September 23, 2019

September 23, 2019

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

Vol. CXL, No. 4

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THE VARSITY

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U of T students join millions around the world in historic Global Climate Strike Protestors voice discontent with university policy, Fridays for Future organized teach-in for children Hannah Carty and Andy Takagi Associate News Editor and News Editor

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Students protesting outside of Simcoe Hall.

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On September 20, U of T students stood in solidarity with millions of protestors around the world in a historic Global Climate Strike to demonstrate against inaction surrounding the climate crisis. Inspired by 16-year-old Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg, the week-long strike kicked off on Friday in more than 150 countries where youth activists coordinated local events.

Protestors gathered outside of Simcoe Hall to voice their anger and anxiety over the emergency, later moving to Hart House for a climate crisis teach-in.

Students speak out “Which side are you on?” written in black paint, was stretched across a banner held by climate activists on the steps of Simcoe Hall, where students expressed their frustrations and anxieties about their future in the face of a climate crisis.

Students from Leap UofT led the rally. Their grievances were against the university’s involvement in the development of the Mauna Kea Thirty Meter Telescope, continued investment in the fossil fuel industry, and inaction over the mental health crisis on campus.

The last major environmental protest took place four years ago during a divestment campaign that led to the formation of the Presidential Advisory Committee on Divestment. The committee’s recommendations — including targeted divestment — were rejected by President Meric Gertler in 2016, who instead mandated a caseby-case approach to divesting from companies involved in the fossil fuel industry.

“An administration that does not know how to treat anyone with care, because of the same underpinning logic that sees people as expendable, as disposable, as less,” said vocal mental health advocate and U of T student Lucinda Qu, in a rebuke of the university’s policies on climate and mental health. Qu was among an array of speakers, including local climate activists and lawyers from Climate Justice Toronto.

New Democratic Party MP candidate for Spadina–Fort York Diana Yoon joined students in their protest. “I think that it’s important to amplify and support youth-led movements,” said Yoon in an interview with The Varsity.

“The role of a university should be to play a leadership role in showcasing what is possible,” said Yoon on what the university can do in fighting the climate crisis. “I think it’s a microcosm of a bigger picture, of a larger society… There’s so much potential to showcase what young people are demanding.”

Hart House teach-in Outside of Hart House, Fridays for Future’s Toronto chapter organized facilitator-led group sessions to teach children about how to discuss the climate crisis. At the event, presenters sang songs and led cheers with a crowd of school-aged children, asking them to connect with the environment. “All the science has been there for years.

We didn’t listen. The mass protests have been there. Why is the kids’ aspect working better than the rest? And how can we empower all the kids that are coming… to have meaningful conversations, especially right before a big election,” said Allie Rougeot, head of Fridays for Future in Toronto, in an interview with The Varsity.

Nadine, a second-year student at U of T, led a small group in a session on how to speak to politicians about the climate crisis: “I’m specifically trying to teach kids, trying to teach other students… how to effectively respond and speak with politicians, because they’re the ones who create the change.”

Gabriel Kerekes, another facilitator, led a session about talking to family members for around 30 elementary-aged students, and encouraged them to think about compassion and diversity.

“You don’t have to be angry at your parents if they don’t understand you right now, or even if they don’t understand you at all, because you’re part of something way, way, way bigger. This is your family too, and together we can all work together to influence one another,” explained Kerekes during his group session. He explained to The Varsity that communicating with family members is a stepping stone to communicating to anyone.

“Every single one of us is having an issue with communication,” said Kerekes. “We don’t know how to tell people in a way that they can get on board with the issues at hand for a variety of reasons.”

Katia Newton, 15, skipped school along with her friends to attend the teach-in. “If you’re not actually helping or doing things, even if it’s just showing up to a protest, then you can’t really say that you’re helping. But you can’t just complain and then not do anything. But it’s a big issue and it’s going to impact us, especially the younger generations — and we can’t even vote yet. But we can show up and we can do what we can,” Newton said.

Parker and Ziggy, both 15, had the same idea.

“We can’t just sit idly by — this is our world. It’s being passed down to us. We’re not going to just let old people shit on our planet. It’s ours now,” said Parker.

U of T and climate Steve Easterbrook, Director of U of T’s School of the Environment, also attended the rally, and said he was inspired by the student protests: “I support the youth that are getting out there on the streets… I work on climate change, climate modeling, and it’s the most hopeful sign I’ve seen in years.”

Easterbrook, wearing a sign that read “I’m a Scientist, Ask Me Anything,” said of climate science: “People don’t realize that once carbon dioxide is in the atmosphere, it basically stays there for thousands of years,” unlike many other air pollutants.

According to the University of Toronto Asset Management Corporation’s 2018 Carbon Footprint Reports, the combined total carbon footprint of the university’s pension fund and endowment fund is over 500,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide.

Esterbrook also said of U of T’s administration, “I would love to see a much stronger statement from the central administration supporting the students that want to get out and take action.”

Jessica Bell, MPP for University–Rosedale, attended the teach-in and hosted workshops teaching children how to talk to politicians about the climate crisis. Just a day before, Bell’s office released an online form collecting signatures for a letter calling on Gertler and the university to “support student, faculty and staff participation in the Global Climate Strike on Friday, September 27, 2019.”

In an email to faculty and students on September 22, Faculty of Arts & Science Dean Melanie Woodin requested that instructors provide flexibility for students who do not attend class on Friday, September 27 to join the Toronto climate strike.

Elizabeth Church, spokesperson for the university, held firm on the university’s commitments to the environment in an email to The Varsity: “[We] are committed to playing a leadership role in addressing climate change through our research, our teaching and by taking action to reduce the carbon footprint of our campuses.”

In a U of T News article, John Robinson — Gertler’s Presidential Advisor on the Environment, Climate Change and Sustainability — advised students to participate in events across the university.

“We encourage students to use the opportunity of the climate-related events going on at U of T and in the community to learn more about climate change and climate action.”

This story is part of Covering Climate Now, a global collaboration of more than 300 news outlets to strengthen coverage of the climate story.

The teach-in was held at Hart House Circle.

DINA DONG/THE VARSITY

var.st/news

SEPTEMBER 23, 2019

Matthew Hoffmann

In the Spotlight

Political science professor talks divestment, individual efforts in climate change

Kathryn Mannie Deputy News Editor

Starting his university career as a student of environmental engineering, Matthew Hoffmann found that while he was designing systems to clean up pollution, his attention was diverting to the society that created the pollution. Flash forward 20 years, and he is now Professor Matthew Hoffmann — not a professor of engineering, but of political science.

Alongside his teaching duties at the St. George and Scarborough campuses, Hoffmann is the co-director of the Environmental Governance Lab (EGL), served on President Meric Gertler’s Advisory Committee on Divestment, and is an overall expert on global environmental governance.

The Varsity sat down with Professor Hoffmann to talk about his climate advocacy at U of T, his views on the climate crisis, and the work being done at the EGL. The President’s Advisory Committee on Divestment “Disappointed” is how Hoffmann described the result of his work on the President’s Advisory Committee (PAC) on Divestment.

Sparked by a 2014 petition calling on the university to divest from fossil fuel industries, the PAC was charged with reflecting on U of T’s role in addressing the climate crisis.

Speaking on his experiences in the run-up to the PAC’s final report, Hoffmann said that members “really dove deeply into divestment and thought a lot about how we could reconcile what some of the differing interests [were].”

Ultimately the PAC recommended that U of T divest from fossil fuel companies that “blatantly disregard the international effort to limit the rise in average global temperatures to not more than one and a half degrees Celsius above pre-industrial averages by 2050.”

This recommendation, Hoffmann described, was not “a rejection of divestment, nor was it a wholesale acceptance of the petition. It laid out some pretty strong principles about when divestment should be pursued.”

“Divestment is not going to stave off climate change by itself” In the end, Gertler decided to reject the committee’s recommendations and instead

Allie Rougeot

“We’ve got to do something”: Fridays for Future’s Toronto chapter head talks to The Varsity

Rougeot organized the teach-in at Hart House on September 20.

Hoffmann was on the President’s Advisory Committee on Divestment four years ago.

KATHRYN MANNIE/THE VARSITY

In the lead-up to the United Nations Climate Action Summit this month, young climate activists from more than 150 countries led a wave of protests on September 20 to call for action on the climate crisis. Fridays for Future, a youth climate movement started by 16-year-old Swedish activist Greta Thunberg, is leading the global strike which is set to last for a week, until September 27.

Allie Rougeot, a third-year economics and public policy student at U of T, is the head of Fridays for Future’s Toronto chapter. She sat down with The Varsity to talk about her climate activism, U of T’s role in addressing the climate crisis, and starting a small revolution.

Do individuals matter?

Hoffmann makes an effort not to focus on how individual people should be acting in response to the climate crisis. In his view, the burden of solving climate change is all too often unjustly put on the shoulders of individuals.

While Hoffmann conceded that our current fossil fuel emissions “come from the everyday activities of millions and billions of people,” what many might not understand is that “the choices that people make are not free.”

“You don’t get to choose to not live in a fossil fuel-constrained world. You don’t get to choose to live in a world where automobile transportation is the dominant mode of transportation to get to work, to get to school, to do anything.”

So, if not individuals, then who is to blame for our current situation? In Hoffmann’s view, the corporate structures around us, perpetuated by the actions of governments and businesses, are ultimately responsible. Those actions can be as obvious as extracting fossil fuels or funding the companies that do, but they can also be much more inconspicuous. For example, Hoffmann believes that the politics of road and city design are just as important to the climate as decisions around pipeline construction.

In the face of governmental and corporate influence in the environment, it may be easy to feel powerless as an individual. However, collective action might be the key to substantive change.

“It can’t just be individual changes… you have to make them visual and you have to make them social. So don’t just change your light bulbs, don’t just fly less, don’t just drive an electric vehicle… if it’s not affecting how other people think, then it’s a very small change.”

Growing up as an activist Reflecting on the run-up to the establishment of the Toronto chapter of Fridays for Future, Rougeot said, “I started seeing in Europe what they were doing… and I thought: ‘This is great, I can be super French and start striking as well.’”

Rougeot’s activism career started when she was 10 years old. Growing up in the south of France, Rougeot was a fierce advocate for wildlife protection and biodiversity laws. She gave presentations and asked her teachers to put up posters; “I was that kid,” Rougeot joked.

Climate activism was a natural next step from her early environmental work and interest in human rights, which developed as the Syrian refugee crisis reached France in 2015. Though her activism remained in the confines of her high school, Rougeot focused her efforts on the climate crisis as its impacts became clearer.

The pressure to act mounted month by month during Rougeot’s time at the Victoria University’s Students Administrative Council Sustainability Commission in her first year: “Every month that passed by, we were closer to… those targets that we weren’t hitting, in terms of emission reduction.” When the Progressive Conservatives won a majority government in Queen’s Park in 2018, led by Doug Ford — a staunch critic of climate policies, whose government has cut environmental protections — Rougeot decided: “We need a systematic approach to this.”

This story is part of Covering Climate Now, a global collaboration of more than 300 news outlets to strengthen coverage of the climate story.

ANDY TAKAGI/THE VARSITY

Andy Takagi News Editor

pursue a case-by-case approach to evaluating fossil fuel investments in accordance with environmental, social, and governance factors.

While Hoffmann believes that it was an overall good move and that the university has been moving in the right direction since its rejection of divestment, he maintains that U of T could have and should have gone further with its climate policy ambitions.

“Divestment is not going to stave off climate change by itself, but divestment is one of those tools that we can start to use to change… and one of the things we have to change is how capital is allocated in our society.”

Read the rest at var.st/matthew

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Where are all the students?

Protests in Queen’s Park have become a monthly occurrence for Rougeot, as she continues to push for action from the federal, provincial, and municipal governments, as well as the university. Despite her efforts, Rougeot says that climate activism from U of T students is lacking.

Younger children and teenagers are more vocal and present at her Fridays for Future rallies than university students. “This school doesn’t feel like it’s resisting at all.”

But there has been a slow shift, with more students asking questions and wanting to be involved in her work.

“I think it’s mostly [that] U of T putting so much stress on us academically, that we don’t have the space to [engage in climate activism].

Part of it is cultural. Part of it is [that]… a lot of people are international students, so either they don’t feel as connected to the issues here, or they’re scared to protest.”

“This school doesn’t feel like it’s resisting at all.”

Rougeot also expressed her outrage over U of T’s continued investment in the fossil fuel industry following President Meric Gertler’s rejection of his own divestment advisory committee’s recommendations in 2016.

“It’s our school preparing us for our future and, yet, contributing to the destruction of that future. So, really, it intuitively makes no sense.”

To Rougeot, the university not only fails in investing in the future of students, but also in preparing them to enact the big structural changes that are required to address the climate crisis.

Can the system change?

Rouget credits her parents, who both studied economics, for her original skepticism of a revolutionary, rather than transitional, approach to climate change. But, as commitments to emission targets were missed and anxiety around the climate crisis intensified, she became increasingly supportive of a revolutionary path.

“We have to be… realistic on what can actually save us… we really have to do a 180 [degree turn] at this point.”

“I mean, coming from France, I’m surprised how [Canadians], in general, [are] very trusting of their government… It can be good in so many cases to have trust in your institutions, but in these cases it’s kind of deadly.”

Caught between psychologists who warn of ‘eco-anxiety,’ and Thunberg’s plea for action to the Davos World Economic Forum because “our house is on fire,” Rougeot reflected on how panic, fear, and guilt play into climate justice advocacy. While the urgency of the climate crisis weighs on her shoulders, she still sees both hope and fear as being integral to the conversation on climate.

Read the rest at var.st/allie This story is part of Covering Climate Now, a global collaboration of more than 300 news outlets to strengthen coverage of the climate story.

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THE VARSITY

NEWS

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Liberal, NDP, Green MP candidates debate transit Conversation focused on environmental and safety concerns at Innis Town Hall

Valley Land Trail opens at UTSC Accessible trail connects Highland Creek Valley to UTSC

From left to right, Adam Vaughan, Diana Yoon, and Tim Grant attended Tuesday’s debate.

DINA DONG/THE VARSITY

Kathryn Mannie, Shivani Ojha, & Andy Takagi Varsity Contributors

There were no major roadblocks at a transportation debate for Toronto federal candidates at Innis Town Hall on September 17, as Liberal Party, New Democratic Party (NDP), and Green Party members largely reached a consensus.

The debate, hosted by Transport Futures, featured two of the candidates for the Spadina–Fort York federal riding: incumbent Adam Vaughan of the Liberal Party and Diana Yoon of the New Democratic Party (NDP), as well as Tim Grant — the Green Party candidate for the University–Rosedale federal riding.

Absent from the debate were invited candidates of the Conservative Party and Renata Ford of the People’s Party of Canada.

The conversation was moderated by Ben Spurr, a transportation reporter for the Toronto Star. While the discussion covered a breadth of topics, three issues persistently came up during the evening: environmental impact, safety, and funding for transportation.

Platform comparisons Vaughan kicked off the debate by announcing his party’s intentions to deliver a $180 billion infrastructure program — $28 billion of which will be allocated to public transit. Under this plan, funds will be distributed on a per-rider as opposed to a per-capita basis. The TTC will receive $4.9 billion over a 10year period, with pedestrian and cycling infrastructure also being supported under the Liberal plan.

The hallmark of the NDP’s platform is fare-free

Ontario Liberal leadership candidates promise reversal of Ford policies

Mitzie Hunter, Alvin Tedjo, Michael Coteau on their plans

Hannah Carty Associate News Editor

Following the resignation of Kathleen Wynne, the Ontario Liberal Party will be electing a new leader in March 2020 to challenge Premier Doug Ford in the 2022 election. In the past year, the provincial government, led by Ford, has made several significant changes to postsecondary education, most notably the restructuring of Ontario university and college funding, cuts to the Ontario Student Assistance Program (OSAP), and the implementation of the Student Choice Initiative (SCI).

In an article from The Queen’s Journal, all Ontario Liberal Party leader candidates except Kate Graham announced their intentions to restore OSAP and reverse the SCI if elected as premier.

The Varsity spoke to three of the five candidates about their plans for postsecondary education:

public transit. Yoon emphasized the importance of this policy for low-income and marginalized communities who have faced decades of Liberal and Conservative underfunding on the topic of transportation.

Grant advocated for his party’s transportation strategy, which he described as a “hub and spoke” system. The Green’s plan proposes the use of rail as ‘the hub’ and electric buses, the ‘spokes,’ which would connect more remote areas to a central rail system.

The aim of this vision is to use as much electric transportation as possible by 2040.

Environmental implications of transportation The debate touched on the impact of public transit on the climate crisis at length, as the candidates spoke on the future of Toronto’s public transportation. All three candidates made impassioned arguments for the role of zero-emission cars and public transit in their plans to fight the crisis.

Yoon, who worked at the City of Toronto’s Atmospheric Fund, said that the “motivating force” for her candidacy was the climate crisis, emphasizing equity in her policies.

Bike lane accessibility also played a large role in the conversation, which prompted discussion around the question of whether or not the lack of infrastructure was the true problem surrounding environmentally-friendly transportation.

Yoon attributed the alleged lack of investment in proper infrastructure from the federal government to be a concern. Grant disagreed, blaming increased congestion in the city on the development of ridesharing applications instead.

Mitzie Hunter, Scarborough—Guildwood MPP and former Minister of Education; Alvin Tedjo, former Senior Policy Advisor to the Minister of Training, Colleges and Universities; and Michael Coteau, Don Valley East MPP and former Minister of Community and Social Services.

Mitzie Hunter Hunter said she will reinstate $750 million in OSAP cuts: “I’m hearing directly from students who have lost thousands of dollars that they were previously receiving under the former Liberal government, and they no longer [receive] as a result of the Ford cuts. This is delaying their completion of their programs and this helps no one.”

“It’s certainly a challenging bar for various universities and colleges because each of them have different conditions in which they operate,” said Hunter, on the topic of tying funding to performance metrics. She also expressed concern about equity in the new postsecondary funding system.

In addition, Hunter plans to increase the interest-free grace period to two years, as well as provide mental health coverage through OHIP to people under 30.

Alvin Tedjo On the Ford government’s announcement that 60 per cent of postsecondary funding will be tied to performance metrics by 2024–2025, Tedjo said, “I think in theory it should be a good thing.

But in practice, I worry that the Ford government will use it to manipulate what they want more out of the system and in their own ideological way and not in a fact-based way.”

To Tedjo, the SCI is “[the] government

While the NDP, Liberals, and Green Party candidates all agreed on providing tax incentives for the creation of zero-emission vehicles, Grant made an effort to note that electric busses, more than cars, are a “big part of the answer.”

“What we really need is harder, bigger, and more ambitious federal targets on vehicle use and on carbon reduction,” argued Grant.

Transportation and safety Pedestrian and cyclist safety was a priority for all candidates: “I am not a cyclist because, frankly, I am concerned about my own safety,” Yoon said, and argued that Toronto’s poor urban street design is the root of the problem.

Vaughan referred to his work as a city counsellor in establishing more bike lanes, and he credited the King Street pilot for taking a step toward safer transit. He continued by saying that federal investment was necessary to design safer transportation policies.

Grant’s safety concerns were focused on train rail safety. Notably, he pointed toward the Dupont Street corridor, where the City of Toronto cited a lack of rail safety in blocking a condo development from being built too close to the rail.

The Green Party candidate argued that rail companies need to have higher standards and include the implementation of safety options such as electronic sensors. The concern for the Dupont Street corridor was shared by Vaughan, as he agreed that bigger security measures need to be taken to avoid a catastrophe like the Lac-Mégantic rail disaster in 2013.

attacking student leadership, attacking student program, attacking student life, attacking student media outlets, because they’re afraid of it. They’re afraid to give students that voice… And we’re seeing how devastating it is for a number of governments and student groups, in terms of what they’ve been able to do.”

Tedjo’s campaign is exploring the idea of universal basic income and universal child care, especially for students with dependents.

Michael Coteau Instead of focusing solely on academic success through performance metrics, Coteau believes we should also be “looking at the health and well-being of students, looking at ways for the university to benchmark and make improvements in those areas.”

“I think some of the pieces that we should be looking at — and this is what we’d need from the [Minister of Training, Colleges and Universities] — is, number one, enrollment numbers,” said Coteau on understanding the effects of the OSAP cuts, emphasizing that the ministry should look into Indigenous and low-income enrollment.

“If I was the premier of Ontario, I would reverse those cuts immediately and I would continue to explore ways to invest [in] postsecondary education and training only because I believe that is probably our number one economic development strategy by getting people ready for the new economy and the opportunities.”

The Varsity has reached out to the Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities. Kate Graham and Steven Del Duca, the remaining two candidates, did not respond to The Varsity’s request for comment.

The 500-metre trail opened in August.

MIKAELA TOONE/THE VARSITY

Mikaela Toone Varsity Contributor

UTSC is finishing up the final touches on its highly-anticipated Valley Land Trail. Opened to the public on August 29, the 500-metre trail will undergo periodic closures as the last of the work is completed.

The trail slopes at a five per cent grade, 19 metres down into the Highland Creek Valley. It includes a number of safety features that meet design requirements of the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act. “The motivation behind the project is to make the path more accessible, beautiful and enjoyable for our community,” wrote UTSC Media Relations Officer Don Campbell.

According to fourth-year UTSC student Lubaba Gemma, prior to the opening of the new trail, “It was definitely difficult to find your way around the valley… A lot of the ‘path’ beforehand was uneven and really difficult to manoeuvre around.” Now, Gemma noted, “It’s a lot easier to get around but also, students are actively going to the valley more often.”

Preliminary designs for the trail began in late 2016. Construction started in April 2018 and finished at the end of August 2019 — with the exception of the benches and plant life signage, which will be added throughout September.

As for the potential consequences on the Highland Creek environment, UTSC Professor of Human Geography Andre Sorensen wrote, “There is no doubt that such a construction project does have significant environmental impacts.”

However, Sorensen added, “The benefits of the new trail well outweigh the environmental impacts… and [the trail] is likely to reduce other impacts over the longer term.”

The Valley Land Trail was built atop a pre-existing trail which had been severely eroded by human activity over the years. Sorensen explained that “[having] a well-built trail in this location will be likely to mitigate that kind of environmental impact in the longer term.” Additionally, the new trail is “highly likely to greatly reduce foot traffic in other areas of the valley slope,” which, he noted, is an “environmentally sensitive” locale.

Sorensen also pointed out that UTSC has “a number of facilities in the valley,” and therefore “access to the valley is very important for UTSC as a whole.”

Community member Tom Gretton was hiking the Highland Creek Trail when he decided to try the Valley Land Trail. Gretton told The Varsity that “the trees have to grow a bit and the vegetation has to come back, but it’s a very enjoyable walk up and down into the valley.”

var.st/news

SEPTEMBER 23, 2019

5

Business

September 23, 2019 var.st/business biz@thevarsity.ca

How is greenwashing regulated in Canada?

The rise of false marketing to environmentally-conscious consumers Srivindhya Kolluru Business Editor

A study from Ryerson University in May found that out of 23 brands of wipes that were marketed as “flushable,” 21 were, in fact, not safe to flush and did not disintegrate.

This is an example of greenwashing. Greenwashing refers to the practice of falsely marketing products or services as environmentally friendly.

In 2014, a survey found 86 per cent of Canadian adults bought ‘green’ products and services, and that environmental claims would often drive a consumer’s decision to purchase a product or not.

“There is a significant amount of corporate greenwashing in the marketplace, and consumers face a significant challenge discerning genuine environmental programs from corporate spin,” wrote Professor Josée Johnston, a researcher at UTM who studies consumer culture and environmental sociology, in an email to The Varsity.

Greenwashing is commonly used in the mar-

keting of cleaning products, health and beauty products, home appliances, paper products, and more.

One common example of greenwashing is “compostable” take-out containers. In Toronto, for example, even products that are considered compostable elsewhere often end up in landfills.

“In Toronto these items cannot be composted because we do not have the facility to compost them,” wrote Chelsea Rochman, a professor in the Department of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology. “If they are just using city waste management — they go to landfills and will contaminate a green or blue bin.”

Who is buying ‘green’ products?

The 2014 survey also found that a large number of millenials in Canada look to buy environmentally-friendly products.

“A significant segment of Canadian and American consumers are concerned about environmental issues, and channel those concerns through their buying decisions,” wrote Johnston.

“Young consumers are often particularly concerned about the environment, and may choose environmentally-conscious products, especially if they are also products that they carry a cache of being authentic, cool, or delicious (in the case of food products).”

How is greenwashing curbed?

In 2008, the Competition Bureau of Canada — an independent law enforcement agency — published guidelines for environmental claims in advertisements. The guide requires advertisers to avoid vague or misleading language, to include verifiable and specific information, and to provide relevant context in their claims. Greenwashing, according to the Bureau, is illegal.

For example, claiming a product is ‘all-natural’ is vague, especially since the concept of what is and what isn’t natural is up to the company. In Canada, such claims are not regulated by Health Canada.

A 2015 study found that even products that “evoke nature” by using blue or green colors in

BEVERLY TENG/THE VARSITY

advertisements or by incorporating bird sounds into commercials can mislead consumers. This is what’s known as “executional greenwashing.”

The Bureau issued an alert in 2017 warning businesses about making vague or misleading environmental claims, citing the growing “momentum” of the “green wave.”

“Research has shown that companies with good and bad environmental track records will often employ very similar green marketing and public relations efforts,” wrote Johnston. “This suggests that green policy decisions can’t be left to consumers and voluntary corporate efforts, but need to be regulated by environmental state actions.”

How can consumers educate themselves?

According to Johnston, resources like The Better World Shopping Guide could help consumers make more informed choices when making purchases. Johnston also suggested that consumers check whether a company is a certified Plan B corporation.

For companies, attaining B Corp certification is a rigorous process. At present, there are 255 Plan B Corporations in Canada. Launched in 2009, the certification evaluates companies based on their treatment of employees, the community, and the environment.

Take the example of takeout containers: Rochman suggests consumers check with establishments whether their compostable products are taken to a composter.

However, aside from reporting greenwashed products to the Competition Bureau, consumers can’t regulate what’s on the market.

“Consumers who want to make a difference should lobby their elected officials to protect the environment through laws and regulations,” wrote Johnston. “No system is perfect, but the marketplace (without state intervention) is not the perfect place to try and create sustainable, socially-just ecosystems.”

This story is part of Covering Climate Now, a global collaboration of more than 300 news outlets to strengthen coverage of the climate story.

How does the carbon tax work?

How carbon pricing in Canada is set to address the climate crisis Anastasiya Gordiychuk Varsity Contributor

The Pan-Canadian Framework on Clean Growth and Climate Change was introduced by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in October 2016 in order to meet Canada’s obligation for reducing carbon dioxide emissions under the Paris Agreement. The plan aims to get Canadians and businesses to reduce their reliance on fossil fuels by placing a fee on each tonne of emission. It allowed all provinces and territories to implement their own carbon pricing scheme that would satisfy the federal benchmark.

On October 23, 2018, the federal government declared that Ontario would levy a federal carbon tax to address the climate crisis. The federal carbon tax is a fee that consumers pay when they purchase carbon-based fuels, which came into effect this April.

According to the Ontario government, the average Ontario household will pay $258 per year in 2019–2020 in carbon fees. This price is slated to go up to $648 per year in 2022–2023.

To help people with the financial burden of the carbon tax, the federal government introduced The Climate Action Incentive payments.

Under this approach, households will receive a rebate at the end of the year after they fill out their tax returns. In Ontario, the average household will receive around $300, and factors like

family size will be taken into consideration.

“If you are very wealthy, if you consume a lot, then you will [pay],” said Jessica Green, an Associate Professor in the Department of Political Science, in an interview with The Varsity. “But that’s precisely the kind of behaviour that we want to dissuade.”

One of the alternatives to the carbon tax is the system known as the cap-and-trade. The capand-trade program puts a limit on carbon dioxide emissions that a company can produce per year.

In fact, Ontario had already been under the cap-and-trade program. It came into effect on January 1, 2017, but as of July 3, 2018, it was terminated under the Ford government. In Ontario, if a corporation generated more than 25,000 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions, it had to participate in the scheme.

When discussing the advantages and disadvantages of different fiscal policies that the federal government could implement to address the climate crisis, Green said that, “We can have discussions about which one is better, but ultimately that depends on how many allowances you release or what the price is that you set your tax at.”

“There is no doubt that the cap-and-trade system is much more complicated to administer

than a tax,” she added.

At the same time, the effectiveness of the carbon tax as a way to battle the climate crisis also remains questionable.

“Taxes or cap-and-trade systems are not going to do that, particularly at the price point at which they are now,” said Green.

A recent report by the World Bank came to the conclusion that globally “both the amount of emissions covered by carbon pricing and the prices levels are still too low to meet the objectives of the Paris Agreement.”

In order for the carbon pricing initiative to be effective, it should be priced “at a level consistent with achieving the temperature goals of the Paris Agreement.” The World Bank estimates this price to be at least $53 per tonne of carbon dioxide by 2020 and $66 per tonne of carbon dioxide by 2030, compared to the current price set at $20 per tonne of greenhouse gas emissions.

“Carbon pricing alone is the drop in a bucket in actually addressing the climate change,” said Green.

This story is part of Covering Climate Now, a global collaboration of more than 300 news outlets to strengthen coverage of the climate story.

The carbon tax took effect in Ontario in April 2019.

TONY WEBSTER/CC FLICKR

Comment

September 23, 2019 var.st/comment comment@thevarsity.ca

If reconciliation and the climate crisis are to matter, U of T must divest from fossil fuels U of T’s investments render its global leadership on the environment questionable

Hafsa Ahmed Varsity Contributor

U of T holds a leading role in environmental sustainability practices. It has presented a number of initiatives which place students on the forefront of addressing the climate crisis.

The initiatives use knowledge and resources provided by the university to create a network that promotes sustainability practices and tackles climate issues globally.

However, some of U of T’s actions, most notably its investments in fossil fuel companies, are cause for calling this supposed leadership role into question.

This past July, President Meric Gertler attended a summit in Paris along with 47 other universities, who collectively comprise the U7+ Alliance. During the summit, the alliance voted unanimously to adopt six principles, ranging from efforts to “train and nurture responsible and active citizens who will contribute to society, from the local to the global level,” to “solve complex global issues through interdisciplinary research and learning.”

With its notable involvement in global summits and conferences, as well as the commitments

Students calling for U of T to divest in a 2016 protest.

Courtesy of MILAN ILNYCKYJ

made in the President’s Advisory Committee on the Environment, Climate Change, and Sustainability’s 2019 annual report, it is clear that U of T is a global leader when it comes to environmental and sustainability efforts.

However, in many ways U of T is acting in conflict with its own principles and values in how it is using its resources. When our money is put into industries that directly contribute to the same problems we are looking to combat, it creates a disconnect between promises made by the U of T bureaucracies and the actual actions implemented by them.

U of T promises to “address environmental issues and challenges, including sustainability and climate change,” and yet, according to Toronto350, a campaign group which calls on the university to divest from fossil fuel industries, it is heavily invested in fossil fuel companies, with “a significant portion of our ~$1.5 billion endowment devoted to this unsustainable industry.”

While U of T promises to “share [our] best practices with each other and other institutions around the world,” Toronto350 shows that we are invested in stock holdings in the “200 fossil fuel companies around the world with the largest reserves of coal, oil, and gas.”

U of T promises to “promote inclusion and opportunity while fostering ‘evidence-based public debate’ to combat societal polarization,” yet it is investing in the construction of the Thirty Meter Telescope on sacred Indigenous land in Hawaii.

There, dozens of protesters, including 33 Native Hawaiian elders, have been arrested and continue to face confrontation by the police.

Promises like the ones mentioned above — which comprise half of the core principles the U7+ Alliance voted to adopt — can be seen as

great strides toward environmental stewardship and sustainability. But investments in fossil fuel companies and disregard for Indigenous land rights betrays our promises toward these goals.

As an institution that holds a marked role in the global academic community with regard to environmental sustainability, U of T must do more to take responsibility and divest from these unsustainable and unethical companies.

True leadership would mean holding ourselves accountable to the promises we have made as a collective alliance with other institutions around the world. We rally other countries to partake in these initiatives with us, yet at the same time we hold investments that do not reflect our supposed values and principles. By prioritizing profits made from such investments, we pose a threat to the very cause we claim to fight for.

While so many of our environmental initiatives are progressive, U of T cannot continue to present itself as a leader while hypocritically investing in harmful industries. Rather than continuing to invest in fossil fuels, U of T should shift its investments into the renewable energy sector.

This would not only better reflect our status as a leading university in sustainability practices, but might influence other universities to adopt clean energy initiatives. U of T must sincerely commit itself to the sustainability movement to be a true global leader.

This story is part of Covering Climate Now, a global collaboration of more than 300 news outlets to strengthen coverage of the climate story.

Hafsa Ahmed is a third-year Political Science student at UTM.

UTM’s support for the Global Climate Strike sets an important example for other campuses Efforts to engage students are meaningful, organized, direct Hafsa Ahmed Varsity Contributor

This September, individuals and organizations around the world will join together in a global demonstration to demand climate action and an end to the age of fossil fuels. U of T’s Mississauga campus has been involved in organizing events in support of the Global Climate Strike. For instance, UTM held a banner-making workshop in preparation for the walkout on September 20. On both September 20 and 27, people from around the world will have walked out of homes, schools, and workplaces to show their dissatisfaction over inaction surrounding the climate crisis.

UTM is helping along the strike by sharing resources and information on the movement, and hosting teach-ins, talks, and workshops throughout the week. UTSG administration hasn't released any statements on the issue, though Faculty of Arts & Science Dean Melanie Woodin sent an email on September 22 in support of the strike.

By supporting this cause, UTM is showing that it is listening to the concerns of its students and taking the climate crisis seriously. Its support of this movement conveys that it understands the importance of climate action, especially for young people. While climate change will affect everyone, it is young people who are particularly distraught, as their entire futures are under urgent threat.

As a 2018 Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) — a United Nations body — report stated, the world only has between one and

three decades to reduce greenhouse gas emissions drastically before we face catastrophic climate destruction.

Greta Thunberg, a 16-year-old Swedish student, is the face of youth activism against the climate crisis today. Thunberg, like millions of students around the world, sees everything that she works and strives toward, including her education and her future career, being in jeopardy due to the actions — and inactions — of corporations, politicians, and individuals. The Global Climate Strike is a demand from young people around the world to world leaders for an urgent response to the climate crisis and divestment from fossil fuel industries to world leaders.

By supporting this cause and encouraging involvement in climate action, UTM is acting as a visible leader in the fight against the climate crisis.

It is validating the concerns of its student body, and in doing so, it shows that it does not view its students merely as masses of numbers or tuition checks, but recognizes them as the future of this country and the world at large.

Recently, U of T moved up to be the 18thbest university in the world, according to Times Higher Education. Students at this university are some of the brightest around the globe, and have the potential to affect positive change in whatever they choose to pursue. By participating in this movement, UTM is not just supporting climate action; it is safeguarding the future of its students.

This stance is one that UTSG and UTSC should follow as well, because when you encourage young

people to advocate for their future, they will be that much more empowered to change this world for the better.

This story is part of Covering Climate Now, a

global collaboration of more than 300 news outlets to strengthen coverage of the climate story.

Hafsa Ahmed is a third-year Political Science student at UTM.

UTM is hosting teach-ins, talks, and workshops throughout the week.

SHANNA HUNTER/THE VARSITY

8

THE VARSITY

COMMENT

comment@thevarsity.ca

U of T’s weak response to the protests on construction of the Thirty Meter Telescope is unacceptable The university’s commitment to reconciliation must reach beyond our borders James Yuan Varsity Contributor

2019 marks the fifth year of protests against the construction of an astronomical telescope atop Mauna Kea in Hawaii. The Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT) is projected to be the largest visible-light telescope ever built. The Association of Canadian Universities for Research in Astronomy (ACURA), which includes the University of Toronto, has been a partner in its construction.

In Native Hawaiian tradition, Mauna Kea is deeply revered as a place of worship. Protesters are hoping to protect the site, which already houses 13 other observatories.

U of T’s response to the ongoing protest has been weak. In a public statement, the university noted its responsibility toward consulting Indigenous communities and condemned the usage of police force against the protesters. Yet it did not explicitly denounce ACURA’s support for the construction of the telescope, nor otherwise explain its position.

The university’s continuing indecisiveness on the matter has a number of distasteful implications for its reputation. Firstly, it betrays a willingness to stand by and wait for another body to resolve the issue. This shirking of responsibility, which fails to consider dissenting voices, is unacceptable.

Moreover, with the telescope already funded and construction efforts ongoing, the university’s inaction silently goes along with the push to build on sacred ground. This is controversial at best, and outright oppressive at worst. Such a stance is an affront to the rights of Indigenous students and faculty who have historically been mistreated by academic institutions. Their voices, too, remain un-

represented.

However, regarding reconciliation, the university seems to be taking some steps in the right direction. In January 2017, it welcomed the Final Report of the Steering Committee for the U of T Response to the Truth & Reconciliation Commission of Canada. The report called upon the university to reflect on its role in reconciling with Indigenous peoples and to create a welcoming environment for incoming Indigenous students.

A ceremony was held at Hart House to mark its publication.

But even after this commemorative moment, the university continues to support the destruction of sacred ground abroad. This is paradoxical.

The university’s actions directly oppose the values professed in the Steering Committee report.

We cannot expect our Indigenous students to believe in the administration’s promises when it breaks the same ones internationally.

Of course, the university and ACURA do have their reasons to maintain their support for the construction of the telescope. The TMT would be an invaluable resource for astronomers and astrophysicists, and its location on Mauna Kea is optimal.

The debate appears to lie between the scientific hunt for knowledge and the moral protection of Indigenous rights.

The issue, however, is not such a simple dichotomy. Even from a strictly scientific perspective, constructing the telescope bears certain risks.

The power of the TMT comes from its size, and its construction would require the destruction of

a large swath of land. With it comes the loss of a unique ecosystem at a time when the study of biodiversity and its role in combating the climate crisis has never been more crucial.

Moreover, like any institute of higher education, U of T must aim to promote scientific education and to inspire future scientists. But justifying the erosion of cultural respect and Indigenous rights in the name of science only tarnishes the name of scientific study. This is unacceptable.

Furthermore, Mauna Kea is not the only possible location for the TMT. Excellent alternatives exist in Spain and Baja, California, and construction there would come at a minor cost to the telescope’s performance. So it seems that we have drawn out a five-year protest for the sake of a small improvement in efficiency.

We have made science a veritable antagonist.

This is not how we should perceive the pursuit of knowledge.

Science should not be a brutally objective study that seeks knowledge without regard for basic rights. Science, ultimately, is humanitarian: the knowledge we gain is the knowledge that serves to enlighten us all. We cannot claim to serve the whole of humanity by casting a part of it to the side.

When our search for knowledge is forcibly pitted against the rights of others, every student is affected. Every student is wronged.

Consider the prestige of the University of Toronto, which is ranked by Times Higher Education as the top university in Canada and the 18th worldwide. Educational and scientific institutes,

here and across the world, may very well be influenced by U of T’s actions, and its students and scholars can carry the biases of the university into the workforce and beyond.

It is reasonable, then, to ask the university what values it wishes to convey to its students, the nation, and the world. In its own mission statement, the University of Toronto declares its dedication to “vigilant protection for individual human rights, and a resolute commitment to the principles of equal opportunity, equity and justice.”

Let us hope that the university will restore its faltering commitment.

James Yuan is a first-year Life Sciences student at Victoria College.

U of T's involvement in the TMT has cast doubts on its commitment to reconciliation.

DINA DONG/ THE VARSITY

UTSG administration’s lack of support for the Global Climate Strike reflects its greenwashing practices Institutional support is a first step toward quantifiable climate action, as seen at UTM Beverly Teng Varsity Contributor

Taking a legitimate stance against the climate crisis is a serious commitment for large institutions. It’s no surprise then that each campus has taken a different stance on the crisis, as priorities between the administrations seem to differ drastically.

Just a minute spent searching for anything related to ‘UTM’ and ‘environment’ shows how the administration has been working to emphasize the importance of mobilizing students in the present. As the only one of the three campuses to offer workshops and resources in relation to the official Climate Strike, UTM’s stance largely aligns with what youth climate activists tell us we should be doing about the climate crisis.

On September 20, youth in over 100 countries united to demand stronger climate action from governments, institutions, and corporations. At this moment, UTM’s administration and student body appear to be unified, with UTM offering a combination of administration-sanctioned online resources and physical workshops preparing students for climate activism.

FIONA TUNG/THE VARSITY

The same cannot be said for UTSG, where it’s clear that students will have to strike without administrative support. Faculty of Arts & Science Dean Melanie Woodin sent an email to students on September 22 in support of the strike, but so far central administration has been silent. This is not to say that UTSG students are not exposed to climate activism on campus, because such a statement would discredit the organizations that are advocating for this cause. But that’s just it: with an extremely diverse student population of 61,690 students, as of fall 2018, placing the onus on student organizations to lead their peers in climate activism is ambitious and bordering unreasonable. For reference, UTM had 15,546 students enrolled in that same period, which is nearly a quarter of UTSG’s enrollment. Administrative support would help UTSG students navigate climate activism and mobilize around a central organizer. U of T is consistently named one of the top three universities in Canada, and to deny its influence in the realm of Canadian politics and policy would be naïve.

In the same way that you would not enforce the same environmental policies in two different countries, it’s clear that efforts of engagement across the different campuses must vary as well. This is not a request for the administration to hold the students’ hands and guide them, but rather a simple call for the university administration to encourage students to take a stance on the climate crisis beyond just scholarly pursuit.

It is imperative that we do not forget that the current wave of climate activism has largely been a bottom-up social movement. Through grassroots organizations, the climate crisis has become one of the most serious political questions facing current and future politicians.

Greenwashing at U of T The bureaucracy that governs the three U of T campuses is complicated and messy, to say the

least. But much like other major Canadian universities such as the University of British Columbia and McGill University, the UTSG administration is also guilty of greenwashing.

‘Greenwashing’ can be thought of as the act of implementing misleading pro-environment practices for the sole purpose of bolstering an organization’s reputation. There is nothing wrong with phasing out plastic cutlery and creating sustainable spaces on campus, but how big is the impact of those actions compared to divesting from the fossil fuel industry?

In 2016, U of T refused to divest despite student protests and the Presidential Advisory Committee’s recommendations. Instead, U of T declared it would make more conscious investments that account for socio-environmental concerns, namely the climate crisis.

Divestment from the fossil fuel industry is not the only action that U of T can take to support efforts against the climate crisis, but it is worth remembering that one of the main drivers of the crisis is directly related to our consumption of fossil fuels. With that in mind, it becomes difficult to understand how rejecting divestment is compatible with U of T’s commitment to sustainability. Instead, it appears that U of T decided to slap ‘sustainable’ on their finances and call it a night.

But what does a three-year-old divestment campaign have to do with the upcoming climate strike? It all has to do with the fact that, three years later, the administration still takes part in greenwashing. It’s no surprise that U of T faced significant backlash after turning down divestment, but since then, the administration has taken important steps to cover up many of its less popular environmental approaches.

Some of these actions include founding the U7+ Alliance, designating funds for student research on sustainability, and participating in the University Climate Change Coalition. All of

these actions improve the university’s reputation and help to support students interested in sustainability. However, none of these really represent a hard-lined stance against the climate crisis as well as official support for the Global Climate Strike would.

The effect that committing to the strike will have cannot be quantified, but it is still an opportunity to communicate the urgency of the situation and apply pressure where it counts. No matter what campus you’re at, what faculty you may be in, or what college you choose, just remember that you have a voice and that the choices you make can help cause change. Historically, the environmental movement has largely been bottomup, with public outcry as one of its main driving forces.

This is not a free pass for U of T and other large institutions alike to pass off the responsibility to youth, when the climate crisis is very much an issue that indiscriminately affects everyone.

However, for those of you reading this who feel fatigued and overwhelmed, remember that there is a community here that is willing to listen.

As we get closer and closer to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s 11-year deadline to minimize rising temperatures, we have to accept that we are at a point where we must make real concessions in our fight against the climate crisis. The Global Climate Strike may seem revolutionary or aggressive to some, but we need to be ambitious in order to succeed.

This story is part of Covering Climate Now, a global collaboration of more than 300 news outlets to strengthen coverage of the climate story.

Beverly Teng is a third-year Environmental Science and Philosophy student at University College.

Editorial

September 23, 2019 var.st/comment editorial@thevarsity.ca

“The overriding story of our time”: The Varsity’s pledge to cover the climate crisis

We are joining over 300 media outlets around the world in the Covering Climate Now initiative

IRIS DENG/THE VARSITY

The Varsity Editorial Board

In 2015, governments around the world signed onto the Paris Agreement to address the climate crisis. They agreed to implement plans that cut greenhouse gas emissions such that the rise in global temperature this century remains below two degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels.

But since then, governments and institutions continue to delay investing in a bold and sound climate strategy that significantly reduces emissions. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, 2014–2018 have been the five hottest years in recorded history. 2019 is set to take either the second or third spot as of July.

Canada is at particular risk: it is warming at twice the rate of the global average. A Council of Canadian Academies report from July indicates that the crisis poses major threats to Canada’s physical infrastructure, coastal and northern communities, human health and wellness, ecosystems, and fisheries. Extreme weather events, like the 2016 Fort McMurray wildfires, are occurring more frequently and are more severe. In Canada, the economic cost of the crisis is measurable in the billions.

That is why, this week, The Varsity has joined over 300 media organizations around the world in the Covering Climate Now initiative. A joint initiative of The Nation and the Columbia Journalism Review, the campaign is intended to engage media outlets in a week of sustained climate coverage in the leadup to the crucial United Nations (UN) Climate Action Summit on September 23. At that summit, world leaders have been called on to submit “concrete, realistic plans” to cut greenhouse gas emissions.

The crisis is closer to home than we may think. Institutions like U of T are complicit.

In 2016, President Meric Gertler controversially decided to refuse divestment from the fossil fuel industry, the overwhelming contributor to the crisis, and yet continues to present U of T as a global leader on environmental sustainability.

Emissions historically produced by the industrialized north are the major contributor to the current crisis, though the global south is now also producing considerable emissions.

Despite this historical imbalance, vulnerable populations in the global south and Indig-

enous people around the world, including in Canada, are the ones who are disproportionately impacted.

The climate crisis is real, it is here, it is urgent, and human beings are culpable. If we cannot rely on our governments and institutions to take necessary action, then ordinary citizens must tell the truth and call them out, and we, the media, must lead this charge.

Covering Climate Now We are one of only four newspapers in Canada to participate in the initiative. The Toronto Star, our Queen’s University peers at the Journal, and our Ryerson University peers at The Eyeopener will also engage in climate coverage this week. Other Canadian magazines, journals, and digital news sites also chose to participate.

At The Varsity, climate coverage is nothing new. However, to participate in an initiative that treats the climate crisis with the global, collaborative, large-scale attention that it deserves is unprecedented for us.

Between September 16 and September 23, The Varsity will publish at least one article every day to draw attention to the crisis. This editorial is the introductory article to our series, and each day of the week will feature a different section’s coverage: News, Comment, Business, Arts & Culture, Features, Science, and Sports will all participate.

Like The Nation, we hope to convey that the climate crisis “is not just one more story but the overriding story of our time.” With coverage from all seven of our sections, the climate crisis affects us in all facets of our lives.

Our commitment to climate journalism This week will be the beginning of an expanded effort to cover the climate crisis, especially as it concerns the U of T community. We will continue to cover efforts made by student activist groups and youth climate activists, such as the Fridays for Future campaign and Leap UofT, and hold the U of T administration accountable to its complicity the crisis.

U of T groups and students will participate in Global Climate Strikes scheduled to take place this month, in line with the UN summit.

The Varsity will be there to tell those stories.

Our science section has just launched a

“Climate Crisis” subsection to consistently cover the issue. Our style guide is being updated to ensure that the passive language of ‘climate change’ is avoided. Instead, we will henceforth use ‘climate crisis’ or ‘climate emergency.’ After all, when the world falls into a recession, we call it an economic crisis; the troubling state of the planet ought to proportionately receive an alarm, too.

Finally, we will also be dogged in correcting any form of false balance surrounding the climate crisis: for example, any form of skepticism or denial of the crisis will be contextualized as false. There is an overwhelming scientific consensus on the matter, and journalists must fairly attribute weight to sides in a given story on the basis of evidence. For this crisis, the facts cannot be debated, politicized, or treated as partisan.

In sum, we hope that the Covering Climate Now initiative will inspire our editors and contributors this year, and for years to come.

Deciding the next four years The need for climate journalism is also crucial in the context of the upcoming Canadian federal election. Consider when, last month, Elections Canada (EC) warned environmental groups that advertising the legitimacy and severity of the climate crisis could be deemed partisan. Such ‘partisanship’ could require such environmental charities to register as a third party with EC, subject them to scrutiny from the Canada Revenue Agency, and potentially jeopardize their tax status.

This ‘partisan’ ruling, and blatant suppression of climate speech, was a result of the position of Maxime Bernier’s People’s Party, according to an EC official — which espouses climate denialism among other farright views. That is the unfortunate reality of climate discourse today. Whereas our leaders should be debating how to best tackle the problem, we are stuck at debating the reality of the issue itself.

Inadequate approaches to the climate crisis are not exclusive to fringe politics. Our supposedly-progressive prime minister, Justin Trudeau, offers voters a paradox: he believes that Canada can reduce emissions and address the crisis while it continues to invest in pipelines, extract Alberta’s tar sands, and empower

the very cause — fossil fuels — which is responsible for the crisis.

The climate crisis is not debatable, and it is certainly not resolvable through half-hearted policy. Furthermore, ‘the environment’ cannot just be another issue among the myriad of other issues in this upcoming election. Rather, the crisis is entangled with other concerns that voters may have — like economic growth and development — and, in fact, presents us with an opportunity to re-envision how we organize ourselves on this planet. Taking care of our environment is necessary to have a viable economy; economy and environment go hand in hand.

Indeed, the crisis is not about economic sacrifice, but about transformation. It is about divesting from fossil fuels and using our technological ingenuity to immediately and fully transition into alternative sources of energy. It is about embracing the future, and restructuring our economy in a way that will create new, sustainable sources of livelihood.

The role of media, then, is to cover these positive opportunities that the crisis provides and to challenge politicians who are impeding our progress. Ahead of this federal election, the crisis is a top concern for voters, and media must commensurately cover the issue. This is about deciding the next four years — and taking immediate action to mitigate and adapt to the crisis.

As U of T students, we must recognize that we are the future. Soon, we will be graduates, workers, and leaders in our community, country, and the world. It is us who will inherit the planet, and it is up to us to create a sustainable planet for those that come after us. Let’s vote accordingly.

And journalists, including student journalists, must be committed to responsibly telling the story of our lifetime. That is why we are dedicated to Covering Climate Now. This story is part of Covering Climate Now, a global collaboration of more than 300 news outlets to strengthen coverage of the climate story.

The Varsity’s editorial board is elected by the masthead at the beginning of each semester. For more information about the editorial policy, email editorial@thevarsity.ca.

10

THE VARSITY

FEATURES

In photos:

Young and old mobilize for Global Climate Strike Photographer: Dina Dong

features@thevarsity.ca

Arts & Culture

September 23, 2019 var.st/arts arts@thevarsity.ca

Students of the world, inquire within for climate-related emergencies

Get off your ass and get to class — we’ve got a world to change!

MICHELLE KIM/THE VARSITY

Liam Bryant Associate Arts & Culture Editor

Those of us born into the age of the internet — the true ‘digital natives,’ as they like to call us on the World Wide Web — have quite the reputation around town. Respected disseminators of journalism, irreputable spreaders of libel, and media outlets across the continent love to conjure up the now-ubiquitous image of the tottering ‘millennial’: eyes glued to a screen irreverently, missing the world around them as it blurs past.

Certainly, all of the world worth seeing occurs in one singular instance, in one particular place — it couldn’t possibly be that there are worldviews worth accessing beside your own!

News, media, gossip, or whichever word applies best in the circumstance run on these generational perceptions, eager to please a target audience that is increasingly dissatisfied with a

changing world, but unwilling to take the necessary steps to change it themselves. For all of you following along at home, making the inevitable social connection to the phrase ‘changing world’: if you thought of the climate crisis, well, you’d be correct.

Our climate is shifting, becoming erratic, and changing faster than what many animals can adapt to via natural selection. Few other periods of world history have experienced something as drastic in the manner we’re observing, and it’s because of human activity.

This is a fact accepted by all but the most willfully ignorant of a generation that has been watching the real-time death of the planet’s one and only shot at life, for the entirety of their own.

To cut the rot out of the core, it’s become similarly apparent that this generation must intercept the climate crisis at all levels: cultural, socioeconomic, and systemic.

The youth of this planet are paralyzed in their image as oblivious bohemians who are too artificial for a world not quite plastic-perfect enough for them.

The educated, the ‘good ones’ — the ones for which the climate crisis is a given — experience a special kind of ignorance: a pleasurable bliss provided by intellectual security.

‘Of course’ our world is stuck in a collection of aging, fragile, and outdated systems that endanger the lives of billions, every day that they’re allowed to operate.

It’s thus us, the educated ones, who must take up the charge and become the vanguard to fight the climate crisis, in place of a generation who cannot or will not use their education.

So why should you care about the climate crisis in this context? Why should it matter to you, as a student, and to the University of Toronto? In this one singular instance, in this one particular place?

The answer: Despite what everyone might have you think, you hold all the cards: oodles of time left on Earth; the ability to think critically, support an opinion, and communicate effectively; and a nice shiny honours degree under your belt.

If not, do it for an emotional reason: for the kids of the future. If not for an economic reason, or for your own selfish advantage in a world nobody is prepared for, then to use an absurdly expensive degree and make use of half of a decade.

Get out of the classroom with your unsustainably-printed diploma and make a difference in your industry of choice. You have the brains, you have the experience. And more than anything, you are capable as all hell.

This story is part of Covering Climate Now, a global collaboration of more than 300 news outlets to strengthen coverage of the climate story.

Fifth time’s the charm

Even at a university as academically rigorous as U of T, it’s still okay to take your time Albert Hoang Varsity Contributor

When I failed my driving test for the third time, I came home anxiously expecting a harsh lecture from my mother. I hadn’t completed this milestone in the expected timeframe like all the other kids my age, and so I braced myself for, at the very least, a disappointed look or sigh.

Instead she smiled and told me that I could just try again, and that there was no need to rush through. So instead of scrambling to pass before I was ready, I was encouraged by my mom to enjoy the process of learning to drive at my own pace. There was no point in simply matching other kids who earned their G2s on their first attempt with only 12 lessons under their belt.

I am currently preparing to graduate in November, having finished a degree that spanned five-and-a-quarter years of full-time and parttime course loads and a summer abroad. Upon reflection, I’m incredibly grateful that I took my time in university.

Like most university students, the way I initially approached school was anything but taking my time. All I was focused on was getting my degree in four years like everyone else, going on to do a Master’s degree in some field I’d eventually become passionate about, and get a good job somewhere… anywhere. I saw university as just a stepping stone to the rest of my life, which inevitably resulted in extremely busy course loads.

It was only during the middle of my third year — during a family crisis coupled with already poor mental health — that I realized how much I dreaded going to class, hated writing, and had stopped enjoying learning. I constantly thought about dropping out of university. I was lucky to have fantastic extracurriculars that kept me engaged at U of T, but I came to resent academia.

I started handing in assignments late, made excuses for missed lectures, and glossed over readings, barely absorbing any of the material. I sought help, but couldn’t muster up the energy to follow through with advice and accommodations. In fourth-year, I dropped to a part-time course load and felt like a failure for not graduating with the class of 2018.

Gradually, I moved past that shame and slowly found myself learning to enjoy school again.

I asked questions in class, challenged peers in tutorials, and critically engaged with my readings and professors. Writing returned to me. After years of making excuses and telling myself I didn’t have enough time to go abroad, I finally finished my degree in Berlin, Germany, this summer.

This isn’t to say that finishing in four years is unrealistic. Nor is it to warn incoming first years that they’ll come to dislike school by following a planned four-year map. Rather, I’m telling you to not be afraid of slowing down if you need to.

I won’t deny that there’s a stigma attached to taking extra years to finish. Even shifting your

course load to part-time simply for the sake of your own well-being can feel like a defeat.

But here’s a secret: there is nothing wrong with taking your time and enjoying university at your own pace.

University isn’t simply a stepping stone to your life. It’s a milestone, and milestones pass by in a

blur no matter how long you take.

Ride it out. Make memories with people that matter. You’ve got your whole life waiting for you, so enjoy these fleeting university years.

I ended up getting my driver’s license on my fourth try, and the road ahead has never looked so bright.

MIA CARNEVALE/THE VARSITY

var.st/arts

SEPTEMBER 23, 2019

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TIFF 2019: All the films I saw

If you like lists and films, then this is the article for you Margaret Pereira Varsity Contributor

Over the seven total days I spent at the Toronto International Film Festival I saw 19 films, had upwards of 20 cups of coffee, got less than five hours of sleep a night, and attended, optimistically, 60 per cent of my classes. It was an absolutely insane experience that I could only compare to some sort of army-ranger training, cramming so much emotion and exhaustion into such a compressed amount of time. Here is what I have to show for it: this list of films and many great memories.

ful and open-hearted feature.

1. Portrait of a Lady on Fire I wrote a full review of this film, which is good because I certainly do not have enough space here to express my admiration and reverence for this movie. Portrait of a Lady on Fire is a French lesbian period drama directed by Céline Sciamma. It’s a stunning, heartfelt rumination on love and art, and maybe ruined me for any other film this year.

7. Hustlers Lorene Scafaria directed this true story about a group of exotic dancers who run a very successful con on Wall Street ‘dudebros’ in the wake of the financial crisis. It’s bright, it’s loud, it features extended sequences of Jennifer Lopez absolutely killing it on the pole, and it invests in its female characters with deep understanding and interiority. What more could you want?

2. Uncut Gems The latest film by the Safdie brothers stars Adam Sandler as a New York jeweller with a crippling gambling problem, in a performance that fully cements the Sandler renaissance. Sandler’s classic anger comes out in new and desperate ways, as the film clips away with the Safdie brothers’ unique mix of gaudy and genuinely cool.

3. Knives Out Rian Johnson’s Clue-inspired murder mystery is as beautiful as it is intricate, and features a deep bench of sensational performances. Knives Out feels profoundly committed to fun, which is not to say that it has nothing else going on. Johnson’s grasp of genre contributes to this balancing act, and his obvious love of mystery iconography permeates this wholly original film.

4. Parasite The Palme d’Or-winning Parasite was directed by Bong Joon-Ho and is a clawing commentary on upstairs-downstairs class relations. Pretty serious and deadly funny, Parasite corners hard. The film is anchored by amazing performances and tight cinematography, and epitomizes ‘must see to believe.’

5. Pain and Glory Spanish director Pedro Almodóvar’s autobiographical film is a lovingly-constructed exploration of the body and mind. Almodóvar’s expressive use of colour and a brilliant performance by Antonio Banderas are the standouts of this grace-

6. Ema Pablo Larraín’s follow up to 2016’s Jackie is a thumping, distraught piece that follows Ema, a dancer. Rhythmic dance sequences are interspersed with Ema’s decaying relationship with her husband and adopted son. It’s empathetic and pounding, emotional and sensual, and gorgeously photographed.

8. True History of the Kelly Gang Justin Kurzel’s Australian gangster period piece is just as insane as it sounds and very rad. George MacKay is absorbing as the notorious Ned Kelly, and, together with a host of other great performances rounds out the strobing clanging film, complete with homoerotic sexual energy and exquisite cinematography. The film does the story justice, and peppers the storyline with as many questions as it answers 9. Hope Gap William Nicholson’s film is about a couple living in a picturesque English seaside town and the breakdown of their marriage. Annette Bening is orders of magnitude better than the film deserves; she is painfully biting and deeply tired. She is honestly the only reason Hope Gap is ranked this high, but it’s my list so we are going with it.

10. Disco Norwegian director Jorunn Myklebust Syversen teamed up with actress Josefine Frida in this film which combined hyper-intense religious cults with super athletic dance sequences. It’s all set to a pounding house score and flooded with purple neon light, while the characters crumble under the pressures of their faith.

11. Hala Minhal Baig’s coming-of-age story about the daughter of Muslim immigrants is a welcome addition to the genre and boasts a star-making

Overlooked: The Image Book

Godard represents the Arab world without a Western gaze

Eddy Wang Varsity Contributor

The Image Book was the winner of the first Special Palme d'Or in the history of the Cannes Film Festival.

COURTESY OF INO LORBER

The Image Book is exactly what I expected it to be, and also something I couldn’t possibly imagine.

The latest video essay by French-Swiss director Jean-Luc Godard had its North American premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2018.

It is about Western representations of the Arab world. The Image Book is so endlessly complicated that unless you have a grasp of the political situation in the Middle East, an understanding of France’s foreign policy, a mastery of dense film theory, and a mental backlog of hundreds, if not thousands, of films that you can recognize in a heavily distorted visual cue, you will probably be disoriented during the 84 minute run-time of this film.

performance

by Geraldine Viswanathan.

The film catalogues the tension between Hala and her parents, and builds to show the consequences of repressive familial ties.

12. Synonyms A complex story about stories, Synonyms was directed by Nadav Lapid and follows an Israeli immigrant on his first couple weeks in Paris. As Yoav — played intensely by Tom Mercier — struggles between aspects of his identity. Formal choices bring a sense of newness to the story about a man trying to find his place in a rigid societal structure.

13. Jojo Rabbit Taika Waititi latest film is a satire about Nazi Germany, and stars newcomers Roman Griffin Davis and Thomasin McKenzie, as well as Scarlett Johansson and Sam Rockwell. The first half is far more outrageous than the second, when it morphs into something genuinely heartfelt. Too much gets reconciled in time for the ending, but the film achieves its goal and sticks with you.

14. Beanpole Kantemir Balagov’s Russian postwar drama is exhausting and gouging, and a dire portrait of a country in mourning. Anchored by two unbelievably gripping performances by Viktoria Miroshnichenko and Vasilisa Perelygina, Beanpole makes its warm-toned art design feel incredibly cold.

Visually impressive, but it will leave you with the biggest lump in your throat.

15. Just Mercy Just Mercy tells the true story of Bryan Stevenson, a lawyer who works with prisoners on death row.

Directed by Destin Daniel Cretton, we follow Jamie Foxx, who plays an innocent man framed by a racist police department, a role which Foxx is fantastic in. Stevenson’s story is amazing, so the film has trouble doing anything other than rephrasing how amazing he is. It’s evocative and devastating, but struggles with traditional biopic issues.

16. Endings, Beginnings Drake Doremus’ feature, starring Shailene Even trying to give an account of the film is challenging, given how the history of art — from Faust to Vertigo — bubbles beneath each shot.

But it is precisely the film’s impenetrable nature that allows it to penetrate deeply in our cultural moment.

The first half of the film explores the problems with representing the Arab world through Western eyes. However, an explanation of how Godard conducts this exploration is impossible through the written word. In fact, it would do a disservice to this erudite film to attempt to interpret it.

Instead, the charm of The Image Book lies in its ability to collapse discourse around the Middle East in a sprawling landscape of maximalist intertextuality. Simply put, the meaning of The Image Book is so complicated that a viewer would be lucky to understand a single frame of the work.

Through its complication and disruption of Western modes of interpretation and meaningmaking, The Image Book gives us a representation of the Arab world emptied of Western hegemony. By frustrating our prepossessed understanding of the world, The Image Book allows us to re-imagine the world in terms that are open to other voices. For example, one frustrating but fascinating detail is that the film’s subtitles translate only about half of the content. So for people

FIONA TUNG/THE VARSITY

Woodley, Jamie Dornan, and Sebastian Stan is basically a coming-of-age movie about white people in their 30s. It’s an inoffensive study of relationships and chemistry, but it’s a little stale.

Also, someone should introduce Doremus to a wide angle.

17. Guns Akimbo Jason Lei Howden’s video game action-comedy has something to say about our penchant for violent content and the churning antagonism online, but it gets in its own way with the same violent content and churning antagonism. Daniel Radcliffe is good as an online troll forced to take part in a deadly livestream game, but the film reads more like an energy drink commercial than a movie.

18. Once Were Brothers: Robbie Robertson and The Band According to Daniel Roher’s new documentary, Robbie Robertson has never done a thing wrong in his life. Great music and fun talking-head appearances — Bruce Springsteen! Martin Scorsese! — cannot save this film from itself and its aggressive need to mythologize Robertson. Just watch The Last Waltz.

19. Synchronic Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead directed Jamie Dornan and Anthony Mackie in Synchronic, which, despite its great concept, is a pretty big miss. The film limps along until it finally explains what’s going on and why it’s cool, but by that point we’ve lost all interest in our one-dimensional characters to even care at all.

who are not fluent in French, only half of what is said in the film is understandable.

Cinema is not here for us to pontificate about in cocktail parties, but is part of a global struggle for human expression. While artsy French films are easy targets for educated people to sound smart about, by making a film where talking about it only reveals a critic’s ignorance, Godard makes sure that we do not consume The Image Book, but that it consumes us, thereby complicating our presuppositions of the Arab world.

Perhaps it’s all-too Western to think of the Arab world as a war-torn place in need of saving, but my preconceptions crumble in the beautiful images that Godard has masterfully curated.

Godard possesses a knowledge of cinema and philosophy that few could match. His ability to inject a healthy dose of confusion in our cultural representation of the Arab world penetrates our culture’s skin of prideful ignorance.

He unabashedly complicates everything, barraging his film with so many images that we are forced to question our assumptions about the world. In the absence of judgement and in the suspension of hermeneutics, The Image Book gives us a representation of the Arab world that subverts the colonizing eyes of the West.

There is nothing to say about the film; all we can really do is watch and listen.

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THE VARSITY

ARTS & CULTURE

arts@thevarsity.ca

Cutsleeve are performing at Monarch Tavern on October 2.

Cutsleeve: unapologetically female, queer, and Asian Annika Keller Varsity Contributor

COURTESY OF KAT KELLER

Why Cutsleeve are the next band you should fangirl about

It’s 2:00 pm on a Sunday. I’m speed walking through Alexandra Park, feeling anxious and a little wired because I’m both late for my interview and I just took a Prozac. I find the fivepiece band Cutsleeve at a picnic table by the skate park, after initially mistaking a group of teenage boys for them. The spot was chosen because it’s close to the band’s practice space at the Rehearsal Factory — and because I didn’t think we could find a coffee shop with a table for six people.

The first thing I notice is how they’re all wearing darker colours, like punk rock vampires. I’m immediately intimidated. One after another, they introduce themselves: drummer Lian, lead guitarist Hannah, bassist Hillary, lead vocalist and keyboardist Chanel, and rhythm guitarist and backup vocalist Amanda.

Finding inspiration from artists such as Paramore, Le Tigre, Moaning Lisa, and Wolf Alice, Cutsleeve describes themselves as alternative rock but clarified that they’re “still trying to find [their] sound.” Moreover, even though Cutsleeve’s members are all indisputably talented in their own right, their personal backgrounds in music are still diverse. Their experiences vary from the classically-trained Lian to the self-taught Hannah, who says she got her start at 14 when her dad bought her a guitar for Christmas.

“I’d sit in my room after school, just going through the pages, playing those old songs like ‘On Top of Old Smokey,’” she said, “and I felt like I had a Joan Jett moment where I was like ‘I don’t want to play these nursery rhymes, I want to play rock ‘n’ roll.’”

Evidently, the girls of Cutsleeve are a selfpossessed and badass group of young women.

As such, they have an appropriately badass name, the origin of which, I soon discovered, has its roots in an East-Asian legend.

“I found out about this Chinese folklore story,” Hillary explains, “about an emperor who was sleeping with a partner, and he wanted

to wake up and get water or whatever — you know, go to the washroom, self-care.” At that they all laugh, and, smiling, Hillary goes on to explain how the emperor noticed his lover sleeping on the sleeve of his robe, and, not wanting to awaken him, cut the sleeve.

“It became a euphemism for queerness,” she says, “and it’s just a reminder that queerness is always in our history, no matter what.”

And this is a history that is important to Cutsleeve, since their music stems from their shared experiences of being queer and Asian in Toronto. They are all familiar with alienation from the white male bands that dominate the Toronto music scene.

As Lian explains, “When I was playing with guys specifically, especially white guys, I just felt super alienated and intimidated, and a lot of imposter syndrome, so I specifically went out seeking these lovely people.” She motions to her bandmates, “especially queer people as well, because that’s been a really big part of my life, and I was like, I don’t really know that many queer Asians and I need to go find them, and now I think I know every single one.”

“ If you’ve got durian eyes / I’m tired of being fetishized ”

“Once you find a few you find them all,” Hannah said, laughing.

This message that queer people have always been — and continue to be — an integral part of both the East-Asian and punk community is something that the members of Cutsleeve find important to convey in their music. Moreover, Cutsleeve uses their music as a tool to express their discomfort with discriminatory behaviour toward them. For example, their songs “Durian Eyes” and “Yellow Fever” address the fetishization of Asian women.

It seems as if being East-Asian and queer is the perfect doublewhammy of fetishization.

“The key lyric [in “Durian Eyes”] is ‘If you’ve got durian eyes / I’m tired of being fetishized,’” says Amanda, a testament that holds true for many East-Asian and queer women, myself included.

I remember the anime-loving white guys who told me they only like Asian girls — one of whom pointed to a Japanese schoolgirl outfit in a store window and said, “Damn, you’d look good in that!” — and the guys who yelled, “Yo, you give head?” at me on the street, and after I responded that I did but “not to men,” yelled

back: “I like that! Get over here.” It seems as if being East-Asian and queer is the perfect double-whammy of fetishization.

Cutsleeve satirizes the objectification of East-Asian women specifically in their song “Yellow Fever,” the chorus of which goes: “Yellow fever / yellow fever / the doctor diagnosed her with yellow fever / and I don’t think I can be the cure for her.”

As Lian explains, this song was more about “dating expectations and being fetishized and just kind of noticing a pattern in terms of people’s dating history… like when I’ve hung out with my guy friends and I’ll be like ‘who’s the new girl you’re talking to?’ and I’ll just notice a pattern. I mean, I’m not going to say anything, but… you’ve got yellow fever.” Lian continued, “When you want to take an East-Asian studies class at school, and you go in and it’s just filled with white guys like trying to like, you know…”

She trails off, but we all know exactly what she means.

However, it would be wrong to presume that Cutsleeve’s music is just a reaction to prejudice, as it is also an exploration of identity. As Amanda explains, “Durian Eyes” was inspired by a friend’s art installation of a giant durian, and that song came together through their multiple perspectives and shared feelings of being lost in the Asian diaspora.

“It’s kind of like you’re in this in-between place,” says Amanda, “where you’re not technically from here [or] there, and it’s just kind of like trying to figure out who you are around expectations that the world from both sides have on you, but that’s not necessarily indicative of who you are.”

This refusal to be defined by stereotypes is what makes Cutsleeve a truly unique and valuable new addition to the Toronto music scene.

By committing to the ownership of their identities, they are making space for queer EastAsians in Toronto, like myself and many of us here at U of T.

Science

September 23, 2019 var.st/science science@thevarsity.ca

UTSC PhD candidate awarded scholarship for climate crisis research and community service

Brian Pentz won AbbVie IBD award for research on reforming Canada’s fisheries in the face of climate upheaval Harmanraj Wadhwa Varsity Contributor

In the 1990s, Brian Pentz witnessed the socioeconomic consequences of the collapse of Atlantic Canada’s cod stock while growing up in Halifax. These early experiences inspired him to pursue a lifelong research career in marine biology and ecological conservation.

Pentz is a PhD candidate in Environmental Studies at UTSC. He was awarded the AbbVie IBD Scholarship by Crohn’s and Colitis Canada in August for academic excellence and community service as a graduate student.

The urgency of overcoming the climate crisis The ocean is a familiar subject to Pentz. After graduating from Dalhousie University in 2008, he worked as a terrestrial field biologist.

But the ocean seemed to pull him back, as he moved on to earn a Master’s degree focusing on marine biology research from the University of Edinburgh in 2014.

“We have an ocean that is warming,” said Pentz to The Varsity. “We have an ocean that is acidifying… Both have serious consequences for

JULIEN BALBONTIN/THE VARSITY

life in the ocean, for microbial life all the way up the food chain.”

Pentz emphasized that there are “practical reasons” for humans to be concerned about the deteriorating conditions of the ocean.

The New York Times reported that the warming ocean is killing marine ecosystems, raising sea levels, and intensifying the destructiveness of hurricanes. An op-ed in The Times further reports that acidification is causing harm to human health and the economy by heightening the toxicity of certain algal species and hurting the shellfish industry.

Pentz has delivered conference presentations to communicate his research on the impact of the climate crisis on the world’s fisheries. After graduation, he aims to continue research as a postdoctoral fellow. He hopes to eventually become a professor of environmental studies.

Policy, not science, is the limiting factor, says Pentz Real world problems are not lost on Pentz, who spends much of his time in and out of classrooms and academic conferences. He has strong views on the climate crisis as well as its impact on biodiversity and the world’s oceans.

Pentz recognizes the difficulty of tying a line from a scientific report to major reform in government policy. He emphasized that a lack of adequate governmental policy is a limiting factor that prevents societies from adequately

responding to the ecological challenges of the climate crisis.

However, Pentz has noted positive signs of change around the world.

He reflected that the global research community has the potential to guide reform by policymakers, especially in local governments.

Influential reports include those from the United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.

Pentz also made note of the positive trend of reducing the costs of producing renewable energy, such as wind and solar power.

Pentz wins scholarship for excellence while living with inflammatory bowel disease As Pentz has conducted environmental research and presented his findings, he has lived with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), a disorder that causes chronic inflammation in the digestive tract.

The gaps in his day are filled with fatigue, nausea, and a loss of appetite caused by the condition. He frequently experiences low levels of energy.

When he was 13 years old, Pentz was diagnosed with IBD. He noted that he didn’t have anyone with IBD to look up to at the time. Now, he mentors other students with IBD and can empathize with their experiences of surgeries and medications to manage the condition.

Brian Pentz’s research has centred on the impact of the climate crisis on fisheries.

COURTESY OF BRIAN PENTZ

As an accomplished environmental researcher and science communicator who has pursued a rigorous research career while finding time to empathize with students living with IBD, Pentz is a shining example of excellence and leadership in his community.

This story is part of Covering Climate Now, a global collaboration of more than 300 news outlets to strengthen coverage of the climate story.

The history of the future: how science fiction has evolved across time The visionary genre has grown from humble beginnings Rojan Shaeri Varsity Contributor

Science fiction is worthy of praise. After all, who would have thought that two words with such contrary definitions could be combined to form such a powerful and popular genre?

Science investigates reality through physical and natural observations, experiments, and conceptual theories, whereas fiction writing fabricates events and characters from the imaginary through creative mediums. Science fiction somehow manages to reconcile these two endeavours.

In an interview with The Varsity, Dr. Bart Testa, an associate professor at U of T’s Cinema Studies Institute, explained that it is a “fantasy literature that reduces its fantasy on the basis of speculation with respect to the cosmos or technology.”

HANNAH BOONSTRA/THE VARSITY

When and how did science fiction begin?

“Science fiction began, as we know it, in the nineteenth century during the industrial and technical expansion and innovation,” Testa said.

The industrial revolution, which began in the late eighteenth century and continued through the nineteenth century, describes the period when the manufacturing process shifted from the home to the factory.

This shift had increased production scales, product varieties, and the standard of living.

However, we cannot have all these ups without some downs, right? Industrialization led to labour-intensive jobs in factories, which in turn frequently resulted in poor working conditions for their employees.

Testa mentioned that “a lot of science fiction writers like to refer back to [the industrial revolution]. They saw the industrial world flourish

around them and started to fantasize and speculate about what might happen, and sometimes, these fantasies became real.”

How practical is reading science fiction?

According to Testa, science fiction has always “had a big audience,” and has been very popular among people studying science.

“Perhaps science fiction went into their imaginations — what was possible and what was impossible to do,” Testa continued. He explained that science fiction has helped mould three generations of technicians and scientists.

Consider what Testa mentioned — it’s pretty amazing, isn’t it? The fact that a mere genre of literature has had such a huge impact on the path taken by scientists — to reach the summit of technical advances in the present age — seems unbelievable.

But how did science fiction manage to do so?

It cleverly masks real-world issues — be it environmental, ethical, or societal — as problems affecting a different reality. This allows readers to engage with these issues from a new viewpoint, which often results in a deeper understanding of the author’s conception of these challenges.

What, if any, are the limitations of this genre?

From its humble beginnings in inexpensive pulp magazines, science fiction authors had to abide by strict limitations.

“The editors of these magazines, by all records, were dictatorial,” said Testa. “They told writers things they should and must say and shouldn’t and must not do.”

In fact, science fiction was mostly centred around science, big governments, and technology because those editors were usually pro-science, pro-big governments, or pro-military tech-

nology, according to Testa.

However, science fiction writers did not allow this tyranny to continue, rebelling against the genre’s norms along the way.

An iconic figure was Isaac Asimov, a science fiction writer and biochemistry professor at Boston University. According to Testa, Asimov was a member of a rebellious science fiction group who believed that pulp magazine editors were too narrow-minded to be invested in literature.

The golden age of science fiction directly followed the publishing of science fiction in paperback. Testa described this age as “the period when limits were, to some degree, removed.”

The golden age mainly focused on broadening the scientific aspect of writing. “Much of what we pick from science fiction comes from that golden period,” said Testa.

Now, moving on from the golden age, science fiction experienced another period of border expansion — one with a decidedly less optimistic take on the future.

Testa exemplified this by referring to a novel written by J. G. Ballard called The Drowned World, which he described as “an apocalyptic novel where the world is covered largely in water.”

Science fiction in perspective All in all, it is clear that science fiction, a genre so impactful on scientists and the advances of the modern world, did not develop in the spur of the moment.

The genre felt various forms of pressure, yet it managed to not only survive them, but also to overcome the obstacles thrown its way. The diligence of writers and readers who stood by this genre and won its freedom allowed them to present the world the true worth of science fiction.

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SCIENCE

science@thevarsity.ca

Self-insight is not as important as your teachers have said

Impactful U of T paper could change common thought in academic psychology He and Côté’s study is one of the first two Registered Reports published in Nature Human Behaviour.

BRITTANY GEROW/THE VARSITY

Hannah Nie Varsity Contributor

Contrary to popular belief in psychology, there is no relationship between self-insight — how accurately you can judge your own abilities — and certain areas of adjustment, indicated by measures such as life satisfaction. These potentially groundbreaking findings are from a recent U of T study published in Nature Human Behaviour.

Various competing perspectives exist in psychology about the relationship between selfinsight and adjustment. Self-insight refers to how well people’s self-view, or beliefs about their levels of ability, match with their actual levels, while adjustment is essentially how well people function in life.

Self-insight is valued in institutions such as schools and workplaces, where individuals may be given feedback on their work, and are often encouraged to reflect on their strengths and weaknesses to improve performance.

But is it really best for your life satisfaction to accurately know your levels of ability? Could overestimating yourself and ‘self-enhancing’ boost confidence and be more beneficial? Or would another combination of high abilities and accurate self-views be optimal?

These are the types of questions that inspired coauthors Joyce He, a PhD candidate at U of T, and her advisor, Professor Stéphane Côté, to begin this study nearly two years ago.

Results do not support existing theories He and Côté tested four main competing perspectives against their fifth hypothesis. The first, the self-insight perspective, proposed that adjustment is highest when self-views and abilities match. This enables individuals to perform confidently in their strengths while being aware of their weaknesses.

The second, the optimal margin of illusion perspective, suggests that regardless of abilities, adjustment is highest when positive self-views exceed ability by a certain amount. This provides enough confidence to motivate individuals while remaining realistic to their actual abilities.

The third and fourth perspectives posit that only positive self-view or only high abilities are related to high adjustment, while the other variable is irrelevant. These are named the positive self-views-only, and high abilities-only perspectives, respectively.

The fifth perspective, which He and Côté presented as their hypothesis, proposed that the relationship between abilities and selfviews is non-existent — rather, both variables are independently related to higher adjustment.

Named the positive self-views and high abilities perspective, their hypothesis suggested that one’s abilities and accurate self-views of one’s abilities are both positively related with adjustment, after controlling for one another.

But all five perspectives, including He and Côté’s hypothesis, were unsupported by the coauthors’ high-powered study.

providing feedback to students and workers about their cognitive and emotional abilities… may not enhance their adjustment An implication of the lack of support for all five perspectives, according to the co-authors, would mean that providing feedback to students and workers about their cognitive and emotional abilities — or enhancing their self-views — may not enhance their adjustment.

The many competing perspectives on selfinsight and adjustment exist mainly due to two limitations of past research.

First, some studies determined self-insight by assessing how well people’s self-views matched with peers’ perceptions of them — which can be biased or inaccurate — or with their views of other people. This is also problematic, because discrepancies between one’s ratings of one’s own abilities and others’ abilities might be due to actual differences between people’s abilities, and not a lack of self-insight.

A second limitation stemmed from how past researchers used the difference between self-

view and ability, the square of their difference, or other measures, in statistical analyses. These “difference scores” can conceal information by merging variables, and the correlations found can interpreted in various ways.

How the researchers overcame these two limitations Using an online recruitment source, He and Côté surveyed 1,044 participants from the United States. This large sample size was calculated to provide high statistical power, at 95 per cent.

“Statistical power is essentially how much power you have to detect an effect, if it is there,” He explained to The Varsity. The sample size and size of the effect are two important factors affecting power — the number of participants should be large enough to detect the effect being studied.

To address the first limitation, the researchers measured the abilities objectively through a timed test of emotional ability. The test required participants to identify the emotions expressed by 72 photos of actors with different facial expressions, as well as a 20-minute cognitive ability test with 15 perceptual problems.

Self-views were measured by asking participants to rate how they think they scored on these tests.

The researchers measured levels of psychological, interpersonal, and institutional adjustment by requiring participants to rank aspects of their life satisfaction, quality of relationships, and career satisfaction, respectively, in a daily diary format.

To reduce error from different types of biases, these measurements were collected over the span of a week. If a participant was in a bad mood, for example, it might have affected their responses.

But by taking multiple measurements at different times, the data would be more representative of the participant’s general situation.

To overcome the second limitation, He and Côté analyzed their data in a new way, using polynomial regression to model the data and response surface analysis to generate a threedimensional plot, showing every possible combination of abilities and self-views, and their relation to adjustment.

Analyzing the response surface graphs revealed that they did not meet the conditions required to support any of the five hypotheses. They did notice some patterns that may support selfenhancement, a relatively new perspective not included in the hypothesis, which posits that individuals whose self-views exceed their abilities will be better adjusted.

This perspective is somewhat counterintuitive,

as it predicts that individuals with low abilities and high self-views would be the most adjusted, while individuals with high abilities would be less adjusted because their self-views cannot exceed their abilities by as much.

“One possibility here is that these selfenhancers are rating everything on a higher level,” said He. “So they’re rating their abilities higher, their self-views about their abilities are higher, but they’re also rating their life-satisfaction, career satisfaction, and relationship satisfaction higher.”

Study was published as a Registered Report aimed for transparency He and Côté’s study is one of the first two Registered Reports published in Nature Human Behaviour. Traditional papers are submitted to journals after the study has been completed, whereas Registered Reports have researchers submitting their introduction, proposed methods, and plans for analysis before conducting the study.

Following the submission, reviewers and editors then consider the proposals and can make suggestions. If a proposal is approved, researchers conduct the study, with guaranteed publication of their results — significant or not.

Registered Reports are part of a push for greater transparency in psychological research, according to He. This design can help studies that may face difficulty with publication if they produce non-significant results.

“With the Registered Report, the editors are really trying to put more emphasis on the research questions that you have,” He said. “A lot of authors, they might have this really important question, [and] they [design a study to] test it.”

“But [if ] they find null results, then they [may not] actually end up publishing [them],” she continued. “Because in our field, at least, you’re kind of incentivized to publish interesting results.”

Future steps following the study Next steps could include studies designed to confirm evidence supporting the self-enhancers perspective. These might measure adjustment with variables that are not self-reported, such as peer opinions and objective performance at work.

In terms of potential applications of these findings to policy, education, or management, He believes that more research needs to be done.

“Once we see from a few studies, or a bunch of studies, that we see the same patterns over and over again, then I think that that’s when we can actually draw the conclusion.”

Sports

September 23, 2019 var.st/sports sports@thevarsity.ca

The environmental impact of diets The intersection of the climate crisis and your eating habits

Angad Deol Varsity Contributor

Whether due to a facetious New Year’s resolution, a new documentary that spooked you off meat, or a genuine concern for your health, many of us have tried a new diet. It’s normal to experiment with what we consume on a daily basis. However, in the midst of all these trends, the environmental impact of our choices is hardly discussed.

Whether you’re a strict steaklover or a die-hard kale enthusiast, for those who have the means, it’s time to consider the impact your food has before it hits the table.

The keto diet The keto diet is among one of the most

popular ‘trendy diets’ today. In essence, the keto diet is made up of 75 per cent fat, 20 per cent protein, and five per cent carbohydrates.

Since it involves a high level of protein proportionally, many followers choose to consume meat products as their method of choice. However, meat production can have a massive carbon footprint.

For example, the production of livestock such as cows, chickens, and pigs accounts for 70 per cent of all agricultural land usage, and creates 18 per cent of the greenhouse gases released into our atmosphere. Moreover, 43 kilograms of greenhouse gas emissions are released for every one kilogram of beef produced.

The keto diet is not doing any favours in correlation to environmental impacts.

Vegan and vegetarian diets According to a 2018 Gallop poll, five per cent of Americans identify as vegetarian. Contrary to the common perception that cutting meat out of your diet correlates to a positive impact on the environment, a strict vegetarian or vegan diet may also have its own shortcomings, though it can still be a much better alternative to an omnivorous diet.

For example, vegetarians in the US commonly replace the meat in their diets with dairy products. Dairy products, an adjacent production to live-

stock, have a massive carbon footprint, since dairy cows release copious amounts of methane into the atmosphere, as well as other greenhouse gases, according to the World Wildlife Fund.

Dairy production also uses high amounts of water in order to nourish cows, and process manure. Moreover, manure runoff can pollute water systems, which can lead to serious health problems for consumers.

Vegans, however, do not consume dairy; in fact, they avoid animal products altogether. In theory, this should remove any negative environmental impact.

However, according to the US Library of Medicine, pesticides used in conventional agriculture, such as fruit and vegetable crops, leak into surface level water where it can also pollute soil, poison wildlife, and harm other nearby plant-life.

It’s absolutely admirable to take on a new diet in order to improve yourself — personal growth is important. However, the next time you follow the next trendy diet, consider how much our Earth loses, too. There is no one diet that can save the planet, but individual consumer choices do add up.

This story is part of Covering Climate Now, a global collaboration of more than 300 news outlets to strengthen coverage of the climate story.

FIONA TUNG/THE VARSITY

How the climate crisis is impacting sports

The changing climate is providing athletes and sporting competitions with new and greater challenges Kartik Rudra Varsity Contributor

There is no denying that the impacts of the climate crisis are being felt all around us. From the increased intensity and frequency of hurricanes, to longer periods of drought across the world, many people are directly facing the catastrophic consequences of our changing climate. Sports, like many other aspects of our lives, have not been left untouched. The climate crisis has the ability to turn many summer sports into deadly heat-traps and force winter sport athletes and organizers to take drastic actions in order to prolong their seasons.

Winter sports, especially, are prone to the changing climate. According to a study conducted by the David Suzuki Foundation, warmer winters will lead to shorter ice and snowfall seasons, as well as a reduction in snow cover. As a result, the skiing and snowboarding season across Canada and many other countries, whose tourism revenue relies on the winter season, will see an overall reduction across the board.

Resorts are being forced to use fake snow to counter rapid melting of snow and maintain their skiing and snowboarding seasons. Unfortunately, this option comes at a major price both financially and environmentally, as snow-making machines are costly, water-intensive, and the snow created is water-tight, which means that water cannot seep back into the ground, thus impacting the water table.

Summer sports are not spared from

this crisis either. Athletes and spectators will be more prone to heat-related illnesses. For example, during the 2015 US Open, many tennis players felt the effects of record-high temperatures and humidity levels. This contributed toward 10 players retiring from the tournament in the first round due to heat-related circumstances, with many others throwing up and passing out.

American tennis player John Isner said that these illnesses had absolutely nothing to do with the fitness levels of the competitors. The body is unable to cool itself off in a combination of high heat and humidity, and continued exposure leads to illness. With temperatures continuing to rise globally and with more intense heat waves, it is easy to imagine that there will be a massive spike in heat-related deaths and illnesses.

However, this does not mean we need to give up sports entirely to minimize damages. There are changes that can be made at the amateur, university, and professional levels to respond to this crisis. This includes providing cooling provisions for athletes and fans during times of extreme heat, such as playing in sheltered, air-conditioned venues or allowing extended water breaks to the competitors. For example, the US Open provided tennis players with at least a 10-minute break between sets to allow their bodies to properly cool off.

Outdoor soccer and gridiron football stadiums will also have to improve their water drainage systems in order to prevent pitches from clogging

MIA CARNEVALE/THE VARSITY

up due to heavy downpours, which could lead to athletes seriously injuring themselves. Furthermore, athletes and organizations will need to use their reach and influence to encourage environmentally-sustainable lifestyles and initiatives.

One example comes from the English Football League Two soccer club, Forest Green Rovers. The club became the world’s first United Nations-certified carbon-neutral club by feeding their players and supporters vegan food

and having numerous eco-friendly facilities at their stadium, such as electric car charging facilities and an organic football pitch. The club’s stadium is also 100 per cent powered by green energy.

Their supporters have been in favour of these initiatives and have taken it upon themselves to adopt these same principles at home, for example by transitioning toward a vegan diet to lower their carbon footprint. This is just one example of how teams are able to use their reach to influence the deci-

sions their supporters make.

It will take a massive effort from everybody — from sporting organizations, politicians, and fans alike — to try and mitigate the impact of our actions are having on the climate and our Earth by adapting to the conditions that threaten the activities we love.

This story is part of Covering Climate Now, a global collaboration of more than 300 news outlets to strengthen coverage of the climate story.

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Madeleine Kelly on running her way to the Tokyo 2020 Olympics Varsity Blues alum and National Champion on her recipe for steady success Laura Ashwood Associate Sports Editor

Kelly competed with the Varsity Blues track team from 2013–2018.

COURTESY OF MARTIN BAZYL/ VARSITY BLUES

Lounging on her sofa with a bowl of salad in hand, Madeleine Kelly, former Varsity Blues mid-distance runner, stretches her legs and winces. She’s sore after a long day of training.

No longer running for the Varsity Blues, Kelly has new goals in mind to work toward: namely, the Olympics. “I’m training for cross country with the Varsity Blues and will have an indoor season,” Kelly clarifies, but it is clear that she is hungry for more.

Kelly found her stride while running at U of T. “I met my coach through the Varsity Blues — actually I met him in high school when I was 16. I’ve [ran] with him ever since, and I still do, so I’ve known him for eight years.”

Meshing well with Coach Terry Radchenko and the support system of friends and teammates that she amassed over her years studying at U of T, Kelly decided to stay in Toronto and run with the U of T Track Club.

She felt that the familiarity and camaraderie of the club would lead her to success: “[Terry Radchenko] is part of the reason I chose to go to U of T, and why I stayed to run for the U of T Track Club.”

The decision to stick around paid off. In late July, at the Canadian Track and Field Championships in Montréal, Kelly defeated favourite Melissa Bishop-Nriagu and defending champion Lindsey Butterworth in the 800-metre event to secure her first national title. “It was one of the most memorable days of my life,” she

chuckled. She was undoubtedly the underdog: “I just had a really good last 100 metres, and won by the skin of my teeth. It wasn’t even on my radar to win this race.”

But make no mistake: this win is just the beginning for Kelly. When asked what her sights are set on next, she didn’t hesitate: “Going into this year, I wanted to make the Olympics, and I still do.” Instead of inflating her ego or allowing her to rest on her laurels, her recent win has stoked her competitive fire and fueled her drive for bigger wins. She’s using the recipe that led her to success to orient herself for wins at future races. “I de-stressed that day, and felt pretty good. I went shopping with my sisters, ate some food, watched some Real Housewives, and went to the track.”

Kelly is also quick to credit her steady success to her support system. “A bunch of people were there to watch, which was very nice, like my family, my boyfriend, and my teammates. And there were a bunch of people watching at home.”

With a goal within reach and a group of people to keep her focused, it’s no wonder that she’s so confident for the Summer Olympics in Tokyo.

She may not have Bishop-Nriagu’s media attention, but Kelly doesn’t need it. She’s steadily working her way to the tantalizingly-close standard time for the Canadian Olympic team, and she’s not letting any distractions get in her way.

Watch out for Madeleine Kelly — she may very well be on your TV screens next year. “It’s not a guarantee,” she says, “but I’ve got a chance.

I’ve got a real chance.”

Blues football narrowly drop a 37–33 decision to the Queen’s Gaels Toronto secures sixth-place standing in OUA Laura Ashwood Associate Sports Editor

It was a constant chase for the lead for the Blues football team, who fought valiantly until the end against the Queen’s University Gaels in their fourth match of the season.

This score puts an end to the Blues’ two-game winning streak.

Despite the result, Toronto made some standout plays against the Gaels,

Despite the Blues' valiant efforts, they could not catch up to the gales COURTESY OF SEYRAN MAMMADOV/VARSITY BLUES

a team that they have not had a regular season victory over since 1975. With a hefty 11-point lead out the gate for the Gaels, Blues quarterback and U of T’s East-West Bowl representative Clay Sequeira narrowed the lead with a six-yard pass to wide receiver Michael Lehmann to finish a 75-yard drive.

The first quarter also saw some impressive defensive efforts, with an exceptionally notable interception by linebacker Kalvin Zhou at the Blues’ own 37-yard line.

The second and third quarters saw more points for the

Gaels than the Blues, with impressive plays on their offence: Richard Burton of the Gaels secured a seven-yard touchdown reception, and Queen’s kept this ball rolling well into the third quarter. The Blues were not, however, handing it over easily. With multiple incomplete passes and near-touchdowns in the Queen’s endzone, it was clear that Toronto was putting it all out on the field.

The Blues came out strong in the fourth quarter, with a connection between Sequeria and Nolan Lovegrove over 18 yards for a touchdown to further close the gap. The game had a nail-biting finish, but, in the end, the Blues fell to the Gaels. Despite the loss, quarterback Sequeria is still leading the Ontario University Athletics (OUA) in passing with an average of 400.5 yards per game. Lovegrove also secured the number-one spot in the OUA rankings for receiving, averaging 115.8 yards per game and five touchdowns.

The Blues will be in Ottawa September 28 to face off against the Carleton Ravens.

The Blues comeback efforts came up just short against Queen’s.

COURTESY OF SEYRAN MAMMADOV/VARSITY BLUES

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SEPTEMBER 23, 2019

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Blues men’s soccer team secure 1–0 win against Laurentian

Win moves the Blues to second in the OUA East Standings before showdown with third-place Ryerson Silas Le Blanc Sports Editor

The Toronto Varsity Blues men’s soccer team defeated the Laurentian Voyageurs 1–0 last Friday, vaulting them up to second place in the Ontario University Athletics East Standings, and keeping them undefeated for this season. This win puts them even with Ryerson University with a game in hand, setting the stage for a rivalry showdown at Varsity Stadium on September 22.

Toronto controlled much of the possession in the first half, generating most of the scoring opportunities. In the eighth minute, a great play from Toronto in the box led to the ball just squeaking past the keeper, but it was cleared off the line by Laurentian defender Graeme McLean. In the 17th minute, Toronto midfielder Atchu Sivananthan forced a turnover from McLean, and made a brilliant pass into the box to fellow midfielder Gabriel Milo, who then hit the crossbar from a tight angle. The Blues didn’t stop pressing when an exceptional cross from Sivananthan led to a great opportunity for Jacob Maurutto-Robinson, whose header missed just wide of the goal.

The Blues offence finally broke through in the 23rd minute, when a free kick by defender Kenny Lioutas led to a header goal in the box by Atchu

Sivananthan. More great passing from Sivananthan led to a great one-on-one opportunity with the goalkeeper for Artem Tesker, but Laurentian keeper Adam Scanlon dove out for the ball before Tesker could get the shot off. Laurentian started to get some chances going with their best coming near the end of the first half, but a chance in the box from midfielder Brandon Moxam went just over the net.

The second half saw the Blues play a more defensive style, congesting the box and not letting Laurentian get any quality scoring opportunities.

Laurentian didn’t get any shots on the goal in the entire half. It was also much chippier than the first half, with Laurentian receiving two yellow cards, the first coming from Kristian Shuttleworth in the 71st minute, and the second coming from Nicholas Correa in the 84th minute. Laurentian’s final opportunity came with a throwin in the final minutes, with the keeper coming down the field to help the offence, but they were unable to get a shot on the goal before the final whistle.

“I think we played well in terms of the attacking parts,” head coach Ilya Orlov said in a

postgame interview. “The game plan was to go out and attack. We knew we were going to have possession most of the game, and obviously if you watch our game, our plan was to attack the wide areas and we were successful getting the ball there.”

in

This victory moves the Blues’ record to 5-0-1.

MEHRAN KARIMZADEH/THE VARSITY

Concussion resource proposes an end to ‘bedroom jail’ Research encourages gradually reintroducing activity sooner after injury Matthew Barrett Varsity Contributor

Commonly-held post-concussion practices have been upended at U of T as researchers join a growing international consensus for concussion recovery by calling for less hiding away in a dark room and more activity.

On the frontline of this new research is U of T’s own Dr. Nick Reed, who is an associate professor at the Department of Occupational Science & Occupational Therapy. Reed, along with Dr. Roger Zemek from the University of Ottawa and the rest of their team, published an online resource in September called Brain Injury Guidelines, assembling the most up-todate studies into a tool for patients and medical professionals alike.

Previous reccomendations suggested that concussion patients be prescribed what Reed calls a “bedroom jail,” effectively staying in a dark room until they are feeling better. Now, studies are finding that locking someone away from their life can lead to more harm than good.

Updated concussion guidelines recommend rest for the first 24–48 hours following the injury, as the cells in the brain are undergoing an energy crisis. “After those first couple of days, sort of 24–48 hours, we want to start gradually reintroducing activities which are tolerable,” Reed said in an interview with The Varsity.

Medical consensus says that concussions may cause volatile emotions, and so it’s important to take care of one’s mental health during recovery from a brain injury. With the everyday pressures faced by most U of T students, anxieties are only exacerbated as papers and midterms are pushed off to the near future while they are being told to take a break.

The greatest challenge faced by those resuming activities after a concussion is moderation.

In the early stages, going to half of a lecture can sometimes make you feel more aware of what you may be missing. Students struggling with post-concussion symptoms should reach out to their faculty and use the supports and

NANCY JI/THE VARSITY

accommodations in place to find and keep their own pace.

Griffin Giles, who plays on the Varsity Blues men’s rugby team, experienced a concussion last October which “messed up [his] whole year.”

Giles clarifies that while the university itself was very understanding, most of the pressure came from himself, as he didn’t want to take more than four years to graduate.

Giles spoke highly of U of T’s MacIntosh Sport Medicine Clinic and their staff. “U of T was really helpful”, said Giles. “They gave me extra time [on exams]; I could write them in a darkened room.”

“One of the goals of this guideline is to get everyone on the same page and to create a culture that supports the individual first and foremost,” Reed explains.

“At the end of the day, concussion is an injury that most people can recover quite well from,” said Reed. Having played lacrosse at U of T in the past, he is a strong advocate of “sports and the values sports instills,” but he wants to ensure people are “engaging in it safely.”

The Brain Injury Guideline is a living document, meaning it will remain up-to-date as new studies come out. “What we want to make sure is that this great product is used… We need to make sure people are aware of it, spread the word, and make sure that people are using this tool,” Reed said.

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SEPTEMBER 23, 2019