VOL. CXXXIV, NO. 22
UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO’S STUDENT NEWSPAPER SINCE 1880
24 MARCH, 2014
How we take our coffee
Exploring the culture of caffeine in Toronto from to-go cups to gourmet cappuccinos Feature, pg 12
International students a “source of profit” More than 50 per cent tuition increase for incoming international students draws sharp backlash from students James Flynn
ASSOCIATE NEWS EDITOR
Incoming Arts & Science international students are being charged $35,280 next year — an increase of 9.2 per cent. U of T is proposing an increase of more than 50 per cent over the next five years. In the past, university administration has claimed that the differential tuition fees for international and domestic students reflect the higher cost of education for international students. This increase, however, is bringing back persistent student concerns that the university sees international students as a profit source. “International students are absolutely seen as a source of profit by the university,” said Yolen Bollo-Kamara, current vice-president, equity, of the University of Toronto Students’ Union (utsu) and president-elect. “I have participated in many meetings at which senior members of the university administration
INSIDE
EDITORIAL
identify targets for increased international student enrolment as a way to generate revenue and compensate for gaps in government funding. The discussion always revolves around the money international students bring to the university, as opposed to their academic and social contributions,” she added. The utsu and the Canadian Federation of Students (cfs) have both lobbied for a cap on international tuition fee increases for a number of years. At present, there are no per-student operating grants for international students. In any given year, the federal and provincial governments subsidize approximately half of the fees incurred by a domestic student, while international students receive no subsidy. Still, the difference between domestic and international tuition fees is expected to expand in the coming years. Afirst-year domestic undergraduate student entering the Faculty of Arts & Science in 2013 pays $5,865. A first-year international undergraduate stu-
dent entering the Faculty of Arts & Science in 2013 pays $32,075. Tuition fees for new incoming international students are set to increase by 9.2 per cent next year. Fee increases for existing international students are set to increase by five per cent. On average, tuition fee increases are assumed to be three per cent for domestic students and 6.5% for international students each year of the fiveyear budget cycle 2014–2015 to 2018–2019. The increases come against the backdrop of U of T budget increases — U of T’s total budget is set to cross the two billion dollar mark for the first time in 2014–2015. Domestic and international tuition fee schedules are regulated under the new Ontario Tuition Framework, introduced in 2013. Under the new framework, domestic tuition fees are capped at three per cent per year for most programs. Under the previous framework, domestic tuition fees were capped at five per cent per year for most programs. University administration estimated the impact of lowering
the regulated rate of increases at $15 million in 2014–2015, growing to $56 million by the end of 2019. On the other hand, international tuition fee increases are unregulated. To that end, some allege that the university continues to increase international tuition fees to make up for funding shortfalls. The increases in international tuition fees come against the backdrop of a rapidly increasing international student population. In 2002–2003, international students represented 6.5 per cent of the total student population. Today, that number stands at 15.2 per cent. “As the number of international students has increased over the years, the need to provide additional and specialized services for international students has also grown,” said Laurie Stephens, U of T’s director of media relations. Stephens cited a number of specialized services provided for international students, including immigration and transition advice,
ARTS & CULTURE
SCIENCE
SPORTS
Neil deGrasse Tyson speaks at U of T
Patrick Chan to study at U of T
CFS’s response to defed Exploring street art in is self-defeating Toronto
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The cfs would be better served by adopting a conciliatory approach. By addressing the issues at hand and engaging students in a genuine conversation, it might still be able to keep the federation intact.
Toronto’s urban atmosphere translates just as well onto the city’s walls as it does onto the radio. Venturing into the west end, you’ll encounter Graffiti Alley, a place where a blank, brick wall becomes a canvas.
Heavy clouds prevented a clear view of the sky on Friday evening, but Convocation Hall was host to its own star when Neil deGrasse Tyson delivered the inaugural Dunlap Prize Lecture.
After deferring his acceptance to U of T’s social sciences program in the Faculty of Arts & Science, Olympic silver medalist Patrick Chan will swap hitting the ice for hitting the books this fall.
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VARSITY NEWS
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— Sunday, March 16
RITU SHARMA @RITUSHARMAAA “TERES MAJOR!!!!!!” ...waking up while screaming the names of muscles. #anatomyproblems #uoftproblems — Monday, March 17
MATT CVITKOVIC @MATTCVITKOVIC Today’s gonna be my last midterm from my 6 straight weeks of midterms. Yay. Just 2 more weeks till finals.... #uoftproblems
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LIGHTS OUT WITH MILL STREET More than 60 venues across the city will host Canadian musicians for live, candle-lit performances in celebration of Earth Hour.
Punk rock, drink specials, prizes, a drag performance, and bingo, with proceeds from bingo card sales going to charity Wednesday, March 26 Bingo from 9:00 pm–11:00pm, DJ and drinks until 2:00 am The Beaver, 1192 Queen Street West $2 to play TRUE STORIES TOLD LIVE Hear five true stories from five real people while enjoying a drink Tuesday, March 25 7:15 pm–9:45 pm, stories start at 8:00 pm The Garrison, 1197 Dundas Street West Free
Advertising Executives Stephanie Lau stephanie@thevarsity.ca terence@thevarsity.ca Terence Leung vanessa@thevarsity.ca Vanessa Wen The Varsity is the University of Toronto's largest student newspaper, publishing since 1880. The Varsity has a circulation of 20,000, and is published by Varsity Publications Inc. It is printed by Master Web Inc. on recycled newsprint stock. Content © 2014 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
ETHICS, JUSTICE AND THE POLITICS OF ANIMAL EXPERIMENTATION A talk by award-winning researcher Dan Lyons on animal rights and politics in science Wednesday, March 26 6:00 pm–8:00 pm oise room 2211, 252 Bloor Street West Free EASTERN GTA ECO SUMMIT 2014 Talks and workshops on environmental issues, and an eco fair Friday, March 28 and Thursday, March 29 University of Toronto Scarborough Instructional Centre, 1095 Military Trail Free, pre-registration required
FIVE AWESOME FACTS ABOUT THE UNIVERSE, AS EXPLAINED BY NEIL DEGRASSE TYSON 1. “That we were once the centers of high mass stars that exploded their chemically rich guts into the galaxy, enriching pristine gas clouds with the chemistry of life. So that we are all connected to each other biologically, to the earth chemically and to the rest of the universe atomically.” 2. “When we look up at the night sky we should feel big, not small, because the atoms that make up the stars also make up us.” 3. “Today, how easy it is to presume that one universe is all there is. Yet emerging theories of modern cosmology, as well as the continually reaffirmed improbability that anything is unique, require that we
Someone should start an on-campus bike-taxi service for people running late for deadlines. They’d make so much money #uoftproblems — Thursday, March 20
DEV CHAUDHURI @CHAUDHURIDEV For the first time in 2 years I’m early for a 9am class and it’s only because I pulled an all nighter to play ps3 for fun #uoftprobs — Thursday, March 20
MALINKA RUMINSKI @MALINKARUMINSKI Woke up today feeling soooo crap. I better not be sick... No time for that. #uoftproblems — Friday, March 21
CHRIS SOONG @CYOUSOONG
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Saturday, March 29 8:00 pm Free entry PUNK ROCK BINGO
— Tuesday, March 18
remain open to the latest assault on our plea for distinctiveness: multiple universes, otherwise known as the ‘multiverse,’ in which ours is just one of countless bubbles bursting forth from the fabric of the cosmos.” 4. “The remarkable feature of physical laws is that they apply everywhere, whether or not you choose to believe in them. After the laws of physics, everything else is opinion.” 5. “High-luminosity stars are the rarest. In any given volume of space, they’re outnumbered by the low-luminosity stars a thousand to one. It’s the prodigious energy output of highluminosity stars that enables you to see them across such large volumes of space.”
Really excited to be part of next year’s don team at Victoria College #UofT — Saturday, March 22
SHARILYN JOHNSON @THIRDBEAT “If you have passion, it leaks out of you and other people know it.” -Neil deGrasse Tyson, speaking at #UofT for 2.5x longer than scheduled. — Saturday, March 22
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MONDAY, MARCH 24, 2014
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Students allege UTSU election violated union’s bylaws Candidates, student leaders, argue decision to extend voting at UTM, add polling station in Davis building was not permitted under UTSU’s bylaws Sarah Niedoba and Alex Verman VARSITY STAFF
One week after the unofficial results of the University of Toronto Students’ Union (utsu) elections were announced, some students are still questioning their validity — and the UTSU board has yet to approve the results. An announcement was made on the evening of Monday, March 18 that recounts were to be held for three positions on Tuesday, March 18. Another three recounts were held on Saturday, March 22. The Elections and Referenda Committee (erc) has been hearing appeals for the past two weeks on several controversial rulings by Chief Returning Officer (cro) Alex Flor, which some argue are in contravention of the UTSU’s bylaws. Flor has refused to answer questions all week however Munib Sajjad, UTSU president, and chair of the Elections and Referenda Committee, is defending the elctions as fair — despite the fact that the ERC has yet to hear all appeals of the CRO’s decisions. Students are questioning a number of electoral procedures, including: the use of ballots that included a withdrawn candidate’s name, the addition of an extra voting day at utm, and the additional polling station at the Davis Building at utm on that day. An extra five hours of voting were allowed at utm on Friday, March 14 because of early campus closure on Wednesday, March 12 due to weather conditions. Team Unite filed a complaint to the cro about the additional day of voting, stating that they were not informed of an extra polling station added at the Davis Building on that day. U of T Voice appeared to have prior knowledge according to Facebook posts encouraging students to vote. Team Unite asked that all votes from the Davis Building be disposed of and not counted towards the results. The core of Team Unite’s argument hinges on their assertion that only the utsu Board of Directors
CRO Alex Flor (right) has issued several controversial rulings.Shijie Zhou/The VArSiTy
can authorize polling locations and dates, and that while the addition of the Davis station was unfair, the cro did not have the authority to authorize it in the first place. The cro ruled that there had not been any violation of the Elections Procedure Code (epc), stating, “The cro acknowledges that the original polling stations for utm did not include the Davis Building. However, the Davis Building had been ratified as a polling location by the erc on January 8, 2014, and was not used on March 11–13, 2014 due to a prior booking.” She went on to say that U of T Voice were not informed of the polling station in advance, but were merely at utm in advance of the polls opening and witnessed the polling station being set up at the Davis Building. Aidan Fishman, an undergraduate representative on Governing Council, voiced his concerns over possible violations of the epc. The epc regulates behaviour during elections; complaints about violations of the code are adjudicated by the cro. In particular, Fishman emphasized Article VI, section P, “Benefits Acquired by Virtue of Office.” It forbids candidates from using resources that they would have obtained from past involvement in student government, such as the use of “office sup-
plies, equipment, advertising space and staff.” Fishman is concerned that students may view a number of elements of U of T Voice’s campaign as derived from their involvement with the utsu and the Canadian Federation of Students (cfs), namely the presence of cfs members campaigning for Voice, knowledge about the changed polling station locations at utm, and the use of phone numbers that students told reporters they did not directly give out to the slate. The cro wrote on March 14 that the involvement of cfs members did not qualify as a breach of the prohibition on benefits of office. “The use of volunteers that they may have met through service of utsu does not constitute the use of ‘staff’ as described in the [epc],” she wrote. Neither, she adds, does Voice’s presence at the moved polling booth at utm, of which she says the teams had no foreknowledge. Voice was seen campaigning at the Davis station all day, Unite did not campaign at all. According to two scrutineers who requested anonymity, and were interviewed separately, Voice received more than 90 per cent of votes made at the Davis polling station. The issue of the extra day of voting has raised concerns amongst student leaders. utsu bylaws, which trump the epc, state that only the
Board of Directors can set election dates. The Board of Directors was not consulted by the cro to set the additional five hours of voting at utm. The issue has been raised by student governor Aidan Fishman, and Pierre Harfouche, who last week was unofficially elected vice-president, university affairs of the utsu. “Ultimately, it is inequitable and illegal to change the campaign dates without consulting the entire Board of Directors of the utsu,” said Harfouche. He added that because of this year’s introduction of online voting, students at utm and commuter students were able to vote despite the weather. In addition to questions about the legitimacy of extending voting hours, Fishman also questioned the handling of the ballot: even though former vice-president, external candidate Luis Moreno had dropped out of the race and endorsed Nicky Bhatty, his name still appeared on ballots, and several students reported that some poll supervisors did not indicate that he was no longer running. Considering the high number of spoiled ballots in that vice presidential race — there were approximately 400 more spoiled ballots than other executive races this year — some feel Moreno’s name on the ballot may have affected the result. Bhatty lost to Grayce Slobodian by a mere 15 votes. “The amount of ballots that had his name on it is significant enough to affect the result — definitely more than 15, definitely more than 30,” said Ben Coleman, Arts & Science at large director of the utsu and a scrutineer. cro Flor repeatedly declined to comment on questions about procedural matters. Munib Sajjad, current president of the utsu and chair of the erc, responded on her behalf saying that the decision to extend voting to utm was made due to the inclement weather: “The erc ruled that polls be extended by five hours to make up for that lost time. The online company was immediately contacted to change the hours of allowable offline voting, to maintain
the integrity of the vote.” The ERC has yet to rule on whether the decision to extend voting was acceptable. Sajjad justified the decision to add a polling station in Davis, citing that it had been booked the first three days of voting and, according to him. “There were complaints from students due to the lack of polling station at Davis,” he said. Asked to explain why Voice knew about the station and Unite did not, Sajjad said: “No candidate was informed about the change in location. The poll was being set up in its location well before 9:30 [am], and candidates were on campus in the Davis building well before 9:30 [am]. Presumably, they saw the poll being set up and publicized it themselves.” When asked, Sajjad did not address whether it was contrary to utsu bylaws to add a polling station and a day of voting without the board’s approval, although he did say that the erc sometimes has to deal with events not spelled out in the epc. Instead, Sajjad attacked those bringing forward the proposals — although as chair of the erc he has yet to rule on their appeal: “Now that the results are out, some students are clearly attempting to change the outcome by saying that certain students should have had less access to polls. I think that’s dishonest.” Harfouche has appealed the matter of the extra day of voting to the erc, but has not received a response in eight days. In a copy of the appeal to the erc Harfouche states, “This [bylaw] does not authorize the cro to unilaterally change the pre-authorized dates for elections. The power to set election dates rests solely with the Board. The decision to make this change was therefore outside the authority of the cro or the Elections and Referenda Committee (erc).” In the appeal he goes on to say that the utsu should either discount any votes gathered at utm on March 14, or should annul the results of the election and order a new election.
Students discuss Canadian health policy Second annual Health Out Loud conference features dialogue on public and private health options Shaan Bhambra
VARSITY CONTRIBUTOR
A defining feature of Canada as a nation is our dedication to publicly funded universal healthcare. In recent years, the idea of a privatepublic partnership in healthcare has been gaining support, as wait times continue to increase in Ontario hospitals and in hospitals across the country. The debate between public and private options in healthcare continues to be hotly debated, with the introduction of greater public spending on healthcare in the United States
with the controversial Affordable Healthcare Act, commonly referred to as Obamacare. On March 21, 2014, U of T students had the opportunity to discuss healthcare and watch a debate on the topic of privatized healthcare with speakers Olivia Chow, former Member of Parliament for TrinitySpadina and current mayoral candidate, and Tom Ladd, president of Paladdin Health Group, a corporation that promotes private healthcare options for Canadians. Other panelists included Alfia Karimova, current U of T phd candidate and instructor; Sara Allin, professor of public policy at U of T; and Sara Labelle, a member
of the Ontario Health Coalition and proponent of public healthcare. The event, advertised as The Future of the Canadian Healthcare System: Question and Answer Conference Event, was run by Health Out Loud, a U of T student group formerly known as the University of Toronto Students for Medicare group. The annual event began last year as an opportunity to promote dialogue about the Canadian healthcare system among students. This year, the event was held on the St. George campus, at the Earth Sciences auditorium. At the event, panelists were asked pointed questions to spark con-
versation and debate. One question posed to Chow was direct in its approach and asked, “Do you think that taxation leads to a better health system?” Chow focused on the preventative nature of many of our health problems, but ultimately concluded that taxation and public healthcare was a necessity. Tom Ladd, a proponent of private healthcare options, was asked about the implications of private pay options on the Canadian healthcare system, and emphasized the need for patient choice in determining their best healthcare options. Ladd focused on the need for patients to bypass long
wait times, if necessary. Currently, private pay options for diagnostic imaging such as mris, pet scans, and ct scans are available in British Columbia, Alberta, Nova Scotia, Ontario, and Quebec. Ladd also considered the ability of private options to alleviate wait times in the public healthcare system. Other panelists, such as Labelle, countered this point by arguing that while private healthcare options will remove patients from the public healthcare system and thus alleviate waiting times, it will also remove talent and resources from public healthcare systems across the country.
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Vol. CXXXIV, No. 22
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UTM students stranded after campus closure UTSG remains open despite closure of UTM and UTSC campuses Iris Robin
VARSITY STAFF
The University of Toronto’s Mississauga and Scarborough campuses closed on the afternoon of Wednesday, March 12 due to severe weather conditions, leaving utm students facing a long and cold wait for transportation. University administration made the decision to close utm at around 12:00 pm that day. The St. George campus remained open for the day, provoking students to vent their frustration on social media. The St. George campus last closed at 3 pm on February 8, 2013, when students were encouraged to seek shelter in Robarts Library. The vice-president and provost and the vice-president, human resources and equity share the responsibility of deciding when to close the campus. At York University, operations were suspended at both the Keele and Glendon campuses effective 2:30 pm on March 12, with all classes cancelled for the remainder
of the day and evening. At ocad University, all classes with a start time of 4:00 pm or later were cancelled. At Humber College, all fulltime, continuing education, and online classes at all campuses were cancelled, and campus services were closed effective 1:30 pm. According to Raymond Noronha, president of the University of Toronto Mississauga Students’ Union (utmsu), the campus was closed at 1:00 pm because of deteriorating weather conditions. Administration notified students through email, and promoted the closure over social media. Noronha saw the closure as evidence of the need for heated bus shelters at the campus. According to Noronha, the idea of heated bus shelters has been well received by the administration. University administration is working with students on the plans. Heated bus shelters have been the subject of much attention recently. Both U of T Voice and Team Unite emphasized the importance of implementing heated shelters on all three campuses during the
election last week. A number of utmsu board of directors candidates have also raised the issue of bus shelters. According to Laurie Stephens, U of T’s director of media relations, the university administration considers weather reports and city activities when determining the appropriate course of action. “Each campus considers a number of factors with regards to adverse weather, including public transportation conditions, closure of other universities, as well as the status of the public school systems,” said Stephens. Despite widespread student dissatisfaction, the St. George campus does not always close when utm and utsc do. When asked if he thought the St. George campus should close, Noronha pointed out the advantages of accessibility downtown that are not shared by utm and utsc, adding, “I think the call not to close the downtown campus was fine.” Munib Sajjad, president of the University of Toronto Students’ Union did not reply to requests for comment.
ann sheng/The VarsiTy
U of T professors voice concerns about Fair Elections Act Nineteen U of T professors, including dean of Faculty of Arts & Science, among opponents Victoria Wicks VARSITY STAFF
Since its introduction in February, numerous academics, student leaders, and politicians have voiced concerns about the Fair Elections Act. Among other provisions, the bill disallows voters from casting ballots if another elector vouches that they are qualified and disallows the use of Elections Canada voter cards as identification at polling stations. An estimated 120,000 Canadians voted this way in the 2011 federal election. Some critics contend that the act will prevent young and low-income Canadians from casting ballots. Pierre Poilievre, Minister of State for Democratic Reform, explained why he feels that act is needed in a press release: “The Fair Elections Act will ensure everyday citizens are in charge of democracy, by putting special interests on the sidelines and rule-breakers out of business.” “The bill also makes it harder to break elections law. It closes loopholes to big money, imposes new penalties on political imposters who make rogue calls, and empowers law enforcement with sharper teeth, a longer reach, and a freer hand,” he added. In a panel discussion last Thursday, professor Melissa Williams, founding director of U of T’s Centre for Ethics, argued that the “Fair Elections Act” (Bill C-23) would negatively impact youth voters. She is one of six co-authors who published
an open letter to the Government of Canada on March 11 criticizing Bill C-23 as harmful to Canadian democracy. Over 160 professors at Canadian universities have signed this letter, 19 of whom are U of T professors, including David Cameron, dean of the Faculty of Arts & Science. “We, the undersigned — professors at Canadian universities who study the principles and institutions of constitutional democracy — believe that the Fair Elections Act (Bill C-23), if passed, would damage the institution at the heart of our country’s democracy: voting in federal elections,” the letter said. At the panel, Williams acknowledged there are 38 other options of identification, but maintains that these alternatives are largely unavailable to students or simply do not provide the correct address, due to the nature of students’ residence. Similarly, Peter Russell, an emeritus professor of political science and signatory of the letter, stated this identification restriction “makes it more difficult to prove at the polling station where you live.” Williams asserts that many students are dependent on vouching to enable their voting rights, and the elimination of vouching disenfranchises students, Aboriginals, seniors, and people of lower socio-economic background. “What kind of coincidence is it that the very forms of voter id that are being disallowed are the forms that would increase the voting potential of these groups,” she said.
Prime Minister Stephen Harper defended the bill in the House of Commons on March 5: “These are sensible, long-overdue changes. We encourage Parliament to take a look at them. They should benefit Canadian democracy generally. We encourage the parliamentary study and encourage debate on the actual contents of the bill instead of the conspiracy theories of the leader of the NDP.” Philosophy professor and current director of the Centre for Ethics Joseph Heath, another signatory of the open letter, noted the importance of students as a voting group. “It’s very relevant to U of T,” he explained, adding: “In Trinity-Spadina for example, many believe one of the reasons why Olivia Chow was elected is because elections were held during the school term, whereas she was defeated in earlier elections held during the summer.” Russell challenged the motive behind Bill C-23’s id restrictions, given that a major compliance report of the 2011 federal election show that voting irregularities were irrelevant to vouching. utm political science professor Graham White added that, “The only serious fraud anyone has identified in the last election was the ‘robocalls,’ and there is good reason to believe that they were perpetrated by or on behalf of the Conservatives.” Regarding other pertinent Bill C-23 amendments for students, White said, “One of the worst features of the bill is restricting Elections Canada’s ability to encourage people to vote, and of course the demographic most in need of encouragement is the young.”
U of T professors have raised concerns about the Fair Elections Act. ViVian xie/The VarsiTy
Likewise, Russell said, “It’s very wrong to take the responsibility and power to promote voting away from the Chief Electoral Officer (ceo) of Elections Canada. It’s bizarre. Saying the ceo can’t encourage people to vote is like saying the Minister of Heath can’t encourage people to keep fit.” Professor Nelson Wiseman, who specializes in Canadian government, thinks differently. “I don’t think Elections Canada proselytizing for voting has done anything for voting turnout,” he said, adding: “As for Election Canada’s education campaigns, I think they’re a big waste of money and a huge bureaucracy has been created, which is unnecessary.” While he agrees with some points in the open letter, Wiseman expressed reservations concerning the general campaign. “What I sense in this enterprise is a negative disposition towards the Conservative government, which is fine, but that will colour the
response you get and what’s in the letter,” he added. The open letter highlights several of Bill C-23’s other provisions as detrimental to Canada’s democracy. Critiques focus on potential partisan bias at polling stations, increased influence of campaign financing, and diminished electoral transparency if the government absorbs Elections Canada’s investigations branch. “Changes in the electoral law should be more consensual, not pushed through Parliament by the governing party acting alone,” said professor Lawrence LeDuc, an emeritus professor of political science. The proposed bill prompted the Globe and Mail to publish a five-part editorial last week. Additionally, 19 international professors have published their own open letter to criticize Bill C-23. Marc Mayrand, the ceo of Elections Canada, also presented a critique of Bill C-23 before Parliament on March 6.
VARSITY NEWS
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MONDAY, MARCH 24, 2014
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GSU responds to the Deloitte Report in an open letter to membership Union will carry out own investigation on how signature verification was determined Ilona Kabanova VARSITY STAFF
The University of Toronto Graduate Students’ Union (gsu) has been campaigning to defederate from the Canadian Federation of Students (cfs) since early September 2013, when a petition was circulated calling for a referendum on the matter, set to run March 24–28. The auditing firm verifying the petition, Deloitte, issued a report on March 11, which found that the gsu’s September petition did not meet the number of signatures required, effectively cancelling the referendum. On Monday, March 17, the gsu issued a response to the Deloitte report in the form of an open letter to its membership, stating that “there remain several questions raised by the Deloitte report which require investigation, including how particular aspects of the verification were determined based upon the Federation(s) respective bylaws.” The open letter, which was signed by Brad Evoy, external commissioner of the gsu, also stipulated that the gsu would investigate the report internally, contending that the petition had met all necessary measures. cfs bylaws stipulate that a petition calling for a vote on decertification must be signed by not less than 20 per cent of the individual
members. Additionally, in order to be valid, a name on a petition must be reasonably legible, include the proper full name, and be accompanied by a valid and corresponding student identification number and a unique signature. The bylaws further stipulate: “The Executive Committee will have sole authority to determine whether the petition...is in order. The Deloitte Report found that the petition submitted by the gsu did not meet the 20 per cent threshold as set out in the bylaws. The report found that, based on the bylaws, only 2,625–2,735 out of 3,165 signatures were valid petitioners. Speaking to The Varsity, Evoy explained, “The gsu believes it is necessary to investigate and confirm the validity of the Deloitte Reports out of a sense of responsibility to our members.” Evoy also has concerns about the development of the report, and stated that: “[We] have found possible errors in their results, and have a number of outstanding questions about Deloitte’s mandate and methodology, which lead us to believe that further investigation is needed.” Evoy also alleged that the cfs and the cfs-o have been stalling the process that began in September 2013, claiming that the gsu received copies of the Deloitte Report less than two weeks before the referendum was scheduled to begin on March 24. Evoy did not provide
the time frame for when the investigation will be completed, only saying: “Investigation has begun, and will continue until the gsu has exhausted all of its remaining avenues of investigation.” In response to the gsu’s calls for an internal investigation, Alastair Woods, chairperson of the cfs-o, said that while “the Federation(s) do not govern how individual members choose to invest their time and resources, any investigation done by the gsu has no standing or bearing on the bylaws of the federation.” Ashleigh Ingle, one of the leaders of the defederation effort, who submitted the petition, said that while she has not been in direct contact with Deloitte, she saw the summary report that was circulated by the gsu. She believes that “none of this was unexpected” and went on to say that “the cfs, through some mechanism or another, frequently asserts that either petitions or successful referenda were out of order or breached bylaws.” Ingle further criticized the Federation(s) for the “lack of respect for the democratic will of students,” saying, “If the cfs actually wants to prove that they are a democratic organization that respects the will of their members, they will allow our members to decide whether or not we actually want to be part of their organization.”
Alastair Woods said the GSU investigation has no standing. media photo
When asked if he was in contact with the gsu about the situation, Woods simply responded “yes,” and would not provide comment on other student unions wishing
to leave the union. He did, however, say that the Laurentian Students’ Union in Barrie and Collège Boréal in Sudbury had recently joined the CFS.
Med students’ credit card information exposed by computer virus Administration will pay for credit monitoring and identity protection services as investigation continues Devika Desai
VARSITY STAFF
On March 11, the Faculty of Medicine discovered that the visiting electives registration system had been infected with a computer virus. The malware accessed student applications and exposed personal information — such as names, birth dates, contact information, emergency contact information, and credit card information. The virus did not occur accidentally, or because of a system glitch; rather it was placed in the system surreptitiously. The first indications that something was wrong came on March 10, when the administration began receiving reports and complaints of fraudulent credit card activity from students using the system. According to the undergraduate medical education website, upon discovering the malware the administration immediately closed the server down and notified all students who were affected. The students were
asked to cancel the credit card that they used in the system. “We are investigating the matter internally and have reported the incident to the Toronto Police Services,” said Laurie Stephens, director of media relations for the university. She added: “To protect the investigations, the university will not disclose detailed information a this time.” The faculty has provided affected students with credit monitoring and identity protection services, with all costs covered by the university for one year. As per the fact sheet posted on the website, which was last updated on March 21, the faculty also suggested that the affected students place a free fraud alert f lag on their credit bureau accounts, as this would keep the creditors informed of any potential fraudulent activity, and so prevent unauthorized use of their information. When asked whether there were any alternatives that could be used by students in the meantime, Stephens said that the uni-
Students at the Faculty of Medicine (above) had their credit card information exposed by a computer virus. alice xue/the Varsity
versity is working on restoring the visiting online electives applications on a new server, and has enlisted the help of the I+TS Security Office to ensure the security status of the applications.
Electives registration for U of T students will reopen Monday, March 24, at noon and the visiting electives online registration will reopen Wednesday, March 26 at noon. While visiting students
would have to wait until March 26 to register, U of T students can still register their electives personally, by emailing electives officer Eva Lagan once their electives are approved.
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VARSITY NEWS
Vol. CXXXIV, No. 22
news@thevarsity.ca
“It’s been night and day since Meric took over” Adam Vaughan talks working with U of T and president Meric Gertler Trevor Koroll
VARSITY STAFF
Since 2006, Trinity-Spadina (Ward 20) city councillor Adam Vaughan has represented the University of Toronto at City Hall. In the last few years, Vaughan and local community groups found themselves at odds with the university’s various development plans. With the arrival of U of T president Meric Gertler, the relationship seems to once again be moving towards a partnership rather than a confrontation. The Varsity discussed university-council relations, affordable housing, and development with Vaughan. The Varsity: In a 2012 The Globe and Mail article, you were quoted as saying: “I don’t know how to talk to them anymore,” referring to the University of Toronto. Could you explain what you were saying at the time, and if the statement still rings true? Adam Vaughan: It’s been night and day since [U of T president] Meric took over. We were going through a period of a year and a half to two years where the university entered some private agreements with large corporations that had plans for lands offsite that were just moving in a strange way. The conversation just became more and more difficult. The lines of communication became tangled, and what we thought had been five or six years of really good partnership was suddenly thrown to the wind. TV: Have you met with Meric yet? AV: Yeah, we sat down almost immediately. He’s a constituent, so I was aware of him ahead of time. But we met at a couple informal events and said, “Look — this has got to change.” It’s not worth having this fight. It’s counterproductive for both the city and the university, and it’s not good for the neighbourhoods I represent. To his credit, he immediately followed up, called me into the office for a meeting, and sat down
“INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS” CONTINUED FROM COVER intercultural and learning strategies support, orientation programs, peer mentorship, English communication classes, and social and networking events. The university also offers special bridging programs for some international students. University administration also maintains that increasing the diversity of the student population leads to a better academic and social experience for all students. “The University of Toronto welcomes the variety of perspectives, viewpoints, and diversity that international students bring to our already diverse campuses. These students contribute to the international character of the university, and their presence provides opportunities in our academic and co-curricular programs for the enhanced exchange of knowledge,” said Stephens.
and mapped out a new way forward. It’s night and day from this time last year. It’s been a really positive and creative change, and hopefully it gets us back to where we used to be because that’s where we should be. TV: How difficult is it for you to balance the needs of your constituent’s residence versus the needs of university residence and the students that go there? AV: They’re one and the same. The quality of life for a student is the quality of life for the residents of Ward 20 and vice versa. It’s not about positioning the interests of nonstudents against students. When we create strong neighbourhoods, it’s better for everybody — student and non-student alike. It does no good to compartmentalize and separate it. TV: You were talking a little bit about housing. U of T has a housing problem. I wouldn’t say it’s a crisis, but U of T needs more student housing in the area... AV: If we had more affordable housing, you would have more student housing. If you create lots of student housing, you don’t necessarily create affordable housing. And so the challenge that faces both the university and the city is a range of housing types and a range of housing affordable options. It’s becoming polarized, and as it becomes polarized you have housing for people with extreme poverty and people with extreme wealth and you don’t have much in the middle. And students fall in the middle. What we get nervous about — and this is where we get nervous not just about student housing [but] with all forms of housing — is when you end up with these vertical suburbs.
Councillor Adam Vaughan. TREVOR KOROLL/THE VARsiTy
that houses students. And let’s talk to those values that we spoke about, integrating it into the neighbourhood.” So we’re figuring that one out. We had a meeting just last week with the university and the proponents to bring them up to speed as to where the community has led us, and we have a set of meetings coming up to get that project realized as quickly as we can.
bourhood are walking. I think looking at pedestrian patterns and redesigning the city infrastructure inside the university campus to accommodate the people in the university that use that space is something we need to do. It’s not just a place that you drive through. There’s a lot of activity that circulates in that neighbourhood and a lot of it is pedestrian so you need to make it safe and beautiful for people.
TV: There’s a development being planned at Sussex and Spadina. Is that something you’ve heard of? AV: We’ve taken a look at all the university property on the west side of Spadina and said, “Let’s do a comprehensive plan for this site
TV: Are you for or against the pedestrianization of St. George? AV: The transportation patterns in the downtown core are changing, and there are more people walking and riding than they used to. So the heavy flow of people around the campus needs to be accommodated. You don’t do that with two and a half metre sidewalks and space reserved for cars when you know people in the neigh-
TV: So the pedestrianization of St. George is something that you would be supportive of? AV: I think it’s something that should be constantly explored and constantly find ways to do it where it’s appropriate. It’s not necessarily the best for every street, but where it works it works.
dents’ concerns when they develop infrastructure projects? AV: I think they can get carried away with the institutional debate inside the university and at times forget the larger neighbourhood has a stake. I think we drifted way too far into institutional uncertainty and I think bringing it back into a neighbourhood reality — it builds a better campus and it creates a better student life and experience. I also think at the end of the day, it creates a stronger university. The safer, the more beautiful, the more integrated the university is with the city, the better we all are. I think we have a partner now in the new president that understands it from exactly the same perspective, which is great.
TV: Do you think the university successfully takes into account resi-
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Zakary Paget, special assistant, communications, at the Ministry of Training, Colleges, and Universities did not directly address the issue of government funding for international students. However, according to Paget, per-student funding for Ontario universities increased from $6,719 in 2002 to $8,605 by the end of 2013, an increase of 28 per cent. “The government provides funding in a consistent and predictable manner and as autonomous institutions, we expect that schools will manage their financial health in an efficient manner,” he said. Andrew Langille, a Toronto-based labour lawyer, argued that funding for international students should be increased. “The Ministry of Training, Colleges, and Universities needs to take a hard look at whether there is adequate funding for international student aid at post-secondary institutions in Ontario,” he said. Langille said that increasing fund-
ing would be a good retention strategy to keep international students in Ontario after graduation. Bollo-Kamara recommended that the university reduce international tuition fees, and not allow them to increase at a higher rate than fees for domestic students. She also recommended that the university increase financial aid for international students. In 2012–2013, the university provided just $4.95 million in merit and need-based grants — exclusive of U of T fellowships — to about 1,600 international students. The university provides more than $150 million in total merit and needbased grants. Like Bollo-Kamara, Langille also said that the provincial government should look at placing a cap on international tuition fee increases. “Much like tuition fees for domestic students, the tuition fees charged to international students are extreme, unsustainable, and predatory,” he said.
Paget brushed off these concerns: “Tuition fees help to cover the costs of education and help ensure that institutions continue to have the resources needed to maintain high quality and accessible postsecondary education in Ontario,” he added: “The tuition fees for international students are determined by the institutions. Institutions have the flexibility to increase tuition fees for international students by the same amount as domestic students.” Stephens said that U of T is doing the most that it can with the financial resources provided by the provincial government. The provincial government does not provide grants to universities to support research-stream international graduate students, leaving Ontario universities at a disadvantage when competing with universities in other provinces. Stephens also said that the university administration is lobby-
ing the provincial government to extend the Ontario Health Insurance Plan (ohip) to international students. In 1994, the Ontario government disqualified international students from coverage under ohip. Shawn Tian, president of the Arts & Science Students’ Union (assu), said that, for some students, international tuition fees might still be cheaper than studying at a domestic institution. He also noted that some countries fully subsidize tuition fees for their citizens to study abroad, so not all international students bear the full financial burden of increased tuition fees. On the other hand, Tian said that there is no guarantee that revenue from increased tuition fees ends up benefitting students, a reference to the $40 million in within-university subsidies that will be transferred from undergraduate-heavy divisions of the university to graduateheavy and revenue-poor divisions next year.
VARSITY NEWS
var.st/news
MONDAY, MARCH 24, 2014
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U of T contemplates participation in Ontario Online U of T already promotes online learning, observing new initiative closely Iris Robin
BY THE NUMBERS
VARSITY STAFF
U of T remains hesitant about joining the Centre of Excellence for Online Learning (Ontario Online). The new course hub was announced in January. Ontario Online is a system planned by the Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities that will serve as a repository of online courses and a database that details to students which of their credits are transferable between institutions. U of T already has structures that facilitate online learning, including Blackboard, a content management system, and is watching to see how Ontario Online unfolds before committing. “As this is a three-year project for the ministry that has just begun, we’re looking to see what happens,” said Sioban Nelson, U of T’s vice-provost, academic programs, adding: “We are involved in online courses, we just have a concern about quality of education.” In September 2012, U of T was also the first Canadian institution to affiliate with Coursera, a Massive Online Open Course (mooc) platform created by Stanford University. Unlike Ontario Online, Coursera is designed to accommodate unlimited enrolment worldwide. Paul Gries, senior lecturer in the Department of Computer Science, faced the challenge of adapting lecture material into a video format. “One minute of video required at least one hour of work as we had to figure out how to condense three hours of lecture material into a 15-minute video and still present the material in a precise and clear manner that made it easy for students to follow,” he said. Although 70,000 students enrolled at the start of the course, only 8,300 actually completed it.
86 5,488
students enrolled online across the university
86.5%
surveyed students enrolled in courses online at U of T said that they would take the course again
1-2 karen zhou/The VarsiTy
Gries cited the time-consuming nature of an online course and personal circumstances as reasons why students did not finish the course. “The lower completion numbers don’t necessarily mean that there aren’t people watching the videos. If 10 per cent of those enrolled complete the online course, then the course is a success,” he added. In addition to involvement with moocs, U of T has its own internal program, the Online Undergraduate Course Initiative (ouci) for developing undergraduate courses online. This initiative pre-dates the announcement from the ministry by three years. The goal of this program is to develop 10 online courses each year at the initiative of willing faculty members who have the support of their department and the dean. The ouci then funds the course plan, with $12,000 allocated to each redesigned course. Educational tech-
nology professionals, librarians, and the instructor are all involved in the course-planning process. The ouci reports that 15 new undergraduate online courses have either come online in the past two years or will come online in the next few months. Steve Joordens, professor of psychology at utsc, is one U of T professor who uses online learning as a core component of the course. Joordens’ introductory psychology course has a web option, which allows students in the course to decide between attending lectures, watching them online, or both. In addition to this flexibility, the course includes a series of online tests, designed as an alternative to multiplechoice midterms. Although Joordens said the program was largely successful, he has experienced issues with academic integrity. “I had the challenge of deterring people who cheat; I noticed
that there was a group of students who did the tests sitting in the same room. They were getting marks of 90 or more on the online tests, but were failing the final, getting around a 30. That averages to about 60 per cent, so they passed the course, but didn’t learn anything,” Joordens recalled. To avoid this trend, Joordens ruled that in order to pass the course, students must also pass the final examination. Monika Havelka, senior lecturer of geography at utm, has taught a 100-level environmental studies course online for the past four years. “I’m really fond of the format because it provides an enhanced learning experience,” Havelka said. Like Joordens’s course, Havelka’s lectures are recorded and posted online. Havelka believes that the format allows for more interaction between herself and her students, as well as between the students them-
total online courses offered by UofT in 2012-2013 for both undergraduates and graduates.
hours of work required for one minute of video
selves; she interacts with more students online over web chats and discussion threads than in office hours. Havelka praised the format. “I really am a convert. I was skeptical at first, but then I had students who said to me, ‘I had to watch this three times before I got it,’ but the point is that they got it in the end. The opportunity to rewind and review material leads to a greater depth of understanding,” she said. Although U of T takes pride in its provision of learning opportunities online, the current lack of participation in Ontario Online could affect course transfers. “There is [a] core of courses that are transferred automatically; others we do on a case-by-case basis,” said Nelson. She added: “We are very supportive of course transfers, and we’re watching to see how [the course transfer hub] unfolds.” With files from Devika Desai
Hassan Havili running unopposed for UTMSU president Most positions contested, voting begins Tuesday Samina Sultana
VARSITY CONTRIBUTOR
Voting for the University of Toronto Mississauga Students’ Union (utmsu) begins this Tuesday. Two of the candidates for executive positions are running uncontested, while the other three positions are contested. Unopposed presidential candidate Hassan Havili, current-vicepresident, part-time affairs, is running with four other candidates as Team Inspire. The slate’s vice-presidential candidates are: Melissa Theodore (current vicepresident, external), for vp equity; Bryan Chelvanaigum for vp internal and services; Ebi Ag-
beyegbe for vp external; and Genny Lawen for vp university affairs and academics. Team Inspire’s platform points include lobbying for a fall reading week for utm students, increasing study space on campus, working with cultural clubs to introduce a utmsu multicultural week, fighting back against high tuition fees, and working to increase grants for students. The slate is endorsed by a number of utm campus groups, including the Middle Eastern Student Association, Power to Change, the Christian Unity Association, Caribbean Connections, the Somali Student Association, the Chess Club, the Cricket Club, the Students Against Israeli Apartheid,
the Hindu Student Council, and Right to Play. Chelvanaigum’s platform points include improving the services offered in the utmsu copy centre, increasing the number of charging stations on campus, increasing utmsu club funding, and pushing to have flex dollars and meal plans accepted at The Blind Duck. Erik Hernandez-Oberding is also running for vp internal and services. Hernandez-Oberding’s platform points include creating a food centre where students can gather to eat and cook, creating a permanent lgbtq+ space on campus, and addressing accessibility issues at the student centre. Theodore’s platform points include increasing multi-faith space
on campus, de-stigmatizing mental health, increasing equity materials, expanding the food bank, and facilitating the “know your rights” workshops. Farishta Amanullah is also running for vp equity. Amanullah’s platform points include increasing awareness of mental health issues, lobbying for increased multi-faith space on campus, and increasing awareness of the work done by the utmsu. The position of vp part-time affairs is contested by Amir Hossain Moazzami and Hassan Chughtai. Moazzami’s platform points include bridging what he sees as a gap between utmsu and its members, and fighting student apathy. Chughtai’s platform centres
around increasing support for part-time students. Most positions on the utmsu board of directors are also contested. Abdul Hadi Tariq, Daniel Alexander Lyght, Nikhil Singh Chhabra, Heba Abuamra, Ramello Lorenzo Peralta, Ryan Mukesh Persaud, Nyasha Chikowore, Larsen Manns, Ayman Abu-Shaban, Ahmed Qureshi, and Mariam Assaad are all in the running for four open director at large positions. There are seven positions as central director at large. Bilal Raifai, Emerson Peter Calcada, Sharmel Kavita Bhiro, Nirmal Patel, Naveed Ahmed, and Maaham Malik are all running for the position. Voting in the election ends on March 27.
COMMENT VAR.ST!COMMENT
24
MARCH
2014
comment@thevarsity.ca
Redistributive University Fund is neither unprecedented nor ideal Ontario’s provincial government owes a funding increase to professional faculties and undergrads Li Pan
VARSITY STAFF
On March 3, The Varsity reported that undergraduate students are subsidizing professional faculties through a budget mechanism called the University Fund. All undergraduate-heavy divisions are net contributors to the fund, with utsc losing the equivalent of 9.72 per cent of its academic expense budget to underfunded professional programs. All professional faculties, except the Faculties of Pharmacy, Management, Applied Science & Engineering, and Kineseology & Physical Education are netrecipients. While I support these subsidies in principle, I believe that provincial funding should be increased to replace them. This revelation should not shock anyone. Redistribution of resources is common in other federations. Take Canada’s federal government for example: Ontario contributes to the budget of more cash-strapped provinces every year through the equalization payments budgetary mechanism. In 2002, the federal
government collected $81.1 billion from Ontario, and only spent $59.9 billion in the province. When you add the $66.5 billion in revenue that the provincial government collected that year, Ontario lost 14 per cent of its expense budget through equalization transfers. In many ways, these subsidies benefit undergraduate students as well. Some professional faculties — such as music, architecture, and the Transitional Year Programme — also directly operate undergraduate programs. Others, such as the Faculty of Law, have professors teaching at both the graduate and undergraduate levels. Finally, U of T’s overall ranking definitely receives a boost from the university’s professional faculties. Many of them — such as medicine, law, dentistry and the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (oise) — rank among the best in the world. All things considered, undergraduate students are still the losers here. However, professional faculties have benefits far beyond our campus. According to a report produced by the Royal Society of Chemistry
in the UK, governments gain net tax revenue of £255,045 from educating a doctor, £171,712 from educating a lawyer, and £155,104 from educating an engineer. Indeed, our provincial government clearly wants more doctors, dentists and phds. It has created the Opportunities Ontario: Provincial Nominee Program (pnp), which removes the job offer requirement for permanent residency to encourage graduate students to stay in the province after their studies. For all its recognition of the benefits of graduate education, the provincial government doesn’t actually want to pay for it. After adjusting for inflation, the per-student funding in the province has decreased by more than $3,000 in the past 30 years. It is now $7,024, $1,049 less than the national average. It is both commonly accepted and beneficial to subsidize professional faculties with undergraduate fees. However, given that the province as a whole has a lot more to gain from strong professional and graduate programs than it does from just undergraduate students, the provincial government should recognize
TIMOTHy LAW/THE VArSITy
the actual costs of maintaining professional faculties, and increase its financial support.
Li Pan is a second-year student at Trinity College studying mathematics and economics.
It's time to break out of U of T's destructive study culture Through better promotion, opportunities for non-academic enrichment will bring greater benefit to students Stephen Warner
VARSITY CONTRIBUTOR
A few weeks ago, I spent an afternoon in a small lounge in St. Michael’s College, listening to a concert put on by the Medieval Studies program. Would I have normally attended? Probably not, but a long-time friend was performing, so I decided to come out to support her. It was a unique experience, and one I likely would not have gotten to experience if I were anywhere other than U of T. I recently received a message from a grade 12 student at my former high school; she is considering an undergraduate degree at U of T, and had some questions for me. One of her concerns was that “there is no social life on campus, because students are studying 99 per cent of the time.” This is a concern I have heard many times, both when I was applying to this school and throughout my first year here. This "study culture" is a piece of reputational baggage that U of T cannot seem to shake off, partly because it is heavily perpetuated by the students themselves. Even I, until recently, bought in to this mentality.
Students studying in E.J. Pratt Library. DENIS OSIPOV/THE VArSITy
The mentality that U of T is a social wasteland is false. While it is true that there are many students who do not engage in activities, it is not for a lack of opportunity. Whether it is the admittedly obscure medieval concert, the innumerable guest lectures and academic activities, or the countless clubs offered through colleges, faculties, and Hart House, U of T
has hundreds of opportunities for social interaction. By virtue of being in the heart of Canada’s biggest city, many of these opportunities are unique to our school. Nobody would doubt you if you claimed that academic success is a key aspect of our university culture — the number of people at Robarts and other libraries in the wee hours of the morning is testimony
enough. However, this culture can be unhealthy for a number of reasons. Physically, losing out on sleep has obvious adverse effects on one's ability to function. Mentally, the mounting stress that comes as a result of constant studying can lead to anxiety, frustration, and, in some cases, the development of serious mental illness. With all this academic pressure, students may feel inclined to avoid taking time off to participate in activities in favour of focusing solely on their studies. However, if anything, these kinds of activities help keep students physically and mentally healthy and, as I have siad, there are hundreds of activities, clubs, and events for students. The problem here is not a lack of activities, but a lack of promotion. Student leaders do their best to disseminate information about events across campus, but their cries often fall on deaf ears, and there is only so much that students can do. This task falls, in part, to the administration. U of T’s administration needs to augment the efforts made by student leaders by promoting events and encouraging students to break out of their sometimes detrimental study habits. No
other entity on campus has the reach, medium, or resources to get this message across. Students also have a role to play in this issue. It is not the sole responsibility of student leaders to create and advertise campus events. It is the responsibility of every student to attend these events and encourage others to do so as well. It does not matter how exciting an event is — it’s nothing if no one attends it. It is not my intention to blow this issue out of proportion, but I cannot stress enough the importance of bringing an end to an unhealthy aspect of U of T’s student culture. As students, we have countless opportunities available to us to mitigate the everyday stresses course work imposes on us. In order to take advantage of these opportunities, we need to make sure that they are known, promoted, and attended. It is up to us to look out for our fellow students, and for ourselves. If we break this culture by encouraging balance between academics and extracurricular activities, we can promote a happier and healthier U of T experience for all. Stephen Warner is a first-year student studying English and political science.
var.st/comment
VARSITY COMMENT
MONDAY, MARCH 24, 2014
9
MPP Jonah Schein’s proposed bill looks to defend interns If passed, unpaid interns would be legally protected under the Employment Standards Act Nabeela Latif
VARSITY CONTRIBUTOR
Internships are becoming an increasingly attractive option for students looking to enhance their education and secure relevant work experience for the future. With this increase in attractiveness comes an increase in competition for internship positions — many of which remain unpaid. For many, these entry-level positions are considered a prerequisite for future success and represent the opportunity to gain hands-on experience in a student’s field of interest. However, as competition for paid internships increases, few spots are being made available for undergraduate students, as employing organizations favour more experienced applicants with degrees. For this reason, many undergraduates are being forced to settle for unpaid internships. Unfortunately, many students cannot afford to take on the burden of unpaid work in their time off. For those who have to work their way through school, these opportunities remain unfeasible. Many students are being forced to choose between financial responsibility and security, and the relevant, real-world experience these programs have to offer. Those who opt for the latter may find themselves
JULIEN BALBONTIN/THE VArsITy
having to take on extra jobs during the school year to compensate for a lack of summer savings. In light of the potential ramifications of unpaid internships, one has to wonder if they represent a societal good. Internships are supposed to provide experience in a chosen field; however, the associated work is often comprised mainly of menial tasks — months spent making coffee runs and filing papers. While these internships fill blank space
on a resume, they do not necessarily give students the experience they need to help them decide their future pursuits. In this regard, the purpose of the internship has not been fulfilled. It is for these reasons that Ontario mpp Jonah Schein of the ndp has proposed a bill at Queen’s Park to include unpaid interns in the Employment Standards Act. Currently, unpaid interns are not protected by the act. Rather, they fall into
the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Labour, which has been increasing its efforts to ensure that health and safety standards are in place for unpaid interns. Schein claims that this is not enough. With Schein’s efforts, unpaid interns would be assured the protections and breaks that paid workers get. This would include ensuring that there are contracts for unpaid interns — which include detailed job descriptions and clear-
ly delineate weekly work hours. The goal is to ensure that interns are not taken advantage of or degraded because they are unpaid. This initiative would also ensure that unpaid interns are actually getting the field experience they desire, rather than performing trivial duties for credit. What Schein is doing to help unpaid interns is essential, as it will ensure that internships for students serve a purpose and actually help to develop necessary skills. It may also incentivize unpaid internships — students may not be getting paid, but at the very least they will feel secure with the knowledge that they are protected under the law, and that their work matters. The proposed piece of legislation will improve accountability, while also providing an outlet for student grievances when interns feel they are being taken advantage of. This is of particular importance, as many unpaid interns might have had reservations over speaking out against their employers for fear of losing the job or a future reference. If passed, this bill would bring regulation and oversight to an exploding industry that shows no signs of slowing down — making all students feel a little more at ease about working for free. Nabeela Latif is a third-year student at St. Michael’s College studying political science and ethics, society, and law.
Who will dethrone Prince Ford? Through a combination of experience and compromise, former Ontario PC leader John Tory stands the best chance against "Ford Nation" Yves Guillaume A. Messy VARSITY STAFF
At the time of writing, Olivia Chow, John Tory, and incumbent Mayor Rob Ford are pitched in a stiff battle for the City of Toronto’s top job. With months to go before the October 2014 elections, speculations abound as to whether the city’s left and right wing opposition groups have what it takes to dethrone the curiously resilient Ford brothers in the upcoming election. In order to win, the opposition candidates must find a way to craft a coherent, fiscally aware — but socially responsible — set of goals and visions for Toronto’s future. This winning formula seems unlikely to emerge from the ndp’s Olivia Chow and her predominantly urban and progressive supporters. The conservative John Tory however, stands the greatest chance of appealing to both “Ford Nation” and to its urban counterpart. Why does Ford still have any support left, after a year’s worth of evidence of crack cocaine, alcohol, and marijuana abuse? The answer lies in the droves of suburban residents who feel disenfranchised and belittled by condescending downtown elites.
They largely feel that suburban interests are simply not considered, given the latter’s passion for taxation-heavy social and urban programs. This is why — despite a slew of scandals and incriminating evidence since 2013 — Ford can still count on his core support base; it makes up somewhere between 20 and 33 per cent of the next election’s voters, depending on what sources you consult. The combination of an untested campaign manager in his brother Doug, the possibility that Operation Traveller’s investigation could result in his arrest at any time, and consistent public relations storms significantly undermines Ford’s odds for reelection. He stands or falls on the likelihood that John Tory and Olivia Chow undermine each other, splitting the opposition vote to his benefit. Chow resigned her position in the House of Commons to capitalize on a mounting discontent with Ford’s antics among the city’s left leaning constituents. In order to win, she hopes to gather as many of the left and centre votes as possible. Unfortunately, for Chow, this left-inspired opposition to Rob Ford does not alone constitute a winning support base.
Mayoral candidate John Tory. mEdIA pHOTO
You can expect Chow’s campaign to emphasize her economic and business ambitions for the city in order to attract outliers. She has not as of yet indicated support for the downtown relief line. Ms. Chow’s challenge will be to shake off the chronic criticisms facing ndp candidates. In order to win, she will need to portray herself
as a reasonable and fiscally responsible alternative to Ford. Tory, on the other hand, is well positioned to compete against Ford’s bare-knuckled fiscal politics, as he has thus far seemed more amenable to compromises on social and urban renewal programs — qualities that may ingratiate him to liberal vot-
ers. Toronto is world-renowned for being a megacity whose politics suffer from a constant struggle between downtown and the suburbs. Tory’s campaign profile and experience as a mediator — he is well versed in the ways of the businessminded downtown — seems most likely to attract both Ford’s and opposition supporters. Defectors from Rob Ford’s support base will most likely prefer Tory’s profile as a Conservative chairman and corporate leader, over Chow’s as a labour leader with a heavy welfare bend. Tory will also benefit from the experience of his campaign manager — the same one who secured our current mayor’s victory in the first place. Tory would provide much-needed conciliatory leadership to a fiercely divided city at risk of losing its edge. Toronto is a world-class city, one that deserves to be united behind a leader who can make its worst-off better, while allowing its best competitive offerings to shine. John Tory stands out among candidates as the one most likely to make this so. Yves Guillaume A. Messy is in his final year, specializing in political science. He is a political commentator on CTV National News.
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EDITORIAL
VAR.ST!EDITORIAL
CFS's response to defed self-defeating
24
MARCH
2014
comment@thevarsity.ca
LETTERS TO
THE EDITOR Vol. CXXXIV, No. 21 | March 17, 2014 Re: Uncertainty remains after unofficial UTSU elections results announced One has to wonder why the utsu Elections and Referenda Committee didn't do something along the lines of taking a black Sharpie and striking out the name of the candidate who was no longer running. Doing so under the supervision of representatives of the two remaining candidates could have insured the process was conducted in a manner that didn't bias the results towards a particular candidate. Or they could have just reprinted the ballots. Ensuring an accurate representation of student voting intentions seems like an important goal that is worth a small additional cost. — Michael Scott (taken from Web) Re: Steve Easterbrook on climate science I'd have to say, this reminds me of how there are brilliant professors at U of T doing research, but they sometimes have a difficult time teaching students concepts. Love the article by the way! Effective communication in science is indeed really important but unfortunately lacking at the moment. — tdtc (taken from Web)
MARI ZHOU/THe VARsITy
At the beginning of this academic year, the University of Toronto Graduate Students’ Union (gsu) was among a number of student unions in Canada whose members circulated a petition on whether to hold a referendum on continued membership in the Canadian Federation of Students (cfs). To be valid under the cfs’s bylaws, the petition had to be signed by at least 20 per cent of the gsu membership. After lengthy consultations between the cfs, gsu, and U of T administration, the petition was turned over to professional services firm Deloitte to assess its legitimacy. The cfs provided the terms for the assessment. In accordance with these terms, Deloitte determined that the petition lacked the required number of authenticated signatures to pass, by a threshold of less than two per cent. The petition in question is only the most recent act of defiance by the gsu and its members, which in the past has led protests outside the cfs’s Annual General Meeting. This most recent derailment follows a years-long struggle between the cfs and the gsu, among other student unions and associations in Canada. The circulation of the petition was partially a response to the cfs’s failure to adopt a series of internal reforms, presented in November of 2012, and again in May of last year, sponsored by the gsu. The proposed reforms reflect the broad concerns of student leaders regarding the cfs’s detachment from its members, and its disregard for democratic practices. In order to achieve transparency, students sought a detailed budget from the cfs, which would outline the salaries of executive board members and the money spent on legal cases against its members. They also proposed reforming Bylaw 1, which governs how member organizations join and leave the federation. The bylaw currently requires that 20 per cent of members sign a petition to hold a referendum to leave the cfs, while only 10 per cent are required to join. The percentage required to exit the federation was doubled following the receipt of several petitions to decertify in 2008 and 2009. This change serves to create another imbalanced institutional barrier to groups trying to leave the federation. U of T’s gsu is only one of many unions and associations across Canada whose members circulated petitions and advocated for defederation this year. The retaliatory patterns of the cfs have intimidated many groups out of taking similar action, for fear of legal recourse. The cfs is currently engaged in litigation with the PostGraduate Students' Society at McGill, as well as the Graduates Students’ Association and Concordia Students’ Union at Concordia University, over the validity of their 2010 decertification referenda. The cfs’s reaction to defederation attempts have been perverse and self-defeating. When a democratic and responsive organization finds that a significant and vocal group of its members are unhappy, it should — at the very least — make an effort in good faith to understand these grievances, and work to resolve them. This is the most effective method of conciliating disgruntled members, and strengthening the organization. The cfs’s combative approach has done the opposite. When presented with a petition, the cfs’s first response should not be to nitpick over technicalities — whether petitions were received by registered mail; whether signatures were valid; whether the petition represented 19 or 20 per cent of the membership. The first response should be, regardless of the technicalities, "why did students sign this petition, and what can we do to address their concerns?" The cfs is meant to organize students across Canada in the pursuit of better, more accessible education — something surely all students can agree on. These ongoing disputes detract from those efforts. They serve only to further divide the federation’s membership and distract from substantive issues. The cfs is charged with the democratic representation and organization of students across Canada — yet it continually ignores the voices of students who object to the form of that representation. Rather than listening to disgruntled members, the cfs invests its energy and resources in obstructing these movements, first by picking at procedural minutiae, and, if that doesn’t work, through litigation. Rather than work to impede referenda, the cfs would be better served by adopting a conciliatory approach. By addressing the issues at hand and engaging students in a genuine conversation, it might still be able to keep the federation intact. However, if the cfs continues with its current practices, unions like the gsu will eventually find a way out — and, hopefully, mobilize with other unions across Canada to form a more open and democratic medium that betters represents students. The Varsity's editorial board is elected by the masthead at the beginning of each semester. For more information about The Varsity's editorial policy, email comment@thevarsity.ca.
Re: Former TDSB director’s thesis still under plagiarism investigation Thank you for following this case. It's fascinating that someone so smart could do something so stupid and dishonest and I hope we get better explanations than "I was busy." Being busy can never explain the Newtown piece and the Sir Ken Robinson's Ted Talk, both of which Spence passed off as his own experiences. Everyone I know is busy, but they don't do what the tdsb's top educator made a habit of doing, which is lying, cheating, stealing and only stopping once caught. — NOYB12345 (taken from Web) Re: Night time assaults near St. George station In light of these assaults, I just wanted to point out that you can call the University of Toronto Police at any time and get an escort anywhere on campus at any time if you just call them and ask for it. Even if it is after WalkSmart hours, which end pretty early, the U of T Police will do that for you. Take advantage of it! — Katie (taken from Web) Re: Female student union leaders write open letter condemning rape culture In response to Tracheal (from web) Rape culture harms men too. The point is that occurrences like that chatlog are disrespectful and can make the victim fear for their safety, and it's not okay for people to see that as normal. I know I wouldn't wish this type of harassment on anyone, regardless of gender. [The article] focused on women ("the rape culture the women student leaders feel," if you read that paragraph) because she was a girl, but just because they didn't talk about men's rights issues doesn't mean those aren't issues. They didn't talk about war or poverty either but does that mean they're saying those issues don't matter? Of course not. Articles aren't exactly supposed to veer
from their main topic, and this one was short. It's basic reading comprehension. I personally wish articles of this sort would talk about trans issues and harassment that members of the trans community regularly face but since I know that's not the focus I just carry on with my day and try to call out awful things like this when I see them in real life, instead of demanding to be pandered to in an article that's not directly about my interests. Feminism is not the antithesis to men's rights. — Daysi (taken from Web) Re: Split results in close UTSU election There are legitimate issues with regards to balance of power in the elections, but that is not equal to rigging. These results make it pretty clear that incumbents aren't willing to steal elections. My guess is that the spoiled ballots are the result of people going to vote for one friend or liked candidate and then not bothering to vote for anything else — but that's just a hunch. Also, even in higher-level elections (for example, the Toronto mayoral race where I believe Rocco Rossi and Sarah Thomson's name weren't removed in 2010) candidates who drop out late can end up staying on the ballot. It’s a problem, but it’s not a utsu problem, its widespread. — ZM (taken from Web) Re: UTSU election result delayed, set to be released today Just to be clear, no one from Voice was informed of an additional polling station at utm. Team Voice was in the Davis Building prior to the opening of the polling stations because it's the most student-populated building on campus, and the polling clerks just happened to set up a station there. If Unite were familiar with utm, they would have known to be in that building, even if it were just for campaigning purposes. — starzz (taken from Web) Re: University needs to lay stronger foundations for graduating students I'm graduating this semester with a fulltime permanent job. U of T did nothing to help me get there. The Career Centre is a joke. They don't know their availability for 30-minute appointments for April. The only appointments that are available are 15-minute sessions with workstudy students who have only ever held or pursued internships. It’s the worst career centre in the country. How does this school honestly expect graduates to find a job when most students only go to the career centre to use the computers? The Career Learning Network is also atrocious. Since being redesigned, the website is not user friendly and makes it more difficult to access services. To make matters worse, the quality of available jobs has gone downhill. Unless you are a graduating medical student, or pursuing a phd, you will be lucky to find something of use. To anyone looking for a job in your particular field, the school isn't there to help you. They'd much rather you come back for grad school or take a fifth or sixth year. You need to research what education you need and what kind of experience will set you apart. U of T won't help. — Toronto (taken from Web)
Letters to the editor should be directed to comment@thevarsity.ca. Please keep letters to 250 words. Letters may be edited for length and clarity.
How we take
Exploring the culture of c to-go cups to gour
By Sof
G
rowing up, I came to understand that a relationship exists between coffee and the routine nature of adulthood. Most Saturday mornings, rather than watching cartoons, I would watch my mother prepare pots of the brewed beverage. Sometimes, I would help and, after a lot of persisting, I would even have a sip or two. I was an early adherent of caffeine, eagerly indulging in cup after cup by age six — provided it had copious amounts of sugar in it. I didn’t like the taste, but I loved drinking it. At present, I’m not certain whether or not I’ve entered adulthood and settled into the comfort of routine just yet, but one thing remains the same: I still love coffee, only now without the milk and sugar. As I grew older, I graduated from standard grocery store drip coffee to the world of espresso-based options. Toronto is a food-and-drink playground for an aspiring coffee connoisseur like myself to explore. From the tasteless, free cups acquired from conference-hopping on campus to the sweet-smelling brew of an aging diner tucked next to a subway station, it seems that no two cups of coffee in the city are created equal.
A CITY IN CHAINS Earlier this year, an article titled “Why is Coffee in France La Merde?” (or, to translate, “Why is Coffee in France shit?”) was published in the online food and travel magazine Roads & Kingdoms. Writer Anna Brones described Paris as a “city of café culture, not a city of coffee culture.” Toronto, unlike Paris, is a “coffee city,” though perhaps not in the sense that Brones meant. The two largest coffee chains in Canada, Tim Hortons and Second Cup, were a part of Canada’s food and beverage landscape long before espresso bars and latté art became the norm. These chains serve customers interested in grabbing a coffee for the road, rather than those looking to sit down in a café. Within a five minute walk of Bloor and Spadina, there is are three Second Cup locations. The decision to crowd this intersection with three of the same shops is strategic; it’s a busy corner, with U of T sitting southeast and the Spadina interchange subway station producing heavy foot traffic. Chain coffee shops such as these replicate your experience each time you visit. You can order the same oversized croissant at whichever Second Cup location you choose; your double-double or your triple venti americano misto likely tastes the same each time you order it, no matter which location it comes from. The décor, coffee, and the prices are consistent at each, as is the lingo. The double-double, for example, is exclusive language to Tim Hortons customers, similar to the contentious tall, grandé, and venti sizing system of Starbucks. While the seats are ample at most Tim Hortons franchises, the overall atmosphere at our country’s largest coffee chain isn’t exactly the most inviting for traditional café-goers looking to sit and think or converse. There are signs everywhere reminding you not to overstay your welcome — so while you’re begrudgingly permitted to stay as long as there’s coffee in your cup, you really ought to leave once the last drop is gone. When it comes to where to get your coffee at Bloor and Spadina, the question is really which Second Cup will be the least busy; the drink is the same at each, and the order is likely part of the consumer’s day-to-day routine. The citizens of the downtown core are certainly coffee people, but they’re looking for their brew to come quickly, reliably, and at a reasonable price. The results are crowded corners of chains that offer nothing new.
Becoming a café city Taking your coffee to-go has gone from an alternative to the norm. Being on the go is a part of everyday life as we conform our eating and drinking habits to our busy schedules.
Many independent coffee shops, however, offer the option to drink from a mug in a café, and stay as long as you like. Cafés are traditionally spaces of conversation and creativity, where artist-types can linger and work, and where friends can come and chat. In the city centre, you are never more than a stone’s throw away from a better cup of coffee than one you might find in a nationwide chain. Trendy, independent cafés can be found on most blocks in the city, and serve patrons with a taste for gourmet brews and a comfortable seat to study in. To stay competitive against the endless stream of Starbucks franchises that are springing up on every corner in Toronto (and just about everywhere else), smaller coffee shops innovate in their atmosphere and coffee options. Cafés offer cushy spaces to accommodate people looking to work or socialize, free wi-fi, treats baked in-store that easily rival those of well-known brands, and specialty drinks (though often at steep prices). The Holy Oak Café in Brockton Village is one of the few local cafés in Toronto that stays open in the evening. Come 9:00 pm, the Macbooks are tucked away, the lights are dimmed, and a different drink replaces the coffee brew as the café transforms into a hip bar. Many independent coffee shops
are similarly taking on multiple identities to broaden their appeal — as communitygathering spaces, galleries, and storefronts for independent artisans. Independent cafés also stay relevant by offering a more all-encompassing coffee experience for their customers, as opposed to the quickserve options of chains. Early Bird Espresso and Brew Bar on Queen West welcomes customers with its stock of intricate coffee equipment that resembles a chemistry lab. The siphon coffee maker that lines the bar tickles fancy of coffee aficionados and instagram fiends alike. Many people trade hot coffee for iced options in the summertime. Chain shops cash in on the cold-brewed trend with cups almost full of ice that limit the amount of mediocre coffee you actually get. Specialty cafés in Toronto serve cold-brewed coffee right, standing out from their competition by offering truly gourmet options in their drink menus. Dark Horse Espresso Bar on Spadina bottles its cold-brewed coffee for five dollars apiece — a premium price that’s certainly worth it for the strong flavour you get from the 16-to-18-hour steeped brew.
CEREMONIOUS BREWS There are a number of places in Toronto that make coffee in innovative ways that chal-
lenge our conception of the drink. At most Vietnamese restaurants, you are likely to find at least one or two tables with tall glasses filled with ice and capped off with a silver contraption that looks like a top-hat. This is the preparation process for a drink called ca phe sua da — Vietnamese iced coffee with milk. The coffee, when served black, tastes remarkably bitter. With the addition of condensed milk, however, the rich flavours of the brew are brought out, producing a slightly burnt, dark taste. The Ethiopian coffee ceremony is the epitome of the “slow food” dining movement, which Ethiopian food is often considered to be a part of. You certainly cannot get your Ethiopian coffee to go, nor can you order it at the last minute, due to the time-consum-
e our coffee
caffeine in Toronto from urmet cappuccinos
fia Luu
By the cups Espresso yourself Espresso refers to a method of preparing coffee by shooting hot water through finely ground coffee beans. The result is a thick, foamy brew with a higher concentration of caffeine. Many specialty drinks have an espresso base. Caffe Latte: foam, a lot of steamed milk, espresso Cappuccino: a lot of foam, steamed milk, espresso Mocha: foam, steamed milk, chocolate, espresso Americano: water, espresso
Famous caffeine fiends
Clockwise from top left: A cup of Vietnamese coffee from Pho Hung restaurant. Latte art at Voodoo Child Cafe. A coffee for a study session. Laughs over lattes. CArolyn levett/tHe vArsity
“I never laugh until I’ve had my coffee.” — Clark Gable “I would rather suffer with coffee than be senseless.” — Napoleon Bonaparte “I have measured out my life with coffee spoons.” — T.S. Elliot, “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock” “I’ve been drinking coffee for over 50 years. That it is poison, I am convinced, but its ill effects have yet to have any bearing on my health.” — Voltaire “...If it weren’t for the coffee, I’d have no identifiable personality whatsoever.” — David Letterman
Around the world in 80 cups — The people of Finland consume the most coffee in the world annually, at 12kg per person per year, followed by Norway, Denmark and the Netherlands respectively. Canadians consume about half that amount per year at 6.1 kg per person. ing process of brewing it. The Ethiopian coffee ceremony is about the sacred experience of drinking coffee, and the senses and the sentimentality of each sip and smell. Andrea, a third-year biology and environmental studies student, explains another coffee ritual from her home country of Sweden: fika, which simply translates to “coffee break.” Swedish fika involves taking a break from your working day and having a cup of coffee, sometimes accompanied by a light pastry. According to Andrea, fika was an integral part of her experience growing up in Sweden. “Even as a kid, [you] would always have fika. It’s what you always do,” she says. In keeping with the routine of “adulthood,” for me, drinking coffee has become a force of habit — a morning, afternoon, and even
evening ritual I just can’t seem, or don’t care to, kick. A friend of mine recently summed up my sentiments in a tweet: “I don’t really want any more caffeine, but I just want the act of drinking coffee.” For many young adults in Toronto, coffee is an embedded part of every busy day. To-go culture is an inevitable by-product of living in the city — but stopping at an independent coffee shop and saving some paper by taking a genuine coffee break is a productive way to enjoy your brew for its quality, rather than its caffeine alone. Coffee doesn’t have to be mere routine: it can be a ritual, a sensory experience to be savoured, a careless conversation with a friend, a clear-headed moment to yourself, or, for me, a memory of my mother on Saturday mornings.
— Brazil produces the most coffee in the world at 54,500,000 bags per year, with each bag weighing 60 kg.
VIDEO: U of T students answer questions about their coffee habits at: var.st/coffeestreeters
ARTS & CULTURE
VAR.ST"ARTS
24
MARCH
2014
arts@thevarsity.ca
Toronto's age of graffiti
Street art projects strive to bring visual interest and engage in provocative issues
There are a number of initiatives aims to put street art and graffiti in a positive light. CArolyn levett/tHe vArsity
Ishita Petkar & Corinne Przybyslawski ASSOCIATE ARTS & CULTURE EDITORS
Toronto’s urban atmosphere translates just as well onto the city’s walls as it does onto the radio. Venturing deep into the west end, you'll encounter Graffiti Alley, a place where the canvas becomes a blank, brick wall, as opposed to a linen sheet. Although graffiti was once recognized as vandalism, Toronto has recently adopted the New York frame of mind, and has allowed artists to express themselves beyond square mobile canvases. Streetartoronto, or Start, is a newly initiated program by the City of Toronto, to promote street art, and discourage vandalism. Described as a "pro-active program," the idea behind it is to develop and support street art's role in adding visual interest and character to Toronto's neighbourhoods, while counteracting the harmful effect of graffiti vandalism on communities. By promoting the artistic aspect of street art, Start is helping dispel the negative stereotypes surrounding this art form. Public art is far more expressive than meets the eye; it goes beyond disfiguring public property. Its intention is to garner attention, and strike the spectator often with a controversial issue that is relevant to the society in which it domesticates itself in. It is a means of communicating public matters
directly to the public eye — a message hidden in plain sight. Its simplicity is its artistry in itself, as it doesn’t require any particular speculation to be understood. It is honest, frank, and direct, without any of the flourish of classical art forms. Lately, organizations have been commissioning artists to publicize messages, or simply to create visual interest for their patrons, through this unique and contemporary medium. Jesse Harris, artist of the, “You’ve Changed” mural outside of camh, painted the artwork to remind individuals who had suffered from mental illness that they had in fact changed — surfacing from the rehabilitation program as entirely different individuals. In 2012, The Reclamation Project constructed what is believed to be the largest graffiti production wall in Canada, along the rail corridors used by the Milton, Kitchener, and Barrie go Train lines. Bringing together over 65 different artists from across the country, and with each of their individual sections spelling a letter of "Parkdale," "West Queen West," "Liberty Village," and "Toronto," this project brought community and national pride to a previously vandalized wall. Toronto's age of embracing street art has only just begun, and with programs such as Start, the prodigious talent of the city's artists can be displayed in a meaningful and inclusive way.
var.st/arts
VARSITY ARTS & CULTURE
MONDAY, MARCH 24, 2014
15
A clueless student's introduction to wine
victoria wicks/tHe varsity
Learn how to impress and intimidate your friends with the basics of wine Adam Zachary & Katherine Dupont VARSITY CONTRIBUTORS
Some of us came to university from boring suburban high schools, with little drinking experience under our belts. Our frosh weeks were full of poorly mixed screwdrivers, frat house basement kegs, and shots of whatever our friends had lying around. It was overwhelming, but we learned. As the years go by, some of us will start to think about the intricacies of what we’re putting down our throats. We’ll have the hip and bearded friends who turn to craft beer as a mistress, and maybe we’ll have that one friend who spends her whole paycheck on scotch. Some of us will even turn to wine. In our opinion, this is the next step up in the world. Knowing a little about wine can help you find a high class, quality drink without emptying your pockets, impress or intimidate friends and dates, and prepare you for a variety of situations (see our recommendations). First, the basics: red wine is made from grapes fermented with the skins on, while the skins are removed to make white wine. Popular red varieties include Cabernet Sauvignon (strong), Shiraz (strong), Merlot (medium), and Pinot Noir (very light). Popular
white varieties include Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, and Riesling. Usually, wines made in the "old world" (Europe) are made from a blend of grapes, while "new world" wines (everywhere else) are made almost entirely from one variety. Traditionally, the best wines come from France and Italy, but for more accessible quality, more and more wine lovers on a budget are turning to Australia, South America, and even Canada. Some of the world’s best whites and Pinot Noirs are made around Niagara. Next, come s tasting the wine, a favourite hobby of rich aunts everywhere. In recording our tasting notes below, we’ve used terms like "dry" and "smooth" to describe how the wine feels in the mouth, and described the taste with other flavours that came to mind. If or when you’re sitting at the grown-up table, just speak along these lines and you should come out fine. Most of this is bullshit, but it’s important to figure out what you like. For a good bottle, one should expect to spend around $15, so don’t choose lightly. Some real gems can be found for $10, and when you really want to turn it up, look to $20. You never really need to spend more than that, despite what the lcbo "Vintages" section will tell you. Here are our four favorites in that price range to suit four kinds of nights. Happy drinking.
A WINE FOR ANY TIME THURSDAY NIGHT
TREAT YOURSELF
Price: $14
Origin: Mendoza, Argentina Year: 2011 Price: $14.95 Tasting note: Cherries, oak, vanilla, black fruits; medium-dry sappy mouthfeel
Wine: Famille Perrin Côtes du Rhone Origin: Rhone, France Year: 2011 Tasting Note: Wet and sleek mouthfeel; peppery; crisp red apples; cassis
Wine: Crios Syrah/Bonarda
The only "old world" wine on our list, this is a classic Rhône blend of grenache, syrah, and mourvedre grapes. This is one you can bring to parties or dinners where you won’t know many people but you want to make a good impression. People will think you spent more than $14 because the wine looks nice and it’s French. It’s approachable, a "crowd-pleaser."
Hard day? Failed a test? Homesick? This will get you drunk and make you feel a little better, we promise. It’s our favorite high-tannic South American wine. It pairs well with solitude, Netflix, pyjamas, and a bucket of Häagen-Dazs. Trust us — even if you’re feeling fine, use it to celebrate.
STUDY NIGHT (OR DAY)
DATE NIGHT
Wine: Peller Estates Riesling Origin: Niagara, Ontario Year: 2012 Price: $11.95 Tasting Note: Light, clean; green apples, cit-
Wine: Ringbolt Cabernet Sauvignon Origin: Margaret River, Australia Year: 2012
Price: $19.95
rus, pear; dryness that lingers in aftertaste
Tasting Note: Tannic and heavy but smooth, chocolate and dark red fruits
This is a wine for hunching over your kitchen table, laptop and books spread out below. It’s a pleasant drink that you don’t really have to think about, and won’t distract you. Maybe you’ll feel a little more mature for drinking wine while working. Anyway, for these reasons, it’s our favorite cheap wine. It’s great for cooking, too — add a splash to fish or chicken recipes.
This one feels and tastes like a hundred dollar bottle for a fifth of the price (still, it’s the most expensive wine on our list, so use it well). It goes down warm, heat imbued by the southwestern corner of Australia where its grapes hail from. This is a reliable classic for a romantic night in — whatever the weather, whatever the itinerary, wink, wink.
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Vol. CXXXIV, No. 22
VARSITY ARTS & CULTURE
arts@thevarsity.ca
If walls could talk, what would they say? If Walls Could Talk exhibit at the Gladstone Hotel Emily Katz
VARSITY CONTRIBUTOR
One of the current exhibits at the Gladstone is the much-hyped If Walls Could Talk, an illustration exhibit that has called on Canadian artists to submit their work. The project was juried by an impressive group of illustrators and creative directors, and submissions were accepted from emerging as well as established artists. Initially much about this project seems well done, from the approach they first took, down to their branding; the logo design is the clean and attractive acronym iwct, with each letter in a custom font type. Curator Leila Courey looked to explore illustration as a discipline and to challenge the artists within their own work. If Walls Could Talk features both two- and threedimensional works on a variety of media. The exhibit spans the public space and several rooms of the second-floor gallery and can be explored in any order. One of the first pieces is a large wall-mounted sculpture by Toronto-based artist Kerry Zentner. It is a large black square with a circular illustration in the middle, suspended by black sculpted hands reaching outwards. The illustration is elab-
The Gladstone Hotel once again transforms its second floor space for If Walls Could Talk. eMiLy Soo/PhoToS CourTeSy oF GLADSTone hoTeL
orate and colourful, albeit somewhat unsettling, as fantastic and supernatural creatures are surrounding a human in a way that can only be seen as menacing. One of the largest installations, and the second I came across in my walk through, are three nearlife size statues meant to resemble both Chinese Terracotta Warriors and blow-up sex dolls. The artist, Korean-born Min Gyo (Daniel) Chung, aims to question themes such as the repetition of history, the absurdity of mass production, and human efforts to manipulate life. The pieces are attention-grabbing to say the least, but undeni-
ably strange to observe and think about. On the opposite wall is a large, contoured piece of sheet metal. It is hanging above eye level and is painted white with blue polka dots. It is one of the more pleasant pieces in the exhibit and also reflects artist P.K. (Adam Hilborn)’s professional background in branding and industrial design. Two pieces around the corner provide interpretations of what the inside of a home can look like. One piece, “Face Hole” by Beata Kruszynski, is a shadow box into which the viewer physically sticks their head to look around. They see three illustrations of people,
featuring cats, as well as small cat toys scattered around the bottom. The other work is “Room for Rent” by Mike Ellis. His piece looks like a hand-drawn dollhouse, with magnifying peepholes in each window allowing you to look into the rooms. Inside you can see his illustration of the different rooms, all while the house is shining different coloured light. The room illustrations are messy and comical, yet hard to examine closely because of the array of neon. This is merely a sampling of the exhibit, which was conceptually very interesting and engaging. Next to another two paintings there is a
plugged-in hairdryer and a sign saying that the works are heat-sensitive and waiting to be manipulated. The variation of media and message is very impressive, and yet the exhibit is often hard to follow. I came to the exhibit with minimal understanding of what “experiential illustration” is, and left only with a strong desire to sit down and eat a croissant at the downstairs café. The artists’ messages are comical at points, but simultaneously felt very dismal. The pieces are fun but lacking in a cohesive message, other than all being very specific manifestations of the artists’ own domestic visions.
It's fashion week at UTSG UFashion holds first fashion week, complete with a full-fledged fashion show Alexandre Darveau-Morin VARSITY CONTRIBUTOR
Fashionable clothes, electronic music, cupcakes, prizes, and fierce attitude. On Friday, March 21, UFashion held their spring fashion show as part of their first fashion week. UFashion is a non-profit and student run organization at U of T, all proceeds from the fashion show were donated to the Toronto Humane Society. “It is a community...for students who like fashion who want to express themselves through their clothes...who feel like here it's more of an academic environment,” explained UFashion's blogger Becca Fleming. The crowd was able to snack on some delicious cupcakes while they waited for the fashion show to start. After a long wait, the show finally started, showcasing brands from Over the Rainbow, Coal Miner's Daughter, Philistine, and Fresh Collective, to name a few. The runway lineup consisted of models from various body shapes, ethnicities, and genders: “Our models and our team itself, we are very diverse. We are from very different backgrounds and we work well as a team so I think it kind of represents what U of T is,” said marketing director Rachel Choi.
The intermission was followed by an inspiring speech from guest speaker Leila King, who shared her experience as a person of colour working as a plus size model in the fashion industry. Then the show continued, showcasing clothes from brands such as Penguin, Promise to Repeat, and Bedo. The finale consisted of the models doing their final walk, breaking away from their serious faces in favour of an attitude that was just simply fun. “A regular fashion show is usually just a showcase of the brand...but then we [gave] them a chance to have the announcer describe them in terms of personal style so that is how we incorporate[d] the U of T community into our show,” added the co-president Inna Bershtadt. The show was followed by an after party at the The Brunswick House. Even though the UFashion team had some technical issues during the fashion show, the host was able to make the crowd laugh. On day three, there was also a clothing swap. For each piece of clothing they brought, participants received one ticket which they could exchange for a new piece they wanted. The event was meant to be student budget friendly, to encourage recycling, and to help raise money for their fundraiser. “It was a big success,
U of T Fashion Week final fashion show on Friday. AAron TAn & Shijie Zhou/The VArSiTy
I think, and we got a lot of people coming out and asking us to do them more,” said events assistant Sophie Wolpert.
By organizing a fashion week at the U of T during Toronto Fashion Week, the UFashion team hoped to reach out to people who could
not go because of its exclusivity. “This is more open to everyone where we are actually encouraging like volunteers, or getting people to participate in the fashion week as well," explained events assistant Zaid Butt. They also wanted to showcase new Toronto boutiques and Canadian fashion to U of T students, reaching out to the community as well as helping students develop their personal styles. This year, the team went under an almost complete restructuring. “Last year, all of the members were graduating so they asked me to be the president this year and so I recruited everyone,” said copresident Nancy Yu. Because of that, it added some difficulties for the organization of the fashion week. “It's kind of a learning experience for all of us, like time managing, contacting all the stores, getting everything done because we realized how many things we did last minute and we learned so much,” explained marketing director Tania Lodi. In the future, UFashion hopes to expand by increasing their social media presence, holding more events such as clothing swaps or an industry night, and most importantly, getting more students involved and coming out to their events.
var.st/arts
VARSITY ARTS & CULTURE
MONDAY, MARCH 24, 2014
The Grand Budapest Hotel is exactly what you would expect
REVIEWS ALBUM: Love Letters by
Metronomy
Wes Anderson's latest consists of a cast of his go-to actors and actresses, plus a few oddballs Jacob Lorinc
VARSITY STAFF
At first glance, Wes Anderson’s The Grand Budapest Hotel is a charming little film. Sure, it's not much different from say, his last seven or so films, but nice to watch anyways. The quirky humour, the slightly off-kilter shots, the imaginative contraptions — the whole package factors into Anderson’s latest joyride. Anderson is, without a doubt, an important director within twentyfirst century cinema. His movies are no longer subjected to a cult following consisting of strictly Anderson movie-lovers — now they are widely accepted as big budget, Hollywood-sized films for everyone to enjoy. However, despite the aesthetic satisfaction that we get out of Wes Anderson films, there are still some undeniably problematic issues that are strung along with this visually pleasing piece of work. The first thing I found to complain about in The Grand Budapest Hotel was the odd choice of casting. Despite mostly casting middleaged white men as the important figures in this movie (see: Ralph Fiennes, Edward Norton, Adrien Brody, Willem Dafoe, Jude Law, Jeff Goldblum, and so on), the real surprise came when we were introduced to Zero Moustafa, the character played by F. Murray Abraham (previously in Inside Llweyn Davis and Amadeus). Abraham, also an older white man, is the humble narrator of The Grand Budapest Hotel’s story, explaining to Jude Law’s character how the place came to be. As the story unravels, we learn that Moustafa is in fact the protagonist of this film, telling us the story of his younger self as the lobbyboy for the legendary concierge, Mr. Gustave (Ralph Fiennes). The problem here is that the younger version of himself, who we get to see more than we actually see Abraham throughout the film, is a brown-skinned teenage boy of Indian decent (played by Tony Revolori, who in real life is of Guatemalan descent). After spending most of the movie watching the adventures of this younger version of Zero, seeing the pale face of F. Murray Abraham, who, with a twinkle in his eye claims that the darker skinned boy we just saw was in fact him, comes across as completely nonsensical. If nothing else, this hiccup serves as a severe continuity mishap, and one that really should have been fixed beforehand. In addition to the odd choice of casting, The Grand Budapest Hotel definitely contains other debatable filmic choices. Going into the film with the understanding that it was
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The first three albums released by Metronomy saw the band characterized by an inability to stick to one sound and genre. Their fourth album saw the outfit put their stylistic inconsistencies behind them to deliver Love Letters, an album that adheres to a reliably coherent, though sometimes narrow, strain of pop-rock minimalism. Love Letters consists of careful arrangements that sparingly place Baroque harpsichord melodies, surfrock organ splashes, and doo-wop backing vocals along a ten song axis with machine-like precision. Staying true to their name, Metronomy’s rhythm section churns out a monotonous pulse that can be aptly described as metronomic, accentuated by twobit drum machines and on-the-nose auxiliary percussion. Metronomy are at their best when vulnerabilities are exposed, as in the album's opener, “The Upsetter,” where vocalist Joseph Mount strains a precarious falsetto that teeters on the verge of cracking. It’s a breath of fresh air on a record that is desperately short on soul. Love Letters is comprised of lyrical odes to romances that have lost their edge; it’s a shame the arrangements are suitably dull. — Geoffrey Baillie
ALBUM: Awake by Tycho Tycho, also known as Scott Hansen, has released his fourth full length album, Awake. Since 2011's Dive, Hansen has clearly been developing his craft of complex guitar lines and a soothing aesthetic. His music does not fail to bring forth feelings of nostalgia and comfort. Highlights include “Awake,” a promising and up-beat opening to the album, and “Montana” an excellent example of his complexity. Though the album is slightly underwhelming, it is still not one to disregard. With his graphic design experience clear in the aesthetic and imageprovoking quality of the album, complexity and extreme attention to detail separates his style from others in the genre including Boards of Canada, Shigeto, and Gold Panda. All in all, his synesthetic album is a solid follow-up to Dive. — Ayla Shiblaq
to be set in Eastern Europe, where the thick Hungarian accent reigns supreme, I couldn’t help but be a tad surprised to see Edward Norton pop up out of nowhere and introduce himself as “Inspector Henckels” in possibly the most nasally American accent imaginable. As usual, the film was lacking in interesting female characters with motivations other than making their male counterparts happy, and I couldn’t help but find Bill Murray’s two-minute cameo slightly disappointing. There is no doubt that The Grand Budapest Hotel can keep you entertained from start to finish. The movie is filled with action, oneliners, and everything you would expect from any Wes Anderson film — no more, no less. For Wes Anderson film lovers: you will undoubtedly be entertained. But maybe, just maybe, Anderson could open up his mind to the idea
ALBUM: Winter by Vancouver Sleep Clinic
of diversity in his future films.
MEDIA PHOTOS
Under the pseudonym Vancouver Sleep Clinic, Tim Bettinson has just released his ep, Winter. I recently discovered his cover of Drake’s “Hold On We’re Going Home.” That is where I began seriously enjoying Bettinson’s music. The Brisbane-based artist still amazes me by being only 17 years old. Vancouver Sleep Clinic sounds like the electronic reincarnation of Bon Iver or Sigur Rós. Bettinson combines haunting vocals and captivating ambient melodies. The track “Stakes” is the most mature and well-constructed song on the ep, making it one of the highlights. Other tracks like “Flaws” and “Collapse” are extremely catchy and entrancing. Winter is soothing, and sounds like something that would be played at, well, a Vancouver sleep clinic. Winter is a must listen if you enjoy this particular strain of ambient electronic music. — Travis Boyco
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VARSITY ARTS & CULTURE
Vol. CXXXIV, No. 22
arts@thevarsity.ca
You live with psoriasis? The Canadian Psoriasis Network invites you to reconnect with your dermatologist to learn more about the new treatment options available.
www.CanadianPsoriasisNetwork.com
Free INFormatIoN sessIoN thursday, april 10th, 2014 - 6:30 pm to 8:30 pm (Snacks and talk begin promptly at 6:30 pm) toronto Dermatology Centre 4256 Bathurst Street (Bathurst & Sheppard) Suite 400, Toronto www.torontodermatologycentre.com speakers Dr. anatoli Freiman, Dermatologist Dr. Benjamin Barankin, Dermatologist All participants must confirm their attendance on www.reconnectingu.ca This conference is made possible with the support of AbbVie.
Université d’Ottawa
|
University of Ottawa
Your future? It’s down to science. Thinking about pursuing graduate studies? Already applied? Come and explore your program of interest and meet a potential thesis supervisor. Travel grants available.
www.discoveruOttawa.ca under “Meet with us”
SCIENCE VAR.ST/SCIENCE
24
MARCH
2014
science@thevarsity.ca
Neil deGrasse Tyson and the cosmic perspective at U of T Tyson delivered the inaugural Dunlap Prize Lecture to a packed Con Hall Emma Hansen VARSITY STAFF
Heavy clouds prevented a clear view of the sky on Friday evening, but Convocation Hall was host to its own star when Neil deGrasse Tyson delivered the inaugural Dunlap Prize Lecture. The Dunlap Prize was established to recognize “an individual whose remarkable achievements resonate with the Dunlap Institute’s goal of excellence in astronomy and astrophysics… sharing scientific discovery with the public, training the next generation of astronomers, and developing innovative astronomical instrumentation to enable breakthroughs in observational research.” Dr. Tyson was awarded the 2014 Dunlap Prize in recognition of his dedication to science education and outreach. With a galaxy tie, a ready sense of humour, and a twinkle in his eye, Tyson delivered a talk entitled “The Cosmic Perspective: Science, Knowledge and Our Place in the Universe.” He spoke about the importance of science literacy in moving society forward, developing economies, and cultivating dreams. Although it has been eight years since the demotion of Pluto, Tyson felt compelled to ensure that the dwarf planet’s fate had been accepted, emphasizing that “it’s still not a planet.” At this and all points in the lecture, Tyson was engaged with the audience, often posing questions to specific audience members and walking around the floor of the auditorium. At the end of his discussion of Pluto, he had a slide prepared to respond to disappointed members of the audience, which simply said, “Get Over It.” In order to illustrate the global distribution of scientific research, Tyson displayed maps that were distorted according to total amount of peer-reviewed scientific publications per country. Canada was moderately sized with respect to the re-
search currently published, but when the land distribution was adjusted according to the trendline of scientific research, Canada withered away to almost nothing. Tyson asked, “What’s going on with your science?” There was an audible murmur from the audience; more than a few people muttered “Harper.” Tyson chuckled. Distorting maps according to the strength of national economies, he said, yields nearly the same map as the one representing trends in scientific research. He consistently emphasized that science, influence, and power go together, and that science is the “foundation of modern civilization.” Canada’s technological achievements garnered enthusiastic praise from Tyson, who celebrated the placement of the Canadarm on the five dollar note. He later said that he hoped it didn’t hurt too much to remove the hockey stick. After reflecting on the smallness of human life from a cosmic perspective, Tyson mused, “Some people would say, well I don’t feel special anymore. I would say, how much more special can you be? We are of the universe. The universe is in us — that’s a connectivity to the cosmos, that you are a participant in the great unfolding of a cosmic story.” Carl Sagan invited a 17-year-old Neil deGrasse Tyson to spend a day with him at Cornell, and Sagan has been a major influence on Tyson ever since. Tyson has followed in Sagan’s footsteps in many ways, from his dedication to science communication to his reprisal of Sagan’s Cosmos. In 1990, Voyager 1 “took a selfie of Earth,” as Tyson put it, and Carl Sagan’s comment on the photo became known as the Pale Blue Dot reflection. In 2013, the Cassini spacecraft took a similar photo. To pay homage to Sagan, Tyson displayed the Cassini photo and ended the lecture with “a recitation from the Book of Carl.” The audience sat in silent anticipation as house lights went to zero, and he began.
media photo
BICEP2 researchers discover new evidence for cosmic inflation U of T physicists collaborated on Arctic telescope experiment Jennifer Hurd VARSITY STAFF
A team of researchers that included researchers from U of T announced on Monday what has been hailed as one of the greatest physics discoveries in decades. Researchers who worked on the Background Imaging of Cosmic Extragalactic Polarization telescope (bicep) may have found the “smoking gun” evidence for cosmic inflation. This evidence could confirm our picture of the universe in the first billionths of billionths of millionths of a second after the Big Bang. U of T is one of 12 research institutions that collaborated on the bicep2 telescope, where the data that revealed the gravitational waves were collected. U of T pro-
fessor Barth Netherfield and phd student Steve J. Benton were both collaborators on the bicep2 project, and U of T is also collaborating on two successors to the project, the Keck Array and bicep3. The telescope was designed specifically to detect cosmic background radiation. It is located at the South Pole because the Antarctic plateau is one of the driest places on Earth. In most places on Earth, water vapour in the atmosphere will absorb microwaves, making it nearly impossible for scientists to detect the cosmic microwave background. Current knowledge of the universe indicates that it expands at a constant rate, and seems to have done so for almost all of time. In the first fraction of a second after the Big Bang, however, theoretical physicists had predicted that the universe must have
expanded much faster, which would cause “gravitational waves” — essentially shockwaves that rippled through spacetime. Stanford professor Andrei Linde developed the current theory of inflation over 30 years ago. Albert Einstein, in his general theory of relativity, predicted the existence of these gravitational waves. However, there has been no firm experimental evidence to confirm either — until now. By looking at a surprisingly strong signal of what is called B-mode polarization (a pattern in the cosmic microwave background), an international team of researchers has now observed these gravitational waves that were caused by the inflationary period of the universe’s expansion. Their paper, released on March 19 and freely available online, is the result of a detailed analysis of three years’ worth of re-
sults from the telescope. The Keck Array, another telescope and a successor to bicep2, duplicated the finding, and the researchers now hope that other independent research teams will be able to confirm their discovery. A heartwarming YouTube video, now gone viral, shows the researchers breaking the news to the “father of inflation” Linde and his wife Renata Kallosh, also a noted theoretical physicist. This discovery may also have major repercussions in other areas of physics research, since the evidence implies that inflation, a quantum phenomenon, produced gravitational waves. This experimental indication that gravity — like other fundamental forces of nature — has, on some level, a quantum nature. The so far persistently elusive unified theory of “quantum gravity” may in fact be possible.
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Vol. CXXXIV, No. 22
VARSITY SCIENCE
science@thevarsity.ca
Do video games increase enrolment in STEM subjects? Student researcher Natasha Ouslis on 3d visualization and science skills Mary Githumbi
VARSITY CONTRIBUTOR
Video games occasionally receive a bad rep in the mainstream media for being violent, but research is showing that they can also have surprising benefits. Student researcher Natasha Ouslis is a second-year psychology specialist who, working in the Research Opportunity Program (rop) under Dr. Ian Spence, is carrying out research on 3d visualization and memory. During the course of her research, she has discovered some surprising side effects of video games. The Varsity: Can you describe your research? Natasha Ouslis: I’m in a psychology research lab, and we work on working memory. We do a lot of computer programs that we give to participants, so we use people and we look at their behaviour, accuracy, and reaction time. Not so much lab benches and gloves and white coats, but just a lot of getting people to come in and seeing how they do on the different tasks that we’ve done. So we have a few different things that we ask them to do, and different inputs that we have for them. We do a lot of trying to understand: if someone does well at one thing, will they do well at something else? Are these two tasks going to be related? And will that help us understand how people are good at science and technology fields? Usually people need spatial ability, so that kind of working memory, as opposed to verbal working memory. Your verbal working memory would be if you just saw a phone number in the phone book and you’re walking to the phone, forget and you have to go back and look again. TV: What sort of tasks do you ask the participants of your lab to do to test these things? NO: We have wheel spikes, and they’ve all got
these different images. One of them will flash as a filled-in spot... This flash happens for only 30 milliseconds, so it’s really, really quick. We tell them that at first that they probably aren’t going to notice it at all. Eventually, you get better and better at deploying your attention to that one thing and ignoring all of the other distractors, which is part of the spokes of the wheel. And that is something that we’ve found is linked to a lot of practice in video games. That is the exact same kind of attention and looking through distractors to find that one target that we do in our task, in a little bit of a different capacity. The other task that we do is storing locations in memory...they have to remember this whole random collection. It’s not in an organized pattern of locations, and they’ll have to keep that in their memory while everything is wiped from the screen. And there’s a third task. Two Tetris-like blocks that are 3d, and they have to rotate one to see if it’s identical to the other one or a mirror image. And this one takes a lot longer, so they get about eight seconds to think about it; it can be quite a difficult task. And all of these things we’ve found are related to excellence in fields like engineering, science, technology, and math. So we’ve done some training studies in this lab to see if people that do well in that can get better at those tasks by playing these action video games where they’re super quickly looking all over on the screen — they’re clicking and doing all this stuff — is [that] related to these increases in these skills of the tasks that we look at. TV: Where do you think this research is going to go? NO: What we’re finding with these training studies and where it’s going is that basically, this is the reason that we might not have people [like women] inclined to go into these stem [science,
Mari ZHou /THe VarsiTy
technology, engineering, and mathematics] fields. The opportunities are there, there are so many women in university, there are so many women in high school science courses, there are so many women who are good at the computation and organized. And we still see a huge difference in some of those fields. And this is something that we can talk about. Look at what happens with girls when they’re young, and what kind of toys they play with, and whether they’re inclined to play these kinds of video games, which are good for attention, but are also really violent… They’re just not attracted to that. But the games that they are playing don’t develop these kinds of skills. So I think that it would be really great to prove that this isn’t some inherent difference, and that this is a capacity that you can overcome. Especially this specific kind of memory that girls have shown that they catch up to guys, even with only about 10 hours of video game playing. It’s really quick, and it’s really promising, I think. TV: So this research says some very positive things about video games, doesn’t it?
NO: It does, and it’s hard to reconcile that with what we see in the media. But what we’d love to do, and what a lot of people in the lab talk about, is developing video games that keep these elements that are good, and just take out the violence element. But try to find a way to keep all these other things, make them appealing to a larger audience… If everything that’s good at teaching you these skills of working memory and attention is rated m and is not showing the right kind of values from a storyline perspective, then parents are not going to be inclined to do that even if we say, “This is really good for you. You learn all these things, and it’s going to be really great!” But you have to get through the fact that there’s blood and gore and all this stuff is happening on the screen, and that’s not something that you’d condone for your children. So it’s very mixed. There’s a lot that you’d have to get through, and there [are] marketing concerns in what’s more interesting to people and what are people willing to buy. The interview has been edited for length and clarity. Read an extended version online at thevarsity.ca.
Your thesis in three minutes Jasleen Arneja Ever imagine reducing your 80,000-word undergraduate research thesis to three minutes and one slide? Yes, one powerpoint slide. About 30 undergraduate students will be doing exactly that Sunday, March 30 to compete in U of T’s first undergraduate Three Minute Thesis competition. Three Minute Thesis (3mt) is an academic competition developed by the University of Queensland (uq), Australia, and is typically directed at graduate students. However, considering the wide range of undergraduate research at the University of Toronto, Vipal Jain and Madeleine Bareau, two undergrads at U of T thought it would be exciting to have an undergraduate 3mt competition. There are some very specific rules in the competition such that participants are allowed to use one “single static PowerPoint slide.” In addition, “no slide transitions, animations, or ‘movement’ of any description are allowed.” Candidates are not allowed to use any electronic media, props, or equipment, and of course, presentation time is limited to an absolute maximum of three minutes. The competition will be adjudicated by a very well-accomplished panel of judges, including Mark Kingwell, an award-winning professor of philosophy at U of T, and a contributing editor of Harper’s Magazine. Isha Datar, the executive director of New Harvest, a non-profit organization advancing cell-cultured meat, will also be judging, as will Jessica
nancy ji/THe VarsiTy
VARSITY STAFF
Prince, a litigator and the top speaker at the 2007 World Universities Debating Championship, and a coach for speakers at the 2013 tedxToronto conference. Jain, co-founder of the undergraduate 3mt, specified that the idea of hosting this competition for undergraduate students stemmed
from her own curiosity about the research conducted by other students here at U of T. “U of T has various departments that offer research courses, but personally, I know very little about the research done in areas outside of my own discipline,” she said. This is where 3mt steps in to bring together students from
different disciplines to talk about their research in an engaging manner. “Our goal is to highlight the innovative research done by the undergraduates at U of T,” said Jain. U of T is the top research university in Canada, yet undergraduate research is continually overshadowed. Bareau mentioned similar reasons as well. “Research is not easy to come by as an undergraduate student. We rarely hear about the different kinds of research that are being conducted especially across disciplines,” she said. Moreover, the undergraduate 3mt competition would give participating students an opportunity to practice valuable presenting skills, and give audience members and participants alike the chance to discover the research interests of their fellow undergraduate students. Although this is the first year that U of T will host this competition at the undergraduate level, Bareau said that the competition has a lot of potential for growth over the next couple of years, “multiple departments, student groups, and student resources have shown interest in sponsorship and collaboration which will allow us to raise awareness about the event to an even larger number and wider variety of student researchers.” This year’s competition will be a great start to a soon-to-be-annual event which promotes interdisciplinary interaction among students. The event will be held on Sunday March 30, from 2:00 pm to 5:00 pm. Jasleen Arneja is a Varsity staff writer and an organizer of the 3MT competition.
SPORTS VAR.ST/SPORTS
24
MARCH
2014
sports@thevarsity.ca
Patrick Chan to attend U of T in fall Olympic silver medalist to begin program in the Faculty of Arts & Science in September Amanda Colletta VARSITY STAFF
After deferring his acceptance to U of T’s social sciences program in the Faculty of Arts & Science, Olympic silver medalist Patrick Chan will swap hitting the ice for hitting the books this fall. “I made the decision to defer my studies after some thought of how to manage school and training for the Olympics simultaneously,” said Chan, adding that he wanted to avoid spreading himself too thin. For Chan, attending U of T has been one of many dreams that he’s managed to realize. “When I was accepted, I knew this was the best opportunity for me,” he said. Asked whether he worries that his celebrity status will mean he is treated differently from the rest of his classmates, Chan says that he sometimes worries that his celebrity status will mean that he is treated differently from them. “I don’t want to be treated differently,” he says. “I want to keep my life outside of the classroom separate. I don’t want to be a distraction for other students or myself.” As for whether the he plans to hang up the skates for good or continue to skate competitively and pursue the gold medal that has eluded him in Pyeongchang, South Korea, Chan says that it is too early to say for certain. “My decision to defer was so that I could focus on one thing at a time. I don’t find that I do my best when I’m half here and there. It’s too early to decide,” he explained.
But regardless of whether or not he will represent Canada in four years’ time, Chan has been amazed by the support and congratulatory messages that he has received from Canadians since returning from Sochi. “I’m happy to celebrate and share this achievement with everyone,” he says. “These medals are as much mine as they are Canada’s,” he added. Chan, like many young adults, confesses he is not yet entirely sure what he aspires to do once he completes his degree at U of T. “My life has been unique to this point. I love working with television — maybe I’ll go into media or business,” he said. But for those young figure skaters who aspire to be like him, Chan offers some simple advice, informed by an illustrious career that has seen him capture seven Canadian National Skating Championships, three World Figure Skating Championships, two Four Continents Championships, two Grand Prix Final titles, the Lou Marsh Award, and two Olympic silver medals. “It’s important to make sure that every time you step on the ice, you enjoy it and it puts a smile on your face. It’s important that you are in a good environment and one that makes you happy to skate. You don’t want to get involved at a high level unless you really love skating,” he said. Chan also added that it is important to stay well-rounded. “Competing on the big stage is tough unless you truly love the sport and you are not there for any other reason,” he said. Patrick Chan won a silver medal at the Sochi Olympic Games. STEPHAN POTOPNYK/mEdiA PHOTO
A look into alternative yoga Popularity of non-traditional forms of yoga on the rise Nordene Stacey
VARSITY CONTRIBUTOR
The countless benefits of yoga for the mind and body are widely promoted. Although there are a number of traditional styles to choose from, twists on these traditional styles or fusion styles are gaining more popularity. Whether you’re a yogi, beginner, or simply thinking about trying yoga, why not give one of the following “not so” traditional styles a try: HOT YOGA Hot yoga seems to be one of the more popular styles being practiced; it is performed in a heated studio. The room is set at a controlled temperature and humidity, and participants are led through a sequence of poses. Bikram and moksha seem to be the most popular styles. No matter what type you choose to practice, hot yoga provides many different benefits that can help you with your overall health — such as stress and anxiety relief, lower blood pressure and cholesterol, assistance with constipation and digestion, back and muscle pain, arthritis, and weight loss.
wENdY gu/THE VArSiTY
ELECTRIC YOGA Imagine this: doing yoga to electronic or house music. Seems like a strange combination, but it works. Known as electric yoga, participants are led through a series of power yoga-type postures while electronic or house music is played in the background. Participants not only benefit from receiving a full body workout, but
will also see improvements to their flexibility, concentration, and overall strength. NAKED OR NUDE YOGA When the news broke that a yoga studio in New York had started offering co-ed naked yoga to participants, it seemed to appear that yoga has been taken to a whole new level. Defining naked (or nude) yoga seems unnecessary. Although it may appear that practicing yoga in the buff seems to be the next new trend, the practice has actually been around for a long time. Naked yoga is not about sex or sexuality, but about being one with your natural form. Improvements to self-esteem and improved confidence, freedom of movement without the restriction of clothing — and, arguably becoming more accepting of others — are a few of the benefits. Naked yoga also helps to connect spiritually to yourself, and socially to others. YOGALATES If you want to get the benefits of both yoga and pilates in one workout, you should give yogalates — a fusion of yoga and pilates — a try. The instructor leads participants through yoga poses and pilates core exercises. With yogalates, participants get the core strengthening benefits of pilates, and build flexibility. Yogalates also reduce stress and assist in weight loss. The list of non-traditional styles of yoga in the mainstream continues to grow. That being said, the best things these different styles bring are variety and a new challenge, showing that yoga has something for everyone.
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VARSITY SPORTS
Vol. CXXXIV No. 22
sports@thevarsity.ca
Coach Profile: Kristine Drakich Women’s volleyball coach hits twenty-fifth year as head coach JP Kaczur
ASSOCIATE SPORTS EDITOR
Former and current players on the Varsity Blues women’s volleyball team commemorated coach Kristine Drakich on her twenty-fifth year during a game this season. “It was a surprise,” Drakich said, despite the fact that she’s won seven Ontario University Athletic (oua) titles. She added, “I can’t believe it’s been 25 years already,” and promptly changed the subject. Throughout her time as a coach, Drakich would deflect any attention on her personal success or on an individual from her roster, and redirect the attention back on the team. Her insistence that a team should be viewed as a whole, rather than a collection of parts, is a recurring theme throughout Drakich’s experience at U of T. At one point, Drakich wasn’t sold on coaching. After playing for U of T from 1983 to 1986, Drakich joined the national team hoping to qualify for the Seoul Olympics. Unfortunately, Canada did not qualify, and Drakich returned to play for the Blues in 1988. Drakich’s return was short-lived. After she tore her acl, Drakich was at a crossroads, but as one opportunity closed, another opened. Liz Hoffman, U of T’s director of athletics at the time, offered Drakich a coaching position. Prior to the offer, Drakich had no interest in coaching, but she accepted it thinking that it would be a temporary position: “I really thought I would be a coach for a short time,” she said. At the time, there was no full-time position for U of T’s women’s volleyball. Drakich worked with the ath-
Drakich has led the Blues to 24 final four appearances in her 25 seasons coaching. photo courtesy of varsity blues
letic director and the university to develop a full-time position through a fellowship grant. At the time, U of T was ahead of the curve. “As far as an athletic department,” Drakich said, “we were asking questions that other people weren’t.” With U of T’s progressive approach and their total commitment to her, Drakich immersed herself in coaching. Over the years, Drakich developed an approach to coaching that matched U of T’s attitude for
sports. “I demand a great deal, but I care about the development of the athlete holistically,” she said. Beyond fundamentals, her approach emphasizes that volleyball isn’t everything, just a part of what makes something whole. “Volleyball to me, it’s like life. It’s how you’re going to cope, how you’re going to handle the challenges that are presented. “Sports are a wonderful place. Where else can you invest so fully... of yourself, and feel incredible joys
and the agony, where it’s really — it’s about keeping the ball off the ground and trying to put it on the other side,” she says. Drakich believes the sacrifice to keep a ball off the ground is a transferable skill that applies to success in other facets of life: “Through sport you can get all these tools… Its fascinating seeing people graduating and seeing how they are making a difference in the world, the communities they are in.”
The future of women’s volleyball continues to grow under Drakich’s tenure. Next year the team moves into a new facility: the Goldring Centre for High Performance Sport. “It’s outstanding,” she said about the facility. “It’s kind of neat that,” she briefly paused to collect her thoughts and laughed, “I don’t know if it will be for another 25 years — can’t take anything for granted.” After 24 oua final four appearances, forgive Drakich for being a little optimistic.
Triple threat Pooja Chugh competes on varsity badminton, tennis, and squash teams Susan Gordon
ASSOCIATE SPORTS EDITOR
Pooja Chugh is a very rare type of athlete: she competes and is successful in multiple sports at the varsity level. In her third year at U of T, Chugh has been a successful member of the Blues badminton, tennis, and squash teams. Chugh’s athletic career is full of awards and championships that began when Chugh was young. “I became involved [in badminton] when I was younger,” says Chugh. “I like racquet sports, so my dad kind of registered me in everything, in all different sports, so I’ve tried everything. And then once I hit high school, I just picked the ones that I really liked and went with that.” In high school Chugh played tennis, squash, and volleyball, competing at regional and national competitions. “I have two bronze medals from the Arctic Winter Games, and I’ve won the territorial championships every year that I was in high school. And I’ve been to nationals, competed there… in the Canada Winter Games I finished ninth there. I’ve been to the Western games for badminton too,” she said.
Chugh competes on multiple varsity teams. photo courtesy of varsity blues
Born in the Northwest Territories, Chugh decided to come to U of T for access to the Ontario University Athletics (oua) competitive circuit, acknowledging that there aren’t comparable leagues for racquet sports in other provinces. Although it was a bit of an adjustment to study at U of T and play two varsity sports — squash and tennis — in her first year, Chugh enjoyed it.
“It was a great experience. It was tough in the sense of learning to balance varsity with your studies, but I really like the team. Everybody’s so supportive, especially of first years, so it was a really great experience. It was a lot of fun. All the competition was amazing.” “[In squash] I did pretty well in first year… I finished second individually in the oua, and then we
finished third as a team. And I won oua rookie of the year that year.” Despite her success, Chugh had to stop playing squash after first year due to class conflicts. “[During] second year I only played tennis. I’ve been on the tennis team all throughout my university career. It was definitely easier to manage, doing varsity with all my other studies and any other extracurriculars I’m balancing. “In first year I don’t think [the tennis team] medalled; then in second year we finished second, and then this year we won the ouas. So it was a building process for us.” In her third year, Chugh decided to try a new varsity sport: badminton. “I love it. I love everyone on the team. Everyone’s so disciplined and focused on what they’re doing,” she said. Although it sounds difficult to be part of multiple teams in the same year, the timing of the seasons allows Chugh to do just that. “The seasons are different, so tennis is shorter and earlier in the year — badminton starts just about when tennis is ending, so it’s easy for me to balance the two,” she explained.
In addition to playing for the Blues, Chugh has continued to compete individually outside of the university circuit. “In May I’ll be playing in the Canadian senior nationals for squash. Last year I played in the Canadian Open for racquet lawn, which is all three sports and ping pong in one tournament. So it’s a lot of fun… I won the consolation so now I have a world ranking in racquet lawn,” she explained. “I did the Canadian University championships for squash the last two years,” she said. “Last year I won the consolation, and the year before I finished in seventh place… I might be going to the Canadian Winter Games next year for badminton, so that’s on my list of things to train for.” Going forward, Chugh plans to continue playing badminton and tennis for the Varsity Blues next year. And after graduation, the neuroscience and animal physiology major (and writing and rhetoric minor) hopes to stay involved in sports. “I want to go into medicine. I’m not sure which kind of medicine yet, but I have been thinking of doing sports medicine, and maybe one day travelling with Team Canada.”
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ACROSS
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1. A type of blanket 4. Like some builds 8. Model’s asset 12. Back, in a way 13. ‘Eureka!’ producer 14. Daunting duty 15. Have a bawl 16. Curling venue 17. Kennel plaint 18. Ancient theater 20. Word with “wed” 21. Conduct, as a campaign 23. Bocelli’s pitch 25. Charlie’s Sabrina 27. Insult for a boat 28. Condition 31. Took a long look 33. Obey a caveat 35. Epitome of neatness? 36. Expected 38. “Two Women” Oscar winner 39. Spurred 41. Atlas line 42. Batter’s place 45. Poe bird 47. A throw 48. Small, medium or large 49. It can be lent or bent 52. Grace period? 53. Brewery output 54. Marienbad’s claim to fame 55. Fix 56. Dermatologist’s removal 57. Catch, as a movie
1. Is in another form? 2. Analyst’s interest 3. Bobsled relative 4. Eavesdropping device 5. Dostoevsky title word 6. Curdling substance 7. Asian milk source 8. Waiting area 9. From the top 10. Pick over 11. Spot 19. Does in general? 20. Dynamite inventor 21. Mud dauber 22. Detractor 24. Essence 26. Climber’s respite 28. Author Orczy, for one 29. Nitrogenous waste 30. Watch over 32. Did some gardening 34. Sported 37. With chilling effect 39. Cultural prefix 40. Sends reeling 42. Orchard product 43. Weak, as an excuse 44. Gave great service? 46. Flak jacket, e.g. 48. Body bag? 50. Evolution topic 51. Arctic explorer John
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SUDOKU by lovatts media
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