Turning trash into treasure
Zanta cometh
Waste-to-energy as a business pg 18
‘tis the season for pushups
pg 14
THE VARSITY Vol. CXXXIII, No. 9
University of Toronto’s Student Newspaper Since 1880
19 November, 2012
Reforms absent from AGM agenda Union opts to hire lawyer to conduct review of electoral policies Kaleem Hawa
VARSITY CONTRIBUTOR
JUSTIN TRUDEAU: the rising son
Liberal frontrunner visits campus pg 6
“Men’s issues awareness” lecture met with protests
Several proposed reforms to the University of Toronto Students’ Union electoral policy were quashed Sunday after it was announced that the amendments had been submitted past the deadline — a deadline that, according to some, was intentionally obscured to prevent the proposed changes from coming before next week’s annual general meeting. The UTSU found itself on the defensive after student co-head of Trinity College Sam Greene charged that the union “deliberately attempted to stifle proposals and amendments” that he believes should be discussed during Thursday’s high-profile meeting. Trinity College will vote Monday on a motion calling for the resignation of union executives. All UTSU constituents are eligible to attend the annual general meeting, to be held this Thursday. In recent years, the AGM has served as a de facto battleground for pro- and antiunion groups. (for more, see pg 5) The amendments, which were developed by Greene in conjunction with other college leaders, were not added to the AGM agenda because they were submitted too late to be vetted by the Policy and Procedures Committee and the Board of Directors. Some of the changes proposed by Greene included removing the ability to use proxies in voting at AGMs as well as reducing the minimum number of nominations
needed to run as a candidate in future elections. The amendments were developed in part to operationalize changes initially proposed by a non-binding, non-partisan declaration circulated by the St. George Round Table. Various campus groups have endorsed the declaration, including the Trinity College Meeting, the University College Literary and Athletic Society, the Engineering Society and most recently, the St. Michael’s College Student Union. Instead of entertaining the reforms at Tuesday’s AGM, union executives moved late last week to allocate $17,000 to hire a lawyer to perform an “independent and bipartisan review of elections procedure.” UTSU president Shaun Shepherd said that the review will be completed prior to the next election. Absent Greene’s amendments, the union will discuss a largely uncontroversial agenda that tinkers with several components of UTSU bylaws. Last year’s AGM mandated that the UTSU would be required to advertise future meetings in vaguely defined “campus publications.” This year, it is being proposed that “campus publication” be clarified to mean The Varsity and the newspaper. The role of the vice president– campus life is also to be altered. The job currently calls for “one clubs day and at least one clubs resource session each semester.”
CONTINUED PG 3
Assaults, arrest as controversial speaker visits campus Dan Smeenk
VARSITY STAFF
Around 100 protestors disrupted a lecture given by controversial author and activist Warren Farrell at the MacLeod auditorium at U of T on Friday night. Farrell, whose works include The Liberated Man, Why Men Are the Way They Are, and The Myth of Male Power, was on campus to give a speech outlining his theory about how males are disadvantaged in Western society. He was hosted by the Canadian Association for Equality (CAFE). Farrell, who describes himself as a former feminist, and the only male ever to have been elected to the
Board of the National Organization for Women three times, started to include men’s issues in his work about gender in the mid-1980s. About fifteen protestors stood in front of the doors before the event, forming a barricade and blocking attendees from entering through the main doors of the auditorium. About two dozen Toronto Police Service officers were present to provide security for the event, including officers on bicycles and on horseback. U of T Campus Police were also present. One protestor was arrested after a scuffle broke out in front of the auditorium’s doors. He was later released with no charges. Another protestor was cautioned for assault of a police officer at
the back entrance. A video posted on YouTube shows event attendees entering the building, and people identified by the videographer as organizers physically assaulting protestors. There was also significant controversy over the move by protesters to barricade the doors. Many patrons argued that the methods used by the protestors suppressed free speech and stifled debate. The protestors argued that Farrell’s talk was hate speech, and did real damage to women. Demonstrators shouted the slogan “No Hate Speech on Campus” on a number of occasions throughout the night.
CONTINUED PG 7
Recruitment 101 How to make the Varsity Blues
pg 21
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VARSITY NEWS
MONDAY, NOVEMBER 19, 2012
THE VARSITY
WHAT’S GOING ON
VOL. CXXXIII No. 9
THIS WEEK
21 Sussex Avenue, Suite 306 Toronto, ON, M5S 1J6 Phone: 416-946-7600 www.thevarsity.ca
ON CAMPUS
UTSU ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING WITH ADAM VAUGHAN University of Toronto Students’ Union Thursday, 22 November. 6 – 9 pm Medical Sciences Building MS 3153 1 King’s College Circle
Editorial Board Editor-in-Chief Murad Hemmadi
editor@thevarsity.ca
Design Editors Suzy Nevins Dan Seljak
suzy@thevarsity.ca dan@thevarsity.ca
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Arts & Culture Editor Brigit Katz
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Sports Editor Zoë Bedard
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Illustrations Editor Minhee Bae
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Video Editor Wyatt Clough
CULLEN BROWN @THECULLENBROWN
HITCHCOCK (2012) ADVANCED SCREENING + PSYCHO DOUBLE BILL Cinema Studies Student Union Monday, 19 November, 7 pm Innis Town Hall|2 Sussex Avenue
MAGNIFICAT, HART HOUSE CHORUS’ FALL CONCERT 2012 Hart House Chorus Sunday, 25 November. 2 – 3pm Hart House 7 Hart House Circle
video@thevarsity.ca
THE VARSITY’S FALL MEETING OF MEMBERS
Associate Design Editor Nathan Watson Associate Photo Editor Vacant Associate Online Editor Vacant Associate Copy Editor Catherine Kabasele Associate News Editors Rida Ali James Maiangowi Zane Schwartz
Wednesday, 5 December, 2012, 5 pm 21 Sussex Ave., 2nd floor
Associate Comment Editor Vacant Associate Features Editor Damanjit Lamba Associate A&C Editor Danielle Klein Associate Science Editor Roxanne Leung Associate Sports Editor Vacant
The Fall Meeting of Members of VARSITY PUBLICATIONS INC. (the “Corporation”), the company that publishes The Varsity newspaper, will be held for the purposes of reviewing Varsity Publications’ year, approval of the public accountant’s report in respect of the financial statement and re-appointing the public accountant.
Contributors Rida Ali, Patrick Baud, Daniel Berube, Simon Bredin, Jerico Espinas, Simon Frank, Olivia Forsyth-Sells, Karen Kyung Fuhrmann, Stephanie Gaglione, Adra Grieg, Kaleem Hawa, Murad Hemmadi, Evan Hutchison, Lia Kim, Danielle Klein, Madeline Malczewska, Patrick McGovern, Sky Richards, Vipasha Shaikh, Abdullah Shihipar, Dan Smeenk, Kay Dyson Tam, Irina Vukosavic, Carter West Copy Editors Elizabeth Benn Lois Boody Aisha Kakinuma Hassan Ray Heiland Catharine Kabasele Alex Ross Laura Sabatini Dan Smeenk
Designers Lilin Chen Ethan Chiel Arshile Egoyan Suzy Nevins Dan Seljak Shaquilla Singh Nathan Watson
Fact Checkers Catherine Kabasele Alex Ross
Photo and Illustration Ethan Chiel Wyatt Clough Bernarda Gospic Ryan Kelpin Carolyn Levett Wendy Gu
Crime Stats November 8 – 15
3
Dispute
1
Property Damage
2
Harassment
Advertising Executives victoria@thevarsity.ca Victoria Botvinnik nick@thevarsity.ca Nick Brownlee sofia@thevarsity.ca Sofia Luu maokai@thevarsity.ca Maokai Shen
4
Mischief
10
Trespasses
The Varsity is the University of Toronto's largest student newspaper, publishing since 1880. The Varsity has a circulation of 20,000, and is published by Varsity Publications Inc. It is printed by Master Web Inc. on recycled newsprint stock. Content © 2012 by The Varsity. All rights reserved. Any editorial inquiries and/or letters should be directed to the sections associated with them; emails listed above. The Varsity reserves the right to edit all submissions. Inquiries regarding ad sales can be made to ads@thevarsity.ca. ISSN: 0042-2789
Notices: Military medals stolen from 215 Huron, a university office the day after Rememberance Day. Students warned of a fake job posting on campus from the jobs@ studentsforstudents email address.
Cover Ryan Kelpin
Business Office Business Manager John Fountas
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Please recycle this issue after you are finished with it.
SHAUN SHEPHERD @SHAUNSHEP Just read through @TheVarsity. I’m convinced that @USTU98 is driving content. Like Ying and Yang. Plato and Aristotle Scooby and Shaggy. —05 November 2012
Managing Online Editor Patrick Love online@thevarsity.ca Senior Copy Editor Laura Mitchell
the week in tweets
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Theft
Quoted
@UTSU98 Annual General Meeting is happening this Thursday 6PM Sci 3153. Pick up your #proxy forms in the UTSU office! —14 November 2012
RISHI MAHARAJ @9X19 “Try asking them how to be corrupt, they’re experts at it!” @ University of Toronto Students’ Union: http://4sq.com/TENpv7 #foursquare —14 November 2012
COREY SCOTT @COURAGEOUSCOREY For someone who speaks so much against the “sage on the stage” module, @glen4TC sure loves the stage #onpoli —19 November 2012
SHERWIN ARNOTT @SHERWINARNOTT Munk School is putting their brand at risk. UofT too. Margaret #Wente and The Gelber Prize goo.gl/LB1v4 #UofT —19 November 2012
Dispatches from the annals of the UTSU AGM Facebook event page
“Hey, we are making progress. Back in the old days you weren’t allowed to post on the walls of UTSU events if you were a critic.” –Rishi Maharaj, President, University of Toronto Engineering Society “This threads is worse than a Toronto Star comment thread.” –Damian Durlik, Student
THE VARSITY VOL. CXXXIII No. 8
Online Content
“Hi Sam, I am sorry you feel this way. As I had mentioned in the email I sent to you, the UTSU’s bylaws would not allow us to add the items due to clean amdendment procedures listed in our bylaws...” –Corey Scott, VP Internal & Services, University of Toronto Students’ Union “You did not email me. That is a lie.” –Sam Greene, Student Head, Trinity College
The Varsity presents the beauty found in night time landscapes through the medium of time-lapse videography. WATCH ONLINE AT www.broadcast. thevarsity.ca/
var.st/news
VARSITY NEWS FEATURE
Welcome to the new UC Plans announced for major restoration, renovation of historic U of T building
(left) Donald Ainslie stands in a to-be-renovated section of UC, (right) artistic renderings of UC’s completed renovations. PHOTO: BERNARDA GOSPIC/ THE VARSITY IlluSTRATIONS COuRTESY OFFICE OF uNIVERSITY ADVANCEMENT
Danielle Klein VARSITY STAFF
“If you take a picture of the University of Toronto, you take a picture of University College,” says Donald Ainslie, principal of University College. “UC is, in some sense, synecdochical for the university: it’s the part that stands in for the whole.” In his office, surrounded by relics of the rich heritage of University College — old photographs, pieces of the burnt rubble from the famous fire of 1890, the purported skull of Ivan Reznikoff — Ainslie expounds his plan for UC’s future interior. “One of the things I discovered in my first year as principal was that we had far too much empty and underutilized space. I started to think about what we could do to make sure that students get the most out of what University College has to offer,” he says. Ainslie became principal of the college in July 2011, having previously served as chair of U of T’s philosophy department. The UC building, a designated Canadian national historic site, opened in 1859 and was last renovated in the 1980s. “It’s an institution that’s welcoming, that’s respectful of our longstanding, non-sectarian history and our history of openness, taking students no matter what their religious or ethnic background. This helped to focus a discussion of the space: how do we make the building embody that which UC is about?” Ainslie explains that the project is guided by four principles, decided upon through consultation with faculty and students: “To embody the college’s commitment to education and research; to make sure this commitment focuses on undergraduates; respect for historical heritage; and accessibility.” Students and faculty have been supportive throughout the process. “Students have been involved throughout and I’ve heard pretty much only supportive words,” Ainslie said. The University College Literary and Athletic Society (UCLit) has enthusiastically supported the proposed renovations. “It’s a beautiful building that we all love and I don’t see anything negative about trying to maximize its use,” says Ben Dionne, president of the UCLit. “The biggest concern has been that it’s going to happen
when people are graduated. Overall, people are very enthusiastic about the project.” A key project in the proposed restoration will be relocating the Laidlaw Library. The 33,000-work collection will be moved to East Hall to become the new University College Library, and Laidlaw’s current space will serve as a large classroom or event space. Although a few fans of Laidlaw are disappointed with this plan, the library goes largely unused, regularly sitting empty. “This idea came partly because of a fortuitous circumstance. East Hall was originally the library of the university with a mezzanine that housed about 33,000 works,” Ainslie explains. “Why not solve the problem that East Hall sits empty and solve the problem that the library isn’t working for our students by returning to the original purpose of East Hall, being inspired by this history and reconstructing a twenty-first century library in a historic space?” The architecture and design of the library will invoke the original space, reconstructing the mezzanine over the stacks, and using columnar lighting inspired by the kerosene lamps originally used throughout the college, one of which caused the devastating 1890 fire that burned the College to the ground. Other proposed renovations include converting West Hall to a multi-purpose space, revamping and modernizing UC classrooms, and adding a café to the third floor, likely in partnership with beloved UC institution Diabolos. While Ainslie intends to fix floors and desks and bring in new technology as part of his plan to modernize the lecture halls, he also wants to uncover hidden historic features to reveal and highlight the heritage of the building. Accessibility, one of Ainslie’s central tenets for the restoration, is a critical issue in the college as it stands. “We pride ourselves on being the open college … and yet if you can’t handle stairs, it’s a very difficult building. If there’s a class with any kind of mobility problems, we will move the class. We can’t accommodate the student’s needs and it shows that we failed to meet our sense of ourselves as the welcoming college. We’re trying to build accessibility into all the projects,” Ainslie explains.
Dionne expressed concern about accessibility as well. “To get in the college right now, you need to go all the way around, and take the elevator at Laidlaw Library.” To address this need, an elevator will be placed in the centre of the building, and a new wheelchair-accessible entrance will be constructed behind Croft Chapter House. Croft will also undergo a facelift under the proposed plans. The aging space will be renovated into a modern conference room with improved lighting for research events and meetings of the UCLit. It will be linked to the Senior Common Room with additional entryways. The University College quad will undergo changes, with lighting and outlets to allow for more events to occur in the outdoor space. A new air conditioning system will be introduced to the college, meaning that the large AC unit in the corner of the quad will be removed. In order to increase traffic to the patio surrounding the quad, a slope will be added on the east side to connect the quad on all sides. Renewed vegetation and a water feature will also be added. The cost of the plan remains unclear. Ainslie intends to fundraise through the ongoing university-wide Boundless campaign. University College fees are determined by students, and therefore are unlikely to be impacted by the restoration, though there is some discussion within the UCLit about asking students to contribute modestly to the campaign. “There is some talk about trying to pass a referendum to get a project levy,” Dionne explains. “It’s still in discussion, but we are thinking about asking students to throw in a small contribution. This would bring some money, but also show possible investors that the students are behind it.” Ainslie believes that the project will reinvigorate the college by bringing activity to the front of the building and bustle to its hallways. “I want the place to be alive. We don’t have a lot of large classrooms, there’s not as many people in the building as I’d like to see,” he says. “I want it to be a centre of activity.” “I want the college to be alive so when students collect in West Hall and march out of the college at convocation, reenacting the history of the college, they say that this is a place where they spent a lot of time; ‘That is where my life at UC happened.’”
MONDAY, NOVEMBER 19, 2012
3
“UTSU REFORM” CONTINUED FROM COVER The proposed change will describe the job as “chief liaison with union-recognized campus groups.” Angered by the what he calls the union’s “obfuscation,” Greene took to Facebook, claiming that he had specifically emailed UTSU vice president-internal and Elections and Referenda Committee (ERC) chair Corey Scott to ask if there was a deadline for proposal submission to the AGM. The response, according to Greene, “was not forthcoming.” In an interview with The Varsity, Scott maintained that he responded to Greene’s request by informing him about the policy for proposal submission, and specifically that “unfortunately, he would be unable to submit proposals to the AGM [this year]”. Greene rejected Scott’s claims as a “lie”, saying he hadn’t received a response. Greene also noted that even if Scott had responded when Scott claims he did (allegedly on November 7), it would have come too late for Greene to have the time to react. “Due to the nature of the bylaws surrounding reform, it is unlikely Sam would have been able to get his proposals in anyways,” Scott says. “Something that wasn’t understood is that the firm deadline for submitting proposals comes way in advance of the AGM and that [the proposals] need to be vetted by the Policy and Procedures Committee first. “There is no malicious intent anywhere. In fact, I would say the approach that Sam took is disingenuous and a bit offensive.” When pressed on the allegation that he had responded late to Greene’s email, Scott did say that “the end of October and early November is a hectic period, where we’re finishing up our budgeting cycle and we’re trying to get international student identity cards. So, I made it a priority to get those done and while I try to get to emails as fast as I can, I don’t have hordes and hordes of executive assistants working behind me.” Greene believes the email conflict speaks to a larger issue. “It’s obvious that the UTSU executive is deliberately trying to conceal information. They’re working as hard as they can to ensure that students’ voices aren’t heard,” says Greene. “I don’t see the point in having an AGM if its only purpose is to rubber stamp pre-approved Union policy. What Corey has done in this case is indicative of a broader culture of paranoia and non-transparency where requests for basic information by students are ignored or denied, and opposing voices are marginalized.” Mike Cowan, president of the St. Michael’s College Student Union (SMCSU), agrees. He believes the UTSU had a duty to publicize the deadline and procedures to the general public in order to ensure all prospective issues could come to light and be discussed at the AGM. Asked about Cowan’s concerns, Corey Scott said: “Should we add that to the website? Sure. I think we can add that but people need to let me know what most of the concerns are.” Cowan said he finds it difficult to believe that Scott hasn’t heard any of these concerns before. “The by-law amendments that Sam sent were not rooted in partisan-politics. [Our] amendments were drafted with the intention of bettering the system the UTSU works in, and they were shot down evidently out of spite for anyone who wants to do something productive for this university’s students, and to do it with legitimate representation of the general student voice.” An “extremely frustrated” Cowan maintains that he is “not just expressing [his] personal views, but the opinions of the SMCSU.” “Whatever we say, it’s going to be interpreted as something that is partisan,” Scott says. “It is going to be interpreted as the most evil thing ever. That’s why I think the best thing to do is get a legal opinion on it to make sure we have strong election procedures.” Rishi Maharaj, president of the Engineering Society finds the move to hire legal counsel unconvincing. “The refusal to even discuss the most patently reasonable reforms to the UTSU — such as requiring sitting executives to actually be students or to institute preferential voting so that voters’ intentions can be captured more accurately — demonstrates that the current executive opposes anything that would dilute their power. Their defense is singularly shallow: it is not illegal for them to do this. “They may very well be right about that, but it is certainly unethical, and most importantly, destructive of the aims that the UTSU was founded to promote.”
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VARSITY NEWS
MONDAY, NOVEMBER 19, 2012
news@thevarsity.ca
KPE to shutter leadership centre Popular centre employs numerous students on campus Vipasha Shaikh
VARSITY CONTRIBUTOR
A memo released last week by the Faculty of Kinesiology and Physical Education announced that a prominent student leadership centre for KPE students was to be shut down, its services decentralized to other program areas within the faculty. The Centre of Leadership Training and Education (CLTE) is a student centre focused on developing leadership skills related to physical and heath education, as well as providing staff training for KPE-related jobs. It is also one of the biggest student employers on campus. The announcement of the centre’s closure came as a surprise to many students and staff within the faculty, including those employed at the centre. One student doing a work-study placement with the CLTE said that
while she knew the centre had been under review, “the decision to shut it down was a complete surprise.” Another casual staff member commented on how the memo seemed vague on what will happen to the CLTE in the future. Kevin Sousa, president of the Physical and Health Education Undergraduate Association (KPE’s student union), noted that the centre had a positive reputation on campus and was seen as a valuable resource by many students both within and outside the KPE program. But in a formal review commissioned by dean Ira Jacobs during the 2010–2011 year, the CLTE was criticized for what administrators perceived as a vague and unfocussed mandate. It was recommended at the time that the centre’s mandate be streamlined to better serve students. The review also offered, as one of its solutions to combat the centre’s
The Athletic Centre at the corner of Spadina and Harbord. cAROLYN LEVETT/THE VARsiTY
broad mandate, a redistribution of CLTE services to other program areas within the faculty. Though the report had been partially informed by student input through focus groups and interviews, student leaders like Sousa felt that student engagement in the final decision about the centre was lacking. “One of my largest concerns was that the decision was made unilaterally by the senior leadership as there were no students involved in the actual decision process,” said Sousa. “It’s quite problematic to have a governing structure to make a decision without involving students in the process.” Other students involved with the CLTE feel the same; a casual staff member noted that it did not feel like the faculty was consulting students in their decisions, and that there needed to be more emphasis on student impact in the future.
Anita Comella, one of the assistant deans involved in the decision, said that while the formal report was a factor, the decision was also a business one, informed by a vision to incorporate more experiential learning opportunities within the Faculty. Comella noted that faculty was changing its academic program. “The intent is to include student leadership and experiential learning within all the courses provided by the faculty — so there would be no need for the CLTE to provide this.” Comella also noted that the decentralization process will mean the delegation of work-study positions to the appropriate curricular or cocurricular positions within the faculty, and that staff training will be undertaken within these specific program areas. Though the transition plan from a centralized hub for student leadership to a decentralized one has not yet been detailed, Comella says that
over the next six weeks, the CLTE staff and senior leadership will put an effective strategy in place. The centre is expected to be discontinued by March of 2013. Currently, there are differing opinions of the future implications of the CLTE closure. To Comella, the decentralization of the CLTE services will bring new opportunities to enhance student leadership and collaboration within the Faculty. But to many students, the CLTE was also a student centre that brought the KPE student body together. For one staff member involved in leadership programming at the CLTE, “there will be a big difference between a centre that makes leadership development its number one priority, versus someone who does it on the side — the quality of leadership training is going to go down.” For more on the KPE Sport Model review, see pg 23
Visit uoft.me/courseevaluations for more info Watch for your email invitation. Faculty of Arts & Science, Nursing, Social Work, UTM, UTSC” below ‘Course evaluations now online
VARSITY NEWS
var.st/news
MONDAY, NOVEMBER 19, 2012
5
SMC instructors on strike Hundreds of undergraduates potentially affected by labour action Irina Vukosavic VARSITY STAFF
Contract workers at St. Michael’s College are now on strike. Organized under CUPE 3902, Unit 4, they are employed by the college on contracts lasting less than 12 months. This category includes lecturers, demonstrators, tutors, markers, graders, teaching/laboratory assistants and continuing education instructors. After a year of negotiations, the union unanimously decided to call a strike deadline for Thursday. When the university tabled a final proposal, the union rejected it and went into strike mode at 1.01 pm last Thursday afternoon. Later that day, there was unanimous support for a strike from members in a ratification vote. “Starting Friday morning, we have withdrawn our labour and will not be prepping or teaching classes, or grading,” said Daniel Bader, bargaining committee chair. Although the university will remain open, workers will legally be on strike. This means undergraduate programs such as the Book and Media Studies program, Celtic Studies, Christianity and Culture, Medieval Studies, and the SMC One: Cornerstone classes may be cancelled. Classes in the Faculty of Theology may also be suspended. The impact on students starting Monday could be significant. According to Daniel Brielmaier, Unit 4 steward, hundreds of students will be affected.
Of the approximately 40 striking workers, half are sessional instructors, and eight are TAs. The sessional instructors either teach full-year or semesterlong courses, with about half teaching undergraduate courses and the other half teaching grad courses. Brielmaier says that the number of full and part-time students in these courses ranges from 30–70 but some include more; courses affected in the Book and Media Studies department could impact up to 120 undergraduate students by Brielmaier’s estimation. Outside of the classroom, students also might be affected by picket lines. Beginning Friday morning, Unit 4 members set up on St. Joseph to propagate strike information. Bader says they plan on being there 9 am–3 pm every day until the impasse in negotiations is resolved. “We aren’t trying to interfere with anyone and it is entirely up to them if they would like to cross. We would just like to get our message out there,” he says. Robert Edgett, media liaison for SMC, says that students should assume that classes will continue, unless there is a notice posted on the door. If the university finds out with enough time in advance, they will post notices online. Although parking lots and street parking will remain available, Edgett says that students should expect delays and prepare themselves by taking public transit instead or arriving to work or class earlier.
As for cancelled classes or tests, Edgett says the college will deal with it on a day-to-day basis and will be rescheduling as many as possible. According to Bader, the main issue is a lack of job security. Since the workers are on 12 month contracts, they do not have the guarantee of work in the future, even if they have taught the same course for many years. “It doesn’t matter if you have taught the same course 10 times, your contract still ends at the end of the semester and you have to reapply for the same job,” Bader says. To get over this issue, the university proposed a promotion system, says Bader. Under the proposed system, when course instructors had taught eight courses, they would have preference and be promoted. This raised red flags for the union. Although Bader says that they are not opposed to the idea of advancement, the main concern is the way the process works. In this system, if the instructor cannot get to the threshold of eight courses, they can appeal to a three person committee that includes the SMC vice president, the dean of theology, and a faculty member. That this committee has significant power in the hiring process is an issue, says Bader. “If an instructor doesn’t want to go through the promotion system and goes to the committee, what if they don’t approve? We basically don’t have any other choice. If someone isn’t promoted because of the committee’s decision, they can become an indefinite probationary employee,” he says.
The lack of stability opens a whole host of other issues, Bader explains. These academics aren’t able to apply for a mortgage or get an apartment because they don’t have proof of a steady job. This can cause stress and other related psychological issues. Instead of the promotion system, the union tabled their own hybrid system: workers would have the right to first refusal, followed by a process of seniority. “If you’ve been teaching the same course for years, it doesn’t make sense that you have to constantly re-apply as if it is a new position. We want a situation where the course you previously taught you can teach again. Then, if you refuse, it goes to a seniority process where the next person in line, with a certain amount of hours, gets the position,” says Bader. The university and the union could not come to an agreement on the best way to achieve job security, leading to the breakdown in negotiations. Despite the strike, negotiations are ongoing and both sides are hoping to reach an agreement soon. “Our first concern is the students and we hope that the strike won’t be long standing. We are happy to go back to the bargaining table at any time,” says Edgett. Bader agrees. “We are not trying to hurt the students and would like to settle this as quickly as possible. We’re willing to negotiate and [are] open-minded to the proposals of the university,” he says.
Opposing factions battle for proxy votes Scramble for votes leave both sides on edge as meeting approaches Zane Schwartz
ASSOCIATE NEWS EDITOR
A concerted effort by opposing factions on campus to gather proxy votes in advance of Thursday’s UTSU annual general meeting is underway, with thousands of votes potentially in play. Routine votes that take place at the meeting have become increasingly polarized in recent years. Students opposed to the UTSU have consistently been outgunned when it comes to voting, and appear determined to change the status quo this year. “For the first time in as long as I can remember, we’re actually collecting proxies,” said Sam Greene, student co-head of Trinity College. Proxies are forms enabling students who cannot attend the meeting to have other students vote on their behalf. A fully completed form can confer one student with the votes of up to 10 others. This year, approximately 375 forms have been signed out, meaning that up to 3,750 votes are in play. Equivalent estimates from last year vary from 20 to 50 forms. The race to gather votes is motivated in part by the opposition’s experience at previous annual general meetings. “They limited debate to three speakers for and three speakers against,” said Brett Chang, a fixture of the opposition movement on campus. “It allowed them to force votes quicker, and power through the agenda. Students with legitimate concerns were silenced.”
According to Greene, allies of the union tend to come prepared with a “massive number of proxies” that, when deployed in combination with students that the union “buses in from UTM for the meeting”, ensures the passage of all agenda items. Engineering Society president Rishi Maharaj says he thinks that anyone who attends the meeting will see the problems confronting the opposition. “I want as many as possible to attend, to see how the union actually functions,” says Maharaj. He estimates that engineering society members have submitted between 40 and 60 completed proxy forms. Opposition efforts to collect proxies are concentrated at St. Michael’s College, Trinity College, and the Faculty of Engineering. According to Maharaj, however, all members of the SGRT are working on increasing their presence at the meeting. The union and its allies, aware of this effort, have engaged in a campaign of their own. Student groups with connections to the current UTSU executive have been actively soliciting proxies. There are allegations that their strategy has been to suggest that without support, in person or through proxies, clubs funding and even the very existence of the union could be endangered. Others have complained that these suggestions are misleading attempts at scare-mongering. Kerri Tingling, vice-president of the Black Students’ Association, urged supporters on Facebook to collect proxies: “If you truly love the BSA, we need you
to stop by the UTSU office ASAP and pick up a proxy form … support our beloved UTSU by dropping by their office”. At a Hindu Students‘ Council Diwali event, students were asked to sign a “petition” which was in fact a proxy form. “The students were told that “15,000 to 16,000 Trinity students had signed a petition to abolish the Hindu Students’ Council, and they needed to collect signatures to stop them,” said Sanchit Mathur, a director on the UTSU board. “Around this time of the year cultural clubs often feel the most targeted when people are going after the UTSU,” said Mathur. In another instance related by Trinity director Calvin Mitchell, a student stood up in her Swahili class on Thursday and asked her classmates to sign her proxy form. “I was just sitting in a NEW280 class and at the break a student representing the UTSU came in and said everyone needs to sign their proxy form if they don’t want the union to be abolished,” says Mitchell, who is also enrolled in the class. It remains unclear which side has collected more proxy votes. The meeting room’s capacity is 273. With approximately 375 forms signed out, it is possible that all form-holders will not be able to fit into the room. Tensions are high across campus, and a controversial meeting is now expected by both parties. “People are just going to get frustrated and angry,” predicts Laurel Chester, New College director for the UTSU. “And things aren’t going to go well.”
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Trudeau visits University of Toronto campus Liberal frontrunner fields questions from students about leadership race Simon Bredin NewS editor
Justin Trudeau, the MP for Papineau and putative frontrunner for the leadership of the federal Liberal party, visited the University of Toronto’s St. George campus last Tuesday. Trudeau, 40, spoke for approximately two hours, fielding questions from a crowd of nearly 400 students. The son of former Canadian prime minister Pierre Trudeau returned often to the theme of generational change and the importance of youth involvement in reshaping the Liberal party. “Obviously something is not working,” said Trudeau, suggesting his party tends to focus “too much on itself.”
He dismissed suggestions that the party needed “rebuilding,” instead stressing the “need to build a whole new Liberal party” to “reconnect with Canadians and recruit young Canadians who are conscious about what’s going on in the world, but feel disconnected.” “I feel if I didn’t run, there wouldn’t be anyone strong enough to pull together this generation,” Trudeau added. Students peppered Trudeau with a range of questions, asking him about his reasons for entering politics, healthcare costs, and youth unemployment and engagement in politics. Asked by moderators Jonathan Scott and Semra Sevi to respond to attacks suggesting he’s unqualified to be prime minister, Trudeau noted his experience running non-
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profits and as a high-school history and French teacher. Although he highlighted the need to avoid “divisive” US-style politics, Trudeau missed no opportunity to take a jab at Conservative prime minister Stephen Harper, calling him a former “mail clerk” who joined a “right-wing lobby group” before climbing the ranks of the amalgamated Conservative party to lead an “unhealthy” government. During a media scrum after the Q&A, Trudeau declined to speculate about his position at the head of the leadership pack. “That’s what the leadership race is all about,” said Trudeau. “That’s what Canadians will get to see for themselves, in terms of who they want to represent them as head of the Liberal party.” Trudeau said he is looking forward to the contest. The next day, Trudeau held a rally in the rural Ontario riding of Durham with provincial Liberal leadership candidate Kathleen Wynne, to lend support to local candidate Grant Humes, who is contesting a federal by-election set on November 26. As he was rallying the local Liberal volunteers, former MP Martha Hall Findlay launched her leadership race in Calgary.
Trudeau wears a U of T scarf given to him after the event. Ryan Kelpin/THe VaRsiTy
“Allow me to say, ‘I told you so,’” Trudeau said. “I told you there would be a lot of very strong candidates getting into this race, who are going to bring forward tremendous ideas.” Other candidates in the leadership race include Toronto constitutional expert Deborah Coyne; lawyer David Bertschi, who lost his bid for an Ottawa-area seat in 2011; Vancouver crown prosecutor
Alex Burton; former Liberal president for British Colombia David Merner; and Toronto economist Jonathan Mousley. Marc Garneau, the first Canadian in space, a Montreal MP and the Grit house leader, is widely expected to enter the race. Vancouver MP and former provincial environment minister Joyce Murray is also a rumoured contender, as is Toronto lawyer George Takach.
VARSITY NEWS
var.st/news “MEN’S ISSUES” CONTINUED FROM COVER Farrell’s lecture centred around ten major themes, including discussion of “men’s issues” such as video game or porn addiction, which disproportionately affects men, and boys’ relative disadvantages in education. Other topics included the devaluing of male sexuality and life. Farrell argued that increasing rates of male impotence, increased suicide rates, and instances of men seen as heroes for taking risks with their bodies and lives, were all evidence of the disposability of men. Farrell also argued that it should be more socially acceptable for men to contribute to their families apart from working full-time. The lecture was delayed by the crowd of protestors, who had organized on Facebook through a coalition group calling themselves “U of T Students United Against Sexism.” Protestors accused Farrell and the men’s issues awareness movement of misogyny, and of protecting and denying male privilege. “We recognize that they [the men’s issues awareness movement] are really messed up … men are at a point of privilege, so we need to recognize privilege and become an ally [of women’s rights],” said Guled Arale, Scarborough Campus Students’ Union vice-president, external during a speech about 20 minutes before the event was scheduled to start. Other protestors were more measured in their criticism. Peter Hogarth, who created the Facebook page, accused the men’s issues awareness movement of splitting problems strictly along gender lines. “We [protestors] don’t want to say the gains of women have come at the expense of men, but rather the issues that men’s groups talk about are real; we’re interested [in] general equality,” he said. Zack Morgenstern, a second-year U of T student present at the protest, said that his issue was not so much with Farrell himself, but with the general issues of men’s rights and feminism. Brad, a recently-graduated U of T graduate student, paid for his ticket to see Farrell speak. He said that gender issues were “symmetric … while women have suffered in many ways, men have as well.” A section of Farrell’s book The Myth of Male Power that deals with date rape drew particularly vehement condemnation from the protestors. The part in question is drawn from the first words of a subsection of the book called “Date Fraud and Date Lying.” “If a man ignoring a woman’s verbal ‘no’ is committing date rape, then a woman who says ‘no’ with her verbal language but ‘yes’ with her body language is committing date fraud. And a woman who continues to be sexual even after she says ‘no’ is committing date lying,” wrote Farrell in the 2001 book. Farrell follows this section in his book with his own personal experience, and a set of survey statistics to illustrate this point. In an interview with The Varsity, Farrell said that he does not blame date rape on its victims, and that he only made the point that there was an “evolution of misunderstandings between communication and litigation.” He also added an example that a verbal “yes” said in the tone of “no” also means no. “I didn’t know what they were talking about in regards to promoting rape culture,” said Iain Dwyer, a member of the CAFE board of directors, in response to claims from U of T Students Against Sexism. CAFE, he said, does not “disregard misogyny … we want to address gender issues.”
MONDAY, NOVEMBER 19, 2012
News in Brief Contentious VUSAC amendments withdrawn
Canada’s reputation abroad falters in higher education
Two contentious amendments to the Victoria University Student Administrative Council constitution have abruptly been withdrawn from consideration after being proposed and debated in recent meetings. One amendment would have ensured that only Canadian citizens could serve as president of the VUSAC, the other that only Victoria students with at least one year of experience on the VUSAC would be eligible for the presidency. Both amendments have since been withdrawn, but not before inciting considerable dissent, both within the VUSAC and in the student body. The first amendment was advanced in order to make the VUSAC constitution compliant with the Victoria University Act, which assigns a seat on the Board of Regents, Victoria University’s highest governing body, to the president. The Act also stipulates that all members of the Board of Regents must be Canadian citizens. Students have alleged that discussion of the proposal was redacted from council meeting minutes after they were posted on the VUSAC website. The second amendment was motivated by a conviction among some students that only a candidate with prior VUSAC experience could serve as an effective president. But some VUSAC executives and students believed that the amendment would aggravate the socalled ‘VUSAC bubble,’ which is said to isolate the council from its constituents and deter parts of the Victoria University population from becoming involved in student government. “Instead of trying to bring people into the process of student government, this council is spending its time insulating itself from the student body,” said Zack Medow, a former VUSAC presidential candidate. Although neither proposal was approved, there will be another opportunity to introduce constitutional amendments in the second semester.
An Ipsos-Reid study commissioned by the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade found that Canada is not seen as a prospective destination for university education and that “there is no awareness that Canada has world-class educational establishments.” The University of Toronto was one of few institutions with a positive perception outside of Canada. The otherwise negative findings come as a surprise, since Canada attracts almost 100,000 international students every year. The report recommends improving the “Imagine Education in Canada” campaign. Produced jointly by the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade, the international campaign is meant to promote Canada’s image on the international education market. Suggested improvements include providing more information on the advantages of Canada’s international education programs, as well as the advantages of Canada’s high living standards. In recent months the Canadian government has been working with post-secondary institutions to promote Canada’s education brand abroad. Prime Minister Stephen Harper made education a priority in deepening economic ties with Asia. U of T president David Naylor made a similar move during his trip to Hong Kong for the university’s Boundless campaign.
— Evan Hutchison
— Jerico Espinas
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ONLINE EXCLUSIVE
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19 NOVEMBER 2012 comment@thevarsity.ca
JULIA COTTRELLE explores the importance of interdiciplinary studies var.st/comment
Facing the gender gap Bringing more women into science and engineering requires a balanced approach Stephanie Gaglione VARSITY CONTRIBUTOR
The nervous period of settling into university has long since passed for this year’s crop of first year students. In its place, the ongoing recruitment of high school students and the influx of thousands of applications begins to provide definition to the 2013 incoming class, assisted by the university’s fall campus days, residence tours, academic information sessions, university fairs, and “Boundless” campaign. Having escaped the endless succession of recruitment events a mere five months ago myself, it seems clear that the university needs a new approach. With a student population that is only 23 per cent female, U of T’s Faculty of Applied Science and Engineering needs to attract female students to generate a more balanced student base. The move to attract female students extends beyond engineering into general sciences at the university. Should the university enact recruitment events and programs to attract female students? Absolutely — unlike other elite schools such as MIT, the gender profile of applications to U of T closely reflects the final composition of the class, suggesting that merit rather than gender is the primary consideration in granting admission. Artificially creating a class of equal male-female composition would be the equivalent of enacting a reverse-discrimination policy. But the question remains: is U of T taking the right approach to recruiting female candidates to science and engineering? The Faculty of Applied Science and Engineering employs distinct approaches to attracting female students to fulfill two goals: attracting applicants and securing enrolment. Attracting applicants consists of targeting high school students through summer programs such as DEEP Summer Academy for grades nine to 12 and Jr. DEEP program for grades 4 to 8, plus extra-curricular programs, including the Saturday Science and Engineering Academy. These programs and several additional events have a female focus. Whether in the form of a Girls’ Jr. DEEP, Girls’ Science
BERNARdA GOSpiC/THE VARSiTy
and Engineering Saturdays, the Skule Sisters program, or ‘Go ENG Girl’ events, the faculty has translated its goal of increasing female enrolment into action. How? By changing the attitude of female students toward a stereotypically male discipline, providing female engineering role models, and demonstrating the potential that girls have to achieve their career dreams through engineering. These programs serve their purpose. Their impact is felt long before girls consider applying to university, and U of T establishes a name for itself in the prospective student pool. At the other end of the spectrum, the race to secure enrolment overtakes recruitment goals. At this point, following arduous physics courses, lengthy applications, and a te-
dious waiting period, the acceptance letters have already been sent out. But the goals of female students also change. Male-tofemale ratio is no longer a factor. A student who has put energy and time into obtaining the necessary prerequisites, applying, and attending a post-acceptance recruitment event is seeking more than merely a confirmation that there are female engineering students at U of T. Rather, the final questions that a potential student has concern academic success, the sense of community at the university, and costs. So when the university holds a “Girls Leadership in Engineering Experience” event three days before the final deadline for decision acceptance, attempts to entice female
candidates fall short. “The sense of community and closeness to home were what contributed to my final decision [to enroll],” said event attendee and first-year student Michelle Kirk. “Gender didn’t factor into that.” If engineering recruitment is a case study for recruiting girls into the sciences, the solution is clear. Pre-university recruitment is important — reversing deeply-rooted stereotypes about female participation in the sciences is necessary to increase the number of female applicants to any science program. But the mission to increase female enrolment ends there; registrars would spend time and resources much more wisely if they organized pre-enrollment events that weren’t gender-specific.
The UTSU needs transparent election reform PATRICK BAUD VARSITY COLUMNIST
Election season at U of T can be a dispiriting time of year. As soon as the posters go up and canvassing begins, the bitterness sets in. All candidates meetings turn into shouting matches; social media posts about demerits outnumber those about the issues that students face. Rather than taking advantage of the opportunity to talk about where we are headed as a university, we spend our time tallying mistakes and listening to feigned outrage. In 2011, the StudentsFirst slate even went so far as to withdraw from the race. No wonder most students disengage and voter turnout rates are low. But the problems with the UTSU’s elections run deeper than the tone of the campaigns. Both university administrators
and the St. George Round Table (SGRT) composed of the heads of college student councils and those of the engineering and physical education associations have expressed concerns about the UTSU’s election procedures. In particular, they are concerned that many students do not perceive returning officers, oversight committees, and appeals committees as independent enough to ensure that the UTSU elections are fair. UTSU president Shaun Shepherd and vice president-internal Corey Scott have both acknowledged the calls for electoral reform from Simcoe Hall and the SGRT. However, they have not yet announced any plans to reform or even review election procedures ahead of next semester’s UTSU elections. While it is understandable that they are reluctant to change long-established procedures, it seems short-sighted of the UTSU leadership not to want to bolster confidence
in student union elections and by extension, their credibility as student representatives. The UTSU should seek to review and, if necessary, reform its electoral procedures. However, it’s not sufficient for it to conduct an internal review, since that would do little to address concerns that election procedures are not transparent. At least part of the review and reform process should be open to the student body to ensure that the results inspire enough confidence to be taken seriously. Recent experience shows that town hall meetings at U of T are often too fractious and unwieldy to yield productive results. Instead, the UTSU should strongly consider appointing an independent commission to review and recommend changes to election procedures, which it would present in a public report; vice-provost Jill Matus alludes to a similar idea in her 2011 letter to then-UTSU president Danielle Sandhu, and
published two weeks ago on The Varsity’s website. There is no lack of qualified and interested candidates for the commission at U of T. The UTSU could also take a page out of the Ontario government’s democratic reform playbook by appointing a “students’ panel” modeled on the Citizens’ Assembly on Electoral Reform. The panel, which would be composed of say 15 randomly selected students, would educate themselves on election procedures for student governments, deliberate on the values they want to inform the UTSU’s electoral system, and recommend changes based on those values. Both the commission and students’ panel options would provide a good basis for meaningful electoral reform for the UTSU. President Shepherd and his colleagues owe it to students to strongly consider these options. Patrick Baud’s column appears every two weeks.
VARSITY COMMENT
var.st/comment
MONDAY, NOVEMBER 19, 2012
9
Eating healthy is a personal choice Olivia Forsyth-Sells VARSITY STAFF
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ROBARTS
Unhealthy option: Pizza Pizza Price: $6.19 for two slices Quality: medium, made relatively fresh and served hot Healthy option: Sushi (california rolls) Price: $5.49 for eight rolls Quality: poor Comment: stale
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SID SMITH
Unhealthy option: Chicken Burger Price: $5.69 Quality: medium, seemed edible Healthy option: Yogurt Parfait Price: $3.49 Quality: good, plain Comment: fat-free yogurt and organic granola, dried fruits
UNDERSTUDY CAFE
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Unhealthy option: Pizza Price: $3.57 Quality: very poor, seems to be made on site, also sits in the window for too long Healthy option: Tuna Salad Price: $5.50 Quality: poor Comment: mayonnaise and cheese topping
Unhealthy option: Pizza Price: $3.50 Quality: Thin crust and locally sourced
Unhealthy option: Pizza Pizza Price: $3.19 for one slice Quality: medium Comment: served warm
Healthy option: Veggie Sandwich Price: $4.39 Quality: medium Comment: allows for optional toppings
Healthy option: Tuna Salad Sandwich Price:$3.99 Quality: questionable; white bread and mayonnaise
The National Post recently published an article about the Ontario Medical Association's health policy paper that suggests means of combating obesity with the same tactics used to combat smoking. A core suggestion of the policy paper is placing graphic warning labels on potato chip bags to warn consumers of the potential outcome of obesity. With this in mind, I checked out the eating options available on U of T’s St. George campus, visiting some core locations and comparing the price and value of some of the options at these food outlets. It seems clear that some healthy options are available on campus, and yet, they seem insufficient to counter-balance the hunger for highfructose corn syrup of both students and the population at large. I am doubtful that a warning label on a bag of potato chips will guide a customer to the fresh produce aisle and encourage them to change their lives, lose weight, and be healthy. As I investigated the local food outlets I spoke with one manager, who informed me that the outlet only recently began offering pizza, because of frequent students requests. Given the healthy options readily available at all food outlets on campus, the problem of unhealthy eating seems to lie in the social expectation of eating with nutrition in mind. The logic of the proposed junk food warning labels is coherent: the introduction of warning labels on cigarette packages resulted in a measurable decrease in the number of smokers in the Canadian population. However, there is a fundamental difference between unhealthy eaters and smokers. You would be hard pressed to find a smoker who isn’t aware of the potential damage of their actions, or the social judgment associated with their addiction. But you could easily find someone who is overweight, who has always eaten junk food, and never been called ‘fat’ — who is unaware of or not concerned with their unhealthy lifestyle choices. It's a matter of social acceptability; once smoking became a highly frowned-upon activity, the number of smokers in the population dramatically decreased. If obesity follows the same social trend, it will become more feared, and vigilantly combatted, leading to it becoming less visible in the general population. Society is well on its way to moving obese people to the point of self-maintenance in the interests of their own health. Until then, chips — or on the U of T campus, pizza — ought to remain available, unmarked, and fairly priced. At the end of the day, healthy eating is a choice, one that it is up to an individual to make.
As U of T grows, we need more student-run food outlets Abdullah Shihipar VARSITY STAFF
The rumblings of construction equipment and drilling on St. George Street have finally ceased, as the campus welcomed the completion of the new Rotman building. In the next few years, U of T will see rapid growth on the downtown, Scarborough, and Mississauga campuses — growth that will inevitably lead to the construction of more buildings and student spaces. With new buildings going up, the question of establishing new food spaces will naturally follow. It is crucial that we as students act to ensure
that some of these new food outlets will be student-run establishments. Currently, three food establishments on the St. George campus are wholly student -run: Diabolos at University College, Harvest Noon in the GSU building, and Hardhat Café in the Sandford Fleming Building. The success of these three establishments provides good reason for adding more like them to the list. First, student establishments keep money within the university community: any profits that are made go straight back into the college council or union that operates the establishment, and employment opportunities are made available to students. These outlets also help to build a sense of commu-
nity; students can gather, and eat in a place of their own. Furthermore, the business is responsible to students, not shareholders. As a result, these establishments can provide food for students at costs lower or on par with other food outlets, while maintaining just enough profit to keep the business afloat. Diabolos, for example, offers coffee for a dollar if students bring their own mugs. Students can also keep track of the money that goes into the business, because the outlets are required to report their budgets and expenditures to a governing body like a student board of directors or a
college council. Finally, because they are responsible to students, these businesses have to operate on an ethical basis. This means sticking to a mandate of equity and social justice, while trying to make a reasonable profit: offering vegan, vegetarian, Halal and Kosher options, making sure your coffee is ethically sourced, your food is organic and locally grown as much as possible, and that your business is environmentally friendly and sustainable. In today’s world, it is almost impossible to avoid giving money to a business that engages in morally questionable practices. But universities are supposed to be examples of a just,
moral society, an example that can be held up for the rest of society. Therefore, students have an obligation to make our businesses’ as morally responsible as possible. This is not to say that Aramark and other contracting companies should be pushed off campus. Students cannot possibly feed the entire student population. But the option of student-run establishments needs to be considered when students and administration look for possible food options for new buildings. Abdullah Shihipar is an executive of the Arts and Science Students' Union. The opinions he expresses are entirely his own.
VARSITY COMMENT
10 MONDAY, NOVEMBER 19, 2012
comment@thevarsity.ca
LETTERS TO
THE EDITOR
Varsity Magazine, Vol VI, No. 01, October 29, 2012
Re: “By Night in Santiago"
After a hectic period of travel on university business, I finally had a chance to read through The Varsity’s excellent magazine on the theme of ‘Night’. One of the feature articles, “By Night in Santiago”, critically revisited the recent history and socio-economic circumstances of Chile, not least the role of international business in that nation's political evolution and ongoing economic development. Unfortunately, on multiple occasions, the authors embedded in their account a discredited allegation concerning the founder of one of those international companies, Mr. Peter Munk, and his benefactions to the University of Toronto. They repeatedly implied, falsely, that Mr. Munk somehow used philanthropy to buy influence in academic programming at the University of Toronto. That allegation was refuted in an article The Varsity itself published just a few days before the magazine issue. One of your reporters interviewed students and faculty at the Munk School of Global Affairs. Those whose responses were quoted strongly rejected the notion that there has been any infringement of academic freedom. Instead, the students highlighted the outstanding opportunities that Peter Munk’s benefactions have made possible for them. The reality is that Peter Munk has barely set foot in the buildings of the Munk Centre/School over the years, let alone taken any interest in the curriculum of the Masters’ Program. For the umpteenth time, let me say that Mr. Munk has been a model donor. What he seeks is simple and straightforward. He would like the Munk School and its graduates to make a large and positive difference in our fast-changing world. Last, the authors to their credit took on a complex and controversial set of issues in international development. I do recognize that the feature at issue was both a portrait and a polemic — outside the realm of ordinary news reportage. And if student journalists aren’t passionate about social justice, I don’t know who in this cynical world will be. However, not only were the allegations about Mr Munk's philanthropy false; they were barely on point. I would also suggest, more generally, that the repetition of baseless allegations without tangible evidence should be seen as inconsistent
Vol CXXXIII, No. 08, November 5, 2012
Re: “Pressure mounts on UTSU for electoral reform”
About time this document came out. Hopefully, we can reach a solution to the problems that dodge the UTSU elections. That being said, some of the colleges don't lend the document credibility when during the year, they maintain an antagonistic relationship with the union. If they work towards a better, more productive relationship (even if the union is at fault sometimes), their critique (which in my opinion, is totally sound) will be given more credence. — testy (from web)
with the standards of journalism to which I would hope our Varsity contributors would aspire. —David Naylor, President, University of Toronto As the person responsible for Barrick Gold’s operations in South America, I can tell you a recent article entitled “By Night in Santiago” offered a one-sided and inaccurate portrayal of the company’s approach and performance. Very few of the vague allegations alluded to in the article would stand up to impartial scrutiny, and in fact they are misleading and untrue. For example, the statement that the Chilean government did not consult with local communities in advance of approving Barrick’s Pascua-Lama project is completely false. Pascua-Lama was subjected to one of the most rigorous approval processes in Chile’s history. The project was under formal review for 14 months and its approval was subject to roughly 400 environmental conditions, many based on input from local stakeholders. Contrary to what the article indicates, this consultation include all of the communities who are impacted by the project, including indigenouscommunities. In fact, environmental authorities imposed restrictions on the projectbased on their input. With respect to Barrick’s contributions to Chile, the company provides thousands of well-paying jobs — and if that were not enough in a world suffering from excessive unemployment — we also contribute to the country by paying taxes and royalties and by investing tens of millions of dollars in projects that improve quality of life in the communities near our operations. In our view, with respect to Barrick Gold and Peter Munk, “By Night in Santiago” simply got the facts wrong. —Guillermo Calo President, Barrick South America Santiago, Chile
Re: “Alternative book buying”
It's encouraging that you profile book-buying, especially from independents. But you've had a glaring oversight right on your doorstep — the Women's Bookstore on Harbord Street at Spadina, which is regrettably closing in a few weeks. Maybe y'all hadn't thought of really going alternative to include what half the population might be thinking and writing about, but it has been a Toronto and area landmark for decades, and its shelves have been stocked with good things going well beyond feminism. Its closure, so very close to U of T, must reflect somewhat on overall priorities of all there, and to mention about a dozen other bookstores and miss something obvious is an indicator of poor coverage. — Hamish Wilson
Re: “The SGRT allowed Glen Murray to avoid facing public consultation”
This bickering is just inconsequential student politicking and a waste of everyone's time. If the ASSU/UTSU/whoever wants to give Glen Murray their opinion on the state of post-secondary education, they should just schedule a meeting with him. The SGRT meeting with Glen doesn't preclude any other student group from doing the same. I don't know how anyone could have taken the "Emergency Town Hall" seriously, given that it was organized by the UTSU lifetime protesters who have no interest in any sort of productive dialogue with the (former) Minister, but just want him to get yelled at in front of students for not providing free tuition. — Name (from web)
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Sick of waitlists?
“Shopping period” course selection offers a superior model Rida Ali VARSITY STAFF
Course selection is always a stressful period for U of T students. There’s a scramble to get into the courses you want and need. You have to map out multiple schedules to make sure that none of the courses or backups that you picked conflict — schedules which need to be constantly updated as the timetable is updated. And then there’s always a chance that ROSI will crash. But does course selection have to be so frustrating? Some schools in the U.S., namely Yale and Harvard, have an alternative — and in my opinion, superior — process for course selection. They have what is called a “shopping period” during which students can attend and participate in all the courses that interest them without officially enrolling in them right away. Students are still responsible for course work assigned during the shopping period so its not a waste of valuable class time. This shopping period gives students many advantages that U of T’s current system lacks, and alleviates many of problems that ROSI causes. One of the major advantages of a shopping period is that it allows students to truly
sample a class before deciding if they want to continue with it. Under the current system, students only have the reviews in the AntiCalendar and testimonials from friends or acquaintances to rely on when deciding whether a course is actually what they want. These reviews and testimonials, while somewhat helpful, cannot account for the unique ways in which students learn. What works for one person may not necessarily work for another. One aspect of the class that reviews may not be able to account for at all is the professor. The same professor does not always teach the same class year after year, so testimonials from past students may not to attest to the lecture or teaching methods of the professor that will be teaching the class in any given year. Another issue that students sometimes face under the current system is finding themselves in a class that is accurate to the Anti-Calendar description, but is not the class they were expecting. Course descriptions in the calendar are usually restricted to a paragraph and do not always accurately describe the class. The wording of the calendar can be vague. Sometimes two courses are described so similarly, it’s difficult to decide which course is actually what you want. Course descriptions in the calendar also do not include reading lists.
Both of these issues — not knowing whether the professor’s teaching methods work with your way of learning, and not knowing what to expect from a class — can be solved by implementing a shopping period. This way students can actually attend the class before deciding whether to take it, and can make more informed decisions about whether the course works for them personally. Now under the current system, we have an add/drop period, which means that if you are in a class that isn’t what you expected or have a professor that you don’t work well with, you don’t have to be stuck in the class. But finding a new class that you like and isn’t already full is a daunting task. There is also another problem with our current system that the add/drop period cannot solve in any way: the dreaded wait list. Shopping periods can help with this problem as well. Under this method of course selection, the number of students choosing a course determines the class size and not the other way around. Right now there are a certain number of spaces allotted to a class, and if more people sign up than there is space for, a wait list begins. This leads to situations where some classes have waitlists that are three or four times the size of the class, while other classes have only about half of their allotted spaces filled up.
Under the shopping period method, there is no allotted number of spaces. The amount of people that decide to stick with the course is what decides the class size. Final classrooms are also assigned after the shopping period, once the final number of students has been ascertained. Shopping period course selection also has some less considered advantages. It allow students to take more risks in the courses that they take. Given the barriers to switching courses that are inherent in the current system, many students hesitate in taking a course that might sound interesting to them but are not really sure what to expect from it. Many students end up taking the generic intro-style courses instead. Shopping period would allow students to find courses that are more specifically tailored to their own interests — courses that they might not have taken otherwise for fear of not knowing what the course would be like. It would also give students the opportunity to try out courses that are outside their area of study without having to commit blindly. We all know that our current system has serious deficiencies. It’s inefficient and often leaves us stuck in courses that we would not have taken if we knew what we were getting into. The shopping period is a clearly superior model that U of T should seriously consider. After all, it’s worked for Harvard and Yale.
Hart House, home for the homeless? We should recognize and embrace the role that university buildings play as unofficial shelters Carter West VARSITY CONTRIBUTOR
No matter the season, Hart House can be counted on to provide a tropical environment for repose. The library of the Massey sauna is particularly criminal in its use of stretched funds to overheat the few individuals who can stand to sweat in fall, winter, spring and summer. The one advantage of the absence of climate control is the myriad of faces a reliably hot building brings in. These next few months especially will see men and women much older than students tote in large wheelie bags and plastic sacs to nestle into the Hart House library’s firm leather couches and long covered window seats. On weekday afternoons,
these part-time participants in university leisure can be found reading, napping, or simply sitting staring out at the diverse community their presence has manifested. Hart House is an obvious day-time lounge for those who spend their nights in shelters not open for business during the day. In cold winter months, where better to rest without fear of get-out-of-here-glances than a building where no key or card or purchase is necessary? The warmth and comfort given by Hart House to the homeless is a philanthropic function that ought to be more directly recognized. Hart House's new mission statement is, after all, to create a “living laboratory … where all voices, rhythms and traditions converge.” A club or committee devoted to integrating the non-student, economically-disadvantaged members of the Hart
House community into a productive and educational force would help achieve this vision. If Hart House warden Bruce Kidd needs tips on how to execute this endeavor, he need only phone Victoria College Dean of Students Kelly Castle. Her Humanities for Humanity program has for years recruited impoverished and disabled members of the Toronto community to study the great texts of Western thought alongside students from Trinity and Victoria College. The one drawback to programs like this — as I witnessed during my brief participation in dean Castle's program — is that when students are made to feel like professors for poor people, the student is often shocked to find his or her condescension fully understood by those who have lived a life of hard knocks.
The other option for Hart House, and the one I imagine Kidd would be more likely to go for, is a hands-off approach. Do nothing. Watch the homeless go up and down the stone Hart House stairs, convalesce in overheated rooms, and return to the streets when the House has waved goodbye to its last rental group of the day. It’s probably correct to think that a crossdiscipline event space, art gallery, theater and gym has no business educating students about the life east of Bay and west of Spadina. Let us run laps while listening to poetry by Auden if we like. Hart House and U of T will make these the years where the rest of the world is found in a book or out of the mouth of a teaching assistant. Make sure to graduate.
Ghazale
Mars Diner
Fresh
Robarts library
UC JCR
Hart House
E.J. Pratt library
You try to plan, to manage, but sometimes it’s simply inevitable: there’s just one night between you and that essay deadline. Working through the night isn’t fun and won’t yield brilliant results, but whether you call it quits by 3 am or tough things out until the terrible sunrise, sleep-deprived essay writing and cramming are an unavoidable part of the university experience. Even for the more organized, the end of semester can be a trying time. We’ve compiled some tips and cautionary tales to make your next late night less painful — or scare you off of them altogether.
SIMON FRANK gives you advice on how to make your next all-nighter bearable
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If you’re ready to give up, sleep, and accept late penalties, now’s the time to do it.
You’re starting to get very tired. You try to edit what you’ve written so far but you can’t tell whether it’s great or awful.
You find your rhythm and start working hard again. The pressure is on.
Maybe your roommate comes home, or you step out of the library for a break. Either way, you’re distracted. There’s something very interesting on YouTube that requires your urgent attention.
Actually manage to get a decent amount of work done.
Eat, and announce how productive you’re going to be tonight.
It’ll be dinner soon, so there’s not much point in working, right? Hang out or go for a walk.
Go home or to the library and start working, but not too hard.
Eat lunch, talk about how much work you’re going to get done.
SURVIVING ESSAY SEASON
Richard Charles Lee Canada-Hong Kong library Tucked away on the eighth floor, this small library-withina-library is off most students’ radars. Unfortunately it closes quite early (open until 7.30 pm at the latest), but during the day it’s an excellent space to hide away and work, especially if you can claim one of the window tables before someone else does.
Media Commons You don’t have to be watching a movie to be here, so if you think the sight of people completely entranced by screens and headphones will encourage you to focus on your own work, sit down at one of the tables. Head out the back of the Media Commons and you’ll find one of Robarts’ more pleasant reading rooms, which wraps around the building and looks out over Sussex Avenue through glass walls.
Beginning the habit “My friend and I were working on a paper for Statecraft and Strategy [HIS103]. We each had one page so far, and it was due the next morning. We stayed up throughout the entire night writing. I think we got in an argument about black holes at some point so we were on Wikipedia quite a bit. Obviously we didn’t do much of our papers. I remember writing the whole thing in the last three hours. My pa-
Fourth-year literary studies specialist Matthew DaMota has pulled his fair share of all-nighters. He told us about some of the few highs and the many lows he has experienced:
Working in Robarts “It was very strange, it was very cold. It was second semester last year and there were a surprising number of people working there, all through the night. I remember at one point I was listening to some strange blues music and my headphones popped out [of my computer], but it was so loud that I thought I was
per devolved from a fairly solid paper that the professor approved of into this very pathetic analysis of the Battle of Borodino… We went through till like 9 in the morning and then we went to breakfast and had very terrible greasy eggs and coffee.”
If North American brunch food isn’t going to rejuvenate you, leaning over a steaming bowl of congee or phở might help. If you think you can handle it, go for a condensed milk-sweetened Vietnamese coffee.
(350 Spadina Ave.)
Good luck catching its erratic opening hours, but if you manage to make it Mars Food strikes the perfect balance between classic diner food and unadulterated selfloathing.
Mars Food (432 College St.)
KOS isn’t flashy, but the Kensington Market spot is close to campus and serves solid breakfast and brunch fare at very reasonable prices.
KOS (61 Bellevue Ave.)
Sprinting to campus with no time to sit down? Just grab one of Ghazale’s excellent falafel or shawarma wraps.
Ghazale (504 Bloor St. W.)
If you’re vegetarian or require a serious detox, Fresh is the place to go. Try ordering a salad, sandwich, and drink that all involve kale.
Fresh (326 Bloor St. W.)
You probably won’t feel like you deserve it, but a solid meal would probably do you good. Here a few restaurants where you can stare at your plate:
FOR BREAKFAST THE NEXT DAY
still listening to it through them. No one said anything, but I kept getting all these weird looks. So for about 15 minutes my music was just playing through the room in Robarts and no one said anything. Then I sort of adjusted my headphones, realized my music was just playing from my computer and pushed it back in. I was tempted to leave it and just see how long I could go… Robarts alone in the middle of the day is a really strange, sort of depressing place but it was weird to see so many people there all at once. And a lot of them didn’t seem to be doing really intense work, they just were there, studying, chatting, and looking at videos.”
LATE NIGHT CONFESSIONS
Robarts library Sleep anywhere, facedown on a table. It gets the job done.
Junior Common Room, University College The JCR isn’t particularly serene, but it is atmospheric. The couches are deep, and it’s definitely a popular place to nap. Any given afternoon you’ll find people passed out right next to groups of chatting friends. Once you wake up, rejuvenate yourself with a coffee from the on-site café Diabolos and get back to work.
Hart House library It’s unclear if anyone ever takes books out from the Hart House library. Few people come by to begin with. Hart House’s reading rooms might seem like more obvious spots to sleep, but there’s something special about the library. Maybe it’s the way the sun shines in through the south-facing windows, or maybe it’s the old, soft leather couches. Come here and you’ll find yourself asleep within minutes.
Thirteenth Floor, Harbord corner Few people come up here, leaving you almost alone with a beautiful view of Lake Ontario that subliminally suggests the possibility of escape and transcendence. It’s quiet and you can usually snag a table for yourself. For those hung up on superstition, the 12th floor is just as nice.
If you’re working all night in Robarts, by 11.30 pm you’ll be shunted into one of the reading rooms, which are undeniably bleak. But in general Robarts gets a bad rap. Before things get too late, there are a few surprisingly pleasant spots:
Maybe you need to rest up before pushing through the night, or crash the day after. Either way, you’ve got to find a couch.
E.J. Pratt library, basement Victoria College’s library is decent for getting work done, provided you aren’t easily distracted by views of Queen’s Park or all your friends walking in, depending on where you’re sitting. But the eastern side of Pratt’s basement level is also a great place to doze off on a sleek couch. However, the area can get crowded and noisy during the day, so wait until the afternoon to stake out some space.
THE ALTERNATIVE ROBARTS
BEST PLACES TO NAP ON CAMPUS
KOS
12pm
12am
12pm
Solitary confinement “[Studying] with people is always a mistake. That night at Robarts I got two full papers done, and they weren’t due the next day, I just stayed up really late to get them done because I had stuff coming up.”
Beverage choices “I discovered from doing enough all-nighters that coffee doesn’t help at all and that water is actually better. Coffee just sort of makes you go nuts. When I drink way too much coffee, the next morning I feel so tired, but my heart is pounding really quickly and I feel like I’m going to die. That’s not fun. Coffee works up to midnight, and beyond that you just have to drink a lot of water.”
BURNT OUT
IN THE ZONE!
You’re as done as you’ll ever be at this point, and you may have started thinking about food. Grab breakfast and decide if you can afford to have a quick nap before heading to class.
YOUR CONCENTRATION OVER TIME
5 8 Time is running out, get moving on whatever’s left!
Arts & Culture
NEXT WEEK
var.st/arts
19 NOvEMBEr 2012 arts@thevarsity.ca
Women's Bookstore shuts its doors var.st/arts
Zanta’s cause
Jason Kieffer, creator of Zanta: The Living Legend, sounds off on his latest graphic novel
Adra Greig VARSITY CONTRIBUTOR
Over the last few weeks, you may have caught a glimpse of a black and white poster with the image of a topless man in a Santa hat confidently proclaiming 'YES!' Perhaps a smile briefly crossed your face as a particular subway encounter with Zanta — the topless, hat-clad man in question — came to mind. Or perhaps you briefly pondered the meaning of it all and continued on your way. Either way, the man behind these intriguing posters is Jason Kieffer, a local cartoonist and U of T alumnus. Kieffer’s first published comic book, The Rabble of Downtown Toronto, consisted of forty profiles of marginalized people living in downtown Toronto. Kieffer’s latest graphic novel, Zanta: the Living Legend, chronicles the story of Zanta, a well-known Toronto street performer. A few years ago, Zanta could be found doing push ups on the streets of downtown Toronto and became known for his signature exclamations, bare chest, and Santa hat. But his act started to garner a bit too much attention and, according to some people, caused too much of a nuisance in public space. Zanta was eventually banned from performing in most of the downtown core, including on the TTC. Forced out of his city and out of his character, Zanta (a.k.a. David Zancai) now lives with his mother in Etobicoke. Kieffer recently sat down with The Varsity to discuss his new graphic novel and his rather unusual artistic muse. The Varsity: You used to contribute comic strips to The Varsity and other campus newspapers when you were a student at U of T. Did that experience have any influence on your work today? Jason Kieffer: It was a great experience because I could just bring a comic in and get it
published and have thousands of people read it, and I hadn’t done much cartooning. Having a weekly deadline and churning out the strips helped me get started and really improve. I was just drawing a lot and as a result I got better and better. The Varsity was the first paper I went to when I started at U of T and I did a strip that was called “Downtown Toronto,” [which depicted] snippets of things I’d experienced [during encounters] with street characters around the city. When I look at them now I feel like they are bad, but … I guess they were good for me at the time. TV: So far both of your graphic novels have had marginalized people as their main subject matter. Why do you think that is? JK: I think a lot of it has to do with where I grew up and the kinds of people I see on a day-today basis. Cabbagetown is full of marginalized people and so that would be the first reason: my environment. Another reason is that I find people like that interesting. They are individuals, so I end up noticing them and thinking about them, maybe because I feel like people don’t notice them or talk about them enough. I just find the whole situation interesting. TV: Zanta appeared among the people profiled in Rabble. Why did you decide to expand on your exploration of his story in your second graphic novel? JK: The details of it were in the public arena, so it was easy in one way because I could see exactly what was happening and was not happy about it. Whatever I was thinking about at the time, it just clicked, you know, just thinking about the individual and the individual’s rights... And I like him, I liked the act and I wanted him to keep doing it, so that was part of it too. I’d be interested in doing more in-depth profiles of other people, it just takes a lot of time. It’s part of why I wanted to do Rabble. I could show a
Zanta: The Living Legend. JasON KiEffEr
bunch of people all at once in a quick kind of way instead of going in detail with each one. TV: Why do you think there was so little public resistance to Zanta being driven out of the city? JK: Well, his behaviour was not socially acceptable, so that made it easy for people to come along and get rid of him… People
aren’t going to complain when they view the guy as a troublemaker. A lot of people do care about [what happened to Zanta], but not beyond the point of saying like, "Aw that’s sad." It is surprising that it happened because there are all these people whose jobs are to protect people who are margin-
CONTINUED NEXT PAGE
In modern Verona, where we lay our scene The Hart House production of Romeo and Juliet is a powerful re-imagining of a classic love story Lia Kim VARSITY CONTRIBUTOR
Hart House Theatre transported audiences to a fictional modern Italy as a talented young actor named Scott Moore took centre stage in a worn leather jacket, introducing the woeful tale of two star-crossed lovers set “in fair Verona.” Although set in modern times, Hart House’s rendition of Romeo and Juliet remained true to Shakespeare’s original language and the result was nothing short of audacious: thugs recited lines of blank verse and duels were fought with ringing swords and fiery handguns. It was a smash. Most people are familiar with the story of Romeo and Juliet: two unlucky teenagers of enemy families become lovers and, ultimately, commit suicide. Hutton’s modernization, with its Italian hip-hop, flashing lights, and contemporary dress are put to use in recreating the all-consuming experience of adolescent love. The play started off strong, immediately setting up the conflict between the House of Capulet and the House of Montague, and instantly captured the audience’s attention with a startling set. The contemporary wardrobe choices also work well. Romeo’s yellow shirt, blue jacket, dark jeans, and grey Chuck Taylor sneakers resemble Tony’s costume in West Side Story. His co-
Paolo Santalucia and Darwin Lyons in Romeo & Juliet. DaNiEl DiMarcO/Hart HOUsE
hort, Benvolio, dresses in purple pants, loafers, and hipster glasses, while the lower classes in the play wear belly tops, booty shorts, and wifebeaters, highlighting the disparity between the rich and poor.
Paolo Santalucia, who plays Romeo, and his wide-eyed love, played by Darwin Lyons, are wonderful. The dynamic duo has their onstage chemistry down pat, and couples in the audience definitely started squeezing
hands when Juliet declares, “My bounty is as boundless as the sea, my love as deep; the more I give to thee, the more I have, for both are infinite.” The supporting cast is also uniformly exquisite, including Joshua Browne, Jeremy Lapalme and Jonathan Sousa — who play Mercutio, Benvolio and Tybalt, respectively — and Lesley Robertson, who plays the Nurse. Browne and Robertson often steal the scene with their witty, sharp banter, infusing the tragic trajectory of the play with comic relief. The audience threw their heads back in laughter when Mercutio looks up the Nurse’s dress and gleefully insinuates that she is a prostitute: “No hare, sir, unless a hare, sir, in a Lenten pie — that is, something stale and hoar ere it be spent.” The triumph of Hart House’s production of Romeo and Juliet is in the details: a Renaissance-inspired backdrop, eclectic soundtrack, thrilling fight sequences and slow motion choreography in the famous scene where Romeo sees Juliet from across the room. The play also employs a powerful use of darkness as a visual motif: the play both opens and closes in pure, enveloping darkness, perhaps symbolizing the secrecy of Romeo and Juliet’s love and the inevitable nature of their death. The resulting aesthetic is dazzling; a treat for the eyes and ears.
var.st/arts
VARSITY ARTS & CULTURE
MONDAY, NOVEMBER 19, 2012
Dramatis Persona TCDS director Robyn Hope opens up about student productions Madeline Malczewska VARSITY CONTRIBUTOR
With six dramatic societies on campus that stage up to three shows each a year, there’s a whole lot of drama on campus. Each show has a crew of at least five people, and a cast that, for a larger musical, can be upwards of 40 people. At the helm of these large teams is a student director. Like professional stage directors, a student director’s primary responsibility is having a vision for the artistic execution of the script. Essentially, he or she tries to create a cohesive narrative for a play. This narrative is enforced by the actors, who perform the script, and the designers, who create a set that supplements the director’s vision. This month, the Trinity College Dramatic Society (TCDS) put on a production of The Mousetrap, the famous Agatha Christie murder mystery. Directing the play was second-year film studies and english student Robyn Hope. I recently sat down with Hope at Reznikoff’s cafe, where she gave an account of her experience as the artistic visionary of the production. Hope’s concept for The Mousetrap was a faithful adaptation in celebration of the play’s 60th anniversary. She pitched the play and her concept at the end of the last school year, and it was chosen by the TCDS executive. Although she admitted that pitching the play was a rather lastminute decision, Hope’s enthusiasm for her project was tangible. Hope held auditions at the onset of the school year. “The audition process is always a really hard one,” Hope explained. “[Casting calls] always make me a little sad because people are so nervous.” Of the roughly 30 people she auditioned, she called back 15 and went on to select eight for her production. As the play’s director, the casting process was entirely in her hands. Once the casting selection was finalized, Hope and her cast moved into 10 hours of rehearsal a week for a month and a half, although Hope admits that the schedule could become considerably more grueling than that. “At the very end of the process it gets a little insane,” she said. Contributing to the insanity was a 16-hour day for the cue-to-cue (a runthrough of technical cues such as lighting and sound effects), a technical rehearsal, and two dress rehearsals in one day. In spite of all the planning and rehearsal time that Hope poured into the production before opening night, she knew that the shape of a show does not lie entirely in the director’s hands. Yet Hope was happy to surrender some artistic control to the cast that she had so carefully selected. Using a metaphor from a different artistic medium, she explained her philosophy on her role within the production: “A director’s job is to set up the art gallery. I don’t get to decide how the paintings look. I get to decide an appropriate venue for them to do their art.”
Robyn Hope. Bernarda Gospic/THe VarsiTy
When it came to Hope’s crew, the process was a little different. The TCDS assigned people for the business side of things, while Hope was, for the most part, able to choose her design team, consisting of everyone from lighting designers to makeup artists. As Hope soon discovered, designers are as integral to the team as actors, since they are often responsible for scaling back the director’s ideas to a stageable scale. “You bring practical people in like designers and stage managers and they’re just like ‘You’re insane. That’s not going to work.’” Hope remembered. I spoke to Hope near the end of her process, and it was apparent that she was ready for the show to go on. “It’s mentally hard. It takes so much planning,” she said. “It’s not something to be entered into lightly.” Despite all the hard work that is involved with dramatic productions, campus theatre is a great venue for those who want to explore their artistic visions. Hope said that she is “literally asked questions every day” about her job by students looking to get involved in campus productions. As a campus director, Hope was also able to inform the artistic visions of the other students who were involved in the production; she was able to influence the direction in which the entire cast and crew took their work, and that is powerful in and of itself. Near the end of our interview, Hope said, with a sort of half-sigh, “The actors get all the credit, then if something goes wrong it’s your fault.” Yet something in her upbeat demeanor and the breathy enthusiasm with which she speaks about her project tells me that this is exactly the role she wants to play.
"ZANTA" CONTINUED FROM PREVIOUS PAGE
Police maintained that the homeless were just being ‘relocated’ and would be provided with the services they needed.]
alized, and I don’t understand where they were at that time. [Zanta’s case would] have been a good chance for advocates of homeless people to talk about displacement and [homeless] people being treated… It would have been a good chance to push toward their own goals. But I didn’t hear anything from anybody and still I’m not hearing anything. Where were the lawyers and social workers? Now he’s just on drugs at his mom’s house. It’s important to stand up for Zanta’s rights because they are all of our rights. Some people might view it like, “Oh, whatever, it’s just Zanta, just a street performer, it’s not a big deal.”…. It is a big deal and you can see it, like the real effects of it, in what happened at the G20. [During the G20 in Toronto, homeless people residing in the temporary ‘security zone’ of the city were told to leave, or face being forcibly removed from the area. Many people were shocked and outraged by this, seeing it as illegal displacement.
TV: What do you want people to get out of reading Zanta: the Living Legend? JK: I’m trying to raise these issues in the hope a discussion will ensue. And not just one-on-one in private, because I know that is happening, but in the media. Especially with people who claim to be advocates for marginalized people… I want people to run with the ball; I’ve kicked it off and now … where is everybody else? [The] media has a responsibility to discuss this issue. Why isn’t there … an investigation happening about how Zanta could have been legally banned from the city, [or a] public discussion about the issues? That’s what I want to happen from the book. Zanta: the Living Legend is available for purchase in Toronto at the Beguiling, Silver Snail and Hairy Tarantula, or online at www.jasonkieffer.com
Written by William Shakespeare Directed by Jeremy Hutton
NOV 7 – 24, 2012 BOX OFFICE: w w w. u o f t t i x . c a / 416.978.8849
Adults $25 / Students & Seniors $15 $10 Student tickets every Wednesday! SEASON SPONSORS:
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MONDAY, NOVEMBER 19, 2012
VARSITY ARTS & CULTURE
arts@thevarsity.ca
Film Review: Holy Motors
Leo Carax’s beautiful film is an unintentional testament to the merits of digital cinematography Daniel Berube VARSITY CONTRIBUTOR
Holy Motors is Leos Carax’s first feature shot entirely with digital cameras, and he’s not happy about it. The transgressive French director is as wild and virtuosic as ever, but beneath the deadpan absurdity and overly elaborate metaphor, this movie is a startlingly direct, humansized elegy for traditional film production. The story centres on Oscar (Denis Lavant), an aging film actor whose job involves driving across Paris in a white limousine, transforming his appearance with costumes and prosthetics, and enacting melodramatic scenes in front of a non-existent audience. In one sequence Oscar is a grizzled tough-guy who murders his doppelganger for some ill-defined reason. In another he’s a cartoonishly stooped bag lady, begging for spare change. At the end of each “appointment,” Oscar returns to the makeup mirror in his cluttered mobile dressing room and assumes his next character. The backdrop is a surreal, perhaps futuristic film industry in which cameras are completely invisible. Every lived act has become cinema, and violence and death are seemingly mutable and inconsequential. Carax’s long-time collaborator Lavant brings a pathos and an astounding physicality to each role. In a standout segment, he reprises his impish, hyper-destructive “Merde” character from the anthology film Tokyo! The supporting cast shines, including Eva Mendes and Kylie Minogue in brief yet indelibly sad roles. But the line between character and actor is constantly
Holy Motors. PHOTO COURTESY MONgREL MEdIA
blurred and despite an overhanging sense of tragedy, the whole apparatus is basically rhetorical, rather than narrative. Holy Motors is a spectacle of craft and ingenuity, but at its core, it’s a heartbroken denial of digital video technology. It insists, sometimes subtly, but often not, that the film camera is analogous to the mechanism of the human
body, and that the digital camera is alienated from this human quality. Maybe Carax and his crew are too stylistically gifted for their own good, but the bleary, pixelated digital nightmare sequences that are supposed to drive this message home have a certain lyrical beauty, and are no more alienating than the out-ofcontext silent film footage.
Generally, the work is engrossing and persuasive, but the anti-DV argument comes off as a little curmudgeonly. I hate to say this about such a wonderful film, but its raison d’être seems to be a contrarian nostalgia, and it proves to be somewhat frustrating. Carax should check out the cinematography of his own movie for ample evidence of the artistic merits of the digital camera.
The art of memory Holocaust Education Week raises complex questions about artistic representations of tragedy Danielle Klein ASSOCIATE ARTS & CULTURE EDITOR
The first week of November marked the 32nd annual Holocaust Education Week in Toronto. The week-long schedule of lectures, films, exhibits, and theatre was crammed with multiple events each day throughout the GTA. While Holocaust Education Week is now behind us, it raises some interesting questions about the place of art in Holocaust remembrance. The theme for the 2012 Holocaust Education Week was “Culture of Memory.” The various programs associated with the event explored how the Holocaust can be preserved and remembered as survivors — and the firsthand testimony that they provide — dwindle steadily with the progression of time. Contemporary recollections of the Holocaust are largely informed by parties who claim a secondhand legacy as their own. The history of the Holocaust is markedly well-documented and well-known, and is itself a thriving field of academia. But the memory of the Holocaust is far more ambiguous, attempting to access emotions and experiences which are quite conceivably unfathomable to anyone but actual witnesses. Collective memory of the Holocaust is often formed and transmitted through artistic representation. Authors, artists, and filmmakers find an apt forum to explore the experience of the Holocaust in the realm of art. The production of these works is itself a source of debate; many people seek connection and understanding through artistic portrayals of the genocide, but critics suggest that such productions run the risk of minimizing or distorting the scope of the tragedy. The struggle to properly express tragedy through artistic representation is continually linked to the responsibility to provide a warning against the potential for the repetition of history, a sentiment summarized by the oft-quoted dictum “never again.” The reasons for rendering the Holocaust in art are manifold, including the complex desire to connect to a grievous past.
"Portrait of Wally" by Egon Schiele. PHOTO COURTESY BROWN & COHEN COMMUNICATIONS & PUBLIC AFFAIRS INC.
The Centre for Jewish Studies at U of T recently hosted a panel titled “Anne Frank in the Contemporary Imagination” that featured prominent Jewish author Nathan Englander (whose most recent collection of short stories is titled What We Talk About When We Talk About Anne Frank), Karen Polak, head of education at The Anne Frank House in Amsterdam, and Andrea Most, associate professor of American Literature and Jewish Studies at U of T. The topic of their discussion is current and controversial, particularly when it comes to literature that deals with the Holocaust. While the diary of Anne Frank was once endowed with a sacred, untouchable quality, Most noted that it has since become the sub-
ject of significant controversy. A Broadway play about Anne Frank has been criticized for presenting a diluted, accessible version of the Holocaust and removing distinctly Jewish aspects from the narrative in order to produce a more universal coming-of-age story. Many prominent American-Jewish authors have also questioned the place of Anne Frank in contemporary society. In Philip Roth’s novel The Ghost Writer, the main character imagines that he is in a relationship with Anne Frank, who has actually survived the Holocaust but hidden her identity so as not to disturb the symbolism acquired by her name. Cynthia Ozick, in an article that ran in the New Yorker, has suggested that the memory of the Holocaust
would have been better served had the diary not been disseminated. Englander, for his part, was proud to declare during the panel that in spite of the title of his latest book, he has not actually read the diary of Anne Frank. Instead, he based his fiction upon his own anxiety about the possibility of a second Holocaust, an anxiety that stems from his childhood. His stories are nuanced, reflecting upon the memory of the Holocaust and the cultural inheritance of suspicion and guilt. The issue of Holocaust remembrance has also been explored by a multitude of visual artists. During Holocaust Education Week, the AGO displayed “Memory Loops,” an audio-based installation by artist Michaela Melián. The installation features the spoken testimony of Holocaust survivors, allowing Melián to reflect upon history through the medium of art. She provides viewers with an access point to primary sources through the secondary lens of her artistic point of view. The Holocaust has, of course, also acted as the backdrop for a plethora of films, from Schindler’s List to Inglorious Basterds. More specifically related to art was the documentary Portrait of Wally, which was recently screened at the TIFF Bell Lightbox as part of Holocaust Education Week. The film details the history of a painting by Egon Schiele and the legal battle that erupted between the Leopold Museum in Vienna and the Jewish family who owned the painting prior to its seizure by Nazis in 1939. The case brought to the fore the issue of Nazi art looting, prompting museums across Europe and America to purge stolen property from their collections. While contending with the Holocaust requires artists to tread on delicate territory, artistic attempts to articulate the emotional experience of the Holocaust contribute to the construction of collective memory of this dark period in human history. As the shadow of the Holocaust draws further into the past, art preserves and constructs the tragedy of the Holocaust with heightening urgency and innovative perspective.
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Dr. Mark Rappoport talks about how to prevent Alzheimer’s disease. phOtO COurtEsy aNtONIO dIlEva
The right kind of stress may suppress Alzheimer’s symptoms Physicians discuss how keeping your mind busy affects the onset of dementia Sky Richards VARSITY CONTRIBUTOR
A recent Café Scientifique seminar entitled “Use it or lose it” addressed public misconceptions about Alzheimer’s. Dr. Michael Cusimano, a neurosurgeon; Dr. Mark Rappoport, a geriatric psychiatrist; and Dr. Yaakav Stern, a professor of clinical neuropsychology gave informal talks at the “Forget about it” restaurant on King Street, noting that people have significant control over their mental health. All three doctors agreed that higher levels of formal education, leisure activities, and, counter-intuitively, stressful life events, may actually put off the onset of Alzheimer’s disease and dementia. Although Alzheimer’s and dementia are globally widespread diseases, many people are un-
sure of the difference between the two conditions. Stern explained that dementia is a generic term while Alzheimer’s is one of many types of dementia. Dementia is a change in a person’s mental abilities, which, in effect, changes his or her ability to perform otherwise routine activities; Alzheimer’s is a specific — and one of the most common — forms of dementia. With the discrepancies between the two words cleared up, Cusimano started the seminar by explaining that as we age, our brains tend to shrink, leaving increased space between the brain and the skull. These spaces contain veins that can easily tear and cause a build up of blood. Our body naturally produces a protein fragment called amyloid which gets broken down in a healthy brain. If this amyloid is not eliminated, plaque build up can cause Alzheimer’s. Stern noted that recent technologies such as
PET scans are able to detect amyloid plaques in the brain and thereby diagnose Alzheimer’s patients. There are a variety of medications whose side effects can mimic dementia. Without PET scan technology, doctors do not know whether the disease or the medication is causing the patients’ dementia. Twenty-three years ago, a long-term study called the Manhattan study was performed on residents in areas of high and low education in Manhattan to see whether education made a difference in the prevention of Alzheimer’s. Alzheimer’s was found to be more common in areas of low education. This is not to say that all people less formally educated will get Alzheimer’s or dementia. In fact, when autopsies were performed on a higher-educated patient and a lower-educated patient, the higher educated patient had more plaques and tangles.
Further research suggests that increased stressors associated with lifestyle and occupation allow people to better cope with plaque buildup. Higher education will not stop a person from developing Alzheimer’s, but the life events that go along with such an education could be exactly what’s needed to help them cope with the disease. Follow-up studies to the Manhattan study have shown that more leisure activity, more engagement with large social circles, and more deep thinking help to make the brain larger, and can reduce the risk of Alzheimer’s disease. It seems our parents were right when they told us to go to school, eat right, and relax. It’s easy to take for granted that these simple things can actually prevent Alzheimer’s disease and dementia later in life.
Turning waste into business
U of T science grad gets funding for renewable energy innovation Patrick McGovern VARSITY CONTRIBUTOR
While he was a chemical engineering graduate student at U of T, Andrew White stumbled onto a process he believed had the potential to “turn waste into business.” With seed capital and coaching from a program called VentureStart, he is now running a demonstration unit at a lead customer site, and is already pitching for his next round of funding. During a tour of a renewable energy plant, the 2010 grad saw waste in an otherwise efficient process. “I was astonished to see how much waste was created from producing renewable natural gas,” he says. “After seeing that, I wanted to turn the waste it produced into something these companies could use.” White’s innovation is a method for filtering out toxic and corrosive hydrogen sulfide from biogas, and turn-
ing it into valuable fertilizer. Biogas desulfurization is essential in renewable energy plants that use methane gas to generate electricity, because, before it can be used as fuel, the gas stream must be cleaned to prevent serious engine corrosion issues. The real brilliance of White’s forward-thinking approach is that the used filters can afterwards be reprocessed to capture a rich mixture of elemental sulfur and sulfides, which are highly sought-after soil amendment and fertilizer products. Since the activated biochar in his filters is made from a by-product of the anaerobic digestion process used to create methane gas from organic materials, it completes the organic circle to offer a truly environmentally-sustainable, zero-waste solution. White’s innovative approach, using a resource that would otherwise be thrown away, had already been validated in the laboratory. But in order to prove the marketability of his
product, White needed the funding to develop a prototype. That funding came through the Research, Innovation, Commercialization (RIC) Centre’s VentureStart program, which provides business skills training, and up to $30,000 in nonrefundable seed capital to entrepreneurs who are graduates of Science, Technology, Engineering or Mathematics (STEM) programs in southern Ontario. VentureStart is funded by FedDev Ontario through the Scientist and Engineers in Business Initiative. The initiative is designed to help improve the business and management skills of entrepreneurs in STEM fields by improving access to financing and business support services to successfully launch and manage start-ups. White formed a company called Char Technologies to market his product. His innovative approach won the Ivey Business Plan Competition in 2011. He then enrolled in the VentureStart program, through which the RIC Centre provided
him with business coaching, mentoring and networking opportunities, including an assigned Entrepreneur in Residence. After developing a solid pitch presentation, he qualified for VentureStart’s non-refundable seed financing. “With the funding [from VentureStart], I can get out of the lab and go to potential customers and prove my technology works,” says White. Having built a strong presentation for his concept, White went on to win the RIC Centre’s Innovator Idol 2012 event last June. Innovator Idol is a competition modeled on American Idol and
Dragon’s Den, in which four companies are invited to present their new innovation to an investor panel for feedback. The most innovative ideas and the best pitches are chosen by the audience to win $50,000 in prizes. White is further refining his marketing, supply chain and distribution plan, and forecasts $10 million in sales within four years. VentureStart is available to entrepreneurs in southern Ontario and is coordinated by the RIC Centre in Mississauga. The RIC Centre is still actively looking for aspiring STEM entrepreneurs who want an opportunity to learn business skills and become eligible for non-refundable seed capital to join the program. Learn more at venturestart.ca. wENdy gu/thE varsIty
VARSITY SCIENCE
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MONDAY, NOVEMBER 19 2012
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Keith Oatley in the spotlight U of T psychology professor discusses the interdisciplinary nature of cognitive science. Karen Kyung Fuhrmann VARSITY CONTRIBUTOR
Keith Oatley is a novelist and professor emeritus at U of T’s Faculty of Education, OISE. For more than 25 years, he taught, researched, and published in the field of psychology. In addition to his academic background in science, his research interests have extended into the humanities, combining literary theories with cognitive science. In this professor spotlight, The Varsity sits down with Oatley to discuss his background and influences, how he got to U of T, the intersection of science and humanities in the field of psychology, and his advice for undergraduate students. The Varsity: Tell us a little about your past. What did you teach and what do you specialize in? Keith Oatley: I was born in London, England, and did my undergraduate degree at the University of Cambridge in natural sciences. I finished my PhD in psychology at University College London, and then completed my post-doctoral studies in engineering in medicine at Imperial College. I was a lecturer at the University of Sussex, then a professor at the University of Glasgow, where I taught cognitive psychology. I immigrated to Canada in 1990. I am now a professor emeritus here at the University of Toronto. I used to teach courses on the psychology of emotions,
and cognitive science. I ran the cognitive science program at University College, but the program has now been moved to the philosophy department. It is still an interdisciplinary program though. I am also a former president of the International Society for Research on Emotions, a fellow of the British Psychological Society, and a fellow of the Royal Society of Canada. TV: Why did you choose to specialize in cognitive science? When and where did this interest take off? KO: When I was in England, at the University of Sussex, I was introduced to a new movement called cognitive science. That movement was heavily influenced by Artificial Intelligence. The idea was, and is, that if you want to understand perception, or conversation, [you need to] try to program computers to perceive and converse. A whole new way of thinking opened up, which has enabled us to move forward in very interesting and radical directions. TV: Before working at U of T, what else did you accomplish? KO: Well, I have been an academic most of my life. After completing my post-doctoral year at Imperial College in London, I worked at the UK National Physical Laboratory’s Autonomics Division for a while. I also trained as a psychotherapist. I think it’s important for psychology to be applied and to develop ways of helping people. I also have experience as a journalist and novelist.
TV: You’ve written a number of books dealing with emotions. Which one is your favorite and why? KO: My favorite, I think, is Best Laid Schemes: The Psychology of Emotions (1992). It’s my favorite because it analyzes emotions in three different fields: science, social science, and literary theory — it’s written in an interdisciplinary way. I don’t think it’s very good just to get stuck on a particular problem in a particular discipline. TV: If you had a choice, what would you want to improve about the sciences at U of T? KO: I wish scientists and people in the professional disciplines would pay more attention to the humanities. If there were more interdisciplinary contact, I think everyone would benefit. U of T invests a lot in professional programs, such as business, medicine, and law. Also, science is always well funded. I would like to see more resources put into the humanities. TV: What advice do you have for undergraduates in science? KO: Spend as much time talking to colleagues as you can! That means other undergraduates, but also talk to professors and teaching assistants. You may not have such good opportunities for this when you go out into the world of work, where it can become more difficult to develop and maintain your intellectual life. Appreciate the time you have at U of T.
U of T entrepreneurs think big TechnoLABS launches to foster student innovators in the physical sciences Kay Dyson Tam VARSITY CONTRIBUTOR
The development of insulin is a remarkable example of innovative university research being turned into a product to benefit society. After the discovery of insulin by Dr. Frederick Banting and his student Charles Best on May 17, 1921, it was brought to market by January 1922. The very next year, Banting was awarded the 1923 Nobel Prize for Medicine for his work on insulin. Such a rapid development process from science to technology to product is almost unheard of in medicine today, with all the regulations and tests that new drugs have to undergo. But rapid development is possible in other markets, notably the emerging mobile app market. Innovatively taking knowledge and turning it into products that benefit society, like Banting and Best did, is a model TechnoLABS and its founder, chemistry professor Cynthia Goh, would like to emulate. TechnoLABS is an incubator that provides support and training for students and recent alumni who are “building companies based
on technological innovations in a wide range of physical sciences.” It was formally launched on November 12 with a symposium on “The U of T Student as Inventor and Entrepreneur,” sponsored by the Institute of Optical Sciences (IOS). Focusing on “using leading edge research and first rate students,” Goh hopes TechnoLABS will continue the work she started with other programs at the IOS. Goh previously founded a small course that teaches the basics of starting a business, which has since been turned into the popular Entrepreneurship 101 course at the MaRS Discovery District. The course, conducted in collaboration with MaRS vice-president of partner programs Tony Redpath, has a weekly audience close to 1,200 people. The course runs on Wednesdays from 6–7 pm and is also available online. Having been an entrepreneur himself, Redpath knows a great deal about the “long path to overnight success” that entrepreneurs must take. “Pretty much unemployable upon graduation,” from U of T with a PhD in physical chemistry, Redpath joined EcoPlastics, a company that developed photo-degradable plastics, in the 1980s. Photo-degradable plastics
are polymers that break down from exposure to UV light; if such plastic waste cluttered a beach, it would degrade under sunlight. The EcoPlastics story is a great example of the surprising applications of basic research. The most important characteristics of entrepreneurs, according to Redpath, are perseverance and faith, both in their ideas and in themselves. As a venture capitalist, Redpath expects only one in 10 start-ups to succeed. “We’re way too hard on ourselves,” about failure in Canada, he says. By comparison, in the U.S. he says, there is more of a “oh well, lesson learned” approach to failure. Now vice-president of Partner Programs at MaRS, Redpath notes that there are two key windows during which it is easiest to become an entrepreneur: as a young adult and as a midcareer professional. The advantage of being a recent graduate or young adult when you start a company is, Redpath says, that “you can take on risk.” Young entrepreneurs often do well if they have a fresh idea that hasn’t been explored before. Conversely, Redpath has found that becoming an entrepreneur in your 40s or midcareer means that “you are already established and have a wealth of experience.” Often starting
businesses in fields they know well, mid-career entrepreneurs can more readily raise capital since they have “been there and done that.” Darren Anderson, founder of Vive Crop Protection, thinks that recent graduates have the perfect mix of humility and arrogance necessary to start a company. The humility comes from years of learning from other people while arrogance often comes from working on a thesis, through which, “you are the expert on one thing.” Anderson started Vive Crop after working on his chemistry PhD research in Goh’s lab and realizing it had important implications for crop growth. At the symposium, he urged the audience, if they were considering an entrepreneurial path, to take it up, “now, so that your salary depends on it and you’ll work harder at it.” One way of looking at it is that if the transition is from school to a start-up company, even if you are only making $40,000 per year, it’s “an enormous raise.” Anderson himself started at IOS about six years ago. As Anderson was introduced, the presenter urged the audience to think, “this could be me.” With the launch of TechnoLABS, it seems that there will be many more successful companies and entrepreneurs to come.
photo courtesy emanuel Istrate
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OUA rookie of the year LaShaunna Harper leads the Blues to the playoffs var.st/ask
Lifting the veil on the U of T recruitment system An insider’s guide to the Varsity Blues athletic recruiting process Lia Kim VARSITY CONTRIBUTOR
University athletic recruitment has become a very serious business. While U of T is renowned for its academic prowess, student athletes contribute to an athletic culture that has also played an important role in the university’s long and illustrious history.
Swimming
Recruitment, according to Byron MacDonald, head coach of the Varsity Blues swimming program, depends first and foremost on a strong academic record. “I look for smart swimmers,” says MacDonald, “They will not gain acceptance to U of T [otherwise], or won’t stay in [the program] if they are not good students.” U of T’s swimming program has a long history of success dating back to the 1950s, and the Blues continue to be a competitive team. “The program attracts some of the top swimmers in the country and is a bona fide developer of elite world-class athletes for Canada,” asserts MacDonald. The men’s team has won the OUA title nine years in a row. “In fact, Toronto has never finished below [second-place] in the conference, ever,” notes MacDonald. The women’s team has shared similar success, ranking within the top three of standings throughout the past three years. To make the Blues swimming team, swimmers must be able to swim fast. “A beautiful stroke is meaningless if they swim slow with all the beauty. They have to be able to swim at a certain speed,” MacDonald emphasizes. “If they can’t swim that fast, they can’t even try out for the team as they will never make it.” Swimmers must also come from a club background where they have swum competitively for years. “This is not a sport or team that you take up seriously in university if you have not done it before,” stresses MacDonald. “Not at U of T anyway.” Someone who is a good high-school swimmer, but who has no club experience does not have the necessary training to make U of T’s team, whereas for most other university teams in Ontario, a good high school swimmer would be able to swim at the university level. Students who are not fast enough are told to improve their times with the masters or triathlon teams on campus, and to try out for the team the following year. “But I am pretty straightforward that the odds of that happening are very unlikely,” says MacDonald. “Walk-ons usually will make [most of the other teams in Ontario but] they won’t make our team.” Chris Manning is a third-year history specialist. Manning swam at Auburn University south of the border for two years before transferring to U of T. He began swimming competitively when he was 10 years old, qualified for the Olympic Trials at age 15, and broke the national age group record in the 50m free swim in both short and long courses at 17. He is also a multiple medalist at the Canadian Senior Nationals, and hopes to qualify for the 2013 World Championships in Barcelona.
“To find success, one must fully commit to all aspects of the sport including nutrition [and] recovery in addition to the training,” Manning says. Manning’s teammate, Brian Lee, is a second-year philosophy major. Lee has swum competitively for the past 13 years, medalling at the provincial, state, and national levels in Canada and the US. He hopes to win a gold medal at the CIS championships, which will qualify him for the World University Games. Earlier in November, Lee helped lead the Blues to victory over both Brock and Waterloo, with wins in the 50m and 100m freestyle competitions. Lee also has advice to share with aspiring athletes. “Be sure it’s something you really want to do, and that you like the team and coaches,” he says. “There’s nothing more miserable than dedicating half your time and energy to something you aren’t enjoying.”
Basketball
Like swimming coach MacDonald, Michael DiGiorgio, the assistant coach of the men’s basketball team, spends much of his time searching for developing talent. So what does he look for in a prospective player? “A competitive fire in the student-athlete [and] intangibles that can’t be taught such as hustle, heart, and work ethic,” he says. “Obviously the student-athlete must be skilled as well” Recruiting has evolved, notes DiGiorgio. “High school basketball is just a part of the process. There is club ball — OBA and AAU — as well as provincial teams and regional teams.” Initial recruiting occurs in the final two years of high school. Athletes often apply to U of T through the OUAC website like any other student, at which point coaches invite them to visit campus to see a game or practice and meet the current players on the team. Open tryouts are held directly after training camp, and one or two studentathletes are recruited onto the team. Students lacking competitive experience are encouraged to play pickup basketball or join a club team. “The thing with basketball is that it is a very accessible sport,” says DiGiorgio, “all you need is a ball and a rim and you can work on your game.” Nicholas Irvine is a first-year life sciences student. Prior to joining the Blues, Irvine played on British Columbia’s provincial team as well as for several club teams. “A lot of your time off the court has to be spent in the library studying and finishing assignments,” forward Irvine advises potential recruits. Mile Pajovic, a first-year Rotman Commerce student, has played for OBA and AAU club teams since the fifth grade, as well as his high school team. Pajovic believes basketball success all boils down to one core factor: “Work hard.” Teammate Alejandro Prescott, a firstyear Spanish and Near and Middle Eastern Civilizations double-major, has played for both his high school team and Ottawa Next Level. Prescott echoed Irvine’s message. “Put [your] schoolwork first. The most important thing for a varsity athlete is to maintain his or her eligibility.”
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VARSITY SPORTS
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MONDAY, NOVEMBER 19, 2012
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Blues rugby teams face possible downgrade Sport Model review in progress could lead to reclassification of rugby as an intramural sport Murad Hemmadi VARSITY STAFF
A review of the University of Toronto’s Sport Model conducted by the Faculty of Kinesiology and Physical Health has left the Varsity Blues women’s rugby team fearing for its future as an intercollegiate program. The review is intended as a “model to review our entire continuum of sports offerings,” says Anita Comella, assistantdean, co-curricular physical activity and sport at KPE. The review’s recommendations include three proposed alternative sports models, all of which include the re-classification of the Varsity Blues men’s and women’s rugby programs as KPE intramural sports. “At the KPE [intramural] level, we don’t compete against any OUA and CIS teams. It could potentially be tri-campus, but it’s up to essentially the colleges and the different faculties to field teams,” explains Mel Minisian, a fifth-year player on the women’s rugby team. Minisian and her teammates fear that the reclassification of rugby as an intramural sport would hurt participation rates on campus. “It [would not be] the first time there has been a women’s rugby intramural; there was one years ago, and it folded, because there weren’t enough people involved in it. So there’s no hope for the sport if it goes that way.” Comella is keen to stress that the three alternative models proposed in the review are just that — propos-
als. “It might be at the end of the day that none of the sport models that are being presented actually become the sports model,” she notes. “It could be a variation of any of those three, it could be someone proposing something completely different.” U of T Director of Intercollegiate and High Performance Sport Beth Ali concurs. “It is a consultation process and no decision — absolutely no decision at all — has been made about any program,” she stresses. “The reason we’re doing the consultation now is that everybody is here on campus now. A lot of times when universities change programs and teams are impacted very negatively, they do it in the summer when no-one is on campus.” Public consultations about the Sport Model review are currently underway, and will continue through the end of November. A second round of consultations, based on the model proposed following this round, is expected in January, with a final decision to be made around March. The chief problem facing the rugby programs, Ali says, is a lack of adequate facilities. “They have come to me and said, ‘We want to be competitive. This is what we need to be competitive,’” she says. “But I can’t provide that to them in our current model. What they need, we don’t have the space for. Minisian acknowledges the problem of insufficient facilities for rugby, but says that downgrading the program is not the solution. “There’s been a few emails back
and forth, and they’re almost saying that our lack of adequate training grounds has compromised our competitiveness. But instead of giving us the adequate training grounds, they’re just getting rid of the problem from the get-go.” “The successful rugby programs are the ones that have a first- and secondteam and an athlete development program that is not just the 15 athletes on the field plus an additional seven to 10 that make up the squad. It’s that, plus another 10 or 15. You need a lot of athletes,” claims Ali. “And the gap for us is that we don’t have the facilities to train that many athletes in competitive rugby. In an intercollegiate program you never want to put athletes on the field who can’t prepare properly for that level of competition.” Karla Telidetzki, a two-time OUA Russell Division MVP with the Blues who was selected to play for the Canadian national team following her move to U of T from the University of Alberta, strongly disagrees with Ali. “Not all of the successful teams have a full two-team size. I believe [CIS champions] St. Francis Xavier does, I’m not sure what the case is at a lot of other schools,” she says. “But basically they’ve severely overestimated the number of people we need, and they’ve also overestimated the amount of practice time we need. They seem to think we need 30 hours a week of field time, which is outrageous.” Amanda Capone — who has been on the women’s team for five years —notes
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that if the program is downgraded to intramural status, a lot of the players will lose the opportunity to compete at a high level. “They’re going to lose the 30+ athletes that we have,” she says. “We’re not going to transfer to soccer or volleyball. It’s not going to be a simple process of [moving] to one of those sports.” Ali recognizes the achievement of players like Telidetzki, but says that the decline of U of T’s sports programs has hindered its ability to attract top talent. “Karla is a great example of a player who is playing in our intercollegiate programs who also plays on a national level,” she notes. “U of T used to have many, many examples like that, and our lack of success has diminished our ability to produce athletes like that in all of our sports.” But Telidetzki points out that the downsizing and downgrading of programs is not going to help the university’s athletes gain national recognition. “I’ve played club rugby for seven or eight years now, and I never received any level of real recognition through club rugby in the way that I did at U of T.” Whether or not the rugby teams survive the restructuring of U of T’s sports model, KPE and the Varsity Blues have a long road ahead if they intend to make the university a competitive force in intercollegiate sport once again. “It requires building,” admits Comella. “Whatever decision is made about the Sport Model will require a concerted effort to build and rebuild. It will not happen overnight.”
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For more on the KPE Sports Model review, see pg 4
THE VARSITY
24 MONDAY, NOVEMBER 19, 2012
Dr. Banting and Dr. Best Do Research Work on Cure of Diabetes Since last January several dozen patients suffering from the acute form of diabtes have been treated with “insulin” at the Toronto General Hospital under Dr. Banting’s care, and of these, not one has died, and all show marked improvement. Among these, is Miss E. Hughes, daughter of the Secretary of State of the United States, who has been recieving treatment for the past two months. — Wednesday, October 22, 1922
1922
Scientists win important award
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F 3C N New molecule may cure malaria Researchers discover a promising antimalaria compound that could eliminate the disease A group of researchers are seeking to redefine the way we treat malaria. Medicines for Malaria Venture (MMV) is a non-profit public-private partnership founded in 1999 with a mission to “reduce the burden of malaria in disease-endemic countries by discovering, developing and facilitating the delivery of new, effective and affordable antimalarial drugs.” — Mayce Al-Sukhni, Monday, September 24, 2012
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