October 15, 2012

THE VARSITY

Vol. CXXXIII, No. 6

University of Toronto’s Student Newspaper Since 1880

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15 October, 2012

Psychopaths

pg 15

VARSITY EDITORIAL

Conflicting Visions, No Solutions A look at the Ontario discussion paper on education

pg 10

The Rise of Rotman U OF T’S BUSINESS EMPIRE pg 12

LIMITED JOB PROSPECTS. EVER-RISING STUDENT COSTS. IS THE SCIENCE PHD OBSOLETE?

pg 18

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MONDAY, OCTOBER 15, 2012

VARSITY NEWS

news@thevarsity.ca

Chancellor weighs in on Romney–Obama campaign Former US ambassador Michael Wilson hedges his bets on outcome of November election

Wilson speaks in the Great Hall Wednesday. Bernarda Gospic/THe VarsiTy

Simon Bredin NEWS EDITOR

In one of his first public speaking engagements since his appointment as chancellor of the University of Toronto, former ambassador to the United States and ex-finance minister Michael Wilson spoke at Hart House last Wednesday.

Wilson, who was invited to speak by the student-run Hart House Debates Committee, discussed Canada–US relations and the potential outcomes of the November 6 election between Mitt Romney and Barack Obama for about 45 minutes, speaking to a capacity crowd in the Great Hall. Wilson served as ambassador to the United States from 2006 to 2009.

For the most part, Wilson painted a rosy picture of cross-border relations. “I would say that the current relationship with the United States is very good,” he said. “Prime Minister Harper and President Obama have a good personal relationship, the chemistry is good, they talk frequently and they meet at a variety of international events.”

“There are no burning, high-profile controversies, nothing causing us any real difficulty here,” said Wilson, adding that Canadian involvement in Afghanistan and more recently in Libya have also garnered significant diplomatic good-will.

“I don’t think that there will be a lot of difference between a President Obama and a President Romney,” predicted Wilson. “Romney is much more familiar with Canada than Obama, but on the other hand, a Romney administration might have some of the hardliners that I had to deal with when I was in Washington [under George W. Bush].”

Wilson also offered some inside knowledge on current issues.

The controversial pipeline Keystone XL was the focus of many attendees’ questions. Although President Obama declined to approve the pipeline’s route in January, a final decision was punted to beyond election day. The deci-

sion is, in Wilson’s estimation, “quite likely to be reversed.”

“Romney is absolutely going to [reverse the decision] and the vice-presidential candidate has said that as well,” said Wilson. “Quietly, we are getting that same message from the current administration.”

Wilson says the furor surrounding the pipeline has led Canadian business leaders and the federal government to take “a long, hard look” at energy relations between the US and Canada. According to Wilson, there is a growing realization north of the border that a critical decision like Keystone was “dependent on [American] domestic politics” and the Canadian energy sector was “held up to ransom for political reasons” because the United States was “effectively our only customer.”

Wilson also suggested that the consensus many were reaching is a pivot towards potential customers in Asia, although he also stressed that such a pivot would not detract from the strength of US-Canadian relations.

Discussing the border agreement signed a year and a half ago, Wilson hinted that it might undergo some alterations in the aftermath of the election. Wilson said he was told that specifics about the changes would have come this past summer, but due to some “awkwardness” there will be nothing forthcoming until after Americans have gone to the polls.

Wilson discussed a range of other topics, including impending free trade agreements — he said he believes the Trans-Pacific Partnership will succeed, along with an agreement with the EU, making Canada the first country to trade freely with three distinct trading blocs — the new Detroit–Windsor bridge crossing, and how best to “reinvigorate” the security relationship after successes in Afghanistan and Libya.

The chancellor discusses his new job, online learning, mental health, and the private sector on campus in an exclusive interview on pg 6

VARSITY NEWS

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MONDAY, OCTOBER 15, 2012

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Gowned dinners at Trinity under the microscope Low attendance leads administration to cut weeknight late dinners Kaleem Hawa

VARSITY CONTRIBUTOR

An announcement by the Trinity College administration that formal late dinners on Mondays and Thursdays are to be cancelled has prompted an outcry from the college’s students and alumni, fueling debate about how best to address the difficulties confronting one of the Trinity’s most distinctive traditions.

Hosted Mondays through Thursdays, after the earlier and more casual 5.00 pm dinner concluded, late dinners required formal dress and gowns, and had staff serving meals to students, rather than employing the self-service typical of most dining halls on campus.

On Wednesdays, the dinners feature college faculty and alumni seated at the high table. Although these mid-week formal meals will continue, other late dinners that have been axed were beloved by some students as a way to foster a sense of community and provide an occasion for collective discourse.

“While these dinner had flourished in the past, recent years have shown them to be frequented largely by the same small group of regulars,” said Jonathan Steels, Trinity College dean of students.

“Many attempts by student leaders have been made to increase attendance at the dinners, but the nature of their formal dress often serves as a disincentive for the college student looking for a quick meal between classes.”

Strategies to increase attendance included table francaise (for French speakers), wine receptions, hors d’oeuvres, and greater flexibility in dress code. The diverse efforts have

Bernarda Gospic/THe VarsiTy

largely failed to galvanize the student population.

Limited attendance, Steels argues, “taken in the context of Trinity College’s five million dollar-renovation to the dining hall” would exclude students with late classes from attending.

While some students were apathetic about the change, others, including those more interested in the college’s traditions, have sent letters requesting the dinners be reinstated. Some members of the college’s Faculty of Divinity have protested the change by wearing their gowns to normal dinners.

When pressed, the dean acknowledged that the administra-

tion was open to change should enough people want it. Steels stands by the decision though, and says it “was in the best interest of both the college and its students.”

Fourth-year student and treasurer of Trinity College’s student government Christopher Hogendoorn says he understands the difficulties of maintaining the tradition, but stressed that the dinners should be reformed rather than removed.

“As a regular attendee, I’m not ignorant of the obvious attendance problems,” wrote Hogendoorn in a letter addressed to the administration. “But with the enthusiasm of the first year class, and the new kitchen amenities

in Strachan Hall, I had very high hopes that late dinners would become, as they have been in the past, well attended, and a social fixture of college life.”

Hogendoorn and others have also been critical of the process leading up to the cancellation as well. Hogendoorn says the decision was “largely unilateral” and didn’t adequately involve notifying or consulting the student body.

He is also concerned by the fact that the decision was made before the current incoming class had a chance to truly experience the dinners and make up their minds.

“Students at the college, had they known that late dinner was

on the chopping block, would have been very supportive of its continuity,” said Trinity College Dramatic Society president and frosh week co-chair Bryn Orth-Lashley.

Pointing to Trinity’s system of student self-governance, Orth-Lashley says that the college prides itself on its commitment to student involvement and autonomy, and believes that the decisions should come from the students themselves.

“People don’t have to go to late dinners to support it,” said OrthLashley. “It is faulty logic to assume that those who don’t attend late dinners support its demise.

Many people enjoy the mere fact that the tradition exists and that the student body is somehow a part of it.”

Former head of non-residents at Trinity College Jonathan Scott disagrees and says, “for at least the past five years, the college’s senate has discussed changes to meal plans and service options at its community affairs committee.

These changes have been on students’ radar all that time.”

But some, like student head of Trinity college Sam Greene, believe these arguments are largely unnecessary and that blaming the decision-making process simply “obfuscates the issue.”

“I think all of us would have preferred better communication and more clarity on this.

Ultimately, though, very little is being changed. Instead of being upset about phasing out the parts of a tradition that have faced rapidly declining participation, let’s focus on improving the remaining dinners that are a valued hallmark of the Trinity experience,” said Greene.

Possible strike at St. Michael’s College averted before Thanksgiving Relief as librarians, theologians agree to terms Irina Vukosavic VARSITY STAFF

The University of St. Michael’s College and the University of Toronto Faculty Association have concluded their negotiations, signing a new contract, and avoiding a strike that could have begun on Thanksgiving.

University administration negotiators walked away from the bargaining table on September 24, making the prospect of a strike imminent. Although undergraduates would not have been affected, members of the faculty of theology and librarians would have been in a position to either go on strike or be locked out by the following Monday.

According to Michael Attridge, unit chair for the University of Toronto Faculty Association and associate theology professor at St. Michael’s College, grievances included collegial and shared governance, tenure and permanent status, and academic freedom.

Last Friday’s agreement was rapidly approved, first by the executives of the U of T Faculty Association, then at 4.00 pm by members of the bargaining unit. By 5.30 pm, administra-

tors at the University of St. Michael’s College had signed off, and the agreement was official.

On Thursday, on the eve of the final negotiations, both sides appeared eager to settle the dispute. The University of St. Michael’s College administration said in an email to The Varsity that they were “looking forward to returning to bargaining in good faith.” Attridge also indicated that he was optimistic about a fair outcome from Friday’s negotiations.

The University of St. Michael’s College announced that the new collective agreement “creates a solid working document within which the parties can continue to conduct their collegial relationship.”

Faculty members involved in the bargaining process agree.

“I think the agreement is a very fair first collective agreement and it has full support from the Association,” said Attridge.

Eighteen theology professors and librarians unionized in 2010 because the St. Michael’s administration denied them the same wage and benefit increases enjoyed by faculty members elsewhere at U of T. “This was definitely a flashpoint for us that exposed a lot of other issues, such as transparency, processes, and equity issues,” Attridge says.

Bargaining began shortly after the union was formed, and continued for eighteen months. There have been twenty-four bargaining sessions since January. Issues such as academic freedom have been at the forefront throughout negotiations.

“At the heart of the university is freedom and the freedom to share ideas. Tenure guarantees the integrity of academic freedom and without it, faculty members and librarians would always be fearful of getting fired,” said Attridge.

The Graduate Students’ Union was also closely watching the negotiations. Ashleigh Ingle, civics and environment commissioner at the GSU, told The Varsity that the GSU has a long history of supporting workers at U of T in their fight for fair treatment.

“I feel that these are important issues to fight for and I will support these workers in doing that.”

As the negotiations drew to a close, Attridge emphasized looking at the big picture instead.

“I don’t think it’s productive to put the whole thing under a microscope and dissect it,” he said. “We should focus on the fact that the net result is a positive collective agreement, and we should try to maintain this relationship in a positive framework.”

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VARSITY NEWS

MONDAY, OCTOBER 15, 2012

news@thevarsity.ca

Law faculty prepares to decamp to Victoria College Extensive renovations to begin in 2013 prompts search for temporary home Sheena Singh

VARSITY CONTRIBUTOR

The University of Toronto’s Faculty of Law has announced that it will be utilizing Victoria College as a transitional space, while the faculty prepares to undergo a dramatic renovation that will expand its current Falconer Hall location.

Construction is expected to begin in summer 2013, and the faculty will be based in part out of Victoria College until at least 2015.

A town hall meeting held Wednesday was an opportunity for all students to better understand the use of Victoria College as a transitional space, and raise any questions or issues directly with the administration.

Alexis Archbold, assistant dean of students, explained how the renovations would work, including plans of the building and new facilities.

She also explained that the spaces used within Victoria College would be convenient to access. Most of the classrooms to be used are in Old Vic or around the Victoria quadrangle.

Law students will be able to access all libraries and common spaces.

Archbold also emphasized that making the transition easier for students and encouraging student involvement at every stage is a priority. At the town hall Wednesday, many expressed concern over whether the sense of community

felt by U of T law students would be affected by the move.

Archbold says she is committed to ensuring that sense of community is not endangered. “I’m personally invested in this,” she said. “It’s important to me that we get it right.”

Another prominent concern raised at the town hall was library access. “The transitional library compared to the old one gives us less space than what we currently have,” said chief librarian John Papadopoulos. “We’re going to mitigate that by also using Emmanuel College Library and E.J. Pratt.”

Papadopoulos also said the law library plans to move a number of volumes over to Birge-Carnegie Library, using Emmanuel College Library and Robarts for the rest.

Papadopoulos’ solution to maintain access to research and reference information is to provide access to 90,000 digitized volumes, an idea welcomed by the attendees.

A student committee has been established to meet monthly with law school administrators to address concerns about the temporary space and renovations.

The Student Law Society (SLS) is also involved in the process, and has expanded its executive this year to be able to organize more activities, including tours of the transitional space. The SLS also helped organize the town hall meeting where the move was discussed earlier this week.

Bernarda Gospic/THe VarsiTy

Victoria College was chosen because of its proximity to the law faculty, especially to Falconer Hall and Flavelle House. Both will remain open during construction.

Law faculty students will have access to Victoria College classrooms and receive priority-booking arrangement for event and extracurricular spaces. They will also have access to the new Goldring Student Centre being built on Charles Street, due to open in January 2013.

A lack of common student space at Victoria may be compounded by the law school’s migration. Archbold says the issue will be discussed with students as the renovation draws closer.

The renovations will focus on enlarging the Bora Laskin Law Library while keeping the historic Flavelle

House mostly intact, as well as constructing a new building between Hoskin Avenue and Flavelle House.

The changes are expected to provide a new entrance on Hoskin Avenue, more dedicated study rooms and common spaces, and a café, among other benefits. Torontobased architecture firm Hariri Pontarini was chosen in 2007 to design the building after students and faculty voted in a competition. Archbold also explained that students would be able to make suggestions and small changes to the design later in the year, as minor details come up for review.

A fundraising campaign to help finance the renovations has been ongoing since 2011, with many dedicated contributions coming from private firms, foundations

and alumni. Over 90 per cent of the $54 million goal had been met as of early October.

A $11 million gift was announced earlier this month from Henry “Hal” Jackman, who has previously served as chancellor of the university and is a former lieutenant-governor of Ontario. The gift is the largest ever received by the law faculty, and the new building will be named the Jackman Law Building as a result.

The motivation behind the project is feedback from three external reviews — in 2001, 2006 and 2010 — which suggested that the faculty’s space constraints are one of few hindrances to student and faculty satisfaction.

“The lack of physical space creates a problem in terms of innovating, growing and responding to student issues,” said Archbold.

Students have indicated that booking space to host extracurricular activities, club meetings and other events has proven difficult in the past. Students and administrators say they expect this will be remedied by the renovations which will be providing general event and conference space, better access to student service offices, more student commons spaces and more classrooms. The faculty’s current space is being increased by 66 per cent, which enables them to offer a wider selection of upper-year courses and solve scheduling conflicts while retaining current class sizes.

New statue commemorating Northrop Frye unveiled Centenary celebrations include presentation of collected works, three-day conference Amanda DiVito

VARSITY CONTRIBUTOR

The centennial anniversary of Northrop Frye’s birth began last week at Victoria College with the unveiling of a statue in Frye’s honour.

Frye’s complete collected works as published by the University of Toronto Press were also presented for the first time. The events marked the beginning of a threeday conference hosted by the Department of English honouring Frye and his accomplished academic career.

The collection of Frye’s works was presented by Drs. Alvin Lee, Jean O’Grady, and Ron Schoeffel. “The collection is in 30 volumes, and was completed in 16 years,” said Schoeffel. All three editors shared stories of years of labour on the volumes, and their personal connections to Frye. “I think I am the only person that is able to say my wife was actually stuck in an elevator with Northrop Frye,” Schoeffel joked.

The ceremony began Thursday evening with a presentation in the Isabel Bader Theatre led by Paul Gooch, president of Victoria College. Guests were serenaded by two Bach pieces played on the piano by William Aide, a professor emeritus from the Faculty of Music. Frye had been known to love the work of Bach, said Aide, and the pieces were chosen accordingly.

An hour later, the audience exited the theatre to witness the unveiling of the statue of Frye for the first time. Angela Esterhammer,

a former student of Frye and the new principal of Victoria College, removed the white cover along with Dr. Alvin Lee, revealing the life-size statue of Frye.

Darren Byers and Fred Harrison, the two artists who created the sculpture in Elliot, Maine, were on hand for the unveiling. Standing, the statue would be around seven feet tall, and it weighs approximately 300 pounds.

The statue is located to the west of Northrop Frye Hall on the Victoria College campus, and its gaze faces eastward, towards the E.J. Pratt Library, founded during Frye’s tenure as principal of Vic. The sculpture depicts Frye seated on a bench, his legs crossed, with a book in hand and more surrounding him.

Byers and Harrison, who previously designed a statue of Frye for the city of Moncton, NB, altered the statue in order to best represent Frye’s time at U of T. The images in the book that Frye holds include an angel, the Leviathan, the divine creator, piano keys, his first wife Helen, a typewriter, and a train, which the artists say were selected to represent his life, his imagination, his passions and his accomplishments.

The stack of books that are placed beside him are representative of Frye’s work as well.

One book includes a stained-glass recreation of a window Frye was fond of from St. Mary’s Church in Gairford, Gloucestershire. Another book is decorated with the same design that enclosed the first edition of Milton’s Paradise Lost. The third book shows a section of William

Bernarda Gospic/THe VarsiTy

Blake’s face looking upwards. Included in the stack of books is Frye’s class planner and his personal journal, placed under his left elbow.

Byers said that Frye was at the apex of his career during his time at Victoria College, at his “most recognized and most recognizable.” Byers and Harrison say they sculpted Frye in a balanced, relaxed pose to portray a sense of warmth and contentment that Frye had with himself and his surroundings at this point in his life.

“I hope students see him as a wise scholar, and a very humane person, because that’s what he was,” said Lee. “He was a little shy,

but he was prodigious and a world influence. He had a very warm smile. I hope a lot of students and others have their pictures taken sitting beside him.”

As the unveiling concluded indoors at a reception, guests looked forward to the presentation of dozens of scholarly papers, various lectures and a pub night in the upcoming days of the conference. Guests from China, Budapest and the United States were also in attendance.

“We’ve had a lot of great scholars,” reflected Lee, “but there’s none greater than Northrop Frye.”

VARSITY NEWS

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MONDAY, OCTOBER 15, 2012

5

“Invaluable” copper art stolen from university storage Anonymous tipster helps campus police recover four of 30 missing works

Hawken in his office at 1 Spadina Crescent. BERNARDA GOSPIC/THE VARSITY

Irina Vukosavic VARSITY STAFF

More than thirty copper plates created by George Hawken, a lecturer and printmaker in the University of Toronto’s Department of Fine Arts, were reported stolen from university storage space late last week.

The mystery deepened Friday when campus police received an anonymous tip around 7.00 am. Three hours later, they arrived at a designated drop site to find four large pieces, one of which had been badly damaged.

For Hawken, it is a bittersweet victory.

“I’m so relieved to have them back but still shaken by the vulnerability and the loss of what may be gone forever,” he said.

Sam D’Angelo, campus police operations manager, told The Varsity that the investigation is ongoing. Although police have a description of a person of interest, they have yet to determine if and how the person is connected to the case.

“It’s a good lead, but the more time passes, the less likely it will be that we recover all of the stolen objects,” said D’Angelo.

The artworks had been stored in a second-floor space at 1 Spadina Crescent. The unidentified suspect got past the heavy steel door of Hawken’s storage room and walked away with a chunk of his work.

“After I had finished a meeting, I noticed the door to the storage room was slightly ajar. I thought that was pretty unusual, and when I went to go check it out, my artwork was gone,” said Hawken.

Hawken immediately contacted Toronto police and campus police, who began working on the case.

Copper theft on campus is uncommon, said D’Angelo. Last summer two individuals were arrested for stealing copper downspouts at various U of T buildings.

More rare still, says D’Angelo, is the theft of valuable art on campus. “Valuable art is kept in high secured places, guarded by security cameras and other precautionary measures. Copper thefts that occur off of campus grounds are usually a lot more easily accessible,” he said.

Hawken says he was fairly certain he locked the door before he last left, but says there is a possibility that he may not have. Hawken says the copper value of his artwork was only about $500 in total, but the pieces had great sentimental value. Made about twenty years ago, the small plates were an outlet for Hawken to play with imagery in a lighthearted way.

“I feel very wounded by this, because the plates were special to me in a lot of ways,” Hawken says.

The Department of Fine Art at U of T has expressed sympathy for Hawken’s predicament. Elizabeth Legge, chair at the

department, said that Hawken is invaluable to the department as both an artist and teacher.

In an interview with the Toronto Star, Lynne Wynick, whose gallery once represented Hawken, said that it was “quite difficult to place a value on the plates, which are almost invaluable.”

“The copper is definitely worth a lot, but the value is more in the fact that they’re a work of art,” Wynick told the Star.

The person responsible for the theft could face criminal charges of theft under $5,000. This, D’Angelo said, could result in a sentence ranging from probation to jail time, according to the verdict of the judge. If the culprit is a student, he or she could also face charges under the non-academic code of conduct.

Hawken feels that the odds are not in his favour when it comes to apprehending the suspect. He says he thinks the person who did it knew what they were looking for.

“I figure the person responsible will remain anonymous, and that definitely bugs me,” said Hawken.

In light of this incident, campus police recommend that anything of sentimental value be kept in a secure area and locked with a deadbolt. D’Angelo also adds that if it is extremely valuable, it should not be kept in the university.

Hawken agrees. “Until I was stolen from, I thought the storage room was a safe place to store my artwork. It’s up to me to put my artwork in a secure place, and I’ll be looking into more intensive storage units to do so.”

New consortium to ease credit transfers between Ontario universities Agreement between seven universities takes ministry, excluded universities by surprise James Maiangowi

ASSOCIATE NEWS EDITOR

The University of Toronto is partnering with six other universities in Ontario to launch a groundbreaking credit transfer program.

Under the new agreement, announced by provost Cheryl Misak at the recent UTSU town hall, students will be able to count any first year arts and science course taken for credit at one of the participating universities as a general credit at their primary institution. The agreement also mandates course equivalencies in over twenty of the most popular and high-enrolment courses.

Participating universities include McMaster, Queen’s, Guelph, Ottawa, Toronto, Waterloo, and Western.

The university also announced a new transfer program between Seneca College and UTSC. Liberal arts students at Seneca will be permitted to take courses at UTSC, and to count their credits towards a University of Toronto Bachelor of Arts degree. The first cohort of students able to apply for this program include those admitted to Seneca’s Liberal Arts program in fall 2011.

Both agreements are similar to a proposal featured in a discussion paper on the future of Ontario’s post-secondary education sector released by the Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities in June.

The paper, entitled “Strengthening Ontario’s Centres of Creativity, Innovation and

Knowledge,” included a proposal that Ontario create a province-wide credit transfer agreement “to enhance student mobility between and among institutions, including between colleges and universities.”

Despite the similarity, news of the credit transfer initiative reportedly came as a surprise to Glen Murray, Minister of Training, Colleges and Universities.

In an interview with the Toronto Star, Murray said he had been caught off guard, as had several university presidents who weren’t included in the agreement.

In the same interview, he stressed the need to include more universities in the initiative.

“We need an Ontario-wide system. I would ask that these universities get back to the table with their colleagues,” Murray told the Star.

Notably, both York and Ryerson are absent from the credit transfer agreement.

The Ontario Undergraduate Student Alliance called the agreement “progress,” but of a “limited” and “insufficient” sort.

Ryan McKinnon, executive director of OUSA, said it fell short of the 1995 Pan-Canadian Protocol on the Transferability of University Credits, which recommended that all courses taken in the first two years of university be transferable to any Canadian university.

“While achieving this aim may be difficult,” McKinnon wrote in a media statement, “We encourage the government to take steps to encourage that all Ontario students benefit from improved credit transfer, recognizing the advantages it presents for students and the province as a whole.”

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VARSITY NEWS

MONDAY, OCTOBER 15, 2012

news@thevarsity.ca

Students gather to hear from international activists at the keynote. PHOTO COURTESY SEan CaRSOn

Hundreds gather for provincial assembly

CFS-organized conference seeks to strengthen bonds between student activists Rida Ali

ASSOCIATE NEWS EDITOR

This weekend, OISE played host to a student activist assembly convened by the Canadian Federation of Students Ontario (CFS-O). Over 450 students from universities and colleges across the province registered for the event, which sought to foster conversation about topics ranging from the state of education to poverty and environmental issues.

“The activist assembly brings together students from across the province to participate in both information- and skills-based workshops,” said Sarah Jane King, chairperson of the CFS-O. The assembly was attended by students from Toronto-area schools including York, Ryerson, and U of T, as well as Guelph, Lakehead, Laurentian, Carleton, and the University of Ottawa.

College students were also in attendance from across the province.

Attendants participated in workshops ranging from “Education Inc.: The Rise of Corporate Interest on Campus” to “Building a Radical Disability Movement” to “Who’s Turning the Screws? Understanding Who’s Who in Post-Secondary Education.”

Campus media outlets were not permitted to attend the sessions. “We ask media not to be recording the sessions or taking notes, simply because we wanted to create space where everyone felt comfortable participating fully, where people can say whatever they wanted without fear of seeing something in the newspaper that they didn’t want recorded,” explained King.

Corey Scott, vice-president, internal and services at University of Toronto Students‘ Union, explained, “One of the strengths of having conversations with people from the different universities and colleges is that you get to hear about some of the things that have happened on their campus and you see it translated back onto your own campus.

“By having these conversations, we find out about these things in advance and we prepare ourselves as best as possible.”

Scott pointed to flat fees, a system already in place at U of T (in spite of intensive lobbying efforts by student government), now under consideration at other universities such as Carleton.

Scott also discussed the value of learning from the recent experience at Lakehead University, where, as Scott explains, the govern-

“CHANCELLOR” CONTINUED FROM PAGE 2 TV: Describe your job as chancellor to a student that doesn’t know what it is exactly that you do.

MW: The chancellor’s position is the most senior position in the alumni. My job is to be the broad link to the alumni, all 500,000 of us, in many countries around the world. I’m also a link to the students. At Convocation, I’m the one handing out the degrees. I think the chancellor in some ways has a responsibility to convey to students what the university is, and what it can mean to students. This is the largest university in the country, it is arguably the best university in the country, it has a very high calibre of faculty members, very high calibre of students, a record of research successes across a very broad range of disciplines. And our alumni are leaders in many different fields in this city but also in the province and in the country. We are fortunate to have outstanding students, but I feel it is in some ways my responsibility, when I have the opportunity, to remind students that they are fortunate to have that experience of being in a lively place intellectually and academically, but also lively in terms of culture, sports, different nationalities. Canada has already begun to appear more and more global in our orientation. This is a great place to start developing that global orientation.

TV: You’ve been an spokesperson for a group that promoted public-private partnerships. What do you think is the role of the private sector on university campuses?

ing council “disallowed students from voting on tuition fee increases, because they said that it was a conflict of interest. We heard about how they challenged that, how they filed an injunction, how they were able to overrule that decision, so that students could eventually vote.”

Scott also explained that the assembly was a chance not only to prepare against moves from university administrators, but also from other student groups.

“There are anti-choice groups that are travelling around the country, and are talking about limiting women’s rights to choose,” said Scott. “We get to hear about what is happening on different campuses who have those organizations popping up and doing a lot of really sexist work on campus, and we’re able to think about how to ensure that we are creating safe spaces.”

King explained that the assembly was very timely. “We’re at an important time right now, because the government is trying to make a lot of really significant changes to our education system,” she said. “It’s extremely important to bring people together to talk about these issues and to make a plan for how we move forward and to really find out how

MW: That group’s efforts were more related to infrastructure.

After the election in 2003 [fought largely over the role of the private sector in two hospitals], both the Liberals and the Conservatives recognized the private sector’s role in the partnership was to finance, design, and build a building according to the requirements of the public sector. The management, the operation, all the medical activities, that was the responsibility of the public sector, not the private sector.

I say to universities or hospitals or transportation departments: why do you want to have your money tied up in bricks and mortar? Shouldn’t you let the private sector own those things, and have them financed in ways that are more appropriate to their interests (pension funds, life insurance) financing those fixed assets long term.

So it’s what goes on in the asset that’s important, not what the asset is. If we’re going to put a new building somewhere, should that be owned by the university? In my judgment, there’s got to be a very strong reason why the university would want to tie their money up for 40, 50, 60 years in a fixed asset.

But the university has got to be totally in control of what goes on inside that building. That’s the distinction.

TV: Do you feel like online education has the potential to disrupt the traditional model of bricks-and-mortar universities?

MW: I’m not an expert in online learning. But I see online learning as a way for us to expand on what the university can deliver through its fixed assets on campus. If we can take courses to people that are working 8 hours a day and have a family, they can go online and improve on their own education. I say that’s

we should be addressing the problems we face as students right now.”

Overall, the students in attendance had positive things to say about their experience.

“It’s been pretty cool to learn about what’s going on at Carleton, what’s going on at UTM, what’s going on at Scarborough and other universities across Ontario,” said Yolen Bollo-Kamara, vice-president, campus life for the UTSU. The assembly also had a panel of student activists from around the world in attendance; on Saturday Ana Garcia from Spain, Panagiotis Louvros from Greece, Rodrigo Echecopar from Chile and Marianne Brenton Fontaine from Quebec gave keynote speeches in which they shared their stories and their countries’ experiences with student activism. The panelists also spoke about the differences and similarities between their struggles and the struggles that Ontario students are facing.

“All of the things we talk about here are interconnected,” reflected David Eaton, an international development major from the University of Ottawa. “One person’s struggle or movement can be directly related to someone else’s. You may not think that they’re related but in fact the struggles that we face are not that different.”

terrific. If we can take online learning to more rural communities and teach people in those communities some of the skills they haven’t been able to learn, or those that didn’t have the resources to move away to university, again, I think it’s a terrific way of expanding the reach of education. The more we can expand that reach, the higher our standard of living will be.

TV: You’ve been a longstanding advocate for mental health issues. A recent report in Maclean’s detailed what appears to be a worsening situation when it comes to student mental health on campuses all across Canada. How do you stand on this issue?

MW: I’ve spoken to both the AUCC and the Association for Community Colleges on this very point. One of the points I make is that when students come from high school, they’re in classes of 25 people. They know practically everybody in the classroom, the teacher knows everybody. Then they move into a much bigger community and they get lost in the crowd. Universities and colleges have got to find ways of making sure that people don’t get caught between sources of support, between the cracks so to speak. If you have a buddy and you suddenly realize he’s not coming to class, he’s getting a little lethargic, he’s losing interest well, you can give students a sense of responsibility that if a good friend of yours is starting to demonstrate these types of personality changes, find out a little bit about them. If he started limping, you’d be asking: ‘what’s the limp for? Should you go and see a doctor, get that put into a cast?’ You wouldn’t think twice about that.

But because it’s happening in someone’s head, you tend to shy away from that. You’ve got to get the sense that you shouldn’t shy away, but reach out and help a friend that appears to be suffering.

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MONDAY, OCTOBER 15, 2012

7

ONLINE EXCLUSIVE

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CHARLES-PHILLIPPE LAMY examines the issue of church and state in Quebec

15 OCTOBER 2012 comment@thevarsity.ca

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The candidate of hair and teeth Trudeau may win the leadership, but he’ll never save the party Carter West VARSITY CONTRIBUTOR

“A successful political party requires three things: money, power and a platform. Right now, Canadian Liberals have none of these things.” This was the dismal assessment made by president of the Liberal Party of Canada Mike Crawley this past Wednesday at a forum titled “Third Party Problems.”

The evening’s theme seemed to be selfmortification. Elitism, corruption, reliance on the party’s past popularity, and the party’s failure to generate engagement with

Justin Trudeau will be the Liberal platform and a platform based on personal popularity is nothing more than demagoguery. immigrants, young people, and most of western Canada were all a part of the lash applied to a bruised back.

Crawley insisted that the Liberal party must move to the center once again through policy aimed at generating increased federal income and improving the personal liberties of all Canadians. More than anything though, Crawley wanted the half-full auditorium to understand that the question was not “how do we win?” but “how do we restore?” Stripping away presumed Liberal privilege will, he claimed, allow his party to stop being a failed emblem of a bygone era and begin to be a successful advocate for clearly defined positions that appeal to a broad base of Canadians. When Crawley spoke about what was needed in the next liberal leader, he made no reference to Trudeau Sr. or Jean Chretien, but spoke instead about Jack Layton.

As the former NDP leader was being sanctified by the president of the Liberals, Justin Trudeau took to the stage in a Hamilton hotel ballroom. The venue was packed and the audience jubilant at the opportunity to see this former snowboard instructor explain how he will revive a party in its death throes. He spoke. There were cheers. He left. The starry-eyed followers swooned. It appears that his great contribution to the Liberal Party, aside from his storied name, are hair and teeth — two attributes Jack Layton lacked.

There is something to be said for any politician that can create hope and optimism just by shaking a hand. We see the future bright and potent simply by being in the presence of someone who makes us feel better about ourselves. These are valuable qualities but they are far too small a wave for Trudeau to ride to the leadership of his party. At least they should be. It is likely that in the coming months Trudeau’s advisers will punch out policies in line with the ones suggested by Crawley. We will see Trudeau making great speeches aimed at youths, seniors, and immigrants that he will claim have been disenfranchised by the cold, bureaucratic Conservatives. He will attract the brightest Liberal minds and he will begin to appear credible and stand a very real chance of winning the leadership race.

But at the end of the day, Trudeau is a candidate of hair and teeth. A couple of terms in his Papineau riding and a great personality do not make him a suitable leader no matter how intensive a crash-course he receives from party elders between now and April. Trudeau is not qualified. He will bring money and maybe a bit of power to the race, through the glut of media attention being heaped on his appearances. But Trudeau will be the Liberal platform, and a platform based on personal popularity is nothing more than demagoguery.

To restore, the Liberals must redefine their brand. Trudeau is a brand unto himself and his candidacy makes it easy for his party to ignore the hard work Crawley in-

huSSEiN ABdAllAh/fliCkR

sists is needed if the Liberals are to be credible again. It seems likely, however, that hair and teeth will win the day. Instead of being the death of the Liberal party — as

it should be — Trudeau’s election to his party’s leadership will almost certainly put this country in very real danger of being run by a name, a mane and a smile.

The real Venezuela

Western media ignores realities that have almost cost Chavez his job David Gelles VARSITY CONTRIBUTOR

Last week, millions of Venezuelans cast their ballot in the presidential election. To the disappointment of many, Hugo Chavez managed to win in his closest election yet, with almost 80 per cent of voter turnout. On the flipside, many others were pleased with the result, including those abroad who saw Chavez’s victory as a victory for socialism everywhere. The latter reaction is one I find puzzling, as Chavez’s brand of socialism is not exactly successful, and that is something many people do not know.

As a Venezuelan, I’m often asked what I think of Chavez, and surprisingly, my response — that he is anathema — confounds many inquirers. They ask me why I responded so and tell me that he has done great things, to which I respond: you have not lived in Venezuela from 1999 onwards.

The views of many Canadians I’ve talked to about Chavez suggest that there is a lack of in-depth coverage in the media regarding Chavez and the effect his policies have actually had in Venezuela. Generally, the media’s coverage of Chavez has been misguided in its criticism of him, often labeling him a leftist and socialist and talking about his social programs, but overlooking the deterioration of the country’s social fabric.

Yes, Chavez is more than a nominal leftist — he implements socialist economic policies and has abjured neo-liberalism. At first glance, these are generally good things for a country that

is plagued by poverty, but the issue lies in what is actually happening in Venezuela. The domestic situation is not as rosy as the media implies it is when it states that Chavez has implemented radical social programs. These programs may have been implemented, but the media doesn’t mention whether they have been effective.

The reality is that since Chavez came to power in 1999, the country’s situation has worsened. Most worrying is the fact that the crime rate has increased to record levels, and the crimes being committed are violent; ranging from express kidnappings and armed robbery, to armed carjacking and murder.

It is a sad but true fact that Caracas is the murder capital of South America. In the 14 years that Chavez has been in power, 150,000 people have been murdered.

If Chavez’s policies were reducing poverty and improving people’s livelihoods, then people would not be resorting to crime as a means to survive. Despite Chavez’s social programs, Venezuelans today are 15 per cent poorer than at the beginning of his term. Wages have increased, but this increase has been outpaced by the rising cost of living, diminishing people’s ability to provide for themselves and their families.

According to professor Roberta Rice, who teaches LatinAmerican politics here at U of T, Chavez enjoys a good reputation abroad because he is a critic of neo-liberalism, and has helped pave the way for other leftist governments in the region. This is often how Chavez is portrayed in the media; his flamboyant personality and outspoken criticisms of the US provide better sound bites than the reality of Venezuela’s

current situation. Thus people abroad miss the point — that Chavez’s government has hurt Venezuela rather than helped it.

On top of the increase in poverty and crime, Chavez’s government is obscenely corrupt. According to Transparency International, Venezuela is the most corrupt country in Latin America, and one of the most corrupt in the world. This is not a surprise considering that Venezuela has seen record oil revenues, but an increase in poverty and a shrinking economy.

This begs the question, where is that oil money going?

Not only has the economic situation worsened, but Chavez’s government actively suppresses the opposition, preventing people from speaking out against him. In fact, speaking badly about Chavez is a punishable offense. Chavez has also amended the constitution to allow him to run for office indefinitely, and has manipulated elections at the national and sub-national levels, undermining the democratic process.

It is because of all these things that almost 50 per cent of Venezuelans voted to boot Chavez from office. So many were full of hope that the country could recover and right itself, but that hope was almost extinguished after Chavez announced his victory. Never the less, according to Rice, the fact that the opposition is focused on winning elections at all levels of government is a positive sign for the revival of the democratic process, as parties are trying to find legitimacy through elections.

Another sign of hope is that so many people turned out to vote against Chavez, a marked increase from past elections. One day, Venezuelans will see through Chavez’s façade and realize that he does not govern for them — the ides of March approach.

VARSITY COMMENT

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MONDAY, OCTOBER 15, 2012

9

Prime Minister of all Canadians?

Harper failed to fight for Omar Khadr’s rights as a Canadian citizen Umair Ahmed VARSITY CONTRIBUTOR

On September 29, Omar Khadr returned to Canadian soil after over ten years of being incarcerated at Guantanamo Bay. Following a fire fight in Afghanistan, Khadr was captured by American forces and taken to Bagram before being moved to the prison that would be his home for the rest of his adolescent life.

The then 15 year-old experienced a trying time during his incarceration; reports show he was often moved from cell to cell, spending days in solitary confinement. In addition, Khadr was subjected to numerous interrogations, some of which were conducted by CSIS. A video of one such interrogation shows a very distraught Khadr pleading with Canadian agents to bring him back home.

Any assurances the Canadian officials gave him were empty. Khadr broke down in tears, aching for his mother. Many years later, in 2010, Khadr would plead guilty for the murder of US combat medic Christopher Speer.

When it comes to matters of terrorism and national security, we Canadians take things very seriously. We live in trying and often dangerous times. We have come to acknowledge that any act of terrorism is heinous in its very nature. Taking the lives of innocents for political or ideological gain is entirely unjustified. Yet, we cannot act without employing sound judgment, for when we fail to do so it often has detrimental consequences. While I don’t deny any wrongdoing on Khadr’s part or justify his actions, I can’t help but raise certain questions about how our prime minister dealt with this situation.

PHOTO COURTESY PMO

It is my firmly held belief that every single human being deserves to be treated with dignity and in accordance with fundamental human rights. However, Khadr was entitled to another set of rights, which are mandated by the constitution of Canada.

Not only was Khadr one of the youngest detainees at Guantanamo, he was also the last westerner to be expatriated, leaving many members of the UN appalled at how the Canadian government handled the issue.

In early 2010, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled that Khadr’s constitutional rights had been violated, and the obligation fell to the government to demand his return. Harper’s government was very blatant in expressing that they didn’t want Khadr back. We can only speculate as to why Harper neglected to negotiate with the willing Obama administration. It seems likely to me that Harper didn’t want to be seen bringing a terrorist back onto Canadian soil. If that is so, then Harper dealt with this situation not as the prime minister of Canada, but rather as the leader of the Conservative Party.

Harper failed a child solider and a Canadian citizen for purely political reasons.

The spring of 2011 marked an important time in Canadian politics, as Harper secured a sought after majority government. The relieved Harper walked onto the stage and spoke of many things that night, but what caught my attention was his proclamation that a Canadian prime minister must be a prime minister of all Canadians. It didn’t matter whether you voted for him, all that mattered was that you were Canadian, and as prime minister, he would fulfill his obligations to you. As I look back at that night, I ask myself whether Harper has lived up to his word, and find myself, as most Canadians should be, deeply disappointed.

Any room left for the Liberals?

Exploring the Liberals new role as a third party Jennifer Gosnell VARSITY CONTRIBUTOR

Once the political powerhouse of Canada, the Liberal party has, as of recently, found itself in a position that it’s not all too familiar with: that of the third party in Canadian politics. Neither in a position of power nor the official opposition, the Liberals have fallen into what some might call irrelevancy.

The “Upright Centre: Third Party Problems” event, hosted at the University of Toronto by the Young Liberals of Ontario, featured a panel of political and media experts. Mike Crawley, the national president of the Liberal Party of Canada, Chris Selley of the National Post, and Amanda Alvaro, director of narrative media and former campaign leader for a Liberal campaign, came together to discuss some of the issues facing the Liberal party and to get to the bottom of a particular issue nagging at the back of everyone’s minds: is there any room left for the Liberals?

Traditionally centrist in their political platforms, the Liberal Party of Canada has recently had to define themselves against the backdrop of the right — the Progressive Conservatives — and the left — the New Democrats — rather than creating their own party platforms. The Liberals have been branded elitist, out of touch, and ultimately, confused in their political positioning. Is it possible for the Liberals to recreate their brand, or has their party

identity fallen too far to combat the PCs and NDPs? Alvaro described it best when she said “we went from a party that was a natural ally to the middle class, who was in touch with the values of the majority of Cana-

Canadian political sphere? Perhaps there is no going back.

“Trying to chase the centre,” Crawley stated “and always being worried about being too left, too right, taking the wrong position on this, alienating this group,

dians, to a party who — frankly — I feel became elitist, entitled, and out of touch.

And we took a beating for it in the last election.” This is most certainly the way a lot of Liberal opponents, and some Liberals themselves no doubt, saw the party during the last federal election, when Michael Ignatieff spearheaded the Liberal bid.

But how do the Liberals return from what Crawley himself described as the “uptight centre” to what used to be a party representative of most Canadians and the founder of some of the most influential ideas in the

alienating that group, and in the end — too often — saying far, far too little” isn’t going to be a recipe for success. “Liberals have to get it into their heads that all political parties are temporary. Parties come and go all the time,” argues Crawley. Parties suit a need when there is one, and then they can either adapt and stay relevant or fail to do so and fall by the political wayside. This is the fate many see ahead for the Liberals.

Building anew offers opportunities that other parties don’t have. The official op-

position party often feels as though they must counteract or react to what the party of power is saying or doing. The third party can, essentially, do whatever they please with no worries of losing their place. “We’re talking about issues that they deem to be important, which may not be the issues that we should be talking about moving forward,” Crawley argued. “We’ve got to start acting like a third party. There’s nothing wrong with being a third party. In fact, right now in terms of where the party’s at in its history, acting like a third party would be a pretty good thing.”

Being a third party, however, is a notion that Selley argues the Liberals don’t understand. “The third party is the third party, there’s nothing special about the Liberals.

Being in that situation just because they’ve governed for so much of Canada’s history, I mean, if there was anything special about or even magical about that brand they wouldn’t be where they are.”

The Liberal party isn’t going to be fixed by a single great idea, leader or campaign.

The PCs have a clear, straightforward platform that speaks to their base and gets them elected. The NDP has at least a moderately clear idea of who they are as a party. The Liberal identity, however, has seemingly lost all sense.

“The notion of renewal or rebuilding,” Alvaro comments, “I think part of what we need to do as a future forward Liberal party is stop talking about the re’s in everything. The renewal, the rebuild. We need to build and we need new.”

VARSITY COMMENT

10 MONDAY, OCTOBER 15, 2012 THE VARSITY VOL. CXXXIII No. 6

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Conflicting visions, no solutions EDITORIAL Since its release in June, the discussion paper “Strengthening Ontario’s Centres of Creativity, Innovation and Knowledge” has generated significant controversy and criticism. Groups representing students, faculty, and university administration have voiced their concerns about its proposals: the limitations imposed on students by three-year degrees, the dubious substitution of online courses for those taught in real classrooms, the challenge of transferring credits between institutions, the possibility that standardized assessments will be used to measure university outcomes, and — most importantly — a tacit but clear focus on the commercialization of research.

Amidst the outcry, it is important to understand that discussion papers are supposed to set out potential policies and attract input from those affected. Despite this consultative purpose, Minister for Training, Colleges and Universities Glen Murray has, on Twitter, attacked student leaders and faculty who have offered informal criticism of the paper. Murray called the UTSU-organized town hall to discuss the paper a “festival of misinformation” and characterized his critics as being against innovation. The minister’s vitriolic criticism is inappropriate in the context of a paper that is supposed to attract suggestions, not offer ironclad policy. Murray’s behavior seems to suggest that the government is committed to the vision for education set out in the discussion paper; if that is true, students and faculty have a right to be concerned.

The central problem of the discussion paper is that its policy proposals do not further its stated vision for higher education. The government’s purported goals are outlined under the heading “A Vision for Ontario’s Postsecondary Education Sector,” and are worth quoting in full: “The vision presented by our government is: Ontario’s colleges and universities will drive creativity, innovation, knowledge, and community engagement through teaching and research. They will put students first by providing the best possible learning experience for all qualified learners in an affordable and financially sustainable way, ensuring high quality, and globally competitive outcomes for students and Ontario’s creative economy.”

It is difficult to disentangle a meaning from this barren collection of platitudes. But stripped of rhetoric, it is a shockingly simplistic idea: colleges and universities will continue to give students the best education we can afford in the hopes that the results will be good for students and the economy. It is hard to imagine that a statement so banal, so devoid of innovation and leadership, is truly our government’s plan for such a vital area of public policy.

It seems, instead, that the government is using this jungle of jargon to distract public attention from their unstated vision: the government hopes to make post-secondary education do more for less, and does not seem to see the value of an idea beyond its ability to make money. No matter what shape they are presented in,

shorter degrees and online classes are cost-cutting measures that will inevitably decrease the quality and value of an undergraduate degree.

Meanwhile, the paper largely ignores graduate programs and research in favour of entrepreneurship and vocational training. The government, it seems, would encourage programs that have the most obvious and immediate economic benefits at the expense of styles of education that take longer to produce a return on the public’s investment.

The government is asking universities to be too many things to too many people. Job training and entrepreneurship have never been more than side-benefits of a university education. If those are the government’s priorities, it should advance them through institutions focused on training, rather than tacking these demands onto a university’s mandate. Our leading universities should be centres of excellence — institutions intended to produce new ideas, creative thinking, and capable graduates through unprescribed learning and innovation.

This may not be a vision with which everyone agrees. But at the moment, any attempt to discuss the merits of any plan for higher education is hopeless, since the key actor in this question refuses to state its position outright and attacks anyone who tries to voice an opinion. Students need to see a single, clear and comprehensive statement of their government’s vision for postsecondary education because that would be something worth discussing.

Losing our modern history Much of our social history is recorded on the internet, and historians fear that much of that record may be lost Fatima Syed VARSITY CONTRIBUTOR

In an age that is increasingly moving towards total dependence on technology, libraries still stand tall. They carry within their glorious walls records of our parent’s generation, of our grandparents’ generation, and the histories of many generations before them. In these grand halls we have access to moments from many past lives, as revealed in the pages of a soldier’s diary, a politician’s memoirs, or a daughter’s journal. But times have changed.

Today, history is made online: Facebook status updates, tweets, blog posts, and YouTube videos are the new diaries, memoirs, and journals. So how do we record the histories of over seven billion people?

Where will the libraries for Internet history stand or will any stand at all?

Two years ago, the Library of Congress in Washington D.C. announced its intention to digitally archive every public tweet ever sent out in the six-plus years Twitter has been active. That’s four hundred million tweets a day, adding up to a total somewhere in the billions. The complexity of preserving this enormous history becomes even more problematic when you consider how best to sort this data for easy access. Sort by date, topic or emotion?

What’s more interesting isn’t what will be included in this archive, but rather what will be left out. In a study entitled “Losing My Revolution: How Many Resources Shared on Social Media Have Been Lost?” computer scientists Hany SalahEldeen and Michael L. Nelson analyzed six great news events in the period June 2009 to March 2012 as seen on Twitter, and observed whether they were still preserved or not: the H1N1 virus, Michael Jackson’s death, the Iranian elections and protests, Barack Obama’s Nobel Peace Prize, the Egyptian revolution, and the Syrian uprising. They found that one year after the events, 11 per cent of tweets relating to the subjects were lost and only 20 per cent archived. After two and a half years, 27 per cent were lost and 41 per cent archived. The rate of this negative linear relationship between the time of sharing and the percentage lost is striking as they conclude that the world will continue to lose 0.02 per cent of shared resources each day.

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Unfortunately, the conclusion from this study is that the Library of Congress’ efforts, while impressive, are completely in vain, as present history is automatically lost bit by bit. The fact that the Internet is an endless bibliographical source that accounts for modern history is one that will prove to be problematic for future generations. This is mainly because internet history is based on sharing one topic an infinite number of times. As it is shared it is debated; as it is debated it is shared.

This endless vicious cycle means that the primary sources that future generations will need to understand the past will be lost in the ceaselessness and complexity of our current web activities.

There’s one more problem to think about. The Internet may be creating, shaping, and impacting modern day history as it comes, but it has no historicity. Facebook statuses and Twitter act on a minute by minute basis and on a billion topics. While people are recording their reactions to

a presidential debate, some people will be commenting on new movies, books, and music releases, others will be relaying crisis updates, and many will be telling everyone what they ate for breakfast. So even if it were possible to record all of modern day history, how would we order it so that it is one hundred per cent chronological?

That question also applies to the billions of blog posts, photo and video uploads made every day.

Will our descendants be grateful for a record of our lives? Absolutely! But they will only have access to that record if we start thinking about how we are going to preserve all of it, and there’s an immense — and growing — amount to be preserved. It may be time to rethink our whole idea of history.

The historians of 2112 have their work cut out as they have to sort through the millions and millions of pieces of our social history, assuming of course that the entity that is history still exists.

VARSITY COMMENT

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MONDAY, OCTOBER 15, 2012

11

Robarts’ rules of order OLIVIA FORSYTH-SELLS outlines the dos and don’ts of library use

E

very year, around the middle of October, two things are always the same. The trees turn from green to amber-gold, and the halls of Robarts are suddenly overrun with sweat-pant clad co-eds cramming into elevators, sleeping on benches, and generally taking up residence in the university’s largest study space. With this in mind, and midterms fully underway, I decided it was time to make note of certain rules of order. All in all, midterms are a time of stress, anxiety and selfishness, but as long as we all play fair we can survive them together, or at least until finals.

X

The university libraries have a huge supply of resources, from books, to articles, rare edition texts, films and more. As a student, your right is to have full access to these texts as it pertains to your academic pursuits. But one must always remember that for this system to work, certain protocol must be followed. First, please do not re-shelve your own books. This leads to a mess and disrupts a really complicated system, which takes a graduate degree to master and a full time staff to maintain. Just let the professionals do their job. Second, return your books on time. The whole idea of a library is based on sharing, so please remember, share punctually.

X

Reading rooms, by their nature, are designed to be silent. Listening to your headphones at full volume in a silent room is not as discreet as you may think. Your dubstep/electro/house/techno music should be kept at a volume audible to you and nobody else, which, after all, is the entire purpose of headphones.

X

The group study rooms are designed to prevent the aforementioned noise issue, and should be used by groups of people. As nice as it is to spread out your things, eat at will, sleep when you need to, and camp out all day, people have to work on group projects. This is the perfect place for complete strangers to talk and get their work done, without awkwardly having to go over to each other’s houses.

X

Sleeping in the library is acceptable, as long as it remains off the first four floors. As every student who has ever truly crammed knows, napping is a key success maneuver to pull through the final leg of memorization. Therefore, sleeping is fine, if, and only if, it is done in a space where there is plenty of available seating. I would recommend the 11–13th floors where the cubicles are a-plenty and the noise is less than a decibel.

X

The first-floor computers are for homework, printing, or quick emails. Please do not investigate your Facebook, or similar social networks, when there is a line. You are more than welcome to spend all day chatting with your aunt about her knitting, or whatever else you please, at the non-peak hours when students are not anxiously waiting in line to print their essays due in less than 10 minutes.

REMI CARREIRO/THE VARsITy

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STARTS FRIDAY 10/19

AMC YONGE & DUNDAS 24

EDUCATION

THE BUSINESS OF

In less than two decades the Rotman School of Management has gone from a new name for the University of Toronto’s business school to a globallyrenowned institution. MURAD HEMMADI explores how the school began, where it’s going, and what it means for the university.

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oger Martin believes in teaching students to think critically. “I’m worried [about] what’s happening in business education generally: that they’re leaning all sorts of apps, all sorts of models and apps, but the foundational thing that they need to understand is how to think in a broad, holistic way about how the world works.”

Martin has implemented a very different model for business education in his 14 years as dean of the Rotman School of Management. The dual concepts of “integrative” and “design” thinking, buzzwords for a curriculum focused more on creative solutions than rote answers, have been lauded and emulated by industry leaders and institutions far beyond the school’s St. George enclave.

The school’s philosophy goes beyond teaching students how to manage assets and read stock charts. “From [the design] world, it’s that ‘create stuff that doesn’t exist’ piece of the puzzle, and from liberal arts it is ‘teach people this fundamental, foundational skill level,’” Martin says.

“And my reason for that, what motivated me, is that I worry that business education had — writ large — become too much at the applications level.”

That philosophy, or at least the results it seems to produce, has led to a very competitive global standing: Rotman ranked fortyfourth in the Financial Times 2012 Global MBA Rankings, outperforming other prominent Canadian management institutions including York University’s Schulich School of Business (59) and Western University’s Richard Ivey School of Business (68).

In his understated office in Rotman’s old North Wing, I suggest to Martin that a lot of Canadians don’t seem to realize how Rotman stacks up against its domestic competitors. He disagrees. “If you just look at the statistics of who applies to us, if they get accepted at us, Ivey and Schulich, what you describe does not play out,” he explains.

“Not that we’re arrogant about it; we have to do everything right, and do admissions terrifically and make sure that we’re taking care of the students.

“But I do not go to sleep any night worrying about there being some schism between the rankings and how we’re perceived by students. We’re doing just fine on that front.”

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he Financial Research and Trading Lab nestled on an upper floor of the North Wing is one of the tools Rotman students use to stay competitive in an increasingly difficult job market. “We see it a lot like a flight simulator,” Marco Salerno, the manager of the lab, tells me. “Students have to practice before going into the industry — it’s like a pilot has to practice on a flight simulator.

“It’s basically the same in the lab — we show them risk management strategies, different aspects of the market, and then they can go into [the work world] and apply what they’ve learned.”

The lab itself is a disarmingly plain room — dimly lit, with rows of computers stretching from end to end. It’s only when you look up to the ever-changing symbols and numbers of the two LED stock tickers in either corner that you realize this isn’t just a computer room.

“We have two boards, and they show you real-time indexes,” Salerno explains. “We have the Nikkei, the Japanese index, the S&P500, NASDAQ — so the main ones.

And on the other board we have commodities and foreign exchange rates.”

Other universities have similar facilities, but Rotman’s lab has a few tricks of its own.

“We’ve developed RIT [Rotman Interactive Trader], which is a market simulation software,” says Salerno. “It allows professors to simulate the market and show students different aspects [of the market].”

Financial software development is one way the lab gets its funding. “We started up initially with one of the Ontario Research and Development Challenge Funds, but now it’s primarily part of our school budgets,” explains professor Tom McCurdy, the lab’s founding academic director. “We have some revenue-generating activities and products that help fund it for the data services and the classes that we provide for students.”

I consider asking if I can play with some of the software, hoping to discover some hidden talent for playing the stock market that might supplement the journalist’s salary I’m destined to make. But I look over to the weird and wonderful combinations of letters and prices on the ticker boards that mean nothing to my untrained eyes, and quickly reconsider.

In what seems like a metaphor for the huge role that technology and to-the-second data play in financial trading, the lab will soon be expanding into space created by the shifting of the school’s library to the new South Wing. “We’re going to be constructing a new lab which will open next fall, and that’ll start construction in the spring,” McCurdy says.

But there will be a slight change in the lab’s identity: thanks to a $1.75 million donation, the new facility will be named after the BMO Financial Group.

Wyatt Clough and jason li take you on a tour of Rotman’s new south Wing:

var.st/RotmanTour

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oney from corporations and corporate donors has always played a significant role at Rotman, with the school’s name the most obvious example. Although the University of Toronto offered courses in management from as early as 1902 and the Faculty of Management has existed since 1971, it wasn’t until natural resource and financial magnate Joseph L. Rotman’s $15 million donation in 1997 that the modern School of Management was born.

Rotman’s contribution was very controversial at the time. In a January 1997 cover story, The Varsity detailed the terms of the donor agreement, which included several clauses that opponents claim severely limited the university and faculty of management’s academic freedom.

The agreement required that that “U of T [rank] the faculty of management as one of its ‘highest priorities’ for the allocation of university funding, ensuring to its ‘best efforts’ that business education receives continuing focus.” Rotman’s foundation also had the right to receive yearly reports from the faculty detailing its progress and adherence to a “vision” document constructed at the time of the agreement.

Philosophy professor-emeritus Bill Graham was president of the University of Toronto Faculty Association at the time, and one of the agreement’s most vocal opponents. “There was a document called “the ‘vision,’ and it talked about non-qualified support for and commitment to the values and principles underlying the ‘vision’ by the members of the faculty of management, as well as the central administration. And such language we felt blatantly violated the university’s policy commitment to academic freedom.”

In response to the outcry from faculty and some students, the agreement underwent substantial revisions. But some controversial provisions remained, including one that allowed the foundation to bring in

1902

the university of toronto begins offering undergraduate courses in management.

1971

the Faculty of Management is officially established.

1997

the Faculty of Management receives a $15 million donation from joseph Rotman. the school is renamed the joseph l. Rotman school of Management.

PHOTOS BY Bernarda GOSPic

an outside expert from the Association of American Universities to recommend policy changes if it was felt that the school of management was failing to live up to the criteria set out in the agreement.

“What we were concerned with of course was despite the fact that it had gone through all the university committees — three academic committees — the items about academic freedom were never brought up in those committees,” says Graham. “And we were quite horrified.”

The donation was to be paid out over 14 years, ending in December 2011. That time span coincides almost exactly with Martin’s term as dean, and he tells me that the provisions that caused so much controversy in 1997 were never exercised. “It didn’t feel like a sword hanging over my head,” he says. “So much so that I’ve actually never read the entire agreement. I probably should have, but in fourteen years Joe Rotman has done nothing but be unbelievably supportive.”

Martin believes that Rotman was only trying to look out for the faculty’s best interests. “All he wanted was the business school to aspire to high levels. That’s it. And there were things, some of which I’m aware of — as I say, I never read the thing cover to cover — but there were some things in the agreement that they could insist on but that were only about quality standards.

“So things like, he wanted to make sure that the searches for the Rotman chairs were international searches.”

Martin acknowledges that academic freedom is a serious concern, but he doesn’t believe that Rotman’s approach impinged on that. “I don’t dispute the notion that we should be careful… But as I say, it is a fact that not once in 14 years has any such thing even been hinted at, mentioned, anything.”

Graham emphasizes that academic freedom and high standards are not incompatible. “Of course we wanted to see the school of management succeed, but not at the expense of academic values,” he says. “We’re happy that the school has done well, but we certainly need also to have full protection for academic freedom and the freedom of appointment.”

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otman’s donations — he made a second, $18 million contribution in 2007 — are of course not the school’s only source of income. And Martin emphasizes that while donors play an important role, it’s a relatively small one.

“What’s great about the donations is that they add to your capacity to do things, but there’s this huge base load of expenditures that have to be made.”

Running the School of Management is a very expensive undertaking. Rotman’s academic expenditures for 2011, according to figures published by U of T, were in the order of $71 million — almost as much as those of the whole of the U of T’s Scarborough campus. Part of those costs are the high salaries paid to faculty; six of the top 10 salaries paid to University of Toronto employees for 2012 went to Rotman professors and administrators, according to the Ontario Ministry of Finance Public Sector Salary Disclosure (more commonly known as the “sunshine list”).

Martin believes you get what you pay for. “It’s extremely expensive to have a good business school. So the salaries are higher; in order to get world-class faculty you have to pay those salaries. Student services are greater.

“The nature of competition in the business school space means you have to spend every cent you can get.

And Rotman does spend a lot on its students — $71 million for approximately 1,500 students, compared to about $7 million for some 400 students at the Faculty of Architecture, another faculty primarily focused on graduate studies.

But Rotman students’ tuition fees, some twenty-six to forty-eight thousand dollars per year depending on length of degree and immigration status, reflect this. “It’s a lot of money at Rotman, almost $85,000 for the program,” says Rudi Morvan, a part-time MBA student who moved from France but counts as a domestic student because he has permanent residency. “So you basically cannot fail, because you cannot after the three-year program … be in the same position as you were before the program, making the same amount of money.

The payoff, though, can be substantial. The Financial Times figures show that Rotman graduates see an average salary increase of just over 100 per cent after finishing their degrees. The average salary for a Rotman MBA graduate three years after finishing the program is some $96,000, and 85 per cent of the most recent graduating class had jobs within three months.

Morvan finds those figures are very encouraging.

“Those statistics, for me, it was a really important factor. [It was] the thing that I compared with all the other

Faculty of Architecture Rotman School of Management U of T Scarborough U of T Mississauga Faculty of Arts & Sciences Other Total

$7,685,000 $71,124,000 $75,904,000 $72,606,000 $243,493,000 $619,000,000 $1,089,812,000

358 1,156 10,758 12,310 30,356 24,147 79,085

Expenditure per student $61,526 $21,466 $7,056 $5,898 $8,021

S

tudents clearly believe a Rotman MBA will help their careers — the school’s recently-achieved doubling of its capacity suggests there is no shortage of prospective applicants. But does Rotman have a wider purpose beyond training the next generation of Canada’s entrepreneurs and industrialists? And how does it work with the rest of the university?

Sure, U of T students now have a sparkly new building to enjoy. And the flood of press releases that clutter The Varsity’s inboxes suggest that Rotman professors’ research interests stretch far beyond money-making (“Joint study by Rotman School researcher shows signature placement curbs cheating”; “Blood drives do better with incentives, says University of Toronto study”). But Martin suggests that one of the school’s biggest contributions is to the greater economic health of the area.

“I think the Rotman school is doing the province of Ontario, the GTA, a huge service because what happens is we track in about 50 per cent international students and a large slug of them stay.

“And so we’ve just imported fantastic human capital from around the world to stay in Toronto.”

1+6+72257 1+213163038

7+9+10+26+75

Academic Number of Expenditure* students*

schools, basically the — let’s call it the ‘return’ that you can get out of your MBA. Because I view it as an investment, an investment in yourself.”

And Rotman’s figures are even more impressive given the state of the job market today, according to Morvan.

“An MBA is always good in all types of economic scenarios — downturn or growth — it’s always good to have, I believe, an MBA.” There’s value to an MBA beyond the financial, of course.

“It was a way to be the same as everybody else — having graduated from a university in Canada, instead of having graduated from a university in France only,” says Morvan, explaining that the program has prepared him for work in Canada. “So there was a mingle factor for me.”

Many of his fellow students seem to agree. Forty-eight per cent of the incoming full-time MBA class of 2014 are international students. That’s a change from when Martin arrived in 1998. “Was it purposeful? Yes. When I got here we had a class of about 130 students per class and there were about 10 international students. Now its 300 and there are a close to 150 international students. And that’s a completely different experience.”

÷

Academic Expenditure

Number of students enrolled

UTM

UTSC

=

Arts & Sciences

Architecture

Rotman

Expenditure per student

*source: u of t Facts and Figures, 2011

13

Arts & Culture var.st/arts

15 OCtOBEr 2012 arts@thevarsity.ca

NEXT WEEK

Coverage of the AGO's FRIDA & DIEGO exhibit!

Livin' the sweet life

Comedian Deanne Smith opens up about her new show and hashing out her identity as a “Canadian-ish” performer Dan Seljak VARSITY STAFF

Deanne smith performing at the Just for Laughs Festival. DaN sELJaK/tHE varsity

In the darkened back room of The Cameron House, a woman with a boyish haircut and an enormous smile waxes poetic about cunnilingus in front of a giggling crowd. Her name is Deanne Smith, and she is halfway through her one-woman show Livin' the Sweet Life.

Smith plays fast and loose with the one-person show format, something that is necessary in a venue as unconventional as The Cameron House, where patrons from the front room cross the stage every five minutes to use the washroom.

But the crowd doesn’t seem to mind. Despite the disturbances, they seem to be taken with The Sweet Life’s basic premise — that we all deserve a shot at the sweet life and that Smith will be the one to deliver it to one lucky audience member for one night only. Never mind that the drink she buys for them is grape juice and not wine, and the meal she provides during the show is a cheap pack of uncooked ramen noodles. Livin’ the Sweet Life is a show full of social commentary, ukulele music, and biting wit that Smith employs to poke fun at society (often), her audience (rarely), and herself (mostly). *** The format of Smith’s live show has evolved in the past six years from a series of humorous online articles to a mixture of stand up and musical comedy. “I thought it would be easier if I got up on stage, and just, you know, just said it,” Smith remembers. “It turns out it wasn’t, but it was more fun, so I kept doing it.

“In terms of motivation for getting on stage, I don’t know; a deep need for attention and approval that I don’t fully understand.”

Smith’s solo shows began in 2008, which was also the year she moved to Australia from Canada. “To be perfectly honest with you, the real reason that I went to Australia was because there was a girl there that wanted me to go and I was like, alright.”

Whatever her reasons, Smith found the move entirely beneficial to her career. “It turned out to be really cool. They have a big festival circuit there so I stayed for a few months and hit all the festivals.”

Having enjoyed the vibrancy and support for the comedy circuit down under, Smith returned in 2009 and won spots on a series of TV and radio shows. “Once you’re on TV, people think you’re somebody, so I had to keep going back.”

Despite a solid fan base overseas, Smith is often thought of as a Canadian-American comic. “Canada does like to claim me, which is great, because I only moved here … as an adult, but I started my comedy career here,” she says. “So… in terms of my comedy, I feel Canadian and its where I grew up with comedy.”

The confusion, Smith notes, came when she moved to Australia.

“In 2008, George Bush was president and I had not lived in the States in like, 10 years, and I thought, I’m not [saying that I’m] American on my posters, I’m just not doing it… I don’t think I put anything [on the posters], but when I got on TV, it was my first TV appearance, and they started asking me questions about Canada… I’ve never pretended I was from Canada, but I don’t mind perpetuating that confusion.”

Smith lives in Montreal when she is in Canada, which is about half the year. She spends the rest of the year on tour, visiting fans across North America and overseas. As for future plans, Smith is just winding down from her current tour schedule, but is preparing for her next move.

“You’re catching me at the end of everything I was doing this year. I’ve been living out of a suitcase since the end of February… So [in the] immediate future I’m just going to go home and chill out, which I’m excited about.

But going home means writing. I’ll be writing a lot and getting ready for next year’s show. Next year, the whole cycle starts over again in February, and I’ll be taking another one hour show to all the festivals.” *** Despite all the distractions created by the venue, the audience is fully enthralled when Smith ends her show at The Cameron House. Her closer is a huge hit: a song that Smith performs while strumming on a ukulele and detailing a series of nerdy pickup lines. If the positive reaction to such lyrics as “Like an archaeologist I am going to compute your age, I want to absolutely date you” and “Fuck is a legitimate word in scrabble, just FYI” is any indication, the next year will be a huge success for this Canadian-ish comedienne.

A night at the opera

The Canadian Opera Company’s production of Die Fledermaus is a fun, alcohol-filled romp Madeline Malczewska VARSITY CONTRIBUTOR

Contrary to popular perception, a night at the opera is not boring, nor is it the exclusive realm of the very wealthy. The Canadian Opera Company’s current production of Johann Strauss II’s Die Fledermaus is a light-hearted operetta that is pure entertainment. In fact, Die Fledermaus’ subject matter — a night of alcohol-infused debauchery — is one that will probably speak to university students.

Many students might believe that they can’t afford the supposed luxury of the opera. But the COC’s “Opera Under 30” program aims to ease the financial restrictions that often limit students’ access to operatic performances. Through this program, patrons between the ages of 16 and 29 are able to sit in the upper two levels of the theatre for only $22. Also available are $35 rush tickets, which can get you the best seats in the house. These costs are well below normal ticket prices, which range from $45–$325.

My night at the opera was a riot. Die Fledermaus, a late nineteenth-century operetta, is about a man, Gabriel von Eisenstein, who is due to serve an eight-day jail sentence and decides to go out to a party before he is incarcerated. When

he is barely out the door, his wife’s ex-lover, an over-dramatic tenor, slips in. Later on in the night, every character — from the maid, to the Prince of Russia, to an off-duty cop — comes together for a costume party.

The party scene shows off the impressive skills of costume designer Constance Hoffman, whose work manages to make all of the performers, including the many members of the show’s large chorus, look celebratory. My personal favourites included the variety of neon undergarments worn by several male characters, and four dancers dressed in bat costumes.

Also noteworthy was the playful, non-realistic set. From a massive watch slowly swaying back and forth, to a grand staircase leading to nowhere, set designer Allen Moyer has created an alternate world where life is always a party.

Of course, the opera is a delightful experience for music lovers, and the COC’s production of Die Fledermaus is no exception. A large number of the principal cast and ensemble are also Canadians, which only makes things that much better.

A refrain in Die Fledermaus is “chacun à son goût,” or “each to his own taste.” The COC's lively production Die Fledermaus will appeal to any student who is willing to have a little fun with an opera that concludes by blaming everything on the alcohol.

ambur Braid as adele in Die Fledermaus. PHOtO COurtEsy CaNaDiaN OPEra COmPaNy

VARSITY ARTS & CULTURE

var.st/arts

15

MONDAY, OCTOBER 15, 2012

Two out of Seven Psychopaths Christopher Walken and Sam Rockwell chat about their new film and share some thoughts on their reputation for weirdness

Brigit Katz ARTS & CULTURE EDITOR

Seven Psychopaths, the latest film by In Bruges director Martin McDonagh, is a hilariously wacky, gleefully over-the-top and unabashedly gory meta-fest with enough plot twists to make M. Night Shyamalan’s head spin.

In just under two hours, Seven Psychopaths bounces from self-referential reflections on the art of screen writing, to the raging fits of a Shih Tzu-loving mobster, to heartfelt conversations between best friends, to ridiculously bloody shoot-outs in a Californian desert. Tom Waits even makes a cameo as a lovelorn killer with a penchant for bunnies and a Dexter-esque sense of criminal justice.

Basically, Seven Psychopaths is one weird movie. So it might not come as a surprise to learn that Christopher Walken and Sam Rockwell, who play two of the film’s titular characters, are among Seven Psychopath’s roster of

But when Walken and Rockwell met with a small group of journalists during the Toronto International Film Festival to discuss their roles in Seven Psychopaths, they were quick to dismiss this perception of their work.

“It’s great, but it’s a funny thing,” Rockwell said of Ebert’s comment. “People have said that I’m quirky, or that Chris is quirky or eccentric. I think a lot of good actors are eccentric… When I think of Chris, I think of The Deer Hunter and The Dead Zone, and those actually are very dark leading men, anti-heroes like Hamlet… To me that’s not so much eccentric or quirky, it’s just darker.”

“I’ve been [acting] since I was five years old,” Walken added. “I was in a sense raised by musical comedy people: gypsies, comics. And there [are] very few actors who … come from that kind of background. It makes you like almost from another country. It makes you foreign.

“I think that in movies, that strangeness almost easily translates into menacing, or malevolent. It’s the Other. If it’s strange, it’s probably a little bit dangerous, which of course is not necessarily so.”

one of McDonagh’s plays, in which the main character has been in obsessive pursuit of his missing hand for 27 years.

But when it came to Seven Psychopaths, the actors were drawn not only to the film’s twisted sense of humour, but also to the unpredictable nature of its script. “[McDonagh] writes a wonderful dialogue,” Walken said during the interview. “And so unexpected.”

Seven Psychopaths certainly has its fair share of plot twists, and McDonagh’s appreciation for the unpredictable seems to have shaped his directorial style. Walken and Rockwell told the group of journalists that the director incorporated the cast’s innovations into the film (a few of Seven Psychopath’s best lines, which I won’t spoil here, were apparently improvised) and gave the actors some freedom in shaping their characters. And according to Walken and Rockwell, this is exactly the approach that a good director should take.

“You’re a bit like kids and you’re in a sandbox, and you’re making it up,” Walken said of acting on a film set. “And the good director is really kind of like a lifeguard. He sits on a

“I think that in movies … strangeness almost easily translates into menacing, or malevolent. It’s the Other. If it’s strange, it’s probably a little bit dangerous, which of course is not necessarily so.”

—Christopher Walken

A WEEK IN ARTS

big name stars. Between them, the actors have amassed a considerable repertoire of oddball roles: a sex addict, an alien, a Charlie’s Angels villain (Rockwell), a headless horseman, an unhinged teacher and a husband to John Travolta (Walken). Roger Ebert even went so far as to say that Rockwell “seems to have become the latter-day version of Christopher Walken…When you need him, he's your go-to guy for weirdness."

Perhaps, then, the two actors were drawn to Seven Psychopaths because there is more to the film’s characters than their wacky — and often absurdly violent — antics. Walken and Rockwell play Hans and Billy, leaders of a dognapping ring who return the dogs they have stolen and collect reward money from the pooches’ grateful owners. But Hans uses the money to pay his wife’s hospital bill, and the gunhappy Billy is devoted to his best friend, played by Colin Firth. Even Woody Harrelson’s mobster turns to mush when he finds out that Hans and Billy have nabbed his beloved Shih Tzu. “[Seven Psychopaths] is a comedy,” Rockwell said, when asked whether he sees his character as a good guy or a bad guy. “You know, [our characters] are not bad guys at all.”

“Somebody said that the violence is kind of Wiley Coyote, Roadrunner violence,” Walken added. “I think that’s kind of true. You know, it’s a certain kind of … cartoon violence.”

Walken and Rockwell were familiar with McDonagh’s particular brand of black comedy before they began working with the director on Seven Psychopaths. In 2010, both actors starred in a Broadway production of A Behanding in Spokane,

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big, high chair and he’s got all these crazy kids in the sand box, and they’re playing. And every once in a while, one of them slips and falls out of the sandbox… And the good director just picks him up and puts him back inside.”

“And the bad director yells at them for falling off the slide,” Rockwell added with a laugh.

“But definitely, on a good movie set, there is that aspect to it,” Walken continued. “It’s a little bit wild.”

MONDAY

TUESDAY

WEDNESDAY

THURSDAY

FRIDAY

SATURDAY

SUNDAY

U of T Student Jazz Ensembles

Big City Improv Festival

ImagineNATIVE Arts Festival

Coffee The Right Way (coffee tasting)

Toronto After Dark Film Festival

Zombie Wrestling

Toronto Vintage Clothing Show

The Rex 6.30 PM

$10

$7–$12

$15–$20

$8

Tranzac Club

Artscape Wychwood Barns

Big Carrot Comedy Bar

Visit imaginenative. org for venues

7 pm

$14 Bloor Hot Docs Cinema

8 pm

11 am–4 pm

16

VARSITY ARTS & CULTURE

MONDAY, OCTOBER 15, 2012

arts@thevarsity.ca

One woman, one show, one conflict

Mumbi Tindyebwa Otu, director of My Name is Rachel Corrie, discusses Hart House’s controversial new play Danielle Klein VARSITY CONTRIBUTOR

On October 17, Hart House will launch its production of the one-woman play, My Name is Rachel Corrie. Corrie was an activist who travelled to Gaza during the second Palestinian Intifada.

At 24, she died after being crushed by an Israeli bulldozer, which she had been standing in front of in order to prevent the destruction of a Palestinian home.

The play describes Corrie's life before and while she was in Gaza and is based in part on her journal entries, emails, and letters. My Name is Rachel Corrie has also been the subject of international controversy. While some have praised the show for its portrayal of youth activism and the situation in the Middle East, others have pointed out that the course of events leading up to Corrie’s death are uncertain, and have suggested that her story is being exploited to push a political agenda.

Mumbi Tindyebwa Otu, the director My Name is Rachel Corrie, recently sat down with The Varsity to talk about the Corrie’s life, the importance of youth activism and the controversial nature of Hart House’s new play.

The Varsity: What is the premise of the play?

Mumbi Tindyebwa Otu: Rachel Corrie was an activist, and she took time off school to go to Gaza to work with the International Solidarity Movement, a Palestinian organi-

“It’s not something that I choose to take a side on or try and give a political view on because the writing is what it is. What I’m doing is being as faithful to the writing as possible, and being as faithful to the characters in the way they are presented.

That’s the only job that I can do as a director.”

—Mumbi Tindyebwa Otu, director of My Name is Rachel Corrie zation that uses non-violent means to resist the occupation of Israel in Palestine. Her job was to protect Palestinian homes from being destroyed.

much like her. She’s very courageous and bold and full of life.

TV: The play is based on Corrie’s emails, letters, and journals. How does that scattered base of material translate into the script?

MTO: Yes. I studied biology. After I graduated, I spent time using theatre as a way to raise awareness on public health, which eventually led me to completely focus on theatre. But when I went to U of T, I was involved with Hart House doing theatre.

MTO: It actually makes a lot of sense in how the play is arranged. It was edited in a way that shows [Corrie’s] growth so it’s very much a personal journey. There’s a clear arc in terms of her growth that makes for really good dramatic material.

TV: Can you tell me about the actress who’s playing Rachel Corrie?

MTO: Amelia Sargisson is a Ryerson graduate who really wanted to do this show. She completely relates to Rachel Corrie, and she’s very

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TV: And you are a U of T graduate.

TV: This is a pretty controversial play, and one of the reasons for this is the accuracy of the story, specifically whether or not what happened to Corrie was an accident. How do you address that uncertainty?

MTO: It’s not something that I choose to take a side on or try and give a political view on because the writing is what it is. What I’m doing is being as faithful to the writing as pos-

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TV: Do you think there is something problematic in referring to Corrie as a character?

MTO: It’s inevitable that this [play] is only a window into her character, and in that window we try to flesh out as much as possible, but it’s a window taken from a larger scope.

But I believe there’s been a clear intention to show her life before she went to Gaza as well.

TV: How do you respond to the concern that the play shows only one side of a complicated story?

MTO: It shows a slice of Rachel’s life, which includes her involvement in a particular organization working in a particular location. The goal of it is to focus on Rachel. As a director, that has to be my focus. By showing a particular person’s point of view, you are showing a particular point of view.

TV: Within the context of this play, can you comment on the intersection of artistic representations and political statements?

CONTINUED NEXT PAGE

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sible, and being as faithful to the characters in the way they are presented. That’s the only job that I can do as a director. I’m hoping that people see her for who she was, and I’m sure there will be disagreements about who she was, but this is who she was.

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var.st/arts

VARSITY ARTS & CULTURE

MONDAY, OCTOBER 15, 2012

WORD ON THE BEAT Album Title Goes Here — DeadMau5 Deadmau5’ Album Title Goes Here continues in the tradition of previous albums, 4x4=12 and For Lack of a Better Name. Just like its predecessors, Album Title Goes Here is chock-full of watered-down house tracks that have made Deadmau5, a.k.a Joel Zimmerman, incredibly successful. Album Title Goes Here might seem like an arrogant or even lazy choice for a title, but it suits the album’s content.

“Veldt” relies on an '80s style synth line so generic that it makes you wonder why it wasn’t titled “Calvin Harris Song Title Goes Here.”

Zimmerman dusts off My Chemical Romance front man Gerard Way for the faux indie-rocker “Professional Griefers,” which features an overcompressed indie rock riff that is reminiscent of a neutered Franz Ferdinand track. It’s been a while since the heyday of My Chemical Romance, and Way puts in a valiant effort on this track. “Just give me a life to bleed/Another world outside that’s full of/All the awful things that I made,” he sings with the same earnestness he displayed while his band was still popular.

Unfortunately for Zimmerman, the combination of these lyrics and Way’s cameo makes “Professional Griefers” wholly entertaining to

Now For Plan A — The Tragically Hip

anyone who hates My Chemical Romance. Perhaps the song is actually a latent manifestation of Zimmerman’s fears of irrelevancy.

Eventually, Deadmau5’ Album Title Goes Here starts to feel like a painfully oblivious victory lap. But hey, if you’re on top of the world why change a thing? Unfortunately, it seems that this mentality didn’t work out too well for Gerard Way. —JP Kaczur For a quarter of a century the Tragically Hip have been defining and redefining Canadian rock, and their 13th studio album is a satisfying, if predictable, continuation of this trend.

The opening song and first single, “At Transformation,” is an earnest rock song that also draws from both blues and rock-anthem traditions. The album’s overall sound is designed for the amphitheatre: major power chords, rhythmic drums and bass, Rob Baker’s bluesladen guitar riffs, and Gord Downie’s scorching, poetic lyrics. In the past, The Tragically Hip have managed to hit a sweet spot between country rockers and a uniquely Canadian sound, and Now For Plan A will stand as yet another jewel in their crown. To hear the Tragically Hip in all their glory, be sure to listen to “We Want it to Be,” “Streets Ahead,” and “The Modern Spirit.”

—John Cockshutt

Free Dimensional — Diamond Rings Listening to Diamond Rings' second album Free Dimensional is a bit like spending a night at the coolest '80s club that never existed.

Each song flows into the next and each brings its own distinct personality.

It's difficult to really pin down or compare Diamond Rings to other performers, since he really embodies the entire era that he modifies and uses for his own tunes. Since the early 2000s, many bands have tried to emulate the sound and style of glam rock and 80s new wave, but none have synthesized these with the same level of originality as Diamond Rings.

The albums first two tracks “Everything Speaks” and “All The Time” are a bit listless, but it really picks up with the third track “Runaway Love.” While the lyrical content of the album is hardly weighty or deep, you'll be too distracted by the lovely interplay between synthesizers, drum machines, and glam guitar to really care.

MTO: I hope that people leave the play with more questions than answers. That by showing the complexity of the character … people leave with a debate. I believe that as theatremakers, our role is to make work that is relevant to where we are at in the human condition. The big question for me that [what] attracted me to the play is the idea of what the role of youth is in global conflict. Is Rachel Corrie a naive or heroic character? I believe we are

Edited by Alan Rickman and Katharine Viner Directed by Mumbi Tindyebwa Otu

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"CORRIE" CONTINUED FROM PREVIOUS PAGE

Taken from the writings of Rachel Corrie

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in a time where there is a strong emergence of youth being aware of global conflict. Youth of this generation see themselves as global citizens with a global responsibility. The question I think that this play is asking is, “Is there a role for youth who want to be involved in global conflict, who don’t want to sit aside?” That for me was the bigger political question that I felt that this play was exploring.

My Name is Rachel Corrie runs from October 17–20 at Hart House Theatre. Tickets are available at uofttix.ca

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17

Science

ONLINE EXCLUSIVE

vaR.sT/sCIENCE

15 OCTOBER 2012 science@thevarsity.ca

Check out the Biology symposium at U of T var.st/science

Making the grad

JAMES MAIANGOWI looks at the difficult transition from PhD to professorship

U of T graduate student Chris Luciuk. BERNaRda GOspIC/THE vaRsITy

T

here was a time when scientists stood tall on campus, bestriding the ivory corridors of academia as mighty mental workers of the highest order. Private funding was generous, government funding was more than generous, and nosy ethicists had yet to murmur about the dire implications of research directed by external agencies. Those were the halcyon days of university research in the sciences, when the work was its own pleasure and the rest was silence.

Undergraduate students flocked to 9 am laboratory classes — neatly attired in jackets and ties — and spent long hours working over problem sets, largely because Facebook hadn’t yet been invented. Graduate students could expect three or four years of intense, stimulating immersion in their chosen discipline before receiving a doctorate, a tenure-track position, and a sudden interest in jackets with elbow patches.

This idyllic period was called the 60s, and those days are long over.

Graduate students in the sciences can now expect to spend the better part of a decade earning a PhD, emerging only to fight tooth and nail for the limited number of academic positions available, or else join the workforce unprepared for the demands of modern business. Tenure-track jobs almost never go to newly-minted Ph.D’s, as graduates are expected to complete at least one postdoctoral fellowship — if not several — before becoming an assistant professor.

So goes the standard argument against grad school. It seems to be largely correct, too. Between 2005 and 2009, over 100,000 doctoral degrees were awarded in America. Just 16,000 professorships opened up during the same period.

In Canada 80 per cent of post-docs earn a salary comparable to that of the average construction worker. Only 14 per cent of PhDs in biology and life sciences find a tenure track job within five years of graduating. Against numbers like these the fiscal case for grad school looks bleak.

The numbers alone, though, don’t tell the story. Graduate students from all disciplines complain of burdensome

MaEvE dEvITT TREMBlay/THE vaRsITy

work schedules and offices more lived in than homes. The comic Piled Higher and Deeper, about the misadventures of a nameless graduate student, turned 15 this year, attesting to both the universality of the grad school experience and the eternal human need to insert cartoons into the workplace.

The University of Toronto experienced first-hand grad student discontent last year, when CUPE 3902, representing contract instructional stuff, came close to striking in February over issues such as lab and tutorial sizes, decreased research support, and lower pay rates. Though the strike was averted, it will likely not be the last time problems in grad school come to the surface.

Despite the rising sea of complaints directed against grad school, the ever-increasing number of applications to doctoral programs each year attests to continued student interest. In a recent Slate article endorsing grad school Daniel Lametti, a doctoral candidate in behavioural neuroscience at McGill, discussed his experiences.

“Barring a thesis defense meltdown, I’ll be one of about 50,000 graduate students across the United States and Canada to get a PhD in science this school year,” wrote Lametti. “After seven years in graduate school, I’m left wondering if the time and effort was worth it.”

Though Lametti admits most negative portrayals of grad school describe the problems accurately, few critics address why many students stay for the full five, seven, or 10 years: intellectual curiousity.

“The biggest perk of grad school in science is getting paid to learn. Many of the people I spoke to missed the intellectual and logistical freedom of grad school. Nobody expressed regret about working towards a science PhD; grad school, most said, was a lot of fun.”

Chris Luciuk, a U of T first-year physics graduate student, agrees. “[Going to grad school] was sort of a way to postpone making a real decision at first,” Luciuk admitted a little sheepishly during a recent interview.

“You don’t stay unless you actually enjoy it, though.”

VARSITY SCIENCE

var.st/science

MONDAY, OCTOBER 15, 2012

19

Let’s do the time loop again The physics behind the movie Looper Katrina Vogan

VARSITY CONTRIBUTOR

Looper is all about returning to the past. It twists time to send Bruce Willis back to meet his younger self (Joseph Gordon-Levitt). Willis has dipped into his cinematic past in his return to time travel as a plot device. Like Twelve Monkeys, Looper’s story considers a fascination of modern physics: the problem of time travel. Science fiction is rarely constrained by the bounds of current science fact, but time travel might actually be possible.

In Einstein’s model of general relativity, time is one co-ordinate in the four-dimensional fabric of “spacetime.” Using the equations that describe spacetime, Willem Jacob van Stockum theorized the existence of “closed timelike curves” (CTCs) in 1937. CTCs travel through spacetime but end at the place where they began. In short, a CTC is a time machine.

An extremely massive object or intense gravi-

tational field, like a black hole, could potentially warp the fabric of spacetime such that a CTC occurs. Theoretically, a CTC could send somebody back in time.

If we could send Willis back to the time of Gordon-Levitt, could Willis make significant changes to the timeline? Other films have explored the possibility of timeline alteration and the time paradoxes that might result. In Back to the Future, Michael J. Fox nearly creates a grandfather paradox and becomes his own ancestor, nearly erasing himself from existence. Paradoxes confuse the relationship between cause and effect, essentially breaking fundamental laws of physics. Physicists have struggled to align the possibility of time travel with the impossibility of breaking the laws of causality.

In a paper called the “Chronology Protection Conjecture,”. Steven Hawking writes, “It seems there is a chronology protection agency, which prevents the appearance of closed timelike curves and so makes the universe safe for

historians.” Hawking’s paper argues mathematically that causality violations could be the root cause to prevent the formation of CTCs. If time travel is not already inherently impossible, then it is made so by the laws of causality. He then notes, “There is also strong experimental evidence in favor of the conjecture from the fact that we have not been invaded by hordes of tourists from the future.”

Others believe that time traveling tourists are possible, but that meddling time-traveling tourists are not. In 2005, a team of scientists led by Dan Greenberger and Karl Svozil used quantum theory to explore CTCs. Under their proposed quantum model, CTCs can exist, but the past cannot be changed.

Quantum theory uses probability to distinguish between different outcomes. Outcomes that are certain — that are known to have happened — are immutable. Thus, if a person traveling in the past knows that an event has already happened, they cannot stop or modify that event. If it is known that

in the future person A is unscarred, quantum theory prevents time-manipulating person B from any action in person A’s past that would cause scarring. Anyone that has seen Looper will recognize the problem that this model poses to the movie’s plot.

It is impossible to know if the theory proposed by Hawking, or the theory proposed by Greenberger and Svozil, or if one of the other many scientific theories on time travel is correct or incorrect. Until time-travelling tourists show up, or until functional time travel exists, the theories on the physics of time travel remain theories. If Looper is correct, we’ll get an answer in 2074, but it’s entirely possible that the debate on time travel and CTCs may last until the clock runs down.

(Author’s Note: Julianna Kettlewell of the BBC reported on the Greenberger and Svozil model in an article titled “New model ‘permits time travel’” on June 17th, 2005. For more information on CTCs and time travel, the About.com Physics section is recommended.)

Make an impact with impact factors What scientific prestige really means Stephanie Gaglione

VARSITY CONTRIBUTOR

To those outside the world of research and academia, a journal is a journal and any article published in one is worthy of admiration and respect. In many ways, journals are like universities: they uphold “reputations,” differences in reliability and quality that can be quantified with rankings. Just as students agonize over the ranking of the university they choose to attend, any research student or professor must carefully consider the ranking of the journals they read or submit work to. In fact, the complex ranking system in place, where journals are assigned “impact factors,” is shocking in magnitude and important to any student who hopes to write a powerful paper.

So what is an impact factor? Who determines it? How is it calculated? Thomson Reuters is one of the most common and reliable sources for impact factor information. Each year, from 1997 to the present, Reuters analyzes 10,100 journals from over 2,600 publishers in approximately 238 disciplines and compiles data into two Journal Citation Report (JCR) editions — the Sciences Edition and the Social Sciences Edition.

Three scores are calculated: an impact factor, an eigenfactor score, and an article influence score.

Impact factors are the most popular means of systematically and objectively evaluating journals. Averaging the number of times articles from a journal published within the past two years have been cited within the year of the report, the compilation of the JCR produces a value on a scale where low values indicate a low impact in the academic community and high values indicate a high impact.

To the average student, impact factors are a useful tool.

The greater the impact factor, the more reliable and accurate the source of the information. In fact, the screening process for articles tends to be much more rigorous for high-impact journals, a natural result of the intense competition to publish in them. For this reason, confidence in the methods and materials of labs which have published in a high-impact journal tends to be much greater, and results are strongly supported.

For the average journal reader, accuracy isn’t the ultimate benefit. A high score suggests that the articles published in the journal are novel and revolutionary, a fact that media outlets often capitalize on. Whether in social sciences or engineering, impact factor is the equivalent of prestige. In fact, to a professor or research student, scoring a spot in a journal with a high impact factor can mean media attention, an excellent chance of obtaining grant

Wendy GU/THe VArsiTy

money, a teaching position at a university, or the opportunity to gain exposure for a new idea.

Writing a paper that has an impact requires research with an impact. Familiarizing yourself with impact factors can have a striking difference on the reliability of the research you complete.

Whether or not you write, picking up a copy of Nature might just give you a heads-up on the next big science phenomenon.

Science in brief Charting the universe with artificial intelligence

Cancer research breakthrough in Houston, Texas

A team of astrophysicists and computer programmers have created an artificial intelligence (AI) algorithm that plots the local universe. The program charts and explains the structure and dynamics of the Milky Way and several nearby galaxies. It will be used to study how these galaxies came into being.

The team, led by Francisco Kitaura of the Leibniz Institute for Astrophysics in Potsdam, created the AI algorithm by assuming gravity drives the Universe’s distribution. Gravitation is caused by two of the three components making up the universe: ‘normal’ matter, such as stars, planets, and gas (which constitute five per cent of the universe), and invisible dark matter (which constitutes 23 per cent of the universe). Dark matter, invisible to telescopes, is difficult to map and prevents conventional methods from predicting gravitational force.

The algorithm detects the residual heat from the Big Bang (the cosmic microwave background radiation) and with the AI, models it to matter that is expected to collapse over the next 13 billion years. This creates an accurate plot of both dark and normal matter. The gravitation force calculated from this plot can then be used to explain the motion and 80 per cent of the speed of local galaxies. The remaining 20 per cent is from the influence of matter greater than 460 million light years away, for which there is as yet no reliable data.

The program will give the work of universal mapping, greater speed and clarity, than conventional scanning of the sky.

A great mentor and professor once said: “treat all difficulties in life not as they are problems, but as challenges that need to be overcome.”

Undoubtedly, one of the paramount health challenges of the early 21st century is cancer, or cancers, to be more exact.

The MD Anderson Cancer Centre, in Houston, Texas, is embarking on an unprecedentedly ambitious plan to cure cancer. Dubbed the Moon Shots Program, the endeavor aims to “adopt a more goal-oriented mentality, ignore the usual strictures on resources that encumber academic research, and use the breakthrough technology available today,” according to Ronald DePinho, MD, president of the MD Anderson Cancer Centre.

The centre, specializing in cancer treatment and management, has been ranked the number one US cancer centre nine times in the past 11 years. It has done this by showing continued dedication for advancing medical research. MD Anderson will bring together numerous multidisciplinary teams and a combined budget of $3 billion to start the cancer Moon Shots revolution. The program will focus on eight cancer types: acute myeloid leukemia/myelodysplastic syndrome, chronic lymphocytic leukemia, melanoma (skin cancer), lung cancer, prostate cancer, and triple-negative breast and ovarian cancers (linked at the molecular level).

MD Anderson says that cancer research occurring in other cancer types and chronic illness diseases will not be halted and will continue to benefit from a combined budget of $700 million. Implementation of the program is set to begin early in 2013, with the program running at full capacity by the middle of 2013.

-Maged Ahmed Source: Science Daily

-Albert Gheorghita Sources: Science Daily, cancermoonshots.org

VARSITY SCIENCE

20 MONDAY, OCTOBER 15, 2012

science@thevarsity.ca

U of T science veteran on his path from undergrad to professor William Ju of the human biology department talks about learning and a career in academia Shradha Talwar

VARSITY CONTRIBUTOR

If U of T were a parent, its parenting mantra would be “tough love.” Students at U of T are constantly pushing themselves to overcome tough courses, strict professors, long days, and extensive competition. As motivating and rewarding as that can be, it’s very important to also have an environment of encouragement and understanding. Over the past three years at U of T, there has not been a professor as understanding and motivating as William Ju. Ju was a U of T student before he started teaching here. He did his undergrad in life sciences, proceeded to graduate school, and completed his post doctorate in the Physiology department at U of T. Like many undergrad students at U of T, Ju remembers feeling overwhelmed while in school and insists that he would not have been as successful without his extensive support system.

Once, after receiving an almostfailing grade on a physical chem-

istry midterm, Ju claimed he felt “lost” and would have seriously considered dropping out if it had not been for his parents’ support.

Many students go through similar struggles, and how the people around them respond is crucial in a time of such dejection.

The support he received from his graduate supervisor, Beverley Orser, made a world of difference: “Bev gave me a chance and believed in me. Even after I was no longer a part of her lab she supported me and helped me out when I was looking for what I wanted to do next.”

By the end of his graduate studies, Ju was married with a daughter, and was not sure what he wanted to do next. He had decided that a career in research was not for him, but he loved teaching and wondered if that was the path he was meant to take. While working in the lab, Ju noticed he was often being asked to explain procedures and techniques, and never minded explaining them. At the end of his post-doc, when Ju felt like he had nowhere to turn, he received the opportunity of a lifetime (for

which he credits Orser’s support).

He was asked to begin working as a sessional lecturer in the Cell & Systems Biology department, teaching CSB331 and BIO270/271.

Eventually, Ju received an offer to become a full-time lecturer and member of faculty at U of T. Ju prefers to look on the bright side of his negative experiences, realizing that the lessons he learned from them have molded him into the professor he is today. He says that his goal is to “try and make the whole experience a little less intimidating [for his students].”

Ju’s most rewarding experiences are when he sees students from his second or third year neuroscience class growing into bright neuroscientists in fourth year and at times carrying on to pursue graduate studies.

“My favourite courses to teach are the fourth year ones where I get to interact with my students.”

Ju’s commitment to his students is also shown through the class photos that he takes every year as souvenirs for himself and his students.

“Eventually I would like to dedicate some time to the lab again... A lot of students approach me to ask if I have a lab where they can volunteer, and I know if I did, I would be able to help them out more with their career development.”

Ju would like to return to lab work at some point. Although he originally decided that research was not for him, Ju has had a slight change of heart. “Eventually I would like to dedicate some time to the lab again,” he admits. “A lot of students approach me to ask if I have a lab where they can volunteer, and I know that if I did, I would be able to help them out more with their career development.”

Ju would love to continue to teach, but he also enjoys the one-on-one interaction when teaching his students in the lab.

Ju’s compassion for his students shows through his actions and willingness to be a support system for

anyone who needs it. Whether you need advice or just want to chat about your future, he’s available to listen to you. When asked what the best advice for a struggling undergraduate is, he said, “I know all of this will sound cliché, but everything happens for a reason. The best thing is to ensure that you have a good support system and find a mentor.

“Even becoming a mentor yourself for fellow students can make you stronger as it helps you grow as a person. Ultimately, if you have your heart set on something, work hard and you’ll make it.

Even if you have to take a longer route, persistence will get you there eventually.”

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Sports var.st/sPOrts

HOCKEY. HOCKEY. HOCKEY.

15 OCtOBEr 2012 sports@thevarsity.ca

Check back for our coverage of the men’s and women’s hockey games var.st/sports

the Blues fell to York in their fifth loss of the season, with their opening-day victory over Laurier (above) seeming further away than ever. BErnarda GOsPiC/tHE varsitY

Blues fall to Lions in crushing loss Fan throws phone and wins $5,000 in Mobilicity-sponsored competition

Zoë Bedard SPORTS EDITOR

The Varsity Blues football team fell in a heartbreaking 36–24 loss to the York Lions, in the 43rd annual Red and Blue Bowl on Saturday in their final home game of the year.

The Blues had a 26–16 head-to-head record against York heading into the game, including a four-game win streak dating back to 2008. U of T was sadly unable to retain the Argo Cup for a fifth consecutive time, and it was awarded to the Lions in a post game ceremony headlined by Toronto Argonauts legend Nick Volpe and current Argos players Andre Durie and Ricky Foley.

In the books, a loss is a loss, and there are no points for effort and no consideration given to how close the final score is. But for fans, the game was a loss full of optimism.

The Blues went into the half down 30–9, their points coming off a combination of 23-yard and 32-yard Andrew Lomasney field goals, two safeties, and a rouge. There were few positives in the opening 30 minutes of play.

Heading into the locker room at the half, York had all the momentum on their sideline, with more than double the number of total offensive yards and 18 first downs to the Blues’ six.

As U of T desperately tried to regroup and adjust over the half, Blues fans were given the opportunity to win $5,000.

The first annual Canadian mobile phone throwing championship — sponsored by Mobilicity — is inspired by the recent World Mobile Phone Throwing Championships in Finland. In that competition, the champion set a 101.46 metre world record. Canadian women’s javelin Olympian Liz Gleadle was on hand to share some expert hurdling tips with the finalists. The final three competitors vying for the championship title and $5,000 took to the field during the half. The winner, Jeremiah, threw his phone an astonishing 85 yards — more than 30 yards further than his competition — and left the game with the title.

The Blues, possibly inspired by the arm strength of Jeremiah, came out of the locker room with a new enthusiasm and offense that suddenly seemed able to push the ball downfield.

U of T started the half with a stellar return by Kevin Bradfield, who brought the ball to the Blues 51-yard line. Bradfield, last week’s player of the game, has been one of the few shining lights on the team all season, and ended the game with 170 return yards.

A few possessions later, Simon Nassar came in at quarterback to replace Richard Quittenton, who finished the afternoon going 6-for-13 for 113 yards and two interceptions.

“Simon’s had success. I think Simon’s a really good relief pitcher,” head coach Greg Gary said. “When he comes in he makes plays. I’m not sure that would have happened in the beginning. I think that what Rich was under was a little different. Teams change up a little bit and [York] changed up in the second half once we started to get them a little bit, and that gave us some openings.”

Nassar’s entrance infused the Blues with new energy.

U of T defensive back David Green intercepted a shovel pass from York quarterback Myles Gibbon, and the offense, taking over possession at the York 40-yard line immediately began to move.

Nassar threw deep to Paul de Pass along the far sideline, and although the pass fell incomplete, flags were thrown for defensive pass interference and the Blues moved down the field. After failing to complete the next two passes, the team was forced to settle for a field goal attempt.

However, the Blues, desperately seeking a way back into the game, opted to fake the field goal and attempted to convert on the third down. Marcus Hobbs, third-string quarterback and Blues kicker, attempted a pass that fell incomplete, but the Lions were once again flagged this time for pass interference and the ball was placed at the one-yard line. The next play, the Blues punched it into the end zone and made it a ball game.

“We were thinking that we were going to try to get a touchdown then,” Gary explained. “We were in a position where we didn’t think that three points were going to be enough, which obviously it wasn’t.”

U of T was able to force another major off a Ashton Nelson nineyard run. But a Kyle Exume touchdown with just over a minute left sealed the York victory and halted all hope of a Blues comeback.

“I have to be honest, it’s just one of those days where York just sort of did it up early, from the very beginning they got

us. And once a team goes up like that it’s tough to come back,” said Gary. “We did a lot of good things in the second half, but when it came to the final moment where we had our chance we didn’t get it done.”

The Blues travel to Queen’s next weekend with their playoff hopes unbelievably still alive. A win could allow the team entrance into the OUA post-season.

“As ridiculous as it sounds, we still have an opportunity to make the playoffs, so if we beat Queen’s we’re in the playoffs,” said an optimistic Gary.

There’s still hope.

“It’s through the back door but we’ll take it. We’re going to plan well.”

Playoff Breakdown The Blues, who last made the playoffs in 1995, are looking to squeeze in this year as they head into Kingston to face the Gaels.

The top six teams in the OUA advance to the playoffs.

The playoff picture has begun to come into focus. The number one ranked McMaster Marauders enter the final game of the regular season with a perfect 7–0 record and have secured home-field advantage throughout the playoffs.

The Guelph Gryphons defeated the Queen’s Gaels, who are also advancing to the playoffs, over the weekend to secure a second place seed in the OUA playoffs and a first-round bye to the semi-finals.

In order to join these teams, the Blues must come out of Kingston victorious and ask for a little help. U of T currently sits at ninth in the division and would need Ottawa, York, and Laurier to all lose their respective games if they hope to advance.

Relying on other teams to fail is not the position that the Blues hoped to find themselves in, but it’s still hope, so the team is preparing for the Gaels with optimism.

VARSITY SPORTS

22 MONDAY, OCTOBER 15, 2012

sports@thevarsity.ca

High hopes for men’s hockey The Blues are looking to avenge last season’s playoff loss, emulate past glories Kelly Rahardja VARSITY CONTRIBUTOR

The Varsity Blues men’s hockey team is anxiously preparing to take to the ice in their season opener this coming Sunday.

The team is looking to avenge their fourth place finish in the OUA playoffs last season.

Toronto was eliminated in the quarterfinals in a heartbreaking, double overtime 4–3 loss to the Carleton Ravens.

This year’s group, consisting of both experienced players and fresh recruits, is ready to build upon last season’s success and move forward with a new strategy.

“I think last season our team lacked depth and this year we have a really solid lineup from top to bottom,” defenseman Matt Walters said.

“We had a tight knit team last year and I think we have become even closer this year and that will translate into better teamwork on the ice.”

Walters, who led all Blues blue-liners in scoring last season and has been recognized as the team’s top defenseman, is one of the returning players expected to provide leadership. Teammate and fellow veteran Tyler Turcotte will also be returning on defense, and will be asked to play a shut down role.

The team has added seven promising new recruits to compensate for the players who have graduated. “We’ve added a great group of first-year players this year that are going to be able to contribute to the team from day one,” says Walters. “All of the first year players fit in perfectly and are on board with what we are trying to accomplish as a team.”

Forward Cassidy Preston expressed similar sentiments. “We have a strong crop of first year players. We added some size on defense with [Matthew] Oakley and a couple of smart heads-up defensemen with [Dylan] Heide and [Lane] Werbowski.”

“Upfront we added some solid size and skill with [Tanner] Waldvogel and [Andrew] Doyle; [Ernesto] Valente is a shifty player with a great shot, and I think [Jeff] Brown will be an impact player for us all season with his intensity and skill.”

Preston is embarking on his fifth and final year with the Blues with optimism. “Playing for U of T might be my favourite team because it is right in the heart of Toronto. The environment around the Varsity Blues is a lot of fun and excitement. I’m very proud to represent U of T.” U of T has a rich hockey tradition. Since it began competing over a century ago, in 1891, the team has captured 10 national titles and been honoured by the presence of hockey legends, including Conn Symthe and Tom Watt. This season’s men are looking to continue to add to the team’s rich reputation.

“The team is going to have to manage their time and bring their best effort to the ice every night. If everyone on the team can bring their

best effort night in and night out, we will be very successful,” says Walters.

Cassidy Preston echoed those sentiments.

“Defensively we need to keep playing our team-first approach. We have a lot of good players, and when we all buy into our ‘teamfirst’ mentality and play good defensive hockey we have a chance to win every night, even against the top teams in the nation.

“Offensively, I think our team will need to score more by committee this season.”

The team got off to a winning start over the weekend, beating the RMC Paladins 4–1 on Friday and Nipissing University 5–2 on Sunday. The Blues held a 3-0 advantage over RMC until the Paladins spoiled the shutout with only two minutes left in the game. Forward Cassidy Preston led the team with three goals, including a hat trick to open the game and an empty netter to close it. The Blues return to the Varsity Arena on Thursday to take on Carleton Ravens.

Blues forward Blake Bobby led the team with five powerplay goals last season. Wyatt clough/the Varsity

BLUES BY THE NUMBERS 27

The number of saves made by women’s hockey goalie Krista Funke in the team’s 2–1 overtime victory over the Waterloo Warriors.

The Blues improved to 2–0–1 on the year.

0

The number of games that the field hockey team has lost this season. The Blues shut out the Queen’s Gaels to keep their perfect record.

Blues and Argonauts host Double Blue Classic Series

Argonauts fail to show up in 36–10 loss Zoë Bedard SPORTS EDITOR

4–1

The score in the men’s hockey regular season opener over the RMC Paladins. Blues forward Cassidy Preston scored three goals.

487

The women’s golf team’s two day total team score at the Toronto Invitational. The Blues have now won two successive OUA golf events including the Waterloo Invitational.

The Varsity Blues and Toronto Argonauts teamed up for the Double Blue Classic Series held at the Rogers Centre last weekend. The event is intended to celebrate Toronto’s football heritage by offering discounted tickets to U of T students.

The Blues and Argos have a rich history and rivalry. U of T has won four Grey Cups including the first two ever held in 1909 and 1910. The Blues have also come up against the Argonauts in three Grey Cups, coming away with victories in 1911 and 1920, and after falling to the Argos in 1914.

The series kicked off before a crowd of 25,000 who were forced to witness the Argos lose 36–10 to the Saskatchewan Roughriders.

The Argos entered the game at 7–6 and a win would have seen them tied with the Montreal Alouettes atop the Eastern division, with an opportunity to claim the division when the Als came to Toronto the following week. However, the Argos seemed to succumb to stage fright, and failed to make

headway against a middling Roughriders team.

The Argos deserved their ugly fate. They failed to mount any resistance and frankly didn’t appear to even be engaged in the game from the onset; the opening kickoff was returned 81 yards — setting the tone for the entire game.

There aren’t many positives for a team that can only score 10 points, or a crowd speckled with more green and white Saskatchewan fans than double blue supporters.

The game was reminiscent of a Varsity Blues football game.

It was a team with a less-than-stellar home crowd and one that showed flashes of potential one moment, then gave up 14 points on successive possessions the next.

“Clearly I didn’t have them ready to play,” Argos head coach Scott Milanovich said. “The only encouraging thing about tonight is that we get to play again next week. Ultimately it falls on me and we didn’t play well and the head coach is responsible for that so I’m going to put this one on me.”

Read the full article online: var.st/sports

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MONDAY, OCTOBER 15, 2012

NOTICE TO MEMBERS FALL 2012 ELECTIONS U.T.S.U. is YOUR Students’ Union. We are governed by a Board of Directors elected by YOU. Our campaigns and services are shaped by YOU. Our aim is to provide services and events that save you money and enrich your universtiy experience.

U.T.S.U. is holding its Fall 2012 by-elections to fill the following positions: POSITION

SEAT(S)

DIVISION I Transitional Year Program (TYP) Director

One (1)

DIVISION II Faculty of Law Director

One (1)

Toronto School of Theology Director

One (1)

Ontario Institute of Studies in Education of the University of Toronto (OISE) Director

One (1)

To run for a position, pick up a nomination package during the nomination period at the U.T.S.U. office. Please keep in mind the dates and deadlines.

DAT E S

For more information, visit your Students’ Union website at utus.ca or contact the Chief Returning Officer at cro@utsu.ca.

Election Nominations (All Positions)

October 1, 2012 at 09:00 to October 12, 2012 at 18:00

U.T.S.U. St. George Office: 12 Hart House Circle 416-978-4911

Election Campaign Period

October 15, 2012 at 09:00 to October 25, 2012 at 18:00

Monday to Friday: 09:00 to 18:00

Election Voting Period

October 24, 2012 to October 25, 2012

Weekends: CLOSED

23

DIVERSIONS

24 MONDAY, OCTOBER 15, 2012

var.st

What is keeping us from doing well on midterms this season?

In a completely scientific survey of himself, DAN SELJAK reveals the unique academic challenges posed by this time of year

MINOR DISTRACTIONS Existential dread (philosophy students only)

2% Planning for a jump from the stratosphere

24% Recovering from a serious pumpkin spice overdose

15% Inner turmoil over the coming deficit of NHL games

7% Anticipation for Taylor Swift’s new album drop

34% Prepping a cosplay outfit for The Hobbit

18%

10+24+3211149

POOR STUDY HABITS Using Rob Ford as a study buddy.

“Settlers of Catan is basically political theory, right?”

Failing to prove physics theory through Super Smash Bros.

Citing Ayn Rand.

Ever.

Insisting that two bottles of wine are a “study aid.”

Defending yourself online from upset Ayn Rand fans.

Have your own? Tweet them @thevarsity!

OISE Ontario Institute for Studies in Education THE UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO

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

www.oise.utoronto.ca/ro/info