Vol 42 issue 9

VP part-time post may be removed Students will vote on whether to keep the position at UTMSU’s AGM

MENNA ELNAKA ASSOCIATE NEWS EDITOR

NICOLE DANESI NEWS EDITOR WITH NOTES FROM KASSANDRA HANGDAAN STAFF WRITER The UTMSU board of directors has voted to remove VP part-time affairs from its executive team as of next year.

As The Medium reported last week, the UTMSU board of directors successfully passed a motion at its October 31 meeting to remove the position from the executive team.

The decision, if it achieves a twothirds majority at the UTMSU annual general meeting this Thursday, would go into effect as of May 1, 2016.

“It has come to our attention over the past couple of years that there is no need for [the VP part-time affairs] position,” said UTMSU president Ebi Agbeyegbe in an email to The Medium. “We believe that the removal of this position will also make it more apparent that there is no separation between full-time and part-time students on campus and

The Duck Stop’s here

CHRISTY TAM/THE MEDIUM

The VP part-time affairs position is currently held by Amir Moazzami. that every student on the UTM campus deserves equal representation on issues that affect them,” he said.

Currently, Amir Moazzami holds the position of VP part-time affairs on UTMSU. Agbeyegbe described plans to hire a mature student and part-time affairs coordinator to assist UTMSU in addressing needs specific to ei-

ther group of students if the decision passes.

According to Agbeyegbe, UTMSU plans to retain the two director positions intended for part-time students on its board, a position that is currently vacant following the spring and fall 2015 elections as students initially interested in running for the position failed to return their nomi-

nation packages with the signatures of 10 other part-time students by the fall byelection due date.

Agbeyegbe also mentioned that the union has consulted with the Association of Part-time Undergraduate Students downtown regarding the removal of the position and that UTMSU will preserve its ex-officio seat within the association.

UTMSU’s new convenience store, The Duck Stop, opened last Monday ahead of its grand opening scheduled for today.

Selling snacks, soft drinks, and canned foods, the store is located adjacent to the Student Centre’s multifaith room in what used to be the copy centre. The store does not sell lottery tickets or cigarettes.

Francesco Otello-DeLuca, UTMSU’s VP internal, told The Medium in an interview that the store received a “lot of traffic” despite UTMSU not having promoted its soft opening.

Instead, UTMSU focused on letting people know about the store’s grand opening on November 9.

“We have [prices] that range from 25 cents all the way to $5.99,” said Otello-DeLuca. “The majority [of items are] between $1.25 and $2.99,” he added, also claiming that the store has lower prices than anywhere else on campus.

Duck continued on page 2

Sandwiches to sponsor Syrian family $1,976.48 was raised last week towards the fundraiser’s $30,000 goal FARHAT AMINI With the current global refugee crisis and estimates of up to 3 million Syrians leaving their homes due to the unrest, UTM’s Muslim Students Association have partnered up with Tarboosh Restaurant and UTMSU to sponsor a Syrian family and bring them to Canada.

Hosted last week in the Student Centre, Sandwiches for Syria was the most recent fundraiser organized for the cause. Raising $1976.48, the event sold shawarma, falafel wraps, and baklava provided by Tarboosh Restaurant, which is owned by Bassam Esbait, a former refugee who contacted the MSA about raising funds to bring a Syrian family to Canada.

The goal of the fundraisers is $30,000, with approximately $7,000

No quorum for QSS UTMSU’s refusal to participate in the committee prevents meetings from taking place.

Medium News, page 2

Caring about the campus UTMSU’s AGM is on Thursday and students can vote on changes and bring up their concerns about UTM Medium Opinion, page 4

Modern spin on a classic Hart House overcomes shaky beginning to successfully bring Hamlet to the modern world.

Medium Arts, page 5

The ECSpeRTs on campus

JEANLOUIS REBELLO/THE MEDIUM

MSA, UTMSU, and Tarboosh Restaurant are raising funds to sponsor one Syrian family. needed to sponsor the family. The remaining $23,000 will sustain the family until they are capable of providing

for themselves.

In an interview with MSA president Maleeha Baig, Baig expressed

concern that the $30,000 goal will not be sufficient to assist the family.

Syria continued on Cover

UTM’s student volunteer response team works full time to keep our campus community safe.

Medium Features, page 8

Blues take the bronze Varsity Blues lose to York Lions in extra time but defeat Ryerson Rams 3-0 in bronze medal match up.

Medium Sports, page 11

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THE MEDIUM 11.09.2015

UTMSU refuses to take part in QSS committee October 31, 11:10 p.m.

Mischief A UTM resident noticed three males near Schreiberwood Residence vandalizing Halloween decorations and breaking a window. The males were seen driving off in a gold-coloured vehicle towards Outer Circle Road.

November 2, 6:10 p.m.

Medical Call RAWC staff reported to Campus Police that a UTM student was injured while playing rugby. Campus Police and ECSpeRT attended and assisted

the student. Injuries were minor.

November 3, 4:52 p.m.

Theft under $5,000 A UTM caretaking staff reported her iPhone being stolen from her cleaning cart.

November 3, 4:52 p.m.

Trespass to Property Act Three females were asking people to sign a petition. As they had no authorization to do so on UTM property, they were issued a written trespass notice banning them from campus.

These reports are those that have been released to The Medium and do not necessarily constitute an exhaustive list.

Students can contact the UTM Campus Police at 905 828 5200, Peel Regional Police at 905 453 3311, or Crime Stoppers at 1 800 222 8477.

AUN SHEIKH AND NICOLE DANESI NEWS EDITOR UTMSU has refused to participate in Quality Services to Students committee consultation meetings with UTM administration due to UTMSU’s claims that university administration has neglected to address concerns put forth by the union in regards to the committee.

In an email sent out to QSS members on October 1, dean of student affairs Mark Overton said no fall meeting had been set because UTMSU’s participation was needed to reach quorum.

“We have not yet attempted to schedule a fall meeting because UTMSU, a student government necessary for quorum to be achieved, signaled that it would not participate and has not informed us of any change in its position,” said Overton.

According to UTMSU president Ebi Agbeyegbe, the union will not participate in QSS meetings as the group claims that their concerns regarding the QSS committee were not adequately addressed by UTM administration.

“UTMSU has raised concerns regarding the process that involved members of the Quality Services to Students committee on numerous occasions, hoping for the matters to be addressed promptly,” said Agbeyegbe in an email to The Medium.

According to Agbeyegbe, specific concerns were presented by former UTMSU president Hassan Havili, who claimed there was a “lack of transparency in the financial model presented to members of QSS that alters fees into a student service fee schedule instead of considering each fee separately as outlined in

the terms of reference for QSS”.

Other claims presented by Havili include, “a budget process that limits members from adequately consulting their members due to the time constraint” and, “a lack of respect for the recommendations that are made by student representatives of QSS to university governance”.

“I’ve not received further correspondence from UTMSU on this since my October 28 note to the group,” said Overton in an email to The Medium last Thursday. The October 28 email listed a variety of consultation meetings set up beginning November 5.

“Although we have not reached an agreement with UTMSU to launch this fall’s Quality Service to Students committee meetings, the services that are supported through fees considered at QSS are seeking students’ feedback,” said Overton in the email. “In the next few weeks, a number of directors/managers will host meetings to share information on their services, gather users’ and other students’ feedback, and shape proposals in time for the relevant governance processes.”

In an email sent to Agbeyegbe on September 10, Overton addressed concerns UTMSU expressed with regards to the new orientation week hosted by the Office of Student Transition.

“Both UTMSU and Student Life ran successful new student orientation activities that were more complimentary than in conflict, about which we can all feel proud,” said Overton. “The Student Life department continues its desire to engage early and often with UTMSU and others in joint orientation planning for future years, and in debriefing on this year’s experience as well.”

In a report submitted by UTMSU

to reviewers currently conducting an external review of UTM, UTMSU made recommendations asking for the university to cease organizing orientation week events for first-year students during UTMSU’s frosh week.

When asked by The Medium why UTMSU has requested the university to stop organizing orientation events simultaneously with UTMSU’s annual frosh week activities, Agbeyegbe cited conflicting schedules as the reason for the request.

“We recommended to the university that the sessions be conducted after orientation week, not during the same time, to avoid conflicting schedules,” said Agbeyegbe. “The timing of orientation week organized by UTMSU has been respected for decades.”

A committee comprising students and administrators, QSS is responsible for ensuring services such as health and counselling, the shuttle bus, and the Career Centre, satisfy the needs of students while also working to implement improvements to the services. Aside from UTMSU, other voting members on the committee are UTMAGS, UTMAC, Residence Council, the dean of student affairs, the principal of UTM, the chief administrative officer, and the directors of the Career Centre, RAWC, and the Health and Counselling Centre.

Remaining QSS consultation meetings will be hosted by the Career Centre from 1 to 3 p.m. and the Health and Counselling Centre from 5:15 to 7 p.m. on November 11. To sign up for either of the upcoming meetings, students are required to contact either centre prior to the meeting.

Store to open Monday

Students grab a quack snack at the newly opened Duck Stop.

Duck continued from Cover “Those are just the prices for now— they may be tweaked a little bit before the grand opening,” said Otello-DeLuca.

The Duck Stop will be operational

from noon to midnight. UTMSU is currently hiring three to five people to work in the store. Last week, the Student Centre’s information booth staff managed shifts during the soft launch.

The store is set to open today. The

SAMUEL KAN/THE MEDIUM

grand opening’s Facebook event page invited students to provide their feedback as to what they would like to see in the store. According to the event page, the store’s grand opening will feature a festival outside the Student Centre at 11:30 a.m. today.

11.09.2015 THE MEDIUM NEWS

“Vulnerable” Syrian family to be sponsored by students

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»ARE YOU PLANNING TO

ATTEND THE UTMSU AGM?

Nagham Kaka 5th year, psych & bio

Aaron D’Souza 2nd year, life sciences

I don’t know what it is, so no.

I’m not, because it requires me to take time out of my day.

Danny Soufi 3rd year, CCIT

Navdeep Dhillon 4th year, accounting

I’m not going to the AGM. Ain’t nobody got time for that!

I’m not going. I’m really busy and it’s my last year.

OLIVIA ADAMCZYK/THE MEDIUM

Shawarma, falafel wraps, and baklava were sold at the fundraiser.

Syria continued from Cover Baig added that “main necessities such as health care will not be covered by the government”.According to Baig, once collected, the money will be deposited into a community account, which the family can then use and the government can easily check. As it stands, the organizers have not yet selected a family to sponsor as they are waiting until

all formalities are complete and the $7,000 is raised; however, Baig says

“I hope they’re successful events so we can help this family get here safely.”

— Maleeha Baig that it will be a “vulnerable” fam-

ily consisting of a single parent with children.

Aside from raising money, the MSA have also collected clothing to be donated to Syrian refugees through their Syrian Clothing Drive, which ran from October 12 to November 6.

“I hope they’re successful events so we can help this family get here safely,” said Baig about their upcoming events.

#ItAllAddsUp during higher education Seventeen universities took part in the It All Adds Up campaign founded by Queen’s University KASSANDRA HANGDAAN STAFF WRITER In an effort to address the stress students report feeling when thinking about their future career, UTM’s Career Centre joined 17 Canadian universities to take part in the It All Adds Up campaign.

The campaign, which began in 2014/15, was the result of a partnership between Queen’s University Career Centre and the Alma Mater Society.

“In a recent survey, 31 percent of Canadian university students reported finding ‘career-related issues’ traumatic or very difficult to handle,” said Christine Fader, a career counselor at Queen’s University.

Intended to promote student confidence and empowerment by encouraging students to record “their activities, lessons, and achievements” on a whiteboard, the four-day campaign—which began at UTM last Monday—encourages students to reflect upon their activities to realize the significance of their collective achievements.

“We [hope] that students would feel calmer [and] less stressed after the interaction,” said Fader.

“Happily, student comments have included, ‘I feel so much better now!’ and, ‘That really helped me see that what I’m already doing is a lot!’ ” The UTM Career Centre also hoped the event will address “ad-

ANDREEA MIHAI/THE MEDIUM

Students participated in the campaign by posting photos online using the hashtag #ItAllAddsUp. dresses negative thoughts about student depression and suicide” by motivating students to look at the bigger picture of their hobbies, passions, and skills.

According to Doug Lu, a career development officer at UTM’s Career Centre, the campaign has been a success across all three campuses at U of T. “Our total goal for each campus was to get 50 interactions [with students], and from our first day, we’ve already gotten 23 [at UTM],” Lu reported.

Students gathered in the Davis building for the campaign and wrote all of their accomplishments and achievements down on a whiteboard. Pictures of students participating in the activity are then posted on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram pages under the hashtag #UTMAddsUp. The Medium interviewed three UTM graduates of the class of 2015 to get further insights on youth employment. When asked about job applications and the hiring process, all three graduates

reported having difficulties with applying for jobs.

“I marketed myself by boasting about my awards, extracurricular activity, conference activity, and thesis project—these are the things that set me apart from other applicants,” said Tiana Simovic, who found that “vague” and “intimidating” job descriptions initially posed a challenge during her job search. “People are impressed with this info, so it’s good to brag about your accomplishments in your cover letter and resume.”

Now working in digital marketing and communications for VICE Media, Tiana Simovic double-majored in psychology and philosophy and did a minor in philosophy of science.

Recent CCIT graduate Patrick Pawlowski is currently on his job search after graduating this past June. In an interview with The Medium, Pawlowski noted the adverse effects of the experience requirements on most job applications.

“Some places ask for an absurd amount of experience,” said Pawlowski. “I found a job posting on [UTM’s] Career Learning Network asking for seven years of experience. Seven years! Most students aren’t in school for that long, yet that organization put the posting up on a student website,” said Pawlowski.

In order to gain more experience, Pawlowski volunteers, noting that the value of volunteering lies far beyond gaining experience and that it also serves to help individuals create connections with one another. Echoing Simovic’s statements on the importance of connections, Pawlowski believes that joining clubs and applying for student internships would have benefited him while a student at UTM. “You never know who you’re [going to] meet and how they might help you out in the future,” he said.

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11.09.2015

MASTHEAD EDITORS Editor-in-Chief Maria Iqbal editor@themedium.ca Managing Editor Maria Cruz managing@themedium.ca News Nicole Danesi news@themedium.ca A&E Kate Cattell-Daniels arts@themedium.ca Features Farah Qaiser features@themedium.ca Sports Eric Hewitson sports@themedium.ca — Photo Mahmoud Sarouji photos@themedium.ca Design Sarah Yassine design@themedium.ca Copy Akshaya Sharma copy@themedium.ca Online & Blog Corey Belford Kimberly Johnson blog@themedium.ca online@themedium.ca ASSOCIATES News Menna Elnaka A&E Hailey Mason Features Mahnoor Ayub Sports TBA Photo Christy Tam Copy Farah Khan Maleeha Iqbal

Big issues on the table for AGM Students should take the time to attend and vote on changes that affect them UTMSU’s annual general meeting takes place this Thursday and from the sound of it, students will have the chance to vote on some pretty big changes this year.

Based on the answers we received when asking students whether they planned to attend the AGM, I take it that there are many of us, if not most, who don’t really care about what’s happening with the union. That’s quite discouraging.

As the cover news story this week outlines, UTMSU is moving to eliminate the VP part-time affairs position from its executive committee, effective next May. The decision was voted on at UTMSU’s board meeting last month and requires a two-thirds majority vote at the AGM in order to be implemented.

It is an interesting motion, to say the least, considering that UTMSU represents both parttime and full-time students. Why should there be a separate position responsible for solely parttime affairs, rather than sharing the responsibility among all of the execs?

But how do students feel about

the motion? These are positions that we pay for and should expect service from. Is the move going to save UTMSU money? What’s going to happen to the money that would have gone to the VP’s salary? What impact will the decision have on part-time students on campus?

As the AGM approaches, students should remember that they have a voice in many matters relating to their union and their campus.

Whether or not the decision ends up being implemented, I really hope there’s substantial discussion about the change at the AGM—and I hope students do attend.

Another interesting development covered in news this week is that UTMSU has for the time being decided to withdraw participation from Quality Services to Students.

QSS is a committee whose name is not often mentioned among the

general community at UTM, at least in my experience. UTMSU’s decision is actually preventing the committee from reaching quorum.

So what’s it all about? According to UTMSU, the committee does not show transparency in its processes for determining changes to student service fees. And apparently, their current process limits the possibility of consultation because of “time constraint[s]”. To the average UTM student, these concerns may not mean anything, but if the issues are serious enough for the union to refuse to continue its participation, I think UTMSU should make efforts to educate its members about it. Why should students care?

Other concerns that UTMSU raised relate to the orientation week that UTM held this year, which UTM dean of student affairs Mark Overton says were “more complimentary than in conflict”.

In our story “Orientation Weeks abound at UTM” (Sept. 7), UTMSU president Ebi Agbeyegbe said that the new Eagles Take Off frosh week, organized by the Office of Student Transition this year, “led to an unhealthy competitive atmo-

sphere” between UTMSU and the Department of Student Life.

Well, what do students think?

Should there be multiple froshes held in a year, or should UTMSU hold the only one?

As the AGM approaches, students should remember that they have a voice in many of the matters relating to their union and their campus. We can complain about our campus all we want, but when it comes to moments where we can make an impact, we shouldn’t be shy of speaking up.

So, see you there?

YOURS, MARIA IQBAL

CORRECTION NOTICE The Nov. 2 article “Find Waldo:the search for the AGM” misstated the name of the artist Evan Penny.

There was a transcription error in a quote attributed to Naccarato in the Nov. 2 article “One pound at a time for Naccarato”. Naccarato was quoted as saying, “this 14-pound log” rather than, “this 14-foot log”.

GENERAL STAFF Webmaster Luke Sawczak web@themedium.ca Distribution Manager Alex Ciesielczuk distribution@themedium.ca Ads Manager Mayank Sharma ads@themedium.ca

Coalitions: bringing change to society UTMSU president discusses the importance of safe spaces for the marginalized

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Over the past year, UTMSU has embarked on the creation of certain coalitions in order to focus on the voices of specific marginalized people. These coalitions include, but are not limited to, the racialized coalition and the Womxn’s Coalition. People may be wondering why such spaces are necessary or why the name coalition is even being used to define such spaces in a university setting. This short piece is going to emphasize not only the importance of having these spaces, but why it is necessary for everyone to be involved in the work that arises from them.

There is a need for these coalitions because the intersectional experiences of many marginalized individuals tend to be drowned out in a society that was not built to serve them. We live in a racist, white-supremacist, patriarchal society and these coalitions are here to challenge those notions. The aim of the Racialized Students Coalition is to make available to UTM students a space where they can finally speak openly about the issues concerning race that have so often been dismissed. This space will al-

low racialized students to collectively heal, empower, educate, and mobilize one another, while also discussing ways in which they can resist and challenge issues of race and privilege.

The mandate of the Womxn’s Coalition reads as follows, “We as Womxn have the right to safe space, which allows for each of

There are certain groups of people that have been and will be disenfranchised because of the society that we live in. us to feel included and heard. As members of this coalition we must work towards ending the violence and oppression society projects onto us Womxn. By creating awareness as a collective, we as a marginalized group can fight for what is right to allow for our opinions, well-being, and safety to be recognized and accepted. During this period of time, this space be-

longs to only Womxn. Any form of discrimination that is not limited to but includes anti-race, Homophobic, Islamophobic, Xenophobic, and Anti-Semitic will not be accepted or tolerated. We as members of this coalition can act as social support systems, an active group, and even more simply as a space for all Womxn to feel comfortable.” This is why these spaces exist. This is why we have these coalitions.

It is important to acknowledge the fact that there are certain groups of people that have been and will be disenfranchised because of the society that we live in.

These coalitions strive to change society so that folks no longer feel threatened by their identity or by the labels mainstream media imposes upon them. These spaces are geared towards empowering the groups that choose to participate in these spaces, to challenge and educate our society. Through campaigns and events we can make a difference not only at the University of Toronto Mississauga, but in our community, locally, nationally, and globally.

With the political climate that has been looming over us, it is clear that these spaces are necessary; however, it takes time to inspire and build understanding to the extent where folks feel the urgency of doing this work. It is very important for students who identify within these groups to come out to these spaces because input and representation from all perspectives is what will drive us to change, to rise. There needs to be more participation that leads to discussion, that leads to education, that leads to change within society. So before folks start to criticize and denounce the existence of such spaces, it is important to understand their mandate.

If you identify as a womxn and/or as a racialized individual, attend these coalition meetings. If not, participate in the events and campaigns that arise to challenge your own thinking and expand your horizons.

Ebi Agbeyegbe President of UTMSU

11.09.2015

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Hard knock life for Denmark’s prince Hamlet still manages poetry despite trouble with his family, stepfamily, and girlfriend KATE CATTELL-DANIELS A&E EDITOR

The biggest thing I’m taking away from Hart House Theatre’s production of Hamlet is this: a director with a vision is the best thing that can happen to a play. Hamlet is a unit; it’s a whole world contained in a tiny bubble. There is a lingering sense that the play goes on. Hamlet begins at the end of a night watchman’s shift and ends with the beginning of a new ruler’s reign, but that isn’t the real beginning or the real end. Something happened before, and something new will happen after.

Director Paolo Santalucia brings to life a dreary Denmark indeed. The set comprises mostly scaffolding and platforms of various heights, as well a huge pile of broken chairs. The whole thing is draped in canvas drop sheets and huge pieces of plastic sheeting.

Relatively speaking, very little lighting happens in the grid—most of it comes from construction lights onstage, which are moved around by the actors depending on where they are needed. The only critique I have for the set is that I think some aspects—

CHRISTY TAM/THE MEDIUM

Hart House revamps Shakespeare’s longest play. the higher platforms, especially— could have been used more often, especially given how much hide-andgo-seek there is in this play. I found myself thinking that if this is Elsinore Castle, the rest of the country must be in pretty rough shape. It lends a certain justification to Hamlet’s line

“Denmark’s a prison”. I believe it.

From the top of the play, I felt there were a few opening night jitters. I was at first disappointed by the garbled articulation that seemed to affect nearly every actor in the first few scenes, especially because a Shakespeare play is inevitably about the language. This

problem cleared up, though, and by half an hour in everyone was doing much clearer, detailed work.

Dan Mousseau plays a Hamlet who actually has everyone’s best interests at heart. There are flashes of serial killer mixed in with a funny, cocky young man who just wants his

girlfriend back. The relationship between Hamlet and Ophelia (Sheelagh Daly) was very well developed. By the text alone, the audience has to take Hamlet’s word for it: “I did love you once,” he says. But here, we get to see them actually in love, exchanging origami letters in the glaring construction light. This makes the dramatic crash and burn of their relationship all the more devastating, and for the first time I realized that it’s all Polonius’s fault. Daly has her best moments as Ophelia in the throes of madness, juggling grief, sexual frustration, and vulnerability all at once.

My personal favourite, though, was Eric Finlayson as Horatio. Hipster is a good look for him. I buy that he’s a scholar, but also that he’s Hamlet’s best friend. Horatio looks after Hamlet, he looks after Ophelia, he listens to Claudius, and he even tries to commit suicide while Hamlet is dying. If that isn’t devotion, I don’t know what is. Good acting is not about the distribution of lines—it’s about living in the world of the play, something Finlayson does expertly.

Hamlet continued on page 6

Do you take performing arts in your coffee?

ART hosts its first coffee house of the year, showcasing all kinds of student talent and snacks HAILEY MASON ASSOCIATE A&E EDITOR The Artistic Resource Team opened the doors of the Blind Duck last Wednesday night for their fall semester coffee house. Music, dance, and poetry took the stage as students and faculty members showcased a diverse array of musical and theatrical performances.

The event functioned primarily as a talent show, allowing performers to present their acts while audience members sat at tables below the stage. The tables at the back were laden with coffee and pastries for guests to enjoy as they socialized and cheered on the talent of their friends and peers.

The performances included a solo dance routine, spoken word poetry, vocalists, guitarists, and a harmonica act. Despite the traditional realms of singing, dancing, and instrumentals, each performer brought forth an original demonstration to the stage.

While each act had plenty to offer in terms of talent and creativity, there were a couple in particular that stood out to me. The second performance, the harmonica act, was my favourite of the night. Before hearing Luey Christopher Kwan Ho’s performance,

LESLIE SETO/THE MEDIUM

Artistic Resource Team hosts talent-packed coffee house.

I thought of the harmonica as a shrill western instrument—definitely not a sound I would describe as beautiful. Ho squashed this stigma with his captivating performance. He stood humbly on the stage and delivered two phenomenal songs. The first was a classical rendition and the second was an acoustic version of “Say Something” by A Great Big World.

The final performance of the show

was a brother-sister duet. The pair performed Adele’s new song “Hello”, with Liyana Johan on vocals and Jan Johan playing guitar by her side. The duo stood confidently and opted to perform without microphones, joking that the song had too much power for the speakers. The act was chilling. Her voice was unwavering and brought power to the vocals reminiscent of Adele’s own voice. Jan,

although only the accompaniment, infused energy into his playing that complemented his sister’s powerful voice.

I entered the Blind Duck uncertain of what to expect. I’ll admit, the only event I’d ever attended similar to this one was in high school, where solo members of the school band performed to an audience of bored classmates. Naturally, I was nowhere near

prepared for the display of vibrant performances given by UTM’s artistic community. The performers are fortunate to have ART guiding their creative passions and providing them with means of public expression.

ART is an organization under Residence Life at UTM and the Department of Student Life that encourages artistic participation in students regardless of their academic discipline. With a strong value for creative expression, ART strives to create opportunities—including coffee houses, Nuit Blanche visits, and art festivals—for anyone seeking involvement in the artistic community.

ART events such as the coffee house provide students with a creative outlet for their artistic passion. At these events, students can express this passion to a likeminded audience in a relaxed and accepting environment.

Wednesday’s coffee house was no exception to ART’s objective. With Christmas lights hanging from the walls, lanterns lining the edge of the stage, and, of course, free food and coffee, the atmosphere in the Blind Duck was informal and easygoing—a perfect setting to enjoy the company of friends while watching students and faculty members show off their talent.

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THE MEDIUM 11.09.2015

Play on: music and language join forces UTM’s Music Club and Language Society look for common ground at a Cultural Night like no other LAUREN REEVES Last Tuesday, the Language Studies Academic Society and the UTM Music Club got together to bring us Cultural Night, billed as a chance to encounter global music and poetry “like you have never witnessed before”.

Things got off to a slow start.

For one, signage was less than auspicious—an advertisement for a Rhythm dance show had been left on a whiteboard by the door, and I was frankly unsure for a moment that I had the right place. However, I was greeted upon entering the Presentation Room in the Student Centre by LSAS’s VP, Otilia De Andrade, and the matter was resolved. I took the chance to ask her what had inspired this partnership between the clubs, leading her to speak enthusiastically on the musicality of language itself.

The UTM Music Club saw the partnership in their own terms. The UMC president spoke in her introduction to the performances that surely there was no “better way to represent diversity than through music”. Although both clubs had slightly different perspectives regarding the collaboration, it seemed that diver-

CHRISTY TAM/THE MEDIUM

Although it started off slowly, the energy crescendoed throughout the evening. sity was intended to be the key theme of the celebration.

At first, I feared that the night might not live up to the expectations of the club leaders. For one, the event did not actually get underway until nearly half an hour after the set start time. What was presented in the opening act resembled a multilingual karaoke night; the number was a

perfectly adequate rendition of “You Raise Me Up”, yet sung in Spanish and with Japanese subtitles projected onto the wall. It was disorienting, but I blame the tech crew more than the performer for this. Nevertheless, things started looking up as we finally were presented with (mostly) impassioned recitations of poetry, which sounded more musical to me

than the pop songs, especially when the latter were sung with instrumental tracks from poor quality YouTube videos. Some of the poems were in English, others in foreign languages, and as they were spoken it became increasingly clear to me that the night was not merely a talent show.

The out-of-the-ordinary nature of Culture Night could be seen in a

PowerPoint presentation about Bangladesh and the Bengali Language Movement of 1952, which preceded one of the poems. Apparently, the student-led Bengali language movement occurred after the announcement of an intention to make Urdu the sole official language of Bangladesh, even though a large portion of the population also or only spoke Bengali. This is conveniently reflective of the theme of the event itself—the veneration, celebration, and recognition of the vast diversity of languages and cultures here at UTM. While this presentation was quite impressive, it was unfortunately underscored by music bleeding in from the pub next door—music which, for the rest of the night, would clash dramatically with the students’ performances. In addition to this issue, as students began sitting down in front of instruments, the lack of a proper stage or equipment became rather problematic, especially given how packed a venue it was.

Overall, I was pleased to have attended the event. I feel quite safe in declaring it a qualified success and hope to see these two clubs working in tandem again quite soon.

Every cake should have silver icing Hamlet Theatre and Drama Studies program honours first drafts and ambitious future KATE CATTELL-DANIELS A&E EDITOR UTM’s Theatre and Drama Studies program represents a tiny portion of the student population. Housing about 80 students at a time across all four years, TDS aims to train professional actors without neglecting academics. In the grand scheme of things, TDS is a fairly new program, and this year celebrates its 25th Silver anniversary.

A reception to honour the occasion was held on November 1 and was well attended by students, alumni, faculty, and staff both from Sheridan College and U of T. Hors d’oeuvres and drinks were served at the Deerfield Hall atrium, though there was little elbow room when it came to food. After giving everyone time to arrive and hang up their coats, several people gave speeches.

Notably, Michael Rubinoff, associate dean of the Department of Visual and Performing Arts at Sheridan College, spoke about the “elite group of students” who are accepted into the program. “This is the theatre community in this country,” he said, and TDS grads have indeed made their mark in the film, television, and theatre industries. Hailey Gillis currently works at Soulpepper; Cory Doran is a voice actor; and David Yee has just won the Governor General’s Award for Drama.

Nicole Stamp, a graduate of the program and occasional teacher for TDS, took the stage after all the scheduled speakers had wrapped

becomes modern Hamlet continued from page 5

MAHMOUD SAROUJI/THE MEDIUM

TDS anniversary party serves up cake, talent, and old friends. up. Stamp spoke about how the program changed during her time as a student. She recalled her secondyear scene study class, which comprised everyone in her year. Stamp’s year was the most racially diverse ever, and she discussed the qualms she and her peers had while studying Tennessee Williams—whose characters neither she nor her classmates particularly identified with.

What ensued was the implementation of the Canadian Comedy unit, where students are asked to immerse themselves in contemporary, home-

grown, and racially diverse plays.

Finally, the audience heard from Patrick Young, who has been artistic director of TDS for the past 25 years. Along with a few other longstanding faculty members, Young came up with the original curriculum. Allegedly, Ron CameronLewis, who is also currently part of the faculty, quite literally drew up the curriculum on a paper napkin. “[The students] are all among the proudest accomplishments of my life,” Young said.

Following the speeches, the third-

year class performed a beautiful rendition of the song “Somewhere”, from the musical West Side Story, to great acclaim.

Many people left once the speeches were over, but others stayed to catch up with their peers and professors and dig into the celebratory cake.

The event was a success, promoting and praising a program that, despite its tiny size, still attracts a lot of fans and promises to continue doing so.

Earlier this week, I saw another production of Hamlet, this one by the National Theatre in London. Before you get all excited, I didn’t get to go to England (I know—I’m sad about it too); they live-streamed the production to a Cineplex in Toronto. Now, there is no way I can sit here and compare the two productions and live with myself afterwards. They were too different, both in terms of direction and, to be honest, budget. But I did notice that the National Theatre production possessed a certain timelessness in dress and weaponry. Although I would describe some of the clothing as “period”, Hamlet fought his last duel in jeans and a T-shirt. There was fighting with swords and modern-looking guns.

The Hart House production plays a similar game. There are guns and Converse sneakers, but also rapiers and the never-ending archaic but beautiful language.

There’s a lot of high school English talk about how Shakespeare is timeless, but I don’t think that requires any kind of pinning down.

Here’s my point: Hamlet as a play seems to lend itself not to one time period or another, but rather to no time period at all.

Hamlet runs until November 21.

8

«

11.09.2015

911; what’s your medical emergency?

Despite rising costs, ECSpeRT is looking forward to reaching their 24/7 first aid coverage goal FARAH QAISER FEATURES EDITOR The Erindale College Special Response Team may be hidden away in a cramped office on the second floor of the Student Centre, but these individuals are always alert and ready.

The team of 172 volunteers deals with campus medical emergencies on a daily basis, such as sprains, fractures, panic attacks, hyperventilation, and fainting.

ECSpeRT belongs to the Mississauga division of St. John Ambulance (a national organization that provides first aid training throughout Canada), and provides first aid coverage to all students, faculty, and visitors present on the UTM campus.

Currently, ECSpeRT is on call from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. on weekdays. “On Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays, we’re also on call from 10 p.m. to 8 a.m. the next day,” says Meadow Libby, a third-year forensic anthropology specialist and psychology minor.

“We’re slowly working towards 24/7 by adding on overnights to each our shifts.”

Additionally, ECSpeRT provides first aid coverage for events such as Orientation Week, sporting events,

MAHMOUD SAROUJI/THE MEDIUM

Since September, ECSpeRT has responded to 80 medical emergencies. pub nights, and any club-held events that may occur at Erindale Park or offcampus.

During 2014, ECSpeRT responded to 124 calls. Since September 2015, the team has responded to 80 calls.

According to Libby, the campus services coordinator, ECSpeRT receives about one call a day. “At the end of the month, we usually have 30 calls. That has been increasing exponentially over the years,” she says.

The team consists of volunteers

from all over the UTM campus, including students, alumni, faculty, and staff. “We’re completely non-profit— St. John as a whole—we’re all volunteers,” says Libby.

In order to join the ECSpeRT team, applicants are required to possess a Standard First Aid certification.

“However, we run courses for students at a discounted rate—half-price—so we save [them] about $100,” says Libby.

During the 2014/15 year, ECSpeRT

accepted 40 new applicants to their team. For this year, the team has accepted approximately 70 new applicants. “Basically, we want to work towards our 24/7 goal,” says Cindy Zhu, a fourth-year biology major with a minor in chemistry and psychology. “We selected a lot more people this year just so that we were able to reach that goal by the end of this year.”

When volunteers first join the ECSpeRT team, they are known as “observers”. “You begin as an apprentice,

which is basically where you get to learn how to become a [medical first responder]—the individuals you see in the red shirts,” says Libby.

All members are expected to attend a mandatory biweekly training session in order to keep up with skills that may not be used on a regular basis. Once observers complete a Medical First Responder course through St. John Ambulance, they are known as MFRs. “There’s a lot of training [for the MFR course]—one-on-one, not only for the test, but to get into courses, and to also pass the course. It’s very difficult. It’s five days long,” says Libby.

“Outside of us, the fail rate is 40% and they’re quite expensive. They’re given to our members for free.

“Our training as medical first responders—it’s considered advanced first aid. We have much more training than a standard first aider, in the sense that we can administer oxygen and many other things,” she continues. “We carry a lot of our equipment, but obviously below the standards of what a paramedic can do. So we’re not health care professionals in that sense.

We’re another part of the emergency response system.”

Medics continued on page 10

Self-publishing: the road less travelled The Medium spoke to UTM students about their experiences with the less traditional route views insightful.

ANDREEA MIHAI STAFF WRITER Whether it’s writers taking part in the NaNoWriMo challenge or university students rushing to complete their final assignments, it’s clear that writing fills the month of November. But what awaits us at the end of all the hard work that goes into a piece of writing?

For some, writing and completing an assignment means that they’ll pass their course. For others, it’s the hope of future publication.

The traditional route to publication involves sending your manuscript out to publishers and then waiting for their response (most often in the form of rejection letters). However, with the evolution of the Internet, writers have the chance to skip the traditional process and publish their work themselves.

The Medium spoke to several selfpublished UTM students and alumni about their experiences.

DEMETRA DIMOKOPOLUS Demetra Dimokopolus, a UTM graduate, experienced the self-publishing process in the professional writing

SARAH YASSINE/THE MEDIUM

With the evolution of social media, writers are beginning to resort to self-publishing more often. course “Making a Book” (WRI420).

Her non-fiction book, Exposed, tells the story of asbestos poisoning in Libby, Montana.

At first, Dimokopolus wrote Exposed in WRI307: Science and Writing. She then published her book in 2006. She describes the bookmaking experience as intense and different

from everything else that she did in her courses.

Following publishing, Dimokopolus decided to make the most of her experience and sent the book out for reviews. She pointed out that reviewers will only cover books within a year of publishing.

Exposed won the AllBooks Review

Editor’s Choice Award in non-fiction in January 2007. Dimokopolus also entered contests such as the nonfiction category for the Writer’s Digest 15th Annual International Self-Published Book Awards and The EMBO Journal Cover contest.

Dimokopolus said she found the feedback from judges and book re-

KATHERINE NADER Katherine Nader, a recent UTM graduate, has self-published two books.

She published her first, The Deadly Mark, in 2012 through iUniverse, a company that works for Penguin. She published her second, The Foragers, in WRI420 through Life Rattle Press.

Nader said she first sent her manuscript to the Transatlantic Literary Agency four to five years ago. “An agent replied to me saying she would be leaving the office due to some issues. I immediately suspected something suspicious about the way traditional publishers go about their work,” she said.

Nader said she did research and found out that Harper Collins, back then, only let authors have 35% of their royalties after selling 10,000 copies. “That means authors don’t profit from the sales of their books until they sell 10,000 copies, whereas with self-publishing you get a higher royalty off the sales of your books, especially if you self-publish with Amazon, where the royalty is 70%.”

Books continued on page 9

11.09.2015 THE MEDIUM FEATURES» 9

History is more than just names and dates Early Career Teaching Award recipient Professor Smith speaks about his love of history CAMERON ALLAN What makes a good teacher?

It’s a difficult question. I personally hold some of my previous teachers responsible for shaping me into the person I am today, and I’m sure most of you can too—but why?

A good teacher is not necessarily someone who is the most knowledgeable, the best researcher, the most eloquent speaker, or the one who grades the easiest. It’s that special individual who is willing to go the extra mile and who demonstrates an unwavering desire to invigorate the minds and scholarly potential of their students.

In celebration of such individuals, U of T’s first Early Career Teaching Awards were presented to the professors who embody these principles and act as examples of teaching prowess.

They acknowledge faculty members who employ exceptional teaching skills and are committed to “student learning, pedagogical engagement, and teaching innovation”. Recipients were awarded $3,000 each and were honoured at an Excellence in Teaching Reception on November 3.

UTM’s own Kyle Smith of the Department of Historical Studies is the proud recipient of one of these awards.

Smith is part of the history of religions division within the department and also teaches in a graduate program at the downtown campus.

Smith loves his job because it allows him to pursue his passions in both research and teaching. There are few

AYMAN KHAN/THE MEDIUM

Professor Kyle Smith is currently an assistant professor within the Department of Historical Studies. careers where someone can honestly say that they have almost complete free rein­—this is one of those careers.

Although his Intro to Christianity course is mandatory, Smith says he wouldn’t have it any other way. He loves teaching it.

Now I hate to admit it, but I may have nonchalantly mentioned to Smith that I personally found his life’s passion both boring and uninteresting. His reply took me by surprise.

Smith thinks that high school history is taught in terms of names and

dates and great—white—men. He made it abundantly clear that he en-

Smith turned to the world of academia with the intention of being able to conduct research on what he pleased. courages his students to ask questions that aren’t related to cause and effect,

Not all books are a success Books continued from page 8 Nader discussed the costs of selfpublishing. “It’s expensive since the writer needs to cover costs for the making of the book: this includes interior and exterior design, as well as editing, publishing, printing, and marketing,” she said.

In the “Making a Book” course, Nader learned how to do all that without paying others.

Many self-published authors advised Nader to never pay for marketing. “Marketing is free and you can do it from your own home through social media. Advertising is what is expensive. You have to pay for reviews and for any ads you plan on using,” she says. Nader paid for The Deadly Mark’s ads and says that has made it more successful than The Foragers.

Nader also pointed out it was important to consider the difference of publishing an e-book versus a softcover. “If you look at the 2012 numbers, there are 800,000 e-book readers in the U.S. and 200,000 in Canada. I’m sure the numbers have gone up since,” she says. “Also, with e-book self-publishing, especially with smashwords.com, you can get as [much] as 100% royalty of sales.”

Nader concluded by describing the satisfaction of having work published. “You just feel a high sense of accomplishment and satisfaction knowing that something you’ve worked so hard on is finally done

and out there for the world to see,” she says. “It’s not the writing of the book that is important but rather being able to actually finish writing the book. […] It takes a lot of time and dedication to get a book done, and not everybody has the patience to go through such a process.”

“It takes a lot of time to get a book done [...]

Not everybody has the patience.”

—Katherine Nader IVAN SAMOKISH Ivan Samokish, a recent UTM graduate, published his novel, Division Clock, as an e-book on Amazon.

Samokish chose to self-publish because it was a faster process than traditional publishing. Traditional publishing could take years depending on how the publishing house had filled their quota for the year. “With self-publishing, there’s no back-and-forth that could take months. You’re free to promote your own work [and] set your own price,” he says.

“Success has been slow,” Samokish added. “Sales are not as important as getting the feedback from good reviews.” He said he approached blogs and offered free copies of his book. He has so far

gotten two good reviews and one “very bad review”.

Samokish says he continues to write as a hobby and hasn’t focused a lot of energy on marketing his book. Samokish says that if his work turns out to be horrible, he can always write a second, better edition.

ASSIA MESSAOUDI Assia Messaoudi, a third-year student doing a double major in English and PWC, self-published her collection of poems, The Lies I Told My Journal, in May 2015.

Previously, a few of Messaoudi’s poems had been published in Descant. “I had considered making a book for several years, but I was very hesitant because I didn’t think it would sell,” she said. “I didn’t want to wait to hear back from publishing houses and I didn’t want to lose any rights to my own work, so I decided to do it on my own. The two poems I published with a literary journal went through rigorous editing, but when I self-published, the editing and changing of syntax were minimal.”

Messaoudi used lulu.com to print 100 copies of her book. She then carried the book around everywhere she went and showed people.

“Mostly everyone I came across was extremely supportive and willing to buy a copy,” she says, adding that she has currently sold all copies.

but that are about the larger thematic picture. In fact, Smith believes that he received the award partly because his love for the subject matter translates into students engaging with his lectures.

Smith is originally from Kentucky and moved to Canada about four years ago. He conducted his graduate work at Duke University in North Carolina, got a job here at UTM shortly after, and has lived in Toronto ever since.

Smith says that he has enjoyed his time in Canada so far and is shocked

at how big and safe a city Toronto is.

He recalls memories of hearing gunshots from his home in Kentucky, which, believe it or not, was par for the course in a lot of American cities.

He has definitely witnessed firsthand, as the stereotype suggests, how incredibly nice Canadians are. Living in Toronto means that he witnesses culturally and religiously diverse people from all around the world in one place. He could do without the winters, however—something I and a bunch of us Canucks wholeheartedly agree with.

Smith turned to the world of academia with the intention of being able to read and conduct research on whatever he pleased. He loves the teaching aspect of his job but considers it a secondary motive.

He made his way up the ladder of earning his PhD through this research and was fortunate enough to dodge the onslaught of post docs and teaching assignments. He landed the tenured track gig at UTM in May of 2011.

Currently, Smith is an assistant professor and intends to apply for tenure in September 2016.

However, he isn’t all business and leaves enough room for recreation in his busy schedule. To keep his mind and body in peak physical condition, he plays in a soccer league, cycles, and runs every day. He also enjoys cooking and loves to read when he’s not conducting research.

History continued on page 10

10

«FEATURES

THE MEDIUM 11.09.2015

Rawling in the genes Rawle was recently awarded an Early Career Teaching Award

Bread. Garlic. Butter.

ing the delicate balance in the proportion

Put those three together and a mouth-

of garlic and onion. Too little garlic will re-

watering aroma of garlic will appear along-

duce the bread to nothing more than onion

side a golden crisp crust. Yes, we’re talking

and cheese. But with too much garlic, your

about a timeless classic: garlic bread.

breath will scare away all living souls who

I can’t recall when I first took a bite of

make the mistake of approaching you.

that crunchy bread, but I do remember that

While it may be tempting to simply order

the dish immediately became a household

the appetizer or buy a prepackaged super-

favourite in my family. From ordering garlic

market version, I’d advise getting the knives

bread at the local Pizza Hut and at brunches

out and preparing the side dish yourself.

to ordering it as appetizers—there was no

Come on—you can never have too much

end to my family’s obsession. I eventually

garlic bread.

tried to recreate the dish and experienced varying levels of success.

MAHMOUD SAROUJI/THE MEDIUM

Rawle is currently researching student misconceptions in genetics and antibiotic resistant bacteria.

MAANYA KHANNA AND FARAH QAISER FEATURES EDITOR To many, learning about evolution, natural selection, and the specifics behind genetics may not seem very interesting, but with UTM’s Fiona Rawle, it’s an entirely different story.

“Her lectures are very engaging and interactive,” says Fatima Alvi, a second-year biology specialist. “She knows how to teach and engrave knowledge in a student using innovative techniques.”

Asma Fadhl, a second-year biology major, has yet to take an entire course with Rawle, but has crashed a few lectures in the past to get a sense of why Rawle is so well-loved.

“I wasn’t a student in her class, yet I was paying full attention to what she was teaching,” comments Fadhl.

“She also tries to remember students’ names despite the class size being huge—something very rare— and I found that to be very [engaging and] it creates a very nice inclass student-prof relationship.”

What some students find distinctive about Rawle’s teaching style is her level of commitment. Rawle was one of the few professors who sacrificed her evenings to hold video sessions with 500-student classes to answer last-minute questions on the night before a midterm.

Glowing student reviews like these may help explain why Rawle was recently awarded an Early Career Teaching Award. The U of T award recognizes Rawle’s technology-enhanced learning, innovation, and commitment to teaching.

With a PhD in Pathology and Molecular Medicine from Queen’s University, Rawle had left univer-

sity thinking that she would like to pursue a career in science. “I knew that I would be doing something in science… but [I] didn’t anticipate everything else that has happened,” she says.

Originally from the West, Rawle married a Torontonian and chose to stay in Ontario. “I can’t think of a better place to work than UTM, with its diverse student population, the genuine support it gives to faculty interested in teaching, and its fantastic natural setting,” says Rawle.

Currently on leave, Rawle misses teaching and seeing her students grow and develop as they move through university.

Despite being on leave, Rawle is continuing to focus on her research and is currently working alongside ROP students on various projects.

“I’m interested in the best ways to teach and learn science. I think that our teaching should be evidencebased… which means that we teach in ways that have been shown to be effective,” she says. “Specifically, I have a research project right now that is looking at student misconceptions about antibiotic-resistant bacteria, and another project that looks at using animations to overcome student misconceptions in genetics.”

Fathiya Mohamed, a third-year biology specialist and psychology minor, is the ROP student who is currently exploring how to eliminate student misconceptions about antibiotics resistance.

“Infections that used to kill people hundreds of years ago, that were treated, are now coming back, and many students don’t realize that it is not that the bacteria are building resistance by themselves,” says

Mohamed. “Many students do not understand that we actually play a big role in contributing to this resistance by not using antibiotics judiciously.”

“You can see how incredibly passionate [Rawle] is about teaching, and she truly believes that every student has the potential to learn and understand the material, and that it is all dependent on the teaching method,” she adds. “I really look up to her as my inspiration in life.”

Jonathan Hersh, a fourth-year chemistry specialist, is currently exploring the academic outcomes of those students who take part in firstyear transition programs through his ROP project with Rawle. He adds to Mohamed’s comment, saying that Rawle’s humility is commendable, and that she inspires “many students” to work with her.

Approaching professors is never an easy task, but Rawle believes that sincerity is the key to such conversations. “It is okay to be totally open with that professor. You can say that you are excited to meet them, and nervous too. Just say that you want to introduce yourself and that you are looking forward to their class,” she says. “It doesn’t have to be a long conversation—just keep it genuine.

“Professors genuinely care about their students […] and they genuinely want you to come to their office hours. I think sometimes students don’t want to disturb us, but we are there to answer your questions […] so please ask away,” she added.

When asked what she loves most about her job, Rawle replies that her students are one of the highlights.

She says, “I learn just as much from [my students] as I hope they do from me.”

Direction derived from Yoda History continued from page 9 Throughout his childhood, the Star Wars character Yoda was a huge influence on Smith. Yoda was wise, lived out in the wasteland on his own, and knew things everyone else didn’t.

Smith’s passion matured into an interest in philosophy and later ancient philosophy. This interest evolved into a passion for early Christianity and early Christian monasticism, which is his current work specialization.

He’s also done plenty of travelling

to conduct his research and has lived in Jerusalem for a year, hiking to and studying in monasteries in the Judean Desert. He spent a lot of time working with language while there. He had one long trip in Turkey, in Constantinople, and other regions around there. Unfortunately, most of the research he conducts now has sites in dangerous places like Western Iran and Northern Iraq. He hopes that in time, he can travel to Iran.

Smith hopes that as he progresses further as an educator, he can cre-

ate a multitude of new broadly thematic courses that pique the interest of UTM students, such as Christmas and its function in certain societies.

While it would be fun to teach such courses, it would be difficult too as Smith believes that it would take him out of his comfort zone in research specialization.

Confucius says that a true teacher is one who, through keeping the past alive, is also able to understand the present. I believe this sums up Smith perfectly.

The hardest part of this recipe is achievRustic Garlic Bread SERVES 4

INGREDIENTS •2 tbsp of extra-virgin olive oil • ½ cup of softened butter • ¾ cup of mayonnaise • 1 onion, finely chopped • 3 garlic cloves, minced • ¼ tsp of dried oregano • ½ cup of parmesan cheese, grated • Bread, sliced into slim rectangles

for the parmesan cheese, oregano, and bread.

3. Place the bread slices in an appropriately-sized baking tray.

4. Spread the mixture on each slice of bread.

5. Sprinkle the parmesan cheese and oregano on top.

6. Bake for approximately 15 minutes or until the cheese toppings are a light

METHOD

brown. Check the bread frequently to

1. Preheat the oven to 370 F.

avoid burning.

2. Mix all the ingredients together, except

Rise in emergencies Medics continued from page 8 “We actually have the same level of training as a firefighter,” adds Zhu. “And the same CPR certification that a nurse would have.”

Aside from observers and MFRs, there are also auxiliaries. These are volunteers who have graduated from UTM and continue volunteering, but no longer volunteer full-time with the team.

When the ECSpeRT team receives word of a medical emergency on campus, usually through Campus Police or students, a pair of MFRs along with at least one or more observer will attend the call.

When on a call, the MFRs are designated as a primary or a secondary.

“The tasks are delegated a little differently,” explains Libby. “The primary will do more of a hands-on [approach and] ask the questions. The secondary will be taking vitals, like blood pressure and pulse, and relaying that information to the observer, who will be keeping track of all the times and all the paperwork and everything we need for our [patient care record].”

Recently, ECSpeRT has been facing unexpected costs, mainly due to the rise in AV costs at UTM. “We use AVs a lot for our biweekly training […] so that has been a big hit for us,” says Libby. “Whenever we run standard first aid courses, whether for our members or other people on campus, the instructors that come in obviously have to show PowerPoint presentations, so now having to pay out of our pocket as a non-profit organization for AV costs has been affecting us a lot.”

Libby adds that “[the AV costs were] kind of a shock to us this year”.

Along with the higher AV costs, the team also faces space issues. “We spend a lot of time in stairways and

hallways trying to practice […] It’s difficult to expand when we don’t even have enough room to store our equipment and […] all of our paperwork,” says Libby.

ECSpeRT is funded through a levy from UTMSU. This year, UTM students (both full-time and part-time students) paid 53 cents towards the ECSpeRT levy.

“The only money we make is [through] donations from organizations at events that we may cover, as well as our first aid courses […] However, we do have to rent the equipment and pay for the instructor and we offer it at such a discounted price

According to Zhu, ECSpeRT members have “the same level of training as a firefighter”. that the income is [not] substantial,” says Libby. “And we still need to purchase all the supplies that we use to fill our oxygen tanks, bandages, [and] cold packs […] Our income is minimal in that sense.”

However, Libby and Zhu remain optimistic in the face of growing costs.

“We’re all friends and it’s a closeknit family. We spend most of our time on campus in the office,” Libby says as she describes the ECSpeRT team. “If someone were to ring the phone, there’s almost always someone there to pick it up.”

Zhu mentions that it’s rewarding to attend medical emergency calls and make an impact. She says, “[We’re building] a community on campus [where] students [are] helping students.”

11.09.2015

»

11

Blues go 1 and 1 in battle of Toronto Blues lose to York Lions in semi-final but beat Ryerson Rams in bronze medal game ERIC HEWITSON SPORTS EDITOR The battle of Toronto took place Saturday afternoon. The Varsity Blues men’s soccer team traveled to York University to play in the CIS semifinal playoff round. After extra time was needed to decide who would play McMaster in the finals, York scored in the second half, securing a 1-0 victory. The Blues let their frustration out on Sunday, defeating the Ryerson Rams in the bronze medal game.

York forward Alyson Fisher scored on a nice shot inside the 18-yard box after fending off Blues defenders. His shot was too much for the Blues goaltender to handle. Toronto didn’t give up on the goal—they stormed back minutes, later attacking the York net, but to no avail, and Devante Brown’s shot hit the side of the net.

The Blues came into the playoffs ranked sixth nationally, the York Lions ranked second. York had come away as the CIS champions the past two years, setting the record with 33 consecutive wins before that streak ended this year against McMaster, a team they’ll look to exact revenge on in the finals.

ROHAM ABTAHI/PHOTO

The Blues lost to York 1-0 in extra time but beat Ryerson 3-0 a day after.

The last time the Blues won a men’s soccer championship was in 2010.

U of T finished the season with an 11-3-2 record, giving them second place in the East division, while York finished first in the West division with a 13-1-2 record.

The Blues made it into the semifinals by defeating the Queen’s Gaels on November 1 with a score of 1-0.

Their only goal of the game came in the 44th minute when second-team all-star Narin Sivanathan received a cross from the opposite side of the field, kicking the ball past the keeper into the top-left corner of the net.

“Work hard, train hard, and look ready for Saturday,” said Sivanathan in a postgame interview with Varsity Blues media. He figured that the five

days of training to prepare for their fierce York opponent would be good enough, but it ended up not being enough since the Blues had to settle for the bronze medal game against the Ryerson Rams last Sunday.

Sivanathan was one of the Blues’ most outstanding players this season, scoring six goals in the regular season and, more importantly, scoring the

game-winning goal in their playoff matchup last week.

Other notable players include firstteam all-star defender Devon Bowyer of Toronto and Lukas MacNaughton of Brussels, Belgium. The two powerhouses in the backfield were a big reason the Blues were one of the teams to surrender the least amount of goals in the CIS; they gave up 11 goals in 16 games played this regular season. Midfielder Nikolay Saveliev of Nagoya, Japan received first-team all-star honors, scoring two goals this season on 21 shots. Midfielder Yousef Helmy was named East Division Rookie of the Year because, as a freshman, he started 15 of 16 regular season games, scoring one goal on 19 shots.

Blues goaltender Rab Bruce-Lockhart has been tremendous all year, going 9-3-1 when starting. He had a 0.62 goals-against-average and .830 save percentage. Bruce-Lockhart was huge against the York Lions, stopping 12 shots and only allowing one goal in the net. He was the busier goalie of the afternoon—his counterpart only had to stop five Blues chances.

Battle continued on page 12

Exhaustion ensues at RAWC boot camp UTMAC hosts first-time event at the RAWC, where many participants came to get in shape KARINA COTRAN STAFF WRITER Last Wednesday in Gym A/B, UTMAC hosted its first ever boot camp.

Thirty students showed up in their active wear with determined looks on their faces.

UTMAC director of health and wellness Andrew Williams led them through an intense full body workout regimen of three circuits, five exercises each. Students ran each course twice.

“We want to encourage a healthy lifestyle on our campus that will show students easy steps on how to get an effective workout with simple exercises. We just want to give students an equal opportunity to reach their goals,” said Mustapha Hashi, UTMAC director of public relations and communication.

“This boot camp was designed to test both your muscular endurance and your cardiovascular system,” said Williams. With motivational music pumping in the background, the gym was soon filled with students running and doing lunges, planks, floor wipers, and a multitude of other exercises designed to challenge every part of the body.

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Students did lunges, planks, and floor wipers on the gym floor, led by UTM personal trainers.

“Boot camp is a fantastic way to work out with your friends and meet likeminded Eagles. There is something empowering about finishing these sessions as a team,” Williams said.

Students worked together and encouraged those who needed it. A couple of personal trainers walked around and made sure that the students’ forms were correct as the workouts continued their course. Along

for motivation was the UTM Eagle, who had a lot of energy to spare and added an atmosphere of teamwork and support while he ran around and encouraged people to work hard.

First-year CCIT student Karim Ebrahim was just one of the students who participated. Ebrahim is dedicated to going to the gym every day.

He attended the boot camp because he was on a weight loss journey and decided that the intense cardio ses-

sion would be a good addition to the weightlifting he does.

“I was personally looking to see how far I could go without resting. I also wanted to meet some likeminded people and get a good, intense workout,” he said.

With the encouraging results he found at the end of the boot camp, Ebrahim is looking forward to attending future boot camps. “I discovered that I could do a lot more

than I thought I would be able to. It also helped that I did a more intense workout and found an excellent set of exercises to do in the future,” he said.

There were also new students who do not go to the gym often but decided to attend the boot camp with hope of improving their healthy, active lifestyle.

“I was hoping to work on my nonexistent cardio,” said Ryan Persaud, a fourth-year student in English and philosophy. When asked if they would attend another boot camp in the future, both Ebrahim and Persaud said yes.

“It was intense, motivating, and great for the body,” said Ebrahim.

Since this was their first boot camp, the UTMAC team eased people into it using only body weight for the work out. However, according to Williams, there will be other boot camps to follow. “Once we see the level of commitment people are willing to invest in us, then we can get equipment like ropes and parachutes and get into some fun stuff,” he said.

Along with a sense of accomplishment and pride, the students that finished the boot camp received a prize of a small protein shake and a choice of a shaker bottle or T-shirt.

12

«SPORTS

THE MEDIUM 11.09.2015

Close game at Varsity Stadium

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The Blues lost to McGill 4-3 on Saturday.

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Students maintain a healthy, active lifestyle.

ERIC HEWITSON SPORTS EDITOR CHEST COMPLEX Get your chest ripped without doing a single bench press. With the bench-press movement, you’re isolating your larger chest muscles while your stabilizers—which are also used to, er, live—aren’t getting enough work. Starting a chest complex with dips will allow you to focus on isolating the chest while working your shoulder and forearm stabilizers. Your natural body weight will enable you to do the exercise safely. You can determine how deep you go in your dip. After no more than 20 seconds of rest, do as many wide grip push-ups as possible until you’re fatigued. After another 20 seconds of rest, put your back on a bench and do incline dumbbell flies—keep abs tight, lower arms to

the side, then squeeze your chest to create peak tension and build the muscle you want. With these three exercises, you’re starting with the hardest movement, making your way to the easiest. This technique matches the benefits of hypertrophy drop sets.

GETTING THE MOST FROM YOUR PULL-UP Do you want to know how to become good at pull-ups? Well, I’ve discovered the secret magical formula: 1. Do more pull-ups. 2. After you’ve done more pull-ups, do even more of them. (If Harry Potter could drink a potion to turn himself into a water creature, why couldn’t he just drink a potion to get himself ripped out of his mind?). Don’t bother with the pull-down machine—the athletes are judging you. If you can’t pull your body weight, use a resis-

tance band to assist you while you pull yourself up from the bar. It’s okay if you can only do one pullup—just do 10 different sets of one pull-up­ —that equals 10 pull-ups in one workout, for all those math wizards out there. I promise you, don’t be discouraged by the fact that pull-ups are hard; you have to go through the hard work to get to the amazing beach body. For the people who can’t do a single pull-up, there’s a legitimate formula for you. Jump up to a bar and hold it parallel to the middle of your chest, hold it for as long as possible, and slowly lower yourself to the ground. This movement is called “owning the negative”; the muscles involved in the pull-up will activate quickly and you’ll be cranking out one-arm pullups with weights on your back like a jacked baby baboon in no time.

DANIEL BILYK ASSOCIATE EDITOR The Varsity Blues men’s hockey team took on the McGill Redmen last Saturday night in the hopes of scoring four points at Varsity Stadium over the weekend. After two road losses the weekend before, the Blues needed the four points to prevent dropping lower in the standings. Last Friday, the Blues took on Waterloo in a 5-4 victory, putting them a single point behind Waterloo. A win on Saturday would have meant they would move in front of the Warriors and one step closer to bridging the gap between them and the top-seeded teams.

“We never quit,” said Varsity Blues captain Andrew Doyle. “We always take the play to them. Those two late goals showed them that and they were huge for us.” The McGill Redmen, ranked fourth overall in the country, started the game hot, scoring early in the first period. Max Lindsay for U of T answered the goal with just over five minutes left in the first period.

All tied up, the period was expected to end with both teams scoring a goal each, but in under one minute, McGill snuck two goals past Blues goaltender Brett Willows and stretched the lead to 3-1 to end the first.

The Blues came back flying, generating offence and numerous scoring chances, but couldn’t manage to sneak anything past the Redmen goaltender. The game took on a personal turn, with greater aggression

between players as the play intensified. “We need to stay out of the box,” Doyle said. “We were struggling with the penalty kill. Some penalties we can take, but not all of them.”

The Blues then trailed 4-1 at the beginning of the third and play continued to get more physical as players tried to shake the opponents with booming checks into the boards.

Again, U of T generated offence and more scoring chances but couldn’t manage to squeeze one past the Redmen goaltender. Doyle, who managed to have several scoring opportunities, said, “I need to work on a shift-byshift consistency and be that penaltykill man I need to be.”

With a minute left in the game, the Blues head coach pulled the goaltender, hoping to put more goals on the scoreboard. Two quick goals managed to shorten the lead to 4-3 and the Blues were back in the game. With only five seconds left on the clock after Charlie Connell’s goal, time had run out for the Varsity Blues.

“They have very quick, mobile defencemen,” Doyle mentioned. “We had to be quick and not give them any time.” The Blues’ success came from the pressing forecheck they operated throughout the whole game.

Although the game ended with a narrow loss, the Blues forwards know they can take on the best, and the defencemen know they can shut down prime contenders. McGill will think twice about having an easy game next time against the boys in blue.

Blues take home bronze medal Battle continued from page 11 The Varsity Blues have made their way to the 2015 CIS championships after upsetting the Ryerson Rams 3-0 at York Stadium on Sunday.

The Rams, who are ranked fourth nationally, have been defeated by the Blues twice now in the past three weeks.

Blues third-year forward Dakar Charles opened the scoring in the 13th minute. Charles ran after a lobbed pass from a Blues midfielder and put the ball past Rams goaltender Praveen Ahilan.

Sivananthan added to Toronto’s lead in the 36th minute. The long ball hurt Ryerson yet again when Ahilan came out to challenge the ball, but Sivanathan beat him to the ball and scored from 25 yards away.

Antonio Ajhert scored his first goal of the playoffs, securing the win in the 52nd minute. He received a pass from Sivanathan, who beat Rams defenders moments earlier.

The Varsity Blues will now join second-ranked York Lions and the McMaster Marauders at the CIS Championships on November 12 to 15 at York Stadium.