THE VARSITY
Vol. CXXXIII, No. 12
University of Toronto’s Student Newspaper Since 1880
7 January, 2013
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Three U of T students win Rhodes University of Toronto only Canadian school in 2012 with multiple winners of prestigious scholarship James Maiangowi
ASSOCIATE NEWS EDITOR
On an early afternoon in October, bored but filled with the nervy tension that comes before an important event, Connor Emdin turned to Ayodele Odutayo and mentioned an Australian study he’d read recently. The study found it was better to have an interview immediately after lunch, Emdin said, because people tend to be more accomodating just after they’ve eaten. It so happened they were the first two interviewees after lunch — fingers crossed, might they find themselves so lucky? Odutayo laughed, and the two struck up a conversation. “I went in not expecting to win at all,” Emdin said of his grueling, 40 minute-long interview, which covered topics from economic analysis to epidemology to the minutae of a pharmaceutical company’s business activity. “So I went in just trying to have a good time — at least as much of a good time as you can have there and have a good experience.”
Whether it was this confident calm, the post-lunch interview effect, or simply their outstanding academic and extracurricular records, something worked in their favour. In December Emdin and Odutayo, along with Joanne Cave received lifechanging phone calls: they had been named Rhodes scholars for 2013. The Rhodes scholarship is one of the world’s most prestigious academic awards. Established in 1902 by the will of Cecil Rhodes, a South African mining magnate, the Rhodes is a postgraduate scholarship enabling the recipient to study at Oxford University for up to three years. This year 83 students from around the world, including 11 from Canada, will travel to Oxford as Rhodes scholars. Representing the University of Toronto are Emdin and Cave from the Faculty of Arts & Science, and Oduntayo from the Faculty of Medicine. For Emdin, who is currently studying biochemistry and who cofounded Salt for Survival, a student fundraising group for salt iodization programs, the Rhodes schol-
arship offers the opportunity to branch out and explore more of the social-science side of global health. He plans to pursue a MPP or an M.Phil in development studies. Odutayo, a fourth-year medical student and co-director of the University of Toronto’s International Health Program, also intends to focus on the healthcare sector by pursuing a degree in public health policy. Cave, a women and gender studies and sociology student, intends to research the non-profit sector at Oxford, building on her experience as founder of Connect the Sector, a networking group for young non-profit professionals. All three expressed gratitude for the mentorship of their professors at the university as well as the university’s generous academic support and aid programs for assistance over the years. “I’d applied with the support of a professor at Trinity called Derek Allen, who encouraged me to do it,”
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Rhodes to Success The University of Toronto has a long history of sending Rhodes scholars up to Oxford. This year is no exception — three out the 11 total Canadian spots went to U of T students. No other Canadian university this year had more than one. Joanne Cave has done Woodsworth proud as the first member of the college to win a Rhodes, while Connor Emdin has upheld Trinity’s reputation as a bastion for future Rhodes winners, being the college’s 36th such member so honoured. Other U of T Rhodes Scholars include Bob Rae, who studied under Isaiah Berlin at Oxford, and George Ignatieff, father of former Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff.
Current university president David Naylor is another U of T Rhodes scholar. After completing his M.D. in 1978 he headed off to Oxford with grander ambitions. “As a medical student, I imagined that it might be exciting to study at Oxford as a Rhodes Scholar, to enter academia as a general internist working in health services and policy analysis, and maybe even to become President of the University of Toronto.” “Bizarrely, that’s what happened, with an unexpected bonus: I met my wife at Oxford.” Recent winners have included Steven Wang and Erin Fitzgerald.
Kathleen Wynne unveils post-secondary education platform Rida Ali
ASSOCIATE NEWS EDITOR
Kathleen Wynne, one of seven candidates in the race for the leadership of the Ontario Liberal party, released her platform for post-secondary education in the province last Thursday. Wynne’s plan includes the creation of a youth advisory council and the retention of the 30 per cent tuition grant, and pledges to try to “bridge the gap” between the labour market and the labour force, and create more flexibility and mobility between postsecondary institutions. “Together with our partners, we’ve made significant strides in improving the quality of and access to postsecondary education in Ontario. We now have the highest overall participation rate in universities in the world,” said Wynne. In an exclusive interview with The Varsity, Wynne said that a major component of her plan includes the creation of the Premier’s Youth Advisory Council. The council — which would include students from both universities and colleges, as well as young people who are not enrolled in postsecondary education but are involved in youth activities — would meet with the premier on a regular basis to discuss important youth issues.
“I want to get young people from a variety of backgrounds. Not just students who are in post-secondary,” said Wynne, “but young people who are trying to find their way and have something to offer.” Wynne said that maintaining “ongoing conversations with people who are front-line or involved in youth activities and staying in touch with what youth are feeling is really very important.” “I want to foster that discussion directly between the premier and the students,” she said. She described the council as being a dynamic group of people who could inform policy. “It’s not a decision making body. It’s an opportunity for the premier to have an ongoing conversation with young people that is necessary for informed decision making.” Jonathan Scott, president of the University of Toronto Liberals, also emphasized the benefits of the proposed council. “This will bring a formal consultative and consistent channel for students to have the ear of the premier. It will help ensure that student ideas can be shared without the need to resort to acrimony.” Wynne’s plan also affirms her intention to keep the 30 per cent tuition
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“A demand to meet and discuss issues arising out of the University of Toronto Students’ Union AGM was initiated by Trinity College Head Boy Samuel Greene in an email sent on November 23. On December 6 at 5:17 pm, the meeting was convened. In attendance were UTSU University College Representative Victoria Lomax, UTSU Vice-President Internal and Services Corey Scott, Trinity College Head Girl Paulina Bogdanova, and myself. The meeting carried on and no other college
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Opposition reforms set for UTSU agenda Shepherd seeks to defuse tensions before late January general meeting Zane Schwartz
ASSOCIATE NEWS EDITOR
With the deadline looming to submit bylaw amendments to the University of Toronto Students’ Union, campus opposition figures have indicated that they will put forward the four original motions that were absent from the agenda of November’s abortive annual general meeting — but little else. After a majority of voters refused to approve the UTSU’s agenda at the AGM in November, union executives called for a new general meeting, to take place in late January. The deadline to submit amendments is this Tuesday, January 8. As of press time, only the four original motions had been submitted for inclusion on the replacement agenda, as well as routine business carried over from November’s failed agenda. “We deliberately designed this [submission procedure] to give us lots of time to process the amendments,� said UTSU president Shaun Shepherd, adding that the date of the general meeting has yet to be finalized. In an interview, Shepherd acknowledged that union executives intended to address the issues raised at the time of the last AGM. The outcome of the last meeting was “unprecedented in the history of the UTSU,� said Shepherd, and had motivated a desire “to ensure the next one goes smoothly, by understanding these issues in advance.� Shepherd has also been engaged in private meetings with college council leaders, in an effort to resolve some of the deeper issues that have soured the relationship between the colleges and the central student union. The meetings,
which began in December, have been infrequent due to scheduling difficulties. The four opposition-driven amendments, submitted by Trinity College co-head Samuel Greene and seconded by president of the University College Literary and Athlectic Society President Benjamin Dionne, address mainly procedural issues, such as ending the practice of proxy voting on the union’s board of directors, and reducing the number of signatures required to run for executive office at the union. Before coming to a vote at the general meeting, submitted amendments must be approved by the Policy & Procedures Committee, and then by the UTSU Board of Directors. Greene’s four amendments will be on the agenda, but it was unclear whether last-minute amendments submitted in the 48 hours before the deadline would also win approval before the late January meeting. “Committee dates are internal, so they’re not publicized,� said Shepherd, also explaining that while anyone who submitted an amendment would not generally be permitted to attend the committee meetings, they could request to make a presentation. Despite having the backing of prominent opposition leadership members like Greene and Dionne, the four amendments do not address a growing movement calling for online voting, which could radically reform union elections in a way that current pending amendments would not. For those who have been lobbying to reform the union’s electoral system, time is running short. Greene says that he is still concerned about the timeline. “For a long time, the way advocates of reform have been responded to is delay and delay and delay, and we graduate and they carry on as students.�
Many of the student leaders who are calling for such reforms, including St. Michael’s College Student Union president Mike Cowan, Engineering Society president Rishi Maharaj, and UCLit president Dionne, intend to graduate at the end of the school year. Shepherd has repeatedly promised to implement electoral reform before this year’s UTSU election. In response to growing calls for electoral reform, the union opted to hire a lawyer to conduct a review of current electoral procedures and policies. Publicly, the union has maintained that they will take no formal position while the lawyer is conducting the review. The review is anticipated to cost $17,000, and was approved with no due date. Several members of the UTSU executive have candidly expressed their concerns about online voting at previous Elections & Referenda committee meetings. According to the minutes, Munib Sajjad, vice-president, university affairs, said that online voting “is often a misunderstood procedure.� Sajjad also suggested that, when implemented, “voter turnout usually decreases over time and the system is not entirely secure.� Other executives have previously indicated their opposition to online voting, including vice-president, internal and services Corey Scott. Greene is frustrated by the difference between the public and private stances. “If the UTSU were willing to have a real discussion about this, I would submit to you that they should come out and say we oppose X, Y, and Z proposals, and here is why,� said Greene. “My suspicion is that the legal review will drag the process out to the point where there will be excuses, excuses, excuses until at election time nothing has changed.�
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The Year in News By Taryn McKenzie-Mohr
Photos by Bernarda Gospic
Provincial Post-Secondary Policy
Former Minister of Training, Colleges, and Universities Glen Murray meets with representatives from the St. George Round Table to discuss the provincial government’s discussion paper.
The UTSU held an emergency town hall on education in October in response to the Ontario government’s discussion paper “Strengthening Ontario’s Centres of Creativity, Innovation and Knowledge.” The purpose of the paper, released by then Minister of Training, Colleges, and Universities Glen Murray in June, was to solicit feedback regarding a series of potential reforms to the province’s post-secondary system. The document’s controversial proposals include the creation of three-year degrees with yearlong courses divided across three semesters, standardized and transferable first- and second-year courses, and a shift towards hosting up to 60 per cent of courses online. Murray cancelled his plans to attend the meeting after being told by the UTSU that he would not appear on a panel alongside union president Shaun Shepherd, U of T provost Cheryl Misak, and University of Toronto Faculty Association president Scott Prudham. According to Shepherd, Murray was invited as a “guest” rather than a speaker because he was the last potential panelist to confirm his participation. The minister later criticized the town hall on Twitter, calling it a “festival of misinformation.”
Knightstone Residence On August 24, Toronto City Council voted unanimously to reject a proposal to construct a privately owned and operated condo-style student residence at 245 College St. The proposed building, which would have been built on land owned by the university, attracted significant opposition from local residents’ associations and the Ward 20 city councilor, Adam Vaughan. Opponents argued that the development was a poor fit for the neighborhood. Knightstone Capital Management Inc., a Toronto-based developer who would have owned and operated the residence, proposed the building. In 2010, the Governing Council approved Knightstone’s request, leasing the relevant land. The original proposal was to construct a 42-storey building. In response to negative feedback from the community, Knightstone’s final proposal was for a 24-storey building. Currently, U of T only has the capacity to house a quarter of its student population. The College Street residence was intended to address the lack of available housing on the St. George campus with a specific emphasis on accommodating graduate and international students.
AGM Agenda The University of Toronto Students’ Union’s annual general meeting ended abruptly when the proposed agenda was defeated. The agenda included several bylaw amendments and administrative tasks, which may be addressed during the upcoming general meeting as “old business.” (see “Reforms Set for UTSU Agenda,” pg 3) The rejected agenda did not include a series of proposed amendments that were submitted collaboratively by leaders from Trinity College, University College and the Faculty of Engineering. Amongst the proposed reforms were changes to the union’s electoral policy, and a rule prohibiting proxy voting at union board meetings. The amendments never made it onto the agenda because they weren’t received in time to be vetted by the Policy and Procedures Committee and the Board of Directors. Sam Greene, co-Head of Trinity College, believes that the union “deliberately attempted to stifle proposals and amendments.” According to Greene, Corey Scott, the UTSU’s VP internal & services, was not “forthcoming” when asked for the proposal submission deadline.
The city block on College Street where the proposed Knightstone residence would have been built. Opposition to the project from local residents’ associations has delayed the development.
Access Copyright Agreement
30 per cent Tuition Grant
In January 2012, the university became one of only two academic institutions in Canada to sign a controversial deal with Access Copyright, a non-profit organization that specializes in licensing and royalty collection and distribution. The agreement replaced the existing $0.10 per page policy for course packs by raising the annual royalty for digital copyrighted material from $3.38 per full-time equivalent (FTE) student to $27.50, an increase of over 700 per cent. Additional provisions within the agreement also include limitations on sending links to copyrighted material within emails, an extension of the definition of “copy” to encompass digital copying, and indemnity provisions meant to protect the university against copyright infringement. The University of Toronto Students’ Union, the Graduate Students’ Union, and the University of Toronto Faculty Association have criticized the “cost, process, content, scope, and timing” of the deal. In a joint letter to the Governing Council, they charged the university with hurrying the approval process and failing to conduct adequate community-wide consultations.
The Ontario government implemented an important campaign promise by announcing a 30 per cent tuition grant for college and university students. In order to qualify for the deduction, students must be enrolled full-time in programs that can be entered directly after high school. They must also have a family income of less than $160,000, and have graduated high school in the past four years. Based on calculations made by the Canadian Federation of Students (CFS), only one third of Ontario’s students will meet the grant’s eligibility requirements. The CFS presented Glen Murray, then Minister of Training, Colleges and Universities, with a petition consisting of over 40,000 signatures challenging the grant’s narrow eligibility requirements. The grant was also accompanied by a series of cuts to existing government programs for post secondary students, such as study-abroad scholarships, the Ontario Textbook and Technology Grant, and the Ontario Trust for Student Support.
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“U OF T STUDENTS WIN RHODES” CONTINUED FROM COVER Emdin said of his decision to seek the Rhodes scholarship. “He said it would be a good experience even if I didn’t get it — just being able to apply was good, regardless of the outcome.” Odutayo made special mention of Michelle Hladunewich, who initially took him under her wing in 2007, when he was an undergraduate at the University of Western Ontario. “Among my mentors, Michelle stands out,” he said in an interview with U of T News. “It is because of her support that I have been able to pursue diverse learning opportunities such as working with the World Health Organization.” University president David Naylor praised the Rhodes scholars in a December news release. “We are very proud of the accomplishments of these three outstanding students,” Naylor said. “They show great promise in their fields of study, and are emerging as leaders and innovators in Canadian society and in the global community.”
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grant in place, which she described to experience different career paths as “a big commitment in a time of and that they can “find an internrestraint.” In order to qualify for the ship, or a co-op placement, or somegrant, which was introduced in Feb- thing that will allow them to experuary 2012 by former minister Glen rience a particular career path and Murray (now one of Wynne’s com- decide if that’s what they want to do, petitors in the leadership race), stu- or even decide that it’s not what they dents must be enrolled full-time in want to do.” programs that can be entered directWynne declined to comment ly after high school. They must also directly on Murray’s proposal to have a family income of less than implement a policy of no upfront $160,000 and have graduated high tuition for post-secondary school. school in the past four years. “We’re all Liberals so we all believe “I know that some of organizations strongly in education. We believe that have expressed some concerns and education is the cornerstone of our deI’m quite prepared to sit down with mocracy and we all believe strongly in them,” Wynne acknowledges. “I’m post-secondary,” said Wynne. “I think very interested in an ongoing dia- that all of the ideas that are being put logue and that’s part of the reason I forward by the seven candidates need want to set up the advisory council.” to be looked at. We’re one party and In response to some of the con- I think that one of the advantages of cerns raised by lobby groups such as the leadership is that we can synthethe Canadian Federation of Students, size those ideas.” Wynne indicated that while sheDR. is ELON ScottGRIFFITH said that a majority of the U Cosmeticof&TGeneral not prepared to commit to specific Liberal Dentistry executive, including himchanges to the program at this point, self, are supporting Wynne. 416-923-3386 she is interested in making sure that “I’m supporting Kathleen Wynne drgriffith@rogers.com it is working in the way that it was because of her character and her proCharles principles. ST.W intended to and providing the access 25gressive I’m also supportthat was promised. ingON her M4Y because Toronto 2R4I know she can win a Another part of Wynne’s plan for general election.” post-secondary education is creating Scott “If there’s anyone who BLOOR ST.added, W. more flexibility and mobility within can both repair the Ontario Liberals’ CHARLES ST. W. the system, a goal that was also fea- relationship with the teachers and Office tured prominently in the province’s bring inOurthe spending restraints the contentious discussion paper released province needs, it’s Kathleen Wynne. last summer. Her leadership is calm, conciliatory “I think we need to have more and consistent.” portability, more flexibility within Wynne concluded, “I think what the system so we ensure that if a positions me uniquely is that I’m reyoung person, or someone who is ally good at bringing people together coming back into school, gets on a and I’m really good at helping people track and they take a certain num- sort through ideas and then solving ber or credits that if they change the problems as they present themtheir mind they are able to take the selves so I’m excited about the oppornext step to do the next thing they tunity to do that. want to do,” said Wynne. “I think that my platform comWynne also expressed concern pliments and supplements what about a perceived skills gap, refer- the other candidates have put ring to the disparity between what forward so as the premier what I university graduates have studied would like to do is draw on all of and qualifications and backgrounds those ideas and the other candisought by prospective employers. “I dates will be an important part of believe that right now we have a la- that process come January 28.” bour market and labour force that The Ontario Liberal Leadership don’t necessarily match,” said Wyn- election to replace Dalton Mcne. “I want to make sure that we have Guinty will take place at Maple enough opportunities for young peo- Leaf Gardens on January 25, 26, ple, either when they graduate from and 27. The winner, in addition high school or when they graduate to becoming the leader of the from their first degree or diploma Liberal Party of Ontario, will also from university or college.” become the Premier of Ontario as Wynne says she wants to ensure the Liberals form the current Onthat students have an opportunity tario government.
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News in brief U of T students develop voice translation technology
Outgoing provost, president announce transition plans
GSU endorses boycott of investment in Israel
University of Toronto graduate students George Dahl and Abdel-rahman Mohamed have helped develop a new translation algorithm that could enable technology that translates what you say into another language — in your own voice. Dahl and Mohamed, both Ph.D students in computer science, first developed the acoustic modelling algorithm in 2009. After it set new benchmarks in computerized translation, Microsoft came calling and offered them internships to work on the technology. “It gets rid of the communication barrier that exists,” said Mohamed. “I could learn English and not have to go to school to do it.” Uniquely, for such a groundbreaking advance, Dahl and Mohamed opted against patenting the new technology, allowing companies like Google and IBM to apply it to their own speech-totext programs. Dahl said he expected the algorithm to find future use in computer vision, computer-aided drug discovery, and natural language processing.
Provost Cheryl Misak will be re-appointed to her position until September 2013, according to a late December memo released by university president David Naylor. The committee charged with examining Misak’s reappointment suggested a “multiyear flexible term,” deeming the retention of one of the university’s most senior administrators critically important while the search to replace outgoing U of T president Naylor is underway. Instead of a multi-year term, though, the stopgap measure agreed upon by Naylor and Misak will install the provost in her position for eight more months. Subsequently, an interim provost will be appointed, and once the search for the next president is completed, he or she will hire a long-term replacement. This arrangement, said Naylor in a statement, will allow him “to work closely with the Interim Provost throughout this period and especially in the fall of 2013 as ‘the Misak safety net’ falls away.” After serving out the remainder of her term, Misak is expected to accept posts at New York University and Cambridge University, where she will work on a major philosophical text.
The University of Toronto’s Graduate Student Union (GSU) voted overwhelmingly in favor of a resolution to endorse the campaign known as “Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions” (BDS) against the state of Israel at their meeting on December 10. BDS calls for U of T to refrain from investments in companies, including Lockheed Martin and Hewlett Packard, that are described as profiting from “illegal occupation of Palestinian land” and the “collective punishment of Palestinians.” One hundred and fifty graduate students were present at the meeting, of which 97 per cent voted in favor of the motion. Some students who opposed the motion said they felt that the GSU violated their bylaws by not advertising the motion prior to the meeting. Erin Oldynski, external commissioner for the GSU, promised that “a motion such as this is only the beginning of a much longer campaign.” Other Canadian universities have passed similar resolutions, including York University, University of Regina, and Carleton University.
— Colin Tessier
— Rwayda Al-Kamisi
—James Maiangowi With files from the Toronto Star.
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CONNOR EMDIN on how U of T is leading the way in easing Africa’s healthcare personnel shortage
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E-courses not a sure thing EngSci should proceed with caution in implementing online courses Stephanie Gaglione
family and work obligations, cost effectiveness, and the removal of time and classroom-space constraints are all undeniable advantages. Nonetheless, there are also many disadvantages. A high level of self-motivation is required to succeed in an online course. The potential for fraud is high. Evaluation is almost entirely limited to one or two exams. A study published in the Journal of Interactive Online Learning revealed that 68 per cent of surveyed students strongly disliked the lack of community and limited face-to-face interaction in their online courses. Nearly 70 per cent of surveyed faculty members questioned the prestige of online credits. A comprehensive study of over 1000 empirical studies by the US Department of Education claimed that full online courses were inferior to traditional learning. In the case of FASE’s motion, the idea of e-courses for first-years is also concerning. Every incoming student confronts the emotional challenge of adapting to a new system of learning in a stressful environment. How are students to judge whether their knowledge or learning style is suited to an online program? What resources will the university provide to students who are ill-prepared for the challenges of e-learning? The proposed 100 per cent final exam weight is an unjust and demanding feature poorly suited to incoming students. The VP Academic of the Engineering Society relayed student apprehension on the motion. “Students are concerned about course weighting, the lack of necessary in class experience, and comparisons between the in-class and online versions. Virtually no information has been offered on how the courses will be run.” E-courses are not curriculum changes to be taken lightly. Classes must be carefully designed to incorporate community, timely feedback, and clear expectations — an ambitious challenge not well suited to math and science courses at U of T. Before suggesting such a strong motion, the faculty should examine all possible alternatives. For example, posting online lecture videos grants students learning flexibility, while preserving fair evaluation and face-to-face interaction in tutorials. Unsurprisingly, the best source for faculty research and alternative ideas is close by — students themselves.
VARSITY CONTRIBUTOR
Over the past decade, online learning and distance education have revolutionized university education in unexpected ways. In 2002, over 1.6 million postsecondary students were enrolled in an online course; by 2008, this number had tripled. Despite this overwhelming transition to the online realm, digital learning has failed to achieve universal acceptance. Instead, obstructive questions remain. Is traditional learning superior? To what extent should online tools be used in postsecondary education? A motion by the Faculty of Applied Science and Engineering Faculty Council (FASE) to introduce four new e-courses in first-year Mechanics, Dynamics, Calculus I, and Calculus II in 2013 is both ambitious and controversial. At worst, the move is an unacceptable attenuation of the undergraduate learning experience. The motion by FASE is not the first U of T online-learning initiative. There are many different models for e-learning; online lecture videos, hybrid courses consisting of both online and in-class instruction, non-credit courses, and online assignments are all classified under the broad umbrella of online education. U of T’s programs fall at different points on the spectrum of different models. At one end, Open UToronto has developed several openaccess digital collections and free educational resources. Along with several other elite universities, U of T recently partnered with Coursera to pilot five open non-credit webbased courses. Most courses incorporate online assignments, homework, and lecture videos. At the other extreme of the spectrum, complete online credit options are limited to five courses: Introduction to Environmental Science, Geographic Info and Mapping I, Introduction to Human Neurobehavioural Biology, Introductory Psychology, and Foundations in Effective Academic Communication. However, there are fundamental differences between the establishment of complete online classes for core science and math courses and the incorporation of e-learning into the existing curriculum. At first glance, the benefits of online courses are enticing. The ability of students to access course materials at convenient places and times, the ability to enrol in courses at other U of T campuses, the possibility of remaining a full-time student while satisfying
MINHEE BAE/THE VARSITY
Stephanie Gaglione is a TrackOne engineering student at U of T and is the first-year representative on the Engineering Society Board of Directors.
Why I can’t come to class Michael Iannozzi VARSITY CONTRIBUTOR
“Why don’t you just come to class?” The question hangs in the air like a rain cloud; in other words, it’s about to ruin my day. The simple answer is, “I can’t.” The full answer is much more complicated and much more nuanced — but I never give it. I find myself at a professor’s desk at least once a semester, either by my own volition or at the request of the professor. The professor has good reason to ask — I haven’t made it to class once all term. Each time this happens, I can feel the stress all day as I wait for his or her office hours. I always make sure to wear a dark-coloured shirt, because I know it will be sweat through at the armpits by the time that the question is asked. The answer is that I am not physically or mentally capable sometimes. It is not something I can express any better than
that. The answer is that because I have missed so many weeks I am positive that something will be said when I finally do come, so I don’t attend. Sometimes, that is the answer. The answer is that I was so stressed about the coming day’s class that I couldn’t sleep, and was too exhausted to attend. Sometimes, that is the answer. The answer is that I have been feeling so tired this week that I’ve been going to bed at seven in the evening and waking up at noon, so I slept through class. Sometimes, that is the answer. The answer is that I haven’t got the week’s homework done, and the fear of embarrassment at being asked for my input in a small class is too great to allow me to walk up the flight of stairs to the classroom. Sometimes, that is the answer. The answer is I spent all day embarrassed about something that I said to someone three summers ago, and couldn’t leave the house for fear of seeing her — even though
she lives in another city. Sometimes, that is the answer. The answer is that I failed out of a competitive program at Carleton, and I am so afraid of failing again that I spent the class time rereading the material. Sometimes, that is the answer. The answer is that I spent a year back home, living with my parents, and trying to put my life back together and now I’m in a first-year class — I’m embarrassed because I’m 23. Sometimes, that is the answer. The answer is never that I’ve been partying too hard; I have fewer friends in this city than I have fingers. The answer is never that I had friends visiting from my hometown. Most of my old friends stopped talking to me when word spread around my small town that I was crazy. The answer is never that I don’t think attendance is important. I know that my marks would be so much better if I could make it to class. The answer is never that I’m hungover; I can’t drink with the medication I’m taking. The answer is
never that I’m not taking school seriously. I value this second chance at a degree more than you could ever know. The answer is never that I don’t appreciate the opportunity. I know that I would be homeless on the streets of Ottawa if it were not for the love of my family. The answer is that I’m working at the limits of my ability, and sometimes my abilities aren’t up to the challenge. I am registered with Accessibility Services, and they have been integral to keeping me in school. If you see me and talk to me on a good day I am affable, polite, kind, and well-mannered. On a bad day, things are not nearly as easy as that. I’m not asking for free marks. I’m not asking to be given handouts. I’m just asking for you to think that there may be an answer to why I’m not in class that is more complex than that I just don’t care. Michael Iannozzi is a third-year linguistics student.
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MONDAY, JANUARY 7, 2013
VARSITY COMMENT
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Veggie Mondays are only a start U of T should continue move to fully Meatless Mondays Paul York VARSITY CONTRIBUTOR
With U of T introducing its new Veggie Mondays program, some cafeterias on campus will start offering discounted vegetarian and vegan options on Mondays. This is an important step forward for the health of the students, because animal protein has been linked to cancer, heart disease, and obesity — see the excellent film on this, Forks Over Knives. Humans can easily get necessary protein, iron, calcium, and other nutrients from whole-food plant-based sources. Moreover, according to a United Nations report, “Livestock’s Long Shadow,” industrial animal agriculture is a major cause of climate change, global water shortages, water pollution, biodiversity loss, and soil erosion. Not eating animal products is the single best thing you can do to reduce your ecological footprint. The new program, called “Veggie Mondays,” is a commendable step, but also a very small and cautious step, because a “meat alternative” will still be served. It would be better if meat were fully eliminated for at least one day per week, or for one meal per day on every day of the week. Right now, meat is present at every meal and the onus is on students to choose. Ideally, there should also be clearly marked and discounted vegan options at every meal and at every food outlet on campus, seven days a week. Food Services can set a higher standard. I have been told that Food Services does not have “the right” to take meat away from students. But does the university not have a moral responsibility to refrain from serving products
that are harmful? According to numerous medical studies, animal flesh — and, in particular, red meat and processed meat — is carcinogenic, and eating a whole-food plant-based diet greatly reduces the risk of cancer and heart disease. Food providers do not have to wait for laws to change, they can act now. If we are talking about rights, eating animals violates human rights indirectly. First, all future generations are gravely at risk due to climate change and water stress, caused in large part by factory farming; second, livestock consume a disproportionate amount of resources, contributing to world hunger and famine; third, factory farms are breeding grounds for deadly pandemic diseases, representing a global health risk. Factory farms should be outlawed for these reasons — instead, governments currently subsidize them. Additionally, eating animals violates their basic rights. Eating a cow, pig, or chicken means paying men to enslave and kill them. “Meat” is a bland euphemism for a dead body. The right to live and be free from violence is basic to all sentient beings. An animal that might be killed for meat has the desire to live, as we all do. Compared to their basic rights, our “right” to taste their flesh is trivial. Like racism or sexism, discrimination based on species is a moral cancer that corrupts the soul of our society. Our food choices are in fact profound moral choices. Animal exploitation robs us of our humanity, it destroys the environment that we all depend on, it causes terrible diseases, it contributes to world hunger, it is a global health risk, and it robs both human and non-human animals of their liberty and their lives — all unnecessarily.
If we wish to live in a just, good, and compassionate society — one that is truly sustainable and respects the rights of all — the most effective thing any of us can do is stop eating animals, including eggs and dairy, because those industries contribute to limitless animal cruelty and death. If done correctly, veganism is the healthiest food choice as well. I hope students will take this seriously and press for more vegan options on campus and consider joining the Meatless Monday student committee, or the U of T Animal Rights Club. Above all, take the time to learn about healthy vegan foods and begin to make responsible food choices that do not entail animal slavery. Paul York is a PhD candidate in the Centre for the Study of Religion, co-founder of the U of T Animal Rights Club, and a member of the Meatless Monday committee on campus. He can be reached at paulyork.2010@gmail.com.
Bernarda Gospic/THe VarsiTy
Start the year (b)right. Write for Comment. comment@thevarsity.ca
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VARSITY COMMENT
MONDAY, JANUARY 7, 2013
9
LETTERS TO
Vol CXXXIII, No. 12, Decemeber 3, 2012 Sacrifice to succeed This article is factually incorrect and deliberately misleading. The author states as the crux of his argument that money is spread equally amongst teams rather than focusing on a few high performing teams: “What little funding does exist at U of T is spread equally amongst all 44 teams.” In fact, funding for the men’s hockey team of which Deagle is a part totals approximately $215,000/year while men’s and women’s rugby each receive $15,000/year. The numbers don’t lie, and Deagle’s argument crumbles when you look at them. The real problem with varsity sports at U of T is the inability to recruit high-performing athletes due to high academic standards and the rigorous reputation that a U of T education carries. Deagle should be intimately aware of this given that last season he played 16 games with only one point all season. — Curtis Woodford (from the web) As always, there are two sides to every story. While it would be great to see the Blues achieve the same level of success we had in the past, one can only wonder if the potential for future success is really worth it at the expense of the majority of the current varsity teams? Many of the teams who face restructuring are actually quite successful at the OUA level (ie. baseball, m&w water polo, m&w badminton, women’s golf, m&w tennis, women’s squash, just to name a few). Their only crime is not being part of the CIS. For this, they face demotion to the recreational level, regardless of the fact that many teams actually do participate in national championships (ie. lacrosse is part of CUFLA, mountain biking has the University Cup, and sports like badminton, squash, and rowing all have their own respective Canadian University Championships). Rugby is a special exception to this rule because they are a CIS sport, but due to specific circumstances they do not have fields/facilities and therefore are also being demoted. My main concern is that we are risking the success of 28 sports in order to attempt success at 16. I just can’t see how redirecting and funneling all funding, attention, and resources into a handful of sports will really help them be more successful. The biggest issue we face is an internal one. The University of Toronto is one of the only schools in Canada that does not centrally fund its athletics program. As it stands, intercollegiate, intramural, and open recreation athletics are fully funded by a portion of student fees,
THE EDITOR fundraising efforts, and alumni support (in some cases). This should not be the case. More importantly, however, is U of T’s reputation as a prestigious, but demanding, academic institution. In most cases, the top athletes just don’t have the marks to get in, or they simply avoid attempting admission because of the high expectations and rigorous courses. This is not going to change as I can’t foresee the university making admission exceptions for incoming varsity athletes. And this is something that money can’t fix. As stated above, varsity athletes should indeed all work together and want to see each other succeed. It shouldn’t be a case of mainstream sports vs. non-mainstream sports. U of T and the Varsity Blues pride themselves in their history, that which boasts a wide array of varsity sports. Let’s not see that change. — ProudBlue (from the web) You certainly are not coming from an objective or balanced perspective. Your statement regarding rugby seems to contradict itself. Indeed rugby does have a short season and draws on relatively few resources. Our entire budget is probably less than the budget your team has for just a few games. I’m not sure that eliminating our sport would help others as significantly as you suggest. In addition, our short season does not preclude us from being a high performance sport. The university season is but one part of a 12-month intensive training schedule that rugby athletes participate in. We don’t simply show up in September, play for 13 weeks, and sit on the couch. We play at the club, provincial, national and even international levels. In fact, rugby 7s will be in the Olympics in 2016. Currently over 95 per cent of the National Senior Women’s Team, which consistently ranks fourth worldwide, is composed of current or former CIS athletes. Can men’s hockey boast an Olympic team that draws so significantly from the CIS talent pool? I think not. — Rugby Girl (from the web) The logic behind Kevin’s article is fairly simple actually. When you sacrifice in one area you expect gains in another. This is true in academics, athletics, and life and I would challenge anyone who argues otherwise. If U of T’s goal is to achieve success in the higher profile sports such as basketball, football and hockey, all of which have television contracts (TSN, The Score, Sportsnet) then it appears as though the “High Performance Model” would be a good fit. If research is what you’re looking for here it is. After looking at CIS champions over the past 12 years in the proposed
“High Performance Sports” that U of T would continue to support, (excluding men’s cross-country and women’s track due to insufficient data) I found that out of a possible 168 championships, a University supporting over 25 varsity teams won only 15 CIS titles over that period of time. Western, who won a men’s hockey title in the early 2000’s was the next highest supporter of varsity teams with 32, 14 less than U of T currently supports. The numbers don’t lie. If we want to win at high profile sports this model has proven to be effective. I understand the frustration from those facing the removal of your sports, but that is no excuse for personal attacks on Kevin. No matter the decision. Go Blues. — Brett Willows U of T should continue to move toward Meatless Mondays No thanks. You can eat vegetarian food for whatever reasons you so choose, and I’ll respect your decision. But it’s not up to U of T to mandate my own food choices. Their job is to provide options, so you and I can both choose what we want to consume. — Kellen (from web) Awesome article! I agree 100 per cent. Turns out that U of T is going to go ahead with something like this — “Veggie Day” (or something — not “meatless” though) Details being worked out now. I am interested to see how it turns out. Chef Jaco and Aramark are working on it. Anyway, glad that animal rights made it into the article. Very important. — T York (from web) Quebec-driven reforms voted down at CFS national meeting To be quite clear those who often criticize the CFS should be giving the CFS a pat on the back. Right now the CFS is having it’s own battle with its radical left wing GSU, DSU, and a few others were pushing a radical agenda that the majority did not support. The motions were defeated. This is because CFS as a whole is not ready to shift even further left. Not all the motions failed. Some passed and some were referred. The meeting did have issues but they were caused by individual delegates not by CFS as a whole. — Mike Michaud (from web)
Redefining Success An op-ed on the Varsity Blues reorganization proposals Luke Spooner VARSITY BLUES ATHLETE
The University of Toronto is one of the best universities in the world, containing some of the most intelligent and talented student athletes in Canada — leaders in both academics and sports. As a worldwide leader the University of Toronto should be promoting all OUA sports and CIS sports. Unfortunately, the reality is that the more teams offered by the university, the less funding each team will receive. With less funding, it is more challenging to be successful at every sport; however to remove Varsity status from small teams in order to budget more money for larger teams is not a solution. Funding is still an important issue, which means student athletes as a team or an entire body need to take initiative to solve this problem. Current programs such as fundraising or Adopt-A-Blue are helping, but new ideas are needed about how to increase team’s funding. The University of Toronto and their Varsity athletes need to take the initiative in developing new ideas and methods to increase funding and the competiveness of their teams. Simply cutting the number of Varsity teams to increase funding for the remaining ones, a proposal Kevin Deagle supported in his op-ed in the December 3 issue of The Varsity, is not a good solution because it assumes that small increases in funding for teams with large budgets will ultimately lead to those teams winning more often. Though we have not been as successful as our Guelph counterparts, who have won 13 OUA and eight CIS titles in the past four years, the situation needs to be approached with a positive attitude. The University of Western Ontario fields 35 athletic teams that have won 25 OUA banners in the past four years, demonstrating that it is possible to win while offering many different teams. Furthermore, many
of our teams are improving every year, and these improvements from previous records should be recognized. One way to improve our teams without new funding is by pushing student athletes, regardless of sport, to be leaders inside and outside of the classroom. This could include being involved in volunteer organizations, volunteer coaching in the community, or excelling academically and becoming leaders in their academic fields. Student athletes who excel in all areas can provide inspiration not only to our current students, but also to parents, and to middle and high school students who play the same sport. This will help to promote U of T’s athletic programs. Realistically, most of our athletes will not be able to pursue careers solely within their sport; the focus should be on creating successful student athletes, not just winning teams. Focus on wining should be a twofold approach — if participation in sport is creating successful alumni who can give back to their former programs, then why should we reduce these opportunities? Participation in Varsity sports leads to success. Som Seif, founder of Claymore Investments, an engineering graduate who played Varsity water polo and then came back to coach the Varsity team for numerous years, and Taryn Grieder, a Varsity lacrosse player recently awarded her Ph.D in Neuroscience are examples of this. If the phrase “once a Varsity Blue always a Varsity Blue” holds true, then creating successful alumni will not only increase funding through donations but improve Varsity athletics by making U of T better known for developing successful student leaders within its athletics programs. To determine what makes an economically ‘successful’ U of T Varsity team, the returns on funding over past years should be reviewed. Our understanding of returns should include cost per win, cost per OUA title, and cost per CIS title where applicable. Additionally, returns should include graduation rates per team. If the university is investing money on student athletes, they should be providing some value to the
University of Toronto and surrounding community. Successful alumni, either within their sport or in other careers, as well as those who come back to coach our teams — some of whom are volunteers — should also be a factor when considering if a Varsity team has been successful. Offering many Varsity sports is also valuable as athletes come from all over the world, convinced to attend U of T because their sport is offered here. As these athletes return to their communities around the world, they act as role models and inspirations promoting both their sport and U of T. Though winning is important in university sports, we need to see the bigger picture; that the existence of numerous Varsity sports has many indirect benefits that are difficult to quantify. To evaluate success solely on the basis of winning is extremely short-sighted and we should also consider the indirect effects and benefits. Funding is an important issue but reducing the number of Varsity teams is not a solution. The success of our athletic programs should not be solely defined by winning, but also by their role in creating successful student athletes. We are all U of T students, we are all “boundless,” and together we all need to rise to meet this challenge. Luke Spooner is a pharmaceutical chemistry student who plays on the Varsity Blues men’s water polo team.
A gastronomic guide to the best Croatian, Hungarian, Russian, Czech, and Serbian by Angela Brock photos by Bernarda Gospic European diners like Prague European Kitchen and Country Style Hungarian Restaurant have long sated famished souls, both gastronomically and emotionally. These no-frills fueling stations are testament to the restoring effects of good simple eats and the oft-underestimated appeal of frank and unpretentious kindness. Endearingly démodé, these places are perfect for students and bearded Czech or Hungarian elders alike. For Toronto’s Eastern European community, these restaurants — and others like them — hold an obvious appeal. But even if you know little about the finer points of separating Croatian and Serbian cuisine, the timeless warmth of Eastern European restaurants and bars make them perfect places to hole up and ride out the winter. Better yet, a new breed of Eastern European outposts is popping up around the city, catering to a younger, thirstier crowd. While tied to tradition by a penchant for the undeniable irresistibility of cured meats, pickled vegetables, and strong drink, the new wave exemplified by Hrvati Bar, Pravda Bar, Rakia, and Rasputin incorporate all the latest requisites of Toronto’s evolving nightlife scene. Here are a few of the best places to wait out the cold with a beer, vodka, or some hearty food.
450 Bloor St. W. $–$$
690 Euclid Ave. $$
One of the last remaining vestiges from a time when The Annex was a predominantly Hungarian neighbourhood, Country Style is a living relic. Despite its increasingly trendy surroundings, this old-fashioned diner carries on, uncompromising in its warm, homelike character. The staff, menu and atmosphere are as down to earth as its wood-paneled walls. Red and white gingham tablecloths quickly become laden with Eastern-European staples such as goulash, cabbage rolls, and perogies topped with crispy fried onions. Groups of friends and family ought to dare one another to try the establishment’s towering meat platters. These daunting selections of schnitzel and meats are brought out almost ceremoniously, in a carnivorous ritual that won’t disappoint. For dessert, the strudels are fresh baked and flaky, just light enough not to compound the meal’s heftiness too severely. You may recognize these meals from having grown up with them, or you might simply enjoy them as a reminder of what it means to be truly full. Either way, Country Style serves up the comfort food needed to beat cold winters, whether stewed on a stovetop in Budapest or in a charmingly outdated nook in Toronto’s slushy landscape.
Hrvati Bar is one of those little places you wish you frequented enough to be a regular, where the staff know your name and reflexively ready your usual. As a relatively new and unimposing addition to Koreatown’s bibimbap houses and groceries, this Croatian gem may not yet be intimately known to many, but it sure feels like it. A communal-style banquet table extends the length of the bar’s interior, lending the room its hospitable character. The walls are furnished with antique photographs of women clad in embroidered linen dresses and men decorated for military service, imparting a vague sense of nationalist camaraderie. Perfect for conversation and close gatherings, Hrvati features a wide array of beers from around the world. Among the extensive offerings are Irish, Polish, Czech, and of course, Croatian brews. Accompanying these specialty imported beers is a concise assortment of Eastern European classics, such as chicken paprikas, pljeskavica (a Croatian-style burger stuffed with mozzarella) and cevapi (a platter of handmade sausages). Intended for sharing, these finger foods come with sides of fresh cut Yukon gold fries, plus satisfyingly-briny slaws and assorted pickles. The traditional menu is playfully equipped with a glossary of ingredients, while the earnest staff welcome newcomers as though to their own kitchen table.
1402 Queen St. E. $$–$$$
Popular throughout the Balkans, rakia are strong alcoholic brandies made from various fruits a the waitress at Rakia Bar in Leslieville tells me. The restaurant, which opened this past summe Belgrade bar, and it seems to be creating a new class of hardy rakia-swilling Europhiles. The comprehensive menu of plum, prune, apricot and pear brandies is charmingly organized f igniting, represented on a mustache barometer ranging from thin to bushy. Each drink is served ing plate of goat cheese, olives and cured meat selected to accentuate its flavour profile. Plush ben style tapas menu lends the bar its friendly feel, while eclectic music and expanses of fuchsia-colo maintain its urbane vibe. An authentic Serbian drinking experience rendered palatable for the un a distinctly European interpretation on the beloved cocktail bar.
n joints in Toronto
nd meant for sipping — or so er, is the Toronto satellite of a
from glow-inducing to flameaccompanied by a small tastnch seating and a communaloured velvet and painted brick naccustomed, Rakia Bar offers
44 Wellington St. E. $$$ Named for the Russian Communist Party’s official newspaper, Pravda Vodka Bar gingerly straddles the line between charm and kitsch. Planted in the St. Lawrence Market community of shops and artisanal restaurants, Pravda transports diners to a space outside historical time or place. Swathed in luxuriant curtains of red velvet, ornately upholstered couches, gilded columns, propaganda posters, and a wealth of hammer and sickle symbolism, the experience is amusing even if a little contrived. An array of vodkas are divided up into ‘New’ and ‘Old World’, and martinis such as the ‘socialist lychee’ or ‘Trotsky Lemon Berry’ offer brief educational blurbs on introductory Marxism. Given how heavy-handed the Soviet allusions may be, it stands to question whether this pricey vodka bar caters to the blue-collared revolutionaries it takes its name from, or their bourgeois counterparts. Strictly 25+, this haughty Russian daydream might best be left to slick-suited thirty-somethings.
780 Queen St. E. $–$$ An ideal spot to visit for drinks with friends, Rasputin Vodka Bar combines an irresistible blend of Russian sophistication with an intimate and relaxed ambiance. Host to some very affordable bar rail and happy hour specials, the stylish space and variety of vodkas often come cheap. Cocktails are accompanied by pickles, olive and rye to accentuate the flavours in the vodka and the bar’s own Russian flair. Fabergé eggs and Matryoshka (Russian nesting dolls) line the length of the bar, while yesteryear figureheads and propaganda posters are displayed in ornate gilded frames. On Saturdays the inviting dim room comes complete with a live dj. The funky music creates a laid-back and exciting feeling. Assorted charcuterie and cheese platters pair nicely with the vodka-focused drink menu, are easily shared amongst friends and lay heavy sandbags against the alcohol. An excellent and too often overlooked treasure of the Leslieville neighbourhood, Rasputin is just as intriguing as the mysterious monk it takes it name from, and fortunately, perhaps a fair bit friendlier.
638 Queen St. W. $$ Queen Street’s Prague European Kitchen has long been lauded for its traditional home-style Czech and Slovak foods and casual atmosphere. It remains a favourite for those seeking old-fashioned dishes, stacked deli sandwiches and classic soups. This past year, however, the four-decade old deli underwent some changes after it passed into the hands of new owners. The rustic has been done away with in favour of a more polished and trendy setting. While the veteran deli has undergone a few superficial changes to its façade and menu, its charm remains intact. It seems the new owners are attempting to push the old Prague (formerly named Prague Fine Food Emporium) into the same league as some of the city’s more trendy European upstarts. Whether the subtle transition takes, or pales in comparison to its antiquated former self, you’ll need to decide for on your own.
Arts & Culture var.st/arts
ONLINE EXCLUSIVE
DANIEL HOROWITZ sounds off on the best films of 2012
07 JaNUarY 2013
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arts@thevarsity.ca
Hip hop, language, and land rights
The Power Plant’s latest exhibit, “Beat Nation: Art, Hip Hop and Aboriginal Culture,” highlights the bold voice of First Nations youth Ishita Petkar
VARSITY STAFF
With the Idle No More protests and Attawapiskat Chief Theresa Spence’s hunger strike, the voice of Aboriginal youth has rarely been stronger or more prominent in Ontario. Appropriate to this mood of revolution and activism is The Power Plant’s newest exhibition, “Beat Nation: Art, Hip Hop and Aboriginal Culture.” “Beat Nation” highlights the voices of young Aboriginal artists who integrate urban youth culture and ideas about Aboriginal identity in twentyfirst century North America. Featuring a variety of artists from places across the continent, including Nunavut, Alaska and New Mexico, this exhibition’s roots begin in hip hop and branch out to cover a variety of artistic mediums, including graffiti, skateboard culture, and performance art. Hip hop culture has proven to be a driving force for urban Aboriginal youth since the early 1990s, providing an outlet for creating a dynamic interplay between new and traditional, rural and urban,and indigenous and nonindigenous languages. Although this mode of expression is contemporary, the opinions and issues that are being addressed by First Nations hip hop artists are age old, reminding audiences that the frictions that began
many years ago are still very much present today. Issue of unresolved land claims crop up repeatedly among the works that are featured in the “Beat Nation” exhibit. One piece of graffiti art, which spans an entire wall of the exhibit, claims in bright red lettering,“There can never be justice on stolen land.”A series of photographs depicts artist Cheryl L’Hinrondelle’s mark on the shoulder of the TransCanada Highway, which cuts through the reserve at Kettle and Stoney Point. L’ Hirondelle asserted her presence on this piece of land by using sticks and rocks to spell out in Cree syllabics: wapahta oma iskonikan askiy, which translates to “look at this leftover strip of land,” emphasizing that the reserves apportioned to the indigenous peoples of Canada are but remnants of the much larger territories that were once in their possession. The reclaiming of Aboriginal languages is another issue that has seen a resurgence in recent years. Due to the enforced enrollment of First Nations children in residential schools, Aboriginal languages were on the decline for some time, and generations of First Nation peoples were unable to express themselves in their native languages. In recent years, however, Aboriginal youth have been pushing to reclaim their mother tongues. “Beat Nation” reflects this movement through several installations, such as
a short art film that proclaims, and iPod accessories decorated with “You cut my tongue, now only my the beading of traditional indigenous heart speaks,” as well as a functional, craft. One of the films in the exhibit homemade turntable. The turntable juxtaposes footage of a young man in particular is quite a powerful piece, break dancing to traditional drum made entirely from different kinds of beats with footage of a traditional wood, with records carved from pine, Haida dancer dressed in full regalia as oak, walnut, and spruce instead of he dances to dubstep. Another highvinyl. When played, visitors hear the light of the exhibit is a panoramic artist practicing his native Mi’kmaq video, projected onto a skateboard, of language, along with the sounds of the Inuit sport “Blanket Toss,” which the static caused by the wood grain. is being played against the backdrop The artist’s efforts to preserve his of the Nunatsiavut landscape. This cultural history are thus facilibeautiful film installation connects tated by an older method of both a traditional pastime and a recording the past: the rings contemporary sport to the landof a tree. scape of the North. The remaining por“Beat Nation” illustrates tion of “Beat Nation” the commitment of Aborigis largely devoted to inal youth to politics, land re-appropriation — rights, native languages, Aboriginal artists reand storytelling. Each claiming ideas and installation in the extraditional identihibit affirms the tenacties that have been ity and strength of the misconstrued over artists’ voices, which time. The exhibit loudly proclaim that boasts skateAboriginal youth board trucks are moving into the carved out of future with the moose antdetermination to lers, a playful right the wrongs music video of the past. critiquing German fasci“Beat Nation” nation with runs at the North AmeriPower Plant until Raven: On the Colonial Fleet by Skeena Reece. PHOtO COUrtesY sebastIeN Krete can “Indians,” May 5, 2013
Homemade chilli for hopeless cooks A simple and flavourful chilli recipe BEYOND KRAFT DINNER
Sweet potato chilli with a dollap of sour cream. aLaNNa LIPsON/tHe varsItY
I think it's safe to say that in high school, I was the least capable and least enthusiastic member of my gym class. I also had more than the occasional struggle with geography. But if there was one thing at which I was truly terrible, it was cooking: I scorched oatmeal, I accidentally tripled the amount of flour in cookies, I lit my toaster oven on fire, I sliced fingers instead of fingerling potatoes, and — hands down the most serious offense — I managed to accidentally leave out the liquid when making Kraft Dinner's Easy Mac. Years down the line, I would like to think that the quality of my cooking has improved quite a bit, mostly thanks to moving off campus with three roommates who all take cooking fairly seriously. Though the thought of cooking seemed intimidating in the beginning, I grew to love it. It was much more affordable than eating out, and it was a way to unwind at the end of a long day. After spending hours writing essays with titles such as "Lost Innocence and Spectral Landscapes: The Failure of Nostalgic Recollection in the Poetry of John Clare,"
ALANNA LIPSON: VARSITY COLUMNIST
it was also nice to think that I was learning at least one practical skill during my undergrad. It doesn't get more practical than chilli. It's simple, it's cheap, and it's good for at least five servings, making it a great meal to share with friends. This particular recipe is slightly sweet, smoky, earthy, and just spicy enough. The chilli also gets a lovely kick from orange zest and juice. It can be served over rice, with a slice of hearty bread, or — my favourite — with a dollop of really thick plain yoghurt or sour cream. Homemade Chilli for Hopeless Cooks Ingredients: 1 tablespoon olive oil 1 large onion, diced 4 cloves garlic, diced 1 tablespoon ground cumin 1.5 teaspoons dried chipotle powder (or chili powder) s 0.5 teaspoon dried oregano s 2 long, narrow sweet pota toes, peeled, and cut into s 1-inch cubes s 1 cup vegetable broth s s s s s
s s s s
1 can (800 ml) of diced/ crushed tomatoes 2 cans (540 ml each) of cooked beans (black and kidney work best), drained and rinsed s salt and pepper s juice and zest of 1 orange 1. In a large pot on medium-high, heat the olive oil and sauté the onions and garlic until softened and just starting to turn golden. 2. Add in the spices and the sweet potatoes. Stir until coated. Reduce the heat to medium. 3. Pour in the diced tomatoes and enough broth to just cover the sweet potatoes. Let cook, covered, for 10 minutes. Remove the lid and simmer, uncovered, on medium-low heat for another 10–15 minutes, or until the sweet potato can be easily pierced by a knife. 4. Add the beans, the orange juice, and the zest. Add salt, pepper, and possibly more chili powder to your taste. 5. Remove from heat and let cool for about five minutes before serving.
VARSITY ARTS & CULTURE
var.st/arts
MONDAY, JANUARY 7, 2013
13
The short list
Canada’s Top Ten showcases the best of Canadian short films Dryden Bailey
Beyond Canada's Top Ten
VARSITY CONTRIBUTOR
Other great Canadian shorts The holidays brought family reunions, the first snowfall of the season, far too much turkey, and the final theatrical releases of 2012. Audiences flocked to see Peter Jackson’s The Hobbit and Tom Hooper’s Les Misérables as the year came to a close, but how many people had the chance to see a contemporary Canadian film? The reality of the Canadian box office is that American films dominate and Canadian ones are usually reserved for the festival circuit. The problem is not supply — there are many talented Canadian filmmakers and quality films out there — but accessibility. Canada’s Top Ten, established in 2001 by TIFF, attempts to combat this issue by compiling an annual list of Canada’s top 10 features and short films, and screening these films for 10 days at the TIFF Bell Lightbox. According to Steve Gravestock, Senior Programmer at TIFF, the list was originally a promotional tool, meant to create awareness of Canadian cinema. Choices are based solely on the personal preferences of a select panel, with no regard for agenda or politics. The resulting lineup is an eclectic mix of genres and origins. Many will recognize certain names on the CTT features list,
Goldilocks Nation Andrew Kelm What a Young Girl Should Not Know Emily Pickering Exode Nathaniël Siri The Big Tree Andrew Struthers, Pasheabel Hart Nothing Else/Plus Rien Ne Vouloir Anne Émond Kapsar, directed by Diane Obomsawim. PHOTO COURTESY OF TIFF
such as David Cronenberg’s Cosmopolis, Michael Dowse’s Goon or Deepa Mehta’s Midnight’s Children. But this year’s list of shorts provides a unique opportunity for audiences to get acquainted with largely unknown filmmakers. As Gravestock notes, the shorts that will be screened during the festival are part of a unique genre and very specific type of art form. These are not the shorts that precede your favourite Pixar or Disney movie; many on the top 10 list deal with the grief and struggles of ordinary people.
One of the most heartrending short films that will be screened during Canada’s Top Ten is Martin Thibaudeau’s Reflexions. This short, which clocks in at only five minutes long, has no dialogue, but gives the audience a glimpse into the life of a deceased man and his family. Both Joelle Desjardins Paquette’s Wintergreen and Chloe Robichaud’s Herd Leader are French films that take a more lighthearted approach to death and mourning, using humour to portray the complex
emotions that follow the loss of a loved one. Some of the shorts derive their inspiration from history, fables and music. Diane Obomsawin’s Kaspar is a 2D representation of a nineteenth century foundling. Bydio by Patrick Bouchard is a claymation film inspired by Mussorgsky’s piano concerto Pictures at an Exhibition. This short — which is especially moving thanks to the superb craftsmanship of the clay figures — tells the story of an ox born from rain soaked mud and
its destruction by those who try to control it. This assortment of short films, coupled with the selection of Canadian features, makes Canada’s Top Ten one of the few events that allow audiences to see original Canadian content in theaters. I highly recommend taking advantage of this unique opportunity. For tickets to Canada’s Top Ten, visit tiff.net or call (416) 599-8433. Screenings of Canada’s Top Ten features continues through this week until Sunday, January 13.
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MONDAY, JANUARY 7, 2013
VARSITY ARTS & CULTURE
THE VARSITY BOOK CLUB
arts@thevarsity.ca
WORD ON THE BEAT Two albums and a songbook to check out in the New Year Almanac Widowspeak
Bernarda Gospic/THe VarsiTy
This month, The Varsity Bookclub discusses This How You Lose Her a collection of short stories by Junot Diaz. Diaz is a Dominican-American writer who won the Pulitzer Prize for his novel The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao in 2007. In This Is How You Lose Her, the “sucio” Yunior, a peripheral character in Oscar Wao, dominates the majority of the book’s stories with his vibrant tales of loss, love, and infidelity. The Varsity Book Club contemplates the nuanced and complex issues raised in Diaz’s latest offering. The full conversation will be available in our Book Club podcast.
also come from the Dominican, and who has a wife back home. But there is a possible connection with the other stories in This Is How You Lose Her. In the very first story of the collection — “The Sun, the Moon, the Stars” — Yunior is trying to go back to Santa Domingo, where he thinks he’s going to mend a broken relationship. So Santa Domingo takes on this mythic quality, becomes this paradise that Yunior romanticizes. The character in “Otravida, Otravez,” on the other hand, is sort of caught between America and the Dominican Republic, and either place is dangerous for her.
Brigit Katz: Yunior is a minor character in Oscar Wao, but he is featured very prominently in This Is How You Lose Her. How did you feel about the development of Yunior’s voice throughout the course of these short stories?
SB: On that note, the character’s job is also relevant. She cleans sheets at a hospital and manages a team of newly immigrated Dominican workers. And just like the sheets that she cleans, some of these young workers are salvageable and some are beyond help.
Jakob Tanner: For Junot Diaz, Yunior is like Nathan Zuckerberg for Philip Roth, in the sense that Yunior becomes this vehicle for Diaz to say whatever he wants to say. BK: The characters’ voices certainly get a lot bolder with each of Diaz’s books. Oscar was a very non-stereotypical Dominican male, whereas I think Yunior fits that bill a little more. And I really enjoyed his voice — the blending of Spanish, street talk, and an almost poetic style. Simon Bromberg: How does “Otravida Otravez” fit in with the other stories? You have eight stories that are almost all about Yunior, and then one in the middle that is told from a woman’s perspective. JT: When Diaz is not writing from Yunior’s perspective, his voice becomes much more reticent. And I was happy to see Diaz doing something different. “Otravida, Otravez” is about a woman who has recently emigrated from the Dominican Republic to America. She begins having an affair with a man who has
BK: I liked “Otravida, Otravez ” for another reason. In the other stories of This Is How You Lose Her, we get a picture of the relationships that Yunior has, but we don’t really hear the voices of the women that he cheats on his girlfriends with. In most of the stories that we get from Yunior’s perspective, these women are essentially just the “big butt” and the “smart mouth,” as he describes one of his flings in “The Sun, the Moon, the Stars.” And then with “Otravida, Otravez,” we see that there is more to these women than that. Interestingly, in an interview with The Guardian, Diaz said that with This Is How You Lose Her, he wanted to “capture this sort of cheater's progress, where this guy eventually discovers for the first time the beginning of an ethical imagination. Which of course involves the ability to imagine women as human.” Do you see that progression with Yunior? JT: At the end of the very final story — “The Cheater’s Guide to Love” — Yunior receives a com-
pilation of all the e-mails that his girlfriend found, all his cheater’s love notes. And when he’s contemplating this girl who he’s been mourning over for years because she left him, he says, “You did the right thing, negra. You did the right thing.” SB: Yeah, Yunior doesn’t really come off as remorseful about his cheating in the other stories. His ex in “The Cheater’s Guide to Love” is the one exception. BK: At the same time, though, I never got the sense that Yunior was unable to see his girlfriends as humans. I think that from page one of this book, we’re dealing with a character who has a problem with his attitude towards cheating, but who loves his girlfriends, even while he cheats on them. SB: Shifting gears slightly, what did you make of Diaz’s use of second person in some of his short stories? JT: Even with its gimmicky function, the second person does merge the reader and character into one. In a way, the reader becomes complicit in everything that’s happening in the story. SB: It is invasive. The second person makes you feel connected to Yunior, and that’s why it’s hard to dislike him. JT: What the “you” also does so greatly is subvert the notion of the implied reader. The implied reader is no longer the white male of the nineteenth century. Clearly the “you” is Dominican, and so in effect, the reader becomes Dominican. BK: There’s also a lot of Spanish in this book, and whereas Drown — Diaz’s first book — includes a glossary, there is no glossary in This Is How You Lose Her. You can get the gist of the Spanish, but Diaz is not pandering to a white audience. His characters’ voices are so unique, and I think that’s why people love his books.
Brooklyn duo Widowspeak gained wide recognition with their 2011 self-titled debut thanks to singer Molly Hamilton — who sounds strikingly similar to Hope Sandoval — and the record’s sophisticated sound. On January 22, Widowspeak will release their sophomore album, Almanac. The twelve tracks easily weave into another; it’s one of those records that lets you dip in and out of its songs without ever letting go. Hamilton’s vocals sweep with unchanging melancholy through each song, whether it’s an aching piece, like “Ballad of the Golden Hour,” or one with more of a rock vibe, like “Dark Age and Sore Eyes.” The guitars — both electro and acoustic — build a firm but subtle framework for Ham-
ilton’s ethereal vocals. While “Minnewaska,” which only features acoustic guitar and vocals, trickles on a bit too unexcitingly, “Storm King” builds slowly but steadily to a noisy crescendo. This closer track leaves the listener with a quiet nostalgia for something ineffable — or perhaps for another listen of the record. —Assunta Alegiani
Lesser Evil Doldrums Back in the fall of 2011, when Toronto native and Doldrum’s frontman Airick Woodhead had just landed on the international radar with his fantastic Portishead cover “Chase the Tear, ” The Grid asked “Is Doldrums Toronto’s Next Breakout Band?” Though Doldrums released its debut EP, Empire Sounds, the impromptu side project Phedre kept Woodhead busy throughout 2012. Now Montreal-based, Doldrums puts out its first album, titled Lesser Evil, on February 26, and it might just make Doldrums Montreal’s next breakout band of the year (following in the footsteps of label-mate Grimes, who took the crown for 2012). Songs like “Anomaly” perfectly marry Woodhead’s androgynous voice, the album’s
percussive elements, and the synths that wash it all into a dreamy haze. The second single “She is the Wave” adds some club-friendly, heavy bass and a loop track that puts you on edge, while “Sunrise” is relaxed but upbeat. Taken together, these two songs are representative of what this 11 track record truly is: heady dance music. —AA
Song Reader Beck Since his acclaimed 1994 debut Mellow Gold, Beck Hansen has evolved from a teenage rock star to an iconic face in modern music. Given that Beck has produced such diverse hits such as the bossa nova inf luenced "Tropicalia" and the more radio friendly "Girl," it’s often difficult to tie the artist down to generic conventions. This is especially true with Beck’s latest work, Song Reader. With dozens of songs that span over a multitude of genres, Song Reader is an ambitious effort on Beck’s part. Composed of twenty pages worth of sheet music that features original artwork by an eclectic group of artists, Beck’s songbook is pleasing to the eyes and ears alike. Each song within the booklet allows room for interpretation. “Old Shanghai,”
for example, has been played as a group ensemble by the staff of The New Yorker, but it can also be executed as a simple piano solo in one’s home. While Song Reader has yet to enjoy mainstream success, it is comparable to Beck’s magnum opus Sea Change in its experimental efforts, making it no less relevant than his previous efforts. —Ken Kongkatong
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Science vAR.st/sCIENCE
FROM THE ARCHIVES
Dig snow? See how scientists create it from scratch
07 JANUARY 2013 science@thevarsity.ca
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Redefining electronics one molecule at a time Dennis Dobrovolsky SCIENCE EDITOR JUssI MoNoNEN/fotopEdIA
Genetically similar, and yet so different Differences in alternative splicing across vertebrate species may account for speciation, U of T researchers say Roxanne Leung ASSOCIATE SCIENCE EDITOR
It does not take an evolutionary biologist to point out the differences between vertebrate species such as macaques, humans, platypuses, and frogs; a child at a zoo could easily see that one is not the other. Yet it is also commonly known that humans are genetically more similar to monkeys than to amphibians. When the chimpanzee genome was sequenced in 2005, 99 per cent of human DNA was found to be identical to chimpanzee DNA. If that is the case, then why can a child easily differentiate the two? Why are there behavioural and phenotypic differences between genetically similar species? From a biomedical perspective, why are humans susceptible to certain diseases that have no impact on their phylogenetic relatives? A mechanism known as alternative splicing, may have something to do with it. A team of U of T researchers from the Banting and Best Department of Medical Research and the Department of Molecular Biology recently published a paper that showed alternative splicing was not only occurring between different tissues within the same species, but also differences in splice patterns between different species. Alternative splicing is a genetic mechanism that selectively re-
moves, or splices, sections of a transcript of information known as messenger RNA. This means that a particular strand of proteincoding DNA, which can be found in all cells of an animal, can be processed differently in various cell types. Splicing explains how a gene can result in the expression of different proteins, which can then yield a variety of biological functions. Alternative splicing occurs in all vertebrates and is a contributing factor to the phenotypic diversity of cells, tissues, and organs within a particular species. Building on this understanding of alternative splicing, the U of T researchers performed a high-throughput analysis of transcriptomes from organs such as the brain, liver, testis, heart, and skeletal muscle of 10 vertebrate species ranging from human to platypus to frog. After analyzing copious amounts of data, the team’s results showed that in addition to organ-specific alternative splicing in one species, there was significant species-specific alternative splicing occurring across species as well. The researchers proposed that species-specific alternative splicing might be a driving force behind evolutionary differences and speciation. Dr. Benjamin Blencowe, senior author of the paper, explains, “The fact that alternative splic-
ing is very different even between closely related vertebrate species [such as humans and chimpanzees] could ultimately help explain how we are unique.” The researchers also found that the transcripts themselves mediated differences in alternative splicing rather than the molecular machinery that executes the mechanism. It was previously thought that the specification of splice patterns was located within the proteins responsible for splicing. However, Blencowe’s team found that the splicing code was derived from the transcripts and not the machinery. Thus, a human heart gene expressed in a mouse heart would still produce human heart splice patterns, despite utilizing mouse splicing machinery. “The same genetic mechanisms responsible for a species’ identity,” says Dr. Nuno Barbosa-Morais, lead author of the study, “could help scientists understand why humans are prone to certain diseases such as Alzheimer’s and particular types of cancer that are not found in other species.” The study, “The Evolutionary Landscape of Alternative Splicing in Vertebrate Species,” published in the December 21 issue of Science, reveals a new understanding of the diversification of vertebrate species, and has implications for evolutionary, molecular, and medical biology.
Can you imagine going to a store and being able to buy solar cells rolled up in plastic sheets? Without the field of organic material electronics, that would be impossible. Professor Dwight Seferos, part of U of T chemistry’s faculty since 2009, has devoted himself to tackling these and other important challenges. THE VARSITY: What inspired you to be a chemist? DWIGHT SEFEROS: I love building things, especially things that are new. Chemists are molecular engineers. I have the privilege to be able to build molecules every day that I hypothesize will be better than those that were built previously or those that occur in nature. TV: What is the most challenging aspect of your job? DS: Multitasking. A university professor must teach at the undergraduate and graduate level, conduct science at the leading edge of their field, recruit and manage a team of researchers, apply for and obtain funding, grants and awards, publish papers, present papers at national and international conferences, and critique work from peers — and the list goes on. So we work nights, weekends, whatever it takes. But I love what I do, so it is hard to complain. TV: What is the most exciting part of your job? DS: Discovery. I have the privilege to test hypotheses that have never been tested before. I love coming to work every morning in anticipation of what we might discover that day. TV: What are some of the goals of your research? DS: Carbon-neutral energy. This is the biggest challenge of the century because it impacts every living organism on the planet. My team of extremely talented students is developing technologies
IvAN GospIC/thE vARsItY
that are carbon neutral sources of electricity and technologies that reduce energy requirements. We also conduct a significant amount of fundamental chemical research, including studying the reactivity of new molecules, and determining how molecules assemble into nanomaterials and solids. TV: What do you think is the future of organic materials chemistry in terms of its real-world applications? DS: Solar cells, light sources, and displays. Imagine a coating on your roof that converts sunlight into electricity that you can buy by the bucket. An electroluminescent ceiling point that generates a warm glow and uses one per cent of the electricity of a light bulb. A paperthin bus/train/plane ticket that updates continuously with boarding times and gate changes. Going to the supermarket and having your entire shopping cart tallied and totaled by radio frequency in less than a second. These are just a few of the applications for organic materials. TV: Any advice for prospective grad students? DS: Work hard and work smart. The world is extremely competitive. To achieve the same status as your parents, mentors, and teachers, you need to be twice as good, twice as fast, and twice as lucky. Everyone values a strong work ethic. A strong work ethic will set the stage for your success. TV: What are some challenges in teaching chemistry at the undergraduate (and graduate) level, and how do you overcome them? DS: Inspiring students to become enthralled with chemical research. We all get the same first year university chemistry textbook. But there are three dozen, or more, unwritten textbooks pertaining to chemical science. This is the frontier of knowledge. This knowledge needs to be discovered, hopefully by one of U of T’s fantastic students — a future Nobel Laureate.
VARSITY SCIENCE
var.st/science
MONDAY, JANUARY 7, 2013
17
Greenland’s coastline shapes ocean currents A study by U of T professor Kent Moore sheds light on weather patterns in the North Atlantic Dennis Dobrovolsky SCIENCE EDITOR
A recent study, published in Geophysical Review Letters by U of T Mississauga professor Kent Moore identified a link between the shape of Greenland’s coastline and the type of winds prevalent in the North Atlantic Ocean. During the winter, Greenland’s Cape Farewell episodically experiences gale force winds called tip jets. Scientists have been aware of the existence of these winds for some time, but their origin always puzzled climate researchers. The tip jets off of Cape Farewell are some of the strongest winds of any coastline in the world, and they have been implicated in the generation of various oceanic currents such as the Gulf Stream. Any explanation of their origin would have immense implications for the understanding of complex weather processes and the prediction of future climate patterns. Moore’s insight came through his understanding of the way coastal geometry affects the generation of winds. He has been interested in the weather patterns of the North Atlantic Ocean for years, and the research his group conducts in the field has received high acclaim from scientists all
around the world. Moore’s climate research has been published in a variety of high-impact journals, including one of the gold standards of all science research, Nature. His research website states that he is fascinated by “physical processes that occur in the atmosphere and the ocean,” and that his “research focuses on understanding these processes as they are manifested in a variety of weather and climate related phenomenon.” Applying the wealth of background he has in the field, Moore developed a statistical diagnostic tool that allowed him to organize and make sense of wind data from the past 33 years. The algorithm he created classified various high-speed winds by wind direction. Most significantly, he was able to distinguish between easterly and westerly Cape Farewell tip jets. He was able to identify two locations along the southeast coast of Greenland, Cape Farewell, that appeared to have an important impact on the generation of coastal winds. Moore’s research aimed to confirm previous results that linked steep coastal topography to higher-velocity wind patterns. His findings suggested that a phenomenon called flow distortion — the funneling of air through steep cliffs on the coast —played an important role in the creation of Greenland
Moore developed a statistical diagnostic tool that allowed him to organize and make sense of wind data from the past 33 years. The algorithm he created classified various highspeed winds by wind direction.
Do you want to be fly like Bill Nye? Science, write for it! science@thevarsity.ca
tip jets. He was also able to identify a new region, off the southeast coast of Iceland, that contained tip jets and contributed to the climate of the North Atlantic Ocean. Greenland’s coast juts into the air as a sudden, steep precipice overlooking the ocean. As winds approach the coast from the water, they are faced with this obstruction and must change their direction. Moore found that Bernoulli’s principle, the same physical phenomenon that creates lift on an airplane wing, directs the coastward winds to go around the land instead of over it. As they move around the island, hugging the coast, they accelerate to gale-force velocities. The super-fast winds cool the water below them and cause it to sink to the ocean floor. The cooling and warming of ocean waters is responsible for the majority of currents that shape the world’s weather. The Gulf Stream, a warm current originating at the tip of Florida, moving up along the eastern coast of North America, and eventually reaching Europe, has an enormous impact on climate and the lives of ocean organisms. Moore’s discovery explains the cooling of the Gulf Stream off the coast of Greenland, and gives scientists a model that can predict how changes to Greenland’s coast will affect ocean temperatures. Many important climate predictions can now be rationalized according to Moore’s work, such as the loss of Greenland’s coastline from global warming causing the North Atlantic Ocean’s temperatures to rise. Sources: http://www.utm. utoronto.ca/cps/faculty-staff/ moore-kent, Geophysical Review Letters
MINHEE BAE/THE VArsITy
Sports
COMING UP
var.st/sports
07 JaNUarY 2013 sports@thevarsity.ca
Blues return to the court: basketball coverage next week
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photo coUrtesY varsitY blUes
A bright new Day for the Blues Blues rookie forward Taylor Day hoping to help lead team to successful season Elizabeth Benn ASSOCIATE SPORTS EDITOR
A mere 17 games into her Varsity Blues career, Taylor Day, a rookie on the women’s hockey team, already looks like a star in the making. The forward from Ilderton, Ontario has 11 points so far this season with four goals and seven assists. On November 17, she showcased her abilities, scoring one goal and providing two assists in the a 7–5 victory over the Brock Badgers in her best game of the season so far. She had another multiple-assist game against UOIT on November 3, helping the Blues to a 4–0 win. Day is quickly achieving success in her first year with the team, but excellence on the ice is something she is used to. While playing for her high school team, The Hill Academy, she received the hockey award in grades 11 and 12. Like many now-varsity athletes, Day was one of the top players on her high school team. Day admits to finding the level of competition less challenging than with her club team, but that didn’t mean she put in any less effort. “Playing high school hockey was really fun; it was still competitive, but in a different sort of way. It was
a nice change from my club team. You still had to give everything you had and you took pride playing for your school,” she says. The Blues’ rookie has been competing at an elite level from the very beginning, and not just in her expected division, or league — Day’s first competitive hockey came in a predominantly male-dominated environment at an international level. “Some of my earliest memories are going to Sweden and Finland to play hockey with the East Coast Selects,” Day explains. “It was a great experience playing against boys’ teams there.” The jump to intercollegiate hockey, however, was initially tough for the rookie. “The first weeks of training camp [were] tiring,” she admits. “I thought I was in pretty good shape, but quickly realized I still had plenty of work to do. It was good for me though, because I didn’t really know what to expect, but I do now.” Although that tough start was difficult for the forward, Day attributes her success this season to perseverance. “You have to sacrifice a lot, but in the end you get to see great results, but there is always room for improvement.” As well as the hard work and effort that she puts into her training, Day credits a large portion of her success to her family. Day ini-
tially chose to play hockey because she enjoyed watching her older brother’s games. “I always loved going and watching his games,” she remembers. “I started playing when I was four years old and have never looked back, I wouldn’t be where I am today if my parents weren’t behind me 100 per cent of the time. They were always there for all of the practices, games and off-ice conditioning.” When considering universities, proximity to her family was a major factor. “When I decided I wasn’t interested in going to the United States for hockey anymore, because I wanted to be closer to home, U of T was my number one choice. “I loved the school, the fact it was only two hours from home, and I couldn’t ask for any better coaches.” The head coach of the women’s hockey team is Vicky Sunohara, a two-time Olympic gold medalist, with a strong coaching and training staff behind her. Sunohara, who is in her second season, has led the team to a 9–8 record, and is working to have them in a solid playoff position. After 17 games — more than half way through the 26 game regular season — the Blues sit sixth of the 11 teams in the OUA East division. Despite suffering consecutive losses before the break, Day feels optimistic about the second half
of the season. “This year, the OUA has been very competitive. That being said, every game is very important to our success. We have been focusing on playing to our own strengths and keeping our game consistent. Looking forward, we plan to peak in the final stretch of the season, leading into playoffs and nationals.” This past weekend, the Blues participated in the Waterloo tournament. Toronto avenged their December losses with consecutive shut-out victories, defeating the Scanlon Creek Hockey Academy 2–0 and the University of Waterloo 3–0. The Blues will resume regular season-play on Friday against Wilfred Laurier in Waterloo. In March, U of T will play host to the CIS women’s hockey championship at Varsity Arena. The Blues will have the opportunity to compete as hosts, whether their regular season finishes on the strong note that they plan for or not. “It is definitely a goal of ours to do well at nationals, but we’re just trying to focus on finishing the season on a good note which will lead us to success in CIS,” Day says. “We have a fresh start with the second half of the season starting up soon. “We just have to remain focused on our next few games and not on our past.”
Blues triumph at Sharon Anderson Meet The Varsity Blues track and field team kicked off 2013 with four first-place podium finishes at the annual Sharon Anderson meet on Saturday, January 5, at the Athletic Centre Field House. Hayley Warren got the event started with a bang, finishing first in the women’s 60-metre run with a final time of 7.81s. Second-year athlete Flo Peters dominated the women’s hurdles, placing first in the 60-metre event with a final of 9.52s. Peters is coming off a 2012 campaign in which she finished second overall in the OUA women’s pentathlon with 3,442 points, and later placed sixth at the CIS championships with 3,364 points.
In the women’s pole vault, Emily Kukovica of the Blues secured a silver with a final of 3.20 metres. Her second-place finish was matched by of Anthoul Bourolias in the women’s shot put. Yohan Peiris claimed gold for U of T in section one of the men’s 300 metre run with a final of 38.91s. And after dominating the preliminaries, Jam He of the Blues came away with a gold with a final of 8.56s in the men’s 60-metre hurdles. Bernard Townsend joined his teammates atop the podium after his final attempt of 4.75 metres saw him come first in the men’s pole vault.
Flo Peters hurdled to gold. photo coUrtesY varsitY blUes
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VARSITY SPORTS
MONDAY, JANUARY 7, 2013
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Capturing the Blues Memorable U of T sports moments of the past year
From a CIS home-field championship battle to the ice rinks of the Blues hockey arena we’ve captured some of the best moments of 2012 on film. In celebration of the past year’s successes in sports, here are some of them. The men’s soccer team ended the year ranked fourth in the OUA, advancing to the quarter-finals where they fell to the Queen’s Gaels.
The women’s volleyball team (below) ranks sixth in the OUA and went 3–0 as they hosted the 22nd annual National Invitational Tournament in December.
The Blues football team (above) defeated the Laurier Goldenhawks in their home opener, but still ended the season with a weak 2–6 record.
PHOTOS BY MICHAEL BEDFORD & BERNARDA GOSPIC
HEY CHAMP! YA, YOU, SPORT! THAT’S RIGHT, TIGER, WE’RE TALKIN’ TO YOU! WHAT’RE YOU DOING? YOU’RE WRITING FOR SPORTS, RIGHT? RIGHT. sports@thevarsity.ca
The women’s field hockey team translated their regular season dominance into post-season success, claiming the OUA trophy and CIS silver.
WHAT IS THE
STUDENT
VOICE WORTH? This month The Varsity will be holding a referendum to increase its annual student levy by $1 — less than the price of a cup of coffee — starting in the Fall 2013 semester. The Varsity’s per-student levy is significantly less than that of other student media organizations, both at U of T and across the country. We haven’t had a real-dollar increase in several years. At the same time, there’s been an industry-wide decline in advertising revenue. To help continue our legacy of amplifying and highlighting the voices and needs of students since our founding in 1880, we need your vote.
On January 28, 29 and 30, please help us continue serving you. Vote ‘yes’ to The Varsity’s levy increase. studentvoice.thevarsity.ca
Stories that matter, since 1880