Volume 44 issue 12

THE VOICE OF THE UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO MISSISSAUGA

November 27, 2017 Volume 44, Issue 12 themedium.ca

Lawsuit against colleges

An editorial response

Rumours at George Ignatieff

Feminsm theory and geography

A basketball journey

News, page 2

Opinion, page 4

Arts, page 5

Features, page 8

Sports, page 11

AGM establishes new grievance policy The president of UTMSU will serve as the Grievance Officer and handle complaints against the union argued back, supporting that an increase to 10 per cent would mean more student representation.

Maleeha Baig, former UTMSU’s vice-president equity argued “Whether it’s 250 or 500 members, it would be better than 10%. per cent.”

Following the several sentiments brought forward by students against the increase, Fakhry suggested to amend the bylaw to require five per cent of the student population to hold a general meeting.

The motion to amend the bylaw to require five per cent of student signatures, translating to approximately 700 student signatures, was carried.

ALICIA BOATTO NEWS EDITOR WITH NOTES FROM MENNA ELNAKA MANAGING EDITOR

At UTMSU’s Annual General Meeting last Thursday, the union members voted to raise the number of students required to call a general meeting, and also approved a new grievance bylaw.

GENERAL MEETING THRESHOLD According to the original Bylaw III, section 1.2, part c., it states that 250 members of the union were required to call a general meeting. The UTMSU put forward to amend the bylaw to require 10 per cent of the student population instead.

Anne Boucher, the current UTSU vice-president external, requested to amend the motion to require 500 students, citing that the 10 per cent was too high a figure.

“500 signatures is a lot more accessible than 10 per cent. I think it will actually be in spirit to having things brought up in an AGM,” Anne stated.

OLIVIA ADAMCZYK/THE MEDIUM

Members disagreed on raising the number of student signatures for a general meeting to 10 per cent.

UTMSU’s president Salma Fakhry replied that a 10 per cent threshold was rather a standard practice. “The reason it was moved to 10 per cent is it better reflected our 14,000 students,” she said.

Boucher argued that the 10 per cent was not a standard practice, sup-

porting her claim with citing that the UTSU currently requires one per cent of the student population to call a general meeting.

Student Dwayne Backford also stated that it would be “incredibly unlikely” to get 1,000 students to sign off for a general meeting, when the

overall student involvement on campus is low.

“Students will like to participate when it comes to student issues, when it comes to important stuff that needs to be addressed at an AGM, we have the capacity,” UTMSU’s vicepresident campus life, Felipe Nagata

GRIEVANCE BYLAW UTMSU also introduced a new process for filing grievances with the student union under Bylaw XVII. The bylaw would allow a student to file a grievance against the union if a bylaw has not been properly followed.

It also states that the president of the UTMSU would function as the Grievance Officer, and would address all complaints.

AGM continued on page 3

Campus Council talks graduate enrolment Principal Krull stated that the university needs to focus on increasing graduate student enrolment SHARMEEN ABEDI STAFF WRITER The Campus Council meeting convened on Tuesday, November 21 and discussed the University of Toronto Mississauga’s undergraduate and graduate enrolment levels, as well as the recently approved science building.

According to UTM’s interim registrar and director, enrolment management, Loretta Neebar, international students and students who are here on a study permit make up 21 per cent of the campus’ population, and the rate is expected to go up to 26 per cent in the upcoming years.

The incoming grade average from Ontario high school students has been rising. Thus, the quality of students admitted has been increasing for the past three years, as well.

“We are attracting top students from the province and they are choosing us,” stated Neebar.

Students from Ontario high schools with an average of 95 per

OLIVIA ADAMCZYK/THE MEDIUM

Krull discussed increasing the faculty-to-student ratio at the University of Toronto Mississauga. cent or higher will now be getting entrance scholarships that can be renewed each year.

As mentioned by Neebar, the current graduation rates show that only

40 per cent of students complete their degree in the four-year period.

She stated that there are various reasons why students may not be able to complete their studies in time, and it

is difficult to quantify these reasons as they may be personal. It is also challenging to compare this to other institutions, because they are all run differently.

The government is also looking to increase the number of graduate students.

According to UTM’s principal Ulrich Krull, the province of Ontario is now saying that all undergraduate students should have some “experiential learning experience” before their graduation.

This would not include research opportunity programs, but rather opportunities that are outside the classroom. “We are creating scenarios for the government of what we may be able to do with this,” Krull stated.

One of UTM’s multiple priorities is managing enrolment. “We are interested in increasing graduate enrolment,” he said. At present, there are only 700 graduate students at UTM. Krull also said that last year had the worst faculty-to-student ratio, and that they are looking to hire new faculty in the next two to three years.

Meeting continued on page 2

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«NEWS

THE MEDIUM 11.27.2017

College students file lawsuit The lawsuit will continue despite government compensation

November 17th, 2017 Trespass to Property Act Campus Police were called in regards to a disturbance at the RAWC. A male was belligerent towards RAWC staff.

Campus Police attended and the male was trespassed from the RAWC.

November 18th, 2017 Police Assistance Campus Police were called to attend a residence for an intoxicated female.

ECSpeRT also attended. EMS was called and the female was transported to hospital.

November 18th, 2017 Municipal Bylaw Campus Police were contacted by residence staff for a noise levels at social gathering. Campus Police spoke with the host and the gathering dispersed without incident.

November 20th, 2017 Suspicious Person A non-community member reported to Campus Police that while he was parked on the inner circle road layby, a male approached the passenger side door of his car. The male punched the metal portion by the handle three times and left the area.

November 20th, 2017 Mischief Caretaking reported to Campus Police that there was property damage to the male’s washroom in the Student Centre. Campus Police attended and saw that the accessibility toilet had the partition torn out of its foundation.

November 22nd, 2017 Theft A student attended the Campus Police office to report his backpack missing.

The student had left his backpack in a classroom and upon return, the backpack was no longer there.

November 21st, 2017 Property Related Campus Police were advised that when resident students returned to their unit, the back door of their unit was fully open. One of the student’s bedroom door was closed when she had left it slightly open. Campus Police inspected the residence and no damage was observed inside or outside of the unit. No items were found to be missing. The residence students were provided with safety resources available.

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 8477.

CAREY HAO/THE MEDIUM

Post-strike, university students in joint college programs are not being included in the lawsuit.

FATIMA WASIF ASSOCIATE NEWS EDITOR The class action lawsuit filed by Ontario college students against their respective colleges will continue, despite the Ontario government’s offer of reimbursement for tuition fees and coverage for unforeseen incremental costs. Charney Lawyers PC will be representing the students filed as plaintiffs.

Almost 500,000 students enrolled at 24 colleges across the province were affected by the month-long Ontario college teacher’s strike.

“The suit is continuing. I can’t comment on how the government’s proposed plan will work until it is finalized and implemented,” said Charney Lawyers PC associate Glenn Brandys in an email to The Medium. The law-

suit was filed on the 14th of November in Toronto.

The Ontario college teacher’s strike began on October 16th and lasted for approximately five weeks. During this period, all classes, exams, and vocational training at colleges were cancelled, with no refunds for already paid fees provided to students by their institutions.

The lawsuit maintains that the colleges are in violation of the Ontario Consumer Protection Act, as they failed to provide the vocational training and the educational instruction promised to students over a specified number of weeks, as was agreed upon between the two parties.

Although students in joint programs, like those offered by the University of Toronto Mississauga and Sheridan College, were also impacted

by the strike, the class action itself does not name any universities as defendants.

“In terms of joint program students—this lawsuit concerns only college courses. It does not relate to universities and has not named any universities as defendants. To the extent that persons in joint programs are enrolled in college courses that were impacted, they will be part of the lawsuit,” said Brandys.

The firm is also encouraging students to be careful while accepting governmental compensation until it is determined if they would have to sign a release of all claims, making the student incapable of obtaining any additional cost coverage than the government’s offered monetary recompense.

CUPE and U of T Krull discusses science building reach agreement

TWITTER.COM/CUPE3902/PHOTO

The agreement comes after a 91 per cent vote in favour of a strike.

ALICIA BOATTO NEWS EDITOR A tentative agreement has been reached between CUPE 3902 Unit 3 and the University of Toronto regarding contracts for the university’s sessional lecturers, writing instructors, and music professionals.

CUPE released a short statement on its social media pages announcing the agreement.

“We are pleased to announce that after almost 24 hours of bargaining with the assistance of a Conciliation Officer, your elected Unit 3 Bargaining Team has reached a tentative agreement with the University of Toronto,” the statement reads.

The agreement comes after 91 per cent of Unit 3 members voted “yes” in a strike mandate vote, which

would have permitted the bargaining team to go on strike on behalf of members if an agreement had not been reached.

Bargaining efforts between CUPE and U of T have been ongoing over the past few months, with the university presenting several offers to the labour union’s bargaining team.

CUPE’s latest bargaining campaign sought to establish a $10,000 rate of pay for a half-course, increase job stability, and create more permanent positions.

“Details of the agreement as well as the process for ascension and ratification will be forthcoming,” continued the CUPE’s social media statement.

This article will be updated as more details are released.

PAWEL MIGDAL/THE MEDIUM

The science building will be built behind the William G. Davis building.

Meeting continued from cover Other items on the meeting’s agenda involved updates on a new science building which was approve for recommendation in a Campus Affairs meeting on October 31st.

The building has been a long-term goal for the UTM campus.

Krull discussed how the science building is moving forward, and how other buildings have usually taken priority in the past, such as the Instructional Building and Deerfield Hall. Since faculty members are required to do research, a separate building for research has been a

necessary requirement for some time now. New faculty will not be hired until the research space is complete, the hiring process will take place within the six to eight months after the completion of the science building in 2021.

A designated science building has been a longterm goal for UTM and will be used to increase research on campus.

The research of the science build-

ing will be structured around Patrick Gunning and his research on therapeutics for cancer.

A document referred to as the “Master Plan” outlines the spaces on campus where new buildings are permitted to be constructed. The science building will be attached to Davis, thus keeping it close to the existing labs for convenience. The building will also contain forensic science offices because there are only a few currently on campus.

The next Campus Council meeting will take place on January 24th in 2018.

11.27.2017 THE MEDIUM NEWS

UTMSU rejects review board

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»HOW WOULD YOU FEEL IF U OF T HAD A STRIKE?

OLIVIA ADAMCZYK/THE MEDIUM

The amendment to refer to a third party appellate board was rejected by union members.

AGM continued from cover Boucher moved the amendment to require that all grievances should be handled by an Appellate Board, a third-party board which has no ties to the current UTMSU executives.

“It is very hard to remain impartial,” Boucher said, “To have a third-party board who is impartial, it would be a lot more trustworthy and I would trust their decision a lot more.”

“It makes the process a lot more transparent and democratic,” she continued.

“For different scenarios, we do treat it differently,” Fakhry replied.

She said a separate board was not required because part two, section d. of the bylaw states that different grievances are handled in different ways, such as having an executive review committee to handle grievances brought forward against an executive. Grievances against the

staff or the board get handled by the executive committee.

“I fundamentally disagree in the union having a say who can handle grievances. I believe that there should be an independent body handling grievances,” said Backford.

“We would like to keep matters of the union controlled by what the board decides. It doesn’t make sense for outside individuals to make decision about hiring,” Fakhry said.

In a scenario where a complaint is filed against the president, a new grievance officer would be addressed.

The motion to have an appellate board handle complaints failed, and Bylaw XVII was approved as originally presented.

FINANCIAL STATEMENTS The AGM also approved the financial statements for the UTMSU and the Blind Duck Pub. The pub

is currently running a deficit of $29,674. According to UTMSU’s vice-president internal Vikko Qu, the deficit was a result of inflation, which increased the cost of sales by $20,000, while the union has kept food rates the same for the past two years.

The clubs expenditure for 2017 is $87,955 compared to $94,933 in 2016. Qu explained UTMSU did not lower the expenditure of clubs this year but that many of the clubs did not pick up their cheques and so they eventually expired.

The financial statements for both the UTMSU and the pub were approved.

The AGM also accepted the appointment of new auditors, Glenn Graydon Wright LLP, for the 2017/2018 year.

The AGM was adjourned after approximately two hours, at 8:10pm, on Thursday.

Xue Qin 4th year, CCIT

Talha Mukhtar 4th year, Bio and Psych

It causes a lot of problems and doesn’t show respect to students.

One of the factors that messed up my first year was a strike.

Catherine Zuchelkowski 3rd year, Psych

Eashwar Mohan 4th year, Bio

I’m worried about not knowing if or when we would come back.

I don’t know how that would affect my final year; I’m planning on grad school.

Vertical Gardens at UTM

Mayor Crombie hosts youth talk

OLIVIA ADAMCZYK/THE MEDIUM

Last week’s Mayor’s Youth Speaker Series talk had professor Gunning discuss his research.

ALI TAHA

Over 100 youth attended Mississauga mayor Bonnie Crombie’s Youth Speaker Series last Wednesday in IB 120, which also featured a keynote address by Patrick Gunning, the Canadian Research Chair in the Centre of Medicinal Chemistry, and a professor for the Department of Chemical and Physical Sciences at the University of Toronto Mississauga.

The series is part of a larger plan to help empower young people who are aiming to embark on careers, build professional networks, and pursue their aspirations.

The event was the second part of the mayor’s youth speaker series that began in December of last year.

Crombie hopes to decrease the unemployment rate of young people in Mississauga, which is currently at 17 per cent.

“I really wanted to do something about that,” said Crombie. “We brainstormed and we came up with the idea of having the Mayor’s youth employment expo, and having opportunities like this one where we have mentors come and speak to our youth to help inspire you and to build a greater network around you, as well. I hope that it will work to do that and you can build connections with our mentors.”

Gunning came to Mississauga in 2007, following a post-doctoral fellowship at Yale University. He has been recognized as one of Canada’s top 40 under 40.

During his address, Gunning spoke about the new Centre for Medicinal Chemistry that will be built on the UTM campus. “We have a one-stop shop to develop drugs here at UTM and be the center of medicinal chemistry in Canada,” he stated. “It will be 300,000 square feet of research laboratory space. What we want to do is

put ourselves on the map of being the place to do drug discovery in academia in the world.”

Gunning recently gained prominence after receiving $22 million due to his research with cancer treatments. He and his team at UTM are working to develop certain proteins meant to target uncontrolled cell division.

Crombie then led Gunning through a question-and-answer period where he was asked how to strengthen leadership skills.

“I’ve led this research group for a while, I don’t think I’m perfect by any means, I’ve made lots of mistakes along the road but I think you have to nurture your talent, you have to engage them and spend time with them.”

Gunning also talked about his family life, being a professor, hobbies, and life in Mississauga.

YASMEEN ALKOKA/THE MEDIUM

The gardens are located in the Student Centre, as well as OPH. TANISHA KUMAR WITH NOTES FROM ALICIA BOATTO NEWS EDITOR Two UTM alumni and co-owners of the company Just Vertical, Conner Tidd and Kevin Jakiela, have constructed two new vertical gardens for the Student Centre and OPH. The project was done in collaboration with the Masters of Science in Sustainability Management Program, the UTM 50th Legacy committee which UTMSU sits on, Leena Arbaji, who is the sustainability coordinator at UTMSU, I-CUBE, the Impact Centre, and the Institute for Management and Innovation.

According to Tidd, the overall project cost about $10,000, with a majority of the funds used for the construction and maintenance of the physical unit.

“What excites us about this method

of growing is that we can use up to 99 per cent less water, grow on average two weeks faster than outdoor agriculture, use little to no pesticides, and have zero environmental runoff from fertilizers,” said Tidd, explaining that the plants are being grown in a water and nutrient solution.

Tidd stated that the UTMSU is currently growing lettuce and basil, while the garden at OPH is growing a variety of produce. Overall, the gardens have tested over 60 different types of produce.

Salma Fakhry, president of UTMSU, said in an email to The Medium, “All the food grown will be given to our Food Centre. Our programs like the ‘Good Food Box’, ‘Food Centre’ and ‘Free Breakfast Wednesdays’ all aim at alleviating the rising cost of education off students and making sure they receive the nutrition they need.”

Over 1,000 pounds of produce are expected to be grown every year.

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11.27.2017

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UTM students deserve better than fake news Last week’s Jordan Peterson editorial in The Medium spews misinformation, lacks facts When I saw Jordan Peterson’s name on the opinion section of The Medium last week, I thought, “Oh, I wonder what scandal I’ll read about?”

Could it be when a Wilfrid Laurier University professor compared playing a debate featuring Jordan Peterson in a communications class to neutrally playing a speech by Hitler? Maybe people would like to know that he and the Laurier administration were forced to write a public apology to the TA they descended upon.

Or is it that after Ryerson administration canceled a panel on restriction of free speech, a group of students held a celebration downtown under the banner of the hammer and sickle?

It might be good to know that what was a 200-person event was rescheduled on November 11 to a packed auditorium of 1,400.

Instead, this dissembling, ill-informed, badly written attack piece, from the copy editor Ayesha Tak, stains the pages of our newspaper.

The title: “What does Peterson have against the humanities?” The answer is nothing. To quote the article, “He is also planning to start his own online

university that teaches the humanities.” Could that be a clue?

Jordan Peterson sees a radical authoritarianism that has hijacked many disciplines in the humanities.

He believes that it is toxic to critical thought, and the radical leftist activists it produces will further polarize and harm western society. Jordan Peterson never tried to create a “dichotomy between […] the hard sciences against the soft sciences.” Nor was the issue ever centered on scientific rigor–though he does point out with regret that 80 per cent of humanities papers are never cited. Tak argues against a strawman for the most part.

“What does Peterson have against the humanities?” could be answered by simply watching his videos, something Tak evidently decided was not worth their time. If they had watched them, Tak would not have described them as “made in his spare time” and short. Peterson’s most popular lecture series is professionally produced, the last twelve videos are on average 73 minutes long. Isn’t it the job of the copy editor to make sure The Medium articles are free of error, strawman ar-

guments, and outright lies?

The last three paragraphs, Tak resorts to blatant smears. The article laments the $50,000 (closer to $65,000 now) in donations per month he receives to “rant to his YouTube following.” This refers to the weekly lecture series on the psychological significance of biblical stories held downtown to a packed audience, and another providing in-depth analysis of thinkers, philosophers, and historians of the Western tradition. According to Tak, this is a man who “despises the humanities so much.”

“If Jordan Peterson can’t make a mark in psychology, it’s alright, because he definitely knows how to make money and garner fame through other means,” Tak writes.

Jordan Peterson is one of the most cited academics in his fields, he is a certified clinical psychologist, he’s taught psychology at Harvard, and of course, U of T, and that’s just his accomplishments in psychology.

Thankfully the article ends, but not before one final slander: “to get exactly what he wants, even if it means making up about disciplines he has

no background in.” I think Tak refers to the discipline that Jordan Peterson spent 13 years writing a book about’.

The same discipline and book that was made into a 13-part TV series on TVOntario. The same discipline and book that was adapted into a psychology course that Jordan Peterson has taught for years. The same discipline that he critiques in depth from various perspectives to tens of millions of views on YouTube. But of course, he was just making all of that up. After all, who could argue against the framework of Marxism that, to quote Tak again: “has stood up to scrutiny throughout times”.

I expected better from a copy editor. I expected better from The Medium.

RUSSELL WU

CORRECTION NOTICE The Nov. 10 article “UTMSU talks grade forgiveness” and the Oct 19, 2009 article “A talk with Professor Dax Urbszat” have been corrected.

Women’s political underrepresentation and PR A much closer look into the political arena reveals a host of non-electoral reasons Despite achieving gender parity in Trudeau’s cabinet, participation and representation of women in Canadian politics are abysmal. Yet, this issue is not restricted to Canada. Globally, critics cite electoral systems as a primary cause for the political underrepresentation of women.

Upon closer inspection however, the dearth of women in Canadian politics can be attributed to social and institutional, rather than electoral, factors. Specifically, party ideology, the socio-historical Canadian context, and discriminatory policies that impede women’s advancement in politics and cannot be remedied by proportional representation (PR).

In terms of party ideology, parties on the left side of the Canadian political spectrum, such as the Liberals and NDP, tend to elect more women than right-wing parties. This is because right-wing ideology, like that of the Conservatives, is less supportive of women’s political representation.

Professor Manon Tremblay at the University of Ottawa cites that as the head of government, the PM chooses cabinet ministers and senators, and so, the PM’s selection process is informed by his or her ideological stance. For example, Tremblay notes that in 1995, due to the ascension of the Conservative Party, the number of women in cabinet ebbed from 40.7 per cent to 21.1 per cent.

Additionally, research by Christine

Cheng, lecturer at the University of Oxford, finds that women are incentivized to become political candidates when local party leaders are women.

The Conservative Party rarely features women as political leaders. It is not a surprise, then, that in the recent 2017 Conservative Party leadership election, just two of the 14 candidates were women. Thus, if parties are not supporting the election of women in critical roles, a low standard for women’s political participation is implicitly set as a precedence.

Opponents suggest that PR’s nomination lists increase the number and chance of women’s political election.

However, in closed-list PR systems, wherein the party leader screens party candidates, the success of these lists, again, depend on the ideological motivation of parties to guarantee that women candidates are even put forward. Right-wing party ideology can dissuade a party leader to nominate women candidates.

Political culture can explain the variation of women’s political representation. As associate professor Frank Thames at Texas Tech University describes that some countries, such as Australia, culturally champion women’s representation. Canada, on the other hand, is still playing catch up due to a historical precedence of women’s political subordination. For instance, female enfranchisement in Québec occurred late, by most stan-

dards, in 1940. Following this abysmal precedence, Jane Hilderman, executive director of Samara Canada, points out that it is unsurprising that women were still “novelties” in the Canadian legislature until the mid1980s. Hence, Canadian women are disadvantaged by historical factors decelerating their political advancement.

But can PR remedy women’s historical underrepresentation in Canada?

Not clearly. Despite the implementation of PR systems like the single transferrable vote in Ireland, Leslie Schwindt-Bayer et al. argue that Ireland’s predominant Catholic culture still “reinforce” women’s political subordination. Consequently, women’s representation in Ireland’s lower house hovered at 16 per cent—substantially below the representation of women in majoritarian systems like Canada, which is at 22 per cent.

Moreover, even in countries where PR is employed, socio-historical conditions are still primarily invoked to explain the high representation of women. In Rwanda, women make up 64 per cent of the legislature. The 1994 genocide left Rwanda with an absence of men and destroyed the country’s patriarchal political institutions. Prior to the genocide, women held 15 per cent of parliamentary seats. After the genocide, women made up 70 per cent of Rwanda’s population. Consequently, according to Lisa Doan’s

master’s thesis, women were forced to take on political roles to compensate for the lack of men. Thus, a country’s social context, ranging from religion to genocide, rather than its PR system, may be the primary reason for the over or underrepresentation of women.

Discriminatory views held by voters may impede women’s political appointments and the advancement of women’s political issues. In open-list PR systems, wherein voters preferentially rank party candidates, voter bias against women can deter their selection—exemplifying this, again, is the Catholic institution in Ireland.

Even if PR list systems can increase the quantity of women in politics, Dr. Grade Lore at the University of British Columbia argues that a decrease in the substantive representation of women may follow. This is because in order to be re-elected in the Canadian political context, women politicians must focus on party agendas which may downplay women’s issues, such is the case with the Conservative Party agenda.

Ultimately, Canadians must focus on remedying non-electoral factors affecting women’s underrepresentation before endorsing PR as the solution.

KASSANDRA HANGDAAN A&E EDITOR

11.27.2017

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Why did Charley really shoot himself?

Trinity College Drama Society presents a comedy-drama riddled with mystery, crime, and quips DELANEY ROMBOUGH Crime, drama, gossip, affairs—what more could you possibly want in a play? Trinity College Drama Society put on a humorous production of Neil Simon’s play Rumors, directed

by Vanessa Perruzza at the George Ignatieff Theatre. Peruzza explained that the production process of the show spanned three months.

This is a comedic play about all the things that can, and do, go wrong at an upscale dinner party in New York City. Charley Brock, a character who is never seen, shoots himself through his earlobe and his wife, Myra, who is also never seen in the play, is missing.

All of Charley’s friends, who were invited to his party, are left to speculate about why Charley shot himself.

The energy every cast member brought to the stage was incredible.

The show opens with Ken (Vanessa Perruzza) and Chris (Kenzie Tsang) frantically trying to explain to Charley’s doctor, Dr. Dudley, over the phone, that he is hurt without telling him that he shot himself through the earlobe. This scene set the tone for what viewers could expect from the rest of the play—high energy and humour. As the show goes on, the lies and stories about what happened

FACEBOOK.COM/TRINITYCOLLEGEDRAMATICSOCIETY/PHOTO

Rumors includes notable scenes of accidental attempts to shoot a gun and extensive monologues. to Charley and why Myra isn’t there become elaborate, unrealistic, and increasingly hilarious.

I thought the best performances were given by Kenzie Tsang as Chris and Eiléanór O’Halloran as Claire.

There are many facets to the characters of Chris and Claire. They go from acting relatively calm and collected about the situation, to completely freaking out and panicking, to stumbling around drunk. They portray

their characters in a very realistic, yet funny, way. It was highly entertaining to watch their characters change and evolve throughout the show.

There were also a series of really great running jokes throughout the show. When Cookie (Vivian Xie) initially points out that all the men’s names rhyme: Ken, Len, and Glenn.

Cookie also points out that all the women’s names start with the letter C: Chris, Claire, Cookie, and Cassie. The

audience stops and considers this.

From that point on, the odd similarity between the names is brought up a few more times. Whenever it is brought up, it still makes the audience laugh.

There’s also the running gag of Ken’s temporary deafness when he accidentally shoots Charley’s gun again, trying to get the gun out of the reach of Charley. Through the end of act one and beginning of act two,

Ken gets progressively louder and the things he mishears get funnier, especially the names of the guests at the party, because all the men’s names rhyme.

While the energy dwindled a little bit at the beginning of act two, it quickly picked up again with the arrival of the police officers (Drew Eisenberg-Holmes and Sara Durante). Worried that the police are here about the gunshots, the friends concoct a whole string of poorly thought out lies to protect themselves. Near the end of the second act, Lenny (Gianni Sallese) appeared in Charley’s pajamas with his head wrapped in bandages pretending to be Charley, and delivered an impressive, nearly five-minute long, fast-paced monologue explanation to the police for all the events that occurred that evening.

His rambling monologue leaves the other characters and the audience wondering how he came up with such a story.

In the end, the police are satisfied with his story, and Charley is ready to tell his friends the real story about why he shot himself—that’s where the story ends.

Rumours ran until November 25 at the George Ignatieff Theatre.

Have anxiety kits? Bring ‘em to tea time The Blackwood Gallery’s third exhibition conveys messages around mental health and self-care KEENA AL-WAHAIDI ASSOCIATE A&E EDITOR

The Sustenance Rite is the third circuit of the Blackwood Gallery’s Take Care.

The exhibit’s message conveys ongoing ideas about self-care and help found in art.

“Tea Time: Mapping Informal Networks of Women Living with HIV”

by Jessica Lynn Whitman grabs my attention: a circular table with appropriate pieces of a tea party to adorning the table. There are chairs, a tablecloth, and tea cups adorning the scene. I thought that this work of art gave off an inviting atmosphere for a tea party. When I viewed it, I felt a sense of community and intimacy.

More importantly, “Tea Time: Mapping Informal Networks of Women Living With HIV” has deeper undercurrents. It is conveying an idea of a lifestyle: a way for women with HIV experiences to gather around for a cup of tea and talk. On December 1st, Whitman plans to host a tea party in the gallery to commemorate the

JUSTICEWALZ.COM/PHOTO

The Sustenance Rite includes a piece titled “Anxiety Escape Kit” by Justice Walz. idea that helps the piece live on.

Erika DeFreitas’ “and every tear is from the other” is about sadness and how it affects individuals daily. The artist used white string to sew around the tear stains on individual tissues.

Some are heavily traced, others are

not. There is a sense of repetitiveness within the work—yet, grieving in this way can take shape in many different ways too.

Next, I view “Anxiety Escape Kit”

by Justice Walz. This work is comprised of four white rectangles with

pieces of items that someone with anxiety may require. Some of these items feature childhood objects, such as A. A. Milne’s Winnie the Pooh and a copy of an Archie comic. Other kits include lollipops, cameras, and skipping rope within them. Perhaps lend-

ing a sense of comfort, the items seem to function like security blankets.

Next to each kit lays a set of instructions. The instructions explain the use of the kits and what you should do with the objects within them. The goal of these kits is to sooth an individual’s anxiety. It requires the typical art-goer to stop and think about how difficult life without an anxiety kit may be.

The general tone of the exhibit opens up feelings of hope. Canadian artists featured in this exhibition try to convey messages of loss and grievance in their artworks. However, it is ultimately up to the art-goer to determine the messages of the art works. Is the message about a loss of stability or the loss of innocence?

The exhibit neutralizes the negativity that may surround mental health.

While anxiety could be approached with ignorance and fear, the artists create a space that invites viewers to understand anxiety.

The Sustenance Rite runs until December 9th at the Blackwood Gallery.

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Upping our music game UMC talks about the dearth of on-campus music activity

KASSANDRA HANGDAAN A&E EDITOR

YASMEEN ALKOKA/THE MEDIUM

Asheesh Moosapeta, co-president of UMC, says that musical talent on campus is scattered.

SHARMEEN ABEDI STAFF WRITER The UTM Music Club is a community on campus that offers students various musical opportunities. However, there is a noticeable absence of musical opportunities on campus.

Asheesh Moosapeta, a fourth-year CCIT and DEM student, as well as a co-president of the club, spoke to The Medium to discuss the nature of UTM’s musical community.

Moosapeta got involved with the music club when he went to one of the jam sessions in his second year.

He decided that he wanted to change the way they were run.

“A bunch of people would come to those sessions but only a few people would play, and everyone else would just sit around,” he said.

He and his friends decided to join the club and take it in a different direction. “We also wanted to buy some instruments for the club,” Moosapeta said.

UMC rents the conference room once a week for their jam sessions.

Moosapeta stated that currently, UMC owns one acoustic guitar, one bass guitar, two amplifiers, a keyboard, and a mini synthesizer. They are looking into getting more instruments as well. For jam sessions, most people bring in their own personal instruments.

One way the music club plans to get more people involved is to expand their social media outreach.

Their biggest events are usually the weekly jam sessions, but they are also looking into karaoke nights and open mic nights.

Moosapeta stated that there are other student clubs that they can work with, mostly the Christian choir group.

Moosapeta remarked that there is a significant difference between music involvement at UTM compared to the downtown campus. “They have a funded music program, which we are lacking here,” he said.

He also highlighted that because St. George has a music faculty, it is easier for students to get involved because of their opportunity to speak to music professionals. Since UTM does not have a music program, it can be challenging for people to find out about music opportunities on campus.

As Moosapeta explained, “There are a lot of talented musicians here, but they are all scattered.”

Doctor Faustus, written by Christopher Marlow, is an Elizabethan tragedy. In the play, Faustus seeks to gain supernatural powers by summoning the devil Mephistophilis to do his biddings.

Faustus conjures up Mephistophilis in scene three of the play by reciting Latin incantations. Although the play doesn’t specify the exact location of when this event takes place, the reader assumes that the setting is at Faustus’ house since Faustus’ house servant, Wagner, is present. In a final attempt to dissuade the naïve doctor from finalizing his request for supernatural powers, Mephistophilis describes consequence—in return for his temporary supernatural powers, Faustus will be condemned to the torture of hell.

Mephistophilis asks Faustus, “Why, this [Earth] is hell nor am I out of it.”

The devil explicitly compares hell to Earth. Implicitly, once having been an angel himself, Mephistophilis relates the unmatchable splendour of heaven, and how any place without the presence of God is just as intolerable as hell.

Mephistophilis follows up his chilling description of the tortures of hell by blatantly warning Faustus to abandon his immoral intentions: “O Faustus, leave these frivolous demands.” In a way, Mephistophilis is sympathetic to Faustus, because the devil under-

stands the toture of eternal damnation. In comparison, Faustus still has a chance to repent—a chance that Mephistophilis deeply craves. However, Faustus is blinded by his ego to see the gravity of the consequence attached to his decision and he finalizes the pact.

In terms of imagery and symbolism, Doctor Faustus is the perfect example of an allegorical tale meant to discuss issues of morality and decadence. Perhaps the best character example to illustrate the repercussions to those who transgress morals, besides Faustus, is the character of Mephistophilis. Mephistophilis once held a more canonized position than Faustus as an angel in heaven.

However, aiding Lucifer’s immoral actions earned Mephistophilis banishment from heaven. This shows that the fine line between morality and decadence can be crossed by even the most eminent figures.

It is interesting to note that in scene three of the play, Faustus urges Mephistophilis to be more “manly” with his resolution. Towards the end of the play however, we see a position shift where Mephistophilis will be the one who urges Faustus to be more resolute with his decisions.

In general, Doctor Faustus is an allegorical tale cautioning one to not be recklessly ambitious. For Faustus, he surrenders his soul to the devil for power. In the end however, Faustus meets his punishment for his acts.

A postponed burial and an ancestral trek Scorched follows the lives of twins Simon and Janine on their quest to fulfill their mother’s final wish BRIANNA LEGERE

This past week, the UTM Drama Club presented two emotionally-charged performances of Wajdi Mouawad’s contemporary play Scorched, directed by Tanisha Sinclair. The play documents the journey of twins Janine (Muhaddisah Batool) and Simon (Joshua Sidlofsky). The twins are sent by their recently deceased mother, Nawal (Sarah Abel-Rahman and Afreen Sharifabadi) to uncover their familial roots in her native country.

Scorched opens simply with a table and three chairs, as the twins Janine and Simon listen to the final will and testament of their mother read by her friend—a notary named Alphonse Lebel (Liam McKinnon).

The letter details Nawal’s instructions for a sparse burial with no coffin and tombstone. She states that there should be “no epitaph for those who don’t keep their promises…for those that keep the silence.” It also contains several gifts for the twins that begin to unravel her mysterious past: a khaki jacket for Janine, a red notebook for Simon, and two letters—one addressed to their supposedly dead father and the other to a brother they have never known

STEPHANIE LEITE/PHOTO

UTM Drama Club delivered strong emotional performances. existed. Finally, Nawal tells her children that they may only mark her grave with a headstone if they deliver the letters and fulfill her wishes, thus breaking her silence.

Silence is a well utilized tool within this performance. Many of the most suspenseful moments of the play are punctuated with heavy pauses in dialogue; the actors’ faces conveying a lot of character details and emotion. For example, in the opening scene, Janine and Simon are

mostly silent, but you can see how different their attitudes towards this loss are. Janine is obviously devastated and confused, while Simon is bitter, resentful, and angry. The actors do a wonderful job of interpreting this.

These long silences also play well with the story’s themes. Nawal is portrayed in her years raising the twins as quiet, revealing almost nothing about her past, and in the five years up until her death, she is completely

mute. This silence is a recurring motif within the story and hangs over the family like a curse.

One of the greatest strengths of this show were the actors’ emotional performances. There were several scenes that I found absolutely chilling and they depicted well. A highlight for me was the character of Sawda (Rawan Alahmad), who the audiences sees for the first time as a bubbly teenager. Sawda offers to help a young Nawal in exchange for read-

ing and writing lessons. As the play progresses, Sawda becomes cold and hardened.

In the present, Alphonse describes to Janine and Simon the origin of their mother’s fear of buses. In the past, Sawda crosses the stage screaming for Nawal after they had become separated. The stage is bathed in red light with a single spotlight on Sawda—this was one of the big stand-out scenes of the whole show for me.

The only weaknesses I experienced in the performance was the occasional inaudible line. I was sitting in the third row, but I still missed a few lines here and there in the more subdued and quiet scenes. This was a pretty minor concern for me, but it did lead to a bit of confusion in some scenes as I felt I had missed a little piece of context.

I left the theatre feeling thoughtful. Scorched is a long narrative with lots of detail and subtle themes, one that requires some absorbing and reflection. The ending is a bit eerie, open-ended, and bittersweet. The twins have discovered the truths of their family and its past and they are able to lay their mother to rest, but at what cost?

Scorched ran at the MiST Theatre until November 25.

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Talking about the CPR with Lisa Myers The third session of the Reader-In-Residence at the Blackwood Gallery focused the CPR’s history KASSANDRA HANGDAAN A&E EDITOR In partnership with Art Metropole of Toronto, the Blackwood Gallery hosted a presentation featuring reader-in-residence Lisa Myers. Myers’ role was delivering an hour-long speech about a specific aspect of the gallery’s latest exhibition, The Sustenance Rite. In particular, Myers spoke about the Canadian Pacific Railway and included an interactive demonstration called “Playing Spoons.”

According to the pamphlet on the gallery’s latest exhibit, Myers is an “independent curator and artist with a keen interest in interdisciplinary collaboration.” Myers holds an MFA in Criticism and Curatorial Practice from OCAD University. She has also been published in FUSE, a non-profit arts magazine.

As part of the interactive demonstration titled “Playing Spoons,” Myers gave participants a wooden spoon and fresh berries contained in a ketchup cup. She later explained that the blueberries grew on her family’s farm. While Myers delivered a side anecdote about her diabetic grandfather, participants listened.

“This work of blueberries came a lot from my mother’s side. I was raised with mostly my mother’s fam-

KASSANDRA HANGDAAN/THE MEDIUM

An interactive demonstration with wooden spoons was incorporated in the event. ily. My [maternal] grandfather lived in Parry Sound in an apartment. I should mention that my grandfather is diabetic,” Myers continued, “And so his sugar intake was always a concern. Whenever he went to the doctor and his sugar intake was off, my grandmother would always bear [the brunt of the scolding]. One day my family and I were at Lill’s Place, a diner, in Parry Sound, and the waitress sort of unmasked my grandfather by asking him, ‘So, Vance, do you want your usual slice of blueberry pie?’ He looked shocked, because

that was where his sugar intake was spiking.”

After the participants finished eating their berries, Myers herded the group towards a table with a map depicting the expanse of the Canadian Pacific Railway in 1886. The map depicted a line reaching from Quebec to British Columbia, with labeled points of cities in between.

“At the time, this railroad was integral to bringing the Canadian nation together. In this process of bringing a nation together, putting up an infrastructure like this railroad meant

the displacement of many people.

Also, it meant a lot of exploitation of people,” Myers explained.

At the time of the railway’s construction, treaty negotiations between the Canadian government and the First Nations people took place.

The purpose of these treaties was to secure land in order to advance the construction of the railway. Myers gave the example of Treaty 3, which was a negotiation involving the Ojibwe, concerning land rights in northwestern Ontario. Myers explained that “the spoken negotiation

that the Ojibwe had agreed to was very different” from the written documentation of the negotiation.”

“So in that way, you see that there was a lot of deception and a lack of honesty in this land negotiation,” Myers said.

As an activity, Myers suggested that each participant around the table read out a few names of the cities written on the map. After the last city was read aloud, Myers asked participants to place their wooden spoons from earlier, on a city. She advised that the spoon should be placed according to a city which drew the participant’s attention in some way.

Following her instructions, some participants placed their wooden spoons in places that they’ve personally traveled to or hope to visit.

Other participants chose areas on the map that resembled the shape of the blueberry stains on their spoons. As a final activity, participants gathered together to share personal stories.

Myers asked participants to further specify why they chose the particular location of the map to place their spoons.

This event marked the third session of the Reader-In-Residence appearance at the Blackwood Gallery.

Chilling out through art KEENA AL-WAHAIDI ASSOCIATE A&E EDITOR

It’s hard to imagine how professors who teach and conduct research, also have the time to pick up a good book to read in their spare time.

The Medium sits down with Dr. J. Daniel Elam to discuss what he’s currently reading, Oil, Dollars, Debt, and Crises: The Global Curse of Black Gold.

TM: Can you tell us a bit about what the book is about?

JDE: It came out in the mid-eighties in Arabic, and then in the lateeighties it was translated to English.

It’s set in the 1930s in an unnamed gulf state and it’s about the discovery of oil and petro, and the ways in which the discovery by Americans of oil transforms that village into a totally different thing.

TM: What made you pick out this particular book?

JDE: It’s been on my list for a while, so it’s been on my bookcase just sitting there making me feel guilty for not having read it. But I’ve been thinking about environmental change and climate change. A friend recommended this book and that brought it back to my mind, thinking about digging for oil in the 1930s, trying to think about climate change going back way before the past twenty years. Actually, climate change is turning the 1930s as a way of thinking about the ways in which humans have done damage to the environment well before 1995.

TM: Is this a book included in the

genre that you usually read within?

JDE: Yeah, so it’s a little outside of my realm, because I don’t usually work on gulf state fiction and pretty much don’t work on Arabic fiction, so this is closely related [to my work]. I work on African and South Asian literary fiction, and so it’s in the same kind of world but it’s of a totally different text—like the Arabic speaking world, the gulf-state world. There’s very little literature that is translated into English from that gulf state area.

When it comes out, I’m super eager to read it.

TM: Do you think this book has the potential to function in a lecture or class setting? Could it be perhaps something you could teach about?

JDE: Yeah. I was actually thinking about that as I was reading it. It seems like a really important book to teach when we’re thinking about climate change—so like a class about the environment and literature. I know that it’s part of a class called Petro Fiction, so fiction about gasoline and petroleum. I was thinking especially in Toronto, where we tend to think that we get our petro from somewhere else, like the gulf, we actually get our petro from down the road. You could think about what kind of Canadian fiction would match really well with oil exploration here that would match really well with oil exploration in the gulf. What would Canadian fiction look like—especially indigenous Canadian fiction—and how would that compare with this?

KASSANDRA HANGDAAN/THE MEDIUM

Five student organizations banded together to host Arts and Bites last Wednesday.

KASSANDRA HANGDAAN A&E EDITOR

This past Wednesday, five student organizations joined together to hold Arts and Bites—an exam destressor event in the presentation room of the Student Centre. The event was hosted by the Middle Eastern Students’ Association, Association of Palestinian Students, Health and Counselling Centre’s Wellness at UTM, Egyptian Students’ Association, and Healthy Minds. Some activities offered at the event included button making, learning dabkeh (a Middle Eastern dance), board games, and henna.

Zahira Tasabehji, a third-year political science student and president of MESA, said that Arts and Bites gives students an opportunity to “take a break from studying and unwind” during the upcoming exam season.

“Oftentimes, students are so

caught up in their school work, that they forget to step back and treat themselves. So, we believe it’s important for students to find that space that allows them to enjoy themselves, along with others, away from the work and academic stress,” said Tasabehji.

Tasabehji explained that all five clubs divided the responsibilities while organizing the event. In particular, MESA was responsible for bringing the event’s decorations and art supplies. APS, in conjunction with the Layaleena Dabke Group, a non-UTM related group, led the dabke instruction. ESA was responsible for bringing the event’s food, which included tabbouleh and samosas, as well as setting up the photo booth. Wellness at UTM ran the button-making station. Lastly, Healthy Minds brought the board games available at the event.

Sarah Abdel Rahman, a thirdyear theatre and drama studies student and MESA executive, helped

run MESA’s food station. She stated that although part of the event’s purpose is to help student de-stress, MESA also hoped to share cultural foods to students.

At the Wellness at UTM booth, a poster visually depicted information regarding stress. “The booth is explaining what stress is and the symptoms of it. Some examples of de-stressors are meditation, board games, or crafts. We’re trying to promote ways of de-stressing, especially, around this time of the year with exams,” said Rachel Motamodi, a fourth-year environmental management and human geography student and member of Wellness at UTM. When asked why the event focused on artistic endeavors as a form of stress management, Motamodi replied, “Art has a history of soothing. Art reflects what you’re feeling and diverts your mind away from your sadness.”

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Feminism by strategy and location Last week’s “Meet Your Prof” event organized by SAGE hosted UTM Professor Nicole Laliberte ZAYNAB ALKARI

Last Thursday, UTM’s Student Association for Geography and Environment hosted assistant professor in UTM’s Department of Geography, Nicole Laliberte, at an event for students to meet their professor.

Laliberte spoke to students about her research in intersecting geography, feminist theory, and critical development studies.

The evening began with simple ice breakers, where those attending were asked to share one odd thing about themselves. The geography professor shared that she had double-jointed elbows. Another interesting fact about her, that made its way into the discussion, was that Laliberte was a professional dancer, and her favourite is a folk dance called contra.

Professor Laliberte has had a keen interest in activism for a long time. At the age of 15, she joined a human rights group in 1993, during an active war time in Guatemala. The future geography professor noted that during the war, people had so much optimism in

SITES.UTM.UTORONTO.CA/LALIBERTE/PHOTO

Professor Nicole Laliberte explores the application of feminist theory in geographical contexts. improving their country. However, this soon turned into acceptance of their circumstances due to the prolonged time of war. She found that the capitalist market soon took advantage of the war ruins, which

then led to her area of study.

Laliberte’s research in northern Uganda piqued a strong interest among the students listening. During her time in Uganda, Laliberte remained involved with non-profit

organizations and exploring conditions in post-war Uganda. She focused on women’s rights and militarism, and how political groups were using it to gain social acceptance. Laliberte also worked with

grassroots women’s groups, and explored how they worked against the military-driven patriarchal system.

The population of the professor’s study was the Acholi ethnic group. Laliberte explained that in this society, functioning under the patriarchal system was complex. A topic that was brought up during the discussion was bride prices in patriarchal and post-war societies.

As Laliberte explained, the Acholi bride’s family would be paid with dowry. If this sum of money was not paid to them, then the children would not belong to the husband and wife, and they would be taken by the bride’s family.

Laliberte noted that one of the ways the activists used to counteract patriarchy in the post-war society was logic. One method was convincing families that educating their daughters could increase the price of the dowry. While discussing possible solutions to these expenses, students proposed micro-financing to counteract the damaged economy within the country.

Gender continued on page 10

Fighting back: beyond simple self-defense Organizer Cpl. Bobbi-Jo Duff and instructor for the Wen-Do course Deb Parent speak to The Medium MAHNOOR AYUB FEATURES EDITOR

On a recent cold Thursday night, the corridors in the basement of the UTM Davis building reverberated with cheers coming from Spigel Hall.

After five classes throughout the semester, the women’s self-defense course, Wen-Do, was celebrating the completion of the course’s second run at UTM, and saying goodbye to women graduating from the course in 2017.

“This is our second year, the first one was last year and we were able to get some funding and support to do it again this year and we’ve had a great response,” says Bobbi-jo Duff, corporal at UTM’s Campus Police. With approximately 30 women registered, classes took place on Thursdays from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m.

With her second time spearheading this project at UTM, Duff says, “My passion since I’ve been working here with campus police has been women’s safety and women’s safety issues, and getting the community involved in learning about preven-

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The Wen-Do class at UTM this semester taught participants how to defend themselves. tion and self-defense.” After learning about the community safety office’s support for Wen-Do, with Deb Parent as the instructor, Duff began planning this initiative. “I just reached out to her and I asked my managers and the administration for the funding, and to see if they would support it and they were all for it,” says Duff, and adds, “And just to be able to edu-

cate and promote and give awareness to women about safety on campus, and safety off campus is a valuable tool for knowledge and confidence. I see a need for it [and] I’d like to see more of it.”

Duff was also able to get the program approved for notation on the Co-Curricular Record for participating students. “It was a long pro-

cess and it was so new to me [...] but along with that, we did the social media campaign and we had it on the RAWC gym handouts, emailed the women and gender studies department and residence—and just word of mouth got around,” she says.

When asked about how she manages time between her responsibilities at Campus Police and organizing the

course, the Corporal says, “It’s part of the job and I take it as part of my responsibility as campus police, and being a big advocate for women’s safety, especially on campus, this is what I love to do and I enjoy doing at work.”

The instructor for the course, Deb Parent, as mentioned on Wen-Do’s official website, has taught Wen Do to thousands of girls and women since 1987. Parent’s biography states that “she pioneered Dyke and Trans self-defense courses and is a senior instructor and board member with Wen-Do.” Parent has also been on staff with the Toronto Rape Crisis Centre from 1980 to 2001, is the recipient of the 2007 City of Toronto Pride award and the 2016 Inspire lifetime achievement award.

A typical class begins with a sitdown, community discussion, asking participants to share their stories and experiences. Later on in the class, participants form a circle and the instructor initiates a review of moves learnt so far by asking every student for their favourite moves, carrying them out and adding on suggestions.

Defense continued on page 10

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Students find a big voice in Small Beauty The UTM English and Drama Society hosted Jia Qing Wilson-Yang for their visiting speaker series MAHNOOR AYUB FEATURES EDITOR WITH NOTES FROM SHANZA AYUB Exploring “Home, Exile, and Return,” the UTM English and Drama Society hosted the first of their 2017/2018 series of visiting speakers on November 20th. The event hosted Jia Qing Wilson-Yang, a novelist and winner of the Lambda Literary Award for Transgender Fiction in 2017 for her debut novel, Small Beauty.

The novel Small Beauty tells the story of Mei. Coping with the death of her cousin, she abandons her life in the city to live in his now empty house in a small town. As she connects with her cousin’s history as well as her own, Mei learns about her aunt’s long-term secret relationship, and reflects on the trans women she has left behind.

Wilson-Yang is a poetry writer, with a focus in fiction. The writer explains how most of her work is written in chunks, where it “starts with an image and then I figure out what’s going on around it.” Speaking to an audience of students from the queer writing course at UTM, Wilson-Yang mentioned the book, Selfish Girl and Notes As a Crocodile, highlighting the themes of metaphoricism.

When asked about the recurring fire and water theme in Small Beauty, and its relation to the book’s focus on Frankenstein’s origins,

CHEN GONG/THE MEDIUM

Author for Small Beauty, novelist Jia Qing Wilson-Yang has won the Lamda Literary Award.

Wilson-Yang described how essays by writer Susan Striker, which explored transgender identity often portray them as monsters, relate to the rage and fire elements in Chinese medicine.

Aliens, another recurring focus in Small Beauty, Wilson-Yang said were, “a cosmic symbol of older transwomen,” and were inspired by sci-fi creations such as Star Trek.

Wilson-Yang says “Spock was a mixed-race individual […] and I latched on to that,” to her, this is a reflection of how we fit into this society and this is transparent in her

writing of Mei’s observation and association with aliens in Connie’s sci-fi stories.

When asked by Stanka Radovic, associate professor in the English department and queer writing course instructor, about the changing seasons in Wilson-Yang’s writing, she said it reflects a state of “constantly grieving […] because of the things that have happened because of being trans,” adding that it also reflects her connection to a specific diaspora.

Speaking about a section of the story describing Mei’s floating,

Wilson-Yang said it displays “a lack of connection to a culture,” and continues to describe the humananimal relationships described in the book, “Animals have all this wisdom, and are part of this world right next to us […] and I love animals.”

The novelist said she focused on writing about anger, and the book was a means of “dealing with it […] and learning how to reconcile.” In the same vein, the book explores the complicated layering behind positive recognition and clashes between cultures. An example of this was expressed in the scene describ-

ing a conflict in the supermarket.

Along with a metaphorical exploration of the culture of racial prejudice and sexual assault that she experienced, Wilson-Yang also wrote about Sandy, “a cis guy who is supportive of Mei” and that shows “how much Mei was grieving” by writing about how cool Sandy was.

Wilson-Yang, who lived in Guelph for 10 years, said, contrary to popular belief, “there are quite a few queer people there […]. These things are happening anywhere there are people.” Wilson-Yang’s Small Beauty eschews the tired gender novel stereotypes, placing Mei’s connections to her trans sisters and discovery of hidden trans history within rural Ontario near the center of Mei’s emotional landscape.

Where her characters experience depression, suicide, and empathy, Wilson-Yang said she realized the complexity of her characters. “We need to have evil transgender characters that are written in a good way.” In this way, Small Beauty hopes to revolutionize ideas of how trans people can exist within fiction.

Just as Mei finds who she is and how she can exist in a world with no remaining blood family through remembering her trans sisters, Wilson-Yang’s goal from her writing, and other trans-genre novels, is that they can help trans people find solace in the support of their communities.

UTM students checking out e-commerce Two UTM economics students Stephen Ayeni and Naafiu Mohammed began Afrocart last month MARYAM FAISAL ASSOCIATE FEATURES EDITOR

Recognizing the need for accessibility to African products for everyday use, Stephen Ayeni and Naafiu Mohammed, two 20-year-old Nigerian students at UTM studying economics, began an e-commerce business last month called Afrocart.

Afrocart is an online grocery store that provides “products that are hard to find in Canada,” said Aveni, but also ones that while being “easily found, are not accessible to certain people.” Ayeni added, “for example, someone in Manitoba probably has to drive for hours to get some of these ingredients.” With Afrocart, Ayeni and Mohammed hope to begin home delivery for these goods.

While Mohammed said that Ayeni came up with the idea, Ayeni denied this by saying, “There is no division of roles. He lifts so much of the weight and I like to think I do the same for him.” Mohammed agreed, “If there is a problem or scenario at hand, we sit down and figure out together how we can fix it.”

When Ayeni, a self-described food-

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Mohammed hopes that Afrocart can become “the Walmart for African people.” ie, first came to Canada, he wanted to cook anything remotely Nigerian.

However, it was “virtually impossible” unless he drove to the city or visited a family friend. “I had no access to even something as small as Nigerian bread […]. This was really inconvenient and I knew I wasn’t the only Nigerian going through this.”

While they’re both Nigerian, this does not restrict them to only their

country. The economics students cater to all African countries, and recently had Egyptian and Tunisian customers. Their vision is “to make sure every African has access to all they need so [that] they don’t feel away from home.” Mohammed commented that they do plan on expanding into other demographics in the future.

They’ve now been operating for

about a month, have had 20 customers, and made $700 in profit. This initial response is impressive, considering “that we haven’t developed that trustworthiness yet as a brand,” Ayeni remarked. Albeit in its infancy, the e-commerce business has 24/7 customer service, which includes having a chat option on their website, along with a partnership with Canada Post.

The company will also provide free

shipping to Amazon Prime members and discounts for first-time shoppers.

The students’ established relationships with the main suppliers of African foods in Canada and allows them to make these ingredients available on their website.

“It hasn’t been easy especially because we’re studying, but we allocate time for the work,” says Mohammed.

They both agree that most times it doesn’t even feel like work because this is something they’re passionate about. “Of course, as the business grows, so will our commitment,” Mohammed said.

As their business grows, they ask customers visiting their website what other ingredients they’d like to see on Afrocart. In addition, they plan on expanding into beauty and other accessories. They’ve allocated time to research what kind of ingredients are inaccessible to which specific demographic, so they plan on expanding accordingly. “Our vision is to bring you closer to home,” Ayeni emphasized. “It feels daunting at first, but when you do the first step, be dedicated and everything falls into place.”

In the future, Afrocart plans on expanding their team to 15 members.

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THE MEDIUM 11.27.2017

How to be a leader: Finding potential One of November’s Backpack to Briefcase workshops focused on discovering leadership potential SHAYNA JAN

Have you ever looked at someone in a position of power and wondered what sets them apart from their peers? What methods did they employ to achieve their goals? What is the secret behind their success?

Fatima Ul-Haq, a project manager professional and the newest member of the UTM Alumni Association, addressed some of these questions and others in her Backpack to Briefcase seminar on leadership.

Rather than provide students with a cookie-cutter recipe for success, Ul-Haq decided to guide her presentation with lessons she has come to learn throughout her own academic career. Her lessons are also derived from the mistakes she has made and how she has recovered from them.

Ul-Haq stressed the personal responsibility students have in creating their own opportunities. She insisted, “You define everything for yourself. And if you want it, you can get it.”

She started by discussing the value of determining your own assumptions about life, rather than simply adopting existing ones. The UTM alumni also explained the reasoning behind her own personal philosophy, which focuses on the value of collaboration over compe-

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UTM alumnus Fatima Ul-Haq spoke to the audience about setting goals and finding balance. tition. She notes that society seems to stress the narrative of “dog-eatdog” while failing to understand the importance of balance. Ul-Haq recognized that competition is a necessary part of society, but she prefers to help her peers rather than throw them under the bus. She noted that everyone adopts different strategies and it is up to you to determine what works best in your situation.

Ul-Haq then talked about having faith in your own abilities and expanding the goals you want to achieve. She emphasized that those who succeed don’t get where they are because they’re intrinsically better or more intelligent. “Many times, success is about asking questions, building bridges, and creating your own opportunities,” she said.

She further stressed the importance

of networking.

The project management professional also noted the importance of getting involved and gaining experience, especially if you’re planning on applying for grad school.

“As someone who hires and fires people,” Ul-Haq noted that she’d much rather have a well-rounded employee who is capable of doing more than only studying. She highly

recommended students to work a part-time job while in school, as it teaches valuable skills that are transferable to the labour market.

Ul-Haq dispelled the idea that there is “not enough time” by providing a breakdown of her own undergrad schedule and how she managed to keep up with school, a job, and extracurricular activities while still maintaining a 4.0 average.

Although Ul-Haq’s presentation focused on the student’s ability to achieve the impossible, she emphasized the importance of setting the right goals, ones that won’t discourage you if not met. By setting specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, time-bound, evaluative, and readjusted goals, or “SMARTER” for short, students can determine exactly what they want to achieve. If the goals are not met, they can simply evaluate and readjust them.

Ul-Haq comforted students she explained, “You may not always have the answers and you may not know what you want to be […] but it’s good to develop certain skills now so you’ll be prepared for the quarter-life crisis you’ll likely experience after graduation.”

One major idea to keep in mind when progressing through your undergraduate degree and beyond, UlHaq said, is that “the biggest barrier to being successful is yourself.”

Getting louder A steady shift in power Defense continued from page 8 When demonstrating a sideways elbow hit, Parent suggests to the class, “No matter where the attacker is, beside you, in front of you or behind you, you may not have all the targets, but you’ll have some of those targets and you’re going to make great use of them.”

“If women walk away feeling like they’re worth choosing, [...] then I think we’ve done our job,” says Deb Parent Speaking to The Medium, Parent says her experience with instructing the course at UTM has been “incredible [...]. The response has been so overwhelming, women who attended our 3-hour workshop in the winter left wanting to do something more and this class was a great way to continue.”

Parent, who teaches Wen-Do at other U of T campuses and other universities, says “no other place has the CCR credit, and why not, right? I mean women are doing the work and what would benefit them, they should definitely get.”

The 60-year-old self-defense instructor and DJ originally from Ottawa, who was also part of a small

group of organizers behind Toronto’s women’s march held at Nathan Phillip’s square in September 2017, says, “I think self-defense has always been important. I mean Wen-Do is celebrating 45 years this year so it’s a very mixed feeling: Yay that we’re still the grandmother of all women’s self-defense, but damn we’re still here after 45 years.”

Parent also adds, “I think, given what we’re seeing on social media and women finding their voice online, I think it makes a lot of sense that women are also here finding their voice in person and I think for many, many women in the room, this is the biggest gift and challenge, that this course is giving them the room to yell and speak up for themselves in some way.”

Antonia Schulz, a third year student studying psychology says in “this class, we share examples of what we have heard and personally seen, and we realized this could happen at any moment.” Schulz says, “The course has been an opportunity to learn how to defend myself and to build confidence.”

Parent emphasizes, “I think for many of us as women, the challenge is choosing ourselves and so if women walk away feeling like they’re worth choosing, they’re worth defending, and they have the capacity to defend themselves, they can do so with their voice as well as their bodies, then I think we’ve done our job.”

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Laliberte states that educating women of the Acholi society was a “pragmatic move.”

Gender continued from page 8 To move against this gendered system, Laliberte explains, humanitarian aid workers began to distribute food to the villages through women, “and so now women became the sole providers.” This created a shift in power, where men were no longer the providers and in response, this ultimately lead to problems like violence against women.

A student asked if helping educate women in the Acholi society was a political move or if it was done out of sheer good? Laliberte states, that “it was a pragmatic move.” She believes

that the woman’s activist group’s intention was to create a scenario where more women would have access to education. “It would be a catalyst that would increase more opportunities where women can be lawyers or doctors,” says Laliberte, and that way women could access the public sphere. “It was playing into the patriarchy, it wasn’t questioning a man’s power to pay for a wife, they were playing the long game. To get to the point where more women with education in positions of power who can challenge these things in a more systematic and sustained way,” says Laliberte.

The event ended on the question of whether western aid should be involved in eastern conflicts. Laliberte explains to The Medium, “if you were outside of the war, and you’re watching it happen how can you not do anything? That’s part of what the humanitarian initiative is, so there is that good will intention, but there’s also been and extraordinary number of critiques. Especially how international humanitarianism functions.”

The next “Meet Your Prof ” event will host associate professor Andrea Olive from the Department of Political Science at UTM.

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Addai’s love and devotion to basketball Second-year student, Jade Addai, is a key member of the UTM women’s basketball team AMRISH WAGLE ASSOCIATE S&H EDITOR

Jade Addai picked up a basketball for the first time at the age of seven. Little did this Cleveland Cavaliers fan know that this sport would stay with her thereafter as an integral part of her life. Even today, in the second year of her undergraduate degree, Addai expresses her athleticism as a point guard at UTM’s first varsity team for women’s basketball.

Addai has moved around quite a lot. Starting in Britain, she moved to Saskatchewan at the age of nine, and eventually to Mississauga to attend UTM. However, despite these changes, basketball has always been a constant for her. In fact, Addai has been on her school basketball teams throughout middle school, high school and so far, all of her undergraduate years. In addition to this, she reflects her spirit for athleticism through many other forms of physical activity, such as soccer. Addai also admits, “[I’m] really into gymnastics.

I love it and I watch it, especially during the Olympics”. Not to mention, “I run too and I’m never gonna give up that,” says Addai.

One of her important influencers has been her high school basketball

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Jade Addai has played basketball since the age of seven. coach who led her to think existentially about why she plays sports. Addai believes that playing sports, “is just a good feeling and a nice relief.”

Her other role models include LaVar Ball. Addai especially agrees with his quote about “speaking into existence.”

Ball says, “When you’re saying anything, say it with meaning, believe you can do it, and you can accomplish it.”

In addition, Addai also admires Lonzo Ball, a point guard for the Los Angeles Lakers. “He was number 2.

That’s why I’m number 2,” she says.

In her first year, Addai was involved in the D-League for women’s basketball where they had quite an impressive year. They won the championship and Addai was awarded the MVP title. This year, she was exhilarated to find out she could play for

varsity instead and step up her game.

Astoundingly, Addai reveals that this is a new program. “This is our first year in varsity so we’re just trying to get used to each other and how each of us play. It’s kind of a building year,” she admits. Although seemingly unnecessary on the surface, according to Addai, this is a critical prerequisite for success in basketball. She believes, “There are good players all over the

world. Players can be good but what matters is that we need to play with one rhythm and one heart, otherwise you’re not going to succeed. Anyone can dribble, but this is a team sport”.

And in accordance with this stunning insight, Addai thinks her team has “a lot of personality, and we’re all just clicking with one another and trying to work well together.”

During this year, Addai unfortunately, experienced a back injury. This is another obstacle Addai is trying to work around as she states, “I have to know my limits… I still really want to play and I’m trying to work through this injury and play through it.”

In comparison to her previous teams, Addai states she has found that varsity is a “whole other level.” She goes on to say, “They’re really competitive. From D-league to varsity, the level goes up. They take it really seriously…they’re all just trying to win.”

UTM is inconceivably fortunate to have players like Addai being one of their faces for their varsity women’s basketball team. Despite the development of this league being in its infancy, Jade believes, “I think we’ve potential to do well. When everyone starts pushing we will eventually push through.” Regardless, for Addai, basketball will always remain a source of “enjoyment and relief.”

UTM spiking their way to victory again This past Sunday, the men’s volleyball team won their second game of the season against UTSG Reds VANESSA CESARIO SPORTS & HEALTH EDITOR

On Sunday, November 26, the UTM D-league men’s volleyball team defeated the UTSG Reds in an exciting match taking place in Gym A/B. From the start of the game, UTM came out strong and hungry for a win.

UTM was up first to serve, and before we knew it, they were leading the game 5-3. UTSG had many opportunities to get points off their spikes but they kept going out of bounds, giving UTM more points. UTM’s setter, Lucas Linhares, was doing a spectacular job at setting the front line up to hit or tip it over. UTM’s Patrick Bilas was up to serve, where he got an ace and made the score 10-7 for his team.

Sean Leschak Klugman had several outstanding blocks and spikes for UTM, that lead his team to both preventing and scoring more points.

It is obvious that UTM has very good team chemistry as they always support each other whether they score or give up a point. UTM was leading throughout most of the set

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The men’s volleyball team achieved their second win of the season in two sets. but UTSG began catching up with the score 17-16 for UTM. During one play, Leschak Klugman kept the ball in play with a one-handed dive to save it from hitting the ground.

A UTSG player spiked the ball back

but it was no match for UTM’s Sinan Bertul as he blocked the ball, making the score 18-16. Shortly after this, Diego Solari and Bilas teamed up for a second block against UTSG. UTM was leading 22-19 until UTSG caught

up, making it 22-22. A UTSG player blocked Solari’s spike but fortunately for UTM, the ball went out, putting UTM back in the lead at 23-22. Linhares makes the score 24-22 with his bump into the UTSG end that landed

about two inches from the line. However, it was Solari that ultimately won the set for UTM by blocking the UTSG player’s spike, allowing UTM to win 25-22. The UTM team had a great set and a well-deserved win.

UTSG had a rocket serve to start the game but it went out of bounds, giving UTM the first point in the set.

There was a lot of back-and-forth hits and passes as the score lay at 2-2.

UTM’s Adam Penkul put UTM back in the lead. but UTSG was quick to tie it back up again. UTM began trailing 7-3 after this but still managed to keep their composure and began scoring points back-to-back, until they made the score an even 7-7. Leschak Klugman had an amazing and unexpected tip into the UTSG end, which put UTM back in the lead. The next few plays were very close with the score remaining at only a one-point difference. Whenever one team would get a point, the other team was quick to tie it back up. UTM scrambled to make passes but managed to get it over with a one-handed bump.

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Eagles defeat Canada’s colourful 150 Celebration Square pays final tribute to Canada’s 150 UTSG Reds

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UTM men’s volleyball team exhibits great team chemistry.

Spike continued from page 11 Although UTSG got the point during this rally, UTM quickly came back to score another six points, making it 18-11. At this point, discontent rested within the UTSG coach as he called for a time out. After the time out, UTSG was motivated to come back and win the game. However, UTM was quick on their feet and disallowed UTSG to score a lot of points.

The score was 20-14 for UTM and two UTSG players served the ball out of bounds giving UTM another two points. With only three points left to take the game, UTM did not disappoint and won the game and set 25-16. That’s an astounding 9-point difference as opposed to the closer 3-point difference in the first set.

Although UTM had already won the game, the third set did not disappoint and was still filled with excite-

ment and intense rallies. UTM once again lead the set 5-3. UTSG fell behind from the start of the set and struggled to catch up to UTM. UTM was ahead 11-7 where Bertul got his team four more points off his serves.

UTSG slowly started catching up making the score 19-14 but, of course, UTM was quick to put a stop to this by scoring two more points making UTM only four points away from winning. However, for the first time in the game, UTM was caught standing still and UTSG started catching up at 22-18. But, UTM ended up winning the set 25-19.

This was UTM’s second win of the season and head coach, Omran Sharifi, praised his team by saying, “I think we played good. We played consistent. We didn’t pack under pressure.”

This was UTM’s final game before the Winter break and it was great to end it off with a win.

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A beautiful tribute to a beautiful country took place last Saturday at Celebration Square.

KASSANDRA HANGDAAN A&E EDITOR As a final tribute to Canada’s sesquicentennial anniversary, colourful lights and a Christmas tree centrepiece kicked off holiday festivities at Celebration Square. The evening event entitled Light Up the Square, took place this past Saturday, and attracted over a thousand visitors from the GTA region.

Notable persons at the event include mayor Bonnie Crombie, and some members from the Mississauga City Council, who conducted the official lighting of the square’s Christmas tree. Global TV host Liem Vu covered the event for the media.

A popular attraction at the event was skating. Well into the evening, an

hour-long line up formed in front of the lone skate rental booth. The rink itself was highly congested. However, by the time skaters hit the ice, the Christmas tree, which was the centrepiece of the square’s circular skating rink, was aglow with lights.

Later in the evening, musical entertainment was provided by Mississauga-based artists DJ D-Smooth and Hogtown Sound. Other entertainment included a glowing sway pole act called the STARDREAMER Illuminated Experience by Creativiva Incorporated. According to the City of Mississauga’s website, the event is described as a “cosmic dance performance [with] over a dozen dazzling roaming acts from pixel poi performers to illuminated stars.” Moreover, a live show was conducted by the Cul-

ture Division Dance Pack.

A smorgasbord of food vendors was present at the event. Known as the Holiday Street Market, this was a line of 50 different food trucks surrounding the square. Some popular eats sold were churros and hot chocolate. In additional. artisanal vendors selling handmade crafts, such as mittens, were also present at the event.

Photo booths were set up at particular spots in the square. At one photo booth, visitors could take a photo with Santa and his elves. At another photo booth, the Polar Stop, visitors could take selfies with glowing polar bears.

Light Up the Square happened on November 25 and was a four-hourlong series of festivities, from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m., at Celebration Square.

‘Wheying’ options for protein intake Whey protein is said to be a healthy alternative for those who do not get enough protein naturally MRIDU SHARMA There are many people who are unsure about taking protein powder because they feel it is unnatural and not good for our body to ingest. Through research, we are able to debunk this myth and find that protein powders are a healthy option for those who require or want to take it.

According to a weekly writer of WebMD, Gina Shaw depicts protein powders as protein supplements taken to meet our daily requirements of protein, which ultimately enhances the formation of muscles.

The article “Do You Need Protein Powders” suggests that since proteins naturally originate from whole food sources, they are not whole food sources themselves.

This means that they are processed, and the protein is extracted from the original food. These foods can range from rice, egg, milk, peas, hemp, soy, and more.

Although it is healthier for your body to process protein through natural sources, protein powders are a safe and a healthy supplement for protein nonetheless. Time Health advises natural sources of

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Protein powders have the potential to act as a healthy alternative to natural protein. protein as they are easier for your body to process, since they provide a smaller dosage of protein concentrate in larger quantities. On the other hand, protein powders provide a high concentrate of protein in a small quantity. This can lead to

more trips to the bathroom, as your body won’t always be able to absorb all the protein. The importance of moderation also matters, as too much of anything can be dangerous and unhealthy. Therefore, the use of the protein powder should be regu-

lated according to the individual and their own daily intake of foods.

A Canadian Community Health Survey conducted by Statistics Canada indicated that only 31.7 per cent of Canadians are meeting the daily protein requirement. Protein pow-

ders help individuals in reaching their daily protein requirement. It also helps in providing a fast alternative to our busy day-to-day lives.

The debacle between whey protein and a plant-based protein is never ending. According to the website “Art of Wellbeing,” whey protein is the remainder of curdled milk. after it has been strained. As a result of it being extracted from original food sources, the protein has a larger amount of amino acids than plant-based proteins. The article explores the amino acid count that distinguishes the effects from the curdled milk to be better than the plant-based protein. The protein powders differ because of the coupled effect of extracted protein from peas and brown rice are equivalent to the effect of a protein powder being extracted from one source.

Protein powders are not dangerous to have, they are convenient for those who need a fast method of receiving their daily intake of protein. Although it is shown that protein powder is a healthy alternative supplement, the natural intake of protein is still the most beneficial for everyone.