ETHICS AT THE GAMES BRUCE KIDD AND BRENDA COSSMAN DISCUSS SOCHI AND LGBTQ ISSUES PG 12
VOL. CXXXIV, NO. 17
James Flynn
ASSOCIATE NEWS EDITOR
“Meet me at the food court in Square One.” This summer, Munawar Peer, a second-year student at the University of Toronto, received a text from a student in his organic chemistry class asking him to meet. “It seemed weird because he’d never asked me to hang out before,” said Peer. In the food court, the student led Peer to a table with five other students, where he was asked to sit down. “At this point, I had no idea what it was about,” said Peer. “They started talking about energy drinks, and how I could be a millionaire based on this idea.” One of the students then pulled out an iPad, and instructed Peer to enter his credit card information and pay
UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO’S STUDENT NEWSPAPER SINCE 1880
$500. “They said it was a massive opportunity that I had to sign up for right then,” Peer continued. He rejected the offer. The six individuals were affiliates for Vemma Nutrition Company — a privately held company founded in 2004 that sells energy drinks and natural health products. The company markets its products through affiliates who purchase product from the company at wholesale, and then market the product to other consumers. Some have alleged that Vemma operates like a pyramid scheme, while others have alleged that some affiliates end up getting ripped off. According to Vemma’s Income Disclosure Policy, 74 per cent of Canadian affiliates earned between $0 and $1,178 in 2012. According to the company, these amounts do not include profits earned on the resale of prod-
INSIDE
ucts to consumers or other affiliates. In Canada, the low-income cut-off is around $21,000. CONSUMER COMPLAINTS Consumer advocates have targeted Vemma in the past. According to a Freedom of Information Act request filed by TruthInAdvertising.org, an independent advertising watchdog, the Federal Trade Commission (ftc) has received at least 40 complaints about Vemma and its products. In 1999, the ftc also accused New Vision International of “unfair or deceptive acts or practices, and the making of false advertisements.” New Vision International eventually transferred its business operations to Vemma. Benson K. Boreyko — Vemma’s founder and Chief Executive Officer, and cofounder of New Vision International — was named in the complaint.
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The complaint was eventually settled, and Boreyko agreed not to make claims about the efficacy of any products without “competent and reliable scientific evidence, that substantiates the representation” until 2019. While there has been limited mainstream media coverage of the company, a number of blogs serve as forums for ex-Vemma affiliates to voice their concerns with the company. The company is also facing a class-action lawsuit in California, which charges the company with “fraudulent, deceitful and unfair business practices.” According to the lawsuit, “As part of Vemma’s business practice, once a consumer purchases its Verve Product via Vemma’s online website, Vemma knowingly or negligently, and without prior disclosure, charges consumers for additional Verve Product that they did not purchase or agree to purchase.”
According to a spokesperson for Vemma who declined to give her full name, signing emails as “Breeana E.,” affiliates earn compensation in one of two ways: “First, when the distributor purchases the product at wholesale from Vemma and sells it to the general public, he or she retains any profit on the sale. Second, the independent distributor may be paid a commission on product sales...by the distributor and product sales by other distributors sponsored in to the distributor’s sales organization.” “No commissions are paid for sponsoring or introducing other people into Vemma,” the spokesperson continued. Affiliates can, however, benefit from recruiting; according to the Vemma website, a monthly fee for product delivery is waived if an affili-
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NEWS
COMMENT
ARTS & CULTURE
SCIENCE
MedSoc questions its UTSU membership
How should Canada engage with Sochi?
Acceptance opens at U of T
Women & Wikipedia
The Medical Society discovered, at the seventh Student Societies Summit meeting, that its members pay fees to the union. utsu says fees are justified because MedSoc members use utsu’s clubs and services, but MedSoc has now conducted a servey that suggests otherwise.
The Winter Olympics are on the horizon. In the wake of pervasive anti-LGBTQ sentiments and legislation in Russia, how can Canadians ethically enjoy the games? Need we intervene at all? This week, read two student perspectives on the issue.
Ivy Leagues; vip booths; scholars; ballers; and one big, fat lie: welcome to the world of Acceptance. Set in Singapore, Acceptance follows the story of Rohan Patel, a student from India in a highly competitive high school, who considers Cornell a safety school.
According to a 2010 Wikimedia report, only 13 per cent of Wikipedia editors are female. This statistic is troubling, given the “anyone can edit” collaborative nature of Wikipedia. There are ways, however, of bridging this gender gap.
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VARSITY NEWS
Vol. CXXXIV, No. 17
WHAT’S GOING ON
THE VARSITY
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Business Office Business Manager Timothy Sharng
When you realize you’re going to have to pull an all-nighter every night this week #UofTProbs #AintNobodyGotTimeForThat — Sunday, January 26
ASHLEY WESTOVER @XOX_WESTIE_XOX Just finished my 3 assignments due tomorrow... 2:30am.... And sadly that’s completely normal for me since I’ve been at U of T #uoftproblems
arts@thevarsity.ca
Science Editor Katrina Vogan
— Tuesday, January 28
DAMES MAKING GAMES: PUBLIC POLICY EDITION A workshop for women interested in creating games, specifically with an eye toward building inclusive communities and shaping public policy Thursday, February 6, 6:00 - 8:00 pm Debates Room, Hart House Free
Advertising Executives Stephanie Lau stephanie@thevarsity.ca terence@thevarsity.ca Terence Leung vanessa@thevarsity.ca Vanessa Wen The Varsity is the University of Toronto's largest student newspaper, publishing since 1880. The Varsity has a circulation of 20,000, and is published by Varsity Publications Inc. It is printed by Master Web Inc. on recycled newsprint stock. Content © 2014 by The Varsity. All rights reserved. Any editorial inquiries and/or letters should be directed to the sections associated with them; emails listed above. The Varsity reserves the right to edit all submissions. Inquiries regarding ad sales can be made to ads@thevarsity.ca. ISSN: 0042-2789 Please recycle this issue after you are finished with it.
ANITA DO @ANITAAADO Sending a mass email for notes is one thing but sending it 14 times in a row ahahahaha no. #UofTProblems — Tuesday, January 28
U OF T IDOL
STUDENT COMPOSERS CONCERT
A vocal competition to end all vocal competitions. Suspense, fun, and great music. This is the last competition before the final showdown in March.
Celebrating the music of U of T’s up and coming young composers.
PARHAM ADIBAN @AD1BAN
Tuesday, February 4, 7:30 pm Walter Hall, Edward Johnson Building 80 Queen’s Park Free
Welcome to UofT, where the hours of sleep you get is lower than your GPA.
Thursday, February 6, 8:30 pm Arbor Room, Hart House Free WOODSWORTH ALUMNI CAFÉ
TORONTO SPORTSMEN’S SHOW
“Sex, drugs and medals: gender politics and the Olympic industry.” A discussion about the Sochi Games, led by Helen Lenskyji, Department of Sociology and Equity Studies in Education.
Interested in fishing, archery, camping, kayaking, or any other outdoor activity? Want an introduction to any of the above? Come for demonstrations, seminars, lessons, and discounted gear.
Tuesday, February 4, 6:00 pm William Waters Lounge, Woodsworth College Residence 321 Bloor St. West $5
Thursday, February 6 – Sunday, February 9 Direct Energy Centre Exhibition Place 100 Princes’ Boulevard $19
— Wednesday, January 29
DORA KONOMI @DORALICIOUS23 Dear couple at Sid smith making out, please stop you’re not invisible! Sincerely, the rest of the world! #uoftproblems — Thursday, January 30
HARMEN KAHLON @HK_UOFT So hungry. Late night lectures are great but they have their disadvantages
THE EXPLAINER
GOVERNANCE AT U OF T The seventh meeting of the Student Societies Summit was held on January 27. The summit, which comprises representatives of over 20 undergraduate student societies, is intended to provide policy recommendations on changes to U of T’s current student governance model. Currently, all undergraduate students at St. George and Mississauga are members of the UTSU, although Mississauga students have the vast majority of the fees they pay to the UTSU remitted to the UTMSU. Undergraduates at Scarborough have not been members of the central union since 2004.
— Thursday, January 30
AMANDA GIANCOLA @AGIANCOLA22 Over 40 minutes early for this calc lecture and I’m still not the first person here ... Or in top ten ... #uoft — Thursday, January 30
See something, hear something? Email
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the week in tweets MADELINE HOLMES @MADELINEHOUSE
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Many students, in particular those at the St. George campus, are also members of faculty or college societies — such as the Woodsworth College Students’ Association or the Medical Society. Students generally pay separate fees to both the divisional society they are a part of and the UTSU. While a proposed new governance model would have to be approved by Governing Council, an increasing number of members at the summit are considering a model that would allow those societies who wish to divert their fees to be able to do so.
tips@thevarsity.ca CORRECTIONS Correction Monday January 20, 2014: The headline of the article titled “COSS rejects increases to student levy for fifth year in a row” incorrectly stated that the Council on Student Services had rejected proposed fee increases. Voting will take place at the meeting on February 26.
VARSITY NEWS
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MONDAY, FEBRUARY 3, 2014
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Deferred maintenance crosses half-billion dollar mark Facilities and Services confident that situation under control Murad Hemmadi VARSITY STAFF
The University of Toronto’s Medical Sciences Building was built in the late 1960s, at the height of the university’s Brutalist architecture fad. Last week, part of the roof between the main building and the JJR MacLeod Auditorium fell in. The Medical Sciences Building tops the university’s deferred maintenance list, with some $54 million in outstanding repairs. U of T’s total deferred maintenance rose to $505 million last year according to a report presented at the January 27 meeting of the Business Board of Governing Council. The half-billion dollar figure represents a $21 million increase over last year’s $484 million, but Ron Swail, assistant vice-president, facilities and services, and the report’s author, says that the university is moving in the right direction. “I think we’re managing the issue,” he said. “We haven’t seen as big a jump in the total deferred maintenance. That is because we’re getting money and putting it towards this issue.” The Facilities Condition Index (fci) is a measure of a building’s condition. An fci of 10 per cent indicates a building or property portfolio in poor condition; U of T’s average fci sits at 14.1 per cent, down from 14.3 per cent last year. Swail emphasizes that the numbers in the report are “order of magnitude figures,” and should not be taken verbatim. The university’s deferred maintenance totals do not include the federated colleges of Victoria, St. Michael’s, and Trinity, which manage their own property portfolios. The university deals with two kinds of repairs, explained Swail. Routine maintenance like replacing bulbs or fixing broken faucets is low-cost, and is covered under the Facilities and Services operational budget. Deferred maintenance issues are considered capital projects, which are “large in nature, and by definition they are things that are not routine — when you repair a capital item it lasts for many years, sometimes 20–30 years.” Expansion and maintenance can go hand-in-hand, since maintenance work is sometimes undertaken as part of larger capital projects. This allows the university to reduce costs by using construction companies already on-site, Swail said. Such collaboration efforts include the renovations of 1 Spadina Crescent, the Munk School of Global Affairs, and the Lassonde Mining Building. Swail also cited a section of the Jackman Humanities building roof that was paid for from the deferred maintenance budget, because it was not included in the original renovation plans. “A lot of what we’ve funded for maintenance is in the renovation projects, the capital projects that replace old and tired space,” said Scott Maybury, vice-president, operations, at the Business Board meeting. The emphasis on expansion is also a result of provincial funding structures. “The province likes to fund new projects, new buildings while deferred maintenance bills go up,” Maybury said.
Ben Coleman, a member of the utsu’s board of directors and a candidate for one of the two undergraduate student positions on Governing Council, said that the university needs to work around this problem. “People say maintenance isn’t sexy, and is therefore hard to fund,” he said. “Some of these repairs help U of T save energy, or could be tied in with renovations that make our spaces more innovative or allow us to expand hands-on research learning. If we sell maintenance on those benefits, it might be easier to get the province to cough up.” utsu president Munib Sajjad admitted that the union has not been active on the question of deferred maintenance. “However, we are a little disappointed in how U of T has been maintaining its own buildings,” he said. “We definitely think that the university is over-prioritizing expansion rather than maintaining its current quarters as well as its current students.” Direct provincial funding for deferred maintenance through the Facilities Renewal Program (frp) fell from a high of $4.7 million in 2010. The university anticipates receiving $3.2 million for 2013–2014. Swail said the university has shown a significant financial commitment to dealing with the issue. “Over time it inversed quite quickly — our internal funding eclipsed what the province was giving us,” he explained. The university provided $13.1 million in internal funding for 2013, and that number is expected to grow by $1 million this year, for an anticipated total deferred maintenance budget of $17.3 million. Swail’s report suggests that maintaining the current condition of U of T’s buildings will require a yearly investment of $19.3 million. In an October interview with The Varsity, Ontario’s Minister of Training, Colleges and Universities Brad Duguid said that universities need to take responsibility for the upkeep of their own buildings: “If an institution doesn’t have the capability of maintaining a facility, they ought to not be applying for funding for us to build it.” Sajjad called for the university to reconsider which capital projects it funds. “If there’s going to be enhancements to the learning, enhancements for expansion, I think that’s where the province comes in,” he said. “I think the university really needs to take steps and re-prioritize its own funds in maintaining its own buildings.” Coleman, who attended the Business Board meeting, says the university needs to do a better job of caring for its facilities. “The leaders of our university need to step up — right now the long term plan is “Sit tight and hope for the best,’” he said. “I think that the students and faculty that work and learn in these buildings deserve better.” Mainawati Rambali, one of the two student members of Business Board, attended the meeting but did not respond to a request for comment. Andrew Girgis, the other student member, was not present on January 27 and also failed to respond. The provincial Liberal government will draw up its 2014 budget in the coming months. Duguid said that new funding for capital projects is unlikely to be included in the budget.
DEFERRED MAINTENANCE AT UTSG KEY Facilities Condition Index (FCI)
0–9% 10–19% 20–29% 30–39% 40–49% 50–59% Source: 2013 Annual Report on Deferred Maintenance
DEFERRED MAINTENANCE AT UTM
DEFERRED MAINTENANCE AT UTSC
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Vol. CXXXIV, No. 17
VARSITY NEWS
CFS-O chair talks tuition, policy, decertification An interview with Alastair Woods, newly re-elected chairperson of the Canadian Federation of Students-Ontario
news@thevarsity.ca
VUSAC discovers bank account containing $13,000 Account untouched for over five years Devika Desai
VARSITY CONTRIBUTOR
Alastair Woods has been re-elected for a second term as chairperson of the Canadian Federation of Students-Ontario. denis osipov/THe vArsiTy
Hayden Rodenkirchen VARSITY CONTRIBUTOR
On January 19, Alastair Woods was re-elected for a second term as chairperson of the Canadian Federation of Students-Ontario (cfs-o). During his first term, a number of student unions, including the University of Toronto Graduate Students’ Union (gsu), filed petitions to hold referenda on the question of separating from the federation. Critics cite undemocratic practice and fiscal irresponsibility as reasons to sever financial ties with the federation. Despite the controversy, Woods was very active during his first term, representing students through professional lobbying and advocacy projects. The Varsity sat down with Woods to discuss the past, present, and future of the organization. LOBBYING AND ADVOCACY Asked about highlights of his tenure so far, Woods says he enjoyed re-engineering cfso’s advocacy operations. “We want to make [cfs-o advocacy] more specific to local contexts, and give different student unions more space to organize on their campuses around issues that they know are going to affect their members, in ways that are actually relevant to their members.” The cfs-o continues to focus its lobbying and advocacy work on lowering tuition costs in Ontario. “We just submitted our recommendations to this year’s provincial budget. Those recommendations include a 30 per cent tuition fee reduction in three years, the first year being cost-neutral because we are trying to utilize the money that has been set aside for the Ontario tuition grant and education tax credits,” says Woods. The cfs-o’s budgetary recommendations come on the heels of changes to Ontario’s flatfee system. Woods points to cfs-o lobbying as a driving force behind this policy development. “The minister himself congratulated students at the utsu and also the cfs-o for giving him a convincing argument that there needed to be change, and I think that that says everything about the victory.” Unpaid internships are another policy issue
on the cfs-o agenda this year. “Our recommendations on [unpaid internships] are actually two-fold: To get the government to start collecting statistics around it — something they don’t do yet and they should — and asking the government to [eliminate] unpaid work-terms and co-ops in the public sector.” CONTROVERSIES Notwithstanding these successes, the cfs has spent years embroiled in controversy, largely stemming from allegations of managerial misconduct and meddling in the politics of member student unions. Recently, student society members — such as the Post-Graduate Students’ Society of McGill — have accused the federation of deliberately delaying the verification of decertification referenda and of active petition-suppression. Woods denies these accusations: “The charge that there is foot-dragging or that there doesn’t want to be recognition of a petition is false. It is not a fair or accurate description,” he says. Woods suggests that administrative issues and privacy concerns have caused delays in the verification of the University of Toronto Graduate Students’ Union’s decertification petitions. “In September, a petition was delivered to our office from somebody who alleged to be a member of U of T’s Graduate Students Union that also appeared to contain signatures to have a decertification referendum. When I followed up, the next four months became a lengthy back-and-forth about why we couldn’t be given a membership list because of privacy concerns. We met [with the gsu] in November to discuss our option, which was a one-way searchable list that is not a full list of people. We would simply type in a name and a student number and it would say, ‘Yep! This person is a member of the gsu’, or ‘Nope! Don’t know who this person is.’ That again was not possible.” He added that, after meeting with University of Toronto administration and the gsu, “in the spirit of compromise, [the cfs-o] agreed to go back to our executive committee with [the suggestion made by university administration] that a third-party auditor undertake the verification process for us.” The cfs-o is currently in the process of retaining an auditing firm for this purpose. U of T ad-
ministration has offered to reimburse the federation for this expense. Personal controversy also follows Woods into his position as CFS-O chairperson. When Sana Ali resigned from the Renew slate during last year’s University of Toronto Students’ Union (utsu) elections, she pointed to Woods as one of the managers of the election campaign that, she alleged, “[squashed] dissent and individuality within the team.” Woods does not shy away from accepting personal involvement in the election, though he denies that it constituted a conflict of interest. “cfs and cfs-o are not involved in any way in the election of any students’ unions. [utsu president Munib Sajjad] is a long-time friend of mine. We have been doing student organizing together for quite some time, and he approached me before I even considered running for the position of chairperson, saying, ‘I am thinking about running for president, I wonder if you have any time to volunteer and to help me out.’ As a friend, I said yes, and I don’t see that there is any issue with that.” Woods says he would not work in a similar capacity today. “That’s not something I would engage in as chairperson because I represent the province, and that’s a local issue. The cfs does not engage in any kind of elections organizing on a local level because local students unions are autonomous.” LOOKING AHEAD Woods believes that the immediate future of the cfs lies with its members. “It is our members who make the decisions and are ultimately the ones who make the legacy of the next year.” He also sees potential for further policy success: “I hope that we can make some significant influences and inroads in the upcoming provincial election.” Woods is less enthusiastic about the possibility of dissatisfied student societies decertifying. However, he ruled out legal action against student unions that hold decertification referenda: “I think it is important to know that the federation does not initiate legal action with member locals. The referendum — should it go forward, and should it have an outcome one way or another — is the decision of members at that local.”
On January 20, the Victoria University Student Administrative Council (vusac) made a surprising discovery when its finance chair, Eli Bourassa, received a statement from an overseas bank. The statement revealed the existence of an account containing $13,179.82 that apparently had remained untouched for over five years. “I initially thought that it was a scam,” said Bourassa. The account was with ing — a British bank — and was linked to the td account currently used by the vusac. “Due to scam possibilities, the bank couldn’t provide us any information on who created the account and when it was opened. However, as the account was linked to our current td account, we were able to access the money by providing information on the td account. Two days later, the money was transferred out of the ing account, which we subsequently closed,” explained Bourassa. He speculated that the account could have been created in accordance with an old vusac policy, which emphasized the necessity of saving $2,000 as a budget buffer. Despite examining past finance reports, budget statements, and other institutional records, there has been no solution found as to how or why the account has existed unknown for so long. According to their semi-annual report, the VUSAC has projected spending for the 2013–2014 school year to come to $90,527, which is approximately $8,000 higher than their projected revenue of $82,377. However, the deficit is based on several worstcase hypothetical situations, such as having no incoming revenue for the year 2014, and assumes that every club will spend the entire budget allotted to them. The vusac had already made several spending cuts that have reduced the difference by $1,500 and, combined with the sudden money discovery, expects a surplus of a minimum of $6,000 by the end of the year.
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MONDAY, FEBRUARY 3, 2014
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Citizen Lab calls for government surveillance oversight U of T post-doctoral fellow writes letter asking for detailed answers on consumer data sharing Amitpal Singh
VARSITY STAFF
Christopher Parsons, a post-doctoral fellow at the Citizen Lab in the Munk School of Global Affairs, has sent an open letter to leading Canadian phone and internet service providers (isps). The letter asks them to disclose the extent of the consumer information they hand over to law enforcement and intelligence agencies. The letter was released on January 20, though the project had been Parsons’s research as a phd student for nearly four years. The letter was also signed by 12 academics from universities across Canada. Parsons’s letter was sent to companies such as Bell Canada, Telus, Rogers, and Fido, among others. A variety of information is requested from isps and telecommunications companies by law enforcement — including device geolocations, call detail records, text message content, voice mail, cell tower logs, real time interception of communications, web surfing history, and more. “This is really an opportunity for Canadian telecommunications companies, which regularly affirm their commitment to Canadians’ privacy, to make it really clear. This is how we protect your privacy, and these are the conditions under which we reveal information, and this is how often we do so,” said Parsons. Law enforcement and other government agencies’ intrusions
on the digital lives of Canadians have seen activists, civil rights groups, and scholars pressing hard for substantive data from telecommunications companies. The full extent of the practice is unknown, despite intense media scrutiny surrounding the United States National Security Agency, and passionate debates in Canadian parliament. Parsons explained that Canadian legislation limiting the use of telecommunications data has lagged behind that of the United States. Parsons says that this was attributable to a number of factors, including the fact that Canada has had a series of minority governments, which have largely hindered privacy legislation from passing. “It also hasn’t been a terribly sexy, or high-profile series of laws, so the governments of the day have been focusing on other matters,” said Parsons. “That being said, we have seen for the past three or four years, the Federal Privacy Commissioner repeatedly calling for more powers to appropriately do her job,” he added. “This is just an area of law that has unfortunately been left at the wayside, and it’s really showing.” At present, the Supreme Court is deliberating an appeal from a convicted child pornographer. He claims his right against unreasonable search and seizure was violated when police conducted their investigation of his crime. Using information provided by his isp, they traced his internet
protocol (ip) address after they found it on a file-sharing network used for child pornography. Parsons said that “in this case, police used what is a called a pipeda letter [The Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act], which states that the police — without judicial oversight but under their lawful authority — are requesting warrantless access to subscriber data.” Parsons commented that this practice should only be allowed in specific situations, such as those involving children in danger. However, he added, “In most cases, police should have some kind of judicial oversight before they can start going to companies and asking for our personal information.” “I think the reason this matters is because privacy is fundamental to exercising our other hard won rights and liberties. It’s no one’s damn business when you get together with colleagues or friends, or meeting over a beer with your girlfriend. The same is true of our internet and telecommunications data,” Parsons said. Telus and Rogers have been the first to speak to media regarding the letters. “We have just received the request, and we are still reviewing it,” Shawn Hall, a spokesperson for Telus, said last Wednesday. He highlighted that: “Telus takes great care to safeguard customer privacy, and will challenge court orders that we think overreach.” Rogers spokes-
Christopher Parsons, post-doctoral fellow. photo courtesy of christopher parsons
person Patricia Scott said that her company’s chief privacy officer had yet to receive the letter. She too affirmed her company’s commitment to privacy: “We take privacy matters very seriously, and comply with all regulations. Our policy is that we require a properly executed warrant to disclose customer information.” The letters ask the companies for a response, or a commitment
to respond by March 3, 2014. The Citizen Lab, where Parsons does his research, is an interdisciplinary research environment that studies the monitoring, censoring and modification of digital information. The institution focuses primarily on the intersection of information and communication technology with policy-making, human rights, and global security.
Hotly contested Scarborough election winds down Candidates clash on questions of experience, voter apathy Sarah Niedoba & Josh Miller VARSITY STAFF
The Scarborough campus is in the midst of deciding which student leaders will represent it in the coming year. Elections for the Scarborough Campus Students’ Union (scsu) will take place this February 4–6, with two slates and eight independent candidates competing for executive and directorial positions. Four executive and 16 directorial positions are up for elections. The New Political Student Party (npsp) has candidates running for the roles of president and vice-president, academics and university affairs, but none running for vice-president, external or vice-president, equity. The party has 14 candidates running for 16 directorial positions. The other slate, Vote Students First, has students running for all four executive positions, in addition to 13 candidates running for directorial positions. Vote Students First features three current scsu executives: Guled
Arale is running for re-election as vice-president external, and current vice-president campus life Tashin Chowdhury is running for president. Arale said that experience is one of the main things his party brings to the table. “There are a lot of changes happening: a new principal, the Scarborough campus 50 anniversary, the Pan American Games. All these opportunities need an experienced team to be able to use and take advantage of them,” he explained. While members of the npsp are not current members of the scsu executive team, they believe that their leadership experience makes them worthwhile candidates. Habiba Desai, their presidential candidate, said that her work as a marketing intern for a solar energy firm has provided her with knowledge of how businesses operate on a large scale. She also cited her leadership experience as president of the pre-law society and as a first-year mentor. Shauna Nandkissore, the npsp candidate for vice-president academics and university affairs, said that her work with
business and conference services has given her the necessary experience for the role, in addition to her work with the Green Path program, which helps international students adjust to life in Canada. Vote Students First used social media extensively in their campaign, releasing a video outlining their main goals; as well as a Facebook page featuring their Twitter and Instagram account. Highlights of the team’s platform include establishing a shuttle bus between the St. George and Scarborough campuses, installing heated bus shelters, and continuing to build and develop the sexual education center. “What we do is talk to students and find the issues that matter to them, whatever they may be,” said Arale. He also pointed out the diversity of his team, arguing that they are in touch with the many needs of the campus. “When we were putting together the team we looked at students from different years, different student groups — we basically tried to approach student leaders from all over campus.”
The npsp’s platform has five main points: improving student life, advocating for student issues, remodelling the menu of the student restaurant “Rex’s Den,” making learning a fun initiative, and mandatory updating of the scsu. Desai said: “My idea is to focus on small meaningful changes. This includes avoiding advocating for issues that are not relevant to student life at utsc.” She said that the team hopes to have weekly town hall meetings with all executives and directors present, so that students can interact with their union. She feels that the biggest problem facing the Scarborough campus is apathy. “Students do not care. They have given up about the scsu. A majority do not vote and we wish to change that by informing them about what scsu is.” Arale agrees that there is apathy towards student politics on campus, but he also understands why that might be. “U of T students have to deal with a lot: the incredibly hard courses, working up to two or three jobs, commuting up to two hours
every day. I think that they want to engage but there’s all these things standing in their way.” Arale says that he wants the student union to be accountable to the students of Scarborough campus: “At the end of the day, it’s not a political game — you pay a lot of money for your student union, and it should be an environment of excellence.” Arale also advocated running as a slate: “No one person can do this work — you need a team and having a team that has shared ideals can make the work being done that much easier.” Outside of the two slates, there are eight independent candidates running for executive positions. Dharsha Sundarampillai and Massih Bidhendi are running for president, Bashorat Umar Muhammod, Vithura Ravirajan, Zheng Zeng for vice-president of academics and university affairs, Dulaa Osman and Zi Jian Wang for vice-president external, and Oranoos Mohammad for vice-president equity. They could not be reached for comment.
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Vol. CXXXIV, No. 17
VARSITY NEWS
news@thevarsity.ca
71 per cent of medical students use no UTSU services, says Med Med students question value of UTSU membership at seventh Student Societies Summit Theodore Yan
ASSOCIATE NEWS EDITOR
Second semester is well underway, and time is winding down on the effort to improve democracy at U of T. Pressure was mounting on the University of Toronto Students’ Union (utsu) at the seventh Student Societies Summit meeting on Monday, January 27. The Medical Society (MedSoc) discovered that their members paid fees to the union, and felt that they should not have. Representatives of the utsu justified the fees on the ground that MedSoc members use utsu’s clubs and services. MedSoc proceeded to conduct a survey of its 1,000 members to test this assertion. Over the course of a week, 40 per cent of its constituency responded. 71.13 per cent of respondents stated that they do not use any utsu services not including drug and dental insurance, which were not included in the survey. The remainder of the respondents used the International Student Identification Card (isic) or discounts on entertainment. However, according to David Bastien, vice-president, finance of MedSoc: “These services are largely redundant with those offered to medical students through the Canadian Federation of Medical Students and the Ontario Medical Association.” No respondents were members of clubs funded by the students’ union that were not additionally funded by MedSoc. “Currently, there is concern that fees paid to the utsu by medical students are not optimally allocated and do not reflect medical student involvement in utsu services or club initiatives,” said Bastien. “I’m unsure if it was made clear that our services include the health and dental plan, food bank, sales of Metropasses, and a variety of discount tickets, among other things,” said Yolen Bollo-Kamara, vice-president, equity of utsu, “we know that medical students use these services. Medical students at both the St. George and utm campuses also benefit from the advocacy services of the utsu.” Bollo-Kamara went on to list recent advocacy successes of the utsu, mentioning
nancy ji/THe VarsiTy
the expansion of multi-faith space, childcare services, and athletic facilities, and the recent ending of the Access Copyright licensing fee. Bollo-Kamara stated that the union is listening to MedSoc’s concerns: “I’d like to take this opportunity to work with MedSoc to improve awareness and service provision among medical students of resources available to them, particularly the services and advocacy provided by the utsu. This is the tact we take when we hear of students who are unsure of the benefits of university services.” A number of student groups not seeking to divert fees from the union feel that it should be an option for those who wish to do so. “Based on the ongoing discussions at the summit, we have identified some things we’d like to see improved at utsu, but will be pursuing avenues with utsu’s existing structure to suggest those changes,” stated Ashkan Azimi, president of the New College Student Council (ncsc). “However, we feel that there are circumstances under which specific populations of
students might not be best served by utsu. Engineering has made a case for that, and at the recent summit meeting, second entry professional programs were considered by that light. “Therefore, we support the idea that a method should exist for populations of students to divert fees from central student governance in favour of local governance and more comprehensive service provision, though the logistics and legality of such a process will definitely take some time to be worked out,” Azimi continued. utsu president Munib Sajjad has, to date, not attended the summit. The union has been represented by Bollo-Kamara and vicepresident, university affairs, Agnes So. “As the most informed utsu representative, Munib’s absence has severely hindered proceedings. Having served on both utsu and utmsu his participation would have been an asset. Unfortunately, he has chosen to ignore the concerns of his members and efforts from the university to improve student governance at the university,” said Benjamin Crase, Trinity’s co-head of college.
“Every meeting, I wonder why he chooses to continue sending this message to his membership and the university administration,” Crase continued, “If I had a vested interest in perpetuating a fundamentally broken system, I might also do anything I could to maintain the status quo, no matter how ridiculous.” “Mr. Crase seems to have a deficit of understanding of how the utsu works, which is disappointing, as he is a board member,” said Sajjad. Sajjad emphasized that all utsu executives are part of decision-making processes, no matter who actually attends any given meeting. “Ms. Bollo-Kamara and Ms. So are more than capable of representing the utsu, and have reported back and brought the collective ideas of the utsu to the table each time. I would not have done anything differently, so I am unsure how our participation could possibly be hindering proceedings.” There is currently no timeline on the resumption of the Student Commons project. The Commons, a planned student-run building at U of T, was postponed by Governing Council in July because of the fee diversion conflict. The Commons is intended to be a campus hub for student life, including spaces for clubs, food options, and student meeting areas. utsu has lobbied to have the project approved for decades. It was funded in large part by a $20 million levy approved by students in 2007. The Student Societies Summit is a series of meetings between representatives of over 20 student organizations. Provost Cheryl Regehr called the summit to discuss referenda held last year by the tcm, the Victoria University Students’ Administrative Council (vusac), and the Engineering Society (EngSoc) in which students approved a motion to divert fees paid to the utsu to their respective organizations, although the vusac’s referendum fell short of the required voter turnout. The first meeting was held on October 7. The U of T administration has emphasized that the summit cannot affect policy change, and only has the authority to make recommendations.
Man found trespassing late at night at UC Suspicious man banned from campus for trespassing at University College residence Victoria Wicks VARSITY STAFF
A man has been banned from all three campuses following multiple attempts to gain entry into Whitney Hall, a residence at University College (uc), between 12:00 am and 4:00 am on Sunday, January 26. Matt Fullerton, a first-year student, was smoking outside uc at around 4:00 am when an unfamiliar man approached him and asked for a cigarette. “I asked whether he was a student living at Whitney Hall,” said Fullerton. “He replied he lived on the fourth f loor — which doesn’t even exist.” Eli Emslie, a fourth-year student, had a similar encounter with the man. He adds that the man was lingering around the residence’s various doors, seemingly waiting for someone to exit so he could slip inside. Emslie claims the man tried to follow him into the building.
Both students say the student porter on duty at the time, Tina Liu, refused to call Campus Police after various residents and a residence don requested her to do so. They expressed concern that Liu seemed nervous, and alleged that she might not have the necessary security training. Liu declined to comment. Campus Police arrived on scene promptly after the don contacted them. They arrested the man for Trespassing at Night and, after deeming him unaffiliated with U of T, banned him from all U of T campuses. University spokesperson, Laurie Stephens, said that Toronto Police were notified and Community Alerts were provided to all deans of students to distribute to their students. When asked if the university has taken extra security measures in light of this incident, Stephens responded that Campus Police and building patrol “do regular surveillance of all areas on campus.” A notice posted by Campus Police warns anyone who sees the man not to engage with him, and to immediately contact them.
Whitney Hall, where the trespass occurred. dan seljak/THe VarsiTy
VARSITY NEWS
var.st/news
Reported crime rate on the decline at U of T Certain crimes, such as theft, on the rise Aisha Hassan VARSITY STAFF
Over the past month, U of T Campus Police have received reports of over 25 thefts at the St. George campus. The majority of the thefts were electronic devices, such as mobile phones and laptops, at campus libraries. Although the number of thefts has increased recently, the number of overall crimes has decreased at the St. George and Scarborough campuses over the past decade. Over the same time span, there has been an increase in crime at the Mississauga campus. In 1999, the number of crimes reported to U of T Campus Police at the St. George campus reached 1,410. This figure has more than halved in recent years, with the most recent statistics suggesting that 647 crimes were reported in 2012. According to Laurie Stephens, U of T’s director of media relations: “Overall, there have been no significant trends in certain crimes at U of T in the recent years. We have seen an increase in theft and bicycle thefts, however, we cannot yet determine if this is a trend as numbers in the past years declined.” In the last five years, there has been a gradual rise in theft — particularly at Mississauga and Scarborough — theft has more than doubled from 32 in 2007 to 77 in 2012. Meanwhile, St. George and Scarborough have seen a more recent increase in bike thefts, as cycling becomes a more popular mode of transport for students. Across the three campuses, theft under $5,000 continues to be the most prevalent crime overall — with smartphones, laptops, and tablets being the most common items stolen. In response to the increase in these crimes, Campus Police have spoken with students about ways to keep their belongings safe. For example, the Security Tracking of Office Property (s.t.o.p) program installs special identification plates on laptops to make it easier to recover the computer if it’s lost or stolen. Stephens attributes the variations in crime rates between campuses to “factors such as campus location, populations served, numbers of buildings, and crimes reported to campus police rather than municipal police all contribute to the variations in the data.” For example, utsc has a student population of 10,000 and utm has a student population of 13,000. In comparison, St. George has a student population of 40,000 students. While St. George reports the most crimes annually, Mississauga has seen the biggest increase in crime rates. This is likely credited to their rapidly growing student population. Stephens attributes the overall trend at St. George to its downtown location, as the level of crime tends to be correlated with the city’s crime rate. “Typically, we find any increase in crime statis-
CRIMES
CONTINUED FROM COVER tains any profit on the sale. Second, the independent distributor may be paid a commission on product sales... by the distributor and product sales by other distributors sponsored in to the distributor’s sales organization.” “No commissions are paid for sponsoring or introducing other people into Vemma,” the spokesperson continued. Affiliates can, however, benefit from recruiting; according to the Vemma website, a $120 monthly fee for product delivery is waived if an affiliate meets certain conditions, which include signing up new “customers.” The website does not define the difference between customers, affiliates, and brand ambassadors — although it does state that customers can enroll more customers, and receive the benefits of doing so. ACTIVITY ON POSTSECONDARY CAMPUSES Vemma stated that it does not have up-to-date numbers of active affiliates and customers, nor does it have information on the proportion of affiliates who are college students. Nonetheless, students report Vemma affiliates at campuses across Ontario — including the University of Toronto, Ryerson University, and Brock University. “It is my impression that Vemma admits to focusing on college-aged people,” says William Keep, dean of The College of New Jersey (tcnj) School of Business and trial expert in various pyramid scheme cases. One ftc complaint against Vemma, filed on March 22, 2013, echoes this sentiment: “The company preys on high-school and college students...A few of them end up making six figures, while the majority waste away their $500 membership fee.”
THEFTS
BIKE THEFTS
tics is usually in relation to any increase in crime in the city overall,” Stephens noted. In the last six years, Toronto has had the lowest reported crime rate in the country for a metropolitan city.
MONDAY, FEBRUARY 3, 2014
Nonetheless, the university area and surrounding neighbourhoods — including the Bay Street Corridor and Kensington-Chinatown area — are some of the top-ten neighbourhoods in Toronto for crime.
BECOMING AN AFFILIATE Posing as a U of T student looking to generate extra income, The Varsity spoke to Ron — a 19-year-old Vemma affiliate in Mississauga, who claimed to have 35 other affiliates and customers on his “team” — to learn about the process. According to Ron, one becomes an affiliate through a $500 one-time payment. This payment buys the affiliate 192 cans of Verve! energy drink, a success toolkit, access to mentors, and an ecommerce website. The affiliate also has the option to transition to two-product autodelivery, which provides a continuous supply of product for $120 per month. “The two-product auto delivery ensures that you’re staying active, that you’re still in the business,” said Ron. To sell product, affiliates refer buyers to an ecommerce website. The company then compensates the affiliate. “This is not $10-an-hour,” said Ron. “It’s how much you think an hour of your life is worth. You do the work, you get out the word to more people — you get paid more.” According to Ron, Vemma relies on prominent endorsements to garner credibility. “We have nba players, nfl players, Entertainment Tonight — they work hand in hand when we do events,” Ron noted. “We have our own Verve! nascar, and the credibility goes on with this drink.” Verve! is the official energy drink of the Phoenix Mercury, a Women’s National Basketball Association (wnba) team, and the Phoenix Suns, a National Basketball Association (nba) team. Ron was subsequently contacted on the record, but had not provided further comment as of press time.
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MULTI-LEVEL MARKETING SCHEMES In September 2013 dean Keep was alerted to recruiting by Vemma affiliates at his college. In response, Keep sent out a memo urging students to exercise caution. The memo read: “some mlm [multi-level marketing] companies have proven to be pyramid schemes.” The Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre — a federal agency that collects information on fraud schemes — defines pyramid schemes as: “frauds that are based on recruiting an everincreasing number of investors. The initial promoters (those at the peak of the pyramid) recruit investors who are expected to bring in more investors, who may or may not sell products or distributorships. Recruiting newcomers is more important than selling products.” Under Canada’s Competition Act, pyramid schemes are illegal. According to David Soberman, a professor of marketing at the Rotman School of Management, multilevel marketing schemes can be a viable business structure. As an example, Soberman cited Avon Products — a multibillion-dollar manufacturer and distributor of household and personal care products. On the other hand, illegal pyramid schemes “are generally associated with having people join who also have to make a large monetary contribution to join. The ‘get-richquick’ positioning is a good signal of something that might be fishy,” said Soberman, “multilevel marketing companies that sell physical goods are generally legitimate, since the revenues are not generated until the goods are delivered.” According to Breeana E., “Vemma has adopted, and enforces other policies to ensure compliance with federal and state laws and to make certain that many of the abuses commonly associated with illegal pyramids, such as inventory loading, cannot occur.” Inventory loading is a process whereby companies encourage the large purchase of inventory by affiliates, as a condition for retaining affiliate status or qualifying for rewards. Vemma avoids inventory loading with its buy-back policy, whereby “the company will buy back all product in resalable condition purchased by the distributor and provide a 100% unconditional, full moneyback guarantee.” Affiliates can also terminate their agreement with the company at any time. Nonetheless, some ftc complaints allege that the company drags its heels on refunds. “We had cancelled our auto-account with Vemma. They advertise that cancellation can be made at any time…risk free,” one complaint alleges, “They continue to send us their products and charge us.” CAFFEINATED ENERGY DRINKS As of January 2, 2013, Health Canada regulates all caffeinated energy drinks (ced), like Verve!, as food products. This means that ceds are subject to enforcement by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency. ced labels must be in full compliance with the Food and Drugs Act and Food and Drug Regulations by the date indicated in a company’s Temporary Marketing Authorization Letters (tmal). This means that all ceds must have a Nutrition Facts Table, ingredient listing, and allergen information. A transition period of up to 18 months — no later than December, 2013 — was provided to bring CED products into compliance with food labelling requirements. Verve! was
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Vol. CXXXIV, No. 17
VARSITY NEWS
news@thevarsity.ca
A conversation with Franco Vaccarino UTSC’s departing principal looks back on his six years at the helm of Scarborough Salvatore Basilone
VARSITY CONTRIBUTOR
The University of Toronto Scarborough has gone through immense changes in the past decade, and Franco Vaccarino has been at the helm of utsc for much of that time. He has been the principal of the campus since 2007, and began his career at U of T in 1984. On January 21, it was announced that Vaccarino would be leaving this summer to become the new president of the University of Guelph. The Varsity sat down with Vaccarino to discuss the transformations, challenges, achievements, and future of utsc. The Varsity: The three U of T campuses are very different places. What makes UTSC unique, especially in comparison with its sister campuses? Franco Vaccarino: There is a difference. It’s a parkland environment that is absolutely breathtaking at many times during the year. There are elements of our community that contribute to the difference, for example our partnership with the Toronto Zoo through our conservation biology programs. Part of it is also age. We are celebrating our fiftieth anniversary this year. St. George Campus has a long, proud history, and while I think that there are wonderful things that come with tradition, the youthfulness is an important part of the feeling of utsc. TV: Can you comment on some of the changes UTSC has gone through over the past decade or so? FV: We went from five to 10 thousand students in a relatively short period of time. When I arrived, it was an opportunity to refine that growth and to think about our identity. A big part of the vision for utsc was to create an intellectual and cultural hub in the eastern gta. Out of that came things like the PhD program in environmental sciences, housed here at utsc. It’s the first PhD program created at U of T housed somewhere other than the St. George campus, and I do believe it is symbolic of the trajectory that both utsc and utm are going to take in the future. What you see now is students coming out of high school and really looking at all three campuses. TV: UTSC has also gone through a lot of challenges related to that growth. Here is something you said to the Toronto Star in 2010: “We had students writing exams on weekends because there weren’t enough rooms during the week. Some classes are held in portables. We have study carrels in the halls. We have dance troupes practicing in the lobby in front of the elevator.” So how do you face that challenge? FV: When I look at that quote I actually see something enormously positive. It was actually very cool. I could walk in the front doors and there’d be some dance troupe in front of the elevator. My thought process was ‘Wow! Here we have this positive energy despite the physical restrictions.’ There was this community sense of wanting to do all sorts of things, but we were physically restricted. You might think it is just buildings and mortar, but it was becoming a barrier for us. So that was job one.
Franco Vaccorino, newly appointed president of the University of Guelph, served as principal of UTSC since 2007. CArolyn levett/tHe vArsity
The portables that came on site were a release valve, but they also, more importantly, showed how bad things were. They were a wonderful photo-op for when reviewers in the provincial system would visit. It was a very tough time. The economy had gone through one of the worst downturns in recent history. But during that, it was important to me that we forge ahead with plans, that we be prepared. We put together a master plan for this campus when some might have wondered how realistic that was, but it was about the future and about hope. Sure enough, the federal government introduced the Knowledge Infrastructure Program as stimulus funding, and we were ready. That gave rise to the Instructional Centre, a $70 million, state of the art building, and a huge release valve. Shortly after that came the Pan American Games. One of the first messages I got from students was that our athletic facility was so sub-par. Finding funds for that is a challenge because it is not the core business, hence the referendum on funding that the students supported. I don’t think I thought we’d end up with two Olympic sized pools; the idea was to get a decent athletic facility. What I like about what happened there is it has connected us with the community.
a challenge for Scarborough, is the issue of inadequate transit and transportation. FV: Absolutely. Let me comment on transit. This has been at the very top of our priorities. We are of course going to do everything possible to take advantage of the upcoming Pan Am games. The reality is that though a very important stakeholder, we are only one of the stakeholders. There had been a proposal that involved the lrt coming straight here, and now that has changed. The most important thing we can do, and we do this all the time, is to continue to remind government at all levels of the importance of utsc. We continue to look at interim solutions. I do hope that over the next year or two, we get a master plan type solution, and I am confident that it will happen.
TV: Both a challenge for UTSC, and in a broader sense
TV: We’ve been talking about the experience at UTSC, but I do want to ask you about becoming president of Guelph University. FV: I’ve been part of U of T for thirty years, and I didn’t take the decision to go to Guelph lightly. I was approached about my interest, and the more I looked, the more it felt like a good fit. Part of that is because utsc is in a strong position to move forward. We’ve done such amazing things here, it’s a huge element of pride, and it’s been a privilege for me to serve this community.
Saint Mary’s football players suspended for sexist, racist, homophobic tweets
Consortium launched by five universities to promote graduate studies in engineering
Minimum wage in Ontario rises from $10.25 to $11.00
Saint Mary’s University has announced the suspension of six varsity football players for tweeting racial and sexual comments. The messages condone rape and violence against women, and include disparaging remarks about homosexuals. A spokesperson for the school said further academic discipline may be imposed. The University of King’s College School of Journalism cited several tweets in its online publication stating they belong to members of the football team. “To that b**ch that bit me last night. Hope your dead in a ditch. you are scum,” read one tweet. Keith Langille, a former varsity football player at St. Mary’s, apologized for retweeting a joke regarding race and penis size. A statement released by the school said these comments were “completely inappropriate and unacceptable.” Earlier in the year, the school gained national attention for a video depicting a frosh week chant about raping underage girls.
Despite the competitive spirit of recruiting students for graduate studies, an increasing demand for engineers with specialized skills has led five of Canada’s top universities to collaborate on an initiative known as the Canadian Graduate Engineering Consortium. The University of Waterloo, the University of Toronto, the University of Alberta, the University of British Columbia, and McGill University are collectively working to promote graduate studies in the field of engineering by visiting each of the five institutions and holding panel discussions for prospective students. Markus Bussman, U of T’s vice-dean of Graduate Studies at the Faculty of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, points out: “We are looking to entice more Canadian undergraduate students to think about doing master’s and phds [...] because they have specialized skills that can be of benefit to this country’s economic growth.” The Consortium hopes to inspire a new perspective on engineering and the rewards that can accompany its areas of further studies.
Ontario’s minimum wage will rise from $10.25 to $11.00 on June 1, tying with Nunavut for the highest minimum wage in the country. Additionally, Premier Kathleen Wynne’s government plans to table a bill indexing the minimum wage to inflation. “In this calculus, we need to be concerned about small businesses[…] At the same time, we have to balance that with the need for people to have a living wage,” said Wynne. “We have to take care of people.” Progressive Conservative economic development critic Jane McKenna argued that the hike could cause layoffs. “How productive is it that we’re putting more people on the unemployment?” she asked. The reactions of businesses to the increases were mixed, with some businesses praising the predictability offered by the proposed inflation indexing, and others expressing worry that they will be unable to afford the raise.
— Gabriela Ansari-Correa With files from The Globe and Mail
— Theodore Yan With files from The Globe and Mail
NEWS IN BRIEF
— Samina Sultana With files from The Globe and Mail
COMMENT VAR.ST!COMMENT
3
FEBRUARY
2014
comment@thevarsity.ca
The company we keep Former president Naylor’s nomination to Barrick Gold’s board is no cause for concern Li Pan
VARSITY CONTRIBUTOR
David Naylor, U of T’s president from 2005 to 2013, was recently appointed to the board of directors at Barrick Gold. Barrick Gold, a Toronto-based global gold mining corporation, has faced accusations of poor community relations, poor environmental practices, displacement of communities, erosion of agriculture, poor compensation of workers, and worker deaths. Many worry that Naylor’s appointment will further associate U of T with a company that has been accused of completely disragarding many of our community’s most fundamental values. Prior to any discussion of the effect of Naylor’s transition on U of T’s public image, we must first remember that he was nominated because he is well-qualified for the job. Naylor holds both a md from U of T and phd in social and administrative studies from Oxford, where he was a Rhodes Scholar. He has been a public administrator for the past 14 years. His résumé is supported by years of involvement with the Canadian government, most notably as the chair of the National Advisory Committee on sars and Public Health in 2003. Each of these elements makes him an obvious choice for a gold mining corporation that operates on several continents and is often lobbying the Canadian government. Such a move is not without precedent, either; Robert Prichard,
president from 1990 to 2000, was later hired as president of Star Media Group and coo of Torstar Corporation, which owns the Toronto Star. The situation is quite similar in the United States. Take, for example, Michigan State University; M. Peter McPherson, its president from 1993–2004, is now chairman of Dow Jones. Many worry that Naylor's appointment will tarnish U of T’s reputation as an academic institution free from corporate influences. It might seem ridiculous at first to assume any impact on U of T’s reputation, given the fact that Naylor is no longer directly associated with the university. However, skeptics may have a valid case here: during Naylor’s tenure, the university received a $35 million donation from Peter Munk, president and founder of Barrick Gold. For those who initially opposed the terms of the donation for giving the Munk family excessive influence in university affairs, Naylor’s appointment may indeed seem like a reward for services rendered. However, as I have argued above, president Naylor is extremely wellqualified for the job. For that reason alone, no one should cry conspiracy without evidence to back up that claim. He may have done better to not accept the position to avoid suspicion, but Naylor is not obligated to yield to rumors. Nevertheless, Naylor’s appointment presents an interesting opportunity to re-examine the situation almost three years after the dust surrounding the Munk Do-
nation has settled. At that time, many students and members of the faculty voiced concerns over the terms of the agreement which they believe give the Munk family undue influence on spending and curriculum decisions. This seemed like a sword hanging over the head of the director of the Munk School that would restrict the school’s ability to speak up against the gold mining industry’s alledged abuses. Three years later, no suspicions of a secret agenda ever fructified into actual news and our new president expressed confidence that academic integrity had been protected. In fact, the Rotman donation in 1997 came with a similarly troubling list of demands. All of the evidence points in the same direction: U of T is walking a thin line in its relationship with large private donors, but for now, we are safe. Other universities might not be as lucky. In 2011, Carleton University received a $15 million donation from Clayton Riddell, a Calgary petroleum businessman. The contract gave the Riddell family considerable power in their oversight of the academic budget, hiring, and curriculum of Carleton’s Political Management graduate program. The contract was renegotiated after being exposed in 2012. Also, in 2011, York University received a $30 million donation from Jim Balsillie, cofounder of Research in Motion. The contract, which contained similar terms, was cancelled after being exposed.
NANCY JI/THE VARSITY
All things considered, there is definitely a push from millionaires to influence the curriculum in Ontario universities. U of T should continue to be vigilant in its relationships with large private donors. However,
there is no reason to have this debate at the expense of president Naylor. Li Pan is a second-year student at Trinity College studying mathematics and economics.
Flat fees, bus shelters, and the history of union advocacy UTSU should concern itself with providing services, not playing politics Stephen Warner
VARSITY CONTRIBUTOR
As a first-year student, I quickly learned that the University of Toronto Students’ Union (utsu) is in the news a lot. The Varsity reported throughout the year on the controversies surrounding the utsu, including the roiling fee diversion debate, utsu’s $52,000 deficit after a $152,000 surplus the previous fiscal year, and the acusations of a lack of transparency in their Annual General Meetings and elections. The fact that they are in the news again should come as no surprise to anyone. Across campus, advertisements sponsored by the utsu, the Canadian Federation of Students (cfs), and several other groups have been appearing on bus shelters. The advertisements feature slogans in support of the utsu’s
campaign to stop flat fees from being re-instituted. utsu has been criticized in the past for taking a stance on political issues on and off campus, such as the men’s rights movement, the conflict in Sri Lanka, and the Idle No More movement. The fact that the union is focusing its efforts on issues relevant to most U of T students is good. That does not, however, mean that the union should be engaging in politics. There are two questions that students should be asking themselves. Firstly, is the utsu advocating for the voice of the majority of students? Second, should they be spending our fees on advertisements for their advocacy? The answer to both of these questions should be a resounding “no.” It is common knowledge that there is an extensive voter apathy among U of T students. The election results for the 2013 utsu executive elections were abysmal.
The only slate, “Team Renew”, was acclaimed with 2000 votes in favour and 900 votes against. That corresponds to a whopping six per cent voter turnout rate. To put this six per cent into perspective, the 2011 federal election had a voter turnout of 61 per cent, while the 2010 Toronto municipal election had a voter turnout of 53 per cent. To suggest that a government who won with 68 percent of the six percent of eligible electors is in any way legitimate or representative of the entire university’s population is simply ludicrous. There is no basis for the utsu to make any claim about being the voice of students in regards to politics, whether it is directly, indirectly, or not at all related to matters on campus. This is, of course, not even taking into account the issues being faced in regards to transparency and accountability in their Annual General Meetings and elec-
tions, and their affiliation to the cfs. In short: for an organization that claims to be representing students, they do not seem to do much by way of actual representation. I have already mentioned that the utsu ran a deficit of approximately $52,000 for the financial year ending in 2013. Regardless of the deficit, however, the union should not be spending collected student fees on bus shelter advertisements when simpler and cheaper means could do the job just as easily. Even then, why should they be spending money at all, let alone the amount required for such superfluous advertisements, when we have already established that they are not necessarily advocating for the majority of students? If the utsu were truly advocating for the voice of all students, they would not need to advertise to students. Otherwise, what are they expecting: for the university’s gov-
erning council to see their ads on the way to work? So long as the utsu does not have the confidence of the student body, and so long as they are running a deficit because of who-knows-what expenses, they should not be spending our money on politics. What should they be doing with my $34.96 per year, then? Exactly what I would expect a student union to do: improve the quality of life for students. Special interests such as politics should be left to organizations that do not claim to represent the majority of students. There is a saying that, in life, politics, religion, and money are not topics for polite conversation. The utsu needs to stay out of these areas, or they will continue to waste our money, alienate our population, and get nothing of actual relevance done. Stephen Warner is a first-year student at Victoria College studying English and political science.
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Vol. CXXXIII, No. 17
VARSITY COMMENT
comment@thevarsity.ca
THE QUESTION
In the wake of pervasive anti-LGBTQ sentiment: what can Canada do in Sochi?
Bruce Kidd and Brenda Cossman discussing how to support the LGBTQ community in light of the Sochi games. JULIA MALOWANY/THe VArsITY
Why Canada needs to steer clear of condemning Putin during the Sochi Winter Games Dilan Somanader
VARSITY CONTRIBUTOR
The seemingly serene Black Sea resort town of Sochi in Russia — the site of the upcoming Winter Olympics — has come under intense scrutiny following President Vladimir Putin’s recent ban on "gay propaganda" in the country. The move has transformed the rain-swept Russian city into a hotbed of dispute and has sparked uproar in the international community. Now enter Canada: a nation that boasts, humbly, of course, a populace of winter sport aficionados and a glimmering track record of freedom and equality. A boycott would have seemed like the right thing to do in the wake of such prejudice. However, with that option having long been dismissed and our athletes preparing to head to the games regardless, our nation’s role in this evergrowing tangle of socio-political unease has become harder to delineate. While the oppression of Russia’s lgbtq community is undoubtedly appalling, the Olympics are not the proper platform to advocate for their liberation, nor explicitly criticize the regime. For one, this is an international sporting event where politics have no place. It would be both unwise and unfair on our part to push men and women, who have endured years of rigorous athletic training, into the fray. Confiscating their hard-earned opportunity for the sake of engendering a change in Putin’s heart, a prospect that seems highly unlikely, would be unwarranted. Using the Olympics as a stage for protest is not only impractical, it is also extremely dangerous.
The state of Russia’s security in recent days has not been without controversy. Any threat to national safety and stability is currently handled by sorm (the System of Operative-Investigative Measures): an invasive, “Big-Brother”-esque government surveillance system designed to intercept telephone and internet communications. Calling Putin out for his unabashed bigotry and irrational political agenda, however just it may seem, would only place the athletes in jeopardy. With their privacy compromised, any conversations deemed defamatory can be used as grounds for fines or arrest. It would be far more reasonable to leave the peacemaking in the hands of peacemakers than to use civilians as vehicles for social change — especially in circumstances where safety is critical. The Olympic Winter Games should not be Canada’s attempt to teach a lesson in human rights. Rather than aiming to right Putin’s wrongs as outsiders, we must work towards showing Russia’s lgbtq community that we stand firmly by them as fellow human beings; that we are not only champions of winter sport, but also of equal rights. As the spotlight shifts from matters of state to matters of sport in the coming weeks, it is our responsibility not to provoke dispute, but to display ourselves as a country that treats its people with the equality they deserve. While change for the Russian people can only come from within, we as a participating nation in the Winter Olympics could be a catalyst. D i l a n Som a n a d e r i s a f i r s t-yea r s t u d e nt s t u dy i n g a ppli ed s c i e n c e a n d e n g i n ee r i n g .
The IOC has failed thus far to adequately petition Russia for tolerance during the games Sonia Liang
VARSITY CONTRIBUTOR
The International Olympic Committee (ioc) has had many opportunities to promote greater tolerance and inclusion of lgbtq athletes by condoning homophobic actions, but has remained decidedly timid. One opportunity came after considering removing Yelena Isinbayeva — the mayor of the Sochi Olympic village, an honorary but still highly visible position — for making homophobic comments last August at the World Championships in Athletics. Isinbayeva was quoted saying: "It’s disrespectful to our country, disrespectful to our citizens... we consider ourselves like normal, standard people, we just live boys with women, girls with boys.” Although she later retracted her comments and clarified, the ioc said nothing. At an event that The Varsity organized last Wednesday — "How to be an Ally During the Sochi Olympics" — professors Brenda Cossman and Bruce Kidd both expressed their disappointment at the ioc’s failure to take a more decisive stance on gay rights in that country. It results in athletes being put in the terrible position where they are being threatened for speaking out, without a solid guarantee from the ioc that the committee will stand up for them. Professor Cossman opened the conversation by stressing the inherently political nature of the Olympics. The games have always been used as a platform for countries to make a political stance; by saying that they aren’t, one is denying the Olympics’ very nature. Acknowledging sports and politics as inextricably interlinked is the first step to being an ally to lgbtq athletes. Nevertheless, many try to separate politics from sport. Professor Kidd expressed a wariness for such attitudes, which result in the Olympics being reduced to simply the pursuit of medals, while disregarding pertinent social issues that
are as intrinsic to the games as the competition itself. One cannot forget that the Olympic charter explicitly states, “Any form of discrimination with regard to a country or a person on grounds of race, religion, politics, gender or otherwise is incompatible with belonging to the Olympic Movement.” While participants should tread with caution, there are ample opportunities for delegations to creatively engage in protest. For example, the United States is sending three openly gay athletes to represent the United States at the opening and closing ceremonies. Germany’s official uniforms, while officially having nothing to do with gay rights, are as close to rainbow-coloured as you can get. Such pointed snubs are much-needed reminders that discrimination within sports is unacceptable. We need these courageous acts to remind us that, as spectators, commentators, and students, we have a responsibility to encourage and foster a more tolerant environment. As such, the international community needs to keep promoting inclusion and tolerance after the games, when the Olympic spotlight is gone. While athletes from all over the world will be living in the shadow of Russia’s anti-gay laws during these few weeks in February, one needs to remember that millions live under such intolerance for 365 days a year. One way to do so would be to amend the Olympic charter to explicitly list sexual orientation in its discrimination clause. Outside of the Olympic sphere, awarding prestigious sporting events to countries respectful of athletes’ rights and freedoms can make a difference. Decisions such as fifa’s to award the 2022 World Cup to Qatar, where homosexual activity is punishable by imprisonment, is a bad move. It says that homophobia isn’t being treated seriously enough in the sporting world. Sonia Liang is a second-year student at Trinity College studying English and political science.
VARSITY COMMENT
var.st/comment
MONDAY, FEBRUARY 3, 2014
11
Boundless rhetoric Union plans to pedestrianize St. George remain doubtful Anamjit S. Sivia
VARSITY CONTRIBUTOR
Once a year, candidates for utsu elections come out with lofty ideas for their platforms — most of which look great on paper. Indeed, we are all too familiar with the usual calls to close off and pedestrianize St. George Street. As it seems, however, U of T’s administration has not been approached with a proposal from the union. This presents the usual lack of commitment on the part of the utsu. A disturbing lack of creativity and innovation and the degree to which the utsu is out of touch with the needs of the student population. As many have pointed out, closing down St. George street would have ramifications elsewhere. As such, the chances of this proposal reaching City Council are slim. Admittedly, as an engineering student with classes in the Galbraith Building and the Bahen Centre for Information Technology, crossing St. George several times a day can be a hassle. Nevertheless, closing the street off from traffic cannot be the only solution. The problem calls for innovative solutions that will ensure pedestrian safety, but not disrupt the current flow of traffic through downtown. One of the key problems students face is not being able to cross safely at spots other than the handful of traffic signals along the street. I am
The problem calls for innovative solutions that will ensure pedestrian safety but not disrupt the current flow of traffic through downtown. no urban planner, but one idea that comes to mind is having pedestrianactivated flashing lights that would allow for a free flow of traffic. It seems that the difficulty of crossing usually arises on the hour when there is a high volume of students changing classes. Increasing the amount of time allocated for pedestrian crossing on the hour at traffic signals might be another idea to consider. A number of cities already use these approaches and they seem to work fairly well. Perhaps the biggest threat to pedestrian safety on St. George is the high number of cars that often travel well above the speed limit with an absolute disregard for pedestrians. This calls for stricter speed regulations through signage and traffic cameras. High speed has a drastic effect on a vehicle’s stopping distance and this needs to be curbed for pedestrian safety. We are all part of this city and university and ensuring we have safe, walkable neighbourhoods and campuses is vital and essential to promoting a healthy and sustainable lifestyle. Creating these con-
ditions, however, is a challenging task, and simply banning cars is not the solution. The reality today is that vehicles are an essential part of our lives. The revitalization of St. George in 1997 won critical acclaim and did a great job of bringing back the tree canopy and attempting to restore the balance between cars and pedestrians. That, however, was 17 years ago and there is urgent need once again to think about improving pedestrian safety, not only for St. George street, but for the campus as a whole. Being in a city like Toronto, we are fortunate to have innovative bureaucrats (yes, they do exist) like Jennifer Keesmaat, Chief Planner of the City of Toronto, world-class planning consultants, and researchers at universities that specialize in this area. It is time for the utsu to move beyond the usual rhetoric of impractical ideas, leverage these resources, and engage in thinking about solutions that will truly benefit students. Anamjit S Sivia is a second-year student studying electrical engineering.
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The utsu has maintained their intentions to pedesrtriazine St. George without approaching the city. ALICE XUE/THE VArsITy
How to be an ally Professors Brenda Cossman and Bruce Kidd weigh in on LGBTIQ issues prompted by the Sochi Olympics On January 29, 2014, The Varsity hosted a discussion at Hart House on the Sochi Olympics with Professors Brenda Cossman and Bruce Kidd. The conversation, which included questions and comments from U of T students, focused on the dilemma of how to interact with the Winter Olympics while appropriately addressing the LGBTIQ issues surrounding this year’s games. The discussion was moderated by The Varsity’s Comment editor Alec Wilson. Brenda Cossman: I just want to make one point, and I’m going to make it over and over again, which is: the Olympics are political. They are and always have been political. Those who say that they aren’t are denying the very nature and history of the Olympics. Its very basic principles are political. Over and again, governments have used the Olympics... as a platform for their political stands. I would like to see us develop a more nuanced analysis that makes it possible to support athletes, to recognize how political the Olympics are, and then think about how to be an ally in light of both of those really important objectives. To at least start by moving beyond this boycott versus athletes dichotomy that doesn’t really get us anywhere. Bruce Kidd: I’m a life-long follower of the Olympic movement, [a] participant in it... and my personal history reverberates with the debates that Brenda has just outlined. If there’s any doubt about [whether the Olympics are political], one should recall [that]... away from the glare of international attention, quiet diplomacy goes on, and when that diplomacy subsequently leads to breakthroughs, [the Olympics] boast about it. Part of those politics has been ongoing struggle about who is to be included... One current of Olympic history has been this long struggle to get the official Olympic movement to walk the talk with respect to inclusive universalism. I’m part of a Vancouver group that is officially lobbying the International Olympic Committee (ioc) to protect lgbtiq and their allies in Sochi, to revise Rule 6 of the Olympic Charter... to explicitly designate sexual orientation as one of the protections, and to specifically include in the rules... the enabling of pride houses — the institution that Vancouver initiated four years ago. I’m hopeful that this will be turned around, but if it’s only going to be turned around, we need to continue to push the ioc, the national Olympic committees, like the very timid Canadian Olympic committee (coc), and the sponsors to do the right thing. Topic: What responsibility, if any, should fall on the International Olympic Committee and the rest of the international commu-
nity to ensure that the games take place in a safe and accepting environment? BK: I think the ioc has got to accept responsibility for this. I’m very disappointed that they have not done so already. Under the previous president, Jacques Rogge, there was a turn towards sport for sports sake, and away from a more ambitious human rightsfocused agenda and I’m hoping that under the new president, Thomas Bach... there’ll be a return to a more human rights, politicallyfocused agenda. I know that there are a lot of people who are telling him to do that. I was at an ioc un Conference in New York last June where the secretary-general, Ban Ki-Moon stood and told the candidates for the ioc presidency to get with the program and protect the rights of lgbtiq. So this is a campaign that is underway, but if it’s going to be successful, many more people have to add their voices. BC: I would just add that the ioc, in front of Sochi, has been unduly timid. They do have an absolute obligation to live up to Principle 6... The ioc has actually said that the principle does apply to discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation, but they certainly haven’t written it in yet. The leadership of the ioc has tried to get a commitment from the host country that lgbt athletes won’t be arrested, and there are many different sounds that came out of Russia. The most recent statement seems to be that as long as the athletes abide by [Russian] laws, we won’t arrest them — which is somewhat tautological considering how regressive the laws are. I think the ioc has been working to try to make sure that the athletes are safe, without pushing the envelope very hard. At the same time, they’ve been sending really strong messages that athletes who protest at the Olympics will be punished, so if they are in violation of the basic charter principle that there shall be no protest... then action will be taken to discipline these athletes. Personally, I think that they could be doing a lot more to uphold Principle 6, rather than threatening to come down on the heads of the athletes. I think the ioc could be a bit braver.
BK: For the longest time, that rule [rule 50, prohibiting political demonstrations] was interpreted... to prohibit the kind of demonstrations that we know as political demonstrations here. It was never intended to bar symbols of personal identification and representation. I hope wiser heads prevail. I keep on hearing of wonderful planned subversion activities by athletes in the opening ceremonies. I do know that if any disciplinary action is taken, there is a team of lawyers from legal aid clinics in five countries standing by to defend those athletes before the international court of arbitration for sport. Topic: How would you advise our guests on being an ally during the games? Considering that these conversations are taking place on the higher levels of government and the Olympic administration, what can the individuals here today do to make a difference? BC: For one thing, people can just stop saying that the Olympics are not political, and argue with anybody who says the Olympics are not political. The bottom line is that you can support the athletes and you can condemn the Russian laws at the same time just refuse that completely unhelpful binary. No, there’s not going to be a boycott. Yes, there are athletes going — but there are still ways to recognize that this is a deeply political Olympics, where this lgbtq issue is just bubbling beneath the surface, and it is going to come out. For starters, educating folks around the political history of the Olympics is a good place to start to be an ally. And then I think there’s a lot of creative ways to engage in protest. There’s the Principle 6 campaign. It was started by Athlete Ally in conjunction with American Apparel. The idea behind it is stand with the Olympians, urge the ioc to act, and they are urging the ioc to speak out against Russian laws. Walk around wearing a Principle 6 T-shirt and have people go: “Oh, what’s Principle 6?” You can watch the Olympics wearing a Principle 6 t-shirt — it’s a way to increase education, to refuse the simple binaries. Refuse the folks who are saying... “when did this become the gay games?” It’s hard to know where to start with that. Say: “The Olympics are about
julia malowany/THe VarsiTy
inclusion and this is a moment where there’s a fight around the inclusion of lgbt folks, just as in the past there were fights around the inclusion of black folks, and of women.” There’s questions around boycotting the sponsors. There was a lot of pressure on CocaCola to do something, and it didn’t. It caved in every way imaginable, and there’s been a lot of lgbt social media campaigns where students have organized to have the campus go coke-free during the Olympics. There are all kinds of creative ways to think about engaging, online, offline, with people, that isn’t just about boycotting the Olympics or refusing to watch them. Get creative. BK: My list is more traditional, and that is to lobby the decision-makers to do the right thing as soon as possible. The sponsors are a good place to start. I would lobby both the international sponsors, like Coca-Cola, but also the Canadian sponsors, like the Hudson’s Bay Company, to do the right thing. Secondly, I would write the Canadian Olympic Committee, and ask them to support the campaign to revise the Olympic charter, and to revise the coc constitution to do the same thing. Thirdly, I would do something with the Russian consulate here and the Russian embassy in Ottawa. I don’t see anything happening between now and these games. The ioc is locked in. But if the pressure continues to grow, and there are more and more and more varied voices, once the media dies down, there will be people that will try to forge a new policy. I don’t want to sound overly hopeful, but there’s a lot underway. I know that the Athletes Commission, which is the committee of the ioc made up of elected athletes, has already strongly recommended that the Rule 6 campaign be brought to a successful close. Getting closer to home, wherever you are, continue to stand up for lgbtq and allies, and call people on homophobia. We would be whistling in the dark if we thought that homophobia has vanished in Canada. Elizabeth Thomas (student, Sexual Diversity Studies): How do we support lgbtq individuals in Russia beyond the Olympics? What happens once the international spotlight is gone?
The fundamental principles of Olympism
A political history of the Olympics Professor Cossman emphasized that the Olympics are inherently political in her introductory remarks. She outlined the following timeline in her comments.
1936, Berlin
The Olympics and the International Olympic Committee are governed by the Olympic Charter, which contains a set of fundamental principles for the games as well as various rules and bylaws. The Principle 6 campaign aims to amend the wording of its namesake to include discrimination based on sexual orientation. Principles 1, 2, and 4 have also been cited as pointing to the importance of equal access. Principle 1: Olympism is a philosophy of life, exalting and combining in a balanced whole the qualities of body, will, and mind. Blending sport with culture and education, Olympism seeks to create a way of life based on the joy of effort, the educational value of good example, social responsibility, and respect for universal fundamental ethical principles. Principle 2: The goal of Olympism is to place sport at the service of the harmonious development of humankind, with a view to promoting a peaceful society concerned with the preservation of human dignity. Principle 4: The practice of sport is a human right. Every individual must have the possibility of practising sport, without discrimination of any kind and in the Olympic spirit, which requires mutual understanding with a spirit of friendship, solidarity and fair play. Principle 6: Any form of discrimination with regard to a country or a person on grounds of race, religion, politics, gender or otherwise is incompatible with belonging to the Olympic Movement. BC: That’s, to me, why Sochi has been so important. This is a moment. Right now, the Olympics are the only game in town, and this is why it’s an incredible opportunity to put pressure on the Russian government. [It’s] a really difficult question, especially since some of them are leaving. They’re about to pass another law, which is going to take children away from lgbt folks. How do you continue to keep that in the spotlight? It’s a question about how you build coalitions in those countries to support folks in a way that doesn’t do more harm than good. One of the things that’s really interesting in the lgbt politics in Russia is it’s one of the ways that Putin is throwing down his gauntlet and trying to get the support of the Russian Orthodox church, by taking a position that is anti-Western. That’s very much the case of the rise of anti-lgbt movements in a lot of Africa, is that it’s very much an antiWestern statement. So how do folks in the West support the folks who are battling an anti-Western movement? I think it’s a very complicated terrain, where the most we can do is try to take the lead on what the activists inside are asking for. This is the moment, this is the spotlight, but the law’s going to stay long after the tv cameras have moved on to greener pastures. BK: It’s a real challenge. There is tremendous fear that there is a smoke screen for other oppression that the Russian government is carrying, so you have to pursue this issue with peripheral vision and understanding of those other issues. It’s important to keep the activism going — to ask the Canadian media to regularly report on what’s happening to lgbt and their allies in Russia after the games, to cover the Open Games — which is the new title for the lgbt games in Russia — and to contribute money. It’s very hard to see the future, and to know how to intervene at such a distance. Concluding remarks: “It’s never too late” BC: Bruce reminded me about the Hudson’s Bay Company, who designed the Canadian uniforms, and of course they couldn’t have designed a less gay uniform if they tried. If
you take the HBC colours, all you had to do was add one more colour and you would have had a rainbow! You look at the uniform which the Germans have produced, which is effectively a kind of a rainbow, and it’s intentional. I think we could put a little pressure — in some ways it’s too late, but it’s never too late for the sponsor to hear that they’ve missed their demographic. It’s never too late to hear that — so tell hbc that you’re pissed off at them. BK: I want to focus on the long struggle and the next steps, but I don’t want to lose sight of Sochi because I think there’s so much underway. There will be some powerful activist moments, I’m sure. Nobody’s disclosing their hands, but I would be very surprised and disappointed if there aren’t subversive incidents every day of the games. Hopefully, those subversive incidents will be joyous — they’ll be celebratory, they’ll be with a great sense of humour — but I think that there will be instances of activism all during the games. If the anti-apartheid struggle in sport is any indication, it’s also going to take a wider and wider circle, with louder and stronger voices putting pressure, and in all of the capacities that we represent here, we have to contribute to that and make sure that after these games, whatever the result, that we continue to act. BC: And my own silly little form of protest: I’m not drinking any Diet Cokes all the way through Sochi. This is just me drawing my own personal silly line. And it’s just a way to kind of figure out your own ethical way to engage with this. Don’t just say, “I can’t do anything.” Professor Brenda Cossman is a professor of law and the director of the Bonham Centre for Sexual Diversity Studies at U of T. Professor Bruce Kidd is the Warden of Hart House and a professor in the Faculty of Kinesiology and Physical Education. He is a former member of U of T’s track and field team and was a member of the 1964 Canadian Summer Olympics team and an honorary member of the Canadian Olympic Committee. This discussion has been edited for length and clarity.
“Arguably the most political Olympics ever,” says Cossman. The games were given to Germany to demonstrate its restored reputation in the aftermath of WWI. Hitler comes to power and is chancellor during these games.
World War II The Olympics are cancelled.
1948, London Japan and Germany are not invited to the Olympics as punishment for their role in WWII.
1956, melbourne Many countries boycott, including Egypt, Iraq, Lebanon, the Netherlands, Spain, Switzerland, and the People’s Republic of China, for different reasons.
1964, tokyo “North Korea and Indonesia withdraw, and South Africa is suspended from participating in the Olympics because of its apartheid policies,” says Cossman.
1972, munich Rhodesia is banned from participating due to white supremacist policies. At the games, 11 Israeli athletes are murdered by terrorists.
1976, montreal Almost 30 African countries boycott due to New Zealand’s participation.
1980, moscow The US, West Germany, Argentina, China, and Canada are among 61 nations who boycott the Olympics due to the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan.
1984, los angeles The Soviet Union and many of its allies boycott in response to the Moscow boycott.
1988, seoul North Korea boycotts, as do Albania, Cuba, Ethiopia, Madagascar, Nicaragua, and the Seychelles, all for different reasons.
Watch video from the event and read an extended transcript online at: vars.st/sochi
ARTS & CULTURE
VAR.ST"ARTS
3
FEBRUARY
2014
arts@thevarsity.ca
Acceptance passes with honours at U of T premiere
REVIEWS
U of T and Yale student collaborate on movie filmed in Singapore
The new year brings a fresh slate of music that will try to inspire, intrigue, and surprise us. Young the Giant’s new album Mind Over Matter had me dancing in my room ever since it was released earlier this month. Any artist’s sophomore effort is always a tough one — it can either make or break them. After a strong 2011 debut with the singles “Cough Syrup” and “My Body,” lead vocalist Sameer Gadhia is stronger than before on Mind Over Matter. The album manages to effectively display the power and range of Gadhia’s vocal ability and is a nice exemplar of the band’s growth. The focus has shifted for the band. Although the lyrics are strong, it is more musically driven and upbeat, solidfying their spot in pop rock. — Nasma Ahmed
ALBUM: Young the Giant — Mind Over Matter
ALBUM: William Fitzsimmons — Lions media photo
Ishita Petkar
ASSOCIATE ARTS & CULTURE EDITOR
Ivy Leagues; vip booths; scholars; ballers; and one big, fat lie: welcome to the world of Acceptance (2013). Set in Singapore, Acceptance follows the story of Rohan Patel, a student from India in a highly competitive high school, whose students consider Cornell the lowest of the Ivy League schools, an undergraduate safety school. Patel has the university application process down to a science: tailor your application, and your answers, to fit the personality of the school. Sincerity, and passion? Those are for the naïve. After being rejected by most of the Ivy League schools to which he applied, Patel announces he was accepted at Harvard, whose admissions decisions have been delayed, to preserve his damaged ego. Consequently, he watches the repercussions of his lie tear his friendships apart, gain him a spot with the coolest kids in school, and ultimately make him question the kind of person he is. Emotional, tense, and witty, the most impressive part about Acceptance is that it was written, produced, and directed entirely by students. Three years of hard work and dedication has resulted in a monumental achievement for aspiring filmmakers, Vishnu Hari, who is a U of T student, and Yale student Ryan Matthew Chan. Acceptance reflects the realities of the world we live in today — the intense pressure to be the best, the stiff competition, and the too few spots available for the places of our dreams. After the film's University of Toronto premiere last Monday at Innis Town Hall, Hari and Chan spoke to The Varsity about the experience of being first time filmmakers, the story behind Acceptance, and what it takes to keep it together on set. The Varsity: Where did the idea for Acceptance come from? Vishnu Hari: Acceptance is based on
a true story. The kid who lied about getting into Harvard was me. I was educated in one of the most competitive institutions in the world in Singapore, in an unforgiving Asian educational system where social worth and reputation was tied to grades and "brand name" school acceptances. At that time, I'd been working with Ryan (who attended another international school) on small student short films. Aside from our mutual love for film, we were both highly ambitious. Naturally, Ivy League strategies and sat scores dominated our friendly conversations. However, when the results day came around, I got rejected from my top choice, Harvard. I simply couldn't handle it. Unlike the protagonist of the film, I only lied to Ryan, who had gotten into Yale, when he asked me which college I was going to. The script came about as a result of me trying to figure out for myself why I'd lied to my best friend. I saw my own bruised ego in Rohan Patel. Jealousies, insecurities, and angst all came out, and we've tried to write those feelings into the film. Ryan Matthew Chan: Acceptance is based off of a shared high school experience. Vishnu and I attended different schools, but we were both very goal-bound kids striving to get into the top American universities, and felt the emotional impact of the college rat race. For us, making Acceptance was really a way to find closure to a hauntingly beautiful youth in Singapore. As co-writers, the two of us infused the story with our own personal experiences. I attended South East Asia's largest international school, notorious for boasting a strange combination of intellectuals and bottlepopping tycoon children. The whole "scholar" philosophy, a term thrown around a lot in Acceptance, comes directly from my group of friends in high school. The word "scholar" came to describe tragically flawed human beings with a flare for the dramatic.
Suffice it to say, Vishnu and I fit this category. The term grew pretty popular among our networks, so we decided to incorporate "scholar culture" into the film. Blake Bacher, one of the vip nightclubbers from Acceptance, says to Rohan Patel at a pivotal moment in the film: "I love you man, I really do but... you're not us... you're not a baller... you're something better. You're a scholar." This line is very telling of the world from which we came — a strange atmosphere of intense academic ambition contrasted against an opulent world of excess and exclusivity. TV: As a first-time writer and director respectively of a bigger budget film, how would you describe your experience? VH: Gruelling. Ryan and I spent a year and half polishing the 50-page screenplay over Skype. We had to forgo parties so we could sit and write. We went through hundreds of drafts, major story shifts, character changes, and dialogue revisions to get it to the level where we were confident we could pull it off. RMC: I was very nervous prior to directing Acceptance. Vishnu and I were rewriting the script constantly, because we were learning the trade as we went along. Every time we made a leap in our writing ability, we would have to "upgrade" and repolish the whole script. It definitely was obsessive, but I wasn't willing to film something that I knew could be better. I remember three weeks before the shoot I was crippled by fear. I didn't know if I was being delusional by attempting something as large as Acceptance. Directing the clubbing scenes was probably the scariest thing I had to do during Acceptance. The challenge that comes with directing is if you screw up one scene, your whole film might not make any sense. There was a lot of pressure not only to get the scene right,
but also to finish within a very tight time constraint and somehow make the magic feel real. It was definitely a daunting task, but luckily I had such an amazing group of collaborators to cover up all my mistakes. TV: What was the biggest lesson you learned? VH: Persistence in the face of overwhelming odds. And how fucking hard it is to make a film. RMC: If it seems impossible, the project is worth fighting for. TV: You had a film premiere in Singapore. What was the response to the film? VH: We initially planned for a 300-seater, but when the trailer was released, the news of the premiere and the film went viral. We went overcapacity on the guest-list and had to upgrade to a 500-seat theatre. People seemed to have enjoyed the film according to what they told us after the premiere, but you never really know… RMC: The response was very good, but, as Vishnu mentioned, we'll never really know for sure. Feedback from film festivals, on the other hand, has been quite problematic due to our 50-minute time length, which is difficult for a festival to program. TV: What would your advice be to all the aspiring filmmakers out there? VH: In the words of the twentiethcentury philosopher-poet Vanilla Ice; "Stop, Collaborate, and Listen." RMC: "Work with people who are better than you. You'll love trusting them." Acceptance (2013) Directed by Ryan Matthew Chan Screenplay by Vishnu Hari & Ryan Matthew Chan Produced by Ryan Matthew Chan & Jon Ng Cinematography by Christopher Ripley Starring: Vinesh Nagrani, Ethan Song, Pierre Cassini, Clay Burell, Nathan Hartono and Ann Mayo-Smith A SCHOLAR EDITION PRODUCTION
William Fitzsimmons has become an artist who is easily identified by his signature music style. With a sound similar to Alexi Murdoch or Gregory Alan Isakov, Fitzsimmons effortlessly conveys hypnotic acoustic melodie and agonizingly human lyrics. Now, William Fitzsimmons’s future album release Lions continues to reflect his vulnerability. Lions comes after 2011’s Gold in the Shadow, at first listen, it sounds like just another Fitzsimmons album. The opening tracks, “Well Enough” and “Josie’s Song,” are familiar acoustic ballads that have an instant calming charm. However, Fitzsimmons utilizes his talents in tracks “Fortune” and “Lions,” which stand out above all others. Overall, the album is respectable. Unfortunately, it is also somewhat predictable. Fitzsimmons has mastered the art of calming and melancholic acoustic, but continues to be comfortable with familiarity. —Travis Boyco
RESTAURANT: Snakes & Lagers For those still reveling in their childhood years, all discrimination against parting with the ‘good old days’ is left outside the front steps of Snakes and Lattes’ latest, two-story successor, Snakes and Lagers. The popular board game café’s latest venture can be found at College and Bathurst. It may seem like yet another board game fusion spot in the city, but apart from its impressive range of whiskey-based cocktails, the snack-focused menu sophisticates the childish satisfaction in pairing Scrabble with scotch. Developed by consulting chef Ariel Coplan and executed by kitchen manager Nick Morra, Snakes and Lagers’ gastronomical offerings exceed the expectations of any late-night foodie who may be slightly inebriated and bored of the McDonald’s-Pizza-Subway trifecta. Catering to a 19+ crowd, visitors are happily coaxed away from the Annex to 488 College Street, where they are met with a crafty selection of beers, eccentric bartenders, and a nostalgic game of Monopoly. —Corinne Przybyslawski
var.st/arts
VARSITY ARTS & CULTURE
MONDAY, FEBRUARY 3, 2014
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Library series: Exploring the shelves of Pratt's Special Collections Chief Librarian Lisa Sherlock, talks about Virginia Woolf, Coleridge, and Tolkien Ishita Petkar
ASSOCIATE ARTS & CULTURE EDITOR
U of T has the third-best library system in North America, behind only Harvard and Yale. However, most students often don’t see past the stacks and reading rooms, assuming that the Thomas Fisher Rare Book Library is the only treasure trove of old books. The Library Series introduces the special collections hosted at the different libraries at U of T, highlighting some of the best parts of our library system. Amongt undergraduate students, the E.J. Pratt Library is most famous for its big, airy windows and contemporary architecture — which, unlike Robarts, is easy on the eyes. Yet, rows upon rows of boxes are tucked secretively away in the sub-basement housing Pratt’s Special Collections. Pratt boasts one of the largest Special Collections sections at U of T. Currently, this material is most frequently used by graduate students, faculty and external researchers. It has over 60 manuscript collections, available for all students to use. Victoria College has been working towards getting more undergraduate students to use them. “We have a first-year Vic course, vic184, that the library is involved with, where students have an archival
assignment,” explains Pratt’s chief librarian, Lisa Sherlock. “So they choose an archive, which may have diaries, notebooks, letters, and they research the person they’ve picked, just on the basis on what’s in the archive. As a result of that class, we can have up to 20 undergrad students using the archival collections a term — it’s a way of getting students in and helping them get over their fear of special collections, and interacting with the library staff.” In celebration of Virginia Woolf’s birthday on January 25, Pratt’s foyer currently showcases some of the author's work that the library has collected over the years. “The collection was started by Mary Jackman, who was a Vic grad, and lived in Annesley Hall — where her collection of Hogarth Press books was housed,” says Sherlock, “she collected these first editions, which formed the basis for the collection, and it’s just been growing from there.” Pratt endeavours to collect all translations and editions of Virginia Woolf’s books, as well as books written by other members of the Bloomsbury Group and Woolf’s descendents. On display is the original sign of Hogarth Press, the publishing house founded by the Woolfs. “Leonard and Virginia Woolf were not only interested in the book as book, but they were interested in it as an aesthetic ob-
denis osipov/THe vArsiTy
ject — something that is beautiful to look at,” says Sherlock, accounting for the multiple editions of the same book on display, each with a different binding or cover. The Samuel Taylor Coleridge Archive is another highlight of Pratt's special collections. According to Sherlock: “It’s probably the most significant collection of Coleridge
material outside of the British Library!” The story of the collection’s acquisition is intriguing, as Sherlock describes it: “There was a professor at Vic, Kathleen Coburn, who did research in England and got to know members of the Coleridge family, and came across a cupboard filled with diaries, notebooks, original manuscript material. When she
got back to Canada, she got funding to purchase the materials and transferred it to the library after she was done her research.” The Coleridge collection is one of a kind, and draws researchers to Pratt from all over the world. In addition to prominent British literary figures, Pratt owns a set of Aboriginal-related collections, which are among its most heavily requested materials. Documents belonging to the Methodist missionary Peter Jones in particular are most popular, as this material isn’t available online; it is one of the only collections that has been digitized at Pratt. “The James Evans collection features the earliest items printed in Canada, and we get requests for images whenever anyone is publishing on the history of the book,” Sherlock proudly explains. “James Evans was able to print a hymnology in Cree syllabics on elk skin, using very rudimentary printing tools, and we have the only three copies.” The few collections mentioned here are only a snippet of the resources available at Pratt, including some hidden gems like Northrop Frye’s annotated copy of The Lord of the Rings. With archives spanning a wide range of centuries and subject matter, Pratt’s Special Collections are a highlight of U of T’s worldclass library system.
Defining Canada through art at the Justina M. Barnicke gallery Inside the Hart House Permanent Collections Maria Martinez
VARSITY CONTRIBUTOR
Last week, I visited Stephanie Azzarello, who — alongside Sandy Saad and Rebecca Gimmi — makes up part of the team that is working to develop and strengthen the Hart House Permanent Collection tours at the Justina M. Barnicke Gallery. Hart House’s collection of art has been growing ever since it received its first work in 1922: A.Y. Jackson’s “Georgian Bay, November.” The gallery has always devoted itself to exhibiting Canadian art — “Canadian” being a term whose interpretation has evolved throughout the years. To date, under the curatorial direction of Barbara Fischer and the assistance of curator-in-residence Wanda Nanibush, the gallery has successfully incorporated vast Canadian identities, female and feminist art, Aboriginal and First Nations art, and art which has been created by Canadians born outside of Canada, to name a few. Just as the “Canadian” cannot be reduced to a single, concrete definition, neither can the art hung on the walls of the house. A multiplicity of identities must be embodied. Azzarello took me on a tour around Hart House, stopping every
pHoTo courTesy of HArT House
once in a while to look at and discuss the pieces in the collection. We talked about how the Art Committee has been developing the tour’s program and its future. Azzarello shared the gallery's plans to introduce “touch
tours,” — modelled after an initiative by the Museum of Modern Art (MoMa) in New York — and sculpture tours in the spring. In order to make their vast collection more accessible to those not yet ready for do-
cent-lead tours, the gallery's committee has developed pamphlets listing public access rooms and the works displayed there. Self-guided tours are highly encouraged. Despite these efforts, many of the rooms in Hart House are left inaccessible — only to be seen under the direction of docents and, sometimes, not seen at all. Docents, who are mostly students, are trained to provide factual knowledge and to encourage discourse on the art. The tours are up for interpretation and play, just as art has always been. The experience is always different. The tours provide a more intimate view of Hart House; they allow access to its history, a glimpse of its future, and we’re allowed access to things that are otherwise not so openly shared. As we continued the tour, Azzarello and I discussed the notion of space — how we perceive things in certain spaces, and how the hanging of the art is (and sometimes is not) going to correspond to the space it is in. The art is often rotated; the committee works to showcase new acquisitions and rest others, making space for some of the 600 or so works it has acquired over the years. If you walk into the Justina M. Barnicke Gallery today, you’ll find on display
in the hallway photographs of Céline Condorelli’s The Company We Keep. Condorelli’s installation can be found in various rooms of Hart House. Alongside the photographs is Lynne Cohen’s Classroom In An Emergency Measures College. Cohen explores the concept of empty spaces, photographing spaces often inhabited by people without anyone present. Hart House is intended to be a “living laboratory.” Considering this, the A rt Committee wants the art to not only ref lect the life of Hart House, but also provide it with life — it lives, it grows, it is maintained, refined, and renovated. Most importantly, it is Canadian. When considering the space of Hart House, we notice ourselves to be a crucial component. As Canadians, or as residents of Canada, we become part of the structure’s identity and purpose. Hart House embodies all things we prescribe to be “Canadian,” history, culture, and growth. As people, we breathe life into it and keep the laboratory running. The tours provided by the Art Committee allow us to glance into our own history, into the history of the house, and into the future.
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Vol. CXXXIV, No. 17
VARSITY ARTS & CULTURE
arts@thevarsity.ca
Diabolos' & Caffiends: how do they match up? On-campus coffee shop options India McAlister VARSITY STAFF
If you are tired of waiting 20 minutes to give a corporation your money to appease your caffeine addiction, then you should look no further than Caffiends and Diabolos', two student-run coffee spots located conveniently on campus. These two cafés, staffed exclusively by students, provide a community-spirit environment, cheap eats, and fair trade coffee without the corporate logos and the long lineups. Here is a run down of these two university fixtures.
CAFFIENDS:
DIABOLOS':
THE RUN-DOWN:
Who: Caffiends is run by a group of friendly student volunteers. The staff know their products, and are able to make informed recommendations. They offer both gluten-free and vegan options. Cash only!
Who: Diabolos' is a student-run coffee shop, well-known for its cheap eats and colourful attitude. The shop features several food and beverage options, and has been a uc fixture since the '90s. Cash and UT-Eat meal plans accepted.
Where: First floor of Old Victoria College Building, just west of the main lobby.
Where: Located in the centre of University College, accessible from the quad and beside the Junior Common Room.
Caffiends offers a quaint and friendly experience. The donated mugs and volunteer staff make sipping a Caffiends coffee feel like a community experience that anyone can be a part of. Its hours (9:30–4:30 Monday–Friday) are good for those who have early and/or afternoon classes, but will disappoint those who are looking for a late afternoon pick me up. The coffee is well worth the dollar. Definitely check out Caffiends if you want a welcoming atmosphere, delicious treats, and a good cup of joe. Diabolos' is an eclectic place, and its cappuccinos are just as good as any corporate espresso bar. Its staff can be inconsistent in their service, but the drinks and food are always delicious. Most recently, the display counter features a message chastising students for purchasing Starbucks. Diabolos' earnest use of kitsch and sarcasm gives it a welcoming, familiar tone. There are always people socializing and studying in the adjacent Junior Common Room, so if you are looking for a buzz, both caffeinated and ambient, Diabolos' is the place to go. Both shops should definitely be considered by all caffeine-addicted students, in lieu of commercial franchises like Starbucks and Second Cup. They provide great value, great coffee, and great community.
What it does best: Coffee is only one dollar! They have several different flavourful and aromatic loose-leaf tea options. Their spicy hot chocolate is an exciting take on an old favourite. By exclusively using donated coffee mugs, they bring "environmentally conscious" to a new level. You can take your mug to go, as long as you return it. Comfy couches provide a laid back atmosphere.
HOSKIN AVE
Coffee: Caffiends purchases its coffee from local company ChocoSol, which sources its organic and fair-trade beans from Oaxaca, Mexico. Its beans boast the flavor of a medium roast.
What it does best: Cappuccinos and lattes are expertly pulled and come at a reasonable price ($2.75 and $3.00, respectively). Espresso is only $1.50, and brewed coffee starts at $1.00. Coffee beans are supplied by local Kensington roaster Moonbean Coffee Co. The shop has a fairly extensive food menu that includes bagels, roti, and samosas. The butter tarts... they speak for themselves. It has homemade muffins! Coffee: The brewed coffee is not consistent, and at times, the temperature is not as hot as might be desired. However, when brewed correctly, it is spot on and has a rich flavour. Espresso-based offerings are a competitive price and are a great pick-me-up.
An Ant-Pocalypse: Ant Colony A glimpse into the world of Adventure Time designer Michael DeForge and his latest book Emily Scherzinger
VARSITY CONTRIBUTOR
Michael DeForge, a Canadian comic book artist, most famous for his work as a character designer on Adventure Time, recently released a new comic book called Ant Colony. Drawn in DeForge's signature surrealist style, Ant Colony features centipedes that look like stretch-suv limos, ants with their organs drawn on the exterior of their bodies, and a prominent use of mustard yellow. Ant Colony begins as a story chronicling a black ant colony attempting to inseminate their queen, while the self-aware citizens deal with problems such as relationship issues, illicit romances, and the pains of growing up. Clearly, these ants are not the typical picnic invaders; they have fully formed personalities akin to humans. They can be “blowhards,” DeForge admits. Some are selfish, while others are extremely caring. The ants love, hate, mourn, express guilt, philosophize, and have sex — which, as DeForge points out: “informs the politics, hierarchies and personal interactions of Ant Colony just as much as it does…[in] the actual world that we live in.” Although there are brief moments when DeForge draws the reader’s attention back to his character’s original nature (when the ant prophet announces that “the world’s
largest earthworm was measured to be over 670 centimeters in length,” and his travelling companion asks: “What is a centimeter?”), it is clear that these ants are more like humans than most readers would be comfortable with. The graphic novel quickly morphs into a post-apocalyptic story when the colony is devastated by a war with its rivalry red ant colony, as well as a random attack by a magnifying glass seemingly used by the hand of God. This is when the true meat of the novel kicks in. While there are many genre traits within post-apocalyptic stories that DeForge employed from the beginning of the novel — such as the existential feelings of hopelessness among the ants, wanting something more than reproduction — he also uses other tropes to weave a timely philosophical story about the hope to rebuild amongst the wreckage. One of his characters attempts to build a new colony right beside a dangerous spider web and crystals of Sweet’N Low, poison to ants. The brief turn to cannibalism by some characters in the wake of the disaster — as well as the four main characters' attempt to sexually enslave an infertile female ant to become their new colony’s queen — mix elements of Cormac McCarthy’s postapocalyptic novel, The Road, and Danny Boyle’s zombie apocalypse movie, 28 Days Later, even though
MEDIA PHOTO
DeForge said, “I can’t say there were many other pieces of postapocalyptic fiction on my mind.” Despite this, Ant Colony falls within a relatively new fad of questioning:
what will happen to a world — any world — after complete ruin? Ant Colony proves that humans have the astounding ability to sympathize with something as in-
significant as an ant through DeForge’s masterful employment of post-apocalyptic genre traits, and his beautifully colourful, cartoonlike style.
VARSITY ARTS & CULTURE
var.st/arts
MONDAY, FEBRUARY 3, 2014
17
arts@thevarsity.ca
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SCIENCE VAR.ST!SCIENCE
27
JANUARY
2014
science@thevarsity.ca
Walking along the Human Edge Ontario Science Centre’s new exhibit showcases humanity’s limits Stefan Jevtic
VARSITY CONTRIBUTOR
Breathtaking. Inspirational. Jawdropping. From experiencing a premature baby’s first breath to seeing yourself at the age of 70, the AstraZeneca Human Edge exhibit at the Ontario Science Centre (osc) stands as a testament to the wonders of the human body and what the future of science holds. This exhibit hopes to increase awareness of the astounding abilities of the human body and the advancements, both past and present, in medical research. Upon first entering the exhibit, the number of possibilities is almost overwhelming. Should I attempt to climb “Mount Everest,” the exhibit’s climbing wall? Experience a deep sea diver’s journey to the depths of the ocean? Or perhaps stare in amazement at the (literally) glowing product of genetic advancements in science? Using the trusted method I employ for all of my tough decisions, eeniemeenie-miney-mo, I decided to take the harrowing climb up Mount Everest. The journey was anything but smooth, and served to demonstrate the tough decisions which extreme hikers must make if they hope to complete the ascent. After finally reaching the top, I proceeded to the genetics exhibit. In the centre of the room, illuminated by a uv back-light, stood three cylinders with contents reminiscent of an aquarium. However, the fish inside were anything but ordinary. Donated by Dr. Xiao-Yan Wen at St. Michael’s Hospital, the zebrafish on display featured both wild-type and genetic mutant fish, in order to demonstrate the impor-
tance of genetics in research in the past few decades. The mutant fish had been injected with a gene from a marine animal which, when exposed to uv light, caused them to glow red. Although used solely for demonstration purposes, the technology behind this process has led to the determination of many genes which contribute to specific diseases, opening up possibilities for a variety of treatment and therapy options. Finally moving to the back of the room, I passed through what seemed to be the mosaic of a human life. From life before birth, and the challenges which premature babies must overcome simply to survive, to the process of aging, it is humbling to see the medical advancements which make it possible for so many to live a long and fulfilling life. The final section of the exhibit is dedicated to type II diabetes, one of the most prevalent diseases effecting our society today. Visitors are shown a replica of the lab in which insulin was discovered, and immersed in the experience by attempting to determine which instrument led to its discovery. In addition, four stations covering different time periods aim to inform listeners as to historical, present, and future diabetes research. Dr. Mary Jane Conboy, director at the osc, states that the future station is one of the “truly exciting” aspects of the exhibit. “[It represents] so many possibilities for future therapies, including the possibility of growing a human pancreas,” she said. As we continue the precipitous climb towards a brighter future in medicine and research, one thing is certain: we will continue to explore and revere the marvel which is the human body.
An exhibit at the Human Edge (top), the Mount Everest rock wall (bottom). PHOTOS COURTESY OF THE SCIENCE CENTRE
RESEARCH RECAPS Bright lights may intensify perceived aggression
Bigger became better in prehistoric oceans
Researchers at the University of Toronto and Northwestern University recently found that bright lights intensify people’s perception of aggression. In a series of experiments conducted by the team, it was revealed that emotional responses to stimuli are often stronger in the presence of bright lights. In fact, the stimuli need not be negative at all for an exaggerated emotional response; it is just as likely for positive stimuli to trigger an intensified reaction. The logic behind this lies in our perception of warmth. According to the study, which was published in the Journal of Consumer Psychology, people in situations where the light is bright unconsciously register that impulse as heat and thus their hot emotional system is activated. When this occurs, negative and positive stimuli, such as words, are perceived as more emotionally-charged. In the future, if you are worried about someone’s sensitivity to your words, turn the lights down! As the researchers say, “Though people see with their eyes, being in light can influence their heart.”
In a study published in the journal Current Biology, an international research team that included scientists from the department of chemical and physical sciences at utm, has found an explanation for why large organisms evolved. Researchers have shown that the oldest known eukaryotes survived simply by outgrowing their competitors. The study focused on rangeomorphs, fractal-patterned multicellular organisms that grew from the sea floor 580 million years ago which are the earliest known example of multicellular life. Rangeomorphs grew out of reach of sunlight and got their energy by taking up nutrients through osmosis, a process whose efficiency depends on the flow rate of water around an organism. Using rangeomorph fossils and a method called canopy flow analysis, scientists were able to model how water currents interacted with the dense rangeomorph communities that had grown on the sea floor, and, for the first time, to explain how rangeomorphs could effectively compete with their prokaryotic neighbours. Single-celled prokaryotes can increase their ability to absorb nutrients by moving to increase the flow around them and by assuming long filamentous shapes. On the other hand, rangeomorphs increased flow across their surfaces by growing in tall, dense communities. Taller rangeomorph communities had access to higher flow and could absorb nutrients more quickly. This size advantage suggests that rangeomorphs were an important stepping stone towards the evolution of large motile multicellular organisms.
— Amna Mahder Bashi With files from The Daily Mail
— Anastassia Pogoutse
Sibling relationships affect IQ, language Could you never beat your older brothers and sisters in an argument? Jennifer Jenkins, the Atkinson chair of early child development and education at the University of Toronto, suggests that “the larger the family, the less good the child’s skill in language and iq.” But there is hope. Jenkins and researchers reviewed an old trial “that included families from Toronto with 385 young children who had a sibling at least four years older.” While younger siblings tended to score lower, those with siblings and mothers who gave positive feedback to the younger child’s abilities tended to score higher. This correlation stayed strong even after traits like gender and age were considered. Jenkins acknowledges the study’s limitations. She and her colleagues wrote in Pediatrics that it could be “the younger child’s abilities” influencing the “interactions their older siblings have with them” and not the other way around. Nevertheless, Jenkins states that, “Siblings really play this very strong role in how kids come out.” So go on and keep arguing with your siblings, just make sure to compliment each other when you deserve it. — Zareen Din With files from Reuters
var.st/science
VARSITY SCIENCE
MONDAY, JANUARY 27, 2014
19
Women on Wikipedia Combatting the online encyclopaedia’s gender gap Sofia Luu
VARSITY STAFF
According to a 2010 Wikimedia report, only 13 per cent of Wikipedia editors are female. This statistic is troubling given the “anyone can edit” collaborative nature of Wikipedia. As students, our professors are always warning us about the use of Wikipedia in our academic endeavors. However, it’s hard to deny the ease and accessibility of Wikipedia. It truly is the people’s encyclopaedia with over 30 million articles (and counting), and the ability to read its content in over 280 language, giving Wikipedia a strong sense of inclusivity. But this inclusivity is merely masking the real issues that stem from Wikipedia’s stark gender imbalance. In an effort to address the gap, an Art & Feminism editathon took place at the Dundas West artist-run art centre and bookstore, Art Metropole on February 1. On that same day, over 20 satellite editathons took place in cities such as Montreal, New York, and Amsterdam. “Thirteen percent of the editors being female results in gaps where there should be entries about women’s contributors or expanded entries about women,” explains Amy Lam, one of the coordinators behind Toronto’s editathon. “This is not to say that male editors are not aware of feminist issues,” Lam explained, adding that having such a skewed percentage of female editors on Wikipedia reflects the type and quality of information represented on Wikipeda. For instance, at the time of publication, there exists no entries for topics such as “feminist aesthetics” or “representations of women in art.” Accord-
ing to the Wikipedia meet-up page for the event, there are a number of important names missing from the list of female scientists before the 21st century. According to Lam, the goal of the edithons is simple: “Its goal is to address the gender disparity of Wikipedia editors,” she explained during an interview. It is not an attempt to make a “feminist” Wikipedia, but more so provide a “feminist response to Wikipedia,” she said. The event itself was free and open to everyone — Wikipedia experience, optional. A large majority of the participants were new to Wikipedia editing, so a crash course in all things Wikipedia was provided by Andrew Leung. It’s difficult to pinpoint the root causes for the gender disparity on Wikipedia, but needless to say, the skewed- or non-representation of female perspectives is quite common within the tech world. Some attribute this gender gap to the amount of leisure time women have compared to men, which speaks directly of the traditional gender roles that have been placed on women in a patriarchal society. While Saturday’s event gave participants the tools to becoming a Wikipedia editor, the thematic focus was on art topics pertaining to women. Users had access to Art Metropole’s vast collection of art books and publications for resources as they worked to create new articles or expanded articles that were lacking in information. Saturday’s event is just the beginning. By recognizing the importance of addressing the gender disparity on Wikipedia, users can work towards levelling the Wikipedia playing field, one edit at a time.
Editors collaborating during the editathon. claire scoTT/THe VarsiTy
nancy ji/THe VarsiTy
Understanding Alzheimer’s Dr. JoAnne McLaurin on neurodegenerative diseases and an aging population Ann Sheng
VARSITY STAFF
One of the most pressing issues in the health world today is the continued health of an aging population. In Canada, over 18.5 per cent of the population will be over 65 years old in seven years; in 2011, that demographic only made up 14.4 per cent of the population. This shift in population will have profound socio-economic effects. Researchers today are confronting the topics of neurodegenerative diseases, geriatric care, and social mechanisms of aging in order to adequately prepare. On January 17–18, the Laboratory Medicine & Pathobiology Student Union, together with the Health Studies Students’ Union, hosted the University of Toronto Conference on the Aging Population (utcap). utcap aimed to bridge biomedical and social science research in order to create a comprehensive picture of the complex issues surrounding aging in contemporary society. The Varsity spoke with Dr. JoAnne McLaurin about her re-
nancy ji/THe VarsiTy
search on the aging and Alzheimer’s disease. She was a speaker at utcap, and teaches in U of T’s Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathobiology.
The Varsity: In layperson’s terms, what is the significance of your research for the health of the aging population?
JoAnne McLaurin: My research focuses on understanding the disease mechanisms that lead to Alzheimer’s disease and to develop treatment strategies to address these processes. We are presently attempting to examine combination therapeutic strategies that will slow or prevent the progression of disease so that we can increase the quality of life for Alzheimer’s disease patients. For example, my laboratory has developed a small molecule therapy called scyllo-inositol, which is presently being tested in patients for the treatment of the neuropsychiatric symptoms associated with Alzheimer’s disease in patients with mild to moderate Alzheimer’s disease and Down’s syndrome. This is an important indication that, if successful, will increase the quality of life for both the patient and their caregivers. We are using this compound with other treatment strategies to try to decrease the cognitive decline that is seen in disease progression. Lastly, we are also addressing the interaction between stroke and Alzheimer’s disease, in order to understand how these two pathologies contribute to loss of cognition in the aging population.
TV: As you mentioned in your speech, neurodegenerative disease is a complex topic with many unanswered questions. In your opinion, what are the biggest issues in this field today? JM: The biggest issues in neurodegenerative diseases as a whole is determining the causes of sporadic disease, of which we understand some risk factors, but not causal links. Once we have identified these risk factors and causes, the next challenge will be to understand how these factors lead to disease and to develop drugs to prevent and/or treat disease based on the particular pathway that is unique to each individual. TV: What are the goals in addressing the multidisciplinary issues surrounding aging and how can they be achieved? JM: The goals of ageing research is to educate the public to the effects of lifestyle choices in middle age on late age quality of life. These factors include hypertension, exercise, diabetes, and body weight; all these factors are addressable with either drugs presently on the market or by adopting healthy lifestyle choices.
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Vol. CXXXIV, No. 17
VARSITY SCIENCE
science@thevarsity.ca
Hacking health Technology is transforming global health care Shijie Zhou
VARSITY conTRIbuToR
For many people in the developed world, healthcare is defined by the ubiquitous scent of disinfectant, the beeping of the cardiac monitors, and other properly sterile equipment. However, in many low- and middle-income countries, such an image is incomplete or nonexistent. In 2004, regions of South-East Asia and Africa contributed to 40 per cent of the world population, yet bore 54 per cent of the global disease burden. For people in these regions, health care is often simply unaffordable. Many organizations have been actively providing valuable human resources to these regions. However, only so many doctors can be sent, and often their performance is hindered by a lack of proper equipment and sanitation. Increasingly, the medical field is turning to technology to solve these problems. Some innovative technologies are already in place. For example, the Jaipur foot, a rubber prosthetic for people who lost their leg and foot below the knee, costs only $40 US (2009 prices) to produce and can be made in one hour with a commercially available oven. Unlike the expensive alternatives in developed countries, this prosthetic can be worn without a shoe and on uneven surfaces. It is now used in at least 22 countries. Another widespread technology is oral rehydration therapy, which uses simple ingredients such as salt and water to treat diarrhea. ERanger, a motorbike with a stretcher sidecar, has been widely adopted in rural Africa. It costs significantly less than a car ambulance, and has dramatically reduced maternal mortality in Malawi. University of Toronto research is transforming the technologies available to the global health care field. Dr. Levente Diosady, professor emeritus in applied chemistry and chemical engineering, received a grant to develop iron-rich tea that would improve dangerous iron deficiencies worldwide. Another recent innovation from the Critical Making Lab, part of U of T’s Faculty of Information, is the creation of 3d-printed sockets for prosthetic limbs for use in Uganda. The University of Toronto also co-sponsors the Centre for Global Health Research.
U of T professor Stephanie Nixon’s project “Adapting a Canadian eModule on HIV-related Disability and Rehabilitation for Health Workers in Sub-Saharan Africa” is one of 150 supported by Grand Challenges Canada, an national organisation funded by the Government of Canada. “For us at Grand Challenges Canada and the innovators we support, innovation is the highway and impact is the destination,” Peter A. Singer, the organaisation’s CEO, said to The Varsity, “It’s a privilege to be able to support amazing Canadian innovators who are making such a difference in the lives of people around the world.” To date, the organisation has dispensed thirty million dollars. Technology is also used indirectly in health care. It aids communication between patients and doctors, and in education. mHealth utilizes mobile phone and other communication methods to deliver health care. For example, simpill is a medication management system that can track medication compliance and send sms messages to remind its users to take their pills. This is especially useful for tuberculosis patients, as effective tb treatments often require high medication compliance rate. Indeed, in South Africa, such medication tracking systems have resulted in a 94 per cent compliance rate in a drug trial and a 90 per cent cure rate. In the developed world, mHealth has also contributed to improving and reducing the cost of health care. For example, remote monitoring and video consultations free up expensive and scarce hospital beds, such that a copd (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease) patient can be set up at home with a “copd briefcase” that has video-monitoring capabilities while a doctor can regularly check his status with her video mobile phone. In Europe, an ageing population has led to skyrocketing cost of health care. MHealth addresses this problem by reducing the need for costly doctor’s visits by sending sms reminders of medication intake to dementia patients, and by helping concerned family members to check on the patient’s location and status. With files from Emma Hansen, bcg, The Lancet, and who.
nancy ji/THe VarsiTy
SPORTS VAR.ST!SPORTS
3
FEBRUARY
2014
sports@thevarsity.ca
Four skaters, one reporter Varsity Blues figure skating team teach Varsity editor to skate Murad Hemmadi VARSITY STAFF
In 1999, I saw figure skaters perform for the first time. A Russian troop came through town, and the city witnessed the marvel of an ice rink in the balmy Bombay outdoors. At eight years old, I watched in awe as the performers spun, jumped, and arabesques their way across the ice. Last week, I did the best I could to emulate those skaters, under the able and sympathetic tutelage of four members of the Varsity Blues figure skating team. Rachel Micay, Elspeth Mathau, Megan Cheney, and Parmida Jafari had agreed to stay behind after their practice to teach me how to ice-skate. The team is gearing up for the upcoming Ontario University Athletics (oua) championship, set for February 13–14 at Ryerson; the four skaters had been on the ice from about 7:00 am before teaching me. I hadn’t been awake that long, and can’t imagine what it’s like to practice early mornings and late nights four to six days a week, as my teachers today do. They don’t seem to mind. “It gets your blood pumping first thing in the morning,” Mathau said. The staff at the Varsity Arena provided me with hockey skates — apparently, they’re better to fall in than figure skates — and a helmet, so I was all set. I probably looked a fair bit like that eight year-old version of me, tentative and shaky, as I stepped out onto the ice. The four Blues immediately put me at ease. They were encouraging and patient, watching me waddle out to them and being charitable
Murad Hemmadi skates with the Varsity Blues skating team. Jennifer sU/tHe vArsity
enough not to note how funny I must have looked. We didn’t have a lot of time — the rink has to be resurfaced — so they got right to it. Micay took the lead, holding my hand as I learned the basics of moving forward and backwards — one foot, then the other, wobbling noticeably. Evidently, I got the hang of the basics, because we quickly moved on to
a more complicated moves: stopping. A working knowledge of the principles of physics is a key component of skating success, it turns out, and I was careful to try and keep my knees above my feet, my weight down, and my head straight. I had been talking about this skating lesson with friends for a few days, and I was sure that I was going to fall flat on my ass a whole lot. Surprisingly, it
didn’t happen; I made it through the whole lesson on my feet, with a little help and a lot of hand-holding (literally) from my tutors. I was also terrified that they were going to try to get me to do something complicated or requiring muscle tone, like spinning or jumping. By the end of my time on the ice, I had managed both. Micay, Mathau, Cheney and Jafari were excellent teachers. They were
able to see that I was nervous, but they were laughing and joking and telling me that I was doing a great job. Looking happy is an integral part of a figure skating routine, but this is no act — they really seemed thrilled to be out on the ice. They’ve been doing it a long time. Mathau’s been skating 10 years, Cheney the same, Jafari from the age of four. “The earlier you start, you’re not that far from the ground, so when you fall it’s not that bad,” said Cheney. “You really have to be fearless at the beginning, or you can never go anywhere,” agreed Mathau. I was petrified of falling through the whole process, but that didn’t stop me from making decent progress. By the end, I was able to manage a sort of halfspin, though the twirling grace that each of them shows in demonstrating the move is far beyond my capabilities. I had my moment of fame, but the team doesn’t get as many opportunities to show their skills as their hard work deserves; the Blues will compete at just three events this year. They also do a couple of shows and performance outside of competition; the next one is set for Friday, February 7. After 15 minutes, it was time to stop — the Zamboni needed to do its work, and my muscles were loudly protesting this attempt at exercise. So how did I do? “You made an awesome first attempt,” Cheney said. Clearly I’m not going to be putting on any shows, but that’s good enough for me.
Watch our fearless reporter in action this Thursday var.st/skate
Blues hockey ends five-game losing streak with 5–0 win over Golden Hawks Michael Markovic and Paul Van De Velde lead team to twelfth win of the season, tying with Guelph Gryphons JP Kaczur
ASSOCIATE SPORTS EDITOR
On Saturday evening, the University of Toronto Varsity Blues men’s hockey team stopped its threegame skid with a dominating 5–0 shutout win over last place Laurier Golden Hawks. The Blues’ recent losing streak had put the team in a tough position. With winning streaks by Brock and Guelph, the Blues were barely hanging on as the eighthplace team Ontario University Ahtletics (oua) playoff race. However, with the shutout, the Blues improved to 12–10–2 with 26 points, which sets them at seventh place, tied with the Guelph Gryphons. The Blues’ leading scorer, Michael Markovic, scored the first
of his two goals early in the first period. Paul Van De Velde added two helpers, including a slick pass from behind the net for Markovic’s second goal of the game. Markovic is now fifteenth in oua scoring, and in a five-way tie for seventh in goal scoring. The shutout was the first of the season for net-minder Brett Willows. He saved 26 shots en route to the shutout win. Willows now boasts an 8-8 record, with a .904 save percentage. The Blues have four games left in the season including a crucial game against uptown rivals York Lions, who are ahead of the Blues by two points in the playoff race. If the standings were to remain as they are today, the Blues would be facing the second-place Lakehead Thunderwolves.
The Blues hockey team is now in seventh place. CArolyn levett/tHe vArsity
22
VARSITY SPORTS
Vol. CXXXIV No. 17
sports@thevarsity.ca
UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO STUDENTS’ UNION LOCAL 98, CANADIAN FEDERATION OF STUDENTS
NOTICE OF ELECTIONS: The University of Toronto Students’ Union is governed by a Board of Directors elected by you. Our campaigns and services are also shaped by you. Our aim is to provide services that save you money, provide advocacy to improve your education and to enrich your university experience.
WE ARE HOLDING OUR SPRING ELECTIONS FOR THE FOLLOWING POSITIONS: Executive Committee Positions:
SEATS
President
ONE (1)
Vice-President Equity
ONE (1)
Vice-President External
ONE (1)
Vice-President Internal & Services
ONE (1)
Vice-President University Affairs
ONE (1)
Board of Director Positions:
SEATS
Arts & Science At-Large Director
TWO (2)
Innis College Director
ONE (1)
New College Director
THREE (3)
St. Michael’s College Director
THREE (3)
Trinity College Director
ONE (1)
University College Director
TWO (2)
Victoria College Director
TWO (2)
Woodsworth College Director
THREE (3)
Professional Faculty At-Large Director
TWO (2)
Faculty of Architecture, Landscape & Design Director
ONE (1)
Faculty of Dentistry Director
ONE (1)
Faculty of Engineering Director
THREE (3)
Faculty of Law Director
ONE (1)
Faculty of Medicine Director
ONE (1)
Faculty of Music Director
ONE (1)
Faculty of Nursing Director
ONE (1)
Faculty of Pharmacy Director
ONE (1)
Faculty of Kinesiology & Physical Education Director
ONE (1)
Toronto School of Theology Director
ONE (1)
To be eligible for a position, you must be a member of the University of Toronto Students’ Union in the appropriate constituency. Please note: Executive Committee positions are full-time. The University of Toronto Students’ Union policies require that you cease to be a full-time student should you be successfully elected. To run for a position, pick up a nomination package during the nomination period at the University of Toronto Students’ Union office. Please keep in mind these dates and deadlines:
Nomination period start: FEBRUARY 13, 2014 – 10:00 A.M.
Nomination period end: FEBRUARY 27, 2014 – 5:00 P.M.
VOTING PERIOD: MARCH 11, 12 & 13 – 9:00 A.M. – 6:30 P.M.
For more information, please email cro@utsu.ca.
var.st/sports
VARSITY SPORTS
MONDAY, FEBRUARY 3, 2014
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Self-coached nordic ski team looking for OUA win Nordic skiing team competing strongly despite difficulties of being based in Toronto Susan Gordon
ASSOCIATE SPORTS EDITOR
The University of Toronto Nordic ski team is one of the smallest teams, counting only seven athletes. But the group has just as much and perhaps more, passion and commitment to their sport as any other team on campus. Team members Liam Fox and Mary Qui have gone above and beyond the normal duties of athletes, and stepped into the roles of head coach and assistant coach respectively, while continuing to compete. Surprisingly, both skiiers are relatively new to Nordic skiing. “To be honest, I didn’t really know a whole lot about Nordic Skiing when I got drawn into the sport,” said Qui. “It sounded like it would be a fun way to stay in shape over the winter. After starting skiing, I fell in love with the sport…Beyond that, the Nordic Skiing community is very, very supportive of all athletes. It doesn’t matter what level you are competing at, everyone is simply happy to see you out on snow and enjoying yourself,” she added. Recent highlights for the team include a third place Ontario University Athletics (oua) finish for the men’s team two years ago, an oua Coach of the Year award for former coach Hans Fischer, as well
as recognition of a number of athletes as oua all-stars. “As far as this season’s level of success goes,” said Fox, “I’m very happy…This season has been what we would call a ‘rebuilding year,’ that is, we had high turnover last year due to many graduating athletes. So, we’ve recently been training a lot of rookies who are new to the sport. It means that we haven’t necessarily been putting athletes on the podium, but we’re in the process of developing them into high performance skiers who aspire to be competitive on the provincial circuit in just a few seasons... We have three official races left: Canadian Eastern Championships in Gatineau, Quebec; Ontario University Championships in North Bay, Ontario; and the Fischer Loppet in Orillia, Ontario,” he said. The team’s season lasts for eight weeks, and with a December start there isn’t much time for the team to train on snow before their first race. To remedy this, the athletes start training in September, and make do with what Toronto has to offer. “In the off-season, or when there is a lack of snow in the city, we focus heavily on roller-skiing, mixed in with running and weights/plyometrics in the Athletic Centre,” said Qui. “It’s quite an accomplishment to have achieved the results we have
Last year in the OUA championships the men’s team placed sixth, the women’s team fourth. photo Courtesy of varsity blues
(and still are) given our limited access to training facilities,” adds Fox. “Toronto certainly wouldn’t be the intuitive option when prospective students are considering schools to attend with strong nordic ski teams, as we have little annual snowfall and are far away
from most ski resorts. However, we still make it work,” he said. “Building on what Liam said, my experience and years with this team [have] shown me that despite our disadvantages in being a downtown team, being able to work past those difficulties has
brought our team closer together, and has taught me that where there’s a will, there’s a way. “Even if that means getting up at 5:30 am to rollerski down the Lakeshore, we do what we need to do, and we have fun doing it,” said Qui.
International athletes leading Blues to success JayLynn Hines and Tuna Tali have both represented their native countries on the international stage JP Kaczur
ASSOCIATE SPORTS EDITOR
One common struggle for international students is adjusting to a new country. As they enter the Varsity Blues system, their adjustments are mitigated by their international experience representing their countries. Bermuda native JayLynn Hines has played sports her whole life, she says. She’s an experienced equestrian and was the captain of Bermuda’s 21-under national netball team. When it came time to choose a post-secondary school, she had to find one that would suit her academically and athletically: “I wanted to pick it for something else other than school, because it was important to me — I’ve been playing sports my whole life.” Outside of the sports that were popular in Bermuda, Hines developed a passion for softball. She played it in Bermuda, but was looking to compete at a higher level than she could find at home. “I actually looked at different schools. I wanted to go to a school that had a [softball] team, and not a lot of schools in Canada had one. When I saw that U of T did, I thought: perfect!” Outside of softball, Hines was excited about her academic prospects at
U of T. She decided on an Economics major because of the love she had developed for economic theory. On the field, she was forced to to get used to the new level of competition. “I wasn’t used to balls getting pitched that fast, ” Hines said. Nonetheless, she was able to adjust to the pitching very quickly. In a game against the uptown rival York Lions, Hines hit two home runs in one game. “I could have stopped playing after that,” she said. While Hines was playing softball, her adjustment to U of T academically wasn’t as smooth: “Everybody tells you before you get here that it’s academically challenging, but you don’t really believe everyone.” Her major in particular was giving her trouble: “I really liked it in high school. It’s just different here — very math-based. I don’t like sitting around all day and just calculating things.” Hines took solace in those tough times by looking at both sides of the competitive U of T experience: “I think it’s part of the reason I like it here. You’re not just coming here to goof around and party. You’re actually coming here to be productive. I have a love/hate relationship [with U of T],” she added. After realizing that the economics program was not what she had
expected, she changed majors to environmental geography, in which she now hopes to specialize. This field is growing in Bermuda, so she will be able to return with valuable knowledge. For Tuna Tali, past member of the Turkish national water polo team, U of T presented a rare opportunity. U of T boasts a water polo team that is consistently in the finals in its division. As well, attending U of T extended the opportunity to compete while studying at a prestigious school. Previously, Tali played with the national team, in the 2011 summer universiade, won two European championships, and competed on the U20 and U18 Turkish national teams. Despite U of T’s great success in water polo, coming to play the sport at U of T was a step down from the level he had grown accustomed to: “I wanted to come here for university. I’m not playing for the national team; I’m not as good as I used to be. I wanted to come here and still play and go to school.” One of the reasons that Tali wanted to go to U of T was for the institution’s academic repuation. He chose to major in a subject that always interested him: economics. However, when it came time to choosing his minors he wasn’t as certain.
Highlighted areas represent the home countries of international Varsity athletes.
Initially, he turned to history and European Studies, but it wasn’t out of a passion for either of the disciplines. “I took them to complete my subject posts,” he said. But after taking a class with European Studies Professor, Robert Austin, that changed: “Professor Austin actually made me love history here.” After developing an interest in subjects that he never thought he would, he was able to focus on his passion for water polo: “I had some problems like any international student,” Tali said. “I wouldn’t say it was extremely hard, somehow I managed to do it.”
After overcoming those challengs, Tali is ready for his fifth season with the Varsity Blues water polo team. Although the level is not as high as it is in Europe, Tali respects his peers: “Many experienced players here, good coaches.” And he is happy with the choice he made coming to U of T. “There are other teams like Western and York,” Tali said, but “they’re not as successful as U of T. This is the best I could get here.” It’s apparent after speaking to Hines and Tali that the school’s reputation as an academic institution is as strong as ever. As for the athletic reputation of the school, it continues to grow due to the contributions of international athletes.
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ACROSS
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1. “Just as I thought!” 4. Flintstone pet 8. Boor’s lack 12. Cashew, e.g. 13. Matinee hero 14. Anise-flavored liqueur 15. “___ will be done” 16. Blockhead 17. No angel 18. Toll roads 20. Compote fruit 21. All the rage 23. Cook, as beans 25. Revs 27. Good name for a lawyer? 28. Buff 31. Panhandle site 33. Blueprint 35. Come together 36. Samovar 38. Classic art subjects 39. Full-length 41. Sermon basis 42. Predator 45. 2006 movie starring Brad Pitt 47. Rooster’s red crest 48. Two-wheeler 49. ___ and outs 52. Michigan college 53. Brews 54. Athletic supporter? 55. Brightly colored 56. Camping gear 57. Nevertheless
1. Picnic crasher 2. “Say what?” 3. Irregular 4. Highjumper Fosbury 5. Do-nothing 6. Snares 7. Vintage 8. “Spider-Man” actor Maguire 9. Certain something 10. Alexander, e.g. 11. Little ones 19. Frozen treats 20. Primp 21. Mountain goat’s perch 22. Fit 24. Pelt 26. Pepe Le Pew is one 28. Devotion 29. Pinnacle 30. It may be out on a limb 32. Parenthesis, essentially 34. Adorable 37. Marriageable 39. Metropolitan 40. Spoken for 42. Scrutinize 43. Burrow 44. Magazine contents 46. Numero uno 48. Dracula, at times 50. Miss-named? 51. Congeal
Computed CAPEX and OPEX. Then learned how to cook Tex-Mex.
YOU YOU
“One thing I’ve learned during my first year here is that capital expenditures and operating expenditures are only part of the EY equation. On my project team, I work with people from around the world. Thursday is our international cooking night, when we share our favorite dishes and a bit about our ancestries. We’re a team in the office, a team in the kitchen.”
MEET WITH US, WORK WITH US. MEET WITH US, WORK WITH US. Thursday, January 30 | 10 am – 2 pm @ the CCT Thursday, January 30 | 10 am – 2 pm @ the CCT thevarsity.ca/volunteer @TheVarsity
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