What’s inside the Insider Pass? Read more on pg 11
Vol. CXXXIV, No. 05
University of Toronto’s Student Newspaper Since 1880
30 September, 2013
Protestors speak at Victoria College. DENIS OSIPOV/THE VArSITy
Lecturer “not interested” in teaching works of queer, female, or Chinese writers David Gilmour’s comments draw criticism from administration, students’ union Zane Schwartz NEWS EDITOR
David Gilmour has come under fire in the past few days following an interview with Hazlitt in which he indicated his preference for teaching the works of heterosexual male authors. The University of Toronto Students’ Union (utsu) has criticized both Gilmour and the U of T administration’s response to the ongoing controversy. Gilmour is a sessional instructor at U of T. “I’m not interested in teaching books by women. Virginia Woolf is the only writer that interests me as a woman writer, so I do teach one of her short stories. But once again, when I was given this job I said I would only teach the people that I truly, truly love. Unfortunately, none of those happen to be Chinese, or women,” said Gilmour in the Hazlitt interview. In an email to The Varsity, Yollen Bollo-Kamara, the union’s vice-presi-
dent, equity, stated: “David Gilmour’s comments were absolutely offensive and unconscionable. The University should take immediate action to ensure that concerns of hundreds of members of the university community are adequately addressed. We all have the right to a safe, inclusive learning environment.” Scott Prudham, president of the University of Toronto Faculty Association, joined a number of university figures in distancing themselves from Gilmour’s statements: “These comments fail in the most fundamental way to respect and reflect the great cultural and intellectual diversity of this institution, this community, and the Faculty Association itself. While Mr. Gilmour may well choose the books he wants to teach based on his expertise as a teacher and a writer, one would hope he would choose his words more carefully in both capacities, not least out of respect for his colleagues and his students.”
Angela Esterhammer, an English professor and principal of Victoria College, praised Gilmour’s professional pedigree, describing him as a part-time instructor who “brings his professional accomplishments as a Governor General’s Award-winning novelist and film critic to his teaching role.” Esterhammer outlined the fact that Gilmour has since apologized to students and staff, and that many people, including the Victoria College administration, have stated that they do not share Gilmour’s views. Esterhammer concluded by defending the course offerings at U of T, which she described as “without parallel” for their range and diversity: ”David Gilmour’s seminar ‘Love, Sex, and Death in Short Fiction’ is an optional course that students may take at Victoria College. It is one among hundreds of course offerings in literature at the University of Toronto and its Colleges, which include survey courses as well as small, focused seminars. These course offerings are in-
credibly diverse as to culture, gender, form, period, content, and approach.” Thursday morning, roughly 50 students attended a rally at Victoria to show their support. Andrea Day and Miram Novick, two U of T graduate students who organized the rally, called on attendees to “show [our] support for the omission of unserious people like women, queer folks, and writers of colour (especially Chinese writers) from university syllabi.” U of T issued a statement Thursday outlining its stance on Gilmour’s statements: “One might hope that, in a university environment, teachers would encourage respectful airing of differences of opinion, and that, by airing their own views in a respectful way, they would encourage students to examine critically their own beliefs as well as those of their teachers and classmates.”
CONTINUED PG 6
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VARSITY NEWS
Vol. CXXXIV, No. 5
WHAT’S GOING ON
THE VARSITY
THIS WEEK
VOL. CXXXIV No. 4
21 Sussex Avenue, Suite 306 Toronto, ON, M5S 1J6 Phone: 416-946-7600 www.thevarsity.ca
ON CAMPUS
news@thevarsity.ca
the week in tweets
Editorial Board Editor-in-Chief Joshua Oliver
LINGES WAREN @HEYITSLINGES
editor@thevarsity.ca
Production Manager Dan Seljak production@thevarsity.ca Managing Online Editor Murad Hemmadi
online@thevarsity.ca
Design Editor Shaquilla Singh
design@thevarsity.ca
Photo Editor Carolyn Levett
photo@thevarsity.ca
Senior Copy Editor Catherine Virelli
copy@thevarsity.ca
News Editor Zane Schwartz
news@thevarsity.ca
Comment Editor Alec Wilson
comment@thevarsity.ca
Features Editor Danielle Klein
features@thevarsity.ca
Arts & Culture Editor Sofia Luu
— Friday, September 27
THOMAS H. GREINER @THOGREINER Fire alarm at Robart’s Library at #UofT @UofTNews pic.twitter.com/ ZbeERsn6gf
arts@thevarsity.ca
Science Editor Katrina Vogan
science@thevarsity.ca
Sports Editor Elizabeth Benn
sports@thevarsity.ca
Illustrations Editor Nancy Ji
#UofT : where humans and squirrels coexist in one big stressful environment. One’s looking for nuts while the other is going nuts. #unilife
— Friday, September 27
SCOTIABANK NUIT BLANCHE
Open-air art gallery in Toronto. Featuring 110 art pieces, as well as artist Ai Weiwei’s Forever Bicycles at Nathan Phillips Square October 5, 6:51 pm to sunrise Various venues across downtown Free
illustration@thevarsity.ca
Video Editor Jamieson Wang
video@thevarsity.ca
Web Developer Natalie Morcos
web@thevarsity.ca
INNOVATORS IN INSTRUMENTATION
Associate Design Editor Vacant Associate Photo Editor Vacant Associate Copy Editor Lucy Genua Associate News Editor Liza Agrba Associate Comment Editor Vacant Associate Features Editor Victoria Banderob Associate A&C Editor Ishita Petkar Associate Science Editor Emma Hansen Associate Sports Editor JP Kaczur Associate Video Editor Alexandra Butrón
An exhibit of the evolution of astronomical instrumentation from the last century to today; a project led by the graduate students in the Master of Museum Studies program at U of T. September 30 – October 4, 9 am – 5 pm Victoria College, 140 Charles St. W | 3rd floor Free
Writers
Aisha Hassan, Liza Agrba, Vanessa Barbieri, Rochelle Cohello, Devika Desai, Jelena Djuric, Jerico Espinas, Olivia Forsyth-Sells, Elena Gritzan, Atta Habibollah-Zadeh, Emma Hansen, Ilona Kabanova, Ilona Kabanova, Ruhi Kiflen, Emma Kikulis, Trevor Koroll, Sonia Liang, Jasper Lim, Cassandra Mazza, India McAllister, Kate Mccullough, Bill Moran, Sarah Niedoba, Devyn Noonan, Deniz Oral, Ishita Petkar, Corinne Przybyslawski, Iris Robin, Jenna Rumeo, Laura Sanchez, Anjalee Sandrasegaran, Madison Schill, Zane Schwartz, Mary Scourboutakos, Taylor Stinson, Frank Weng, Kirsten Yeung, Shije Zhou Designers Kawmadie Karunanayake, Dan Seljak, Shaquilla Singh, Mari Zhou
Photo and Illustration Michael Chahley, Eric Chung, Wendy Gu, Nancy Ji, Mashal Khan, Tessa Lai, Carolyn Levett, Janice Liu, Denis Osipov, Kimberly Que, Aaron Tan Alexandra Wong, Lucinda Yae-Rim Ro
Copy Editors and Fact Checkers Armen Alexanian, Lois Boody, Alanna Brousseau, Karen Chu, Heather Eason, Stepan Fomichev, Lucy Genua, Elena Gritzan, Sneha Gujadhur, Jiyoon Han, Sarah Leeves, Linh Nguyen, Tahsin Noman, Daniella Pereira, Ann Pham, Chelsea Ricchio, Maggie Roe,Nicole Sconza, Jonathan Soo,Jennifer Stipec, Sarah Thier, Rose Tornabene, Kelly Turner, CatherineVirelli
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business@thevarsity.ca
Advertising Manager Victoria Marshall advertising@thevarsity.ca Advertising Executives Stephanie Lau stephanie@thevarsity.ca terence@thevarsity.ca Terence Leung vanessa@thevarsity.ca Vanessa Wen The Varsity is the University of Toronto's largest student newspaper, publishing since 1880. The Varsity has a circulation of 20,000, and is published by Varsity Publications Inc. It is printed by Master Web Inc. on recycled newsprint stock. Content © 2013 by The Varsity. All rights reserved. Any editorial inquiries and/or letters should be directed to the sections associated with them; emails listed above. The Varsity reserves the right to edit all submissions. Inquiries regarding ad sales can be made to ads@thevarsity.ca. ISSN: 0042-2789 Please recycle this issue after you are finished with it.
Featuring a wide variety of prominent voices on Middle East peace including: Prof. Janice Stein, Director of the Munk Centre and Shira Herzog, Israel Affairs columnist, Globe and Mail October 6, 2013 Multi-Faith Centre, 569 Spadina Ave Free for students
HEALTH AND WELL-BEING YOGA FOR RELAXATION
THE POWER OF YOU
Yoga sessions on Wednesdays from 12 – 1 pm with Monica Voss of Esther Yoga Studios. Mats and pillows are provided. Wednesdays, September 11 – November 6 Multi-Faith Center, Koffler House | 2nd Floor Main Activity Hall Multi-Faith Centre, 569 Spadina Crescent Free for students
Part of a monthly networking event hosted by Nspire Innovation Network, this event features speakers including: Konrad Listwan-Ciesielski, co-founder of Kira Talent. October 2, 6:30 pm – 9:30 pm Hart House Music Room, 7 Hart House Circle Free for students
10 THINGS
Business Office Business Manager Timothy Sharng
JSPACE CANADA’S INAUGRAL CONFERENCE
Free admission to the Royal Ontario Museum on Tuesdays, and aproximately 10 per cent off tickets at all times Free admission to the Art Gallery of Ontario from 6 – 8:30 on Wednesdays, and $8.50 off tickets at all times
3.
Free cover at Dance Cave
4.
Save 10 per cent on bus tickets from Greyhound
5.
Save 10 per cent on VIA fare
TO DO WITH YOUR TCARD
6.
Save $6 at the Bata Shoe Museum
7.
Save 10 per cent at Golden Griddle
8.
Get Cineplex tickets from the UTSU office for $9.07
9.
Save approximately 15 per cent at Casa Loma by visiting their website and entering the code “TUOT”
10.
Save 20 per cent at Club Monaco
ROBERT FISHER @RFPHOTOG A CEO who says ‘I don’t promote women, I don’t like how they think’ would be fired. Why not #DavidGilmour? #UofT #VictoriaCollege — Friday, September 27
MICHAEL CAETANO @THE_MIKE14SAYS I’m sure UofT has multiple classes dedicated to just female authors/ literature, so I don’t get the deal in somebody using male only authors. — Thursday September 26
BIANCA BONDI @BIANCABONDI12 You know you’re at uoft when the guy in front of you during your bio lecture can play solitaire and take effective notes at the same time — Wednesday, September 25
LEAH BAE @LEAHEBAE Girl walking by talking on phone: “Hi, how are you?” Construction worker from inside manhole: “I’M GOOD, HOW ARE YOU?!” #uoft #mademyday —Tuesday, September 24
Editor’s Note: The author of “The hungriest student in Canada,” published in the Arts section of the Sept. 23 issue, did not disclose his position as a brand ambassador for JustEat. The Varsity regrets the publication of this article.
VARSITY NEWS
var.st/news
MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 30, 2013
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U of T charges “credit-card-level” interest University collected over $1.75 million in tuition-based interest charges last year Laura Sanchez
VARSITY CONTRIBUTOR
Last year, the University of Toronto collected a little over $1.75 million in tuition interest fees from undergraduate students at the St. George campus. Benjamin Coleman, an arts & science at-large director of the University of Toronto Student’s Union (utsu) revealed the information Tuesday, following a freedom of information request submitted to the university. According to Coleman, the current deadline for paying tuition is too early, which leads students to accumulate interest charges at high rates. A major cause for concern, he claims, is that “you can save money by going to a bank if you have unpaid tuition.” Students pay 19.56 per cent interest annually to the university. The five major Canadian banks advertise basic credit card plans at 19.99 per cent annual interest. In contrast, rbc’s student line of credit is four per cent annually. Other major banks have comparable rates. As expected, the data show a large spike in the number of students owing money in mid-November — the university’s payment deadline. There is a steep decrease in January for students receiving financial assistance from osap. More surprising is the amount of non-osap-receiving students accruing interest charges. These students’ debt levels, unlike those receiving assistance from the province, gradually decrease until May. Approximately 35 per cent of osap students and 25 per cent of non-osap students accrued interest in November. A survey of tuition deadlines and payment policies for other universities in Ontario suggests that the U of T’s payment deadlines are an anomaly. While U of T requires full tuition pay-
ment before November 15, institutions such as York, Laurier, Guelph, and Ryerson collect their fees in two installments — once per semester. The University of Western Ontario provides its students with a choice to pay all at once, like U of T, or per term of study. The utsu has been lobbying both the administration and the Government of Ontario to institute persemester billing at U of T says utsu president Munib Sajjad. Eventually, the union hopes that per-semester billing will be mandated across the province. The two-instalment method is an effective one for students receiving osap, as funding becomes available at the beginning of each semester. At U of T, these students are forced to pay interest in the months between November and January, while waiting for the second instalment of funding. Even after January, a subset of these students continue paying interest until May. Coleman notes that there is another group of students affected by the early deadline: “Those who are able to pay by November but have to put financial strain on their parents, work extra hours, and take out bank loans.” When asked how the money raised through interest charges is used, the university did not offer specifics. According to Dominic Ali, a spokesperson for U of T: “The funds assist the university in fulfilling its academic mission and providing an outstanding educational experience for students.” As tuition fees constitute a portion of the university’s operating budget, he claims that interest charges are needed to ensure “predictability” of incoming funds; otherwise “It would become challenging for the university to operate and to plan for the future.”
Coleman says insufficient funding is part of the problem, claiming the university is a “partial victim.” While the cost of salaries has gone up over the years, the university has had its funding decreased from both the provincial and federal governments. “There’s a need to get money from students, but having interest charges becomes a problem.” At the same time, “if these things are removed and students are protected, the university will have more financial pressures,” he says. Last year, the provincial government established a working group composed of representatives from across the post-secondary education sector to find a solution for student interest charges. Currently, the deadlines and interest rates are not unregulated by the ministry, and in practice are set at the discretion of each university’s administration. David Raymont, a spokesperson for the ministry, explained that controls around interest fees would be implemented in the coming year. The focus, he says, lies on aligning the timing of payment with osap funds release, which does not address the portion of students who pay interest and who do not qualify for osap. In light of these issues, the university is abstaining from taking action, says Coleman. “The university knows there is a problem with students not getting their money on time, but it doesn’t seem like the university understands how it affects their life,” he said. Ultimately, “The ministry is aware and plans to do things. What needs to happen is that students, and parents, and everyone affected needs to pressure them to follow through,” says Coleman, suggesting those affected write a letter to the Minister of Training, Colleges and Education, Brad Duguid, or join the utsu in its advocacy for change.
Percentage of students owing tuition
40% Non-OSAP Students 35%
OSAP Students
30% 25% 20% 15% 10% 5% 0 -12 Aug12 Jul- 2 1 Jun--12 May-12 Apr 12 Mar 12 Feb-12 Jan- 11 Dec- 11 Nov 11 Oct-11 Sep--11 Aug11 Jul- 1 1 Jun--11 May-11 Apr 11 Mar 11 Feb-11 Jan- 0 1 Dec- 10 Nov 10 Oct-10 Sep- 10 Aug10 Jul- 0 1 Jun--10 May-10 Apr 10 Mar 10 Feb-10 Jan-09 Dec- 09 Nov 09 Oct- 09 Sep--09 Aug09 Jul- 9 0 Jun--09 May-09 Apr 09 Mar 09 Feb-09 Jan- 08 Dec- 08 Nov 08 Oct- 08 Sep--08 Aug08 Jul- 8 0 Jun--08 May
How will you pay?
4% on a student line of credit at RBC
19.5% on late fees at U of T
The UTSU Board of Directors meeting on Friday. DENIS OSIPOV/THE VArSITy
UTSU implements online voting Jelena Djuric
VARSITY CONTRIBUTOR
After more than a year of divisive debate, the University of Toronto Students’ Union (utsu) voted Friday to offer online voting for its upcoming October by-election. Supporters hope that online voting will make voting more accessible to students. The motion to approve online voting follows three general meetings, a $17,000 lawyer’s report commissioned to study the impact, and a threat from the provost’s office. The board approved the recommendations of the Elections and Referendum Committee (erc) almost unanimously, bringing online voting to utsu elections this fall. The erc proposed a motion to limit hours for online voting to 9 am – 6 pm, with the intention of ensuring “a fair and secure election process.” The committee’s minutes state that the intention is to prevent candidates from campaigning during late evenings and overnight at social events where alcohol is present. Additionally, the motion is designed to ensure candidates who live on or near campus do not gain an unfair advantage. Some directors, including arts & science at-large director Benjamin Coleman, who proposed a number of other electoral reforms that were also approved, raised concerns in the minutes. “We have a rule that prevents campaigning in residence during voting, a rule that prevents pressuring someone while they’re voting online, and a rule that prevents campaigning where alcohol is served — it’s a solution for problems that we already have rules for, so I don’t see how it justifies the huge loss of accessibility for students,” said Coleman, who sits on the erc. Benjamin Crase, utsu board member for Trinity College, as well as cohead of the College, was similarly critical: “The purpose of an electoral policy is to account for the changes and elucidate the parameters needed to ensure a continued fair and safe elections process. Currently this motion is only stifling the creation of a more accessible electoral system,” he said. Crase was not able to attend the meeting. Aimee Quenneville, utsu board member for University College, deputized on his behalf.
utsu president Munib Sajjad spoke in favour of adopting online voting hours. Sajjad referred to instances of candidates campaigning to residence students during various council and college elections where online voting is used as explanation for the restricted hours. utsu vice-president, internal, Cameron Wathey spoke on behalf of the erc. He confirmed that the executive will work with Simply Voting, a webbased online voting system. Testing of the system is expected to occur next week. Discussions between U of T and the erc took place in order to ensure that the online voting system meets the university’s requirements for security and logistics. “The university’s involvement has simply been to provide support for implementation with the utorid system. They have been truly helpful,” said Wathey. Students will be able to vote by logging in with their utorid. According to utsu bylaws, ratifications to the Election Procedure Code may not have sections externalized. The Board of Directors may only send the document back to the erc for review and revision. This prevents directors from voting on proposals one by one. Among the electoral code changes approved Friday, the utsu’s board eliminated the Elections and Referenda Appeals Committee, which used to be the final appeal body for electionrelated complaints. There will now be a two-step complaints process, with the Chief Ruturning Officer’s decisions appealable to the Elections and Referenda Committee only. The rules were also changed to standardize costs for common items, so groups of candidates don’t have a financial advantage by purchasing in bulk. Similarly, the reimbursement structure was changed in an attempt to eliminate any financial barriers that may cause candidates not to run. The election will fill nine positions, including vice-president, external, one of five vice-presidents that are part of the executive committee. The vice-president, external, position requires a by-election because Sana Ali, who ran with this year’s executive in last spring’s election, resigned midcampaign, citing concerns about the executives’ autonomy. Students can be nominated to run in the upcoming elections at any point before October 4. Voting will take place October 15 – 17.
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VARSITY NEWS
Vol. CXXXIV, No. 5
news@thevarsity.ca
Dissecting the Insider Pass 2
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UTSU-offered discount card contains almost no discounts not available for free Aisha Hassan & Sarah Niedoba VARSITY CONTRIBUTERS
Earlier this month, an investigation by The Varsity revealed that the Insider Pass sold by the University of Toronto Students’ Union (utsu) offered discounts that were already offered to students for free. This week, a reporter from The Varsity purchased an Insider Pass from the utsu to investigate the benefits that are being offered. For $20, a student receives a piece of photo identification labelled as the Insider Pass, in addition to a “survival kit.” The pass itself displays the utsu logo and is labelled as: “Your official Insider Pass into the University of Toronto’s Community Clubs and Campus Events.” However, the International Student Identity Card (isic) logo is also clearly displayed on the card, giving the impression that the utsu pass is an isic card with additional utsu benefits. The isic card, which is available to all students for free at the utsu office, already offers most of the discounts advertised by the Insider Pass, such as a $10 discount at The Body Shop with purchases over $20. When The Varsity visited The Body Shop, employees acknowledged the isic logo but did not comment on the validity of the Insider Pass. However, discounts that the isic already offers are advertised on the utsu’s website as exclusive to Insider Pass holders, including discounts for The Body Shop, WestJet, and Greyhound. At present, no definitive list of businesses that offer benefits with the Insider Pass is available. Students can see the discounts available with the Insider Pass
on a poster displayed at the utsu office and on its Orientation website. Both sources advertise the following benefits: discounts for the utsu Unity Ball and Culture Show, the Body Shop, WestJet, Greyhound, the annual Montreal Reading Week trip, as well as the utsu water bottle and survival kit — the only discounts exclusive to the pass are ones that pertain to utsu events. Other than the advertised utsu events and discounts that are already available to students, the pass’ benefits have yet to be announced. utsu president Munib Sajjad stated through email, “The discounts to known utsu events have been spelled out, but events are also created throughout the year by students, which is why it is not as yet definitive.” Sajjad mentioned that discounts available outside of university events are still being developed: “The isic discounts are fully listed on the isic Canada Website. The discounts that are not available with the isic are all discounts that pertain to utsu-specific events, in addition to discounts that are currently being worked out with local businesses who have offered to be a part of the program, (these will include yoga studios near campus, theatres near campus and other locally-focused discounts).” The names of the businesses have not been specified. Though the Insider Pass duplicates free discounts, the Canadian Federation of Students (cfs) does not find this problematic. A representative of the cfs said, “We have partnered with other universities in the past to combine the isic card with other services the student unions can
offer. At the University of Ottawa we helped them plan an isic card that also involved their bus plan.” When asked to comment on the cost of the pass for the limited amount of services, the representative could only say that while the cfs helped with the idea of the pass, the utsu is an autonomous organization and that the actual putting together of the pass was outside of the cfs realm of control. “We do not believe that it creates a two tiered system,” commented the representative, emphasizing that the isic card is available for free and that purchasing the Insider Pass is entirely optional. Some U of T student leaders have criticized the pass for setting up a “twotiered” system. The utsu’s advertising for the pass is also a potential source of confusion. The utsu Orientation website refers to the pass as an “Orientation Insider Pass,” and events for which it advertises exclusive access are all during Frosh Week. The pass seems to be targeted specifically towards first-year students. These events include the chance to meet artist Lupe Fiasco at the Frosh Concert, “a chance to arrive in style by limo” to the Guvernment Afterparty, and a chance to win a free meal at the utsu Street Festival. However, these benefits have not been available since the end of Frosh Week. Sajjad said that the pass is targeted towards first-year students with the intention to get them involved with utsu events, “It is our hope that this pass will help first year students save some money, and get plugged in to some campus events and the community at large.”
The contents 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9.
Wall calendar UTSU Planner Pen Highlighter Shrimp crackers Coffee cup Emergen-C Gummy bears Scotiabank promotion
10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18.
UTSU waterbottle Princeton review promotion Zipcar promotion Sammy’s promotion Bookmark Clubs directory Tea Emporium promotion Canada’s Wonderland coupon UTSU fabric bag
The fine print Anyone that creates a Scotiabank
debit account gets 5 free movies. This can be found on their website and at any Scotiabank branch. The Sammy’s coupon for a free drink
was offered in frosh kits and when asked, Sammy’s had no knowledge of it being used in the Insider Pass kits — saying only: “we’re trying to get rid of the coupons.” The $15 Zipcar discount is for York
students. No comparable offers exist for U of T. The Princeton Review flyer offering
discount codes for its services can also be picked up at the UTSU office. The Tea Emporium discount is of-
fered to all students. A TCard is accepted as a valid form of ID. A representative did not know what the Insider Pass was when asked. The agenda, clubs directory, water bottle, and travel mug are all distributed in frosh kits. UTSU President Munib Sajjad has
repeatedly denied that Insider Pass contents include excess frosh kit items. The UTSU advertises a number of discounts available with the pass, including a $10 discount at The Body Shop for purchases over $20 and a 25 per cent discount on Greyhound bus tickets within Canada. Both discounts are available with the presentation of a TCard. Other discounts found on the Insider Pass website are available to students with ISIC cards, available free of charge to UTSU members The ISIC offers students 109 discounts in Toronto alone. At present, the Insider Pass website identifies four specific non-UTSU event related discounts, all also offered by the ISIC. The UTSU has repeatedly declined requests to provide a complete list of discounts offered by the Insider Pass, including the amount of the discount on UTSU events.
VARSITY NEWS
var.st/news
MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 30, 2013
5
Private tutors: required or redundant? ECOMAN, Toronto Life Sciences, and SOS Tutoring receive mixed reviews Liza Agrba, Trevor Koroll & Ruhi Kiflen VARSITY STAFF
As a first-year student, Chelsey Konya struggled in Economics 105. Finding that she was not able to learn effectively in lecture, she stopped going to economics classes after the first few weeks. Around exam time, Konya remembered a pamphlet she received in the first week of class for a tutoring service called ecoman. Konya paid for the service, aced her exam, and passed the course. Konya is one of many students who opt to use services offered by private tutoring companies such as ecoman, Toronto Life Sciences (tls), and sos Tutoring Inc. Among other services, these companies offer group tutoring sessions designed around many introductory math, science, and economics courses at U of T. While Konya had very positive things to say about her experience, perspectives on the effectiveness and value of these services vary widely among faculty and students. Though outside tutoring companies are not affiliated with the university, they often rent space from U of T and run their sessions on university property. Laurie Stephens, director of media relations for the university, did not answer questions about the tutors — saying: “We cannot comment on the effectiveness of services provided by external service providers.” ConCerns about “Crash Course” learning model Some professors interviewed by The Varsity expressed concern about “crash course” sessions offered by private tutoring companies. “Some of these services try to teach students to memorize a lot of things without understanding,” said mat137 course coordinator and lecturer Alfonso Gracia-Saz. He added that a crash course focusing on memorization and pattern matching will not prepare a student for a well-designed exam, which would focus on conceptual understanding. “Learning occurs best when it is drawn out over time, e.g., through a series of multiple learning sessions, not when it is crammed into a single session,” said psy100 professor Ashley Waggoner-Denton. Shawn Tian, president of the Arts and Science Students’ Union (assu), stressed that it is ev-
ery student’s responsibility to stay on top of their work. He argued that viewing tutoring sessions as a “failsafe” for not paying attention in class is ineffective. A crammed review session is unlikely to help a student who hasn’t stayed on track throughout the semester, he said. Aaron Benshabat, president of sos Tutoring, disagrees. He feels there is a place for crash courses in the university system: “There are some courses where you’re not going to be able to have the ideal amount of interaction,” said Benshabat. “Let’s say if you have questions and are in a larger classroom... the university setting as a whole is more conducive to a crash course or an exam review session.” Meanwhile, Collin Nguyen, regional director of tls, argued that labelling exam review sessions “crash courses” is unfair. He stated that most review sessions span over the course of a few weeks, giving students ample time to consolidate their knowledge. He added that the services offered by tls are meant as a complement for lectures and official university aid resources, rather than as a replacement for them. ecoman declined to comment for this article. Third-year student Albert Qin attended an ecoman course in his first year. He argued that despite the fact that each concept is taught from scratch, time constraints render the course ineffective if a student goes in without sufficient background knowledge. Second-year student Fatema Khan agreed, adding that ecoman and tls provide shortcut answers to difficult questions. Maria Khalil, also in second year, said that she found group tutoring sessions very effective for cementing difficult concepts in math and chemistry. However, not all students praised the tutoring companies. Third-year student Danny Zaidman was more critical: “I think those tutoring companies are tailored for students who are too lazy to do the work on their own. If you want to have somebody tell you some basic information in monotone, then I guess sos, ecoman, and tls are for you,” he said. Quality of teaChing material Questioned Another common concern of faculty members is the course material used by private tutoring companies. “When I was a ta, I was handed a booklet of questions and solutions from one of these sessions and asked to ex-
nanCy Ji/the Varsity
plain them,” said mat137 instructor Lindsey Shorser. “The booklet was rife with errors, missed steps, and unreasonable questions. Unless the material is official university material, we cannot guarantee its accuracy, relevance, or quality,” she added. Dwayne Benjamin, a professor of economics and chair of undergraduate affairs, said that his department is concerned about outside companies using copyrighted material, such as notes and solutions from professors, without their approval. Nguyen confirmed that his service does not use any course notes or packages from the university. He added that tls courses are taught with up-to-date and relevant information. “We have the most up-to-date textbook in order for [the instructors] to understand and relate to what the students are going through,” he said. Benshabat said that sos Tutoring uses its own material. He added that instructors are vigorously filtered to make sure that they have taken the same course as the one they are teaching. free aid sourCes under-utilized Students reported varying degrees of satisfac-
tion with free university aid. Khan said that while the free mathematics and economics aids offered at U of T are effective, limited hours make it difficult for students to get all their questions answered. Qin said that while he made use of the university’s free aid sources, he also found outside tutoring sessions useful. Khalid claimed that peer mentors in the economics department are unable to answer simple eco100 questions, and that she did not find the economics study centre useful. Eric Chung, a second-year student, argued that while the university offers effective aid services, private companies market their services more effectively. “I think there is an idea that if the price of some product is higher, then the quality of the product must be higher. This might lead students to believe that tutoring services are more effective than the resources provided by U of T,” said Peter Samuelson, a post-doctoral fellow in the department of mathematics. Economics professor James E. Pesando stressed that the aid centre unique to eco100 as well as the peer mentoring program available through the department, are under-utilized.
News in brief U of T praised, UTSU criticized by civil rights organization The 2013 Campus Freedom Index, issued by the Calgary-based Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms, concluded that 23 of the chosen 45 Canadian universities had placed limits on the free speech and expression of contentious groups. These include various anti-abortion groups, men’s issues awareness campaigners, and groups on either side of the Arab-Israeli conflict. The Index gave every university’s administration and student union two a-f letter grades each, one of which evaluated policies and the other, practices. So it was possible for a student union to receive a low grade, while the administration received a high one, or vice versa. For example, the University of Toronto Students’ Union garnered an f for its practices, such as banning on-campus men’s issues awareness clubs, while the U of T administration received an a for its policies, which were credited with maintaining safety during a lecture given by the Canadian Association for Equality earlier this year. — Anjalee Sandrasegaran With files from Maclean’s
TD
Bank donates $1 million to UTSC
td Bank Group has donated $1 million to the University of Toronto Scarborough (utsc) campus to support research in urban forest conservation and biology. Students, faculty, and community members were invited to plant trees in Rouge Park Saturday morning to mark the occasion, as part of an event through the td Friends of the Environment Foundation. This particular donation will fund a limited-term professorship at the Scarborough campus in urban forest conservation and biology, as well as research scholarships for environmental science and undergraduate research opportunity fellowships. The foundation has contributed more than $60 million over the past 23 years to support over 20,000 grassroots environment and wildlife projects across the country. utsc is in the midst of a multi-year expansion to accommodate a growing student population. — Taylor Stinson
$52.5 million environmental science building announced for UTSC The University of Toronto is set to have a new environmental science and chemistry building at its Scarborough campus. Construction will begin this October, with the building — supervised by Ellis Don and Diamond Schmitt Architects — scheduled to open July 2015. A press release issued by Diamond Schmitt Architects said that the $52.5 million facility “provides innovative design solutions for sustainable and highly flexible research and study space.” The building will have five floors of lab space, offices, and classrooms. Donald Schmitt, principal at Schmitt Architects, intends the design to “create a welcoming environment that is conducive to learning and scientific investigation.” With features such as geothermal boreholes — which heat and cool the building — and an earth tube system, as well as other sustainable elements, the new environmental science and chemistry building is designed to achieve Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (leed) gold certification upon completion. — Rochelle Coelho With files from: urbantoronto.ca
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Vol. CXXXIV, No. 5
VARSITY NEWS
news@thevarsity.ca
Queer Orientation engages hundreds of students First ever tri-campus event widely heralded as success Iris Robin & Devika Desai
Queer Orientation in numbers
VARSITY CONTRIBUTORS
Over the past two weeks, students from all three University of Toronto campuses participated in the first ever Queer Orientation. With 16 organizations involved, hosting 39 events in total, the orientation reached hundreds of students. The University of Toronto Sexual & Gender Diversity Office (sgdo) played a lead role in the planning of the events, each of which highlighted a different angle of engaging with the university. Scott Clarke, program coordinator at the sgdo, explained how Queer Orientation was designed to help bring students who might not otherwise interact, together. “The events are designed to bring first-year students, returning students, and grad students together,” he said. Building community lgbtq and Allies in Science and Engineering (lgbtqase) hosted their first event of the semester, an informal meet and greet during Queer Orientation in order to give students the opportunity to reconvene after the holidays. The mixer attracted around 20 people and included games, icebreakers, and refreshments. One participant, who requested anonymity, liked the “chilled out” atmosphere. Teresa Hulinska, co-president of lgbtqase, emphasized the importance of a more intimate space for queer and allied students to interact with each other, especially in comparison to the large number of students that participate in Frosh Week. “Providing a smaller space allows people who might feel uncomfortable in a large group to socialize with new people,” Hulinska said. The majority of attendees were first-years looking to become more involved in the queer community within the context of their academic interests. Rainbow Trinity represents lgbtq students in student government, and fosters community and discussion. It aims to create an open and equitable environment at Trinity College. It also organizes social events, the first of which was a barbecue last Monday, which approximately 90 students attended. Although Rainbow Trinity has a barbecue every year, this is the first time that it has taken place under the banner of Queer Orientation. Rainwbow Trinity president Jordan May said that the aim of the casual social was “to create a welcoming atmosphere for all students, especially first-years. It’s a chance for them to get to know the upperyears, and to know that they can be comfortable with who they are and to express themselves.” Facilitating discussion Ally Night, organized by the University of Toronto Students’ Union (utsu), was run as an informal discussion. Approximately 40 people joined the group over the course of the evening. Yolen Bollo-Kamara, utsu’s vice-president, equity, said that: “Ally Night plays an important role in Queer Orientation by connecting lgbtq students and those who would like to learn more about the role of an ally. It’s especially important for allies to be able to listen and learn from their peers about how best to support them.” Bollo-Kamara was pleased with the turnout and the talk. “We had a great conversation,” she said. The sgdo also sought to initiate a dialogue through the event “Queer Women on Campus,” which focused on helping women and trans attendees to meet, share experiences, find resources, and network. A student said: “It’s often difficult for me to find other
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Campuses queer women and events like this help get me connected.” Kathy Mac, who organized Queer Women on Campus, said that the event was also a chance for the sgdo to gather feedback from participants, some of whom wanted to have a board game night in the future. Mac plans for more meetings throughout the year, with the activities reflecting the interests of the group. Promoting education The University of Toronto Sexual Education Centre (sec) conducted a presentation on how to have safer sex, as well as an introduction to the resources that sec offers, which are available to any U of T student free of charge. Although the event was poorly attended, executive director Jordan Lavoie was “happy to be a part of [Queer Orientation].” One of sec’s goals as an organization is to educate students and encourage safe sexual practices. Commenting on the presentation’s relevance to the queer community, Lavoie said “until you get to university, sex education doesn’t include information for nonheterosexuals.” Professor Brenda Cossman, director of the Sexual Diversity Studies (sds) centre, expressed her desire to see more promotion of the program during Queer Orientation. “There is an obvious partnership between the students in the program and the students who come to Queer Orientation events. Students should be more exposed to the academic and educational opportunities available to them,” Cossman said. In addition, the department is very interested in becoming more involved with planning Queer Orientation next year. casual Fun Hart House organized a button-making session, where participants could socialize without the pressure of a rigid agenda. “Button-making as a craft is one that I find to be comparatively more accessible than some other forms of creative relaxation,” said Day Milman, the program co-ordinator. “It’s a great outlet for stress, mental pressures, or just self-expression. Making your own button is your chance to customize your message to the world.” Participants sitting and working on their buttons appeared to share Milman’s views. Dinaly Tran, a third-year student, said “what I like about this event is that it’s not issue-
(top) SDS director Brenda Cossman (left) at the launch party for the Sexual Diversity Studies centre | (above) Attendees at the launch party. maHsal kHan/tHe Varsity
oriented. The previous events were great, but most of them were about tackling a certain subject or discussing a popular issue. I really like that this event doesn’t have any such agenda, that it allows the space to get to know other people in a more relaxed environment.” Department members, Sexual Diversity Studies Students’ Union (sdssu) representatives, students, and fellows were present at the sds Launch Party on Thursday. The party was a rare opportunity for everyone associated with the program to come together. Jade Reid, a sexual diversities specialist student, had nothing but praise for the events. “People [at these events] are always very positive, the energy is always high, and the food is always good,” she said. looking Forward Clarke was pleased with the success of Queer Orientation. “We saw students really engaging in the events, hanging out after to chat, and making their experience [at] Queer Orientation their own.” With regards to future plans, Clarke said that the precedent set this year was good, and that he hopes Queer Orientation next year will be an even greater success.
CONTINUED FROM COVER The statement outlined the fact that Gilmour has repeatedly apologized for his comments, and that the university had heard from students, faculty, and staff who were dismayed by his statements. “The University and Victoria College will also ensure that students in his class are under no misapprehensions that Mr. Gilmour’s literary preferences may be translated into assumptions about their innate abilities,” it read. This statement also drew harsh criticism from the students’ union. “We are very disappointed in the statement released by the University this evening,” said Bollo-Kamara, “It is frustrating that the University does not acknowledge the impact that Mr. Gilmour’s words may have on the large part of our population who are women, Chinese, or do not identify as heterosexual.” With files from Kate McCullough
VARSITY NEWS
var.st/news
MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 30, 2013
7
Students rally against David Gilmour at Vic Support shown for women writers, queer writers, and writers of colour Ilona Kabanova
VARSITY CONTRIBUTOR
David Gilmour’s comments in an interview with Hazlitt last Wednesday met with controversy and disapproval from some students. On Friday, the conflict escalated with a student-organized rally in front of the Northrop Frye statue at Victoria College. The location was chosen strategically. Gilmour teaches at Victoria College and was a student of Frye, who is said to be one of the most influential Canadian literary critics and theorists of the twentieth century. The rally, entitled “Serious Heterosexual Guys for Serious Literary Scholarship,” was organized largely over Facebook by two U of T graduate students, Andrea Day and Miriam Novick. The rally gained significant media attention. In the Facebook event for the rally, Day and Novick called the attendees to “show [our] support for the omission of unserious people like women, queer folks, and writers of colour (especially Chinese writers) from university syllabi.” The rally consisted of the organizers, as well as members and students of the English department, reading out passages from novels by female, queer, and minority authors, all of whom Gilmour stated he was “not interested in teaching.” Anthony Oliveira, a PhD student in the English department, told The Varsity that he was “glad to be a part of an event where authors that Gilmour does not think are worth studying are being heard.” The protesters chanted “Gilmour, read more” throughout the rally, and encouraged the crowd of about 50 people to use social media to post about the
protest. Major media outlets including cbc, City tv, and Globaltv attended the event. Day, a PhD student in the English department, told The Varsity that she and Novick decided to organize the rally largely for pedagogical reasons. “We were very frustrated with the idea that someone’s personal biases can direct not only what they teach but also their students’ experiences in a survey course. Late twentieth century short fiction is incredibly diverse, with plenty of people of colour, women, queer, and trans people. The idea that only white straight men have something to say in that avenue is very upsetting,” she said. Day added that she was impressed that the university called for collegiality, and that neither she nor Novick are asking for his job. She stressed that the controversy is not a result of a difference of opinions, but the blanket statements Gilmour has made. Other speakers at the rally were not as kind to Gilmour. Sundhya Walther, who is also a PhD student in the English department and spoke at the rally, thought that “Victoria College should seriously reconsider his employment, because Gilmour’s teaching philosophy is not something that can be solved by cosmetic gestures.” Krystyn Olmedo, a second-year classics student, compared Gilmour’s comments to something from “ancient times.” Yolen Bollo-Kamara, the utsu’s vice-president, equity, was present at the rally and expressed concern at the limited response from the university. “Gilmour’s comments essentially exclude a large portion of the university’s community,” she said. Since the publication of Gilmour’s comments on Wednesday, he has issued an apology.
denis osipov/THe vArsiTy
Student reactions to Gilmour The Varsity spoke to students at Victoria College about the controversial remarks India McAlister & Jacob Lorinc VARSITY CONTRIBUTOR
David Gilmour’s comments have sparked conversation across campus, from faculty and administrators distancing themselves, to students rallying in protest. The Varsity went to Victoria College for a day to gauge reaction from students on the street.
Samantha
Sarosh
“I find David Gilmour’s comments incredibly offensive and I hope that the university takes proper disciplinary action. I would encourage students in his class to boycott his lectures.”
“If he doesn’t like women writers, their work, or Chinese people’s, then that’s his right you don’t have to like it.”
Third-year, Aboriginal Studies and Diaspora & Transnational Studies
Fifth-year, Life Sciences
Sinmi
Patrick
Ben
Andie
“It’s a dangerous comment to make, as a professor. At a school where you have students from all over the world, with different backgrounds and beliefs, that’s just not respectful.”
“Responding to his comments, it is okay to be selective in your own manner but to impose that on your students is not advisable. It might be more harmful than do good for those students.”
“I don’t think any faculty member should be making comments like that, because it doesn’t convey a message that is positive towards people of different backgrounds or gender, or even sexual preference.”
“That sounds like an awful course... I would never take a class by someone so sexist, because the way that he teaches and his beliefs are going to be affected by that.”
Fourth-year, Political Science and Book & Media Studies
Second-year, English and Book & Media Studies
Second-year, Evolutionary Biology
First-Year, English
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Vol. CXXXIV, No. 5
VARSITY NEWS
news@thevarsity.ca
Men’s rights activists call for creation of “Men’s Centre” Few protestors compared to large-scale confrontation last year Jerico Espinas
VARSITY CONTRIBUTOR
On September 27, the University of Toronto’s Men’s Issues Awareness Society (utmia) and the Canadian Association for Equality (cafe) hosted an event called “Why We Need Campus Men’s Centres.” Dr. Miles Groth, who published a book called Engaging College Men: Discovering What Works, was the keynote speaker for the event. Groth’s lecture focused on the difficulties facing young men in today’s universitys and professional programs, as well as his experience hosting a men’s centre at Wagner College. He believes that a men’s centre has become necessary for men to flourish in the “noxious sociocultural environment” that is present in today’s universities. At the event, cafe announced that they had reached $35,000 out of their $50,000 goal to establish a Canadian Centre for Men and Families in Toronto. The group hoped to see the arrival of not only men’s centres in universities, but also support centres for men in the general community. Several prominent members of the Men’s Rights Movement visited the lecture, including Paul Elam from A Voice for Men (avfm) and Karen Straughan from A Girl Writes What. Nick Reading from Men’s Rights Edmonton was also at the event. They came to give cafe their support and to promote a follow-up rally the next day. A lecture on campus by Dr. Warren Farrell last November was met with almost 100 protesters, some of whom barricaded doors and shouted at attendees. The incident prompted a highly publicized debate between the University of Toronto Students’ Union (utsu) and senior administrators over the acceptable limits of free speech on campus. In the hour prior to the event, there was a sense of unease. “I expected protesters to be here like last year,” said Ethan Hu, a second-year student. “I was a bit nervous that I’d be yelled at.” After the event, Hu said that he was “pleasantly surprised” that the event was held without difficulties. No p rotesters were ultimately present. U of T administration charged utmia a mandatory fee of $964 to cover the security costs in the event of another largescale protest. Almost a half-dozen police officers were stationed at the entrance of the lecture hall. Organizers managed to pay the fee using donations from cafe’s supporters, but sources say avfm is considering legal action to get the fee refunded.
Participants at the Rally for Men and Boys in Crisis. michael chahley/The VarsiTy
“If I shut up, I’m going to contribute to the suicide of men and boys. If I don’t want to talk about these problems, who’s going to?” —Paul Elam, Member of A Voice for Men “I can’t believe [cafe] had to be charged,” said Jonathan Turner, a “curious” observer who wanted to know more about men’s issues. “It should be the protesters who get stuck with the bill.” He was not aware that this was a large, contentious issue in the past because of the lecture hall’s “peaceful and open” atmosphere. A follow-up event called A Rally for Men and Boys in Crisis occurred the next day
at Queen’s Park. Hosted by avfm and other partners concerned with men’s rights, the event was an opportunity for supporters to share their stories. Many of the guests from Groth’s lecture returned for the rally and were also given a chance to speak. Half an hour into the rally, a group of around 20 protesters from Bash Back!, a radical anarchist queer organization, arrived in front of Queen’s Park. The protesters attempted to march up to the rally attendees, but were quickly stopped by three police officers. A clear boundary was created between Bash Back! and the activists. The group proceeded to make a non-violent protest against the rally. They chanted that the supporters were sexist and homophobic, and waved signs that read “Listen to Women” and “Sexism is not a Right.” In the middle of their protest, a few members of the group climbed the Ontario Veterans Memorial and shouted slogans such as “mra, go away!” They were eventually convinced by police to step down and return to their previous location. Members of Bash Back! declined to comment.
“It’s so critical that we don’t shut up,” said Paul Elam, using the microphone to address the protesters. “If I shut up, I’m going to contribute to the suicide of men and boys. If I don’t want to talk about these problems, who’s going to?” Other speakers talked over the chants to give their personal stories about the injustices that men still face today. A few students were more open about the presence of the demonstrators. “They are not so bad,” said Dennis Najm, a student from York University. “They are a bit rude, but at least they are obeying the cops. At least they are not doing anything illegal.” Najm admitted that he was curious to hear from different sides of the issue, but was disappointed that only a “fringe radical group” came to protest. “I’m glad to see that these groups are still around,” said John MacTaggart, a Life Sciences student at U of T. He was afraid that students had “scared these groups off campus” after last year’s events. “What sort of university are we if we can’t handle a bit of noisy discourse?”
Two of three positions in ASSU byelection filled without vote Follow-up byelection called for November to fill remaining vacancy Ilona Kabanova & Atta Habibollah-Zadeh VARSITY CONTRIBUTORS
The Arts & Science Student Union (assu) was scheduled to hold a byelection on October 1 for three vacant spots on its executive. The election has now been postponed until November because of a lack of valid nominations The two candidates who submitted their nomination forms on time claimed two executive spots. The third position is to remain
vacant until the next byelection is held in November. assu president Shawn Tian told The Varsity that while interest was high when the election was announced, only two students managed to submit valid nomination forms by the September 23 deadline. The two new executives are expected to join the assu team on Wednesday when the assu holds its first executive meeting. In an email to The Varsity, Branden Rizzuto, one of the new executives, stated that his interest in the assu was a natu-
ral progression from his previous involvement with the Anthropology Students’ Association (asa), where he is currently serving his second term as co-president. Rizzuto wants to use his new position on the assu executive to “develop the communication infrastructures between assu course unions and their associated undergraduate students.” He said he will focus on developing new strategies for student outreach and organizational growth. The assu is one of the largest student unions
in Canada, representing 23,000 full-time undergraduate students on the St. George campus in the Faculty of Arts & Science. The assu provides a number of services to the student body, including: providing help with academic grievances, modifying and improving programs offered by the university, administering grants, and offering past tests for a variety of courses. The assu office is located in Sidney Smith Hall, and is accessible during office hours Monday to Friday.
NEXT WEEK IN COMMENT
"The Question": Should academics be expected to censor their biases?
var.st/CoMMent 30 sePteMBer 2013 comment@thevarsity.ca
var.st/comment
alexandra wong/ the varsity
Generation jobless? Youth unemployment rates across Canada in 2012
Frank Weng
VARSITY CONTRIBUTOR
As I approach graduation — and therefore, the end of my undergraduate education — I am struck with a pang of fear. Like many other students approaching graduation, I am apprehensive about my future prospects and what I will do once I leave school. A stable job is difficult to foresee. The cbc has labelled us “Generation Jobless." In its documentary special, the cbc argues that while the current generation is highly educated, its future is hazy following graduation. Graduates face underemployment — in positions requiring less education than they possess — and unpaid internships — where the option of gaining experience is offered instead of wages for work. Students electing to continue their academic careers rather than enter the job market post-graduation also face a difficult path, given the fierce competition for academic postings. Those individuals with master's and doctorate degrees are ill-prepared to find satisfying careers outside of academia, especially when a correlation can be found between degree of education and expected income. Without marketable work experience, job opportunities for young people are limited. Marketable experience can be very difficult to attain, especially if young people spend their early working years transitioning between part-time jobs. Although the answer to this massive problem is not clear-cut, a basic understanding of the principles of supply and demand help explain why it is happening. Simply put, the market is oversaturated with a surplus of university-educated arts and science graduates without enough of a demand for their services. It does not seem all bad for graduating university students though — there are some bright spots. Technology industries, for instance, have not only traditionally looked to university-educated job applicants, but the industry is also growing and does not appear to be slowing down. However, according to the cbc, the tech industry is not as promising as it seems. Technology enterprises do not require a large number of employees compared to other areas of the market. As an example, large companies like Twitter, Linkedin, and
Territories - 17.9% New Brunswick - 19.5% Prince Edward Island - 18.7% Nova Scotia - 17.9%
8.9%
11.0%
13.4% 9.6%
16.9%
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2002
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18.9%
13.7%
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5 0%
Unemployment rates of youth aged 15–24 across Canada in years 2002–2012 Groupon employ fewer than 20,000 people combined. Although generally promising for the future, given how young it is, the technology industry is not likely to help many of the roughly 15 per cent of young Canadians who are currently unemployed. Nevertheless, what young people are studying does matter when it comes to future employment. The manufacturing and mining industries are having a difficult time finding qualified applicants. The unemployment rate in these industries is low,
and the level of compensation is on the rise. So what we study matters, but this is not a new revelation. There are deeper problems. It has become a staple of modern society to prize a university education as being a necessary step in finding stable and fulfilling employment. Colleges that offer instruction on disciplines that are in high demand are seen in an inferior light to academics. In addition to societal expectations, the government has also played a role in the current employment situation. The Canadian government has
not effectively created a link between schools, provincial governments, and employers. It cannot allocate human resources strategically on a nation wide basis because under federalism, education falls under the purview of individual provinces. Change in both these problems will take a long time and a strong societal will — something that many of us cannot wait for. Frank Weng is a fourth-year student studying political science and history.
VARSITY COMMENT
10 Vol. CXXXIV, No. 5
comment@thevarsity.ca
THE QUESTION
The Charter of Quebec Values What is the virtue of a secular state? The intolerant undertones of the Charter of Quebec Values Devyn Noonan
VARSITY CONTRIBUTOR
So if Pauline Marois and the Parti Québécois are going to preach from the pulpit about their vision of an idyllic God-is-dead Canadian state, we need to call their bluff. They don’t seek a secular state — Canada is far too Christian for that, and Quebec far too Catholic. Some will counter that the proposal equally bans employees from wearing Christian symbols. However, the legislation conveniently allows “small religious symbols” to be worn. Whereas many religions mandate that their adherents bear some kind of obvious symbol, Christianity has no such requirement. The charter purports to treat all religions equally, but actually privileges normative Christianity over other belief systems. The legislation appears egalitarian, but is actually discriminatory. As Anatole France said: “The law, in its majestic equality, forbids the rich, as well as the poor to sleep under bridges...” Under the “majestic equality” of the charter, Christians and Muslims alike are prohibited from wearing a hijab. The secularity proposed by Quebec must be recognized as fundamentally intolerant.If passed into law, it will discriminate against Jews, Muslims, and Sikhs — but not Christians. Should we foster diversity, or should we reject it? Do we join the rest of the world, so preoccupied with cultural rifts? Or do we envision a new kind of nation — an innovative Canada — that focuses not on cultural difference, but on shared humanity? The Canada I know and love is a space in which any individual, government employee or not, can celebrate their culture with pride. Let’s keep it that way.
Pauline Marois' Parti Québécois government is facing harsh criticism over the proposed Charter of Quebec Values. MEDIA PHOTO
Thomas Jefferson said: “Religious institutions that use government power in support of themselves and force their views on persons of other faiths, or of no faith, undermine all our civil rights.” In Jefferson’s mind, the secular state is inherently inclusive. However, the Quebec government has proposed a new and insidious version of secularity that embraces the very bigotry that the secular state is supposed to reject. As it is currently framed, secularity in Canada is deeply tied to multiculturalism. A cultural mosaic can only exist in a state that refuses to privilege one religion over another. However, secularity and multiculturalism are both illusory ideals; we conceive of Canada as a secular and multicultural nation, but the reality does not match the advertisement. Canada values ethnic diversity, but our stores still cater to Christmas rather than Ramadan. We ban the church from the courtroom, but the Ten Commandments are fundamentally ingrained in Canadian law. In short, we call ourselves a secular nation, but our languages, laws, and government institutions are derived from a tradition that is Western, white, and undeniably Christian. The purpose of Canadian multiculturalism is not to create a state in which a host of different cultures live and thrive together equally. Rather, the multicultural state simply recognizes that no culture is inherently inferior to another. As far as it can, the multicultural framework is one that tries to allow other cultures to preserve their traditions in a Western nation.
The Parti Québécois' proposed Charter of Quebec Values does more harm than good
Why banning hijabs, turbans, kippahs, and crosses breeds further intolerance
Olivia Forsyth-Sells
VARSITY CONTRIBUTOR
The Parti Quebecois' recently proposed Charter of Quebec Values, which seeks to eliminate religious symbols in public sector jobs, requires us both to analyze the motivation behind the proposed ban as well as to consider the potential philosophical outcomes if the charter is passed. The party's motivation seems clear enough; it is attempting to remove the presence of religion in authoritative roles within the state in order to reduce any conflict that could arise due to religious affiliation. However, this contradicts the multicultural value of religious freedom and sets a political tone opposite the one established by the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. In Quebec's history, the Quiet Revolution — a subversion of Catholicism's traditional domination of provincial politics — represents an ideological precursor to this newest attempt to secularize the state. This proposed ban may be an indirect result of the Quiet Revolution's success, but it lacks the defined source of conflict that ultimately drove the revolution. Because Quebec never signed the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, it has a separate, although similar, charter of values. The Quebec Charter states in section 1.1 that every person has a right to exercise their fundamental rights, regardless of origin or social position, and this includes the freedom of religion expression. Therefore, any mandate requiring public employees to compromise their religious rights violates not only the letter of the law, but also the more abstract philosophical motivation behind creating a charter of values.
It is important to note that small, inconspicuous tokens are still acceptable under the proposed charter. This results in an outright differentiation between Jewish, Sikh, and Muslim symbols and those of Christianity. Since a vast majority of Quebec's population is Catholic, it seems as though the individuals proposing this ban are looking to carve out special status for the province's Catholic community. When a political regime enacts these types of regulations, it is invariably perceived to be making a statement about the public perception of these groups. By banning certain religious expression and thereby stigmatizing specific faiths or cultures, the state fosters an "us vs. them" mentality. Regulating any type of individual expression is bound to stir up controversy. Although the intentions of the charter may be good, the proposed ban, unfortunately, can only be damaging. It holds religion to be something negative or offensive, and definitely as something to keep to yourself. It is an absolutist political philosophy that goes against Canada's established social values. Not only does it offend the country's sensitivity towards religious tolerance, it also highlights an underlying suspicion of how certain faiths and cultures are perceived. To some extent, it also reveals an intolerant mood in Quebec that ought to be rooted out quickly, before the province suffers the kind of public outrage that inevitably results when a democratic government moves to limit individual freedoms. Olivia Forsyth-Sells is studying English and philosophy.
Sonia Liang
VARSITY CONTRIBUTOR
It is imperative that The Charter of Quebec Values, recently proposed by Pauline Marois' provincial government, not be carried through. The charter aims to preserve the province’s religious neutrality by eliminating possible sources of conflict like religious symbols. However, does the charter serve its purpose of protecting multicultural values by removing visible differences in dress, or does it infringe upon individual rights unnecessarily? Doctors, teachers, and daycare workers should all be allowed to exercise their right to religious expression. Rather than taking an administrative shortcut by requiring all government employees to represent the neutrality of the state, Quebec should commit itself to the hard work of overcoming societal prejudice. The proposed ban is crude and ineffective — it does not protect or celebrate Canada’s multicultural character but instead sends the message that one might face discrimination if they wear a hijab, therefore they should not be allowed to wear one at all. Prime Minister Stephen Harper, Liberal Party leader Justin Trudeau, and ndp leader Thomas Mulcair have all denounced the proposed charter. Mulcair noted that: “what we have today is an attempt to impose state-mandated discrimination against minorities in the Quebec civil service." Adding that, "to be told that a woman working in a daycare centre, because she’s wearing a head scarf, will lose her job is to us intolerable." Amnesty International has similar concerns saying the Quebec values charter would “limit fundamental rights."
Devyn Noonan is a third-year English student.
Claire L’Heureux-Dubé, a retired Supreme Court judge, is one of the individuals expected to back the charter. In an interview with RadioCanada, she stated: “some rights are more fundamental than others and, in Canada, the right to equality trumps religion." An argument could be made that the proposed restrictions on displaying religious tokens should apply to law enforcement and the judiciary exclusively rather than all civil servants. For the reason that these roles represent the coercive power of the state rather than everyday government services, defenders of the law should make an extra effort to appear neutral. Upholding equality does not translate into everyone looking the same, but into being treated the same. A fundamental part of this, especially in such a multicultural country, is allowing and celebrating the expression of different cultures, ethnicities, and religious groups. The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms specifically enshrines equality before and under the law, ensuring that every citizen, regardless of religion, culture, or creed can enjoy the fair administration of justice. While Quebec’s special status within Canada gives it much maneuvering room to alter or supersede existing laws, the courts may still declare the charter unconstitutional. Everyday civilians, however, should be able to celebrate their personal heritage and their Québécois heritage (or Canadian heritage) simultaneously, without the former excluding the latter. Therefore, being a devout Muslim does not eclipse being a proud Canadian, wearing a kippah shouldn’t ban you from public service, and wearing a turban should not be grounds for condemnation. Sonia Liang is a second-year student studying English and political science.
var.st/comment
VARSITY COMMENT
Is a Maple Spring as far away as we think?
Why Ontario has failed where Quebec has succeeded
MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 30, 2013
LETTERS TO
THE EDITOR Vol CXXXIV, No. 04 | September 23, 2013 Re: Students’ union says David Gilmour’s comments “offensive and unconscionable” David Gilmour is a fantastic professor who should not be condemned for teaching the material he personally finds most interesting and inspiring. I'm sick of utsu reps and others trying to pick apart words and find offense where none is meant. Try and give people the benefit of the doubt for once. I am a woman and I found his class stimulating, which for me seems to be the true purpose of university-level discourse. — lilp (from web) I am really trying to find the controversy when he said that he does teach Virginia Woolf (just a poem). He said he has a preference for teaching books written by heterosexual males; I think that is a pretty nice way to air "their own views in a respectful way." If he was teaching female authors or something along the lines then we might have a problem. Please someone clarify the problem with a teacher having a preference that you personally don't like? — MarcoPolo (from web)
Unified student protests like this one have kept tuition fees down in Quebec. STEREOSCOPY/ FLICKR
Cassandra Mazza
VARSITY CONTRIBUTOR
Over a year has now passed since a government-proposed 75 per cent tuition hike was met with the full force of student protests in Quebec. Since then, it is clear that this "Printemps Érable" movement has not yet translated effectively to English-speaking Canada. The Ontario government recently approved an annual increase in tuition rates of 3 per cent for the foreseeable future, marking a 71 per cent tuition increase since 2006. It is common knowledge among U of T students that the average Ontarian is now paying roughly $7,000 a year in tuition fees, compared to $2,500 in Quebec — a rate that has for the most part stayed put for the past 50 years. In order to comprehend why efforts to increase university tuition in Ontario have gone through with relative ease when compared to the inescapable public outcry that similar hikes have sparked in Quebec, several factors must be considered. The first is the marked difference in attitude toward higher education between the two provinces, the other is the difference in tactics that each province's youth have employed to combat rising tuition fees — successfully in Quebec, unsuccessfully in Ontario. First off, Quebec has an ideological edge when it comes to keeping tuition low and education accessible, which is absent in Ontario. In Quebec, higher education is seen as a public good that society invests in for everyone's benefit and for which society receives intelligent and productive individuals contributing
to the community. The Québécois philosophy dictates that in times of economic disparity, the government should invest in providing the population, regardless of income, with the opportunity to achieve financial independence and, in turn, give back. This fundamental difference in attitude towards the government’s role in higher education represents the greatest barrier Ontarians face when they challenge tuition hikes. In contrast, Ontario overwhelmingly views post-secondary education as a private investment an individual makes in order to increase their individual value in the workforce. This notion supports the idea that the quality and price of an education are inextricably linked. A social movement on the scale of that seen in Quebec could never succeed in a province where post-secondary education is viewed as a special privilege, valuable only because of its relative scarcity in the job market. Another hurdle for would-be student revolutionaries in Ontario to overcome is the absence of protest culture and the lack of established methods of mobilizing protestors in this province. Again, here Quebec has an advantage — with its longstanding and traditionally successful history of opposing tuition hikes. In Quebec, it is widely expected that today’s youth carry out the ideals set out in the Quiet Revolution of the 1960s. Last year's riots marked the ninth major tuition protest in the province’s history. As a testament to their effectiveness, mass movements have been the weapon of choice for decades of students set on protecting their “sacred right” to accessible education. Protests in Quebec can
achieve crowds of over a quartermillion demonstrators that bring government to a halt. While this environment of social change in Quebec has been fifty years in the making, Quebecers have provided Ontario students with the blueprint for achieving their goals by using the power of student union coalitions. The Quebec student protests owe their overwhelming numbers to the creation of classe, a coalition of over 67 independent student associations from 6 universities united in their fight for accessible education. classe’s coalition mobilized its movement effectively by opening up its decision-making structure to small, non-member student associations and operating along the principles of direct democracy. By allowing otherwise unrepresented students to participate with equal voting rights in open meetings classe was able to achieve complete coordination in shaping their movement. At a university where individual colleges, let alone their respective student associations, do not communicate, and in a province where discourse between universities and their student unions is virtually nonexistent, it is no surprise that Ontario has failed where Quebec has persevered. Quebec students believe that if student associations act independently, the government will ignore them. In order for Ontario students to see similar results to their Québécois counterparts, they must be united in their petitions to policy makers. Only then could Ontario hope to at last enjoy its very own Maple Spring. Cassandra Mazza is a second-year student from Victoria University studying English
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David Gilmour is telling us that the "greats" are all male, and preferably straight. He is trying on the argument he learned when he was twenty; that there is a canon, appropriately all male, with the tiny inclusion of Mrs. Woolf. I got this crap as an undergrad and grad in 1975-80 at Victoria College. Good God Victoria College, hire someone else! Entirely their fault Gilmour is teaching his misogyny in 2013. — Joiner (from web) Re: From Tibet to Toronto If every time a region within a country declares independence and the government lets them, imagine what the world would be like. I certainly do not agree with everything the Chinese government does, and I do have sympathy for the Tibetan people whose lives have been negatively affected, but China is a nation with diverse ethnicities and looking back into history, you can see many wars have been fought between the Han people and their neighbours of other ethnicities. After a century of bloody war and chaos, the last thing the Chinese people and government want is a civil war. And also if you were here to talk about "the rights of the Tibetan people to their own lands" then all Canadians and Americans can pack up now and go back to Europe. There, I rest my case. — Emerald (from web) The best way to understand a culture is to read through its history, not to accept whatever a propaganda machine tells you without independent and critical thinking. — Tsheran Dorjie (from web) Re: U of T maintains exclusionary culture I appreciate the sentiment of
this article, but I was turned off by the focus you placed on Muslim students when the whole point of this article was critiquing the exclusionary culture of U of T. It feels like this article is excluding other minorities at the behest of pushing the idea that Islamophobia is rampant. If that's the angle you're going for, be forthright with it (it's a fine article to write). Don't disguise it as something it is not. — reader (from web) In response to "reader": She is a Muslim, therefore her experiences will be guided by the fact. It's not excluding other minorities who have just as big concerns — she's just speaking from her experience. — reader 2 (from web) I agree that some professors make comments that could make some students feel uncomfortable ... A certain professor of mine has made comments that reinforce stereotypical notions of women as being only interested in "fashion websites," rather than the real grit of rigorous education... — an anthropology student (from web) Re: Editorial: Conditional funding censors scientist It's a good idea, however how will you go about convincing someone who made a profit off of their research to turn around and fund someone else's research? If my tax money is going towards funding research, I would like to know their results. — WhatGov't? (from web) Let's get out of debt in Canada and move away from making all the taxpayers pay for pure knowledge endeavors. When we have lots of cash to spend then let's fund pure science. I see the whole world living on the "let's pay for it later" ideology. At some point we will go broke. I see the federal government reigning in spending and funding things that can self sustain, or at least show some payback for the effort. Let's not forget we are still in a semi-recession. Let's start by building a strong Canada that is self supporting, then help others. If we go broke, there will be no one to help us! Sometimes when spending gets out of hand, the extras must be cut. I'm not saying the government is perfect, none are. But the other parties all called for more spending. — Eric Wymenga (from web) Re: Long waitlists and overworked staff: the state of mental health at U of T Sadly, this does not get any better when in the work force. Many of the programs listed in the article don't even exist, and peer pressure in the workforce is ever mounting. — jampy00 (from web)
Letters to the editor should be directed to comment@thevarsity.ca. Please keep letters to 250 words. Letters may be edited for length and clarity.
Tales from the TTC U of T students share their most memorable experiences riding the rocket
Photos by N
Awkward aca “Look at all these bagels” One day on the subway, an old man with a large plastic bag full of assorted baked goods sat next to me. He saw my U of T sweatshirt, and asked what I was studying. Assuming he was just a regular ttc patron, I discussed my education plans. He kept prying for more information, so I decided to stop responding. He opened the plastic bag to reveal a whole bunch of bagels. “Look at all these bagels,” he declared, gesturing towards the baked bread. “Plain, wholewheat, cinnamon raisin, sesame seed. Go on, take one.” I declined. He continued to offer them, trying to promote them with phrases like, “C’mon, just touch one,” and, “They’re so soft.” He asked if I wouldn’t take one because he was a stranger. Finally, I took one to satisfy him, but then he asked me to take a bite. I was eventually relieved by my stop’s arrival, bagel in hand. — Jenisse Minott
Inappropriate action Getting on a bus eastbound from Lawrence West Station one day, the doors in the back kept shutting. Some of us tried to keep the doors open. Once I got on, the operator yelled at me and a nearby Asian man near me: “The oriental man and the man wearing the red bag come up to the front NOW.” Notwithstanding the racist term the operator used to describe the other man, we went to the front. He scolded us: “If you ever do that to the doors again you will be banned from the ttc.” I told the driver that he did not allow the doors to remain open, and that I would be reporting him to the ttc. He slammed down on the brakes, screeching the bus to a halt. Many passengers jerked forward. I almost hit the windshield. I told him he endangered all the passengers by stopping so suddenly. I asked him to just let me off the bus, but he refused to, still yelling at me. Although ttc Customer Service informed me that “appropriate action” had been taken on the driver, I was on his bus a few days later. — Jamie Cole
Can-Hockey Night in Canada My friends and I boarded the subway one night, each filled with well over the pre-drinking requisite. I gratified the crowd with the acrobatic maneuver of grabbing the balancing straps and using their leverage to backflip, before falling ass-first (given the tendency for alcohol to interfere with balance). We proceeded to play CanHockey: crushing a beer can into a puck, and having two-on-two scrimmages across the corridor while using the seat posts as goalie nets. Anyone could imagine that this might be disruptive to fellow passengers. I unknowingly kicked one female passenger’s foot. When we got to our stop and exited, her boyfriend grabbed me by the collar. When one of my comrades cursed at the boyfriend in response, he challenged us all to a brawl on the subway platform. Like most physical challenges at night, this didn’t go anywhere, but it was a great way to make new friends. — Nicholas Carlson
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At the end of an even home. A man entered After crooning “Won began to rowdily sin I joined in, happy at They all stared at m situation was really a just stared at each oth Boys in thick Russia of terror. My friend st sang through to the v until the subway doo — Danielle Klein
The magician
I was on the subway home, loathing ney northbound to Finch. It was h me in the spleen, and every time th end swayed dangerously close to m move to the Arctic Circle, away from guy across from me stood up and a card.” She looked at him warily, some strange subway mating ritua man performed an amazing card card shuffling. He performed illus better than the last. The whole ca ritated atmosphere evaporated as sure everyone had a good view. T into a delighted audience was the m — Samantha Relich
Check out more TTC stories online at: var.st/ttc
Nicole Wong
apella
ning with my friend, we got on the subway heading d and started playing guitar to earn some change. nderwall,” some guys behind me felt inspired and ng “I Want it That Way” in heavy Russian accents. t the opportunity for some spontaneous acapella. me, appalled, but continued to sing. I realized the awkward but didn’t want to stop singing. So we her, singing. There we were, singing the Backstreet an tones, staring into each others’ eyes with looks stood next to me, laughing, unsure what to do. We very end, and then looked away from one another, or opened and their hasty exit provided relief.
g the seemingly endless jourhot, an umbrella was jabbing he train braked a man’s rearmy face. I was contemplating a m urban crowding, when the asked a young lady to “pick clearly fearful that this was al, but did as he asked. The d trick, complete with aerial sion after illusion, each one r was enthralled, and the irpassengers shifted to make Turning annoyed commuters most impressive trick of all.
Happy new year I was in high school. It was New Year’s Eve, and I was on the subway downtown to Nathan Phillips Square. The whole way there, I was sitting down next to a stranger who looked very uncomfortable. We were holding hands because I had requested to do so upon getting on the train, a decision made in the midst of intoxication. Halfway through the trip, my friend and I both looked at each other, and we knew what was about to happen — the vodka wasn’t staying down. The two of us got up, threw up together (as only the best of friends do) in one big puddle of vomit directly in front of the subway door, and then hopped out at the next stop. The person coming out of the train behind us stepped in the vomit, and presumably his shoes weren’t our mess’ only victims. We spent New Year’s on a subway platform. — Anonymous
Brush with a streetcar My brother, an avid city cyclist, was cycling down College Street. At Dufferin, a pedestrian stepped out into the street. As my brother swerved into the street to avoid hitting him, his wheel got trapped in the streetcar track. Well aware of a streetcar coming up on his tail, he fell right in its path. He was lying across the tracks as the streetcar hit him. The front lip of the streetcar hooked his hip and he was dragged until it came to a stop. The driver pulled his emergency break, so he wasn’t going top-speed when the impact occurred. One witness bent up the rubber on the front of the car to unhook my brother’s hip, while others called 911. The paramedics told him to go to the hospital if the pain got worse, which he did when the adrenalin stopped pumping through his system. His diagnosis: No fracture of the spinal column, just some deep muscle bruising. — Victoria Banderob
EXIT 13
Arts & Culture
ONLINE EXCLUSIVE
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30 sEPtEMBEr 2013 arts@thevarsity.ca
Navigating your way through Nuit Blanche var.st/arts
The art of being Bowie Latest exhibit at the AGO is a thematic trip through the musician's influences, career, and life Madison Schill
VARSITY CONTRIBUTOR
Walking up the steps to the Art Gallery of Ontario (ago), I wasn’t sure what I’d find. David Bowie has all the ingredients of a fascinating exhibit, celebrating a man my father deemed “the original Lady Gaga.” I can recall us going through old album covers together, his eyes sparkling as his brain relived the rebellion and recklessness of his youth. I was intrigued. I wanted to know what kind of person could do that to someone — what lit that spark. From the moment I put on the exhibit's interactive, intuitive headphones (they respond as you travel from section to section — no more pushing buttons), a theatrical hum filled my ears, as if to immerse me into Bowie's mind. The exhibit itself is sectioned off into various rooms in order of influence, age, and era. It was here, taking the first few steps, where I began to see where my father's adoration came from. Bowie, a trendsetter from the moment of inception, seemed to always be searching for something bigger. At one point debating the idea of full-fledged Buddhism, he declared his goal was to become a “trendy person, rather than a trend.” In a world peppered with Internet celebrities, child stars, and reality television, Bowie couldn’t be more right. That’s one aspect which struck me as I walked from room to room — Bowie’s vulnerability. Sure, he may look like an alien, with his unique eyes and bone structure holding court from miles away. He may be very different indeed — yet he holds the same desire for originality, fighting the same demons many of us face in life. When asked about his reason for acquiring such fame, Bowie was recorded saying, simply: “I wanted to be well-known. I wanted to turn people on to new things.” Bowie's endured failure, rose above it, and countered bowing down to the masses by creating a new world with new identities to dominate. Whether he is Bowie or Ziggy Stardust, by claiming to be somebody else he could be himself. In a time when rock and roll was raw and rugged, Bowie would add Kabuki-inspired makeup, vague, embellished wording, and costumes that continue to shape the styles of today. He saw inspiration and influence in everything, and whether you follow him or not, Bowie shaped us. His big break occurred during the moon landing of July 1969, when the BBC aired his single, “Space Oddity” alongside the miraculous footage. It seems that on that day, two things skyrocketed into our living rooms: the moon and, perhaps, the man whose mind resided there. Bowie lived for creation in all forms, citing A Clockwork Orange and 1984 as major literary influences. Be-
MEdiaPHOTOS Photos MEDIA
tween music videos, songs, and performances, he refused to exist within a single dimension. The plethora of costumes and drawings shown in the exhibit provide a peek into what rock used to be — a time when individuality was the only option, and social networking had nothing to do with posting a “selfie” on Instagram. Things were either brutally honest
or brutally ethereal — you couldn’t claim one as the other. In the exhibit, a few things resonated with me. Bowie had a fondness for a program called the Verbasizer, which took paragraphs, sentences, and bits of news and scrambled then into new phrases. Sometimes, these compilations would speak to him such that it enabled him to write a
song, full of lyrics with meaning for the listener. That is the beauty of Bowie, his words are vehicles that take you somewhere untravelled. I could write pages on Bowie’s impact on our generation, on his androgynous style and the importance of celebrating it. I could devote paragraphs to the beauty in his layered music, his synthesized
beats and cultural trailblazing. But I won’t, because I want you to experience it for yourself. Find refuge in David Bowie’s fantasy, find comfort in his life. His world is your world, and I strongly advise that you inhabit it. “David Bowie is” is running now until November 27 at the AGO
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VARSITY ARTS & CULTURE
MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 30, 2013
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Concertgoing made easy Show Gopher helps users navigate through Toronto's vast and busy music scene Elena Gritzan
VARSITY CONTRIBUTOR
Life before Show Gopher was tough for a Toronto-based music fan. Organizing your concert calendar used to involve hours of frustration, combing through various band and venue websites. Launched in March 2012, Show Gopher is a web- and mobile-based application dedicated to cataloging Toronto’s concerts. As a result, navigating the city’s music scene became a snap. At the heart of Show Gopher is a grid, creating a time-based representation of each show happening on a given day. At a glance, you can see who is playing a show, where they're playing, along with set times and the price of cover, if applicable. Clicking on any band elicits a song sample, giving a snapshot of what might be in store if you choose to attend. Have a night with nothing planned and hungry for some music? Pull up Show Gopher and listen to some bands before making an informed choice about how to spend your night out. Mike Walter Rosenthal and Owen Norquay founded Show Gopher because, “It just seemed weird that it didn’t exist.” The name is a play-onwords (Show Gopher, show-goer), and with the help of its cute rodent mascot the app has quickly secured
KIMBERLY QUE/THE VARSITY
regular use from many of Toronto’s already-dedicated music listeners. “But there are some various other users that we didn’t think about,” Rosenthal said, “the site is good for people that are new to Toronto and just don’t know anything. One of the neater demographics came from
Next Music from Tokyo; it’s a series that happens at the Rivoli. From listing that show and helping promote that show, we ended up with a lot of Japanese people that are new to Toronto and don’t speak English well, because essentially our site is just a bunch of play buttons — you don’t
really need to speak English to be able to use the site.” According to Norquay, the widereaching appeal of Show Gopher was intentional; "We didn’t want to design the site to be something that was just for people who are into the indie scene, or the metal scene, or even big
or small. We will list everything from a basement show to the acc. We really just think that the utility and the way that the site works should be for everything and not just for one style of music.” Toronto has been a great breeding ground for the site, full of helpful feedback. “This city is an amazing place to try new things and try new ideas,” Norquay said. The response from the city has given the pair a clearer vision of how to effectively deliver show information, inspiring them to work on an updated version of the site set to be released in the next six months. The new site will incorporate a clearer way for promoters to upload their shows, full album listening, and user-based panels displaying shows with bands and venues that you like. Running Show Gopher can be a challenge — given the huge volume of content that the city produces — but it is ultimately a rewarding experience for Rosenthal and Norquay. “It’s the best experience I’ve ever gotten to be a part of,” said Rosenthal. “We kind of managed to find and create the one kind of safe hole, where we have no enemies. Everyone is supportive because all we’re trying to do is help them, and it’s pretty great.” Visit Show Gopher at www.showgopher.com
Fact, not fiction Crafting the truth with Our Man in Tehran director Drew Taylor Emma Kikulis
VARSITY CONTRIBUTOR
When six American embassy workers narrowly escaped being captured by rebel students in the 1979 Islamic revolution in Iran, Canada was quick and eager to lend a hand. Former Canadian ambassador to Iran, Ken Taylor with the help of his wife and various Canadian embassy workers harboured the escapees and provided false documentation, identities, and alibis in order to sneak the Americans out of Iran. Those who watched last year’s Oscar winning Argo should be familiar with the plot; however, as with all Hollywood movies, entertainment — which blurs the lines between fact and fiction — is the goal. Our Man in Tehran reveals the monumental role Canada and Ken Taylor played in the rescue plot of the Iranian Hostage Crisis of 1979. Co-Directors Drew Taylor (no relation to Ken) and Larry Weinstein depict the untold story behind Argo and demystify the many artistic liberties taken in the drama. The Varsity interviews Drew Taylor, one half of the creative duo, and discovers that facts are often more entertaining than fiction. The Varsity: What prompted Larry Weinstein and you to pursue filming the documentary? Drew Taylor: We get this question a lot, so it’s important to mention that Our Man in Tehran was conceptualized before Argo,
and is not a response to Argo. Ken Taylor had divulged details of his experience that hadn’t been showcased in Argo, including his involvement in classified cia operatives, which were an important part of the Canadian story. This led to the decision to document the extent of Canada’s involvement in Tehran, overlooked in Argo. Our Man in Tehran offers a broader perspective while staying true to history. TV: The first big chunk of the film focuses on the political unrest and social movements erupting in Tehran, prior to the invasion of the American Embassy, yet there is very little mention of the Iranian public’s involvement. Were you and Larry conscious to be empathetic towards the portrayal of Iranians? DT: We were extremely conscious of the Iranian perspective — although Iranians could be either anti- or pro-revolution, they were ultimately known for their immense hospitality, which, unfortunately, is never recognized. The story isn’t black and white, there’s a big grey area, which is why interviews with people like Mohamad Tavakoli, who was born and raised throughout the Iranian revolution, are crucial to the documentary because of his objective opinion and first hand experience. TV: Were the subjects you interviewed in the film like former PM Joe Clarke eager about the project?
Or did they require prompting? DT: Our subjects were more aware and conscious of our need to get their complete side of the story because of the liberties taken in the theatrical version (Argo) and were eager to tell, in full, their personal accounts in Tehran. We were committed to the true story, and so were the interviewees. Ken Taylor was especially generous with his answers, particularly about his cia involvement, which he had to keep secret for quite a while. The goal, with getting so many perspectives, was that we wanted to leave no stone unturned. TV: You feature all six embassy escapees and one of the hostages, William Daugherty, in the film. Why then was it important for you and Larry to include the perspectives of CBC journalists Joe Schlesinger and Carole Jerome? DT: The media played a huge part in documenting the revolutioncameras and reporters were everpresent and captured the take over of the American embassy. At the same time the Iranians were very aware of the fact that they were being filmed, and it was almost like theatre how they played to the presence of the media, staring directly into the lenses of the cameras and initiating chants, and when the cameras were turned off, becoming more peaceful and diplomatic. We were really interested in the ground perspective outside the embassy, so
Directors Larry Weinstein (left) and Drew Taylor (right). tessa lai/tHe Varsity
the cbc was an important aspect to highlight in Our Man in Tehran because they were right up there with the people and evaluating the perspective. TV: Was it important to you and Larry to disassociate Our Man In Tehran from Argo? Or did you encourage your subjects to acknowledge the film in their interviews? DT: That’s actually the exact opposite of how we approached the documentary — Our Man in Tehran was not an attempt to right the wrongs represented in Argo, rather to highlight and expose some of the misrepresentations within Argo, which was made for a completely different audience. Our Man in Tehran is a completely
different film from Argo and for a completely different purpose. TV: How did you get into the entertainment business? And do you have any plans to work with Larry Weinstein again? Or direct any more films? DT: It was a lot of luck. As first time co-director, I was very conscious of the ownership and quality people expect from Canadian films, so I wanted to get it right, and get it accurate. Larry, who is extremely accomplished in film, was on board with the idea of the documentary, and with his expertise the film came together pretty seamlessly. My next goal would be to approach Larry with another film project that he would like to be involved in.
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Vol. CXXXIV, No. 5
VARSITY ARTS & CULTURE
arts@thevarsity.ca
Threading our cultural roots Reimagining Western Métis culture through couture and art Ishita Petkar
ASSOCIATE ARTS & CULTURE EDITOR
On the second floor of a tiny museum beside St. Patrick subway station, fabrics, cultures and stories are dancing the farandole together. The Textile Museum of Canada is a big-thinking little space, devoted to exploring the richness and diversity of culture through everyday materials and more specifically, fabric. tmc's newest exhibit, Farandole: Perspectives on Western Canadian Métis Culture, features the work of two artists, Colette Balcaen and Pascal Jaouen, It blends tradition with contemporary ideas through re-invented haute couture and a sweeping art installation. Balcaen is from French-speaking Manitoba and Jaouen from Brittany, France, the two visual artists were brought together by Alliance Française to create a collaborative exhibit. As Balcaen explained in a recent interview with The Varsity, this partnership involved a oneweek residency in Manitoba, where they would both visit museums and speak with the Métis people living in the area: “It was very interesting to see the difference in the embroidery between the Native peoples [and the Métis],” she explained, “The different tribes among the Native peoples each have a specific kind of embroidery, whereas the Metis have a very European influence, with the flower embroidery being typical of them.” This mixing of Native and European cultures fascinated the two artists, and thus Farandole was conceived. The exhibit itself is divided into two halves: Jaouen’s line of revamped Métis fashion, and Balcaen’s art installation. The haute couture aspect of the display features five different outfits, each an incarnation of traditional Métis ensembles, with a distinctly modern touch. Synthetic materials, dyed fox-fur, and Celtic belt buckles make up the unconventional aspects of the piece, however, the real show-stopper is the hand-embroidered beadwork. Intricate patterns and flowers grace the clothing, echoing an old art form in a contemporary fashion. The second part of the display is Balcaen’s art installation: a room filled with fabric hung from ceiling to floor, arranged in a mazelike pattern. On this fabric, there are many people outlined in yarn, with fainter silhouettes outlined in handwritten words, retelling myriad stories. “I use unravelled yarn because the essence of my artistic creation is that I see in a piece of fabric, a hidden text, a hidden story. Because the weaving in every fabric goes row by row, line by line, and you can just imagine the story that it would tell,” elaborates Balcaen. The stories told by Balcaen through her art were collected from 25 different people in Manitoba, telling the history of a family keepsake and how it is rooted in their culture. “What happened when they described the object, is they ended up telling me about their culture! They would say ‘Oh, my mother was Irish or my father was Scottish,’ so it’s the mixing of cultures through an
object.” She describes the handwriting that forms the outlines of some of the figures as embroidery, embodying the reciprocal relationship between textile and writing. “It was also to force the people to go through the pathway I had made, who want to read these stories, to do these gestures, to be able to read,” said Balcaen. “So their movement, even if they’re just walking or stopping and trying to read, it slows them down, making my work interactive.” What is striking about the installation is how much it plays on circular movement. Walking through, the light, transparent fabric cocoons you, forcing you to follow its curves as it meanders about the room, and to watch other people interact with the artwork as well. “I wanted people to feel like they were walking into and joining the dance,” explains Balcaen. The farandole is a traditional French community dance from the fourteenth century, involving a chain formed through linking hands and following the leader in a cyclical pattern. In a way, Farandole performs its namesake dance both through the movements of its visitors and by the full circle it creates by blending the original French and Métis roots together with stories from other cultures to culminate in a true mélange. Farandole is epitomized in one sentence, composed by Balcaen and embroidered on a dress in the exhibit — the linking thread between her installation and Jaouen’s sartorial creations: le continuum de nos histoires, de fil en aiguille trace un métissage des racines propre à notre identité. Farandole: Perspectives on Western Canadian Métis Culture runs at the Textile Museum of Canada until November 14, 2013.
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VARSITY ARTS & CULTURE
MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 30, 2013
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Ready, set, paint Painting turns competitive with Art Battle Sarah Niedoba
VARSITY CONTRIBUTOR
Art isn't something we often think of as a competition, however, that’s exactly what Simon Plashkes and his partner Chris Pemberton created when they founded Art Battle in 2009. Art Battle is a seasonal program that hosts monthly events in cities across Canada. Eight artists are selected to compete, and they are given 20 minutes to create a painting using only a blank canvas, acrylic paint, and brushes. Event attendees circle the painters as they work, thus immersing themselves in the experience of the artistic process. At the end of the round, the audience votes for their favourite painting and a silent auction is held to sell the individual works. Painters who are successful in the individual Art Battles are eligible to participate in the national championship held in July. The first event of Art Battle’s fifth season took place this past Tuesday September 24 at the Great Hall on Queen Street West. The night featured 16 artists who competed in two intense rounds, creating surprisingly complex works in the short 20-minute time frame. Plashkes explained to The Varsity, “We get dozens of applications per week... Ultimately this is entertainment, so we try and cultivate the best artists who range from, I think our youngest was 17, to people in their late sixties. There’s such a wealth of talent.” When asked about his inspiration when creating the Art Battle pro-
gram, Plashkes explained: “Art often involves such a passiveaggressive kind of competition, we thought we would bring that to the surface and see what happened.” Plashkes and Pemberton hosted a few Art Battles in 2009, and the response was so great that he and his partner expanded the program until it was a national competition spanning every province and territory. Sarah Crawley, a U of T student, speaks of her experience as a second time Art Battle participant: “I feel like this is exactly the kind of feedback that artists need but are scared to get, and being able to see how your work holds up to an audience is really important” she said. Crawley said she’s grateful for the opportunity to work on her art, since it can sometimes be hard to find an artistic community in university. Sarah was the only U of T student to participate in this year’s Art Battle event, and she competed against a whole host of other artists, including the 2012 and 2013 Art Battle champion, Yared Nigussu. The event was packed with Torontonians sipping drinks from the cash bar and enjoying the dj's music. When it was time for the battle to start, Pemberton led a crowd-wide countdown, and then the artists began their feverish painting. Artist Nora House was the eventual champion, winning a $250 cash prize, and the paintings were auctioned off for as much as $2100. Art Battle is moving to Ottawa next before returning to Toronto in July for the annual championships.
Attendees get an up close view as the painters battle it out. mediA pHoto
The Varsity Reviews
Drake: Nothing Was the Same
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The Cage 292
Corinne Przybyslawski VARSITY CONTRIBUTOR
Toronto’s own puts the city back in the spotlight with the leak of Drake’s third full-length album, Nothing Was the Same. The record merges the celebratory champagneand-bottles hype of his debut Thank Me Later with the confessional self-awareness of Take Care — a new taste to the rapper’s signature cocktail of boasting and lamenting about the facets of fame. The intricacies of its production deserve not only a special mention, but a stand-
ing ovation. Drake acknowledges the underground subculture within the music industry by collaborating with Scottish trap producer, Hudson Mowhawke. While Hudson Mohawke leaves distinct fingerprints throughout the soundscapes of Nothing Was the Same, Drake still exudes intense bravado in ‘Worst Behaviour,' where Kanye West’s undoubtable influence seeps from reworked samples of an old record. With 40, James Blake, and Jay-Z contributing to the audio engineering of Nothing Was The Same, the album successfully unifies the hood and the hip in Drake’s audience.
For something a little bit different, check out the Cage 292. CArolyn levett/tHe vArsity
Deniz Oral
VARSITY CONTRIBUTOR
The Cage 292 is a peculiar establishment: drawing patrons into its two glowing red and blue rooms with promises of $2 drinks and a 'free' buffet — both enticing prospects to the student on a budget, creepy neon sign be damned. The beer isn’t worth it and the ‘free’ buffet comes at the price of a $5 cover, which isn’t bad for a buffet. While the
food itself was passable, the $2 shots and mixed drinks were a great deal. Then things get weird. Not-quitenaked dancing girls sway-twerk in cages and on platforms (à la Cherry Cola’s) to get things started; meanwhile people play a game with a small, plastic fishing rod in the middle of the dance floor, and guys in gorilla masks mill around a man with a glow stick dressed in a trench coat. The place fills up and most people dance — though with a little less fervor than the laser-lights and
thumping old-school UK rave-tracks seem to call for. By late night, the room is in its stride and the unique impression left by surreal bacchanalian revelry takes hold, the prize wheel is spun, a raffle held, and alcoholic winnings passed on. The Cage 292 won’t be everyone’s perfect night out, but there is a charm to the odd breadth of options and a novel atmosphere that make it definitely worth a try. Visit The Cage 292 at 292 College Street.
Science
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Friends of MSF on global health and refugee camps var.st/science
30 sEPtEMBEr 2013 science@thevarsity.ca
Toronto Scotiabank AIDS Walk raises over $325,000 Jasper Lim
VARSITY CONTRIBUTOR
ErIC ChuNg/thE varsIty
Going viral Some helpful tips on preparing for the upcoming flu season Vanessa Barbieri
VARSITY CONTRIBUTOR
The dreaded flu season is once again just around the corner and, as usual, most of us probably aren’t as prepared as we’d like to be. With some family members of mine currently sick at home, I spent this past week making sure that my medicine cabinet was stocked up with cold and flu medications in the hope of avoiding catching anything so close to midterms. After spending what seemed like hundreds of dollars on pills, common sense slapped me in the face and made that metaphorical light bulb go on in my head. “Prevention is key,” I thought to myself. The flu is a contagious respiratory illness that is caused by the influenza virus; cases can range in intensity from mild to severe. The more common symptoms vary from person to person, and are usually fever, cough, sore throat, runny nose, muscle aches, headaches, and
extreme weakness and fatigue; some people may also experience nausea and vomiting. Experts believe that the flu is spread mainly through droplets of mucus or saliva produced when talking, coughing, or sneezing. Spread of the virus can occur even before symptoms appear, with contagious periods lasting between five and seven days. Being infected with the flu also opens up the door to many other illnesses — such as pneumonia, ear infections, and sinus infections. Because of the ease with which the flu can spread, washing your hands often and disinfecting frequently-touched surfaces are crucial steps in prevention. Another key step towards preventing the flu is getting vaccinated. The flu shot works by stimulating the body to build up a natural immunity. The vaccine itself contains inactive flu viruses which, once in the body, allow the immune system to create the antibodies required to fight the flu virus. Vaccination prevents infection in approximately 70–90 per cent
of the healthy adults and children who receive it. It takes the body about two weeks to create the necessary antibodies to fight the virus. Therefore, physicians recommend that the flu shot be administered as soon as it becomes available. The flu shot is available free of charge to all those who live, work, or study in Ontario. You can get vaccinated at doctors’ offices and flu clinics, which can be found at community health centers, public hospitals, pharmacies, workplace clinics, and public health units. If all preventative methods fail, here are some things you can do to make yourself feel better and avoid spreading the virus to others: stay home and get plenty of rest; drink lots of fluids to stay hydrated, avoiding products with caffeine, alcohol, and tobacco; wash your hands as often as you can with soap and water, especially after blowing your nose or coughing; and take basic pain or fever medication when necessary.
Do YOU have the flu? SYMPTOMS: fever, chills, cough, teary eyes, stuffy nose, sore throat, headache, muscle aches, extreme weakness, and fatigue
WHAT TO DO: drink lots of fluids, avoid drinks with caffeine, take basic pain or fever relievers, apply heat for short periods of time using a hot water bottle or heating pad to reduce muscle pain, take a warm bath, gargle with a glass of warm water or suck on hard candy or lozenges, use saline drops or spray for a stuffy nose, avoid alcohol and tobacco source: http://www.health.gov.on.ca/
On September 22, Toronto walked together to show support for those living with hiv/aids. With great progresses having been made in mitigating hiv/aids, a sense of optimism has replaced the traditional permeating fear of the epidemic. The walk raised over $325,000 in funds to support programs and services for Torontonians living with hiv/aids. This year’s Scotiabank aids Walk for Life marks the 25th anniversary of aids Walk in Toronto. The annual aids Walk continues nationwide to raise substantial funding for hivrelated research and services. The more than $325,000 raised this year will go to the aids Committee of Toronto (act). With a new route, the aids Walk brought walkers to historically important sites concerning Torontorian responses to fighting hiv/aids. Sites included the Canadian Lesbian & Gay Archives, and the first care home in Toronto for people combatting aids.
“As this latest Global report makes clear, today we have the tools we need to lay the groundwork to end the AIDS epidemic.” — Michel Sidibé (UNAIDS Executive Director) from the forward of the UNAIDS report on the global AIDS epidemic 2013 Among the many walkers, U of T’s nine-member team — which was led by utsu vice-president, equity Yolen Bollo-Kamara and U of T’s Sexual & Gender Diversity Office (sgdo) — raised over $700 for the cause. Michael Smith, a student at the Transitional Year Program, raised the largest amount for the team. “I joined this year’s aids Walk in memory of my brother, Edward, who died [of aids] in 2002,” said Smith. Bollo-Kamara expressed both her belief that hiv/aids remains an important issue in our society and her desire to raise awareness among fellow students of hiv/aids. Scott Clarke, a staff member at the
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VARSITY SCIENCE
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MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 30, 2013
The refugee camp on campus Friends of MSF hosts fifth annual outreach event Emma Hansen
ASSOCIATE SCIENCE EDITOR
On Friday, the lawn in front of Hart House suddenly became embroiled in intense political conflict. Over 150 people were displaced from their homes, nearly all of whom were Toronto students. Humanitarian aid workers were present to battle the lack of essential medicine and to attempt to remedy the dire living conditions. If the last few sentences were startling, then the fifth annual mock Refugee Camp in the Heart of Campus, organized by Friends of Médecins Sans Frontières (msf), has achieved its goal. The purpose of the event was to raise awareness about the need for humanitarian aid in places such as refugee camps. Friends of msf organized a daytime event for secondary students, and many U of T students gathered in the evening for a “night out for a cause.” The student refugees generated by the events were in no danger, but they were certainly prompted to reflect on the situations of those who are. A majority of msf’s work is focused on refugee camps. Health systems often collapse when conflicts arise — for example, the un estimates that the conflict in Syria generated as many as two million refugees. msf sends aid workers to give emergency aid and work to restore the health system. Friends of msf works from campus to support those aims by promoting awareness and raising funds. The mock refugee camp is an important part of that work; to gain an insider per-
spective on the event, The Varsity spoke with Donald Wang, executive director of the U of T chapter of Friends of msf. The Varsity: How does awareness of situations like refugee camps shape people’s experiences? Donald Wang: As the mock refugee camp, we can only do so much to actually simulate the refugee experience, so we add a personal experience by inviting real msf experts. My favourite example is Trish [Newport]. She has been on five missions with msf, and she always tells this story: when she was working in a village in Congo, one night people heard the Lord’s Resistance Army coming. Everyone started running for two, three days straight. Trish asked one of the villagers, “Where do we stop and take a rest?” And the villager responded, saying: “When the Lord’s Resistance Army comes, you don’t rest. You just go, run as fast as possible.” During the event, the stories that [Trish Newport] told really added a personal dimension, and also demonstrated some of the psychological trauma that has been experienced. That makes this whole mock refugee camp much more personal. We want to provide perspective for people. We’d like to present the facts and the experience to show that there is another perspective to refugee camps, and that there is the need for humanitarian aid. That’s one of the reasons we involve high school students, so they’re aware of it at a younger age. ***
Scenes from msf’s event. photoscourtesy of francine chingcaunco
Trish Newport addressed the high school students during the day, and Dr. James Maskalyk shared stories and wisdom from his field experience with U of T students during the night out for a cause. Maskalyk said that the Mock Refugee Camp “[evokes] the spirit of why msf exists, and that is to continue to create a space that is safe for people, no matter who they are, no matter where they live, no matter how far away they happen to be from the University of Toronto. msf ... will continue to evolve and continue to find new ways to make the work that we do reach the world’s most vulnerable people. So to have the University of Toronto, and its students, and readers of this paper participate — however you happen to do that — it’s what keeps that idea
living. And the more it can grow, the more it can impact all of us.” As students walked to and from their Friday classes along the path that bisects the Hart House lawn, many of them paused to wonder why there were tents set up. Those who stopped to find out surely left with a more personal concept of current world issues, as well as look at science used to directly benefit people. This is a view of science that is refreshingly constructive in today’s technological climate — which at times can feel like a constant arms race. Ultimately, this is why Friends of msf exists: to let people experience the situations that are beyond the reach of our eyes, but not of our influence. To learn more about Friends of MSF, visit their website at www.utmsf.com.
‘AIDS WALK’ CONTINUED FROM PG 18 sgdo, said that it is important for the university and its students to show support for those people living with hiv/aids — a group which includes students. The most recent annual report by the un stated that “striking gains have been made towards many of the 2015 targets and elimination commitments, although significant challenges remain.” The report also stated that there have been significant gains in meeting the needs of the millions of people in the lower end of the socioeconomic spectrum who live with the disease. Over the past 25 years, public understanding of hiv/aids has shifted gradually yet significantly, from the mass fear of “the gay disease” to a general understanding that the disease that can be prevented and mitigated. Advances in treatments and medicines for hiv/aids, such as antiretroviral drugs, have helped people around the world fight the infection and move forward with their daily lives. Above all, the effectiveness of hiv/ aids mitigation policies depends not only on innovations in the scientific community, but on local community and wider societal interventions to ensure accessibility to hiv/aids prevention programs and medical interventions. In this respect, act has been at the forefront of both confronting the societal stigma against and general ignorance of hiv/aids for 30 years. It provides services to Canadians at various risk levels of getting infections — including lgbt teenagers and women, and hiv-positive groups. Community support in Canada for people with hiv/aids is growing. Yet social stigma against hiv-positivity remains a problem to be dealt with, especially for at-risk groups. Through aids Walk for Life, our city and country show symbolic and crucial support to those who may be living in fear of isolation because of their hiv-positivity.
Research Recap Solar cell research project wins $1 million fund
Bracing eliminates need for back surgery in AIS
A solar cell research project has won $1 million in the Connaught Global Challenge funding competition. The project is directed by Ted Sargent, a U of T professor in the Edward S. Rogers Sr. Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering. The fund will allow Sargent and his six co-investigators to develop more efficient and cost-effective solar cells. In an interview with U of T News, Sargent pointed out that current solar technologies constantly face a compromise between affordability and efficiency. To solve this problem, Sargent’s team hopes to borrow ideas from a natural expert in energy capture: plants. One incredible feature of plants is their ability to not only capture light but also funnel it to only a few reaction centers, where it is stored as chemical energy. In order to study and apply this idea to solar cells, the project will see collaboration among distinct disciplines, including quantum biology and solar engineering. The project will also engage both basic and applied research. “Sustainable energy solutions are one of the most critical environmental and economical needs facing our society today,” says Sargent. Better solar cells may be a leap forward towards the ultimate goal of cleaner renewable energy.
An international effort spanning 25 institutions including Toronto’s SickKids Hospital studied the effectiveness of bracing versus surgery in teens as a treatment in Adolescent Idiopathic Scoliosis (ais), and found the efficacy of bracing almost entirely eliminated the need for surgery. The finding caused the trial to end early. ais is a curvature of the spine often requiring surgical correction. It affects 3 per cent of Canadian children and teens, and is typically diagnosed in children of 10 to 15 years. Dr. James Wright, co-author of the study and surgeon-in-chief at SickKids Hospital, was quoted in hospital press release as saying, “Bracing proved to be so effective in reducing the teens’ need for eventual surgery that the trial was halted mid-way through.” To date, previous study designs had failed to conclusively conclude the effectiveness of bracing. This study recruited 242 high-risk adolescents with ais aged 10 to 15 with no prior treatment. One hundred and forty-six of them were fashioned with special heat sensing braces capable of regularly logging the use of the brace. They wore the brace daily for a minimum of 18 hours; as the adolescents developed, the brace was often worn for many years. The remaining 96 adolescents only underwent observation. For 72 per cent of the treatment group, bracing successfully decreased the progression of deformities that would require surgical intervention, compared to only 48 per cent in the wait-and-see observation group which received no treatment. The benefit was even greater for longer hours of brace wear. Wright concluded: “Wearing rigid braces for 18 hours a day is not easy, but now we can advise patients and parents that wearing braces does work compared to a watch-and-wait approach.” The next stage of the study hopes to help better predict which patients are at higher risk.
— Shijie Zhou With files from U of T News
— Haman Mamdouhi
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Sports
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Exercise in academia Professors and students weigh in on some of the best ways to stay fit while studying at U of T Mary Scourboutakos VARSITY CONTRIBUTOR
Thomas Jefferson said: “Leave all the afternoon for exercise and recreation, which are as necessary as reading, [or rather] more necessary because health is worth more than learning.” Despite Jefferson’s advice, most of us struggle to prioritize exercise. However, I find it can be motivating, informative, and just plain interesting to hear how other people do for exercise. I set out to learn how professors and students at U of T exercise, and here’s what I found: Chelsea Murray is a master’s student studying nutritional sciences, and is preparing for an 8 kilometer obstacle race. She trains with a group of friends from her residence by doing the famous “Hart House circuit.” She also jogs, takes dance classes, and — when strapped for time — runs up and down the nine flights of stairs in Grad House. Murray says that exercising with friends is key to staying motivated, and that variety is crucial to avoid boredom. She also highlighted that the little things, like walking, make a big difference. The importance of taking the stairs was a recurring theme; Dr. Paul Corey, a professor of biostatistics, said that he always walks up to his sixth floor office in the Health Sciences Building. He noted that when he sees his students waiting for the elevator, he invites them to join him — but he doesn’t get many takers. For most of his life, Corey thought that playing tennis once or twice a week would provide him with enough exercise to stay healthy. When he realized that it wouldn’t, he upped the ante; he now uses his rowing machine, treadmill, or stationary bicycle while watching TV; does 200 stair steps, and walks from his office to Lansdowne and Bloor. After starting to live more actively, Corey has almost
reached the weight he was at while working on his phd. Dr. Steve Mann, a professor of electrical engineering, is also a fan of taking the stairs. He started a diligent exercise routine two months ago at the suggestion of his wife, and as a result, he does a variety of crunches, end-ups, calf raises, pull-ups, and more three times a week on the balcony of his lab on Dundas Street. He also runs (barefoot), and practices his own creation “hydroga”, which consists of standard yoga poses against pressurized water. After speaking with captains Eric Liu and Chan Siu, I learned that the New College dragon boat team trains four to ten times per week, and on Saturdays the entire team comes together to do a cross-fit workout in Queen’s Park. Meanwhile, Bailey Rudnick, a member of the women’s rugby team, said the team practices Tuesday through Friday and has games on Saturday. Rudnick usually swims or runs on her off days. As a busy law student, she finds that exercise keeps her sane: “The more… sports [I have] on the calendar, the more focused I am on school.” On a similar note, Mark Duncan, an msc candidate in exercise science, and member of the Varsity mountain biking team, said that he “got into the sport while studying for my mcat…as a way to (take a) break…without feeling like I was procrastinating.” He went on to explain that exercise is a key to managing mental and physical health, adding that he accomplishes more on the days when he exercises, and even views exercise as a performance enhancer through its effect on neuroplasticity. Finally, he suggested that one of the ways to trick yourself into staying active is by scheduling gym time into your rosi calendar through courses like run365y1y.
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Even phd students find time to exercise. Bryan Reece, who studies philosophy, said that he lifts free weights, jogs, and occasionally swims four to five times per week. He focuses on compound exercises like squats and bench presses, and he prioritizes “legs, back, shoulders, triceps, chest, biceps, and abs in that order [due to] their relative
contributions to overall strength and size.” Finally, U of T president David Naylor said that he will be resuming a cardiorespiratory and resistance routine after his term ends on November 1. As for me, I have to admit that I exercised more than usual during the process of preparing this article. It’s
much easier to rationalize the time spent biking, running, and playing tennis when you know that you’re not the only one struggling to fit it in. Overall, everyone agreed that exercise is not a waste of time. As a matter of fact, exercise is essential to a lifestyle that promotes strong mental and physical health, and will help students with their studies.
Ravens collapse against Blues football U of T beat Carleton’s new football team 50–10 in a Friday night showdown Bill Moran
VARSITY CONTRIBUTOR
On Friday night, the Varsity Blues took on the Carleton Ravens in a game that was part of the nfl’s Football on Campus tour. Toronto came out on top of the Ravens with a 50–10 win, bringing its season’s record to 2–4. The game started well for the Blues, with Trevor Harvey returning the opening kickoff to the 55-yard line. From there, it only took another minute and a half of playing time before running back Aaron Milton carried in a twoyard run for a touchdown. Toronto added on to its lead late in the first half, bringing the score to 26–0 and frustrating Ottawa fans. Later in the game, quarterback Marcus Hobbs aired out two 20-
yard completions to Harvey and Paul de Pass, followed up by a touchdown from a wide open Alex Pierzchalski. Carleton’s only score of the half was on a field goal. Early in the second half, Toronto’s Kevin Bradfield returned a kick for 42 yards, before Pierzchalski made a short catch for a touchdown. Things weren’t all bad for the Ravens, who took advantage of their third fumble recovery to score their lone touchdown of the game. The Blues continued to add to their lead, with a strong defense and offense that had been lacking earlier in the season, earning them a victory. The team will play the York Lions on October 10 at York University before ending their season with a home game against the Waterloo Warriors at Varsity Stadium on October 19.
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22 Vol. CXXXIV, No. 5
VARSITY SPORTS
Varsity Blues’ mountain biking team competing to hold on to its high ranking
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Last year’s second place Varsity Blues hope to top of Queen’s in this year’s University Cup rankings Jenna Rumero
VARSITY CONTRIBUTOR
The University of Toronto is the only university in the city that has a mountain biking team as part of its varsity sports repertoire — and a great one at that. Led by head coach David Wright, the Varsity Blues’ mountain biking team was ranked second in Ontario last year behind the Queen’s Gaels. The current 2013 season is underway, and the Blues seek to uphold their reputation and advance past Queen’s in the University Cup. The rivalry between the Gaels and the Blues has heated up as of late. In previous years, the Gaels have had an edge on the Blues, beating them by a remarkably small margin — as few as five points in some races. It is safe to say that U of T is looking forward to the rematch. This season, the team has started strong and is continuing to improve. In individual races, captain Theo Theodossiou fin-
ished 10th, and David Biancolin finished fifth. Most notably, Roz Lougheed finished in second place. With one meet left in the University Cup coming up on October 6, U of T is off to the races for the top spot. Mountain biking offers an adrenaline rush that thrill seekers love, and many more are finding this out. It became an Olympic sport in 1996, and is gaining recognition and new documentary on campuses with varsity teams. Jason Zhu, the director of the film, draws attention to the mountain biking season by putting the camera in front of the track. In a web series titled: “How to Win Paris-Ancaster,” Zhu documents the experience he and two other cyclists had at three distinct levels of biking. On Sunday, Roz Lougheed won a bronze medal in the women’s sport division. The Blues mountain biking team will compete in the final race on October 6 in Port Hope, Ontario.
Varsity Blues tennis rallies hard with Montréal Carabins Kirsten Yeung
VARSITY CONTRIBUTOR
Facing off against the Montréal Carabins is no easy task, but the Varsity Blues’ men’s and women’s tennis teams took on the challenge. The matches were a flurry of smashes, lobs, exhausted gasps, and frustrated shouts — with hard hits and even harder losses. Blues Zain Manji and Ivan Markovic dealt a devastating loss to the Carabins. Opening up the score gave way to an advantageous flow for the duo. Racking up more points, Manji and Markovic ended the game swiftly. Following his doubles win, Manji won his singles match (No.1 position) with two consecutive winning sets; Manji started and ended strong with a 6–1 and 6–3 score, respectively. This match saw quick plays as well as frustrating mistakes for Université de Montréal. Manji states that composure during the game is crucial: “Stay focused and do not show anger. Once he [Manji’s opponent from Montréal] started to get frustrated, I knew I just had to keep doing what I was doing [to win].” Varsity Blues’ Jennifer Cape also started her game off strong, winning her first set 6-2. In a twist, she conceded defeat to Mon-
tréal in the second and third set, 6–3 and 6–4, respectively. “I tried to rally more to get the lead [after the first set]. I didn’t play as aggressively as before. Playing aggressively means that there is more room to make mistakes,” said Cape, who played a “neutral” game, which she believes disadvantaged her. The match lasted over two hours, tiring out both players. Despite being tired and pushed to her limits, Cape kept her cool and finished valiantly. Being a seasoned athlete, Cape stated that it is important to “be respectful of your opponent and team and don’t lose focus.” “Both teams played well; some matches could have been won. They were undefeated…. but we were missing players,” said head coach Nabil Tadros. Tadros hopes to see improvement before next week’s tournament. Manji explained in advance about the Sunday matches: “We’re optimistic that Waterloo is good. I think that Montréal is a better team so we should be alright.” He also warned, however, that it is important not to get overconfident. The men’s and women’s teams both won their matchups against Waterloo on Sunday, 5–2 and 6–1 respectively. The Blues tennis team will play again at the Team Championship, which will take place on October 4 in London.
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BONE CAGE By Catherine Banks Directed by Matt White
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DIVERSIONS
24 MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 30, 2013
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1. Blubber 4. Crossing point 8. Creative inspiration 12. “That’s disgusting!” 13. It comes to mind 14. They’re found in veins 15. Negating link 16. Clothing line 17. Abrupt transition 18. Standard of living? 20. Visibly upset 21. Deposed leader 23. Junctures 25. Metric volume 27. “Sister Act” extra 28. Bean, as with a ball 31. Gladiatorial sites 33. Pooh-pooh 35. Patriarchy rulers 36. Garden worker? 38. Ancestral emblem 39. Darkroom chemical 41. Storage containers 42. Well-grounded 45. Categorize 47. Flair or gusto 48. Adjutant 49. Ability to hear notes 52. Centrally located 53. Bitconnection 54. Clandestine 55. Boys, to Burns 56. Put one’s foot down? 57. “What’d I tell ya?”
1. Barrel contents? 2. Historically-speaking 3. What black clouds do 4. Drop a line? 5. Classic theater 6. Be logical 7. Aswan, for one 8. Lawn invaders 9. Nitrogenous waste 10. Cause to wither 11. Annual athletic award 19. Afterwards 20. Church holding 21. Basketball crowd-pleaser 22. Bring on board, in a way 24. Defective missile 26. Irrationally extreme 28. Without mercy 29. Ancient plot? 30. Ring highlights? 32. Application datum 34. Choir garb 37. More like a moray 39. Discoveries 40. Active starter? 42. Osso buco base 43. Soprano Gluck 44. Placed, as wagers 46. Curve 48. Met display 50. Sierra Nevada, e.g. 51. Deli offering
Varsity Publications Board of Directors By-election:
Call for nominations The Varsity Publications is the not-for-profit corporation that publishes The Varsity newspaper. There is one (1) vacant seat on the corporation's Board of Directors. A by-election to fill this seat will be held on October 21 – 23. Who can run? Any full-time undergraduate student who pays the Varsity Publications levy and is enrolled at the University of Toronto Mississauga or University of Toronto Scarborough is eligible to run. If no nominations are received for the UTM or UTSC categories, a general category director will be elected. Nomination information: Eligible students must complete a nomination form and obtain the signature of twentyfive (25) members. Members are full time undergraduate students who pay the Varsity Publications levy. Completed forms can be scanned and emailed to the CRO (elections@thevarsity.ca, cc. chair@thevarsity.ca) or submitted in person to: Room 200, 21 Sussex Avenue. Toronto, ON. M5S1J6.
Nominations are due by Monday, October 7 at 5 pm For more information and to download the nomination form, visit: var.st/byelection