THE VARSITY
Vol. CXXXIII, No. 19
University of Toronto’s Student Newspaper Since 1880
11 March, 2013
Gertler appointed U of T president Simon Bredin NEWS EDITOR
Dr. Meric Gertler has been chosen to succeed David Naylor as president of the University of Toronto. Gertler, currently dean of the Faculty of Arts & Science, was confirmed as the university’s president-designate at a special meeting of Governing Council last Monday. “To be chosen to lead U of T during a time of great change in our sector is both challenging and exhilarating,” said Gertler. ”I am following in the footsteps of President Naylor, a leader who has combined vision, hard work and dedication to propel the University to compete with the best institutions in the world. This is a tremendous foundation upon which to build.” Naylor’s term was originally set to end December 31, 2013, but with his successor already nominated, it appears likely that he will step down earlier. The search process for his successor was conducted by a committee made up of administrative and teaching staff, full- and part-time undergraduate and graduate students, alumni and other appointees. The committee held public consultations in September. Despite an international search that involved the services of global headhunting firm Spencer Stuart and fullpage ads in The Economist, Richard Nunn, the chair of Governing Coun-
cil, said it was “no surprise” that the president was recruited from within the university’s ranks. U of T has historically promoted senior administrators internally. Naylor served as Dean of Medicine prior to his appointment, while Robert Prichard (president 1990–2000) was dean of the Faculty of Law before taking on the top job at the university. “I have focused on providing a strong undergraduate education,” said Gertler at a press conference Monday morning. Gertler has served as dean of the university’s largest faculty since 2008. In an interview with The Varsity, Gertler touted some of his accomplishments as dean: “more research opportunities, more international opportunities, more small group opportunities” for students. Gertler has been a popular figure as dean, though his term has included prominent controversies over the institution of program fees —or ‘flat fees’ — and a particularly contentious academic plan aimed at restructuring and streamlining the faculty. “The implementation of the flat fee system is an issue Arts & Science Student Union (assu) and the Dean’s Office have never seen eye-to-eye on,” said Kat Ball, assu’s two-term president and one of the student leaders with whom Gertler has worked closely during his time as dean. (Ball sits on The Varsity’s Board of Directors.) “Dean Gertler has been enthusiastic to take on many of our joint projects with the Faculty, such as
the Undergraduate Research Fund and the Exam Jam,” Ball added. “He has been appreciative and receptive of our honest input on things going on in the Faculty.” Ball says she hopes to see Dean Gertler “carry on the same amicable and constructive relationship assu has had with him with the other student unions on campus. “There are advantages to size,” said Gertler in a press conference on Monday, praising the breadth of U of T’s research expertise and describing
“After an extensive international search, the fact we were able to find someone of Professor Gertler’s stature right here is a testament to the depth of this great university.” — David Wilson, presidential search committee chair
CONTINUED PG 8
Top ranking dean and urban geographer chosen to suceed David Naylor
Unopposed candidates set to cruise to victory Zane Schwartz ASSOCIATE NEWS EDITOR
Sajjad at Wednesday’s all-candidates debate. Bernarda Gospic/THe VarsiTy
Polls open Tuesday in this year’s utsu election, marking the end of an uneventful and low-key campaign period. Team Renew, led by current vice-president, university affairs Munib Sajjad, is unopposed in its pursuit of all available executive positions. The contested races are for positions on the union’s Board of Directors. Renew has been on the campaign trail for much of the last week, making class announcements, postering, and speaking to students on both the St. George and Mississauga campuses, says Sajjad. “It has been a clean election so far,” said Eric Luong, chief returning officer (cro).
There have been two election complaints to date, both from candidates for the board of directors who failed to meet the required number of signatures to run. Both complaints were dismissed by the Elections and Referenda Committee (erc). AVOIDING THE QUESTION Sajjad has remained relentlessly onmessage throughout the week, declining to provide specifics on how he intends to respond to the upcoming referenda on fee diversion. Instead, Sajjad has repeatedly called for unity amongst all factions of the student body, stressing that the union can accomplish more with its 47,000 members working together. Both incoming and outgoing utsu presidents have also said any referenda on the union’s member-
ship must be voted on by the entirety of the student body, not only by those units seeking to sever financial ties. “There is too much hesitation based on old divisions to work together for a common purpose,” said Sajjad “We must all put aside our old hatreds.” Student leaders from St. Michael’s, Trinity, Victoria and the Engineering Society have scheduled March referenda on whether to divert fees away from the utsu. The units feel their members will be best served by local college councils instead of a centralized union. “Frankly, right now, the most important thing the utsu could be doing is providing a referendum on fee diversion,” said Trinity College cohead Sam Greene. The elections are
CONTINUED PG 3
2
VARSITY NEWS
Vol. CXXXIII, No. 19
WHAT’S GOING ON
THE VARSITY
THIS WEEK
VOL. CXXXIII No. 19
21 Sussex Avenue, Suite 306 Toronto, ON, M5S 1J6 Phone: 416-946-7600 www.thevarsity.ca
Editorial Board Editor-in-Chief Murad Hemmadi
news@thevarsity.ca
the week in tweets
ON CAMPUS
THE NIQUAB IN COURT: A PANEL Tuesday March 12, 2013, 1–2 pm Sidney Smith| Room 2128 100 St. George St.
JAKE BROCKMAN @J_BROCKMAN
editor@thevarsity.ca
Design Editors Suzy Nevins Dan Seljak
suzy@thevarsity.ca dan@thevarsity.ca
Photo Editor Bernarda Gospic
photo@thevarsity.ca
Production Editor Alex Ross
production@thevarsity.ca Managing Online Editor Patrick Love online@thevarsity.ca Senior Copy Editor Catherine Kabasele
copy@thevarsity.ca
News Editor Simon Bredin
news@thevarsity.ca
Comment Editor Joshua Oliver
comment@thevarsity.ca
Features Editor Simon Frank
features@thevarsity.ca
Arts & Culture Editor Brigit Katz
science@thevarsity.ca
Sports Editor Zoë Bedard
sports@thevarsity.ca
—March 6, 2013
SUSAN TUNG @SUSAN_TUNG
SLAMMED: A NIGHT OF SPOKEN WORD POETRY Wednesday, March 13, 8–10 pm Hart House Arbor Room 7 Hart House Circle CHAMBER MUSIC ENSEMBLES CONCERT Thursday March 14, 12–1 pm Walter Hall 80 Queen’s Park Circle
illustration@thevarsity.ca
Video Editor Wyatt Clough
If Renew is committed to their members, they’ll respect the will of those members. It’s simple. #UTSU2013 @TheVarsity
UTSU ELECTION Voting takes place March 12, 13, 14
arts@thevarsity.ca
Science Editor Dennis Dobrovolsky
Illustrations Editor Minhee Bae
MEDIA AND GLOBAL GOVERNANCE: NEW DYNAMICS, OPPORTUNITIES, AND CHALLENGES Tuesday, March 12, 7-9 pm Hart House Arbor Room 7 Hart House Circle
video@thevarsity.ca
Associate Design Editors Natalie Morcos Nathan Watson Associate Photo Editors Michael Chahley Carolyn Levett Associate Online Editor Sofia Luu Associate Copy Editor Catherine Virelli Associate News Editors Zane Schwartz Irina Vukosavic Rida Ali
—March 8 2013
COREY SCOTT @COURAGEOUSCOREY I didn’t know Build a Bar but i built a candy bar at @LGBTOUT #QueerBall3 #uofT —March 8, 2013
BOARD OF DIRECTORS ELECTIONS
AMY W @AMY_AMAZON I’m at #harthouse #uoft for #IWD celebrating the fact that women are allowed in here now! (only accepting female members since 1972!)
Nomination period open until 5 pm March 11, 2013
Associate Comment Editor Vacant Associate Features Editor Damanjit Lamba Associate A&C Editors Danielle Klein Ishita Petkar Associate Science Editors Roxanne Leung Katrina Vogan Associate Sports Editors Elizabeth Benn William Deck
When I see prospective #uoft students on campus tours, I want to warn them
—March 8, 2013
Voting period: March 17, 18, and 19, 2013. Vote online at voting.utoronto.ca All members of VARSITY PUBLICATIONS INC. who will continue to be members as of September 15, 2013, are eligible to run for election to the corporation’s Board of Directors.
STEFAN ALI @BROWNKM04 Just accepted into #uoft for Chemical Engineering!! So happy right now!!! #accepted —March 9, 2013
Writers Zainab Asadullah, Elizabeth Benn, Simon Bredin, Kasia Bunda, Hope Caldi, William Deck, Albert R. Delitala, Susan Gordon, Elena Gritzan, Trevor Janes, Stephan Jayaratnam, Emma Kikulis, Ken Kongkatong, Alanna Lipson, Sofia Luu, James Maiangowi, Grace McDonnell, Alexander Miheascu, Maryam Mughal, Zane Schwartz, Vipasha Shaikh, Yuki Shirato, Fatima Syed, Jakob Tanner, Catherine Virelli, Irina Vukosavic Felix Walpole, Alec Wilson Copy Editors Armen Alexanian Lois Boody Lucy Genua Elena Gritzan Heather Pierce Kayla Rosen Laura Sabatini Jonathan Soo Michele Speyer Tonya Sutherland Catherine Virelli Miranda Whittaker Designers Ethan Chiel Pen Long Natalie Morcos Suzy Nevins Josh Oliver Dan Seljak Shaquilla Singh Catherine Virelli Nathan Watson Cover Photo Bernarda Gospic
Fact Checkers Armen Alexanian Lois Boody Lucy Genua Elena Gritzan Catherine Kabasele Heather Pierce Kayla Rosen Laura Sabatini Jonathan Soo Michele Speyer Tonya Sutherland Catherine Virelli Photo and Illustration Minhee Bae Michael Bedford Michael Chahley Bernarda Gospic Nancy Ji Carolyn Levett Alanna Lipson Janice Liu Dan Seljak
Business Office
Business Manager John Fountas business@thevarsity.ca Advertising Manager Tina Yazdi advertising@thevarsity.ca Advertising Executives Victoria Botvinnik victoria@thevarsity.ca nick@thevarsity.ca Nick Brownlee sofia@thevarsity.ca Sofia Luu Maokai Shen maokai@thevarsity.ca 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 © 2013 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.
Crime Stats
$936,000 $407,000 $200,000 amount the cfs is suing Concordia University’s Graduate Students’ Association for in a dispute over the remission of membership fees after a referendum by the gsa to leave the cfs
amount spent on legal fees, less by the University of Guelph’s Central Student Association in their dispute with the cfs about leaving the federation
disputed fees that the cfs claimed that Concordia’s gsa had to remit to the union
Mischief
10%
8%
4
Trespasses
percentage of students considered a valid threshold to petition the cfs for a referendum to defederate
percentage of eligible U of T students who voted in favour of utsu (then sac) joining the cfs
number of colleges and student societies seeking to defederate from the utsu
February 28 – March 7
6 2 10 3 1 1
CFS defederation by the numbers
Thefts
Security alarms Harassment
Break and Enter
hst,
VARSITY NEWS
var.st/news
MONDAY, MARCH 11, 2013
3
Opposition to plan for Astroturf on back field mounts Petition bearing 3,000 signatures delivered to Governing Council as backlash grows Hope Caldi & Grace McDonell VARSITY CONTRIBUTORS
A campaign opposed to turning the university’s back campus field into field hockey turf for the 2015 Pan Am Games metastasized this week, as community members and national media latched on to the story. A petition with 3,000 signatures was presented to president David Naylor at a Governing Council meeting. Opponents of the plan say that the presentation embedded the issue in the minutes of the meeting, allowing future discussion at the highest levels of university governance as ‘business arising from the minutes.’ Unusually, many of the Governing Council meetings over the past year regarding this project have been in camera, or confidential and closed-press, due to a requirement of Infrastructure Ontario, with whom the university has partnered for construction projects related to the Pan Am Games. As debate over the plan unfolded in recent weeks, opponents have identified numerous areas of concern, including environmental sustainability and heritage protection. Others have voiced concern that fewer athletes will be able to use the field after it is converted to Astroturf. Hundreds of intramural sport players, including soccer, rugby, flag football, and Frisbee players, many of whom currently use the back campus field
for practices and games, would lose out once construction begins in July. Intramural sports already face substantial difficulty finding space for practice, with anywhere from 35 to 90 field-based intramural teams of 15 or more students on campus. “Absolutely, students need more space to play, but paving the heart of our historic back campus is not the way to achieve that,” said professor Suzanne Akbari, a leading opponent of the proposal. Akbari says preparations are underway for a grassroots fundraising project to finance improvements for the field’s drainage and improve it as a playing space, if construction can be halted. The current grass tends to become muddied in spite of intensive maintenance from university staff. As opposition to the plan ramped up in recent weeks, the Graduate Students’ Union (gsu) issued the “#GreenWager,” a marketing campaign that calls for a university-wide referendum. The Arts & Science Students’ Union has also backed the #GreenWager. “Give each student the opportunity to vote for or against the proposed plan,” reads a letter from the gsu to Naylor. “With the question, provide a link to a pro-plan website and a link to our anti-plan website. If students approve the plan then we will give it our full support. If they reject it, then you will help us kill it.” The issue has even attracted attention from ndp environmental critic Jonah Schien. “We need to make sure that the 2015 Pan Am games are in fact the
‘Green Games’ they’ve been advertised as,” Schien said, “not just the ‘Green-washed Games.’ Margaret Atwood, a U of T alumna, has also voiced her opposition to the plan, signing the petition delivered to Governing Council and tweeting frequently about the issue. Administrators at the Faculty of Kinseology and Physical Education (kpe) have defended the plan. “It will allow the university to program activities for many more months of the year, which will give intramural athletes more playing time,” said Anita Comella, assistant dean of kpe. “Having the field will change field hockey in so many ways,” said Heather Haughn, a Varsity field hockey player. “It would help bring in more high-level recruits. A lot of them, otherwise impressed, shy away from the fact that we don’t have real turf.” Haughn says that playing on a regular field is problematic for the team, as the bumps and inconsistencies, created by other sports playing on the field, get in the way of the game. According to a statement released by Naylor’s office, “[U of T’s] mission is to support the province’s top athletes while giving our own students and community members a worldclass sport and recreation experience.” Construction is scheduled to begin on the project on July 1, 2013. The next Governing Council meeting is schedled for Tuesday, April 9, where the issue is expected to be discussed again.
Athletes have mixed feelings about a plan to put down artifical turf. MICHAEL BEDFORD/THE VARsITy
“UNOPPOSED” CONTINUED FROM COVER “essentially a propaganda exercise for the incumbents,” says Greene. The utsu has denied the college’s requests to hold unit-specific referenda, forcing the units themselves to host the votes themselves. Sajjad has said that he intends to meet with college leaders, as well as students in colleges contemplating severing financial ties, in order to convince them of the benefits of continued utsu membership. During the campaign, Sajjad has studiously avoided questions about whether he would be willing to seek a change in the union’s bylaws to allow for a referendum. He has also declined to answer whether he will lead a “no” campaign that would urge students to retain financial ties with the union. Most pressingly, Sajjad has refused to say whether he will pursue legal action if the colleges and university administrators approve fee diversion. For Greene, this is deeply concerning. “His members have a right to know before they vote yes whether his intention is to embroil the union in a legal battle,” he says. ALL-CANDIDATES DEBATE The five unopposed executive candidates from the Renew slate participated in a subdued all-candidates debate Wednesday. The candidates emphasized the common themes that have shaped Renew’s campaign, including investigating and exposing illegal ancillary fees, improving the
fees. So also proposed instituting a drop credit policy that would let students select their lowest mark to exclude from cgpa calculations. Yolen Bollo-Kamara, the candidate for vice-president, equity, focused on combating the “misogyny and sexism” of ‘men’s issues’ groups on campus, and continued support for the embattled Transitional Year Program. Cameron Wathey, the candidate for vice-president, internal & services, said he plans to re-design the union’s website and expand the union’s photocopying services. Vice-president, external candidate Sana Ali said she plans to maintain good relations with Queen’s Park, while lobbying to expand the eligibility criteria for the provincial government’s 30% off tuition grant.
Cameron Wathey, Renew’s candidate for vice-president, internal. BERnARDA GOspIC/THE VARsITy
status of international students, and involving more people with the work of the union. Sajjad, the presidential candidate for Renew, spoke passionately about the power of a united student body: “Across the world, we have seen students at the forefront of change. From toppling governments to bringing changes that affect students as a whole, students have been starting the conversation, leading the research and sparking mobilization everywhere,” he said. “This is the strength of the student movement.” In a heated moment, Trinity College co-head Sam Greene noisily exited the debate after Sajjad declined
to state whether he would consider legal action in a hypothetical scenario in which several divisions had voted and been approved to have their fees diverted. “If a referendum were to be held at the utsu, it is for all members to participate in, not specifically for one college or one small group,” said Sajjad. Outgoing president Shaun Shepherd made a similar statement at a vusac meeting about fee diversion. Sajjad did not address whether he would pursue legal action, instead saying that he hoped to meet with opposition leaders to discuss their concerns. Sajjad called for continued dialogue, as did several Renew vice-
presidential candidates. Sajjad also said he believes that most students do not know what the union actually does, and argued that if they did, they would likely be more supportive. He said too much time has been spent this year with “quarreling over minor and petty issues.” The remainder of the two-hour debate was uneventful, with each vicepresidential candidate explaining their priorities for the upcoming year. Vice-president, university affairs candidate Agnes So was unable to attend for personal reasons. In a statement read by Sajjad on her behalf, So said her goals include opposing illegal ancillary fees and flat
SIMILAR PLATFORMS Renew’s platform echoes those of previous slates. Last year, Munib Sajjad and Yolen Bollo-Kamara were part of the executive team that promised to fight flat fees, negotiate discounted gta public transit for students, and lobby for expanded health coverage for international students. Many of this year’s campaign proposals are extensions of last year’s, not all of which has yet been accomplished. There are some new proposals, including an opt-in program for St. George students who wish to ride the utm shuttle bus to Mississauga, and ensuring U of T students are consulted in the hiring of the new U of T vicepresident and provost. Polls will be open Tuesday through Thursday.
4
VARSITY NEWS
Vol. CXXXIII, No. 19
news@thevarsity.ca
Contentious anti-feminism lecture met with protest U of T allegedly grants hosts free use of theatre, as Trinity dean warns students to stay away Zainab Asadullah VARSITY CONTRIBUTOR
A controversial speech critiquing feminist studies delivered by University of Ottawa professor Janice Fiamengo on Thursday evening was met by a smaller and less raucous group of protestors than the demonstrators that assembled last November at a lecture on a similar theme. The lecture was held by the Canadian Association for Equality (cafe) and an associated campus club called Men’s Issues Awareness at the University of Toronto (miaut). Protestors at the event said they believed the lecture and related discussions of “men’s issues” constituted hate speech, and therefore had no place on campus. A previous lecture by Warren Farrell drew over 100 protestors, who blocked the doors and clashed with police and those entering the lecture hall, sparking a debate over the acceptable limits of free speech on campus. Farrell’s lecture was also hosted by cafe and miaut. The groups hosting Fiamengo claimed the university had granted them the use of the George Ignatieff Theatre, at Trinity College, free of charge “for reasons related to the law-breaking protest that occurred at our last event.” “cafe offers its appreciation to the University for its strong commitment to free speech on campus,” read a statement circulated to campus media outlets.
In an email to Trinity student heads and residence dons, the college’s assistant dean Adam Hogan urged students to avoid the event. “If you are talking to any students, I would discourage them from being around the event if they don’t have to be there (if they aren’t attending, or I guess protesting) and limit their travel through that area if they can help it,” read the email. Concerns about a full-scale clash between protestors, guests, and police were not realized, although a fire alarm was pulled just as the lecture got underway, prompting an orderly evacuation. Fiamengo’s lecture on “‘What’s Wrong with Women’s Studies?” examined what she identified as the problems with academic feminism and women’s and gender studies programs. In her lecture, Fiamengo claims that “the whole reason for [feminism’s] being depends on an activist orientation towards women’s position on society,” suggesting it was a “fundamental contradiction” to premise a scholarly discipline on an “ideological agenda.” “It can’t admit when its reformed goals have been achieved, because to do so would be to radically weaken the claimed necessity of its combined existence. So it must always find new wars to fight, new sources of deplority [sic] to decry … [feminism and women’s and gender studies] must always be advancing its ideological world view by whatever means necessary,” said Fiamengo.
University of Toronto Students’ Union Local 98 • Canadian Federation of Students
Protestors outside the George Ignatieff Theatre. Bernarda Gospic/THe VarsiTy
Although there were no interruptions to the lecture beyond the fire alarm, several students critiqued Fiamengo’s material during a question period. Questions from audience members opposed to Fiamengo’s positions were greeted by jeering and heckling from the audience. “I was disturbed by it,” said one student, a graduate student in the Women and Gender Studies program at U of T, who asked to remain anonymous after some pro-
testors at the Warren Farrell event were targeted online in November. “I really can’t get across how ridiculous this was,” she said. “Especially when she went through the course descriptions. There was no information, they may have been from different institutions or professors. She admits herself that it’s total speculation. Students should rally against this group.” Several audience members sympathetic to Fiamengo declined interviews with The Varsity. Amber Taylor, a spokesperson for cafe was also un-
available for comment as of The Varsity’s press time. By the conclusion of the event, campus police had dispersed the remaining protestors. “This talk served as a reminder,” finished the graduate student. “This talk is a reminder to anyone in any Women and Gender or Equity programs that what we’re engaging in active political discourse, and that what we’re studying has a real impact. It reminds us that what we’re doing is important.”
2013 BIKE CHAIN Petition
Referendum Polling Dates h t 4 1 & h t 3 1 March 12th, Preamble
St. George Campus Polling Stations:
Sidney Smith Hall (2) Bahen Centre for Information Technology (2) Athletics Centre (1) Leslie L. Dan Pharmacy Building (1) Gerstein Science Information Centre (1) Factor-Inwentash Building (1) * Isabel Bader Theatre (1) Edward Johnson Building (1) Gerald Larkin Building (1) Alumni Hall
09:00 - 18:30 09:00 - 18:30 09:00 - 18:30 09:00 - 18:30 09:00 - 18:30 09:00 - 18:30 09:00 - 16:00 09:00 - 18:30 09:00 - 18:30 09:00 - 18:30
Bike Chain is the on-campus bicycle repair facility, which offers the use of tools and the advice of trained mechanics for free to the university community. Bike Chain also operates a bike lending program that is free to students, as well as various events and seminars through the course of the school year. Currently, Bike Chain receives $0.50 per student per semester as a part of the University of Toronto Students’ Union (formally SAC) fee. This funding is split equally between the do-it-yourself repair space and the bike lending program. Bike Chain has grown in their capacity to service the University community every year. Bike Chain currently hires 3 mechanics during the summer and 15 work-study positions during the year. In 2010, more than 3900 service visits were logged at Bike Chain, and that number continues to grow. Bike Chain needs additional funding to expand its services. The University of Toronto Students’ Union (legally operating as SAC) is asking its members whether they consent to a proposed increase of $0.25 per semester to the levy collected for the Bike Share for the purpose of funding Bike Chain, as described in the preamble above. U.T.S.U. is also requesting that the total levy be indexed annually to the local rate of inflation. QUESTION: Are you in favor of the proposed increase and the proposal, as described in the preamble?
All Poll locations are accessible and open from 09:00 - 18:30* *Isabel Bader Theatre, open from 09:00 - 16:00
For more information, visit our Students’ Union website at www.utsu.ca or contact cro@utsu.ca Please note that, at the time of this publication, “University of Toronto Students’ Union” and/or “U.T.S.U.” refers to the Students’ Administrative Council of the University of Toronto, Inc. (”SAC”)
VARSITY NEWS
var.st/news
MONDAY, MARCH 11, 2013
UCLit postpones referendum on funding for renovation
5
Simcoe Hall expresses last-minute concerns after questions of legal liability raised by APUS, ASSU Irina Vukosavic ASSOCIATE NEWS EDITOR
A referendum scheduled by the University College Literary and Athletic Society (UCLit) to raise funds for renovations to University College has been postponed over concerns about legal liability, the Lit announced Tuesday. In a letter posted on their website the day before polls were set to open, UCLit executives said the postponement came after Simcoe Hall “recommended changes in order to protect the Council from potential legality issues,” even while maintaining that “the current referendum question is believed to be legally appropriate.” Two prior consultations with administrators at Simcoe Hall had approved the phrasing of the referendum question. Several organizations on campus had raised concerns about the legality of the referendum, which was to ask students to approve a proposed increase of
$12.50 per session for full-time students and $5 per session for part-time students. The funds were to be collected over 20 years and used to finance an extensive renovation of University College’s historic building, first reported in October 2012 by The Varsity. The Association of Part-time Undergraduate Students (apus) claims the referendum appeared to violate provincial law. This allegation prompted a back-and-forth between apus and UCLit, with regards to the legality of the referendum. “Essentially, I would say that we are pleased it has been postponed. Had such improper referendum been allowed to pass, it might have set up precedent for other referenda,” said Susan Froom, vice-president, internal at apus. apus says the referendum violated policies in the Ontario Operating Funds Distribution Manual, which prohibits tuition-related compulsory ancillary fees, even if approved by referendum. apus says
that much of the allocation appears to be tuition-related. “We are glad the UCLit has taken the time to rethink the details of the referendum. I hope that the outcome of their review process will lead to them not running a referendum requesting permission to charge students a 73 per cent increase on their fees to the college over a span of 20 years,” said Katharine Ball, president of the Arts & Science Student Union or assu. (Ball sits on The Varsity’s Board of Directors.) “The Arts & Science Students’ Union maintains, and has done so for more than 25 years, that students should not be required to pay for the construction and maintenance of university infrastructure. This stems from our long-standing dedication to the University of Toronto as a publicly funded, open, and inclusive institution of learning,” read a statement from the assu, which had led the “No” campaign urging students to vote against the fee increase.
“Should students be required to pay for their own classrooms, libraries, and reading rooms above and beyond what they are already paying in tuition and taxes? Is this referendum really just a ‘back door’ way to raise tuition fees above provincial limits? These are questions that concern not merely students at UC but all of us at U of T, and indeed throughout the province,” said Froom in an email to The Varsity. UCLit responded to apus’ allegations in a publicly available letter, writing that “the majority of the project reflects improvements and additions to student spaces,” and concluding that therefore, “these plans do not fall under the typical umbrella of ‘maintenance.’” The letter also cited feedback from the Office of the Vice-Provost, Students, that found the referendum’s premise and question “appropriate, legal, and comparable to previous referenda.” “There appears to be a lack of due diligence of the part of Simcoe Hall. It appears they didn’t take into account the policy but merely looked
at previous referenda. This is the purpose of student unions; to act as check and balance against the administration and to catch the problem before it was improperly implemented,” said Froom. The new levy was to be allocated for the renovation and improvement of the college building, its classrooms, and quad. Specifically, the funds were to be used for the construction of a new library and reading room in the East and West Hall, as well as the establishment of accessibility initiatives. The project is estimated to cost $15 million. If approved, student fees would have covered approximately 13 per cent of the total. The remaining funds were set to come from alumni contributions, the university, and government funding. Outgoing UCLit president Benjamin Dionne said that the legal concerns over the referendum would be resolved this summer, and that a newly-elected executive team will decide how best to continue in the fall.
OISE ponders big changes to Bachelor
of Education program Catherine Virelli VARSITY STAFF
A task force set up to explore ways to restructure the Bachelor of Education program at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (oise) has recommended eliminating the undergraduate teacher training program altogether. The oise community gathered last Monday for a town hall to discuss the task force report. Although the proposal to end the Bachelor of Education degree entirely is only one of several options under consideration, the episode has prompted soulsearching about the institute and its governance structures. “It was time for some self-reflection,” said Jeanne Watson, an assistant dean at oise. “It was a time to think about whether 15 years post-merger [from being an independent institution to joining U of T], all the decisions made postmerger still fit us as a community.” The proposals also come at a time of change for the teaching profession province-wide. The Ontario government has mandated that all teacher-training programs must be two years long by 2014; oise’s current B.Ed is only one year. The program is also swamped with applicants, in spite of a gloomy job market for teachers in the province: 3,995 applied this year, with 960 admitted. But not all members of the oise community agree with the task force’s recommendations. “Each of the three proposals, both in their process and content, have been subject to broad criticism,” said faculty member Terezia Zoric.
OISE is facing some of its most important decisions since a merger 15 years ago. Michael chahley/The VarsiTy
Several speakers at the town hall expressed concern over a perceived lack of collegiality within oise’s current self-governing structure. Many took issue less with the content of the proposals and more with the decision to pursue such drastic changes in the first place — a question with an answer that remains unknown to students and faculty members. “More than 100 people showed up at town hall and there were over 25 speakers, if I was counting correctly, who were — almost to a person — saying the same thing, which is that oise’s process for academic planning has been deeply flawed and needs to change,” said
Zoric. “The proposed changes to the B.Ed program are a kind of spark, but it’s not just about the Bachelor of Education Program — it’s about academic planning at oise,” she added. At the town hall, faculty members circulated a document, “10 Asks for Town Hall,” a list of requests from faculty members to oise dean Julia O’Sullivan and her associates. “Slow down the timeline to allow for informed consent and full and fair participation in decisionmaking that respects the principles of collegial self-governance and academic integrity,” reads one item. “Allow time for trans-
parent and meaningful meetings within departments, where faculty and instructors are able to participate meaningfully.” Derek Lindman, a student in oise’s consecutive initial teacher education program who attended the townhall meeting, also expressed concerns about oise’s governing structure. Lindman’s concern stems from the institution’s recent decision to expand class sizes in its small Related Studies courses — oise’s only B.Ed electives — to lecture-style classes. “I’m concerned about how changes are going to impact future students … about whether or not students were consulted [about pro-
posals],” says Lindman. “Instead of this great diversity of topics, and having really amazing, facilitated conversations and interactions with students, you’re going to have something much more watered down — a very different teaching style. “I would imagine that the level of discourse and discussion would be reduced amongst peers because of the larger class sizes, interactions between students and professors would become rarer, and less significant and meaningful.” According to Lindman, Related Studies classes traditionally give students insight into how to develop professionally in a given teaching field, training prospective teachers in such areas as antihomophobia or anti-racism. Despite their concerns, both Zoric and Lindman remain hopeful that the governance structure at oise will improve. “What was proposed at townhall was that we do a reset and rethink the nature of collegial self-governance at oise, including democratizing our own faculty council, and that’s giving some of us hope,” says Zoric. Lindman also expressed his hopes on the issue, stating: “I am quietly optimistic that steps will be taken to close the gap between the democratic process that needs to inform this decision [and the decision itself].” Watson offers a different perspective, noting that the desires of the faculty are integrated into oise’s decision-making processes, and that the oise “community” did indeed play a part in forming the proposals. The University of Toronto acknowledges a commitment to collegial governance in its Statement of Institutional Purpose.
6
VARSITY NEWS
Vol. CXXXIII, No. 19
news@thevarsity.ca
UTSU forges ahead with plan to close St.
George Street to local traffic Despite backing from local city councillors, ambitious project not yet endorsed by university Fatima Syed
VARSITY STAFF
The utsu’s campaign to pedestrianize St. George Street will continue into next year, with presidential candidate Munib Sajjad pledging to renew the initiative first proposed during the last campaign season, by Shaun Shepherd. The Community Action Commission says the closure would create a safer walking culture on campus. “Most of the vehicles driving down St. George fail to yield when one is crossing the street,� said Abigail Cudjoe, utsu vicepresident, external. “Many students will admit that when in a rush they will cross St. George at their convenience, simply because there is not enough time between classes to go from a class from east to west campus within the 10 minute gap.� Cudjoe says the closure could also unify the west, central and east portions of the downtown campus, allowing students to “engage in an open space.� In September 2012, St. George was closed by the utsu Orientation Team, who won permission to host a street festival for 100 clubs, food vendors and sponsors. The utsu plans to release a detailed proposal for a permanent
closure by April. The union has scheduled a town hall meeting for March 20 to solicit feedback from the community. “The campaign is in motion, and has the backing and support of city councillor Adam Vaughan,� said Sajjad. Those involved with the project acknowledge that there is more work to be done in order to secure wider support for the initiative before taking a proposal to City Hall. Vaughan was not available for comment as of press time. The project is in line with the Toronto Walking Strategy, initiated in 2009, which seeks to “get Torontonians on their feet� in order to promote healthier and more sustainable forms of transportation. The main impediments to the closure are likely to be traffic costs and logistical issues with traffic. Sajjad says it is a misconception that the street closure will stop emergency vehicles. “Emergency vehicles and transport vehicles would be able to access the road,� says Sajjad. Local traffic would be prohibited while the city would ensure that any events booked on the pedestrianized space would keep a fire lane accessible at all times. Sajjad also said he has consulted with the Ryerson Students’ Union (rsu), who successfully ran a multi-year campaign to
close Gould Street, the major thoroughfare running through the Ryerson campus. The UTSU’s proposal has not yet been endorsed by the university administration. “The St. George Campus Master Plan, approved in
June 2011 by Governing Council, does not include a plan to pedestrianize St. George Street,� said a university spokesperson. The spokesperson also added that the street underwent “a significant revitalization� several years
ago. “The objective was to calm traffic, increase pedestrian and cycling amenities, and enlarge the existing open green space, and it reduced the four lane street to two, widened the sidewalks, and added greenery,� said the spokesperson.
The UTSU says closing St. George will unify campus. Bernarda Gospic/THe VarsiTy
Š2013 St. George’s University
CANADIAN DOCTORS ARE IN DEMAND ALL OVER THE WORLD. PERHAPS MOST IMPORTANTLY, RIGHT HERE IN CANADA. STUDY WITH US, AND JOIN OUR GROWING NUMBER OF GRADUATES THAT ARE PROUD TO WORK AND LIVE RIGHT HERE IN CANADA. WHERE WE STAND WILL MAKE YOU STAND OUT. s )N THE LAST TWO YEARS 3T 'EORGE S 5NIVERSITY PLACED MORE DOCTORS INTO lRST YEAR 5 3 RESIDENCIES THAN ANY OTHER MEDICAL SCHOOL IN THE WORLD* s 3'5 S 5 3 AND #ANADIAN STUDENTS WHO TOOK THE 53-,% 3TEP FOR THE lRST TIME IN ACHIEVED A PASS RATE s #LINICAL ROTATION IN THE 5 3 5 + AND #ANADA
JOIN OVER 1,400 STUDENTS AND GRADUATES FROM CANADA WHO HAVE PREPARED FOR THE FUTURE OF MEDICINE HERE.
Upcoming Information Session: Monday, March 18, 2013, 7–8:30pm Park Hyatt Toronto 4 Avenue Road, Toronto ON M5R 2E8 To learn more about SGU’s School of Medicine at our upcoming Information Session, contact Joann Vastola at jvastola@sgu.edu, call 1 (800) 899-6337 ext. 1395, or visit www.sgu.edu/informationsession. *According to published information. January 2013.
Grenada, West Indies
VARSITY NEWS
var.st/news
MONDAY, MARCH 11, 2013
7
Victoria College students vote to hold a referendum on leaving the UTSU Narrow approval for March referendum at first-ever annual general meeting of college council Vipasha Shaikh VARSITY STAFF
During vusac’s first Annual General Meeting last Wednesday, Victoria College students narrowly passed a motion to hold a referendum to redirect $200 in utsu fees to vusac. The motion passed with 23 out of 44 students voting in favour, six against, and four abstaining. The motion was non-binding, but it signals that Victoria College will go forward with its scheduled referendum in late March. “This is not a move to defederate from the union,” said Rowan DeBues, a vusac member-at-large. It is more accurately described as a move to redirect fees, which would require approval by the University Affairs Board (uab) of Governing Council. With such a slim margin of support, there was clear opposition from both Victoria College students and alumni to adopting the motion, with those opposed citing concerns such as a lack of communication and the short length of time in which students would have to make a decision. Katrina Vogan, a second-year literature and physics student, questioned the timeframe of the decision, stating that it was “very quick”, and that the report “seemed rash.” Two weeks was too short a
time frame for adequate education on the issue, said Vogan. (Vogan is an associate editor at this newspaper.) Ashley Quan, the chief returning officer for vusac elections, said there would be a yes/no campaign that utilized all channels of communications to make sure Victoria College students were as “educated as humanly possible.” Questions also arose about the financial aspects of the fee diversion, especially about whether the projected $100,000 surplus a fee redirection would create would be enough to function outside the utsu. Although Jelena Savic, vusac’s finance chair, promised that the funds would be able to “cover all the costs for sure, 100 per cent,” many students demanded that vusac release a detailed budget on how it would plan to cover utsu services. Another concern was how vusac would advocate on behalf of its students to bodies such as the provincial government. Aside from the idea of a more transparent St. George Round Table, vusac’s education and equity commissioner, Jade Huguenin, described how the commission would be restructured to take on a bigger advocacy role on behalf of Victoria College. Shoaib Alli, vusac president, promised that the changes to the constitution from a potential finan-
Victoria College is one of four units pursuing fee diversion. CAROLYN LEVETT/THE VARsiTY
cial secession would be published online, and that they would also be “binding.” He was confident that vusac would be able to adapt quickly to the transition from utsu representation to vusac representation, saying that “as soon as reforms are in place, they are constitutionally mandated to happen, and as soon as they are constitutionally mandated to happen, they will be acted upon.”
with vusac are still “not clear” and that this motion to sever financial ties “kind of popped out of nowhere.” Alli responded saying that vusac had endorsed “earlier electoral reform policy” and had been thinking about seceding for some time. Ultimately, Alli says, the utsu has “demonstrated a fundamental failure” to understand what Victoria College wants. Alli also noted that there had been some changes since he pubPOTENTIAL LEGAL ACTION lished his report exploring the AND CHANGES feasibility of severing finanial ties. Corey Scott, utsu vice-president, Most notably, Alli raised the posinternal, was also at the meeting sibility of a joint health and denas an observer. Scott said the issues tal plan between seceding units
that would be implemented in the 2013–2014 year. utsu’s Victoria College director, Shak Gobert, had asked about the feasibility of implementing separate health and dental plans when Alli raised the possibility of a joint plan. If successful, a joint plan would mean that previous concerns regarding higher premiums for Victoria College students in case of injury would not necessarily apply. Finally, Alli made a statement regarding utsu’s threat of legal action, saying, “they do not have any ground to stand on because we are not governed by utsu by-laws, but rather U of T by-laws.” He also said that his meetings with the University Affairs Board led him to believe that the uab would consider the results of the referendum. Scott responded to Alli’s claims suggesting that while vusac is governed by U of T bylaws and the utsu by its own bylaws, “there are certain procedures in place if colleges want to take from our levy.” utsu execs and Alli planned to meet over the weekend to discuss the situation. If Victoria College students wanted to extend the referendum to a later date, they could potentially lobby to do so at the next agm, depending on when it is held in the coming weeks.
Global Reach. Innovative Programs. Diverse Perspectives.
Schulich
“Companies are capturing consumer data, but they don’t have the talent needed to analyze and identify the patterns and trends that provide valuable business insights. Schulich’s new degree gives you the tools needed to
become an expert in business analytics.”
MURAT KRISTAL
Program Director, Master of Science in Business Analytics Associate Professor, Operations Management & Information Systems
Three fast tracks to a rewarding career in business Choose a 12-month full-time Schulich Masters program.
MAcc
Master of Accounting
Open doors to a career in accounting. Choose the CA Accredited Stream or the Management Accounting Information Stream. A unique program designed for both non-business and business graduates alike.
MF
Master of Finance
Become an expert in all areas of finance. Specialize in Capital Markets or Financial Risk Management. Gain exposure to governance, regulatory and global frameworks that impact decision-making.
MSc
MSc in Business Analytics
Master the skills to uncover business insights and drive decisions. This degree leads to careers as a Business Analytics professional in the fields of strategy, research, marketing, consulting and sales.
Schulich Programs: MBA, Accelerated MBA, IMBA, MBA/JD, MBA/MFA, MBA/MA, MPA, MF, MSc (Business Analytics), MAcc Study Options: Full-Time, Part-Time Evenings, Days and Alternate Weekends
Schulich Leads in Rankings Schulich is ranked in the world’s top tier of business schools by The Economist (#16 in the world); Forbes (10th best non-US school); Bloomberg Businessweek (14th best non-US school); The Aspen Institute, a US think tank (#2 in the world in Social and Environmental Leadership); and Expansión (#22 in the world) in their most recent global MBA surveys. The Schulich MBA is also ranked #1 in Canada by The Economist, Forbes, The Aspen Institute and Expansión.
8
VARSITY NEWS
Vol. CXXXIII, No. 19
news@thevarsity.ca
VARSITYHarper’s SCIENCE Kevin Page, budget scourge, speaks at Hart House promises
ER 3, 2012
science@thevarsity.ca
The process of egg freezing can assist women who want to have a VARSITY CONTRIBUTOR family, but initially lack the right conditions. It starts with the exUntil about five years ago, women traction of multiple eggs. Ideally, a seeking to have their eggs frozen woman should have her eggs froclinics Canada zen when she are, is fairly fertile,the durwe’ll go to the Americans. No oneby fertility Page was not across the only person at “Those of course, words of could do so only for medical rea- ing her late-20s or early-30s. The knows more about fighter jets than the debate to voice displeasure at Stephen Harper speaking in 1994.” sons. Things have since changed. eggs are then frozen and stay in the Americans!” the Harper government’s secretive Husband and Zhu vigorously atLargely thanks to technologi- storage until the patient chooses Meanwhile, the Department of Na- nature. tacked the omnibus format, arguing cal advances, egg freezing can to retrieve them. When the patient tional Defence released its estimates This year’s debate featured the that it both forces Members of Parliabe carried out with much more decides she is ready, they will be for the F-35 purchase in a report Pagesuccess resolution: “This House believes ment to choose between party interand is now available to thawed, fertilized by her chosen characterized as a ‘single sheet of pa-women thatseeking Parliament been thrown ests and needs of into theirher constituit for has non-medical partner, and the implanted per’ that lacked both a model for itsreasons. underJust the this Omnibus,” in referents, and leads to less government October, the uterus. Therein lies the advantage: estimates and peer revision. ence toSociety the Harper government’s transparency smaller items in omAmerican for Reproduca woman can haveasher eggs frozen “The government had figurestivestring of omnibus budget bills. nibus bills rarely receive attention. Medicine lifted the process’ when she is fertile and retrieve like $16 billion and we had $30“experimental” Sean Husband Tinaits Zhu Goswami and conditions. Pew offered realabel.andWith them under desirable billion. We had members of thechanged spokestatus, in favour of the resolution, soned rebuttals to the egg freezing is set While quite promising, eggclaims, freez- sugmedia ask us how our estimates to become with Vinny and Kristin gesting both that omnibus bills offer moreGoswami widely available ing has its limits. While vitrificawere so far apart — well, I can’t to Pew opposed. women, even those seeking it tion increased maintains legislative the qualityefficiency of eggs and reconcile what we had with onefor non-medical “How can reasons. members represent moreprocess, media ifattention in thebring freezing a womanto the sheet of paper!” their constituents various proposed Social egg freezing in (egg freez-areas is well past herlaws. birth-giving prime, Page’s visit to Hart House comesing when are forcedreasons) to vote in the a technology “The nature of certain bills for they non-medical cannot make up fornecesnear the end of his tumultuousseems bloca on such legislation of such sitate aninomnibus bill — promising way to emthe decrease egg quality thatlook ac- at the five-year term as Canada’s first pbo,power concerns?” Husband. budget,ageing. for example,” Pew said. “You women began by giving them “We companies A woman would control when measures they can but need may to have substantial appointed by Prime Minister Harp-more can agree over on some disagree withforesight certaintoallocachildren. Fertility declines use egg freezing before but it is ittoo late. sense er to provide independent analysishaveoppose others. How do we express tions of funding, makes ageviews and the dipthe is especially freezing fi- the of Canada’s finances and the statewithour and views of our Additionally, it’s put into egg the same area,is given steep for women which after their mid- nancially and physically taxing. of the economy. constituents, are diverse? finite legislative schedule.” 30s. Women captivated by the al- LifeQuest, a fertility clinic, charglure of a traditional family, where es $8,600 for egg freezing, not ina woman and her male partner cludingThe eggStar storage, also fertilization, reported that the have biological links to their and embryo The process provincetransfer. this year has already inchildren, find themselves in po- also structed requires universities self-injections to ofwhittle sitions where starting a family medication for egg development, down their budgets further, resultis anything but ideal. A woman which can be physically ing in a $5.2 milliondifficult. cut for the Unimight want to pursue a career, Social eggoffreezing versity Toronto.is poised to establish financial security, or take off“That’s and empower but going towomen, be one of the prifind the right partner first. As it cannot overcome the inevitable mary challenges that we’ll have to fois the case with numerous wom- fertility decline. If a young woman cus on,” says Gertler of the increasing en, she may hit her late-30s be- who wants to delay birth-giving is scarcity of provincial money. fore these conditions are met, at willing to brave the process and During September’s public consulwhich point the quality of her dole out the money, she should do tations, there was some discussion eggs is very low. so before it is too late. about appointing a president from outside the world of academe. Instead, the search committee opted for Gertler, one of the most frequently-cited geographers in Canada. With his background in urban geography, Gertler has committed Administrators at a press conference announcing Gertler’s appointment. to seeing the university play “an bErNArDA GoSPIC/THE VArSITY VINYL, CDS, EQUIPMENT expanded role in city-building,” High Quality Vinyl & support that Ontario universities re- price,” noting that 48 per cent of U of hoping to engage students and facreconditioned equipment ceive is last out of 10 provinces on a T students benefit from some form of ulty with their city surroundings. AROUND per-student basis,”AGAIN he said. financial aid, and that the university’s In a meeting on Monday with stu18 Baldwin St and outgoing $2 billion Boundless fundraising cam- dent leaders, Gertler described his Both the incoming presidents said that the current tu- paign has substantive allocations for vision of a university that graduWANTED: CHRISTMAS GIFT ition framework, which allows for new grants and scholarships. ated well-rounded students whose WRAPPERS up to a five per cent annual increase According to the Toronto Star, new- experiences would be shaped by Creative Locations and ly-appointed Minister for Training, involvement in the community, in tuitionindividuals, fees, was “adequate” -- Downtown Toronto, should remain in place. North Colleges and Universities Brad Du- and whose skills would be sought York, Brampton. Managers Separately, both Naylor and Gertler guid is said to be eyeing a much more out by local employers. to $11.50/hour + bonuses. around restrictive tuition framework that urged that the conversation “Gertler is one of the finest ecoWrappers to $10.60/hour.Full tuition be moved beyond the “sticker would allow for inflation and very mi- nomic geographers and urbanists Accutane, a drug for patients withsaid long-time friend & Part Time Avail - December nor increases of one or twoused per cent. in the world,” 1 – 24. TO APPLY, GO TO: and colleague Richard Florida. severe acne, has been associated www.TorontoWraps.com “He is a long-time Torontonian who with causing Inflammatoryunderstands the challenges facing our SUBJECTS WANTED Bowel Disease, Crohn’s city as it grows and what makes global Researchers at the cities tick. He is just the kind of person TIME bETwEEN CLASSES?
Elizabeth Cinco
Has Parliament been thrown under the omnibus? Debate pits Page against students
limits of freezing James Maiangowi VARSITY STAFF
It’s not often a single sheet of paper can fluster a bureaucrat. But Kevin Page faced this very strange scenario in March 2011 when, as Parliamentary Budget Officer (pbo), he released a report claiming that the government’s proposal to buy 65 F-35 fighter jets would come in at nearly twice the projected costs. Page spoke Wednesday at Hart House about his experiences working in the Harper government, as part of Hart House’s annual Churchill Debate. “We went to the Feds to ask for information on costing the F-35. They told us, ‘We’ve got a really complicated model, you wouldn’t get it,’” Page said. “So we said okay,
eezing gives women more options, y more
“GERTLER” CONTINUED FROM COVER some of his efforts to foster smaller group learning opportunities, including the college-based One programs and First-year Learning Communities. “Large classes are a fact of life at all Canadian universities,” Gertler acknowledges. Under his administration, the faculty has sought to place scholarly luminaries at the front of the classroom and “design more ways for undergraduates to interact directly with our research stars.” Gertler must now confront the difficulty of preserving the university’s world-class standards as Queen’s Park continues to tighten its belt. “The challenge is to do all these great things for our students in this very challenging fiscal environment, where the
Acne + Accutane
CLASSIFIEDS
Inflammatory Bowel Disease?
DENTAL CARE
Department of Linguistics, Earn commission by McGillgreat University are looking referring clients to us for speakers of Russian who through posters couple of were born in Northa America or hours to perNorth week. who moved America before or atadvertising the age of 5, Join our who predominantly team today. speak English, but whose 416 280 6113parents speak Russian. Compensation of $20. If interested, please VINYL, EQUIPMENT contactCDS, Cole Imhoff at cole. High Quality Vinyl & imhoff@mail.mcgill.ca. DR. ELON reconditioned GRIFFITH This researchequipment is being Cosmetic & General Dentistry supervised by AROUND AGAIN Dr. 18 Larissa Nossalik Baldwin St at 416-923-3386 larissa.nossalik@mcgill.ca
DENTAL Disease and Colitis. CARE
Legate & Associates LLP and Harrison McGill University in Montréal will welcome Suzanne Fortier as its first francophone principal in September 2013. Fortier will face challenges Pensa LLP, have joined forces to accept imposed by the $124 million budget cut across Québec universities. clients who have been diagnosed withFortier was a vice-principal at Queen’s University before becoming the Inflammatory Bowel Disease, Crohn’spresident Disease of the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) in 2006. or Colitis, as a result of their experience with Despite the current political complications in Québec, she told the Accutane or its generic equivalents. Montréal Gazette that “the situation at McGill doesn’t scare her,” since DR. ELON GRIFFITH
Contact us for a free consultation
BAY ST.
YONGE ST.
BAY ST.
she has experience in academic administration, and her French-speaking background can help her forge a closer relationship with other Québec citizens. 416-923-3386 Having graduated from McGill herself, Fortier is already familiar with 1-888-557-0447 or info@accutanelawsuit.ca drgriffith@rogers.com the university’s priorities, including emphasizing academic research and 25 Charles ST.W Québec’s French culture. Fortier says that these qualities will allow her to “help develop the connection between McGill and Québec society” Toronto ON M4Y 2R4 Please visit us online by showcasing what the university has to offer. accutanelawsuit.ca The McGill alumna is eager to return to the university in the fall in BLOOR ST. W. spite of the current political obstacles, telling the Gazette that she views CHARLES ST. W. this opportunity as a personal “call to [her] heart.” AccutaneLawsuitCanada Our Office @AccutaneLawCan —Kasia Bunda Cosmetic & General Dentistry
drgriffith@rogers.com
VARSITY CLASSIFIEDS 25 Charles ST.W Cost $12.00 for twenty-five words. Toronto ON M4Y $0.252R4 for each additional word. Rates include one line of bold type for the ad header. No copy changes BLOOR ST. W. after submission. Submit ads by CHARLESemail, ST. W. mail or phone. Ads must be submitted at least four days prior to Our Office publication. Contact us for more info.
that can help Toronto achieve its next phase of growth and development as a truly great global city.” Gertler has spoken often about this idea previously, during his time as dean. “The most important social contribution that universities make is through educating human capital,” said Gertler, in a previous interview with U of T Magazine. “Knowledge flows from the university to the city around it in the form of embodied knowledge: well-educated graduates who make up a talented workforce.” Gertler’s promotion comes amidst a flurry of changes in the ranks of the university’s senior administration. Provost Cheryl Misak is scheduled to depart next year, and the celebrated dean of the Rotman School of Management, Roger Martin, announced his retirement in January. “It’s too soon to say whether these positions will be filled internally,” said Gertler, who sits on the search committee for Martin’s replacement. The university is now formally seeking input on filling the dean’s vacancy at the Faculty of Arts & Science. Gertler, who will be the university’s 16th president, has been appointed for an initial five-year term. Naylor served two terms as president, taking over from interim president (and former Supreme Court justice) Frank Iacobucci.
McGill welcomes new president
LEGA0048_AccutaneUniAd_FA.indd 1
YONGE ST.
CLASSIFIEDS
Following the debate, Page gave a speech about his life and career as a federal public servant. Page came out strongly against the Harper government’s policy of opacity. While Page allowed that “Omnibus legislation can be a good way of passing bills, if you’ve got a bill on the environment for example,” he nevertheless said the omnibus format should be reserved for “a handful of acts, but hopefully not a lot.” During a question period after his talk, Page offered words of advice to those disaffected by the current political climate. “What would change the situation? Engagement,” Page said. “We need to get people out there engaged more.” “If you are fed up with omnibus bills, or parliamentary decorum, make your voice heard. When do we engage? If not now, when?”
12-11-05 11:20 AM
COMING UP
VAR.ST/COMMENT 11 MARCH 2013
Comment on the co-curricular record program
comment@thevarsity.ca
var.st/comment
Students listen to the candidates at the utsu executive forum on Wednesday. BERNARdA GOSpiC/THE VARSiTy
Will team Renew be able to keep up? Executive candidates identify important goals but offer little hope they'll be able to reach them
Student leaders, observers, and press sat down in the William Doo auditorium on Wednesday evening to listen to the uncontested candidates from the Renew slate in this year’s utsu elections. Each candidate made statements before a brief question period that covered topics from ancillary fees to college and faculty fee diversion. The candidates were affable, and promised substantive reforms in the area of international student fees, better communication between colleges and the utsu, and an ongoing petition for a drop credit policy. But they were also evasive at times and struggled to answer direct questions. Vice-president, university affairs candidate Agnes So was scheduled to be the first speaker at the debate, but was unfortunately unable to attend for personal reasons. Prospec-
tive president Munib Sajjad read a personal statement on her behalf but there was no question period for her position. The majority of the other candidates seemed to experience difficulty putting their policies for reform into words effectively. On several occasions they took inordinate amounts of time responding to basic questions, such as when Trinity co-head of college Sam Greene posed a hypothetical question to Sajjad regarding whether or not his administration would seek legal action if disgruntled colleges and faculties around campus attempt to divert their fees from the utsu. Sajjad was elusive in his response, stating, “The union stands for unity. If students want to participate in the union they will do so.” This prompted jeering from some of the audience, which was ultimately left unsatisfied. Sajjad was not the only Renew candidate guilty of such obviation. Vice-president, internal & services
candidate Cameron Wathey and vicepresident, equity candidate Yolen Bollo-Kamara both avoided directly responding to questions, sometimes even about issues addressed in their opening statements. This was the case when Bollo-Kamara was asked about how she would endeavour to combat sexism on campus; she had previously identified the issue as being central to her platform. Her answer was surprisingly unspecific. When Wathey was asked for his thoughts on the possibility of several colleges petitioning to have their fees diverted from the utsu, he said, “I personally don’t know too much about this situation.” He did, however, offer that he would like to, “work this out,” and suggested better communication with the Trinity College Meeting as a means of ameliorating the situation. One student claimed that the union spends $900,000 on salaries and only a third of that figure on clubs. Wathey sympathized,
revealing that he had personally suffered as a member of underfunded clubs, but ended his answer by stating that the union requires full-time staff in order to operate, without mentioning compensation structures whatsoever. All candidates, perhaps with the exception of Sajjad, seemed flustered when asked challenging questions, which elicited some uneasiness in the crowd. They were happy to lean on platitudes in their responses rather than meet specific questions head on with firm answers based in developed policy ideas. They returned to their responsibility to represent “47,000 students” and the need for “unity” in order to successfully implementing their ideas. A rather inflammatory question came later from the floor, directing vitriol at some student leaders in the room suggesting that they “did not have the guts” to run for the
utsu themselves. This prompted a walkout by some in the crowd who, as they left, demanded an answer from Sajjad regarding legal action against those bodies considering leaving federation. Following this disruption, however, the debate carried on. Ultimately the debate left much to be desired. Questions went unanswered and unsatisfactory responses were repeated. The candidates did display some passion and determination to effect change and deserve credit for subjecting themselves to the scrutiny which comes with running for office, but they didn’t outline clear policies. As the candidates prepare to assume their positions, we have scarcely been brought closer to knowing who they are. We should be concerned.
Munib Sajjad
Sana Ali
Cameron Wathey
yolen Bollo-Kamara
Agnes So
President
VP, external
VP, internal
VP, equity
VP, university affairs
• Fight injustice in the post-secondary education system • Put international students on governing council • Allow utsg students to opt into the utm shuttle bus • Work with other unions in the gta to improve student access to transit
• Unite the fragmented and decentralized student body through the union • Produce a students' rights handbook • Increase the amount of study space in libraries • Develop a relationship with the government that allows negotiation rather than antagonism
• Increase clubs funding and offer help with budgeting • Extend the food bank's hours • Host a homecoming • Improve communication with members through a student life guide, a new website, and town halls.
• Fight all forms of repression on campus • Defend the typ program • Improve caps and break down the stigma surrounding mental health • Create an accessibility fund to encourage clubs to be accessible
• Fight to end flat fees and illegal ancillary fees • Produce an academic appeals guide • Improve food options on campus • Host financial aid workshops
Alec Wilson
VARSITY CONTRIBUTOR
Alec Wilson studies political science and American studies.
10 Vol. CXXXIII, No. 19
VARSITY COMMENT
comment@thevarsity.ca
Working together works An op-ed from a Scarborough Campus Students' Union executive Guled Arale
SCSU VP EXTERNAL
On every campus, the main purpose of a students’ union is to represent and serve their membership. Both the utsu and the scsu use three pillars to fulfill their mandate to their members: cost saving services, advocacy, and events. This is the basic structure of how students’ unions operate on most campuses and it has served students well. But no matter what work a students’ union prioritizes or excels at, it can only be done through strength in numbers. From using economies of scale to get discounts for members, to throwing big parties and funding diverse clubs, or having the membership be represented — as one strong voice to decision makers — all the work of a students’ union can only be done through the collective representation of its members. Unfortunately, about 10 years ago, the model of representation of Scarborough students in the Students’ Administrative Council (sac) — the precursor to the utsu — was not working out. The main problems lay in the fact that events and services were centred downtown, and Scarborough students didn’t have as much access. Because of the barriers the vast distances between campuses created, the sac ran a referendum at the Scarborough campus to have fees students paid to sac given to the scsu so they could better deliver the services and events at a more local level. Both organiza-
tions still saw the value of having central representation and agreed that sac would also advocate for Scarborough students at Simcoe Hall. One thing that both organizations quickly saw, with the quick turnover and lack of Scarborough in the sac structure was that representing Scarborough downtown was not something sac could do effectively. So when the time came for sac to have the same discussions with the utmsu, they decided to go with a different route. Because of the lack of strong representation Scarborough saw downtown, but in recognition of the difficulty sac had in delivering services and events on a different campus, they created a different structure. sac would reroute some of the fees, enough to deliver events and services, but some of the fees would stay at sac and utm would also stay as a part of the sac structure. This allowed for sac to use the strength in numbers to strongly represent utm and downtown students and using economies of scale to deliver services like orientation, the health and dental plan, and agendas to both campuses at a lower rate. While Scarborough students had local representation and some of the services being delivered by the scsu, the lack of representation downtown made things difficult to do the best job we could have done in representing students at utsc. Unfortunately, U of T operates in a top down decision-making model, with major decisions being conceived and made at Simcoe Hall. Because of this, by the time it came to utsc, it would have been too late to ef-
What happened at Scarborough was not ideal and a better model that works was implemented at UTM...Disagreements are part of a healthy democracy. Democracy doesn’t mean you will always get your way. It certainly doesn't mean that you should leave the table the minute you don't get exactly what you want. fectively advocate to make sure it was in the best interest of students. For example, utsc has been working on changing its governance system for two years with campus stakeholders before Governing Council created and shoved down utsc’s throat a model that practically gutted student representation in a couple of months. With colleges being walking distance from the utsu and the executives spending almost all their time on the St. George campus, students have full access to their union. What happened at Scarborough was not ideal and a better model that works was implemented at utm. If the duplication of services at a college level is an issue, then brainstorming can be done on how to come up with and put forward bet-
ter services to students. With such a large number of students in a small area, a lot can be achieved if students worked better together and pooled resources. Disagreements are part of a healthy democracy. Democracy doesn’t mean you will always get your way. It certainly doesn't mean that you should leave the table the minute you don't get exactly what you want. Many students were successful in implementing the majority of electoral reforms that they wanted this year. This is a perfect example of how democracy works. My advice to St. George students is to continue to respect the process, and work within it. Guled Arale is vice-president, external of the Scarborough Campus Students' Union.
var.st/comment
VARSITY COMMENT
MONDAY, MARCH 11, 2013
11
Bikechain shows the problems with levy-funded services Even good resources shouldn’t be funded by students who don’t use them Maryam Mughal
VARSITY CONTRIBUTOR
I am writing this in response to David Gelles' recent article “Bikechain blues,” and to raise awareness of the advantages and disadvantages of this student-run organization service. There is no doubt that the size of U of T’s campus means that the many opportunities and services it has to offer often go unnoticed — even though we, as students, may be paying for them in our fees. This means we ought to explore what we are investing our money in and what oncampus facilities are available to us. Bikechain is not only a bike-repair workshop but rather a bike-hub located in the basement of 33 St. George St., providing education and information about the mechanics of your bike and necessary repairs and rentals. Gelles’ description of Bikechain as a completely ‘free’ service is where I disagree with his article. According to Bikechain’s website information, they are partially funded by student levies, ranging between 25 and 50 cents per semester. As a full-time undergraduate student, I feel cynical about being uninformed as to where, specifically, my compulsory fees are being used. This makes it even harder to investigate whether these student-based notions and initiatives have a motive which I would like to support based on my personal be-
liefs and thinking. In this case, Bikechain is a useful resource available to U of T students, but not everyone can or would want to make use of this facility. Even though it may aim to assist bike-riders to travel long distances with heavy backpacks to reach classes on time, it is of no use to those who choose to walk or drive, those who don’t know how to bike, those who can’t bike due to physical limitations, or those who commute by ttc. As a counter-argument to this argument, the students’ unions would doubtless reply that it is their responsibility, as a studentrun body, to fund a variety of diverse campus clubs and facilities in order to provide recreational and extra-curricular options to improve the student population’s experience and choices through lower costs and subsidies. The utsu is currently preparing to hold a referendum to increase the Bikechain levy, asking its members whether they consent to a proposed increase of 25 cents. The question is, could a decision by a few voters during the utsu elections next week eventually force others to contribute equally for additional funding to expand Bikechain’s services, even though they may not be in favour of it due to the reasons outlined above? Still, bicycles on campus are treated as a lower form of transportation, while pedestrian and vehicular modes are given higher priority. The idea that ‘what starts here, changes
The St. George street entrance to Bikechain. BErnArdA GospIC/THE VArsITY
the world’ should mean that the voices of bicyclists are heard and their requests for better infrastructure change the world around them. Currently, bicycling is an underfunded and poorly-integrated form of transportation at U of T due to a lack of sufficient designated safe bike lanes and much smaller percentage of bike transit trips than other schools of similar or smaller size and climatic conditions. The improvement of bicycle infrastruc-
ture in conjunction with encouragement of more services like Bikechain would undoubtedly increase campus connectivity, encourage physical activity, reduce pollution, lower automobile parking demand, and enhance the quality of university life for students, faculty members, and visitors. Maryam Mughal is a fourth-year student studying kinesiology.
"Why don't you move outside Japan?" One student's story of what brought him to U of T Yuki Shirato
VARSITY CONTRIBUTOR
After 10 years of emotional struggle over being gay, I finally reconciled with my parents. They gave me, their only child, affectionately poignant advice. My home country, Japan, is the world’s third-largest economy, albeit not growing, and is a beautiful and civilized country with culture, democracy, and technology. Having lived in Japan my entire life with a great job, family and friends, I could think of few reasons to relocate myself. Nevertheless, I aspire to succeed both professionally and globally, while pursuing my personal happiness. Then I wondered: where should I go? After years of full-time work, I wanted to return to school. Following a stint in a Ph.D. program at the University of California, Berkeley, I decided to pursue a law degree. Despite the attractions of American law schools, I chose a Canadian law school over the top American schools. First, for international students and immigrants like myself, studying, living, and working in a country where one is completely accepted and feels stable is critical. Taking advantage of my educational credential and work experience, I applied for Canadian permanent residency under the federal skilled worker category and was approved after 10 months of review. When I talked to an immigration lawyer in the US, I was told that it would take at least 10 years to get a green card. Furthermore, Canada, as a federal state, recognizes same-sex marriage. I can marry anyone whom I love in Canada with all the legal benefits attached to it. Even in New York and eight other states, same-sex marriage in the US would reward me, as a non-US citizen, with little more than celebratory drinks. I know a successful gay non-American lawyer in New York who has graduated from college and law school in the US, lived there for 13 years, and is still waiting for his green card,
which his American boyfriend cannot make happen under current law. Second, going to law school often means you want to practice law. Notwithstanding the outcry about the current articling crisis, that getting a legal job in private practice, in-house, government, or other entities is higher for Canadian jds than for American jds — at least so far. Each of the 22 law schools in Canada allows about 80–300 students per class — roughly 200 at the University of Toronto. Many of the 194 accredited law schools in the US have a bigger class size. For example, the entering class at Harvard, Georgetown, and NYU are around 560, 520, and 480, respectively. It may be true that the Canadian legal market is saturated, but it is well established. Dozens of Canadian law school graduates also establish their legal career in the US, UK, and other countries as well. Third, Economics 101 — ceteris paribas — choose an option which gives the highest expected return on investment. With rapidly increasing tuition, student debt has become the number one issue for law students. U of T, Canada’s most expensive law school, asked an annual tuition of $27,420 of me. That is certainly costly, but still about half that of comparable American schools — for example, Cornell's tuition is $55,220. Other top Canadian schools are more affordable; tuition at the University of British Columbia, for instance, is $11,000 for citizens and permanent residents. A minimum wage job is not a likely outcome of a law degree. In the long term, Canada's economic prospect seems positive. With an abundance of natural resources, Canada also sees an uprising of companies in the technology field and an influx of foreign capital enticed by its triple-A rating business environment and of global talents attracted by its diverse society. Finally, going to a school outside the mainstream provides a unique perspective. US laws are highly influential and you will be forced to learn them in international transactions regardless of where you study. In this globalized and innovative world, it is essential to keep
A law school experiance in Canada stacks up well against foreign competition. MICHAEL CHAHLEY/THE VArsITY
an open and creative mind. Canadian jurisprudence is influenced by American and English laws as well as the laws of other common law or even civil law jurisdictions. I believe that exposing yourself to different schools of thought enriches your broader views, let alone legal arguments. Having said all of that, I need to concede that Canadian law schools are unlikely to reach the level of top American counterparts in terms of global reputation, branding, and networking in the short term. At
the end of the day, Yale Law School is Yale Law School. Everyone has a different utility function; other variables may be important such as being close to family, attending a parent’s alma mater, or living in New York City. Nevertheless, I insist that, for all law school applicants, especially international, mature, and lgbt applicants like me, trying to score 170+ on lsat, Canadian law schools are worth deliberating. Yuki Shirato is studying law at U of T.
12
VARSITY COMMENT
Vol. CXXXIII, No. 19
comment@thevarsity.ca
LETTERS TO
Vol CXXXIII, No. 18, March 4th, 2013 Turf war over fate of UC back field With regard to the article by Theodore Yan called "Turf war over fate of uc backfield" that appeared in the February issue of The Varsity, I would like to discuss this inequitable issue. I am a fourth year student at the University of Toronto and have personally used this field for many of my athletic activities. For a while now there has been deliberation over the outcome of this particular field. Although I agree that the field does need some work done, I believe it should be done so with the thought of all users involved. The Varsity Rugby team has been using the backfield for years, along with the numerous intermural teams, and sports clubs that are held at the university. Rebuilding a field that could potentially only benefit one or two specific sports teams (i.e. field hockey) is undeniably inequitable. Going forward with the reconstruction will cost a great deal of money, will decrease accessibility for all student athletes, and ultimately alter students’ experiences at the University. The fate of this field is important. The special artificial field that is to be created will be deemed dangerous to all contact sports and will result in restricted access. In the case of contacts sports, when engaging in activity, coming into contact with the AstroTurf will cause more damage than that of a natural field. This will reduce playing time and practice time for many sports teams, as well as freedom to participate in leisure activities on the field, while allowing very few teams, depending on the level of competition, to use the field more periodically. The University of Toronto is a school that continuously promotes equality and inclusion, but in this situation that is not the case.
THE EDITOR
I believe the student athletes of the university would greatly benefit from an alternate course of action. Within the article itself a solution was mentioned that involved the field hockey team using an already existing field hockey pitch that is accessible to the team for both practice and competition. That being said, this can be something to consider and could potentially avoid the unnecessary use of money. The ultimate outcome of the backfield dilemma should not be overlooked and should be reconsidered. If the maintenance of the already existing natural field would yield more participants in physical activities and sports teams then why change that? We should all be looking to enhance and increase participation and equitability at the University of Toronto instead of limit it. — Danisha Payne UTSU Elections: Team Renew
Once again I am completely at a loss to understand this pipe dream of "pedestrianizing" St. George street. Its like the utsu wants to turn utsg into some happy utopia where everyone drives around on segways on rolling green grass hills, finally free of those oppressive cars! This campus was designed to have major arteries running through it. We are in the middle of downtown Toronto. City planners would never let the massive square that is utsg be turned into a deadzone for traffic, making all the streets around it more congested. But more importantly, there are a number of buildings and parking lots that are only accessible through St George street, because it was DESIGNED to be that way. The new multi million dollar commerce building being one of them. Do you really think they are going to let you render their brand new parking garage, which only goes out onto St George, completely
useless? How exactly are buildings like Sid Smith and Morrison Hall going to be supplied with food and equipment? Its not just that its a stupid idea, its that these people are apparently going to waste their valuable time and my money on a totally fruitless venture, instead of focussing on goals that are actually achievable. Sadly a common trend that happens every year in these elections. — Chris Edwards (from web) Telomerase therapy hopes to remove cap on life expectancy Are we not going to broach the ethical issues here? Life is given meaning because it is fleeting. If you can only die unnaturally, all that matters is staying alive. You'd focus solely on not getting hurt. Us mere mortals know that death is inevitable, and thus can live. — Dante (from web) Speaking out against small acts of homophobia I feel that separating between small acts of homophobia and "big" acts of homophobia can be problematic. I feel then that big acts/ small acts are separated when in fact they stem from the same issues. At the same time - you looked at the big victories as "institutional" — things that happen on a institutional/governmental level yet at the same time a lot of queer and trans people do not experience those victories (some could care less about them). Homophobia is homophobia. — Queer (from web) In reply to Queer: I agree with you that homophobia is homophobia. But I do think there is a distinction — the big victories reflect the elimina-
tion of de jure discrimination, whereas the small acts are de facto discrimination. The elimination of the latter lags behind the former, and it's sad that it will take a long time for it to really catch up. — cantab (from web) Colleges schedule March referenda on severing financial ties to UTSU Sometimes I feel like the utsu wants to give people reasons to be so upset, like a quota they need to fill every year. There is literally no other reason to not hold a referendum, not even attempt to implement online voting, and then send threatening letters to the colleges that are clearly unhappy with utsu — a union they pay fees to. I don't know if someone could possibly have handled this worse. So much for "Unity". — Oh, Come On! (from web) I'd say the biggest problem with this article is it ignore Shaun's justifications for his positions. He argued (At the vusac meeting) that in his experience as President the majority of students do identify with his positions and that opposition disproportionately comes from college governance (and others closely alligned with colleges). utsu is no a federation of colleges but a collection of students, and I like many would likely to continue my membership in this union and don't by into the hyperbolic demonization of our union President and his team. — Z.M (from web) In reply to Z. M.: Then if you feel that way, pressure utsu to host the referendums and put it to the membership. If utsu win, it proves what you are saying, if otherwise, it proves you are wrong. Either way, let this be democratically decided. — Leon The Alumni Lion (from web)
U of T pension fund should invest in student housing Ted Kesik
PROFESSOR OF BUILDING SCIENCE
Alec Wilson's recent article in The Varsity, "U of T lacks affordable, quality residences" speaks to a very serious issue for the University of Toronto. Long gone are the days when the neighbourhoods surrounding St. George Campus could absorb most student housing demand beyond what the dorms could provide, from what was then a much smaller student body. The development industry has no interest in delivering affordable housing while it continues to exploit demand with the glass condo tower — a socially and environmentally irresponsible product in a market with no alternatives. The upshot is students living far away from campus and enduring ever longer commuting times, leaving less time for studies and the sorts of social interaction that are the essence of a university education. Alternatively, they and their families can sink even more money into the cost of higher education by paying exorbitant housing costs to live closer to school. So what can be done? Looking at all of the money that was lost to bad investments by the University of Toronto's pension fund managers (utam) since 2000, and understanding just how safe an investment in student rental housing could be
at the University of Toronto, there are a lot of good reasons to go down this road. Genuine Need — Why invest in things that don't do anything for your immediate community? High quality housing is conducive to learning outcomes as anyone who has ever lived in a damp moldy basement can attest. Our students need a decent place to live. Pension funds need a safe, secure investment that is ethical. As a pension fund subscriber, I want to do the right thing and help those in need. Leadership — U of T should lead by example, and develop high quality housing that is affordable and contributes positively to the urban environment. Glass towers are not the answer. Mid-rise buildings that fit into the existing fabric of neighbourhoods can demonstrate walk-up urbanism with a social conscience. Toronto is badly in need of leadership on this front and U of T has a unique opportunity for a positive contribution to our city. Sustainable Yield — Getting a safe, modest return for the next century on a real estate investment is economically sustainable for U of T pensions and the student body. Private sector development is gouging Torontonians with inflated prices for substandard products, and governments have no appetite for addressing affordable housing across Canada. Just think of how much student housing
could have been developed with the money that was lost by the U of T pension funds over the past decade. Let's invest in ourselves and our common future — pensions and student housing are symbiotic. Stewardship — New multi-unit residential housing developments in Toronto use as much, and often more, energy and water than their 1960s predecessors. Glass boxes are not durable and they tend to leak within a decade incurring huge maintenance, repair and replacement liabilities. Nobody wants these all-consuming monstrosities to dominate established neighbourhoods, and besides, the unit layouts do not reflect the social realities of 21st century student housing. As a culture of cultivation and reflection, but also innovation, U of T must become the exemplary steward of amazing student housing that is socially and environmentally responsible. Equity — My generation enjoyed a phenomenal experience as University of Toronto students. Diverse and affordable housing within walking distance of campus was widely available, making for a less stressful and more healthful lifestyle while leaving lots of time for student life. As we grew the University, nobody gave proper thought to how the student quality of life was being eroded. Pension funds afford the means to restore intergenerational equity in the form of accessible, affordable student housing that doesn't cost the earth.
There are lots of voices on campus. Make yours heard. comment@thevarsity.ca
The important thing is to start now and explore the possibilities. After the hundreds of millions of dollars lost to bad investments, it would not be unreasonable for the U of T pension funds to consider a pilot project with a limited scale just to test the waters. If the U of T is all about education and innovation then we should walk our talk and advance the student housing agenda. In the process, U of T can show the private sector how to deliver high quality, affordable housing that fits into the local community without excessive profiteering. Other pension funds can learn from our experience and divert their investments to where we live. The University of Toronto is at the cusp of some major decisions that will see it either appropriately adapt and flourish, or become unsustainable on every level that matters. Where our students live, how that housing is integrated within the campus and surrounding neighbourhoods, and its ecological footprint all matter, and will gain importance as the Toronto region grows. U of T pension funds have limitations, but our collective ambitions for student housing should remain boundless. Ted Kesik is a professor of building science at the Daniels Faculty of Architecture, Landscape, and Design
var.st/comment
VARSITY COMMENT
MONDAY, MARCH 11, 2013
13
IP controls don't address the real cause High prices and accessibility problems drive people to pirate Ken Kongkatong
VARSITY CONTRIBUTOR
The Copyright Alert System (cas), or the six strikes program, is a recent intellectual property policy in the United States enacted by several copyright holders such as Time Warner and AT&T. At the outset, the program seems to be a reworked response to the failed Stop Online Piracy Act (sopa) and the Protect Intelectual Property Act (pipa) last year. That being said, such a policy is a confirmation of the US' continual struggle against accessible intellectual property. What sets the cas program apart from sopa and the pipa is the six strikes system that characterizes it. It is also not another bill proposed in congress. Under the new policy, any Internet user who is deemed to have committed Internet piracy will receive a series of six warnings from their isp, which will inform them of their illegal activities and require them to acknowledge their actions. Along with the last two warnings, and depending on the situation, users will receive a significant reduction to their Internet connection or redirection to a copyright protocol web page. Before this stage is reached, it is hoped that users will stop their alleged activities. To this end, the six strikes program is seen as a more educative and fair measure against content theft. While the program appears to be didactic in its intentions towards the community, its effectiveness is questionable. The amount of public outcry from the global community about sopa and pipa makes it clear that the reaction is representative of the majority of the Internet community’s wishes.
Corporations have to recognize that copyright infringement, whether on the Internet or through other channels of distribution, has been occurring for a long period of time. For example, countries such as Russia and China have been known to have an extensive record of piracy counterfeiting for many years now. Another example is BitTorrent protocols that allow for peer-to-peer file sharing by millions. These general trends are not likely to stop any time soon. Similarly, more governments have been inspired by the American legislative attempts and protocols on piracy. For example, India, another nation that faces high rates of piracy, is working on a sopa-influenced legislation to protect the interests of its billion-dollar film industry. The UK also has proposed a more extreme three strikes policy, which will come in effect by 2014. While the influence of sopa and pipa may be lasting and great, these measures are futile. Instead of engaging in an endless struggle with content sharing through legal loopholes or attempts, governments should instead redirect their attention to the question of accessibility. The truth of the matter is that people engage in illegal activities of distribution of copyright material because of the high price of acquiring such materials. As businesses are increasingly motivated by profit-maximizing goals, the more expensive it is to purchase desired products. But despite financial losses, large corporations still manage to recuperate. This is clearly evident in the film industry, wherein box office disasters rely on merchandising and dvd sales to make up for lost rev-
enue. Though this may generate substantial profits, consumers are, ironically, still drawn to acquiring these materials through illegal means due to high prices. This then returns to an indefinite loop that is rooted in accessibility. Instead of being geared toward measures that will be met with public contempt, perhaps
governmental policies should address accessibility concerns. Only then will it be possible to remove this habit of free culture that continually persists in this generation. Ken Kongkatong is a first-year student planning to double major in English and Psychology.
NANCY JI/THe VArsITY
A Swan Song for Winter Produce
Saying goodbye with four recipes Photos and article by Alanna Lipson @alannalipson, www.toughcookieblog.com By March, many of us have gone on vacation somewhere tropical, and those of us who haven’t just spend copious amounts of time admiring the tans of our peers. Retail stores have long done away with downy coats in favour of pastel hues. Most of us probably feel as though if we ever have to see another beet, potato, or turnip ever again, we’ll cry. But winter produce has stuck by us through the hardest months of the year, and perhaps we owe it a little more respect; even affection. With this in mind, I crafted four recipes that pay tribute to those last winter beauties, a lovesong of sorts — well, a lovesong that involves roasting, simmering, or frying these beloveds in butter.
‘DRINK YOUR VEGGIES’ GREEN SOUP
BLACK KALE AND BLOOD ORANGE SALAD WITH CHARD AND PECANS
Serves four as a main or six as an appetizer. Best served with some crusty bread. Prep time: 15 minutes. Cooking time: 45 minutes.
Serves four as an appetizer, or two as a main. Prep time: 10 minutes. Cooking time: 15 minutes.
A few weeks ago, I was listening to an interview with Anna Thomas, the author of soup cookbook Love Soup. She insisted that there’s something about green soups in particular that can help a person feel fantastic, especially because we tend to binge on a lot of junk when we’re in hibernation mode. This soup is an adaptation of the one she described, and it’s everything she promised: rich, comforting, and easily capable of chasing away the winter blues — or the common cold, for that matter.
The end of winter is the last time blood oranges are going to be available in-store, and this warm salad is the best way to show them off. The brightness of the citrus is set off by the slight bitterness of the kale and the buttery crunch of the pecans; the mustard dressing helps the whole dish come together beautifully. To make this salad more filling as a main, you could always throw in some cooked brown rice, quinoa, or barley.
INGREDIENTS
INGREDIENTS
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for garnish 2 large yellow onions, chopped into crescents 2 cloves of garlic, minced 1/4 cup arborio rice 2 bunches green chard (about 6 cups, packed), de-stemmed and roughly chopped 130g container of baby spinach (or about 4 cups packed) 5 cups vegetable broth 1 tablespoon lemon juice, or more to taste salt & pepper to taste plain yoghurt for garnish (optional)
2 heads of black kale stems from 2 bunches of rainbow chard 3 blood oranges 1 cup chopped pecans 1 tablespoon + 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil 1/2 teaspoon salt 1 scant tablespoon apple cider vinegar 1 teaspoon grainy Dijon mustard 1 teaspoon honey or maple syrup pepper to taste
ROASTED ACORN SQUASH WITH QUINOA STUFFING Serves four as a main. Prep time: 20 minutes. Cooking time: 35 minutes.
SIMPLE, SCRUMPTIOUS BUTTERED-UP PEARS WITH VANILLA ICE CREAM Serves one person, but can be multiplied to serve as many as you’d like. Prep time: 3 minutes. Cooking time: 2 minutes.
Stuffed and roasted squash is one of the most quintessentially comforting winter foods. But the best thing about this dish is that in addition to looking and tasting fantastic, it’s surprisingly easy to make and can always be modified with what you’ve got on hand. Other than a little chopping, the oven and the stovetop do almost all the work, making you look like a culinary genius.
For as long as I can remember, dessert has always been my favourite part of a meal. But the thing is, often by the time you’ve cooked a large meal for a crowd (or even just for yourself), it’s hard to find the energy to make a crumble or a cake. This dessert is as simple as it gets, and is the perfect salute to the end of pear season.
INGREDIENTS:
INGREDIENTS:
2 small acorn squashes 1 Tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil 1 cup dried quinoa 2 cups water 2 Tablespoons melted butter 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon 1/4 teaspoon salt 1 cup chopped toasted walnuts, pecans, or almonds 1 cup chopped apricots, dried cranberries or cherries 1 heaping teaspoon harissa (Moroccan chilibased spice paste) 1 small package goat cheese, for garnish
1 pear (or apple, if you prefer) 1 scant Tablespoon of butter 2 pinches of brown sugar vanilla ice cream
COOKING
COOKING
COOKING
COOKING
1. Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a large saucepan over
1. Trim off about one inch from the ends of the
1. Preheat the oven to 400°F. Coat a large Pyrex
1. Peel the pear, and chop it into one-inch chunks,
high heat. Add chopped onions; cook, stirring frequently, until the onions begin to brown, about five minutes. Reduce the heat to low, and cover. Leave to cook, covering the pan again, and stirring occasionally, until the onions are greatly reduced and have a deep caramel colour, 25 to 30 minutes. Side note: while the onions are reducing, they don’t need constant attention, so feel free to prep your greens, check your email, or do your dishes at the same time.
kale and discard. Wash and chop the rest into bite-sized pieces, then set aside. Chop the chard stems into 1-inch pieces and set aside as well.
dish (or two small ones) with about 1/2 a centimetre of water.
2. When the onions are caramelized, increase the
heat to medium, add the garlic and the 1/4 cup arborio rice to the pan and stir for a minute, taking care not to burn the onions. Add the chard and the 5 cups of broth. Stir for a minute or two while the chard cooks down, then add the spinach. Stir together and bring the mixture to a boil; reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer for 15 minutes.
2. In a small frying pan on medium-high heat, melt 2.
2. Using a paring knife, cut the rind and pith away
from the orange. Peel the orange segments apart over a bowl, so as not to lose too much juice, and set the bowl aside. 3. Heat a large, dry saucepan or frying pan. Toast
the pecans on medium-high heat for 2–3 minutes, stirring constantly and taking care not to burn them. Once toasted, set aside. In the same pan, add one tablespoon of olive oil. On medium-high, sauté the chard stems for 3 minutes, then stir in the kale. Add 1/2 teaspoon of salt. Cook together for 5 minutes, or until the kale reaches the desired tenderness.
Halve the squashes lengthwise (tip to stem) — this task requires a really sharp knife, so please don’t attempt with Ikea knives or anything of the sort. Scrape out the seeds and discard. Using your hands, rub the cut sides of the squash with the tablespoon of olive oil. Place the squash cut-side down on the baking dish, and roast at 400°F for 25–35 minutes, or until the insides are fork-tender.
3.
While the squash is cooking, prepare your stuffing. In a mesh sieve, rinse the quinoa very, very well — if you don’t, it will retain a nasty metallic flavour. Then add it to a large saucepan with 2 cups of water. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer uncovered. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 12–15 minutes, or until the water is gone and the little threads around the seeds have started to pull away slightly.
4.
Add the butter, cinnamon, salt, chopped nuts, harissa, and dried fruit to the quinoa. Mix well.
4. Remove from heat, and stir in the blood orange
sections and the pecans. 3. Allow the soup to cool slightly, then purée until
smooth with an immersion blender, a food processor, or a regular blender. Stir in 1 tablespoon of lemon juice, or more to taste. Most broths are quite salty, so you might not need to add any salt, but feel free to do so to taste, plus a few cranks of pepper. Garnish each bowl of soup with a drizzle of olive oil, or an optional dollop of thick, plain yoghurt.
discarding the core. the butter. Add the chopped pear and sprinkle the brown sugar on top. Fry for 1 or 2 minutes, until the fruit is softened and starting to turn golden-brown. Remove from heat. 3. Scoop some ice cream into a bowl and top with
the pear. 4. This recipe really doesn’t need anything else,
but any of the following would go well as a topping: a drizzle of honey, the zest of 1/2 a lemon, a sprinkling toasted sesame seeds — anything your little heart desires, really.
5. In a jar, mix together the remaining 2 table-
spoons of olive oil, the cider vinegar, the mustard, and the honey. Add a few cranks of pepper to your taste, then pour the dressing over the chard and kale. Add the oranges and pecans, and toss. Serve immediately while still warm.
5. When the acorn squash is soft, remove from
the oven. Turn the broiler onto high, flip the squash so they’re cut-side up, and then return them to the oven and broil for 3 minutes, watching closely to make sure they don’t burn. 6. Remove the squash halves, plate them, and
stuff each of them with the quinoa mixture. Crumble goat cheese overtop for garnish. Serve immediately.
See where to find the best ingredients downtown at: var.st/b1d
Arts & Culture
COMING UP
var.st/arts
11 MarCH 2013 arts@thevarsity.ca
An exploration of tea culture in Toronto var.st/arts
Art and intrigue Vic’s Underground Art Gala features innovative artwork by U of T students Emma Kikulis VARSITY STAFF
The annual Victoria College Art Gala showcases some of U of T’s best student photography, multimedia, and design works. This year’s event — inspired by the theme “Underground” — will take place on March 11 and offers cash prizes to the winners in each of its six categories: Portraits, Landscapes, Vic Life, Travel, Arts and Culture, and Exclusion and the City. To learn more about the gala, The Varsity sat down with co-president of VicXposure, Thomas Lu and president of Victoria College's Arts and Crafts Club, Ella Gorevalov.
EG: [Arts and Crafts was] initiated this year and [is] run out of Old Vic. Basically it’s a drop-in club where students from every college get together and make whatever they want out of the materials we provide for them. Initially, the gala was intended for photographers who wanted to showcase their talent, but in recent years we’ve been seeing a lot more non-photography submissions, like formal artwork and even multimedia installations. TV: What do the judges look for when determining winning submissions? EG: All four judges are students at Vic, along with one prof, to help eliminate
any biases. So the judging is pretty fair and consistent. TL: There aren't a lot of judging criteria. They’re basically looking for the submission that best fits a category. TV: What is the most rewarding aspect of being in VicXposure and the Arts and Crafts Club? EG: It really takes my mind off studying and reading — basically boring academic stuff. The thing I love most about A&C is that there are no set rules; you’re free to create whatever you want, as opposed to the strict, regulated academic world. I’ve also gotten to meet some of the most creative
THE VARSITY: Victoria College hosts an Art Gala every year. What are the goals of the event? ELLA GOREVALOV: Basically, the Gala is a way for students to show off their artwork in a relaxed environment, away from the structured, formal academic world. It also provides a way for students to showcase different mediums of art, whether it be photography, design, or painting. THOMAS LU: The Gala also aims to be interactive, and to have a non-competitive atmosphere, even though there are prizes to be won for first place finishers. TV: What inspired the “Underground” theme for this year’s gala? EG: We wanted it to be mysterious. TL: The theme changes every year. “Underground” seemed like a good way to add a sense of intrigue to the Gala, and inspire some alternative artworks. TV: VicXposure — Victoria College’s photography club — is one of the three groups hosting the gala. How does the club help students improve both their photography skills and chances of placing in the gala? TL: VicXposure … basically helps students get better and more confident in their photography skills. The club is open to anyone — amateurs or people who have previous photography experience. We even have a camera rental program, where students borrow slrs, film cameras, as well as a variety of lenses. We also go on a lot of photo walks around Toronto, mostly to obscure places that the average person wouldn’t come across so that our students get a wide range of subject matter to photograph. We also offer classes on how to use your camera or shoot different subjects. Once they’re confident in their photography skills, we send our students to different events around campus, like Frosh Week and pub nights. TV: Vic’s new Arts and Crafts Club is also involved in organizing the event. What is the focus of this club? Can students involved in the Arts and Crafts club contribute to the Gala?
and innovative students on campus, who have some of the craziest ideas! TL: I’m not really into the 'artsy' type of photography — photojournalism is more of my passion. What drew me to photography initially, and what I enjoy the most, is that it’s another medium of telling a story, other than just the written word. TV: What advice would you give aspiring photographers and crafters who want to get more involved on campus and get their work “out there"? TL: Send your work — whether its photography, videography or design — to anyone and everyone. There are so many campus publications that are always in need of photographers to capture events happening around campus.
EG: For anyone who’s interested in A&C, check out the Gardiner Museum. They always have exhibitions on contemporary art, and even offer pottery-making classes. As to where to submit your work, start with next year's Gala! Profs have even been known to bid on their favourite artworks. The Victoria College Art Gala runs from 6-9 pm at Old Vic on Monday, March 11. The dress code for the event is semi-formal.
Photos clockwise from top left: "We Are Each Other's Keeper" by Reem Eissa "Pow Wow" by Ian Poon "Nature's Christmas" by Ian Poon "Zhouzhuang, China" by Ian Poon
var.st/arts
VARSITY ARTS & CULTURE
MONDAY, MARCH 11, 2013
17
Love is a picture “Patti Smith: Camera Solo” showcases intimate photographs by a punk icon Sofia Luu VARSITY STAFF
When Patti Smith wakes up, her first concern is coffee. She doesn't get up in the morning with thoughts of picking up her camera or notebook. According to her, coffee and her kids come first. Everything else — the art, poetry, and music — happens organically. “Patti Smith: Camera Solo” at the Art Gallery of Ontario is the artist's Canadian debut. While Smith is hailed as the godmother of punk, this exhibit explores her influences across various mediums. The 70 silver gelatin prints on display in the gallery give visitors the chance to see through the eyes of Smith and her camera. Smith was at the ago last Wednesday for a special conversation with the gallery's ceo and director, Matthew Teitelbaum. During the hour that she spoke, Smith managed to talk about everything from finding early influences in her mother's Vogue magazines, to the parallels (not connections) between her work and that of Robert Mapplethorpe, a former partner and longtime friend. The camera Smith used in her early photography was a vintage Land 250, and she continues to use the Polaroid to this day. When asked about whether or not the blur that exists in some of her photos was intentional, Smith was quick to dismiss this description of her work. Instead, she pre-
fers to use the term “atmospheric” when describing the aesthetic of her photographs. For Smith, the Land 250 is a simple camera that has its own limitations in terms of what it can and cannot capture. For example, she has yet to photograph the necklace that Mapplethorpe gave her as a gift in 1967 due to the camera’s inability to catch the necklace’s fine details. At other times, however, the “atmospheric” quality of her photos is a result of the environment in which the photograph was taken. One of the photos in the ago exhibit features a photo of a Hiroshima building engulfed in fog. Smith explained that she thought the fog was a result of a dirty camera lens, but even after rigorous wiping, the haze remained. If Smith wanted to take a perfectly clear photograph, she could easily trade in her Polaroid for a high tech dslr camera, or even an iPhone. Yet it is evident from the collection of works on display at the ago that perfection is not what Smith is after; she is instead concerned with capturing the raw, flawed aspects of everyday life. Death manifests itself as a common theme among the photographs in the exhibit; there are images of Walt Whitman's tomb, a stone from the River Ouse (in which Virginia Woolf drowned herself in 1941), and Susan Sontag's grave. These photographs demonstrate what Smith has deemed as
"Robert's Slippers" (2002) by Patti Smith. PHOTO COURTESY AGO
her "strong relationship with the dead." Although trying to capture the notion of death might seem like a slightly morbid fascination, to Smith, it is the most appropriate way to honour her heroes.
Smith is a careful and deliberate photographer. While she does like to photograph different aspects of everyday life, she is not constantly pressing the shutter button of her camera. Most objects she will
dismiss as merely “stuff” — only things that are significant to her eventually become the subjects of her photography. A pair of slippers with the initials “R.M.” for Robert Mapplethorpe embroidered on the toes. Arthur Rimbaud's utensils. A chipped coffee cup that once belonged to her father. These items are a few of the many things that make an appearance in Smith’s photographs, for they are objects that she treasures. There is yet another simple philosophy behind Smith’s photography: she will only take photos of the objects that, in some way, capture the essence of their owner. While she was on tour with Neil Young, for instance, she managed to take a picture of his guitar, an item that Smith likens to a “holy relic.” Yet another reason to be choosy with her subjects is the unfortunate fact that Polaroid ceased production of its instant film in 2008. Even if Smith wanted to continue using her camera forever, she could not. For the present, she must rely on her dwindling supply of expired Polaroid film. The works featured in Camera Solo are a telling reflection of Smith’s honest and simple approach to taking photos. As she boldly declared during her talk at the ago, “I’m not trying to make a statement. I’m just trying to do my work.” “Patti Smith: Camera Solo” runs at the AGO until May 19, 2013.
A hero through and through TIFF’s Comic Book Heroes series shines the spotlight on classic adaptations of graphic novels Jakob Tanner VARSITY STAFF
The tiff Bell Lightbox is currently hosting a matinée series of oldschool, kid-friendly comic book adaptations. It’s March Break this week, and the Comic Book Heroes series is designed to keep youngsters off the streets and out of trouble while the rules and obligations of school temporarily disappear. While Comic Book Heroes is marketed to kids and families, the opportunity to see Christopher Reeve, among others, flying through the air on the big screen is reason enough for bored university students to take a break from their textbooks and stop by the Lightbox. Most of the films are pre-Y2K, including Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Superman, and Dick Tracy. The series highlights a vision of comic book heroes that has perhaps been forgotten by recent audiences; we‘ve come to expect movies like Watchmen, in which the superheroes are bums and losers, or the newest Batman film, which features scene after scene of the Dark Knight getting his ass-kicked. The tiff series focuses on earlier, less gritty depictions of super heroes — the goofy spandex-clad heroes full of bravery and righteousness, along with the square-jawed villains and their terrible one-liners. One of Dick Tracy’s nemeses threatens to “take his fingers and turn ’em into pretzels!”
Superman (1978).PHOTO COURTESY PHOTOFEST
Jesse Wente, series curator and Head of Film Programmes at the tiff Bell Lightbox, explains why he thinks kids are fascinated by superheroes. “As a kid, you’re trying to work out your individual identity, and I think superhero movies often express those sorts of ideas or the emotions surrounding that. Superheroes, yeah, they have super powers, but that often complicates their lives.
They can’t be part of the same social group as they might want to be, and all those issues are things kids deal with in school or the playground on a daily basis.” It seems that the same could be said about university students. Issues concerning one’s “individual identity” perhaps especially apply to those in fourth year, who are shuddering at the question of “what’s next?”
But Wente offers other reasons as to why university students might be interested in checking out the series. “Some of the movies provide a certain nostalgia or connection to superhero cinema past like Superman and those sorts of films,” he says. “For university students, it’s an opportunity to see films you may not have seen on the big screen before.”
Nostalgia is both a pro and a con. The films’ effects often seem outdated, looking like kindergarten arts and craft projects. Perhaps even more disappointingly, Batman: Mask of the Phantasm — the animated film that closely resembles the super-gritty '90s television series — at times fails to live up to favourable memories of the show. At one point, an agitated Batman whines to his butler Alfred: “Don’t you know anything about me?” Teen-angst Batman is perhaps better left forgotten. Barring a few quirks, however, Mask of the Phantasm is still an edgy cartoon. As Wente admits, “It’s the most intense of the films we’re showing… For kids, it might be an okay entry point for Batman. Batman is always intense. They are really dark stories, those stories. It’s hard to include them in a series that is trying to be kid-friendly.” On the opposite side of the spectrum, the series is screening movies like The Powerpuff Girls, which features three superpowered girls that are chemically concocted with sugar, spice, and everything but a prescription to Ritalin. Within this genre of hyperactive, sugar-rush cartoons, the Lightbox also includes Astro Boy and Speed Racer. A notable trend throughout liveaction films in the series is the tension between real-life actors and animation. Both Dick Tracy
CONTINUED PAGE 19
18
Vol. CXXXIII, No. 19
VARSITY ARTS & CULTURE
arts@thevarsity.ca
A stepping stone to the opera MYOpera provides exciting opportunities for aspiring singers Elena Gritzan VARSITY CONTRIBUTOR
JANICE LIU/THE VArsITy
For Kate Applin, a love of opera came early in life. She became enamoured with the art form while performing with the Canadian Children’s Opera Company in Toronto, and further honed her skills while studying music at Wilfred Laurier University. “It seems funny, because it can seem antiquated to sing your feelings in this really story-ish way and sing the talking in between the story, but … it is actually really great,” Applin says of performing opera. “I find the stories are really universal…This person was living 300 years ago, but I kind of get what they’re thinking.” Yet life can be very difficult for young opera singers, no matter how passionate they are. “As a singer, you are constantly training,” says Applin, “so you pay out for school, voice lessons, coaching, your music … to go to these seminar programs and train for two months at a time and it’s thousands of dollars. It’s a great experience, but it is a lot of money out the door and it’s hard to get that money in.” According to Applin, the jump from a school environment into the professional world is particularly difficult, with graduates vying for a handful of spots in young-artist programs, such as the Canadian Opera Company Ensemble Studio in Toronto. “You lose a lot of singers in those intervening years because they audition over and over again for the same programs and a lot of them kind of lose heart,” Applin founded the Metro Youth Opera (MYOpera) in 2010 to address some of these challenges. The company presents a show each spring, and its mandate is to provide professional experience to young talents, along with all-important monetary compensation. As Applin explains, “I don’t hire singers that have a lot of professional experience singing opera, but who have very high levels of training and have been performing in other ways: in schools, in programs, and have been hired to do smaller gigs, but not to do a lead role in a show.” Participants in MYOpera are thrown into the real-world situation of being signed on to rehearse and perform a show in a tight time-frame, an experience that serves as a huge stepping stone towards kick-starting a career in opera performance. The program does not include any coaching or lessons, only the expectation that singers will come prepared and ready to throw themselves into the process of preparing a show from start to finish, culminating
in a performance in a large 350seat theatre. “I think for me the most rewarding part is that I know that my singers are grateful for the experience, and have actually learned something from it,” Applin says. “I’ve had singers every year say, ‘I’m really proud of what you’re doing; I’m proud to be a part of it. It’s not easy to get these experiences, so thank you for that.’” Applin hopes that MYOpera can be a learning experience for audiences as well as performers. For their third season, they are presenting a triple-bill of short comedies, including Stravinsky’s Mavra, Pergolesi’s La Serva Padrona, and Le Magicien, a classical contemporary piece by Canadian composer Jean Vallerand. “It’s a chance for those who don’t know opera to get introduced to it, and you’re not committed to like, four hours of Wagner … which is nice for somebody who doesn’t know if they like it,” she explains. “Here you can see that the music and the stories of opera actually do make sense, and … hopefully the audiences … that don’t know opera can apply that later when they go see another show.” This season’s extension past a traditional opera repertoire should be a treat for opera lovers as well, giving them the opportunity to see shows that they are not familiar with, and that are potentially being performed by future stars of the opera world. While Applin is enthusiastic about MYOpera, she admits that running a small opera company comes with its own set of challenges. “The work can be challenging,” she says. “Organizing, and trying to learn how to be a producer, and a fundraiser, and a marketer, and all of those things. But the biggest challenge is the stress that [goes] into hoping there are enough people there to see the product that you care so much about.” With future plans to put on two shows per year — one in the fall and one in the spring — and to incorporate string quartets or small orchestras into the performance, the only thing holding MYOpera back from rapid expansion is Applin’s dedication to offering fair payment to all of her artists. This vision, along with her clear passion and devotion to providing a memorable experience for performers and audience alike, makes the Metro Youth Opera an important contribution to Toronto’s arts scene. The Metro Youth Opera is presenting a triple-bill of comedies on April 5 and 7 at the Centre for Creative Learning (2365 Bayview Ave.). Students can purchase tickets for a special price of $20.
Everyone's a critic.
Write for arts!
arts@thevarsity.ca
VARSITY ARTS & CULTURE
var.st/arts "HERO" CONTINUED FROM PAGE 17 and The Mask include cartoony makeup and attempts to render the live action into a more comic book aesthetic. Wente says that a question at the centre of the series is: “How do you adapt a comic to the screen?” “It’s funny,” says Wente, “Because nowadays so much popular cinema is cartoons interacting with human beings. Or human beings within giant cartoon landscapes that don’t actually exist. We’ve come to a point where that’s more of a norm in popular filmmaking than it is the exception, as we see in some of these early movies [like Dick Tracy].”
Wente points out that a comic book adaptation faces particular issues different from other adaptations. “Unlike, let’s say, a novel adaptation that doesn’t necessarily have a visual design already associated to it, comic books have a very specific visual design to them. Certainly, they change with different artists or what not, but Spiderman has a very distinct look to it. How do you create that on the screen? Or how do you create Superman on the screen? Make it into a world that you could buy into. I think it’s one of the difficulties that kept comics marginalized for so long.” Wente says the inspiration for the series came from a desire to watch the original 1978 Superman film on the big screen. Along with Superman
MONDAY, MARCH 11, 2013
II, Wente says, “It would be hard for me to imagine doing the series without being able to show those.” Superman may be one of the corniest, cheesiest films in the series, but it also has a lot of heart. The first half of the film focuses on the origins of Superman, and then shifts gears to portray Superman catching bank robbers, saving journalists dangling from helicopters, and escorting a little girl’s kitten from a tree. It’s a bird, it’s a plane — no, it’s just a really great guy! So while tiff’s Comic Book Heroes is definitely kid-friendly, the series offers a great opportunity to reminisce about an earlier time, when villains were more comical than evil and superheroes really were super.
Dick Tracy (1980). photo courtesy photofest
INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS.
IMMIGRATE TO CANADA PERMANENTLY. The Canadian Experience Class program offers foreign graduates with Canadian work experience the opportunity to apply and stay in Canada permanently. Visit immigration.gc.ca/cec for more details and see if you’re eligible.
ÉTUDIANTS ÉTRANGERS.
IMMIGREZ EN PERMANENCE AU CANADA. Le programme de la catégorie de l’expérience canadienne offre aux diplômés étrangers ayant une expérience de travail au Canada la possibilité de faire une demande en vue d’habiter en permanence au Canada. Visitez le site immigration.gc.ca/cec pour en savoir plus et pour voir si vous êtes admissible.
8AM classe$ are painful. CLIENT:
1910 Yonge St., Toronto, ON T: 416 484-1959
JOB #:
CIC
TRIM:
FG-1007-23
LIVE:
DESCRIPTION: BW
ACCOUNT DIRECTOR:
10" x 3.5"
PUBLICATION:
BLEED:
CREATIVE DIRECTOR:
The Varsity
INSERTION DATE:
WRITER
March 4, 2013
STUDIO MANAGER:
APPROVALS:
With an average student return of $1000, at least taxes are painless.*
$29.95
student pricing & free SPC Card*
hrblock.ca | 800-HRBLOCK (472-5625)
© 2013 H&R Block Canada, Inc. *Average is based on all student returns prepared at H&R Block in Canada for 2010 tax returns. The average refund amount calculated for students was over $1,100, cannot be guaranteed and varies based on each individual tax situation. $29.95 valid for student tax preparation only. To qualify, student must present either (i) a T2202a documenting 4 or more months of full-time attendance at a college or university during the applicable tax year or (ii) a valid high school ID card. Students pay $79.99 for Complex/Premier return. Expires 12/31/2013. Valid only at participating locations. Additional fees apply. SPC cards available at participating locations in Canada only. Offers may vary, restrictions may apply. For full terms see www.spccard.ca.
FILE NAME: 12-HRB-033-BW-RF-E-2
TRIM: 10" x 7.5"
DATE: Jan 29
BLEED: –
REV #: 1
19
VARSITY ARTS & CULTURE
20 Vol. CXXXIII, No. 19
Feminists and typists Age of Arousal is a hilarious yet complex portrayal of equality in the Victorian age
MINHEE BAE/THE VArsITy
1-Ţ+-*"- (.Ţ - ]Ţ SHORTŢqŢ1.1 ''5Ţ.$4Ţ(*)/#.Ţ/*Ţ*) Ţ5 BUILTŢ*)Ţ+-*! ..$*) 'Ţ 2$ \Ţ/ 1"#/Ţ 5Ţ 4+ -/. TARGETEDŢ/*Ţ/# Ţ.&$''.Ţ ) Ţ&)*3' " Ţ (+'*5 -.Ţ)
DESIGNEDŢ/*Ţ"$2 Ţ5*1Ţ/# Ţ ./Ţ- 'p3*-' \Ţ - 'p3*-&Ţ 4+ -$ )
CONNECTEDŢqŢ+1//$)"Ţ5*1Ţ$)Ţ/*1 #Ţ3$/#Ţ& 5Ţ $) 1./-5Ţ *)/ /.
Ţ ++'$ Ţ ) Ţ *((1)$/5p . Ţ . - # Ţ ,1 1'/1- Ţ Ţ 1'/1- 'Ţ -$/ " Ţ *). -2 /$*)ŢaŢ ) " ( )/ Ţ ( -" ) 5Ţ ) " ( )/ Ţ )2$-*)( )/ 'Ţ $.1 'Ţ *((1)$ /$*)Ţ Ţ 4+- ..$2 Ţ -/. Ţ *"- +#$ Ţ )!*-( /$*)Ţ 5./ (.ŢpŢŢ ++'$ /$*).Ţ + $ '$./ Ţ *"- +#$ Ţ )!*-( /$*)Ţ 5./ (.ŢpŢŢ -/*"- +#$ Ţ + $ '$./ Ţ - )Ţ 1.$) ..Ţ ) " ( )/Ţv*)'$) w Ţ )/ -) /$*) 'Ţ 1.$) ..Ţ ) " ( )/ Ţ -*% /Ţ ) " ( )/ Ţ 1./ $) ' Ţ "-$ 1'/1- Ţ *p + Ţ # - + 1/$ Ţ - /$*) Ţ $- ' ..Ţ )!*-( /$*)Ţ /3*-&$)"
Emma Kikulis VARSITY CONTRIBUTOR
Two women sit side by side on stage. One is draped in a long white nightgown. The other, visibly younger, is cloaked in an emerald green corseted gown. The audience soon learns that the older woman, Mary, has just awoken in fright from a nightmare and is being gently consoled by Rhoda, who tenderly strokes her hair. The two women appear to be mother and daughter. Then, suddenly, they embrace and begin to kiss. thereby dissolving the audience’s preconceptions about their relationship and making way for a complex and riveting story that proves to be much bigger than the two lovers. Age of Arousal, produced by U of T’s Centre for Drama, Theatre and Performance Studies, is set in London, 1885. It is a time when women are beginning to toy with the idea of independence and suffrage, much to the dismay of not only men, but also conservatively-minded housewives who are comfortable in their roles as homemakers. Mary Barefoot (Kate Lynch, who codirected the play with David Jensen) and her lover Rhoda Nunn (Briar Knowles) run a secretarial school that teaches shorthand typing and financial skills to women, in an effort to help them find work and become selfsufficient. When Mary’s cousin, Dr. Everard Barefoot (Matthew Lawrence) comes to town, and Rhoda invites her three impoverished friends — sisters Virginia, Alice, and Monica — to study
arts@thevarsity.ca at the secretarial school, things start to get a little messy. Lynch’s performance as Mary is vibrant and dynamic. She keeps the audience hanging onto her every word, believing in her struggle, and rooting for her cause. Sally Nakazi also gives a seductive performance as Monica, who struggles to suppress her sexual feelings for Everard, while exuding a composed, feminine demeanour. Yet the charming and debonair Everard has caught the eye of Rhoda as well, and this new and powerful attraction to a man forces Rhoda to question her relationship with Mary. Through a series of “thought-speak” monologues, the audience learns that while Everard has not refrained from the odd sexual encounter with Monica, he is keen to return Rhoda’s affections. Throughout this tangled love affair, Mary struggles to reform spinsters Virginia and Alice, urging them to embrace feminist values and relinquish their self-deprecating attitudes. While this part of the play’s narrative is compelling in its own right, it is the moment when Rhoda must choose between her aching passion for Everard and her relationship with Mary that will have audience members holding their breath in anticipation. Age of Arousal is sexually charged and hilariously crude, but this never detracts from the play’s riveting portrayal of five women who are quite literally trying to change the world. The production is rich and powerful, with a vibrant cast that breathes life into a complex tale of equality and individuality. Age of Arousal runs Tuesday through Saturday until March 16.
Spring Meeting of Members The Spring Meeting of Members of VARSITY PUBLICATIONS INC. (the “Corporation”), the company that publishes The Varsity newspaper, will be held: DATE: Wednesday, March 20, 2013 TIME: 5:00 pm LOCATION: 21 Sussex Ave., second floor The meeting will be held for the purpose of: 1. Electing for directors: voting for directors can be done online at voting.utoronto.ca on March 17, 18 and 19, 2o13. This online voting system does not permit Varsity Publications Inc. to identify how an individual has voted; 2. Reviewing and, if deemed appropriate, passing ordinary resolution to approve proposed changes to the corporation’s bylaws; 3. Transacting such other business as may properly be brought before the meeting.
PETERBOROUGH | LINDSAY | COBOURG | HALIBURTON
Build on Your Degree. FOR MORE INFORMATION:
ʼn ($)" *'' " [ s+*./"- Ţ *-Ţ *)/ /Ţ -**& Ţ 5) #Ţ /]Ţ '5) #|ʼn ($)" [*)[ @>>p;=;p><><Ţ 4/[Ţ;;78
Members unable to attend this meeting in person are able to proxy their vote. Proxies must be returned to the location of the meeting no later than 5:00 pm on Tuesday, March 19, 2013. Proxy-holders cannot hold more than two (2) proxies. For more information on the Spring Meeting of Members, visit var.st/springmeeting
var.st/adinfo
ADVERTISEMENT
MONDAY, MARCH 11, 2013
21
Science
FROM THE ARCHIVES
var.st/sCIENCE
11 MarCH 2013
Feel angry? Find out what’s going on in your noggin’
science@thevarsity.ca
var.st/8ww
Aging and memory: changing perspective U of T psychology research reveals older adults benefit from ‘distraction learning’ techniques Felix Walpole VARSITY CONTRIBUTOR
Researchers from the University of Toronto Department of Psychology and the Baycrest Health Sciences’ Rotman Research Institute (rri) have published a unique study that could alter the ways in which aging and memory are understood. After extensive research, the project has determined that the use of distraction learning techniques can help older adults to overcome forgetfulness and perform better on memory tests. “Although distraction can in many ways be disruptive to memory function and to tasks with specific target goals, the study shows how distraction techniques could help older adults remember certain things, such as appointments,” confirms Renee Biss, a third-year PhD candidate in the Department of Psychology at U of T and the lead researcher on the study. Over the course of three experimental trials, test subjects were required to study and recall a list of words both immediately and 15 minutes later. During the interval,
the subjects were asked to pay attention to specific pictures while selected words from the list were placed in the background as distractions. Younger adults between the ages 17-27, sampled from the University of Toronto were not affected by the distractions. A substantial 30 per cent of adults aged 60 to 78 sampled from the community at large were able to remember the words that had been used as distractions. The results, published February 20 in Psychological Science, suggest stimulating possibilities for future research associated with memory and aging, the development of mature learning programs, and methods of caring for the elderly. According to Dr. Lynn Hasher, the project’s senior and supervising researcher, the unique study may also have a substantial impact on the everyday lives of mature adults. “Our findings point to exciting possibilities for using strategically-placed relevant distraction as memory aids for older adults — whether it’s in a classroom, at home or in a long term care environment,” explained Biss in an interview with Baycrest News. Although distraction learning may seem to be an oxymoron, Biss main-
tains that the study reflects a “need to look past the traditionally negative ways in which aging and changing attention patterns are perceived.” A mature brain processes information differently than a younger brain does, and such differences must be incorporated into a comprehensive understanding of memory. A few weeks after the experiment had been successfully completed, Biss took the time to comment on her experience as a graduate student at the University of Toronto and working with Hasher. After obtaining an undergraduate degree from McGill University, Biss decided to pursue a PhD in psychology under the supervision of Hasher. When asked about her decision to study in Toronto, Biss noted that aside from personal ties to the city, “U of T offers graduate students some of the best opportunities in the world to pursue research in psychology, aging and cognition.” The city appears to nurture an active and enthusiastic medical community that encourages research and development, a community that the university is undeniably a part of. It was also noted that the
Renee Biss, the lead researcher on the study. BErNarda GospIC/tHE varsIty
size of the university allowed for various kinds of communication and cooperation to emerge between related fields. Hasher, can be seen as a relevant example of collaborative connections; aside from being a senior scientist within the Department
of Psychology at U of T, Hasher works at rri. Shared common interests between institutes such as rri and the University of Toronto’s Department of Psychology create opportunities that make both the university and the city of Toronto great communities for research.
Want (lots of) salt with that? Many Canadian restaurants rank high on the sodium meter, study says Albert R. Delitala
VARSITY CONTRIBUTOR
THE STUDY What do poutine, nachos, and pad sew noodles have in common? How about salads, soups, and stir-fries? The common link is sodium, and lots of it, according to a new U of T study. The study looked at 85 chain and fast-food restaurants across Canada and found that average menu items contained unhealthy levels of sodium. Most items in sit-down restaurants contained the amount of sodium recommended for an entire day. Fast-food restaurants did only slightly better, averaging about twothirds the daily value per item. “I think the most surprising result was the wide range of sodium levels we saw,” says Mary Scourboutakos, the lead author of the study and a PhD student in U of T’s Department of Nutritional Sciences. “If you take sandwiches, for example, at a sit-down restaurant, we saw sandwiches with 200 mg of sodium. There were other sandwiches with 600 mg of sodium.” Health Canada recommends most adults consume 1,500 mg of sodium per day. Despite this, 85 per cent of
Lead Researcher Mary Scourboutakos. BErNarda GospIC/tHE varsIty
men and 60 per cent of women consume over 2,300 mg per day. These high levels of sodium consumption put individuals at risk of developing high blood pressure, which can lead to heart disease, kidney disease, and stroke. Even children’s items were found to be loaded with salt. Children between ages four and eight should consume up to 1,200 mg of sodium per day. But most restaurant items contained two-thirds of the total daily limit, and some meals such as pizza, chicken, and pasta far exceeded it.
Nearly half of Canadians eat at least one meal a day from a restaurant or cafeteria, and the impact on Canadians’ salt consumption is significant. Most people don’t ever actually see the salt. “We think about the amount of salt we’re adding at the table, but really, that’s negligible. The sodium we’re eating is already in the food … when it’s served to us or when we buy it,” says Scourboutakos. HEALTHIER RESTAURANTS While the numbers indicate that so called health-food restaurants are
the exception, some of these restaurants have still responded to experts’ call to lower their sodium use. “Most of our raw food especially have almost no salt in it,” says Dwayne Van Sluytman, a sous chef at Live Organic Food Bar in Toronto. “We try to minimize [salt in] a lot of our salad dressings as much as we can. And everything is just to taste after that.” Like all chefs, Van Sluytman uses salt, but only sparingly. He says he also prefers sea salt, as its stronger flavour allows him to use less. “They’re all flavour enhancers. So once you find healthier options — sea salt, Himalayan salt, even tamari — you find you’re using less and get the same result,” says Sluytman.
vantage of the same resource that made her study possible: almost all chain restaurants post their nutritional information online. “If you’re eating out frequently, you need to make yourself aware. Go to the websites, figure out how much sodium is in those foods, and then choose appropriately.”
THE SOLUTION Scourboutakos says the government needs to set sodium reduction targets for restaurants as it does with packaged grocery foods. “Overall, we definitely need a national sodium reduction strategy to address the issue of [high] sodium in the Canadian food supply,” says Scourboutakos. But in the meantime, Scourboutakos says consumers can take ad-
McDonald’s Angus Bacon & Cheese Burger 1990 mg 1.3× total daily value
sErIoUs saLt oFFENdErs Jack Astor’s Macho Nachos – Beef 5262 mg 3.5× total daily value
Thai Express’s Pad See Ew 2000 mg 1.3× total daily value
Smoke’s Poutinerie’s Country Style Poutine 2484 mg 1.6× total daily value
VARSITY SCIENCE
var.st/science
MONDAY, MARCH 11, 2013
23
U of T launches nano-satellites into orbit Institute for Aerospace Studies’ BRITE mission puts spotlight on heavy stars The advancement of astronomical science is the scientific purpose of the brite mission, but the design and assembly of such
University of Toronto researchers have helped launch a solar-powered satellite the size of a small cat into orbit. The satellite contains both a telescope and a camera despite its small size. On February 25, the satellite — the smallest astronomical satellite ever built — launched into orbit from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota, India. The “nano-satellite,” a cube with 20-centimetre-long sides that weighs less than seven kilograms, was designed and assembled by a team led by Cordell Grant of the Space Flight Laboratory (sfl) at the University of Toronto Institute for Aerospace Studies (utias). The nano-satellite and a twin are the first of six to be launched, all belonging to the Bright Target Explorer (brite) mission. The nano-satellites contain tiny telescopes that will be aimed at the brightest stars in our galaxy, with cameras that will record changes in the brightness of those stars. Astronomers are most interested in the changes in brightness due to oscillations within the star. Akin to earthquakes, the study of these “starquakes” is called asteroseismology. Astronomers study asteroseismology of the biggest, brightest stars because these are the stars that give off the heavy elements that are integral to the ecology of the universe. Large, luminous stars are particularly amenable to study by nanosatellites, because they do not require a large instrument to detect small changes in brightness. Some astronomical measurements can be made by looking out into space from Earth, but highly precise measurements of brightness are needed for asteroseismology, and having to look through Earth’s
clear weather at night; telescopes located in outer space, like the nano-satellites in the brite mission, are not bound by these limitations.
a tiny satellite is itself a remarkable feat of engineering. Each brite satellite costs between $1–2 million. When compared to the International Space Station — which cost
Da n
Se
lj ak
/ TH
eV ar
Si T
y
VARSITY CONTRIBUTOR
atmosphere would ruin such measurements. If the telescope is located on Earth, measurements can only be made during
Trevor Janes
$150 billion — building these million-dollar satellites seems downright thrifty. Such economical exploration of outer space is entirely consistent with the stated vision of the sfl, which is to “revolutionize the space industry by enabling science and technology missions … at least 100 times cheaper than present-day missions, with spacecraft development taking less than two years.” With outer space exploration budgets shrinking, this type of cost-saving innovation is vital for the space industry’s survival. Anotherconsequence of this vision is that a student completing a twoyear master’s degree at the sfl would be involved in all stages of spacecraft development, including launch. One cost-saving measure taken by the scientists behind the brite mission was to launch the satellites as part of a seven-satellite payload using an Indian rocket. It would have been impossible to launch the satellites into space from somewhere in Canada, because no suitable Canadian facility exists. The Indian facility in Sriharikota has been launching rockets since the early-1970s. Indeed, the Indian Space Research Organisation (isro) is now one of the top six space programs in the world. The isro plans to send a satellite to Mars later this year and also plans to send people to outer space by 2016. The program’s budget for the 2012–2013 year is $1.3 billion; as points of comparison, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (nasa) in the US has a budget of $17.7 billion, and the Canadian Space Agency (csa) has a budget of just under $400 million. The size of a country’s budget will always be a factor in the level of impact that country can have in the area of space exploration, but Grant’s high-performance, low-cost nanosatellites are examples of the innovation that will help Canada make the most of its space budget.
Science in brief Rat brains speak to each other Researchers at Duke University have created the first ever brain-to-brain interface, allowing rats to send sensory and motor information to one another. In a previous study, the team inserted electrodes into areas of the brain that processed tactile information, and these electrodes were then attached to infrared sensors. This allowed the rats to “feel” infrared sensors. Next, the researchers attached electrodes from one rat brain to another. The experiment consisted of two rats in separate cages. One rat was denoted as the “encoder” and the other as the “decoder.” Both rats were taught to press on a lever once an indicator light turned on for a reward. When the encoder rat pressed on the lever in response to an indicator light, an electrical signal was created in the encoder rat’s brain and sent to the decoder rat’s brain via the electrodes. There was no visual stimulus in the decoder rat’s cage to indicate which lever to press; the decoder rat used the electrical signal sent from the encoder rat to decide. If the decoder rat achieved the task, it received a reward, while the encoder rat received an extra reward. Failure of the decoder rat to press the correct lever led to the denial of the encoder rat’s extra reward. Therefore, the encoder rat learned to send clearer brain signals the next time around. Although this process occurs instantaneously, it took over a month of daily hour-long training for the decoder rats to be able to learn the information. Another successful study linked a rat at Duke University to another rat in a laboratory in Brazil, showing promise for future brain interaction procedures. —Stephan Jayaratnam With files from the BBC
Environmental factors shown to influence development of schizophrenia Researchers at eth Zurich have found a way to influence the development of schizophrenia-like behavioural patterns in mice through a combination of infection during pregnancy and stress at puberty. Schizophrenia is an incurable mental disorder that affects one per cent of the population. Symptoms of the disorder typically manifest in adulthood, but scientists have long suspected that environmental factors such as stress and pathogens during development may be important risk factors for the disorder. Urs Meyer’s research group subjected mice to two different environmental influences. The first was an infection in the mother during the first half of the pregnancy to provoke an immune response. Thirty to 40 days after birth, at a time equivalent to mouse puberty, the mice were exposed to five different stressors as a second environmental influence. Control mice were either exposed to one or none of the environmental influences. Researchers then tested the mice’s behaviour and found that the mice who experienced both infection and stress had far more behavioural abnormalities akin to schizophrenia in humans than either of the control groups. The study hypothesized that the infection activated immune cells in the nervous system of the fetus which produced cytotoxins that alter brain development. These microglial immune cells lie dormant after the infection subsides, but can be activated again through a powerful and prolonged stressor, causing neuroimmunological changes that are not evident until adulthood. Either of the influences alone, infection or pregnancy, are not enough to lead to the development of schizophrenia. Rather it is the combination of influences at the right time that seems to be the key to the disorder. This study concludes that schizophrenia may be stopped by taking preventive action at appropriate times. —Alexander Mihaescu With files from ScienceDaily
Sports
ONLINE EXCLUSIVE
Recaps of every CIS Championship hockey game
var.st/sports
11 MarCH 2013 sports@thevarsity.ca
var.st/sports
CIS finalist players and coaches speak at last Wednesday’s press conference. jill Clark/varsity blues
Before the battle CIS finalist coaches and players preview the championship tournament Elizabeth Benn
ASSOCIATE SPORTS EDITOR
This weekend, the country’s top university women’s hockey teams faced off at the Varsity Arena to compete for the 2013 cis championship. “The sport has grown exponentially since the championship began in 1998,” explained Beth Ali, Director of Intercollegiate and High Performance Sport, and the cis women’s hockey championship convenor. “The pioneers of the game are now coaching, mentoring, or back in school finishing their education. These impressive women continue to contribute to women’s hockey by developing the next generation of outstanding female athletes. “There are now 31 cis schools with women’s hockey programs, and that is a 35 per cent increase from the inaugural tournament in 1998.” Competing this year were Les Carabins de Montréal, the St. Francis Xavier X-Women, the Queen’s University Gaels, the ubc Thunderbirds, the defending champion Calgary Dinos, and the Varsity Blues, who had a disappointing oua playoff run, but made the tournament automatically by virtue of hosting. Les Carabins de Montréal ranked as the first seed for the champion-
Blues head coach Vicky Sunohara talked about what her team was up against in the tournament.
ship after beating the McGill Martlets, who have won seven straight rseo titles, and played in 10 national championships. “It’s been an exciting week and weekend; it was a difficult playoff. I think we’re now refocusing on what we need to do in this championship because after winning in such an emotional way, it would be easy to stay in the past and focus on what we’ve done. But once you’re here you know that anybody here can win, and so we just need to keep focusing on giving our best performances, and whatever happens, happens.” The St. fx x-Women ranked as the second seed, led by head coach David Synishin, who is in his eleventh season coaching the team. The team played a near perfect season with a 23–1 record, posting the best regular season numbers of any team in the weekend’s tournament. “Our conference was probably tighter than it’s ever been,” said Synishin. “We were number two a couple of years ago, and were fortunate enough to come out with silver, so we have a number of players that have been here and they’re aware of the level of play.” Queen’s head coach Matt Holmberg did not attend the press conference, because his wife was in labour. Team captain Kristin Smith spoke for the team saying, “We’re actually
“We can only control what we do. If we play our game then it’ll give us the best chance to be successful.”
expecting that he’s going to make the drive for our game on Friday. We’re just really excited for him. He’s always been there for us and we know that family always come first and that’s what he stresses to us, so really there’s no exception for him, but he’ll definitely be here Friday. That’s just how he is.” One struggle shared by all of the teams competing in the championship is that they are playing against teams they rarely see. “I think our mindset is just that we focus on ourselves and what our game is and what we want to do,” said Dinos player and Canadian Olympian Hayley Wickenheiser. “I don’t think we really try to worry too much; that’s the coaching staff’s job to, you know, worry about little nuances going on, and powerplays and stuff like that, and how to react, but for the most part I think we really are just focused on playing a solid team game and about playing people as we go.” Dinos head coach Danielle Goyette added, “For us it’s playing every game like it’s your last game. We know every team here can win a championship — that’s the fun part about it, and it’s teams that we never play against. We never played St. FX. [We’re] looking forward to it, but at the same time we have to make sure that we play our game.”
The top student athletes in the country playing at U of T this past weekend included Olympians Wickenheiser and Russian national team member Iya Gavrilova who both play for the Dinos. Wickenheiser was cautious about the Dinos’ chances. “Everybody knows that we won last year, but that doesn’t really mean anything for this year. Especially, I think in the cis the personnel changes pretty frequently in this level of hockey with players coming in and out and I think you’re really only as good as what you’ve done in the last game,” she said. “At this level, it’s pretty up and down, so for us it’s a chance to get a second life, and that’s what we’re looking forward to.” Wickenheiser, who has been a star Olympian multiple times and has played men’s professional hockey in Europe, notes a huge difference between cis hockey and the more competitive levels. “[cis hockey is] harder hockey to play, I would say. Things don’t happen quite as naturally as at the higher levels or with more experienced players. In the same token, it’s exciting. It’s very unpredictable and any point in the game things can change in a heartbeat, and I think for a fan that’s exciting to watch, but it’s probably the hardest hockey I’ve ever played.
“You need to be more patient. You need to find a way to make the players around you better, find ways to make the team successful, and at the same time keep emotions in check in terms of staying calm and stuff because, like I said, anything can happen, and turns of the game happen often.” “For us, we’re just really excited,” admitted ubc Thunderbirds head coach Graham Thomas. “I think every coach and staff and team plans at the beginning of the season to make it to this tournament, and for us we’re just really fortunate to be able to represent our university and our program for the first time.” Blues coach Vicky Sunohara believes that the tournament could be an important step in promoting women’s hockey. “You have so many people watching the world championship gold medal games and so many people watching the Olympics. We need to get these things on tv because there’s a huge audience for it, and it’s such a positive thing. “I know that our host community has done such a great job of trying to spread the word to get young and older female hockey players to come out and watch. People are spending hundreds of dollars to go see the Leafs, and it’s a fraction of the cost for such a great product.”
“We’re completely the underdogs, and we’re here as hosts. We don’t have any pressure on us.”
“We really wanted to get into the national championships by winning the OUA, but it is what it is.”
“I think we’re all believing that it’s a weekend where anything can happen, and we’re ready to play.”
VARSITY SPORTS
var.st/sports
MONDAY, MARCH 11, 2013
25
The Blues’ road to the tournament U of T’s regular season and postseason woes and triumphs Elizabeth Benn
ASSOCIATE SPORTS EDITOR
After the disappointment of the oua playoffs, the Blues had nearly a month to rest, practice, and prepare for the cis championship being held on home ice. They came into the tournament ranked sixth of six, with the attitude of just coming in excited to have the opportunity to play in this tournament. “We’re just excited,” said Vicky Sunohara. “We really wanted to get into the national championships by winning the oua championships. We really wanted to have a better playoff run, but it is what it is, and we lost out in the first round, but we do have this opportunity. We realize that, and we don’t have any pressure on us.” The Blues proved that they deserve to compete in the national championship, putting up a fight against their opponents for each game of the tournament. The team’s captain, Kelly O’Hanlon had the most points on the team with 27 — 12 goals and 15 assists. Behind her was rookie
Taylor Day who has had a huge impact on the team. She finished the season with 19 points, with eight goals and 11 assists. Goalies Nicole Kesteris and Krista Funke split their time in net equally. Kesteris had an amazing 438 saves on the season with a .916 save percentage, and Funk had 330 saves with a save percentage of .938. Kesteris was in net for all three games. “We were pretty happy with our season,” said Sunohara before the weekend’s tournament began. “We didn’t have the playoff run we would have liked, but luckily we have this opportunity in hosting the championships. We didn’t want to get in just for hosting, but the reality is that we’re here, and it’s a national championship.” “It comes down to one game at a time. I think we’re all believing that it’s a weekend whereanything can happen, and we’re ready to play. Bernarda Gospic/THe VarsiTy
The Varsity Blues, women’s hockey finished their 2012–2013 season this weekend with a fourth place finish in the cis championship. The season was a long one, starting with exhibition games in September, and ending almost exactly six months later with their loss to St. FX on Sunday. In the regular season, the Blues put up a 15–8–3 record, placing fifth overall in the 11 team oua. The Blues fell in the quarterfinals of the oua championship series to the Western Mustangs, who then fell to the Queen’s Gaels, who competed as the Ontario champions at this weekend’s cis championship. Prior to the winter break, the Blues posted a record of 9–8 as they struggled in their conference. The Blues needed to
make changes if they hoped to play as a top team during the rest of the season and the playoffs. Before the second semester’s classes started, the Blues competed in the Waterloo tournament, posting a record of 2–1, winning two shutout games, and losing to the Mustangs in a 2–0 shutout. In the second half of the season, the Blues posted a better record, 6–3, with four games ending in a shootout, and one game ending in overtime. This led them into the playoffs with hope of coming out with a good record, showing that they deserve to compete in the national championship. However, in the playoffs the Blues’ hope of coming into the cis championship as oua champions fell as they lost both of their games to the Mustangs, their knockout game ending in an emotional triple overtime, resulting in a 4–3 loss for the Blues.
Pool A: Blues vs X-Women Susan Gordon VARSITY STAFF
The number-one ranked Université de Montréal Carabins defeated the sixth-ranked Toronto Varsity Blues 1–0 Thursday. Both teams played conservatively throughout the game. The players’ frustration was obvious as they were stonewalled by the opposing goalies. In the third period, a face-off in the Blues’ end with just 25 seconds left pressured the Blues, but they were able to keep the game scoreless as the teams were sent into overtime. As both teams stepped onto the ice for overtime, the women began play-
ing more aggressively and the game picked up speed. However, this didn’t lead to many more scoring opportunities for either team, and the game remained scoreless after half of overtime had passed. A penalty took Toronto down to just three players with under five minutes left in overtime, and the Carabins stepped up the pressure. Goalie Nicole Kesteris continued to make some great stops for the Blues, but with just ten seconds left in the power play, Montréal’s Casandra Dupuis got lucky, sending in a shot with an unexpected bounce that found its way into the Blues’ net. The shot gave the Carabins a 1–0 lead, effectively ending the overtime period and the game.
Pool A: Blues vs Thunderbirds Elizabeth Benn
ASSOCIATE SPORTS EDITOR
After the loss to the Carabins, the Blues were looking to keep their hopes alive, which they did with a 5–4 shootout win against the ubc Thunderbirds. The Blues were able to hold a 1–0 lead heading into the second period after a Marlie McLaughlin goal. Toronto then went up 2–0 with a Sonja Weidenfelder goal. After a series of four penalties were called in the second period, Thunderbirds defender Sarah Casorso scored the first goal of the game for UBC. At the start of third period, Casorso
added to another goal for the ubc Thunderbirds. The Blues’ Jacqueline Scheffel scored to put Toronto ahead of the Thunderbirds once again. The back-and-forth game continued, and on a ubc powerplay 16:38 minutes into the third period, Chanakos scored another goal. Soon after, ubc put themselves ahead of the Blues for the first time in the game with a goal by Genevieve Carpenter-Boesch. On a U of T powerplay at the end of the game, Taylor Day scored the tying goal. Neither team was able to capitalize in overtime and the game came down to a shootout, which the Blues won to lead to their victory and bronze medal game qualification.
Bronze Medal Matchup: Blues vs X-Women William Deck
ASSOCIATE SPORTS EDITOR
The Varsity Blues ended their season by losing to the St Francis Xavier University X-Women in the bronze medal game 3–2 in overtime. At the start of the tournament Blues head coach Vicky Sunohara explained U of T’s game attitude. “I think it’s very important that we do what we can do and worry about ourselves and not so much worry about our competition. We can only control what we do. Then it’ll give us the best chance to be successful.”
The first period started slowly for both teams as they exchanged shots on net without success. This trend continued into the second period when the Varsity Blues scored first with an Amanda Ricker goal. However, the X-Women quickly responded, scoring their first goal just under five minutes later. In the second period, the X-Women scored again to take a 2–1 lead. Blues Sonja Weidenfelder scored with just 2:37 to go in regulation, tying the game at two apiece. With just under two minutes to go in regulation, the game tied, and with St. Francis Xavier players in the penalty box, the Varsity Blues had the perfect opportunity to score
and take the lead, but great defense and excellent goalkeeping from the X-Women prevented the Blues from advancing, and sent the game into overtime. In the extra period, the X-Women would capitalize on a power play to seal their win. With 3:04 left in the first overtime, St. Francis Xavier’s Erin Brophy scored the game winner off a rebound from teammate Jenna Downey. After the goal, the X-Women cleared the bench to celebrate their bronze medal cis tournament victory. Although the loss means the Varsity Blues will leave the cis tournament empty handed, many Blues players were proud of the way they played.
“I thought we played well — we struggled a bit in the second period but overall we worked our tails off and left it all out on the ice,” said the Blues’ Kaitlyn Bannon. “I think we showed in the tournament how good we are and how much we deserve to be here. We can’t hold our heads down after the loss.” “We thought we played really well this whole weekend, but it’s always tough to lose,” added forward Ricker. “We played well and we battled hard, and it’s nice to have the whole school behind you.” The loss means that the Blues finished the tournament in fourth place out of the six teams that qualified.
VARSITY SPORTS
26 Vol. CXXXIII No. 19
Consolation Game: Gaels vs Thunderbirds Elizabeth Benn
ASSOCIATE SPORTS EDITOR
Sunday at noon, the Queen’s Gaels and the ubc Thunderbirds played in the cis championship consolation game after both teams lost their other games this weekend, falling out of the race for a medal. ubc came out of the game with a 2–1 victory and their first win of the tournament. The first period was scoreless, but did not lack excitement. Both teams were very aggressive with one another, and both had penalties called. The first penalty was by ubc defenseman Nikola Brown-John, just after a time out called only 4:52 minutes into the first period. ubc head coach Graham Thomas called that time out within the first few minutes of the game. “I think this team was so nervous, just being the last time that they were playing together and that as much as we wanted to use that as a motivator it kind of worked the opposite for us. So we just kind of reeled them back in and wake them up and then they responded.” The Thunderbirds’ Sara Casorso and Queen’s’ rookie Courtenay Jacklin became very physical with each other against the boards, but no penalties were called on the brawl. ubc’s Dayle Poulin was called for a penalty, dropping her team’s players on the ice down to four once again. However, Queen’s was unable to capitalize. Both teams took shots, but they were blocked by the two goalies, who performed extremely well in the first period. Chantal Morais was called for a penalty for checking, but the Thunderbirds were not able to use this opportunity to make a difference in the game, keeping the score 0–0 going into the second period. The score remained 0–0 after the second period. After the break, ubc was taking shots, but they were struggling to get the
Final: Carabins vs Dinos
CIS
rebounds off of Dodd-Moher’s saves. Meanwhile, Queen’s was struggling to take shots when they had opportunities, being outshot in this period 10–6. Despite the number of shots that ubc took, they struggled to get the puck in the net. At nearly 16 minutes into the period, however, forward Nadine Burgess scored the first goal of the game for ubc. Less than one minute later, ubc added to their lead with another goal by Genevieve Carpenter-Boesch. At the start of the third period ubc was given a penalty for too many players on the ice, which was served by Nicole Saxvik. Queen’s was finally able to capitalize on this opportunity, ending the shutout with a goal by Brittany McHaffie. ubc goalie Samantha Langford held the Gaels to a single goal, allowing the Western Canada champions to finish in fifth place in the national championship, with the oua champions finishing in last place. “We knew at the beginning of the year that we had a very competitive team, and if everything went as planned we would [have] hoped to be competitive in the oua championship,” said Queen's head coach, Matthew Holmberg. “I’m proud of how the team played all year.” “It’s always hard when you’ve been on the road for a long time, and we played a lot of playoff games. I can’t say for sure but I think [we played] the most playoff games of any team that’s here so we’re beat up, we’re tired, we played the late game last night,” explained Queen’s head coach Holmberg. “They all really wanted it, and it showed in the end. They all wanted to play for each other and the one thing that we’re extremely proud of is we set so many bars and a lot of history this year, and accomplished a lot of things that were never done before, and I think we wanted to finish on that.”
n nto Students’ Unio University of Toro ents dian Federation of Stud
James Maiangowi VARSITY STAFF
Les Carabins de Montréal took home gold Sunday at the 2013 cis Women’s Hockey Championship, against the Calgary Dino’s in an exciting rematch between last year’s championship finalists. Calgary took an early lead 5:12 minutes in with a goal from Sinead Tracey, and played a strong offensive game throughout the first period. The Carabins had a slow start, and were stymied by Calgary’s good defense during early power plays. With two minutes left in the first period, Megan Grenon of the Dinos was sent to the penalty box for interference, followed a minute later by teammate Kelsie Lang. Seizing the opportunity, the Carabins pressed hard and were rewarded when team captain Kim Deschênes scored with 24 seconds left in the period. Carabins head coach Isabelle Leclaire noted the Carabins’ slow early game was not uncommon. “The start is always a bit more stressful — in this championship we’ve been behind in every game in the beginning,” Leclaire said in a postgame interview. “We had that experience also against McGill, so we weren’t panicking.” The second period started slow, as both teams had residual penalties from the first period. The Dinos missed a number of close opportunities on offense, while the Carabins were hampered when Ariane Barker fouled out for cross checking. Ten minutes into the second period, Dinos player Iya Gavrilova fed a short pass to Stephanie Zvonkovic, who found an opening in the Carabins defense and scored. The Carabins struck back hard in the latter half of the second period, with assistant captain Marion Allemoz scoring at 12:20 in the midst of some frenetic play in front of the Dinos net. In a thrilling repeat of the first period’s last minutes, the Carabins set up a neat play
in front of Calgary’s net, and several short passes later Deschênes scored, again with just 24 seconds left on the clock. Leclaire attributed the Carabins’ success in the second period to an offensive strategy emphasizing play near the Dinos’ net. “Our strategy was to bring the puck down low — the ice is pretty small here so you don’t want to take chances offensively.” The Carabins stuck to this strategy throughout the third period, playing a conservative but offensive game that minimized their risks. After Edith Aubert-Lehoux was sent to the penalty box five minutes into the match for hooking, the Dinos made a concerted effort to score, but were stymied by strong defensive efforts and Carabins’ goalie Elodie Rousseau-Sirois. With just a minute left in the third period, Calgary pulled their goalie and gave everything they had to score. It proved to be for naught, however, as the Carabins played out the last minute cautiously and took home the gold. With their victory on Sunday the Carabins avenged last year’s loss to the Dinos, which saw Hayley Wickenheiser score four goals in a lopsided 5–1 final. Dinos head coach Danielle Goyette said the loss was disappointing, but thanked fans and players for their support and efforts. “I have to give credit to our players. They battled hard and they gave everything on the ice,” Goyette said. “[The game] was good, we had good support — we’re pretty far from Calgary, and we had a lot of people come out tonight for the game.” Following the game Carabins captain Kim Deschênes was singled out for her excellent play both during the game and the championship as a whole, and won the championship’s mvp award. “It’s a very sweet victory, both for our team and our program,” Deschênes said of the game. “It was an extraordinary game, both teams played superbly.”
G IN R P S 3 1 20
e c i t o N s n o i t c e El Local 98 • Cana
sports@thevarsity.ca
e undergraduates at St.such ion represents all full-tim es important services TTC vid The U of T Students’ Un pro SU ted ga campuses. UT George and Mississau ns, book bursaries, clubs funding and discouncentral U of the Pla l to nta nts De de & stu alth s ent as He connects dents’ Union also repres Metropasses. Your Stu vernment, advocates for students’ rights, and social and s go ign pa and n on goals, cam T administratio puses to work on comm students across all cam programming.
The University of Toronto Students’ Union is holding its Spring 2013 Elections to fill the following positions: Position
Seat(s)
Division I Victoria College University College Innis College St. Michael’s College New College Trinity College Woodsworth College At-Large Arts & Science
2 2 1 3 3 1 3 2
Toronto School of Theology
1
Faculty of Music Faculty of Dentistry Faculty of Nursing Faculty of Medicine Faculty of Pharmacy Faculty of Law Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering Faculty of Architecture, Landscape & Design (pending approval at General Meeting) Faculty of Kinesiology & Physical Education Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE) At-Large Professional Faculty
1 1 1 1 1 1 3 1 1 1 2
Division II
Executive President
1
Vice President Internal & Services
1
Vice President Equity Vice President External
1 1 1
Vice President University Affairs
Election Nominations (All Positions) Election Campaign Period Election Voting Period Unofficial Election Results
Important 2013 Dates:
Thursday, February 14, 2013 at 10:00 to Thursday, February 28, 2013 at 16:00 Monday, March 4, 2013 to Thursday, March 14, 2013 March 12, 13, 14, 2013 Times TBA Monday, March 18, 2013
Nomination Pick-up and Drop-off Locations: St. George campus: UTSU Office 12 Hart House Circle Hours: Monday - Friday, 09:00 to 18:00
Mississauga campus: UTMSU Office UTM Student Centre, Room 100 Hours: Monday - Friday 09:00 to 12:30, 13:30 to 17:00
To run for a position, pick up a nomination package during the nomination period at the UTSU or UTMSU office. Please keep in mind the dates and deadlines. For more information, visit our Students’ Union website at www.utsu.ca or contact cro@utsu.ca Please note that, at the time of this publication, “University of Toronto Students’ Union” and/or “UTSU” refers to the Students’ Administrative Council of the University of Toronto, Inc. (“SAC”).
VARSITY SPORTS
var.st/sports
The Varsity Blues faced the Université de Montréal Carabins in their first CIS Championship game on Thursday, falling 1–0 to the tournament’s top seed.
Photos by Bernarda Gospic
MONDAY, MARCH 11, 2013
27
28 MONDAY, MARCH 11, 2013
ADVERTISEMENT
thevarsity.ca
saturday
awesome marketeers will gather at 830AM
MARCH 16, 2013 toronto marriott
WE WANT YOU TO JOIN US ALL F OR A DAY F UL L OF
creativity/ AN D FOR innovation/ ONLY passion/ J US T marketing $ 4 0 *
VISIT SUMMIT.RCMANEWS.CA FOR MORE INFO *
PRICES START AT $40 AND VARIES DEPENDING ON SCHOOL/PROGRAM
MARKETING SUMMIT