Volume 49, Issue 20

The Independent Student Newspaper of the University of Toronto Mississauga since 1974

Issue 20 Volume 49

March 6 2023

themedium.ca

ELIZABETH PROVOST, IMMEASURABLE STRENGTH, 2023

“FEMINIST KILLJOY”

DR. DIANA KRASKOUSKAYA

BILLBOARD

Why do I feel awful when they should be the one who is feeling awful? This is the life of a feminist killjoy. You say something.

You get put down. You doubt yourself. You don’t know if you can continue saying anything anymore.

Despite moving to Canada without any familiar faces, Dr. Kraskouskaya managed to complete her bachelor’s degree at the University of Toronto Mississauga (UTM), where she studied molecular biology and chemistry.

Female representation in music needs to be encouraged and celebrated. On March 1, 2023, Billboard did just that with their annual Billboard Women in Music Awards. Hosted by writer, producer, and actress Quinta Brunson,

>> read more on page 08

>> read more on page 10

>> read more on page 13

NEWS

FEATURES

Breaking the glass ceiling: Professor Emerita Poë discusses the state of women in STEM

Women in STEM: Past, present, future Hema Ramnarine Staff Writer

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Pearla Hariri Contributor

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he declaration of an International Day of Women & Girls in Science by the United Nations without the action or support for women in gender repressive societies is a gesture that does not go unnoticed,” says Professor Emerita Judith C. Poë in conversation with The Medium. As the first female chemistry professor at University of Toronto Mississauga (UTM), Professor Emerita Poë has contributed to promoting female leadership within the Department of Chemical and Physical Sciences. >> PROFESSOR POË continues on page 03

emale representation in STEM has long been the subject of debate. The term STEM, which stands for “science, technology, engineering, and mathematics,” was coined in 2001, and in recent years, researchers have been interested in the seeming disparity between male and female representation in the field.

A report published by Statistics Canada in 2021 found that although more women pursued postsecondary education, in the workforce, men continue to outearn women. Graduates of STEM disciplines tend to earn more than graduates of non-STEM disciplines, but men are far more likely to choose STEM programs than women. Why is this?

To answer this question and discuss their journeys in STEM, The Medium sat down with Professor Sadia Sharmin, a University of Toronto Mississauga (UTM) alumni and assistant professor in the Department of

Computer Science at St. George, and Sandra Zhitkova, a third-year student at UTM and co-president of the UTM Physics Club.

Describing her first computer science class in high school, Professor Sharmin noticed the gender disparity early on. “It was a small class in grade 12. We had six people in the class [..] and I was the only girl,” she explains. Despite this, she enjoyed the material. After taking CSC108: Introduction to Computer Programming in her first year at UTM, she decided to pursue computer science as a second major along with Communication, Culture, Information, and Technology.

Zhitkova, who is majoring in astrophysics and astronomy, also started her journey in high school. “My biggest contributor was my physics teacher in high school; she pushed me towards it a lot, and I liked it […], and then at some point, I started looking at the stars,” she shares.

Upon entering the classroom after the pandemic, Zhitkova notes that it was somewhat of a relief to see many other women in her classes. >> STEM continues on page 11

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NEWS

Editor | Larry Lau news@themedium.ca

Reflecting on women’s accomplishments on International Women’s Day By building connected communities and inclusive environments, Disha Prabhu from Boss Women UTM believes that we are making steady progress towards embracing feminism.

Karine Alhakim Contributor

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or 113 years and counting, March 8 has been known as International Women’s Day—a day to celebrate women and their accomplishments. This year, the Government of Canada has selected “Every Woman Counts” as the theme for International Women’s Day 2023, which emphasizes that every woman makes an impact on society.

All women, regardless of their age, ethnicity, and socioeconomic backgrounds, have a place in Canadian society. The Canadian government is celebrating International Women’s Day at schools and on online platforms, and encourages people to use the hashtag #IWD2023 on social media to spread awareness about this day.

The Canadian government is calling on elementary, middle, and high school teachers to engage with students and encour-

age them to exchange their views about women and gender equality. Likewise, the government advises teachers to organize activities, such as movie screenings and campaigns, and remind young girls of the power they hold and their ability to realize their dreams. Additionally, society can empower them by sharing stories about women who have shaped Canada. Through their strength and determination, they have built the foundation for the Canadian society and paved the way for the following generations of women to come.

Mary Ann Shadd Cary (1823-1893) was an American-Canadian journalist, pub-

lisher, and lawyer. In 1853, she became the first Black woman to publish a newspaper in North America. The Provincial Freeman became an outlet for Black voices and called for the abolishment of slavery.

Kim Campbell served as the first, and only, female prime minister of Canada in 1993 and was also the first female minister of national defense. She serves as a role model to many Canadian women who dream of pursuing a career in politics.

Grace Annie Lockhart (1855-1916) was a leading figure for women’s university education in Canada. She earned a bachelor’s degree in English Literature and Science

from Mount Allison University in Sackville, New Brunswick. Lockhart was the first woman to receive a bachelor’s degree not only in Canada, but in the entire British Empire. Her success showed that women were qualified to pursue higher education.

Women have accomplished much in the past, and at the University of Toronto Mississauga (UTM), Boss Women UTM—a club dedicated to empowering women—is seeking to create an inclusive space that enables women to succeed in the present and future. “The club’s vision is to share success stories that women go through on a daily basis,” said media and marketing director, Disha Prabhu, when she explained the club’s plans for celebrating International Women’s Day to The Medium.

She was astonished to see how Boss Women UTM has created a safe home and tight-knit community for women on campus. As a concluding thought, Prabhu believes that we are making steady progress in properly defining and embracing feminism.

Moving past 2022’s setbacks to gender equality and women rights protection UN Women executive director, Sima Bahous, reviews the organization’s global efforts to safeguard women rights and highlights the additional toll of crises on women.

Emily Prete Staff Writer

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n February 13, 2023, in an opening statement to the UN Women Executive Board, Executive Director Sima Bahous put forth that “The struggle for gender equality is a reality for women everywhere.” She went over the state of gender equality in various countries, explaining: “Everywhere, crises continue to exact their highest toll on women and girls.” Bahous noted that at the current pace, equality is “300 years away.”

UN Women’s programs are administered by employing local women and empowering them to provide for themselves and their families. However, 2022 has been dominated by setbacks, such as the Taliban’s bans on women from working in non-governmental organizations (NGOs), pursuing secondary and further education, free movement without a male relative, and access to public spaces and services without being fully covered. The ban regarding NGOs causes women to be “[cut] out of the last remaining sector—[the humanitarian sector]— where they were prominent, highly visible, and could continue to hold leadership roles,” explains a UN Gender Alert report.

This enables the Taliban to enforce “subordination of women across all spheres of life.”

The UN Gender Alert report reveals that the ban on women from NGO employment compounds existing crises in Afghanistan, where 97 per cent of the population are at risk of becoming impoverished, and 11.6 million women and girls will require assistance from humanitarian initiatives for the year of

2023. After the ban, national and international NGOs halted or slowed down humanitarian work, including but not limited to the distribution of food and medicine, sanitation and hygiene projects, as well as education and livelihood training initiatives.

Bahous also outlined UN Women’s continuing efforts for Afghan women’s rights, such as the formation of the Afghan Women’s Advisory Group—which allows Afghan women to contribute in humanitarian response planning. Likewise, the organization will be cooperating with regional players, such as the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation member states, to drive change in the state of women rights in Afghanistan.

Beyond the Central Asian country, UN Women invested additional resources in Ukraine over the year since the RussoUkrainian War commenced, supporting refugees through their Women’s Leadership, Empowerment, Access, and Protection program—which focuses on building resilience. A recent UN Women press release revealed that women bear “different and additional burdens of conflict,” such as increasing occurrence of human trafficking and skyrocketing rates of sexual violence.

RYAN BROWN/UN WOMEN

During her mission to Tanzania back in October 2022, Bahous saw the results of UN Women’s joint program with the International Fund for Agricultural Development, the Food and Agricultural Organization, and the World Food Program, that supports rural woman to pursue climate-smart agriculture. Simultaneously, she witnessed women lead projects to address issues such as the HIV epidemic in Africa. Bahous noted that the success of these programs reflects the importance of women participation in UN Women efforts, as well as the vitality of coordinating other organizations.

In November 2022, the annual 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence campaign highlighted the adverse treatment and unfortunate fates of female human rights activists in some places across the world. Notably, the rising rates of femicide in Ecuador drew global attention in late 2022, when a female lawyer was murdered near a police academy. Taking place between March 6 to 17, 2023, the 67th session of the Commission on the Status of Women will focus on global digitalization. The meeting will include discussions about digitalization’s potential of improving social, economic, and political conditions for women and girls, as well as its risk of deepening existing gender biases.

Bahous noted that 2023 is shaping up to be a challenging year for women’s rights, and a new crisis has already emerged with the earthquake in Türkiye and Syria. Regardless, she sees many opportunities to strengthen UN Women through greater transparency and improved coordination, thus enabling the organization to move forwards with its visions. “The challenges of 2022 asked more of us, but together we rose through them. I know we will do the same this year,” concluded Bahous.

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Breaking the glass ceiling: Professor Emerita Poë discusses the state of women in STEM While female representation in STEM fields has improved over the years, work needs to be done to increase the number of women pursuing graduate studies and the ratio of female-to-male faculty members.

Pearla Hariri Contributor >> PROFESSOR POË continued from page 01 She discusses various achievements made by UTM science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) alumna, including Dr. Roberta Bondar and Dr. Eugenia Duodu. Dr. Bondar received her Doctor of Philosophy in Biology at UTM and went on to become the first Canadian female astronaut.

Dr. Duodu graduated with a Bachelor of Science and Doctor of Philosophy in Chemistry at UTM and is the CEO of Visions of Science Network for Learning Inc.—a charity focused on transforming communities through equitable access to STEM fields.

In 1999, Professor Emerita Poë broke the glass ceiling at the Canadian Society for Chemistry by being elected as the first female president of the society. Professor Emerita Poë also became the first president of the society whose work was in the area of STEM education, facing discrimination for her gender as well as her role in an educational discipline. Her presidency ended in 2000, and numerous female presidents

have since been elected and carried on the work to improve women representation.

Professor Emerita Poë’s efforts were recognized by the Office of the Dean in 2021, when she was appointed as a special advisor to previous UTM dean, Rhonda McEwen. In her role, Professor Emerita Poë’s worked with undergraduate student web programmer, Nadhira Andjaina, and the executive assistant to the dean, Rachel Hughes, to create a website called WISDOM@UTM. The goal of the site is to celebrate the scholarly work and achievements of female faculty, alumna, GOODSTUDIO/SHUTTERSTOCK

and graduate students in the STEM disciplines at UTM. The site also highlights conferences and research opportunities directed towards female students in STEM. Professor Emerita Poë believes that at UTM female representation at the undergraduate level has come a long way since her own university experience. When Professor Emerita Poë was completing her undergraduate degree, students were assigned a faculty mentor, and she explains: “My mentor wished me well in my studies and said that despite my academic performance, to dismiss any thought of a reference letter because he did not believe women belonged in the Chemical and Physical Sciences.”

It was not until the early 2000s that the hiring of women faculty began to increase. Currently at UTM, there are eight female faculty members in the Department of Chemical and Physical Sciences. While female faculty still represent less than 30 per cent of the department, it is a step forward in representation, and one against patriarchal ideologies. Despite the lack of discrimination on hiring female faculty, the pool of female applicants remains small.

Professor Emerita Poë contends that work needs to be done to encourage women to pursue graduate studies, and to increase the pool of applicants for female faculty and other leadership roles. She remains hopeful.

Improving women representation in the workplace Systemic and structural gender biases cause women to face inequitable conditions, both in the workplace and in day-to-day life.

Emily Rogers Associate News Editor

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ender egalitarianism has been a large part of workplace discussion in the 21st century. While statistics about representation in the workplace shows overall improvement, in recent years these numbers have faltered. Over the pandemic, five per cent of women around the world lost their jobs, according to the International Labor Organization. Around half of total jobs lost were those of Black and Latinx women. Additionally, in 2021, “The Great Resignation” saw millions of people leaving their jobs, with women resignation rates being higher than those of men. With markets reopening in the past year, the workplace has not seen women returning at the same rates as their male counterparts.

As many workplaces are concerned about representation nowadays, the Institute for Gender and the Economy (GATE) at U of T’s Rotman School of Management urges organizations to look at their structures and services through a gender lens. This is called “gender analytics,” an analytical method that GATE’s associate director, Lechin Lu, describes as “research on the broad, related

topics on gender impacts in the economy, focusing on systems and systemic biases affecting gender and equality” in an interview with The Medium. Although representation is still important, this analytical approach is geared towards structural change. This would help women’s position in the workplace holistically, which would in turn increase representation.

Giving an example of a common bias against women, Lu explains, “Women don’t go for promotions. There are lots of training programs for women on how to behave in the boardroom, with the assumption that women are not speaking up.” However, research at GATE has discovered that factors such as stereotypical masculine-biased language in job descriptions drive most women away from applying for promotions. By changing language in application forms, the overall “pool of talent” increases.

WOCINTECHCHAT.COM/UNSPLASH

While the title of GATE specifically includes “gender,” none of the research conducted focuses on gender alone. “We can’t analyze gender without looking into how it intersects with other identities, so for all our work, we look into how it affects through an intersectional lens,” says Lu. The impact of structural bias affects marginalized and racialized communities across every facet of the economy, so there is “no one specific insight” that can be drawn.

Although the discussion around gender in the workplace generally focuses on women, a large part of what GATE strives to do is helping to understand what gender is. “[Gender equality is] about people of all genders, including men, women, and nonbinary people,” explains Lu. She emphasizes that transgender people face disproportionate rates of poverty and gender-based violence. This is caused by structural biases that extend into the workplace, where gender bias against trans and non-binary individuals is also amplified. Furthermore, gendered systems throughout the whole economy affect women’s position in the workplace. According to McKinsey Canada—a management consulting firm—in 2021, 41 per cent of women reported exhaustion and burnout in their jobs. In comparison, 34 per cent of men reported the same.

Beyond the workplace, there are many unintended gender impacts in day-to-day life. For example, Lu describes how credit ratings are often biased based on gender.

“Women and men tend to spend money in different ways,” she says. While the algorithms do not include questions specifically about gender, the lack of consideration for different spending habits between women and men shows gender bias. Another example relates to the way men and women utilize transit infrastructure. When dealing with snow, many cities focus on roads, assuming driving as the main means of transit. However, women—especially those with children—and elderly people have a higher tendency to use sidewalks. They are also more likely to use public transit. As such, the state of a city’s infrastructure and urban planning is another economic facet impacting the state of gender equality in the workforce.

To address these issues of gender inequality, GATE is focusing on “embracing equity” in 2023. Lu explains that the organization hopes to focus on “emphasizing and promoting” an intersectional lens of gender analytics, and “equipping organizations to have a better understanding of gender on how to design their services and policies through this intersectional gender lens.”

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JOE SKIPPER/REUTERS

Uncertainty surrounds pay and funding for the Canadian women’s national soccer team The Canadian women’s national soccer team continues to symbolically protest for fair pay and funding amidst ongoing negotiations with the Canadian Soccer Association.

Renee Simran Kaur Mahal Contributor

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n February 10, 2023, the Canadian Soccer Players’ Association (CSPA)— which represents the Canadian women’s national soccer team—released a statement highlighting deep concerns over pay and funding cuts made by the Canadian Soccer Association (Canada Soccer). As such, the team announced they would be abstaining from all Canada Soccer activities until their concerns were adequately addressed by the organization. However, just one day later, the CSPA released a second statement announcing that the team would not be striking as planned. The association explained that Canada Soccer would deem the job action an “unlawful strike,” and would sue for damages from the team and its individual members—a risk that the team members cannot bear.

According to a CNN article, the players, including Christine Sinclair—captain of the Canadian women’s national soccer team and Olympic gold medalist—noted that funding cuts have resulted in fewer training days, fewer players who can participate in such training, a reduction of activities for youth teams, and uncertainties surrounding player compensation. This comes just months ahead of the upcoming women’s World Cup

tournament, standing in stark contrast to the “level of support that was received by the Men’s National Team in 2022,” as noted by the women’s soccer team players.

“Funding cuts have resulted in fewer training days, fewer players who can participate in such training, a reduction of activities for youth teams, and uncertainties surrounding player compensation.”

Despite the team’s decision to forgo striking, players have been engaging in symbolic acts of protest, largely through their uniforms. In a training session held on February 15, 2023, prior to a match against the U.S. national women’s team, players turned their jerseys inside out. During the SheBelieves Cup match on February 16, 2023, against the US team in Orlando, players wore purple jerseys in place of their usual red colored ones for the pre-match anthem.

The team stated that the purple jerseys will remain in use, given that the colour purple has “historically been associated with efforts to achieve gender equality.” The CSPA has

similarly changed the colour of their logo from red to purple.

Amidst this issue, the Canadian women’s team has received considerable support from the Canadian men’s national soccer team, who also issued a statement reflecting their disappointed regarding the “completely unsatisfactory preparation conditions for this summer’s Women’s World Cup.” Members of the American women’s national soccer team have also publicly declared support for the Canadian players. According to a CNN article, American soccer player Megan Rapinoe stated that despite an on-field rivalry, the US team stands with the Canadian women “100 per cent.” Teams from around the world, such as The Matildas from Australia and the Lionesses from England, wore purple wristbands in recent matches in solidarity with the Canadian women’s national soccer team.

In a statement released February 11, 2023, Canada Soccer claimed that an ongoing ne-

gotiation with the women’s and men’s teams is in progress, with hopes of achieving a deal that will be “historic” in terms of pay equity.

However, in light of the recent resignation of Canada Soccer president, Nick Bontis, there is uncertainty regarding whether an equitable deal will be reached. Bontis released a statement on February 27, 2023, stating that he “acknowledge[s] that this moment requires change,” and believes that Canada Soccer and the women’s national team will be able to come to a “landmark deal that will set our nation apart from virtually every other FIFA Member Association.”

“Despite the team’s decision to forgo striking, players have been engaging in symbolic acts of protest, largely through their uniforms.”

Regardless of the uncertainties, the Canadian women’s national soccer team remains hopeful for the future.

They expressed gratitude to supporters through social media, stating that they are “inspired and motivated,” and will emerge victorious in the fight for pay and gender equity in Canadian women’s soccer.

MASTHEAD EDITORIAL BOARD

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OPINION

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To all the women: This is your story A letter and reminder to all the women of today to define their own identities.

Mari Khan Staff Writer

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appy International Women’s Day to all the women. Whether you are born as one, identify as one, or are transitioning into one: this is a message from my heart to yours.

Being human is difficult; we all have our problems, no matter how small or large. And it feels like being a woman comes with extra challenges, as if we are never good enough. I’m not trying to insinuate that men have it better, but it can feel like they get cut slack we don’t.

“Being human is difficult; we all have our problems, no matter how small or large. And it feels like being a woman comes with extra challenges...”

The biggest example from my life is continuously being told that I’m bossy and bratty, while the men and boys in my life are commended for their assertiveness, praised with a pat on the back.

Sometimes it also feels like we’re looking out for more than ourselves—like we are still, and always will be, primary caregivers. Everything else must fit around the responsibility of being the primary caregiver. We must find a balance between everything we want and everything society wants, even if these wants are the same. In that case, we’re told that we’re not dreaming big enough, that we have let ourselves become slaves to society’s expectations, men’s expectations.

What if we choose the corporate route? Or any kind of work route?

Then we’re faced with a wage gap, an inferiority complex, and imposter syndrome. It feels as though no choice is the right choice.

So, this International Women’s Day, I would like to give you this message: write a story that is uniquely and beautifully yours. Don’t let yourself become the side character. Don’t let others take the reign.

Do what feels right to you, even if others tell you that it’s wrong. No choice will ever be the right choice. Someone will always be unhappy.

For the women who plan on working after their education (which I assume is most, if not all of you), Statistics Canada shows that the gender balance is quite close to equilibrium, as of 2021, with women making up 47.3 per cent of their occupation group.

“Don’t let yourself become the side character.”

For women who are great leaders and know they can make a difference in managerial positions, Statistics Canada shows that the gender balance for senior management positions is also close to equilibrium, as of 2022, with women making up 47.5 per cent of senior management positions.

For women who change their minds along the way or decide that they want to be stay-at-home mothers, you’re not alone. In a survey done in 2022, 56 per cent of American women said they would prefer to be a stay at home mother than going to work. If you choose a life at home with your kids instead of going to work, we salute you; know that we are immensely proud of you for making a decision that benefits you and your family.

“Do what feels right to you, even if others tell you that it’s wrong.”

For women who choose to balance work and family, you are to be admired as well for managing both roles.

You are more than what society defines as a woman; you are what you define as a woman.

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The faces of women To limit the scope of womanhood is to limit the scope of humanity.

Yasmine Benabderrahmane Contributor

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n a land where the sea met the sun and calls of prayer echoed in every corner, Melouka was born. There, she glossed over the books that lay in her room and dreamt of stories in far away lands. Melouka was one of four girls and three boys, with whom she spent her evenings running around her house, their mother’s scolding filling the air of the courtyard. She often sat close to her father, listening to his gritty tales of the past. Her youth was guarded, the walls of her home protecting her innocence from the war that waged on her lands—her lands of Algeria.

“She was so many lives and so many stories and yet we are told that women are born to be quiet voices, men’s shadows.”

Amongst the bullets and cries of her people, Asma, a widow and mother of an orphaned child, lived differently. Asma spent her days on the run, with men and women whose lives were no different than hers. They were angry, driven by fury. At night, she slept with a rifle clutched to her chest, dreaming of her sergeant’s orders and the French planes that flew above and blood seeping through the ground and the mothers who ached for their children’s return. One day—a day among the many years of war— Asma was caught by a French soldier. The bullet that rested in her thigh throbbed, but the hopes of survival pained her mind more. Her fingers rolled around the ring given to her by her late husband, for it was the only thing left she owned. Not the clothes she wore, not the land she stood on, and not even her name.

When the war was over, a woman by the name of Hayat lived in

Algiers, the memory of loss sour in her mind. Her father called her Hayat, life, because she lived, survived. She was a mother of seven, a wife, and a typist. When her children went to sleep, she sprawled on the nearest couch and read stories of romance and poetry. She was fond of songs that reminded her of her youth and would hum the rhymes her mother once whispered at home.

She raised her children with stories of her parents and youth in Oran, taught them how to hold a pen and design a smile. She was named Hayat because despite the despair, she brought life.

When the trees grew old and the walls sprouted cracks, an old woman sat by the window and watched her husband sneak a handful of sweets to their granddaughters, placing a finger to his lips and motioning to his wife. The girls giggled, glancing at their grandmother, who bore a grin and jokingly closed her eyes. They called her Mémé. Mémé often sat by the heaters of her home, needle and thread in hand and a dress in mind for

THUJAY PHTOGRAPHY

the girls. When the oldest of the young girls could not sleep at night, the girl would tiptoe to the dimly lit kitchen where Mémé sat heating up two glasses of milk. She would sit the little girl down on her lap and they would talk about the past and future and for a moment, Mémé was Melouka again, a young girl who loved books and dresses and racing with her sisters.

“When the world fashions women to a single story, to a single character, a single voice, it erases a history of empires and phenomena we ignorantly teach our children.”

Melouka, Asma, Hayat, and Mémé. The stories of four women, yet it was the life of one that I knew—the life of my late grandmother. She was both a soldier and a grandmother, a mother, and a daughter. She was so many lives and so many stories and yet we are told that women are born to be quiet voices, men’s shadows. Her story is of the many that were repressed and sworn as secrets when women like my grandmother were the heart of the Algerian revolution.

Our world continues to deem womanhood to be weak, even when our words feminize the sun and earth and sea, even when the hands of women birth revolutions and foster nations. Today, women in Palestine, Ukraine, Iran, and Afghanistan alike stand to be the heart of revolution. When the world fashions women to a single story, to a single character, a single voice, it erases a history of empires and phenomena we ignorantly teach our children. To limit the scope of womanhood is to limit the scope of humanity. It is not only our duty to learn the boundlessness of womanhood but to celebrate and set it as our societies’ foundations. Afterall, women are the core of life.

The Brown girl experience: India vs. Canada A reflection on the privileges of the Brown girl experience in Canada.

Malavika Puri Staff Writer

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hen I entered Canada as a young immigrant, I didn’t know what to expect from the country. A differently accented language, a new school, and so many unknown experiences awaited me in this country. I have since learned so many things about this country and the people here, and have been given so much more freedom and success than I ever thought I could have achieved.

After being in Canada for seven years, I feel so honoured to live here permanently and plan a future for myself and my family. I was reminded of this privilege when I visited India again. Visiting my home country over the Christmas holidays turned out to be quite the learning experience; I noticed many differences between my life as a Brown woman in Canada and the lives of women in India.

“I noticed many differences between my life as a Brown woman in Canada and the lives of women in India.”

One of my first experiences as a student in the school system here was the privilege of choice. I studied in a Catholic school in India and wore a school uniform that consisted of a skirt, a button-up shirt, and a waistcoat. It was a relatively conservative outfit, but I still remember being catcalled almost every day when I crossed the road from my school to

get to my bus. This was always something that deterred me from going out by myself anywhere. After coming to Canada, going to a school without a dress code was so freeing. It gave me space to express myself and explore my style. I also felt safe enough to do so here.

“I still remember being catcalled almost every day when I crossed the road from my school to get to my bus.”

I experienced more freedom as soon as I turned 16, when my parents made me write the G1 driving test. I started practicing right away to get my G2. As soon as I started driving, I was able to get a job and drive myself back and forth from my classes. I felt independent and confident in myself. These privileges have now become a habit for me. But unfortunately, girls back home don’t get this opportunity. Since you cannot drive until the age of 18 in India, women have to be driven or take a bus to and from places until then. When taking buses, there is usually the fear of unsafety and ha-

rassment. These weren’t problems for me here but are daily issues for my friends and cousins back home.

I have a lot of independence and confidence in my abilities. Girls should be confident in themselves to stand up to the discrimination they will face daily. The privileges and freedoms found in studying whatever you want and getting from one place to another whenever you want are very important building blocks for young girls on their way to future success.

“The privileges and freedoms found in studying whatever you want and getting from one place to another whenever you want are very important building blocks for young girls on their way to future success.”

This International Women’s Day, I encourage everyone—regardless of their gender—to acknowledge their privileges and successes, and to think about how we can work towards making sure many other girls all around the world get them too.

Happy International Women’s Day sisters!

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My role model is my mom Y

oung people, particularly females, often face a host of societal pressures and limitations due to gender stereotypes, systemic bias, and cultural expectations. In the midst of these challenges, having strong role models can make all the difference. Whether it’s a mother, mentor, teacher, coach, or any other influential figure, a positive role model can help guide

and inspire young people to achieve their goals. However, being a role model is a significant responsibility that also requires courage, resilience, determination, and the ability to navigate complex social and political landscapes.

The unbreakable bond: A tribute to my mom as my role model

My mom: A master juggler Samira Karimova Photos & Design Editor

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Mannal Qureshi Contributor

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rowing up, I had many people I admired–businesswomen, actors, and musicians. But as I’ve grown older, my perspective has changed, and the person I admire most is my mom, Romana Qureshi.

My mom has always been a constant source of love, support, and guidance. She has an unwavering commitment to her family and always puts our needs before hers. Watching her sacrifice and work tirelessly to provide for us, I have learned what true strength and determination look like.

One of the things I admire most about my mom is her ability to stay positive and hopeful, even in the face of adversity. She has a deep sense of faith and trusts that everything happens for a reason. Her optimism and resilience have taught me that no matter how tough things may seem, there’s always a way forward.

When I face challenges, I often think of my mom’s unwavering strength and resolve. Her ability to stay focused and persevere through tough times is a constant reminder that anything is possible with hard work and dedication.

As I continue on my journey through life, I know that my mom will always be there to support and guide me.

Her evergreen love and encouragement have given me the strength to pursue my dreams and overcome any obstacle that comes my way.

In a world that often feels chaotic and overwhelming, my mom is a beacon of light and hope. She’s taught me that anything is possible no matter what life throws your way, with hard work, will power, and a lot of love. For that, she will always be my role model and my hero.

Many inspirations, but only one role model Vanessa Bogacki Contributor

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nternational Women’s Day is the one day a year where we nationally appreciate the strong, smart, and beautiful woman which we hold near and dear in our hearts. With more than 3.905 billion females around the world, picking just one who I idolize as a role model was difficult. After all, there are women like Oprah Winfrey, who broke barriers for those within the Black community and empowers women on a global level, or Marie Curie, who showcased that women can and will dominate any field of work if they put their minds to it. Despite the amazing things these women taught me were achievable, my idol is none other than my own mother. After immigrating to Canada when she was seventeen, my mom has made it very difficult to follow in her footsteps and frankly, that is why I see her as my hero.

She came to Canada from a country of communism in order to provide her future child with a better life. Coming to a country where she was free was something she could only imagine back at home; she knew change had to happen to achieve this goal. She decided to start a new chapter in Canada, where she ran into many obstacles—the first being a major language barrier, as my mother came to Canada not knowing any English.

Furthermore, she was able to showcase strength by starting a family and following her own dreams while caring for the ambitions of those around her. My mom gave birth to me and knew her life would change. She sacrificed her own wants and needs to support mine. She further strived to ensure I was properly cared for, so I knew all my life I was loved.

Regardless of this, she knew she would have to fight all her life. Ever since she stepped off the plane, she knew life would not be easy and if she wanted something, she would have to work to get it. Once I was born, my dreams were now hers, and throughout my whole life she has always been there. From dance recital to concert, no matter how good or bad I was, my mom had my back.

In my lifetime, I will never be able to repay her for her sacrifice and effort. The multiple sleepless nights, overworked days, and sacrificed dreams my mom had will never be taken for granted. She has shaped me into the person I am today, and she will forever be my role model.

was fortunate enough to have my mother’s unwavering support throughout my life. She consistently demonstrated grace and perseverance in the face of new challenges, whether it was in her career, family life, or personal growth.

Through her example, she taught me that women face unique challenges and expectations, akin to juggling a multicolored array of balls. Yet somehow, she manages to keep all the balls in the air with poise, like a masterful juggler, never letting a single one drop to the ground, making me believe that women are capable of achieving all their goals and aspirations without having to compromise.

My mom embodies the strength of a lion and a heart as boundless as the oceans. She balances warmth, kindness, and assertiveness with ease, leaving me in constant awe. Her positive attitude and gentle but firm touches pave the way for me to reach my potential, and her consistent support restores my confidence. Every day, I remind myself how incredibly lucky I am to have such an amazing woman as my mother and role model. My admiration for her wisdom and kindness knows no ends, and I am certain that her influence will endure for years to come. Her guidance is a gift to me, and I have no doubt that it will continue to inspire not just myself, but also my sister and many others.

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Love and its discontents: A continuum of passion How female love functions as a source of energy for male culture.

Lina Tupak-Karim Contributor

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ove is often explored through philosophical and psychological frameworks. That is to say, we ask, “What is love?” to inquire about its nature and to determine how it manifests in our thinking and behaviour. Love is also generally relegated to an individualized realm of understanding; we fail to examine the phenomenon as a cultural, political force. Seldom does public discourse question the function of love in grander structures.

Academics and scholars concerned with feminist theory and women’s history have investigated love in relation to culture and politics. Thinkers like Valerie Solanas, Shulamith Firestone, and Camille Paglia have explored the phenomenon in terms of its metaphysical nature and material effects.

Love is not a neutral force—it functions as a commodity, a weapon wielded unconsciously in the political realm to advance male culture at the expense of female flourishing.

Solanas argues that the male inability to love drives their creativity through the act of compensation. Men create a culture in which they “solve the dilemma […] of not being female” by constructing a world in which they heroize themselves. “Great Art” and “culture”

are manifestations of male insecurity brought about by their inability to reckon with the force of love.

“Love is not a neutral force—it functions as a commodity, a weapon wielded unconsciously in the political realm to advance male culture at the expense of female flourishing.”

What were women doing while men created masterpieces? Firestone delves deeper into this question, accepting but not focusing on the obvious answers: “women were barred from culture, exploited in their role as mother,” or the reverse, “women had no need for paintings since they created children.” Psychoanalytic feminism further argues all humans have a drive to create, but where women can fulfill this drive internally through childbirth, men seek external fulfillment through work and subduing the female force they envy. Firestone argues women were preoccupied with love.

Yet in and of itself, love is not destructive.

Firestone makes it clear that it is the factor of the unequal power balance in a relationship that makes love destructive. It appears to me

that when men dominate culture and politics, love renders women vulnerable.

This results in the continuation of a cycle in which male culture advances, sustaining itself with the energy milked from female care.

Men are entirely reliant on female care to flourish. The time spent developing their culture is possible solely because of the relegation of the female to the private sphere— somebody must tend to the house and children, performing unpaid labour to maintain both, so that the male can contribute to his public sphere. The classic dynamic of the breadwinning husband and stay-at-home wife embodies this.

Paglia says love and hate are not opposite elements. Rather, they are parts of a continuum of passion—there is either more of it or less of it. When Firestone argues the difference in love between women and men, in which women have more of it, she concludes this is a potential reason for women’s universal contempt for men. Following both lines of thinking, it seems to me that women’s position on the continuum of passion fluctuates depending on the reciprocity they receive from men.

Not only has reciprocity been nearly nonexistent, men have turned to actively materializing their hate for women, demonstrated

by concerning rises in domestic and sexual violence and femicides. Discourse fueling these acts spreads on TikTok, where men become increasingly comfortable admitting they simply don’t like women and prefer exploiting their sexuality.

Some women continue to insist that feminism must include men further—embodying their unrelenting, unreciprocated love—but the fact that others reject this notion exhibits the fluidity of their place on the continuum (and upsets male hysterics).

“‘Great Art’ and ‘culture’ are manifestations of male insecurity brought about by their inability to reckon with the force of love.”

At some level, love is human—the average person needs a caring community for selfactualization. That said, the sexed nature of the manifestation of love suggests it might be time for women to change course, to reject the male culture, and prioritize advancing a new female one.

Sara Ahmed and “The Feminist Killjoy” Calling out anti-feminist behaviour doesn’t make you a b*tch; it just makes you a killjoy. Welcome to feminism!

Kirsty MacLellan Contributor

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ave you ever felt shame, guilt, or regret after calling out misogynistic behaviour? Have you ever been made to feel like it’s your fault for noticing the double standards in your life?

Contrary to what the little voices in your head tell you, you are not crazy! You are just experiencing the killjoy effect.

Although you may feel disheartened to carry on with your confrontational endeavours after being put down, it’s important that you continue being that person who calls others out.

Because if you don’t do it, who else will?

“Killjoy is someone who actively gets in the way of patriarchal norms.”

Sara Ahmed—a writer, scholar, and activist in feminist, queer, and race studies—characterizes the girl who is “always” calling people out as the “feminist killjoy.” Ahmed explains in her phenomenal book, Living a Feminist Life, that the killjoy is someone who actively gets in the way of patriarchal norms.

Although feminist killjoys can be found in all walks of life, they are most commonly found as daughters who are done taking other people’s sh*t. She writes that a pillar of active feminism relies on killing “joy,” or rather, killing the casual and passive participation in the continuation of patriarchal norms.

Ahmed perfectly communicates how it feels to be a feminist killjoy as she writes, “Whenever [the killjoy] speak[s], eyes

seem to roll, as if to say, well, you would say that.” The aftermath of calling another person out, or confronting someone on their anti-feminist behaviour, can be difficult. You’ve just “accused” someone of something! How dare you! And even DUKE UNIVERSITY PRESS BOOKS

though the misogynist is in the wrong, and they are the ones being awful, you are now being looked at as if you have done something wrong. You ask yourself: Why do I feel awful when they should be the one who is feeling awful? This is the life of a feminist killjoy. You say something. You get put down. You doubt yourself. You don’t know if you can continue saying anything anymore.

As Ahmed grew to recognize that women all over are feeling disheartened by being told they are “too much,” she created a website where like-minded killjoys can go. Here, she posts writings and thoughts on feminism; the website is a place where killjoys can find comfort in knowing they are not experiencing backlash alone.

The term “feminist killjoy” is incredibly important to learn, to know, and to hold close to our chests, because it helps us feel seen. It helps build community. Putting words to a feeling helps us to give power to the emotions we have. In our moments when we want to give up as killjoys, we remember that our experiences are not isolated. Ahmed comments on her frustration with the state of being a killjoy as she writes, “The feminist killjoy appears here: when she speaks, she seems wound up. I appear here. This is my history: wound up.”

There is power in being a Killjoy, even when it feels like everyone resents your words. Continue to kill people’s passive and casual participation in patriarchal ideals, or nothing will change. And without exposing problems, we allow the patriarchal standard to continue. A standard which asserts that if women bring up an issue, they are the issue. If you, as a feminist killjoy, feel burnt out and alone, return to this term and know that all killjoys are here for you, cheering you on!

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features

Editor | Prisha (Maneka) Nuckchady features@themedium.ca

Cancer research and the magic of chemistry Ivonne Lopez-Miranda, current master’s student, shares how her childhood passion for chemistry led her to pursue cancer research.

Maryam Lela Contributor

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efore going into chemistry, the only liquid I really knew was water,” says Ivonne Lopez-Miranda, sitting across from me in the bustling dining hall of the William G. Davis building. Now, Lopez-Miranda is working on getting her master’s in chemistry at the University of Toronto Mississauga (UTM). Having graduated from UTM in 2022 with a biological chemistry specialist and an economics minor, Lopez-Miranda refers to chemistry as her passion. “It’s the closest thing to magic you can get to,” she explains. “You throw things in together and then an hour later you have something completely different. I think that’s pretty cool.”

Lopez-Miranda’s love for chemistry began with her science teachers in elementary and high school. “I had great science teachers,” she shares.

“I got to eleventh grade and took organic chemistry, and I really enjoyed that course. My teacher was really enthusiastic and passionate about it, so I feel like that [fuelled] my passion now.” Lopez-Miranda also enjoyed certain biology courses she took in high school, such as anatomy and physiology.

The Beharry Lab, a lab that specializes in cancer biology, is where Lopez-Miranda conducts most of her cancer-related research. “I really enjoy the lab I’m in, because not only do you have a hand in making the compounds, but you can also test and apply them,” Lopez-Miranda explains.

Her current project involves exploiting different properties of light to activate certain drugs that assist in surgery and help identify where a tumor is. Lopez-Miranda explains that her research starts with identifying a desired compound to make. She is given a multi-step recipe to make the compound, called a synthetic scheme.

Although she enjoys her time in the lab, Lopez-Miranda admits that cancer research isn’t always easy. “A lot of times you start off knowing what you want to make, have your proposed way of making it, and set off on making it, but sometimes your conditions aren’t the

best, so you have to tweak here and there,” she confesses. “It’s a lot of trial and error.”

When her experiments don’t go as planned, LopezMiranda looks to her lab group for support. They sit down together and brainstorm what went wrong, and what to improve in their next attempt. “My colleagues are a very [supportive],” she explains, “We’re there for each other when the reaction isn’t working.” Lopez-Miranda adds that since chemistry involves a lot of group work, she feels a sense of community within the field. This sense of community, according to Lopez-Miranda, is rare to find in other fields that consist of individual work. “If people are considering chemistry, the community is very friendly and cooperative,” she stresses. “People are here to help each other.”

Although Lopez-Miranda loves her work, she explains that it is important to find a balance between working and taking breaks. It’s also good to know when you’ve reached your limit. “When I was at home, I did a lot of work, but my parents also wanted to make sure I was social and had those extracurricular activities,” she shares.

“So, it was like, ‘Yes, school is good, but also have friends, pursue activities,’ that kind of thing.”

As for future goals, Lopez-Miranda still hasn’t decided on her career path. “I’m still looking,” she says. In the meantime, she remains focused on learning, improving her skills, and facing the challenges that come up along the way. “In chemistry, you are consistently pushed to your limit in terms of problem-solving and asking questions,” she argues.

Lopez-Miranda considers science as the pursuit of truth. “We’re always pursuing something and always trying to find something new, and we have new questions that come up on our journey,” she says. “I love chemistry. I hope that other people can get passionate about chemistry as well. If you’re the kind of person who is innately curious, then chemistry is the way to go,” she finishes.

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From PhD candidate to entrepreneur: How Dr. Diana Kraskouskaya is revolutionizing drug discovery Dr. Diana Kraskouskaya shares how without prior business training, she and other industry leaders are making strides in the drug discovery industry and paving the way for other women in STEM. Lina Hasan Contributor

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arch 8 marks International Women’s Day—a day on which women around the world should be celebrated for their accomplishments and recognized for their challenges. Dr. Diana Kraskouskaya is a great example of a woman in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) who has invested in entrepreneurship and therapeutic development while demonstrating that raising a family, being an academic, and being an entrepreneur are not mutually exclusive. Through persistence and proactivity, she has achieved a level of self-confidence that encourages a growth mindset. Highlighting achievements such as those of Dr. Kraskouskaya allows women everywhere to celebrate and be inspired to do the same in their own ways.

Despite moving to Canada without any familiar faces, Dr. Kraskouskaya managed to complete her bachelor’s degree at the University of Toronto Mississauga (UTM), where she studied molecular biology and chemistry. She worked in the Gallie Lab under Dr. Brenda Gallie for several years, conducting studies related to retinoblastoma—a form of cancer beginning in the retina. Afterward, Dr. Kraskouskaya pursued a directentry PhD in medicinal chemistry under the supervision of Dr. Patrick Gunning at UTM, graduating in 2015. Although she considered an academic path beyond a PhD, she found that she thrived in an industrial setting more than in academia.

In the field of life sciences, the educational path can be long and arduous. For many, it entails first completing an undergraduate degree and a relevant master’s degree before moving to a PhD and a post-doctoral fellowship, which still does not guarantee a successful industry job. While some dread the academic path, Dr. Kraskouskaya explains that it is an exciting one, as it manifests as one’s ability to add societal value through pursuit of a discipline one is passionate about. This, in itself, is rewarding. A successful breakthrough in drug discovery is an invaluable contribution to the community that everyone in the field hopes to make.

Despite her passion for research, when looking at her social circle, many members of which did not pursue the scientific path, Dr. Kraskouskaya sometimes fell prey to thinking that “they already had a head start on their career path.” However, as she progressed through her career and broke aca-

DR. DIANA KRASKOUSKAYA & ADOBESTOCK

demic barriers, she understood that everyone has their own path, whether it be planning for a family or the switch from academia to industry. As women in the digital age, it is often easy to compare ourselves to others’ progress. But, as Dr. Kraskouskaya learned, understanding what you want and

setting your own timeline, while being open to the complexities of life, is truly what “opportunity” means.

While Dr. Kraskouskaya appreciates the sentiment of looking at the individual’s accomplishment rather than their gender, she acknowledges the impact of strong female scientists and researchers on her own life and the lives of women everywhere.

Another aspect of opportunity that Dr. Kraskouskaya was able to uncover is a strong and beneficial network. Dr. Kraskouskaya shares that she is a strong believer that “every day and every interaction shapes you as a person.” Interacting with professionals from industry and investment backgrounds during her PhD allowed her to not only develop a deeper understanding of the work she was doing, but also helped grow her personal network. Additionally, working alongside brilliant PhD colleagues, she attended conferences where she could hear various perspectives on the potential paths for those in her field.

Once she completed her PhD, Dr. Kraskouskaya set off to find further ways she

could shift her academic experience into the industry. Her main drive was that there was no substantial drug discovery industry in the Greater Toronto Area, leaving Canadian scientists with the dilemma of remaining at home and requalifying, or moving to the United States, where the drug discovery industry was thriving. This concern inspired the formation of Dalriada, a pharmaceutical company based in Mississauga.

Initially, Dr. Kraskouskaya held no training in business. But when she was around seven months pregnant, she decided to develop herself further and took entrepreneurship courses at U of T. To her surprise, she was not alone. While she was simply hoping to benefit from a crash-course-like opportunity, Dr. Kraskouskaya met a woman in the same situation—pregnant, out of life sciences, unsure of what to do next, but striving to make a business idea out of her PhD. Dr. Kraskouskaya had a strong vision for her company that integrated the academic model of Dr. Gunning’s research group for drug discovery. Together, she and Dr. Gunning took the academic vision and industrialized it to make the most effective servicebased drug discovery company.

As the Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Dalriada, she fostered the growth of opportunities for jobs in the drug discovery realm locally. This year marks six years of operation for Dalriada, and the sixth birthday of Dr. Kraskouskaya’s daughter, showing that her role as a mother complemented her role as a scientist. Her work will be strongly supported by the launch of the Centre for Medicinal Chemistry building led by Dr. Gunning, which aims to open doors for the development of the drug discovery world right at UTM. This will offer opportunities that align with Dr. Kraskouskaya’s passion to blend academia and industry.

Dalriada is now close to a 100-person company supporting the most innovative drug discovery programs across the world.

Moreover, alongside Dr. Gunning, Dr. Kraskouskaya is the Co-Founder and Chief Operating Officer of another company: Dunad Therapeutics. This too, was successful, in that it raised tens of millions in Venture Capital funding, leading to a $1.3 billion collaboration with Novartis—a multinational pharmaceutical company.

Dr. Kraskouskaya was able to find a way for not only women, but anyone in the field struggling to find their career path in drug discovery or life sciences. This International Women’s Day, her story serves as a reminder that no matter where you are or how lost you feel on your career path, with perseverance and a proactive attitude, you can pave your own way.

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AURORA PICCIOTTOLI/THE MEDIUM

Women in STEM: Past, present, future Sandra Zhitkova, co-president of the UTM Physics Club, and Professor Sharmin share their journeys battling the lack of female representation in STEM fields.

Hema Ramnarine Staff Writer >> STEM continued from page 01 A lot of the pushback, she found, came from outside of her classes. “When I talk to people […] outside of the university, a lot of people go ‘Oh, wow! You’re doing astrophysics.

I would never expect you to do that.’ I was like, ‘Why? Why do you say that?’ and I have felt that it’s because I’m a girl [and these conversation are mostly] with guys,” shares Zhitkova. When she asks them why they’re surprised, they can’t answer. “It makes it seem like it’s something they don’t want to say out loud,” she remarks.

“The idea of gender itself is so complex, but it’s so ingrained into our society; even as a child, [or] as a toddler, people, knowing your gender, or at least your supposed gender, will treat you slightly differently.”

When asked why there is still a lack of female representation in the field, Professor Sharmin says, “the idea of gender itself is so complex, but it’s so ingrained into our society; even as a child, [or] as a toddler, people, knowing your gender, or at least your supposed gender, will treat you slightly differently.” To this end, she credits her parents for giving her the freedom to explore computer science. “I had a lot of support and positive guidance from my parents. My dad is an engineer, and he has four daughters [….]. After learning more about these issues, about women in STEM whose parents were unsupportive, I realized how lucky I was to have a dad who never did that,” she says. “He always made those fields seem accessible to me.”

Professor Sharmin notes that she most felt that the gender gap was a barrier when she returned to UTM as a pro-

fessor. “When I first joined the department, I was one of the youngest people there, […] and on top of that I was one of the only women—it was a highly male-dominated department, and even though my colleagues were amazing people I still felt this sense of imposter syndrome,” she confesses.

Professor Sharmin adds that despite how welcoming the members of her department were, the feeling of being a minority left a sort of disconnect that manifested in many, seemingly small ways. “There was a time when we were all invigilating a test […] and we were standing in a circle, whispering because the students were writing a test, and I just couldn’t hear what they were saying because their heads were a foot higher! It sounds silly but I just felt so left out and different at that moment,” shares Professor Sharmin.

Certain things Professor Sharmin experienced with students also left her wondering whether the same would have happened to a male professor. She describes some anonymous student feedback she received: “‘She talks a little bit fast. At first it was cute but it’s starting to get annoying.’ It just felt a little demeaning,” she notes. “I’m sure if I was a male professor, they probably would have worded that differently,” she argues.

Opening up and engaging with other like-minded people helped Professor Sharmin feel less like an imposter. “As I opened up and talked to more people around me, I found people who had similar viewpoints as me. [It helped me feel that] I am really not so different from everybody else,” she shares.

Professor Sharmin notes that the lack of female representation can not only be detrimental to women, but it can also be dangerous, leading to real-life consequences.

“Things like voice recognition is not as good for higherpitched voices, facial recognition is not as good for darkerskinned people as it is for white people, especially white men,” she argues. These disparities may further emphasize

inequalities. As more things become reliant on these forms of technology, it is more important than ever for these fields to be as diverse as possible.

In combatting the lack of diversity, both Professor Sharmin and Zhitkova remarked that representation can play a significant role in increasing accessibility and making women feel more welcome in these male-dominated fields.

“There was a stigma in my head too when I was in high school taking math and physics classes, and girls were definitely the minority,” says Zhitkova. “[In university] it was nice to see that we have a lot of girls that are interested in STEM who didn’t listen to the stereotypes built by society long ago,” she expands. In speaking of the elections for the UTM Physics club, she says “It was really nice to see that girls also took part and were interested, and most of the candidates were actually girls,” she shares. Three of the five executives of the club are women.

“Girls can do whatever they want, guys can do whatever they want, and if I want to be an astronomer or an astronaut, I can do that, and I don’t want people to get surprised when I say that.”

Recently, Professor Sharmin has been trying to highlight representation within programmers. During the ten minutes before class starts, she says: “I will make a point to show [videos] of programmers of diverse backgrounds, or programmers with disabilities. […] It’s a way to see how diversity can exist in the field. Every voice is important to be listened to, not just the dominant ones,” emphasizes Professor Sharmin.

Going forward, Zhitkova hopes that this increased representation leads more women and girls to follow their passions and see STEM as a viable field for them. “Girls can do whatever they want, guys can do whatever they want, and if I want to be an astronomer or an astronaut, I can do that, and I don’t want people to get surprised when I say that.

Keep pushing!” encourages Zhitkova.

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Arts

Editor | Julia Skoczypiec arts@themedium.ca

How Greta Gerwig continues to put women first Reflecting on Gerwig’s film career and her focus on inspiring female characters.

Daanish Alvi Contributor

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reta Gerwig has left an unmissable mark in the film community. With movies like Lady Bird (2017) and Little Women (2019), it is evident that female characters continue to be at the forefront of Gerwig’s works. By transcending genres, each of her screenplays uses complex characters to empower female voices.

Initially wanting to be a playwright, Gerwig spent most of her education learning the importance of performance. For almost 10 years of her post-graduate career, Gerwig starred in lower-budget, independent films. One of these was Baghead (2008), directed by Mark and Jay Duplass, a movie picked up for distribution by Sony Pictures Classics shortly after its release.

In 2017, Lady Bird—Gerwig’s debut project that she wrote and directed—was released. As a coming-of-age story following Christine “Lady Bird” McPherson (Saoirse Ronan), the film takes place in the early 2000s and depicts Christine’s life through her last year of high school. Gerwig heavily focuses on the relationships that Lady Bird has with everyone around her, including her mother Marion (Laurie Metcalf) and her best friend Julie (Beanie Feldstein). Through relatable and thought-provoking conversations, it is clear from the begin-

ning of the movie that Gerwig’s unique writing style is what makes her stand out in the film world.

Despite being given source material to go off of, Gerwig still manages to add her own stylistic flair to her writing—reinforcing the strengths of her female characters. Noor Shaikh, a fourth-year Molecular Biology student at the University of Toronto Mississauga, spoke about how much she admires the ways that Gerwig prioritizes women’s stories. “Her adaptation of Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women is my favourite since she manages to capture the complex character of each [March] sister [….] something that I think even Alcott herself didn’t realize was there. [She] paints a realistic picture of what womanhood means,” said Shaikh.

determination, intelligence, and an unwavering sense of purpose. Meg (Emma Watson) embodies an insightful approach to life, always being able to find the right words at the right time. Beth (Eliza Scanlen) captures the essence of a brilliant yet quiet mind, capable of the greatest things, while Amy (Florence Pugh) is characterized by a certain naivete that transforms into maturity. Even Laurie (Timothée Chalamet), who is a male character, is shown as someone who is driven by passion, forging unbreakable bonds with each of the sisters.

“[She] paints a realistic picture of what womanhood means.”

In Little Women, each of the March sisters present femininity in a unique way. Jo March (Saoirse Ronan) exudes

“Gerwig’s unique writing style is what makes her stand out in the film world.”

On the horizon, Gerwig’s newest film Barbie is set to be released later this summer. While expectations vary, this film will be yet another example of Gerwig’s skills as a director who willingly spans various genres. As another story centered around women, Gerwig continues to push female-driven narratives. I believe, her work will continue to have an overwhelmingly positive effect on women all over the world.

How Tender is the Flesh inexplicitly analyzes the cruelty of femicide Bazterrica’s novel about the gruesome nature of cannibalism has much to say about capitalist societies.

Shahed Ebesh Contributor Trigger warning: This article mentions murder, cannibalism, and violent imagery.

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magine a world where murder is statesanctioned. Is it still murder? What if cannibalism is involved? In her award-winning novel, Tender Is The Flesh, Argentinian author Agustina Bazterrica attempts to answer these gut-wrenching questions in nauseating and brilliant detail.

Set in a dystopian society in which a virus named “GGB” infects all meat, the characters are eliminated of edible food. As a result, the government legalizes the consumption of specially farmed human meat, known as “head.” Although discomforting, enough time passes in this transition that most people can go about life normally—except for Marcos, the main character. After his wife leaves him following the death of their infant son, he is left haunted in his job at a

“special meat” plant. Although he wants to escape, he needs the job to pay for his elderly father’s senior home. To complicate his moral dilemma, he is gifted a female “head.”

We follow Marcos as he navigates his guiltwracked life, and develops a forbidden, illegal relationship with the female “head.”

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Throughout the novel, Bazterrica is conservative in her word use—a clever and surprising choice for an otherwise gory novel.

The blunt language cuts through the fog of metaphor and flowery language. For instance, a line that stuck with me describes the butchering of a head through the perspective of Marcos: “[…] he removes her eyes and puts them on a tray with a label that says ‘Eyes.’ He opens her mouth, cuts out her tongue, and places it on a tray with a label that says ‘Tongues.’”

In a nutshell, Bazterrica’s writing has the potential to make even the most avid meateater gag at their lunch. However, vegetarianism is not the novel’s the selling point. In an interview with The Irish Times, Bazterrica clarified, “I am not on a crusade to convert carnivores to vegetarianism. I never meant to write a vegan pamphlet.” The meanings behind her text go much deeper.

This novel makes precise, poignant comments on many topics—including the unchecked power of government propaganda and the objectification of the “other” to justify murder and torment. Most prominently,

Bazterrica hoped to shed light on the growing issue of femicide—the killing of women simply for their female gender identity—in Argentina. “We are a country that murders its women,” she said to The Irish Times.

“There is one femicide every 18 hours […] and when we do not talk about femicide, we give room to impunity, to thinking that women’s lives are worthless.”

Tender Is the Flesh is the story of a man who feels bad about the status quo, but actively participates and even facilitates it. Every character in this novel is bound by their circumstances—from money and reputation to family obligation. They participate in a gruesome practice because they feel as though they have no choice.

A society is the culmination of individual actions, and Bazterrica warns that a less literal form of cannibalism has become an epidemic. Metaphorically, we consume one another—our souls, our humanity—and justify it through our profitable capitalist society. Men will silence women without consequences. While this story is a wild fable, its core messages are already a barbaric reality.

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Theatre Erindale’s Alcestis: Merging styles of the past and present How Theatre Erindale’s latest main stage production used costumes, lighting, and sound effects to create a timeless experience.

Megan Freedman Associate Arts & Entertainment Editor

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heatre Erindale’s latest production reimagines a play that has been in production since 438 BC. Alcestis by Euripides tells the story of King Admetus (Anthony Palermo) as he mourns his wife Alcestis (Jewell Bowry)—who sacrifices her life for her husband to live past his allotted time on Earth. As a result, Alcestis is deemed the “best of women beneath the sun.” Throughout Theatre Erindale’s production, lighting and sound was utilized beautifully, expressing the characters’ desire to spend more time in the sun. In the background, I often heard a delicate balance of crickets and birds chirping—an aspect that brought out the play’s realism. Under the direction of Alan Dilworth, Theatre Erindale’s Alcestis mixed modern, classical, and hard rock aesthetics to create an interesting take on Greek drama.

When the lights went up, the audience found three elderly people (Ava Patterson, Juliet Spizzirri, Mirphie Kinanga) in tracksuits. They performed tai chi in front

of Admetus’s palace—as a traditional Greek Chorus, which is a small group of performers that comment on the happenings of the play. Apollo (Stevie Hook) entered with his magical bow and lyre—an electric guitar—to sing the tale of Admetus and Alcestis. Later, Death (Chelsea Mathieu) appeared to ensure that Alcestis’s demise fulfilled Admetus’s debt to Death. It was quickly made clear that Death and Apollo did not get along.

As the play progressed, the focus shifted to the Greek Chorus. Alcestis’s Servant (Maïa Greco) entered and explained to the Greek Chorus that her mistress, Alcestis, appeared both living and dead in her state of suffering. She invited the chorus to say their

goodbyes to their friend. But before Death gave Alcestis a lethal injection, Bowry gave her first monologue as Alcestis. In this powerful speech, she made Admetus promise not to find another wife—because stepmothers always hate their stepchildren. With her husband’s promise, Alcestis died.

While grieving, Admetus was visited by his friend Heracles (Sydney Scott), who was unaware of the loss that took place. After some insensitive lies from Admetus regarding wife’s death, Heracles partied to “Push Me” by Benny Benassi. As more tragedy unfolded, the play left audiences reflecting on themes of morality and female sacrifice.

While Alcestis is a classical play, costum-

SHUNSHO ANDO HENG/THEATRE ERINDALE

ing for the production mixed a few different styles to portray each character. The Greek Chorus and Servants were dressed in modern clothing—track suits and neutral tones—while others, like Heracles, Apollo, and Death, wore costumes and hairstyles inspired by the 1980s and 1990s hard rock/ punk era. Modern props such as oxygen tanks, gurneys, and IV drips were utilized, and Heracles’s preferred method of transportation was a child’s “Razor” scooter.

While the overall performance was spectacular, Bowry’s final monologue as Alcestis should be recognized. Within her words, she realized that her voice never mattered. As a female character who devoted her life to her husband, this monologue left me thinking about the importance of female independence.

Through the merging of different styles, the show created some confusing aesthetics at times. However, the skillful acting of each performer allowed for an enjoyable yet tragic experience for the audience. Be sure not to miss Theatre Erindale’s final show of the 2022-2023 season, Everybody, on stage from March 23 to April 1, 2023.

Recognizing the power of female artistry at Billboard’s Women in Music Awards Billboard aims to showcase women’s successes in an industry that does not have enough female representation.

Julia Skoczypiec Arts & Entertainment Editor

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love to discover new music from various genres. Whether it be through online playlists, social media ads, or by whispering “what song is this” to Siri in public, adding songs to my Apple Music library feels refreshing—especially when the artist is female. Like many music listeners, when I jam to a great tune, I pay attention to how a song sounds—from a vocalist’s sultry runs to a guitarist’s skillful licks. However, I don’t often consider the team of creatives that helps an artist release their music— but how many of us do? When do we think about the names of producers, writers, publicists, label executives, and other crucial collaborators?

There are sometimes hundreds of creatives that are involved in releasing a platinum level song or album, and as the music industry evolves, more of them are women. For years, the industry has been a male-dominated space. According to a study conducted by USC Annenberg and Spotify looking at across 600 popular songs between 2012 and 2020, there was a 38:1 ratio of male to female producers. “Women are missing in the music industry,” the study reports, followed by statistics that women make up only 21.6 per cent of artists, 12.6 per cent of songwriters, and 2.6 per cent of producers.

Female representation in music needs to be encouraged and celebrated. On March 1, 2023, Billboard did just that with their annual Billboard Women in Music Awards. Hosted by writer,

producer, and actress Quinta Brunson, the star-studded event was live streamed from YouTube Theater in Los Angeles, California. The evening included performances by artists of many genres—including award-winners Kim Petras, the first transgender woman to be honoured at the award show, and TWICE, the first all-female K-Pop group to be recognized.

Taking the title of Woman Of the Year, SZA spoke about the importance of “staying open” to opportunities as a female artist.

“I really just want my life to be more than an artist,” she said during her acceptance speech. “I want to serve others, I want to serve people, I want to be open and available for whatever God wants for me […] and saying yes to everything that’s scary, [but it] is really the only way where we walk through those doors.”

While the evening included speeches by award-recipients Lana Del Rey, Latto, Doechii, Lainey Wilson, Rosalía—who took home the prestigious Producer of the Year Award—and others, the winner of the Executive of the Year award, Sylvia

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Rhone, stood out to me. Known as the CEO and Chairwoman of Epic Records, a label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, Rhone is the first Black female executive to possess both titles at a major record label. She has been applauded for her work in developing female artists—most notably in R&B and hip-hop.

In the earlier stages of her profession, Rhone was known for starting the careers of iconic female artists like Missy Elliot and Tracy Chapman.

During her acceptance speech, Rhone thanked all the women in attendance. She highlighted that female artistry requires fearlessness, saying that “one of the keys to success for females is [that] you have to put on your warrior outfit.” She continued to remind listeners that women in music are often “graded on their last success,” as opposed to the “sustained success” they acquire over many years of hard work.

The evening encouraged diversity and speaking one’s truth through a performance by Chloe Pourmorady, an IranianAmerican artist. Billboard reminded viewers that women’s rights are not a privilege, but a necessity. In support of the protests for female justice that continue to take place in Iran, Pourmorady used the power of song to empower those that face discrimination.

I hope to see women dominate the next generation of charttoppers, but these artists need us to make it to the top. As listeners, the music we stream makes a difference in each creative’s career. So, next time you are scrolling through social media or shopping for groceries, and you hear a new song by a female artist, save it to your music library and stream the heck out of it.

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Five books to read this International Women’s Day Exploring the diversity and resilience of Canadian women through literature.

Abigail Savage Contributor

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arch 8, 2023, marks the day that we celebrate, commemorate, and highlight the successes and struggles of women throughout history. Although International Women’s Day emphasizes the importance of solidary between women, it is equally important to recognize the diversity of female experiences. I think one of the best ways to do so is by engaging with a variety of female-written literature. If you’re looking for something new to read, consider one of these five incredible books:

Anne of Green Gables – L.M. Montgomery (1908) I can safely say that most Canadians have heard of Anne of Green Gables. Whether you were a fan of the hit CBC series Anne with an E (2017) or have an ingrained image of a red pigtailed girl, Anne is undoubtedly a Canadian icon. The novel centers on the five-year journey of Anne’s growth from an isolated, lonely orphan to a capable and dearly beloved young woman. Montgomery’s novel can be classified as proto-feminist, as it challenges female norms when it comes to age, love, and expression.

Anne of Green Gables is a definite must-read for any lovers of classic literature.

Alias Grace – Margaret Atwood (1996) Alias Grace is Atwood’s fictional retelling of the historical murder of Thomas Kinnear and housekeeper/paramour Nancy Montgomery. Throughout the novel, the perpetrator is a young woman named Grace—who seemingly has no recollection of

committing such a crime. Atwood manages to weave a suspenseful mystery alongside social critiques of gender roles, social class, and the treatment of female mental health. Her novel is both a source of great entertainment and one that allows readers to reflect on social issues.

Dancing on our Turtles Back: Stories of Nishnaabeg Re-Creation, Resurgence, and a New Emergence – Leanne Simpson (2011) As a Michi Saagiig Nishnaabeg author, Simpson engages with ideas of how reconciliation, resurgence, and flourishment can be obtained for Indigenous Peoples while existing within a settler-colonial society. Through tracing Anishnaabemowin language, ontology, and stories, Simpson suggests ways to preserve traditional Indigenous practices and obtain sovereignty, decolonization, and resurgence. Although we all acknowledge that the University of Toronto Mississauga stands upon traditional Indigenous land, I challenge you to go beyond, and engage with female-written Indigenous philosophy.

Simpson’s ideas are not only liberatory for Indigenous readers, but I believe anyone who engages with her work can appreciate this different perspective on our reality.

Ayesha at Last – Uzma Jalaluddin (2018) If you’re a fan of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, Jalaluddin’s Ayesha at Last is a must read. Jalaluddin’s wit shines as she manages to capture the spirit of Austen while simultaneously providing a fresh spin on an age-old classic. Ayesha at Last follows the story of a young Muslim couple falling in love. Framed through a diasporic lens, the story demonstrates the unique struggle, and often immense pressure, that many first and second-generation Canadians face. If you’re looking for a novel that weaves difficult questions surrounding faith, familial obligation, and sacrifice—all within a heartfelt love story—Ayesha at Last is the novel for you.

Shut Up You’re Pretty – Téa Mutonji (2019) Mutonji’s Shut up You’re Pretty was truly a lifechanging read for me. Having said that, be warned, this book engages with difficult subject matter.

What makes the novel authentic is Mutonji’s refusal to shy away from portraying trauma in its raw and disturbing form. The novel is a series of fragmented short stories, which chronicle Loli, the novel’s protagonist, on her journey into womanhood.

Mutonji masterfully explores how gender, race, trauma, and poverty intersect in crafting Loli’s experience as a young Congolese Canadian woman. Is it a difficult read? For sure. Is it a necessary one? I would say yes.

NGUYEN DANG HOANG NHU/UNSPLASH

From He’s Just Not That Into You to “Flowers”: Different stories with the same ending A culture-informed analysis of how dating has changed for women in the last decade.

Rola Fawzy Contributor

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was walking down St. Catherine Street in Montreal when I heard, from a passing car, a woman singing a loud and highly interactive performance of “Flowers” by Miley Cyrus. Between steering the car and gesturing for pedestrians to sing with her, the woman’s passion made me assume that she was either trying to get over a failed love story or affirm her self-love. I will never know.

A couple of weeks before, I was watching the movie He’s Just Not That Into You (2009), directed by Ken Kwapis. I was in primary school when this film was released, but when I watched it for the first time as a university student, I was astonished by its plot. I thought, how did these women not know that those men were not interested in them? To me, the relationships in the movie felt like something taken for granted.

My generation is the one that religiously repeats the saying, “if he wanted to, he would,”—a mantra from TikTok that encourages women to stray away from men who don’t care. After some more thought, I realized that I was a bit unjust in my reading of the movie.

He’s Just Not That Into You was released at an interesting time. Marked by iconic love songs like “Love Story” by Taylor Swift and rom-coms like She’s the Man (2006), the early to mid-2000’s were a love-obsessed era.

Outside of the latest issue of Cosmopolitan at the time, it seemed like there wasn’t a real cultural effort to question the challenges that came with dating. As a result, women in the

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2000’s idolized the idea of falling in love— often in unrealistic ways.

“Today’s trending music offers us a snapshot of society’s views on romance— with many ‘love songs’ placing focus on hurt and deceit.”

With the rise of aesthetics such as the “That Girl” lifestyle, many modern-day women prioritize their wellbeing (financial, emotional, and physical) above all else. But, based on my interpretations of social media trends, I don’t know if the modern-day woman has been more successful in finding love. In my opinion, today’s trending music offers us a snapshot of society’s views on romance—with many “love songs” placing focus on hurt and deceit. The aforementioned “Flowers”—which currently tops the Billboard 100 charts—stresses that self-love is key when navigating through a grieving love story. Standing in second place is “Boy’s a liar Pt. 2” by PinkPantheress and Ice Spice.

And, since her break-up with Gerard Pique, Shakira has released three songs document-

ing the split—all were well received.

It seems that women today are not hurting any less. Heart break continues to and will always exist. But if we have all this information on how to find love and the ideal partner, shouldn’t women be doing better?

Yes, and no. We live in an age where women can take initiative and scour the internet for dating advice, but research does not substitute for the practical knowledge that you gain only by putting yourself into the dating world. As women, we risk hurting ourselves to realize the true meanings of love. Only then do we distinguish between those who are “just not that into us” and those who are.

“As women, we risk hurting ourselves to realize the true meanings of love.”

Today’s songs and media suggest that many women are at a crossroads. While at face value we know better, it takes time, patience, and heartbreak to develop communication skills and a strong sense of self.

Although movies like He’s Just Not That Into You do not present today’s world of dating accurately, one thing has not changed: women are still hurting.

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sports & health

Editor | Alisa Samuel sports@themedium.ca

“Peace begins with you”: The UTM firstyear who started a mental health initiative In 2022, Liv Magazine honoured Alanna Sethi with a Women of Wellness Changemaker Award for her work in supporting young minds through HOPE. Alisa Samuel Sports & Health Editor Trigger Warning: This article mentions selfharm and suicide.

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OPE focuses on improving accessibility to mental health support and resources for students and local communities. The nonprofit’s founder is a 19-year-old psychology student from the University of Toronto Mississauga (UTM) named Alanna Sethi “There are so many barriers to mental health support globally, from financial to socio-cultural stigma to limitations in resource availability and practicality, especially in Asia. I knew that something had to be done,” Sethi says.

“It was at this point that the direction of HOPE changed from focusing on mental health awareness to mental health support.”

Sethi spent her life living across the world, including in Japan, Hong Kong, Singapore, England and now Canada. Through her own experiences with mental health in the UK, she navigated through a variety of mental health supports from public, charity and private sectors. When Sethi moved back to Hong Kong in 2019, she explored mental health resources and support available—including public mental healthcare, and various mental health charities and their available services—only to realize that they were often short-term or limited, and support services were often separated to be available to either locals (Cantonese-speakers) or expats (English-speakers).

“I felt comfortable using the skills I had developed [in the UK] to take care of myself, but I recognized in friends that were struggling with panic attacks, self-harm, and suicidal thoughts and attempts, that some of them had nowhere to turn to and they needed more support than they had access to,” Sethi says. “It was at this point that the direction of HOPE changed from focusing on mental health awareness to mental health support.”

“HOPE offers a mixture of online and inperson programming in Hong Kong […] we recognize there may be people outside Hong Kong who would like to access these same resources we share,” Sethi explains. “As much as we can, we try to replicate any in-person offerings to an online alternative for people who are not able to attend in-person.”

Current HOPE workshops, such as their

Mental Health Basics and Mental Health Toolbox series, focus on community education to empower individuals with the selfhelp tools that may help them improve their mental health experiences. Friends and family members may also join their information workshops to learn more about mental health and how to provide emotional support.

These workshops and resources are often created with support from the HOPE Advisory Board, who are a team of mental health professionals (psychologists and a psychiatrist) to ensure accuracy, safety, and practicality of information shared.

Similarly, Community Building workshops gather people to form a peer support community. “This can often be a source of stress relief and a safe place people can come to talk and chat either about daily life or about their mental health if they feel comfortable,” Sethi says.

“Some workshops may also include guidance on how to use techniques learnt in workshops for self-care that they can apply at home, for example in our Drawing Zentangles Work-

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shop. Other examples of our Community Building Workshops include Aerial Hammock, Board Games, Singing Bowl Sound Relaxation and Yoga.”

Sethi is a certified yoga and meditation instructor who runs the new yin yoga classes at UTM’s Recreation, Wellness & Athletics Centre. With a background in Integral Yoga, Sethi teaches people how they can ease their bodies, calm their minds, and live useful lives. “Practising and teaching yoga helps me to be more open to new perspectives, more compassionate and connected to the world around me, improve my emotional regulation and stability […] and has assisted with injury recovery.”

Alongside a strong work ethic, Sethi accredits yoga, particularly yin yoga, with restoring her energy levels when she’s feeling depleted, making it possible for her to uphold her role as a mental health advocate. “I make sure to take self-care breaks when needed and make sure that others have resources they feel comfortable using in case they need some support while I’m taking my break,” Sethi

speaks to the importance of setting boundaries to avoid burnout.

In 2023, Sethi received a fully-funded scholarship to study at the Yintelligence School of Yin and Functional Yoga this March, where she’ll learn more about traditional Chinese medicine, meridian pathways, and western anatomical knowledge in yin yoga to not only inform her own practice, but to facilitate greater health and wellbeing learning in her classes.

“You might try one type of mental health treatment and it might work for others, but maybe even after months or years it doesn’t feel right for you and that’s okay, it’s important to know there are other options available.”

A guest speaker for an upcoming session on mental wellness and mindfulness at The Cross-Cultural Community Services Association March Break Camp, Sethi advises students to keep an open mind when it comes to settling on mental health support. “Of course, it’s important to listen to healthcare professionals and give new treatments a go, but it’s also important to listen to your body [and trust yourself],” she says. “You might try one type of mental health treatment and it might work for others, but maybe even after months or years it doesn’t feel right for you and that’s okay, it’s important to know there are other options available.”

Open to students aged 13 to 25 across the globe, HOPE will run a three week course on creating life changes every Friday evening from 9:00 PM to 10:00 PM starting March 10, 2023. “The course will focus on introducing young people to meditation to help them achieve their goals including [academic and sport] performance improvement, mental wellbeing, community support, or learning skills to share with others,” Sethi is excited to share. “This means that the course will be tailored specifically for students enrolled, to allow for meaningful experiences in meditation and group discussion.” To ensure everyone can participate in group discussions, course enrollment caps at a maximum of six students.

If you feel like any piece of Sethi’s story resonates with you and would like to become a HOPE service user, volunteer, or collaborator, please write to info.helpingourplanetearth@gmail.com.

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All In For this year’s iteration of the Leafs, Toronto Maple Leafs general manager Kyle Dubas puts all his chips on the table.

Omar Khan Columnist

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his season, the Leafs have consistently been one of the top five teams in the entire National Hockey League (NHL). Will their reputation as a first round exit uphold?

This season is also Kyle Dubas’s last season as general manager of the Leafs, according to his current contract. If the team is unsuccessful this postseason, Dubas could be on his way out. This situation, along with the looming contract expirations of some of the Leafs’ best players, makes this season, more than any other season before, a true do-or-die year for the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Under pressure and with a sense of urgency, Dubas went all out in terms of trade acquisitions and deadline deals.

Never before have the Leafs acquired as many players as they have now. Additions such as Ryan O’Reilly, Noel Acciari, Sam Lafferty, Jake McCabe, Erik Gustafsson, and Luke Schenn provide new strengths to the team.

Perhaps the most intriguing acquisition the Leafs have made this year is Ryan O’Reilly. O’Reilly is an all-star, captain, former defensive player-of-the-year winner, Stanley Cup champion, and playoff MVP. Acquired alongside O’Reilly was Noel Acciari, a depth player whose strong de-

fensive play, physicality, and toughness improves these areas in the overall team.

Sam Lafferty and Jake McCabe, both acquired from the Chicago Blackhawks, are a speedy bottom six forward and a defence first, top four defencemen, respectively. Both players may be traded to Toronto for a few weeks for the benefit of its cup run.

Erik Gustafsson is a risky, offensive-first defencemen, whose unpredictability can make him the winning or losing factor on his teams. In order to acquire Gustafsson, the Leafs had to give up young defenceman Rasmus Sandin, a much-loved player who was coming into his own this year.

Luke Schenn, while he is only a depth piece, has a very interesting story. Schenn was actually drafted by the Leafs back in 2008. Schenn entered the league as a big, strong, defence-first defenceman when

the league was getting smaller, faster, and more offensive.

Schenn’s career had hit a few road bumps along the way, until he was picked up by the Tampa Bay Lightning three years ago and went on to win back-to-back Cups in Tampa.

Schenn, now full circle, returns to the Leafs at a time when his strengths as a big, strong, defence-first defenceman are exactly what the Leafs need.

As pressing and interesting as the current Leafs situation is, this week, we celebrate International Women’s Day, and it’s important to highlight the roles that women play in the Leafs organization: Hayley Wickenheiser, the legendary Canadian women’s hockey Olympian and Gold Medal winner, has arguably one of the most successful professional women’s hockey careers. She now works as a resident physician and Assistant General Manager for the Toronto Maple Leafs.

As Assistant General Manager, Wickenheiser offers her expertise, experience, and dedication to the game. She also serves as the Head of Player Development, tasked with getting the most out of players on the Leafs roster. She works closely with the players to understand their game to the best of her ability, watches game tapes to identify their strengths and weaknesses, and provides feedback to players, coaches, and management.

Soraya Jovin: her athletic wins and losses “Although our season didn’t go as planned, I have been able to form some amazing friendships with my teammates,” says the Varsity Blues student-athlete.

Radhia Rameez Associate Sports & Health Editor

Alongside her accomplishments on the court, Jovin co-founded the Bring Back UTM Varsity Eagles movement, a campaign created in protest of UTM’s decision to can-

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oraya Jovin has always loved sports. She participated in almost all sports activities available at her elementary school, but her family influenced her passion for basketball.

“We always watched the NBA game every weekend, and my dad and brothers used to play all the time,” Jovin shares. “So that inspired my interest in the sport.” Now a thirdyear student majoring in criminology and sociology, Jovin currently plays for the Varsity Blues women’s basketball team.

Shuttling back and forth between the University of Toronto Mississauga (UTM) campus—where she has all her classes—and the St. George campus—where she trains— means Jovin commutes between two to three hours every school day.

Jovin’s university basketball career began in 2022, when she played for the University of Toronto Tri-Campus League team for UTM. Reminiscing about her experiences, Jovin remembers her teammates. “They made me feel extremely supported and welcome,” she says.

“I felt like I had known them for years which made us play even better together.”

Her favourite team memory is when they won the tournament that season. “Although the Tri-Campus competition wasn’t great, being able to win with my teammates made it better,” Jovin tells us. She has also refereed games for UTM intramurals. In April 2022, she got the UTM Intramurals Referee of the Year award.

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cel their Varsity Sports program. In November 2021, UTM’s Department of Recreation, Wellness & Athletics (RAWC) put an indefinite end to the six OCAA (Ontario Colleges

Athletic Association) varsity sports teams on campus to heed Covid-19 restrictions.

In September 2022, the RAWC permanently cancelled UTM varsity to focus on “greater sport, fitness & wellness program options for all students, that support mental and physical health, build peer connections, and enrich student experiences,” according to the department’s website.

Jovin, however, says that eliminating competition does not increase inclusion in sport: “Rather, it removes opportunity for sport excellence and reduces school spirit.”

Pain from the end of her basketball experience at UTM motivated Jovin and her teammates to create the Bring Back campaign.

“When student-athletes coming out of the pandemic were looking forward to returning to their sport and received an email that the entire UTM OCAA program was canceled, it really hurt,” she says. “UTM needs better leadership at the Recreation Athletic and Wellness Center. Students should have the opportunity to play the sport they love competitively and casually.”

“My advice to any student looking to get intentional about their fitness or get involved in UTM sports is to find a community,” she says. “Try going to the weight room, going to drop-ins or a fitness class, trying out for a tricampus team, or talking to the people at the RAWC front desk about the programs UTM offers. UTM has a lot of great people, you just have to get connected to them.”

Regarding her future goals, Jovin speculates that she will most likely retire after an “amazing senior season” next year.