November 20, 2017

Addressing sexual violence Editorial

Feature

Arts & Culture

Informing the public ethically and accurately

The Varsity and Silence is Violence’s panel on responsible reporting

Hollywood legacies require scrutiny

page 9

page 10

page 12

Vol. CXXXVIII, No. 10 November 20, 2017 thevarsity.ca —— University of Toronto’s Student Newspaper Since 1880

College faculty strike ends with back-to-work legislation Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne introduces legislation to force end of strike

Governing Council delays mandatory leave of absence policy vote for two months Move comes amidst community concern over policy regarding students with mental health issues Ilya Bañares Associate News Editor

The University of Toronto’s Governing Council is delaying a vote on a policy that would allow the university to put students whose mental health issues posed a physical threat to themselves or others, or impacted their academics negatively, on a nonpunitive yet mandatory leave of absence. Slated to be voted on this year, the vote will be shifted to the next cycle for the meeting of the Academic Board and University Affairs Board, on January 25 and January 30 of 2018, respectively.

The proposed policy is distinct from regular mandatory leaves. Stu-

dents in this situation would currently be placed on under the Code of Student Conduct.

On November 16, the University of Toronto Students’ Union (UTSU) announced that it had secured an agreement with Governing Council to postpone the vote on the new policy for two months to allow for more consultation and feedback from the community. The University Affairs Board and Academic Board were initially supposed to conduct their votes to recommend it to Governing Council the week of November 20.

“We proposed changes and made it clear that we wouldn’t support the policy until those changes had been made,” said Mathias Memmel, UTSU Leave policy, page 3

CONNOR MALBEUF/GAZETTE

Aidan Currie, Nouran Sakr, & Jillian Schuler Varsity Staff

Since October 15, over 12,000 Ontario college professors, instructors, counselors, and librarians have been on strike, demanding academic autonomy and longer contracts. Last weekend, the Ontario legislature passed a bill that will force them back to work on Tuesday, November 21, ending the strike and pushing outstanding issues to a binding mediationarbitration.

MPPs debated in a special weekend sitting of legislature to get the bill through. It passed by a vote of 39 in favour and 18 against, with all Liberal and Progressive Conservative (PC) MPPs present voting for it and all New Democratic Party (NDP) MPPs voting against.

The bill would have sent students back to class on Monday, November 20 if it had reached unanimous consent in legislature, but it was blocked by the NDP,

with party leader Andrea Horwath claiming, “I want students back in classrooms Monday, and I want that achieved through a deal.”

The PC party has supported the back-to-work legislation from the beginning. Classes for students will now resume on Tuesday, November 21.

The strike has affected 1,000 students in joint UTM-Sheridan programs and less than half of the 170 in UTSC-Centennial programs.Province-wide, approximately 500,000 students found themselves “caught in the crossfire,” of the strike, said Ontario Public Service Employees Union (OPSEU) President Warren Thomas.

Efforts to end the strike diminished when striking faculty members voted overwhelmingly to reject a contract offer by the College Employer Council, which approached the Ontario Labour Relations Board to force a vote — at least 50 per cent plus one vote in favour would have been required to

approve the offer. A total of 95 per cent of the 12,841 striking faculty voted, with 86 per cent voting to reject the council’s offer.

Thomas called the bill “the worst kind of political theatre,” claiming that it pitted students against faculty.

“I am disappointed in the extreme that, even after the College Employer Council extended the strike by two weeks by forcing a vote on its last contract offer, and even after 86 per cent of faculty emphatically rejected that offer, the Premier has put forward a bill that does nothing to hold the colleges responsible for their bad behaviour throughout this process,” said Thomas in a bulletin posted on the OPSEU web site.

Thomas blamed the council for the length of the strike, claiming that they knew they would get the back-to-work legislation and then “ran the clock down” until that occurred. He goes on to claim that the council has been “vying all along” for the return to work Strike, page 3

Desmond Cole for mayor?

Let’s get physiological

Toronto’s ‘Best Activist’ would shake up Toronto’s politics

Well-loved professor Dr. Sandeep Dhillon talks teaching, his career, and pursuing higher education

Comment, page 7

Science, page 15

2 • THE VARSITY

news@thevarsity.ca

The Breakdown: Road accidents around campus

Vol. CXXXVIII, No. 10 21 Sussex Avenue, Suite 306 Toronto, ON, M5S 1J6 (416) 946-7600

Examining a decade of road safety data

thevarsity.ca thevarsitynewspaper @TheVarsity

Josie Kao Associate News Editor

the.varsity the.varsity The Varsity

MASTHEAD Jacob Lorinc Editor-in-Chief

editor@thevarsity.ca

Tom Yun Managing Online Editor

online@thevarsity.ca

Rachel Chen Managing Editor

managing@thevarsity.ca

Elham Numan Creative Director

creative@thevarsity.ca

Blythe Hunter Senior Copy Editor

copy@thevarsity.ca

Jack O. Denton News Editor

news@thevarsity.ca

Teodora Pasca Comment Editor

comment@thevarsity.ca

Kaitlyn Simpson Features Editor

features@thevarsity.ca

Reut Cohen Arts & Culture Editor

arts@thevarsity.ca

Connie Liu Science Editor

science@thevarsity.ca

Daniel Samuel Sports Editor

sports@thevarsity.ca

Pearl Cao & Piyumi Konara Design Editors

designer@thevarsity.ca photo@thevarsity.ca

Steven Lee Photo Editor Mia Carnevale Illustration Editor

illustration@thevarsity.ca video@thevarsity.ca

Shaq Hosein Video Editor Mohammad Durrani & Tamim Mansour Web Developers Michael Teoh Deputy Senior Copy Editor Aidan Currie Deputy News Editor Sophie Borwein Public Editor

webdev@thevarsity.ca

ONE INCIDENT OCCURED

IMPACT TYPE

deputynews@thevarsity.ca public@thevarsity.ca

Ibnul Chowdhury & Jenisse Keith Cheng Minott Associate Design Editor Associate Comment Editors Shanna Hunter & Min Ho George Kell Lee Associate Features Editor Associate Photo Editor

5

PEDESTRIAN

12

CYCLISITICS SMV (SLOW MOVING VEHICLE)

9

Iris Deng & Fiona Tung Associate Illustration Editors Vacant Associate Video Editor

Lead Copy Editors Marisa Balleani, Kevin Lu, Evan Maude, Daniel Ninkovic, Julie Shi Copy Editors Anna Aksenovich, Isabel Armiento, Genevieve Beauregard, Megan Brearley, Eloisa Cervantes, Angela Fu, Natalie Marshall, Nora Moidu, Sana Motamed, Huda Obaid, Areej Rodrigo, Eleanor Schoeffel, Sophia Spiteri Designers Darren Cheng

SEVERITY OF INJURY

2

1 MAJOR

BUSINESS OFFICE

Kary Cozens Business Manager

MORE THAN ONE INCIDENT OCCURED

deputysce@thevarsity.ca

Vacant Srivindhya Kolluru & Clara Associate Senior Copy Editor Thaysen Associate Science Editors Ilya Bañares, Josie Kao, & Jillian Schuler Jackie Emick Associate News Editors Associate Sports Editor

Vacant Associate A&C Editor

Between 2006 and 2016, there have been 26 Killed or Seriously Injured (KSI) incidents inside or on the periphery of U of T’s St. George campus, according to Toronto Police Service data. Of the injuries sustained in these incidents, one was a fatality, two were minimal injuries, and the rest were major injuries. The one fatality occurred at Harbord Street and Spadina Avenue when a bus struck a pedestrian on November 7, 2013.

The most recent incident in the police dataset occurred in October 2016, when a pedestrian was hit by a vehicle on St. George Street.

While four of the incidents involved someone who had been drinking, a plurality of the incidents involved an inattentive individual, often because a pedestrian or driver failed to yield the right of way. A TTC bus was involved in one incident in 2008 when it struck a pedestrian who was crossing without the right of way.

In the age breakdown of those who were injured, 15 of the 28 people who sustained injuries were between the ages of 15 and 29. Seven people were aged 30–49, and six were 50 or older.

Pedestrians were involved in 12 of the incidents, and cyclists were involved in nine others. Of the 26 KSI incidents, two took place on St. George and four took place around the Queen’s Park area.

business@thevarsity.ca

Emma Findlay-White Advertising Executive

emma@thevarsity.ca

Algeimantas Janusis Advertising Executive

algimantas@thevarsity.ca

Angela Lee Advertising Executive

angela@thevarsity.ca

The Varsity is the University of Toronto’s largest student newspaper, publishing since 1880. It is printed by Master Web Inc. on recycled newsprint stock. Content © 2017 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

MINOR

12

SOURCE: TPS PUBLIC SAFETY DATA PORTAL

FATAL

U of T road safety plans for the future According to Christine Burke, Director of Campus & Facilities Planning at U of T, the university understands students are concerned about road safety around Queen’s Park and St. George, and it is trying to improve road safety in both of these areas.

“We’ve brought that to the city’s attention and hopefully we can see what kind of recommendations come up to try to improve safety,” said Burke.

Anne Boucher, Vice-President External at the University of Toronto Students’ Union (UTSU) said that “road safety is definitely on the radar” of the UTSU. “I’ve voiced concerns about a lack of pedestrian crossways and will continue to do so,” said Boucher. “They’ve been quite open to feedback, so I’m confident they’d be open to making some changes if it involves the safety of students.”

U of T is working with the city to implement safety changes in the proposed UTSG Secondary Plan. The proposals in the plan include improving crossings at Queen’s Park as well as making “the whole area between Harbord, St. George, Spadina, and College… much more pedestrian focused and more bike friendly,” according to Burke.

The university also hopes to increase road safety through the Landmark Project, which would pedestrianize the entirety of King’s College Circle.

NOVEMBER 20, 2017 • 3

var.st/news Strike ,from cover

legislation to result in arbitration, but he said they might be in for a “rude awakening” depending upon the arbitrator, equating the varying possible outcomes of arbitration to “rolling the dice.”

Meanwhile, legislatures justified the legislative decision by referencing the students affected by the strike. “Students have been in the middle of this strike for too long and it is not fair,” said Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne in her initial statement proposing the back-to-work legislation.

International students International students have been especially concerned since their fees are significantly higher than domestic ones. Potential extensions for the semester may result in additional rent and other expenses.

“The situation is a mess,” said Temiloluwa Dada, a fourth-year international student from Nigeria.

He is expected to graduate at the end of the academic year, but his plans may be subject to change, and a study permit renewal will be necessary if his graduation is postponed. Dada still has an internship to complete for his journalism program, which could

Leave policy, from cover

also be affected by the prolongation of the semester.

“My meeting with the school wasn’t as productive as I would have liked it to be,” said Dada. He stated that the staff he spoke to at UTSC said that “UTSC’s plans are contingent upon the length of the strike and what Centennial College plans to do.”

Elizabeth Oloidi, another fourthyear international student from Nigeria, is concerned about her plans after graduation, which is supposed to take place at the end of this year. Like Dada, she will have to renew her study permit and visa as a result of the elongation of her study period. In addition, she is worried the strike may affect her grades.

“If I go outside of Canada to pursue my graduate studies not all institutions might understand the strike that happened at a college while I was a university student,” said Oloidi, “and why that affected my grades so much in what was supposed to be the last year of my studies.”

Both Dada and Oloidi had plans to travel back to their families during the winter break, but now their plane tickets may have to be postponed or cancelled.

Ice rink at Robert Street Field used as storage for garbage cans Faculty of Kinesiology facility in disrepair since 1998 Alex Tough Varsity Staff

The ice rink at the south end of Robert Street Field, located near Spadina Avenue and Sussex Avenue, is currently being used as storage for garbage cans, and its tennis court has a snow fence for a net.

According to a report by U of T plant cyberinfrastructure and systems biology professor Nicholas Provart, grounds staff have been throwing the trash cans, labeled ‘Ryerson,’ onto the rink since the summer. He also said that the rink, co-owned by the university and the city, has not been operational since the failure of its ice-making equipment in 1998. It has not reopened since, despite the city allocating $1.3 million for repairs in 2009.

The field, currently listed as an outdoor complex by the Faculty of Kinesiology and Physical Education, serves as the practice grounds for the Varsity Blues women’s lacrosse team and the playing space for intramural ultimate frisbee. It also hosts the

Blues’ Buddy-up program.

“The tennis courts and rink at the south end of the field would certainly benefit from improvement,” said Althea Blackburn-Evans, Director of Media Relations at U of T. “We look forward to working with the community, our local councillor and the City to improve the area through landscaping and new programming.”

Provart also said that results of a 2011 survey conducted by the Harbord Village Residents Association, which represents people living in the area, voiced the community’s desire to have a “useful green space” at the south end of the field, and that “if U of T feels that it can’t maintain that space then perhaps the city can do a better job of it.”

Blackburn-Evans said that the university expects to improve and expand the playing fields, although a timeline for these changes has not been specified.

Faculty of Kinesiology Public Relations Director Sarah Baker did not respond to The Varsity’s request for comment as of press time.

President. “The administration decided to postpone the vote rather than proceed without student support.”

Althea Blackburn-Evans, Director of Media Relations at U of T, said in an email to The Varsity that the university has been receiving feedback from students, staff, and faculty since the spring. “We want to get this right, and so in light of the excellent comments we’ve received recently the Vice-Provost, Students is reviewing the draft policy with this constructive feedback in mind.”

Students have criticized the policy for, among other things, a lack of clarity on how it will impact students in precarious enrolment situations, like students receiving financial aid contingent on enrolment and international students with enrolment-dependent visas. In an earlier interview with The Varsity, Vice-Provost Students Sandy Welsh said that everything would happen on a case-by-case basis, and that the university would take into consideration the financial aid or immigration status of the student when making its decision.

University community speaks out against aspects of policy Campus groups have since solicited feedback from students across the university. Former UTSU Vice-President External Lucinda Qu, University College Director Aidan Swirsky, and UTSU General Equity Director Adrian Huntelar organized a community consultation on November 14. In an email to The Varsity, they wrote that “it was problematic that admin had assumed that consultations with a

Qu, Swirsky, and Huntelar organized a community consultation on the policy on November 14. ANDY TAKAGI/THE VARSITY

limited number of large-scale student organizations were adequate substitutes for public consultations; this was especially noteworthy given how the consultations they hosted regarding the sexual violence policy last year were widely criticized but at least were held.”

Memmel said that the UTSU’s position on the policy hasn’t changed, and that the union views the policy as a positive development from the current punitive nature of a leave of absence. One issue that Memmel cited was the broad language of the policy. This is especially a concern in situations where students are unable to engage in academic pursuits, said Memmel. “Another concern is that a student could theoretically be placed on leave without the involvement of a medical professional. These are medical decisions, and they should only be made on the basis of medical evidence provided by a medical professional.”

The St. George Round Table (SGRT), an association of the student heads of colleges and undergraduate faculties, has also been seeking input from students via a Google form circulating on social media. Nish Chan-

kar, Chair of the SGRT, said that the form “is an attempt to streamline and further legitimize the very important questions that students have surrounding the policy, and the feedback/suggestions many of them have so far been willing to share.”

In addition, a petition is circulating at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education that stands in strong opposition to the policy. The petition expresses objection to “the targeting of students seen as having ‘serious mental health issues’” and to the “introduction of ‘mandatory leave.’”

Citing an article posted on an advocacy website for the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, the petition’s organizers contended that the policy is “shameful” and that “regardless of the benign sounding words that are used and regardless of intention... this policy will make studying harder for students.” They argued that the policy “wrongfully takes ‘agency and control’ away” from vulnerable students and “essentially removes students… for inconveniencing classmates and peers, and the university administration.”

PERSONAL ASSISTANT NEEDED TO START WORK IMMEDIATELY FOR ME TO START AS A PART TIME POSITION. I am offering 16 hours per week at a rate of $25.00 per hour.

ALL APPLICANTS SHOULD EMAIL DIRECTLY AT "neilsnothot@gmail.com”

4 d THE VARSITY d NEWS

news@thevarsity.ca

SCSU AGM tackles food equity, gender-inclusive washrooms Promotion of AGM called into question, motion passed to improve student awareness of future meetings

“Legalizing Marijuana” event discusses problems in legislation Education, increased demand, equity among problems

The AGM was held on November 15 in the Humanities Wing. KEVIN LEE/THE VARSITY

Abhaya Adlakha & Jillian Schuler Varsity Staff

The Scarborough Campus Students’ Union (SCSU) hosted their Annual General Meeting (AGM) on November 15. The meeting served as a platform to discuss the audited financial reports from the 2016–2017 academic year and motions presented by members. These motions included the promotion of future AGMs, support of the UTSC Food Equity campaign, and implementation of gender-inclusive washrooms in the Student Centre.

The meeting was called to order after quorum was reached.

SCSU President Sitharsana Srithas made the first motion to receive the 2016–2017 audited financial statements, provided with a review from an auditor from firm Yale and Partners LLP. The floor opened to discussion, and many questioned the discontinued operation of KFC Express and Hero Burger in the Student Centre, concerned about the loss of student job opportunities that resulted when these companies were sold to private owners. Srithas addressed these worries by noting that the SCSU has tried to create more jobs for students in other divisions on campus, such as Rex’s Den. After the audited financial statements were approved, with all voting in favour with the exception of two abstentions, the meeting unanimously voted in favor of appointing Yale and Partners LLP as external auditors for the 2017– 2018 fiscal year.

The SCSU executives then presented their personal portfolios and all the work done by each member in the past year. After the executive report was presented, the floor was opened to discussion. Following a conversation on the purpose of the food bank and the progress of the Fight the Fees campaign, the report was approved.

The meeting then proceeded to the first agenda item: the motion to investigate the implementation of gender-inclusive washrooms in the Student Centre, which was moved by SCSU Vice-President Equity Nana Frimpong. According to Frimpong, the idea of the washrooms would be to have fully private single-stalled washrooms, which would only be brought into effect after consultation with trans and nonbinary students.

Srithas said that not every Student Centre

washroom would be made gender-inclusive, but there would be a gender-inclusive washroom on at least one floor so those not comfortable with the idea could still choose a gendered washroom. After the discussion, the floor was opened to voting, and the motion passed.

The final two motions were both moved and motivated by Katie Konstantopoulos, a student and volunteer at the food centre. While Konstantopoulos has never held an SCSU executive position, she has sat on the union’s board of directors and has frequently proposed amendments to the SCSU. The first of Konstantopoulos’ motions addressed the lack of promotion surrounding this year’s AGM. She said that students around campus did not know of the event, and some of those who were aware of it did not know when or where it was being held.

The motion, which passed, stipulated that the SCSU would be expected to take measures to ensure that AGM promotion reached a wider berth of students in the future, including by looking into innovative forms of promotion like targeted, paid Facebook advertisements.

The third and final motion on the floor, the Motion for the Support of UTSC Food Equity and the Food Equity Campaign, resulted in an extensive discussion as students expressed enthusiasm for adding amendments to the motion.

Students proposed looking into the feasibility of developing gardens on campus as well as potentially providing cooking classes to increase food literacy.

The motion’s goal was to address the wide range of students at UTSC who cannot afford the school meal plan but do not have the time in their schedule to cook for themselves, as well as to address the 40 per cent increase in food bank usage in Scarborough reported by the Daily Bread.

Konstantopoulos created the UTSC Food Equity campaign in September following her initial involvement at the food centre, and she proposed the motion to get the SCSU involved because of the union’s platform and ability to address a larger range of students through their membership.

Konstantopoulos is pleased with the outcome of the meeting after both of her motions passed.

The priority for her is to ensure that no students will “face food security alone.”

Provinces and territories will decide how cannabis is sold, and the federal government will monitor product quality. MIN HO LEE/THE VARSITY

Josie Kao Associate News Editor

In anticipation of the federal government’s plan to legalize marijuana next summer, an event titled “Legalizing Marijuana: How to Get it Right?” was hosted on November 14 to discuss important issues surrounding legalization, including how to educate consumers and how to deal with large increases in demand. The event was organized by the U of T Political Science Alumni Association and took place at St. Michael’s College.

The panel, moderated by CBC News reporter Jacqueline Hansen, featured Bill Blair, current MP and former Toronto Police Chief; the Honourable Yasir Naqvi, Attorney General of Ontario; Michael Lickver, Executive Vice President of marijuana financing company Cannabis Wheaton; and Dr. Kwame McKenzie, CEO of Wellesley Institute, an urban health think tank.

Canada’s plan to legalize marijuana states that the federal government will be in charge of monitoring the quality of cannabis, while the provinces and territories will decide how it’s sold, at what price, and the age limit. Ontario is proposing to sell marijuana in 150 stand-alone stores managed by the Liquor Control Board of Ontario while imposing an age limit of 19.

Speaking on the age limit, Naqvi emphasized that there would be no criminal record for underage youths caught breaking the law.

Rather, the focus of the restriction is on “prevention and education… We want to make sure that we work with young people and convince them not to use the product.”

On the subject of education, McKenzie stressed that we still have a long way to go in terms of learning about the effects of marijuana.

“Can you take cannabis and then go work in a daycare? How much cannabis can you take before you go work on that building site?

I’m not completely sure that we’re sure of the answers. There are some big issues out there that we need to know more about.”

“This isn’t a problem created by legalization,” argued Blair in response. “We’re not

proposing to merely legalize. We’re lifting a prohibition… [and] you’re going to see a very significant public education campaign,” he added.

Lickver, speaking from an industry perspective, said that despite the government’s efforts, it is going to be “insanely difficult” to educate the public on the difference between black market cannabis and government-licensed cannabis due to the heavy restrictions on advertising.

According to Lickver, the government’s emphasis on establishing brick-and-mortar stores will also make it harder to promote legal cannabis, which he says will pose a convenience problem. “If I’m a consumer — and that doesn’t have to be hypothetical — I don’t want to go to a government-run store if it’s going to be less convenient for me than the guy who lives at the end of my hallway that I’ve been grabbing from for the past 20 years…

Eventually we have to reach the UberEATS of cannabis” According to Lickver, legalization could result in millions of new customers, thus greatly increasing the demand for cannabis.

“It’s really just a race now in terms of a land grab to ramp up production to ensure that there aren’t World War II era bread lines going down the street when these CCBO stores first open.”

According to McKenzie, emphasis on physical stores would make it difficult for marginalized populations to access legal cannabis. “My worry is that the lack of reach and distribution could lead to the criminalization of marginalized populations,” he said.

McKenzie further suggested that a solution to this problem could be using the extensive, albeit illegal, network of marijuana dispensaries that already exist. In response to this, Naqvi stated that “governments don’t work with illegal industries.”

“If you’re going to do it, you have to start somewhere. And you’ll never have perfection on day one…Yes, the timeline has been tight, but where there’s a will there’s a way.”

The federal government plans to legalize marijuana by July 2018.

NOVEMBER 20, 2017 u 5

var.st/news

Canadian universities pledge to release demographic data Action plan designed as commitment to diversity, inclusion in post-secondary institutions Ilya Bañares Associate News Editor

On October 26, universities across the country, including the University of Toronto, pledged to collect, release, and make publicly available all demographic data on their faculty, staff, and students over the next five years.

The pledge is an attempt to promote equity, diversity, and inclusion at these institutions.

Universities Canada, an advocacy association of post-secondary institutions, published a press release that read, “Universities recognize the vital importance of a diversity of identity and thought, with room for a variety of ideas, geographies, cultures, and views.

While progress has been made over the past few decades, we recognize that there is more we can – and must – do to truly achieve inclusive excellence.”

In the Action Plan for Inclusive Excellence, members of the organization put forward seven core principles: a commitment to make diversity evident on campuses; consult with students, staff, and faculty on the plan; identify and address new hiring practices concerning under-represented groups; provide support for faculty success; raise awareness through teaching and research; share human resource practices with other institutions around the world; and “generate greater awareness of the importance of diversity and inclusive excellence throughout

Canadian higher education.”

“This is something that we’ve been working on for some time, and actually well before Universities Canada’s decision in the fall,” said Kelly Hannah-Moffat, Vice-President Human Resources and Equity at the University of Toronto. “We, in general, want to gain a better understanding of the diversity of our students, faculty, and staff so that we can then better identify the needs of our community. And we need data to do that.”

The university will collect information on demographics through surveys sent out to relevant parties and will make them publicly available. “We have so far got a 70% response rate on that [staff] survey,” said HannahMoffat. “We’re looking to make sure we have a good representative sample — 70 per cent is high for most surveys, and we’re going to consult with our community about the findings that we have and the kinds of questions and information, and we’ll be releasing that.”

The results of the surveys sent out to members of the university community will be compiled into one national database. The database will be designed to help institutions form better recruitment and hiring practices across the board.

According to Paul Davidson, President of Universities Canada, “We will be transparent and accountable, but I don’t think you’ll see us doing rankings and report cards.”

Mike Mahon, Universities Canada board

DARREN CHENG/THE VARSITY

chair and President of the University of Lethbridge, said, “An institution is going to say to itself, ‘If this data is going to be public, we want it to look as best as it can.’ It’s a simple approach called self-monitoring. If we have public self-monitoring, change will happen.”

The demographic pledge is not designed

to be binding, though it was agreed upon by all presidents of Canadian post-secondary institutions. According to the administration, there is currently no timeline for the data to be released.

UTSU Food Bank aims to remedy food insecurity on campus Breaking down the bank’s supports, challenges, Student Commons plan ates out of the Multi-Faith Centre every Friday of the year from 12:00–3:00 pm, except for Good Friday and the two weeks that the university is closed in December.

UTSU Services Coordinator Terri Nikolaevsky began working with the UTSU Food Bank in 2001 and has been involved in running it since. According to Nikolaevsky, yearly usage since the UTSU started managing the food bank has “been kind of similar over a long period of time.”

The UTSU Food Bank will move to the Student Commons. FRANK HUNG/THE VARSITY

Anna Maria Sordjan & Michael Teoh Varsity Staff

Since 2001, the University of Toronto Students’ Union (UTSU) has provided a weekly food bank service at UTSG for U of T students. The UTSU Food Bank aims to remedy food insecurity on campus for students who register and present a valid TCard and schedule. On average, the food bank serves 50 people per week.

Beginning September 2018, the food bank will move to the new Student Commons, where it will operate every weekday; it currently oper-

Support The food bank relies primarily on food from the Daily Bread Food Bank and Second Harvest, two Ontario-based organizations that provide food for those in need. Both organizations sometimes face food shortages, especially during the winter months due to increased demand in Toronto.

To address this problem, Adrian Huntelar, the UTSU’s Chair of the Student Aid Committee and General Equity Director for Students in Poverty/Financial Insecurity, released an open letter in October to over 150 student clubs and 50 course unions, encouraging them to run food drives during their events in order to support the UTSU Food Bank.

“The response to the open letter has been amazing to watch,” said Huntelar. “Several clubs and course unions who run major annual events that attract large audiences have confirmed that they will be encouraging donations as part of their programming.”

The food bank receives donations and support from other sources around campus as well. For example, the Hart House Singers collect non-perishables at many of their concerts.

The UTSU has also begun to request voluntary donations at some of its events.

Another example of the U of T community

supporting the food bank is the Food for Fines program, which has been running since 2012.

Through the charity drive, U of T libraries will waive $2 of library fines in exchange for a donation of a non-perishable food item, to a maximum of $20 waived. This year, the drive will run from November 20–24.

Huntelar has also been involved in discussions with two food-related organizations, FoodReach and Feedback, in order to secure healthier and affordable food to U of T students in the future and achieve greater food security beyond the food bank.

Beyond these initiatives, and certain departments occasionally running collection drives, the university administration does not provide direct funding or support for the UTSU Food Bank.

Challenges Nikolaevsky said addressing dietary restrictions and providing healthy food are recurring challenges for the food bank. “We’re always trying to find ways to meet those needs of students and make sure that the hamper that we are able to distribute to them have… healthy food choices,” said Nikolaevsky. “Because we want to get the best, most nutritious food into the hands of the students.”

The food bank has four to six consistent volunteers per term. The Hunger Squad volunteer program allows students to get a CCR credit for volunteering.

Julia Devorak, the on-site supervisor of the food bank since August, said volunteer availability fluctuates. “Sometimes I can’t get anybody to come and it’s me and one other person and it can be a lot of work, but some weeks, like [reading] week, everybody wanted to come because everybody was available. It’s up and down.”

UTSU President Mathias Memmel said that “Terri [Nikolaevsky] does an incredible job of making everything work; there are no significant problems.”

Moving to the Student Commons The food bank was started in the 1990s by U of T’s Women’s Centre. In 2001, the UTSU took over leadership, making the service available on a weekly basis throughout the year.

Next year, the food bank will find a permanent venue at the UTSU’s Student Commons, which is slated to open in September 2018.

Although the UTSU has called for tighter financial management in light of the Student Commons’ projected $2.3 million deficit over 11 years, Memmel said such costs do not impact the food bank’s operation. “The Food Bank isn’t especially expensive as the food is donated to us from a number of external partners, so cost isn’t a major concern,” said Memmel.

As the food bank prepares for the move, Huntelar is working with other members of the UTSU Board of Directors and Executive Committee to secure proper storage space for fresh food. It is especially important for fruits, vegetables, dairy, and other perishable items to be available to students.

According to Devorak, “Having the space to accommodate [clients] and offering it on multiple days of the week could be helpful to students because not everybody can come on a Friday and people have needs on other days of the week.”

However, Devorak also noted that “in terms of logistics, [increased operation] could make it more difficult for sure. It can be hard for me to find people once a week — finding people five days a week? We’ll have to see.”

6 d THE VARSITY d NEWS

news@thevarsity.ca

Logos: The Mike introduces a new section Replacing Faith & Thought, SMC’s student paper hopes new name will better connect with readers

IRIS DENG/THE VARSITY

Sophia Savva Varsity Staff

In Issue 2 of The Mike, the student newspaper of St. Michael’s College (SMC), it was announced that the Faith and Thought section would be renamed to Logos.

Logos Editor Francesco Rampino decided to propose the name change after overhearing students discussing the section in Brennan Hall.

As Rampino was speaking with his friends, he noticed that they dismissed the then-Faith and Thought section due to its name alone.

“I felt that those types of remarks were a little unfair to the contributors who’d worked so hard that issue to create great articles, and that they should be given the same interest as the other writers for the other sections of the paper,” said Rampino.

Rampino feels that changing the section name to Logos will connect more with students, better serving them by providing a “fuller understanding of the beauty of faith” through “logical and reasonable means.”

Managing Editor Liam McConnell, Editor-inChief Josh Scott, and Rampino were involved in the discussion concerning the name change.

McConnell ultimately decided on the name Logos.

“I chose this name because of its several definitions, which allows the section to represent

students of religious and non-religious backgrounds,” said McConnell.

Logos is a Greek word meaning ‘discourse’ and ‘thought,’ among other definitions. In philosophy, the word refers to “the rational principle that governs and develops the universe.”

In theology, it means “the divine word or reason incarnate in Jesus Christ.”

“Students can therefore interpret the term, and engage with the section, as they see fit,” said McConnell. “The word ‘Logos’ has inspired reasoned discourse for centuries. It’s our hope that the ‘Logos’ section will continue that tradition.”

Rampino said that there won’t any significant changes to the content of the section, but contributors “will be writing their articles in a fashion that speaks to the reason of the students.”

Scott said this change won’t alter the operations or practices of the rest of The Mike, but he hopes it will inspire the current and future mastheads of The Mike to consider the responses of readers and take more creative risks.

“We hope to provide an inclusive space for wide array of students to thoughtfully discuss and explore diverse conceptions of faith and belief with a wider audience,” said Scott. “As the only U of T student newspaper with a section dedicated to faith-based discussion, we’re uniquely situated to do just that.” Scott emphasized that the change remains conscious of SMC’s identity as a Catholic college and the fact that its membership consists of student from a wide variety of faiths.

Rampino said that the responses to the name change have “been nothing but positive” so far.

“The remarks and messages I’ve received about the name change from my peers have been more enthusiastic as well as numerous than I thought they’d be,” said Rampino.

The SMC administration declined The Varsity’s request for comment, citing The Mike’s editorial independence from the college.

A UNIQUE JOB. AN ICONIC LOCATION. AN UNFORGETTABLE SUMMER. MER.

Become a PARLIAMENTARY GUIDE Applications due January 12, 2018 This summer, be part of the action at the Parliament of Canada.

Find out more and apply online at

lop.parl.ca/guides

Trinity uses facilitator for mediation between college heads, Dean’s office Ban on alcohol-licensed events lifted conditionally Rachel Chen Managing Editor

According to an email sent out to Trinity College students during reading week, the Heads Team and Dean of Students office are working with an external facilitator to help with the mediation process following the vote of no-confidence in the Dean’s office this September.

They also announced that Saints Ball, Trinity’s annual licensed charity semiformal, would be held as usual, ending Provost Mayo Moran’s ban on alcohol-licensed events, albeit conditionally. The event was held from November 18–19.

“Temporary postponement of licensed events depends on student behaviour during [Saints Ball],” said Co-Head of College Victoria Lin when asked prior to the semiformal.

The email added that the Heads Team and the Office of the Dean of Students are undergoing mediation “to restore trust and our positive

working relationship.” The two parties will meet with the facilitator again on November 20 to see “where things stand,” according to Co-Head of Arts Lukas Weese.

The external facilitator, Chris McGrath, was appointed by Moran. He is currently the Associate Vice-President Student Experience and Registrar at Canadian Memorial Chiropractic College. McGrath has years of experience working with students, including a term as Assistant Dean of Student Affairs at U of T from 2006– 2011.

“As our discussions to date have been positive, we were able to proceed with the Saints Ball in a manner that helps to preserve a fun and positive experience, while emphasizing safety for all students. The Heads Team and Dean’s Office are committed to continuing to work together to ensure a positive student experience at Trinity,” said Dean of Students Kristen Moore.

A new rule was introduced at Saints Ball this

Trinity College students passed a vote of no-confidence in the Dean’s office on September 25.

SOFIA LUDWIG/THE VARSITY

year, ending in-and-out privileges to the event.

People attempting to exit and re-enter risked having their admission wristbands cut off. The purpose, the Facebook event page message said, was to “maintain student safety.”

Saints co-chairs Gabriel Ferland and Viktoriya Mykhaylychenko said in a joint statement, “We are unsure as to how much this had to do with the Heads Team and Dean of Students, as Saints has always been a difficult event to con-

trol and the Dean’s Office has always tried to find new ways to maximize security.”

Meanwhile, as the Heads Team and the Dean’s office work together to rebuild trust, CoHead of Non-Resident Affairs Mitch Nader said, “Things are progressing normally for the rest of the student body.”

“Students can, and have always been able to, go to the dean’s office with their concerns,” confirmed Nader.

Comment

November 20, 2017 var.st/comment comment@thevarsity.ca

Cole city A potential Desmond Cole mayoral bid spells promise for a progressive Toronto Clement Cheng & Ibnul Chowdhury Varsity Staff

There is more to Desmond Cole than meets the eye. Witness him in person and his humility is palpable — we recall how gracefully he moderated Azeezah Kanji’s 2016 Hart House Hancock Lecture, or how open he was to conversation when we, a couple of strangers, encountered him on the street earlier this year. When the public eye puts pressure on him, however, he does not prioritize respectability or diplomacy. He unleashes an incisive logic that is difficult to swallow and impossible to ignore.

Freshly named ‘Best Activist’ in Now Magazine, Cole specializes in doggedly raising uncomfortable truths to those in power. Over the past two years, we’ve observed Cole confront such truths in many forms: as columnist, radio host, public speaker, and critic. And now, we’re ready to see him do so as mayor.

Last month, Newstalk 1010 released a poll which asked Torontonians whom they would consider to vote for as mayor — and Cole’s name was included without his prior knowledge. Of more than 800 Torontonians polled, 30 per cent indicated they would give Cole “a great deal” or “some” consideration.

Later, on Facebook, Cole announced he was considering running against current mayor John Tory in the 2018 municipal election.

In a sense, Cole and Tory are not simply hypothetical political opponents; they have long been at odds. The 35-year-old Black activist-journalist has consistently and directly challenged the older, white career politician and businessman, especially with regard to police accountability and race relations. But Cole has a vision that eludes his incumbent: one that can inspire the public to imagine a radically better future.

The personal is the professional Prior to holding the municipal government to account, Cole was more intimately concerned with another powerful institution. In a 2015 Toronto Life article titled “The Skin I’m In,” he gained widespread attention for his description of how he has been followed, stopped, and interrogated by police without cause — a total of over 50 instances. His story shone a bright light on the police practice of carding, which was found to target Black Torontonians 17 times more than white Torontonians in parts of the city.

During his subsequent tenure as a columnist for the Toronto Star, Cole grounded his personal experiences with police within wider commentaries on racial justice, ranging from the anti-Blackness of Pride Toronto to the indefinite detention of migrants in Canada’s prisons — all of which demanded accountability from powerful institutions. Not only did these issues frequently pit him against Tory and the Toronto Police, but they caused him to butt heads with the Star’s own publisher, John Honderich, who admonished Cole for writing about race too often. Soon, Cole found that his weekly articles had been cut down to a column once every other week.

Nonetheless, Cole remained headstrong in the public sphere. In 2016, at an anti-racism public consultation, he challenged Tory to explain why he never met with Black Lives Matter Toronto during their 15-day protest campout in front of police headquarters.

“I should have been there,” the Mayor conceded.

In April this year, Cole again rattled the establishment by holding up a Toronto Police Services Board (TPSB) meeting where Tory was present, as he rebuked their decision not to destroy the data collected from carding.

The Star again policed Cole’s behaviour, arguing he had breached the paper’s apparent policy that journalists cannot play both “actor and critic.” In response, Cole resigned from his columnist post. “If I must choose between a newspaper column and the actions I must take to liberate myself and my community,” he said, “I choose activism in the service of Black liberation.”

The false dichotomy between activism and journalism peddled by his editors at the Star reveal how uncomfortable the city’s powerful, predominantly white institutions still remain on addressing race relations. But for Cole, the personal is the professional; his identity as a Black man is inextricably connected to his work.

His resignation from the Star, his protests at the police board meeting, and his contemplation of the mayoralty convey one clear quality: being neutral is not an option.

He clearly and unwaveringly champions principles of accountability and justice, and acts on them at a personal cost. Toronto urgently needs to bring marginalized communities into the politics from which they are normally excluded — and Cole’s strong, personal connection to such constituencies represents the kind of strength we need in the leadership of this city.

Freedom and justice: all or nothing Speaking about race, reconciliation, and Canada 150 at the “Glorious & Free?” panel at the 2017 International Festival of Authors, Cole asked the audience, “Are you free if I’m not free?” He was referring not only to how Black liberation is intertwined with other struggles for freedom, but also to his upcoming court date on November 23, further to his arrest at another TPSB meeting in July.

Cole explained what happened in a statement on Facebook. “I went to speak about Dafonte Miller, 19, who was beaten by a Toronto Police officer… but the police board did not put his situation on its agenda.

When I spoke about Dafonte anyway, I was arrested and charged with trespassing — at a public meeting.” Cole’s stand for Dafonte reminds all Torontonians that if any one of us is subject to institutional violence and suppression, none of us are truly free.

As mayor, Cole would likely prioritize the cornerstone issue of police accountability, which affects many minority communities in Toronto. We might expect him to start by dismantling the current governance structure of Toronto Police, implementing direct and democratic community ownership of the city’s law enforcement system, and finally, removing the presence of armed police from public schools.

At the same time, racial justice is not the only issue on Cole’s mind. Indeed, being a progressive candidate would mean fighting for all who are marginalized.

Through his Newstalk 1010 radio show, 70,000-strong Twitter audience, and journalistic work, Cole has devoted coverage to various key concerns affecting people in

MIA CARNEVALE/THE VARSITY

the city, including the overdose crisis, lack of affordable housing, austerity measures, and transit issues. He has also mapped solidarities with Indigenous, migrant, queer, and trans people in the city. Because Cole wants to prioritize issues marginalized by the incumbent, he would be a clear progressive option who could draw alternative perspectives from his work on the ground and make the mayoralty about the many, not the few.

“My future in politics” A Cole mayoralty would mean many things to many people. At the moment, only Doug Ford and John Tory have been confirmed as official candidates. Both are elite figures who represent the interests of the right and centre-right respectively. Even if Tory wins a second term, the critical value in having a candidate like Cole is that he has the potential to smash the eliteness and mediocrity that currently immobilizes Toronto’s politics.

Additionally, a majority of Toronto’s residents identify themselves as visible minorities. The visibility of a mayor of colour in a city of colour would thereby align with the rise to power of other racialized leaders: think federal New Democratic Party leader Jagmeet Singh and Calgary mayor Naheed Nenshi.

However, electing Cole as mayor is not a matter of novelty or tokenism. In his own

right, Cole has demonstrated his active and unwavering commitment to progressive issues. The mayoralty would simply offer him a larger scope to continue to reshape dialogue and embolden grassroots progressive movements toward intersectional justice.

He could do for this city’s stale politics what Bernie Sanders or Jeremy Corbyn achieved with their own campaigns: provide the vision of an outsider who does not shy away from radical social change.

In 2006, as a Toronto City Council Candidate for Ward 20 (Trinity-Spadina), a 24-year-old Desmond Cole was profiled by a Varsity writer. Contemplating the possibility of his electoral loss, Cole foreshadowed to The Varsity: “I still accomplished something.

I’ve built a base for myself and for my future in politics.” He continued, “This has been too much of a success to let it be a one-off.”

Eleven years later, we, as part of another generation of Varsity writers, are ready for Cole to finally realize that future in politics — if he decides to run.

Clement Cheng is a third-year student at Victoria College studying Peace, Conflict and Justice Studies, Geography, and English.

Ibnul Chowdhury is a third-year student at Trinity College studying Economics and Peace, Conflict and Justice Studies. He is The Varsity's Associate Comment Editor.

8 d THE VARSITY d COMMENT

comment@thevarsity.ca

Peterson's ridicule of leftist viewpoints runs contrary to the spirit of academia Marginalizing certain groups in the name of ‘free speech’ is rife with hypocrisy Adina Heisler Student Life Columnist

If you ask Professor Jordan Peterson’s supporters what they find so appealing about him, many will probably cite his supposed quest for freedom of speech. Indeed, Peterson has championed himself as a fighter for free expression, constantly battling against “political correctness” on university campuses. Given his most recent antics, however, we might question Peterson’s actual commitment to academic freedom.

Firstly, Peterson and his supporters have repeatedly tried to shut down anyone who has dared to criticize or question him by labelling them as “neo-Marxists” or as “social justice earriors,” discrediting their positions without engaging in debate. He has done this to everyone, including those protesting events he is scheduled to speak at, and even journalists at The Varsity who have tried to interview him. The anger Peterson has directed towards his opponents has gone so far as to take the form of harassment, as we saw recently when he exposed the Facebook profiles of two student activists to his massive Twitter following, prompting his supporters to harass them with anti-Semitic and sexist language.

Peterson has also called for several studies to be completely removed from universities, particularly programs related to equity.

Peterson apparently believes that “a huge chunk of the humanities and the social sciences have turned into an indoctrination cult.”

One of my majors is Women and Gender Studies (WGS), a program that is hardly an “indoctrination cult” but rather a wide-ranging program that teaches us to examine

DARREN CHENG/THE VARSITY

the world through a more critical and informed lens. It's hypocritical of Peterson to claim to champion academic freedom whilst calling for certain departments to be shut down.

Sadly, this is not the first time the WGS department has been threatened. Just two years ago, online trolls threatened violence against Women and Gender Studies students and professors, as well as feminists in general. I remember being in my first-year WGS160 course with Campus Police stationed in the lecture hall. The threats — which luckily did not escalate into actual violence — did not make me afraid; if anything I was more determined to study the subject.

WGS, along with other equity programs, are meant to represent those who are marginalized, and examines their perspectives in a world that does not believe those

perspectives are worthy. Since most of the people studying these topics are often already marginalized, these types of threats can feel especially severe.

Moreover, Peterson also came forward with the idea of creating a website that uses an algorithm to determine if user-submitted course materials or professors align with so-called “postmodern neo-Marxist” ideology. Though Peterson has since decided to abandon this idea, it still gives us a great deal of insight into his views. We already know that Peterson and many of his supporters harbour hostility towards students and academics in fields related to equity, and given what happened to the students he doxxed, it's easy to see how the website could have been used to target people and courses associated with such subjects.

Peterson’s use of phrases such as “neo-Marxist” and “social jus-

tice warrior” are also questionable.

Though apparently common in his vocabulary, these terms are also frequently used as dog-whistles to target anyone who holds views in the spirit of creating a more equitable world. Not only is it silly to assume that everyone in the WGS department is a Marxist or a neoMarxist, but Peterson twists those labels out of context, using them to mean essentially anyone with leftwing views. The term “social justice warrior” is frequently used online to belittle those interested in equity by dismissing them as oversensitive or irrational.

Even the idea of Peterson's proposed website contradict his supposed obsession with free expression in the academic world.

Imagine if someone created a similar website with a list of, say, professors who promote transphobic and misogynistic views — like refusing to use they/them pronouns

and suggesting men cannot control “crazy women” because they aren't allowed to use physical aggression.

Peterson and his supporters would likely be upset by this or feel they are being unfairly targeted due to their viewpoints — despite those viewpoints actually being based in discriminatory logic.

Over the past months, Peterson has demonstrated he is not a champion of academic freedom. In the past year, he has spent his time making a spectacle of himself and raised quite a bit of money through Patreon.

Two years ago, Jordan Peterson was a well-respected psychology professor, and not nearly as famous as he is now. Today, he has developed a new reputation as a provocateur, attacking what he sees as political correctness, the campus left, and so-called “social justice warriors.” And instead of at least engaging in debates about the ideas and departments he finds so abhorrent, he is content to simply say they need to go. Instead of speaking to those who protest him, or accepting that they also have the right to free speech, he posts their personal social media profiles to his Twitter and lets his supporters attack them.

As students, we should not consider Peterson’s tactics as something to strive toward in our academic lives. Instead, we should learn to respect each other and engage in healthy debate, as opposed to resorting to attack.

Adina Heisler is a third-year student at University College studying Women and Gender Studies and English. She is The Varsity’s Student Life Columnist.

Letters to the Editor Letters to the Editor should be directed to editorial@thevarsity.ca. Please keep submissions to 250 words; letters may be edited for length and clarity.

Re: Op-ed: What does OPIRG even do with $147K? “So does Chris Dryden have a list of other organizations doing social justice work that he would like us to support? Or is this just concern trolling about OPIRG not doing enough with the $0.50 he pays to them, as a pretense for defunding a group doing important social justice work?”

— Cassandra Williams (from web) Re: Fact-checking Facebook “This notion that truth lies ‘somewhere in the middle’ is complete absurdity. News reporting that caters to centrist opinions is going to be just as informed by bias as reporting that caters to liberals or leftists. All reporting is always informed by positionality and intent. There’s no such thing as ‘neutral truth‘ or ‘pure history’” — Meera Ulysses (from web)

Re: Cost-cutting for the Student Commons has lost support from the UTSU constituency “This is a fault of none other than the original student Commons campaigners who lied that this would cost only $5!!!omg!!! Shame on them. Matthias is trying to save the project but this opinion piece is Right. The project has 0 legitimacy. It never did. The original campaigners included some of the recently let go UTSU staff coincidentally (one of them is on a poster for the student Commons from 10 years ago). They campaigned on a 5$ student Commons and now the UTSU is saying they don’t have the money for many staff salaries. You reap what you sow. If you starve the UTSU for funds by campaigning for it to go in poorly planned business ventures, don’t be surprised when the UTSU is out of funds.”

— Pierre Harfouche (from web)

Re: University holds investments in offshore tax havens, leaked documents show “This strengthens the case for fossil fuel divestment. Climate change is threatening the Cayman Islands, and by extension, UofT’s portfolio!”

— Ben Donato-Woodger (from web) Re: Faculty members pen statement condemning Peterson’s proposed website targeting “postmodern, neo-Marxist” profs “The irony that someone who rails against trigger warnings and safe spaces creating a tool so people can avoid learning anything they don’t like is just too much... AND he wants to curtail half a dozen fields he doesn’t like while proclaiming to support free speech. You can’t make this shit up if you tried.”

— Krista Jamieson (from web)

Editorial

November 20, 2017 var.st/comment editorial@thevarsity.ca

Putting trauma in print As sexual assault allegations continue to surface in the media, journalists must critically examine their responsibilities as storytellers and public informants The Varsity Editorial Board

Significant media attention has been focused on the explosive accusations of sexual assault and misconduct recently leveled against some of the most powerful men in entertainment and politics. As story after story has been broken — from Harvey Weinstein to Kevin Spacey to Louis CK — the voices of those victimized by sexual violence have reached the ears of international audiences.

More disturbing still is that many of these highly publicized outcries are paralleled by the experiences of the people around us. The social media campaign #MeToo has emboldened hundreds of our peers to share that they have been victims of sexual violence and harassment.

Tamsyn Riddle’s human rights complaint against Trinity College and the University of Toronto for allegedly mishandling her sexual assault case is still ongoing. Around the same time the CK story came out, one of The Varsity’s masthead members received a wholly unsolicited pornographic photo from another student.

Sexual violence is not limited to what is portrayed by international headlines: it is a nefarious reality that will affect most people in some way during their lives. It is also something that has proven very difficult to talk about for many people. These cases involve vulnerable persons and deeply intrusive information, not to mention facts that can be muddled by stereotypes and by the competing interests of the implicated parties.

It is the media who are given the incredibly important task of consolidating the facts into a narrative, of informing the public in the way that is both ethical and true.

In light of the sensitive nature of sexual violence cases, journalists must critically examine the means by which they carry out their duties in this respect.

On November 15, in partnership with Silence is Violence, The Varsity hosted a panel entitled “Responsible Reporting on Sexual Violence.” Led by Globe and Mail reporter Robyn Doolittle, Toronto Life writer Lauren McKeon, and activist and co-founder of grassroots organization femifesto Shannon Giannitsopoulo, the discussion centred on how media professionals can adopt appropriate reporting practices and reconcile any legal or ethical conflicts they encounter.

In the Unfounded series Doolittle spearheaded at the Globe, it was revealed that one in five claims of sexual assault in Canada are dismissed by police as baseless. While some complaints may indeed have been unfounded, in other cases, blatant negligence or misogyny on the part of police forces — such as

DARREN CHENG/THE VARSITY

in the famous case of Doe v. Metropolitan Toronto Commissioners of Police — have left complainants out in the cold, aggravating feelings of fear or mistrust when dealing with police in general.

When complainants do not feel comfortable dealing with police, or they feel as if their cases are not being taken seriously, the media can play a role in helping them achieve justice. In this sense, journalists are often known both for blowing the whistle on powerful people and for battling against efforts being made to bury the hatchet.

The Harvey Weinstein case is particularly galling given the complicity and wilful blindness demonstrated by Weinstein’s many enablers, and the lengths to which the producer went to cover up his actions. In a follow-up to his original exposé in The New Yorker, Ronan Farrow revealed that Weinstein had enlisted ex-Mossad agents to get close to some of his victims and mine them for information, sometimes under the guise of being women’s rights advocates.

Journalists who were in dogged pursuit of Weinstein, including Jodi Kantor of The New York Times and Farrow himself, were also targeted by Weinstein for investigation.

Given the influence of the media in shaping people’s perceptions of events, journalists must ensure that their work does not further contribute to the conditions that can make coming forward about sexual violence so difficult. At the

same time, many people are genuinely concerned about the influence media coverage might have on the public’s perception of accused persons. What is often alluded to in this regard is the presumption of innocence under section 11(d) of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, which requires the accused to be presumed innocent until the Crown can prove the charges against them beyond a reasonable doubt and before an independent and impartial tribunal.

The presumption of innocence is an important and often misconstrued idea that, in the context of sexual assault cases, squarely applies to representatives in the criminal justice system. Given that the media is neither a criminal law institution nor a representative of the government, it does not owe the accused the same right; rather, it finds its obligations within defamation law, an entirely different set of standards.

Nevertheless, media professionals are also required to be watchful of baseless allegations — in acknowledgment that a false or misleading story can potentially ruin the life of the person about whom it is written. As Doolittle pointed out, journalists tend to be extremely cautious when writing about sexual assault, including through the use of words like ‘alleged’ or ‘accused’ when discussing claims yet to be confirmed by the courts.

Reporting on these stories can therefore involve a delicate balancing act, one often sorted out case by

case. The discussion that took place at the panel last week provided insight into the steps journalists can take to ensure they are engaging in appropriate practices.

For one, journalists should be keenly aware of the impact stories might have on the people represented in them. Before publishing the Unfounded series, Doolittle gave each of her interviewees the option to be quoted anonymously or to withdraw from the story altogether. She was careful to emphasize the importance of explaining to complainants how their lives would be affected by going public with their stories.

Another point of caution pertains to language usage. In a guide entitled “Use the Right Words: Media Reporting on Sexual Violence in Canada,” femifesto advises journalists to omit details about the accused that might serve to imply that they are not ‘the type’ to commit such acts. This is to avoid the pitfalls of media attention centred on people like Brock Turner, a former Stanford student who was convicted of assault with intent to rape an intoxicated woman. Turner was often referred to in headlines as a “Stanford swimmer” rather than, for example, ‘the convicted felon.’

Finally, accusations made against certain people cannot be differentially treated on the basis of the institutions in which they work, or ‘the type’ of people we think they are. As allegations against Bill O’Reilly, Roger Ailes, Mark Halperin, and others have shown, the

media itself is hardly immune to outbreaks of sexual misconduct.

An anonymous spreadsheet entitled “SHITTY MEDIA MEN” — the virtual embodiment of a whisper network — circulated online last month, allowing women to document their disturbing experiences with men in the media. This means that journalists should not only take great care when reporting on the experiences of others, but they must also watch for any violence happening around them.

Reporting on sexual violence is an immensely important responsibility, and the integrity and critical self-reflection that must underlie journalistic practices in this regard cannot be understated. The sheer number of accused abusers and misogynists seemingly crawling out of the woodwork might make us enraged or pessimistic, particularly since so many stories festered for years before being brought to the surface. But as McKeon put it, the current momentum of these stories also provides journalists with an opportunity to shed light on those not being told.

The Varsity’s editorial board is elected by the masthead at the beginning of each semester. For more information about the editorial policy, email editorial@thevarsity.ca.

Responsible reportin

Robyn Doolittle, Shannon Giannitsopoulou, and Lauren McKeon joined Th

Article by Kai Photos by M

A

t the end of the last academic year, my friend Tamsyn Riddle announced she was filing a human rights complaint against U of T and Trinity College for their handling of her sexual violence complaint. Shortly after, I was elected as The Varsity’s Features Editor.

Throughout the summer, while working a nineto-five job, I began preparing potential feature stories for this year. Following the aftermath of ex-CBC radio host Jian Ghomeshi’s sexual assault acquittal, I was adamant that the issue of sexual violence needed to be covered indepth in my section — I just didn’t know how.

It was sometime during my two-hour commute to work that I came up with the idea for a series on the subject. I wasn’t entirely sure how it would look, but I knew it would be a multifaceted endeavor.

In the middle of the summer I caught up with Riddle in a small Annex diner. I wanted to get her opinion on the potential series.

She liked the idea, agreed the issue should be covered, and expressed interest in writing a feature on her experience reporting her assault to the university.

Her article was published on September 25. In the process of editing the story, I had multiple conversations with the Editor-in-

Chief and Riddle herself on whether to name faculty and staff members relevant to her story. Because the story was a first-person narrative, it didn’t make sense to reach out to those mentioned for comment. Instead, with Riddle’s permission, we included an editor’s note at the top of the article explaining that “allegations made toward the faculty members and staff members identified in this article are unproven in court;” Riddle could write an open account of her experience, and The Varsity could protect itself legally.

The conversations we had in the newsroom regarding this article were crucial. We all recognized the importance of publishing the story, but the path to doing so was not clearcut. I wanted Riddle’s story published, but I also wanted to ensure I was being fair to all those involved. Ultimately, the topic of the Responsible Reporting on Sexual Violence panel, hosted at The Varsity on November 15, stemmed from this tension: how should journalists cover stories of sexual violence in a respectful and responsible way?

I had the privilege of hosting this panel discussion and moderating it with Riddle.

The Varsity collaborated on the event with a sexual violence activist organization at U of

T that Riddle is a member of called Silence is Violence. The panelists came from an array of backgrounds and spoke from varying perspectives. Shannon Giannitsopoulou is the co-founder of femifesto, a feminist organization based in Toronto. She is also a contributing writer for “Use the Right Words: Media Reporting on Sexual Violence in Canada,” a guide for the media when covering issues concerning sexual violence. Her perspective was valuable at the panel because it is not from inside the media itself, but rather from working to educate those who work in the media and how they should cover the subject.

Lauren McKeon, our second panelist, has primarily worked in magazines. She is currently the digital editor at The Walrus and a contributing editor at Toronto Life. McKeon also taught at Humber College and is the author of F-Bomb: Dispatches from the War on Feminism. Her article for Toronto Life, “Fifteen years of silence: I was raped three times in less than 10 years. I knew all of my attackers. This is my story,” was an honest and raw portrayal of the experiences of a sexual violence survivor. I was grateful to have her speak at the event.

Our final panelist, Robyn Doolittle, broke

one of the largest stories in recent Canadian history on police treatment of those who formally report their sexual assaults. Her investigation took approximately 20 months, during which she explored instances of police dismissing sexual assault cases as “unfounded” — essentially, when police believed the assault never occurred. Before this “Unfounded,” article, Doolittle wrote for the Toronto Star covering former Toronto Mayor Rob Ford. Given the breadth of her coverage and implications it has had on policy, we were happy to have her attend the panel.

With the unique experiences of these three women, the conversation was extremely insightful. It explored questions that I had as a student journalist who has covered this topic, and it showcased perspectives I hadn’t considered. In this vein, I thought it was fitting to break down the key issues discussed at the event — for the public, for journalists, and for myself.

SEXUAL VIOLENCE REPORTING IN THE MEDIA Over the last few weeks, the outcry of sexual assault allegations against multiple men in Hollywood has been astonishing. Riddle asked

“We need this mome journalists to stories aren’t what we’re m we’re going how we’re go From left: Kaitlyn Simpson, Tamsyn Riddle, Shannon Giannitsopoulou, Lauren McKeon, and Robyn Doolittle

10

ng on sexual violence

The Varsity to discuss responsible journalism for difficult subject matter

itlyn Simpson Min Ho Lee

the panelists how these stories and similar ones impacted conversations about sexual violence and its media coverage.

Giannitsopoulou began by mentioning that, when working on femifesto’s guide in 2011, a lot of these large stories were not yet published.

She’s pleased that the guide was created before the Ghomeshi case and the Harvey Weinstein scandal because it’s readily available at a time when reporters need it.

Giannitsopoulou also discussed the importance of diversity of stories, paying particular attention to whose stories are told and which stories garner attention and space. She said, “Indigenous women from Saskatchewan that were missing… have 3.5 times less coverage than women in Ontario that were also murdered and missing. And they were less likely to have images of the women.”

Giannitsopoulou continued by pointing out that Indigenous women who are shown in newspapers are more likely to be “on the corner of the page and not on the front page.”

McKeon agreed with Giannitsopoulou, saying, “I think we need to take this moment now as journalists to look at what stories aren’t being told… what we’re missing, what we’re going to tell, and how we’re going to tell it.”

d to take ent now as o look at what t being told... missing, what g to tell, and oing to tell it”

Given the increasing coverage of this subject, McKeon said that “now’s the time that there is this appetite for [sexual violence coverage] and people are really listening… which is both encouraging and a little depressing.”

Doolittle discussed the impact these stories have had on policy given the increased attention. She specifically spoke about the implications of her Unfounded series: “since Unfounded ran in February… something like half of the police services in this country have reviewed thousands of sexual assault cases, they’re passing policies around having supervisors involved in decisions, they’re doing a training overhaul that takes the neurobiology of trauma into account, the federal government has committed a hundred million dollars to address violence against women.”

TERMINOLOGY IN SEXUAL VIOLENCE STORIES Language was, unsurprisingly, discussed at length. I asked the panelists what process journalists should follow when choosing language and phrasing about sexual violence.

The question stemmed from my understanding of sexual violence terminology, specifically the common use of the term ‘survivor’ over ‘victim.’

Acknowledging that wording can be “tricky,” Giannitsopoulou stressed the importance of ensuring the consent of a source when deciding how they will be identified in a story: “I personally prefer the word ‘survivor.’ I think it underlines resilience. But some people don’t like the word ‘survivor’, some people prefer the word ‘victim’ because it speaks to their experience of healing.”

While objectivity is key when reporting, Giannitsopoulou mentioned that all language has connotations and that “no language is neutral.”

Doolittle mentioned that the “Use the Right Words” campaign Giannitsopoulou has worked on in femifesto has taught her a lot as a journalist. “What it’s really taught me is that journalists are very careful about some of the language they use around sexual assault allegations and not careful around allegations for other crimes.”

Instead of removing the term ‘allegedly’ when reporting on sexual violence, Doolittle suggested that news reporters and investigative journalists actively include the term when referring to other types of crime. In doing so, the term ‘allegedly’ is no longer associated with sexual violence but rather all unproven crimes.

Additionally, Doolittle doesn’t use the terms ‘survivor’ or ‘victim’ in her reporting unless a court ruling is made — she often uses the term ‘complainant’ instead.

“If I say someone was a victim of sexual assault, I am saying it happened. If I say they

were a victim, I am saying it happened. And, it’s not that I don’t believe them… but I do the story a disservice by not being as objective as possible,” said Doolittle.

McKeon spoke on the relationship between language, communication, and trust, saying that once trust is broken between a reporter and their source there’s little way to reclaim it. Because sexual violence survivors already face high rates of skepticism, confidence in a reporter for accurately sharing their stories is imperative, McKeon added.

HOW #METOO AND SOCIAL MEDIA ACTIVISM SHAPES COVERAGE Given the virality of the #MeToo campaign following Weinstein’s coverage and the popularity of the hashtag #BeenRapedNeverReported a few years earlier, I was interested in what the panelists thought about social media activism, if it has helped progress conversations, and if it has influenced their work.

McKeon said that social media activism encouraged her to come forward with her own story, and that online activism and hashtags have the potential to build a community.

However, she said that journalists should use online sexual violence trends as “a launching off point.”

“What we have to do though is find a way to move beyond those hashtags in our reporting, because they don’t tell the whole story,” said McKeon.

Doolittle expressed that the power of #MeToo was in demonstrating both explicit instances of sexual violence and injustices that women face on a daily basis.

Giannitsopoulou discussed the subject of social media activism and the #MeToo campaign as requiring nuance: “I’m glad that people are sharing their stories, but I don’t want survivors to feel like if they’re not feeling safe or if they don’t want to share their stories that their experience as a survivor is not valid.

“I would also not like to put the onus on survivors to have to keep telling our stories when we know one in three women, one in six men have experienced sexual violence in their lifetime, and [for] trans and non-binary folks it’s disproportionately higher than that,” said Giannitsopoulou.

Throughout my process of organizing and moderating this panel, one common theme stood out: consent in reporting. While there are a variety of considerations to take into account when reporting on issues of sexual violence — and I definitely learned a lot — it’s important to remember that, as McKeon stated, “No survivor owes you their story.”

It is crucial for us as journalists to ensure open communication, respect, and to uphold the consent of survivors in each step of the publishing process. This includes consent with terminology, consent to going on record, and consent to sharing their story.

— With files from Priyanka Sharma.

11

Arts&Culture

November 20, 2017 var.st/arts arts@thevarsity.ca

How will we judge creators accused of sexual misconduct?

Reflecting on the legacies of Kevin Spacey, Louis CK, and more

DARREN CHENG/THE VARSITY

Kashi Syal Varsity Contributor

Calculated. Callous. Corrupt. It is difficult to think of positive adjectives to describe Frank Underwood, the Machiavellian anti-hero of the Netflix Originals drama House of Cards. Had the events of the past few months not unfolded as they did, it might have been equally difficult to think of negative adjectives to describe Underwood’s actor, Kevin Spacey, and the other formerly esteemed men now accused of sexual misconduct.

Our society’s reliance on social media is growing. We now know so much about famous artists that it is becoming more challenging to separate the artist from their art. Many millennials, including me, will choose to boycott certain works, brands, or people because of their reputation, but taking this stance only leads to frustration when problematic creators produce content that is actually good.

Is it only the bodies of work of obvious villains that we are quick to dismiss? In 2014, it was revealed to the British public that the BBC and other institutions had protected, hidden, and therefore condoned the abusive behaviour of Jimmy Savile from the 1960s to his death in 2011. Savile was an English television and radio personality who had also founded and worked

with many children’s charities.

After his death, there were hundreds of allegations made that Savile had molested and raped hundreds of children over the course of his career. Despite there having been numerous opportunities to halt his abuse, he was permitted to continue because of his status.

My mum never liked Savile, so I had never been subjected to any of his shows. I’m not sure I even knew who he was until his sexual abuse scandal surfaced. Celebrities and newspapers were quick to come forward with support for the victims and to condemn the hidden actions of yet another privileged white man. This made it incredibly easy for me to categorize Savile: ‘bad man, bad content, do not endorse.’

These cases become even more morally repugnant when the actions of alleged sexual abusers are essentially condoned by allowing them to continue with their art. In Savile’s case, the accounts of his abusive crimes were buried until his death. Today, despite Hollywood’s current attempts to irrevocably remove predators from the community, Woody Allen’s new film Wonder Wheel will still be released this December.

Despite being married to his former wife’s adopted daughter and being investigated for the sexual abuse of his own daughter Dylan Farrow, Woody Allen is still as successful as he was when he made Annie Hall in 1977. Similarly, Roman Polanski raped a 13-year-old girl in 1977, but he won an Academy Award for The Pianist in 2003, premiered Based on a True Story at the Cannes Film Festival this year, and was honoured at the Cinémathèque Française in October.

Bill Cosby was first charged with sexual misconduct years ago, but he still has an abundance of supporters. Previously a hero to a marginalized community, some argue that continued support for Cosby is a result of discourse on racism in the United States. The Cosby case highlighted the belief of people of minority groups

that their cultural icons were being unfairly targeted by the media — but perhaps these people were trying to justify his actions because they had invested themselves in Cosby’s legacy.

Coupling admission of his unacceptable behaviour making sexual advances on a teenager with his coming out, Spacey was trying to encourage an emotional dilemma. How could we not rationalize his behaviour upon learning he’s gay?

Cutting off our emotional attachment to the content produced by these individuals proves difficult, especially when popular media outlets are quick to praise them and the academy celebrates their work.

Woody Allen’s Midnight in Paris, Roman Polanski’s The Pianist, and now House of Cards were fictional stories that I adored. I savoured the whimsical yet poignant romantic moments that Owen Wilson shared with some of my favourite artists in a spellbinding city. I was haunted by Adrian Brody’s gripping portrayal of a talented Polish-Jewish pianist in Nazi Germany. I was delighted by Robin Wright’s unapologetic hunger for power in a world dominated by men. While my fondness for the performances of these actors remains intact, I am not sure that I can show any allegiance to the show and films they appear in due to the conduct of their creators.

Over the past month, I have been satisfied to read about Harvey Weinstein’s career crumbling around him. In a recent interview with BBC Two's Newsnight, actress Emma Thompson stated that Weinstein was just one predator among many in an exploitative industry. As it

turns out, she was right.

Hollywood’s own house of cards is falling, and we’re simply waiting to see who’s left with the highest hand. The formerly renowned reputations of these men — Woody Allen, Roman Polanski, Bill Cosby, Harvey Weinstein, Kevin Spacey, Brett Ratner, Johnny Depp, Casey Affleck, Louis CK, Jeffrey Tambor, James Toback, and more — demonstrates how those accused of sexual intimidation and harassment have been protected by powerful institutions and the influential.

We are finally beginning to recognize that these moral transgressions are the result of an abuse of power at the expense of the vulnerable.

Having been axed from House of Cards, disassociated from the London theatre The Old Vic, and being roundly criticized for using the allegations as a platform to come out, Spacey and his future in Hollywood look just about as fruitful as — spoilers — Frank Underwood’s career at the end of season five.

We need to start paying attention to the details, listening to the unheard, and supporting those who have been hurt. When the lights are turned on and the monsters are exposed from the shadows, we won’t be left wondering why we didn’t see them coming out from under our own beds.

NOVEMBER 20, 2017 u 13

var.st/arts

Shedoesthecity hosts panel on female leaders in Canadian film The lifestyle website's event discussed the progress women have made in the industry Katie Macintosh Varsity Columnist

New allegations against prominent men in Hollywood are becoming public on an almost daily basis, threatening to topple the careers of prolific figures such as Ben Affleck, Louis CK, and Jeffrey Tambor. All told, recent events have made it difficult not to equate being a female filmmaker with inevitable victimization.

When I arrived at a loft in the west end on November 17 for a panel on female leaders in Canadian film, I was expecting these current events to set the mood for the discussion. The panel was one of several events hosted this past weekend by Shedoesthecity, a Toronto-based lifestyle website, as part of their 10th anniversary celebrations. The event was co-presented by Telefilm Canada and began at 8:30 am, which made it all the more surprising to find that, far from the doom-and-gloom-type atmosphere I was anticipating, the room was buzzing with an excited energy.

The seemingly unending bad news from Hollywood was alluded to briefly before being set aside for a focus on the good: the fact that, slowly but surely, women are gaining ground in the film industry. “This feels like a tipping point,” said Jen McNeely, Shedoesthecity founder and editor-inchief obefore officially kicking off the event.

The panel discussion, moderated by Amanda Brugel, who plays Rita on Hulu’s adaptation of Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale, featured four Toronto women who have had success in film: cinematographer Maya Bankovic; writer and director Molly McGlynn; Joanna Miles, Vice President of Marketing at Entertainment One Films; and Vice President of Advancement for Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) maxine bailey, who spells her name in the lower case.

As much as this was visibly a woman-centric event — an all female panel, hosted in the shockingly beautiful headquarters of Knixwear, a Toronto-based, women-led lingerie startup — the emphasis was less on the sex of the panelists

and more on their identities as filmmakers: their stories, their achievements, and their goals for the future. The fact that the event’s official title makes no mention of gender, simply billed as a “Leaders in Canadian Film" panel, may reflect a deliberate attempt by the organizers to avoid undermining their guests’ accomplishments by placing them in the ‘movies made by chicks’ box.

None of which is to say that gender did not have a presence. There can be no separating being a woman from one’s experience in the film industry. In 2016, women directed a dismal seven per cent of the top 250 highest-grossing films at the American box office. Between the panelists and their audience, almost entirely women, there was a tacit understanding of the travails that are part and parcel of being a female creator — or perhaps just being female — that set the tone for the discussion.

This much was clear in one interesting moment after McGlynn, responding to a question about asking others for help, gave an answer that seemed to resonate: “Don’t diminish your-

self to make other people comfortable.” Amid the ensuing applause, a number of people around me let out an audible sigh — a couple chuckled darkly. In both cases, the message was clear: ‘I know exactly what you’re talking about.’

There is still a ways to go before women stand on equal footing in ‘the biz.’ While Bankovic pointed out that advances in technology have made it easier for diverse populations to produce professional-quality films, bigger change still needs to happen for women to get a foothold in bigger-budget movies. “We have to do better.

We have to demand better,” said bailey.

At TIFF, bailey has helped create the Share Her Journey initiative to create more opportunities for women in film over the next five years.

But she also reminded the audience that the onus was just as much on them to enact change, saying, “It’s about voting with your pocketbook.”

Buying tickets for films made by diverse casts and crews tells production companies they’re doing something right — all the more reason to look forward to the Wonder Woman sequel.

Comic book press raising money for novel on the Christie Pits riots Jamie Michaels of Dirty Water Comics explains the significance of the 1930s riots to today's politics

PHOTO BY MIKE DEGROOT, COURTESY OF JAMIE MICHAELS

Reut Cohen Arts & Culture Editor

Just a few blocks west of U of T’s campus is Christie Pits Park, the site of the infamous Christie Pits riots 84 years ago that occurred against the backdrop of the Great Depression, Hitler’s appointment to chancellor of Germany, and rising sympathy for fascism in the west.

On August 16, 1933, Jewish and Italian immigrants faced off against members of local Swastika clubs in a riot sparked by the defeat of the Harbord Playground, a mostly Jewish baseball team, in a semifinal for the junior city championships. The Pit Gang, a local group of Nazi sympathizers, raised a flag with a swastika emblazoned on it to celebrate the Playground’s defeat, and they were rushed by members of the Jewish team. Both sides called in thousands of reinforcements, and the brawl lasted six hours.

The riots are one of the most prominent examples of antisemitism in Canada, along with the “none is too many” policy upheld during the war years to prevent European Jewish émigrés from finding refuge in Canada.

ILLUSTRATIONS BY DOUG FEDRAU, COURTESY OF JAMIE MICHAELS

Jamie Michaels is the founder of Dirty Water Comics, a Winnipeg-based comic book press that is currently raising money via Kickstarter to publish a graphic novel about the Christie Pits riots. He spoke to The Varsity about what drew him to the story of the riots and their modern significance.

Michaels said that he got involved in the comic book industry by “being at the wrong bar at the wrong time.” While couchsurfing and studying for his master’s degree in fiction at the University of London in the United Kingdom, a friend at a nearby pub invited him to meet an acquaintance who was looking to hire a freelancer at a larger press. He would later found Dirty Water Comics, which published its first novel, Canoe Boys, written by Michaels, in 2016.

Part of the reason Michaels was drawn to the story of the Christie Pits riots was a personal experience with antisemitism in his youth. He described attending a baseball game in Winnipeg when a “terrific fight” broke out after someone called a group of the kids in the stands "dirty Jews."

“I could certainly see the factors that brought people out into the streets that night,” he said. When he later heard the story of Christie Pits, he was struck by the parallels between the riots and what he had experienced.

Michaels bluntly described the riots’ current relevance as “depressingly topical.”

“The relevance [the book] began to hold as the project moved forward just floored me,” said Michaels. He completed a 24-page rewrite of the novel after watching footage of white supremacist marches in Charlottesville, Virginia this past summer. “I think there’s no better time for a story about the dangers of those politics and the importance of people finding a way to live together.”

Michaels described the novel as a work of historical fiction. To accurately capture the mood of 1930s Toronto, he relied on the Ontario Jewish Archives and contemporary media coverage.

Before writing each chapter, he would review the microfilm of the time, giving him insight into what Canadian Jews might have been feeling at the time of Hitler’s rise to power.

“Christie Pits is not the story of one person, it’s the story of a neighbourhood,” said Michaels.

For this reason, he chose to write each chapter from the perspective of a different character, allowing their lives to intersect throughout the novel and create a sense of community. The characters range from a young boxer living off Spadina Avenue to a young family who moved from Europe to escape rising antisemitism and are still concerned for their family overseas.

Dirty Water Comics also received a grant from the Jewish Foundation of Manitoba to work on Christie Pits. “We’ve been really lucky to work in partnership with them,” said Michaels, noting that providing a grant to publish a comic book likely required a different calculus than the foundation’s previous grants for other cultural projects.

The script for Christie Pits is finished, and the final stage of illustration is underway, being done by Winnipeg-based illustrator Doug Fedrau. The Kickstarter campaign will end on December 15, and should it be successful, Michaels hopes to have the novel printed and distributed by March.

14 d THE VARSITY d ARTS & CULTURE

Beyond résumé padding One student explains how her passion project turned into an incredible academic opportunity Anna Aksenovich Varsity Contributor

During my first year of university, I saw a small announcement on Blackboard for one of the anthropology courses I was taking, advertising the Richard Charles Lee Insights through Asia Challenge (ITAC).

ITAC is a competition run by the Munk School of Global Affairs that gives winners the opportunity to conduct an independent research project on the topic of their choice, related to an Asian issue. Winning projects are allocated up to $7,000 in funding, making it possible for students to travel and conduct original research in Asia. The competition is open to all U of T students in the Faculty of Arts & Science, both undergraduate and graduate, including those unaffiliated with the Munk School.

Taking on an independent project did not sound realistic with my existing workload, especially knowing it was entirely possible I wouldn’t win. Still, I was inspired to partake in the competition, perhaps because of my passion for the issues of slums and inequality in India, which I had touched upon in some of my other courses.

Feeling as though I couldn’t tackle the project all by myself, I approached my friend Amanda McKinley about joining me.

Amanda also introduced me to Alexandre Gignac and Siddhartha Sengupta, two of her classmates at UTM, both third-year Political Science specialists. The Munk School had encouraged students from different academic backgrounds to collaborate on projects.

With my background in Anthropology and Marketing combined with my group members’ backgrounds in Political Science, Psychology, and History, we managed to articulate our ideas and come up with a unique research idea for the competition.

The Munk School provided us with a great deal of support in the process. Before our team submitted our application, we attended a writing proposal workshop, which gave us essential guidelines and information. It also boosted our confidence in the possibility of actually winning the competition.

This was also when I started to realize that participation itself was providing our team with such valuable experience that we would not have been able to gain in the classroom.

“I figured that even if we didn’t win, I would have learnt how to write a proper research proposal and I would get to meet other students who were interested in the same things as myself,” said Amanda.

We were surprised by the small number of students participating in the competition, particularly because of its broad criteria for eligibility. When I spoke to other friends from university about it, they hadn’t even heard of such an opportunity. Even after we discussed it, many did not apply because they believed they didn’t have a chance at winning.

Read the rest online at var.st/itac

arts@thevarsity.ca

TIFF's Black Star series showcases Black excellence on screen The program features both modern and historical examples of Black representation in film Charmaine Nyakonda & Ngabo Yvon Pacis Varsity Contributors

The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) is in the midst of its Black Star screening series, which aims to celebrate 100 years of Black excellence on screen through a selection of both comedic and dramatic films.

“Black Star considers how images of Blackness have been historically constructed and challenged both within and outside the mainstream industry,” said Ella Cooper, founder of Black Women Film! Canada and guest programmer for the series.

At a November 7 screening of Stella Meghie’s Jean of the Joneses, which was preceded by shorts by Charles Officer and Laurie Townshend, Officer said that it is essential for more Black filmmakers’ voices to be heard. “We need an archive in this country and we are depending on the next generation to continue on and build on.”

Directors Officer and Townshend, both present at the screening, emphasized how their personal experiences, a historical absence of Black

women in film, and the impact of violence in the city inspired their work.

Short Hymn, Silent War uses the power of the unsaid as a way to examine how women deal with the aftermath of urban violence. The Railpath Hero is an emotive film that captures the experience of abuse and the absence of a father figure while trying to chase one’s dreams. Jean of the Joneses also examines the plights of growing up in a fatherless home and being expected to depict a false, constructed image of a Black woman that the world knows and expects.

Another of Black Star’s events, a November 3 screening of Norman Jewison’s 1967 film In the Heat of the Night, spotlighted the need to keep working toward not only showcasing and appreciating past Black excellence on film, but also toward increasing Black representation in film more broadly.

James Baldwin once remarked that American films are designed not to trouble but to reassure.

In In the Heat of the Night, Poiter portrays a sophisticated detective who ‘assists’ arrogant small-town policemen in solving a crime. Despite the detective’s central role, the movie does

not expand on his character beyond his assistance to the white officers, and it provides no more than a glimpse of the state of 1960s prejudice and antagonism.

Despite his superb performance, Poitier was not nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor. The accolade went instead to Rob Steiger, whose role as one of the arrogant white policemen was secondary to Poitier’s. This recalls the sense of inferiority in the film itself, present in the white characters’ repeated use of ‘boy’ and not ‘man’ to refer to Poitier’s character in the film.

Despite the Oscar snub, Poitier’s daughter, Beverly Poitier-Henderson, once remarked that her father “would be the only Black person on the set sometimes… he helped open up not just the field of acting, but the movie industry in general.”

For many years now, there has been an ongoing discussion of increasing Black presence on the screen. The historical circumstances surrounding films such as In the Heat of the Night reveal the importance of programs like Black Star and the need to build a Canadian legacy of Black excellence on screen.

Taylour Paige in Stella Meghie's Jean of the Joneses. PHOTO COURTESY OF TIFF

Sidney Poitier (left) in Norman Jewison's In the Heat of the Night. PHOTO COURTESY OF TIFF

Science

November 27, 2017 var.st/science science@thevarsity.ca

Goodbye diarrhea, hello nutritious instant noodles U of T researchers receive $200,000 to tackle global health issues Utkarshna Sinha Varsity Contributor

Grand Challenges Canada (GCC) has awarded two global health projects based at U of T with $200,000 to tackle problems such as food contamination and nutritional deficiency in developing countries.

GCC, supported by the Government of Canada through Global Affairs Canada, announced $2 million of funding for the first 20 recipients of the Stars in Global Health funding program. They awarded seed grants of $100,000 for researchers to develop innovative ideas to improve living conditions of vulnerable women and children across Africa, Asia, and the Caribbean.

Testing for foodborne bacteria in Egypt Dr. Benjamin Hatton, a researcher in U of T’s Department of Materials Science and Engineering, is developing a fast, low cost, and easy-to-use test to identify bacteria in food.

Bacterial food contamination can cause illnesses such as diarrhea, and even death, especially in pregnant women and infants who are more susceptible to bacterial infections due their weaker immune systems.

“Even though diarrhea is a nuisance in this part of the world, it can be a significant health hazard,” explained Hatton. According to him, it is associated with child mortality rates as high as 10–15 per cent in poorer parts of the world.

Hatton is working with researchers Dr. Tarek Awad and Dr. Dalal Asker at Alexandria University in Egypt, where they will test their innovation. He describes his innovation as a “litmus test” that will allow mothers to check whether food is contaminated before

they feed their child.

The team hopes to take advantage of the high cell phone usage in the area to visualize bacteria with its camera and track cases of diarrhea. They also plan to test local disinfection products in Egyptian communities and engage in community outreach to teach locals about food testing and cleaning methods.

“If we are successful with this [project] in Egypt, we would be looking to try it in other countries in North Africa and other parts of the world,” Hatton added.

Supplementing instant noodles with spirulina in the Philippines The second awardee is a project led by Dr. David McMillen, a researcher in Department of Chemical and Physical Sciences at UTM, who developed his idea at U of T’s Impact Centre.

According to GCC, around 50 per cent of Filipinos do not have adequate protein in their diet, and about 35 per cent of children under the age of five are anemic, which is caused by iron deficiency. McMillen’s project proposes using Spirulina, a nutritious algae and rich source of essential amino acids, iron, and vitamins A, B12 and K, to combat nutrient deficiencies in the Philippines.

McMillen plans to supplement instant ramen noodles, a local staple commonly consumed by children, with a Spirulina “flavour pack.” “[Instant ramen noodles] are cheap because there’s almost nothing in them — they’re plain noodles and salt with some fat but very low on any form of protein or iron,” explained McMillen.

The funding provided by GCC will help McMillen’s team develop methods to pro-

Dr. Benjamin Hatton and his team are developing a test for bacterial food contamination.

COURTESY OF GRAND CHALLENGES CANADA

Dr. David McMillen is working to supplement instant noodles with nutritious algae.

COURTESY OF GRAND CHALLENGES CANADA

duce Spirulina locally in Napsan, a village in Palawan, Philippines. They will work to determine the optimal conditions for growth, harvesting, and distribution. With enough production, Spirulina can be exported to larger markets and create jobs for local mothers. In the long term, McMillen hopes to establish locally grown Spirulina in other villages with nutritional deficiencies.

Grand Challenges Canada Awards Liam Brown, a spokesperson for GCC, describes the awarded projects as early stage ideas that are critical in driving innovation and addressing challenges faced by women and children around the world. The funding is awarded to researchers in Canada and low-

to-middle income countries where the work is done.

Once these projects have been developed over the next year and have a scalable solution, they will be invited to submit their project to GCC’s Transition to Scale program to implement their ideas at a larger scale.

In addition to the Stars in Global Health and the Transition to Scale programs, GCC also funds innovations through other programs, with focuses ranging from mental health to early childhood development, that target the poorest and most vulnerable women and children.

In total, GCC has funded 800 innovations in over 80 countries that they estimate will save up to one million lives by 2030.

Alumni startup iMerciv wins TELUS Pitch BuzzClip wearable technology for visually impaired chosen as grand prize winner

Bin Liu and Arjun Mali, co-founders of iMerciv, were awarded the $100,000 for their product, the BuzzClip. COURTESY OF GRAY ALETTER

Leslie E. Oldfield Varsity Contributor

The final prototype for the BuzzClip, a mobility tool for the blind, culminated after 18 months of research and design, and it is now being used by more than 800 individuals.

This project, developed by Bin Liu, a U of T civil engineering graduate and co-founder of iMerciv, was awarded $100,000 through the TELUS Pitch small business competition. Recognized for their promising startup, the team won the grand prize of $100,000 among nearly 3,000 entries. The panel of

judges included Arlene Dickinson, the CEO of District Ventures Capital. The other two finalists, Flashfood and JamStack, received a $10,000 prize. iMerciv specializes in developing technologies to assist those dealing with vision loss, and aims to be a leader in the market by providing a one-stop shop for vision loss and mobility related products. The company’s featured product, the BuzzClip, is a wearable device that uses ultrasound technology to detect obstacles in the user’s path, particularly those at head level. Vibrations notify the user

of an obstacle allowing them to recognize and navigate around the obstacle.

The name iMerciv stems from Liu’s desire to give visually impaired users a living experience that is more immersive. Combined with Liu’s interest in civil engineering, the name iMerciv was chosen.

Upon graduation, Liu was accepted into Techno 2014 program at the Impact Centre, and said that as soon as he was accepted into the program, he contacted Arjun Mali, who became iMerciv’s co-founder with Liu. The two previously researched technology for those living with vision loss, but only began conceptualizing their technology during the program. Both were 23 years old when they founded iMerciv. iMerciv will use the $100,000 grand prize to increase BuzzClip sales and help with production costs of a new product. According to Liu, the money from the competition will help the company expand their presence in Europe and Asia.

It was a personal connection that drove the co-founders to empower and help individuals who are partially sighted or blind. Liu’s father suffers from inoperable glaucoma, and Mali’s family has been supporting a blind orphanage and school in India for decades.

“People with vision loss are hugely underserved,” said Liu in an email to The Varsity.

The ‘ah-ha’ moment for the two came after consulting with users and mobility trainers for the blind, and discovering obstacles at head level are a major challenge for individuals with vision loss.

Despite the company’s current success, iMerciv faced challenges in advertising and manufacturing. “We were not able to market to our target audience through traditional media so we had to come up with new ways to reach end users,” said Liu. The two were able to navigate this challenge by attending conferences and utilizing online communities.

Manufacturing the BuzzClip was a timeconsuming and costly process. Liu and Mali advise entrepreneurs to “look into marketing strategies earlier on, even before the product is ready” and to “plan ahead for manufacturing cost and time and then multiply both by 3x when you do your first batch of production.”

Despite the challenges, Liu fondly remembers shipping out the first batch of the BuzzClip. “It was one of the most fulfilling moments to see our hard work finally coming to fruition,” he said.

A second product is currently underway at iMerciv with pilot tests set to begin in 2018.

“All I can say is that it will be a navigation system for the blind and it will be a game changer,” said Liu.

16 • THE VARSITY • SCIENCE

science@thevarsity.ca

A million deaths and counting U of T global death study receives funding from the Connaught Global Challenge Award Keith Cheng Associate Design Editor

“If you want to help the living, count the dead,” said Dr. Prabhat Jha, a recent winner of the Connaught Global Challenge Award for his Million Death Study.

Jha, a Professor of Epidemiology at the Dalla Lana School of Public Health, has been counting deaths in India since 2002. After almost two decades of research he is finally nearing his million-death goal.

More than 80 per cent of deaths in low- and middle-income countries occur at home and without proper medical diagnoses. As a result, many of the world’s deaths are not properly documented.

The Million Death Study attempts to alleviate these discrepancies between global death data and the actual number of deaths that occur annually. The project is led by Jha who is also the founding director of the Centre for Global Health Research, a non-profit organization cosponsored St. Michael’s Hospital and U of T. The project has recently received $250,000 of funding from the Connaught Global Challenge Award to expand their study. The award, supported by the Connaught Fund, strives to support interdisciplinary research that helps heighten U of T’s global impact.

Data on deaths are collected through what Jha calls “verbal autopsies” — personal accounts of death gathered through interviews with those close to the deceased. Those death records are then reviewed by local doctors who assign a

likely cause of death based on the given information.

The study brings together researchers in demography, epidemiology, computer science, geography, geospatial science, economics, and business to tackle a common problem. “The Connaught helps us... bring together people who don’t normally think about [these] problems... in medicine and public health,” explained Jha. The interdisciplinary nature of the project helps the team make their methods cheaper, faster, and more accessible to a larger demographic. “We want to make it simpler so more countries can adopt this approach,” said Jha. While the project is expected to reach its million-death goal in the near future, India is just the beginning. There are initiatives in place to expand the project to Mozambique, Ethiopia, and Sierra Leone.

Jha intends to build and expand this method of recording death throughout the next few decades. “Hopefully it will become routine [and] every country will have these kinds of systems,” he said.

However, the study is not limited to just low- and middle-income countries where death records are inadequate. Although deaths in Canada are documented with medical certificates that include important information like cause of death and contributory risk factors, that data is not used systematically, according to Jha. “The second part of [this study] is not creating new data, but using existing data in high-income countries to better understand the causes of death, the patterns, the risk factors, [and]

Dr. Prabbat Jha was one of five winners of the Connaught Global Challenge Award.

PHOTO COURTESY OF CGHR

the importance of key drivers of the epidemic.”

Jha hopes that the project will help change our global understanding of death and how we can use it to help the living.

Jha and his team are also working towards making the data from the study accessible to all U of T students. He believes that allowing students to play with this type of data in an unrestricted manner will result in more innovations and insights.

Moving beyond the Million Death Study, Jha hopes to eventually build a what he calls a “death institute” in Canada. The multidisciplinary institute will focus on using mortality statistics to create new systems to help the living.

“A lot more countries are sending people to train [in Canada and] learn about how to set up these systems” said Jha. “So that’s the idea — do a death institute.”

A prime minister for progress Reflections on Trudeau’s promises to science Spencer Y. Ki Varsity Contributor

It was already dark out on October 19, 2015 when Justin Trudeau took to the stage amid thunderous adulation in the Liberal Party headquarters. With the eyes of millions of Canadians on the newly-minted Prime Minister, he promised that, in Canada, “better is always possible.”

Since that night, numerous groups have debated whether a better Canada has indeed become our reality. For the scientific community, the election of Trudeau, following nearly a decade of silencing and suppression under the Harper administration, was the dawn of a brighter era. It is undoubtable now at the halfway point of his mandate that Trudeau has been a far better friend to scientists than Stephen Harper ever was.

Trudeau’s support for the scientific method and those who practice it is no recent development either. In the announcement of his intention to run for Liberal leadership in 2012, he stated that “the only ideology that must guide us is evidence. Hard, scientific facts and data. It may seem revolutionary in today’s Ottawa, but instead of inventing the facts to justify the policies, we will create policy based on facts.”

As an aspiring scientist, it is easy for me to praise Trudeau as a progressive champion for science in light of Harper’s clampdown, but what has Trudeau accomplished in cold, hard fact?

Acknowledging Trudeau as a breath of fresh air for scientists is not simply a hyperbolic partisan claim. Of utmost importance to scientists was Trudeau’s immediate reversal of the Harper government’s policy forbidding federally-funded scientists and other government officials from speaking to the press and public without legal hoops to jump through and permissions

to obtain. There was also the restoration of the mandatory long-form census, to the hearty approval of social scientists everywhere.

However, the lack of suppression is not quite the same thing as progression. What precisely has Trudeau done beyond simply not hampering the efforts of scientists?

Most obvious and appreciable are the appointments made under Trudeau’s administration. As promised, the federal government created the non-partisan position of Chief Science Advisor and filled it with University of Ottawa’s Dr. Mona Nemer this past September.

This was followed by the installation of Julie Payette this October — astronaut, engineer, and businesswoman — as Canada’s 29th Governor General.

The inclusion of scientists and other highachieving people in government, however powerful their roles may actually be, demonstrates that the government is not simply paying lipservice to those who want experts contributing to the decision-making process.

Similar appreciation should be shown for the series of investments made by the federal government into research and green technology.

With the $800-million-promise to a new Innovation Agenda fulfilled, the Liberal government has made it clear that they value the expansion of Canadian industries supported by science.

Likewise, a number of environmentally-friendly decisions like the cancellation of the Northern Gateway Pipeline and the restoration of federal funding into ocean and freshwater research demonstrate a commitment to evidence-based policies.

From the above, it is clear that the realms of science and innovation were not mistaken to place their trust in Trudeau. But, in the spirit of empirical science, it is important to judge the administration not only on its successes, but on

Two years into his term — how has Trudeau measured up in his promises to scientists?

JUSTIN TRUDEAU/CC FLICKR

its failures as well.

There are several decisions and policies that I would call technical failures, where Trudeau made promises for science innovations but did not fully carry through with these promises. An example is the $50 million dollars given to the Industrial Research Assistance Program when $100 million was promised. Others, like the incomplete repeal of the ban on blood donation for LGBTQ men, appear only to be negotiated variants of original promises.

With all of this in mind, I find it is easy to conclude only one thing about the Prime Minister with certainty. Although Trudeau is a vast improvement on Harper with regard to science, he is not the torch-bearing messiah of science that some had hoped him to be, and that perhaps was implied during his campaign.

Yet total pessimism is undue. In the past two years Trudeau has clearly delineated his position as a supporter of scientific progress in Canada, with only the degree to which he is dedicated in question. In a world where anti-intellectualism is becoming increasingly prevalent in democratic governments, scientists — and the public alike — should be thankful for the leadership we have, despite its flaws.

Science Around Town Charmaine Nyakonda Varsity Staff

Towards identifying innate genetic immunity mechanisms in eukaryotes: how do cells distinguish chromosomal from non-chromosomal DNA? Innate and adaptive immunity play a large role in ensuring the survival of species. This seminar addresses the question of how eukaryotes are able to distinguish between chromosomal and non-chromosomal DNA in order to prevent propagation of the latter.

Date: Monday, November 27 Time: 4:00 pm Location: Fitzgerald Building, 150 College Street, Room 103 Admission: Free Introduction to research workshop Prospective student researchers are invited to a Q&A panel discussion featuring upper-year undergraduate and graduate students who will discuss the different types of STEM research at U of T. Executives from the STEM fellowship will also be present to speak on how to seek out research opportunities and funding.

Date: Monday, November 27 Time: 5:00–7:30 pm Location: Gerstein Science Information Centre, 9 King’s College Circle, Alice Moulton Room Admission: Free with registration (full as of press time) World AIDS Day 2017 Global Health Engage is hosting a diverse range of speakers who will discuss what HIV/AIDS progress means in different communities and contexts. This year’s theme is “Repression to Progression.” The day also provides a platform for local and global communities to celebrate the efforts of those who have dedicated their lives to eradicate the disease.

Date: Wednesday, November 29 Time: 6:00–8:00 pm Location: Hart House, 7 Hart House Circle, Great Hall Admission: Free with registration The ArtSci Salon presents: what does A stand for in STEAM? All are welcome to join this unique discussion about the role of ‘A’ in STEAM. There will be a diverse panel of science communicators, educators, and arts practitioners representing different experiences, backgrounds, and areas of research.

Date: Friday, December 1 Time: 5:30–7:30 pm Location: The Fields Institute, 222 College Street Admission: Free with registration

Sports

November 20, 2017 var.st/sports sports@thevarsity.ca

Jeska Eedens leads a bright future for Blues women’s lacrosse The head coach earned bronze and OUA coach of the year honours in 2017

Blues head coach Jeska Eedens instructs her team inside the huddle against York. PHOTO BY MARTIN BAZYL, COURTESY OF THE VARSITY BLUES

Daniel Samuel Sports Editor

After a transformative sophomore season coaching the University of Toronto Varsity Blues women’s lacrosse team, head coach Jeska Eedens is heading back to her family home in St. Catharines. On a Friday morning, a few hours before she’s scheduled to depart Toronto, Eedens, alongside co-captain Sarah Jamieson, recounts the year-long journey the team underwent following their second consecutive seventh-place finish in 2016.

It was not a fluke that just a week prior, the Blues defeated Wilfrid Laurier University to earn bronze at the Ontario University Athletics (OUA) Championships.

“At the end of last season it was very clear afterwards that we are better than this and we have the talent, the systems, and everything in place that we shouldn’t be in seventh anymore,” says Eedens. “This time last year, literally a week after OUAs, I was getting messages from our girls being like, ‘Hey, when are we lifting, when are starting the offseason, when are we going?’ And so we spent a year working towards it, and our goal was a gold medal, a championship.”

Jamieson believes Eedens has provided Toronto with an outline for success, one that begins with her constant effort to reinforce a strong team culture. She expresses that prior to Eedens’ hiring, the team lacked cohesion and the ability to set an overall goal.

“Since Jess has taken over we’ve been able to see that we, as players, have such an impact on how we play on the field and also what we put into our offseason,” says Jamieson. “Our goalsetting, our working out really dictates what’s going to happen... She’s given us a vision [and] the girls have grasped it.”

“It was important to me to make sure the girls always knew that I 100 per cent believed that they can do it,” adds Eedens.

As the Blues enter the offseason with a plethora of graduating players, Eedens is excited by the challenge of rebuilding the team. She spent last summer tinkering with different lineups and shift changes, scheduling when and where each player was subject to play depending on the various game situation, but without last season’s veteran squad, she no longer has the

luxury of knowing her entire lineup.

“Going into next year is going to be a lot of fun because everything is going to be so different, we’re going to be seeing new players really stepping into roles that they were just starting to get into at the end of this season,” says Eedens.

A self-described lacrosse nerd, Eedens appears jovial. Earlier in the morning she provided Edmonton’s Vimy Ridge Academy lacrosse team with a campus tour, where she highlighted the campus and facilities as well as the benefits of competing at a Canadian university.

“A lot of players look to the States, but... more and more girls are starting to stay in Canada to play as the OUA becomes more competitive,” explains Eedens. “It’s really nice to outline for them: you can have this really competitive varsity experience and this great student athlete experience while coming to this amazing university.”

“I hope we can do more stuff like that because they were really engaged,” she says.

Eedens wants to build a program that can rival the Western Mustangs, the “perennial powerhouse” and side that defeated Toronto 10–4 in the semifinals, a match she admits felt a lot closer than the final score suggests. Eedens notes the Blues had a tough time finding the back of the net in the match and were unable to stop the Mustangs. Western went on to win the championship, their sixth title in the past seven seasons.

“The girls on the Western team said we gave them a battle… despite it being a loss, we were still proud of our efforts in that game,” Eedens says. “We gave them a run for their money.”

The offseason, which began unofficially with lifting sessions that will go until Christmas, ramps up in January with three lift days per week and one weekly practice and scrimmage.

Last year, the Blues went to the US and faced Williams College in an exhibition match during the offseason, and they are looking to do something similar in the coming months, as well as play in a tournament. Eedens utilizes the offseason as a period of time to break down mechanics and focus on the little things with each player. Graduating players will also participate in workouts to help bridge the gap and better prepare next year’s team.

“That was something that during the season

our players were really good about. They understand that some of the newer girls need some playing time in games, trying to set them up, and trying to teach them, so that when it’s their turn next year they’re a little more prepared,” explains Eedens. “We still have some great leaders returning and it’s going to be up to them to step up and were really going to be looking towards them.”

She also makes a candid pitch for other athletes around campus to participate in lacrosse.

“Female athletes who are looking for something new and have played a lot of sports should play intramural lacrosse hands down,” she says.

“I played for a year and I became a captain, the government paid my tuition, I played for Team Scotland, [and] I’m the head coach now. It’s an easy sport to learn because it uses so many skills from other sports.”

Through Eedens’ meticulous preparation and vocal leadership, it’s easy to see why she was selected OUA lacrosse coach of the year by her peers. Describing the magnitude of the award and her immediate thoughts upon receiving the achievement briefly stagnates the well-versed coach.

“To know that people you have a lot of respect for wanted to recognize me is a great honour,” explains Eedens. “I was really surprised, pleasantly surprised.”

“I think that she deserved it more than anyone else...We implemented certain systems that wouldn’t have been able to be implemented without her,” adds Jamieson. “We are so lucky to have her.”

Eedens first picked up a lacrosse stick at 17, before she entered U of T about a decade ago.

She knew she wanted to play on a Blues team but was unsure which one. She considered volleyball, soccer, and rowing, but her path was ultimately dictated by her love for lacrosse.

After spending her rookie season as a benchwarmer, Eedens blossomed as a key defender for Toronto under the guidance of Blues assistant coach Jamine Aponte. She earned the OUA most valuable defensive player award and allstar honours in 2009.

The following season, Eedens’ playing career was halted by a concussion, and she dropped out of school that same year. She came back to school for a fifth year, but she didn’t play, then she became a part-time student and soon found

a full-time job. She suggests that over the course of her four year-layoff, she likely earned only “a credit and a half.”

In 2015, Eedens made a return to lacrosse, even though she hadn’t touched a stick in three or four years and wasn’t in shape.

“I was working full-time and was not super happy,” admits Eedens. “I had this dream job, amazing life in Toronto, but I was like, ‘I’ll take a step back to go forwards and finish my degree.’ I came back and the coach at that point said they were short on girls, so I thought, well if I’m taking a step back to my undergrad, I guess I should go back and play lacrosse too.”

“I was not a star player that year… Coming back was really me trying to finish off my degree. I got my concussion at my peak: I just had the best season of my life and I got knocked out of it, so I wanted a bit of closure.”

The following January, then-head coach Taryn Grieder needed help to run the offseason and hired Eedens as an assistant coach. When Grieder resigned, Eedens decided the most natural thing would be to apply for the vacant position. She knew the program, the girls, and she was confident she would be the best person for the job.

“I got the phone call on my convocation day, so that was a good day,” remembers Eedens.

Jamieson has had the best vantage point to view Eedens’ growth. Their relationship began when Jamieson was 14. A hockey player, Jameison was instructed to play lacrosse over the summer, and the following season Eedens was at the helm of her local team.

“It was funny coming back because I coached Sarah… this young woman with all these leadership skills and everything, I’m like, ‘Oh my god, I’m so old,’” laughs Eedens.

“The year that [she] coached me with Jamine was actually my first year with a real coach and I was kind of like, ‘Oh, this is what lacrosse is like,’” says Jamieson.

“And it was my first time coaching, so I was like, ‘Oh this is what coaching is,’” laughs Eedens again. “Sarah will be our assistant coach next year, when she graduates.”

“Full circle,” replies Jamieson.

18 • THE VARSITY • SPORTS

sports@thevarsity.ca

Varsity Blues women’s cross country team win U SPORTS championship Sasha Gollish wins gold while Lucia Stafford places sixth Rachel Takacs Varsity Contributor

The Varsity Blues women’s cross country team won the U SPORTS Cross Country Championships in Victoria, BC last weekend, defeating the 13-year running champion Guelph Gryphons. The victory marked the first time in 15 years that the Blues have won.

On a rainy day, the Blues were pitted against top universities from across the country — their main opponents were the Queen’s Gaels and the Gryphons. It was through the Blues’ consistency in remaining in the top five that let them inch closer and closer to the front of the pack, finally leading to a first-place win.

Sasha Gollish, the oldest member of the Varsity Blues team, placed first overall with a time of 27 minutes and 37 seconds. This feat earned her the title of U SPORTS Athlete of the Year and a position with the U SPORTS First Team All-Canadians.

Blues member Lucia Stafford, who ran at 28 minutes and 18 seconds, also qualified for U SPORTS First Team All-Canadians honours. “Due to the fact that it isn’t the most spectator friendly sport, many students at U of T don’t even know that their women’s team just won the national championships - breaking Guelph’s 13 year winning streak and making history,” said Stafford in an email.

Stafford represented Team Canada at the 2016 Under-20 World Track and Field cham-

pionships, and she was named 2017 Rookie of the Year. She also competed for Canada at the 2016 Rio Summer Olympics. “We truly became a team this year. Every workout we’d be working together, having fun along the way. We all believed in each other, especially our captain Maddy and coaches Terry and Ross. We knew we had something special and so for what felt like the first time for me, we ran for each other with the title in mind.”

The second-year engineering student beat out many veteran runners in BC and will likely continue to be a strong contender in future races as she continues both her educational and athletic careers at the University of Toronto. “This year has been very exciting and telling for our future,” said Stafford.

“The Toronto team has now established itself as a serious and talented program, and intends to keep up this trend. With amazing coaches, training, and facilities, I hope that will continue.”

Starting in 1963 with the men’s competition and continuing with the 1980 women’s competition, the U SPORTS Cross Country Championships honour the best running teams in the country at the national meet.

Teams from all over Canada qualified for this year’s race, with an overall participation of about 151 members.

The average time for the meet was 31 minutes and 24 seconds over a distance of eight kilometres, which was changed from the previous six-kilometre race that took place last year. Looking forward, Stafford explained

The Blues women’s cross country team pose with their 2017 U SPORTS championship banner.

her wariness of the increasing race length moving up another two kilometres from eight kilometres to the male distance of 10 kilometres.

“As a middle distance track athlete with a team mainly consisting of middle distance specialists, it won’t make sense to train for 10km cross country when our main focus is

track and the shorter events,” said Stafford.

Though she may have few doubts, she seems confident in her team and their abilities.

The women’s team continue to look to lengthen their winning streak and continue to build on their strong foundation.

What you need to know about circuit training The popular and highly debated workout regimen aims to improve flexibility and coordination Despite that, it is possible to do low-repetition, high-weight exercises during a circuit to include the strengthening component. The purpose of a circuit is repetition to increase endurance. Hardcore weightlifting exercises within a circuit can be too exhausting to complete in multiple rounds, especially when performed with little rest or recovery time.

JING TEY/THE VARSITY

Daniela Ruscica Varsity Contributor

Circuit training has always been a hot topic within the fitness world, and it may just be worth sweating over. Circuit training is a rotation of repeated movements that maximizes cardio and strengthens muscle through sets and reps. The objective of circuit training is to train endurance as well as to strengthen and target muscles in order to improve an individual’s flexibility and coordination. Each training session typically includes a combination of both aerobic exercise and strength training.

The debate surrounding circuit training Arguments against circuit training claim that it can limit the ability to increase strength and power, but it can also be interpreted as a workout that challenges the whole body. What you get out of your training depends on how you choose to structure it.

Circuits are designed to fit at least eight repetitions per exercise and per station. Because circuit training consists of various exercises and stations, each targeting different muscle groups, it may decrease the gains you would earn from a more specific muscle training workout.

How to effectively circuit train While circuits can be tiring, an individual’s pace is important. People should be wary of the tendency to work harder and push themselves in the beginning, only to give in by the end.

This is a common mistake partly because participants may minimize or eliminate rest between stations. Participants are most effective when they use a work-rest ratio of at least 1:1. One good example is 30 seconds of work and 30 seconds of rest.

To help avoid fast muscle fatigue, you can structure circuits for strength training by alternating between low-rep strength and highrep endurance exercises. You can also vary the muscles each station intends on targeting, which may allow you to have a more balanced full-body workout.

Research shows that this type of training is more effective than a regular workout. You can burn up to 10 calories per minute, and the afterburn effect will have you burning off calories for up to 48 hours after your workout ends. For those who lift weights, circuit training burns 30 per cent more calories than your typical weight workout and offers more cardio benefits.

The stations associated with circuit training

also provide a way to organize an individual workout plan within a tighter period of time.

Another point in favour of circuit training: you can do it at the gym or at home. By participating in a circuit, you’re guaranteed to hit every major and minor muscle group.

How to create your own circuit First, create your own circuit by deciding how long you want your workout to be. Challenge yourself by taking part in this type of training two to three times a week by completing a full circuit of four to eight exercises.

Next, create your stations. You can start with upper body then work your way to muscles in the lower body. My personal favourites for upper body exercise are ab twists, pushups, or bicep and tricep curls with handheld weights.

When selecting a lower body workout, you can include lunges, calf raises, or sumo squats.

The next exercise should be compound, combining upper and lower body. Some exercises can include jumping lunges, mountain climbers, and burpees. Keep each exercise on a 30-second rotation between performance and rest. Remember the 1:1 ratio of performance and rest.

Conclude the circuit with a one-minute cardio set. Your exercise choices can be jump rope, high knees, or stair climbing. Once completed, allow yourself one minute of rest as you gear up to work through another repetition of the circuit.

Like with any workout, you get out what you put in. In the end, it is up to you to give your best 30 seconds or let the 30 seconds get the best of you.

NOVEMBER 20, 2017 • 19

var.st/sports

WEEKLY BOX SCORES BASKETBALL MEN’S 63–70

November 18

Guelph Gryphons

Varsity Blues

WOMEN’S 52–69

November 18

Guelph Gryphons

Varsity Blues

Like Pandora's Box, some things are meant to stay closed.

TEXTBOOKS AREN'T ONE OF THOSE THINGS.

HOCKEY MEN’S 2–3

November 17 Varsity Blues

Lakehead Thunderwolves

1–3

November 18 Varsity Blues

Lakehead Thunderwolves

WOMEN’S 1–4

November 17 Varsity Blues

Nipissing Lakers

2–3

November 18 Varsity Blues

Laurentian Voyageurs

The eCampusOntario Open Textbook Library is a virtual resource that contains nearly 200 textbooks that are available at no cost.

VOLLEYBALL

That's right, free. For everyone, forever.

MEN’S So whether you need to use the library to fulfill a required reading, find

0–3

November 17 Varsity Blues

(20–25, 22–25, 23-25)

Ryerson Rams

research material, or support a personal interest, you'll find resources available in a variety of user-friendly formats, so you can study anywhere, on any device. They also make for great coffee table books!

3–2

November 19 Varsity Blues

(20–25, 22–25, 25–16, 25–18, 15–13)

Trent Excalibur

Ask your faculty about adopting an open textbook for your class today.

WOMEN’S 1–3

November 17 Varsity Blues

(25–21, 24–26, 20–25, 16–25)

Varsity Blues

(25–19, 23–25, 25–19, 25–20)

Ryerson Rams

3–1

November 19

Trent Excalibur

Visit the Open Textbook Library at eCampusOntario.ca

ADVERTISEMENTS

Learn more about enhancing your degree with a graduate certificate.

Saturday, November 25, 2017 10 a.m. – 2 p.m.

Six campuses

NOVEMBER 20, 2017 • 20

• 40+ Seneca graduate certificate programs • Finish in 2 or 3 semesters • Build a powerful industry network through work experience

TO REGISTER AND FOR MORE INFORMATION:

senecacollege.ca/openhouse