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1 SEPTEMBER 2026
V62 2026–27
The Innis Herald
Letter from the Editor
a song of the summer
Dear Readers,
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
My name is Batu and I’m at your service as The Innis Herald’s 62nd Volume’s Editor-in-Chief. *Bela Lugosi voice* I bid you welcome to the first edition of this year’s run of Herald issues.
Burak Batu Tunçel “Billion Dollar Babies” – Alice Cooper MANAGING EDITOR
Simbarashe S. Mutika “Waste My Time” – Grace VanderWaal COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR
Douglas Ho “Circles” – Post Malone CREATIVE DIRECTOR
Vince Woodford “True Faith ‘94” – New Order
If you’ve been a regular reader of the Herald for a while now, you may recall me from the two previous years as a creative director for the newspaper or rather, the guy who sometimes introduces the Free Friday Films over at Innis Town Hall. My university life and subsequently my plans for post-graduation have been shaken to the core since my involvement with both CINSSU and the Herald. Many times, I’ve wondered about who I am, if I’m publicly perceived more as a film guy or a newspaper guy, and even wrote a feature-length screenplay trying to figure it out but it remains to this day a screenplay without an ending. I’ve gotta confess much of my love and devotion to the Herald in some way comes from my admiration for Alan J. Pakula’s All the President’s Men, which presents journalism as equally convoluted, boring, excruciating but also cool and exciting — but what matters the most is that the film firmly believes that journalism is a noble cause that’s essential in obtaining and sharing the truth with others in an age of disillusionment and information pollution.
LAYOUT EDITORS
Chloé Gong--Minière “A Minute, A Mile” – girlsweetvoiced Rowan Parkinson “Music” – underscores PODCAST DIRECTOR
Labelle Qin “House History” – Layup GRAPHIC DESIGNER
Isabella Smith “Sneakernight” – Vanessa Hudgens
While the journalism in that film is not necessarily the type of journalism the Herald has to offer (though I would encourage it), our newspaper remains as an accessible and chill hub for communication; both in sending your thoughts out to the world and others receiving it, occasionally by picking up a copy somewhere in the Innis lobby. My experience in reading the pitches sent to me when I was the creative director made me realize that the Herald is run by our regular collaborators as much as our masthead. It’s almost always the pieces that shape the theme at the end of the day, and whenever someone who has submitted a piece before has something new for the next one, it feels like catching up with a good friend. “Catching up” feels like the right phrase to describe the undercurrents flowing in between the pieces of our summer issue. It’s been months since the Herald has last spoken to its readers, and now’s the time for a small chat together on what we’ve been up to during the summer, or what’s been up with the world since then. The delightfully varied directions taken by individual authors, such as personal essays, travelogues, and opinion pieces, impressionistically highlight different stories and ways to see the world.
STAFF ILLUSTRATOR
Neecole Fabian “gimme all ur luv” – hemlocke springs
Now, just a moment to acknowledge everybody on the Herald masthead. A newspaper is almost like a machine, and it is the co-operation and labour of its individual parts that has produced the copy you’re holding in your hands. I’m honoured to work alongside these exceptional people who have made it possible.
SENIOR COPY EDITOR
Callie Zhang “Cool Cat” – Queen
In the meantime, “Be excellent to each other” and I’ll see you in the next issue! Burak Batu Tunçel
JUNIOR COPY EDITORS
Katherine Chen “The Girl From Ipanema” – Astrud Gilberto and Stan Getz Claire Wilson “Night Mail” – Public Service Broadcasting JUNIOR COMMS DIRECTORS
Carina Porretta “Mary On A Cross” – Ghost Parmida Cheraghi Zanjani “Gravity” – A Perfect Circle
Editor-in-Chief
in the 70s, the
Innis Mosaic was a way for the Herald community to share their thoughts and stories across the college and campus from confessions to updates, if not bar recommendations.
“I want to try an EpiPen so I can become an addict” – Michael Cera lookalike coworker
🌟
if i react with a emoji to one of your discord messages it means this is stellar and you’re brilliant and i love you a psa really just meant for masthead
JUNIOR CREATIVE DIRECTORS
Madison McCarthy “Cruel” – St. Vincent Rico Chen “Sun” – Two Door Cinema Club
As of 2026, here’s what we have to say...
“Did you notice all those new colours????” – avid Google Calendar user
o-week essentials: · sunscreen and/ or cap · charging bank · deodorant · a bag that can hold things · knowledge of climatized spaces · a readiness for ego death · tylenol
“I know what I’m saying sounds like a conspiracy but I’m not a conspiracy theorist [...]” – a stranger I met by the water
high-pitched screaming erupts somewhere downtown “what the hell was that?” “probably that show... the heated hockey guys”
“If you were a type of trash, which one would you be?” => things we talk about at work
“the vibes of all the songs are so wildly different” [re: masthead credits]
CONTRIBUTORS
Delia Lappala, Max Leitch, Jai Mann, Cedar McTavish, Shakira R., Soren Stancliff
friend and i at our first jays game: “d’you know the rules of baseball?” “i’m just here for the hot dogs”
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Water, Trash, and Time
The things I thought about when I wasn’t thinking about what I was doing — I had a lot of time to think at work this summer Simbarashe S. Mutika FEATURE
Salzburg (2010)
Prelude I feel that the Summer of ’26 was a microcosm of the past three years of my time at U of T. It started out hopeful, with the anticipation of novelty around every corner and a memorable time. I met people that would never have been on my radar otherwise. I heard stories carried from beyond the horizon. I laughed at jokes that I didn’t quite get and smiled to myself when I thought about how incredible it is that I have found myself here and now. It was all a surprise to be sure but a welcome one. Water: I think I like water, here’s why… Growing up somewhere landlocked, I rarely found myself near a large body of water. Visiting lakes or rivers was a special occasion — reserved for school trips and holidays. When I moved to Toronto, and Lake Ontario by extension, the idea of taking a short walk to the water failed to cross my mind. Sure, I’d heard of the fabled water taxi to The Islands and had seen images of the harbourfront, and the vast expanse on the approach to Pearson Airport. But experience is a different thing. My first taste of the lake was during a day trip with an engineer I met on the street — and his friends. We went to Scarborough Bluffs, had a walk, had a picnic, and played dodgeball. It was a blur, but I remember feeling the cool breeze that tends to hang around large bodies of water, and it was a real “Anton Ego” moment. I got flashbacks to all the times I’ve ever been on a boat, a lake, a river — big water.
I was fighting red-winged blackbirds, dodging seagulls, skirting around dangerous swans and getting hissed at by nasty geese. I saw a beaver for the first time. A real, honest, hard-working beaver that was just hanging out on a bike path at Tommy Thompson Park. I also saw the most adorable looking turtle tangled up in a mess of weeds and foam pieces. People can do so much to harm the world that holds them, and it makes me so very sad. But when I look up and around me I see my peers doing the same work that I do. I see curious citizens stopping to look and ask questions, wondering what they can do to make a difference, hoping that we can fix this mess we’ve made. I have met a man who talked about cement, someone who used to dance the evenings away back in the ‘80s, and a guy that donated ice cream and cereal. I spotted the excited gleam in the eyes of kids as they gazed upon the clean water after we cleared some trash. I saw and heard all this, and I was grateful to the me in March who decided to apply for this job.
Vienna (2013)
Victoria Falls (2016)
Scarborough (2024)
Then I visited the Bluffs a second time, with a one-time hermit — and his friends. He ate bread by the water. I found that profound in a way that I could not explain. Sitting there and just existing by a lake had me reeling for a hot minute. Having experienced all this, I think I like large bodies of water; there’s just something about them. While I’ve never been to the beach, riverbanks and the lakeside are similar enough — they have all the important bits (sand and water). I can appreciate sand well enough, it’s coarse and rough and irritating and it gets everywhere, but it’s also the result of the world around us breaking down rocks and stuff, with a healthy dose of aquatic creature parts — which is neat. On a slight tangent, you know what else breaks down into little pieces? Anthropogenic debris — which happens to ruin the whole water thing that lakes and rivers have going on. Trash in the water is a real bother, and my summer was spent doing something about it.
Trash: How much trash can a trash trap trap if a trash trap could trap trash I was hired to do some field research on the Toronto waterfront. After running one too many chromatograms in the chem lab, I felt the need to do some science outside. You won’t find me out in the wild, exposing myself to summer ticks and Lyme disease. But the field can be many things, like harbours, a police station, marinas, or a yacht club. This summer I’ve been collecting things in the waters of Lake Ontario and the Don River. There’s been a lot of neat stuff like a message in a bottle and ten dollars, but there’s also been a bunch of not-so-neat stuff like pre-production plastic pellets, pieces of foam packaging, and a bag of chicken eggs. For every silly toy or winter boot, there were ten bottle caps and food wrappers. I was reminded of how trashy trash can be. When I wasn’t trapping trash, I was interacting with a whole range of critters in the downtown wilds.
Time: “All you have is time.” – Ian Even as I enter my final year as an undergrad, there remains that hopeful anticipation of a fresh start and the chance to experience something new. I shall meet new people, find new cappuccinos, and then gradually settle into a routine. I will come across something old, something new, something owed, something something. That said, I have started to come to terms with the idea that this thing is going to end soon; that time waits for no one and races on regardless. These thoughts and feelings are the same ones I had in my first year — both a promise and a reminder. I know you’ve heard a variation of this from family, friends, and anyone who has ever gone before you. As someone who is going on to the next thing soon enough, I leave this for those who come after. In the words of a fictional mother sending her son towards the stars, you can’t stop change any more than you can stop the suns from setting.
Toronto (2026)
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1 SEPTEMBER 2026
Hear Ye, Hear Ye! September is Coming
Or: Things to Look Forward to As We Go Back to School, and Other Advice Chloé Gong--Minière STUDENT LIFE
Students a) new to the city, b) who’ve never been, or c) who were away over the summer should immediately flock there to see the Impressionist exhibit on display on the 4th floor. Originally from the Dallas Whether you’re a first-year just starting your U of T Museum of Art, these works will be gone by mid-Ocjourney this fall or a returning student already famil- tober. The new exhibit Sunday Best, which spotlights iar with our university’s ins and outs, September can Black fashion, will open around that time — I’m vibratbe a daunting month to think about. School supplies ing just thinking about it! sales are set up in stores around the city, every August Specific dates and other exhibition details are availsunset brings us closer to the end of summer, and soon able on the AGO website (https://ago.ca/exhibitions). enough, campus will fill up again with the sound of roll- Who said the city’s only alive during the summer? ing suitcases, and then, later, of wails, grievances, and other GPA-related anxieties. Libraries Reopening As an incoming third-year, I have come to appreci- Anyone who knows me knows that ate and even adore this time of year. Despite its popular U of T libraries are one of my go-to nickname of “U of Tears,” getting an education at our conversation topics. This absolutely university is synonymous with an array of unique perks, has to do with the fact that I’ve worked at two of them, services, and infrastructure, among a sizable, diverse but I think we can all agree that libraries are one of student body, in one of the most bustling metropoles the best institutions ever invented. Of the U of T ones, in North America. So, without further ado, here’s a most remain open over the summer — though some non-exhaustive list of things I am (and you should be!) switch to reduced hours — while others close entirely. looking forward to this coming season. As soon as the Fall session begins, though, all library services will be fully back in business. Looking TIFF for a free table at any of the more popular study spaces Each year, the first week of classes (notably, Robarts and Gerstein) during midterm and nearly coincides with the start of finals season is a top-five most common U of T experithe Toronto International Film Fes- ences, and a much-bemoaned one. (It also teaches you tival, the largest public film festival in the world. This that talking to a librarian can bring you more than you year, it takes place from the 10th to the 20th of Septem- might expect. They always know the hidden gems!) ber. Many students are involved with the festival, often Despite the struggles and bad memories one may as volunteers, while some cover it as press. associate with our libraries, I sincerely believe that little Regardless of your level of involvement or know- beats the strange satisfaction of staying until 9 p.m. at ledge of the festival, I highly encourage everyone to EJ Pratt to finish a paper and commuting back home at least take a peek at Festival Street in its first few on a biting November evening, or the singular ecstasy days. Who knows? If you’re lucky, you might witness a of settling down with friends in Robarts Commons Hollywood star exiting their car to walk the red carpet at 10 a.m. only to go on four separate snack runs and of their film’s premiere! If not, there are always many ultimately get kicked out of a study room you didn’t food trucks, free sample booths, and other activa- book. tions offered along the stretch of King Street roughly If it all feels like hell while it’s happening and you’re between University and Spadina. just praying for the semester to end, these moments If you wish to see a film, I’d recommend looking make for cherished memories that part of you will miss into screenings taking place during the second week, and reminisce about post-graduation. The study spots and focus your selection on lower budget/indie pro- you come to adopt as a second home form an integral ductions, since they’ll be harder to see post-festival component of the whole journey. and tend to attract less buzz — which usually makes I will here admit that my favourite library, Uniit easier to find a ticket. TIFF Lightbox also screens versity College Library, is among the few that compart of the festival selection year-round, so it’s a great pletely closed over the summer term. Though the place to watch films not typically offered at your local place doesn’t draw consensus among students — due Cineplex. to factors such as not-so-reliable wifi and relative lack Another tip I like to share with friends is to check of seating in the aforementioned periods — it is run by r/TIFF for announcements of late ticket drops, and some of the best library staff on campus (I am proudly to turn on notifications from r/TIFFTickets, where biased). It also houses U of T’s largest and most up-tofestival-goers often resell tickets at the last minute, date bestsellers selection, which includes both fiction when they can’t make a screening. I’m personally super and non-fiction works, from romance books and conexcited about this year’s lineup and I hope to see you temporary novels to biographies and political analyses. there! Another library I’d like to shout out is Innis College Library, as it might be of interest to our core readership. The AGO Closed since April, it is set to re-open in January in a One of my other favourite spots new, improved location — see the Innis expansion proin the city is the Art Gallery of ject piece published in V61E4 of the Herald for more Ontario. Within walking distance of information. #shamelessplug. campus, the gallery holds a rich permanent collection Perhaps one day I will write a ranking of my favourof Canadian, Indigenous, and European art, as well as ite U of T libraries, with some metrics to help students a panoply of temporary exhibitions. find the one(s) most suited to their needs and prefer-
ences. Until then, I suggest watching the wonderful “Visiting every U of T library” series produced by one of the @lifeatuoft storytellers, which you can find on their Instagram! Student Life Starting Up Again This is the section where I overshare about my life (though one could argue I’ve been doing that the whole article). My first year at U of T was, looking back, really rather terrible. I was extremely sad most of the time and I felt very lonely. I skipped the majority of frosh week because I didn’t enjoy the first day; then, I filled much of my free time over the year by taking advantage of a few profs’ office hours, while forcing myself to attend a couple of events. But it didn’t feel like I was doing anything, like I was part of the school or like I belonged here. Then, on a random afternoon in early January of 2025, I decided to pitch to the Herald. I said I wanted to write a love letter to the paper — which I’d been reading while sitting at the Innis Library desk — and described the potential piece as being about “how much i enjoy the letter from the editor and the mosaic and personal essays and fraudulent film reviews” and “what it all means for The Soul to see such delicate blossoms (persistence and creativity) sprout from such hostile soil (UofTears).” Julian and Kiran, the creative directors at the time, kindly accepted my pitch, and later on, I wrote a film review/personal essay for the last issue of V60. A few months later, I nervously texted the Instagram account asking if they were still looking for another layout editor; I was hired that summer, now over a year ago. The Herald has taught me many skills and confirmed my love of teamwork. It has brought me community. Since then, I’ve ventured into contributing to the UC Gargoyle whenever I can, and recently became part of the masthead. Student life looks different to everyone, though, and that brings me to the advice I’d like to end on, especially for the first years reading this. Maybe you’ll find your person/people at orientation, or maybe you’re even coming in with friends from your pre-U of T times! Which is all wonderful. But if not, don’t be afraid of joining organizations: to apply to a band or choir or drama society, to run for a first-year rep position for your future department’s student union, to scour the Student Organization Portal for a group related to whatever niche hobby you have because I promise you, it probably already exists. That’s one advantage of going to such a large school. In many ways, September is the real Spring, when campus resurrects from the half-slumber it falls into during the summer and chirpy voices resonate around the corridors. And so, may more blossoms — of persistence and creativity and whatever else you need — sprout beneath each of your steps as you walk (back) on our shared soil for the next eight months. I wish you, dear reader, with all my heart, the most beautiful, bountiful backto-school!
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Confessions of a 2nd Year Parmida Cheraghi Zanjani PERSONAL / STUDENT LIFE “The next station is St. George. St. George Station.” My hands grip tighter around the strap of my bag as I prepare to leave the train. Once again, out of stubbornness, here I am carrying my suitcase up the stairs instead of using the elevator. The wheels glide against the ground as I slowly but steadily make my way to the Bloor Street crossroad. The view of Robarts Library appears from the distance, causing a rush of emotions to run through my veins as it finally dawns on me how much I had missed this place ever since I left at the end of April. I take a deep breath and begin walking across the street just as the lights change color. I grab the TCard in my pocket that had not seen the light of day for four months and bring it out to once again look at the all-too-familiar face. Across the street in front of Innis College, I see the very same person getting out of a car and stepping foot on campus for the first time. Looking back at myself, I remember my excitement about finally starting my journey at U of T, a place where I hoped to figure out who I wanted to be in life. The introductions at breakfast tables during orientation and the midnight conversations about the purpose of life in study rooms made me realize I was exactly where I wanted to be: a place where I finally felt a sense of belonging, surrounded by a supportive community I began to deeply care for from the bottom of my heart. Throughout the year, I started finding pieces of myself in the simplest moments: while admiring the snow sitting on a bench beside Emmanuel Library, walking in Front Campus late at night from a lecture at the Medical Sciences building, during random conversations
with friends on my way to a tutorial at Wilson Hall, and even on the bus ride back from a ski trip at Blue Mountain. My room, with each passing day, became filled with pictures, drawings, gifts, silly trophies, and papers that turned it from the empty room it was at the beginning into somewhere I began to call home by the end of the year. The 2 a.m. rock-metal jam sessions while my suitemate battled linear algebra and I, my lab report, turned into core memories. The walks back to the residence after a 3 a.m. exam cram session with my friend from Robarts Commons made me see the beauty in the quiet streets of the night while the pool table in the residence turned into my usual hangout spot with friends as we caught up on life and ran away from everything for just a few hours. Somewhere amongst the sleepless nights, the consecutive alarm clocks set for 9 a.m. lectures, the rushed walks to labs, the forced smiles behind video calls, and the restless anxiety of upcoming deadlines, a feeling of self-doubt grew within me, feeding off of every small mistake and creating an overwhelming sense of falling behind. I grew tired of feeling like I had to be perfect and obsessed with everything in order to be good enough, while spiralling thoughts became the norm and consumed my passion for learning. After mentally hitting rock bottom following three midterms in three consecutive days, a simple “How are you doing?” from a friend brought me back to my senses, made me realize how harsh I’ve been on myself with all the rising expectations, and helped me forgive myself as I started to see my value as a person beyond the definitions I had tied it to.
Just as the flowers started blooming across campus in April, the final exam study sessions turned into days trying to fit the life I had created for myself in boxes. I left for the summer to reunite with my family after two years of missing them while living abroad, hoping I had made them proud. Being a student never ended with my last exam at Clara Benson on a random Monday; it continued well into the summer through books, drawings, volunteering, and coffee chats with friends. In the summer heat, on evening walks beside the beach and over family dinner conversations, I found myself stronger than before, with a clearer vision of who I wanted to be. My first year wasn’t perfect, but I learned to appreciate it for all it taught me. It made me the person I am, and I couldn’t have wished for it to turn out any better, with all the amazing people I met and the unexpected experiences I encountered along the way. The next year awaits me as I take a step toward believing in myself more and becoming more spontaneous by trying new things and continuing to pour my energy into my passions instead of my fears. Here I am, standing in front of my past self across the street, yet with a great distance in time separating us. I know that if she could see me, she’d be proud of the person I’ve become, and that’s all I need to keep going. I exhale the breath I didn’t know I was holding, wipe the tears off my face with a smile, and continue walking because I know we’ll be just fine.
Get Involved with Innis Sustainability! Cedar McTavish
Interested in sustainability, gardening, or gaining volunteer experience? This year, embrace new beginnings at Innis by checking out the College’s sustainability opportunities through the Innis Sustainability Advocates (ISAs) and the Innis Community Gardens (ICG)! The ISAs are a generalized student volunteering group which brings student perspectives into the development of the College’s sustainability portfolio. It’s a great opportunity to gain skills and CCR credits, while supporting tangible sustainability work right here on campus. Joining the ISAs lets you decide what aspect of sustainability you want to get involved in through the different teams —- from Emissions Reduction, Gardening, Food Skills, and Green Infrastructure; to Social Media, Content Creation, Fundraising, Outreach, and more! So if you want to get involved with one thing, but aren’t much interested in another, we can
accommodate. The role is meant to exist easily alongside your studies, getting students involved without causing burnout. One major initiative the ISAs help support, which students can also volunteer with separately, is the Innis Community Gardens! This is a sustainable urban agriculture and gardening education project in the Innis Residence Courtyard, seeking to transmit sustainability and food justice awareness while providing fresh, open-access produce to our whole College community. The plants can always use support — from helping to lead volunteer sessions to taking on a chill solo watering shift — so come out and get involved! If you’re interested in becoming a part of the exciting development of sustainability at Innis, look up Innis Sustainability or email the ISAs at innis.sustainability.advocates@gmail.com and ask how to get involved. We’d love to have you!
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1 SEPTEMBER 2026
In with the Old (2021) Soren Stancliff REVIEW “Out with the old” is a sentiment that I’ve spent years battling over in a moral, holy war in my online spaces, but not over how the expression is usually meant. I’m not fighting for regress or conservatism, I’m fighting for the continuation of criticism, for the flourishment of film cultures, for the advancement of art. “In with the old,” I say, in with M. Night Shyamalan’s Masterpiece, Old (2021). Old, like practically all of Shyamalan’s films after The Village, is popularly and critically dismissed, due to Shyamalan’s unwarranted and prevailing infamy, a fact made obvious by their respected monotypically plot-based, and easily-shoaled criticism. For example, “The rapper kid in The Visit is unbearable!”, “Yeah, he’s obviously supposed to be!”; or “The Last Airbender is a horrible adaptation!”, “Well, it’s a baby show for babies, so shut up, millennial!”; or, “Split is a harmful portrayal of a real mental health disorder!”, “Yeah, that’s actually true.” Online, in pop-criticism conversations and on sites like Letterboxd, where the film holds a 2.4/5 average rating, Old’s primary critique is “unrealistic dialogue,” in spite of being a film about a beach that makes you old. And offline — because like almost every one of his other films, Old did very well at the box office — most of the criticisms, still, concern “unrealistic dialogue,” in spite of being a film about a beach that makes you old. I think to some, in these popular conversations online and offline, my defense of Old and films similar to it, may come off as abjectly contrarian, or pretentious, but I feel overwhelmingly that it’s purely out of what, to me, is the most meaningful experience one could have with a piece of art that isn’t their own, using it to see the progression of another artist. Old is Shyamalan’s 14th film, and it would be impossibly stupid for one to think that he hadn’t picked up or gotten better at a few things in his artistic process. Kidding, but like anyone else who’s fallen down the auteur theory rabbit-trench, my first approach to reading a piece of art is by finding its relativity in the body of work, which demands a great deal of extra work, but in my experience, the meaning brought by having an optimistic approach to every artist is the only way this deal is made great. I love Shyamalan’s films and it is for this reason and by this reason that I want to share my meaning — and, hopefully, imbue the dialogue. To me, Shyamalan’s films are most interesting for two reasons. First, Shyamalan’s films almost always center familial themes — even more than the horror films he’s known for. The early films closely explore relationships between obsessive, inquisitive young children and their parental/mentor figures, and as his art developed these relationships began to be examined with bigger scope against their societal reciprocities, the macro nature of which provides far less security than the child/parental figure micro.
One of the more extreme examples of this is in The Village, an ensemble film whose elder players knowingly keep the younger away from the truth: they’re all living isolated and 200 years behind the rest of America, to conserve innocence and morality from the evils of the outside world. This conflict is empathetically portrayed in its climactic testing: the Village founder’s blind daughter’s fiance is stabbed, so he reveals to her the truth and sends her to get medicine from the outside world, something that could only be done by someone with unwavering, (literally) blind faith, for love. The second consistency across Shyamalan’s filmography is the cameos he makes, often placing himself in narratively significant roles that range from full-fledged ensemble players to small deus-ex machinas. In the Lady in the Water, Shyamalan plays Vick Ran, a writer, who is told by the titular Lady in the Water, Story — a creature from a different world on a mission to share her special insight about the future — that he’s the one bound to produce a work of writing that saves humanity. Now, Ran is foiled by another writer, a film critic… but when the film critic’s conventional views on storytelling are used to try and get (the) Story home, they seem to be cosmologically, innately incorrect and inhibiting, and only after the film critic is killed can outside-his-box thinking be used, and actually get (the) Story home. In Old, M. Night Shyamalan’s cameo-character literally drives the characters to the setting of the film. We don’t see him again until the very end, when he’s re-revealed to be literally finishing filming them from the clifftops. After this, it’s revealed that his film is being used in a report, part of an experiment being conducted by mad-scientists, who identify families with hereditary illnesses, lure them to a resort, and feed them food with research medicine that’s then tried when the test-subjects age to their ailments on the beach. On first watch, a lot of people find the twist so jarring that it totally turns them away. There’s a suddenness to it — an actual cut from the highest-staked scene in the film — and then the film runs another 8 minutes or so, taking a seemingly political bend about the ethics of human-testing. But a second watch, working backwards with the Old rather than the New; Shyamalan’s insert drives the characters to his metadiegetic film where they’ll experience all the existential and familial horror in the rest of their lives together, like his real films, together, that he spends his life for, which transitively gives that the intensity and high stakes of Old are to reflect his meaning of life — making movies. And to keep working backwards, as everything is as beautiful as it is intense: the cinematography is sweeping and the editing is dynamic throughout; the scenes of real horror shot with as much as the scenes where the kids run around on the beach playing. The quiet bits are as engaging as the fastest; the fantasy of a beach turning you old is as fantastical as its mad-scientists and the badass blockbuster helicopter the film ends on; and the dialogue’s perfectly precise exposition becomes comic in the way it teases and misleads.
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Guy Who Went to Rome to Watch Movies Burak Batu Tunçel FEATURE Many call Rome “the eternal city”; casually walking past nearly 2,000-yearold buildings like the Colosseum or the Pantheon is probably a fair argument that it lives up to the title. Everything is massive in Rome — both in scale and in the historical rootedness of these constructs. Every year, tourists who seek this sense of grandeur visit the city, and even the brutal European heatwave in these last couple of years can’t seem to stop them. Pilgrims who seek a more divine kind of grandeur huddle together in front of the Vatican, but religious or not, all the lucky people who can get inside the art gallery can agree that the paintings, frescoes, and statues that surround them are indeed otherworldly. In more abstract terms, I shared some philosophies and intentions with these different kinds of visitors—if you take it that my pilgrimage to Rome this year was inherently fueled by cinephilia. Organized by the Piccolo America Foundation, Il Cinema in Piazza is the name for the outdoor screening series where filmgoers in Rome are treated to free film screenings in three different venues every night. When I saw the line-up for a special event called “5 Carte Blanche Picks,” I flew out of my seat to start looking for flight tickets because, really, it seemed like the place to be. So, they’re gonna let Hideo Kojima (Death Stranding), Gaspar Noé (Irreversible), Nicolas Winding Refn (Drive), and my biggest filmmaking hero, Dario Argento (Suspiria) program and introduce whatever films they want for 3 days? A no-brainer. I stayed at a modest bed-and-breakfast which was so modest that the breakfast portion happened outside of the actual place. However, the bakery I was redirected to actually delivered on the two things promised on the coupon: cappuccino and cornetto (arguably, a sweeter kind of croissant). I was surprised at how quickly this minimalist breakfast was consumed, with some customers simply enjoying it over the counter while standing. Before I dedicated my precious time in Rome to watching films all day, I thought I’d still take a chance at speedrunning all the tourist-populated must-see landmarks. The highlight was my trip to the Profondo Rosso Store, where I chatted with Starcrash director Luigi Cozzi and visited the museum of horror downstairs, filled with memorabilia from films like Demons, Phenomena, Opera, and more. “It’s gratifying that fare evasion isn’t a Toronto exclusive,” I thought, judging by the disapproving faces of the other passengers on the bus who looked at me as if I was committing a crime trying to pay the fare for my trip. Unfortunately, I learned about this blessing way too late on my last day. Before that, I had only walked to my destinations for 3 days — my
step count hit an all-time high on July 4th with 27,474 steps. Whatever. I take pride in being a chronic walker. Audiences who came to see the opening film, Lux Aeterna, were surprised by director Gaspar Noé casually signing stuff at the door. He didn’t seem to mind the crowd, and perhaps even enjoyed it, which wouldn’t come as a surprise given how his technical showmanship (the choreography and long take in Climax) suggests that he would much rather have people looking at him rather than turning away. The name Gaspar Noé is often associated with shock — but my biggest shock was realizing that I’m taller than him. Before the screening began, I took in the atmosphere of Cinema Troisi: its red seats, black walls, and the unusual silence of its audience, when Dario Argento, unprompted, walked in — who was in good spirits and shape despite his age. It was hard not to admire how he still had enough enthusiasm for cinema to see his friend’s film (and collaborator from Vortex). My assumption that all the films would be in their original language with Italian subtitles proved true. Luckily, I can understand enough Italian from middle school and my love for Italian comics, fumetti. By chance, though, only two of the films in the span of the 3 days had English as their original language, so I thought my brain would be all worked up at the end of the vacation. However, when the Japanese horror film Jigoku played that night at Piazza di San Cosimato (with an introduction by video game developer and unabashed film buff Hideo Kojima), I was reminded that cinema itself, through its visual storytelling and certain genre traits, is a universal language. The film, following the aftermath of a hit-and-run and the characters’ eventual descent into (literal) hell, still spoke to me clearly in how director Nobuo Nakagawa uses every frame like a canvas, expressionistically displaying character psychology through the artifice of the heightened visual style; with similar themes of guilt and morality being explored like in the 50s EC comics despite the unmistakable cultural flavor. Something I was looking forward to was Nicolas Winding Refn’s polarizing new film, Her Private Hell, followed by a mystical Q&A with Dario Argento also participating. It’s no surprise that Argento would like this film, because as he himself said, there’s a part of him in it. Refn’s film may come off as an absolutely puzzling experience given that it barely resembles what we consider a conventional narrative. Refn recounted that after his heart stopped and he came back to life again, he “didn’t know what a film was anymore.” He later confessed his addiction to scrolling as a factor that molded the film into the way it is, as what he thinks “a film in the future might look like.” The film seemingly refuses to commit to a singular storyline, tone, or genre; it’s a moodboard of a cinephile displaying his obsessions without filter. Nevertheless, the sensation is different from the dopamine hit of scrolling through reels, as Refn’s droning style is more about letting moments stuck in time be taken in sensorily and
patiently. One way to take it in is like the guy sitting next to me who was having the nap of his life. Despite all the record-number walkouts at Cannes before that, when Refn and Argento came on stage for the Q&A, a standing ovation followed. It’s worth noting that Kojima and Noé were also in the audience, and how great a reminder it was that they are film fans just like us. Was that the theme they sought out when they called up these four artists? Auteurs who are also unbreakable cheerleaders for cinema? After the Q&A for Her Private Hell ended, I ran up to Refn and asked him if he liked the films of Herschell Gordon Lewis. He replied, “Who doesn’t?” So I gave him my zine about the pioneer of gore films. “Ha! Herschell,” he said while flipping through the pages. Then, with my entire body shivering, I walked up to Dario Argento, who was already engulfed by fans. After years of admiring his work, I couldn’t even fathom the idea of being next to him. What do you say in such a situation without sounding creepy? I’ve read your autobiography 3 times? Def not. So, I settled with the one modest and honest sentence I managed to utter: that I had flown from Turkiye to see him while handing him my Blu-ray of Trauma to be signed. After that, he stopped signing things. Turned to me. Argento stared directly into my soul, eyes wide open and his smile showing his gums. He graced me with one word that seemingly came from the depths of his throat: “Bene.” So many of Dario Argento’s films are about the deceptiveness of memory. Both The Bird with the Crystal Plumage and Deep Red centre on eyewitnesses to murder — but it’s how their memory reconstructs the scene that leads their investigations astray. Every now and then, I’ve also felt to what degree my memories are reproductions of moments that I’ve had. It’s not that these images stick to the retina as they do in 4 Flies on Grey Velvet (which I saw for the 4th time at a midnight screening there). But that image of Argento smiling at me I couldn’t seem to get out of my head for days, even when I saw one of my favorite films at the top of a mountain the other day, The Good, the Bad and the Ugly or when I was flying back home. Spending those few days with these giants of cinema felt very… Rome? Fellini once said cinema is almost a “religious” experience, and there was certainly a sense of grandeur that accompanied the screenings. There’s definitely a mystique surrounding these filmmakers, like the legendary status of the city itself. And “hanging out” with them for a couple of days was strangely humbling — in how one can familiarize oneself anew and test their hypothesis about these personalities.
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The U.S. War on Iran, from 1953 to 2025 Max Leitch OPINION Since March, the global economy has shifted in ways that have deeply affected our daily lives. As university students, many of us have dealt with higher fuel and grocery prices. This was a direct result of Iran’s blockade on the Strait of Hormuz, a measure in response to the Iran War. As Canada publicly supported its American and Israeli allies, Prime Minister Mark Carney described the war as “worth it.” In response, NDP leader Avi Lewis asked, “Was it worth it to millions of working-class Canadians who have been suffering more economic pain... paying more for gas and fuel and food?” Our experience of higher prices stems from a multi-decade series of events between the United States and Iran that has now escalated into all-out war. Iran found itself at the center of the Cold War in the 1950s, falling into neither the American nor Soviet camp. Its vast oil resources made it a valuable strategic target. In 1951, Iran’s parliament elected Mohammad Mossadegh as Prime Minister, who sought to nationalize the oil industry to end British foreign exploitation. After repeated attempts to reverse Mossadegh’s decision, British and American forces drew up plans to install a government more favourable to foreign business interests. In 1953, the two governments backed a military coup that ousted Mossadegh and reinstated Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, the Shah of Iran. With the Shah in power, British oil companies continued their operations, and Iran fell into the American camp of the Cold War. Political opponents,
especially leftists, were heavily persecuted. Twenty-six years later, the Shah was overthrown by a coalition of Islamists, leftists, and secularists, and Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini took leadership. Since 1979, Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, has formed a strictly Shia Islamist government, led by the Supreme Leader, currently Mojtaba Khamenei. Continuing many of the Shah-era tactics, the Iranian government uses authoritarian force to suppress dissidents, including in January 2026, when the government killed anywhere between 3,000 and 30,000 protesters. On February 28th, 2026, amid regional tension, the United States and Israel launched an airstrike campaign targeting military locations, nuclear facilities, and government buildings in Iran. The attacks killed Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, alongside several other government officials and civilians. The U.S. also struck an elementary school in Minab, killing 150 people, 120 of them children. U.S. President Donald Trump justified the operation as a “preemptive” measure to stop a nuclear threat and regional instability, while presenting a chance for “regime change” in Iran. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu echoed these claims. In retaliation, Iran launched airstrikes on Israel and Israeli regional partners such as Qatar, Bahrain, and the United Arab Emirates. Three days later, Hezbollah, the Lebanese militant group backed by Iran, entered the war against Israel. Israel responded with a bombing campaign in southern Lebanon and Beirut. As a strategic measure, Iran began blockading the Strait of Hormuz, through which 20% of the world’s
References Al Jazeera. (2026, March 1). US-Israel attacks on Iran: Death toll and injuries live tracker. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/3/1/us-israel-attacks-on-irandeath-toll-and-injuries-live-tracker Brookings Institution. (2019, January 24). The Iranian Revolution: A timeline of Events. https://www.brookings.edu/articles/the-iranian-revolution-atimeline-of-events/ CNN. (2025, October 19). How Western sanctions against Iran hurt its middle class. https://edition.cnn.com/2025/10/19/middleeast/how-western-sanctionsiran-hurt-middle-class-int Farzanegan, M. R., & Habibi, N. (2025). The effect of international sanctions on the size of the middle class in Iran. European Journal of Political Economy, 90, Article 102749. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ejpoleco.2025.102749 Froman, M. (2026, July 24). How does the Iran war end? Council on Foreign Relations. https://www.cfr.org/articles/how-does-the-iran-war-end Human Rights Watch. (2026, April 9). War crimes are no longer shameful. That should terrify you. https://www.hrw.org/news/2026/04/09/war-crimes-areno-longer-shameful-that-should-terrify-you
oil passes, severely disrupting the global energy economy. This is when Canadians felt the war, as fuel and grocery prices began to rise sharply. Pakistani officials helped bring both sides together, and on April 8th, the United States and Iran agreed to a twoweek ceasefire. Soon after the ceasefire was announced, Israel launched a massive attack on Lebanon, killing 300 people in just 10 minutes, claiming Lebanon was not a part of the ceasefire. Peace talks continued in Islamabad, Pakistan, as fighting continued in Lebanon, with the Israeli military killing dozens of Lebanese civilians in airstrikes. On June 15th, following 108 days of combat, a new initial peace agreement was outlined, guaranteeing the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz and further peace talks between the nations, as well as a statement declaring a pathway towards a “final deal within 60 days,” alongside progress on a ceasefire in Lebanon. As of July 2026, the war remains unstable, with constant flare-ups that threaten the possibility of permanent peace. The war has also sparked hundreds of anti-Iranian regime protests, usually displaying the Lion and Sun flag, a symbol notably flown under the Shah. Over 3,000 people have been killed in Iran, 3,000 killed and over one million displaced in Lebanon, and 70 killed in Israel. All possible pathways forward have proved unsuccessful. Although diplomacy remains necessary, it has proved insufficient on its own. Some American representatives have suggested a forceful “shoot our way out” approach, echoing aggressive rhetoric from the U.S. government, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s “head for an eye” policy.
As Human Rights Watch has observed, the United States and Israel have already committed several war crimes, such as the killing of children and journalists, as well as the destruction of civilian infrastructure. This pathway would only intensify this. If a diplomatic agreement is possible, many political scientists have suggested that the U.S. should stop imposing broad sanctions on Iran. A study published in the European Journal of Political Economy found that Western sanctions have deepened class inequality and shrunk the Iranian middle class. Millions of Iranians are falling into lower-income brackets, while a small group of elites profit from the sanctions. Many Iranians now face severe fuel shortages, stranding them in large cities that are targets of airstrikes. The Iranian middle class has historically been the “backbone” of change, driving reformist movements across the country. Instead of protesting against its government, as many expected, the middle class is now forced to protest for its survival against Western sanctions. Additionally, and most importantly, Lebanon has emerged as a central factor in negotiations. Israeli aggression in Lebanon has threatened, and even ended, peace talks due to Israel’s refusal to withdraw troops. If a peaceful pathway is possible, many peace advocates agree that ending the Israeli occupation in the South is necessary. As students in Canada, our voice matters. Our understanding of the history between Iran and America matters. We must use our voices to advocate for the betterment of the costof-living at home, as well as for those killed, injured, and displaced abroad.
Lewis, Avi. (2026, June 17). Prime Minister Carney says the war in Iran was “worth it”. Worth it for who? YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=uZiDHN9KBOo Mercogliano, C. Operation Ajax: The 1953 coup in Iran. Roosevelt Institute for American Studies. https://www.roosevelt.nl/en/library/from-the-vaults/ operation-ajax-the-1953-coup-in-iran/ Ross, M. (2026, July 27). The hidden path to regime change in Iran: Ending the war can strengthen the prospects for democracy. Foreign Affairs. https://www. foreignaffairs.com/iran/hidden-path-regime-change-iran TIME. (2026, June 22). From overnight airstrikes to peace talks: A timeline of the U.S.-Iran war. https://time.com/article/2026/06/22/how-did-we-get-herea-timeline-of-the-us-iran-war/ Yarr, K. (2026, March 21). Price of fresh produce likely to rise on P.E.I. due to fuel price surge from Iran war. CBC News. https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/princeedward-island/pei-fuel-price-surge-iran-war-rising-food-costs-9.7135842
Capris and Consumer Culture
Out with the Old, In with the Older Shakira R. ARTS & CULTURE Let’s talk capris. In 1948, German designer Sonja de Lennart invented them. Throughout the late fifties and early sixties, they were seen on Hollywood’s biggest stars from Audrey Hepburn to Marilyn Monroe. The style resurfaced in the late nineties and early two-thousands, evolving from their original design to fitted denim and baggy cargos. Not long after, sporting a pair of capris became quite passé. I recall getting funny looks and judgy comments when
I — a true wearer of the garment — wore them in their “off season.” Just last year, I went to the mall to buy a new pair. Store after store, I left disappointed. Sales associates met me with confused looks: “What are those?” I was dumbfounded. Imagine my surprise when, a mere twelve months later, these pants were “back in style” and, quite literally, seen everywhere I went. As the years go on, our trends stretch further back — in an attempt to reclaim something lost decades before. This is by no means a profound discovery or recent phenomenon —
for generations, earlier styles have influenced current fashion trends. They come, they go, and they come again. And society accepts it. Accepts the fact that what was so-not-cool yesterday (but super cool twenty years ago) is all of a sudden cool again tomorrow. “Core-culture” — Gen-Z’s hyper-fixation with categorization — has simultaneously disrupted and intensified the flow of fashion trends. Everybody is obsessed with capturing a vibe, a distinct niche, an “aesthetic.” As I scroll through my phone, I feel like I’m watching a series of identity crises. What will it be: “clean girl,” “office siren,” “coquette,” “granola,” or “coastal granddaughter?” These rigid categories limit both the garment itself and its wearer. It’s a tricky situation. In the past, you could experiment with different looks until you found a personal style. Nowadays, it seems to be less about experimentation, and more about shifting aesthetics when the algorithm tells you it’s time to. It’s not about finding what you like, but complying with what social media tells you to like — until a few weeks pass and the next thing comes around (or back around). Everything about fashion trends today is fast: fast to arrive, fast to
produce, and fast to go. The neverending demand for clothing results in extensive textile pollution from fastfashion corporations. My trips to local thrift shops have become increasingly gruelling as I shovel through heaps of cheap fabric with a Shein logo practically tearing at the seams — so graciously donated by people who bought them only to wear them once. In today’s excessively digital age, I can’t help but feel this desire to dabble in older styles has something to do with wanting to hold onto the customs that came with them. The simplicity of life pre-internet boom. But what happens when this very notion of lifestyle itself becomes a mere trend to be followed? What happens when the items intended to “stop the scrolling” (i.e., flip phones, DVD players, digital cameras) only intensify them? It’s not enough to enjoy these things in private; we need to make a post about them to show (or prove) to others that we’re different. We’re obsessed with our image, the curation of our feeds; therefore, we’re constantly performing — performing aesthetics, performing vintage, etc. Or maybe it’s not that deep at all — maybe it’s just another feature of the consumption-driven society we so easily abide by.
Hitting the Gravel? A Mid-Season Defence of the New Formula 1 Regulations Vince Woodford SPORTS / OPINION “Oh I can’t stand the new cars, I miss the sound of the engines from the ‘80s,” I hear an old man with a thick London accent whine to his seatmate on the crowded bus back from the qualifying at Silverstone. He’s not the only one who shares this opinion; the new regulations for Formula 1’s 2026 season have been controversial to say the least. Many changes have been made to the “formula” of how a racing car is built and run on the track: new ‘overtake’ and ‘straight’ modes, lighter cars, changes to rear wings, and — most importantly — new 50/50 hybrid power units. The new cars have not only been criticized by chronically online fans, but also by four-time world champion Max Verstappen who has threatened to leave the sport entirely if the power unit regulations aren’t reversed in the coming years. However, while Verstappen may not enjoy driving under the new regulations and while some fans believe the new cars don’t create ‘real’ racing, I have found they bring interesting new challenges and changes to the season that enhance the sport. Firstly, the entire sport of F1 is built upon technical innovation. Cars from the 1980s are — to the chagrin
of some of the old-time fans — nearly unrecognizable from those that grace the track in the 2020s. It makes sense then that there would be an eventual move to a hybrid battery-operated power unit; electric units are becoming increasingly common in motorsport and bring a bit of sustainability to a sport with an incredibly hefty carbon footprint. On top of bringing the sport up-todate with advancements and trends in technology, I believe the power units have been unfairly maligned for making the first half of the 2026 season ‘slow’ or ‘uninteresting.’ Along with the new regulations, the 2026 F1 season had to cancel two of the early-season races — Qatar and Saudi Arabia — due to the war in Iran. Cancelling these races created a lull in the sport early in 2026, which had nothing to do with the new cars or their impact on racing. In fact, in my view, this season has been filled with tense overtakes, devastating DNFs, and mechanical setbacks which even affected the championship leader, Kimi Antonelli, who DNF’ed at the British Grand Prix. As someone who was at Silverstone, I can attest that fans were on the edge of their seats due to the chaotic and nailbiting events of the weekend’s race. These races certainly aren’t boring, and while drivers and teams now have to
factor battery life into their strategies, there are still a lot of the classic racing maneuvers that bring fans back to the sport year after year. Despite the fact that certain drivers have been outspoken about their dislike for the new regulations, that is not a reason to completely disregard the positive impacts these regulations could have on the sport. Many drivers also dislike sprint races, but that doesn’t mean sprints aren’t incredibly popular with fans, or that they haven’t added to the sport’s increased popularity. Like changes and advancements to technology in the past, some drivers will adapt to the new rules and some will not; the sport will move on regardless. Another complaint lodged at the new regulations is that managing battery power takes away from driver talent. Once again, this is not true, as 2026 has seen some stellar performances from Lewis Hamilton, Charles Leclerc, Lando Norris, and other drivers across the grid. Even if the regulations compelled drivers to change their strategies, that would not be a bad thing. To reach brilliance in F1, there must be collaborative work between a driver, their constructors, and their race engineers. The new regulations have forced teams to develop new strategies — which some have executed more successfully than others — that will
likely take time to perfect. Drivers succeeding by working with and within the new strategies is a principal part of the sport. If you want to see drivers race in equal or standardized machinery, other forms of motorsport would be more fitting for you. When I watched the cars come around the final turn into the Hamilton Straight at Silverstone, the sound of the cars and the rumble of vibrations hitting the stands was exhilarating. While the sound may have been quieter than some of the previous years, it was almost impossible to notice these changes as twenty-two cars sped at lightning speed in front of my eyes. Despite the new regulations, what I saw at Silverstone was exemplary of high-speed racing, which drew me, and so many other fans, to F1. So, while there may be new challenges for drivers and teams, I think it’s unfair to say the 2026 cars do not allow for ‘real racing’; the energy and tension are still present as teams work through their current constraints. Perhaps in the coming years — if the new regulations are not overturned due to premature contempt — as the hybrid power units develop, fans will wonder why we ever questioned innovation in the first place.
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A g n i Go
u i d G e s ’ t o Record n a w o R : g o Col nal Rowan Parkinson ARTS & CULTURE
lectin g
For my 14th birthday, I begged my parents for a record player. After a short-lived career playing French horn in band, I quickly graduated to teaching myself acoustic guitar. I was consumed by the desire to understand music; to play more, hear more, know more. I spent all of my free time watching KylesKorner guitar tutorials, scrolling Bandcamp, and reading NME reviews (I’ve never been a Pitchfork fan). It seemed that the natural next step was to get my hands on physical copies of the music I loved! My parents were reluctant, especially considering my dad had given away all his records to our neighbours over a decade ago. Weren’t they a thing of the past? Didn’t I want something more… useful? Unfortunately for them, the will of a soon-to-be 14-year-old girl was unmatched. And thus began my collecting journey. Dearest Reader, please keep in mind this guide focuses on the spirit of collecting rather than the technical details. I am by no means an expert in record care and have very limited knowledge of audio technology. If you’re truly new to the game: store your records upright, don’t touch the grooves, and perhaps do a quick search-and-scroll for more fact-based tips. Without further ado: Rowan’s Guide to Record Collecting!
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2 Buy local and in-person The most exciting part of records is their tactile quality. So get up! Get out! Feel the records in your hands, read the hype stickers, ask the employees for recommendations! Open your mind to new possibilities and let yourself be swept away by the charm of the store and its patrons. I fondly recall waiting with my Dad in the mid-April cold on Record Store Day. Every year, I’d drag him out bright and early to ODDs & SODs (an Ottawa staple) to score a prized RSD exclusive and stamp my collector’s card. Purchase 9 records and get the 10th one free?! You rarely come across such generous deals these days. Such is the joy of independent record stores. “So where should I shop?” you may be asking. I love Sonic Boom as much as the next Toronto transplant, but there is much more to explore in this beautiful city. Some of my recent favourites include Play de Record, Neurotica, Dead Dog Records, and Kops.
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Pay minimal mind to grading When you first get into collecting, you will soon realize that used records are often assigned grades. M, NM, VG+, VG, G, F, P… Much like school, except you can score worse than F. You can fall into the trap of judging a record by its assigned quality rather than valuing it as a work of art. Each purchase becomes a calculation and a competition to get the best product. So, my suggestion is to (mostly) disregard these ratings! Try to buy VG or higher for sound quality’s sake, but don’t break the bank for mint records. Although true audiophiles may disagree, I think the beauty of collecting lies in a record’s shared history. Every album has lived a life before it reaches your hands. I implore you to inherit the stories of its previous owners with an open heart, and in return, imbue it with our own.
Make a wishlist (or two) If you start collecting records and tell people you’ve started collecting records, they will soon begin gifting you records. But chances are, your friends and family are not intimately familiar with your current collection, or even your taste in music. Make a list with lots of options. It will make them happier gift-givers and you a happier gift-receiver. I also keep a personal list of classic and/or loved albums I’d like to add to my collection, but am unwilling to pay full price for. You can also use said list to direct your record store trips. After all, rifling aimlessly through miscellaneous used records is a thankless task. This method is how I stumbled upon my coveted Fiona Apple albums!
Over 5 years, my record collection has grown sporadically, been painstakingly realphabetized, and, most recently, survived an intercity move. It is a joy to maintain. I hope, dear Reader, that this guide has inspired you to explore the wonderful world of records. Or, at the very least, I hope you too can find a passion that brings you happiness and community. Perhaps something less expensive.
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Rowan’s Favourite Records from Her Brief History of Collecting ɝ Talking Heads – Speaking in Tongues, with package design by Robert Rauschenberg ɝ Big Thief – Dragon New Warm Mountain I Believe in You, on Eco vinyl ɝ Codeine – The White Birch, signed by the band ɝ Joni Mitchell – Blue Highlights, RSD 2022 exclusive ɝ Jockstrap – I Love You Jennifer B, with sticker sheet and magnet ɝ Mort Garson – Mother Earth’s Plantasia, with seed paper and plant care booklet
Don’t knock used records Nearly half of my collection is used. It’s where the true gems lie, especially when it comes to jazz. I’ve found copies of Jazz Samba, Study in Brown, and The Melody at Night, with You second-hand! The dulcet tones of Stan Getz could make anyone forgive a creased corner. Alternatively, my roommate buys used jazz exclusively based on the cover art. I must admit this method yields strong results. If you’re unsure about purchasing a used record... a) use the store’s listening station, b) half-heartedly inspect for scratches and warps, or c) take a gamble. Try not to pay more than $30, or else you may fall down a slippery slope.
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Lend your records out A controversial (but important!) take. Don’t be precious or a greedy hoarder. Records are meant to be played and shared through time and space. Be generous, be joyous, be willing. Show the people in your life that you care about them in more ways than one by extending yourself through your cherished music. Others will benefit from your thoughtfulness, and you will benefit from theirs. Yay for friendship!
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What Will Be Of Us Jai Mann | FICTION The rattle of the TTC shakes us awake as we step back into our patterns. Here we go again, this year like the last, though now with much more to say. We try to meet in the same spot by the residence, the one we met in the first year, and the year after that. When we meet, it is like time relaxes, not that we have lost our maturity, but more so that we don’t have to pretend that we have more than we do. We try to meet in the morning, though the time often shifts to the afternoon. Still more than enough time to stop by the Med Sci building and grab some cold drinks, so that the wet cups can cool our hands. We can laugh messily, without pressure, without formality. We can talk about plans while loitering by windows without expectation of execution. What do you want to do? I’ll ask you, and you’ll ask me. After this? We’re not sure yet, or we were, but it keeps on changing, each option feeling like guesses. When we convene with some of our other friends, some have better clues than us, but the conversation falls by the wayside as the group of us walk lazily in the summer heat, in bumping zigzags, like little kids. We will find some place that all five of us can sit, pick up some food from a truck and huddle around one of the grand tables in Robarts. In the first week, there is an echo of excitement that I wish lasted, one that fills the nooks of each place, one that reflects in our voices. As we share each class we’ll take, we’ll place our devices together, align timetables, and map out when our free times overlap. For some moments there is a smile that sits naturally on our lips before it starts to strain our cheeks. Still, there is a thrill in getting older, in getting the hang of our independence, our individualism. Of choosing the lengths of our hair, and contents of our meals. As we try to find comfort in our reflection and find which roads are our proper directions. There is a trembling in my hands at times, when I remember that this is the time of choosing what will be of us. Of figuring out just where we belong in this world of things. Some fear vanishes when I see that you hold it too, the same panic
Leysin, Switzerland Maya Yemm
grin when thinking of all that you want to do. I wish I knew if we were going to the same place, and what would happen if we weren’t. We will still make grand plans like we always do, delay some, and forget about others, as most plans of ours never come to fruition. We will promise to hang out more than we’ll do, promise to go to a café, but the buses may get too delayed, and we’ll have to rush off to class. There is grace in trying, in adapting. And even if one thing falls through, we can still meet at the entrance of UC and sit together in Gerstein, even if it becomes just once a week when the snow starts to roll through, freezing us away. Perhaps I’m getting ahead of myself; only a short time has passed since our first day back, and we are a little more than halfway through our time here. There is still time in the day to try and find a place for dinner, to huddle together in a booth like a family, even if just for now. The faces in our group slightly alter over time, but there is still a great familiarity among us, a promise to hold to the moment so that time doesn’t rob us blind. We’re still young while we complain of pains in our bodies. Trying to push ourselves forward as far as we can, so that we can have the best of things. To try not to regret and hold still. So that when time catches us and cements our feet, we can have things to glance back upon, like we have started to do with our younger youth even now. In time, we will start talking of the halls here like we do when we reminisce about our old elementary schools. Still, I like to think there will be time to situate ourselves; we are still just starting now and a far cry from the finish line. Even though as each year passes, time seems to move faster, and when the days dwindle and mash together, we find ourselves counting fingers. Our balance is disturbed by the rockiness of the TTC as it tries to take us home. With each finger pressed down, there is an excitement and a ballooning in our chests, a fear of bright lights when we will walk down the stage in robes well earned. What will be of us then? It feels like we’ll fall off the other side’s end, but much like when we first came to this place, we will find our steps in whatever place we will go.
St. John’s, Newfoundland Vince Woodford
Summer’s End
Mt Seymour, BC Parmida Cheraghi Zanjani
Soames Hill Parmida Cheraghi Zanjani
PHOTOGRAPHY
Jays in July Chloé Gong--Minière Chongqing Callie Zhang
Swan... Lake? Simbarashe S. Mutika
High Park Rowan Parkinson
Castel Sant’Angelo Burak Batu Tunçel
Police Baaaaaasin Simbarashe S. Mutika
Creative
ACROSS 1 Who Sexyy Red is looking for 5 Major Port City in Japan 10 Toronto newspaper 14 A turn-based online RPG 15 Capital City of the Brazilian State Pará; also a district of Lisbon 16 Open, just a little bit 17 Bladder Cancer Advocacy Network, in short 18 NFL player Okoye, Youngest player to be drafted 19 German industrial region 20 Phrase meaning to do something one more time, like Daniel with his white shoes 23 Astronomical red giant 24 An exam to become a lawyer 25 Money in the True North 28 Glacial ridge 32 “Big Energy” Rapper 34 Get your used textbooks here! At the location on Bloor and Spadina or the one on Queen West 37 To surpass one’s cruelty, presently 40 Was dishonest 42 Shorthand professional, in short 43 Tragic fate 44 The namesake of our home, and our newspaper (last, first) 47 Code-breaking org. 48 Underwater program for NASA
49 Yani ___, youngest professional golfer to win five major championships (22) 51 Japan’s Neighbour, abbreviated 52 Shaq’s alma mater 55 Positive trait 59 You reach one when you find an ability to withstand unfounded pain 64 Zach Woods’ character on The Office 66 Magic Ball’s number 67 Yankee or Oriole, briefly 68 Competent 69 City in Spain’s Costa Blanca 70 Contact lens solution brand 71 To relieve oneself, in the past tense 72 Reconsider, in short 73 What Advil was made to tackle
DOWN 1 Jimmy Stewart film, Mr. ___ Takes a Vacation 2 Killer whales 3 Pass, as a bill 4 Some Japanese instant coffees 5 A Canadian Charitable organization, or medicine in Indonesia 6 An eighteen-wheeler vehicle 7 A bunch 8 A great late-night meal; lamb, chicken or beef 9 My pal Sally, in Spanish 10 Draped garment often worn by Indian women 11 Three-way road layout 12 “That hits the spot”
OUT with the Old, IN with the New
13 Indian action film which won Best Original Song at the Oscars 21 Prefix relating to Mars 22 ___ Parks, British singer-songwriter 26 They go from 57 to 71 in the lanthanide series: Abbr. 27 Unchallenged beliefs, and a Kevin Smith film 29 Pick up the pace 30 “___ boy!”; words of encouragement 31 Rock made up mostly of silica 33 Opposite of subtract 34 Close your eyes briefly
35 Surname of “Rebel Without a Cause” actor Sal 36 Highly respected, often used in religious contexts 38 Son of Seth in the Bible, also the surname of Baseballer Slaughter 39 What Rachel Berry or Norma Desmond would kill for 41 Lower the lights 45 Just one 46 Genetic spirals 50 Twin of the A flat 53 Do this on your mother’s grave 54 Super handy
By Delia Lappala
56 Form of flamenco music, “mother of paltos” 57 Memoir of Nicholas Gage 58 A quarterback’s bolt to the endzone in abbreviation 60 Require 61 Tune into this channel to watch The Property Brothers 62 ___ Ripley; Australian Women’s Pro-Wrestler 63 List-ending abbreviation, especially in a bibliography 64 A clothing retailer who collabed with Katseye and Hailey Bieber 65 Mr. Lincoln
The Innis Herald wishes to acknowledge this land on which the University of Toronto operates. For thousands of years it has been the traditional land of the Wendat Nation, the Seneca, and the Mississaugas of the Credit. Today, this meeting place is still the home to many Indigenous people from across Turtle Island and we are grateful to have the opportunity to work on this land.