September 9, 2013

THE VARSITY

Vol. CXXXIV, No. 02

University of Toronto’s Student Newspaper Since 1880

UTSU Insider Pass duplicates free discounts

09 September, 2013

Boarding School

FULL STORY PG 3

t a y t i s r a V e Th

. f f i t

E C N E I SC , S W E IDE I S V N I E R RE O M AND

SKATEBOARD CULTURE IN TORONTO PG 12

Nationwide drive to leave CFS launched Former GSU executive spearheads coast-to-coast campaign Murad Hemmadi VARSITY STAFF

A news release circulated late Tuesday night has ignited a confused and heated debate among followers of student politics nationwide. Petitions are being circulated by students in 15 Canadian Federation of Students’ (cfs) locals across the country to remove their unions from the federation, according to a news release. U of T’s Graduate Students’ Union (gsu) is one of the unions potentially facing a decertification vote if the campaign proves successful. The cfs is a controversial umbrella organization that represents U of T undergraduates and graduates at the provincial

and national levels. The presence of the cfs at U of T has been controversial for over a decade. Most recently, students from the Faculty of Engineering and Trinity College have cited the cfs as cause for concern in their attempts to sever financial ties from the University of Toronto Students’ Union (utsu).

The gsu’s official stance on the petition, posted on its website echoes some of these concerns: “Given the issues the Union has had with the Federation over the last number of years, we understand the actions taken by some members and view their concerns as legitimate. However, the [gsu] has no formal position that would answer the question of whether or not the Union should remain as members of the Canadian Federation of Students, nation-

ally or provincially.” Despite the lack of formal involvement, a number of former gsu executives led by 2012–2013 civics and environment commissioner Ashleigh Ingle have been distributing petitions across campus this week. The petition calls for a decertification referendum this year.

The release stated that “over 15 student associations are currently taking part” in decertification petitions, naming York, Ryerson, and U of T as large schools with cfs-certified unions that would see such efforts. The cfs has over 80 member unions across Canada, if all 15 schools were to leave, it would mark the largest mass exodus ever.

It remains unclear whether petitions are being circulated to decertify the

CONTINUED PG 6

2

VARSITY NEWS

Vol. CXXXIV, No. 2

THE VARSITY Vol. CXXXIII, No. 2

news@thevarsity.ca

WHAT’S GOING ON

THIS WEEK

21 Sussex Avenue, Suite 306 Toronto, ON, M5S 1J6 Phone: 416-946-7600 www.thevarsity.ca

ON CAMPUS

the week in tweets

Editorial Board Editor-in-Chief Joshua Oliver

editor@thevarsity.ca

Production Manager Dan Seljak

production@thevarsity.ca

Managing Online Editor Murad Hemmadi

online@thevarsity.ca

Design Editor Shaquilla Singh

design@thevarsity.ca

Photo Editor Carolyn Levett

photo@thevarsity.ca

Senior Copy Editor Catherine Virelli

copy@thevarsity.ca

News Editor Zane Schwartz

news@thevarsity.ca

Comment Editor Alec Wilson

comment@thevarsity.ca

Features Editor Danielle Klein

features@thevarsity.ca

Arts & Culture Editor Sofia Luu

arts@thevarsity.ca

Science Editor Katrina Vogan

science@thevarsity.ca

Sports Editor Elizabeth Benn

sports@thevarsity.ca

Illustrations Editor Nancy Ji

illustration@thevarsity.ca

Video Editor Jamieson Wang

video@thevarsity.ca

Web Developer Natalie Morcos

web@thevarsity.ca

Associate Design Editor Vacant Associate Photo Editor Vacant Associate Copy Editor Lucy Genua Associate News Editor Liza Agrba Associate Comment Editor Vacant Associate Features Editor Vacant Associate A&C Editor Vacant Associate Science Editor Vacant Associate Sports Editor JP Kaczur Associate Video Editor Alexandra Butrón

ADRIENNE MALLARI @19THCENTURYMISS First time walking in to Robarts in a while, and I can already smell my exams from last year. #UofT — Sunday, September 8

CARMEN TU @CARMANNDERR

TORONTO INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL

September 5–15 Many theatres are within walking distance of campus. Daily interactive shows with Canadian celebrities are hosted by the cbc. www.tiff.net/thefestival Check out our coverage in Arts and Science RAINBOW CUPCAKES

TORONTO INDIE ARTS MARKET

The Sexual & Gender Diversity Office welcomes everyone for an afternoon of eating cupcakes.

September 9, 1–3 pm 21 Sussex Avenue www.sgdo.utoronto.ca

Local artisans and crafters from a variety of mediums.

Saturday, September 14, 10:30 am–4:30 pm Free admission before 11 am 1214 Queen St. W. www.torontoindieartsmarket.com

MURDER AT THE ROM

EIGHTH ANNUAL CARIBBEANTALES TORONTO FILM SHOWCASE

Unlike any other scavenger hunt.

Saturday, September 14, 1 pm Royal Ontario Museum www.urbancapers.com

September 4–14 Harbourfront Centre 235 Queens Quay West caribbeantales-events.com

2013 ARBOR AWARDS

PLAY THE PARKS

Created by the University of Toronto to recognize the service of outstanding volunteers.

Tuesday, September 10, 6:30 pm 93 Highland Ave.

Free, live concerts over the lunch hour.

September 10 — College Park Courtyard September 13 — Trinity Square Park www.downtownyonge.com/playtheparks

Copy Editors & Fact Checkers Armen Alexanian, Lois Boody, Karen Chu, Fiona Emes, Lucy Genua, Sneha Gujadhur, Jennifer Hurd, Kawmadie Karunanayake, Nehdia Kidwai, Olga Klenova, Ken Kongkatong, Simone Liang, Sarah Niedoba, Daniella Pereira, Ann Pham, Maggie Roe, Miranda Whittaker Designers Murad Hemmadi, Kawmadie Karunanayake Dan Seljak, Shaquilla Singh, Mari Zhou

Photo and Illustration Michael Chahley, Carolyn Levett, Aileen Lin, Joshua Oliver, Dennis Osipov, Dan Seljak, Mari Zhou

Business Office Business Manager Timothy Sharng

business@thevarsity.ca

Advertising Manager Victoria Marshall advertising@thevarsity.ca

CFS defederation by the numbers All this CFS talk got your head in a tizzy? Here are some quick facts about CFS defederation to help you get your bearings.

one point eight million the amount the CFS claims to be owed in unpaid student fees (circa Feb. 2012).

Advertising Executives Stephanie Lau stephanie@thevarsity.ca terence@thevarsity.ca Terence Leung vanessa@thevarsity.ca Vanessa Wen The Varsity is the University of Toronto's largest student newspaper, publishing since 1880. The Varsity has a circulation of 20,000, and is published

by Varsity Publications Inc. It is printed by Master Web Inc. on recycled newsprint stock.

Content © 2013 by The Varsity. All rights reserved. Any editorial inquiries and/or letters should be directed to the sections associated with them; emails listed above.

The Varsity reserves the right to edit all submissions.

Inquiries regarding ad sales can be made to ads@thevarsity.ca. ISSN: 0042-2789 Please recycle this issue after you are finished with it.

The CFS is made up of 83 schools There are petitions at upto 15, up from 13 in 2009

— Sunday, September 8

MICAELA MOREY @MJLMOREY Everything hurts but frosh week was amazing!! #UofT — Sunday, September 8

CHELSEY KONYA @CHELSEYKONYA There’s a reason why robarts was featured as a zombie prison in resident evil #uoft #robarts #lockdown

Writers Liza Agrba, Monica Carinci, Nicholas Carlson, Amanda Coletta, Emma Compeau, Jelena Djuric, James Flynn, Nick Gergesha, Susan Gordon, Elena Gritzan, Elizabeth Haq, Murad Hemmadi, Jesse Hildebrande, Daniel Horowitz, Andrew E. Johnson, JP Kaczur, Ruhi Kiflen, Matthew Lau, Cassandra Mazza, Bill Moran, Duja Muhanna, Sarah Niedoba, Devyn Noonan, Laura Sanchez, Zane Schwartz, Katrina Vogan, Frank Weng, Theodore Yan, Shijie Zhou

I think I put in 20 midterms into my calendar for this semester already -____- #uoftproblems #sciencestudentproblems

The CFS has $120,000 for legal fees in its budget It spent $40,000 in the first 10 months of the 2013 fiscal year In order to petition for a defederation referendum, 20 per cent of the student body support the initiative.

In April 2013, 71 per cent of the University of Guelph student body were against paying CFS fees this fall.

— Sunday, September 8

JENNIFER BANH @JENNIBANH Parade-ing it up on St. George!! Wish I could do this again. #HappyOrientation #startuoft — Friday, September 6

RACHEL ROSE @LOVEFROMROSE It’s been three days and these people are already my family. I am so very lucky #UofT #LowerBurwash — Thursday, September 5

DAVID AMOS @GLADIATOR_LOMO Oh those freshmen lmao RT @ UofTMississauga: Friday! You have survived frosh week! #StartUofT #UTMlife — Friday, September 6

Correction:

In the August 12 issue, the article “Victoria College’s Goldring Student Centre operational for this academic year” incorrectly identified Commuter Dons as a levied club of Victoria College.

The Dean of Students employs the Dons.

VARSITY NEWS

var.st/news

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 9, 2013

3

Students walk past the UTSU’s office where Insider Passes are being advertised. deniS oSiPov/the varSity

UTSU Insider Pass duplicates free discounts Campus leaders say pass creates two-tiered system Sarah Niedoba

VARSITY CONTRIBUTOR

Many discounts offered by the Insider Pass, which is being sold by the University of Toronto Students’ Union (utsu) for $20, are already available to students at no cost. The Insider Pass is promoted as giving students “first access to orientation activities, events, discounts, and the student survival kit.” However, students can access several of the discounts through existing programs. The utsu maintains that the pass will save students money and encourage involvement with the student union over the year, while other student leaders on campus are extremely critical — characterizing the program as one that lures vulnerable first year students into purchasing additional services they either do not need, or can already receive at no extra cost.

StudentS charged—for diScountS available for free The pass, which is only available to students on the St. George campus, will give the purchaser a $10 discount at The Body Shop with purchases of at least 20 dollars and a 25 per cent discount on Greyhound bus tickets within Canada. However, both companies offer students the same discounts with the presentation of valid student ID, such as a TCard.

Westjet and Microsoft also offer discounts through the Insider Pass, although the amount of each is not specified. U of T students have access

to a 90 per cent discount on some Microsoft products and discounts on flights from WestJet through the International Student Identity Card (isic), which is available free of charge to all utsu students through already-paid student fees. the inSider PaSS coSt $15 before auguSt 1, and now coStS $20.

A statement from the utsu website reads: “The isic is issued to full-time students and can be obtained at the utsu office at no cost to you.” The isic website lists the utsu as a location where students can pick up an isic card, and the 2013-2014 agenda distributed by the utsu encourages students to pick up their free isic card in the students’ unions office. Munib Sajjad, president of the utsu, admitted that many of the discounts are available to students with an isic card, saying: “The discounts that are not available with the isic are all discounts that pertain to utsu-specific events, in addition to discounts that are currently being worked out with local businesses who have offered to be a part of the program.” However, he was unwilling to provide a full list of discounts as they “are currently being worked out with local businesses.” Sajjad mentioned yoga studios and theatres near campus as places students could save, although he did not specify how much, or which specific businesses. The isic offers students discounts at 109 stores in Toronto ranging from 10 per cent off at Ten Thousand Villages and Fedex Office to 50 per cent off at Henri’s

Optical. Other discounts include bookstores, restaurants, pharmacies, and hair salons, a full list of all discounts is available at the isic’s website. The isic is also a means of identity for students travelling worldwide, providing reduced prices on airfare as well as historical sites, museums, and other tourist attractions around the world. The Insider Pass’ website names six discounts including unspecified reduced prices for the utsu’s semi formal and their Montreal Reading Week Trip. camPuS leaderS criticize “As the distributors of isic Cards, there is no excuse for utsu’s disturbing strategy of profiting off uninformed incoming students. This degree of manipulation is alarmingly unethical,” said Benjamin Crase, Trinity’s co-Head of College. While any utsu member can buy the pass, Sajjad says that it is primarily advertised for firstyear students.

Crase is also concerned about the contents of the survival kit, which include a water bottle, laundry bag, and clubs’ directory as well as other unspecified items. He is concerned that all of these items may be found within utsu frosh kits. Some students, however, will not receive utsu-assembled kits, depending on which division they are in.

Sajjad vigorously defends the program, saying: “the value of the discounts that are passed on to students are much more than the cost of the pass.” In regards to the contents of the survival kit being remnenants of frosh kits Sajjad says: “There are three

items in Orientation kits: the clubs directory, the agenda and the water bottle.” “The items in the kit are not made from excess items that go into orientation kits.” Other benefits of the pass include a “line by-pass” at the annual end-of-frosh-week-party held at the Guvernment nightclub, as well as a chance to arrive at that party in a limousine. Preferential access to other utsu events, including a chance to meet musical artist Lupe Fiasco and unspecified discounts on utsu’s semiformal and Montreal Reading Week trip, are also offered. Students who purchase the pass are entered into a draw for a variety of prizes, including a Blackberry Playbook and a $200 gift card to the U of T Bookstore. “two-tiered SyStem” Brad Evoy, internal commissioner of the Graduate Students’ Union has similar concerns about the pass, saying that: “They are undoubtably creating a two-tiered system which the Graduate Students’ Union does not support and would not instigate for ourselves.”

Evoy is also concerned about the use of advertising by the utsu that he feels could mislead first year students into feeling that the card was necessary to participate in orientation.

The utsu has been heavily promoting the pass over the past few weeks, with posters and leaflets distributed across campus, a full page advertisement in The Newspaper, and a dedicated section on their orientation website. Several news organizations were contacted by the Union asking

them to write articles promoting the pass, but declined. Mauricio Curbelo, president of the University of Toronto Engineering Society, feels that the website from which the pass can be bought makes it unclear whether or not the pass is necessary to participate in orientation, saying that it is ultimately: “misleading first-year students into believing the pass is necessary in order to participate.”

Curbelo feels that offering a separate set of year-long events and discounts will create two tiers of membership in the utsu; since all students already pay $68.24 dollars a year to the student union, Curbelo finds it unclear why an additional twenty dollars is being asked of first-year students for limited additional services. The sixtyeight dollar figure cited by Curbelo, is the total yearly levy collected for the utsu, approximately half of which must be passed on to specific services and organizations. The union’s society fee is $34.96 per year. Sajjad did not specify how much money had been raised so far, or where the money would be used.

Not all campus leaders are critical of the pass though, Walied Khogali, executive director of the University of Toronto Mississauga Students’ Union (utmsu) said that the utmsu were asked to participate and were only unable to because it was too short notice. Reached by phone, Khogali said “We’re a little jealous to be honest with you, it seems like a great idea and the utsu St. George clearly has done a lot of great work on it.”

4

VARSITY NEWS

Vol. CXXXIV, No. 2

news@thevarsity.ca

Introducing Cheryl Regehr The university’s new provost discusses everything from student fees to fee diversion

Zane Schwartz

those. So just to start, what are some of the priorities you have over the next 18 months?

The provost is the second-mostimportant person in the university’s administration — overseeing all financial and academic matters as well as mediating highprofile student conflicts. After the president, the provost is the most visible administrative figure when it comes to student issues.

On September 2, Cheryl Regehr became provost for an 18-month term, succeeding Cheryl Misak.

Regehr just concluded her term as vice-provost academic, and previously served as dean of the Faculty of Social Work. Prior to joining U of T’s teaching staff in 1999, Regehr had an impressive career in the fields of emergency mental health, law, and social work — the latter is where she currently conducts academic research. She held a number of high-profile positions, including director of the Crisis Response Team at Pearson International Airport. She hopes her experience both inside and outside of the university will help her guide the school. The Varsity sat down with Regehr to discuss her plans for the next 18 months.

Cheryl Regehr: Well, first of all, it has been an incredible honor to have this kind of a leadership position over this amazing university: University of Toronto is a tremendous university. To begin with, there’s an obligation to just making sure it continues to be a great place for learning so a priority is to ensure there is an environment in which faculty members can continue to thrive and do exciting new things and where students can be involved and have wonderful learning experiences.

NEWS EDITOR

The Varsity: Basically the idea behind this interview is to let students know about the new provost: who you are, what your priorities are, what you hope to accomplish. I also want to talk to you about few of the things Professor Misak was working on — how you plan to tackle

TV: Do you have any specific projects you are hoping to tackle? Anything you want to look back on in 18 moths and say...

CR: Yeah, so I mean one of the things that I’m really committed to is student engagement, both in the university and outside the university and in our community. So we have some fabulous opportunities for student engagement now. Many programs have practicums or have some kind of learning opp. through lots of co-curricular activities for students, and then we also have service learning courses. One of the things that I want to continue to work on building with people is enhancing the number of opportunities we have like that for students to get out of the university and tackle some of the real problems our society and our societies face.

TV: You have extensive background in terms of the academic side of the university, but I was wondering if you could comment a bit on your plans for the operational side, the student side, because those are areas that you haven’t been as focused on as a dean, or as vice-provost academic?

CR: Being a dean is a great thing, and being a dean of a singledepartment faculty is a great thing because it’s really a kind of close-to-the-ground deanship. In that particular role, I was heavily engaged with students and the student societies, and I was engaged with the operations, the budget, and the building, and everything else.

TV: In terms of the operations, if I could just clarify. U of T obviously has a number of new buildings that are going up; there’s the Faculty of Architecture, the Faculty of Law, the Innovation Complex at UTM. What kind of experience do you have overseeing such large capital projects?

CR: We work as a team, so we have people who have huge expertise in overseeing capital projects. I have been involved in the committees that are looking at new buildings coming on line, from the perspective of: How does this fit with the academic mission?

And so, I’ve been doing that as vice-provost academic programs.

So that experience, plus really relying on the team and what every-

body has to bring to the table. I’m confident we’ll be able to manage those projects.

TV: As you know, the provost often works directly with the students’ union and various other student groups. One of the things that’s going on right now is the mediation over the fee diversion question and the delay of the student commons project.

How do you plan to try and resolve this ongoing issue between the several students’ unions?

CR: An important thing is bringing people to the table and getting people to be able to talk about it. Right now, there is some planning underway about a student societies summit and that planning is being discussed with various people at this point. Once that gets established, that information will be coming out very shortly.

TV: If I may though…in June there was a meeting between the student societies and the student union mediated by Professor Langille at the direction of the provost, and they met for seven hours and there was no change in bargaining position. So how would a student society summit be different from mediation session?

CR: Right now, the details are being worked out, so I don’t want to put them out there because there are various people who want to be involved in the process of setting it up.

TV: Okay. And the student commons has been delayed for 12 months. Is the goal to try and resolve this within the next 12 months? Is that the timeline?

CR: The timeline is to try and resolve it as quickly as possible.

TV: What do you see as a potential middle ground between the union’s position on one hand — which is: “We absolutely do not want the student societies to leave,” and the student societies’ position on the other hand — which is: “We want nothing except to leave.”

CR: Well, I wouldn’t want to presuppose the outcome of this, so I won’t talk to a middle-ground right now. I’ll say wait and see how people work on this collaboratively, what they come up with. I’m open to a wide range of outcomes.

TV: As you know, the senior administration is in the midst of a large transition; we’ve got a new president, of course a new provost, a new dean of Arts and Science; for university stakeholders that are concerned about stability, what would you say in the midst of the transition? How are things going?

CR: I think that this is a really smooth transition. In Professor Gertler we have someone who knows the university very, very well; so that makes for a very

CONTINUED PG 8

VARSITY NEWS

var.st/news

U of T to open new athletic facility Construction of Goldring Centre to be completed in January 2015 Nicolas Pcholkin

VARSITY CONTRIBUTOR

Scheduled for completion in January 2015, the Goldring Centre for High Performance Sport will be available for use by the University of Toronto community. The Goldring Centre will be a new, state-of-theart sports facility that will include sport laboratories for teaching and research, a sports clinic, a strength and conditioning centre overlooking Varsity Centre, and a dazzling 2,000 seat field house for volleyball and basketball.

One of the innovative features of the facility will be on the fourth floor, which will house faculty members focused on sports science research. Beth Ali, the director of intercollegiate and high performance sport at U of T, said that “the connection between intercollegiate athletes [and] coaches and sports science research is extremely important, and having this genre of research happening right on campus will be very beneficial.”

The facility will also serve as the host for the 2015 Pan American games. The games are a major international multi-sport event; 6,000 athletes from 41 nations are expected to participate in 36 sports. The

Goldring Centre will proudly host handball and artistic rollerblading for the games.

U of T president David Naylor stated that: “the Goldring Centre will build upon a proud tradition at the University of Toronto — a culture of fostering and nurturing innovation, and of creating and sharing knowledge. The result, as always, will be dramatic breakthroughs in many disciplines, a pool of remarkably talented graduates, a growing number of new products and services... and, not least, we hope, many proud spots for Canadian athletes on podiums around the world.”

The multi-faceted centre’s most important feature, however, may be its potential benefit to the U of T student community. The university has been criticized by students for its lack of a strong, communal feel. When asked how the facility might help to foster a stronger sense of community, Beth Ali stated that “the athletes, coaches, and staff are working hard to make our varsity teams more competitive, and our hope is that better teams, better facilities, and better promotion will connect with our U of T students, and we will have full houses at all our games.”

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 9, 2013

Sexual assault trial postponed for U of T instructor Payne no longer teaching at U of T following agreement with university Liza Agrba

ASSOCIATE NEWS EDITOR

File photo: patkau architects

Whether or not the centre will serve as a hub for fostering a stronger sense of community remains to be seen; a dazzling sports facility, however, is a good start. Many schools across North America use sports as ways to bring their student bodies together and to foster a sense of school pride; the facility looks promising on both fronts.

In January 2015, students can look forward to the mess of construction currently on Devonshire being cleared up, and a state-ofthe art sports facility, accessible for all, being erected. In the meantime, students can attend regular season games for free, including the Homecoming football game on Saturday, September 14 at 1:00 pm at Varsity Centre.

University of Toronto instructor James Andrew Payne has been charged with a second count of sexual assault, following a first charge from almost two years ago, which the university only became aware of this August. On Thursday, U of T announced that, by mutual agreement, Payne has halted all teaching and student-related activities and will be absent from campus until further notice.

The first complainant, a woman aged 21 at the time, alleged that Payne sexually assaulted her in her west-end home in December 2011. A second alleged victim came forward after seeing the news coverage of the first charge, resulting in Payne’s second arrest on August 20, 2013.

Payne is pleading not guilty to the first case, and will plead the same in the second case, according to his lawyer Steven Stauffer.

DNA evidence places Payne at the scene of the alleged 2011 crime. Thus,

the central issue of the case is whether or not the complainant gave consent.

The complainant alleges that Payne entered her apartment and proceeded to grope and kiss her. The defence argues that the complainant is lying about having not allowed Payne into the apartment.

The alleged 2011 victim claims that she and Payne were merely acquaintances, saying that she had seen him around the neighbourhood and exchanged greetings with him once at a bar. The defence alleges that the relationship between the complainant and Payne was more familiar than the plaintiff claims, saying that the two had conversed at two bars before and that the complainant had hugged Payne.

None of the allegations against Payne have been proven in court.

In a recent statement, the university said that it had only learned about the 2011 charges against Payne in August of this year, and acknowledged the seriousness of the charge.

In light of the second charge, the trial has been adjourned until January 27.

News in brief Dunlap Observatory Settlement Challenged The Richmond Hill Naturalists are renewing their fight against the proposed development of the David Dunlap Observatory lands. The lands were owned by U of T until 2008, when they were sold to private developer Metrus/Corsica for $70 million. Prior to being sold, the lands had been used by the university’s Astronomy department for decades.

In September, Metrus/Corsica reached a settlement with the Town of Richmond Hill, as well as community groups that had objected to the original sale. The settlement splits the land between the development of 530 homes and a public park.

The Naturalists are now attempting to contest the settlement at the divisional court level, having unsuccessfully appealed to the Ontario Municipal Board (omb) in July. At the time, Lynda Tanaka, executive chairperson of the omb, found there were “no errors” in the original report. The court has not indicated whether it will hear the appeal.

— James Flynn With files from The Richmond Hill Liberal

5

Journalism program suspended at University of Ottawa

Alberta significantly reduces post-secondary education funding

The University of Ottawa has suspended admissions to its journalism program this fall, following an internal report that found the program to be poorly constructed and damaging to the reputation of the university.

Apart from difficulties in integrating with other institutions, the report notes that there is a high dropout rate among students in the program and that few journalism-focused courses are offered within the program.

The report recommended that the journalism program be suspended as soon as possible, then either cancelled or revamped.

The university has chosen to restructure the program and intends to resume admitting new students in fall 2014.

Martine Lagacé, the program’s coordinator, sees the pause as a good time to rethink and rework course offerings.

Changes to the program, which is offered in partnership with Algonquin College in English and with La Cité Collégiale in French, will not affect students already in the program.

— Duja Muhanna With files from La Presse

Alberta universities are facing an unprecedented budget cut of $147 million, resulting in the University of Calgary decreasing its arts program by 200 students. The province of Alberta — whose post-secondary education system is the second-highest funded in the country — is blaming the budgetary cuts on competing provincial interests such as health care, social services, and kindergarten to grade 12 education.

Robert Sutherland, president of the Confederation of Alberta Faculty Associations, says that the shrinking class sizes are just the beginning of a long line of repercussions due to budgetary cuts, potentially spanning the course of the next two years. He also states that students are not likely to notice a significant difference in daily academic life due to a continued effort by schools to control the damages caused by reduced expenditure. Universities are expected to hold town hall meetings to discuss additional cuts.

No Alberta universities have yet to met their government-mandated cuts for this fall.

— Emma Compeau With files from Global News

6

VARSITY NEWS

Vol. CXXXIV, No. 2

“CFS” CONTINUED FROM COVER utsu and Association of Part-Time Undergraduate Students (apus), the two other major U of T-wide student unions. Under the cfs’ national bylaws, a petition to decertify a member union from the Federation requires the signatures of 20 per cent of that union’s membership. “cfs petitions have to be run by what they refer to as ‘individual members,” Ingle said in an interview with The Varsity. According to both Ingle and representatives of the union, the gsu has played no part in the petition process to this point.

Ingle confirmed that the gsu was not notified in advance of the petition campaign’s start.

“RefoRms” failed at may geneRal meeting Ingle says the gsu petition is in part a result of the defeat of several gsusponsored motions at cfs general meetings last November and this May. At the November meeting she ran for cfs national chair unsuccessfully. Ingle contests that the November motions were quite “simple and straightforward,” and included posting minutes online, recording votes, and providing a more detailed budget that would include the salaries paid to cfs staff among other provisions. The gsu offered some similar motions at the May general meeting, including some specifically related to amending bylaws governing decertification.

Ingle cited what she described as the federation’s “top-down structure,” as a source of concern. Some of the proposed motions attempted to involve students on campus directly in the decision making process around which activist campaigns to support, and how to support them. cfs-Ontario chairperson Alastair Woods emphasized that the cfs and cfs-o are democratic institutions, and that those who were dissatisfied with the federation’s policies had many opportunities to air their grievances and attempt to affect change through the groups’ regular procedures. He said he was shocked when he first learned about the mass move to leave.

Since the press release was issued an immediate and occasionally vicious online conflict has erupted on social media sites and the comment section of various news and blogging services. Students who claim to be involved on both sides have taken increasingly hostile stances, accusing each other of, among other things, not having the best interests of students in mind. Ingle alleges that the reception to the motions proposed by members of the gsu at the November general meeting was similarly aggressive and accusatory.

Brent Farrington, internal coordinator for the cfs could not confirm whether such a reaction had indeed occurred at the November meeting.

He did, however, stress that the cfs does not assume that motions or proposals come from “a place of ill-will.”

15 campaigns most eveR attempted Ingle suggests that labelling federation members who advocate for reform or decertification ‘right-wingers’ and questioning their personal motives, as has been done online and alleged to have taken place after the November and May general meetings, is a common tactic used to dismiss calls for reform. However she argues that the size of the current decertification movement — the largest ever

The peTITION AT hARVeST NOON CO-Op CAfe. Joshua oliveR/the vaRsity

if 15 campuses go ahead with the attempt — proves that grievances are structural not personal.

Representatives of the cfs disagreed that there had been conflict at general meetings. “Our general meetings are bringing a lot of people together to come to some consensus,” said Farrington. “And while there may be disagreements on what that means, I don’t think that you can say that it’s inherent that people are coming from a malicious point of view.” Woods echoed Farrington, describing the most recent Ontario general meeting as very productive and positive.

Kate Marocci, chair of cfs-British Columbia (cfs-bc), challenged Ingle’s claims about the importance of the size of this attempt, claiming that membership petitions and votes are not particularly unusual: “Over the last 30 years this has happened quite frequently and it’s not extraordinary.” Marocci further questioned the motives of those behind the movement: “The members listed on that news release have been in attendance to general meetings and had the ability to participate in the democratic process, and in fact ran for positions on the national executive, and lost. One is left to wonder if perhaps this is the motive behind it.”

Ingle explained that the decision to coordinate the organization of the petitions such that most were being run at the same time was partly out of the fear that the cfs would be able to successfully defeat any one attempt. “Generally the tactic is to send cfs staffers from across the country to your local, bombard people with their presence and shut down your campaign that way,” she said. “So certainly part of the reason is strategic.”

no official cfs position on petitions Farrington said that the federation was not aware of the decertification petitions until the press release was issued, adding that the federation had received calls from member unions and associations seeking further information about the petitions, implying that those unions had not been notified of petition drives.

The cfs does not have an official response to the petitions, Farrington said, because “We’re not sure why they want to leave the organization.”

“They’ve issued some very broad statements, things like democracy and financial issues, disagreement with services,” he continued. “But those aren’t specifics, we haven’t heard the specifics, so it’s hard for us to formulate an official response.”

Marocci echoed Farrington, saying: “The news release doesn’t have a lot of information. It seems to me that it’s been created and circulated as a tactic to create a buzz, a discussion.”

plans foR the futuRe Alex McGowan — who is running a petition at Kwantlen Polytechnic University in British Columbia — says decertification, if successful, will not necessarily mean the end of Kwantlen’s presence on a national advocacy level, and that a replacement organization could arise. “It would be a united organization of students that lobbies, comes up with policy, lobbies for lower tuition fees, that kind of thing,” he said. “Officially, on paper, the structure probably wouldn’t be that different [from the cfs]. It would be really the actions that speak.”

Ingle had a more concrete plan of action: “Any future organizing that we try to do, we would be trying to minimize the dependence on students’ money and maximize their ability to make decisions for themselves,” she says, suggesting that plans were in place to hold an organizing or founding conference for such an organization in 2014.

Farrington admits that the loss of member unions, if it were to occur, would diminish the cfs’s ability to advocate on a national level: “We’re a membership-based organization, so obviously the loss of members results in our message being not as strong as it was the day that we had more members.”

following the bylaws Both Ingle and McGowan are looking to surpass the 20 per cent threshold that would trigger a vote on decertification. “It is important to overshoot this number since the cfs can collect signatures on a “counter-petition” that will remove names from the original petition,” Ingle said in her initial email containing the press release.

McGowan says he is aiming for 5,000 signatures, in excess of a requirement of closer to 4,000. “In our experience the cfs has challenged petitions and written off a lot of names, so we just want to be safe and get a number that’s significantly higher than what we actually need,” he said.

The coordination between the various decertification efforts could, however, end up harming efforts to decertify. The cfs’s national bylaws governing decertification allow for no more than two decertification votes in any three month period, meaning that if multiple petitions were to be successful, the resultant votes could be delayed for some time.

Ingle hopes to have reached the threshold by September 13. “All that we can do right now is follow the cfs bylaws as strictly as possible, submit our petitions, and then we’ll do whatever we have to do to get a referendum vote, legitimately and legally after that point,” she said.

news@thevarsity.ca

White people more likely to be positively portrayed in television advertisements utm finds black and Asian people are often shown in negative light

Ruhi Kiflen

VARSITY CONTRIBUTOR

White people are over-represented in Canadian television advertisements, and they are more likely to be presented in a positive light than black or Asian people, according to a new study from the University of Toronto Mississauga (utm). The study, which attempted to trace the connections between different racial groups and the products they are coupled with in Canadian television advertisements, found that although white people compose 80 per cent of Canada’s population, 87 per cent of the more than 1,000 characters analyzed from 244 prime time television advertisements were white.

eggs or milk — whereas black and Asian people are disproportionately featured in ads for fast food. The cultural trends white people were associated with include nostalgia, nature, and nuclear family. These cultural trends showed white people to be bearers of tradition in quality food, with higher socioeconomic status, and better rounded family lives.

White people were generally portrayed as wealthy, whereas black and Asian people were typically shown as having low socio-economic status or a less traditional family structure. Those Asian people who were shown as wealthy appeared caricaturized with negative overtones — robotic and focused on success, with minimal mention of family in the advertisements.

“I think they don’t [consider]…diversity when it comes to casting or conceptualizing commercials, they do what is convenient and portray…white people because its easier [without worrying about the] implications of race for the brand identity they are developing.”

—Professor Shyon Baumann

Professor Shyon Baumann, primary author of the study and chair of utm’s Department of Sociology says this is the first study that focuses on advertising and uses quantitative data to find connections. He believes television advertising is a particularly interesting medium through which to look at how people of different races are portrayed, as the brevity of television commercials leaves little time for nuance or character development.

Baumann, along with phd student Loretta Ho, studied the appearance of 1,000 white, black, and east and southeast Asian people in advertisements, noting their appearances and the contexts in which they appeared.

Other races such as First Nations and Hispanic were insufficiently represented in advertisements to be included in the study.

White people were most often matched with healthy foods — like

When asked why he thinks advertisers chose white people over many other racial groups, Baumann said “I think they don’t [consider]…diversity when it comes to casting or conceptualizing commercials, they do what is convenient and portray…white people because it’s easier [without worrying about the] implications of race for the brand identity they are developing.”

Baumann and Ho also indicate that white people are depicted in a wider variety of situations and experiences than other ethnic groups. This makes them seem like better rounded individuals, allowing the viewer to see them as whole person. Baumann is concerned that the similarity of situations in which non-white actors are portrayed has negative sociological effects so that eventually: “the society’s expectations of the race are constrained.”

VARSITY NEWS

var.st/news

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 9, 2013

7

Orientation Week executives aim to limit alcohol abuse Policy dictates a largely dry Orientation Week, but gaps remain Jelena Djuric

VARSITY CONTRIBUTOR

U of T maintains a strict policy regarding alcohol consumption during Orientation Week, yet frosh executives from divisions across U of T acknowledge that nothing can completely eliminate the possibility of incoming students drinking. Orientation Week is typically “dry” meaning that alcohol use is not permitted, even for those who are of age.

Frosh leaders and executives at most U of T orientations are required to sign a contract stating they will not consume any alcohol while they are on duty at events.

Most Orientation Week events are dry; however there are many events throughout the week that are not sanctioned by Frosh Weeks but that many frosh go to—such as fraternity parties or club nights, that offer students the opportunity to drink.

Generally speaking, those orientation-sanctioned events that are “wet,” meaning that alcohol can be served, take place off campus — such as the utsu Club Night at Guvern-

ment Night Club or the Boat Cruise held by Woodsworth College which offers of-age students access to a cash bar.

Brett Carson, a first-year student who just went through Frosh Week at St. Michael’s College, says that while he does not feel pressured to drink, “it is not particularly frowned upon.”

Culturally, Frosh Week is often portrayed as a time for heavy drinking and practically there are often afterparties on residence where students of all ages can access alcohol. In preparation for incoming students, The Office of Student Life puts all frosh leaders through Joint Orientation Leader Training—which includes numerous discussions surrounding alcohol consumption, basic safety, and how to create non-judgemental environments for first-years.

U of T puts many staff through alcohol safety training, the official policy states: “Student training sessions such as event planning for residence don training, leadership training and orientation coordinator and leader training should all include information about alcohol, server

intervention, harm reduction and safety awareness.”

Nevertheless, stopping frosh — let alone leaders from consuming alcohol can be difficult, regardless of policy. Alexandra Berceanu, orientation coordinator for the Faculty of Architecture — which only holds dry events explains: “events which have alcohol are not hosted by us, but are part of Frosh Week and cannot be excluded as such.”

Trinity College does hold some “wet” events during Frosh Week including two on campus parties — the Toga Party and the Melinda Seaman Party — where alcohol is served.

Mikhail Amyn, Trinity College Frosh Week co-chair says that: “just because alcohol is being served does not mean you are being pressured to drink.”

Amyn explains that orientation executives aim to foster an inclusive environment for students who choose not to drink, despite the presence of alcohol at “wet” events.

At Trinity frosh events, a designated sober patrol team is responsible for helping to supervise.

Michael chahley/The VarsiTy

Start-ups compete for your textbook dollars U of T Bookstore rolls out rent to buy program, lowers prices on most new textbooks Theodore Yan

VARSITY CONTRIBUTOR

The U of T Bookstore is introducing a buyout option for its rental program this year. The new option allows students who are not certain whether they want to rent or buy a textbook to initially rent it, and then buy it if they decide they would prefer to own it.

“With our buyout option a student can save the money up front by renting and if they change their mind come back any time before the due date with their rented book, pay the difference between the rental and purchase price and buy the book,” explains Chad Saunders, vice-president of retail at the University of Toronto Press, adding: “So the worst case scenario is that they buy it but pay for some of it later.” Additionally the Bookstore is lowering the prices of the majority of new textbooks to make them approximately equal to prices

on Amazon.ca, the largest online retailer of textbooks.

Presumably, these initiatives are in response to increasing pressure in the market from online book exchange websites, through which students at U of T and other schools in Toronto can buy and sell used textbooks. A typical transaction involves a student placing an advertisement for a book she or he wants to sell, which other students can search for on the site. The prospective buyer then contacts the seller using information listed on the ad to arrange a meeting to complete the sale. Effectively, the service works similarly to classifieds sites like Craigslist or Kijiji, but specifically for textbooks.

CourseTexts (coursetexts.ca) is one of these services. Rajaie AlKorani, the website’s co-creator, states that “The U [of] T Bookstore’s main focus is to make money, not to give students good deals on their books.

CourseTexts’ focus is to give students

the upper hand when buying books since it lets them choose to purchase their textbooks from a large number of people, rather than a single company/organization.”

Perhaps the most well known of these websites is the Toronto University Student’s Book Exchange (tusbe. com), which in past years was the only such service of any appreciable size.

However, when it went down for three months this summer, other websites like CourseTexts, Bookwiz (bookwiz. leila.cc) and Torbok (torbok.com) began appearing to take its place. tusbe has since relaunched, and with over 20,000 listings, has reclaimed its place as the largest of the exchange services. However, its younger competitors have no intentions of bowing out. Al Korani and Leila Chan Currie of Bookwiz both point out that one must create an account to view sellers’ contact information on TUSBE, while their respective sites have no such requirement. Bookwiz is also linked to

Coursewiz (coursewiz.leila.cc), a database of courses and professors at U of T used by thousands of students.

Textbooks listed on Bookwiz place a link on the corresponding Coursewiz page, creating an additional advertisement for the seller.

“I’d like to say that I don’t think the current fragmentation of online exchanges serves students very well,” notes Currie, speaking to the competition in a market monopolized by tusbe just a few months ago. Currie emailed the other major websites — proposing a shared, open source database for used books so that the same results could be used anywhere, with whichever interface students preferred. “Unfortunately only Torbok emailed me back, saying they weren’t interested in the extra work,” said Currie.

The result of all this activity, at any rate, is that students have more options than ever when choosing where to buy their textbooks. The Book-

store, as always, offers the convenience of being able to purchase all one’s books in a single place — now at more competitive prices, and with the option of effectively leasing them without the effort of having to peruse listings and contact sellers. Enterprising students can seek to save money by using one of the now myriad book exchange websites, each with its own advantages and disadvantages. Becoming familiar with the sites’ functions is at any rate useful because one can eventually sell one’s textbooks to recoup some cost. Currie points out that: “If you buy a used book online one year, you’re very likely to be able to sell it to someone else for the exact same price the next year.” As with any purchase, being an informed consumer is critical, particularly when it comes to spending hundreds of dollars on books some students may simply never open.

Care about campus news and politics?

Write about the inside scoop; write for us news@thevarsity.ca

8

VARSITY NEWS

Vol. CXXXIV, No. 2

news@thevarsity.ca

Academic misconduct through the years The Varsity reviews five years of Tribunal decisions The Tribunal of Governing Council is where the most serious cases of academic misconduct eventually end up. Punishments range from a reduced grade in a course to outright expulsion. The Tribunal posts anonymized details of the cases online. The Varsity looked at the past five years and found some remarkable cases.

Case 588: Student digitally manipulated thesis photos In July of 2007, a student successfully defended his engineering master’s thesis before a panel of professors. After his results could not be replicated, the professor raised concerns about the validity of the circuit board’s design, which the student defended via email.

Further investigation revealed that the student had used decoys in the design and had included digitally manipulated photographs in the final paper.

Cases 596, 597, 598: Three students purchased the same “unique” essay In the winter of 2010, it was found that three students with previous histories of academic misconduct, including the digital manipulation of airplane ticket photos to defer an exam and the sharing of answers during a midterm examination, committed plagiarism. The three submitted similar essays with analogous titles for a course they were collectively enrolled in. The three students had purchased their essays separately from The Essay Place, an essay production company which claimed to adhere to a

strict anti-duplication code, assuring the three that each of their essays was unique.

Case 617: Student took course three times, hired imposter for exam The student enrolled in a year-long math course during the 2008-2009 academic year from which he eventualy withdrew after scoring poorly on the term test. He was granted a late withdrawal after enrolling in the course during the subsequent academic year. The student enrolled in the same course for a third time in September of 2010, and placed advertisements on Internet classifieds websites that read as follows: “Looking for a asian [sic] (Chinese, Korean) guy who graduated from or currently attending to U of T who is good at math.” When questioned by the university, the student claimed that he needed a tutor, given his previous performance. During the first term evaluation, it was found that he had indeed paid someone else to impersonate him and write the test.

Case 628: Medical excuse debunked as doctor has never seen student During early January of 2011, the student petitioned to defer an already-delayed exam that was originally scheduled for April of 2010, under the basis of illness, for which he provided a medical certificate as well as a letter confirming a medical consultation. The student was made aware of the university’s suspicion regarding the documentation’s validity. Shortly after, a voice-

“PROVOST”CONTINUED FROM PG 4

what I would say has been over a decade of difficult relations?

nice transition. Similarly, I have been around the university and I know a lot of the stakeholders and the faculty colleagues. I’ve started working with a number of the students already. We just have very strong leadership at all levels of the institution, and that strong leadership at these various levels of the institution continues. And so as we look at transitioning into the senior leadership roles, I think there’s going to be a great deal of stability.

CR: Well I feel really hopeful about my ability to work with student leadership and student leadership’s ability to work with me. I have great faith in a collaborative relationship, I’ve had the chance to meet with some student leaders already around this. I think what’s important is that we’re all interested in the same goal, and our goal is to create a wonderful learning environment for students. And so we need to find ways of being able to find solutions together — and I feel if we come to the table from that perspective, saying: “How can we work together to find solutions to these challenges that we face?” I’m hopeful and excited about what we can do together.

TV: There has often been friction between the students’ union and the office of the provost. How would you, as someone with a background in mediation, how would you go about setting a new tone, or trying to change

TV: Specifically, as I’m sure you’re aware, the undergradu-

mail from an individual claiming to be the doctor’s assistant contacted the university, asserting that the student had indeed visited the clinic and was suffering from influenza. After the doctor confirmed never having seen the student, the student admitted to having purchased the medical certificate from an online service.

Case 631: Student plagarizes course resources In the spring semester of 2011, a student was found to have committed two instances of consecutive plagiarism — the first occurred when she copied large portions of the reference material provided by the professor for the course’s assignment. The second was discovered when the student’s essay had similar data and explanations to one of her peers’ papers, which the student admitted to copying without her peer’s permission or knowledge.

Case 632: Student damages test paper to hide mark On October of 2010, a student wrote and received a low mark on a midterm for her course. Unsatisfied with the results, she emailed the professor, citing an inconsistency between the mark that she received on the test paper and that which was posted online, to which the professor responded by telling the student to submit the paper to the TA once more. When producing the document, the student claimed it was in poor condition due to her roommate having spilled liquid on it. The TA did not believe the student, which subsequently promptate students union, Graduate Students’ Union (GSU), and some of the other unions have had concerns about some of the fees that have been charged to students, and have argued that some of them are not in compliance with the Ministry of Training Colleges and Universities’ policies on ancillary fees.

Have you had a chance to meet with the student unions yet?

CR: Not on this issue, no. The university last year underwent a review of student fees and looked at compliance with MTCU around that. I have confidence that the people who led that review did so in a way that was rigorous. If there are continuing concerns, then we’ll go back and look at that again. It was quite an extensive process that was undertaken last year.

ed her admittance to having written additional text and marks, as well as damaging the document so as not to be discovered.

Case 655: Student resets computer clock to submit paper four months late The student primarily submitted an assignment according to the course’s deadline in February of 2011. In mid-April however, the student emailed his professor claiming to have uploaded the incorrect document in February, and his account was now updated to contain the correct one. The last save was indicated to have occurred in February, as stated by the student. However, analysis of the file indicated that the document had been last saved in April of 2012. The student admitted to have updated the document in April and reset his computer’s clock to make the date appear as February.

Case 663: Student’s mark improves 40 per cent on tests, imposter detected In the winter term of 2011, the student enrolled in a half-year course that contained homework assignments, labs, an early assessment test, a midterm and a final.

The student scored below 40 per cent on the early assessment and lab components, and failed to submit any homework. Marks for the midterm and final, however, were both above 80 per cent. During the aforementioned examinations, the student was noted to be wearing a niqab, while no such garment had been seen by the TV: Can you tell me a little bit about your background, what is something students might not know about you?

CR: My parents were Special Needs foster parents for the Children’s Aid society of Toronto.

And I was in a home that was committed to ensuring the care and success of children that came with many kinds of challenges.

As a social worker I was involved in areas of emergency mental health and in forensic mental health. I think that what has been absolutely wonderful for me in coming back and doing a PhD is being able to integrate life experiences, professional experiences and academic experiences.

TV: Do you have a favourite spot on campus?

Volunteer for The Varsity www.thevarsity.ca/volunteer

professor or TAs in either class or labs. Forensic analysis of the student’s writing revealed that the handwriting on the final and midterm was in fact distinct from that of the early assessment and labs.

Case 676: Student uses Wikipedia for essay In the spring semester of 2011, as part of a major essay for her course, the student was found to have plagiarized large portions of the paper, with sources stemming from sites like Wikipedia. In various instances, the student was found to have fabricated sources.

Case 702: Student uses job at hospital to obtain three medical excuses In early September of 2009, the student requested the late withdrawal of a year long course with documents from a church pastor and a hospital counselling associate to support her claims. The request was accepted and two years later in late August of 2011, she similarly requested to delay the final examination of another year-long course.

As before, the student provided medical documentation, declaring an illness as cause of the deferra. In January of 2012, the student provided an additional medical note signed by a different doctor to defer examinations once more. In February, the student opted to defer her exam again, claiming her father had suffered an illness with supporting documentation. All of the above were discovered to be falsified and made possible by the fact that the student was employed at a hospital.

CR: I quite love philosopher’s walk.

It’s a gorgeous spot.

TV: What do you wish more students knew about? What is underutilized here at U of T? CR: I wish that more students knew about the breadth of extracurricular activities that are available. I think students are aware of the breadth of research that happens here and the kind of reputation that we have internationally and nationally. I hope students are aware of the tremendous respect that this university has outside of the university and that they realize that their university degree from the University of Toronto is meaningful and is respected.

This interview has been condensed for length and clarity.

ONLINE EXCLUSIVE

VAR.ST/COMMENT 9 SEPTEMBER 2013 comment@thevarsity.ca

Has fair competition gone by the wayside in sport? var.st/comment

Rotman Commerce should adhere to the rules of capitalism Subsidies save Rotman Commerce student groups from loss Matthew Lau

VARSITY CONTRIBUTOR

Free–market capitalism is undoubtedly the economic system under which commercial activity is most profitable. If the commerce program, offered jointly by the Rotman School of Management and the Faculty of Arts and Science, wants to maximize the earning potential of its students and create a climate conducive to increasing prosperity, it should extol the virtues of capitalism and encourage its students to embrace free–market principles. However, Rotman’s management of its various student groups displays a somewhat anti-capitalist mentality.

In addition to the Rotman Commerce Students' Association (rcsa), there are eight student groups recognized by the Commerce program; each of these eight groups focuses on a specialized area of business. For example, Rotman Commerce Beyond Business focuses on corporate social responsibility; the Rotman Commerce Finance Association focuses on finance; and Rotman Commerce Women in Business promotes initiatives for women in business. Each recognized student group receives funding from student fees, external sponsorships, and fundraisers. In other words, U of T's commerce students are relying on tax and tuition money to support their activities, which operate at a loss. The reason these students need this funding from

their fellow students is because sponsorships, fundraisers, and ticket sales are insufficient to cover the costs of their activities.

To make matters worse, it seems that nobody knows exactly how much money from student fees is being used to fund the activities of Rotman's recognized student groups. Furthermore, while these groups are required to report to Rotman Commerce, their financial information is not published online for public scrutiny. The only way to view the rcsa's financials is through a direct request to the association’s president during times when it is conducting an audit. In other words, not only do most students have no idea how much of their money is being taken by student groups, it is also very difficult for students to find out how this money is being spent.

Despite being students who aspire to be leaders in the business world, the elected presidents and executive teams of Rotman's recognized student groups are displaying incompetence and irresponsibility. Even more shocking than the fact that tomorrow's business leaders apparently cannot run organizations that break even is that they receive a plethora of free resources from Rotman Commerce — including free marketing, space on the Rotman Commerce website, access to Rotman Commerce rooms and AV equipment, and other support.

Having studied commerce for several years, the students who

Rotman Commerce student groups remain largely dependent on external funding. FilE PHOTO: BERNARdA GOSPiC/THE VARSiTy

run these organizations should understand that if they cannot break even without using external funds, then their organizations have a negative net impact on society.

Rotman Commerce needs to reform its student organizations; if its student groups cannot op-

erate without subsidies, then the market has spoken: these groups should cease to exist. By rewarding these failing organizations and listing them as recognized student groups, Rotman Commerce is condoning incompetence and contradicting the rules of capitalism. Rotman Commerce

should shut down any student group that bears its name and cannot survive without bailouts. As it stands today, Rotman Commerce's recognized student groups are a stain on capitalism.

Trudeau’s forthcoming platform must not shy away from the issue of Senate reform. With the recent scandals concerning Conservative senators, discussions on the necessity of the Upper House have been revived.

While Harper has remained silent on how he seeks to address these scandals within the government, Trudeau has an opportunity to shine with reform rhetoric.

Indeed, Trudeau has shown initiative in the change toward Senate transparency. For instance, Liberal senators were encouraged to post hospitality and travel expenses online. In addition, Trudeau has considered limiting the terms of senators to 12 years.

Alongside potential Upper House reforms, Trudeau has envisioned a plan aimed at improving Canada's representative democracy. The plan includes loosening party discipline so that backbenchers can vote for their constituencies rather than for their party. In addition, it includes limiting prorogation, introducing preferential ballot vot-

ing and strengthening third-party oversight by officers of Parliament.

While his vision for Canada is not written down in a platform, he does have a vision. The question is whether his vision will come to fruition. The fact is that since Trudeau has become leader, the Liberals have consistently topped the Conservatives in opinion polls. Although polls do not guarantee election victories, the odds are in his favour.

Canada has no need for “Trudeaumania 2.0.” Anything mania-related is suitable for entertainers, not public servants. In fact, the legacy of the mania around Pierre Trudeau has masked many of his political failures. What Canada needs is a strong leader with solid substance. Justin Trudeau has only shown potential through character and vision. Mania will only amplify his character and distract Canadians from the challenges they must confront.

Matthew Lau is a second-year student studying commerce.

All show, no substance Trudeaumania will only distract from the real issues Frank Weng

VARSITY CONTRIBUTOR

Some have considered Justin Trudeau the antithesis of Stephen Harper, with his dashing charm and famous last name. His competence with social media and engagement with youth have certainly marked him as a stark contrast to Harper, but should Canadians be so easily wooed by his superficial features?

No, let substance define who Justin Trudeau really is.

For starters, he has admitted to smoking marijuana — no doubt an attempt to attract the support of young Canadians. While the legalization of marijuana has consistently been part of the NDP's advocacy, Trudeau himself has not been so consistent in his position. In an interview recorded in January 2012, Trudeau scowled at the use of pot for its capacity to “disconnect” the user.

In 2009, he also voted for harsher penalties for users.

Perhaps this is demonstrative of Trudeau’s adaptability; the Liberal party suffered a new low in the federal election of 2011, while the NDP became the federal opposition for the first time in Canadian history.

Naturally, any Liberal leader will scavenge for bits and pieces of support in any way possible to redeem the Liberal party’s power.

More importantly, Trudeau is attempting to appear transparent.

The media and political opposition have been harsh critics of the Harper government’s transparency in the past. Trudeau's move is an attempt at distinguishing himself from Harper in a way that catches the media's attention.

Is moving left on a social issue the best card Trudeau can play? He claims that he will not rush into publicly disclosing a platform. The Conservatives have discarded this as indecisiveness.

In all fairness, 2013 is not an election year; parties do not typically reveal their stances on major issues until an election cycle begins.

What Trudeau has been consistent on is his readiness and determination to support the “middle class.” However, the “middle class” is a term commonly employed by politicians for its tactical neutrality and ambiguity. The boundaries of the “middle class” are obscure enough in realms outside of the scholarly world that anyone with a bit of ego can consider himself or herself to be a part of it. Hence, the term is not very meaningful.

Trudeau is likely throwing it around to dissuade critics from suggesting that he stands for no one.

During the Liberal leadership race, Trudeau expressed interest in producing a platform through an inclusive bottom-up exercise. This included launching a feature on his website allowing the public to discuss and rate concerns; however, the most “liked” issue has around 700 views — hardly the bottom-up exercise he preached. Furthermore, whether or not these discussions will influence policy is uncertain.

Frank Weng is a fourth year student studying political science and history.

10 Vol. CXXXIV, No. 2

VARSITY COMMENT

comment@thevarsity.ca

The Charter of Quebec Values is not the new Bill 101 Proposed legislation will alienate religious minorities Cassandra Mazza

VARSITY CONTRIBUTOR

Bill 101, for better or for worse, succeeded in its intended goal: preserving the French language in a francophone province dominated by English workplaces. This gave underprivileged French- speaking Quebecers the opportunity to regain their socioeconomic footholds by making French the official language of business while protecting what they believe to be an essential part of their own identity. Parti Québécois (PQ) leader Pauline Marois claims her proposed Charter of Quebec Values shares a similar noble purpose, positing that by banning public sector workers from donning conspicuous religious symbols, Quebec’s secularized society will be prevented from relapsing into a religiously-dominated state — resulting in equality for all Quebecers.

Instead, it could be argued that this proposed charter is simply a distraction from the party’s continued failure to drive down dismal unemployment rates or make a dent in the massive debt and corruption miring the province of late. As an ideological piece of legislation that would reportedly be popular with almost two-thirds of the population, most see the charter as a play for votes, and nothing more.

Yet Marois continues to suggest that the charter is just as essential to the Quebec cause as Bill 101, and therefore should be accepted as such.

Looking at the effect Bill 101 had on Quebec, it is possible to predict what might become of La Belle Province should the charter come to pass. If Bill 101 caused the flight of educated professionals—faced with overhauling their English corporations to conduct business in French—from the province, then we should expect to see a similar exodus of public sector workers leaving for more tolerant provinces after the introduction of the charter. Not only would current workers be scared away, but new immigrants would likely bypass the province for similar reasons, which is a bleak prospect for an already stagnating population.

For those anglophones and allophones who remained in Quebec following Bill 101, their children were funneled through French schools — often emerging bilingual or trilingual—as the predominance and essentiality of English in Quebec had not diminished. Francophone children got a free pass, as they were able to slip through the elementary and secondary school systems without being forced to learn English although the English students were forced to learn French. Upon graduating, many underprivileged francophones suffered the same fate as their parents; as unilingual French speak-

ers, they were unable to compete in a multilingual market. Bill 101 had essentially bred a hoard of French onetrick ponies, their language capacity hindering their success both within, and outside of, their province.

The generations to follow the passing of any Charter of Quebec Values would face the same challenges as unilingual francophones. Children raised under the new legislation would be unprepared to function in any society outside of religiously repressed Quebec. Quebec’s children would be raised to view religion as a societal threat against freedom, rather than as an enriching part of one’s culture and identity. Much as Bill 101 imposed French language laws on ethnic and anglophone minorities, the charter would evoke a similar form of repression over religious minorities.

The PQ should look to its own history as it prepares to fight for this illegal legislation—one that infringes upon the rights of expression of thousands of its citizens. Should it pass, this regressive charter would not prepare Quebec’s current and future generations for the multicultural world we live in today—save only perhaps for life in Putin’s Russia, where such legislation could be welcomed with open arms.

Cassandra Mazza is a second-year student majoring in english with minors in sociology and history.

The proposed charter could alienate religious minorities in the province. arcHer20/Flickr

Implied misogyny in cultural discourse What language reveals about our perception of female sexuality Devyn Noonan VARSITY CONTRIBUTOR

For better or for worse, Miley Cyrus’ controversial MTV Video Music Awards performance has caused more of a media frenzy than the impending attack on Syria. A powerful Jezebel article labels the spectacle as “easily one of the most racist displays” in recent years, and not without good reason; since that fateful Sunday, the word “racist” has haunted Cyrus — so too has the word “slut.”

The very existence of that term tells us volumes about the history of female sexuality; as Marcellus senses that “something is rotten in the state of Denmark,” the feminist cannot help but suspect that something is wrong with the word “slut.” It is a loaded word — fundamentally problematic because it has no male equivalent. A man who accumulates multiple sex partners is forgiven, understood, even envied. A woman who does likewise is shamed.

In our post-Sex and the City world, it might seem that women are sexually liberated. Yet as society evolves, the term “slut” has continued to thrive in our cultural discourse.

There is still a sense that sexually

Slut walks, pictured here, aim to reclaim the word "slut." Dan Seljak/THe VarSiTy

adventurous women are morally inferior to those with more discretion.

From the very existence of the word “slut,” we can infer that sexuality is perceived as a sphere which rightfully belongs to men. At its most basic level, the word is a synonym for “transgressor," as it is applied to women who have encroached on the male privilege of sexual enjoyment.

We have no word that celebrates exploration of female sexuality, no simple linguistic tool to express that

women also enjoy sex. The idea that women are sexual beings is not acknowledged in our discourse because that notion has historically made men uncomfortable.

In a recent Elite Daily article, Preston Waters asserts that men want to marry “a lady who has respect for herself, morals — and there isn’t one guy out there that can have a bad story to tell about her — like the time she had a threesome in a London hostel while studying abroad.”

Waters imagines, like Homer’s Odysseus, that a man has the right to own his wife exclusively. Odysseus sleeps with countless women, but rages at the idea that his abandoned wife Penelope might have sex with even one of her suitors. Like Odysseus, men have traditionally wanted to be patriarchal rulers of the domestic sphere.

It is not that most modern men view themselves as superior to women. Rather, the cultural tradition of male ownership, engrained in

our societal consciousness, has prevented us from developing a discursive model that encompasses female sexuality as an autonomous concept.

The sexual woman simply does not fit into the narrative of male ownership. Women cannot be allowed to enjoy sex like men do, because men know that sexuality is an untameable desire. We construct the image of the asexual woman because men are uncomfortable with the notion that the women in their lives — wives, sisters, mothers, and daughters — are sexually attracted to other men. A man can own the virgin, but not the slut. Therefore, he praises the virtuous woman, and denounces the experienced one.

Feminism must wage war against the cultural and discursive conventions that allow misogyny to thrive, often subtly. In Orwell’s 1984, Syme says, “It’s a beautiful thing, the destruction of words.” Those who endorse freedom of speech and thought cannot agree with Syme’s statement.

We cannot destroy the word "slut."

It is too deeply engrained in our cultural discourse. Rather, we must find beauty in the creation of words; words that empower women to talk about female sexuality in terms that have not been constructed by men.

Devyn Noonan is a third year English student at Trinity College.

VARSITY COMMENT

var.st/comment

LETTERS TO

Vol CXXXIV, No. 1

THE EDITOR

Paul Aird’s commentary on Back Campus contains yet again several pieces of inaccurate information that require correction.

Similar error–filled articles have required diligent and consistent correction. This is why early this year we developed a "here are the facts" website. I encourage readers of the Varsity to visit that website for the facts and perhaps explore Varsity Archives for stories about the Back Campus project (going back to 2009). Those stories show the blatant falsehood of Aird’s claim that the project was a "secret plan." We have been clear from the start: the Back Campus will provide much greater use and access for our students than it does now, the full range of current activities will continue, the fields will be as open as they currently are with no locks on gates. There will be no trees harmed by this project, and we plan for the fields to be used for many, many years into the future.

— Scott Mabury, Professor of Environmental Chemistry & Vice-President, University Operations (from web) Is there a right to die?

Unfortunately, religious groups have quite a significant influence on topics like this so likely no major party — including the Tories, Grits, and NDP — is going to back any FEDERAL amendment to the Criminal Code to legalize euthanasia. As such, this legislation, if it passes, which it likely won't, will only have an effect on Quebec.

Then you can expect a court battle with the federal government. Dignitas, which without profit provides a service for Swiss citizens and internationals to die in dig-

Contribute to Comment. Write us at comment@thevarsity.ca August 12, 2013

nity and without pain, could be a good model for Canada to consider.

— ProTurf (from web) The Year of the Flood Increased population, decaying infrastructure, and better reporting of events are more than likely the culprit of the perceived increase of these events- and that's often what statistical data maintains.

Regardless though combatting climate change is still absolutely vital, I'm just not sure that using weather events as contested proof is the best way to go about it.

— Christian (from web) Whether these latest floods in particular are a visible manifestation of man-made global warming is of course a contested issue, but one that I believe merits more than just a nonchalant shrug from government officials. Our focus is still on what we can do to fix the problem once a catastrophe occurs, not on how we can mitigate the damage in the first place.

Increased population means that when these catastrophes happen, especially in heavily urbanized areas, all the more people are affected by it - the human cost is huge, and so it's all the more pressing that we take solid measures towards ensuring that we can handle them better in the first place. Toronto would very much have benefitted from having more effective underlying infrastructure, wider sewer pipes, bios wales, flood retention ponds, etc., but in addition to that, it would also benefit from a sounder climate policy. That can only happen if there is a certain level of acknowledgement that this is actually an issue.

— Sonia (from web)

Calculated net present values.

Then netted a 10-pounder.

“Last month, I joined a team in San Francisco to start working on a Silicon Valley project. Come to find out, a few of the clients share my passion for fly-fishing. And some of the best in the world is just a short drive into the Northern Sierras.

Needless to say, when we head out on weekends, we take the phrase ‘Gone Fishing’ to a whole new level.”

See every amazing angle at exceptionalEY.com.

© 2013 EYGM Limited. All Rights Reserved. ED None.

Shades of truth: the battle for public opinion

11

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 9, 2013

ONE FOOT AGAINST THE GRO NICHOLAS CARLSON explores skateboarding culture and identity in downtown Toronto

F

ive guys startle a pedestrian on the northeast corner of Dundas and Bathurst as they push past; each has one foot against the ground of Toronto’s urban playground, and the other on the most worshipped plank of wood created by postWorld War II consumer society: a skateboard.

This scene is typical of the Toronto skateboarding experience, taking place at Toronto’s skateboarding hub: the temporary park known as “Dunbat.” It’s a crowded junction, where passersby must navigate a constant stream of skaters.

The park, which functions as an ice rink during winter, consists of an ensemble of wooden boxes and ledges: two mini-ramps, half-pipes to laymen, though smaller and less vertical than the kind ridden by Tony Hawk; some metal flat-bars — rails standing about a foot off the ground; countless beer cans; a teeming crew of skaters. Those who frequent the park are associated by either a real camaraderie or, at least, the common passion for the art of skateboarding. Skaters meet and warm up on the rectangular prism-shaped wooden ledge and smooth flat concrete before turning to the harsher expanse of urban playground in Toronto’s downtown core. Once there, they can film their interactions with that familiar landscape and share them with the larger skateboarding community.

12

The experiences of Toronto skaters, however, are fundamentally diverse. Although there are many shared traits between skaters — such as language and dress — any skateboarding community is first and foremost a community of individuals. Rob Mentov, creator of Street Feet, explains: “I don’t think there’s one style that defines Toronto at all.” Street Feet is a looselydefined skateboarding video production label in Toronto — assembled, according to Mentov, by “whoever is interested in skateboarding in the city…[and] who want to show the city in a good light, especially people who are overlooked in the city.”

Mentov asserts that Dunbat is not necessarily reflective of skateboarding in general, and Toronto skate culture in particular, noting: “It’s more of a social gathering than an act of skating.” Dunbat is as much a clubhouse for drinking beer and shooting the shit as it is a place for skateboarding sessions. Toronto skating is defined by the city’s vast terrain and those who explore it.

EXODUS DOWNTOWN No definition of Toronto skateboarding is clear-cut. In discussing Toronto’s all-time top five skaters, Rob Lane, owner and operator of Blue Tile Lounge — a skateboard shop on College — Supra Distribution representative Sean Mo, and local skater

Andrew Huckendorf all disagreed. The three were unsure whether to include former professional Corey Sheppard on the list because he was from “the suburbs,” but eventually counted him in. When Mo brought up Toronto legend Tom Boyle, Lane replied: “No…I just don’t consider him from here…he’s from Pennsylvania.”

Referring to his store’s origins in Aurora and Newmarket and the limitations he experienced in those locations, Lane mused: “That’s the one thing I’ve liked and hated about Toronto… In the past it’s been like, you guys are doing good... we want to give you opportunity, but you’re just not in the city.”

There doesn’t seem to be a stable definition for a Toronto skater, as there remains no textbook on what makes one type of skateboarding or skateboarder the legitimate brand of identity. Who’s more of a Toronto skater: the guy from outside of Toronto proper who skates every spot in the city harder than anyone else, or the guy born and bred here who has made less of a mark?

In the end, it may not matter. Lane remarked: “Most people move downtown eventually. The suburb thing gets kind of boring.”

The frequency of social and cultural activity in the downtown core of Toronto, rather than in its peripheries, comes to be identified as authentic at the expense of what happens in the suburbs. More skaters end up moving in

from the suburbs, melt in with those from Toronto proper, and form a larger community where geographical origins are forgotten.

Any survey of Toronto’s current community would see a large demographic mix including skaters bred in Oshawa, Newmarket, Aurora, Richmond Hill, Hamilton, and other outlying municipalities. As every skater proves, it doesn’t matter where you’re from, as long as you continue to put your mark on Toronto’s urban core. After all, it’s exactly this geographic consolidation that moved the Blue Tile Lounge from Newmarket to Toronto.

LOCAL HISTORY The clearest motive to relocate downtown is the experience of a day spent skating spot-tospot throughout the core. There isn’t necessarily any set routine for how this plays out; the act of skateboarding is as diverse as the perspectives of all skaters who become involved.

As different skaters come to form Toronto’s community, their creative processes come to interpret potential acts of skateboarding within the city differently. They will attempt to apply their imaginations to reality by trying out tricks and moves, sometimes landing them, and eventually build something of a cultural canon as skaters recall what has been done at each spot downtown.

Every skater’s perception thus becomes oriented around a series of reference points as

OUND

Check out the skaters in action:

CAROLYN LEVETT/THE VARSITY

var.st/skate

they come to identify familiar “skate spots” and recall the various maneuvers that have been accomplished there. For example, the CBC building downtown has a plaza containing marble and granite ledges that are arranged in an unorthodox pattern. Two ledges sit opposite each other with a curve cut through them, as if to make them fit together as a square. These two sit in between four Lshaped ledges at each corner of the square, while some other ledges lay around the perimeter of the plaza. No authoritative record of exactly what moves have been landed at CBC exists, so any description of how the spot has been skated cannot be definitive.

However, if one were to delve into footage of how the spot was skated 10 years ago, most of what would be seen involved more technical flip tricks onto the middle square, gapping the middle curve, and landing in a manual (a sustained wheelie) on the second ledge before dropping off it and riding away. For this type of skating, one could watch Toronto’s 2005 video, “Environment.”

As years went by, skaters started incorporating the outlying ledges of the plaza into lines, grinding and sliding them in succession before skating around and approaching the middle square for a manual trick. Recently, riders have skated fast at the middle square to hop onto it before trying different tricks over the outlying ledges. It was here that professional skater

Jordan Hoffart innovated by gapping one of the outlying ledges onto the square before gapping from the square over the outside ledge on the other side. Local skater Cory Wozney showcased how far this maneuver could be taken this year by gapping from almost every ledge to every other ledge in seemingly impossible lines.

Different perspectives have influenced each other over time and have contributed to an evolution of ways in which any one spot is skated. Tricks and moves are filmed and shared with the community — which then builds upon itself by repeating the process.

Showcasing the tricks accomplished at skate spots by sharing footage, especially online, acts as a catalyst for other community members to respond by incorporating the ideas they’ve just viewed into their own interpretations of those spots the next time they skate them. Toronto skaters also take inspiration from those in New York, Detroit, London, Paris, Tokyo, and so on, through online footage. Communities perpetuate and build upon themselves this way, making the attraction of vibrant urban centres all the more irresistible. Blue Tile’s move can be understood in the context of this expanding community. This model of community development inspires further creative interpretations, rather than exhausting them, in Toronto’s impressively large and physically accessible downtown core.

Photos by Carolyn Levett

SKATING SIDEWALKS Downtown Toronto is generally a friendly place to skate, fostering a strong community, but problems remain. Perhaps most endemic to this experience is what Mentov called, “the massive disparity between how skateboarders are seen and how skaters see people.”

Mentov explained this concept by relating a particular experience of his while skating the ledges behind Toronto’s courthouse: “It was super-hot out one day. My brain was heating up. I was trying to skate this ledge, but then people were walking by, and I’m getting mad at these people for walking. When you think about it, what the hell right do I have to get mad at someone for walking? It’s their basic human right… At the same time, people see skating as such a destructive thing. I don’t understand why people don’t see skating for what it really is.”

Toronto’s skateboarding scene is driven by riding in the streets. Spots provided by the city’s urban geography are skated far more than its skate parks. Unfortunately, that means pedestrian space is compromised. A lack of empathy is often the case between skaters who aggressively grind ledges, screaming at them when moves aren’t landed, and passersby. Residents of apartment complexes and property owners will often see skating as a destructive practice instead of as the creative pursuit it is to skateboarders. Skaters down-

town are often kicked out of spots by security or overzealous citizens. Nevertheless, skateboarding will inevitably continue to occur at many spots frequented by people who generally dislike its presence.

For this city’s skater community, every corner of the downtown core is seen through the lens of skateboarding’s possibilities. Skateboarding inescapably shapes their perceptions of their identity and reality. Toronto has presented itself as an inexhaustible resource for this pursuit. Despite the havoc caused by skateboarding, Toronto’s limitless downtown landscape offers much more potential to create than what has already been experienced. skaters will continue to leave their mark on the city — fostering a thriving community of performance artists who perhaps don’t always think of the collateral damage they sometimes inflict with their art. At the end of the day, accomplishing the trick imagined and pursued by dedicated skaters is just too important to sacrifice for the sake of not pissing people off.

13

Arts & Culture

COMING UP

var.st/arts

9 sEPtEMBEr 2013 arts@thevarsity.ca

A Just For Laughs guide for dummies var.st/arts

If you hear them, give them all your money Transforming the sound of Toronto's streets with the Sidewalk Crusaders

The Sidewalk Crusaders perform. DENNIs OsIPOv/tHE varsItY

Katrina Vogan VARSITY STAFF

Possibly the most exciting new buskers in Toronto this summer, the Sidewalk Crusaders are larger, louder, younger, and more fun, than the stereotypical subway troubadour. The seven-member band draws large crowds that clog downtown Toronto sidewalks. Their sets, audible from a block away, are ska- and jazz-influenced horn covers of current popular music.

The Crusaders are never without personality: they dance during numbers, run through their audience while performing, and bring out props for certain songs. The drummer will occasionally solo on anything that isn’t a drum set, banging on street lamps, garbage cans, and the everpresent Toronto constructions sites. The members don’t sing for their supper, but they do jam for their tuition: the money they collect is split seven ways to pay for university fees.

The Crusaders have developed a fan-following in Toronto and they have the support and attention of a few notable names.

Ivor Tossell, a culture and urban affairs writer for Maclean’s and the Globe and Mail recently told his 10,000 followers on twitter: “The Sidewalk Crusaders. If you see them, give them all your money,” while linking his followers to a Vine of the band playing "Call Me Maybe." That same cover had earlier attracted the attention of cbc radio personality and musician Jian Ghomeshi who tweeted that the Crusaders were “awesome” and that he “love[d] the sounds and will support the crusaders! [sic]” while asking for “no cjr”.

"tHIs tOWN NEEDs MOrE MUsIC" The band's supporters speak highly of the energy and uniqueness of the band as an extension of their musicality. The free-spiritedness of the band’s performances often spurs spontaneity in their audiences. At their August 23 performance around the intersection of Bloor and Bay, a man in business attire took off his shoes and began a quick Latin dance; over the next 15 minutes, three different women joined in. All danced barefoot — their shoes and purses set aside — to cheers from the assembled crowd.

During a brief break in the Crusaders' set, tenor sax player Loui Koutsouflakis shouted over to the impromptu dancer, “You’re the best, man!”

“No, you’re the best!” the dancer shouted back. “You play music! This town needs more music!”

One year ago, before the Sidewalk Crusaders's debut, trumpet player Max Forster felt similarly. At the time, he was studying International Studies at York University. “After two months, I decided I couldn’t do International Studies and that I had to do music,” he says, “I played music all through high school and was really passionate about it, but it was just, you know, going out of high school it was a little too risky for me at the time…but I quickly realized that it was what I’m supposed to be doing.”

While at York, Forster met saxophone player, Peter Cavanagh. It was Cavanagh who would have the idea that would ultimately bring more music to the Toronto streets.

BrINGING tHE BaND tOGEtHEr In the summer of 2012, Cavanagh had subbed as a sax player for another set of buskers. The experience had given him the idea to start his

own band. He began recruitment through his social circle; as such, a large number of the members are fellow York students, with a few notable exceptions. Forster transferred into U of T’s music program after joining the band; he starts in the jazz program this September. Nick Marshall, the trombone player, met Cavanagh through the Toronto All-Star Big Band while he was in high school and will begin studies at Humber College this fall.

Marshall was recruited through Facebook, which he says is “unusual” if you know musicians. “Nobody likes to post their job openings on Facebook…because then you’ve gotta turn down so many people. That’s like last resortdesperate effort thing.” That "desperate effort" was perhaps indicative of how much work it took Cavanagh to form the Crusaders. Earlier members were wary of the amount of work involved. “This took Peter forever to set up…This is Peter’s baby,” says Marshall, who was the fourth trombone player recruited. aUDIENCE aND ENErGY The Crusaders’ performances are the result of long hours of practice and effort. According to Marshall, some band members even had to learn new instruments, “Bryan Yaremko plays baritone sax — he just picked up tuba for this band.” The band also arranges all of the music it plays. They choose their songs carefully.

“The first thing we pay attention to is what’s popular on the radio now, that’s why we do songs like "Get Lucky" and such,” says Cavanagh. The band makes a concentrated effort to appeal to different audiences: songs from Michael Jackson and Stevie Wonder appeal to an audience who grew up in the 70s and 80s, jazz standards are for the older crowd, and video game themes attract the gamers.

The latter group includes the Crusaders them-

selves, whose stuffed Pikachu mascot accompanies them to their performances.

The arrangements are designed to include moments of solo improvisation, often replacing the rap breaks in songs like "Thrift Shop" or "Gangnam Style." "I think it’s one thing that kinda differentiates our songs from the songs on the radio," Cavanagh says. This allows the band to experiment and have some fun. Members tend to gravitate towards certain songs for their solos, and some have developed particular favourites. “I like the funk ones a lot, like Stevie Wonder’s "Superstition," "I Wish," and I guess "Ghostbuster," and "Low Rider" too.”

The effort pays off during the band’s performances. Different band members have different ways of keeping the energy high despite the summer heat, “I play ultimate Frisbee anytime I don’t do this. I’m gonna give it to that,” says Marshall, but as a unit, they cite the importance of the audience to their music. “Sometimes this job can be quite taxing. It’s really good to see people out there and familiar faces because it brings the energy up,” says Cavanagh jokingly, “It’s nice to have a following. It makes us feel special.” Forster agrees: “It’s a lot of fun… Just being out here, you know, everyone really liking what you’re doing… It’s really cool.” Instances of audience interaction, like the anonymous dancer, motivate and inspire the band.

Now that the school year has started, the Sidewalk Crusaders are returning to their student lives, but the music will continue, “I’d like to continue busking in the summers to come,” says Cavanagh, “We’ll try our best to busk every weekend during the school year. I think the idea of busking and playing these songs outside… It's a cool concept — to be outside on a Toronto street, and to encounter that music. There's a connection that’s made. It really is special.”

VARSITY ARTS & CULTURE

var.st/arts

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 9, 2013

15

Gallery review: According to what?

MONICA CARINCI's take on Ai Weiwei's visiting exhibition at the AGO Monica Carinci VARSITY CONTRIBUTOR

At the Art Gallery of Ontario's (ago) latest exhibit, Ai Weiwei: According to What?, the living artist engages visitors in political conversations through aesthetic means.

While circling the heaviest installation at the exhibit, "Straight" (it weighs around 38 metric tons), I was compelled not only to admire the beauty of the waves in material, but also to ask a few questions. What are these long pieces of metal? Where did they come from? Ai collected these pieces of rebar from the collapsed schools where 5,196 schoolchildren died after the 2008 Sichuan earthquakes.

On the wall facing "Straight," is another artwork, "Names of the Student Earthquake Victims Found by the Citizens" Investigation', which has been recreated from the original list of names printed on the walls of Ai's

studio in China. These two works, and the accompanying wall texts provided by the ago, lead to a greater question: could the death of these children have been avoided? Ai asks this question, and many more.

U of T Department of Art professor, Mark Cheetham, was concerned that the exhibit would not live up to the expectations created by the extensive publicity it received prior to the opening. After viewing the exhibit himself, he was relieved to see Ai's work “beautifully installed.” When asked what he thought of the exhibit, he responded, “I was moved by the interconnectedness of Mr. Ai's pieces, their sense of quiet reflection and social engagement, sometimes mixed with playfulness.” It was in Cheetham’s Art Since 1900 class that I received my first introduction to Ai's work.

While viewing Ai's "Château Lafite," a sculptural piece featured in the exhibit, I recall other artists such as Marcel Duchamp and his ready-made works. Behind a glass is

a bottle of Château Lafite with two shoes strapped to either side. This artwork shows the lighter, more playful side to Ai and the influence of post-modern artists before him, as does another work, the "Coca-Cola Vase." In what seems to be homage to Andy Warhol, an ancient artifact is painted with the Coca-cola logo, creating the perfect mix of old with new. This fun work, among others, is sure to satisfy the cravings of pop-art lovers and post-modern enthusiasts.

“It's not often you get to talk about art and the state of the world at the same time,” says ago director and ceo Matthew Teitelbaum.

The exhibit at the ago is a rare opportunity for visitors to engage socially with art while reflecting upon their own world.

According to what? is on now until October 27 at the AGO. For more by Ai Weiwei, check out his largest ever Forever Bicycles installation at Nathan Phillips Square as part of Scotiabank Nuit Blanche on October 5.

Festival guide, part II

Elizabeth Haq VARSITY CONTRIBUTOR

The Toronto International Film Festival (tiff) took over the city on September 5.

The festival is by far your best opportunity to go out and see the best that the film world has to offer. But picking from the hundreds of listings can be tough; should you focus on foreign language films? Oscar contenders? Auteurs? Comedies? Anything French? It's all a bit overwhelming, so here's a healthy balance of obscure and hyped, drama and thriller, and laughs and sobs. Have a happy tiff!

ATTILA MARCEL This is the first live-action feature from the genius who brought us The Illusionist and The Triplets of Belleville, and it deserves to be seen for that alone. Sylvain Chomet’s gift for delicate storytelling results in films that shimmer with grace and perception, and the world of Attila Marcel promises to carry on that tradition. Chomet tells the story of Paul, a 33-year-old man smothered by his eccentric aunts after being orphaned as a child. Dissatisfied with his existence, he seeks out the mystical assistance of a neighbour — provoking largerthan-life visions and encounters. My hope is that Chomet is able to imbue the fleshand-blood world with the same gentleness and vibrancy that he has afforded his animated ones. I have a good feeling I will not be disappointed.

Why you should see it: Paul could give any Wes Anderson character a run for their money.

When: Thursday, September 12 @ Bloor Hot Docs Cinema, 12:15 pm.

Sunday, September 15 @ TIFF Bell Lightbox 2, 12:15 pm.

BASTARDS Director Claire Denis (Chocolat, Beau Travail, 35 Shots of Rum) is one of the most important and prolific filmmakers of our

time, and a mainstay at the Festival for over two decades. Her films operate in the grey areas of existence; in lieu of action, they boldly focus on absence, indecision, and the in-between. Bastards pivots around the three pillars of any satisfying cinematic experience: sex, murder, and revenge. Aided by her trusted cinematographer Agnès Godard, Denis’ take on disturbing subjects and complex characters is sure to be as evocative as ever.

Why you should see it: Bastards is French filmmaking at its most universal.

When: Tuesday, September 10 @ TIFF Bell Lightbox 2, 9:00 pm.

Wednesday, September 11 @ Jackman Hall, 3:30 pm.

Sunday, September 8 @ Bloor Hot Docs Cinema, 8:30 am.

GRAVITY The world is abuzz with praise for the latest work of director Alfonso Cuarón (Children of Men, Y Tu Mamá También); a ballsy space odyssey that uses all the hallmarks of a traditional blockbuster (big budgets, breathtaking backdrops, advanced digital techniques, high stakes) in service of the exploration of more intimate frontiers like human isolation and the impulse to survive. Many critics at the Venice Film Festival, where Gravity recently premiered, are celebrating the film as heralding cinema’s new era. Variety’s rave concluded, “Somewhere, one imagines, the spirits of Stanley Kubrick and Max Ophuls are looking down in admiration.” The film is being praised particularly for its bold opening scene: a 13-minute long single shot that instantly immerses the viewer in the unforgiving beauty and sparseness of space.

Why you should see it: Alfonso Cuarón is a shaman; Gravity is the kind of movie that demands a big screen. It could change the way films are made forever. Plus, George Clooney and Sandra Bullock banter in space.

When: Wednesday, September 11 @ Scotiabank 12, 9:00 pm.

Sunday, September 15 @ Ryerson Theatre, 12:00 pm.

bohan xing/The VarsiTy

Visit www.thevarsity.ca for part one of our TIFF guide. bohan xing/The VarsiTy

16

Vol. CXXXIV, No. 2

VARSITY ARTS & CULTURE

arts@thevarsity.ca

The Varsity goes to TIFF KILL YOUR DARLINGS

TIFF pandemonium began last Thursday with the arrival of big-shot celebrities and highly-anticipated films. Here is just a sample of our thoughts on some of the 300 or so films at this year’s edition of Toronto’s biggest film festival.

BLUE RUIN Blue Ruin is the story of a scruffy vagabond, Dwight (Macon Blair), who turns deadly when he receives upsetting news that opens up old wounds. Dwight says a total of ten words for the entire first act of the film — they look and sound unnatural, like he’s got a perpetual mouthful of mashed potatoes. Blair (Hellbenders) lends a twitchy fragility to his amateur murderer. Director Jeremy Saulnier’s depiction of an outsider fashioning a life out of scraps shows promise.

But when a wobbly revenge story begins to unfold, Saulnier’s camerawork folds under the pressure to thrill and turns languid.

Sequences often drag on for a beat too long.

The camera follows Dwight around for what feels like hours, but it doesn’t incite us to care about him.

The film attempts to frame guns themselves as killers. It asks us to sympathize with

THE ARMSTRONG LIE There is an old adage that speaks of tangled webs and fractured ties in the wake of an intricate lie.

When we commit ourselves to maintaining the illusion of a deception, we must work harder to ensure no one else discovers our plot.

In Alex Gibney's The Armstrong Lie, truth is always hiding just beyond an earnest and almost believable deception. The film chronicles the rise and fall of superstar cyclist Lance Armstrong, whose survival of cancer, Tour de France wins, and Livestrong initiatives were eclipsed by a career of cheating. Gibney is ambitious as he narrates footage documenting Armstrong's 2009 return to sports, and scathing as he investigates a history of doping in professional cycling.

In a bold move that echoes the study of documentary filmmaking itself, Gibney

Daniel Radcliffe is already heading back to school. In Kill Your Darlings, the former Harry Potter star swaps the halls of Hogwarts for New York’s Columbia University to play the young Allen Ginsberg, another famous spectacled protagonist who raids the library’s restricted section.

As if Equus wasn’t daring enough, Radcliffe curses, masturbates, flirts with drugs, and sleeps with boys — cementing his and every child star’s dreams of redefinition by choosing the most licentious, adult roles possible.

But this is not yet the swinging 60s, when the Beat Generation achieved solidarity on a national, cultural scale. Kill Your Darlings is set in the 40s, when Ginsberg, William S. Burroughs (Ben Foster), Jack Kerouac (Jack Huston), and Lucien Carr (Dane DeHaan) were merely a band of innovative and irresponsible youth who rejected the antiquated notions of their close-minded professors, well-to-do parents, and Ogden Nash.

Together, the Beats plan to strike out on the road and execute their 'New Vision.' But before they were great writers mired in controversy, they were simply mired in controversy.

When David Kammerer (Michael C. Hall), Lucien Carr’s parasitic and possessive adult lover, is found dead, Ginsberg faces his most challenging and important writing project: Carr’s defense.

The story nicely imposes the institutional search for truth in school and the judiciary on

the creative search for truth in writing, drugs and sexual promiscuity. Unlike Walter Salles’s adaptation of On The Road, John Krokidas’ Kill Your Darlings succeeds at replicating the frenetic energy of the Beat Generation’s formative years. — Daniel Horowitz RATING: 3/5

DON JON

John meets his match when Barbara Sugarman (Scarlett Johansson), a neurotic sucker for romantic dramas, struts into his life and sets an ultimatum: it’s either her or the porn.

Less pretentious and more entertaining than Steve McQueen’s Shame, Don Jon’s take on porn addiction is more than skindeep. With plenty of humour and stock footage, Gordon-Levitt demonstrates the plentitude and manipulation of sexuality in our modern culture. He makes a stirring argument that Hollywood romance is as fake and as guilty of perpetuating false ideals as pornography.

If feelings of enjoyment persist for more than four hours, view again. Nudity notwithstanding, this is a film that stimulates. — DH RATING: 3/5

a hesitant but willing murderer and to observe how objects take on a violent agency of their own. But Dwight is a homeless recluse without much regard for himself or others; it never seems like he has much to lose. His concern for the people who love him, a sister he abandoned and a former classmate he uses for his gun collection, seems half-hearted at best. Despite the heavy-handed personification of automatic weapons, Dwight’s most disturbing and memorable murder is committed without a gun.

Blue Ruin is an exercise in tepidness. While some may consider this thoughtful — tiff declares that it “never degenerates into a one-sided morality tale"— the film lacks the precision to convey a nuanced stand on American gun culture. It takes tact to explore this grey area — tact that Saulnier doesn’t have quite yet. — Elizabeth Haq RATING: 2/5 often inserts himself into his own narrative. He questions Armstrong's motivations, as well as his own, through the use of voiceover, and neglects to edit himself out of certain interviews.

Ultimately, The Armstrong Lie is an exercise in unmasking deception. Though it offers its viewers what initially feels like an inspirational tale about overcoming life's biggest obstacles, it becomes something much different. This is tricky filmmaking, an example of a documentary that hides its machinations in plain sight.

Much like the fallen athlete himself, once Gibney illustrates the ways in which his subject lies, we are made to question everything we think we know about the truth. Most rewarding, though, is that we are made to question what we know about the film. — Nick Gergesha RATING: 3.5/5

Joseph Gordon-Levitt must have had a hard time filming his feature directorial debut, and not just because he plays a porn addict — the titular, tit-loving Don Jon. Without the auteur’s equivalent of a little blue pill, Gordon-Levitt writes, directs, and stars in this triple X showcase of his triple threat talent.

Needless to say, his potential is huge and Don Jon is a satisfying experience that will leave you wanting more.

A multi-hyphenate behind-the-scenes, Gordon-Levitt plays Jon Martello Jr., nicknamed Don Jon, a family-oriented, Churchgoing, gym-loving Jersey Shore-type, who is engaged in own balancing act of sorts between the disappointment of real sex and the joys of virtual sex. John’s case for the latter is quite the rhetoric.

BLUE IS THE WARMEST COLOUR What can I say about Blue is the Warmest Color that hasn’t already been said? The winner of this year's Palme d'Or at Cannes has been scrutinized from every angle. It’s been called beautiful, heartfelt, and gut-wrenching. It’s been dismissed as a lesbian drama, an obscure art film, and a left-pandering trend piece. It’s been labeled voyeurism, exploitation, and porn.

With Léa Seydoux as Emma and Adèle Exarchopoulos as Adèle, Blue is the Warmest Color is a character piece. Director Abdellatif Kechiche’s camera functions like a lover; it finds a muse in Adèle and introduces us to her with fondness.

There are lingering close ups of her lips while she is sleeping and eating. Sequences follow her unhurriedly as she cooks, smokes, and teaches young children in her class.

It’s true. Kechiche’s fixation with Adèle rings obsessive at times. His camera lavishes over her every move. But this attentiveness speaks to the spirit of unashamed passion at the centre of the story: no matter how uncomfortable, it wants to see, touch, and taste everything. Lust is the language of this film.

Exarchopoulos is exquisite. Though the camera is pinned to her every move, she remains elusive and free. We know her but we can’t seem to figure her out.

In Blue is the Warmest Color, the lines that separate where one person ends and another begins are blurred; Adèle is both reaffirmed and lost forever as she drowns in Emma, a demonstration of how a film can be both deeply erotic and deeply moving. — EH RATING: 4/5

Science

FROM THE SUMMER

var.st/sCIENCE

U of Toronto prof to brew life-saving tea

9 sEPtEMBEr 2013

http://var.st/b7-

science@thevarsity.ca

Reel life observations Seven TIFF films for the scientific cinema nut

Elena Gritzan VARSITY CONTRIBUTOR

The 38th annual Toronto International Film Festival (tiff) takes place from September 5–15, taking over the city with swathes of movie stars, swanky parties, and an incredible batch of films. In between attempts to bump into your favourite celebrity, be sure to check out the wide variety of films on hand — anyone under 25 can secure a single ticket for $17, purchased in advance or in the Rush line right before the screening.

Since it can be hard to know which of the 288 films are worth your time, The Varsity presents a round-up of tiff presentations for fans of science and technology.

Begos’ grisly Almost Human. Mark returns to town alongside a gruesome set of murders, and it becomes apparent that Mark really isn’t Mark anymore; a forceful alien abduction has turned him into something else entirely. Seth’s terrifying journey to stop the string of violence is bound to keep you looking over your shoulder for at least a week.

For the technophobe or tech-obsessed: According to the tiff website, Beeban Kidron’s documentary InRealLife “encourages us to think critically about our adoption of technology.” Interviewing teenagers alongside experts from Wikipedia, Microsoft, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Kidron sheds light on the effect of the internet on relationships, sexual attitudes, and the documentation of personal histories. Following the film is a talk with the director to further explore the ideas presented and reflect on the social rules created by a constantly connected society. You will probably think twice before sending that next tweet.

ly Reichardt’s Night Moves. Both thrilling and morally poignant, this film is bound to make you question what you would be willing to do to protect the beliefs around which you build your identity.

For the budding psychologist: In Lisa Langseth’s Hotell, Erika (Alicia Vikander) finds herself in group therapy after a bout of catatonic depression following the chaotic arrival of her firstborn child. A spark of inspiration comes after hearing about a woman who thinks of herself as a hotel, able to change “rooms,” or perspectives, at will. Erika and her fellow patients — obsessed with Mayan culture, fear, and sex, respectively — try to start a new, healthier life by entering into a more positive room.

For the science fiction historian: For the health nut: Mariana Chenillo’s Paradise follows a couple who make a pact to lose weight together, fueled by negative comments and body shame from their new big-city acquaintances. When increased focus on diet and exercise proves more effective for one lover than the other, the couple’s once-stable relationship is threatened. This romantic comedy highlights our society’s fascination with being thin.

Jordorowsky’s Dune is a documentary directed by Frank Pavich that profiles the development of the never-made 1975 film adaptation of Frank Herbert’s classic science fiction novel of the same name. A celebration of the creativity and vision put into pre-production planning rather than a lamentation about what never was, this documentary shows how Jordorowsky’s ideas cleared a path for the large-scale epics created in following years.

To see the trailers for these films, check out this article

For the space enthusiast: George Clooney and Sandra Bullock play a pair of wise-cracking astronauts in Alfonso Cuarón’s Gravity. Taking place 600 kilometres above Earth, the film treats viewers to breathtaking visuals of our planet and the surrounding solar system. Space proves to be as terrifying as it is beautiful when things start to go terribly wrong, turning life into a thrilling fight for survival.

on our website at: http://var.st/b9u

For the strong-stomached sci-fi fan: Seth (Graham Skipper) is traumatized when his best friend Mark (Josh Ethier) disappears in a pop of blue light, but the real horrors happen two years later in Joe

For the environmentalist: A trio of environmental activists-turnedeco-terrorists plan to blow up a dam in Kel-

18

Vol. CXXXIV, No. 2

VARSITY SCIENCE

science@thevarsity.ca

Innovation and Destruction

Rotman’s Creative Destruction Labs to host entrepreneurship meet-up September 12 Katrina Vogan SCIENCE EDITOR

This Thursday, September 12, the Creative Destruction Lab at the Rotman Commerce facility is hosting a free Demo Camp for students interested in technology and entrepreneurship. Students attending the camp will have the opportunity to present their own innovative ideas and to network with university alumni and members of the Toronto venture community.

“Demo Camp is an event designed to bring the community together… to show off what they’ve been working on.” says Jesse Rodgers, director of the Creative Destruction Lab. “It’s not necessarily for the highly polished start-up — or the highly polished company. It’s for really interesting ideas, to get the conversation going.”

Students interested in registering for the event can register online until September 12. The event is scheduled to last from 3 pm until 6 pm, and is designed to appeal to a broad audience.

The presenters of the event represent a diverse range of interests and approaches to entrepreneurship. University-based presenters are drawn from many faculties, including the faculties of Engineering, Optical Science, Computer Science, and Chemistry. Presenters at the Demo Camp will also include representatives from the Next 36 and The Hatchery — two Toronto programs that work extensively to develop undergraduate start-ups. The Next 36 website boasts that “no [other] program in the world provides the same mix of ceo mentorship, investment, academic instruction, networking opportunities and exclusive events.” The Hatchery, which is affiliated with the University of Toronto Faculty of Engineering, describes itself as a “hothouse for the best ideas of entrepreneurial undergraduate engineers.”

Companies represented will include U of T-based oti Lumionics, which focuses on organic light-emitting diodes (leds), and UnConference, whose conferencing app was constructed at a Toronto based hackathon. Also represented is Seamless Medical Technologies, a Next 36 venture which

Bernarda Gospic/THe VarsiTy

attempts to prevent hospital readmissions through a mobile platform which allows patients and doctors to better manage outpatient recovery.

Christina Mueller, a PhD student in the Chemistry department at U of T and co-founder and vice president of Insight Nanofluidics, will also be attending the Demo Camp. Rodgers says that she will be presenting an electron microscope that can analyze a specimen at the nano-level in real time, without prior sample preparation, and described her innovation as “change-the-world technology”.

The Creative Destruction Lab is hosting the event as part of its focus on the development of the U of T entrepreneurship

community. As a cornerstone of this focus, the Lab also runs an eight month intensive and competitive program for promising entrepreneurs in the U of T community.

The program guides its ventures through important milestones and offers mentorship and access to the Toronto venture capital network. Applications for the Creative Destruction Lab program close September 17. Interested students can apply online through the Creative Destruction Lab website.

The Destruction Lab takes its name from the “creative destruction” concept by economist Joseph Schumpeter. According to Rodgers, creative destruction is entrepreneurship. “It’s the piece of en-

trepreneurship in capitalism in how it plays a role to replace creatively the old industry, which essentially results in a ‘tearing down of the old — replacing with the new’ — and it takes creativity to do that, and innovation… We’re seeing more entrepreneurship in building massively scalable companies that are replacing industries, not just doing an app that sells a million on the app store. We want to see real change, and real growth.”

The Creative Destruction Lab can be found at http://www.creativedestructionslab. com. Register online for the Demo Camp at http://www.creativedestructionlab.com/democampuoft.

U of T integrative medicine plans spark controversy University job posting draws criticism from online science community Shijie Zhou VARSITY CONTRIBUTOR

A recent online job posting for “Director — Centre for Complementary and Integrative Medicine” at the University of Toronto has drawn criticism from the online science community Science-Based Medicine.

These critics are concerned that support of the practice known as integrative medicine is scientifically unfounded and potentially harmful to medical learning at the university.

Integrative medicine is a combination of conventional, “evidence-based” medical treatments and complementary and alternative medicine (cam); the latter encompases natural products (herbs, probiotics), and mind and body techniques (acupuncture, chiropractic, and energy therapies).

Critics of cam are strong proponents of evidence-based medicine (ebm). ebm relies on experimental evidence and the scientific method to direct treatment. The difference between the two fields is philo-

sophical: ebm takes on a modernist view, and its theories are rooted in empiricism and objectivity, while cam uses more cultural, holistic, and spiritual approaches.

The latter’s post-modernist basis can be perceived to reject objectivity and scientific certainty.

U of T alumnus Scott Gavura is a staunch proponent of ebm. In a posting entitled, “The Trojan Horse called Integrative Medicine arrives at another medical school,” published on Science-Based Medicine’s webpage, Gavura slams the U of T job posting, arguing that there should be no alternative to science-driven, research-oriented, evidence-based medicine. He claims that so-called “alternative” methods have no basis in science and that, furthermore, scientific studies even show that some alternative treatments are completely useless. Gavura is also deeply concerned that introducing integrative medicine to both future physicians and pharmacists at U of T will transform the local medical landscape; since both groups would consider integrative medicine a legitimate prac-

tice, they could not accuse each other of “quackery.”

U of T currently offers an introductory course in cam. The new centre, which will be affiliated with the Faculty of Medicine and the Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy, will focus on research and medical training in traditional chinese medicine and natural health products. The job posting states that “the mission of this new Centre is to facilitate, conduct, and obtain support for collaborative basic, clinical, and health services research in complementary and alternative medicine.” The job posting also states that all who apply “must have a md and/or phd degree(s), a strong track record of scholarship and history of peer-reviewed extramural funding.” Gavura does not explicitly address this requirement in his opinion piece.

The controversy surrounding the job posting is rooted in a long debate over the role of research in medicine. In 1910, the American Medical Association commissioned Abraham Flexner to evaluate American and Canadian medical educa-

tion. Flexner proposed higher standards, including a more rigorous science basis and an enhanced role of research in education. Many universities — such as John Hopkins, McGill, and U of T — were highly rated. Today, Flexner’s vision of medical education has been largely implemented, resulting in the scientific framework within which health professionals currently practice. However, complementary and alternative medicine have been gaining popularity again in the past two decades.

Their rise can in part be attributed to some political and cultural reasons. Many ebm proponents believe that the rise in popularity of cam is the result of a loss of public trust in the big pharmaceutical companies.

Many hospitals in the US now offer acupuncture and energy therapies for cancer pain management alongside conventional cancer therapies. The School of Nursing at John Hopkins University encourages its students to embrace alternative medicine, while McGill University offers a new, searchable database for outcome measures designed for cam researchers.

var.st/science

VARSITY SCIENCE

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 9, 2013

19

Caribou, cougars, and care of the earth Examining the role of zoos in environmental protection Andrew E. Johnson VARSITY CONTRIBUTOR

A menagerie does not sound like a place where families would likely take their children on a Saturday afternoon, but the reality is that most of us have been to a glorified menagerie. Although it may sound foreign to some, a menagerie is simply a private collection of animals.

The creation of menageries was a tradition amongst the wealthy for thousands of years.

This practice gave birth to what are known today as zoological gardens or, more simply, zoos.

Although ancient collections of animals could be considered zoos, the modern zoo came at a time of enlightenment — during the 19th century, when people were curious, and fed their hunger for knowledge by observing animals.

Over the past few centuries, the modern zoo has evolved and subsequently been criticized for the mistreatment and exploitation of animals for entertainment. Investigation of this criticism has led scholars to believe that zoos have exponential power to both educate the public on endangered species and conserve said species.

The Role of Zoos in Conservation, a course taught by professor Malcolm Campbell at the University of Toronto’s Scarborough Campus, is the result of a partnership between the university and the Toronto Zoo. The course, which has been taught since 2008, has given utsc students a unique opportunity to interact with the Toronto Zoo directly through lectures and on-site encounters with zoo experts and affiliates. The university has a reputation for giving students many different opportunities through its partnerships with institutions across the gta.

The students at utsc who participate in The Role of Zoos in Conservation are being given valuable tools for the protection of animals.

With Earth’s pending environmental situation, being able to understand how conservation works is possibly one of the most valuable skills a student can have. Many species, including some of Canada’s most cherished — such as the grizzly bear and the woodland caribou — are considered “umbrella species.” The protection and conservation of an umbrella species in the wild result in the protection of a whole variety of species and ecosystems. Therefore, although protecting animals in zoos may be viewed as controversial, zoos actually help conservationists do research — so that our planet can be enjoyed for generations to come.

Aileen lin/THe VArsiTy

The Toronto Zoo by the numbers

40 Species survival plans that the zoo is involved with

70 University students working with the zoo during the summer

2 Pandas at The Toronto Zoo

6 Zoos with pandas in captivity in North America

34 Black-footed ferrets reintroduced in 2009 to Grasslands National Park

0 Black-footed ferrets in their native Canada prior to the reintroduction.

VARSITY SCIENCE

20 Vol. CXXXIV, No. 2

science@thevarsity.ca

E.T., please phone home Jesse Hildebrande VARSITY CONTRIBUTOR

What makes humanity special? What makes the earth special? In a project for the Toronto Science Festival, intrepid communicators from the general public are invited to write a message that would be beamed to the stars, and these were the questions they have to ponder.

The message must be short: less than one hundred words or 500 characters. Our art, our music, our science, our capacity for great love or terrible violence, beautiful dreams and horrific nightmares — with only 500 characters with which to play, how do you capture the essence of our position and importance in the cosmos?

Of course, messages have been sent before — detailed messages capturing our biology, our culture, sounds and greetings from around the world — all sent out in the hopes of reaching a civilization capable of understanding them and responding. There is the possibility, of course, that we are alone, and that we are the only planet to hit upon the secret of life. I opt for a more hopeful view — that regardless of what form life may take, the essential ingredients for life are out there, and we are not alone in the universe. Besides, if it’s just us, it seems an awful waste of space. Whether or not there is intelligent life elsewhere, or whether we can reach it, it is to me a wonderful fact that we try

to communicate anyway. The idea of a message in a bottle thrown out into a vast cosmic ocean is a captivating one, regardless of the end result.

But that captivation aside, for the moment, just how do you capture all that we are in a message that other life forms might understand? Letters and numbers are fundamentally just symbols we’ve created, meaning that expecting aliens to understand English is equivalent to expecting the average English U of T student dropped into Russia to decipher the Cyrillic script — not an easy task. That being said, our radio signals have been beaming into space for over half a century, meaning that a targeted message could be pieced together using the information we’ve already “sent,� much as we could eventually piece together the Russian language through constant exposure. Of course, this raises the possibility that some of our broadcasts from the 30s are already decoded and the response is on its way — leaving the chance that we might get messages back containing slang like “doll-face� or congratulating us for finally landing on the moon. Long distance relationships of light years apart are difficult to maintain.

Interstellar communication is easy.

Just create a signal and it makes its way to space. Listening is much more diffi-

Welcome back!

cult. Millions of dollars and titanic scientific facilities are employed to scan the skies for the barest hint of intelligent life.

Couldn’t the money and effort go to something more practical? Perhaps, but I think that exploration is what humanity is all about. First we walked — out of Africa and around the globe. Then we sailed, cataloguing and conquering unknown lands

in an effort to expand empires and gain resources. Now, we listen. If space, to borrow a phrase, is the final frontier, than life elsewhere would be the single most amazing thing we could discover. That’s why we listen, and that’s why we try to communicate, because finding out that we are not alone is the next great chapter in our exploration of the universe.

date

SEP. 11 - 13

FINE ART FANTASY

place

MED SCI BUILDING LOBBY

WILDLIFE

GIANT-SIZED POSTERS hours

9-7

MUSIC

last day

FRAMES & HANGERS

9-5 FILM PHOTOGRAPHY

Kick off your year with The Varsity.

1000S OF POSTERS

THE

The Varsity’s fall open-house: Thursday, September 19, 3–7 pm 21 Sussex Ave., second floor

POSTER SALE &:&8&"3 #065*26& r &:& &9".4 r '6-- 4&37*$& -"#

OPT-OUT Notice

Students in the Faculty of Arts and Science who wish to OPT-OUT of the OPIRGToronto fees could claim their fees refund: University of Toronto Full and Part-time Graduate students*, as well as Full and PartTime (Arts and Science) Undergraduate students who wish to opt-out of the Ontario Public Interest Research Group-Toronto are able to claim a fees refund with proof of enrollment for the 20132014 academic year. The opt-out schedule and details follow below: St. George Campus: Graduate Students: September 3rd – 27th Undergraduate Students: September 9th – Oct 27th

Location: OPIRG-Toronto Office, 563 Spadina Crescent, Room 101 Monday – Thursday 11AM - 7PM

/ & 7 & 3 803 /

7JOUBHF 'SBNFT 4UBSUJOH BU $100 * /$-6 %* /( - &/4& 4 *

Mississauga Campus: All Students: September 18th

Location: UTM Student Centre (near the UTMSU office), 250 The Student Centre. 3359 Mississauga Road North.

12PM - 7PM *Some Restrictions May Apply Scarborough Campus: All Students: September 19th Location: Student Centre Cafeteria, 1265 Military Trail.

12PM - 7PM

For more details, please contact the Finance and Administration Coordinator at opirg.toronto@utoronto.ca or call (416) 978-7770.

Our office is open Monday to Thursday, 11AM-6PM.

$ P M M F H F 4 U S F F U r r P Q U J D B M T U V E J P D P N

Sports

ONLINE EXCLUSIVE

U of T frosh flood Rogers Centre to watch Argos

var.st/sports

9 sEptEMBEr 2013

sports@thevarsity.ca

var.st/b02

Blues start season with new look U of T Athletics signs three-year kit deal with Prime Time and Adidas Amanda Coletta

VARSITY CONTRIBUTOR

Jerseys are a big deal.

For decades, professional sports teams have taken to altering their uniform styles and designs in order to keep up-to-date with the latest fashion crazes, usher in new eras, and, of course, boost merchandise sales. With the constant updates made to team uniforms, major sportswear companies and fashion designers have been all too happy to enter into partnerships with teams, recognizing that jerseys are some of the priciest billboard real estate around.

The revamping of team kits is not just exclusive to professional sports; the Varsity Blues are getting a new look after entering into a three-year partnership with Prime Time — representing the sports apparelmanufacturing giant, Adidas.

According to Beth Ali, director of Intercollegiate and High Performance Sport at U of T, twelve distributors submitted bids in response to a request for a proposal of a preferred supplier of athletic uniforms and off-field apparel was issued earlier this year. Prime Time was the successful bidder.

This follows a three-year agreement with Russell Athletics.

While Ali notes that it is simply too early to estimate a dollar value for the new purchasing agreement, she explains that it will be based on preferred pricing coupled with a rebate program based on volume. “The more purchasing we do, the greater our rebates will be. The previous purchasing agreement [with Russell Athletics] did not include rebates or ‘in kind’ product to the intercollegiate program. This new agreement does, which allows us to better manage costs for uniforms and clothing,” she said.

Earlier this year, Adidas found itself embroiled in controversy after numerous high-profile schools — including Rutgers, Northwestern, William and Mary, Cornell, and Penn State — either terminated or

suspended their contracts with the apparel manufacturer. The decisions were made following the release of a report by the Worker Rights Consortium, which claimed that Adidas failed to pay $1.8 million in legally mandated severance to 2,800 workers of the PT Kizone factory in Indonesia. The factory also had contracts for the manufacturing of goods with Nike and the Dallas Cowboys, both of which paid the workers partial severance. Although Adidas initially maintained that it owed nothing to the factory, PT Kizone eventually announced that its former employees would “receive a substantial sum from Adidas.”

Ali explains that U of T became aware of the Worker Rights Consortium report at the end of the request for proposal process, at which point it decided to put the ordering of uniforms and clothing on hold. “Only once Adidas Corporate finalized its response to the Worker Rights Consortium to the satisfaction of both parties did we begin to order uniforms and clothing,” she said.

College athletics have emerged as lucrative marketing opportunities for major sportswear companies, especially south of the border. In 2008, for instance, the University of Maryland Terrapins signed a gargantuan five-year deal with Under Armour, worth a reported $17.5 million.

While the market for apparel at Canadian universities is nowhere near as colossal as that in the United States, Ali believes that U of T “will do well partnering with Adidas on price point. We could gain a financial advantage if students, staff, and friends of the University of Toronto support us by purchasing Adidas apparel over the length of the contract.”

The new apparel will be available for purchase later this fall at the University of Toronto Bookstore and at basketball games.

There will also be various items on sale when U of T hosts the women’s soccer and swimming Canadian Interuniversity Sport championships.

Defensive back John Connors in the Varsity Blues new Adidas uniform | (Inset) The Blues in uniform after a Vanier Cup-triumph photos coUrtEsy varsity BlUEs

Men’s lacrosse drops ball in season opener JP Kaczur

ASSOCIATE SPORTS EDITOR

On Saturday night, the men`s lacrosse team opened its season with an 8–5 loss against the McMaster Marauders. Despite National Collegiate Athletic Association (ncaa) transfer AJ Masson’s two-goal support, the Blues did not manage to start the season off with a win.

Masson was all over the field Saturday night. Even when he wasn’t getting scoring chances, the University of Vermont transfer was mixing it up with the Marauders’ defenders and barking at referees for blown calls. His presence on the field exuded the confidence that one would expect from a player who notched 35 goals during his four-year career in the ncaa Division One program.

Even with Masson’s strong play, victory was never a doubt for McMaster. The Marauders managed to score three goals in the first 10 minutes, and went on to maintain at least a two-goal lead throughout the entire game. Most notably, after the Blues cut the lead to 4–1 during the first quarter, the Marauders immediately marched up the

The Blues dropped a 8–5 decision to the Marauders. MichaEl chahlEy/thE varsity

field and scored — regaining the three-goal lead. That moment proved that the Marauders could almost score at will against U of T.

The Blues’ goalie, Lowell Hunt, appeared to be overmatched at times. After the Marauders scored again, bringing the

game to a 6–2 lead on a wrist shot from 15 feet away, Hunt shrugged his shoulders and looked around to his fellow teammates, as if to say: “I did not see that one coming.”

The goalie’s struggles were matched by the team’s overall listlessness. As if blending into the dreary Saturday evening weather, the team appeared to lack the energy and enthusiasm to compete with the Marauders.

The Blues’ head coach, Joe Nizich, could be heard throughout the game — barking at his players to get after the ball faster.

Blues players were waddling over to balls behind the net at times, as if to catch their breath, whereas the Marauders continued to chase every ball — regardless of how out of reach they appeared to be.

The Blues appeared to ramp up their level of effort in the fourth quarter with a late rally, scoring two goals within four minutes of each other. However, it was too little too late — with the game already out of reach by that time. This lack of energy will be cause for concern for the team in the future.

The Blues take on the Guelph Gryphons on Friday in Guelph.

VARSITY SPORTS

22 Vol. CXXXIV, No. 2

BLUES

BY THE NUMBERS

sports@thevarsity.ca

Men’s soccer drown Lakers in 4-1 win

0 points scored by the women’s rugby team in a 38–0 washout by the York Lions

135

receiving yards scored

by Paul de Pass in the football team’s 38–10 loss to Ottawa Fourth-year midfielder and co-captain Ezequiel Lubocki scored the second of the Blues’ four goals against Nipissing. MICHAEL CHAHLEY/THE VArsITY

4 shots by the women’s soccer team in a 0–0 draw with the Laurentian Voyageurs

UPCOMING GAMES

Women’s Hockey vs. Laurentian Voyageurs Friday, September 13 Varsity Arena, 7 pm

Men’s Football vs. Guelph Gryphons Saturday, September 7 Varsity Stadium, 1 pm

Women’s Fastball vs. Laurier Golden Hawks, Saturday, September 14 Brampton, 2 pm

Bill Moran

VARSITY CONTRIBUTOR

The Varsity Blues’ men’s soccer team beat the Nipissing Lakers 4-1 in a heated affair Saturday afternoon.

The game saw multiple yellow cards, tight midfield play, and an offensive charge in which four different Blues players scored.

The Blues opened the scoring early in the first half with a goal by fourthyear midfielder Veljko Lukovic, only to give up the lead minutes later after a goal by Nipissing forward Ryan Mantle. Toronto regained the lead before the end of the half on a blast shot from 40 yards out by Ezequiel Lubocki. Both Mario Kovacevic and

Nikolay Savaleiev scored in the second-half to build upon the Blues’ lead.

The game saw a heavy flow of midfield play, with limited scoring opportunities on both sides despite the three-goal gap in the score.

“I think we have to give a lot of credit to the Nipissing team,” said head coach Anthony Capotosto. “They denied us a lot of long-range strikes, with the exception of Ezequiel’s goal, which came off a long-range shot, which was a tremendous goal.”

Still, the Blues’ shots continued to pile up until the game ended and they walked away with a 4-1 win.

The team endured in part, Capotosto says, because of strength and conditioning coach Jesse Assing, adding

that: “he’s done a tremendous job in preparing our team.”

At the centre of the physical play was Blues defender Dakar Charles.

Charles was involved in several large collisions — one of which resulted in a yellow card — and was visibly displeased with the penalization of teammates, but, he says, that’s an important element of their game.

“I feed off my team, and my team feeds off me, so when the intensity gets going, we start to get going, and we start to flow. That’s how we play,” said Charles.

Charles gives some credit to the aggressive play of his back line for his team’s defensive success. “We played a solid backline,

we stepped, we pressed, and they didn’t have much chances,” he said, “and it worked.”

Still, Charles managed to keep cool during a more heated moment — even pulling teammates from a scrum in the first half.

“We don’t want anyone getting hurt, right? At the end of the day, it’s a soccer game. We love to play, so we want to play the game; we don’t want to have any fighting or brawling and everything,” he concluded.

Charles and the Blues played again on Sunday against Laurentian ending in a 1-1 tie, and will compete again on Wednesday, September 11 at 8:15 pm against Trent University at Varsity Stadium.

Women’s soccer puts a win in the books Bill Moran

VARSITY CONTRIBUTOR

The scoresheet was kind to the Nipissing Lakers’ women’s soccer team on Saturday afternoon.

The final score was 1–0 for U of T, the product of a second-half goal by striker Aisha Lewis. The shot totals painted a much more stark difference between the two teams, as the Varsity Blues dominated both the shot count (19–6) and the number of shot attempts taken (31–12).

The Blues were given an early scare as Nipissing registered a quick shot down the wing, but it was all Toronto after that. The Blues’ midfield hemmed the Lakers in their own side repeatedly, preventing any further progress by Nipissing. Registering ten shots in the first half alone, the Blues were dominating the game.

The second half also started slowly for the Blues, with a flurry of activity around third-year goalkeeper Sara Petrucci. Still, the Lakers failed to register a shot in the first 30 minutes of the half, and finished it with just one. The Blues rebounded with Lewis, scoring the Blues’ only goal on her seventh shot of the game.

“I think it definitely is part of our rhythm to get as many opportunities on net as possible, because at the

end of the day, we do want to score,” Lewis said after the game. “I think we definitely could have capitalized on a lot more opportunities, but we got the result that we wanted.”

Those chances came more and more as the game went on. Head coach Anthony Capotosto said that a big part of this was because: “the players that came off our bench made a significant contribution in the second [half].”

Blues player Christine Zwimpfer, who came on in the 80th minute, registered three shots in just 10 minutes of play.

The win was the first of the season for the women’s team, which now holds a 1–2 record with 12 regular season games to come. Lewis said: “I think definitely there’s a kind of a rhythm once we win our first game, and there’s definitely a confidence that goes to our team once we get that first win, which propels us forward.”

Apart from Lewis, aggressive defender Shaylea Badovinac, and striker Alexandra Rocha were also standout players. The team tied 0-0 in their game on Sunday against the Laurentian Voyageurs, and will play again on Wednesday at 6:00 pm when they face Trent at Varsity Stadium.

U of T will play host to the CIS championship in November.

First-year midfielder Nicki Parkes. MICHAEL CHAHLEY/THE VArsITY

VARSITY SPORTS

var.st/sports

Graduating Athlete: Jonathan Isaac

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 9, 2013

23

Get Your TTC Post-Secondary Student Photo ID

+ MY CAMPUS A. STUDENT

Show your Post-Secondary TTC Student Photo ID every time you use your Post-Secondary Student monthly Metropass.

Isaac has won consecutive oua championships at U of T. PHOTO COURTESY VARSITY BLUES

Susan Gordon

VARSITY CONTRIBUTOR

Baseball has been a passion for Jonathan Isaac, a fifth-year outfielder for the Varsity Blues, since he was young. At age 11 after only playing on house league teams, Isaac decided to try out for a rep team in his neighborhood with one of his best friends: “We had a really good experience...I just fell in love with it.” Isaac continued playing throughout grade school and into high school, retaining his love of the game.

Hoping to advance to a higher level in his sport, he wanted to play in the United States, but was restricted due to his size. Playing Canadian university baseball had never crossed his mind, so in order to fill the baseball void after being unable to compete south of the border, he signed up for a Toronto club team.

Two years later, after an unsatisfying stint at York University, Isaac decided to transfer to U of T. “A couple guys on my club team actually played at U of T,” said Isaac, “and when they knew I was transferring over, they were like, ‘You have to come out to tryouts; you have to check it out.’ And I just kind of showed up, and made the team.”

In Isaac’s second year, although the team was unsuccessful, he was able to prove himself as an elite player. “I got a call from my coach saying I had been asked to play in the oua all-star showcase at the Rogers Centre, which was a nice way to end the season,” he explained. However, as the season was coming to a close, he suffered a game-changing injury: “I actually had a pretty bad bike accident. I went over my handlebars…so the whole summer I couldn’t work or play and I had a pretty bad concussion.”

The following season, Isaac slipped into a new role: helping the

team without competing on the field. “I was able to help with the coaching duties…mentoring some of the younger, newer players,” Isaac said. “It was very difficult to kind of watch things happen.” This season finished with an oua win for the Blues, and Isaac was able to get back on the field for the playoff run as a designated hitter.

Isaac’s health was restored in time for his fourth year; he fully recovered from his injuries, and began playing very well. Although the team was struggling, Isaac was hitting a .300 batting average. Then, disaster struck again: “We were playing against Guelph, I think the second last week of the season, and I actually collided with a center-fielder in the outfield. I went head-first and he went feet-first, and I actually got another concussion.” Isaac was forced to drop all of his classes for the semester, but remained part of the team by returning to help the coaching staff. For the second year in a row, Isaac was forced to miss part of the season due to injury — and again, despite a rough start, the team was able to pull off a win at the oua championships.

Looking forward to graduation, Isaac is keeping his options open.

One thing that he knows for sure is that he wants baseball in his life. He plans to continue coaching a youth aaa baseball team next year, and will be directing the North Toronto Baseball Camp for the second year in a row.

For his final season as a Blue, Isaac is ready to play once again, and, of course, “the goal is to win an oua championship.” Nevertheless, at the end of the day, winning is only part of what matters to Isaac. “We have a lot of really good rookies coming in, so if I can help guide them the right way, and do my part on the field, I’ll be happy.”

var.st/sports

For $106, available at TTC Collectors, participating TTC Fare Media Sellers or at select Pass Vending machines in subway stations.

Students in certificate programs or enrolled on a part-time basis are not eligible.

Look for the posters on campus or visit www.ttc.ca to find your school’s photo date.

ART_04_TTCCORP35058_PSDC_SchoolPaper_PrintAd.indd 1

University of Toronto - Then & Now AD #: CLIENT: PRODUCT: SIZE: COLOR: DATE: PUBLICATION:

The University of Toronto A History; Second Edition

by Martin L. Friedland In the new second edition of this award winning book, Martin Friedland presents the history of the University of Toronto, one of Canada’s most important cultural and scientific institutions. Anyone who attended the university or who is interested in the growth of Canada’s intellectual heritage will enjoy this engaging work.

utppublishing.com

Partnership for Excellence Medicine at the University of Toronto and Academic Hospitals

by Edward Shorter

The University of Toronto’s Faculty of Medicine is where insulin was pioneered, stem cells were first discovered, and famous physicians from Vincent Lam to Sheela Basrur began their careers. Edward Shorter documents the faculty’s impressive history from its inception to the present day.

13-08-20 4:35 PM

TTC35058E TTC CORPORATE 6” X 8” 4C AUG SENECA, CENTENNIAL, YORK, U OF T, RYERSON, GEORGE BROWN

Arts and Science At Toronto A History, 1827–1990

by Robert Craig Brown

Robert Craig Brown takes readers on a sweeping journey through the 150-year history of the University of Toronto’s Faculty of Arts and Science and vividly recounts its development and growth in wartime and peace, depression and prosperity.

24

ADVERTISEMENT

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 9, 2013

ads@thevarsity.ca

IMPORTANT NEWS FOR STUDENTS: from the University of Toronto Bookstore

Our textbook prices are now competitive with * THE largest online bookseller.

More reasons to buy your textbooks from the bookstore: Online Bookseller

U of T Bookstore

Get all of your books

Only some books are available

Get the right book

Up to you to get the right book

Instant pickup

Wait to receive it

Easy returns

Pay to ship it back and wait for payment

Choose your Used Book

Used book quality unknown

Rent your book

Rental option not available

Ask about our

Textbook Price Match GUARANTEE!** **Restrictions apply. See in store for details.

*Applies to new textbooks only. Prices on the majority of textbooks that are also available at the online competitor have been set to be generally much closer to the online competitor’s new book regular price excluding peer to peer sales. Some exceptions will apply. If the online competitor’s price is lower, please ask in store about our Textbook Price Match GUARANTEE.

St George Campus 214 College St Koffler Centre Toronto ON M5T 3A1 (416) 640-7900

Scarborough Campus 1265 Military Trail Bladen Wing, 3rd Floor Scarborough ON M1C 1A4 (416) 724-8213

Mississauga Campus 3359 Mississauga Rd N William G. Davis Building Mississauga ON L5L 1C6 (905) 828-5246

uoftbookstore.com/textbooks