Sex trafficking at UTM
Discussing news and opinion
‘Making a Book’ experience
Indigenous Literatures
Lactic acid and recovery
News, page 2
Opinion, page 4
Arts, page 6
Features, page 8
Sports, page 11
CUPE makes deal despite concerns Multiple members voiced concerns regarding the deal being sent out for ratification with little debate FATIMA WASIF ASSOCIATE NEWS EDITOR WITH NOTES FROM ALICIA BOATTO NEWS EDITOR CUPE 3902 ratified the tentative agreement with the University of Toronto, despite several CUPE members expressing concerns about the ascension meeting on the 12th of February, in an open letter by members posted online on the 15th of February. The ascension meeting was held in order to recommend a tentative agreement signed between the union and U of T’s administration prior to an all-member ratification vote. The letter listed issues regarding an alleged lack of debate about the agreement. It pointed out that a disruption occurred throughout the meeting by members not following proper procedure during the question period. According to the open letter, “At this point, two members, both white, both men, literally started shouting aggressively in order to call a ‘point of privilege’ against what seemed to be less the last comment, than the
MESHA GHAYUR/THE MEDIUM
The tentative agreement between CUPE 3902 and the University of Toronto was ratified. last speaker (a woman who had been vocal in critique of the T.A.), one of them at the microphone, the other from his seat somewhere in the front rows, against protocol,” the letter
read, “Although the Chair, a woman of colour, patiently requested numerous times that this member move to the microphone in order to make his point, he stubbornly refused to stand
up and continued yelling unintelligibly from his seat.” “We believe that such disrespectful behaviour, toward both the Chair and the assembly at large, should not
be tolerated in CUPE meetings and that this member should have been expelled immediately,” it also added. The meeting was called to question after this disruption, indicating that members were meant to vote on the deal without a full debate, according to the letter. This meant other equity issues, including those of systemic violence, language, and speech barriers could not be addressed. “We believed that debating both the T.A., as well as broader strategy, were indispensable steps toward an enlightened and empowered collective decision,” the letter stated. The letter primarily emphasized systemic inefficiencies within the process of decision-making at such meetings. It recommended an alteration to the practice of setting closing times for meetings regarding decisionmaking process and a decrease in the length of the presentation time used by the bargaining team. CUPE 3902 Chair Pamela Arancibia was not available for comment as of press time. Unit 1 continued on page 3
UTMSU and UTMAGS among fee hikes During the meeting, UTMSU defended fee increases in order to help fund the proposed GTA U-Pass SHARMEEN ABEDI STAFF WRITER The Campus Affairs Committee on February 13th approved an increase in compulsory non-academic incidental fees and reviewed mental health initiatives at UTM. The fee changes beginning in Fall 2018 will include an increase in the U-PASS fee for the UTM Association of Graduate Students increase of up to $10.83, as well as an increase of up to $6.66 per session in the Summer Transit U-Pass portion. The UTMSU fee increase of $9.43 in the Summer 2018 session and an increase of up to $8.12 per session in the Mississauga Transit U-Pass portion. There will also be an increase of $0.01 per session in the On Campus First Aid Emergency Response (ECSpeRT). Other increases include $0.02 per session in the Academic Societies portion, an increase of $0.01 per session in the Food Bank
JULIA HEALY/THE MEDIUM
Increases in the compulsory incidental fees were approved by the Campus Affairs Committee. portion, an increase of $0.02 per session in the Student Refugee Program. The university has a contract with the City of Mississauga that results
in necessary increases in fees every year. The increase in the U-Pass is now at seven per cent rather than nine per cent. UTMSU’s executive director
Munib Sajjad said that they are campaigning for a GTA U-Pass for which they need financial support. He added that the pass is important because UTM has students com-
muting from widely different areas in the GTA, and the campus should be made more accessible for all of them. Andrea Carter, UTM’s assistant dean, spoke about the importance of the Health and Counselling Centre and the Accessibility Centre. “We believe that these services are very important to create healthy and successful students, and ultimately healthy and successful graduates. This is just as core to a student’s success as academics,” Carter said. Carter stated that successful students have certain traits that help them achieve that success, namely time management skills and resiliency. She noted that resiliency is an attitude that helps students deal with stressful situations in an adequate way. These students prioritize academic success, and have strong social networks. Fees continued on page 2