Vol 36 issue 9

The Vanity Fair Portraits PAGE 7

Monday, November 16, 2009

Volume 36, Issue 9

A day to remember and mourn

Gender and Genocide week seeks to educate

Justin Trudeau dscusses youth activism at UTM

KATHERINE LUCZYNSKI

STEFANIE MAROTTA

November 2 marked the beginning of Gender and Genocide week at UTM. The weeklong event focused on bringing awareness to the horrors of genocide, such as gender-based genocide, culture-based genocide, and religiousbased genocide. Movie screenings and information boards brought awareness to these horrific acts.

“History enables us to see the course of time leading to the present, and through this event we have tried to bring about an awareness of genocide and gender-related issues,” said Rida F. Iqbal, a prominent member of UTM’s Historical Studies Society.

The Student Centre bustled with noise as students perused information boards set up about the history of mass killings that have taken place across the world. These informative displays were available to students between 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on the main floor.

Movie screenings took place during the same time in a Student Centre boardroom where beverages, pizza, and snacks were also served to those in attendance. Displays and movies included information about the Holocaust and the Cambodian Genocide.

On Thursday, students were invited to attend a keynote address by Holocaust survivor Judy Cohen in the South Building as part of the Women and Gender Studies WGS200 class.

Cohen recounted horrifying details of the treatment of people and her own family in Hitler’s death camps. The audience gave Cohen a round of applause for her courage in telling her story.

The Historical Studies Society led the event with help from other clubs and organizations, including: OUT@UTM, Amnesty International, the Women's Center, UTM Red Cross, UTMSU, Women & Gender Studies Program, and the Kurdish Youth Association.

The event aimed to bring awareness to the horrifying and atrocious acts that have taken place across the world in hopes of educating students as well as promoting the notion of erasing hate. The event organizers hope that Gender and Homicide week will help stop mass killings based on gender, race, religion from happening again.

Anyone interested in volunteering with or learning more about the Historical Studies Society can email them at history@utmsu.ca.

On Monday, November 9, approximately 200 students gathered in the Student Centre to hear Justin Trudeau, the son of the late Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau Along with former MP for the Mississauga-Erindale riding, Omar Alghabra, Trudeau discussed the importance speak of youth involvement in politics.

Trudeau announced three years ago that he would follow the same career path his father embarked upon over three decades ago. Formerly a social sciences and French teacher, Trudeau expressed his passion for youth advocacy and fervour for Canadian nationalism and heritage preservation. Over the last few years, Trudeau has made appearances at various secondary schools around Mississauga to connect with the youth with the goal of initiating political interest and discussion.Trudeau stood before students and announced that he did not intend to give a lecture about political issues or create partisans out of the attendees. His declared his intention to facilitate discussion on youth involvement. Trudeau expressed the necessity of being an active citizen and hold a government to its name adding that “Canada needs to earn back its youth.” “Politician’s best devices are their ears, and unfortunately many of them have things completely assbackwards. Ottawa should be a reflection of the voices of the country” said Trudeau in his opening speech.

Matthew Filipowich/The Medium

Students and faculty members gathered for the annual Rememberance Day ceremony.

OVAIS SHAH At the eleventh hour, on the eleventh day of the eleventh month, members from the UTM community gathered outside the front entrance of the South Building for the traditional Remembrance Day ceremony.

The ceremony began with a Call to Order initiated by the Manager of Police Services, Special Constable Len Paris. Principal Ian Orchard addressed the UTM community after the call.

“The significance of the event is to remember the efforts and lives of the Canadian soldiers who had fallen in the two great wars, Korea and in recent times peacekeeping missions in Afghanistan,” said Principal Orchard.

UTMSU President Joey Santiago recited the Flanders Field poem in the memory of the fallen. This was followed by the Last Post and the dipping of the flag, which ECSpeRT team members and campus police staff lowered to halfmast.

Towards the last half of the ceremony, Principal Orchard and UTMSU VP University Affairs and Academics Maria Pilar Galvez laid wreaths. Students in attendance observed a two-minute

moment of silence. During the course of the ceremony, the campus police stopped all traffic on campus to honor the dead. The Reveille followed the silence as the flag was raised. Paris provided the closing remarks.

“Remembrance Day in Canada originally remembered the fallen in World War I and II. Over the time, it has been adopted to include the soldiers of the Korean War and Afghanistan who are striving to protect democracy and secure Canadians at home,” said Constable Paris.

No veterans were present at the ceremony. Most of the Great War veterans are “over the age of eight-five,” said Constable Paris, and given to the weather and other considerations, “they would thus find it difficult to attend.”

“I grew up in the United Kingdom in the years not long after World War II,” said Principal Orchard. “The house next door to my parents still had a bomb shelter, and my mother had a ration book, which she still keeps to this day.

My father was in the Royal Air Force and met my mother in hospital during the war, where she was a nurse. For me, Remembrance Day brings back many thoughts and memories.”

On how Remembrance Day is

important to UTM, Orchard added, “The number of students at UTM has grown over the time that I have served as vice-president and principal here, and I believe part of the reason relates to the current war that Canadians are fighting in Afghanistan. Some of those soldiers are the same ages as the students here, so our young people can relate and better understand the difficulties these soldiers are going through.”

“Remembrance Day is new to me,” said Zainab Ahsan, a third-year international student. “Growing up in Pakistan, we never celebrated any events related to the two world wars, even though I know from my Pakistan studies books that many Pakistani soldiers fought in the Great War alongside Canadian and British soldiers as part of the British Indian Army. The Remembrance Day ceremony allowed me to not only honour the lives of the Canadian soldiers but also Pakistani soldiers and those of other nationality that gave their lives in the two wars to create a better world for us.”

see ceremony on page 3

see youth on page 2

INSIDE Men in high heels PAGE 3 Falling at Blackwood PAGE 6 Remebering the Wall PAGE 9 Eagles win again PAGE 11

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t h ewe a t h e r ch a n n e l . c o m

2 THE MEDIUM

MONDAY, NOVEMBER

16, 2009

NEWS HIGH HEELS FOR FEMINISM

Trudeau aims to engage students

Male students walk five minutes in ‘her shoes’

youth continued from cover

The audience listened attentively as Trudeau addressed the errors of politicians as well as the fallacies of youth. Trudeau urged students to get involved and realize that small actions can make a difference. “Young people want things fixed fast,” said Trudeau.

He explained that young people want to be acknowledged and appreciated for their efforts and contributions.

“Politicians need to give greater opportunities to the many eager young adults that dream of making their mark in the world,” he said, adding that “young people have the capacity to think differently, to challenge the status quo and to demand solutions.”

Trudeau emphasized that youth can and must play a pivotal role in pressuring the government to listen to issues pertaining to youths and have the ability to influence policies.

Looking to the future, Trudeau shed

SAALIHA MALIK NEWS EDITOR

Jason Hu/ The Medium

Justin Trudeau speaks to students in the student centre last Monday. light on Canada’s potential, he stated that “Canada is a nation where we should be generating solutions for world issues; instead we have been taught to expect less of our government and of ourselves. The fact is that getting young people to vote is not an end, it’s a means.” Trudeau explained to students that failing to perform when voting day arrives, young adults are subjecting themselves to the “deepest indictment.”

Trudeau ended the discussion by

encouraging attendees to find their niche and realize their capability to achieve. The hour long lecture proceeded to a question and answer period where students had the opportunity to engage in an open dialogue.

Many students asked for guidance on how they can get involved locally As the event came to an end, a line up of students formed to pose for pictures with Trudeau. “I was so happy to meet with him,” said Steve Winston, third-year Philosophy stude

Feminism discussed KATHERINE LUCZYNSKI

On November 13, a group of women gathered in the South Building for a round table discussion about feminism.

Posters covered the front of the room with magazine cut outs of women in lingerie, women in short dresses, women covered in layers of make-up and women Photoshopped to look thinner. An opening discussion on the images suggested that women are displayed in a sexualized manner, and that advertising campaigns perpetuate stereotypes on gender and class. The discussion, led by Loren Delaney, a UTM women and gender studies student, addressed how women want to see gender dynamics change.

According to Delaney, the word

feminism seemed to be misrepresented in its definition. “When you think of feminism, you automatically think of a group of angry women,” said a student in attendance. The discussion brought up points of inequality within gender relations that are still present today.

“Although women and men appear to be equal, this is not the case. Take a look at consumerism. How many times do you see a man selling cleaning products? Of course, there’s the Mr. Clean commercials with an older, white male standing near a woman who’s cleaning a kitchen or bathroom, while he gives his stamp of approval,” said another student.

Students in attendance also discussed the idea of consumerism and how it is linked to women. Discussion topics included students’ ideas on what advertisements are considered

sex and the idea that “sex sells.”

Hetero-normative societal values proved to be a problem as students in attendance discussed the isolation they feel. “As a homosexual, how do you answer the question ‘have you had sex?’ when you visit the doctor?” asked Kumari Giles, an executive of OUT@UTM. The Women and Gender Studies program at UTM offers many courses on gender relations. For all those looking to learn more about the WGS program, their office is located on the first floor of the North Building. A new student group called the Women Gender Studies Action Group is also seeking assistance to educate students on gender relations. Anyone who wishes to join them can find them in the North Building Café every Wednesday at 12 p.m.

Last Thursday, approximately 20 UTM male students gathered outside the Student Centre and stumbled about in high heels for five minutes. The annual event, dubbed Walk Five Minutes in Her Shoes was hosted by the UTM Women’s Centre for the twelfth consecutive year. The event’s primary goals were to raise awareness about women's issues and to form allies with males on women’s issues, equality and feminism.

“Many of the females that [male participants] know have faced discrimination, inequality and abuse because of their gender,” said Amreet Kaur, Events Coordinator of the UTM Women’s Centre.

Friends and supporters surrounded the group of males as they strutted their way in a runway style “walk-off” outside of the Student Centre. This year’s fundraiser incorporated obstacles for participants. In previous years, all participants had to do was to walk down the Five Minute Walk to the North Building.

The male participants, along with one female, competed across the campus in an obstacle course that included walking with balloons between their legs, trying to find a ping pong ball in a container of leaves, balancing the ball on a spoon and walking to the finish line, all while wearing two-inch heels. Derek Wu, Karun Pathak and Vinhson Tran finished as the top participants.

Key supporters of the event were Out@ UTM, Historical Student's Society, the Sexual Education and Peer Counselling Centre, UTM BikeShare, Sikh Student’s Association, Erindale Punjabi Association and Intervention at UTM, who all brought their members out to support the Women’s Centre and the event.

The Women’s Centre surpassed their initial goal of $100 and has already raised nearly $400, with pledges still coming in.

This year’s event created awareness regarding violence against children and women locally. All of the money raised from this event will be donated to Interim Place, a local women’s shelter, which supports and houses victims of domestic abuse.

Kaur thanked participants that joined the Women’s Centre in their walk to end violence against women and children. “The money raised will significantly contribute to members of our community who endure violence on a regular basis.”

Photo courtesy/Womens Centre

Campus police weekly summaries November 6, 2009 to November 12, 2009 November 6 – 9:15 a.m.

Theft under $ 5,000 A student reported the theft of her wallet from a knapsack that was left unattended inside an office in the Student Centre.

November 6 – 11:50 a.m.

Medical Call Campus Police and the Erindale College Special Response Team and assisted a student that was feeling unwell in the North Building

Theft under $ 5,000 A student reported the theft of his jacket and iPod from a classroom in the CCT Building.

November 7 – 1:10 a.m.

Trespass to Property Act Campus Police were alerted to a known trespasser that was seen inside a townhouse unit. The male was located, charged with trespassing and was escorted off campus.

November 8 – 1:50 a.m.

Disturbance Call

November 6 – 1:43 p.m.

Campus Police were contacted to attend a townhouse complex in regards to fight in progress.

Campus Police investigated and all appeared in order.

November 9 – 9:15 p.m.

Theft under $ 5,000

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November 10 – 3:15 p.m.

Fraudulent permit

A student reported his wallet was stolen from his jacket in the men’s change room inside the Recreational Athletics and Wellness Centre.

November 10 – 3:03 p.m.

Aggressive driver

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Campus Police investigated a vehicle that failed to yield to pedestrians walking at the crosswalk located on Outer Circle Road, near Leacock Lane. The driver was cautioned.

Campus Police investigated a vehicle that was displaying a fraudulent permit. The fraudulent permit was seized by Campus Police and the owner was cautioned.

Motor Vehicle Accident A motorist lost control of his vehicle while driving into the CCT Garage and hit a concrete wall. The driver was uninjured but his vehicle had been severely damaged and was towed off campus.

November 11 – 11:10 p.m.

Noise complaint Campus Police investigated a noise complaint from a townhouse unit.

The tenant was instructed to turn down his music and he complied.

November 10 – 8:52 p.m.

Career Options in Economics Attend this session and learn more about your Career Options in Economics!

Date Time Nov. 23. 09 3 - 4 pm

Location SE 2080

TO REGISTER FOR EMPLOYER EVENTS, WORKSHOPS AND MORE, visit www.utm.utoronto.ca/careers

MONDAY, NOVEMBER

16, 2009 THE MEDIUM 3

BLACKFACE DRAWS CONTROVERSY NEWS

Students apologize for blackface Halloween costume KATHERINE LUCYNZKI

Last Tuesday night, the Black Students’ Association at the St. George campus organized a town hall that saw 250 students in attendance. The topic at hand was a costume donned by five U of T students at a Halloween party on October 29. The five students caused a stir after the website Tororontoist.com reported that they won a costume award for dressing up as the Jamaican bobsled team that was depicted in the 1993 movie Cool Runnings. The movie features four Jamaican men who work with a white trainer in order to compete in the Olympics.

The students portrayed the film’s characters by dressing in bright tracksuits and t-shirts that displayed the Jamaican flag. One black student layered his face with white clown makeup to pose as the white coach, while the four white students wore dark foundation.

The Black Students’ Association said that it wasn’t impressed with the costumes. It also requested official apologies from the three colleges that hosted the party. The five students responded that they chose to dress as the bobsled team because the movie

played a large role in their childhoods.

Student Deryn Robson, the organizer of the party, said he didn’t think the costumes would cause offence but later expressed embarrassment at his ignorance of the history behind blackface, a 19th-century theatrical makeup that white actors would use to portray black characters.

The five students who dressed as

“It was Halloween so people can do what they want but there was a historical context about it, so maybe they were ignorant, but it was racist.

Let’s not do it again.”

the bobsled team attended the town hall and issued a formal apology to those who were offended or hurt by their costume.

The Halloween party was hosted by St. Michael's College Student Union, the Victoria University Student Administrative Council and the University College Literary and Athletic Society.

Ade Ajisebutu 4th year Biology & Chemistry

“Isn’t Canada supposed to be open to multiculturalism?

The contrast of the white stu dents in blackface and the other guy in white face bal ances the racial contrast.”

Jessica Zita 5th year Political Science ”It’s a joke. They’re not trying to offend anyone. It’s like Prince Harry going out for hal loween as a Nazi a few years ago.”

Tess Goris 1st year History

facebook.com

Orphan run raises funds L a s t T h u r s da y , p a r t i c i p a n ts i n Orphan Run’s annual Pie in the Face auction not only allowed students to pie their friends, they also helped raise money for orphan sponsorship in the process. The event was held in the Blind Duck and saw 250 students cheer on their friends as they tried to out-bid each other. The event lasted four hours and in total the auction raised over $1,500.

The highlight of the auction was when Shane Madhani, the manager for the Blind Duck was pied ten times and raised $500. “The money will go towards sponsoring orphans. Just $300 can go towards

“Do you think the Jamaican Bobsled Team costume was racist?”

providing food, shelter, clean water, clothes, and much more for one Orphan, for a whole year!” said Orphan Run, VP internal, Raji Kaur.

The auction was the main attraction of Orphan Run Awareness Day which included, Pie in the Face, an information table set up about Orphan run and information on orphans and orphanages around the world.

Other activities included Hennah Tattoo’s by Amirah Zubair, portraits drawn by Steve Khan, and bake sale and Nintendo wii was also set up for students to take part in.

Answer this question on our poll at mediumonline.ca/poll

Photo courtesy/Orphan Run

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Evacuation a party for erindale students DAN McKITTERICK

For Erindale students, an unanticipated week away from the lecture halls and the library started off with a bang. Literally.

Saturday night, November 10, a couple of minutes to mid-night, the campus was rocked by a tremendous explosion.

Windows rattled, walls shook and the ground trembled beneath your feet.

Simultaneously, the entire countryside was lit by a hellish orange glow as huge pillars of flames lept into the night air.

Approximateley 10 minutes after the initial eruption, a second explosion sent a towering wall of flames thousands of feet into the air. The second blast turned the inky blackness of the night into full daylight. The entire campus was bathed in a thick, viscous flood of saffron light.

Blooming fireball At first, some students, shocked by the incredible force of the blast thought that the physical plant had blow up; the smock and flame appeared to be that close.

Others thought that a chemical plant somewhere east of the college had exploded. The most romantically inclined, perhaps those who had watched too many of Hollywood's disaster movies were afraid that a jet had crashed, taking off or landing Toronto International Airport. This was definitely a possibility, considering that the college lies directly under one of the main approaches to the airport. Of course, none of these was behind the inferno raging just two mile east of Erindale College.

What was behind the fireball booming into the peaceful skies over Mississauga was actually the train wreck of the decade.

As almost everyone knows by now, a

CP rail freight train carrying tank cars full of explosive propane and deadly chlorine gas derailed at a level crossing on Mavis Road, between Burnhamthorpe and Dundas. When the train derailed, the propane tankers burst into flame, some of them exploded and the holocaust began.

That is how it began and that is how it would have ended for the residence students of Erindale College; just another train crash, albeit a spectacular one. This, however was not to be as some of them soon found out.

When they felt the first explosion and saw the smoke and fire billowing into the night, some of the residence students jumped into their cars and raced east, towards the scene of the conflagration.

Within minutes however, police and emergency personnel had cordoned off the area surrounding the wreck and had blocked all of the roads leading to the crossing.

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4 THE MEDIUM

OPINION

MONDAY, NOVEMBER

16, 2009

DOING SOMETHING ABOUT IT

Letters to the Editor

We do what we can ALAIN LATOUR EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

n our previous issue we published an article about the latest Blind Duck pub event and another about the Thomas Cottage, that spooky little shack that lies southeast of the Student Centre.

But what upset Kristen Blank, a UTM student, (see Letter to the Editor) was not what we covered as much as what we did not cover.

Ms. Blank believes that the picture and blurb we assigned to the Light the Night event, which aimed to raise awareness about violence against women, amounted to insufficient coverage.

According to a very disappointed Ms. Blank, who in her letter neglected to mention that she is a Residence Life Staff and one of the rez Programs Coordinator, as well as a don for the previous two years, she is “not just another frustrated angry student complaining about how I didn’t get my way.” Yet given the sarcastic bite of letter and that the fact she omitted her official affiliation with the campus residence, I felt that was indeed the case.

Ms. Blank begins her letter by informing us that the three quarters of a page dedicated to the pub is half a page too much. The pub article was, however, the sixth in terms of most hits for that week on our website. This makes me conclude that we gave it just the proper amount of coverage. (The Thomas Cottage article was fourth.)

Next, Ms. Blank qualifies our blurb as “insincere”(did she read the blurb author’s mind? Does short mean insincere?) She takes things one step further and draws ominous conclusions about our choice of words in calling the Thomas Cottage the “rapist shack.”

This admittedly poor term was a code name that we gave the cottage in the office. We never meant for it to wind up in the paper. But when our Features Editor Amir Ahmed, one of the most respectful men I have ever met, wrote the article, he decided to give it a jocular overtone. He thus called the cottage “the murder shack.” As I edited the article, overwhelmed with late submissions, worried about deadlines and perhaps thinking Mr. Ahmed had gotten confused, I replaced it with the original term, without being conscious of it, and never thought about it again.

Looking back, I now see I shouldn’t have done that. The article was intended to be humorous, not disrespectful. I am sorry if a reader found it distasteful. So is Amir (read his note on this page).

Yet I can’t help but to be upset, not because of a difference of opinion with a reader, but because someone who is close to me was once sexually abused. I thus take serious exception to anyone implying that I am not sympathetic with abuse victims. Perhaps I’m not sympathetic either with murder victims because we called an aban-

I

doned little house “the murder shack”? I could go on about the things that I found unnecessary about Ms. Blank’s letter. It is tempting to compare it with UTMSU President Joey Santiago’s, who obviously disagrees with last week’s opinion piece against eliminating tuition fees, but still sent us a respectful and mature letter.

What matters, however, is that at the core of Ms. Blank’s letter lies a genuine dissatisfaction with us. She felt we didn't give extensive coverage to a truly important campus event and accused us of acting in bad faith. As it turns out, we didn’t cover it not because we didn’t care (we do care), or because we have covered it every year in the past (we have, and even splashed it across our front page last year), or because we don’t care about residence students (we do, very, very much, seeing as they constitute the core of our readership, given the fact that they spend so much time on campus). The reason why we didn’t cover the Night the Light event was because we had no volunteer that day.

Lame excuse? Only if we were a professional paper with dozens of staff instead of four section editors, a copy editor, and me. We put in a lot of hours in addition to having school and external work obligations, and often lack the time or the resources to do many of the things we wish we could do.

Sometimes a volunteer will fail us at the last minute, like it happened with the Night the Light event.

Sometimes we have too many news articles to fit in too little space and are forced to make decisions that will displease event organizers (which is why Ms. Blank should have disclosed her position: event organizers can never hold a truly objective opinion).

Lastly, I must add that since our only complaint about the Thomas cottage article was Ms. Blank’s, and since Mr. Ahmed and me have received praise from three readers, it would seem that everybody but Ms. Blank realized the term was nothing but a joke, however unsavoury. I also must add that our two female team members found nothing offensive about it either.

As Ms.Blank correctly points out, ours is a school newspaper, “supposed to be the voice of students.” I could go on for pages as to why I think The Medium is essential to UTM. But if we are to function, we need students to write for us. We need students to provide us with positive feedback as much as with negative feedback. We need them to follow through when they really want us to cover something instead of dropping in casually only once. We need them not to assume that we don’t care about their concerns or that we’re a bunch of insensitive brutes. Ms. Blank concludes her letter by saying, “I surely hope this will be the last you hear from me on such a negative note, since I know you will continue to publish student relevant articles which I will still enjoy and pertain to me.” I can only hope that she will indeed take the time to drop us a line next time something in our pages strikes her as enjoyable and relevant.

The Medium doesn’t care?

Dear Editor, I am disappointed with this newspaper this year. Let me elaborate; I have been a very involved student in the residence life community, which is truly an amazing one, and this year I helped plan an annual event we call “Light the Night.”

The night, as your pittance of a blurb pointed out on page 4 of volume 36, issue 8 is a night to raise awareness about violence against women. We as a community were able to raise over $900 for the Interim Place shelter for abused women and children. We accomplished this with donations from a 12 hour relay held in the RAWC that was a sports event on residence, by taking donations at a table location in the Oscar Peterson Hall lobby where students decorated paper bags which would hold candles on the night of the event, and thanks to Allan Zacca, who allowed his flowing hair to be cut by the student who donated the most to this cause.

I have been a loyal reader of The Medium, for the four years I have been attending UTM, and even though every year there are pitfalls and people who are naturally upset (myself now included in this category) with the things written, and in this case NOT written about in this school paper. I value that we have a school newspaper and what it stands for and the right to be heard; it is suppose to be the voice of the students. Do not mistake me for just another frustrated angry student complaining about how I didn’t get my way, I’m a frustrated angry student who simply wanted this event to be known, for the rest of the school to be aware of some of the amazing things that happen in residence. The allocation of space that was dedicated to Light the Night versus Halloween Pub is ridiculous to be honest. ¾ of a page dedicated to the pub is half a page too much. I am not saying don’t write about it, and am glad to see that a canned food drive had taken place during this event however the event itself, not really newsworthy in my opinion, and I was there. Or how about the half page designation to “Rapist Shack” on page 11. I will out of the kindness of my heart not rip this nonsense article to shreds, but I highly recommend The Medium staff review any sensitive material before printing next time, since rape is a sensitive topic and to my knowledge no such “murder” or other serious crimes have been reported in that area.

You choose to write about what students “think” about this historical building, don’t actually identify what it is

used for (which by the way is storage for cleaning supplies as I have seen the inside if you had done any serious research you would know this). You discuss this “rapist shack” instead of mentioning an event which promotes awareness for non violence against women? I cannot help but see the sad irony in such a situation. I didn’t realize when I contacted The Medium nearly two weeks in advance to ask that someone show up and write about this good cause and event, that I was asking a lot. I apologize for taking space away from the pub news and the building that could have been written about any time of the year. I almost feel guilty that the small photo and insincere blurb were published in the first place, since it took away from hearing once again about how UTMSU is attempting to “drop fees”.

I was not even aware that any reporter had showed up. No one mentioned they were from The Medium, nor they did not say what time or where they would meet us, however since I gave the date and time and location, I (silly me) assumed they must know.

That was my fault. I should know better than to ask for a little recognition for a hugely successful residence event promoting a good cause. We may be smaller community, but it doesn’t make us less important or less deserving to be heard. And if the editor to whom I spoke planned on making it a small subsection in the paper, I would have appreciated knowing this in advance, so as not to heighten any expectations. So thank you everyone on the planning committee who helped with this event, Allan Zacca for donating his time and hair, all the volunteers who helped collect money, and helped set up and clean up during Light the Night, and a special thanks to a good friend of mine, Danielle Thompson, for coordinating everyone’s efforts, and making this night, a memorable one.

And Dearest Medium, I surely hope this will be the last you hear from me on such a negative note, since I know you will continue to publish student relevant articles which I will still enjoy and pertain to me. I see and read about the wonderful things achieved and events held by UTMSU and various clubs on campus and in the medium on a regular basis, and we just wanted everyone to see what we as a residence community can accomplish as well.

Kristen Blank

Thanks for attending the rally Dear UTM Students, I hope this finds you well and in good health and spirits.

The Student Day of Action has come and gone, and I wish to thank all those who came out and joined your fellow students all across the province on November 5th, 2009. UTM braved the blistering cold and the freezing rain to ensure that our message was clear on all channels - we will not continue to sit idly while our tuition fees rise every single year. I also want to thank all our supporters, staff, volunteers, marshals, executives, directors, members of the various workers' unions, and also those who criticize the cause - for without you, we would not be able to improve our strategies and find the faults in the campaign.

The rally might be over, but the campaign has just begun. Your students'

union is continuing to hold lobby sessions with the appropriate government officials, and is now in constant conversation with key offices to work out solutions to this economic problem.

Again, I would like to sincerely and wholeheartedly thank all those who were a part of the campaign—whether it be signing a postcard or yelling at the top of your lungs on November 5, "DROP FEES!", thank you for your actions that will make an impact in post-secondary education for years to come.

Warmest Regards, Joey Santiago President University of Toronto Mississauga Students' Union

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THIS ISSUE’S CONTRIBUTORS Katherine Luczynski,Stefanie Marotta, Serkan Yilidrim, Trevor Abes, Nives Hajdin, Paola Savasta, Paul Castrodole, Patricia Figueiredo, Reina Shishikura, William Robertson, Dave Esposto, Anila Qasim, and

Matt’s parents.

MONDAY, NOVEMBER

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MONDAY, NOVEMBER

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Michael Di Leo, Editor | arts@mediumonline.ca

The art of falling UTM’s Blackwood Gallery presents its newest exhibition, Fall In PATRICIA FIGUEIREDO To fall encompasses a multitude of actions: to fall in, to fall out, to fall through. This season, the University of Toronto Mississauga’s Blackwood Gallery invites its visitors to explore the complexity of falling and the many ways a person or object may fall.

Fall Out/Fall In—a two-part show— showcases art works by eighteen distinguished artists. According to Christof Migone, the Blackwood Gallery’s director and curator, the show explores falling as a transition process. “Falling often implies a transition where there is no turning back,” said Migone. “It is a theme that is richly layered, from the physiological to the metaphorical.”

When asked about the theme of the show, Migone explained that his starting point came from the fundamental understanding that “gravity holds us in place no matter how much we attempt to circumvent it.”According to Migone, “to fall is to enter the reality of our condition on this planet.”

Fall Out, which opened on September 14, features the works of nine artists exploring gravity and breathing. For the second part of the show, Migone selected nine new artists to respond to the works of Fall Out’s nine original contributors.

Some of Fall In’s most impressive works include those by U of T art and art history graduate Alison S.M. Kobayashi. Kobayashi’s Self-Made Parachute is a handmade 15-foot by

Matthew Filipowich/The Medium

Kobayashi’s Self Made Parachute and Gillian Collyer’s snowflake as seen in the Blackwood Gallery.

30-inch parachute. This work responds to Paul Litherland’s skydiving videos in Force of Attraction and Freefall Fighters.

In addition to creating the parachute, Kobayashi was commissioned by the Blackwood Gallery to produce an image to be displayed in the Bernie Miller Lightbox—the billboard located outside of the South Building at the end of the Five Minute Walk. In keeping with the theme of falling, Kobayashi created The Seven Inch Fall—a self-portrait of the artist collapsed flat on her face—which will be

on display for the duration of the academic year.

Annie Onyi Cheung, another U of T graduate, was also invited to contribute to Fall In. Cheung was chosen to respond to Simone Jones’ Perfect Vehicle—a remarkable 11 foot-long, three wheeled vehicle, controlled by the passenger’s breathing. Cheung’s response: a poetic video depicting the rise and fall of human bodies as they breathe.

Gillian Collyer created a massive, beautifully intricate, crocheted snowflake in response to Kristiina

Lahde’s Delete. The latter is a long piece of computer paper, holepunched several times with the word ‘delete.’

Sophie Bélair Clément responded to Tom Sherman’s Hyperventilation piece (1970)—a controversial video in which Sherman makes himself hyperventilate and eventually collapses. Although the original video has been lost, the Blackwood Gallery displays Sherman’s detailed description of his self-inflicted agony as part of Fall Out. In Fall In, Clément responds with a written description of the interesting process it

took to obtain information about Sherman’s three performances of Hyperventilation piece.

Bringing a touch of comedy to Fall In, Roula Partheniou created Caution Yellow, a to-scale replica of a banana peel responding to the Zilvinas Kempinas’ O Between Fans, a flimsy cassette tape flying indefinitely between two large metal fans.

Partheniou’s work suggests perhaps a different way to fall: the all-too-famous slip our favourite comedy and cartoon characters can never seem to escape.

U of T’s Master’s of Visual Studies graduate Josh Thorpe created Bachelor On and Off, a viewer activated on-off switch as a response to Don Simmons’ Bachelor Forever. The latter is a vertical line painted on the wall, through which a small magnet fluff made from iron fillings travels up and down. Once Thorpe’s switch is tuned on, Simmons’ “masturbating machine” is activated and a loud sound, which resembles a vacuum cleaner, comes on. Interestingly enough, Thorpe’s switch has been painted black on the outside and pink on the inside to resemble the female anatomy.

Thorpe also created Bachelor Stick, a single stick painted pink that has been purposefully dropped outside of the Blackwood Gallery’s conventional exhibition space with the purpose of inviting visitors to explore the inner works of the exhibition.

Fall Out/Fall In runs until December 13. For more information, including the Blackwood Gallery’s hours of operation, visit http://blackwoodgallery.ca.

Tying the knot on campus Art student marries cat in a perfomance piece REINA SHISHIKURA

have an espresso on us and find out how

come by and let us know what you think about the medium check office hours for matt, michael, or alain. while supplies last

Who gets married on campus? And who gets married to a cat for that matter? A fourth-year art and art history student did last week.

Around 30 friends got together at McLuhan Court to witness the marriage of Jennifer Chan and George Bateye, her feline companion. After four months in love, they finally tied the knot.

“I’m 21, and I just thought it was time. I’ve dreamt of this day since I was a little girl,” exclaimed Chan as she showed off her 200-karat diamond ring. Sterling silver bangles sparkled on George’s left paw.

“I think they’re perfect for each other. I’m so glad George found someone—he’s one of the most wonderful, you know, ‘people’ I’ve ever met. He’s my best friend,” said Derek Friesen, the groom’s best man. After the ceremony, Friesen rushed to his philosophy class.

Robert Carriere, the couple’s mutual friend, acted as the pastor.

“I only got my license just a few weeks ago. I registered online and

bam! I’m a pastor now,” said Carriere, who wanted to contribute to the wedding somehow, and not just as an attendee. “I love this couple. They’re so great—they’re the definition of diversity. I just had to help out one way or another.”

Jessica Valentine, Chan’s friend,

Mark Andrew Shannon/Photo

The happy couple.

baked cupcakes. They were served at the ceremony along with Chan’s sponge cakes. Guests devoured both treats as they discussed the ceremony.

“I’ve been friends with Jen since the fifth grade, and…oh, I’m so happy for her! I just can’t believe she got married before I did,” laughed Eva Yeung, the bridesmaid, as she fixed Chan’s veil.

“Honestly, it’s perfect. My parents didn’t get to come, but whatever. This will show them that I’m free now and that I get to be with whoever I want, not who they want for me,” explained Chan.

Other guests included Daisuke Takeya, Gendai Gallery’s programming director. He rushed in from downtown Toronto in a three-piece suit. Students from nearby houses stopped to observe the union of the couple as well, and made calls to get their friends to attend.

“I’m married! I’m married now, bitches!” screamed Chan, as she twirled in her thrift store VeraWang-lookalike dress. Bateye did not blink an eye as he stared at his new wife.

MONDAY, NOVEMBER

BOATS AND PORTS

16, 2009 THE MEDIUM 7

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

Film review: Rockin’ the boat NIVES HAJDIN ASSISTANT A&E EDITOR

Imagine a world without the legacy of The Rolling Stones, Jimi Hendrix and The Kinks. A world where the government frowns upon freedom and wh e r e g u i ta r r i f f s a n d r a c y lyrics have no place. This was the impending fate of rock ‘n’ roll in Britain circa 1966. The future didn’t look promising, but since when have people conformed to the rules?

Welcome to the era of UK pirate radio.

Loosely based on Radio Caroline and the experiences of numerous pirate radio operators of the 1960s, Richard Curtis’ Pirate Radio tells t h e f i ct i o n al s t o ry o f a b a n d o f rogue DJs aboard the infamous R a di o R o c k , a n o f f s h o r e p i ra t e radio station that broadcasts rock ‘n’ roll music in the North Sea (and much to the dismay of the British government, just outside of their jurisdiction). Yet that doesn’t stop M i n i s te r D o r ma n d y ( K e n ne t h Branagh, Hamlet) and his aptly n a m e d si d e k i c k, T w a t t ( Ja c k Davenport, Pirates of the Caribbean), from finding alternative ways of shutting down the station, such as t h e in v e n t i on o f t h e M a r i n e Offences Act, which of course has little effect on the rebellious disc

jockeys.

Led by the Count (Philip Seymour Hoffman, Capote), it’s all sex, drugs and rock ‘n’ roll as Radio Rock’s 24/7 on-air antics are broadcast to t h e r oc k - w or s h i p p i n g m a s s e s .

When a final turn of events threatens the crew’s rebellious cause, they must adjust their morals or suffer the consequences. Claiming to be the first radio station to say the “F” word on air, declaring young Carl’s (Tom Sturridge) loss of virginity to half the nation and broadcasting the greatly anticipated marriage of Simon and Elenore (Chris O’Dowd and January Jones) which falls apart after only 17 hours, Radio Rock wins the hearts of 25 million listeners, whose lives were revolutionized by the DJs who fought for freedom and changed the voice of a nation.

Though more of a parody than a factual documentary, Pirate Radio uses the overindulgent nature of the 1960s to its advantage, and goes all out in its ridiculous depictions of drunken misconduct and sexual innuendo. One of the plot’s central elements is the development of a relationship between Carl and his long lost father (Ralph Brown), whose obsession with the past makes it difficult for him to accept the present. Though the film is essentially a string of isolated events, moments such as these are effective reminders of how self-ori-

ented people can find happiness in the company of others.

While most of the cast is obscure to North American audiences, certain actors such as Nick Frost (Hot Fuzz) and Bill Nighy (Pirates of the Caribbean) are familiar and stand out as the film’s most well-developed and humorous characters.

Tom Brooke plays the hilarious “Thick” Kevin, who describes Jesus as “a nice guy with long hair, no shoes, lots of friends and he wore a dress,” while Tom Wisdom plays “Midnight” Mark, a heartthrob DJ who doesn’t say anything at all, but manages to woo all of his female lis-

t e n e r s . Ye t t h e c a p t a i n ’ s s e a t belongs to Philip Seymour Hoffman, and though his portrayal does not match up to his past Oscar-nominated performances, he still manages to make a lasting impression as the passionate American “God of the airwaves.” On another note, though many of the songs featured in the film were released after 1966 and do not truly represent the chart toppers of that year, Pirate Radio’s soundtrack still remains one of the film’s strongest elements. With the likes of Cream, The Who, and The Hollies, the songs capture the spirit of the 60s and do well to unify the

outnow.ch/photo

The crew of Radio Rock take some time off to dance on deck.

film’s sometimes disjointed scenes.

While Radio Rock stands for an unsinkable ideal, even their idealized society has its flaws. The DJs’ lives are defined by “live in the moment” attitudes and pleasureseeking impulses, but when their lifestyle is threatened, their vulnerability becomes quite evident. The British government is also an exaggerated extreme with its overly s t r i c t n a t u r e a n d o p p os i t i o n t o change that doesn’t appeal to the masses as Radio Rock does. The two lifestyles clash repeatedly without a resulting victor, which just goes to show that neither society is perfect, and a balance must be achieved before any real progress can be made.

The emphasis on the influence of rock ‘n’ roll is one of the film’s major concerns, but its underlying and more prominent theme is the back and forth struggle for freedom against censorship. Pirate Radio highlights the mockery that a group of rebellious individuals want to make of a government that stands in their way, but their desire to a c h i e ve t h e u n t hi n k a b l e i s n ’ t attained without a fight from the opposition. Nevertheless, the film is pure entertainment, and with the help of risqué British comedy and the film’s stellar soundtrack, Pirate Radio is easily able to stay afloat.

Portrait culture: A look through time Vanity Fair Portraits: Photographs 1913 2008 is now on display at the Royal Ontario Museum. We take a brief look at what is presented and the changing nature of the cultural portrait.

PAOLA SAVASTA

What do South Park’s Kenny, Hinduism, Ozzy Osbourne, cats and Vanity Fair magazine have in common? They all have many lives.

Opened on September 26 and running until January 3, the Royal Ontario Museum is presenting Vanity Fair Portraits: Photographs 1913-2008 in cooperation with The Bay. Vanity Fair Portraits showcases 146 portraits, celebrating Vanity Fair’s 95th anniversary as a magazine and its 25th anniversary since its re-launch in 1983.

The brainchild of a collaboration between Vanity Fair and the National Portrait Gallery of London, Vanity Fair Portraits is curated by the National Portrait Gallery’s curator, Terence Pepper, and Vanity Fair’s editor of creative development, David Friend.

This is the exhibition’s first visit to eastern North America and the ROM is the only Canadian venue to display these works.

The exhibition shows a vast array of magazine covers from the last 95 years, along with pho-

Paola Savasta/The Medium

tographs of celebrities, socialites, and artists, from both the original and the modern editions. It also boasts photographs by Edward Steichen, Man Ray, Cecil Beaton, Annie Leibovitz, Michael Thompson, and Nigel Parry, to name a few.

Vanity Fair magazine was born to an eager Condé Nast in 1913.

He had purchased the then men’s fashion mag under its original name Dress, after which he renamed the magazine Vanity Fair & Dress. The magazine lived a short four-issue life, but was reborn in 1914 as Vanity Fair.

Along with the new name came a charismatic new editor, Frank Crowninshield. Together Nast and Crowninshield promoted modern artists, illustrators, and writers.

They reproduced works by Pablo Picasso, Henri Matisse, Paolo Garnetto and Man Ray, published essays and literary works by Gertrude Stein and Dorothy Parker, and helped popularize

celebrity portraiture through the work of photographers such as Edward Steichen, Man Ray, Cecil Beaton, and Baron de Meyer.

In 1923, Nast recruited Edward Steichen as the head photographer for Vanity Fair and Vogue.

Steichen was already a well-established artist who was also known for his painting. He had been working with Alfred Stieglitz, with whom he was a founding member of the Photo-Secession. Steichen had also served as a commander

for the photographic division of the Army Expeditionary Forces, where he pioneered aerial reconnaissance photography. His roles with the Photo-Secession and with the U.S. war efforts both called for a different kind of photograph.

The Photo-Secession promoted Pictorialist artists and their works; photographers who wanted to marry the romanticism of painting and etching with the technicalities of photography.

In 1935, Vanity Fair ceased publication as a result of the Stock Market Crash in 1929. Their sales dropped, they lost advertisers, and Steichen was given a pay cut. This is when Nast and Crowninshield made the decision to fold Vanity Fair into Vogue. During this time Steichen continued to work for Vogue and had started working on campaigns for Kodak before resigning in 1939.

Portrait continued on page 8

Annie Leibovitz / Contact Press Images / Courtesy of the Artist

Legends of Hollywood by Annie Leibovitz in 2001 L R: Nicole Kidman, Catherine Deneuve, Meryl Streep, Gwyneth Paltrow, Cate Blanchett, Kate Winslet, Vanessa Redgrave, Chloë Sevigny, Sophia Loren, and Penélope Cruz. Vanity Fair, April 2001.

8 THE MEDIUM

MONDAY, NOVEMBER

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ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT ROM IS RAD

ROM Presents: Vanity CD in review: Raditude by Weezer Fair Portraits PAUL CASTRODALE

Portrait continued from page 7

In 1983, the magazine went through a rocky re-launch led by Condé Nast Publications editors Richard Locke and Leo Lerman, and in 1984 Tina Brown took over, recruiting photographers Annie Leibovitz, Henry Bensol, Helmut Newton and Herb Ritts to their roster.

Annie Leibovitz began taking night classes in photography while she was studying painting at the San Francisco Art Institute. In 1970, she began doing work for Rolling Stone m a g az i n e . S h e b ec a m e R o l l i n g Stone’s chief photographer in 1973.

Ten years and 142 different covers later, she joined Vanity Fair as its first contributing photographer after its 1983 re-launch. She has shot hundreds of celebrities and says she’s interested solely in what they do, not who they are. She was the last photographer to shoot John Lennon before his assassination in 1980 (for Rolling Stone), which was named the best magazine cover f r o m th e p as t 4 0 y e a r s b y t h e A m e ri c a n So c i e t y o f M a g a z i n e Editors in 2005. Leibovitz’s photos are on display at the ROM. Vanity Fair Portraits: Photographs 1913-2008 runs until January 3 2010 at the Royal Ontario Museum.

The proverbial shit of Rivers Cuomo’s midlife crisis has hit the fan. And it’s…not that bad?

First off, a brief recap of Weezer’s post-Pinkerton career. The Green Album was a pleasant retread of the best parts of their first colour-coded record. Maladroit picked up that thread, with more crunch and the return of Rivers’ guitar-hero histrionics. Make Believe was the lowest point in Weezer’s career and marked the moment where the band had sunk into total irrelevance. Here Rivers’ endearingly awkward confessional songs were just that—awkward. The Red Album returned some silliness and spirit to the group, but aside from the excellent “Greatest Man That Ever Lived,” it was totally forgettable.

Now we have Raditude. The halfbaked, poorly-worded autobiographies of Make Believe and the Red Album are nowhere in sight. Instead, Rivers and co. are intent on tapping into their vision of contemporary teenage life. Bear in mind, however, that the bulk of Weezer’s members

RATING: MMMM are now pushing 40. But somehow the collaborations with Jermaine Dupris and the TRL-friendly production is not as embarrassing at it sounds. To be sure, most of this material is inessential for any observer. “If You’re Wondering If I Want You To (I Want You To)” is vapid Pepsi commercial music, although it is almost redeemed by a hilarious line about Rivers taking his date to Best Buy. The real saving grace of the album is how the group lets loose and indulges Rivers’ dubious grasp of modern teenagehood in a way that doesn’t try too hard to appropriate the Top 40 pop of the late 2000s (it

instead shoots for the 70’s - 90’s). “In The Mall” (written by drummer Pat) is lyrically silly and musically grungy, down to the shredded yelp from Rivers that precedes its sludgy guitar solo. “The Girl Got Hot” is boisterous power pop with generic lyrics and a melody you’ve heard a thousand times. But it is teen-sounding rock in the way Cheap Trick was familiar musical territory with spirit.

So, how many of these songs do you really need, considering Weezer already did this much better 15 years ago? Though funny, “Let It All Hang Out” is essentially “The Girl Got Hot.” If anything makes the record stand together through the sameness of its songs, it’s “Can’t Stop Partying.”

Lil Wayne on a Weezer record? That’s about 150,000 dollars in Weezy’s bank account, and one silly, silly, Weezer song. “Okay bitch, it’s Weezer and it’s Weezy!” Awesome!

No, rad.

What is apparent in all this is that now Rivers has got his awful autobiographical nonsense off his chest and is now free to roam. And when Weezer writes an album called “Raditude,” they mean Rad. Whatever rad is to 38 year-old Rivers.

“WEST COAST” BY COCONUT RECORDS Condé Nast Publications Inc. / Courtesy Sotheby’s, London

Katharine Hepburn by Cecil Beaton 1935.

MONDAY,NOVEMBER

16, 2009 THE MEDIUM 9

Amir Ahmed, Editor | features@mediumonline.ca

The Berlin what?

November 9 marks the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall and of Communism ALAIN LATOUR EDITOR IN CHIEF

In the fall of 2000, when I was a German Language and Literature sophomore at the University of Havana, a professor lied to my class. The Berlin Wall, she assured us, had been built by the West Germans. Then, as if to worsen my dismay, a student raised his hand. “What was the Berlin Wall again?� he asked.

Things don’t look much better nine years later, as I near the end of my studies in Canada. True, no professor will stand in UTM’s lecture halls—or for that matter, any other Canadian university—to insult history the way my former professor in Havana did. And should a professor do that, no student would get expelled or thrown in jail for calling her on it. But, as my very informal survey of seven UTM students shows, their ignorance about the Berlin Wall could rival my former classmate’s.

One of the reasons why is of course their age: if your average UTM student is, say, 20 years old, he or she would have been born precisely the year that the Wall fell. (My Cuban classmate would have been a child). But the remaining reasons for this ignorance couldn’t be more different.

Like most other Cubans, my classmate didn’t know what happened on November 9, 1989 because the Cuban press barely covered the end of Communism. My classmate

also grew up asphyxiated by oppression, a total unavailability of foreign news sources, and a fear of asking the wrong questions.

Young Canadians, on the other hand, don’t suffer these limitations. They don’t know much about the Wall simply because the world they live in seems to have forgotten about it.

This is unfortunate. Countless people suffered under Communism.

Many were tortured and killed.

Millions more continue to endure Lenin’s equalitarian dream in China, North Korea, Vietnam, and Cuba. To ask me, like many in Toronto have, how come I left tropical Cuba for cold Canada, is to pay their plight a disservice.

Compassion and respect are one

thing. There are also practical reasons why it pays to keep history in mind.

The few remaining Communist regimes know this better than anybody else. Realizing that the East Germans who tore the wall with their bare hands did so out of a want for “bourgeois� goods such as jeans and Coca Cola as much as a want for freedom, the Chinese and Vietnamese governments set about opening their economies to the very market principles they had shun for the past few decades.

N ort h Ko rea wen t t h e o p p os it e way, shutting itself from the outside world so tightly that barely anyone knows what goes on there.

Wa ll continued on pag e 11

Berlin and the Wall: a chronology May,1945: the Allied Powers (a •M coalition of Russian, British and American forces) defeat Nazi Germany and divide it into four occupation zones. The capital, Berlin, is similarly divided. The Soviets disagree with the rest of the Allies on reconstruction plans that would make post war Germany self sufficient.

1 9 4 5 1 9 8 5 : the Soviet Union •1 forces Communism onto the nations that it liberated from Nazi Germany. Properties and industries were nationalized. Indoctrination of Marxixm Lenismim became mandatory. •JJune 5, 1947: the United States establishes the Marshall Plan, an initiative designed to rebuild the American and British liberated parts of Western Europe and to rein in Soviet control of the Russian liberated portion.

1948: Stalin institutes the Berlin •1 Blockade, which prevents food and supplies from arriving in West Berlin. The United States, Britain, France, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and several other coun tries begin a massive “Berlin air lift,â€? supplying West Berlin with food and other supplies.

May 1949: after 300,000 Berliners •M demonstrate for the international airlift to continue, Stalin lifts the blockade, permitting the resump tion of Western shipments to Berlin.

O ctober 7, 19 49: the German •O Democratic Republic (East Germany) was born. The Soviet Ministry of Foreign Affairs accord ed the East German state adminis

trative authority, but not autono my, with an unlimited Soviet exer cise of the occupation regime and Soviet penetration of administra tive, military and secret police structures.

1 9 5 0 1 9 6 1 : 3.5 million East •1 Germans flee into West Berlin.

August 13, 1961: the police and •A units of the East German army close the border with West Berlin.

East German troops destroy streets running alongside the bor der and install barbed wire entan glements and fences along the border between West and East Berlin.

1961 1989: Around 5,000 East •1 Germans manage to escape to West Berlin, using tunnels, adja cent buildings, aerial wires and even hot air balloons. The Wall is increasingly fortified as years go by, making escapes almost impos sible. People killed while trying to cross the wall have been estimat ed from 100 to over 200.

1 9 8 7 1 9 8 9 : following the •1 Perestroika—reformation process—in the Soviet Union under Mikhail Gorbachev,East Germans begin fleeing into Hungary and Czechoslovakia, which have taken a few first step toward democracy. Protests against the Communist govern ment break out in East Germany.

N o v e m b e r 9 , 1 9 8 9 : the East •N German government announces that all GDR citizens can visit West Berlin. Crowds of East Germans crossed the wall.

O ctober 3, 1 990: the German •O reunification is formally concluded.

farm4.static.flickr.com

The health of nations AMIR AHMED FEATURES EDITOR

Today, the UTM Health and Counselling Centre offers students medical and psychological services; the centre’s commitment to all forms of health has grown dramatically since it’s conception.

The HCC began in 1967 in the North Building with one staff nurse staff and one doctor who was on call during regular office hours. The centre moved to its current location in the South Building basement in 1973, and now employs five parttime doctors, three part-time nurses, and two personal counsellors along with coordinators and administrators. The Health Centre also boasts an impressive amount of volunteers.

In recent years, the HCC’s services

have expanded with their staff, now including counselling and prevention programs among regular medical practises. Health centre counsellors work in one-on-one sessions, couples therapy and in group sessions such as the Stressbusters workshop. Next term, the centre hopes to hold a session that relieves stress through jogging. The centre also runs a health promotion program, operated by a health promotion coordinator working with thirty student volunteers. These volunteers focus on different areas of health promotion through events, workshops and presentations, and tackle issues such as stress and drug and alcohol abuse. Students in the South Building around Halloween may have noticed the “get your bones home safe� booth, which advocated responsible drinking.

The HCC maintains standard medical practises. “We have everything you’d find in a family doctor’s office,� said Alison Burnett, the director of the HCC. “We can offer wellness exams, physical exams,

referrals to other services for chronic issues. We even have a blood lab where we can take blood and test it so students don’t need to go off-campus.� The centre also contains a dispensary offering free single-dose over the counter medication such as Tylenol or Aspirin, and sells birth control at a reduced price.

The HCC’s governance lies with Alison Burnett, with significant input from student groups, individual clinic users, and QSS. QSS, the Quality of Service to Students organization consists of students and staff. It approves the health centre’s budget and plays an important part in what the health centre can do with regards to its future plans.

In the future, Burnett hopes to increase the availability of the centre’s services. “Our physicians are sometimes booked weeks in advance, as are our counsellors,� she said. “We’d really like to increase our availability to meet the needs of students.�

Future continued on page 11

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10 THE MEDIUM MONDAY, NOVEMBER 16, 2009

FEATURES LOTS ABOUT BIRDS

Health centre looks out to the future future continued from page 9 While the Health Centre serves individual students, Burnett also has to view the university as a whole, especially when it comes to risks such as an H1N1 epidemic. Students will remember that until the low amount of H1N1 vaccine was revealed, the health centre had planned for a campus-wide vaccination program.

Burnett says that the HCC still has a small amount of vaccine to deliver to high-risk students, and will continue to work with Peel Public Health on influenza issues. Burnett urges stu-

dents to receive the vaccine once it becomes available to the community, “the vaccine is a safe and effective means to preventing the spread of the virus.”

In the mean time, the health centre in coordination with the university has taken preventative measures since the beginning of the year, including the preparedness website (www.preparedness.org), the flu-related absence record on ROSI, and the peer health educator’s “Wellness Wednesdays” workshops, focusing on simple flu prevention techniques and trivia.

Communism endures around the world wall continued from page 9 (It does open up, ever so slightly, when it needs food for its starving population, which it likes to extort out of the international community with threats of nuclear armament).

Cuba attempted to strike a balance, encouraging tourism, allowing remittances from political exiles (which now account for Cuba’s largest source of income), and very minor forms of private enterprise. All of these countries, with varying degrees of ruthlessness, continue to persecute, imprison or execute their people.

Unfortunately, most everybody else failed to remember the Berlin

Wall, what happened before and after, and what it meant—and still means— for the world. President Obama might, which is likely why he’s relaxed the American embargo against Cuba. This is good news, not because it means better lives for those who still live on the island. It is good news because it will show Cubans that Western democracies are not the enemy they were taught to believe, and that the excuses they were given for the system’s shortcomings were nothing but smoke and mirrors.

Economic freedom almost always equals political freedom. The more citizens in Communist countries have a taste of it, the sooner the remaining Walls will fall.

Ghost Bird Takes Flight at UTM screening EMILY ACHESON

What would you do if you saw a dodo bird? How about a Caspian tiger?

Scott Crocker’s documentary, Ghost Bird, deals with the reported sightings of extinct creatures and p o r t ra y s t h e c o n f l i c t be t w e e n believers and critics. Students, professors and other interested members of the community filled the CC1080 lecture hall on November 12 for a screening of the 85-minute film, which explores the mystery of the ivory-billed Woodpecker.

The ivory-billed Woodpecker, a sort of Elvis Presley of the birdwatching world, was thought to be extinct for over 60 years. A subspecies native to the southern United States re-emerged in wetland forests near the small town of Brinkley, Arkansas, in February 2004. At least, that’s what was claimed. The only existing video of what was believed to be the ivory-billed Woodpecker lasts only four seconds and shows nothing more than the flash of wings of a large bird flying into the distance on a hazy camcorder recording. Some think the video may have captured the Pileated Woodpecker, the sole still-existing close relative of the ivory-billed Woodpecker.

“It was just a story that attracted me,” Crocker said. “Like most of the stories I’m drawn to, stories I can’t quite figure out, they sort

Creative Corner

The white dove SERKAN YILIDRIM

It all began when a white dove landed on a window still. It wasn’t at all difficult to understand the scenario, because this certainly meant something, perhaps a sign or maybe even a remark of good fortune. The case presented itself, although it was not obvious what the sign meant, it brought upon a direction. A sense in which uncertainty became oblivious and the meaning unhindered. The dove remained untouched; it stared at the open space wondering about options. Evening arrived early in this time of the year, and the sun shined with an exposed vulnerability. As the dove flicked its wings, the clarity of the situation evolved into a mass confusion.

Questions were asked. I could not explain the complex questions which were raised in front of me.

But I did think for a moment, that maybe by avoiding these questions I would be able to get away. Right next to the window was a small dresser; on top of it is a full ashtray, empty cigarettes packs and a can of unfinished soda. In my mind, it was a complete mess that I had no control over, yet there was a hint of intricate balance between those that are able to go away, and those who remain. I felt just like that white dove that flew

away seconds before the sun disappeared behind grey rain clouds.

The transparency of the window weakened my unawareness, as the sun sank into the distance and the smoke from my cigarette provided with me with a slight comfort. I doubted my own instinct; it felt as if I had no insight to my despair.

“This wall incapaci tates and stuns the growth which I had planned. Ah yes, the plan—it’s starting to sink in now, as I slowly come to a stop.”

Wherever I looked, in each direction I was not able to recognize.

Complete disorientation led me to believe that an unsolved dilemma and the presence of unchecked anxiety considerably damaged the previous engagement that I had otherwise planned. My memory proved to be unworthy and I could not remember the plan. The taste of stale air was all around me, I reached to open the window but the untimely weather interrupted my action and the window suddenly opened without my help.

The rush of cold air came sweeping in, and the pungent smell in my room quickly vanished. For a

moment patience was disguised, and the tedious attachments were forgiven. I started to pace the room; I chose to do this to clear my mind and to gain different perspective on the past. The past has had its ways with me, and my senses failed to provide a proper distinction of cause. I’m reminded of mistakes, and regrets for temporarily ill fabrication of my psyche. A painful echo of distant relationships overwhelms my curiosity for progress. I’m plunging into a deeper whole than I previously had dug for my own.

This wall incapacitates and stuns the growth which I had planned.

Ah yes, the plan – it’s starting to sink in now, as I slowly come to a stop. Simultaneously ideas start to flourish like a fountain of water once frozen by the cold weather now free to flow. I paused for a moment, tried to think of the plan. It was about to be over, running around in circles. I’m deprived of my own uncertainty; there is not a single hint of what’s to come. Usually intuitive support cues on time, but the safety net leaves me to perish within the confined thoughts of restlessness.

Impartial it seems the whole edifice, where I rest upon reveals to be unreliable. I turned around and there the question was elevated in front of my own eyes. I could not believe, no, I will not believe. And then I woke up.

of suggest the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. That’s what pulls me into it.”

A collection of interviews with passionate witnesses, in-depth scientists and wary sceptics, Ghost Bird captures the energy that emerges when the world experienced a paradigm shift: can an extinct species r eturn from the grave?

“This bird has always had a sort of a resonance with people,” Crocker said. “I think everybody was hypnotized by the bird when they saw it. It’s large and striking.”

The film not only touches on the biological and social aspects of a bird, but it also addresses the uneasiness between man and nature. Why did people become so obsessed with the thought of one extinct bird species coming back?

Crocker believes it’s a symbol of hope: that it’s not too late for humans to save our suffering environment. “I think many people were really excited about the bird’s appearance and thought ‘this is our chance,’” Croker said.

“This was an indication that we’ve been doing something right.”

“I also wasn’t interested in making a film that would end up with a final answer,” Crocker explained. “I kind of wanted to make a documentary that really started with answers and added more and more questions until all you were left with were questions.”

Many people, including Crocker,

remain sceptical of the ivorybilled Woodpecker’s existence.

But as Cocker said after the screening, “[The Cornell ornithologists] still maintain that they saw the bird. And they’re certain they saw it. And they maintain that since they haven’t seen it since, it doesn’t mean it wasn’t there.”

The filmmaker encouraged anyone interested in saving bird species to volunteer in conservation efforts in the local community. It’s critical to take action before other species go the way of the ivory-billed Woodpecker.

Ghost Bird has already been honoured with the Southern Soul of Independent Film Award from the Indie Memphis Film Festival, among an array of other awards.

UTM was a favoured screening spot in the GTA before the film’s date of release on December 31.

Scott Crocker, a documentary filmmaker donning the role of director, producer and editor for documentaries including Boneshop of the Heart and The Understudy, is no stranger to success. Among various honours and awards for his films, The Understudy received honours from the American Anthropological Association and the American Folklore Society.

Crocker has featured his work at national and international film festivals. His award-winning works have screened at the Museum of Modern Art in New York and the De Young Museum in San Francisco. Crocker deemed the UTM as a lucky next stop.

Gangstarr TREVOR ABES

Hate is embraced by wood grain grippers And syrup sippers alike; Not by me though.

I do not depend on prejudice To determine who I am, Rather, I transcend, and foresee, The way society ought to be.

And if it pleases you, It will please me to let my sublime dissertation be, That I need cheese only with the pictures I snap, And my grill is endorsed by a boxer in a chef’s hat.

The love I show might be Californian in intensity, But it’s Universal in its reciprocity.

Every dime laid becomes another dollar deposited in my name, because the only place I drive by is the drive through, unrolling the twenties I got from moving rocks, at my landscaping job.

So let me represent the 905 by saying, check my weary neck, and check my fingers, my calluses are worth 100k.

I am a hustler from head to toe, yet I have no foe.

MONDAY, NOVEMBER

16, 2009 THE MEDIUM 11

Andrew Tysiak , Editor | sports@mediumonline.ca

Piotto sisters take Eagles to finals Hard fought 2 1 victory over Victoria college takes women’s division 1 soccer team to finals ANILA QASIM

On November 8, sisters Nadia and Mara Piotto led the UTM women’s soccer team to a 2 – 1 victory as they faced off against Victoria College in the semi-finals of the division 1 Tri-Campus Soccer Tournament The scarcity of spectators in the stands and the calm mood of the game highlighted the deadlock on the field. Play was predominantly restricted to the very centre of the pitch, with neither the Eagles nor Victoria College making significant advances into the opposition’s zones. The intensity of such circumstances, however, was weakened when Nadia Piotto flaunted her offensive skill within the 15-minute mark of the first half. With a strong kick that propelled the ball past the grasps of Victoria College’s goalie, Nadia gave UTM the lead, 1 – 0, hovering just outside the 18-yard box.

Ten minutes later, Mara, taking inspiration from her sister’s clever ball handling, fired a shot roughly 30 yards away from the goal. The ball soared past the goaltender and into the top left pocket of the net. UTM thus concluded the first half with a head start, leading 2 – 0.

Though the first half ended with a stroke of optimism for the home team, Victoria College began to press the Eagles’ defence as the second half drew on. Roughly midway through the latter half of the match, on gaining possession in UTM’s zone, Victoria College knocked the ball in just past the grasp of the Eagle’s goalie, who gave up her only goal of the game.

Now at 2 – 1, Victoria struggled to catch up to the Eagles.

The final quarter of the game ticked away in the same fashion.

Victoria College displayed teamwork and an unquenched desire to tie the match, and the Eagles’ responded to their opponent’s advances net with unmatched ferocity. The final moments of the game were characterized by careful ball handling and numerous shots on net, though most were wide of the goal.

“It was not one of our best efforts, but it shows how talented this team is as they were still able to come away with the victory. I am proud of the girls for getting one step closer to a championship and I believe this team has the talent to win it all,” said Coach Robert Brown.

The Eagles played their championship game yesterday against rival UTSC at 11:00 a.m.

Sarah Malagerio Bruno/The Medium

Eagles #11 Nadia Piotto curves the ball towards the net and scores UTM’s first goal. Her sister Mara Piotto tallied a goal of her own 10 minutes later.

Will Halladay stay or go?

Pending free agency during the 2010 offseason, will the Blue Jays front office take their chances and let Halladay play out remainder of his contract or trade him for some value before next season’s end HAI BAO

Will Roy Halladay be around when the 2010 season rolls around? This is the biggest question surrounding the Blue Jays in the offseason. As Halladay enters the last season of his current contract, which pays him $15.75 million this year, Alex Anthopoulos, the recently hired Jays GM, has to decide whether he wants to keep the ace around for another year .

Anthopoulos has two options. First, he can made the Jays trade Roy Halladay and hope to receive at least one or two players who will become the foundation of the team. Second, he can hang onto Halladay for another year. Since Halladay qualifies as a Type A Free Agent, the team that decides to sign him next offseason must give up their top draft pick. Toronto would also receive a supplemental pick between the first and second rounds. If the team, however, signs Halladay as a draft pick in the first half of the first round (picks 1-15), then that pick is protected and they would surrender their next pick in the draft.

In essence, the Jays would most likely receive two late first round picks if Halladay decides to leave Toronto and

signs with another team. Another thing to consider is that baseball is the hardest sport to draft players. Baseball players usually spend a couple of years in the minor leagues before a major league team will call them up. A prudent person might think it would be a good idea to trade Halladay for proven prospects who have already paid their dues in the minors and shown that they are ready to play in the major leagues.

Another factor to consider is the financial aspect of keeping Halladay around for another year. Even though he is a fan favorite, $15.75 million is a lot of money to spend on a player that plays once every five days. When the team is not expected to contend, it does not make logical sense to keep him on the roster. The Jays are already going to be paying B.J. Ryan $10 million this upcoming season to not play, so can they really afford to pay $15.75 million to Halladay during a rebuilding year?

There’s the outside possibility that Halladay will return to Toronto to finish his career and retire as a Jay. It seems highly unlikely because the teams interested in his services would be able to compensate him better and offer a better winning environment.

POSTGRADUATE CERTIFRDICINGACTAERESERS FOR REWA

Gail Burton/ The Canadian press

Jays GM Alex Anthopoulos admits that trading the perrenial ace would not be a problem.

And at this point in his career, the only thing missing from Halladay’s resume is a World Series ring, the prospect of which does not appear very promising in the near future.

No team can always win with one star player. A team of good players is a better prospect. Trading Roy Halladay for a few promising players is the most logical route for the Jays to take if they want to become a contender team.

FINANCIAL PLANNING GLOBAL BUSINESS MANAGEMENT HUMAN RESOURCES MANAGEMENT INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT INTERNATIONAL MARKETING MARKETING MANAGEMENT PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION

12 THE MEDIUM MONDAY, NOVEMBER 16, 2009

SPORTS

FAME AND SHAME

2009 Hockey Hall of Fame Class leaves their mark on the NHL Between accomplished general manager Lou Lamoriello and 1998 Conn Smythe award winner Steve Yzerman, all inductees are deserving recipients WILLIAM ROBERTSON

This past week in Toronto, the Hockey Hall of Fame inducted five new legends for their accomplishments on and off the ice. Brett Hull, Brian Leetch, Luc Robitaille, Lou Lamoriello and Steve Yzerman were thus honoured during the Maple Leaf game on Saturday November 7.

The “Golden Brett,” as Brett Hull quickly became named, scored 741 goals during his career, third only behind Wayne Gretzky and Gordie Howe.To those goals Hull added 650 assists, becoming the twenty-first overall point getter in the NHL. During his career, he played with four teams and won two Stanley Cups. No Stanley Cup was more memorable than his game-winning sixth goal against Buffalo in triple overtime to clinch the Cup. With 1391 career points, this sniper was a logical choice for the Hall.

Another logical choice was the first American born Most Valuable Player Brian Leetch. During his illustrious career, he amassed 247 goals and 1,028 points, which ranks him fifth among all defencemen. He broke into the league by storm in 1988 and won the Calder Trophy, which was awarded to the top rookie that year while also being selected to the NHL All-Rookie Team. He did not slow down as he was named the Conn Smythe trophy winner in 1994 when he led the Rangers to the

Stanley Cup. Smooth skating and solid defence makes him comparable to Bobby Orr; and he will now share the Hall of Fame with him.

Among this draft class is the topscoring left winger in NHL history, Luc Robitaille. Even though he was selected in the ninth round of the NHL draft, he became the nineteenth overall scorer in NHL history.

His 1,394 career points is surpassed by no other left winger and Robitaille worked with four 100 point seasons during his nineteenyear career. He was never concerned with his individual attributes; he simply wanted to win the Stanley Cup. Robitaille joined the Detroit Red Wings in 2002 and played alongside Steve Yzerman. The team won the Cup that year. Robitaille was humble and talented throughout his career and was an obvious choice in this Hall of Fame class.

In the builder category, Lou Lamoriello was inducted for being responsible for the New Jersey Devils resurgence as a powerhouse in the NHL. Lamoriello built the Devils into a team that won three Stanley Cups in the span of eight seasons. Without a doubt, Lamoriello will be remembered as one of the greatest general manager’s to ever grace the league, and one who built a dynasty in the mid 90’s.

One of the easiest players to induct into the Hall of Fame was Steve Yzerman. The face of the

Getty Images

The 2009 Hockey Hall of Fame inductees, pictured above, are labelled by many as the best hall of fame class of the decade.

Detroit Red Wings for twenty-two seasons, Yzerman gathered 1745 points during his time there. He served as the captain of the team for nineteen seasons, the longest captaincy in any sport. Yzerman led the Wings to three Stanley Cup Championships including back-toback in 1997 and 1998. He won the Conn Smythe during their Cup run in 1998 where he scored 24 points to

be named the playoff MVP. Yzerman is seen throughout the league as one of the greatest leaders.

His leadership qualities were the main reson why he was named Executive Director of Hockey Canada. Yzerman will be looked upon to put together a team that will win gold in the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver. His raw talent made him the most logical

choice to be enshrined in the Hall of Fame.

The Hockey Hall of Fame 2009 draft class is one of the best to date and probably one of the easiest to select. The individuals inducted left their mark on the game and because of them, hockey will never be the same. These five individuals will be remembered as hockey legends on and off the ice.

The rise and fall of Allen Iverson Once considered to be one of the best that has ever played the game, the combination of on court and off court issues has put a damper on Iverson’s legacy as the 34 year old is now considering retirement DAVE ESPOSTO

For a decade, Allen Iverson was the cornrowed king in Philadelphia. The hopes and dreams of a fledging franchise were seemingly answered when they drafted the Georgetown product first overall in the 1996 NBA Draft.

The fans and team did not have to wait long for The Answer to prove his worth, who went on to establish himself as one of the NBA’s elite. With a myriad of accolades from NBA MVP in 2001, or his 4-time NBA Scoring Championship, or even his ten time all-star appearances, Iverson was considered a sure-fire hall of famer. But now, after a less than stellar seasons split between Denver and Detroit and a less than accepting bench role with the only team—the Memphis Grizzlies— who would give the former NBA Rookie of the Year a chance during free-agency, it seems as though Iverson is all out of answers and is contemplating retirement at 34 years of age.

But while his indefinite leave continues to be pondered, debated and discussed all over, it is his charismatic persona which defines the Hampton, Virginia native. From his neck tattoos, to his ghetto attitude, Iverson’s controversial figure off the court is contrasted

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Despite averaging 27.1 points and 6.1 assists throughout his 14 year career, Iverson’s role has diminished with the Grizzles this season. He is averaging a career low 12.3 points in just 22.3 minutes per game. to his super-human like ability on it.

The crossovers, the undeniable talent and the ability to make opposing defenders weary of his next move were all trademarks of the six-foot point guard. But now, with his impact diminishing and the man himself not being overly acceptable of his minimal role off the bench, it seems as though the charismatic persona which has

defined Iverson throughout his career will be his biggest and final downfall as a once revered NBA superstar.

“He’s scored 27,000 points, averaged 27 points a game, played 14 years, been a 10-time all-star, all that stuff, and to be treated the way he was treated in free agency probably hurt. I’m sure it would hurt anyone,” said Memphis coach Lionel Hollins.

But while his lack of free agent interest failed to garner many suitors, his off-court attitude and controversial, outspoken comments were to blame.

From bust-ups with legendary coach Larry Brown to his war of words with NBA Commissioner David Stern regarding the league’s dress code, Iverson’s stock seemed to plummet.

“Just because you put a guy in a

tuxedo, it doesn’t mean he’s a good guy,” Iverson said.

Iverson’s adamant objection to the rule came as nothing new. For a player who became the poster-boy for the hip-hop era in the NBA, a dress code would seemingly gut Iverson of his persona, his character and ultimately his patience with the league who made him a household name.

But while fans continue to ask the “will he or won’t he retire” question, the Memphis Grizzlies seem to have already turned the page on their brief but tumultuous relationship with the one-time savior in Philadelphia. While the team continues to be in limbo over Iverson and his absence, they have moved on, signing former Indiana Pacers guard Jamaal Tinsley.

“This signing had nothing to do with the Iverson situation,” said Grizzlies general manager Chris Wallace. “We had an open roster spot and felt Jamaal was the best player we could sign.”

But while the Grizzlies like to admit or not, the signing of Tinsley seems to be the end of the line for Iverson.

After 14 years in the league, Iverson’s legacy seems to be more negative than positive. From lifting the hopes in the City of Brotherly Love to becoming an outcast in the league which made him a star, The Answer is now anything but that.