Flat fees set to change An exclusive interview with Minister Duguid PG 10
Vol. CXXXIV, No. 03
PG 6
University of Toronto’s Student Newspaper Since 1880
Skepticism, concern greet Student Societies Summit Provost invites more than 20 student groups to address long-standing issues Liza Agrba
ASSOCIATE NEWS EDITOR
Following months of silence, Provost Cheryl Regehr released a statement on Thursday outlining details of the upcoming Student Societies Summit. This is the latest mediation effort by the administration, meant to resolve ongoing issues between various student societies. The summit cannot effect policy change. Since the statement’s release, some student leaders have expressed reservations about the possibility that the summit will lead to a meaningful resolution. The conflict revolves around referenda, considered illegitimate by the University of Toronto Students’ Union (utsu), that were conducted by the Trinity College Meeting (tcm), the Engineering Society (EngSoc), and the Victoria University Students’ Administrative Council (vusac). The referenda approved the diversion of fees from the utsu, in resis-
tance to what societies claim are undemocratic and unrepresentative practices — although the VUSAC referendum fell short of the required voter turnout. The fee diversion issue prompted Governing Council to postpone the Student Commons, a project for U of T’s first student-run space, which is in its seventh year of negotiation. Jelena Savic, president of vusac, expressed concern about the fact that the Summit cannot effect policy change. “I was under the impression that we were going to partake in a policy review process, not a continuation of the largely unsuccessful facilitated discussion that had occurred earlier this year,” she said. In response to Savic’s concerns, utsu president Munib Sajjad cited the hundreds of student leaders not invited to the summit. “Any policy change must be the democratic will of the membership at large, and not imposed without them having the opportunity to add to the conversation.” Professor Joe Desloges, who will act as chair of the
summit, stated that if the summit does not come to a resolution, and it therefore becomes necessary to undertake further analysis of the issues in question, the issues may be considered as part of a policy review. This echoes a part of the provost’s statement, which reinforces that only Governing Council can effect policy change. Savic also cited concerns about the speed with which the administration is tackling the issues, stating that half of the students who had voted in the referenda will graduate at the end of this year. “I am deeply concerned for the momentum of this potentially revolutionary movement. It would break my heart if the hard work and dedication of last year’s executives and this year’s leaders fizzled into a perpetuation of this cyclical dissatisfaction with the state of student governance on campus.” She added that she intends to enter the discussion prepared to listen, and hopes that the summit results in meaningful change in student governance at U of T.
16 September, 2013
Waverly Hotel: Too high? PG 8
CONTINUED PG 5
Features
Summer abroad Students share their experiences with sustainable summer programs PG 14
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VARSITY NEWS
Vol. CXXXIV, No. 3
WHAT’S GOING ON
THE VARSITY VOL. CXXXIV No. 1
THIS WEEK
21 Sussex Avenue, Suite 306 Toronto, ON, M5S 1J6 Phone: 416-946-7600 www.thevarsity.ca
the week in tweets
ON CAMPUS
Masthead 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
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Illustrations Editor Nancy Ji
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Video Editor Jamieson Wang
video@thevarsity.ca
Web Developer Natalie Morcos
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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
SAMII FOLLIOTT @SAMIIFOLLIOTT 3 tests on one day.. I have the best test schedule ever!!...#uoft #typical — Sunday, September 15
WORD ON THE STREET
SEAN MCNEILL @SEANNZYMAC
September 22 Queen’s Park Circle
A free festival that celebrates the written word and champions literacy through an annual outdoor book and magazine fair. CAREER CENTRE — YOU’VE GOT SKILLS
MIRA NAIR: THE SALAAM BOMBAY!
This workshop will help you begin to identify the skills you have developed through your diverse experiences. Students are required to sign up for this workshop. September 16, 11 am – 12 pm
The director discusses the craft of filmmaking and the tug of competing worlds felt by immigrants. September 19, 6:30 pm U of T Mississauga 3359 Mississauga | RM 110
BUILDING BETTER LIVES AND COMMUNITIES
GO GLOBAL EXPO
A public symposium led by an expert panel, followed by a keynote address by Professor John Helliwell. September 14, 1 pm – 6:30 pm MaRs Collaboration Centre 10 College
Info on working, volunteering, and studying abroad. September 21 Sheraton Centre 123 Queen W. letsgoglobal.ca
QUEEN WEST ART CRAWL
TAKE BACK THE NIGHT TORONTO
An outdoor art show and art sale, featuring guided walks, talks, a nightcrawl, and more. September 21 – 22 Queen St. W. between Bathurst and Roncesvalles
September 21 Community Fair: 4 pm – 6 pm Rally: 6 pm – 8 pm March: 8 pm – 9:30 pm Central Neighbourhood House 349 Ontario takebackthenighttoronto.com
Writers Liza Agrba, Elizabeth Benn, Aberdeen Berry, Amanda Coletta, Emma Compeau, Mark Cumpstey, William Deck, Jelena Djuric, Sam Feldman, James Flynn, Olivia Forsyth-Sells, David Gelles, Jennifer Gosnell, Elena Gritzan, Aisha Kakinuma Hassan, Anika Hazra, Murad Hemmadi, Andrew E. Johnson, Leila Khaharaja, Ruhi Kiflen, Danielle Klein, Sonia Liang, Emily Ma, Sarah Niedoba, Kelly Rahardja, Iris Robin, Anjum Sultana, Katrina Vogan, Theodore Yan, Paul York
Designers Kawmadie Karunanayake, Maggie Roe, Dan Seljak, Shaquilla Singh, Mari Zhou
news@thevarsity.ca
Photo and Illustration Michael Chahley, Shaq Hosein, Nancy Ji, Carolyn Levett, Aileen Lin, Lucinda Yae-Rim Ro,
Copy Editors and Fact Checkers Armen Alexanian, Lois Boody, Karen Chu, Heather Eason, Lucy Genua, Jennifer Hurd, Kawmadie, Karunanayake, Nehdia Kidwai, Olga Klenova, Ken Kongkatong, Alexandra McKinnon, Tahsin Noman, Anna Osterberg, Maggie Roe, Nazli Sadr, Shifa Tauqir, Sarah Thier, Aly Tomas, Kelly Turner, Catherine Virelli, Miranda Whittaker
Business Office
Business Manager Timothy Sharng business@thevarsity.ca Advertising Manager Victoria Marshall advertising@thevarsity.ca Advertising Executives stephanie@thevarsity.ca Stephanie Lau 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.
Questions answered. Answered questions.
What’s the deal with waiting lists? On September 15, waiting lists for all courses were cancelled. September 22 is the last day to add courses with an F or Y section code. Between now and then, getting into courses is a free-for-all. Here are some tips for getting ahead of the game.
1 3
If you know someone who wants to drop the class you’re interested in, ask them to drop the course at a specific time and enroll right after.
Talk to your department. If enough students enquire, it may raise the cap.
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2 4
If you’re a graduating student, look into the Dean’s Promise, which says that you are guaranteed enrollment in the courses that you need to graduate.
Email the professor with as many reasons as you can think of as to why you should be in the course. They have a small degree of control over who can enroll.
Check ROSI obsessively every five minutes.
When I sit down and think about it, I really don’t mind attending the 17th best university on this planet #UofT — Sunday, September 15
CHRISTINA @CHRISTINAJOWETT No offense to my Gryphon friends, but I’m kind of srsly hoping #UofT murders you on our field tonight. #football #homecoming #bleedblue — Saturday, September 14
ONIK KHAN @ONIKSAYS I wish we could pedestrianize another street at UofT besides willy & have ball hockey rolling. #UofT — Friday, September 13
LANA MARIC @LANAMARIC It’s pretty cool knowing that I have classes in the same rooms that Atwood and Ondaatje did. #UniversityOfToronto —Thursday, September 12
SARAH KHAN @SAKHMETH #UofT websites are back up and running! Thank you super fast tech people! — Monday, September 9
MELANIE BLUNDELL @BABYBLUNDELL I’ve had one class and my brain is already scrambled! #uoftproblems #backtoschool — Monday, September 9 Correction: “U of T to open new althetic facility,” The new Goldring Centre for High Performance Sport will not cost any events from the 2015 Pan American Games. Outdated information appeared.
VARSITY NEWS
var.st/news
MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 16, 2013
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Foreign service workers enter fifth month of strike No resolution in sight as more questions raised about processing of student visas Theodore Yan
VARSITY CONTRIBUTOR
The Professional Association of Foreign Service Officers (pafso) continues to be embroiled in a legal strike position that began on April 2, 2013. pafso is the union that represents foreign service workers employed by Citizenship and Immigration Canada (cic) and the Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade, and Development. These professionals include the employees of Canadian embassies around the world who manage and process visa applications — including those of international students. Fortunately, though perhaps unexpectedly, the dispute does not seem to have resulted in any significant decline in the distribution of student visas. Sonia Lessage, spokesperson for the cic, explains that the number of student visa applications has increased by six per cent since last year, but 12 per cent more have been issued, resulting in a 79 per cent approval rate, which is higher than the previous year’s. Richard Levin, the University of Toronto’s registrar says that the university has “been communicating with new international students over the past months and monitoring students’ visa progress and inquiries. Based on this we are cautiously optimistic that there won’t be a large impact on incoming students. However, since students register online, it will be impossible to know for certain for at least a few more weeks.” This does not mean that the strike has not caused problems for international students. Aisha Hassan, an international student from Singapore, had to transfer her student visa to a new passport this year. Students are advised to begin this process at least a month before the old passport expires, and Hassan did so two months prior. “Mine expired in August, but I applied for the transfer [in] early June I guess, but I didn’t get it until mid-August, which is pretty last-minute, when you think about it,” explained Hassan, “Usually the most I think for a study permit would be not even eight weeks; it’s very unlikely it would be eight weeks, but yeah, mine took a lot longer than expected. I was actually scared I wouldn’t get it on time.” “I would think that the students most affected would be the new students just coming into Canada, because it’s a much longer process. Depending on where you’re from, you have to do medical exams and get acceptance letters, and that takes more than two months, I would say,” she concluded. U of T’s Centre for International Experience (cie) made note of the unusual difficulties international students may have had this year in securing their visas. Throughout the summer, the cie filled their newsletters with messages warning students that cic workers were on strike and that delays in the
NANCY JI/THe VArsITY
processing of applications should be expected until the resolution of the dispute. Lesage acknowledged the possible inconvenience, and encouraged students to submit their visa applications as soon as they could, rather than waiting until the department’s deadline, to best ensure that they could be processed in time. “Those who had their applications in on time, those who had all the necessary documentation or whose applications are complete, are overwhelmingly seeing their applications processed,” said Citizenship and Immigration Minister Chris Alexander, “There are probably some that came in later than we would have liked to see who may experience some disruption, but that actually happens every year. I think we’ve seen a remarkable response to an unprecedented demand for the Canadian educational system.” While cic’s success at continuing to process and distribute visas is perhaps a relief to some students, it raises the question as to how exactly the department is continuing to perform this service if all the professionals who are supposed to do it are
on strike. Lesage was vague in her explanation, saying only that “All visa offices remain open and continue to provide service to clients. Every visa office maintains a core number of staff that have been deemed ‘essential.’ Over 1,000 locally-engaged staff continue to work in the visas [sic] offices overseas. Moreover, cic is requesting that essential staff work overtime where possible.” These 1,000 so-called “essential” employees who are providing services to clients and keeping cic’s visa offices open, are almost certainly not members of pafso. Chiefly at issue in this dispute is what pafso terms a $14,000 “wage gap” between the salaries of foreign service workers and other, similarly qualified federal employees who do similar work — such as economists, commerce officers, and policy analysts. “There is no valid reason why fsos [Foreign Service Officers] should not be paid exactly the same,” said pafso spokesperson Chrystiane Roy, adding: “Equal work should result in equal pay.” There appears to be no end in sight to the strike, as pafso and the Treasury Board have not engaged in meaningful negotia-
tions since January of this year. The most recent attempt to end the strike was in July, when the union proposed to enter into arbitration to settle the dispute. However, nothing came of this proposal as Tony Clement, president of the Treasury Board, refused to enter the process unless six preconditions he submitted were imposed upon it. Clement could not be reached for comment for this story. As a result, pafso have filed a claim of bad-faith bargaining against the Government of Canada with the Public Service Labour Relations Board (pslrb); on the grounds that the Treasury Board has “knowingly and intentionally demanded conditions for binding arbitration that could not reasonably be accepted.” pafso president Tim Edwards stated that “We can only conclude that Treasury Board is acting with prejudicial intent toward Canada’s Foreign Service — behaviour that should be of serious concern to all Canadians. We are seeking judicial intervention to compel the government to negotiate in good faith.” The labour withdrawal continues as the parties await the pslrb’s ruling. “Ideally, this ruling would
include a punitive measure for the government which would force them into arbitration. If such a scenario were to unfold, the strike would not immediately be over, but as a gesture of goodfaith, pafso members would return to work and suspend all job withdrawals,” explained Roy from Ottawa. For students, the pafso strike practically seems tohave caused, at most, a limited problem. Visas, while sometimes delayed, are not being withheld with any significant regularity, and in fact seem to be getting processed more efficiently than ever. However, the government of Canada faces claims from a union of its employees that it is refusing to reasonably and fairly bargain with them, and continues to somehow maintain enough staff to do those employees’ work in their absence. “pafso has done everything in its power to resolve the issue. The government has done exactly the opposite,” Roy concluded, “Canadians should be shocked that in order to spare $4.2 million over the course of 3 years of our contract, the Government is willing to inflict serious loss to Canada’s economy and reputation abroad.”
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VARSITY NEWS
Vol. CXXXIV, No. 3
news@thevarsity.ca
Food for thought: pilot project reignites food truck debate Critics say Toronto’s regulatory structure discourages street food Iris Robin
VARSITY CONTRIBUTOR
As Toronto enters its second month of a pilot project involving food trucks stationed in five of Toronto’s parks, the efficiency of food truck regulation in the city is under the microscope once again. Zane Caplansky, owner of Toronto’s first modern food truck, is critical of the project. “The whole idea of trucks in parks is stupid,” said Caplansky, who has advocated for an increase in the number of food trucks in Toronto for the past two years. He would prefer to see a study of trucks on city streets in order to observe how they function in relation to restaurants and other businesses, instead of observing them in parks, where he says they are “a waste of time and a waste of money.” Jen Salazar, who runs the food truck for Smoke’s Poutinerie, said that she “expected more from the project, but [the revenue] is okay.” Carleton Grant, director of Policy and Strategic Support at City Hall, explained that the project was launched in parks to avoid the contravention of bylaws and surplus traffic congestion. The bylaws governing the operation of food trucks in Toronto are strict, especially in comparison with cities such as Ottawa and Vancouver. In Toronto, the cost of a license is $400, and each worker must hold an individual license, which cost $300 each. Under the Mobile Refreshment Vehicle By-
law, food trucks must also pay $45 per employee for a criminalbackground check. In Vancouver, anyone wishing to sell food on the streets must hold a business license — which costs $50 — in addition to a permit for each mobile food vending unit. For a general street vendor, the owner is required to pay an annual sum of $1,073.29. Tony Elenis, president of the Ontario Restaurants, Hotels and Motels Association (orhma) acknowledges the advantages of food trucks: they help to create jobs and build community. However, Elenis is adamant that “brick and mortar restaurants should be protected,” as he fears that allowing food trucks to sell on the streets would risk putting restaurants out of business. “Places with a comparative price point, places with a small take-out menu are most affected by food trucks,” Elenis said. Salazar does not think that a food truck could ever cause a restaurant to close, and Caplansky maintains that there is no evidence that food trucks are a threat to other eating establishments. Salazar admits that the Smoke’s food truck does better business than its storefront, but attributes the truck’s success to the “media hype...[food trucks] are a new concept.” Caplansky emphasizes the role of the media in the positive public perception of food trucks: “Torontonians are very frustrated because they see shows like Eat St., and realize that food trucks are cool and fun… But where are they?”
Students sample St. George’s food truck offerings. CAROLYN LEVETT/THE VARsiTY
Food trucks on St. George Street and Queen Street West, as well as outside City Hall and the Rogers Centre, operate under an older permit, before the number of permitted vendors was capped at 28 after a 2008 moratorium. By contrast, Ottawa boasts a total of 61 vendors, following the approval of the New Street Food Vending Program in 2012. Caplansky is concerned that the “monopoly” the older trucks have on the few locations is damaging the competition necessary for the economy to work. Elenis agrees that competition is important, but stresses that it has to be fair, and allowing food trucks to be
stationed near restaurants is “just unfair.” Elenis added that food trucks are better suited to parks and festivals, and disagrees with the idea of a study of trucks on the streets “because it would be against our intentions.” Elenis said that he would be happy to see food trucks in places where there are no restaurants, such as university campuses. Food trucks seem like the perfect solution for students who are hungry for fast, inexpensive, and tasty food, and it seems that students would like to see more food trucks, with more variety, around the university area. “I had six straight hours
[of class] today, and couldn’t eat. If I could have grabbed something, maybe something healthier, I would have been grateful,” said secondyear student Larissa Parker. U of T invites food trucks onto campus every Friday with the popular Food Truck Friday event. Caplansky hopes that a new project will be under way next spring, but expects that the changes will be slow. Grant confirmed that there is research being done on food trucks in Calgary, with a view to discussing the findings and taking suggestions back to Toronto for spring 2014.
Annual UTSU Street Fair aims to engage students in campaign to pedestrianize St. George Street Jelena Djuric
VARSITY CONTRIBUTOR
Last Tuesday, the University of Toronto Students’ Union (utsu) held a street festival, featuring campus clubs and organizations in an effort to inform students of the many club options available at U of T, as well as promote school spirit. “The Street Fest also serves as an example for the entire community of U of T of what pedestrianizing St. George Street could look like,” says utsu president Munib Sajjad. “St. George Street could, in future, be a communal space where campus groups can host events.” At the street festival, over 100 student groups from various clubs, course unions, and service groups participated in an attempt to solicit new members for the upcoming year and highlight the wide variety of services they currently offer. Caroline Leps, academic coordinator at the International Relations society says: “It was a successful event, with engaged U of T students of all years that were
Students meander along St. George. CAROLYN LEVETT/THE VARsiTY
looking for opportunities to get involved, both within their areas of interests but also to broaden their horizons.” utsu executives hope pedestrianizing St. George Street will
ultimately improve campus life. Brochures promoting utsu’s initiative to pedestrianize St. George Street were handed out to students, encouraging support and garnering attention.
The initiative to pedestrianize St. George Street was first proposed by last year’s utsu president Shaun Shepherd. The utsu Community Action Commission is spearheading the campaign. The commission plans to increase awareness and engagement among students this year. “We have already begun lobbying the City of Toronto and the neighbouring residence associations to build greater support for the campaign,” says Sajjad. The street fair worked to provide students with a model of the prospective campus landscape, but the presence of corporate sponsorship upset some students. Angelo Gio Mateo, president of the U of T United Nations Society, which had a booth near the south of St. George Street, had qualms with the organization of the utsu street festival. “It was not a very good atmosphere at the utsu St. George Street Festival,” says Gio Mateo. “Many people commented about how big corporations all occupied the middle section.” “We try to be very selective
with our sponsorship. We focus as much as possible on local contributions,” says Sajjad. He went on to say that they exclude companies that are potentially problematic for students, such as credit card solicitors. Corporate sponsors — including TD Bank, Shoppers Drug Mart, CIBC, Pizza Pizza and National Bank — were present. Levi Cassidy, a fellow with Ask Big Questions, questioned the objective of the event. “If the aim of the fair was to create a space for companies to promote their products or services to students, with some club representation on the side, then sure, it was a resounding success. But, if the goal was something more along the lines of making the centre of campus into a fun, entertaining place where students could get excited about starting their year at U of T, then I think the fair felt short,” she states. Disclosure: Angelo Gio Mateo sits on the Board of Directors for Varsity Publications.
VARSITY NEWS
var.st/news “SUMMIT” CONTINUED FROM COVER The summit is the second mediation attempt by the administration, following a seven-hour session led by law professor Brian Langille this June, which did not lead to a resolution. “Our mediation session with. Langille highlighted the futility of trying to construct a middle ground on a black and white issue. The utsu either continues to take Trinity students’ money, or the money is remitted to the tcm to provide superior services to Trinity students,” said Benjamin Crase, cohead of Trinity College. “Frankly, we are currently in a position where compromise is not a tenable solution to the deep-seated mistrust and discontent felt by Trinity students.” Crase also stated that, as far as the fee diversion issue, the numbers of students who voted to divert fees from the utsu speak
for themselves. “Over the course of this year, I predict a period of unprecedented change. Delaying the Student Commons decision clearly demonstrates that the university shares this understanding and agrees that fee diversion is a viable option that needs to be accounted for.” In response to this statement, Sajjad stated that “the university and the utsu made the decision to delay the approval of the Commons together, to give the utsu an opportunity to address concerns without giving rise to new ones.” Sajjad expressed optimism that the Summit will lead to a resolution agreed upon and beneficial to the entire membership. He stressed that he is primarily interested in developing relationships of collaboration and respect between the utsu and its peers at other unions. “The conversations
we will have at the summit will be assuredly continued when we converse amongst ourselves,” he said. Mauricio Curbelo, president of EngSoc, stressed that the institutional interests of both the utsu and the EngSoc must take a backseat to what he views as the democratically-expressed will of students, as articulated in the referenda. “The ideal outcome [of the summit] would be one that permits students, through student societies, to self-determine via fee diversion — that is, to be able to have the more local organization provide services and representation.” He cited dissatisfaction with the representation and services provided by the utsu to EngSoc, adding that attempts to resolve this issue through the utsu’s own processes have proven to be unsuccessful. Desloges stated that his prefered outcome is one that is democrati-
MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 16, 2013 cally formulated by the student societies, with respect to their different interests. He hopes that expert advice on democratic structures, as well as input from the large group of student groups invited to attend the summit, will help to inform the outcome. Faculty members set to attend the summit include professors Donald Ainslie, Graham White, and Linda White, who will be joined by at least three representatives from the administration. At least 20 student societies and associations are invited to attend the summit, many of which are not directly involved in the fee diversion issue. A number of other groups, including “student clubs, and other members of the University community” have been invited to submit written statements. The summit will centre on two discussion questions focused on the democratic structure of student govern-
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ments. The first asks students to consider the current policy structure, with four representative student groups, supported by mandatory fee deductions from students, recognized by Governing Council. It asks, “how can the sometimes distinct interests of divisional societies be supported and respected in a democratic manner?” The second asks: “What are the implications of these answers on the evolution of the democratic structures of the student governments or on fee support for the activities of the divisional societies?” The administration originally asked each student society to submit the names of two representatives for this event by September 1, but extended the deadline to September 15. The process is expected to involve multiple meetings, with the scheduling of the first meeting set to take place next week.
The growth of the Good Food Box UTSU initiative helps bring healthy food at affordable prices to campus Emma Compeau
VARSITY CONTRIBUTOR
The Good Food Box provides an opportunity for U of T students to access healthy, locally grown produce on campus at low prices. The bi-weekly program provides produce boxes, available for pick up at the University of Toronto Students’ Union (utsu) office on alternating Wednesdays at 2 pm, with both orders and payment due by midnight the Monday before. Boxes vary in price from $13–$34 and with multiple options based on distribution of fruits and vegetables, as well as size. The contents of the boxes vary seasonally in an effort to include fresh and local produce. utsu vice-president, internal & services Cameron Wathey, who sat down with the The Varsity to explain the program, reminded students to bring bags to carry their purchases home as the actual boxes are reused by the program. The boxes are distributed by FoodShare — a non-profit organization dedicated to making fresh, healthy food accessible to all. U of T has become a FoodShare hub by significantly exceeding the requirement of five boxes per week. Today the utsu averages anywhere between 25– 30 boxes per bi-weekly period — and Wathey hopes the numbers will continue to rise. Ryerson and York have also partnered with FoodShare, distributing Good Food Boxes to students on their campuses. All students on campus are eligible to order; however Wathey particularly encouages off-campus students and commuters to take part in the program as it offers an alternative to expensive and time consuming grocery shopping. This year the project will be expanded into both Woodsworth College and the Transitional Year Program. Interested students can place their orders for the September 25 pickup either online or at theutsu’s office in Hart House Circle by September 16.
Fresh, local produce of the kind featured in the Good Food Box . CAROLYN LEVETT/THE VARsiTY
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VARSITY NEWS
Vol. CXXXIV, No. 3
news@thevarsity.ca
Flat fees policy to be changed this year Minister Duguid feels UTSU, other students’ unions made “compelling case” for change Sarah Niedoba
VARSITY CONTRIBUTOR
The flat fees policy of the Faculty of Arts & Science at the University of Toronto has been hotly contested by various student unions since it was implemented in the fall of 2009, with student leaders demanding reform. In an exclusive interview with The Varsity, Minister of Training, Colleges and Universities, Brad Duguid confirmed that he plans to introduce changes, although he is vague on specifics, later this school year. Duguid, who assumed the post in February 2013, is the first minister in years to even discuss potential changes, let alone confirm they will be implemented. Under the flat fees system, there is a single fee — rather than a feeper-course rate — for students taking anywhere between three to six courses. The U of T administration deems the system necessary to bail out the Arts and Science faculty deficit and allow for advance budgeting. Student leaders find the system unfair as, among other concerns, they claim it makes it difficult for part-time students or students with financial difficulties to afford their schooling. Duguid held several round table discussions with student leaders this summer to talk about various issues, including the flat-fee system. In March, prior to these discussions, Duguid reduced the cap on annual tuition fee increases over the next four years — meaning that tuition over the next four years will only be allowed to increase by three per cent instead of the originallyplanned five. When speaking with The Varsity, Duguid said he feels it is his responsibility to “see the system through the eyes of students,” with a particular emphasis on flat fees and deferral fees. Duguid said that while he understands the challenges facing the university administration from a fiscal perspective, he feels the student leaders he has spoken with from the University of Toronto Students’ Union (utsu) and the Canadian Federation of Students (CFS) have “made a very compelling case that there needs to be change.” When asked about what these specific changes might entail, Duguid was unable to give concrete answers, but he agreed that the system is unfair to students who wish to take a smaller course load for work and family related reasons. Duguid said that in his mind, “at the end of the day it comes down to fairness.” Duguid had stated in
Minister Duguid meets with student representatives last spring. CAROLYN LEVETT/THE VARsiTY
discussions earlier in the year that he wanted to implement a change to the flat fee system, but when asked when students could expect such a change, he would only say: “We will be making some changes in the near future…we’ve been very clear that we will be making a change soon.” While students wait to see these changes, various student leaders have already made clear what they hope the minister will alter. The official utsu stance on flat fees has been the same for years: that they are extremely unfair to the student population and should be eliminated. Agnes So, vice-president, university affairs of the utsu echoed those sentiments: “The best case scenario would be the elimination of the flat fee policy. A revision to the per-course fees system would make more sense…instead of using a flat fees system as a means to exploit students.” The utsu would like the new system to allow students to choose how many courses they would like to take, and for students who only choose to take three courses to not have to pay the additional money for courses they will not receive. The utsu has invested
significant resources in fighting flat fees, including creating a dedicated website to educate students on what they say are the inherent problems of the system, and a lobbying document for the university. The utsu’s representatives at the cfs shared this document with provincial policy makers, who announced a moratorium on the implementation of flat fee policies at other institutions in the future. So feels that this last step means that the Ontario government will soon be ready to revise the flat fee systems that are already in place. Susan Froom, president of the Association of Part-time Undergraduate Students (apus), has also spoken out against the flat fee policy, but is confident that Duguid will come through with the changes her association wants to see. Froom mentioned the meeting held with the minister this August, during which he agreed on the unfairness of the flat fee policy for students. Froom also shared statistics from the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, which released a report last week indicating that the average cost of tuition fees will increase by 13 per cent by the 2016–2017 academic
year. Froom referenced this statistic to illustrate how students in Ontario pay the highest tuition fees in the country, something that is particularly difficult for those who are effectively part-time students, even if they’re taking more than three courses and are paying full-time fees. Ideally, apus would prefer an elimination of the flat fee policy, but barring that, they are hoping for particular revisions that will account for students who take less courses for family obligations, disabilities and work responsibilities. Despite protests and disquiet from student leaders over the years, the U of T administration still stands by the flat fee system. The Arts & Science faculty at U of T implemented the policy to pay for the rising faculty deficit, which can be more easily addressed with the funding that flat fees provide. In a statement to The Varsity, the office of the president stated that it believed the flat fee policy allowed students to take more courses than they normally would on a pay-by-course basis, as students can now take six courses for the same price as five. The statement continued: “From the Faculty of Arts and Science’s perspective,
News is going to happen whether you like it or not.
You might as well be informed. thevarsity.ca/news
revenues from the Program fee were re-invested in the programs, allowing the Faculty to meet student demand, and to assist with the delivery of curriculum.” When asked about possible revisions to the policy, the office cited the findings of the Program Fee Monitoring Committee at the end of the 2011 –2012 school year, which stated that the implementation of the fee did not limit accessibility to courses and did not have a negative impact on grade point averages. The office also stated that the flat fees system does not apply to students with disabilities or part-time students who still pay per course. Part of the disconnect between students’ unions and the administration comes down to how each defines part-time students. All students who take 2.5 courses or less are officially considered parttime, and pay per course. While the students’ unions acknowledge this, they have consistenly pointed out that, while some students may technically be full-time, they are practically part-time students, in that, due to other obligations, they can not take more than three or four courses.
VARSITY NEWS
var.st/news
MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 16, 2013
7
The politics behind Homecoming UTSU-led planning brings largest crowd in years; Trinity and EngSoc decline to participate Ruhi Kiflen VARSITY CONTRIBUTOR
For the first time in many years, student leaders from across U of T worked together to bring students out to Homecoming. However, like many other events this year, ongoing conflicts between the University of Toronto Students’ Union (utsu), the Trinity College Meeting (tcm), and the Engineering Society (EngSoc) soured a seemingly unrelated event. “It will be nice to see everyone together pumped about the game of football” said Onik Khan utsu vice-president, campus life, who spearheaded the organizing of Homecoming festivities. The plans leading up to Homecoming were ambitious in scale, with students from all three campuses coming to Varsity Stadium to cheer the Blues football team against Guelph in their first home game this year. Student societies from across U of T joined together to fund, and encourage their students to attend, a pre-game rally in the University College quad, as well as attending the game itself on Saturday.
The level of collaboration was unprecedented for recent years, as well as the advertising drive, which papered campus for weeks in the run up to the event. However, student leaders from Trinity College and the EngSoc have raised concerns about the planning process spearheaded by the utsu and ultimately elected not to partner with the union for game related festivities. Benjamin Crase, co-head of Trinity College is concerned not only with the planning process, but with more long term issues: “it’s hard to collaborate when we are blatantly ignored” he said. Crase is referring to the referendum held by Trinity College last spring where a majority of students voted to sever financial ties from the utsu. The utsu does not recognize the legitimacy of that referendum. Mauricio Curbelo, president of EngSoc, which held a similar referenda, had broad concerns about the planning process: “I don’t see what they want us to “collaborate” on other than the cost. The whole idea of the homecoming “committee” is a facade meant to make the utsu appear “col-
laborative” when they’ve actually decided everything beforehand” he said via email. He added that it was ridiculous for a student union with a budget of $1.3 million to ask smaller student societies for $2400 to assist with costs. Grace Slobodian, vice-president campus life at the University of Toronto Mississagua Students’ Union (utmsu), has a very different description of the planning process. “I believe that [the] utsu has a done a phenomenal job organizing the event” she said, adding that she felt involved in every part of the planning process and that it was noteworthy that the utsu “brought students from all three campus, from different colleges and faculty [sic] together to celebrate” Munib Sajjad, president of the utsu, echoed the sentiment saying: “As the first home game of the Varsity Blues football team of the year, we felt this would be a great opportunity to showcase the very energy we instill during Orientation week.” The union plans this year to be the first of many in which student societies collaborate on Homecoming planning.
Students rally in the UC quad pre-Homecoming. CAROLYN LEVETT/THE VARsiTY
Bikechain moves to North Borden Building New location can serve more students Aisha Kakinuma Hassan VARSITY CONTRIBUTOR
The University of Toronto’s go-to bike service facility, Bikechain, has moved to a new location in the North Borden Building after several years of searching for a space for their growing organization. Founded in September 2005, Bikechain is an organization that offers do-it-yourself bike repairs and services that are largely free of charge, funded through a dedicated student levy that was increased this year, following a referendum last spring. According to Bikechain, last year more than 3,000 undergraduate and graduate students, as well as faculty members, used the facility. Therefore, to accommodate for the organization’s growth, Bikechain relocated from the basement of the Centre of International Experience (cie)’s Cumberland House, to the North Borden Building at 563 Spadina Crescent in mid-August. The North Borden Building is a dramatic improvement from their previous location. The new space, previously used as a storage facility, was renovated by U of T to accompany Bikechain’s needs. With the larger space, Bikechain now offers three times the tools and double the stands for bike repairs, as well as an online booking system for their bike-lending program. The new space also allows Bikechain to be more community friendly. Due to the limited space at their Cumberland House location, many had to be turned away. Now, Bikechain has a reception desk and waiting area — equipped with
Students mingle outside of Bikechain’s new location.. CAROLYN LEVETT/THE VARsiTY
comfortable couches, a fridge, and microwave, as well as books and board games to occupy visitors as they wait. Despite having not fully set up yet — there were a number of delays caused by construction — the new space has already seen an
increase in traffic. Throughout the week, nearly all the work stands and many bike users fill the office. “[The previous location] was in a basement, and we didn’t really have a storefront. This location is on street level, which increases traffic,”
explains Bikechain Administrative Coordinator Dominic Wong. This year, he expects Bikechain to serve over 4,500 members of the U of T community. “We’ve had a lot of support from the U of T administration, faculty, and students because they
recognize it as something they can get behind. It benefits the school population and is good for sustainability,” says Wong. Previous Bikechain Coordinator and current board member Toby Bowers, speaks of the long process that led to finding a new space. “I started speaking with people in student life, people in the sustainability office, people in facilities and services…I would explain to them how badly we needed extra space, so over time enough people had it in the back of their mind.” Eventually, one of the property managers at U of T offered Bikechain their current space. However, this will not be the organization’s permanent location. While it will stay put for the next couple of years, Bikechain’s ultimate goal is to permanently locate to the utsu’s proposed Student Commons project. “Part of our occupancy agreement with the university is that once the Student Commons area is available, we move,” says Bowers. However, the project was delayed by the administration for a year this summer, citing ongoing conflicts between student divisions. Regardless, significant construction is needed at 230 College, the future home of the Student Commons. In the meantime, Bowers hopes that their current location will help Bikechain continue to expand, stating: “It’s a good opportunity to redevelop some of the community that we didn’t have the space to have before. So I’m very much excited for the new space and I’m looking forward to seeing how it will change and evolve over the years.”
8
VARSITY NEWS
Vol. CXXXIV, No. 3
news@thevarsity.ca
Proposed Waverly Hotel student residence remains controversial Some community members concerned about 22-storey height Aberdeen Berry
VARSITY CONTRIBUTOR
Plans are underway to replace the decaying Hotel Waverly at College and Spadina with a 22-floor student residence. The proposed structure would contain apartment-style suites which would accommodate approximately 200 students. It would include amenities, such as a fitness area, as well as an expanded and refurbished Silver Dollar Room. The proposal, put forth by the Wynn Group, has been working its way through City Hall and has been flagged due to a variety of concerns. A public meeting to discuss the proposal is imminent. Tim Grant, chair of the Harbord Village Residents’ Association, noted that while the full details of the proposal had not yet been made public (and therefore his position might be subject to change), there were still grounds for concern. He stated: “today it is clear that the building is too high for that location, and will cause significant shadowing of the [nearby] schoolyard, which is one of the few green spaces in the neighborhood.” He argues that a shorter
building would be preferable for the area, suggesting: “10 to 15 storeys would be best. The current height? It’s a greed factor.” The current owner of the Waverly, Paul Wynn, believes that opposition from local residents such as Grant, as well as, according to Wynn, Toronto Councillor Adam Vaughan, is based on incomplete information. “Our plans for the site are comprehensive and well-thought out,” Wynn argues. He contends that attempts to persuade Vaughan of the merits of this development have mostly resulted in stonewalling. He states, “I have spoken to Vaughan before [this project], but he has not replied and not replied. I want to have a meeting on site, so he can get a feel for the location and lay of the land.” Vaughn was not available for comment as of press time. Despite concerns on the part of residents, Wynn remains confident that the proposal will be successful, noting: “We have no plans to amend the design. We have done work with consultants and spent lots of money on the proposal.” He also argues that many of the prob-
lems that led to the unpopularity of the proposed Knightstone residence are not problems for his plan. “This project is smaller, and on a larger piece of land than Knightstone, so it will be less invasive to private residences.” Wynn expects that even so, approving the project will be timeconsuming, stating: “It will probably go to the Ontario Municipal Board after failing at City Hall.” The length of this process suggests that the building will not be completed for another four to five years. While this particular project is not without its snags, there is a consensus among the various parties that more student housing is badly needed. Raven Kaur, a fourth-year U of T student who lives in the area, says that a project such as this would be, “Very useful. Affordable housing is often too far away, and sometimes students have to move back in with their parents, which is even further.” She added that if the option had been available, “I would have considered doing something like this myself.” Wynn holds a similar opinion, noting that: “Student housing is definitely required. My own daughter goes to U of T,
and had a lot of trouble getting an apartment nearby.” Grant also agrees that there is insufficient student housing, but he disagrees that a dedicated student building is the best option: “Our concern is that while the neighborhood is 20 per cent student housing, a better way to do student housing is as it already occurs: integrated. Students live side by side with other members of the community.” In particular, Grant expressed concerns about problems particular to student housing, stating: “If a student does something bad on campus, the university can kick them out, but a student cannot be kicked out by a private developer, so if there are problems of bad behavior, buildings could become real trouble spots for community and students in there.” While admitting that his suggestion would do less to ameliorate the student housing problem, Grant contended that: “There is potential for student housing in many buildings that will be developed [in the area].” Grant also claims that a mixed-used building could, “provide more community cohesion in
the building,” as everyone would be more readily encouraged to act in a neighborly fashion. “Even as a condo, like the ones further north on Spadina, it could still be full of students,” he added. Other parties disagree with the feasibility of condominiums. Kaur points out that, “for it to really be a benefit [to students], student housing should be a bit cheaper, because not all students can just afford to rent a condo.” Wynn also disagrees with Grant’s suggestion. “If it were on College, we would do condos, but the property is next to the Scott Mission, so nobody would buy them.” The wide variety of views, many incompatible, about how the neighborhood will develop and the implications of various projects suggest that debate will be lively and is unlikely to end soon. “Considering the issues that come up downtown, I’ve learned from precedent that it’s most important to identify potential flaws [in a proposal], and make sure that you get things right the first time. It’s very hard to go back and fix things,” said Grant.
Guide to opt-out fees $278.40 in annual fees that can be opted-out of before October 4
Accident & Prescription Drug Insurance Plan : $69.00 This plan provides coverage for some expenses that are not covered by provincial drug plans, such as certain prescription drugs. To opt out of the plan, students must provide proof of private coverage in addition to a provincial drug plan.
Cinema Studies Students Union: $0.25 This course union represents students in the Cinema Studies program, and is unique being funded by an opt-out levy through the utsu. Most course unions receive funding through the Arts and Science Students’ Union. cinssu promotes the medium of film by holding a weekly series of film screenings and seminars, and publishing an academic journal.
Dental Plan $62.17
Dental Plan: $62.17 This plan provides coverage for a portion of basic dental exams and procedures. Downtown Legal Services (DLS): $1.50 This is a legal clinic operated by the University of Toronto’s Faculty of Law. dls provides students and members of the community with a selection of legal services. Ontario Public Interest Research Group Toronto (OPIRG): $0.50 opirg Toronto is an organization that empowers students to act on
Accident & Prescription Drug Insurance Plan $69.00
ow wnt Do
$1. 50
Full-time undergraduate students at U of T pay upwards of $1,000 on incidental, system access, and ancillary fees each year. These fees are used to fund student services and societies. While many fees are compulsory, others are optional. The Varsity compiled a list of five fees, out of a total of 15, that full-time undergraduate students may not know they pay and can optout of by visiting the University of Toronto Students’ Union (utsu)’s Office between now and October 4.
ntre -
VARSITY CONTRIBUTOR
issues of social and environmental justice. opirg Toronto provides services such as Tools for Change, a series of workshops that give students the skills necessary to work for change in their communities.
Women’s Ce
James Flynn
n Legal Services - $1.5
0
Students for Barrier Free Acess - $1.00 Bikeshare - $0.50 Orientation - $0.50 Day Care Subsidy - $0.50 U of T Environmental Resource Network - $0.50 Ontario Public Interest Research Group - $0.50 Sex Ed & Peer Counselling Centre - $0.25 Cinema Studies Students’ Union - $0.25 Health Initiatives in Devoloping Countries - $0.25 Radical Roots - $0.15 Blue Sky Solar Car Team - $0.13
VARSITY NEWS
var.st/news
MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 16, 2013
9
Details remain hazy on nationwide effort to leave CFS GSU petitioners miss self-imposed deadline to collect signatures Hope Caldi, Murad Hemmadi VARSITY STAFF
Despite the fanfare with which petitions to decertify from the Canadian Federation of Students (cfs) were launched across the country last week, as of Saturday night, the federation had yet to receive any petitions. The cfs is an umbrella union to which U of T’s graduate, full-time, and part-time undergraduate unions — as well as 80 other student associations nationwide — belong. A press release sent to The Varsity claimed that students at 15 unions, including U of T’s Graduate Students’ Union (gsu), are petitioning to leave the cfs. Students leading the various petitions at universities from British Columbia to Quebec had set themselves a target of Friday, September 13 to gather the signatures of 20 per cent of members from their respective unions. “We’re in the process of collecting the last few hundred signatures we need,” said Ashleigh Ingle, a former gsu executive and the person spearheading the movement, on Saturday. According to Ingle, the federation must receive petitions via registered mail by September 24 to allow for decertification votes to take place this academic year. Brent Farrington, internal coordinator for the cfs, confirmed in an email to The Varsity on Saturday that no petitions had been received at the cfs national office in Ottawa. Under the federation’s bylaws, petitions must be received via registered mail, and the federation’s national executive must rule that a petition meets the federation’s bylaw requirements for a vote to occur. The press release, distributed two weeks ago by the group of stu-
dents organizing the movement to decertify, cited 15 separate student associations seeking to cut ties with the cfs. Associations with groups confirmed to be participating include the gsu, Laurentian’s undergraduate and graduate unions, Dawson College in Montreal, UBC Okanagan, Kwantlen Polytechnic University, and Capilano University. The remaining groups could surface in the next few days, pending their petition submissions to the cfs. Many, however, have decided not to make their intention to launch petitions public for fear of proactive cfs interference, making it difficult to know how many campaigns to decertify are running. Ingle said the response to the petition had been overwhelmingly positive. “Almost every single person we talk to signs the petition,” she said. According to Ingle, about 100 students are gathering signatures for the gsu petition. Motives and plans The decertification organizers have different motives and greivances, as well as different conceptions of their end goals. Ingle and Brenden Lehman, an executive at Laurentian University’s Graduate Students Association (gsa), claim a newly formed national student group is in the works, while other petitioners see the affair ending with decertification. The level of collaboration and organization amongst petitioners also varies, leading some to believe that the “movement” may not be as widespread and effective as it was originally thought to be. Farrington commented that there seemed to be “divergence in messaging” among those leading the opposition to cfs.
Curtis Tse, former vice-president of the ubc Okanagan Student Union (ubcosu), is leading the petition drive on his campus. He claimed that his previous involvement with the cfs via ubcosu soured his view of the federation, particularly what he described as the “partisan nature” of the cfs supporting ndp and union groups. Tse believes that discussion with politicians, rather than spearheading lobbying efforts, would produce more effective results for students. He describes the decertification movement as “a grass roots initiative among many students,” with “little organization between [Okanagan] and other schools.” Lehman is particularly concerned with the cfs’ financial priorities, claiming that the federation is unwilling to spend money acquired through services on advocacy: “The focus has to become more about providing those for-profit services than investing in effective lobbying and advocacy work,” he said. Ryerson Student Union (rsu) president Melissa Palermo had a different perspective on the matter, expressing her union’s strong support for the cfs. She told The Varsity that the news of students attempting to decertify has been a surprise to many on her campus. She spoke highly of the cfs campaigns, saying they have a positive influence on the campus — citing the “No Means No” and “The Hikes Stop Here” campaigns, as well as other initiatives such as the International Student Identity Card, the improvement of campus food services, and the ethical bulk purchasing deal. For Lehman and Ingle, a newly formed national student group is the ultimate aim, and Lehman says the founding congress is to be held
in spring 2014. Lehman says the new organization will “present an alternative to students that will be memberdriven; direct democracy-based; by students, for-students and not based on members’ money but their ideas.” Ingle says that the positive response to the petition among graduate students at U of T indicates the depth of negative feeling towards the cfs among its members. While Ingle and her fellow petitioners are not quite sure how many signatures they require, since the exact membership of the gsu is unknown, she is confident that “we will be at least 1,000 above the number we require.” “This is already the strongest mandate from students that we have ever had,” she said. Confusion over role of student assoCiation exeCutives Confusion surrounds the role that an executive of a cfs-member union may play in a petition or decertification campaign. A “cfsmember union” refers to the organization or group that has the authority to vote on behalf of the members at a particular campus. Ingle, the 2012–2013 civics and environment commissioner of the gsu, cited comments from former cfs national chairperson (and former utsu president) Adam Awad to The Charlatan newspaper at Carleton that suggested executives of member associations could not submit a petition for decertification. Alex McGowan, a student spearheading the decertification petition at Kwantlen Polytechnic University in British Columbia, echoed Ingle’s claim. “The bylaws in the Canadian Federation of Students … don’t allow for student associations to directly
take part in petitioning for a referendum [to decertify],” he said. Farrington made a distinction between associations taking a stance on decertification and executives of those associations acting in their individual capacities. The cfs’ bylaws require that member unions support the implementation of the federation’s objectives and policies, and work ‘cooperatively’ with the federation’s staff and executive. These bylaws, Farrington suggests, do not allow for an association to take a pro-decertification stance or to organize a petition. The executives of a union, however, acting as individual members of the union concerned, do have the right to circulate petitions, though Farrington suggested that would create an ‘image conflict.’ He cited the case of the Laurentian University gsa, which recently “passed a resolution saying that [an executive promoting a petition] should cease that work, if he’s going to continue to be an executive member at that union, because he is out of alignment with the policies set by the membership of the student association.” Lehman, the Laurentian executive to whom Farrington was referring, refutes that claim. The statement, issued through the gsa’s Facebook page, states that the association does not advocate decertification, though it “is aware and understands” Lehman’s actions, but that the association itself was in no way connected to the petitioning. “There was no request to cease,” Lehman says. The gsu and ubcosu have chosen to remain neutral in their stance toward students petitioning for decertification on their respective campuses.
News in brief Pro-rape chants at UBC, St. Mary’s spark national conversation
Wi-Fi down campus-wide on first day of classes
U of T ranked best university in Canada, 17th in world
The University of British Columbia (ubc) has joined St. Mary’s University in Halifax in making headlines for pro-rape chants cheered during the universities’ respective Frosh Weeks. The chants encouraged sex with underage girls, including in situations that are not consensual. Many students at St. Mary’s claimed that their chant was traditional, whereas a frosh leader at ubc claimed that the chant was meant to “stay in the group,” because of past problems with “the cheers being public...and the dean seeing.” Ramifications for the chants are being felt across the two campuses: at St. Mary’s, the student union president and vicepresident have resigned. At ubc the student leaders involved are under investigation. The chants have sparked a national conversation, with many using them as a springboard to question the merits of Frosh Week as a whole. Others have pointed to the chants as evidence of rape culture on campus. — Miranda Whittaker
On September 9, at 12:09 pm, U of T Libraries took to Twitter to announce that Wi-Fi was down across campus. The outage, which occurred on the first day of classes, affected rosi, Portal and utmail among other services. “We’ve had reports of portal, utoronto.ca, wifi, and email all being down,” stated one of the tweets. Another one noted that: “rosi is also down.” All services were fully functioning by 1:12 pm, according to U of T Libraries. Although students were displeased with the online systems’ issues, U of T’s technology specialists were applauded for quickly fixing the problem: “websites are back up and running! Thank you super fast tech people!” tweeted one happy student. Despite the circulation of news on Twitter, no official announcement of the events has been made on the Information and Technology Services’ website. — Shifa Tauqir
The University of Toronto has been ranked the 17thbest university in the world, and the best university in Canada, by qs World University Rankings. qs, a global professional and academic network, began ranking universities globally in 2004. 2013 is the first year U of T has taken the top spot in the ranking for Canada. McGill University, ousted from first place this year, came second, and the University of British Columbia rounded out the top three. U of T did well in a number of subject areas, notably placing 11th globally for both medicine and philosophy. Despite the success, U of T has fallen on qs’ student/faculty ration indicator, prompting Ben Sowter, the network’s head of research, to remark on Canada’s inadequate funding for post-secondary education. McGill’s principal, Suzanne Fortier, and U of T’s president, David Naylor, echoed Sowter’s concerns over national funding. — Olga Klenova
With files from Canada.com
With files from Huffington Post Canada
BEST OF THE SUMMER
VAR.ST/COMMENT 16 SEPTEMBER 2013
Have movements towards afforable education lost steam?
comment@thevarsity.ca
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Reflections of a new alumnus A recent graduate looks back on the university experience
The large size of classes, such as those taught in Convocation Hall, contributes to the sense that U of T has an impersonal student experience. NICOLE REGINA WONG /THE VARSITy
David Gelles
VARSITY CONTRIBUTOR
In June 2013, the long road to my graduation culminated with the convocation ceremony, which celebrated my own achievements as well as those of hundreds of other students — most of whom I had never met. That is how things appear at U of T — it is a huge
university. When you graduate, your friends may not even be at the same ceremony; you probably will not even know the people in your section of Convocation Hall, but is this indicative of the university being a cold, onesize-fits-all, education for the masses school? No. Despite the swathes of students that attend this great institution — and despite the fact that the community may, at times, feel too big — when you are sitting in Convoca-
tion Hall, sweating through your robes because of the summer heat, everyone else in that room with you will be sharing the same feelings of pride and accomplishment. While our campus community can sometimes feel fragmented, every one of us is sure to leave this institution with some common experiences: those long nights at Robarts, the anxiety over your first conversation with a professor, stress over assignments, and more. We must all endure
the trials that are part and parcel of a university education, and we all grow because of it. We share these bonds by virtue of being students at this school, no matter its size. It is up to the individual to avail themselves of what the university has to offer. U of T can be a big and intimidating place, but it does not have to be. Remember, everyone else is going through the same process as you are — stress, frustration, deadlines — but they are also making friends, forging new relationships, and expanding their intellectual horizons. Toronto has a lot to offer, and it would be a shame for anyone to coast through their time here. In order to get the most out of your experience, it is important to give this place your best — in return, you will grow as a student and as a person. The journey is not easy, but it is rewarding and full of surprises. We go to university not only to get an education, but also to discover our interests and motivations. Every year, students get discouraged and can feel excluded because of the sheer size of our university, but it is important to remember that your peers are going through the same ups and downs. U of T is full of opportunities for personal growth and edification. As a new alumnus, my advice to current students, and especially new students, is this: get involved in things you are interested in — look at your courses as opportunities rather than chores — and do not get lost in the crowd; find yourself in what you choose to study and in the activities you choose to pursue. David Gelles is a recent graduate.
The quality of education at U of T: what makes a good program? The University of Toronto’s global reputation makes it a top post-secondary choice Sonia Liang
VARSITY CONTRIBUTOR
The University of Toronto is considered by several institutions and international ranking systems to be one of the best universities, not only in Canada, but worldwide — excelling both in instruction and in research. The Times Higher Education World University Rankings for the 2012-2013 academic year ranked U of T as the 21st-best in the world, placing the school almost 10 spots ahead of the next highest-ranked Canadian university, the University of British Columbia. The ranking reflects all of U of T’s complex departments: the university's arts and humanities rank the best at 17th, and physical sciences, the lowest at 27th. The quality of education depends on one’s program of study, class size, and the availability of workstudy positions, to name but a few factors. U of T publishes more papers than any other university in North America except for Harvard. However, it is not always easy for students to make the transition from participating in classes to being directly involved in research projects. Maintaining good contact with one’s professors and taking initiative go a long way towards finding a position. Maxwell Adams, a fifth–year physics specialist, said: “I actually approached the work-study program office directly, asked if it was possible
to set up a research position with a professor, to which they said yes, and then did so. I've worked with professors in different departments from my own: last year mechanical engineering, this year aerospace engineering.” Derek Leung, who is a second–year accounting student in Rotman Commerce, said he finds his program to be very theoretical, with a lack of hands-on experience. This is a common complaint within many disciplines; sure, the classes themselves are interesting and have their own academic merits, but they lack a practical component. Initiatives like U of T’s brand new courses within the Impact Centre offer interesting opportunities for students to learn more about how they can apply the knowledge they learn in class to their working life. They offer two new courses: IMC200 (Innovation and Entrepreneurship) and IMC390 (Internships in New Ventures). The concepts these courses introduce in terms of developing, organizing, and managing businesses are useful to students regardless of their academic backgrounds. When it comes to the Faculty of Arts & Science, there is a consensus that, particularly in first year, classes are too large and therefore impersonal. Classes will often have several hundred students, with many over a thousand. Kaleem Hawa, a second–year studying international relations and human biology, stated, “For the science courses, we faced massive lecture halls filled with hundreds of
Small group interactions are possible on campus. CAROLyN LEVETT /THE VARSITy
people. The size can be oppressive in these circumstances, and the masses of disinterested people can really dampen your interest. Conversely, my experience with the Trinity One Program was extremely positive. The small class size of 25 allowed me to engage more fully, debate with my peers, and learn more about their outlooks on foreign policy and international politics.” Algimantas Janusis, an english specialist from Victoria College, echoes the same sentiment: “Small classes, hands down, are better. It’s more difficult to hide behind a laptop.” This attitude seems more prevalent within the humanities and social sciences. Theoretical, literary, or political ideas are perhaps best
absorbed through discussion, while subjects of an empirical nature may be more suited to big lecture halls. In the Department of Life Sciences, students have responded that elements other than the class size dictate the quality of the course — for example, whether iclickers were used. Sarah Rocha, a biochemistry and pharmacology double major at New College, said: “I don't think class size really impacts the quality of the course. Courses that are predicted to have large populations are tailored to those numbers, so quality is not lost amongst the sheer size of a lecture hall.” Sonia Liang is a second–year student studying english and political science.
var.st/comment
VARSITY COMMENT
MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 16, 2013
11
THE QUESTION
Are elected officials entitled to absolute privacy?
Toronto mayor Rob Ford has faced scrutiny in the media following allegations of drug use. WEST ANNEX NEWS / FLICKR
Mayor Rob Ford crosses the line of decency in office Jennifer Gosnell
VARSITY CONTRIBUTOR
Like regular citizens, elected officials are entitled to privacy. They are not, however, entitled to flaunt a blatant disregard for the law or to disrespect their office and position of power — such as in the case of Toronto Mayor Rob Ford. At a time when people demand decency and honesty from their elected representatives — and yet, expect very little from them in the long run — a simple respect for the office he or she occupies can set a politician apart. Rob Ford has repeatedly shown that he does not hold his position as the Mayor of Toronto in a high degree of esteem. He has demonstrated this disregard for the seriousness of his position on several occasions, crossing the line of not only the law, but of moral decency. A past charge for driving under the influence, a guilty sentence in a conflict of interest case against him, and, most recently, admitting to the use of marijuana, speak to issues that reflect on his character and ability to reason, not only as a person but as a leader. The alleged crackcocaine scandal and his comments regarding his past marijuana usage have been only the latest displays of a chronic disregard for the rules of society — the same values he took an oath to uphold. Democratically–elected officials are representatives of the people’s will and thus should, within reason, focus on adhering to the behaviors and guidelines that the electorate sets forward as standard modes of behavior.
Certain government employees, politicians, and judges are elected or appointed with the expectation that they will use moral reasoning to guide their decision–making and actions; this is an historical expectation, and one that has not lost favour with the public. This is something that is open to a wide variety of interpretations, but ultimately, politicians must take great care to ensure that they are upholding the standards of office dictated to them by the electorate. Name-calling and outbursts have become a regular part of Ford’s regular behaviour in recent months. He has referred to reporters as “a bunch of maggots” on his radio talk show with his brother, City Councillor Doug Ford, after the media depicted the mayor in an unfavorable light. These outbursts and gaffes negatively influence Mayor Ford’s perceived legitimacy as a leader and cast doubt on his ability to make decisions. Unlike Justin Trudeau, leader of the federal Liberal Party, Ford was sly enough to not reveal the time period of his marijuana use — the amount of which, by his own admission, was “a lot.” The bottom line is that his actions were illegal. In light of the recent crack-cocaine allegations scandal, Mayor Ford’s choice to comment on his personal use of marijuana is indicative of his poor judgment, as it once again thrusts him into the spotlight for breaking the law. Public office is not a place of privilege where elected officials enjoy immunity to law and order — rather it is a burden of service, one Rob Ford seems incapable of carrying. Jennifer Gosnell is a University College student studying political science and American studies.
Mayor Ford was elected to govern, not to be a moral example Olivia Forsyth-Sells
VARSITY CONTRIBUTOR
In May, the Toronto Star set Mayor Rob Ford reeling by alleging that they had access to a video depicting the mayor smoking crack-cocaine. Unsurprisingly, this resulted in a full-blown media circus, calling his legitimacy as a political leader into question. When this type of political scandal breaks, the public’s attention is distracted from the official's work of governing and is focused instead on his or her private life. These distractions are manifestly bad for leadership and cause the democratic process to slow to a halt. Elections start to become about the morality of candidates’ past transgressions and not about the true purpose of democracy: electing the candidate who will ensure the protection of the rights of the people. Political figures are human beings — like the rest of us, they have their flaws and are prone to mistakes. However, when the well-being of the electorate is in question, these errors become the primary focus of the media, even if they have no relation to the efficacy of the scorned leader. Only when a politician’s private activities affect either the well-being of the public or their ability to carry out the duties of their office — and have been proven to do so without any cause for doubt — should his or her actions become public knowledge. Separating Toronto Mayor Rob Ford’s media persona from his role as a political figure is no easy task. Following the Toronto Star’s allegations, the image of Ford created by countless Buzzfeed gifs and memes turned him into a social media clown, now indistinguishable from
his role as an elected official. Mr. Ford suddenly became an involuntary celebrity, defenseless against the aggressive news media — where known criminals and drug dealers are considered legitimate sources. Regardless of your personal opinion of Mayor Ford, he has completed a number of projects that he set out during his campaign. He successfully ended the proverbial "gravy train" by slashing city council’s budgets and privatizing road side garbage pick-up west of Yonge Street. The fundamental question then becomes: “How are voters choosing who they vote for?” I wish I could say it was for a candidate's leadership skills, but it seems very clear that it is about his or her alleged past actions, and sometimes their physical appearance, that steer the vote. There is an ethical demand to base the news on hard facts and not hearsay, which certainly should not include abusive comments about personal appearance. The population should, in turn, recognize that politicians are human beings, with families and friends they cannot control, and pasts they may not be proud of. Yet, candidates ought to be elected on the basis of their campaigns and their political projects as opposed to an alleged video depicting substance use that may or may not have actually happened. The media’s job is to tell the full story, not just the ill-founded, scandalous part that riddles pop-media outlets. Falsely criticizing a leader only results in the destruction of his or her reputation and the consequent denigration of the entire democratic system. Olivia Forsyth-Sells is studying English and philosophy.
12
VARSITY COMMENT
Vol. CXXXIV, No. 3
No more meat!
comment@thevarsity.ca
6851-5x14in-toronto.pdf
1
03/09/2013
11:23
The UTSU should become a leader in sustainable food practices
Get into Grad
School
There is evidence to suggest that eating meat is less environmentally sustainable than other options. ljguitar /flickr
Paul York
VARSITY CONTRIBUTOR
The University of Toronto Students' Union (utsu) should stop serving meat at all of its events. The utsu endorses the idea of sustainable food practices and social justice, but it contradicts those commitments by serving hamburgers to students. In 2006, the United Nations published a report detailing the environmental costs of eating meat. Eighteen per cent of all greenhouse gas emissions come from industrial livestock production — more than the entire transportation sector. Factory farming is also responsible for more water waste and water pollution than any other industry. Bottled water is a drop in the bucket by comparison. This is also a social justice issue of the first order. According to the World Health Organization, millions of people are already feeling the disastrous effects of global warming. That number will undoubtedly increase. Factory farms are also breeding grounds for potentially fatal mutations of the influenza virus. For these reasons, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has advocated reducing meat consumption in industrialized nations. There is also the health risk to students: the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine and Harvard School for Public Health have issued reports that link red meat consumption to increased risks of cancer and heart disease. Grilling meat increases the risk of cancer even more, and hot dogs contain potentially carcinogenic sodium nitrates. There are many inexpensive, healthy, and plant-based alternatives to meat. For example, the utsu could be serving black bean burgers at barbeques. For the last six years, I have spoken with utsu officials about this issue. My concerns were, for the most part, met with polite evasions. On one occasion there was a sincere person on the inside who wanted to change things, but they proved unable to obtain sufficient action.
The utsu Sustainability Commission did hold a single vegan barbeque in 2012. While laudable, the barbeque does not negate the fact that the union continues to serve meat throughout the summer and during frosh week. I do not detect ill will in any of this, just a lack of serious concern for the issue. The utsu currently provides vegan options at events, but this is hardly progressive. Even McDonald's now has vegetarian options. The utsu also endorses Meatless Mondays, but how sincere is this if no action is taken other than one vegan barbeque per year? Some argue that it is a matter of freedom of choice, but is that really a good argument when food choices have such dire public consequences? The desire for a certain taste is trivial when weighed against the suffering of human victims of climate change, not to mention the potential suffering of animals in factory farms. I grant that the utsu is not in a position to force clubs to eliminate meat consumption if the clubs purchase the meat directly. However, the utsu could demonstrate greater leadership on this issue by changing internal practices, eliminating meat from summer barbeques, refusing to supply clubs with meat, and making efforts to educate campus groups and the student body on the merits of whole-food and plant-based diets. So why is the utsu so committed to serving meat? Politicians frequently serve hot dogs to win votes. Perhaps the utsu feels it would lose popularity and votes, but votes should not be put ahead of social justice. Doing the right thing is more important than political expediency. There is growing awareness within our society that the best choice, for many reasons, is a whole-food and plant-based diet. I am hoping that this opinion piece will compel the utsu to do the right thing by abolishing animal products from all of its events and finally demonstrating some leadership on this issue. Paul York is a PhD candidate at U of T studying climate ethics.
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Editorial
16 SEPTEMBER 2013 editorial@thevarsity.ca
LETTERS TO
SEX CRIMES ALLEGATIONS
U of T should have a comprehensive approach In the wake of two unconnected instances of alleged sexual misconduct against faculty members at the University of Toronto it has become prudent to re-examine the university’s current stance on the unique relationship between students and faculty, and the its approach to these kinds of accusations. Ten days ago, the Toronto Star reported that James Andrew Payne, an instructor at the Daniels Faculty of Architecture, has been accused of a second count of sexual assault against a young woman. Payne is currently on trial for another sexual assault charge, relating to events which allegedly took place in 2011. Disturbingly, the university first learned of the charges against Payne this August, after a concerned friend of the alleged victim came forward to ask why he was still teaching while under investigation. Adding to the weight of this most recent scandal is the story of professor Benjamin Levin who was arrested in July on charges of making and possessing child pornography. Levin, an emminent education scholar — who was recently a member of Ontario premier Kathleen Wynne’s transition team — has been released on bail.
On one hand, the university must respect the rights of its employees and treat them as innocent until they are proven guilty. Yet on the other, the university has a responsibility to its students to guarantee that their educational experience will take place in a safe environment. In handling these two controversies, the university is in the unenviable position of trying to balance several important principles. On one hand, the university must respect the rights of its employees and treat them as innocent until they are proven guilty. Yet on the other, the university has a responsibility to its students to guarantee that their educational experience will take place in a safe environment. While the university employs many people and these events can be characterized as anomalies among a predominantly respectful group of people, they cannot be ignored. Nor should the university ignore that, in their relations with students, faculty occupy a position of trust and authority. The university’s current policy on sexual harassment is narrow and outdated. This policy has not been updated since 1997, and is only useful if the alleged misconduct took place on campus or while the student was engaged in a university activity. This policy does not do enough to protect students in the modern university setting. The inadequacy of this policy is evident from recent events. After the charges against Payne became public, the university announced that, by mutual agreement, he would no longer be teaching. Similarly, in the case of Levin, the university announced some time after the affair became public that Levin had “ceased all university activities.” The university’s approach to these cases shows that, in practice, it deems it inappropriate for faculty charged with serious, sexual misconduct to continue teaching. So the university's policies should acknowledge that charges of this kind compromise a safe learning environment. It is also unacceptable that the university first heard of the outstanding charges against Payne months after the charge was made. Again, the policy does not recognize that events outside the course of university business and beyond the boundaries of campus can still affect students and staff in their on-campus roles. While some may argue that there is little the university can do once a criminal investigation has begun, or that relations with the faculty union complicate these matters, they cannot deny that the university has tried to abdicate its responsibility to protect students, and has used piecemeal solutions when faced with public pressure. In an effort to protect students, the university should take a clearer stance on these events and keep the community informed when they occur. The current policy demands absolute confidentiality in the publication of the identities of either the complainant or respondent should a complaint of harassment proceed to a formal hearing, unless there is a risk of serious bodily harm to others. This is manifestly the case in Payne’s situation; he was accused of committing sexual assault in a private residence off campus. Because the incident took place off campus however, there was no disclosure. A new, more comprehensive strategy should be considered given that this policy has failed to fulfill its mandate twice in such a short period of time. Students are constantly reminded to be responsible and respectful in their interactions with their peers. Many programs and resources are available to students on how to avoid, prevent, report, and seek help with issues of sexual harassment and misconduct. Orientation leaders are required to complete anti-sexual assault training. Incoming students are asked to attend seminars on sexual assault. What training are faculty and staff required to complete? What information is available to the community about appropriate and inappropriate interactions between faculty and students? What reporting and monitoring measures are in place to ensure a safe environment? Policies and programs related to these questions should be re-examined in light of their recent failure. Greater transparency on these matters is also required, so that when misconduct occurs members of the university community know what do and what to expect. The ongoing conversation on respectful and responsible interactions on campus must be expanded to include staff and faculty. The Varsity's editorial board is elected by the masthead at the beginning of each semester. For more information about The Varsity's editorial policy, please email comment@thevarsity.ca.
THE EDITOR Vol CXXXIV, No. 03 | September 9, 2013 Re: Rotman Commerce should adhere to the rules of capitalism These organizations are not designed for revenue generation. If they were, you, as a student, would be charged for the events you attended. But most of the events offered are for free, hence the need to get funding from Rotman Commerce to back them up. — Believeitornot (from web) [The author] fails to understand that the student organizations create strategic business proposals during the summer and present to the commerce programs office the reasons they should receive funding. Based on these proposals, the office determines the amount of money they deserve for their organization. This is a very merit based funding program, not a "bail out" and freebie program, as [the author] sees it. — 2nd year (from web) Re: Implied misogyny in cultural discourse My eyebrows first rose at the following passage: "['Slut'] is a loaded word — fundamentally problematic because it has no male equivalent." While not, by any means, a deal-breaker to my mind, what you've said here is actually really just unfounded. The lack of a "male equivalent" means absolutely nothing, on its own. You cannot draw inferences from a lack of equivalence alone, and, to your credit, you actually do give a lot of reasons as to why this word is problematic; the problem, though, is that you start out by saying that it is problematic. In fact, you say that it's "fundamentally" problematic, a justification that is almost as suspect as "it's self-evident," as far as I'm concerned. — Michael Kirley (from web) Re: Nationwide drive to leave launched
CFS
Based on my discussions with current and [former] gsu executive members, only one (maybe two) members of the executive in the last three years still supports cfs. The largest supporters of cfs during those three executive terms are now opposed to them. To say that this is all about Ashleigh is absolutely ridiculous. Ashleigh is doing a large chunk of the organization work, but it would have gone nowhere if there was not a lot of support from other people that knew cfs well and also felt that cfs isn't effective at helping students and that reform is not a reasonable option. I don't think that anyone really cares that Ashleigh lost an election. What people do care about is the fact that the Drop Fees campaign has utterly failed. That it has failed to improve graduate funding and failed to bring phd students post-residency fees. That rather than trying to find solutions to those problems, it is pissing off undergraduates by
pulling a variety of pretty ethically questionable moves like we saw last year with the utsu. Within its own structure, it seems to be perfectly entrenched with ridiculously high barriers to leave the institution and a variety of other barriers to reform. — J (from web) The cfs puts a great deal of work into research and lobbying on behalf of all post-secondary students across the province and the nation, as well as assisting local students to organize and advocate. Their research is available to all, cfs members and nonmembers alike. cfs lobbying has resulted in very concrete improvements for students, improvements that have both bettered our learning conditions and saved us huge amounts in tuition fees over the years. When locals leave cfs, they in effect, become "free-riders," benefiting from the hard work (and funding) of the remaining cfslocals while not contributing to the common effort. — Cleitophon (from web) Re: U of T integrative medicine plans spark controversy [The author] states, "...furthermore, scientific studies even show that some alternative treatments are completely useless."Yet many scientific studies show that conventional medicines can be harmful, dangerous, and even deadly — just listen to the disclaimers for the drugs that are advertised on television these days. It seems [the author] and others who strictly support the use [of] "ebm" will dispute the use of cam because it hasn't been adequately studied or might be "useless" — better that we harm people instead. Never mind whether or not we can actually help people. It seems to me that some people don't care what the evidence shows, good or bad, just that there are enough studies to satisfy the fda which will approve drugs based on their financial backing, despite negative side effects. — Edward (from web) Re: UTSU Insider Pass dublicates free discounts. Perhaps, but the matters [of paying for free discounts and two-tierd membership] interlock quite intrinsically. I mean, the absurdity of the double-paying for services already freely available just draws more attention to the line-cutting foolishness allowed by the card and its two tiered nature. That said, let us not forget another thread raised in the interviews for this article that was not fully fleshed out: This card duplicates Federation services and products, while being produced with their explicit aid. What kind of group claiming to defend notions of equity can produce such an obvious ploy to tier incoming students? Obviously, one that serves its own services arm more so than its membership. — Brad Evoy (from web)
Letters to the editor should be directed to comment@thevarsity.ca. Please keep letters to 250 words. Letters may be edited for length and clarity.
Boon or burden: the liability of volunteering internships overseas International development internships abroad combat the “voluntourism” trend
by Anjum Sultana
T
he beginning of September brings with it photos and tales of summer adventures. Some students bring back stories from their experiences volunteering abroad — whether on faith-based service trips, short-term volunteer internships, or longer term internships for professionals seeking to give back in a meaningful way. There is no question that volunteering and interning abroad is growing in popularity. The “voluntourism” industry is growing exponentially to serve this mounting interest. Nevertheless, there has been much backlash against going on such trips, as they are increasingly seen as a new form of neocolonialism. Some have critiqued such experiences, saying that they propel the Western saviour complex, and are much more focused on personal fulfillment than tangible benefits for the host communities. There are many cases of internships where more harm than good is achieved. Take the example of the pre-medical interns who administer vaccines and medications because of the unfounded trust given to them due to their privilege of being from the developed world. The risk of adverse effects, likely to occur in such a situation, is unethical and does a disservice to patients. Other interns, such as law school hopefuls, assist in human trafficking cases, for example, with no regulatory oversight of the information they may dispense and the actions that may be taken because of it. Still, not all overseas volunteer and internship opportunities are rife with unethical practices and shortsighted visions. Some pursue actions to mitigate risks to host communities. Students for International Development (sid) is a Toronto-based, not-for-profit organization that has worked in Kenya and Peru for the last seven years. Initially a club at Trinity College at University of Toronto, sid was born out of a frustration with the voluntourism industry, which was more interested in making profits than in ethical development work. sid’s core purpose is to provide students with meaningful opportunities without having them pay extravagant amounts, and it also believes in holistic community development that works cross-sectorally across local communities. Since 2007, over 100 sid members have travelled to Kenya and Peru as project managers, conducting diverse projects — such as the construction of much needed health care centres, microfinance programs, child sponsorship programs, and innovative agricultural initiatives. The African Medical and Research Foundation (amref) Canada is an international, African-based, non-governmental organization focused on improving health for marginalized and vulnerable people in Africa. Its main strategic priorities include improving maternal health; reducing mortality of children; scaling up response for hiv/aids, tuberculosis, and malaria; dealing with diseases and illnesses related to water, sanitation, and hygiene; improving access to diagnostic and clinical services; and strengthening global health knowledge in the public domain. With offices in Ethiopia, Kenya, Senegal, South Africa, South Sudan, Tanzania, and Uganda, amref has a strong presence in sub-Saharan Africa, and is focused on implementing programs across the continent. Currently, its 2013 cohort of 10 interns are spread throughout Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, and Ethiopia on six-month internships focusing on knowledge management, training and documentation, monitoring and evaluation, and operational research. Organizations such as sid and amref Canada have hosted internships for students and young professionals for many years. They do so by fostering meaningful ethical experiences for their interns without compromising their commitment to make high-quality contributions to community-driven initiatives. 14
photo courtesy of Mary qui
Selectivity and training The selection process for interns, and how their placements are formulated, is just as important as the work an organization does, serving as a reflection of its vision and mission. Working abroad requires people with a tenacious attitude, who are prepared to work hard in the face of frustrating circumstances and are cognizant of the ethical and philosophical quagmires of living and volunteering in another country. amref Canada develops job descriptions for intern positions in collaboration with colleagues in African national head offices. This ensures that the interns selected have skill sets to match the needs of the offices and serve in areas of limited capacity. Coordinating the hiring of interns with the African offices allows amref to anticipate the experience of incoming interns and efficiently absorb the new cohort of interns through customized in-country orientations. Going into an internship without some semblance of direction or defined deliverables can be problematic for both the intern and organization. A detailed job description ensures that work on the ground has been properly planned, and demonstrates there is indeed a real need for specific volunteers. Expanding the job duties to respond to changing demands and priorities is to be expected, but having a blueprint from the outset sets the expectation for the work you will be doing. Organizations that seek to implement development projects and services effectively are motivated to have high-quality training programs to prepare their interns for the transition to working in the development sector. Organizations such as sid offer training on project management, budgeting, health and safety abroad, conflict management, intercultural competence, ethics in international development, program evaluation, documentation preparation, and needs assessments. Rukshan Mehta, executive director of sid, explains: “With an emphasis on cultural integration, local knowledge and expertise, we have deconstructed the traditional voluntourism model and work hard to engage in projects that are beneficial to
photo courtesy of jordan jarvis
the communities we work in, generated and driven by them.” Todd Carmicheal, director of programmes at amref Canada, notes that organizations that truly engage with the principle of being community-driven employ, “an ethic of remembering that we are doing what we can to support a process with communities, understanding that they aren’t powerless. Communities don’t need solutions from the outside, they need support to realize the achievement of their rights and wants.” Similar to amref Canada, sid also seeks to understand and act upon the needs of local communities, ensuring: “the exchange of experience received by our pms [Project Managers] is well compensated for in the value our projects bring to local partners.” Mehta adds that sid does not “replicate what local organizations and governments do, [but] rather complements their work and fill in voids and gaps in service provision, delivery, and resource needs.”
Long-term consideration North Americans have an incredible amount of privilege when travelling, working, and volunteering in the Global South by virtue of being citizens of the wealthy and educated west — despite their personal circumstances. This is problematic for those volunteering abroad because this association can create compromising situations. The intern volunteering in a rural hospital or clinic with no professional training, administering vaccinations, or other clinical tests may have conferred with status, power, and uncorroborated trust simply on the basis of being a foreigner. To mitigate this, sid ensures that all volunteers going abroad not only have a proper understanding of the culture, language, and sector they are working in, but have a detailed plan on what they hope to achieve on their term overseas. At sid, project proposals must be drafted, budgets must be prepared, and partners on the ground have to be identified and contacted well in advance of setting foot in the country to en-
Clockwise from top left: Sunset in Kenya, View of Stone Town on Zanzibar Island taken from the Kilimanjaro Ferry, A goal for Ghana at a national soccer match against Lesotho, Miss Doris carries her boombox in Namibia, Eye to eye with a Rothschild Giraffe at the Nairobi Giraffe Feeding Centre
Students sent us postcards from abroad Read them online at at var.st/postcards
photo courtesy of heidi parker
photo courtesy of sarindi aryasinghe
project managers compile transition reports for each development project, complete with budgets, vendor lists, contact information of local partners and resources, and a list of recommendations for future possibilities with the project.
Potential for change
photo courtesy of Molly Mcgillis
sure funds are being used responsibly and with clear foresight. Mehta elaborates: “The fiscal responsibilities placed on our Project Managers, in addition to the intensity of the work done, the demands of time constraints, fiscal challenges, and resource availability are simulations for the ‘real world’ and serve as excellent preparation for them to undertake longer-term placements with larger organizations moving forward.” After months of service and dedication to development projects, there should be a plan
to ensure that the work will continue following the departure of interns. Responsible host organizations ensure that time and capital investment bear fruit. sid makes a point only to initiate projects that keep in mind the financial, time, and resource constraints faced by the interns. If there are projects that need to be continued after the intern’s time in the host country, qualified local Kenyan or Peruvian personnel are hired to sustain the project’s activities. At the conclusion of their term abroad,
The multidisciplinary fields of international development and global health are complicated and not without their challenges. Carmichael reflects: “I’ve always said that working in this sector, the highs can be very high and the lows can be very low. In a lot of cases, we are dealing with enormous problems that require large investments and long timelines to really see tangible change on a macro scale.” Despite the challenges, the experiences gained can be transformative for volunteers — not simply another resume item, but a source of insight resulting from living another way of life and genuinely contributing to positive change. Carmicheal notes: “Working in this sector has given me the opportunity to contribute to meaningful work. At its grandest moments, there is lifechanging impact for communities. The opportunity to be part of that is personally and professionally rewarding.” In the west, we are presented with images of poverty, disease, and violence faced by those living in the Global South. It is understandable to want to do good, and that should be seen as a positive sign of empathy — but good intentions,
Read the rest of this article online at var.st/intl
while admirable, are not enough. They must be tempered with careful analysis of the true impact of the actions taken now on the future of communities. When volunteering abroad, there is potential to be either a boon or a burden to the community. It’s imperative that summer volunteers are aware of where they lie on that tumultuous spectrum. Those who successfully navigate it allow themselves to contribute their energies to initiatives genuinely and successfully focused on the alleviation of poverty and human suffering. 15
Arts & Culture
COMING UP
var.st/arts
16 sEPtEMBEr 2013 arts@thevarsity.ca
"David Bowie is" celebrates the icon @ AGO var.st/arts
No reservations with Bill Burr Bill Burr dishes on shitty beginners’ gigs, college kids, and Canucks Sam Feldman
VARSITY CONTRIBUTOR
Bill Burr is one of the 42 acts included in this year’s jfl42 lineup. In my opinion, he is one of the best comedians working today, and someone I am completely unqualified to interview. You may recognize Burr for his recurring role as Kuby on Breaking Bad, from his many late-night talk show appearances, or for his hilarious stand-up specials, Why Do I Do This, Let It Go, and You People Are All The Same. In 2006, he also gained notoriety for ripping into a crowd at an Opie and Anthony show in Philadelphia. Burr’s stand-up acts tackles uncomfortable topics by arguing unpopular opinions in ways that are both brilliant and hilarious. As someone who has been doing stand-up for about six years now, Bill Burr is one of my biggest heroes; I literally jumped for joy and punched the ceiling, cutting my knuckle in the process, when I heard I would be interviewing him (worth it). The problem here was that, like many comedians, I have next to zero social skills. This, along with with the facts that I am very easily starstruck and that Bill is not one to suffer fools gladly, makes for a wonderfully awkward interview. Enjoy. *** The Varsity: What do you think people should know going to a comedy show? Bill Burr: I’m not saying that there shouldn’t be heckling... there shouldn’t be disruption, but it gets to that point where if you’re just gonna yell out non-sequiturs about a show ten years earlier… You know, you’re gonna derail anybody up there, you know? I think it really wasn’t a big deal, it’s easy for everyone to gravitate towards, so they talk about it, they talk more about that than all these crooked bankers. I’m a stand-up comedian, I have yet to watch the video ‘cause I’ve had that stuff happen to me. I’ve walked off stage. You know what? You don’t want a fucking show? Go to hell, fuck yourself, c’mon. I’m not here to get yelled at. You got a ticket so you think you can just take out your awful fucking work week on me? Go fuck yourself! TV: What’s the worst heckle you think you’ve had? BB: The worst ones were early when you didn’t know how to handle it. But there’s a lot of positive stuff in comedy. Dude, it’s not all people yelling and that type of shit. TV: Which guys are you excited about in comedy right now? Is there anybody coming up who you want people to know about? BB: Yeah, Chelsea Peretti, Fortune Feimster, Sean Patton, um,
Joe DeRosa. There’s a bunch of people. Pete Holmes!... Oh man, it’s just gonna kill me, man, there was somebody the other night — Ian Edwards, somebody who’s up and coming. He’s been doing it for a while and he’s an absolute genius. Um, there was somebody I saw the other night, goddamn it I can’t remember her name, she was great. There’s a lot of really, really good people out there. TV: For sure. What sort of stuff have you been doing lately? Are you touring? You’ve got Breaking Bad happening too, are you like… Yeah, what sort of stuff have you been doing for your schedule lately? BB: What, as far as touring? Well, my agent books me for stand-up for the year and if I get some acting we just move stuff. TV: Your acting career is starting to take off. Do you see yourself starting to do more acting like that or do you envision yourself just staying a comic? That’s a stupid way of phrasing it, but you know what I mean? BB: Yeah, no. I don’t know where it’s gonna lead me but I don’t ever see myself not doing stand-up and not being a comedian. I mean it is what I am, because you’re never unemployed, which is a hard thing to achieve. TV: What’s the like, weirdest gig that you’ve had to go through? BB: Um…, I did stand-up at a prom that was on a boat going around the island of Manhattan. TV: Wow, that seems like such a shitty... just, why would you even book stand-up at a prom? BB: Eh you know, it’s one of those deals where, just early in your stand-up career it’s just one humiliating situation, impossible situation after another. But, it weeds out the weak. Um, it’s weird. It builds character to a certain point, but if you stay in those kinds of rooms too long it hurts you. TV: Like, um, how valuable do you think just shit shows are? Like, like, I do just a ton of garbage open mics versus I know people who will just do one good show a week instead. Do you think that there’s a value to those open mics, or does it hurt you to learn to play to the back of the room? BB: At the beginning, you gotta take stage time whenever you can get it. I don’t know, everybody’s different, so what worked for me might not necessarily work for everybody else. I did it wherever I could do it and then I, um, basically, once I got good at it or good enough at it then I tried to. You’re always trying to get into the comedy clubs, the legit rooms, you were trying to get out of the Chinese restaurants, the bars,
Comedian Bill Burr. MEDIa PHOtO
you know, all that crap, you were trying to get in above those. And once you get above those you were trying to get some college work. And then college work, they’d stick you in hallways and cafeterias. TV: What do you think, like ... BB: I think they definitely help you build a tough skin, but if you stay in them too long, you know, you don’t want to be doing bars for like four years, five years. You need some quality, you know, even like when people fight in the war, you stay in the front too long you get some r&r, they take you back and you can chill out a bit before you have to go back. Look, four or five years in, I was definitely still doing shows at bars, but I was also getting spots at like The Comic Strip in New York and just B and C comedy clubs, which was way better than just going into a random place that stuck a microphone in the corner of the room. TV: Yeah, you have to deal with people who just didn’t know that there was a show happening. BB: Yeah, you know that deal, it’s like you come on stage and it’s like, you’re rude. Especially at colleges, kids would be trying to study or just hang out with their friends and then I’m going up there, trying to get them to pay attention, you start making fun of them and they’re just like: “What the fuck, dude? Got a grilled cheese sandwich and just trying to look over
my… whatever the fuck I gotta do here.” TV: Yeah, it seems like people just don’t understand how to understand comedy in a way where they know how to produce a show and what’s necessary for stuff like that. BB: Right, well, you can’t get frustrated by it. There’s not one comedian I’ve ever met, no matter how big they were, that didn’t have hours and hours of stories of horrific gigs. Listen, I got another call coming in about five minutes so if you got one or two more questions you wanna ask? TV: Uh, yeah for sure; I um, a friend of mine told me how in a podcast of yours, a while ago, you said that in Canada you feel like there’s a sort of pretentiousness and superiority over America? Is that a thing that you find here or …? BB: When the hell did I ever say that? TV: Shit. Um, I found a clip from a podcast where you said something along those lines. Um, is that something that you feel? BB: Dude, I don’t even remember saying that. TV: So, do you, um, like Canada? BB: Shit storm start: “Hey, somebody said that they heard something from a clip from a podcast,
where you said this,” and I’m like, “What? I don’t remember that.” “Oh, you don’t? Well, what do you think about that comment that you can’t remember from that thing that that guy heard from a clip from a podcast?” I don’t know what the fuck that is, y’know. It depends on what preceded it. I mean it could have been somebody from Canada calling in trashing America, so I was just giving them shit back. Or it could have been somebody completely different, somebody who sounded like me that wasn’t me. But no, I’m a huge hockey fan; I’m touring Canada in March so, no. If I thought that they were a bunch of pretentious assholes, I wouldn’t go up there. Why would I do that? TV: I don’t know. BB: Yeah, so there you go, there’s your answer. I don’t feel it’s like that. TV: I’m sorry. BB: Oh! I know what it was, I know what it was. I was probably talking about the Montreal Canadiens' fans, and then somehow, through the telephone game, it became all of Canada. But I was just talking the Canadiens' fans. TV: Well, I’m glad that’s sorted out, and I’m sorry. Bill Burr will be performing two shows on September 21 at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre. This interview has been edited for clarity and length.
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VARSITY ARTS & CULTURE
MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 16, 2013
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All you can laugh at JFL42 By a stand-up comedian, for those who don't know how to laugh Sam Feldman VARSITY CONTRIBUTOR
For its second consecutive year, Just for Laughs (jfl) is taking place in Toronto in its newer, sleeker, and debatably cooler 10-day long format: jfl42! jfl began in Montreal in 1983, and it wasn’t long before it rose in notoriety. Currently, jfl is the largest international comedy festival in the world. There's a lot more to the festival than just those annoying prank videos that are constantly on repeat. After 30 years of hosting some of the best comedians from all over the world, jfl has branched out from its francophone roots to bring 42 of the best and brightest stars, up-and-comers, and everything in between that comedy has to offer to our fair city. An exciting part of the festival taking place in Toronto is the inclusion of up-and-coming Canadian acts who call this city their home. These acts include the sketch comedy stylings of Mark Little and Kyle Dooley (members of the sketch troupe, Picnicface), Graham Chittenden (host of mtv’s Showtown), and local headliner Chris Locke. During an interview, Locke commented on his experience at jfl: The Varsity: Do you feel like JFL42’s somehow opening doors for you? Chris Locke: Yeah man. [Laughs] It’s like opening, uh, huge doors into the perception of my mind. Uh yeah, walk on in, see what you see, it’s crazy in there. Yeah, it’s enlightened me about peace, love, and happiness and how we’re all one and stuff like that. But that door’s been opened finally. TV: Don’t get cute with me. CL: [Laughs] I think, yeah of course. But it’s kinda weird in Toronto. How many times you have to keep being taken seriously as a Canadian comedian. So I think it’s gonna open doors, more people are gonna see me but, Jesus Christ, how many times do I have to open doors in the same city? [Laughs] You know what mean, for it to be like, a big deal; but it’s really awesome, yeah… There’s not that many opportunities [in Toronto] so you have to work so hard to stand out just in front of other comedians... So, just how the scene makes us work hard for each other is really valuable in that regard. But in another way, it’s like, maybe the ship’s not sinking but it’s definitely like, rats all holding onto something that’s not big enough to hold them on [laughs].
*** While skeptical of the prospects available in Canadian show business, Locke sees jfl42 as a way of bringing Toronto’s world-class comedy scene into the international spotlight. jfl42 will be using a shotgun spray approach to the festival. For $99 you get to see one (or for $199 all) of the three festival headliners: Aziz Ansari (Parks and Recreations), Sarah Silverman (The Sarah Silverman Program), and a live reading of an episode of Family Guy, complete with the full cast and a live band. In addition to the headliners, pass holders get to see four of the 42 shows around the city. $69 tickets are also available for single headliners. Among those 42 shows, the following is a list of the top, in no particular order, mustsees acts at jfl42: HANNIBAL BURESS Performing September 26 and the 27, Buress is a real rising star in the world of stand-up. Having written on both 30 Rock and Saturday Night Live his comedy is witty, absurd, and hilarious. KYLE KINANE Kyle Kinane is yet another hilarious comedian who is well on his way towards notoriety. He is performing September 25 and 27,.Kinane is a master storyteller who manages to be both witty and lowbrow. His latest dvd, Whiskey Icarus, is undoubtably a comedic masterpiece. MARC MARON Performing September 24, his podcast WTF, in which he interviews everyone from Robyn Williams to Iggy Pop, is one of the highest ranking podcasts on iTunes. Maron’s performances are unpredictable and intimate. Instead of focusing on delivering polished material, Maron creates an intimate, unique, and hilarious experience between himself and the audience. Maron performs for one night only on September 24 at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre.
Rivoli's is a restaurant on Queen West that doubles as a venue for the Just for Laughs Festival. shaq hosein/The VarsiTy
MARIA BAMFORD An absolute surrealist, Bamford takes mundane subject matter such as Starbucks’ lineups and overly enthusiastic hr employees, and uses her imaginative writing and impressive voices to melt them like Dali’s clocks. Maria Bamford will be performing September 25–28.
JO-ANNA DOWNEY Jo-Anna Downey is a local legend in Toronto comedy. She has run Spirits, the most successful open mic in the city, for 16 years. (Robin Williams stops by Spirits whenever he is in Toronto). Downey was recently diagnosed with Lou Gehrig’s Disease, which has rendered her no longer able to perform, in-
stead she has produced four amazing shows featuring Nicki Payne, Mike Wilmot, Rob Pue, and Darren Frost four of the best comedians in the country. Downey is at both the Rivoli and the Drake on September 22. If you missed both dates, head over to the Drake on September 25.
Freshly Pressed: London Grammar's If You Wait Mike Cumpstey
VARSITY CONTRIBUTOR
"Maybe I’m wasting my young years:" the routine thought that inhibits the psyche of almost everyone transitioning from his or her cozy youth into the abyss of early adulthood. If You Wait, the debut full-length album of England’s emerging indie-pop group, London Grammar, preaches just that. Hannah Reid, the lyricist and vocalist, along with her counterparts, Dot Major and Dan Rothman — hit the nail on the head with a coming-of-age album to accompany their breakthrough stature in the music industry. The themes of love, strength, pain, and independence are woven together with melancholic guitar melodies, distant drums, classically orchestrated components, and a powerful Florence Welch-esque vocal delivery. Whether walking to a morning class or experiencing the sunrise after a Toronto night, If You Wait will pull in on all things nostalgic. So as the needle works the groove, transport yourself back to that time in your life — the youthful years.
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Living Arts: Getting published in Urban Dictionary An honourable pursuit, not a total waste of time Danielle Klein VARSITY STAFF
This past summer, a friend of mine was engaged in a casual relationship with a rather philosophical and balding Middle Eastern man. He had the demeanour of Woody Allen and could often be found watching lengthy foreign films or meandering around obscure art exhibits. One evening, he called her to come over to his place at quite a late hour, leading us to believe that this was most certainly a “booty call.” She excitedly skipped over to his apartment, prepared for a lovely unexpected romp. Once there, however, he explained that he had called her because he had just watched a six-hour Hungarian documentary, and expressed the need to share his thoughts on it with someone. This prompted me to coin the term “snooty call.” Convinced this was a brilliant addition to the canon of English colloquialisms, I decided to submit a formal definition of it to Urban Dictionary so that the world could share in its usage: Snooty Call n. Alternative to "booty call"; a late night call from a lover for the purpose of intellectual conversation (rather than sexual relations). Eg. He called me at 2am to come over and discuss a six-hour Hungarian documentary he watched — such a snooty call. Shortly after submitting my entry, I received an email of rejection. I was appalled, obviously, but accepted the rejection as a challenge to continue my efforts of getting a word into the dictionary. When I looked further into how words actually get into the dictionary, I found out that the process operates by public vote. I then became an Urban Dictionary editor myself (a very credible resume item) and started voting on different definitions. I voted for the inclusion of “mewp,” a noun referring to throwing up in one’s mouth, and “on the same banana peel,” an alternative to “on the same page” with the alternative meaning of “being bad at Mario Kart.” I rejected “blanch,” a verb meaning “to throw up,” brought to you by the same person who came up with “mewp,” which offered the example, “At first I thought I was only going to mewp, but then I totally blanched.” I also researched what sorts of words make it into Urban Dictionary. It seemed that there are two categories for what gets published on this bastion of human intelligence: either extremely silly and stupid ideas, or clever but ultimately stupid ideas. “Farte Blanche” was added on August 24, meaning “permission to fart freely,” exemplifying the second group. In discussion with Science Editor, Katie Vogan, she encouraged me to try once again with the term “snooty call.” She said it had potential. We adjusted the definition using the principles of virality to appeal to the lowest common denominator. In other words, we dumbed it down: Snooty call a pretentious booty call e.g. he called me in the middle of the night and was like lets watch a six hour hungarian documentary & bang, such a snooty call! Notice the elimination of details and capital letters. We simplified the definition and example for mass relatability, and tried to make the example less seemingly
AILEEN LIN/THE VArsITy
“stuck-up.” We also changed the specificity of the initial example to achieve broader appeal. After a few minutes of tense waiting, our experiment paid off, and I received an email notifying me that “snooty call” was published in Urban Dictionary. You can now
purchase mugs, t-shirts, and mouse pads featuring my original term and its accompanying definition, with the official Urban Dictionary logo certification on them. It is a great honour and achievement, which I will certainly add to my resume, to have
my witty turn of phrase among the ranks of “masturbathe” (touching oneself in the bathtub), “vurp” (a burp laced with vomit), and “clam jam” (“the female equivalent of cock block”), in Urban Dictionary — an infinite well of vernacular gems.
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Cassette revival How Toronto’s first Cassette Store Day is a step forward in the renewed interest of a supposedly obsolete medium Elena Gritzan
VARSITY CONTRIBUTOR
The cassette tape forever changed how we appreciate, buy, and listen to music. Many of the things we take for granted today — such as being able to blast a mixtape while walking to class, hearing music from faraway countries, or being able to afford an album for 10 dollars — are a result of the cassette. With the subsequent arrival of cds and digital files, the average music library is no longer composed of cassettes. Many people see them as relics of the past: fun for nostalgic reminders of childhood car trips, but not for everyday musical consumption. This view is even held by Sony, the company that allowed us to bring tapes out into the street, with its announcement of plans to discontinue producing the Walkman in 2010. Yet there is a cassette tape resurgence brewing. Labels dedicated to tape releases lovingly churn them out worldwide, so much so that a trio of British label owners — Matt Flag, Jen Long, and Steve Rose — decided to create a day to honour the sometimes overlooked medium. Cassette Store Day, much like the Record Store Day by which it is inspired, involves 75 stores all over the world hosting events including tape fairs, exclusive releases, and in-store performances. On September 7, Sonic Boom celebrated Toronto’s first annual Cassette Store Day at its Annex location. 21 different labels set up shop behind rows of tables in the front corner of the store, displaying colourful wares and plenty of enthusiasm. The event also featured performances from Doc Dunn, Jesse Laderoute, and Black Walls, all of whom provided an atmosphere for attentive listening or tape browsing. The most apparent thing from looking at the tables was the wide variety of music being released on tape today. Each label is rather eclectic, including “everything from sludgy gross metal to straight-up pop music” from Buzz Records, while Pleasance Records
releases “some pretty weirdo noise music [alongside] disco pop stuff." One of the main advantages of the cassette medium is the abundance of styles it can afford. According to Pleasence Records’ Deirdre O’Sullivan, “they’re inexpensive, so it makes the music accessible for pretty much anybody.” A cd can cost you $10-15, and a record even more, but a tape can be added to your collection for a few dollars. The smaller degree of financial commitment in turn encourages musical experimentation and exploration. Of course, a digital file is even more inexpensive to produce, but many feel that something is lost when music is consumed directly through a computer. “[Cassettes are] a warm medium, it feels like something, whereas a digital track is just a piece of air,” said Denholm Whale of Buzz Records. “It’s a nice piece of memorabilia.” O’Sullivan agreed about the merits of physical media: “For me, it’s all about the archival, actual hard copy. And, you know the art. The thing about a cd is there’s something about it, because it sounds digital, that’s too similar to the mp3. Whereas with the tape, even the whole ritual of the cassette deck, is just a little more exciting.” Plus they just plain sound good, an opinion echoed by every label surveyed. “They sound great. I like the warmth of the cassette,” said Healing Power Records’ Wolfgang Nessel. The groups of people who happily purchased pocketfuls of tapes certainly agree. The event was a definite success in the eyes of its record store host. “It went way above and beyond our expectations, and it was incredible to see so many cassette releases in one place,” said Jon Maki, a buyer for Sonic Boom. “Toronto has a thriving diy music community and this event was a testament to that.” If you missed the event, you can get tapes directly from all of the labels present or in person at Sonic Boom and other Toronto record stores. And there’s always next year, Sonic Boom says they “are definitely thinking about doing it again.”
Scenes from Cassette Store Day. MICHAEL CHAHLEY/THE VARSITY
Science
COMING SOON
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An interview with BBC science journalist Jenny Carpenter
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Life on Mars (and elsewhere) Exploring “Life in the Universe” at the Toronto Science Festival Anika Hazra VARSITY CONTRIBUTOR
The University of Toronto is taking on an ambitious theme as it hosts the first-ever Toronto Science Festival later this month: Life in the Universe. The major benefit of choosing such a broad theme is that people from all scientific backgrounds can contribute to its exploration. From a biological perspective, the knowledge that we already have of how life has developed and evolved on Earth can be used to speculate about how other life forms might evolve elsewhere in the universe. This idea will be discussed in depth at a Toronto Science Festival panel, which will include faculty members from U of T’s Ecology and Evolutionary Biology department. Carl Sagan has undoubtedly made a significant contribution to our understanding of the possibilities for the evolution of life beyond Earth. In his award-winning television series Cosmos: A Personal Voyage, Carl Sagan discusses organic molecules as the building blocks of life, the potential for different life forms to develop in the universe, and what types of life forms might exist. Organic molecules are not life in and of themselves, but are the ingredients needed to create life. Wherever organic molecules exist, the potential for life also exists, provided that the environmental conditions are suitable. The same organic molecules that produced life on Earth are also present throughout the rest of the universe, where it is highly likely that life has developed at least once. An important question we must ask in our search for life beyond our planet is what exactly life is. In the evolution of life on Earth, there is a tendency towards greater complexity in life forms. Does this mean that the simplest life forms are not considered life? It is important to consider whether the same rules and patterns of evolutionary biology on Earth apply to the rest of the universe. Carl Sagan mentions three possible types of life forms in Cosmos that, based on our own understanding of chemistry and physics, could exist in the universe: sinkers, floaters, and hunters. Sinkers are tiny organisms that live in different layers of the atmosphere, floaters are vast living balloons, and hunters are life forms that eat floaters for their organic molecules and hydrogen. While Sagan explains that these are the life forms he only imagines to exist, he emphasizes that we cannot expect nature to follow our speculations. Differences in environmental conditions, and the random character of evolutionary processes, could cre-
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ate life forms that don’t look like anything we have ever seen before. A group of scientists will tackle similar ideas in the panel on the origin and evolution of life on earth on September 28, 2013 at 1:30 pm. The
panel will include plant evolutionary biologist Spencer Barrett, paleontologist David Evans, evolutionary genomicist Stephen Wright, and evolutionary development biologist Cassandra Extavour, and will be moderated by science
journalist Jennifer Carpenter. The festival will screen the film Contact, based on Sagan’s novel of the same name, on September 29, 2013 at 1:30 pm inside Innis Town Hall. The Toronto Science Festival runs September 27-29, 2013.
people value success in a monetary sense, I value success on a sustainable scale. Therefore, my journey in Australia began as a quest to explore the opportunities for sustainable success. Immediately, I noticed and investigated the ways of life in Australia and compared how they differed from ways of life in Canada. Australia is isolated and susceptible to invading species, drought, and other severe weather that are not as common in Canada. From the moment I entered the country, I was bombarded with questions about what I was bringing into Australia, whether my shoes were clean, or if I had any pollen or plant matter on my person. It seemed very strange considering I had never been asked these questions when entering Canada. It was a real wake up call to the reality of living on the world’s largest island.
My curiosity slowly started to grow about how sustainable the country really was. I noticed many wind farms, toured hydroelectric dams, and saw the potential for solar energy to be implemented. I know that these energy sources exist in Canada, but it seemed as if the Australian people were more aware of these systems and were active in the advancement of their country’s sustainability. I wondered if it was possible for Canadians to learn attitudes from Australians or whether environmental awareness was just an everyday part of survival in Australia. Being a university student abroad is an opportunity to explore new innovations, technologies,and ideas to bring back to the table in my home country.
Conservation down under Andrew E. Johnson VARSITY CONTRIBUTOR
Journey: both the act of travelling between two places and a long and difficult process of personal change and development. Both are acts I intend on doing. When I began my undergraduate degree, four years ago, I — like many students — aspired to travel extensively. I hoped that one day I could incorporate my degree with my love of travelling. My first taste of this was a summer abroad in Jerusalem studying Transboundary Water Conflict and Management. This prepared me for my next journey — a journey Down Under. It’s an experience that has certainly been a process of personal change and development.
I am already seven months into my time in Australia — my trip this time lasts considerably longer than a summer. A summer abroad allowed me to experience the Israeli environment, but a year abroad has integrated me into a new culture and world. Australia and Canada have more differences than one would suspect between two countries with similar historical beginnings. These differences, which I will explore throughout the next two semesters, are particularly striking in the sense of landscape and environment. Originally, my purpose in Australia was to study environmental sciences, but I felt like I had an alternative motive: to understand myself as a person and to discover where I want to be after graduation. Like most young people this means success. However, while some young
Andrew E. Johnson’s column on international sustainability and science runs monthly.
VARSITY SCIENCE
22 Vol. CXXXIV, No. 3
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U of T student Eunice Cho wins ASH HONOURS Award to support Cho’s research on leukemia treatment at Princess Margaret Hospital Emily Ma
VARSITY CONTRIBUTOR
Eunice Cho, a University of Toronto student from the Faculty of Medicine, is one of 19 medical students and 11 residents across Canada, United States, and Mexico who have received the American Society of Hematology (ash) Hematology Opportunities for the Next Generation of Research Scientists (honours) award. The honours award was created to promote research in hematology, the study of blood and blood-forming tissues. The successful candi-
dates, none of which have completed a previous hematology-related training program, received a stipend to conduct hematology research. They will also recieve extra funding to attend two ash annual meetings, held this year in New Orleans and the following year in San Francisco. All applicants were required to write a personal statement outlining their motivation to conduct hematology research. For Cho, it was a first-year lecture in medical school that first sparked her interest in hematology and, more specifically, leukemia research. “Before I appreciated the basic science research, but it didn’t hit me strong enough
to give me the conviction that it was something I wanted to participate in,” Cho recalls, “but a particular lecture in leukemia really spoke to me how valuable basic science research was. That’s what brought me to leukemia research.” The award supports her work with Dr. Aaron Schimmer at Princess Margaret Hospital. The Schimmer lab focuses on combatting Acute Myeloid Leukemia (aml), a rare type of blood cancer characterized by rapid growth of cancer cells. People diagnosed with aml face a grim future: the survival rate is around 22 per cent, one of the lowest amongst cancers.
“Acute Myeloid Leukemia is an aggressive hematologic malignancy in which relapse rates remain higher than 50 per cent, particularly in elderly patients over 60 years of age,” explains Cho. “The Schimmer lab seeks to identify and target biological vulnerabilities in aml and aml stem cells, thereby highlighting new therapeutic strategies for this disease.” Thus far, the lab has discovered that death of aml cells can be induced by disrupting the cells’ lysosomes. The disturbance of the lysosomes and subsequent eradication of cancer cells can be achieved by using mefloquine, an
anti-malarial drug, to knock down the lysosomal membrane proteins, lamp1 and lamp2. This work has recently been published and featured on the cover of the Journal of Clinical Investigation (jci). The next step will be to discover alternative therapeutic strategies that can optimize aml treatments. Cho recognizes that working alongside hematologists and potentially seeing their research applied to help leukemia patients are unique opportunities: “I’m grateful to have found this opportunity,” she says, “seeing how research gets applied to patients is such a valuable experience.”
Toronto350 calls for U of T to divest fuel shares Katrina Vogan
SCIENCE EDITOR
Toronto350.org, an environmental awareness and activist group, has released a brief that calls on the University of Toronto to divest its shares in global fossil fuel companies. The organization has initiated an attestation petition that can be signed by students to support the brief’s message. The petition was shared on the University of Toronto Students’ Union (utsu) Sustainability Commission’s Facebook page early Saturday morning. Toronto350.org is the Toronto chapter of 350.org, an international
volunteer organization that aims to solve the climate crisis. The local chapter was founded in June 2012. Many of its planning meetings are open to the public and take place on the U of T campus. The brief states that “The University of Toronto can help lead the necessary redirection of investment that will allow humanity to prevent climatic catastrophe while building a safe and efficient global energy system that can be relied upon indefinitely” through divestment. Toronto350. org cites divestment in the Royal Dutch Shell company as a priority. U of T invests more in Royal Dutch Shell than in any other international equity.
The brief expresses the belief that divestment would be a powerful political statement, claiming that it “could help produce a political climate in which significant action can be taken, including in the form of carbon pricing and reduced subsidies for fossil fuels.” On May 22, 2013, Toronto350.org wrote a letter to U of T president David Naylor, the full text of which is available on the organization’s website, that reads as a more condensed version of the 190-page brief. The letter cites numerous notable U of T alumni as supporters of the initiative, including author-activists Naomi Klein and Tzeporah Berman, and Toronto Poet Laureate Dionne Brand.
The group released its brief on September 10, 2013. At the core of the Toronto350. org argument is the belief that financial support of fossil fuel is akin to declaring a moral position on fossil fuels and climate change. This argument is in part based on two official University of Toronto documents: the “Policy on Social and Political Issues with Respect to University Divestment” and the “Procedures for Responding to Social and Political Issues with Respect to University Divestment.” Toronto350.org cites the Yale University concept of “social injury,” which is outlined in the former document, as a guidepost in their arguments. Social injury
is defined by U of T as “the injurious impact which the activities of a company are found to have on consumers, employees, or other persons, particularly including activities which violate… rules of domestic or international law intended to protect individuals against deprivation or health, safety, or basic freedoms.” Toronto350.org states that it is not debatable that fossil fuels lead to climate change, or that climate change is an example of social injury. By this argument, U of T’s own regulations require divestment. The brief stresses that, though “U of T is active in climate change research and teaching,” such work “is not a substitute for divestment.”
Research Recap First two Mats Sundin Fellows named Sophie Petropoulos and Jessica Weidner have been named the first two Mats Sundin Fellows. Established in February 2012 through donor contributions, the Mats Sundin Fellowship is awarded annually to two post-doctoral fellows and aims to train new leaders in the field of developmental health. The award is given to one post-doctoral fellow at U of T, and one at the Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm, Sweden. The winners will spend a year working at their partner institution, under the supervision of leaders in their field. The Fellowship is managed by the Fraser Mustard Institute for Human Development (fmihd), an institute that takes an interdisciplinary approach to studying human development during the first 2,000 days of life. Rather than only looking at the genetic code for answers to the causes of chronic diseases — such as childhood obesity, diabetes, and anxiety disorders — researchers at this institute focus on the environmental factors that influence how the instructions encoded by genes are carried out. During the exchange, Weidner, who is from the Karolinska Institutet, will be looking at the effects of Toxoplasma gondii, a parasite commonly found in cat litter, on fetal development. U of T’s Petropoulos will focus on studying embryo development during the first seven days, and how this development is affected by factors such as stress. Their research can ultimately lead to the development of interventions that would prevent chronic illnesses from arising. —Anastassia Pogoutse With files from U of T News
Possible cancer treatment breakthrough announced at Princess Margaret Hospital A team of medical researchers, including some from Toronto’s Princess Margaret Hospital, are touting a new drug which could lead to a breakthrough in the treatment of cancer. The drug is known by the alphanumeric designation cfi-400945. It targets a specific enzyme that is involved in certain types of breast, ovarian, prostate, and pancreatic cancers, among others. When the drug was tested on mice that had been bred to develop cancerous tumours from human breast and ovarian cancers, the drug significantly reduced the size of the tumour. The drug has been submitted for fda approval. If accepted, patient trials would begin by the end of the year. Dr. Tak Mak is the co-principal investigator on the study and a University of Toronto professor. In a news conference at the Princess Margaret Hospital, Dr. Mak cautioned the public against pinning their hopes for a cancer cure on the drug. cbc News quoted Dr Mak as saying: “To find a cure is our shared dream; our nightmare is that it is not yet within our reach…Cure is not a word we like to use lightly and we refuse to use it recklessly or promise you something we cannot deliver.” —Katrina Vogan With files from cbc News and The Globe and Mail
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MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 16, 2013
T-minus ten... nine... eight... seven... six... five... four...
BONE CAGE
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23
Sports
ONLINE EXCLUSIVE
Women’s hockey start pre-season with a win
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16 sEptEMBEr 2013
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Blues fall to Gryphons in Homecoming game U of T loses 38–12 to Guelph in front of thousands of home fans Amanda Coletta
VARSITY CONTRIBUTOR
It was a beautiful, warm, and sunny afternoon at Varsity Stadium, but the Guelph Gryphons found a way to rain on U of T’s first Homecoming game in several years, beating the Varsity Blues 38–12. In the past three years, the Blues have played the Gryphons in a number of close games that had some commentators speaking of a growing rivalry between the two teams. Saturday’s game proved that the Gryphons have finally found a way to overcome their kryptonite. With the Blues on the scoreboard early, it almost seemed as if another closely contested battle was on the cards. An impressive 71–yard kick return by defensive back Trevor Harvey combined with a 41-yard field goal by kicker Eric Hewitson, gave Toronto a 3–0 lead. Once the Gryphons took a 7–3 lead 15 minutes into the first quarter, their offensive prowess proved too much for the Blues to handle. The Blues trailed 7–3, 21–3, 28– 5, and 38–12 after each quarter, respectively. Toronto returner Kevin Bradfield’s 97–yard punt return for the touchdown late in the game earned the Blues a somewhat positive finish. Speaking after the game, Varsity Blues head coach Greg Gary said: “Our intention when we came out today was to have a competitive game against Guelph. They got up on us. We had a lot of turnovers and our offence really struggled today.” It wasn’t all doom and gloom for Gary though, who added: “What I learned about our team was that we compete until the very end. I feel really good moving forward. We’re going to Windsor next week and that will be another opportunity for our team to play a really good opponent. If we do what we’re supposed to do, I think we have a chance to have some success down the road.”
Varsity Blues widely received Paul de Pass, who in 2012, recorded a career-high 167 receiving yards. De Pass noted that the team will look to learn from the loss: “We’re going to come in tomorrow and watch the film and flush it out,” he said, following the game. Guelph’s Lindsay brothers were the stars of the show. Saxon Lindsay caught two of his brother’s four touchdown passes for 108 passing yards, while Jazz Lindsay threw for 297 passing yards. Jazz was named the Porter player of the game. “I don’t think you can find too many things wrong with the way Guelph played today,” coach Gary explained. “Their special teams were fantastic. Their run defence was good. We had a couple of good runs, but overall they played really well.” This year, Guelph’s run defence was ranked second best in the cis. The game was nationally televised on Sportsnet360. In response to whether featuring in a nationally televised game added any pressure to the team, de Pass said: “I wouldn’t call it pressure. It’s exciting. It’s something different that we don’t really get to experience quite often. We really enjoy it.” If the action on the field left little to be desired, the 3,596 fans assembled at Varsity Stadium made the best of it. Many took part in the early morning pregame pep rally in the University College quad, which included a free bbq, face and body painting, free giveaways, and sign and button making. A 10-day Contiki tour of Europe was one of the day’s big giveaways, while some creative fans revealed a poster emblazoned with the words: “Win or lose, we don’t live in Guelph.” First-year humanities and linguistics student Leah Vargas attended the pep rally and football match with two of her friends. “It [has] been a lot of fun. I thought it was a good way to get involved, meet new people, and show support for the team. The pep rally was a really great environment to
Varsity Blues running back had a game-high 90 yards from 13 carries against the Gryphons. MICHaEL CHaHLEY/tHE varsItY
show school spirit. We learned a lot of new cheers,” she said. Calvin F., a first-year student in electrical engineering, also attended the pep rally. While he enjoyed himself, he said, “I thought Homecoming would be bigger. It’s definitely a little bit different than how homecoming is depicted in movies and TV shows.”
This was U of T’s first Homecoming game in a number of years. The university decided to eliminate the use of the term “Homecoming” when promoting the first home football game of the academic year, hoping to diminish the chance of alcohol consumption and violence — problems that have afflicted other universities at Homecoming.
The support did not go unnoticed by the Varsity Blues. “The crowd was fantastic,” de Pass commented. “We really appreciated it. We just apologize for not being able to put on a better performance for them.” The Varsity Blues head to Windsor to face the Lancers next Saturday.
Making healthy choices in the fast food line Leila Keshavjee
VARSITY CONTRIBUTOR
Between work and school, many of us are often forced to eat on the run. This usually means fast food — which can be loaded with unhealthy sodium, sugar, and fat. However, it is still possible to make healthy choices when eating on-the-go.
Here are some things to keep in mind when eating out: 1. Look at the menu and be smart — “battered”, “deep-fried”, “crispy”, “breaded”, “cream sauce”, all indicate items that are often high in unhealthy fats, sodium, and calories. 7\ccgY [f]``YX W\]W_Yb UbX U baked potato instead of fried chicken and French fries. 2. Ask for dressing and sauces on the side, so that you can control
how much is added to your salad. A salad at Subway ranges from 60–470 calories, but adding 2 oz of ranch dressing adds 320 calories. 7\ccgY `ck+ZUh XfYgg]b[ cf c]` and vinegar instead of creamy dressings. 3. Avoid high-calorie beverages. Instead, choose milk, 100 per cent fruit juice, or water. 5XX U g`]WY cZ `Yacb-`]aY hc mcif water for some extra flavour.
5h WcZZYY g\cdg* cfXYf U WcZZYY* cappuccino, tea, or latte instead of creamy hot or cold drinks. Ask for your favorite drink with low fat or skim milk, and skip the whipped cream. 4. Avoid supersized portions. CZhYb* dcfh]cbg Uh fYghUifUbhg UfY larger than is healthy, so avoid the heavy meal by sharing with a friend or taking leftovers home. 5. Look for fast-food chains where
you can order a sub or sandwich. 7\ccgY `YUb aYUh* k\c`Y k\YUh bread, or a wrap, and load up on the veggies. Limit the sauces — a tablespoon of regular mayonnaise contains 110 calories. 6. Consider a supermarket for some healthy prepared items — you can get a salad, yogurt, pre-cut fruit, or sandwiches. 7. Choose nutrition over cost – you will be happier later on!
VARSITY SPORTS
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MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 16, 2013
25
Baseball and softball voted down in Olympic bid Elizabeth Benn SPORTS EDITOR
In 1904, baseball made its first appearance in the Olympic Games. The sport was played off and on in the Olympics for decades following its initial appearance, and in 1992 it became an official sport in the Summer Olympics, after its global popularity was recognized. Softball has had a shorter run in the Olympics, only having existed as an Olympic sport from 1996– 2008. Its presence provided what the Olympic Committee saw as the female alternative to baseball. Although softball is more popular among women than baseball, women across the globe also play baseball — while men play fastpitch, a version of softball offered in the Olympics. Kids from New York to Nigeria and Santa Domingo to Tokyo now grow up with these sports, playing their own versions of them with the materials accessible to them. In third-world countries, kids use sticks and stones as bats and balls, and make baseball gloves out of milk cartons — the type of glove with which Blue Jays shortstop Jose Reyes got his start. It is estimated that 137 countries and 62,000,000 players worldwide — 7,500,000 of which are children outside of North America — are currently participating in organized forms of baseball and/or softball.
Baseball’s popularity is growing exponentially in Japan. The country is producing mlb all-stars, and it has its own professional men’s and women’s baseball and softball leagues. This would seem to indicate that these sports belong in Japan’s Olympic Games. Despite the country’s joint bid for the sports through the World Baseball Softball Confederation (wbsc) in the Play Ball 2020 campaign, Tokyo will not be hosting them in its country’s Olympic Games. Marek Deska, pitcher for the Varsity Blues’ baseball team and pitcher for the Polish national team, explained that the decision is, “pretty disappointing. Baseball has become such an international game, and it’s a shame that it won’t be included in the Olympics. It’s strange to see Japan, a huge supporter of baseball and softball, not include the two sports in their own Olympic Games.” On September 8, the bid was voted down, and wrestling was the chosen sport to be reinstated to the games after winning the bid in the first round of voting. Wrestling received 49 of the 95 total votes cast, while the baseball/softball bid only received 24 — just edging out squash, which received 22. Wrestling’s presence in the Olympics, which was at risk because of its unpopularity in the 2012 London Olympics, was removed from the lineup in February. Before being removed, wrestling’s status as an Olympic sport dated back to over 3,000 years.
NaNcy Ji/THe VarsiTy
Set for a splash: Blues’ men’s and women’s water polo team previews Kelly Rahardja
VARSITY CONTRIBUTOR
After a triumphant season last year, the Blues’ men’s and women’s water polo teams are set to compete again this fall. With both teams awarded medals in last season’s oua championships, it appears that the Varsity water polo teams are performing at their highest levels to date. Coached by Vlad Tasevski and Jamie Earle, the men’s team has a history of performing strongly in the oua, winning the banner in 2009 with a perfect 12–0 season.
BLUES BY THE NUMBERS UPCOMING GAMES
Not only was the team able to reach the oua finals again in November 2012, but it also succeeded in claiming their 29th provincial title in the program’s history, after defeating Carleton University. The victory was in no small part due to seasoned players — including all-stars Tuna Tali, Marko Brasic, and championship mvp Alan Chung. Although the Blues lost to the Carleton Ravens in their 2011 gold medal match, they redeemed themselves with their 5–0 win during the following season. Having now claimed seven of the last eight oua championship titles, the Blues have proven themselves
3596 Blues fans in attendance at Homecoming
to be an excellent team. With some players now having reached their fifth year of cis eligibility, they will therefore be unable to play in the upcoming season, the pressure is on to maintain that level of achievement. Likewise, the women’s water polo team has also demonstrated its prowess in the pool. The team has secured the oua banner four times in program history (1988, 1993, 2008, 2011), with Carleton University winning a record eight titles. Last year, standout Danielle Hirsh scored a team-high of nine goals, leading the Blues to
38
Number of runs scored by baseball team this weekend
Badminton
Womens Rugby
Varsity Blues Open Saturday, September 21 Athletic Centre, 9 am
vs. McMaster Marauders Saturday, September 21 Varsity Stadium, 7 pm
a silver medal finish in the oua finals. Hirsh and Stephanie Watson were oua water polo all-stars from the Blues’ team. Despite being set on repeating their win in 2011 to become oua champions, the Blues were felled by the Carleton Ravens late last November in Ottawa. The women’s team has faced Carleton in the oua finals five times, with the Ravens winning three out of the five encounters. Led by their head coach, George Gross, this year will be another chance for the women’s water polo team to improve its standing against its adversary.
This aggressive water sport consists of six players and one goalie, with the winner determined by whoever scores the most goals in the pool. Players attempt to pass a ball and score while being defended by opposing team members. Given the demanding nature of the game — requiring high skills in swimming and treading water — the Varsity teams can be spotted training regularly at Varsity Pool in the Athletic Centre. The oua season begins in September and continues until the end of November.
3
1
Number of goals Ally Evanyshyn scored in field hockey’s game against Waterloo
Women’s Tennis’s standing in the oua
Tennis
Field Hockey
vs. Western Mustangs Sunday, September 22 Scarborough ON, 11:30 am
vs. Western Mustangs Saturday, September 21 Varsity Stadium, 10:45 am
26 Vol. CXXXIV No. 3
VARSITY SPORTS
sports@thevarsity.ca
Blues baseball puts two wins on the board with Rams sweep
The Blues have won back-to-back oua championships, but lost their first three games this season. SHIJIE ZHOU/THE VArSITy
William Deck
VARSITY CONTRIBUTOR
The Varsity Blues’ baseball team finished their first game of a doubleheader against the Ryerson Rams on Saturday with an emphatic 8–3 victory, that marked the Blues’ first win of the season. Outfielder Andrew Mannone led the way offensively with three hits and two rbis, while Hee Do Kim added another two rbis with his fifth inning double. Blues pitcher Peter Nash put forth a solid effort, striking out six and giving up three runs on four hits in just over five innings of work. A strong close by Daniel Connolly sealed the win for U of T. The game was scoreless until the fourth inning, when the Blues scored two runs. A scare came in the fifth inning, however. The Blues, still up by two, saw the Rams with the bases loaded and only one out when strong pitching by Nash and solid defensive plays helped the Blues escape the inning without giving up any runs, preserving the lead that they would not relinquish for the rest of the afternoon. “Bases loaded and one out, you want to make sure you get up in the count,” said Nash about the tough inning. “I was trying to keep the ball down, to hopefully induce a ground ball so my infielders have a chance, and that’s exactly what happened.” After the scare in the fifth, the Blues offense lit fire, generating four runs in the bottom of the in-
ning, increasing their lead to 6–0. Although Ryerson responded with a three-run sixth, it was not enough to get the Rams within striking distance. When the Blues added two more runs in the seventh, the score increased to 8–3, which would hold to the end of the game. Exceptional defense added onto the Blues’ strong pitching and hitting to prevent Ryerson from scoring more than they did. “The defense is getting better every day, and I think, at the end of the day, our defense should be our strongest suit,” remarked head coach Jim Sheppard. “If we can put offense, defense, and pitching together, we are going to be in the race. If we don’t, we’re going to be in trouble.” In the afternoon, the Blues followed their morning win with a 13–1 drubbing of the Rams. Blues outfielder Jonathan Isaac led the way offensively, with five rbis on three hits, and pitcher Ryan Donnelly had an exceptional outing, giving up one run on five hits. There has been a large turnover on the roster from last season, but Sheppard believes that the level of talent of the rookies should not make the transition too turbulent. “We have 11 new guys on the team, so that’s a bit of a turnover for a ball club. But it’s probably the best crop of rookies that have come into the University of Toronto for a long time,” said Sheppard. The Blues, who now have a 2–3 record, will return home to Dan Lang Field on September 28 at 1:00 pm to take on Queen’s in a double-header.
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MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 16, 2013
UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO STUDENTS’ UNION LOCAL 98, CANADIAN FEDERATION OF STUDENTS
NOTICE TO MEMBERS: FALL 2013 ELECTIONS UTSU is your Students’ Union. We are governed by a Board of Directors elected by YOU. Our campaigns and services are also shaped by you. Our aim is to provide services and events that save you money and enrich your university experience.
UTSU IS HOLDING ITS FALL 2013 BY-ELECTIONS FOR ALL THE FOLLOWING POSITIONS: POSITIONS AVAILABLE:
SEATS
EXECUTIVE POSITION VICE-PRESIDENT EXTERNAL
ONE (1)
DIVISION I TRANSITIONAL YEAR PROGRAM
ONE (1)
DIVISION II FACULTY OF ENGINEERING
TWO (2)
FACULTY OF DENTISTRY
ONE (1)
FACULTY OF LAW
ONE (1)
FACULTY OF NURSING
ONE (1)
TORONTO SCHOOL OF THEOLOGY
ONE (1)
ONTARIO INSTITUTE OF STUDIES IN EDUCATION OF THE UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO
ONE (1)
To run for a position, pick up a nomination package during the nomination period at the UTSU office. Please keep in mind the dates and deadlines.
ELECTION DATES:
START / END
NOMINATION PERIOD
START: SEPTEMBER 30 & END: OCTOBER 4
CAMPAIGN PERIOD
START: OCTOBER 7 & END: OCTOBER 17
VOTING DAYS PERIOD
START: OCTOBER 15, 16 & 17
For more information, visit your Students’ Union website at utsu.ca or contact the Chief Returning Officer at cro@utsu.ca. VISIT US AT WWW.UTSU.CA
FACEBOOK.COM/UTSU98
TWITTER @UTSU98
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editor@thevarsity.ca
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1. Tackle the quarterback 5. Harbouring no doubts 9. It may be bitter 12. Computer symbol 13. Olympic archer 14. Bill’s partner 15. Army groupings 17. Bugs’ gait? 18. Minor rage 19. Apart from any others 21. Rocker Bob 24. Salty sauce 26. Burning feeling 27. Greek letter 29. In need of a rug? 33. Dachshund color 34. Foil 36. Garden-pond fish 37. AOL client 39. Comparable to pie? 40. Bar basic 41. Act like a pig 43. Admiral et al. 45. What Jack broke 48. Family head 49. Quoits target 50. Imagines 56. Had something 57. Classmate, e.g. 58. Activate, as an alarm 59. Union issue 60. Communicate via SMS 61. With finesse
1. Boot camp address 2. Good service? 3. Lowly worker, figuratively 4. Bowie, for one 5. Start of something big 6. Cup filler 7. “Baloney!” 8. Pope piece 9. Lingering effect 10. Daily palindrome 11. Information, informally 16. Soprano Callas 20. Experimental site 21. In ___ 22. Chapters 23. Characteristic carrier 24. Cookout staple 25. Galley’s many 28. Pizzeria fixture 30. Related (to) 31. Canal section 32. Coin stampers 35. Raw recruits 38. Boarding-pass word 42. Ham-fisted 44. One of the Pointer Sisters 45. Crack, in a way 46. “The Godfather” composer 47. Don’t disregard 48. Tabloid fodder 51. Formerly, in high society 52. Puzzle 53. Moon, to a poet 54. It amounts to nothing 55. Intelligence seeker
THE VARSITY INVITES YOU TO OUR FALL
Open House Join us this Thursday, September 19 at 21 Sussex between 3 pm and 7 pm for snacks, lessons, and networking.
See you there!