Professor Dax Urbszat opens up about life and teaching in our new regular feature page 8 Monday, October 19, 2009
Volume 36, Issue 6
Students shave to save
Best bang for your buck
Supplied photo
The second fundraiser for the Canadian Cancer Society featured head shaving, henna tattoos, pie throwing and leg waxing. STEFANIE MAROTTA
On October 15, students gathered at the Blind Duck Pub from 12 to 3 p.m. to raise funds for the Canadian Cancer Society. The fundraiser, dubbed the Fair for Hope, was led by fourth-year student Sunil Shah and kicked off at noon with performances by student Loral Decoy and the Music Club. Students volunteered to have their heads shaved on stage as the audience bid on the volunteers. The highest bid went to Shah, who had previously announced that he would cut more hair off for every $50 donated. (His bid soared to $200) All Shah has left to keep his head warm are two scraggly bangs and a mess of uneven hair at the back of his head. The highlight of the event occurred when a first-year student volunteered to have her hair completely shaved off. Other
female students who donated their hair had it styled later in an impromptu appearance by Out@UTM’s Afi Browne. Students volunteered to pose as targets for the event’s pie-throwing auction while other attendees bid to throw pies at their colleagues’ faces. Bids ranged from $5 to $75. The sole $75 bid was placed when UTMSU President Joey Santiago volunteered to be a target. Because three students made the combined bid, three pies headed Santiago’s way. Asked how he felt afterwards, Santiago replied using the favoured frosh cheer, “Oh, I feel so good!” The Fair for Hope received support from UTMSU as well as UTM academic societies and clubs. The Erindale Gaming Organization set up an Xbox and a Nintendo Wii on a television in the Student Centre presentation room and a donation to the Canadian Cancer Society allowed
students to play Halo and Brawl. Draws for raffle prizes were held throughout the duration of the fair, which included tickets to Screamers and Halloween pub and Toronto Argonaut tickets. UTMSU, the Undergraduate Commerce Society and the Forensics Society provided the prizes. “Everyone knows someone who has been affected by cancer. The Canadian Canter Society is such an important organization. We’re so thankful for everyone that came out; the response from UTM was amazing,” said Rand Abdulnour, a Fair for Hope organizer. Last year, the CSS raised nearly $200 million for cancer research and support. It is estimated that about 150 thousand people are diagnosed with cancer each year, making the organization and the individuals and groups who contribute to it a necessity.
Matthew Filipowich/The Medium
Simran Dhaliwal and a sledgehammer get some air outside the Student Centre last Thursday. Article on page 2.
Students visit professional schools fair OVAIS SHAH
The Career Centre recently organized the Professional School’s Fair at the RAWC. The fair was attended by over a thousand students and 93 schools from across Canada, the US, Europe and Asia and covered academic disciplines such as business, law, health, teaching, graduate studies and college programs. According to Clair Westgate, the centre’s external events and employer services coordinator, the purpose of the fair was to “connect admission representatives from professional schools with students who are inter-
ested in exploring options for further educational opportunities.” Various school representatives echoed the success of the centre’s initiative to connect the students with schools. Elaine Brothwick, admissions director for the Faculty of Law at the University of British Columbia, said that “The student turn-out was great. All of the students were asking the right questions and had done their home-work.” The MBET program representative from the University of Waterloo expressed a similarly positive experience. Andrea Tulett, who tended the presentation booth for UTM’s Masters of Management in Innovation program
offered by the faculty of medicine, was satisfied with the fair. “Overall the fair was good. It provided us a great opportunity to answer questions and help the students make important decision about their future career goals.” Although the fair was a success for most, some students believed that the fair should be held more than once, since the fair often conflicted with the students’ schedules. Westgate acknowledged the concern and replied that the timing for the Professional School’s Fair, like any other campus event, is challenging because students have classes every day of the week. “We do our best to
pick a time that we know students will be on campus and have a break. We would love to organize the fair at other times but the attending organizations won’t attend on weekends due to their preference for regular business hours.” The Professional School’s Fair was the second fair of the year organized by the Career Centre to help students plan their careers. Some of the upcoming events for the centre include the Career Expo on October 27, which will allow students to meet employers from major corporations such as the Royal Bank of Canada, Wells Fargo, Investor Groups and Reckitt Benckiser.
INSIDE The E Bike gets to UTM PAGE 2
Widows, reviewed PAGE 5 African Student Aid, PAGE 9 Ultimate Frisbee at UTM PAGE 11