Vol 43 issue 21

Division II and III elections

Caught in cultural limbo

Fashion for Charity

Have you met the UTEHKSA?

UTM B-Ball Women win big

News, page 2

Opinion, page 4

Arts, page 5

Features, page 8

Sports, page 11

UTMSU election battle begins this week Unlike last year’s historic elections, only two UTMSU executive teams face off this year

SHIFA SIDDIQUI/THE MEDIUM

First UTM and Fresh UTM faced off in the candidates’ debate held last Wednesday in the Blind Duck Pub.

MENNA ELNAKA NEWS EDITOR ALICIA BOATTO ASSOCIATE NEWS EDITOR Following last year’s historic UTMSU spring elections with four teams and three individuals running, this year’s election is back to featuring two teams vying for UTMSU’s executive positions: Fresh UTM and UTM First.

INTERVIEW WITH THE MEDIUM In a sit-down interview with The Medium, the two teams highlighted their main goals and what distinguishes them from one another.

UTM First’s presidential candidate, Alex Gignac, stated the importance of engaging every student within a club or a society on campus, as this helps improve their experience at UTM. “[Our goal is to] make sure that every student has an easy time getting affiliated on campus with clubs, societies, and with the UTMSU, because as soon as you get involved with any clubs or any student organization, […] you switch your mentality of how you see the campus.

We’ll unite the campus by getting

people involved in clubs.

“We’re realistic […],” he said.

“We’re not campaigning for a GTAwide U-Pass; we’re campaigning on a Brampton and an Oakville U-Pass.”

He explained that students pay around $200 a year for the U-Pass, whereas if they were to pay the regular Miway transit fee, it could cost up to $800 a year.

Emphasizing the focus on a Brampton and Oakville U-Pass instead of a GTA-wide U-Pass, he added, “I’m not saying it’s for sure, but what I’m saying is, it’s tangible, we can see it. And it starts with two steps: talking to Brampton and talking to Oakville.”

Salma Fakhry, Fresh UTM’s presidential candidate, told The Medium, “Accessibility is a huge thing for us. […] Having access to food, having access to resources, having access to education, and having access to funds.”

“Accessibility, as well as inclusivity,” added Fresh’s VP university affairs and academics, Maya Tomkiewicz.

“We’re all from very different walks of life. We want to make sure that [the students] all feel like they belong in UTM. We’re one school.

We’re one union. And we want to

make sure everyone on this campus feels that way.”

Fakhry also highlighted fighting the fees, saying that it is rather a step-by-step process.

“There’s no, ‘There’s tuition and the next day there’s not.’ There are demands. Number one is to regressively reduce and eliminate tuition fees […]. Number two is to turn all loans into existing grants, not payable grants. The third one is to remove interests of all existing loans.

So it is a step by step. It’s not just a UTM thing; it’s a student solidarity thing,” said Fakhry.

ELECTION PROCEDURE As of Friday, the demerit points were three for UTM First and five for Fresh UTM. According to UTMSU’s Election Procedure Code, if the demerits reach 35 points, the candidate would get disqualified.

As previously reported by The Medium on February 13, UTMSU’s president and the next CFS Ontario chairperson, Nour Alideeb, had served as UTM’s chair of the Election and Referenda Committee when setting the election date.

In an email to The Medium, UTMSU’s VP external, Marise Hopkins, who assumed the position of the

chair of the Election and Referenda Committee after Alideeb, explained that UTMSU executives are not allowed to have a say in deciding on the demerits for each team.

However, the UTMSU executive director, Munib Sajjad, has the right to advise the chief returning officer, Sahab Jesuthasan, with “institutional memory on complaints,” as Jeuthasan is not a UTM student.

ABSENCE LEAVE Multiple members of the UTMSU executives have taken a leave of absence, including Alideeb, the VP university affairs and academics Vanessa Demello, and VP internal Jackie Zhao.

According to the Fresh UTM team in an interview with The Medium, Alideeb, Demello, and UTM student Hashim Yussuf are their campaign managers.

The EPC states that “candidates are not entitled to use their campaign, any service or moneys conferred onto them by virtue of holding a position in any campus organization unless such services would still be available to them otherwise. This includes, but is not limited to, office supplies, equipment, advertising space and staff.”

The EPC also explains that any current member of the board, staff, volunteers, or committee members of UTMSU, if affiliated with the elections, has to take a leave of absence during the campaigning period, including refraining from their email access or office usage.

UTSU NOT INFORMED UTMSU’s VP internal Jackie Zhao had also enacted a leave of absence from his position. However, according to UTSU’s president Jasmine Wong Denike in an email to The Medium, Zhao, who serves as UTMSU’s designate at UTSU this year, did not request a leave of absence from the downtown union, although he would be required to do so if he’s running for the UTSU elections.

“Jackie Zhao did not inform the UTSU that he is taking a leave of absence […],” wrote Denike. “[He] is required to give us notice if he is taking a leave of absence for the UTSU elections,” she said.

The Medium has reached out to Zhao to confirm when he enacted his leave of absence at UTM, but did not receive a response, as of press time.

Debate continued on page 2

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THE MEDIUM 03.06.2017

Division II and III compete FARHAT AMINI ASSOCIATE NEWS EDITOR

February 23rd, 2017.

Unwanted Person.

Campus Police received complaints of skateboarders on campus. The males were advised to stop skateboarding and that it was prohibited on campus.

The males complied and left campus.

person’s T-card.

February 25th, 2017.

Trespass to property act.

A non-community member was trespassed after an attempt to gain access to the RAWC by using another

February 28th, 2017.

Disturb the Peace.

Campus Police were called to attend the RAWC where a physical altercation was occurring.

February 25th, 2017.

Medical Call.

Campus Police were called to attend a student experiencing medical distress.

These reports are those that have been released to The Medium from Campus Police 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-TIPS (8477).

Along with the UTMSU Spring elections for the 2017-2018 executives, the board elections for Division II and Division III are also taking place. The Medium interviewed six of the 15 candidates running in this year’s board elections for Division II and Division III. All four Division II candidates responded to an interview request, yet two responded from Division III. DIVISION II Neisha Ghanie, second-year student with experience in the UTMSU as a PUMP Squad member and Orientation leader, emphasized the need for a better focus on student transit, parking, more variety of food, and study spaces.

“I understand that commuting to UTM can be quite struggling, especially for students that don’t live in Mississauga like myself, and pay-

ing the different city transit fares can definitely add up,” said Ghanie, referring to the need for a GTA Upass.

“Furthermore, I want to lobby to reduce parking fees, since many students do drive to campus and the fee is pretty high,” she added. “I plan on achieving these changes by working with the elected UTMSU, as well as the students of UTM, who are the sole voices of working towards changing what can be improved for a better day in our busy lives.”

Zakk Dodge, another candidate for Division II, was a member of the academic affairs committee within Governing Council. He stressed that transparency and commination would be his goals.

“I would like to establish a campaign and policy called ‘UTMSU for you,’ which will upload a monthly report and infograph to show what events have happened, what policies and bylaws have been changed or added, what campaigns have been

enacted,” stated Dodge.

He added, “I feel this will bring a new stage for transparency and accountability to be offered for students […]. This is really important to me, because I have been a student that has felt [that] the UTMSU could be improved. As student leaders, we need to open this level of dialogue to just be what our bylaws ask of us.”

Another candidate for Division II is Melinda Ann Karen Callahan, who aims to change over expenses paid by students, such as deferral and exam review fees. She also wants to lobby for more programs and courses, add more study space, and enforce strict limits for the study spaces available.

“The [students] abuse the system as it is now, and it’s not fair for [them] to thrive on that weakness of the library when other students who really need the study space are not receiving it.”

Board continued on page 3

Two slates face off in candidates debate Debate continued from cover The two teams, Fresh UTM and UTM First, faced off last Wednesday in a debate at the Blind Duck Pub, where they got to promote their campaign points and address questions.

Beginning at around noon, the CRO, Jesuthasan, asked the audience members to write down their questions for the candidates prior to the introduction of their platform points.

PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES Representing Fresh UTM, Fakhry advocated for making students feel valued by the administration and to create a more welcoming environment in the classroom and on campus. Fakhry was associate to UTMSU’s VP university affairs and academics in 2015-2016, and served as the UTM academic affairs member this year.

“Education is our universal right, and what you’ll come to see through this debate is that Fresh UTM is all about that. Fresh UTM is all about Fighting the Fees. Fresh UTM is all about accessible, affordable education for all. Fresh UTM is about your mental and physical well-being,” said Fakhry, the third-year international affairs and education student, during her introductions.

Gignac, the presidential candidate for UTM First, cited a “disconnect between the UTMSU and clubs and societies.” He was the charges d’affairs and director of operations of UTM’s Debate League this year.

His platform points featured that the goal is to give clubs more funding if they did more events and more collaborative efforts with each other on campus.

In his interview with The Medium, he further explained that currently there are several criteria, including the number of members for the clubs, which determine the funding.

OLIVIA ADAMCZYK/THE MEDIUM

Fresh UTM’s campaign points include accessibility, safe spaces, and inclusivity.

“Criteria are good, but it’s not clear enough on how you can get more funding,” he said.

“What I want to introduce is not revolutionary; it’s just an add-on chair-system funding,” he added, elaborating on implementing more criteria for the distribution of funding: clubs that are “top-notch,” invested, host more events, and are more active; those who are average; and those who are not active.

“What that would do is give us a clear idea on how to fund the clubs and give them a clear idea of how they’re doing in terms of their clubs.

All this information will be made accessible to them […].” He added that it would create “a healthy kind of competition” to engage all students more in their community.

VP INTERNAL SERVICES Vikko Qu, the only candidate for VP Internal, running on the Fresh UTM team, placed a strong empha-

sis at the debate on helping international students. “I didn’t feel like I belonged or [was] represented. My language, my beliefs, my culture, that was never pressing on this campus,” Qu said about his own experience at UTM. “I want to be that person to tell people, this is your home, and this is where you belong.”

Qu, who was this year’s associate to the VP internal, also addressed The Medium’s question in an interview about the feasibility of a GTAwide U-Pass.

“I’ve got a chance to be involved in the whole progress [of the GTA U-Pass]. I’ve had several meetings with Metrolinx,” he said. According to Metrolinx’s website, it offers “regional transportation plans for the GTA and Hamilton areas.”

Qu added that after several negotiations, they reached a first plan but it would have cost $650 for each student, “which is a lot, so we didn’t pass that one. We want a GTA U-Pass

that’s more student-friendly, so that students can afford it.”

Qu added that if elected, he and his team would first see who wants to participate in the process, then would conduct a GTA U-Pass survey, approved by Metrolinx, which would ask students questions like what cities they want to cover and at what cost. The team would then hold a referendum to see what the majority of the students would say.

“We have a plan,” said Qu. “We have direction and we know who to talk to, how to negotiate, and we have been doing this since last year. We don’t have to start from scratch.”

VP EXTERNAL Jose Wilson is the VP external candidate for Fresh UTM. Wilson served this academic year as the UTMSU part-time student coordinator and the Association of Part-time Undergraduate Students board director. His platform, too, centered on

helping international and part-time students feel more accommodated at the university, as well as focusing on making it more affordable.

“I want to focus on international students, I want to focus on parttime students, I want to focus on everyone who’s felt neglected by the school and by the province,” he stated during the introduction period.

The candidate for UTM First’s VP External is Ali Taha, who’s a firstyear student and a Division I board of director. When talking to students about their opinions of the UTMSU, he claimed that “the common theme is that big goals just aren’t feasible.

A big part of this comes from being over-political. As a student’s union, we should only be as political as it has to be. UTM First wants to be a student’s union for all students no matter your race, sex, creed, or beliefs.”

“We genuinely want to make UTM better, and that won’t work if the student union is brought down by political opinions that take the focus away from student issues,” added Taha.

VP UNIVERSITY AFFAIRS Running for the VP university affairs and academics from the Fresh UTM team is Maya Tomkiewicz, who was this year’s UTMSU assistant to the board. Tomkiewicz advocated for clearer visibility about student codes of conducts and policies at the university.

“As a student, I was not aware of any policies or student code of conducts that I was forced to follow. This is just not right that many students are not made aware or have the accessibility to these codes that essentially govern their bodies,” she said. “I want to make sure that every student has the accessibility to have a successful university career.”

Claims continued on page 3

03.06.2017 THE MEDIUM NEWS

Board elections resume this week

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»HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT THE UTMSU ELECTIONS?

OLIVIA ADAMCZYK/THE MEDIUM

Fifteen candidates are competing for Division II and Division III. Board continued from page 2 Callahan explained that the library staff and security should make sure students stick within the two-hour time given for the study rooms. “I [further] want to lobby for grade forgiveness for one course, and that would be so important for so many students on campus,” she added.

Nour Shell, the last candidate for Division II, wants to focus on lobbying for the amount of exams that students can take within 24 hours, and lobby for deferred assignments and midterms instead of exams that weigh more.

DIVISION III Abdulla Omari, running for Di-

vision III told The Medium that “transparency, stability, and ethics” are most important to him. “My goals would be split into two ways; accountability and realistic policies.”

Omari expressed, “Our job is to bring accountability, to ensure the executives are doing their job effectively, [to] properly ensure the budget is being used effectively, [and] to properly ensure staff hirings are being done effectively.”

Omari also listed polices that he believed could make UTMSU more transparent, including a transparent hiring process done by an outside firm, establishing a more transparent policy around elections, and holding board members account-

able to speak at meetings.

Another candidate for Division III is Esther Osei. Osei focuses on the availability and accessibility of study spaces at UTM. She stated that transparency between the UTM administration and students is also important, so that students can know where their money is going towards.

“I think the [North Building Phase B] is for more study spaces, but they haven’t posted it on the website or said anything to students about it, [such as sending] an email, so I want to work on the transparency,” said Osei.

Elections resume this week from Tuesday to Thursday in IB, Davis, Deerfield, CCT, Kaneff, and MAM.

Samiha Mirza 1st year, commerce

Trevor Schmahl 2nd year, ecology

I think whatever the teams are platforming for is good, but I hope they stick to it.

Apathy.

Sunreep Jossan 2nd year, molecular bio

Huda Mohammad 1st year, criminology

I have no idea because I’m more concerned with my courses.

It’s a good thing there are a lot of people running in the elections.

Allegation of prepared questions to team Fresh Claims continued from page 3 In her interview with The Medium, Tomkiewicz added that she wants to implement a midterm deferral policy, which she said is quite similar to the exam deferral fee. Tomkiewics also stated that the current exam deferral fee is $70, and that she and her team would try to eliminate this fee and add the midterm deferral policy at no cost.

Christina Khokhar is running on UTM First’s slate. Currently a firstyear student and the chief debate officer of the debate league, her platform focuses on Fighting the Fees as well as making students aware about the various campus services and the different fees in their tuition.

“I want you to understand what we pay for and what resources that are available to you. [Information like] what’s included by tuition by hosting info sessions about what you pay for because too often do I hear: ‘I wish I knew that when I was a first year.’

I want them to say: ‘I’m glad I had that, I’m glad I knew about it,’” said Khokhar in her introductions.

“I also want to lobby for more opting-out options from tuition, other than the health and dental plan,” she added. Khokhar elaborated that she wants the opt-out options to include downtown U of T’s newspaper, The Varsity and U of T’s radio, CIUT. In an interview with The Medium, she explained that UTM collectively, by opting out of these two, would have more money that could rather be invested in the Brampton and Oakville transit, more in-course scholarships,

OLIVIA ADAMCZYK/THE MEDIUM

UTM First’s campaign points include engaging students and introducing an Oakville and Brampton U-Pass.

and more bursaries.

VP EQUITY Sagal Osman, an executive for the Black Students Association and Fresh’s candidate for VP equity, advocated to “provide students with platforms to love who they are, but also [to] love everyone around them. And the way to do that is to educate and start a conversation, all while maintaining a safe space for all of our community on campus.”

Diversity, inclusion, and accessibility were the main motivations for her candidacy as she said, “I want to collaborate with students and show real-life experiences. I’m prideful of the diversity we see at UTM.” Mduduzi Mhlanga, team First’s

candidate for VP equity, explained a different focus for the position. “My goal would not be to focus on the exact same issues that have been advocated by past candidates, by past execs across UTM and across UTSU downtown. I want to focus on finance, and that’s something that every student struggles with.”

Mhlanga told The Medium that he has been involved with the commission meetings, “which were a big contributing factor to my decision to run, because they showed how the UTMSU was spending students’ money instead of giving that money to clubs to bring students together.”

QUESTION PERIOD After introductions, candidates

took part in a multi-round question period from students.

Some of the questions posed to candidates included “How would you ensure you created accessible safe spaces on campus?”, “How are you going to reinstate OHIP for international students?” and “Can you explain the governing structure at UTM?” The questions prompted UTM First presidential candidate, Gignac, to note that “a lot of the questions are based on the main points of our opponents.”

In response to this claim, Qu from Fresh UTM told The Medium that the team members have all been involved on campus.

“We are all involved. We’ve worked in the student union, have been ex-

ecutives within clubs and societies.

We know what we’re doing. We’re experienced, so that when the question was asked, we knew the answer,” he said. “Just because we knew the answer, doesn’t mean the questions were prepared.”

Presidential candidates were also asked about how they would go about establishing a Student Centre expansion.

Fresh’s Fakhry explained that her team would consult students, clubs, and societies, as well as finding an alternative-funding model to past suggestions.

“We must lobby to the administration to find a good funding model, an accessible funding model that takes the pressure off students. We don’t want students to be paying extra money because this is their right and this is their space,” said Fakhry.

Gignac for UTM First expressed the importance of consulting with the administration and establishing a plan before progressing with specific details.

“Once we reach an agreement with the university about how the Student Centre will be funded and we have 100 percent assurance that tuition fees won’t be raised, we’d start consulting students about what to do with the space, we’d start consulting societies, the clubs, and see what is useful,” he said. “It is important to consult what we can do, it’s important to consult how we’re going to get the action.”

Polls for the UTMSU spring elections resume this Tuesday to Thursday at IB, CCT, Davis, MAM, Kaneff and Deerfield.

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Being caught in the middle What it means for students in Canada to be classified as “Generation 1.5” The terms “first-generation” and “second-generation” are all too wellknown in the immigrant household vocabulary. However, what many overlook is the awkward gray area in between that classifies an obscured, yet omnipresent, class of people.

“Generation 1.5” is the term coined for this awkward gray area. Curt Asher defines these subset of immigrants as “children of immigrants who are not fluent in the language of their parents or in the language of their peers.”

A narrower definition specifies that these youths must have immigrated to the country sometime between early childhood to late teenage years.

What makes generation 1.5 interesting to study is that these youths seem to be stranded in a cultural limbo. As Asher succinctly puts it, “[they are] a product of [two cultures], yet completely fluent in neither.” According to Asher, these youths bring with them a flavor of their native culture, while trying to conform to the social expectations of their new culture.

In a poignant summation of generation 1.5’s cultural conundrum, failure to adapt to a foreign culture is not an option. In fact, successful integration is a means by which these immigrants attempt to regain the kind of

social security that they’ve left behind in their native country.

In What’s it Like to Be Generation 1.5, author Kristy Drutman describes these youths as “assimilat[ing] for survival,” and she recounts the price that such youths pay when they prioritize conforming to the dominant culture’s norms (in her cases, American norms) at the expense of retaining their native roots. One of Drutman’s interviewees, Bianca Larissa, exemplifies the resulting feelings of cultural exclusion stemming from an inability to wholly identify with either culture.

“I felt so out of place in Filipino clubs growing up as a 1.5 child, because in my experience, the first generation Filipinos were so exclusive; they really made it a point to define what it means to be ‘Filipino’ in a very singular way that does not apply to everyone and growing up,” Larissa says.

What strikes me about Larissa’s statement is the implication that such individuals are forced to choose between two cultures. In other words, you’re either X or you’re Y, and both are mutually exclusive. Whether or not this implication holds is personally relevant for me.

Like Larissa, I immigrated to a new country (in my case, Canada), around the age of six. In terms of early language proficiency, I was neither proficient enough in Tagalog that I could translate for my parents, nor was I proficient enough in English to keep up in school. For the most part of my grade school years, I stayed in ESL, a government-implemented accelerated English-learning program, to help bring me up to speed with the educational language standards. From these experiences, I remain convinced that my early deficiencies in language impeded my ability to navigate between the two cultures shaping my identity.

Perhaps the ease in which some individuals integrate into a new culture is a result of their prior exposure to the culture beforehand. Exposure to the dominant culture’s language, such as English for Canada, may help ease the process of acculturation. Additionally, Mark Roberge has argued that the appellation generation 1.5 should apply even to “English-speaking immigrants learning [Canadian] English.” But whether prior exposure to the foreign culture’s language was present in the individual’s life or not, the experience of generation 1.5 is not devoid of linguistic challenges.

“Even if I speak English at home, it’s different when you start living around predominantly English-speaking people,” Jene Estigoy, a third-year political science student, explains.

“When talking to someone formally, it took a while to figure out the way to do so, because in the Philippines, we use formalities like ‘po,’ but we don’t have those in English.”

Regardless of cultural starting points, generation 1.5 echoes a universal sentiment of never feeling like full social acceptance—from either sphere—is attainable. In a TEDxTalk on generation 1.5, Ji Su Kang powerfully captures such a sentiment: “I was neither a first-generation immigrant nor a second-generation immigrant.

I was too Korean to be second, and too American to be first. I was neither fully an adult nor fully a child.”

Kang ends her talk in a hopeful revelation. She acknowledges that though others like her may never identify as fully X or Y, there is some consolation in knowing that the label generation 1.5 brings with it a better description of a previously unidentified generation.

Kassandra Hangdaan News Assistant

Don’t underestimate the comedian Last week, I went to go see Jordan Peele’s Get Out. I knew a long time ago when I saw the trailer for it, it would amaze me. And when I finally did get around to seeing it in theatres, it didn’t disappoint. It blew me away, and was easily one of the best movie experiences that I’ve had in a while. I can’t remember the last time that an entire theatre clapped.

After Mahmoud (our managing editor) and I left the theatre, we spoke about it the entire way home.

One of the biggest things that stood out to us was just how much of an impact the comedian can have on the world of cinema.

I think it’s fair to say that the comedian usually get perceived as the funny one who couldn’t really reach the same depths as those of drama actors or directors, who have devoted their time to making emotional films. At least, this is just the kind of stuff that I’ve heard from my friends and family. For example, I remember when I first watching Little Miss Sunshine and thought that Steve Carell would somehow botch his part, because, what? A funny guy taking on a serious role? Come on. That won’t happen. But, he shone. And he was easily one of my favourite performances of the film. He then went on to disturb

audiences in Foxcatcher with a performance that proved just how great of an actor he really is.

Robin Williams is another great example of this. Sure, he was the funny man for the majority of his career, but he also creeped me right out in One Hour Photo and I fell in love with his character in Good Will Hunting and Dead Poet’s Society. Particularly in Good Will Hunting is where I really loved him. He had such a depth to his performance that gets me every time.

I’ll admit that I still tear up when I think about how one of the therapy sessions with Damon was ad-libbed

by Williams. (I’m talking about the scene where Williams’ character discloses that his wife used to fart herself awake in bed. Cue heavy, unscripted laughter from Damon.) But, this is exactly what I love. The perfect combination of comedy and drama to make for one unbelievable character.

Carrell and Williams are just two examples of many. But, Mahmoud and I went on to discuss the impact of the comedian. Just about every comedian that I’ve watched will work aspects of their own life into their skits. While the result is usually hilarious, we migrated into talking about comedians whose skits possess a more melancholic tone. Natu-

rally, we wound up talking about Bo Burnham’s recent Netflix special, Make Happy. It’s here where I take a long inhale so I can brace myself for talking about this incredible special. Without giving too much away, Burnham successfully incorporated his typical songs (which included country stars pandering to their audience and people whose expectations for a mate are too high) with aspects of mental illness and existential questions like, “Are you happy?”

I’ll admit that I’m not a comedy buff and haven’t seen hundreds of performances. But, of the ones I have seen, none stood out to me the way that Burnham’s did. I have never had to pause a performance to laugh and cry in the same time span.

Mahmoud mentioned to me that he believed comedians have this amazing power of being able to tell a heartbreaking story through comedy. It’s this power of theirs that also allows them to present something in a more dramatic way and stun audiences with incredible pieces—much like Get Out. I never thought that Peele would direct something like this. I enjoyed his work (from what I had seen of it) but I never thought that this film would come from him. My own ig-

norance bothers me. It’s not that I underestimated him. It’s just that I never thought someone as funny as Peele would ever come out with something this heavy. Something this heartbreaking. It was just a surprise to me.

But, it shouldn’t have been. The comedian has the best of both worlds in being able to laugh about problems while also telling you about them honestly and knocking you on your ass because you never expected it from them.

If you haven’t seen the films I mentioned here but have the chance to check them out, I seriously would.

You’ll know what I’m talking about.

YOURS, MARIA CRUZ

CORRECTION NOTICE In the February 27 article, “Wildlife from around the world,” it is the fourth exhibition of its kind, not the second.

In the article, “Living Library returns with new ‘books’”, Demetra Dimokopoulos was misquoted.

The quote was, “...I knew that I wanted to get outside of my bubble.”

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Style and Profyle catwalks for charity SAP hosted their annual charity fashion and dance show last week in the Blind Duck Pub KIMBERLY DAY STAFF WRITER Bright colours, high energy, and talent. These are just some of the words I would use to describe “Around the World,” an annual charity fashion and dance show hosted by Style and Profyle. The organization is a nonprofit club at UTM that raises money for different charities through the performing arts. This year, Style and Profyle raised funds for ErinOak Kids, an Ontario treatment centre that provides a range of rehabilitation and support services to children with disabilities.

The night commenced with a humorous introduction by the two MCs, Ryan Persaud and Madhav Gaur, who provided entertainment between performances throughout the night. The first performance was UTM’s Dance Team, who performed a modern hip hop routine. Following this performance was the APS fashion show, in which the models displayed intricately designed outfits from Palestine.

The stage in the Blind Duck Pub was extended like a catwalk, allowing

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“Around the World” showcased dance, fashion, and music from different cultural clubs on campus. models to walk out into the audience.

As the first fashion show of the night, APS’ performance set the tone for the variety of talented fashion designs throughout the night. Some fashion pieces included designs from Express & Escape, Joyti Lamba Designs, and IME by Rhenice Bowman.

Of the fashion shown, one of my fa-

vourites was from Express & Escape, a Mississauga-based organization dedicated to eradicating the stigma associated with mental illness, as well as aiding the mental health community. IME by Rhenice Bowman was also one of my favourites because of its modern, Caribbean appearance.

The evening also featured singing

performances. Carrie McEown and Asheesh Sridhar covered James Arthur’s “Say You Won’t Let Go.” The next song was by Aseel Aoun, who gave a beautiful performance of “Hello” by Adele. However, my absolute favourite performance was by Arlind Kadiri and Daniel Goodman, who performed a mixture of pop songs,

including “7 years” by Lucas Graham.

The second half of the show offered dance productions by Caribbean Connections and the Erindale Punjabi Association. The dancers of Caribbean Connections, Kenya SloaneSeale, Latisha Lobban, Denia Hurst, and Aliyah Theobald, performed an extensive Afro-Caribbean routine, which even included some acrobatics, with dancers doing handstands and bridges on stage.

The dancers of Erindale Punjabi Association, Jasmine Cheema, Mandeep Kainth, Manjot Purewal, Ranvir Atwal, Kirat Sandhu, and Jaskarn Mankoo, provided a synchronized, cultural dance full of bright colours, energy, and instruments.

Style and Profyle’s “Around the World” provided an excellent display of dance, fashion, and music from all corners of the world. Flags from different countries hung from the walls surrounding the stage and audience, reinforcing the diversity within the show. The show was certainly a night to remember, as it was well organized, entertaining, and supported a good cause.

How to catch the man of your dreams Students of UTM’s Italian Studies program performed hilarious adaptation of La Mandragola NOUR ELABD

For the past two weekends, students of the Italian Studies program performed La Mandragola (The Mandrake) in CC1080. Their performance was an adaptation of Niccolo di Bernardo dei Machiavelli’s classic comedy, La Mandragola. Throughout the year, students of ITA315 produced their rendition of La Mandragola alongside the director, Teresa Lobalsamo, and producers, Adriana Grimaldi and Paolo Frasca, belong to the faculty of UTM’s Italian Studies Program.

La Mandragola is a tale about a love triangle, social expectations, and human nature. Nicia (Kory Shubrook), who’s married to the wealthy, albeit ugly, Lucrezia (Alessandra Mannella/Simone Stallone), is unwilling to produce an heir for his overbearing parents, Ramondo (Miguel Cabral) and Sostrata (Noor Al-Lababidi).

Desperate for Nicia’s affection, Lucrezia falls into a scheme devised by her friend Liguria (Larysa Bablak), a noblewoman Cleandra (Bianca Freitas/Sabrina Giatti), and Cleandra’s servant, Sira (Vanessa Monardo).

Liguria convinces Lucrezia to see a doctor, claiming it will help her

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Originally written by Machiavelli, La Mandragola involves sex, schemes, and plenty of dirty jokes. win the desire of Nicia. However, the “doctor” in question is actually Cleandra in disguise. Cleandra, who also desires Nicia, convinces Lucrezia to give her husband a drink made of the Mandrake root. Afterwards, as part of the plan, Nicia must have sex with another woman so that he will feel attracted to Lucrezia. Unbeknownst to Lucrezia, the whole plan is a plot for Cleandra to get in bed with Nicia.

The set of the play was simple, yet beautifully engrossing. A mural of the Virgin Mary was positioned center stage, while the beige overtones of the background subtly highlighted the vivid colours of the actors’ costumes.

Cleandra’s elegant, green dress particularly stood out to me. The length and shape of her dress, compared to the modest clothing of the other actors, nicely represented her seductive

motivations. Alternatively, Liguria’s classy, somewhat matronly costume complemented her manipulative character. Lucrezia’s make-up and attire rendered the actresses absolutely unrecognizable. With a unibrow, unkempt hair, and a prominent mole, Lucrezia was the epitome of classical unattractiveness.

There were many memorable moments in the performance. The scene

in the Act II where Lucrezia meets “Doctor” Cleandra was a particularly funny scene. The scene was accompanied by jaunty, anachronistic music, as Lucrezia repeatedly fell for Cleandra’s scheme. Sorella Timotea (Adwoa Asare), a greedy nun who is also part of the scheme, had the audience laughing on many occasions.

Sostrata’s solemnness and Ramondo’s masculinity were hilarious contrasts to the childishness of the other characters, as were Sira’s self-aware monologues between acts.

La Mandragola was both refreshingly humorous and deeply intriguing. The play was spoken in Italian, however, for those non-Italian speakers like myself, subtitles were projected on a screen in the background. The performance was arguably engaging enough that it didn’t need subtitles.

La Mandragola offered a glimpse into the dynamic of UTM’s Italian Studies program. You could see the effort and dedication that the students and professors put into the creation of this performance. The play was a lighthearted journey of mixed emotions and provocative humour.

La Mandragola ran in CC 1080 from February 25-26 and from March 4-5.

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Leaping into absurdity 7 Stories depicts humanity with absurd and dark humour

REWIND AISHA MALIK

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Hart House concludes their 2016/2017 season with Morris Panych’s 1989 black comedy.

REEM TAHA ASSOCIATE A&E EDITOR What motivates us to continue living? How do we find our purpose in a relentless world? These are the questions I found myself grappling with after watching 7 Stories, Hart House Theatre’s final production of the 2016/2017 season. Directed

by Rebecca Ballarin, the play is an adaptation of Canadian playwright Morris Panych’s 1989 script.

7 Stories opens with the Man (Brian Haight) in a Magritte uniform, complete with a bowler hat and black umbrella, standing on the seventh-floor ledge of a building. As he contemplates suicide, he’s constantly interrupted by the tenants of the building, who appear through the windows. The residents are too caught up in their own lives to question why the Man is standing on the ledge. Their stories, displayed one at a time, represent various aspects of humanity through dark humour.

Their lifestyles pose important questions of meaning, purpose, and the nature of modern life.

The unique set consisted of a realistic brick wall and ledge, where Haight stood for the majority of the show. The cast made excellent use of space, considering all except Haight had to act within the windows. The set was also highly effective in conveying an elevated feeling of the seventh floor.

The first tenants we’re introduced to are Charlotte (Rakhee Morzaria) and Rodney (Scott Kuipers), a couple who are in an abusive relationship. Rodney is a lawyer who consistently threatens to kill Charlotte.

When the Man wonders why Charlotte stays with Rodney, she claims it “keeps the relationship alive.” She also claims life would be vague, perhaps even meaningless, if she leaves him.

The following tenant is Leonard (Kevin Kashani), a paranoid psychiatrist who struggles with distinguishing reality from his own thoughts; he

worries constantly about whether the things he sees and hears are real or a figment of his imagination.

Leonard’s story explores the binary of fact and fiction, reality and metaphor. The incoherent conversation between the Man and Leonard is a constant trap of logic and twisted words and meanings.

Another tenant we see is Marshall (Kevin Forster), who’s about to marry a rich heiress. His story expresses the idea that people are constantly performing an identity to an audience. Specifically, Marshall reveals that his real name is Michael, he is homosexual, his hair colour isn’t real, he smokes in secret, and his moustache is fake because it’s “part of the character.” Marshall says he used to be an actor, which he considers a “futile profession” because his

7 Stories invites us to explore questions of existentialism. It invites us to find meaning in absurdity. roles always ended.

Meanwhile, Rachel (Margarita Valderrama) is an extremely religious woman who seems to parody the role of God by answering the prayers of other residents in the building. She believes that humanity needs faith and cannot act without divine guidance. The Man argues with Rachel about suicide as an act of human will.

Following Rachel is the story of Michael (Kuipers) and Joan (Nicole Hrgetic). Michael is an artist who is extremely sensitive to colours and is constantly changing the design of Joan’s room. Joan keeps up with Michael’s aesthetic and claims, “style is absolute: absolutely this or absolutely that.” Joan also comments on colour, saying that it should not be taken out of context because our perception of colour depends on the

colours around it.

In another apartment, there’s a party. The host, Al (Forster), claims he has over 900 friends, most of which he does not like or even know their names. The Man tells Al that they’re not really his friends because friends are supposed to be people we like. Al’s story makes a statement about the contemporary dilemma of social media, particularly how it can isolate a person while simultaneously making them feel social.

The last tenants we see are Nurse Wilson (Hrgetic) and a onehundred-year-old woman, Lillian (Morzaria). Nurse Wilson seems to be a misanthrope humanitarian; she claims she likes humans, but hates individual personalities. Lillian is the wise woman in the play. She advises the Man to fly and realize his potential. She is the only one who confronts his intentions to commit suicide, relating his experience to a time when she was in the Louvre looking for the Mona Lisa portrait. At the time, she was looking for a bigger picture, but she was faced with disappointment when she realized how small the Mona Lisa really was.

Lillian tells him that one day he will be 100 years old, and then he will know everything and can finally die. The Man asks her, “Why wait?” to which she replies, “Because something interesting might happen.”

Absurdity in theatre is a reflection of the absurdity in everyday life. The Man’s story, and the story of each character in the play, demonstrate an aspect of modern society that we have all experienced. Because of the script’s comedic nature, these characters emphasize their behaviour in a hyperbolic manner. Their inflated personas function well with the play’s genre. Nonetheless, we can see ourselves in their exaggerated states.

7 Stories invites us to explore questions of existentialism and humanity.

Ultimately, the play invites us to find meaning in absurdity.

7 Stories runs until March 11 at Hart House Theatre.

The Karate Kid is a notable comingof-age film that deals with friendship and bullying. Directed by John G. Avildsen, the film is a classic underdog tale.

The story follows high school student Daniel LaRusso (Ralph Macchio) after he moves to California with his mom (Randee Heller). Daniel quickly finds himself in a scuffle with a boy named Johnny Lawrence (William Zabka), who is a student of the “Cobra Kai,” a karate dojo. Daniel is saved by his maintenance man, Kesuke Miyagi (Pat Morita), who fights off Daniel’s attackers. Daniel asks Miyagi to train him for an upcoming karate tournament at Cobra Kai. After some convincing, Miyagi agrees. This sparks a mentorship between Daniel and Miyagi, which ultimately evolves into a strong friendship.

As the film progresses, Miyagi not only trains Daniel in combat, but also teaches him several life lessons. An important lesson that Miyagi teaches Daniel is balance, both in karate and life.

Another important lesson that Miyagi teaches Daniel is the importance of confidence, which Daniel lacked after being bullied by Johnny. Miyagi

FARAH QAISER FEATURES EDITOR View to the U: An Eye on UTM research is produced by UTM’s Research Office within the Office of the Vice-Principal. The podcast shares the UTM faculty’s research stories from a range of disciplines.

View to the U started in January 2017, and currently has two entries.

The first entry features professor Ulrich Krull, UTM’s interim vicepresident and principal, as well as a professor within the Department of Chemical and Physical Sciences. He discusses how cell phones and paper factor into his bioanalytical chemistry research. The recent episode discusses how Geoffrey Chaucer and gaming fit into humanities professor Alexandra Gillespie’s research.

Gillespie is the chair of UTM’s Department of English and Drama, and oversees the Old Books New Science Lab. While the podcast may be new, both entries have been listened to over 300 times each.

Carla DeMarco, the communications and grants manager in the Office of the Vice-Principal, hosts each episode. The episodes begin with DeMarco providing a brief overview of the interviewee’s research area and their role within UTM (in terms of

teaches Daniel how confidence leads to success and happiness. Miyagi also expresses the dangers of low self-esteem.

The film’s portrayal of a victim of bullying overcoming his fears and defeating his aggressor is inspirational.

Although The Karate Kid was released in 1984, Daniel’s story is still be relevant to the problem of bullying in schools. Daniel’s ability to mature remains a motivational feat for all ages.

The Karate Kid tackles sensitive themes, such as bullying and low selfesteem, in a way that is also quirky and comedic. It’s hard not to laugh along with Miyagi and his surprising teaching methods. The iconic “wax on, wax off ” scene is one of the film’s most memorable moments—to Daniel’s initial confusion, Miyagi teaches him how to wash cars in a circular motion. We later learn the importance of the circular motion in combat training.

The dynamic between Miyagi and Daniel provides a feel-good experience for the audience. Through his lessons, Miyagi teaches both Daniel and viewers important values of life.

While The Karate Kid can be predictable at times, it offers an inspirational story that will leave you cheering for the underdog.

academics and administration). Following the brief introduction, interviewees proceed to elaborate on their research, including the future directions or applications their research poses.

DeMarco guides the conversations along effectively to ensure that podcast listeners truly understand the topic, and are not left confused by jargon and technical terms. For Krull’s episode, the key terms to describe his research included “nanotechnology,” “bioassays,” and “theranostics”—terms DeMarco claimed to be “an entirely different and mysterious language” to her, and understandably, many podcast viewers.

In Gillespie’s case, the discussion turned towards digitization, and the fate of physical books.

The episodes do not focus solely on research. Following a musical interlude halfway through his episode, Krull shared his vision for UTM in 2017. Similarly, Gillespie discussed the physical and global changes that she observed during her time at UTM and what she envisions for her department in the future.

Episodes air every month, and can be found on SoundCloud or reached through the Twitter handle @UTM_ Research. A full transcript of each podcast’s episode is also available.

03.06.2017 THE MEDIUM ARTS» 7

Finding an outlet for art on campus The Platform provided students an opportunity to showcase their artwork in a safe space HAILEY MASON A&E EDITOR Art is a universal tool that transcends social boundaries. It allows us to share thoughts, opinions, and messages that we might otherwise keep to ourselves. In a student environment, it’s essential to have an outlet for artistic expression. Moreover, it’s imperative that student communities support each other throughout this expressive process.

Caribbean Connections and UTM Scribes sought to provide such an outlet at their student-run art show last Monday. The Platform created an opportunity for U of T students from all three campuses—there were even participants from York University—to display their work for the public. R.I.S.E., a Scarborough-based community of artists and activists, co-hosted the event.

The Platform showcased sketches, paintings, framed poems, photography, and other mixed media pieces in the Presentation Room of the Student Centre. Further into the evening, the doors to the Blind Duck opened for presentations from artists. Several artists on display offered explanatory presentations on their work. Others used the stage as a platform in itself, either through dance, song, or spoken word poetry. “[At UTM], we need something by the community of students, for the community of students. That’s what The Platform is,” says Tobi Ogude, a third-year DEM student

YASMEEN ALKOKA/THE MEDIUM

The student-run art show featured student work in the Presentation Room and Blind Duck Pub. and member of Caribbean Connections. “It’s an opportunity to bring forth artwork that maybe you haven’t been comfortable showing people before. This is the platform to do it.”

The Student Centre was an ideal location for The Platform—what better place to host a student-run art show than UTM’s hub for student life? As the evening progressed, visitors came to circulate the display and absorb the talent of our demographic.

Sujaya Devi’s diptych photography particularly intrigued me, both aesthetically and conceptually. The

piece features a single strip of imagery running horizontally through the white background. The strip depicts three different scenes of three different people. Each scene uses a mirror effect to show two versions of the same person. The two versions have different moods, with each mood cast in a contrasting colour. The model on the left, for instance, avoids eye contact and frowns, while her “mirror image” looks into the camera and smiles. A blue tint characterizes the sad version, while a yellow tint characterizes the happy version. “This series aims at attracting opposites and

merging them to create balance.

When complimentary colours are combined, they create a harmonious balance,” Devi comments in her note on the piece.

Artwork hung on both the walls and several panels that were rolled in for the occasion. Like Devi, many artists crafted their pieces with a specific purpose or commentary.

Erika Johnson’s triptych series, “Dad,” addresses racial stereotypes in father-child relationships. The three paintings illustrate different racial relationships and their accompanying stereotype. Johnson painted her series in a graphic novel

style, with bright, vibrant colours and text bubbles above the characters’ heads. The colourful imagery and text bubbles immediately invited me towards the series.

The first piece portrays an Asian father and daughter, representing the stereotypical strictness of Asian parents. The second piece is divided in half, with a Black father behind bars on the left and his crying baby on the right. This piece confronts the stereotype of absent and/or criminal Black fathers. The final piece depicts a white father’s poor attempt to reprimand his bratty son, who swears at his father and demands cookies. The text bubbles above their heads show the father’s passive dialogue and the son’s rude commands. This third piece comments on the stereotype of spoiled white children and the parents’ inability to discipline them. Johnson writes in her note on the series, “My triptych is meant to encourage discussion about racial prejudice that still exists today.”

Indeed, The Platform offered students a safe space to raise issues and pose commentary, such as Johnson’s critique of racial stereotypes.

“The purpose behind The Platform is to provide people with an open space,” Ogude remarks. “We live in a society where there’s not a lot of safe spaces and there’s not a lot of places to simply look at art and appreciate different types of work ethics, different types of skills, and different types of talents. This is a place where students can shine.”

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Celebrating 20 years of UTEHKSA The U of T Erindale Hong Kong Students’ Association was established back in 1997 FARAH QAISER FEATURES EDITOR This year marks the 20th anniversary of the formation of the University of Toronto Erindale Hong Kong Students’ Association at UTM. This coincides with not only the 150th anniversary of Canada and UTM’s 50th anniversary, but also the 20th anniversary of Hong Kong joining China as a special administrative region (SAR).

UTEHKSA’s president, Josiah Chan, a third-year double major in management and sociology, explains, “Twenty years [ago, Hong Kong was] a British colony. After that, we turned over back to China—the sovereignty returned back to China. So this year is very significant.” As an SAR, Hong Kong possesses its own government, legal system, police forces, and more, but falls directly under the Chinese Central People’s Government.

According to Chan, when Hong Kong became an SAR, Hong Kongers had the financial means to immigrate to other countries at the time (in comparison to Chinese mainlanders). Canada was a popular choice.

ANGELA CHONG/PHOTO

This year, the UTEHKSA welcomed 200 new first-year students to their club.

“Being a group of minority here at that time, [the immigrants] thought it to be beneficial to establish an association for socializing and meeting new and old friends in a foreign country,” says Chan.

This is how the UTEHKSA was established in 1997.

Originally, the club was known as the University of Toronto Erindale Chinese Students’ Association, but was renamed as the UTEHKSA, which according to Chan, was “to better position the club to serve the Cantonese/Chinese community within and around GTA.”

Chan states that this year, the UTEHKSA welcomed 200 new firstyear students to their club, to an already existing total of 500 members.

The membership fee is $10, while a renewal is an $8 fee.

“We usually hold one event per month, mainly serving the Chinese

community at UTM, and GTA as well […]. This is because UTM doesn’t have a specific activity or program to target the Chinese community,” says Chan. “So our function is to fill that gap.”

What’s unique about this club is that they hold pre-orientation events for incoming first-year students in Hong Kong.

“We are still a minority—in terms of mainlanders. Many of our members are CBC (Canadian-born Chinese) or international students […].

We host an event called Pre-Orientation in Hong Kong in the summer.

The purpose of that was to let the first-year students know about our existence, and to know better our background of each campus,” says Chan.

The UTEHKSA reaches out to firstyear students through a combination of social media and word of mouth— especially as many of the UTEHKSA originally studied in high schools in Hong Kong. Pre-Orientation was facilitated by UTEHKSA members who went home for the summer.

EHKSA continued on page 9

One of UTM’s 50 Faces: Dr. Lee Bailey “U of T to me is excellence—teaching here is a real privilege,” says Bailey about his love for teaching NICOLE SCIULLI Situated in room 114 of the Kaneff building, hardworking students and TAs from Dr. Lee Bailey’s ECO100 class work together in the help centre outside Bailey’s office. The students receive homework help, extra practice for tests, and prepare for an early Exam Jam, as Bailey goes around the room and talks to students.

Bailey has recently been selected as one of the 50 faces for 50 Faces, which is a campaign to celebrate UTM’s 50year anniversary. Individuals are selected to join the 50 Faces campaign if they influenced or have been influenced by UTM over the past 50 years.

In Bailey’s case, he continues to influence the economics program at UTM, pushing his students to their highest potential and making a difference at UTM. The Medium sat down with Bailey to discuss his career, how he became a professor, and how he came to UTM. The Medium: Where did you study for your undergraduate degree?

Lee Bailey: I completed my undergraduate in economics at Western University.

TM: Why the interest in econom-

OLIVIA ADAMCZYK/THE MEDIUM

Professor Lee Bailey teaches the Introduction to Economics course at UTM. ics?

LB: Process of elimination [laughs].

I didn’t like accounting. At Western, I was at the Ivey Business School. The Ivey school requires you to take a lot of accounting courses. I took two accounting courses but disliked both. I decided to specialize in economics.

TM: After you completed your undergraduate degree, what higher education did you pursue? Did you have any specific careers in mind?

LB: I had no intention of becoming a professor. In economics, you need a Master’s degree to become an economist. My plan was to do an eight-month Master’s degree in 1987.

I enjoyed my Master’s degree so much that I started to work as a teaching assistant. I stayed into the Ph.D. program, though I never finished it. My plan was to come to U of T and stay eight months. That was 30 years ago.

TM: What has your experience

been at teaching at U of T? LB: I really liked U of T the moment I arrived. I loved teaching, though I had not taught before. Doing tutorials during my first year hooked me.

U of T gave me many opportunities to teach and engage in the classroom setting. I enjoy teaching, but I do not like the research option. Research and teaching are very different fields. I was grateful that I got to be in the classroom most the time.

TM: What do you like most about U of T? LB: U of T to me is excellence.

Teaching here is a real privilege. U of T is a Division 1 research school. It is held to the same standard as a Harvard, MIT, etc. When you teach at a research institution, we are provided with some of the best resources to complete tasks. I can hire 32 secondyear to fourth-year students to be involved in teaching the first-year courses as TAs. Most schools have zero.

With the new infrastructure, I can run tutorials where almost 1,000 students are taking tutorials simultaneously.

The leadership here is admirable. We have smart administrators that spend the budget effectively and help to support the students. I work with a wonderful team of people that I can trust.

TM: What other places are you involved in on campus?

LB: I do a lot of committee work [such as with] Campus Council, Campus Affairs, Foods Service Advisory and, the Registrar’s Office. I was the professor involved in designing the Instructional Building. I was also involved with the redesign of Kaneff.

Bailey continued on page 9

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Career Exploration 101 Bailey shares Bailey continued from page 8

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The Extern Job Shadowing program allows students to shadow a professional.

SHARMEEN ABEDI

The Career Centre offers career exploration programs, such as the In the Field and Extern Job Shadowing programs, to further assist students in making suitable career choices for themselves.

In the Field was introduced last year, and consists of a half-day visit to an organization, where students have the chance to hear from professionals in the field, learn about different types of roles, as well as gain an insight into the application process. They also get to experience a professional working environment.

Anne Gaiger, the assistant director of the Career Centre’s Employer Relations & Marketing team, said, “So far, we have had successful visits to the Peel Regional Police, the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Citigroup, and the City of Mississauga.

We have some upcoming In the Field site visits this term: February 28 at the Peel Police, March 6 at CAMH, March 9 at Spectra Helpline, and March 23 at the City of Mississauga, Benares Historic House.”

The locations for these programs are chosen based on the career choices of students who attend the preparation workshops. The Career Centre

relies on formal and informal surveying of students to come up with a list of possible career site visits.

In terms of feedback from students, the Career Centre has received requests of more site visits in the local Mississauga region.

The Extern Job Shadowing program involves the job shadowing of a professional for anywhere from one to five days. It has been conducted for several years in conjunction with the St. George campus. UTM is now attempting to run this program on its own. Dimitra Tsalpouris, who has recently joined the UTM Career Centre as the coordinator of partner relations for experiential learning, will focus on expanding the Extern program and increasing the number of job shadowing placements, primarily in the GTA west.

Additionally, last summer, the Career Centre designed the Career Exploration 101 Module online, which takes students approximately 10 to 15 minutes to complete. It provides students with an introduction to explore careers on their own, and allows the Career Centre to guide them in the process. Until now, around 300 students have completed the online module.

Any UTM student is eligible to participate in each of these programs.

After completing the online Career Exploration 101 Module and attending a two-hour in-person workshop, students can select any of the In the Field site visits and the job shadowing placements.

Last year, there were a total of 77 participants for the Extern Job Shadowing program from UTM. Across all three campuses, there were a total of 469 participants. About 80 UTM students have participated so far in In the Field.

The trips are funded through the student service fees, and are part of the services the Career Centre offers to students. There is no extra cost for students who are participating in these events.

“Breaking into today’s labour market requires an understanding of what roles exist in today’s organizations, what different career paths can look like, and what skills and experiences are needed in different areas in order to break in successfully,” Gaiger said.

“Some focused career explorations can have a big impact on decisions, and this career exploration doesn’t have to take a lot of time. We like to call it a ‘high impact’ activity—a small investment of time can garner lots of returns in terms of next steps for students.”

Currently, we are talking about redesigning the food court. So, as your hair gets gray, you get on a lot of committees.

TM: How many courses have you taught at U of T? LB: Typically, a professor teaches about 2.5 credits a year. I’m coming close to 200 now. All my classes have been first-year and second-year courses in economics. The first year is 350 students. The second-year class is 150 students.

TM: What courses you have taught at UTM? LB: In Economics, we have one first-year course and three secondyear courses: ECO100, ECO200, ECO202, and ECO220. I’ve taught all four. The second-year courses are fun to teach, because I get to try new things with the classroom setting.

A lot of my classes are in the Active Learning Classrooms. When I taught ECO220 (Economic Statistics), in the summer, I changed the course and I made it Excel-based. I would have activities that the students would do to verify that they understood what we did. ECO202 is Macroeconomics, so that’s the study of the global economy.

The active learning class has 12 tables, and each table has a flag above it. I could ask an economics question to 12 different groups that had 12 different countries. [So that was] ECO202 country-based active learning.

The other course we teach is ECO200. I’m re-designing the summer version of this course, and it will feature board games. Students will work with their teammates to play an economics board game. Then, they can replay their knowledge of economics.

Students must document their decisions. That is just in design right now.

My second-year courses are smaller.

TM: I know that most first-year students struggle with ECO100.

How is it teaching that course?

LB: The biggest challenge is ECO100. I teach less than half the students in the first-year class, but the graduating class are mostly my students. So, if you talk to people about the course, they will say it’s tough,

but the class prepared them for future courses.

I have high standards. High standards mean that students must transition accordingly. They must go from high school to a life where you work 30 or 40 hours a week. The high standards are for me as well. I spend a lot of time planning my courses. All course content is ready for September. I’m always in class half an hour early, five days a week.

TM: What resources for ECO11 have helped students excel in this course?

LB: Right now, we are doing Exam Jam. We give practice worksheets to go through with TAs. If students study now, their exams will be strong. One of the things that works with ECO100 is to hire undergraduate students as TAs. When I was a TA, no TA wanted to be assigned to UTM because of the long commute. In 2002, they eliminated grade 13, so there were twice as many students for ECO100, but the number of graduates didn’t change the shortage of TAs. These TA positions make it easily accessible for TAs to come to work and gives them strong references for future work.

TM: How do you find your teaching style changes when working with students?

LB: Teaching ECO100 is a hard job. But who wants an easy job? A lot of first-year students only see their professor in the classroom. If it is a well-organized class with an agenda to follow, the professor needs to be business-like. If the student only sees the professor in the classroom being formal and strict, then that’s the image they have. A lot of students feel I am different in second-year courses.

A professional teacher adjusts their behaviour to their environment. I will be different with a second-year course, and I will also be different with my 32 TAs. I adjust style for the task at end.

ECO100 is an accredited course. If students want to be an actuary or financial analyst, they need this course.

The curriculum is dictated by professional organizations. ECO100 needs to meet professional standards, and that is what we will teach these students to do.

UTEHKSA have hosted an event every month EHKSA continued from page 8 Beryl Lee, a third-year CCIT and economics student, as well as the VP external for UTEHKSA, states that approximately 100 first-year students attended the 2016 Pre-Orientation Day event. The event was held at the Best Western Plus Hotel.

Throughout the 2016-17 academic year, UTEHKSA has held various events, such as an Orientation Day (which came after the UTMSU frosh event), a Foodie King competition (where there were individual and group challenges, such as a hot dog eating competition, held in collaboration with CUAUTM), a Mahjong tournament in January, and most recently, a booth selling rose bouquets in time for Valentine’s Day. For the remainder of the year, UTEHKSA is planning to hold a Battle Royale on March 10, an annual semi-formal, and a banquet on March 25 in collaboration with their

St. George and Scarborough counterparts. This year’s semi-formal is titled La Nuit De La Victoria, and will be held on a boat cruise.

Last year, UTEHKSA, University of Toronto Hong Kong Students’ Association St. George, and University of Toronto Scarborough Campus Chinese Club joined together to form the University of Toronto Hong Kong Students’ Union. This union is the largest Hong Kong student group at U of T, where students can take advantage of the annual semi-formal and other opportunities held across the three campuses. The UTHKSU consists of three joint presidents, one from each club.

When asked about what he was responsible for as the president, Chan begins with, “Oh, boy.” “[I am responsible for] internal grievances, affairs, financial literacy, and communication between members and the association and the outside world […], making valuable

connections within the UTM community, other Chinese clubs, or other English-speaking clubs—especially the UTMSU.” On the other hand, Lee is responsible for sponsorships and helping organize events in the GTA. “I think that the challenges would be that given that we are the minority here at UTM, sometimes it’s a little difficult to hold events, such as the Mahjong tournament, since some people don’t know how to play it. Those events will have less people [coming out],” says Lee. Being a part of the UTHKSU means that Chan and his team look beyond their own campus—and consider the external community of Hong Kong students too. For example, UTEHKSA offers various sponsorships and discounts for its members. According to Lee, and the UTEHKSA website, this year’s sponsors include the UTM Easy4.0 Education Inn, Food Hwy, and various salons and restaurants.

In return, Lee says that the club offers them marketing. “We promote their company on social media, like Facebook, Instagram, and WeChat,” says Lee. Additionally, UTEHKSA hosts seminars. In fact, the club has connections with the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office based in Toronto.

“Usually, they visit our campus once a year, and we help promote their talk,” says Chan. “They usually talk about the working condition in Hong Kong, and the opportunities in Hong Kong.”

“I think exposure is important,” says Chan, which is especially true when it comes to UTEHKSA. UTM students may find it hard to approach the club, as many may mistakenly believe that the club is only open to the Hong Kong student community.

UTEHKSA is in fact open to all students at UTM, and language is not a limiting factor either.

“I just want to correct that mindset,

because we are […] trilingual citizens in Hong Kong,” says Chan. The three languages include English, Mandarin (spoken by mainlanders from China), and Cantonese (for Hong Kongers exclusively).

“Language is not a barrier to us. I think our marketing team has been terrific, but still we are not reaching a point which I expect,” Chan says.

Lee agrees with Chan’s sentiments, and adds, “I think that we reach out to the local area and the Cantonese people, but we can’t reach to other cultures in UTM or even in other areas.”

To increase exposure for their events, the club has been working alongside UTMSU in order to share their events with the student population.

“Through this platform, I just want to clarify this notion, because we are passionate, outgoing, and we just want to reach out to the community so that they know of our existence, and perhaps participate as well,” Chan says.

03.06.2017

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UTM underdogs win championship UTM Varsity women defeat powerhouse UTSG for D-league basketball championships ERIC HEWITSON SPORTS EDITOR The UTM women’s basketball team dominated their way into the championship game against UTSG on Saturday afternoon (March 4) at the Goldring Centre in Toronto. The UTM women were phenomenal most of the regular season against everyone except UTSG, who had won all three previous contests by large margins. UTSG proved that the ego is your biggest enemy, because UTM came through against all odds and won the D-league championships 50-48.

The UTM women were not fazed by the pressure, and got rid of their nerves early during the first quarter of fast-paced play. The women began to sink their shots; Caitlyn Azzalini sunk her three-point attempts as per usual, and Jade Addai manoeuvred her way through UTSG defenders, scoring easy layup baskets. At the end of the first quarter, UTM led 15-10.

The second quarter felt much slower with players becoming ex-

NICOLE RAQUINIO/PHOTO

The UTM women’s basketball team won 50-48 to capture the D-league championship. hausted. UTM’s replacements, for a handful of minutes, had a difficult time putting points on the board, but held UTSG from finding their way into the game. At one point,

Addai stood with the ball at her three-point line with three seconds left on the shot clock, and instead of shooting, she stampeded past UTSG defenders and scored, put-

ting the passionate UTM fans into a frenzy. Subsequently, she sunk her foul attempt directly after. Though, UTSG took the ball a moment later and scored on a three-point play,

which put them up for the first time in the contest 21-20. At the end of the first half, UTSG began to sink their shots, keeping it a tight-knit competitive game. UTSG now had the 27-24 lead going into the second half.

The beginning of the second half started off slow. UTSG turned over the ball on some occasions, and UTM missed four consecutive three-point attempts. UTSG broke the ice with a basket scored off a strategic cross-court pass and shot.

Azzalini broke the ice for UTM, scoring a two-point basket. Prianka Mehla found herself in the scoring mix, scoring a two-point shot near the end boundary line. UTM’s Tasja Rhooms gave her team the competitive edge back, scoring an off-centred layup and then her foul attempt. She continued to score points in the third quarter, proving to be the spark that was missing since the first quarter. UTM and UTSG were tied going into the final frame, 37-37.

B-ball continued on page 12

Varsity Blues set to host Final Four The Varsity Blues women’s volleyball team hosts final-four tournament with perfect 19-0 record ERIC HEWITSON SPORTS EDITOR The University of Toronto Varsity Blues women’s volleyball team defeated the visiting Waterloo Warriors in OUA quarter-final action, picking up a straight sets victory on Saturday afternoon (March 4) at Goldring Centre. Set scores were 25-14, 25-9, 25-10. The Varsity Blues finished first in the OUA East division, achieving a perfect 19-0 regular season record for the second consecutive season.

The Varsity Blues women will now host the OUA final four tournament next weekend. The Blues will take on the Western Mustangs in the semi-finals on Friday, March 10 at 6 p.m., at Goldring Centre.

In the second matchup, the Ryerson Rams and the McMaster Marauders will square off at 8 p.m.

McMaster finished first in the West division this season with a 16-3 record, while Ryerson finished the season with a 15-4 record, below the Blues in the East. Western finished below McMaster in the West with a 15-4 record. The Blues will play as the heavy favourites against

The U of T women’s volleyball team repeated a perfect 19-0 regular season record. these talented teams.

The Blues had no troubles with the Waterloo Warriors; their advantage was their defensive strength, not allowing the Warriors to score any points. The women’s

offensive effort was brilliant, their power and ball movement proved to be more effective, shown in the difference in attacking errors—the Blues had five, as opposed to the Warriors’ 18.

MARTIN BAZYL/PHOTO

Second-year Alina Dormann (Ottawa, ON) was excellent in the contest, and proved to be too much for the Warriors to handle. Dormann scored a game-high 15 points with nine kills, five service aces,

and one solo block. Dormann is the reigning 2015-2016 OUA East player of the year and U SPORTS rookie of the year, and once again showed that her rookie campaign wasn’t a fluke.

Fellow outside hitter Anna Feore provided secondary scoring, notching 13 points in the afternoon, including an impressive service run in the second set. Feore finished the afternoon with eight kills, four service aces, one solo block, and 10 digs.

Fifth-year setter Madelyn Mandryk guided Toronto with 24 assists, while also delivering a gamehigh 11 digs. The fifth-year setter led the province in assists per set for the third consecutive year.

Mandryk’s leadership has possibly been her greatest contributing factor to the team this year. She has helped guide a young Varsity Blues squad, which has been challenged in games going deep into five-sets.

Come out and watch the Varsity Blues try and make history next weekend. They could solidify themselves as one of the greatest powerhouses in CIS history.

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THE MEDIUM 03.06.2017

Perfect send off for seniors B-ball continued from page 11 It was the final match UTSG didn’t expect to have to fight, given that not much had gone their way so far. They must have known that if UTM could manage a few threepoint opportunities and score, they would see UTM pull away. But UTM had UTSG right where they wanted them.

Azzalini stepped onto the court at the seven-minute mark and proved she was ready for the big

“This is hands down the best game they’ve played all season, and it happened at the right time.”

— Johnson-Edwards time stage and not just the regular season stage. She took a chance from beyond the three-point line, and put her squad up by one with a three-pointer with 3:25 remaining in the season. Ashley Beckles succeeded on a clutch three-point scoring chance at the right time, putting her team up by four points.

UTSG was stuck in their own end, shocked by the contrast from their previous games in the season.

Daesi Reale fed off her teammates shooting prowess, scoring on a three-point opportunity and ultimately securing her team’s first championship victory since the 2002-2003 season.

Head coach Salee Johnson-Edwards is incredibly proud of her women squad for showing strength and determination all throughout the tight contest. “It feels as though it’s beyond words. We’ve been trying for the past few years to do something like this. Last year we came close, but we lost by five points in the championships. I wanted this win for all my players, but especially the seniors. They’ve poured themselves into this program for the past three years.

“To beat a team that beat every single game in the regular season is special. We had a game plan and these athletes stuck to it,” she adds. “This [championship game] is hands-down the best game they played all season, and it happened at the right time.”

Johnson-Edwards claims that it was her team’s ability to have fun in the final quarter which led to their success, “You’re not going to pull through and win if you aren’t enjoying what you’re doing. These women worked their butts off, and they deserve the win.”

ERIC HEWITSON SPORTS EDITOR Lucius Seneca once wrote, “Nothing, to my way of thinking, is a better proof of a well-ordered mind than a man’s ability to stop just where he is and pass some time in his company.” Reflection and asking yourself simple but necessary questions can be what turns you from a frail and frightened voyager into UTM’s athlete of the year. What is your self-talk, and who are you competing against when it comes to athletics? Do you take necessary components of someone’s abilities and transform it effectively to your own? How do you study the game?

What sort of impact do you want to have? These are all simple questions Varsity Blues athletes answer often.

While you reflect on your sport or progression into a particular athletic capability, ask yourself the following questions. These can be modified for any skill or topic, not just sports. You can simply replace a specific sport with what you want to learn in a particular field—the following questions will still serve as a guide for your success. However, these questions are often asked of athletes, which is why they’re crucial to ask yourself when speaking with coaches or trying out for a team.

For this exercise, I’m going to personally reflect on how I can acquire a position on next year’s UTM men’s varsity basketball team and become UTM’s three-point king with a set of questions often asked of athletes.

WHO IS GOOD AT BASKETBALL DESPITE BEING POORLY BUILT FOR IT? WHO’S GOOD AT THIS? WHO SHOULDN’T BE? I’m going to take a look at Steph Curry of the NBA’s Golden State Warriors. He is listed at 6’3 and 190 lbs. Among the enormous humans that play in the NBA, you wouldn’t expect this stature to be crowned the best of the best.

WHO ARE THE MOST CONTROVERSIAL OR UNORTHODOX ATHLETES OR TRAINERS IN BASKETBALL? WHY? WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THEM? Rarely do we see Steph Curry on the highlight reel for dunking. He’s selling tickets because of his long range three capabilities. Secondly, Dr. James Andrews is regarded as one of the most popular and welltrusted doctors in all sport. He treats the top athletes at the highest levels. He’s so well-known because he specializes in repairing damaged ligaments. Specializing your craft is the point here.

WHAT MAKES YOU DIFFERENT? WHO TRAINED YOU OR INFLUENCED YOU? Some athletes succeed because of God-given talents, but many of the others, especially the ones who manage for extended periods of time, are individuals who got lucky because of who coached them in high school or college. Go and make your luck.

HAVE YOU TRAINED OTHERS TO DO THIS? HAVE THEY REPLICATED YOUR RESULTS? One of the better ways to learn how to do something effectively is to go up to someone who doesn’t know anything about it and teach it to them. For example, have you ever actually tried to break down your mechanics for your foul shot? Even if you have, you’ll contemplate it more once you’re working to teach a 10th-grade student.

WHAT ARE THE BIGGEST MISTAKES AND MYTHS YOU SEE IN BASKETBALL TRAINING? WHAT ARE THE BIGGEST WASTES OF TIME? Pregame rituals like music selection and your need for the perfect “swag” seems pretty irrelevant towards your performance on the court or field moments later.