing accessibility and equity.

Historically, U of T’s treatment of Jewish students has been poor. This is exemplified by the quota system that was in place in the ’40s and ’50s, which set a limit on the amount of Jewish students that were allowed into the pre-medicine program. This practice was not abolished until the ’60s. The process of dismantling systems of discrimination that are present in our university must now continue with further efforts to remove barriers to equal opportunities, including that which limit food accessibility.

This petition is long overdue.

According to Hillel, U of T offers students vegan, vegetarian, Halal, and even gluten-free options, yet access to kosher food is limited.

The U of T administration should be ensuring

that members of all communities have equitable access to food options on campus.

In 2016, U of T took over food operations from the previous contractor, Aramark, taking on more responsibility for on-campus food services. At that time, the Director of Ancillary Services, Anne Macdonald said, “This move will allow us to take a more active role in creating comfortable and welcoming dining areas.”

In adopting this responsibility, the university must commit itself to ensuring that every member of our community can access food.

U of T’s Jewish students are still left without adequate kosher food options. This is simply unacceptable.

Support this campaign and tell U of T that equitable access means access for all.

Oscar Starschild is a second-year Mathematics, Philosophy, and Computer Science student at Woodsworth College.

VIVIAN TONG/THE VARSITY

10

THE VARSITY

FEATURES

Can stress-buster events fix mental health at U of T? How student groups are stepping in to fill the void U of T has left behind Writer: Olivia Smith Illustrator: Joana Bargas

Content warning: this article contains mentions of suicide.

It’s exam season at U of T. This time of year, stress-buster events are a mainstay, ranging from immersive workshops to meditation techniques to plant potting.

They’re intended to help students take their minds off their worries. However, in the context of the mental health crisis at U of T, they are also a common target of criticism. The general consensus seems to be that these events are attempts by the administration to address the needs of a struggling student population in the most superficial way possible.

Metaphors abound: damming a river with a coffee filter, or launching a Saturn V rocket with Mentos and Coca-Cola. At protests, on social media, in classrooms, and in ordinary conversations, students have been clear: these events simply aren’t enough — they don’t even come close.

However, for many students, stress-buster events can be a helpful way of letting off steam during a demanding and isolating period.

Combined with appropriate outside treatment, they can also help students struggling with more severe issues engage with others and combat loneliness. It’s also notable that many stressbusting initiatives are hosted by independent student groups, who are doing what they can to help struggling peers.

However, a critical assessment of these events illuminates the need for holistic mental health reform, both at U of T and in our society at large.

Picking up the university’s slack U of T students face punishing workloads, issues with mental health, an isolating campus culture, and inaction from the highest level of the university administration.

In this environment, the idea that our problems can be meaningfully addressed by spending an hour planting a succulent feels insensitive and misinformed at best. At worst, these events seem outright negligent — not because they are harmful, but because they exist within a context characterized by the university’s failure to provide effective and accessible mental health services.

This is exemplified by one student’s comment on the How Many Lives? website, which features anonymous testimony on mental health at U of T: “I’m tired of asking for help and being referred to a session to make DIY bath bombs.”

Indeed, many students need more than arts and crafts and a therapy dog — they need a therapist. But when they turn to Health & Wellness, they can experience unjustifiably long wait times, exhausting bureaucracy, and punitive policies. In the face of this, it is ultimately up to student organizations to fill in the gaps of support.

“” We’re obviously picking up the

slack right now

One such example is Healing Hearts Through Art (h2art). Following the third apparent suicide at the Bahen Centre for Information

Technology within two years, h2art was launched in October by Christeen Salik. The group was created in order to facilitate art-based healing opportunities for students.

In an interview with The Varsity, Salik remarked that, though she had always been open about her mental health, she found that art was the only avenue through which she could heal and express the complex feelings that arose after the apparent suicide in March. Art, she reasoned, could also help students without the English-language skills to comfortably communicate with a counsellor, and students who are more comfortable with non-verbal communication.

Salik observed that the university seems “fragmented” on mental health. She called for increased funding for mental health services, as well as for greater collaboration between Health & Wellness, colleges, faculties, and student groups — though she was quick to note that ultimate responsibility falls on the university.

Salik also mentioned that she knew many student activists who have had to take breaks this semester after “pouring themselves” into their activism.

“We’re obviously picking up the slack right now,” she said.

A fundamental lack of resources StrengthIN is another student group that has grown from the mental health crisis. This student organization works to help students develop practical strategies to maintain their mental health. Originally founded to facilitate mental health workshops for high school students, it has recently begun to host workshops and stress-buster activities on-campus.

I recently attended an event facilitated by the organization: a Harry Potter-themed mental wellness workshop. As the soundtrack of the films played in the background, attendees were seated around tables in the Hart House East Common Room. The event’s facilitators encouraged us to share our experiences with mental health and coping, as well as techniques to combat stress and broader pressures on our mental health.

Later, I sat down with two of the event’s organizers: Zara Mian, an event coordinator, and Kyla Trkulja, StrengthIN’s secretary. They explained that the group does what it can and tries to stay focused on combatting loneliness among students while enhancing students’ coping techniques.

Trkulja spoke about how her past experiences mobilized her to join StrengthIN. She lives with depression and anxiety, and tried to access counselling through the Health & Wellness Centre last year when she experienced a relapse.

Although she arrived at the centre during a moment of crisis, she was quickly sent away with instructions to come back with a doctor’s referral. She claims that when she acquired one, Health & Wellness took a month to send her an automated email indicating that she could book an appointment. The next available appointment? Four months away.

When the opportunity arose to help StrengthIN facilitate mental health workshops for students, Trkulja jumped at the chance. She commented, “We need as many resources as we can get.”

Both Mian and Trkulja agreed that administrative inaction has put a weight on the shoulders of student groups like StrengthIN. “They do put like a burden on groups like ours,” said Mian.

This is ultimately a responsibility that they cannot shoulder alone. Providing comprehensive care cannot start and end with stress-buster events and workshops alone. “[StrengthIN is] realistic [about] what we can do,” said Mian. “We’re not mental health professionals.”

“We need to change everything” Ramata Tarawaly is the Associate Director of Community Wellness at Trinity College, a role which encompasses two broad portfolios: working to connect individual students struggling with mental illness with supports like counselling, and promoting well-being throughout the college’s community.

Tarawaly told me that she sometimes gets critical feedback from students who ask why the college invests in wellness and stress-buster events when they are not appropriate remedies for severe mental health issues.

“That’s not their intention,” she said. “I think that’s why we need multiple different targets in terms of promoting good mental health [and] engaging with people who are experiencing mental illness. The programming is one aspect of more of a community approach.”

She noted that easily accessible programs like stress-buster events can actually help support the treatment and goals of students struggling with mental illness.

features@thevarsity.ca

“Students that are having [issues with] anxiety, depression, or stress have… reported to me that [stress-busters and community building events] are helpful,” she said.

Furthermore, she told me that Trinity’s approach to wellness programming has been attentive to the needs of the students that she works with. This year, the college has been increasingly oriented toward activities that require less overt socialization after students expressed that social anxiety was a barrier to attendance.

She noted that, “You don’t have to socialize, but you’re in a social space.”

As conversations surrounding mental health have become more prevalent, Tarawaly has noticed a positive trend of students actively indicating their needs, critiques, and recommendations to the administration.

“We’ve worked really hard to meet those needs and be responsive,” she said.

Tarawaly’s position is a model that could be usefully applied across the university. Her position is a centralized role with the resources and capacity to support mental health at U of T by working with various entities such as students, Health & Wellness, community advisors, and the wider college administration.

However, the resources and funding available to the university and community as whole makes it difficult to replicate this role. A registered nurse, Tarawaly is no stranger to interacting with health care systems and thinking about the overarching remedies that must be made to better them.

“We need to change everything,” she said.

The dangers of a partial fix Although the overwhelming lack of available institutional mental health resources has led to student groups running stress-buster events, it still must be acknowledged that these events are

not sufficient and sustainable support structures for students.

“

I’m tired of asking

for help and being referred to a

session to make

For Qu, the prevalence of stress-busters and student perceptions of administrative inaction on mental health is connected to a broader phenomenon.

“A certain proportion of U of T’s resources could, and perhaps should, go toward the implementation of stress-busters,” she said.

However, she also believes that the university relies too heavily on the promotion of stressbuster events and interventions, as opposed to meaningful strategies to address the root causes of mental illness on campus and to provide adequate support for individuals struggling with a mental illness.

In addition, the mindfulness that’s often practiced at stress-buster events is not comprehensively enough on its own in order to address the prevalence of mental illness on campus. Some events that teach meditation methods can actually be detrimental to student health.

According to a 2014 study in Future Medicine, the practice of mindfulness through meditation can trigger side effects such as panic attacks, dissociation, or suicidal feelings.

That means that students who lack this information beforehand may attend stressbuster events that advocate for mindfulness or meditation and come out feeling worse than before, which has the potential for serious emotional harm.

”

DIY bath bombs.

Lucinda Qu, one of the founding members and organizers of the student group called the UofT Mental Health Policy Council, emphasized the importance of developing “continuums and networks of care.” This would necessitate improved coordination of mental health strategies, services, and resources across levels of administration, ranging from leaders of mental health programs to professors, as well as improved communication between the administration and students.

A path forward Though they are an easy target of criticism —

much of which is warranted — stress-busters aren’t all bad.

In fact, their prevalence and pitfalls are largely visible symptoms of a deeper systemic issue: U of T’s lack of meaningful action on mental health. Intentionally or unintentionally, stress-busters have ended up helping to fill the void that has been left behind.

The experiences of student groups, activists, and even some administrative staff are instructive. Across the board, those interviewed agreed that more funding, better coordination amongst staff and between staff and students, centralization of a mental health mandate, and clear pathways to comprehensive care are needed.

If U of T provided extensive, easy-to-access mental health care and undertook academic, cultural, and financial changes to reduce the burdens shouldered by students, then stressbuster events would function as they are intended to. They could be fun, helpful ways to ease stress, lighten moods, and connect with others during stressful times.

However, right now, stress-buster events serve as an inadequate stopgap intended to help keep the student population afloat, many of whom are struggling in the absence of institutional support. The abilities of stress-busters are limited, which is largely recognized, but they do what they can.

“If we can help one person [who is] struggling,” Trkulja said, “then I feel that all the effort is worth it.”

Arts & Culture

November 25, 2019 var.st/arts arts@thevarsity.ca

Opinion: Pay-to-play education fails to meet Virginia Woolf’s ideals How Woolf predicted the transformation that our educational system needs today Rachel DeGasperis Varsity Contributor

In A Room of One’s Own, Virginia Woolf writes that in order to write fiction, a woman must have money and a room of her own.” Money and space were often denied to women in Woolf ’s time, providing them with little opportunity to find their voices in the literary community. While women are finding remarkably more achievement in education than they were during Woolf ’s day, socioeconomic barriers — like the ones being enacted by the Ford government — are preventing us from achieving her ideals.

The underrepresentation of women in academia can be partially accounted for by barriers to participation and an inability to receive a university degree. Woolf begins her novel by describing experiences of being shooed off university lawns during private moments of contemplation, being kicked out of men-only libraries, and having classroom doors closed on her. Essentially, Woolf argues that women have been consistently denied opportunities to pursue higher education, especially if they are poor, dependent on men, or simply not given a moment alone to write and reflect.

Based on lectures she gave the year prior, Woolf ’s book was published in 1929, the same year that women started to be legally considered “persons” in Canada. It’s easy to forget that women’s rights — especially for non-white women — are a relatively new phenomenon, particularly when there has been so much rapid change since the days of Rosie the Riveter and the suffragettes.

For example, Statistics Canada reported in 2009 that a high percentage of women held university degrees than men in all provinces across Canada.

Women also made up over half of people earning doctorate degrees as of 2016. After being excluded from academia for much of human history, women have remarkably caught up, and even surpassed men in educational attainment.

Yet, despite being written nearly a century ago, Woolf ’s work still resonates with the current generation in Canada. A Room of One’s Own focuses on who is given the opportunity to participate in education, and while the doors are generally open for women today, it’s important to recognize that people are still being underrepresented in academia — for whom the doors are still closed.

For whom the doors close Low-income students have difficulty entertaining the idea of postsecondary degrees when high tuition costs, combined with plummeting provincial funding makes university education increasingly inaccessible. While the Ford administration’s 10 per cent reduction of tuition fees seemed initially beneficial, the aftermath of the cuts have shown otherwise.

Prior to Ford’s funding changes, the Liberal government had increased pure grants and allowed low-income students to attend postsecondary education for free, with less fear and anxiety around incurring massive student debt.

However, the Ford government has changed funding for low-income students from grants to partial loans. In addition, the six-month grace period has been adjusted so that interest will collect on student loans immediately after graduation. These factors considered, low-income students are finding it increasingly difficult to attend university under these conditions.

Clearly, barriers to education, be they genderor wealth-based, still pervade in Canada today.

Woolf ’s argument is only strengthened when considering that poverty disproportionately affects women.

While financial obstacles to education affect both men and women, low-income women, especially those who experience other forms of marginalization, may especially suffer as a result of Ford’s educational reform. While women are succeeding in higher education overall, only a select group has the opportunity to do so, and this group is not representative of all women.

Maybe money does buy happiness?

Woolf details in her essay that money influences success. While money does not guarantee you intelligence, it does guarantee you op-

IRIS DENG/THE

VARSITY

portunities — opportunities for networking, comfortable livelihood, and building a social status that could one day lead to an impressive career.

Money can, at times, help you get a position regardless of your qualifications. Just look at the United States’ Secretary of Education, Betsy DeVos. DeVos has very little record of involvement in the public education system and has never even been an elected official. Her family is, however, a major donor to the Republican Party, and she has publicly admitted to buying her influence in the past.

Another incident that confirms Woolf ’s thesis in the ability to buy success is the recent college admissions scandal in the US. Actresses Felicity Huffman and Lori Loughlin are two of the many influential and wealthy people buying their children’s admittance into university. 50 people have been charged in total, including SAT administrators, school coaches, a college administrator, an exam proctor, and parents.

Millions of dollars have been illegally spent to guarantee children’s admissions to top-ranking universities, regardless of whether the child in question worked for a spot or even wanted one at all.

Olivia Jade, whose mother used bribery to guarantee her entry into the University of Southern California, has been quoted on her YouTube channel saying, “I do want the experience of game days, partying… I don’t really care about school.”

While cases like this are hopefully rare, they do exist and are more prevalent than previously believed. It is deeply disturbing that wealth can override merit, especially when some students work hard in high school but don’t attend postsecondary school because they can’t afford it, or suffer extreme debt for choosing to attend.

It is important to note, nonetheless, that access

to the trades and other methods of higher education still provides people with a comfortable and potentially happy lifestyle. After all, in 2017, 67 per cent of Canadians finished university with debt, which averaged around $22,000. In 2014, only about half of university graduates were working jobs that required a university degree.

However, reports have shown that with the Baby Boomers aging, there’s a growing demand for jobs that require university education, especially in professional fields, including medicine, nursing, or geriatrics. Postsecondary education is increasingly important for our aging population. Today’s technological age also means that degrees in engineering and computer sciences are highly valuable.

Nevertheless, being able to find a stable job isn’t necessarily the point of Woolf ’s argument.

Rather, Woolf focuses on how financial stability hinders one’s opportunity to receive an education.

In turn, this limits one’s ability to reach their full potential as an intellectual, and artist seeking to further understand and explore the world.

Being allowed to explore is not dependent on the individual’s curiosity and capabilities, but on how much money is in their bank account. While free postsecondary education for all is unlikely to happen in Ontario anytime soon, the current educational reform under the Ford administration must change.

The lack of education for women in Woolf ’s time meant that academia was largely constructed by and for men. A one-sided account of history has followed because of this, and women are still trying to piece together their own narratives after being warped by the male perspective for so much of history. Nearly a century later, it’s important to ask whom we are leaving out of history today, and whether they are content with others speaking for them.

var.st/arts

NOVEMBER 25, 2019

13

Documenting U of T’s history One well-kept secret that everyone should know Hannah Lank Varsity Contributor

How much do you know about U of T’s history?

Do you know who “Sid Smith” was named after? Or what year women were allowed in Hart House? Don’t feel bad if your answer to these questions is “no.”

Although U of T has an incredibly storied past, many students are unaware of the details of this history. The University of Toronto History Society (UTHS) was formed with the intent of changing this and making the history of the university more accessible to all students, staff, faculty, and community members.

In January, the UTHS launched their online historical databaseat a public event

Last Halloween, The University of Toronto History Society hosted a ghost stories tour around campus.

COURTESY OF HANNAH LANK/UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO HISTORY SOCIETY

in the Hart House Debates Room. Three years in the making, the website is the first and only student-curated history of U of T. The website aligns with our club’s mission statement, which recognizes the importance of the internet and accessibility. This is why we focused on making the project an online database which can be used by anyone — not just students, and certainly not just history students. The website was entirely made, researched, and written by students and will continue to grow with new articles and information.

There are currently three main sections on the website: a Hall of Fame with biographies of notable alumni; a Hall of Remembrance with profiles of student-soldiers who fought and died in the World Wars; and Building Histories, which detail the history of buildings on campus. There is also a space for on-camera oral history interviews that the club has conducted with notable alumni such as Margaret Atwood, Atom Egoyan, and Margaret MacMillan, focusing on their experiences as students at the university.

The launch event was well attended by students, staff, alumni, and community members alike, and included a keynote address from renowned historian and U of T history professor, Robert Bothwell, as well as a virtual tour of the website by developer Morgan Wowk. I also gave a speech, as founder and president of the club.

The presentations were followed by a reception, during which attendees were encouraged to peruse the tables set up by the University of Toronto Archives & Records Management Services and the Victoria University Archives.

There was an array of artifacts presented, including E.J. Pratt’s war medals, and attendees

ranged from current students to alumni, Soldiers’ Tower Committee volunteers, and Dictionary of Old English staff, among others.

The UTHS was founded with the belief that a student-curated history of the university is a valuable contribution to the historical record, and we have a strong dedication to accessibility. Another important part of the UTHS’s mission is the creation of a space that would foster a greater sense of community on campus. One of the most important aspects of the study of history is that it fosters empathy.

By understanding ‘the other,’ we can better empathize with them. One way that the UTHS engages with this principle is through the Hall of Remembrance, which memorializes studentsoldiers who fought and died in the World Wars.

There are currently over 1,000 profiles in this section — an overwhelming number.

By providing a biography of each student-soldier, the club hopes to personalize the impacts of war, encouraging visitors to empathize with even just one student soldier in order to facilitate a better appreciation for the loss of thousands.

The UTHS also offers undergraduate students from all disciplines the opportunity to work with primary sources at the various archives on campus and publish this original research on our website.

It is truly a unique and exciting club for students, and the launch of the website is the first step toward building an ever growing, accessible, and student-curated history of U of T. We hope that students, staff, alumni, and community members will share in our excitement and help us expand upon our vision.

Disclosure: Hannah Lank is the founder of the UTHS and was its president until April 2019.

The publicity stunt of greenwashing the climate crisis Develop good habits, not social media posts Emily Hurmizi Varsity Staff

Greenwashing sounds like the name of an expensive celery juice or HGTV renovation show, but it actually refers to people who jump on the climate crisis bandwagon, hoping to benefit from the environmental movement without any intention of protecting the environment.

I’m sure that earlier this year many people saw social media posts about the Amazon Rainforest fires, expressing astonishment and calling it unacceptable. Perhaps you even posted something yourself. However, this outcry didn’t accurately reflect the sacrifices people made in response to the fires.

How many people donated to non-profit organizations that helped manage the outbreak and support Indigenous populations? How many stopped eating beef because our carnivorous desires fuel the pressure for ranchers to clear the Amazon? How many have kept up with the fires’ status, or the status of forests in Indonesia and Bolivia?

This is greenwashing — when the pigment of our green hands washes off in the privacy of our own economic, social, and political decisions. And it exists just as much on the individual level as the corporate.

The issue here is appearance versus reality.

Is the underlying reason that people and companies are compelled to act in an environmentally friendly way because they seek to mitigate the climate crisis — or do they simply seek to benefit from appearing eco-conscious? Greenwashing seems to encompass the latter sphere.

However, greenwashing operates on a level deeper than plain pretending. People inter-

nalize a picture of sustainable living that fits within the comfortable framework of their lives. This allows them to disregard how that lifestyle cannot effectively prevent climate destruction, and this is incredibly dangerous because it perpetuates a cycle of climate inaction.

We greenwash ourselves because it feels good. It bolsters our sense of moral worth without harming our destructive habits. To that end, we want the validation associated with helping reduce greenhouse gas emissions with none of the costs. To be part of a movement. To seem inscrutable. But this is a false altruism that cannot create concrete results.

As much as I believe that greenwashing is rotten, I, too, like to remain where I feel comfortable, and often justify unsustainable practices by telling myself that I do other things for the environment. I bring reusable bags to the grocery store and take shorter showers, and apparently that’s enough.

I always receive some moral feeling — a heaviness, a disappointment, a guilt — when I do something hypocritical. I just know that I’m not being authentic. And that moral feeling guides me to a better path.

Previously, this feeling has always led me to actions that were more meaningful and satisfying. They were objectively right for me. But the thing about greenwashing is that it erases the moral weight of my actions. I could exchange one large, life-altering change for little actions of inconsequential support toward the planet.

When this is extended to society at-large, it means that we will have a sense of fulfillment, despite objectively not doing enough to tackle the climate crisis and re-shape our relationship with the environment.

It’s important that we recognize how we trick ourselves into not addressing climate change through greenwashing, since it’s the only way that we can take a step back and evaluate how greenwashing is another manifestation of our self-interested behaviour.

The climate crisis is essentially a challenge to the idea of an all-powerful human will. We affected the Earth with our growth and technology, and the Earth is responding with a series of catastrophic effects that will overpower humanity. But, in that context, we ultimately get to define ourselves. We are an aggregate of the decisions that we make, values that we hold,

and attitudes that we display; we must will ourselves to be different.

There is room to be self-defining, and authentic, while combatting the climate crisis.

If greenwashing is a choice, then we have the choice to stop it. It’s high time we learn to nurture our nature.

JULIEN BALBONTIN/THE VARSITY

14

THE VARSITY

ARTS & CULTURE

arts@thevarsity.ca

Why the rush to check off the ‘sex box’ before 25?

Let’s talk about sex, virginity, and taking your time Julianna He Varsity Contributor

When I graduated from high school and entered university, I thought that I was, more or less, a full-fledged adult. In retrospect, I was wrong in many ways. Although I was 18 and moving away from home for the first time, I was still very inexperienced. I wouldn’t say I was naïve; I was well-read, kept up with the news, and was aware of things happening around me. However, I only understood the complicated nature of the world in a secondhand fashion.

I quickly realized that social media, TV shows, movies, and books did not prepare me for what adult university life was really like. I assumed that I would join clubs, make friends, go to campus parties, brunch on the weekends, get a boyfriend, and generally be a functioning, independent adult.

These expectations were unrealistic — especially the dating part.

Upon reflection, I realize that a lot of my difficulties matching expectations to reality arose as a result of my introverted nature and quiet personality. If I’m being honest with myself, I’d rather be reading a book on a Friday night than going to a club.

Literature has really shaped a lot of my opinions on romance, relationships, and love.

I focus more on emotional compatibility than on physical compatibility when assessing potential relationships. This is particularly difficult in the age of hook up culture, where friends with benefits, ‘situationships,’ and seeing-how-things-go relationships are easier to attain than an exclusive relationship.

And that’s what we see most often in university life: a prevalence of people seeking

one-night stands rather than long-term relationships because we’re young and want to ‘see what’s out there.’ University is a buffer between childhood and adulthood, like a second high school, where you can explore where you see your future relationships.

“

I’m 21 years old, and I’ve learned

that sex is not the be-all and end-all

”

of everything.

I always imagined that during my time at university I would have to do certain things so that I could transition from being a teenager to adult. One of those things was losing my virginity.

There’s a perceived milestone timeline that many rush to check off: going to university

right after high school, getting a job right after graduation, settling in a career by the age of 25, being married by 26, and having kids by 30.

Losing your virginity falls on that timeline somewhere before your mid-twenties, and even that’s pushing it. In other words, university is supposedly the time and place to get laid, and sometimes it feels like I’m lagging behind.

I’ve thought about having casual sex just to get it over with and to be able to say that I’ve done it, but I know that I could never go through with it, because that’s not me. And that’s okay. I’m 21 years old, and I’ve learned that sex is not the be-all and end-all of everything. I mean, I’ve made it this far without it, and I’m doing just fine.

I have wonderful friends, I volunteer, I travel, I read, and I’m fairly happy.

Everyone has their own ideas on relationships and sex, and mine just isn’t casual sex.

I shouldn’t have to compromise who I am for this arbitrary timeline.

Life is not a checklist of milestones that you need to tick off. Nor is there a rule to when you should hit each milestone. In the end, I’m doing what makes me happy, and what I feel comfortable with, because this is my life.

TROY LAWRENCE/ THE VARSITY

Now leasing for Winter 2020-2021!

This is CampusOne. Directly across the street from UofT.

*CampusOne is an independently owned and operated residence affiliated with the University and the University assumes no responsibility in regard to any agreements entered into by students/residents with the Owner and the Operator. The University makes no representations or warranties and assumes no responsibility for the conditions of services provided at the Academic Residence.

Science

November 25, 2019 var.st/science science@thevarsity.ca

CREATing a new approach to mental health services in the Arctic Project CREATeS tackles mental health concerns facing Indigenous youth

The project is aimed to start up community discussions about mental health and suicide prevention.

COURTESY OF BOBBI ROSE/PROJECT CREATES

Sarah Kronenfeld Varsity Contributor

Content warning: Discussions of suicide.

A recent initiative named Project CREATeS, which stands for “Circumpolar Resilience Engagement and Action Through Story,” has been launched to involve Northern Indigenous youth in suicide prevention efforts. This helps mental health specialists juggle the difficult balancing

act of implementing comprehensive solutions while also being cognizant of differing needs from different communities.

Rates of death by suicide in the Inuit communities of Nunatsiavut, Nunavik, Nunavut, and the Inuvialuit Settlement Region — particularly among youth — are between five and 25 times that of Canada’s nonIndigenous population.

The scope of the epidemic certainly calls for widespread action, but launching a new large-scale suicide prevention initiative runs the risk of worsening the problem.

For generations, health care efforts in Indigenous communities have tried to fit the wide diversity of the population into onesize-fits-all solutions. In the Arctic Circle, these methods were imported directly from southern Canada, and did not utilize existing community supports and cultural practices.

A new initiative for Indigenous youth Dr. Allison Crawford, a professor at U of T’s Department of Psychiatry and The Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, and the Scientific Project CREATeS Lead, spoke with The Varsity about the initiative.

During a recent meeting at the Arctic Council, an international organization made up of countries and Indigenous nations that occupy territory in the Arctic Circle, Crawford’s team brought together Indigenous youth for a series of writing

and storytelling workshops in order to connect them with peers who faced similar experiences.

At the end of these workshops, participants from all six permanent member countries of the Arctic Council, chosen by their respective communities, turned their own stories about their Indigenous identities and experiences with mental health into short films. These films will be to the council to advise future mental health initiatives.

Many participants have expressed that the opportunity to tell their stories, in and of itself, has been very useful to their own mental health. In addition, the workshops have brought them together into an invaluable international community.

“Not all Indigenous people feel like a part of their community. And when you don’t have your community, you still have the modern society, but you still aren’t a part of it, because you’re an Indigenous person,” said Juhán Nikolaus Wuolab Wollberg of the Saami Youth Council, in a documentary about the project.

Now, Wollberg is connected to dozens of peers who share that exact experience.

But, for all the project’s successful outcomes, Crawford said that her team’s efforts cannot end there. “[ Just] watching stories can be very voyeuristic… Stories are not an endgame in and of themselves. That’s my biggest learning [from the project].”

Instead, participants have been brought back to present the project’s results to the Arctic Council, who funded the project — not only to help

the Council develop solutions that build on those results, but to train the new generation of youth to become advocates for their own mental health.

Crawford is looking into running programs that facilitate digital storytelling along the lines of Project CREATeS as mental health initiatives in themselves. In addition, she’s hoping to send the films the participants created back to their respective communities in order to start up community discussions about mental health and suicide prevention.

An important achievement that this project could entail is sparking intergenerational conversations about mental health. It’s also important to remember that the suicide crisis is not happening in a void, as Crawford noted.

“I think [the suicide crisis] has a lot to do with the process of colonization, of being coerced into settlement, of loss of livelihood, loss of culture, [and] some other historical traumas like residential schools, loss of language,” she said. “All of those things, I think, created the conditions that led to those rates, and so what that means is that the solutions need to take that into account.”

“Taking medication for depression is not going to undo all that stress.”

A number of the youth, through their stories, talked about how empowering it is for them to reconnect with their communities’ traditions.

If this project helps a community open up discussions about how to preserve generations of traditional knowledge and resources, it might help a new generation of Northern Indigenous youth find the support and connections they need.

Indigenous-led U of T lab releases app for reporting toxic pollutants in ‘Chemical Valley’ App could help community members of Aamjiwnaag First Nation Aanya Bahl Varsity Contributor

A maze of petrochemical plants is squeezed into a 100-block space in the southern outskirts of Sarnia, Ontario. Marked by a distinct smell of rotting eggs, gasoline, and melting asphalt, this area, dubbed the ‘Chemical Valley,’ houses more than 60 refineries that produce plastics, gasoline, synthetic rubber, and other products.

The industrial area — which constitutes 40 per cent of Canada’s petrochemical industry — was built around the reserve on which Aamjiwnaang First Nation members reside. Today, around 850 people live on the reserve, which was created after their traditional territory was ceded to European settlers over many decades. According to a 2011 report by the World Health Organization, the air surrounding the reservation has been the most polluted in the country.

As long as the land remains enclosed within Chemical Valley, there are no means by which the Indigenous communities living on that land can find reprieve from the constant toxicity that surrounds them.

University of Toronto lab offers a potential solution The Technoscience Research Team (TRU), has taken a meaningful step toward a solution. Researchers at this Indigenous-led lab at U of T launched a Pollution Reporter app, which allows members of the Aamjiwnaang First Nation to report the pollutants in and around their land, and how they are affected by them.

The TRU is a cross-faculty research unit located at the Faculty of Information and jointly supported by the Faculty of Arts & Science, following its establishment at the Women and Gender Studies Institute. It draws together social justice approaches to science, and technology studies from across the university.

“Traditionally, Indigenous communities are seen as objects of research, but our lab is dedicated to flipping the tables on that,” said Dr. Michele Murphy, the TRU’s director and a professor at the Women and Gender Studies Institute, in an interview with The Varsity.

“We are a group of Indigenous researchers studying how colonialism works when it comes to oil refineries, environmental regulation, and so on. That’s our work,” she explained.

TRU’s research focuses on the Imperial Oil Refinery in Chemical Valley, which is the largest and oldest polluter in the area. Other refineries in the area also produce high quantities of pollutants, with up to 50–60 times the amount of harmful pollutants such as sulfur dioxide or benzene, compared to similar refineries across the valley’s river in the United States.

How the app works The TRU’s Pollution Reporter App offers an accessible way for community members and the public to make reports about pollution. These reports can alert the Ontario Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks of pollution incidents, spills, leaks, and flares.

According to Vanessa Gray, one of the developers of the app, the current system in place to report the impact of a spill or pollutant is by calling the Spills Action Centre, which is located in Toronto. Callers would be asked about what they were doing during the incident, the direction of the wind during the incident, and other questions that are often difficult to answer.

Gray mentioned that the app allows users to fill those categories out themselves, along with other categories, such as where they might be feeling the effects of those chemicals by looking at different icons. Chemicals from Imperial Oil Refinery are also searchable, which enables community members to get answers much quicker.

App also provides health information regarding pollutants The app also enables users to search for information about the area, according to the related symptoms, health hazards, or chemicals present. Users can access pollution emissions data with research about known health hazards.

The app works by linking publicly-available data on refinery emissions from the federal government’s National Pollutant Release Inventory to known health hazards, based on peer-reviewed medical literature.

A main advantage of the app is that it translates chemical jargon for community members to understand, which could help raise awareness about the failing health of their land, waters, and community.

Rsearchers at the TRU hope that the Pollution Reporter App can amplify the ability of the Aamjiwnaang First Nation’s voice to be heard.

Disclosure: Aanya Bahl is the Mental Wellness Commissioner on the University College Literary and Athletic Society.

Researchers at the Technoscience Research Team launched the app.

COURTESY OF TECHNOSCIENCE RESEARCH UNIT

16

THE VARSITY

SCIENCE

science@thevarsity.ca

How artificial intelligence could guide drug discovery

Prediction tools can rein in the risks of finding new medications Jinyu Hou Varsity Staff

review paper on the subject in the Journal of Controlled Release.

Drug discovery is traditionally a high-risk and resource-intensive process — so much so that it has drawn comparisons to gambling.

Brendan Frey, a U of T professor, put it bluntly: “It’s like the Big Pharma companies come into a casino, put a million-dollar coin into a slot machine, and with some probability like 10 per cent or something, they get a win.”

But recently, a growing trend in the field is reducing uncertainty around drug discovery by using artificial intelligence (AI) as a prediction tool.

Dr. Christine Allen, a professor at the Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy, together with post-doctoral researcher Pauric Bannigan, recently published a

How AI can be used to reduce risks in drug discovery “Let’s say that in our lab… we have a drug, and [it’s] really hydrophobic [repellent of water],” said Allen in an interview with The Varsity. To give such a drug orally, which would expose it to water, researchers must decide on the components that they will need to use in order to make the tablet or capsule ready for delivery. They must also decide on the ratio between those components and the active drug.

Researchers normally conduct a high number of experiments to find these solutions, Allen explained. However, the emergence of prediction tools based on AI can significantly change the process of experimentation.

As Bannigan describes, AI prediction tools have the potential to narrow the starting point from which researchers have to begin experimenting from. By eliminating incompatible solutions, AI can guide scientists toward potential avenues for success, thus saving both time and money.

Guided by these tools, pharmaceutical researchers may hypothetically only need 10 experiments to test promising solutions with AI, as opposed to 100 experiments to test most possibilities, he explained.

Case studies of AI used in drug discovery Real-life examples of the applications of AI were drawn from the book Prediction Machines: The Simple Economics of Artificial Intelligence, which was cited multiple times in the review paper.

Dr. Avi Goldfarb, a professor at the Rotman School of Management, is a co-author of the book. He wrote to The Varsity that AI prediction

Researchers can use AI to reduce the number of experiments needed to develop new medications.

COURTESY OF LOUIS REED/UNSPLASH

tools can have significant and specialized meaning to the pharmaceutical industry.

For example, Atomwise, a company that predicts the binding of molecules with proteins, can “increase the success [rate] of early stage experiments in the drug discovery process and increase the number of successful drugs that come to market.”

BenchSci is another company that makes it easier for scientists to search the relevant literature by predicting which content is relevant to a particular need. “[BenchSci] is also aimed at improving the drug discovery process,” wrote Goldfarb.

Current applications There is a growing trend of Big Pharma companies partnering with those specializing in AI, according to the review paper.

As an example, Allen recalled Novartis, which “dealt with Intel to try and reduce the amount of time required to analyze microscopic images.”

Allen’s research group has now started collaborating with U of T professor Alán Aspuru-Guzik, who has significant expertise in applying AI to chemistry. The teams have been working together to use algorithms that could help predict which materials could be best used for drug discovery.

The impact of AI on human involvement As for the impact of AI on researchers, Allen noted that as AI tools get more involved in industries, human judgement remains highly valued, and is one of the main ideas of Prediction Machines.

“You might predict the likelihood of rain, but without judgment on how much you mind getting wet and how much you mind carrying an umbrella then the prediction alone won’t tell you what to do,” wrote Goldfarb.

While AI could guide researchers by providing predictions, Goldfarb noted that their human judgement would still be valuable in deciding what to do with the predictions once they have them.

The promise of terpenoids in human health

U of T researchers examine plant compounds associated with cannabis, the smell of pine, Vitamin A Ahmed Kane Varsity Contributor

The word ‘terpenoid’ is not only limited to rhyming with words such as meteoroid, avoid, and steroid — it also symbolizes organic compounds produced by plants that offer significant medicinal and pharmacological benefits to humans.

In a review paper, U of T scientists explored the vast role that these chemicals play in our everyday lives.

Co-authors Dr. Michael Phillips, an assistant professor at UTM’s Department of Biology; and Matthew Bergman, a graduate student at the same department, discussed the findings of this review with The Varsity.

Relevance of terpenoids The presence of terpenoids can be found all around us. Vitamin A is an example, along with the chemical that is key to the unique smell of pine.

The review explained that terpenoids can “attract pollinators, repel herbivores, or attract herbivore predators.” This has broad impacts on fields such as agriculture.

Terpenoids also feature heavily in cannabis.

Specialized terpenoids include well-known compounds such as cannabidiol — also known as CBD — and tetrahydrocannabinol — THC. The compounds have been used for their “psychoactive, anxiolytic and anesthetic effects for thousands of years,” according to the co-authors.

The ability to make these terpenoids evolved as a result of “selective pressures imposed by animals” on plants. A great sense of irony lies in the fact

that these chemical compounds, which often serve as plant defence compounds against herbivorous insects, possess “fortuitous uses in medicine.”

The reason that these compounds are biologically active in humans is in part due to the fact that “our proteins are made up of exactly the same amino acids as the plant proteins,” noted Phillips.

Applications of the review Phillips hopes to use his review “partly as a teaching tool but also [to] summarize the literature that is important for [his] field.”

Mangoes contain high quantities of Vitamin A, which is a type of terpenoid.

COURTESY OF BRIGITTE TOHM/ UNSPLASH

Bergman also spoke about the implications that his research would have on non-specialists in biology. “There’s a lot of interest right now in medicinal plants and there’s a lot of confusion surrounding what are the active constituents,” he said.

By conducting the review, Bergman hopes to eliminate some of this confusion. This is important because “there’s a connection between [our research] and what [consumers] find in the grocery store,” added Phillips.

The future of terpenoid research In many cases, terpenoid-based medications could hold promise in health care, “by virtue of the fact of how much common ancestry we share with herbivores that terpenoids evolved to affect,” noted Phillips.

While many terpenoids represent potentially beneficial compounds for humans, the “testing process is painstaking and resource intensive,” according to the review. This process is further obstructed by the fact that “many [terpenoids] are produced in small amounts,” and “only in response to elicitation.”

Additionally, while the amount of plant terpenoids that can be screened for therapeutic applications is still unknown, it likely surpasses over 100,000 variants, according to the coauthors. With a review of terpenoids having been completed, researchers have a tool to develop plans for further research in the field of plant biochemistry.

var.st/science

NOVEMBER 25, 2019

17

How deep brain stimulation could treat tinnitus

In conversation with neurosurgery specialist Dr. Martin Jakobs about the treatment’s effects for hearing impairment Jianing Lu Varsity Contributor

New research is offering the possibility of a treatment for tinnitus, an incurable condition that causes a patient to observe sound, even if there is no external source for it.

Dr. Martin Jakobs, a physician at the Department of Neurosurgery at University Hospital Heidelberg, co-authored an editorial in September on the first-ever study involving a particular form of deep brain stimulation (DBS) to treat severe, treatment-resistant tinnitus. DBS involves implants in the body that target subconscious processes, showing how important they are in the process of perception.

Dr. Andres Lozano, a professor at U of T’s Department of Surgery, was the second co-author, and Dr. Steven Cheung, a professor at the University of California, led the study that Jakobs and Lozano analyzed in their editorial.

Tinnitus is sensory hearing loss that results from exposure to loud noises, aging, or as an adverse reaction to medication.

COURTESY OF DAVID MATOS/UNSPLASH

What causes tinnitus?

A common underlying cause for tinnitus is sensory hearing loss that results from exposure to loud noises, aging, or as an adverse reaction to medication.

When the hearing loss occurs, other parts of the hearing system become hyperactive to compensate for it. This leads to a reorganization which causes unusual synchronization in the primary auditory cortex, a part of the brain that is involved in hearing, which then triggers the effects of tinnitus.

Patients suffering from tinnitus usually opt to wear special hearing aids, which help to counteract the condition by playing tones from certain frequencies.

Deep brain stimulation as a potential alternative The DBS system consists of three components: the lead, which is implanted into the scalp; the internal pulse generator (IPG), which is usually implanted under the skin near the collarbone; and the extension, which connects the lead to the IPG. DBS is considered to be an invasive treatment, as the operation requires creating an incision into the patient’s body.

Cheung’s study was in the first phase of a clinical trial, which evaluates the efficacy and safety of a new treatment. At the trial’s conclusion, following 24 weeks of continuous stimulation, three of the five remaining patients saw significant improvement within a metric called the “Tinnitus Functional Index score.”

This score measures the “intrusiveness of tinnitus, the sense of control the patient has, cognitive interference, sleep disturbance, auditory issues, relaxation issues, quality of life, and emotional distress.”

Four of the patients also saw improvement in their “Tinnitus Handicap Inventory score,” which is a separate measuring system that quantifies the effects of tinnitus.

Cheung’s team found that the treatment could preserve hearing safety, because the patients’ hearing thresholds were not significantly changed during the process.

“The results of this group are very interesting and encouraging,” wrote Jakobs to The Varsity.

“The concept of trying to block precepts from

reaching awareness is fascinating and tells you how important subconscious processes are in the process of perception.”

Cheung’s research group is now trying to better understand “where the most effective target area within [a brain area named] the caudate nucleus is located,” what connections are affected by the stimulation, and eventually, where the neurological patterns originate in the brain.

Once these aspects are investigated, an optimized stimulation target for each patient might be uncovered.

The limitations of deep brain stimulation However, even though no apparent safety issue has been found in this study, DBS is not a universal solution. In treating progressive diseases such as Parkinson’s disease, more electricity is needed to achieve beneficial effects.

When the electrical field is enlarged and the volume of activated tissue grows, not only are neurons in the target structure affected, but parts of neurons called axons are impacted as well.

These axons, when stimulated, may cause unwanted harm. Whether this is true for hearing impairments, like tinnitus, remains to be investigated in future studies.

There are other, non-traditional methods to treat tinnitus that are incision-free, such as using magnetic resonance-guided focused ultrasound (FUS), which heats brain tissues to create a lesion.

However, unlike DBS, the FUS treatment is irreversible.

DBS could therefore be a promising option for patients with tinnitus which medical professionals could recommend before a patient considers FUS treatments.

Who consumes the most cannabis in Canada?

Small group of heavy users are responsible for two thirds of national consumption Lucinda Zhu Varsity Contributor

Since the national legalization of cannabis last year, Canada has become the largest country in the world with a legalized cannabis marketplace.

Due to the controversial nature of this relatively new law, there has been a great deal of research on the role of cannabis in our society, which may shed light on the future of cannabis policy framework.

In a recent multi-institutional study, researchers, including U of T-affiliated scientists, aimed to find the largest cannabis consumption group by investigating the demographics of cannabis consumption in Canada, which has led to surprising findings.

Young males are the most likely users of cannabis The researchers evaluated the distribution of cannabis consumption across Canada using data from Statistics Canada’s 2018 National Cannabis Survey. They found that a small group of heavy users were responsible for two thirds of all cannabis consumption in the country.

Of these heavy users, males were reported to consume more cannabis than females, and young males between 15–34 years old were “disproportionately represented” in this sub-group.

Based on previous demographic data, “It is not particularly surprising that we’re seeing this particular age group over-represented in the heaviest users,” said Dr. Russell Callaghan, a co-author associated with the Human Brain Laboratory at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health.

Callaghan noted that one possible reason for this trend is that males of this age group are often prone to risk-taking behaviours associated with alcohol and drug use across the spectrum, including cannabis. However, there are a multitude of factors behind this finding.

Potential impact of the study on preventing cannabis-related harm The study gives basic insights into potential policy-making strategies in recreational drug use and preventive measures for cannabis-related harm.

“Usually when we understand the population distributions of, let’s say, cannabis use or alcohol use, it will give us a sense of where the harms might be,” said Callaghan.

A small subset of alcohol users — the top 10 per cent — are responsible for more than half of alcohol consumption in the United States, according to the co-authors. However, Callaghan noted that most of the common harms from alcohol use occur from light to moderate usage, due to a larger segment of the population consuming it.

Similar research for cannabis is rather limited, and it is still unclear whether the heaviest cannabis users account for the most common cannabisrelated harms. A next step for future researchers, according to Callaghan, would be to understand the relationship between the population distribution of cannabis use and harm reduction.

“If you understand what we’ve done in the alcohol field, then you will understand what I was looking for in the cannabis field,” Callaghan remarked.

By finding the relationship between the demographics of cannabis consumption and cannabis-related harm, similar to previous studies on alcohol, policymakers are now able to focus on specific groups in order to reduce the potential harms.

Callaghan noted that treatment, incentives, pricing, adjusting cannabis availability in stores, and store density could all be viable options in reducing potential harm from cannabis use, depending on the results of future research.

Young males between the ages of 15 and 34 years old were “disproportionately represented” as cannabis consumers.

COURTESY OF THOUGHT CATALOG/UNSPLASH

Sports

November 25, 2019 var.st/sports sports@thevarsity.ca

Angelo Cavalluzzo on engineering the unexpected Varsity Blues women’s soccer associate head coach discusses historic season, defying expectations, and the future of the game Michael Teoh Varsity Staff

It took two draws from two games on week two of the season for Angelo Cavalluzzo to realize that he had something special on his hands.

At first glance, the fact that the Varsity Blues women’s soccer team earned two points out of a possible six hardly seems worthy of excitement.

Added to their return of three points from their first two games of the season the week prior, one would be forgiven for mulling over how Cavalluzzo, the associate head coach, could judge one win in four as evidence that something special was brewing. In fact, if you were to crunch the numbers, you would find that the team’s fivepoint haul from the opening four games was actually their worst start to a season since 2013.

Crunch the numbers a little further, however, and you’d realize that these two points are an exceptional exception to the norm. The draws, both at home, came against reigning national champions the University of Ottawa Gee-Gees and the powerhouse Queen’s University Gaels on September 7 and 8, respectively. Before that, the Blues had lost their previous four games against the Gee-Gees, with an aggregate score of 7–1.

Their record against the Gaels was even worse, having lost all of their previous eight encounters, dating back to 2015 — including one in the week prior — with an aggregate 23–5 score.

Facing off against the Gee-Gees, the Blues conceded first, and all signs seemed to point to an impending implosion. However, Cavalluzzo made tactical tweaks that were instrumental in helping midfielder Miranda Badovinac to score the equalizer just eight minutes later. Aided by a superb performance from goalkeeper Vanna Staggolis, the Blues saw the game through to a 1–1 draw.

Against the Gaels the following day, the Blues conceded first once more. And then they conceded again. No problem for Cavalluzzo and his Blues team though, who clawed their way back, courtesy of a spirited performance and two more goals from Badovinac.

“Once that happened that weekend, I said, ‘Yeah, we’ve got a chance against anybody,’” Cavalluzzo says. “Knowing [that the players] can do that in single games… Yeah, we can go on and do this again.”

And they certainly did.

Making history Under Cavalluzzo’s management, the women’s soccer team reached the Ontario University Athletics (OUA) Final Four for the first time since 2004, earned a silver medal in the OUA for the first time since 1990, reached the national U SPORTS level for the first time since 2013, and recorded their best-ever U SPORTS season, with a third-place finish in Victoria, British Columbia.

The Blues produced thrilling soccer throughout, making effective use of the wide areas through Badovinac on the right and Jenny Wolever on the left. Centre-forward Erin Kelly provided strong hold-up play and pressing as the Blues looked to defend on the front foot when they lost the ball. In the centre of the pitch, Captain Maddie MacKay regularly acted as a conduit between the defenders and forwards. In goal, Staggolis was an immovable barrier to opposition attacks, regularly pulling off vital saves.

The season confounded all expectations — even those that Cavalluzzo’s coaching staff and the players had initially set. The former had targeted an OUA quarterfinal place, which would entail the tall order of a top-two OUA East regular season finish in order to secure a bye, or finishing between third and sixth and winning the extra knockout OUA playoff game. Furthermore, the players had set the loftier target of reaching the OUA final four, which would require the added step of actually winning the quarterfinal.

“We did both,” he says. “And then we exceeded both.”

What makes the achievement even more impressive is that the Blues had lost their graduated star players Chelsea Cheung and Natasha Klasios prior to the start of the season. The team’s two top scorers in 2018, Cheung had scored seven goals in 16 games, while Klasios had netted six in 17.

Fortunately, they recruited wisely. The Blues added Badovinac from the University at Albany Great Danes, as well as the three-time OUA allstar and then-reigning OUA East player of the year, Wolever from the Queen’s Gaels. Cavalluzzo credits the experience both of them brought to the team as a boon to the Blues’ ultimate unprecedented success. Badovinac and Wolever both played 21 games in the season, scoring 13 and nine goals respectively.

He recounts the season’s story from the Varsity Pavilion, overlooking the stadium in which his team recorded four wins, one loss, and the aforementioned two draws during the regular season.

He gestures out of the window toward the field below when he talks about his players, as if evoking their spirits. While the soccer season is over and the goal posts are no longer even on the field, Cavalluzzo gives the impression that this is still very much home.

“That group of players is a special group that I’ll never forget… This year, as my first year as [head] coach, for them to do that, for me, is special.”

The unexpected path Cavalluzzo’s path to the Blues head coach role was an unexpected one, like many of his other career moves. Still only 26, Cavalluzzo played as a goalkeeper for the McMaster Marauders men’s soccer team while pursuing a degree in chemical engineering and bioengineering from 2011–2015. He earned four OUA medals, one silver U SPORTS medal, and a 2014 OUA All-Star place. He also had stints playing with the Toronto FC Academy and the semi-professional outfit, Niagara United, during this time.

After graduation, he worked as a goalkeeping coach at both McMaster and the Toronto FC Academy, following an invitation from their coach Luciano Lombardi.

Soon after, he was invited to train with Toronto FC II, where unexpected starting goalkeeper injuries meant that Cavalluzzo was called into action and played in five games. At the end of the season, his solid performances convinced Toronto FC II to offer him a professional contract.

“It was unexpected — I think my whole life after school is kind of unexpected,” Cavalluzzo says. “When I graduated [from McMaster] I didn’t expect to be playing soccer. [I] expected to get an engineering job and that would be it.”

After securing his position as first-choice goalkeeper and making over 30 appearances across two years, Cavalluzzo ruptured his Achilles tendon in May 2018. Fans feared that he could miss the rest of the season — in actuality, that was his last game for the club.

Despite this, the following 12 months proved to be a whirlwind.

In August 2018, Lombardi, who was the Blues women’s soccer team head coach at the time, invited Cavalluzzo to join the Blues as an assistant coach. Three months after that, Cavalluzzo finally got his engineering job too, with engineering company AGI Danmare. Then, in April 2019, he was appointed as the Blues’ associate head coach, following Lombardi’s departure.

The rest, as they say, is history. Or, more accurately, the rest involved the creation of new history and new heights.

Onward and upward This past season, the Blues were one win away from their first-ever OUA gold medal. At the U SPORTS level, they were two wins shy of their first-ever national gold medal — which begs the question: does Cavalluzzo believe the Blues can top what they achieved last season?

“It’s very clearly going to be our goal,” he says, before adding that the unpredictability of the OUA knockout stages means that nothing is certain.

“But obviously that’s going to be our goal — is to win an OUA gold and U SPORTS gold. And whether that happens next year, [the] year after, or four or five years from now, it’s already going to be our goal because seeing what we did last year, I think they’re going to be hungry for more. And knowing that [the players] can do it, they’re never going to lower their expectations. Whether that’s a blessing or a curse, I think it’s a very good thing.”

The task of improving upon an excellent season will be made tougher by the departure of key players Wolever and right-back Daniella Cipriano, who have both reached their eligibility cap. Goalkeeper Stephania Turyk and defender Marie Kuhn are also leaving, while the returns of fourth-year trio Mackay, Staggolis, and defender Anna Crone are yet to be confirmed.

Fortunately, Cavalluzzo now has nine months to prepare for next season, and his squad has already been bolstered with six new recruits, with more to come. This ambition, experience, and recruitment drive provides a good framework for the continued growth of the women’s soccer program.

Beyond the Blues But what about the overall state of women’s soccer in Canada?

Cavalluzzo contemplates this question for a moment, before delving into a clear and frank assessment of the complex ecosystem.

He says that Canada’s women’s team has stagnated in recent years, and he hopes that last year’s launch of the professional Canadian Premier League for men will result in a similar enterprise to cultivate professional women soccer players.

However, he’s also keenly aware of the financial obstacles obstructing such goals, especially given the protracted saga surrounding men’s soccer.

“How can we foster [women soccer players’] technical ability, that love of soccer and not let it fade away because they realize that, ‘Oof I can’t make a living out of this, I’m just going to stop and give up?’ And if you probably asked a survey of all university student athletes — and soccer specifically — how many continue to play [competitively] after university… I bet you that number’s a lot lower than anyone would want it to be.”

When asked about the role that Canadian universities’ women’s soccer programs play in contributing to this end goal, Cavalluzzo is quick to identify the structural barriers that exist.

“I think the environment we create for them is very, very good, but you have to look at it as: it is university and it’s a niche group of athletes that you’re going to get here because not everyone has the academics to get in,” he says. “That’s our reality. And we try and make the most out of it and to give student athletes the best experience they can. And if they want to go on and play soccer afterward, I have every intention of helping them do that.”

While Cavalluzzo’s goalkeeping career may have been cut short, his coaching revolution is just beginning. And based on the evidence of this past season, his players — past, present, and future — are in very safe hands.

Disclosure: Michael Teoh previously served as The Varsity’s Volume 138 Deputy Senior Copy Editor and Volume 139 Business Editor.

Coach Angelo Cavalluzzo helped the Women's soccer team win bronze at the U SPORTS championships.

COURTESY OF VARSITY BLUES ATHLETICS

var.st/sports

NOVEMBER 25, 2019

19

Women’s soccer team season retrospective

A look back on the team’s most successful season in program history Laura Ashwood Associate Sports Editor

It’s been a big year for the Varsity Blues women’s soccer team. They earned an impressive 24 total points to tie for third place in the Ontario University Athletics (OUA) East division, which is leaps and bounds from their performance last year.

The team also made program history twice this season: first, by advancing to the semifinals at nationals, and second, by earning a U SPORTS bronze medal. A lot of factors that led to this fantastic success, notably a head coaching change, brand new players, and seasoned veterans. The Varsity spoke to Captain Maddie MacKay and striker Erin Kelly to get the inside scoop on a stellar season.

The players largely attribute their success to a change in team mindset, which was jump-started by the shift in coaching staff. Angelo Cavalluzzo, who was an assistant coach in the 2018 season, stepped up to the plate after the resignation of Head Coach Luciano Lombardi. Assistant Coaches Kieran Doyle-Davis and Jessie Faber also joined, alongside longtime goalkeeper coach Dave Ennis.

This marked a dramatic shift in the coaching style and consequently impacted team morale, noted MacKay. “The new coaching staff really injected the team with a desire to succeed and a belief that we were actually capable of doing so,” she said.

“It really felt like every single player was committed to giving it their all this year, which is a very different kind of culture compared to years past.”

Kelly agreed that “they brought huge energy that positively affected players and carried momentum throughout the year.”

This positive energy allowed for huge improvements to be made over the course of the season.

The Blues notched seven wins and a mere three losses, all thanks to continued improvement and renewed motivation.

Kelly noted that at first, there was a learning curve that came with the new coaching and thus a new formulation of play, which eventually worked out for the best. “We learned a new system of play which we got more comfortable with as we played more games, making for some offensive creativity as the season progressed.”

“I’ve personally learned more this year than in my previous three years with the program combined, and it’s all thanks to our coaching staff.

They’re a really fantastic group of people and we wouldn’t have been as successful as we were this year without them,” MacKay added.

The proof is in the numbers: when Toronto first played against the Queen’s University Gaels they lost, but during the next rematch, Toronto managed to draw. Late in October, the very same Blues beat the Gaels handily, with a score of 3–0.

These improvements bought them a ticket to Victoria, British Columbia, for the U SPORTS Championship for the first time. They proceeded to beat the Cape Breton University Capers 3–0 to advance to the national semifinal.

“I never thought we’d make it to [the] OUA final four, let alone win a national medal,” admited MacKay. Kelly added that she felt “very proud to represent the alumni that worked so hard during their time with the team. I felt motivated to work as hard as possible for players that [are] graduating this year.”

MacKay is potentially one of them. “It’s defi-

nitely super emotional,” she admitted.

“During your time you watch a lot of teammates come and go, but it doesn’t really register until it’s happening to you. I hope I’m able to come back for one more year, but if not then I couldn’t have asked for a better one to end off on.”

The introduction of some new talent also added fuel to the fire of this red-hot season.

Miranda Badovinac joined the Blues as a midfielder after playing for the University of Albany for two seasons, and made her mark. She scored a total of 13 goals over the course of the season, and had two assists. Striker Jenny Wolever, a convert from the Queen’s Gaels, the Blues’ rivals, represented Canada at the 2019 Summer Universiade in Italy before scoring nine goals and performing eight assists for the Blues.

So, what’s in store for next year? Hopefully a stayed course on this upward trajectory. If one thing’s certain, it’s that the Blues women’s soccer team is showing no signs of slowing down.

. tar ll - s S a UE UA

e O TY BL e - ti m SI Jenny Wolever is a thre O/VAR HA YZ C O U RT E S Y O F H E N R

MacKay said that all of the home turf support the team has been getting is helping them stay enthusiastic and focused on next season. “The support from everybody at U of T since we’ve gotten back has also been really overwhelming…

It really feels like everyone is genuinely happy for our success.”

How cannabis, alcohol, and cigarette use could impact concussion recovery In conversation with Dr. David Lawrence on how substance use may cause heavier symptoms

SEOYEON LEE/THE VARSITY

Adam A. Lam Science Editor

Cannabis and cigarettes may not impact overall recovery periods for patients affected by concussions, but they could impact symptom burdens, according to a recent U of T-affiliated study.

Dr. David Lawrence, a staff physician at the MacIntosh Sport Medicine Clinic, and the lead primary care physician for the Toronto Blue Jays, spoke with The Varsity about the impact of the recent study he co-authored.

Cannabis, cigarettes may still impact symptom burden of concussions The main conclusion of the early study was that cannabis, alcohol, and cigarette use does not impact the recovery period of patients who suffer from concussions. This was found using surveys taken four weeks after sustaining an injury.

However, the co-authors found that cigarettes caused a heavier symptom burden of concussions, defined as the subjective prevalence, frequency, and severity of symptoms, among the study’s participants within the first week after sustaining

an injury. They also uncovered an association between cannabis use and a lighter symptom burden of concussions, according to the assessments taken at the end of the third and fourth weeks.

Symptom burden is just one aspect of physician-determined recovery, which the coauthors used to measure the recovery period.

“Other factors that go into physician determination of recovery include their functional status, their [pre-existing injuries] and also any other complaints that they might have at the time,” Lawrence remarked.

Another important finding, noted Lawrence, was that patients had a high prevalence of using cannabis, alcohol, and cigarettes. Around one in four participants reported regular cannabis use, one in two reported regular alcohol use, and one in five reported regular cigarette use in the month preceding their injury.

Lawrence noted that it could be useful for physicians to ask their patients about their substance use, which could be useful in making medical assessments.

The limitations of the study Lawrence remarked that the study has a number of limitations, as it is one of the earliest studies on the impact of cannabis on concussion recovery.

The co-authors recruited 307 patients who reported acute concussions at the clinic to the study.

“We followed them for a minimum of four weeks, or until they were cleared,” noted Lawrence.

During the study’s duration, the co-authors gathered data from the participants through self-

reports to determine substance use. However, self-reports are impacted by social desirability, whereby participants may be dishonest in their survey responses, or they might give incorrect information due to misremembering.

Lawrence noted that another limitation stemmed from the low cutoff for alcohol use, which was defined as the regular consumption of two or more standard alcoholic drinks for at least two days per week.

This definition enabled the researchers to capture a wide range of alcohol users, but Lawrence noted that it also categorized data from moderate drinkers with heavier drinkers in the same group.

Finally, a third limitation stemmed from a lack of data that could identify why cannabis and cigarettes impacted symptom burden without influencing overall recovery. Future studies could uncover the reason behind these results.

The potential impact on clinical practice Lawrence noted that the study should not change clinical “recommendations with respect to use of these substances at this time.” He recommended that patients continue avoiding these substances while recovering from concussions, following standard guidelines for recovery.

“What this study does do is… [allow physicians] to potentially reassure [patients] to say, ‘look, if you’ve used the substance, you probably haven’t delayed your recovery,’” said Lawrence.

“But we would still recommend to [stop] use until further research supports or negates their use.”

20

THE VARSITY

ADVERTISEMENTS

NOVEMBER 25, 2019

Launch your path to success

MASTER OF TAXATION

Become a highly-valued member of the Canadian tax community.

Join Canada’s most comprehensive English-speaking program for the development of tax professionals. Offered through the University of Waterloo at our downtown Toronto classrooms.

Learn to REACH BEYOND

EXPERT FACULTY DOWNTOWN TORONTO CLASSROOM

learn … develop … experience The MTax advantage

mtax.ca