Doug Ford’s government says they’re “supporting” children and students through Bill 33.
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
By Amira Benjamin
Three Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU) student unions have written a letter to the school’s administration expressing their disappointment of TMU’s response regarding the Sept. 19 student arrest on campus.
The second letter—written by the Toronto Metropolitan Association of PartTime Students (TMAPS), Toronto Metropolitan Students’ Union (TMSU) and the Toronto Metropolitan Graduate Students’ Union (TMGSU)—was dated Oct. 22.
It criticizes the “vague” tone of the university’s response and “failure” to address the unions’ demands, stating “such an anonymous and generic response is both inappropriate and disrespectful.”
A student demonstrator was physically restrained and arrested by GardaWorld security officers on Sept. 19, after a pro-Palestine demonstration interrupted an AI-focused panel event on campus, as previously reported by The Eyeopener. A video of the arrest went viral and a student walkout occurred on Sept. 30 in response.
The student unions sent their first open letter on Oct. 1, condemning the arrest. “It was a targeted act of repression against a student expressing her opinions and protesting TMU’s complicity in the ongoing genocide of the Palestinian people,” the letter read.
The initial letter listed six demands, including “drop any charges or disciplinary actions against the assaulted student and affirm her right and the right of all students to protest freely.”
Others included terminating the university’s contract with GardaWorld, banning “vigilante” groups such as Magen Herut from TMU grounds and “commit[ting] to protecting Palestinian students from harassment and intimidation.”
“It was a targeted act of repression against a student expressing her opinions...”
The university responded to the letter on Oct. 7—unattributed to any department or office—that the safety and security of community members is a “priority” and a review is being taken. The security guards involved in the assault “will not return to campus,” according to the university’s response.
students had on campus” but said the university’s response was “very vague.”
“I feel like the university should take more responsibility for their actions,” he said.
Michael Forbes, assistant vice-president of university relations, confirmed in an email statement to The Eye that an external independent review of the security officers involved in the assault will be conducted by a retired justice.
“We will be sharing an update, including the scope and terms of the review shortly. TMU is committed to a transparent process and the final report and findings will be made publicly available to all,” he said. There is no public timeline for when the final report and its findings will be published.
“Such an anonymous and generic response is both inappropriate and disrespectful”
Forbes also said the GardaWorld staff employed by the university are “from a separate company that is independent from the one operating in the U.S.”
The student arrest and the university’s response also sparked discussions among students regarding the efficacy and jurisdiction of campus security. Alishaan Raza, a first-year economics and finance student, says that watching security officers in the video “seems like such an abuse of authority.”
“It definitely felt very aggressive. That’s something I rarely see police doing to an average citizen, much less a security guard for a campus,” he said.
“Seems like such an abuse of authority”
Raza and Mohson also said they think the security presence they do see does not competently serve the student population.
“A protest shouldn’t be taken as seriously as a person being harassed, which happens quite a bit.” said Mohson.
“[The university] should make it clear that protesting is not a crime. It should be allowed, it’s a human right.”
Doug Ford’s government does not care about students, workers, or families...
The TMSU said in a email statement they felt it “prudent” to speak on behalf of the student outrage and concern with the university.
“We had many conversations with our counterparts at the other TMU student unions, and the demands of the letter came as a result of conversations with them, as well as concerned students who reached out to us,” TMSU said in the email statement.
Mikaeel Mohsin, a first-year finance and economics student, said that the TMSU’s initial letter was “very well needed and it addressed a lot of issues I think
In May 2024, The Toronto Metropolitan Faculty Association (TFA) passed a Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions motion, “upholding the principles of academic freedom in the face of ongoing injustice”. It also published a news release regarding the student-organized walkout on Sept. 30.
“I feel like the university should take more responsibility for their actions”
“The unions are in ongoing discussions regarding what next steps might be appropriate and will continue to support students’ right to speak out against injustice and ongoing genocide,” the TMSU said in their email statement to The Eye “We hope the university will take these concerns seriously, and take actions to address the issues raised.”
By Molly Simpson
A Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) report released for November found a decline in street car on-time arrivals and a four per cent dip in boardings, reflecting the frustration of commuters with the transit system as a whole.
“The report stated the TTC was $30.1 million under budget”
The Chief Executive Officer’s November report focused on street car performance measurements. It also showed the metrics for other TTC transportation methods, including reliability, cleanliness, elevator accessibility and safety.
According to the report, the TTC was $30.1 million under budget. It stated this was due to “fewer international postsecondary students, inclement weather in Q1, and a softer-than-expected economic environment.”
Street car performance in September was also affected by traffic congestion, road closures and the Toronto International Film Festival.
Barbara Goss, a first-year computer science master’s student, commutes with her bike all year. She said she finds the TTC too unreliable to commute to school, only taking transit if it’s “really heavily snowing.”
Goss said she had a bad experience when she needed to be on time for a class demo and decided to take the TTC during bad weather. “I ended up getting short-turned…randomly in the middle of…nowhere,” she said. Another streetcar was meant to come get them, but when Goss checked, the next street car was 40 minutes away, she said.
Goss said she ended up taking a taxi to make it to her class. She would take the TTC if it were more reliable, saying she “love[s] public transit.”
Gabriel Joseph Remot, a secondyear urban and regional planning student, had a different, more positive experience on the TTC.
Remot often makes “small talk,” with the people around him, finding the people on the subway to be friendly. He said he’s found a sense of community while commuting. “I meet people on the subway, we’re not going to the same place but I see them at the same time…say hi.”
Polly Yang, a second-year accounting and finance student, takes the streetcar for her commute to school but has issues with the TTC’s timeliness.
“I do generally like it... when it works optimally”
Much of the transportation methods were below the TTC’s 90 per cent reliability targets including buses, streetcars and Line 1,
according to the report.
“I do generally like it…when it works optimally,” Yang said. “I had to go to an exam, and the streetcars just would not come. There were no updates, I had to walk all the way to campus which took an hour.”
The delay was due to a streetcar malfunction at Dundas and Bathurst Streets, something Yang didn’t learn until she walked there and saw it herself.
In an email statement to The Eyeopener, a TTC representative said the information in the report was current only to September. “We continue to look for internal efficiencies and expect to see a revenue bump this fall as more workers return to office in the [f]all,” the email read.
“Frontline services,” such as buses, streetcars and subways, “will not be impacted,” they said in regards to the budget shortfall.
By Nadine Alsaghir
Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU) students are reporting thefts at the Recreation and Athletics Centre (RAC) and Mattamy Athletic Centre (MAC), raising concerns about the safety of their belongings.
“I was pretty shocked because I didn’t think [stealing] was common here”
According to testimonies shared on Reddit, stolen belongings include laptops, AirPods, debit cards and wallets.
Amel Kirma, a second-year mechatronics engineering student, said his wallet was taken while he was working out at the RAC on Oct. 29.
“I was pretty shocked because I didn’t think [stealing] was common here, Kirma said. “But then I realized, wow, I was wrong.”
Kirma said he left his bag, which had his MacBook, iPad and wallet, inside an unlocked locker in one of the men’s changing rooms.
When he returned, the locker door was opened and his bag was unzipped. When he checked his bag, his wallet—containing his debit card and ID, was missing. He later reported the theft to RAC staff, who contacted TMU
security to investigate.
In an email follow-up, Kirma said nothing further happened. The security personnel recorded all the details he provided about the incident and then left. He also added they are likely still investigating the issue.
According to Recreation and Active Wellbeing’s (RAWB) website, day lockers are available free of charge on a first-come, firstserved basis, while rental lockers can be booked by active members for $30 per semester or $90 per year, plus tax. “Users must supply their own locks or purchase one from the front desk,” reads their website.
“...whenever I lock up my stuff, like hey, I hope someone doesn’t steal it”
Andrew Thompson, a fifth-year aerospace engineering student, said his two rental lockers inside the RAC men’s changing room were broken into during the summer of 2024.
Thompson said when he returned to TMU in August, both of the locks on his lockers were broken and his prescription glasses were stolen.
“Now I’m a bit suspicious... whenever I lock up my stuff, like hey, I hope someone doesn’t
steal it,” Thompson said. When he reported the incident, the staff asked if he had locked his lockers ad he said he had.
“From now on I’m bringing a lock every time I go”
Ojasvi Verman, a third-year computer science student, told The Eyeopener that he’s since seen posters outside changing rooms and at the front desk, encouraging students to be more cautious when storing items in lockers.
Community Safety and Secu-
rity at TMU has also posted various tips for avoiding thefts from lockers on their website.
“Maybe when you do rent a locker…the staff [should] just say ‘hey, make sure you get like a good locker, like one that is highquality because people have been breaking in,’” Thompson said.
Both Kirma and Thompson told The Eye that they now take extra precautions when visiting the gym. “From now on, I’m bringing a lock every time I go,” Kirma said.
All students who spoke with The Eye, expressed the need for RAWB to take additional steps to
make the RAC feel more reliable for everyone.
Dane Vanderkooi, a fifth-year PhD candidate in the management program at Ted Rogers School of Management says the staff could do more to help students out. “I think maybe having the staff be a little more vigilant…or maybe promoting some signs… trying to encourage people not to steal, and a bit more of a security presence.”
The Eye reached out to the university to request a comment from Athletics and Recreation but did not hear back in time for publication.
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By Aditi Roy
The optimism once associated with young adulthood is fading in Canada. According to the 2024 World Happiness Report, Canadians aged under 30 rank below older age groups in overall life satisfaction, a reversal of the traditional “U-shaped” pattern in which happiness dips in midlife and rises again later.
A more recent study published in August in the Journal of the Public Library of Science reports the same trend across more than 40 countries, where young people now experience the highest level of unhappiness, while older adults report the happiest. Research suggests that economic and social pressure, such as rising living costs, insecure employment and weakening social connections, are key factors behind the pressure many young Canadians may experience.
“Adulthood comes with stress you don’t really see coming”
At Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU), students say those numbers mirror what they feel every day. Ali Abdool Rassool, a second-year mechanical engineering student, describes scrolling through videos on social media about climate change, war, elections and job offers that heighten the pressure to keep up.
“It’s like, I need to get this degree done, find a job, and move on. Adulthood comes with stress you don’t really see coming,” Rassool said.
Rassool isn’t alone in his aprehension. Statistics Canada reports indicate that this decline began in 2021, with young adults aged 18 to 24 consistently rating their life
satisfaction below older cohorts. The report in September notes that among young adults, fewer than four in 10 are highly satisfied with their lives, down from nearly half in 2021.
Rafael Gomez, director of the Centre for Industrial Relations and Human Resources at the University of Toronto, said the reversal breaks a decades-long pattern that research once considered fixed.
“...it feels like I’m lagging behind”
“We used to think the U-curve was a fixed life-cycle feature… youngest happiest, midlife lowest, older happier again. Over the last five years, that [left side of the Ucurve] has collapsed,” he said.
He adds that the life cycle we once knew shifted in its totality, perhaps “forever young” isn’t the goal anymore among Gen Z and Gen Alpha.
Gomez attributes part of the shift to the loss of direct social interactions as online life expands. He cited American psychologist Jonathan Haidt’s 2024 book The Anxious Generation, which argues that smartphones have “rewired” childhood development and contributed to rising anxiety.
Kanika Dhingra, a third-year creative industries student, notes the role of social media in the anxiety she faces on a day-to-day basis. “When I open Instagram or LinkedIn, I see everyone having fun or doing great things and it feels like I’m lagging behind,” Dhingra said. Gomez sees the rise in this comparative dynamic among the young. “Comparisons used to be local—now students measure themselves against influencers with millions of followers; that breeds inferiority,” he said.
Health Infobase Canada reports that “from 2015 to 2021, positive
mental health decreased among those aged 12 to 25, while mental illness increased.”
However, financial stress and economic stability remain the dominant factor. Statistics Canada reports the number of Canadians facing financial difficulties jumped from 18.6 per cent in 2021 to 32.8 per cent in 2024, a 76 per cent increase over three years. Nearly one-third of those struggling rely on credit to cover daily expenses.
Rassool feels the financial burden of being a student every day. “Student loans are my biggest financial stress right now. I don’t have an immediate plan to pay them off— hopefully co-op helps,” he said.
First-year politics and governance student Daniel Shafiq expressed high rents make independence unrealistic, demotivating him. “Most of my friends have given up on it. It’s just simpler to live with your parents—there’s not much incentive to move out,” Shafiq said.
Shafiq added that he witnessed a 30-year-old relative recently move back home and claims that independence in Toronto is unachievable, despite having a well-paying job. He said this situation is one of the reasons he avoids thinking too far ahead.
“They’re highly educated, highly networked, but disconnected from tangible opportunity”
Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation data shows that rent in major cities such as Toronto and Vancouver have risen faster than wages for five consecutive years.
Gomez said the post-pandemic labour policies compounded the problem. “Coming out of the pandemic, entry-level shortages could have benefited young people—
higher-paying openings in retail and hospitality,” he said. “Instead, policy opened the door widely to temporary foreign workers to fill those entry-level roles. That made it harder for youth to access their first jobs.”
Gomez said many young people entering the job market feel increasingly disillusioned and nihilistic. “They’re highly educated, highly networked, but disconnected from tangible opportunity...and that gap breeds disillusionment,” he said.
“The promise that higher education guarantees upward mobility is fading”
Kanika shared her frustration about the state of affordability. She notes that many people around her age aren’t even considering pursuing milestones like marriage, saying, “They don’t have the means yet to live that comfortable life with a family.”
Gomez pointed to the structural changes that have occurred. “We’ve built an economy where the entry points are narrowing,” he said. “The promise that higher education guarantees upward mobility is fading.”
Rising costs, alarmist news and economic uncertainty are worsening young Canadians’ mental health. A recent study found that 61 per cent of Canadians blame the rising cost of living as the main driver for mental health issues among youth.
Gomez explains the solution goes beyond economics; it requires giving young people a renewed sense of purpose. “Purpose, autonomy, and mastery provide young people concrete ways to act and real pathways to contribution— and you’ll see happiness rebound,” he said.
By Gray Moloy
In November 2020, the Toronto Metropolitan Students’ Union (TMSU) passed a motion that promised menstrual products would be available for free in the Student Campus Centre (SCC) via menstrual product dispensers in every bathroom, as previously reported by The Eyeopener
The motion was meant to provide equitable access to products on the Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU) campus—but as of November 2025, the SCC is still the only building on campus that consistently restocks the menstrual products. The SCC refills dispensers every two weeks through an external vendor, according to the TMU website.
Free menstrual products can be found in three other buildings on campus but only in select spots.
Centre for Safer Sex and Sexual Violence Support (C3SVS), provides a service where students can order menstrual products for pick up at their office in the SCC. They offer a range of products including pads, tampons, period underwear, Diva Cups, condoms, reusable pads and other contraceptive devices.
Products are restocked and maintained in the Podium building in the Tri-Mentoring Program office (POD-54) and the International Student Support
office (POD-50A). In Kerr Hall West, products can be found at the Gdoo-maawnjidimi Mompii Indigenous Student Services room (KHW-389)—and in Ted Rogers School of Managemnt (TRSM) on floors 7, 8 and 9 in the women’s and all-gender bathrooms.
Joni, a sustainable period care company, has partnered with student groups, including Ted Rogers Students’ Society (TRSS) and Society of Arts, Social Sciences & Humanities (SASSH) to provide products in select campus buildings.
Still, menstrual products are often unavailable in campus bathrooms.
Some students say they have struggled to find products when they need them—often in emergency situations.
“Trying to access menstrual products on campus is a little bit of a nightmare. They’re kind of hard to find,” said Oliver BullingtonMcGuire, a third-year sociology student and representative from Mask Bloc TMU—a pro-face mask organization on campus.
“I didn’t know where to find anything until I started working with Mask Bloc and distributing period products myself and working with other organizations around campus that are distributing them,” they said.
Third-year biomedical sciences student, Georgia AmponshaFordjour said while she thinks the
menstrual product distribution program run by the C3SVS is great for students, she also feels the lack of stocked dispensers around campus leaves menstruating students stranded when they’re caught offguard by the start of their periods.
“Last year I unexpectedly got my period and I was literally stuck because there was nothing in the washroom and I had to wait ages for my friends to even find one in their bags,” said Amponsha-Fordjour.
“It’s become a little inaccessible in the event that you unexpectedly get your period,” she says.
One of the issues individuals come across while looking for menstrual products on campus is the many bathroom dispensers being empty. Yumna Hussain, coordinator of C3SVS, said this may connect to the larger systemic issue of period poverty in Canada.
“The issue we have come across is that we must ensure there is equitable and safe access to the menstrual products we provide,”
Hussian wrote in an email statement to The Eye . “An example of inequitable distribution we have seen includes students taking large supplies of products while leaving none for other students, or an example of unsafe distribution is not having menstrual products in all bathrooms.”
One of C3SVS’s goals is to provide equitable access to menstrual products on campus, “our funding comes from students, which means we must provide fair and equitable access to our services and products,” Hussain said.
“When students have to ask others if they have spare menstrual products or where you can get them for free on campus, that is a problem,” she said.
“We go through our very large supply of menstrual products very quickly, and typically re-order the bulk quantity and range of menstrual products we carry at least once every 4 weeks,” Hussain said.
Amponsha-Fordjour accesses
this service monthly to restock her menstrual products. She only became aware of the program recently, though she hopes new and incoming students will do the same for their menstrual product-needs.
She also volunteers with Help a Girl Out (HAGO), a non-profit organization based in Brampton, Ont. that aims to combat period poverty through donations and period product support programs.
“I don’t believe individuals should be paying for the products in general. We don’t ask to have our periods—it’s a natural thing that so many individuals on this earth go through,” she said.
According to C3SVS, only a small portion of their funding comes from TMU. “The C3SVS is funded by a student levy titled “Good Food and SASSL” and additional funding from the TMSU,” said Hussain.
“In an ideal world [C3SVS] would love to provide products in every campus building,” Hussain said.
By Ella Oladipo
As mid-term exam season ends at Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU), students across campus are crossing their fingers, hoping their lucky superstitions paid off.
Many superstitions stem from
tradition and myth, then are passed around as common practice. According to Oxford University
Press sources, knocking on wood has roots in animist beliefs that benevolent spirits reside in trees and to stir them is to call upon their protection.
Third-year graphic communications management student, Juliana Nguyen, shared that she has quite a few superstitions. From never letting a pole split the group while walking, to the need for a quick sign of the cross when she passes by cemeteries, Nguyen
provided an extensive list of comfort rituals.
“Breaking mirrors, it’s bad luck. Like seven years, so I don’t do that,” she said.
Yousef Ahmed, a first-year engineering student, would have said he didn’t hold any superstitions before beginning undergrad but after his first round of exams he discovered one he plans to stick to.
“I’ve started going to Tim’s on exam day and trying out a new muffin. I feel like it benefitted me the first time around, so now I guess I have my own ritual,” he said.
Ahmed said that no one in his personal life is outwardly superstitious, which he connected to before the stress of university life.
Winta Yohannes, a third-year new media student on exchange, recalled peers in middle school stocked with lucky pens and charms from stuffed animals.
Yohannes herself said she tries to refrain from superstitiousness before tests, leaning more towards diligent study, healthy habits and prayer.
Associate professor at The University of Chicago Booth School of Business, Jane L. Risen, found in the Psychological Review that topperformers of all sectors engage in stern superstitions—from surgeons to athletes to well-prepped students during exam time.
Former tennis player Serena Williams—ranked number one in the world during her time— has her own need-to-do pregame quirks. According to Quirkopedia, it’s commonly known that she ties her shoes the same way and wears the same “lucky socks” that won her the previous game.
The psychological research available on superstitions may surprise some. Risen wrote in the review, that while being superstitious has a tendency to be conflated with irrationality and cognitive shortcomings, there is evidence to show more people than you think hold superstitions.
“Even smart, educated, emotionally stable adults have superstitions that are not rational,” the study reads.
Disclaimer: A source in this story is a past contributor to The Eyeopener. They had no involvement in the editing process of this story.
Daniel* takes his small selection of groceries to the self-checkout. He scans one item—then another. He moves one more past the dark glass surface of the machine, mimicking the motion. This time, however, the sound of the acknowledging beep is replaced with silence. Daniel places this item with the rest. He eventually finishes his transaction and pays for most of the food he’ll be taking home.
“I was ashamed, but you got to do what you got to do sometimes”
At the time—when he was still a first-year student at Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU)—this was a routine occurrence. Paying about $1,750 a month in rent, he found himself falling short of what’s needed to cover his living expenses—including food. He had a job, but by the end of the month, his account would be running dry. A student making minimum wage would need to work around 23 hours a week just to cover rent at his rate.
Daniel found himself in an all-too-common situation among Canadians today: high expenses and an income that isn’t enough to cover it. According to a January poll from the Royal Bank of Canada, 50 per cent of Canadians are spending their entire income on essential bills and expenses, with over a quarter spending more than what they have. Daniel, like many others, was forced to make difficult calls on where to spend.
He was afraid of overdrafting his bank account—and the interest he’d have to pay for doing so. Faced with this choice, Daniel made a call he considered rational given the situation—steal a few grocery items here and there and save a few bucks on one of his biggest expenses.
“I was ashamed but you got to do what you got to do sometimes,” he says. “I didn't feel good about it. You want to feel like you can make ends meet and take care of yourself.”
Whether it’s ethically permissible to steal a loaf of bread to avoid going hungry is a classic philosophical question—it’s even the plot of Les Misérables. However for some students—including those at TMU—stealing food isn’t just a hypothetical to be pondered in lecture halls, it’s a real-world conundrum caused by an ever-increasing cost of living.
Coming out of the COVID-19 pandemic,
Grocery prices are on the rise across Canada—so is grocery theft. For some, it's a way to save—others say it's revenge against retailers
By Hailey Ford Illustration by Rachel Cheng
the price of groceries has skyrocketed, increasing at a rate higher than other goods, according to the Bank of Canada. The 2025 Canada’s Food Prices Report states that overall, grocery prices were projected to increase three to five per cent in this year alone. For some items, like meat, that number rises to as high as six per cent.
Food banks in Toronto and across Canada are also seeing large increases in visitors. The Daily Bread Food Bank recently released its annual report on poverty and food insecurity in Toronto. They state that one in 10 Torontonians are reliant on food banks. Three years ago, that number was one in 20. Many food banks have also had to reduce service, with the need being greater than the resources available.
Students are particularly vulnerable when it comes to grocery prices. On top of food, they also need to pay for other necessities like tuition, transportation, hygiene products, housing, phone bills and emergency expenses. The money adds up quickly. For some, the choice becomes going hungry, going into debt or stealing. Sometimes all of the above.
Oliver Bullington-McGuire is a third-year sociology student at TMU and a member of Toronto Food Not Bombs, a grassroots organization that distributes free food to Torontonians every Sunday at Allan Gardens. He says many people are feeling pinched by high grocery prices and the group seeks to fill this gap.
“I know that I personally know more and more people who are having trouble sourcing food,” he says.
Much of the organizations’ items are donations from community members or businesses—usually recycled or reclaimed food, meaning items which would have otherwise been thrown away.
“About 90 per cent of the food we give out is donations and a lot of that comes from businesses,” he says. “We find what’s still good out of the older things to make sure that it can be distributed.”
In Canada, grocery chains throw out an estimated 1.31 billion tonnes of food each year, according to Greenpeace Canada. Bullington-McGuire says if the big retailers donated their leftover product—rather than disposing of it—a lot less people would go hungry.
“I'm assuming [the big chains] are throwing out way more than we’re getting. If that was given out, that’d be probably a game changer,” he said.
In March, the Toronto Police Services and Crime Stoppers launched a joint campaign to combat organized retail crime. According to a 2023 CBC article, shoplifting losses were $5
billion in 2023. Now, in 2025, that number has grown to over $9 billion.
This has led many grocers to implement increasingly aggressive anti-theft precautions like locking carts, metal gates, plexiglass barriers and security cameras—all of which have become more present in grocery stores. Sobeys is even piloting body-worn cameras on security staff in some of its stores. Some Canadian retailers have even taken to removing self-checkouts altogether.
However, police-reported statistics place all shoplifting under $5,000 within the same category. There’s no distinction between the smallscale theft common to students and the organized retail crime making headlines. It’s unclear how much of the rising numbers comes from large-scale theft and how much is those trying to make ends meet.
Zach* walks down the aisle of a grocery store. He picks up a chocolate bar and pauses as if he’s heard a notification buzz or has suddenly remembered that he needs to look something up. He reaches into his pocket for his phone, covertly trading it for the chocolate bar. He finishes gathering the rest of his purchases, pays and walks out of the store. The chocolate is still in his pocket, unpaid for, but not forgotten.
Zach—a first-year TMU student—is one of the many young Ontarians who can’t find a job. “I can’t even land a minimum wage interview,” he wrote in a text message to The Eyeopener.
As of September 2025, the youth unemployment rate in Ontario sits at 17.3 per cent. Among students, that number rises to 23.2 per cent, meaning that nearly a quarter of young students are without work.
“The job market is unforgiving and inflation is not stopping,” he says. “Meanwhile, profits have never been higher.”
Though he says he hasn’t shoplifted in some time, when he did it was only from big-name supermarkets. In Canada, three companies dominate: Loblaw, Metro and Empire Company, owner of Sobeys.
According to Loblaw Companies Limited (Loblaw), the company’s 2025 secondquarter revenue was $14.672 million, a 5.2 per cent increase from 2024. Both Empire Company and Metro reported a net earnings increase of around nine per cent in the third fiscal quarter of 2025.
Zach isn’t the only Canadian upset at the grocery giants. In spring of last year, a movement to boycott Loblaw stores gained traction, with some choosing not to shop there until what they saw as ‘out-of-control’ prices subsided. At its peak, 18 per cent of
Canadians said they or someone in their household were participating, according to a poll by market researcher Leger.
According to Eric Dolansky, an associate professor of marketing at Brock University, perceptions of fairness play a large role in what consumers think is an acceptable price to pay—and whether they’ll pay it.
He says shoppers judge prices on what’s called an ‘internal reference price’—the figure we think something should cost. When the price goes beyond this, consumers start to ask why.
“When we encounter a price that is too different from that reference or outside of that range, then it can cause a problem for us,” he says.
Dolansky says rising grocery prices are largely due to real factors out of retailers’ control, and rising profits can be attributed to people spending more since the pandemic.
According to the Bank of Canada, things like poor crop yields fueled by climate change, trade barriers, exchange rates and the incoming tariffs have all contributed to inflated prices. However, this doesn’t stop some consumers from pointing to price-gouging as the sole culprit. Dolansky says this is one way shoppers make sense of prices that fall outside their reference point—true or not—that grocers must be ripping them off.
He says consumers always have options other than stealing.
“If what a company is offering—not just the actual physical product—but everything involved in buying it—
their stance on whatever issues, the kinds ofproducts they carry or where they set up or how they pay their employees or anything like that is not acceptable to you, in almost every case, you don't have to buy the product,” he said.
Miles*, recent university graduate and now-TMU staff member, navigates through a chain grocer.
As he moves through the store, some items go into his basket, others into his bag or pockets.
Unlike Zach and Daniel, Miles says his motivations are only half about affordability—the other half is anger.
Miles puts the blame for high prices on price-gouging. As a whole, grocery prices in Canada have been increasing faster than the inflation rate, according to Statistics Canada.
“I feel like you can't be upset when people are shoplifting, when the game has kind of set people up to shoplift”
“I feel like you can't be upset when people are shoplifting, when the game has kind of set people up to shoplift,” says Miles. “So you're just playing part of the game.”
The Competition Bureau of Canada has also indicated that margins have grown, which can mean that companies are raising prices more than their increase in costs. They state that the growth is modest but meaningful. However, even if margins remain the same, higher costs still mean greater profits.
In spring 2025, Loblaw was caught in a 14-year price-fixing scheme in which the company had orchestrated artificiallyhigher bread prices with others in the industry. The company has since been forced to pay out $500 million to consumers who purchased bread from Loblaw in the last 20 years.
It’s things like these that lead Miles to believe grocers don’t have good intentions.
While Daniel considers grocery theft to be an unfortunate necessity, Miles sees it as an ethical decision, both retaliation and protest.
“I only steal from big stores. I don't steal from independent stores, because that money is actually going to someone's livelihood,” he says. “These companies are just really horrible.”
On one shopping trip, Daniel does his usual half-scan. The soundless movement doesn’t typically attract attention and he’s never been caught, questioned or challenged before. But this time, a teenage employee walks towards him and repeatedly presses a button on the machine.
“I think it may have been like a volume adjustment button,” he says. “I don't know if he thought that the volume was low, or if he was hitting something else to signify that there was an issue.”
He finishes scanning, turning the rest of his trip into a performative version of a proper transaction. Daniel looks back through the groceries in his cart, acting as if he’s checking to see if anything has been missed. “I think I actually did go back and scan those items, because I was worried.”
He never went back to that location. Students who've been caught stealing may not even know it. Zahra*, a TMU student who works at a Loblaws, says she’s instructed not to approach shoplifters and to ignore any shoplifting she may see. “It’s not worth it,” she says.
According to her, the store has its own loss-prevention staff who monitor for “suspicious stuff,” observing and reporting it. She says they don’t step in unless it’s a pattern or very obvious. Beer and smaller grocery items like bread, cereal and snacks are what she sees stolen most often.
“I’ve never shoplifted,” Zahra says. “I think stealing isn’t right but I do understand that some people do it out of desperation or need.”
All theft under $5,000 in Canada is technically categorized under the same umbrella. A person convicted could be fined up to $5,000, face up to two years in jail or both.
Paul*, a TMU student who works at a Metro in the east end of the city, says customers who are caught stealing will have their photo taken from the security footage and taped to the front desk.
During his training, he was told it’s store policy to never go near someone they see shoplifting—and importantly, never lay a hand on them. Staff are just supposed to call either a manager or the police and let the perpetrator walk out.
On one trip, Miles picks up a block of cheese from the shelf. He doesn’t take much care to hide what he’s doing as he puts it in his bag. After leaving the store, he’s stopped by a middle-aged man wearing everyday clothes.
“I have video, I have pictures of you,” the man says to Miles. “I saw you put that stuff in your bag.”
Miles says this was the only time he’s ever been caught. He says he just walked away, with the man yelling that he was banned from the store. He went back a week later with no issues. He’s still not sure whether this was actually an employee or someone just trying to scare him—he was nervous either way.
“It did kind of shake me. I stopped stealing for a little while,” Miles says, adding that he’s afraid of being recognized. “If they’re like ‘oh, we know you. We've seen you stealing things at the store. We know your face.’”
Daniel says he no longer shoplifts. He’s found a cheaper place to live—meaning he’s no longer quite so strapped for cash.
“I've been tempted. I haven’t done it, though,” he said. The little bit of extra flexibility in his finances has let him find new ways to legally handle his money troubles. “I might have to eat incredibly cheap but I can at least make sure I keep the lights on.”
For Daniel, it was never about moral principle or a fight against price-gouging grocers—it was simply a way to get by. The prices were high and he couldn’t pay—as simple as that.
“I could get the bread and the cheese but couldn't get the meat. So, you know, sometimes I'd have to get some at a heavily discounted price, so to speak,” says Daniel.
“I wish I could say it was conscious political rebellion and class solidarity or something, but honestly, I just couldn't afford it.”
*Sources’ names have been changed for privacy reasons. The Eye has verified these sources.
‘Exclusion: Beyond the Silence’ spotlights the legacy of women Chinese-Canadian
By Sophie Wallace
Two TMU alumni showcased a documentary film, Exclusion: Beyond the Silence , that they collaborated on at the second annual Toronto Chinese Canadian Film Festival (TCCFF) on Oct. 24.
The festival ran for one week, from Oct. 18 to 24, culminating in a viewing of the alumni’s documentary on closing night. The film documents the intergenerational impact of the Chinese Exclusion Act, spotlighting the activists who were key to it being overturned.
“This is one of the untold stories of Canada’s multicultural heritage”
Justin Poy, a graduate of the RTA School of Media in 1993, was a producer and Craig Thompson, a graduate of the journalism program in 1982, was a producer and executive producer of the documentary.
“This is a film that needs to be seen in schools, colleges, universities…it’s just that important,” said Poy at the festival viewing.
Thompson described the filmmaking process as “quite a journey…this is one of the untold stories of Canada’s multicultural heritage,” at the viewing.
The film explores a painful segment of Canada’s history. The Canadian government invited over 17,000 Chinese workers between 1881 and 1885 to come to build the Canadian Pacific Railway.
Upon completion, the government im -
plemented a head-tax to try to prevent the railway workers from permanently settling their families in Canada. The Chinese Immigration Act, also known as the Chinese Exclusion Act, was the final policy put in place to prevent Chinese immigration to Canada.
In effect from 1923 to 1947, the act separated families for decades—the aftermath of which is still felt today. “That is not Chinese-Canadian history,” said Poy, in an interview with The Eyeopener. “That is Canadian history.”
The film opens on a birds-eye view of a large spinning banquet table; the table is cleared and the film switches to a narration from Keira Loughran, the director and subject of the documentary. “My silence is learned through the endurance of my elders,” Loughran’s voice shares.
Through the course of the documentary, we learn Loughran is the granddaughter of Jean Lumb. A mother and restaurateur, Lumb was the first Chinese-Canadian woman to be awarded the Order of Canada in 1976 for her community activism.
“Jean Lumb is a name all Chinese-Canadians grew up knowing, especially in the 80s,” said co-producer Poy. “She was like this mythical figure.”
“Don’t let the separations of the past impede the connections of the future.”
In the film, Loughran connects with the granddaughter of Foon Hay Lum, Helen
Lee. Lum was a key activist in helping secure a formal apology from the Canadian government and compensation for Chinese-Canadians who were forced to pay the head-tax.
Curious about the familial links between Lumb and Lum, the pair travels to China to visit their grandparents’ village homes and connect with members of their extended families. In a moving scene, they realize their ancestors’ graves are mere metres away from each other.
“This festival cannot just be a festival showing Chinese films from overseas.”
The coincidence is poignant. According to Thompson, “everything you saw on screen happened in real life. We didn’t manufacture anything. It was all by chance.”
The banquet table motif threads its way throughout the film, alongside references to jyun fan, the Chinese concept of predestination. Gradually, the table fills with photographs, identity documents and heirloom treasures.
In the closing scene, the narrator imparts one final piece of wisdom to her audience: “don’t let the separations of the past impede the connections of the future.”
Thompson has a connection to the Chinese community as his wife is Chinese and his daughter, half-Chinese. “People see their own lives reflected in the film,” he said.
Production for the documentary began in 2023, on the 100th anniversary of the
Chinese Exclusion Act. “We felt it was an appropriate time to tell the story,” said Thompson.
He described how the biggest challenge as a producer was finding support for the film. “There aren’t a lot of Chinese stories out there and there’s not a lot of familiarity with Chinese stories. It was a very tough project to finance.”
For Poy, making the film was an emotional process. Less than 50 Chinese people were allowed into the country between 1923 and 1947. Four of those were his family members. “It has a huge direct reflection on my own life,” he said.
Poy is also the vice-chair of TCCFF. According to him, “A lot of late nights and a lot of hard work” went into making the film festival happen. Held at the Toronto Chinese Cultural Centre, the festival also featured a premier of famous Hong Kong film director Clifton Ko’s new movie, Kung Fu Juniors this year.
Despite the festival being relatively new, TCCFF is gathering momentum. Poy said, “It was a packed house when we opened the festival this year.”
Poy, alongside festival founder Tery Wong Imamura, decided one day each year should be dedicated to a film showcasing Chinese-Canadian history and culture.
“It was very important to have [a screening of Exclusion: Beyond the Silence ] at the Toronto Chinese Canadian Film Festival,” said Poy. “This festival cannot just be a festival showing Chinese films from overseas.”
By Riddhi Dhingra
New media students at Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU) organized an art market at the Sheldon and Tracy Levy Student Learning Centre on Oct. 27, where creativity evolved into entrepreneurship. Designed to showcase makers across programs, the popMatrix(); art market elevates the rising talent of students which are often overlooked in professional spaces.
Raven Zhang Liu, a fourthyear new media student and copresident of popMatrix(); said the market began in 2019 as a way to showcase the creativity of students in new media and turn their ideas into a profitable business. Over time, they received interest from students outside their program, so now it’s open to all programs in The Creative School.
The main goal, she said, is to give “an easy starting point to sell your creations,” because “it’s such a hard scene to get into.”
With a supportive environment, low table fees and workshops to help vendors navigate the vending scene, organizers aim to eliminate common barri-
ers that first-time vendors face, said Zhang Liu.
“Normally, tables outside are $100 for a day whereas we have a very low starting fee. Depending on the venue, we usually [charge] free to $5,” she said.
he supportive culture is felt by participants who are taking their first steps to selling their handmade work at TMU. Emily Reign, a second-year professional communication student, is a vendor who specializes in handcrafted greeting cards. She began creating personal cards for her friends and family before she got the confidence to display them at a market.
Through selling greeting cards, she gets to feel like she’s part of people’s special occasions. “It makes me feel really nice when [customers] are like, ‘I’m getting this for my grandma’ or ‘my girlfriend’s really going to love this’,” she said.
While some vendors have just started selling their products, others have used popMatrix(); as a way to get by until they reach larger creative spaces. Trisha Anne Parco, a fourth-year new media student, is a vendor coordinator for popMatrix();. She
Their Afro-fusion jazz ensemble was led by a New
By Kyla Pugen
Performance dance students at Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU) stepped on stage at OCAD University on Oct. 25 to 26 as part of the Up Next program at the Fall For Dance North (FFDN) festival.
According to their mission statement on their website, FFDN “exists to break boundaries and remove barriers.”
Now in its 11th year, it aimed to “offer affordable, inclusive and accessible entertainment” with performers and audiences from across the world.
The TMU dance students performed in an Afro Latin jazz ensemble choreographed by New York-based artist Sekou McMiller.
“It’s a festival where we invite people to come and fall in love with dance. We bring the best artists from our city and some of the best artists from around the world,” said FFDN artistic director and co-CEO Robert Binet. “This year, more than ever, we’ve made a big investment in local artists.”
He explained that it’s important to support art students and that “as
is also the owner of kkaisu_ and was a vendor at popMatrix();. At kkaisu_, she creates fan-inspired trinkets such as keychains, stickers and prints.
“As an artist, I wanted to share my art with others…and popMatrix(); was the first time I was able to get the opportunity to do that,” said Parco.
She explained that vending can be very expensive, “especially for new
artists, so popMatrix(); allowed me to do it with pretty low risk.”
A shared theme at popMatrix(); is that student creatives want to brighten people’s day and create a sense of community through their work.
Parco said, “I just want people to come by and look at my booth and feel a sense of joy and whimsy because I feel like that’s gone in the current state of the world.”
The collaborative team behind the market—combined with roles in marketing, finance, volunteer coordination, design and more—aims to help achieve those goals with guidance rather than pressure.
Zhang Liu said, “It’s so scary when you’re first starting to sell your art. You’re so afraid. We want to make sure it’s a welcoming space.”
a festival and an organization whose mission is to make it more sustainable for dance to exist in this city, we have to start with people just emerging into the profession.”
TMU performance dance program director Vicki St. Denys said that performing at FFDN “exposes our students to the public in a big way… it provides some public awareness of the program and the quality of the students in our program.”
St. Denys also said this festival is a great opportunity for their students as they get to perform on a big stage, with a large audience and work in the studio with acclaimed international artists. “When potential applicants and candidates for our program [learn about] this prestigious partnership, it’s a nice draw,” she added.
Inside OCAD’s Great Hall, where the performance took place, the atmosphere was both electric and intimate. The audience was placed in a circle around the stage, with people standing up, some sitting on benches and others on the floor, allowing them to be immersed into the dance.
The Up Next program itself featured four different performances
but the TMU students closed out the program with their dance titled ‘¡SÍ, BUENO!’ by McMiller. The playbill described it as “A trilogy of bliss. Celebrating the many ways joy shows up in our lives.”
One of the performers, third-year performance dance student Thandi Strybos, explained that the dance featured three different sections as a “compilation of different points of joy in our lives.” She said they started with a big grand opening, then a sultry middle section and finally, a big celebration of love and life.
For fourth-year performance dance student Liyah Simbulan it was “very special to be part of this process and this performance.” She said that FFDN had a lot of Afrofusion in their programs which
meant a lot to her as a Black dance artist in Toronto.
Simbulan added, “Every single dancer in the room was lifting each other up throughout the whole thing and it just made it really beautiful.” The performance deepened her love for jazz, she said.
Third-year performance dance student Madison Costa, said, “Even if we’re not in a certain section and we’re off stage, we’re always in it.”
She added, “I think the biggest sense of community is found within the last piece…and I think the audience will feel that as well.”
Third-year performance dance student Olivia Morris recalled the fast-paced rehearsal process as they auditioned on Friday and began rehearsing the very next day.
“We jumped right in…I learned so much…about myself. I learned so much about dance.”
She said ‘¡SÍ, BUENO!’ opened her eyes to new possibilities in the dance world and how “dance isn’t confined to a box.”
Strybos said “during the process, a lot of tears were shed, a lot of frustration, a lot of just forgetting to breathe.” But, McMiller’s advice boosted her confidence. “His big thing is telling us to live life through every moment in our body, every aspect of ourselves.”
Ultimately, FFDN was a defining moment for the dance students. By sharing the stage with international and Canadian artists, the young dancers gained invaluable experience that will shape their careers.
By Hannah Thompson
For most students, a 6 a.m. alarm means rolling out of bed and getting ready to head to class. For Luke Sinisalo, a first-year paddler on the Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU) Bold Dragon Boat club, it means he’s already in the car with his mom, driving through early morning traffic from Markham, Ont. His Saturday practice doesn’t start for another two hours but his day begins long before he picks up a paddle.
“It’s definitely a bit of a grind,” Sinisalo admited.
It’s a reality shared by many TMU Bold athletes, where the toughest opponent isn’t on the field or in the water but on the map.
At a school known for its commuter population, the struggle hits athletes especially hard. Some teams train at downtown facilities but others travel across the city, juggling long commutes and busy schedules. Getting to practice often takes as much planning as the sport itself.
For first-year TMU baseball team pitcher Johnny Melino, the timing has to be perfect. His class ends at 6 p.m. and practice starts at 7 p.m., an hour away.
“I’m going to get there just at seven if I finish on time,” he said. “[If the] subway gets delayed…we get there late. It messes with me because I’m expected to get there on time. The team [wonders] if I’m even locked in to play at all.”
Even before the first pitch, the race to get there takes a toll.
“I had to cut my time a little bit short so I could make that trek home”
The issue isn’t just for smaller teams. In a previous interview about TMU’s soccer culture, fifthyear midfielder Justin Santos said the men’s soccer team faces the same struggle getting to their home field at Downsview Park—about an hour commute from campus.
“We’ll try to coordinate, whoever’s downtown will go together and we’ll all go on the bus together,” said Santos. The ride has become a makeshift locker room, a space to catch up and prepare.
For Sinisalo, it’s a 40-minute drive followed by three hours of practice, then the trip home. The commute is part of the sport.
For Melino the exhaustion builds up fast. “If I’m driving home in traf-
By Ava Zelyony
This fall, the Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU) men’s and women’s ultimate frisbee teams wrapped up their outdoor season at the Canadian University Ultimate Championships (CUUC), held from Oct. 17 to 19 in Brampton, Ont. This year saw improvements within each team’s play, performing better than they had in previous years. The women’s team placed third in Division Two and the men’s team placed eleventh.
For those who may not know much about ultimate frisbee, women’s team captain Ava Pearson compared the sport to football.
“You have two end zones. You have receivers and people called ‘handlers’, who are like the quarterbacks,” said Pearson.
Games span for 90 minutes and are played with seven people per team. They either end when the first team reaches 15 points or when the time cap expires. The teams’ training season is short and intense, beginning in late summer, right before they commence their outdoor season.
One of the most significant aspects of ultimate frisbee is the
fic, after a long day of practice, I’d be a little bit aggravated,” he said. “I’m tired, I want to go home but if I’m stuck in traffic, it’s not a great time.”
When Sinisalo leaves home at 5 a.m. for dry-land training, a lack of rest makes a significant difference.
“Dragon Boat really depends on both your physical and mental focus. When I don’t get enough sleep, I can feel it; I might lose focus or forget little technique details.”
“It’s a lot of dedication you need”
The commute doesn’t just drain energy, it also cuts into team bonding. At a rookie event, Melino recalls, “I had to cut my time a little bit short so I could make that trek home.” He’s still close with his teammates but those lost moments add up.
The distance also affects school spirit. The Mattamy Athletic Centre can pack a crowd but fields at Downsview Park or far-off baseball diamonds often sit quiet.
“I don’t think we get many fans, especially students,” said Santos. “Understandably, because it’s a far commute for a lot.”
For many, it all comes back to funding. Melino questions, “If we got more funding or if…they’d make us a varsity team, we could actually get coach buses to take us to these games rather than figuring it out ourselves, right?”
Sinisalo agrees, saying varsity and competitive clubs deserve more support.
“I get that the school needs to prioritize bigger sports, but I wish there was some kind of support for smaller teams too,” said Sinisalo. “The ath-
letes and coaches work so hard and deserve more opportunities.”
Still, despite the challenges, the dedication never fades.
“It’s been one of the greatest experiences of my life,” said Sinisalo. “This team is five or 10 times more supportive than any athletic team I’ve been on before.” He credits his teammates and mom for keeping him motivated through the early mornings.
Melino puts it simply: “It’s a lot of dedication you need…you have to have that want.”
For TMU’s commuter athletes, every win represents more than a score on the board. It’s the miles travelled, the missed events and the quiet persistence it takes just to show up. For them, the commute isn’t just part of the season—it’s their toughest opponent.
community that it brings together, which is something that men’s player Sam Loveys wants to emphasize.
“I think what makes it is the vibes—we’re very good friends. We all get along really well,” said Loveys.
He also explains that ultimate frisbee has a unique system that requires players to be collaborative.
“There are no referees, so everything is self-call and obviously, after those calls, you’re going to have a discussion, you’re going to talk with the other team,” Loveys said. “I think that puts it apart from other sports—just that individualism.”
During the CUUC, both squads had a strong end to their seasons in matches against a variety of schools.
The women’s team defeated both Trent University and the Université de Montréal by landslides and ended their match against the University of Guelph, who Pearson considers “one of our rivals,” having lost by just a few points.
In one of their semi-final games against Memorial University, Pearson explains that both teams went “point for point the entire
game,” until the time horn blew. This is where the ‘universe’ aspect of ultimate frisbee comes into play. It refers to the last point of the game that grants whichever team scores it, the win, which Pearson compares to an overtime goal in hockey.
“Everybody was watching our semi-final game and they were all cheering for us, because we were the Ontario school, so everyone wanted us to win,” said Pearson.
In terms of the men’s team, Loveys said that this year’s CUUC saw better results with closer games. “A lot of teams that had previously
beaten us by quite a bit, we played really close,” he said.
A soon-to-be TMU grad, Loveys felt the weekend of the CUUC was the perfect way to end his team’s outdoor season. “The last three days were the best games I’ve ever played, which felt really good for me,” said Loveys. However, there was one day in particular that left a lasting mark on him. “The last day, I would say the team gelled the best that we’d ever gelled as a team.”
With the outdoor season completed, both teams look ahead to the indoor season which is a little different and runs until March.
The teams are often smaller during the indoor period of the season and don’t feature any designated training periods, only games that shift from seven-onseven to four-on-four. Their first indoor game is set to be in late November.
While the outdoor period is grander in scale, Pearson has a perfect way to describe the next chapter her team will be embarking on. “The outdoor [season] is the biggest thing that we have to look forward to, that’s the biggest part. Four-on-four is kind of like a sweet treat.”
By Scoop W. Gerbil
Disclaimer: Much like the moaning in adult films, this article is distractingly fake.
As the job market worsens, the film and television industries continue to become filled with Netflix slop that looks greyer than a koala. Following this, many RTA students at Toronto Metropolitan University have left their conventional dreams behind for a surprisingly more stable option: working in the adult film industry.
While getting your foot in the door for film and TV can feel impossible, getting your foot in the door with pornography is almost too easy as the door is huge and can fit about 10 to 15 feet, making it a prime job opportunity for young and upcoming students that want their dreams crushed.
“A lot more fuckin’, suckin’ and much better pay”
Amelia Hardon, an aspiring screenwriter and fourth-year student said she finds that writing for smutty films fills her with all kinds of things…mainly emotions.
“I find it’s not too different from the Wattpad stories I wrote about the two hot professors I had in first year,” noted Hardon with a smirk. “Plus it’s much easier. I mean you just gotta figure out the beginning of each one, they typically all end the same.”
“Every time I close my eyes at night I see 15 different penises flailing around”
Hardon stated that it’s been an easy adjustment for her to make, since “writing smut has always been a fun pastime for me but now I get to actually put it on the screen, which is more than I can say for my regular scripts.”
Unfortunately for them every adult film needs editors to comb through hours and hours of footage (or minutes and minutes of footage depending on stamina).
RTA graduate Richard Stiffler has taken the plunge to fill in that role and fill it in good.
Stiffler described the work as similar to editing short films, just with “a lot more fuckin’, suckin’ and much better pay.”
He added that living with three roommates and sharing an office
By Dylan Marks
Disclaimer: This isn’t a joke but good fuck I wish it was. Some details have been exaggerated with lies for effect.
The Toronto Blue Jays lost the 2025 Major League Baseball World Series this past Saturday resulting in the death of the city of Toronto.
Toronto Police Service officials said Toronto was pronounced dead following the swing of Alejandro Kirk’s bat in the bottom of the 11th inning at the Rogers Centre.
The cause of death has been ruled as disappointment though some officials believe the Blue Jays themselves should be held responsible.
“JEFF HOFFMAN GOOD GOD MAN,” said Chief of Police Dyron Memkiw. “AND IKF YOU NEEDED A BIGGER
had led to confusing circumstances while editing at home.
“It’s kind of awkward to be editing porn with your roommates around but honestly they can’t judge since they be making their own porno’s all night long as far as my ears are concerned,” said Stiffler.
Two ambitious third-year students, Shooter Neked and Jordan Wettley, were tired of not finding opportunities on film sets and hopped onto the opportuni -
ties provided by adult films, of which there are seemingly many.
“It’s given me great experience working with a camera,” said Neked, “and even though every time I close my eyes at night I see 15 different penises flailing around, at least I’m in a union.”
Wettley, who took up the role of being a boom mic operator on set, said “It isn’t as bad as you think it would be, or at least not in my mind. To be honest the sounds I hear on set aren’t too different
from what I heard through the walls of Pitman for an entire year, so I’m used to it.”
“Always carry some extra lube, you never know”
Neked and Wettley both gave the same advice to those looking to work on an adult film set: “Always carry some extra lube, you never know when it’ll be needed.
Written and illustrated by Myrtle Manicad
ME.”
Following the loss, fans present at the game took to the streets, walking within a corpse of a city from a funeral they paid to attend.
Painted on the faces of every fan in their Vladimir Guerreo Jr. or Joe Carter jerseys were all five stages of grief: denial, anger, bargaining, depression and screaming “fuck the Dodgers.”
“I sold my son to get tickets to this game so now I gotta go track him down,” said one fan while vaping obnoxiously.
“I just became a fan a week ago but I really feel this loss. Go sports!” said the worst person you know.
“Though this loss has effectively killed the city of Toronto, we will rebuild. Now I must go explain to my wife why a 12 leg parlay banking on a Jays win seemed like an absolute lock,” said Demkiw.
1. This 1985 film follows an unlikely group of students become friends in detention.
3. This 1999 raunchy comedy introduced us to Stiffler’s Mom.
4. This 2007 comedy/romance film stars Michael Cera and Elliot Page as they navigate teen pregnancy.
2. This 2004 film follows Cady Heron navigating all things high school.
5. This 2007 comedy film changed the game with the character “McLovin.”
6. This 2003 movie, starring Jack Black, taught the world “It’s a long way to the top if you wanna rock and roll.”
7. This 2012 action/comedy stars Channing Tatum and Jonah Hill as cops undercover as high schoolers.
8. This 2010 film starring, Emma Stone, shows just how crazy school can get.
Illustrations by Rachel Cheng
1. Complete the crossword! Only 100 per cent accurate puzzles will be accepted.
2. Complete the Google Form via the QR code below and add a photo of your completed crossword.
3. Await an email! The form will close end-of-day on Nov. and winners will be contacted shortly afterwards and asked to come into our office for photos!
Joke #1
Why did the coffee at Balzac’s call for help?
Because it kept getting mugged.
Joke #2
Why did the light bulb enroll at TMU?
It wanted to get a little brighter.
Joke #3
Why did TMU open a bakery?
They know how to make smart cookies.
Joke #4
Why did Frankie the Falcon cross the road?
To catch his streetCAW!
Joke #5
What does TMU stand for?
Trying My Utmost