March 9, 2020

March 9, 2020

THE VARSITY

E R A E W

The University of Toronto’s Student Newspaper Since 1880

A H C E TH

Vol. CXL, No. 20

S N O I P M

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THE VARSITY

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ACROSS 1. Mike Wazowski has this many eyes 4. Draw out 9. Saliva 12. Popular music app pre-Spotify 14. Herb that is often found in desserts 15. Someone who studied philosophy in undergrad would receive this 16. __ __ to win it 17. ___ Nine-digit number used to identify business entities by IRS (abbr.)

18. George W. Bush’s evil trio 20. Small Spanish dishes 22. Adhesion of molecules to a surface 24. Often has a gear as an app icon 28. Subtle meaning 29. These uniforms of the Bon Appétit Test Kitchen staff 32. Cheeky 34. Super healthy berry

Laura Ashwood, Sara Fredo Associate Sports Editor Nicole Shi Associate Business Editor Vacant Associate Design Editor Victoria Lee, Samantha Yao Associate Photo Editors Fiona Tung Associate Illustration Editor Haley Sheh Associate Video Editor

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I S S U E

A N S W E R 1 S 9

35. Expression of surprise 36. Address that hackers conceal 37. August is one 38. Small protuberance 39. Locale of the White City, a world heritage site 43. Clutter 45. Masculine French pronoun 47. Scientific word for inflammation of the ear 49. Further down from the surface 51. The best 53. Two notes alternating quickly 54. Spicy sauce 58. System that preceded ACORN 60. Armed group active during The Troubles 61. These can ruin a picnic 63. Not average 66. Abbreviation often used in citations meaning “and others” 67. Where you can tap pics and watch stories (abbr.)

68. Some people’s kids are their mini ___ 69. Where the fans sit 70. Not right but not wrong

DOWN 1. What a keen employee might say when given a task 2. Grandmas 3. Devices where you put blue to the sky and orange to the thigh 4. Loveable alien 5. Energy-efficient lighting technology (abbr.)

6. Program where one might study WWII and NAFTA (abbr.)

7. “_ ___ You,” Adele’s song about yearning 8. Popular Italian nickname 9. What ended Julius Caesar 10. Abbr. meaning in the same source 11. Prof ’s helpers 13. Only boomers update this Facebook option regularly 17. Can be razor-sharp 19. Prefix with phobic 21. “Should I ____ or should I go?” *funky guitar chords* 22. These are a fishy pizza topping 23. Kelly the television presenter 25. Not out 26. Initials for the U of T building that offers psych studies and burrito bowls 27. __ __ name suggests 29. After I picked up that box, my back really ___ 30. _____ and repeat 31. A family of gasses 33. Imitate 34. Texting abbr. meaning currently 37. Romney who ran for president 40. Primates with big eyes classified as either slow or slender 41. Characteristic in a verb that shows an action is incomplete 42. Test tube 44. “Que ___ ___ / what will be will be” 46. Long chunk of history.

48. Type of antidepressant abbr.

50. Paul McCartney and John Lennon’s ship name 51. To reach uncertainly 52. A student drinking multiple iced coffees may be this 53. Ryerson business school initials 55. “Darn it all” 56. Millennials rarely use this cell phone function 57. Aslam is a famous Pakistani singer 59. Enemy of many a dog 62. ___ Pepper, by 50 DOWN 64. It __ what it __ 65. “City of Stars” (abbr.)

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MARCH 9, 2020

High spoiled ballot count in SCSU elections due to scrutineer error, paper ballots

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Two scrutineers determine whether ballots are spoiled.

SOFIA LUDWIG/ THE VARSITY

CRO report criticizes efforts to disqualify other candidates through demerit points Hannah Carty Associate News Editor

The results of the 2020 Scarborough Campus Students’ Union (SCSU) elections, in which executive positions were almost all claimed by the VISION UTSC slate, saw the amount of spoiled ballots in executive elections more than double from last year. The Chief Returning Officer (CRO) report found that the number of spoiled ballots was “artificially [inflated]” by ballots that were submitted last-minute and had errors, resulting in them being spoiled. In this situation, voters were given new ballots, and the number of votes did not change.

The elections also saw automatic recounts triggered for three executive positions due to close margins between candidates.

Spoiled ballots The SCSU elections are done on paper, leaving room for human error and spoiled ballots. The ballots are counted by two scrutineers who are responsible for determining which ballots are spoiled.

The number of spoiled ballots was greater than or equal to the winning margins in 10 out of 21 elections. There were more spoiled ballots than the winning margin in five out of six executive elections — all positions except president.

The quantity of spoiled ballots was much higher in the 2020 elections than that of 2019. The average amount of spoiled ballots for executive positions in 2020 was 203. In 2019, that number was 96.

Current SCSU Vice-President Operations Rayyan Alibux said that a ballot could be spoiled if a check mark strayed into the box of another candidate. If there was any doubt about who was being voted for, the ballot would be thrown out.

In addition, Alibux said he is looking into the possibility that one of the scrutineers this year forgot to sign some ballots, which require signatures from both scrutineers, resulting in more ballots being thrown out. The Varsity was not able to confirm either claim.

When asked if he thought there were too many spoiled ballots, Alibux said, “Always — it’s ridiculous.”

Alibux alleged that when he ran, one of the scrutineers left early, resulting in many spoiled ballots.

He expressed frustration with the system and said that he will be moving motions at the next Annual General Meeting to move all voting to online, both for elections and for policy changes.

Alibux had previously tried to pass online voting in the election at the 2019 general meeting, but was unsuccessful.

He noted that the SCSU did work on outreach to get a higher voter turnout, and added, “I think the voting period could be longer.” This year, the voting period ran from February 11–13.

Demerit points A number of general issues were raised by the CRO about the atmosphere of the elections, mostly stemming from the past use of demerit points in the elections. Six candidates, in addition to the entire WENITED slate, received demerit points during the election.

Each WENITED candidate received four demerit points for “unregistered campaigner, improper distribution of campaign material, [and] campaigning with opponent on the ballot.”

The winner of the presidential election, Sarah Mohamed from the VISION UTSC slate, had three demerit points for a poster that was placed in a way that prevented the other team from postering.

The CRO found that “by far the most substantial and glaring issue was the consistently staggering volume of allegations of violations that I received from candidates.” Because demerit points could only be given with clear evidence,

U of T developing COVID-19 working group, defers specifics to faculties, campuses No central policy for university response to the virus Lauren Alexander Associate News Editor

U of T administration is currently working on plans in response to COVID-19. Though the virus has not been declared a pandemic, U of T’s current pandemic communicable disease plan and response contains no specifics on how the university will respond, instead deferring to administration at the time of an outbreak. The university also has a crisis framework in place that may be enacted in the case of a severe outbreak.

The current outbreak is a newly identified strain of the existing family of viruses under the name coronavirus, which originates in animals and typically causes respiratory illness in humans.

Currently, U of T’s plan for responding to pandemic communicable diseases states, “Specific information about a communicable disease will be provided at the time of a pandemic,” with the addition that it will provide information from city and provincial health services at the time of an outbreak.

According to a university spokesperson, U of T

has established a group of senior administrators to coordinate the university’s response to the COVID-19, in accordance with this policy.

Plans for COVID-19 will be developed within faculties and campuses, meaning that there will not be one plan for the university as a whole, wrote the spokesperson in an email to The Varsity.

The group includes leaders who responded to the 2003 outbreak of the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) virus, which is another strain of coronavirus. The SARS virus killed 44 people in Toronto and infected 375 in 2003. The city as a whole was unprepared for the virus, especially since it initially appeared to be similar to the

“Some candidates and volunteers subjected others to virtually constant video surveillance.” The report identified this as creating an unhealthy and uncomfortable environment.

“The way in which demerit points were allocated and distributed in the past has produced an environment in which candidates are incentivized to attempt to win elections by directing their energy towards getting their opponents disqualified rather than focusing on on-the-ground campaigning and turning out the vote.”

He also wrote that the vagueness of the Elections Procedure Code led to candidates “making outrageous claims, exaggerating minor incidents, and attempting to bend rules as far as possible in their direction.” common cold. Students at the time were pulled from placements in medical facilities, and those at risk of getting infected were quarantined. As of publication time, there are 60 cases in Canada, with 29 in Ontario.

U of T also has a crisis framework that can be used in case of a severe outbreak. In this case, a crisis is defined as “an unpredictable and serious incident that involves novel circumstances, as well as a significant impact on University operations and actual harm to persons,” and prioritizes safety and continuity of programs.

Toronto Public Health is currently monitoring 13 positive cases of COVID-19 in the city.

It notes that anyone who travelled from Iran, or the Hubei province in China within the last two weeks, or who has been in close contact with anyone found to be positive for COVID-19, should self-isolate.

UTSC adds Mohawk name to Military Trail street signs

Shontinontowanrnhaka Way, “people of the mountains,” now included on street signage Mikaela Toone Associate News Editor

The project was funded using the Canada 150 Student Fund.

COURTESY OF UTSC/ TWITTER

The street signs for Military Trail at UTSC now include a new Mohawk name, Shontinontowanrnhaka Way, meaning “people of the mountains.”

The addition was made on February 28 and comes from a proposal made by two students, Claire Caluag and Manhoor Leghari, for the Canada 150 Student Fund. The fund gives 16 student initiatives $1,000 in funding each to explore the historic connection between the university and Canada.

Leghari hopes that people at UTSC and in the wider Scarborough community will be “intrigued by the ceremonial name and will want to engage and learn more about its meaning, the Mohawk and other indigenous languages and the Canadian indigenous history.”

In addition, Leghari is hopeful that the signage will inspire passersby to integrate the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s Calls to Action into their daily lives.

The Truth and Reconciliation report was published in 2015 and details the past and current effects that the residential school system has had on Indigenous peoples in Canada. The system saw the Canadian government forcibly remove Indigenous children from their communities and place them in residential schools from 1831–1996 with the purpose of assimilating them into Euro-Canadian culture. Many suffered from sexual, emotional, and physical abuse, as well as intergenerational trauma that continues to impact communities to this day. The report also included 94 calls to action that aim to mitigate the damage done by this system and move forward with Indigenous reconciliation.

Canada 150, a government initiative celebrating the birth of Canada, was criticized by some Indigenous groups, who believed that it was merely a marker of 150 years of colonialism, considering that it marked the beginning

of Confederation, but the Indigenous history on the land extends far beyond that.

Nonetheless, according to Janine Raftopolous from U of T Media Relations, the naming project was supported by Elder Wendy Phillips, Elder Cat Criger, and former Director of Indigenous Initiatives at U of T Jonathan Hamilton-Diabo.

Raftopolous informed The Varsity that the Military Trail was chosen to receive a Mohawk name because it is a high-traffic pedestrian walkway and intersects with a “gateway to the UTSC community,” Ellesmere Road.

In addition, Raftopolous wrote that the name, Shontinontowanrnhaka Way, is reflective of the name Scarborough itself, which can be read as “mountain pass,” when taken from the translation “gap-hill.”

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UTGSU General Council to hold meeting on legitimacy of elections as voting period begins CRO, Elections Committee in the dark, elections could be ruled out of order Andy Takagi News Editor

On the same day that the voting period for the 2020 University of Toronto Graduate Students’ Union (UTGSU) elections begin, the union’s General Council will be meeting to deliberate the legitimacy of the elections.

According to the Chief Returning Officer of the elections, Amin Kamaleddin, the council’s Elections Committee was not consulted or informed of the meeting slated for March 9 and he reaffirmed that the elections will begin at 9:00 am that same day, as scheduled.

Changes to the elections code and debate over the ballots at the council’s February meeting sparked the controversy, where the council voted to implement a ranked ballot over a single-vote ballot. The council waiving the two-week notification period for the general membership, countering what had been

established in the previous version of the elections code.

According to the meeting’s minutes, Branden Rizzuto, Chair of the UTGSU’s Legal Ad-Hoc Committee and former Finance Commissioner, argued that the lastminute changes to the elections code were out of order. He went as far as challenging the chair of the meeting for procedural mistakes in passing the changes. Rizzuto also pointed out during the discussion that an appeal of the elections could rule the elections out of order.

The council then voted at the meeting to suspend its own rules on the needed two-week notification for any changes to the election for the duration of the 2020 elections.

The Varsity has reached out to the UTGSU Executive Committee for comment.

Lauren Alexander, Hannah Carty, Andy Takagi, Mikaela Toone Varsity News Team

U T G S U

P R O F I L E S

June Li June Li is a fifth-year PhD student studying laboratory medicine and pathobiology. She has been a graduate student at U of T for eight years, having done her master’s degree here as well.

She feels that this has made her aware of what changes need to be made through the University of Toronto Graduate Students’ Union (UTGSU). In an interview with The Varsity, Li said, “I just want to take all of the experiences that I’ve had, and I want to leave a lasting change.”

Changes that Li wants to implement include making the UTGSU’s presence stronger in students’ lives, as well as creating more opportunities for graduate students to learn practical skills like networking, résumé building, and financial skills. Overall, she recognizes the changing nature of graduate studies as a whole, saying she wants to “support the students to let them know that there are more career paths and more things they can do with the degrees that they get here than just… academia or medicine.”

Jeffrey Lynham Jeffrey Lynham is a third-year PhD student in biochemistry. He is currently the co-chair of Grad Minds, the UTGSU’s mental health advisory committee, and also the editor-inchief of Elemental, a mental health magazine affiliated with Grad Minds.

“I want the UTGSU to make student wellness more of a priority,” said Lynham on his reason for running. He would work to increase the insurance coverage for mental health services, which is currently $500, as well as advocate for the implementation of a peer support program.

Lynham would work toward creating a new executive position — a wellness commissioner — who would work closely with Grad Minds and focus on the specific health-related needs of graduate students. “They have a civics and environment commissioner, but why not a wellness commissioner as well?” asked Lynham.

He would also create a central website where graduate students could easily search the resources that are available to them, covering academic, financial, and wellness supports.

Mateja Perovic Mateja Perovic is a master’s student studying cognitive neuroscience, the current executive-at-large of the UTGSU, and vice-chair of its Finance Committee. Perovic has also taken on the responsibilities of the external commissioner following the resignation of Maryssa Barras in November.

Perovic’s main goals are to improve mental health support for graduate students, create more funding opportunities, and support students during disputes. This would also include creating more effective channels of communication between course unions and the UTGSU. She particularly placed an emphasis on creating a “firm anti-oppression structure.” While complimenting the current executives on addressing equity issues, she said that she hopes to ensure that “such concerns have no ground to grow on in the first place.”

DINA DONG/THE VARSITY

DINA DONG/THE VARSITY

COURTESY OF MATEJA PROVIC

ACADEMICS AND FUNDING COMMISSIONER DIVISIONS 3 AND 4

ACADEMICS AND FUNDING COMMISSIONER DIVISIONS 1 AND 2 Ernest Akrofi Obeng Ernest Akrofi Obeng is an international student from Ghana in his first year of the social justice education doctoral program at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE).

Obeng said that he is dedicated to student politics, and hopes to create an environment where students feel they can grow, regardless of their race, gender, nationality, sexual orientation, religion, and other traits.

Obeng believes he understands the concerns of students and hopes to help foster a community where they can work to the best of their abilities. In an interview with The Varsity, Obeng said, “I think it’s an opportunity for me to do something to help the student community and, again, to also create opportunities to learn.”

Dhanela Sivaparan Dhanela Sivaparan is a doctoral student in the Department of Social Justice Education at OISE, and hopes to protect graduate student rights, provide support for Division 1 and 2 graduate units, and improve policies on safe spaces, access to meeting spaces, and mental health.

As academics and funding commissioner, Sivaparan placed particular emphasis on mobilizing and organizing graduate students ahead of collective bargaining negotiations with the university in the upcoming year.

“I will work to promote equity, social justice and change. A vote for me is a vote to act: advocacy, commitment, and trust,” wrote Sivaparan in her statement to The Varsity.

DINA DONG/THE VARSITY

COURTESY OF DHANELA SIVAPARAN

Jesse Velay-Vitow EXTERNAL EXTERNALCOMMISSIONER COMMISSIONER Jesse Velay-Vitow is a second-year PhD student in environmental Jacqui Spencer physics. He currently serves on the Jacqui Spencer is a third-year PhD stuUTGSU’s Policy and Operations dent in the Department of Social Justice Committee, and is the vice-presi- Education at the Ontario Institute for dent external of the Physics Gradu- Studies in Education, running unconate Students’ Union. tested for the position of external comHe wants to reach out to the stu- missioner. dents who opted out of the UTGSpencer hopes to bring “strong leadSU’s fees during the Student Choice ership [and] relationship building,” and Initiative (SCI), a mandate that al- wants to strengthen student voices by lowed students to opt out of inci- working with marginalized and underdental fees that were categorized as represented student communities, uti“non-essential,” to see why they felt lizing “direct working experience with the UTGSU was not meeting their students from LGBTQ+, disability, inneeds. “They gave us a clear signal: ternational and racialized communities.” ‘the union is not working for us.’”

“As a leader, I bring my extensive He cited his main priorities as and varied 15+ years of experiences in outreach to students and publiciz- communications, public policy and goving the work of the UTGSU. He ernance to the [University of Toronto would work with the departments Graduate Students’ Union] Executive under his jurisdiction to ask how the and represent through fair and unbiased union can better serve their needs. student advocacy,” Spencer wrote in her “I really want to go to the course candidate statement. unions… and ask them, ‘What can The Varsity has reached out to Spencer the GSU do for you?’” for comment.

DINA DONG/THE VARSITY

var.st/news CIVICS AND ENVIRONMENT COMMISSIONER Josslyn Gabriel-Harper Josslyn Gabriel-Harper is one of three candidates running for civics and environment commissioner of the University of Toronto Graduate Students’ Union (UTGSU).

In her online candidate statement, Gabriel-Harper reflected, “How we engage on campus has a direct relationship to our involvement out in the world.”

“Action is a necessity, and as the civic and environment commissioner I would be honoured to work with students and other executive members to see our union through a lens of social justice and action.”

The Varsity has reached out to Gabriel-Harper for comment.

INTERNAL COMMISSIONER Lynne Alexandrova Lynne Alexandrova, a PhD candidate in the Department of Social Justice Education at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE), held the role of internal commissioner on the University of Toronto Graduate Students’ Union (UTGSU) for seven months in 2018.

“In 2018, what I thought of as commendable was, instead, met with mistrust and blocked by the more influential co-executives,” Alexandrova explained in regard to initiatives that did not get implemented to enhance its accessibility.

These initiatives, which Alexandrova plans on building upon, include a tricampus symposium for graduate students instead of a lottery bursary, as well as upgrades to the building that houses the UTGSU. In addition, Alexandrova sees fault with the UTGSU’s decision to end the memorandum of agreement with the OISE Graduate Students’ Association, highlighting the report by the Ad-Hoc Course Union Investigation Committee, which found 20 constitutional violations in the association’s April 2019 elections, “amounted to misrepresentation.”

MARCH 9, 2020 Danielle Karakas Danielle Karakas is a first-year master’s student studying laboratory medicine and pathobiology.

She told The Varsity that she has implemented initiatives in her graduate program, which demonstrates both her hands-on experience and administrative capabilities in implementing changes.

As civics and environment commissioner, Karakas would invest in sustainability and research how the UTGSU can fight the climate crisis. She highlights the potential of surveys and data collection to find where there is waste on campus, and using this information to find the best way of reducing singleuse plastic use as one example.

Karakas would also look to implement monthly volunteer opportunities for graduate students, such as neighbourhood cleanups or volunteering at local food banks. Further, she would allocate funds specifically for students or student groups in graduate studies who want to carry out environmental initiatives, and would fight for reduced TTC fares for students. Karakas welcomes input from the student body on these issues.

Changye Yang Changye Yang is a first year master’s student in physiology running for civics and environment commissioner. She did her undergraduate degree at U of T, and previously served as a New College director for the University of Toronto Students’ Union and a representative for the Cell and Systems Biology Student Union.

If elected, she would undertake more consultations with students to learn how the UTGSU can provide better mental health support services.

She would also hold events to educate students about mental health as well as events where students could relax.

“My main goal is to bring students together.”

Consultations with students would also be part of Yang’s sustainability plan, and she would be interested in working on an incentive for students who bring their own containers to campus. She noted that the UTGSU can work on accessibility. “The UTGSU office itself is not accessible,” said Yang. “That basically represents the organization.”

DINA DONG/THE VARSITY

Sophie Bourret-Klein Sophie Bourret-Klein is a master’s student in the Department of Social Justice Education at OISE and the graduate coordinator for the Centre for Integrative Anti-Racism Studies at OISE. “I will bring strong leadership, organization and community building skills to the role of Internal Commissioner as I believe in a transparent student union with a diverse student body that will bring meaning and actionable change to the University of Toronto,” wrote Bourret-Klein in her candidate statement.

The Varsity has reached out to Bourret-Klein for comment.

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Ayah Abdeldayem Ayah Abdeldayem is a third-year PhD student at UTM studying chemistry who became interested in governance and policy through her work at UTM’s Association of Graduate Students. Abdeldayem hopes to bring issues facing graduate students at U of T’s satellite campuses to the forefront while also pushing for policies for all graduate students at the governance level. This would include efforts to increase access to mental health and professional development resources.

While she thinks the UTGSU has been moving “in the right direction” regarding transparency and representation, Abdeldayem wants to ensure that “all graduate student programs should have a representative at the union level and are able to voice their concerns.”

Aaliya Hakak Aaliya Hakak is a first-year master’s student in Civil Engineering.

Hakak identified her advocacy priorities as affordable living accommodation and decreasing wait times for mental health support at U of T. As the liaison between the UTGSU and the university’s Governing Council, she would lobby the council to try and get more mental health resources on campus. “I’d be putting forward requests and appeals for more resources or for decreasing the waiting time,” said Hakak.

She wants the UTGSU to engage in more publicity about itself to try and get more students involved in union activities. She also wants to increase the representation of master’s students such as herself in the UTGSU. “Once [master’s students] have a representative, they have a point of contact.”

She also wants to diversify the representation of students from different programs in the UTGSU. “We need to take students from all departments, all areas.”

“If this communication is exercised properly, any goal could be achieved.”

DINA DONG/THE VARSITY

COURTESY OF AYAH ABDELDAYEM

HANNAH CARTY/THE VARSITY

Adam Hill Adam Hill, a PhD student at OISE specializing in curriculum and pedagogy is the current UTGSU internal commissioner and is running for reelection for the coming academic year.

“I wanted to ensure continuity,” Hill explained, noting that only one other current executive is running for reelection.

As far as the UTGSU’s handling of issues that arose in the past year, including the Student Choice Initiative (SCI) — the provincial mandate that allowed students to opt out of fees that were considered “non-essential” — Hill believes “it could’ve been a lot worse.”

Hill elaborated that the SCI created a lot of unknowns for the UTGSU. However, he said that he was proud that the SCI was quashed in court and of the role that the UTGSU played as intervenors in the case.

Some of Hill’s goals should he be re-elected are to bring as many dormant course unions as possible into the UTGSU, as well as every OISE graduate unit.

Chaim Katz Chaim Katz is a third-year PhD candidate at the Institute of Biomaterials & Biomedical Engineering who believes that the UTGSU should spend more time discussing issues that students are concerned about, such as graduate funding and finding housing in downtown Toronto.

In his nine years at U of T, Katz said that he has gained enough connections with administration to succeed in the role, should he be elected.

“It takes being active and engaged and being willing to stand for what you believe in to really represent student interests,” explained Katz.

At the UTGSU Annual General Meeting, Katz moved a motion that opposed the Boycott, Divest, and Sanction Committee, and wished to generalize the committee to support the movement based on “objective criteria.” Katz said that the intention of the motion was to make “all students feel welcome and wanted in the university,” however the motion was left unaddressed at the meeting.

Lwanga Musisi Lwanga Musisi, a third-year PhD candidate at the Department of Social Justice Education, is running as an incumbent. One of Musisi’s main campaign goals is maintaining student union autonomy to “limit the influence of the university on student democracy.” In addition, Musisi hopes to create policies that provide greater funding for graduate students, increase the representation of minorities in policy making, and improve student access to mental health services.

As far as the UTGSU’s accomplishments this year, Musisi believes the union has done well on keeping the student body updated on core issues, such as health and dental plans, and “maintaining relevant caucuses that support diversity, equity and inclusion.”

DINA DONG/THE VARSITY

COURTESY OF CHAIM KATZ

COURTESY OF LWANGA MUSISI

UNIVERSITY GOVERNANCE COMMISSIONER

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THE VARSITY

NEWS

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UTMSU Candidate Statements Lauren Alexander, Hannah Carty, Andy Takagi, Mikaela Toone Varsity News Team

PRESIDENT

VICE-PRESIDENT INTERNAL

Mitra Yakubi Mitra Yakubi is a fourth-year biology and sociology student running for the position of University of Toronto Mississauga Students’ Union (UTMSU) president with the Connect UTM slate. She has been involved in the union as orientation and volunteer coordinator.

Her campaign points include continuing the “conversations” about affordable education, with an emphasis on how UTM students have different needs than students on other campuses, specifically pointing to the high population of commuters. Yakubi identified a lack of mental health resources for students, and added that her slate is “hoping to develop a peer mental health support program that is meant to diversify those mental health services on our campus.”

She wants to work on a self-assigned sick notes program, so that students can take sick days without having to go to a doctor.

Yakubi said, “The student union is, for me, my second home.” She emphasized that as president, she would want to create opportunities for students to get involved with the union, and create safe spaces for students.

Fahad Dayala Fahad Dayala is a second-year accounting specialist student. Dayala became involved with the UTMSU in his first year and is running as part of the Connect UTM slate. He has also participated in planning Orientation Week, which involved reaching out to potential sponsors in Mississauga.

Through this experience he feels he gained a greater understanding of the issues facing UTM students and of how the UTMSU functions.

In an interview with The Varsity, Dayala said that the UTMSU “is where I decided that this is a great opportunity for me to be there and do something good for the students.” Dayala also participates in campus clubs, such as the Muslim Students’ Association, and at the campus athetic department where he learned more about students’ needs on campus.

Dayala’s priorities include revamping the relationship between campus clubs and the UTMSU, as well as modernizing the club infrastructure, which currently requires many of the records to be kept and written in paper form. To achieve this, he would introduce an online system for clubs to fill out and upload forms. Dayala feels this would make the UTMSU more efficient and allow clubs to focus on engaging with students, rather than dealing with paperwork. He would also try to keep campus groups from being affected by potential budget cuts.

COURTESY OF MITRA YAKUHI

VICE-PRESIDENT EQUITY Noha Farawi Noha Farawi is a third-year criminology specialist student who has volunteered as a food bank coordinator for the UTMSU, where she had the opportunity to speak with many UTM students.

Through these conversations she has learned how prevalent food insecurity is on the campus, and she feels that this is not talked about enough.

Farawi’s priorities include relaunching the United for Equity campaign, which looks to challenge discrimination and oppression on campus. She feels that the campaign has lost momentum this year, so she would bring it back and try to make it better. She also hopes to create a sustainability and climate justice action plan that’s specific to the UTM, and to improve the food bank by providing students with more nutritious food. Further, she plans to revamp the campus food garden.

Farawi hopes to spread the message across campus that the Student Centre is a safe space for students, especially for those who may be food insecure or who have experienced discrimination of any kind.

COURTESY OF MITRA YAKUHI

COURTESY OF FAHAD DAYALA

Med Kane Med Kane is a first-year UTM student and the only independent candidate in the UTMSU executive elections. On his campaign platform, Kane lists financial independence, UTMSU transparency in hiring, and promoting various on-campus initiatives such as a student’s garden and a student’s academy as his goals. The student’s academy, under Kane’s proposal, would be “a UTMSU sponsored student run academy for undergrad polymaths and scholars who want to explore the frontiers of advanced study in an interdisciplinary context.”

For the union’s financial well-being, Kane hopes to seek grants from the federal, provincial, and municipal governments for events and increased club funding — this would also include cutting of “nonessential UTMSU costs.” Kane also wrote in his candidate statement that he will “refuse to advocate for the hiring of candidates of associates and staff who do not commit to transparency and openness in engaging with students,” and hopes to offer greater media access to the union by offering biweekly meetings.

The Varsity has reached out to Kane for comment.

VICE-PRESIDENT EXTERNAL VICE-PRESIDENT UNIVERSITY AFFAIRS

Lily Pan Lily Pan is a second-year management student running uncontested for the position of vicepresident external with the Connect UTM slate.

Pan’s previous experiences include being an ambassador at the UTM Student Housing & Residence Life and her role as part of the UTMSU’s WeChat Team.

“As an international student who has studied in multiple countries before, I understand a lot of difficulties students might be facing,” Pan wrote in her candidate statement.

Pan’s goals centred around expanding food services for students on campus, reducing parking fees and expanding parking spaces for commuter students, and negotiating with the administration and government to develop an international student tuition fee cap.

Anushka Sokhi Anushka Sokhi is running uncontested for the position of vice-president university affairs in the UTMSU elections.

Among Sokhi’s priorities is advocating for mandatory mental health training, such as SafeTALK, for frontline university workers. Sokhi is driven to do this by her experiences interacting with distressed students while working in the admissions office.

In addition, Sokhi would like to see through the implementation of a system of self-assigned sick notes, similar to that of McMaster University, where students have the option of marking themselves absent without a doctor’s note once a semester for assignments worth less than 25 per cent.

COURTESY OF LILY PAN COURTESY OF ANUSHKA SOKHI

Business

March 9, 2020 var.st/business biz@thevarsity.ca

Should you drop out to start a company?

Two U of T entrepreneurs on their decision to leave school and launch tech, cannabis businesses Alexander Robison Varsity Contributor

Out of the 400 people on the Forbes billionaire list, 63 of them dropped out of university to start their companies, including the likes of Mark Zuckerberg and Bill Gates. While not all dropouts become billionaires, some do launch successful companies.

The Varsity spoke with two U of T dropouts, Mackenzie Ferguson and Pei Li, about their decision to leave school to pursue entrepreneurship.

Ferguson is the president and co-founder of cannabis company Verda Innovations and Li is the CEO and co-founder of technology consulting firm CodeMode.

Taking the leap Li was pursuing an engineering science degree at U of T and decided to drop out after his third year. He said that while he didn’t encounter practical issues with dropping out, his family disapproved of the decision.

On the other hand, Ferguson’s parents were supportive when he dropped out as a third year commerce student.

His decision came to a head after taking a full course load over the summer and working on his company, when he found himself spending lecture time drafting documents and sending emails.

“And I started to realize that this was only the beginning,” said Ferguson. “And now, things would keep scaling and piling on top.”

Li and Ferguson also acknowledged that their financial situations made their decisions possible.

Indeed, previous research has shown that financial capital through funds, and social capital through relationships and networks, are strong determinants of whether someone pursues an entrepreneurial path.

“I don’t think there were any financial difficulties,” said Li. “I didn’t drop out to start a company immediately, so I dropped out to join an existing startup.” In a similar vein, Ferguson noted that he moved in with his parents after dropping out, which meant that he didn’t have many living expenses.

Li and Ferguson approached entrepreneurship differently after leaving U of T. CodeMode’s development and design of web and mobile applications rides on Li’s time at IBM, Wealthsimple, two businesses of his own, and digital nomading East Asia. In contrast, Ferguson continued building out Verda Innovations after leaving school.

Was the decision to leave U of T worth it?

Li and Ferguson don’t regret their decisions to leave U of T, noting that they have the option to return if they want to in the future.

“I talked to U of T, and they said that I can come back anytime six years after I drop out and continue where I was,” said Ferguson. “So really the only risk that I have is being a few years behind [and] I think that’s greatly outweighed by all the experiences.”

Li pointed out that university education isn’t necessarily preparation for the real world. “Just the way that they educate you, I find is not reflective of the real world at all,” said Li. “The problems they give you are very one– dimensional.”

“Another thing is that the things they teach you in school, I think especially U of T, are also very outdated,” Li said. “Their computer programming was relevant like 10 years ago, but the thing is nowadays the technology they use, and the skill set needed is very different from what they try to teach you in the classes.”

SEOYEON LEE/THE VARSITY

However, the liberation of dropping out comes with a catch. Ferguson and Li expressed that they missed the social aspects of U of T and the ability to form relationships with fellow students.

Li also noted that he dealt with loneliness after dropping out of U of T, and if he could go back, he would spend more time joining clubs and meeting people. Ferguson emphasized the importance of forming genuine relationships over networking, and noted that his own connections with peers proved to be crucial for the success of Verda Innovations.

“I know that I would kick myself for my entire life if I tried to juggle both,” said Ferguson on his decision to leave school to focus on Verda Innovations full time. “I know that I would have failed school if I was juggling both.”

So, should you drop out to start a company?

“I’m tired of school, I want to give it a shot,” Li recalls being told by students who were considering dropping out.

He cautions that students should understand the risks and have a back–up plan or job offers in place before leaving school. Li worked at companies like Shopify, IBM, and Wealthsimple before taking the plunge and launching Beatcamp, his first startup, and eventually launching his current company, CodeMode, in 2018.

Li recommends that students at U of T should take advantage of the opportunities at their disposal, like participating in hackathons to build a professional network. In fact, Li founded and built Hack the 6ix, Toronto’s largest summer hackathon, from the ground up while he was a U of T student.

Even with his experience, Li acknowledged that a lot of luck had a role in shaping his career.

“It’s really case-by-case,” said Ferguson. “And that’s where a good board of advisors and mentors comes in, as well as co-founders… and having people that you can go to to ask these questions is really important.”

— With files from Srivindhya Kolluru

Investing as an undergraduate: a beginner’s guide Start small, be patient: practical advice for your first investment

SKYLA R CHE UNG/ THE VA RSITY

Tammy Cheng Varsity Contributor

To most U of T students, the thought of finding unused money to start investing with might seem impossible, but in fact it doesn’t take a lot to get started.

“If you have money lying around in your bank account that you’re not using now, then you should open an account tomorrow,” said Andrew Harrison, the co-president of the Toronto Student Investment Council.

According to Harrison, even if students are not in a position to invest, understanding how investments work is something students should know, given that most retirement savings are in the form of stocks.

“I find that many undergrads are intimidated by investing because it sounds too risky and unknown, but there are plenty of great resources out geared towards beginners,” wrote Caroline Tolton, a second-year majoring in international relations and health studies, in an email to The Varsity.

Joining pre-analyst programs at the Rational Capital Investment Fund (RCIF) or the general membership program at the Toronto Student

Investment Counsel can also be useful first steps. As for gaining information, online resources like The Balance, Investopedia, and Khan Academy offer beginner-friendly resources. Tolton noted that she has family and friends with investing experience who are able to answer her questions.

However, Spencer Caul, President of the RCIF, also told The Varsity that investing your own money is the best way to learn.

First steps to investing For those who lack the confidence or funds to begin investing, Harrison suggested opening a virtual portfolio. Virtual portfolios that are operated

through various websites let individuals simulate investing without the financial risk.

“It is really nice to start investing young, as you can build up experience over time. Investing can be a great way for undergraduates to work towards their financial goals—whether they would like to save up for a trip, grad school, or an apartment,” wrote Tolton.

Harrison suggests opening a tax-free savings account (TFSA) as a first step. The government usually taxes investment earnings, but the TFSA allows individuals to save $6,000 per year without it being taxed.

Those over 18 years of age who have a valid Social Insurance Number can open TFSAs with a Canadian financial institution, credit union, or insurance issuer. Otherwise, Caul noted you can also open investment accounts through your local bank, or platforms such as QuestTrade, Wealthsimple, Interactive Brokers, or Robinhood.

Investing smart is a learned experience. When choosing stocks, Caul cautioned against jumping on certain trends or companies. Instead, he suggested discussing your ideas with friends to pinpoint industries that you might have missed or that you disagree upon.

“If you cannot understand technology and computers to save your life, then [investing in a] high tech firm is probably not ideal,” said Caul.

That said, Harrison and Caul recommend in-

vesting in index funds, a form of mutual fund that pools various stocks and investments, are recommended for those with little time for research, low risk tolerance, or low funds. Index funds can be bought like a company stock via a TFSA or an investment account.

“It would diversify your money,” Harrison said. “They are typically low cost with low transaction fees, and you are almost guaranteed a very solid return.”

Investing requires time and patience It is important to recognize your risk tolerance, invest accordingly, and be patient. On potential losses, Harrison added that in the grand scheme of an individual’s lifetime earning, a few hundred dollars might not be a significant loss.

Caul noted that time and compounding will become your friends in investing.

“Don’t be worried if the stocks go down in value from time to time,” Tolton wrote. “When I first started I would check the market every day and would worry if the price went down even a few cents. But it’s generally better to focus on bigger trends over time, and not the everyday fluctuations of the market.”

“Just know that the experience and what you’re learning is much more valuable than the amount of money that you might lose,” said Harrison.

Comment

March 9, 2020 var.st/comment comment@thevarsity.ca

Stop ignoring the contributions of Black authors to the canon

Lack of Black-authored literature in English courses continues the systematic marginalization of Black voices Marta Anielska Varsity Contributor

In response to The Varsity’s findings that the most recent syllabi of the four mandatory English major and specialist classes only included a total of six Black authors, Naomi Morgenstern — the associate chair of the English department — said that, “It’s really helpful [to] read canonical things critically,” before attempting to do decolonization work within English literature.

However, the implication that the canon in countries like America and Canada should be majorly white — a canon that those courses cur-

rently reflect — is a disservice to the unique circumstances in which language and literature have developed in these countries.

Literary subjects, perspectives, and techniques vary widely from country to country because they are all based in culture. The Great Gatsby is a commentary on the idea of the American Dream. Moby Dick may have never been written if not for the evolution of the American whaling industry. An author’s surroundings inform their work, and their work also helps us understand their society.

We all come from different places, and we read literature to understand how different environ-

A collection of classical Black authors such as Toni Morrison and Zadie Smith.

VICTORIA LEE/THE VARSITY

ments influence changes in writing. Thus, it is an injustice to ignore racial complexities that illustrate major sociopolitical perspectives within countries like the United States and Canada.

Not only does it erase the perspectives of minority groups, it also fails to track the development of literature.

These sociological differences are the result of a number of different factors, such as differences in culture and the racism that Black people face. It’s important to remember that the Atlantic slave trade, Jim Crow laws, and segregation all existed in the same society described by canonical classics in American and Canadian literature. Many canonical works seem not to mention these aspects of North American history, even though most are in some way influenced by them.

Modern author Ta-Nehisi Coates argues that the exclusion of African Americans from mainstream culture prompted them to create a separate culture that has maintained and expanded its presence in North American societies. But the very fact that it is considered a separate culture exposes the tendency of North American societies to separate what is American or Canadian from what is African American or African Canadian.

Black History Month itself is a good example of this. While it’s an important transitionary mechanism designed to bring forward marginalized voices, it should not exist forever. Its existence implies that we must focus on Black history separately because we have failed to reconcile two very different experiences of a shared system. The next step is to integrate Black history into the canon so that we can consistently recognize the importance of this lens and gain a

greater understanding of the different facets and nuances of American and Canadian life.

This can be applied to the literary canon as well. Currently, we assume that we can only understand African American or African Canadian works in relation to mainstream American or Canadian works, but the fact that there are so few Black authors that are taught in mandatory English classes shows that their work is not being prioritized, and will never be unless students go out of their way to read them. Crucial writers like James Baldwin, Toni Morrison, and Cecil Foster are not included in either introductory classes, despite their wide critical acclaim and vital contributions to our understanding of American and Canadian societies.

But if I can’t convince you that these works are critical to our understanding of the unique aspects of North American society, I hope that Toni Morrison’s words on her novel Beloved can show you how pervasive and important Black perspectives and histories are. “There is no place you or I can go, to think about or not think about… slaves… There is no suitable memorial or plaque or wreath or wall or park or skyscraper lobby… And because such a place doesn’t exist (that I know of ), the book had to.”

A book can remind us of the consistent and irreversible impact an event or action has had on our society when our surroundings cannot. And to mute the voices of Black authors which memorialize this history is to lose some nugget of knowledge that could expand and enhance our understanding of a new canon.

Marta Anielska is a first-year Social Sciences student at University College.

The revolution of Toronto slang

CARISSA CHENG/ THE VARSITY

Toronto’s slang is derived from that of its Black and immigrant communities

Angad Deol Columnist

When you walk the streets of the GTA, you are guaranteed to hear a wide variety of Toronto slang. Our municipal dialect has driven Toronto’s reputation far in recent years, especially during the build-up to the 2019 NBA championship.

Drake’s dissemination of Toronto slang underscored his role as global ambassador for the Raptors. However, the roots of our beloved slang run much deeper than Drizzy.

Toronto slang has origins in many of Toronto’s immigrant cultures. While it’s easy to simply give Drake credit for introducing Toronto slang to a global audience, we must remember the real cultural roots of where it started, right in the heart of Toronto’s vibrant, close-knit immigrant community.

An article in the University of Toronto Magazine regarding U of T Assistant Professor Derek

Denis’ research into Toronto slang attracted criticism on social media over the its focus on Drake’s influence on the dialect, rather than its roots in Toronto’s immigrant communities.

This was an example of the erasure of the impact that Black and brown immigrant communities have on culture and language in Toronto.

Immigrant culture has played a huge role in shaping the mosaic that is Toronto. I’ve met people from all backgrounds over the years, with all of us speaking different languages, but every conversation starts the same way: “What are you saying fam?” Toronto slang has become the great equalizer for people from all walks of life, and allows us to communicate with each other in a heartfelt and meaningful way, while paying homage to those who built modern Toronto culture.

The city’s embrace of Toronto slang has been

incredible to see, with even the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Toronto Blue Jays being quizzed on their Toronto slang knowledge on their respective social media platforms. Toronto slang has even reached American podcast and TV show hosts Desus and Mero, who learned some Toronto slang in a video for Vice.

A majority of Toronto slang is derived from Somali, Arabic, and Jamaican Patois. For example, words such as “man dem,” meaning a group of men, and “ting,” a versatile and interchangeable word, come from Patois. While terms like “wallahi,” meaning I swear, have Arabic-Somali origins.

Afro-Caribbean culture is a huge part of Toronto, since a big West Indian population immigrated to the city in the late ’60s to early ’70s, planting the linguistic roots that blossomed into the slang we use today. While it’s easy to credit

Drake for introducing Toronto slang to a global audience, we must remember the real cultural roots of where it started, right in the heart of Toronto’s immigrant community.

While it is great that celebrities such as Drake, and viral social media accounts like 6ixbuzz, are introducing Toronto slang to a new global audience, we must not forget where our beloved dialect was born, and give credit to the diverse cultures who birthed this vernacular as a way of creating a cultural mosaic. So, the next time you link with your man dem, be sure to pay your respect to those who walked our beautiful city before us.

Angad Deol is a first-year Life Sciences student at St. Michael’s College. He is a columnist for The Varsity’s Comment section.

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MARCH 9, 2020

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Transferring colleges represents failure to provide students with equitable support

Students switch because of scholarships, culture, and experiences associated with different colleges Keely Bastow Varsity Contributor

Most UTSG students know of each college’s distinct culture, even if they’ve never stepped foot in some of them. Stereotypes regarding who belongs to which college, the different atmospheres, and the events they hold are just some of the components that illustrate a college’s culture.

How that is created has a lot to do with the respective fees and general community atmosphere in each college. I believe that certain colleges do a better job of making these aspects more accessible, which allows students to more easily feel like part of a community. How different colleges approach this will affect whether or not students will attempt to transfer out of them.

I have thought about switching colleges many times, but I didn’t because I was told that having Trinity College on my degree would be beneficial in the long run. Once I moved off residence, I was separated from Trinity, so my discomfort with the college didn’t matter as much anymore. However, many people do feel strongly enough about their experience with a college to switch, and they do so for various reasons.

Ikran Jama, a third-year student and the president of the Arts & Science Students’ Union (ASSU), transferred from New College to Victoria College for the scholarship opportunities. Victoria offers automatic scholarships to any student who has a GPA of 3.5 or higher at the end of their first, second, or third year. This had a significant impact on Jama’s decision to switch. The financial assis-

tance that Victoria offers helps high-achieving students with the financial burden of U of T. Colleges have many other financial differences, in addition to scholarships. For example, the cost of residence, including a meal plan, at New College starts at $11,245, while the cost of residence, including a meal plan, at St. Michael’s College starts at $13,836, and starts at $15,508 at Trinity College.

These costs make an assumption of how much money students can spend to be a part of the college’s community; higher costs for student living communicates that the students who are members of the college need to be of a certain financial standing to partake in residence life.

Some students cite many other reasons for their decision to switch, most notably the college’s culture. This was a primary reason as to why I considered switching colleges.

Trinity is seen to be an exclusive college, most likely due to its application process and small population. As a Trinity student, I can say that there definitely is an aura of exclusivity, shown explicitly through its chants during Orientation Week, one being, “Half of you applied!” referring to the number of students who applied to the college but did not get accepted. This derogatory taunt is expressly exclusionary and highlights the pride held by members of Trinity College for its exclusivity.

Tresa Leblanc-Doucet, a third-year student, made the switch from Trinity to Victoria, saying, “I value inclusivity highly, and much more than I value exclusivity or prestige, so I think the biggest reason why I switched was so that my college

JACQUELINE RENEE/THE VARSITY

experience lined up with my values.”

The cultures of each college is a culmination of their many systems. Victoria Chen, ASSU Treasurer and Trinity student who lived in Innis College her first year and Trinity College her second, noticed that the systems of residence dons, consistent events, and open and accessible spaces in the Innis residence building fostered a more inviting and relaxed environment than the one she experienced at Trinity. While Chen didn’t formally switch colleges, her experience says a lot about the differences that one might find at different colleges.

The systems that Innis has in place do a good job of inviting people in and creating a fun culture.

The first time I stepped into Innis, I was instantly struck by the playful colouring of the boards around the lobby, and the amount of news about events around the college that week. These very surface-level aspects of the college emulated a culture of fun and leisure.

Jama felt disassociated from New College because of the lack of information provided about any commuter or campus events. To her, the col-

lege didn’t do a good job of inviting commuter students into their community. Colleges not being as inviting or exciting can also factor into students’ decision to switch.

If colleges care to stop losing students, then they need to emulate the cultures of the colleges that students are choosing. Colleges should try to listen to the concerns of students who feel the need to turn to other colleges.

In Jama’s case, New College could easily try to reach out to commuter students through various venues to ensure all are made aware of events happening on campus. With regard to Trinity, the administrators must understand the barriers presented by its reputation of exclusivity and high costs. Small elements of a college that build its culture, and other small steps can be taken to try to make each college a place that students won’t want to escape.

Keely Bastow is a third-year Political Science student at Trinity College. Bastow is an employee of the Arts and Science Students’ Union.

Indian student societies must do more to advocate against anti-Muslim violence in India Passivity of student societies does little to support affected students at U of T

NATHAN WATSON/ THE VARSITY

Sana Rizvi Varsity Contributor

As US President Donald Trump visited Prime Minister Narendra Modi in India recently, a neighbourhood in North East Delhi was the site of the “worst communal violence” against Muslims the city had seen in decades. Despite the international attention garnered by a presidential visit, Indian groups abroad, such as the U of T Indian Students’ Society (ISS) have remained relatively silent about these attacks.

The attack came after Kapil Mishra, a member of the ruling Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janatiya Party (BJP) who recently lost his seat in local elections, warned Muslim women pro-

testing in northern Delhi against the recently imposed Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) that if they did not clear the roads before Trump left the country, they would face the wrath of the BJP’s supporters after Trump’s departure. BJP’s supporters, however, took that as an immediate signal and formed a mob within minutes.

The CAA fast-tracks Indian citizenship for religious minorities from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, and Pakistan, claiming to help those who have fled religious persecution. The act explicitly excludes Muslims, threatening to expel those without proper documentation who fled to the country in 1971 after the Bangladesh Liberation War and have been calling India home ever since.

The CAA is coupled with a plan to implement the National Registry of Citizens nationwide, which has already stripped two million Muslims of citizenship in the state of Assam. The escalating violence has left Muslims in India feeling as though their livelihoods are at stake. Hindus form the nation’s religious majority group while Muslims are a sizeable minority in India, which has a long history of Islamophobic immigration policies.

The ISS released a statement concerning these events on Instagram more than one week after what occurred in Delhi. It only did so after making posts promoting several of its upcoming events during that week across its social media platforms. Although the society’s work and events primarily focus on the experiences of Indian students in Toronto, the time it took the ISS to comment on the situation implied a lack of either knowledge or concern about injustice in India, either of which are troubling.

The statement itself has several problems. Although the ISS condemned the violence and its religious basis, it does not mention that the victims of these attacks were Muslim, nor does it place blame on the BJP’s goons. This indicates to readers that the violence was two-sided, when in reality it was a blatant, targeted attack on Muslims and anti-CAA protestors. Furthermore, the student group has not released any statements or hosted any events about the CAA and National Registry of Citizens, the lockdown in Kashmir, or any other acts of violence, censorship, and suppression that have been plaguing the country for months.

The pogrom in Delhi lasted for three days, as Hindus attacked the Muslim population and Muslims fought back. The violence killed more than 40, injuring more than 200, and lead to the devastation of 79 homes and 327 shops. The victims were mostly Muslim.

Journalists reporting on the event were also assaulted, with many being asked to prove their religion. A mosque in Delhi was subject to arson attacks and vandalism, with rioters even going so far as to climb to the top of a minaret and place a saffron flag depicting the Hindu god Hanuman.

The police did little to help those being attacked, with some even joining in to shoot at and taunt severely injured protestors who were lying helplessly on the ground.

As I read obsessively about what was happening in Delhi, it reminded me of one thing: Kristallnacht. As a history student, you learn time and time again about this pivotal event in the rise of the Nazis in 1930s Germany when Sturmabteilung officers — the Nazi paramilitary force — and civilians launched a series of pogroms against the Jewish population in 1938.

They attacked synagogues and Jewish-owned shops and homes, and Jewish people were killed as German security forces did little to intervene.

The instance came to be known as the “Night of Broken Glass,” as shards of glass littered the streets in the aftermath of the pogroms. I have been taught that Kristallnacht was a clear foreshadowing of what was to come in Germany, and when I look at the events in Delhi in the same light, it sends chills down my spine.

While Kristallnacht was of course done on a much larger scale, one thing stands out as common to me in both events: the silence of the international community. The international community has done little to condemn the actions of Modi’s jingoistic government, but what is even more heartbreaking is to see the silence, barring some exceptions, of U of T’s Indian diaspora.

The ISS and other organizations of Indians abroad need to come out on the right side of history and not shy away from calling out political leaders on hate-mongering that has had real, horrific consequences. They must not hide the truth about what is happening in India nor ignore the fear that Muslims in the country are feeling. Finally, they must acknowledge that this was not an isolated incident, but part of a larger chain of events that is posing a threat to the lives of India’s 201 million Muslims.

Sana Rizvi is a third-year International Relations, History, and Women and Gender Studies student at Victoria College.

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The university must provide more networking opportunities for non-STEM students

Finding a stable job is becoming more and more difficult, and students need help Abhya Adlakha Varsity Contributor

I sighed as I submitted my 20th job application.

My coffee had run out. It was 2:00 am in the quiet study space, and I was exhausted. When I looked over, I saw three of my friends working on their applications, striking off names as they went through their list of companies.

How did we end up here?

We made it to this grand institution, with allegedly the best graduate employability in Canada, and yet we were completely lost.

In the next few days, I spoke with a bunch of friends, friends of friends, and even acquaintances at work. After all of these conversations, one thing was clear to me: getting a job after graduation in Toronto is becoming harder, and the university is not talking about it.

Universities in Ontario are overflowing with students. Every year, U of T is taking more students than it can handle. Our university doesn’t have enough spaces on campus to maintain a good student-to-teacher ratio in classes, but it sure loves making more money.

Because of a higher number of students being stuffed into a small downtown core, competition is going up. U of T’s cutthroat atmosphere cultivates this culture. Something as simple as having one more reference than the next person can make or break your chances at getting an interview.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not fighting for those who won’t work as hard, I’m fighting for those who work equally as hard as everyone else and still suffer in the job market because they fall short by one reference.

U of T is not doing enough to help these students, and they are left to navigate the daunting sphere of a job market that does not care about them.

In my experience, the graduate job fairs are not working. Job fairs are so crowded that students wait in line to talk to a potential recruiter, only to be capped at a five-to-10 second

conversation. When we do get to the front of these lines, recruiters just let us know to wait for postings to show up on their websites. This has happened to me at every job fair I have gone to.

“

nies. One might argue that jobs in the humanities and other areas of study aren’t as demanded as STEM or business fields, but the internet is flooded with such jobs.

Getting a job after graduation in Toronto is becoming harder, and the university is not talking about it.

Furthermore, almost all of the job fairs I’ve been to have been focused on computer science, business, or economics students. Many students with other majors don’t get opportunities to go to these job fairs and are left discouraged. In fact, as a journalist, I have never seen U of T host a single job fair with media or editorial compa-

”

U of T’s Career Learning Network has lots of jobs, I agree, but there are more “dog walker,” “French tutor,” “wilderness guide,” and “swimming instructor” postings than full-time postings for us young graduates with economics, biology, or English degrees. Tell me, do we not deserve to be at least connected properly with

the recruiters in our field? Or is that privilege only for Rotman students?

Furthermore, U of T’s utterly damaging grade deflation policies are making it harder for us to apply for job listings that want 4.0 GPAs on our transcripts. Competitive positions at banks, consulting firms, and investment firms require high marks. Anything less than their requirement, and they don’t even bother to read the rest of your résumé.

It’s important to note that U of T is in the midst of a mental health crisis — just like many other postsecondary institutions around Canada.

Students and faculty members alike have voiced their concern over a perceived lack of adequate mental health support from the university.

Our students are concerned about their uncertain futures, which may lead to constant feelings of self-doubt. What is making all of this worse is that the administration does not seem to be doing anything to help them.

We need more work opportunities and co-op programs at UTSG that give us the experience we need for competitive jobs. The implementation of more interactive opportunities in our degrees would give us better skills, more experience, and would strengthen our belief in our own futures.

We need not only more opportunities like workshops, symposia, graduate job fairs, and networking opportunities, but more meaningful ones that will actually help us find employment — especially for the programs that are lacking in them. Isn’t it the university’s responsibility to at least give us an opportunity to meet with potential recruiters, instead of leaving us to fend for ourselves?

I believe that U of T needs to provide us with the resources we need to find meaningful employment, and its current efforts are simply not enough.

Abhya Adlakha is a fourth-year Criminology and Psychology student at Woodsworth College.

IRIS DENG/ THE VARSITY

Op-ed: Food is a right, not a privilege

Growth in store for the SCSU Food Centre Rayyan Alibux Varsity Contributor

The SCSU Food Centre provides meals to hundreds each year.

COURTESY OF SCSU FOOD CENTRE/FACEBOOK

Room 210B of the Student Centre at UTSC is a room most students are unaware of. No classes or tutorials are held there, and clubs cannot book the room for their events. But that isn’t what makes the room important. This room is the home of the Scarborough Campus Students’ Union’s (SCSU) one and only food bank. Open from Tuesday to Thursday between 12:00–6:00 pm, it has over 400 active members.

The SCSU offers this service that allows students to get canned goods under the watch of a volunteer. Unfortunately, the old room it was operated out of, 210A, was small and cramped, sharing its space with the SCSU Book Free Network. This led to students remarking that the experience was like walking into a closet and being watched while they got food for themselves.

This changed in an effort to provide students with a more humanizing experience. The food bank is no longer structured in a way where students are in a small space, but is instead set up like a grocery store. This shift involved moving the centre next door to 210B in a space with shelving and the addition of two fridges, allowing for a more open experience. Students fill up their grocery

bags, and have points deducted from their cards.

Student reception has generally been positive for this new set-up.

The SCSU Food Centre has been a cornerstone for many students and members within the community who depend on its services. According to Rajean Hoilett, Campaigns & Advocacy Coordinator of the SCSU, approximately 40 per cent of those who use the space are international students. The centre has proven very helpful with providing meals to many who have struggled with paying high international fees.

Outside of food supplies, the food bank has held numerous free food-related programming.

In the past year, free cooking classes were held for students. In addition, we have also held monthly community breakfasts, having served over 800 meals in between the two community breakfasts we held in October and November alone, according to Hoilett.

The centre itself is not just run by the SCSU, but is a community-driven effort. Within this year, there were over 80 volunteers registered to meet the weekly commitment, with two full-time food centre staff, Lola Wazir and Quiana Cao,

aiding in scheduling, training, and marketing the centre to students. In addition to this, their team, headed by Hoilett, has been keeping a record of food withdrawn from the bank to dynamically adjust the types of foods ordered to meet the needs of students in real time.

New initiatives and opportunities have come to benefit the students here at UTSC as a result of the efforts of these hard working individuals, with the centre’s team aiming to improve and expand the gardens on the Graduate Students’ Association at Scarborough’s balcony, and rooftop of the Instructional Centre building.

All in all, the plan to treat food as a human right has been bountiful and strived to bring that right to students. With more funding and food making its way to the food bank, hopes are high on initiatives this funding will bring, going forward. Students are happy that their welfare is being prioritized, and the SCSU is happy we are rising to the occasion to meet their needs.

Rayyan Alibux is a fourth-year Political Science and Business Economics student at UTSC. Alibux serves as Vice-President Operations on the SCSU.

var.st/comment

MARCH 9, 2020

Public Editor: Black History Month demands respectful reporting As Black History Month comes to a close, I look at how The Varsity can do better by the Black community for years to come Osobe Waberi Public Editor

As Black History Month wraps up, The Varsity highlighting the importance of ethical reporting that shows consideration and respect. It’s also a time to reflect on inclusion within the pages of our newspapers and within the walls of journalism, as a way of compensating for underrepresentation in newsrooms.

The Varsity worked hard to put out stories that hopefully resonate with the Black community and accurately represent many who at times feel voiceless. However, The Varsity does not have a Black member on its masthead — aside from myself, and I’m not a management member or a section editor.

My occupation is to ensure that The Varsity is upholding its due diligence toward the U of T community. Black History Month can pose difficult editorial decisions. Insight, respect, and tact are crucial to delivering news where culture is authentically represented.

Managing Editor at The Varsity, Ibnul Chowdhury, alongside Josie Kao, its Editorin-Chief, decided that “coverage on underrepresented and equity-seeking communities” deserved attention and labour.

“Sustained coverage throughout the month, and not just during the Black History Month issue for the last week, was crucial,” Chowdhury wrote.

According to Chowdhury, he wrote many stories that demonstrated nuance and plurality within the Black community, including coverage on Black lawyers, Black Muslims, Black graduate students, and Caribbean students.

Admittedly, he wrote that The Varsity faced a “clear limitation,” since section edi-

tors did not have many Black writers in their writer base. Still, Chowdhury believed that doing the work could still promote Black voices on campus and help encourage Black writers to join The Varsity by showing them that their voices matter and are needed yearround.

“I hope that establishing such relationships will continue to help build trust and expand our equity coverage in the years to come.”

The Varsity did well in avoiding sensationalizing the Black community, and instead opted for storytelling that put a spotlight on individuals without pushing the boundaries.

Instead of dramatizing realities, reporters allowed Black students to share their own truths, in some cases, discussing Black mental health awareness, community building, and the importance of supporting Black youth in educational spaces.

In addition, the front-page cover of Issue 18 chosen for Black History Month depicted a smiling Black woman adorned in shimmery gold, with the pan-African flag colours behind her. The artist, Makena Mwenda, explained in a letter that the flag represents “the bloodshed of Africans who died in the fight for liberation, the colour of their skin, and the fertility of their land.”

Giving creative control to someone who understands Black history and African values, and who can pay homage to culture was a vital step in ensuring authenticity during the month.

In honour of Black History Month, I’ve compiled a list of dos and don’ts for journalists. My hope is newsrooms take this into account for Februaries to come, other periods of cultural celebration, and just in general.

Dos and don’ts Don’t be performative during Black History Month. Avoid showcasing Black people and their culture in a way that sensationalizes their ethnicity. Do share experiences about racial realities in a candid and honest way.

Take responsibility for all headlines and photos used and ask yourself: “Am I portraying an exaggeration?”

Don’t reach out to Black people exclusively in February. Trust me, they notice.

Every February, like clockwork, publications suddenly phone up every Black community member to feature in a story. It’s uncomfortable for everyone involved, even if the intentions are well-placed. Do work together year-round — that’s the real goal.

Use February to look into the history and other contexts of the Black experience. From what I gather, The Varsity has acknowledged how this type of behaviour can come off as uncomfortable for all parties involved, and is actively working to change this to better serve the Black community and tell their stories year-round. Many news organizations should take additional steps to also ensure that the Black community does not feel used.

Don’t forget you’re a guest in someone else’s home. Black History Month is an invitation to learn about Black culture, history, and experience. People are passionate about different aspects of the Black experience, so let them express what Black History Month means to them personally. Do seek to learn the difference between cultural appropriation and cultural appreciation. Avoid taking what you need for a story and running away with it. Take off your metaphorical shoes and get comfortable; accept knowledge you can share with readers.

Don’t be ignorant of microaggressions: indirect, subtle, often unintentional discrimination. Be mindful of your questions: think twice about asking a biracial individual “what are you?” or asking a Black person “where are you really from?” Microaggressions are often mistakes, but they can offend people and damage rapport. Do inquire respectfully and without assumptions. Lots of people enjoy talking about themself if you create an environment free of tension and judgement.

Don’t continuously reiterate that it’s Black History Month. It becomes repetitive and perpetuates the idea that these stories are a forced chore that are only important this time of year. Remember these tips and show the community you care about them day in and day out. Develop a better and more inclusive representation of the community for readers, and a more inclusive environment for marginalized students and staff.

As your public editor, I’d like to know where you stand on this. With helpful input from readers, my mission is to ensure that The Varsity remains a safe environment for all. What did you think of this year’s reporting and artwork for Black History Month?

Email me your thoughts and opinions and how The Varsity can improve from here.

My biggest passion is ethical reporting.

It’s something I have a responsibility to uphold to the highest standard. Let’s help shape our knowledge of ethics and continuously improve The Varsity’s decision-making framework for years to come.

Osobe Waberi is The Varsity’s Public Editor and can be reached at publiceditor@thevarsity.ca.

Letters to the Editor Re: “Does the grind ever stop?”

“Call me a boomer, but in the 80s, there was a pub every Friday, packed by 9:30, cheap beer and pizza slices, 4 formals a year, and the Student Lounge was packed with students hanging out from 11-3, and I had friends in Medicine, Law, Commerce, Engineering. University is not just about getting a job- at least, it shouldn’t be.

Young people have it much harder today, and they deserve a better, more fulfilling experience.”

— Paul Newland (from web) “Btw, I heard about those online course fees which get you 5% extra for paying a fee- yeah that is criminal and every university student should hammer the breaks on that scamming practice big time.

Debt is a huge stresser, and those fees are straight theft. You all deserve better.”

— Paul Newland (from web) “Yes, for me it went down when I became a part time student.”

— Eric Raju (from web)

Re: “Bright lights, big city baby!”

Re: “U of T’s deferred maintenance costs at all-time high” “Where can students access data about potential lead in campus buildings’ drinking water? In Canada, lead pipes were not outlawed until 1975, and other lead fixtures in plumbing (soldering, valves, etc.) were not outlawed until 1986. Lead exposure - even at low levels - is known to impact emotional, mental, and physical health. I recently took a course on water systems management (through the Department of Geography and Planning, University of Toronto) and materials that I read during this course indicated that large institutional buildings (such as schools) sometimes have very high lead levels in their drinking water.

In Ontario, only day-cares and elementary schools have to annually test for lead in their drinking water - and publish the results.

This seems like a large policy gap for high schools and post-secondary institutions.”

— Adam Wynne (from web)

Re: “U of T keeps students abroad as U of Calgary, US schools pull students over COVID-19 fears” “Proving once again how much UofT cares about it’s students Seriously though, ultimately students are adults, so while the university should make it easier to leave, they should let the students decide” — William Dobias (from web) Re: “Opinion: UTSG bookstore mask controversy highlights the inconsistencies in COVID-19 awareness” “Ultimately, the bookstore is an independent not for profit enterprise. They sell what people want, at cost : don’t blame uoft” — William Dobias (from web)

“I’m not a fan of fossil fuels, but I love passing that gas station!”

— Zach Morgenstern (from web) Re: “Opinion: Students must call for the university, Ontario to stand in solidarity with Indigenous land rights” “This is all well and good, but you must remember the majority of indigenous groups support pipeline projects and so on owing to job opportunities, better living conditions and so on that will accrue to native peoples.”

— Robert Bruce Maule (from web) Re: U of T faculty sign petition to address anti-Semitism on campus “Running into swastikas on the sidewalk is not something you expect to do in urban Canada” — Garnet Shredder (from web) “BDS is not anti-Semitism!”

— Amir Fleischmann (from web)

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THE VARSITY

FEATURES

What does it mean to be

Writer: Paige Chu Illustrator: Fiona Tung

“Someone once… called me by my Instagram name,” said Brie Augustine, a third-year student majoring in history and philosophy at U of T. “They were like, ‘Oh! Brie the Human!’”

She’s referring to her one Instagram account, @briethehuman, as opposed to her actual Instagram account, @augustinethealien, which has a bio that reads “Being Conventional for public consumption.” She calls herself an alien because “we all feel alienated and isolated, and it was just my way to feel connected to the people I know but don’t get to see often.”

Augustine’s separation between ‘real’ and ‘personal’ Instagram accounts is a common practice amongst social media users nowadays.

Tavi Gevinson, previous editor-in-chief of Rookie Magazine, revealed that she had three accounts by the time she was a senior in high school. One was a public account, another was for a closer social circle, and one was strictly for herself. It’s not difficult to imagine that upon the discovery of these three accounts, many questions arose about which one was the ‘real’ Tavi Gevinson. Who is she really, if she felt compelled to split her public image into three?

In her article in The Cut, Gevinson explained the complex relationships between the various aspects of herself — having been the ‘relatable teen’ who created Rookie, but also having a strong desire to indulge in the part of her life that has become embedded in celebrity culture, the same part that deeply contravened this primary image of her. She explored the multiplicity of self through her three accounts, each completely authentic, yet not Tavi without the others. In a later interview with Gevinson herself, Natasha Stagg — a novelist, essayist, and internet scholar — said very simply, “There’s not only one way to be a real person.”

The experience of minoritized people Constructing a sense of self is an especially convoluted maze for minoritized people to navigate, as the process also involves interacting with preconceived notions of who they should be.

Hannah Allen, a third-year U of T student specializing in English, spoke with The Varsity about her experience as a woman in various social media spaces. “I’m in the gaming community,” she explained, “and… I’ve kind of had

this online presence that has just been painted negative in some way.”

Even a few friends who are men have said misogynistic comments.

“There are days where I’ll laugh it off, but there will be days where I have to log off because being a female and being a gamer — that simple combination can be too much,” Allen said.

The desire to just be a gamer is at times an impossible request. Allen described the profiles of people she follows online, many of them women who want to enjoy the community for what it is, but are instead forced into the position of having to prove a point to misogynist fellow gamers — simply because they are women.

“It’s just not on their minds to fight, they just want to play the game,” Allen said. “It’s like you’re forced to be some certain way.”

Similarly, Augustine has found that the enjoyment she receives from posting about music online is frequently interrupted by assumptions about her race. This happens to the extent where she has internalized those voices, questioning herself before anyone else does it first.

“I don’t listen to a lot of rap music, but by

nature of being a Black woman, people always ask me about rap music,” she said. “And I feel like I should always be posting more rap music because of it.”

I told her about how when Crazy Rich Asians first came out, I suddenly felt like the whole world was looking at me for the first time in my life. The way that I had to grapple with social media as a racialized person had shifted. I no longer had to fight for attention — everyone was already waiting for me to speak, and I wasn’t even sure I wanted to talk anymore.

Growing up without representation was a lonely way to grow up, but my race suddenly being hit with a wave of publicity was not something that my 19-year-old self could handle with grace. I straddled the line between an awareness of what this film meant for the Asian community, and the naïvete of being someone who didn’t have fully-formed thoughts because I’d never thought anybody would listen to me.

I opted for social media silence. The burden — and I call it a burden because it was a responsibility I did not ask for — was too much for me. How do you put your complex thoughts about race and representation into words when

features@thevarsity.ca

e ‘real’ on the internet?

From fınstas to gaming: navigating digital identities on the margins

you’ve never had to before? Where do you begin and when does it end?

In the world of blogging, women social media producers are expected to represent their branded images within the boundaries of heteronormative femininity in the larger context of masculine entrepreneurialism. Now, in the age when people are actively hungry for the opinions of diverse people, it is as much a great responsibility to create a sufficient space for yourself as a minoritized person as it is a great relief. It’s frustrating to not be able to just exist as a person on social media, simply because your identity is not characterized by the specific combination of ‘cisgender,’ ‘white,’ and ‘male.’

Another thing that Allen touched on was how quickly her men counterparts will attribute her mistakes in gaming to her gender.

As for the women who speak publicly about online harassment in the gaming community, she said, “You see how much negative attention they get being more high-profile. They publicize it sometimes to make it stop, so people are aware and called out.”

After all, being a minoritized person means having to be more intentional with your online presence. It means grappling with questions about which sides of yourself you reveal and which sides will remain hidden.

How we construct our identities People have always had a strong desire to control and disseminate their sense of self. Social media has given us an outlet for this. Gevinson’s multiple social media accounts are highly representative of both our desires to upload experiences and materialize them, and the human tendency to be attuned to the opinions of even those whom we will never meet in real life. Maybe we don’t fear any particular object, or subject, or identity in the world — but we fear the judgements that form around it. For minoritized people, this takes the shape of an overbearing consciousness of the perceptions and behaviours we are expected to fulfill in the digital world.

When we refrain from posting, we are not held by primary emotions of disgust, or shame of the content itself, but by the secondary disgust and shame that we feel for anticipated reactions.

Despite this, we still develop a curiosity about the multiple ways that we can present ourselves on social media — and not only that, we explore this curiosity through our secondary accounts, or ‘finstas,’ where we post our more personal content. We are able to crawl to the edges of one reality and peer into the alternate universe in which we do post that photo and do publish that tweet.

We have developed the phenomenon of the human brand: as individuals, we curate distinct

public images and advertise ourselves more aggressively than ever before. Some of us cater to an audience, regardless of whether we are officialized as influencers with paid partnerships. We do it for intangible social capital where nobody knows what the score really is, but we nevertheless always feel like everybody is keeping track.

But what are the implications of scaling down the concept of branding to the identity of an individual? Some claim it’s about applying a coherent narrative to our online presence.

Writer and academic Saidiya Hartman has discussed the broader concept of a narrative, calling it “a conceptual prisonhouse.”

A brand’s success is dependent on this ‘prisonhouse’ — it is the promise of consistency.

Above all else, this carefully constructed narrative is what audience members subscribe to,

and how loyalty is promised in return. Selling that consistency is a practice that is intense, widespread, and long-established, permeating formal business literature from as early as the 1920s, with the last 20 years being the most significant for its development. Self-branding can take as much commitment and effort as branding for an entire enterprise.

On the level of the individual, this standard and fascination with perfect consistency is the inherent issue with scaling branding down. It’s something everyday users of social media must grapple with. Perhaps we know that we have crossed over from personal use of technology to branding when we create a finsta to seek comfort. A ‘real’ person lacks a throughline of total consistency. So, maybe where that consistency branches out, we fracture ourselves into different parts to show online, different brandings of ourselves.

Even companies have capitalized on pushing this ideal of a ‘real’ person. This ideal is the backbone of Glossier, the social media born and operated company that makes “products with your real beauty routine in mind.” Some believe that Glossier is an example of women harnessing the power of social media to turn consumer culture on its head; others claim it is in essence a corporatized feminist creation, marketing itself as empowering others when they are just a manifestation of a specific cultural moment, one that values the ‘real’ woman, the ‘imperfect’ woman.

However, instead of dismantling oppressive systems, Glossier and the ideal it supports merely create a new consumerism standard. We may have to reconsider whether we really are mobilized by these companies or if we’re being rewritten by them. While some may have found a home for their identities in the phenomenon of feminist brands, there will always be disparate conclusions of what ‘real’ really looks like.

On social media, we increasingly demand that content creators portray the version of themselves that they always have shown. We demand that our friends’ public image are identical to how we see them. Nowadays, a portrayal of yourself that feels genuine to you may be called a lie and misrepresentation by someone else, and they could be both right and wrong.

No one is to say that version of you is not you, but you also cannot claim that it is the most authentic version of yourself if you’re seeking to replicate the ideals you see around you.

Of course, seeking to replicate ideals inevitably begs the question of whether matters concerning your bodily autonomy pertain to your digital self as well. The truth is, we are all left in the same game of navigating layer after layer of judgements and perspectives in the hopes that it can be consolidated into a single version of ourselves that has been created with the purest intent.

In this strange world there are exactly two settings: you can either choose the people who you allow to see you, or you open your account to any of the countless people who’ve managed to get their hands on an electronic device. We all must choose — who can touch you? Who can know you?

Being saved by vanity Jia Tolentino, a staff writer for The New Yorker, claims that identity performance — allowing the internet to compel us to perform our identities in an attractive manner — can be good. In a way, it’s the perfect amount of selfdelusion about our importance, a delusion that tells us that our content matters, though not in the way where we are constantly tuning in to the noise. But on the other hand, it does not matter if we are not being who we are.

Being on social media does not make what we do more visible — we can already be seen without it. Augustine reminds herself every so often that it’s okay not to have the most active profile. “I think that sometimes we don’t really need to post as much as we do, or as much as we think people care about what we’re saying.

Really, they don’t — and that’s okay!” she said.

It is both natural and healthy to want your friends to like you — it holds you accountable for certain actions — but it is perhaps time that social media returned to its initial intent: to democratize voices.

Gevinson put it best when she said, “I think the internet is at its best when it’s used to move forward in time.”

When using social media, there is no obligation to produce content, and we are in no way required to speak on specific matters.

The internet is there so we can understand ourselves a bit better, so we can understand who we are in relation to everyone else. It allows us to hold everyone all at once in a single device.

Like Augustine, Allen, and the women of this article, I have had this honour of being more intentional with my digital identity and to compare side-by-side the many versions of myself that I have inadvertently created in my years as an internet user.

I understand that this hyper-awareness comes with being on the margins, yet I am grateful to be forced to be conscious about both what I see and what the world sees when I look in the mirror that social media provides me. I am grateful to declare my personhood and my girlhood, and to indeed take the time to split them up into different accounts and to grow each of them separately.

There are several of me — some were created then deleted, some are a decade old, others only weeks. All of which have allowed me to change who I am time and time again, while still remaining the same individual I have always been, and to indulge in the parts of myself I would otherwise shove away and make foreign.

This identity performance is just perfected vanity. Vanity has been my way to accept the complexity of identities. Vanity, in a way, can save us from this prisonhouse.

Arts & Culture

March 9, 2020 var.st/arts arts@thevarsity.ca

The Battle of the Bands: funky, intimate, laden with antics

Battle of the Bands is a U of T tradition — a favourite among the firsttimers and a final hooray for the last-timers.

NATHALIE WHITTEN/ THE VARSITY

Myriad musical groups duked it out yet again in the warm embrace of Ein-Stein Bierhalle Nathalie Whitten Video Editor

Ein-Stein Bierhalle on College Street was packed on the night of February 29, and for good reason.

Sipping on a Red Bull, I watched my friends get lost in a sea of bodies. The night slowly but surely descended into a kind of controlled chaos that was totally intoxicating. Everyone in the crowd knew what they had come for — crowd surfing, bouncer taunting, blood-on-your-guitar goodness. Teenage antics. Punk rock.

Members of the certifiably uncool, such as myself, were not ready for what was to come. I had expected a simple night at ‘Stein’s’ with a pitcher and some live music — a familiar scenario for most seasoned U of T goers. I had even invited a few unsuspecting friends to come and dance while I stood to the side and took notes, playing the role of a non-participant observer.

Battle of the Bands 3: Tokyo Drift is an annual event, previously held by Winterfest, that show-

cases student bands, playing against each other for this year’s prize: the chance to win undying glory and the belt of champions.

After a moment of waiting in silence and expectantly sipping our drinks, the first act came out: Machine Bomb. If their name isn’t a Scott Pilgrim reference, I’ll be disappointed. Like the calm before a storm, Machine Bomb delivered to the crowd some feel-good indie rock vibes. They played an upbeat, synth-y set, embracing an aesthetic that I would describe as ’80s glam metal meeting garage rock.

When I asked a member of the crowd — who looked a little bit more qualified to answer the substantive music questions than myself — how they would describe the sound of Machine Bomb, they answered with “funky.” So there you go. Machine Bomb was funky, and as I swayed back and forth to an indie synth cover of “Circles” by Post Malone, I had no complaints.

The second act went by the name Closer, and from the moment they stepped on stage, they started working the crowd up effortlessly.

Closer’s name was fitting for their set; with

each song, the energy in the room got closer to a fever pitch. I noticed the vocals getting louder and the drums becoming more frantic as their set rocked on. The energy of the crowd matched this crescendo, growing in intensity and increasing the vigour with which they playfully pushed each other around the room. I found myself shielding my camera and notebook.

The lead vocalist was a crowd favourite, brandishing a mop of headbang-worthy curls and a pop-punk vocal style that would make Tom DeLonge proud. Closer used the vertical plane of the room to their advantage — guitarists stood on benches, getting an aerial view of the crowd, while the lead singer crouched to the ground, encouraging all of us to stoop down with him.

The lack of barriers or a raised stage made the whole event feel more intimate. As people continuously pushed forward, it was becoming difficult to tell where the crowd ended and the band began.

Frankie the Pig came out third, bringing even more punk spirit and crowd-pleasing gritty vocals. They played hard — maybe a little too hard, actually, as one member broke a guitar string mid performance. The band played it cool during this minor setback, engaging the audience with chants and jokes until a replacement instrument was located. Frankie the Pig finished their set strong.

By now, I was beginning to feel like a seasoned mosh-er, quickly learning that the best way to stay on my feet was to loosen up and sway with the crowd. I even experimented with some light headbanging.

Finally, we got along to The Get Alongs — yes, this joke is absolutely why I should not have been allowed at this show.

I had heard whispers about this foursome before the event had even started, and The Get Alongs certainly gave everyone what they came for.

It was clear that many people had come for The Get Alongs, and they had come to let loose.

Musicians with long hair and creative outfits — hello, denim overalls — marched into the room with veteran confidence. As the reigning champions hit the stage, the shift in energy was palpable.

The previous three sets were commemorated by detailed notes on my part, but as I sift through my papers looking for some remnant of The Get Alongs, I find myself empty handed. Perhaps this tells you everything you need to know.

I danced. A lot. So much, in fact, that I had mild whiplash the next day. I also joined the tightly packed crowd, learning the fun of exchanging friendly pushes with strangers.

The antics during the set had many people wondering whether the whole thing would get cut short — there were some disagreements between security and the band about whether crowd surfing and furniture climbing were amusing activities.

The Get Alongs prevailed, however, and stood their ground until the last song, garnering roars of applause and calls for an encore. Unsurprisingly, they took home the belt at the end of the night.

As the crowds dissipated and instruments were packed into cases, I knew I had witnessed a special side of the university. At the peak of the event, spectators were packed all the way to the door. Clearly, this is a tradition that students love.

Resistance through storytelling

Valeria Khudiakova Science Correspondent

Hart House’s “Resistance through Storytelling” marks the first of many debates being hosted for International Women’s Month.

SHANNA HUNTER/ THE VARSITY

Four authors speak about the importance of diversity and representation in the publishing industry

“Storytelling is survival,” said Nasim Asgari, a poet, performer, and student at York University, while reflecting on her first experiences of storytelling at the “Resistance in Storytelling” panel discussion held at the Hart House debates room on March 2. The event was organized by the Hart House Debates and Dialogue Committee.

The others panelists were Liselle Sambury, a young-adult author based in Toronto whose debut novel is due to come out next year; Farah Heron, the author of the critically acclaimed novel The Chai Factor; and June Hur, who works at the Toronto Public Library and whose debut historical fiction novel will be released in April. The panel discussion started with Asgari’s passionate performance of two of her works.

Are publishing houses truly changing?

According to Heron, racialized authors are still not represented enough in the publishing business. It’s a “misconception” that there are more books by mi-

nority authors being published nowadays because of a few “high-profile” releases, she argued. Heron mentioned feeling that publishers see it as a “trend, which is upsetting.” However, while she does feel that publishing works by diverse authors has become a trend, she addresses that, “at the same time, I think it’s not going away either.”

Heron also referenced the recent scandal within the Romance Writers of America (RWA), an influential organization comprising over 9,000 writers of romantic fiction. According to Vox, the outrage was caused by the ousting of one of the members, Courtney Milan, who spoke out against “perceived racism” in the RWA. These comments highlighted systemic equity issues within the organization. Up until the end of February, Heron was president of the Toronto chapter of the RWA, but she resigned in response to the recent events.

Sambury noted that publishing seems to be changing only “on [the] surface.”

Asgari mentioned that minoritized writers are asking themselves whether it’s worth entering white-dominated spaces where they might not be wanted, and

that those who do not follow this path tend to create their own spaces where their voices can be better heard.

Why we need diversity in publishing According to a 2019 survey by Lee & Low Books, the publishing business is still overwhelmingly white, cisgender, heterosexual, and able-bodied, which does not do justice to the diversity of the world we live in. The organizers of the survey noted that diversity in publishing businesses is so crucial because “the people behind the books serve as gatekeepers, who can make a huge difference in determining which stories are amplified and which are shut out.”

However, both Hur and Heron noted that there are “gems” in the publishing industry who “see the value in the story” and are willing to publish more than one token minoritized author.

How to avoid tokenization and appropriation Heron stresses that it is important to recognize that there are differences between marginalized communities and within them. One must not assume the lived

experiences of the author reflect the experiences of the entire community or of other communities, added Sambury.

Hur replied that as a minoritized writer of historical fiction, she feels more responsibility to be as thorough and accurate as possible in her writing. One of her biggest fears is letting down her Korean audience by misrepresenting Korean history.

The Varsity asked the panelists how white, cisgender, heterosexual, and ablebodied writers can represent minoritized characters as respectfully as possible while avoiding stereotyping, tokenization, and appropriation. Heron suggested looking into your secondary characters and whether they reflect “the world you want to see.” She also emphasized the importance of creating multi-layered characters and considering intersectionality: “Their racial identities aren’t [all of ] who they are.”

Hur recommended finding good beta readers that can help you figure out where you went wrong. Sambury added that sometimes you need to let go of characters or even books that are based on inaccurate representation of minoritized people or negative stereotypes.

var.st/arts

MARCH 9, 2020

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Plastic, paper, or tote — your choice could save or destroy the planet!

Who is really at fault for our increasing carbon footprint — the consumer or the market?

Yasmeen Atassi Varsity Contributor

The case for personal responsibility in the face of the climate crisis has gained a significant amount of mainstream attention over the last few years. However, it is the concept of eco-conscious consumerism, as opposed to scientific solutions to the crisis, that plays into personal consumer guilt. And this leaves many of us feeling responsible for the demise of our planet, despite our attempts to change our habits for the better.

This sense of guilt that has finally gotten the best of us mundane consumers has, subsequently, made the word ‘sustainability’ a part of everyone’s vocabulary. It has manifested itself into a buzzword — which now defines a whole new subset of the market that targets the “smart consumer” who seeks an improved environment. But with this new wave of sustainability, what really becomes of the purchasing habits of people, and how does capitalism play into this seemingly anti-capitalist fad?

Eco-consciousness has emerged as something that can be reached through purchasing alone. Suggesting that by buying the right coffee cup, or ethically sourced cocoa, or swapping a plastic carrier bag for a tote bag, a consumer is actually able to ethically participate in the capitalist system that has gotten us into the crisis in the first place.

There is an obvious contradiction within the whole sustainability sector of the mar-

ket; it reveals that we are all succumbing to the illusion of the collective good because there is actually a limitation on taking part in active sustainability.

From sleek metal straws to reusable cutlery sets, these products aim to replace their easily disposable counterparts and play into the popularized idea of environmental sustainability and the need for individual environmental consciousness. Though the use of such products does promote a lifestyle that focuses on mindful consumption, the harmful culture of consumption remains, because companies and brands have started to capitalize on the concept of mindful living.

Although we do have a certain amount of personal accountability for the crisis, solutions that depend on individual contributions to eventually lead to massive collective effort cannot be the salvation of humanity’s frighteningly growing carbon footprint.

We would like to believe that using a KeepCup when we stop at Starbucks before class, or a Baggu when we go to Shoppers Drug Mart will not only make us feel good as conscious consumers, but that it will also contribute to the ultimate end of the plastic bag and coffee cup industry. Frankly, a single reusable cup or bag will not end deforestation or save the turtles, but small ripples do at times turn into big waves of change. This dilemma is exactly what makes sustainability and ethical consumerism a difficult practice to navigate when we are constantly being sold the solution from the creators of the problem.

Simply put, consumerism functions on the idea that we, the consumers, will always be

needing, wanting, and purchasing new things. Therefore, the market plays into this want and will inevitably provide us with the things that we need, but it continues to reinforce the misleading notion that we are in control of our choices as consumers.

This interesting cycle of constant need for things plays more perfectly into the issue of sustainability than one would expect, and it only takes one of many examples to demonstrate this. A Google search of the term “zero-waste” pulls up at least a link or two to online stores and retail outlets that

market for essentials that will supposedly help solve our ever-growing over-consumption.

In the end, choosing to compromise convenience for the sake of a less wasteinfested Earth or a clearer conscience is the least that can be done when the biggest contributors — read: manufacturingdependent companies — choose not to. A balanced and sustainable solution to the cycle of seemingly futile efforts will always require the compromise of comfort.

BEVERLY TENG/THE VARSITY

Stay busy in the winter — it helps!

Three top tips to survive your first freeze in Toronto Abril Masola Varsity Contributor

Winter blues hit hard but everyone feels them. Spring is nearly here!

SHANNA HUNTER/ THE VARSITY

Moving from Costa Rica to Toronto meant that I was forced to adjust to the sheer environmental change between the two. Despite expecting this shock when I enrolled in university, I’m still dumbfounded at how much I miss seeing nature — the fat squirrels around campus do not count, and neither do the pigeons. I went from a bedroom view of the mountains surrounding the city of San José to a dorm view of a single, barren tree. The cold weather and accompanying ice and snow has further confined me to my dorm in recent months. When asked how I coped with these extreme changes to my surroundings, my advice was, and continues to be, three-fold.

First, I stay busy. It can be hard to find things to do when going outside feels like a cold slap to the face, so I decided to find ways to stay busy inside: invite friends over, learn how to cook, buy a colouring book, or read. I know these mundane actions don’t seem exciting, but they are the best way to enjoy the indoor confinement.

Second, take vitamins. I never really thought vitamin deficiency from staying indoors was a thing, or that the lack of sun would cause such an impact on my mental health, but vitamins help your body make up what it’s losing by staying in-

side. Since I am not a doctor, I recommend contacting one and finding out what vitamins will help you, or if you personally need them at all.

Third, join a club, get a job, or get a new hobby that is not limited by the weather. Personally, what has been helping me get through the winter was beginning free dance classes in university.

With such a diverse group of people confined to this small area of the city, there are so many clubs and activities to take part in. On the other hand, if your intent is to use the winter to save money, check out U of T’s Career Learning Network online or create an account on LinkedIn and apply away!

The winter time has a way of making me feel more tired, lazy, and honestly, like a disappointment because of the first two characteristics. I’m the kind of person who is always keeping busy because working hard provides a safe outlet, but the winter makes me not want to work at all.

The winter blues come from a feeling of loneliness that surrounds the usual post-holiday season, and most of us college students have to go back to our independence when, a couple of weeks prior, we were accompanied by loved ones. I mean, who would have thought that university can be lonely!

Despite my three-fold, aforementioned advice, there is one more tip that I have when dealing with seasonal depression and just the overall sad feeling that comes with any kind of change. Be kind to yourself — something that is easier said than done. Be patient with your body, and don’t push yourself if that’s not what you want to do.

If you want to work hard and get things done, then being sympathetic to yourself helps give your mind and body motivation to keep going.

Being surrounded by good company does not only mean being around people who you feel comfortable with, but being able to find that feeling in yourself, and not defining moments alone as being lonely.

To be able to get past the common feeling of isolation that always seems to come around when the temperature drops, being comfortable in your own skin and finding ways to have fun by yourself always help, since sadly we can not always be accompanied by those we love the most.

Like all other things, winter does not last forever. Don’t let that little voice inside your head make you think that the sadness or laziness you encounter now defines you in any way, shape, or form.

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ARTS & CULTURE

arts@thevarsity.ca

Overlooked: Atypical

A new type of nuclear family enters the North American stage Rochelle Raveendran Varsity Contributor

How many facts about penguins do you know?

Before I started watching the Netflix TV show Atypical, all I knew was that male penguins sit on baby eggs and that some like to tap dance — my primary source of information was Happy Feet.

In Atypical, Sam Gardner, played by Keir Gilchrist, is a high-functioning teenager with autism with a love for all facts Antarctic, so much so that whenever he feels overwhelmed, he recites a mantra of four penguin species: “Adélie, Chinstrap, Emperor, Gentoo.” Antarctic animal facts become a useful point of comparison for him as he enters completely unfamiliar terrain: the dating world.

His burgeoning independence causes instant panic for his mother, Elsa, played by Jennifer Jason Leigh, who struggles to cope with the changing family dynamic and blames Sam’s therapist for leading him into dangerous territory. As Sam’s crush is equal parts unattainable and unavailable, he sets out to find a “practice girlfriend;” his attempts to woo her are made worse by terrible advice from his best friend and self-proclaimed womanizer, Zahid, who is just as clueless about dating.

Atypical compensates for a premise that may appear shallow with an execution that is anything but. Storylines are explored with a sensitive touch that extends to the neurotypical characters.

It is impossible not to feel empathy for Elsa in the choices she makes throughout the first season, considering she is finally dealing with the repercussions of putting herself last for the past

IRIS DENG/THE VARSITY

18 years. Sam’s father, Doug, played by Michael Rapaport, is navigating his own feelings of guilt and shame as he struggles to connect with his son and be as involved in his life as Elsa. Brigette Lundy-Paine’s portrayal of Casey, Sam’s sister, perfectly balances teenage angst and a fierce protectiveness of her older brother to create a loyal, lovable character.

The notable lack of actors with autism in the first season is improved in the following two seasons, which are uncoincidentally more charming and genuine. As I do not have autism and do not have any close friends or family members with autism, I cannot speak to the accuracy of Atypical’s depiction of the condition. That being said, the show has taught me about autism in a way that does not feel didactic.

I would not recommend it purely for its educational value, though it does bring the thoughtprocess of a person with autism to life on the screen. An Indian-American character who is the exact opposite of every possible stereotype, as well as a young lesbian couple, are just a few other examples of characters in the show who are underrepresented in the media and are incorporated in Atypical in a way that feels like a natural extension of the story.

With three seasons on Netflix, Atypical is the perfect show to binge watch this weekend if you are looking for a refreshing break from re-watching Friends and The Office on loop. Come for a heartwarming coming-of-age tale; stay for Sam’s deadpan wit, his pet turtle, and a dynamic supporting cast who portray their struggles to better themselves to devastatingly realistic effect.

Bryan Lee O’Malley’s Lost at Sea

A modern bildungsroman that you don’t need to fight seven ex-lovers to reach Bao Li Ng Varsity Contributor

I met Bryan Lee O’Malley three years ago at a book signing that I went to on impulse. You may be familiar with him from his graphic novel series Scott Pilgrim, which put Toronto on the map.

It made 10-year-old me fall in love with Knives Chau, and also caused that same 10-year-old to become tangentially aware of Michael Cera following the release of the movie. However, I came to O’Malley’s book signing with a much different graphic novel in mind: Lost at Sea. Nervously, I stepped up to the plate. “You have an interesting shirt,” O’Malley said. I looked down and realized, to my astonishment, that I was wearing the chemtrails propaganda T-shirt I’d gotten as a birthday gift. To this, I had no response. As everyone with generalized anxiety disorder does, I had pre-planned an opener while waiting in line, but the nicety I had prepared no longer made sense in the conversation, on top of the fact that it was already irreversibly forgotten, because I was 18 and therefore probably high.

So, I did what any rational human would do: I asked him if he knew my sixth-grade teacher, who once told my class that she had known O’Malley in her youth. She told us that he based a not-so-likeable character in one of his comics on her. While this outcome, if true, would have been both iconic and hilarious for my teacher, it was probably not the best thing to say. But I said it anyway.

With a hint of the soft, long-burning resentment that comes with of remembering someone you beefed with in the valley of time between teenage-hood and adulthood, O’Malley said, “Oh, yeah, I heard she moved back to Toronto,” signed my book, and sent me on my way.

But all was not lost, because I got what I came for: a signed copy of Lost at Sea. Lost at Sea is O’Malley’s first graphic novel, written and illustrated by him in 2003. It tells the story of Raleigh, an 18-year-old girl stranded with three former classmates on a road trip up the California coast.

While this is easily reminiscent of the setup for any other high-school graduation or road-trip

narrative, O’Malley masterfully deconstructs the clichés that accompany these tropes. Raleigh isn’t best friends with her co-travellers — in fact, she encountered them by accident.

Her actual high school friends didn’t seem to affect her and certainly weren’t her favourite people. This is in stark contrast to essentially every other high school movie, book, or comic, in which adolescent friends are cast as the most important people in a character’s coming-of-age arc.

Through this, O’Malley is able to capture how sometimes the relationships that you think will be meaningful don’t always turn out to be, and how lonely it can actually be for teenagers in the transitional stage before adulthood. He shows what it’s like for those of us who feel like background characters in our own lives, who didn’t necessarily experience the high school clichés of love and friendship, and furthermore, that those tropes don’t necessarily represent reality — that you can find meaningful bonds with people you wouldn’t expect.

Unlike the characters in other road-trip plots, in which the protagonists are either running away from or toward something, Raleigh and her classmates are doing neither — they are driving back home after their journey is over. This is strangely antithetical to the typical metaphoric reasoning for a road-trip or coming-of-age story because, instead of showing how the characters are moving forward, the protagonists of Lost at Sea are quite literally moving backward.

Raleigh spends her time remembering her life and the things that didn’t end up working out, finding strange symbolism in overlapping details between her past memories and her current trip back to Canada. However, this portrayal is actually more accurate to the experience of leaving adolescence.

Sure, growing up means looking forward, but being grown up means looking backward. This is because, for better or worse, our supposedly formative years are behind us. The feeling that goes along with this — the sad, nostalgic feeling of missing something you never quite had — is

what defines Lost at Sea. It’s a story about what happens after love doesn’t work out, after best friends grow up and move away, after everyone changes and everything is gone.

Raleigh starts the novel with the belief that she doesn’t have a soul, a belief that — spoiler alert — doesn’t go away. It’s what makes Lost at Sea unique. Raleigh doesn’t have it all figured out by the time the novel ends, and neither should we. She shows us that it’s okay to be lost because sometimes growth means standing still, leaning back and running with it, not worrying, and finding yourself lost at sea.

IRIS DENG/THE VARSITY

Science

March 9, 2020 var.st/science science@thevarsity.ca

Uniting Toronto science communicators: U of T alumni, students attend first-ever SciCommTO conference Over 120 attendees come together to share knowledge and passion for the field Hayley McKay and Francesco Zangari Varsity Contributors

Science communicators from across the GTA gathered in Toronto from February 21–22 at the first ever SciCommTO science communication conference. There, attendees gathered to discuss, argue, challenge, and debate both the state of science communication and its future direction.

The event showcased Toronto’s science communication (scicomm) network, and featured journalists, podcasters, artists, and other content creators, many of whom have ties to the University of Toronto. Highlights included panel sessions made up of various U of T alumni, workshops, and structured networking events.

What is science communication?

At its simplest, science communication is the transfer of knowledge from scientists to various stakeholders, ranging from politicians to elementary school students. Scicomm is incredibly important for translating technical science into easily understandable concepts and facts.

Effective scicomm curbs the spread of misinformation, helps people understand the value of science in society, and allows them to make informed decisions on things like health, technology, and environmental issues.

The goal of the SciCommTO conference was to unite the scicomm community within the GTA to promote an “informative and thoughtprovoking time, and leave full of new ideas.”

Jayden Blackwood, who has studied neuroscience at U of T and is a co-host of the Medicine in Motion podcast, was among the conference attendees. He and his team entered scicomm because the “gap between academia and practical application was not something [they] felt had been sufficiently filled,” he wrote to The Varsity.

In other words, “The research and clinical expertise we encountered were not made relatable to those outside life sciences.”

“The idea of starting a podcast was done as an outreach initiative, serving as a bridge between professional input on various health topics, and the questions/views held by everyday people wanting to learn more,” he wrote.

The importance of effective dialogue with the public Conference attendees could join one of three breakout sessions that occurred simultaneously on the first day, all with the theme of both understanding and challenging the means by which we communicate science.

Anthony Morgan, founder of Science Everywhere, explained that “trying to address misinformation by providing the public with well-sourced, accurate information seems like a losing battle.”

Morgan believes that this should not be the only strategy. Rather, “Our goal as science communicators ought to be to foster the kinds of cultural values that really help reinforce good critical thinking,” he continued.

“A really good strategy… is [to] talk to people who see things differently than

you… If we collectively do that, then we will reduce the amount of misinformation that spreads because we’re always wondering… how will someone who sees things differently interpret this?”

Succeeding in scicomm Following the breakout sessions, participants reconvened for a panel on succeeding in scicomm. A significant highlight of the speakers’ advice was to leverage your skills into paid roles and negotiate compensation for work assignments before accepting them. Another highlight was to consider discussing long-term career plans with an employer, asking: “What can you do for me?” This can enable you to work with the employer to alter the responsibilities of the job to help with your long-term career plans, which can motivate you to do a better job with your work.

Dr. Samantha Yammine, popularly known as “Science Sam,” suggested that you should “make the negotiation about more than money.” She passed on the advice of the three Ps: passion, prestige, and payment.

“You should be getting two out of those three for anything that you agree to,” she said.

Additionally, the nature of your career could be drastically different depending on your choices. Many science communicators are freelancers who work on a contractual basis rather than in traditional full-time positions. While this provides flexibility, the panelists noted that the ebb and flow of employment opportunities and the difficulty of landing enough assignments to pay a living wage are barriers to consider.

Celia Du, a freelance science communicator and filmmaker, spoke to The Varsity about her transition into freelance scicomm. “I did not see myself as a freelancer,” she said, reflecting on the start of her career. “I was applying to jobs… and I did a lot of cold-call emailing, reaching out to a lot of organizations.”

The organizations that responded to her offered volunteer opportunities. She chose to volunteer for two of them, and leveraged those experiences to build her network — a process she highlights as a turning point in her career.

“But then, once people see you and hear your perspective, see what you’ve done for scicomm, they start to want you to do more for

them.” This led Du to work for a multitude of organizations, such as the Royal Canadian Institute of Science and the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada Toronto Centre.

Practical tips for writing headlines and asking questions Jon Farrow from the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research led workshops on the second day, focusing on the essential arts of writing headlines and asking questions.

He shared insights and tips on how to draw in a reader: the first step is to do your research by knowing your audience, and engaging them from the get-go. Farrow suggests using language to create intrigue. Evocative words and puns can go a long way — so long as the puns aren’t too niche! Another useful tip noted the power of listicles: many people like to organize and compartmentalize information into lists, so headlines mentioning listicles are especially engaging.

In a workshop on improving interviewing skills, Farrow and his co-leader Cynthia MacDonald, a career science writer, went through basic tips that any interviewer should remember. A key tip is to do your research; you should come prepared with questions, according to Farrow and MacDonald. The questions don’t have to be complex — in fact, they shouldn’t be.

The best interviewers ask straightforward questions that elicit thoughtful responses, rather than brief responses of yes or no. You can also refer to what Farrow and MacDonald call the GROSS questions if you find yourself unprepared for a last-minute interview: goals, reasons, obstacles, solutions, and starts.

Leveraging creative storytelling for scicomm University of Toronto alumni Dr. Cylita Guy and Dr. Krishana Sankar kicked off another workshop by going through some background and theories of creative storytelling, beginning with the simple question: why tell stories? Storytelling is fundamental to human experience — we have been telling stories to disseminate information for millennia.

The use of metaphors, which are commonplace in storytelling, can engage an audience much more quickly than straight facts and figures, because they tap into our senses and

emotions, they noted. When a story is relatable or evocative, it can persuade listeners to take action, which is exactly what science communicators want their audience to do.

So how do you incorporate storytelling into science communication? Like before, you need to know your audience. This is important so you can tailor your narrative, use references your audience is likely to understand, and make sure you avoid any jargon that wouldn’t be common knowledge, according to Guy and Sankar.

Next, you must create your narrative, they continued. This involves creating characters and settings, which are the people and places involved in the scientific topic you are exploring. You also need to set a tone for your story, they noted. It is important to have a central theme in mind — the main takeaway or lesson of your narrative — before you begin.

Some other tips they shared for incorporating storytelling into scicomm included using graphic imagery to help set the tone. They also recommended talking about failure. While it might seem counterintuitive, it humanizes the subject.

Many scientific narratives don’t have a nice conclusion that can be wrapped up in a bow, they added, so leaving a story open-ended is absolutely fine.

The future of scicomm People interested in scicomm as a career often face challenges breaking into the field. A common challenge faced by science communicators, explained Sankar, is finding validation and recognition for your work. Sankar wants more people to recognize that scicomm is “a necessary skill — it’s valuable.”

To help educate people on the importance of scicomm, Sankar would like to see “universities… such as the University of Toronto actually having courses for students [to] develop [their] science communication skills.” Science communicators, especially those who are graduate students, face challenges pursuing their work because “people, especially academics… do not see the value of their students going out and learning these skills.”

“Instead they think this is taking away time from their research, but it’s actually complementary,” she said. Guy adamantly agreed, reflecting, “I had to fight tooth and nail to justify what I was doing.”

The issue of pay was also discussed at length during the conference. Relating it to the issue of validation and acknowledgement, Sankar observed, “A lot of organizations do not want to pay, because I think there was a precedent set that [scicomm work] was being done on a voluntary basis.”

In an effort to open people’s minds, Guy believes that unapologetically sharing your work in scicomm is key. She advocated for normalizing scicomm as a career field, and responding to skeptics with the attitude of, “I don’t care what you think!” “[Scicomm is] valuable — we should talk about it like we talk about our science.”

The conference featured journalists, podcasters, artists, and other content creators.

HAYLEY MCKAY/THE VARSITY

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SCIENCE

science@thevarsity.ca

How prescription drug advertising can mislead consumers Its regulation in Canada may lack teeth, according to U of T professor

Oviya Muralidharan Varsity Staff

“When you know more about what’s wrong, you can help make it right,” once claimed a television advertisement for Zoloft — a prescription medication used to treat depression.

According to a University of Toronto-affiliated review paper that studied New Zealand advertisements that was published in June 2019, advertisements for prescription drugs like this one, that target consumers directly, are frequently misinterpreted by consumers as “trusted public health messages.”

The United States and New Zealand are the only two countries where direct-to-consumer advertising (DTCA) is completely legal. In Canada, the legality of prescription drug advertisement is more complicated. While DTCA is prohibited, alternative methods of prescription drug advertisement are legal.

Background information on DTCA To clarify Canada’s stance, The Varsity spoke to Dr. Joel Lexchin, co-author of the study and an associate professor at U of T’s Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation. Dr. David Menkes, an associate professor at the University of Auckland, was the second co-author.

Health Canada — Canada’s national department of public health — allows firms to broadcast two types of advertisements for prescription drugs. One type, ‘reminder advertisements,’ can mention the name, price, and quantity of the advertised drug, but not its therapeutic application.

Lexchin gave the example of a Viagra advertisement that depicts a very active man dancing his way to work with a background chorus singing, “It’s great to stay up late.” As he puts it: “It doesn’t tell you what the [use of ] Viagra is, but it gives you an idea.”

The second type of legal DTCA are helpseeking ads, which don’t mention the name of the drug, but discuss the disease. Lexchin explained,

“You can’t say, ‘Take Penicillin if you have strep throat,’ but you can say, ‘Here is a new treatment available for strep throat. See your doctor.’”

Does DTCA have a negative impact on consumers in Canada?

In a study published in 2003, Lexchin collaborated with Dr. Barbara Mintzes, an assistant professor at the University of British Columbia, and other researchers to examine how DTCA affects the decisions that physicians in Vancouver, British Columbia and Sacramento, California make when prescribing drugs.

They found that physicians prescribed the advertised drug to 72 per cent of patients who requested the drug in Vancouver, as compared to 78 per cent in Sacramento. Furthermore, that patients in both cities who requested DTCA drugs were much more likely to receive a higher number of prescriptions than patients who did not request them. However, it is important to note that of the patients exposed to DTCA in Vancouver, only 3.3 per cent requested the drug. The effects were higher in Sacramento, at 7.2 per cent.

datory [for PAAB to] review any ads directed to consumers and they have no power to order any changes to the ad,” leaving its effectiveness in regulating DTCA questionable.

In an email to The Varsity, Patrick Massad, the PAAB commissioner, responded to this statement, writing that, “Preclearance provides confidence that an advertisement adheres to the pertinent regulations before dissemination.”

“Given that preclearance is largely voluntary, it is supplemented by a complaints resolution system and multi-agency proactive monitoring activities to identify advertising in the marketplace that contravenes the regulations,” he continued.

“In my experience, it is rare that an advertiser elects to ignore the preclearance agency ruling.

However, in those instances, the matter is for-

warded to Health Canada for enforcement. Ultimately, compliance with Federal regulations is not voluntary,” Massad wrote.

“It should be noted that DTCA disseminated over broadcast media is required to undergo preclearance by a recognized preclearance agency.

Preclearance is now also required for healthcare professional advertising of opioid products. The PAAB would welcome further broadening of mandatory preclearance.”

DTCA is already prohibited in Canada — at least on paper. However, more legislative work may be required to increase the effectiveness of regulation.

The Varsity has reached out to Health Canada for comment.

Different models of regulation Canada’s government prohibits DTCA through regulation, but there is some body of research to suggest its ineffectiveness. In a separate 2014 review of the DTCA cases that Health Canada has regulated, Lexchin and Mintzes concluded that Health Canada’s response “is notable both for its lack of teeth and lack of accountability and transparency.”

There is another regulatory body independent from Health Canada called the Pharmaceutical Advertising Advisory Board (PAAB), which provides “preclearance service recognized by Health Canada for advertising directed to healthcare professionals and consumers.”

However, Lexchin notes that “it is not man-

ISABELLA CESARI/THE VARSITY

Grappling with taking the lives of mice for laboratory research Experience and ethics in physiology Michal Leckie Varsity Contributor

YOON-JI KWEON/THE VARSITY

Scrubs tied, mask on, latex gloves snug — I felt like a surgeon. Ready, I walked with my classmates into a small room in the basement of the Medical Sciences Building for our animal care training session. We gathered around a table that was covered in blueish-white fabric that reminded me of diapers. Looking down at the table, we were prepared.

A mouse carcass was suddenly plopped in front of me. With soft grey hair, closed eyes, and little teeth peeking out, it was splayed in such a way that its lifelessness was clear.

“Get used to its weight. Pick it up by the tail,” the animal care staff told us.

Get used to its weight? I watched as my classmates eagerly pinched dead mice by their tails, suspending them upside down. “Huh,” I thought.

I slowly brought my gloved index finger to the mouse, poked its back, and pulled back my hand into an arms-crossed, surgeon-ready position.

“It’s dead,” I told myself. “It’s a mouse,” I tried.

“It’s for science.” I breathed in, immediately regretting it — the carcasses, mouse food, urine, formaldehyde. My fingers swooped in, pinched the mouse by its tail, and lifted. It was heavier than expected. I quickly placed the mouse back down. “Good job,” I told myself.

“Okay, now try the restraint technique. Hold the tail with one hand, press on the back of the mouse with the other, push down and toward the head. Make sure the mouse is immobile. Pull back its skin around the neck, and hold the loose skin in your hands. Pick it up, stomach bare.”

I looked around at some classmates attempting this technique, securing the mouse, showing it off, and leaving its stomach vulnerable. Others were more hesitant. I picked up my dead mouse by the tail again — I wasn’t yet used to its weight.

A few more times. I put it down, looking at its body, absorbing the lifelessness of this thing in front of me. I put my fingers on its back, feeling its ribs and soft organs.

Scientists use mice for experimentation across a wide range of fields, from physiology to psychology. Reading countless articles, I always thought I was fine with that. Using animals seemed like the right thing to do; they allow us to learn about blood and bones, to understand illnesses and cure them. And I still believe all this. Science relies on experimental models. I began to wonder, however, if I could still be supportive of the use of animals for research if I couldn’t do it myself.

As quickly as the dead mouse appeared, it was taken away and replaced by one that was alive. I was still not used to its weight. I still hadn’t moved past the first step — picking up the mouse. My two hands rested on each side of the cage, as if I were about to open it, but I didn’t. The mouse scurried around, nibbling at things and running into its red house. I stood watching it, sweating.

“You’ll get used to it,” one of the instructors told me. “It gets easier. I had trouble at the beginning, too.”

“Okay, that’s good,” I thought. “I have hope.”

I could still play the fearless surgeon, but as the day went on, as the mice’s ears were clipped, their noses squished by cylindrical devices meant to keep them still, as we collected blood from their tails every 15 minutes to measure their glucose

levels, I began to wonder whether this was something that I wanted to get used to.

The tails of the mice were supposed to be anaesthetized before we clipped them to draw blood. I took scissors to the tip and snipped. The mouse squealed and squirmed. I looked up at my instructor in panic, bloody scissors in hand and pained mouse restrained.

“Hmm, the anaesthetizing agent might not have taken effect yet,” she said. I was struck by how unaffected she was.

I understand that to do this work you must learn to be undisturbed. You get used to it, and I watched myself and my classmates get used to it. The flinch at the blood draw, the squeal of the mouse when stuck in a tight tube, the desperate squeezing and scratching — it became less disturbing. “This seems good,” I thought. “I’m becoming more of a scientist.”

But I paused. What does it mean for me to get used to suffering? Even though it’s ‘just a mouse,’ even though it’s for science? Did I want all this to become second nature? I pushed harder at the voice telling me that what we were doing was a little cruel. But maybe I didn’t want to lose that voice. What else might I have to get used to? It became clear that I am — we all are — vulnerable to anaesthetization.

Do I close my eyes and bear it? Do I join the team of people, of scientists, who are used to it?

Do I convince myself of its value? Or do I stand still, arms crossed, in protest?

I don’t have answers; I have not gotten used to the weight, and I am not sure where I will go from here. But I know that I don’t want the donning of latex gloves to mean protection from disturbance. I want to continue to feel uncomfortable, distressed, and stunned.

var.st/science

MARCH 9, 2020

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What are the current best practices for treating COVID-19?

Lessons from previous coronavirus outbreaks can help inform medical staff

Emily Saso Varsity Staff

What are the current treatment options for COVID-19? This is a question that many are asking, as the World Health Organization (WHO) has now declared a global health emergency, and scientists around the globe have been eagerly researching the disease.

WHO declares a “public health emergency of international concern” during “an extraordinary event” that is “serious, sudden, unusual or unexpected.” It must constitute a public health risk on an international scale, possibly requiring “immediate international action.”

Dr. Randy Wax, a physician and assistant professor at the University of Toronto’s Faculty of Medicine, and Dr. Michael Christian, a physician at Mount Sinai Hospital and clinical lead for London’s Air Ambulance at Barts Health NHS Trust, have published a research paper to investigate and propose infection control methods for COVID-19’s global outbreak.

What do we know about COVID-19?

There are 60 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Canada, with 29 confirmed in Ontario. Infected patients are at risk of developing respiratory failure, and as such, require admission to critical care units in hospitals.

Current screening for the infection includes “two elements in the case presentation: presence of fever and symptoms of respiratory illness, and epidemiological link to the virus,” according to the co-authors.

Researchers have completely genetically sequenced the RNA virus, which will provide future screening processes with useful information, and allow for the advancement of COVID-19 treatments. Despite this screening, however, scientists are still uncertain about how exactly the virus spreads, as it has many speculated mechanisms.

The disease’s methods of transmission include human-to-human contact through “respira-

tory secretions,” airborne spread in health care settings, and potential fecal-oral transmission.

It may also be possible for patients to transmit the virus during the asymptomatic period of infection. This makes it difficult to control the spread of COVID-19 infection. As the exact mechanisms of transmissions are unknown, the

ADITI PUTCHA/THE VARSITY

implementation of meticulous infection control measures are essential to prevent transmissions to other patients and health care providers.

In their paper, the co-authors reflect that the “Public Health Agency of Canada guidelines support placing unwell suspect or confirmed 2019-nCoV patients in airborne isolation,” due to the “potential need for aerosol-generating medical procedures,” which may cause the airborne release of the virus during treatment.

How does COVID-19 compare to other strains of coronavirus?

COVID-19 has been compared to SARS-CoV and MERS-Cov — other related coronaviruses

that cause respiratory complications. Researchers have not yet determined the mortality rate of COVID-19 precisely, but WHO DirectorGeneral Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus reported on March 3 that the global fatality rate is about 3.4 per cent.

These rates are all lower than those of both SARS-CoV — which has a roughly 10 per cent mortality rate — and MERS-CoV — which has a striking mortality rate of around 40 per cent.

Researchers have learned from infection control measures for previous outbreaks of other viruses, and are using them to implement improved infection control responses to the COVID-19 outbreak. If necessary, strategies used during the SARS outbreak can be replicated to manage COVID-19 infection spread.

Isolating COVID-19 patients during treatment Isolation methods include various protocols, depending on the “zones” relative to the location in an intensive care unit (ICU): cold, warm, or hot zones.

‘Cold zones’ are located outside of the ICU — no personal protective equipment is required in these zones.

‘Warm zones’ are located outside of infected patient rooms and “clean N95 masks, gowns, and gloves” should be worn in the makeshift negative pressure ICU outside of patient rooms… because of potential airborne spread of the virus into common areas.”

Finally, ‘hot zones’ are in patient rooms and require full airborne, contact, and droplet personal protection equipment that may be removed upon exit.

There has been some debate about the use of N95 respirators versus powered air purifying respirators (PAPRs), in terms of the most effective protection from airborne transmissions.

Although there is no definitive evidence that PAPRs are better at preventing airborne transmission than N95 respirators, the co-authors wrote that “PAPRs may be more comfortable to wear for prolonged resuscitations, eliminate concerns of unexpected poor N95 respirator fit, and

are less likely to be dislodged when managing an agitated patient.”

How front-line staff may respond to critical cases Current treatment options are mainly supportive, with medical staff advising patients with mild COVID-19 cases to rest and drink large volumes of fluids to recover.

However, according to the WHO, in severe cases, COVID-19 may cause severe trouble with breathing and even organ failure. As The New York Times reported, treatment for severe cases involves ensuring that the patient receives enough oxygen, managing their potential fever, and “using a ventilator to push air into the lungs if necessary.”

The co-authors also commented that in the past, treating patients with critical cases of SARS-CoV by intubation — a method of providing oxygen by inserting a tube down a patient’s mouth into the airway — exposed health care workers to the virus. To manage this, patients who may require intubation or resuscitation are placed in airborne isolation rooms.

They also recommended limiting the number of medical staff required for treatment in order to lower the amount of personnel flow into and out of the room of the patient with critical illness.

Applying these lessons to the present outbreak, the co-authors note that such procedures may be used for treating patients with critical cases of COVID-19 who require intubation or resuscitation. Personal protective equipment must be worn during such procedures, and the “use of PAPRs by specially trained resuscitation teams should be strongly considered.”

The co-authors encourage front-line staff to treat patients as potential COVID-19 cases based on the best information possible, rather than waiting for authorization to isolate the patients.

To prepare for the intake of patients, the coauthors noted that all emergency departments and ICUs should have a plan with a “ready bed” with “airborne isolation capacity where a suspect unwell 2019-nCoV patient can be placed in immediate isolation.”

The destructive impact of the climate crisis on children’s health Our youngest are more susceptible to disasters, linked diseases, say U of T researchers

Valeria Khudiakova Science Correspondent

The climate crisis threatens our existence in many different ways, and researchers have argued that children are most vulnerable to its destructive effects.

Worldwide, children are estimated to bear 88 per cent of the burden of the diseases that have been linked to the climate crisis, and those in low-income families are affected the most, according to a University of Toronto-affiliated article published in Pediatrics.

The mechanisms for impact on children The effects of the climate crisis on children’s health can be extremely serious. For example, early exposure to air pollution can lead to neurodevelopmental abnormalities and respiratory diseases. This is worsened by the fact that children breathe more air per kilogram of body weight than adults, and consequently ingest higher doses of pollutants.

During heat waves, which are becoming increasingly common, children are especially prone to heat exhaustion and heat strokes, as they don’t sweat as much as adults, and are less likely to recognize the signs of heat exhaustion. Infants have also been found to be much more vulnerable to heat-related deaths due to their immature thermoregulatory systems.

Moreover, experiencing environmental natural disasters related to the climate crisis, such as floods and forest fires, can be traumatic for chil-

dren. This stress can take a serious toll on their mental and physical health, leading to conditions such as heart disease and a higher risk of depression. Floods have also been linked to outbreaks of infectious diarrheal diseases, and extreme weather can hinder access to health care.

pensity to develop respiratory illnesses like asthma or even [a] higher risk of developing pneumonia,” he said, “but it could also impact long-term outcomes in terms of the risk of chronic obstructive respiratory diseases and things that can influence their health well into adult life.”

The long-term effects of these changes on children In a 2019 editorial in Archives of Disease in Childhood, Dr. Zulfiqar Ahmed Bhutta, the director of research at the Centre for Global Child Health at the Hospital for Sick Children; Dr. Ashley Aimone, a past fellow of the Centre for Global Child Health; and Dr. Saeed Akhtar, the director of the Institute of Food Science & Nutrition at the Bahauddin Zakariya University in Pakistan, explored what pediatricians can do to lessen the adverse impact that the climate crisis can have on children.

In an interview with The Varsity, Bhutta explained that one of the lesser-discussed consequences of the climate crisis that especially harms children is conflict for natural resources. This can be seen in a drought in Syria that escalated the ongoing war. Similarly, water sources are frequent targets in the ongoing conflict in Yemen.

Bhutta also noted that the impact of the climate crisis on children’s health is much more pronounced because some effects can actually be lifelong.

“We know now that very early exposure to air pollution in children not only can lead to a pro-

How pediatricians can prepare for the climate crisis According to Bhutta, there are three main ways in which pediatricians can help alleviate the impact of the climate crisis on children’s health. The first is by modelling environmentally conscious behaviours and being mindful of their consumption.

The second is to advocate for more research into the climate crisis’ effects on children’s health, and the third is to educate the public and work with governments to implement policies that will combat the climate crisis — “translating research to practice,” as worded in the editorial.

Bhutta said that regarding Canadian policy specifically, the implementation of public health policies to reduce the health effects of the climate crisis ultimately depend on the policies that impact climate change directly.

Bhutta also noted that the actions we can

take in Canada are applicable to the rest of the world — such as taking into consideration the potential environmental impacts of “everything that we do” in terms of the use of public land.

Bhutta added that should Canada decide to “walk the talk,” we could set an example for other countries to follow.

SVEN/THE VARSITY

Photo

March 9, 2020 var.st/photo photo@thevarsity.ca

Lessons in Living On discouragement, giving time to time, and the importance of empathy Anne Urbancic is the Mary Rowell Jackman Professor of Humanities at Victoria College, teachng in the Vic One program. Her research focuses on Italian food, food waste, and the academic aspects of cookbooks in the early twentieth century.

“Usually when I’m walking around, that’s where I am in my head. If I walk right by you, stop me and say ‘hello,’ because I’m in another century,” she said during an interview with The Varsity about her life and career.

The Varsity: Have you ever taken important lessons from difficult or stressful experiences, and if so, could you give some examples?

Anne Urbancic: Sometimes students get discouraging words and they take them to heart, and don’t realize that it could be a window to something new. In grade six, I had a teacher who promised that when parents’ night came along, he would indicate to the parents of those people who he thought should go to university that they could prepare their child for this.

For a teacher to say that someone should consider university was a big deal.

I stood first in my class and was so excited when my parents went to parents’ night. When they came, that was the first thing I wanted to know, but he hadn’t said anything — I was incredibly disappointed. It was only later that I discovered that he did not say anything to the parents of the girls because he felt that girls didn’t need an education.

That really disappointed me, but this teacher then wrote in my autograph book at the end of the year an old French proverb, which I’ve never been able to find: “If you love honey, fear not the bees.” If you really want something, you’ll find a way to befriend the bees — you shouldn’t be afraid. That has led me through all of the ups and downs of my years as an undergraduate, graduate student, and as a faculty member. Nothing was ever smooth, but we work through it.

TV: What are some principles and habits that you live your life by?

AU: Compassion and empathy. To understand that there is a different perspective, and that my students add as much to me as I can to them. I also look at them and think, “I have to prepare these people for jobs that don’t even exist,” and that’s an awesome task. Not putting people down, but giving them the self-esteem and knowledge that they can do this.

With the empathy comes kindness. Kindness is greatly underestimated these days. It will never make you rich and sometimes people will misunderstand your kindness, and you have to accept that. But whenever possible, be kind.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

TV: What do you think you know now about living a happy and successful life that you didn’t know when you were 20?

AU: There’s an Italian proverb: “Dare tempo al tempo” — “give time to time.” I’m an ‘A’-type personality and I forget sometimes that you need to take time. I tell my students: don’t worry, just take your time to work your way through; take a gap year or travel. Taking the time will actually be enormously helpful. You’ll become a different adult; you understand that there are other perspectives, and you become enriched.

Vic One Professor Anne Urbancic

Writer and Photographer: Theo Arbez

var.st/photo

MARCH 9, 2020

History and International Relations Assistant Professor Cindy Ewing

There are all kinds of social and cultural reasons why that is difficult but more than anything, balancing everything was really hard. It helped to be organized, but on the other hand I felt that I really had to find ways to sustain myself and to find my meaning and self-worth in things other than the types of benchmarks for success that I think often we feel are true for everyone in college. It was difficult for me to work sometimes 30 hours per week while pursuing full-time education and still be part of extracurriculars and still be a good friend.

At times it was exhausting, I worked so hard that at one point I got very sick in college and I had to think about whether I was going to stay enrolled or not. I was able to take a little bit of time off, but also stay enrolled and graduate, do well, and pursue what I care about — which is now teaching.

I learned that it’s really important to understand how to care for yourself and to ask for help.

I was able to do both of those things because I was privileged enough to go to the school I did, and had friends who were looking out for me. It was very possible that I would not have finished college. That can be surprising to hear from a professor, but I think that many of us experience things in that time and other times that make it unclear if we can go on.

Again, I think the important thing is to know how to care for yourself, how to rest, how to find what really is peace for you, and to know when to ask for help.

Cindy Ewing is an assistant professor of contemporary international history. Among others, Ewing teaches TRN250 — Ordering International Relations in the Age of Empire, a signature course of the International Relations program. Her research interests focus on twentieth century international history, specifically the Cold War in Asia and the development of international institutions. Drawing on her extensive experience in these fields, she is currently working on her first book and holds a position on the editorial board of The New Rambler Review of Books. She sat down with The Varsity to speak about her life and time at U of T.

Addressing the importance of learning to be alone, caring for yourself, asking for help, and living with uncertainty

The Varsity: What do you think you know about living a happy and successful life that you didn’t know when you were 20?

Cindy Ewing: When I was 20 years old, I was still in college and I didn’t know what I was going to do with my life, and I didn’t know what I was going to do after graduation. But college is full of so many different experiences that you learn a lot about yourself in addition to what you are passionate about.

There are a few things I learned in life, in college, that really have been helpful for me now.

I have also learned since my college years that there are things we worry about when we are 20, and we think we will decide a lot of things that really don’t matter. Or we feel that the decisions we make will decide things permanently, when in fact we have more options then we think. Life is so much more surprising than we are aware of when we are 20 years old.

Something else that I have learned is that life is so much more colourful, interesting, varied, and adventurous than I could have imagined when I was 20. And that the choices and mistakes I made then don’t have the same impact that I feared they might. It is possible to come back from things, or rebound from things which may feel very dramatic or determinative but, in fact, are part of shaping who you are.

TV: Have you ever driven important lessons from difficult or stressful experiences? Can you give some examples?

CE: I have personally had a challenging life and there are a number of different experiences I could talk about, but I will focus on a few that are relevant to college. When I was a university student, I had to work a lot of part-time jobs to make ends meet. It wasn’t something that many of my friends did, so that was something that at times felt like a challenge that only I had to experience, and it was difficult.

TV: Do you have any advice for students dealing with uncertainty about the future?

CE: The first is that it will be okay and that the future is uncertain at every stage of life — not only in college. It will be uncertain as you go forward. The uncertainty is something that we live with; it can shape our lives, but it can also control us. I think that instead being flexible and going along for the ride is probably the best way to approach it. It can feel impossible to balance everything. Ultimately, you do make choices about what matters to you. I don’t think it’s true that you can have it all, I think this is something that especially bears heavily on women, especially women who are well educated and feel that they need to be successful in a conventional way.

In fact, we make choices about what matters to us and I think it’s important to be true to those choices. Those are commitments we make; they may be passions we follow or they may be responsibilities we have. But whatever choices we make, my advice to my students is to always do those well and to do those completely. Once we can disabuse ourselves of that myth that we have to have it all, it becomes much easier to find what we love and be able to love those things well.

TV: What are you currently working on?

CE: So I am an assistant professor of history, but I am also a faculty member in the International Relations program at Trinity College. So I teach courses in global history, international history, and diplomatic history, mostly focused on the modern period. I teach a course called TRN250 — Ordering International Relations in the Age of Empire, which is the signature course of the International Relations program. It’s a large course but we cover all of the history in the modern era.

I also teach courses on my passions. One of them is on the history of the Vietnam War and another is a focus seminar on human rights and empire. In the future, I will teach courses on US foreign policy and the Cold War. I am working on my first book, which is a history of the post-colonial world and its contributions to international human rights. I am working on a few other projects; one of them is on the enduring problem of recognizing minority rights in the Indian subcontinent. I have some other work on what it meant to say no to the Vietnam War and the Cold War. These are all historical subjects that I love very much and I’m working on developing them into different books and articles.

Otherwise, I try to stay involved in Trinity College.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

21

Sports

March 9, 2020 var.st/sports sports@thevarsity.ca

Women’s hockey hoists McCaw Cup Blues come back to win 3–1 in packed Varsity Arena Sara Fredo Associate Sports Editor

Despite going down early in the first period, the Varsity Blues women’s hockey team staged a triumphant comeback to beat cross-town rivals York University Lions 3–1, ultimately claiming the McCaw Cup and Ontario University Athletics (OUA) banner. This championship win marked the first for the Blues since their 2002–2003 season.

Standout goalkeeper and OUA All-Star Erica Fryer made 33 saves in the game and was named Player of the Game. Veteran forward Jessica Robichaud, Captain Stephanie Ayres, and the OUA Defender of the Year Cristine Chao all notched goals in the exciting victory.

The opening minutes of the first period set the tone of the match. Both Toronto and York fans crowded into the Varsity Arena, sporting team gear, face paint, and cowbells. The Varsity Blues men’s football team, avid supporters of the women’s hockey team, responded to apparent members of the York Lions football team painting “LIONS” onto their stomachs with the words “LION HUNT” emblazoned onto their bodies in bright blue paint of their own.

Every hit, pass, and save sparked a chorus of cheers and chants from both sides of the arena. Despite York opening the scoring just five minutes in, Toronto — both the players and fans — remained undaunted. Fryer showed a tremendous amount of poise, intelligence, and skill to come far out of her net and swipe away the puck to thwart what would have been a dangerous York breakaway. Feeding off

the energy of the crowd, Robichaud got on the end of a Chao point shot to deflect the puck past the York goalie, and was promptly mobbed by her enthusiastic teammates.

The energetic buzz of the rink continued into the second period. Despite a lack of scoring, there was no shortage of excitement, close calls, and screams from fans. Fryer stood tall in net to notch 14 of her 33 saves in the period alone. At one point, Blues fans began chanting “we love Fryer!” as she deftly handled dangerous York shots with the composure of a seasoned veteran.

With the game tied and only 20 minutes left in regular time, Ayres took matters into her own hands, receiving a pass from Robichaud and skillfully dangling the York goalie to put the Blues ahead for the first time in the match. York amped up the pressure, putting 11 shots on frame to Toronto’s four, but Fryer was up to the challenge every single time.

The Lions pulled their goalie in an attempt to find a tying goal, but the Blues handled the pressure handily. Chao found a sliver of time and space and slammed the puck down the ice and into the empty net for the dagger to the Lions gold medal hopes. With the Blues fans on their feet for the final minutes, Toronto held on to claim the win and the provincial title.

Toronto was already guaranteed a berth at nationals with their semifinals series win, but will take the added sweetness of a banner to the University of Prince Edward Island as they hunt for a national title there. Seeding and scheduling of the tournament is yet to be announced.

Women’s volleyball team wins OUA final four on home court

The Blues win second straight provincial championship The Blues got back-to-back wins.

NATHAN CHING/THE VARSITY

Silas Le Blanc Sports Editor

The Varsity Blues women’s volleyball team won their second straight Ontario University Athletics (OUA) title on Saturday after defeating the Western University Mustangs and Brock University Badgers.

Semifinal versus Western In the first set of the final four against Western, the Blues got off to a smoking hot start, and it looked like the rout was on. They went on a 14–3 run to start off the game, which forced Western to take a timeout. It was looking as if the timeout didn’t do much, as a spike from Toronto’s Caleigh Cruickshank brought the score up to 17–3.

The women’s hockey team won their first provincial championship since the 2002–2003 season.

NICOLE GIEBLER/THE VARSITY

After this great start for Toronto, Western found their footing. A misplayed volley and misserve from Toronto brought the score to 17–5, and the Mustangs began to build their momentum. Toronto managed to curb some of Western’s efforts with great plays from Jenna Woock and Alina Dormann, but the Mustangs brought the score all the way to 22–19, which resulted in a Toronto timeout.

In the next rally, an attempt from Western to block Toronto’s spike went out of bounds, and then a spike from Anna Licht made it the game point. Western’s next serve went out of bounds to give Toronto the first set, although it was much closer than it initially seemed.

Although they didn’t win the first set, Western carried their momentum into the second.

The score was rather close for the first half of the set, sitting at 9–9 at one point. However, Western then went on an 11–4 run to give them a 20–13 lead. Both teams traded points, but Toronto was unable to overcome Western’s lead, and lost the set 25–16.

With the match tied 1-1, Toronto needed a big win in the third set. They got off to a very strong 6–0 start, and Dormann made a great spike to give Toronto a 7–1 lead. The teams traded points, which was good for Toronto, and the score got up to 12–6 for the Blues. But Western was not giving up this set quietly, and started making a big push. The score got tied at 18, and Western got the next point to give them a one-point lead. Dormann subbed out when the score was 20–19 for Western, but subbed right back in after Western got the next point. Western got the score up to 24–21, but a long rally, and spike from Dormann kept Toronto in it. The Blues got the score up to 24–24, and two misplayed spikes from Western won Toronto the set.

In the next set, Toronto got off to a hot start, and this time they never looked back. Some great plays from Dormann kept Toronto with their lead. The crowd was getting rowdy, as the fans anticipated Toronto clinching their berth in the finals. At 24–19, Western missed the serve to secure Toronto the victory, a U SPORTS championship spot, and a matchup with Brock for the OUA final.

Final versus Brock For the final game of the OUA championships, both Brock and Toronto fans packed the house, giving the game a rowdy atmosphere. Both teams had some jitters at the start of the game, as both Brock and Toronto missed serves to start the game. Toronto seemed to get settled in after that, and got off to a 8–3 lead after a clean serve.

The Blues got the score up to 20–13, but two straight Brock points caused Toronto to take a timeout. The Blues regained their composure after this, and went on to score the next four points to make it set point. After one more Brock point, a spike from Dormann secured the 25–16 win for the Blues in the first set.

The second set was evenly matched throughout, and it was tied 21–21 toward the end of the set. A kill from Woock made it 22–21 for the Blues, and a block from Dormann and Licht was awarded to Toronto in the next rally. After a Woock serve hit the net to bring the score within one, a Brock block was ruled out of bounds to give Toronto set point. Mia Workman’s serve then hit them net. A scoreboard error showed the score as 23–23, but Toronto got the next point off of a misplay from Brock, and after a review by officials, the set was awarded to Toronto.

The final set came down to a dramatic finish, as each team traded set points until a winner was decided. An attempted kill from Brock brought the game to 24–23, and a point for Toronto would have given them both the match and the championship. Brock was able to get the next point, but it went right back to set point for Toronto when a kill from Woock made it 25–24.

A Toronto misplay made the score even again, and Brock then took the lead at 26–25. Dormann was able to stay composed, and got a kill that brought it back to even. The teams traded set points back and forth, until Brock brought the score to 29–28. A kill from Woock and Cruickshank gave Toronto the lead back, and Dormann spiked the ball in bounds on the final play of the game to secure Toronto the Quigley Cup. The players ran onto the court to celebrate, and medals were given out to both teams. Toronto celebrated with the trophy, and their new banner will be going up in Goldring Centre for High Performance Sport shortly.

var.st/sports

MARCH 9, 2020

23

Broom broom: the story of a magical sport

U of T’s very own quidditch team proves that the game isn’t just for wizards

EMILIE MACLEOD/THE VARSITY

Laura Ashwood Asociate Sports Editor

On a crisp Thursday afternoon, players of the University of Toronto Centaurs trickled onto the Back Campus Fields, shrugging off their backpacks and lacing up their sneakers. One had a bag of volleyballs and dodgeballs slung over their shoulder; another carried metre-long plastic sticks onto the pitch. Finally, two lugged in a couple of hoops on stands, placing three on either end of the field. Any bystander would be at a loss if asked what sport they were watching.

This game, however, is world-renowned through J. K. Rowling’s books and their movie adaptations — if a little fringe in its playership.

If you haven’t guessed, the Centaurs are U of T’s quidditch team. Playing in the Quidditch Canada League, which includes many university and club teams from coast to coast, the Centaurs represent only one team in a vibrant and established sport that is often mistaken for a novelty pastime. Co-captains Chloe Cheng and Breanne Bornstein sat down with The Varsity before practice to explain how quidditch has adapted from the magical game to be a full-contact, gender-

inclusive, competitive athletic pursuit.

Both captains were initially attracted to the sport through their passion for the ‘Potterverse’: “I always loved Harry Potter and I wanted to try it out, and here I am four years later,” said Bornstein. Cheng agreed: “I loved Harry Potter and have always been pretty athletic.”

However, they explained that the game that they admired in the pages of Potter has had to be modified to suit the capabilities of us mere muggles.

Traditionally, Rowling’s game involves each team on broomsticks, flying around the field to score points. Most of the balls are magical as well, having their own charms that allow them to move by themselves, for their own separate motivations.

While we may not be able to fly, the positions of muggle quidditch stay true to the spirit of the game: “Chasers are kind of the offensive, goalscoring position. We run around with the quaffle, which is a deflated volleyball, and we try to score through one of the three hoops. Each hoop is worth 10 points,” explained Cheng. Like the fictional game, there is also a keeper, which is a chaser with special defensive privileges.

Bornstein is a beater: “I guess many people would call it the ‘dodgeball position.’ The goal is to have both bludgers — dodgeballs — so that you can use them to beat the other players.” And then there is the ever-important seeker, the player who chases the golden snitch. This game-ending, 30-point ‘ball’ differs a little from the fictional golden orb in that it is instead a yellow-clad runner who is unaffiliated with either team, and has a

sock hanging out of their pants for the seekers to grab. While navigating the field and the various different balls in play, everyone is running with a ‘broomstick’ between their legs.

Canada’s first quidditch team was founded at McGill University in 2008, and the sport’s popularity among Harry Potter fans, like Cheng, grew quickly. In a mere six years, the Quidditch Canada League came to be as the “national governing body for the sport of quidditch in Canada,” fostering enthusiasm for quidditch from coast to coast, and facilitating not only university clubs but also youth oriented recreational ones. Furthermore, among other iterations, low- or nocontact and wheelchair-accessible versions of the game have made the sport more inclusive.

Complete inclusivity can be hard to find in sport, where gender and disability segregations are commonplace, and lead to routine exclusion for some potential athletes. “What’s really cool is the sport is super gender-inclusive,” said Bornstein.

“You must have, maximum, four people of the same gender on the pitch at the same time,” said Cheng. “It includes nonbinary, it includes people who don’t identify as a gender,” Bornstein added.

“In any other sport, you’re either on the male team or female team. You’re on this team no matter what you look like, where you’re from, or how you identify.”

Interested? Cheng and Bornstein encourage athletic Potterheads to try out in the fall or winter: anyone can try out at any level of skill and knowledge — “we don’t expect you to know the rules!”

Looking back, moving forward: recapping the 2019–2020 men’s hockey season

A promising season unravels in the first round, but positives abound for Blues Sara Fredo Associate Sports Editor

Coming into the Ontario University Athletics (OUA) playoffs, the Toronto Varsity Blues were the team to beat. They clinched the division title, had the fewest goals scored against them, and boasted some of the league’s top offensive players.

At one point, they had gone on a 14-game winning streak, the team’s longest since the early ’70s.

Despite the Blues’ in-season and early playoff successes, they trounced the Western University Mustangs 6–2 in their first playoff match — their season came to a whimpering conclusion as they dropped two games to the Mustangs, leading them to exit in the quarterfinals.

However, the Blues should not be disparaged by their losses, nor should we painstakingly analyze what could have been. That has already happened time and time again, most dominantly in the heads of the players who have surely already replayed every second of the series. We should celebrate the victory that was Toronto’s stunning season and look ahead to their promising future, all while respectfully and realistically considering their upset loss.

The good Toronto had their most successful season in recent history this year. They finished the season with a 21-7 record, which secured them first place in OUA West conference, including their glorious 14-game win streak. Of the team’s 24 skaters, 22 recorded at least two points from an assist or goal throughout the season, showcasing the depth of talent on the Blues.

Sophomore goalie Alex Bishop had the second-highest regular season win percentage in the OUA, and David Thomson finished within the top five players in the league for points, goals, assists, and power-play goals, topping all others in the power-play goals category with his sevengoal total. Four Blues notched double-digit goal seasons — Thomson’s team-leading 17 goals were complemented by 14 from Joey Manchurek, 12 from Oliver Benwell, and 11 from Kyle Potts.

This offensive combination led to the Blues

finishing second in their division for scoring.

Such scoring was only made possible by assists, and once again, Thomson led his team with 23 of those. Manchurek finished close behind him with 22 of his own, and Nathan Hudgin rounded out the team’s top three assists with 19. Finally, numerous Blues picked up postseason accolades — Thomson was named the most valuable player

into the playoffs in the final spot, and had provided Toronto some challenges during the season — despite winning two of their three meetings, the games were all tight, high-scoring affairs. “[In] a best of three series anything can happen… we felt we played well and we had our chances. Western had some timely scoring. Their goalie played really well, their special teams were The men’s hockey team had a strong regular season, but it came to a swift end in the quarterfinal.

COURTESY OF SEYRAN MAMMADOV/ VARSITY BLUES

of the division and an OUA First Team All-Star, and Ryan Medel was named Coach of the Year.

Brendan Bornstein was named both an OUA First Team All-Star and member of the OUA All-Rookie Team. Manchurek and Bishop were both named to the OUA Second Team.

The bad Regular season success did not translate into postseason success for Toronto. Despite a promising start to game one of the series, Toronto dropped their next two 3–1, leading to a shocking first-round exit. Western had just barely snuck

a little better than ours… in a short series, that can be the difference,” Medel said in an interview with The Varsity.

The Blues will also play next season without three key players. Defensive veterans Willy Paul, Evan MacEachern, and Josh Hanson are graduating and moving on from the Blues. All together, the three scored for eight goals and 21 assists over the regular season, and provided valuable leadership and a relentless work ethic on and off the ice. Such losses, though expected and normal for Varsity programs, are sure to leave a big gap in Toronto’s lineup for next year.

The future Despite the losses of Paul, MacEachern, and Hanson, every other player is slated to stay on so far. That includes Thomson, Manchurek, Bishop, and Bornstein. Blues fans should keep an eye on Bornstein — despite being a rookie, he garnered the coveted First-Team All Star Award, signifying that he has potential to develop in the years to come. Also of note is returning player Scott Kirton, whose hat trick in the first series match against Western was a delight to watch. Thomson will surely be looking to repeat his illustrious season, and having Bishop in net once more will certainly bring a sense of security and reliability to the Blues blueline.

No recruits have been announced yet for the 2020–2021 season, but Toronto will be sure to have several top-notch players eyeing U of T after the team’s regular season success — Medel noted that they already have interest expressed from “quality hockey players and students.” Finally, the Blues will surely look to not only repeat their regular season success, but to improve upon their quarterfinal exit and challenge for an OUA banner and ticket to nationals.

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