October 22, 2018

THE VARSITY October 22, 2018

University of Toronto's Student Newspaper since 1880

Vol. CXXXIX, No. 7

DECISION TIME (From left to right) ANN MARIE ELPA, JACKSON WHITEHEAD, ANDY TAKAGI/THE VARSITY

Business Business Board reports on university’s investments, capital projects

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Comment Introducing The Varsity’s new Public Editor

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Feature Normalizing the conversation around female masturbation

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Arts & Culture U of Tears’ humour outlet: an interview with The Boundary

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Results of Trinity student experience survey reveal systemic issues

Transparency, inclusivity, alcohol at centre of findings Andy Takagi Associate News Editor

Tensions ran high in a meeting held by the Trinity College senate on October 15 to present the results of the 2018 student experience study, a survey of students at the college conducted every four years.

The meet was held in the George Ignatieff Theatre and conducted by Trinity College Assistant Provost

Jonathan Steels and University College official Naeem Ordóñez.

The survey was the source of controversy after college administration announced in July that Trinity student fees could no longer be used to purchase alcohol, and that major events such as the Saints and Conversat Balls would be held off-campus at permanently-licensed venues.

Citing the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act, Steels

Student-led petition calls for separate Computer Science convocation Petition had over 800 signatures Ann Marie Elpa Associate News Editor

Computer Science (CS) students started an online petition calling for a review to hold a separate convocation for the department. The petition, titled “Let CS Graduate Together!” proposed that students be given the

option to graduate with other students from their department. Currently, CS students graduate with other students from the college to which they belong.

After three months of petitioning, the student-led petition received 809 of its targeted 1,000 signatures.

Professional faculties and Rotman

study consistently found that students cared about issues around alcohol use, the transparency of the student government as well as the administration, and inclusivity. In addition, they placed high value on student leadership.

and Ordóñez declined to present any information that would reveal the demographics of the respondents, which included the removal of axis labels on all graphs that they showed.

Students in the audience heavily criticized this decision and tensions between the presenters and students in attendance remained high for the rest of the event.

Compiling the responses of 450 respondents and 70 focus groups, the

Alcohol use On issues of alcohol consumption, Steels first presented alcohol surveys from 2012 and 2015 that found that three in four respondents were drinkers, and a high number reported binge drinking, hospitalization due to alcohol consumption, reports of altercations, and vandalism of Trinity property.

Commerce are the only undergraduate divisions with their own ceremonies.

“Members of the committee are aware of the petition and are considering and taking concerns from Computer Science students,” said Elizabeth Church, Interim Director of U of T Media Relations.

“The review is also including a survey of graduates at this year’s spring and fall convocations,” said Church, adding that they also contacted recent alumni and five student governments for comment.

Lana El Sanyoura, a fourth-year CS student and organizer of the petition, spoke with The Varsity regarding her concerns about current convocation procedures and what

led her to creating the petition page.

“As Computer Science students, we spend so much of our time working together, so many of our courses are group-based, and we spend hours, even go past midnight, working in the Computer Labs at the Bahen Centre. We also take a majority of Computer Science courses, and have a strong, thriving, localized community that lies within the Bahen Centre, with the student union office, study lounges, computer labs, classes, and professor offices all in one place,” said El Sanyoura in an email.

Trinity, page 3

CS, page 3

2 | THE VARSITY

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THE VARSITY | NEWS CS, from cover “However, on the most important day of our academic careers, we are not there for each other at Convocation, because we are graduating with our Colleges.”

El Sanyoura also pointed out that the CS department shares similar features with Rotman Commerce, namely deregulated fees, a gradebased admission process, and a Professional Experience Year Co-op Program, which grants students the option of interning for 12–16 months after their second or third year. Rotman Commerce, unlike CS, has its own convocation.

“This petition could give students the chance

to celebrate their undergraduate experience with the community of students and faculty that they had been working along-side of through it all,” continued El Sanyoura.

Ignas Panero Armoska, a second-year CS student, shared the same community sentiment as Sanyoura, expressing a closer connection to classmates in the department.

“I believe that I identify with the CS community so much more than my [college’s], to the point where when people describe how they feel connected to or are vested in their college, I realize that is a space I hold for my computer science community, much like the engineers do.”

The Breakdown: Jennifer Keesmaat’s last-minute run for mayor

Keesmaat focuses on environmental sustainability, safety reform, infrastructure

The former chief planner wants to reduce the speed limit on residential roads to 30 kilometres per hour.

NATHAN CHAN/THE VARSITY

Silas Le Blanc Associate News Editor

Jennifer Keesmaat’s last-minute entry into the mayoral race drew her a lot of attention in a short campaign season. Since joining the race, she has steadily remained in second place in the polls.

Keesmaat is a York University and University of Western Ontario alum, and was Toronto’s Chief Planner from 2012–2017. Keesmaat’s policy plan consists of making Toronto greener and more sustainable, transforming Yonge Street, and focusing on transit planning.

Environmental sustainability Keesmaat’s environmental plan aims to create 100 kilometres of green streets each year mainly by planting gardens and trees on all streets that need to be resurfaced. She also plans on making more environmentally conscious infrastructure decisions, going off of what the Queens Quay Sustainable Sidewalk Program and the Rain Garden Parkette have aimed to accomplish. She is also dedicated to creating a stormwater management charge.

“Toronto will suffer more and more from the kinds of intense storms and flooding that climate change brings,” Keesmaat's website said on her environmental policies. “We can’t control the weather, but we can make different decisions about how we build out our infrastructure to minimize flooding and create a healthier, more liveable city for everyone.”

Safety Keesmaat plans to double the amount of mental health workers that work with the police force.

She also aims to expand the neighbourhood policing program to 140 neighbourhoods, with the hopes of bringing 911 response times up to the national average.

If elected, she would request the provincial and federal governments to ban the sale of handguns and handgun ammunition within Toronto’s borders.

Keesmaat plans to make the Vision Zero approach a requirement to all new development projects. Vision Zero is a municipal plan to make Toronto streets safer for drivers, passengers, pe-

destrians, and cyclists.

Under Vision Zero, Keesmaat would support reducing the speed limit to 30 kilometres per hour on all residential roads, as well as redesigning dangerous intersections and school zones within two years.

Taxes Like Tory, Keesmaat promised that she would cap most residential property taxes at inflation.

She is making an exception, however, to tax luxury homeowners with homes worth over $4 million at an additional 0.4 per cent per year.

The revenue from this tax would go back into an affordable home ownership program.

Keesmaat also said that she would push to see more revenue from the provincial and federal governments to go back into the city.

Infrastructure and transit To confront what she sees as transit planning chaos, Keesmaat plans to make up for lost time on a proposed relief line, which is a plan to build a rapid transit system to combat the crowded subways on Line 1.

Stations have already been selected, and according to Keesmaat it would take the city about one to two years to acquire property. During this time, utility relocations could commence, which she estimates will be about a six-month process.

“Everyone who rides the subway to work or school every day knows that we’ve reached a crisis point in this city. You wait on a dangerously overcrowded platform as packed train after packed train passes you by. And when you can finally get on, you’re crushed. Toronto commuters need relief, and they need it now,” said Keesmaat.

Her Yonge Street plan looks to “transform Yonge St. from Sheppard to Finch into a vibrant and unique urban destination in the heart of North York.” Keesmaat wants to make Yonge Street a place where residents can walk, drive, bike, and work. She also aims to address the amount of collisions, and instances of bikers and pedestrians being hit by cars.

Election day is on October 22, and advance voting ran October 10–14.

Review process The petition comes after the university announced a review for all upcoming convocations. U of T officials looked at current procedures such as venue size, number of guest tickets, diploma procedures, and whether or not each student should receive their diploma from the chancellor individually. The review also took into account the size of the university.

An advisory committee consisting of both academic staff and administrators from across all three campuses has been created. Among the committee members are Don MacMillan, Registrar at the Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering; Silvia Rosatone, Director at the Office of Convocation; Sheree Drummond, Secretary of Governing Council; and

Trinity, from cover Steels also referenced the 2018 Quad Party at Trinity, showing pictures of damaged restrooms and a torn-down Trinity College sign, which he said caused $15,000 in damages to property.

Ordóñez, who presented the findings of the 2018 study, found that while some students consider alcohol to be “part of the culture” of Trinity, others felt frustration over the consumption of alcohol at events. The study also found that a majority of students surveyed were unaware that student funds were being used to purchase alcohol for events.

Transparency and inclusion While some comments lauded the community at Trinity, others felt “disillusioned” and saw the student government as representative of only a certain population.

Responses also included comments that alleged classism, racism, and election influencing by “Social Trin and Episkopon.”

When Ordóñez was asked by an audience member about ethnic demographics in relation to activeness and engagement at Trinity, he responded that he could not give any explicit information. However, he did mention that in the 2015 Student Experience Survey, “you can see higher levels of engagement around traditional populations at Trinity than [from] modern populations at Trinity.”

One anonymous survey response from a student of colour this year criticized Trinity’s culture and lack of diversity: “The culture here is one of rich, privileged, private schooleducated kids who are white… I’ve also come across some really questionable behaviour and attitudes toward my race.”

Bryn MacPherson, Assistant Vice-President of the Office of the President & Chief of Protocol.

The committee will be looking at the factors and implications associated with the venue and ceremony procedures, such as accessibility services, budgeting, and inclusion of Indigenous culture.

The committee will be consulting with the 2018 spring and fall graduating classes, principals and deans, divisional faculty and staff, and the alumni community regarding final decisions.

Students and staff can submit comments or suggestions to the advisory committee through an online form by November 30. An interim report will be presented in December and a final report is expected to be delivered early next year.

In response The Varsity followed up with Trinity student and former Chair of the Trinity College Equity Committee Lisa Klekovkina, who criticized the way that information was presented and accused the administration of attempting to influence public opinion using data.

Klekovkina’s concerns centred around the omission of issues discussed during the focus groups, and the presentation of negative quotes and data that focused on dissatisfaction with Trinity’s student governance.

In addition, Klekovkina referred to another student who had raised concerns about mental health issues and sexual violence at Trinity to criticize the administration’s limited focus on alcohol as the sole cause for problems presented in the data.

“To me, it is obvious that liability is still more important to the administration than student suffering,” said Klekovkina.

Trinity student Lorraina Roth, who was also in attendance at the meeting, wanted to see “a deeper and more mutual understanding between the perspective of the students and the perspective of the administration.” Roth also added that the administration must listen to the attitudes and feelings of students if it wants to see positive change.

In a statement to The Varsity, Steels said, “We recognize that change is difficult. However, based on the work done last year, it was clear that action was needed to ensure that Trinity’s student social community is welcoming, inclusive, supportive, and safe for all of our 1,900 students.”

“We are working together with members of the community to reimagine aspects of the student experience in ways that ensure more inclusive practices that benefit the entire community.”

The Varsity has reached out to the Trinity Heads of College for comment.

Jonathan Steels referenced previous student surveys on alcohol use in the October 15 meeting.

ANDY TAKAGI/THE VARSITY

4 | THE VARSITY | NEWS

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Saron Gebresellassi, Sarah Climenhaga challenge appearance of twoperson mayoral race

Underreported candidates present progressive vision for Toronto on housing, transit Ilya Bañares Deputy News Editor

Voters across Toronto are heading to the ballot boxes today to choose their next municipal leaders.

Despite being the most prominent mayoral contenders, John Tory and Jennifer Keesmaat aren’t the only candidates running to lead Toronto.

Sarah Climenhaga, a safe streets advocate, registered to run for Mayor of Toronto the moment nominations opened at 8:30 am on May 1. Five months later, she said that the campaign has been going well, and that she has been able to drum up grassroots support through social media and public appearances. At the same time, however, she noted the lack of media attention on her candidacy.

“I have never really been able to break into the media, and without regular media coverage, it’s just too difficult to reach all of the Torontonians who are voting in this huge city,” Climenhaga said.

“It's just not fair, and name recognition is the most important thing in politics… Any incumbent who’s been in power for four years already has huge name recognition.”

When The Varsity spoke with Climenhaga, six days were left in the campaign, and contenders were trying to reach as many people as possible and distinguish themselves among the 35 mayoral candidates.

Nevertheless, Climenhaga said that the last few weeks had been good for her bid to become the city’s chief executive. She cited positive feedback from her debate performances, many of which have involved four candidates as a result of Tory’s announcement that he would not debate Keesmaat one-on-one. Tory is running for re-election and Keesmaat, who is currently at second place in the polls, is the city’s former Chief Planner.

Human rights lawyer Saron Gebresellassi echoed her mayoral rival and said that her own campaign has had many breakthroughs despite not having as high a budget as Tory’s.

In an interview, Gebresellassi said that she was campaigning as a “progressive alternative” to Tory.

“I have advocated vigorously for social equality in the City of Toronto and took a lot of inspiration from Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s victory in the City of New York,” she said, referencing the progressive candidate’s surprise win in a US Democratic primary. “People are really, really believing that a political upset is in our cards.”

Gebresellassi also mentioned that she was confident that, through community organizing, her bid for mayor would be able to defeat the “machinery” of Tory and Keesmaat.

Despite gains on social media, Gebresellassi called out the media’s perceived fixation on Keesmaat, calling her campaign “manufactured” and lacking in authenticity.

“She has a lot of money behind her, but look closely and you'll see she's not on the ground,” Gebresellassi alleged. “She doesn't canvass, she doesn't knock on doors.”

Gebresellassi also criticized Keesmaat for leaving minutes into a Mayoral Forum on Affordable Housing and Homelessness at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education when the event was disrupted by supporters of the controversial mayoral candidate and white nationalist Faith Goldy.

A spokesperson for Keesmaat’s campaign told The Toronto Star that same evening that she “left the stage when it seemed there was no longer an opportunity for open discussion.”

Gebresellassi is hoping to

Gebresellassi hopes to become the first racialized woman mayor.

Courtesy of MUNJYOT JASWAL/WOODEN PANDA

The Breakdown: John Tory’s campaign for re-election From taxes to transit, here’s the platform for the incumbent mayoral candidate Andy Takagi Associate News Editor

Mayor John Tory will be up for re-election in the municipal elections on October 22. Tory, who is currently leading in the polls, was a graduate of Trinity College and the leader of the Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario from 2004–2009. Following the late mayor Rob Ford’s drug abuse controversy and subsequent leave of absence for rehabilitation, Tory was elected in October 2014 as Mayor of Toronto.

Taxes, jobs, and affordability Basing his platform on past accomplishments, such as funding the Poverty Reduction Plan and expanding the Student Nutrition Program, Tory’s campaign website declares his “commitment to keeping Toronto affordable.”

This includes promises to keep property taxes at or below the rate of inflation for four more years — a mainstay from his campaign in 2014 — and implementing a Poverty Reduction 2.0 plan.

The plan would address “Housing Stability, Service Access, Transit Equity, Food Access, Quality Jobs and Livable Wages, Systemic Change,” though no detailed funding and execution plans are available.

Tory also touts his success, claiming that 200,000 jobs were created during his current term, and hopes to push for more from the tech, film, and banking sectors. He plans to do this by keeping commercial property taxes low.

He also hopes to expand youth employment through his Partnership to Advance Youth Employment program, which aims to reduce youth unemployment by half.

One of his major criticisms of Jennifer Keesmaat

become the first racialized female mayor of Toronto. One of her campaign slogans is “This Is What a Mayor Looks Like.”

“I’m up against the whole weight of political history,” she said. “We’ve had almost all men, we’ve had two women, but other than that, almost exclusively a lineage of men who are Anglo-Saxon and come from a more privileged background.”

Progressive policies Gebresellassi and Climenhaga are both running on progressive platforms of expanded social services and more equitable communities across the city.

Climenhaga spoke on how places with good transit, bike-friendly streets, and walkable pavements are expensive, while areas that don’t have transit — and are thus predominantly car-oriented — are more affordable.

“We’re actually forcing people of low income to buy a car because they can’t afford to live in the neighbourhoods where you don't need a car,” she said.

Climenhaga proposed prioritizing public transportation over private vehicles, favouring bicycle corridors throughout the city, and adding more traffic-calming measures like lower speed limits in residential neighbourhoods.

For her part, Gebresellassi is proposing to make public transit free for all users, a central tenet of her campaign.

“Free transit experts in Toronto, who I've also been in contact with, have already laid out a pathway to finance free transit,” Gebresellassi said. “There’s a number of revenue sources, including a commitment from the federal government… to contribute to the cost of transit as well as… closing corporate tax loopholes.”

“It’s not something that would happen overnight, but it’s certainly something that is in the future of the city,” she added.

When asked about what they would do about precarious housing, given the house fire that killed a UTSC student back in May, Climenhaga said that she would harmonize the rules surrounding rooming houses to make them safe and viable options for students.

“What we have now is a situation where people don’t want rooming houses in certain neighbourhoods, but they exist nonetheless,” she said. “All the people in those illegal rooming houses are at risk, but the rooming houses offer a big potential for affordable housing and we just need to make sure that they’re safe, rather than driving them underground and having them be dangerous.”

Gebresellassi is advocating for an additional 20,000 affordable housing units to be built over the next four years. “I’ve also said that I’ll be declaring a state of emergency on housing immediately upon assuming office and establish an affordable housing task force that will bring together the foremost housing experts, policy wonks, engineers, and actuarians that could actually make it happen.”

She added that she will commit to a “really aggressive approach” on the issue by unlocking city lands, which she says are underutilized, and committing to inclusionary zoning to build more affordable units.

“We will not let another term go by without fixing affordable housing.”

Climenhaga wants to add more traffic-calming measures.

Courtesy of MICHAEL TSENG

— the former Chief Planner, and Tory’s biggest challenger, according to polls — is her willingness to create new taxes and raise existing ones, claiming that the move would “make Toronto less affordable for Toronto residents.”

Keesmaat’s proposed taxes include one on luxury homes over $4 million and another charge for stormwater management.

Affordable housing and homelessness With nearly 100 homeless deaths in Toronto in 2017 alone, Tory was called out this past winter for his delayed decision to expand winter shelters into city armouries for the homeless. He was also criticized for not attending a mayoral forum on affordable housing and homelessness held at U of T on October 15.

In this election, Tory has put affordable housing at the centre of his second term, calling for 400 new spaces for Toronto’s homeless population to relieve the often overcrowded shelters.

Tory’s affordable housing platform is based on building 40,000 affordable rental units over 12 years, which is mainly a continuation of his current work.

He hopes to attract “social impact investors” to create new affordable housing, and to appoint an “Affordable Housing Secretariat to coordinate the City’s activities on Affordable Housing.”

Transit and traffic Tory’s transit plan is largely a continuation of his work as mayor, including the controversial one-stop Scarborough subway plan, which was voted for by City Council over light rail transit but criticized for being poorly planned. During his current term, Tory struck a fare agreement with the provincial government for $3 GO fares and secured a $9 billion downpayment from the provincial and federal governments for transit.

The incumbent candidate was also criticized for SmartTrack — a plan to create a surface transit system using rail corridors. Keesmaat was an especially vocal critic, saying that SmartTrack “never left the station,” hoping to cancel the eastern extensions, and calling it a “distraction” or “mirage.”

Crime and policing After what he described as a “shocking” wave of gun deaths over the summer, Tory reversed his police hiring freeze and proposed a handgun ban to be considered by the federal government.

In his campaign commitments, Tory promised to establish a Community Safety Advisory Body and match the $25 million that the provincial government has invested into community safety programs — with an emphasis on community programming for young people.

OCTOBER 22, 2018 | 5

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How to report workplace harassment if you’re a U of T student

Examining how workplace harassment, sexual harassment are handled by the university Rinna Diamantakos Varsity Contributor

Students who work for the university are not immune to workplace harassment. To combat the problem, Governing Council’s Policy with Respect to Workplace Harassment provides guidelines on how students can file complaints in the event that they experience harassment at work.

The policy provides student and faculty employees of the university with three options for filing complaints: victims can either contact their human resources office, their union, or their supervisor. If the grievance is against the supervisor, the complainant can go to a seniorlevel department member. The policy also instructs victims to contact the Sexual Violence Prevention and Support Centre.

Elizabeth Church, a U of T spokesperson, said that it is “hard to generalize [the complaint process] because it depends on the nature of the case, so the next steps and consequences would be decided based on the general nature of the case.”

Church explained that apart from contacting one’s supervisor, the university has “13 divisional human resource offices, that all employees… including student employees, have access to.

They can contact those offices if they have concerns, or to get information, or to access support.”

Church added, “In most cases, student employees are also covered by one or more collective agreements, [which] have provisions with respect to workplace harassment and complaints.” Students also have the ability to contact the Equity Office to learn more about the ways that they can deal with issues of harassment relating to discrimination.

In January 2017, U of T also implemented the Policy on Sexual Violence and Sexual Harassment, which applies to all members of the U of T community.

Individuals can report incidents of sexual harassment to their campus’ Sexual Violence Prevention and Support Centre.

The policy gives the university the jurisdiction

to commence an official investigation into the incident. A complainant may request no investigation, but the university may choose to proceed with one anyway, in accordance with its responsibility to the safety of the community.

Investigations will allow both the complainant and respondent to submit statements detailing the alleged assault, although the complainant can choose not to participate. Complainants will also have the option of being referred to support services and receiving academic accommodations.

However, reporting incidents relies on the victim, as the policy explains that simply disclosing information about a sexual assault to a member of staff does not constitute reporting.

All incidents must be brought to the support centre if the complainant wishes to move forward.

This policy allowed U of T to meet the requirements of Bill 132, which was put forth by the government of Ontario in 2016 and addresses sexual assault and harassment in the workplace and on university campuses.

Bill 132 states that universities must have sexual assault policies that explain how they will respond to complaints.

In her 2015 action plan, former premier Kathleen Wynne addressed the power dynamics and deep-rooted misogyny embedded within sexual violence. She called on the importance of improving the safety of postsecondary campuses, saying that “assault and harassment are too prevalent and often go unreported and unchecked.”

The imbalance of power is especially important in the context of students employed in university positions, where they often work alongside individuals of higher standing.

Statistics Canada reported that sexual assault was the least reported violent crime in the country in 2014, in part, because victims were worried about the perception of sexual assault as unimportant.

Acknowledging the imbalances of power between students and their employer may help dispel students’ fear that reporting could cost them their position or reputation.

TROY LAWRENCE/THE VARSITY

Mayoral forum on affordable housing, homelessness marred by disruption, protests

Keesmaat leaves venue as pro-Goldy protesters clash with audience, counterprotesters

Gebresellassi called out Keesmaat for leaving the debate early.

ANDY TAKAGI/THE VARSITY

Andy Takagi Associate News Editor

A mayoral forum on affordable housing held on October 14 descended into disarray as protesters and audience members clashed over controversial white nationalist candidate Faith Goldy.

The forum was held in the auditorium of the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education and organized by the Toronto Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now. While the candidates who were announced to attend the debate were Mayor John Tory, Jennifer Keesmaat, Sarah Climenhaga, and Saron Gebresellassi, Tory declined the invitation to attend. The debate was moderated by Angela Robertson, a social justice activist.

Prior to the debate, Keesmaat, Climenhaga, and Gebresellassi had signed a housing pledge that committed their efforts toward eliminating homeless deaths and establishing capital funding for Toronto Community Housing. It also defined ‘affordable housing’ as based on income rather than the current definition, which ties and caps rent increases to the Consumer Price Index. The pledge also supports inclusionary zoning, which requires new developments to include a percentage of units that are affordable.

While all the candidates took to the stage, another candidate who had not been announced at the debate, Dionne Renée — who spells her name D!ONNE Renée — sat down at the space onstage reserved for Tory.

Robertson began her opening statements but was interrupted by another mayoral candidate, Kevin Clarke, who called out the event organizers for not inviting him to the debate.

Soon after, protesters in the audience began shouting, “Let Faith debate,” calling for the organizers to let Goldy participate in the event. A similar protest occurred on September 26 at a mayoral debate at UTSC. The controversy surrounding Goldy stems from her white nationalist views. A former contributor to The Rebel Media — a far-right media outlet — Goldy was fired in 2017 after covering the Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Virginia and then appearing on a neo-Nazi-affiliated podcast.

Since then, Goldy has repeated white supremacist language and adopted alt-right conspiracy theories.

Shortly after the commotion began, Keesmaat, Climenhaga, and Gebresellassi left the stage while Renée remained.

Clarke and the protesters were asked to leave by the moderator and organizers.

One organizer spoke into a microphone attempting to calm the audience, referencing Tory’s absence by saying, “The enemy didn’t come… Why are we fighting each other?”

In a statement to The Toronto Star regarding Tory’s absence, spokesperson Keerthana Kamalavasan

wrote, “Mayor Tory is attending an event Monday night for Box 12 Association - a volunteer group that provides support to Toronto Fire. Our campaign had asked for an alternative date but none were provided.”

The candidates, excluding Keesmaat, returned to the stage after multiple police officers and Campus Police escorted the protesters and Clarke out of the auditorium. Robertson continued the forum with Renée, Climenhaga, and Gebresellassi by asking each candidate five predetermined questions.

Regarding Keesmaat’s early exit from the debate, a spokesperson for Keesmaat’s campaign told The Toronto Star: “Jennifer left the stage when it seemed there was no longer an opportunity for open discussion. It’s unfortunate tonight’s event was so chaotically disrupted and she hopes no one was injured.”

Gebresellassi opened by calling out Keesmaat for leaving the building and Tory for not attending, saying that both had “failed the working-class people of the city.”

Gebresellassi promised to declare a “state of emergency” on housing if elected and also promised to defeat the “machinery” of Tory and Keesmaat.

Climenhaga committed to issues mentioned in the housing pledge, including the development of more shelters and inclusionary zoning.

“I don’t have new ideas or new solutions. I just want to follow the ones that exist. All we need is political will and funding.”

In addition, Climenhaga advocated for the use of city lands to develop affordable housing and municipal co-ops.

In her opening statement, Renée claimed that she was being deliberately excluded from media coverage and also alleged that the other two candidates — Climenhaga and Gebresellassi — had left at the direction of Keesmaat during the earlier commotion.

Renée heavily emphasized the need to keep rent tied to income and also called on the provincial and federal governments to identify housing as a human right.

Referencing the HGTV show Property Brothers — in which two brothers quickly renovate and develop a house with a limited budget and timeframe — Renée felt that affordable housing could be developed quickly and funded by cutting wages of provincial employees who make more than $100,000.

More protesters emerged toward the end of the forum, claiming that Goldy was being barred outside the auditorium by police.

Goldy was seen outside the room, where police stood in front of the entrance, giving comments to her supporters and responding to counterprotesters.

The event concluded with statements from other mayoral candidates in the audience, including Knia Singh, Kris Langenfeld, and Chai Kalevar.

Business

October 22, 2018 var.st/business biz@thevarsity.ca

TD commits $6.7 million to Rotman initiatives

Bank funds research in data analytics, health care, behavioural economics

The three initiatives were announced on October 11.

SHANNA HUNTER/THE VARSITY

Michael Teoh Business Editor

TD has announced three financial contributions to U of T’s Rotman School of Management. The donations consist of $4 million to establish the TD Management Data and Analytics Lab, $2.5 million to become a founding member of the Creative Destruction Lab’s (CDL) Health stream, and approximately $200,000 toward the Behavioural Economics in Action at Rotman (BEAR) centre.

Speaking of donations generally, Ken McGuffin, Rotman's Media Relations Manager, wrote

in an email to The Varsity that this type of support “[allows] us to invest in innovative academic and experiential programs, provide door-opening scholarships to students in need, support research by our faculty and much more.”

TD Management Data and Analytics Lab

The bulk of TD’s financial contributions will be used to fund the establishment and staffing of a new data analytics lab at Rotman. This lab will provide Rotman students with a greater range of resources for research in data and analytics, including funding workshops, hackathons, and guest lectures.

The research output coming from this partnership will remain in the public domain. The partnership is “about the general public good and [TD’s] ability to work with students,” according to Christian Nelissen, TD’s Head of Enterprise Data and Analytics. Nelissen added that Rotman “has a terrific brand reputation” and that it is “very much aligned into what [TD is] trying to do and how we think about future of data and analytics and the respective roles in that.”

“Rotman is a great partner because… their job is to build the managers of the future and to broaden out people’s horizons and… the broader capability around data analytics,” said Nelissen.

Toronto ranked as the fourth best North American city in CBRE’s 2018 tech talent markets report, and Rotman’s increased research funding is expected to add to the city’s growing tech sector.

TD further hopes that fostering this strong partnership with Rotman will encourage more graduates to work for the bank. This is an equally valuable outcome for Rotman. “The support of TD and our other partners… in providing internship, employment, and other learning opportunities is tremendous. Experiential learning is a key part of many of our programs,” said McGuffin.

The partnership is for an initial five-year period.

Nelissen described it as “more than just a commercial relationship,” and as one that will continue to develop over time. “We also have to make sure that Rotman grows and develops and gets to do what it wants to do,” he said.

The $4 million contribution follows TD’s $1 million donation to the Rotman Financial Innovation Hub in Advanced Analytics last year, which helped develop new classes and learning opportunities in financial innovation, including workshops and scholarships.

CDL Health stream

TD’s $2.5 million pledge to the CDL makes it a Corporate Founding Member of the CDL Health stream, which focuses on biotechnology, bioinformatics, diagnostics, and digital care. The CDL “merges science-based projects with business expertise to help young companies scale-up into creators of new jobs, processes, and services,” according to its website.

In March, TD launched the Ready Commitment, which sets a $1 billion target for philanthropy by 2030 to “support change, nurture progress, and contribute to making the world a better, more inclusive place.”

Andrea Barrack, TD’s Vice-President of Global Corporate Citizenship, considers work with the CDL as important to fulfilling the Ready Commitment. “We’re a large bank… but we don’t have enough money to actually solve all of the health care issues that are out there. And so what we’re looking for is, what can we fund that would be catalytic in its impact?” she said. “What can we do in health care to actually make it more accessible to the patient and make it easier to access? And so I think that was the CDL.” Startups in the Health stream will attend five in-person objective-setting sessions between October 2018 and June 2019. Startups that address health-related issues at any level of development will be considered for inclusion in the stream. The Health stream currently operates at two of the CDL’s six locations: one at U of T, and the other in Vancouver. Barrack added that there is a “huge growth plan and certainly massive interest,” and that TD wants “to be able to significantly contribute to [the CDL] being able to scale and meet the demand [for health startup incubators].”

Artificial intelligence (AI) developments and startups flourish within the CDL because it provides a longer incubation period, according to Tomi Poutanen, TD’s Chief AI Officer and a founding fellow of the CDL. Unlike “incubators that you race to create a pitch… [at the CDL], over a nine-month period, you get coached and find a market and are able to build a business,” he said, Poutanen noted that with over 100 AI companies operating through the CDL, it is recognized as the largest AI venture accelerator.

This partnership is also for an initial five-year period. “We want to contribute in the way that we can, but it’s not a quid pro quo for us, right? When we use our philanthropy, we believe in the potential impact of that project. We want to be able to be helpful to that, but we don’t ever put ourselves in a decisioning role around what goes forward or not,” said Barrack.

Read the rest of the story at var.st/tdrotman

Business Board releases reports on investments, endowment, capital projects Investment returns fall short of targets, endowment increases $124 million from last year Michael Teoh Business Editor

The Business Board of U of T’s Governing Council held its first meeting of the 2018– 2019 academic year on October 9. Among the 18 items discussed at Simcoe Hall were a semiannual update on investment performance, the annual endowment financial report for the previous academic year, and the status of capital projects costing over $2 million.

Comprised of 41 members, the Business Board is responsible for monitoring the costeffectiveness of the university’s investments and for approving its business policies.

Semi-annual report on investment performance

The semi-annual report on investment performance was presented by Darren Smith, the President and Chief Investment Officer of the University of Toronto Asset Management Corporation (UTAM). UTAM is responsible for managing the university’s pension funds, endowment pool, and Expendable Funds Investment Pool (EFIP). The assets in these profiles total just under $10 billion.

All three portfolios’ actual returns have un-

derperformed against the university’s targets since the start of 2018. The actual returns for pension and endowment portfolios were 2.2 per cent each, against their 3.1 per cent targets.

The actual return for the EFIP was 0.9 per cent against a 1.1 per cent target. Smith attributed this to “an unfavourable capital market environment.”

Over a one-year basis and a five-year basis, UTAM’s actual returns for all three portfolios have outperformed target returns.

Smith believes that in the next five to 10 years, outperforming targets will be more challenging. “We’re very thoughtful about the current market environment,” he said. “Frankly, we’ve been surprised over the incredible run we’ve seen over the last couple of years. We keep expecting that markets will cool off, and that will happen at some point.”

Sheila Brown, U of T’s Chief Financial Officer and a UTAM board member, added, “It is our expectation that when the markets go down, we will go down with them.” She said that the Business Board should focus on UTAM’s long-term assets and positions when the markets go down. “[This is] an important lesson for us to keep in mind collectively as we go through what will inevitably be a downturn

The Business Board convenes six times per academic year.

SAMANTHA YAO/THE VARSITY

in the market that I think everyone is sitting waiting for.”

Annual endowment financial report

U of T currently has over 6,260 individual endowment funds totalling $2.5 billion market value, an increase of $124 million from the 2017 report. Of the $124 million increase, $39 million is from endowed donations, $14 million is from the university’s unrestricted funds, and $181 million is from investment income. There is a $25 million deduction for fees and expenses and an $85 million allocation for spending.

Each endowment has its own terms and conditions, which define the parameters of how the funds should be allocated and/or invested, as well as how the investment returns may be

spent. For “the donated funds themselves and the funds that are designated as endowments, we cannot spend that original capital — we can only spend the investment return,” said Brown.

Scholarships constitute a large portion of the endowment funds, but in some cases, particularly due to tuition rates rising faster than the inflation rate, they may no longer able to provide adequate financial support. According to David Palmer, U of T’s Vice-President of Advancement, U of T’s “policies preserve purchasing power of endowments relative to the original gift, not to the purpose.”

— With f iles from Matias Gutierrez Read the rest of the story at var.st/bb18one

Comment

October 22, 2018 var.st/comment comment@thevarsity.ca

Waging war Ford’s drive to repeal Bill 148 is an assault on fair pay and work practices for Ontario workers, including students William Cuddy Varsity Contributor

On October 2, Premier Doug Ford took to the floor of Queen’s Park to make an announcement: “We’re going to make sure we tell the world Ontario is open for business,” and in order to make the province “competitive around the world,” it is time to get rid of Bill 148. This decision is a massive coup by greedy employers and a blow to the rights of Ontario’s workers, including students.

Bill 148, also known as the Fair Workplaces, Better Jobs Act, was passed in November 2017 by the recently ousted Liberal government. Notably, it increased the minimum wage in Ontario to $14 per hour — with a further increase to $15 per hour set for January 2019.

The act established an ‘equal pay for equal work’ clause, by which part-time employees performing the same tasks as full-time employees would be paid the same wage. It also standardized the potential of a full 10 days of leave a year, whereas previously, some workplaces had no obligation to give their employees any leave. Finally, it gave workers the right to refuse last-minute shift changes without the risk of being fired.

The law is summarized on the Ontario government’s website: “Many workers struggle to support their families on part-time, contract or minimum-wage work, and many more don’t have access to time off due to illness.” It is specifically geared toward punishing predatory employers who exploit gaps in existing legislation and changes in the job market.

Students often take up part-time employment during the semester to pay their bills. Those who work in industries like retail and services — as a customer sales representative or barista, for example — stand to lose the most from the act being repealed.

Chris Buckley, President of the Ontario Federation of Labour, explained that Bill 148 addressed “shamefully outdated labour and employment laws.” For example, before the introduction of Bill 148, workplaces with under 50 employees were able to refuse giving sick leave.

They could also label some part-time employees as ‘independent contractors,’ exempting them from being paid as much as full-time employees.

The push for repeal has been led in part by the Retail Council of Canada (RCC). In a letter dated September 24, it argued that Bill 148

Ford’s desire to repeal Bill 148 would strike a blow to last year’s provincial minimum wage increase.

SHANNA HUNTER/THE VARSITY

had directly led to the loss of over 46,000 jobs in Ontario’s retail and wholesale sector, with the biggest factor being the increase in the minimum wage from $11.40 to $14, forcing layoffs and increasing prices of goods.

The RCC has grossly mischaracterized this loss. The Ontario labour market has gained almost 83,000 jobs in the public sector since September 2017, despite a sharp decline in January this year. The retail industry lost only 14,500 jobs, of which over 5,000 came from the shuttering of retail giant Sears.

The RCC also said that the use of the two new days of paid leave is disproportionately higher than unpaid leave and thus shows that employees are misusing them. Its position is that, rather than amending the bill to address their concerns, the province should just start over with a repeal.

According to the RCC, worker’s rights were implemented too quickly, and the minimum wage was raised too fast for businesses to cope — a convenient stance that would let em-

An invitation to readers Introducing Morag McGreevey as The Varsity’s new Public Editor Morag McGreevey Public Editor

In her inaugural column as The Varsity’s first Public Editor, Sophie Borwein wrote that “if there was ever a golden era of newspaper journalism, this isn’t it.” Her words still ring true. And so, readers of The Varsity, this is your invitation: to write, challenge, and engage with our campus newspaper this year. To enable me, as your new Public Editor, to advocate for better, more transparent, more ethical journalism.

The concept of a public editor isn’t a new one.

In Canada, the role dates back to 1972, when The Toronto Star appointed an ombudsman to arbitrate between the newspaper and its readers.

Although the position is more recent at The Varsity, my predecessor Borwein made great strides toward modelling what thoughtful public editing looks like on a university campus.

Despite this precedent, the role of a public editor continues to feel fresh, urgent, even slightly undefined. The function of a public editor has remained constant over the years: to advocate for readers, hold newspapers accountable, and promote the public interest. But the challenges fac-

ployers continue underpaying workers while stonewalling any meaningful replacement legislation.

It’s not just retail; the Ontario Chamber of Commerce (OCC) released a statement on August 30 with a quote from its president and CEO, Rocco Rossi: “Premier Ford pledged to make Ontario ‘Open for Business’… this begins with the reversal of Bill 148.” The OCC released its statement within a day of the Ford government’s meeting with top Canadian banks.

This was no coincidence. By opening himself up to the advice of ‘experts,’ Ford was inviting big business interests and lobbying. While the Ford government has yet to introduce legislation to repeal Bill 148, it seems that the move to repeal it is almost a foregone conclusion.

The arguments for repealing this act are misleading. Part-time employment takes a natural dip in the summer. Before the implementation of two paid sick days with Bill 148, sick leave was rarely taken because employees

ing newsrooms, and the concerns articulated by audiences, have undergone a fundamental change.

How can campus journalists present news accurately and impartially in the age of social media?

What is the most responsible way of addressing reader concerns in an increasingly polarized political landscape? And when readers’ interests come into conflict with traditional journalistic practices, who should be privileged? By answering these questions, publicly and critically, I hope to narrow the distance between readers and reporters, and increase The Varsity’s credibility through accountability.

As an ex-journalist and third-year law student, I am aware that law and journalism don’t share the same procedural and substantive mechanisms for arriving at the truth. In journalism, the body politic — you, the reader — plays a much more critical role in demanding fair, accurate reporting. The standard of balanced reporting that we require of

could not afford to miss work, even for the benefit of their own health. The province is labelling this as a victory for Ontario’s economy, when it disenfranchises workers who were already being treated cynically by service and retail industries.

Ford’s eagerness to accept lobbyists into Queen’s Park betrays how willing he is to deal with moneyed interests in even the early stages of his premiership. Furthermore, aiming to repeal Bill 148 shows his disregard for poverty-stricken and student workers and how the province is clueless, or at least willfully ignorant, about the state of Toronto’s job market.

The introduction of Bill 148 was a step toward fairer work practices in a province lagging behind in terms of workers’ rights. If Ford repeals the bill, the employees of Ontario will know that he does not have all of their best interests in mind.

William Cuddy is a f ifth-year Political Science and History student at Victoria College.

The Varsity emerges from our shared expectations of journalistic integrity. But this relationship cuts both ways. Just as its readers shape The Varsity, our campus newspaper provides an identity for the University of Toronto community. Where words have real power, The Varsity must be conscientious about the narratives it puts into the world and be aware of the stories it leaves out. As Public Editor, I can’t make every private concern public, but I can help steer the larger conversation to the things that matter most to our community.

My voice, on these pages, reflects an aspirational journalism in which ethics, facts, and balanced critical analysis are always at the forefront. I am, of course, aware of my own fallibility. That is why I invite you to reach out to me at publiceditor@ thevarsity.ca with your questions, comments, and criticisms. My hope is that, together, we might hold each other accountable in a democratic exchange of news, opinions, and ideas.

8 | THE VARSITY | COMMENT

comment@thevarsity.ca

Introducing comment reports This year, contributors are encouraged to make the best of both news reporting and opinion writing through the new subsection of comment reports. These are full-page, opinion feature pieces that provide an in-depth investigation into issues that matter for the U of T community. Not only can contributors

cover original stories and conduct interviews, as reporters are expected to do, but they will offer a layer of analysis and slant that makes their bias clear to the reader. This year, you might see comment reports in a variety of forms, such as profiles of public figures, a breakdown of highly salient controversies, or

a deep dive into a question that’s on everyone’s mind.

In this week’s section, you will see two comment report profiles on candidates in the Toronto municipal elections.

While they are both young U of T alumni, their political trajectories could not be further: one is a progressive commit-

ted to anti-racism, who hopes to be a city councillor; the other is a fringe white nationalist candidate, who is running for mayor. Perhaps this is a stark reminder that, despite the formative years that we share at U of T together, the characters that we become may be radically divergent, to say the least.

For Ward 13, I’m with Walied Khogali Ali In a frightening political climate, the progressive, community-based and charismatic leadership of the UTM alum provides hope for Toronto Jaime McLaughlin Varsity Contributor

It’s a warm and sunny Sunday mid-afternoon. The soca is bumping and the scents of beef and masala patties fill the air. Friends both old and new acquaint themselves through hugs and handshakes as the bustling chatter grows louder. We’ve all gathered in eager anticipation of the guest of honour: Walied Khogali Ali. When Khogali arrives at the scene — the backyard of his campaign office on Carlton Street near Regent Park — he grabs hold of a microphone to address his supporters. My eyes scan the scene before me, registering both the sight of an impassioned man delivering a gracious, heartfelt rallying cry, as well as the hopeful, inspired, and attentive expressions plastered upon the faces of audience members.

In what feels more like a block party than anything political, I realize that Khogali’s campaign is the product of an entire community, here to celebrate and support a young man they’ve seen grow before their eyes.

The UTM alum has been working hard on his bid for City Council in Ward 13 Toronto Centre.

Between Khogali’s optimism, gratitude, charisma, and vision, it is difficult not to rally behind this man with a plan for Toronto.

A record of social justice Khogali is originally from Sudan and has been a fixture in Regent Park ever since he and his family settled in the community in 2005. As one of seven kids, he never misses the opportunity to gush about his family. His mom often accompanies him to functions, ensuring that energetic, young volunteers never leave the office with empty stomachs.

Khogali evidently has strong familial and community ties, which have informed a decorated record of service and leadership all centred around critical social justice and human rights issues in our city. He’s fearless in fighting back for those he cares about.

For instance, he co-founded the Coalition Against White Supremacy and Islamophobia, a cohort of some 170 organizations dedicated to anti-racism work. He’s been a leader in environmental justice and student movements, serving as president of the Toronto Environmental Alliance and Executive Director of the UTM Students’ Union. He also co-founded TTCriders, a transit advocacy group. And he has held key positions in the Toronto and York Regional Labour Council and the city’s Labour Community Services, and worked to support underserved Toronto communities with United Way. Impressively, though he is a young politician, he’s not one to rest on his laurels. I can think of no better figure than Khogali who symbolizes the strength, resilience, and perseverance that Toronto desperately needs to weather a stormy political climate.

The reality of racism in Toronto politics Khogali is a Black Muslim immigrant, perched at the intersections of insidious antiBlack racism, Islamophobia, and xenophobia that lurk in the underbelly of Toronto’s government and people — even among self-congratulatory ‘progressives.’

Indeed, currently elected officials — including Mayor John Tory and councillor Giorgio Mammoliti — have made questionable comments about young Black men, labelling them as “sewer rats,” “cockroaches,” and “thugs” in discussions regarding violence citywide and social housing tenancy in Jane and Finch.

Such hateful rhetoric often gets swept under the rug.

However, what is perhaps even more dangerous about all this is that it also emboldens other, more opportunistic politicians to capitalize on a narrative of violence, perpetuating their own hateful rhetoric while dressing it up as an innovative solution or ‘safety’ initiative.

For instance, Toronto’s most infamous mayoral candidate is a white nationalist whose campaign to “Make Toronto Safe Again” revolves around the view that refugees and Muslims are threats.

It is difficult to imagine how pushing out some of Toronto’s most vulnerable, marginalized communities that are fleeing conflict and persecution would make the city safer. I urge fellow students and all Torontonians to consider sensationalist figures like the aforementioned a serious threat. These kinds of candidates are not standalone; they are woven into the fabric of even the province at large.

After all, Premier Doug Ford had initially declined to address the photos he has posed for with the aforementioned white nationalist.

Recall that it was Ford himself who was going to attempt to override the Charter, all to arbitrarily reduce the size of Toronto’s city council just weeks before the election. This has seriously compromised the ability of newcomer candidates from racialized communities to enter municipal politics.

Investing in youth It is clear that the politics around us is steeped in racism. Despite such a negative political climate in Toronto, I still hold out hope for a brighter future because of leaders like Khogali who symbolize resistance. I believe that he can keep these regressive politicians in check.

He has already publicly confronted Ford about the possible restoration of Toronto Anti-Violence Intervention Strategy — a “racist police division,” which was ineffective and known for its use of carding, the stopping and questioning of individuals when no particular offence is being investigated — at a Somali-Canadian forum earlier this year. Khogali shared that the program actually “traumatized” many racialized youth with whom he had spoken. Many other concerned audience

Walied Khogali is running for Toronto City Council in Ward 13 Toronto Centre.

Courtesy of URANRANEBI AGBEYEGBE

members applauded the response.

Indeed, Khogali’s work as a mentor and role model for racialized, newcomer, and other marginalized youth from his own community are what all leaders should aspire to become.

It provides an opportunity to challenge the dynamics in the status quo.

After all, the youth of this city have so many challenges to overcome. Between the threats of violence, the impossibility of home ownership in a skyrocketing real estate market, and questionable government cuts to essential programs, we need young leaders who are focused on making our youth confident in their futures and proud to call Toronto home.

We can see proof in the solutions that Khogali has proposed for issues that affect racialized youth. Rather than cut essential programs and beef up the police, as Ford desires, Khogali is focused on investment.

He wants to ensure that youth have options for postsecondary education, access to programs in which they can develop leadership skills and civic engagement, and opportunities for recreational programs to build life skills, like swimming. These positive changes would represent the first step toward a safer and more productive Toronto.

The ward — including Regent Park, Cabbagetown, and St. James Town — has 19 candidates who are all vying to represent a population of around 100,000.

Unlike some others, though, Khogali is not a career politician — he’s a grassroots activist and organizer, who has tirelessly dedicated years of his life to community-led initiatives meant to affect change. He has no money to spend on YouTube ads, hundreds of lawn signs, or cash incentives for prospective voters.

His campaign has been fuelled by the generous support of his community, which has come together to stand and fight alongside him.

Khogali stands out because of his progressive platform, which includes affordable housing and transit, commitment to poverty eradication through familial support and job creation, and inclusive and hate-free community building.

It is not built on empty promises. From implementing the province’s first U-Pass program in his UTM days to organizing a national day of action in February 2017 in response to Trump’s Muslim ban, he has a history of fighting for important causes.

For the youth, for the marginalized, and for the future — I’m with Walied Khogali Ali.

The stride to match the swagger Khogali’s commitment to anti-racism, among many other reasons, is why he is the perfect choice for the council selection in Ward 13.

Jaime McLaughlin is a third-year History and Political Science student at University College.

OCTOBER 22, 2018 | 9

var.st/comment

The Faith Goldy effect

Uncovering the manipulative politics of the U of T alum who became the far-right, white nationalist Toronto mayoral candidate Anastasia Pitcher Varsity Contributor

Faith Goldy is not your average U of T alum. In 2012, she received the Gordon Cressy Student Leadership Award, which recognizes “graduating students for making outstanding contributions to improving the world around them and inspiring others to do the same.”

In March, a petition calling for her award to be rescinded was signed by scores of fellow recipients, claiming that her views are not representative of the university. This request was surprisingly denied by the U of T Alumni Association.

After all, in the six years since receiving the award, Goldy emerged as a white nationalist and online media personality. Today, she’s using that image to run for mayor of Toronto. It’s difficult to imagine how the views of a potential Mayor Goldy would honour the award’s call to “improve the world.”

Against all odds Goldy’s core public views are unambiguously hateful. She promotes protecting the white majority, ending a so-called “white genocide,” and closing Canada’s borders.

She has also uttered the Fourteen Words, a white supremacist creed about protecting the white majority.

Her views are so extreme that even the controversial Rebel Media, for which she worked as a correspondent, let her go following her attendance at the violent Charlottesville Unite the Right rally and her subsequent interview on a neo-Nazi affiliated podcast.

The passion that fuels Goldy’s mayoral campaign has mobilized Toronto’s far right.

Indeed, her fanbase has grown during her campaign, particularly in the online world, with thousands of devoted admirers retweeting and regurgitating her messages.

However, she is overwhelmingly dismissed as a fringe candidate by mainstream Toronto media and politicians, polling very weakly throughout the campaign. It’s plausible that much of her support online comes from people living outside of Toronto.

Whatever the case, this contradiction puzzled me, and I set out to explore it.

The person and the persona Having researched her online extensively, I reached out to Goldy directly for an interview. I was nervous to meet her. When she finally arrived at our decided location, Robarts Library, she drew stares. She shook my hand and her face was engulfed with a bright smile. Her energy was infectious, and I could immediately feel myself being pulled in.

She spoke of how her grandfather was a carpenter who worked on the steps of Robarts and about the Thomas Fisher Rare Book Library. We chatted about its history, and she complimented my knowledge. She has charisma and charm, and she expertly dodged every question that addressed her more extreme views. She was polite, engaged, and moderate in all her responses.

Following the meeting, I felt very conflicted — feeling that I had been bamboozled in some way.

I returned to her online feed and scrolled through her Reddit Ask Me Anything to discover her new Islamophobic messages. Other journalists have

experienced this very same chicanery from Goldy and other far-right figures.

Her online presence leads down a dark rabbit hole.

From seemingly harmless videos about conservative values to tweets about an ethnic genocide of white people, Goldy’s messages are filled with coded language that appeals to loyal, more integrated members of the far-right and white nationalist community.

The contradiction between the considerate person at Robarts and the racist, online persona who spews messages implying that nothing is stronger than ethnic bonds seemed like two different identities. It became clearer that the growing popularity of figures like Goldy relies on a charisma that makes hatred palatable.

Normalizing extremeness Goldy claimed that her interactions with the public are mostly very positive. She campaigns at subway stops and shares her message by pounding the

her fanbase. She wants voters to think that she is the only candidate with the will to protect them. Thus, she needs to present enemies to protect them from.

While she knows when to stoke the flames, she also knows when to veil her views as non-threateningly conservative. Goldy’s slogan, “Tough on Crime, Easy on Taxpayers,” could appeal to any Torontonian. She argues that everyone in the city wants money back in their pocket. By mixing legitimate policies into her platform, she aims to normalize her candidacy and, by extension, her extremist, racist rhetoric.

This ostensibly makes it possible to explain away being her supporter without being discredited as a white nationalist. Goldy’s auxiliary promises to fix roads and host tailgating parties are her Trojan horse, allowing her to wheel into the minds of moderates without setting off major alarms. This is not very original: far-right movements elsewhere, such as US President Donald Trump’s, have succeeded by this very careful mix of legitimate and extreme policies.

VICKY BILBILY/THE VARSITY

pavement and knocking on doors. Goldy knows her audience. On one hand, she presents common sense ideas like fixing Toronto’s roads, working toward affordable housing, and creating new architectural standards for city buildings.

On the other hand, she makes the sensationalist call to evacuate all “illegal immigrants” to Justin Trudeau’s official residence. She proposes to reinstate the controversial Toronto Anti-Violence Intervention Strategy, which allows police to investigate anyone whom they feel is suspicious and which has a history of targeting racialized youth. She also wields Islamophobia as a powerful tool, calling for a “Special Research Desk on Islamic Extremism” to “monitor finances in and out of Toronto Islamic centres.”These policies target marginalized communities and not individuals guilty of a crime.

This is strategic. Goldy’s target audience is the ‘Joe Six-pack,’ the average blue-collar white male in Toronto, and she works to make them believe that they are disadvantaged in this city — which they are not. Her use of fear is a consistent tactic throughout her campaign, using “make Toronto safe again” to evoke a sense of purpose and paranoia in

Resorting to the ‘free speech’ argument When far-right figures like Goldy face criticism, opposition, and de-platforming because of their oppressive views, they are quick to deflect the conversation from the content of their speech to the freedom of their speech. The discussion changes from the underlying racism of their views — a debate they would not be able to win — to one about an abstract right to speak their mind.

Consider the blackout of Goldy’s campaign by mainstream politics. She has not been invited to the mayoral debates; Mayor John Tory has refused to debate her; and, following deserved pressure from the opposition at Queen’s Park, but after posing in a photo with her, Premier Doug Ford condemned Goldy’s views.

Goldy, like many other far-right figures, is a master of self-victimization. When she is shut down and excluded from the news cycle, she portrays herself as a martyr of political correctness — and her followers agree. She tweeted recently that three of her top Twitter supporters had their accounts suspended by the platform. According to Goldy, the evil ‘alt-left’ are the real oppressors and authoritarians, not her. This

effectively confuses oppressor and victim.

She even stormed the stage of an arts debate, flashing a petition with 5,000 signatures calling to let her debate. She later berated the moderator, calling her a “leprechaun troll.” She was reportedly not invited because she did not meet the qualifications, which required her to fill out the candidate’s survey and provide an arts policy. Yet she still filed this experience away in her long narrative of perceived censorship.

Goldy is also turning the rejection of her radio ads

by Bell Media into a courtroom circus, arguing that her rights are being infringed upon — taking the onus off of the content of her character and instead villainizing her opponents.

I understand why mainstream politicians and media are refusing to engage with Goldy. However, as her self-victimization comes from a place of privilege and her continued ‘censorship’ only invigorates her fan base, silencing the far right has never felt like more of a bandaid tactic.

A forbidden message has power and allure. She has said, “The more they try to silence us, the more people are starting to pay attention.” For once, I have to say that I agree with her. Silencing Goldy only empowers and reassures her followers that there truly is an assault on free speech in this country.

Her supporters band together across her social media, calling for the downfall of the mainstream media and “fellowship” among Toronto’s “political elite.” This anti-establishment rhetoric is becoming more and more familiar with the infusion of unabashed far-right figures clawing their way into the mainstream consciousness.

Confronting the far-right on campus U of T has a comprehensive free speech policy, acknowledging that debate and freedom of speech are key in the pursuit of truth and the dissemination of knowledge. The university also explains that “every member should be able to work, live, teach and learn in a University free from discrimination.” It is within these seemingly contrasting principles that we are left to find the balance.

When Goldy was invited to speak at Wilfrid Laurier University, a student activist pulled the fire alarm. No professors from the university had agreed to debate her. Despite Goldy’s talk ending before it began, she has not been deterred whatsoever. During our interview, she expressed her plans to return to Laurier and finally give her presentation.

I understand why students would want to preserve safe spaces and protect each other from hateful rhetoric. However, by silencing Goldy, we seem to be pumping her campaign with fuel.

The way to challenge far-right figures like Goldy is not to provide them with free rein to deliver long speeches and present their views as fact, which almost occurred at Laurier. Rather, they must be challenged and debated in controlled forums with fact-checking and knowledgeable opponents — ideally professors.

This would not only easily reveal the baselessness of their arguments, but also revoke their ability to brand themselves as martyrs and their experience as censorship.

On October 22, Toronto will have its say at the polling stations, and I am confident that Goldy has no chance of victory. However, by silencing figures like Goldy or pretending like they don’t exist, we allow them to continue to assemble underground — unchallenged. I fear that in time, they will only become more united and, as we’ve seen south of the border, real political contenders.

Anastasia Pitcher is a second-year Biodiversity and Conservation Biology and Genome Biology student at New College.

10 | THE VARSITY | FEATURES

I

have a very distinct memory from when I was 17 and sitting on the couch across from my mom. She paused the Netflix show we were watching, turned to me and said, “Hey, so do you want me to buy you a vibrator?” Out of pure astonishment and, quite frankly, a lot of embarrassment, I burst out laughing.

Now I think it’s important to preface this by saying that aside from the fact that my mother has a little more grace and never showed up at any of my school functions with a video camera and a slew of embarrassing dance moves, Regina George and I basically share a mom.

Throughout my childhood and into my teens, my mom always cultivated a safe space for me where I could ask questions about my body.

She never made me feel ashamed for having curiosities. But even still, I wasn’t really sure how to answer the question. And furthermore, I didn’t understand why, after 17 years of open and honest dialogue between the two of us, I still felt ashamed talking about it.

If I’m being honest — which, by the title of this article, you can probably gather that I’m going to be very honest — when I first sat down to write this piece, I was worried that I was going to be perceived as an oversharer. I mean, I am literally sitting down to write about masturbation, a topic that is still often seen as taboo in our society or too personal to write about in-depth. As a result, I became so focused on how my writing would be received that I struggled to get the piece written at all.

It took a few words from a friend, who, over hot chocolate and a bag of carrots, mentioned her passion for sparking conversations that few are brave enough to have. And it hit me as she jokingly rolled up her sleeves and said, “Alright, you want to talk about it?

Let’s go.” This is one of those conversations.

So, as I sit in bed hammering away at my keyboard, I’m rolling up my sleeves myself.

Let’s go.

For the last month or so, I’ve been trying to understand why masturbation, specifically for women and queer individuals, is so frowned upon in conversation. In hindsight, I think it’s partially due to the fact that children rarely received much formal education about it.

This is especially true for me. Throughout my time navigating the Manitoba education system, masturbation was never something formally discussed. The topic was uncharted territory, something laughable and embarrassing.

At least it was for fellow female students. For boys, however, it was seen as normal — to be expected and even celebrated.

This is still the case for many young people trying to navigate today’s middle and high school systems. While these systems and their curricula have changed since the mid-to-late 2000s, young people today are still resorting to the internet to figure things out for themselves. This is especially true now, considering Premier Doug Ford’s rollback of the Ontario sexual education curriculum.

Recently, one of my friends told me that she remembers Googling “how to masturbate” at 16 years old because no one had ever told her what it was or how to do it. Instead of looking to the internet to teach us, this should have been, at the very least, talked about in school. Not only can this dependence result in an abundance of harmful misconceptions, but it can reinforce stigma surrounding masturbation as well.

Online pornography is still the primary method that teenagers resort to in order to learn about masturbation and sex. As a result, young people are being fuelled with misinformation of what ‘real’ sex looks like, only obtaining a false depiction of what it actually is. Traditional porn, so clearly designed to cater to the male gaze and experience, is not a genuine educational resource — especially for those of us who can’t identify with it.

As a queer woman, it’s always been a bit challenging to get access to accurate information when it comes to sex. I can remember still being in the closet, desperately trying to navigate the multitude of complexities that come along with suddenly realizing you’re gay at 15 years old — one of which is that you pretty much have no idea about how sex works, let alone how to be safe when having it.

Thankfully, we are living in a time and culture that is finally starting to move away from those cisgender, heteronormative conversations about what ‘real’ sex is. Dental dams and finger condoms are readily available at most Planned Parenthood locations and several medical clinics throughout the city. Contraception is available on campus, and sex is talked about in orientation events as a given fact of life.

But even so, this is still the experience for so many youths in the LGBTQ+ community, who are taught little to nothing when it comes to non-heterosexual relations. When you’re not having these conversations in school — a place which is, by design, meant to teach — how else are you supposed to learn what sex entails? And if you don’t learn about sex, how can you begin to unravel the complexities of masturbation and self-pleasure?

Until recently, I wasn’t very aware of the extent to which my friends had also been affected by the stigmas surrounding masturbation and sex.

Over a night of wine-induced laughter and hors d’oeuvres, I sat with them, hoping to gain some insight on the topic. I focused my questions primarily on the taboos associated with masturbation, specifically for women and queer

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people. I first asked my friends what they’d been taught in school, and while the response I received was disappointing, I can’t say that I was particularly surprised.

One of my friends told me that only twice during his time in the Ontario education system did he hear about female masturbation. According to him, aside from conception and childbirth, there was an absence of information regarding the functions of the female reproductive system. He didn’t know that the female body could orgasm until he was about 16 years old.

As another friend so eloquently put it, her sexual awakening was sparked by Taylor Lautner, but she had no idea how to channel the new feelings that he awoke. She told me that throughout her teen years, she wasn’t even aware that what she was doing was considered masturbation, nor was she sure whether it was a normal thing to do.

She went on to say that this was due to the fact that no one had ever actually told her what masturbation is, or that it is something that women are even capable of.

While masturbation for men is usually portrayed and talked about as a matter of course that is inherent to manhood, for women, it is centred around a sense of independence. The fact that it involves a woman having a sexuality of her own, independent of men altogether, is in many ways revolutionary. In a world that is just reaching a point where we are beginning to create space for these conversations, this idea still causes discomfort for many people — women included!

I find this fact of particular interest considering that feminism has been on the record since the mid-nineteenth century. Women across the globe have been challenging these patriarchal, misogynistic, and heteronormative perspectives of how the world should operate for over 100 years. And yet, we still struggle with the basic idea of women pleasuring themselves solely for the purpose of pleasuring themselves.

One could say that this extends doubly for queer women. This is because, when we are sexualized, it’s also in the context of interacting with each other, not just with ourselves and our own bodies. The hypersexualization of queer women in the context of masturbation is rooted in the fact that we tend to have, but are not limited to, fantasies about other women. Again, this comes back to the discomfort that people feel when considering women masturbating for their own pleasure, disconnected from men entirely.

This is why I believe it is essential to be aware of the intersecting axes of disadvantage that come into play within the settings of these conversations. This is of particular importance when looking at the experience of non-binary and trans people, because they have the added stigmas surrounding their respective identities that make their experiences unique and, in many circumstances, more challenging to those of cisgender queer women like myself.

There are feminist-inspired sex toy companies, such as KnottyVibes, Picobong, Babeland, and GoodVibrations, whose purpose is to help normalize masturbation and conversations surrounding it. We’ve also now reached an age when there are sex toys specifically designed for trans people, such as Buck-off, the first sex toy marketed for trans men on hormone replacement therapy. All of these companies are helping to develop a culture in which conversations about masturbation are not something that we have to whisper to each other in passing.

I think it’s only fair for me to say that I’m still trying to figure all this out for myself. But if I had to summarize the main realization that I’ve come to since setting out to write this piece, it’s that it’s essential to be self-aware — not just of ourselves and our own bodies, but also because it’s important to be cognizant of the variety of circumstances that come together to make each person’s experience unique and how we choose to speak of those particular experiences.

At this point, I think I should probably point out that I’m a huge advocate for personal growth through education and conversation, specifically when it comes to topics that can, at times, get rather murky. This being the case, I think it’s only fair that I bombard you with an arsenal of learning materials when it comes to the topic of masturbation and other forms of sexual health because, as my mom so bluntly puts it, “Sexual health is important — it’s a fact of life!”

Whether it is by subscribing to blogs such as PinkNews, Autostraddle, and DIVAMagazine; binge-watching YouTube videos by sexual health advocates such as Stevie Boebi and Hannah Witton; or, in my friend’s case, simply Googling “how to masturbate,” education is the first step to getting a grasp on these topics.

In writing this piece, I’m hoping to help normalize conversations surrounding masturbation and sexual education and encourage a more intersectional way of thinking about pleasure. If I’ve done what I’ve set out to do, you’ll walk away from this piece thinking about what you have yet to learn and questioning what you already do.

So I’ll leave you with one final piece of advice: be curious, ask questions, and learn.

Arts & Culture

October 22, 2018 var.st/arts arts@thevarsity.ca

The problem with high tables @ Trin College 2k18

Trinity College is one of seven undergrad U of T colleges.

SHANNA HUNTER/THE VARSITY

Gavin Foster Varsity Contributor

That Trinity College prides itself in its Oxbridge roots is well known. From its gown-required dinners on Wednesday — that cost $125 to purchase — to its chapel services that are affiliated with the Anglican Church of Canada, Trinity College remains deeply rooted in its 200-year-old traditions. Not all of these traditions are necessarily bad; however, I think that certain traditions are inherently iniquitous and produce negative consequences for the college as a whole, especially its weekly high table dinners.

High table dinners are hosted in Strachan Hall every Wednesday. Members of the Senior Com-

mon Room, otherwise known as professors and fellows, dine near the front of the hall, ‘elevated’ from the undergraduate students, whose seating is arranged by year. If you are lucky enough to be one of the first to email the provost, you may be invited to sit at the coveted high table with the professors.

But what do these tables represent? We are told that they represent the educational attainment of each class of people. At the back are the first years, or those with the least schooling, while those at the front, the professors and fellows, have the most.

The more pressing question is, then, why we are divided in Strachan Hall by academic year.

It certainly is not the case that these groups of

people are, by nature, more likely to want to interact with each other. Instead, in a system that is eerily feudal, you are given the honour of sitting at a slightly elevated platform for completing a certain amount of schooling.

Other events at Trinity College are not usually arranged in such a manner, so why are the high tables?

Trinity entertains the fiction that these tables represent isolated and distinct classes of people, when, in actuality, these groups should and do interact with each other in a friendly manner. Students and professors should not be told who they can eat with.

The professor-student dynamic is a scary one, with the apprehension of saying the wrong thing and potentially ruining future research opportunities underlining many interactions. This relationship should not be terrifying; professors should be seen as approachable people, because that is what they are.

The only real difference between a student and a professor is the professor’s increased knowledge in a given area, and this isn’t an uncommon view among many professors. Many of my professors have requested that we students call them by their first name to put our relationship on equal ground. The high table tradition does the opposite: it reinforces the uncomfortable power relation. It infantilizes students, despite the fact that the vast majority of individuals in Strachan Hall are adults and should be treated as such. In fact, I know of a few professors who don’t go to the high table events for this very reason.

So how should we structure these events?

Who should sit at each table? I believe that there ought not be a hierarchy at all. Allow people to sit with whom they would like to sit with. Allow professors to sit with and meet a variety of undergraduates from different academic backgrounds. Give undergraduates the opportunity to meet with a variety of different professors each week, rather than giving the privilege to just a few undergraduate students who luck out. The high table dinners are, in themselves, deeply troubling for what they continue to reinforce. Yet this tradition is even more troubling

for the consequences it produces.

Trinity College has a reputation for being snobby, pretentious, and arrogant. Some insist that people don’t really care what college you go to; however, a quick glance through the U of T subreddit reveals that this is not the case. Students often call Trinity “Slytherin,” because of the perceived snobbiness of members of the college.

People are quick to jump to words like ‘elitist,’ ‘pretentious,’ and ‘pompous,’ when asked to describe Trinity.

At the start of orientation last year, members of other colleges chanted, “Trin Trin, your parents got you in!” Was it all in good fun? Probably, but the mockery reveals the perceived haughty nature of Trinity, and I think the existence of the coveted high table dinners are part of the reason. If Trinity College is attempting to reduce its alienation and stigma, having weekly dinners where people have to dress up in gowns is certainly not helping.

Traditions are certainly important — they create a sense of community for those who participate in them. But traditions that are alienating and perceived as pretentious and elitist are less than desirable. One of the reasons that this tradition is viewed so negatively is because of where it comes from; it is the product of an aristocratic society. Trinity College has already been weathered by other discriminatory and offensive traditions, such as Episkopon and the ‘pourings-outs.’ Why then have we chosen to keep a tradition that was once used to appear holier-than-thou? Surely a sense of community can be retained even if we remove such an archaic tradition rooted in the privileged elite.

I cannot pretend to speak for a majority of the students at Trinity College, however, I hope that students there, and at other colleges, think about the nature of high table dinners, as well as traditions like it. It is important to recognize where they come from as well as the sorts of systems that they reinforce.

As a final note, I do not mean to suggest that anyone in particular is ‘pretentious.’ My only intent is to analyze the tradition and remark upon its validity in light of the stigma that it produces and the relations that it promotes.

The Bold Type is the best political show on television right now

The nuanced portrayal of female friendship, office dynamics, and complex political topics is commendable Avneet Sharma Varsity Contributor

It’s difficult to describe The Bold Type without inevitably describing the many tropes that have been prominent since the success of Sex and the City. Yes, a dramedy about best friends living in the city and navigating their personal and professional lives together is not an especially new or distinct concept, but there are ways in which The Bold Type makes it feel fresh and significant.

The Bold Type follows three women in their mid-20s, Jane, Kat, and Sutton, who work at Scarlet, a fictional women’s lifestyle magazine that is heavily based on Cosmopolitan. Jane is a staff writer who is especially interested in contributing to Scarlet’s political coverage, but is also assigned stories that incorporate the themes of the episode, including health, fashion, sexuality, morality, and personal growth. In other words, The Bold Type is interested in a comprehensive depiction of young personhood and the aspects of human life most pertinent to young people, with an emphasis on women.

The show also features Melora Hardin in a standout role as Jacqueline Carlyle, the editorin-chief of Scarlet. At first, Jacqueline’s character seems like another version of The Devil Wears Prada’s Miranda Priestly: the cutthroat woman boss with unrealistically high expectations of

her employees. But The Bold Type takes this trope and subverts it entirely. While Jacqueline is the editor-in-chief and maintains her seniority over the other characters, she also acts as a mentor to the protagonists. The series maintains that an effective editor supports their writers, an idea that is reinforced in the second season when Jacqueline is compared with the editor of a different publication.

If the friendship between Jane, Kat, and Sutton is the most important relationship explored in the series, the mentorship between Jacqueline and Jane is the second most important.

Throughout the series, Jacqueline often encourages Jane to broaden her horizons or explore a specific issue through a different lens. I would argue that The Bold Type encourages this of its viewers as well.

It’s not that The Bold Type broadly addressing social issues is groundbreaking, it’s that the show does it so effectively. When it comes to political storylines, The Bold Type feels more grounded than Jane the Virgin, more universal than Dear White People, and more sincere than Riverdale.

There are episodes that bring social issues and movements such as racism, gun control, affirmative action, sexual liberation, immigration, and, most notably, the #MeToo movement, into conversation. The show doesn’t attempt to drill a specific perspective into viewers’ minds; in-

JENNY LIU/THE VARSITY

stead, it shows just how nuanced these issues are through characters who approach these complex topics from different perspectives.

While I’ve emphasized why The Bold Type is so admirably political, the main draw of the series is its characters. The friendship between Jane, Kat, and Sutton feels lived-in. There is a tangible history to their friendship and their intimate understanding of each other is clear in their interactions, and Jacqueline is that mentor we all wish we had — someone who consistently encourages us to elevate our art. The show is character-driven, bringing real faces and voices to the political issues that it approaches. Lesser political shows focus on the politics themselves, often forgetting how those politics affect specific people.

The Bold Type is not an easy sell. In a television climate that values high-concept series with high production value on prestigious networks — think Game of Thrones, Stranger Things, The Handmaid’s Tale — it can be easy to overlook the importance of this series.

Personally, I’m a fan of the less-is-more concept.

I enjoy series that tackle everyday issues and function as reflections of ourselves. These are characters who I feel I know personally, and who I can have casual conversations about writing, relationships, and politics with over a bottle of wine and an episode of RuPaul’s Drag Race. This is a show that I find myself thinking about when I consider my own life, my goals, and my personal growth. The Bold Type is not necessarily a show that everyone will enjoy, but it is one that should be on your radar.

OCTOBER 22, 2018 | 13

var.st/arts

Theatre review: Hart House’s Heathers: The Musical

(From left to right) Paige Foskett as Heather Duke, Mary Bowden as Heather Chandler, Becka Jay as Heather McNamara, and Emma Sangalli as Veronica Sawyer.

SCOTT GORMAN/Courtesy of HART HOUSE THEATRE

What is the cult classic trying to say?

Ryan Falconer Varsity Contributor

Hart House opened its 2018–2019 season with a bang, or rather, a series of bangs, followed by an explosion. Adapted from the darkly comic teen film of the same name, Laurence O’Keefe and Kevin Murphy’s Heathers: The Musical premiered in Los Angeles in 2013. Released in 1988, Heathers became a cult classic for its violent characters, disturbing story, and morbidly cynical take on bullying and suicide.

One can only assume that the demand for a musical adaptation was unanimous and vehement.

Director Jennifer Walls did perhaps the only reasonable thing to do with such an absurd, violent, and irreverent story: a lot.

Heathers throws everything it can at the audience, seldom letting up. I entered the sold-out auditorium to the warm embrace of late-’80s pop hits, and the first thing that greeted me was the extravagant set. A brightly coloured and nightmarishly skewed vision of a high school hallway, it looked something like The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari meets Hairspray, like how a row of lockers might look if you were on a seesaw and acid. It was impressive, and immediately set the tone for this energetic and disorienting show. A barrage of bright, colourful, categorically ‘more-is-more’ sights and sounds were to come.

Our protagonist, Veronica, is a 17-yearold nobody at the fictional Westerburg High School, who is later indoctrinated into the school’s most popular group of girls, the Heathers. There are three of them, and they’re called the Heathers because each of them is named Heather. Get it?

Veronica is played by Emma Sangalli, whose enthusiasm makes the coming-of-age scenes a joy to watch. Sangalli especially shines in the smaller moments, like Veronica’s brief asides to the audience, where she takes what might have been forgettable lines or inconsequential bits of exposition and infuses them with a genuine sense of charm and spontaneity.

She greets new experiences — donning her Heather outfit, getting drunk at a party for

the first time — with a sort of giddy disbelief that makes her character eminently likeable.

Justan Myers has the perfect look for his character, Jason “JD” Dean, and he nails the suave punk ethos. He nails it — perhaps, a little too much though. Especially during the beginning of the show, Myers wears an almost permanent smirk, which stifles and flattens the underlying pain implied by his lines.

However, he more than compensates for this in his final song “I Am Damaged,” as he explodes into a fit of seething, spitting rage that genuinely terrifies. It’s exciting to see an actor become so truly monstrous onstage and, aided by creepy chiaroscuro-like lighting, which provides a strong contrast between light and dark, Myers’ face in these moments may be the most memorable image from the show.

Oddly, Heathers succeeds most in its darkest moments. Becka Jay makes a remarkable impression in her relatively small role as Heather McNamara — the third most senior Heather, for those keeping score at home. After a series of comical and absurd murders that are framed as suicides, this Heather is the first character to actually attempt taking her own life. Jay makes the character seem truly unstable. Heathers is extreme and impassioned, but watching these scenes, I realized that I’d been somewhat starved for moments of genuine in-

Overlooked: Mean Streets

Where the most important character is New York City

TROY LAWRENCE/THE VARSITY

tensity. Jay’s raw, visceral agony — and JD’s similarly fever-pitched meltdown — seem to be the only answer to the bubblegum-craziness of the rest of the story.

I haven’t yet mentioned the music, because it is not very memorable, but the choreography is beautiful. It’s dynamic without being excessively complex, and most numbers end with a tableau silhouetted against a singlecolour wash of backlight, which is, honestly, just cool. The band, led by Jonathan Corkal, is also excellent, particularly in more rock and funk-driven songs like “You’re Welcome.”

Despite the enjoyable instrumentation, however, “You’re Welcome” struggles to strike a balance between the comedic tone of the show and the attempted rape in the accompanied scene. It replaces a song from an earlier version of the musical, “Blue” — as in balls — which drew some criticism for making light of sexual assault. Here, the real peril of Veronica’s situation is clear, but it’s a difficult emotional balancing act for the viewer to also laugh at the jokes.

I must also mention the song “My Dead Gay Son.” There is a twist in this song, which I won’t reveal, except to say that it truly exemplifies the balls-out absurdity that the show constantly strives for. Throughout Heathers, there is an attempt to mix senselessly tragic

situations with excessively cheerful pageantry to create an irreverent sense of absurd humour.

The musical pulls it off with mixed success, with “You’re Welcome” in particular struggling against this tension. But “My Dead Gay Son” is such a fantastically silly culmination of so many ridiculous plotlines that I wish that the characters it focuses on had a show of their own.

When Heathers was over, I wasn’t quite sure how to feel. The play ends in a chaotic rush of so many events, increasingly outrageous, resolved and unresolved and resolved again, that you’re given no time to think anything except, “Why did they dedicate an entire song to Slurpees?” Suddenly, curtain call. I clapped for the lovely actors, staggered out of the auditorium, and tried to figure out why O’Keefe and Murphy wanted me to see what I just saw.

Something to do with inclusion? Something to do with the power of friendship?

For the discerning viewer, I’m sure there are scores of powerful messages to be drawn from this story, which touches on so many urgent and timely themes. I’d try to find just one to highlight for you, but if I think about the show much more, I’ll get brain freeze.

Aman Udeshi Varsity Contributor

love him for it, even though he is the problem that pushes the narrative forward.

The handheld, shaky cinematography further immerses the audience in the gritty world of low-level Italian mafia. A staple in his later works — Goodfellas and Raging Bull, to name a couple — Scorsese’s minimalist yet innovative camera techniques really come through in the famous pool table fight scene.

Equal parts hilarious and violent, he strapped a camera to Keitel’s head to demonstrate his intoxicated state.

In a way, the lower budget paved the way for the film’s distinctive style, as the majority of the budget was spent on the soundtrack, with music composed by The Ronettes, Eric Clapton, and the Rolling Stones.

Scorsese’s sharp script and sharper directing encapsulate his view of the world in a grand, two-hour long gangster epic that shouldn’t be buried in the stacks of time, but celebrated as a work of art that inspired thousands of filmmakers and told a story about the great city of New York.

The first time that I heard about Mean Streets, I didn’t even recognize it as a Martin Scorsese film, despite loving his later works. Often regarded as a crime movie, Mean Streets is that and so much more.

From the rawness of its characters, to its plot and setting, Mean Streets was an instant classic. Shot almost completely in Los Angeles, the film brings the murky, diabolical glow of Little Italy, New York to life through the God-fearing Charlie (Harvey Keitel) and the suicidal and reckless Johnny Boy (Robert De Niro). At its core, Mean Streets is Scorsese’s tribute to his city. It’s a tale of friendship, love, religion, but most of all, it’s a tale of New York.

Although Keitel and De Niro are now stalwarts of Hollywood, when this movie was filming, they were relatively unknown. We see De Niro especially unshackled by the gravitas of his later roles such as Taxi Driver. In Mean Streets, he often improvised his lines and really brought the rogue Johnny to life — and we

Heathers: The Musical ran from September 21 to October 6.

14 | THE VARSITY | ARTS & CULTURE

arts@thevarsity.ca

Two ‘newspapers’ have a chat U of TearsTM, a boundless education, and self-deprecating humour: The Boundary covers it all

(From left to right) Daniel Aykler, Ted Fraser, and Kyle Brickman of The Boundary.

SHANNA HUNTER/THE VARSITY

Kate Reeve & Kashi Syal Varsity Staff

Founded in 2017, The Boundary is Victoria University’s humour newspaper. The Varsity sat down with the paper’s Editor-in-Chief Ted Fraser and Head Content Editor Kyle Brickman, while Finance Executive Daniel Aykler lounged nearby.

The Varsity: How did The Boundary come into existence?

The Boundary: The Boundary is our head staff writer Jack Mageau’s brainchild. He came up with the concept, and then after mistakenly naming it The Farcity — which we thought was a hilarious name — we changed it to The Boundary. It’s a play on ‘boundless.’

We toe the line; we are that ‘boundary.’

Any school that earns the nickname U of Tears needs a humour outlet, because otherwise it’s just depression and Con Hall and cold winters, and there’s nothing really to express yourself [with] in terms of opinions or just human emotion. I think we share a very similar sense of humour with the meme page and our main goal is to almost formalize that type of humour through The Boundary.

[Mageau’s] concept was just an outlet [to] see if we can reach people. The spirit of the University of Toronto population is almost self-deprecating — and I don’t want to say self-hating, but definitely aware of the reality that [the] University of Toronto is not a fun school in the traditional sense. I think it’s really deeply ingrained into the psyche of University of Toronto students that we don’t have fun, and we’ve worked really hard, and we get screwed on tests, and that no one — no one — likes their life.

It’s great because U of T is sort of the opposite of every other university,

right? Because frats are lame, no one goes to football games, studying is king, and it just provides constant fuel for headlines. Like, they don’t have to drop into your lap per se, but they're going to drop more than they would [at] a prototypical college-based school.

TV: Why should people read The Boundary?

TB: Our mission is to amuse rather than to inform, and we don’t take ourselves too seriously. We acknowledge our own irrelevance and we thrive off of self-deprecation.

TV: Your content is predominantly published online. How often do you release content? Are you going to release a paper copy?

TB: We aim to release four or five articles a week, but through our brainstorming process, we always have one or two articles that we know are really good that we want to release at a certain time.

Perhaps [we’ll have] a semesterly bound paper publication that we will try our best to put on some newsstands or throw in some study rooms at Robarts.

TV: Where are your current contributors and contributions coming from?

TB: The majority of the contributions are coming out of a very core group of people, three of us in this room, then three or four more. And that’s just a product of us being in our infancy. We had a soft launch, as we were calling it. But really, we were just kind of fooling around with the idea to see if it would even work or [if people] would be interested in [it], including ourselves. I think we were figuring out if the contributors would be interested

and I guess it turns out that other people are too, to a certain extent. We’re always looking for new contributors.

ing everyday life, because we will not get the traction with our current audiences.

TV: Why should people want to write for you?

TB: The articles that are being written are 200 words. It’s half a page really and it’s funnier that way. We don’t want long editorials. Our goal is to provide very short content because, again, students are busy. Like, even as the writers, we’re busy.

TV: Do you have any sources of funding, for Facebook ads, for example?

TB: Initially our bravest member, Kevin Yin, submitted his credit card, but [he] will be compensated. We just kind of went out on a limb and sort of fundraised bankroll ourselves, and it was minimal costs. We’ve now got funding from the VUSAC [Victoria University Students Administrative Council] and our budget is going to be ratified, hopefully soon.

TV: You’re both in your third year.

What’s the plan? Are you going to pass on the torch to keep The Boundary around after you graduate?

TB: We’d love to pick up some contributors from second or first year and have them continue this because I think, yeah, it’d be a nightmare if this was the end. We’re the architects of our own fate. We can definitely figure this out and see if we can get some more people. We’re trying to increase our Facebook presence, which is crucial, and I think there’s also a thirst for this humour across Ontario. The Beaverton and The Onion hit up certain demographics, but I think we cater to a neglected demographic, which is why we’ve kind of sprung up.

TV: Can you explain a little about the neglected demographic?

TB: The Beaverton caters to young professionals and sort of cerebral university students who get the jokes.

The Onion is more like the everyman’s satire and, I think, not specific to university in general. We’re specific, I think, so there’s more people like our current consumers out there. Also, a good thing to note is that we’re not nearly on the level of The Onion, so we couldn’t just do Onion content, satiriz-

TV: Are you considered a club or a publication?

TB: Technically, I think we’re considered a club. I’m actually in the process of doing the CCR [Co-Curricular Record] phase right now, but I think we would offer it in the same space as maybe the UC Review or something like that — a local, regional, or… a college-based club — although the content is not really catered to college at all. I’d say we kind of referenced it in passing.

TV: How can people contribute?

TB: We have an email, it’s boundarynews@gmail.com. Some people have submitted pitches, but I’d rather honestly meet a potential candidate in person. It’s not necessarily [a screening], but more so just [to] talk to them and see what they are interested in — does this person share a sense of humour with us? Do they have an understanding of what we’re going for?

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Science

October 22, 2018 var.st/science science@thevarsity.ca

The flight of the monarchs

North America’s famous winged creatures travel 3,000 miles each year — but not a single one makes it back home

TROY LAWRENCE/THE VARSITY

Ashima Kaura Varsity Contributor

As green turns to gold and leaves kiss the ground, millions of monarch butterflies across North America prepare for a treacherous journey to the south.

Their iconic black and orange wings colour the Ontario sky from June to late September.

The threat of winter’s bitter winds drives these insects to seek refuge elsewhere, but none of them return north.

Where do they go, and why won’t

they return?

These questions haunted Fred Urquhart, a professor of zoology at UTSC and a giant in monarch butterfly research. Following decades of research, the work of his wife Norah, and a generation of citizen scientists, Urquhart and his team discovered the wintering place of monarch butterflies in Mexico in 1975.

Late September to October: heading south

As he stood alongside volcanic mountains near the Sierra Madre range in the Mexican state of Michoacán, Urquhart was in awe of the sight before him.

The hidden kingdom of the monarch butterfly had been found.

“I gazed in amazement at the sight.

Butterflies — millions upon millions of monarch butterflies! They clung in tightly packed masses to every branch and trunk of the tall, gray-green oyamel trees. They swirled through the air like autumn leaves and carpeted the ground in their flaming myriads on this Mexican mountainside,” Urquhart wrote in National Geographic, one year after the discovery.

Most monarch butterflies that live to the east of the Rocky Mountains overwinter in Mexico, while those to the west head to California.

The migratory route of these insects is triggered by three environmental cues: shortening days, cooling temperatures, and aging milkweed, the main food source for larvae. Although these events tell monarchs when to migrate, there is no clear consensus as to how they find the same 800 square kilometre sweet spot in central Mexico year after year.

A promising theory suggests that the butterflies use the time of day and the orientation of the sun to guide their flight path. Monarchs could further be assisted by southward warm air currents, which create a convection in combination with cold air currents, and propel them forward without energy wastage.

To prepare for their journey south, monarchs enter a delayed maturity phase, or diapause. Diapause ensures that the butterflies do not start mating, but instead ration their time and energy by drinking nectar.

Late November to March: wintering in Mexico

The Oyamel firs in Michoacán are critical for species survival and reproductive success. This fir species serves as both an umbrella and blanket — it creates a

forest canopy that prevents heat loss during the night and shields the butterflies from rain. The canopy further creates a cool microclimate, which slows the butterflies’ metabolism and conserves their energy.

Breeding monarchs have a lifespan of one month and require nectar, which is not readily available at nearby sites, to fuel their reproduction. To survive, the monarchs must remain in diapause until winter months have ended in their North American habitat.

The next generation of monarchs is laid on milkweed plants in northern Mexico by the overwintering butterflies in early March. Having shorter lifespans, they do not undergo diapause and breed on their way back north.

Late March to July: heading north

Second generation monarchs are laid throughout eastern North America from late April to June. The larvae extract nutrients from milkweed, undergo metamorphosis, and emerge from late June to early July. This generation also does not undergo diapause, and therefore can mate and reproduce. The third and fourth generations will populate most of southern Canada, and migrate once again to Mexico according to environmental cues.

vival. The use of neonicotinoid insecticides delays development and has been linked to behavioural changes and even deaths. Parasites such as O. elektroscirrha expose monarchs to infection during their journey, reducing their flight endurance and lifespan. In addition, 20 million butterflies die in car accidents on their way to Mexico every year.

Conservation measures have been put in place to mitigate these losses.

In 1979, the Mexican authorities established conservation areas for overwintering monarch butterflies in the Neovolcanic Plateau in response to Urquhart’s relentless research.

Urquhart and his wife also launched Monarch Watch, a citizen science project devoted to tagging and tracking monarch butterflies during migration.

Urquhart once said that the monarch butterflies “reveal the resilience of nature and the relentless drive of all life to endure. Such fragile wisps of life and beauty are elegant symbols of the plight of all living things in a world of ecological change.”

We should do what we can to protect them.

Conservation

Monarchs are increasingly threatened by climate change, habitat loss, and agricultural insecticides.

Variations in temperature affect their breeding and migratory routes. Habitat fragmentation due to the loss of oyamel fir trees degrades the microclimate that is essential to their sur-

The Screen Project slashes wait times for breast cancer screening

Women’s College Hospital initiative tests for BRCA1 and BRCA2 gene mutations Adam A. Lam Varsity Staff

Government-sponsored screening for breast and ovarian cancer in Canada can take up to a year to occur and can be denied based on a patient’s risk profile. To shorten wait times and offer universal testing, the Familial Breast Cancer Research Unit at Women’s College Hospital (WCH) has introduced The Screen Project initiative, which aims to make screening universally accessible to patients over 18 in Canada, and hopefully produce better patient outcomes.

The Screen Project has discounted its regular screening price to $99 USD for October, which is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Ordinarily, the research unit screens patients for $165 USD. Results are expected within two to four weeks.

Why isn’t government-funded screening universal?

According to Dr. Steven Narod, Director of the Familial Breast Cancer Re-

search Unit at WCH, screening through Canada’s universal healthcare system costs around $2,000–3,000 and wait times can last up to one year. As a result, as little as three per cent of women are eligible for the test per year.

But in 2017, the Familial Breast Cancer Research Unit found that commercial genetic testing could be completed in a shorter amount of time and for a fraction of the cost by sending samples to Veritas Genetics, an American genetic sequencing laboratory with whom the Unit has partnered for The Screen Project.

Veritas Genetics tests for BRCA1 and BRCA2, which are gene mutations associated with breast cancer. Women with a BRCA mutation have up to an 80 per cent lifetime risk of breast cancer and a 40 per cent lifetime risk of ovarian cancer versus a 12 per cent and a 1.3 per cent lifetime risk for women without the mutation, respectively.

How does the project work?

To provide a genetic sample for testing,

GHEYANA PURBODININGRAT/THE VARSITY

patients order a genetic test kit from Veritas Genetics, provide a saliva sample, and then ship the kit and sample back to the Veritas Genetics lab. The lab tests the sample and releases the results to the patient and the Familial Breast Cancer Research Unit.

Patients with a negative test result receive an email or letter of notification.

But patients who produce a positive test result receive an email or letter, as well

as a personal phone call from a genetic counsellor at the Familial Breast Cancer Research Unit.

According to Narod, The Screen Project’s offer of “genetic testing for breast and genetic testing for ovarian cancer” for $165 USD is “ethical and wise,” since it is affordable for most Canadians.

However, Narod notes that the results of The Screen Project raise an ethical concern of whether it is “proper, right,

and ethical to offer healthcare services outside of what’s insured by the public healthcare system.”

As The Screen Project continues, Narod plans to track the interest in genetic testing for breast and ovarian cancer in Canada, patient satisfaction afterward, and the actions that the project and patients choose to take to reduce their risk of breast and ovarian cancer following a positive test result.

16 | THE VARSITY | SCIENCE

Bursts from a galaxy far, far away

Astrophysicist at 2018 Massey College Talk discusses faraway radio signals

Adam A. Lam Varsity Staff

Dr. Victoria Kaspi delivered the 2018 Canadian Institute for Advanced Research Massey Talk at the Isabel Bader Theatre last week, explaining her team’s successful search for the origin of a repeating fast radio burst (FRB) and their future steps.

FRBs refer to rapid but brief radio wave emissions that are detected from outside of our galaxy. Although up to 10,000 bursts may be recorded on any given day, very little is known about them.

In 2001, a Parkes Observatory radio telescope in Australia recorded a flurry of radio frequencies from the distant reaches of the observable universe.

Since the confirmation of FRBs in 2007, more than 50 different FRBs have been detected by astronomers across the globe.

Kaspi embarked on her search using theoretical physics To track the source of repeating FRBs, Kaspi had to accurately guide telescopes by way of dispersion.

This physical phenomenon occurs when light passes through a medium, like a glass prism, and the components of light — electromagnetic radiation (EMR) — separate based on their wavelength, or colour.

The phenomenon can be seen when

science@thevarsity.ca

rainbows are formed, Kaspi explained, as the medium of “water droplets in the air will split — disperse — white light from the sun.”

“There’s also a time dispersion,” said Kaspi. “And if you could pulse the prism, you would see that the colours arrive at slightly different times. Different colours travel at different speeds in a medium, like glass or water.”

With this in mind, the distance travelled by FRBs was measured based on the “sweep” of the data — the range between the time at which the highest-frequency EMR waves hit the detector and the time that the lowest-frequency EMR waves hit the detector.

For an FRB, Kaspi said that the sweep helps to “[tell] us the distance, roughly speaking, to the source.”

Radio waves are dispersed because “interstellar space is not a vacuum,” explained Kaspi. “There’s dust, there’s neutral atoms, there’s ionized atoms, in particular, there’s free electrons. There are free electrons throughout the galaxy, and it’s those free electrons that disperse radio waves.”

Zeroing in on the origin of a repeating FRB Starting with data from the Parkes radio telescope, Kaspi’s research group guided a radio telescope known as the Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico to zero in on a repeating FRB — that is, a set of FRBs detected on Earth that are from the same origin point.

“Parkes is really good at finding [FRBs] because it sees a large area of the sky at once,” said Kaspi. “But it can’t pinpoint. Anything that can pinpoint, can’t detect them, because they’re looking at too small fractions of the sky.”

Using the data from the Parkes Observatory to narrow their focus, Kaspi’s research group fixed the radio telescope at the Arecibo Observatory on the FRB’s approximate area of origin.

The telescope at the Arecibo Observatory is remarkably accurate. “You can just

Unveiling the riches of the Thomas Fisher Rare Book Library’s collection The library has an extensive collection of historical works in science and medicine

The Thomas Fisher Rare Book Library’s books and manuscripts are accessible to the public.

MADDIE MONSON/THE VARSITY

Vaibhav Bhandari & Mark F. Mabanglo Varsity Contributors

U of T’s Thomas Fisher Rare Book Library houses a collection of rare historical books and artifacts. The collection consists of 740,000 rare books and manuscripts that span nearly 4,000 years of written history.

Opened in 1973, the library first housed the Department of Rare Books and Special Collections and was later named after Thomas Fisher, a merchant

miller and community figure in the township of Etobicoke in the mid-nineteenth century.

Fisher’s great-grandchildren donated a generous amount of their collection, including several works by William Shakespeare.

Since then, donations and acquisitions have helped the Fisher Library obtain and maintain important historical documents in varied fields.

Its significant Science and Medicine collection consists of works from the medieval period to the modern age, with

Science Around Town Emily Deibert Varsity Staff

Dr. Victoria Kaspi is Director of CIFAR’s Gravity & Extreme Universe program.

ADAM A. LAM/THE VARSITY

stare and wait,” said Kaspi about locating the origin point of an FRB. “And that’s exactly what we did.”

They eventually pinpointed the FRB’s source to a dwarf galaxy.

What causes FRBs? The exact cause of FRBs remains to be determined, but Kaspi’s discovery has narrowed down the possible events that cause FRBs to occur.

Theories have ranged from “exploding stars [and] colliding stars,” to “comets and asteroids impacting neutron stars, black holes evaporating, primordial cosmic strings, oscillations,” explained Kaspi.

“But the bottom line is that we don’t know the answer.”

Finding evidence that an FRB can repeat from a dwarf galaxy has eliminated the possibility of FRBs originating from “self-destructive, cataclysmic events that could only occur once,” as suggested in a 2016 BBC article.

But the FRBs likely have “nothing to do with any intelligent lifeforms,” said Kaspi. “We are very confident this is a

ideas that date to ancient Greek and Roman times.

An example of this is an undated Latin manuscript, thought to be from the fourteenth century, of the ancient Greek mathematician Euclid’s Elements. Elements is the earliest written work in the library’s Science collection, and covers theories fundamental to mathematics, particularly geometry.

Alexandra K. Carter, the resident Science and Medicine Librarian, remarked how the introduction of the printing press by Johannes Gutenberg in the mid-fifteenth century might have catalyzed the explosion of scientific ideas.

“Once you could make multiple copies of something, you could have people all over the place reading the same text, and then making similar discoveries,” said Carter.

Within the walls of the Fisher Library are copies of works reflecting the genesis of ideas that are cornerstones of a myriad of scientific and medical fields from anatomy to zoology.

The library’s 1566 edition of Nicolaus Copernicus’ De revolutionibus orbium coelestium (On the Revolutions of the Heavenly Spheres) presents a heliocentric model of the universe. The library also features titles in the physical sciences, such as Isaac Newton’s 1687 publication of Principia on the Newtonian laws of motion and gravitation, and Antoine Lavoisier’s defining of chemical elements in Traité élémentaire de chimie (Elementary Treatise of Chemistry) from 1789.

Lessons on practical applications for agriculture and horticulture are also

natural phenomenon.”

What’s next in Canadian FRB research?

Supported by funding from the Canadian Foundation of Innovation, FRB research is an ongoing and collaborative effort led by the University of Toronto, McGill University, the University of British Columbia, the National Research Council, and the Dominion Radio Astrophysical Observatory.

These efforts have culminated in the Canadian Hydrogen Intensity Mapping Experiment (CHIME) and the construction of the CHIME telescope in British Columbia, “the world’s most powerful fast radio burst detector today,” said Kaspi.

“Nature magazine wrote an article about what to expect in 2018… and the very first thing they mentioned — no pressure here — was CHIME and fast radio bursts,” said Kaspi. “It’s a very exciting time, and we’re all working hard to get this science out fast.”

available in books such as Jethro Tull’s The Horse-hoeing Husbandry (1829) and Batty Langley’s A sure method of improving estates (1728).

Robert Hooke’s Micrographia (1665) — noted for the first use of the word ‘cell’ in a biological context — was the first book in English dedicated to presenting organisms and materials as they were seen under a microscope. And in Hortus Cliffortianus (1737), Carl Linnaeus depicted the details of plant species in the botanical gardens of the Hartekamp estate in Holland.

According to Carter, one of the factors that make a title a collectible is scarcity.

Older books are prized, especially first editions of historically significant works.

Provenance is also a hallmark of many of the works featured in the Fisher Library. For instance, annotated books by Marshall McLuhan are available at the library. McLuhan was a U of T professor and public intellectual known for his foundational work on media theory in the 1960s, and for predicting elements of the internet well before its genesis.

Unlike other similar libraries or museums that enforce a do-not-touch rule, visitors to the Fisher Library can run their fingers along original writings on major scientific breakthroughs, published on paper that is hundreds of years old.

“We do the best that we can to protect the books, but we really want people to feel that they can come in and use the books,” said Carter, inviting the public to visit the library and experience what it’s like to step back in time and meet the giants of science and medicine.

21st Century Innovation Dr. Jaiwon Shin, Associate Administrator for the Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate at NASA, will talk about innovations in aviation that could revolutionize how we travel, as a part of the 2018 Korea Week Speaker Series.

Date: Monday, October 22 Time: 5:30–8:30 pm Location: OISE, 252 Bloor Street West, Room G162 Admission: Free Astronomy Fireside Chat Join the Centre for Planetary Sciences’ Dr. Hanno Rein for a weekly fireside discussion on the latest topics in astronomy.

Date: Tuesday, October 23 Time: 7:00 pm Location: The Meeting Place, 1265 Military Trail Admission: Free Robots to Assess Brain Dysfunction: Will Sure and Steady Win the Race?

KINARM robot inventor Dr. Stephen H. Scott will talk about the ways in which his device is being used to increase our understanding of the brain’s role in arm and leg movement. This event is hosted by the Gairdner Foundation.

Date: Wednesday, October 24 Time: 8:30–10:00 am Location: MaRS Centre, 101 College Street, CIBC Live Lounge Admission: Free with registration How Discoveries are Made, and How We Can Survive Them Presented by the Chemistry Student Union, Professor and Nobel Laureate Dr. John Polanyi will share insights on chemistry research and how science impacts society.

Date: Thursday, October 25 Time: 5:00-7:00 pm Location: Sidney Smith, 100 St. George Street, Room 2135 Admission: Free The Dark Universe This meeting of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada Mississauga Centre will feature a talk on the mysteries of dark matter and dark energy

by Dr. Laura Parker.

Date: Friday, October 26 Time: 8:00–10:00 pm Location: William Davis Building, 1867 Inner Circle, Room SE2074 Admission: Free

Sports

October 22, 2018 var.st/sports sports@thevarsity.ca

The NHL needs a domestic violence policy Austin Watson’s case highlights the league’s glaring failure

TROY LAWRENCE/THE VARSITY

Jaime McLaughlin Varsity Contributor

Last week, news broke that Nashville Predators forward Austin Watson would see his 27-game suspension stemming from domestic violence charges dropped to just 18 games. Watson pleaded no contest back on July 24, stemming from an incident on June 16 at a Franklin gas station, in which multiple bystanders witnessed an altercation between him and his girlfriend.

News of the suspension’s reduction drew ire from the NHL, which released a statement saying the league was “disappointed” in the decision of arbitrator Shyam Das, who cut Watson’s suspension by a third.

Watson’s case started a conversation around the merits of domestic violence policies in major sports leagues. As many have mentioned, unlike other major men’s sports leagues, such as the NBA, MLB, or NFL, the NHL has no official domestic violence policy, instead handling each case on an individual basis. And while it may be true that a constitutional policy is the first step toward holding certain athletes accountable, ultimately, it is important to understand Watson’s case in the bigger picture.

A wider problem at hand

Male athletes in North American professional leagues enjoy the benefits of power, wealth, and celebrity. This can certainly deliver positive benefits, such as being idolized by young children just starting out in sports. However, in a patriarchal society like ours — where a woman is killed every six days by her intimate partner in Canada — male athletes who commit acts of domestic violence and sexual assault often find themselves above the law.

Because for every LeBron James, opening a school centred around equity and opportunity, there’s a Ben Roethlisberger or Patrick Kane, who have been accused — multiple times, in Roethlisberger’s case — of sexual assault. When you consider how government officials Brett Kavanaugh, Donald Trump, and Rick Dykstra

have all been accused of sexual assault, none of whom faced punitive sentences but actually career advancements following accusations — the bigger picture becomes clear: power and status allow men to be above the law in our misogynistic, patriarchal society.

Patriarchy breeds the value of prioritizing men’s careers over women’s lives and safety; we can see this clearly in a collective yet unfounded fear of false accusations, and the framing of domestic violence or sexual assault as more damaging to the man’s life than his victim’s. Watson’s case illustrates this well.

Jenn Guardino was found bloodied and with a bruised heel, and told police that Watson “sometimes gets handsy”; Watson actually admitted himself that he caused scratches found on Guardino’s chest the night of the assault, and witnesses further testified that they saw Watson “swat” his girlfriend to prevent her from exiting the vehicle.

Despite all this, Guardino apparently urged police not to “say anything,” for fears his career would be jeopardized. Alarmingly, she released a statement days after Watson’s suspension reduction apologizing for the incident, claiming it was “not an act of domestic violence,” and that “Austin Watson has never, and would never hit or abuse” her.

Survivors have every right to choose how they heal from abuse — including, if they wish, to forgive their abuser. But it is also important to remember that survivors defending and protecting their abusive partners is a symptom of a broader problem of misogyny and gender-based violence in our society.

Sports are just a microcosm of this, and there are plenty of examples that exist — Janay Palmer calling NFL player and husband Ray Rice’s assault against her a “mistake,” for instance. It is imperative that the NHL, like other sports leagues, hold their players who commit such disgusting and terrorizing acts of violence accountable. Female fans comprise a sizeable majority in most of the major men’s professional leagues, making up about a third of NHL view-

ership and nearly half of the NFL’s.

How should they feel when they see these athletes commit such acts of violence against women unpunished — with very little support offered to the people who look like them?

An honest assessment

The NHL is the only one of the four major men’s sports leagues without a policy or “standard of conduct” addressing domestic violence.

They instead opt to evaluate cases of domestic violence individually. In this regard, it would be beneficial for the NHL to move forward and catch up.

However, men’s professional sports leagues need to be honest with themselves, and if they are serious about paying more than lip service to tackling the problem of domestic violence, they need to move beyond performative policy and take more proactive initiative.

Consider the NFL, for example. This is a league that, despite having a formal policy, employs 44 players who have been accused of sexual or physical assault.

Consider the fact that it took until 2014, with surveillance footage showing Rice knocking his fiancée unconscious in an elevator, for commissioner Roger Goodell to implement a policy — and even then, Goodell’s original punishment for Rice was a mere two-game suspension. It was only after backlash from the public that he was compelled to do something.

What good is a domestic violence policy when it carries no weight of punishment, no rehabilitation efforts to prevent the problem in the future, and no support for the survivor? Perhaps, though, we should not expect much of a league that takes peaceful, anti-racist protesting as a more offensive act than physically endangering women’s safety.

NHL fans, consequently, need to reflect carefully on the merits of a domestic violence policy and what effect it might actually carry. Recall the case of former Los Angeles Kings player Slava Voynov. Voynov served two months in jail after a domestic violence charge back in 2014.

His contract was terminated and he was effectively returned to Russia following the charges.

However, he is now considering a return to the NHL and was granted a roster spot in this year’s Olympics. NBC commentator Mike Milbury reflected on the situation as an “unfortunate incident [that] left the Los Angeles Kings without a great defenseman.”

How insulting to Voynov’s spouse Marta Varlamova, who said it was not the first time, with an officer noting that her “blood [was] all over the bedroom.” If an incident like that — where an athlete actually serves concrete time in jail for an assault — does not warrant a commitment to the NHL toward tackling violence against women, I question the merits of a league policy implemented now, four years later.

So all this begs the question: what would be an effective strategy for going beyond words and springing into action? Sports leagues like the NHL must be better at actively combatting and preventing situations of domestic violence by education and empowering male players to be more aware of what constitutes abuse, as well as its widespread prevalence, and this can be done, as exemplified by the BC Lions of the CFL. The Lions’ Be More than a Bystander program is a collaboration between the team and the Ending Violence Association of Britsih Columbia, “aimed at substantially increasing understanding of the impact of men’s violence against women.” Guided by an advisory group of women, the Lions players use their “status and public profile” to educate others on the subject, through school visits, public ads, and other acts of outreach.

Ultimately, this is not just an NHL problem, and policy — much like laws in our legal system for the general population — will not be a one-step solution to significantly addressing domestic violence. Policy is certainly a start, but more importantly, an urgent conversation must be held about the widespread problem of violence against women in our society — and furthermore, the lack of accountability imposed on the men who do commit such violence.

18 | THE VARSITY | SPORTS

sports@thevarsity.ca

Helmy double seals Blues’ tense 4–2 win against Lakers Toronto men’s soccer display strong ball distribution

The Blues look ready for a deep playoff run.

MARTIN BAZYL/THE VARSITY

Michael Teoh Business Editor

The Varsity Blues men’s soccer team scored four goals against a resilient Nipissing Lakers, but continue to give the impression that they have yet to fully hit their stride.

The Blues entered the Saturday

evening game against the fifthplaced Lakers with very little at stake, having sealed third place in the Ontario University Athletics East conference the week prior. In the 14 preceding games this season, they have comfortably etched out their position as a buffer between the heavyweight table-topping duo of the Carleton Ravens and the Ryerson Rams and the rest of the division.

This performance always threatened to produce the free-flowing, counterattacking barrage that the team is capable of, but, symptomatic of its dead rubber nature, the 4–2 result showcased the Blues’ profligacy in front of goal, and surprisingly poor set-piece defending.

Just 13 seconds after kickoff, Blues fourth-year goalkeeper Stefan Dusciuc was forced to divert a shot behind for a corner after Nipissing exposed gaps in the Toronto defense with cross-field passing.

The following minute would best be described as a panicked affair for Toronto, who could not leverage control of the ball or assert defensive authority.

The Lakers would swing in a cross to an overloaded penalty box, forcing Dusciuc to palm the resulting shot directly back into the danger zone. Nipissing’s Cody Vaillancourt was quickest to react, slamming the ball into the Toronto

Blues sneak past Nipissing Lakers in 2–1 victory Blues win close match on final weekend Kaitlyn Simpson Managing Online Editor

On a chilly autumn evening, the Varsity Blues women’s soccer team closed out their regular season with a win against the Nipissing Lakers.

Anticipation was in the air at Varsity Stadium as the sun set and the game began.

The Blues struggled to get their rhythm at the beginning of the first half. Some cracks in the defense offered a few opportunities for the Lakers. At a mere six minutes into the game, Nipissing’s Lauren De Jong got a shot on net after a free kick. While Blues goalkeeper Vanna Staggolis initially stumbled, she managed to swap the ball up in an impressive recovery.

As the game progressed, the Blues managed to keep their momentum up with a few close opportunities.

In the 11th minute, the Blues got on the end of a cross, but the ball immediately went over the net.

At the 25-minute mark, after a cross from the right wing, Blues midfielder Julia Gonsalves managed to control the ball with her chest but

once again couldn’t find the back of the net.

As halftime neared, Blues striker Natasha Klasios turned the game around by sneaking past a Lakers defender in a one-on-one and easily slipping the ball into the corner of the net, past Nipissing goalkeeper Mykaela Volpe.

The Blues came into second half with Erin Kelly substituting for Gonsalves. Kelly was a strong presence on the field, providing Toronto with fast-paced energy and strong footwork.

Early into the half, it was clear that Nipissing was hungry for a goal. Nipissing forward Andrea Young had two close calls around the 50-minute mark — the first was saved by Staggolis and the second ran wide — all in the span of three minutes. After a scramble in the penalty box during the 69th minute, Young managed to get a shot on net.

Responding quickly, Staggolis made a beautiful diving save.

Despite the increasing pressure from Nipissing, the Blues managed to keep their composure. Toronto’s front line was consistently solid

net just one minute and 14 seconds into the game.

Following the restart, the Blues organized with three at the back and Blues captain Nikola Stakic — usually playing at the heart of the defence — as the team’s midfield anchor. Despite his smart movement and tracking back, a lack of support in the centre of the pitch allowed Nipissing to dominate control in the early periods. Nipissing’s high press further pushed Stakic into defensive duties, and the rest of the attackminded midfield lacked the tools to offset the opposition’s attacks.

Still, the Blues were clearly cognizant of their strength on the wings, and almost found an equalizer in the seventh minute. On the right flank, Blues winger Koosha Nazemi played the ball to Nick Chiappetta, who returned it to Nazemi in the opposition penalty box with a wellworked backheel pass. One-on-one with the Nipissing goalie, Nazemi shanked a tame effort woefully wide of the net.

The Blues were left to wait until the 24th minute for their equalizer, as a terrible Nipissing pass unleashed midfielder Yousef Helmy toward goal. Helmy showed good ball control in dribbling past the opposition defense, slotting a comfortable goal into the bottom left corner of the goal. With the newfound confidence of a welltaken goal, Helmy grew into the game as it progressed, picking out smart passes in the final third to stamp the Blues’ attacking intent on the game.

Playing his first home game, Blues first-year defender Jacob

Chelsea Cheung and Natasha Klasios led the Blues to a hard fought victory.

MARTIN BAZYL/THE VARSITY

leading up to the team’s second goal of the night. In the 76th minute, after a solid run, Klasios placed a perfect pass to Blues captain Chelsea Cheung, who scored firmly, leaving little time for Volpe to react.

The end of the match saw both teams get physical. A minute after Cheung’s goal, Nipissing forward Abby Wroe received a yellow card for running into Staggolis after she received the ball.

Staggolis quickly shoved Wroe away, adding a tense atmosphere to the game.

The Lakers received a corner kick at the 85th minute, when Staggolis saved an attempt on goal by Wroe.

Within the minute, Nipissing received a second corner — this time, Wroe found the net from inside the six-yard box.

Both teams played hard up until the last seconds of extra time. The game ended with the Blues firing nine shots, making six saves, and receiving eight fouls. The Lakers had 10 shots, three saves, and six fouls.

The win wraps up the Blues’ regular season with five wins, six losses, and four ties.

Maurutto-Robinson put on an excellent display, particularly with his impressive passing vision. In the 30th minute, he delivered a peach of a ball that beat the defensive line to Helmy. Helmy’s half volley was even sweeter than Maurutto-Robinson's delivery, as the ball thundered past a hapless Nipissing goalie to make the score 2–1. Helmy’s silky dribbling and Maurutto-Robinson’s pinpoint passing would continue for the rest of the first half, giving the Blues more control over the game.

Excellent in the Blues’ previous set of home games, midfielder Anthony Sousa experienced a difficult start to the second half. In the 47th minute, he had a shot from point-blank range saved by the goalie, and two minutes later, he blasted a shot high and wide, again from within the penalty box.

Maurutto-Robinson would again contribute, this time to the Blues’ third goal in the 53rd minute, after a targeted lob from 30 yards found Sousa, who lay the ball off to striker Jack Wadden to dispatch and make the score 3–1.

Despite the Blues’ momentum, their defense on set-pieces continually left a lot to be desired, and in the 61st minute, they paid for their carelessness.

A Nipissing corner somehow found Darius Tignanelli in acres of space, and he was all too happy to place the ball into the net. Stakic and Dusciuc were disappointed by their failure to organize their backline for the second time of the evening, but perhaps this will serve as an impetus for head coach Anthony Capotosto to work more on man-marking in training.

The Blues started to slip from the

game following Nipissing’s second goal, and too many times, they were forced back to their goalie by the Nipissing press. Dusciuc himself was forced into a couple of rushed clearances and poor balls and, on another day, the Blues could easily have been punished for a lack of structure and composure in the defensive third.

Curiously, following a raft of substitutions in the 68th minute that included midfielder Michael Matic entering the play, the Blues were able to assert more control over the game, and Matic scored the team’s fourth in the 72nd minute from inside the box.

Even with the dead rubber victory in the bag, the Blues kept foraging forward, and in the 90th minute, Nazemi delivered a perfect pass to striker Jae Jin Lee in the box. One-on-one with the goalkeeper, Lee hit the post from inside 10 yards.

While he will have been disappointed not to add to his seven-goal tally of the season — and he certainly won’t get many easier chances — the miss wasn’t of importance this time.

OCTOBER 22, 2018 | 19

var.st/sports

Blues men’s baseball finish second, women’s lacrosse fourth Results from the Blues at the OUA Championships

Daniel Samuel Sports Editor

The Varsity Blues men’s baseball and women’s lacrosse teams competed in the Ontario University Athletics (OUA) Championship action this weekend. The Blues baseball team earned silver in Ajax, while the women’s lacrosse team competed for bronze in Peterborough.

Capturing silver The Blues baseball team entered the baseball playoffs at second place in the standings, behind the Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks, last year’s championship runners-up.

Toronto opened the tournament on Saturday with a tightly contested 4–3 victory over the Western Mustangs. Gabriel Nakonechny sealed the victory with a walk-off single. The Blues also routed the Brock Badgers with a 9–1 victory.

In the evening, Nakonechny followed up the stellar performance with another walk-off single to defeat the McMaster Marauders 3–2.

Toronto entered the final day of the tournament on Sunday with a 3–0 record. In the semifinals, the Blues defeated the Guelph Gryphons 5–2. Following a nail biting extra-innings showdown final with the Golden Hawks, the Blues

earned silver. Toronto levelled the score in the top of the ninth inning but were unable to take the lead. In the bottom of the 11th, the Golden Hawks broke through with a walk-off single to win the game 4–3 and clinch the OUA Championship.

dropping their semifinal match 10–2.

The Blues were unable to secure bronze for a second straight year, losing a tough 6–5 overtime decision to host Trent Excalibur.

WEEKLY BOX SCORES BASEBALL 4–3

October 19

Western Mustangs

Varsity Blues

9–1

October 20

Brock Badgers

Varsity Blues

3–2

October 20

Almost bronze With head coach Jim Calder at the helm, the women’s lacrosse team finished the regular season fifth in the OUA with an 8-4-1 record.

The Blues opened the OUA Championship Friday evening with a decisive 12–8 victory over the reigning champion Western Mustangs.

Laurel McGillis and Brynne Yarranton led the Blues with four goals and a hattrick respectively.

Unfortunately, Toronto was unable to get past the Queen’s Gaels on Saturday,

McMaster Marauders

Varsity Blues

5–2

October 21

Guelph Gryphons

Varsity Blues

FIELD HOCKEY 2–1

October 21

Guelph Gryphons

Varsity Blues

FOOTBALL 31–15

October 20 York Lions

MEN’S

Varsity Blues

HOCKEY

October 19

4–3 Nipissing Lakers

Varsity Blues

October 20

2–1 Varsity Blues

Laurentian Voyageurs

The Blues were unable to repeat as OUA Champions in baseball.

JON HALPENNY/THE VARSITY

October 26

McGill Redmen

vs

Varsity Blues

October 27

Concordia Stingers

vs

Varsity Blues

WOMEN’S October 21

3–0 Nipissing Lakers

Varsity Blues

October 21

e

Th . on as ITY se S is AR th E V e m /TH ga V a ADO n wi MM to MA d ile AN fa R s EY ue S

Bl

York Lions defeat Varsity Blues in 49th Red & Blue Bowl

Vincent Ruan Varsity Contributor

The Varsity Blues football team wrapped up their season with a 31–15 loss against longtime rival York Lions in the 49th annual Red & Blue Bowl on Saturday afternoon.

The Lions’ defense opened up the game by forcing a safety less than a minute into the game. York then managed to grab a 3–0 lead with a rouge point converted by kicker Dante Mastrogiuseppe. In the second quarter, the Blues evened the score by capitalizing on a sixplay drive that resulted in a field goal.

Things turned completely one-sided in the second quarter as the Lions’ offense caught fire. Toronto’s defense looked lost as they gave up 28 points in a span of 10 minutes. Wide receiver Luther Hakunavanhu started York’s 28-point flurry with a touchdown catch, thrown by quarterback Brett Hunchak.

The Lions quarterback then connected with his brother, Colton Hunchak, for a three-yard touchdown pass. With less than two minutes to go in the first

half, the Lions scored twice to go up 31–3.

Running back Kayden Johnson managed to get in the end zone on a one-yard touchdown run. On the Blues’ following drive, defensive back Kadeem Thomas intercepted Vince Luccisano, giving the Lions the ball back. Quarterback Noah Craney found Eric Kimmerly in the back of the end zone to close out a dominant first half by the Lions.

The Blues’ only touchdown of the game came in the fourth quarter on a run by running back Max Gyimah. U of T closed the game with a 31-yard field goal by kicker Ethan Shafer to make it 31–15.

York’s Brett Hunchak was phenomenal in the game. Hunchak threw for

Lions catch fire in second quarter

303 yards along with two touchdowns, completing 26 passes on 38 attempts.

Johnson ran for 69 yards and one touchdown. A trio of receivers, Eric Kimmerly, Colton Hunchak, and Hakunavanhu, each caught a touchdown pass.

Blues second-year quarterback Vince Luccisano struggled heavily against the Lions’ defense. Luccisano threw for only 72 yards while also throwing three interceptions. Rookie quarterback David Maecker replaced Luccisano in the third quarter, going five-for-10 for 82 yards and only one interception. Blues wide receiver Will Corby ended the season on a high note with eight receptions for 114 yards.

A pre-game ceremony and 25th anniversary of the 1993 Yates and Vanier Cup was hosted by the Blues to honour graduating players Connor Ennis, Wade Zanchetta, Ryan Grandell, Patrick Pankow, Jordan Sidsworth, Cole Goodfellow, Wacey Schell, Lamar Foyle, Nick Hallett, and Carter Gladman.

The 2018 Blues football season comes to a disappointing end as they were unable to secure a victory, placing them at the bottom of the OUA standings.

2–1 Varsity Blues

Laurentian Voyageurs

October 27

Western Mustangs

vs

Varsity Blues

November 1

Ryerson Rams

vs

Varsity Blues

MEN’S

LACROSSE

October 20

15–4 Brock Badgers

October 26

Varsity Blues

Varsity Blues

@

McMaster Marauders

WOMEN’S October 19

12–8 Varsity Blues

Western Mustangs

Quarterfinals

October 20

10–2 Queen's Gaels

Varsity Blues

Semifinals 6–5

October 21

Trent Excalibur Varsity Blues Bronze medal match

SOCCER MEN’S October 20

4–2 Varsity Blues

October 21

Nipissing Lakers

2–2 Varsity Blues

Laurentian Voyageurs

WOMEN’S October 20

2–1 Varsity Blues

October 21

Nipissing Lakers

2–2 Varsity Blues

Laurentian Voyageus

20 | THE VARSITY | DIVERSIONS

Help solve the world’s most pressing problems UBC understands that global solutions require collaboration across disciplines. Many departments have interdisciplinary study options, or, students can design their own graduate program across three subject areas as part of the unique Interdisciplinary Studies Graduate Program.

View open research projects www.grad.ubc.ca/go/projects

OCTOBER 22, 2018

ACROSS

DOWN

1. Make judgments 5. Grownup efts 10. Marsh wader 14. Between tasks 15. Bird-related 16. Spike 17. Better writing?

18. Earth, in sci-fi fare 19. Hose annoyance 20. They’re off the main drag 23. Valuable connections 24. Too weird 25. Ceilings 27. Nonfat advocate Jack 30. Big name in hotels 33. Asian ox 36. Hardly a striking individual 38. Farm machinery company 39. Bone under a watch 41. Road, in Quebec 42. Flight paths 43. Investigator’s sources 45. Olympics sticker 47. Posed for pics, perhaps 48. Sees 50. Impersonate 53. Attack like a turtle 54. Up 57. Flock sound 59. Chuck Berry’s medium 64. Military doctor’s concern 66. Hullabaloo 67. Perimeter contents 68. Relish 69. Goggles 70. Wilderness retreats 71. Start to come and go?

72. Be around 73. Notable time periods

1. Mint devices 2. Actor Murphy 3. Leave out, as a syllable 4. Coin takers 5. Gabs 6. At least once 7. It often comes down to this 8. Empty-vehicle weight 9. Clean and jerk alternative 10. Kind, derogatorily 11. Railings 12. Windows image 13. Collectors’ goals 21. Taste, as wine 22. More than implied 26. Courtroom bargain 28. A lot?

29. Mousy color 31. Keiko of “Free Willy”, for one 32. Home out on a limb 33. Popular season 34. Bar buys 35. Campers’ burdens 37. “It’s ___ a pleasure” 40. Resembling 44. Mark with a branding iron 46. Showing sincerity 49. Surgeon’s request 51. Bounder 52. Vehement speech 55. More miffed 56. Tennis champ Dementieva 57. Bundle in the field 58. “Tosca” solo 60. Induce, in a way 61. Brown-skinned fruit 62. Expresses curiosity 63. “Bonny” belle 65. Call for attention