Vol 38 issue 8

October 31, 2011 Volume 38, Issue 8 www.mediumutm.ca

Academic renovations underway

Snider Lecture Series kicks off

STEFANIE MAROTTA NEWS EDITOR

LARISSA HO FEATURES EDITOR

An academic town hall was held to gather input and address concerns from the UTM community last Wednesday in the William G. Davis Building.

The first hour of the town hall gave priority to students’ suggestions and questions, while the second hour was reserved for faculty, staff, and alumni.

Students stressed the importance of internships and experiential learning opportunities in the increasingly competitive job market. Undergraduates also expressed their desire for more qualified and well-trained teaching assistants, opportunities to retake courses and replace poor grades, and better access to upto-date course material—students showed concern for the higher cost of new-edition textbooks that have mostly the same information as the previous edition.

They advised departments to consult with their respective student academic societies and hold individual town halls to better plan for student education and faculty research projects.

On Wednesday the UTM Snider Lecture Committee presented this year’s Snider Lecturer, Dr. Izzeldin Abuelaish, an internationally trained Gaza doctor. Abuelaish, a bestselling author and Nobel Peace Prize nominee, is also currently an associate professor at the Dalla Lana School of Public Health.

Deep Saini, UTM’s principal and vice-president, introduced the lecturer in the Instructional Centre at 5:30 p.m. In his introduction, Saini remarked on the coincidence of this year’s lecture falling on Diwali, the Hindu “festival of lights”.

“Dr. Abuelaish is everything Diwali stands for,” said Saini: “Victory of light over darkness, victory of hope over despair, on this festival that looks forward to better things for humanity.”

During the Second Intifada in Gaza, the Palestinian obstetrician and gynecologist would travel to work in one of Israel’s hospitals, crossing the checkpoints that separated his home in the Gaza Strip from Israel.

JUNAID IMRAN/THE MEDIUM

Vice Principle Academic and Dean Amy Mullin invited students to speak.

“The UTM students had a number of really helpful suggestions,” Mullin said. “At our chairs meeting next week, I plan to encourage both [of these ideas] and have already spoken to one departmental chair who plans to do just that.”

During the second hour, faculty discussed the success of UTM’s new online environment course and im-

proving technical components, services for international students, and resources for writing support.

“I would love to see a concerted effort to bring our students’ writing up to the required level,” said Andrew Gilbert, a professor of anthropology.

“They won’t succeed in anthropology if they can’t write. And we know that employers need graduates who can

write well.”

With enrolment expected to increase by 20% by the 2015–16 year, Amy Mullin, the vice-principle academic and dean, has set up a prioritized list of goals to be achieved by the committee over the course of the year.

Hall continued on page 2

Snider continued on page 2

Halloween Pub posts record sales SHERI VEIBL UTMSU hosted the annual Halloween Pub last Thursday night where students in a wide variety of costumes crowded the Blind Duck Pub. Apart from the traditional Halloween costumes, some unusual costumes included LMFAO, Barney, “Two Girls, One Cup”, and Where’s Waldo.

“This pub has even more hype because in addition to a crazy party everyone is always excited to see the creative and hot costumes,” Chris Thompson, VP Campus Life, said.

The UTMSU took a creative approach to promoting the event. They held a clubs dodgeball tournament alongside UTMAC to encourage healthy and active living. The winners received free tickets to the Halloween Pub. Also, members of the PUMP SQUAD dressed up in Halloween costumes while putting up posters around campus.

Tickets went on sale last Monday at 10 a.m. at the information booth in

Mississauga Summit Community members and city representatives discuss the future of Mississauga.

Medium News, page 2

Club funding Why the cycle of club funding leaves the little guys out.

Medium Opinion, page 4

The pub was at capacity with students celebrating Halloween. the Student Centre. Around 8:30 a.m., the lineup was already fairly long and the tickets sold out within 30 minutes.

“I was lucky I got my ticket before they sold out—I wouldn’t want to go early on Thursday and wait in another line,” said Sarah Atkinson, a student.

Some special features of Halloween Pub included an on-site photographer candy for those waiting in line, and a prize of Square One gift certificates for

the best costume.

DJ Genisis was chosen by the Ministry of Student Life to play the event.

He was also the DJ at the Shawn Desman afterparty during frosh.

“The weather was freezing, and the line took so long, but when we finally went inside it smelled like sweat and alcohol,” said student Natasha Butzow.

“But the music selection was awesome—the perfect songs to dance to.”

JASON HU/THE MEDIUM

“Overall, the night was a great success. It set the record for the fastestsold pub,” Thompson said. “People started lining up at the door while we still decorating the pub. Shane, the pub manager, even started handing out cups of hot chocolate because people were in line so early. The party was full, and people were dancing past 2 a.m.—even after the lights had been turned on.”

Avante-garde art show We visit the AGO’s Chagall and the Russian Avante-Garde Medium A&E, page 5

The new Panopticon How do you portray yourself in social media?

Medium Sports, page 8

Rugby @ UTM A hooligan’s game played by gentlemen Medium Sports, Page 12

2

«NEWS THE MEDIUM 10.31.2011

Gaza doctor speaks at Snider Lecture Mississauga Summit talks postsecondary education JEROME JOHNSON

EDWARD CAI/THE MEDIUM

Dr. Izzeldin Abuelaish discussed the hardships he has faced.

Snider continued from Cover He also gave frequent updates to news anchorman Shlomo Eldar on Israel’s Channel Ten about what was happening in Gaza.

Two days before the ceasefire, on the day that he accepted a medical professorship in Canada, an Israeli tank launched shells at his apartment, instantly killing three of his daughters and his niece. Abuelaish’s immediate and emotionally harrowing phone call to his friend Eldar after their deaths was broadcast live and later on YouTube, making him the face of human suffering in the war throughout the world.

After the death of his children, Abuelaish vowed not to hate those who had killed them. He did not turn into a vengeful man, but became even more adamant that there must be coexistence and peace be-

tween Palestinians and Israelis.

His memoir, I Shall Not Hate: A Gaza Doctor’s Journey, published last year by Random House, is currently on bestseller lists.

“Thank you for welcoming me to my home, University of Toronto, the place that spreads light, spreads education,” said Abuelaish. “What I suffer is man-made. That is the hope. All of us can challenge manmade suffering. We can inspire hope. I urge all of us to dream big.

With goodwill, hard work, and determination, everything is possible in life. The only impossible thing I believe in is to return my daughters back.”

Speaking more about his daughters, Abuelaish said, “The most precious thing in the universe is a human life. My daughters are alive.

They are living amongst us. I feel I’m watched by them. I fully believe

one day I will meet them again.”

Abuelaish urged students to not only hope and dream big, but to commit themselves to action.

“Faith without actions is useless.

As students, don’t underestimate your action. We must take action and do something,” said Abuelaish.

“Act; don’t wait for others. Take initiative and don’t think that any of us is far from the rest. Saving others, you save yourself. No one is free as long as one is not. As Grandma Moses said, ‘Life is what we make it.’ ” After the one-hour lecture, Abuelaish took questions from the audience.

One female student asked Abuelaish how he is able to refrain from hating the Israelis after the horrific personal tragedy that he has experienced.

Abuelaish’s answer was simple: “Hate is a great burden to bear.”

The third annual Mississauga Summit took place at the Instructional Centre last Tuesday.

The central theme of this year’s event was promoting civic engagement around five key issues: job creation, waterfront and environmental conservation, postsecondary education strategy, diversity and immigration, and innovation.

Deep Saini (UTM’s vice president and principal), Shelley White (CEO of United Way Peel), and Brian Crombie (the co-chair of the Mississauga Summit) gave an official welcome to the packed auditorium of various business and community players, members of UTMSU, and other students.

In his speech, professor David Wolfe emphasized the need to empower youth and community.

“What’s needed is for individuals to step forward, but first we need leaders to make that happen,” Wolfe said. “Public investment is the cornerstone for future development.”

The Post-Secondary Task Force, composed of the Mississauga Innovation Leadership Alliance (which includes the RIC Centre, Mississauga Economic Development Office, Mississauga Board of Trade, the UTM Institute for Management and Innovation, and professors from both UTM and Sheridan College), highlighted the challenges the next crop of postsecondary graduates will encounter when they enter the workforce.

Speakers from the Human Services Task Force argued that innovative change could be achieved at the individual level, but that there is a need for senior, influential leaders to step up to the plate and to put their time and effort into mentoring, with postsecondary institutions connecting the ideas, community, and political actors.

“We try to identify every organization invested in community development efforts and try to bring these organizations together and develop a common plan to

decide and identify what we’re going to do in collaboration and what each group’s going to do on their own.”

“We recognize that government alone cannot solve the problem of unemployment,” said the speaker for the night’s final Task Force panel, Mississauga Works. “The issues coming out of these summits are concerns about high unemployment and a need to understand these challenges, especially for youth and newcomers. Diversity is quite present here in Mississauga, not just about money, but from an economic perspective.

When skilled immigrants bring talent, creativity, and innovation, they also bring their ideas and positive change to this city. Cultivating connections between various stakeholders, including collaboration between the city and employers, can sponsor the new job flow into well-paying, long term employment.”

The summit culminated with a crowd-rousing speech by Mississauga’s mayor, Hazel McCallion, who received a standing ovation for her many years of dedication to promoting and developing the city as an “innovation centre”.

“Many of the ideas that came forward tonight can be implemented with very little money, but still, a lot of it needs a lot of funding. This summit has generated inspiration to the staff at the city, and for me and Council to get on with these tasks,” McCallion said. “But we need far more involvement of citizens—far more involvement in all aspects of the challenges and the big ideas. I am impressed with how our educational institutions work with the City of Mississauga, and we in turn with them on the campuses of UTM, Sheridan College, and with the students—the needed human resources we need in this city. I’m delighted to share with you that the innovation centre we are coming up with is going to deal with the human resources economic base that we have now and the planning that’s coming on its way.”

Committee holds town hall Hall continued from Cover The recently stricken Academic Planning Committee said that it shared the values involved in the planning process for the next five years.

The values were chosen to represent various aspects of academic enterprise: creating internationally recognized research initiatives, creating a positive student academic experience, hiring highquality instructors, encouraging creative interaction among all groups of the campus’ community, providing rich resources, and others.

The committee, headed by Mullin, is comprised of a graduate, an alumna, and representatives from the Career, the UTM Students’ Union, and the Hazel McCallion

Academic Learning Centre.

The last time the administration undertook an academic planning project was in 2004 with the UTM Steps Up academic plan. This year’s plan will go through various developments before its final release, scheduled for November 2012.

“Some of the comments raised in our town halls concerned the need to celebrate and keep doing the things we already do really well at UTM,” Mullin said. “I think that’s a great reminder that as we focus on how best to move forward, we need to remember and preserve the practices we are proudest of now.”

Students are encouraged to provide feedback for the Academic Planning Process on the UTM website.

10.31.2011 THE MEDIUM NEWS

Restraints of a student budget ADAM ERB The Student Financial Workshop, offered through the partnership of the UTM Students’ Union and the Office of the Registrar, was held on Tuesday and Wednesday in the Student Centre.

Every year, the same worries plague many students: “What if I run out of money? Can I afford another class? How will I pay for books?”

For those in need of financial assistance, there are programs out there to lend a helping hand.

A representative from the Office of the Registrar explained and outlined various ways that students can seek funding, budget their expenses, and get help with other financial matters. They listed some common pitfalls students run into, and tips on how to troubleshoot financial problems before they begin or become serious.

“Many students don’t fully understand the importance of planning ahead,” the lecturer said. “It leads to many problems down the road.”

Teal pages with columns and headings enumerated various ways of calculating income versus ex-

penses, how to manage a deficit, and where to go for further information.

Each student present was asked to fill out these forms and calculate just how much they were in the hole.

A person buying a cup of coffee and a pastry once a day from Tim Horton’s will be out just over $500 at the end of the school year.

“Sometimes we spend small amounts of money here and there, such as a cup of coffee and a doughnut at Tim Horton’s, but what we don’t realize is that these small expenses lead to a larger financial loss later down the road,” the lecturer said.

She demonstrated that a person buying a cup of coffee and a pastry once a day from Tim Horton’s will be out just over $500 at the end of the school year—an expense which could easily be used for something more vital, such as rent, books, or tuition.

If you are reading this with a

clenched fist and tears or sweat running down your face, don’t fret; there are ways that you, as a UTM student, can reach out for further financial assistance beyond OSAP. “There are hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars of unclaimed scholarships every single year,” the lecturer said. “It’s mostly because people think that hundreds of other students are also applying, so they don’t bother. There are very few students actually applying for these scholarships, with thousands of dollars for the taking.”

Not all scholarships are skillbased; some are based on cultural background, creed, social status, among a number of others. For instance, there are scholarships for people who had a close relative fight in a war, or people belonging to certain Aboriginal tribes.

To access scholarship information, visit the Office of the Registrars website, click on “Financial aids and awards”, and start browsing the plethora of scholarships available, with the thousands of dollars unclaimed every year.

The lecture runs annually in October; all students are encouraged to attend.

Lend a helping hijab

»

3

»What did you do for halloween?

Mandeep First year, Social Sciences

Samantha Third year, Mathematics

“Last night I went to... I don’t remember. But I went as Scarface.”

“I studied for a math test.”

Ghazi Alumus, Commerce

Nida Fourth year, Commerce

“I’m going to a work party as the 1% that the Occupy protestors are against.”

“I was going to go to a party... but I didn’t. I might go to Halloween Haunt.”

Hindu Student Council celebrates Diwali

The Muslim Student Association took part in Global Pink Hijab Day to raise money and awareness for breast cancer research last Wednesday. In the afternoon, MSA members sold cupcakes, brownies, burgers, ribbons, pins, and pink hijabs outside of the Student Centre.

UTM Muslim women wore pink hijabs (headscarves). Other participants were asked to wear any piece of pink clothing, such as pashmina scarves, shirts, or ties, to show their support.

“There are two goals for Pink Hijab Day,” said Ruqayyah Ahdab, the senior advisor of the MSA. “The first is to educate people; the scarf is a means of awareness. The second goal is to dismiss misconceptions about the hijab.”

After buying a cupcake, donating money, or trying on a hijab, both male and female students were asked to sign a fluorescent pink “Pledge for Prevention”

board. The pledge was to remember to check for breast cancer and to raise awareness among friends and family.

“It’s not just a feel-good event— we want people to do something,” said Ahdab. “For a lot of UTM students, health is on the backburner.

We hope to remind those people to take care of themselves”.

The second goal of MSA’s Pink Hijab day is part of an ongoing campaign at UTM. “There is a lot of ignorance about people who wear hijab at UTM, but not necessarily stereotypes,” said Ahdab. “The stereotypes are mainly due to the media.

What you see there are anomalies and extremists.”

“There are some people that have never spoken to a woman who wears a hijab. It’s shocking,” said Ahdab.

Ahdab explained that the hijab is both a physical barrier and a psychological one. As a physical barrier, it can be positive or negative. Pink Hijab Day seeks to make

it positive by standing out and making the wearer approachable.

The psychological barrier is mostly unconscious, but, said Ahdab, “With a little bit of knowledge, a lot of things open up.”

Pink Hijab Day began in 2006 when Hend El-Buri, a freshman at Missouri University, started a Facebook event for her and her friends. El-Buri started the event as a way to break the religious and cultural barrier between her and her peers.

Breast cancer research organically attached itself to El-Buri’s cause, since they share two key components: being personal to women and being surrounded by misconceptions and ignorance, which she also experienced with the hijab.

The event grew in popularity and in 2009 went global. Now, universities around the world—including in Canada, England, Nigeria, Spain, UAE, South Africa, Trinidad, Egypt, and Qatar—take part in Pink Hijab Day.

The Hindu Student Council hosted their sixth annual Diwali Dhamaka, titled “Let’s All Unite to Light Up the Night”, at the Blind Duck Pub on Friday night.

Diwali Dhamaka is a cultural event. It includes a three-course meal, raffle draws, live performances, bands, an open dance floor, and a lot more. Over 550 people attended the event.

This year the band Saad & Ahsan and the UTM Music Club entertained the crowd with live band performances. There were also eight other performances, which included singing and dancing.

Diwali, one of the biggest festivals in India, is a five-day celebration of light. In Hinduism, Diwali is the celebration of Rama’s victorious return from his battle with Ra-

vana, and the inner light that overpowers evil. It is celebrated across India and the rest of the world.

While Diwali is particularly important to Hinduism, Jainism, and Sikhism, the HSC made sure to welcome everyone to their event.

As the event tagline suggests, HSC’s main goal is to make a difference in the UTM community by organizing events where people from different cultures can get together and enjoy a night of love, celebration, appreciation, and diversity.

Deep Saini, UTM’s principal, attended the event with his wife. After making his way up to the stage, he said that he was incredibly proud of the attendees and youth across Canada working to build a Canadian identity and a multicultural society that celebrates our common humanity.

Saudi royal offers reward for capture of Israeli soldiers

Trick-or-treat at the White House: Obama gets festive

Teenage employee slips at haunted house, is mistaken for prop

Man stuck in child’s swing overnight as part of a practical joke

Winter Wonderland in New York for Halloween weekend

In light of the release of captive Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit, Saudi royal Prince Khaled bin Talal offered a $900,000 reward Saturday for anyone who captures an Israeli soldier, with the intention of exchanging them for Arab prisoners. The offer has sparked controversy, coming days after similar capture offers have been made by prominent clerics, mostly through Facebook.

The White House was decorated with spiderwebs and pumpkins for the annual trick-or-treat event on Saturday. Despite Michelle Obama’s healthy eating campaign, they handed out M&Ms and baked cookies, along with dried fruit. “I told her the White House is going to get egged if this keeps up,” Obama jokingly told Jay Leno about the dried fruit.

A 17-year-old girl in St. Louis, Missouri was working as an actress at Creepyworld. Investigators speculate that she fell off a bathtub and a noose became tangled around her neck. She was discovered at 8:30 p.m. during a safety check. “It looks like an unfortunate accident,” said Captain Ron Arnhart of the Jefferson County Sheriff ’s Office.

The attraction is still open.

A Californian man was found stuck in a child’s swing early last week after being stuck for more than nine hours. The man, who entered the swing on a $100 bet, claims that his friends left him overnight as a joke.

He was found early the next morning after a local groundskeeper heard his cries for help. He was taken to a local hospital where firefighters had to remove the swing from his body.

A heavy snowstorm hit the northeastern United States, toppling trees and power lines. The recordbreaking storm will leave some residents without electricity for what may be up to a week. “We seem to have hit the jackpot,” said Charlie Foley, a meteorologist for the US National Weather Service. “It is unusual to have something like this before Halloween.”

Source: haaretz.com

Source: washingtonpost.com

Source: dailymail.co.uk

Source: timesheraldonline.com

Source: nytimes.com

LORI-LEE EMSHEY ASSOCIATE NEWS EDITOR

PURAVI NOPANY

»

4

10.31.2011

MEDIUM OPINION Editor-in-Chief » Michael Di Leo

Phase Out: The problem with club funding I have never been a member of a club on campus. I don’t know if that makes me a hypocrite, as I have on multiple occasions stressed the importance of getting involved at UTM, but I’d like to think my involvement with The Medium makes up for it. I’d also like to think that in my time here—over four years now—I have come to understand what problems student organizations face, and the struggle that comes with turning over the reins every year.

Many of these problems—or rather many problems in gen-

eral—stem from a single issue: funding. “How will we remain viable? What changes need to be made? How can we improve?”

No doubt these are all important questions—and they’re normally reserved for professionals in the business sector. That’s why I’m impressed by how, year after year, so many clubs and societies survive the fray. It’s great life experience, and I hope more students come to see it that way.

That said, I believe there is room for improvement, especially when it comes to club funding. As far as I understand, club funding

is distributed by UTMSU based on both membership and achievements. While every approved club is guaranteed some funding, just how much is left up to UTMSU’s executive team, who decide on a number based on the merit of these student-run organizations.

In other words, if you have bigger, better events and a larger membership this year, your club will receive more funding next year. But therein lies the problem.

With a finite amount of money for club funding, big clubs that can fund great events and attract members will keep getting big-

Reflection on the Occupy demonstrations During the month of September a very determined group of people, angry about income inequality and greed in America’s financial industry, assembled on New York City’s Wall Street to protest the unjust practices that led the financial industry to collapse. Calling themselves Occupy Wall Street, the initial grassroots movement came together in common purpose to express their resentment for corporate greed, corruption, and the stark level of income inequality seen in America.

When I first heard of the movement I was pleasantly inspired that students and regular folks were finally taking a bold stand against the type of corruption and corporate malfeasance that caused the disaster. But what started as a seemingly independent, grassroots, and apolitical expression of frustration evolved into an exercise of radicalism, hyperbole, and unproductive citizenship. I watched as the footage and reports of the protests showed a shift in message, with movement from realistic and pragmatic views to a much more zealous and radical approach—where anti-capitalist and socialist rhetoric began to permeate the theme. Coupled with the increasing reports of violence, sanitation hazards, and lack of coordination, empathy and legitimacy eroded.

There are now several attempts at

replicating this movement in a number of major cities across Canada. Presently the Occupy Toronto protests are leading the charge for Canada as part of the global Occupy movement, with fluctuating levels of turnout and a convoluted agenda to boot. Although organized protest and freedom of assembly are cornerstones to our democracy, the main focus seems to be to disrupt the livelihood of many hardworking Canadians. The protestors do not seem to understand that Canada is not like our southern neighbour and Bay Street is not Wall Street. Unlike much of the US, our banks are much more secure and regulated—but, more importantly, have not received government bailouts with taxpayer dollars. Our tax system is one of the most progressive tax systems in the world and enables our country to fund a slew of social programs that benefit the many while keeping a modest and respectable debt level. The Occupiers of Toronto seem to be more concerned with camping out and invading public spaces, creating unnecessary traffic, and directing anger randomly into a mixed bag of unrelated issues that weaken their overall purpose. They seem to forget the important role financial institutions play in our economy and how important they are to developing and preserving the material well-

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Michael Di Leo editor@mediumutm.ca NEWS EDITOR Stefanie Marotta news@mediumutm.ca ASSOCIATE NEWS EDITOR Lori-lee Emshey

MEDIUM II PUBLICATIONS 3359 Mississauga Road, Room 200, Student Centre, Mississauga, ON, L5L 1C6 Phone: 905.828.5260

A&E EDITOR Nives Hajdin arts@mediumutm.ca ASSOCIATE A&E EDITORS Colleen Munro Aristotle Eliopoulos FEATURES EDITOR Larissa Ho features@mediumutm.ca

being of Canadians, rich or poor.

The situation in Toronto is nothing more than a fluctuating cycle of ardent students and working people who are frustrated with the state of the economy and are looking for someone to blame.

Instead of lamenting and wallowing in the economic hardships faced by all, I would like to see an Occupy Toronto movement that is invested in fostering competition, hard work, education, and solidarity among fellow Canadians.

Taxing the rich more is not the answer to solving a dwindling economy or improving your own economic situation. In capitalism, efficiency trumps equity and creates winners and losers; the government should prevent fraud and abuse, but allow people to keep the fruits of their labour. Occupy Toronto should reflect a message that is positive in reaffirming what makes our country great and focus on raising awareness about corruption, rather than using the US model and a recession as the justification for radical change or aggressive economic justice at the expense of many hardworking families. I fear that if the trajectory of these demonstrations does not change it will be a very long cold winter on Bay Street.

Sincerely, Matthew Butler

ger, while small clubs don’t get the money they would need to draw in new members. Even if a club only has a few events a year, supplying them with the oh-sonecessary pizza would run into hundreds of dollars, which is all some clubs get. While this may not be an intentional part of the funding structure, it is a serious by-product—one that should be more carefully examined.

I’m tempted to relate this to the current happenings in the financial world, where most of the power and money (my analogy for club funding) is controlled by

Dear UTM students, As the popular saying goes, “If you fail to plan, you plan to fail.”

On behalf of your Students’ Union, UTMSU, I write to excite you about the review of the academic experience at UTM happening at this very moment.

In 2008, the president of the University of Toronto, Dr. David Naylor, released a Plan Towards 2030 that would guide U of T responsibly into the future. This year, each campus at U of T is reflecting on the state of the academic experience at the university in order to outline a set of short-term and medium-term goals for the next five years. Who better to critique and improve the academic experience, than the students themselves? Yes, you! What is your opinion? Do you feel that there should be more co-op and research opportunities for students? Would you want to be more involved with the development of curriculum?

Would you like to see academic policies that are constructive instead of punitive (1.0 drop credit)? How would you like to expel the user fees for transcripts, remarking final exams, and course packages? The good news is that together, students, faculty, and staff really do have the

AD MANAGER Victor Dri ads@mediumutm.ca

DESIGN EDITOR Rebecca Arboly

COMPLAINTS Comments, concerns or complaints about The Medium’s content should be directed to the Editor-in-Chief who can be located at the email address above.

WEBMASTER Gary Li DISTRIBUTION MANAGER Gurami Lomidze

YOURS, MICHAEL DI LEO

UTM academic experience

SPORTS EDITOR Christopher Callahan sports@mediumutm.ca ASSOCIATE SPORTS EDITORS Isaac Owusu Michelle Duklas PHOTOGRAPHY EDITOR Edward Cai photos@mediumutm.ca

COPY EDITOR Luke Sawczak copy@mediumutm.ca

a few, top-tier organizations (the big clubs), while smaller ones are left scratching for a piece of the pie. As we have seen the larger organizations continue to expand, we have also seen the smaller ones dwindle.

While I can’t offer a solution to this problem, I’m curious whether other student leaders feel the same way. If so, perhaps a town hall might be in order.

BOARD OF DIRECTORS Amir Ahmed, Matthew Butler, Victoria Dolliver, Paul Donaghue, Jerome Johnson, Lysan Sequeira, Sviatoslav Romaniuk

COPYRIGHT All content printed in The Medium is the sole property of its creators, & cannot be used without written consent.

opportunity to transform U of T into an even more innovative and welcoming academic institution.

Please take a moment to share your opinions. You may do this by visiting the Academic Planning website at utm.utoronto.ca/academicplan and by emailing your concerns to president@utmsu.ca (with the subject line Academic Planning – Opinion). UTMSU will be submitting a summary of the feedback we receive from students to aid the academic planning process at UTM. UTMSU proudly represented you at the first Academic Planning Town Hall, held on October 26, 2011. The planning process spans over the course of the year; however, the first deadline, November 30, is fast approaching. We have until this date to assess the state of our departments. Hence, please send in your valuable input by November 20, so that UTMSU may compile your concerns in time for November 30. Let us be the master of our destiny, UTM! I look forward to hearing from you!

In student solidarity, Delphino Gilbert Cassar II President of UTMSU

DISCLAIMER Opinions expressed in the pages of The Medium are exclusively of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of The Medium. Additionally, the opinions expressed in advertisements appearing in The Medium are those of advertisers and not of The Medium.

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Letters to the editor will be edited for spelling, grammar, style and coherence. Letters will not exceed 700 words in print. Letters that incite hatred, violence or letters that are racist, homophobic, sexist or libelous will not be published. Anonymous letters will not be published.

10.31.2011

«

5

MEDIUM A&E Editor » Nives Hajdin

Avant-garde opening at the AGO Paris art gallery loans over 100 works to the AGO for new exhibition, Chagall and the Russian Avante-Garde NIVES HAJDIN A&E EDITOR Centre George Pompidou in Paris must be feeling a little empty these days. The AGO has not only acquired the entire General Idea: Haute Couture exhibition that debuted at the French art space earlier this year, but most recently the AGO also became home to a collection of 118 works that make up the highly anticipated, limitedtime exhibition Chagall and the Russian Avante-Garde.

The art of Marc Chagall is definitely an acquired taste.

Greatly influenced by his Jewish heritage and hometown of Vitebsk on the Belarusian border, Chagall’s early Modernist works address scenes of isolated Jewish wanderers and the disillusionment that resulted from the 1917 Russian Revolution. Chagall relocated to Paris after the revolution and his subject matter shifted to themes of the circus and theatre (a particular fascination he held as a child), but many of his images still bear a highly critical and political undercurrent while offering an escape into the world of fantasy.

Upon entering the dimly lit exhibition space of the first room,

Centre George Pompidou/PHOTOS

Im Grau (In the Grey) by Wassily Kandinsky, 1919. the viewer is assaulted by bursts of colour scattered around the walls, with spotlights illuminating the paintings and panels alone.

This introduction to the Russian avante-gardists features a num-

The Dance by Marc Chagall, 1950–52.

ber of works by Mikhail Larianov and Natalia Goncharova that bear a strong Cubist influence, such as Goncharova’s vibrant pink, yellow, and orange geometric forms in Lady in a Hat, as well as Vladimir Baranoff-Rossiné’s subtle monochromatic browns and creams of The Forge.

To Russia, Donkeys & Others, one of the first major Chagall works on display, appears in the following room.

The anthropomorphic animals inhabiting this cosmic, nonspace really typify the artist’s signature subject matter, for the animals recur in a number of his subsequent paintings. Another feature of the exhibit is the “biography room”, in which quotes by the artists line the walls, and an entire segment outlines the great impact his hometown had on his artwork, and how “[he] didn’t have one single painting that didn’t breathe your spirit”. Visitors are then encouraged to participate at the drawing station, where they are asked to express which place has a special meaning for them and then display their work on the wall.

More works from Chagall’s contemporaries appear in a dark blue room, including Goncharova’s lithographs of religious and war imagery, but the two main works on display are Chagall’s Double Portrait with a Wine Glass and Wassily Kandinsky’s Im Grau

(In the Grey). The former depicts Chagall and his wife in rich colours and a fragmented Cubist style, and the latter bears Kandinsky’s signature swirling abstract forms and colours.

By now the expressionistic style so far encountered in the exhibition is for the most part abandoned, as curator Angela Lampe shifts the tone to the industrial and mechanical age of the revolution. The Stenberg brothers’ architectural prototypes greet the viewer in the largest room of the exhibit, while Ivan Puni’s compositions are projected out at the viewer, employing materials such as cardboard, tin, and goache on plywood. The plaster models of whitewashed monuments and cityscapes are scattered around the space in large vitrines and are linked to the room’s “Build a New World!” theme, as people were urged to start life

anew following the war. Dziga Vertov’s silent film of everyday life in 1920s Russia is projected onto the back wall of the Stenbergs’ crane-like contraptions and features highly innovative filmmaking techniques for that period, such as double exposure and slow motion.

The opposite walls share a common theme of war and revolt, which the artists have ultimately translated into conveying Russian pride.

The final room down the hallway features Chagall’s two most iconic works: the brightly coloured The Dance and Blue Circus, among a large selection of other circus and theatre scenes. During Chagall’s childhood, Jewish theatre was forbidden, so “the magic show” had a particular allure for him and continually inspired him right up to the end of his life at age 97. The room features a mixture of tragedy and comedy; Clowns in the Night is quite gloomy and off-putting compared to the warm and inviting nature of the dancers and performers of The Dance. Perhaps his most recognized work, Blue Circus features a trapeze artist contorting her body like a fish out of water, and indeed the enveloping blue and the presence of a fish blur the lines between underwater reverie and circus routine. Chagall also dabbled in drawing; however, his series of ink and pencil sketches are almost comical in their juvenility and stir the age-old critique, “My five-year-old could have drawn that!”

Nevertheless, Chagall and the Russian Avante-Garde is the perfect escape from the everyday, and will leave you swimming in a sea of colourful dreams.

The exhibit runs until January 12 at the Art Gallery of Ontario. Student tickets are available at ago.net/chagall-and-the-russianavante-garde for $16 and include admission to the entire permanent collection.

6

«ARTS THE MEDIUM

10.31.2011

“Pop music just doesn’t excite us that much” A look at three new albums where bands have eschewed their usual Top 40 sound Audio, Video, Disco—Justice

Ceremonials—Florence + The Machine

COREY BELFORD

ANDREA AMBROGI

On the first listen of Justice’s Audio, Video, Disco, it’s easy to feel a little disappointed when you realize that Gaspard Augé and Xavier de Rosnay had no intention of repeating the style of their previous success.

Justice’s latest instalment lacks the charisma of their debut, †; where the latter doled out danceable party songs one after the other, this album shies away from radio-friendliness and tends towards generating atmosphere and cohesion. Lacking much of the sampling and infectious vocal tracks that were characteristic of †, Audio, Video, Disco leans closer towards Ratatat than Daft Punk.

As an individual album, however, Audio, Video, Disco does not fail to impress. With its well-constructed balance of dreamy landscapes, thrilling buildups, and epic climaxes, this album hits all the right notes without being formulaic. Beginning on a strong note with the aptly titled “Horsepower”, the tone of the album is set at “not to be taken lightly”. It proceeds into “Civilization”, a track that invokes the feeling of an epic faceoff between two musical forces.

“Ohio” begins as a vocal harmony and slowly but steadily builds to a danceable breakdown. “Canon” showcases their trademark caffeinated scramble of synthesizer, continued in “Brianvision” to the point of being Ratatat-esque.

Despite its relative lack of re-

It’s about time, Florence! Finally, the world has been graced with a follow-up to Florence + The Machine’s debut album, Lungs, now that we have the enthralling Ceremonials. There was a lot of hype surrounding her second album for quite some time, and hype, as we know, can be a very dangerous thing. Fortunately for avid music fans, Florence Welch is a force of talent that has yet to disappoint.

Ceremonials has a very mature sound compared to Lungs, but remains very true to her established ethereal sound. The record opens with “Only If for a Night”, a powerful song that commands our attention immediately. It sounds heavy without being depressing, which is something Florence seems to have mastered with even her most proper ballads.

What’s interesting about it— and about pretty much every other track, to be totally honest—is that her voice is very much a part of the song in the same way as the piano and percussion and strings. She has a beautiful voice, and unlike most of her female vocal peers, she has the utmost control over her vocal executions, both live and on record. There are no gratuitous vocals on this album; there’s no extra fat.

Everything that has been recorded

wordpress.com/PHOTO

markable tracks, the album does have numbers that will have you nodding your head and getting down, the same way you did when you first heard “D.A.N.C.E.” or “Phantom Pt II”. The aforementioned “Civilization” fulfils those criteria quite admirably. The opening notes of “New Lands” are reminiscent of AC/DC, and it proceeds into a fist-pumping chorus. The album goes out with the title track, littered with palm-muted guitar, gradually picking up and slowing down and finally ending with a decidedly abrupt final note.

In a recent NME interview with the duo, Rosnay stated, “Right now, pop music in general doesn’t excite us that much.” This sentiment is clearly reflected in Audio, Video, Disco; Justice is evidently confident enough in their artistic prowess that they don’t feel the need to recreate the big, spectacular singles they used to win their audience over in the first place. Their self-assuredness serves them well on this outing; Audio, Video, Disco does what it sets out to do and leaves you wanting more, in a good way.

MMM 1/2

wordpress.com/PHOTO

for Ceremonials serves a purpose —and that purpose is to bring as much pleasure to the listener as possible.

“Never Let Me Go”, “Seven Devils”, and “Leave My Body” are other examples of Florence’s rousing use of her voice. She is melodic and exciting and enchanting, a combination that takes you to another place right from the first song to the last one. Another thing I must applaud is her timing in releasing this album. Whether it was on purpose or by sheer coincidence, Ceremonials is the perfect thing to pop on to listen to with this sort of weather. Its sound is warm and comforting, and it’s the quintessential “end of fall or beginning of winter” record.

Ceremonials may just be the record of 2011. It’s an amalgamation of everything celebrated in the music industry, without being pompous or overwhelming. It is most definitely a must-have for the year.

MMMM 1/2

Mylo Xyloto—Coldplay ANDREA AMBROGI One of the few consistently good bands left in pop music, Coldplay has a bit of a cross to bear in terms of keeping up with their reputation of, well, being consistently good.

Their latest record, the peculiarly titled Mylo Xyloto, is enjoyable and unveils a new slant for the British ensemble, and is probably their most electronic-sounding effort to date. It combines many different elements of sound into each song and the product is quite interesting. It does, however, remain true to their classic sound, and it has very noticeable Viva La Vida and A Rush of Blood to the Head vibes sprinkled throughout the album that keep it familiar, yet without risking sounding repetitive.

“Paradise” and “Princess of China” are the most developed songs in terms of style and direction. The latter is a collaboration with Rihanna, who has been churning out hit after hit after hit, so the partnership was promising on paper and even more satisfying on record. Both tracks are invigorating to listen to and are fantastically executed. The production on this album is also admirable. There are some elements of sound on Mylo Xyloto that could have

lintcoat.com/PHOTO

been disastrous without the proper execution, most notably the fasterpaced percussion on songs such as “Don’t Let It Break Your Heart” and “Hurts Like Heaven”, but the band delivers.

Chris Martin’s vocal and lyrical work is in top form this time around, and there are even instances of doubling up the vocals on some tracks, which adds a fantastic uniqueness. Doubling up is usually done with singers who have deeper voices, but he makes it work in a quirky kind of way.

Any devoted Coldplay fan will be rushing out to purchase this album, but I urge the sceptics to pick up a copy as well. Even if you’re buying the album with the intention of merely putting it on as midterm-studying background music, it’s pleasantly surprising and a nice bit of music to add to the collection. MMM

10.31.2011 THE MEDIUM A&E

»

7

Don’t waste your time with In Time ARISTOTLE ELIOPOULOS ASSOCIATE A&E EDITOR In the universe of Andrew Niccol’s In Time, time is money. Literally. In the distant future, time has replaced money as the major unit of currency.

In this world, people stop growing old at the age of 25 and are only given one additional year to stay alive, unless they can earn more time on their own accord. This can range from working in a factory, earning back your time through laborious, backbreaking work, or by taking extreme, even illegal measures to make sure the clock—that is, the green LCD countdown embedded in your arm— keeps on ticking. When it stops, so do you.

For characters like Will Salas (played by the surprisingly decent Justin Timberlake), staying alive is a daily struggle. But when Timberlake’s character meets Henry (Matt Bomer), who has more than a century on his clock but is tired of living forever, Henry bequeaths his years of time to Will. This results in all the wrong types of men pursuing Salas, our blue-collar protagonist, in order to make sure his recent windfall of time isn’t used recklessly.

Niccol’s intention is to create a thought-provoking science fiction flick, yet In Time seems more like

onlinemovieshut.com/PHOTO

That red wig isn’t fooling anyone. an action-oriented game of cat and mouse, having Will and rich girl Sylvia Weis (played by Amanda Seyfried sporting a ludicrous red bobbed wig) running away from men who are obviously not too happy with Will’s recent inheritance of time.

While Niccol tries hard to use the premise to create a commentary on our obsession with the value of time, In Time asks its audience to suspend their beliefs a little too much. In the

movie, the aging gene is “shut off ”, and in order to control the population time is made the ultimate commodity. But how on earth did we get to the point where currency has evolved from its current form of bills and credit cards to a countdown clock in one’s arm? While one never expects perfect realism in science fiction, it seems not only unnecessary but quite unwarranted to replace an economic system that’s been working

That’s not all, folks COLLEEN MUNRO ASSOCIATE A&E EDITOR Movie sequels are a tricky game.

You have to keep some of the elements that audiences liked from the original film while still changing enough to make it worthwhile.

And the one thing that may be even trickier than that is the movie spinoff. The good news is you have a character who’s a proven hit with audiences. The bad news is that you have to write an entire film around a character that was only one part of what made the source material successful. Sometimes spinoffs work (Get Him to the Greek), and sometimes they really don’t (Evan Almighty, The Scorpion King, Elektra—this list goes on).

But the studios keep trying. And this weekend’s new animated release Puss in Boots lets one of the most popular characters from the Shrek franchise take centre stage.

Here’s a look at seven more animated characters that deserve a chance to shine in their own big-screen vehicle.

Ralph Wiggum (The Simpsons) The paste-loving son of Chief Wiggum has been a scene-stealer on The Simpsons for over 20 years now. And the rare Ralph-centric episodes are some of the show’s best (for example, “I Love Lisa”, which deals with Ralph’s unrequited Valentine’s Day crush on Lisa). An entire movie about Ralph could be overkill, but with the right plot (and plenty of appearances from Spring-

field’s other residents), it could be up to par with The Simpsons Movie in terms of quality.

Ash (Fantastic Mr. Fox) Ash went from the misunderstood son of Mr. Fox to an eventual hero in Fantastic Mr. Fox. And this quirky character seemed to mesh perfectly with director Wes Anderson’s appreciation for the underdog in his films. Voiced by Jason Schwartzman (who frequently collaborates with Anderson), Ash and his path to acceptance by his family turned out to be one of the most memorable aspects of the film.

Brian (Family Guy) Stewie is arguably the most popular character on Family Guy, but he’s already had his own straightto-DVD spinoff film (2005’s Stewie Griffin: The Untold Story). So why not give someone else a shot? As anyone who’s seen the show knows, Brian the dog is so much more than a pet. This articulate, martinisipping canine could be the perfect subject for a delightful, cerebral Family Guy spinoff.

Sid Phillips (Toy Story) In reality, the Toy Story franchise left off on a perfect note at the end of the third film (no Toy Story 4 necessary!). But if they were to extend the series, why not make Sid, the neighbourhood villain from the first Toy Story film, the star? There’s plenty of room for character development.

The brilliance of his character is that

he’s not so much evil as he is bored and misunderstood. He’s just a kid, after all. Get him some sheets for his bed, give him a bit of attention, and I’m sure Sid would come around.

Pascal (Tangled) A full-length film about Rapunzel’s mute iguana might not work, but the colourful little sidekick at least deserves a prefeature short, à la Pixar. The facial expressions alone are too cute to resist.

Gingy (Shrek) If Puss in Boots gets his own film, why shouldn’t the loveable, nervous gingerbread man from the same franchise get one of his own? Sure, that voice might get grating over the course of 90 minutes, but think of the merchandising opportunities for a movie based entirely on food!

Michigan J. Frog (Looney Tunes) He may have only appeared in one original Looney Tunes segment, but this singing and dancing frog certainly made a splash with viewers. Not only is “One Froggy Evening” one of the most famous Looney Tunes shorts, but Michigan J. Frog also served as the mascot for the WB television network until its demise in 2005. Complete with a top hat and cane, Michigan J. Frog is the epitome of a crowd-pleasing performer—that is, until he’s actually in front of a crowd. If we gave him the opportunity, what else could he do when he thinks no one is watching?

adequately, if not perfectly, for many centuries.

In one scene, a character participates in a high-risk poker game, choosing to scare his opponent into folding by betting all this time—that is, betting his entire life. It’s one thing to bet your entire savings—a crazy and reckless move that many people do in our own society now—but to bet your entire existence as if it were normal? It’s a risk most people

wouldn’t take.

And it’s not just the poker game. In Time illustrates its premise through the cup of coffee Will sacrifices four minutes of his time to buy and through the prostitute willing to give you 10 minutes of her time for an hour of yours. While the concept Niccol builds with this idea is clever and intriguing, in the end, it can be compared to chopping off a millimetre of your finger each time you order a tall caramel macchiato from Starbucks: no sane person would ever do it.

And that’s the major problem with Niccol’s movie. With his premise, Niccol establishes the characters as people who would welcome this drastic and risky economic change.

And with the obvious unhappiness of Salas, his mom (played by an attractive yet eye-roll-inducing Olivia Wilde), and the other working class characters that occupy the slums of In Time’s world, one has to wonder why they’ve let this change evolve to the point it’s gotten to, where clearly no one is happy. It’s an action-packed, adrenaline-bursting film that will entertain moviegoers looking for a good time and wanting to see attractive leads, but In Time allows itself to be the victim of clever timerelated puns by having a half-backed concept and a floppy execution.

Save your money. Save your time.

MM 1/2

8

« 10.31.2011

MEDIUM FEATURES Editor » Larissa Ho

Life in the new Panopticon

Research by Michael A. Stefanone found a link between watching reality television shows and friending more people online.

In the physical world, it takes a lot more than a brief chat at the last Pub Night to call someone your “friend”. But as we all know and have undoubtedly experienced, anyone you’ve met once, or sometimes not at all, could potentially become your “friend” online, where the barrier of intimacy is broken faster and easier.

Stefanone looks at this behaviour in terms of reality television.

His study shows that those who spend much of their time watching RTV are also more likely to spend large amounts of time on Facebook and, most importantly, are much more likely to exhibit “promiscuous friending” on Facebook.

He believes that viewers may perceive themselves as celebrities who are always being watched, and so emulate the celebrities they love to watch in their own social networks.

(So, yes, Jersey Shore really is evil.)

Let’s tie Jersey Shore in with some visual theory on the Pantopicon.

The Panopticon is an idea thought up by Jeremy Bentham in 1787. The idea of it is that the Panopticon is a prison designed so that every prisoner is under constant surveillance by a single guard. In this prison, under the constant threat of being watched, every prisoner would behave exactly how the guard wanted them to.

In the Panopticon, visibility is a threat. Being visible forces the prisoners to act in a certain way, because they can always be seen.

In his essay The New Panopticon, Tom Brignall compares the Panopticon to the Internet. Brignall focusses mostly on governments, but he brings to light something else pertinent to our topic.

The link he creates between the inspection in the Panopticon and that on the Internet brings to light a different kind of hierarchy of the Internet. The self-regulating Internet creates the same surveillance

as the guard’s in the Panopticon.

That includes that girl you’re friends with on Facebook—you know, the half-naked one making a kissy face.

That girl is part of the social capital machine, and as social animals with an instinctive need to be liked, she’s your judge, your jury, and your God. But the Internet, unlike Bentham’s Panopticon, is a two-way looking device. That means you’re her God, too.

Our parents and grandparents have been blaming our generations’ behaviour on television for years. Is it simplistic to say that half-naked girls are half-naked on Facebook because Facebook is making them do it?

We have to wonder whether this tendency towards exhibitionism is a product of social networking interactions or simply the manifestation of an already existing problem.

Part of the answer shows up in a study on self-worth, particularly female self-worth. The study showed that women who share large numbers of photos of themselves on

Facebook are searching and competing for attention. That’s probably no surprise, but it does put things into perspective.

Think about it. Once a photo is uploaded, the number of likes and comments almost become a voting system. The results indicate who is the most attractive. Who wouldn’t want to win that race?

This leaves the question of whether the sites themselves are to blame.

Such women, the study shows, seem to base their self-worth on their physical appearance rather than on things like academic competence or family love and support, and so seek the attention they crave online.

This is not good news, but at least we already knew it. In The Beauty Myth, Naomi Wolf reports that “thirty-three thousand American women told researchers that they would rather lose ten to fifteen pounds than achieve any other goal”. Wolf ’s book was published in 1991—long before Facebook, and long before Jersey Shore.

So the problem definitely begins with us, not Facebook. But that doesn’t mean social networking sites are entirely off the hook. By creating a means for us to allow ourselves to be observed, inspected, and commented on, Facebook and other social networks reinforce the idea that our looks determine our self-worth.

By facilitating a rating system (i.e., the number of likes and comments) by which we rank ourselves, Facebook and similar sites only exacerbate the problem.

Then again, most other media, like television, pulp fiction, and popular magazines, have long bombarded and continue to bombard intentional and unintentional viewers with images of the ideal and the flawless, leading viewers to search for any sort of vehicle to exhibit themselves as perfect and flawless.

For us and our time, that vehicle is social networking.

each other, it was even considered a different language. For example, up to a point, a lot of Slavic (Eastern European) languages would be more properly called dialects, because they’re mutually intelligible.

Same with many Indian languages… speaking of which, what are they?

Well, look up Hindi and you find that what we call Hindi is actually Manak (“standard”) Hindi, a kind of Hindustani spoken by a group of people in Delhi. In other words, it’s just a dialect. It’s a variant of the broader language understood by

most people in India and Pakistan.

(Yep, Pakistan—because while we’re at it, Urdu is pretty much Hindi with an Arabic writing system and some Islamic terms. But we call them two different languages. Why? It’s political.)

To bring these examples back to the point, doesn’t it seem a little odd to you to single out one as standard, especially if historically its speakers are not the many but the economic and political elite? Go YouTube “prince charles interview” and watch the first video. Now imagine being

told that what they’re speaking is normal and how you speak is a (deplorably widespread) bastardization.

Okay, the general attitude isn’t as bad as that anymore, but there’s still a lot of unfounded pride in our own dialect, and worse, negative associations with others.

Discrimination based on your accent is a very real thing; for example, in California, lawyer John Baugh spent years collecting information on housing discrimination, phoning landlords and asking about advertised apartments, and using identi-

cal sentences but adopting African American, Hispanic, or “standard” American accents. Often, apartments were available to standard American speakers, but unavailable or more expensive to non-standard speakers. In Mississauga we may have it good, but non-standard speakers don’t have it so lucky everywhere!

While we’re on the subject of talkin’ funny, tune in next time for a fun, try-it-at-home experiment on exactly what it is that changes from one accent to another!

Carine Abouseif ASsociate Features editor You’ve seen them before. Those pictures online. The girl holds a camera out in front of her. She pouts her lips, makes sure her cleavage is exposed, and snaps a picture of herself. Next thing you know your newsfeed is full of comments with words like “hawt” and “sexci”.

You think to yourself: Why would a self-respecting individual partake in this degrading exhibitionism?

Your thoughts probably weren’t that articulate, but you definitely knew, on some level, that the answer had everything to do with identity.

Identity is tricky; we judge ourselves by our self-image and how others perceive us. We try to recreate ourselves for work, school, and family by how we dress, how we act, and how we react to others.

Identity is especially thorny for teenagers. Just when you think you have childhood down, you have to reevaluate everything about yourself. You start examining your role in society. You start wondering about your sexuality. You get really pissed off at everything and listen to a lot more Metallica.

But what happens when we input the effect of the Internet in this already messy equation of self-evaluation? And what’s even more curious, how can a young adult who is still having trouble defining their real identity create an online identity?

You could probably already guess what studies have shown about online behaviour and how it matches up with real-life identity. It doesn’t.

We say things we never would otherwise when we’re online. We’re more open, more intimate, and a lot less shy.

But why and how does this behavioural rift come to be?

Let’s start with the last website you were probably on—Facebook—and what it means for your behaviour.

2: Dialect, accent, and discrimation; or, just plain talkin’ funny What’s a dialect? “Talking with an accent.” What’s an accent? “When people talk funny.” What’s talking funny? “When they don’t sound, you know, normal!” So what’s normal?

Actually, not so easy to answer.

Until recently, one way of speaking a language was universally called “standard”. (Now this standardizing is just really common.) Whatever didn’t line up with that was called a “dialect”—or, if the differences were too big for speakers to understand

blogspot.com/photo

The panopticon prison, which causes people to act as they think the people watching want them to act.

»

10.31.2011 THE MEDIUM FEATURES

9

Not crazy and not alone Awareness is key in combatting depression and suicide among youth Darren Savage Jamie Hubley, Akash Wadwha, Daron Richardson, Jack Windeler, Nadia Kajouji, Sara Carlin, Thomas Trapper— these are just some of the names, from Ontario alone, of teenagers who have taken their own life in the past three years. They are used not to glamorize suicide but to illustrate its frequency and proximity.

In Canada, the most recent figures available through Statistics Canada indicate that 3,705 citizens took their own lives in 2008. According to the Georgiabased Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, someone in the United States dies by suicide every 15 minutes. Most of the intentionally self-inflicted deaths in North America go unnoticed; there is nothing glamorous about it. It’s scary. But it’s also preventable much of the time. To this end, the myths surrounding mental health issues need to be explored.

Alison Burnett, director of the Health and Counselling Centre at UTM, aims to open up a dialogue: “We’re continually trying to engage students in at least conversation about mental health issues, suicide, and other issues, because [they are] significant and have a tremendous impact on people.”

One aspect frequently lost in the shock of suicide cases is the vast number of people who contemplate it. One in seven Canadians have seriously considered suicide. Every day there are, on average, two hospitalizations for suicide attempts in Peel. In many cases, there is no explicit warning sign until it’s too late. Some people go to great lengths to minimize or hide personal struggles. To avoid this, we need to raise awareness and focus on the stigma associated with mental illness.

“Creating an environment where people feel comfortable and safe in telling somebody is probably one of the most important and helpful things people can do,” says Burnett.

“Even things like using appropriate language and avoiding stigmatizing phrases[…]will go a long way in eliminating the stigma that surrounds mental health issues.”

One student pointed out, “If you have a cold or a headache, you don’t feel ashamed and embarrassed. So why do we get so worked up about a different kind of health?”

Suicide transcends age, race, gender, sexual orientation, financial means and location; look to people like hockey players Wade Belak and Rick Rypien, fashion icon Alexander McQueen, or farther back to eminent women like Marilyn Monroe or Sylvia Plath. Everyone struggles internally, and many let the stigma suppress the expression of that struggle.

In my case, I was afraid to admit to depression and anxiety.

What would others think of me if they knew? It seemed like a weakness, something that did not align with my flawed self-perception as “strong and masculine”— even though death by suicide is three times more common in males than in females, while suicide attempts are more common in females. To cope, I drank and smoked more. Things got worse. It became more important to hide everything than to seek help. The stress of secrecy brought on suicidal thoughts.

I made a plan… I needed help.

It’s everywhere. The number of resources and aids available to anyone struggling with mental health is staggering. One component of that aid is the Peer Health Education

program and its teams, overseen by Chad Jankowski. As the health education coordinator, he is responsible for promoting healthy living on both the physical and mental levels.

“Until we can talk directly and openly about it, mental illness is going to be problematic. A lot of people who have not experienced a challenge around mental health don’t identify with the issue,” says Jankowski.

A number of campaigns have been implemented to raise awareness and dispel myths, such as the Green Ribbon and the reTHINK mental health campaigns. One such initiative is a certification program known as safeTALK. “SafeTALK is part of U of T’s commitment to creating a community safer from suicide,” Jankowski explains.

“There are about thirty staff on this campus who have taken a two-day training course in suicide intervention.”

These people are “mental health first-aiders”—people who work with students that have suicidal thoughts and help them until they can meet with counsellors or other specialists.

“Operating below that is a much larger base of people who are trained in safeTALK, which is about suicide alertness,” continues Jankowski.

“They are trained to be alert to the possibility that thoughts of suicide may be present.” Their training allows them to link the sufferer with someone on campus who can help.

The demands of daily life, work, and school may only increase the stress. Fred Besik, a fourth-year English and human geography major and a member of the Peer Health Educators Sexual Health and Relationships team, understands the pressure on students.

“In the university context, the pres-

Stay in school and stay in shape Priyanka Kumar It’s that time of year again: you’re pulling on a pair of pants that you haven’t worn since summer, and gasp! they’re tight, and you’ve gained some weight. Yes, you now have a muffin top. We’ve all suffered from the “freshman fifteen”, but with these tips you can fend off those extra pounds throughout the school year.

Hit the gym. Most universities have a fully functional gym, so take advantage of that! Instead of paying hundreds for a gym membership, use the one that’s already yours through your tuition. Sneak in an hour or two between classes and feel fit for the rest of the day.

Eat healthy. I know it’s hard to always eat healthy while you’re away from home, what with the convenience of what’s available all around you. If you live at home, “brown-bag it” a couple days a week, bringing healthy snacks and sandwiches that will have your wallet and waistline thanking you.

If you live on campus and rely on a meal plan, spend a little extra and get the healthy option; instead of a

burger, go for a whole-wheat wrap, and instead of fries, get a side salad.

The options are endless.

Take the stairs. I know you’re busy with school and sometimes you’d be hard-pressed to find time for the gym, so try to work out with everyday tasks. Instead of taking the elevator to your third-floor classroom, take the flight of stairs.

It’s a mini-workout, and you won’t feel as guilty for having skipped the gym.

Walk it out. Take the long way to class. Instead of the shortcuts through the buildings, walk outside around the campus. Not only will you get in an extra workout, you enjoy the beauty of outdoors.

You might even get to see deer!

Join a team. I’m not talking varsity league here; you can join a volunteer team that meets once a week for a fun game. Or agree to meet once a week with a group of friends and have a game. Meet up for weekly volleyball games instead of watching Jersey Shore.

I know that working out and watching your diet isn’t everyone’s cup of tea, but you have to keep motivated, so try these tricks:

Envision new stuff. Whenever you’re working out and you feel yourself slacking off, just imagine all the new clothes you can buy yourself when you’re fit. This will push you to keep on working out till you fit into the new jeans or awesome skirt.

Don’t look at the clock. Looking at the clock and counting the minutes till your workout is over is agonizing. Instead, workout to music or a movie. Take note of the time before you start working out, put in the CD or movie, and start.

When the music or movie stops, you won’t have realized you were working out for such a long time.

Get a workout buddy. When you’re hitting the gym, bring a friend! Having a friend with you will make time fly and the workout will seem like a breeze. Catch up with each other while you’re doing situps, and by the end of the workout you’ll feel fit and socially recharged. It’s the best of both worlds.

With these tips, not only will your favourite jeans still fit (or fit again), but you’ll feel fantastic in mind and body.

sure of excelling, transitioning from high school to university, or even coming to Canada as an international student and feeling lost and alone can all contribute to stress and depression,” he says.

“Recognizing that depression is not something to be ashamed about, and that it is something that many people go through, as well as creating awareness of the resources we have both here and off-campus, are important steps to combatting stigma.”

It’s that awareness that eludes many people going through difficult times. I was completely ignorant of how much help was available on campus. It may be the case that Nadia, Jack, and the others who did not make it to university were unaware of the help available to them.

Making that message clear may simply be a matter of time.

“Time is a huge component.

When you’re talking about creating a shift in culture (because that’s what were talking about), you need time for people to talk directly and openly about it,” says Jankowski.

Nevertheless, some progress has been made. Media coverage has helped to foster dialogue, regardless of those who see it as glamorizing suicide cases. “I remember,

in the not-too-distant past, that when somebody committed suicide, [it] would never be talked about in the media. It was kind of an unspoken thing aimed at protecting the families involved, because of the stigma associated,” recalls Burnett.

“But I think calling it what it is helps open the door for discussion.”

It’s a discussion that is long overdue.

More reporting will keep the issue in the public eye, raising awareness. But for now, at least on campus, more can be done towards making those who are not actively seeking help aware of what is available to them.

“One of the things which I think might be a great step in the right direction is the inclusion of a note of relevant health services on the campus in course syllabi,” says Besik. “There is a note about accessibility services on them; I don’t see why a note on mental health services shouldn’t be included as well.”

It’s too late for the seven teenagers I named above, and for the countless others who felt they had no other option. If only they had known the truth about mental illness: It’s not weird.

It’s not a weakness. It’s not something to hide. You’re not crazy and you are most certainly not alone. You are remarkably human and you need to embrace that.”

10 THE MEDIUM «FEATURES 10.31.2011

Halloween through the (Dark) Ages JENNIFER EWEN What is so special about October 31? Why do children dress up in costumes and go door to door, expecting candy? How did Halloween start and why did it become a night of terror and sweets?

The word “Halloween” comes from the Catholic Church. It’s a contraction of “All Hallows Even”, that is, the night before All Saints’ Day, a day for the observance of saints, held on November 1.

Halloween can be dated to 2,000 years ago, when the Celts in the British Isles and northern France celebrated the new year on November 1. This represented the change from autumn to the cold, dark winter. They had the festival of Samhain on the night of October 31. Celts believed that the line between the living and the dead blurred on this night, and that the ghosts of the dead returned to Earth on October 31, making it easier for Celtic priests to make predictions about the future. They celebrated Samhain with a huge bonfire, and the Celts wore costumes made of animal skins while attempting to tell each other’s futures.

By 43 A.D. the Roman Empire had conquered most of the Celtic territory. Because of this, two Roman festivals were combined with Samhain: Feralia (a day in late October to commemorate the passing of the dead) and another festival to honor Pomona, the Roman Goddess of fruit and trees. The symbol of Pomona is the apple (pomme, anyone?)—which could explain the “bobbing for apples” tradition now associated with Halloween.

Feralia was merged with the new year festival on November 1, and by the 700s, Christianity having been in the area for a while, the feast had expanded to include martyrs. By the

blogetery.com/photos

Jack-o’-lanterns are supposedly named after Jack, who can go to neither heaven nor hell. year 1000 A.D, November 1 had received the name All Saints’ Day (not to be confused with All Souls’ Day, held on November 2). The celebrations included bonfires and dressing up as saints, devils, and angels for parades, similarly to the Samhain festival.

The night before this feast started being called “All Hallows Eve” (a “hallow” is a holy person). What we call it, though, comes from the Scottish version, “All Hallows Even” (“even” is a Scotch short form for “evening”), which was eventuallycontracted to “Hallowe’en”. (We usually drop the apostrophe now, too.)

From there, Halloween was brought to the New World with the colonists. Its celebration was limited in colonial New England due to a sect of Protestantism that condemned the association with demons, spirits, and the dead, but it was celebrated in Maryland and the southern colonies. The beliefs of Europeans and Native Americans combined, creating a unique version

of Halloween. Original celebrations involved “play parties”: public events to celebrate the harvest. Neighbours shared stories of the dead, including ghost stories, made prophecies, danced, and sang. By the middle of the 19th century, this annual festival was widespread, but not all of America celebrated Halloween.

Millions of Irish fleeing Ireland’s potato famine of 1846 immigrated to America and Canada, bringing more support for Halloween. Borrowing from a medieval Halloween tradition that included Christmas wassailing, Americans started dressing up in costumes and going house to house asking for food or money (modern day trick-or-treating).

But in the late 1800s, town leaders decided to make Halloween more of a community get-together than a celebration of ghosts and witchcraft. Halloween parties focussed on games, seasonal food, and festive costumes. Newspapers encouraged parents not to include anything frightening in Halloween celebra-

tions. Due to this, in the early 1900s, Halloween temporarily lost all its superstition and scary elements.

In the 1920s and 30s, Halloween was celebrated as a community holiday, complete with parades and parties, but at the time, vandalism often interrupted the festivities. By the ’50s the vandalism had been contained, and Halloween became known as a celebration for young adults and children. This was partly due to the baby boom, when Halloween festivities were moved into classrooms and homes to accommodate all the children. Trick-ortreating also came back in this era as a less expensive way for the whole community to celebrate Halloween without actually getting together.

Adults in communities also hoped that giving children treats would prevent vandalism and pranks. Today, Halloween is one of Canada’s and America’s largest commercial holidays.

Most elements of Halloween can be traced back to European

traditions. Jack-o’-lanterns, for example, were first made by people in Scotland and Ireland. They carved out large beets or turnips to use as lanterns during their Samhain celebrations. Irish folklore says that jack-o’-lanterns were named after Jack, a man who could not enter Heaven because he was not a good man but didn’t go to Hell either because he tricked the devil, so he had to walk the Earth forever with only a coal from Hell to light his lantern.

The jack-o’-lantern also represented spirits present in the dark, including souls released from Christian purgatory. America and Canada made this tradition their own by using pumpkins and carving an image onto one side. An activity similar to trick-or-treating began in medieval times, in a tradition called “souling”.

Poor people would go door to door asking for food on All Saints’ Day, and in return promise to pray for the dead on All Souls’ Day. Our Halloween traditions, like trick-or-treating, have spread to Australia and many European countries, but most countries either have their own similar celebrations or are wary about the “trick” part of trickor-treating. Some countries, like China and Mexico, don’t celebrate Halloween specifically, but have their own customs. Many countries combine trick-or-treating with their own traditions, such as having a big family dinner or visiting the graves of loved ones on Halloween.

In Canada, the biggest Halloween spenders are in British Columbia. In fact, a national average of $30 per family is spent on Halloween candy alone. Costumes and accessories can add up to $75 per person in Canada.

Interestingly, men tend to spend more money than women on both candy and costumes. Also, every year more adults aged 18 to 24 are celebrating Halloween.

Violence and art in video games Alex Tkachuk A 13-year-old turns on a computer screen, presses a couple of keys, and watches a virtual man, woman, or child explode into virtual gore.

Another flips a joystick and watches a man steal a car in tandem with the button-pressing. These images are tied to the pop culture understanding of the video games available to our youths. They tie in to a bigger question that occasionally finds its way into the media: Should violent video games be banned?

To some organizations, the answer seems obvious. The American Psychological Association has a hard stance on this issue: They claim that meta-analysis of scientific studies on video game violence show a correlation between exposure to violent video games and aggressive behaviour. This doesn’t mean that each individual who plays Mortal Kombat is going to go and rip a person’s skull out of its socket; it means that after exposure to a violent video game, a person is more

likely to act aggressively or do violence. The APA also claims that those who are naturally aggressive are more affected by this side effect than are those who are naturally passive—that is, those already prone to violent crime are most affected by violent games.

This seems damning for gamers everywhere.

If this were the only factor to consider, if we were to ignore the broader cultural implications of banning violent video games, it would be quite obvious what governments should do.

Fortunately or unfortunately, depending on your mindset, there is a lot more to the debate than the effects of the games on the individuals who consume them.

There is also the question of where video games fit into our world’s long history of censorship.

Traditionally, censorship has mainly been a problem for the artists, politicians, and philosophers; where do video games fit into the mess? One answer is that some of the most violent video games qualify as

artistic on one level or another. The number of artists involved in the development of a video game is quite spectacular—from writers to composers to sketch artists to actors, the modern video game is replete with artistry of all forms. This complicates the question of banning video games. Even if the games themselves are not art, there may be valid artistic expression inside them on one level or another.

Another major complication is the comparison to the extremely negative effects of other legal products. How do the aggressive side effects of violent video games compare to the aggressive side effects of alcohol abuse? Is the increased aggression associated with extreme violent video game consumption worse than the negative side effects of tobacco smoke? For the sake of consistency, shouldn’t a government ban all of the supposed dangers or none of them?

Now we find ourselves at an impasse. Do we fight for these freedoms or for mental health?

blogspot.com/photos

What impact do violent video games have on individuals?

»

10.31.2011

11

MEDIUM SPORTS Editor » Chris Callahan

UTM Blue defeats White in Battle of UTM MICHELLE DUKLAS ASSOCIATE SPORTS EDITOR On October 26, the two UTM Division 1 men’s basketball teams faced off against each other. While both teams put forth a strong effort, Blue won by a landslide, with a final score of 75–46.

“We played well as a team,” said UTM Blue captain Kent Bray. “We were focussed; we worked hard.

Both teams wanted the win. We came prepared to play together.”

Before the game, the Athletic Council handed out thundersticks to everyone who came out to watch the game. Students used them enthusiastically throughout the game.

The audience also had an opportunity to enter a raffle, held after the game was over.

The energy was high in the crowd from the opening tip-off.

UTM White scored the first basket. After that, the score went back and forth during the first quarter.

White pushed ahead early on with a score of 12–7.

UTM Blue player Jonathan Harvey scored the first 3-pointer of the game, but White quickly countered. Daniel Pinnock of White faked a pass that led to a basket.

With the score 16–10 in White’s favour, Blue took their first timeout of the game. The timeout seemed to work, considering that Blue player Kent Bray scored a 3-pointer early after it was over. UTM White players Daniel Pinnock and Omar Jallow both drew fouls, but Pinnock missed both shots and Jallow only scored on his second shot.

“At the beginning of the game, we felt in control,” said UTM White player Jordan Lisacek. “But the momentum changed, and we came up short.”

The momentum changed when Blue tied the game 17–17 and then pulled away from White when

EDWARD CAI/THE MEDIUM

Blue came away with a blowout 75-46 victory over White.

Bray scored his second 3-pointer of the evening. After that, the team never looked back. Blue scored seven points in a row, including a 3-pointer by Luke Makar.

UTM White player Harris faked a pass and gave his team two points, but the score became 35–21 when Blue scored another seven points, including a 3-pointer by Tevin Sutton Stephenson and a skilful layup from Kent Bray.

At halftime, GG Squad entertained the crowd with their breakdancing skills. UTM’s mascot, the Eagle, joined in on the fun.

UTM Blue started the second half of the game by pushing even further ahead. Fedja Kuljanin scored four points and Jordan Nazarene added another two points.

In frustration, UTM White fouled Jonathan Harvey, who landed on his chin after attempting a layup.

Harvey sunk both his free throws, but left the game less than a minute later because of his injury. UTM Blue Tevin Sutton Stephenson responded by scoring a basket and sinking two 3-pointers to make the

score 51–25 in favour of Blue.

With the clock ticking down, Blue player Jordan Nazarene earned an easy two points after White gave away the ball and then failed to run after any of the Blue players.

UTM White seemed to wake up after that, but it was too late for any real impact in the game. Julian Niera of White helped his team to another two points at the end of the game, but Blue ran down the clock as much as they could and the game ended with a 75–46 victory for UTM Blue.

Kent Bray was the top scorer of the game with 18 points. Not far behind was Tevin Sutton Stephenson with 16 points. UTM Blue player Han Wang finished third on his team with eight points.

“I thought our performance was a great team effort. We had three guys hurt that couldn’t play, including one of our top scorers, Andre Woodroffe,” said UTM Blue coach Ammer Askary. “The practice before the game, I said that the winner of this game will be the team

Women’s volleyball team gets its first win Team eager to improve following a slow start and a devastating injury CHRIS CALLAHAN ASSOCIATE SPORTS EDITOR The UTM women’s volleyball team began their season with a tough loss to Scarborough. But instead of sulking, the team came together in practice. Focussing on their weaknesses, they spent some tough hours together in an effort to eliminate the problems that had plagued them in the first loss.

Of course, hard work isn’t unfamiliar for volleyball players at UTM. The teams practise on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday each week in addition to their games. This is especially impres-

sive because this year’s team is very young. The majority of the team’s 17 players are in their first or second year. Balancing work, school, and a rigorous sport schedule can be very demanding. Fortunately, they have a great deal of leadership to ensure that the young players understand the importance of practice and staying focussed on the goals for the season.

The players rebounded in their second outing with a decisive victory over the St. George Gold.

They won the first game 25–19, lost a close second game 25–23, and finished off with a 25–21 win.

The third game was an especially

spirited affair, as an injury to starting middle outside hitter Gelaina Whitney stopped the game for 45 minutes. She was taken to the hospital with ligament or meniscus damage to her knee.

Coach Stew Arevalo praised the resilience of the team, calling the effort “valiant”. They were trailing 11–8 when the injury took place, and after the long break they were able to rally from behind and get the win.

After a rough start to the season, UTM’s young team was able to show that it has the focus required to remain competitive throughout the season.

that wants to win more. In these types of game it comes down to effort and desire. And we had more of both.”

For UTM White, Ahmed Al-

Ansary finished the game with 10 points. He was helped by Manpreet Gill, who had nine points, and Josh Sumi, who had six points.

“We could’ve played better,” said UTM White coach Jeremy Wong.

“We were ill-prepared to play this game. We didn’t adjust properly to the game plan that UTM Blue had. It was a learning experience, though.”

“We were mentally ready to play the game,” commented UTM White player Jordan Lisacek. “Both teams have a competitive spirit, and we both wanted bragging rights. Our team was undefeated coming into this game, and we wanted it to stay that way. But, I mean, if there’s one team you want to lose to, it’s UTM Blue. We both represent the same school, after all.”

UTM Blue plays their next game at Scarborough, while UTM White will host Law in the RAWC. Both games will take place at 8 p.m. on Wednesday, November 2.

12 THE MEDIUM «SPORTS 10.31.2011

UTM Eagles rugby defeat St. George Skule ISAAC OWUSU ASSOCIATE SPORTS EDITOR As Mark Finielo, a third-year St. George Skule fullback, held his bloodied hand while grimacing in pain, his opponent Kassim Baluch—the captain/coach of the UTM Eagles—was the first to his aid. In concern for Finielo he called for the trainer, as if Finielo were one of his own teammates.

Kassim helped compress Finielo’s visibly dislocated pinky finger and reminded him to stay calm. The stoppage ended and Baluch resumed play.

On the rugby pitch, pride and individuality is frowned upon.

Competitiveness and respect—for yourself, your team, and your opponent—is what unites players, even those from opposing teams.

Rugby, often compared to American football due to the level of physical contact, is plagued with damning misconceptions. But the Eagles are determined to prove the critics wrong. “The only way rugby works is respect. You go out in the pitch, you play as hard as you, tackle your opponents as hard as you can,” referee Thomas Krebs explained.

On Saturday, the Eagles beat St. George’s Skule (Team A) Engineers, 10–0, in a cold and gritty contest.

The Eagles scored all of their points in the second half—three from a penalty kick and seven from a try

KRISTINA WATERS/THE MEDIUM

Although the game often looks violent, sportsmanship is an important part of rugby culture. and kick to seal the win.

Eagles’ assistant captain, Zalal Yousif, felt the perspective that casual spectators use when viewing the game is unfair. Taking up the sport as a former high school football player, he saw rugby as nothing more than a variation of football, but it was the focus on respect for opponents and teammates that changed his outlook. “It’s a gentleman’s sport; players know that what happens on the field stays on the field. Literally, after games, opponents go out and drink together,” he added.

Ironically, the Eagles huddled together and chanted the chorus of the Drowning Pools rock anthem “Let the Bodies hit the Floor!” as

a pre-game warmup to intimidate Skule, but even in winning, they sent out respect in three cheers for their opponents.

Adam Boyce, the Eagles’ second assistant captain, felt that unlike in other sports, the thrill is not in cheap shots and trying to hurt the opponent. He explained, “It’s the nature of the game. You can’t hit a man and be dirty all game; that’s not right.” Respect was even awarded to the referee after the game with another round of three cheers, which is a common practice in leagues all over the world.

Though respect and camaraderie are evident between the players, the credibility of the game remains an issue with the fans. Krebs be-

lieves that the misunderstanding is from those who aren’t actually fans, hurting the sport. “The problem with rugby is that people don’t understand it and they don’t know what’s going on, they just think its utter chaos. There’s no chaos going on, everybody knows what’s going on and it’s all controlled, and it’s beautiful.”

Unlike in football, diva behaviour is hard to find on the pitch, partially because it hurts a team’s chemistry—but it can also be penalized. “This is one of the few sports where there’s a penalty called ‘dissent’, where if you even throw your arms up at the referee and challenge the call, it will garner you a penalty,” Krebs explained.

BJ Callingham, a volunteer coach, UTM alumnus, and member of the Eagles’ inaugural rugby team, feels that students should be open to accept and embrace the sport, even those who are not familiar with it. “Z[alal] is somebody who came from football to rugby— guys don’t go the other way. Once they come into rugby they stay, because like football, there’s hard hitting, there’s camaraderie, but it’s all game long. Non-stop.”

Yousif takes pride in the sport because of the team dynamics and integrity displayed by opponents, and he has a message for critics: “Not one person can make up a whole team. We work hard together, and losing players hurts more than anything. Everyone thinks that it’s straight-up a brute sport, but they don’t know anything about the game. It’s more technical than any sport I’ve played. Anyone can try; come out for a practice and see.”

In two weeks, UTM’s South Field will serve as the playoff pitch, after the team claimed home field advantage on Saturday. The Eagles head into a bye week this week, but will look to defend their turf on November 6.

Callingham has an invitation for any prospective athletes: “Anybody that wants to come—every year we’re recruiting, every year we got new guys, every year we teach them, and they never go away.”