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Humber journalism nominated
HumberNews.ca, Et Cetera newspapers up for Columbia’s Crown
Julia C. Sequeira HumberETC News
Gabriel Noda, Humber Et Cetera editor, said recognizing the website and newspaper beyond Canada is a big step towards growing the hyper-local news organization.
Noda is one of many reporters who innovated Humber News by introducing Esport reporting to the journalism program.
“As a student journalist, to find out about it and have it be a U.S. award is great because that means our reach hasn’t just been Toronto or Ontario. It’s reached more places than we ever thought and to have it be recognized by Columbia University is great,” he said. “This award shows our work has paid off and can be showcased through different channels.” HumberNews.ca and Humber Et Cetera newspaper have been nominated for a Crown Award hosted by the Columbia Scholastic Press Association. On March 21, the Humber journalism program will receive a gold or silver crown. Humber is one of seven schools nominated for the hybrid category and the only Canadian nominee.
Eleanor Kate Tulabot-Iglesia, a former Humber News and
Humber Et Cetera reporter, said the program gave her a platform to write about topics that she is passionate about.
“I wanted something fun and something different every day that kind of challenged me. being In Humber News, it kind of gave me a path to see exactly what outcomes there are for me because Humber News also had audio and TV and the print side,” she said.
Rob Lamberti, a Humber journalism professor, said the reporters like to keep the audience guessing what stories will come out next because they rise to every occasion.
“It’s pretty exciting that we did get nominated and it is reflective of the hard work that our students put in and what they learned from the course and applying it to real situations. It’s really impressive,” he said.
He said the reporters are good at humanely handling crises.
“We had a tent city being removed,” he said. “They showed persistence, curiosity, understanding, empathy. I mean, they walked out students and came back reporters.”
Noda said writing for Humber News and Humber Et Cetera helped him see the perspective of the audience and enhanced his
storytelling.
“I’m still kind of processing that were nominated for this type of award that is actually pretty huge,” he said. “I’m not just writing these stories for myself. I’m writing them for a lot of different people who do take these newspapers who do read our stories.”
He said being Humber’s first Esports writer challenged him to take a mentorship role for other journalists in the program.
“Esports writer and editor was the first ever positions made specifically for me,” he said “Being able to not only take a writer like Julia Ilano under my wing was great, but to also be able to continue the relationship I have with Humber Esports and being able to share that with Julia.”
Lara King, Humber journalism program coordinator said the program starts with the basics of journalism which later lets students flourish.
“So by second year they’re using lots of different platforms but they’re also producing more content on a regular basis. By the time they get to their final year, we have editors working with reporters, pitching news stories in the morning and delivering by the afternoon.
She said the three-year program
Humber Et Cetera is the Humber Polytechnic journalism program laboratory newspaper. It is created by journalism students in the Advanced Diploma program. Et Cetera serves to inform the Humber community and give its readers well-rounded coverage on the things that matter to them.
Award
allows students to build their skills and explore different kinds of storytelling.
“We’ve been really successful. Even up against American universities. And again these are all student-led where the students get to decide the type of content,” King said.
Santiago Helou Quintero, the fall editor-in-chief of the Humber Et Cetera newspaper, said he is most proud of the hyper-local stories the paper covers.
“We’re covering stories that you don’t see as much in the big Toronto dailies. We’re amplifying voices that are often not being amplified. The kind of coverage we are giving, that’s my proudest accomplishment,” he said.
He said that though listed as editor-in-chief he couldn’t have done it without his team members, such as his second-in-command, Isabelle Ferrante.
“I don’t really care a lot about awards, but this one, it honestly feels really nice. I think myself and all the people who were with me on that newspaper team, we put in a lot of work,” he said. “I wish this kind of paper existed more. I think it’s something that as a society we desperately need. We need more things like Humber Et Cetera.”
Eleanor Kate Tulabot-Iglesia, a former Humber News reporter wants to pursue a Bachelors of Film and Media Production after her Journalism Diploma.
HUMBERETC/JULIA C. SEQUEIRA
Anti-trans legislation instils fear
Julia-Marie Ilano HumberETC News
As Celeste Trianon paced along the streets of Montreal, an oversized piece of bread hanging out of her bag, she reminisced about a simpler time for trans people in Quebec.
Quebec allowed the non-binary community to identify themselves on personal certificates with the “X” symbol for gender in June 2022. The transfemme activist said she remembers seeing joy and pride on people’s faces as they gallivanted along the streets with trans flags.
It was a moment of joy that Trianon said she knew wouldn’t last.
“Nowadays, I’ve noticed people becoming more and more secretive, and more and more scared of being out there in public. Its people forced to be invisible, not because they want to, but because it’s the safest option for them,” she said.
According to a Statistics Canada report from 2024, the number of people who identify as transgender is tiny compared to the total population. The report indicates there are about 31,600 trans women and about 27,900 trans men in Canada, which has a population of more than 41.47 million people, or about .0014 per cent.
When combining the total population of trans men and women with the total population of cis men and women, the ratio of trans women to cis women is two to 100, whilst the ratio of trans men to cis men is one to 100.
Despite this, trans people continue to face more scrutiny than cis-gendered people. Trianon said she is one of the many trans activists who began fighting for her rights in Canada due to the rise of vitriol and violence she has seen trans people face within Canada.
As of this publication, the only official piece of legislation in Canada that protects trans rights to some degree is Bill C-16. First introduced in 2016, the bill added gender identity and expression to a list of prohibited grounds of discrimination.
Trianon’s website keeps track of provinces which currently have or could introduce anti-trans legislation.
Alberta is labelled as the worst by Trianon due to the rampant anti-trans legislation. For example, Bill 26 bans gender-affirming healthcare for trans people, but specifically targets trans youth.
The bill prevents minors from accessing gender-affirming healthcare, such as sex reassignment surgery and hormone therapy.
The bill was met with negative reception from members and supporters of the LGBTQ+ community and led to even more drastic outcomes. In Feb. 2024, the introduction of this bill led to a trans youth taking his own life.
A medical report published by the National Library of Medicine in 2022 emphasizes the need for gender-affirming healthcare to be accessible to trans youth.
The study, consisting of more than 100 trans youth aged 13 to 20 years old, found that youth who received gender-affirming care were “associated with 60 per cent lower odds of moderate or severe depression and 73 per cent lower odds of suicidality.”
Other provinces, such as Saskatchewan, are labelled as high risk by Trianon simply because of whom represents it; Pierre Poilievre.
Trianon said it would be horrible for the trans community under a Pierre Poilievre Conservative government.
“Imagine what a government which actively hates trans people could do. For example, forbidding trans people from using the bathroom and imposing criminal records on people who dare to do so,” she said.
Poilievre has been openly antitrans within the media. In February 2024, the Conservative leader said to CBC that trans women should be banned from women’s sports, changing rooms, and bathrooms.
In the interview, Poilievre said “biological men” do not belong in women’s spaces.
Despite popular belief, cis people are not at risk of trans people. It’s the opposite. Orion Neustifter, an associate professor at the University of Guelph who specializes in LGBTQ+ issues, said trans people are attacked the most in public washrooms.
Neustifter said trans women, or even cis women who people assume are trans, are at higher risk of being attacked in public washrooms.
“We have learned to be afraid of people who break social rules. So if something or someone is new to you, you may find it creepy or don’t know what to expect,” they said.
Neustifter said the majority of the fear and outrage toward trans folk is a result of the need to oppress and control the minority.
“When folks want to target a specific group, the most effective way to do that is through fear. That means the problem is introduced to people who didn’t know there was a problem,” they said.
“And so when people are introduced to an idea as it being a risk or a danger, there’s even more unlearning that has to be done to overcome that. It’s a really powerful way to control populations,” they said.
Neustifter said this type of targeting is not only controlling the folks who already have that identity, but it controls the folks who are trying to discover if they have that identity.
Lin Zahrai, a trans masc student at Concordia University, said the
general social and political climate pushed back his progress in discovering his true gender identity.
“I come from a Middle Eastern background, so it was difficult for me to bring the subject up [to my family],” he said.
“Politically, I still fear [being open] because of what’s going on in Canada in general. Even with my name change and stuff like that, I had to take into consideration like what’s going to happen months later on with politics and how I’m going to be perceived,” he said.
Despite choosing to go through with his sex and name change, Zahrai said there are times he is still discriminated against. As a barista, he said he has noticed when customers act weird toward him or comment about his identity.
“Sometimes I can move on from it, and sometimes it does weigh on my mental health just because it made me feel bad,” he said.
Neustifter said they want people to “follow the power”, and to use critical thinking skills about the information they receive.
“Follow the power. Who benefits and who is harmed by the information that you’re receiving?” they said.
Trianon said she wants people to listen and believe trans people when they voice their concerns.
“When they say our rights are under attack, it’s because we internally know that there’s so much anti-trans hate going on. We see the hate being spread. We see people laughing at our existence, and we see people calling for trans genocide,” she said.
Lights, Camera, Beats and Action
Dion Mackay, a second-year student in the film and television program, applies what he learns from FMTV to his passion for music.
Mackay applies the skills he learns from FMTV to visualize his music videos more effectively.
“I wanted to make more visuals that would impact my music,” he said.
Mackay said he began his journey in music in high school and it has evolved since then.
“I started when I was in high school. Um, I saw someone that was free-styling in the hallway, and he roasted me – I came back, I made some lyrics and I was, like, in awe. This is nice,” he said.
Mackay talked about the type of hip-hop artist he is and the influences on his music.
“I try to keep it clean, I don’t want to curse as much – I want to make sure all people can listen to and understand my message without having problems,” he said.
Mackay utilized the post-production of his documentary to explore his production skills.
“I’ve composed multiple beats that were actually on there (Lane Switch documentary) so that’s why I love doing it when I was in the post-production process,” he said.
“Mixing and just producing music in general is what I love to do. That’s the core of where I’m driven and what I’m passionate about,” he said.
Mackay has planned a few releases for this year.
His upcoming single, “Setback,” will be released on Feb 1 on Spotify under the name Dextant.
HUMBERETC/GABRIEL NODA
Dion Mackay, film student and musician, has his new single set to be released next month.
PEXELS/ORIEL FRANKIE
Students want more affordable transit
Aislinn E. Millette HumberETC News
Toronto City Council recently revealed a 2025 budget that maintains transit fares at $3.30 per ride while committing more than $4.9 billion over the next decade to public transportation enhancements.
The focus lies on modernizing the transit system, expanding service hours and improving sustainability by introducing new subway cars and electric buses. However, the proposed budget has drawn mixed reactions from students and residents concerned about affordability.
The budget’s transit priorities include a 5.8 per cent increase in service hours, adding 500,000 hours for buses, subways and streetcars. This move seeks to improve reliable and environmentally sustainable transit.
Public consultations highlighted the strong demand for better transportation, with Toronto residents ranking it as their second-highest priority, just behind affordable housing.
The budget’s transit focus is promising and frustrating for Humber Polytechnic students. While fares remain steady, frequent commuters find the costs burdensome.
Peiyu Han, a second-semester Web Development student, commutes six days a week from Mississauga, transferring to a TTC bus for her commute to Humber North campus, spending nearly $40 weekly on transit, using multiple systems that prevent her from using
a monthly pass.
“I’m glad fares won’t increase, but $3.30 is still too much for commuters,” she said.
Brampton commuter Ranjit Kaur echoed Han’s sentiments, saying transit costs remain unaffordable for students and low-income riders.
Although her commute to school is through Brampton transit, she still relies on the TTC to get into the city. With fare prices at the rate they are, she is reluctant to travel to Toronto more frequently.
I don’t have any issue with the time, but the price, Kaur said.
Ward 1 Etobicoke North Councillor Vincent Crisanti, representing Rexdale, called attention to significant transit developments like the Finch West LRT, which ends at Humber College.
“Etobicoke North is in dire need of higher-order transit,” Crisanti said. “The Finch West LRT is nearly ready to open, but we don’t have a firm commitment on when that will happen. Hopefully, it’ll be this year.”
Crisanti has long advocated for extending the Finch West LRT to connect with a planned GO station at the south end of the Woodbine racetrack.
Despite his support for transit expansion, Crisanti voiced strong concerns about the overall sustainability of the 2025 budget proposed by Mayor Olivia Chow.
He highlighted fare evasion, which costs the TTC more than $140 million annually, as a significant financial drain.
“The city can’t afford to sustain those losses,” Crisanti said.
He also questioned the affordability of the city’s broader fiscal strategy, pointing to the ambitiousness that these implementations will not fall back onto the taxpayer.
“We need higher-order transit, we need affordable transit, and we need a city that’s truly affordable,” he said. “The mayor is calling this an affordable budget, but I don’t see how it adds up.”
He warned higher taxes could trickle down to tenants, including students, making Toronto even less affordable.
The $59.6 billion, 10-year capital plan prioritizes maintaining critical services and advancing climate action. The transit budget will increase by 6.5 per cent, funding initiatives like the purchase of electric buses and the modernization of
transit infrastructure.
Key housing investments include $349 million for housing supply and affordability initiatives, $118 million for affordable housing sites, and $300 million for Toronto Community Housing repairs.
However, Crisanti remained skeptical about the proposed 2025 budget, arguing that the rising tax burden undermines affordability for residents.
“Just do the math ... you’re already at a 17 per cent tax hike in 12 months,” he said.
Despite the city’s ambitious investments, many Humber students feel more could be done to address their immediate concerns.
While freezing fares is a positive step, some students believe reducing transit costs for frequent riders and low-income groups would make the system more accessible and equitable.
With the lack of public transit options available in Toronto, the need for pricing solutions that ensure accessibility and affordability for all is extremely prevelent at this time.
HUMBERETC/AISLINN E. MILLETTE
New tariffs threaten Canada’s economy
U.S. President Donald J. Trump’s proposed tariffs threaten Canada’s economic stability and it has provoked promises of dollar-for-dollar retaliatory action from Ottawa. The result could mean slowdowns for both economies.
Trump intends to impose a 25 per cent tariff on all products from Mexico and Canada into the U.S. as soon as February.
In his post on the Truth platform, he says he is doing so to prevent all “illegal aliens” and drugs, especially Fentanyl, from entering the U.S. By invoking a perceived national threat, he can circumvent the existing North American trade deal that prevents tariffs.
In his inauguration address, Trump said automobiles would be built in America, and it would export energy as the nation with the largest amount of oil and gas of any country.
“I will immediately begin the overhaul of our trade system to protect American workers and families. Instead of taxing our citizens to enrich other countries, we will tariff and tax foreign countries to enrich our citizens,” he said.
Trump said he would establish the External Revenue Service to collect all tariffs, duties, and revenues.
“It will be massive amounts of money pouring into our treasury, coming from
foreign sources,” he said.
Dimitry Anastakis, a professor in Canadian Business History at the University of Toronto, says a tariff is when a government imposes additional costs on any goods coming into a country to encourage local production to keep competition out.
Anastakis said Trump says many things he does not follow through on, but tariffs would be devastating for Canada’s economy. He said tariffs imposed on both sides of the border would raise the cost of living, and the effects would be detrimental to consumers and producers.
A study released last November by the Canadian Chamber of Commerce said tariffs would hurt both countries. Its report showed Canada’s Gross Domestic Product would shrink by 2.6 per cent, or about $78 billion, or about $1,900 per person annually.
The U.S. GDP would contract by 1.6 per cent, or roughly US$467 billion, or about $1,300 per person annually, the study showed.
“A 25 per cent tariff applied across the board on all U.S. imports could push Canada’s economy into recession by the middle of 2025,” said Stephen Tapp, the CCC’s chief economist. “But these results also underscore Canada’s economic importance to the U.S., something that’s often underappreciated south of the
border.
“Make no mistake, if Trump imposed these tariffs, it would represent a significant negative shock to the U.S. economy,” he said.
Anastakis said Trump is still bound by U.S. trade laws, in that many of the things said are not grounded in reality.
“We don’t know if all this is actually gonna play out because he has to follow certain rules. He is constrained by the fact that Congress is actually where tariffs are imposed in a U.S. administration,” he said.
Anastakis said Trump has a couple of pieces of legislation that allow this on a national emergency basis, and the administration will have to study some of the trade practices to impose it.
“Our economies have been integrated where the border doesn’t matter as much because there has been a number of trade agreements over time that got rid of duties and tariffs, which is something that used to happen a lot but not anymore,” he said.
During Trump’s last term in office, the North American Free Trade Agreement was updated to the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement.
He said imposing tariffs might be good for the U.S. currently but not necessarily in the long run as they will need time to construct numerous manufacturing plants to replace those being cut off by tariffs.
Timothy Berry, an economics professor
at Humber Polytechnic, said this is a big deal because if this develops into a full trade war, it could get pretty ugly politically and economically.
“The U.S. is far more important to our economy than Canada is to the U.S.,” Berry said.
He said almost 78 per cent of Canadian exports go to the U.S. while 62 per cent of imports come from the U.S. Berry said Canada represents 16 per cent of U.S. exports and imports 12 per cent of its total imports from Canada.
“We are an export-based country, and our exports primarily tend to be in energy like oil, gas, and some manufacturing in the auto sector are very important to us,” he said. Berry said this would create significant complications because the supply chain between the U.S. and Canada in the auto industry is vast, deep and complex.
“Our GDP, that’s measuring our economic output, over a third of that is based on exports,” he said.
Berry said Trump sees these tariffs as a huge revenue generator for the U.S. and is aiming at bringing jobs back to the U.S. although there might be only some credibility to this.
“Which I guess is understandable, there have been a lot of jobs exported to Mexico, China and the U.S. heartland has been gutted,” he said.
Berry said this is why there is a huge chunk of the population in the U.S. that feels left out and he’s appealing to those people and that is how he got in with a slight majority.
“Some of the strategy is to create these high tariffs that will force companies to relocate to the U.S. to be able to produce and not get hit with tariffs,” he said.
Berry said we can now see the political divisions in Canada developing as Alberta Premier Danielle Smith, whose whole economy is primarily based on oil, tries to make nice with Trump to negotiate a deal so Alberta energy does not get hit with a big tariff.
He said Prime Minister Justin Trudeau resigned at the worst time, and the premiers have gotten together trying to form “Team Canada” with Ontario Premier Doug Ford right out front, who believes in battling tariffs head-on.
Ford said in a statement he is ready to protect Ontario workers, businesses and families.
“As premier of Ontario, if President Trump’s tariffs make retaliation necessary, I will stand shoulder to shoulder with the rest of Team Canada to fight back using every tool in our toolkit,” Ford said. He said the province is ready to support federal tariffs as part of the country’s first line of retaliation. If necessary, they have an escalation plan prepared under provincial jurisdiction.
Trudeau, meanwhile, has threatened a dollar-for-dollar retaliation in tariffs, which has the support of the two top rivals seeking to replace him as Liberal Leader, Mark Carney and Chrystia Freeland.
officials say the government is considering matching any of the U.S. tariffs imposed on goods imported in from Canada.
HUMBERETC/REET ARORA
Reet Arora HumberETC News
Venezuelan protesters assemble
Samuel D. Brito Salas HumberETC News
Around 100 Venezuelans gathered at downtown Toronto’s Dundas Square on Jan. 9 to protest ahead of the country’s presidential swearing-in ceremony on Jan. 10.
At a Jan. 10 ceremony at the National Assembly in the capital Caracas, candidate Nicolas Maduro was illegally sworn in after being declared winner of the July, 28 elections despite Machado and Gonzalez saying the “actas electorales,” or the electoral papers of all registered votes, show that Gonzalez won the election..
On Jan. 9, in the cold and tense but hopeful atmosphere, Venezuelans demanded freedom, that the results of the July 28 presidential election should be respected, freedom for all political prisoners, and sang the national anthem.
Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado called all Venezuelans in and outside the country to protest demanding the placement of what she said was the legally elected government and restoration of freedom for the country.
Demonstrations across Venezuela on Jan. 9 didn’t face major issues with police until Machado was arrested by forces loyal to Maduro’s regime. She was released soon after, causing shock and uncertainty for all Venezuelans.
Later in the evening, Machado said in a
post on X that she was in a safe place and was going to explain what was to come next. She is expected to make a statement on Jan. 10.
Emma Diaz, a member of Comando Con Venezuela, the political party Machado leads, and who actively participated during the July 28 elections at voting centres in the Andes region of Venezuela, said she worked to verify that the country’s voting centres were operating as they should on the election day.
She helped monitor voting centres in that region to ensure everything went well.
She said problems started to appear after 7 p.m. local time when the announced results didn’t match the electoral papers she was able to verify.
At the demonstration in Toronto, she read a speech in honour of all the people killed and imprisoned for protesting after the election in the state of Táchira, near the Colombian border in the southwestern part of the country.
“We are talking at this plaza, at Dundas, in the name of all these people who are still in jail,” Díaz said, “At this moment, Venezuela doesn’t have a public rule of law, you can’t communicate publicly.”
She said it’s uncertain what is going to happen on Jan. 10 and that Maduro’s regime doesn’t want to allow a transition and a change in the country, even if it doesn’t have any proof that he won the elections.
Protesters sang the Venezuelan national anthem while holding up the South
PHOTOS HUMBERETC/SAMUEL
Emma Díaz shows photos depicting past events of Venezuelan protests to government power.
assemble with calls to restore democracy
The person who was elected president, Edmundo González, was forced into exile in Spain in early September. Nevertheless, he toured several countries in the Americas, including the United States, where he met with President Joe Biden and several Republican senators before returning to Venezuela.
González is expected to be in the country today accompanied by various former Latin American presidents and former Spanish Prime Minister José Maria Aznar.
It is unknown how González is going to enter the country after Maduro’s regime threatened to arrest him, along with all the other former state leaders who will come with him.
As of right now, González hasn’t been able to enter the country.
Machado chose González to be the opposition candidate for the presidential election after she was not allowed by the government to be the main opposition candidate.
Protester Carlos Garzón said he feels hopeful Maduro’s regime will fall.
“Tomorrow the fight continues, and we are going to protest again,” Garzón said.
He said the main reason to keep fighting and protesting is to mark the end of 25 years of tyranny.
Canada’s Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly said in a message posted on X on Jan. 9 that Canada officially recognizes González as the new-elected Venezuelan president and demanded the will of the Venezuelan people
to be respected after talking with Machado.
According to the International Organization for Migration (IOM), more than 6.1 million Venezuelans have fled the country due to the economic and humanitarian crisis the country is suffering.
Sergio Suárez said demonstrations outside Venezuela, no matter where they take place, are the best way to support Venezuelans in the country and restore democracy.
“We are all very hopeful and with a lot of faith, supporting from afar,” Suarez said.
He said he remains hopeful there will be good news for all Venezuelans on Jan. 10.
The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights said in a Jan. 7 report that the Maduro regime’s actions before and after the July 28 elections can be classified as state terrorism.
“The IACHR concludes that the circumstances surrounding the July 28 presidential election constitute a severe disruption to Venezuela’s constitutional order,” the IACHR said.
The report urged the regime to cease all human rights violations, political imprisonment and persecution, and free protesters arrested unjustly.
Ricardo Castillo said this is a key moment in the fight for a free Venezuela.
“Now there are a lot of mixed emotions,” Castillo said. “Obviously, we expect the dictatorship to fall. (I hope) tomorrow (Jan. 10) this nightmare is going to come to an end.”
American nation’s flag during the Jan. 9 demo at Yonge and Dundas Square.
Sergio Suárez gives a thumbs up following the protest, hopeful for Venezuelan voices to be heard.
Lego city project keeps building up at Humber
Krishna Bhagnathsingh HumberETC News
Construction of the major Lego Smart City project resumed for the first time this semester.
Students banded together in the Barrett Centre for Technology Innovation to help assemble Lego kits.
“I got an email about it and I thought, ‘Okay it’s Lego I’m definitely going to go,’ so I came,” said Yashica Kapoor, an Architectural Technology student at Humber.
“It’s the first time, I didn’t know if this was a thing but I like this place now,” he said.
Kapoor says he grew up with Lego.
“It’s kind of like my whole childhood so I would say it’s pretty important as it’s one of the main things we all grew up with,” he said.
“I think it’s really cool because not only is it that it’s a bunch of things, but even from different types of Lego genres, they all work together and it really does make a Lego city,” Kapoor said.
Adam Thomas, a Coding Professor in the Faculty of Media, Creative Arts and Design at Humber and the organizer of the Lego drop-in sessions, says more buildings have been made, including
Lego Ninjago kits, a museum and an X-Men mansion that’s in progress.
“Once they’re totally done [it] will be integrated into the city,” he said.
“From a software side, we had a handful of students doing capstone projects last semester,” Thomas said.
He says a Lego QR code application and an AI-generated radio station have been finished.
Thomas says the radio station will be talking about the city all the time.
“The one place that the radio station is integrated into live data is traffic,” he says.
“So if the traffic moves and if all the traffic in the city moved to one side of the city, the radio station will start talking about traffic jams using road names, the amount of traffic and places, locations in the area all into a traffic report,” Thomas said.
The project is called BrickMMO, a 1:45-scale smart city made out of Lego.
It was primarily designed to give programmers a space to apply their skills.
“Students I think enjoy the building sessions,” Thomas said.
“It’s just a time to kind of take a
mental health break.”
He says the initial construction began between two to three years ago and has been constructed in different phases, which started out with robotics, cars and trains.
“We’re doing a tour of the whole innovation centre here at Humber College,” said Paul Kortenaar, the CEO of the Ontario Science Centre.
He was joined by staff from the Ontario Science Centre and stopped by the Barrett Centre to observe the Lego project.
“What a program like this does is it starts talking about how all of these technologies work together to create a city and actually show us that we can change that, we can have input into that, we can make a difference,” he said.
Kortenaar says he thinks what’s really exciting with this program at Humber and what’s being done at the science centre is giving people the ability to imagine and shape their own future.
“It gives people hope that they can actually make the world in the future better than what we’re expecting,” he said.
Thomas says he will run these sessions once a month, given there are enough kits for students to build.
Humber North, Lakeshore offer IELTS for students
Abhisha Nanda HumberETC News
International students must now take an English proficiency test to apply for a Post Graduate Work Permit.
Canada’s Immigration Minister Mark Miller announced the requirement in November 2024, along with a few other changes to the International Student Program.
The English proficiency test, or the IELTS test, is required for people entering Canada on a student or work visa. The new rule requires they retake the test after being in the country for two to three years.
“It’s a total waste of money,” said Gurkamal Kaur, a second-year Business Management student at Humber Polytechnic.
“They think we knew English right before coming to Canada, then stayed here for some years and forgot English,” Kaur said.
Kaur said according to her research the cost of taking the exam varies from $370 to $400 at some centres.
Final year Health Administration studies student Sehneela Bhurman said the requirement is a “money-making market.”
Nevertheless, the Humber student said she intends to take her test as soon as possible.
“The dates are running out, you need to save some money for the exam, and you can not be late or else all your future things will be late,” she said.
International students need to take this test before graduating and only then they can apply for their PGWP, said Yiqi Wang, the coordinator of Humber’s IELTS exam centre.
He said there are two types of tests, general and academic. Academic is what students need
to take to come to Canada on a study basis, while the general test is an IRCC requirement for students to apply for PGWP or permanent residence.
For the students who plan on applying for their PGWP, general IELTS is the way to go.
“This test is to check the fluency of students who plan to stay in Canada further,” Wang said.
He said Humber has been with the British Council IELTS for eight years now and this past year had the highest number of students taking the test.
“The number has gone up, a lot,” Wang said. “It is probably because of the new rule but this is the highest it has been.”
He said Humber is still offering the test for much less than what other centres are asking for them.
“We’re still in the lower range from the market,” Wang said.
He said he knows some places charge from $375 to $390 for the test. The cost of taking the test at Humber is $365 including taxes which puts Humber in the lower price range.
Wang said students can opt for paper-based or computer-based tests depending on their capabilities. Humber’s North and Lakeshore campuses offer other services.
He said the only difference between the two forms is the time to get the results.
“For computer-based, you get your results in two to three days but for paper, it takes around 13 days,” Wang said.
Students can visit Humber’s IELTS test website to book an exam or they can visit the IELTS test centre on the fifth floor at the North campus for more information.
Students helped build the display in the Barrett Centre, assembling Lego kits as part of a drop-in session.
HUMBERETC/KRISHNA BHAGNATHSINGH
IGNITE rep quits BoG
Ana Downes, the IGNITE representative quit her position as a board member on Humber Polytechnic’s Board of Governors. She is the ninth member to leave the 17-member board.
Downes’ resignation came shortly after Monday’s Academic and Student Affairs meeting.
A source who spoke to Et Cetera on conditions of confidentiality said the board was concerned about the college meddling in its governance and that the issue needed to be investigated.
According to a report by The Toronto Star, before more than half of Humber Polytechnic’s Board of Governors resigned, the Ontario government initiated a third-party review of the college’s governance and instructed members to maintain regular operations while pausing the president’s performance review.
IGNITE in a statement yesterday evening supported Downes’ decision “The confidential nature of these meetings legally prohibits board members from sharing any details that led to the resignations; however, we know and trust in Ana’s decision-making skills and fully support her choice,” the statement said.
Ercole Perrone, CEO of IGNITE, said students remain the student union’s top priority.
“We are actively monitoring the situation, specifically its impact on our students. We immediately scheduled a meeting with President Ann Marie Vaughan for later this week to highlight these concerns and advocate for quick and appropriate resolution,” Perrone said.
The wave of resignations was officially announced last Friday at 9:30 p.m. through Humber Communiqué, the college’s employee newsletter. The announcement followed an executive and governance meeting on Jan. 16, according to the board’s meeting schedule.
Vaughan addressed the matter on Monday through her blog, AMViews, reassuring staff that Humber’s operations remain unaffected.
“Our current Board members, alongside Humber’s leadership team, are fully equipped to continue guiding the institution and advancing our strategic vision and mission. We remain committed to upholding principles of good governance,” Vaughan said.
Vaughan said there are two upcoming town halls for employees to discuss the budget and updates, including the latest
Statement from ex-BoG Chair to Humber students
“While I have declined all requests to speak to media, I am responding to your request because your audience is a particularly important oneHumber students.
I encourage students to focus on their course work as this current situation should not impact them. Your diploma, degree or certificate from Humber will serve you well, and I have every confidence in the outstanding faculty and staff that are working very hard to prepare you effectively for your future.
It was a great honour serving six and a half years on Humber’s Board of Governors including two years as Vice Chair and Chair of the Board’s Executive Governance Committee, as well as one year as Chair of the Academic and Student Affairs Committee.
enrolment data.
The town halls were announced last year because the sector is going through “unprecedented challenges.’’ It is unclear if the resignations will be addressed during the town halls.
The Lakeshore campus Town Hall for employees on Jan. 28, 2025, at 10 a.m. The details of invitations are yet to be announced.
The college is working to fill the vacant positions.
“We look forward to welcoming new Board members who will support Humber’s bold, ambitious vision, and will share another update once the recruitment process has been completed,” Vaughan said. “As we look to the future, we are reminded of the importance of adapting and leading in a rapidly changing world. With Building Brilliance, Humber has embraced a bold vision that challenges us to think big, to innovate, and to envision a brighter future, for everyone.’’
Among those who resigned include Chair Akela Peoples, serving on the board for over six years and Vice Chair Anne Trafford.
The other six who resigned are Pauline Larsen, John Breakey, Ali Ghassi, Earl Davis, Lekan Olawoye and Joseph Carnevale.
it very seriously. They devote hundreds of hours to the institution over many years serving extensively on committees that address finance, risk, strategy and performance of the President to fulfill their important role as a public service.
The eight Board members that resigned included the Chair, the Vice Chair, the full Executive Committee and all other externally appointed Board members who had served on the Board before this year.
Students may not know that at a College, the President reports to a Board of Governors. That Board is comprised of individuals, externally appointed and internally elected, who together have the responsibility of oversight of the College.
Oversight of a public institution is a significant responsibility and Board members take
The remaining board members include Jacqueline Edwards, Rudy Dahdal, and Richard Rabba, who joined in fall 2023, along with Kristy Adams, Akanni Fredrick, Lisa Salem-Wiseman, and Vaughan.
The Board of Governors plays a critical role in managing budgets and risks, and supervising senior administration, including overseeing the hiring, reviewing performance and termination of a college president.
The college’s media relations responded to Et Cetera questions saying the college is “in a brief transitional period” but is focused on maintaining the high-quality educational experience that our students deserve and expect. Humber is also in the process of appointing new board members.
‘’The buzzword is governance, but I think at the end of the day,
It was not an easy decision to resign. I can assure you that like me these Board members care deeply about Humber students and Humber as an institution. We concluded however that constraints were preventing us from properly and responsibly fulfilling our very important duty of care in public service, and we were left with no other viable path forward but to step down.
I wish all Humber students the best. Keep your focus on your studies, strive to achieve your full potential and your future will be bright.”
Akela Peoples, M. ED. Former Chair, Humber Board of Governors
this is really about transparency, like around transparency between senior admin and the board of governors and transparency from senior admin to the rest of the Humber community,’’ said Milos Vasic, the president of Humber’s faculty union OPSEU Local 562.
“And if it isn’t a crisis of transparency, I mean, the only way to meet that challenge is with more transparency,” he said
He criticized the administration’s response as dismissive.
“Unfortunately, I don’t think that senior admin at Humber has been living up to that because everything we’ve had up until now, since the weekend, is don’t worry, everything’s fine,” Vasic said.
But he said that message doesn’t resonate with him, No emails to the student body were sent about the situation.
Humber President Ann Marie Vaughan. Nine of the school’s inital 17-member Board of Governors have resigned.
COURTESY/HUMBER POLYTECHNIC
Harnoor Kaur HumberETC News
Slam poetry scene boosts
Julia C. Sequeira
HumberETC
Culture
oshua “Scribe” Watkis received a text from his dad at 11:15 p.m. on Nov. 8, 2016, reading, “I think he’s going to win.”
JThis was the day that Donald Trump was first elected president and Watkis’ dad, who lives in the U.S., was worried.
Watkis publicly vocalized his father’s fear of hatred towards Blacks following the election in a piece featured on CBC’s Poetic Licence, The hate that killed Dr. King is not buried with him.
includes his experience immigrating from Nigeria to Canada in his writing, especially since adults are more susceptible to culture shock.
As a Black poet, June-Jack said audiences have perceptions about what Black poets should write about, which can feel very restrictive.
“I ALWAYS MAKE SURE THAT I INVITE ONE YOUNGER POET,”
-TRACY JOHN
“And he sounds afraid, and I beg him to stay safe. I pray my father’s fate does not reflect the state of his country.,” Watkis said in his spoken word piece featured on CBC’s Poetic License, a poetry style characterized by its intention to be performed before a live audience.
“The hate that killed Dr. King is not buried with him. That he won’t be another Black man dragged out of bed. That the ghost of Emmett Till won’t use the backs of his bleeding eyelids to play flashbacks in his head,” he said.
As a Black poet mentored in the early stages of his career, Watkis continues the cycle of uplifting young Black voices through his teachings. He has several mentorship opportunities for upcoming poets.
He leads the Poetry Saved Our Lives workshop yearly, and individual mentorships with artists entering the industry like Jesse June-Jack, whose poetry also speaks about what Blackness and ancestry mean to him.
“And I think that there is a responsibility in the word ‘ancestor,’ and how this world asks that marginalized people live in the fulcrum of a vicious cycle that centres our gravity around our ancestors’ grief while distorting the solace gifted to us through speech, blood, and thoughts — our dreams have been co-opted to further integrate into the waking machinations of oppression. And I think - how could one believe that our ancestors would dream of this?” said June-Jack, in his piece A Passage of Random Thoughts Derived in No Order.
June-Jack is a Nigerian Canadian poet whose work covers topics ranging from love life to mental health to social issues.
He
“I choose to express myself without having a limitation of who I am as a Black person, as an artist,” he said.
June-Jack said poetry includes addressing a variety of topics.
Trauma, in particular, is a huge shaper in identity and art for many artists of colour, but he said writing about himself as an individual is a form of resistance alone.
“As a Black poet, I think one of the things people tend to think about when they see or when they hear that someone is a Black poet, they have a framework of what that person’s artistry inherently looks like, so a lot of poems that might talk about protest or just one’s Blackness,” he said.
“And my poems have gone into that but I think that one of the more important things that I found doing this and learning from other Black poets as well, is that that also tends to feed into a stereotype or narrative that that’s all you are and that’s all we can perform,” JuneJack said His
experiences before immigrating and after have shaped Jack said when he first was heavily influenced by hip-hop. Now when he writes he’s inspired by himself and his own experiences.
Tracy John is a Grenadian-born Durham-based spoken ated opportunities for poets through her yearly music showcase, I am “So I always make sure younger poet,” she said. young, I don’t mean young talking about someone,
boosts Black voices
immigrating to Canada shaped his artistry. Junefirst started writing he Grenadian-born and spoken word poet who crefor young Black women yearly spoken word and woman, I am enough. sure that I invite one said. “When I talk about young in age, but I’m someone, for example, who may not
want to have stepped out, you know, just to give them that stage.”
John shares her passion for her heritage in her poetry and enjoys sharing it with other Caribbean people.
“I CHOOSE TO EXPRESS MYSELF WITHOUT HAVING A LIMITATION OF WHO I AM AS A BLACK PERSON, AS AN ARTIST,”
-JESSE JUNE-JACK
“That poem is not just for me and people from Grenada,” she said. “I have performed that poem and people from all different countries from the Caribbean will say, ‘Are you sure this is for Grenada? This sounds like Jamaica. This sounds like Saint Lucia.’ And I, really, really, really love that. Because even though it’s about Grenada I love giving people that nostalgic feeling that they are back home.”
Watkis said one of his favourite pieces right now is his piece called Passing the Buck, which explores the history of homophobia in Jamaica and how it stems from colonialism.
“I’m not a fan of white people talking about my culture and where I come from surrounding homophobia, but then not talking about the history of
how Jamaica became such a homophobic country in the first place, and that’s a result of slavery and colonialism, yes, this is wrong,” he said. “Just because of how it came in doesn’t mean our homophobia isn’t wrong but we still need to look at the context of how it came.”
Watkis said if not for his mentor, Dwayne Morgan, the “godfather of Canadian spoken word,” he and slam poetry wouldn’t be what they are today.
“Spoken word wasn’t always an accepted form of poetry in Canada. The Canadian League of Poets, if you know anything about them, originally, wouldn’t accept spoken word poets as part (of the) legitimate poets in this country, and it had to be fought for having this black form, as a way of uplifting black voices,” he said.
“It wasn’t considered even a form of poetry until a group of poets headed by Lillian Allen, sought to have spoken word recognized as a legitimate form of poetry in this country,” Watkis said.
COURTESY/LIBIN
Photos left to right:
Tracy John is a Grenadian spoken word performer based in Durham.
Joshua “Scribe” Watkis is a Jamaican Canadian slam poet based out of Toronto.
Jesse June-Jack is a Nigerian Canadian poet who is starting to take an interest in the spoken word.
Indian fusion music steals the show
The Indian fusion ensemble Swara Squad and Global Grooves touched hearts with their soulful presentation at Humber’s Lakeshore campus on Wednesday.
Humber music student Adithi Baskar, who plays the keyboard, said music has always been a part of her life, she started playing when she was 10 with her mother Radhika as an inspiration, two yeas after losing her vision in an auto accident in India when she was only eight.
“We used to have a lot of CDs at home of (Indian mandolin player) U. Srinivas. He has done a lot of fusion concerts and he also inspired me,” she said.
Adithi said keeping practice hours consistent, listening to a lot of music and exploring
is what helps them create this music.
She said she believes everything she is learning at Humber, and her experience, help her to perform and to learn.
Adithi has been going to many of her mother’s concerts and is sensational in the art of taalams (rhythm) which measure musical time in Carnatic music, a style of folk music based in the state of Karnataka, in southwest India.
“She has come so far, she is very dedicated,” Adithi’s mother Radhika said.
Radhika is an accomplished veena player who received a fellowship from the Indian Department of Culture to carry out a research project on rare ragas — the melodic framework for improvisation in Carnatic music.
The ministry describes the veena as the oldest recognized musical instrument in
India.
She recorded her first song with a group of friends using the Saraswati raga and a fusion of her composition and it hit 60,000 views on YouTube.
“During the pandemic, was the best time when I started to learn basics of recording through Garage Band and I used to compose and we used to just jam,” Radhika said.
They have released six songs so far out of which one song was professionally recorded with the help of fellow artists and Humber faculty Rich Brown.
Jonathan Kay, a Humber graduate, is well-experienced in Indian classical music after having spent 10 years in the country.
Kay said he was invited to come in today to perform in the first couple of songs after he became known for his interests in Indian classical music.
“After spending all these years in India, I came back and then I was hired as a teacher,” he said.
Kay said he believes his knowledge of north Indian music is a big part of who he is after having interacted so much with Indian culture itself.
“I found myself actually through teaching students whether it one-on-one (saxophone) lessons or an ensemble, trying to re-navigate like bring in eastern ideas to teaching noneastern music,” he said.
Kay said there are many general but necessary things about music he learned in India which is why he wanted to stay.
“I have found myself as a trans-cultural person, it has changed the way I teach, it’s very interesting to kind of try to navigate the best most efficient way to get to a certain musical place,” he said.
Rashida Baskar (right) playing the stringed veena with George Kollar (left) playing bass and Mark Kelslo (back) on drums at Humber Lakeshore’s Recital Hall on Wednesday.
HUMBERETC/REET ARORA
Reet Arora HumberETC Culture
Jonathan Kay (left) on the saxophone and Ravi Naimpally (right) on Table at Lakeshore.
HUMBERETC/REET
Rashida Baskar playing veena, an stringed Indian instrument during a Wednesday show.
Donald Trump’s tariffs won’t benefit anyone
On the evening of his inauguration, President Donald J. Trump announced new tariffs could come as soon as February. If the proposed 25 per cent tax on all Canadian goods sees the light of day, it will invoke new financial challenges for Canadians.
Canadian financial services company Desjardins describes tariffs as a tax on goods and services crossing through a national border.
That means, of course, consumers end up paying more. The most common type of tariff used is for imports.
This means Canadian exporters will pay a tax to the U.S. governing body. When this type of tariff is implemented, the government can choose to tax all imports as an “across-the-board” form or select goods and services.
Prior to his inauguration as U.S. President, Trump had already spoken of new acrossthe-board import tariffs, both globally and closer to home.
Following the ceremony on Monday, Trump announced his intention to impose tariffs on Canada and Mexico at a higher rate than on other countries.
Experts say U.S. tariffs on Canadian goods could accelerate a push to ramp up domestic processing as companies plan on
He discussed a 10 per cent tariff on global imports, but a whopping 25 per cent on Canada and Mexico that could be in effect as early as Feb. 1.
A study by the Canadian Chamber of Commerce’s Business Data Lab (BDL) shows that an across-the-board tariff of 25 per cent on all imports could cause a recession in Canada by mid-2025.
These import tariffs would not necessarily only negatively affect
TALES FROM HUMBER
Canadians however.
If the Canadian government decides to retaliate with tariffs, it would shrink the gross domestic product (GDP) of both nations. The BDL report suggests Canada would shrink by 2.6 per cent, and the U.S. GDP would shrink by 1.6 per cent.
Stephen Tapp, the Canadian Chamber of Commerce’s chief economist, wrote in the report that the tariffs will disrupt long-established trade patterns
between Canada and the U.S.
A main contributing factor to this is the surge of imports likely to occur over the next few months, as U.S. businesses will be building inventory and making purchases to beat any additional taxes.
Data from Statistics Canada shows this behaviour was seen during the 13 months when steel and aluminum tariffs were in place during Trump’s first term.
When the threat of incoming
tariffs became a reality, steel and aluminum exports from Canada increased by over 21 per cent.
When the tariffs were officially implemented, the steel and aluminum exports dropped by 46 per cent.
The disruptions these tariffs will create for the trading relationship between the U.S. and Canada and to both nations’ economies show the tariffs do not benefit anyone.
Struggling to fully define my biracial identity
Julia C. Sequeira
I’m Wasian.
My dad is Portuguese, and my mom is Filipino. I’m very proud of my heritage and strongly identify with both cultures.
I know being biracial is a beautiful thing but with that comes a sense of constant invalidation by others when it comes to my race.
A few weeks ago my friend called me a “spicy white person”. I’m not a white person. I’m not white passing by any means.
I feel like comments like this come from the consensus that
Asians are often labelled as the “model minority” and in my personal experience have been categorized separately from other BIPOC.
I haven’t lived the same life as a white person. I have experienced racism and bigotry in the past.
I feared for myself and my family amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
When I was little, other kids made jokes about my eyes and mocked me by pulling the outer corners of their eyes.
Every time people make comments regarding my level of Asianness or whiteness it feels like I’m being put in this box.
For a long time, when my schools conducted diversity surveys, there was no box for me to check for my race, so I usually just picked one or the other.
I grew up with only my Portuguese side, my avô (grandfather) and avó (grandmother) were a big part of my upbringing.
I never grew up around other
Filipinos other than my mom. My parents immigrated here at a time when they were forced to assimilate into Canadian culture.
Because of this, I didn’t get the cultural exposure on my Filipino side that I did with my Portuguese side.
I don’t have a lolo (grandfather) or lola (grandmother) and my mom can no longer speak Tagalog fluently.
Which is another internal struggle I carry with me. I looked Asian enough but I didn’t act Asian enough.
By “Asian enough” I don’t mean that I’m a good student who sings, plays piano and doesn’t know how to drive.
I do all of that.
I mean, not Filipino enough in the sense that I didn’t have the same experiences as my Filipino peers.
Growing up, I had several Portuguese and Filipino friends. At lunchtime in elementary school, I asked my Filipino friend why
he was eating his rice with his hands, and he looked at me like I was crazy.
There have been countless times when my Filipino friends make jokes that reference our culture that I don’t understand and it makes me feel like an outsider.
I bonded more culturally with my Portuguese friends, but my dilemma is that I don’t look Por-
tuguese.
I could never quite fit in. If I did, it didn’t feel like it. Now that I’m older I still struggle with being caught between two different worlds, but I am learning about my culture and accepting the beauty in my uniqueness.
Julia C. Sequeira, she/her, is a Humber Et Cetera reporter coveringculture.
COURTESY/PAULINA KERSNIK
Humber Polytechnic has only been involved in several strikes, the last one was in 2017.
Averted OPSEU strike best outcome possible
Many Students and staff at Humber Polytechnic and Ontario’s 23 other colleges went into the holiday break expecting a potential strike.
A strike was looking more and more likely as the three weeks off neared the end.
The good news was that an agreement with mediation arbitration was reached between the College Employer Council (CEC) and the Ontario Public Service Employees Union (OPSEU), negating any further complications.
As a student one semester away from graduation, I can say the strike being adverted is best, not just for me, but for all students affected.
If no agreement was reached, a regular school day would feel a lot different as classes would be cancelled and the school year most likely extended.
This isn’t the first instance Humber has been close to an academic halt.
In winter 2017, no contract agreement resulted in a five-week college strike across the province. It ended only when the then-Liberal provincial government legislated an end to the strike.
Third-year sports management student, Callum Kokkinos said that the prevention of a strike was the best outcome for him and many others.
“Yeah, I’m happy that the strike didn’t happen and I think I can speak for a lot of other people too,” Kokkinos said. “To be honest, I’m just happy I can finish this semester without any problems and more stress.”
You probably would have hated Martin Luther King Jr., too
Another issue that students would’ve run into if a strike occurred would be graduation timing.
Students would be forced to continue their semester as it would be extended due to what would’ve been missed time during the strike. This would ultimately push graduation back for students.
An example of a strike that caused many delays for education and students happened at York University in 2024. That strike started on Feb. 26 and lasted until April 22, which caused all classes and exams to be suspended.
Stephen Vidale who is in his second year in the Global Geography program at York University said having to complete school in the summer because of a strike was not ideal.
“It sucked that I had to do school in the summer,” Vidale said. “I mean, I kinda had a break when the strike was going on but I didn’t finish until May. I wouldn’t want to go through that again.”
This is the biggest reason why I am glad Humber along with the 23 other Ontario colleges will not be going on strike as I would not want to continue my semester into potentially the summer months.
During the summer I rather enjoy the heat than have my head stuck in textbooks.
Although I’m sure most students are happy the strike has been averted, some might’ve liked the idea of getting an added break between semesters.
Derek Fontes who is in his final year at Humber in the Electrical Techniques program, said time off wouldn’t be a bad thing but is content with the outcome of the situation.
“If we went on strike I definitely wouldn’t be mad at the time off but at the same time, I’m happy nothing happened,” Vidale said. “I can graduate on time without any problems.”
No matter what opinions you have on the strike, that is now in the past as students and faculty are now back to regular class routines.
LucaTersigni,he/him,isasportsreporter andeditorforHumberEtCetera.
At the time of his death, the majority of Americans hated Martin Luther King Jr. and with the date commemorating his life just passing you should reflect on the fact you probably would have too.
Bernice King, King’s daughter, is also well aware of this and has been saying it for years.
In a 2021 tweet, she wrote he was one of the most hated men in America at the time of his assassination and “[m]any who quote him now and evoke him to deter justice today would likely hate, and may already hate, the authentic King.”
King was put on illegal FBI watch lists and received death threats from the government because of his activism in the Civil Rights movement, opposition to the Vietnam War and his famous April 30, 1967, speech at Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta on the subject.
Yet when anti-Zionist protesters fight against the genocide in Palestine and point out that the evils of capitalism are as real as the evils of militarism and racism, they are scoffed at.
And when problems of racial injustice and economic injustice are said not to be solved without a radical redistribution of political and economic power by these people, there are calls for their prosecution.
Many Canadians likely also agree that this kind of rhetoric is extremist and may take the reactionary stance of cheering when police brutalize these protesters during marches or occupation movements.
But this message is exactly what King preached at the Southern Christian Leadership Conference a month before his speech against Vietnam.
When BLM protested in ways that some pundits said were not done in the right ways and which caused President Barack Obama to call them thugs one should remember when King said that “freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor;
it must be demanded by the oppressed.”
When someone says, including President Donald Trump in his inauguration speech, that we should just be race-blind and King dreamt of that being the future, it should be known that the reverend preached against “the myth that capitalism grew and prospered out of the Protestant ethic of hard work and sacrifices.”
Stating that capitalism in America was built on exploiting black slaves and thrives on the exploitation of the poor, of all races, both in his home country and abroad.
Most pertinent of his messages is when he quoted in agreement with Dante that “the hottest places in Hell are reserved for those who, in a period of moral crisis, maintain their neutrality.” This can be applied to too many recent events to count.
And what has changed between now and the 1960s? The media and United States government have shifted from vilifying the King hated by most of America to whitewashing and martyring him into an image that suits their messaging.
It’s no surprise here in Canada we study his “I Have a Dream” speech and nothing more of his life and anti-capitalistic values just as they do in the U.S. or that we are propagandized when we are lied to when we are told his messages carry meanings they do not. We are taught to suit the modern capitalist narrative about a man who held social democratic values and called for wealth redistribution as a solution to racial inequality.
This along with the other previously mentioned misconceptions white-washes his image and makes him seem incomparable to modern activists who espouse the same rhetoric.
It is not as if these media powers controlling his image are not equally effective in modern times with modern movements.
Many people can only sling slogans when asked their opinion about political legislation or ideology and can’t quantify their ideology or rhetoric.
Be mindful of the sources of what you are thinking. So this is the challenge I put forward: Explain why you hate or love what you hate or love. Whether it’s the Nazis or the Soviets, the Freedom Convoy or Palestine protesters, police or punks, right-wing or left-wing, what do you feel about them? Is it genuine or fabricated? Can you justify those feelings in your own words? You must know this if you want to call yourself free.
Asher Klaver, they/them, is the opinion editor at Humber Et Cetera and covers politicalandculturalissues.
Luca Tersigni
Asher Klaver
York United set sights on more success
Rory Arthur HumberETC Sports
Toronto-born midfielder Steffen Yeates is the newest addition to York United’s roster, signing a contract through 2026 with an option for the 2027 season.
Yeates, 25, spent the past two seasons at fellow Canadian Premier League (CPL) side Pacific FC, totalling 64 appearances for the Tridents.
Before that, he spent time in the Toronto FC system, where he came up through the academy but was unable to break into the first team.
Yeates says he’s excited to be back playing in Toronto.
“Being back home and playing in a home environment is always a benefit and always brings that extra motivation,” he said.
“It feels amazing to represent the home team, especially when you can feel the direction of the club and the ambition they have to further themselves after last year and having made history in so many areas,” Yeates said.
Yeates is just the latest addition to a York side coming off its best-ever CPL finish in 2024.
The club has retained players such as Oswaldo Leon, Elijah Adekugbe, Juan Cordova, Max Ferrari and young star Shola Jimoh while adding new pieces including
Adonijah Reid, Gaby Bitar and former Humber Hawk Riley Ferrazzo.
However, there will still be a good amount of turnover on the roster and in the coaching staff.
York’s top scorer in 2024 Brian Wright has signed for rival Forge FC, while star midfielder Mo Babouli was also spotted training with the Hamilton-based outfit in preseason.
Head coach Benjamin Mora, who was credited in large part with turning United’s 2024 season around after joining in June, has left the club to manage Querétaro in Mexico.
In his place steps Mauro Eustaquio, the older brother of Canadian Men’s National Team midfielder Stephen Eustaquio, who was promoted from the assistant coach role which he’d held at York since 2022.
Eustaquio has become the fourth permanent head coach in club history, following Mora, Martin Nash and Jim Brennan.
“I’m a person who believes strongly in dedication and focus and that discipline has always been a large part of who I am,” he said. “We can achieve great things together and I’m excited for what’s ahead.”
The 31-year-old Eustaquio becomes the youngest-ever permanent manager of a top-level professional football club in North America, according to the press release from York.
York supporter Namu Yoon is content with the new signings and excited about the possibility of even more to come before the season kicks off.
“We should have lots of space to work under the cap due to the departure of our key attackers, so we’re excited to see what signing magic the [York United] front office can pull off,” he said.
However, Yoon said he believes York should be focusing on having an even better season than last year and push to consistently challenge perennial contenders Forge for titles.
“We need to be fighting for titles, not just for playoff spots. We need to be making continental competitions,” he said. “The club is over five years old, it’s time to show some mettle.”
Hawks indoor cricket tryouts conclude
Horvath HumberETC Sports
Humber North’s extramural men’s indoor cricket team concluded its second and final tryout for the winter semester in preparation for a tournament later this month.
Practice runs Monday evenings from 8 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. with bowlers and batters flooding the court after-hours.
The men’s cricket team is holding onto a strong winning record.
In the 2024 season, the men’s indoor team made a heroic effort to win six of the seven indoor tournaments.
The outdoor roster took five for five in the summer.
Taqi Baig, head coach of 13 years, is feeling confident in his team to keep the streak going.
“Luckily this is the best team in 13 years,” Baig said. “We are defending champions at U of T for the last three tournaments back-to-back.”
The team will head to U of T Mississauga on Jan. 31 to make their presence known on the court in the first tournament of the winter semester.
Divya Mehta, one of the newest members of the lineup, is itching to get into his first season representing Humber Hawks.
“For three years I stopped playing cricket, but last year I started playing again and I also got selected for the Humber indoor cricket team,” Mehta said.
“I am feeling really good, you know? I
am back in my form and everything,” he said. “I am the most excited guy on this team because I represent Humber and that is a proud feeling for me.”
For Mehta, a civil engineering student, cricket is a major passion in life.
“Last Thursday there was a tryout here and I got selected I went out and called my father and he was literally so happy, I can’t express it,” he said. “It is the only sport that I’ve been playing since my childhood and I will not touch any other sport than cricket, to be honest.”
“If I am tired, I play cricket. If I am happy, I play cricket. I am sad, I play cricket,” he said. “This game is everything to me.”
Indoor cricket has a different rule set than outdoor cricket, something team captain and ex-professional cricket player Shresth Nirmohi wasn’t always used to.
“I always played outdoor cricket so when I moved here to Canada I got introduced to this format of cricket,” Nirmohi said.
“As a player, I can learn so many new things in here, we have a confined space here so we have to take runs and still not get run-outs,” In a cricket match, a run is a unit of score and a run-out is when a player gets dismissed from play.
Although confident in their team’s performance, Baig and Nirmohi are still thinking about how the team can improve.
“We had a good streak of games and tournaments this past year, but I think when we start fresh from the summer I’m
not really sure we may get good talent or we might not,” team captain Nirmohi said.
“For batting, we are looking into players who can hit the sides,” head coach Baig said.
“Usually new players try and hit fours and sixes, indoor is all about hitting the sides taking one run,” he said. “If it hits the wall you get another run, so (for) each ball you get two runs.”
A “four” in cricket is when the ball hits or rolls over the boundary of play and a “six” is
when the ball flies over the boundary without hitting the ground.
Each play scores as many runs as their respective name. For example, a “four” is worth four runs.
Indoor cricket also requires more precision from the players, as spatial limitations are added to play.
“Indoor we basically have a limitation, if you hit that it’s called out,” Baig said. “Usually it’s 12 or 15 feet (high) and then it’s out. You have to be accurate or you are out. You have to be vigilant.”
Mikulas
At practice the men’s team is split into two smaller teams, each taking turns bowling and batting.
HUMBERETC/MIKULAS HORVATH
New signing Steffen Yeates is part of York United’s roster turnover ahead of the 2025 season.
YORK UNITED/DENYS RUDENKO
Humber powerlifters focusing on Seneca
The face of Humber extramural powerlifter Cameron Howard visibly strained after lifting a 180-pound deadlift at the Lakeshore campus gym.
Howard has performed at three competitions representing the Polytechnic, but he’s unsure whether he’ll compete in the next tournament at Seneca College, the one that matters the most, on March 22. Nevertheless, he loves the lifting and time spent in the gym with his teammates and the gym simply makes him feel good.
Coach and recent Humber grad Nico Perdicaris knows his team of six did well at a recent meet at George Brown College last week.
Six Humber athletes attended the meet on Jan. 18., with 36 athletes competing in the event.
Perdicaris said the team is ready for the final meet held in March at Seneca.
“I think we’ll absolutely destroy the competition,” he said. “It’s all about getting our athletes into a comfortable environment because the Seneca meet is the big one.”
Coach and Guelph-Humber alumni
Sarah Lam said the team performed well and is looking good for the final meet.
“It was really good to see all the athletes compete now, so it’s going to be really interesting to see how we do at Seneca,” Lam said. “I think we’re going to do great.” Humber’s Noel Berardine came first in his division lifting with no faults.
A fault in powerlifting means the attempted lift doesn’t count towards the athlete’s score.
Ekaterina Smorodina placed second among competing women, deadlifting 115 kilograms and lifting a total of 272.5 kilograms.
“She’s in a way lower weight class compared to some of the top girls so it’s quite impressive,” Lam said.
At these organized competitions, athletes will be judged on three different types of lifts: squat, bench press and deadlift.
Each lift is performed three times and the final lift is the heaviest.
“That third attempt that’s your last shot. You want to make it the heaviest you can while also putting a number up on the board,” Lam said.
The lift must be executed within the cadence of the head judge’s commands; a
command being an order to do the next motion of the lift.
Perdicaris said these competitions put a new perspective on lifting which can be beneficial for the athlete’s mindset.
“In training, you might slack off because no one is watching,” he said.
“When you’re on a platform with spectators, you have your coaches your other athletes looking at you like ‘We know what you can do. Show us.’ it does push you to another level.”
Howard said the progression is his motivation.
“It’s kind of addicting,” Howard said. “You feel as you keep going you get stronger and stronger as each cycle of your program goes through. It’s addicting to see those results.”
“Once you step up to the bar, for me personally, all the anxiety goes away because you trained and usually you’ve hit those numbers. The last number you do is something you’ve never hit.”
Coaches will give athletes a training program to follow. Although the team meets for practice on most Sundays, the majority of the training is delegated to the athlete.
“It’s really on the athletes to prepare out-
side of team practices because it is an individualistic sport,” coach Lam said.
Even though athletes compete individually, Lam said that’s when the team unites the most.
“Even though it is an individual sport, it’s a really cool thing to see how our team really becomes a team and the way they’re there to support each other,” she said.
“Athletes came who weren’t even competing. They would be at the back with us and with their teammates Just hyping them up and cheering them on. Helping them put chalk on their hands and helping them stay focused,” Lam said. “It’s really cool to see that.”
Howard grew up playing sports, including hockey, soccer and baseball. He said usually his sports rivals tend to stare him down at competitions, however, it’s a bit different in powerlifting.
“I went into my first meet last year thinking ‘Oh, I should look tough and like not make eye contact with the other team,’ but everyone’s super supportive,” he said.
“I would chat with some of the guys from the other schools and then we would say what our lifts are. It was pretty laid back,” Howard said.
Powerlifter Cameron Howard performs many exercises, such as the squat, which is the first type of lift an athlete performs during organized meets. The team’s next meet is on March 22.
HUMBERETC/MIKULAS HORVATH
Mikulas Horvath
HumberETC Sports
Hawks women take top spot in conference
Nina A. Kersnik
HumberETC Sports
The frustration from the Humber women’s basketball team coaches was palpable as they watched their players’ mistakes turn into easy baskets for the Conestoga Condors. In just minutes, they were up by four leaving the home crowd uneasy.
Kia Watt, a Humber women’s basketball shooting guard said this is why she never allows herself to underestimate a team regardless of their ranking.
The Hawks are 12-2 this season, placing them into the number one spot of the Ontario Colleges Athletics Association (OCAA) west division and 15th nationally. The Condors are 2-11 after today’s game, and rank eighth in the west division.
To get Humber back into the game, Watt ran down the hardwood and shot with an easy three-pointer to get them on the board.
From there, number 15, Sarah Baptie, would help finish the quarter with a tight score of 16-20, putting the Hawks up by four.
To start the second, Watt got the momentum going once again. This time, it was nothing but net as she shot a long one from just outside the three-point line.
The Hawks soared and finished the half on a high note with a 12-point lead with a
score of 35-23.
Going into the third, the Condors were back on the attack, adding 13 more to their total in the first five minutes.
Humber was quick to respond, leading by ten, going into the fourth.
The Hawks would win it at the final buzzer, beating Conestoga 71-55, and remain undefeated at home.
Humber heads to Ancaster, Ont. next Friday where they face the Redeemer Royals (3-9).
In a post-game interview Watt said, “I think we did okay, we did come out with the win which is obviously amazing, but I think there are some points in this game where we could have done better as a team.”
Regardless of the path it took to get to the result, she says she is happy they won.
Ceejay Nofuente, head coach of Humber women’s basketball, said she credits the girls for their effort.
“We are still learning each other’s tendencies, strengths, weaknesses.” Nofuente said.
“We are still figuring stuff out on the defensive end, but the effort was there today,” Nofuente said.
“A lot of teams have great bigs, and I challenge our bigs but also our guards to limit their touches, limit their opportunities, limit
their rebounds, and you know they stepped up to the challenge,” she said.
Nofuente, also a former player for the navy and gold also stresses that doing the “early work” is just as important.
“You can hear us calling ‘early, early’, that just means stepping up and guarding the next pass,” she said.
The Hawks would win it at the final buzzer, beating Conestoga 71-55.
Nofuente’s hope for their game against Redeemer (3-9) next Friday is to get sealed down low and avoid letting through the easy passes.
Humber guard Sarah Baptie drives the paint in a win over Conestoga on Jan. 22. Baptie led the Hawks with five assists in the team’s 71-55 win, which vaulted them to first in the OCAA West.
HUMBER ATHLETICS/DIEGO GUILLEN
Kia Watt, fifth year shooting guard, scored 23 points, nine rebounds in 36 minutes of play.
HUMBERETC/NINA A. KERSNIK
TGL provides new way to watch golf
Golf has always been an outdoor game, but the new golf league, Tomorrow’s Golf League (TGL) is changing the way the game of golf is played.
This new league created by Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy was created to bring a futuristic spin to the way golf is played.
There are six teams in this new league. Atlanta Drive GC, Boston Common Golf, Jupiter Links Golf Club, Los Angeles Golf Club, New York Golf Club, and The Bay Golf Club.
This takes place at SoFi Center in Palm Beach, Fla., which holds up to 1,500 people and is equipped with technology that makes this league possible.
There’s a huge 64-foot-by-53-foot screen which players start the game by swinging into. Players swing on patches of grass depending on where their first swing ends up.
The four patches are real grass, fairway, rough grass, and sand. Once they are within 50 yards of the hole, they will transition to a custom-built complex named the “GreenZone’” which is 3,800 square feet and rotates.
What makes the TGL more modern is the new rules that make the game similar to the NFL, NBA, NHL, and MLB. Every player has a mic on, so the audi -
ence can hear everything the players say, which allows creating great entertainment.
There is a 40-second shot clock, which speeds the game up. Referees officiate the play and allow teams to call timeouts.
Christian Giorgi, a first-year professional golf management student at Humber, who has been into golf since he was five, said he is a fan of the new league and the new modern touch it has.
“I think the TGL is a great way to grow the sport and allow new technology to be integrated into the game,” Giorgi said.
“I like the team aspect as well and do enjoy hearing them talk to each other during the game,” he said.
The TGL is trying to make the game of golf more modern, but that might not be the best thing for the game.
David Berri, a professor of economics at Southern Utah University, said the direction that the TGL is going for doesn’t make sense for what the game of golf is.
“It’s a little weird what they’re doing. They’re taking an individual sport, and they are transforming it into a team sport,” Berri said.
“Individual sports usually have a bigger advantage than a team sport because individuals are real and teams are not,” he said.
This new way of playing golf has an
opportunity to inspire the next generation of golf players.
Giorgi said the league has an opportunity to bring in new fans of golf who like other sports.
“I think this league can bring in a newer audience to the game of golf because of the stadium aspect and it’s quite entertaining because they are trying to win but also putting on an entertaining game of golf at the same time,” Giorgi said.
The third game of the TGL happened Jan. 21, as the New York Golf Club lost 4-0 against the Atlanta Drive GC at 7 p.m.
Nicholas Rego HumberETC Sports
Tiger Woods of the Jupiter Links Golf Club tees off from the 12 hole during a match.
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS/MARTA LAVANDIER.
HUMBER ET CETERA SPORTS POWER HOUR
Humber’stoppowerliftersprepare forupcomingSenecatournament
INDOOR CRICKET TEAM WORKS THROUGH THEIR TRYOUT PROCESS
HAWKS WOMEN’S BASKETBALL CLAIMS TOP SPOT IN OCAA WEST P. 18
