October 1, 2012 by The Varsity

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THE VARSITY (E%$5&'#()<65

The sun sets on the Dunlap Observatory pg 2 ARTS & CULTURE

FEATURES

Lead singer Peter Van Helvoort talks about moving on and growing up see pg 15

The Varsity chronicles the sites and sounds of Toronto’s annual all-night contemporary art show see pg 12

TEENAGE KICKS

NUIT BLANCHE

Students, staff critique provincial plan at emergency town hall Discussion proceeds in spite of minister Glen Murray’s surprise absence F5"*/G%%"H

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The University of Toronto Students’ Union (UTSU) hosted an emergency town hall on education Tuesday in the McLeod Auditorium. UTSU president Shaun Shepherd, U of T provost Cheryl Misak, and University of Toronto Faculty of Association (UTFA) president Scott Prudham led the discussion, with UTSU vice presidentuniversity affairs Munib Sajjad moderating. The “emergency” at hand: the Ontario government’s 24-page discussion paper, “Strengthening Ontario’s Centres of Creativity, Innovation, and Knowledge.” Released in June by Minister for Training, Colleges and Universities Glen Murray, the

paper suggests changes to post-secondary education in the province “the likes of which haven’t been seen in over 60 years,” according to a UTSU pamphlet advertising the town hall. The discussion paper proposes threeyear degrees, year-round classes with three full semesters per year, standardized firstand second-year courses across Ontario, and the movement of up to 60 per cent of undergraduate courses online. The paper closely resembles another proposal known as the “3-cubed” discussion paper leaked in 2011. The UTSU will synthesize the opinions expressed during the town hall into an official written submission to the Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities. The

ministry is accepting institutional and individual input on the discussion paper until September 30. Murray initially planned to attend the event, but reversed that decision after his office was informed by the UTSU that he would not be permitted to speak. Murray’s office had not responded to a request for comment as of The Varsity’s press time. During his opening remarks, Shepherd said that Murray had been in contact with the UTSU about the town hall since July, but because he was the last potential speaker to confirm his attendance he was only invited as a “guest.” There were unconfirmed reports that the minister would instead be meeting with college and campus leaders of the St.

George Roundtable (SGRT) within the next two weeks. No date has been set, although Jonathan Scott, president of the U of T Liberals and an organizer of the future meeting said Saturday that the Arts & Science Student Union (ASSU) and Association of Part-time Undergraduate Students (APUS) would be invited to join the SGRT at the meeting. “The UTSU is more than welcome to come,” said Scott “so long as they leave the bullhorns and belligerence at home.” During his opening remarks, Shepherd said he did not want the panelists to take up speaking time intended for students to express their opinions about the paper.

CONTINUED PG 3

VARSITY NEWS

MONDAY, OCTOBER 1, 2012

news@thevarsity.ca

THE VARSITY VOL. CXXXIII No. 5

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U of T and the Dunlap Observatory: “A breach of public trust”? The Varsity investigates the struggle to preserve a Canadian scientific landmark. 4$0#&5(+2$'*6

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In 2008, decades after it was entrusted to the university by the Dunlap family, 79 hectares of land in Richmond Hill were sold to a private developer for $70 million dollars. The deal, which ran afoul of the original terms of the endowment, was signed over objections from astronomers within the university, community activists in Richmond Hill, and a Dunlap heiress, who put up a 20-year fight to preserve her grandfather’s legacy. In 1922 David Dunlap, an amateur astronomer and wealthy mining magnate, attended a lecture given by professor Clarence Chant, founder of the University of Toronto’s astronomy department. The lecture marked the beginning of a long and fruitful partnership, and over the next decade, Chant and Dunlap worked together to bring a worldclass observatory to the university. In 1927, the Dunlap family gifted the university 79 hectares of land, including a farmhouse that predated Canadian Confederation. After Dunlap’s death in 1934, his wife, Jessie Dunlap, continued to work with Chant and on May 31 1935, Jessie Dunlap cut the ribbon on the David Dunlap Observatory. The observatory’s telescope was, and remains to this day, the largest in Canada, ensconced within an 80-tonne copper dome. “The observatory when it was first constructed was a world leading instrument, there’s no question of that,” says Pekka Sinervo, who was dean of Arts & Science in 2007 in the lead-up to the eventual sale of the property.

In the nearly 70 years of the university’s ownership, the observatory was the site of historic accomplishments in astronomy: the first discovery of a black hole, the discovery of several solar systems, and the most comprehensive globular cluster catalogue assembled at the time. But in 2008, after a protracted legal battle with the Dunlap family, the University of Toronto’s Governing Council voted overwhelmingly to declare the David Dunlap Observatory lands “surplus.” The university proceeded to sell the land to private developer Corsica (Metrus) Development. DIVIDE AND CONQUER When the land was originally gifted to the university, the deed, a copy of which was obtained by The Varsity, stated that if the university were to “use the land for purposes other than research,” it would revert to Dunlap’s heirs. To circumvent this clause and proceed with the sale, the university first courted Dunlap’s descendants, and then reportedly engaged in a protracted legal war of attrition. The three Dunlap heirs, David Dunlap III, J. Moffat Dunlap, and Donalda Robarts, grandchildren of David and Jessie Dunlap, would have jointly held the title for the land if the university had proceeded without their permission. David and Moffat Dunlap capitulated to an alteration of the bequest after a few months, but Robarts held out. According to an account given to the National Post in 2008, Donalda and her husband, Richard Robarts (cousin of John P. Robarts, the Ontario premier after whom the central library at U of T is named) were

courted during dinners at the Royal Canadian Yacht Club and were offered one million dollars for each of the Robarts’ seven children. Donalda Robarts was not available for a comment at press time. “It took four years and hundreds of thousands of dollars before she capitulated,” says Karen Cilevitz, chair of the David Dunlap Observatory Defenders. “She was in her 70s. It was exhausting.” The lawsuit was settled out of court in 2007 and the records of the case are sealed. Last year, David and Moffat Dunlap received honourary degrees from the university for “contribu-

tions to astronomy.” Donalda Robarts received no such honour. “She was the one who held out for four years,” Cilevitz points out. A spokesperson for the university refused to confirm or deny any details about the lawsuit, saying only that, “the university proceeded with the sale of the property with the full agreement of the Dunlap Family.” A FAIR DEAL? A 2007 article in the Toronto Star quoted an unnamed university official as saying the land was worth $100 million. Ultimately, the uni-

CONTINUED PG 4

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VARSITY NEWS

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Tweets from the Town Hall

“Excited to hear about what #uoft students have to say about our education at the @UTSU98 Town Hall. #cfsfcee #cdnpse” #whitepaper.” @noorie_baig

“i hope there’s some great discussion tonight at the town hall meeting put on by @UTSU98 even if @Glen4TC isn’t around to hear it.”

“TOWN HALL” CONTINUED FROM COVER Despite concerns about speaking time, the meeting began with a satirical trivia game. Panelists and speakers were broadly critical of the discussion paper. “This paper contains some pretty bad proposals for undergraduate education,” said provost Cheryl Misak, “but in each of these proposals, there is a good side. “My task is to bring out the good side of the government’s proposals and make our students better off, without imperilling the integrity of their degrees and their futures,” added Misak. While the provost criticized the proposal for three-year undergraduate degrees, she alluded to an optional program in which students could do their degrees in five years, divided between a three-year bachelor’s degree and a two-year masters. These so-called “fast track” degrees are already in development. Misak also previewed an agreement — announced later the same week — that makes it easier to transfer credits between a consortium of seven Ontario universities. In an email to The Varsity, Misak confirmed that the university was preparing its own submission letter to the Ministry. The letter would not be made public “out of courtesy for the process the Minister put in place.” “We will respond to the discussion paper, as requested,” Misak confirmed. “We have

many avenues for dialogue with the Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities including regular meetings through COU [Council of Ontario Universities] and other discussions with the Ministry.” Faculty association president Scott Prudham criticized the proposal’s apparent lack of concern for research, as well as the absence of any mention of academic freedom. Prudham was skeptical of the paper’s call for greater “productivity” in the postsecondary sector, which, Prudham and other speakers explained, has already been forced to do more with less. Prudham also slammed the paper for adopting a view of universities as factory-like institutions for training future workers. “It’s good news that the minister has asked for input,” Prudham said, “but bad news, because he really needs it.” Gathered students and staff, numbering around 100, were given an hour and a half to comment on the proposal. Topics of discussion ranged from transfer credits to summer employment, to class sizes and physical and mental health at Ontario universities. Most of the students at the event were generally critical of at least some proposals in the discussion paper, though there was a range of opinions expressed. The proposals of provost Misak received vocal support among a number of speakers. Other suggestions included using money potentially saved from online courses to fund seminar classes.

MONDAY, OCTOBER 1, 2012

Some students, like human biology-major Shanice Chen, came undecided, hoping to learn more about the suggested changes. “I’m indecisive at the moment,” said Chen. “I wanted to be more informed about what the proposals are, and what we can do to stop them if we don’t like them.” The auditorium was filled to about half capacity, and proceedings remained civil for the most part. Sajjad was criticized on social media for his reprimand of Michael Scott, a former UTSU director who was critical of the union’s handling minister Glen Murray’s speaking engagement. Sajjad interrupted Scott, but allowed him finish his point. Despite Sajjad’s warning to the audience after Scott’s remarks that discussion was to focus solely the discussion paper, Guled Arale, vice president-external for the Scarborough Campus Students’ Union, was permitted to speak over his time limit about a previous consultation that Murray had attended. According to Arale, Murray recently visited a similar town hall event at UTSC. The minister was supposed to address the crowd for five minutes at the end of the presentation, but instead spoke for nearly forty minutes after apparent confusion on the part of his staff. After Murray was finished speaking, Arale said, there was only time for three students to ask questions. Murray’s office was unavailable for comment on the UTSC town hall.

@nermahgerd_amber

“And apologies from us all @Glen4TC. U didnt have to b draggd into our petty campus politics. Hope to still hear frm you in a TRUE open forum.” @angelogiomateo

“@Glen4TC I spoke to u about how u can speak at our townhall when ppl ask u questions. U were invited & always invited. No more lies Glen.” @MunibSajjad !"#$%&'#()!(#*++)!*'%!+*,$-#.!/&(01'%!#1!#2&!0/134',4*-!513&/'6&'#7(!%4(,$((41'!0*0&/8!!"#$%#&%'()*+,-'.'/,-0%"1'!"&2)#&340"'5%#*,46

Crime Stats September 19–26

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VARSITY NEWS

MONDAY, OCTOBER 1, 2012

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Chief librarian promises new safety measures New equipment, expanded CCTV in stacks among proposed changes !"#$%&'" &(()*+&,-%.-/(%-0+,)!

Following a series of incidents and arrests in recent months, the University of Toronto library system is implementing a host of new measures to improve security, including improved equipment and expanded CCTV surveillance. Security guards and a handful of desk staff have been outfitted with new, more powerful radios. “Cellphones don’t work in areas of the building because it was built out of steel and concrete and signals are blocked. This is true of the radios as well,” chief librarian Larry Alford explains. “But we recently bought some more powerful ones so that the guards can have immediate contact with the police, and not have to go somewhere where they can get a signal.” While Robarts already had numerous cameras positioned throughout the 14-storey building, there remain some portions of the building out-ofview on CCTV coverage. The library is currently in the design stage of a plan to add more cameras, particularly in the stacks. “We’re actually using campus experts to really look at how can we best place additional surveillance cameras to act as a deterrent,” says Alford, adding that additional cameras could help resolve issues when and

ic departments such as the Department of East Asian Studies, to which non-ID holders may need access. The building also houses the Toronto offices of Statistics Canada. “Legally, we must make government documents available to everybody, not just U of T students,” says Alford. Robarts also has collections that must be made available to the public if there was a tax receipt given for them by the Canadian Export Review Board. Alford says that the group is considering the practicality of the move: cost, impact on staff and students, and the experiences of other schools such as NYU, which has limited access to the central Bobst Library, broadly the equivalent of Robarts at U of T. “There would probably be long lines to get into the building, because you would have to check all of the IDs,” Alford acknowledges. “On a heavy day, this building gets used by 18,000 people.” Before undertaking any measures to introduce new choke points to U of T’s largest library, Alford promises extensive )12%345356$'%758'#%4298"42%+0%:5%21:24%!5;$4:6<!"#$%&$'&!()*+,-./0#!1&$*,/2 consultations with student groups, the if they do occur. we should actually limit access to Robarts Li- library advisory committee, and any other The cameras are expected to be installed by brary to people with U of T IDs and registered groups who may be impacted. this winter. guests — but guests would actually have to “We would talk extensively to the commuPerhaps the most drastic proposal under register and get permission to come into the nity before we actually did anything,” said Alconsideration is a plan to limit access to Ro- building,” says Alford. ford. Because it would have an impact on staff barts to T-Card holders and registered guests. There are significant difficulties with limit- and students, both positive and negative, we “I have put together a small task force to ing access to the building. Robarts is not only want to make sure that they are well-aware of make some recommendations on whether home to the library stacks, but also to academ- anything that we would be doing.”

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Information Sessions Graduate Studies & Initial Teacher Education Programs Learn more about graduate degrees & initial teacher education programs:

www.oise.utoronto.ca/ro/info

“OBSERVATORY,” CONTINUED FROM PG 2 versity sold the property to Corsica for a price tag of $70 million. “I would be interested to know why we settled for $30 million less,” said PC Choo, a Governing Council member representing administrative staff, in an interview with The Varsity. Choo was one of two governors to vote against the sale. Choo’s objections were twofold: he believed there was still valuable research to be done at the site, and he was concerned that a number of his colleagues would lose their jobs. Ultimately, one administrative staff member retired and two were laid off as a result of the observatory’s closure. Asked about the discrepancy between the unnamed official’s first statement and the eventual price, university spokesperson Laurie Stephens said “the university is confident it got the best possible price.” THE SCIENCE BEHIND THE SALE Two radically different perspectives have emerged about the scientific rationale for the sale. The university contends that light pollution from the GTA means the telescope can no longer be used for research, as the Dunlap family had specified in the bequest. Dr. Ian Shelton, the professor who used the observatory to make that groundbreaking black hole discovery, is now vice-chair of the David Dunlap Observatory Defenders. He passionately disagrees with the university’s rationale. “Its basically a smear campaign to make everybody feel that it was the right thing to do to close the observatory,” said Shelton. “To say that it was for financial reasons wouldn’t have flown.” The observatory was used primarily for spectroscopy. Light is taken from only the smallest part of the sky possible, according to Shelton so light pollution is far less important than in other kinds of astronomical research. Richmond Hill has had a bylaw for decades that limits light pollution surrounding the observatory.

“The argument that there was no research value is absurd,” says Shelton. “The telescope cost $800,000 annually to operate; it was no longer cost effective” said professor Peter Martin, who was chair of the Astronomy & Astrophysics Department at the time. Martin explains that the money used to operate the observatory, as well as the $70 million from the sale, have now been funneled into the Dunlap Institute, “whose sole goal is to carry on the legacy [of David Dunlap].” RICHMOND HILL The land donated by the Dunlap family is located in Richmond Hill. As the growing town encroached upon, and then surrounded the observatory’s acreage, its value increased. “The town did want to engage in a discussion with the university, and the university had already made a decision,” said Anna Bassios, commissioner of planning and regulatory services for Richmond Hill. “The university’s sole interest was getting the greatest amount of financial return.” Bassios’ sentiments are echoed by many of those following the sale. Cilevitz argues that the university decided to sell the land well before formally putting it up for surplus, but instead of engaging in conversations with the community “they began a process of attrition, they wouldn’t repair or replace things, or professors; by the time they closed the doors there were only a handful of professors left.” According to testimony by Dr. Tom Bolton, professor emeritus in the Department of Astronomy & Astrophysics, at an August hearing before the Ontario Municipal Board, it “cannot be understated” that the decision taken by the U of T was a “business decision, not an academic one.” Bolton noted the U of T did “not consult with the Department of Astronomy & Astrophysics” and that they were simply “told” by the university that a decision had been made to sell the site. “It is viewed by us, by Donalda, by anybody who knows this story as a breach of public trust,” concludes Cilevitz.

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MONDAY, OCTOBER 1, 2012

Former CUPE 3902 chief negotiator hired by university

Timing of Mikael Swayze’s departure from union raises doubts about last year’s high-stakes contract negotiations

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The Varsity has learned that Mikael Swayze, chief negotiator for CUPE 3902 during contract negotiations with the University of Toronto administration earlier this year, was hired away by the university weeks after concluding highstakes bargaining that made headlines in this newspaper over the threat of a TA strike. Swayze was employed by the union from December 1998 until his departure in April 2012, and acted as the chief negotiator for CUPE 3902 Unit 1 during talks last year. CUPE 3902 represents all teaching assistants, writing instructors, and lab demonstrators at the university. Swayze left the union for a position as a strategic labour consultant within the university’s Department of Human Resources & Equity. University spokesperson Michael Kennedy said the university does not comment on matters involving individual employees. Sources within CUPE have suggested that as chief negotiator, Swayze had significant strategic weight in shaping the tone and direction of the negotiations. His duties included training the bargaining team and giving strategic counsel. He was also the designated voice of CUPE 3902 Unit 1 during the bargaining process with U of T administration.

When a deal could not initially be reached, 91 per cent of union members voted in favour of a strike last December. University administrators and students prepared for the worst as negotiations went on into February. The strike was narrowly averted when a last-minute deal was struck at 2 am, two hours after the deadline had passed. From the beginning, the final terms of the agreement appeared to be contentious. The bargaining committee was divided 4–3 on whether to recommend the offer for ratification. James Nugent and Ashleigh Ingle, two members of the bargaining committee opposed to the final terms, resigned in protest.

“The ink was hardly dry on the tentative settlement that Swayze and other bargaining team members signed when Swayze accepted his new post.” —James Nugent, former CUPE 3902 spokesperson

The terms of the agreement were unenthusiastically adopted by the membership in a later vote. Sixty-seven per cent (1197 members) voted in favour of the agreement, while 600 voted against. CUPE’s 2009 ratification vote garnered 97 per cent voter support. The new terms included establishing a working group to look into ballooning tutorial sizes and replacing the doctoral completion grant with an allotment of $250,000 over two years for unfunded fifth- and sixth-year grad students. The university also agreed to give graduate students two one-time payments totaling $150,000 to compensate for increased workload. Current CUPE 3902 chair Abouzar Nasirzadeh declined to comment, adding that his current contract forbade him from commenting on staff matters. But some of Swayze’s former colleagues say they feel betrayed. “The ink was hardly dry on the tentative settlement that Swayze and other bargaining team members signed when Swayze accepted his new post,” says Nugent, who sat on the committee with Swayze and acted as spokesperson during negotiations prior to his protest-resignation. Swayze stated that he did not start searching for a new job until after the deal was finalized.

“Collective bargaining concluded in February and the contract was ratified at the beginning of March of this year,” he said. “Completing this round was a major project for me in my career. With my major project for the year completed, as someone midcareer, I contemplated my future and commenced a job search.” Swayze also noted that the job listing for the new labour relations position at U of T was not posted until mid-April, when changes in staffing warranted the creation of a new position. Nugent says members of the union looked to Swayze at the time “for a certain degree of leadership and guidance as to whether or not the U of T Administration’s final offer was adequate, was indeed their ‘final’ offer, or whether our union should have continued bargaining or taken strike action.” “My role as staff rep involved being a problem solver,” insisted Swayze. “I had no vote in any decisions made. My only role was to provide my best professional advice.” “This kind of move — from union to management — is quite common in labour relations at the university and more generally in the industry,” he added. “For instance, Angela Hildyard, vice-president, human resources and equity was a leader in OPSEU 578 at OISE before moving over to an administrative labour relations role.”

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First Muslim chaplain appointed Student-led drive to create permanent position successful as Tarsin to begin work this week )*+!,-.&/01-+,23-0+

Amjad Tarsin has been appointed as the University of Toronto’s full-time Muslim chaplain, the first position of its kind in Canada. Tarsin is scheduled to officially begin work on October 1. “Volunteers and alumni paved the way for this project,” says Rameez Mahmood, former president of the Muslim Students’ Association. “They showed the community the need for a permanent, full-time position.” Muslim chaplaincies are becoming more common in universities across the United States and Canada, according to Mahmood. He expects Tarsin’s appointment to be the “next step in Islamic leadership in Canada,” given the student-led drive to create and fill the position. “I hope that through this project, students can recognize the potential that they have at this time in their life,” says Mahmood. “A 21-year-old can build a full institution that has a global impact.” Prior to Tarsin’s appointment, the position was filled by volunteer imams, many of whom dedicated substantial amounts of time to student interaction. But the sizable Muslim community on campus sought a more permanent commitment. In its early stages, the project to hire a chaplain was run by volunteer students and alumni. The team now consists of a part-time managing director, Ruqayyah Ahdab, and the chaplain himself. Tarsin’s decision to study chaplaincy stems from his own time at university and the challenges it presented. At the University of Michigan, Tarsin studied Islamic Studies and English Literature. He

“Coming back to university after living abroad made me reconnect with my childhood friends, who were getting involved with alcohol, drugs and the like. I remember sitting down at my kitchen table and having an internal dialogue; it was at that moment that I decided to take my faith more seriously and go down that route instead.” —Amjad Tarsin had learned from prominent Islamic scholars in Canada and the United States, and spent a year abroad in southern Yemen to further explore his faith. “Coming back to university after living abroad made me reconnect with my childhood friends, who were getting involved with alcohol, drugs and the like,” he says. “I remember sitting down at my kitchen table and having an internal dialogue; it was at that moment that I decided to take my faith more seriously and go down that route instead.” After spending some time at law school, he switched tracks entirely and entered the Hartford Seminary chaplaincy program, from which he recently graduated. After a year as chaplain at Fairfield University in Connecticut, he heard about U of T’s chap-

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laincy program. Tarsin said the application process for the program was intense, but it affirmed his faith in the institution and its vision. He has already attended a few Muslim Students’ Association (MSA) events and meetings, and was inspired by the “incredibly diverse, talented U of T population.” Tarsin says he aims to get to know students for the people they are and understand fully the challenges that they may be facing, in con-

junction with making himself visible, present, and available. An explanatory launch video outlined some problems Muslim students have faced in the past, including professors berating Islam as degrading to women. The growing need for a full-time chaplain to address issues, both spiritual and psychological, for Muslim students on campus prompted the MSA to initiate the program. Tarsin’s other duties include leading Friday prayers and arranging social and educational programming. He will hold office hours to allow students to approach him with dilemmas. His position serves all members of the university and is not restricted to Muslim students. As he prepares to begin his new job, Tarsin is focused on creating a strong foundation for the chaplaincy program, fleshing out his role. Focus group discussions led by the MSA found that students do not regard the chaplain as an imam, but rather a source of help and comfort, according to Mahmood. The intention is to eventually make it “Toronto’s chaplaincy.” Tarsin’s plans to further this goal are only aided by his impressions of U of T as “a place of self-discovery, exchange of ideas and academic discourse.” He appreciates the unique position university life holds as a formative experience, and wishes to provide “spiritual, ethical, and moral direction” to all students. His ultimate goal is to foster improved understanding; he deems “intelligent civil discourse about religion and bringing it into the public sphere one of the best ways to create understanding.” “Having a chaplain, a public face of religion on campus, is a proactive and effective way of addressing the challenges Muslim students face,” says Tarsin. “It is the best way to solve misconceptions about Islam on campus.”

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GUY TAYLOR’s presciption for school spirit at U of T var.st/comment

UTSU town hall lacked meaning and purpose An opportunity for serious discussion was sabotaged by the absence of minister Glen Murray and a biased moderator !"#$#%&'()*+,-./0""*

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On Tuesday September 25, the University of Toronto Students Union held an emergency town hall focused on the discussion paper “Strengthening Ontario’s Centres of Creativity, Innovation, and Knowledge” recently published by the Ministry of Training, Colleges, and Universities. More details about the proposed changes can be viewed online or in the news section of this issue. Students were welcomed to voice their concerns about the proposed changes in an open forum, with a panel consisting of U of T provost Cheryl Misak, professor Scott Prudham of the University of Toronto Faculty Association, and Shaun Shepherd, president of the UTSU also speaking. The general tone of students’ responses were as vague and inconclusive as the comments made by the panelists. The speakers were mostly a parade of enraged academics, thrilled at the opportunity to hear their own voices on a microphone. They all pressed the same general concerns about threats to academic freedom, loss of summer income, and a diminished “university experience.”

One student, a disappointed constituent of Glen Murray — the Minister of Training, Colleges, and Universities and the man responsible for the paper — made a poignant comment regarding the inclusion of summer sessions in the proposed three-year honours degree program.

The speakers were mostly a parade of enraged academics, thrilled at the opportunity to hear their own voices on a microphone. She observed that our own graduate programs in Ontario do not recognize summer session credits, meaning that students with the proposed three-year degree could not apply to graduate school in Ontario. This was perhaps the most interesting observation made concerning a major hole in the paper’s logic. The event was enlivened by the question of another student, who asked why Murray was not present at the town hall. Murray was invited

by the UTSU and after his slightlydelayed acceptance, was refused the opportunity to speak by the UTSU as there was “not enough time” for his comments. When the aforementioned student questioned this decision publicly, the moderator, UTSU vice president-university affairs Munib Sajjad, interrupted him, inquiring if the comment was relevant to the paper itself. This was rude and unfair, as it was the only comment that was even remotely interesting or relevant and was silenced in an emotional tone by a moderator who should have been impartial. Following this, Sajjad ended the student’s time at the microphone and addressed the next speaker, a student praising the UTSU who was permitted to make a comment which was obviously not regarding the paper but about his happiness that the UTSU had organized the town hall. With Murray present and an impartial moderator, the town hall could have been relevant and productive in addressing a serious threat to quality post-secondary education. Instead, the event was just a room full of academics shouting their disdain at each other over a microphone, without being heard by anyone who could make a true and meaningful difference.

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What the world needs now is subtlety An event hosted by the Muslim Students’ Association showed the right approach to the Innocence of Muslims controversy ;0*&<=,>-0).;%""*

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There has been a desperate need for subtlety in the public discourse surrounding the worldwide controversy over the Innocence of Muslims video. Subtlety, though, has been in meager supply. The video itself, which is intentionally and idiotically unsubtle, neither deserves nor needs description. Any attentive person has seen the decidedly unsubtle reaction to it played out in chaos in the streets of cities around the world, amid the babble of commercial media, the posturing of world leaders, and — far too infrequently — respectful and inclusive discourse in places of learning. Luckily, there was a great deal of subtlety at the Muslim Students Association’s excellent event, called “#MuslimRage: Myths and Realities,” at Hart House last Tuesday. I won’t attempt as thorough and insightful a discussion as the one that took place there. However, the admirable example of groups like the MSA makes it worthwhile to think about just what subtlety might mean to us amidst the shouting, controversy, and hurt.

There is no need to be subtle in condemning The Innocence of Muslims as offensive, Islamaphobic, and lacking any intellectual or artistic value. Nor need there be any subtlety in understanding that producing it was an act of religious fanaticism. But when we consider the worldwide reaction to the film, subtlety should inform our approach. First, subtlety might mean skepticism. At the MSA event, panelist professor Mohammed Fadel argued persuasively that those of us in the West, inundated as we are by commercial media, must be skeptical that the violent reaction to the video was as large-scale and endemic among Muslim populations as we’ve been led to believe. Fadel’s comparison of the anti-video demonstrations with even the smallest gatherings of the nascent Arab Spring, showed that the mobs at Western embassies and businesses were both relatively small and overwhelmingly male, unlike last year’s pro-democracy protests. We should also question whether the violence that did occur was motivated by genuine feelings of religious insult. Fadel suggests that the violence may be less about the spontaneous and collective expression of anger about the video, and more about the manipulation of the popu-

lation by extremist groups using the video as a pretext. If inciting violence and engineering protests can give fundamentalists the upper hand over secularists in the post-Arab Spring power struggles, then attacks on embassies and KFCs alike should be seen acts of political calculation, not genuine expression of resentment. In contrast Newsweek’s “Muslim Rage” cover story has a bad case of subtlety deficiency. It fails both to accurately portray the scale of the violence and to suggest that something more than spontaneous anger might be at play. However, that various #MuslimRage variations are trending on Twitter is encouraging — subtlety, expressed as irony, helps to counteract the bombast we so often see in the media. In addition to skepticism, subtlety might mean respect and sensitivity. Perhaps the most meaningful moment of the MSA event was an audience member’s question about how Muslims can attempt to explain the sanctity and importance of the Prophet’s place at the centre of Islamic religious life to non-Muslims or non-believers. As a non-believer, I cannot comprehend this reverence. Thus, I can only affirm the right of Muslims worldwide to be upset and hurt. There is a subtle but key difference between respecting a religious practice or

belief and respecting the right to such a practice or belief with security and dignity. This video, and other expressions of Islamophobia, can never be allowed to violate this right. In light of the past weeks’ events, subtlety as sensitivity appears more indispensible than ever in the relationships between the West and the global Muslim community, neither of which — it is worth noting — are united in their attitudes, values, or aspirations. Ihsan Gardee, the executive director of the Canadian Council on American-Islamic Relations, noted in his remarks at the event that a key strategic goal of the Canadian Muslim community must be to combat the perception of Islam as synonymous with violence and fanaticism. To this I add that we must equally combat the confusion of mainstream Western cultural attitudes towards Islam or the Middle East with Islamophobia. Examples of religious hatred will continue to appear and shake the delicate relationships between religions, states, and peoples. If we continue to build those relationships with subtlety, however, they will withstand disturbances far greater than a silly and amateurish video. We are lucky to have a university that encourages events and dialogue with just this subtlety as their aim.

VARSITY COMMENT

MONDAY, OCTOBER 1, 2012

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It’s time to unite and work for students Ontario’s two student unions need to start working together !"#$%%&'()'*'*+&, -!.)/01()0!22

Last week, newly elected Quebec premier Pauline Marois cancelled the 80 per cent fee hike and controversial Bill 78 put into place by the previous premier, Jean Charest. Whether or not you sympathize with the red square movement, it did block the hike and achieve its goals. Meanwhile, students in Ontario face a dire situation when it comes to the state of post-secondary education. Tuition fees in Ontario continue to increase at an astronomical rate and per-student funding is the lowest in the country. Conditions seem ripe here for mass protests, so why haven’t there been any? The answer lies in the ineffectiveness of our unions. Since the 1990s, Ontario undergraduate students have been divided into two unions, the Canadian Federation of Students-Ontario (CFSO), of which the UTSU has been a member since 2002, and the Ontario Undergraduate Student Alliance (OUSA), which U of T helped to found. Both unions certainly have their flaws. While the CFS-O takes the right policy positions when it comes to post-secondary education, they are not effective at mobilizing and energizing students to carry the mantle for their cause. Two occupations at Glen Murray’s office last year consisted solely of local student union executives and the drop fees protest only attracted about 2,000 people at most. People feel isolated from the CFS-O — which does not give its unions enough autonomy. While there is strength in numbers, student unions must be given room to breathe in order to operate to their potential, to provide better services, campaigns, and events for students.

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The CFS-O must also respect the democratic processes at these schools and not interfere with local union elections. These factors make students apathetic, even resentful towards the CFS-O and therefore mobilization is difficult. The CFS-O also has to reconsider some of its tactics. While there is certainly a time for antagonism in dealing with the government, we must be reasonable and negotiate for as much as we can get. This does not mean caving in to the demands of the government and abandoning protest, but working with the government effectively to get some things done. OUSA — a member of the Canadian Alliance of Student Associations (CASA) — on the other hand, gives its student unions a lot of autonomy. OUSA universities are often not commuter schools, but OUSA unions have been able to better engage and interact with their constituent students. For example the Western University

Students’ Council elections last year produced a turnout of 59 per cent. By contrast, at U of T last year we had a turnout of 10.5 per cent. Where OUSA fails to represent students is in its activism; it rarely criticizes the government and believes in quiet lobbying rather than mobilizing students to apply pressure. Lobbying is an option, but students have nothing to offer the government as lobbyists, so protest must be retained as an option. If students aren’t being educated about the issues facing post-secondary education by their own union, why mobilize? Ineffective criticism of the government also sends dangerous messages to policy makers — that students accept the status quo and post-secondary education shouldn’t be a major policy issue. In the past, OUSA executives have been hired by the government, and this type of cozy relationship is concerning. Having two student organizations that run contrary to each other is also counterproductive to achieving our goals. Both unions often criticize each other and take cheap shots at each other. If students can’t convince each other of the legitimacy of their arguments, how can we convince policy-makers? Furthermore, while a lot of undergraduate students are represented by OUSA, graduate students are almost exclusively represented by the CFS, adding another challenge to presenting students as a united force. The ineffectiveness of our unions is clear in the policy and practices of the government of the past few years. Our unions have accomplished a few things, but more needs to be done. Post-secondary education is in decline in this province and it is time for the unions to put petty politics aside and unite for the sake of students.

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No place for anti-Canadian rhetoric on campus disOrientation week should not sponsor offensive events

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Last week was disOrientation week at the University of Toronto — and disorienting it was. DisOrientation week aims to promote student involvement in social justice and equity projects by hosting a series of workshops, panel discussions, and social events. One such event, “Art Attack: Bloc Party, Mural Painting and Social Justice Fair” involved musicians, including the group Test Their Logik. Test Their Logik had a thing or two to say about Canada, specifically, “Fuck the maple leaf, I’ll never fly that fucking flag again.” There is no room on a Canadian university campus for anti-Canadian rhetoric, and it is not the place of a students’ union, represent-

ing student voices, to encourage groups that spread hateful, anti-Canadian messages. The UTSU is known for holding controversial views, and promoting controversial policies, such as its support for the student protests in Quebec. The event’s other sponsor, the Ontario Public Interest Research Group (OPIRG), is infamous for their open support of various contentious campaigns, including Israeli Apartheid Week. The UTSU is elected to represent students, and prides itself on creating “open, inclusive spaces.” But there was nothing open, or inclusive, about this recent event. This is indeed a new low on campus: anti-Canadian sentiments blasted in front of Hart House, at an event hosted by the students’ union. OPIRG claimed that the “Art attack is a creative boost in an otherwise average day.” They could have more aptly called it an attack

on Canada, and a rude shock on an otherwise average day. The students’ union has no place hosting an event that aims to divide students along proand anti-Canadian lines. Being Canadian is something to be incredibly proud of. UTSU vice president-external Abigail Cudjoe said of disOrientation week, “The intention of the week is to inform students of social justice and equity and to encourage students to get more involved and to know about what we do, and what it means to be part of social justice.” OPIRG’s website advertises disOrientation week as an event that “Fosters student activism, educates and agitates social change and works to connect campuses and student issues.” Student involvement on campus is a wonderful sentiment to promote, but

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VARSITY COMMENT

var.st/comment

Trudeauâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s coronation will not deliver what the Liberals need PATRICKâ&#x20AC;&#x201E;BAUD VARSITY COLUMNIST

Justin Trudeau is expected to announce that he will run for the leadership of the federal Liberal Party later this week. Trudeau, a Montreal MP and son of former prime-minister Pierre Elliott Trudeau, is expected to immediately become the front runner in the race to lead the party. The younger Trudeau is undoubtedly an attractive candidate, thanks to his magnetism and youth, but the Liberals would be wrong to crown him as leader without properly putting him through his paces. That simply cannot happen without a competitive leadership race that forces Trudeau and his opponents to lay out their plans. The races to replace former prime minister Jean ChrĂŠtien and StĂŠphane Dion as in 2003 and 2009 respectively, demonstrate the pitfalls of coronations: campaigns in which the leading candidate runs unopposed or has only token opposition. The victors in those races, former prime minister Paul Martin in 2003 and Michael Ignatieff in 2009, won largely without having to explain their plans for the party. This not only undermines the ability of party members to assess the candidates, but also keeps the party from reflecting on the best way forward. By contrast, the race to replace the late Jack Layton as leader of the New Democratic Party, held earlier this year, was far more competitive. Several candidates, including the eventual winner and now leader of the opposition Thomas Muclair, were seen to be viable and presented contrasting visions of the partyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s future. This allowed New Democrats, buoyed by their star-

tling gains in the 2011 election, to have a serious debate amongst themselves about the sort of party that they wanted, and the path to follow leading up to the anticipated 2015 election. If the Liberals are serious about renewing their party and rebuilding it into a political machine capable of winning national campaigns, they owe it to themselves to make the leadership contest a fair fight. This cannot happen unless Trudeau has to face more than the token opponents who have entered the race so far. Many prominent Liberals, including embattled Ontario premier Dalton McGuinty, former finance minister John Manley, and former New Brunswick premier Frank McKenna have declined to run. It also seems unlikely that any political outsiders, such as the muchtouted Bank of Canada governor Mark Carney, could be convinced to run. Rather, it is more likely that any challengers to Trudeau will come from within the Liberal caucus. There are several past or potential leadership candidates in the party. However, Trudeauâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s entry into the race might have a chilling effect on these MPs; they may be reluctant to challenge Trudeau and jeopardize their status within an eventual Trudeau-led party. Trudeau is a strong candidate for Liberal leadership, but that alone should not be enough to put him over the top. He needs to prove that he can rebuild the party, overcome its often-crippling factionalism and craft a message with the kind of national appeal that would allow the Liberals to outflank the New Democrats in 2015. Trudeau certainly has a lot of raw material to work with but he needs to show what he can do with it before being given the helm. Without a competitive leadership race, it is difficult to see how that can happen.

MONDAY, OCTOBER 1, 2012

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TD Bank account closures discriminatory In enforcing government sanctions against Iran, TD is violating the rights of Iranian-Canadians !"#"$%&'(")*

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TD Bank has been closing the bank accounts of Iranian-Canadians across Canada since May 2012, and has yet to stop. The bank claims that the abrupt closure of these accounts is in accordance with federal economic sanctions against Iran â&#x20AC;&#x201D; referencing changes made last November to the Special Economic (Iran) Regulations, which prohibit banks from providing financial services that benefit Iran or anyone in Iran. This treatment of Iranian-Canadian citizens by TD bank is nothing short of discrimination. The issue here isnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t the legitimacy of the sanctions themselves, but how financial institutions such as TD have tried to implement Canadaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s mandates, and in so doing have violated the civil rights of Canadian citizens. TD officials have been quick to note that the bank â&#x20AC;&#x153;did not target any customers based on name or ethnicity.â&#x20AC;? Nevertheless, as Sukanya Pillay, the Canadian Civil Liberties national security director noted, â&#x20AC;&#x153;By implementing collective measures against individuals in Canada based on place of origin, we may be impairing Charter rights.â&#x20AC;? Political science professor Ramin Jahanbegloo, an expert on modern Iranian politics, points out that Canada itself has historically had many cases of civil rights violations. â&#x20AC;&#x153;TDâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s recent decision to close the bank ac-

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counts of some Iranian Canadian citizens is another case of treating unfairly some Canadian citizens,â&#x20AC;? he said in an interview. â&#x20AC;&#x153;All those Iranian-Canadians who do not collaborate with the Iranian regime have a vital interest in the threat posed by TDâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s recent decision.â&#x20AC;? A select few Iranian-Canadian customers have been able to â&#x20AC;&#x153;proveâ&#x20AC;? their innocence and non-complicity with Iran and its government, and get their accounts reinstated. This presumption of guilt by TD concerning ordinary Canadian citizens violates yet another Charter mandate: all citizens are considered innocent until proven guilty. In a statement to The Varsity, TD spokesperson Barbara Timmins confirmed that all bank accounts closed by TD in regard to sanctions belonged to customers who have provided or retained on their file an active residential or employment address in Iran and have conducted certain direct or indirect transactions for the benefit of someone in Iran. Yet, Iranian-Canadians have been shocked to receive letters from the bank even if they didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t meet

TDâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s stated requirements for account termination. Despite TDâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s claims that they â&#x20AC;&#x153;attempted to reach all customers,â&#x20AC;? most Iranian-Canadians whose accounts have been closed appear to have had absolutely no prior notice or attempt to get in touch with them. Some individuals only receiving their notice letters after their debit and credit cards were declined. TDâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s policies set a very dangerous precedent for the treatment of Iranian-Canadians. It is essential that the Canadian government halt the activities of Iranian-Canadians with financial ties to Iran, but this does not justify TD bankâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s discriminatory actions against innocent Iranian-Canadians who consider Canada their homeland, and have come here seeking refuge from Iranâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s regime. The Canadian government needs to take action and clearly outline how sanctions against Iran should be enforced, and ensure throughout this process that no citizen whether Iranian, Canadian, or otherwise has their rights trampled.

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VARSITY COMMENT

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Ontario government’s discussion paper is the right approach to neccessary reform An op-ed from the Graduate Students’ Union !"#$%&'()*+,*

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For years, university revenue would go up by an average of eight per cent each year. Tuition would be raised by around five per cent each year. Expenditure at the University of Toronto would go up by more than five per cent each year. Meanwhile, student unions would go out to Governing Council to complain about tuition. Then they would hold a couple of poorly attended protests and claim victory over a few things — such as the 30 per cent off tuition policy. Their slate would win the next student election and the cycle of life would go on. Where did all of this leave our university? It is currently one of the most highly regarded universities in the world in rankings based on research. Yet we are below average in educational measures. Just look at the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) rankings, in Maclean’s magazine, or all of the classes with over a thousand students in them. I would be surprised if graduate students fare any better based on my work in the Graduate Students’ Union (GSU). Despite this discrepancy, there seems to be little discussion about shifting resources from research to education or about where our tuition is going. As students we should ask why this discussion is absent. My guess is that it has something to do with our uni-

versity’s efforts to win around a billion dollars in very competitive research grants, operating revenue is 1.8 billion dollars, and the lack of anything similar for education. What will be the next step if we want a better balance between education and research? Maybe learning outcomes won’t be the answer, but surely neither is inaction. That is why I support the current efforts to reform the post-secondary education system by the Ministry of Training, College and Universities. Contrary to views expressed by the UTSU’s executives, this effort has been about students and other members of the post-secondary education discussing these systematic problems and bringing forward our solutions. The Ministry provided a discussion paper to incite directed discussion. We were invited to provide written submissions on how the sector could be improved. The minister hosted round table discussions that allowed student leaders, including myself and members of UTSU, to express our views and began attending student-led town hall meetings, including the GSU’s, to engage a wider of group of students. In a better world, this would be the model for how public policy is generated: Ideas, good and bad, being brought to the people that are affected for their feedback, bypassing established hierarchies and engaging in complicated conversations that can be so specialized that only a subset of students may understand them.

Sure, it probably would be a bad thing if 66 per cent of courses were online, but a quarter of graduate students responded in our survey that they want the option to take online courses when they have a job. No, we don’t want exploitive internships to be mandatory in our programs, but we do want a well-operated internship program to be a real option in doctoral programs. Learning outcomes might not work in graduate school, but something has to be done about faculty supervisors only talking to their doctoral students once a year. That is why it is so disheartening to see fellow student leaders attacking the current process. I agree with advocating for lower tuition. I agree with having rallies to get public attention for the benefits of increased public investment in post-secondary education. I just do not agree with attacking a consultative reform effort because it may not achieve those specific priorities. That being said, if you want change then you will need to communicate to your MPP, the Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities and your Premier that you support reform. You need to say what you want to see changed and you need to join the conversation over reform. Jason Dumelie is GSU Academics and Funding Commissioner of the Science and Engineering Divisions

“ANTI-CANADIAN”, CONTINUED FROM PG 8 I question what is achieved through mediums that resort to repeating “F- the maple leaf.” When questioned about the role that the UTSU played in this horrifying show, Cudjoe explained that she was “surprised that those lyrics were in the song and didn’t know that they would be.” While that may be true, it is the UTSU’s responsibility to do their due-diligence before hosting an event. A simple online search will reveal that Test Their Logik has drawn criticism along these lines before, and reveal their offensive song lyrics. Is it too much to ask that elected, paid student representatives perform a background check on any guests they invite to campus, and take responsibility for what they present to the student body? This is not something that we, as students, should encourage. I am proud to be Canadian. But it is clear that there is a disconnect between the UTSU, OPIRG, and the student body. The UTSU funds many worthwhile clubs at U of T, and provides some meaningful services to students. They also fight to make U of T an inclusive space. Perhaps this event slipped through the cracks. Regardless, it was unacceptable, disappointing, and alarming. The UTSU must work to make U of T an inclusive space for all students — including those who are proud to be Canadian. They must make sure that any group they co-host an event with on campus is promoting inclusive content. It is not too late for the UTSU to denounce these sentiments, nor is it too late for OPIRG to publically apologize for this event. It is okay to be Canadian and to say “I’m sorry”— after all, that’s something we are known for. I hope that the UTSU and OPIRG will remember to consider whom and what they host on campus. I look forward to their response to this article, and hope that together we can make the University of Toronto a place where being Canadian is something to be celebrated.

SAVE UP

TO 90%

ON USED TEXTBOOKS

AND 35%

ON NEW TEXTBOOKS

BEING OF ADVENTUROUS SOUL but of meek wallet, I will hereby spend less for my textbooks in order to save money for what can’t be learned from a book.

VARSITY FEATURES

var.st/features

MONDAY, OCTOBER 1, 2012

The beating art of Zagreb

BERNARDA GOSPIC discovers emerging art in Croatia’s capital

ew buildings in Zagreb are safe from the meaningless defacement of sloppy grafitti tags, or, as one local artist describes them “territorial pissings.” A short walk away from the Roosevelt and Marshal Tito Squares in the center of the city, where some of the only unspoiled structures are situated, lies a place that looks nothing like its surroundings, but embraces its unique position. Medika was once a medicine factory. Left abandoned after it closed down, squatters occupied the space for some time before it became the alternative cultural centre of the Croatian capital. The former pharmaceutical plant now houses a gallery, café, club, juggling workshops, and art studios, along with a few tenants who live there. Large images control its façade, painted by local artists whose graffiti makes beautiful sense on the unprepossessing buildings that make up this important expressive hub. In 2010, a group of newly graduated students from the Academy of Fine Arts in Zagreb were granted studio space in Medika. They’ve been slowly cooking up an art storm since then. “We started by holding our first exhibition in April of 2011, entitled ‘Neue kroatische Kunst,’ which literally means art done by new artists, some of whom were from the Academy,” said Stipan Tadić, one of the painters involved in the collective since its inception. The showcase was a success: 100 artists were given the opportunity to display their work to hundreds of viewers who visited their studio at Medika. “It’s always a party and the atmosphere is great,” added Tadić.

Tadić, who deals primarily with traditional media and portraiture, has points out a problem with the way artists communicate in the city. “I find it interesting that there have been many drifts in the past little while among young artists and it has created a ‘scene’ in the sense that you have a rich repertoire of artists, but depending on personal taste you can choose what you want to watch. The problem is that artists rarely work in groups and limit themselves to small communities. It may be time that we change that, so that it produces positive competition, as opposed to negative.” This past month, the young artist and his studio-mates hosted ANTISALON in response to an exhibit held every other year in Zagreb called Youth Salon. “Those kinds of exhibits are great,” noted Tadic, “but unfortunately, the same people always come through and it becomes quite monotonous, and that is why we decided to make ANTISALON happen, which is meant to positively rival the institution and its rigid rules.” There was no selection process, nor were there any requirements that dictated what could be shown. Any artist who had interested in displaying their work was given the opportunity to do so. The community gains its vitality not only through the art they produce, but through how they produce it. Sharing a space as private as a studio and fostering the art scene in the city by extending opportunities to other painters is a form of art in itself. If those involved in the community don’t care about it, who will?

White Light/ White Nuit Every fall, Toronto gathers to grumble. But is Nuit Blanche as big a hassle as people complain? The Varsity sent our staff out in search of meaningful art and real fun

photos by BERNARDA GOSPIC, WYATT DAN SELJAK, ADELE TELEHUS, and REMI Danielle Klein

VARSITY CONTRIBUTOR

“I would love for visitors to be able to engage with contemporary art in a way that they’re not used to,” Carmen Victor tells me, walking me through the University of Toronto Art Centre installation the day before Nuit Blanche. “It’s a different sort of art gallery experience, because we are actually asking people to interact with these works.” Victor is the curator of the exhibit, entitled “Constellations.” “The title refers to the fact that each of these projects can be read and interpreted on their own, and together they can also be interpreted.” Victor conceptualized the installation, which consists of four parts, each an interactive experience requiring active participation from visitors. All of the artists commissioned by Victor are U of T students or graduates. The installation begins indoors with “Crave Crawl Cave” by Claro Cosco, Grey Muldoon, and Piffin Duvekot. “Visitors are asked to remove their shoes and then they can go into these three pods, and in each pod they are going to have a different sensory experience,” Victor explains. The pods consist of three tactile rooms with narrow entryways and paths for visitors to crawl from one to the next. Inside these rooms,

people are encouraged to use their different senses to interact with the spaces. One pod contains hundreds of glow-in-the-dark balls which visitors can throw around. Another pod, described by Victor as “a giant furry palace”, is covered in fur for visitors to touch. On the night of Nuit Blanche, viewers are generally confused by the pods, unsure whether they are supposed to climb in. People awkwardly enter the tents as staff run over to remind them to take their shoes off, and are uncertain what to do once inside, mostly laughing uncomfortably. One visitor relays to me how a young girl viciously threw fur balls at him as he passed through. The next indoor piece is Matthew Jarvis Wall’s “SIGNET,” wherein viewers can explore a virtual environment built by the artist using Playstation controllers. This room is met with more confused responses, as only two people are able to use the controllers at once. The rest watch, unsure how to react. “Isn’t this just a video game?” One viewer comments when I ask their impression. His friend counters sarcastically: “Isn’t life just a video game?” Their exchange reflects the room’s overall failure to fully engage those who aren’t actually holding the controllers. Moving outside into the University College quad, the next piece is called “Jansen Walkers.” Victor explains that the original Jansen walkers are “kinetic, interactive sculptures developed by [Dutch artist] Theo Jansen.” These were recreated by fourth year engineering

student Anmour Kaul and the Spark Desi asked to turn a crank to bring the walkers This piece is very well-received the nig obvious fun value. Viewers line up to e which makes a high-pitched squeak as all The final work in the Constellations ins er,” created by the XXXX Collective. It c made of grass emerging from the ground i audio devices inside of them. This is the least flashy of the pieces i beautiful, sublime quality lent to it by ments, “We’re inviting people to see wh going to be… It’s a bit of a mysterious, g of piece.” Indeed “Ground Cover” evokes a wide viewers. While some eagerly lay down wi unnerved by the eeriness of the piece and s this work and really engage with it, proving ful moment in “Constellations.” Although visitors often seemed confuse succeeded in making the interaction of vie exciting aspect of the work. Victor aptly des “a site for investigation, exploration, and d porary art.”

T CLOUGH, CARREIRO

ign Collective. Visitors are to life. ght of Nuit Blanche for its eagerly crank the walker, l its parts turn. stallation is “Ground Covconsists of various bodies in the UC quad, with quiet

in the exhibit, but has a its subtlety. Victor comhat their interactions are golem, earth-mother kind

Minute-byminute 9:00 pm I see a photographer dressed like Michael Jackson as I make my way down to King Street. Will this Nuit Blanche be a thriller?

9:20 pm I see quite a few people gathered outside Scotiabank Plaza. I’m disappointed when I see everyone is staring at a bronze statute made with obsolete technology called “The Tower of Progress.” The whole thing is very steampunk. All that’s missing is a dirigible and someone wearing goggles.

9:30 pm Looks like Virgin Radio decided to throw a dance party outside BMO place. Everyone is jumping up and down to Gangnam Style.

9:40 pm After a few disappointing projections and illuminated sculptures, I see my first cool exhibit of the evening. Green Invaders is a very playful rendition of the 80s arcade game Space Invaders, using a simple green LED light display to simulate their movement. I reach into my pocket for some quarters.

11:15 pm Two men sitting in a wooden booth — with one typing away what people send in over phone or through slips of paper — is meant to simulate the last news agency during the end of the world. The two performers in “The Evening News” have great

radio voices and trade hilarious banter about how the sky is falling.

12:00 am Clearly believing we’re much cleverer than we really are, my friend Sarah and I joke about the real purpose of Nuit Blanche. “The whole point is that we’re the art!” I tell her. “No, the whole world is art!” she replies. We then throw around complicated words and feel very good about ourselves.

1:30 am At TIFF Lightbox, “Cent tiries un zombies” is a very interesting mash-up of movie clips from dozens of zombie movies. The gory deaths give me a visceral thrill and I’m embarrassed to admit I know most of the movies the clips are from.

3:00 am “The Museum for the End of the World,”contained inside City Hall’s underground parking lot is an interesting mix of slogan, sculpture, well-crafted displays, and creepy performance art.

1:15 am

2:30 am

I start my night at King and Yonge. Trying to avoid the prime time crush, my only strategy is: start late. Echoes of drums and voices make it feel like the whole city is parading through the canyons of the financial district.

“Top Down” is a topographical interpretation of Toronto that appears to be done with sturdy toilet paper rolls and upside-down icicles. One guy calls it “emerald city.”

1:22 am

A spotlit electric guitar suspended high in front of a dark altar sends out amplified feedback that reverberates through Metropolitan United Church. Wow. The pews under us vibrate. It eventually soothes me into a nap, only to be jarred awake by the crash of the guitar dropping. The frequencies build, multiply, and mutate. I could stay here forever.

Bearded nerd dads share a flask. Can I be you when I grow up?

1:30 am Body Xerox — I nominate it for the project with the most honest artist statement: a strobe-lit tent filled with photocopiers. People mill around holding faint self-portraits while DJs pump beats. I photocopy my face and I don’t know if it says anything to me beyond “here are machines, use them,” but I like it.

1:46 am Meet boyfriend in St. James Park at “the structure of everyday life, full-circle,” meant to mark the birth and death of John Cage. Yin-yang circle chart feels too new-agey for me but the half-hour-long drone tone emanating from a circle of mics in the gazebo is mesmerizing. Moving through the circle I pick up different pitches. Some stand in the centre with closed eyes and hum harmonies.

1:57 am “Lenticularis”: It’s nothing like the rendering in the program, that’s for sure. We’re inside an interior design magazine for jelly-fish. We debate this one for a while (is it dumb or is it great?), but reach no verdict.

3:05 am

3:40 am Real live steampunk on a unicycle outside the information booth!

4:00 am “Eva Kevalam” — we sit on rugs in a lobby at Queen and Yonge and watch seated Hare Krishna chanters, with a harmonium, hand cymbals, and a two-headed drum. I learn This is “kirtan,” an ancient practice requiring audience participation, though the spectator heat sensor projection they’ve used is seriously secondary to the performance itself. I like that some middle-aged mom types have stuck it out until this time to participate from the sidelines.

4:30 am I hum Hare Krishna all the way home. Everyone on the subway is asleep. Good night.

– Leila Kent

4:30 am It’s the end of my night. This has been the best Nuit Blanche I’ve ever attended. The curators really put forth the effort to transform Toronto this year and I haven’t felt disconnected from the experience. However, it’s time for bed.

– Alex Ross

e range of reactions from ith the bodies, others are stay back. People linger by g it to be the most success-

ed, this immersive exhibit ewers with installations an scribes “Constellations” as discovery through contem-

Arts & Culture !!

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Review of TCDS' The Tempest

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Living Arts: Hart House Theatre Audition

ANNE RUCCHETTO musters up some courage and tries to snag a role in a production of Romeo and Juliet

A WEEK IN THEATRE

s a former student in ENG220, a.k.a. Intro to Shakespeare, I considered it a natural extension of what I learned during that course to audition for Hart House Theatre’s upcoming production of Romeo and Juliet. The opportunity seemed worthwhile, if only because it would provide interesting material for an article. But, I must admit, I briefly pondered the doors that might open if I actually snagged a role. I had, after all, played a driven defence attorney in a grade-school production of The Trial of Goldilocks. Besides, I had an entirely theoretical knowledge of Shakespeare, thanks to ENG220. The week before the audition, I primed myself with a few quick readings of the speech I had decided to deliver when my time came to enter the spotlight: Viola’s passion-filled monologue about disguises and gender-bending from Twelfth Night. The Thursday afternoon of my audition, I strode with purpose to Hart House with a half hour to spare, propelled by the small rushes of adrenaline warming my chest. I hurried up to the third floor and walked towards the small waiting space just outside the South Sitting Room, and my sense of purpose bubbled as I sat among the other hopeful actors. But as I began to take in my surroundings, the warmth of adrenaline I had been enjoying dispersed and immediately thereafter seemed to drain directly from my armpits. As I looked at the faces of my competitors, I could feel their intensity. Some held practice sheets in their laps, reading silently but studiously. A Juliet-type paced the floor with her hands clasped behind her back, wearing a floor-length dress that screamed “Elizabethan maiden.” Another sat on the floor with her arms huddled around her legs, muttering in panicked tones. As I glanced at the professional headshots that many of the actors had with them, I realized that the Facebook profile picture I had submitted to the judges paled in comparison. It seemed a good moment to review the advice professor Philippa Sheppard, an experienced Shakespeare scholar here at U of T , had given me the evening before.

“For amateur actors, often the toughest aspect of an audition is what to do with the body,” Sheppard had told me. “Stiff arms by your sides is to be avoided, but so is semaphore. The auditioning actor needs to think carefully about how to punctuate the monologue with just enough movement, facial expression, and gesture to keep it exciting, but also natural, and to show the director that you know how to fill ‘the empty space.’ “Variety of pacing, volume and tone is important. Having said that, clear diction and good projection of the voice is a must.” Although I tried to focus on coming up with ways to fill “the empty space” of the audition area, it was impossible to block out the other auditions that were going on inside the South Sitting Room. I heard a variety of exciting, loud and confident deliveries, which made me feel even more anxious. The muffled footsteps that I heard coming from the audition room were even more disconcerting, since I had only practiced Viola’s speech from the comfort of a chair. “Well, she could be delivering those lines from a chair,” I thought to myself, as I began to fret over how to combine a coherent reading with fluid physical expressions. The audition schedule was running a bit behind, and the extra time spent considering how to best present the speech boosted my morale slightly. When Carter, a bright-faced member of the judging panel, finally stepped out to call my name, I responded with a jaunty smile and stepped into the room, shoulders back, and chin held high. I tried my best to look like a dignified Viola. I was warmly received by the judging panel — Lucy, Jeremy, and Carter — who asked a few administrative questions. “So, have you acted in any productions before?” inquired Jeremy, the play’s artistic director, with a friendly smile. “Ah. No,” I replied after deciding not to tell the judges that The Trial of Goldilocks was the pinnacle of my acting experience. I tried to flash a charming smile, dripping with confidence, but thanks to the tension in my lower cheeks and jaw, I probably produced more of a threatening grimace.

The realization that I could hardly sustain a real life conversation, let alone a convincing Shakespearean monologue, completely threw me, and my audition pretty much unraveled from there. Contrary to my plans, I fumbled with my playbook and stammered frequently through a speech often recognized for its daring analysis of gender norms. About halfway through, I added a stiff flap of my wrists, hoping to incorporate some dynamism. After croaking, “It is too hard a knot for me t’untie,” I reluctantly looked up from the stained spot of wood on the floor, to which my eyes had been glued. To my shock I was met with easy smiles on all three judges' faces. “I’m a writer for The Varsity!” I confessed, hoping to justify the monstrosity that had just occurred. “I knew that” said Jeremy kindly. Taking the opportunity to pick their brains, I asked what sort of audition was most likely to earn hopefuls a lead role. “Something different and refreshing,” explained Lucy, the publicity coordinator. “We are sitting here for hours, so anything that stands out is a good thing,” Carter added. The judges went on to assure me that it is not necessary to have acting experience in order to secure a role in Hart House’s productions, and that their choice depends almost entirely on audition performance. And, while they may have been sitting in the audition room for quite some time, the judges were in good humour, happily answering my questions and never betraying a hint of any of the harsh criticism that I had come to expect from my theatrically-inclined friends’ audition horror-stories. Chatting with the judges helped ease my embarrassment. I am still more than happy to revel in Shakespeare’s noble craft, but I’m evidently best suited to be a humble spectator. Or perhaps my moment of dramatic glory will come behind the scenes of the production. I think I’d make a pretty good stagehand.

MONDAY

TUESDAY

WEDNESDAY

THURSDAY

FRIDAY

SATURDAY

SUNDAY

The Royal Comedians, Young Centre for the Performing Arts, 7:30 pm, $32

Between the Sheets, Tarragon Theatre, 8 pm, $30

Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead, Hart House Theatre, 8 pm, $10

Soundspoetic, Somewhere There Studio, 8 pm, $10

Sleuth, St. Jacob's Country Playhouse, 8 pm, $20

We've Totally (Probably) Got This, Second City Theatre, 7:30 pm, $15

Tear the Curtain!, Bluma Appel Theatre, 2 pm, $24

var.st/arts

VARSITY ARTS & CULTURE

MONDAY, OCTOBER 1, 2012

Be on my side? Teenage Kicks’ Peter Van Helvoort opens up about moving on after a sudden lineup change

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Peter Van Helvoort, lead singer of Toronto band Teenage Kicks, has had a rough week. “Do you even feel like talking about the band right now?” I ask. “I’m always happy to talk about the band, about what I love,” he replies. To be fair, he has had a few days to digest a pretty hefty blow. During Canadian Music Week earlier this year, Teenage Kicks, who had just released their second EP Be On My Side, garnered attention for their energetic live shows and were hailed as a band to watch. Six months later, in mid-September, Van Helvoort posted this message on the band’s tumblr: “As of yesterday my brother and best friend Jeff [Van Helvoort, bass] decided he needs to leave our band. Today Patrick [Marchent, guitar] decided that he can also no longer continue in the band.” The group was just days away from signing a record deal and had been getting love from both the blogosphere and music reviewers. So what happened? “We got all these opportunities and every single one kind of turned into a lie, or faded, or people were just full of shit,” Van Helvoort tells me. “We started doing things to make other people happy and the band stopped being happy in the time in between. “It got to the point where we realized you can’t ignore [the fact] that the music industry is full of these people.” Van Helvoort’s harsh words are not reserved exclusively for the music industry. He also critiques himself with a remarkably brutal honesty. “Jeff quit and I didn’t stop him because I understood why he quit,” he notes. “Sometimes I think it’s weakness that I stay in the band because it’s what I’m used to, it’s what I’m comfortable with and that’s why Jeff left. He’s been doing it for so long and wants to do something different." Teenage Kicks, although defined by a sound and mentality that are thoroughly informed by past decades of classic rock, is a band that takes full advantage of modern media. They are active bloggers on wordpress and tumblr, keep their Facebook page updated, and have started the "Teenage Kicks Singles" Club featuring exclusively online mp3 releases. Many bands use these digital platforms to present a carefully crafted image of themselves. But Van Helvoort is strikingly candid about both what he can do as a musician and where his limitations lie. “I’m not a naturally talented musician or songwriter,” he admits. “It’s clearly something I had to work at and practice, practice, prac-

tice.” So Teenage Kicks added guitarist Christian Turner to the band last year. “I didn’t want to feel like shit anymore because I couldn’t play a show and feel good,” Van Helvoort says. “He’s such a phenomenal guitar player that I think he takes the band to another level.” It is exactly this mentality that makes Teenage Kicks more classic rock than indie cool: the attitude towards musicianship as a craft and the idea that every band member contributes whatever it is that they do best. It’s an oldschool approach to music that harkens back to such names as Led Zeppelin and The Beatles. And as Van Helvoort tells me, his contribution to the band is song-writing. “When I write a song there’s not a lot of questions,” he says. “It’s not an easy task, but I know how I work. I understand song-writing more than I understand anything else in life, it’s just the one thing I do the best.” Apart from writing and singing (the latter of which he says he doesn’t care for, and would gladly allow another band member to take over if they sang better), Van Helvoort produced Be On My Side, the follow-up to last year’s Rational Anthems. Just like Rational Anthems, Be On My Side is full of well-tailored rock songs that are unapologetically stadium material. But the band’s second EP sounds more polished, perhaps “too clean,” in Van Helvoort’s own words. With a lot of material to choose from, Teenage Kicks intentionally went with a more pop sound for Be On My Side, deciding to keep the rougher, darker, deeper pieces for the full length that should have been out by now. Before the remaining three members of Teenage Kicks (Van Helvoort, Turner and drummer Cameron Brunt) can focus on finishing their debut album, they are going to have to find replacements for Jeff Van Helvoort and Marchant, who will play their last show with Teenage Kicks at Lee’s Palace on October 5. “Finding people will be tough because we are five very close friends,” Van Helvoort says. “In the last six months we kind of got closer with all the bullshit we dealt with. We had band practice last night and it was the best band practice we had in a long time. We still practice three times a week, we still talk to each other, no one is mad at anyone. “It’s very strange.” Fortunately — and unusually for a rock band — Teenage Kicks shows no signs of being brought down by oversized egos. The band named itself after a song by The Undertones. Perhaps now that Teenage Kicks is once again going through a formative period, the remaining band members should look to their own songs for guidance; one of the tracks on their new EP is called “It’s Going to Happen.”

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"When I write a song there’s not a lot of questions. It’s not an easy task, but I know how I work. I understand song-writing more than I understand anything else in life, it’s just the one thing I do the best.” —Peter Van Helvoort lead singer of Teenage Kicks

Restaurant Review: Weslodge Saloon Old West meets King West at this new food joint, but scanty portions fail to impress 3(+7+&'89:";%<=.)((" ,!-./01'2340-/5603-

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The new Weslodge Saloon, located at 480 King St. W., features a dark and smoky interior with a Western aesthetic complimented by leatherbound menus and holster-wearing staff. It’s a unique, and trendy concept space, but when I visited the restaurant, the service was less than impressive. As I sat down at the bar, I was told that I would not be served because the bartender had stepped out. While Weslodge’s menu is reasonably priced, the selection is minimal and forces you to choose between a range of slightly peculiar salads, a burger, and some additional

“old-timey” dinner dishes that should, quite frankly, stay in the 1920s (venison chops or Ontario lamb shoulder anyone?). I decided to go for the burger, which, as far as I'm concerned, is usually a safe bet and a pretty good way of judging the quality of the kitchen. The wide-cut and freshly made fries that came with the burger were delicious. The burger was supposed to be medium-well, but was served blue. The portions were also pretty sparse, and I noticed that a minimal amount of food was being delivered to other tables as well. Weslodge seems to cater to a certain clientele: young people who want King Street dining at a reasonable price, with no plans to eat anything substantial.