The Eyeopener: Vol. 59, Issue 6 by The Eyeopener

TMU cancels research project, uses students as ‘collateral damage,’ associate professor says after filing $16 million lawsuit

The lawsuit accuses TMU of derailing a multi-million research project and freezing student degrees

By Shumaila Mubarak

An associate professor* in the Department of Civil Engineering has filed a lawsuit valued at over $16 million against Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU), alleging administrative mismanagement resulting in the derailment of his multimillion dollar research project and halting his students’ academic progress.

According to the statement of claim delivered to TMU on Aug. 20, the professor and his graduate student team were building a new wind tunnel facility in a shared lab space at the university. But due to institutional delays and project relocations, the research project was repeatedly disrupted and later cancelled by TMU administrators without his knowledge.

“There were a lot of limitations. We didn’t want to interfere...”

In an interview with The Eyeopener , the professor explained that, due to TMU’s lack of infrastructure, he and his team had been working in a laboratory space borrowed from the Aerospace Engineering department between 2018 to 2023 to test the existing wind tunnel.

“It should have been a turning point for TMU”

However, he and his team decided to apply for a grant at the Canada Foundation for Innovation in 2021 to build their own custom wind tunnel facility at TMU since the existing tunnel “required modifications to better suit” their research project, he said. “There were a lot of limitations. We didn’t

want to interfere [with the aerospace team’s testing on the wind tunnel]…so we decided it’s better to apply for a new grant,” he said.

They won the national grant in late 2023 and the professor said in an email to The Eye , “It should have been a turning point for TMU .”

“[The university was] pressuring me to fund the space and the equipment”

Instead, the space assigned to them by the university for the facility was verbally changed four times, requiring “redesign and budget overruns,” according to the statement of claim.

The claim also alleges that the professor was pressured by a senior administrator at the university to personally cover the renovation costs for the wind tunnel.

“...it got canceled, which is basically wiping out the work of my students for the past three years”

“[The university was] pressuring me to fund the space and the equipment… basically trying to shift part of the responsibility of the institution to the professor. It’s not right,” he said in an interview with The Eye.

When he refused to cover renovation costs, TMU cancelled the $1.6 million research project in May 2025 without his knowledge, the claim states.

“Only after I refused, it got cancelled, which is basically wiping out the work of my students for the past three years,” he said.

The Eye reached out to the university

but didn’t receive a comment in time for the publication.

“I did not choose litigation. I am here because TMU left me no choice after escalating internally at various levels”

The faculty member said he tried all internal processes and options available to solve the matter after the cancellation of his project. But nothing worked out, which is why he then filed the litigation of over $16 million against TMU to defend his students and his research. He told The Eye the monetary compensation wasn’t the driving force behind his actions.

According to the hearing brief document obtained by The Eye , the professor claims, “I did not choose litigation. I am here because TMU left me no choice after escalating internally at various levels.”

Immediately after filing the litigation, he said he received two threatening emails from TMU’s legal team pressuring him to withdraw the lawsuit.

The Eye has obtained both of these emails.

“...basically treating them as collateral damage here, trying to really crush them in a way that is inhumane”

When he refused to withdraw the litigation, he said an investigation was launched into three of his graduate students.

“These are very calibre students. Three key people in my group, [the university] launched an investigation against them… basically treating them as collateral damage here, trying to really crush them

in a way that is inhumane,” he said.

According to the briefing, two of his students were denied graduate student payments until he intervened.

The briefing document states that some of his students “have indicated they will seek other opportunities outside TMU because of the uncertainties regarding their stalled research project.”

“Everything is frozen for them until they clear the investigation”

The faculty member informed The Eye that his students** are prohibited from discussing the investigation or comfortably visiting campus. “Everything is frozen for them until they clear that investigation,” he said.

The professor also filed Freedom of Information (FOI) requests after the investigation was launched to seek transparency but he says the “time is running out” for those affected.

The Eye obtained the FOI requests from the professor.

The cancelled project is currently stalling $1.6 million in frozen research funds, according to the statement of claim.

In court, the faculty member is seeking “accountability and transparency” to protect his research and students, the briefing reads.

TMU has since filed a statement of defence in response.

*This source has requested to remain anonymous due to the sensitivity of the matter. The Eye has verified this source.

**The Eye contacted the students involved in the lawsuit but didn’t receive a comment in time for publication.

TMU’s open work permit policy change leaves some international students struggling to afford tuition

Some paying domestic tuition will soon be expected to pay international fees

By Vihaan Bhatnagar

Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU) rescinded a policy that allowed international students with open work permits to pay domestic fee rates starting Fall 2025, according to an email sent by TMU ServiceHub to affected students in November 2023.

In a separate email from provost Roberta Iannacito-Provenzano sent in March 2025, she told affected students that the university gave them “advanced notice” via email on July 10, 2024. Students who were approved for an international fee rate exemption before July 10, 2024 may continue paying domestic fee rates until they complete their studies or their current work permit expires—whichever comes first.

The Eyeopener has obtained both these emails.

Many students who had gotten an offer of admission from TMU before July 10, 2024 did not have access to their TMU emails before this date, a requirement to apply for the exemption. The then-incoming students were not notified of this deadline until March 2025.

Open work permits allow the holder to work for any employer, while closed work permits are tied to a specific employer, according to the government of Canada. Under this change, only international students with closed work permits can pay domestic fee rates at TMU.

The change affects over 200 TMU students, most of whom are Iranian, forcing them to pay close to five times as much in tuition.

In an email to The Eye , TMU president Mohamed Lachemi said the decision to update the eligibility criteria was made in July 2024 to coincide with Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) deadlines as well as to align with other universities.

“The change was communicated to prospective and current students well in advance to allow sufficient time for financial preparation,” read the email.

In September 2022, Mahsa (Jina) Amini was arrested in Iran for improper veiling. She died in ‘morality police’ custody—patrols tasked with detaining people who violate the religious laws and dress codes. Worldwide protests erupted in response, as well as inside Iran where brutal crackdowns were placed by the Islamic Republic. There were more than 550 documented deaths by early 2023,

according to a 2024 report from a United Nations fact-finding mission on Iran, with the estimated number being higher.

In response, the Canadian government made it easier for Iranian citizens to stay in Canada if they were already here to study, work or spend time with family.

The government also allowed Iranians who came to Canada on a visitor visa to apply for an open work permit.

“They just locked the door...”

Karan Kaviani is an international student from Iran in his third-year of biomedical sciences. He came to Canada on a visitor visa in July 2023, changing it to a study visa in October 2023.

According to the university’s website, the tuition for Kaviani’s program is $7,281.38 every school year, which is the amount he currently pays. Now with the university’s policy change, he will have to start paying $36,815.24 every year after his original open work permit expires in September 2026 until he graduates in 2028.

Kaviani currently works two jobs and gets some financial assistance from his parents to afford tuition.

He tried to get assistance from the TMU Ombudsperson, who said they were in communication with the office of the registrar but students had the option to escalate the issue to the Ontario Ombudsman.

Kaviani then decided to transfer to York University (YU), which at the time still had an international fee exemption for international students with open work permits but YU didn’t accept all of his credits.

“One of the things [TMU was]

telling us was you can use other alternatives…you can go to other universities that still have the policy, but…it’s not that easy,” he said.

In February 2025, after over a year of individually contacting university administration and not getting any responses, around 40 students, including Kaviani, decided to collectively go to the ServiceHub office on campus to ask for assistance. After waiting for around an hour, he said a manager came to tell them that it was out of ServiceHub’s control.

“Then he suggested [to] us or we just decided…I don’t remember… to go talk to the office of the provost because we knew they [were] the ones who mostly decided to change the policy,” said Kaviani.

Kaviani chose to go to Iannacito-Provenzano’s office in Jorgenson Hall himself. He told a secretary that he wanted to speak to Tony Conte, executive director for the office of the provost and vice president academic. Kaviani was asked to wait while the secretary went to talk to Conte.

“If I knew from the beginning that you’re not a student, I wouldn’t have responded to you”

Meanwhile, the other students were waiting downstairs in the lobby. They asked Kaviani why it was taking so long. Kaviani said he didn’t know—he was still waiting. Growing impatient, they all decided to come upstairs.

Upon arriving at the provost’s office, they found the door to the provost’s office locked.

“They just locked the door because they thought maybe we want to protest or something.

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However, we didn’t do anything. We were just…talking to each other and waiting for them to [respond to us]…but then they just locked the door,” said Kaviani. “They just disappeared.”

Kaviani decided to email Iannacito-Provenzano. He said he didn’t use his own TMU email because he was afraid of retaliatory action. He instead chose to use a friend’s TMU email. His friend, Pedram Yazdani, is a domestic student and is not personally affected by the change.

Yazdani is now a first-year graduate student of economics but was a research assistant in the department of economics at the time.

He’s been a member of the Iranian Students’ Association at TMU (ISAMET) since 2019, and was vice-president in 2023-24.

It was in his tenure as vice-president that the university announced the policy change and he had been approached by many concerned students. They tried to contact the university at the time but received no response.

Still waiting outside the Provost’s office, Yazdani said they emailed Iannacito-Provenzano, telling her they had been waiting for hours and they didn’t wish to protest—only to talk.

He got a response and was told they could speak on the upcoming Friday.

On Feb. 28, Yazdani and Kaviani met with Iannacito-Provenzano, Conte and Shari Hodges, the interim university registrar.

“They started so aggressively,” said Kaviani, adding that they were asked why they had been “spamming” the provost.

‘Supporting Children & Students Act’ protest at Queen’s Park

The Bill 33 legislation aims to give government more control over educational administration

By Lucas Bustinski

Disclaimer: Two sources interviewed in this piece were also interviewed for an Eyeopener article titled ‘TMU student groups and course unions use art to protest Bill 33’. These sources we’re interviewed at different occasions and the writers did not overlap.

Students, student governments, faculty groups and labour unions organized outside Queen’s Park to protest the Bill 33 legislation on Oct. 20.

Bill 33, the Supporting Children and Students Act, 2025, was introduced and passed on May 29 and pushed to a second reading scheduled for June 5. The second reading was adjourned until Oct. 20, according to the Legislative Assembly of Ontario.

Cyrielle Ngeleka, chairperson of Canadian Federation of Students (CFS)-Ontario, said Bill 33 is a threat to the entirety of the education sector with a big focus on postsecondary students.

“We’re seeing the point that the bill specifically is going to target ancillary fees. We know that ancillary services are funding vital services that make education survivable,” said Ngeleka.

Ancillary fees fund student services like mental health resources and student unions.

The Ontario government has made no

comment on how they might change ancillary fees but the bill would give them the power to do so.

Ngeleka also said she is concerned about a “merit-based” admission system and research security plans the legislation would move towards.

The Ontario government has not properly clarified what “merit-based” admission means.

Bianca Giacoboni, press secretary from the minister of colleges and universities member of provincial parliament Nolan Quinn’s office, said in an email statement to The Eyeopener thst the bill would ensure transparency and trust in the post-secondary education system.

“As promised, we will be consulting with the sector, including students, to understand these fees better, what current admissions policies look like and what research security practices can be enhanced in a way that does not disrupt the delivery of a world class education,” read the email.

Giacoboni added that they are not proposing students should be able to opt-out of all fees.

Ngeleka said CFS-Ontario is continuously met with repression from their government.

“The government has a history of silencing student voices…when students are able to hold the government accountable,” said Ngeleka. “When I say we’re being met with repression, ultimately, that means we’re not being listened to.”

Step in the wrong direction: A rundown of Bill 33

A threat on student voice and programs that foster

safety and inclusion

By Negin Khodayari

Bill 33, officially called the Supporting Children and Students Act, threatens student organizations across Ontario’s post-secondary campuses. The provincial bill, introduced in May, gives the government more power over what fees colleges and universities can charge students.

At first glance, it looks like a move toward transparency. But the bill could lead to deep cuts to student services, fewer campus supports and more financial instability for institutions already stretched thin.

What’s in Bill 33?

One of the most controversial parts of the bill is a section that gives the Ontario government full control over ancillary fees—extra charges that students pay in addition to tuition. These fees help fund services like mental health programs, food banks, student transit passes, student unions, campus newspapers and radio stations.

If Bill 33 passes, the province can decide which of these fees are ‘essential’ and which ones schools can’t require students to pay.

The bill also includes changes to admissions rules. It would require post-secondary institutions to use more ‘merit-based’ admission criteria, which could limit access for marginalized or underrepresented students.

A repeat of the Student Choice Initiative?

This isn’t the first time the province has tried to control student fees. In 2019, the Ford government launched the Student Choice Initiative (SCI). That policy let students opt in to certain

Trudy Kuropatwa Trent, a third-year performance and production design student and the president of the Performance Student Union at TMU, said she believes Bill 33 will negatively impact post-secondary education by having the government too present.

“The main things that will be threatening to us is the attack on the autonomy of our student unions and our admissions processes,” said Kuropatwa Trent. “There’s a huge emphasis on the increase in surveillance and policing on our campuses. We really understand viscerally what it means to be over policed, over surveilled, to have security guards acting with impunity on our campuses.”

Kuropatwa Trent says she has worked

with the Toronto Metropolitan Students’ Union, Toronto Metropolitan Graduate Students’ Union and the Toronto Metropolitan Association of Part-time Students putting up posters, spreading leaflets and creating petitions. They have also organized food drives, therapy dog sessions and free breakfast programs “to emphasize the fact that this affects all of these programs that we want run.”

Ngeleka says she hopes this bill is completely rejected.

“[This is] an attack on the education sector. An attack on one body is an attack on everybody,” said Ngeleki. “We’re just hoping the government will listen to students and publicly fund the education system.”

Doug Ford’s government says they’re “supporting” children and students through Bill 33.

THEY’RE WRONG.

fees, which led to major cuts to campus newspapers, sexual assault support centres, 2SLGBTQIA+ services and other programs.

The Ontario Superior Court later discovered the Ford government had not followed the correct procedures and the SCI was dismissed. Now, Bill 33 looks like the government’s second attempt—this time written into law with the correct procedure.

Program cuts already happening Ontario already has some of the lowest perstudent funding for post-secondary education in Canada, according to a 2023 Global News report. Domestic tuition has been frozen since 2019 after a 10 per cent tuition cut and many schools rely heavily on international students to balance their budgets.

As of today, colleges and universities have already started cutting programs. Centennial College has suspended over 50 programs this year alone. “We have suspended 54 programs in 2025,” a statement published to the college’s website reads. “These decisions were made as part of a broader strategy to protect the longterm sustainability of the College.”

Who gets to decide what’s ‘essential’?

Under Bill 33, the government—not students, not schools—would decide which fees are essential. That could mean the end of funding for services that support mental health, equity groups, sexual violence prevention and student media.

Bill 33 is:

An attack on YOUR students’ unions, student-run services, student jobs, and your campus

A dangerous precedent for exclusionary education policies, targeting marginalized students

An overreach by the government to curb academic freedoms

An increase in policing and surveillance

A distraction from the underfunding of our colleges and universities

Doug Ford’s government does not care about students, workers, or families...

...ONLY ABOUT PUTTING PROFIT OVER PEOPLE!

LUCAS BUSTINSKI/ THE EYEOPENER

TMU student groups and unions use art to protest Bill 33

Students painted a colourful “Hands Off Our Education” banner as part of their campaign

By Eunice Soriano

A banner protesting Bill 33 was dropped in the Sheldon & Tracy Levy Student Learning Centre (SLC) on Oct. 21.

At a public painting session in front of the Student Campus Centre (SCC) a week prior, numerous associations, course unions and students at Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU) designed the banner that read “Hands Off Our Education” and “Stop Bill 33” adorned with brightly-coloured etches of the students’ handprints.

Bill 33, the Supporting Children and Students Act, would wield government authority over postsecondary institutions by regulating ancillary student fees and tracking ‘merit’ based admissions.

The implementation of Bill 33 has raised multiple concerns among the TMU student population. Some students are working with the Canadian Federation of StudentsOntario (CFS-Ontario) through the “Hands Off Our Education” campaign to fight against the bill.

Performance Student Union (PSU) president Trudy Kuropatwa Trent explained that the idea for a banner painting project was decided at a meeting two weeks earlier with the Toronto Metropolitan Association of Part-time Students (TMAPS), Toronto Metropolitan Students’ Union and the PSU.

She said they wanted to make something that people could interact with and a banner would accomplish that as students could participate in painting and view it once it’s dropped.

“I love that we’re bringing the community together through something that’s tactile, that’s visual,” said Kuropatwa Trent.

TMAPS vice president of equity and campaigns Hermela Geremew said the way the bill is presented is abstract but the banner allows it to become more visible and “pulls people in and helps them understand what [the bill] is.”

In an emailed statement to The Eyeopener, chairperson of CFS-Ontario Cyrielle Ngeleka said, “Bill 33 is a dangerous piece of legislation that not only seeks to increase oversight on democratic structures – but one that attacks the conditions that allow critical thought and creative expression to exist.”

She added that the bill undermines spaces for radical thought, creative freedom and public accountability that students and faculties have built.

Geremew said she wanted the banner to grab as much attention as possible to remind students of what is at stake, “which is more than just their services but also just student power and our voices.”

Many course unions have actively endorsed the “Hands Off Our Education” campaign.

As an artist herself, Kuropatwa Trent expressed that artistic political initiatives like the banner bring awareness to the underfunding that creative programs undergo.

“The value of artists in the political realm can’t really be understated. In situations like these, it’s arts programs that close their doors first,” said Kuropatwa Trent. “We have the tools as young artists to come together and fight back against that in a really unique and beautiful way.”

Vaasavi Karunathasan, president of the Professional Communication Course Union (PCCU), said that collaborating with other student organizations on this project has

made her more appreciative of the diversity of TMU’s student body.

But she said it also acts as a reminder of what each of these student groups could lose.

“We love being a part of student groups and course unions… [PCCU has] been a very community-oriented place for me and the thought of it just disappearing isn’t something that I even want to think about,” said Karunathasan.

While students on campus work earnestly to fight against Bill 33, CFS-Ontario also remains steadfast in uplifting the creatives who are amplifying their political autonomy.

In the emailed statement, Ngeleka said, “Whether through

banner paintings, posters or performance, art provides a platform to express dissent in bold and emotionally resonant ways, all while keeping organizing visible.”

She added, “Visibility is power, and every creative protest on our campuses is part of a long legacy of students refusing to succumb to privatization or austerity.”

As people constantly flow in and out of the bustling lobby of the SLC, Kuropatwa Trent said that the banner is a reflection that “all art is political.” She hopes it will raise awareness about Bill 33 and its impact on Ontario students.

A second banner also currently hangs beside the staircase in the SCC.

Billboard Women in Music: Spotlighting TMU’s very own

Professional music instructor and program director honoured in Canada’s industry spotlight

By Ava Zelyony

A lecturer and a faculty member from the professional music program at Toronto Metropolitan University were recognized in Billboard Canada’s Women in Music industry spotlight, bringing attention to the program’s prominent role in Canada’s music scene.

This accolade highlights the contributions of professional music lecturer Keziah Myers and professional music director and creative industries assistant pro-

fessor Charlie Wall-Andrews to the music industry.

While this isn’t Myers’s first time being recognized, she remains committed to the purpose behind her career. “I know the work I’m doing with [ADVANCE Music Canada] is really impactful.”

Wall-Andrews said, “We all work really hard to help this industry reach its full potential and it’s an honour to be celebrated in this capacity.”

In an emailed statement to The Eyeopener, The Creative School

said they are incredibly proud of the two of them and that, ‘Their achievements reflect the exceptional talent, leadership, and industry expertise that they bring to our community every day.”

They added that, “Both WallAndrews and Myers are not only accomplished professionals but also inspiring mentors who contribute immensely to the growth and success of our students.”

The two have collaborated multiple times in the past, including developing the Black Canadian Music Award at SOCAN Foundation. One of the more recent projects they worked on was “Industry Analysis & The Value of Black Music”—a research study done in partnership with the Diversity Institute in 2024.

Over the course of three years, they surveyed 1,000 Black music professionals and analyzed data on different aspects such as salary, experiences and sustainability of Black music. In the end, Myers said they discovered Black music brings in $379 million into Canada.

Wall-Andrews also worked on a research study on Latin music with the non-profit Speaking Non-

English where she said they identified barriers and enablers within the Latin music community, which helped mobilize the first-ever Latin category at the Juno Awards.

The research Myers and WallAndrews did wasn’t their only achievement as they got to witness the first class of the professional music program graduate in the previous semester. “It takes a long time for a new program to come to fruition. This program started before the pandemic…in 2018,” said Wall-Andrews. “So to have the first graduating class was a real milestone and exciting for the industry as well.”

Myers said, “I don’t think I realized how rewarding it was going to feel knowing that I, quite literally, was ushering in the graduating class into my industry.” She developed BPM401: Capstone Project where final-year professional music students create a business plan to make the transition from post-secondary to a career in their chosen field.

“This program is cultivating the next generation of artists and leaders in the Canadian music ecosystem and the world and I

take great pride as a professor in having the privilege of cultivating them to reach their full potential,” said Wall-Andrews.

Preparing students with realworld experiences and connections is what she believes makes the program so special. WallAndrews is currently developing a course focused on Punjabi superstar Diljit Dosanjh. “He’s the perfect case study on how breaking barriers can happen through culture,” she said.

Wall-Andrews will also teach BPM420: Global Music Experience in July which takes students on a one-week trip to Nashville to “engage, meet, network and learn about the music industry.”

While the professional music program continues to grow, the questions that drive and inspire Myers’ work are, “How are we able to support women, gender diverse, racialized people, Indigenous people and what does that look like?”

Through their research and teaching, Myers and Wall-Andrews continue to work towards a more inclusive music industry while also directly helping shape the next generation of industry professionals.

AVA WHELPLEY/THE EYEOPENER

EUNICE SORIANO/THE EYEOPENER

MovIes vs. MachInes

Artificial intelligence poses a threat to jobs in the film and television industry—for the

TMU students poised to enter it, anxieties run high

By Sarah Grishpul

Graphic by Pierre-Philipe Wanya-Tambwe

Luke Donovan is wrapping up his time in Toronto Metropolitan University’s (TMU) film program when he has a brush with generative artificial intelligence (AI) in the classroom.

He sits amongst his cohort in the dimly lit theatre of the Image Arts building. While the end of the school year means exams and final projects for some, for the fourth-year students in Donovan’s program it means screening the short films they’ve been working on for nine months.

This is when their peers and a committee of professors will critique their work—or “rip it to shreds,” in Donovan’s words.

For him, this six-hour class alone makes the tuition he’s spent almost worth it.

At the end of the screening, one of the professors pulls up a video. To the students’ surprise, it’s an AI-generated clip of Lord of the Rings in the animation style of Studio Ghibli. He explains to the audience of soon-to-be film graduates that this, generative AI, is part of the future of the industry. They’ll need to understand this technology—not bury their heads in the sand, but confront it, he says.

The students start to laugh. The professor does not.

“You laughed at me,” he says to the crowd of doubtful students. “I’ll remember that you laughed at me.”

In May 2023, Hollywood North watched from above as the Writers Guild of America (WGA) went on strike after six weeks of negotiations with major studios. Nearly a month later, the Screen Actors GuildAmerican Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) joined them on the picket lines.

The unions were embattled over poor compensation, residual payment disputes caused by streaming and a fight for regulations on generative AI—which was just beginning to feel like a real threat to the workers in the industry.

After 148 days, the WGA and the stu-

dios came to an agreement, ending the second-longest strike in the guild’s history since 1988. The writers walked away from the table with their demands met, including—for the first time in a WGA collective agreement—protections from generative AI. According to a summary of the 2023 Minimum Basic Agreements, AI-generated material can not be used to write or rewrite material in place of a member, writers’ work must not be used to train AI, studios can’t force a writer to use AI software and must be transparent if any materials provided have been generated by AI.

Since then, unions north of the border, like the Writers Guild of Canada (WGC), the Alliance of Canadian Cinema, Television and Radio Artists (ACTRA) and the Directors Guild of Canada (DGC), have been open in their opposition to the use of AI in place of human labour.

Assistant executive director of WGC Neal McDougall says the union has al-

to train AI.”

While he admits nobody knows exactly what the industry is going to look like in the future, McDougall feels the potential impacts for AI could be very significant for screenwriters—particularly for those vying for entry-level positions in the field, like students.

“Certainly one of the potential challenges is disrupting the talent conveyor belt that starts when you begin your career doing more junior level tasks, learning your craft, learning about the industry,” he says.

“That would halt the process of students and junior level people becoming midlevel and senior people, which would be a problem down the line.”

At a time in which Canada’s youth unemployment rate is skyrocketing, AI has been steadily decreasing the need for human roles to fill entry-level positions, according to The Logic

the industry, like students at TMU, this spells danger.

about a year and a half ago, second-year psychology student Matthew Walker is on the phone with his member of parliament (MP) at the time, Julie Dabrusin, to discuss what government regulation of generative AI in the arts might look like. Walker started off acting and voice acting from a young age, and is growing wary of the evolving presence of AI in the creative industries.

It was when he watched an AI-generated video of Will Smith eating spaghetti that he began to grow concerned

When ChatGPT made its way onto the scene in late 2022, Walker didn’t see it as a threat. “I just thought of it as a toy,” he says. It was when he watched an AI-generated video of Will Smith eating spaghetti that he began to grow concerned. More so when only a few months later some programs were able to self-improve and create a more realistic interpretation of the prompts they were fed.

“I had the thought of like, ‘Oh, okay, it’s not just my job that might be screwed. It’s also just kind of like the fabric of reality in [the] virtual space’,” Walker says.

ready achieved some protections against AI. As part of a new collective agreement, producers must disclose whether they are handing off assignments to writers that are AI-generated. Material written by screenwriters can not be created by AI nor be used to train AI and content generated by AI will not receive credit or compensation.

“We are focusing on what we call the three C’s for training of AI. So that means consent, compensation and credit,” he explains. “AI companies should not be able to just take copyrighted works and use them

In a study conducted by American consulting firm CVL Economics, the entertainment industry jobs most likely to be displaced by AI are visual effect artists, sound designers, tool programmers, script writers, animators and concept artists.

“The potential for disrupting entire careers, entire segments of the economy, all of those are very significant potential outcomes that we’d like to try to avoid,” says McDougall. For those on the cusp of entering

A week after his call with the MP, Walker sits in his apartment on the phone with a representative from ACTRA, trying to build support for an open letter to the federal government calling for AI regulation. Although the union was willing to help, the representative told him their primary focus was their membership and their specific needs.

After hanging up, Walker remains seated at his dinner table feeling a sense of helplessness. He comes to the conclusion that there isn’t a whole lot he could achieve on his own, nor did he believe the groups advocating for AI regulation in the arts had the capacity to focus solely on AI amidst their other battles.

He decides, if no one else was going to take action, then he would have to do it himself. On Sept. 10, he launches Artists4Humanity—an organization dedicated to lobbying the Canadian government for stronger protections against AI—on Instagram.

Although the group is only weeks old and still in its early stages, Walker’s dream for Artists4Humanity is anything but small.

“We’ve got to get going on this in a way that is fast and bold, and really takes in the perspectives of people who are feeling like they have no voice right now when it comes to that issue,” he says.

Through advocacy, his end goal is to build public pressure towards regulating the technology by spreading awareness and working with elected officials. According to Walker, what will set Artists4Humanity apart from other groups seeking AI regulation is the inclusion of a broad scope of artists. From actors to photographers to visual effects artists—Walker says anyone who identifies under the arts and culture umbrella will be welcome.

“It’s very easy for artists to feel helpless right now and a more broad goal is

encouraged to use AI creatively. For one of these exercises, students are asked to blend AI and live action together to create an opening theme song for their weekly quiz. In RTA978, each week a student must research and present their findings on a new AI tool that intersects with media production.

Novak is aware some of his students may find this unorthodox.

“I want to surf the wave rather than be washed over by it”

“My openness to it...I know it’s striking some students as this is the first time this is happening,” he says.

According to Novak, he was able to integrate AI into the class with the program director’s approval by using it as a teaching technique. As a contract lecturer with little to no input on material changes, he seeks small areas where he can find flexibility. Novak is able to make adaptations to inclass teaching techniques and not core curriculum modules.

up for a union job that will be safe and secure for 30 years, because that’s never really existed.”

ayla Goodrow is not thrilled when they discover Novak’s AI-focused exercises in RTA978. The fourthyear media production student took the course to improve on their basic learning of editing and finds the promotion of AI editing tools to be counterintuitive.

“I think knowing how to edit, plain and simple, is a lot better than knowing a bunch of cheat codes,” says Goodrow. “Because what if one day you don’t have these cheat codes or they are making sure you’re not using them?”

“We get a lot of, ‘Yeah, AI is taking over your jobs. So, good luck’”

After the first class, they approach Novak and explain they were against using generative AI and would prefer to do something else for the presentation. He allows it.

Goodrow recognizes that while some

When Donovan thinks back on what he refers to as the “Ghibli moment,” he recalls his peers being quite bothered by the notion that AI-generated filmmaking was the world in which they were stepping into. When there would be issues with a film in another of his classes, to the dismay of the students, the same professor would suggest fixing it with AI. Donovan likens him to a heretic, almost, yet finds himself agreeing with him—they can’t just ignore this.

“I’m not a Puritan in the sense that I believe everyone should unplug, because it’s not going to happen,” Donavan admits. “Someone’s going to use the AI thing. If I could push a button to delete AI, I’d be like, ‘Sure.’ It’s kind of annoying that it exists.”

He thinks back to when photography was invented and portrait painters suddenly found themselves out of work. While it was a huge labour issue, the answer wasn’t to say photography was a bad and morally wrong tool to use.

“Are all the filmmakers going to be disgruntled portrait painters? No, that’s not how you move on to whatever’s next,” he says. “The painters who did,

for them to understand that they’re not alone in their worries,” he says. “Not just that they’re not alone but that they can be a part of something to ease those worries and to make them feel like their voices are being heard.”

When OpenAI released ChatGPT into the public eye in November 2022, many companies embraced the new technology with open arms. In a survey conducted by CVL Economics, they found that over 90 per cent of business leaders foresee generative AI playing a larger role in the American entertainment industry. However, the report indicated that only 26 per cent of respondents felt their organization’s workforce was fully prepared for the integration of AI.

Allan Novak, a contract lecturer for the RTA School of Media and an independent producer, is integrating generative AI into his classes with open arms.

In RTA920, students must complete several ‘Digital Drills’ in which they are

Having been in media production since the 1980s, Novak has watched new technologies come and go. With every new groundbreaking innovation, he finds that it’s the people who jump on and embrace it that end up doing very well for themselves.

“They’re the ones who are going to own the future, and so if we’re turning out students here, let them come out of TMU fearless,” he says. “And as I say: I want to surf the wave rather than be washed over by it.”

With these assignments, Novak hopes his students will at the very least gain a basic understanding of AI tools that they can take with them into their careers.

He acknowledges that AI could cause distruptions for workers in the industry, he is optimistic that new opportunities will arise. Novak compares this movement to when the position of a secretary was threatened by the invention of personal computers. The secretaries didn’t lose their jobs, their jobs evolved and they became administrative assistants, he says. Much like the secretaries, Novak believes entry-level jobs in the film and television industry will likely have to shift and redefine their roles.

“RTA grads have always had to think independently and entrepreneurially,” says Novak. “It was never like we’re setting you

professors understand the fears and anxieties students have toward AI, there isn’t much conversation in the program surrounding how to navigate it in the industry.

“We get a lot of, ‘Yeah, AI is taking over your jobs. So, good luck.’ And I’m like, okay, but how can we work with governments or film boards or the CBC in implementing rules and sanctions and ways to protect our jobs?”

Now in their final year of the program, Goodrow is pursuing a career as a camera operator with the long-term goal of live technical producing. The latter—for now—seems far from the synthetic hand of AI. However, learning to navigate a field where generative tools like the ones being presented in Novak’s class are actively being used weighs heavy on their mind.

Donovan, now an alumni, spends his days creating art. He carries an audio recorder with him wherever he goes, capturing sounds and adding his own commentary, creating a kind of auditory diary of his life. A “sound scrapbook,” he calls it.

they became the impressionists.”

For Donovan, the question now becomes: What is actually unique about the filmmaking medium that can’t be replicated by AI?

According to him, people will always be interested in things that are made by people—that personal expression is always going to be valuable.

“AI is this weird, hallucinatory facsimile of what we see in videos, but it’s not going out there, showing us what’s out there,” he says.

As to whether his time at TMU prepared him to enter an industry disrupted by AI, Donovan is coming to understand there are just some things he’ll have to learn to navigate on his own.

“What I’m realizing from film school is the professors who are there and the institution, they can be so helpful. You can take out equipment, they can give you their perspective, they can give you their wisdom, they can give you their opinion,” he says. “But that nugget of what is going to be the future is not something they can tell you. Because it’s not their time.”

‘Restore the North’ campus tour arrives at TMU

Supported by TMU’s conservatives, the tour sparked

right-wing debate on campus

By Elliott Meijer

Making the fourth stop of their “Restore the North” campus tour, Conservative Members of Parliament (MP) Jamil Jivani and Ned Kuruc—alongside special guest MP Aaron Gunn—sat down to discuss the future of Canadian politics with students at Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU) on Oct. 17.

With support from the TMU Conservative Campus Club, the event took place in a library lecture hall which was sparsely populated and male-dominated. Next to Conservative Party of Canada flyers, “Restore the North” baseball caps were available upon entry to all attendees—many of whom, including Kuruc, sported them throughout the night.

The discussion began with acknowledgements to two notable right-wing figures: Jordan Peterson and the late Charlie Kirk. Kirk was famous for his contro-

versial opinions. He was fatally shot at a college in Utah during his own campus tour on Sept. 10.

“A lot of the universities who reached out to us and asked us to come and engage with them did so in part as they’re processing the assassination of Charlie Kirk…he obviously left a legacy,” said Jivani, a long-time acquaintance of U.S. vice president JD Vance.

Each host then described what “Restore the North” means to them, with Hamilton East-Stoney Creek MP Kuruc saying, “from a conservative perspective, restoring the north—restoring Canada—means getting back to basics that work.” The MPs requested that each person who went up to speak do the same.

One attendee* described restoring the north as “quite simple,” adding it means removing the “parasitic class” within the “once beautiful” Canadian government.

Many speakers emphasized issues concerning affordability, Ca-

nadian identity, the economy and immigration reform. Almost all of those who spoke were in agreement with the hosting MPs. A number of them expressed interest in seeing Canada follow in the footsteps of the Trump administration in the U.S., with one speaker saying, “I think we need to stop backing away from good ideas because someone else down south once said it.”

Throughout the night’s discussions and exchanges, it became clear there wouldn’t be much disagreement.

Edmund Elbert, third-year business management student and vice president of the TMU Campus Conservative Club said they’re hopeful in seeing a rise of conservative values among youth.

“It’s one thing to simply hold these values, it’s an entirely different thing to have a collective of it with different individuals in a social setting,” Elbert added.

Fourth-year business management student and president of the Toronto Metropolitan Debate Union, Robin Sehdev, wasn’t in attendance but feels this form of public discourse can be beneficial if done cautiously. “It comes down to, you know, who is on the microphone and [whether] they come in good faith…if these MPs are listening and providing their feedback and students are providing theirs in a respectful manner [it] can be beneficial,” he said.

Sehdev warned these debates could be—and often are—used as

“clickbait” and to “spark controversy.” He urged for stricter mediation, proper formatting and fact-checking to ensure constructive debates.

With no official future dates released for “Restore the North” events, only time will tell if these are to be a broader phenomenon within Canadian politics.

“It’s one thing to have free speech, but having views that are unsubstantiated, talking over people and shutting them down and being condescending and rude— that is more of a spectacle than actual discourse,” Sehdev said about debates more broadly.

*While attendee’s names were shared at the public event, they were not interviewed by The Eyeopener directly.

TMU’s international students celebrate Diwali on campus

From attending campus events to cooking their cultural dishes, TMU students are embracing traditions

By Shaaranki Kulenthirarasa

International students at TMU are finding ways to keep traditions alive for Diwali despite being away from home. Diwali, also known as Deepavali, is the festival of light celebrated by Hindus, Sikhs and Jains across the globe. During the festival, numerous lamps are lit to symbolize light over darkness.

Some international students from South Asian countries said

they feel most homesick during this time of year.

Divisha Jain, third-year creative industries student said Diwali is one of the biggest festivals for international students who celebrate. “During the month or the week there [are constantly] guests over, I can’t even describe how it feels in India,” she said.

Third-year food and nutrition student Priyanka Prakash agrees, saying she misses the togetherness

of the community back home during the festivities of Diwali.

“I can’t even describe how it feels in India”

“Most [of] the time, I do call my parents, but if I am really sad, sometimes I actually don’t because I don’t want them to see me being sad.” Prakash said. “So, I get homesick and then I’ll just try to internalize it and I try to think of

ways that I can celebrate Diwali from now on.”

Prakash keeps her traditions alive during this festival by preparing traditional dishes and going out to watch Tamil films with her fiancé. As a student who lives and works in residence at TMU, Prakash says she avidly looks forward to the Diwali meals by TMU Eats every year.

“I remember [in my] first year, they made sambar [a lentil vegetable curry] and rasam [a South Indian soup] and they made three different types of Payasam [a sweet porridge] so I am waiting for that,” Prakash said.

As the vice president of marketing for the Indian Students Association (ISA) at the university, Jain is helping plan Shaam Shaandar, this year’s Diwali event the club hosts. She feels that events like this could help ease feelings of homesickness while allowing students to meet other people who also celebrate this festival.

“Attending the Diwali event is obviously a good option and there’s everything from Indian food to photobooths where there are props to a Bollywood DJ,” she said.

Jain said the ISA team is working very hard on planning the event and marketing it to allow students to celebrate this important holiday.

Usha George, a professor in the school of social work said hosting events like this can play a significant role in helping students stay connected to their identities despite moving to different countries.

“Since [international students] are all far away from their homes, this is probably their first experience with being in a foreign country, enrolled in a demanding program, so this provides them with an opportunity…to feel that they belong,” she said.

“This provides them with an opportunity…to feel that they belong”

George spoke about an event that was held at Sankofa Square last month to celebrate Onam—the annual harvest festival celebrated throughout the Malayali diaspora— and how that was an example of an event that provided international students with a similar opportunity.

Jain had a different perspective to offer for students who are nervous about attending events.

“There are some days where you should let loose, go, give it a chance, give it one try. If not that, then you can just go, maybe have food if you’re too nervous to dance,” she said.

ELLIOTT MEIJER/THE EYEOPENER

RACHEL CHENG/THE EYEOPENER

Back to the dugout: TMU baseball strikes out of season

For

the second consecutive year, the Bold end their OUA postseason with much left to be desired

By Hannah Sabaratnam

Late inning collapses, comebacks that never were and a controversial call would define the post-season for the Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU) Bold baseball team.

From Oct. 3-4, the Bold dropped all three of their Ontario University Athletics (OUA) post-season games, thus eliminating themselves from the OUA qualifier finals, which they will miss for the second straight season.

The weekend started against the Laurentian University Voyageurs at David Dash Memorial Field in Brampton, Ont. The first inning started with a strikeout. Shortly after, the Bold hit four straight singles to gain an early 2-0 lead and later brought the score to 6-1 by the end of the fourth inning.

“It was frustrating that we didn’t get the job done”

Despite this, the bottom of the fifth saw the Bold start to lose their lead. After a stream of Laurentian players reached the bases, secondyear utility player Kyle Kennedy hit a double to right field, as three runs came into score.

A couple batters later, another single brought home one run, bringing the score to 6-5 for the Bold. An inning later, the Voyageurs tied the game and scored four more runs to cap off a five-run inning. All of a sudden, the Bold found themselves in a four-run deficit after leading by five. Bats for the blue and gold went quiet until the eighth inning but they only managed to score one run. Immediately,

the Bold were down 0-1 to start their postseason.

“It was a really demoralizing feeling,” said fourth-year outfielder Owen Hill. “[It’s] a game that we knew, not that we could have won but that we should have won.”

After the tough loss, the Bold had one more game for the evening, with it being a must-win. Again, TMU got off to an early 2-0 lead, keeping their opponent the York University Lions’ bats at bay, limiting them to three hits in the first five innings. However, the sixth inning would flip the game on its head, as the Lions scored five runs bringing the score to 5-2. As this matchup carried on, Bold assistant coach Kevin MacDonald’s mind went to previous games with similar outcomes.

“I was kind of thinking, ‘here we go again’,” said MacDonald. “Once we kind of fell flat halfway through the game…[York] started taking advantage of it.”

Moving into the ninth, the score sat at 6-4 for the Lions. With two outs and a man on first, third-year infielder/pitcher Kai Ilao hit a flyball to right field. It seemed like the Bold— and York coaches, according to MacDonald—agreed the ball went over the fence regardless of it hitting a tree branch and ricocheting back onto the field. MacDonald was next to the umpire who had the call on the play at first base. The umpires, however, had different thoughts on what happened. MacDonald recalls that, “Even in my questioning with the first base umpire, he kind of shut down my argument pretty quickly.”

That hit, which should have been called a home run, would have tied the game. Instead, the Bold brought in only one run, and Ilao was halted at third. That would be the end of the Bold’s comeback, with a final score of 6-5. Hill acknowledged that the missed call isn’t entirely the reason the team lost but that it was “a really hard way to lose.”

“It

was just one step forward, two steps back”

Regardless of the Bold being eliminated from the OUA qualifier finals, there was still one more game to be played the following morning against the University of Toronto Varsity Blues. Offence on both sides was strong, yet, the Bold could not keep up with the Varsity Blues. Each time the Bold came close to tying the game, their efforts would be cut short, with the tying run stranded

on second or third. The Varsity Blues also kept adding to their run total, forcing the Bold to keep working from behind. Eventually, the game ended with a final score of 11-9 for the Varsity Blues, leaving the Bold unsatisfied with their season. Even at the start of the regular season, Hill had hopes the team would perform better.

“I thought we had the pieces to [win]…and it was frustrating that we didn’t get the job done,” said Hill.

Both Hill and MacDonald iterated sentiments of disappointment for the results on the field, which has been the theme of the past three seasons. Moments of this season showcased who the Bold can be when they play to their full potential. But their game isn’t always there—their offence can be potent or go quiet, their pitching can keep them in games or take them out and at times, errors can be a problem.

Much like the playoffs, the Bold had opportunities to either close out games or come from behind to secure a win.

“I was not really happy with the way our performance was throughout,” said MacDonald. “There were bright spots where we played extremely well…and then it was just one step forward, two steps back some days.”

Moving onto next season, seven players will be graduating from this season’s roster, including Hill, catcher/outfielder Ben Barzo, catcher Alex Guest, pitcher Callum Wilson, pitcher Mikael Aqui, infielder/catcher Ryan Ricci and infielder/outfielder Armaan Memari. For players next year, Hill has some advice.

“I think you got to have a belief that you can win every day and that it takes everybody…if you can get a team to buy into that, you win baseball games,” said Hill.

TMU volleyball looks to rebuild teams for new season

Disclaimer : One of the sources in this article, Hannah Bellai, is a journalism student and has previously written for The Eyeopener.

The Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU) Bold women’s and

men’s volleyball teams are preparing their return to the courts for the 2025-26 regular season.

Both teams are coming off disappointing seasons and hope to find greater success this year.

Women’s volleyball

The women’s volleyball team is

leaving behind their 4-18 record from last season and are heading into this new one determined to achieve higher results.

“We had a tremendous experience away from the court in terms of the type of experiences we had and the type of team we were,” said head coach Dustin Reid.

The Bold were unable to make the Ontario University Athletics (OUA) playoffs in February. Discussing their unfortunate season ending, Reid recalls that “we weren’t happy as a team” but still had a “great developmental year” for young players.

Many graduations and transfers saw veteran leaders bidding farewell to the team. These include longstanding members like Scarlett Gingera, Mary Rioflorido, Jia Lonardi and Kylie Ferguson. With such integral parts of the roster now gone, the team has had to fill in a handful of leadership roles.

“It’s not easy to replace people who take such a big load everyday at practice,” said Reid.

Last year, Reid put a great focus on developing his players for the future. He acknowledges that this year would have a very young team which has driven them to raise the intensity at practices. Reid explained that there were “a lot of young players that needed to learn to get ready for the next season.”

Veterans on the team who are expected to pave the way include third-year outside hitters Tyra Krapp and Marta Cerovic. Despite this, leadership amongst the team is something that second-year outside hitter Hannah Bellai believes will be “more widespread this year.”

“We’re finding as a team that it’s better to not just have one person be a leader because it kind of separates people,” said Bellai. “We’re spreading around that role and having everyone take initiative…and giving everyone that respect.”

Bellai commented on the bond that the team has already established. Both returning and newly recruited players—the latter of which include setter Sadie Bird, setter/libero Mattea Di Bacco, libero Addison Othmann and right side Sarina Yaghoobi—have formed a close and optimistic dynamic, setting a promising tone for the new season.

EVAN PERRY/THE EYEOPENER

By Tristan Forde

Students question the promise and value of internships

Applicants are caught in a vicious cycle as they navigate the job market for the first time

By Liana Yadav

Internships have long been the pathway to a future career, a way to gain experience, build skills and make professional connections. But as competition grows and job markets tighten, students at Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU) feel the promise of those opportunities is fading.

According to Universities Canada, an association that represents Canadian universities, 80 universities across the country offer over 5,600 work-integrated learning programs, which include co-ops, apprenticeships and internships. These programs are promoted as the cushion that softens graduates’ landing in the job market.

But internships and co-ops are harder to land than before, adding obstacles for some students rather than easing their entry into the workforce. Placement match rates dipped to 81 per cent and student demand up 41 per cent, according to Co-operative Education and Work-Integrated Learning Canada’s 2023 report.

Shai Prieto, a fifth-year marketing management co-op student, spoke about the competition in her co-op pool in the Ted Rogers School of Management (TRSM).

“[I was advised] to apply for five to 10 jobs every week,” she said. “I was spending time editing my resume [and] my cover letter to fit for each job description.” Ultimately, Prieto got her second coop placement through a recommendation from a friend.

After accepting the offer and

working for the company for two terms, Prieto began apply for other intersnips, yet didn’t hear back.

“I’m not sure if it was how I did my resume but it really discouraged me,” she said, adding that she was concerned about whether she could find a different job after graduation.

The Ted Rogers Co-op Program at TMU is popular but not always what students hope for.

“It’s definitely an excruciating process,” Prieto said. “That’s why a lot of people drop out of the co-op program because it’s just so many things that you have to do and there’s no guarantee of anything.”

In an emailed statement to The Eyeopener, the TRSM Business Career Hub shared that their co-op prep program is designed around current market needs, using regular feedback from students and employers to fill skills gaps.

“I’m not sure if it was how I did my resume but it really discouraged me”

Canada’s youth unemployment rate sits at 14.6 per cent as of July, a drastic swing following the pandemic peak of 42 per cent in May 2020 and the post-pandemic low of nine per cent in July 2022. According to the C.D. Howe Institute, the labour market has changed as a result of many factors including the pandemic, higher immigration, the artifical intelligence boom and tariffs from the United States.

According to Francesco Barbera, an associate professor in the entrepreneurship and strategy de-

partment at TMU, advancements in technology have contributed to the disappearance of entry-level jobs. “In the old days, if you had an undergraduate degree, that would just differentiate you somehow. The competition is becoming fiercer,” he said.

Job boards such as Indeed and LinkedIn could rack up hundreds of postings within minutes. With so many applicants and not enough jobs, the biggest trick is figuring out how to stand out.

“The competition is becoming fiercer”

Sharlene Massie, founder of the recruitment agency About Staffing, says they physically screen all applicants’ resumes.

“We have 85,000 resumes in our system of people that have applied that we’ve interviewed already,” she said. “On top of that, we have another thousand resumes coming in [each week]. If it’s a match, they get processed. If they’re not a match, they just get filed because there’s no way to manage that.”

When it comes to standing out, Massie says honesty goes a long way. “Don’t lie, tell me the truth because I’m going to get to it anyway.”

Whether it is salary expectations, a career pivot or preference for a hybrid role, Massie says employers value transparency. As far as rejections go, she says not to take them personally.

“It’s just a better candidate for that role, so youth may be getting frustrated because they feel it’s a personal attack if they don’t get some-

thing…suitable. But it is because the employer just needs to make the best decision and so does the student.”

On top of increased competition, students are also dealing with a time constraint due to other responsibilities. A CIBC poll reported that half of Canadian post-secondary students struggle to cover costs such as rent, transportation and groceries.

In a difficult job market, the first employees to get filtered out are vulnerable groups such as newcomers and immigrants. While they often suffer the brunt of the blame, as previously reported by The Eye, newcomers have largely been the victims of a tough labour market.

Another choice for many is to ride the wave of education until things get better. Over the last two decades, there has been a steady increase in the number of students enrolling in a master’s program in the country, according to Statista. But while graduate studies buys time and can even lead to potential work experience, this route comes with its own risks.

“...the employer just needs to make the best decision and so does the student”

Van Su, a fifth-year marketing management student, said, “I’ve heard people say that having a master’s [with] full-time experience in the workforce makes you overqualified for entry-level jobs because they have to pay you more because of your degree.”

Describing co-op as the best decision she ever made, Su plans to

pursue a master’s degree in user interface and user experience design after graduation.

“Being in co-op allowed me to follow my passion because I already tested out the career. I did design every single day in my co-op, so that made me feel more confident in going into design, knowing that that is exactly what I want to do,” Su said.

In a Jun. 24, 2024 speech, Bank of Canada governor Tiff Macklem noted that the number of high-paying jobs has grown more than low-wage jobs since the pandemic. He warned that younger workers and newcomers are finding it harder to land jobs as hiring slows despite the growth.

“Being in co-op allowed me to follow my passion because I already tested out the career”

The workforce in Canada remains a seller’s market where employers hold most of the leverage. Massie expressed that recruitment agencies like hers have adapted by tightening their screening processes to match applicants more precisely with openings.

She said her firm only earns commissions when a placement is successful, which has pushed recruiters to be more selective and efficient.

To avoid being caught in the job crisis, Barbera said that students should work on building their strengths and their resilience. “You cannot face this kind of competition and not be extremely passionate and able to withstand great discomfort in order to push through and exit on the other side of it.”

EVAN PERRY/THE EYEOPENER

Student who swore off weed relapses within the hour

Just

minutes into quitting the dank, one TMU student loses control of his inhibitions and dives back in

By Aisha Duldul

Disclaimer: What follows below is entirely fictional. No students, exes or lungs were hurt in the making of this story.

Breaking news—Chase Green, a third-year electrical engineering student at Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU), has relapsed after promising to quit smoking pot with his five friends at 1 a.m. every night. He was 52 minutes and 33 seconds clean.

At 2 a.m. on Oct. 20, the 20-year-old confessed his relapse to his boys’ group chat named “the ganja gang.”

The incident ensued the night before, when Green and his five buddies attended a part at a friend-of-a-friend-of-a-friend’s house around where Drake lives.

Green was allegedly rekindling his relationship with his former girlfriend of two years when she pulled him to the garage. A friend of Green’s said his ex-girlfriend Mary Jane was found offering him a freshly rolled blunt in the garage of where the party was.

Witnesses said the pair disappeared for about 11 minutes before

Green reappeared smelling “suspiciously nostalgic” and “like Meemaw’s basement on Thanksgiving.”

Another friend of Green, who goes by the name of Puffdaddy Chris, stated that he appeared out of nowhere looking “too relaxed,” while describing his demeanor as “post-breakup déjà vu.”

“He came out of the garage grinning like a kid who’s done something naughty,” Puffdaddy Chris recounted, shaking his head. “That’s when I realized he had been huffing that hydro harder than Snoop Dogg and Seth Rogen on 4/20 at 4:20.”

By 2 a.m., screen recordings of Green and his ex-girlfriend balling up were being passed around Snapchat and Instagram. Eventually Green sent them to the ganja gang chat with a photo of him mid-hotbox and the message ‘lmaoo boys I folded bad’ attached.

By mid-afternoon on Oct. 20, the viral video of Green and Jane “dancing with the devil’s lettuce” was circling around X.

Within a few hours, classmates started making jokes about the incident under the hashtag #FoldedFast. With one student from Green’s engineering class

@bongripper69420 tweeting,“I believe the weed man was in town and our boy Chase owed him quite a few puffs.”

Another user said, “Honestly, who among us hasn’t relapsed for our ex in a garage?”

According to sources, the ganja boys group chat immediately responded with a rush of laughing emojis, crying emojis and stickers clipped from the aforementioned videos.

In a statement released by Green the following afternoon, he stated that he had “no regrets,” and that he can “stop again at any given point.”

“I control the weed, not the other way around. When I say stop the weed says ‘for how long?’” said Green.

“With that in mind I’ve been off the za for 42 minutes and 12 seconds now, but who’s counting, and I promise I ain’t

going back into the bushes if ykwim. It’s been 42 minutes and 19 seconds now”

Despite the major setback, Green insists he is done for real this time and has confirmed plans to “permanently quit” in the new year, his friends confirm.

“That was my last dance with Mary Jane, both my ex and the dope, that I promise,” Green said, taking a long puff from his nicotine vape.

Student hospitalized after drinking from greywater toilet

By Liana Yadav

Disclaimer: Much like the toilet paper in any Kerr Hall washroom, this story is not real…although we must never stop hoping.

A fourth-year criminology student at Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU) was seen being carried on a stretcher down Gould Street.

Reports of what exactly happened were murky, with some claiming he was smiling ear to ear while drenched in liquids unknown.

The Eyeopener was determined to get to the bottom of this and rushed to the scene of the crime: the Library’s sixth floor men’s washroom.

Onlookers had gathered near the washroom door. One glimpse and it was pretty clear all students were

first-years, evident by their genius abilities to leave their laptops unattended on their desks as they flooded to where the drama was.

“Apparently, he drank water from the toilet. Isn’t that so camp?”

According to the crowd of peeping Toms, the student being car-

ried away had been found on all fours with his head dipped in the toilet bowl as he slurped with a ferocity of someone truly enjoying their meal, a rare sight on the TMU campus.

“I was the one who spotted him first,” said first-year social work student Aya Onyu. “When I passed the men’s washroom, I heard the sound of liquid gushing down someone’s throat like…well you know.”

Another nosy Nancy, firstyear public health student Pissa Pologist, was part of an exciting chatter on the quiet floor.

“I heard the sound of liquid gushing down someone’s throat like… well you know”

“It’s like, you saw him and you could tell he has the best taste in everything, specifically which toilets to drink from,” she said.

When asked if she knew exactly what had happened, Pologist giggled before saying, “Apparently, he drank water from the toilet. Isn’t that so camp?”

After finally grabbing hold of the student, identified as Richard “Dick” Sipper, The Eye spoke with him regarding his actions.

“I find the way we treat toilet water in society troubling. Yes, they routinely get people sick, and yes, it tastes much worse than regular water but I am not going

to be part of a smear campaign against toilet water which is free and openly available,” said Sipper. Sipper’s unique taste in drinks has brought additional work to the door of the Facilities Management and Development department (“Facilities”) at TMU.

“This is still better than anything that comes out of the Hub Café”

“You know how much each greywater sign costs?” said department chief-of-piss Franklin Plunger, “No you don’t, because you don’t care. First they wanted signs with TMU instead of Ryerson, then ones that said ‘It’s nice to have Met you’…oh they thought they were so clever for that one. What’s next, a TMU sign where it says Dundas station?”

Following the removal of Sipper from the bathroom, loud sounds of gulps were heard in the stall to the left. Only this time, it was TMU president Lohamad Machemi on his hands and knees, dipping his cup that said #BOLDBeast, into the toilet and taking a large swig.

“I find the way we treat toilet water in society troubling”

“Listen,” he said, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. “This is still better than anything that comes out of the Hub Café, okay?”

TRINITY LEE/THE EYEOPENER

PIERRE-PHILIPE WANYA-TAMBWE/THE EYEOPENER

DOWN

2. The nickname for the school sports teams.

3. Large athletic centre named after a philanthropist.

5. Summer pond turned winter ice skating rink.

7. Maze like building with four wings forming a square.

8. Popular residence for first-year students.

ACROSS

1. Place where students go for research, a quiet spot, or a good read.

4. Pedestrian street famous for student gatherings and events.

6. The falcon mascot, seen at sports games.

9. Business school named after a Canadian media mogul.

10. Innovation incubator for clothing entrepreneurs.

11. Cafe inside the image arts building.

By Nasir Adan Illustrations by Rachel Cheng

GIVEAWAY!

The Eyeopener is giving away two $25 gift cards to Tim Horton’s Find the giveaway rules through the link in our Instagram bio.

1. Complete the crossword! Only 100 per cent accurate puzzles will be accepted.

Sudoku Medium

Hint: city Answer: Toronto

Hint: Management

Answer: Ted Rogers

Source: sudokutodo.com

How to play

Each column and row must contain every number from one to nine without repetition. Each box must also have numbers one to nine with no repetition. Have fun and good luck!

2. Complete the Google Form via the QR code below and add a photo of your completed crossword or visit The Eye office (SCC 207) with the completed puzzle.

3. Await an email! The form will close end-of-day on Oct. 27 and winners will be contacted shortly afterwards and asked to come into our office for photos!

SUBMIT COMPLETED PUZZLE HERE

Hint: network

Answer: LinkedIn