Vol 35 issue 12

Monday, November 24, 2008

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11 Volume 35, Issue 12

www.mediumonline.ca

Casting light on a dark problem ANDREW HAMILTON-SMITH FEATURES EDITOR

Over fifty staff and students braved the cold to attend the third annual Light the ight event last Thursday evening and raise awareness about violence against women. Standing amidst paper lanterns with inspirational messages written on them, such as “respect women and yourself,” or “real love doesn’t hurt,” the assembled supporters were thanked

by Rita Kohli of the Sexual Assault/Rape Crisis Centre of Peel for raising almost $600, which was donated to her organization.

Kohli explained that violence against women was a human rights issue and she thanked UTM students for drawing attention to the issue “on behalf of women in Peel and women worldwide.”

She further pointed out that violence is a major problem, since one in every two women will experience sexual violence, and one in every four women will experience domestic violence during her lifetime.

After gathering in front of Oscar Peterson Hall and being thanked by both organizers and Kohli, the candle-holding crowd set off on a (mostly) quiet walk through campus, which drew the attention of the surprisingly

large numbers of people still around at ten o’clock at night. The walk was followed closely at all times by UTM Campus Security and the Walk-Safe Patrol, who were on-hand to offer support for the cause, more than to protect against any dangers.

Although there have been no sexual assaults reported at UTM in the past year, it is hard to say that none have occurred, since 50 per cent of sexual assaults are left unreported, according to lead organizer Justin Frofina, a fourth-year Forensic Science and Chemistry student. A residence don, Frosina has organized this event for the last three years, and although he was “pleased with the turn-out,” he added that “hopefully next year will be even better.”

“This is a great event,” Frofina said, “even though it may be a little cold tonight, it is well worth it to come out.” Light the ight is the culmination of the fundraising drive and is run in conjunction with the White Ribbon campaign, which benefited the Sexual Assault/Rape Crisis Centre of Peel. The money was raised by collecting pennies, and far exceeded their initial goal of $200, according to organizer and residence don Jeff Wong.

Wong became involved with this event because he wanted to be a part of “something on a greater scale,” and wanted to make a difference in the lives of others. “It is very important to give back to the community,” Wong says, which he also does as a member of Peer Academic Leaders (PALS).

Although the general purpose of

Light the ight is always to raise awareness about violence against women, residence don Leann Schneider says that each year a different beneficiary for the fundraising drive is selected. The Sexual Assault/Rape Crisis Centre plays a vital role in offering assistance to women who oftentimes have nowhere else to turn, and thus qualified as a deserving recipient of the funds.

Statistics Canada provides troubling figures regarding violence against women, such as the fact that younger women—between 14 and 24—experience the highest rates of sexual assault. Even though reported cases of violence against women have been declining somewhat since 1993, women are still far more likely to be stalked, assaulted, or even killed than men. Their assailants are commonly ex-partners or spouses, and almost 40 per cent of women assaulted said that their children witnessed the abuse.

Faced with incontrovertible evidence showing that violence against women is a major problem, “I had to do something,” says Frosina. Raising awareness is the first step towards a solution, since it may encourage women to report assault, and may also lead some people to recognize the signs of violence when they see them.

When Kohli asked the crowd how many people know someone who has been assaulted, nearly everyone put up their hand. Reported assaults may be slowly declining, but evidently violence against women is still prevalent in our society.

photo/Lara Matiisen

The third annual Light the Night walk raised almost $600 for the Sexual Assault/Rape Crisis Centre of Peel, in addition to raising awareness about violence against women and children.

Tempers flare at Child Care meeting FIONA BUCHANAN

A meeting regarding the new licensed childcare centre at the University of Toronto, Mississauga (UTM) was held on Tuesday, November 18 in the Council Chambers. The purpose of the meeting was to inform parents about the new facility, and its program. Fees, application processes, and subsidies available to parents in need of financial assistance were also covered. The scheduled opening date of the childcare centre is February 2009, although this date is dependent upon the progress of contractors hired to build the facility.

The meeting was led by Francesca Dobbin, director of Family Programs

and Services, and Cheryl DeGras, manager of the Early Learning Centre, both from the University of Toronto. Concern regarding the cost of childcare was raised by parents attending the meeting.

The fees will match those at the U of T Early Learning Centre at the St. George campus.

“It’s matching the downtown price, but it’s not okay here [at the Mississauga campus] because it doesn’t compare to the prices of daycare nearby,” said Farzeen Ahmed, a commerce student and mother of two children aged five and two.

Cheryl DeGras emphasized that the cost of the service was based on its focus on education as opposed to childcare alone. “If you compare the quality of service that is provided in our program,

you would see the difference in the quality of experience that the child has,” she said.

“One of the highest indicators of quality is the training of the early childhood educators and the level of interaction [with the children]. What makes our program unique is that we see the education of children as equal to the care piece,” added DeGras.

Based on current rates, students with one toddler will pay $1,180 per month, or $60 a day at the new centre. Non-students using the facility pay $1,480 per month, or $96 a day. Fees are expected to increase as of January 1, 2009.

“Last year, the increase was four to five percent [at the Early Learning Centre at St. George]. Generally speaking, fees go up about three to nine per-

cent [per year], depending on increasing operating costs,” said Dobbin in regards to the increase.

The current child minding facility in the Student Centre at UTM charges $5 per hour to a maximum of $40 per day, which would be approximately $800 per month. Even if the student price is applied, the difference parents will pay at the new centre is almost 50 per cent more than at the current facility. St. Hilary’s Day Care Centre in Mississauga charges $959.74 per month for a toddler, according to their website. Like the Early Childhood Education Centre of U of T, they also have a focus on education, but are run by a parent- and community-based board of directors.

“My problem is that I already paid a deregulated [tuition] fee, and I had to go

part-time because I am a mother, so I will be getting my degree in six or seven years,” said Ahmed.

“This new model suggests that you have to get another loan and put your child in the early learning centre, or you sacrifice your education. I can’t work and be a student and be a mother,” added Ahmed in response to the cost of the new centre.

Dobbin pointed out that there is nothing that UTM can do about the cost of the program. “The fees are already preset by the management of the Early Childhood Education Centre at U of T based on the cost of materials, food for children, and cost of staffing,” she explained.

Continued on page 3

2 THE MEDIUM

Monday, November 24, 2008

NEWS

Changes to UTMSU the focus of AGM Auditor’s report finds reduced budget surplus last year, but student union projects a balanced budget for this year ANDREW HAMILTON-SMITH FEATURES EDITOR

A review by auditor Charles Havill has found that last year’s UTM Student Union (UTMSU) spent $26,270 in excess of their revenues, but due to a $77,000 accumulated surplus carried over from the year before, the final overall balance sheet ended up $51,700 ahead.

Current UTMSU President Wasah Malik explains that the audited financial statements show a deficit in some areas due to management changes last year to help improve the UTMSU and the Blind Duck. “UTMSU last year felt it was necessary to move towards a change that would help eliminate the huge deficits incurred by the Blind Duck,� Malik said in an interview, “which would have to be subsidized from UTMSU’s operating budget.�

The Blind Duck Pub, which has had difficulty balancing its budget since opening, is reportedly running a surplus

this year, suggesting that reforms have been working. When the Student Union took control of the Student Centre from the university administration last year, the Blind Duck fell under the union’s mandate, meaning that the UTMSU was able to implement changes directly and make the business profitable. The Student Union also spent over $44,000 to pay off loans from the Blind Duck, in order to improve its credit rating and eliminate interest payments, thus allowing more money to be put towards students in the long run.

The final auditor’s report will be submitted to the UTMSU at their Annual General Meeting on Wednesday November 26. This meeting will also review and vote on changes being proposed for the UTMSU Constitution, which reflect the major transformation that the student union has undergone in recent years. “UTMSU increased its operating budget due to the agreement with UTSU, which pretty much outlines that UTM dollars come back to UTM students,� said Malik, referring to one such change

to the union’s structure.

He added that “this arrangement is more efficient and fiscally responsible, because previously there were two student union offices at UTM (UTSU and UTMSU) representing the same students and organizing the same events separately, which was an irresponsible avenue of using student resources.� Through this new set-up, combined with improvements to the Blind Duck’s balance sheet and new Student Centre revenues, the UTMSU has more than doubled its annual budget, and this amount will only continue to grow in the future.

The current UTMSU administration anticipates a small $1,800 operating surplus this year, which will be added to the $51,700 accumulated surplus from last year. There has also been a $300,000 special fund set aside by the Student Union and the university, in order to facilitate the expansion of the Student Centre in 2010. Students can request printed copies of the operating budget for the current academic year from the UTMSU office, although the information is also available on-line through www.utmsu.ca.

photo/Matthew Filipowich

UTMSU President Wasah Malik being interviewed by The Medium’s Andrew Hamilton-Smith in the student union offices.

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After taking over responsibility for the Student Centre from the University of Toronto, Mississauga (UTM) administration last year, the UTM Student Union (UTMSU) is now planning to expand it. Anything and everything is on the table at this point, and the UTMSU is collecting student input about what students want to see included.

On Monday, November 17, the UTMSU held an open town hall meeting with students to discuss what should be added, and also to review the responses to the student survey conducted during the week of November 10, which over 600 students responded to.

Of the respondents, the vast majority lived off-campus and were full-time, which is not surprising considering that the majority of students at UTM fall into these two categories. The most common reason cited for using the Student Centre was to relax and socialize, and the most students cited the Blind Duck Pub and the restrooms as being the places within the Student Centre that they visited most often.

Nearly three-quarters of survey respondents wanted to see a new food court included in the expanded Student Centre, and much of the discussion on Monday revolved around this issue.

Most students wanted to see a Shwarma or Thai/Chinese food outlet on campus, and the question of access was also a priority. “There was a lot of support for the idea of having a food

court that is open late, and also one that provides healthy diverse food options,� said UTMSU Vice President External Dhanajai Kohli. “Another idea that was thrown around was a nap area.�

A nap area was one of the more popular responses from the survey, after additional study space and computer labs, and could be based upon similar models currently used in Japan.

“The Student Union is here for the students of UTM, and we want to make sure that we are listening to them.�

- UTMSU President Wasah Malik A number of studies have concluded that a ten-minute nap—no longer—can actually combat fatigue and improve alertness, and in Japan workers are offered “tubes� which can accommodate a single person for some quick shut-eye. Brock University is currently conducting a study on student work habits and daytime napping, which will conclude in May of 2009, demonstrating that this may be an idea whose time has come.

Another popular idea for the new Student Centre space was that of a convenience store on campus, perhaps reflecting the isolated geography of UTM in relation to the surrounding suburbs. At the moment, students who require convenience store items can find some of them at the UTM Book Store in the South Building, but the selection is limited and the hours are inconvenient. The nearest convenience

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store off-campus is on Dundas, just west of Mississauga Road, which could take nearly half an hour of walking to and from.

There is no shortage of possibilities for the new space, and students mentioned a wide range of ideas beyond those mentioned above. Although they were supported by much smaller numbers of students, it was also proposed that the new space could include a video-game arcade, postal outlet, Ticket Master outlet, retail stores (including phones and electronics), and even a vendor’s market.

In the end, the UTMSU wants the expanded space to appeal to students and represent their needs as much as possible. “The Student Union is here for the students of UTM, and we want to make sure that we are listening to them. Thus, we are making this process as open and democratic as possible,� explained UTMSU President Wasah Malik. Construction is scheduled to begin in late 2009 or early 2010, with completion expected by December of 2011.

Correction Notice: In the November 20th issue of The Medium, November 11 was cited in “Remember the fallen� as the anniversary of the Treaty of Versailles. It was actually the Armistace that was signed on this date, and we regret the error.

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UTM CAREER CENTRE

Monday, November 24, 2008

THE MEDIUM 3

NEWS

“What would you like to see included in the Student Centre expansion?”

South Building transformation ANDREW HAMILTON-SMITH FEATURES EDITOR

“I would like to see better seating areas, like a lounge.

More games and fun stuff would be nice as well.”

- Angelina Mollov Second-year psychology

“More and bigger pool tables would be nice, since there is always a line-up. Other games like ping pong, darts or jitz would be cool too.”

- Saira Saleem Second-year english

“We really need more places to eat, fast food and healthier food, more variety in general.

A sushi or pasta place would be really popular.”

- Thomas EK First-year physical sciences

Campus Crime Report November 14, 2008 at 3:02 a.m. oise Complaint Campus Police responded to a noise complaint at Putnam Place.

November 14, 2008 at 11:30 a.m.

Vehicle Tow A vehicle was towed from Lot 8. The vehicle had excessive number of outstanding parking fines.

November 14, 2008, at 7:30 p.m.

Assist Mississauga Transit Enforcement Campus Police assisted Mississauga Transit Enforcement in dealing with a UTM student who was placing advertisements on transit bus shelters on and off campus.

November 14, 2008 at 11:51 p.m. oise Complaint Campus Police responded to a noise complaint in Leacock Lane.

November 16, 2008 at 4:00 p.m.

Fallen Tree A tree fell in Lot 9. There were no injuries or damage to property.

November 16, 2008 at 8:30 p.m.

False Fire Alarm A false fire alarm occurred in Erindale Hall when a resident accidentally tripped a pull station.

November 16, 2008, at 11:40 p.m.

Motor Vehicle Accident Campus Police investigated a motor vehicle accident/ Fail to Remain in the CCT Garage November 16, 2008, at 5:40 p.m.

Suspicious Person A suspicious male was observed by the ALC staff inside a women’s washroom in the Library. There were no indica-

tions that the male was there for inappropriate reasons.

November 18, 2008, at 12:15 a.m.

Transport from Hospital Campus Police transported a student from hospital back to campus.

In a move to improve student services on campus, the University of Toronto, Mississauga (UTM) will be renovating the South Building starting in early 2009. Some work has already begun in the old library and on the third floor near the Council Chambers, but by December 2009, there will be new office space and facilities as well as aesthetic enhancements and environmental upgrades.

The improvements will be designed with a green focus, using recycled materials and others that can be rapidly replenished, such as bamboo and wood from managed forests, as well as low-consumption plumbing fixtures.

According to Olena Wawryshyn, who works for the UTM administration, “a large portion of the space slated for renovation is designated for the offices of the Dean, Vice-President and Principal, Campus Police, and departments of geography and sociol-

ogy.” This area will also include a corridor wide enough to double as a venue for events and exhibits terminating at a two-storey sky light atrium filled with greenery.

“It is in the interests of the university to set an example that they are aware of the environmental impact when something is being built,” said architect Peter Ng. The renovation and expansion of existing space in the South Building reflects the fact that as one of the oldest buildings on campus, and after thirty-seven years of use, the building is due for an update.

“In recent years, U of T Mississauga has experienced significant physical growth with the construction of new award-winning buildings such as the Hazel McCallion Academic Learning Centre and the Recreation, Athletics and Wellness Centre,” says UTM Vice-President and Principal Ian Orchard. “We are also actively improving the quality of existing space. With the South Building renovations, we are now enhancing office, student, and public space in a welcoming and environmentally friendly way in one of our

original buildings on campus.”

Wawryshyn explained that Phase I of the renovation project has already been finalized and will begin shortly, although further phases are still in the planning stages. Three students were consulted by the budget officer from the campus’ Facilities Management and Planning.

Department for the first phase, and there are plans to include student input in the next phases as well.

“Student consultations are always part of the process in planning large capital projects on campus,” she added.

The first phase will involve building new offices for the Departments of Geography and Sociology, and although there are no concrete plans for the next phases, Wawryshyn does not expect any new food or retail spaces to be a part of what the university would like to see included in this development.

The renovations in 2009 will be primarily contained to the third floor of the South Building. After this first phase is completed, further construction to create a new Student Services Plaza on the second floor will begin.

Child Care too costly: parents Continued from front page

“Parents on the board of directors have a say on the quality of the program, what sort of experiences they’d like their children to have during the year.”

When asked why the cost could not be negotiated, Dobbin indicated that because the University of Toronto is accepting legal responsibility for the children and the facility, it is therefore the University’s responsibility to determine the cost of the service. “If the centre is [run by] a parent board of directors, then the fees can be determined by the parents and the responsibility lies with them,” she said.

UTMSU and parents mentioned after the meeting that they were not consulted during the planning process of the new child care facility. “When we met with

Student Affairs regarding the new child care facility, we were just presented with the chosen operator. We weren’t given any opportunity to have a say in prices based on the current facility,” said Wasah Malik, UTMSU President.

“The parents who have been fighting for childcare [at UTM] for the past two years aren’t even going to be the ones benefitting from this [service] because they won’t be able to afford it,” added Saaliha Malik, VP Equity at UTMSU. There was discussion at the meeting about subsidies available to parents to help offset the cost of childcare. The Region of Peel offers a subsidy to residents who are working, self-employed, or students, with eligibility determined by income testing.

“There are subsidies available so it appears that the pricing will work for everyone,” said UTMSU VP Malik.

“What [student affairs] can’t accommodate, although they have good intentions, are individual situations where some student-parents are married with a working spouse, paying tuition, but don’t qualify for OSAP or bursaries,” she added.

There will also be funding available to parents through UTMSU, according to UTMSU President Malik. “UTMSU is creating a $5000 bursary for child care from UTMSU’s operating budget, that will be open to all student-parent users of the new child care facility,” he said.

There will be twenty-six spots available at the new childcare centre when it opens. Currently, there is a waiting list of twenty-nine people. The existing child minding service will be closed in sync with the opening of the new centre.

November 18, 2008, at 1:35 p.m.

Elevator Entrapment Several people were stuck inside an ALC elevator for a very short time.

November 18, 2008, at 1:50 p.m.

Solicitation Campus Police dealt with male placing flyers on vehicles in parking lots 8 and 9.

November 17, 2008, at 8:09 p.m.

Theft Under $5000.00 Campus Police investigated the theft of a student’s sports equipment from the RAWC. November 17, 2008, at 11:30 p.m.

Theft Under $5000.00 Campus Police investigated the theft of an X Box console from a unit in MaGrath Valley.

November 19, 2008, at 2:10 a.m.

Medical Call/ Intoxication Campus Police dealt with an intoxicated female in Putnam Place.

November 19, 2008, at 10:55 p.m.

Transport to Hospital Campus Police conveyed a student to hospital.

November 19, 2008, at 11:05 a.m.

Disruptive Behaviour Campus Police investigated a disturbance between neighbours in Schreiberwood.

Medium 2.0 is a multimedia version of The Medium.

Composed of a series of weekly newscasts, Medium 2.0 represents the future of information sharing.

email ali at editor@mediumonline.ca or visit our office in the student centre

4 THE MEDIUM

Monday, November 24, 2008

Letters to the Editor Not guilty: a plea for an informed review

Ali Kasim, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF | editor@mediumonline.ca www.mediumonline.ca

EDITORIAL A response to Theatre Erindale Much of what I have to say in this editorial are words repeated from my email response to Patrick Young, Artistic Director at Theatre Erindale and Program Coordinator of the Theatre and Drama Studies department, who like Kelsey Goldberg (re: this week’s Letter to the Editor), expressed his concern at the various inaccuracies in Samantha Berger’s review last week of the play, Murderous Women, produced and performed by Theatre Erindale.

Our writers – volunteers and editors alike – are representative of us, as a publication. If we publish whatever they say, we must have condoned it. I use the term “condone” here in reference to awarding validity to a point of view.

My only real explanation for Ms. Berger’s review last week and the wave of criticism attached to it is that while The Medium is responsible for whatever it publishes, we cannot control or dictate the opinions of our volunteer writers.

For that matter, the opinions of our writers are not necessarily reflective of ours. We condone, but we don’t necessarily agree with it. Hence, if Ms. Berger’s opinion of the play was less than flattering, she is nonetheless entitled to it.

As we cannot always attend and review Theatre Erindale productions ourselves, we can only trust that our volunteers give as much of an objective and intellectual argument/review as possible. To suggest that our writers take it upon themselves to “thoughtlessly trash the theatre’s hard work as a way to boost an application to Graduate School” is certainly a very harsh and completely false assumption.

After having checked with my Arts editor, I can confirm that Ms. Berger did in fact attend Murderous Women after its opening, on Saturday evening.

That being said, I do understand how Ms. Goldberg, herself a cast-member, and Mr. Young were led into thinking that Ms. Berger based her review on a work-in-progress preview. Admittedly, it was not the best of articles – not only did it not specify when exactly she had seen the play, but as Ms. Goldberg pointed out in her letter, certain crucial details such as the director's name and the fact that the cast were entirely comprised of third-year drama students were also missing.

The Medium’s editorial team, and by this I mean myself, the arts editor, and the copy editor must take full responsibility for the omission of these important details. I trust that the Theatre Erindale community will understand that we are all student editors, and that there is always much to learn about several different facets of the job, which includes what must go into a good theatre, film, or art show review.

All that said, I would like to add that The Medium has always done its best to support and promote Theatre Erindale, moreso than with any other theatre company within our institution and in Toronto. I sincerely hope that despite this latest questionable review, Theatre Erindale will continue to recognize this.

Yours,

Ali Kasim

The Medium’s Writing Contest is now closed, and we are currently looking over all the entries.

Contest winners will be announced in next week’s issue.

The Medium would like to thank everyone who entered.

THE

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Board of Directors Christine Capewell, Jane Ngobia, Isa Cunanan, Raji Aujla, Laura Gaspini, Umeimah Bastaki, Bhagyashri Bhandakkar, Julie Tyios

As a member of the Theatre and Drama Studies third year class I was outraged and personally offended by the review that The Medium so callously printed. I am more than aware that negative reviews are part of the business, however the fact that the review had some glaring inaccuracies as well as misused terms that any theatre student should know suggested that the review was not written by a fellow member of the theatrical community.

The first clue is that the writers of the play as well as the director of the show were not mentioned in the review. To clarify, the show was written by the entire third year class and was directed

by Marc Richard. Also our source material was not a Frank Jones “novel” or “crime drama” or “obvious page turner filled with suspense, intrigue and mystery.” It was Frank Jones’ Murderous Women: True Tales of Women Who Killed. The fact that the book is not a fictional novel but rather a collection of true stories written not by a fiction writer but a “well-known journalist and columnist for the Toronto Star” is obvious if the reviewer had read the title of the book and the back cover.

The second paragraph of the review mentions an “almost-in-unison series of tableaus while also reciting an almost-inunison chant about murder.” If our use of “viewpoints” (what our almost-inunison sections are actually called) were not affective in the opinion of the

reviewer that is an opinion that they have every right to express; if they found them to be cacophonous or over-bearing they should say so. However, I would highly recommend that the reviewer reads the program, because if she had done so she would have found an explanation of what viewpoints are and would have also known that those sections are not choreographed or intended to be in unison. The review could explain why this conscious choice was not affective, as opposed to suggesting that the performers were not on their game.

The show did not begin its run last Thursday. It had its preview last Thursday and opened last Friday. I am assuming that The Medium saw the show last Thursday because that is when they thought it opened. I would therefore request that if The Medium is going to send a reviewer to the show on preview night that the fact be disclosed in the review. That way when people read the review they are aware that any technological glitches that may have occurred happened before the show officially opened.

The Theatre and Drama students work incredibly hard, many of us with a full course load on top of our 6pm-10pm weekday rehearsals and our 10am-6pm Saturday rehearsals. On a campus that does not seem to support the theatre program in either ticket sales or with knowledge that there is in fact a theatre on campus, I would have hoped that at least

our campus newspaper acknowledged the good things that occur on the stage. I feel that all of the hard work that we have put in was completely discredited.

By the time this letter is printed the show will have closed and people on campus would have read a review ripe with inaccuracies.

This campus has many brilliant nonspecialist drama students who would be more than capable of writing a riveting, honest, constructive review. The Medium has a history of lazy reviews.

For example, last year’s review of David French’s That Summer mentioned a cast of five when the cast in fact consisted of seven members. It is hard not to feel as if all my and my peers’ hard work is being thoughtlessly trashed as a way to boost an application to Graduate School. So I ask you, the capable staff of The Medium, when you review the rest of the season please do so with a sense of professionalism, give credit where credit is due, when discussing what you did not like about the show, discuss it, not insult it, and if nothing else read the program; it will tell you how many people are in the cast and possibly give you more insight to the intent of the show.

Sincerely, Kelsey Goldberg

Islamaphobia resurfaced An intimidating man walked up to me as I waited for my bus at the South Common Mall terminal last week, his face exasperating with rage. “F*** you Muslims!” he shouted at me, staring into my eyes with apparent disgust as he pushed me with his shopping bags. Without transition, he turned his face and abruptly walked on.

I was in shock. I found myself glancing awkwardly at the other passengers waiting in the terminal, aware that they saw what happened.

I found my emotions mixed in a bowl of confusion. No one helped, no one spoke up. I was unsure what temporarily arrested my consciousness; the f oul utterance of the harasser, or the lack of reaction by the observing bystanders. The following day, ignoring the incident, I continued taking the bus to UTM. But on November 21, less than ten days since the first incident – it happened again.

I got off the subway in downtown Toronto, on my way back from my internship, and this time, it was a girl that stampeded towards me. She came up to me, pushed me, and then

kicked me until I dropped to the ground. As if her physical assaults w ere not enough, she sna pped, “You people need to be taught manners...you f*****.”

I attempted to get back onto my feet, confused and afraid. At the time I could only stare back, fearing that if I retaliated she’d push me onto the tracks. Like déjà vu, not one single on-looking, non-busy passenger twitched a muscle towards helping me. Instead, everyone calmly sidestepped an obviously motionless Muslim girl lying on the ground, casually making their way out of the station.

Being pushed around with a few bags hardly inflicted physical harm on me. Nor have I been seriously harmed by the assaulting kicks.

Instead, it was the pervading apathy displayed by ordinary people – like you and me – in the face of a notable calamity, that left a stamping impression on my psyche. And though I detest flashing out the victim card, I can also but help resurrect the discomforting reality that Islamophobia is far from a myth, even in the ethnically advanced

Editor-in-Chief Ali Kasim

Composite Editor Matthew W. Filipowich

News Editor TBA

Copy Editor Shelley Bahorie

Features Editor Andrew Hamilton-Smith

Distribution Manager Ali Kasim

Arts & Entertainment Editor Michael Isaac Di Leo

Business Manager Romano Bergic

Sports Editor Christopher Sa’d

Webmaster Verisha Khanam

Photography Editor Matthew Filipowich

Assistant Photography Lara Matiisen

urban cities of Canada.

I want us, on both collective and individual levels, to address the issue of apathy and actively deal with it. I ask of you, the reader, to never feel that a bit of help, courtesy, sympathy is a mistake. In fact, neither is A LOT of it. As UTM students and a strongly diverse population at that, we have to set the example to help anyone who is hurt, to disrupt apathy and ignorance by openly correcting others. We should never give in to the baseless fear of being rejected if we HELP others; rather we desperately need to realize that just because bystander apathy exists, it is not justified as the platform from which we weigh our decisions to act, speak, and think.

Apathy is a detrimental departure from the healthy norm.

Umaimah Rasheed Vice-President, UTM Muslim Students' Association

Assistant Features Editor Alain Jose Latour The Medium is looking for assistant editors for all four sections - News, Features, Arts, Sports. If you have been writing for us the past year or so, and want to be part of the team, let us know. Email your section editors or the editor-in-chief with your cover letter, resume, and some writing samples.

THE MEDIUM 5

Monday, November 24, 2008

Michael Di Leo, Editor | arts@mediumonline.ca

Underage bloodlust SU LYN LIEW

If you’ve recently stepped into a bookstore or movie theatre, you’ve probably heard of Twilight, a vampire romance based on the novel by Stephenie Meyer. Twilight focuses on Bella Swan (played by Kristen Stewart) and her anomalous, electric relationship with Edward Cullen (played by Robert Pattison), whose brooding front masks a dark secret: Edward is a vampire, frozen physically at age seventeen.

Edward and his family refuse to drink human blood, and for the first half of the movie, Edward struggles between his desire for Bella’s blood, his morals, and his growing romantic interest in Bella. The two fall in love, but that association places Bella in mortal danger when a coven of nomadic vampires arrive and begin hunting her.

As with any novel-to-screen adaptation, Twilight faces the challenge of living up to its literary predecessor as well as engaging audiences who have never read the novel.

Twilight mostly follows the original storyline, but condenses the content to suit a visual-audio medium. The movie expresses Bella’s thoughts without resorting to narrative explanations. Constant eye contact between Bella and Edward, their body language, and moments marked in silence—such as in the famed meadow scene, where Edward and Bella simply lie side by

CD REVIEW

Iced Earth The Crucible of Man Something Wicked Part II 2/5 LUCAS DI MASCIO

The past five years have been quite a rollercoaster for power metal masters Iced Earth. The departure of long-time vocalist Matt Barlow and inclusion of Tim “The Ripper” Owens b e hi n d t h e m i c i n 2 0 0 4 divided loyal Iced Earth fans. On top of that, 2004 was the year the band r e l e a s e d T h e G l o r i o u s Burden—an album that not even the most die-hard Iced Earth fans could

side, staring into each other’s eyes— all convey the growing chemistry between the couple.

Twilight suffers from a script that tries too hard to stay faithful to the novel, however. The first half of the movie is jerky and disjointed because the script tries to cram in too much: Bella’s move to Forks, her first encounter with Edward, and the many scenes that show his conflicting reactions towards her. Much of the dialogue is clearly recognizable from the book, but some lines lose their significance because they are dependent on the novel, not the movie’s setup. The vampire’s superhuman speed and strength seem almost comic, and both Stewart and Pattison’s performances are stiff at the beginning, as if they’re trying too hard to get into character.

The turning point of Twilight is Bella’s realization of Edward’s true nature. The revelation that Edward is a vampire is handled extremely well, with Bella slowly piecing clues together. She utters the word “vampire” just once; instead, Bella is seen reading up on the “cold ones” and researching images of blooddrinking and flesh eating creatures.

Bella’s confrontation with Edward is a defining moment: this is when their relationship really blossoms, the actors become in tune with their characters and the movie picks up.

Although Twilight revolves around Bella and Edward’s romance, the supporting cast makes the movie shine. The Cullens are a delightful group: ethereal and clearly inhuman,

but each with their quirks that makes them unique. Interactions with the “humans,” such as Bella’s father, Charlie, and her friends Mike, Angela, and Jessica, provide distinct human elements and normalcy against the fantasy storyline.

There is plenty of foreshadowing throughout Twilight, first hinting at the nomadic coven’s bloodlust ways, then showing the vampires—James, Victoria and Laurent— outright. The director also uses contrast to create tension, both visually and conceptually. The Cullen children first appear in pristine white and light colors, but Edward shows up in a black shirt and dark-colored eyes.

When the nomads appear in front of the Cullens, the easy-going banter about a joint baseball game devolves into a face-off between the two covens when James catches Bella’s scent.

Although Twilight is clearly a romance story, director Catherine Hardwicke pulls no punches when it comes to the fight scene between James, Bella, Edward, and the Cullens. The vampires’ violent, predatory natures come through clearly, especially when James breaks Bella’s leg simply to make Edward angry. Fans of the novel might be disappointed at how quickly James’ hunt and the showdown developed. The movie could have benefited from building on Edward and Bella’s relationship throughout James’ hunt, but their interaction during the showdown is one of film’s highlights.

g et i n t o . T h e n , last year, Jon Schaffer (main-man/rhythm guitarist) announced the band would be r el e a s i n g th ei r most ambitious album yet. Fans know that in 1998, d u r i n g t h e b a nd’s peak, they released Something Wicked This W a y C o m e s — a pseudo concept album about an antichrist/saviour to an ancient race that got wiped out by mankind thousands of years ago, by the name of Set Abominae. Ol’ Set has appeared on many of the b an d ’ s a l b um covers and other band-related media, yet they never truly revealed all the details about who he really was.

In late 2007, the band released Framing Armageddon: Something Wicked Part I, which was met with mixed feelings by fans. By this point, fans had gotten comfortable with having “The Ripper” screeching out the lyrics to the bullet-speed palm-muted triplets—Iced Earth’s tr ad e m a r k s o und.

Although Fr am ing Ar mageddon was very good musically, and told the story very well, it didn’t seem like an Iced Earth album. Nevertheless, the record gave high expectations for th e f i n a l p a rt of the Som ething Wicked saga.

Fast forward to early 2008, where “The Ripper” gets kicked out of the band and Matt Barlow gets asked to r ej o i n a f t e r his stint with Pyramaze. They record the album f o r t h e r em ainder of the spring/summer, and go on a world

tour. Iced Earth fans all over the world were in shock that the “true voice of Iced Earth” was back.

Everything seemed to be going well for the band. Their old singer was back, the new album was the most anticipated metal album anywhere, offers for movie and comic book adaptations for the concept albums were popping up, and all during a very long world tour. The only problem with this perfect scenario is that the new album, the most hyped and most anticipated album in Iced Earth’s history, is something wicked (and not in a good way)—on the ears.

Many of the songs on the album are short (usually under three minutes) and very few stand out. Most of the riffs and solos seem to be recycled from the 1998 Something Wicked This Way Comes album, and the songs that are long enough just aren’t interesting. The first single off the album, “I Walk Alone,” is mainstream, but while catchy, it sounds nothing like the singles Iced Earth used to pump out. The only stand-out tracks are “Behold the Wicked Child,” and “Come What May.” This album doesn’t get a zero because Barlow saves it with his powerful voice, which has been absent for far too long. And also, because those many die-hard fans (like myself) will totally dig the final part, in what is possibly the greatest story to be made into an album.

photo/outnow.ch

Bella Swan (played by Kristen Stewart) and Edward Cullen (Robert Pattison) share a dance. Twilight was the number one movie at this weekend’s box office.

Twilight excels in is its beautiful sceneries. Vistas of forests, rivers, mountains, and cloud-filled skies appear throughout the movie and serve as poignant backdrops to Edward and Bella’s interactions, such as when he carries Bella up a tall evergreen to show her a view only the birds—and a vampire with super strength and speed—could witness. The soundtrack also adds an emotive punch at moments when the cinematography or acting faltered.

Twilight is no Oscar winning production, but as a movie made mostly for fans of the novel, it succeeds in its goal. Despite the problems with pacing and connectivity in the first half, the chemistry between the characters and the solid performances by the actors bring this vampire romance to life. It also helps that Twilight has lots of neat little details—watch out for the pepper spray—good character interaction, and Robert Pattison’s brooding good looks on its side. inspired by jeff lush

I Was Shot In The Back 6 THE MEDIUM

Monday, November 24, 2008

ARTS

Tilo Shultz gives us his take on politics in art

MICHAEL DI LEO A&E EDITOR Formalism is the typical manifestation of artistic decadence in the epoch of imperialism.

On November 20, the Blackwood Gallery opened its doors to Tilo Shultz’s most recent work, I Was Shot in the Back. Curated by Séamus Kelly and running until January 11,

Shultz’s endeavour is a real-life demonstration of the above aphorism, combining both literal and abstract cases of revolt to create an anti-political statement which focuses on Cold War politics and its trickle-down effects.

Born in Germany and having spent half his life behind the Berlin Wall, Shultz is in the unique position of having been in between eastern communist and western capitalist politics. This concurrence inevitably affects his aesthetic, which manifests itself in the cultural clash of ideologies within his action paintings. In the case of I Was Shot in the Back, there is specific focus on the university context which is closely tied with the impact of Igor Gouzenko

photos/Matthew Filipowich

A shooter outside of the gallery takes aim at the large canvases surrounding the building.

on the Cold War. Gouzenko, a Mississauga resident, played a dramatic role in post-war espionage in Canada. He defected to Canada in 1945 after obtaining documents outlining attempts by the Soviets to steal nuclear arms secrets during his tenure at the Soviet embassy. Gouzenko was also publicly known for wearing a black hood during public appearances in order to hide his identity, and his defection was symbolic of western influence.

As Shultz explains, American Abstract Painting, such as the work of Jackson Pollack (whom he uses as an example), served American imperialist interests abroad from the 1950’s onwards. In Shot, Shultz attempts to recreate this idea through a performance piece.

You may have noticed the large, paintball-riddled canvases outside of the Blackwood Gallery, but you were most likely lost on their significance.

They were created in a mock “armed student revolt” on the university campus. The gallery explains, “in one sense, the political stuff once infused in this aesthetic of abstraction, yet suppressed from reaching any recognizable aesthetic form in itself, is called upon—and in reverse order—utilized to actually form this aesthetic.”

Inside the gallery, the concept is further defined. The exhibition is largely influenced by association of politics and the world of art and high aesthetics, and culminates in a pure aesthetic with historical context. In a formalistic sense, the action paintings emphasize structural elements and artistic techniques rather than

The inside of the gallery is filled with portraits of the shooters. content, which is in turn further emphasized by the historical significance of American abstract painting in Eastern Europe.

This concept is brought within the walls of the gallery in the form of portraits of the shooters themselves.

Each standing in front of their respective painting, the shooters gaze ahead in consistent fashion. In connection to Gouzenko, each shooter wears his or her mask, evoking the nature of Cold War politics and tying it back to the significance of the performance pieces. Similarly, a large

sign bearing the words “Look Behind” is a literal statement, pushing the viewer to think of the historical context while perusing the exhibition.

In this sense, the project has an understated elegance. While the large paintballed canvases are bold and apparent, the concept and its locality provide the display with a great amount of substance—much more than one would originally expect. The content is stimulating, especially once history is taken into account.

James Bond is shaken and stirred Quantum of Solace is out, but does it live up to its predecessor?

JEAN LEIGH

After a production process riddled with misfortunes and troubles, Quantum of Solace was finally released. Directed by Marc Forster and written by Paul Haggis, once again, Daniel Craig is the suave James Bond in what is a direct sequel to Casino Royale. With Royale ending with Bond shooting Mr. White in the leg, Quantum begins with a car chase involving Mr. White in the trunk of Bond’s car. Don’t know who Mr. White is?

Exactly. You cannot watch Quantum without watching Casino Royale first.

Very much like the production process has been, this movie is a mess. With a filmography that consists of The Kite Runner and Finding everland, this is Marc Forster’s first big budget action movie. For a newbie to the genre, it seems like he has overdone the action. His signature stylized camera angles make it hard to see what is going on in the action sequences, and his shaky camera work doesn’t help either. The fast-paced, blinkand-miss action is non-stop—which leaves no room for good story

development.

In Quantum of Solace, Bond cannot seem to be able to let go of Vespar’s suicide, and tries to get to the bottom of the organization known as Quantum which involved her in the first place. In the process of following leads, he meets Camille Montes (Olga Kurylenko), who is also involved with another Quantum member and main villain, Dominic Greene (Mathieu Amalric).

Together they try to bring down the organization for their own personal reasons. Bond’s character is deeper than ever before, because he is driven by emotion. He is no longer working to merely serve his country, but is motivated by revenge. His arrogance is active as he becomes vengeful, killing all the informants MI6 wants brought back alive for interrogation. His out of control behaviour eventually gives M (Judi Dench) no choice but to limit his movements, leaving Bond with only a few he can trust. Though it may sound interesting on paper, the movie is actually quite boring. The first half of the movie is overwhelming with too much action, but the second half, with its fast-paced dialogue, is a struggling memory game while trying to make connections to

Casino Royale. The absence of “Another Way to Die.” This collab- this film has its faults, audiences explanations or flash backs to the oration marks the first-ever duet for around the world will flock to see it previous film makes it all the more a James Bond theme song. Homage because one thing still remains the is also made to an old Bond film same: James Bond is and always confusing and less interesting.

What is obvious, though, is Marc with a scene that looks strikingly will remain the smoothest, sexiest, Forster’s attempt to go green. similar to a gold-covered woman and most desired hero that all men Quantum is self-aware of its envi- lying in bed in Gold Finger. While have at least once dreamt of being. ronment and the global warming crisis, and mentions its concern from time to time. This film has also tried something new by breaking some must-have traditions. For example, the gun barrel sequence that everyone is used to seeing is absent in the beginning of the film. Also absent is Bond ordering his preferred drink of a shaken martini.

However, some traditions that have been lost in the previous film are relived. Nude women are back in the introductory credit sequence photo/outnow.ch while Jack White James Bond looks fly while kicking ass and getting the finest ladies. and Alicia Keys sing

Monday, November 24, 2008

THE MEDIUM 7

ARTS

Transforming Toronto’s art scene MATTHEW FILIPOWICH PHOTOGRAPHY EDITOR

Last Friday, the Art Gallery of Ontario reopened its doors after a four-year remodelling project entitled Transformation AGO. The renovations, drafted by world-renowned Toronto architect Frank Gehry—who also designed the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, Spain—began after a $276 million, 190,000 square foot proposal in 2004 by the gallery.

The new AGO is meant to redraw the map for museum and art curatorial practices, hoping to make Toronto’s gallery an international art hub.

Gehry’s newly redesigned art gallery dominates its Dundas Street entrance with an elegantly sculpted facade stretching nearly 70 feet above street level, and 600 feet along Dundas from Beverly to McCaul. The wood and glass exterior seems to weightlessly float above street level while simultaneously allowing passerby a glimpse inside the brand-new sculpture gallery.

This new gallery houses a work by

British artist Simon Sterling, which was revealed on the gallery’s opening.

The sculpture—a Henry Moore replica inspired by a stone found on the beach—was created when Sterling threw the replica into Lake Ontario to sit on the lake bed for 18 months until it became infested with zebra mussels.

Sterling’s piece throws the stone that Moore found on the beach back into the water.

On the reverse side, the Art Gallery

of Ontario pays homage to its original home, The Grange, with an entrance from Walker Court. Overlooking The Grange is a new cube-like structure, situated on the upper floors of the gallery, housing a new centre for contemporary art. The four-storey glass and titanium cube structure is linked to the rest of the gallery by a serpentinian staircase that hangs below “the cube.�

The titanium and glass cube is the tallest part of the newly transformed

gallery, and symbolizes The Art Gallery of Ontario’s commitment to contemporary arts. Placing the centre for contemporary art above all the other work in the gallery is meant to locate contemporary arts as the future and cutting edge of the art world.

Within the gallery’s new 190,000 square feet came the difficult task of finding new works of art to curate within. Fortunately, AGO director Matthew Teitelbaum and AGO curator

photo/Matthew Filipowich

Dennis Reid had a little help from the late Ken Thomson—the richest person in Canada before he died in 2006. In 2000, Thomson donated what has become Canada’s largest private art collection. The collection contains 2,000 works of art, including work by European master painters like Peter Paul Rubens, and numerous paintings

by Tom Thomson of Canada’s masterful Group of Seven. In addition to his painterly contribution, Thomson donated his prolific collection of model ships, spanning nearly 350 years, as well as $100 million to fund the Gallery’s transformation, and an additional $20 million to help keep its doors open after the transformation.

For fine dining, The Art Gallery of Ontario has a brand-new restaurant, appropriately named Frank, after AGO architect Frank Gehry, and all-star American expressionist painter Frank Stella, whose two-piece, springloaded, stainless steel and carbon fibre installation sculpture flanks the entrance to the restaurant. Frank has a brunch, lunch, dinner, and dessert menu that is modestly priced for an art gallery. But either way: the rich, whiney artists who Prime Minister Stephen Harper says receive too much arts funding, should not have any trouble at all paying their way through a meal at Frank.

The game plays on in Saw 5 EMILIA WOZNIAK

Blood, torture, and gore are once again back in the horrific thriller Saw 5.

Following the plot of all five releases, the psychologically disturbed protagonist “Jigsaw� horrendously depicts the importance of life by engaging morally wilful people in his “games� and forcing them to play for survival. His victims appear to have little appreciation for their lives, and are consequently put to a series of tests to see how far they

would go to keep it. His “games� are designed with substance, and pertain to each victim’s morally impaired life.

Movie after movie, viewers are filled with scare, blood, and suspenseful outcomes filled with ambiguity—perfect for potential sequels. But what is it that pulls viewers into theatres all over North America, making the Saw franchise one of the most desirable over the last five years? The genial idea of using characters to expose society’s flaws, and then punishing them with a balance of horror and gore leaves viewers with a fear of doing wrong.

photos/outnow.ch

Jigsaw is crazytimes in Saw 5.

These movies embody a substance that other horror movies do not: they flaunt social issues such as drug abuse, suicide, theft, rape, as well as the idea of taking life for granted. The main idea remains consistent throughout all five movies, only with changes of characters, schemes, and/or types of horror.

The ability to maintain this consistent theme and idea allows the viewer to remain conscious of what to expect, but ambiguous to the depth and ultimate turn-out of each movie.

Saw 5 is already a success, being the second most-viewed movie according to the Halloween weekend box office, bringing in $86,453,039 worldwide.

Adding on to the thrilling plot of the other four sequels, Saw 5 concludes with an indefinite ending that suggests yet another movie in 2009. Though all five movies require some thinking and precise attention to the occurring dialogues and schemes, the horror and suspense makes the viewers job of doing so less forced and more voluntary. It is ultimately the complicated double plot which gives the movie its creativity. Ironically enough, Saw 2 through 4 were directed by the same person, Darren Lynn Bousman, whereas the most recent director is David Hackl. The change in directors is portrayed as one movie progresses

onto the next, visibly seeing an alteration in style, and the intensity of gore and horror, but nevertheless maintaining the story that started it all. It is that maintenance of the genius storyline all throughout the sequels that gives these movies so much credit.

The double plot, the flashbacks, the twists, and the revelations are what gives potential for a sequel. From the very first Saw, this movie was designed to become a series, each one accessible every Halloween. The first Saw, which appeared in theatres October 2004, opened the door to a new kind of horror, one that embodied torture and no boundaries for the amount of blood, gore, and pain. All was exposed, and those with weak stomachs were advised to stay away from it. Every Saw concludes with such an indefinite ending that it leaves the viewer wanting more, raising the level of curiosity about what happens next, and thus bringing viewers back into theatres when yet another sequel appears the following year. It seems as if the game is never-ending: someone is always found continuing Jigsaw’s creation, and as the game continues in every movie, there is an explanation to previous ambiguities. Ultimately, this form is what creates the double plot, which in turn makes the movie particu-

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larly different and significantly twisted.

Generally, sequels to good movies are found to be worse. Why is this, and what makes this movie different? Most commonly, sequels to movies attempt to create another plot while it blends with the previous one, and this creates an idea that is either not as greatly developed as the first, or simply not as interesting. Second ideas tend to be a lot less interesting then that very first one which created a masterpiece. With Saw however, there is no second idea and plot, there is only a continuation.

With every movie, the same plot that started it all is simply continued and further explained. It is one huge idea, and instead of it being formed into one movie, it is spread out amongst five or six or whatever amount permits. With every new release, the viewer learns something more about the previous. It is a continuous feeding of knowledge that builds up to greater understanding of the plot. It is almost as if the viewer is part of the movie. And in order to maintain creativity and keep the viewer’s attention, with every Saw there are twists and schemes which give an innovative kick on top of the main story. This technique makes Saw one of the few movies with infinite possibilities and an ending that’s endless.

8 THE MEDIUM

Monday, November 24, 2008

Andrew Hamilton-Smith, Editor | features@mediumonline.ca

Improving UTM’s technology A profile of the UTM Computer Services Department AMIR AHMED

Aldous Huxley once wrote, “Most human beings have an absolute and infinite capacity for taking things for granted.” It will perhaps never be known what he had in mind when he penned this phrase, but he could have easily been referring to students and a certain department that resides in the South Building, Room A2039, behind a nondescript door that most students only notice when they have a technical issue.

The department is called the Computing Services team, and it handles the management, maintenance, and expansion of UTM’s technological infrastructure.

The daily activities of the Computing Services department consist of monitoring and managing most of the university’s electronic resources. It runs a computer repair service, now accessible to non-residence students as well, and deals with all problems vis-a-vis electronics on campus. Have a technical issue? Just email helpdesk. utm@utoronto.ca.

Joe Lim, manager of the Computing Department, goes as far as encouraging students to email him personally. “We typically only

hear from students if something really bad happens,” he says. “When we don’t get any emails, we assume everything is working fine.”

His staff attempts to solve problems as quickly as possible, but when several issues arrive at once, they take a utilitarian stance. “If we have a professor unable to use the computer in his podium, and it’s holding up a lecture, and if a printer is malfunctioning in one of the departments, of course we help with the podium first,” says Lim. Asked what problems he faced with computer breakdowns, and whether Macs are really more reliable than PCs, he replied, “Nowadays we see the same amount of problems in both. The technology is mature enough that they don’t break down often. When they do it’s typically because of mechanical failure.” Lim says that one of the challenges of the job is that “you’ve got to find a balance with providing the services – students, staff, and faculty. It’s sometimes hard to find the lowest common denominator.”

In previous years students would need different ID’s and passwords for different services. But the department has worked hard the past four years at streamlining student interaction with the university’s web-based tools. Now they have

been integrated into a single UTORid and password per student.

Along with working on these tasks, the Computing Services department is developing ambitious plans.

High definition screens and an array of microphones and cameras on both ends will make a distance of kilometres seem like inches, or metres if you sit at the end of the room.

Presently, some buildings on campus are not Wi-Fi friendly. This is because the older structures are made of materials not conducive to electronic signals. The South Building, made out of thick layers of concrete and lead, is particularly notorious. Newer buildings like the CCIT building and library are made of materials that anticipate such problems. The Computing Services team intends to tackle this problem in the coming years. “We want students to be able to access the internet in any public place on the university.”

There are also other projects underway. Within the next two years

the department plans to improve printing on campus, eliminate the need for loading t-cards with money to print, and to re-equip the computer labs, making them more suitable for studying.

Some plans are even more ambitious. In the coming years the U of T faculty of medicine will be introduced to the UTM campus. In a bid to improve the education of medical students, a mass video-conferencing room will be built. The goal is to allow medical students to view and participate in lectures held at the St. George campus and vice versa. High definition screens and an array of microphones and cameras on both ends will make a distance of kilometres seem like inches, or metres if you sit at the end of the room. Twoway communication would allow students to contribute to the offcampus lecture.

Lim wouldn’t have it any other way. “I don’t want to go to a doctor who got their degree by watching television,” he says with a laugh. If the technology is successful, it could be expanded beyond the future medical building, and into other areas, allowing students from UTM to take classes at St. George or Sheridan without the trouble of a commute.

On the topic of tips for students, Lim underlines the obvious but

often unheeded: “It’s always a good idea to practise safe computing.”

Indeed, one of the most common problems faced by students today is phishing. At the beginning of this year several students’ accounts were compromised and used to generate spam. It remains important practice to never give out a UTORid or password via email, and to remember that no university administrator will ever ask students for their ID or password.

Pessimists may say that the ever present growth of our technosphere is exceeding our control, and could one day grow to become something greater and more malicious than anything we’ve dreamed of – The Terminator and The Matrix bound together with a heartless bureaucratic logic out of Kafka’s nightmares.

On the other hand, the video conferencing system sounds pretty cool.

Features is looking for an assistant editor. If you’re interested and have written for us before, contact Alain at features@ mediumonline.ca

Creative Corner The Impact of the Price of Gas on Patrick CLAIRE SAUNDERS

I’ve been seeing my boyfriend for almost 4 years now and we’ve always been open with each other.

We’ve obviously had our share of problems but they were mostly small. The thing is I’ve always had this big problem with his best friend that I’ve never really brought up with him. For almost his entire life he’s been best friends with this really pretty and cute girl and I like her a lot too but I can’t help but feel threatened. I trust my boyfriend, but he’s told me that they dated when they were teenagers and I feel like it could happen again. They are really close and they spend a lot of time together. How do I know if I’m being paranoid?

Well, it’s hard to really answer this without knowing more about your situation. I can say that based on what you’ve described so far that you aren’t being paranoid. Paranoia is an irrational fear but the jealousy that you’re describing doesn’t seem pretty ratio-

nal. Your boyfriend is spending a lot of time with someone who is attractive and they have a history. I think what you’re feeling is completely justified. In this situation there’s really only one thing that I can suggest: talk to him.

So often, the smallest problems turn into big deals because we keep them to ourselves. You’ve been dating your boyfriend for quite some time and I imagine your jealousy must grow every time he says he’s spending time with her. I’m assuming that you don’t want to come across as the stereotypical jealous girlfriend by telling him that you are insecure about his friendship, but chances are that there’s nothing going on and talking to him about it will likely make you feel better about it. He’s been friends with her his whole life and he’s known you for much less time than that and when it came down to picking a girlfriend, he chose you. That actually says a lot about how he feels about you. I get that it can seem like there’s more

there because they used to date but there is a reason that that relationship ended and why they decided to be friends instead. Talking to him about this jealousy will help him be more considerate of you when he’s spending time with her and it might even be a relief to finally get this out in the open. And if it turns out that you weren’t just being paranoid and that something is actually going on, you will have found out about it sooner rather than later.

When it comes to insecurities, being open is always the best approach because over time it starts to affect your relationship more and more. A good partner should be willing to put up with irrational fears and insecurities because everybody has them. The first step to fixing this problem is talking about it, and I know that that’s easier said than done.

Good luck, SEC

Patrick is young, hungry and homeless in downtown Toronto. He panhandles from underneath the Gardiner Expressway, just before the westbound on-ramp from Lakeshore Boulevard.

Patrick reckons himself a maestro while he works this busy intersection during peak rush hour. This is his turf. He moves in sync with the timing of the traffic lights.

The greatest insult to Patrick is the audible fear in the click of a car-door lock as he nears a car window. Patrick is homeless, not heartless; a man, not a maniac.

He knows his place.

Eyes lowered, Patrick silently begs with an almost imperceptible nod and an upside-down baseball cap, held by the brim with both hands. No cardboard sign. No emaciated dog on a threadbare leash with a limp or a dry, lolling tongue. Not anymore.

A car window rolls down.

Patrick waits for a disembodied arm to thrust straight out the window; an arm with a hand on the end; a hand with a coin, maybe two, pinched between

thumb and forefinger. He knows the more gold rings on the fingers of that hand the less coin in his baseball cap.

Patrick is street smart.

He moves forward, quickly. He is considerate. Patrick knows when the light will turn green. He knows that this beautiful, benevolent moment will end when the car behind The Hand honks its horn.

Patrick catches the single, pitched coin in his baseball cap. He blesses The Hand and wishes it the best weekend ever. His humbleness is perfect. It should bring tears. He keeps low and small and ever-so-sorry.

The Hand withdraws and the window rolls up. The light turns green.

Patrick scoops the coin from his cap and drops it into the only pocket in his pants without a hole. He lives hard and learns a lot. He averages two coins per red light; not enough for this time of day, at this time of year.

Patrick turns on thin soles and heads back toward the intersection. His clothes reek of the car exhaust that spews from the lanes of exhausted and impatient drivers inching onto the Gardiner.

Patrick waits for the light to turn red.

He worries about the price of gas.

Monday, November 24, 2008

THE MEDIUM 9

FEATURES

Burma: where is the justice?

Many examples illustrate why the military regime in Burma has become synonymous with oppression. Ashin Gambira has just become another one. A 29-year-old monk who participated in last year’s protests against the government, he was accused of threatening the stability of the state and sentenced to twelve years in prison on November 12, by a special court at a secret trial at Rangoon’s Insein Prison. This Friday, however, his sentence was extended to a total of sixty-eight years of imprisonment.

His case is not unique.

According to a recent Human Rights Watch news release, the Burmese government has been found guilty of holding closed court hearings for over seventy activists who participated in the August and September 2007 protests. Legal representation has been denied to some of the victims, and th e i r f a m i l y m e m b e r s h a v e often been prevented from attending the legal proceedings.

Repressive measures such as these are a key feature of the Burmese government, and examining the history of this troubled nation only further proves this point to be true.

Burma has been ruled by the military since 1962, and the regime is so repressive that political protests have only happened twice: once in 1988 (with more than 6,000 citizens killed), and again in 2007, when hunger pushed people to the streets. A so-called State Peace and Development Council, made up of twelve senior generals and headed

by Than Shwe, rules over the country with absolute impunity, making all of the political decisions. It has also repressed the National League for Democracy, a Burmese political party that was legally elected to a majority government in 1990 after thirty years of no elections, and policed its leader, Nobel Peace Prize winner and political activist Aung San Suu Kyi. Burmese citizens and prisoners are forced to work for the military. The lucky ones carry weapons and food for the soldiers; the unlucky ones must clear landmines, a practice that has cost many their life. As for the women, they are often treated to rape.

The military junta’s brutality is by no means limited to suppressing political freedom. It spends nearly 50 per cent of the government’s budget on its Armed Forces ,but only 3 per cent on healthcare for its citizens. Nearly 97,000 new TB cases are reported each year. Also every year, malaria kills 3,000 people and has become the leading cause of death for children under five. In fact, at least 12 per cent of the population suffers from malaria at any given time. Not surprisingly, the World Health Organization ranked Burma 190th out of 191 nations in terms of health.

Another problem is child labour.

According to some estimates, about 4 million out of 11.8 million children aged six to fifteen are in forced labour. These figures are s tag g er i n g e n o ug h —y e t t h e r e ’ s even more information to illustrate the brutality of Burma’s regime.

The Burma Campaign UK has also documented the Burmese government’s massive human rights abuses against its minorities in a

report updated on June 22, 2004: in 1991, the Muslim Rohingya people living in southwest Burma were attacked by the government, forcing over 250,000 people to escape to Bangladesh. Similar violence erupted in late 2000. And since 1984, at least 140,000 more Mon, Karenni, and Karen from east Burma have become refugees in Thailand after military crackdowns.

The Shan people face widespread political persecution as well. Many villagers who try to flee from government-sponsored forced labour have also become internally displaced. Sadly, there seems to be no end in sight for these human rights violations, until the international community takes real steps to persecute Than Shwe and his henchmen.

The extremely profitable jade trade has been associated with environmental degradation, sexual abuse, drug use, confiscation of land, and illegal labour.

Labour conditions in mining and other industries are so precarious that they amount to torture. The extremely profitable jade trade has been associated with environmental degradation, sexual abuse, drug use, confiscation of land, and illegal labour. More than 20,000 people are forced to work for mining companies which are almost always owned by the Burmese government and its affiliated companies. All of the profits go directly to supporting the Burmese regime. Foreign companies and the Burmese government have also been found guilty of beating and killing Burmese citizens who are forced to collect gemstones.

Equally appalling is the role played by some countries and companies in supporting Burma’s draconian regime.

Daewoo International and the Korea Gas Corporation have been found guilty of planning to build a natural gas pipeline that would benefit Burma’s military regime. They have also been found guilty of breaching at least six OECD Guidelines: not conducting an Environmental Impact Assessment according to international standards, not consulting with local populations, not disclosing information about the project, not promoting sustainable development, using forced labour, and not respecting human rights. Burmese citizens who opposed this project were detained and forced into hiding.

China has also played a leading role in supporting Burma’s military regime by encouraging about sixtynine of its own corporations to conduct business with the Burmese government, providing it with weapons, and supporting Burma’s notorious jade industry. Even more evidence exists to prove that many foreign companies are not just passively watching Than Shwe torture his own people—they are complicit in actively supporting his corruption.

US oil company Chevron has also been found guilty of building a pipeline that pays up to $1 billion a year for the Burmese government.

Charges of murder and rape against

the company have forced it to remove any information about their Burmese operations from their official website. It also stands accused of supporting the Burmese military’s policy of slavery and torture against local citizens.

But Chevron still defends its actions, claiming the projects help create a more liberal economy for Burma. This is not just a case of a company mistakenly conducting business with tyrants—Chevron, like Daewoo, the Korea Gas Corporation, and the Chinese government, is actively feeding off of the oppression of regular Burmese citizens to serve their own interests.

What has the international community done to solve the Burma problem? Not much, as it turns out.

In fact, it could be argued that by not challenging the countries and companies that have continued the misery of regular Burmese citizens, the international community is actively supporting the regime.

And how can the West raise concerns over China being a security threat while continuing to encourage Chinese business, with barely any mention of China’s guilt in supporting Than Shwe?

The fact that Than Shwe has been able to rule over Burma for so long with an iron fist, with nobody from the international community bothering to take him to the International Criminal Court to be punished for his crimes, speaks

photo/www.interlocals.net

Protestors against the Burmese regime. volumes about the sheer laziness of many world leaders. It is not even a matter of asking about what we can do to help Burma—the solutions are there, but the desire for political change isn’t. Until the international community stops valuing countries simply based on strategic interests and stops rewarding companies that treat human rights violations as “business as usual,”

Burma, and other countries just like it, will continue to fall into a downward spiral, with no end in sight.

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The fourth round finale The Canadian Kid was on track to hit south of the border, but made an early departure back home KYLE WHITNEY

Steve “Canadian Kid” Molitor’s undefeated record finally comes to an end with an unexpected knockout at Rumble at Rama Six. Mississauga’s own Molitor has been the face of and main attraction at Casino Rama for quite some time now, fighting in all but one event at the theatre.

Rumble at Rama Six was the most prolific event for Molitor as he defended his IBF super featherweight against Panama’s Celestino Caballero, who put his WBA championship on the line with a much anticipated unification bout.

Like a true champion, Molitor was gracious in defeat, thanking the fans after the fight and saying he had “lost to the better man.”

Molitor stepped into the fight with an impressive 28-0 win-loss record, eleven of those fights stopped by knockout. Caballero, no slouch himself, entered with a 30-2 record and 21 knockouts.

The atmosphere at Rama couldn’t have been any better, with TSN’s boxing analysis Russ Amber in the building to witness Canada’s biggest prize fight. Amber was not

photo/tsn.ca

the only star in the building, as both fighters had former boxing greats rooting them on, namely Muhammad Ali, Jack Dempsey, Panamanian great Roberto “Hands of Stone” Duran, and Canadian Great George Chuvalo, who is no stranger to the boxing world.

With a jam-packed Casino Rama cheering for the Canadian Kid and a respectful following of Panamanian fans armed with drums, shakers and accordions cheering on Caballero, the fight seemed almost like a festival of sorts.

At the start of the bell, Molitor

danced around the ring not giving Caballero a target to hit, but with the Panamanian’s long reach and surprisingly hard punches, Molitor looked slightly overwhelmed in the first round.

The second round had Molitor land some solid punches on his opponent, but Caballero’s unorthodox head movement and solid body blows made sure he was still on top of proceedings.

Third round was much of the same with Caballero going to the body, leaving Molitor open for power punches to the face. Right at the bell, Molitor wobbled to his

corner.

The fourth round proved to be the end for Molitor. A devastating combination from Caballero knocked Molitor to the canvas with a standing eight count.

Caballero continued the punishment landing clean jabs to the face and body, and with one final power punch, forced the referee to stop the fight.

Caballero fell to the mat with tears in his eyes after a technical knockout against the undefeated Canadian champion on his home turf.

Like a true champion, Molitor was gracious in defeat, thanking the fans after the fight and saying he had “lost to the better man.”

“Every great champion has to lose and learn in order to grow into a better boxer,” added Molitor.

Where does Molitor go from here? A win would have guaranteed him some big fights south of the border but this loss set The Canadian Kid back a bit. It’s back to the drawing board and prepare for either a rematch against Caballero or a long climb back to the top of the mountain. The rematch is unlikely right now.

photo/secondsout.com

Caballero holding two belts as the unified super bantam champion in Casin oRama in Orillia, Ontario.

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Calgary Stampeders 2008 Grey Cup Champions

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The Score: 22-14

M.O.P.: Calgary’s Henry Burris (Quarterback)

Monday, November 24, 2008

THE MEDIUM 11

SPORTS

Roy still in Montreal’s heart The Montreal Canadiens and 22,000 fans stood and applauded Patrick Roy during a night of forgive and forget KEITH SHANKAR

It was supposed to be another Saturday night NHL game at the Montreal Forum on December 2, 1995, where the Canadiens hosted the visiting Detroit Red Wings. After allowing five goals on 17 shots in the first period, Coach Mario Tremblay decided to leave goaltender Patrick Roy in net. Fans sarcastically applauded whenever Roy made a save, to which he responded with mocked celebrations. After allowing another four goals on nine shots, a humiliated Roy skated to the Canadiens bench and told Canadiens president Ronald Corey that this was to be his last game for the organization. Roy felt that Tremblay had left him in net to humiliate him, as the two had developed a strained relationship.

There were reports during prior weeks that the two would argue constantly throughout team practices.

“I was embarrassed, but I thought after that night we would patch it up,” Roy recently told TSN. Roy apologized the following morning to the organization. He said he would not have lashed out against the organization if the coach had not forced him to stay in net for the second period. GM Rejean Houle rejected the apology, and three days later traded Roy to the Colorado Avalanche. Roy went on to lift the Stanley Cup with the Avalanche, while

However, it was Roy’s temperament that aroused deliberations as to whether or not he should fit in with the other Canadien immortals.

“A lot of people think that when I left the organization I let them down, but that night, I thought they let me down,” Roy

told TSN. Roy intended to make amends with the organization, but had been hesitant to return to Montreal.

“I would like to go into the Bell Centre more often, but I am always afraid of their reactions.” Roy told RDS.ca. “But it’s time to turn the page now.”

Weekend EPL Action

photo/daylife.com

The first time Roy wore a Canadiens’ jersey in 15 years. the Canadiens proceeded to miss the playoffs that year.

Fast forward thirteen years to November 22, 2008, when the Montreal Canadiens held a pre-game ceremony for the retirement of Roy’s jersey at the Bell Centre before their game against division rival the Boston Bruins.

The significance of the date? It’s the twenty-second day of the eleventh month, which sums to 33 – Roy’s jersey number.

Canadiens fans were divided over the event. Some feel that it’s long overdue

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while others don’t think it appropriate.

The naysayers suggest that despite Roy’s talents as a revolutionary butterfly goalie, he was not an ambassador for the team compared to previous retirees, Guy Lafleur and Maurice Richard.

Roy was undeniably the Canadiens’ greatest goaltender. He backstopped the team to three Stanley Cup finals, winning two of them, and boasts an impressive trophy collection consisting of two Vezinas, two Conn Smythes, three William M. Jennings awards, and participated in six all-star games.

photo/www.dailymail.co.uk

Tough tackling: John Pantsil (in white) halts Liverpool’s Fernando Torres's during Fulham’s 0-0 draw at Anfield. After drawing 0-0 with lowly Stoke City a month ago, The Reds stumbled again against considerably weaker opposition this week. The result meant Liverpool stay level on points with Chelsea on the top of the table.

12 THE MEDIUM

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