The Mike, Issue 10 (2017-18)

The official student newspaper of the University of St. Michael’s College since 1947.

Volume LXX, Issue 10 April 12, 2018 readthemike.com

NEWS

FEATURE

EDITORIAL

SCIENCE & TECH

SMCSU: 2018 AGM + 2018–19 candidate guides (pages 2–4) Where do we go from here? (page 10)

The face(s) of Easter at St. Mike’s (pages 8–9) Why Toronto’s coat of arms features three rivers (page 13)

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NEWS

News Editor Aaron Panciera news@readthemike.com

2017–18 SMCSU Executive Holds AGM SMCSU executives discuss successes, initiatives, and goals in annual general meeting Aaron Panciera NEWS EDITOR The St. Michael’s College Student Union held its annual general meeting (AGM) on March 7 in Brennan Hall’s Coop.

The meeting was run by the six current St. Michael’s College Student Union (SMCSU) executives: President Samantha Douek, Vice-President (VP) Kate Strazds, VP of Communications Hiromitsu Higashi, VP of Academic Affairs Alison Feise, VP of Arts Maher Sinno, and VP of Community Life John Russell, with the assistance of Director of Student Life Oriana Bertucci.

The meeting began with a review of the SMCSU budget for the 2017¬–18 academic year. The budget includes information primarily on club and event funding, such as how much money is allocated to the SMC Troubadours and the budget for the 2018 University of St. Michael’s College (USMC) Formal, which took place on March 23.

SMCSU’s total revenue for this year equaled $154,842.43 while its total expenses came out to $107,300. SMCSU revenue is made up of carryover of unallocated funds from the previous year, the funds currently in the SMCSU savings account, and the annual levy it collects from all USMC students ($14 per semester, $28 per year).

While certain amounts of money have been budgeted toward different expenses, not all of it has been spent to date. The budget is split between six categories: administration, academic affairs, arts, athletics, communications, and community life. $14,940 is allocated toward administrative expenses such as payroll, election expenses, and operating expenses. Along with this,

$7,910 is allocated toward academic affairs, $31,320 toward arts, $8,380 toward athletics, $5,000 toward communications, and $39,750 toward community life.

More often than not, SMCSU spent under budget for the 2017–18 academic year. For example, of the $500 to be allocated toward Facebook advertising, only $50 has been spent to date. However, some club funding is still being finalized and not all funds have been spent.

Following the budget review, each SMCSU executive had time to speak to their specific roles within the student union, what they’ve tried to accomplished this year, and their hopes for the future of SMCSU. It was also noted that of the nine executive positions, only six had been filled for the year. This severely limited what SMCSU was able to do as the student union recovers from a tumultuous year in 2016–17 that saw the abrogation of the student union.

“Because all of us during the election advocated for transparency amongst SMCSU and the student body,” Strazds began, “What we want to do now is go through each commission and talk about what we’ve done personally on SMCSU and how we kept our promises and go over different milestones during our time here.”

The first executive to speak was Strazds. As Vice-President of SMCSU, Strazds’ primary roles are to organize events on campus, along with assisting and overseeing the different SMCSU commissions.

Volume LXX By students, for students.

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Josh Scott

OPINIONS EDITOR Julia Orsini

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After Strazds, Higashi, Feise, Sinno, and Russell all spoke about their respective positions. Issues discussed included the new SMCSU Facebook and Instagram accounts, club funding for the various SMCSU affiliated clubs, and community events such as providing reduced price tickets to the Raptors game that took place on February 8.

For current SMCSU initiatives, the 2018 Formal took priority among the executives. The theme, “A Night on Broadway,” featured a DJ, a three-course meal, and photographers.

Another important initiative is the new website, which launched on March 16.

The previous URL, smcsu.com, has now been replaced by smcsu.org. The new website features information on SMCSU events and news, the contact information of all six executives, and a section with other forms and material that includes information on academic resources at USMC, club recognition and budget forms, and the SMCSU constitution and bylaws.

While the website’s debut was delayed because of problems connecting the domain, SMCSU executives utilized social media to reach out to students. “[Higashi] and I run the social media accounts, and that’s where we do most of our outreach,” Douek said. “So we encourage [students] to like us on Facebook and follow us on Instagram because we post different opportunities and updates.”

Toward the end of the meeting, the focus shifted to next year’s SMCSU. Each executive expressed a desire to provide

SCIENCE & TECH EDITOR Jiaxing Huang science@readthemike.com

SPORTS EDITOR Ben Denomme

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“For next year’s SMCSU, we’re excited to work with them, and we have a lot of ideas and challenges that we faced that I believe that, in working closely with them, and having them elected before next year, we can help them toward the end of April and in August so they can have a good start,” said Douek.

Among these ideas for next year’s SMCSU is a first-year committee. Seeing as SMCSU executives are required to be at least in their second year, this committee intends to have first-year USMC students more involved on campus. According to Strazds, the idea for the committee was brought up as a possibility for the current year. However, with only six out of nine executive positions filled, the council did not have the resources to create a first-year committee. This would also give first-year students vital experience in student government, which would help the potential transition to an executive position after firstyear.

In closing, Douek gave her assessment of SMCSU’s accomplishments this year, while providing optimism for the future. “Overall I think that we did a pretty good job achieving what our core goals were, which was really to have a more positive experience at St. Mike’s and have the rest of U of T have a more positive outlook on what we are and who we are as a college, and also to be more transparent,” Douek stated.

“And I think we achieved those goals, which were the foundation for what we wanted to do.”

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A Guide to Your 2018–19 SMCSU Candidates Part 1: A closer look at your candidates for President, VP, and VP Finance

Josh Scott EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Voting for your 2018–19 SMCSU is already well underway. The St. Michael’s College Student Union (SMCSU) is currently holding an election for next year’s council, which will consist of the following nine positions: President, Vice-President (VP), VP Finance, VP Academics, VP Community Life, VP Communications, VP Athletics, VP Arts, and VP Religious and Community Affairs (RCA). There are 12 candidates running for eight positions.

The election began Wednesday, April 4, and will continue until 11:59 p.m. on Saturday, April 14. Voting can be done online here: voting.utoronto.ca/ election.

Since keeping up with SMCSU can be overwhelming, we’ve created the following comprehensive guide to your 2018–19 candidates. With this, we hope to give all of you University of St. Michael’s College (USMC) students a better idea of what you can expect and hope for from each. Check out all of your candidates below and make an informed decision.

Prijanga Ahilan, The Mike’s own Managing Online Editor, is serving as the SMCSU election’s Chief Returning Officer (CRO). For more information on the election itself or its process, students can contact her at cro.smcsu@gmail.com.

President — 2 Kate Strazds is a third-year USMC student studying Political Science with minors in Equity Studies and Religion. Strazds was recently elected St. Michael’s College (SMC) Director to the University of Toronto Students’ Union (UTSU) for the coming year. She is also SMCSU’s current Vice-President — she says her experience in this role has taught her “which ideas are feasible at USMC and what areas need to be focused on.” Her platform is based on issues from last year that she believes “need to be focused on.” According to Strazds, the USMC club funding and recognition process requires change, and SMCSU needs to host more events that cater to its student community, and engage in more religious affairs outreach. If elected as SMCSU President, Strazds plans more specifically to “encourage” each SMCSU member to host four events each per year “that cater to their commission on council.” Such a measure would “allow for continuity” and “hold [SMCSU] council [members] accountable for sufficiently acting in the role on [SMCSU].”

Communication-wise, Strazds says she would ensure that communication between SMCSU and all leaders at USMC is accounted for. She would also like “to collaborate with more student societies on campus with community life events and other academic affairs to gain presence on campus and reach out to USMC students who may not necessarily be around St. Mike’s all the time.” This year, she tried unsuccessfully to create a Vice-President Equity position on SMCSU. Strazds thinks that such a position is something that SMCSU should pursue, in order to best assure that students at USMC feel “that they’re welcome,” hold SMCSU accountable for grievances lodged by USMC students, and ensure SMCSU is aware of any and all issues pertaining to equity at USMC. She would also try to work toward “creating a multi-faith room at St. Mike’s.” Strazds intends to post an updated council budget on SMCSU’s website, and hopes to host a general meeting in each of the fall and winter semesters.

Jeremy Hernandez-Lum Tong is a third-year double majoring in Ethics, Society, and Law, and Philosophy.

In the past, he has worked on SMCSU as Religious

and Community Affairs Commissioner, as well as within Campus Ministry, and, he says, “maintained good relations with the [USMC] administration.” Hernandez-Lum Tong, if elected as SMCSU President, intends to enhance the quality of student opportunities and resources in all SMCSU Commissions. He wants to “advance the vision of a united community of fellowship, all-roundedness, and academic excellence” — one in which all students “genuinely feel inclined to be involved” and “feel welcome” in the realms of both “equity” and “engagement.” He intends to reintroduce The Grammateion (journal of arts and literature) and host at least one new event designed to showcase the work of students in the arts. He also wants to host a charity basketball game, create a career network initiative and to host more practical workshops, (potentially involving first aid training, tax help, and/or financial planning). He also says that he has “begun negotiation to reintroduce pub nights,” and that, “while club nights will be an impossibility … pub nights will be more manageable,” and thus, a possibility. In terms of residence life, he says he has already “begun negotiation to put in place a new system to replace the EcoTrays.” He also wants to establish a proportionately divided system for council members and volunteers to share events online and via postering (so as to ensure that SMCSU has “a consistent and continuous presence [both] on and offline”). He says he would continue to host collaborative events with any groups that wish to do so, and hopes to host what he calls “Good to Better” Talks — “events meant to serve as a public conversation with marginalised groups.” He would also “invite all council members to leave their campaign promises public” following the election, “maintain non-cash transactions, and monthly budget postings,” and “uphold a formal complaint system where any concerns … will be addressed in a timely matter.” He values highly the “personal” faceto-face encounter.

Vice-President (VP) — 2 Shervin Shojaei Baghini is a second-year USMC student majoring in Political Science and Environmental Studies. Baghini has served as Treasurer with the University of Toronto’s Environmental Action, been involved with the Fight for $15 and Fairness, and understands “the pain of virtually never seeing the Kelly Café open.” If elected as SMCSU VP, he hopes to “make SMCSU an inclusive student body,” that is, in particular, “more participatory, representative, and accessible.” He wants to host “regular meet-and-greets” and “SMCSU town halls,” so as to allow council to interact directly with council members more often. He would also “mandate that meeting agendas, minutes, and calendars be posted on SMCSU’s social media” as well as, potentially, a SMCSU “meme page to make outreach more fun and inclusive.” Baghini says that he would “encourage USMC students to directly contact their elected counterparts, be it online or in person,” and qualifies that the opportunities to do so could be spread through social media outreach, the creation of an email list, as well as poster campaigns in high-traffic areas.

Joey Gratkowski is a third-year USMC student majoring in English and minoring in Biology and Anthropology. Gratkowski has participated in Orientation Week for the past two years both as a Leader and a Marshall, is an executive at Pair-a-Dice, and volunteered with SMCSU this past year. He views the priority of the Vice-Presidency as ensuring that “everyone on the council is doing their job.” As much as his “demeanour suggests otherwise,” Gratkowski self-describes as a “very ‘no-nonsense’” person. If elected as SMCSU VP, he would like to “amend [SMCSU’s] constitution to en-

sure that every person on council is held accountable for the work they do.” He acknowledges that currently, if certain members do not complete the jobs they were elected to do, they face “no repercussions.” He proposes more collaborative events with other colleges, and increasing SMCSU’s presence across campus and “taking [some] events to [USMC] students” who don’t spend a lot of time on USMC campus. Like Strazds, he would like to establish a Vice-President of Equity position dedicated to ensuring that “all USMC students feel welcome [at USMC].” Gratkowski thinks that “having the budget report accessible online is a necessity. If you don’t attend these meetings,” he says, “it’s very hard to find out where students’ money is going. Transparency only works if you are able to be transparent at all times, not just at specific meetings.” He also wants to ensure that SMCSU releases monthly updates.

VP Finance — 2 Philip Conforzi is a third-year USMC student studying Life Sciences and Human Biology. His experience in finance includes starting and running his own small home appliance business, for which he has developed experience dealing “various aspects of finance,” including accounting, dealing with banks, legal documentation, assigning cash flow to certain areas so growth is achieved, and more. Conforzi, if elected as VP of Finance, hopes to restore trust between the USMC community and SMCSU through financial transparency and accountability. He plans to achieve this by implementing a system of monthly updates on fund disbursement, communicated online and in Brennan Hall, as well as by reaching out to students through polls, so that they can voice their opinions regarding the financial decisions of SMCSU. Conforzi believes that such a form of direct communication between SMCSU and the students it represents is important in achieving the goals of trust and transparency.

Jason Gardner is a second-year USMC student doing a specialist program in Actuarial Science, with a major in Statistics and a minor in Mathematics. Gardner says that his program has taught him “the fundamentals of investment and credit, and the accounting standards needed to direct the daily administration of funds,” and that he also has “a lot of experience preparing and analyzing financial statements,” skills he hopes to utilize if elected as VP of Finance. He believes it is important to allocate funds to new and returning clubs as soon as possible so that USMC students can get or stay involved by joining or resuming their memberships in clubs seamlessly following orientation. According to Gardner, starting and funding these clubs early and hosting more events early in the year can better integrate resident and commuter students.

He believes that “professionalism and transparency are essential,” and, if elected, hopes to have SMCSU’s financial statements “published and available for all students to see.”

To learn more about the candidates for VP Academics, VP Communications, VP Athletics, VP Arts, and VP Religious and Community Affairs (RCA), visit page 3. *There are no longer any candidates for VP Community Life. Sarah Morgan withdrew her candidacy on April 6 because she was hired as a USMC Residence Don — a role that necessarily precludes her from running for or holding a position on SMCSU.

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NEWS

News Editor Aaron Panciera news@readthemike.com

A Guide to Your 2018–19 SMCSU Candidates Part 2: A closer look at your candidates for VP Academics, Communications, Athletics, Arts, RCA VP Academic Affairs — 1 Nicholas Pagano is a first-year USMC student studying Math and Human Biology. He currently works with USMC’s Director of Student Services, and has experience with organizational councils.

He would like to maintain communication with students in order to bring their ideas to faculty attention, and would strive for USMC community growth by helping “diverse” new clubs efficiently apply for recognition. He believes new clubs will encourage involvement and equality of opportunity. He would like students to view SMCSU as “helpful and personable,” and would implement ways to help students connect with SMCSU such as establishing greater representation at campus events and through social media. Through more open and consistent communication, he believes that SMCSU will remain transparent, student voices will be heard, and students will be alerted of changes or decisions that affect them.

VP Arts — 1 Aisling Baroey is a second-year USMC student studying Socio-Cultural Anthropology. Baroey has a strong background in dance, visual arts, and music, as well as some experience with theatre. She hopes to bring greater “promotion of the arts to St. Mike’s.” If elected as VP of Arts, she plans to have “a larger number of Kelly’s Korners.

Additionally, she wants to host more showcases to elevate USMC students who want to display their visual arts, dance, and music-related talents. She views the introduction of a multi-faith room and the advertisement of Brennan and The Coop as an LGBTQ+ safe zone “[would] be a great way for more

students to feel welcome.”

VP Athletics — 1 John Russell is a second-year USMC student specializing in Chemistry. Russell is SMCSU’s current VP of Community Life. He has “a passion for athletics at USMC, a strong initiative to enhance participation in intramurals, and an idea for the future of athletics and what it means to be a student athlete at USMC.” He has been a part of a number of intramural teams, and organized as well as captained the USMC dodgeball team this winter. If elected as VP of Athletics, Russell hopes to facilitate “better communication” between SMCSU, USMC students, and the captains of USMC teams. He wants to continue the work he has already begun with the formation of the Athletics Committee, which will have CCR-recognition and work to promote intramurals and other athletic events — a role he believes will be “vital to the function of athletics at USMC.” According to Russell, ensuring that intramural teams “are filled and signed up on time” will be the committee’s top priority. He hopes to do so early in the academic year. He also wants to grow the existing SMC Athletics Facebook page.

He intends to have a table at Orientation Week, and considers forming an SMC Athletics-related Instagram and/or Facebook account — options that might be made possible by the Athletics Committee. In terms of non-intramural-related programming, he would like to take USMC students to Blue Jays, Raptors, or Toronto FC games, stream live sporting events at USMC, and make community trips to University of Toronto Varsity Blues games an option.

VP Communications — 1

Josh Scott EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Liam McConnell MANAGING EDITOR

Seijoong Chu is a second-year USMC student specializing in Political Science.

He has contributed to The Varsity, volunteered for SMCSU, and considers himself well connected to the USMC student community. Chu, if elected as VP of Communications, hopes to improve SMCSU’s outreach. He believes that this can be remedied, in part, with “more offline efforts, and more efficient online communication” to both connect with and better inform USMC students of SMCSU’s presence and happenings. He proposes an “attention-grabbing” online approach, and promises increased “office hours.” He hopes to work to hold events that bring USMC residents and commuters closer together, and more targeted SMCSU outreach early in the year, such as during Orientation Week. He intends to use the new SMCSU website, SMCSU’s Facebook page, and SMCSU’s Instagram page — all of which he views as key “use it or lose it kind of platforms” in the sense that they need to have a consistent presence to maintain student interest.

SMCSU’s problem platform-wise, says Chu, “is not quantity … but quality” and consistency. “[SMCSU] needs to use [its] platforms [more] frequently” and “in a more interesting way.” He also wants to make as much information concerning SMCSU meetings, finances, and operations as public as possible.

VP Religious and Community Affairs (RCA) — 2 Sam Gearing is a second-year USMC student, pursuing a double major in History and Political Science. Gearing is a Catholic with experience with government and administration and familiar with the USMC community and faculty.

If elected as VP of Religious and Com-

munity Affairs (RCA), he hopes to introduce a sense of belonging and cooperation between all students at USMC regardless of their faith. He would like to implement volunteer programs for the less fortunate, a monthly lecture series which would increase interfaith dialogue, and celebrations for holidays of different religions. He wants to be a voice and representative for all students of faith at USMC and connect them with others, ensuring everyone feels welcome. He plans to make himself available on campus or online as often as possible, to serve students who may have any concerns, questions, or ideas.

His goal is to increase involvement by hearing any and all students who wish to contribute to the office of RCA. Paul Nunez is a third-year USMC student, studying English and Classical Civilizations. Nunez was an executive with the Classics Students’ Union, and he self-describes as “a Catholic who is open to diversity, and enthusiasm in community service.” He wants to help all students feel accepted at USMC regardless of their religion, sexuality, or race. If elected as VP of Religious and Community Affairs, Nunez plans on working closely with St. Mike’s United (SMU), instilling charitable volunteer programs, and holdING office hours to better connect with and hear the voices of USMC students in pursuit of a better community. He also intends to connect with students both in and outside of USMC through social media, and making all students feel welcome early by implementing events on campus during orientation and beyond. He hopes to increase SMCSU’s outreach “through [his] diverse jobs on campus and new social media platforms.”

U-Pass Referendum Fails Motion to establish mandatory, discounted transit pass voted down Gary Hershorn / GETTY IMAGES.

Josh Scott EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

The referendum to install a $280 “U-Pass” transit fee, per semester for undergraduate University of Toronto, St. George (UTSG) campus students, recently failed to pass.

administrative and transit costs. This pass would have been mandatory—and would not have included an opt-out option—except for students with needs protected by the Ontario Human Rights Code (OHRC).

12,428 students voted, and 306 abstained. The voting makeup of those who voted for or against the U-Pass was as follows: 7,946 (65.6 per cent) voted against it, and 4,176 (34.4 per cent) voted for it.

“The outcome of the referendum is a strong indication that a UPASS without opt-out provisions for those students living near campus is not sellable, current University of Toronto Students’ Union (UTSU) President Mathias Memmel said, in a statement to The Mike.

If the U-Pass referendum had passed, the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) would have installed a universal transit pass for UTSG students, at a cost of $280 per semester. The UTSU’s Board of Directors would also have been permitted to increase this fee by up to five percent yearly—in order to cover rising

“Transit and housing remain significant barriers to affordable and accessible post-secondary education for our diverse student body,” Memmel added. “We look forward to working constructively with both provincial parties and City Council in advance of the upcoming

election. We also hope to continue our productive conversations with the TTC Board.”

Donald Wang, who spoke on behalf of the campaign against the pass, told The Varsity that, “the student body has spoken loud and clear – the U-Pass in its current form is unacceptable.”

“These election results show that it can’t just be subsidization of Toronto residents,” Wang added. “The students want options to opt-out and the integration of the GO transit system. A better approach would see greater consultation and a slower, more thorough process. I hope the UTSU executives, current and incoming, are able to listen and advocate for the best of our collective student body.”

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SMCSU Holds 2018–19 All-Candidates Forum

Forum consisted of opening statements, three rounds of questioning Aaron Panciera NEWS EDITOR Bardia Besharat ASSOCIATE NEWS EDITOR On March 28, the University of St. Michael’s College Student Union (SMCSU) held its all-candidates forum for those running for 2018–19 executive positions.

The forum was held from 4:30–6:00 p.m. in Brennan Hall’s Coop, and participants included candidates for the nine members of SMCSU: President, Vice-President (VP), VP Finance, VP Academics, VP Community Life, VP Communications, VP Athletics, VP Arts, and VP Religious and Community Affairs (RCA).

Each candidate began by giving their prepared opening statements. After this, there were three rounds of questions. The first were general questions for all candidates. The second consisted of a position-specific question. The third round of questions was open to those in attendance, where participants could ask questions specific to a position or questions open to all candidates.

The opening statements began with the candidates running for President, Kate Strazds and Jeremy Hernandez-Lum Tong.

Strazds, who is going into her fourth year at the University of St. Michael’s College (USMC), is SMCSU’s current VP. In her opening statement, she highlighted her responsibilities on the current council, which include “dealing with internal relations within the council,” creating and advertising events, overseeing various SMCSU commissions, and finalizing the budget for council expenses. “Being on the current council [has] provided me with the necessary experience in showcasing which ideas

are actually feasible, and what other areas should be focused on,” Strazds said.

The rest of her statement focused on representing all students at USMC, improving relations between SMCSU and the University of Toronto Students’ Union (UTSU), working with other USMC student groups to strengthen the community, and efficient, organized, and timely club recognition by the council.

Hernandez-Lum Tong, who is set to graduate following the completion of the next academic year, was not able to attend the forum, and sent a proxy to read his statement. Hernandez-Lum Tong, despite an unsuccessful bid for President this year, has SMCSU experience from his time on the council last year in 2016–17. His platform, as advertised on Facebook, is focused on enhanced community life, academic and career networking, equity, and accountability.

“Why am I running again? It is because I have been on SMCSU, and then not have been on SMCSU. I have seen how widely the community has been divided,” Hernandez-Lum Tong’s statement read. “Residents, and most especially first-years, are living separate worlds from upper-year commuters.”

The opening statements continued with candidates for VP, Joey Gratkowski and Shervin Shojaei Baghini, along with those for the other more specific VP positions.

In his opening statement, Gratkowski highlighted major points concerning accountability of the council and an

expansion of the St. Mike’s community. Gratkowski stated he wants to bring “new life to St. Mike’s because without it, it will die,” in his opening statement. He continued to address USMC involvement in the greater University of Toronto (U of T) campus, stating his goal of introducing USMC to the rest of campus. Additionally, Gratkowski offered a proposal to reinvigorate clubs at St. Mike’s by creating a better system for club funding as well as increasing the council’s accountability.

Shervin Shojaei Baghini began his opening statement by addressing issues in student accessibility to council agendas, meetings and voicing concerns. He introduced a proposal to create easier access to SMCSU agendas by posting them on social media, as well as allowing the public to have access to SMCSU meetings. Baghini stated his goal of guaranteeing that “[students] feel even if [they] are not part of the council or administration, that [their] concerns and ideas are heard.” He also stated interest in inclusion within the council by working with other VPs so all voices are heard on SMCSU issues.

All candidates for executive positions gave an opening statement, including candidates VP Finance (Philip Conforzi and Jason Gardner), VP RCA (Sam Gearing and Paul Nunez), VP Academic Affairs (Nicholas Pagano), VP Community Life (Sarah Morgan), VP Communications (Seijoong Chu), VP Athletics (John Russell), and VP Arts (Aisling Baroey).

Following the opening statements, each candidate was asked the same question regarding the USMC community. The question was as follows: “Do you feel that all students find a

welcoming, safe learning environment at [USMC]? Why or why not, and how would you try and rectify this?”

While each candidate’s answer varied, the general consensus was that every candidate for an executive position has found a welcoming and safe community at USMC, but nevertheless, they feel that the perception around campus is of a secluded, hostile environment.

“I think the reason that all of us probably agree that St. Mike’s is a welcoming community is because when we first arrived to St. Mike’s, we experienced what St. Mike’s is capable of being,” Strazds said. “Unfortunately, in the past, we do have a bad reputation and that is from incidents that happened years ago, and it’s going to be our job as a council to rebuild that image.”

The second round of questioning was position-specific, and included questions regarding changes to the SMCSU Constitution (asked to the VP candidates) and appropriate use of SMCSU levies (asked to candidates for VP Finance). This was followed by opening up questions to those in attendance.

It remains less than a year since the return of SMCSU following a ninemonth prorogation during the 2016–17 academic year. The incoming council will be the second since the USMC-involved “re-imagining” of SMCSU. The voting period for SMCSU executive elections will be from April 4 to April 14.

Eligible USMC students can vote at voting.utoronto.ca/election.

2018–19 UTSU Election Results Released Boucher wins Presidency as the election sees high voter turnout, a Compass sweep, and a great deal of abstentions On March 28, the 2018–19 University of Toronto Students’ Union (UTSU) election results were released. Compass swept all executive positions. 12,734 of the 50,405 students eligible to vote did—qualifying as 25.3 per cent turnout. In nearly every race, the majority of votes were abstentions.

VP Campus Life-elect Yolanda Alfaro received 1,668 votes, defeating independent opponent Spencer Robertson, who earned 1,140. (9,926 abstained.)

VP Professional Faculties-elect Yasmine El Sanyoura received 535 votes to Boundless’ Gallop Fan’s 310 (3,280 abstained).

President-elect Anne Boucher received 2,376 votes, defeating her opponent, Michelle Mabira, who earned 1,191.

(9,167 voters abstained, 72 per cent of those who voted.)

The three other executive positions were uncontested: VP University Affairs-elect Joshua Grondin received 2,390 votes for and 422 votes against, VP External-elect Yuli Liu received 2,990 ‘yes’ votes and 693 ‘no’ votes, and Ammara Wasim, VP Equity-elect, received 2,597 votes in favour and 936 against.

Vice-President Internal-elect Tyler Biswurm received 1,946 votes, defeating his opponent, Boundless’ Alyy Patel, who earned 899. (9,889—77.7 per cent—abstained.)

With regard to the success of her slate, Compass, Boucher said she was “really

excited that we all have the opportunity to work together,” but added that, “though we’ve spent a lot of time together, we understand what the expectations are. We have a duty, and a job to do … and our responsibility is to the students. It’s a balance between getting along and recognizing that we’re coworkers.”

As for her priorities as UTSU President, Boucher said, “There’s a lot to do.” She referenced the Student Commons project, in addition to the fact that this past year was “a bad year for [UTSU] board engagement.” (As investigative reporting by The Varsity earlier this year demonstrated, a third of sitting UTSU board of directors members missed enough meetings to have effectively abandoned office according to union

Josh Scott EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

bylaws—average attendance at said meetings was 52 per cent.) “I want to help create an environment that fosters co-creating, collaboration, and partnership with the board,” said Boucher. “The playing field has to be levelled if we all want to do meaningful work together.”

“I [also] want to create this same environment with students more generally,” said Boucher. “There’s so much potential for students to participate.” In addition to these changes, Boucher said that she’ll “work to lobby the reintroduction of the federal transit tax credit for post secondary students,” as well as to increase transit subsidies for post secondary students “at other levels.”

The Mike was unable to reach Michelle Mabira for comment.

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ARTS

Arts Editor Miranda Mirabelli arts@readthemike.com

Vengeance in the Heart of U of T Titus Andronicus at Hart House Theatre Korto Zambeli-Tardif STAFF WRITER Many hold it evident that William Shakespeare stands head and shoulders above all other playwrights. To audience members, it is understood that the interpretations made by contemporary theatre companies must serve to keep the bard’s texts intelligible in today’s very different linguistic and cultural contexts.

Some plays lend themselves better to this sort of remaking than others. Titus Andronicus, the fourth and final show of Hart House’s regular 2017–18 season, is certainly one of the more resistant works, but Director James Wallis’ production responds effectively by leaning into the melodrama of Shakespeare’s early experiment in baroque tragedy.

Titus Andronicus begins with the titular Roman general Titus Andronicus (David Mackett) returning to Rome from a campaign against the Goths, with the corpses of his sons and several important captives in tow. He is soon embroiled in two conflicts: first, there are the competing campaigns of the late emperor’s children to succeed the throne, in which Andronicus sways the people in favour of Saturninus (Tristan Claxton); second, there is the cycle of revenge kicked off when Andronicus and his remaining children ritually sacrifice half the offspring of Tamora, the enslaved Queen of the Goths (Shalyn McFaul). These two clashes become hopelessly intertwined when Tamora is chosen

by Saturninus as his bride, allowing her the opportunity to destroy Andronicus for his refusal of mercy to her kin. When you add the satanic machinations of Tamora’s lover Aaron (Shawn Lall) and the violent desire conceived by multiple characters for Titus’ daughter Lavinia (Bailey Green), the complexity of the piece becomes clear.

On one hand, Titus Andronicus is confrontational, largely due to its violence. On the other hand, it is manifestly ridiculous. By carefully leaning into that quality, Wallis’ production derives strength from a

weak script. Mackett’s performance is serviceable for the first half of the play, but as Titus Andronicus loses children and limbs, the character’s shockingly dark sense of humour emerges in a great dramatic turn. Watching Mackett on stage, it is suddenly clear that Andronicus’ great strength as a Shakespearean protagonist is in the transformation from a humourless agent of the state to an outsider who has unique insight into the folly on which Rome is built. He walks among tree trunks suggestive of his own grasping hands, a backdrop which fails to conceal a disorderly lattice of sharp steel pikes, ready to tear into flesh.

Holly Meyer-Dymny deserves recognition for the most thematically appropriate application of set design I have seen over two seasons of Hart House shows.

Scott Gorman / HART HOUSE THEATRE.

The clown (Laura Darby) is an incarnation of the thin line between tragedy and comedy on which the play strides. She skips around the stage, using circus props to mimic the violent acts the characters perform on one another. This brilliant tactic reinforces the fragility of human bodies constantly menaced with pulveriza-

tion, but it also establishes a Lynchian framework with which to view the play’s events. The clown reveals the inherent thoughtlessness of the escalating carnage, making space for the cast to flesh out this cartoonish vision of imperial Rome’s slow decline without alienating the audience.

Several female actors become male characters in this production; of these, Annie MacKay is most notable as Marcus Andronicus. Her toned-down performance contains its own counterpoint when she almost shatters at the sight of Lavinia’s mutilation. On the other end of the spectrum, Lall and Claxton both appropriately dial up their characters as, respectively, an exponent of pure evil and a hectoring man-child. To complete this scene-stealing ensemble, McFaul delights the audience in her role as the fabulous and vengeful Empress of Rome. It is a shame that the play’s final scene is so blunt and chaotic that McFaul has no opportunity for an impressive exit, but even this unsatisfying ending is almost rescued by the determined efforts of Dylan Evans as Lucius to land a meaningful, emotional note for the denouement.

Despite the severe presentation of Titus Andronicus, I enjoyed it for its self-indulgence and unpolished nature. There are some real gems in its dialogue, and the endless plot twists are unpredictable and engaging. Willis’ direction brings the play to life with a confidence that it does not possess on the page. We don’t know much of what appealed to Shakespeare’s audience, but judging by the delighted shock of my fellow audience members at intermission and curtain call, even the bard’s most gory and disjointed effort can still thrill a crowd.

Titus Andronicus played at Hart House Theatre from March 2 to 10, closing their season.

Demonstrating Protest, Collaboratively Michael Landy’s Power Plant exhibit

Ascenza Paolella / THE MIKE.

Ascenza Paolella ASSOCIATE ARTS EDITOR On March 15, I went to the Power Plant with Harbourfront Centre Camps to explore its different visual art exhibits. The Power Plant Contemporary Art Gallery is Canada’s leading non-profit public art gallery that is solely dedicated to contemporary visual art from Canada and around the world. As a camp, we walked to The Power Plant, explored the different visual art exhibits at no cost, and learned about various artists and their visions.

To begin, we learned some history about The Power Plant. The Power Plant was established in 1976 as an Art Gallery at Toronto’s Harbourfront. This original powerhouse alongside the Harbourfront Centre was constructed to heat and refrigerate the massive Toronto Terminal Warehouse, which is now the Queen’s Quay Terminal. The gallery approached its 30th anniversary in 2017 and has seen tremendous success. The community was thrilled to have it established as a dynamic organization committed to creating a di-

verse environment for all to access various contemporary art.

The artist in focus was Michael Landy.

Landy is a key member in the generation of ground-breaking artists who emerged from London in the 1990s. He explores notions of capitalism, commerce, value, creation, and destruction.

His exhibition, which is called Demonstration, takes place in The Power Plant and transforms a tall corridor gallery into “a wall of protest” which is promised to regularly evolve throughout the six months that it is being displayed.

Throughout the six months, studio assistants will be churning out the red and white drawings that are added to the walls, and each one of those pictures will be based on something that “captures Canada’s social and political landscape through the eye of its inhabitants.” This exhibition was quite interesting as Landy invites the public to collaborate in building his “wall of protest” by submitting words, texts, and slogans

that represent their thoughts and feelings. While walking through this exhibit and reading the different texts and slogans, which were written solely in red with a white background, everyone was able to read different protests that included banter against Trump, different feminism and racism notions, and different urgent issues and how we may protest them in the future.

Landy has created similar exhibits in recent years which include an exhibit in Athens, Greece for this spring. It is similar to Demonstration and is meant

to be a “bridge of communication” between the artist and the people. This time the objective is to “portray the current Canadian experience” says Nabila Abdel Nabi, RBC curatorial fellow at The Power Plant. The exhibit is still displayed in The Power Plant and you can still have your voice heard. To have your voice heard, contact The Power Plant by email at submissions@thepowerplant.org, through social media with the hashtag #TPPDemonstration, or by visiting The Power Plant on Thursdays between 5 and 8 p.m. to deliver your contribution in person.

ARTS

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7

Showcasing Canada’s Cultural Diversity

Here We Are Here: Black Canadian Contemporary Art at the ROM Vittoria Tesoro STAFF WRITER The Black Canadian Contemporary Art exhibit at the Royal Ontario Museum (ROM) consists of nine contemporary artists who seek to challenge preconceived notions of “Blackness,” and explore what it means to embody Blackness in Canada. The exhibit consists of a variety of mixed media pieces, including paintings, poetry, artifacts, and photography. These works together confront the stereotypical narrative of Blackness as the “isolated newcomer” or “immigrant.”

stood behind it. The outdoor element of the setting is one constructed by human design, and it signifies a sense of the artificial: a reminder to the viewer that human construction is the base of society.

As the woman stands in front of the wall, she looks the viewer in the eye. The title of the painting, In Conversation, describes exactly what is happening.

Though the woman is, of course, not speaking, she is conversing with the viewer through her gaze, as if she were saying, “Here I am.” She stands strong, knowing who she is, comfortable in her own skin and unwilling to be confined or limited by any preconceived notions concerning her Blackness. This is precisely why I consider her the star of the show.

Gordan Shadrach.

The Royal Ontario Museum (ROM).

Though all the pieces in the exhibit are fascinating works of talented artists, there was one piece in particular that stood out the most: Gordon Shadrach’s painting In Conversation. It depicts a confident and comfortable-looking young woman with shoulderlength curly hair, holding a silver iPhone in her right hand, as if she were going to take a self portrait. Her clothing combines metropolitan and contemporary fashion with cultural garb. The hybridization of the

outfit demonstrates her place in society, creating a harmony between both of the cultures to which she belongs. Her accessories, like her watch, jewellery, and fanny pack, all contribute to the modernity and independence of the woman. She appears self-assured, and embraces her Blackness in a fierce tableau.

The background merges the darkness of brick with the lightness of a plaster backdrop. This may be a mere aesthetic choice, but it has the effect of combining two worlds to form a cohesive and progressive whole, uninhibited by the myopic voices that once

The Royal Ontario Museum (ROM).

Here We Are Here: Black Canadian Contemporary Art is on at the ROM from January 27 to April 22, and features work from Sandra Brewster, Dawit L. Petros, Chantal Gibson, and many more.

Urban Jungle

The spring flower show at the Allan Gardens Conservatory Aurora Carnevale CONTRIBUTOR Need a little something to restore your winter-crushed spirits? Look no further than the annual spring flower show at the Allan Gardens Conservatory, on now until April 29.

about the scenery. There’s something about being enclosed within such a beautiful space that allows people to open themselves up to making conversation, no matter how much the stress from work, school, or life may loom over their heads.

The juxtaposition of the luscious foliage and the steel beams of the greenhouses reflects Toronto’s urban areas. If you forget where you are and feel like you have been transported to the jungle, all you need to do is look to the skylight and you’ll be reminded. Should you visit in these final weeks of the season, the greenhouses are a warm retreat from winter’s cold.

Aurora Carnevale / THE MIKE.

The Allan Gardens Conservatory gives you a feeling of spring once you walk through the door. I visited on a Friday afternoon and stayed for an hour and a half, and I never waited longer than a couple of minutes to see any of the features or to get a clear, un-peopled photo of a waterfall. Many of the visitors also had their cameras out to take pictures of the vibrant and unfamiliar flowers, and more than a few times, strangers made remarks to one another

Aurora Carnevale / THE MIKE.

The Conservatory is made up of six interconnected greenhouses. Each room is dedicated to rare and unusual greenery from different parts of the world. The Palm House is home to palm, bamboo, and banana trees and even a wrought-iron loveseat (perfect for Instagram). The Palm House was built in 1910 to replace the original structure, the Horticultural Pavilion, which was built in 1879 and burned down in 1902.

The University of Toronto’s Department of Botany donated a greenhouse (built in 1932) to the Conservatory, and in 2004 it opened as a children’s conservatory.

There are three tropical greenhouses.

One of them features a waterwheel, orchids, and a pond home to over 20 turtles, while another tropical greenhouse has a waterfall and a koi pond, as well as striking flowers and greenery. The famous Jade Vine is located in the Tropical Landscape House. The Arid House harbours many different cacti and succulents. The sixth greenhouse smells overwhelmingly (but not unpleasantly) of Jasmine, and has a variety of Australian and Mediterranean plants.

The Conservatory is free to visit and

Aurora Carnevale / THE MIKE.

open daily from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Located at 19 Horticultural Ave., just south of Carlton Street, between Jarvis and Sherbourne Streets, it is easily accessible via transit. The greenhouses are wheelchair accessible, and there are washrooms inside the Palm House.

During this stressful, cold time of year, it provides some welcome stress relief and escapism.

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FEATURE

Arts Editor Miranda Mirabelli arts@readthemike.com

The Face(s) of Easter at St. Mike’s How different USMC students celebrate Easter Francesco Rampino LOGOS EDITOR Easter: a celebration, perhaps, not as popular as Christmas in the societal sense, but for Christians all around the world, Easter is the most important feast (or “solemnity”) on the calendar. This is because it marks Jesus’ victory over sin and death, thus accomplishing His mission on earth. Easter Sunday itself is often referred to as the “Sunday of all Sundays” since, in the Church, Sundays all throughout the year are always small memorials of the Resurrection of Jesus from the dead. Nevertheless, on the cultural side of things, believers throughout the globe celebrate this most solemn occasion in various different styles and practices.

The city of Toronto, noted well for its vast multiculturalism, finds itself celebrating Easter in numerous different ways, and the students of its university (particularly the students of the University of St. Michael’s College, or USMC) are a reflection of this diversity. Each of them who indeed do celebrate Easter normally celebrate in a particular way. This may be due to their own cultural traditions, family traditions, parish traditions, and so on.

That being said, I had the opportunity to listen to a number of students, each explaining to me how their families annually mark this joyous festivity. In presenting these different stories to you by means of this feature, I wish to show our readers that yes, for the most part, our religious and cultural identities are very much alive and strong in our hearts and in our minds. This I know since, in speaking with these students, it became evident to me that there definitely was (on the part of the students) a certain happiness and excitement in providing me with information on what they do, what they eat, where they go, or even what they sing on this great celebration they share with billions throughout the world.

Perhaps I may be biased in this decision, but let’s start with Italians. Not only since Italy is close to the headquarters of the Catholic Church, but also because there is a strong Italian presence at St. Mike’s (take for instance the Italian Undergraduate Students’ Cultural Association and even the Italian Studies Department). I spoke with The Mike’s own Téana Graziani, who was happy to enlighten me in how both her maternal and paternal families commemorate Easter. Now, for many who come from large families, we know how hard it often is to organize who goes to see which side of the family and when. But in Téana’s case, it’s really quite simple. “Over the Easter weekend every year my family does the same thing,” she said. “On Good Friday we go to celebrate with the nonni (grandparents) on one of my parents’ side, and on Easter Sunday we go to the other nonni to celebrate. We switch which nonni get which day every year so that it’s fair.”

She goes on: “We usually go to church on Good Friday. We used to go on Easter Sunday as well but recently we have only been going on Good Friday, not sure why this is. [On Good Friday we don’t eat fish], and what we eat on Easter Sunday depends on which nonni’s house we are at.” On food, she elaborates further: “My dad’s family is Abruzzese, and my nonna (grandmother) on that side usually makes a lamb and egg dish. My mom’s side is Friulani, and my nonna on that side will also usually do lamb, but she will often roast it.”

She adds: “On my dad’s side, a week or so before Easter, we help our nonna prepare the dough for the Easter bread that she makes. It is a dry cake with anise seeds, that is braided with hardboiled eggs, or just baked by itself in a tin. Each one of the nipoti (grandchildren [but it also means nieces and nephews]) get one for themselves, and after Easter lunch, the whole family shares one with caffè.”

Téana Graziani / THE MIKE.

She then tells me about another interesting tradition: “On my mom’s side, we will usually play a game (of which I am unsure of the name). We decorate hardboiled eggs and then line them up against the wall of the house outside on the driveway. We then stand back and throw quarters at the eggs.

Whoever gets the quarter stuck in the egg wins the egg, and whoever wins the most eggs wins the game. I am not sure what the significance of this is, but we do it every year.”

Téana Graziani / THE MIKE.

Whereas in Téana’s family there are very specific traditions, my own family’s traditions

are relatively simple as I know it. My late maternal grandmother used to continue numerous Easter traditions while she was still alive. Like Téana’s family, we also used to have the braided bread with egg, but we would use sesame seeds instead of anise seeds. We’d also paint eggs, but there was no game involved. On Good Friday, no food is made and very little is eaten since it’s a day of abstinence, fasting, and mourning.

On Easter, though, we used to exchange marzipan lambs, which are basically candy/ dessert lambs. This is apparently a popular tradition in Serbia, Croatia, and other eastern European countries as well. Real lamb on Easter Sunday, though, is a definite tradition that we still carry out today.

Besides the food, regular church attendance during Easter and the Paschal Triduum which precedes it (Holy Thursday, Good Friday, and Holy Saturday) is a must. This is very similar in the case of our friendly neighbours not too far east. Stephanie Houvardas, a first-year student at St. Mike’s, explains at length how important church attendance and religious observance is in her Greek culture. “Ideally people go to church every night of Holy Week,” she explains, “which goes from Palm Sunday to Pascha (Easter). Every day of the week there is a different and very specific service. The most important of these is on Saturday at midnight, when we turn off all lights in the church and every person holds a candle lit by the same original flame. It is very beautiful; everyone sings.” She then adds: “After Easter Sunday people greet each other by saying ‘Xristos Anesti’ (Christ Is Risen) and responding with ‘Alethos Anesti’ (Truly He Is Risen).”

On the culinary side of things, Stephanie proceeded to talk about what her family typically does: “Lenten fasting (which proceeds Easter) is ideally supposed to be no meat, fish, or dairy, but my family usually just goes without meat. On Easter Sunday we have all my family at my house where we eat lamb. This sometimes involves my grandpa roasting it himself on a spit in my yard.” Her family, too, has an egg game: “We also dye red eggs to play a game called “tsougrisma,” where you hit the ends of your egg with the ends of an opponents and try to be the last one without a cracked egg.”

Stephanie also noted that her Church, which is of course the Greek Orthodox Church, uses the Julian Calendar as opposed to the Gregorian Calendar used by the Roman Catholic Church. She expands: “Our Easter is often on a different date because it must occur after Passover, which falls on a different date every year. So, we start the liturgical season usually later than Catholics, but sometimes they line up.” This year, Stephanie

FEATURE and her family, along with Greek Orthodox Christians all around the world, celebrated Easter Sunday on April 8. The Catholics and other Christians celebrated instead on April 1.

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That being said, the religious aspects, like in many other countries, holds the greatest prominence since it’s of course the reason for the season. Mateo explains what is done:

Frank Messini / THE MIKE.

Moving further east, onto Lebanon, we find much simpler traditions. Grace Elchami, herself a first-year St. Mike’s student too, explains that the Easter season for her family consists of “a family dinner, [which includes] traditional Lebanese sweets called maamoul.” And like many, they attend Easter Sunday Mass, as well as the liturgies of Holy Week and Lent. Similar traditions to Grace’s occur not too far west, either. Joshua De Jesus, also a first-year St. Mike’s student, says that in his Portuguese family, going to church is likewise very important, especially during Easter. Yet, in the kitchen, they have their own staples of the season. “We have seafood and fish on Good Friday, [especially Bacalhau (codfish)],” he says. “[But on Easter], we make Portuguese sweet bread and sometimes we boil four eggs and put a cross on top of the bread. [And of course] lots of sweets, such as cookies, pastries, and chocolates.”

These delightful traditions aren’t shared with everyone though. Going even more eastward to China, first-year St. Mike’s international student Hans Xu told me he has no actual Easter traditions or practices since “Catholics are an absolute minority in China; not even enough to start a local tradition,” and that Christianity was brought to China “by the Italians and the French.” Nevertheless, he mentioned that traditional Chinese couplets sometimes include messages about Jesus.

One of them, translated by Hans, says: “With no beginning nor end, the true Lord of all created everything we see and hear.

He preaches goodness and he preaches justice, He calls for the lost and saves the distressed for He has the power. There is a true Source of all things.” Nicole Lim, who is an international student from Singapore, says that, like Hans, in her country there aren’t any particular traditions, although she did say that her elementary school used to have Easter egg hunts.

Now let’s leap on over to South America, landing in Bolivia. Mateo Sanchez, another first-year St. Mike’s student, was born in Bolivia. “Unlike other holidays I experienced, this one takes after the Spanish Catholic tradition,” he says. “It’s the most important day in Christianity and Bolivia is mostly Catholic.”

“First there are the processions with people wearing purple and the visiting of 14 churches for each station of the cross on Good Friday.

Then everybody goes to Easter Sunday Mass and we get together with our extended families.” Mateo also makes mention of some discontinued social events: “In the past, most people gathered in the plazas with public figures participating. Lately there has been a bit less of that.” With regards to the kitchen, though, he wouldn’t say much: “One thing that was definitely unique was the food my grandmother cooked only for Easter, but that’s a secret.”

9

Arriving at home, where (as mentioned) culture is brought to us, we have a very different example of how people come to celebrate Easter. Emma Kennedy Graham, one of St. Mike’s 2017–18 Commuter Dons, is a convert to Catholicism. Apart from its given spiritual and liturgical significance which is evidently felt all over the world, Easter means a lot to her personally. The reason is because Emma was confirmed, like many “elect,” on the Easter Vigil celebration of Holy Saturday.

This year will mark three years since her Confirmation. “A big part of my conversion story,” she says, “has to do with Holy Thursday liturgy, so I always attend this Mass with my boyfriend and his family. Then on Good Friday I usually attend the liturgy on my own or again with my boyfriend’s family, then get fish and chips with my parents at home. Then on Holy Saturday I love to attend the [Vigil] because it is where I was confirmed and I love to support the new neophytes joining our faith! Then on Easter Sunday my family usually comes over and we have a big turkey lunch. In the evening I go over to my boyfriend’s house for a gigantic Easter egg hunt.” Emma is also a youth minister at her home parish.

Dear readers, we haven’t gone all over the globe in this article; I assure you the countries you may have realized were missed weren’t missed deliberately. Nevertheless, let’s fix our eyes on the reality we find ourselves in here in Toronto. What Easter traditions do we know here? What opportunities are there for us to be apart of something spectacular?

While I suggest you leave the culinary aspects of your Easter to your culture, there are a few Easter events throughout the Great Toronto

Frank Messini / THE MIKE.

Moving now northward toward Trinidad and Tobago, whose Easter liturgical music I had the pleasure of listening to first hand. Jeremy Hernandez-Lum Tong, a third-year St. Mike’s student who is recognizable to anyone who frequents the Coop, told me that in Trinidad and Tobago, “everything is liturgically the same [as one would find in Canada] except the style of music.” An example of this is a popular rendition used in Trinidad of the ancient “Praeconium Paschale” (Easter Proclamation) known as the “Exultet,” which is sung during the Easter Vigil Liturgy of Holy Saturday. He played this very up-beat version for me in the Coop. With regards to food, “hot cross buns and Easter egg-related traditions are what [they] have.”

Area. Besides the Holy Week liturgies which you may find in any parish in the Archdiocese, passion plays (depicting the Passion of Jesus) and religious processions have become sort of “non-official official traditions” in Toronto.

At my home parish of St. Brigid’s Church in the East York area of Toronto, you can find both a stunning re-enactment of the Passion and Death of Jesus (a tradition that will reach 30 years next year), as well as a simple Procession on the Danforth; both free. St. Brigid’s Church is located at 300 Wolverleigh Blvd. and the Passion Play was at 6:00 p.m. on Good Friday (March 30). I myself directed the Passion Play. I encourage you, readers, to come out and support these traditions next year so that we can celebrate Easter together as a family.

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OPINIONS

Opinions Editor Julia Orsini opinions@readthemike.com

Editorial:

Where Do We Go From Here?

We’re back — following a prolonged late March, early April, exam and final/side projectrelated hiatus — just in time for our final regular issue of the academic year, and my last as your 2017–18 Editor-In-Chief of The Mike.

Under my leadership, our mandate has been to keep USMC students informed, engaged, and represented. We hope to continue to do so through our Opinions section and its inclusivity; our News and Features sections by providing a USMC student perspective on, and more focused coverage of, USMC and U of T than you’re able to find anywhere else.

For that, I can’t thank them enough. Luckily, I don’t have to, because I’m not here to say goodbye just yet.

If you’ve liked what you’ve seen, then stay tuned, because I’m proud to say that we’ve got two more publications on the way (in May) in The Lyre journal of arts and literature, and The Mike Magazine.

tions. I couldn’t recommend becoming a part of The Mike more strongly. Visit our Facebook page @readthemike.com, or website at readthemike.com for more info.

Just do it (in fact, that’s what got me here.)

Yours truly, your 2017–18 Editor-In-Chief, Josh Scott

On that note, applications to join the 2018–19 Mike masthead opened yesterday, and will close Wednesday, April 25 at 11:59 p.m. All USMC students are eligible to apply for posi-

USMC students deserve nothing less.

In case you haven’t noticed, it’s been a year of rebuilding for The Mike. We’ve expanded our masthead from 13 to 26. We’ve also built up and sustained a fully functional website, Facebook page, Instagram, and Twitter account.

For the Children

Matthew Simoes STAFF ILLUSTRATOR

Print-wise, we’ve grown from 12 pages to 16, added some colour, rebranded our Faith & Thought section into Logos, and added a News section as well as a Science & Tech section.

None of this would have been possible without the incredible group behind the scenes here at The Mike. The Mike is only ever as good as the team that produces it, and thankfully, I’ve got an exceptional team.

The Cost of Savings

Is the sun finally setting on daylight saving time?

Julia Dragos STAFF COLUMNIST With March, we sacrifice another hour of our sleep to daylight saving time (DST). The practice has been facing increasing scrutiny lately, mainly due to concern over the fact that its costs seem to outweigh its outdated benefits, including the fact that its implementation has wreaked emotional and mental havoc on some people. In fact, the months of March and November, when DST is enacted, are linked to increased stress levels, traffic accidents, and more.

A central way in which DST is disorienting is due to the change in sleep schedule, which affects mental performance. Many people, unaccustomed to such a change, may feel out of place and confused as a result. Think of the jet lag you feel, even if you travel to a place where the time difference is only a couple of hours. The effect is similar to that of an altered sleep schedule. This minor change often necessitates a few days of adaptation.

Originally, this practice came about as a means to conserve energy. However, with technological advancements, which have given rise to a multitude of appliances and technical devices which require energy 24 hours a day, it has become evident that electricity no longer serves the sole purpose of illuminating homes, workplaces, and public spaces. Therefore, DST does virtually nothing in regard to energy conservation.

While there are advantageous emotional factors to DST, such as how longer periods of daylight facilitate more outdoor recreation as well as a better mood, the shift in time largely affects and disrupts the natural rhythm of the body, which is important in how we function on a daily basis. The adverse effects on the biological mechanisms of the body certainly suggest a picture of chaos that ultimately affects our interactions with each other, especially when the rules surrounding DST are socially constructed.

Some provinces have begun discussing the abolition of the practice. Preventing the mental and emotional costs of DST will no doubt prove a salient point in the direction of abolition.

While the practice might have been an economic advantage in its original context, at the end of the day, it seems to have outgrown its usefulness.

Julia Dragos is a third-year St. Mike’s student majoring in Sociology and double minoring in Classics and English. Whenever she’s not reading, she enjoys cleaning the shoreline.

Maria Scrivam / mariascrivam.com.

OPINIONS

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Remember Who You Are The purpose (and benefit) of Lent Jeremy Hernandez-Lum Tong CONTRIBUTOR The 40 days of Lent begin every year with an invitation to acts of praying, fasting, and almsgiving. Knowledge and conversion are two things which, I assert, are never complete and always capable of improvement. This period when we consent to the collective pause in our states of life is very important. As students especially, life is full of distraction. While we enjoy times with our friends or studies, we do not often pause to think about ourselves as people, or how we can improve. Moreover, it is much harder to work on such things amidst the commotion of our daily lives.

This is why Christ was always going to isolated places like the desert: to reflect and reorient himself. On the morning after he healed the mother-in-law of Simon and others who were brought to Him, we are told that He went off early in the morning to a “lonely place to pray” (Mark 1:35). Why? Despite the fact that He was doing something good, the excitement or anxiety of life left him disoriented. It is like running through a maze by following signs, ignorant of where they lead.

Thus, Lent invites us to pray, to fast, and to give alms.

By our faith, we are people of God on an ongoing quest to become better as individuals and as a society. Lent invites us to remember that, and to reorient ourselves toward that goal. The instruction, “Remember who you are,” indeed alludes to the life of a young prince who was disoriented by the vicissitudes of life and attempted to renounce responsibilities by living by the motto “Hakuna Matata” (“No worries”). How

ever, the apparition of his father reminded him that he was called to something greater. Likewise, we as people of God are called to something greater.

Every day we see people suffering, nations competing, and economies struggling, and we wonder what the best way to make change is. There are many ways to answer that question. However, if we do not know where we are going, then it does not really matter how we get there. Hence, as a precondition to thinking about ways in which we can solve the issues of the world, we ought to remember who we are and what exactly we are called to do. Lent invites us to reflect on that; Lent invites us to remember how much Christ suffered and why He did so; Lent invites us to find a way to share in that suffering to better appreciate His reasons for doing so and to appreciate that to which we are called.

One may ask, “Why doesn’t the Church call on us to do this all the time?” I would say that it is because naturally, anything that is too constant loses its flavour. If it were Christmas every day, it would no longer be as special. Hence one is invited to undergo these acts of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving anytime. However, to have Lent as an annual period when we separate

Quotation from Disney’s The Lion King (illustration by Victoria Oliver).

ourselves from the rest of our daily schedules for its duration would have a different and more desired effect.

Let us make Lent an effective period in remembering who we are and what we are called to do. May it help us to better appreciate the suffering of Christ, and His reasons for doing so. May it be fruitful for us all and allow us to become better people, and continue an ongoing conversion.

Jeremy Hernandez-Lum Tong is a third-year St. Mike’s student pursuing a double major in Philosophy and Ethics, Society, and Law. He is an active member of the St. Mike’s community and has been involved in SMCSU, USMC Campus Ministry, SMC Troubadours, and more.

A Philosophy of Improv

The catharsis of spontaneous comedy “U of T Improv” Facebook group.

I thought something was Maris, and I was right. One must be Warned, for President Kyle leads a competitive improv group that defeats the rest. Vice President James Hyett’s high quality comedy entertains the apathetic audience. And who could forget the talented pride of the group that is Isobel? All that, I improvised. Improvisational theatre is where actors perform improvised, unscripted material on the spot.

As an author, I have an improv mindset when making new characters so that they’re creatively different yet relatable to readers. Improv is a food art your mind can eat, a science, and a cause of death. Befriending personalities of improv will en-rich your life. Overall, improv impresses the once skeptical souls, which once included mine.

Here’s a suggestion on where to eat: University of Toronto St. George’s (UTSG) improv shows. There’ll be beer, but the food won’t be on your plate; it’ll be on stage since your meal is entertainment cooked for the mind. I see improv acts as a type of sandwich being served at a restaurant. I pay $10 after tax to buy a foot-long sandwich. It’s about the same price I pay to witness the shows of UTSG’s improv group. The host lists the stories the improv group could perform, and the audience yells which one they like — it’s like picking a sandwich off a menu. The colourful personalities performing are the chefs preparing the sandwich à la improv. The performers’ comedic styles act as ingredients carrying the same comedic taste for which the mind likes. It’s improv’s intuitive comedic charm that makes the mind full of the satisfying feeling of being entertained. The food art here isn’t the sandwich itself; rather, it’s the making of the sandwich, or the performance. Asking yourself whether seeing live improv is better than tele-vised improv is like asking if

Bryan Liceralde ASSOCIATE OPINIONS EDITOR

a packaged sandwich full of preservatives is better to eat than a freshly made one. Seeing improv in person is better than seeing improv through television, for it allows you to interact with the performers as they perform. It thus makes you happier and your mind emotionally healthier. So, here’s some food for thought: for dinner, let UTSG’s improv group feed your mind with entertainment, and you feed your stomach with a Subway sandwich.

Science knows that laughter is the best medicine, which is true; it should be prescribed to everyone. Improv could best administer this medicine, especially UTSG’s improv group. Its actors engage with our hidden sixth sense of laughter we don’t realize we have or even bother to use. After all, the sense of laughter’s an intuitive cognitive process that’s part of our psychological composition stimulated by those who act hilariously. Laughing is the only workout you don’t get tired of since you’re solely exercising your facial muscles. Laughter is also a deadly virus, and no improv group spreads it better than UTSG’s. The audience can’t contain themselves for they can’t contain the contagion of laughter that diffuses throughout the hall. Since UTSG’s improv group caused the deaths of their audience through having them laugh, they’re murderous comedic criminals. So, getting laughter from improv is both a medicine and a sickness that’s good for you.

Although a morbid concept, death could also be cheerful, for our souls gain freedom from an imperfect life and perhaps are headed toward the joyful afterlife. It’s that feeling of freedom UTSG’s improv group delivers when their audiences die of laughter. When improv actors free themselves from reason to pursue

what they find funny, their comedic charismatic charm comes through. It’s their comical charm that helps the audience free their repressed happy emotions from their systems. Releasing these emotions frees your soul from a body whose life is perhaps governed by routine, boredom, fear, or sadness. By laughing your troubles away, you allow your soul to attain heavenly happiness in a heaven-like afterlife state. It’s like a near-death experience, except you’re awake and living it. Hence my proverb: a soul’s sole way to freedom is through laughter so that you’ll be happy ever after.

So, attending UTSG’s improv shows will cause you to realize that dying of laughter is actually living life.

Because they have comical colourful personalities, I believe improv actors are great individuals to be friends with. I say this despite having no personal friendships with any member of UTSG’s improv group.

Every improv act reveals an individual’s true personality when given a story to present before an audience.

Improv groups encourage freedom to both laugh and be yourself; this is what UTSG’s improv group does phenomenally well. You’d then become a more laidback person once you ally yourself with them.

So, anyone could appreciate the art of improv if they see it as a food art, a science, and a cause of death.

Bryan Liceralde is a second-year St. Mike’s student, specializing in Political Science (International Relations focused) and double minoring in French and Italian. For the past three years, he’s been a competitor in the Toronto Star Short Story contest writing tragedies and romantic dramas.

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LOGOS

Logos Editor Francesco Rampino logos@readthemike.com

Barrier-Free Communication

Towards better engaging the world around us Christina Carpenetti CONTRIBUTOR A famous cautionary tale told by the Danish philosopher Soren Kierkegaard goes as follows: “A travelling circus in Denmark caught fire. The manager thereupon sent the clown, who was already dressed and made up, into the neighbouring village to fetch help, especially as there was a danger that the fire would spread across the fields of dry stubble and engulf the village itself. The clown hurried into the village and requested the inhabitants to come as quickly as possible to the blazing circus and help to put the fire out. But the villagers took the clown’s shouts simply for an excellent piece of advertising, meant to attract as many people as possible to the performance; they applauded the clown and laughed till they cried. The clown felt more like weeping than laughing; he tried in vain to get people to be serious, to make it clear to them that this was no stunt, that he was not pretending but was in bitter earnest, that there really was a fire. His supplications only increased the laughter; people thought he was playing his part splendidly — until finally the fire did engulf the village; it was too late for help, and both circus and village were burned to the ground.”

When some people first hear this story, they immediately identify with the clown, and recall all of the times they

have felt their words dismissed for apparently no good reason. But just as often, they may act like the villagers, and disregard valuable words from others on equally arbitrary grounds. While it is excellent that there is so much current dialogue on how this manifests in terms of gender, class, and race, we fail to recognize and address the reality that this happens just as frequently on the basis of both secular and religious ideologies.

The best way to surmount these artificial fences is as simple as honest conversation with those who think differently. Interreligious dialogue, as it’s formally known, is a wonderful and valuable practice that helps us improve our understanding of our own beliefs and those held by others. Sincere, humble engagement is so simple, but is often neglected. Too frequently we coldly debate, with the superficial, self-serving goal of proving the other person wrong; or we proselytize, ignoring that they may already have their own rich, beloved belief system. Instead, we need to engage others with the goal of enhancing our appreciation of and respect for the strength and depth of their views, in order to fully see how those beliefs play out in their lives and move beyond that into our shared world.

always been vital, but is especially necessary today. In our increasingly pluralistic society, varying faiths and ideologies shape our media, politics, culture, warfare, and everything in between. To better understand the belief systems that are such powerful agents of change, and why each of them affect our shared society in their unique ways, it’s critical to purposefully engage those who hold the views supported by these systems. Mutual understanding generates compassion, respect, and peace, and establishes an environment where these and other virtues can prosper.

Ignorance and division only trap us where we are, and lead into a self-perpetuating, relentlessly worsening destructive cycle that produces violence, erasure, and hatred.

Instead of jailing ourselves in our echo chambers, we need to look beyond ourselves and appreciate the variety of beliefs that are equally as valuable to those who hold them as ours are to us. Interreligious dialogue is a simple process that can help to mend our fragmented world.

Barrier-free communication in action (THE TIBET POST).

Effective interreligious dialogue has

Social Mobility and Faith in the Modern Age How the value of virtue is present in all levels of our society Shane Beal CONTRIBUTOR One of the more pervasive and universally-praised concepts among modern political parties of all stripes is social mobility: the idea that, no matter what one’s starting station may be, one can work to rise above the rest in the social hierarchy and enter the ranks of the successful elite. In many ways, it is one of the cornerstones of the post-feudal western world. Without the traditional and legal labels of noble, serf, or monarch, we thought we could create societies based around hierarchies of meritocracy. The change that happened in reality, however, moved deeper than this, and represented a fundamental shift in the way we evaluate, prioritize, and organize our lives.

The deeper issue at hand is the slow but steady movement away from certainty in the Catholic Church and the value system it created. Before the Enlightenment, society revolved around the notion that one’s station in this life was not relevant to the virtue of one’s actions. Even the lowest serf was capable of being a good person, as the Lord is good. In spite of their material

situation, they had the capacity to live their lives so as to achieve paradise in the afterlife.

In a less religious sense, the societal or legal inability to change classes meant that people had to focus on how to live their own lives well within their given stratum, instead of focusing on how to improve their lives. Goodness was the goal, and the final conclusion and reward for success in life lay beyond material opulence or social mobility: either in the afterlife or simply in the knowledge that one could live within their station, no matter how low or high, with grace and virtue.

However, with the advent of the Enlightenment and, much later, the Industrial Revolution, this all began to change. Europe went through a series of difficult epochal struggles, from the exploration of unfamiliar continents to religious reformations. After countless bloody wars, both religious and political, the 20th century dawned on a continent devoid of recognizable social.

This world emerged with a completely

new economic and technological paradigm, in which the new highs of wealth, the lows of poverty, and the rapidness with which one could sink or rise from one to the other had never been so exaggerated. Somewhere along the way in past centuries, Europe had lost confidence in its unifying faith. Without its societal, caste-driven moulds, the cultural centre of gravity shifted to the material life. With increased social mobility and decreased confidence in transcendent results, the exact material conditions and the prestige of a given station became all that were left.

Previously, when the butcher was proud of his station and the serf sought to do the most basic tasks well, there was the paradigm of struggle and turmoil. But no more. As the Austrian political scientist Erik von Kuehnelt-Leddihn said, without the universal confidence in an afterlife, “a hunchback was now all through his existence a hunchback, a man born blind all through his existence a blind man, a proletarian all through his existence a stepchild of life, [and] life became a terrible load.”

There have, of course, been benefits in our new modern age. People are connected like never before. Medicine is effective on an unprecedented scale.

Across the world, people are emerging from poverty. Beyond these material improvements, our meritocratic society has gotten immeasurably better at actualizing potential in individuals. Where, before, an intelligent child born as a serf could see his talents wasted. Many children now are, at least ideally, given the means to realize their potential and contribute positively to society. With all the glamour of our time, and the indisputable material benefits we possess, it is easy to want to engage with the wealth we see before us.

With this in mind, it might benefit us to slow down and appreciate work and virtue in everything we do, even if it doesn’t seem glamorous. For people of all religious persuasions or lack thereof, there is something deeply powerful to be said for the appreciation, discovery, and practice of moral virtue in all stations and walks of life.

SCIENCE & TECH

Science & Tech Editor Jiaxing Huang science@readthemike.com

Virtual Humanity

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The development and applications of VR and AR technologies Lindsey Peng STAFF WRITER

Envision this: You come home, plug yourself into a virtual world through your wearable gear, and regain control over your avatar in the virtual world.

The avatar can be a very different person from your real self, and artificial intelligence will power such an artificial person so that she or he behaves just like a real person. What’s more, your avatar is actually “autonomous”! It learns your personality and then continues living in the virtual world even when you “switch off” and return to real life. Your virtual world is inhabited by avatars of real people, but can also be independent beings that only exist in that world.

This idea is not that farfetched considering some of the things already happening. In 2003, Linden Lab launched Second Life, a virtual world accessible via the internet. In the same year, Hanson Robotics began building robots that simulate a real person’s personality. Faceshift has been capturing the user’s facial expressions in real time and creating an animated avatar of the user.

New York¬-based Medical Avatar and Anatoscope are two companies that create a 3D digital avatar of your body

for health-monitoring purposes.

net.

Combine all of these existing technologies and you can see that what we envisioned can be realized in the near future. While we are still steps away from a Matrix-like virtual world, both the hardware and software of virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) are getting more attention today and they are improving very rapidly.

VR, like any other technology, can be applied in different fields including journalism, education, marketing homes and cars, simulation for makeup or clothes, augmented job performance for office or factories, visual aid for surgeries, and much more. However, what will drive VR to become a ubiquitous commodity is through great content in entertainment. Entertainment has been the first mass market for virtual reality, and likely the field that drives for mass adoption of the technology. In fact, any entertainment-related companies that do not adopt these new forms of technology in artificial intelligence with VR/ AR are likely to be replaced by other technology entertainment companies.

Competition then will further improve its development and popularize its applications in other fields.

One of the limitations of this technology today is that most VRs and ARs only simulate two of the senses: sight and hearing. Without the full five senses provided, the experiences will not feel real. The Void is currently the most advanced entertainment AR-provider that tackles these five senses to provide more realistic experiences to users. However, this is not available in typical work or home environments as there is no practical way to store and transmit smell, taste, and touch. There is research being done about this, such as at the Mixed Reality Lab in Singapore, which is developing techniques that would enable people to broadcast smell, taste, and touch over the inter-

What is more interesting is the implication and consequence in further developing this technology. Remember that in our envisioned virtual reality, we have created avatars that are built based on our behaviours. This means that the fi-

nal character will reflect a lot of things we do due to our subconscious motivations, instead of our own rationally justified pictures of ourselves.

What happens after we die? Copies of our avatars will continue living forever in the artificial world. In fact, it can live in multiple worlds. Anybody can download your avatar in his or her virtual world. You will be more than alive: you will multiply yourself, and each avatar may evolve into a different person in each virtual world. You may become a rich entrepreneur in one world and a flight attendant in another one. Forever. In fact, as 3D printing and similar technologies become cheaper, it will become possible to create a physical body of your avatar as a hologram or robot.

All of these implications will allow us to conduct important sociological and psychological experiments by creating artificial worlds with varying factors. It will also be a critical tool in understanding and observing the human mind.

Rivers: Oh Boy!

Why Toronto’s coat of arms features three rivers Close-up of a 1961 map of Toronto (City of Toronto).

When you open up a map, you can see that Toronto is in a really nice place.

Close to a huge water source, mostly flat land, has two rivers that flow through for industry and mills… wait a minute, two rivers? Then why there are three rivers shown on Toronto’s coat of arms?

This question really bothered me for a long time, and I was too lazy to google the answer. So naturally, I went to Robarts Library to see if I could find some old documents and maps that could explain this design. To my surprise, there were indeed only two rivers flowing through Toronto. The Humber River to the west of Toronto, and the Don River to the east. Where was the third one?

The red, north-south line on the above map from 1961 indicated rivers (left: Humber River, right: Don River), while the green, east-west line indicated Toronto’s rough outline. But the Humber River barely counts as part of the Toronto area, since it exists in the Village of Swansea.

The suspicion kept me going. I didn’t think it could be a mistake in the design of the coat of arms, since this logo was designed 20 years ago, and there was no way no one noticed the obvious mistake. Although there were three riv-

Yinan Liu STAFF WRITER ers to the north of Toronto, two of them merged into one before they entered the Toronto area, but there were clearly three different rivers flowing to the lake.

“Could it be a tiny river, a creek, that was not labelled on the map?” I thought to myself. Then another map grabbed my eye. Yes, there was indeed a small creek — Black Creek, right next to the Humber River.

Could this be the middle river? Although it was just a creek, it still counted as “a natural stream of water flowing in a channel to the sea, a lake, or another such stream,” right? Excited, I followed the path of this creek. If it led directly to Lake Ontario, then we had all three rivers, live and flowin’.

Yet, disappointment quickly struck.

Black Creek came to a sudden stop near Highway 401, and stopped existing on Wilson Street. Where did it go?

It could have turned to an underground river — Toronto had plenty of construction happening in the past 10–20 years, and covering up a river is no hard work.

Again, I was wrong. The Black Creek did not end up underground. It continued to go south toward the river and suddenly turned west and joined the Humber River! What a troll!

I was properly confused. What is going on, where was the third river? What happened in the past 20 years that could make a river just disappear into thin air, with no trace or information?

Was I mad? I NEEDED ANSWERS!!!

And answers I shall have. The map of Toronto was chronologically stacked from the newest on top to the oldest at the bottom. The one on the top had the answer I sought for two hours. This was what happened: zone amalgamation in 1998. Including North York, Etobicoke, East York, Scarborough, Old Toronto, current boundaries were defined, and right at the border was the third river — Rouge River.

The end of Black Creek...? (City of Toronto).

Toronto’s coat of arms since 1998 (City of Toronto).

Looking at this map, I finally understood why there are three rivers on the coat of arms. Humber, Don and Rouge Rivers have flowed through the Greater Toronto area, brought water sources, and provided power since 1998. Very nice.

I just looked at an older map. The river didn’t disappear or go underground. It was in the wrong place. What a relief.

Another mystery solved.

Map showcasing 1998 zone amalgamation (City of Toronto).

“Or,” I thought to myself as I took out my phone, “what if I google Toronto coat of arms…?” And there it was: “The coat of arms of Toronto, Ontario, Canada, was designed by Robert Watt, the Chief Herald of Canada at the time, for the city after its amalgamation in 1998. The arms were granted by the Canadian Heraldic Authority on January 11, 1999.”

Oh boy. I guess googling was easier.

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SPORTS

Sports Editor Ben Denomme sports@readthemike.com

Sunny Days Ahead in Hockeytown Goobye grief — it’s time to be-leaf Raphael Padolina CONTRIBUTOR Ah, everybody’s favourite sports franchise. (Read: franchise with the most daggers to the hearts of its longsuffering fans in recent years.) The Leafs were perennial contenders in the years preceding the NHL lockout of 2004–05 but were absolutely snake-bitten in the years following hockey’s return.

They finished just out of reach of a playoff berth in the two seasons immediately after the lockout, but were not close to qualifying for a chance at the Stanley Cup until 2011–12, when they were in the thick of the playoff race for most of the season only to brutally bow out in the second half of the season. They endured a stretch of 20 losses in 25 games between February and March of 2012 — a catastrophe that then-GM Brian Burke compared to an 18-wheeler driving right off a cliff.

The Leafs finally returned to the playoffs in the following, lockoutshortened season after an eight-year absence, but heartbreak ensued once again when they blew a three-goal lead with 10 minutes left in Game 7 of the first round. The following year, the Leafs were in the playoff mix all season, only to lose 12 of their last 14 games, including 8 straight, en route to missing the playoffs.

These on-ice mishaps — and the litany of ill-advised contracts signed by management throughout the

Leafs’ extended time in the NHL’s playoff wilderness — finally led to the Leafs’ brain trust calling for a longneeded teardown and rebuild of the team. Through the selling off of core players and focus on development of prospects in the minor leagues instead of baptizing them in the fires of the NHL, the Leafs slogged through the worst season in team history, with 53 losses and the dubious distinction of worst record in the NHL in 2015–16.

This throwaway of a season paid off, as the Leafs won the draft lottery and were able to select generational wunderkind Auston Matthews first overall, kicking the rebuild into overdrive.

Led by Matthews and the rest of the youth movement, Toronto made it back to the playoffs last year, going toe-totoe with the first-place Washington Capitals and giving them all they could handle for 6 hard-fought games. Only better with experience, this year’s version of the Leafs has already broken the team regular season record for wins — in its 100th year, no less — with 47 and counting at the time of writing.

The Leafs look like they will be playoff locks and a consistent threat to bring Lord Stanley’s Trophy back to Toronto for a long time to come.

The rebuild was obviously helped by the luck of the draft ping-pong balls — Matthews had an 80% shot of wearing another jersey before the hockey

The Air Canada Centre (ACC), home of the Buds (Easaab / AdobeStock).

gods blessed Toronto. However, the shrewd moves made by the front office pushed the Leafs to the cusp of Stanley Cup contender status, and separate Toronto’s rebuild from less successful attempts by other teams (cough, Buffalo, cough). Leafs coach Mike Babcock was asked about the difference in success between Toronto’s and Buffalo’s retooling efforts, and did not deny the luck of landing Matthews, but was quick to point out Toronto’s efforts in scouting, trading, salary cap control, and prospect development. The latter is extremely crucial to the team’s current success — once a dumping ground for fourth-line plugs and albatross contracts, the Leafs’ affiliate Toronto Marlies has been revamped in recent years to serve as the high-performance training ground for many current Leafs, such as Nazem Kadri, William Nylander, Connor Brown, Zach Hyman, and Jake Gardiner, to name a few.

This year, speedsters Kasperi Kapanen

and Andreas Johnsson plied their trade in the minors before getting the call to contribute to the big club. 2015 second-round pick Travis Dermott spent all of last season and most of this year honing his craft with the Marlies before a January call-up provided him the chance to prove a mainstay on the Leafs’ blue line with surprisingly strong play. The success of a rebuild depends not just on the blue chip, can’t-miss prospects to fulfill their potential, but on later draft picks and project players to develop well and pan out with the big club. While the Leafs’ are flooded with youth, more exciting prospects like Jeremy Bracco and Adam Brooks are putting time in with the Marlies in order to have a shot at cracking the team soon. The surplus of NHL-ready and soon-to-be-ready players in the Leafs’ system is the real reason they will be a treat to watch in their quest for postseason glory for a long time to come.

How March Madness Turned Into March Sadness The tournament that made history Wouter Tolenaars / AdobeStock.

Charlie Mitchell STAFF COLUMNIST

March Madness... the time of the year that brings avid college basketball connoisseurs and strangers to the basketball world together to fill out a bracket for the chance to win millions of dollars. Despite such a massive number of people entering their brackets, a perfect one never emerges. This is the beauty of March Madness.

Baltimore County (UMBC). An upset of this magnitude has never occurred in the tournament, let alone by a 20-point margin. UMBC game planned specifically for this game, exploiting Virginia’s lackluster offense and knocking down three after three, avoiding Virginia’s interior presence. This game made history as the first ever 16-seed to beat a 1-seed.

This year began like any other year with a few upsets on the first day. In fact, 13-seed Buffalo even knocked off 4-seed Arizona, sending the potential first overall pick in the NBA draft, DeAndre Ayton, home early.

Another top star sent packing in the first round was 6’2” phenom Trae Young. He is the first player ever to lead the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in both points and assists per game during the regular season. However, this was not enough to carry a hodge-podge cast of teammates past Rhode Island.

Up to the final four, the rest of the tournament was relatively uneventful with the exception of one outlier: the University of Loyola Ramblers. The 11-seed Ramblers somehow kept knocking off formidable foe after formidable foe, including the likes of 6-seed Miami and 3-seed Tennessee. Alas, the Cinderella story ended as Michigan handily defeated the Ramblers in the Final Four 69–57. On the other side of the bracket, Villanova played Kansas in a very tough battle of the 1-seeds. Ultimately, Villanova prevailed as it was simply just more talented than the Jayhawks. However, Jayhawks Coach Bill Self and his squad definitely exceeded expectations.

Uncharacteristically, Kansas had to rely on tenacious defense and smart basketball instead of superior

Despite these two upsets, the biggest upset by far was the unprecedented 1-seed University of Virginia being knocked off by 16-seed University of Maryland

talent. Kansas should be proud of its tournament run.

The championship game had come down to the Villanova Wildcats and the Michigan Wolverines.

Unfortunately, this game failed to live up to expectations as the game quickly got out of hand early, thanks to the unexpected hot shooting of bench player Donte DiVincenzo. All that can be said is this young man came to compete. He finished the game with 31 points, five rebounds, and three assists, effectively squashing the hopes of the Wolverines single handedly with some very emphatic blocks and earning the Final Four Most Outstanding Player.

Overall, the tournament was historical but continues to have the same problem as previous years. Although the Cinderella stories are nice, fans want to see the primetime NBA prospects in the Final Four competing under the brightest lights. Even the most avid college basketball fans would struggle naming even one player from the Loyola Ramblers. Unfortunately, that is the nature of the madness.

FEATURES

Features Editor Téana Graziani features@readthemike.com

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The Spirit of Spring The season for your soul Lily Song CONTRIBUTOR that prevented me from going was that I thought it was too far away and would take too long to get there. But all we had to do was hop on the TTC westbound subway from Bay Station, just off of the northeastern tip of our campus, to High Park Station, which took about 15 minutes.

Sakura Steve / HIGH PARK TORONTO.

“It’s finally Sunday and you’re telling me you want to go to… a park?! Ha! You go do that, and I’m going to stay right here with my Netflix. See you later, ’gator.”

This is an accurate depiction of how I used to react, and how the majority of students would react, about hitting the park in our teens and 20s: in spring or otherwise.

It’s common knowledge that university students are usually confined indoors.

The places we invest most of our time in — our houses, classrooms, libraries, vehicles — are just different types of closed spaces that we shift between.

Even when our “couch potato” identity is exposed, we automatically defend ourselves with universal excuses: too much homework during the fall, too cold to go out during the winter, and

too busy catching up during the spring.

Anything to avoid unnecessary trips to the outside world.

But is it really not worth it? When we look back, a lot of things we avoid are the ones we have never actually tried.

Could we be missing some of their benefits? Should we try them before blindly dismissing them as wastes of time, so we can accurately evaluate them once and for all?

That Sunday, my friend was able to convince me with a promise of coffee on the way. It was also when I realized that this was to be my first ever visit to Toronto’s High Park: such an iconic location that somehow took me 11 years to see with my own eyes. Other than my own laziness, one of the biggest factors

When we walked past the main gates and into the park, I immediately noticed the vast amount of people who were all there to do the same thing we were doing. We were all aimlessly walking, looking, and documenting everything with our phones to the point where it almost felt like being part of a community with one shared interest. I was part of the majority who was there to enjoy the moment in the same time and place as everyone else.

Some of the best activities one can do in the park include: spotting totem poles within the forest of leafless trees (actually pretty difficult since tree bark and totem poles look very alike), grabbing lunch at the Grenadier Cafe, and catching the birds out and about at the docks of the central pond. If you’re there between March and May, be sure to catch the cherry trees blossoming.

As for how my attitude concerning public parks changed, the best way for you

to understand is getting to experience it yourself. It offered me something that I had never felt. All this time I’ve been trying to improve my body at the gym and my mind at the university, but I’ve neglected my soul. Let me clarify: being spiritual doesn’t necessarily involve religion. Your spirit is who you really are stripped of your body and your emotions. It is infinitely important to know how to take care of yourself spiritually alongside your body and mind, in order to retain or develop your identity.

Spiritual activities bring us back to the basics.

They remind us how insignificant our problems are and how thankful we should be for what we have. Our planet has always been beautiful, it’s just that we have let social and academic obligations trick us into ignoring it.

If last fall was all about trying to balance schoolwork with mental health, and this winter is all about physical health and trying to avoid the flu, let’s focus on our spiritual health this spring by discovering and keeping up with our spiritual activities. Whether it’s hiking, meditation, yoga, or even colouring, I guarantee that you will see the changes in your life when you become more content and confident with yourself and the environment you are in.

Seeing Infinity

What to expect at the Yayoi Kusama art exhibit Jessica Frascà STAFF COLUMNIST You have probably already seen all over your Facebook and Instagram newsfeed images from the Yayoi Kusama’s Infinity Mirrors exhibit at the Art Gallery of Ontario (AGO). The much-anticipated exhibit is here from March 3 to May 27.

It is an exhibit worth checking out if you are into seeing art that will allow you to immerse yourself into an installation that gives off a sense of time and space and suggests a cosmic hyper-reality.

There are six different rooms, each with their very own theme, with artworks and sculptures to compliment the display of the works. This in fact is a contemporary exhibit, which allows the viewer to experience a fantasy.

The six rooms are set up in chronological order from 1965 to present. The artist Yayoi Kusama, age 88, has a sense of style with the use of colours, repetition, and excessive use of polka dots. The Infinity Mirrors exhibit begins with the artist’s milestone installation, Infinity Mirror Room — Phalli’s Field (1965/2016), a dense and dizzying field of hundreds of red-spotted repeated sculptures in a room lined with mirrors. The Dots Obsession — Love Transformed into Dots (2007/2017) infinity room has pink pol-

ka-dotted balloons hanging from the ceiling and occupying the floor. The Love Eternity Room (1966/1994) is another personal enjoyable experience from the exhibit where two visitors are allowed to peak into a peephole to see inside a room that has a kaleidoscope effect with colourful LED lights put on display. A particular favourite room of mine was the one in which you receive stickers and have to help the artist colour the white room using the polka dot stickers. It allows the public to also become artists themselves. The different rooms all have a unique experience in each from the colours used as well as the objects chosen. For instance, one room, All the Eternal Love I Have for the Pumpkins (2016), showcases the artist’s admiration of pumpkins and presents the room as if you were entering a fairytale.

In order for you to be prepared to enter this exhibit, I would suggest to first go through the exhibit without using your phone for pictures. Take this as an opportunity to try to take in the artist’s work as a room to enter a supernatural world. Then go again into the room and use your cellphone to take photos

so you can update your social media pages. Another suggestion would be to try to get tickets for three people; this would allow you to be in the room without any strangers.

The biggest question that everyone is wondering is if this exhibit is worth checking out or if it’s just overhyped.

The fact that the exhibit comes from Japan and is here for a short amount of time does make it a worthwhile experience. Also, it’s not like any other

special exhibit put on at the AGO. In fact, it’s interactive and allows you to gain your own experience in each of the rooms. It is true that people are showing off a bit too much on social media being at the exhibit. Regardless of the tedious process to buy and order tickets — since the wait online took hours — the wait is worth it because you get to stay in there for 20 seconds, which allows everyone to have a right to show off their experience being at the exhibit.

Jessica Frascà / THE MIKE.

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Features Editor Téana Graziani features@readthemike.com

Students of St. Mike’s, V7.0: Angelo Serrentino Angelo Serrentino is a fourth-year specialist in Renaissance Studies with a double minor in History and Italian Studies. He is also a University of St. Michael’s College (USMC) Commuter Don. He intends to graduate this June.

Full disclosure: Angelo has served as The Mike’s de facto 2017–18 Chief Returning Officer (CRO), in what is soon to be four separate elections and by-elections. He has proven invaluable in assisting the expansion of our masthead from 13 to 30.

FEATURES

University of Toronto (U of T). Law School is also not off the table by any means. In other words, we’ll see! I do think that, generally, an inordinate amount of stress and fear are generated by the question of post-graduation plans. It is certainly wise to have a blueprint of your future laid out, but this blueprint must always be adaptable in order to weather change. I know I would like to be a career politician, but I’m flexible as to how I choose to pursue this goal.

What sort of advice would you give to first-year students on how to “figure it all out”?

A: To reiterate, it’s certainly crucial to have some sort of blueprint to where you would like to end up after your university career, but my advice would be to not stress about this too much. I strongly recommend getting involved at St. Mike’s in any capacity — whether this be as a Commuter Don or as a member of The Mike. Channel your skills, whatever they may be, into work that will benefit both current and future students at St. Mike’s, and be sure to have fun while doing so.

But also, be flexible in how you set out to achieve your goals, and remember to take the time to take care of yourself.

Angelo Serrentino (Pran Sathiy / THE MIKE).

What are your plans after graduating?

“Always in motion is the future…”

– Jedi Master Yoda, Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back (1980) Angelo (A): After graduation, I hope to pursue a Master’s degree in Public Policy or History, ideally at the

Pran Sathiy STAFF WRITER/PHOTOGRAPHER

Ryan Andres and Angelo (Pran Sathiy / THE MIKE).

How have you contributed to the community and in what capacities? What keeps you motivated to contribute to the interests of USMC? A: As a St. Mike’s student, I have strived to be an active member of our community. In my second and third years, I participated in Orientation as a Leader and Marshal respectively, both of which were phenomenal experiences. The highlight of my co-curricular experience at St. Mike’s, however, has been in my role this year as a Commuter Don, which has allowed me to give back to a community that has given so much to me. Shout out to my fellow USMC Commuter Dons Allie, Emma, and Raph, who have offered me their unconditional support throughout this year! My peers and friends — like Allie, Emma, and Raph — all motivate me to contribute to student life at our College. It’s so important that we all work toward the betterment of our College for future generations of students to enjoy.

What’s your favourite food?

Britney Ramlochan and Angelo (Pran Sathiy / THE MIKE).

A: My Nonna’s lasagna! Without a doubt. In close second is a tall glass of blue Bantha milk: so refreshing!

’Tis the Season of Sneezing

The highs and lows of spring in Toronto Joy Fan CONTRIBUTOR

Spring is not my favourite season.

There are various reasons why it’s not and will most likely never be my favourite season: first of all, fall is objectively the superior season, so there goes spring’s chance at the top spot. Summer entails of freedom, so it takes the silver. Winter has Christmas and snow, but it’s cold, so it’ll have to settle for third place. Spring just misses the podium. Of course, I’m sure there are people who like spring best, and it’s probably because they don’t get hay fever and are not allergic to pollen. Wake up and smell the flowers? That’s basically asking me to wake up and make sure that I get absolutely no sleep that night due to constant sneezing, sniffling, and generally hating my body, while letting me get sick just in time for midterms.

So that’s the first big reason why, at least for me, spring sucks: allergies.

The second reason is one that is a shared pain among students — midterms. Spring in Toronto means that right in the heart of midterm season, you get to enjoy the company of your

also-suffering peers, while being unsure of which ones are legitimately sick, which ones have allergies, and which ones are simply crying and asking themselves if they can handle university (if you are one of those people, consider talking to an academic advisor, counsellor, or your registrar, but also remember that we’re all asking the same question). Spring is a time when the feeling of new beginnings is in the air, but then you begin to wonder where half of the semester went and why your study habits seem to have steadily gotten worse. Sometimes, spring just brings false hope of something better, but changes don’t generally happen with the turning of a season. You actually need to continuously work toward breaking old habits and creating new, more positive ones. Who would’ve guessed?

You’d think that with the end of winter, the weather would get better. But this year has been a little disappointing. It’s not negative 20 degrees anymore, but it’s certainly still cold. 2 degrees? Sure, that’s considered warm by Toronto

winter standards, but 2 degrees is the coldest Vancouver ever gets! It’s still outrageously windy as well. One minute you’re enjoying the crisp air and the bit of sun peeking through the clouds, and the next a gust of wind rushes by and you’d swear that you’d frozen a little inside. The snow is gone, but that just gets replaced with rain (and I can still feel the occasional snowflake).

How much more gloom can we add to this? Much, much more apparently, because, surprise! With spring comes daylight saving time, which robs us of a chunk of the little sleep we get. So instead of getting no hours of sleep, you can get negative one. I’m just kidding.

I can usually squeeze in a power nap after a night of cramming necessitated by my own lack of the self-control that would prevent me spending my nights watching Vine compilations. But I digress. The important part is simply that daylight saving time sucks, and it happens around springtime, which also sucks. Don’t even get me started on spring cleaning. I’m not going to clean, and I certainly don’t want to wait until

I’m constantly crying and sneezing to do so.

“But surely there must be some nice things about spring, right?” Wrong.

All right, fine, maybe a few things. When it rains during the spring, it makes it so that my allergies aren’t as bad. It’s also the season when you’re most likely to see a rainbow (don’t quote me on that).

It may rain, but at least we’re not in Vancouver, and there’s a chance of it being sunny tomorrow. And when it is sunny, it’s beautiful. When the flowers start to bloom, I’ll hate it because of my allergies, but I’ll also love it, because streets, parks, and gardens come alive with colour (at least until a good, hard rainstorm washes their petals away).

Maybe that’s the reality of spring: it’s beautiful, but only temporarily. It reminds us that midterms will pass, the weather will warm, and beautiful things are on the way, which sometimes make for an annoyingly beautiful life.