March 2, 2020

March 2, 2020

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

UTGSU commissioner resigns ahead of impeachment vote

Third UTGSU commissioner to resign, two executive positions remain empty Mikaela Toone Associate News Editor

University of Toronto Graduate Students’ Union (UTGSU) Academics and Funding Commissioner for Divisions 3 and 4, Ryder Whittaker, has resigned prior to a scheduled vote on February 27 for his impeachment. He is the third commissioner to resign this year.

This resignation leaves two of the seven UTGSU executive positions vacant.

Earlier in November, the UTGSU External Commissioner, Maryssa Barras, resigned amidst controversy surrounding Hillel UofT’s Kosher Forward Campaign. Barras was not replaced, and her position remains vacant.

Branden Rizzuto announced this past September that he would be leaving the Executive Committee in November 2019. His position was filled by Sophie McGibbon-Gardner, who at the time was the Academics and Funding Commissioner for Divisions 3 and 4. She was in turn replaced by Whittaker.

The discussion surrounding Whittaker’s reprimand and impeachment was done in camera, meaning a closed session of General Council that media and guests are not allowed to attend. However, he spoke to The Varsity afterward about the circumstances surrounding his resignation.

“This whole thing was a huge misunderstanding,” explained Whittaker, who alleges that discussions of his impeachment were all triggered by a photo he took at an executives’ meeting.

One executive commissioner objected to their photo being taken and, despite apologizing, Whittaker says tensions escalated and that the other executives decided to reprimand him.

Whittaker was banned from the UTGSU’s workspaces, and his responsibilities were given

to other executives. A motion was also made to start the process of impeachment, but Whittaker resigned before discussions began.

Whittaker had hoped that an apology and a commitment to work together with the other executives would be preferable over impeachment: “They really left me no other choice,” he said.

The Varsity reached out to the UTGSU for comment on this topic, but could not independently verify the details of Whittaker’s impeachment discussion as it occurred in camera.

The Executive Committee declined to speak on the subject because the discussion had happened in a closed session of the council. The committee referred only to the motion in the public meeting minutes, in which the council moved to impeach Whittaker “for the reasons of concerns about safety as raised at the February 13th, 2020 council meeting and for the violations of the Equity Statement.”

The UTGSU also declined to comment as to how the union and the executives will operate, despite the fact that two executive positions are unfilled.

However, the Executive Committee did comment on how the honoraria of the empty executive positions would be divided — $2,584 a month from both positions will be split among the remaining five executives, according to their workload.

UTGSU elections will begin March 9 and end on March 20. Despite an incumbentdominated election last year, this year has seen a number of new candidates — however, the position of finance commissioner has no candidates for the 2020 elections. Whittaker will not be running for re-election, though current executives Adam Hill and Lwanga Musisi, the Internal Commissioner and Governance Commissioner, respectively, are up as candidates.

Vol. CXL, No. 19

Business

Arts

Applying business research to giftgiving

6

Comment

“Dance to the beat of fetishization”

13

Science

Indians in Toronto: your country needs you

8

Meet the U of T professors changing the world of AI

15

Sports

Feature Maybe your life shouldn’t be going up in flames?

10

How a Varsity athlete-turned U of T professor is shaking up equity in sports

18

Breaking down the six candidates vying for provincial party leadership Ontario Liberal party to hold election for new leader Lauren Alexander, Hannah Carty & Mikaela Toone Associate News Editors

On Saturday, March 7, the Ontario Liberal Party, previously led by former Ontario Premier Kathleeen Wynne, will elect a new leader. The winner of this election will go on to challenge current Ontario Premier Doug Ford in 2022.

Steven Del Duca is the current front-runner, with 43 per cent of the convention delegates already pledging to vote for him. The other candi-

dates are Michael Coteau, Brenda Hollingsworth, Kate Graham, Alvin Tedjo, and Mitzie Hunter.

Provincial governments oversee postsecondary education in Canada, and have the power to direct funding and implement policies. As the election approaches, The Varsity broke down the six candidates and their platforms.

Liberal Party elections, page 4

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Crossword Corner Find yourself Mikaela Toone Crossword Correspondent

ACROSS 1. You can get a degree in teaching and check out the Bata Shoe Museum on this street 6. Where the CEO of a major search engine works (abbr.)

12. Usually paid on the first of each month 13. “____ boy” (good job) 15. “___ to yieu and yieu and yieu” 16. St George Street is _____ of Spadina Avenue 17. To gawk 19. Common palindromic French personal pronoun 20. A cool cyclist might pop one 22. Popular novel by John Steinbeck (abbr.)

24. For a Francophone, what may be found in 60 ACROSS 25. The latest line of subway trains riding Line 1 (abbr.)

26. Street that inexplicably becomes Harbord 27. Everyone’s favourite cycling alien

29. An exchange of light blows 31. What might be found at the end of a wordy Facebook post (abbr.)

33. The paper version of this is rarely used nowadays 35. Corner 37. It can be awkward when you run out of this too soon (abbr.)

38. Scots are included in this group, for now 40. “Able was I __ I saw Elba” 42. Multi-headed snake-like monster 44. Rank below Cpt. 46. Pasta ___ vodka 48. Sticky, gooey, black substance that dries hard 49. First sentence of a news article 51. Slippery, wet, stingy, long bois 53. Subban, defenseman for the New Jersey Devils 54. Tempt 56. 2019 thriller by Jordan Peele 58. Perkins, Leslie Knope’s best friend 60. For a Francophone, what may surround 24 ACROSS 61. What a castaway is on 24 ACROSS 64. Young children 66. Morrison who wrote Beloved

DOWN 1. Bitches ___, Miles Davis album 2. Remini from The King of Queens 3. The start 4. Mammals with the thickest fur in the world, sea subspecies 5. The brown food truck is found on this street 6. Water opossum 7. How English speakers laugh over text 8. This has been dedicated to joy and to a nightingale 9. Greasier 10. “Other people,” to Sartre 11. U of T students jaywalk this street to get to Caffiends 14. This instructor rules your GPA 18. Emanates 21. “_ __ a crazy dream last night!”

23. When going from YYZ to the Philippines one will probably land at this airport 27. Symbolic 28. Sour 30. Gym classes (abbr.)

32. Homemade (abbr.)

34. π 36. Time period 37. Many a mouse’s execution is in this 39. A baby baseball player might use this to help her homerun 41. Many bird courses are this 42. Lethal artificial intelligence from 2001: A Space Odyssey 43. What one texts as their location south of Bloor Street (abbr.)

45. Principle 47. An unpleasant ogle 49. Horizontal construction support with a similar name to a chocolate brand 50. Cute nickname for American donkey (abbr.)

52. The last one featured 12 apostles 55. Use of figurative language for artistic effect 57. Part of a wheel 59. What Burnham’s manager might say to an outlandish idea 62. Asteroids and Ice ages are examples (abbr.)

63. “Out of my sight! Thou ___ infect my eyes” — Shakespeare 65. Where Bill Hader used to play as Stefon (abbr.)

67. Continent where the world’s largest McDonald’s is located (abbr.)

U of T keeps students abroad as U of Calgary, US schools pull students over COVID-19 fears

“No plans at this time” to recall students, university says Andy Takagi News Editor

As US institutions began pulling students from countries with the highest number of reported cases of COVID-19, a coronavirus strain which the World Health Organization classified as a “very high” global risk, U of T wrote to The Varsity that it is keeping its students abroad and is in contact with students in affected areas.

“The University will offer as much flexibility as possible to minimize any impact on students. We are in regular contact with partner organizations who host our students,” wrote a U of T spokesperson in response to news that US universities and the University of Calgary have begun to implement travel advisories for students, faculty, and staff abroad.

On the possibility of its own recall of students, the university wrote: “There are no plans at this time to recall students from areas outside of China, which has emerged as the epicentre of the outbreak.” The university also declined to provide the number and location of students abroad due to the “range of activities and individual travel plans.”

Since the first case of COVID-19 in Decem-

ber, originating from Wuhan, China, the worldwide number of cases has reached more than 88,300 and 2,993 deaths, with South Korea, Italy, Iran, and Japan reporting the highest number of cases outside of China.

On February 26, The Washington Post reported that both Stanford University and New York University have recalled students abroad in Florence; Florida International University has pulled students from South Korea, Italy, Japan, and Singapore; while others like Syracuse University and the University of California have issued travel advisories for affected countries.

In Canada, on February 28, the University of Calgary announced that it would be suspending university-related travel for students and nonacademic staff to China, Hong Kong, Japan, Iran, Italy, South Korea, and Singapore until September. This includes the recall of students, faculty, and staff in these countries with “the university’s support and assistance.”

Academic staff are encouraged to avoid travel to these countries, the University of Calgary wrote on its website, adding: “This decision was

made following careful consideration of the risks to the campus community from travel to countries experiencing community transmission of COVID-19.”

Japan shut down all primary and secondary schools to halt the spread of the virus and Italy implemented lockdown quarantines in the affected regions.

Three of the 15 confirmed cases of the virus in Ontario have been resolved, and Ontario health officials maintain that the risk of infection is still low. However, they are prepared for the number of cases to escalate. “It is important for all Ontarians to know we are prepared. Our hospitals are prepared,” said Health Minister Christine Elliott during the announcement of the eighth case of COVID-19.

Runny nose, headache, cough, sore throat, fever, and a malaise are all symptoms of coronavirus infections, according to Health Canada, which also recommends that anyone showing symptoms stay home and consult a health care provider, particularly after travel to regions where severe cases of COVID-19 have occurred.

var.st/news

MARCH 2, 2020

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Criticisms of executives, approval of new $19 per hour salary dominate UTSU February meeting

Comments against VP Equity Michael Junior Samakayi by directors make for a tumultuous meeting due. We are respecting the price of living in Toronto. We are respecting the different lived experiences of students [who] want to come and try out the UTSU.”

President Joshua Bowman speaking at the February board meeting.

NATHAN CHING/THE VARSITY

Lauren Alexander Associate News Editor

The University of Toronto Students’ Union (UTSU) held its February Board of Directors meeting last Thursday, during which University College Director Lina Maragha laid out grievances that she had about the low number of hours that UTSU executives worked over the recent reading week, and about the vice-president equity’s ability to follow through on projects. The board also discussed the passing of a new higher hourly salary of $19 for UTSU executives, and the hiring of directors to carry out the opening of the Student Commons, which is set for April.

Increase in pay for executives A motion passed during the meeting to increase UTSU executives’ hourly pay from the current $16 per hour to $19. The increase would take effect on May 1, meaning that those elected to executive positions for the next school year would secure this rate, instead of current executives.

The proposal received support from numerous executives and board members. UTSU President Joshua Bowman identified that the main motivation for the pay increase was making the UTSU more accessible and equitable. Many board members asserted that the new pay rate would incentivize those who need to work while carrying out their education to participate in the union.

Executives also discussed the importance of paying students a higher wage, and cited the current living wage in Toronto, which the Ontario Living Wage Network has calculated as $22.08.

President Bowman also discussed the increased net pay for executives that the UTSU has to consider. He identified that this year, the net pay for the seven executive positions was $176,000. Next year, with the wage increase and six executives instead of seven, the net pay will be $177,840, meaning a total increase of $1,840. Executives currently have hours capped at 40 hours per week.

In an interview with The Varsity, Bowman said, “I believe that it’s a great change now, that students will know that we are paying them what they are

Criticisms of executives A topic discussed at length at the meeting were criticisms made by Director Lina Maragha about the general amount of work being put in by the executives. She also brought up specific criticisms aimed at Vice-President Equity Michael Junior Samakayi.

Maragha’s criticisms of executives as a whole included their low number of hours worked, especially over the reading week, as well as what she perceived to be a lack of accountability among executives.

She specifically said that executives failed to alert the president that they were planning on taking reduced hours over reading week, which she alleges many of the executives did. Furthermore, she called for a better attendance system to ensure that executives are being held accountable for their attendance and other aspects of their jobs, while also acknowledging that putting in more hours does not necessarily mean doing a greater amount of work.

Bowman apologized, and called for a culture shift within the UTSU. He agreed that it is often difficult for directors to speak out against executives or meet with them in person to air their grievances.

He also said that there is an implicit hierarchy in which directors are placed far below executives in terms of both power and the standards they are held to. Of his time as a director, Bowman said he “felt like there was an environment where directors were always taken to task whenever they had a criticism of an executive.”

For her criticisms on Samakayi, Maragha cited many instances in which she felt he had failed to meet expectations for events. Specifically, she mentioned his work on eXpression Against Oppression (XAO), which in the past has been a series of events that aim to bring awareness to marginalized stu-

dents on campus, but only consisted of two events this year.

Samakayi sent a response to the Board of Directors, in which he wrote that, as a Deaf student who works with an American Sign Language interpreter to complete his work, he has to take reduced working hours. On the criticisms of his work on XAO, he wrote that Maragha’s criticism “lacks merit. Last year we only hosted a single event. Unlike last year, this year will be hosting a lot of events.” The Varsity could not independently verify his statement.

Student Commons updates Bowman gave updates on the upcoming opening of the Student Commons, which has been repeatedly delayed since its approval more than a decade ago.

The UTSU plans to move into the Student Commons at the end of the year.

The union has worked to expand the staff apparatus for the commons. The three biggest new staff positions are the new project manager, training developer, and director of operations. The project manager will work to ensure that the commons is opened by the end of the year as projected. The training developer will work to transition UTSU staff, such as front desk and full-time staff, to the Student Commons, which means working with many more students with more diverse needs. Finally, the new director of operations will work with the general manager to find more opportunities for revenue generation for the UTSU. Bowman said that the union needs to create new methods of revenue generation that are separate from the money the union receives in student levies, which the Student Commons has the potential to do. This could be especially important given recent cuts to education by Ontario Premier Doug Ford that have affected the UTSU, such as the Student Choice Initiative, which was struck down by the Divisional Court of Ontario in November.

TTC increases fares by 10 cents, $5.70 increase for postsecondary monthly pass

Fare increase “considered a last resort”: TTC spokesperson Hannah Carty Associate News Editor

Toronto City Council approved a fare increase for TTC fares in its 2020 budget, which went into effect as of March 1. The cost of a postsecondary monthly metropass will rise from $122.45 to $128.15 — an increase of $5.70. In comparison, the cost of an adult monthly metropass will see an increase of $4.85. The fare increases have raised concerns among some student leaders and city councillors as to whether they are perpetuating the problems of an already unaffordable system, especially for students. The only fare category that will remain the same is the adult cash fare, which costs $3.25 — all Presto fares will see a 10-cent increase, bringing the adult fare up to $3.20, the youth Presto fare to $2.25, and the youth cash fare to $2.30.

Before the most recent changes, Toronto City Council passed a motion on October 2 that asked the TTC Board to explore options to make transit more affordable for students. The motion followed the provincial government’s changes to postsecondary funding in January 2019, which drastically reduced student financial support through the Ontario Student Assistance Program (OSAP).

The original motion asked that the TTC explore options and “report back in the 2020 Budget process on revisions to the system.” However, it does not appear that the October 2 motion influenced the 2020 budget that raised fares.

When the TTC adopted the motion, it modified the wording to say that it would refer the matter to staff and that it would be reviewed in the TTC’s five-year fare policy review, if necessary.

University of Toronto Students’ Union Vice-

President External Lucas Granger wrote to The Varsity that the increases were “unfortunate,” and that the changes to the adult fare and the postsecondary monthly pass “specifically will impact students as they attend classes, extracurriculars, and their jobs.”

City Councillor Josh Matlow, who represents the Toronto–St. Paul’s ward, also expressed concern that the price increase for a postsecondary monthly pass was disproportionate. “It’s already too expensive,” said Matlow about the pass in an interview with The Varsity.

Matlow created a petition on his website to reverse the fee increase for the postsecondary monthly metropass after being approached by students who were concerned about the changes.

He said that the motivation behind the petition was “to demonstrate to my colleagues that students had concerns” and “to raise awareness about the issue.”

He ultimately put forward a motion at City Council to amend the changes by removing the fare increase for the postsecondary monthly pass.

The motion failed with a vote of 10 in favour to 15 against. Matlow reflected on the failure of the motion, saying that “the lack of care just astounded me.”

Going forward, Matlow said he would be interested in exploring either a means-based fare system, where low-income riders can get discounted transit, or have the fare structure reflect that certain demographics, such as students, are often of lower income.

In an email to The Varsity, Stuart Green, Senior Communications Specialist for the TTC, wrote,

“We know fare increases are not popular and they are always considered a last resort.” He noted that the TTC is more reliant on customer fares than other North American transit systems.

How students use transit in Toronto Research by Student Move TO in 2015 found that a majority of U of T students use public transit to get to school across all three campuses.

At the St. George campus, 51 per cent of school-to-home trips were taken by public transit, as opposed to walking, biking, or driving. At the Scarborough campus, that number was 64 per cent, and 66 per cent at the Mississauga campus.

The median one-way travel time for these transit trips ranged from 40 minutes for students commuting to UTM, to 55 minutes to get to the St. George campus.

A survey conducted by the University of Toronto Graduate Students’ Union found that 64.3 per cent of graduate students surveyed relied on public transit to get to school, with the TTC alone accounting for 97 per cent of those trips.

More fare increases “will encourage students to either skip transit altogether, or in some cases not to pay for their fares entirely,” wrote Granger.

A report by the TTC found the use of child Presto cards, which allows the user to ride for free, was used 89 per cent of the time for

FIONA TUNG/ THE VARSITY

fraudulent travel. The stations at which child Presto cards were most used were Dundas Station — which is the closest station to Ryerson University — and York University Station.

Raha Salarzaie, a third-year student and one of Woodsworth College’s off-campus representatives, told The Varsity that she commutes daily from North York, which takes her about 45 minutes to an hour.

She said that the fare increases will not affect how she uses transit, as she “[doesn’t] have any other option” but to continue buying monthly passes. Salarzaie expressed frustration at the expenses that come with being a student in Toronto, noting that she pays higher fees as an international student as well.

“It puts more pressure… you have to work more, it’s going to both impact your academics, and financially,” said Salarzaie. “I’m definitely not happy about it.”

4

THE VARSITY

NEWS

Liberal Party elections, from cover Michael Coteau Michael Coteau is currently a Liberal MPP for Don Valley East in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario, a position he has held since 2011.

As part of his campaign for the Liberal leadership race, Coteau identified the “three policy areas [that Ontarians] prioritize: the environment, the economy, and the core government services of education and health care.”

Coteau has called for greater educational equality, noting, “I want opportunities for education, skills development, training and employment to be available equitably to children, young people and adults in all our communities, across all socio-economic levels and among all sociocultural groups.”

He also emphasized the need for greater government transparency and oversight. Specific goals include lowering the voting age to 16 and creating open access to government data for research and policymaking.

Concerning the climate crisis, Coteau plans to carry out research on fare-free public transit to determine if it is a viable and effective option. He hopes to incentivise carbon capturing and preserving natural environments, as well as invest in the electric vehicle industry.

Coteau also hopes to invest in the health care system. This includes the addition of pharma care and dental care programs along with more mental health and addiction support.

Coteau did not respond to The Varsity’s request for comment.

news@thevarsity.ca

Brenda Hollingsworth Brenda Hollingsworth is an Ottawa-based lawyer running for leader of the Liberal party in Ontario. In an interview with The Varsity, Hollingsworth said that one of her motivations to run was “the fact that we have desperately uneven access to health care in Ontario,” as she has seen through her work on the inaccessibility of health care for rural Ontarians.

When asked what she feels is the biggest issue facing postsecondary students in Ontario, Hollingsworth responded that graduating students do not have the necessary skills to be successful in the workforce, and she believes this can be rectified by “increasing the amount of experience-based learning that’s available in our universities and colleges.”

She described the changes made to OSAP under current Premier Doug Ford as “problematic,” and expressed interest in creating a program similar to the free tuition program under former Premier Kathleen Wynne. “There’s no question that anybody who has the desire and ability to attend postsecondary should be able to do it and there should be a way to have manageable loans,” said Hollingsworth.

She identifies as a political outsider due to her experience in the private sector. “I come to it with an entirely fresh perspective,” she said.

Alvin Tedjo Alvin Tedjo is a former senior policy advisor at the Ministry of Colleges and Universities and a candidate in the Liberal Party leadership election.

One of the main tenets of Tedjo’s platform is the implementation of basic income in Ontario. This plan would create an income floor of $17,000 to “support people who need it,” said Tedjo.

Tedjo would reverse cuts made to OSAP under Doug Ford’s government and also reinstate free tuition for low-income families.

When asked about the mental health crisis at universities, Tedjo noted that a number of reports on this topic emerged a few years ago, and he would follow their recommendations.

In addition, Tedjo emphasized the importance of having emergency mental health services available rather than appointments which can require months-long wait times.

As far as student housing, Tedjo agrees that an increase in supply is necessary, however, he also believes government regulations need to be changed to include “more affordable housing in new builds as well as making it easier for co-ops to exist and to thrive.”

PHOTO VIA LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY OF ONTARIO

PHOTO VIA BRENDA HOLLINGSWORTH/TWITTER

PHOTO VIA TEDJO CAMPAIGN

Steven Del Duca Steven Del Duca is a candidate for the Ontario Liberal Party leadership, having previously served as a member of Ontario legislature representing Vaughan. He also served as Minister of Transportation and Minister of Economic Development and Growth under Kathleen Wynne.

Del Duca plans to re-invest in postsecondary education following large cuts to the Ontario Student Assistance Program (OSAP) made by the current Progressive Conservative government.

He has created petitions to reverse the OSAP cuts made by Doug Ford’s government, along with petitions to get rid of mandatory secondary online classes and cuts to high school funding.

On health care, Del Duca supports investing in more long-term care beds in hospitals to free up rooms. He also plans to create a province-wide pharma care system.

Del Duca emphasized the need for “clean water, clean air and a liveable planet for today and for the future.”

In an email to The Varsity, Del Duca wrote, “I would immediately reverse Ford’s cuts to OSAP. And I would task a Minister of Training, Colleges and Universities to do a full review of post-secondary funding, both for students and for institutions.”

Kate Graham Kate Graham is running for leader of the Ontario Liberal party. “My strong background in post secondary education is one of the reasons [why] it’s such a priority for me,” said Graham, who teaches at three Ontario postsecondary institutions.

In an interview with The Varsity, Graham said she is committed to returning to a free tuition program that would give free tuition to approximately 234,000 low- and middleincome students. Graham’s tuition plan would account for the costs of relocating or commuting to attend school. “I think that will improve the accessibility of postsecondary [education] for many people in Ontario, especially those living in the north or in rural areas,” said Graham.

Her experience teaching has also “been a good affirmation that we need to invest in more mental health support on campus.”

Graham identified the biggest problems facing Ontario as social and economic inequality and the climate crisis.

To address economic inequality, Graham said she was in favor of universal basic income and moving toward a living wage.

To combat the climate crisis, Graham would like to see more investment in public transit and increasing affordability of electric vehicles.

PHOTO VIA DEL DUCA CAMPAIGN

PHOTO VIA GRAHAM CAMPAIGN

Mitzie Hunter As MPP for the Scarborough—Guildwood riding, Mitzie Hunter was one of seven Liberals elected in the 2018 provincial elections and was Minister of Advanced Education and Skills Development at the tail-end of the Wynne government.

Under Hunter, OSAP would be restored to the state it was prior to Ford government cuts and she would also introduce a two-year interestfree grace period to repay loans.

Housing for students is also a priority for Hunter. She would implement inclusionary zoning for the development of student housing, as well as a co-living program pairing students with seniors.

Though Hunter did not provide The Varsity with a specific plan for addressing the lack of reliable transit in Scarborough, she affirmed that she will “continue to fight for a better transit plan in Scarborough until it’s right.”

Hunter’s plan addresses student mental health through initiatives including expanding the OHIP to cover mental health services for everyone under the age of 30. As well, Hunter would make “a firm commitment” to eradicate waitlists for mental health services for individuals 21 and under.

Should Hunter be elected Liberal leader, her campaign would focus on making the Liberals a “modern PHOTO VIA LEGISLATIVE and inclusive party.”

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ASSEMBLY OF ONTARIO

U of T professors, students sign petition in solidarity with Wet’suwet’en land defenders

30 U of T faculty members condemn Canadian government’s actions Mikaela Toone Associate News Editor

U of T professors and students have signed onto two petitions circulated by the U of T Department of Geography & Planning and a group of lawyers and legal academics to express solidarity with Wet’suwet’en land defenders. The petitions condemn the Canadian government for violating Indigenous rights on unceded territory.

The Department of Geography & Planning’s petition features the signatures of 33 faculty members, 9 staff, and 78 students. Signatories include Emily Gilbert, Director of Canadian Studies; Monika Havelka, Director of Programs in Environment at UTM; and Ron Buliung, Graduate Chair of the department.

“We stand in solidarity with the hereditary chiefs who are protecting their traditional territories from oil and gas development,” the petition reads. It goes on to cite the 1997 Delgamuukw court case, which confirmed that the hereditary chiefs are the title holders of Wet’suwet’en traditional territories, meaning that they never ceded control of their land.

Since 2012, the Wet’suwet’en have been engaged in struggle against a proposed Coastal GasLink pipeline that would run through their territory. Since the Royal Canadian Mounted Police raided a Wet’suwet’en camp on February 6, people across the country have been participating in rail blockades in support of the Wet’suwet’en.

On March 1, a proposed agreement between Wet’suwet’en hereditary chiefs and government ministers was announced by Hereditary Chief Woos and Minister of Crown-Inidgenous Relations Carolyn Bennett. The agreement still has to be reviewed by the Wet’suwet’en people before the details are released, reported CBC News.

A second petition signed by lawyers and legal academics across the country, including two current and one former University of Toronto professors, outlines further violations of the Canadian government in regard to Wet’suwet’en land defenders.

The drafters of the petition, four members of the Faculty of Law at the University of Windsor and one independent legal academic, explain that forcibly removing Indigenous peoples from their lands is in violation of the United Nations Declaration of Rights of Indigenous Peoples, which the BC legislature passed in November 2019.

Highlighting further injustice, the petition cites a Ryerson University study, emphasizing that while “76% of injunctions filed by corporations against First Nations were granted, over 80% of injunctions sought by First Nations against corporations and the government were denied.”

In an email to The Varsity, a U of T spokesperson wrote: “As a university, we are committed to playing a leadership role in addressing climate change through our research, our teaching and by taking action to reduce the carbon footprint of our campuses, including the Low-Carbon Action Plan released last fall and new efforts to reduce the carbon footprint of our endowment and pension funds.”

“We support the ability of our faculty members to engage in issues that they feel strongly about,” U of T wrote in response to the petitions.

“That is in line with the University’s policies on academic freedom and free speech, and in keeping with our long-standing tradition of fostering global citizens.”

var.st/news

MARCH 2, 2020

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U of T students learn about the Wet’suwet’en protests from those on the front lines “I have to let the people know”: Eve Saint speaks at New College event

Mikaela Toone Associate News Editor

Eve Saint, land defender and daughter of Wet’suwet’en Hereditary Chief Woos, spoke at a U of T event on February 25 about her arrest after protesting the Coastal GasLink (CGL) pipeline set to be built through unceded Wet’suwet’en territory.

Protests took place around the GTA that same night, including a blockade organized by Rising Tide Toronto, an environmental justice group, between Bloor and Kipling GO stations. Protestors were demonstrating in solidarity with Wet’suwet’en action, including demands to stop the construction of the CGL pipeline. The Wet’suwet’en Nation announced on March 1 that they had reached a proposed deal with the British Columbia and federal governments, the details of which are yet to be released as they are awaiting approval from the hereditary chiefs.

Saint was arrested after leaving school and her life in Toronto to help her father, Hereditary Chief Woos, and others in their efforts to halt the construction of the pipeline in Wet’suwet’en territory.

Hereditary chiefs’ titles are passed down through generations — Wet’suwet’en hereditary chiefs have authority over the unceded territory, according to pre-colonial Wet’suwet’en law. This is territory which the Supreme Court of Canada recognized as unceded in 1997, meaning that they never gave up control of the land.

While the Elected Band Councils, created under the colonial Indian Act, are in favour of the pipeline, these groups only have jurisdiction over reserves and not the unceded territory that the pipeline would pass through.

In conversation with Eve Saint Saint said she feared for her life when she was being removed from Wet’suwet’en territory and re-

called police pointing sniper rifles at her and her fellow land defenders. “My main goal was to let [the police] know that we are unarmed,” said Saint during her talk.

The Varsity caught up with Saint afterward to hear her thoughts on how people can show their support for Wet’suwet’en land defenders like herself. Saint emphasized the importance of educating oneself on Indigenous history, donating to Indigenous-led movements, and participating in blockade efforts.

According to Saint, going back to Wet’suwet’en territory is difficult due to her earlier detention at Gidimt’en, one of two checkpoints set up by the Wet’suwet’en people to stop the CGL pipeline from being built on their unceded lands.

“So because of… the injustice of the RCMP and the Canadian government, I have to tell that story.

I have to let the people know,” said Saint. “And also, because of the uprising, I have to show my love to people who are there taking action. It’s just really leading from my heart.”

Saint hopes to continue her efforts in protesting for her people: “We do need an Indigenous lens and Indigenous voice to tell those stories and not the mainstream media, because the mainstream media obviously misconstrues and bends the story in favour of the industry and the government, and pits mainstream Canadians against us.”

“Everyone here benefits off Indigenous people,” Saint said, arguing that Canadians, in solidarity with protestors, should educate themselves on Indigenous tradition and history. “Everybody who has come and lived here is benefitting, because [the land and resources are] all stolen.”

U of T students, faculty join the cause Michael*, a fourth-year U of T student, attended the Rising Tide Toronto rail blockade the night of Saint’s talk.

Eve Saint, students, and attendants demonstrating solidarity with Wet’suwet’en protestors.

VICTORIA LEE/THE VARSITY

“I attended because I feel that it is a responsibility for white settlers like myself to stand in solidarity with Indigenous peoples, especially when they are at risk of police violence,” Michael explained.

What struck Michael at the blockade was the over 100-officer police presence. At one point he describes an Indigenous woman asking the crowd of police “where these resources were when Indigenous women went and go missing.”

Michael also noticed that the majority of protestors were marginalized people, and he was disappointed, but not surprised, that individuals with the most privilege declined to attend.

The event where Eve Saint spoke also featured spoken word artists, musicians, and jingle dancers, and was organized by Professor Chandni Desai from the Equity Studies program.

Desai believes that it’s important for students to

see how concepts such as militarism, imperialism, and surveillance play out in the real world, including in the Wet’suwet’en protests.

In addition to having Saint tell her story, Desai hoped that students would take away a “lesson of how to act” from the speaker. Desai also noted that she learned specific details surrounding the events in the Wet’suwet’en territory that she said the media has not adequately addressed.

Abigail Hill is a student in the Political Science program who attended Saint’s talk. As an Indigenous person from Ontario, Hill was interested in hearing an Indigenous point of view on the Wet’suwet’en protests from the other side of the country. “It’s nice to see… a different perspective from across Canada,” said Hill. *Name has been changed due to fear of retribution.

Business

March 2, 2020 var.st/business biz@thevarsity.ca

U of T’s deferred maintenance costs at all-time high

Business Board’s report outlines financial implications and steps moving forward Srivindhya Kolluru Business Editor

U of T has a record-high facility condition index (FCI), according to a report released at the most recent Business Board meeting on February 3.

The FCI is a percentage used to denote the overall condition of a building, and at U of T, it is the highest it has been in the past 15 years. It is calculated by dividing the costs of deferred maintenance by the replacement cost of a building.

Deferred maintenance liabilities, which accrue when maintenance for buildings and infrastructure are put off, are often used as a cost-saving measure.

These liabilities take into account maintenance costs such as fire protection and repairs to roofing and electrical systems.

The combined 2019–2020 FCI for all three campuses is 15.8 per cent, which is a 0.6 per cent increase from 2018–2019.

The higher the FCI, the greater the priority of addressing the building’s issues. Generally, the higher the building’s priority, the more it costs to maintain its condition, which is often the case for some of the older buildings on campus.

For instance, the Medical Sciences Building was built in the 1960s, and it would cost around $472 million to replace it.

The Business Board noted that it would cost U of T $5.6 billion to replace all its buildings across UTSG, UTM, and UTSC. Costs and funding sources for deferred maintenance The FCIs for UTM and UTSC are eight per cent and 23.3 per cent, respectively. Even though the

FCI for UTSC buildings is higher than that of UTSG, which has a 15.8 per cent FCI, the campus’ deferred maintenance liabilities amount to only $122 million. In comparison, deferred maintenance liabilities at UTSG are estimated at $718 million in total for administrative and academic buildings.

Of the audited buildings, Innis College has the highest FCI value reported out of all three campuses, at 64.7 per cent.

The President’s Residence, at 93 Highland Avenue, has the highest FCI, at 85.3 per cent. However, this FCI value is excluded from the current combined FCI, since it is not an administrative or academic building.

At UTM, the building with the highest FCI is Maanjiwe nendamowinan (MN), at 33.9 per cent, while Highland Hall has the highest FCI at UTSC, at 41.6 per cent.

While MN is relatively new, having opened in 2018, it has a higher FCI than the Davis Building, which was built in 1974. The Business Board’s report acknowledged that this discrepancy of newer buildings with higher FCIs is a concern and plans to further investigate it.

These liabilities do not refer to the day-to-day upkeep of buildings, but rather to the costs associated with capital renewals, which are set according to provincial standards.

The deferred maintenance liabilities reported for U of T are 30 per cent higher than the rest of Ontario’s universities and colleges, according to the Business Board.

U of T Chief Operating Officer Property Services & Sustainability Ron Saporta noted that this difference can be attributed to U of T being one of the oldest institutions in Ontario and the presence

of heritage buildings on campus, which drive up deferred maintenance liabilities.

“I think the report does show where we’ve got gaps, and when we know we want to start making incremental investments,” said Saporta. “It also demonstrates a lot of significant improvements on both the level of funding on addressing issues and how we take that data and make operational and engineering improvements.”

According to Saporta, funding for deferred maintenance comes through U of T’s operating budget, which includes tuition and government grants, and capital funding from the Ontario Ministry of Colleges and Universities (MCU).

Province introduced new methods to measure FCIs Though the 2019 FCI for U of T is the highest in 14 years, it has fluctuated before. It was at its lowest, at 8.5 per cent, in 2008, and gradually climbed to 14.3 per cent in 2012. The value started to stagnate at this point, but is climbing again.

The FCI increased from 2009–2012 as a result of a new methodology. The MCU introduced another method in 2019 which, according to the report, explains the FCI increase in 2019–2020. The latest method takes into account site infrastructure such as underground piping and landscaping.

The Business Board notes, however, that the new method will not be implemented across all sites and buildings until 2023, in accordance with the five-year audit cycle.

“The province wanted to standardize so that they can compare amongst the different sectors and… that meant that we needed to move to the provincial standard definitions,” said Saporta.

SKYLAR CHENG/THE VARSITY

This would allow the province to compare FCIs across sectors like health care or municipal facilities.

U of T hopes to address the maintenance needs of high priority buildings, such as the Medical Sciences Building, within one year, and seek additional funding to the tune of $68 million to maintain the current FCI level.

Using marketing research to decide what gifts to give your friends UTSC, Rotman professor Cindy Chan on gifting, FOMO

Lolita Vorobyeva Varsity Contributor

We’ve all been in a situation where we can’t decide on what to give a friend or a loved one.

We’ve all been worried about fitting in the social group while still wanting to be different. And each of us has been concerned about how missing out on certain social outings may influence our status within a particular group.

Assistant Professor Cindy Chan’s research focuses on exactly these areas.

Chan, who works in the marketing area of the Rotman School of Management and is crossappointed to the Department of Management at UTSC, studies consumer behaviour and the role of emotions, experiences, and consumer choices in fostering social relations.

Chan graduated with undergraduate degrees in psychology and business, and later worked in the advertising industry for a number of years before coming to U of T to pursue her PhD. “A lot of the research was done on individual decision-making, and how we choose

BEVERLY TENG/ THE VARSITY

things… in isolation, but so much of what we do is social — we consume with other people, we make decisions with other people, we go shopping with other people, we buy things for other people,” said Chan in an interview with The Varsity.

Chan’s desire to understand the social world of consumers evolved into her dissertation and, later on, into her own research projects.

Research process Chan said that all of her research is interconnected: “Across my research… the underlying or key areas or themes that you see come up are experiences, gift-giving, and emotion.”

Even though she has no standardized systematic approach, Chan tries to incorporate realworld evidence and controlled lab experiments.

For example, in her research she often turns to online surveys, observations, and field experiments. She also collects data from people all over Canada and sometimes even all over the world.

According to Chan, her research on giftgiving has received the most attention. This is no wonder, since her paper on gift-giving can practically act as a guide to choosing presents.

In Chan’s 2016 paper in the Journal of Consumer Behaviour, she and her co-author Cassie Mogilner conducted various studies to investigate how experience-based gifts are perceived versus material gifts.

In one of the studies, 200 participants were given coffee mugs to give to someone they knew.

Chan and Mogilner wanted to know how framing the coffee mug as either an experiential or material gift changed how the gift was perceived.

To do this, the coffee mugs were either inscribed with “my coffee time” or “my coffee mug.” The goal of this experiment, according to the paper, was to determine how the receivers would respond to receiving a coffee mug, a material possession, versus an experience, the chance to share

a coffee with the gift-giver.

The researchers found that recipients felt their relationship with the gift-giver was strengthened to a greater extent when the coffee mug was framed as an experience, rather than gifting the coffee mug as a material object.

The paper concluded that this research could guide gift-givers in deciding what kinds of gifts to purchase, and that experiential gifts strengthen relationships to a greater extent than material gifts.

“To work on topics that I can learn from… that I can apply in real life is a lot of fun,” said Chan.

When it comes to conducting research, Chan said that she is “[not] on the faster side of the scale among researchers.” She notes that even in cases when the data she collects might not support a certain hypothesis, she believes that she can learn “just as much” from setbacks.

Ongoing projects Chan’s current projects include two research papers on the “fear of missing out” (FOMO).

In one of her ongoing projects, she focuses on how social media affects one’s enjoyment of a social experience, as well as how missing out on social group experiences can cause people to become anxious about their belonging to a social group.

Chan is also looking at how brands use social media to promote their events, and whether or not that elicits a FOMO in people.

“That [research is] a lot of fun, because we are working on it while we see people [feeling] it in real life, or we see people talking about it in the news,” said Chan.

Impact of the research Chan hopes that her research will help people strengthen their relationships: “I think if I can help people make decisions that help strengthen

the relationships with other people, that, to me, is rewarding.”

She said that her research, especially on gift giving, has helped and impacted her life and the lives of her family, as it changed their perceptions of the holidays and buying gifts. It can help others struggling to make decisions about choosing between material and experiential as well.

Chan also encourages students interested in research to give it a try because the opportunities are endless — there are many questions that are still unanswered and many questions that can be approached from a different perspective, using different methodologies.

“If someone is curious about something, and they can find an answer to it in the research, that might be something worth pursuing.”

Comment

March 2, 2020 var.st/comment comment@thevarsity.ca

Op-ed: Why you should run in the UTSU elections

Tackling a culture of exclusivity means removing barriers to student elections Joshua Bowman Varsity Contributor

All members of the University of Toronto Students’ Union (UTSU) — including more than 38,000 students in colleges, academic divisions, and professional faculties at UTSG — have the opportunity to run in the UTSU’s spring 2020 elections and effect change at both the UTSU and in the U of T community at large. The unfortunate reality is that a lot of students simply do not run.

The UTSU’s Spring 2019 elections turnout was an abysmal 4.2 per cent, which necessitated an immediate by-election, as only three executive seats and just over one-third of the Board of Directors were elected.

One of the reasons for this low voter turnout is that there are negative perceptions of the UTSU across campus. This includes a belief that, painted dome and all, the UTSU is an ivory tower smackdab in the middle of campus that students only venture to if they have an issue with their health and dental coverage.

I have run in two UTSU elections and a handful of other elections throughout my time at the University of Toronto. The incentives in place to impassion individuals toward candidacy can also be seen as possible barriers. Yes, if you run you’ll have a much larger platform to advocate for the change that you want to see, but the platform is accompanied by an equal, if not larger, spotlight that will amplify every mistake you make along the way. Campaign promises are temporary; Varsity headlines are forever.

Despite barriers like this, I am writing to you as someone who has faced the challenge and persevered. I recognize my privilege as a white, cisgender, heterosexual man and that there are vastly fewer barriers for me than there are for students who come from marginalized communities.

But these are the voices we need to amplify the most. These are the voices that need the platform the UTSU is afforded. With that in mind, we’ve made progressive changes on a number of fronts

to make our elections more accessible to students.

We’ve doubled the length of our nomination period from last year to allow students who are either unsure or not as well connected on campus to collect their signatures and get their campaigns together.

We’ve ensured that candidates get reimbursed for all of their campaign expenses, not based on the percentage of votes they have received.

We have increased the hourly rate for executives to $19 per hour for the upcoming year so that students who have the courage to take the leap into these positions will know that they’re being paid a fair wage.

We’ve tried to open doors for the next group of

ISABELLA CESARI/ THE VARSITY

students who want to see more from their elected representatives. And even though we’ve tried to tackle the culture of exclusivity that has been perpetuated by our union for years, it is a constant effort that will need to be taken up by our successors. All this being said, I wish you the best of luck this upcoming election cycle. Create a platform, manage a friend’s campaign, put out a Facebook post with one too many emojis; just remember that this student union is yours.

Joshua Bowman is a fifth-year Indigenous Studies and Political Science student at St. Michael’s College and current President of the UTSU.

Students must call for the university, Ontario to stand in solidarity with Indigenous land rights Green growth erodes the realities of the climate crisis

Activists gather and protest outside of the world’s largest mining industry conference.

MICHAEL PHOON/THE VARSITY

Hikmat Jamal Varsity Contributor

On February 6, heavily armed Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) officers descended upon Wet’suwet’en Nation territory and began arresting those participating in a peaceful, decade-long blockade against a Coastal GasLink (CGL) pipeline. Within days, the officers raided the main camp of the Unist’ot’en land defenders.

The RCMP used a chainsaw to break through a barrier on which “RECONCILIATION” was written in large letters. The imagery was poignant and the message clear.

What was once a localized struggle between the Wet’suwet’en Nation and state backers of the CGL pipeline has since been catapulted into the national spotlight. Protests and other forms of action have taken place in major cities like Vancou-

ver, Regina, Toronto, Winnipeg, Montréal, and Halifax. Major railways have also been blocked; both VIA Rail and the Canadian National Railway have faced delays, shutdowns, and suspensions on most of their routes. The actions have also interfered with crossings at the Canada-US border, though it was just announced today that the hereditary chiefs and provincial and federal governments have reached a tentative agreement.

The details of this have yet to be announced. As students, we can take this opportunity to reflect on what we can do to support the land defenders as well as advocate for climate action.

Many of the protesters across the country are student activists, including those involved in Fridays for Future’s organizing efforts. In recent

years, student activism has played a large role in emphasizing the importance of protecting the environment in light of the climate crisis. For example, many students and faculty members supported and attended the historic Global Climate Strike in front of Queen’s Park in September.

A large section of the CGL pipeline passes through unceded Wet’suwet’en territory, which is roughly three times the size of the GTA. In 1997, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled that the rights and title to the land were never given up. Wet’suwet’en hereditary chiefs and supporters maintain that the pipeline not only circumvents the government’s duty to consult with the communities who have the right to the land, but also fails to uphold the government’s commitment to the environment.

With the added national attention, the discussion has shifted toward larger issues of Indigenous rights and environmental justice.

A week after the RCMP’s raids, two hereditary chiefs launched a constitutional challenge in Ottawa, arguing that the government has a duty to adhere to the emission levels set out in the Paris agreement. The law they were challenging would allow the federal government to step in on projects like the CGL pipeline, even if they were approved under previous governments. It makes explicit the larger issue beneath the protests: is economic growth or environmental justice more important?

Throughout the protests, the BC and federal governments have expressed concern for the environment, while maintaining support for the law and economic opportunity. Following the railway blockade, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was clear that Canada is “a country of the rule of law and we will ensure everything is done to resolve this.”

‘Green growth’ is the belief that our capitalistic economies can continue to grow sustainably.

The problem, I believe, is that not only is green growth too slow to deal with an urgent crisis, but it’s also a paradoxical concept to begin with.

Green growth depends on newer goods being produced, consumed, and subsequently discarded in a vicious cycle. It’s buying the newest Tesla model every two years and pretending that’s an adequate response to the climate crisis.

A problem like the climate crisis needs novel solutions that our growth framework simply cannot provide. It is time to think of solutions that move past this paradigm and consider bold ideas that may be uncomfortable.

Degrowth, for example, asks us to imagine contracted economies that address the core issue of consumption, and tie it into issues of wealth distribution and inequality. Postgrowth similarly seeks to shift the discussion from gross domestic product values to better indicators of quality of life, like happiness.

It is important to recognize that these alternative economic approaches have existed for a long time. Indigenous peoples have lived on and taken care of the land for thousands of years on the same principles of communalism and ecological stewardship that the degrowth and postgrowth movements advocate for today.

Where does this place us, as students? On the one hand, we must realize that we are part of institutions — including the University of Toronto — that are heavily invested in the fossil fuel industry. According to a 2016 report by the Sustainability and Education Policy Network, U of T has invested more than $32 million dollars in the fossil fuel industry. Despite the refusal by the university in 2016 to divest from fossil fuels, the Toronto Fridays for Future movement continues to make the case for divestment.

There are numerous opportunities for students to get involved in the fight against climate change, from protests, to social media campaigns, to engaging in dialogue and organizing panel discussions. The fight against the climate crisis is not limited to fossil fuel divestment alone; rather, it is a complex issue that intersects with Indigenous issues, economic inequality, race, gender, religion, and more.

As individuals, we can also begin by questioning growth as a motivating factor in our own lives. We must challenge the ideals that we’re being taught, from economic principles in first-year economics courses to psychology courses that push self-interest as the only motivator of human behaviour. We must even question our own personal motivations to be at university and our own career goals.

Beyond questioning, we can begin to work on solutions in our communities on campus. From promoting second-hand shopping to protesting at Chrystia Freeland’s office in solidarity with the Wet’suwet’en Nation, the opportunities to take the fight to the climate crisis are there.

Now, all we need to do is act.

Hikmat Jamal is a second-year Philosophy student at Trinity College.

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COMMENT

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Anti-Muslim violence in India requires resistance from its diasporic community International patriotism: the power and privilege of protesting thousands of kilometres away from home

AANYA BAHL/THE VARSITY

Aanya Bahl Science Correspondent

Indians in Toronto, this is my direct plea to you.

The story of my patriotism is one that was written for me before I came into this world. They say a baby can hear its mother’s thoughts in the womb, and so I credit my love for the homeland to my biological mother; her longing for home was passed onto me through the complexities of nature and nurture.

I was born in the city of Mumbai to a woman who flew halfway across the world from the United Kingdom while eight months pregnant just so that I could take my first breath on Indian soil.

Unfortunately for her, I would live in five different countries by the age of 18, with India only constituting a small portion of that time.

But like my mother, in a far away land my heart yearns for my country, my homeland, my vatan.

A slow smile etches on my face every time I hear Hindi, Urdu, or Punjabi dance on the tongues of

Torontonians, and I make numerous trips to Indian food joints all over the city, still searching for that perfect taste of home. My first-year dorm room even had the Indian flag proudly displayed on the wall, the tricolour’s bold gaze calling the attention of any passers-by.

Regardless of my geographically scattered upbringing, I am as patriotic as they come. My country has given me so much — a culture, a sense of belonging, a pride for my people — and I am eternally grateful. It is out of this love, this devotion, that I condemn the actions of my country. Indians, if you’re reading this, wake up. Your people need you.

The past few months’ political turmoil, in the form of anti-Muslim violence, has set India ablaze.

Hindus form the country’s majority religious group, while Muslims constitute a sizable minority.

Last year, the governing right-wing, Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party, led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, announced a new Citizenship Amendment Bill — which later became the Citizenship (Amendment) Act. According to this bill, the Indian government would accept any refugees from surrounding countries, and eventually let them assimilate and become Indian citizens — provided that they were not Muslim.

The announcement of this act sparked a series of national and international protests and demonstrations, including some here in Toronto outside the Indian Consulate.

For the first time, the definition of Indian citizenship was on religious grounds. “WE THE PEOPLE OF INDIA, having solemnly resolved to constitute India into a SOVEREIGN SOCIALIST SECULAR DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC]” the preamble to the Indian constitution reads. How secular are we now?

The aftermath of Modi’s bill wasn’t just contained to ideological disparities. A series of riots broke out across the country — violence knocked on doors, hoping to rear its ugly head. Universities and students, in particular, were hotspots of dissent that the Indian government — through its police forces — so desperately tried to quell.

This tumultuous series of brutality reached its climax during US President Donald Trump’s recent two-day visit to India, during which severe riots broke out on religious grounds in Delhi. Hindu men attacked Muslims, destroyed mosques, and set fire to Muslim homes and stores. But apart from a few pangs and tugs on heartstrings at the sight of bloodied streets on various social media platforms, what did this have to do with me? I have a degree to earn. I have a life to live. What could I possibly do?

As a brown woman, the idea of privilege is still one I’m wrapping my head around. In Toronto, I’ve faced varying stages of racial discrimination, from micro-aggressions to full-on harassment on public transport. Compared to the average white man, I have no privilege, no power — or at least that’s how it seems sometimes.

But you know where I do have power and privilege? Where I don’t feel singled out? Back home in India. Why? For the sole reason that I was born into a Hindu family. My Hindu identity, coupled with my geographic location, so removed from the epicentre of violence, is what makes it absolutely necessary that I speak up now.

“What’s the point?” you may ask. It’s not as if holding up a makeshift sign outside the Indian consulate on a cold winter morning will do anything other than give you a mild-to-moderate risk of frostbite. Even with 10, 100, or 1,000 people, you won’t make that much of a difference. Your noise is a mere whisper compared to the thunderous roar of those back home, in the face of the fire, braving the sticks and stones of a biased and religiously charged police force. You

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can’t do anything of substance.

To that I say: you’re wrong. Information is a powerful tool — wielded correctly, it can change the world. Equally as powerful as information is privilege, of which those of us in Toronto, far away from home, have plenty. Here, we can afford not to care about the fabric of our country hanging on by a thread. Here, we can afford not to care about our Muslim compatriots, having to choose between their faith and their lives. We can afford to switch off our phones and our computers, muting our news channels so that our minds can be rid of the problems our home is facing.

The reasons we can afford to do all this are privilege and distance. It’s easy to forget about our country — to dissociate from the problems with which it is currently ridden, but I’m asking you not to. With this privilege comes power.

Power that our country needs. Power that will keep the momentum going. What we can’t afford to do is let that momentum die.

We have so much impact, even if we’re not physically present in India. Talk to your nonIndian friends about what’s going on in Delhi.

Keep the conversation alive. If possible, talk to your family. Ask them about their beliefs. Challenge them. Because soon, India’s fuel will run out. The bonfire of dissent will transform into an ember, slowly dying into a scattering of ashes as remnants of a country that was once a magnificent, brilliant flame.

And as you sleep soundly at night, the Indian government will keep watching as mobs and police forces indulge in vigilantism, wreaking havoc on those of a different faith. It is your silence that will enable the Indian government to maintain its silence. So show solidarity whenever you can, in whatever capacity you can. Resist the urge not to care.

Indians. Wake up. Your country needs you.

Aanya Bahl is a second-year Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Physiology, and Spanish student at University College. She is The Varsity’s Science Correspondent and the Mental Wellness Commissioner on the University College Literary and Athletic Society.

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MARCH 2, 2020

Democratic Iowa caucus debacle and media coverage are symptoms of a failing democracy American U of T students, political science professor on the 2020 race Yana Sadeghi Columnist

The new decade could be a marker for cultural change. Transitioning from the 2010s into the 2020s could herald a new period of progressivism and even usher in an international ‘Pax Americana.’ However, as 2020 wears on, this possibility seems to be fading, and the United States — the supposed beacon of modern democracy — seems to be at the centre of the decline.

The United States is the world’s leading political power, and as such, the 2020 presidential election may be the defining event of our decade.

We have grounds to be concerned now that the integrity of the country’s democratic institutions has come into question. The events that transpired during the Iowa caucus are symptomatic of the Democratic Party’s failures in transparency and the continued bias both in media and within the party, which fails to keep itself accountable.

For Americans at U of T, the fate of the election, and the way that it’s being handled is a pressing issue. To better understand the attitudes of the American people and their thoughts on the situation, I set out to ask a few American students and faculty at the University of Toronto about their views on the ongoing Democratic Party primary.

Behind the scenes of the Iowa caucus There was cause for concern during the recent Iowa caucus, largely a battle between Pete Buttigieg and Bernie Sanders. Buttigieg has since dropped out of the race. In brief, there was a polling debacle during the caucus in which votes were not properly tracked, making it nearly impossible to announce a clear victor. It came to light that the app tallying the votes had been poorly tested and was not prepared to process such large sums of data. By extension, the legitimacy of the votes is questionable at best.

Furthermore, Buttigieg himself had invested in the app. In an interview with The Varsity, Connor M. Ewing, an assistant professor at U of T’s Department of Political Science, suggested that because of competing incentives, the interest politi-

cians claim to have in free and fair elections does not necessarily translate into the electoral process.

Politicians are interested in having free and fair elections so long as they win.

However, Ewing also explained that there are issues aside from the app that played a part in the fiasco in Iowa. Unlike past years, the caucus decided to break down the vote into three tabulations, as opposed to merely reporting the overall count.

The logic was that an overall count smooths over the nuances of the election, and does not properly reflect the popular vote. By dividing the vote into three phases, the caucus would be able to better track voters’ behaviour. And in an attempt to increase transparency, voters’ movements would be catalogued using paper records.

Additionally, the caucus revised the rules so that people who supported viable candidates could not change their position between the different tabulations. In other words, any candidate who received more than 15 per cent of the vote was considered “viable”; those who did not were deemed “non-viable.” This was regarded as a move to discourage strategic voting and a tactic to sway the vote amongst more subsidiary voters.

In theory, such changes would eliminate discrepancies between electronic and physical polling results. However, in reality, it became impossible to discern the actual practices of voters. This is because administrators were not able to accurately record people’s voting patterns, as many moved between candidates freely between tabulations.

As a result, the fundamental basis for which paper records were being used was inherently flawed. In other words, there was no way to actually know what happened during the Iowa caucus.

This becomes increasingly worrisome as the Iowa caucus sets the momentum for the remainder of the election cycle, especially with the fast-approaching “Super Tuesday” — the day when more delegates for the presidential nomination conventions are available to win than on any other day.

A look into the American psyche Hannah Safer-Brickman, a first-year student,

speculated that the internal weaknesses of the Democratic Party may put a damper on voter turnout. She explained that, “Because the party which I support failed to conduct the Iowa caucus effectively, it made me doubt their ability to actually serve responsibly in office and make important changes.” If this is true, then the next presidency may prove to be a political stalemate in which neither party can make progress. This possibility discourages voters from feeling like their votes are meaningful.

Liam Sinclair-Thompson, another first-year student, is more concerned with the long-term effects of party splintering than this particular incident.

He added that the only way to “end this awful tyrannical dictatorship of Trump” is for Democrats to band together against a common enemy.

Both Safer-Brickman and Sinclair-Thompson believe that the media has done a disservice to the people this election. Safer-Brickman conceded that “the media, which is biased toward the Democratic Party, has failed to critique its leadership.” In effect, she believes that left-leaning news organizations have only contributed to the fracture within the Democratic Party.

Safer-Brickman also asked, “Without rebuke from within, how will we expect democratic leadership to take ownership of their mistakes and actually fix them?” This calls to attention another key issue: the role of free press in elections.

In many ways, the media narrative of the Iowa caucus tells voters that election results are predetermined. Such occurrences not only discourage voters, but also silence them, exposing the undemocratic leaning of the corporate media.

Sinclair-Thompson maintains the same sentiment, adding that “there is a media bias against Bernie Sanders.” He suggested that because Sanders is a threat to the establishment, the media has been reluctant to question the results of the Iowa caucus.

Beyond the election results In light of the events of the Iowa caucus, the American people are scrutinizing their democratic institutions — and rightfully so. As a result,

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many are searching for answers to remedy the many flaws of the electoral process.

Ewing argues that it is imperative for the government to “coordinate national and subnational powers,” as the current system is too localized.

A localized error could completely taint the outcome of the election. In contrast, a decentralized system is much safer, so long that there is a consistent standard. He went on, “The virtue of decentralization is that it is a little bit more robust… instead of a single domino collapsing [the entire structure], we can at least pull out one domino to limit the damage.”

Dr. Alexandra Rahr, a lecturer at the Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy, is interested in the culture surrounding elections more than the electoral process itself. She explained that though the polling debacle has gained a lot of political attention, it hasn’t moved Americans enough to start a social movement. Social change is brought about when our problems are humanized, she continued — but it is difficult to humanize a process.

Especially in a period of alarmist rhetoric from politicians, it feels as though we are constantly on the brink of the world ending. Consequently, people have developed a nihilistic attitude toward democratic institutions, believing that their votes don’t matter.

Ewing’s insights are more prevalent amongst American students at U of T than amongst those living in the United States. Because they are living in another country, many have not received adequate coverage of the election, making it more difficult to exercise their civic duties. In many ways, this experience has inspired students to challenge and question the electoral system — the very touchstone of democracy.

Most importantly, Ewing reminds us that democracy is an ongoing process. It is not just about successfully conducting an election but also the persistent challenges and questions that people wrestle with. Democracy brings about an institutional response through concerted political action. It is essential for American students, and Americans as a whole, to remember this when heading to the voting booth — we must continue to uphold our democratic institutions.

Yana Sadeghi is a first-year Social Sciences student at New College.

UTSG bookstore mask controversy highlights the inconsistencies in COVID-19 awareness Social media gives voice to dissent, but action must not stop there Dana Tors Varsity Contributor

Chances are you’ve heard about the exorbitantly priced masks sold at the U of T Bookstore earlier this semester. From memes, to posts within the campus community, to editorials in other universities’ publications, the store is — as one Facebook comment put it — “extract[ing] every last drop” of international students’ money. This has ignited the rage of students.

There have been countless reports attacking what the bookstore has done — but is the supposedly righteous anger masking the heart of these issues? As a student body, merely responding to what the bookstore has done through social media comments is not enough.

The University of Toronto boasts over 12,000 international students from China alone. As the 18th-ranked university in the world, the institution considers it a feather in its cap to have a diverse international student body. And if you walk the streets of St. George campus, you’re bound to see people wearing surgical masks in an attempt to protect themselves from the coronavirus, also known as COVID-19. Clearly, there is a demand for masks, which explains why the non-profit bookstore, which is run independently from the university by the University of Toronto Press, felt the need to stock them in the store.

However, despite the many requests that were made, it was never the store’s responsibility to stock masks in the first place, and it’s important

to remember that we must do more.

Doctors who are on the front lines fighting the virus have repeatedly spoken about how masks are actually counterproductive in fighting this disease. Not only do they promote fear mongering, but the uncomfortable masks actually cause the untrained to touch their faces more than ever before, which exposes the wearer to anything they may come in contact with more than if they hadn’t been wearing the mask in the first place.

The root of the problem is not the inflated price, but rather the bookstore’s inappropriate approach to fighting the disease. Yet, we are doing the same thing in response to the bookstore’s actions.

As tempting as it can be to point fingers, and as powerful as social media is for advocacy efforts, our involvement cannot end there. Merely dredging up the same incident over and over again to signify the University of Toronto’s apathy becomes decreasingly effective as time passes.

Though advocacy against the bookstore’s actions catalyzes this understanding of the university, this ire is preventing us from seeing how we can actually help moving forward, especially since it appears that the virus will be here for the foreseeable future.

Right now, it is dialogue over rage that is linking the campus together — not action. We can easily be fooled into thinking that speaking out against pricing that takes advantage of fear is enough, but it’s not. Instead, being educated in the far greater issues that surround the coronavi-

rus can help us bring about the change we all want to see.

As of February 25, there have been over 80,000 cases of the COVID-19 worldwide. Considering the number of international students across our three campuses, countless fellow students are currently suffering the loss or illness of family and friends. Even if they aren’t experiencing the direct threat of the virus, they are hearing of their families being quarantined, cut off from ‘less urgent’ avenues of medical care, and being pushed out of school for days or weeks on end.

Rather than participating in vitriolic online commentary that sparks more rage than solutions, direct conversation with fellow students can be far more helpful in understanding how students feel about this issue.

According to Regina Angkawidjaja, a first-year international student at Woodsworth College, “It’s important for people to be socially aware, but there is a point where it becomes too much…

I definitely think that social media is important but there could be more steps, like donations and actually reaching out to people who you know.”

When experiencing a rush of emotions, it can be easy to think that our part is done once we express our anger, but for many, the bookstore’s

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prices are not the real problem.

In the face of the suffering and stress that the coronavirus brings, it’s merely a blip on the radar. Social media comments won’t help in the long run.

Don’t let ‘rage culture’ fool you — in the midst of it, you can become unaware of those who need to be listened to, oblivious to the information that is vital to spread, and more disconnected from each other than ever.

Whether you think the U of T Bookstore is a prime example of capitalistic opportunism or that their mask prices have been blown out of proportion, it’s becoming increasingly irrelevant as time passes. What is pertinent right now, however, is how we can connect interpersonally and support one another as a campus.

Dana Tors is a third-year English student at Trinity College.

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THE VARSITY

FEATURES

Does the grin

Stop celebrating sleepless nights and overw Writer: Sarah Folk Photographer: Dina Dong

Burnout culture is a social phenomenon that dominates U of T, and one that is constantly idealized. It is characterized by students who overload themselves with responsibilities and work nonstop, regardless of how much they may be struggling inside.

Burnout culture is students trying to one-up each other about who got less sleep last night while loading themselves up on copious amounts of caffeine.

It’s the reason why you joined a club that you weren’t truly passionate about, but felt like it would look good on a graduate school application. It’s the belief that you would finally be proud of yourself if your GPA was just one letter grade higher. Ultimately, burnout culture is viewing mental and physical exhaustion as a side effect of success, rather than a consequence of being overworked.

I don’t think I would be making an erroneous statement by saying that it is the norm for U of T students to push themselves to the very limits of their physical and mental health in order to be successful. We see this manifest in students sleeping in the library surrounded by their notes and students who juggle four clubs all at once.

Don’t get me wrong — it is always important to give credit where credit is due and congratulate students who achieve impressive extracurricular feats, earn top marks, or start their own businesses. These accomplishments are all worthy of recognition and praise, but singling them out as the only and highest form of success that a student can achieve sends the toxic message that a student’s self-worth is based solely on their academic and extracurricular achievements.

Recovery, kindness, mental health, and happiness, all important markers of success, cannot be measured on a scale, but they should be viewed as having equal — if not greater — importance as more concrete achievements.

Student perspectives on burnout Burnout culture is rooted in the idea that endless

hard work is the key to success and will ultimately pay off in the end, yet this leaves students with minimal time for rest, time to spend with friends and family, or time to have fun — all critical components of a happy and healthy life.

The ultimate outcome of burnout culture is a body of students that is burned out. Stress is a natural and arguably healthy part of a person’s life. It can help create a sense of urgency to remain productive. However, according to the Center of Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH), burnout can feel very draining.

Stress presents itself as overactive and hyperactive, but burnout produces “a sense of helplessness and hopelessness.”

“I know I’m burned out when I’m absolutely unmotivated to do everything,” said Karley Rynard, a second-year Rotman Commerce student. “I wake up in the morning and I’m sleeping in and I’m accidentally missing classes and I’m starting to fall behind on everything.”

Her experience is not an unusual one. Victoria Vesovski, a second-year student majoring in Equity Studies with a double minor in Sociology and English, describes her experience with burnout as a frustrating inability to focus on her course work.

“When I’m editing a paper and I’m just looking at it and I don’t even understand what I’m reading — I’m just staring at the screen,” Vesovski said.

Feeling like you must force yourself to power through assignments even when you are exhausted is a direct consequence of burnout culture. The order of priorities for many students starts with their academic and extracurricular workload, then come sleep, physical exercise, and nutritious food — and sadly, iced coffee doesn’t count.

Rynard added that the urgency of projects she is working on has an impact on her sleep schedule. “I’m going to stay up until it’s done,” she said. “On average, I stay up pretty late anyway, like 2:00 am, sometimes 3:00 am.”

Being in this environment, it is discouraging to work so hard only to meet the crushing wave of hopelessness in your final years of university when many entry-level jobs require three or more years of work experience. Each year, the time a student is willing to sacrifice for better grades and a résumé that will ‘stand out from the crowd’ grows, alongside their nearness to their emotional and physiological breaking point.

Everett Smith, a Varsity athlete and second-year Rotman Commerce student, spoke about the reasons we still push ourselves to our breaking points, regardless of the effects on our bodies. As an athlete, she experiences some physical symptoms of burnout, such as exhaustion, which manifests in requiring naps just to get through the day.

“I would say most of the time, I feel like I’m never doing enough,” Smith said. “There’s such a high volume of things you need to know over all the courses that you’re in and extracurriculars that you’re taking.”

It is critical to note that the symptoms of burnout can be obvious and subtle. CAMH listed some observable signs such as disrupted sleep, reclusive and withdrawn behaviour, and a loss of confidence.

Social media’s troubling impact, and other pressures Not only do U of T students feel the pressure to push themselves to tolerate unhealthy levels of stress and anxiety in the name of success, but scrolling through social media takes us on another emotional rollercoaster as well. There’s a fascinating duality to social media: it has the power to bring us the greatest feelings of validation and community while also dragging our self-esteem through the dirt.

From scrolling past endless photos of smartly dressed students on LinkedIn, to obsessing over Instagram models with skinny bodies and flawless skin — social media is the place that, regardless of the community it provides, becomes a sinking pit of self-confidence for many. We have convinced

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working — start addressing burnout culture ourselves that unless we are academically successful, well-liked, and conventionally attractive all at once and all the time, then we are somehow lacking and simply not trying hard enough, unlike the ‘oh-so perfect’ people online. We love to glorify the very thing that we can never achieve — perfection, or rather, the illusion of it.

Anny Fong, an organizational behaviour instructor at Rotman Commerce and human resources instructor at the Centre for Industrial Issues and Human Resources, commented on how we’ve allowed social media to trick us into thinking perfection is a reasonable goal.

“We’re now living in an era where we unfairly, unhealthily, and obsessively compare ourselves to others,” Fong said. “People post their successes, their adventures, the newest gadgets, whatever it is on their social media, and it leads others to think that we have this fabulous life, or [that] other people have this fabulous life. In reality, we don’t know the full picture, we don’t know their challenges, [and] we don’t know what they’re going through.”

It is easy to come to the conclusion that the reason our life pales in comparison to the glamorous tales of success we’ve read about is that we are simply not working hard enough. It is easy to feel like you are alone when you feel overwhelmed by your commitments — academic, extracurricular, and personal.

Another issue with burnout culture is that although everyone understands that mental health issues affect so many students on campus, we continue to feel like we can’t reach out, nor do we always check in with others.

Rynard spoke about her own experiences with this feeling of disconnectedness with her peers. “I feel like certain people try to make it seem like they’re not stressed and kind of have this false appearance to them,” she said.

If everybody puts up a tough facade, this only further perpetuates the idea that being burned out is a

necessary part of success — but it’s also a side that must be hidden from view to maintain the image of effortless achievement. It narrows the amount of people who will feel comfortable opening up about their troubles.

The elitist pressures of academia are some of the toughest to overcome as a student. It’s also no secret that the behaviour and teaching style of a professor can make or break a student’s learning experience and overall sense of happiness in class. Fong encourages other members of the U of T community and faculty to put themselves in the shoes of others, such as students.

“I think it’s important to come to class with empathy, with an open mind to understand and listen, a willingness to help, and a cognizance that everyone is fighting their own battles, whether they’re visible or not,” she shared. “Many times we just need to be reassured that someone cares about us.”

Finding balanced footing With all these ever-present stressors at U of T, students and faculty alike need to find ways to manage their stress. Fong believes the answer is mindfulness, and the willingness to treat yourself and others gently.

“We need to [be] mindful of the stressors that we’re under, but also be cognizant that we’re constantly at risk of being burned out,” she explained. “I think it’s really important for us to know that none of us are immune, all of us are subject to burnout. It’s really important that we take care of our health and that we’re kind to ourselves.”

Finding balance as a U of T student is tough, but not impossible. Rynard shared some of the healthy ways she tries to prevent burnout and keep herself emotionally healthy. “Sometimes I think I have healthy habits for coping with stress,” she said.

“Sometimes I’ll go to the gym, or talk to my mom, or call a friend… and kind of just vent about how I feel.”

Smith said, “One of the most effective things is just

getting it off your brain, doing something different, allowing yourself to focus on something different.”

Vesovski reassures students that enjoying some down time isn’t a bad thing. “I’d say take a break,” she said. “It’s okay to do your readings a day later, and even if you have a planned schedule, it’s okay to not [follow] the schedule sometimes and just take time to yourself.”

There is power in vulnerability when it comes to creating a more accepting and forgiving learning environment. Smith stressed the importance of having go-to people in your life whom you can open up to when you feel like you are having a hard time. “I think a big thing about it is having friends to reach out to, [which] makes a huge difference,” she said.

Understanding the importance of mental health and taking care of oneself are growing amongst students and faculty. There are more resources available now than ever, and we are starting to acknowledge the dangerous consequences of pushing ourselves to our emotional and physical limits. We are beginning to understand that it is the culture among the U of T community that allows the cycle of selfneglect to continue.

We should take a breather before all our energy and motivation is gone and encourage our friends, colleagues, and students to do the same. Neglecting your sleep, health, and well-being to finish an assignment should be met with concern, not admiration.

An extracurricular activity should add a positive experience to your university career that will provide you with happy memories, not just leadership experience that you can put on your cover letter.

Listen to your friends and seek help if you believe that you or someone close to you needs it. Talk about the problems you see, and then do something about them, because acknowledgement without action helps no one. Let’s treat burnout for what it is — our bodies and minds trying to tell us to treat ourselves with a little more love, patience, and kindness.

Arts & Culture

March 2, 2020 var.st/arts arts@thevarsity.ca

Acting, modelling, directing: my university career comes to a close Saying my thank-yous — yours truly, Abigail Whitney Abigail Whitney Varsity Contributor

My mom says my journey at U of T began when I was a baby, when she, as a student, would bring me to her lectures. I guess that was her paving the way for me to go to U of T. But I hesitated when I graduated high school. I wanted to go to Trent University because my older brother’s bandmates raved about their time there, but my mom insisted that I go to her alma mater.

I was excited to be accepted directly into the drama program’s 200-level entry course during my first year. I came to theatre after winning first prize in a poetry recitation contest in high school. The experience of reciting poetry led me to recite monologues, and I soon developed an interest in theatre.

During high school I acted in amateur and professional productions; one of my most memorable productions was Emotional Creature, which I performed in alongside an empowering, all-girls cast at Nightwood Theatre, directed by Tanisha Taitt.

My first performance at U of T was in Moby Dick! The Musical with the Woodsworth Innis New Drama Society. I remember being amazed by the students producing, directing, and starring in the production. The following semester, I played the titular role in an original Africanized retelling of Cinderella by U of T’s African Studies Course Union. The director told me it was uncommon for a first-year student to play lead in a production, and they joked that my first-year composure was perfect for playing a princess: I was unaffected by the anxiety that would come from additional years of postsecondary education.

Cinderella was my first play with an African diasporic cast and creative team. This production sought African diasporic students to audition for roles, and created a genuine space for us to express our talents. Opportunities like Cinderella only come every so often for Black students on campus.

After two very successful runs, I thought my first year would be my best year. I felt I was a part of change happening on campus, but I also felt I wouldn’t get another experience like this again.

The experience of Cinderella was so unique and unmatched. What could compare to young Black girls welcoming me after a performance wearing princess dresses and tiaras, and fellow students on campus calling me Cinderella? To this day, I’m reminded of Cinderella and the importance of Black visibility and experiences in theatre.

A master’s student doing her thesis project saw me in Cinderella and asked me to model for her solo art exhibition. I was thrilled. Soon after, I began freelance modelling and was featured in Afropunk, and on PhotoVogue, where my picture was selected as “Pic of the day” by Vogue Italia.

During my second year I was signed by a modelling agency. I was interviewed for a magazine that dubbed me “the girl with the flying cheek-

Abigail Whitney reflects on her artistic journey.

COURTESY OF BECKY GRIMMAN

bones” — a description I’ve come to embrace. The quote originally comes from the namesake of M. NourbeSe Philip’s poem, “Meditations on the Declensions of Beauty by the Girl with the Flying Cheek-bones.” The poem was also referenced, by chance, in the solo art exhibition that included my first portraits as a model.

I like to think that I began modelling from acting, and that I learned how to model from the skills I learned through acting. I get to be myself and express myself differently through modelling.

There are so many possibilities for me when I model, and that’s why I continue. It’s an art form that keeps showing who I am.

I continued to act in my second year. I performed in the chorus of Electra. In my third year, I played lead in Scorched directed by Djanet Sears with the National Theatre School of Canada.

Off-campus, I performed as one of the leads in Deanna Bowen’s On Trial The Long Doorway. The production was named in “The 10 best art shows of 2017” by NOW magazine, and went on to win Monographic Exhibition of the Year at the Ontario Association of Art Galleries Awards.

I also played one of the leads in Welcome Wagon at InspiraTO Festival, Canada’s largest 10-minute play festival. Welcome Wagon won the Jury Award for Best Overall Play. I continued to model, and was featured in CoverGirl and L’Oréal campaigns that year, and even flew to Vancouver — for the first time — for a Lululemon campaign.

I transitioned into directing during my third year. Directing is an empowering process and I’ve found that I learn the most about myself when I’m doing so. I co-devised a new piece, created in response to Amanda Parris’ Other Side of the Game, and I co-directed I Can’t Trust Anyone, Everyone Hurts Me: A Comedy, which won the Staging Survivance merit award at the U of T Drama Festival.

I’ve always had an inclination to direct; ever since high school I’d envision how to tell stories

onstage. University gave me the opportunity to pursue that aspiration.

In my fourth year, I made my directorial debut with the world premiere of Les Frères, a fulllength play written by New York artist Sandra A. Daley-Sharif. The U of T Drama Coalition named me Best Director for my work. I was featured by U of T News in their “U of T students who crushed it in 2018” piece. I was interviewed

by The Varsity, and on both CBC’s q and Our Toronto.

Les Frères was also featured on ByBlacks in celebration of the 215th anniversary of Haiti’s independence on January 1, 2019. On our closing, Daley-Sharif flew into Toronto from New York to surprise us. This was truly one of my most memorable experiences directing. I developed a great relationship with Daley-Sharif over the course of Les Frères — she trusted me with her story and allowed me to make it my own.

Also during fourth year, I was in a national Sephora campaign. I remember commuting between that shoot and my shifts as a theatre counsellor at the university. I didn’t quite understand how big this shoot was until I saw my face on campus, at the bus stop corner of Harbord Street and Spadina Avenue on my way to a Les Frères rehearsal. Then began the flood of messages from friends over social media who saw my face in Sephora advertisements and stores across Canada.

At the time of the shoot, I didn’t know how significantly being the face of a national makeup campaign would impact other Black women. I was approached in Sephora stores by Black women who congratulated me, and a young Black girl whom I babysat did a presentation about me for her show-and-tell.

In my following semester in fourth year, I flew to London, England, for the first time, on an exchange to study acting. I auditioned for an award-winning drama company, and acted in

their submission to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, the world’s largest arts festival. Our show was listed among the “Top 10 Things to see at the Edinburgh Fringe” by Pocket Size Theatre. I also modelled, and signed on to a British and Swedish modelling agency.

These are just some of the experiences I’ll cherish when I graduate in June, and when I go on to future endeavours. I appreciate that I’ve acted, modelled, and directed while in university. Acting has enhanced the way I model, and modelling informs my directing both in and outside of rehearsal. They’re reciprocal.

I feel that having Black women present in prominent positions in creative industries has enabled me to work in them as well. The fact that I’ve worked with some of the inspiring Black women who came before me keeps me motivated.

Now, in my graduating year, I’m the artistic theatre director of the youth, an art house that gives opportunities to talented Black youth entering creative industries. I was the assistant director for Here are the Fragments, co-produced by the Essential Collective Theatre and The Theatre Centre, and I worked on Infinity, which was produced by Volcano Theatre, and toured Vancouver.

I recently directed my second play, Father Figures at the 2020 U of T Drama Festival. In May of this year, I will be directing seven methods of killing kylie jenner with Paprika Festival, which first opened at the Royal Court in London, UK. I won’t be able to say my thank-yous when I accept my degree at Convocation Hall, so I hope it’s okay that I say them here.

Thank you, mom for your advice, and for so much more. Thank you to my three sisters and my brother for always being there for me, and my brother especially for watching over me. Thank you to my beautiful friends, my extended Toronto families and communities for your incredible support! I am forever grateful for every single person who has been a part of my journey thus far.

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MARCH 2, 2020

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“So, you know how to dance, huh?”: the beat of fetishization Learning to trust your own rhythm as a Black woman

Leah Mpinga Varsity Contributor

Growing up as a mixed Black girl in the heart of west London had its pros and cons. On one hand I grew up in what the ‘woke’ generation would call a cultural and creative hub. A 10-minute walk away from the bustling Shepherd’s Bush, and in the other direction a 15-minute walk to the beautiful Kyoto Gardens of Holland Park. The sounds of Koffi Olomide — who my father would argue is the best Congolese artist of our time — blasted through the speakers of my house on a Sunday morning, and my grandmother’s crisp Belgian French echoed through the speakerphone.

In a way, I was caught between two worlds I didn’t even know existed. One, inside my home where I was just Leah. My brother was just Alex.

My parents were Maman and Papa. We were all proudly Congolese; my mother, brother, and I proudly Belgian, with the flag hanging outside our window every World Cup. But most importantly, we were Canadians who had landed in the UK. It was not until the age of eight or nine, however, that I realized that wasn’t the world everyone else was living in. “How can you be from more than two countries?” one classmate asked me once.

“Just because you’re Black, doesn’t mean you have to have attitude,” another one chimed. “What’s your connection to Belgium again?” And the most prominent of all, “So if you’re from Canada, then where are you ‘originally’ from?” I, of course, was oblivious to what this actually meant.

The world around me was actually built in binary code. Black and white. Majority or minority.

Kindred or other. I had been sheltered from this at home. With my family, I was surrounded by many people who were just like me. My parents and a lot of their friends were just like us. So why was this so strange to many people?

I started taking an interest in politics during my last two years of high school and began to delve deeper into Congolese history and politics — which I had been largely estranged from for the majority of my life, since I had only visited once in 2014, and neither of my parents had been back for 20 years.

And no, my parents were not political or war-torn refugees; they left to study in Montréal where my dad pursued a degree in economics and my mother took a college course in early years foundation stages education. Unfortunately, marriage, kids, mortgages, distance, moving, and more moving tended to halt homecoming plans.

Point being, my life in the public was dictated by stereotypes of what it is to be Congolese, what it looks like to be mixed, and what it looks like and means to be Black.

Then it happens — you’re in a nightclub, dancing with a bunch of your friends and get asked the dreaded question, most likely by a white male counterpart trying to shoot his shot.

“So, you know how to dance, huh?” There it is: the essence of what I’m talking about.

You want to tell me where I’m from, what I should look like, what my family should look like, all while wanting to know how I learned how to dance so well.

But we live in a world where university halls are filled with white girls who listen to hip-hop, wear big hoops, and say they “only do Black guys,” and please let us not forget the white guys who go to trap music festivals, call you “shawty,” and tell you about their one Black best friend.

Dance the dance of feeling like you’re always second-guessed or second choice because of the colour of your skin. Dance the dance of feeling like you would be prettier if you just had straighter hair. Dance the dance of wanting smaller lips just so you look like the other kids in your class.

Dance to the beat of fetishization.

I want to make it clear that you’re not an ally when you tell me you’re ‘pretty chill’ for a white person, when your one, or even two Black friends give you a pass to say the n-word, or when you tell me Meghan Markle “doesn’t look” Black.

When you keep us as your secret friend that you

XIN YI LIM/ THE VARSITY

don’t want your girlfriend to find out about, or pick us up when you need particular parts of our identities and drop us afterward, or when you say I’m anti-cause because your version of feminism doesn’t align with the needs and experiences of racialized women.

Those who dance with us, hear us. They know they cannot be us, mimic us, or intimidate us into feeling lesser than everyone else. Those who dance with us accept us for who we are and what we say we are. Those who can dance and will dance with us are the ones who accept that the power and discourse nexus, which has never been in our favour, will take centuries to deconstruct.

They help to carry us home when the blisters on our feet have formed, the music has stopped playing, and Ubers are being called. So, if you think you can dance, listen to the beat we’re playing you and dance to that. Dance to the sound of a world where we are more than rappers, athletes, and entertainers to you. Dance to us being who we want to be, regardless of the world telling us who we are.

U of T’s clubs: niche interests make for close-knit communities

A guide to making friends, passing classes, and enjoying yourself along the way in first year Kashaf Salaheen Varsity Contributor

When I was in first year, I didn’t know many people in my program or college. My two best friends went to Western University, and I was left to my own devices here at the University of Toronto.

In high school, I was in a multitude of clubs.

Going into university, everyone told me that clubs are different as you get older, and cautioned me not to join as many. Despite these words of advice, I went to the clubs fair during orientation week and signed up for every single club or organization that I was even slightly interested

in. If I saw a form on Facebook for a club, I’d sign up for that too.

Within the first few weeks, I was a first-year representative for the Computer Science Students’ Union, a writer for Her Campus, and a volunteer for Blue Crew.

Obviously, some of the clubs I have joined over the years have been better than others. Many lacked an organizational structure, or never actually gave me anything to do when I was in them.

However, especially at U of T, I have found it incredibly useful to go to the clubs fair and interact with executives one-on-one. The clubs fair is a pretty good way to get the general vibe of a club, and an idea of whether it would be something worth investing time in.

One of the best things about clubs is that you are not bound to them unless you choose to be. I have dropped many clubs throughout the years after going to a meeting and deciding that they weren’t for me. It’s up to you to decide if you want to continue with a club, and if so, whether you

want to be an executive or just a drop-in member.

If you are even somewhat interested in a club, I suggest attending a meeting or two and then deciding if you want to continue with it.

A complaint I hear from my commuter friends is that it is difficult to form friendships when you go to school, attend class, and leave right away.

The solution? Clubs! I know it is not always fun to stay behind at school for a few hours when you could be at home, but clubs are definitely worth it, especially if they are related to your field; you can meet people who take similar classes, and tada: friendship!

If you don’t really care about making friends, there are also usually faculty advisors for each club. If you are planning on going to graduate school, or may need references in the future for something else, this could help you form a close connection with a professor.

Clubs also help develop vital life skills. For example, if you become an executive for a club, this helps teach you leadership skills. I feel that in

most of my classes, I don’t get the opportunity to develop skills in such areas. I also find that having more going on with clubs forces me to be more considerate of my time management.

With that being said, clubs are supposed to be fun. A lot of clubs I’m in regularly have socials, which are a great way to meet new people, network, and make friends. Clubs help you stop thinking about school for a little while and have you doing something fun yet productive.

A lot of people tell me not to do a lot of clubs because they aren’t worth it. But isn’t that what university is all about? Trying new things and meeting new people? My overall advice for first years is to take all the opportunities you can get. Joining clubs helps a lot in terms of making friends, but it’s also just a fun way to get your mind off school. University work will quickly become too hard to handle if you don’t give yourself time to socialize and unwind. So, make sure that you go to the next clubs fair, sign up for clubs, check them out, and have fun!

Getting involved can be daunting at first, but it’s definitely worth it.

SHANNA HUNTER/ THE VARSITY

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Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice? More like money, money, money How Broadway is selling out for easy ‘dollah’ and shallow smiles

Kody McCann Varsity Contributor

I like Beetlejuice — both the movie and the musical — but I do not like The Music Man. So, what exactly is going on with Beetlejuice? In December it was announced that the Broadway show would be closing on June 6, 2020. While normally this would be news, it is not particularly noteworthy.

Broadway shows close all the time, and successful shows are no exception. Shows like Hamilton, Wicked, and The Book of Mormon are rarities in that they are still currently running their original performances — albeit with entirely different casts. Phantom of the Opera and Chicago are also still running as they have entered into the upper strata of Broadway — these shows are in a league of their own.

The noteworthy aspect of Beetlejuice closing is that it was doing well — really well. So what happened?

Beetlejuice is a Broadway musical written by Scott Brown and Anthony King, based on the cult 1988 Tim Burton film of the same name. The musical has succeeded in replicating the weirdness and dark comedy that the classic Burton film so expertly portrayed. The musical premiered in Washington DC in 2018, before opening at the Winter Garden Theatre on Broadway in April 2019.

In spite of eight Tony award nominations, the musical initially received poor reviews after it opened on Broadway, and underperformed during its opening months — April to June. It seemed that it

was dead in the water. In May, the Winter Garden Theatre invoked the show’s stop clause and started looking for another show to replace it.

This clause in the contract between a musical, play, or anything operating in a theatre stipulates that if the theatre’s revenue from the show dips below a previously agreed upon level for two straight weeks, the theatre can evict the show and look for a replacement. In other words, a theatre can pull the plug on a show if it starts to tank.

To be fair to the Winter Garden Theatre, Beetlejuice was tanking, and while in my opinion they pulled it a little early — before the Tony Awards — the show has an elaborate set and was extremely expensive to get off the ground. It makes sense; it was not selling out, therefore it’s time to move on.

But something changed in the summer. After some notable performances at the Tony Awards and on Good Morning America, and reliable sub-Hamilton-ticket-level admission pricing, people started showing up to Beetlejuice. More people saw it and more people liked it.

In a New York Times interview with Mark Kaufman, the executive vice-president of Warner Bros. Theater Ventures, which owns the rights to the show, explained how Beetlejuice’s growth was “the textbook definition of word of mouth.”

I began to see more references to Beetlejuice on Twitter through memes and the online theatre community, and ticket sales backed up this increase in popularity. Beetlejuice set a Winter Garden The-

atre record for ticket sales and broke the theatre’s seven-performance week record at the start of January with $1.4 million in revenue. It has maintained this streak since mid-July.

In the same interview, Kaufman also mentioned how the show has become popular and grown thanks to “first-time theatre-goers.” First-time theatre-goers like this show because it is accessible to a new audience; they enjoy it and all its ridiculousness. There is no previously bankable target demographic and that is the main reason why the booting of Beetlejuice upsets me.

It is difficult to see a show on Broadway. The main barriers to audience members are geography and cost.

So now we have an inexpensive show; tickets are available for only 59 USD. That makes it the perfect Broadway show because it is accessible, and this is helping to expand the theatre community — something I believe is inherently good and necessary. Lastly, but arguably most importantly, it’s a good show but is being replaced by a headline revival because it did not have a hot start.

It is being replaced by The Music Man with Hugh Jackman playing the eponymous role. As prefaced, I do not like The Music Man. This is its fourth revival on Broadway, and I would have a difficult time making an argument against it if it were a new show because it could potentially have the same impact as Beetlejuice, but that is not happening.

A show that has been done many times and does not cater to a new and diversi-

fying Broadway audience is replacing a show that has done its best to grow its audience the old-fashioned way. Not by a financially safe bet with a Hollywood star, but through word-of-mouth and unique and hilarious entertainment. I can only hope that any and all pushback against these events will push theatres to consider more than just money when thinking about ending a show.

That is what is going on with Beetlejuice. Go see it if you can before June 6 in New York City, or on its national tour in the US, which will begin in 2021.

FIONA TUNG/ THE VARSITY

Book Club: Paul Kalanithi’s When Breath Becomes Air

What do you do when you’re told to confront your own death?

Michelle Fornasier Varsity Contributor

IRIS DENG/THE VARSITY

University is a place where dreamers live. People are aspiring to become doctors, professors, famous writers, influencers, and teachers. They are striving to do amazing things, and Dr. Paul Kalanithi is the epitome of what any university student dreams of becoming. He was a brilliant, Ivy League-educated neurosurgeon, who also happens to be the author of the most incredible book I have ever read, When Breath Becomes Air. Kalanithi’s main question throughout the book is: what gives life meaning? As an undergraduate student at Stanford University, Kalanithi was deeply intrigued by human meaning and the functions of the brain. Throughout the book, readers see Kalanithi analyzing this question throughout the many stages of his life. He earned his bachelor’s degree in human biology and English to help to satisfy some of his questions.

Over the course of the book, Kalanithi describes how his quest to discover human meaning, often conflicted with his desire to form human relationships, gave his life meaning. He additionally

comments on his decision to choose to experience philosophical ‘meaning’ as opposed to studying ‘meaning’ at university. In his fourth year of undergraduate studies, after visiting a facility for people who have suffered severe brain injuries, Kalanithi realized that our brains make life meaningful and allow us to form meaningful relationships.

Kalanithi proceeded to obtain a master’s degree in English literature, and through this discovered that English was not where he belonged. He discovered that he wanted to pursue medicine to truly experience the meaning of life.

During the interim period, he obtained a master’s in history and philosophy of medicine from Cambridge University, which helped him to once again confirm that he wanted to experience the meaning of life, not just study it.

The Yale School of Medicine allowed Kalanithi to bridge the gaps between meaning, life, and death. Kalanithi chose to specialize in neurosurgery because that’s where these big questions meet. Neurosurgeons in particular deal with the identity of their patients, and aid them in answering the question of what makes life meaningful enough to go on living.

The final part of the book focuses on finding meaning and identity after receiving a terminal illness diagnosis. It also delves into the transition of going from doctor to patient. Kalanithi had to decide what will give his remaining time on earth meaning, and he decided that practicing as a neurosurgeon, having a child, and writing a book would add the most meaning to his life. In deciding whether or not to have a child, his wife, Lucy, asked him, “Don’t you think saying goodbye to your child will make your death more painful?” to which Kalanithi poetically replied, “Wouldn’t it be great if it did?”

The book ends with Lucy, now a widow, detailing the final months of his life and how his main priority during this time was maintaining mental acuity to ensure he did not lose meaning in life.

Her writing style is raw, so be prepared to shed some tears.

If you’d like a poetic, heart-wrenching read that inspires you to search for more meaning in your life, I’d highly recommend this book. Know that in reading this, you are carrying on Kalanithi’s voice and ideas, and will have the honour of looking into a dreamer’s mind.

Science

March 2, 2020 var.st/science science@thevarsity.ca

VIVIAN TONG/ THE VARSITY

How U of T computer scientists are transforming the world

In conversation with three professors who have been recognized with prestigious chairships Sarah Kronenfeld Varsity Staff

It’s an exciting time for machine learning research, and computer scientists at the University of Toronto are right in the middle of it.

The Canadian Institute for Advanced Research (CIFAR) named eight of U of T’s faculty members as CIFAR Artificial Intelligence (AI) Chairs in December 2019, recognizing their transformative work in the field. CIFAR pushed Canada to the forefront of AI research when it funded the ambitious Blue Sky Ideas research initiative in computer science.

The Varsity talked to three of U of T’s new CIFAR AI Chairs, all professors at U of T, about their past projects, current interests, and hopes for computer science to come.

A career in robotics and automation When Dr. Animesh Garg, now an assistant professor at UTM’s Department of Computer Science, first started his academic career, it was as a mechanical engineer, not a computer scientist.

His interest in his current field began when, as an undergraduate student in the late 2000s, he and some friends tried to build a self-driving car on a budget of a few hundred dollars.

The project set him on a path that he’s been pursuing ever since. His research mostly deals with engineering robots to automate dangerous or dull and repetitive tasks. He’s currently working with surgeons to create machines to assist in surgery. Robots can complete simple technical tasks, allowing surgeons to focus on the more complex elements of the surgery.

For all his work in workplace automation, he doesn’t believe that its impact on the job market is as catastrophic as it is sometimes made out to be. “I don’t think of machines… in any manner, replacing jobs,” he said. “We are not going to be able to completely replace a job or a position.

What usually ends up happening is we try to as-

sist that position, by… [enabling] you to extend your skills.”

He thinks that we’re going to see huge leaps in using automation to improve safety in driving and e-commerce in the near future, and that we’re going to see large-scale implementations of autonomous robotics in surgery and personal care within the next couple of decades.

Right now, Garg is developing and teaching two new courses to give students access to new and exciting learning opportunities — an advanced robotics class, complete with a new teaching lab and industrial-standard robots, and an introductory reinforcement learning class.

He’s looking forward to collaborating with other CIFAR AI chairs across the country, especially those who are doing similar research to him but starting from different fields. He thinks that collaboration of that sort is going to be a key element of machine learning research going forward.

“It could be very incorrect to say that a single person or single institution will solve all of it,” Garg said. “It is going to be a very collaborative effort, and that is what some program like CIFAR really encourages.”

Bridging theory and application: studying algorithms Dr. Chris Maddison is perhaps most famous for his work on AlphaGo, a program that beat the reigning human champion at the board game Go. Since then, he’s been everywhere from Oxford University to the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, New Jersey, conducting AI research on an eccentric blend of topics.

His work revolves around some of the most fundamental problems that underpin machine learning, such as optimization, which is necessary for program decision-making. Even though a lot

of his favourite research focuses on answering the general questions behind machine learning, he’s hesitant to call his research purely theoretical.

“I guess I would draw the distinction between people who do very applied work, people who do very theoretical work, and people who are developing algorithms,” he said. He focuses on developing algorithms — something that requires a fair bit of theory, but also depends heavily on the their applications.

Maddison started his academic career right here at U of T as an undergraduate student. He started studying linguistics and spent time in neuroscience, but no matter what program he was enrolled in, he kept coming back to computer science. Starting this summer, he will be returning to U of T as an assistant professor.

“I’m excited to work with grad students. I’m excited for that kind of research environment…

It’s a group that a lot of people are paying attention to,” he said. He’s excited to embark on more research — most specifically, at the intersection between machine learning and efficient searching algorithms.

Maddison hopes to use his newfound position as a CIFAR AI chair to kickstart future research collaborations.

Conscious thinking by machines Dr. Sheila McIlraith has been a longstanding name in machine learning research. She’s worked in Silicon Valley, at Stanford University, and most recently as a professor here at U of T. A lot of her recent research touches upon the idea of deliberative machine learning — how to teach computers to accomplish complex problemsolving tasks.

Researchers have made huge strides training computers to correctly perceive and recognize sensory input with machine learning, and McIl-

raith is hoping to apply those same principles to tasks that require conscious thinking. She’s been involved in projects that tackle this by training a computer to play Minecraft, and by putting a machine learning agent in a simulated environment with multiple rooms, so that it develops the working memory to complete a task that requires frequent context-switching.

Deliberative problems present a unique challenge to the programs that have to break down and ‘understand’ their assigned tasks. They may not be rewarded for the intermediate steps they need to achieve their end goal, or they may need to create an association between multiple, seemingly unrelated, events.

Although she’s recently been on sabbatical to focus on her research, McIlraith said that she always particularly enjoys teaching. “Maybe you write a fantastic paper, and what does that mean?

Maybe a hundred people cite it, or a thousand people cite it… but you can really impact somebody’s life [by teaching],” she reflected.

Now that AI and machine learning are so prevalent in the public sphere, she says that it’s more important than ever to educate the general public — and AI-specialized computer scientists — about how to use it responsibly.

In fact, she’s been working with Dr. Barbara Grosz, the Higgins Professor of Natural Sciences at Harvard University’s John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, to try to implement a new, specialized ethics course for the computer science department to tackle these issues.

She hopes that other AI researchers, like her fellow CIFAR AI chairs, will also push for a better public understanding of machine learning. “[Machine learning] seems so magical, [but] people need to understand that these systems are only as good as their data,” she said.

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How to best be an ally in STEM

Women in Chemistry Toronto, U of T Chemistry Students’ Union co-host panel discussion Barrows added: “We don’t need people to just understand the problems, but we need them to feel the problems, to embed the problems, to empathize with the problems that exist from oppression.”

Key subjects of discussion included the concepts of performative allyship and awareness of intersectionality.

COURTESY OF CYNTHIA SUAREZ/WOMEN IN CHEMISTRY

Valeria Khudiakova Science Correspondent

At just five years old, Dr. Bryan Gaensler, Director of the Dunlap Institute for Astronomy & Astrophysics at U of T, decided to become an astronomer. After he attained the necessary qualifications, “it all just magically unfolded” for him.

However, Gaensler noted at the “Inclusion is the Path to Excellence: The Importance of Allyship in STEM” panel discussion that so many “five-year-olds around the world who also want to be astronomers or chemists… don’t get to be what they want to be when they grow up,” because of systemic barriers they may face.

The event took place on February 24 at the Bahen Centre for Information Technology and was organized by Women in Chemistry Toronto and

the Chemistry Students’ Union.

The other panelists were Dr. Raychelle Burks, an assistant professor of chemistry at St. Edward’s University in Austin, Texas; Dr. Denise O’Neil Green, Vice-President Equity and Community Inclusion at Ryerson University; and Dr. Allison Sekuler, a professor at the Department of Psychology at McMaster University and the Vice-President of Research at the U of T-affiliated Baycrest Health Sciences hospital.

Ana Sofia Barrows, Project Coordinator of Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion at the Rotman School of Management, moderated the discussion.

What is allyship?

According to Forbes, allyship is “the key to unlocking the power of diversity.” There isn’t one clear definition of an ally, but generally speaking an

ally is a person of privilege who actively supports marginalized groups of people. It may be a man advocating for his female colleague, white people supporting racialized people, neurotypical people amplifying neurodivergent voices, or cisgender, heterosexual people helping their LGBTQ+ peers.

The same article in Forbes adds that an ally also promotes “the culture of inclusion through intentional, positive and conscious efforts that benefit people as a whole,” and that allyship is based on “consistency and accountability with marginalized individuals.”

According to Barrows, the best definition of allyship she could find came from Roxane Gay’s piece “On Making Black Lives Matter,” which reads, “Black people do not need allies. We need people to stand up and take on the problems borne of oppression as their own, without remove or distance.”

How to be a real ally?

According to Barrows, being a better ally starts with checking your own privilege — for example, by recognizing that living in Canada and being able to attend university and learn from diverse perspectives are all already huge privileges. Green noted that using your privilege to amplify others’ voices is “not just talking the talk, but it’s also walking the walk and recognizing that there is a power structure here and giving up power.”

Burks said that the motivation behind allyship is crucial — if it makes you feel good about yourself or like you’re doing “the right thing,” that’s not real allyship. “If [you’re] really putting yourself out there and doing the work, you should actually feel uncomfortable,” as confronting your privilege and implicit biases can be “painful,” she reflected.

Performative allyship — claiming to be an ally for social approval without productively helping the marginalized group in question — may even be worse than no allyship, she continued. Burks added that performative allyship “can be a trap,” as members of marginalized groups “get lulled into a false sense of security” and trust, until the “betrayal” comes.

Awareness of intersectionality, or the way multiple factors, such as gender, sexual orientation, race, citizenship status, disability, and gender expression interact to result in a complex pattern of marginalization. Furthermore, constantly learning and educating yourself is also crucial for developing a fuller understanding of the experiences of marginalized groups and hence, being a better ally.

Professor Catherine Sulem awarded the 2020 CRM-Fields-PIMS prize In conversation with mathematics professor on research, career path

Javiera Gutierrez Duran Associate Science Edior

How can one create a meaningful career in mathematics research? Dr. Catherine Sulem, a professor at U of T’s Department of Mathematics who has been has recently been recognized for her achievements, wrote to The Varsity about her experiences in mathematics research and her advice to students.

The Centre de recherches mathématiques (CRM), the Fields Institute, and the Pacific Institute for the Mathematical Sciences (PIMS) jointly awarded Sulem the CRM-Fields-PIMS prize for outstanding Canadian research achievements in mathematics.

Sulem’s work includes influential findings in the “study of non-linear partial differential equations,” the resolution of “multiple questions [about the non-linear Schrödinger equation] that had resisted analysis for years,” and her groundbreaking analysis of water waves, as the Fields Institute reported.

Road to mathematics When Sulem was a graduate student, she “attended many talks about turbulence in fluids,” as at the time, new ideas combined “mathematical analysis, computer simulations and graphic visualizations to bring new insights and increase our understanding of nonlinear dynamical processes,” she wrote.

This inspired Sulem and “helped [her] form the directions of [her] research interests.”

Sulem’s high school teacher also played an

important role in her interest in mathematics by teaching her proofs, notably “what it means to [prove] something in mathematics.” She was also taught the important lesson that “if you claim something, you have to prove it.”

Research in mathematics As Sulem explained, her research is in the area of “nonlinear partial differential equations which are used to model phenomena in the natural world.”

The Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) defines a partial differential equation (PDE) as “any equation involving a function of more than one independent variable and at least one partial derivative of that function.”

“The distinction between linear and nonlinear PDEs is extremely important in computational science… Generally, nonlinear PDEs do not yield to analytical solution approaches,” the ORNL explains.

In particular, Sulem studies the “evolution equations that describe wave phenomena occurring in fluid dynamics, optics and plasma physics.”

Teamwork is a key component of her work. “[Throughout] my career, I have maintained solid and durable collaborations,” she noted. “These collaborations play a vital role in my research.”

As she has progressed in her field, she expressed that she has “learned that among the most important elements of the process of discovery and knowledge building are patience and

Sulem’s work has impacted research on non-linear partial differential equations, water waves, and more.

COURTESY OF KATE BANGAY/FIELDS INSTITUTE

humility, together with the ability to appreciate and connect different points of view.”

Navigating motherhood Sulem discussed how she achieved a healthy worklife balance by having a strong support system.

“When my children were small,” wrote Sulem, “my husband Edward Bierstone, who is also a mathematician, and I fully shared the responsibility of the home and the upbringing of the children. This was instrumental to me having a fulfilling career.”

She went on, “As a mother, I found it was important to rely on the help of others, at the same time not trying to control everything and seek perfection.”

“Have confidence in yourself ” “To young girls, I would say what my mother used to tell me and my siblings: Enjoy your studies and your learning. Because, when you understand or know something, it is yours. Nobody can take it from you, and it makes you strong and independent.”

Her advice to women pursuing STEM degrees or careers is that “it is very important not [to] be isolated, not being shy of asking advice and listening to advice.”

“A career in STEM is a long journey. It is not easy but it can bring a lot of joy if you are passionate about it. Have confidence in yourself, follow your passion and be true to yourself.”

var.st/science

MARCH 2, 2020

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New ammunition uncovered by U of T researchers to develop colorectal cancer treatment

Novel protein has applications for new therapies, regenerative medicine Oviya Muralidharan Varsity Contributor

University of Toronto scientists have identified a key protein as a common factor in the growth of many different types of colorectal cancer tumours, according to research published in the Journal of Cell Biology. Colorectal cancer develops in the colon or rectum. In Ontario, it is also the second most fatal cancer, and one in 14 Ontarians can expect to be diagnosed with this form of cancer in their lifetime.

In past research, scientists have linked the excessive accumulation of beta-catenin, a protein with crucial functions in cell development, to the expression of genes that drive tumour proliferation. Research has associated 80 per cent of colorectal cancers with gene mutations that greatly increase the production of beta-catenin.

The co-authors of the study have identified another protein, Importin-11, as the compound that enables beta-catenin transportation to the

nucleus of the human cell. Cancer therapies that inhibit this transport could be a promising way to treat colorectal cancer.

Fundamental research provides “new knowledge” for cancer therapies The Varsity spoke to Dr. Stephane Angers, a coauthor of the study and an associate professor at U of T’s Department of Biochemistry. Angers’ lab has spent a considerable amount of time studying biological pathways — the series of chemical changes during cellular development that give cells their final functions.

Angers noted that Monika Mis, the lead author of the study and a PhD student, uncovered the role of Importin-11 in colorectal cancer in Angers’ lab. Mis used the gene-editing CRISPR-Cas9 technology to screen genes in colorectal cancer calls to identify a novel gene, IPO11, which encodes for the protein Importin-11.

Current treatment options for colorectal cancer include surgery, chemotherapy, and other ra-

diation therapy. Although this discovery is still in its fundamental stages, blocking the transport of beta-catenin holds great promise for developing new therapies.

As Angers put it, “It provides new ammunition, new possibilities, and new knowledge that could lead in the future to new therapies, but it is very much at the discovery level at this point.”

More research required to develop therapies Further research could involve drug discovery and widen the scope of Importin-11 function in various cells. Researchers may also find it valuable to analyze existing data about colorectal cancer.

The goal is to understand how the mutations affect tumour formation and develop therapies that harness this knowledge.

Angers’ lab is also investigating other potential applications of the Wnt pathway, a specific biological pathway associated with beta-catenin. A particularly interesting aspect is its role in regenerative medicine, which is the study of restoring

One in 14 Ontarians can expect to be diagnosed with colorectal cancer in their lifetime.

COURTESY OF ED UTHMAN/CC FLICKR

human cells, tissues, and organs.

“We think that with new molecules that we have developed… we can now activate the pathway… in order to promote the regenerative abilities of tissues,” noted Angers.

How online paperwork could contribute to burnout among physicians

Time spent on health charts, patient portals linked to emotional exhaustion Vivian Cheng Varsity Contributor

The time that physicians spend on online paperwork may be correlated with burnout, according to a study affiliated with the University of Toronto’s Dalla Lana School of Public Health.

The study, conducted among physicians in Rhode Island, explored the relationship between their self-reported burnout and their use of health information technology (HIT). It found a positive correlation between burnout and the use of the technology in the state.

However, these results may not be generalizable to Canada, as the research did not include Canadian participants.

What is HIT? HIT is a broad term that encompasses different types of computer programs and resources that health professionals use for their clinical practice. Examples include electronic health records (EHR); patient portals, which are secure websites where patients can receive test results; and e-prescriptions.

The technology aims to improve the flow of information between health care providers and patients, as well as increase the quality of patient care.

Dr. Rebekah Gardner, the lead author of the study and an associate professor of medicine at

Brown University, explained to The Varsity that she became interested in this topic because she has “been personally affected by [the legislation] and [has] experienced [her] colleagues’ growing pains, in terms of learning how to use EHR.” The study in focus Due to the lack of research before widespread implementation, health centric advisors developed a survey — as mandated by the Rhode Island government — to measure the impacts of this technology on practicing physicians. This survey was sent to all physicians in Rhode Island, asking them to rate various feelings related to burnout on a one-to-five point scale. Forty-three per cent of the subjects — 1,792 physicians — responded, and of those respondents, 26 per cent had experienced burnout.

Burnout is defined in the research paper as a set of symptoms or feelings that people have, such as emotional exhaustion or decreased job satisfaction.

These results are important to understanding the scope of the problem, because burnout has adverse impacts on the health care system. It is associated with increased medical errors, absenteeism, reduced quality of work, higher rates of turnover, substance use disorder, and medical malpractice.

This study demonstrated the widespread prevalence of technology related stress and the

measurability aspect of technology-related stress.

Participants who reported insufficient time when it came to documentation had a 2.8 times higher likelihood of suffering from burnout.

Potential reasons behind the conclusions Gardner explains some potential reasons for this result.

“Documentation is very time consuming and [can create] a lot of extra desk work for every office visit with a patient… this cuts into time spent with family or time spent sleeping,” she said.

Physicians are generally not reimbursed for this time spent, according to the paper.

“Technology can metaphorically and literally disrupt the interaction between patients and doctors, and patient interaction is often an antidote to burnout.”

Burnout can also create a burden on the health care system.

“Burnout can result in unnecessary tests ordered and absenteeism requiring alternative sources to cover a physician’s shift,” said Daniel Harris, a co-author of the study and a secondyear PhD student at the Dalla Lana School of Public Health, to The Varsity.

Nonetheless, not all physicians found using HIT to be stressful. Gardner found that some physicians believed HIT was extraordinarily useful. She also found that not all burnout was re-

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lated to technology and burnout differed across various specialties.

“In other specialties, you’re going to miss the mark [if you just focus on HIT],” said Gardner.

It may be productive for researchers to focus on different factors to “get to the root of burnout in that particular physician cohort,” she continued.

Future steps of research However, there are limitations to this study. Harris explains that because this survey was cross-sectional, researchers are unable to establish causation.

Researchers must ensure there is a temporal sequence to establish causality, he noted. “We don’t know [whether HIT or burnout] came first,” he said, due to the design of the study. “You could potentially imagine a situation where someone is already very burned out, and that leads them to then use their EHR more at home.”

In addition, Gardner highlighted the lack of anonymity in this survey as potentially impacting the results of the study. Physicians may not have been able to, or wanted to, share the full extent of their burnout without anonymity.

Future steps include perhaps recruiting a larger sample across various states or health systems, exploring the factors that contribute to burnout in greater detail, and anonymizing the survey.

While future research is needed to generalize these results Canada, HIT is pervasive in health care and it could be a factor that contributes to burnout in Canadian health care providers.

Sports

March 2, 2020 var.st/sports sports@thevarsity.ca

In conversation with Bruce Kidd

The athlete, activist, and professor on his time at U of T, the Tokyo Olympics, and equity in sport Silas Le Blanc Sports Editor

This week, The Varsity got a chance to speak with former U of T track and field athlete, Lou Marsh award winner, academic, and author Bruce Kidd for an extensive chat about his experience and research, as well as current events in the sporting world. The Faculty of Kinesiology & Physical Education professor is currently on leave writing a memoir about his time as an athlete and sports activist. He spoke about the biggest inequities in sport today, and what led him to pursue research in this field.

TV: What kind of perspective did being an athlete give you in your research?

BK: Well, that’s really interesting. I travelled around the world and I saw the differences between what was provided in Canada and in other countries. Those countries had way better facilities, way better support, way better encourage-

BK: Well, great question. It is not an easy question, because the world is a very diverse place, and things have been changing, things can get better, and then they can go backward. Whether it’s gender equity, whether it’s racial justice, whether it’s the inclusion of persons with disabilities, persons with HIV or AIDS, or other

The Varsity: What was your experience as a student athlete like?

Bruce Kidd: I was very lucky to run at the time that I did, those being the last years of amateurism. I had an extraordinary experience as a U of T student, travelling around the world to run races and also studying with some amazing professors in political economy who were extremely supportive.

TV: You’ve been focusing a lot on activism and issues around equity, racism, and sexism in sport. Did you see that any sort of similar activism taking place when you were an athlete?

BK: My track and field career was an education in inequalities and inequities. I must admit that I didn’t see that for myself initially, but I had teammates who did. I mean, I was white and middle class at Canada’s best university, and thus highly privileged, but I had female and Black teammates who were not treated as well as I was. And they gradually educated me on the double-standard. I came to see how unlevel the playing field was. So that was a process, over several years and several episodes. Fortunately I had teammates who took me aside and said, “It’s not like it is for you, for us.”

TV: What was the transition from being a student athlete to an academic like?

BK: Well, it was not my direct route. My memoir is in three parts. The first part is about my athletic career and my time at U of T as a student. The second part is about the transition. The roughly 10 years it took me to find my way into a tenured job here at the University of Toronto. Amateur sport in the ’50s, in the ’60s, encouraged you to prepare for another career; it encouraged that you not make sport your career, that you prepare yourself for other professions or a job in another way. It didn’t give you very many directions about that.

It took me living through a very interesting time in human history in the ’60s, for about 10 years, to figure out what I wanted to do. So that was the second part of my journey. I studied political economy as an undergraduate, and I thought I would go into law or into government.

The chair of political economy at the time encouraged me to write a book about government in sport. That led to a whole bunch of things that led me to begin teaching and doing research.

The head of the academic program in physical education said, “If our students are going to graduate and take jobs in this changing world, we need somebody to teach them about how governments are changing the face of sport and recreation.” He advertised a tenure-stream job for a faculty member to do just that. It’s hard to believe that I won that job. That became the beginning of the third part of my life, when I was teaching, writing, and intervening as an activist in sport policy and sport politics.

Bruce Kidd is currently spending much of his time at U of T’s libraries working on his memoir.

COURTESY OF UTSC

ment for sport, for all. I’m thinking about my participation in the 1965 World Student Games in Budapest. Hungary was a very poor country.

In 1965, you could see the evidence of both the Second World War and the Soviet repression of the Hungarian Revolution of 1956; many buildings were potholed with bullet holes.

There were difficult economic conditions, and yet they provided amazing sports facilities with free entry and great instruction. I remember saying to myself, “Jeez, if a poor country, just coming out of a dreadful experience with war and revolution, can provide these opportunities for its own people, why can’t a rich country like Canada?”

Being able to travel and see what was provided in other countries motivated me. So that was one experience I had while I was an athlete that fueled my hunger and concern that this was happening in Canada.

TV: You spent a lot of your life working to eradicate sexism and racism in sports communities.

What kind of change have you seen in Canada and abroad over kind of the past few decades, as long as you’ve been in academia? And what do you think are the biggest issues in equity in sports today?

marginalized groups. In some cases it’s gotten better, and in some cases it’s a bit of a roller coaster. But I would say that on a class basis, equal opportunities across populations have not gotten a lot better, and maybe they have gotten a lot worse over the last 40 or 50 years.

There’s far more effort to create gender equity.

There has been a recent recognition, at least at the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and in many countries, of the importance to protect LGBTQ+ athletes and to not only include them, but to welcome them in. There has been a huge improvement in opportunities for persons with disabilities with athletic ability. It’s not widespread through the population, but if you’re an athlete with a disability and you’re good, there’s way better opportunity now then there once was.

So there’s been improvement. But everything has to be qualified.

It’s not everywhere. Tremendous class inequality remains. It’s a continual struggle. There have been several waves of improvements for girls and women in sport that have been slowed down or reversed. So we can’t assume that progress is automatic. These campaigns have to be continually refreshed and pushed.

TV: You’ve talked a lot about the neoliberalization of sport. Can you go into detail about what that means, and what impacts it’s had?

BK: The reigning orthodox today is that it should be the unrestricted market that determines life chances. That instead of government-led redistribution and improvement of opportunities, in fact one’s personal income and wealth should be allowed to determine the extent of opportunities.

When you look at income levels and poverty in most countries, the improvements since the Second World War for 30 or 40 years have now been reversed. A related idea is that in the ’50s and ’60s, people looked to the government to provide opportunities and to improve them. Now the idea is the lowest taxes possible, and the leanest and meanest governments possible. I mean, that’s a huge generalization, but generally that’s what I mean by neoliberalism.

So, in any sport, if your parents can buy you memberships, coaching, facility time, summer camps, and so on, you’ll have a chance to do well in a sport that you want to pursue. If you come from an impoverished background or you live in a poor community, it’s both personal and community income that really tells. You don’t have much of a chance.

Do you know the name Gordie Howe? Well, Gordie Howe was arguably the greatest hockey player of my generation. One of my colleagues at Simon Fraser University, Rick Gruneau, recently published a paper that found that Gordie Howe could never make it to the NHL today. And the reason is not because he didn’t have ability, but because he grew up in a poor rural family. Today he would never have the opportunity to make it to the NHL because his parents could never have paid the entrance fees, the summer coaches, summer schools, equipment fees, travel fees, all of those kinds of things. So the class basis of even professional hockey has changed enormously over the last 30 years as a result of these larger changes that I’m talking about.

TV: Regarding Tokyo, what do you think about the Olympics possibly being cancelled or moved to next year due to the coronavirus? Are there any similarities to these sorts of issues that have happened before, like in Brazil with the Zika virus for example?

BK: Well, I think in Brazil, the IOC and the reorganizing committee monitor it very carefully. I was supposed to be in Tokyo right now. I know there’s a Canadian delegation meeting with the organizing committee as we speak. I didn’t go because of the coronavirus. I think people are watching it very carefully. The IOC is an affiliate organization of the United Nations. I know the World Health Organization is monitoring it very carefully. Dick Pound, who is the most senior IOC member, said this morning that given all of the logistic things, that decision is probably going to be made in the next two or three months.

So I think there are a lot of eyes on this, and people are going to try to do the right thing. I don’t think it can be moved elsewhere. I don’t even know whether it can be postponed a year.

That is a legal, contractual, economic thing.

There’s such a full calendar of events in 2021 that it might not be possible. It’s a very, very complicated and important issue, and all of us are going to be anxiously awaiting the judgment of the people involved.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

var.st/sports

MARCH 2, 2020

Opinion: On Kobe, celebrity, and the complicated feelings of grief

A conversation with U of T Women’s Basketball coach Michèle Bélanger on the death of a basketball icon Imran Virani Varsity Contributor

Content warning: mentions of sexual assault.

Kobe Bryant, five-time NBA champion, global icon, and ambassador for the NBA, died this past January in a helicopter crash that claimed the lives of Bryant and eight others, including his 13-year old daughter Gianna. He was 41 years old. On February 24, a public memorial service was held at the Staples Center in Los Angeles to honour Bryant and Gianna, with many of basketball’s biggest names, including the likes of Michael Jordan and Bill Russell, in attendance.

Bryant, through both his impressive athleticism and his legendary tenacity, seemed impossibly vital to the basketball community. The fact that he could die, and die so young, is impossible to reconcile with his aura of immortality.

For the millions of Los Angeles Lakers fans worldwide, he was the messiah: a figure of divine, almost maniacal competitiveness who stewarded the franchise through times of glory and pain, leaving a legacy of unmatched devotion to the game of basketball. Conversely, to fans of ri-

val teams, he was the Black Mamba, a cruel villain who compiled dozens of highlights against our favourite teams, who reveled in breaking the hearts of anyone who didn’t wear purple and gold.

However, despite his attempts to dissuade us from the notion, he was not a basketball god. He was a human being, with a list of faults that gave context and pushback to his own mythmaking. On the court, he could feud with his teammates, take too many ill-advised shots, and bring an energy that made basketball feel more like war than sport.

Off the court, the details of his 2003 sexual assault case will complicate his legacy, and are part of a larger conversation about how we reconcile the alleged terrible actions of the people we admire.

His efforts to grow women’s basketball postretirement, as well as his closeness to Gianna and his three other daughters, further entangles his memory, and raises the question of what his ultimate legacy will be.

The Varsity asked U of T women’s basketball coach Michèle Bélanger about the complicated nature of Bryant’s legacy. While she admitted she did not love him as a player, and that she does believe his accuser, with whom Bryant reached an out-of-court decision that included a cash settle-

ment and an apology, she spoke glowingly of his efforts to champion women’s basketball.

“It validates from the outside. From someone of his stature, with his knowledge of the game, that he could view women’s basketball at the same level [as men’s], it was massive.”

For Bélanger, these efforts did not erase what misdeeds Bryant may have committed, but she believes that his actions after retirement can be seen as a possible atonement for past sins. “[These allegations] can’t go unsaid,” Bélanger said, “But maybe he’s trying to do good by providing more for women… maybe that was his way of paying it forward.”

These comments highlight how complicated it can be to hold a neutral view toward Bryant, and how the tragedy of his death makes summing up his life all the more challenging. Although he had spent more than two decades in the public eye, in many ways his life had just begun. Retirement softened Bryant’s steely nerve, and he made forays into the world of entertainment, where he won an Oscar for Best Animated Short, while also falling in love with basketball once again through Gianna’s passion.

In Bryant’s infrequent appearances at Lakers’ games and other public events, he seemed content as he charted a new course for the rest of his life.

Though his past transgressions can be taken into account, he did not deserve to have this chapter taken away from him. Neither did Gianna. He was robbed of the opportunity to make the second half of his life as extraordinary as the first, and, judging by the brilliant, whole-hearted way he lived his life, his admirers were robbed of the opportunity to be along for the ride.

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NBA legend Kobe Bryant passed away in a helicopter crash in January.

KEITH ALLISON/CC WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

Blues women’s hockey team loses 3–2 decision to the Ryerson Rams, wins next game to advance to finals Recapping first Blues loss in OUA semifinals Sara Fredo Associate Sports Editor

Ryerson and Toronto played for the right to be in the OUA cup final.

COURTESY OF SEYRAN MAMMADOV/ VARSITY BLUES

The Varsity Blues women’s hockey team dropped their first game of the Ontario University Athletic (OUA) semifinal series on February 26, losing a narrow 3–2 decision on their home rink to their crosstown rivals, the Ryerson University Rams.

On March 1, the Blues won against the Rams in overtime, thus advancing to the OUA cup final.

Toronto appeared to be in control of the game early on in the first period, but it was Ryerson who drew first blood, notching a topcorner goal that left little chance for Blues’ goaltender Erica Fryer to defend. Rookie Lau-

ren Macdonnell had a good chance to tie it up right after, but her shot barely missed the Ryerson net. However, strong passing plays from Natasha Athanasakos and Cristine Chao eventually led the Blues to a tying goal.

Gabrielle De Serres capitalized on the Blues’ power-play and rifled a shot from the point past the Rams’ goaltender. The goal energized the Blues, but Ryerson snuck in a second goal off a rebound in the dying seconds of the first period to take a 2–1 lead.

Ryerson kept up their momentum heading into the second period, when a lone Ryerson player managed to get by Toronto’s defense and snipe it past Fryer. Despite the three goals against her team, Fryer put on a goalkeeping clinic, making numerous saves to keep the

Blues from falling further behind. Ryerson continued to dominate the Blues, but impressive saves from Fryer and relentless effort from Blues players Jana Headrick and Jessica Robichaud prevented any further goals in the second period.

Taylor Trussler scored a beautiful goal in the opening minutes of the third period, but it was too little, too late for the Blues. Ryerson swarmed Toronto in the final frame, and despite Toronto’s best efforts, they weren’t able to find another goal. Fryer continued her impressive play, notching numerous saves in the waning minutes of the game to keep the Blues’ hopes alive.

Read about the third game online.

Women’s volleyball win quarterfinal match against Waterloo

The OUA champs look to defend their title Aleksa Cosovic and Alex Law Varsity Contributors

On Saturday, February 29 at 1:00 pm, the Varsity Blues women’s volleyball team took on the University of Waterloo Warriors at the Goldring Centre for High Performance Sport in the quarterfinal of the Ontario University Athletics (OUA) playoffs.

Star players Alina Dormann, Hope Kotun, and Caleigh Cruickshank led the Blues to a swift victory, blowing out the Warriors in a 3-0 victory.

The Warriors started the game strong, taking an early 4–0 lead in the first set, catching the Blues team off-guard with their strong attacking and blocking skills by attackers Serena Otshudi and Karen Fan. Despite the energetic start from the Warriors, the Blues quickly rallied back with several great serves and hits by their fourth-year star, Dormann. The Blues consistently controlled the tempo during the set, and ultimately ran away with it by a score of 25–18.

During the second set, however, Waterloo came out strong, fighting to get back into the game. They took another quick 6–2 lead before the first timeout of the set. The Warriors kept a tight lead and did not let it slip away from them. Just when they

were looking to close things out and tie the game, the Blues’ Cruickshank came up with a huge block that gave the team and the crowd some momentum.

This is what ultimately led Toronto to tie the game, and eventually close it out in the final moments. The Blues took a tough second set 25–22.

In the third and final set of the game, despite being down two sets, the Warriors persevered, trying to climb back into the game. They once again started strong, taking a slim lead going into the timeout period. However, the Blues were not looking to go into a fourth set. Jenna Woock came up with a massive block which gave the Blues a comfortable lead of 16–11, and they did not look back. Toronto went on to win the set 25–18, and the game on a final serve that led to cheer and celebration from the team and the crowd.

The Blues advance to the final four of the OUA playoffs, which will take place between March 6–7, hosted at the Goldring Centre. The Blues will take on the Western University Western Mustangs in the semifinals on Friday at 4:00 pm. The two semifinal winners will play for the OUA Quigley Cup, and will also go on to play at the 2020 U SPORTS championship on March 13–15 at the University of Calgary.

The Blues will face Western on March 6.

NATHAN CHING/ THE VARSITY

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THE VARSITY

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