The realities of precarious work page 15
Dealer unfazed by legalization page 2
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 2017
yersonian R
ryersonian.ca Volume 72 Number 10
Produced by the Ryerson School of Journalism
Rye’s Niagara hub: worth the expense? MITCHELL THOMPSON
According to a leaked copy of the first application, the zone will take up a significant amount of space in the heart of the city — about 16,000 square feet. The total cost of the project is estimated to be $33 million, Niagara Falls Review has reported. That total expense would be split between private investors, federal innovation grant funding, funding from Ryerson University and funding from the city. The exact breakdown of the zone’s expenses has not been made public. “It is far too early in the process to make those kind of calculations,” Ryerson president Mohamed Lachemi told the Ryersonian.
RYERSONIAN
Trans Awareness Month The trans pride flag is up all November at the Kerr Hall Quad to acknowledge the need for trans visibility and awareness. It flew at half-mast on Nov. 20 to commemorate Trans Day of Remembrance. HAYLEY HANKS | RYERSONIAN
What’s online Check out ryersonian.ca to read about the new Star Wars game allowing players to pay to win.
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Ryerson is hoping to avoid another bust in its second application for a startup hub in Niagara Falls. Since 2015, Ryerson has been trying to set the groundwork for its Niagara Falls Research/Innovation Zone (NFRIZ). The zone is being modelled on the university’s existing startup incubator, the Digital Media Zone. As Ryerson awaits approval on its application, some Niagara Falls city councillors are wondering where the multimillion-dollar expense would go. Some are hoping the zone will bring businesses to the core and help turn the city’s downtown around.
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Collaborative nursing students return to class this week ryersonian.ca Wednesday, November 22, 2017
Student drug dealer says pot legalization won’t affect business Cannabis will soon be available online and in retail stores for Ontarians age 19 and older MAGGIE MACINTOSH RYERSONIAN
A Ryerson student who sells pot to first-year students in residence said he thinks more people will start going to individual dealers once marijuana is legalized next summer. The Ontario government plans to sell the drug online and at Ontario Cannabis Retail Corp. (OCRC) stores to Ontarians age 19 and over when pot is legalized on July 1, 2018. “If you come to me, I can tell you exactly what the weed’s like. I can put a name to the experience, and training government officials to do that is not something that will be the same experience as a pothead talking to a pothead,” said the student, who agreed to speak with the Ryersonian on the condition of anonymity. The student dealer said they don’t think the underground market will change and more people in general will actually buy pot illegally, through individual dealers, because there won’t be any criminal stigma attached to smoking it. Smokers will continue to buy from their current dealers because they trust them, and OCRC stores won’t be widely accessible to all Ontarians, the student dealer said. Forty stand-alone stores will open across the province in July in cities including Toronto, Brampton, Mississauga and Vaughan.
MAGGIE MACINTOSH | RYERSONIAN
Pot distribution across the province of Ontario will change when the Ontario Cannabis Retail Corp. opens retail stores.
That number will increase to 150 legal marijuana storefronts by 2020. “Because so many people already have dealers, people who want to try weed will be referred to the dealers, instead of driving to an (OCRC) dispensary,” the student dealer said. Coming from a town of around 20,000 residents, the student said small-town smokers, in particular, will keep buying from illegal suppliers because the trek to a government store is inconvenient. “We’re lazy, we’re potheads, we want the easiest way to get weed,” they said.
But, Diana Abo Harmouch, a part-time Ryerson student trying to get into the creative industries program, said government-regulated storefronts will be more safe for smokers. “Consumption will be more controlled. You’ll be aware of the quality of what you’re buying,” she said. “If we have alcohol that’s sold in these types of stores, why not weed?” Harmouch says she thinks Ryerson students will go to OCRC stores if they need to de-stress or clear their heads. “Weed is just having a smoke, like smoking a cigarette,” she said.
The anonymous dealer, who makes anywhere from $100 to $150 a week, said they don’t plan to deal long-term. They deal so they don’t have to pay for pot. They charge $10 per gram, unless a friend is buying seven grams or more, then they’ll take $10 off the total. They said that’s another bonus of buying from individual dealers or dispensaries. “I wish that the government had found a way to incorporate their legal process into those already active dispensaries, because they built a customer base,” they said.
Ontario’s latest proposed pot legislation states the province will close illegal dispensaries and impose fines on those that reopen. Talbot Evans, a third-year mechanical engineering student, said shutting down dispensaries is simply part of the legalization process. “The laws, regardless, are strict, but they’re strict for alcohol also. So, if they’re going to implement it, this is how they would do it,” Evans said. However, Jerome Daley, the security officer at Leaf Dispensary on Church Street, said the government shouldn’t close down Ontario’s small dispensaries. Dispensary employees could face fines starting at $250,000 and potential jail times of up to two years for illegally selling the drug. Daley said 60 to 70 per cent of the dispensary’s daily customers are students. “They love it,” he said. “We’ve even got some student specials going on.” Daley said he’s never received any complaints about the storefront. “We see all types of people coming in here and everybody gets the same love. We don’t discriminate nobody,” he said. @macintoshmaggie
Wednesday, November 22, 2017
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News 3
Ryerson to review free speech policy JULIA LLOYD RYERSONIAN
Ryerson is reviewing and updating its current freedom of speech statement, last approved by the senate in 2010. The current statement reads: “The right to freedom of speech comes with the responsibility to exercise that right in an atmosphere free of intimidation and in an environment that supports the free speech rights of those with opposing views.” This review comes after incidents such as the Ryerson Students’ Union (RSU) rejection of the Ryerson Men’s Issues Awareness Society official group status application, the university’s recent cancellation of a panel that included University of Toronto professor Jordan Peterson, and Ryerson’s failing grade in the 2017 Campus Freedom Index. In 2014, the University of Chicago appointed a committee to review the school’s freedom of expression statement. It was the first university in North America to do so. Other North American universities, including the University of British Columbia, are reviewing their statements. At Ryerson, a final draft must be approved by the senate before any university statement can be changed. On Nov. 7, Ryerson senate was told a subcommittee, including Ryerson faculty and student representation, had been formed to review the current statement. “The Ryerson community will be consulted as the review process unfolds,” said John Turtle, the secretary of the senate. The subcommittee met for the first time in mid-November. James Turk, one of the committee members and the director of Ryerson’s Centre for Free Expression, said a decision on the possible changes to the current freedom of speech statement will not be made any time soon.
“It should easily take six months or so to go through this process and consider many difficult questions that need to be addressed,” he said. Turk wrote a blog post in August about Ryerson’s “bad call” on cancelling the Peterson panel. “The panel discussion was set to be on ‘The Stifling of Free Speech on University Campuses’ and was not a panel riddled with neo-Nazis, but a group of conservative academics and one rightwing journalist,” Turk said. Peterson gained notoriety when a student in his class asked to be identified with non-gender pronouns. Peterson refused, and has been featured on YouTube videos discussing his argument on gender pronouns and free speech. Turk said he couldn’t be more opposed to Peterson’s position, but respects his right to say the things he wants to say. “I think the way to deal with this is not to suppress his speech but to criticize it, ignore it, mock it or show him to be what he really is,” Turk said. “That is a far more effective way to deal with
offensive speech than trying to suppress it.” Camryn Harlick, vice-president of equity for the RSU, said they believe the review on the freedom of speech statement is necessary so professors like Peterson, “being absolutely disgusting and ridiculous,” can’t come to university campuses and possibly promote hateful views. However, Turk believes that this statement review is necessary so Peterson and other professors have the freedom to express their views. Turk said free speech is important at universities because it is a place where students can express their views and discuss others’ opinions. “A university, more than general society, is to be a place where all ideas can be spoken, assessed, analyzed and critiqued,” Turk said. “If we want to advance knowledge and educate students, then they need a place to articulate their views for the rest of us to comment on them.” @JuliaRyerson
NATASHA HERMANN | RYERSONIAN
James Turk, director, Centre for Free Expression
JENNY ZHEN | RYERSONIAN
The TTC will make the gaps between platforms and trains safer for customers.
TTC to increase accessibility JENNY ZHEN RYERSONIAN
The Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) is endorsing a plan to standardize subway platforms to make it safer for passengers with mobility issues. The plan focuses on the wide gaps between the train and platform edges that pose a safety risk for people with mobility devices, who can get their wheels caught in-between the space. Ryerson instructor Stephen Trumper said the gap can cause people to spill out of their wheelchairs. “You only have to look at the gap to realize, ‘oh my god, my front wheels can get stuck in there and I would go down,’” Trumper said. “They would pick me up out of my chair, which is not a good thing for anybody. So, it’s an issue.” A motion was approved by the TTC board of commissioners on Nov. 13 with a proposed retrofit standard of 89 mm horizontal between the platform edge and train door, and 38 mm in a vertical gap between the platform edge and floor. The province signed the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act in 2005, which requires the government to make Ontario fully accessible by 2025. David Lepofsky, a Toronto lawyer and chair of AODA Alliance, said the TTC violated a promise that Premier Kathleen Wynne made in the last provincial election.
“One of the things that the government is committed in doing is to ensure that public money is never used to create new barriers against people with disability. Well guess what? The TTC did – they bought a bunch of subway cars that created new barriers against people using wheelchairs and mobility devices.” Lepofsky said he wants to see the provincial government step up to the plate and effectively implement the accessibility law that was passed. “They need to pass a detailed regulation that will prevent these types of barriers from being created,” he said. Matt Vocino, a third-year sport media student at Ryerson University, said he was deterred from taking the TTC after hearing horrible stories, and now commutes by GO train. “I personally don’t take the TTC and a lot of the reasons is because of the gap,” Vocino said. “I know a bunch of people who had terrible experiences trying to get onto the subway and had their tires get stuck in the gap and flipped over with their wheelchairs.” The largest horizontal gaps are at stations where tracks curve as they enter or leave the platform. The TTC will begin work on the gaps in 2018, prioritizing Davisville, St. Clair, Union and Dundas stations. @itsjennyzhen
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Wednesday, November 22, 2017
R yersonian
Season’s Greetings I hope your term has been filled with times of wonderful learning, stimulating personal experiences and supportive friendships. I want to thank you for choosing Ryerson, and for being part of a vibrant and welcoming campus community that respects and values each and every one of its members. In the holiday season, our thoughts turn with gratitude to family and friends, near and far, who have helped us on our journey, and who inspire us to give the best of ourselves to shape a better world. From my family to yours, wishing you a safe and relaxing holiday and peaceful and happy new year. Mohamed Lachemi President and Vice-Chancellor
Wednesday, November 22, 2017
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News 5
NIAGARA cont’d...
Councillors ask where the money will go “The impacts of a project like one can take classes there. What this are quite diverse and deci- do they need $4.2 million for?” sions must reflect the range said Niagara Falls city councillor, of partners and stakeholders Carolynn Ioannoni. involved. Many more factors need “Our downtown is a bunch of to be confirmed before any firm derelict buildings and we already cost calculations can be made,” have a startup incubator. It cost us Lachemi added. $400,000.” This is Ryerson’s second appli“Council is befuddled,” Ioancation for a hub in Niagara Falls noni added. “Students can’t use through FedDev Ontario — a fed- it. Only businesses can use it and eral agency that funds and sup- even then they have to compete. I ports job and business growth in can see that working in New York the province. or Toronto, but I do Ryerson’s first not see it working in FedDev application Niagara.” If approved, was rejected last In addition to the the deal asks year. $4.2-million conNiagara Falls The original tribution the city is to pledge application asked the expected to put forCity of Niagara Falls ward under this to pledge $10 million review, “there will upfront and to make also be some land annual contribuand building space tions of $1 million to dedicated to the over 5 years. sustain the zone. project (by the city),” Niagara Falls said Serge Felicetti, Niagara Falls mayor Jim Diodati director of business city council says the city’s finandevelopment. has yet to see cial obligation under But it remains the proposal. the revised submisunclear exactly sion is less onerous. where in downtown He told city counNiagara Falls the cil that the city is expected to con- proposed zone is supposed to land. tribute $4.2 million to the project Diodati has said that it would over a five-year period, if the zone likely be in the Queen Street and is approved for funding by the Erie Avenue area, linking the federal government. zone with city hall and the future But not all city council mem- GO Transit hub on Bridge Street, bers are convinced that the ben- Niagara This Week reported. efits of this revised project out“An ideal location is based weigh its costs. upon a number of factors, includSome councillors say the ing available space, closed-off application process objectives of the means they don’t have all the partners for the information they need to decide on the efficacy of Ryerson’s proposal. The review process is confidential and councillors will not see the deal until it is confirmed. “I was a provincial member of parliament for 10 years. I’ve never seen (a situation) where a partner puts in an application but doesn’t show the other partner,” city councillor Kim Craitor said. location, existing activities, existOther councillors have raised ing and future infrastructure, concerns about what the city’s plans for the local area, fit to the money will be spent on. partners, etc,” said John Mac“The zone isn’t a campus. No Ritchie, Ryerson’s senior director
$ 4.2 million
COURTESY JOHN VETTERLI | FLICKR
The idea for a hub in Niagara Falls is modelled on Ryerson’s existing startup incubator, the Digital Media Zone.
of business development and strategic planning. “We continue to work with the city of Niagara Falls and other partners on the selection and development of the location.” There is some hope that the zone could bring in new opportunities for Niagara Falls. “We put all kinds of money into downtown to rejuvenate it when I was an MPP and we always looked at it like a retail region, but those days really are over,” Craitor said. Craitor added that he hopes funding the zone could reverse the trend even if it is unclear exactly how. “I don’t know if the public quite understands what the zone is for, but some in the business community are excited about it. They’ve
look at that seriously.” Others on council said they understand the need for confidentiality during the application process and see the zone as a prime opportunity. “The mayor is the elected head of the council,” said councillor Joyce Morocco. “I’m not going to micromanage him. If he can’t give me information, I assume that’s because of the confidentiality and we don’t want to lose anything. “I think it’s a great opportunity for Niagara as we’re trying to keep and retain our youth in the city.” Morocco added. Morocco also said that the zone will offer benefits to the city that the current incubator can’t offer. “The zone gives us more selection. More companies in tech are looking to work with Ryerson and
I can see that working in New York or Toronto, but not in Niagara.
— Carolynn Ioannoni
been coming up to me. There are a lot of auctions for space downtown and Ryerson is a credible institution and if they’re willing to put the application, you have to
that gives us a bigger door,” she said. “I just don’t see it not being a good fit.” Ken Todd, the city’s chief
administrative officer, told council in October that it hopes to use money obtained through the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corp. (OLG) to pay for the zone. Todd called it a “non-tax item,” which the city has used in the past to pay for roads, parks and other infrastructure. “On an application like this — following up with your strategic priorities, in terms of youth retention, job creation, downtown redevelopment — we feel that expenditure of $800,000 a year over five years would meet all of those strategic commitments and again the funding would come from non-tax,” Todd said. Coun. Wayne Thomson said, “We were unsuccessful the first time. We do not know why, but we’re taking another run at it.” He noted Niagara’s casinos hand the city several million dollars every year through the OLG program. “Niagara Falls is, without exception, one of the luckiest communities in Canada,” Thomson said. Regarding finances, Morocco said, “we’ll do whatever we have to, to make it work.” The city said it expects the review process to take three to four months. @M2Th0mpson
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Wednesday, November 22, 2017
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8
R yers The tipping point - s how much to
Wednesday, November 22, 2017
Features
Studies show that pre-programmed tip options on paymen
KAYLA DOUGLAS | RYERSONIAN
Ted Rogers School of Hospitality and Tourism Management instructor Gabor Forgacs said default tipping can be deceiving. Photo taken Nov. 8. KAYLA DOUGLAS AND MADISON MACNEIL RYERSONIAN
Dante Galea finished his sausage pizza last Friday night, sitting on a bright red chair with his friends at Terroni, an Italian restaurant on Adelaide Street. Satisfied, he was ready to pick up the tab for the table. His server handed him the debit machine, which prompted him to leave a tip. Galea was no longer satisfied. Three default tip options flashed at him in the dim restaurant — 18 per cent, 25 per cent and 30 per cent. Surprised, Galea tipped his
server 18 per cent. “(I usually tip) 15 per cent. I’ve noticed now that restaurants encourage higher tips,” said Galea, a first-year Ryerson journalism student. Default tipping on a pay machine allows customers to choose
from an automated set of tipping percentages at the start of the transaction. If diners want to tip a different amount, they have to think more about what they want to pay— they may even be required to do a bit of mental math. Although deferring to a de-
fault option is easier, Gabor Forgacs, an instructor at the Ted Rogers School of Hospitality and Tourism Management, said students who are trying to save money should be wary of default tipping while dining out. “(Default tip options) are practical (for those) who are
numerically challenged, but they are also slightly deceiving,” Forgacs said. According to Forgacs, the total cost of a dining experience before the tip includes both the price of the meal and tax. If the meal is $20, then tax would add $2.60 to the price. As a result,
Tipping is culturally and historically embedded in the hospitality industry. — Gabor Forgacs
sonian
Features
Wednesday, November 22, 2017
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students weigh in on og give servers
nt machines mean you are likely to pay more at restaurants customers are tipping on the tax as well, rather than just rewarding their waiter for the value of the goods and services. “That increases the cost of the tip, which isn’t necessarily fair, but not enough customers would pick up on it,” he said. “(Default tip options) aren’t necessarily forcing (people to pay more), but there is definitely a higher willingness. That’s what happens when people just push a button (to pay).” A recent study further demonstrated that default options on payment devices can drive up the cost of tipping. In a 2014 American Economic Journal study, New York City taxi passengers were given two options on a pay machine at the end of their ride: they could type in their own tip amount or they could select one of three default tip suggestions, ranging from 15 per cent to 30 per cent. The results suggested that the more expensive the default tip options were, the greater the average tips tended to be. Though this study only dealt with taxi fare, Frederic Dimanche, director of the Ted Rogers School of Hospitality and Tourism Management, said its findings could be applied to restaurant tips. “People are usually in a hurry so they don’t really pay attention to (what they tip). They just want to (leave) the cab or restaurant,” he said. “I think there is a psychological aspect (to tipping).” Forgacs agrees. “People will just pick an option they believe is right, like 20 per cent. If people offer (something below that), they feel as
though they are being cheap,” he said. As manipulative as the process of tipping can be, Forgacs said it’s not going away anytime soon. “Tipping is culturally and historically embedded in the
Before Walravens came to Toronto from Belgium, she used Google to determine how much she should tip in Toronto. She found an article that said a 10 to 12 per cent tip was the norm. When she arrived, she quickly found out that wasn’t the case.
fore tips is $10.10. Servers in Belgium make about $16.24 an hour before tips. Melessa Neyt, a Ryerson exchange student who worked as a server in Belgium for a year, said the tipping rates in Toronto are even more shocking.
“(In Belgium), we tip two euros (about C$3) when the service is good, but I think here people need the tips. Back home, servers get a good salary,” she said. In Ontario, the average hourly wage for servers be-
“I don’t get tips, but that’s normal for me. I think it’s kind of sick (customers) have to pay so much extra because of (servers’) low wages,” she said. “It’s just something I’m not used to.” Hannah Kavoosi, a server at two restaurants in Toron-
HEATHER STEWART | RYERSONIAN
hospitality industry,” he said. “We have to accept the reality.” Tipping can look different all over the world, and the North American way can be surprising for newcomers like Charlotte Walravens, an exchange student at Ryerson.
to, is used to relying on tips to keep herself afloat. If you want to dine out but you’re not financially prepared to leave a tip, Kavoosi said the solution is simple. “Don’t go out to eat at a restaurant. If you are hungry, eat at home,” she said. “When someone is catering to you, it is custom to tip.” On the other hand, Kavoosi, a fourth-year Ryerson sociology student, understands the financial struggle of post-secondary life. “I do think it’s fair to ask students to tip (over 15 per cent), but I also understand there are other priorities they must allocate their money towards,” she said. But for Galea, asking students to tip over 15 per cent is too much. “A lot of us aren’t making a lot of money and I’m sure many students can barely afford the meal,” Galea said. Restaurants need to be wary of their default tipping options, too. The American Economic Journal study also found when the automated options were pricier, passengers were more likely to not leave a tip at all. However, students can walk away from a dining experience with their bank accounts mostly intact if they remain vigilant. “Students should try to say, ‘Listen, this is the tip I am comfortable with and that’s it.’ Just be brave and don’t feel like you have to tip extraordinarily,” Forgacs said. @MadisonMacneil @K_Douglz
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R yersonian Arts & Life
Monday Movie Review: Justice League ryersonian.ca Wednesday, November 22, 2017
‘Minor’ change to comp sci program Computer science minor meets the demand for the fast-growing tech industry JUSTIN CHANDLER AND MICHELLE MCNALLY RYERSONIAN
Technology skills are in high demand in the workplace, and Ryerson is offering students a chance to gain that technological edge. Starting in September, students can enrol in classes for or declare a computer science minor. The new minor will allow more students to learn programming skills, according to Marcus Santos, associate dean of undergraduate science at Ryerson. “Not everyone needs to know programming detail, but I believe that every student at Ryerson could benefit from some knowledge of how their computer applications work,” Santos told the Ryersonian. The minor, which was approved at a senate meeting on Nov. 7, consists of two required comp sci courses, which introduce students to abstraction, modelling, algorithms and programming. The senate proposal listed examples of streams students could take, including software engineering, robotics, data mining, cryptography and artificial intelligence. Santos said the minor will be a “welcome opportunity” for students to learn more about computer science. He said even people in fields supposedly unrelated to compsci could benefit from learning programming. Santos gave the example of a biology student learning coding to automate an experiment.
AMMI PARMAR | RYERSONIAN
According to 2016-17 statistics, enrolment in the comp sci program has increased by 57 per cent from five years ago.
Lauren Dunlap Sciacchitano, a first-year medical physics student, is pleased that a computer science minor will be available. The science department already encourages medical students to take computing classes and Dunlap Sciacchitano said she is happy that she can now declare an official minor. “There’s enough interest that the department has a list of recommended courses ready for anyone who asks, but now I can claim a minor for my interests,” she said. Dunlap Sciacchitano said the medical field is becoming increasingly digitalized. Hospitals are doing away with paper charts and handwritten prescriptions. Having a grasp of computer science is becoming a requirement in some
jobs, such as the medical field. “Medical imaging, an area that medical physics covers, is extremely reliant on software,” she said. “Being able to manipulate the images and analyze the data produced by the machinery is crucial in diagnosing patients.” Computer science is a popular program at Ryerson, and the interest is growing. According to Ryerson statistics for the 2016-17 school year, there were 871 students enrolled in computer science. That’s a 57 per cent increase over where enrolment was five years ago. Enrolment in the comp sci program has grown more than twice as fast as the general Ryerson undergraduate student population, which grew 24 per cent in
the same time period. Santos attributes that growth to the “huge demand” for people with comp sci skills. He said students enrol in computer science expecting to get good jobs. Ryerson stats show 96.3 per cent of computer science graduates from 2013 were employed in a field closely or somewhat related to their field of studies two years after graduating. The university average for that figure is 81.3 per cent. In addition to well-paying jobs, Eric Harley, the associate professor and department chair for the comp sci program, said students have become more interested in learning about computer science as technology has become more mainstream.
“With all of the gadgets that are coming out, self-driving cars and the internet, practically everyone is interested in what computer science can do for them,” he said. Harley said students have inquired about a computer science minor for some time. Having had a hand in developing the minor, Harley said the program took about a year to piece together. “It’s something that we should have done years ago, because we knew there was a need for it,” he said. “It came as an initiative as more and more students wanted it.” Santos said the computer science minor may be a good way to get more female students studying in that field. Last year, 12 per cent of students in the undergraduate computer science program were female. That’s twice as many as were enrolled in the 2012-13 year. Santos said Ryerson has seen some success in increasing female enrolment by presenting course content as more applicable to realworld situations. The school also set up beginner, intermediate and advanced levels of courses, so “students would feel more comfortable in knowing that their peers all share the same expertise.”
@mr_lois_lane @michimcnally
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Arts & Life 11
Wednesday, November 22, 2017
COURTESY THE STAIRS
Roxanne Smith, pictured above, is a central character of The Stairs and a visitor of Regent Park Community Health Centre.
COURTESY THE STAIRS
Greg Bell holds a photo of himself, taken days after being physcially assaulted. Bell is a recovering drug addict in The Stairs.
DOCUMENTARY
The Stairs: a raw look at drug use
Ryerson film screening highlights harm reduction work in Regent Park KIKI CEKOTA RYERSONIAN
Harm reduction and opioid addiction were the focus of an award-winning documentary shown at Ryerson’s School of Image Arts last week. The Stairs tells the life stories of Marty Thompson, Greg Bell and Roxanne Smith, who have all survived years of street involvement and drug use in Toronto’s Regent Park neighborhood. The three met through the Regent Park Community Health Centre, where Thompson now works and where much of the documentary is filmed.
Thompson used to go to Regent Park every day for his drug use — he couldn’t function without his daily injections. When the opportunity came to get $20 per week to attend rehab meetings at the health centre, he grabbed it. Thompson didn’t hide that he was going to use the money for drugs. But when he actually started to listen to what was being said at the meetings, he realized he could turn his life around. Bringing the film to Ryerson was the initiative of Christina Usanov and Annita Velasque, third-year nursing students. The third year of the program is centered on community health,
and Usanov had been working with Thompson as part of her placement. “One day, we were going for a walk in the Moss Park area, and he was telling me what it was like to grow up there, experiencing all the drug use and homelessness,” said Usanov. “I told him, ‘Someone should really make a movie about this,’ and he laughed and said they already had.” Velasque said her and Usanov’s reason for bringing the film to a wider audience at Ryerson was to give students and faculty a more humanizing look at drug users and homeless people.
“I think everybody at Ryerson has likely had an encounter with a homeless person,” said Velasque. “Being able to show they’re not just a stereotype and taking away some of the stigma … if we accomplished that for even one person, we’re happy.” The screening came shortly after the opening of Toronto’s first, permanent supervised injection site at 277 Victoria St., steps from the Ryerson campus. The Victoira Street clinic is the first of three city-run supervised injection sites expected to open this year. There is also a volunteer-run operation in Moss Park. But the Moss Park clinic is set up in weather-proof tents, giving the appearance it can be taken down at any time. Hugh Gibson, the film’s director, and York University graduate, said he’s happy to see a supervised injection site that’s here to stay. “The amount of time and effort it took to get the first one open is herculean. It’s long overdue, but better late than never,” said Gibson. The Stairs is Gibson’s directorial debut. It premiered at TIFF in 2016 and won the Toronto Film Critics Association award for Best Canadian Film of 2016. He shot it over five years, between 2011 and 2016, with the hopes of giving a non-judgmental look into the lives of opioid users. The documentary has been screened in various cities across Canada and countries around the world, including South Korea, Argentina and Germany. Its title refers to the places “hidden in plain sight” where homeless people spend their lives.
In 2015, there were over 100,000 client visits to harm reduction services and almost 1.9 million needles were distributed, along with other sterile injection supplies, through community agencies across the city, according to the City of Toronto’s website. The Ryersonian has previously reported on the RSU equipping its equity service staff with naloxone kits after the Ryerson administration decided not to carry them on campus. Naloxone is administered in cases of opioid overdoses to counteract the effects of drugs like fentanyl. “I applaud the student union for taking that initiative. I think it’s a great move on their part,” said Gibson. “Authorities don’t necessarily act quickly enough when responding to what is a massive health crisis, and sometimes you need people who have the training to save lives.” During a Q-and-A session following the screening, Thompson said he wanted the general public to know that drug users “are not useless.” And Usanov agrees. “A lot of the time (in class) we discuss these issues, but we feel like we’re in a bubble. We go home and forget about it because we know we’re going to get the grade and move on,” said Usanov. “This film is raw. It’s very hard for some people to see – being able to get that to other people at Ryerson (is) really important.” @kcekota
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R yersonian Sports
Esports coverage ryersonian.ca Wednesday, November 22, 2017
No longer on the sidelines
Trans inclusion, barriers and policy discussed at Ryerson panel BRENDA MOLINA-NAVIDAD RYERSONIAN
Harrison Browne skates past two Boston Pride defenders, takes the puck to the left, shoots and it’s all net. Browne celebrates with both hands in the air, as he becomes the first openly transgender athlete in the National Women’s Hockey League (NWHL) to score. Over a year later, this historic goal for trans athletes in sport was replayed in a room full of Ryerson athletes, coach-
es and staff. Browne was one of four guest speakers at the Trans Inclusion in Sport panel held at the Mattamy Athletic Centre as part of trans awareness month. “Explaining that (it) was the first time a transgender athlete has had their chosen name and preferred pronouns announced on a professional team… for me, that was just me finally being able to live and play my sport as myself,” said Browne. For Browne, wearing number 24 for the Buffalo Beauts and having his chosen identity recognized was an “uplifting”
moment. He said his teammates were supportive, and the use of gender-neutral language on and off the ice created an inclusive environment. “By just having gender neutral terms, you’re automatically having everybody supported,” said Browne. “I just think it’s so important for people to keep that in the back of their minds. That you don’t know exactly what somebody is just based on what they look like, you need to think deeper and you need to be conscious.” Although his experience was welcoming, this is not the case for all trans athletes. Panellist Chris Spiess said they took up martial arts and trained in self-defence as a way to deal with trauma. Spiess, who identifies as non-binary trans, trained in five different styles of mar-
tial arts and taught the sport, but is currently not competing because of barriers within these spaces. They spoke about change rooms as “scary” environments, and about feeling as though they are navigating two different lives. Christine Hsu, who is an educator and advocate for equity and inclusion, moderated the discussion and spoke about transphobia, homophobia and sexism as barriers for trans athletes, as well as the importance of education. Hsu said that people are wired to question others’ genders, but it’s a matter of challenging oneself and that for trans athletes, it’s about navigating within an institution that is gendered. During industrialization in the 19th century, men went to work, leaving their sons with-
out a masculine model inside the home, according to the article “Transgender Student-Athletes and Sex-Segregated Sport” from the Seton Hall Journal of Sports & Entertainment Law. As a result, religious institutions, schools and businesses “organized and promoted sport as a means to separate men from women and cultivate manly virtues.” According to the journal, team sports intended to affirm masculine qualities such as physicality, aggression and dominance for young people. Sport became a limiting space for women and although cultural attitudes change, sports continue to be a male-dominated space. Barb Besharat, a senior specialist for sport and recreation Continued on next page
NATASHA HERMANN | RYERSONIAN NATASHA HERMANN | RYERSONIAN
Harrison Browne (le[), Chris Spiess and Barb Besharat (right) spoke at the Ma amy Athleঞc Centre on Nov. 13 for trans awareness month.
Wednesday, November 22, 2017
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Sports 13
‘If you show up, you belong’: Ivan Joseph for Strategic Partnership Initiatives, said the myths about how male and female bodies are different must be broken down. Besharat said the way children are treated based on their “presumed” gender, which is assigned by their sex, will shape the athletes they will become. “How are we talking to athletes, how are we treating them, what’s the actual culture in the locker room? All of those things play into what kind of an athlete someone is going to be.” Besharat said that doing this ultimately puts everyone in boxes. The discussion moved towards creating safe, inclusive spaces for trans athletes by implementing policies. Browne was involved in creating the NWHL’s policy for the participation of transgender athletes, which was implemented in December 2016. The policy was a commitment to creating safe and inclusive spaces for its athletes. It states that the “NWHL supports athletes choosing to express their gender beyond the binary of female and male.” However, at the university level there isn’t an official policy. Besharat has worked with Beth Ali, who is a former associate director of athletics and recreation at Ryerson and current executive director of athletics at the University of Toronto, to establish a policy in U Sports, the governing body for university sports in Canada. Besharat said one of the reasons the process for making a final policy has taken so long is because there are numerous ideas of what fairness is. “Everybody wants to make sport fair, but nobody actually wants everybody to tie all the time. And so, what does fairness in sport mean?” Besharat is on the acknowledgment list for the Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport (CCES) guideline document. CCES created guidelines that sport organizations across the nation have looked at as a model. The guidelines were a result of an investigation about trans inclusion in sport from 10 years ago by the CCES, Sport Canada, AthletesCAN, and the
Canadian Association for the Advancement of Women and Sport and Physical Activity (CAAWS). One of the guidelines is that “trans athletes should
letes may feel excluded, discouraged or uncomfortable playing a sport, according to the article “Transgender Student-Athletes and Sex-Segregated Sport.” At Ryerson, diversity and
Being an ally is not an identity. Being an ally is an action. — Chris Spiess have equal opportunity to participate in sport and strive for excellence,” and that organizations should proactively state their intention for inclusion. Without policies, trans ath-
inclusiveness is part of the university’s strategic goals in the athletics program. Ivan Joseph, Ryerson’s director of athletics, said that the university’s mission statement
emphasizes “belonging” intentionally. “I was part of an athletic team where, as an underrepresented population, you didn’t quite feel like you belonged — and I didn’t want that to be the message that our athletic teams and the people who are a part of the community shine and show. “I wanted us to be a place that said if you show up, you belong,” said Joseph. In the panel, Spiess asked the audience to think about who is missing from certain spaces and why. Spiess said that trans inclusion is a team effort where everyone stands up against
transphobia instead of the people facing it having to defend themselves every time. “Being an ally is not an identity. “Being an ally is an action and it’s something you need to do over and over and over again,” said Spiess. “If you don’t identify as trans or non-binary, you can’t have those experiences for you to really grasp on it,” said Hsu. “You won’t face the challenges that some of us, or many of us, will face and so it’s really important to engage in that work and really put in that effort.” Brenda_MoNa
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R yersonian Editorial
Read more Opinions online ryersonian.ca Wednesday, November 22, 2017
EDITORIAL
Get out and fight Students are not angry enough about precarious work. The general consensus says it’s awful but too many students are too accepting of it as an unpleasant but unavoidable reality. Worse, some keeners even embrace non-standard work as freeing them from the trappings of the 40-hour-a-week slog. The low pay that comes with it is further accepted as the value of less serious work. It’s a curious irony that as students look everywhere for (usually justified) outrage, the appalling standard of living most of us will be trapped in elicits so little. The statistics do not need to be repeated, but they will be. A study by Meal Exchange last year found a mix of high student fees and debt, along with low pay, left nearly 40 per cent of Canadian students food insecure. No, things most likely will not get better for graduates just because they have degrees. The same Meal Exchange study noted 70 per cent of jobs require some post-secondary education. Yet, United Way found 52 per cent of those jobs in Hamilton and the GTA are precarious — marked by part-time contracts, generally low pay and no rights. Precarity is not new and it’s not an accident. It follows decades of attacks on labour and a general decline in the efficacy of capitalism. When previous generations were confronted with these sorts of attacks, they fought back. We got student strikes, wildcat
strikes, general strikes, the Russian Revolution, May 1968 and the like. Few ended well, but they sure scared the wealthy. Life got better for the rest of us as a result. Torches and pitchforks do a good job of convincing people to share. Do not get upset about your lowpay, highly indebted and insecure existence. Get angry. Take the fight into your workplace and into the streets. Help your coworkers take control of the workplace you keep running. Fight to transform society to serve students and poor workers. There’s some history of this transformational activism at Ryerson. In Serving Society’s Needs: A History of Ryerson Polytechnic University, Prof. Ronald Stagg wrote, in 1966, the incoming president “had to deal not only with an institution in transition but also with the height of student and faculty radicalism. Among other demands these groups made was one for a democratic sharing of power. When students demanded a role in faculty council, the advisory body to the president, he let them have it… Students and some faculty found this type of approach refreshing, while traditionalists felt standards were slipping, and power was being diffused.” Taking back our workplaces and taking back society may be significantly more difficult than taking more power on campus, but the stakes are also higher and there’s more reason to be angry. Get out and fight back.
BROOKE TAYLOR | RYERSONIAN
OPINION
Living my way SADE LEWIS RYERSONIAN
“My life is mine” aren’t only the words Tracee Ellis Ross lives by. They’re also the words I will continue to live by after reading her speech on the expectations of womanhood. At 45 years old, Ross is a successful actress and mogul. Now, she can add life coach to her resumé. But even with all of her successes, people still dwell on the fact that she’s a single 45-yearold woman with no child. From the beginning of time — or as long as we could remember as children — we were brainwashed into believing that our lives had certain expectations that we must live up to. We would read fairy tales
about beautiful women meeting their prince charmings at tender ages and living happily ever after. Or to be more realistic, we would grow up and marry someone successful, live in a large house with a white picket fence and have two or three children within a certain window of time. And if you were able to meet life’s presumptions, you were deemed an excellent member of society. With every new chapter life throws at us, why do we need to place a time frame on top? Society expects us to finish college at a particular age, meet our significant other, get engaged and then married before the age of 30 — and we definitely can’t forget about the kids. They’re supposed to arrive no longer than than two years after the marriage. Otherwise, society thinks there’s something wrong with us. I’m 24 years old. I’m in no rush to walk down that aisle to the altar, and I’m definitely not ready
to chase after a mini-me. But when people ask me how many kids I want and I respond with, “probably one,” I find it amusing when they get that confused look on their faces and say, “One? That’s it?” Well sorry to break it to you, but I’m an only child and both my parents turned out perfectly fine. Actually, scratch that, they turned out great. Sometimes we need to pause, take a step back and figure out what we want. At the end of the day, what will make you happy? Was it all worth it, or do you have any regrets? If you don’t meet these societal life expectations, don’t ever feel like you failed, because you’re living for yourself. Continue living your life — your best life — the way you choose to, not based on the expectations of the world around you. @Flockoflew
R yersonian Voices
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Read more Voices at ryersonian.ca Wednesday, November 22, 2017
My full-time struggle ‘I’m not upset at those who have a decent income, I’m just frustrated about how the system works’ NATASHA HERMANN RYERSONIAN
I stand in line at Starbucks, along with four other people, who will soon pay for an $8 coffee. In 15 minutes I’ll be on the other side of this same counter, so I am grinning at my busy co-workers. Almost everyone here is about my age. Most of us pay our own rent, spend any free time on homework and we all go to post-secondary schools. We’re trying to learn some things that will help us get out of our barista careers. I never used to think about work outside of my part-time job. It’s always been a paycheque to keep my life going smoothly.
It allows me to play catch-up on my social life. Once I graduate I’ll wave my $40,000 degree in my hand and find some career I’ll enjoy, I’d tell myself. Getting even that far has been tough. Even finding an internship was difficult, and I had trouble finding someone who would literally let me work for free. After four months of unpaid interning over the summer, bringing forth a caffeine addiction, insomnia and anxiety, I decided to try to find a few paid freelance jobs. I’m not entirely sure of what I want to do when I graduate. All I know is that I can use a camera, I enjoy editing video
footage, and I’m great at bullshitting my way through interviews. My first freelance attempt a few months back combined all three. It was a job for the International Indian Film Festival. I had to create posters, brochures and film a few events for the festival. The pay was $3,000. The supervisor asked all the candidates to create a template. He would then determine who would be the best employee. I had an idea of what I wanted to create, but using InDesign or Illustrator is some form of magic I’ll never understand. I have a newly formed and profound respect for graphic designers. I was working on the project
MILCA KUFLU | RYERSONIAN
for almost a week and my head was exploding. My supervisor tried to keep me on the project but we both knew the design was terrible. In the end, he hired someone else but offered me an internship. Unpaid. I had come full circle. A part of me knew it would be good for my portfolio, but I politely declined. I was unable to get the time I needed off work and, on top of that, I was frustrated by the whole I-need-money-to-survive ordeal. There was a time, for about a month, I would apply to to jobs every time I came home after a long shift. It’s not that I entirely hate being a barista. It’s that, almost fours years of practising a trade should result in a niche career. It has not. I’ll be honest, more than half of my income is put towards the necessities like rent, food and internet. I’ve been working and living away from home since I was 16 years old. I’ve always had enough in my bank account to survive. But it also hurts cancelling plans with friends who can easily spend $100 at a bar. I live with three other roommates. Two of them don’t pay for things out of their own pockets. And they don’t come home late from work wondering if homework is a priority over sleep.
COURTESY ROCCO ZOCCOLI
They don’t know what it’s really like to feel the effects of living on the poverty line, with 4.8 million other Canadians (2016 census). I’m not upset at those who have a decent income. I’m just frustrated about how the system works. I’m obviously not the only one. It’s not rare that students refuse to call into work even though they’re sick, or miss the deadline of an assignment because there simply isn’t enough time. My advice: we cannot stress out about the things we cannot control. Long hours can result in a great work ethic, which is something you cannot teach. Every unpaid opportunity is an experience, but take time for yourself and know your worth. And just keep in mind, some baristas do question why you’re spending $8 on a coffee. @Natasha_H96
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Full story available at ryersonian.ca
Wednesday, November 22, 2017
Campus Connection
Campus Comment What are y your experiences p balancing part-time jobs and school work? “I do sleep, but just not as much as I should be. Last night I probably slept for four hours, but that’s fine. That’s been happening for a whole month.”
Events Nov. 23: Riding the Elephant: Encountering grief and loss in a hospital setting 9 - 11 a.m. Ted Rogers School of Management
Nov. 27:
–Aaliyah Suidar
Masc Off: Talking Masculinity and Ending Gender-Based Violence 6 - 8:30 p.m. Student Learning Centre
“It was almost impossible because employment never aligned with academics. I would be on call during exam week so it was tough.”
Stephen Lewis in Conversation with Samantha Nutt 7 - 9 p.m. Library Building
–Derek Henderin ISABEL ISA BELLA LA PER PERRON RONE E | RY RYERS ERSONI ONIAN AN
Nov. 28:
Millennials and Video Games The relaঞonship between millennials and video games is a long one, but it’s been shaky in recent years. Before the release of Star Wars Ba lefront II, EA Games announced players would need to play 40 hours to unlock main characters in-game, or spend addiঞonal money on top of the base game to unlock them. To unlock everything in-game it would take over 4,500 hours, or cost $2,100. Swi[ backlash from the gaming community followed the announcement resulঞng in EA removing in-game purchases and lowering ঞme requirements for unlocks by 75 per cent.
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