Talon Times Vol. 31: Winter Edition 2021

Advice Index Advice

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Glenforest

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Science

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National

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Student Voice

The Tech Gap Electric Vehicles Vs. Gasoline Cars Mental Health Around Us The 2021 Canadian Federal Election

Global

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The Great Resignation: Has the pandemic pushed workers to their breaking point?

Who are the Long-Haulers?

Editorial

VOLUME 31, ISSUE 1 WINTER 2021 PAGE 2

Dear Talon Times, “I never know when to intervene in a relationship. This happens a lot. And since I’m always the one who’s on good terms with everyone, I’m not sure if I should be responsible for mediating. I can probably help them come to a resolution? Or I could be tampering with something that I shouldn’t get involved in to begin with. Whether it’s a family argument, a friend’s toxic romance; I’m starting to think maybe that they need to just figure it out themselves… But what if? What if I actually had the power to help them and didn’t? I just don’t want to feel bad about myself. What do I do?"

- A Part-Timer

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Percent signs and red squiggly lines: the paradox of education

Culture

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The Coca-Cola Heist Dear Evan Hansen: A Critical Eye Systemic Racism: The Monster in the Closet Spiders, Bats and Hormonal Instability Why Sustainable Fashion Isn’t Affordable Are we eating authentic pizzas and tacos?

The Growing Obsession With Fast Food The Issue of Social Injustice Within Climate Change

Community

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Crossword

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Comics

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Interview with Ms. Zammit

Credits Teacher Supervisors

Ms. Alim & Mr. Gordon

Editors in Chief Emily Cao Alex Truong Alex Lu

Cover Designer Joanna Peng

Dear Weary Walrus, I can understand why you are struggling with this; it is a problem that a lot of us experience, and we are often worried that taking any action might not only worsen others’ situations, but also ruin the relationships we have with them. When is the “right time” to intervene in someone’s problem? It is certainly not a question that we can provide a definitive answer for; it really depends on the situation. You should ask yourself some questions to gauge how serious the problem is, and if your friend/family member actually requires help from someone else. How serious is the problem that they are facing? Is the problem causing more issues for them (such as losing focus at work/school, feeling dejected, other health issues, etc.)? Do you truly believe that something you say or do can help the situation? If it is just a small argument or fight caused by a difference in opinion, maybe that is something that they can work out by themselves — intervening in a problem like this can put you in a difficult situation, where the people involved think that you are taking sides, thereby ruining your relationship with them. However, if you think that the problem is very serious, and is negatively affecting your loved ones, talking to them about it might be a good idea. Ask them what the problem is, and if they are comfortable with sharing it with you, then you can ask them if there is anything you can do to help them. It is important that you first ask if they need your help, before actually intervening. If they say that they want your help, that is when you should step in. If not, then just let them know that you are there for them, and that they can approach you for support whenever they need it. Hope this helps!

Regards, Talon Times Advice

David Lee Hannah Wang Selena Zhou Tenzin Ghaki Victoria Gotcheva Varchas Varma Krisha Veera Ivona Lu Latinovic Ashwin Kailayaruban Zerina Bakrac Continued on page 16

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ntroducing the newly added segment of Talon Times: Student Voice. This section compiles raw interviews from our very own students, ranging from grades 9 to 12, IB and Mainstream! Our interviewers go out and collect answers to school-related questions to let Glenforest know what the student body is thinking. In this edition, interviewers Hannah and Tenzin get to the root of our school's new look, the handling of COVID at Glenforest, and the controversial new learning model. Make sure to tune in every edition and have the chance to be interviewed. Your opinion matters!

Question 1: How well do you think the school has been handling Covid?

“I think the school’s handling it really well, with all the social distancing and the surveys. I don’t think the screening is effective because I’ve seen people airdropping it to other people. And then one person does it then they airdrop it to their friends so they don't have to do it. So I don’t feel like it’s effective.”

“Alright I guess, but I feel like some teachers should be a little more strict. Like one of my teachers doesn’t really enforce the hand sanitizer rules, or screenings, and sometimes doesn’t put the masks over his nose… I feel like the school should make it so teachers are more strict with the protocols, but other than that I feel like the school is doing good. The screening is not good, because you can lie easily, although I don’t lie.”

“It’s okay, I mean people do take off their masks in classes and it’s somewhat unacceptable but nobody can really stop them. Also, the screening surveys are not always effective because people just blindly click no to all the questions, but sometimes it might work because it could get the person to really think about the questions.”

“I feel like it has its own pros and cons. In some cases it’s good, in some cases I don’t like it as much because there’s a lot of pressure in just one class, and it’s not very balanced. At the same time, it’s only two courses so I don’t have to think about a lot of stuff. I find the two and a half hours hard, like in gym, my legs hurt a lot because we continue to do the same thing, and in some classes teachers forget to go outside for a walk.”

“Honestly, I feel like it’s really hard. Especially since we’re alternating courses, I feel like I forget my courses and subjects.

It’s also really hard to focus in class and I have to constantly go over my notes, making it hard to move forward in class.”

Best, Talon Times Advice

Hope this advice will be of some use!

Best regards, Talon Times Advice

Question 2: How do you feel about the new/ current learning model?

“I feel like it’s a bit excessive, there’s too much going on.

And the week gap doesn’t help because you forget everything from last week… The breaks help.”

Assuming you play a major role in these people’s lives, trust that they will come to you for help if they need it, whether that be for advice or someone to vent to. You would be more valuable to them as a shoulder to lean on in their struggle than the bearer of an unsolicited intervention.

You also don’t need to feel bad about yourself for this — not only is social conflict an inevitable part of life that everyone will experience, but you also can’t possibly go around managing the problems of everyone you care about on top of your own. It’s okay to set emotional boundaries. When you help, you should be doing it because you care, not because you feel an obligation to, as someone “on good terms with everyone”. Hope this helps, and good luck!

You’ve got a lot on your mind. It can be awful to feel stuck in a situation where you know you can help but are afraid you'll ruin things further.

There are many positives and negatives to speaking out. Some positive things that could come out of this are that your friend comes to terms with what is happening in their life or they find comfort in confiding in you for further help if they need it. A negative aspect is that your friend might interpret your help as coming from a place of jealousy or resentment. Then again, I’m not sure about how close you are to your friend and the details of their relationship, but you have to trust your gut instinct. If this is a very serious issue, or the people involved are getting hurt in any way, it would be a good idea to tell your friend. But before doing so, make sure that you are certain about the conflict. If the issue is not very severe but you truly think you can help, try bringing it up to your friend in a more subtle manner. Your friend may be stubborn at first and may not want to accept what you are saying as the truth. In this case, you’ve done the best you can, now they just need time to figure it out for themselves. If you do decide to bring it up, make sure it’s to your friend first; don’t try to fix things for them on your own. Once they are aware of the toxicity they are dealing with, they’ll come to you on their own if they want your help. The most important thing is that they know you are there for them.

Photo: Rachna Venkatesh

“I think Glenforest has been doing quite a good job of handling COVID. We’ve been continuing with a lot of the protocols that I think are important to continue to prevent it. I’m seeing lots of hand sanitizing, I’m working to make sure people are social distancing, we’re continuing with the masks, and the morning COVID checks. So I think those things are positive, and contributing. There’s always potential for being dishonest (about the COVID screening), but we’re going to have to assume students have integrity and they’re going to protect themselves, and their classmates. I do think it’s positive in encouraging every person to really think about how they’re feeling, and whether or not they should be going into a public space.”

I get that — it’s difficult when you want both of the parties to be happy, but they are the cause of each others’ unhappiness. It feels like it’s your fault for standing by while they suffer. However, there are only so many things that are within your control. Conflicts contain much more depth than appears on the surface, and a third opinion sometimes will only complicate things further. It is a tricky issue, though, because it depends on the situation. If it is a matter of miscommunication and you are painfully aware of the one thing that one person needs to hear, you could suggest that the other says it. But most conflicts are never that simple. In those cases, where there are fundamental values clashing or emotional stakes at play, the best solution may not always be the most straightforward one and could be based on factors that you might not possibly know.

Dear Weary Walrus,

Photo: Rachna Venkatesh

Student Voice

Dear Weary Walrus,

Tenzin Ghaki Hannah Wang

Journalists

Glenforest

Photo: Rachna Venkatesh

Student Voice

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Question 3: How do you feel about the new renovations?

“It’s okay, I haven’t really seen a big difference but I guess the outside is nice. The cafeteria also looks good and pretty bright, it’s definitely better than it used to be. The size is moderate, I’ve seen bigger cafeterias but it’s not bad considering how it used to be; it could be bigger though!”

“It’s definitely nice, there’s windows now! I haven’t really gone to the cafeteria but I think that it’s spacious and there’s a lot of nice room.”

Photo: Rachna Venkatesh

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Science

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Science

Photo: Vincent Guzman

Photo: Carter Baran

Electric Vehicles Vs. Gasoline Cars By: Zerina Bakrac

E Photo: Jimmy Jin

The tech gap: why the next Google won’t be anytime soon By: Jessica Chen

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oogle, Apple, Microsoft, Amazon, and Facebook.

Heard of them? The Tech Big Five have posted record profits during the pandemic.

Alphabet, (Google’s parent company), reported that their profit had more than doubled last quarter. During the same time, Microsoft reported their largest quarterly increase since 2018. All but Facebook, (now known as Meta), have made it to trillion-dollar valuations.

It’s a blunt reminder of the ever-increasing gap between the tech industry's wealthiest, and everyone else.

And that’s probably not going to change anytime soon.

Amazon dominates e-commerce. Microsoft enjoys profits from cloud computing. Apple owns the premium market for smartphones and wearable devices. Google and Facebook hold a death grip on digital advertising. This gravitation towards a select few companies has serious repercussions across the global economy. Few companies can afford the investments necessary to keep up with the Big Five. The rest have to pay the giants for access to their hoard of customers and technology.

Wedbush Securities’s managing director of equity research Daniel Ives has said,

“The strong are getting stronger, and the weak are getting weaker. In 20 years covering tech, it’s unlike anything I’ve ever seen.”

Despite efforts from various governments, regulatory and legal scrutiny have done little to hurt their bottom line.

The Big Five still rule the market, leaving their competition mere slivers of the pie. The financial results from last year seem to lend more weight to arguments that this handful of companies are unfairly cashing in on their control.

As the Big Five get richer, they start buying out or out-competing their competition. They snatch up the industry’s best engineers with paychecks smaller companies could never match. Apple has set aside billions of dollars to create shows and movies for its video subscription service, Apple TV, directly challenging Netflix. Amazon has invested in speeding up shipping for Prime members from two days to one, setting standards that retailers will struggle to meet.

Alphabet now owns the activity tracker Fitbit for $2.1 billion and analytics software firm Looker for $2.6 billion.

Another reason why it’s so hard for smaller companies and startups to compete is that the big kids have mastered the art of “incremental evolution”, as per Gene Munster, manag-

ing partner at Loop Ventures.

Whenever a new market pops up, the big companies move in with lower prices and more marketing money than their newer competitors. And in time, they take over.

The sheer size of these companies and their power creates all sorts of issues. Small changes to search algorithms can have massive impacts on society. Owning the largest social network in the world, Facebook’s changes to its algorithm in 2018 in a bid to increase declining engagement hit many publishers hard and encouraged the dissemination of more provocative and polarising content. Navigating the intricacies of Amazon’s search rankings has bred an industry of advisory agencies.

“Apple has the legal right to do business with anyone they want,” said Paul Gallant, managing director at Cowen & Co. “So Apple could change the terms of the App Store and say to developers, regardless of where you collect your revenue, you owe us 30%, and if developers refuse to pay it, Apple would be free to de-platform them.”

Google faces intense antitrust scrutiny in the US over its dominance of internet search, which, the EU found in 2017, it had abused by boosting results for its services.

A Wall Street expectation: as a company gets bigger, its growth starts to slow. Clearly, this is not the case with the Big Five; their net income for

this quarter is projected to be $79.9 billion. Facebook, the smallest of the Big Five, and yet to enter the trillion-dollar club, is still worth two times as much as the next biggest company, Intel.

The further down the tech food chain, the worse it gets. Newer start-ups have to cut jobs to get expenses under control, further undermining their ability to survive.

As University of Arizona finance professor Kathleen M. Kahle put it: “There are a lot of small, unprofitable firms and a handful of large, very profitable ones.”

lectric vehicles are the talk of the town in the automotive industry. With several opinions being thrown left and right on whether EV’s are better than gas-powered vehicles, it can be a bit of a struggle figuring out which one is right for you.

Electric vehicles, while expensive to purchase, may be cheaper in the long run as they require less maintenance than a gas-powered vehicle.

In addition, they aren't bound by fluctuating gas prices. So to choose the best vehicle for you, let’s look at the pros and cons of each one.

The pros of electric vehicles are that they’re energy

efficient, reduce emissions, require low maintenance, qualify for EV tax credits to save money on the upfront costs, are convenient to charge (can be charged at home or at work), and have higher performance overall. On the other hand, they can’t travel as far, take longer to “fuel”, can be more expensive, and present difficulties when finding charging stations in rural areas.

Now, for the pros of gas-powered vehicles, gas cars can go approximately 250-300 miles on a tank per average, are capable of quick refueling, can use gas stations that are more readily available, are initially cheaper than electric cars, and have higher top speeds, making them faster. The cons of

gas-powered vehicles are that you are stuck paying for regular maintenance such as oil changes, coolant, and transmission fluid. They force you to pay for gas and can have worse fuel-efficiency, since they can’t be fueled at home.

Gas-powered vehicles also create tailpipe emissions and contribute to toxic waste such as leftover oil and fluid.

Both sets of vehicles have their own advantages and disadvantages, so when deciding on whether an electric vehicle would be better to own, or a gas powered vehicle, it all comes down to personal preference. Electric vehicles reduce air pollution as they don’t feature an exhaust pipe, in comparison to gas powered

vehicles, and they also mitigate climate change—especially for the most vulnerable communities who are disproportionately harmed by transportation emissions.

If you’re thinking about purchasing an electric vehicle soon, you should know that there are 3 different types of electric vehicles available. The first type is “Battery-Electric Vehicles” (BEVs) which are solely powered by electricity.

BEV models include Chevy Bolt, Honda Clarity, Tesla Model S, Tesla Model X, BMW i3, and Volkswagen e-Golf.

The second type is “Plugin Hybrid Electric Vehicles” (PHEVs) which run on both electricity and gas. All types of hybrids have regenerative

braking, meaning that whenever you brake or decelerate, the car recaptures the energy.

PHEV models include Chevy Volt, Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid, Hyundai Sonata PHEV, and Toyota Prius Plug-in.

The last type is “Hybrid Electric Vehicles” (HEVs) which rely primarily on gas but also have electric components.

HEV models include Honda Civic Hybrid, Toyota Camry Hybrid, and Toyota Prius Hybrid.

Even with many different types of electric vehicles, there are still far more gas-powered vehicles than electric ones, as they are currently still in the works and becoming more popular every day. Natural gas powers more than 175,000

Photo: Rachna Venkatesh

vehicles in the United States and roughly 23 million vehicles worldwide. Types of natural-gas vehicles include: “Dedicated” which only runs on natural gas, “Bi-fuel” which runs on either natural gas or gasoline, and “Dual-fuel” which has fuel systems that run on natural gas but use diesel fuel for ignition assistance.

If you're considering buying an electric vehicle vs a gas car, there are a number of issues to consider, including overall cost, emissions, and vehicle selection. These are some things that are important to keep in mind as you shop for your new car. You don’t want to end up with a vehicle you will regret.

Photo: Rachna Venkatesh

Photo: Solen Feyissa

Photo: Rachna Venkatesh

Mental health around us By: Ivona Lu Latinovic

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Photo: Brett Jordan

n recent years, the mental health of teenagers has been recognized and discussed more. Mainly, various ways of dealing with different disorders such as anxiety, depression, ADHD, and more, are discussed openly. However, something we fail to talk about is how our physical health plays an important part in this, and goes hand in hand with mental health. It's important to remember that just because our mental health isn't exactly something we can see doesn’t make it any less important.

Our mental health is involved in every aspect of our day-today life: our physical health, friends and family, mood and productivity, and it shouldn’t be overlooked because it is as important as physical health.

Although many people will argue that our physical health is more important than our mental health, we also need to remember that our mental health interferes with our physical health. Studies have shown that people with poor mental health have a higher risk factor for chronic physical conditions. Accord-

ing to Statistics Canada, 11% of students in Canada suffer from depression, which increases the risk for many long-term health problems like diabetes, heart disease, and strokes. The mortality rate from cancer and heart disease is much higher among people suffering from mental illnesses like depression.

Our mental health also affects our everyday life: from our mood, to even our school life. There are many different types of anxiety disorders ranging from generalized anxiety disorder, panic disorder, social anxiety disorder, and

separation anxiety. Suffering from any one of those could easily interfere with your daily lifestyle. For example, in the case of generalized anxiety disorder, you could experience unrealistic worries for little to no reason. Another instance is panic disorder, which can cause anxiety attacks, and would definitely affect your life.

Listed above are ways mental health affects an individual personally, and the effects it has on their life and growth. However mental health goes beyond just an individual. It also affects the peo-

ple we’re around, like friends, family, and teachers. Our mental health impacts how we think, feel, and act. It helps determine how we handle stress and difficult situations. If we’re feeling anxious or stressed, we might respond to someone out of anger.

Mental illness will often have a ‘ripple effect’ on the people around us: What we’re feeling can reflect off of us and affect others, creating worry, stress, and even a bit of anxiety for them. Not to mention, our mental health can also affect our sleep schedule and our moods the next morning. We

could act more grumpy or upset than we usually would, and be more susceptible to saying and doing things we wouldn't normally.

These are just some of the ways our mental health affects our daily lives: the physical risks that those suffering mental illness are exposed to, and the effect it has on the way we feel and act. Our mental health affects everything around us; not just ourselves, but also the people around us.

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National

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Global

Photo: MacLean’s Magazine

Photo: Samantha Chen

The Great Resignation: Has the pandemic pushed workers to their breaking point?

The 2021 Canadian Federal Election By: Riya Piryani

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n August 15, 2021, Justin Trudeau called for an early federal election to take place on September 20, positioning his re-election effort as a chance for Canadians to voice their opinions on who they want to lead the country at a crucial moment in the ongoing pandemic. However, opposition parties condemned the Liberals for launching the five-week campaign amid the most recent wave for "political gain."

When the Liberals were on the verge of a majority, their leader visited Governor-General Mary Simon at Rideau Hall, who agreed to

his request to dissolve the 43rd Parliament and draw up the 338 writs, triggering a snap election.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's political gamble did not pay off on election day however, as Canadian voters re-elected him but denied him the majority in the Parliament.

Despite falling short, Trudeau indicated that voters had expressed their approval and that Canadians should be confident in the future handling of the COVID-19 pandemic.

In this election, the Liberal party gained 159 seats, two more than they did in 2019. In the 2019 federal election, voters gave Trudeau a minority, forcing him to rely

on opposition parties to advance his agenda; this is a situation that is expected to happen again.

Trudeau's government was compelled to explain itself over its role in the Afghan withdrawal when the 36-day campaign began. Similar to President Biden's skeptics, critics say Trudeau's efforts to evacuate his citizens and Afghans following the Taliban takeover were delayed and disorganized.

In the run-up to the vote, the Prime Minister's efforts to differentiate his party from the Conservatives on numerous issues (such as climate policy, vaccination mandates, and passports) appeared to lose

momentum.

Before the campaign, Conservative leader Erin O’Toole was not well known to voters. Nonetheless, he exceeded the initially low expectations that the public had.

O’Toole had a statistical tie leading up to election day. His campaign consisted of a 160page platform in which the party largely abandoned numerous beliefs that were once vital, including the resistance to carbon taxes. After the election, the Conservative leader told his followers that the snap election was just a "quick power grab." He added, “Five weeks ago Mr. Trudeau asked for a majority, he said the minority Parliament was 'unworkable.'

But tonight Canadians did not give Mr. Trudeau the majority mandate he wanted … In fact, Canadians sent him back with another minority at the cost of 600 million Canadian dollars and deeper divisions in our great country."

When the Parliament was dissolved in August, Jagmeet Singh's New Democratic Party, Yves-François Blanchet's Bloc Québécois, and Annamie Paul's Green Party Leader won a comparable number of seats. Paul, on the other hand, was unable to capture her riding.

While minority governments are typical in Canada, coalition governments are uncommon, and Mr. Trudeau

By Krisha Veera will have to work with opposition parties to get legislation passed. In the new parliament, the NDP is expected to have more power, positioned to assist the Liberals in passing important confidence votes and enacting their policies.

In the end, Trudeau's third election victory came after a tense 36-day campaign marked by outrage and anger over the campaign trail: on political debates about vaccination requirements, public-health limitations, and the campaign itself.

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mployees from tech, finance, and healthcare are quitting their jobs to the extent where we have now entered “The Great Resignation.” The Great Resignation is known as the ongoing trend of employees voluntarily leaving their jobs. In the US, the Labor Department revealed that resignations peaked in April and have remained abnormally high, and around 10.9 million jobs became vacant by June.

However, high resignation rates are expected to continue. Microsoft’s survey showed that of the 30,000 global workers questioned, 41% were considering quitting or changing professions by the end of this year. Two key trends explain this situation.

Major Trends:

lifestyles and goals. Another probable reason is that these 1. Resignation rates are workers had delayed their reshighest among mid-career ignations during the pandemic and are now finalizing their employees Resignation rates for em- decisions. ployees between the ages of 30 2. Resignations are highand 45, which have increased by 20%, are the highest among est among essential workall other age groups. This is ers.

Throughout the pandue to increased demand for mid-career employees. As re- demic, essential workers have mote work has reduced the had to work long hours with amount and quality of train- a smaller staff, resulting in ing, employers are more likely many feeling burnt out. Karla to hire experienced employees, L. Miller from The Washingincreasing demand for people ton Post says, “Frontline workaged 30-45. This increase in ers in health care, child care, demand has pushed many to hospitality and food service leave their current positions industries, pushed to the brink for jobs with higher salaries of human endurance, decide and more benefits. that the gruelling hours, inadMany workers have also strug- equate pay, lack of balance and gled over the pandemic with abuse by employers and clienhigh workloads, financial un- tele are no longer acceptable certainties and other pressures trade-offs for their mental and causing many to rethink their physical well-being.”

How does the pandemic link hours to 30 hours a week with a slight pay cut while keepto this trend? ing their full benefits. Other The initial months of the companies have also aimed to pandemic provided many in- eliminate 30% of their meetdividuals with flexible work ings to give employees ample schedules, which allowed time away from Zoom, ideally them to rethink where they leading to shorter and more were and where they wanted efficient workdays. Howevto be. When “normalcy” re- er, there is great skepticism sumed, businesses expected about the extent to which canemployees to return to their celling a few Zoom meetings 9-5 work lives. However, em- and giving people an extra ployees, no longer burdened week of vacation will cure the with a long commute or the work-related stress, exhausdaily office grind, found flex- tion, cynicism, and negativity ible work schedules better for that continues to surge during their lifestyle and pushed for the pandemic.

In the retail industry, hybrid programs. companies such as Target and Best Buy have raised hourly What are employers doing? wages while McDonald’s and Tech companies includ- Amazon are offering hiring ing Bumble, LinkedIn and bonuses ranging from $200 to Hootsuite are focusing on $1,000. Despite these changes, combating burnout by pilot- many essential-work positions ing programs that reduce work continue to remain open.

How does this trend impact us?

Since many students may join the workforce during or after high school, the current trend provides us with many benefits. As corporations continue to attract workers in positions that we may find ourselves in, many jobs offer flexible hours with hybrid schedules, better compensation and benefits, and a more diverse, equitable, and inclusive work environment. To any students doubtful of the impact of the Great Resignation, rest assured that it will almost certainly be in our favour.

ued fatigue, body aches and joint pain, shortness of breath when exercising, issues with sleeping, and headaches.

Research shows that the COVID-19 vaccines could potentially be useful in treating long-haul symptoms. In a study done by Yale, 30 to 40 percent of long-haulers who received the COVID-19 vaccine saw a decrease in their symptoms. While it is still unclear how long a full recovery could take, it’s possible that the vaccine helps boost the immune system to fight off the remnants of the virus in the body, or resets it. Once

uncovered every day. There are communities and forums on social media with thousands of long-haulers, all ready to support each other through such uncertain times. So just remember, you’re not alone.

Who are the Long-Haulers?

By Saanvi Dixit

"M

Photo: New Canadian Media

y brain just feels foggy.” This is a common symptom shared by the rapidly growing numbers of “long-haulers”: people who haven’t fully recovered from COVID-19 weeks after contracting the virus. With restrictions being lifted, long-haulers are still in the dark about when they will be able to live life like normal again.

33% of COVID-19 patients who were never hospitalized now experience debilitating fatigue and a loss of smell and taste. That means

that out of the 118,332 people across Peel who tested positive for the virus since March 2020, nearly 40,000 of them could be experiencing ‘longhaul’ symptoms. A lot of these patients tend to be young, healthy people who initially experienced mild or moderate symptoms. Some people were even unaffected by the virus to begin with, only to display symptoms months later.

While symptoms vary, most long-term COVID-19 symptoms include shortness of breath and ‘brain fog’. Brain fog isn’t a medical condition; rather, it’s a term used to de-

scribe not being able to think clearly. Brain fog occurs due to the other complications COVID-19 causes. Some patients suffer from deconditioning, a physiological decline in function. This can happen after any injury or illness that results in a period of inactivity.

With COVID-19 patients, living a sedentary lifestyle during the illness can lead to functional losses. If you do end up contracting the virus, staying active is extremely important to lower your chances of having long-haul symptoms. Other common symptoms include persistent coughing, contin-

vaccinated, your body’s antibodies produce an immune system response that can reduce inflammation-causing long-term symptoms. It may also keep your immune system from going into overdrive, another possible explanation for long symptoms.

If you or someone you know is experiencing fatigue, insomnia, or anxiety after contracting COVID-19, it’s advised to call your family physician who will be able to address the problem. More studies are being done on long-haul symptoms, with more potential solutions being

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Editorial

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Culture

Photo: Vahid Kanani

Photo: Giorgio Trovato

The Coca-Cola heist By: Sophia Zhang

Photo: Ivan Aleksic

Percent signs and red squiggly lines: the paradox of education

By Victoria Gotcheva

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piece of paper with numbers on it. Along with mild relief and a tinge of what could barely be classified as happiness, this was what all those late nights spent poring over textbooks and overanalyzing every sentence of my assignments had amounted to. I almost wished that I had followed people’s advice and cared a little less about my marks, yet in the system that my classmates and I were a part of, such thinking was out of the question. The emphasis placed on numbers that lack meaning and objectivity has created a paradox that many high school students find themselves grappling with today. When it comes to the acquisition of new skills and knowledge, marks do more harm than good, and saying goodbye to those percent

sign-riddled papers might be what is needed to redirect the focus back to learning.

Although school is supposed to be a place where students feel excited to discover useful and eye-opening information, high schoolers are constantly stressed about getting grades that will please their relatives and be good enough for acceptance to their top post-secondary choices.

Many students base a significant portion of their selfworth on marks, and the impression that everyone except you is excelling academically can be disheartening. This pressure to succeed can lead to burnout and increase the risk for conditions such as anxiety and depression. High stress levels can also have a shrinking effect on the part of the brain known as the prefrontal cortex, which, ironically, has unfavourable implications for

learning and memory.

In addition to having negative psychological impacts on students, the expectations for high grades that are embedded within the education system send the message that mistakes should be avoided at all costs. This discourages students from seeking challenges and pursuing their interests.

In fact, a study done by Chamberlain et al. (2018) revealed that marks serve as a source of information to help students avoid classes that might lower their Grade Point Average.

Research, however, also shows that learning from mistakes can maximize progress, and in Kapur and Bielaczyc’s (2011) experiment, students who failed at solving math problems until the teacher stepped in to help them analyze their attempts outperformed those who were not left to struggle.

Science has revealed that peo-

ple’s brains respond to errors with the kind of activity that processes information more deeply. But such encoding will not be possible when students go out of their way to avoid making mistakes.

Regardless, there are many people who believe that high schoolers will put minimal effort into their studies in the absence of grades and that marks are needed for students to gauge how they are doing in a course. These individuals view grades as an objective means by which to compare students to a standard and relay information about their academic performance to admissions officers and parents.

In research done by Koenka et al. (2019), students who received marks scored lower on evaluations and were less motivated than students who were instead given written feedback, showing that

marks are not the only way to promote academic achievement. As for grades being an accurate indicator of student success, the University of Waterloo’s list with the amount by which certain high schools boost students’ marks makes the case for grade inflation, and a study conducted by University of London researchers revealed that teachers’ implicit biases can influence their marking. The latter study found that students with more positively-perceived personality traits received higher marks that were unsupported by their scores on an anonymous exam. In addition, given that many students struggle to recall the information that they studied for an exam several days after the assessment, it would be unjustifiable to call marks a reasonable representation of knowledge.

At a time when there is so much conflict in the world, education is invaluable, and instilling in students a desire to acquire knowledge where the learning process is emphasized rather than the end result should be of utmost importance. Although getting rid of grades completely would be required for “Don’t be afraid to take risks and make mistakes”. To no longer belong to a contradictory statement, acknowledging that the education system is flawed would be a valuable first step.

I

n 2006, in Atlanta, Georgia, a 41-year old Coca-Cola employee by the name of Joya Williams hatched a plan to betray her employers. At the time, Williams had been working for around fourteen months as an executive administrative assistant who reported directly to the corporation’s Global Head of Marketing.

However, even with such an esteemed position, Williams felt disgruntled with her current salary of $50,000 per year; thus, she masterminded the conspiracy to sell some of Coca-Cola’s most confidential information to their biggest ri-

val, Pepsi.

Williams' scheme involved two others: Edmund Duhaney, a 43-year old father of three children, and a 31year old man named Ibrahim Dimson, both of whom had recently been released from prison. Posing under the pseudonym Dirks, the trio mailed a letter to the executives at PepsiCo. In the letter, they claimed to be a high-level Coca-Cola employee with access to some of the corporation’s most “detailed and confidential information” that nobody else—except perhaps the top executives—have seen.

In exchange for these documents, the conspirators asked to sell to the highest bidder.

Two weeks later, a PepsiCo executive named Jerry called them back, expressing interest in their offer. However, before any actual exchanges began, he wanted proof that “Dirks” could uphold their end of the bargain. Eager to prove themselves, the trio sent fourteen pages of classified and restricted Coca-Cola documents. After proving themselves credible, they asked Jerry to send money to a bank account that they had set up earlier. Jerry complied, and the group received $5,000 shortly thereafter.

Williams’ plan had finally been set into motion.

After their first transaction, Williams pilfered more docu-

ments and even stole samples of an unreleased Coca-Cola beverage that was still under development. In return, Jerry gave increasingly larger sums of money, upwards of $30,000.

On June 27, Jerry made the greatest offer yet—$1.5 million for the remaining trade secrets. It would have been the trio’s lucky break— had the offer been legitimate.

As it turned out, this so-called “Jerry” was actually Special Agent Gerald Reichard who was working as an undercover FBI agent at the time. See, Pepsi had never accepted the offer in the first place. Instead, after receiving the letter, they had immediately contacted

Coca-Cola, informing them of the potential leak. Coca-Cola, in turn, went to the FBI to ask for the conduct of an undercover investigation.

It seems as if Williams' scheme had been foiled by her gross miscalculation of the two corporations’ current relationship. While Coca-Cola and Pepsi may have been famed for their mutual rivalry—constantly competing with each other through taste tests, “secret ingredients”, sponsorships and nutrition—the two corporations would not stoop so low as to steal each other’s corporate secrets.

Williams, Duhaney and Dimson were later arrested and put on trial for wire fraud

Dear Evan Hansen: a critical eye By: Varchas Varma

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ear Evan Hansen (released September 24th, 2021) is a coming-of-age drama/musical that follows the story of a mentally distressed teen finding himself in a guilt-ridden predicament between self-acceptance and his social dreams. In this article, I will discuss my opinions on the plot, characters, expectations going into the movie, as well as who I’d recommend it to.

As someone who can enjoy a good heartfelt movie, I am well acquainted with the tropes and clichés of movie writing. The plot of Dear Evan Hansen felt engineered; it felt as though it was specifically

made to pluck each heartstring by pulling out every emotional boilerplate, which left it feeling too artificial. The richest, heaviest, moment hits unusually early, leaving the rest of the movie feeling dry and unsaturated. Rather than feeling emotionally connected to the protagonist, Evan Hansen, I started pitying him instead.

Despite Evan having supposedly made his decisions whilst suffering from clinical anxiety, his choices felt more artificial and "movie-made."

This was a common theme with the characters.

The connection we are meant to have with them could not be maintained as the movie over-exaggerated every trope.

The beginning showed incredible insight into the mind of

someone with severe clinical anxiety. However, as the movie progressed, the development of characters did not, leaving the viewers with a near repetitious telling of the advancing story. Each character also had their own deep personality that required quite a bit of investment from the viewer.

With a large cast like Dear Evan Hansen, this can water down the emotional investment in key characters like its titular protagonist. What helped during dryer moments were the songs. Composed by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul, the music effectively conveyed emotions at a level which the characters themselves could not express. It would have been remarkably effective at building and applying the pent-up

emotion, had the characters been able to produce emotions at the music’s level. The sheer difference in quality between the characters’ emotions and the music broke my immersion, and immediately made me think negatively of the music.

The critical eye with which I have been keenly judging this film stemmed from my preconceived notions about it: most of the advertisements were on Tik Tok, Instagram and Youtube to reach a larger, youth demographic of the same age as Evan Hansen.

These advertisements only consisted of clips from the beginning, which I believe is the strongest part of the movie.

The song used in these clips was “Waving through a Win-

dow”, which is a beautifully written piece that immersed me in a 30-second clip. I found myself — a high school student — stopping to watch these advertisements of a struggling teenager experiencing a range of emotions and thoughts that we all see ourselves go through with an elegant piece of music playing in the background. I expected the emotional connection I felt to the characters to be maintained throughout the film. It failed to do so.

Like many of you, I am a first-time musical watcher; my perspective is from someone who would like to indulge in musical films. Dear Evan Hansen should not be the first movie you watch if you want to try the genre. Its tired plot and over-extended characters

Photo: Wendy Wei Photo: Ben Mullins

and illegally stealing and selling trade secrets. Using the letters, monetary exchanges, and video surveillance of Williams stuffing Coca-Cola documents into her bag from her drawer at work as evidence, they were each handed prison sentences of eight, two, and five years, respectively.

Atlanta-based Coca-Cola has since thanked Pepsi for their assistance. In a statement issued by a PepsiCo spokesman on the matter, he said, “We did what any responsible company would do. Competition can be fierce, but it must also be fair and legal.”

Photo: Designecologist

Photo: Ruca Souza

may drive new watchers away from musicals. This film is for those who are already well-acquainted with the genre and are not searching for flagship films, and instead are simply trying to tick another movie off their list.

Dear Evan Hansen was a movie set up for success with a cast of great actors and advertising reaching thousands.

However, with expectations ahead of itself and an oversimplified format of emotion and musical immersion, the movie failed to deliver on its most fundamental requirement: a good story.

VOLUME 31, ISSUE 1 WINTER 2021 PAGE 10

Culture

Systemic racism: the monster in the closet

Culture

Spiders, bats and hormonal instability By: David Lee

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onestly, I feel like we haven’t gotten any good movies since late 2019 to the early 2020s, mainly because all the blockbuster films scheduled for release got pushed back due to the pandemic. Now that movies are starting to roll out again, there are really only two big movies I’m looking forward to (also it’s important to note that as a long-time comic nerd, my taste in movies and TV is probably going to be biased and if you don’t like it, just stop reading now).

The first movie I’m looking forward to is Spiderman: No Way Home, which is going to introduce the Marvel movies to the idea of a multiverse; this serves as some much-needed plot advancement because little has happened in everything that’s come out since Avengers: Endgame. Most of it doesn’t feel memorable (except for Yelena Belova because Florence Pugh has been living rent-free in my head for months now).

In this film, we’re going to see some already established bignames like Doctor Strange, as well as appearances from Al-

T

he beginning of a new decade brought many unexpected changes which had transformative impacts. 2020 was a much-needed wake-up call, especially when it comes to global issues like systemic racism. Hate crimes against people of colour were at an all-time high, and for the first time in the public eye, people confronted the inherent racism within their communities.

By now, most people have discovered that systemic racism refers to how the institutions that uphold our society naturally favour a specific group of citizens. In many cases, this specific group is white people.

For example, Canada’s history of colonialism is mostly to blame for its persistent racist ideologies. It is well known how colonizers imposed Western culture on Indigenous people, changing their lives for the worse. Similar events in world history like enslaving black people also contributed to the concept of white supremacy, consequences of which people of colour still have to face today. Over time, the absence of people of colour in making important decisions

fred Molina’s Doctor Octopus and what I guess to be Willem Dafoe’s Green Goblin from the original Spiderman trilogy. So I think it’s pretty safe to say that we’ll probably also be getting Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield back as alternate dimension versions of Spiderman. As for the plot, we haven’t really gotten anything from the trailers other than that Peter Parker (the Tom Holland one) wants Doctor Strange to help him make it so that everyone forgets his secret identity, which was revealed at the end of Far From Home by J.K Simmons. Then after some magic foolishness, Strange messes up the spell because Peter won’t quit talking, opening up portals to alternate dimensions. Honestly, that kind of feels a little bland of a reason for such a big plot point, but I’m willing to give it a chance.

Also, Zendaya is in this, but she’s dating Spiderman (Tom Holland), both in the movie and in real life, so I’m probably going to be visibly distraught when watching this in theatres for obvious reasons. Oh yeah,

Ned’s here too; he’s pretty cool, I guess.

The second movie I’m really excited about is The Batman, coming out March 4th.

This is another reboot of Batman if you didn’t know, and this time he’s played by Robert Pattinson (the actor from Twilight). At first, I was a little skeptical about this choice, but after watching him violate several people in the teaser trailer, I was sold. Also, his suit looks absolutely great. I’ve been wanting a slimmer, more agile Batman for years, especially since Christian Bale’s literally couldn’t rotate his head and Ben Affleck’s looked like he was going to have an asthma attack. We’re also going to see Zoe Kravitz playing Catwoman, which is something I’m not going to give my thoughts on because it wouldn’t get past editing. The antagonist will be the Riddler (with the Penguin as a more minor villain), and I’m glad they decided to ditch the entire hippie leprechaun look the old-school Riddler had because it’s easier to take him seriously now. The movie’s

Photo: @devp10 on Unsplash

apparently going to be a thriller rather than an action movie, which I really love since Batman’s whole theme is supposed to be fear and suspense, but I don’t expect it to be that scary as it’s still rated PG-13.

Even though I could go on for hours about all the things I’m excited about, the main thing I want to see is Batman hospitalize some people: broken bones, blood, unnecessary vio-

lence, all the good stuff. At the same time, I don’t really want to see Batman kill, because the whole point of his character is his morality constantly being pushed and questioned to the point of insanity. So he needs to keep his bottled rage and aggression in check to make sure that he doesn’t lower himself to the same level as those he’s trying to take down. I’m really happy we get to watch

these movies on the big screen in just a few months. But still, they can always be delayed again; hopefully they don’t, because I honestly don’t know if I have the mental stability to keep holding on.

Why sustainable fashion isn’t affordable

Photo: Pavel Danilyuk

By: Nitya Kharidehal

VOLUME 31, ISSUE 1 WINTER 2021 PAGE 11

reiterates that racism is deeply rooted in our society. This is reflected in every industry, including education.

Residential and segregated schools for kids of Indigenous and black descent point to the existence of racism in the education industry at its extreme. Today, it isn’t as blatant or easily discernible — rather, it is expressed through stereotypes and microaggressions. For instance, in 2016, a six-year-old black student in Canada was handcuffed because she was displaying “violent” behaviour that was considered harmful to others and herself. The staff and police at the school neglected to view the student as a mere, unarmed child. Instead, they chose to let her race guide their actions.

Additionally, reports indicate that the number of black students in academic high school programs is extremely low, suggesting a lack of a safe, nurturing environment for these students. The Peel District School Board (PDSB) has been trying to change this by ensuring that black and Indigenous students’ acceptance into the Regional Learning Choices Programs are prioritized; however, there is still a long journey ahead before an

equilibrium is reached.

Like many other organizations, PDSB apologized for condoning racist acts in the past. Efforts on educating teachers and students regarding racism, diversity and inclusion have become significantly more focused in the last year.

While there is a long way to go, education is the ideal first step for everyone to be more aware.

Especially in times like these, when the expression of racism, subconscious or otherwise, is nuanced. As a collective, our society has moved on from the times when open hate speech is considered ordinary, or even legal. However, there cannot be any laws to regulate our thoughts. Humans are naturally biased and form stereotypes about people they do not identify with. Psychologically, it is caused by our tendency to make the world simpler — to observe patterns and inculcate them in our own lives. This, combined with exposure to environments, result in definitive images of certain groups, no matter their accuracy. This concept, known as implicit bias, occurs on a subconscious level and guides our actions without our knowledge. Interestingly, implicit bias enables us to make spontaneous de-

cisions in dire times. Unfortunately, it could also mean we are all subconsciously racist.

Implicit biases often manifest in the form of microaggressions. These are small actions that could unintentionally make a person of colour feel unwelcome or uncomfortable, among other things. For instance, questions like, “Where are you really from?”, or “How do you speak good English?”, are loaded with implications about people of colour and their sense of belonging in predominantly Western culture. Although we cannot actively monitor our subconscious thoughts, we can make changes in our lifestyle to change our thought process.

The first step is educating ourselves and exploring other perspectives. Understanding implicit bias, how we have been conditioned to form certain beliefs, and what consequences they can lead to for minorities is crucial in unpacking our discriminatory tendencies.

Education can occur through courses and workshops, but also in the form of things we enjoy best: books, TV shows, documentaries, etc. It isn’t until we collectively start seeking change that we can truly

achieve a fair world. In the words of Hal Tipper, “Mindfulness and awareness is the bridge between reaction and conscious choice.”

Photo: Colin Lloyd

By: Selena Zhou

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hese past few years have seen a major increase in environmental consciousness, and the fashion community has been hit with the green bug as well.

From bestdressed aka Ashley’s sustainable fashion and Kelly Stamps’ minimalism, to the surge of thrifting and clothing altering content on YouTube and TikTok, it seems like the social fashion community has been taking great measures to become more aware of their ecological footprint. However, this focus on sustainability has slowly become a wild goose chase to find and condemn anyone who isn’t making sustainable choices. Is it true that we should all actively try to dress sustainably, or are we overlooking something else?

Before we jump to any conclusions, let us first get a proper understanding of what sustainable fashion is. Two key terms bouncing around the fashion community are “fast fashion”, and its opposition, “slow fashion”. As the name suggests, fast fashion entails clothing and accessories that are produced in bulk.

Many major clothing retail-

ers, such as Urban Outfitters, H&M, and NastyGal, are fast fashion brands. Fast fashion has gained a poor reputation in the community due to its environmentally unfriendly basis. Furthermore, many of these companies have been denounced because of their unethical work practices— workers usually being sourced from third world countries with poor working conditions and lack of labour unions.

However, the advantage of fast fashion is that it ends up being cheaper for the consumer, and companies can get specific styles on-demand. Slow fashion does a complete 180 on the clothing production process.

Many slow fashion or sustainable companies, such as Reformation and Madewell, source their work locally and create clothing by upcycling existing fabric. This results in better quality clothing, as well as a much more environmentally friendly and ethical production process. Unfortunately, it takes a very long time for a single batch of clothing to be made following this process.

Consequently, the prices for sustainable fashion skyrocket past what most people are able

Photo: Harry Haysom

to afford.

Think of it this way: a dress at H&M costs around twenty dollars. At Reformation, that same dress could cost up to three hundred dollars. Not only is this well beyond many people’s price range, but imagine having to build a whole wardrobe with only sustainable fashion. Just the shirts themselves could add up to thousands of dollars.

For most people, it’s nowhere near feasible to invest in even a single piece of clothing in that

price range. Sustainable fashion is, unfortunately, a privilege. Furthermore, because of how hard it is to produce clothing through environmentally friendly methods, many green clothing companies lack a proper size-inclusive range.

It is incredibly frustrating for some people to have to leaf through tens of green fashion businesses before finding something in their size—oftentimes in styles that they don’t even like. Size inclusivity is also a major reason why

people can’t purchase even affordable sustainable clothing, such as clothes from second hand stores or thrift shops.

We can’t expect people to shop sustainably when sustainable fashion shuts out so many communities.

Ultimately, the question of sustainability in fashion boils down to the companies rather than the consumers.

Large retailers worth millions should stop taking advantage of out-of-state workers, and try to shift some of their pro-

duction practices to be more sustainable. While it is important to do the best you can as an individual, at the end of the day, the most sustainable thing to do is to not buy any more new clothes than necessary.

VOLUME 29, ISSUE 1 WINTER, 2021 PAGE 12

Culture

VOLUME 31, ISSUE 1 WINTER 2021 PAGE 13

Culture

Photo: Hana Brannigan from Pexels

Photo: Vincent Rivaud from Pexels

Photo: Pixabay

Photo: Chantel

Are we eating authentic pizzas and tacos?

By: Ashwin Kailayaruban

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ave you ever thought about where your favourite foods originated from or whether the pizza you eat at your local pizzeria is even authentic? Many foods that we enjoy on a daily basis came from certain nationalities, but have been modified to cater towards the preferences of a larger population. This article will cover two food items from two very different traditional cuisines that may not be as truly authentic as advertised.

Stay tuned, you may even be surprised!

No matter where you go in the world, you will most likely find a chain that sells American pizza, a popular comfort food. Pizza is quite

simple to make, after all. It’s just dough with sauce, cheese, and additional toppings, right?

Pizza (also known as pie) originated from Italy and was popularized in the late 1800s; however, Italian pie is very different compared to American pizza. Authentic Italian pizza has a thin crust and one or no topping at all, whereas many American pizzas have thicker crusts with numerous toppings. American pizzas often use aged cheeses, while Italian pizzas use fresh cheeses such as mozzarella and ricotta. In fact, many American pizzas feature a vast range of meats; contrary to Italian cuisine, which uses a singular type of meat, as they believe it is more enjoyable to savour one unique flavour. The pie’s sauce in Italy is usually

made of tomato puree, garlic, oregano, and olive oil, which complements the crust, while American pizzas are made of slow cooked tomato sauce.

However, one similarity that both types of pizza have is that they have multiple styles from different regions. In America, you have New York and Chicago Deep Dish pizzas, and in Italy, there is Neapolitan, Pizza Fritta, and Sicilian pizza, just to name a few. The authentic Italian pies provide an opportunity to enjoy the unique flavours of the ingredients, while American pizza from fastfood chains offer a range of toppings to cater to consumers from diverse backgrounds.

Another incredibly popular food that has been changed from its original roots are ta-

cos. It is believed that tacos were created by mine-workers in Mexico. The name originates from the charges that the silver miners would use to access the precious metal. Tacos are a big part of Mexican culture and have been a staple for American fast food, but are fast food “tacos” the same as their originals? Like the differences in pizza preparations, authentic Mexican tacos use different techniques and ingredients compared to the tacos served at fast-food chains.

An example of this would be the different types of tortillas used. Mexican tacos utilise corn flour—a staple in Mexican cuisine, whereas American tortillas are made mostly of flour. A popular American taco filling is hamburger meat

accompanied by cheese, sour cream, tomato, coriander, and many other optional toppings, varying from person to person. A Mexican taco does not use hamburger meat, but rather meats such as barbacoa (lamb), carnitas (pork), al pastor (beef and pork), carne asada (thin steak slices), and black beans for vegetarians.

In terms of authentic Mexican toppings, white onions, cilantro, and pepper are common, but very rarely would you eat an authentic taco with cheese.

So what did we learn from these two incredible dishes other than the fact that the original and the modified versions are both incredibly tasty? The original versions of both dishes emphasize the

one key ingredient in the dish that makes them unique and special. Some examples of this would include how Italian pizza only uses one kind of meat and how Mexican tacos emphasize the meat rather than the condiments. American versions of either food utilise multiple ingredients to create a culinary experience filled with an explosion of flavours and textures. But in the end, only one thing is certain. Although traditional foods are often modified to the tastes and preferences of different demographics, both versions of the dishes are extremely delicious and will make your mouth water. It’s all a matter of preference!

The growing obsession with fast food Photo: Jonathan Borba

By: Navam Thind

A

lot of us can agree that if we were given a choice to eat from our favourite fast food restaurant or to eat at home, we would choose the restaurant. But some of us would also feel guilty afterwards because it was too expensive or too unhealthy. Why exactly do we feel the need to try so many fast foods that come out, even when we know that they might not be the best choice? A lot of this has to do with the way fast food is advertised and marketed. The advertisements show that it is quick, easy, cheap, and more appealing than what someone might make at home.

Whether you realize it or not, fast food commercials are made to influence your decisions. The way the food products are advertised makes them practically addictive to people. A professor at the University of Michigan conducted a study where she showed 180 people three kinds of commercials: one for unhealthy

fast food, one for healthier fast food, and a control commercial for cell phones. Her studies showed that commercials have a way of “getting under your skin”. This does not mean that seeing something like a sandwich would make you automatically go to a store and buy one, but it would draw you to that category of food.

It would make you seek processed foods, influencing you to look around in your kitchen for food similar to what you saw in the commercial without your knowledge. Eventually, it pushes you to go to a restaurant and buy that sandwich.

In the case of restaurants, convenience and popularity go hand in hand. Because fast food is advertised as something cheap, it causes more people to go and buy it. This also ties in with a previous point: as the popularity of consuming fast food increases, the feelings of missing out — that everyone has tried it except for you — arise. This generates an

urge to buy it, creating an endless cycle of trying and feeling you need to try something new. According to Restaurants Canada, around 60% of Canadians say that they eat out at least once a week. Eating out is also portrayed as being convenient, which can be very appealing to someone with a busy schedule. It seems so much easier to just walk up to

a restaurant and order something rather than spending 30 minutes preparing something in your kitchen.

This may seem as if it is not a big deal at first, but people do disrupt their daily routines to make a quick stop at their favourite restaurant, thinking it’s more convenient.

Fast food companies make sure that people feel like they

are missing out on something if they don’t try the food that they sell, and that their life will be so much easier if they buy their food. So next time you feel guilty for wasting money at a restaurant when you could have eaten at home, just know that you’re not alone and that there are thousands of people who think the same way.

Photo: Peter Rudwall

The issue of social injustice within climate change By: Nayeema Rahat Jahan

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limate change has been an overarching issue in the world for a while now, and as with just about every matter in our society, it comes with its own set of conflicts and challenges. These challenges can be connected to many other global issues, specifically the ones that seem to be the root cause of others. Racism, social standing, and income inequality are examples of such issues that can make even well-intended global initiatives — such as working towards a sustainable and environmentally sound world — problematic.

These challenges and issues can impact many, but they often affect some groups more than others such as people of colour, lower-income, and those in generally marginalised situations, on both a local and an international level.

Global South countries often receive the brunt of the effects of climate change.

Largely developed and controlling countries such as the U.S.A., Canada, the United Kingdom, and China may find it marginally easier to take certain steps to overcome climate change. For such countries that possess high global influence and control, it is easier to consider aspects such as money and accessibility, when planning steps toward eco-friendly practices. Whereas for smaller, less influential countries, it can be more challenging to find the funding necessary and easy accessibility needed to take on such large projects.

Photo: James Eades

Many Global South countries, such as Vietnam, rely heavily on industrial manufacturing for economic stability. These national markets see a lot of foreign investments, dumping from foreign industries, and then their goods are exported to be used around the world. While Vietnam is continuously being polluted as a result, nations that import these goods continue using these commodities on a large scale and are left unscathed.

The idea is to use nations like Vietnam for the “dirty work” and still profit from the industries without facing the consequences. Rather than getting

what they deserve, more harm is being done to Vietnam and other countries in similar situations.

Canada has its own fair share of shameful discriminatory practices, and this extends to the umbrella of injustice within climate change. As with many other things, the brunt of climate change in Canada has also fallen upon the shoulders of the Indigenous community. One infamous area, known as Chemical Valley, is home to more than 40% of Canada’s chemical industry and is one of many examples.

It is worth noting that the main victim of this situation

is the Aamjiwnaang community. Industry actors effectively dump the dark side of things like these on communities with less power and influence.

Their inability to speak out and be heard causes things to continue in the inequitable state they have always been in.

There are blatant examples of this treatment within the Peel community as well: certain areas are not taken care of and neglected, whereas others are kept dutifully neat and tidy. As unfortunately intended, there is always a clear difference between areas of lower-income and racialized communities, and communities of higher

income and privileged races/ ethnicities.

Social injustice exists in some form or another in just about every matter in this world, whether ill-intentioned or not. Working towards overcoming the challenge of climate change is quite obviously an improvement for our world, but everything has a dark side to it and this issue is no different. For communities that are oppressed, the road to overcoming oppression and acquiring agency in the world is endless. Communities that hold more control are determined to keep everyone in their place. Certain groups

are stuck in their unfortunate state, unable to escape.

They must bear the dark side of industries; the contamination and pollution, receiving nothing in return and unable to help their state in any way.

Both routes are dead ends.

Hence the issue: how can the world overcome this great — perhaps lethal — issue that is climate change, when social injustice proves to be yet another barrier towards a sustainable future?

VOLUME 31, ISSUE 1 WINTER 2021 PAGE 14

Community

VOLUME 31, ISSUE 1 WINTER 2021 PAGE 15

Crossword

Interview with Ms. Zammit Right. And with how rapidly things are changing nowadays, do you think there's still a typical day-in-the-life of Ms. Zammit?

Oh my gosh. Not really. Every day is super busy, sometimes my children will ask, “Mom, what do you do all day?” And I can't even explain because the day goes by so fast.

There's always lots of things happening in the life of this school. There's lots of memos and things that I'm responsible for from my supervisors. A lot of things that teachers are asked to do that I have to support, and different families and students need support as well.

I think that's just because a school is kind of like a little town: We have 1100 people; people need each other. That's what keeps me busy during the day: interacting with people and just doing what I can [to help them].

Moving away from your job as a principal, have you picked up any new hobbies? If not, are there any hobbies that you've continued throughout the quarantine?

Photo: Emily Cao

I'm not really a hobby person, and the reason why is I don't have a lot of time.

I spend most of my time at work or with my kids, who are all really active in sports and extracurriculars. If I'm not here, I'm like an “Uber mom”: I'm driving somebody somewhere all what was your first impression of Glenforest? the time. So I don't really have a lot of time for personal things.

But I do try to go to the gym, and I've been better about it at When I first arrived, there weren't any people here yet: it times, but that's something that I need to improve at for my own was this summer, and the renovations were complete. So that wellness, staying active and being physically healthy. was really exciting, because we had a lot of new classrooms and spaces. Then, when the staff came, I felt really welcomed. I think I actually live really close to Glenforest. I grew up in this everybody was kind of nervous about being back, but excited neighborhood, about a one-minute drive from this school. So too. I enjoyed those early days when the teachers first came in, I'm really happy to be here, because this is my community. and we were getting to know each other, but honestly: the best part is you guys. It really is. When students showed up and there was life back in the school, that kind of revived me and got me So, last but not least, what's one thing that really excited for the school year.

Can you give us a brief introduction of your- And speaking of schools being great places, self?

Sure. My name is Ms. Zammit, and I'm really excited to be the principal at Glenforest. I've been an educator for a pretty long time now — about 22 years. I first started as a geography and history teacher, then I became a vice principal at Lincoln Alexander, and then at Brampton Centennial. After that, I became a principal at Clarkson Secondary School. I was there for five and a half years, and this is my second school as principal.

So that's sort of my professional journey.

As for my personal life: I'm married. I have three kids: a you want students to know about yourself? daughter who's 15 and two sons who are 13 and 11, as well as two cats and two dogs. My two cats are Sally and Austin, and my Even though there's still challenges, there's so much haptwo dogs are Oscar — who's a little Yorkie poo — and George pening here. There's clubs, there's sports, there's activities, I just want students to know that I really love being here — who’s a big yellow lab, and our newest dog. there's people in the halls. People are reconnecting; in a way and that I want them to feel like they can come and ask to do an that, I think, wasn't really possible last year. So really, I feel wel- interview, or they can pop by my door, or that they can just get I actually live really close to Glenforest. I grew up in this come. I feel at home. I feel like I'm still getting to know every- to know me. neighborhood, about a one-minute drive from this school. So body, but it's been a good feeling.

I'm really happy to be here, because this is my community.

I mean, I haven't been here very long, but I think it's really important that we don't have barriers, right? I'm your principal, and if you have a question, you should be able to come and ask Growing up, what did you want to be? Did you Speaking of COVID circumstances, especially me. I just really encourage students to not hesitate in reaching out: You can knock on my door, talk to me in the hall, or you ever think you'd be a school principal? as we're now back in school, what challenges can even send me an email. Because that's what I'm here for.

That's a great question. When I was younger, I really loved the idea of being a history and geography teacher, because I had really great teachers in those subjects. So I wanted to be like those people who had inspired me.

At the same time, I was always really intrigued by law, and thought about being a lawyer. So I debated between those two things for many, many years, but really, I felt like my heart was in teaching. I love being in schools: I think schools are the most important thing in the world. I think that's where people don't just learn [academics], but they learn to become good people.

And I'm really proud to be part of schools. I think it's a really important job, whether you're a teacher or principal. When I started, I didn't think I would become a principal, but over time, I was inspired by the people around me who were really dedicated to making schools great places: that's what I tried to do from the beginning, and what I'm still doing now.

do you think COVID has caused you as a principal?

Well, as much as things are better, there are still a lot of limitations. We're not fully back to normal. I think there's a lot of things that everyone's hopeful for, like prom and commencement ceremony — some of those things that really get us back to pre-COVID times. And I'm hopeful that those things will run.

But I think right now, we still need to be really cautious: We have to go week by week and figure out what we can do safely. I think everybody understands that, which is really good.

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Kevin McCallister heated this up as a home defense tactic the one who asked [for advice] a colourful feeling aurora ___ the ___ heist the monster in the closet snow that hurts the newest section in the newspaper

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(a place) no polar bears, yes penguins Ms. Zammit’s newest dog spiders, bats, and ___ instability shortest day of the year the cure is warm water or amputation (a bird) slow + peaceful the [loose] theme of this crossword Jack ___ number of sides on the average snowflake the number of snowflakes hidden throughout this issue dance of the ___ fairy

Take a photo of your solved crossword and DM it to @gfss.talontimes on Instagram!

First 6 readers to do so will receive a prize!

Hint: Some hints make reference to parts of the newspaper (ex. article titles, categories, etc.)

VOLUME 31, ISSUE 1 WINTER 2021 PAGE 16

Comics By: Alice Guo

By: "Egg"

By: Menahil Abid

By: Crystal Zhu

Copy Editors

Credits: (Continued)

James Yan Raymond Qiu Stephen Tran Nitya Kharidehal Jessica Chen Navam Thind Saanvi Dixit Nayeema Rahat Jahan Riya Piryani Sophia Zhang

Layout Designers

Alex Lu Shahzaib Siddiqui Aakaash Rohra Amy Tang Mina Jeremic Sara Alshakiry Krish Singh

Photographers:

Meesha Hasan Abinaya Sivashanmugathas Rachna Venkatesh Mashal Khan Leon Yang Akshay Satish Samantha Chen Varun R. Dhanam Ayaan Nawab

Advice Columnists

Sanjali Paruthi Rachna Venkatesh Stella Xia

Comic Artists

"Egg" Alice Guo Crystal Zhu Menahil Abid