September 27th, 2021

September 27, 2021

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

Vol. CXLII, No. 4

#UprootTheSystem: Global Climate Strike 2021 in Toronto emphasizes intersectionality Participants talk about why they came out to protest during a pandemic

Protesters walking on University Ave. CAROLINE BELLAMY/THEVARSITY

Lauren Alexander, Joy Chan, Cedric Jiang Varsity News Team

On September 24, protesters participated in the global climate strike organized by Toronto’s Fridays for Future, rallying alongside people in cities across the world for action against climate change. Beginning with a rally in Queen’s Park outside the Legislative Assembly of Ontario, protesters marched around University, Queen, and Bay, circling back to Queen’s Park and ending with music. This year’s theme was ​​#UprootTheSystem.

In their speeches and in interviews with The Varsity, protesters emphasized the importance of coming out to protest, saying they felt that, despite the pandemic, it was important to show that climate change is still an important issue.

Bigger themes addressed by the protest included the intersections of climate change, housing, and issues affecting Indigenous people.

COVID-19 and the need for a protest Protesters said they felt it was important to emphasize climate justice even during the pandemic.

Griffin Schwartz, a PhD student at U of T, said he felt comfortable attending since he is vaccinated and the protest was outdoors.

Second-year U of T student Patricia Meyer said in an interview with The Varsity that it was important to come out in such large numbers “to show that even in the midst of a pandemic, there are other issues that still need to be addressed.” She added that she felt that the pandemic has sometimes overshadowed other important issues, especially at its start.

She added that climate justice is closely intertwined with other issues, such as justice for Indigenous peoples in Canada, COVID-19, and health care, since the climate affects each of these issues.

U of T students Angel Bella and Caitie Ciampaglia said they believe it’s important to show how necessary climate action still is, despite other things happening in the world.

“I think that it proves that… climate action is still at the forefront of a lot of people’s concerns,” said Ciampaglia.

Federal election Climate change was a hot topic during the 2021 federal election, with each party laying out their plan on how to address climate change.

Meyer said that, while she was glad that climate change became a “major talking point,” she still felt that none of the parties’ platforms sufficiently addressed the issue. She pointed to the New Democratic Party (NDP) as the party with the best platform, though she still noted that their policies don’t go far enough to address climate change and other issues.

Ciampaglia said that she was somewhat disappointed with the election results, since she feels Liberal party’s policies haven’t sufficiently addressed climate change.

Ciampaglia said, “I hope that they take this opportunity to really turn things around. I’m not super optimistic, though, because of their past record, but we’ll see.”

Rivka Goetz, a fourth-year U of T student, expressed a more hopeful view about the election results. She said that she did see

voters were motivated by the climate crisis and candidates were willing to take a stronger stance calling for change.

“You know, we’re still in a very status quo kind of place where not much is changing,” said Goertz. “But I think there is hope moving forward.”

Intersectionality Based on the idea of #UprootTheSystem, the global climate strike took a focus on the intersectionality of climate change that is rooted in systems such as colonialism, emphasizing how the Global North has contributed to global emissions. This narrative is marked by the interplay of climate change’s effects on Indigenous peoples, varying climate responsibilities, climate reparations, and social impacts on minority groups.

Schwartz, recognizing the imbalanced impact of what he described as “this cataclysmic impending event” also shared his belief that while climate change won’t affect him directly as much, it will “destabilize everything and create more refugees.”

Another speaker spoke about the food systems controlled by large corporations whose “function is to exploit the land and to kill the land for profit, not for food” which is “far from the way that Indigenous peoples and people of colour would originally live in unison with the land.” They stated that as much as these corporations would like to blame consumers, they are responsible for driving these systems, and what we can collectively do as individuals is “stop funding these large corporations in power that are destroying the planet.”

Goetz echoed the need for a systematic

approach to address the climate crisis, calling for action in solidarity with other social justice movements. She expressed hope that climate action could shift from something that only focuses on specific issues to a coalition of justice movements.

“We do have a very specific goal in getting the university to divest from fossil fuels,” said Goetz.

“But we also recognize the history of divestment and on the ongoing movements on things like Boycott, Divest, Sanction (BDS), [and] the history of the South African apartheid divestment movement.”

Goetz believes that divestment is rooted in movements against racism and colonialism.“It’s about stopping all forms of oppression and working together [in coalition], movement building, solidarity building, so that we can create a safer, better future,” said Goetz.

Divestment In an interview with The Varsity, Evelyn Austin discussed the importance of fossil fuel divestment. Austin graduated from U of T two years ago and currently works with the group Banking on a Better Future to pressure large companies to divest from fossil fuels. She volunteered as a marshal for the protest.

Austin said that pressuring large banks like the Royal Bank of Canada, TD, and Scotiabank to divest from fossil fuels is important, since they’re the ones that provide loans for pipelines on Indigenous land. The group advocates for more community-led initiatives, as well as decreasing or stabilizing energy demand.

— With files from Marta Anielska

A reflection about Western University’s party culture from a former student Page 13

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UTSU Vice-President, Public & University Affairs Catherine Lai resigns Position to be filled during fall by-election Lauren Alexander News Editor

University of Toronto Students’ Union (UTSU) Vice-President, Public & University Affairs Catherine Lai submitted her resignation on September 15, citing health issues. The board will vote on whether or not to accept the resignation at the next Board of Directors meeting on September 26.

The position was previously vacant after the sole candidate dropped out of the election in the spring, after which Lai was appointed and took office on April 30.

In an email to The Varsity, Lai wrote that she decided to resign due to extended health issues, noting that the decision was a difficult one.

“I felt that the full-time students that I represent deserve a full-time advocate who can carry out the crucial work of the Public & University Affairs

portfolio, and as I focus on recovery, I’d like to pass the torch on to a successor who does have the flexibility to dedicate themself the needs of this role through to May 2022,” wrote Lai. UTSU President Alexa Ballis and Lai both confirmed to The Varsity that the next vice-president, public & university affairs will be elected during the fall by-elections, at the same time that a number of other vacant seats are filled.

According to Lai, nominations for the byelections will be open from October 1–8, and voting will be open from October 16–18. An information session will be held on September 30 at noon, and the results will be announced on October 20.

Lai will handle the new executive’s transition.

She also noted that she will be going over her resignation at the next meeting, when the board will vote to accept it.

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Vice-President People Strategy, Equity and Culture Kelly Hannah-Moffat confident about safe campus environment

Community members can upload their vaccination status to UCheck.

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Marta Anielska Deputy News Editor

As some classes move to an in-person format, community members continue to voice concerns about the effectiveness of U of T’s vaccine mandate. Many believe that U of T should check community members’ proof of vaccination whenever they come on campus, instead of only checking in certain spaces. While students are asked to complete a UCheck form any time they go to campus, most buildings and classrooms do not check UCheck statuses before allowing students to enter.

Critics have noted that U of T’s justification for not implementing capacity limits or physical distancing — which is the vaccine mandate — is less effective when vaccination status is not consistently checked.

In an interview with The Varsity, Kelly Hannah-Moffat, U of T’s vice-president people strategy, equity and culture, said that she is confident the university has created a safe campus environment for the return to in-person learning.

Gaining immunity In response to these criticisms, Hannah-Moffat stated in an interview with The Varsity that the university’s strategy has to be contextualized by the fact that 99 per cent of those who have filled out UCheck forms are fully vaccinated or are on their way to being fully vaccinated.

According to the university, 72,000 students, librarians, faculty, and staff had submitted their UCheck forms as of September 21.

Since this is the case, the administration has

decided that checking community members’ UCheck when they come on campus is not necessary, though Hannah-Moffat noted that individual departments and instructors are free to do so.

In response to a question about what the university has been doing to combat the forgery of vaccination documents, Hannah-Moffat said that, as with academic integrity matters, the university “[believes] in the integrity of people” and that they will upload valid documents.

Overall, she said that the university is confident it has created a safe environment for students on campus, adding that it’s incredibly important for students to get back to in-person learning.

Checking UCheck UCheck is how the university is asking for proof of vaccination status, with students being asked to submit proof of vaccination or get tested before coming to campus, and fill out a questionnaire.

In an email to The Varsity, University of Toronto Faculty Association (UTFA) President Terezia Zorić wrote that, in conversation with the UTFA’s members, it has determined key spots of concern regarding U of T’s reopening strategy.

These concerns include that most buildings don’t have security personnel checking vaccination status, students who haven’t filled out UCheck are still being allowed on campus, and individuals with easily altered paper UCheck forms are being allowed to enter libraries.

Zorić added that the university claims it cannot afford security personnel whenever pushed on the topic.

Zorić noted that these observations were distressing for community members because the university has omitted other measures, such as capacity limits and physical distancing, because of its “heavy reliance on a deeply flawed proof of vaccination strategy.”

Similarly, Sherri Helwig, an arts, culture and media professor at UTSC, wrote in an email to The Varsity that the university seems to have relaxed certain security measures since the vaccine mandate was placed into effect.

She elaborated that until August 2021, there were check-in desks across UTSC, where community members were required to show their TCard or scan a QR code for contact tracing purposes. On August 20, U of T announced that these desks would be removed, and that community members would not be required to check in as of August 23.

Helwig agreed with Zorić that the university’s current vaccine policy was effectively no different than its previous one, which asked all community members to self-report their vaccination status. “In both cases, there is no way to know, no way to trust, that the people sharing the same air have followed the rules,” Helwig wrote.

Helwig and Zorić also said that the vaccine mandate was essentially useless if no one was checking it at all campus access points. “People are rightfully angry and upset that campus reopening plans lack effective safety protocols and do not align with the advice of U of T’s public health scientists,” Zorić concluded.

— With files from Lauren Alexander

SEPTEMBER 27, 2021

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Students complain about “confusing” shift to online format U of T says 55 per cent of classes are now in person Cedric Jiang Associate News Editor

As the fall semester continues, some students say their courses which were initially scheduled to be in person are moving online with little or no warning.

According to Kelly Hannah-Moffat, U of T’s vice-president, human resources and equity, decisions about which courses can be moved online are made at a departmental or divisional level.

University’s explanation According to Hannah-Moffat, 55 per cent of classes are currently being taught in person.

Some classes started online to accommodate students facing travel restrictions and those waiting to get vaccinated.

She noted that decisions about moving courses online are made at a departmental or divisional level, adding that U of T hopes that courses intended to be in person would proceed with the same plan. “[Departments and divisions] are also making sure that they prioritize [in-person classes] as they relate to our students’ learning and learning outcomes in those courses,” said HannahMoffat. “It varies across divisions, depending on the kind of program that’s being offered, and the types of students that are in those programs.”

“We’re hoping that anything that started with an intention to be in person continues to be in person, because we’ve put in all of the safety measures necessary to enable that to occur in a safe way,” said Hannah-Moffat.

She added that instructors are communicating

with department chairs and division heads about reasons to change classes online and whether they will be allowed to do so. “[Instructors] are working closely with their department chairs, and they would be working closely with their divisional heads to have a conversation about why… they would need to move something into a different mode of delivery and exceptional circumstances,” she said.

Confused by the change Jihwan Shim, a third-year civil engineering student, had one course moved online while all the others remain in person. In an interview with The Varsity, he said that no official notification about the change was given to him before it was moved online, and he first learnt the news from other students in his program’s group chat a week before school started.

“It’s kind of confusing because there’s not that [much] information regarding this online course,” said Shim.

Shim said now he has to look for spaces on campus to participate in online courses, such as empty lecture halls, as the course affected no longer has a designated classroom. “That’s kind of annoying,” he said. Shim also sees a positive side of the online course, since he could watch the recordings again if he misses a class.

Laura Barbosa, fourth-year women and gender studies and anthropology student, has had all but one course moved online, although all were scheduled to be in person when she signed up. She knew about the change from a

Students feel they have received mixed messages from U of T. SAMANTHA HAMILTON/THEVARSITY

course’s syllabus, yet no official announcement had been sent to her.

“I first realized because one of my classes sent the syllabus like a week before school started and it said ‘completely online,’ ” said Barbosa.

“Then I checked the website, and it said that all the classes are going to be online unless specified by a course instructor.”

As an international student, Barbosa said she could have stayed at home if she had known the semester would be entirely online. “I was annoyed because I was like, oh maybe I could have planned to have all my classes online and

After CAUT censure pause, concerns remain about lack of transparency, accountability Supporters of censure see conclusion as bittersweet

Jackman Law Building.

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Marta Anielska Deputy News Editor

In wake of the Canadian Association of University Teachers’ (CAUT) announcement that it has paused the censure it imposed against U of T, many supporters of the censure have expressed both excitement and reservations regardings the organization’s decision.

The censure was lifted after U of T re-offered the position of the director of the Faculty of Law’s International Human Rights Program (IHRP) to Dr. Valentina Azarova, though she declined the offer. The scandal initially erupted in September 2020 when it was alleged that Azarova’s candidacy was terminated after a sitting judge and donor expressed concerns about her work on

Israel’s occupation of the Palestinian territories.

First impressions Supporters of the CAUT censure noted that, in many ways, U of T’s offer to Azarova feels like a bittersweet victory.

For Samer Muscati, former director of the IHRP, this is because he believes the university still hasn’t taken accountability for what happened. Regardless, he wrote in an email to The Varsity that he believes that the offer to Azarova is an admission by the university administration of its mistake.

In an interview with The Varsity, CAUT President Brenda Austin-Smith stated that she is unsurprised that the university hasn’t held itself accountable for the scandal. She believes the

corporatization of universities causes them to be more concerned with reputational damage than integrity.

Vincent Wong, a former IHRP research associate, felt that the offer was “a very shrewd play by University administration,” adding that he was disappointed in the CAUT for not demanding more structural progress.

Confidentiality issues Some also took issue with the university’s public statements on the importance of confidentiality in the hiring process, which it has emphasized as one of its takeaways from the scandal. Muscati stated in a tweet that U of T’s emphasis on confidentiality diverts attention from other issues the scandal raised, and that it has not

then stay at home and not come back,” she said.

Both Shim and Barbosa expressed a wish for better communication between the university and students. “Especially through the departments — if each department is making their own decision — I think the university should let us know,” said Barbosa.

Shim said more specific information on courses that moved from in-person to online would improve his learning experience. “Make it more clear and give more specific information regarding that course so we can easily understand what is going on,” he said. taken accountability.

In an analysis of the different contexts in which the university has used the word “confidentiality” throughout the scandal, Faculty of Law Professor Ariel Katz noted that, at times, the word has been used to criticize members of the university for disclosing their concerns regarding the termination of Azarova’s candidacy.

Katz concluded that, in this context, “stricter rules may do very little to prevent donors from interfering, and will only reduce accountability and increase the University’s collegiality deficit.”

Similarly, Faculty of Law Professor Denise Réaume wrote in an email to The Varsity that certain measures that the university has taken, like creating an advisory group to review academic freedom terms for clinical positions, remain secretive.

“The University has treated the scandal as an exercise in crisis management rather than an opportunity to open the door to a more collegial form of governance,” Réaume wrote.

The path forward Despite these reservations, censure supporters were happy that there were results, and added that the job of activists was not yet done.

Muscati emphasized the need for individuals to hold educational institutions responsible for breaches of academic freedom, but placed the majority of the burden on U of T, which he believes needs to work on rebuilding the IHRP, community trust, and its reputation.

Wong wrote that besides taking accountability for its mistakes, the university should also provide some form of compensation to Azarova for reputational damage and implement important cultural and structural changes to move forward.

According to U of T, besides creating the advisory group, it has also updated its guidelines on donations and required all advancement staff to go through training sessions on appropriate boundaries in donor relations.

The CAUT will vote on whether to terminate its censure against U of T on November 25 and 26. In an interview, Austin-Smith said that the council will be looking for evidence that U of T is moving along a path that will fulfill the CAUT’s expectations regarding policies on academic freedom and donor influence.

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How the UTM Alumni Mentorship New course at UTSC explores Program adapted to support Indigeneity, the classics, and undergraduate students settler colonialism Program one of over 30 alumni engagement initiatives Lexey Burns UTM Bureau Chief

U of T hosts many different programs where alumni can give back to their alma mater. Split into two divisions, there are 10 college and campus mentorship programs and 29 faculty and department programs for alumni across U of T. Martin Kengo, community engagement coordinator, and Melissa Heide, alumni engagement officer, sat down with The Varsity to talk specifically about the Alumni Mentorship Program at UTM. The program The program takes third- and fourth-year UTM students, as well as recent graduates, and pairs each of them with an experienced alum to provide extra support for students trying to figure out how to enter life after graduation.

Heide said that due to the pandemic, instead of taking on 40 to 50 pairs of mentors and mentees, they downsized to about 30 pairs because they saw some new opportunities to better the program.

They also shifted their focus from pairing students based on their program and career plans and tried to connect students and alums based on their social identities or lived experiences. “Traditionally, with this type of mentorship program, matches would be made based on career interests, industries, [and] programs, but we recognize that there’s also a need [for] students to connect with alumni based on social identities,” Heide said.

More than advice Kengo said that with the ongoing pandemic, the “importance for students to have access to support just for guidance,” is crucial.

Kengo said that the program is more than sug-

gesting tips for a better LinkedIn profile; it’s being able to find support from someone who understands the mentee’s situation. “It’s about saying, ‘Hey, yeah, I’ve been through that as well’…

That’s part of the mentorship relationship.”

Heide explained that there are different criteria for joining the program as a mentor or a mentee.

Alum mentors are expected to have at least five years of post-graduation experience to be able to help a younger student navigate through the final years before graduation and the period after that.

For current students looking into the program, the program asks that they wait until their third or fourth year and have above a 2.0 cumulative GPA to apply. Students are also required to meet with a career counselor before the program to have a strong grasp of their aspirations after graduating and their current position. Kengo emphasized that students don’t need to have permanent answers, but just a sense of where they generally see themselves in the future. A short survey is also part of the application process.

“Make the most of it” Kengo shared a quote from a previous mentee who said, “I entered the mentorship program being fueled with insecurity and self doubt… But with my mentor’s assistance, I landed five job interviews, being accepted into all of them, and [gained] the confidence to talk to my professors and ask for their help as well. I finally got into my research programs that I’ve been aiming for since first year.”

“My mentor really restored a lot of faith in me, which is super wonderful,” they said.

“This program exists to create a little bit more certainty and knowing that somebody is here to support you, in those periods of uncertainty. So make the most of it,” Kengo said.

Katherine Blouin shares her inspiration for the course Syeda Maheen Zulfiqar UTSC Bureau Chief

A new course titled CLAC02 — Indigeneity and the Classics became available at UTSC this fall.

The course is taught by Katherine Blouin, an associate professor at the UTSC Department of Historical and Cultural Studies.

In an interview with The Varsity, Blouin shared her inspiration for the course and why it is important to highlight Indigenous voices in classics. She explained that, prior to this course, she had no experience teaching Indigenous-centric courses. “I’m an environmental historian; I work on Egypt. I’m interested in questions… that deal with intersections between imperialism, colonialism, and antiquity disciplines,” she said.

The course has been adapted from a graduate seminar that Blouin gave last year at the Department of Classics. She shared that the seminar was “the most powerful pedagogical experience” she has ever had, and that “it was a very transformative and unsettling kind of journey” for students as well.

Blouin added that she was prompted to “realize the depth of [her] ignorance as a settler” following a workshop at the Jackman Humanities Institute led by Neil ten Kortenaar, Suzanne Akbari, and Lee Maracle. ​The workshop was organized in the style of a talking circle “whereby people are literally seated in a circle, and everyone in the central circle talks one after the other.”

After attending this workshop, Blouin claimed she “started a personal journey but also a journey of learning and unlearning” that transformed the manner in which she does research.

“It’s like a… pebble in the water… it has farreaching ripples.”

UTSC’s new course aims to create “constructive discomfort.”

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UTSU 2021–2022 budget reflects Student Commons move, student aid increase Preliminary budget passed at August Board meeting Lexey Burns UTM Bureau Chief

The UTSU is working with over $3 million in revenue for the 2021–2022 school year.

The budget has seen changes in a few key areas, including a change in insurance providers, funding for the Student Commons, and an increase in compensation for executives.

In terms of expenses, Fiona Reuter, chair of the Finance Committee and vice-president operations, explained that the Finance Committee is on good footing for the upcoming year. “We are again completely on track, which is good to see,” Reuter said.

Overview Reuter presented the budget breakdown to the UTSU Board of Directors back in August.

The UTSU’s total predicted revenue is $3,214,560, while its total expenses are predicted to be $3,197,097, leaving a surplus of $17,463.

Reuter said that any last-minute changes to the preliminary budget will be small. The Financial Committee has enough leniency with the budget this year that changes “can [be made] very easily with our operating budget.”

Changes from past budgets One change Reuter said the UTSU is “very excited

“I realized that not much had been done in white settler colonies, including in North America, about the relationship between the discipline of classics and white settler colonialism.” Blouin highlighted the inherent distinction maintained between the disciplines of classics and Indigenous studies, and the preservation of the ties between the West and the Greeks and Romans that “foster [a] sense of cultural superiority.”

Now, Blouin incorporates aspects of the CLAC02 syllabus in all her courses within the field of classical studies and history, regardless of whether the subject matter pertains specifically to Indigenous studies. From her own experience, Blouin claimed that pursuing a degree in classics may inform a student about the ancient history of Greece, but “you still know nothing about the ancient history of the place you’re from: Canada.”

Blouin explained that she hopes this course will be a starting point for “constructive discomfort” that enables students to “carry themselves into the world… in a way that is more mindful of their position on Turtle Island and especially on whose land they’re on and how they can limit the harm that they’re doing.”

Blouin also shared her hopes of creating a unique code for this course, as it currently is being taught under the umbrella course code of “Selected Topics and Classical Studies.”

Though, she does not know whether this course will elicit an increase in Indigenouscentric courses at UTSC, Blouin said, “I’ve decided to explore these questions because I think they are very important and… my role as a teacher is to channel knowledge and if there’s a situation where I’m the only one who can do it, then I’ll do it.”

about” is its switch to a new insurance provider.

The UTSU recentlychanged health care providers from Desjardins to Green Shield Canada. “This was a decision made largely because it allows us to keep exactly the same services and benefits and actually lets us bring in Empower Me and a telemedicine program which will be very helpful for students, but at a lower cost,” Reuter said.

The Student Aid program budget has been set at $152,000 after last year’s projected expenses of $81,200 nearly doubled in terns of actual spending by the end of the year. Reuter explained at the June Board meeting that the budget was increased in the hopes that it would

allow the UTSU to increase support for students at times of financial need.

Orientation brought in $38,000 of revenue, down from last year’s total of $40,799. Projected professional development costs went up by over $9,000 from the amount they spent last year because the UTSU hired more people to expand the staff for the upcoming opening of the Student Commons. Facility and Grounds Maintenance & Repairs costs went up from $4,052 to $40,000 due to the upcoming opening of the Student Commons on October 4, and the projected costs associated with the move from the old UTSU building to the Student Commons increased from $7,500 to $10,000, although nothing was actually spent on it last year.

Total compensation for executive officers went up by $8,000. Executives are now compensated at $19.48 per hour — adjusted from the previous $19 per hour due to changes in the consumer price index.

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Clubs express optimism, plan for hybrid and online programming Number of students interested in student life increases since last year Savannah C Ribeiro Varsity Contributor

As the pandemic continues to complicate student life, many clubs — especially those that rely on in-person interaction, like athletic and performing arts clubs — are navigating the different ways in which they can deliver programming.

The Varsity interviewed several U of T clubs on their upcoming plans for the academic year.

Clubs generally expressed hope that some events will be held in person this year.

Modes of delivery Clubs like the Hart House Chorus and the U of T Taekwondo club have decided to offer programming in a hybrid format.

Michelle Prunier, executive secretary of the Hart House Chorus, explained in an interview with The Varsity that rehearsals will be held in person with students masked and physically distanced in Hart House’s Great Hall with some students being able to follow along virtually. However, performances will be done online with the option of in-person concerts.

The U of T Taekwondo Club is also holding small in-person classes, but ran online classes throughout the summer. President Alicia Chang said that, despite some hiccups, “a lot of people still enjoyed it.”

Vice-President External Maryam Younis added that, “there’s always the challenge when it comes to a martial art because it’s a contact sport, right?

How do you do something like that over Zoom?”

Other clubs, like the U of T Fashion Club, the Victoria College Drama Society (VCDS), and U of T Improv, decided to stick to online programming.

Shreya Gupta, the general director and founder of U of T Fashion Club, clarified that meetings to plan the fashion show, which will happen in the winter semester, are on pause. Though the club is considering holding these meetings outdoors, activities like discussions on fashion and education and other informal interactions will still be happening online.

Lisha Shaikh, executive producer of the VCDS, noted that “even though [online programming] has its own beauty… there’s still a lot of challenges and there’s a lot of effort put in.” VCDS’ plan, she told The Varsity, is to hold things mostly online for now. It might organize online plays in

the fall, but hopes to hold dramas in person in the winter semester.

Meanwhile, U of T Improv plans to have inperson drop-in sessions, but will continue to offer an option for online engagement as well. According to the minutes of its August meeting, the club will continue to assess the safety and viability of in-person programming on a weekly basis.

Club interest continues Shaikh mentioned that the VCDS received many proposals from interested participants. “Everybody is really eager to put on a show,” she said. Likewise, Prunier told The Varsity that “based on the way the numbers are going, [the Hart House Chorus will] probably have a larger group than we did last year.”

U of T Taekwondo also saw increased interest from students. Chang pointed out that the club has almost tripled the number of its members since the summer. Younis explained that “even just for class signups, we got a lot more numbers than we anticipated, [and] we had to split the session up into two groups.”

Gupta acknowledged the U of T Fashion Club is still navigating the early stages of being a club.

A Hart House Theatre production.

COURTESY OF SCOTT GORMAN/HART HOUSE THEATRE

She said that “there has been an enormous amount of interest.” The club started with about 12 people, but now that number is over 50.

The overarching message from these interviews is that students are eager to participate in campus life, but there are still many questions and uncertainties regarding how extracurricular programming will actually take place this year.

Toronto organizations raise awareness, funds for crisis in Afghanistan Students discuss advocacy efforts, personal connections to ongoing crisis expressing the university’s intent to assist its community members in Afghanistan. In a recent email to The Varsity, a university spokesperson elaborated on these efforts.

“Currently, we are assisting five Afghan journalists who worked for international media outlets to take up fellowships in Global Journalism at the Dalla Lana School of Public Health,” the spokesperson wrote. Additionally, the university has assisted students and their families, as well as a human rights activist, who had to flee Afghanistan. These individuals have successfully left the country.

Moreover, the spokesperson pointed to U of T’s engagement with Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada and other relevant contacts that aimed to “support Afghan fellows, students and scholars to come to Canada.” The university hopes to pursue such efforts into the future within its limits.

Aniket Kali Varsity Contributor

On August 15, the Taliban captured the capital city of Afghanistan, Kabul, effectively taking control of the country during a months-long withdrawal by US troops. By the end of the month, US and North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) troops had left the country, formally ending a 20-year war.

The war and ensuing occupation has been devastating for Afghans, marred by corruption, profiteering from US defence contractors, and at least 150,000 deaths, many of them civilians. It was preceded by a proxy war between the US and the Soviet Union in the 1980s, a civil war between Islamist groups in the 1990s, and Taliban rule from 1996 to 2001.

Previously condemned for banning women’s education and confining them to their homes, the Taliban have once again barred girls from secondary schools and urged them to stay home. Matters are further complicated by the fact that rural women — who account for the majority of women in Afghanistan — bore the brunt of the war.

Afghanistan now faces a fresh humanitarian crisis, with hundreds of thousands displaced and millions at risk of starvation. Individuals and groups in the diaspora have also been outspoken about the ongoing crisis. The Varsity spoke to Toronto community members about their aid work, advocacy, and personal experiences.

Community aid Toronto based non-profits like Afghans of Toronto, founded by Farhad Ahmad, have been working hard to get relief to newly landed refugees and those in Afghanistan who are in need. The organization has also raised $21,000 for humanitarian aid and was recently able to send it after delays caused by the Taliban’s takeover.

Discussing some of the victims of the crisis in an interview with The Varsity, Ahmad said that “there’s no milk supplement, there was no food for them, and there’s no tents or blankets for them to sleep on.” However, he said that it has been heartwarming to see the sheer amount of community support, especially for recent refugee arrivals.

“We’ve been doing a lot of clothing drives, we’ve been doing a lot of toy drives [and] toiletry drives,” Ahmad explained. He mentioned an outpouring of donations and volunteer interest, from the Afghan community and beyond. As a result, Afghans of Toronto has delivered roughly

ANDREA ZHAO/THEVARSITY

250 boxes of supplies to incoming refugees.

He noted that anyone who would like to help can donate to the organization’s GoFundMe or donate items directly.

For Ahmad, one of over 80,000 Afghan Canadians, the crisis is deeply personal. He takes solace in the fact that he is doing something for his people and hopes that Afghans of Toronto’s work will show refugees that “somebody is here to be your backbone in this country.”

Furthermore, he called on the Canadian government and Western governments more broadly to do more to support Afghans, saying that Canada’s commitment to take in 20,000 refugees is not enough. Canada has admitted less than half that number so far.

Student support Students in the Afghan diaspora have also been involved in advocacy and aid efforts, including Hena Noorzada, a fourth-year human biology and mental health studies student and current co-president of the Afghan Student Union at UTSC. In an interview with The Varsity, she spoke about her work through MakeAnImpact, a nonprofit organization she founded that works to support impoverished communities worldwide.

“We actually started a fundraiser and it raised over $10,000,” said Noorzada. The fundraiser was meant to provide imperishable food items to displaced families in Afghanistan, but it has

been put on hold due to bank closures and restrictions.

Undeterred, Noorzada ran a 48-hour campaign to raise money for supplies and items for new refugees in Canada, and has also been raising awareness through interviews and protests.

Like Ahmad, she has been grateful for the support of others in the diaspora too.

Noorzada hopes to continue raising awareness and fundraising through her role at the Afghan Student Union, and hopes for more support from the Scarborough Campus Students’ Union, expressing disappointment at their relative inactivity.

As to how others can support Afghans, she pointed out that people can raise awareness, volunteer at hotels hosting refugees, and donate to fundraisers supporting refugees and vulnerable groups in Afghanistan.

Noorzada also expressed the guilt that she and others in the diaspora feel over being in a privileged place so far away from the crisis.

“We’re not back home,” she said. “We’re not going through what they are.”

“It’s just pretty heartbreaking,” she added. She pointed out that, in spite of desensitized media coverage and the resources underlying the conflicts, “Afghanistan is still a beautiful country that has a beautiful culture.”

University response In mid-August, Joseph Wong, U of T’s vicepresident international, released a statement

Hopes and worries The Varsity also spoke with Khadija Hosseini, a fourth-year business administration student and the sitting vice-president finance of the Afghan Student Association (ASA) at UTM. Hosseini was involved with Afghans of Toronto over the summer.

Having left Afghanistan at the age of 16, the crisis is close to home to Hosseini in a different way than it is to others. “I had friends and a normal life,” she said.

While she sees Afghanistan as home, it was a frightening place to live. “[The Taliban] would attack mosques, malls, schools, after-school courses, or just literally anybody on the street,” she explained.

Hosseini wants others to get educated about the crisis, stating that “you can’t help them out if you don’t know what the problem is.” She said people should watch documentaries, do independent reading, look at multiple news sources, and talk to others as means of understanding the crisis.

She would also like Canada to lobby for humanitarian aid and human rights, and U of T to champion education for all and offer more scholarships.

Contrary to the narrative that Afghans do not want to fight back against the Taliban, her hopes lie in the resistance of ordinary people. Numerous anti-Taliban and womens’ rights protests have taken place across the country in the wake of the takeover, in spite of Taliban crackdowns.

“These people are putting their lives on the line,” Hosseini emphasized. “They are literally standing up to and looking something that they’ve feared for many, many years in the eye.

And they’re telling [the Taliban] ‘okay, I do not accept you’… So these small acts of bravery — it’s everything.”

Business & Labour

September 27, 2021 thevarsity.ca/section/business biz@thevarsity.ca

The Hatchery hosts virtual Demo Day 2021 Winners receive funding to build solutions for healthcare, urban planning

Civvic, one of the winners of Demo Day seed funding and the People’s Choice award recipient, is a web platform for urban planning.

COURTESY OF MIMI HAO/CIVVIC

Janhavi Agarwal Varsity Contributor

Every year, The Hatchery — a community where U of T’s budding entrepreneurs can launch their business ideas — hosts a multi-day event that they call Demo Day, where students can showcase the business ideas they have been developing for four months through the Hatchery’s NEST Program.

From September 13–17, The Hatchery hosted this year’s Demo Day virtually, and 17 NEST startups presented their business ideas aimed at solving a range of real-world problems. The winners were announced on the afternoon of September 17, and received funding to allow them to continue developing their business ideas.

A culmination of the NEST The Varsity spoke with Mimi Hao, the operations lead of The Hatchery, about the organization’s history. “We’ve created a journey for students to be able to explore their entrepreneurship side,” she said.

Demo Day is a culmination of the NEST — a four month bootcamp which takes place over the summer, during which teams are matched with a unique team of advisors. The advisors are business mentors, MBA students, students from the Faculty of Law, and more. Over the four months, these teams create a business

plan, including a 24-month cash flow forecast, and formulate a six-minute investor-ready pitch.

Due to the pandemic, Demo Day was hosted virtually on Pheedloop, an online platform developed by Hatchery alum in 2014. The platform had several sections where teams could present their businesses, their pitches, and even network with fellow participants and Hatchery alum.

The Hatchery leveraged the online platform given capacity restrictions as a result of the pandemic. This worked out well as more people around the globe were able to attend the event to learn about the start-ups and there were no constraints on the number of attendees. They even implemented a ‘Friendship Bench’ — an online space where participants could talk about their issues. “We did try to replicate the in-person dynamic,” said Hao. The event also saw a whopping rise in attendees. Hao reported that, over the course of the event, pitches were viewed over 4,000 times.

The winning pitches The winning startups of the event were ​​Nightingale. ai Corp, Variant, Fovea, ParkinSense, and Civvic, which also received the People’s Choice award.

Hao describes these teams as the “most ready” to proceed to the next stage. A total of $80,000 was set aside to be divided equally among the five winning teams, with additional money awarded to

the winner of the People’s Choice award.

Hao explained that the winning start-ups were chosen by a panel of judges. She said that these ventures can now take this seed funding to advance to the “go-to-market stage” with the help of The Hatchery.

In an email to The Varsity, Lewis Walker, one of the co-founders of Civvic said that their idea was to make an online platform “that revolutionizes the way urban planning research is done” to help cities and urban centres grow.

The team explained that getting ready for Demo Day has been a challenging but a rewarding process and taught them to be flexible and adaptable.

“Being willing to learn and pivot on the go has been huge,” wrote Walker.

Another winner was the ParkinSense startup, whose monitoring system aims to combine medicine with engineering technology in order to improve the lives of people who suffer from Parkinson’s disease. The system’s motion sensors detect the frequency and severity of a patient’s tremors and sends this data to a specialist who can determine the appropriate medication.

“Demo day and practice pitches provided us with an opportunity to refine our product and introduce us to the business side of our startup,” wrote a team member in an email to The Varsity.

The team aims to use their $16,000 of seed money to fund product prototyping and to refine

their product to suit the market’s needs.

In a world where everything has turned remote, fellow winner Nightingale.ai Corp aims to use artificial intelligence to cater to patients undergoing physiotherapy following a hip or knee replacement by providing physiotherapists the chance to provide affordable remote care to patients. Their product, Nightingale, leverages artificial intelligence by keeping physiotherapists informed of their patients’ real-time progress and sending them updates when needed.

The startup Varient is designed to tackle the development of new treatments of rare diseases — a multibillion dollar industry. Their startup aims to leverage big data and crowdsourced datasets to identify effective treatments for people suffering from rare diseases. It collects reported data on positive and negative drug effects for these people in order to identify more effective treatments. They’re streamlining their product to cater to people with certain genetic conditions.

Fovea aims to build a more accessible world by empowering people who are blind. To do so, they want to capitalize on the brain’s extremely plastic nature by combining bodily sensations to form an accurate mental image of the person’s surroundings. This will enable people, who are blind, to sense their spatial surroundings and better orient themselves, thereby making them more independent.

U of T Hub: A course selection tool for new and returning students Two winners of the U of T Student Engagement Award create course rating website Elizabeth Snugovsky Varsity Contributor

If you have ever tried to find a course that is interesting, taught by a good professor, teaches useful skills and fits your timetable, you know how difficult the search for such a course can be.

U of T Hub aims to make this process much simpler. Created by two of the winners of the U of T Student Engagement Award, Johnson Zhuxin Wang and Jerry An Yu, it provides course reviews and ratings from students. It also lets students upload course resources such as textbooks and syllabi.

As of now, the website only covers courses from the Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering, as well as a few programs within the Faculty of Arts and Science such as English, computer science, and Rotman Commerce. However, after the website gets more activity, Yu tells The Varsity that more courses will be added so that more students will be able to use the platform.

Difficult decisions made easy The website allows you to search for a specific course by entering its course code. If you are interested in browsing all available courses, U of T Hub also allows you to search by faculty, program, and year. Its user-friendly interface provides course descriptions that go beyond the information provided by the university and feature honest reviews from students who

have taken the courses. If you comment on five courses, a $10 Starbucks gift card is emailed to you within 24 hours.

The Varsity spoke with Yu to find out more about how the website came to be. Yu said that it can be hard to tell what a course will be like just based on its description. When choosing courses, he would often ask himself, “Is [this course] hard or not? Is it going to take a lot of time? Is it interesting? Am I going to use

this in industry or not?”

He also often used Reddit to assess courses he was interested in, and spoke with those that had already taken each course to find out any information that he could. Yu added that he was in a lot of student Facebook groups where he saw many of his peers also asking about which courses they should take, and looking for more course feedback. He thought that a centralized platform would simplify the process.

SHANNON YU/THEVARSITY

For students, by students Yu explained that students’ previous experiences in classes they’ve already taken is valuable information for other students considering taking those classes. The feelings of past students will most likely mirror the feelings of future students. “I think this is the most accurate information that they can get,” he said.

This information is often more useful to students than what they can find on official course descriptions and from talking to professors, said Yu. He explained that students can share if they thought a course was interesting, if they found it difficult, and if they were taught skills they could then transfer into the workplace.

Yu pointed out that many first-year students were visiting the website. First-year students might find reviews especially useful, since they can use them to get a sense of how courses are run at U of T. Yu told The Varsity he sees many reviews that give advice on how to excel in a course.

For example, some reviews stress the importance of attending tutorials in a particular class, since they end up covering many of the questions that will be on the exam. “If I had this kind of information before coming into university, I think that would definitely have helped, because as a first-year, I [didn't] know what to put focus on. It [was] a brand new experience for me from high school,” said Yu.

Comment

September 27, 2021 thevarsity.ca/section/comment comment@thevarsity.ca

Ginsburg’s story teaches us how to be thoughtful in our activism Just over a year after the justice’s death, we can still learn from her life and career William Lloyd Varsity Contributor

Roughly a year ago, the world lost iconic Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. A late-life cultural icon revered by lawmakers on both sides of the aisle, Ginsburg was to women’s rights what Thurgood Marshall was to civil rights: a titan unmatched. At a time when there are so many worthy causes to take up and so many injustices around us, there is much we can learn from Ginsburg about facilitating change.

After completing her undergraduate degree at Cornell University, Ginsburg went on to study at Columbia Law School, where she graduated at the top of her class. At Columbia, Ginsburg was tasked not only with completing her legal studies, but also with taking care of a young child and ailing husband. Years later, she would recount that after a full day of taking classes, gathering notes from her husband’s peers, and typing her husband’s senior paper, per dictation, she would comfortably settle down to her own studies at around 2:00 am.

With such a work ethic, it should come as no surprise that Ginsburg would go on to become Columbia Law School’s first tenured woman professor in 1972. From there, she would go on to lead the American Civil Liberties Union’s newly launched Women’s Rights Project. She argued six landmark cases in front of an all-men Supreme Court, and won a staggering five.

By now a linchpin for the broader women’s rights movement, Ginsburg was nominated to the US Court of Appeals for the Washington, DC Circuit in 1980. She found her way to the country’s highest court 13 years later following then-President Bill Clinton’s nomination. On August 3, 1993, Ginsburg was confirmed in the Senate by a 96–3 vote, an achievement that seems otherworldly in today’s tense political climate.

Despite her rightful reputation as one of history’s most revered feminists, Ginsburg was not always a trailblazer ideologically. In fact, it took a work trip to the ever-egalitarian Sweden for Ginsburg to fully realize the extent of gender discrimination stateside. “The experience proved formative,” wrote Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Linda Greenhouse. “Feminism was flourishing in Sweden, and there was nothing unusual about women combining work and family obligations.”

What’s fascinating is how Ginsburg approached the legal fight for gender equality. Taking a sweeping look at gender discrimination, Ginsburg fought for both men and women sidelined by the legal system.

Did Ginsburg believe that sex-based discrimination toward men was by any means as pernicious and prevalent in society as discrimination against women?

Obviously not. But Ginsburg tacitly understood that she had to cast a broader net to make any progress at all. She understood that to truly facilitate meaningful change, she had to appeal to the majority.

In fact, in one of her most prolific cases, Ginsburg took on a widower as

a plaintiff , who was unable to receive childcare benefits because of his sex. This was the perfect plaintiff for Ginsburg, “Not only because his claim to the benefits that would go automatically to a widow might strike sympathetic justices as reasonable, but because his very goal could open the court’s eyes to the fact that child care was not a sex-determined role to be performed only by women,” explained Greenhouse.

The unfortunate reality is that when it comes to some of the most pernicious societal inequities in the world today, change is very hard to come by. People, it turns out, are not always ready to listen to reason, nor open to civil discourse.

This is a reality that Ginsburg understood.

As a result, just like Thurgood Marshall before her, Ginsburg was patient and judicious in her legal crusade. Prudently, she advanced step by step, brick by brick, case by case, all the while building on the precedent just recently set and appealing to her audience.

Should she

have had to cater to an all-men court? Absolutely not. But she recognized that she had to, and took that into account.

At a time when the number of issues around us can seem dreadfully overwhelming, we must look back to the change-makers of history. One year following her death, Ginsburg and her sagacious approach to progress — at a time when the cards were most certainly stacked against her — is the perfect case study. If there are two things students, especially student activists, should take away from her life, it would be her persistence and thoughtfulness. As we try to conquer our own pressing issues — climate change, Indigenous rights, racial discrimination, gender inequality, and more — we cannot give up because of the obstacles in our path, and we must also be deliberate in our actions.

William Lloyd is a second-year history and peace, conflict, and justice studies student at Trinity College. He is the co-president of the U of T Model UN Travel Team, an executive team member of the Hart House Debates and Dialogues Committee, and the cofounder and president of the Open Debate Initiative.

He was a lead analyst of the G7 Research Group during the 2020–2021 academic year.

September 18 marked one year since Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s death.

PHOTO COURTESY OF WAKE THE FOREST SCHOOL OF LAW/CCFLICKER

UCheck is a step in the right direction Provincial vaccine passport system demonstrates how important mandatory vaccination is to putting this pandemic behind us Guilherme Patury Varsity Contributor

Despite the way that the university’s position on vaccination has fallen short over and over throughout the many updates students received this summer, it is now clear that U of T takes the health and safety of students seriously by partly closing the massive loophole that allowed unvaccinated people to regularly come to campus.

This was an inspired move by the university. A trust-based system is definitely not the best approach when the health of the entire community is on the line, and demanding that students provide proof of vaccination ensures that all campus visitors can rest assured that everyone else present on campus is also vaccinated. Even though UCheck results aren’t being monitored in the majority of campus buildings, the mere existence of a verification system motivates people to be fully vaccinated.

Several countries have already implemented vaccine passports in one form or another. Perhaps, most famous is France, where proof of vaccination is required to access planes,

trains, restaurants, bars, or any other venue that accommodates more than 50 people.

Even here in Canada, vaccine passports are now a reality.

Recently, Québec’s vaccine passport system came into effect, and Ontario, British Columbia, and Manitoba also have plans to implement vaccine passports in the near future.

Having students submit proof of vaccination on UCheck, in a system heavily resembling a vaccine passport, solves most of the issues with the university’s past stances on vaccinations.

This system helps ensure that all who come to campus are vaccinated. But, because UCheck results are not monitored as much as they should be, the system does not eliminate the possibility of an individual providing untruthful answers. The threat of being caught without UCheck vaccination confirmation, however, has probably motivated some people to get their shots.

The most secure way to ensure a safe return this fall, protect the most vulnerable, and help in preventing a deadly fourth wave is to mandate that all campus visitors be vaccinated. Vaccine passports help achieve this. The reasoning is simple: if you are not willing to be vaccinated, you forfeit the right to be a part of

our in-person U of T community.

Of course, some exceptions are required, and U of T is aware of that. Some people are allergic to certain types of vaccines and need to wait for others to become available before they can safely get vaccinated. Others live in countries where vaccination is not widely available or that don’t have Health Canada approved vaccines and come to Canada before they can get the shot.

But for the vast majority, it is simply time to get vaccinated.

No more ifs or buts. No more excuses. No more loopholes. No more alternatives. It is unfair to the vulnerable and to everyone who did their part and got vaccinated to allow unvaccinated people to visit our campus and put themselves and others in danger.

Let’s have our return to campus be a positive one, and let students focus on learning rather than constantly worrying if the person next to them is vaccinated or not. This fall, let’s — as much as we reasonably can — put this pandemic behind us.

Guilherme Patury is a fourth-year peace, conflict and justice student at University College.

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Onlyfans content ban highlights hurdles sex workers face Celebrity interference and privacy concerns threaten the livelihoods of NSFW content creators

Thérèse Perucho Varsity Contributor

In August, the popular content subscription website OnlyFans announced a ban on sexually explicit content on its platform. Only one week later, the site reversed its decision.

Although the reversal of the OnlyFans ban was beneficial for not-safe-for-work (NSFW) content creators and online sex workers, there are still many flaws in the site’s culture that threaten the livelihood of those who use it to make a living. Such flaws could also impact students that may use the site as a convenient way to make money.

What is OnlyFans?

OnlyFans is a site where followers pay creators to receive access to exclusive photo and video content.

Many celebrities also use OnlyFans to interact more closely with their followers. The site is not designed specifically to feature sexually explicit material, yet OnlyFans is primarily known for its NSFW content. As of this August, OnlyFans is known to have 130 million users and two million content creators.

The ban was announced in late August after financial partners that help to fund OnlyFans requested the removal of material deemed to be sexually explicit. The ban was intended to come into effect on October 1. However, after public outcry and demands made by sex worker advocates and content creators, OnlyFans reversed its ban a week later on August 25.

Due to the pandemic, many people lost their jobs and main sources of income. This has prompted individuals to seek out new ways to make money. For many, OnlyFans became a refuge where they could make money on their own time and reap large financial profits. Some OnlyFans content creators have said that the income they made from the site not only covers their basic expenses, but also covers some frivolous expenditures and the expenses of their loved ones.

The pandemic has made it extremely difficult for sex workers to continue making revenue, as public health protocols resulted in the closure of

KRISTAL MENGUC/THE VARSITY

many adult entertainment venues where they were employed. Through OnlyFans, sex workers found a new platform where they could safely engage in their work and have an income even while COVID-19 rages on.

The proposed ban on sexually explicit material on OnlyFans may have caused a lot of damage for many creators on the platform. The popular sexual content on the site has helped many people sustain a source of income during the pandemic, and such a ban could have therefore eliminated large amounts of essential revenue for content creators. And although the ban has been reversed, sex workers and creators still face impediments that threaten their careers on OnlyFans, possibly threatening their livelihoods.

Celebrities divert revenue away from those who need it One factor that is also potentially problematic for sex workers and NSFW content creators on OnlyFans is the presence of celebrities on the site. Celebrities and influencers who have large social media followings outside of OnlyFans are more likely to succeed and make more money from the site. This could be detrimental for individuals who rely on OnlyFans as their main source of income but may not initially have a large following.

Additionally, some celebrities have been criticized for their use of OnlyFans, as they have been reported to be falsely advertising expensive content. An example of this was when actress Bella Thorne was reported to have falsely advertised a $200 pay-perview message in which she was supposed to be naked.

Now, there are spending restrictions on the site that prevent creators from charging steep prices for their content. Unfortunately, this may also hurt less popular content creators, as they may not be able to price their content to the amount they believe it is worth. In this way, expensive content from celebrities on OnlyFans can make it difficult for smaller creators to increase the prices of their content, thus

affecting their revenue.

Another issue many sex workers and NSFW content creators on OnlyFans deal with is the issue of content leaks and privacy concerns. ‘Capping,’ a practice where forbidden recordings and screenshots of paid material are taken and distributed, has caused financial troubles for many OnlyFans creators. ‘Doxxing,’ the process in which private information is published online without permission, has also been an issue. Capping and doxxing not only prohibit OnlyFans content creators from receiving their deserved income, but also threaten their existence, privacy, and security.

Students struggling financially may rely on sex work OnlyFans has been a refuge not only for sex workers seeking digital forms of income during the pandemic, but also for university students.

The nature of OnlyFans’ content subscription method paired with the possibility of making money quickly has made the platform appealing to many students. While trying to manage studies, social lives, difficulties in the job market, and high education costs, OnlyFans and sex work in general has been a way for many students to make a decent amount of money on their own time.

A study by Swansea University discovered that one in five students have considered engaging in the sex industry and that five per cent of students do end up working in the industry at some point. Evidently, the sex industry is appealing to students, but online sex work could be even more appealing as it is safer and workers have more control over their working conditions than conventional sex work methods. This appeal is then likely to impact University of Toronto students who may be struggling financially, including those already involved in sex work.

Earning back sex workersʼ trust The increase in celebrity content

on OnlyFans along with privacy concerns threaten all NSFW content creators, including those who may sit among us in our classes. Many individuals who post sexually explicit material on the site are considering using more sex-friendly platforms, such as PocketStars, ManyVids, and Frisk, to gain revenue.

To secure the confidence of sex workers and NSFW content creators, OnlyFans must demonstrate that it prioritizes the livelihoods of such people over celebrities and large financial institutions. Yet, even after the reversal of the content ban, it seems like it will be a difficult journey for OnlyFans to once again gain the trust of the people who made the platform a success.

While the reversal of the sexually explicit content ban on OnlyFans has saved online sex workers and NSFW content creators from losing sources of income, such a move by the platform is only a band-aid solution for the large gashes which continue to injure vulnerable content creators — including university students — the most.

Thérèse Perucho is a third-year human geography, political science, and practical French student at University College. She serves as the Literary & Creative Arts deputy commissioner of the University College Literary and Athletic Society.

varsity.ca/section/comment

SEPTEMBER 27, 2021

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U of T needs to equalize the college experience for all students Constituent colleges and their students are getting left behind Logan Liut Varsity Contributor

When you’ve just been admitted to the University of Toronto, you may be wondering about the college you have been assigned to.

Have you been assigned to Victoria College? You’ll be greeted with a beautifully designed website and promises of an in-course scholarship of up to $1,000 if you do well in your courses. How about Trinity College?

You’ll have much of the same experience: exclusive experiences for you as a Trinity student, funding for experiential learning, and so on.

Yet the narrative often changes if you’ve been assigned to constituent colleges like New College. In New’s case, you’ll be greeted with an outdated website and often confusing procedures, like the New College Registrar’s Office’s weakly explained refusal to answer emails sent on weekends during the summer term. I don’t know of any other institution, in or outside of the university, that’s done that before. It’s confusing for students, and it isn’t in their best interests.

There is an undeniable, visible, omnipresent inequality between all of the University of Toronto colleges.

Even the students themselves have pointed out differences: one student recently complained on a popular U

of T confessions page about “how disproportionate the services offered in different colleges are.” There are clear and fundamental differences in funding, merchandise, web services, and so much more.

The inequality appears more specifically between the constituent colleges — Woodsworth College, New College, University College (UC), and Innis College — and their federated counterparts — Victoria (Vic), St. Michael’s, and Trinity. While the fact that students at federated colleges pay larger incidental fees explains some of the funding differences between the colleges, it is U of T’s neglect of constituent colleges that primarily contributes to a lot of unequal student experiences. In fact, I’ll give you two everyday examples of U of T’s neglect of constituent colleges, and what that neglect means for students, both prospective and current.

Firstly, the U of T Bookstore does not sell college merchandise representing undergraduate constituent colleges, while Trinity, St. Michael’s, and Victoria — along with certain theological colleges like Emmanuel College and Wycliffe College — are visible on the shelves.

Think about the newly admitted UC student who goes on the Bookstore website and sees Vic hoodies and Trinity pennants, but not a speck of recognition for their prospective college.

This may seem like a small “fact of life,” but it’s important, especially for incoming students — the college system is about organization, but it’s also about identity and inclusion in our community.

Why are constituent colleges not being represented alongside federated colleges? Are students in those colleges unworthy of this representation, or are they worth less?

There are also differences in the attention put into the college websites.

New College’s website is plain horrible: it’s outdated, hard to navigate, and obviously neglected, and the ‘upcoming events’ tab is not functional. Although not as neglected, Innis College’s website is similarly outdated and off-putting, sporting a grainy logo and a copyright year of 2014.

Weirdly enough, Woodsworth College seems to not even use a unique website, opting for a generic U of T website instead that doesn’t even contain the logo of the college itself. University College’s website, while professional, simply copies the university’s website design.

The colleges don’t use a set template, making web services confusing for students with no consistency between college webpages. Students depend on the university and its colleges to work for them, and the university needs to create a visually cohesive web services system

Victoria College students have the possibility of an in-course scholarship of up to $1,000.

LOVISA HANSEN TIBERG/THE VARSITY

to equalize the branding and student experience.

It’s unclear to me why the university isn’t paying attention to their own branding and public presence, and it’s embarrassing to see. After all, if each college reflects on U of T, you wouldn’t want even one of them to fall short of U of T’s standards. Yet, the sad truth is colleges are falling short not only of the standards we know U of T for, but of the expectations of their own students.

The inequality between colleges does not even end with federated and constituent ones: we often overlook the theological colleges like Emmanuel College, Knox College, and Regis College. They are an integral part of the university, and deserve a larger focus — and the opportunity to open up to undergraduate students. At Oxford University, after which U of T is modelled,

certain theological colleges allow undergraduate students to attend and be part of their communities. For students who can find theological colleges that align with their faith, there should be opportunities to join those colleges, even if just as an associate member.

U of T has big problems to solve here. The university has been neglecting the constituent colleges, and students at those colleges are paying for it. A good student experience means active inclusion and equality of opportunity; U of T needs to start standardizing and equalizing the college experiences for all students. We are all students of the University of Toronto — regardless of our college affiliation — and the university needs to start acting like it.

Logan Liut is a first-year social sciences student at University College.

U of T must do more to address toxic culture at the Faculty of Music Reviewing student safety at the Faculty of Music in light of recent demands to acknowledge culture of sexual abuse Shernise Mohammed-Ali Associate Comment Editor

Content warning: This article discusses sexual harassment and violence.

Earlier this year, allegations of sexual harassment and misconduct within the U of T Faculty of Music began circulating on social media. Soon after, in late May, the Faculty of Music Undergraduate Association (FMUA) released two open letters describing the systemic issues around sexual assault that pervade the faculty. The first letter acknowledged the history of sexual harassment within the faculty, and the second letter, through four specific proposals, called on U of T to address the toxic culture that enables such harassment.

In a recent display of outrage over the ongoing issue, the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) Local 3902 assembled clotheslines along Philosopher’s Walk that depicted the testimonies of students. In a way, the messages on the clotheslines aired the faculty’s “dirty laundry” and exposed the toxic culture hidden behind its walls.

The reality is that issues surrounding sexual assault and harassment are not new within the faculty; rather, they are part of a decades long phenomenon that has allowed perpetrators to thrive under a lack of consequences for their actions. According to FMUA President Ness Wong, there have been more than 50 accounts of sexual misconduct at the music school — with some dating back to the 1970s.

The truth is that many of these accounts have either been unreported or unresolved due to an ambiguous and convoluted reporting process.

The additional fear of retaliation by the perpetrators has further silenced the victims of sexual assault.

So the question now becomes, what has been

done to address the systemic issues present throughout the Faculty of Music?

In response to the open letters penned by the FMUA, Don McLean, former dean of the Faculty of Music, wrote on behalf of the administration that they were taking action to address the “distressingly toxic” culture at the faculty. This included making consent training mandatory and creating a role for an equity, diversity and inclusion officer at the faculty. Yet, as long as the perpetrators of these crimes walk free in an environment that favours impunity rather than accountability, the central issue still remains.

According to a study published by Statistics Canada, in postsecondary settings, personal experiences of unwanted sexual behaviour are more common among women than men.

As such, to ignore the allegations of sexual violence and misconduct in the Faculty of Music is to perpetuate a culture that fuels misogyny and hatred against women.

It has been four years since the creation of the #MeToo hashtag, which resulted in a worldwide reckoning that confronted the sexual violence that many women have experienced.

The allegations of sexual violence at the Faculty of Music are another sordid reminder that the movement is not over. Many women and girls continue to experience sexual harassment — particularly in the field of classical music.

According to an article in The Atlantic, the classical music industry is not only inherently competitive, but also built upon a culture of discipline, sacrifice, and skilled mentorship. As such, someone’s success in the musical field is highly dependent on the relationship they develop with their mentor and other high-profile artists. With a tradition of older mentors guiding young musicians, it becomes evident how such a culture can potentially facilitate sexual

Faculty of Music wrote that they were taking action to address the “distressingly toxic” culture.

MEHRAN KARIMZADEH/THE VARSITY

misconduct and abuse.

Moving forward, the University of Toronto needs to acknowledge the effect that decades of sexual abuse and misconduct has had on the students and staff within the Faculty of Music. In doing so, the university can begin to make amends to students that have suffered abuse. By implementing an external and impartial review — as outlined by the FMUA in the open letter — the Faculty of Music can investigate the issues that contribute to the toxic atmosphere. Furthermore, by establishing strict guidelines and policies concerning interactions between individuals within the Faculty of Music, U of T can also begin to move beyond a culture that promotes sexual misconduct.

By acknowledging the toxic culture and implementing change, U of T can not only express solidarity with the survivors of sexual assault at the Faculty of Music, but also with survivors of sexual assault elsewhere at U of T. Shernise Mohammed-Ali is a third-year neuroscience, psychology, and English student at Victoria College.

If you or someone you know has been affected by sexual violence or harassment at U of T: • •

•

• • •

Visit safety.utoronto.ca for a list of safety resources.

Visit svpscentre.utoronto.ca for information, contact details, and hours of operation for the tri-campus Sexual Violence Prevention & Support Centre. Centre staff can be reached by phone at 416-978-2266 or by email at svpscentre@utoronto.ca.

Call Campus Safety Special Constable Service to make a report at 416-9782222 (for U of T St. George and U of T Scarborough) or 905-569-4333 (for U of T Mississauga) Call the Women’s College Hospital Sexual Assault and Domestic Violence Care Centre at 416-323-6040 Call the Scarborough Grace Sexual Assault Care Centre at 416-495-2555 Call the Assaulted Women’s Helpline at 866-863-0511

10

THE VARSITY

FEATURES

Jad El Ghali Varsity Contributor

What last we election tells us

Surprise — it’s election season!

Okay, it’s no surprise if a minority government doesn’t last for its full term, but having the country’s most expensive election during a pandemic? Now that is an event for the history books.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is back with another minority government after having won more seats in the parliament than any other party. On the outside, it would seem like the $610 million election during a pandemic led nowhere, considering we have the same government as before. However, this election did give us an inside look into Canadians’ attitudes toward all the political parties.

As a political science and sociology student at U of T, as well as an Elections Canada poll worker, I am unsurprisingly keen on Canadian politics. Let’s take a deeper look at how this election went and why it matters to us as students.

The Conservative party’s dilemma After the last federal election in 2019, the Conservative Party of Canada (CPC) had to reflect on where it stood in terms of its popularity among Canadian voters. Despite the SNC-Lavalin, WE Charity, and Jodi Wilson-Raybould scandals, and even cases of misconduct that left-leaning voters are particularly likely to care about — such as multiple instances of politicians wearing blackface — the Liberals were still able to win the election.

This election cycle, the Conservatives returned with a new leader whose ambitions lay in moving the party toward the center right. Erin O’Toole has constantly reiterated his idea of the CPC as being an umbrella for all different kinds of perspectives and all different kinds of Canadians. His idea of a “one size fits all” Conservative party is respectable and, in an ideal world, a great stance to have.

However, whenever the Conservative party appeals too heavily to one segment of the population, they end up losing popularity with another. When they’ve tried to appeal to Conservatives with political opinions that lean further right, they’ve ended up alienating the socially liberal ones. Likewise, when they go after socially liberal and fiscally conservative voters, they end up alienating social conservatives.

In the last election, the CPC lost after failing to appeal to a wide enough base, and the leader at the time was noted as not being progressive enough. This time, were they too progressive?

In my view, people who long criticized the Conservative party as not being progressive enough may now be witnessing the danger that arises when the it moves toward more progressive and centre-right ideologies.

When they move in that direction, as they have in this election, the risk of alienating the far-right segment of their party grows and pushes those segments toward radicalization and extreme measures, as we’ve seen with the growing amount of support for the People’s Party of Canada (PPC) in this federal election.

In our multi-party system, party leaders have appeared to focus on strengthening their base rather than widening it. This continued policy of focusing on one narrow base has led to the great divide we see in Canada today.

However, the Conservative party’s movement toward the centre-right should not be seen as the leading cause for the rise in PPC support — rather, the COVID-19 pandemic should.

The rise of the PPC With the increase of COVID-19 mandates and vaccine passports, we’ve seen more libertarian views find footholds within Canada. The PPC picked up on this trend and has used it to gain momentum, increasing their share of the popular vote from 1.6 per cent to 5.1 per cent. This election, the votes they collected

A U of T student and p the state of the Cana

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surpassed those collected by the Green party.

Two segments of the population flocked toward the PPC: the far right and the libertarians. Far-left anti-vax voters, who would have never even thought of voting Conservative, have seen Bernier’s stance on vaccines as the deciding factor for their vote. The far-right anti-vax voters would have already been tilting toward the PPC, and the vaccine passport debate may have only helped to confirm their support.

This is one of many reasons I see the PPC’s support during this election as being a sort of COVID-19 bubble. Once the COVID-19 vaccine and vaccine passport are no longer in the political limelight, many of the far-left libertarians may go back to voting for parties that have left-leaning social policies. The PPC may be left only with the far-right voters who do not return to the Conservative party.

It is important to note that the PPC’s success is greatly linked with their leader’s connection to a very specific segment of Canadians — the far right, conspiracy theorists, and libertarians who feel like they have been ignored by the mainstream Canadian media and political parties.

In my opinion, the solution to stopping the

growth of populist movements within Canada is to make the far-right feel less alienated by mainstream politics. As Andrew Coyne suggests, the best way to not let conspiracy theorists and members of the far-right feel like the rest of Canada is conspiring against them is to make space for them within the mainstream political sphere. This will help us avoid pushing them toward dangerous alt-right radicalization.

Canada’s lack of unity This year’s election results send a clear message to the Canadian party leaders: politically, Canada is very segmented. The Prairies feel ignored, the northern provinces and territories feel alienated, and Québec feels attacked. Clearly, Canada’s biggest problem is a lack of unity, but instead of uniting the country during this election, our politicians have thrown around partisan political tropes. This has made me quite happy about the fact that no party won a majority government.

Canadian party leaders have immense control over their caucuses. Very often, they seem to rule with an iron fist, making sure whips keep MPs and caucus members in check and within party lines. Therefore, in a majority government, the prevailing party becomes the only one able

to exercise its platform without compromise or need for another party’s approval.

However, when minority governments come into play, leaders cannot control other party leaders and are forced to come to concessions and agreements in order to keep the government running smoothly. In this scenario, most party platforms are exercised, and it becomes the only time every vote really counts in our “first past the post” electoral system.

If our most recent election sends any kind of message to all the political parties, it’s this: if they want a majority government and an end to minority governments, they must bring about electoral change first, whether this be through rank-based voting or coalition governments.

As we enter our second consecutive minority government, it is clear that Canadians have no consensus regarding one party’s ability to lead this country for the next four or so years.

Youth voters With this political stalemate comes an opportunity for young voters all over Canada.

As the fastest growing voter base, we may hold the power to break the stalemate and give any one of the political parties a majority.

However, this election did not give us much

features@thevarsity.ca When this disconnect grows, and young Canadians feel disregarded on political platforms, voting may seem useless to them, as they won’t be represented either way.

There are issues young Canadians care about, like the climate crisis, that political parties seem to downplay.

As of this recent election, though, that seems to be changing. The NDP has made great strides toward connecting with young voters through the use of TikTok, and its platform includes issues pertaining to young Canadians, such as housing and student loans. The Liberals have also included housing initiatives for Canadians under 40, and the Conservatives promised to release federal land for housing initiatives and ban foreign home ownership for two years, in hopes of addressing Canada’s housing crisis.

However, the issue of the electoral system remains a great barrier to young Canadians.

In my opinion, young voters are keenly opposed to strategic voting, maybe because they have yet to be jaded by years of political disappointment. This is one of many reasons we see a large proportion of the youth vote going toward the NDP and Greens.

eek’s federal s about Canada

poll worker reflects on adian political system PhotoCap.

PHOTOCRED/THE VARSITY

A problematic electoral system Today, I believe only two parties can really count their voters as supporters: the NDP and Green party. This election included a lot of talk regarding “splitting the vote” and the need to vote strategically, which led to many voters choosing a candidate only to keep an undesirable party out of power, instead of voting for the party they want in power.

Polling showed that neither the Green party nor the NDP had a chance at forming government; therefore, when people voted for those parties, they showed true support for those parties’ platforms. Meanwhile, the Liberals and Conservatives cannot gauge their popularity from the number of votes they received, since it’s unclear how many of those votes were strategic and how many resulted from true support.

This electoral system has also led to widespread abandonment of voting. As a poll worker, I noticed that last-minute voters would see exit polls and results from other areas around the country and decide to leave the voting line, saying things like, “What is the point? X is going to win.” When this attitude around voting grows, people no longer feel heard, and the government no longer legitimately represents the general population.

EVELYN ULLYOTT HAYES/THEVARSITY

information to go off of if we want to make a proper decision about who to support.

When it comes to the youth vote, issues about balancing the budget and pandemic spending are not going to move the needle, and quite frankly, I don’t think COVID-19 mandates will, either.

In my opinion, the younger generation does not seem to be all up in arms about vaccine passports, nor do they seem to be worried about the fiscal policies of the government.

They are more preoccupied with accessible housing, the fiscal health of their student loans, climate change, and several other social issues around Canada that many politicians overlook.

When Black Lives Matter protests filled the streets of Canada, we saw a lot of performative activism by Canadian politicians, including Prime Minister Trudeau, who took a knee to protest systemic racism. When the horrific terrorist attack against a Muslim family in London, Ontario took place, we saw all the major party leaders — Liberals, New Democratic Party (NDP), Greens, and Conservatives — flock to the memorial and give speeches denouncing Islamophobia. All these events took place within the last year.

However, in this election campaign,

politicians’ mentions of systemic racism were marginal. The PPC doesn’t even believe in the existence of systemic racism, the CPC didn’t address it on their platform, and the other three parties included mentions of it but didn’t make it a key issue.

The closest mention of systemic racism was the discussion of Québec’s Bill 21, a law that bans public employees from wearing religious symbols like head coverings — but out of fear of losing potential Québec seats, most party leaders framed it as less of a discussion and more of a “not my jurisdiction” statement. I will, however, add that Trudeau was the only leader who eventually said that they would be “willing to intervene” after the courts have their say. All leaders stated that they disagreed with the bill.

The lack of willingness to do something about this law is disappointing, especially considering the fact that NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh wears a turban and by that accord, would be barred from serving as a judge in Québec under Bill 21.

A political disconnect As I manned the polls during advanced polling days and supervised the polling station on election day, I noticed one dominant segment

of voters: Canadians 70 years old and over.

A remarkable number of them came to my polling station, waiting hours in line for their chance to cast their ballot.

If young voters had a quarter of that drive to cast their ballot and have their voices heard

by Ottawa, we would have a much different political landscape — one where the voices of younger Canadians would be a deciding factor in elections, and politicians would have to pursue them and create policies specifically for their approval.

At the end of the day, I believe that politicians don’t care about what all Canadians want. They care about what voting Canadians want. The less you vote, the less they take you into consideration when developing policies. The smaller the youth vote is, the less say we get in government.

I would consider myself an exception when it comes to Canadian youth. I am by nature a very political individual who loves politics — specifically, Canadian politics. However, I’ve found that most young voters in Canada don’t share this interest, and I think that’s by no fault of their own. Political parties have failed to include young Canadians in their platforms and have failed in reaching out to them through meaningful programs.

Questions about the future As a university student, I am still keen to see how the Liberal government will respond to the new mandate and to what extent they are going to keep their campaign promises.

It will also be interesting to see what effect this election will have on their approval ratings.

Liberal supporters might feel let down after voting in another Liberal minority that has the same amount of limited power as before the election, or maybe they won’t — it depends on what they expected when they went to the polls. If Trudeau’s government fails, will it blame the minority parliament setup?

With the NDP’s youth-friendly platform and recent growth, it’s possible they could have a real effect in this parliament. What issues will they use their influence to address? Will we have free pharmacare? Lower postsecondary tuition?

Of course, as a political science major, I am intrigued to see how the rise of the PPC will play out. Most notably, I wonder how that will affect the Conservatives’ political platform. Will the Conservative party veer back to the right?

Will they elect a new right-winged leader next and try to take back the PPC’s new base?

Or will they stay in their newly found centreright position and try to lessen the liberal base?

And, of course, how much more time does Erin O’Toole have as CPC leader?

Only time will tell.

Photo

September 27, 2021 thevarsity.ca/section/photo photo@thevarsity.ca

Volunteers take to TTC stations to advocate for federal transit funding U of T students among those concerned about trend of rising fares and decreased service

Gideon Forman of the David Suzuki Foundation sees public transit as a climate change issue.

JADINE NGAN/THEVARSITY

“I work with the David Suzuki Foundation,” volunteer Gideon Forman told The Varsity.

“We’re very concerned, obviously, about the climate crisis. The biggest contributor to the climate crisis in Ontario is transportation,

mostly cars and trucks.”

“So we have to get people out of their private gas burning cars — and transit is one of the best solutions, right?”

Volunteers distributed flyers to commuters at Spadina Station on September 14.

JADINE NGAN/THEVARSITY

Jadine Ngan Features Editor

On September 14, 2021, volunteers from a coalition of advocacy groups distributed flyers at 13 TTC stations across Toronto to alert the community that the TTC urgently requires federal funding. They expressed concerns

that, due to a TTC deficit of $126 million and nearly exhausted emergency transit funding, Toronto’s transit system might have service cuts and increased fares in the future.

U of T student Axiom Edmonds recently moved to Toronto, and they rely on the TTC to get to campus.

JADINE NGAN/THEVARSITY

U of T Masters of Social Work student Axiom Edmonds was among the volunteers at Spadina Station. “The TTC is basically the only way I can get around,” Edmonds said, noting that their commute to campus takes 30 to 40 minutes.

They told The Varsity that they’re new to Toronto, and while the TTC is “not the worst it

Sujata Thapa, who studies transportation planning at U of T, told The Varsity that she believes public transportation is a climate solution and a human right.

JADINE NGAN/THEVARSITY

TTCriders spokesperson Sujata Thapa was among those distributing flyers at Spadina Station that morning. Thapa is a PhD candidate at the Department of Geography and Planning.

One of her areas of study is transportation planning, and she pointed out that the TTC is already the least subsidized transit system in North America. “In order to operate smoothly, you need permanent funding,” Thapa told The Varsity.

She also studies women’s mobility, and noted that if TTC service cuts force transit users to wait longer for buses, this would create safety concerns for women. Additionally, Thapa noted that since women bear the brunt of unpaid reproductive work, they often travel between multiple destinations — childcare, elder care, the grocery store. As a result, reduced services would create significant problems for them.

could be… it could be better” — for example, buses could run more frequently and sanitation could improve.

“With less people taking transit now than ever, because more people are working from home, you kind of need funding for these transit stations,” Edmonds said. “Otherwise, they’re going to go under.”

When Shelagh Pizey-Allen first arrived in Toronto from Winnipeg, she quickly realized that Toronto is divided — not every area has rapid transit.

JADINE NGAN/THEVARSITY

In an interview with The Varsity, TTCriders’ Executive Director Shelagh Pizey-Allen said that TTCriders “spoke to hundreds of transit users” in early 2021.

Overwhelmingly, people expressed that crowded, unreliable services and high fare costs were their largest barriers to taking transit. Some transit users have given up food to afford transportation; other users

have felt constrained in their ability to pursue educational or work opportunities “because they can’t get around the city.”

“The whole transit funding model has relied for too long on our fares, and right now that’s not sustainable. We need a whole new approach,” Pizey-Allen told The Varsity. “We need bold changes to win back riders, and that starts with federal operating funding.”

Arts & Culture Maybe it isn’t just Western University —

September 27, 2021 thevarsity.ca/section/arts-and-culture arts@thevarsity.ca

maybe it’s campus party culture Reflecting on the realities of postsecondary social scenes as a former Western mustang Was I supposed to walk campus cautiously, expecting the worst when the sun went down?

During orientation, more

Sky Kapoor Associate Arts & Culture Editor

Content warning: This article discusses sexual harassment and assault, and mentions misogynistic slurs.

This article was written in response to the events that occurred at Western University’s orientation week, after which dozens of students came forward to media outlets about being drugged and sexually assaulted on campus.

First year at Western University, as at any university, can be overwhelming: meeting new people in the confines of a single dorm room where the bed frame is stripped of its mattress to serve as a beer-pong table; the rush of trying to find a new posse for the next four years.

The first time I ever attended a good oldfashioned house party was in 2019, during my first week at Western. I wasn’t particularly compelled to go, but I was attending a university with a reputation for partying harder than any other — I had to see what all the fuss was about.

Even before I had accepted my offer, my hesitation to attend Western was overwhelming from the get-go. I had heard stories and rumours throughout high school that Western had a cultlike, sloppy, exceptional social scene. While I was going for the program, I promised myself that I would try to be more outgoing and take advantage of the coveted social scene at Western.

So, I attended my first house party. I did this alone, which in retrospect, was not the wisest idea. Upon entering, I was greeted with second-hand inhalation of someone’s vape — cotton candy. That sickly sweet scent would stick with me all night, following me up the stairs as I was offered a drink, and my refusal was met with deep anger.

The events that let me dip my toes into the intense social scene are, unfortunately, the same ones that have swallowed others headfirst. It is campus party culture at its heart — one of the most valorized rites of university — that holds the dangerous potential to quickly cross a line.

My university experience, in some way, has been defined by the fact that I transferred schools. Even though I’ve made commentary about my first-year experience before, I’ve still sat on my hands these past few years, holding my tongue about certain happenings at

Western to prevent myself from speaking hastily about something I only experienced briefly.

Truthfully, it feels like my choice to transfer out of Western left me with an unfinished argument, and I’ve been caught in an ethical mind game regarding sharing my observations during my time in London, Ontario. What should I say, and how loudly should I say it? I don’t want to take up too much space in the conversation, especially with current events, but something needs to be said, and this is what I have to say.

Going to Western definitely brought me out of my comfort zone and into a new perspective.

As someone who often felt like an outsider looking in, it was easy to see the dark corners that don’t appear in frosh week photographs and game day apparel.

The first month I was at Western, I spent most of my time navigating the ins and outs of socializing. Orientation consists of numerous bonding activities during the day, and they’re incredibly helpful to get to know people and the campus. However, the “real” orientation into the culture doesn’t come from the programming. Of course, there would always be a party to acquaint ourselves with, but even the unsupervised events felt a little out of place. I felt like I was acting maliciously by partaking in the Jell-O shots before a group activity or being convinced to dress in weirdly sexualized outfits for the football game.

Walking through frat houses and coveted street parties felt like walking through some sort of horrific liminal space. Hand-painted signs and tapestries boldly promoted vulgar messages, like: “Queen’s girls spit, Western girls swallow.”

“Our roommate is a virgin — please help.”

“If your girl goes to Western, she’s not your girl anymore.”

And even ones as blunt as, “Anal?”

While openness about sexuality is undoubtedly important, these banners hardly intended to promote healthy conversations about sex. It felt almost accusatory or shameful to walk past these signs as one of the aforementioned “Western girls.” Is this what it was supposed to be like?

Was I supposed to feel unsafe in my own skin?

ROSALING LIANG/THEVARSITY

affectionately known as ‘O-week,’ first-year students at Western are typically given a short seminar called “Can I Kiss You?” which aims to teach us about consent and assault. While well-spirited, it’s a single hour-long event at the beginning of an incredibly involved week, and as such, it often gets pushed under the rug, or worse, belittled. These conversations need to be ongoing, not wrapped in a one-off event, especially one that young adults will laugh at.

I remember one of my friends at the time had engaged in a night of casual sex. They were the butt of some awful jokes for a while, jokes that even went so far as to suggest that others should sleep with them if they were looking for an “easy slut” or someone who could provide them with a “good, dirty time.”

I’d try to comfort them that night, trying to convince them that it wasn’t their fault.

I remember walking home from an evening class and being stopped dead in my tracks by a stranger who had a lot to say about my body.

Clearly uncomfortable, I tried to calmly move away from the situation and urge forward toward my residence. Unfortunately, he was going in the same direction, and it was dark. I had a death grip on the keys in my pocket as he followed me the entire way home, as if the keys would have been enough to protect me, had he chosen to turn his words to actions.

I’d rub the imprints of my keys into my palms later that night, convincing myself I was just at the wrong place at the wrong time.

I remember carrying a blacked-out friend home from a dorm party, having to loudly argue on their behalf to get them out of being invited to an intoxicated threesome with strangers.

My suspicion that they would’ve been victim to an absolutely disgusting version of ‘hazing’ if I hadn’t stepped in haunts me.

I’d tuck them into bed that night after carrying them home in the snow, realizing that this issue ran deeper than the surface.

These aren’t the kinds of things you plan for.

Nobody ever thinks these things are going to happen to them. And maybe they try to shove it under the rug, or tell themselves what happened wasn’t that bad. Maybe they speak a little softer about their experiences, out of the belief that other people have it worse, and I understand why. It’s difficult to share these things, but we should — and loudly.

When the news broke, I wasn’t surprised to hear about the turn of events at Western’s orientation week this year. It feels almost disheartening to admit, but the first thought that ran through my head was, “I am so goddamn lucky that I no longer go there.” Wrapping my head around the scale of the sexual assaults took a while to process.

This, of course, is no dig at Western, but rather the existence of an extreme party culture that seems to perpetuate throughout environments such as university campuses. This culture is concerningly widespread, and U of T is no different in its track record. Our lack of a reputation as a “party school” lets us fly under the radar, hiding the sexual assault that occurs just as frequently within our community — at parties, but also in classrooms and extracurricular activities. Sexual assault and harrassment isn’t restricted to any one location — it’s like wildfire across campuses.

We must ask a series of important questions about what causes us to let this culture slide, and we must ask them loudly. It’s good that conversations are now being had across campuses, but it’s incredibly horrific that a tragedy of this magnitude had to happen for change to be prompted.

Indeed, these conversations will make people uncomfortable, and frankly, that’s the point — it should make people uncomfortable to hear these harrowing stories. They shouldn’t be sugar-coated or modified to sound nice. Our stomachs should churn at every instance of sexual violence, and we should question what prompts it at every moment — not just as a response to egregious acts.

If you or someone you know has experienced sexual harassment or sexual assault at U of T: •

Contact U of T’s Sexual Violence Prevention & Support Centre at svpscentre@utoronto. ca or 416-978-2266 between 9:00am and 5:00pm on weekdays.

• Call Toronto Rape Crisis Centre’s hotline, available 24 hours a day, at 416-597-8808.

• Call Ontario’s toll-free victim support line from anywhere in the world at +1-800-5792888.

• For testing and treating sexually transmitted infections, testing for drugs that might have been used to commit the assault, and for access to emergency contraceptive services, visit the Acute Ambulatory Care Unit, Room 1256, at the Women’s College Hospital at 76 Grenville Street, Toronto.

• Call the Scarborough Grace Sexual Assault Care Centre at 416-495-2555 • Call the Assaulted Women’s Helpline at 866-863-0511 • Call the Women’s College Hospital Sexual Assault and Domestic Violence Care Centre at 416-323-6040 Call Campus Safety Special Constable Service to make a report at 416-978-2222 (for UTSG and UTSC) or 905-569-4333 (for UTM)

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THE VARSITY

arts@thevarsity.ca

ARTS & CULTURE

Reviewing Pick-Me-Ups, a Toronto pop-up that uses social media as currency MilkUp’s event will cost you more than just an Instagram story

Decorated cookies are one of the goodies customers can choose from at the dairy-themed pop-up.

SKY KAPOOR/THEVARSITY

Cherry Zhang Varsity Staff

It’s reality and not an episode of Black Mirror — Toronto’s latest pop-up store lets you purchase items without money.

Pick-Me-Ups is a dairy-themed pop-up created by MilkUP. Located on 639 Queen Street West, it operates on the premise that all goods are completely free — instead, buyers “post-

to-pay” on social media by posting about the store, tagging @milkupontario, and including the hashtag #PMUxMilkUP. From there, visitors are offered a variety of milk-themed products, all made by small businesses. The space is open from Thursdays to Saturdays until October 2.

Before writing this article, I visited the pop-up three times in attempts to get the best experience.

I really wanted to love it; the promise of free

products seemed so appealing. But, like most offers advertised on social media, its promises were too good to be true.

My first visit was very enjoyable. I went with a friend on the second day it opened. We waited in a short line to enter. We were warned that, since it was the evening, most of the items had already sold out. If we had gone earlier, we could have browsed from beaded necklaces, vintage clothing, press-on nails, or pins — instead, these items were completely gone. Of the food options, only ice cream and a few milk beverages were left.

There was a small selection of t-shirts and tote bags, with only the larger sizes remaining.

Still, it felt like a worthwhile trip. I ended up getting a tote bag, and I loved how cute it was — I’ve even used it since. I also made use of the venue’s aesthetic — it featured funky splatter mirrors and an entire corner of milk cartons — and took some fun photos. The highlight of my visit was undoubtedly the limited-edition peaches-and-cream crumble ice cream by RuRu Baked: a perfect mix of smooth and crunchy texture that I’m still craving. Although I wasn’t offered the pop-up’s full experience, I wasn’t disappointed, given that I’d put little effort into planning my trip.

My other two visits were a different story. After reading some Instagram comments about horrific lines, I decided to try to get the complete Pick-Me-Ups experience by witnessing how long their busiest wait times were, and testing if their merchandise was as pleasing as their food.

A week later at noon, I returned to a line that wrapped around the block. It was only two and a half hours — and multiple moments of doubt — later that I was finally inside. Once again, most of the non-edible freebies were sold out, but there were more t-shirt colours and food options to

Jasmine Jenkinson: “Your Voice is Power” winner Jenkinson on the award, future advocacy plans Giselle Dalili Varsity Contributor

On a summer evening in Midland, Ontario, Jasmine Jenkinson joined a Zoom call. The 18-year-old was expecting a procedural interview as part of a coding competition she had entered; instead, she was met with a congratulatory message from singer and producer, Pharrell Williams. It was official: the incoming UTM student was one of the five winners of “Your Voice is Power,” a North America-wide music remix competition.

“They played a video of Pharrell congratulating the five grand prize winners, and then my name and photo came up on the screen,” Jenkinson recounted. “I was super surprised.”

“Your Voice is Power” is supported by Pharrell Williams, Georgia Tech, and Amazon. It prompts students to code beats while educating them about how music, computer science, and initiative can be used as tools to further racial equality. Participants were required to work with EarSketch, an audio engineering program, to remix Pharrell’s song “Entrepreneur” to fit the theme of racial inequity.

The Varsity talked to Jenkinson via Zoom about winning the competition, receiving U of T’s National Scholarship, and her future endeavors.

“Your Voice is Power” submission Jenkinson was introduced to “Your Voice is Power” by a former teacher, Ms. Calder from Ellenville High School. Jenkinson explained that Calder, who made her class enter “Your Voice is Power” as part of a project, learned about the competition’s modules herself so that she could provide advice to any students entering the competition.

Jenkinson’s “Your Voice is Power” entry was inspired by the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement and her reaction to the social injustices experienced by the Black community worldwide. Her submission included audio clips from news broadcasts of BLM protests.

Jenkinson also recorded herself singing Pharrell’s lyrics to show that her individual voice has power, and that anyone can use their voice to make a positive impact.

“It just kind of came to me,” Jenkinson

explained about her idea. “I knew I had to include the [BLM] news protests… I could already hear the bridge in my head. And I could hear the music and the news protests that I wanted to add in. So that’s where I started.”

Winning U of T’s National Scholarship Though most widely known for “Your Voice is Power,” the coding competition wasn’t the only accolade Jenkinson was awarded this year.

The recent high school graduate had also won U of T’s National Scholarship, the institution’s most prestigious award for Canadian high school students entering university. The award celebrates “original and creative thinkers, community leaders, and high academic achievers.”

Though it’s evident that the musical prodigy is deserving of the award, Jenkinson explained her initial shock after learning she’d gotten the scholarship, “I was so excited, and grateful for the opportunity to come to U of T. And just the opportunities that would happen as a result of winning the national scholarship.”

After accepting her scholarship and offer to attend UTM, Jenkinson was faced with another decision — deciding her program of study. However, the aspiring theatre and drama studies major explained that this was an easy task, given her love for the arts.

“I have always loved acting and performing and being on stage; it’s always felt like where I’m at home,” Jenkinson described. “I love the creative process, the people… just everything about it. I’m drawn to it.”

Jenkinson added that the combination of the program’s hands-on experience and academic education was a prominent factor in choosing her program. “I applied to [U of T] because they have a very unique program in the sense that you get the practical studio training for acting,” she described. “[You’ll get] the academic rigor and the theory and history behind your training to back you up.”

Jenkinson’s career plans and future endeavors Reporting outlets such as the Toronto Star, Midland Today, and Entertainment Today

Canada have written about Jenkinson’s accomplishments. However, the U of T student hinted that this coverage won’t be the last time she’s featured in the news: “[I’m] definitely planning on using this as a launching point to use my music and my voice to speak about other issues as well.”

“One thing I’m really passionate about right now also is Indigenous rights and their perspectives and their stories,” Jenkinson added. “I really want to find a way to amplify those. And then another topic is environmental sustainability too.”

Jenkinson noted that she thinks of her career as an artist and her role as an advocate as being closely intertwined.

“As many social issues as I can… I want to speak [about, write songs] and tell stories about,” she explained.

For now, Jenkinson is continuing to practice her art and is focusing on her postsecondary education.

However, she mentioned that her eventual dream collaboration would be with Pharrell Williams, “Considering my song was a remix of his and just everything he stands for… and he helped support this competition, so I

choose from this time around. Given the amount of time I had already dedicated to my afternoon at the pop-up, I was in and out of the venue within 15 minutes.

Before leaving, I asked an employee how early I should arrive to get the best experience. They suggested 10:00 am — an hour before its opening. So, two days later, I arrived at 9:50 am — and entered at noon. In the morning shade, my wait felt slightly more pleasant. However, the availability I was eventually presented with was similar to that of the days before. The only item I hadn’t seen before was the collection of — admittedly cute — pins. Once again, I left quickly, not wanting to hold up the line.

Part of me wishes I could have purchased items with real currency. After waiting for two hours, I would’ve liked the option to buy a cute necklace or a pint of ice cream. Maybe it’s the consumerism that’s been deeply ingrained in me, but I wanted to feel some greater sense of accomplishment and would have happily paid for any product in the store.

So, is Pick-Me-Ups worth it? The answer depends on how much you value your time. That’s the true cost of the pop-up, because it’s what you’ll be spending the most of.

As long as you can withstand a slow-moving line, you’ll be in for a treat when you get inside. The food is delicious, the merchandise is well-made, and the interior design makes for a perfect Instagram post. Especially since everything’s free, I can’t argue that there’s anything wrong with the experience — Pick-Me-Ups is a genuinely cool place that just doesn’t fully live up to its finely edited social media fame.

My advice? Arrive early — like 9:00 am lecture early — bring a friend, and slightly lower your expectations. know he really values education and racial justice and providing accessible resources to everybody,” Jenkinson explained. “So I think it would be really neat to see it come full circle.”

Though uncertain of what endeavours her future holds, Jenkinson is determined to use her voice to speak up against injustice. “What I know for sure is that everyone on this planet should be treated equally, regardless of how you look, how you dress, how you talk, your cultural beliefs,” she described.

“I just think everyone should be treated equally, regardless of their identity. And so [I want to be] raising awareness [for] that.”

Jasmine Jenkinson is the winner of “Your Voice is Power” and U of T’s National Scholarship.

COURTESY OF JASMINE JENKINSON

thevarsity.ca/section/arts-and-culture

SEPTEMBER 27, 2021

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Seaspiracy pushes a dangerous message that erases the realities of many communities What’s worse for the environment — consuming fish, or poorly researched documentaries?

Justin Rhoden Varsity Contributor

A friend of mine once insisted that I watch Seaspiracy, a popular Netflix documentary about saving our oceans. Its revealing information and calls to action had sunken her into despair. After watching the film, however, I didn’t have the same reaction. I realized that what’s truly harmful to the environment are bad documentaries, such as Seaspiracy.

Since Seaspiracy’s release and rise to popularity, some experts have argued that it’s poorly researched and sensationalist. If you haven’t already seen it, I’ll save you the time and energy of watching this documentary by providing a summary.

A white man living in Europe finds that his everyday actions do little to protect the oceans. Wanting to do more, he travels and encounters industrial and commercial fishing. Industrial fishing is the intensive use of machinery and other technologies in the process, while commercial fishing involves catching fish and seafood for profit. He paints a system of global corruption mediated by interviews with both experts and irrelevant people, such as the front desk worker at Mitsubishi, the automobile company. To top it off, there are a ton of gory images of whales and other marine life being mutilated and killed. Ultimately, he concludes that the best way to protect the ocean is to stop eating fish and instead consume plant-based products that taste like fish.

Power and influence on film-making It’s often easy to ignore the role of power in the production, dissemination, and consumption of film media. As viewers, we’re only shown the final product; we’re not immediately exposed to the various processes, technologies, biases, and politics involved. These are mostly hidden

behind the screen in funding agreements, storyboarding, the technologies used, the people working on the project, and the film’s editing. These factors are important in interpreting documentaries and the narratives they project forward.

Consider the financial support necessary to produce the 90-minute film that takes place across three continents. Seaspiracy is funded by British green-energy industrialist Dale Vince, who in 2010 bought a soccer team that he later transformed into the world’s first vegan sports club. The film’s message — we should all stop eating fish and choose plant-based alternatives — financially benefits Vince’s beliefs and businesses.

Similarly, the content of the film should also be called into question. Who is Seaspiracy’s narrator interacting with? Which demographics are represented in his storytelling?

The interviews conducted in the documentary are primarily with people who disagree with fishing or are unfamiliar with the fishing industry. In this way, the film reproduces the biases of its funders by selecting people who either align with their message or do not have the language to contest it.

Imagine if Seaspiracy interviewed a range of communities who have historically relied on fishing: there are more than 1,000 in Atlantic Canada. These communities have knowledge of relationships between fisheries and marine life that existed before industrial fishing. They could also demonstrate ecologically responsible practices.

But rather than highlighting how different types of fishing have varying effects on marine life, the documentary portrays a dangerously simplistic relationship between consuming fish and climate crises — a message that erases the realities of many communities across the world.

Manufacturing despair Seaspiracy’s representation of commercial fishing produces the despair of its audiences.

It’s alarming that someone curious about saving our oceans could sit in front of a screen for 90 minutes and then think there’s nothing significant we can do about the problem.

Even worse — they’ll think that adopting a plant-based diet is a reasonable response to a generational crisis.

The effect Seaspiracy has on its audiences demonstrates how the media can immobilize us from creating change, despite a willingness to engage. The effect of such narratives hinders meaningful actions that can protect the environment. For these reasons, we must consider all documentaries in a serious manner.

How to watch films responsibly In an era defined by the constant threat of ecological crises, people are searching for ways to learn how to save the environment. Through funding, suggesting, hosting, and creating films, streaming platforms like Netflix, YouTube, and Amazon Prime allow people to engage with pressing issues from the comfort of their homes. For many, this availability of educational media provides excellent learning opportunities outside of formal educational structures.

Although documentaries like Seaspiracy are dangerous for combating environmental crises, films can be great tools to spread awareness, assist with formal and

informal education, and inspire meaningful engagement.

Fortunately, viewers are interested in sharing their interpretations of films. However, they must recognize the implicit politics in the media they consume and cautiously watch and interrogate documentaries. They must challenge the knowledge it’s producing, instead of sharing misinformation via discussing the films they consume.

This interrogation can begin by questioning critical aspects of all films. There are some important questions that need to be considered. Why is the film being made?

Who is the film being made by? Who does the film benefit and harm? Who is not present, and how does this impact the narrative being constructed? Where and how did I access this film?

In the age of mass media, documentaries about the climate crisis will continue to be created. It is our responsibility to evade any despair manufactured by poorly researched documentaries that ensure continuous harm by making us forfeit our agency to affect meaningful change. Questioning documentaries can help us identify and dismiss incomplete, irresponsible, and harmful representations of reality.

Bad documentaries do not raise sufficient awareness.

CC UNSPLASH

With high prices and long wait times, was the capsule collection a part of “God’s Plan” for U of T students?

Community members reflect on buying OVO / UofT merch

Shopping online was one of the ways students could get their hands on OVO / UofT products.

CAROLINE BELLAMY/THEVARSITY

Alexa DiFrancesco and Angad Deol Arts & Culture Editor and Sports Editor

“If You’re Reading This, It’s Too Late” to buy retail merchandise from October’s Very Own (OVO) and U of T’s limited-edition capsule collection.

Released on August 20, the clothing drop marked the first time the OVO brand — which was founded in part by Canadian rapper Drake — partnered with a postsecondary institution.

In the spirit of showcasing Drake’s hometown, the campaign’s promotional video featured Olympic medalist and U of T alum, Kylie Masse, and highlighted landmarks such as Convocation Hall, Varsity Stadium, and Hart House.

Though merchandise was offered in select OVO stores, at the UTSG bookstore, and on OVO’s website, the goal of securing goods remained “Nonstop” for students — many of

whom waited relentlessly on standby for the drop’s release time of 12:00 pm.

The Varsity emailed four U of T community members — each scoping out different locations — about their experiences shopping the collection.

UTSG Bookstore Waiting in line was the second hurdle that Adrian Sherif, a fourth-year sociology and English major, overcame before shopping OVO / UofT. The first, he explained, was the 45-minute commute from Durham Region to UTSG. “I arrived [an] hour before the bookstore opened,” Sherif wrote. “It was the perfect time because I was 33rd in line — yes, I counted, I had an hour.” Sherif also noted that, by 11:30 am, he was unable to locate the end of the line.

“Around 20 people [were allowed] into the

bookstore [at a time], but only five were allowed to go to the OVO table,” Sherif described. “[I was] led upstairs… [there was] one security guard watching the line. Everyone was limited to four items each.”

“The whole time I was wondering how many of the people in line actually went to [U of T] and how many just wanted [the merchandise] because it was OVO,” Sherif added.

CF Toronto Eaton Centre’s OVO store Third-year molecular genetics specialist Sarit Radak and third-year computer science specialist Kirill Tregubov didn’t expect to be successful at the CF Toronto Eaton Centre’s OVO store after arriving half an hour after the drop.

“While we were in line, the online store sold out, so we didn’t think we would be able to buy anything,” they wrote. “People in line were mostly excited to see if there would be anything left.”

The pair was let into the store two hours later. They left with crewnecks, a hoodie, a t-shirt and a hat — the latter which Radak noticed had sold out while they were waiting to pay for their finds. Tregubov added that, though he initially found the products to be expensive, he determined their cost to be worth it, considering their resale value.

“One of our friends was outside of Canada [at the time] and couldn’t buy anything online.

He offered us double what we paid for our

merchandise,” the duo wrote. “We both turned him down.”

OVO website With regards to securing merchandise, U of T alum Kartik Rudra’s strategy was simple: “I refreshed [OVO’s website] as soon as [12:00] hit.”

“Whenever OVO does a limited-release collaboration, the merchandise usually sells out within a couple of minutes,” Rudra wrote, explaining that his goal was to check out his cart before online bots and other U of T students. His purchase — a grey hoodie — was the product of a “10 second scroll” and a “quick decision.”

However, Rudra’s choice to buy products was an easy one. He wrote, “Drake’s my favourite artist and I’m indifferent to anyone saying that dropping almost $150 on a hoodie is a waste of money. How often is a university [going to do] a merchandise release with OVO?” “Take advantage of it while you can. You get to rep the biggest artist in the world and your alma [mater] all-in-one.”

Students fortunate enough to purchase an item from the OVO / UofT drop have not only received a tangible souvenir, but the memory of fighting for a highly desired item. As for those brave enough to venture resale websites — some of which list the collection’s Varsity jacket for over $3,000 — we offer one fragment of advice: “Laugh Now Cry Later.”

Science

September 27, 2021 thevarsity.ca/section/science science@thevarsity.ca

Approaching structural issues that lead to suicidality through the lens of Indigenous studies Researchers say we should decolonize our approach to suicide prevention

Researchers say mental health issues should be approached systematically.

PHOTO COURTESY OF DAN MAYERS/UNSPLASH PRINT

Ashiana Sunderji Varsity Contributor

Content warning: This article contains discussions of suicide and systemic inequities faced by Indigenous peoples in Canada.

In a recently published paper, Jeffrey Ansloos, assistant professor of Indigenous mental health, education, and social policy at U of T, and Shanna Peltier, a graduate student at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, strive to find a medium between the mainstream approach to suicide studies and Indigenous practices in an attempt to shift the focus of the work done around suicide prevention. Suicide rates are significantly higher in Indigenous communities as a result of many systemic barriers, and reducing suicide rates can’t be done without addressing those barriers. The goal of Ansloos and Peltier is shifting the objective from simply reducing deaths to enhancing the quality of life among Indigenous populations.

In their paper, Ansloos and Peltier reinforce the idea that “engaging with Indigenous knowledge

should not reiterate colonial power dynamics through capitalist appropriation or extraction.”

They focus on Indigenous theories of felt theory, affective-biosociality, and land-based relations.

Felt theory Felt theory is essentially seeking out an understanding of the magnitude of distress felt by an individual in response to external circumstances that pose as obstacles in their life. In order to do this, we must engage in conversations regarding the causes of distress. Conversations about the causes of suicide or suicidal ideation on a public forum are often reduced to internal struggle.

Even the systems in place that help with the depression or anxiety that an individual faces sidestep larger systemic problems that can be the underlying cause of these issues.

In an email to The Varsity, Ansloos wrote that felt theory “challenges power” and forces us to acknowledge “what people’s deaths are saying about the conditions of our society.” He listed racism, transphobia, and the Toronto housing crisis among many examples of these structurally oppressive ‘conditions’ that can ultimately cause lasting mental health issues. He continued

by expressing that it is the root of the problem that most urgently requires resolution, and strategies that target the after-effects of intolerable living conditions are simply not enough.

Affective-biosociality Biosociality is described in the paper as the manifestation of biological symptoms as a result of social structures. A prominent example of a structure in place that contributes to this effect for Indigenous peoples are the present day ramifications of colonialism, which includes things like lack of access to clean water and food, lack of education and economic opportunities, underfunding of social services and healthcare, among other things.

A “necropolitical enterprise” describes a society where life and death are ultimately decided by social and political power. When barriers such as the ones mentioned in the paper are left in place by these powers, they actively promote unlivable conditions that can and will make a difference between life and death.

According to Ansloos, discussions about the causes of suicide often fail to acknowledge the systemic barriers that contributed to the poor mental health of an individual, and instead focus only on the mental health diagnosis. Ansloos advocates for “a structural analysis [that] turns our attention to the ways that structures, systems, institutions and social relations, policy, and practices might meaningfully effect and have affect,” so that we can begin to modify the structures to reduce this manifestation of biological symptoms.

Land-based relations The paper speaks on the disconnect in mainstream studies between land and suicide. It highlights that the ways in which settlers have decided to treat and colonize Indigenous land have direct and ongoing consequences on the identities of Indigenous peoples, specifically in assimilation and the loss of identity.

Geographically, suicide seems to be more common in regions that are the most environmentally neglected and experience the worst effects of climate change. In his email, Ansloos wrote about the importance of treating “the material conditions of living with greater dignity (i.e., addressing climate change, food/water security).” He highlighted that “there is no prevention of suicide without reckoning with the conditions

of a world where suicide exists,” further acknowledging the correlation between land and livability.

Approaching a complex problem through empathy Suicide cannot be explained using only pathological or structural reasoning. Ansloos wrote that it is more complex than narrowing down a person’s desire to die as simply a medical problem, which can then be framed as something irrational or pathological. We must understand how people are feeling in response to the structures in their environment. We must acknowledge that there are structures in place that are not actively promoting life, and we must rework these unjust structures so that they are no longer cause for distress. As Ansloos and Peltier write, “To make bodies inhabitable, one must make the world livable.”

If you or someone you know is in distress, you can call: • Canada Suicide Prevention Service phone available 24/7 at 1-833-456-4566 • Good 2 Talk Student Helpline at 1-866-9255454 • Connex Ontario Mental Health Helpline at 1-866-531-2600 • Gerstein Centre Crisis Line at 416-9295200 • U of T Health & Wellness Centre at 416978-8030 • Warning signs of suicide include • Talking about wanting to die • Looking for a way to end one’s life • Talking about feeling hopeless or having no purpose • Talking about feeling trapped or being in unbearable pain • Talking about being a burden to others • Increasing use of alcohol or drugs • Acting anxious, agitated, or reckless • Sleeping too little or too much • Withdrawing or feeling isolated • Showing rage or talking about seeking revenge • Displaying extreme mood swings • The more of these signs a person shows, the greater the risk. If you suspect someone you know may be contemplating suicide, you should talk to them, according to the Canadian Association for Suicide Prevention.

The psychology behind the rise of COVID-19-related conspiracy theories How people are influenced by emotional triggers during trying times Angel Hsieh Associate Science Editor

Besides battling against COVID-19 infections, the world is also experiencing a global misinformation pandemic. From claims that the virus is spreading through 5G mobile networks to dismissals of the existence of COVID-19 altogether, there is no shortage of conspiracy theories circulating on the internet. Most surprisingly, people believe in these unfounded theories to an extent that fosters distrust in science. Some even take to the streets to protest against public health safety measures imposed by governments around the world.

To investigate the inner workings of COVID-19 conspiracy theories, The Varsity turned to Professor Steve Joordens from the Department of Psychology at UTSC, who is an expert in connecting psychology to world events.

Why are conspiracies thriving during the pandemic?

Joordens pointed out that conspiracy theories are always around — and they even turn out to be correct sometimes. What makes a conspiracy theory dangerous is its capability to manipulate and respond to human emotion.

Prolonged exposure to the threat of COVID-19

infection easily triggers very primitive emotional reactions associated with existential threats.

Joordens said, “When we’re anxious, we feel like we have to do something, and what can make anxiety a little extra bad… is when we feel the need to do something but we don’t know what to do.”

Conspiracies, under emotionally appealing disguises, serve as a call to action to those who have trouble handling their feelings of anxiety.

If someone feeds that pre-existing anxiety and presents a course of action, people “suddenly have a release valve… something [to] channel [their] efforts towards,” Joordens said.

Another appealing aspect of conspiracy theories, especially during periods of isolation, is that they provide a sense of community. These communities welcome anyone who agrees with their conspiracy beliefs with open arms. One suddenly goes from feeling alienated to being a part of a group of very devoted believers.

Joordens noted that this sense of belonging can be very powerful to those who aren’t a part of a community in other aspects of their lives.

The power of misinformation Many of the so-called “anti-vaxxers” are concerned that the pharmaceutical industry is plotting to have the general public be dependent

on drugs to generate more profit. In 1999, a fraudulent study was published in The Lancet, linking vaccines to autism. The paper “was almost immediately completely debunked and attacked. It was really bad science on multiple levels,” said Joordens, but the damage was already done. The paper sparked the notion of vaccines potentially having negative effects in humans.

Conspiracy theories activate the limbic system — the part of the brain that regulates emotions — which shuts down the frontal lobes that are responsible for rational reasoning. The emotional stimulation compels people to share and spread conspiracies even more broadly. Therefore, widely shared social media articles tend to make their readers hyper-emotional from the very beginning.

The original paper was shared a lot more than the evidence that discredited its erroneous claims.

The sharing of false information caused a kind of paranoia that laid the foundation for COVID-19 anti-vaccination campaigns. Joordens described such a phenomenon as “mere exposure effect.”

Regardless of the credibility of the information one receives, Joordens explained that the more one sees or hears of it, the more that information seems true.

ANDREA ZHAO/THEVARSITY

Tackling the spread of conspiracies Transparency in disclosing both positive and negative information to the general public is influential both in the short- and long-term acceptance of COVID-19 vaccines. If negative side effects are hidden from the public, “it only takes one person to show one reliable side effect” to encourage the spread of conspiracy beliefs, Joordens commented.

Beyond the context of COVID-19, Joordens emphasized the importance of communicating science to the public. Advancement in science is not driven by pre-existing knowledge only: new data, interpretation, and discoveries are all critical to the vitality of scientific academia. Joordens did address that communicating the most up-to-date findings to the public is difficult, as new information may be interpreted as a change of opinion. Hence, understanding how one’s emotions may hinder one's own rational thinking, or even be manipulated by others, must be included in public education.

“We have to find a way to get people thinking together better,” said Joordens.

thevarsity.ca/section/science

SEPTEMBER 27, 2021

Treating science like politics is a recipe for disaster Scientific community should invest in better public communication

The politicization of science can be dangerous.

COURTESY OF NATIONAL CANCER INSTITUTE/UNSPLASH

Kuorosh Rezaei Varsity Contributor

Science with a dab of politics is a deadly cocktail. If you ever wondered what it tastes like, look no further than the response to COVID-19.

Looking back at the pandemic response in the past 18 months in Canada and the US, I wonder how things would be different if science wasn’t politicized and people listened to scientists. Could we prevent the pandemic if we had listened to the scientists who have been warning us for decades about the emergence of pandemic-causing pathogens?

The politicization of science happens when scientific data is intentionally ignored, suppressed, misinterpreted, or cherry-picked

because of political considerations and agendas, leading to a situation where support for science is divided along political lines.

When science gets politicized in a situation like the current pandemic, it causes unnecessary harm because it impairs our ability to take the best course of action. However, there is an even bigger social consequence to the constant politicization of science. In the long run, it erodes public trust in science and scientific institutions. Loss of public trust will be detrimental to our society because we need science now more than ever to tackle the challenges of the current pandemic and the imminent climate crisis.

Politicization of climate science The partisan divide on climate

science

between Republicans and Democrats in the US is one of the most prominent examples of the politicization of science. Despite an abundance of scientific data regarding humanmade global warming, Republican politicians have repeatedly cast doubt on the existence of scientific consensus, using talking points such as “the science of climate change is not settled,” as Business Insider reports.

Among common tactics used by politicians to cast doubt on climate science is cherrypicking data and misrepresenting them to prove that climate models are unreliable. In fact, this is what the Republican representative Lamar Smith did in 2016. Ironically, he was the chairman of the Science, Space & Technology committee at the time.

The politicization of science is not just an American phenomenon. Stephen Harper’s term as prime minister saw multiple accounts of the government suppressing scientific data and restricting environmental scientists from talking to the press and journalists. For instance, according to the CBC, scientists from Environment Canada published a paper in 2011 concluding that a rise of two degrees Celsius in global temperature would be unavoidable by the year 2100. However, Environment Canada’s media office never granted interviews with the researchers. There were other similar cases of government interference in science.

Politicizing COVID-19 Playing politics with science is always a bad idea. It is especially dangerous in times of global disasters when we need science more than ever to inform policies. One reason the US became an epicenter for the virus with hundreds of thousands of deaths was that, in the early days of the pandemic, the government largely ignored and downplayed scientists’ warning about the virus. This decision was motivated more by politics rather than science.

Politicians tend to ignore scientific data in Canada too. For example, in February 2021, just after the end of the second wave of COVID-19 in Ontario, the Ontario government started reopening businesses and public spaces. This decision was taken despite strong

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warnings by public health experts that this policy would lead to a third wave. As expected, cases began to skyrocket and, by early April, an emergency shutdown was issued. It is likely that many lives could have been saved if the Ontario government had prioritized science over public opinion and politics.

Treating science like politics creates mistrust Looking at the US is the best way to understand how constant politicization of science can erode public trust. During the pandemic, many scientific aspects of public health wrongfully became the subject of political debate.

This included debate about the wearing of masks, the origin of SARS-CoV-2, and proper treatments for COVID-19.

Because of the constant politicization of science, for many Americans, the line between science and politics disappeared along with public trust in science. Signs of this mistrust in science and scientific institutes can be seen in the high rates of vaccine hesitancy. Although the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has fully approved the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine, millions of Americans have not gotten vaccinated because they do not trust the FDA and are concerned about the safety of the vaccine.

Scientific literacy and effective science communication could make society more immune to the negative consequences of mistrust in science. A scientifically literate public is more likely to look at scientific data and make decisions based on evidence instead of adopting beliefs and behaviours based on politics.

Science communication needs to change.

Simply providing numbers and facts is not sufficient. There is an ample amount of data showing the effects of global warming caused by humans; however, this topic is still a subject of debate, and many individuals are hesitant about the urgency of the climate crisis. Similarly, many people still believe that not only is COVID-19 not a serious pandemic, but that it is a hoax altogether. There should be radical change in the way that science is communicated to the public because the current model is not working.

Online resources for first- and second-year STEM courses These resources will have you covered during those last-minute crunch sessions Tahmeed Shafiq Managing Editor

If you feel lost in the first few weeks of classes, you’re not alone.

The transitions from high school to first year, and from first year to second year are very sudden. It’s natural to feel unprepared for course syllabi, and even a sensible syllabus doesn’t matter if your lecturer just confuses you.

So, for all you first-year and second-year students, we’ve prepared a list of some of the most useful online resources for STEM classes.

You might even find that staying home and watching these videos is a better use of your time than going to class.

General: Crash Course Crash Course is an educational YouTube channel and the brainchild of TikTok sensation Hank Green and his brother, the writer John Green. Students in high school and early years of university have been using Crash Course for years as a substitute for unprepared lecturers.

Each crash course focuses on a different topic and has a different presenter, aside from the occasional series presented by the Green

brothers. Completed series have covered all areas of the STEM spectrum, including anatomy and physiology, chemistry, computer science, statistics, and zoology, to name a few.

In addition, Crash Course partners with Arizona State University to create a series called “Study Hall.” These videos focus on more specific topics than the ones explained on Crash Course, so they can often be a useful supplement. For example, the Crash Course chemistry tutorial on acid-base reactions pairs well with the Study Hall tutorial on balancing chemical reactions.

General: Khan Academy It’s impossible to compile a list of online STEM resources without mentioning Khan Academy.

The not-for-profit organization has been churning out video tutorials for years, all using the same boilerplate ‘Etch a Sketch software.’

Their topics tend heavily toward the high school level, so if you need a refresher on precalculus or trigonometry, they can be very useful — although it’s hard to get much use out of them for more advanced math courses in upper years. The calculus, linear algebra, and differential equations tutorials will cover a lot of first- and second-year material, but after that, you’re on your own.

Another drawback is their style of presenting.

Khan Academy’s straightforward diagrams are no more sophisticated than a blackboard — which means that the difficulty of drawing

insightful pictures with chalk carries over to their videos. The emphasis is on quantity, not quality.

Math: 3Blue1Brown 3Blue1Brown is everything Khan Academy isn’t. It’s a series of lively, animated videos that pictorially demonstrate mathematical concepts, including ones that are fairly advanced. Grant Sanderson, creator of the YouTube channel, emphasizes the importance of insight into concepts, not just applying them.

The linear algebra series is a particularly strong example of Sanderson’s philosophy.

It’s an excellent complement to any first-year linear algebra courses, covering the gaps where explanations in textbooks can often be very abstract. 3Blue1Brown’s videos demonstrate why a concept is useful, not just how to use it.

Physics: the digitized Feynman Lectures Richard Feynman’s lectures have long been famous among physics and engineering students for their clarity, insight, and sense of humour. When the Nobel laureate’s lectures were synthesized into a three-volume series of textbooks, they became instant must-haves for first- and second-year undergraduate students.

But you don’t need to buy them from the

bookstore. The California Institute of Technology has made the entire series available online, for free, alongside supplementary materials and practice problems.

The lectures cover a wide range of topics with a depth that will carry you comfortably into second-year physics courses. They are also accompanied by helpful illustrations.

From left to right: Crash Course, Khan Academy, 3Blue1Brown, Richard Feynman.

PHOTOS COURTESY OF CRASH COURSE, 3BLUE1BROWN, AND KHAN ACADEMY

Coding in Python: Neural Nine There are many online resources to learn coding, but the YouTube channel Neural Nine stands out for its quantity and diversity of videos. The channel focuses mainly on Python. There are tutorials for people completely new to the language, but the videos are best-suited for programmers with a bit of experience under their belts.

They go in depth into specific Python tools and libraries, and demonstrate how to build original projects, like a simple web browser or Twitter bot.

Additionally, the projects are filmed in real time, so you can follow along without pausing to catch up.

There are many more resources out there.

Ask around — you might just find that the best resources are sitting next to you in class.

Sports

September 27, 2021 thevarsity.ca/section/sports sports@thevarsity.ca

Miranda Badovinac leads the Blues to a 1–0 victory in the Toronto derby against the Rams The Blues came out on top in this episode of the long-standing Toronto rivalry

PhotoCap.

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The Varsity Blues rally for a hard-fought win.

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Mekhi Quarshie Associate Sports Editor

The Blues were favoured to win on this windy Saturday afternoon, since the Ryerson Rams were a middle division team last season, in comparison to the Blues, who came third in the Ontario University Athletics (OUA) Cup soccer competition in 2019.

However, it was obvious the Blues needed a kickstart to get going in the game, and they certainly provided one. They notched five shots from the 22nd to the 32nd minute.

Boasting a relatively new squad, the Blues came into the game with a 3-5-2 formation.

While this provided them with a lot of offensive firepower, it left them somewhat exposed

out wide. The Rams nipped at their heels and counterattacked whenever they could with their striker Shea Jeffery-Novak.

“I think we understand that when we have our wing-backs going forward that [we are giving up] channels,” Coach Angelo Cavalluzzo said in a post-game interview. “We know that that’s something that will expose us… but we’re fine with it. I think the things that it gives us going forward kind of outweigh [anything we lose]. It’s kind of a risk-reward [balance], and we think the risk is definitely a little bit lower and the reward is very very high.”

The risk proved to be worth it when the Blues found the back of the net in the second half of play. Miranda Badovinac drilled a ball past the Rams goalie at close range after a stellar cross

by Hannah Chown in the 64th minute. It only seemed right for the striker and captain of the team to put the Blues ahead in the second half with the team’s first goal of the season.

The natural response from the Rams after this goal was to get overly physical after the Blues scored the goal. The game turned from clean consecutive passes to a clutter of shoving, elbows, and slide tackles. The Rams received two yellow cards in the second half in their scrappy attempts to win the ball back and score a goal.

The coaches expected the game to get chippy as well. “We knew going in that we were probably the better team from a footballing perspective, but we knew the fight had to be there… physically,” said Angelo.

The Blues turned up the intensity to hold off

the Rams for the rest of the game. Eventually, a passing mistake resulted in a counterattack lead by Savannah Robinson of the Rams. The Rams crossed a dangerous ball into the box and an opponent Rams striker was eye to eye with the goal, but goalie Levanta Staggolis made a spectacular diving save — quite literally — which saved the game for the Blues.

The Blues play the Rams again on October 2 at Downsview Park, where they look to maintain their dominance against the other team. Given the results of this game, with Toronto outshooting the Rams 11–3, continuing the streak seems quite likely. Ultimately, the Blues are attempting to get one step closer to the OUA championship — a goal that coaches, players, and staff alike are looking forward to achieving.

Back in business: U of T tennis player Niki Karol talks returning to competition The Varsity Blues tennis athlete sits down with The Varsity Angad Deol Sports Editor

The popularity of tennis has grown tremendously in recent years — the United States Tennis Association (USTA) and the Physical Activity Council have reported 2.96 million new players in the US picking up their racket in 2020. It’s been growing in Canada, too — in fact, Canadians in professional tennis have been making waves recently. From Leylah Fernandez and Bianca Andreescu to Felix AugerAlliasime and Milos Raonic, Canada has produced some massive stars in the cosmos of tennis.

I’ve had the opportunity of knowing Niki Karol, an athlete for the Varsity Blues women’s tennis team, for a little over two years now.

From our time collaborating on assignments and sharing courses and labs, I’ve seen how dedicated she is to school here at U of T. However, recently I’ve been getting to know Niki the dedicated athlete, rather than Niki the hard-working student. In an email to The Varsity, Niki discussed her thoughts on returning to tennis for the Blues, life as a student athlete, and more.

The Varsity: How do you feel about returning to playing tennis for the Varsity Blues in the upcoming season?

Niki Karol: I’m super excited to be back after a missed season last year. I think it’ll be a great fresh start for our team with all the new athletes who have joined. From being a newcomer before the pandemic to now being among the older athletes on the team, it’s now my turn to guide the incoming first-year team members.

TV: What are your goals for the upcoming season/academic year?

NK: My personal goals for this year are to give my best when I go out to play for my team, but also to make the most of my time on the team, since it really does fly by. As a team, we are working hard to win our regional matches in order to secure a spot in the Ontario University Athletics championships again, and hopefully make our way to the nationals next year.

TV: How did you prepare and train for a return to tennis during the pandemic?

NK: Throughout the pandemic, access to tennis courts was mostly limited to the summertime which I was so thankful for since I not only was able to keep up with my training, but since tennis has always been a great way for me to relax and clear my mind, especially during this time. The winter months were the most difficult for me, as there was no place to train other than practicing against the wall in my basement and doing conditioning training in the gym. I did my best to use the resources available to me at the time.

TV: How do you plan on balancing school, extracurricular activities, and competition, all at the same time?

NK: Balancing academics, extracurriculars, and tennis can be tough at times, but it’s all about time management. I try to join as many study groups as I can so I have a scheduled time where I can complete my work and interact with other students! Additionally, I get some work done before I head to matches so I am not overwhelmed afterwards. Lastly, I carry around flashcards for my classes on my phone, so whenever I am going to and from the courts, I can study!

Tennis’ popularity is growing rapidly in North America.

TIFFANY LUKE/THEVARSITY

TV: Is there anything you would like to say to other Varsity Blues athletes who may be feeling nervous about returning to sports after stepping away due to the pandemic?

NK: As someone who has been nervous herself, I would tell other Varsity athletes that they are not alone! It can be saddening knowing we all have lost a season of competing and cannot train as much with the public health restrictions in place.

This has taught me to cherish the time we do have to enjoy the sport we love with our teams!

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

thevarsity.ca/section/sports Michael Cheaito Varsity Contributor

SEPTEMBER 27, 2021

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The quiet place on Harbord Street

There’s a special kind of quiet that can come about at the pool.

It’s not that pools themselves are quiet places; the act of swimming itself is actually quite loud. After a few reps, the sound of your arms splitting water might start to feel like a metronome. There’s that signature pool-talk echo, and you’ll probably hear someone about 20 strokes to the left of you splash at a buddy. Some dude with squeaky slippers might make little squelches as he walks away. It’s kind of like a symphony.

But when you’re down under — for those brief, fleeting moments in between each breath — it kind of just goes quiet. Like the whole symphony stops, like the only person left playing is you. And it’s a special kind of quiet.

From the outside, the Athletic Centre at 55 Harbord Street looks a bit like a monolith. You’ll recognize it as the gargantuan cinder block with grated red indentations slated at the top that looms over pedestrians and storefronts.

Inside, it houses two pools: the 25-yard Benson pool and the olympic-sized 50-metre Varsity pool. In the latter gym, the walls are lined with banners memorializing championships across the decades in both men’s and women’s competitions. You’ll find that the pool gets quite busy in the afternoon.

And why wouldn’t it? Swimming is good for your heart. It burns calories at an efficient rate, helps you sleep better, and tones your muscles — just ask any regular swimmer.

It’s not just an aesthetic thing — staying in shape is good for your head. Stress relief

Swimming at U of T is a time-honoured method of de-stressing and staying fit research showed that regular swimming significantly reduced stress in about four out of five individuals who reported feeling mildly de-

swimming might just be one of the most costeffective methods of stress relief you can find in Toronto if you are a U of T student.

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pressed and anxious. Access to the pools is free for any U of T student. In other words,

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So the pool is a place of recreation for students at U of T, but it’s also an opportunity to

perform impressive athletic feats. Members of Varsity Blues compete at the highest levels, and at the absolute upper echelon, former student athletes like four-time Olympic medallist Kylie Masse dominate the field.

I asked Annie Li, a first-year student at Trinity College who swam back in high school, what her favorite thing was about the sport. Back then, she opted out of competition to focus on academics and lifeguarding.

Now, she just smiles when you ask her about the pool. She agrees with me about the quiet: “I feel like [with] a lot of other sports, it’s just a lot of noise and a lot of sound. But when you’re swimming, you’re under the water and you can’t really hear anything at all, right? It’s just the water. So it is pretty relaxing, to be honest.”

But if you ask Li about the best part of swimming, she’ll say that it’s about the way your body moves in the water. “I like the way my body moves in the water, because on land I’m pretty awkward… but when I’m in the water and when I’m swimming, it’s like [it] doesn’t matter because you’re moving your arms and your legs and going forward, right? So I like the feeling of always moving forward.”

Come down to the pool. Stretch, work out, and relax. There’s a lot of seconds in a day. Most of them are spent thinking, talking, breathing in air, or marching your feet. But for a finite amount of time, you have the unique opportunity to be somewhere else entirely — a restricted area. Head up, head down. You’re back under water now.

You’re in the quiet place.

Opinion: Toronto’s sports teams have been overlooked for too long Exploring the historical struggles and triumphs of sports franchises in the city Audrey Miatello Varsity Contributor

Toronto occupies a unique place in the Canadian sports landscape. While many Canadian cities have teams in the Canadian Football League and NHL, Toronto is one of only three Canadian cities to have a Major League Soccer (MLS) team and is the only Canadian city to have a team in the NBA or Major League Baseball. Given that Torontonians have such a wide range of local teams to cheer for, it seems that Toronto should be a fantastic place to be a sports fan.

However, fans, not only from the city but from around the world, have doubted Toronto’s talent time and time again, leaving our teams unappreciated and overlooked. Especially when considering the recent success in the city, this sentiment does not make much sense.

In 2019, for example, the Raptors had an extremely successful season, as they won their first ever Eastern Conference title and NBA championship. Their victory will be remembered around the world for the unforgettable moments that happened during their playoff run, like Kawhi Leonard’s buzzer-beater against the Philadelphia 76ers.

In addition, between 2016 and 2019, Toronto FC (TFC), Toronto’s MLS team, made the MLS Cup Finals three times in four seasons. In 2017, TFC was the first team in the league to win the ‘domestic treble’ — an honour earned by winning the Canadian Championship, the Supporters’ Shield, and the MLS Cup. However, putting aside these recent successes, many sports teams in Toronto have struggled historically, which might explain why sports fans count us out.

Hockey fans from all around the world will likely be familiar with the woes of the Toronto Maple Leafs, as their last Stanley Cup victory came in 1967. Currently, they hold the record for the longest gap between victories in the entire league. On top of this, during the past 17 years, the Leafs have been knocked out of the playoffs in the first round six times and have failed to qualify for the playoffs in the other 11 seasons. It has not been a smooth sailing for the Leafs in recent years, leaving many to wonder when it will be their turn to win the Cup again.

The Raptors also struggled in their franchise’s early years. The Raptors’ first three seasons in the NBA saw them finish in a disappointing last place, and although they made the playoffs consecutively in the 1999– 2000 and 2001–2002 seasons, they found themselves in a run of bad performances for the next four seasons.

The team did, eventually, find some consistency and made the playoffs every year from the 2013–2014 season to the 2019–2020 season. However, until 2019, they could never reach the NBA finals and make a serious challenge for the championship, as, each year, they were eliminated from the playoffs too early.

Although TFC has a history much shorter than both the 26-year-old Raptors and the 103-year-old Leafs, the team has already been through many trials and tribulations during their short 15 years of life. During the first four games in their first season in the MLS, the team went winless and struggled to even score a goal. Although they did, of course,

BRITTANY GEROW/ THEVARSITY

start winning games and scoring goals, the MLS Cup was nothing but a distant dream, as they failed to qualify for the playoffs for their first nine years in the league. And when they did finally qualify for the postseason in 2015, they fell 3–0 in their first game against their rivals in Montréal.

It is truly amazing that, through all of these difficult years, disappointments, and letdowns, the fans have remained unwaveringly loyal. Despite the Leafs’ struggles, before the pandemic, the TTC would routinely flood with fans proudly wearing their jerseys heading to a game at Scotiabank Arena, and the rink would be packed with spectators singing The Hockey Song and cheering on their team.

No matter how poorly a Torontonian team was doing at any given time, the stadiums and arenas across Toronto consistently commanded a good turnout and, no matter how disappointing the previous year was, the fans kept coming back.

The most incredible part of Toronto sports truly lies here. Of course, the Raptors’ 2019 championship was remarkable, as was Toronto FC’s 2017 MLS Cup victory at the BMO Field. However, I think that the unwavering support of the fans during the teams’ difficult times is more impressive than all the good times they’ve had.

Unfortunately, Toronto sports teams have been doubted for decades, and this may continue into the future. But hopefully, one day Toronto sports teams will be known instead for what is truly special about them: the incredible support of their fans.

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SEPTEMBER 27, 2021

ACROSS 1. Beatles’ affirmative 5. Area south of the Atlas Mountains 11. Baba ingredient 14. Like beds, at times 15. Bakery enticements 16. What bars draw 17. Critical point 18. Mail-in payment 20. Everyone 21. A or E, but not I, O or U 22. Object to keep in sight 23. Helpless?

25. Machines in delicatessens 26. Making devilishly full?

28. Those with visions 29. Patsy of Nashville 30. Give a start 31. Backstage guest 34. Crazy way to run 35. Does a prelaundry chore 36. Damsel’s rescuer 37. Forbid 38. Board game pieces 39. Difficult matters 40. Moisten in the morn 41. A woman’s bow 42. Makes moonstruck 45. “La Traviata” composer 46. Settles on, in a way 47. Introduce to solid foods 48. Bucolic call 51. Don Corleone and others 53. Skeet shout 54. Abbr. that saves keystrokes 55. Do roadwork 56. Colonnade trees 57. Afternoon spot 58. Left unharmed 59. Money of Mexico

DOWN 1. 1978 disco hit 2. English peer 3. Flattery 4. Case of bad spelling?

5. Java wrap 6. Glacial formation 7. Directive to James 8. Friend in France 9. Dangerous varmints 10. “Top Hat” tapper 11. Cowboy’s milieu 12. Worrier’s risk, it’s said 13. Shakes hands with 19. Compass doodles 21. One little piggy’s amount 24. Web site offering 25. Accommodates, as a theater 26. Evidence of injury 27. Mrs. Hitchcock 28. Thing with a thread 30. Pumps have them 31. Entryway 32. Raises ire 33. Flower shop purchase 35. Nimbly dodge 36. High on the Mohs scale 38. Exam issuers 39. Change one’s ways?

40. Imitate a bronco 41. Brought to a halt 42. Calais cap 43. Make joyful 44. Hajji’s destination 45. Spice of life 47. Result of use 49. Help for the poor 50. What’s more 52. Eco-friendly org.

53. Kind of rally or talk

Solutions to Issue 3