Vol 37 issue 5

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Monday, October 5th, 2010

Volume 37, Issue 5

UTMSU justifies blood ban STEPHANIE VEGA

Last Tuesday, the Canadian Blood Services hosted a Blood Donor Clinic from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. in the Presentation Room of the Student Centre. As announced in the UTMSU newsletter, the clinic allowed UTM students to partake in the fourth annual cross-Canada donation challenge, “Blood 101: Canadian Students Saving Lives”. The challenge was led by students from university, college, and technical campuses.

The Canadian Blood Services’ website states that “Approximately every minute of every day, someone in Canada needs blood. In fact, according to a recent poll, 52 percent of Canadians say they or a family member have needed blood or blood products for surgery or for medical treatment. The good news is that one blood donation—in just one hour—can save up to three lives.”

The site explains, “At the time of donation, you will be asked a number of questions to determine your eligibility.” A person is temporarily deferred from donating if they have had dental treatment (extractions, fillings, cleaning, restoration), and, in order to fully recover, must wait until the day after treatment for cleaning or filling or 72 hours after extraction, root canal, or dental surgery. If they have had a cold, flu, or sore throat, full recovery is required, with a six-month waiting period for those who have had ear or body piercing or tattooing.

In addition to other temporary deferrals, the website enumerates the criteria for indefinite deferral. The site says, “Unfortunately, some people may not be able to donate. Serious health problems, possible exposure to infectious disease(s), or participation in high-risk activities can defer some prospective donors indefinitely.” Common reasons for such a deferral are living in certain geographic areas, possible exposure to CJD or vCJD, HIV high-risk activities, disease, diabetes (insulin-treated), false positive test results, and chronic fatigue syndrome.

However, in light of the recent “To Ban or Not to Ban” debate hosted by OUT@UTM in conjunction with UTMSU’s Ministry of Equity, many students dispute the Canadian Blood Services’ prohibition of MSM (men who have sex with men) donors. For the indefinite deferral of HIV high-risk activities, the site explains, “All men who have had sex with another man (even once) since 1977 are indefinitely deferred. This is based on current scientific knowledge and statistical information that shows that men who have had sex with other men are at greater risk for HIV/AIDS infection than other people.”

Blood continued on page 2

Parking deck construction stalled due to weather conditions

Edward Cai/ The Medium

The lack of parking spaces leaves students circling the lots.

RASHEED CLARKE WITH NOTES FROM KATHERINE LUCZYNSKI

Don’t expect the sight of huge trucks, heavy machinery, and hard hats around UTM to go away anytime soon. Several multi-milliondollar projects around campus are slated to continue until next spring, but one bit of construction is on the verge of wrapping up.

Staff and students who drive to UTM will be able to park a few steps closer to the Recreation, Athletics, and Wellness Centre by the third week of October.

The parking deck was originally scheduled to open on September 27. There are currently no plans to further expand campus parking.

The second level of the new parking complex outside the RAWC will be able to serve 300 cars, with space for an additional 300 already available below.

Paul Manna, project superintendent with Dineen Construction, the construction company responsible for building the new parking deck, said that the project has been delayed due to bad weather.

“We’re so close to being done, and we want to give it [the parking lot] back to the school, but whenever it rains we get a bit of a setback,” said Manna. “At times we’ve put in 12- to 13-hour days— and thankfully we did, or the weather may have pushed us back even further.”

The waterproofing on the top level is complete, and the asphalt has been put down on about half of the top deck. The next step is the construction of a pedestrian bridge, complete with a ramp to the upper deck to provide wheelchair access. The new two-level parking structure comes with a $6-million price tag.

With a limited amount of spaces reserved for department use, lot 1 is currently sold out to staff and faculty who purchased parking passes before students. Due to construction in lot 1, certain spaces were not available for sale, but have since been sold to students who were waitlisted.

Meanwhile, the biggest projects on campus—the Instructional Centre and Health Sciences Complex—continue to take shape.

The straight lines, steel plates, and glass panes should be polished

and completed in late March or early April of 2011.

Meanwhile, Christopher Rizzo, Development Manager at the University, said that construction of the Instructional Centre (IC) is ahead of schedule, while the work on the Health Sciences Complex (HSC) is “a little bit behind”.

The Health Sciences Complex will provide new laboratory space for life sciences research as well as expanded facilities for the Biomedical Communications program and U of T’s Academy of Medicine. The cost of the new building is pegged at $36 million, with funding coming from the government of Ontario, the University of Toronto, and private donors.

The construction of the new Instructional Centre will make room for UTM’s growing undergraduate and post-graduate student population. The IC will boast eight new lecture halls, 19 new classrooms, multiple stu dy and lounge spaces, and food service.

The federal government’s Knowledge Infrastructure Fund will fund the $70-million bill.

Parking continued on page 2

Environment Week kicks off ROHIT MEHTA

This year, students can be a part of the seven environmental organizations on campus: UTMSU Ministry of the Environment, the Environmental Affairs Office’s Green Team, Campus Roots, the Urban Agriculture Society, the UTM Cycling Club, Bikeshare, the Student Association for Geography and Environment Students, and the Green Party Club.

Each group caters to different interests, but they are all united in their effort to reduce the negative environmental impact of UTM students, and to make the campus more sustainable.

Through the newly formed UTM Environmental Alliance, all of these groups will meet often to collaborate, share resources, and work together.

“You have to start branching out and doing extracurricular activities in university. If you don’t, you aren’t competitive and you don’t learn outside the classroom,” said Aubrey Iwaniw, the Environmental Project Coordinator at UTM, which offers work-study positions for the Green Team. Often, students email Iwaniw asking to get involved or volunteer, but she says that students should also take initiative as leaders, and that they will get support if they do.

Students are often unaware of the opportunities to make a difference on campus.

Environment continued on page 2

Construction Forecast PAGE 2 Business Casual PAGE 5 Circus in Toronto PAGE 6 Highschool vs University PAGE 9 Leafs season in review PAGE 11

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www.mediumonline.ca

2 THE MEDIUM

MONDAY, OCTOBER

5, 2010

NEWS CAREER FAIR CONSTRUCTION

Canadian Blood Services continues More months of construction ahead MSM discrimination on campus New parking deck was scheduled to open on September 27, but construction was delayed due to bad weather conditions Parking continued from cover

Medium file photo

Men who have had sex with men are indefinitely deferred from donating blood.

Blood continued from cover week and was successful in spawning debate and discussion.”

Giles added, “The policies of the CBS are When asked what reasons UTMSU has for bringing the blood donor clinic back to examples of how discrimination has been campus despite opposition from, and the systemically enforced and perpetuated.” clinic’s exclusion of, minority students, VP Speaking about UTMSU’s efforts to Equity Kumari Giles responded, “When address these students’ concerns, Giles said, we were approached by the Canadian “In response to numerous accounts of disBlood Services in the summer regarding crimination on campus, the Ministry of booking clinics we had a discussion about Equity will also look at completing a task the clinic. We acknowledge that the CBS is force on homophobia to investigate stuconstantly looking for donors and there are dent life on campus and how homophobia numerous people who require blood trans- presents itself systemically. To get involved fusions every year. For this reason, we in the decision whether or not to complete wanted to keep the blood clinic here, to this task force and other campaigns and events, please come to the next Ministry of allow more lives to be saved.”

“However, there is great concern within Equity meeting, October 7 at 4 p.m. in the the student body over the phrasing and Student Centre Green Room.”

For more information on eligibility reasoning behind many of the policies of the CBS, as you know,” Giles continued. requirements, the Donor Questionnaire, “First, we have had many discussions with- and where to donate, students are asked to in the Ministry of Equity about CBS policy; call 1-888-2-DONATE or visit the from this, the ‘To Ban or Not to Ban’ event Canadian Blood Services website at was suggested. The event occurred last www.bloodservices.ca .

A smaller-scale project at the entrance to the CCT building near the Student Centre will keep the area fenced off for another couple of months. Workers there continue to drill away at the South Building’s north face to add office spaces.

Construction supervisor John Giannetti says the project should end up as a sort of “Christmas gift”, with work set to finish at the end of November or early December.

Giannetti did not comment on how much the work would cost.

The university also plans a $2-million upgrade to Outer Circle Road between the RAWC and the north entrance (off Mississauga Road). The upgrade will include the installation of a path alongside the road, two-anda-half metres wide.

According to Rizzo, the roadwork will improve the safety of pedestrians, cyclists, and motorists.

“We’re seeing more and more people from the community walking, jogging, cycling, or walking their dog around the campus, and those people right now share the road [with drivers]. The aim is to separate cars from pedestrians and cyclists,” said Rizzo.

The upgrades along Outer Circle Road will also include new laneways outside the Hazel McCallion Academic Learning Centre and the Instructional Centre, to provide separate drop off points for each building. Construction crews are planned to work on Outer Circle Road though the fall and winter, with the project set to finish around the end of March 2011.

With all the new buildings coming up, Rizzo says there’s a need for better signage around campus. Buildings

around UTM will be re-signed with names and numbers specific to them, as mandated by the City of Mississauga.

“The goal is to improve way-finding for students and for visitors, so we’ll be creating a new signage package with standardized signs both inside and outside buildings,” said Rizzo. “The buildings should be easy to find, especially for emergency responders. Right now, they don’t know what Oscar Peterson Hall is.”

For the time being, UTM students are coping with the construction. “I’m putting up with it, but it doesn’t really affect my daily life,” said Reem Aziz, a fourth-year DEM major.

Kara Chanel, a fourth-year sociology major, added, “It’s not that bad.

I’ve been able to find a parking space when I’ve needed one. But most of the time I just park at South Common and take the bus here.”

UTM celebrates being green on campus Environment Week to run all week and will host many events, including a farmer’s market outside the Student Centre Environment continued from cover

Lucia Hlasna, a third-year specialist in Environmental Management, learned about campus groups by talking to her friends. “A lot of my friends ended up being involved, and that’s how I found out about different programs and got involved as well,” she said. “The best way for me to get started was getting involved in stewardship [events] around campus, planting trees—really getting out there and getting my hands dirty.”

The benefits of getting involved with these organizations include “meeting

like-minded individuals, making great friends, and having an outlet for your environmental frustrations”, said Iwaniw. There are academic incentives as well. The Student Association for Geography and Environment Students offers a Professional Advancement for Geography and Environment Students (PAGES) program this year, which allows students to get certified based on their involvement in various events and workshops.

Getting started is easy with the festivities of Environment Week, which will be running all week (October 4 to 8). “I am super excited to showcase the awesome work our ministry and

campus groups have been doing. This just shows that anyone can get involved and pitch in to make our campus more sustainable,” said Grayce Yuen, vicepresident of University Affairs and Academics at UTMSU. Highlights of Environment Week include a farmer’s market outside the Student Centre on Monday, a Green Opportunities Fair on Tuesday, a green art workshop on Wednesday, bike tours beginning at noon on Wednesday and Thursday, and environmental videos in the Student Centre’s Presentation Room all day Friday.

To see a full schedule of events, students are asked to visit.utmsu.ca.

Campus police weekly summaries September 24 September 30, 2010 September 24, 2:10 a.m.

Causing a Disturbance Campus Police investigated a complaint of a fight outside a residence.

All parties were gone by Campus Police’s arrival.

Learning Centre.

September 24, 2:28 p.m.

Parking-Related Campus Police investigated a vehicle that was misusing a handicap permit in the Inner Circle.

September 24, 2:26 a.m.

Causing a Disturbance Campus Police investigated several people outside of the Blind Duck Pub regarding a fight that occurred earlier.

September 24, 2:55 p.m.

Damage to Vehicles Campus Police investigated damage t o t w o v e h i cl e s i n t h e N o r t h Building parking area. The damage to the vehicles was caused by high winds and fallen tree branches.

September 24, 8:43 a.m.

Mischief Under $5,000 Campus Police investigated a report of damage to a bicycle outside the Blind Duck Pub. September 24, 1:40 p.m.

Cause a Disturbance A female reported that she encount e r ed a n i r a t e m a l e o u t s id e t h e Hazel McCallion Academic

September 25, 1:20 a.m.

Noise Complaint Campus Police investigated a noise complaint from a townhouse unit.

The occupants in the unit were instructed to keep the noise level low and they said they understood.

September 25, 9:35 p.m.

Noise Complaint Campus Police investigated a noise complaint from a townhouse unit.

Further investigation revealed that several people were staying in the unit without authorization.

September 26, 1:14 a.m.

Noise Complaint Campus Police investigated a noise complaint coming from a townh o u s e u n i t. T h e p a r t y w a s s h u t down and everyone left without incident.

September 26, 7:11 p.m.

Personal Safety Concern A female student reported a suspicious male in the residence areas.

The male had left the area prior to the arrival of Campus Police.

September 27, 12:20 p.m.

Theft Under $5,000 A male student reported to the Campus Police the petty theft of his wallet from the Hazel McCallion Academic Learning Centre.

September 28, 6:34 p.m.

Theft Under $5,000 A f e ma l e st u de n t r e p o r t e d t o Campus Police the petty theft of her iPod from the women’s washroom in the CCT Building.

September 27, 2:55 p.m.

Theft Under $5,000 A female reported to the Campus Police Office the petty theft of her w a l l e t f r om t h e F i v e - M i n u t e Walkway area.

September 29, 2:10 a.m.

Mischief A don on duty reported to Campus Police mischief (writing with a marker) in stairwell D of the Oscar Peterson Hall.

September 27, 4:20 p.m.

Mischief A male student reported to Campus Police concerning mischief to his bicycle which was locked at the bike stand near the Five-Minute Walkway.

September 29, 12:35 p.m.

Theft Under $5,000 A female student reported to Campus Police the petty theft of her bag from the South Building Bookstore.

September 29, 9:47 a.m.

Parking-Related Campus Police towed a vehicle from parking lot 6 for being parked illegally and for outstanding parkingrelated fines.

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MONDAY, OCTOBER

5, 2010 THE MEDIUM 3

MENTAL ILLNESS AFFECTS EMPLOYMENT

NEWS

Career Fair Youth among the most heavily welcomes employers affected by mental illness LARISSA HO

The Business and Government Career Fair made its debut at UTM on Friday, October 1, from 10:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. in the RAWC. Approximately 700 students attended and more than 40 organizations participated. All current students and recent graduates of the University of Toronto were invited.

“The main purpose of the fair is to allow students to talk with recruiters and find out which companies are hiring and for what roles. Students may learn about different career paths with employers that they weren’t aware of,” said Adrian Berg, Assistant Director at the UTM Career Centre. “By attending the fair, students will have a better understanding of what positions are outthere and what skills and experience they need, so that they can better prepare for those positions and, when applying, highlight these on their résumé. Many of these organizations hire students from UTM.” Upon entering the fair, hosted by the Career Centre, students were given a “Fair Guide” listing all the participants in the fair, an overview of each of the companies, their websites, the current positions they were hiring for, and whether or not they were accepting résumés at the fair.

Every organization at the fair had its own table, staffed by representatives who were on hand to speak to stu-

dents individually about their companies, provide information to curious and interested students, and accept résumés.

With résumés in hand, students mingled with representatives from different companies and sectors, including the Peel Regional Police, Baylis Medical Company, RBC Insurance, Ontario Public Service, Town Shoes, and the Canada Border Services Agency.

All levels of government—federal, provincial, and municipal—are reportedly Canadian students’ top most-desired employers. A survey of Canadian university and college students by Canada’s Top Campus Employers reveals that the Government of Canada the number one employer they want to work for, with the provincial government coming in second and the municipal government seventh. Other organizations on the list included Apple, Microsoft, The Hospital for Sick Children,and Health Canada.

The Career Centre offered some tips to students, including finding out which organizations are participating, updating your résumé, preparing questions, and dressing appropriately in order to impress recruiters.The Career Centre also holds workshops for résumés and cover letters that are available for sign-up via their website’s Events Calendar throughout the year.

Individual résumé critiques are also available.

Christian Unity Association celebrates “Until the Whole World Hears” Their first event of the year included performances, mingling, and worship CLIFF LEE

“Until the Whole World Hears”, a slogan of the Christian Unity Association (CUA), was the title of the club’s first event on September 30. The title of the event was from a name of the first song by a band named Casting Crowns.

“The World needs to know Jesus.

This can only be done through love and grace,” said Jonathan Wahab, president of CUA. “We really do love the students, and want to continue to serve them in responding to their needs, whether it be answering intense questions about Christianity or life, or simply giving away free pizza to all who attend. Many come broken and hopeless, and all we want to do is simply show them God’s contagious love.”

CUA is committed to serving students and presenting them with a biblical hope, in and beyond this life.

Christian Unity Association is a conglomeration of the various Christian fellowships on campus, including Baptist Student Ministries, Chinese Christian Fellowship, Erindale Christian Fellowship, Agape Impact, and the Catholic Club.

The night started off with some

bonding time among the attendees, followed by worship led by the Christian Unity Band. The night ended with inspirational testimonies from various people who came. Free pizza and refreshments were served after the event.

“Of course I took time out for it.

I wouldn’t miss it for the world,” said Rachel, a regular attendee of CUA events and executive of Chinese Christian Fellowship.

Students of all sorts of ethnicities and religions came to enjoy the evening. The room boomed with upbeat Christian music long before the event commenced, preparing for what turned out to be a pretty lifting and inspiring event.

“We’re a non-profit organization and we believe, as our name states, in unity among Christians. We are called by God to love our community. That’s why we do our best to serve in any way we can, even if it’s just pizza,” said Wahab. “I thought tonight was awesome, thanks to all those who gave their testimonies about how God has worked in their lives. One more thing: let’s do it again!”

Christian Unity Association holds events on the last Thursday of each month. To get on the mailing list, students are asked to contact Jonathan Wahab by email at jwahab@gmail.com.

Mental Illness Awareness Week, an annual public campaign to acknowledge the reality of mental illness in Canada, is on now from October 3 to 9.

The campaign began in 1992 and was led by the Canadian Psychiatric Association. The awareness week is now led by the Canadian Alliance on Mental Illness and Mental Health with the support of many other organizations.

MIAW is designed to raise awareness about the difficulties of mental illnesses.

Few people know about the effects of mental illness and even fewer seek help. The week aims to reduce the stigma associated with mental illness and promote better practices in prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of mental illnesses.

“The theme for Mental Illness Awareness Week, October 3 to 9, 2010, is ‘Face Mental Illness’. The campaign literally puts a face to mental illness by highlighting the stories of people, who, despite having a mental illness, have achieved success,” said Sandy Milakovic, CEO of the Canadian Mental Health Association/Peel Branch.

“You can read their stories and see their photographs at www.miaw.ca, each smiling face declaring ‘Recovery

is possible’.”

Youth are among the most heavily affected by mental illness. Suicide is the second highest leading cause of death for Canadian youth age 15 to 24 (the first is motor vehicle accidents).

“It’s alarming they [youth] are choosing to take their own life,” said Dr. Amy Cheung, a psychiatrist at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health in an interview with The Toronto Sun. “If you take all the people who committed suicide in North America, about 50% of them were diagnosed with or had depression.”

A 2009 Ontario Student Drug Use and Health Survey found that 8% of Ottawa students in grades 7 to 12 attempted or seriously thought about suicide the previous year. Of the 1,200 students surveyed, 9% in grades 7 to 8 and 11% in grades 9 to 12 said they suffered from poor mental health. “[Of] the students who have a mental health issue or illness, the numbers that are actually getting treatment are far less than the ones who are actually walking around with an undiagnosed mental health issue,” said Mike Baine, chair of Ottawa’s Youth Services Bureau, in an interview with Edmonton Sun. The symptoms of depression include withdrawal from pleasurable activities, irritability, extreme sadness, and thoughts of suicide. It’s important for family and friends to recognize the signs of depression and take preventative measures. “Don’t be too afraid to

reach out to someone,” Cheung said in an interview with The Toronto Sun. “It’s important to seek help, and don’t be ashamed, because it’s an illness that’s treatable and preventable and it’s how we can save lives.”

UTM Health and Counselling Centre offers free and confidential individual and group counselling sessions over the phone and in person. A 12-week “Running Through Depression” program is also offered at UTM; it teaches students new strategies for managing feelings of depression, increasing self-esteem, and gaining control over their life. Those interested are asked to email health.utm@utoronto.ca for a program list.

For more information about mental illness, programs, and training, students are asked to visit the Canadian Mental Health Association/Peel Branch website at www.cmhapeel.ca. For students who wish to speak to an Information & Referral specialist, a Resource Centre is also available Monday—Friday from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. They can also be contacted by email during the same hours at info@cmhapeel.ca.

The CMHA also offers an Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training seminar for people interested in learning procedures for immediate suicide prevention. Students can apply online at www.cmhapeel.ca/asist.htm.

For more information about Mental Illness Awareness Week and how to get involved, students are asked to visit www.miaw.ca.

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4 THE MEDIUM

OPINION

MONDAY, OCTOBER

5, 2010

www.mediumonline.ca 3359 Mississauga Road, Room 200, Student Centre, Mississauga, ON, L5L 1C6 Phone: 905.828.5260 Fax: 905.828.5402 Advertising: 905.828.5379 EDITOR IN CHIEF Saaliha Malik editor@mediumonline.ca

EDITORIAL Last week, I wondered why no one from the student union spoke up about the homophobic graffiti written on a student’s residence room door. I found out from the president, Vickita Bhatt, that this was out of respect for the student’s wish for the campus to stop talking about the incident. Ms. Bhatt further stated that since the union’s mission statement says they’re here to “protect the individual rights of a student regardless of sex, sexual orientation...”, issuing a statement would be “against the student’s wish” and their stance already stated in their mission statement.

Now, I completely sympathize with the victimized student in this situation. They are a victim of hate, discrimination, and bullying. I would not expect a student in that position to ask the campus—or the student union, for that matter—to stand up for them. It’s not the student’s fault that this happened and it’s not their fault that people, including The Medium, are talking about it. Remaining silent and letting a mission statement (which no one will ever see) speak for an organization that represents more than 11,000 students on campus is sad.

The recent tragedies of students who have committed suicide because of harassment from other students about their perceived sexual orientation have been very alarming. In the last month, four students from different age groups and places in America have been tormented to the point that they took their own life. Tyler Clementi (18), Seth Walsh (13), Asher Brown (13), and Billy Lucas (15), were all victims of homophobic bullying. And those are just the ones that stated the cause. How many more deaths will it take for institutions and leaders to make this a priority?

Institutions need to speak up and take real action to end systematic homophobia. At our campus, allowing a mission statement to speak for itself is a very passive and disappointing choice of action—or non–action, depending on how you look at it.

In the same week of two of these suicides, I was frustrated to see that UTMSU invited the Canadian Blood Services on campus. The CBS are here every year, and there has been debate on whether they should be here when their policies do not allow MSM donors (see the front page of this week’s paper). I felt it was even worse to do this when the media is reporting on male students who committed suicide over homophobic harassment. The CBS polices are outdated and in need of serious review.

Kumari Giles, VP Equity of UTMSU, states in the news article that the policies of the CBS are examples of how homophobia is “systematically enforced and perpetuated”. Instead of disallowing CBS on campus, Ms. Giles’ justification for bringing the donor clinic back was “to allow more lives to be saved”. Yes, maybe saving some lives is better than none. But what about the four young boys who took their own life because of discrimination? How many other lives could have been saved in the last month, if more people took action against homophobia?

Saaliha Malik

Yours,

Dear Editor, I watched UTM/TV’s piece on Islam & Dating, and as a Muslim I’m sad to say I was disappointed by its lack of depth, both in narrative style and focus.

It was unfortunate that UTM/TV decided to neglect more substantial interviews on the issue of Islam & Dating. The piece failed to provide a responsible counter-narrative to some of the insinuations and claims made about Muslims and Islam, and not for lack of resource. The title did not responsibly reflect the content in that it seemed to centre on the permissibility of dating in Islam—but then it suddenly jumped to sexual orientation and the topic of homosexuality within Islam.

The issue of homosexuality was simply

brushed on and was incompetently discussed. Such nuanced topics deserve to be responsibly explored in depth, and opinions should properly be supplemented or countered with facts.

I invite and encourage my colleagues at UTM/TV to approach and engage the Muslim Student Association in the future, especially when exploring topics in Islam. With respect to our membership, we represent and can offer a vast diversity of opinions; and, with respect to UTM campus community as a whole, we are ready to assist and accommodate questions and concerns, to the best of our ability.

Sincerely, Ruqayyah Ahdab MSA President

Dear Editor, I don’t know how many people are affected by the UTM Parking Services’ decision not to sell any more parking passes. I also have no idea how many people are in the same situation as me and have to drive in from Scarborough. I am an OSAP student paying deregulated fees. That means that I am not only paying the highest tuition in Canada and have below-average funding (as published in the U of T student handbook), but my tuition fee is also higher then the limits that OSAP uses to calculate my funding.

Yesterday I came in in the morning and paid for parking as I’ve been doing since classes started. I didn’t notice that the machine charged me $13 instead of the $12 as posted on the parking vending machine. I had a class to get to, so I waited until I was on my way out to complain to the parking office. I was told that $13 is the correct rate, and that I should email an address they gave me to contact a supervisor. I am no legal expert, but I am fairly certain that it’s not legal to charge more then the posted rates—not to mention that it’s also ethically wrong.

Today, I would have liked to stay and work on stuff for a project course, especially with the pouring rain.

Unfortunately, because I have no permit

and my funds are dwindling, I opted to buy only enough time to cover my onehour tutorial. I figured that since classes barely started and assignments aren’t really piling up yet, I could put off the work for a few days. In the end I had to run out in the rain and get soaking wet, with my work still waiting.

I ask what purpose it serves to refuse to sell a parking permit to me, or anyone else who lives outside of Mississuaga?

Does it make you more profit? Classes have barely started and I’m already down almost $100 in parking fees alone. Is it to make it impossible for me to use campus facilities, like the library, that I’ve paid for in my tuition? Maybe it sounds reasonable to regulate parking so that permitholders get a space, but it just doesn’t work. Those of us who live so far from campus have to come and take a spot anyway. And once all the schoolwork starts to pile up, I’ll need to stay for the whole day. Suffice it to say the only time I won’t be on campus, because I don’t have a parking permit and can’t afford to pay for any extra time, is at social events like pub nights or club functions.

Or maybe I’ll catch pneumonia from the rain and all these issues will disappear with it…

Yours, Li-Nung Kuo

NEWS EDITOR Katherine Luczynski news@mediumonline.ca

Dear Editor, I have been reading The Medium this year and was inspired to write to you; last year I wrote a letter after being offended by the insensitivity of the previous editor-in-chief. He seemed upset that people always wrote to The Medium to complain, and said that he would appreciate being told that he was doing a good job. I thought he was a dolt and that the paper last year was dull and flat.

The point of this story, though, is that I am writing to you now to tell you quite the opposite. The Medium this year is excellent. I have been a longtime reader and seen both good and bad editors and writers, and this year The Medium has reached a new high.

People should know that this paper is worth reading—especially with some of the very appealling articles I have seen. There is humour, sarcasm, and generally interesting articles—not to mention the amazing validation of reading and the English program in last week’s paper, which I as an English specialist truly appreciated.

I have also enjoyed Saaliha’s editorials, and it’s nice to see her speak from her experiences, even though they may upset certain people. It’s even refreshing to see the zeal of Peter Buczkowski’s weekly letters encouraging students to be involved. The main message that seems to be communicated and should be acknowledged is

the student experience. Despite conflicts between varying organizations on campus, the focus seems to be, and always should be, on helping students to have the ideal university experience, whether that involves keeping them informed (The Medium/The Disconnect), getting them involved through volunteering and events (UTMSU), the proactive and comforting environment created by residence, or various organizations and clubs like the Women’s Center. What we as students need to remember is that making the most of the university experience is up to us, and apathy may one day turn into regret. Being involved can be a great thing, but sometimes it may end in disappointment; the point is, you learn something from every experience you open yourself up to—both good and bad.

With that in mind, I am very interested on what information students readily receive and the means by which it is spread. I have been pleasantly surprised each week and I thought everyone who works for The Medium should know: GOOD WORK. Each article speaks with a different voice, making them interesting and engaging. I believe that people should be told when they succeed and you guys are. Keep it up.

Dear Editor, I have received some criticism from my fellow board members in the past week about my negative tone. I feel I should explain why I am constantly writing letters to The Medium, and why the tone of some of my letters seems negative.

UTMSU has a board of directors, which is elected every year at the same time as the Executive. Last year, when you were walking around through the halls, avoiding the Yellow team and the Blue team, you were also avoiding people that were not with a team but who were running for our board of directors. UTMSU is structured in such a way that the membership is the most powerful body that makes decisions, followed by the Board of Directors, and then the Executive.

The membership can vote at Annual General meetings or General meetings and can overrule the decisions made by the Board of Directors or change the way that UTMSU is run, by voting to change the constitution, bylaws, and policies. The job of the Board of Directors is to ensure that the union is behaving properly, responsibly, and accountably. To be able to do so, the board has several committees, and must approve all the actions of UTMSU. At the same time, the Board of Directors has a legal obligation to be loyal to UTMSU and its interests. That said, the board also is the check to the executive committee, ensuring through a few different means that the Executive is earning their $21,951.50.

In effect, it’s the board’s responsibility to ensure that the union is doing what it’s supposed to do. But there are roles in the Board of Directors that seem forgotten or ignored. One of the jobs of the board is to communicate with students, and pass on to the board what the students want .

Students have opinions and questions, but they might not know exactly all the ways the union works.

It’s my job as a board member to listen to students and help explain how the union works. I have had a few concerned students contact me regarding things the union does. But for the most part, besides explaining how things work and representing student views, there’s little I can do at the board. Actually, a board member told me that I am “negative” and surround myself with “negative people”. This should be more troubling to that board member than to me. In reality every student needs representation. It’s not in our job description to only represent people that feel as though

UTMSU is the best thing since sliced bread.

Last board meeting, I put forth a motion as students had asked me to.

This motion read: “Be it resolved that prior to unfinished business, at every UTMSU board meeting a public question-and-answer period is allowed, where the membership may ask the board members questions.” It would set aside some time in each board meeting for listening to students and addressing questions. This is sort of the role of the board, isn’t it? Shouldn’t we be able to hear students in an official forum with all the board members present?

Last year, Student’s United, Renew, and every board member, ran on a campaign of transparency and accountability. All the same, this motion I made failed, and all week I’ve been trying to understand why it would fail. The argument put forth by the Executive was confusing. It was that “we are transparent, and we have means in which students can participate already—so why add another?”.

An argument was that “the role of the board is to listen to students 24/7”.So a question period doesn’t count as “listening to students”? The last and most troubling argument was made by Vickita Bhatt, president of UTMSU, and Zexi Wang, UTSU VP External.

This argument was that “students don’t understand the way the union works, and a question period would force the board to sit through redundant questions”.

That’s the point. Redundant for who? How are they going to find out?

Doesn’t it matter?

One of the greatest issues I hear about the union is their lack of transparency and accountability. Well, the way they’re used now, these are just buzzwords, words without meaning. I would ask that the UTMSU Executive add some meaning to these words. I would love to see what UTMSU thinks makes them transparent or even accountable. I have heard those words used a lot, and although it might be “redundant”, I would love to see what president Vickita Bhatt suggests as a definition. Perhaps this could be done in a public forum such as The Medium so that all students would be able to see and understand it. Maybe then they’d have somewhere to start.

As always, if you have any questions, concerns, or comments, feel free to email me at peter@utmsu.ca. I look forward to your responses.

Yours, Peter Buczkowski

Yours, Kristen Blank

ASSISTANT NEWS Stefanie Marotta A&E EDITOR Nives Hajdin arts@mediumonline.ca ASSISTANT A&E Colleen Munro FEATURES EDITOR Amir Ahmed features@mediumonline.ca ASSISTANT FEATURES Mariana Comito SPORTS EDITOR William Robertson sports@mediumonline.ca COPY EDITOR Luke Sawczak PHOTOGRAPHY EDITOR Edward Cai photos@mediumonline.ca DESIGN EDITOR Brent Hartford WEBMASTER Gary Li DISTRIBUTION Sandes Samararatne Waleed Malik BUSINESS MANAGER Romano Bergic BOARD OF DIRECTORS Marc Bressler, Paul Donoghue, Yasmeen Husain, Mariya.Hassan, Adaoma Emenogu COMPLAINTS Comments, concerns or com plaints about The Medium ’s content should be directed to the Editor in Chief who can be located at the email address above.

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DISCLAIMER Opinions expressed in the pages of The Medium are exclusively of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of The Medium.

Additionally, the opinions expressed in advertisements appearing in The Medium are those of advertisers and not of The Medium.

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Letters to the editor will be edited for spelling, grammar, style, and coherence. Letters will not exceed 900 words in print. Letters that incite hatred or violence, and letters that are racist, homophobic, sexist or libelous, will not be pub lished. Anonymous letters will not be published.

MONDAY, OCTOBER

5, 2010 THE MEDIUM 5

Nives Hajdin, Editor | arts@mediumonline.ca

What’s on your mind?

Review of The Social Network (we click “Like”) COLLEEN MUNRO ASSISTANT A&E EDITOR At this point, it’s difficult to argue that Facebook hasn’t shaped our culture in some way. Not only have terms like “relationship status” and “poking” taken on entirely new meanings, but we can now directly compare our social lives to those of our friends. It’s all about how many Facebook friends you have, and that little sting you can’t help but feel when someone you know removes you from their friends list. But why would we want this tidy little index of our life put on display to the world? David Fincher’s new film, The Social Network, argues that it’s all about status and being seen.

Evident from the very first scene, a young Harvard student named Mark Zuckerberg (Jesse Eisenberg) is acutely aware of this common desire for status (and of the sorry state of his own social standing). Not fitting in with any of the school’s prestigious clubs, Zuckerberg decides to make his own website with the simple hope of making something “cool”.

In its earliest form, Facebook, or “Facemash” as it was known at the time, was a site that simply presented yearbook pictures of two female students side by side, and asked its viewers to vote on which was hotter. The site evolved, of course, but looking back, it seems like its pithy concept of prestige was always there.

The majority of The Social Network takes place in the fall of 2003, as Facebook is created and begins its rise in popularity in 2004. But Fincher also intersperses scenes from the messy legal proceedings that Zuckerberg faced a few years later. These two separate lawsuits—one from friend and Facebook co-founder Eduardo Saverin (Andrew Garfield), and the other from classmates Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss (both played by Armie Hammer)—resulted from claims that Zuckerberg stole their idea.

Despite the amount of screen time allotted to financial spats, in the end The Social Network isn’t a legal drama or even a film about Facebook. It’s Mark Zuckerberg and

The Black Row Manifesto/flickr.com

Things get messy for Mark Zuckerberg (Jesse Eisenberg). his few relationships that are the heart of the story—thanks in no small part to Eisenberg, who gives his most charismatic performance to date as this petulant, almost entirely unlikeable character. (I never thought that Eisenberg would play a more acidic or self-obsessed character than he did in The Squid and the Whale, but clearly I have been proven wrong.) As his character is constantly pelted with insults (most of which he entirely deserves) from other characters, Eisenberg’s vulnerability brings a much-needed sense of sympathy to a character that could have been a caricature of a vindictive geek.

Eisenberg also helps to redeem the slightly repetitive present-day prosecution scenes. Though the flipping between time periods begins to bog the film down around the midway point, Eisenberg’s ferocity and defence as a man under attack gives those scenes a purpose beyond exposition.

Garfield is also fantastic as the far more likeable Saverin. He evolves from a charming doormat to an adversary, and Garfield especially shines in the film’s more combative moments. He proved his acting chops in 2008’s harrowing Boy A, and here he brings boundless charisma and heart. In a somewhat static film that largely revolves around laptops, dorm rooms, and legal offices, Garfield (who’s clearly a star in the making) gives compelling energy to each of his scenes.

The Social Network’s other great

Album in review: Business Casual ANDREA AMBROGI

strength is the screenplay from Aaron Sorkin (best known for his work on The West Wing). With almost every scene revolving around a long conversation, some might find it a bit talky. But rather than seeming verbose or dry, Sorkin’s dialogue is irrepressibly witty. There are just enough self-referential moments (the best one revealing how Zuckerberg thought of Facebook’s “Relationship Status” function) without the film ever seeming overly pleased with itself.

However, that’s not to say that director David Fincher’s artistry takes a backseat here. The Social Network may not be as stylized as Fight Club or have as palpable an atmosphere as his last two films, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button and Zodiac, but it does have a dangerous, murky style that serves it well. Fincher also throws in one flashy sequence (a rowing race) that allows him to show off behind the camera. Though that scene does feel slightly out of place in the context of the story, on its own it’s a fantastically directed film.

While trends like Facebook come and go (though this one doesn’t seem to be going anywhere just yet), quality films are much harder to come by. The Social Network is worth seeing not only because it’s socially relevant, but because it’s one of those rare instances where writer, director, and cast come together to make a film that takes a timely subject and speaks to all generations.

Shop local, shop original MEGHAN JEFFERY If you crave originality, artistic freedom, and unique pieces to complement your style, then you do not want to miss Toronto’s upcoming Spring 2011 Clothing Show.

A shopping fanatic’s sanctuary, the Fall 2010 Clothing Show took place last weekend at the Better Living Centre. Being an avid Toronto shopper, yet on a student dime, I was determined to see if the slightly pricey admission of $10 would be worth my while. The Clothing Show has been running for over 30 years, and though it was once a thrifty bargain spot, my friend worried me that I would now be looking at trendy boutique prices.

Dee Osborne, creator of deedeebirdDesigns (a very awesome feather and reclaimed leather jewellery accessory line), has been attending the show for six years and says that “The Clothing Show has a lot of volume, which is great for independent designers, but it has a bargain shopping stigma.”

The show consists of original pieces from local designers, as well as a large section of vintage wear, both for male and female.

“The show used to be primarily known for its vintage,” says Osborne,

while setting up her feathery booth as the shoppers pile in. “Now it has cut its vintage back significantly.”

While the vintage style still holds a corner in the Better Living Centre, the independent designers are piling up. While designers are primarily from Toronto, there are a range of Canadian vendors, anywhere from bohemian Montréal to laidback Vancouver.

Although the prices are on the higher end ($30-60 for a necklace, or $60-120 for a clothing item), at least you know it’s one-of-a-kind and made with love.

If you’re interested in design, and like to create handmade things like bracelets or even intricate corsets, consider becoming a vendor for the Spring 2011 Clothing Show. The show accepts any designer, no portfolio required, with a fee for your booth space.

Or if you prefer to wear the work of an artist, get a ticket and make your way down to the Better Living Centre, in spring 2011. Oh, and bring cash, because the lineup at the ATM is enough to deter anyone from getting their shopping fix.

Check out www.theclothingshow.com for more information.

You can find Dee Osborne’s company at www.etsy.com/shop/deedeebirdDesigns.

University of Ottawa

Photo Credit/Megan Jeffery

Dee Osborne’s one of a kind creations at the Clothing Show.

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If your parents have a box labelled “FORBIDDEN: 80s” hidden deep in the darkness of your attic, go run and get it and put on whatever you find. Tease your hair, put on some leg warmers, slide on some shoulder pads, and enjoy.

Canadian duo Chromeo’s third studio album, Business Casual, may or may not mark the second coming of the decade your parents are trying to forget. It’s safe to say that Business Casual sounds like the lovechild of David Bowie, The Pet Shop Boys, Madonna, Genesis, and Electric Light Orchestra around the height of bouncy synth pop.

The record opens exactly the way it should, with the track “Hot Mess”. The thumping electric bass is paired with the voice of a sultry British woman talking about being… well, a hot mess.

“Don’t Turn the Lights On”, the second single, is a catchy number filled withvelvety vocals and an obnoxious but catchy chorus (“Don’t turn the lights on ’cause tonight I wanna see you in the dark”). Its progression from start to finish is stellar and is probably one of the most fluid tracks on the album.

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“When the Night Falls” starts as an assault on the ears for anyone who’s never been exposed to a synth’s full capabilities. It sounds like something that should be paired with a cheesy commercial for the latest high top dance pumps, but it’s fun, fresh, and fantastic to dance to.

The award for most surprising track goes to “J’ai Claqué la Porte”. It opens like a Bowie song and tributes him— inadvertently, of course, but very well.

The electro-pop synth sound is executed with skill and calculation, and the flourishes of female vocals and spontaneous guitar keep the album fresh and fun. If you’re not a dancer, Business Casual will make a dancer out of you.

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6 THE MEDIUM

MONDAY, OCTOBER

5, 2010

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

Just like a cirque

MontrÊal based Cirque Éloize brings its urban flavour to Toronto

First it was the O’Keefe Centre in 1960, and then it became the more popularly known Hummingbird Centre in 1996. Now, after being closed and undergoing renovations for two years, the historical theatre reopened its doors on October 1 as the new Sony Centre for the Performing Arts, exactly 50 years after the very first performance at the O’Keefe Centre on October 1, 1960.

Home to countless memories, historical relevance, and famous performances (the likes of Julie Andrews, Louis Armstrong, and Liza Minnelli are just a few), the newly designed and freshly invigorated venue kicked off its grand reopening with an electrically charged performance by Cirque Éloize—a troupe of acrobats, dancers, contortionists, and entertainers founded in 1993 and based in MontrÊal, who have taken the world by storm.

First performed in August 2009, Cirque Éloize’s latest creation, iD, blends an array of youth culture with the urban dance scene, as every individual strives to find an identity among the hustle and bustle of the city streets. “[It is] an area for encounters, a site of passage, a ’hood where clans confront one another, where friendships are woven—where love is created and dissolved,â€? explains director Jeannot Painchaud.

From its opening moments, iD is an enthralling assault on the senses. The sounds of sirens wailing, jackhammers drilling, and car engines revving up fill the darkened theatre before any visual elements take shape. The auditory flux continues as the curtain rises to reveal a cityscape with people indifferently moving past each other in their daily routines, but the static is finally broken when a reluctant couple reveals the ultimate trust in their relationship through a series of acrobatic flips and throws.

Among these aerial acrobatics is moment in which the man tosses the woman up and balances her on one arm, all the while feeding off of the audience’s

gasps of fear and awe.

The second act takes place in graffitifilled streets. A man on a Chinese pole holds extreme positions, such as when he uses his brute arm strength to horizontally hold himself in place, lying in the air as if gravity has ceased to exist. Following this early crowd favourite, a bicyclist takes the stage on a two-wheeler without a seat in which he jumps the bike up a series of wooden blocks (with no shortage of tricks in between) and the humour infused through the cyclist’s controlled manoeuvres, which could easily have ended in disaster, garnered loud applause and whistling as he rode off the stage and around the orchestra pit.

The high-octane energy is then slowed down as a female contortionist and male breakdancer writhe their bodies across the stage under a starry sky. It is the contortionist who evokes shock with her seemingly infinite flexibility.

Lying on her stomach, she brings her legs over her head and places her feet down on the stage in front of her face, then, like a creepy crawler, scurries her feet around her contorted body in a circular fashion, much to the disbelief of the onlookers. The metronomic sounds of the city then return, as a construction scene unfolds and tennis balls rain down onto the stage. A man in a red suit emerges, followed by the workers carrying panels of glass above their heads, and begins juggling numerous tennis balls at a time, increasing his speed and technique, and eventually using the glass panels as he lies on his back and pelts the tennis balls upside down against the barrier.

More acts feature a girl swinging around on a trapeze to the aptly titled song “Outta Control�, the return of the bicyclist as he jumps the metal frame above a slightly petrified volunteer from the audience, and a selection of hip-hop dancers, breakdancers, and acrobats doing their thing while double-dutch jump ropes come down on them.

The performance resumes with a mechanically pulsating beat as performers dance in slow motion around wooden chairs, which they then pass off to a man who stacks them up one by one and balances himself on the topmost chair, some five metres in the air, and extends his body vertically so that he is doing a

handstand on the very unstable cross-rail of the chair. The contortionist then returns, only to be chased by a young man, both of whom swing themselves up and around the set to the perfectly timed music against the projected images of the scene, in which she races against time to squeeze through a black-hole like opening in the wall before it disappears.

The closing performances were some of the strongest: Josianne Levasseur’s mastery of a large hula hoop-like ring, in which she resembles da Vinci’s Vitruvian Man as she spins around the stage inside it, never once losing balance from the obvious dizziness that ensued; and a hip-hop-inspired acrobatic segment that incorporates all of iD’s performers as they bounce in, on, and around a trampo-wall, jumping over and beside each other in a perfectly timed fashion, pumping the crowd up as breakdancers spin faster and faster on their heads alongside them.

One of the show’s best features is the smooth transitioning of circus disciplines while still maintaining a cohesive feel; the end of each segment is met with darkness timed to dramatic music, so that performers can address the technical side of the performance in setting up the next scene, while the audience is given time to appreciate the previous performance before the next set of dancers and acrobats hits the stage.

Yet it is the use of the projected image which really gives life to the stage, effortlessly changing the scene from a grungy, graffiti-covered street to a serene cityscape illuminated by the moon, and several others. The stage itself is just a wooden frame for the performers to move in and out of, and so the meticulous work of iD’s technical, production, and creative teams truly enhance the magical feel typical of Cirque shows.

Following the performance, which received two standing ovations, fireworks illuminated the night sky above the Sony Centre and ended the exhilarating night with a bang. Cirque Éloize’s iD runs until Saturday, October 9, at the Sony Centre on 1 Front Street. Visit www.ticketmaster.ca for tickets, or join the Sony Centre’s “Under 30 Rush Clubâ€? at www.sonycentre.ca/under30 for a free membership that offers $15 tickets to select shows.

flickr.com

flickr.com

flickr.com

The In-Betweeners comes to America

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High school sucks for everyone.

Therefore it’s amazing that so many movies and TV shows focus on high school as a setup for their plots. More often than not, it’s the kind of high school we wish we went to. The kind with singing and dancing (Glee), absurd amounts of money (The OC), or where something interesting actually happens (Buffy the Vampire Slayer).

But sometimes we can get the other kind. The kind that shows high school at the other end of the spectrum—just as absurd, but a little more truthful in its absurdity.

The In-Betweeners, a British sitcom starring Simon Bird and Joe Thomas, takes the latter approach. The series began its third season this September in Britain with enormous success. A film is in the works, and MTV is working on an American adaptation. But since seeing the original version first is the ultimate superiority-pull for media snobs, I’m going to go one step further and review it before the American version

even comes out. (Take that, lesser snobs!)

The In-Betweeners follows the adventures of Will McKenzie (Simon Bird), a sixth-form student in merry old England. He’s just changed schools, and on his first day he begins the series as a loser in the worst possible scenario: his headmaster is sadistic, he has no friends, and his new nickname is “briefcase wanker�.

Eventually, Will manages to latch on to a group of friends: the relatively normal but unpopular Simon Cooper, the “borderline sex-pest� Jay Cartwright, and the unusual, slightly dim Neil Sutherland. The odds are stacked against them, but they’re united in their goals to make friends, become popular, and get laid. Can they overcome their weaknesses and really get the most out of their youth? No. No, they cannot.

The greatest charm of The InBetweeners is the failures of its main cast. The episodes can go from brilliant, Rube Goldberg-style twists of fate, to laugh-out-loud moments of dick jokes and cynicism. But no matter what the story is, it comes down to the same thing: Will and his friends can’t catch a break. They try to go clubbing but end up buying urine-soaked shoes from homeless men; they try to get into parties, but have to end up hopping fences and dodging psychopaths to do it; Will

just tries to pass his exams, and he loudly soils himself in the gymnasium.

But that’s okay, because that’s what growing up is all about.

You can find The In-Betweeners legally on Amazon or questionably on YouTube and Megavideo. So whether you want to laugh at the misfortune of others, or just enjoy some dry British wit (“My dad’s not bent!�—“He is though, isn’t he?�), do consider The In-Betweeners.

thedailygoss.com

Will “Briefcase Wanker� Cartwright.

MONDAY, OCTOBER

5, 2010 THE MEDIUM 7

Amir Ahmed, Editor | features@mediumonline.ca

Blogging: living life one hit at a time DERIC VARCOE

Before I start, I’m going to take a wild guess that you have—or have had—a personal blog where all you did was post whatever the hell you wanted for all the world to see. If that’s not true, you have at the very least used Twitter, Myspace, or Facebook.

I mentioned this so you’d realize that we are all, in some way, bloggers. To actually define a blog is somewhat useless, because they come in so many different shapes and sizes; there are journalistic blogs, photo blogs, corporate blogs, and even micro-blogs (which is where all of you Facebook and Twitter users come in).

So with so many blogs there, and so many choices, how do some bloggers rise above the millions? What makes celebrity gossip blogger Mario “Perez Hilton� Lavandeira any more important than high school gossip blogger John Doe? That’s what I’m here to help you with; I’ll guide you through corporate ladder of what has been called (probably in somebody’s blog) the “blogosphere�, and profile the different levels of success and mediocrity you can expect if for some strange reason you decide to make it your career.

Where to start?... Let’s start at the beginning. I remember learning HTML to build my first webpage, and how cool I thought I was for posting a flaming

http://w shadow.com

A map of the blogosphere: dare you traverse its waters? background with a few pieces of construction clipart near the top (this just in: that page did not receive any hits outside of my friends and family).

That’s probably how most first blogs and pages turn out, actually; the excitement of starting your own online page passes quickly. That’s probably why there are so many blogs out there: not because millions of people regularly write them, but because people start them with good intentions and never get around to writing them. This is the stage I call the “Internet Hopeful� stage, and like my blog, most of these blogs never make it past the initial setup.

If you keep it up... There are hundreds of thousands of users on the simple blogging website www.blogger.com alone, and most of these people do

write regular blogs that let all of us see into their thoughts and feelings—so, clearly, some do make it through. The irony is that out of the 20 regular users of this site I contacted for their thoughts on blogging, only a few of them were comfortable sharing their thoughts with me. (I found this odd because they all make a hobby of sharing their thoughts.) Anyway, the people that actually communicated with me, along with the friends that I spoke with about the subject, all agreed that the anonymity of blogging gave them a way to express themselves in ways that, normally, they were afraid to. So it seems that as much as blogging has become the new “hip� thing to do in the past few years, it has also given voices, so to speak, to millions of people

who would have otherwise been silent.

If this is you, then you’re what I call an “e-motional writer� (did you catch that wordplay)?

Blowing up... It takes a strong-willed individual with a LOT of time on their hands to reach any amount of success with a blog. The Internet is littered with other places to waste your time (including, but not restricted to, the porn that makes up almost half of it), so how do successful bloggers stay on track?

Blogging is kind of like being a “starving artist�. Established artists and bloggers have financial support and large followings, and it takes something really unique, or the right connections, to ever reach that level. When you’re there it’s no longer about sharing your emotions or thoughts, no matter how much

you want to; it’s about pleasing your followers. If you were following Dane Cook on Twitter and he began tweeting poetry and posting serious short stories on his blog, half of his followers would be gone in a week. Nobody really wants to know how these people are feeling— not Dane Cook, not Perez Hilton, not the teams of people writing for corporate blogs. Most successful blogs these days are just marketing tools, and that’s exactly what we read. If you’ve made it to this level, I’m not even going to classify you as a blogger; I’m going to say that you’ve officially sold out. (I might get a lot of heat for that, but this is a campus newspaper, and all you really know about me is my name, so good luck!)

I’m not claiming that these so-called “blogs� aren’t interesting or worth visiting, because, believe me, I read a variety of sports, tech, gaming, and even celebrity blogs. But I hardly feel connected to the writers of these pages, and visit for informational purposes only. You’ll never feel the emotional connection with an author like you just did here (er—right?). Though for those of you who have blogs just for the sake of writing and the enjoyment of it, I applaud you and encourage you to keep writing; heck, send me a link to your page and I’ll visit it. However, if it’s a following you seek and all you’re looking for is hits, well, maybe you’d be better off taking up a career in the UFC.

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8 THE MEDIUM

MONDAY, OCTOBER

5, 2010

FEATURES

Judge overturns Ontario Facebook: a history prostitution laws MARIANA COMITO ASSISTANT FEATURES EDITOR

CHRIS ALI SARVGHADI

Yes, you read right. Susan Himel, judge of the Ontario Superior Court, recently ruled in favour of dominatrix Terri-Jean Bradford’s litigation, which pushed for the abolition of Canadian laws that heavily restricted the legal rights of prostitutes.

There has been a lot of controversy about the decision, so let’s hear all the information.

Bradford argued that the laws previously in place violated women’s Charter rights to security of person and freedom of expression.

Prostitution itself has never actually been illegal in Canada. However, at www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com, you find, “Currently, four classes of prostitution-related activities are prohibited: 1) procuring or living on the avails of prostitution; 2) owning, operating, or occupying a bawdy house; 3) all forms of public communication for the purpose of prostitution; and 4) knowingly transporting another to a bawdy house.” The first one made it illegal for prostitutes to hire security, drivers, managers, accountants, etc; basically, it was illegal for a second party to benefit from the prostitute’s business. The second rule is self-explanatory: the act of owning or operating a brothel was prohibited (although it is widely reported that many massage parlors in Toronto operate similarly). The third rule prohibited the

advertisement or public solicitation of sex services, though we often see cleverly disguised ads for such services in the back pages of classified sections. The fourth one specifically made it illegal to drive prostitutes or clients to or from a location that involved any sex-trading operations. These four prohibitions have been deemed unconstitutional by Himel.

The permanent abolition of these statutes could create very real and very visible social shifts in our streets and communities. Brothels could be publicly advertised, meaning you would likely walk by many locations overtly advertising sex trade services, particularly downtown.

Sex trade services could be overtly advertised—on TV, radio, billboards, etc.

Prostitutes could solicit you publicly, like squeegee kids, with no fear of legal repercussion. Legalizing professional prostitution would also mean that sex workers’ income would be taxed.

These are just some of the more obvious effects of abolishing these laws. We might start to see large institutions or even brand names attached to the prostitution industry. Many more jobs would be created as a byproduct of this industry— management, call centres, security, and driving services could all flourish in their attachment to prostitution.

Economically and politically, aspects of these judicial shifts could be considered beneficial. But what about the moral aspect of it all? Increasing the safety and practicali-

ty of the sex trade may encourage people who were previously undecided or apprehensive to finally pursue such a “career”, especially the financially desperate. It’s human nature to weigh benefits and risks before making a decision, and, if legal penalties and safety concerns are removed from the equation, we could see an increase in the number of willing Canadian sex workers. As a community and a nation, is this the sort of behavior we want to encourage? It’s tough to predict the indirect repercussions that may result from such laws.

(A note from the editor: There has, of course, been lots of argument on both sides. One side argues that these restrictions of freedom were unconstitutional; the other argues that all prostitutes are victims and will be further victimized; still others weigh in on either side of the “ethical to allow vs. unethical to forbid” issue.

Meanwhile, the Canadian government announced that it will appeal the ruling.)

Nothing is set in stone, though: even the Superior Court judge who passed the ruling provided a 30-day waiting period before any of these changes officially come into effect—enough time to prevent brothels from cropping up on the street tomorrow while appeals are still in motion. This case, with its economical, political, and social repercussions, will almost certainly be appealled to the Supreme Court, and only then will we know for certain what permanent changes await our nation.

With the movie out, let’s take a look at the history of the popular social network known as Facebook.

It started in 2003 as “Facemash”.

Mark Zuckerberg, a sophomore at Harvard University, along with his two roommates Chris Hughes and Dustin Moskovitz, created the popular phenomenon. Facemash originally just showed yearbook pictures of female undergraduates at Harvard, asking users to rate their “hotness”. It soon reached other colleges and high schools, and then became available to anyone over the age of thirteen.

After facing punishment from Harvard for a breach of students’ privacy, Facemash was no longer accessible. But, as soon as the chargers were dropped in 2004, Zuckerberg created a new one that let everyone create a profile, and “The Facebook” was born. In 2005, it became just “Facebook” and over the next few years, amid many changes and new features, became a popular webpage for everyone.

Facebook has over 500 million active users worldwide and is growing every day. However, not everyone approves of the network. some places, like Syria and Iran, have blocked Facebook on company computers and have even

blocked the country’s access.

Why all the controversy over this popular site? Well, the privacy and policy settings are constantly being rewritten. Although it allows people to stay connected with family and friends from all over the world, random and unknown individuals can still view your profile and add you as a friend. If you don’t have the proper privacy settings updated on your profile, then random individuals are able to search and view all of your private photos and personal information. Stalking and internet bullying has become a real issue for Facebook. To further complicate the situation, Facebook makes it incredibly hard for users to fully terminate the account. People may suspend the account from being viewed, but can’t get rid of it or its stored data.

Users have also been criticized for promoting controversial topics with groups, forums, and notorious conversation, and for posting disturbing pictures and comments. So next time you’re on Facebook, make sure your privacy settings are safe (see http://www.sophos.com/security/ best-practice/facebook). There are also people creating fake accounts and impersonating others for malicious reasons. Facebook is a way to connect, but it can create harmful situations— besides, do you want your boss seeing that embarrassing picture of you?

Need more dirt on Facebook? Check out Colleen Munro’s review of The Social Network on page 5.

Three tips to save money and time at UTM YARA MATAR Summer is now just a glance over our shoulders and school has finally rolled in—with the exception that for many of us, university is a totally new page in our lives.

In high school, countless friends, relatives, and teachers tried to educate us in the issue of the “real” college experience: long lectures with no time for note-taking, all-nighters in the library, potential friends from all over the world, and a newfound freedom that is dangerously delicious.

But what about that pointless (and pricey) grocery shopping extravaganza? Or those overpriced textbooks?

And where in the world were those $400 apartments during the summer?

Small tips, such as where to buy books for less and how to buy dinner, do make subtle yet surprisingly effective differences when it comes to managing time, money, and resources in college as a first-year. The following tips are the result of hands-on experience, courtesy of yours truly; they are economic, effective, and will definitely come in handy for the typical freshman at UTM. Skip the Walmart Splurge Many poor, unaware freshmen (including myself) who choose to live in the dorms set out for their first year with the firm belief that grocery shopping will become a sacred, weekly habit, similar to doing laundry or cleaning the bathroom. But a harmless 10-minute stop at the grocery store will unexpectedly stretch into a 45-minute walk through temptation, and that once-empty shopping trolley will start towering with random and very useless items such as Shea butter face masks (that yield no result whatsoever) and fork-and-knife sets.

UTM freshmen: supermarkets are forbidden! But if you don’t go, how else

http://upstatebusiness.net

Walmart is not your friend. will you get food and toilet paper?

Well, this very considerate university has devised a smart way for all students (first- or upper-year, on residence or off) to have access to food and confectionary items year-round: the Student Meal Plan.

Yes, the meal plan is an economic and efficient way to survive both semesters. Why? It’s paid in advance (probably by a parent or another funding source), so for students who have only their monthly allowance as a source of stable income, worry not. No allowance need be spent foolishly since T-Cards magically transform into wallets whenever Spigel Hall or Tim Horton’s is nearby. For those extremely lucky ones who live at home, surely a stocked refrigerator (or better yet, a loving mother) will suffice when it comes to battling those hunger raids.

Once again, skip the supermarket splurge and save big money! Not only will money restraints become knotfree, but that precious time spent examining and impulse-buying the many different kinds of consumer products can be invested in study, socializing, or recreation.

Second-hand books all the way Many, many first-years make the annual mistake of buying every single required textbook fresh off the bookstore stacks. Sure, those books have

that brand-new smell and clean, wrinkle-free pages, but who wants to spend $100 on one book? Not only is the price a little high, but any one book will practically expire for the average student over the course of two semesters.

The average UTM student takes 5 courses per semester; each course requires at least one textbook. If you spend an average of $100 for every required book, and multiply it by 2 (counting next semester too), then the final amount of money spent on a single year’s worth of textbooks is probably in the four-digit range. That’s definitely not the kind of money that any student wants to spend on books, especially if that money is coming out of allowance.

The perfect solution? Tusbe, Alibris, Amazon, eBay, and other online textbook resellers. Let’s look at the first one, www.tusbe.com. Formally known as Toronto University Student’s Book Exchange, this online second-hand book database not only provides affordable textbooks, but they also generally match the requirements for UTM courses (except for the professors who demand new editions, though you can sometimes get away with it).

This website is an essential tool for resourceful education, and it comes at a much more affordable price than at our dandy university bookstore.

“For my Logic class, the book was

going for $75, used—when they finally fixed their mistake and even listed it,” noted second-year student Luke Sawczak. “I got it for $25 plus shipping, and a week before everyone else.”

Whether this whip-it kit may be applicable to this year’s freshmen or not, a bookmark on your browser will surely come in handy next semester or in the coming years; make it a point to be an early surfer, however. You can’t wait till the third week of class to get your books, and also, those cheap textbooks run out in a matter of seconds!

Ask around town for the low-down It’s managed to become a much-discussed issue and has transformed into a household hot topic: relying on the most random of places to get the most substantial, knowledgeable information on everyday queries and questions. Parents implement this technique into every aspect of their lives, including long-term investments such as real estate and simple means of survival like what kind of meat to buy at the butcher’s.

Of course, us adolescents are reminded of the value of this technique from time to time, but do we really take this “research” mechanism in hand?

We definitely should. When it comes to renting an apartment for the first time, settling for a tour with your dad and a broker is not such a smart idea,

simply because adults with actual jobs tend to focus on what other adults with actual jobs can afford in terms of accomodation.

A simple fix that surprisingly slips by us day after day is the notice boards that fill the walls of the South Building and the Student Centre. Countless fliers and advertisements offer accessible and affordable apartments; they’re just waiting for students to take the opportunities. Many options are available, and regardless of the type of accommodation, whether it’s a studio or a two-bedroom apartment or even another student with a townhouse to share (for a price, of course), the price range is a stable one, starting around $400 and going up to $600. Yes, apartments worth those amounts do exist.

All that is needed is a set of open eyes (or perhaps a pair of glasses).

Apartment-hunting is not the only job you can do more easily with the “scavenging” technique. Just about anything on or off campus has better and worse ways to get it done. That tipoff about Tusbe? It certainly didn’t come from a professor. On the contrary, a fellow UTM student was the source of this priceless find. For direct insight on courses, there are hundreds of friendly students on campus who are more than willing to share their experience and offer advice; all that is required is to ask! It’s quite simple: when you want something, go look for it. Whether looking for it will lead you to a random student or those sweet ladies who work in the cafeteria, the search will not go to waste. The people that work side-by-side with us are the most knowledgeable in the simple issues of our everyday life.

Three tips, three pieces of free advice, and more than three years to try them out. Share them, and even add to them; I can only guarantee a more economic and effective college life!

MONDAY, OCTOBER

5, 2010 THE MEDIUM 9

FEATURES

Creative Corner

“Title Pending” TREVOR ABES

And there they were, landed from who knows what distant planet or star, in blue, orange, and yellow.

A contagion they carried, transferred like a bad mutation through a deceptively benevolent line: “Can I have a moment of your time?”

And with it they multiplied across every entrance and hallway, like an itch after a hazy night with that girl who’s been “crab free” since yesterday.

Then they vanished into air, with titles under their arms, and smiles to spare.

But there is depth in their smiles, if you take the care to see that they look too much the same, no matter the task they heed.

Who are they? They are U, TMSU.

10 THE MEDIUM MONDAY, OCTOBER 5, 2010

William Robertson , Editor | sports@mediumonline.ca

Roy Halladay poised to win Cy Young CHRIS CALLAHAN

This past off-season, Roy Halladay and the Blue Jays finally parted ways.

After over a decade of individual success for Halladay, it became clear that the Jays lacked the necessary talent to help him achieve success in the playoffs. Halladay was shipped off to Philadelphia, where the Phillies have been a perennial contender in recent years.

In his first year, Halladay already appears to be a perfect fit for Philadelphia. The Phillies have run away with the National League East, and Halladay has been a major contributor. For the first time in his 13year career, Halladay’s dominance on the mound will not go to waste for a non-playoff team.

It seems team achievements won’t be the only reward for Halladay. His performance this year will likely result in his second Cy Young award

(given to the best pitchers in the Major League). Halladay last won the award in 2003 when he was with the Blue Jays. Halladay was often the victim of a lack of run support in Toronto, so he lacked the high win totals that Cy Young winners are expected to have.

This year, Halladay has both team success and impressive statistics in his favour, making him the easy favourite for the award. The case for Halladay is a strong one; his numbers are astounding. He is first in Major League Baseball in wins, complete games, and innings pitched.

Halladay’s proficiency in those three categories represents his dedication.

They are all stats that show Halladay is still the workhorse that Jays fans adored.

In addition to paving the way for many wins and making life easier for the Phillies’ bullpen, Halladay has more flashy stats that are needed to win the award. He is second in the

National League in strikeouts and third in Earned Run Average. He also has allowed the fewest walks of any starting pitcher in baseball this year: his magnificent 1.04 walks and his hits per innings pitched demonstrate his efficiency on the mound.

What has also separated Halladay from the competition is his ability to consistently keep the Phillies in close games. In 33 starts, Halladay has only twice allowed more than five runs.

Halladay’s transition from the only star on an average team to an important piece on a World Series contender has been flawless in his first year with the Phillies. They have given Halladay the run support and wins he has long coveted. This October, Halladay will look to repay the team by continuing his strong play throughout the playoffs. While the playoffs are always difficult to predict, Halladay has made it very easy to guess the Cy Young winner.

virtacore.com

Halladay is looking to capture the World Series title in his first year with the Phillies.

Young gamblers hit it big online ADAM KOZAK Some people have the idea that poker is played in the back of bowling alleys, in dark smoky rooms full of degenerate gamblers. While that may have been true once, the environment has changed somewhat. The degenerate gamblers still exist, but a new archetype of player has emerged: the young college professional.

Ever since amateur Chris Moneymaker came out of nowhere to win the World Series of Poker Main Event in 2004, young college-age kids just old enough to gamble online have been borrowing their parents’ credit cards to play online poker.

This article is not concerned with the degenerates out there who are still paying creditors back on top of an expensive tuition (of whom there are many), but rather the big winners out there who have not only been able to make a living from poker but even to live extravagantly.

Cheet is a gambler by profession. He plays online poker, but to him there’s a clear distinction between poker and general forms of gambling. “In poker, you are playing a game of skill in which your opponents are other players and not the ‘house’. Whereas in other forms of gambling, where your odds are completely controlled by the house (where they are obviously always giving you a bet with negative expected value), in poker it’s all determined by your opponents and how you play against them.”

“Cheet” is the screen name he uses to play online poker. It’s a moniker, one you could say represents a tough player, a wily vet who has dominated $600-$2000 buys for years. It’s unclear how much money he has won in total from online poker; he isn’t keen on sharing such personal figures, but does admit that he won $30,000 in one month from online poker during college—that’s when school started sliding down the priority scale.

“When I first started winning really big I completely neglected school. I would sleep until like 3 or 4 p.m. every day and just grind hard. I was playing $5/$10 NL and just made $30,000 in a month. How could I possible care about school?”

Cheet was a good student in high school and was taking a computer science major at UC Irvine, but success came early on and naturally school didn’t seem all that important anymore. For the record, it would take 2,500 hours making $12 per hour to earn $30,000.

Because of the income disparity between Cheet and his friends, he was the one who bought all the alcohol in order to make a party reach its maximum potential. He was generous to his friends, but they weren’t always fair to him in return.

“One thing that is unfortunate to deal with is friends wanting to borrow money. I’ve gotten paid back overall, but still have debts coming on a year old.

It’s amazing how even your best friends will give a really convincing reason why they need to borrow money, but then take way longer than they said to pay you back. When people see you have a lot of money, your money means less to them.

They decide an amount doesn’t mean much to you, and take their sweet time to pay you back. It’s pretty hurtful to be owed money for a long time from a friend and watch him spend money on different things in front of you,” said Cheet. For Cheet, making money had its downside, and that was finding out early in life the selfish side of some of his friends. Making huge sums of money created tension, but it wasn’t anything new. Tension between friends and family is common for young poker players who hit it relatively big.

Another poker professional, Syous, had a similar experience. For him, it was not an experience drifting away from his best friend and having to tell his dad, who is a doctor, that he dropped out of school to play poker full-time.

“Me and my best friend, we almost stopped talking because of that. He was severely against it. He thought I was a dumbass for trying to make a living out of poker. He didn’t think it was profitable. When it would come to poker he would say ‘Mike. I can’t win at poker. I’m just unlucky’, which was totally illogical.

It’s weird that people think like that,” said Syous.

“My parents were always against it. At

A MEETING OF THE MEDIUM II PUBLICATIONS BOARD OF DIRECTORS WILL BE HELD ON OCTOBER 15, 2010 AT 3 P . M. I N T HE S T U D EN T CE N T RE ROOM 200.

one time I was Korean with red hair, which is pretty rare. After I came home from the casino, my dad asked me if I went to the casino, and I said ‘No, of course not.’ Then he said that a church friend saw a Korean boy with red hair in the poker room. Then there was no hiding it. He asked me if I won and I was all proud about it and said ‘Yeah, I won,’ and he said, ‘That’s a shame.’ Back then, he was never happy about me playing poker. His logic was that if I won I would play more.”

Meanwhile, one good thing about being a professional poker player is that all you need for your job is an Internet connection. Syous, a 23-year-old KoreanAmerican, has taken advantage of that fact. He was born in San Diego, California, and currently resides in South Korea. After taking a two-and–a-half year sabbatical for school, he visited South Korea, China, India, and Cambodia, and has toured Thailand extensively.

“When you’re really relying on yourself for a month, you grow. When you’re out there, you’re forced to find what you like and don’t like. If you really like travelling, it’ll hit you hard.

Life here in NYC (only been here five or six days so far) just isn’t the same. The vibe and energy isn’t there, since it’s too familiar, I think. Go out and see how different societies and cultures live their daily life. See what’s standard to them.

Some of the things they do I disagree with—however, other things they do I wish we did,” Syous commented.

Cheet recently graduated from UC Irvine with a degree in computer science.

It took him five and a half years to finish and he plans to travel as well.

“I travel to Vegas frequently and have friends who live out there. I’d like to travel a lot more in this coming year, but for fun, not poker. However, I am very motivated to do well in poker and make money, so it’s hard for me to pick a time to give myself a vacation. However, I imagine I’d be bringing a laptop to play

no matter what.”

One of the things I find impressive about these young professionals is that they are both incredibly hardworking. It’s easy to write these guys off as lucky because gambling and luck are intertwined, but you’d be wrong. Both of them have dedicated hundreds of hours away from the table analyzing hands, discussing various lines to take against different opponents, and even getting tilt management coaching. In turn they themselves have become coaches, but their services are not cheap: Syous charges $325 an hour.

Though things don’t always go perfectly, both of these guys have shown perseverance. And after five years as a pro for Cheet and two and a half years for Syous, it’s safe to say these guys are for real. They have made it. And there is even a happy ending for Syous.

“My dad is a lot cooler with it now that he sees how I run it like a business. It piqued his interest a little. My mom is okay with it. She’s not thrilled; she’d be much happier if I became a doctor or some other respected occupation. And it’s not something they would tell others, really. They’ll say I dropped out to run a business project, but they won’t say poker,” he laughed.

As for Cheet, his parents have always been supportive.

“My parents are very supportive of me playing and always have been. They expected me to finish school, and I did. I’m not sure how they would have reacted to me dropping out. Probably bad, but I don’t know for sure. I think they would kind of like to see me get a job, but they don’t have a problem going for it in poker like I am.”

Online poker is growing bigger every day, and few people have success stories like Cheet and Syous. The failure stories don’t get as mcuh attention. People have been known to take out second mortgages on their homes to feed their gambling addiction, which is why it’s important to play within your limit.

MONDAY, OCTOBER 5, 2010 THE MEDIUM 11

SPORTS

Leafs’ pre-season U of T to host soccer nationals in review MICHELLE DUKLAS

The pre-season is a good time to see the skills of up-and-coming players on each team. In particular, the Toronto Maple Leafs have young players trying to prove that they have what it takes to be in the NHL on one of the most watched teams in the league.

Nazem Kadri is one of those players. He was drafted seventh overall in 2009, and despite all the hype about his playing abilities, he hasn’t performed to the level that the Leafs’ management would like. It’s likely that he will get sent to the Marlies, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Kadri is a top-six forward and sending him to the AHL means he’ll get experience playing as a top-six forward, rather than playing on the third or fourth line for the Leafs.

Instead, Tyler Bozak will probably be the top forward this season. He has excellent faceoff percentages and has more experience than Kadri when it comes to playing in the NHL. His raw talent isn’t as high as Kadri’s, but Bozak is more reliable at the moment, and the management is much more likely to value reliability over occasional excellence, especially when it comes to the first line.

Luca Caputi is also a player who shone in the pre-season. He wants to be a power forward, something that showed in his effort this summer to bulk up. He had an excellent pre-season so far, but it is unclear as to whether or not it will be enough for him to stay on the team. Fredrik Sjostrom is likely to take his place on

the third line instead now that his shoulder seems to have healed from the surgery that he underwent in the spring. Even though Caputi is physically larger than Sjostrom, Sjostrom is faster, which is a good fit for right winger Colby Armstrong. The third line is likely to have either Tim Brent or John Mitchell in the middle of it.

Brent, 27, was drafted 75th overall in 2004. He played amazingly this preseason. Mitchell, 25, is a reliable veteran who can stabilize his line. He has played for the Leafs for the past two seasons, and has three years of AHL experience under his belt.

The Leafs’ powerplay has improved this pre-season, with the trio of Kris Versteeg, Phil Kessel, and Dion Phaneuf scoring many of the Leafs’ powerplay goals. In addition, the defence has a huge depth and the goaltending looks solid with Jonas Gustavsson and veteran J.S. Giguere between the pipes.

The addition of Phaneuf to the team back in January led to more stability for the Leafs. Phaneuf is a leader, prompting the Leafs’ management to name him captain of the team.

This should settle down the team during difficult games and pull them together.

The Leafs were 5-3-1 in the preseason, with wins against the Sens (twice), the Sabres, the Flyers and Detroit.

Diehard Leafs fans can look forward to the start of the season this Thursday, October 7, when the Leafs will take on the Montréal Canadiens, in what they hope will not be a repeat of last season’s game.

University of Ottawa

Michael Skrzyniak—urging U of T fans to show more school spirit Contrary to popular belief, U of T has another “football” team, which should be getting more exposure than they do now. Our soccer team has been one of the more dominant programs in recent years, and began this year ranked fourth in the OUA pre-season poll. The Blues were just handed their first loss this past Saturday to bitter rivals, the Carleton Ravens. The Blues still hold the top spot in the OUA Eastern division and will be able to avenge the loss when they square off once again with Carleton this upcoming Sunday. John Smits, starting goaltender (who led the CIS with 11 blank sheets last year) commented on the rivalry with Carleton: “U of T has always had a rivalry with Carleton University.

They always challenge us for three points and never back down from any game.”

From November 11 to 14, U of T will be hosting the 2010 CIS Men’s Soccer championships. U of T is a definite contender to take home the title. Last year the men’s team lost a heartbreaker to the McMaster Marauders in the finals, but with 12 players returning, they are poised to make another deep run. U of T has a 4-1-2 record and is looking stronger than ever. “This might be the greatest quality of soccer that the city will see over three days, and we would love for the U of T community to come out and

support us,” said Smits.

Soccer has become increasingly popular in Canada, and with the future expansion of the Major League, including teams in Montreal and Vancouver, the exposure will only grow. Our national soccer team is gradually improving and many believe that down the line, within ten years or so, soccer might take over as North America’s favourite sport. I think it will be hard for European football to steal fans from America’s NFL and from Canada’s hockey, but no one can deny the amount of recognition soccer has now, compared to ten years ago.

Once again, U of T, I’m calling out to all of you. We must go out and support our soccer teams, including our women’s team (who are currently tied for second place in the OUA Eastern division).

Nationals are coming up, and since TFC couldn’t get into the playoffs, it’s a chance for soccer fans to finally get their fix of some meaningful soccer.

The men’s soccer team has a busy schedule upcoming which has them playing Laurentian University on Oct 8 followed the next day by Nipissing University visiting the Varsity Centre both at 2:15. The women’s games will be held at 12:00 at the Varsity Centre before the men’s game. If you can make it out, I urge you to do so.

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U of T stuns Ottawa The U of T Varsity Blues football team shocked everyone with an unexpected win over the No. 2 ranked team in Canada, the Ottawa Gee-Gees.

The win marks Toronto’s first victory over Ottawa since 1974, when they beat Ottawa in the Yates Cup. The win is also the Blues’ first victory over a nationally-ranked team after they defeated Waterloo in 1997. Quarterback Andrew Gillis’ career-high 343 passing yards and running back Aaron Milton’s 147 rushing yards were enough to capture the victory for the Blues. Milton also tied a U of T football record with a rushing touchdown of 105 yards, which ranks fourth in CIS history. Derek Batchelor was another Blues standout: he recorded seven tackles and two interceptions in the game.

Coach Greg DeLaval said, “I am really excited we stepped up today. Any time you go into a game you have a specific game plan, but you have to be able to adapt—we did that today.

We are a very young team but we came together and really showed what we are capable of.”

The Blues are showing signs of improvement and this win could just be the beginning. Congratulations, boys.

MONDAY, OCTOBER

5, 2010 THE MEDIUM 12

SPORTS

2010-2011 University of Toronto Students Union

OPT-IN & OPT-OUT PERIODS Students Starting in September:

AUG 30 - OCT 8, 2010 at www.studentplans.ca Students Starting in January:

JAN 3 - FEB 4, 2011 at www.studentplans.ca

For more information about the U.T.S.U. Health & Dental Plans visit www.greenshield.ca/studentcentre

Your U.T.S.U. Health Plan Administrator is: Dan Gillespie (416) 978-4911 Ext. 227 health@utsu.ca

your health benefits