January 31st, 2022

January 31, 2022

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

Vol. CXLII, No. 16

Students petition U of T to rescind Duncan Campbell Scot t’s honorary degrees Cedric Jiang Associate News Editor

Amanda Buffalo, a U of T doctoral stu- to have an impact today. “I don’t condent who is an Indigenous person, was sider Duncan Campbell Scott a conContent warning: This article discusses one of the sponsors of the petition. Buf- trove rsial figure: the evidence is clear racism and violence against Indigenous falo said she learned about the degree that he was just an incredibly violent awarded to Scott in the book Royally man peoples. who committed acts of genocide Wronged, in which current members again st Indigenous people. There is no Students and advocates are petition- of the Royal Society of Canada (RSC) contr oversy,” she said. ing U of T to demand that it publicly explore the organization’s historical Buffalo said she hopes to speak with rescind the honorary doctorate degree contributions to a knowledge system U of T’s president and vice-president it awarded to writer Duncan Campbell rooted in colonialism. Scott formerly provo st to have a conversation about Scott in 1922. At the time, he was serv- served as the president of the RSC. how to examine legacies like Scott’s ing as the deputy superintendent at Buffalo said that, in the wake of the and move toward reconciliation. She the Department of Indian Affairs, which discoveries of mass graves in former noted that there is clear support for the oversaw Canada’s residential schools. residential school sites and the injus- petitio n, and that this initiative would be The petition says that U of T has his- tices against Indigenous peoples, now an oppo rtunity to build towards a more torically enhanced Scott’s reputation and is a good time for U of T to recon- just society. As of January 30, the petihelped create and sustain a political cul- sider the honour it awarded to Scott. “I tion has gathered over 1,100 signatures. ture of racism and colonialism by award- thought 100 years after the fact would “I think this petition is less of a deing him the honour, when he should be be a perfect time for the University of mand and more of an invitation to have held responsible for the harm his work Toronto to reconsider the conference more conversations [and] really engage has done to Indigenous peoples. The of that degree on Duncan Campbell in acts of reconciliation,” said Buffalo. petition notes that the 2022 convocation Scott and move toward reconciliation She believes that discussion about the could be an important opportunity for U with Indigenous people,” she said. honorary degree is an opportunity to of T to correct its actions publicly.

Buffalo noted that Scott’s works of engage with reconciliation, and she “Scott’s honorary degree has be- literature were “instrumental” in the encourage s postsecondary institucome part of the confirmation of Cana- cultural genocide against Indigenous tions to do their part to address the dian racist mythologies that legitimate peoples. She said that Scott had en- histor ical wrong. colonialism while ignoring the horrific visioned exterminating Indigenous Tayte Gossling, a fourth-year uncost to Indigenous peoples. One hun- peoples in Canada and expressed dergr adua te stude nt at Quee n’s dred years later, it is time to correct the this view very extensively in his work. Unive rsity, initiated a similar petition She added that his position as a public that record,” reads the petition. demands that Queen’s rescind A similar petition was also initiated servant allowed him to put this vision the hono rary law degree it granted to at Queen’s University, where Scott re- into practice.

Scott. Gossling said she learned more ceived his honorary law degree.

Buffalo is concerned that Scott’s about Scott in a class reading that cenwork is still taught as though his con- tred on residential schools and was Students demand Scott’s degrees be tribution to the genocide of Indigenous shock ed to find out Queen’s had given peoples in Canada does not continue him rescinded an honorary degree.

Comment: U of T’s progress on Truth and Reconciliation — is it enough?

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U of T’s response In an email to The Varsity, a U of T spokesperson wrote that senior leadership is actively considering assessing the honours awarded to historical figures. They wrote that U of T would do so in the context of Canadian society’s current reevaluation of its history, and that more details of the university’s plan would be released in the coming months.

“As a leading global public university, any assessment of the role of historical figures must be based on rigorous research and academic scholarship. We are committed to developing strong principles to inform University processes, so that these complex matters can be resolved appropriately and respectfully,” reads the email.

Explaining Scott’s legacy Cindy Blackstock, a member of Gitksan First Nation and a professor at McGill University’s School of Social Work, told The Varsity that she believes it is important that people see Scott as a leader of Canada’s residential school system.

“So when we think about Duncan Campbell Scott as a [Confederation] Poet… we also need to think about his legacy as the leading public servant

Scott in context Blackstock noted that Scott was not just a product of his time, but someone who actively ignored the horrific conditions in the residential schools because he saw them as necessary for clearing land for settlement. She explained that it was Scott’s “conscious choice” to perpetuate residential school policy and that he was fully aware of the abnormally high death rate of Indigenous children in those schools. She pointed out that back in the early twentieth century, the mistreatment of Indigenous children had already made national headlines and received criticism on multiple fronts.

“The needless deaths of children in residential schools… that was in the public, in the press,” said Blackstock. “Headlines like ‘Absolute inattention to bare necessities and health,’ ‘Children dying like flies.’ [Those were] the Canadian headlines in 1908.”

In 1922, the year that U of T granted Scott the honorary doctorate, Dr. Peter Henderson Bryce — the medical inspector at the Department of the Interior and Indian Affairs at the time — published his book, The Story of a National Crime: Being an Appeal for Justice to the Indians of Canada.

The book presents evidence of the government’s ignorance and inaction toward the appalling conditions that led to large numbers of deaths among Indigenous children. “[In the schools, a] trail of disease and death has gone almost unchecked by any serious efforts on the part of the Department of Indian Affairs,” it reads.

Some people from fields other than medicine also expressed their concerns about the dire conditions in residential schools and questioned the residential school system. An Ontario attorney and judge, Samuel Hume Blake, wrote in 1908 that he had “a general and strong feeling of dissatisfaction” with how Indigenous peoples were treated. In 1906, the Diocese of Saskatchewan commented that the residential school system was “detrimental to the Indians” and, in the same year, the Bishop of Moosonee wrote that there was an “appalling death-rate amongst the children.” “[The condition of residential schools] was known back then. The people of the period thought this was egregious, if not criminal,” said Blackstock. “[Scott] didn’t disagree that the kids were dying. He knew they were. He had solutions to save their lives, and he knew those solutions would work. He simply chose not to implement them.”

She noted that, given these reports and criticism were already circulating among much of Canadian society, it would be very hard to believe that U of T was not aware of the deaths in residential schools and of Scott’s involvement in those deaths at the time that they gave Scott his honorary degree.

“We need to trust people with the truth,” said Blackstock. She said it is important that historical facts are presented to the public so that people have the opportunity to reflect on them and learn their lessons. “It’s being able to learn from the past, but in a way that awakens you to the current injustices and empowers you to address them,” said Blackstock.

“In terms of their contemporary actions… [universities] have a higher obligation to stand in the winds of discrimination,” said Blackstock.

UTSU criticizes university for delayed winter 2022 announcement Union provides recommendations for addressing student concerns

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“I think my experience throughout my time at Queen’s has been a lot of realization that racism and sexism are really, really pervasive on campus.

But I didn’t really know that legacies as extreme as Duncan Campbell Scott’s were honoured and kind of enshrined within our institution,” said Gossling in an interview with The Varsity.

Gossling said that Canadian universities often rely on performative statements on Truth and Reconciliation that are not followed by concrete actions in addressing issues that affect Indigenous peoples.

“If you’re not really putting your money where your mouth is, it’s completely lip service,” said Gossling.

of the residential school… for 52 years, and then ask ourselves the question: which of those legacies has had a greater impact on Canadian society?”

She added that Scott’s poetry needs to be read in a way that takes the context of residential schools into account. “If you read his poetry, it’s very racist,” she said.

Blackstock also serves as the executive director of the First Nations Child and Family Caring Society of Canada, which commissioned a report on Scott’s life in 2016. The report concluded that Scott’s contributions to Canadian literature are “far outweighed” by the detrimental impacts of him overseeing the residential school system.

“We all have legacies — multiple legacies — but not all of our legacies are equal. So it’s important that we [weigh] our legacies properly,” said Blackstock.

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The University of Toronto Students’ Union (UTSU) issued an open letter on January 25 regarding the university’s announcement of a return to in-person learning in February. It criticized the university for the lateness of its plans, and provided recommendations for how it could better cater to student needs this semester.

Open letter In the letter, the UTSU recognized the university’s recent measures to keep its community safe in the wake of a rise in COVID-19 cases due to the Omicron variant. It also, however, expressed dissatisfaction with the lack of an earlier and clearer announcement regarding the university’s plans. The union argued that rises in cases of COVID-19 have become more predictable, and that students have faced hardships as a result of the unpreparedness of university administration.

In the statement, the UTSU noted that over the past few months, students have expressed they were unhappy with the delayed announcement, and that the delay has impacted their mental health, finances, travel plans, residence applications, and academics. The statement specifically cited student petitions, as well as a town hall that the union held on January 14, where students discussed their concerns about the effectiveness of the UCheck program and their desire for hybrid options.

The UTSU provided U of T with a series of recommendations in response to the university’s plans to fully return many courses to an inperson format after reading week and calls from students for hybrid or online options. The union advocated for clearer and more predictable plans to be announced further in advance in the

future, so that students have more time to adjust.

Moreover, it asked for extensions in a number of sessional and financial deadlines, including the tuition and ancillary fees refund deadline.

The letter also demands that U of T remedy the harmful impact of cancelling fall 2021 in-person exams by allowing students to drop courses or petition for deferrals for assignments in courses from the fall semester. It also suggested the university commit to keeping winter 2022 exams online to prevent a repeat of such a cancellation.

Furthermore, the UTSU asked for support in a safe return to campus for students and staff, by increasing COVID-19 testing and providing protective equipment. It also noted that students find the current UCheck system difficult to navigate, so it recommended the university refine and clarify its reporting system.

Additionally, the letter stated that U of T should have a plan to accommodate students who can’t attend classes due to personal issues or COVID-19 infection, and that the university should provide students with more spaces to speak on the university’s safety measures.

U of T’s response In an email to The Varsity, Dr. Salvatore Spadafora, special advisor to U of T president and provost on COVID-19, and Sandy Welsh, vice-provost students, stated that many students are “looking forward to a return to in-person learning.” They stressed that the university’s priority is a safe return to campus.

Spadafora and Welsh explained that most courses would gradually return to an in-person format during February, and that students who are abroad are expected to return to attend classes. “There may be some courses where an online option is available, but this is not guaranteed,” they added.

Additionally, Spadafora and Welsh pointed out that other Ontario universities are also going back in person, as public health measures will become more relaxed and health experts affirm that the Omicron wave has passed its peak.

To ensure the safety of the community, students will be required to wear masks indoors, and the university is working on making medical masks available to the community.

More information on that will be available through UTogether, the university’s guide for its policies for the 2021–2022 academic year.

While rapid test kits are still scarce in Ontario and the university’s rapid testing program has been put on hold, rapid testing kits will be available for those with approved vaccine exemptions.

Broader discourse on return Other student unions have also responded to U of T’s announcement. The Scarborough Campus Students’ Union (SCSU) and the University of Toronto Mississauga Students’ Union have been sending emails to the university’s administration and provincial parliament members with demands for hybrid and online options for the winter semester, as well as other additional safety measures.

As of right now, the U of T administration has not changed its plans on account of these initiatives, although a senior UTSC administrator has told the SCSU that the university would take the email campaign more seriously if it hit 9,000 emails.

In addition to an online alternative, the unions have been advocating for social distancing, capacity limits, a more reliable screening system, and the distribution of masks.

The Varsity has reached out to the UTSU for comment.

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JANUARY 31, 2022

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SCSU increases fees by 5.2 per cent based on inflation Union continues to advocate for hybrid winter semester in talks with administration Syeda Maheen Zulfiqar UTSC Bureau Chief

The Scarborough Campus Students’ Union (SCSU) held its first Board of Directors meeting of the term on January 25. President Sarah Abdillahi shared updates on the union’s efforts to advocate for a safe winter semester. Members also voted to increase some student fees in accordance with inflation estimates.

Adjustment to student society fees As per SCSU bylaws, the union must change student society fees to reflect changes in the consumer price index, which represents changes to prices that Canadian consumers experienced due to inflation. This year, the union increased all student society and Student Centre fees for full-time and part-time students by 5.2 per cent. The union also announced that the fee for the Canadian Federation of Students would be increasing by 4.8 per cent.

The members also voted to continue to charge fees for the World University Service of Canada program, which connects students with businesses and governments to collaborate on youth-centric solutions to global issues.

The program’s fees for full-time and part-time students remain the same at $0.75 and $0.25,

respectively, as these are fixed fees that the union must agree to pay in order for the program to continue.

Update for the winter term Abdillahi updated the board on the SCSU’s efforts to address student concerns about returning to campus. In a January meeting, the union discussed the SCSU and University of Toronto Mississauga Students’ Union’s email campaign with UTSC administration. The campaign called on students to express their concerns about returning to campus by sending emails to U of T administrators and members of provincial parliament.

According to Abdillahi, the university explained that the mental health of students, faculty, and staff remains one of its top priorities, saying that many students had expressed that they were tired of online school and wanted to return to in-person learning, so the university is prioritizing a return. “[The administration was] not really happy about the email petition,” Abdillahi said, before adding that the administration was also sympathetic to students’ perspectives. In December, the SCSU had brought up a number of petitions from across U of T’s three campuses calling for a hybrid winter semester to administrators. At its

The SCSU offices.

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meeting with the SCSU, the administration assured the SCSU that the email campaign would be taken more seriously if it hit 9,000 emails.

In an email to The Varsity, Abdillahi explained that the SCSU had received numerous messages in December from students concerned about having to “choose between their safety and their academics,” and the email campaign was a response to these concerns.

“We created this email petition to help students, families, faculty, and staff who have been expressing their concerns about returning to in-person learning due to the lack of safety measures from our administration,” Abdillahi wrote.

“Even if one student expresses a fear for their safety, our administration should be taking this seriously,” Abdillahi noted. She said that the university maintaining its plans for reopening despite such a large outcry was “extremely concerning.”

Nevertheless, Abdillahi affirmed that this is “an ongoing conversation” between the SCSU and the university. “The disapproval expressed by the UTSC administration means that we need to continue and amplify our pressure to ensure that student concerns are at the center of decisionmaking,” she wrote.

The union also voted to hold its Winter General Meeting on Thursday, March 29.

UTSC administration answers student questions at town hall William Gough says about 30 per cent of courses will be in-person on February 7 Syeda Maheen Zulfiqar UTSC Bureau Chief

On January 28, UTSC held a town hall to address students’ questions and concerns regarding the remaining winter semester.

Wisdom Tettey, vice-president of U of T and principal of UTSC, began the event by expressing the university’s commitment to students.

“We certainly will continue to do the best we can to be there for you, to listen to you, [and] to make sure that we’re responsive to your needs,” he said.

William Gough, vice-principal academic & dean, prefaced the question and answer segment. He reminded attendees that “some inperson elements are returning on February 7 — about 30 per cent of our offerings — and the remainder on February 28.” During the segment, students brought forward questions about campus life, academics, hybrid options, accommodations, and more.

Academic concerns One student asked why there were differences in the timing of the return to in-person learning between classes.

“Most of the courses that are beginning on February 7 include elements that are very difficult to replicate in an online environment,” Gough explained. For this reason, departments were asked to consult course instructors to discern which courses fit into this category, and these courses have been prioritized during the return to in-person learning.

One student expressed that they feel, recognizing the large tuition students pay, that students should be able to choose whether they want to return to in-person learning.

“We are actually offering online options this term,” said Gough in response. He elaborated that approximately 20 per cent of classes are being offered fully online this term. However, he emphasized that U of T, under regular

circumstances, is not a remote university and that the in-person learning experience is “highly valued” by the university.

Katherine Larson — vice-dean, teaching, learning & undergraduate programs — explained that the faculty has been asked to design courses in a manner that allows for accommodations for students that are sick or immunocompromised, who may not feel comfortable returning to campus.

Another common topic pertaining to academics was the credit/no credit (CR/NCR) policy for the remaining winter semester. In the past, CR/ NCR and late withdrawal policies have been eased following pandemic closures to provide students more leeway with their courses. The Scarborough Campus Students’ Union (SCSU) has been advocating for an increase in the amount of credits that can be designated CR/ NCR. On the question of whether there would be the option for unlimited CR/NCR for the remaining term, Gough said, “We haven’t come to a landing on that issue… we’ve had some discussions with the SCSU.” He said that he is discussing the topic with the Faculty of Arts & Science and UTM to “have a unified approach.”

Larson also tackled questions about learning abroad options for this term. Study abroad for the winter 2022 semester was cancelled at the end of the fall 2021 semester. She explained that the university was bound by “travel restrictions that are mandated by the government.”

Campus after return to in-person learning Students asked many questions about what they can expect upon returning to campus.

Fran Wdowczyk, director, business development & special advisor to the CAO operations and special projects, announced that restaurants on campus will be open when students return.

The university will also allocate spaces where students can eat. Wdowczyk said, “We will have a number of common spaces available and open

UTSC buildings.

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for eating, including the large atrium spaces in the meeting place and IC atrium.” They added that more spaces will be made available as demand grows.

Sheila John, assistant dean, wellness, recreation & sport, spoke about the reopening of athletics and recreation facilities and programs.

The athletics and recreation drop-in programs will be open from February 7, whereas the intramural and interhouse programs will open in the following weeks. Additionally, virtual options will remain available for those unable to attend in person.

Students will also have access to various study spaces, including the library. Other study spaces will prominently display QR codes for contact tracing.

Finally, for students new to the campus, the university is looking into arranging guided campus tours. Shelby Verboven, registrar & director of enrolment management for UTSC, added, “We also have a variety of virtual and online campus tours that you can use to acclimatize yourself.”

Mask guidelines and safety protocols on campus On the topic of mask guidelines on campus, Jeff Miller, director, facilities management &

capital projects, said, “We are recommending level two or three medical masks in lieu of the cloth masks and that is coming in through some CDC guidance that we are getting.”

Though cloth masks are considered acceptable, Holly Yuen, manager, environmental health & safety, said that the university’s recommendation for students is “to have a high level of protection for everyone.”

Miller added that the university’s cleaning and safety protocols also align with CDC guidance.

“We are cleaning high-touch points twice a day and we are cleaning the spaces both before and after class… There will be hand sanitizer stations at the entry to classes and there’ll be wipes readily available.” Furthermore, he added that the university will look into creating decompression spaces for students to get a break from their masking.

Miller also commented on how the university will react to students not adhering to masking and social-distancing guidelines. He suggests that if someone on campus is not wearing a mask, students should “say something about it in an encouraging way — recognizing that, you know, we’re trying to… encourage people to respect one another, respect one another’s health and safety.”

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UTM 110 bus route reinstated as UTM returns to in-person Route cancellation announced at town hall causes student outcry Lexey Burns UTM Bureau Chief

On January 19, at a UTM town hall, it was announced that MiWay would be temporarily discontinuing the 101 and 110 bus routes — two lines often used by UTM’s commuter students who rely on the bus system to get to campus.

Students spoke out against the closures on social media, and a student petition against the closures reached over 1,000 signatures. On January 27, the City of Mississauga tweeted that MiWay will reopen Route 110 University Express on February 7 as UTM begins to reopen for in-person activities.

MiWay confirmed that currently, it is not reinstating Route 101/101A Dundas Express, but that customers could access Route 1C Dundas-Collegeway “as an alternate service that travels to and from UTM.” Route 110 reinstated According to a statement from MiWay, Route 110 was temporarily suspended due to UTM’s delays to in-person learning, which reduced demand for the route. MiWay is also experiencing staff shortages due to COVID-19, and since Route 110 was not being heavily used at the time, MiWay decided to suspend the route.

Route 110 runs between Clarkson GO station and the City Centre Transit Terminal via UTM and the South Common Mall in Erin Mills, making it an essential line for many UTM students to get to campus from across the city.

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Student outcry Many students took to online platforms to anonymously express their frustrations following the announcement of the closure. One student claimed that, with the discontinuation, their commute time doubled as they were forced to take a different route that included more transfers.

A petition was created to advocate for students who would have to drastically adjust their

commute due to the cancellation, arguing that “[they] do not have any other mode of transport as a viable option.”

In an interview with The Varsity, Shen Fernando, UTM student and creator of the Instagram account @transparentutmsu, explained his frustration with the lack of initiative taken by UTM administration after MiWay’s announcement. “[MiWay put] students in a very, very difficult

situation,” said Fernando. “Not everybody can afford to own a car… Not everybody can afford the extra bus tickets or the extra transfers.”

Mitra Yakubi, president of the University of Toronto Mississauga Students’ Union (UTMSU), wrote in an email to The Varsity, “Before the winter break, we brought forward students’ concerns and feedback from our U-Pass survey to Mississauga MiWay. This included talking about increased service, important routes, COVID-19 safety protocols for the winter term.”

Yakubi explained that a number of students reached out to the UTMSU when the cancellation of the 110 and 101 routes was announced.

“We immediately brought forward our members’ concerns and [MiWay] confirmed that the 110 service will restart when classes resume,” she wrote. The UTMSU endorsed the reopening and posted the update from MiWay on their Instagram story.

Fernando was happy that MiWay acknowledged the petition once it was brought to their attention. He expressed enthusiasm that MiWay not only reinstated one of the lines, but reallocated all of its available 60-foot articulated buses to be able to “increase passenger capacity and prevent potential instances of overcrowding.”

He explained that a lot of students were also hoping to get the 199 bus from Brampton to begin running again. Route 199 was also discontinued due to lack of demand as a result of online learning. Fernando said that some students have reached out to him to try getting this route reinstated.

UTMSU to dedicate $18,000 to new food centre Student fees increase due to cost of living Prior to the 2021–2022 school year, the UTMSU’s food centre was located in the Davis building. In the summer of 2021, the university asked them to relocate due to the campus’ plans to renovate that area. The UTMSU originally relocated the food centre to the second floor of the Student Centre, but it later realized that the operation has outgrown its current space and that the second floor is not an accessible spot to students.

Many of the costs associated with these renovations are expected to be one-time expenses and will likely not require excess spending after the initial $18,000. Executive Director Nour Alideeb also explained that the UTMSU wants to host workshops in the centre.

Lexey Burns UTM Bureau Chief

The University of Toronto Mississauga Students’ Union (UTMSU) met for its board meeting on January 28. At the meeting, the board passed a motion to budget $18,000 for the relocation of the food centre, heard updates on the UTMSU’s advocacy efforts, voted to increase student fees in accordance with inflation estimates, and heard a breakdown of upcoming events for the winter semester.

Food centre relocation budget Vice President Equity Ryan Tomlinson proposed a budget of $18,000 to relocate the UTMSU’s food centre from the second floor to an office on the first floor and for some basic renovations. The renovations include adding kitchen amenities like an island, a fridge, freezer, and cupboards, as well as a sitting area. The motion passed.

Other updates from executives Tomlinson said that the UTMSU passed out over 100 bursary cheques to students in the fall semester and distributed the Racialized Community Involvement grant. It also held a successful clothing drive in November where it was able to collect five boxes’ worth of clothes to distribute to a Toronto organization called New Circles, and some winter coats that it has kept to be distributed in the food centre.

Wei Lai, the UTMSU’s vice president internal, said that the union will be releasing a second survey in February to see whether students are in need of the UPass program. She also reported that the WeChat team is hosting a weekly study room and planning a Chinese New Year celebration. Lai added that the union is working toward printing out student discount coupons and is aiming to collaborate with grocery stores near campus to get student discounts.

Maëlis Barre, the UTMSU’s vice president external, updated the board on the Fairness for International Students campaign. She explained

that the campaign organizers had a meeting with MP Iqra Khalid, who represents the Mississauga—Erin Mills riding. The meeting included discussions on some of the UTMSU’s other efforts, such as raising awareness of the ties between free education, the upcoming provincial election, and demands around tuition fees.

President Mitra Yakubi talked about the Safe Return to Campus campaign, where the union is advocating for students’ safety during the pandemic and for town halls to hear from students in residence.

Fees A motion was also passed to approve adjustments to UTMSU student society fees, which are calculated based on students’ full, part, or summer enrolment status. The fee increase was based on the consumer price index determined

by Statistics Canada to reflect the increase in costs of living for the previous year.

The full-time student society membership fee will increase from $35.66 to a newly adjusted rate of $37.51, and the fee for part-time students will go from $1.16 to $1.22.

The biggest increases were to the Mississauga U-Pass Transit fee. Students in the fall and winter terms will see a fee increase from $137.85 to $144.74, whereas summer students’ fee will increase from $183.13 to $192.29.

The UTMSU Health and Dental fee designated for the Accidental Health Plan will increase from $102.09 to up to $112.30 and the Dental Plan fee from $85.34 to up to $93.87.

All of these fees are the amounts that will be charged per student, per session.

Upcoming events Some of the upcoming events hosted by the UT-

MSU include those honouring Black History Month, which will take place throughout the month of February.

The UTMSU’s Education-for-All campaign is hosting a Phone Zap and Coalition meeting in February. The Job Readiness Support program is planning more events in February, and the Undergraduate Research Symposium is being held throughout February and March.

The Undergraduate Research Symposium is an opportunity for students to submit completed research that they are currently working on, or have recently completed to compete and win prizes. The submission deadline for research entries is February 17, and a winner will be announced on March 10.

Additionally, the UTMSU 2022 spring elections will be held from February 28 to March 17.

The UTMSU offices.

MARGAUX PARKER/THEVARSITY

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JANUARY 31, 2022

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In the Spotlight: Aisha Khatib U of T professor who helped deliver baby on Qatar Airways flight reflects on flight safety Elizabeth Shechtman Associate News Editor

In early December, Dr. Aisha Khatib, an assistant professor at U of T’s Department of Family and Community Medicine, helped deliver a baby 35,000 feet in the air onboard a Qatar Airways plane enroute to Uganda.

Khatib, who is also a physician at St. Michael’s Hospital and a travel medicine doctor, specializes in travel and tropical medicine, with her most recent research focusing on safety around air travel during the pandemic. The Varsity spoke with Khatib about the airborne delivery, being prepared to provide emergency care, and the fundraiser she has started to help the newborn’s family.

The delivery While on a flight from Qatar to Uganda for work, Khatib responded to the call of a crew member asking if there was a doctor on board. Although originally unsure of the situation, Khatib was eventually told that a pregnant woman on the plane was in labour.

In an email to The Varsity, Khatib reflected on how she felt at that moment. “My adrenaline was

certainly pumping and I was nervous about all the situations where something could go seriously wrong,” she wrote.

Khatib was afraid that she wouldn’t have all the necessary equipment to assist with the birth; however, airline staff and passengers promptly handed her the tools she needed to carry out the delivery.

Another major concern she had was that the mother might experience postpartum hemorrhage, which can even be critical in situations where doctors have full access to all resources. Thankfully, the baby was successfully delivered, but Khatib continued to monitor both the mother and the baby for the remainder of the flight.

Further reflections Khatib wrote that the mother’s experience should prompt travellers to consider the risks of travelling with preexisting conditions, such as pregnancy.

She also expressed hope that her story would bring more attention to the need to make sure doctors are prepared for in-flight emergencies. She noted that although she is trained in family and emergency medicine, she hadn’t delivered a baby

Dr. Aisha Khatib with the newborn baby on a Qatar Airways flight.

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in over a decade prior to the birth on the plane.

“I am very grateful to have been involved in such an important life event for the mother and the baby,” she wrote. “This is certainly my most memorable deliveries [sic]… What made it so surreal was the airplane audience, [the] joyful atmosphere after [the] baby arrived, and the heartfelt gesture when mom gave baby my namesake.”

Khatib has started a GoFundMe campaign to

UTGSU council discusses impeachment motion, $250,000 grant and bursary fund Executive-at-large position to be kept vacant Padraic Berting Graduate Bureau Chief

The University of Toronto Graduate Students’ Union (UTGSU) met virtually on January 25 for its first monthly meeting of the year. The council discussed the vacant executive-at-large position and monthly reports on what executives have been working on, including advancing a grant and bursary fund. A motion to impeach Internal Commissioner Sarah Alam was also discussed in a closed session but ultimately tabled.

Vacant position and tabled impeachment motion The council discussed Executive-at-Large Kirthika Shanmugham’s decision to step down due to a personal emergency. The seat currently remains vacant, and there was a discussion on whether or not to fill it so late in the year. The council ultimately decided to suspend the union’s bylaws to leave it vacant due to the challenges of onboarding a new executive, although they noted that the bylaws should only be suspended in exceptional circumstances.

Additionally, there was some discussion about a motion to impeach Alam that was brought forward by Adam Hill, an Ontario Institute for Studies in Education council representative and a former candidate for internal commissioner. The discussion about the impeachment motion was held in-camera, meaning guests and media were not present. According to External Commissioner Justin Patrick, the matter was eventually tabled for the next meeting.

The motion to impeach Alam alleged that she “deliberately excluded” motions from the UTGSU’s Annual General Meeting (AGM) and September board meeting agendas, and did not address questions about why these materials were excluded. It also included allegations that she failed to complete tasks such as distributing the audited financial statements with two weeks’ notice, scheduling meetings of the Policy and Operations Committee, and updating the UTGSU’s bylaws following amendments, among other claims.

In a response distributed to the board, Alam disputed Hill’s allegations. “Unfortunately, the reasons presented in the motion for impeachment misrepresent the facts and do not provide complete information,” wrote Alam. She characterized Hill’s allegations as a form of harassment which

has been ongoing since she entered the office.

Hill alleged that the motions he submitted to the AGM were excluded. However, Alam provided documentation that the motions were circulated to the executive team, and wrote that they had been dismissed by executives. In response to Hill’s allegation that the Policy and Operations Committee has not met frequently enough this year, Alam wrote that she believes the committee has failed to maintain membership and reach quorum for meetings because of harassment from Hill. She included a complaint from another member who felt uncomfortable due to Hill’s behaviour.

She also disputed the legitimacy of other allegations, pointing to the 15 days between the public upload of the financial audit statements and the AGM when they were approved. Although the UTGSU has not updated the public bylaw document on its website, Alam pointed out that the union officially amended its bylaws at the 2021 AGM. Monthly reports Executives discussed a variety of finance-based initiatives that the UTGSU has been working on, including donations, grants, and bursaries.

In the wake of a motion at the AGM that called on the UTGSU to donate $25,000 to the UofT Emergency Food Bank, Danielle Karakas, academics and funding commissioner: divisions 3 and 4, updated members on the work she has done to build the union’s relationship with the food bank.

The union has also advanced its initiative to create a $250,000 pool for new emergency grants and bursaries, with Finance Commissioner June Li looking to have a draft of grant and bursary ideas by late February to early March.

Moreover, University Governance Commissioner Lwanga Musisi said that a number of students applied to the Black Graduate Student Excellence Bursary this year, and mentioned that he is looking to consult with Indigenous students and groups on campus for the creation of an Indigenous students bursary.

Dhanela Sivaparan, academics and funding commissioner: divisions 1 and 2, gave updates on the advocacy work she has been doing with individual students regarding problems they may be facing in their departments. Additionally, she noted that she’s working toward creating virtual programming for February that focuses on equity-deserving groups, and programming for International Women’s Day in March.

External Commissioner Justin Patrick has been working on signing a partnership agreement with the U of T chapter of Canadian Students for Sensible Drug Policy to collaborate on the union’s Cops Off Campus campaign. Furthermore, Internal Commissioner Alam talked about the continued work she’s doing to organize the weekly executive meetings and other matters.

Disclosure: Kirthika Shanmugham was previously the chair of The Varsity’s Board of Directors in fall 2021.

The UTGSU offices.

CORINNE LANGMUIR/THEVARSITY

support both the mother and the newborn child.

The fundraiser has a goal of $100,000, and it has raised $1,890 as of January 30.

In the motivation section for the fundraiser, Khatib elaborated that the mother was unable to afford prenatal care for the baby. “Let’s give her a chance of a better and beautiful life, filled with hopes and dreams, so that she can surpass the clouds and someday reach the stars,” Khatib wrote.

Governing Council voting opens February 7 Thirty-eight students run to represent fulltime undergraduate students Anushka Noble Varsity Contributor

Eight student seats on U of T’s Governing Council are up for election this year.

The Governing Council is composed of 50 individuals, including administrative staff, fulltime undergraduates, part-time undergraduates, graduate students, teaching staff, and alumni. It approves decisions on academic, admissions, and tuition proposals.

Web-based voting for the Governing Council positions will be open from 9:00 am on February 7 to 5:00 pm on February 18. The election results will be announced at 10:00 am on February 22.

There are four total seats open for full-time undergraduates, which are split into two constituencies: two seats are available to students from UTM, UTSC, and the Faculty of Arts & Science at UTSG and the other two are available to students from other faculties, including the Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering and the Temerty Faculty of Medicine. For the seats in the first constituency, 34 candidates are competing, while four are competing for seats in the second.

Two seats on the council are reserved for part-time undergraduates. However, only one student is running for the seats this year.

The two seats available to graduate students are also split into two constituencies: one seat is offered to students in social sciences and humanities and the other to students in science programs. Seven candidates are competing in each constituency.

Additionally, seats for administrative staff and teaching staff will also be filled in the upcoming elections.

Business & Labour

January 31, 2022 thevarsity.ca/section/business biz@thevarsity.ca

How to crush a case-based interview Surviving the hiring process in 2022 Andrew Yang Ki Business & Labour Correspondent

How many socks does the average Torontonian buy in one year? Estimate the market for kumquats in Tonga. How would you weigh your head?

These are just a few case-based questions that a company could ask you during an interview. But what exactly is a case-based interview?

New industries, new interviews Job interviews come in all forms but share a common goal: for you to demonstrate and communicate to an employer why you are the perfect person for the position.

Case-based interviews emphasize thinking on the spot. This is defined in contrast to behavioural interviews, which focus on your past behaviours to determine how you would solve problems in the future, and experience-based interviews, where you highlight your past performance. In case-based interviews, an employer assesses your problem-solving and analytical skills under pressure, using day-to-day challenges that the company likely already deals with. It is an increasingly popular interview style that’s used with the intention to see if you like the kind of work the company does, and to assess what it is like to work with you.

Business analytics questions range from market sizing — like Accenture’s example case, “Estimate the total number of dry cleaners in Philadelphia” — to Bain & Company’s general business analysis example, “Is opening a coffee shop in Cambridge, England a good idea?” In the past, this method of questioning was typically

only used by management consulting firms like Bain & Company or Accenture, but it has now grown to be utilized by many companies in the business and tech worlds for roles in product management, human resources, or analytics.

Before the interview In an email to The Varsity, Katie Gay, a Rotman Commerce student who is an incoming consulting analyst at Accenture, detailed her own experience preparing for the company’s casebased interview process prior to being hired.

“With preparing for a case-based interview, time is essential. Start early and give yourself as much time as you can to get comfortable with the material,” she wrote.

Since traditional case questions for jobs in the business world involve solving a brief business conundrum on the spot with little to no prior information, Gay further emphasized the importance of preparation prior to the interview.

“Have an interview buddy during the process that you can practice with, who is able to give you feedback on your interview strengths and weaknesses,” she added.

Although you might not know the details of the case you’ll be solving in advance, you can practise your critical thinking and presentation skills beforehand. Gay recommended that students use online resources, including resources from the university, to prepare. “There are specific frameworks that the majority of cases can be solved with, and being able to plug a problem into the proper framework correctly is half the battle!”

During the interview Among the resources that the university recommends to prepare for job applications is MBA-

Case-based interviews are increasingly popular in the hiring process.

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CASE, a training resource focused on preparing for case-based interviews.

MBACASE deconstructs the main parts of a case interview into four key tips. First, during an interview involving a case question, clear and concise communication is necessary. Getting to the point quickly is just as essential as your explicit reasoning and logic. Next, working on the structure of the problem — dissecting the dilemma into the source of the problem, critical aspects, and then final recommendations — is another fundamental aspect of the process.

Another vital factor is efficient analysis of the given situation — if you’re given datasets or graphs, it’s important to be able to quickly pull out important information to make valuable insights. Lastly, having the ability to integrate both

the structure of the case and your analysis of the given data to combine and form a final recommendation is the final piece of how to nail a case-based interview.

Results in the workplace Beyond the usefulness of case-based interviews in finding good employees, Gay also percieves them as having a positive impact on workplace equity. “I think hiring based on skill is a good step forward in the hiring process,” wrote Gay. “This method reduces bias, increases diversity, [and] puts less focus on a potential hire’s education.”

In the end, Gay says the best piece of advice for anyone looking to prepare for a case-based interview is this: “Remember to be yourself, stay calm, and speak genuinely.”

CUPE 3902 Unit 6 ratifies its first collective agreement Union achieves better compensation and improved job security Zen Nguyen Varsity Contributor

Unit 6 of the Canadian Union of Public Employees Local 3902 (CUPE 3902) was created last year to represent instructors in the International Foundation Program (IFP) and International Summer Academy (ISA) at New College. After a total of 32 days at the negotiating table with U of T for a negotiation that started in summer 2021, the unit has reached and ratified its first ever collective agreement.

The importance of a collective agreement The Varsity previously reported on CUPE 3902 Unit 6’s goals for its collective agreement with the university — specifically, more job security and a collectively written document to help better resolve disagreements and protect employees. The recent collective agreement addressed some key concerns that employees had previously raised.

The agreement is in effect from January 2021 to the end of December 2024. It includes a rise in pay each year, which is limited to one per cent by Ontario law. It also codified many existing practices between U of T and the instructors represented by Unit 6, such as instructors’ pay, working conditions, and protection from discrimination and harassment.

In an email to The Varsity, Daniel Brielmaier, vice-chair colleges for CUPE 3902 and co-lead negotiator for the bargaining, shared that the union has “achieved their goal of job security and compensation,” and that it is “pleased with the result [of the negotiation].” “[ISA instructors on four-week contracts] won several pieces of language that give former

CUPE 3902 Unit 6 ratified a collective agreement addressing need for job security and employee protection.

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instructors preference in hiring as well as some say in the courses they will teach,” wrote Brielmaier. IFP instructors who are hired on eight to nine month contracts each year can change to

contract positions, so they are guaranteed work from one year to the next, outside of extraordinary circumstances, Brielmaier elaborated.

The bargaining and ratification process U of T’s principal and chief administrative officer, and the New College and U of T Labour Relations teams represented the university. The union’s Bargaining Team represented its ISA and IFP instructors.

According to Brielmaier, CUPE 3902’s Bargaining Team consulted union members before proposing the current collective agreement, which was then approved by members before the negotiations with U of T. During the bargaining process, the union worked with its members in putting pressure on U of T to “reach a fair and equitable agreement.”

The negotiation was conducted virtually and was “somewhat more challenging than bargaining in person.” It also took longer to finish because it was the first collective agreement for the unit, according to a U of T spokesperson.

“The process was delayed by the Employer’s unfamiliarity with the work performed by our members,” wrote Brielmaier. “As they became more familiar with our members’ work, things moved much more quickly.”

Commenting on the matter, a U of T spokesperson wrote, “Negotiations were collaborative, constructive, and professional throughout, which is reflected in the collective agreement and the positive working relationship between the parties.”

“We recognize that the Employer worked with us in good faith,” wrote Brielmaier, on behalf of CUPE 3902 Unit 6.

Negotiations reached a tentative agreement on December 21, 2021, which was then voted upon by union members. The tentative agreement was unanimously ratified by the union on January 7, 2022.

Comment

January 31, 2022 thevarsity.ca/section/comment comment@thevarsity.ca

We’re not all ready to return U of T should maintain an online attendance option for the rest of the semester Jacob Lefkowitz Brooks Varsity Contributor

For many of my peers, reading U of T’s January 19 announcement about the university’s return to in-person classes was a moment of joy and relief.

When the announcement hit my inbox, however, I experienced a now very familiar moment of dread over what it will mean.

The school’s decision represents a hasty assessment of the dangers of reopening and could put many at risk. The worst of the Omicron variant outbreak may occur before most students are back in person, but providing an online option for the rest of the semester would ease student concern and make for a safer experience.

Vice-President & Provost Cheryl Regehr and Vice-President, People Strategy, Equity, and Culture Kelly Hannah-Moffat announced in a recent email that the university’s in-person activity would ramp up in early February. Dean of Faculty of Arts & Science Melanie Woodin announced in a separate email that for students enrolled in the faculty, all classes will have online options until February 28, at which point in-person classes will occur strictly on campus. In an email sent to all students and employees, Regehr wrote, “Our students have told us how important physical presence on campus is to them — both for their academic work and for their mental wellbeing.”

Given my 2020–2021 online learning experience, I can attest that isolation and lack of in-person interaction can lead to depression and anxiety. I would love to interact with my peers in a class setting.

Unfortunately, at least for me, returning to in-person learning in the current environment would hardly be an anxiety-free prospect.

I have serious doubts about the university’s ability to protect us from contracting the virus. While policies in the fall term appeared to prevent serious COVID-19 spread within the university community, the Omicron variant has proven far more transmissible than previous variants, meaning last semester’s measures will likely not be enough to prevent transmission.

The recent drops in case counts seems to be signalling an end to the shockingly infectious Omicron wave — yet a lack of COVID-19 tests

may mean some cases are going unreported. This showcases the precarious situation into which U of T seems comfortable unabashedly sending its students and faculty.

When faced with rising COVID-19 cases in fall 2020, U of T moved all classes online. Of course, it may be unfair to compare the situation last year, when many students had one or no vaccine doses, to now, when the provost cites the statistic that 99 per cent of community members are “fully vaccinated.” However, there is no reliable information about how many students have received a booster shot.

While for previous waves, two doses of mRNA vaccines have proved effective at preventing severe illness and infection in general, Omicron is more resistant to the vaccine. A recent Harvard study concluded that a third “booster” dose provides much better protection against Omicron than two doses. Two doses may still be enough to prevent severe illness, as one study indicates, but if many students have not received a booster, sending them into the Omicron wave is dangerous.

Last semester, I observed crowded and poorly ventilated lecture halls filled with students wearing inadequate masks. Lectures can host hundreds of people. Many lectures take place in older buildings that may have poor ventilation, leaving potential for the accumulation of airborne droplets that spread the virus. For example, I have lectures in Alumni Hall, a large room with no windows that hosts a capacity of 284 students. My class is usually attended by approximately 80 students, with only a small chair in between any two people.

I do not feel safe being in such a room for over two hours, given those conditions.

While most students I see in lectures wear masks, some of their masks are ineffective. A December 15 Toronto Public Health brief says that for masks to be most effective, they should not have fewer than three layers. This means that if you were thinking of wearing a one- or two-layer cloth mask or a scarf-style mask, you should leave those at home.

Last semester, I often walked into class and saw some students wearing simply inadequate masks.

Knowing these might be the conditions I return to in February scares me. I hope U of T will be providing N95 or medical masks and advocating

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for their use over one- or two-layer cloth masks.

Students may see the dangers of contracting this variant and conclude they will take the risk if it means they get to see their friends. After all, this variant is mild, right? The Omicron variant indeed results in lower rates of serious outcomes than prior variants. Public Health Ontario reported that the risk of hospitalization or death for Omicron cases was 59 per cent lower than for Delta cases.

However, this does not paint a complete picture of the risks of Omicron. As with all COVID-19 strains, people with chronic medical conditions or those who are immunocompromised are at greater risk, according to the national government.

Even people without medical conditions can develop ‘long COVID.’ Officially labelled ‘post COVID-19 condition’ by the Canadian government, long COVID involves long-term symptoms that can occur after even mild or asymptomatic infection.

The Canadian government also clarifies symptoms, which can include fatigue, memory problems, sleep disturbances, shortness of breath, anxiety and depression, among other conditions. This is a serious risk that even young, healthy, vaccinated people should consider.

Despite our best efforts, members of the U of T community will contract COVID-19. Many of our peers likely have COVID-19 right now. Eliminating online options for classes means students who contract COVID-19 will have no choice but to show up on campus, potentially infecting the community.

I ask administrators for some leniency in requiring Faculty of Arts & Science students to return to in-person classes on February 28. Providing quality online options for the rest of the semester would allow students who are uncomfortable returning to in-person class, and those with COVID-19, a safe alternative that still allows them to succeed academically.

As for students, I urge you to research the Omicron variant and determine the risks you are taking in returning to class. If you are uncomfortable, express your concerns. If you choose to return to in-person learning, please prepare yourself as best as possible with a booster dose and an N95 or medical mask. Online learning sucks, but it’s worth it to save lives.

Jacob Lefkowitz Brooks is a second-year philosophy student at New College.

Do you have a minute to talk about the environment?

For most U of T students, unfortunately, the answer seems to be “no” Amalie Wilkinson Varsity Contributor

On December 1, members of Stop Ecocide Toronto stood outside Sidney Smith Hall. We sought to raise awareness about ‘ecocide’ — massive environmental destruction — and the proposal to make it an international crime. We offered flyers and asked if people had a moment to chat as they walked by.

The reaction? Most people averted their gaze and hurried away.

As university students at one of the premier institutions in Canada, you might expect those entering Sidney Smith Hall to be interested in the environment. Their relative youth, at least basic education about the climate crisis, and residence in a supposedly ‘climate-progressive’ country all point toward some element of interest or worry about the future. But in asking whether people had time to talk about the environment, we became invisible to the majority of passersby.

Why this response? There are a few obvious possibilities. They may have been late for class or some other engagement. They may not have wanted to talk to random strangers offering them flyers. Or, they simply didn’t care.

Unfortunately, none of these reasons are sufficient. It is unlikely that lateness can account for the people strolling down St. George Street at 10:32 am on a Wednesday, drinking a cup

of coffee or chatting with their friends. I would also hesitate to say that passersby would be intimidated by three young environmentalists with cheery smiles and free doughnuts.

I further find it hard to believe that U of T students are not interested in solving environmental destruction. They may want to end deforestation, oil spills, or carbon emissions, but the question is: what cost are they willing to pay?

This leads me to conclude that people shy away from street-side environmental conversations for a fourth reason. The benefits of such conversations are outweighed by other, more pressing commitments: studying, clubs, working on other social issues, jobs, or going to the gym.

None of this is intended to cast shame on those who did not stop. Rather, I hope to highlight a fundamentally uncomfortable — and, frankly, selfdestructive — feature of our society: our tendency to put environmental issues on the back burner, prioritizing our short-term interests over long-term sustainability.

Scientists around the globe have known for many decades that we are facing a climate crisis. Global warming disrupts weather systems, increasing droughts, fires, storms, floods, and other environmental disasters. Most Canadians recognize that climate change is occurring and are concerned about its impacts. The earth’s temperature is rising rapidly, and we are reaching

a point of no return terrifyingly quickly.

Simultaneously, we face a biodiversity crisis — in part due to the climate crisis and also due to separate but inextricably linked practices of ecosystem and habitat destruction.

Today, humanity faces a common risk of extinction. So why is this impending, irrevocable disaster not at the forefront of our every conversation, a factor in our every decision? I don’t have the answers here. It is clear, though, that we have developed a culture that facilitates and even promotes industrial activity — a culture that does not prioritize environmental concerns.

The good news is that, in my opinion, it is not too late to change course. The ideas needed to save our planet exist: innovative methods of recycling, laws against ecocide, clean energy technologies, sustainable agriculture, and so much more. There is a way, but we need a will.

We must reconceive nature as an entity with rights, as deserving of our attention and care.

We must see the environmental crisis for what it is: an extinction-level threat.

So, I ask everyone reading this: do you have a minute to talk about the environment? I hope we can get to a place where every single person answers, “Yes.” Amalie Wilkinson is a second-year international relations and peace, conflict and justice studies

student at University College. They are the founder and director of Stop Ecocide Toronto, a local chapter of the international Stop Ecocide movement.

Amalie Wilkinson (left) and Anna Clark (right) outside of Sidney Smith Hall.

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COMMENT

Don’t Look Up tells a tale not of the future, but of today The politicization of COVID-19 and its vaccine has led to a polarized US

Truth and Reconciliation is far from finished at U of T Tracking diversity could help target where improvements are needed Jasmin Akbari Varsity Staff

Content warning: This article mentions abuses committed as part of the residential school system.

COVID-19 vaccine misinformation runs rampant in far-right circles.

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Vincent Zhang Comment Columnist

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Vincent Zhang is a second-year financial economics student at Innis College.

Truth and Reconciliation on campus At U of T, various faculties and colleges have made positive steps toward Truth and Reconciliation through the development of courses, events, and opportunities that support Indigenous members of the community. By creating safer spaces that incorporate the needs of Indigenous peoples, the university can move forward in reconciliation.

The Dalla Lana School of Public Health has committed to providing access to Indigenous content, integrating Indigenous values in the curriculum, developing policies that enable smudging, offering cultural safety training for learners, and annually reviewing its progress. Moreover, the school has worked with researchers and leaders from the Waakebiness-Bryce Institute for Indigenous Health to develop a series of events honouring National Truth and Reconciliation Day. In business, Rotman Commerce is working with Fred VanVleet — a Toronto Raptors basketball player — to provide a scholarship to students who are Black or Indigenous.

At the same time, St. Michael’s College is offering a course for first-year students called SMC185H1F — SMC One: the Christianity, Truth and Reconciliation Seminar. This course educates students on the role of Canadian churches in the residential school system through seminar discussions, guest speakers, and experiential learning.

Developing courses such as this on campus can provide students with the opportunity to

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We’ve seen it time and time again: ‘doctors’ preaching the dangers of the COVID-19 vaccine.

These ‘doctors’ claim that the vaccine can cause anything from cancer to autoimmune disease to miscarriages, and that it can “alter your genetic coding, turning you into a viral protein factory that has no off-switch.”

At the forefront of these claims are 12 influencers known as the ‘Disinformation Dozen.’ These influencers, which include physicians, conspiracy theorists, and entrepreneurs, are responsible for up to 65 per cent of anti-vaccine content.

They use short infographics, posters, and easily shareable videos to spread misinformation — often with no credibility or research behind it.

All of their assertions can be easily disproved.

Yet, these anti-vaccine influencers somehow have large followings and influence millions and millions of people.

The Disinformation Dozen isn’t the only group rebelling against science. From the Flat Earth Society to climate change deniers, there have always been those who choose to ignore science and logic. When science reaches a conclusion that conspiracy theorists disagree with, those theorists pursue the outlandish. Mistrust in the government has led to a disbelief in the moon landing — and in the 2021 film Don’t Look Up, ignorance in science leads to the extinction of humanity.

Don’t Look Up, a satirical film, follows the story of two astronomers as they desperately try to warn the public about a comet destined to hit Earth in six months. They spread the word to politicians and to the public through the media yet they are never taken seriously. Further, the president only cares and attempts to act on their information when it benefits her — when she is trying to get re-elected. Due to the lack of action, the comet strikes the Earth as predicted, triggering an extinction-level event.

The film, which was first announced before the pandemic, was initially set to parallel the story of the climate crisis. However, in the current setting of anti-vaxxers and misinformation, the message is still clear. As science becomes politicized, it cannot cause effective change, and informing and educating people about science becomes useless.

As the vaccine has become increasingly associated with the Democratic party in the US, far-right radicals have displayed strong opposition to the vaccine. A poll by the Kaiser Family Foundation certainly found this to be true: for every unvaccinated Democrat-leaning individual, there existed three unvaccinated Republicanleaning individuals.

A September 2021 Gallup survey found similar results: 92 per cent of Democrats, 68 per cent of independents, and 56 per cent of Republicans were vaccinated. These numbers held despite small levels of variation among race and ethnicity throughout all of the categories. These figures display a common trend: disapproval of the COVID-19 vaccine among right-wing voters.

Regardless of the reasons behind vaccination disparities, the simple fact is that these disparities slow our recovery from COVID-19 and prevent a healthy transition into our normal social lives.

In the US, Chief Medical Advisor Dr. Anthony Fauci was certainly aware of this when he took up his position on vaccines and health mandates.

In the first few months of COVID-19, he was careful to avoid alienating either party. He made great strides to prevent politicizing the pandemic, emphasizing that “public health is something that has really nothing to do with politics.”

Science is objective — it’s either true or it’s not. When scientific truths become associated with certain political ideologies, those with clashing beliefs will choose to ignore the evidence they provide and seek out alternate radical content that aligns with their beliefs. In Don’t Look Up, people discredit and parody the science behind the comet. In the context of COVID-19, they choose to follow the Disinformation Dozen.

The politicization of COVID-19 and its vaccine has allowed the Disinformation Dozen to thrive. Anti-vaxxers feed off their content, where they feel comforted among those with similar opinions and beliefs.

However, the problem with vaccine misinformation is that it creates ambiguity in information and thus leads to divides in political opinion. As such, it has now become difficult to find any agreement among Democrats and Republicans amid the pandemic.

During such a politicized pandemic, where some conspiracy theorists have openly called mask mandates acts of suppression and believe that COVID-19 was engineered by governments, it is crucial that we separate our pandemic response from our political parties and affiliations. If not, the fight against COVID-19 will no longer be about convincing people that vaccines work — rather, it will be about convincing them that their entire political ideologies are incorrect.

Don’t Look Up has made this message more than clear. Whether it’s about a deadly comet, a warming Earth, or a rapidly spreading virus, science must remain politically impartial in order to drive real innovation.

In 2021, the discovery of unmarked graves at former residential schools shone a light on the pattern of mistreatment, abuse, and murder within the residential school system that had been enabled by the Canadian government and other institutions. With more potential unmarked graves being found within the past couple of weeks in British Columbia, institutions such as the University of Toronto must continue to be questioned and held accountable for their compliance in the continued discrimination against Indigenous peoples.

On September 30, 2021 — National Day for Truth and Reconciliation — U of T President Meric Gertler announced that the University of Toronto will continue to work toward creating a safe space and increasing the presence of Indigenous staff, students, faculty, and librarians.

There have still been many shortcomings in the university’s behaviour — including difficulties in tracking the progress of U of T’s Truth and Reconciliation efforts.

understand the deep-rooted impact of the residential school system and other institutional laws on Indigenous communities across Canada.

More importantly, such courses may give students an understanding of the problems Indigenous communities currently face. It is the responsibility of all students and faculty members to learn about these injustices.

At the Faculty of Law, students are helping with the Indigenous Human Rights podcast, which is produced by Pro Bono Students Canada’s Indigenous Human Rights Program. This podcast can better educate law students on the trauma that exists within the Indigenous communities and how Indigenous lawyers and lawyers educated in Indigenous history can make positive changes in the legal system.

What makes these actions across campus valuable is that they demonstrate the change that needs to come about by recognizing and respecting the needs of Indigenous community members at the university. Yet, despite all the positive changes made on campus, the problems they are meant to address have not been solved.

The next steps To better understand the improvements and progress it is making, U of T has decided to implement a website similar to the one it created to track anti-Black racism, to monitor progress over the university.

In addition to that website, the university should consider tracking individual faculties and colleges.

STEM fields, for example, are already difficult for visible minority and Indigenous students to break into. Tracking improvements within specific programs can be done by looking at the number of Indigenous students attending each program; tracking the events the program conducts; and administering various surveys to understand how Indigenous students, faculty, and members of the university may feel and what can be done for them.

Setting up better measures to quantify improvements can lay out what the university is missing and what it needs to improve upon.

As the university enters 2022, it is crucial that it takes the time to acknowledge the gaps and shortcomings of its system in order to make progress on Truth and Reconciliation with the Indigenous communities. As U of T students, we must take a moment to reflect on what we can do to secure long-term reconciliation with the Indigenous communities. It is also important for us to keep track of what the university is doing and what they can do to better the experiences of Indigenous students, staff, faculty, and librarians alike.

Jasmin Akbari is a second-year industrial relations and human resources, digital humanities, and writing & rhetoric student at Woodsworth College.

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JANUARY 31, 2022

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As expected, a winter break full of uncertainty International students face challenges on returning home and staying in country Stephanie Shih Varsity Contributor

The life of an international student is full of uncertainty. The decisions we make are dependent on the university’s decisions: whether or not to return home, departure dates, where to stay in Toronto if returning home is not an option, how much to spend on an Airbnb to not break our budgets. International students must make these considerations every year while most domestic students do not.

International students should not be in this on their own. Just like domestic students, international students are members of U of T and should have support from their community in times of need. Hence, it is the university’s responsibility to ease the burden on students’ shoulders and aspire toward fulfilling needs and expectations in a year full of questions. With academic pressure weighing on their minds, it is simply unfair for international students to suffer additional mental stress searching for shelter every winter break.

Despite a quarter of the entire student body being international students who pay significantly more in tuition fees than most domestic students, U of T does not adequately take the needs of its international students into consideration.

This is evident in the university’s abrupt announcement in the middle of finals season on December 15, 2021, when many students

were experiencing peak stress levels. U of T decided to cancel all in-person exams starting on December 16, 2021 and shifted classes online until January 31, 2022. U of T has since announced a more gradual transition to a full in-person return with in-person activities beginning to increase on February 7.

Due to U of T’s untimely announcements, students — especially international students — bore most of the consequences of the ineffective decision. Those who could have returned home earlier missed their chances of booking a cheaper flight. Those who booked flights at a later date to fly home needed to rebook their flights. Those who were not fortunate enough to return — due to the late notice — were stuck in the country. Some paid extra to stay in residence. Some were forced to move out of residence, struggled to find a place to stay over the break — disconnected from family and friends — and spent the holidays alone without support in a foreign country.

International students with no residence in Canada may have struggled to find proper accommodations to stay over winter break.

Although students residing at University College, New College, the Chestnut Residence, and the Chelsea Hotel could apply to stay for winter break, those who were in other student residences — including St. Michael’s, Victoria, Trinity, Innis, Loretto, and Woodsworth College — had to find elsewhere to stay.

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For residence in winter break, the cost of renting a room can quickly add up to hundreds of dollars, and sharing a room with someone else could increase the risk of contracting COVID-19. With that said, U of T should be able to relieve students’ stress of finding a safe and suitable place to stay during winter break or any inconvenient times of the year in the future.

While the university may not be able to realistically keep all of its residences open over winter break as a result of staff shortages, there are alternative ways to give support to those who have to leave their dorm at the end of term. For instance, U of T could team up with nearby accommodations in Toronto such as hotels, Airbnb, and hostels to provide annual student-friendly deals for long-term stays during winter break and possibly summer vacation.

These deals could take the form of student

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packages, discounts, or coupons depending on which works best for the school, the provider, and the students. Not only would the financial burden on international students be lighter, but also the workload of residence staff could be more manageable.

With rising COVID-19 cases, changing government policies, and mixed economic situations compounded with late school announcements, international students have been living in constant worry and indecision since the start of the school year. With mistakes unexpectedly made, decisions untimely announced, and policies inadequately enforced, there is room for improvement, and U of T has the capacity to make those changes.

Stephanie Shih is a first-year social sciences student at Woodsworth College.

Online learning options make university more accessible Postsecondary institutions can learn from the mistakes of hybrid learning Emily Faubert Varsity Staff

U of T is meant to be an institution of innovation and higher learning, but instead of finding longterm solutions, the university’s response to the pandemic has been largely reactive.

I recently read the university’s statement on returning to in-person learning starting February 7. Personally, I’m nervous about attending in-person lectures, especially as epidemiological studies show that COVID-19 deaths have increased in the past month. On the other hand, students are dropping out at unprecedented rates and facing mental health barriers as a result of online education.

The choice of preferred mode of education delivery has remained unclear throughout the pandemic, but I wonder if we can do better than that.

I find it odd that as a student who pays to do the work necessary to receive an education, I have no say in how I do that work, even when

the environment is dangerous. Instead, it seems that students are being put at risk of physical and psychological harm to save U of T from having to innovate.

Universities by their very nature are responsible for providing students with an education. If U of T cannot uphold its end of the bargain without potentially putting us in danger, the university has no right to be charging tuition or to have 4,728 staff members on the 2021 Sunshine List — the list of public employees who make over $100,000 per year. It would be absurd to pay to eat at a potentially unsafe restaurant, and it would be the owner’s responsibility to ensure the safety of their customers. Similarly, the onus is on U of T to keep its students safe, while providing the quality education those students paid for.

The World Economic Forum predicts that online learning will be the way of the future. I would like to see our institution be a leader and invest in the labour required to offer students the choice between in-person and online classes. We have seen this

Integrating online classes could be the norm for postsecondary education.

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hybrid model fail in the Ontario education system, as teachers struggled to host both in-person and remote groups of students simultaneously.

Studies show that many students have felt more sedentary, anxious, and depressed during their online semesters, while others are finding that decreased distractions are allowing them to thrive. This remains an incredibly polarizing issue because it’s subjective; what works for one student may inhibit another.

However, as students, we can demand that the university be preemptive and cater to all learning styles, not only the most typical ones. An information session about the return to in-person classes will be held soon by the UTSC administration, and I urge students to show up and make their voices heard.

Online education requires more than a video camera to keep students engaged and learning.

Universities are particularly suited to be leaders in using the hybrid model effectively; they can make use of endowments while coordinating between education and media departments to find innovative ways to teach and learn.

This would require additional labour, like hiring teaching assistants dedicated to summarizing and asking questions from online students, recording the class chat, and acting as the liaison between online learners and the professor. Teaching online is a skill unto itself, which requires media knowledge and new media engagement strategies, and there is no reason to expect every professor to succeed in teaching online, especially without institutional support.

A model with both in-person and online classes would allow students who want to attend inperson lectures to attend class in a lower-risk environment during a pandemic or even during flu season. This would also make our campuses more accessible to students who cannot afford to relocate, give a choice to the students who require in-person components to meet scholarship requirements, or — like myself — find fulfilling in-person learning to be inaccessible due to hyperstimulation. I found participation in the traditional university environment very difficult, and while I receive accommodations, none have

enabled me to participate in class as well as an online environment has.

According to the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), in the US, before the pandemic, requests for an online learning environment could be denied by a university due to financial or administrative burdens. However, in the scramble to keep students during the pandemic, educational institutions proved that online learning was possible the whole time — there was just no profit in it before.

To any future claims of institutional burden: it is the responsibility of an institution to be accessible.

The students hold no responsibility in making the profit model of their university viable.

The ADA also provides exceptions to the university in mandating accommodations for students with a disability if the accommodation — in this case, working online — would significantly alter the nature of the program or curriculum.

In other words, accommodations cannot give students unfair advantages, lower the university’s academic standards, or change course or program requirements. However, during the pandemic, course instructors have largely managed to adapt to online and hybrid formats without compromising learning quality or fairness.

The ADA has stringent standards, so if online accommodations no longer fall under the above exceptions, we will likely soon see a rollout of mandates forcing US institutions to invest in online learning, as pandemic-driven online learning has challenged our ingrained ideas of what fulfilling educational experiences look like. This investment in the future would benefit not only students with disabilities but also any other students who cannot participate or find it difficult to participate in the traditional in-person university environment.

Integrating online classes could be the norm for postsecondary education. I want to graduate from a university that takes preemptive steps to be a leader in accessible education, instead of a university that only reacts when it is eventually forced to mandate this change.

Emily Faubert is a fourth-year journalism and philosophy student at UTSC.

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Rion Levy Varsity Contributor

There is significantly more to what students learn in schools than what you see in curricula. In schools, they learn to socialize with peers in their own age groups and with adults in positions of authority. They learn how to conduct themselves in public. Parents hope that their children would learn social values of respect and compassion at school, just as much as they hope that children would learn about biology or history. Safe, inclusive educational spaces are required to foster such aspects of learning.

But how do teachers contribute to these additional aspects of learning? And how does the manner in which students engage with the curriculum teach them social values and empathy, and shape their sense of belonging?

This aspect of education is called secondary socialization: the part of social learning that familiarizes children with the scope of the world outside of their family unit. Secondary socialization helps children understand how to manage different levels of intimacy and how to achieve certain social goals to become accepted members of a social group. It relies heavily on a reinforcement system where positive social achievements are met with positive attention and attitudes from peers and teachers.

There are three key dimensions to this secondary level of socialization: behavioural, moral, and cultural conformity. Students learn what behaviours, attitudes, and modes of expression are appropriate within their school environment and, more specifically, within their friend and peer circles. However, this type of learning is most often affected by a teacher’s attitudes toward

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different social and cultural classes — frequently, attitudes that privilege the dominant class. That’s why it’s so important for teachers to access equity and diversity training.

Schools have certainly made great steps toward inclusivity over the past four decades.

One of the first steps to make Ontario schools more accessible began in 1980 with the Education Amendment Act, which was intended to make public education in Ontario accessible to students with learning and physical disabilities.

Today, Ontario has legal supports like these that are to be extended to students from a range of backgrounds, regardless of ability, race, sexual orientation, gender identity, socioeconomic status, religion, or first languages.

However, The Varsity spoke to two Ontario teachers who revealed that, in practice, those supports aren’t always provided by school boards. As a result, the responsibility to make schools a safe environment often falls on teachers or students. This shortcoming can be traced back to the Ministry of Education, which fails to sufficiently outline what inclusivity training should tangibly look like and provide the resources to make it happen.

Inclusivity on paper Today, the public education system in Ontario is run by the Ministry of Education, which is composed of 72 school boards. These include 31 English, 29 English Catholic, four French, and eight French Catholic school boards. The Ministry establishes a set of policies and curriculum expectations for the province, and each respective school board develops their own expectations for their schools. The Ministry also provides a series of reflective tools for educators and administrators to ensure that they follow Ministry standards.

It’s not students’ job

Ontario educators on equity, diver There are certain benefits to this framework.

Ontario is the most diverse province in the country, meaning that a rigid, uniform approach to education would only be representative of Ontario on the macro scale. So, instead, individual boards are granted freedom to respond to their own communities’ needs, meaning that they can design reflexive educational environments that are better tailored to their students. For example, individual school boards can develop specific curricula to focus on and partner with Indigenous communities native to the land on which their board operates, rather than simply offering a broad survey of Indigenous cultures, heritages, histories, and studies in Ontario.

But the broad and flexible approach of the Ministry’s policies also creates a few problems.

Ministry-set standards are fairly general, so school boards have significant power and responsibility in developing the specifics of their policies and curricula. As a result, we see uneven implementation of equity, diversity, and inclusion initiatives.

Students are the ones who experience the fallout of these shortcomings. In Ontario’s Equity and Inclusive Education Strategy, former Minister of Education Kathleen Wynne recognizes that “students who feel welcome and accepted in their schools are more likely to succeed academically.” If all students manage to receive valuable and effective secondary socialization in schools, then they are more likely to facilitate a safer en-

vironment for their peers, which will enable all students to learn more effectively. It’s not hard to see, then, how unsafe environments can be detrimental to student success.

Safe school environments The Ministry outlines its expectations for schools and school boards in the Ontario Schools Kindergarten to Grade 12 Policy and Program Requirements document, which is available as a PDF on its website. The document emphasizes the importance of safe learning environments in schools, noting that these are “essential to the positive cognitive, emotional, social, and physical development of learners.”

This expectation that school environments will be safe spaces for all students and staff is an important part of the Ministry’s mandate. If schools are able to foster these environments, not only will they be in compliance with the Ontario Human Rights Commission’s (OHRC) expectations, but studies show that their students will perform better and are more likely to graduate.

More specifically, the Ministry has three goals to achieve inclusive education: shared committed leadership from and between the Ministry of Education, school boards, and schools; equitable and inclusive education policies and practices; and accountability and transparency within school boards.

The Ministry also expects school boards to train teachers and other school staff on topics

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to make schools safe

rsity, and inclusivity shortcomings such as anti-racism, anti-discrimination, and gender-based violence. This might involve running a sensitivity training session about gender and sexual orientation or educating staff on necessary intervention and prevention strategies when facing instances of racism, homophobia, harassment, and gender-based violence.

However, instead of offering an explicit or descriptive framework for what equity training and practices ought to look like, for the most part, the document simply outlines the fact that these programs should exist. At most, the OHRC provides school boards with case studies illustrating moments in which students claimed that the Ontario Human Rights Code was violated and explaining whether or not these violations were legitimate. These case studies are far from the proactive equity tools that schools require.

Inclusivity in the classroom The Varsity spoke to several Ontario teaching staff who expressed that they had not been offered adequate equity and diversity training. Robert Switzer, a current teacher at the Limestone District School Board (LDSB), told The Varsity that there are structural barriers to professional development, making it a complicated process.

“It’s rarely funded… It is often self-driven. Teachers do it themselves on their own time.”

Switzer acknowledges that school boards have always had an understanding of equity, but emphasizes that teachers need to be

working individually to foster an inclusive environment where sensitive topics can be appropriately discussed. Still, he remains hopeful that it is possible: “I think it’s important to recognize that the will is there and there isn’t pushback against doing it. But trying to understand how to do it requires a lot of work from people, and it’s not easy.”

This difficulty is reflected in the Ministry’s policy documents. It is fortunate that the Ministry acknowledges the role that school and classroom environments play in a student’s well-being and ability to succeed. But the Ministry of Education does not offer descriptive support to educators or boards on how to best cultivate these environments, nor does it explicitly state which cultural values teachers should implement when adapting the curriculum to be more inclusive.

In general, it fails to offer a comprehensive framework for how to teach equity and inclusivity strategies to staff. Instead, the Ministry states that “all schools and boards must support students who wish to establish and lead activities and organizations that promote a safe and inclusive learning environment.”

David Hannah, another teacher at the LDSB, also acknowledged that he’s noticed positive attitudes toward equity initiatives in an interview with The Varsity. He said that he does think he

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has seen a shift toward equity and inclusion since he first began to teach. “I think a lot of this is driven by community, driven by students, especially when I think about the work that’s happened really recently with students of colour [and] queer students. This is something that I think students are pushing forward. And [school staff are] responding because that’s what we should do,” he explained.

Luckily, because Ministry policy mandates that schools support students who wish to create a more inclusive environment in their schools, there — in theory — should be no pushback to student advocacy. If a student body recognizes a need for social change, the Ministry of Education insists that they shall have it. However, if students are the ones facilitating their safe school environment, then, simply put, they are not in a safe environment to begin with.

That kind of responsibility shouldn’t be falling on students’ shoulders; rather, school boards must ensure that staff and administration have ample resources to foster safe and equitable spaces for students to enjoy.

Hope for the future When asked whether they feel that they work in a safe environment for students, both Switzer and Hannah answered something along the lines of “not yet.”

“I would say that I feel that the intent of my colleagues to create an equitable, inclusive environment is absolutely explicit and overt. And that’s what we aspire to as a school. I do not believe that what we aspire to is aligned with what the students experience, yet,” said Switzer.

Similarly, Hannah said, “I work in an environment that is safe for me, as every institution has ever been safe for people like me. But I don’t

[feel that I work in a safe environment]. I know that I don’t because I listen to my students.”

The current frameworks and expectations set out by the Ministry of Education are performative at best. At worst, they villainize teachers.

Schools remain unsafe environments for many students across the province, because teachers do not have the appropriate resources or training to learn how to best support their marginalized students.

As a result, from a very young age, many students may not receive a version of secondary socialization that includes enough compassion or inclusivity. Because the Ministry of Education highlights in their policy that changes toward more inclusive curricula ought to happen, the blame falls on educators if schools are not at the level of inclusivity that they should be.

All students deserve to feel respected, valued, and included in their school communities. We’re beginning to move toward this, and Ministry policy has played an active role in that progress over the past four decades — but teachers and their boards need more support across the province.

It is not fair to require educators to facilitate professional development out of their own pockets and on their own time.

And as much as the status quo is unfair to educators, it is even more profoundly unfair for the students who do not have teachers readily supporting and acknowledging their worth.

Everyone deserves to learn that they have value both implicitly and explicitly.

Luckily, there is hope for the future. Hannah emphasized that he has “enormous, perhaps infinite, faith in the young people in our schools who will guide [educators] where [they] need to go, and in the teachers… listening to, hearing [what students say], and actioning it.”

Arts & Culture

January 31, 2022 thevarsity.ca/section/arts-and-culture arts@thevarsity.ca

A deep dive into the concealed death of Ontario’s famous groundhog The Wiarton Willie who didn’t live to see spring come again Cherry Zhang Associate Senior Copy Editor

It’s that time of the year again — the period after the initial excitement of snow and the new year have worn off, leaving us with grey sludge and sub-zero temperatures. Personally, I’m ready for winter to be over, so I can feel less like a walking snowball.

Luckily, we’re approaching February 2, also known as Groundhog Day, when the titular small mammal will come out of hibernation to tell us when spring will come again. But for Wiarton Willie, the famous Ontarian prognostic groundhog, spring will not come this year. In fact, it hasn’t come for some time — because Willie has been dead since at least last Groundhog Day. Every year, the town of South Bruce Peninsula in Ontario hosts the Wiarton Willie Festival.

It began with a large group of friends who had a party on Groundhog Day to combat the winter blues. When a reporter heard of their gathering and came in search of the advertised groundhog, the organizer responded by throwing a fur hat into the snow. As the years went on, the party of 100 grew into the full-blown festival it is now.

Now, every February 2, Wiarton Willie — an actual albino groundhog — is brought out for Prediction Morning. The story is the same: If he sees his shadow, winter will continue for another six weeks. If not, spring will come early.

Gayathri Siva Varsity Contributor

Poet Victoria Butler’s website describes her debut collection, Little Miracles, in the following manner: “[It] explores a myriad of human emotions through the eyes of a young woman who is fiercely dedicated to where she comes from, all while trying to figure out where she’s going.”

However, if you were to ask Butler herself about her work, her answer would be strikingly different: “[It’s essentially] everything I’ve written that isn’t complete garbage in the [last] three years.”

The 25-year-old poet’s collection was published through Black Moss Press with the help of her mentor, poet Bruce Meyer. In an interview with The Varsity, Butler opened up about her experience writing and publishing her work, her future goals, and her other creative endeavours.

Butler’s writing journey Although Butler now uses writing as a method of self-expression, the poet originally used the art form as a way of dealing with the loneliness she experienced as a child. Though she was raised alongside her older brother, Butler oftentimes went without companionship because her sibling was working. Butler elaborated that she felt like “basically [an] only child” and that “writing was a really handy way to… deal with that.”

Butler was further inspired by poetry at the age of 13, when her eighth grade class was assigned a poetry project. After reading her work, Butler’s teacher encouraged her to continue writing by joining her school’s creative writing circle. “I was always around other writers [and] exploring different genres, but poetry just kind of stuck with me,” Butler explained.

Now a creative writing major at UTSC, Butler’s talent continues to be fostered by her teachers.

Last semester, as part of an independent study class with Associate Professor Daniel Tysdal, Butler wrote poetry about women who have experienced violence in Barrie, her hometown.

“Barrie’s been a city [where women] have

According to local legend, Willie, the powerful albino groundhog, has been given the ability to accurately predict the arrival of spring.

Last November, the mayor of South Bruce Peninsula announced that Wiarton Willie would not be in attendance at the 2022 Groundhog Day ceremony, as he had sadly passed away from a tooth abscess. But, perhaps somewhat scandalously, at the time of the announcement, the prophetic groundhog had already been dead for months — even before Groundhog Day 2021.

The passing of this local celebrity was covered up for almost an entire year before it was formally announced.

South Bruce Peninsula held a virtual event last year in place of their usual live festival — an unsurprising pivot given the pandemic. A prerecorded three-minute video briefly summarized the history of the festival, and then it was time for Willie’s prediction.

Except Willie never made an appearance. The prognosis was delivered by a white fur cap tossed into the snow that was declared by the mayor as a sign of an early spring. This sparked speculation that Willie was dead, a rumour that would only be confirmed over nine months later.

Although the exact date of Willie’s death remains a mystery to the public, the town has confirmed that it was before his usual hibernation period in 2020. And since albinism in groundhogs is a rare trait, a brown groundhog will have to be

Wiarton Willie’s death was hidden for almost a year before it was announced.

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used for 2022’s ceremony until a worthy successor for Willie can be found.

After doing a deep dive on this, because I was both extremely fascinated and confused by the idea of a groundhog death scandal, I was left with one burning question: Why now? Why, after many months have passed and so close to the next Groundhog Day, did the town leaders choose to reveal Wiarton Willie’s death? Was their conscience haunted by the deceased, or could they just not keep the fact a secret any longer without a replacement or an explanation?

The mayor claimed that keeping Willie’s death a secret was to protect the “Wiarton Willie brand,” as the groundhog is one of the town’s key attractions.

As history has clearly shown, though, the groundhog’s lack of physical well-being would not necessarily undermine the event’s continued existence. Over the nearly 66 years of the festival, this isn’t the first time a Willie has died and left event organizers unprepared. In 1999, the Willie

Exploring Little Miracles, Miracles, the collection of poet Victoria Butler’s emotions The UTSC creative writing major, Poet Laureate discusses her writing

Victoria Butler is the author of poetry collection Little Miracles.

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experienced gender-based violence or have been murdered,” Butler said. “I’m spending a lot of time watching YouTube videos, and… reading articles and picking up on little details… that I can use [to] translate the story into a poetic way instead of [just] a news article, or [a] sad story.”

Writing Little Miracles Though many approach creative writing with a

preplanned concept or idea, Butler wrote much of Little Miracles without knowing it would translate into a cohesive project. “I had all this work and I put it all together and realized they were all [definite] themes that flowed really well and made up a collection,” Butler described.

Butler partially attributes her book’s publication to Meyer, who brought her manuscript to Marty Gervais, a representative from Black Moss

at the time was found frozen to death. Without a replacement, the ‘groundhog committee’ turned the festival into a funeral, unveiling an old stuffed groundhog in a casket and startling audiences.

Personally, I would take a fur hat or a brown groundhog over a stuffed albino one any day, because holding a public funeral just seems to slightly undermine the celebratory spirit to me.

Even if the new groundhog doesn’t have the same prognostic powers foretold by legend, I don’t think it matters to festival-goers who just want to have a good time, early spring or not.

According to meteorological evidence from the Canadian Encyclopedia, the groundhogs’ weather predictions have an accuracy rate of under 40 per cent, so it’s not as if we really take their prognosis as a weather forecast. Just like its original organizers intended, the festival on Groundhog Day is used as a way to bring joy to people during the harsh Canadian winter, well after the effects of the holiday season have faded away — and with or without Willie.

Press. She stressed the importance of having a connection within the writing world, “as crappy as that can be.” “[Gervais] really liked my work. And he knew me from before… because I’ve done gigs in Windsor, where he lives,” Butler explained. “So he decided to put it out, which I was super grateful for. [Meyer] had already edited it into [a] nice, cohesive piece.

And then I just skimmed it to make sure that I liked how everything looked. They had a designer who made it pretty.”

Poet Laureate of Barrie Aside from becoming a published author for the first time, Butler is also the third Poet Laureate of Barrie. The title, which is given to a new writer every four years, is accompanied by the task of sharing community stories through poetry and advocating for arts and literature within the community.

“I’m the first woman and I’m also the youngest [Poet Laureate in Barrie], but [they’re] all over Canada,” Butler shared. Butler explained that the title traced back to the 1600s, when its holder wrote verse for court and significant national occasions in the United Kingdom.

For Butler, the role carries the same social responsibility as it did when it came with significant social status. Butler explained that, because Barrie is a conservative town, she feels that advocacy through artistic work is especially needed. “We run into a lot of issues [with] policy [and] services that we need that we can’t get. So that’s… where it’s like, okay, [let’s] stop seeing these people as ‘other’ and [put] them on the same level as everyone else.”

Butler, who’s four years into her term, added that she is especially interested in publishing poems that detail people in her community who have experienced addiction or homelessness.

“Not for me, but [so I can] use my gifts to give them a platform,” Butler explained.

Little Miracles can be found at the Chapters story in Barrie. It can also be purchased through Black Moss Press’ or Victoria Butler’s website.

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A TikTok joke or a push to rethink cancel culture?

An irresponsible dater has been attacked online for ghosting his Hinge dates

so-called “West Elm Caleb.”

Caleb is a furniture designer from the company West Elm, who had been dating and ghosting multiple women at the same time. Stories about him include him sharing the same Spotify playlist with different girls while saying he made it just for each one individually, sending unsolicited nude photos, lying about himself on his Hinge profile, and ‘lovebombing’ — offering his dates an over-the-top manner of affection early on as a way of winning over their affection and gaining control over them.

Beatriz Silva Varsity Staff

To what extent is it justifiable to take justice into one’s own hands? In the last few years, social media and cancel culture have taken the meaning of ‘justice’ to a new level. We’ve seen many public figures have their reputation and career ruined online for doing or saying problematic or politically incorrect things. Private individuals can also be affected by this phenomenon by having their privacy violated and being attacked online.

This is what is happening to “West Elm Caleb,” a man whose face went viral online after a series of TikToks revealed his atrocious dating patterns.

Many began shaming Caleb as the videos gained traction — some might even argue that Caleb has become TikTok’s new “Couch Guy.” Who is “West Elm Caleb?”

On January 11, TikTok user @meemshou posted a video in which she described the unpleasant experience of dating in New York City. She explained that she was being ‘ghosted’ by a boy she met on Hinge whose name was Caleb. The video promptly went viral, and several women commented mentioning similar stories with the

The John Tucker Must Die moment After these women connected through @meemshou’s video, some of them began creating a series of videos sharing their stories about West Elm Caleb. Some of these videos contained details from his Hinge profile, screenshots of their conversations, the Spotify playlist, and much more.

But soon, stories of West Elm Caleb reached Twitter, tabloids, and media websites — and so did the series of videos and posts exposing his face, full name, LinkedIn profile, phone number, address, and even his workplace. Caleb deleted all his social media accounts to avoid additional attacks.

Some people began comparing Caleb’s situation to the 2006 movie John Tucker Must Die, in which a group of girls who are being manipulated by the same boy decide to punish and expose him. This plan was formulated as a way of teaching him a lesson and preventing him from doing the same thing to other girls.

While the reason these girls exposed Caleb was mainly to raise awareness and teach him a lesson, we have to remember that John Tucker Must Die was about revenge, and not purely justice.

women might not have been to hurt Caleb, but to warn others using dating apps in New York against a man who seemed to be a heartbreaker.

On the other hand, the West Elm Caleb case can make us reflect on the dangers of cancel culture.

Throughout history, publicly shaming individuals for their wrongdoings has, in fact, been effective in promoting social change and equality.

In cases that involve criminal activity, exposing wrongdoers online might be a valid way of calling for justice — as in the #MeToo movement, for instance.

On the other hand, attacking people might sometimes seem like an unreasonable punishment for their mistakes. Cancelling people can shift from the realms of awareness and justice to the realm of bullying, which may put the cancelled person’s mental and physical well-being at risk. According to psychologist Becky Spelman, online shaming can lead to feelings of isolation, which may escalate to depression and anxiety.

Moreover, having personal information like one’s full name, phone number, or address exposed online can present a serious safety risk and lead to a higher chance of being stalked, harassed, or robbed.

The ruined reputation doesn’t only affect the careers of public figures that are cancelled.

Private individuals have been fired when their employers were brought into the online conversation by people who sometimes claimed to be warning them about these employees’ actions.

In West Elm Caleb’s case, it appears that the recent events didn’t cost him his job, although people have tried to get him fired. But, unlike public figures who are more willing and

The Department of Rare Books and Special Collections draws inspiration from campus

In U of T librarian Eva Jurczyk’s debut novel, The Department of Rare Books and Special Collections, an interim library director finds that a valuable manuscript has disappeared before it is even made available to the public eye. The book delves into the livelihood of librarians, whose dutiful work is often underappreciated, and the relationships they form while at work.

Before reading this novel, I had not read a lot of mystery novels, which might be the reason why it was initially harder for me to become invested in its plot.

Nevertheless, while cozying up to a tea mug and a warm blanket, I found it to be the perfect winter read.

The novel is told from the point of view of its protagonist, Liesl, who works at a university library.

When Liesl’s library director undergoes a medical emergency, she becomes the library’s new acting director. Within days of her promotion, a newly acquired manuscript goes missing. Liesl works dili-

MAKENA MWENDA/THEVARSITY

Justice versus unfair punishment As Casey Fiesler suggests in her article for NBC News, the original intention of most of these

U of T librarian Eva Jurczyk’s new book is proof that authors should write what they know Erika Teeter Varsity Contributor

prepared to go through these kinds of situations, when private individuals suddenly find themselves under the spotlight, they’re unprepared.

West Elm Caleb might have hurt the feelings of several women around New York, but enduring public shaming, having his privacy violated, his safety threatened, and running the risk of losing his job seems to be an exaggerated punishment.

Besides, some of this shaming might seem more like a personal vendetta than a fight for justice when its goal shifts from warning other women to humiliating Caleb.

Pursuing justice with one’s own hands is a dangerous way of raising awareness that might quickly get out of hand. After all, we have to remember that behind the #WestElmCaleb that raised millions of views and contributions, there is a human being who is being affected by these jokes.

gently with the help of her coworkers to retrieve the missing manuscript, which is originally thought to be misplaced, but is then discovered to be stolen.

Although the novel’s ultimate outcome was predictable, there were many times when I incorrectly guessed the identity of the manuscript thief.

Ultimately, this mystery was what kept me flipping through the pages. I liked that Jurczyk created a suspenseful buildup.

Liesl’s character was also fascinating. A lot of women protagonists I read about are young and just beginning their careers. In this case, we read about a woman who is older and more experienced in her work. Throughout the narrative, however, I noticed that Liesl is often undermined by the men under her supervision. As the novel progresses, we see Liesl overcome these adversities by learning how to stand up for herself and put power-hungry men — such as university President Garber — in their place.

This brings up another important theme: that people in positions of power will do whatever it

takes to protect their institutions. A debate that often emerges in the novel is about whether or not Liesl and her coworkers should keep the book’s theft concealed or report it to the police. During this conflict, many of Liesl’s men coworkers urge her not to tell the police because the manuscript’s donors would stop donating to the institution if they found out it was stolen. Liesl obliges until one of her coworkers goes missing, and she eventually decides to report the theft to the police.

Jurczyk drew much of the novel’s inspiration from everyday life at U of T. As a current student, it was fun to notice common campus locations — such as Robarts Library — depicted in this fictional novel. These Toronto-based descriptions also helped me visualize some of the book’s scenes.

In an Instagram story, Jurczyk pointed out that Magic Noodle on Harbord Street was the inspiration for a common dining area in her book, so I’ll be checking it out soon.

The Department of Rare Books and Special Collections is a perfect example of why writing about things you know works well. I think that many students can find comfort in the story’s main setting — a library, where we often find solace and the occasional study session. With its underlying

The Department of Rare Books and Special Collections was released on January 25.

COURTESY OF ALICE XUE

themes of gender discrimination in the workplace, mental health struggles, and relationship scandals, there is more to this mystery novel than what meets the eye — just like the university it depicts.

If you’re looking for a quick read with great writing and a strong storyline, then read The Department of Rare Books and Special Collections — I guarantee you won’t be disappointed.

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THE VARSITY

arts@thevarsity.ca

ARTS & CULTURE

You can manifest your dream life — even with anxiety Exploring ways to counteract negative self-talk and remind you of your purpose

Victoria Vesovski Varsity Contributor

Recently, Gen Z has developed an obsession with manifesting. I think of it like this: your past actions brought you to where you are today, so what you do in the present dictates the life you’ll live in the future. This practice derives from the New Thought movement’s Law of Attraction, and suggests that we have the power to create our reality through visualization and positive thinking.

It’s not always easy to have idealized thoughts about the future and embrace positive self-talk when you’re suffering from anxiety. Anxiety, which is defined as a nervous disorder that’s characterized by uneasiness and apprehension, manifests itself differently in everyone. For myself, it feels like my mind is trapped in a space that’s difficult to escape. I lose control over my thoughts and feelings, and focus on a fear-fuelled tunnel vision. In this state, it’s difficult to imagine the potentiality and fullness of my life.

But manifesting while suffering from anxiety is not impossible. In fact, I’ve learned to use manifesting as a coping mechanism to counteract negative self-talk by reminding myself of my purpose.

I use manifesting to firstly recognize some of my fears for what they are — protective mechanisms that keep me in my comfort zone. Therefore, an important step in tackling my anxiety is to face my fears and ask myself, “What exactly am I afraid of?”

After I recognize my fears, it’s crucial for me to remember that my thoughts don’t always contain deeper meanings. A key aspect of my journey of manifesting was to distinguish my intuitive

Vurjeet Madan Varsity Contributor

Is the question “Friends or How I Met Your Mother?” the modern-day version of “ ‘Mona Lisa’ or ‘The Starry Night?’ ” In the age of digital media, art has found its way into our everyday lives — and naturally, that is accompanied by opinions.

Even if you consider yourself a philistine of sorts, chances are that art plays some important role in your life. It may be bingeing Euphoria with your best friends, listening to 1980’s hit songs with your dad, or — like Jess in New Girl — watching Dirty Dancing to get past a breakup. The way we consume new media — and develop opinions about it — demonstrates how the practice of casually criticizing art is a lot more common than we give it credit for.

Over the course of time, scholars have worked to devise a cohesive system of evaluation when consuming art. Essentially, they have all attempted to decide on what art is universally good, and what is universally bad.

Take famous philosopher David Hume, for example. The philosopher was adamant on the existence a ‘standard of taste’ — a recipe for the legitimate art critic, whose opinion is unbiased and who can see art for what it really is.

If Hume were to travel through time to today, he would be quite unimpressed with your roommate’s unstructured rant on why Quentin Tarantino is overrated. He would probably say that your roommate’s argument is seeping with bias, and that their opinions about the filmmaker haven’t been “perfected by comparison,” or are not “cleared of all prejudice.”

But there’s value in challenging the idea that bias in art interpretation is unconditionally bad. Do we have to think without bias when viewing art? In other words, isn’t part of the experience exactly that — the bias and perspective you peer through it with?

A wonderful example of the beauty

Vision boards are a tool manifesters can use to remind them of their goals.

JULIA DEDDA/THEVARSITY

thoughts from my anxious thoughts. As a writer, my intuitions drive me to write about my experiences with emotional responses to situations.

However, my anxious thoughts have often led me to disregard many of my writings because of the voice in the back of my head saying, “What if?” What if my stories make me too vulnerable?

What if people can’t relate to my journey? What if I’m not good enough?

In the past, I’ve allowed these anxious thoughts to surpass my intuitive ones, which made it difficult for me to evolve as a writer. But gradually deciding to follow my intuition has offered me a sense of optimism, making it easier to overcome the fear fuelled by my anxiety.

Manifesting is all about perception. When you think too much about a situation, you enhance your imaginative abilities by creating a mental scenario of what could happen. The key to manifesting is to use those same imaginative powers to instead create visions of yourself that you’d be happier with — for example, a vision of you where you’ve reached your desired goals.

But after you distinguish your thoughts from one another, you still need to find a manifesting technique that works best for you. There are a couple different ones that work best for me.

My first method is creating daily affirmations that support my healing and growth. For example, I find it very useful to say, “I’m allowed

years back. A New York Post article about it was cheekily titled “$43.8 million for this?!” The abstract painting was a large blue canvas crossed by one broad stroke of white — a piece that anyone, regardless of their artistic talent, could create. Ultimately, the painting — created by artist Barnett Newman — sold in a bidding war for, as the article says, “more than most Manhattan penthouses.” The world of high-end art might not make much sense to anyone outside of a art critics and their contributions — which in- tiny bubble of art critics, but proves just how clude film award nominations, beautifully crafted polar art interpretation can be. points on the art in museums, and a long list There is a divide between mass culture and of other things — it is equally as important to high art, but as Nicholas Brown argues in Auappreciate the pure subjective nature of art. tonomy: The Social Ontology of Art under CapiThere is a certain beauty in the fact that what talism, perhaps this calls for a reimagining of can mesmerize one person could be meaning- art itself. This reimagining may take the shape less for another. of challenging the institutionalization of art and A great example of the complex nature of the binary of good and bad that comes along art criticism is the controversy of a famously with it. As art continues to be commodified and expensive blue painting that went viral several become more accessible to everyone, we have an opportunity to change our approach from evaluating art with a series of absolutes to embracing the difference in opinions and the debate it brings forth.

Simply put, what is art’s purpose if not to be interpreted? Whether it’s good or bad, in-between or neither, we watch and consume art for the way it makes us feel.

Ultimately, consuming art isn’t a public experience — it is an individual one.

And its individual, subjective nature is what makes for such seemingly endless — but fascinating — conversations on the matter.

So next time you’re going on a rampage explaining to your friends why they just need to watch Squid Game, know that you’re proving the point of art — to evoke something in its viewers.

Because what makes the realm of art so uniquely different, so uniquely human, is that the way in which each person interprets it can never exactly be the same.

There is something so deeply profound about the fact that each person’s exOver time, scholars have attempted to create systems to evaluate art. perience of one piece of art is bound COURTESY OF OYVIND HOLMSTEAD/CC WIKIMEDIA to be different, no matter how subtly.

Is there an art to consuming art?

Good or bad, in-between or neither, we respond to art for the way it makes us feel of bias in art criticism can be seen with the famous Pixar movie Ratatouille. The end of the film shows the cold, unfriendly food critic taking a bite of a meal and instantly being taken back to his warm, happy days as a child, when his mother used to make the same meal. Whether it is food, a film, or a painting, art by its very nature is meant to conjure up some feeling or emotion. To isolate art from your personal experiences is to deny its very purpose.

As much as I can appreciate professional

to take my own pathway,” because I used to be scared of doing things that made me stand out. To make daily affirmations most effective, they have to be specific to you and your journey.

I also like to create vision boards that remind me of my life’s purpose. I write down what I want to achieve throughout the year. Then, I find photos and quotes on Pinterest that directly reflect these goals.

I make two versions of my board: a digital and a print version. The digital version is the background on my phone and my laptop, which has been really effective to remind myself not to give up on my dreams.

I’ve also recently become interested in scripting practices. This is a goal-setting technique where instead of writing in the future tense about the goals I wanted to achieve, I write them in the present, using phrases like “I am” instead of “I will be.” This helps me understand my goals clearly and transforms my thoughts to concrete plans on paper.

Having anxiety doesn’t restrict you from having the ability to manifest. It’s much easier said than done, but being aware of our emotions can enable us to let go of the fears holding us back. Using manifesting to cope with anxiety encourages us to step back from a negative cycle of thinking, and pushes us a step closer to following our passions.

Ultimately, manifesting helps you create a plan to achieve your desires and take over situations in which you once felt powerless. When you align your thoughts and actions in a direction that focuses on the things that make you feel good, you will discover that your powers are limitless.

Science

January 31, 2022 thevarsity.ca/section/science science@thevarsity.ca

It’s time to leave stigma in health care behind Compassion leads to better health care for those recovering from opioid use disorder Mehrshad Babaei Associate Science Editor

At some point, everyone experiences hardship. This is a universal truth that shapes our lives: we overcome personal struggles and arrive at resolutions to reach a healthier and happier place, having grown and learned more about ourselves. This is a road that we all travel.

Along with that common struggle, many individuals often encounter more burdening circumstances — whether due to trauma, stress, or other environmental factors — which means that they require professional and careful help beyond their own efforts,to deal with problems like mental illness or substance use disorder, for example.

But what happens when those who need a helping hand to live a more stable life are pushed away because of their past?

And what about the people who are pushed away before they can even hold out their hand for support?

“Beyond Stigma” Imagine you sustain an injury. After your treatment and during your recovery, you experience pain, for which you could be prescribed pain medication — including opioids — to help with pain relief. However, after you speak with a health care professional about your background, they deny you the prescription, or they reluctantly prescribe a small dose for the short term and direct you to get the medication elsewhere.

You could meet with your primary care physician, but you would have to make an appointment and wait several days. You need relief now. As you look for appropriate care, you’re going from place to place, exhausted by the runaround, all the while being mistreated and feeling like you’re judged as untrustworthy because of your past.

This is the kind of thought experiment Dr. Abhimanyu Sud and Dr. Kirsten Dixon, along with their team, explored in their collaborative animated video project called “Beyond Stigma.” The video was developed and published by the Subject Matter Health Research Lab, which is a research lab that examines health care and how it’s delivered to the public.

Sud, who leads the Subject Matter Health Research Lab, is a family physician and an assistant professor at U of T, with a focused practice in chronic pain. He researches the relationships between and intersections of pain, opioid use, and mental illness. Dixon is a family physician as well, who works closely with the shelter system in Toronto and with organizations such as Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) and Inner City Health Associates, supporting people with mental illness and substance use disorders.

The “Beyond Stigma” video follows an individual living with opioid use disorder who has sought help and has been trying to live a healthy life. However, when seeking treatment for pain after an injury, they face stigmatic obstacles in health care because of their history — as described in the scenario above — and eventually fall back to

Language plays a big role in overcoming stigma, professors say.

COURTESY OF SHARON MCCUTCHEON/UNSPLASH

their old means of coping, left ashamed and at a greater risk of losing all of their hard work and progress.

In an interview with The Varsity on what brought them to the development of “Beyond Stigma,” Dixon said, “I’ve been working with [Sud] and the rest of our team on education for physicians and other health care providers around safer opioid prescribing for the last several years, and that’s also how we [made] our way over into talking about stigma and developing this video.”

What does stigma really mean?

Dixon explained that stigma is ultimately made up of the beliefs or practices that discredit and reject individuals based on something about them or their experiences.

When considering stigmatized individuals and those who stigmatize them, Dixon described a power dynamic where an in-group determines and defines an out-group of other people who are excluded because of a specific set of characteristics.

Commenting on the complexity of stigma, Sud said, “There’s probably 50 different videos we could have made relating to substance use and stigma and the health care system, because it manifests in so many different ways.”

He explained that there are different layers to stigma.

“There’s stigma related to drug use, [and then] there’s even something that we call intervention stigma.”

Intervention stigma is present within the health care world and is specifically related to treatment strategies. For opioid use, for example, one common therapy — known as agonist therapy — is the use of an opioid drug called methadone, which is highlighted in “Beyond Stigma.” According to the CAMH, the use of this drug prevents withdrawal and reduces cravings and further harms, allowing people with an opioid use disorder to stabilize their lives.

“You hear people [say], ‘What’s the good of methadone? It’s just replacing one drug for another.’ And that ignores a whole body of work and evidence and knowledge around the appropriate use of methadone or buprenorphine or even heroin as agonist therapy for substance use,” said Sud. Why is talking about stigma important?

Sud noted that educating people on stigma is not about pointing fingers, but rather recognizing that it is ultimately a problem in the system. “We can get to whether you can eliminate stigma or not, but you’re not going to get there until we’re aware of it.

And that was the whole point of this video: to raise awareness,” he said.

Sud highlighted that some drug screening methods, such as urine drug screenings, can give useful information to health care providers, but can also be weaponized in a way that makes it

more difficult for people to access proper care or have a trusting, caring relationship with their health care provider. He concluded, “I do really think awareness is key, and then understanding how stigma plays out in so many different ways, regardless of what you individually may think of another person.”

Sud and Dixon further noted the importance of changing one’s language and communication in reducing stigma significantly. “In some of the educational material we’ve developed most recently… we’ll use language as the most obvious example of ways [in which we can individually] engage in trying to mitigate the effects of stigma,” said Dixon.

She highlighted that in order to maintain a safe environment for people seeking help, it’s important to avoid using certain phrases or words that communicate or imply that their substance use disorder is their fault, or that they’re not worthy of treatment.

Sud used the example of the term ‘clean.’

He explained that when checking a person’s urine test results, if there are no unusual substances found, or if the expected substances are there as per medical guidance, then that person is considered ‘clean.’ “In some ways it has an obvious meaning, but when you think about what not being clean means, it means you’re dirty. So if you use substances, you’re dirty. Imagine how that would make somebody feel,” he said.

“I think we can still do a lot in terms of language and how we engage people,” Dixon concluded.

As stigma around opioid use continues to present a significant barrier for those who require support, we must consider how stigmas persist in the absence of compassion and compassionate communication. If we take the time to learn about individual people, and unmask stigma to show that the ways it further isolates, shames, and hurts vulnerable individuals, we can move forward and leave it behind for good.

As Sud pointed out, “We can develop all the education that we want, or we can develop changes in clinical practices — but if we don’t address stigma head on, it’s going to be very difficult to achieve systemic change.”

16

THE VARSITY

science@thevarsity.ca

SCIENCE

Turning food waste into wearable clothes How UTM ICUBE startup ALT TEX plans to commercialize biodegradable fabric research and developmental process of biodegradable fabric. The ALT TEX team is careful in their prototyping to ensure that their alternative to polyester becomes a lasting solution and, eventually, a global industry standard.

Ghotra said that although the process of building a company does have a “learning curve,” she highlighted the importance of seeking mentorship and supportive figures for the journey. Ghotra cited her own experience with the incubators and accelerators that “mentored [ALT TEX] through the process of how to take the idea and create next steps from it.”

Angel Hsieh Associate Science Editor

ALT TEX is a Toronto-based startup cofounded

by U of T alum Avneet Ghotra and her associate, Myra Arshad, through the ICUBE accelerator offered at UTM. The company aims to commercialize a polyester-like material made from reengineered food waste to improve sustainability in the fashion industry.

ALT TEX’s work has received media attention, and attracted eco-conscious investors to raise $1.5 million in funds toward upscaling its innovation over the past year. The Varsity talked to Ghotra about her journey so far as a young woman entrepreneur in STEM. Creative spin to the idea of circular economy What inspired Ghotra to found ALT TEX was the concept of ‘circular economy,’ which was introduced to her during an environmental science course. The idea of a circular economy involves utilizing waste produced in one industry as the input for another industry.

Building on the advocacy work that she has done through Approaching Zero, a not-for-profit organization, Ghotra realized the dire need for a sustainable alternative to polyester, which is made from fossil fuels. Although recycled polyester is available in the market, there is a point after one or two rounds of reuse when polyester cannot be further recycled and ends up in a landfill.

Ghotra was looking for a material “that could be considered a waste from another industry, but would have the properties to tackle what polyester does.”

Waste-to-wardrobe technology Since ALT TEX’s technology cannot be disclosed

in full due to pending patents, Ghotra provided a general overview of how the company operates and the process of converting the food waste into textiles.

Three different teams of experts are necessary in the research and development process: a bioprocessing team, a polymer science team, and a material science team. The researchers collaborate to synthesize biodegradable polymers using sugar and other components extracted from food waste. From that point on, the extracted material is modified to optimize its intended purpose of becoming a green alternative to polyester.

A t-shirt created from ALT TEX fabric is estimated

to “divert one kilogram of food waste from landfills, and can divert up to nine kilograms of carbon emissions from the atmosphere,” said Ghotra.

Social responsibility as a woman in STEM Ghotra is well aware of the challenges that young women face in the field of STEM entrepreneurship, which is traditionally dominated by men.

She is very grateful for the presence of advisors who supported her project from the beginning. “[My mentors] believed in what [we] wanted to do and helped ALT TEX come past those hurdles,” she said.

As a company, ALT TEX is very engaged in the

Calling for change ALT TEX is looking to commercialize its product by the end of 2022 and to upscale production in its pilot facility. In the short term, ALT TEX is keen to test the market by partnering with brands to develop capsule collections. Ghotra envisioned the company moving from “mid-tier sustainable brands to having ALT TEX as something that’s offered by large global brands.”

Besides collaborating with sustainable fashion brands, Ghotra is hopeful for a future where biopolymer is no longer marketed as a niche product. She emphasized how important it is for average consumers to consider biodegradable fabric such as ALT TEX an industry standard that can replace polyester for good. Eventually, she hopes that other companies will follow ALT TEX’s example, and that the idea of the circular economy will spread further in domains other than fashion.

Ghotra hopes that more fields will embrace the sustainable practice of turning waste into useful products.

COURTESY OF AVNEET GHOTRA

thevarsity.ca/section/science

JANUARY 31, 2022

17

Shedding light on Sajeev John’s photonic crystals U of T professor wins award for his invention Khodr Jaber Varsity Contributor

Last year, U of T professor Sajeev John was awarded the Gerhard Herzberg Canada Gold Medal — Canada’s most prestigious award in the fields of science and engineering, awarded annually by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council — for his invention of crystals that can trap and control light. The ability to trap light has been the subject of John’s research since his time as a PhD student at Harvard University. There, he published his foundational papers, which eventually led him to become one of the most cited scientists in the world.

Capturing light Photonic crystals are structures made up of special electric cells that can trap light by restricting the way specific frequencies of light are propagated. According to John, borrowing the concept of band gaps — ranges of energy levels that electrons cannot have in a given solid material — from the field of semiconductors helped him frame the goal of trapping light in terms of material science.

In an interview with the CBC, John discussed how photonic crystals can be applied to solar cells for improved conversion of solar energy to electrical energy.

Traditional solar cells are constructed from silicon, which is relatively thick, so that light can be absorbed better — but this requires electrons to travel longer paths to facilitate energy conversion. However, John states that light can be trapped in thinner silicon, which would allow for overall thinner, lightweight, and potentially flexible solar cells that could be ‘coated’ onto buildings, vehicles, and even clothing. This could be exciting news to those working in related fields, such as in building integrated photovoltaics — where solar cells replace conventional materials for more cost-effective and efficient construction — and in the electric vehicle industry.

Other uses for light-trapping crystals include optical microchips and photonic-

crystal fibres for noninvasive surgery.

Optical microchips are similar to their electronic counterparts, with the main difference being that light travels along a circuit rather than electrons.

The traditional way of restricting and guiding light is based on the concept of total internal reflection. This is used in devices such as optical fibres in telecommunication. However, this phenomenon does not work well in microchips, as light diffracts out of the circuit path.

This problem is bypassed with the introduction of photonic crystals, which also provide other advantages, such as low heat generation — which means no cooling is needed — and faster transmission of data. Photonic crystals can also be used in the construction of optical fibres for hollow-core containment of light.

A bright future In terms of application, optical microchips have been shown by John to have potential use in medical diagnostics.

Optical microchip technology is also the basis for startups such as NKT Photonics and OmniGuide: the former supplies photonic crystal fibres and the latter uses photonic crystal technology to develop minimally invasive surgical tools.

The use of photonic fibre lasers in noninvasive surgery has already been demonstrated in a case reported by John, in which a patient with respiratory tract cancer had a tumour removed with a hollowcore Photonic Band-gap laser that was fitted to a flexible endoscope and inserted into the patient’s mouth.

Although research on photonic crystals and related materials has only recently taken off, the topic has had a high research output, based on the large number of times John’s foundational paper has been cited within the span of just a few decades. This suggest a future in which a great number of fields will experience technological advancement on a level comparable to the revolution that emerged from the development of the transistor. A bright future awaits the field of optical electronics.

John’s crystals have many applications, from medicine to electronics.

COURTESY OF MIRZA BABIO/UNSPLASH

Sports

January 31, 2022 thevarsity.ca/section/sports sports@thevarsity.ca

Our beautiful game: The history of soccer Recapping the history of the world’s favourite sport

and there is evidence of organized soccer-like games that were played in ancient Greece and China more than 2,000 years ago. Kicking games were also played by Indigenous peoples in North America and possibly across the Roman Empire, and ‘folk football’ was popular in renaissance Europe, often with teams from different villages competing against one another.

A guide to U of T athletics this winter Some of the programs, workouts, and drop-in sports and activities at UTSG

Bring 100 per cent of your enthusiasm to these athletic activities!

SHANNA HUNTER/THEVARSITY

Audrey Miatello Associate Sports Editor

Starting January 31, the province of Ontario is planning to lift a number of COVID-19 restrictions.

As a result, many of U of T’s athletic spaces will open for use once again.

This winter, the Faculty of Kinesiology & Physical Education (KPE) will be offering many different programs and sports for individuals to participate in at the St. George campus. Although U of T’s gyms and athletic facilities will be operating under a 50 per cent capacity limit, you should make sure to bring 100 per cent of your enthusiasm to the sports, workouts, and activities they offer!

Sports and athletics This winter, get ready to lace up your skates and running shoes again, because some drop-in sports and activities will be back up and running. Basketball, ultimate frisbee, soccer, and skating are among the numerous activities that the university will offer, resuming near the beginning of February.

KPE’s Sport and Recreation website is the home for important information about drop-in sports and activities, as well as other programming. The website contains details about the schedule, location, and equipment needed for each drop-in activity. Registration is required to participate in all activities, which can also be done on the website. No prior experience is required

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Developments in the twentieth century In the century that followed, soccer quickly became one of the most popular and beloved sports in many nations around the world. Many of the prestigious international tournaments we still enjoy today, including the World Cup, European Championship, and Copa America, were all established during the first half of the twentieth century. Several national leagues and club competitions, including the UEFA Champions League, were also founded during this time.

Soccer became a profoundly important part of life for billions of people, with impacts reaching far beyond that of simply sport. One incredible story comes in the form of a Christmas Day truce between English and German soldiers during the World War I, when they exchanged small gifts and played a game of football on the field between their trenches in an illuminating moment of hope and humanity during an otherwise brutal and senseless conflict.

The ubiquity of soccer also meant that it has had

SI

The early history of soccer Games involving two or more people kicking some round object back and forth likely date back to the very beginning of human history,

a great influence on cultural identity in many countries around the world. One prominent example is when the Brazilian team lost the 1950 World Cup final on home soil, which became a source of national shame for decades to come. Meanwhile, the West German Team’s unlikely tournament win in Switzerland four years later — dubbed the “Miracle of Bern” — restored some measure of hope for the general

AR

It’s a human instinct: we see something round and we immediately feel like kicking it. It’s so well ingrained within us that we’ve gone and made a game of it that goes by the name of football. Or soccer, if you’re uncultured like I am — but I digress.

The English are credited with the invention of the sport in its modern form. In the mid-1800s, soccer became popularized as a winter sport at elite schools and universities across England. As the sport increased in ubiquity, it soon became necessary to implement universal regulations. In 1863, representatives from teams around London met and produced the first set of written rules of the game.

The remainder of the nineteenth century saw the establishment of professional clubs and leagues.

The first games of the Football League of England — the oldest league in the world — were played in 1888. The year 1904 saw the formation of FIFA — the Fédération Internationale de Football Association — which serves as the international governing body of the sport. Soccer was made a part of the Olympics four years later and has been played in all but one of the Summer Games since.

With the turn of the century, the age of soccer was well and truly underway.

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public, who were still deeply affected by the war.

In the second half of the twentieth century, soccer further cemented its status as the world’s favourite sport, seeing a massive rise in popularity in Africa, Asia, Oceania, and North America. The age of television and globalization meant that it had become easier than ever to become a fan of the sport. What was once a village game and then a gentlemen’s hobby had now become a global institution worth billions in marketing, sponsorships, and media deals.

population, although actual viewership is likely to be even higher.

However, despite its enduring status worldwide, modernday soccer draws in its fair share of critics, and not without reason. Many are disillusioned with the increasingly important roles that sponsors and money play in the sport, bemoaning the fact that success now seems to be for sale and that more and more clubs are sacrificing their identities and ties to the local community for a chance at silverware. The widely available media coverage of soccer — both on television and on social networks — has made it easier than ever for fans around the world to connect with the sport they love, but it has also brought forth an era of unprecedented personal hatred and vitriol directed toward the players fans claim to support no matter what.

I agree that it can be easy to get caught up in the negatives of what we’ve lost in the game we all love, but we should remind ourselves of why we loved it in the first place. Whether you’re one of the lucky ones who gets to watch your favourite team live in the stadium, soaking up the atmosphere with your fellow fans, or you’re cheering on the sidelines at an elementary school game, watching the kids you coached grow up with every save, tackle, and goal, you are part of a tradition as old as humanity itself — doing something you love, together with other people who are doing the exact same thing.

We love this game because it brings us together just as it always has, and that is something that will never change.

Soccer in the modern world In today’s world, soccer remains as popular as ever; there are an estimated 250 million soccer players around the world, with over a billion interested in the sport. Official broadcast numbers indicate that the finals of the World Cup and Champions League draw in more than a seventh of the world’s to sign up for drop-in activities, so they can be a great way to try your hand at new sports and activities!

Additionally, during the week of February 7, a number of group fitness workouts will be restarting, including Barre, Cardio Dance Party, JOGA, and Yoga. Like the drop-in sports and activities, no previous experience is needed to participate.

This winter, the open gym sessions at both the Athletic Centre and the Goldring Centre will be running again. While the schedule for the Goldring Centre is still being finalized, the Athletic Centre will be open from January 31.

The Athletic Centre, located at the corner of Spadina Avenue and Harbord Street, houses a 200-metre track as well as more than six squat racks and other workout equipment. While the Field House, which is housed in the athletic centre, will be open on weekdays from 7:00 am to 11:00 pm and on weekends from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm, the track in particular has more selective hours of operation that have been posted online. Registration is not required for these open gym sessions, as staff will be on site monitoring attendance throughout the day.

Finally, Hart House, UTM, and Fitness & Performance will be jointly offering the University of Toronto Virtual Fitness Studio program this winter. The program includes many different activities scheduled for each day of the week, including HIIT & Movement, Zumba, and Yogilates, all of which you can join from the comfort of your own home.

COVID-19 protocols As there will be limits on the number of individuals allowed to participate in an activity at a given time, ensure that you arrive a maximum of 15 minutes in advance of your program’s scheduled time.

You also must be fully vaccinated to access U of T’s athletic facilities. To prove that you have received your required vaccine doses at least 14 days ago, make sure to bring your enhanced vaccine certificate as well as government-issued identification.

On the day of your programming, you will also be required to complete a UCheck COVID-19 screening. Make sure to answer UCheck’s questions before arriving for your activity, and ensure that you bring a copy of your results.

Other measures designed to reduce the spread of COVID-19 are also in place at U of T’s athletic facilities. For example, there is currently a mask mandate in effect for all indoor athletics spaces, and individuals are required to remain two metres apart.

Some of the U of T athletic buildings have multiple entrances, so make sure to note which set of doors you should enter from for your program. For example, if you are heading to the Athletic Centre, you will either need to enter through the Classic Avenue doors or the Harbord Street doors. To access the Varsity Centre, locate the entrance that can be found on the east side of Devonshire Place. To enter the Goldring Centre, you should also use the doors located on Devonshire Place.

Enjoy your sports and workouts this winter!

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JANUARY 31, 2022 19

ANDREA ZHAO/THEVARSITY

Opinion: Give the AFCON the respect it deserves European media, clubs, and fans have exposed their disrespect in the lead up to the 2021 tournament Kunal Dadlani Varsity Contributor

The biennial Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) began on January 9, 2022, when the host team, Cameroon, faced off against Burkina Faso. At the first AFCON in 1957, only three countries participated, but in 2022, 24 teams are competing for the final on February 6.

Originally set to occur in 2021, but postponed because of the pandemic, the tournament is bound to be entertaining. Yet, during the lead up to the AFCON, comments by European media, clubs, and fans have already treated the tournament with disrespect.

Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf asked Ivory Coast and Ajax striker Sébastian Haller whether he would remain with his club in January or join his national team for the AFCON. Haller claimed that the question “shows disrespect for Africa.”

“Would this [question] ever have been presented to a European player towards a European championship?” Haller asked. “Of course, I will go to the Africa Cup to represent Ivory Coast.

That is the highest honour.”

The former England and Arsenal player Ian Wright supported Haller’s sentiments.

“Is there ever a tournament more disrespected

than the Africa Cup of Nations?” Wright asked.

“There is no greater honour than representing your country. The coverage is completely tinged with racism. You are getting journalists asking players… if they will be honouring the call-ups to their national teams. Imagine if that was an English player representing the Three Lions. Can you imagine the furore?”

Both Haller and Wright are correct. English fans would be frustrated if an English player publicly refused to represent the national team at the European Championship — wouldn’t Ivorians feel the same way if Haller had done this?

Fans have also been disrespectful, as they have viewed the AFCON as an inconvenience because it is scheduled in the middle of the European league season. When rumours of the tournament’s cancellation spread in December, fans celebrated on Twitter. What’s ironic is that the players who participate in the AFCON are adored by fans when they play for their European clubs, but the adoration seems to disappear when they’re playing for their national teams.

At the league level, players for individual clubs — some of whom earn high wages — disappear for a month. Nigeria accused Watford of “baring fangs” when their star player Emmanuel Dennis was forced to miss the tournament since Nige-

ria failed to meet the deadline to request Dennis’ release. The Liverpool manager, Jürgen Klopp, said moving the tournament to January would be a catastrophe for the club, as three key players — Mo Salah, Sadio Mane, and Naby Keita — left for the AFCON. Furthermore, European clubs that have expressed concerns about the Omicron variant have also been hypocritical. Commenting on this, Wright said, “We played our Euros across 10 countries in the middle of a pandemic, and there’s no issue at all. But Cameroon, a single country hosting a tournament, is a problem.”

Players do not want to choose between their country and the club they play for — something Haller admitted in the same interview. But at the crux of the matter, representing and winning a trophy for one’s country is one of the most outstanding achievements any player can achieve.

Before the AFCON in 2019, Mane claimed he would be willing to “trade-in [his] Champions League success to win the Africa Cup of Nations.”

Many players play for various clubs throughout their careers, but the one team that remains constant is always their national team. The AFCON is especially important for African players, as financial and competitive imbalances make winning the FIFA World Cup hard for African countries.

So, what can be done to appease fans and the European clubs? Initially, the solution seems obvious — the AFCON should reschedule the tournament to the summer. However, such a solution fails to consider the harsh climate in Africa.

In 2017, the Confederation of African Football (CAF) agreed to shift the tournament to July and August. The 2019 tournament in Egypt took place in June and July and worked well. However, the CAF soon realized that this timing would be problematic for the next AFCON, as it would occur during Cameroon’s tropical rain season.

The CAF then pushed the 2021 tournament to January and February of this year. The next AFCON in 2023 is scheduled for summer in the Ivory Coast, but their tropical rain season is even worse.

The tournament cannot be permanently rescheduled to the summer. So, it isn’t easy to think of a solution that appeases all the parties involved.

One suggestion the CAF could try would be holding the AFCON every four years instead of two, like the European Championships. However, European clubs should also agree to create an international break during this season to clear space for the tournament — something that’s already done for international friendlies or qualifiers throughout the season.

Even if you have no personal interest in who wins, don’t dismiss the AFCON as a nuisance.

Soccer has a long history in Africa and is, without a doubt, Africa’s most popular sport. The tournament may be inconvenient for some, but it is a very intense competition for the participating players and for the millions of fans hoping to see their country lift the Cup of Nations.

The NFL’s controversial decision, 17 games later A look at the pros and cons of the regular season schedule expansion Corina Chahal Varsity Contributor

The end of the 2021–2022 NFL regular season marks the completion of the league’s first ever 17-game schedule. After 43 years of a 17-week regular season that involved each team playing 16 games, the reformed schedule now features an 18-week regular season that still includes a singular bye week per team.

The development allowed for 16 additional games in which half of the NFL teams played an added home game. The league decided to create an alternating schedule. This season, the American Football Conference hosted the home games for the additional week, while next season they will be hosted by the National Football Conference.

The preseason, which formerly consisted of four games, was now reduced to three games to accommodate the 18th week. The playoffs and the Super Bowl are also now being held a week later.

There have been an awful lot of adjustments made throughout the league to adapt to the new regular season schedule. This was all made possible through a collective bargaining agreement (CBA) — the league signed multi-billion dollar media distribution deals with a variety of media companies such as CBS and Fox. NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell was enthusiastic about this year’s changes, saying in a statement, “The CBA with the players and the recently completed media agreements provide the

foundation for us to enhance the quality of the NFL experience for our fans. And one of the benefits of each team playing 17 regular-season games is the ability for us to continue to grow our game around the world.”

The growth of the game may be substantially emphasized this year due to the plummet in the leagues’ revenue in 2020 because of capacity limits as a result of COVID-19. In contrast to the NFL’s steady growth of yearly revenue over the last 19 years, there was a 3.06 billion USD decrease from 2019–2020 — the league only generated 12.2 billion USD in revenue.

With the new media deals, after the completion of the current season, the NFL is expected to generate far more than 15 billion USD in revenue.

The players’ share of the revenue will increase from 47 per cent to approximately 48.5 per cent from the TV deals.

So if the monetary benefits from this change and the increase in fan morale all seem favourable, why is it so highly disputed? When it was first introduced, in contrast to the commissioner’s eagerness, tensions among players and executives arose. Among those who have openly disagreed with the 17-game season are some of the most prominent, active players in the league — such as the Green Bay Packers’ star quarterback Aaron Rodgers — and influential voices including player representatives on the union’s executive committee — such as the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ cornerback Richard Sherman and the Carolina

One additional game each season means one more possibility for players to get injured.

JEFFREY BEALL/CC WIKIMEDIA

Panthers’ offensive tackle Russell Okung.

Other players voiced their disapproval of the new schedule on Twitter. “17 games is complete BS,” tweeted Denver Broncos safety Kareem Jackson.

“Shit dumb… as hell…” New Orleans Saints running back Alvin Kamara tweeted after hearing the news on the updated schedule.

To players, the risk is not worth the reward.

When every team plays 17 games, it would be unlikely for a team to have an even record. The most common way a team will now be able to prevent a losing record is with a tied game, resulting in an 8–8–1 record. The extra home game advantage for only one conference also contributes to a win or loss on the record.

A team’s record is crucial when deciding who clinches a playoff spot and how the team will be ‘seeded’ for the playoffs. Depending on the division standing, the better a team’s record, the lower their seed. The lower the seed, the greater the advantage they have in the playoffs.

Having one fewer preseason game just does not make up for the addition of a regular season game. Many first-string players do not start in the preseason to avoid getting unnecessarily injured, and so newer, unproven players can be evaluated.

For example, this year, the Los Angeles Chargers’ rookie quarterback Justin Herbert, although healthy, sat out the preseason.

An additional game each season also means one more possibility for players to get injured. A player’s chances of injury have now increased, and there is not a great enough incentive to warrant it. Plus, owners proposed a pay cap for the extra regular season game of 250,000 USD, which would mean many high performing players would be taking a pay cut compared to the other regular season games.

While this year’s regular season has been a success, the NFL will need to consider amending safety protocols moving forward, especially if the league decides to create an additional week to revert to a symmetrical schedule later on.

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