NDP elects new leader page 2
Ryerson formula racing
page 9 WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 4, 2017
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ryersonian.ca Volume 72 Number 4
Produced by the Ryerson School of Journalism
Sam’s sign to return this month BROOKE TAYLOR RYERSONIAN
The famous Sam the Record Man sign is close to making its return. A spokesperson for the company that’s rebuilding the sign said it should be up in its new home by the end of the month. Tony Bianchi, of Sunset Neon, said the company had to overcome a few obstacles. “It’s going on the roof of a building that really wasn’t designed to hold a structure like this and there’s a lot of wind load. It’s like two big sails,” said Bianchi. The company had to ensure the sign passed wind tunnel
studies to determine what load the building could take, he added. Sunset Neon was able to salvage some old parts, but much of the sign’s components had to be replaced. “It’s going to pretty much look like the signs that were taken off the old building.” The return of the sign will end a long saga that began when Ryerson bought the Sam the Record Man site and promised to keep the iconic neon spinning records. It remains a mystery when Torontonians can expect to see the new sign up and running.
What’s online Check out ryersonian.ca to read about a new study on women and student politics, and for a firsthand account of what “false awakenings” feel like.
Orange Shirt Day Vigil A vigil was held at the Egerton Ryerson statue on Saturday night to remember the ongoing trauma left behind by the residential school system. page 4 JOT TI GREWAL | RYERSONIAN
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Why more of Gen Y is living at home
News
page 5 Wednesday, October 4, 2017
Jagmeet Singh wins leadership of the NDP Students say Singh’s historic win could pull in more diverse voters JACOB CAPPE RYERSONIAN
Ryerson students and New Democratic Party supporters are marking the victory of Jagmeet Singh, the NDP’s new federal leader, as a chance for the party to gain more young and diverse support. Singh, 38, became the new leader of the federal NDP on Sunday, after receiving 53.8 per cent of the vote on the first ballot. He is currently a member of provincial parliament in Ontario. His victory ensured that he would become the first visible minority to lead a federal party in Canada. Martin Fox, co-chair of the Ryerson New Democrats, said he remained fairly neutral during the nomination period but is pleased with the outcome. “I’m happy with Jagmeet Singh, and I think most young people are,” said Fox, who’s in his fifth year studying psychology at Ryerson. “Jagmeet basically represents what the NDP has been missing, which is relatability and charisma.” Fox said that past leaders of the NDP have had difficulty connecting with voters and generating enthusiasm for the party. He said he anticipates that this will no longer be an issue with Singh at the helm of the party.
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Jagmeet Singh pulled in 53.8 per cent of the vote on the first ballot.
“Jagmeet Singh is a master at bonding with people from all walks of life, and getting people excited about politics and about policies,” he said. “As a young person who tries to get other young people to think about politics, having a leader like Singh is really helpful.” He says that Singh supports the elimination of all tuition fees through the creation of a Post-Secondary Education Act. He also supports debt relief for students. “Debt relief is actually really
important for people like myself. I’m almost done paying tuition fees, and now have student debt,” said Fox, who added it was another way to connect with young voters. Sara Singh, a PhD student at Ryerson, has worked directly with Singh as a policy analyst. She said that Jagmeet Singh’s status as the first visible minority leader of a federal party in Canada is significant. “What this means for us is that other people of colour can feel as though this is an opportunity
within their grasp. They shouldn’t fear actually participating and engaging in politics,” she said. “I think this is a win, regardless of what your racial background is. It’s a win for all of us, because it says that we can do it. We can impact change.” She said she is also hopeful that the new leader can influence positive changes for students in Canada. “Student debt is a very serious problem that many are facing, and I’m hoping that is an issue he can take on, and hopefully create policy that improves access to education on a national level,” she said. Sara Singh’s PhD research revolves around inclusive access to post-secondary education. She says that this is an important aspect of the education debate. “I think that he will bring that broader conversation of inclusivity into the context of education well,” she said. “I’m looking at it from the social inclusion perspective as well as from the economic perspective of students.” Singh says she is confident that the NDP will be contenders in the next federal election. “I think we’ve reinvigorated our support across the country, and we will see a lot of change moving forward, both federally and provincially,” she said. “He’s making politics cool again.” @JacobCappe
RYERSON cont’d...
Ryerson to honour its agreement to perserve the sign a decade later Bianchi said he hopes the sign will be installed by end of October, but expects it will be another two to three weeks before it’s ready to be lit. In an email, Dasha Pasiy, Ryerson’s media relations officer, stated that the school is planning on hosting a lighting ceremony, but the details are still being worked out. The new sign will sit atop 277 Victoria St., facing Yonge-Dundas Square. It was removed from the Yonge Street record shop in 2008 when Ryerson began construction on the Student Learning Centre, which stands in its place. The building that housed Sam the Record Man, along with its iconic sign, were declared a heritage site. Ryerson had initially planned to put the sign on the new building but decided it clashed with its chic and slick exterior and tried to get out of the agreement to preserve the sign. Early last year, Ryerson allowed lighting and neon companies to bid on rebuilding and restoring the sign. Nearly a decade after being taken down, the sign is being prepared to shine on Torontonians again.
@bro0ketaylor
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News 3
Wednesday, October 4, 2017
Racist poster taken down The anti-immigrant group calling itself ‘Generation Identity’ has been stepping up its efforts to recruit on Canadian campuses DONYA ZIAEE RYERSONIAN
A poster for the Canadian chapter of the white supremacist group Generation Identity appeared on Ryerson campus Monday morning – only to be torn down shortly after. The poster was on a board outside the Student Campus Centre. It was taken down by the Ryerson Students’ Union (RSU) vice-president of equity, Camryn Harlick, late Monday morning. The Canadian branch of Generation Identity made news last month when its recruitment material began popping up on multiple university campuses. Activists and student union representatives responded swiftly by tearing the posters down. This is the first reported sighting of the group’s material at Ryerson. Generation Identity defines itself as “an ethno-nationalist and identitarian youth movement.” It originated in France in 2002 and has since spread across various European countries. More recently, it has found its way to North America. Unequivocally anti-immigrant, European chapters of this movement have advocated for tightening Europe’s borders, even resorting to direct action to block migrants from coming in. This summer, some members went as far as buying a ship to physically obstruct search-andrescue ships helping migrants in the Mediterranean Sea. This mission, which they called Defend Europe, received support from the likes of David Duke (the former grand wizard of the Ku Klux Klan), and at least two neo-Nazi publications, dailystormer.com and Richard Spencer’s altright.com. The mission ended with a
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RSU’s Camryn Harlick tears down the poster for Generaঞon Idenঞty outside the Student Campus Centre.
series of humiliating setbacks, including a mechanical failure on their ship that resulted in a humanitarian crew coming to their rescue. The Canadian chapter of Generation Identity was, according to the group’s website, created in 2014 to “re-instil traditional
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Generaঞon Idenঞty Canada’s poster
western values and traditions.” It challenges the notion that Canada is a “nation of immigrants” and defines its mission as “a response to Canada’s decaying identity, increased Third-World immigration, and rising crime rates.” As universities reopened last month, the group boasted on social media that it had “targeted almost every campus from Manitoba to Halifax” with its posters. In an interview with VICE, the national leader said that more than 100 students helped put up around 1,000 posters across five provinces. Harlick has no reservations about removing the group’s material. “There shouldn’t be a space for white supremacy on our campus,” they said after taking down the poster. “We need to be actively doing anything we can to dismantle that.” Nick Gardner, a student in
the sport media program, says he agrees with the decision to remove the poster. “To post that in a very multicultural type of university, it’s just not appropriate… When you’re becoming hateful and clearly discriminating towards multiple groups of people, it’s not OK.” “(It’s) very offensive to Indigenous people especially. They built this country. They were here before the Europeans,” adds Celeste Kelly, a student in business management. Austin, a business management student who preferred not to share his last name, disagrees. “I think the most important thing is people need to be allowed to get their message out. If you don’t like it, don’t look at it… Tell the people why you don’t like it, get your message out for why you think this is a bad thing, and try to change their minds,” he says. According to university policy, all posters on campus must
be approved and stamped by the RSU. Otherwise, they are removed. Zandra Alexander, one of Ryerson’s media relations officers, said in an email that the university will be looking into the matter, but has not received any formal complaints. Harlick says the university administration needs to play a more active role. “I would hope that the administration would find it their job to take away white supremacist posters and not have white supremacist organizing happening on campus.” Minzi Wataoka, a student in journalism, says she wants the university to investigate the group and be more vocal in its criticism. “They should voice it out. Tell us they’re not on their side.” Generation Identity Canada has no formal group status at Ryerson, and it’s unclear whether the poster was put up by a student. But Harlick adds that Generation Identity is only the latest culprit. They say they’ve been removing hateful posters from other groups on campus since the term began. Isabelle Roman, a sport media student, says she’s seen other similar posters on campus before too, but still finds it surprising. “You’d think especially at Ryerson, in Toronto, (that) we’d be past that.” She agrees with taking down the posters but says we need to also inform the campus community that this is going on. “I feel like people aren’t aware that this kind of thing even happens on campus… I think it’s good for people to know that it is happening so (they) can be aware and stand against it.” @donya_z
R yersonian
Wednesday, October 4, 2017
44 News
Vigil remembers residential school trauma Crowds gathered around the Egerton Ryerson statue on Gould Street on Saturday night SOPHIE ARMSTRONG and JOTI GREWAL RYERSONIAN
Although the last residential school in Canada was shut down in 1996, the trauma caused by the institution still exists today. On Sept. 30, a vigil was held in front of the Egerton Ryerson statue to commemorate the ongoing trauma left behind by the residential school system. About 100 people from Indigenous and non-Indigenous communities gathered in a circle in front of the statue, which they covered with an orange cloth. The vigil coincided with Orange Shirt Day. The Orange Shirt Day project began in 2013, when Phyllis Webstad, from the Stswecem’c Xgat’tem First Nation, told her story of how she was stripped of her orange shirt on her first day at St. Joseph Mission residential school in British Columbia. She never saw that shirt again. Participants lit candles, shared stories of the residential school system and came together in song. One of the participants was Annie Smith St-Georges, an
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People from Indigenous and non-Indigenous communities stand in front of the Egerton Ryerson statue on campus.
Algonquin elder who was visiting the Dish With One Spoon Territory that Ryerson is situated on. “Apparently this guy (Ryerson) did a lot of good things for Canadians, but he did not do any good for the Indigenous People,” she said. Sept. 30 was chosen because it is the time of year when children were taken from their homes to residential schools. Coty Zachariah, a member
of the Mohawks of the Bay of Quinte, said, “It’s very important for the community to come together. A lot of people are hurting, a lot of people carry that intergenerational trauma, but there are also intergenerational survivors.” Zachariah, who is the national chairperson for the Canadian Federation of Students, the RSU’s parent organization, said he
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wanted to show his support to the students, the community and their families by attending the vigil. “When those children were taken away it wasn’t just one generation that was impacted, it was their future children and their children’s children who suffered from loss of culture, loss of language and abuses,” he said. In 2008, Smith St-Georges
accepted the apology from former prime minister Stephen Harper for the state’s role in establishing residential schools. She was also involved in the opening and the closing of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. The TRC views reconciliation as an ongoing process to learn the truth about residential schools and ensure all Canadians know that history. Smith St-Georges said there is still work to be done. She explained that Canada needs to rewrite its history books so that it speaks the truth of Indigenous People in this country. “The whole idea of residential schools was to kill the Indian in us, that we were savages and we were to be destroyed,” Smith St-Georges said. She said she is not arguing for the removal of the statue, but supports the idea of a plaque that acknowledges Ryerson’s role in the residential school system. Ryerson president Mohamed Lachemi has said the university plans to place just such a plaque near the statue. @armstophie @jotigrewal_
A NIGHT TO O SHED
AN EVENT IN SUPPORT OF THE SICKKIDS CENTRE FOR COMMUNITY MENTAL HEALTH
Join us to help bring b i awareness to to tth the he challenges adolescents lescents with mental health issues face every day so that they can get the support they need.
Saturday, October 14 at 6:00 p.m.
Holiday Inn Toronto Downtown Centre 30 Carlton Street
DEADLINE to OPT-OUT, OPT-IN or ADD DEPENDENTS:
¾ŃĐŘĞƭơɎ ʐȐȏȏ ɦUŦĐśƵėĞơ ó ďƵȅĞƭ ėŃŦŦĞƙɏ plus two host tickets for drinks.
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 6, 2017 - 6pm
There will also be a silent auction.
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STUDENT DISCOUNT AVAILABLE! For more information, email Bevy1969@yahoo.ca
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News 5
Wednesday, October 4, 2017
Gen Y living at home Study concludes students don’t move out because they want to save money
JULIE FAYE GERMANSKY
to start paying his own tuition. “The support I get from my parents allows to me save the money that I would be spending on apartments… I get to plan out what I want to do after university, where I want to work and where I want to live,” said Catabijan. According to the study, high rents in Toronto, accumulating tuition debt and job insecurity have young adults living at home to keep themselves financially afloat. The research team, led by Nancy Worth, geography pro-
said Worth. While the research identifies financial necessity as the main Young adults in 2017 might reason for living at home, the have a reputation for being lazy co-dependent living situation also because they live at home with supports Gen Y’s well-being. parents, but a new report is askWorth said that their studies ing why they’re doing it in the recorded a high level of mutual first place. reliance between parents and Gen The report, called Gen Y at Y’s where advice and encourageHome, was released on Sept. 28 by ment were reciprocated. the University of Waterloo, and Catabijan’s younger sister and says that living at home is actubrother also live at home while ally all a part of a thought-out plan they go to university. Together, to get ahead. they contribute to household It found that nearly half of chores while their parents are in young adults in the for long days at GTA live with their work. The support I get from my parents parents, which The study is roughly 13 per found family allows me to save the money that I cent more than the and cultural would be spending on apartments. national average. traditions also Eighty per cent of played a role young adults who in reasons -Rommel Catabijan live with their parwhy millenents said it was to save money. fessor at the University of Water- nials are living at home. Worth’s Rommel Catabijan, sec- loo, surveyed over 700 young stu- study points out the benefit of ond-year biology student at Ryer- dents living at home with parents being close to family as well as son, has been living at home or in-laws. the value of intergenerational with his parents throughout his “The typical stereotype with transfers of wealth that are not education. living at home is the ‘lazy millen- only common, but expected in the For Catabijan, living at home nial’ —but this is being challenged Asian community. is helping him finish his degree from all sides. Increasingly, living Jeeho Kim, a second-year stuwith the hopes of being debt- at home is seen as a smart, strate- dent in hospitality and tourism free. Thanks to this money-saving gic choice for those who are lucky industry at Ryerson, said that move, Catabijan recently was able enough to have the opportunity,” Asian culture and American culture are far different. “Usually everything is centred around the house (for Korean parents),” said Kim. care-giving WHY GEN Y LIVE Millennials in the study are living in co-dependence under one WITH THEIR PARENTS: other roof and are redefining adultECONOMIC REASONS hood with outward capabilities, like responsibility and autonomy looking for work rather than material benchmarks. “For many young adults in Gen paying off debt Y, your twenties and early thirties is a time of transition—you’re I want to not a kid but you might not have the things you expected, such as cannot afford rent a full-time job with benefits or a place you own,” said Worth. saving money “Instead, there’s a tendency to define adulthood through 80 60 40 20 0 traits, like being responsible and JULIE FAYE GERMANSKY | PER CENT OF PEOPLE independent.” RYERSONIAN Vivek Arora a first-year civil
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For many young adults in Gen Y, your twenties and early thirties is a time of transition. -Nancy Worth engineering student, said that living at home is a way to discipline himself. “When you can take care of your own responsibility and
someone else’s responsibilities, you are truly an adult,” said Arora. @julsgermansky
Thanksgiving Brunch with President Lachemi Mohamed Lachemi, President and Vice-Chancellor invites Ryerson students for a Thanksgiving brunch at the Ryerson Student Learning Centre, Amphitheatre on Friday, October 6, 2017.
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Drop in for a free light brunch with President Mohamed Lachemi from 10 a.m. – 12 p.m. Please email presrsvp@ryerson.ca if we need to make any accessibility or dietary accommodations to ensure your inclusion in this event.
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Wednesday, October 4, 2017
R yers
Features
Feel better with the menta
Physical activity is an essential part of a student’s well-being. During midterm and exam season, the incre MICHAEL D’ALIMONTE RYERSONIAN
Staying fit and keeping active isn’t just about keeping your body healthy. Regular physical activity is an integral part of a student’s well-being. Exercise is definitively linked to good mental health. Some Ryerson students, however, are neglecting the mental health benefits of exercise when they need it most: exam season. “It seems clear we peak in use in September and January and then experience a decline across the term, before the sharp drop at the start of exams,” said Andrew Pettit, recreation manager for Ryerson Athletics. Last year, 11,439 students accessed the Recreation and Athletics Centre (RAC) or Mattamy Athletic Centre (MAC) in mid-September, according to figures provided by Ryerson Athletics. That’s about 30 per cent of the total Ryerson student population. Once exams rolled around in December, the number of students accessing athletics facilities dropped to 5,099, about 14 per cent of the student body. As schoolwork mounts, Ryerson students are hitting the books instead of the gym. Unfortunately, that means the mounting stress of projects, midterms and exams isn’t being counterbalanced by the mental health benefits provided by regular physical activity. “Unequivocally, we know that being active on a regular basis benefits your physical and mental health in significant ways,” said Pettit. “It’s irrefutable.” A report published by the National Centre for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) outlines the benefits of regular physical activity. Thomas Stephen’s Physical Activity and Mental Health in the United States and Canada population survey also reported the positive relationship between physical activity and well-being. Through the release of endorphins, exercise can help ease depression and anxiety, while also improving one’s overall mood. Moderate-to-vigorous exercise also acts as a form
JULIE E GER GERMANSKY | RYERSONIAN
Ultimate Workout is a high-energy and high-intensity circuit training method that uses unconventional equipment.
of meditation, helping to block out negative thoughts and manage stress. Ryerson student Mohamed Harbi knows that getting active can help him de-stress. So when things are rough, he hits the gym. “If I’m stressed, I’ll go out (and) get some shots up in the gym,” said Harbi. “Whatever issues I’m having in life, it takes me away from that.” But not all students feel welcome or at ease in a gym setting. Some students may be entirely unfamiliar with working out, not being sure what to do, which can create a sense of displacement and confusion. For the most part, male students have an influence in Ryerson’s sports spaces, which makes it seem a lot easier for them to head into Ryerson’s athletics facilities. Groups of young, physically fit men are
almost always found in the RAC’s gymnasiums and weight rooms, dominating the space, even if they aren’t conscious of it. And for some female students, this can make the gym an anxious, stress-inducing setting, a deterrent to working out. Rebecca Xie is a business management student who works at the RAC and MAC. She has seen what effect a dominant male presence at the gym can have
on female students. Xie finds a lot of the men working out to be intimidating,
and at times, are sexually objectifying the women working out around them. “Even when pointing it out to some of these male students who are displaying these actions, they’re not very sensitive on the topic, and that creates a very negative space for women to come back,” said Xie. The negative space that can be created by male students in the gym is an issue already addressed by Ryerson’s athletics department. To solve the problem, at least in part,
Unequivocally, we know that basis benefits your physical a ways. It’s irrefutable.
sonian
Wednesday, October 4, 2017
Features
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al health benefits of fitness
rease of assignment stress sometimes isn’t counterbalanced by the mental heatlh benefits of fitness. “women’s only” hours were implemented at the RAC. “The whole reason we did women’s hours is because women are marginalized in sport,” said Kianna Hydil, a Ryerson student-employee at the RAC. “This provides a space where (female students) can feel comfortable and not feel like people are judging them for the way they’re working out.” For many female students, women’s only hours at the RAC have provided a positive space to work out, aiding both body and mind. “I find it more welcoming,” said Cindy Quach, a Ted Rogers School of Management student. “I find that the environment is more peaceful, more calm… it’s more positive.” Quach is also a member of SMASH, a mental health and wellness student group at Ryerson that regularly promotes paths to good mental health, including physical activities like yoga. Quach can speak from personal experience on the important link between regular exercise and good mental health. “Physical activity gets me less distracted. I can be thinking about, ‘Oh, I have this due, this is causing me stress, I have so much running through my head.’” said Quach. “But if I’m at the gym, I’m more focused.” The payoff extends to after a workout too, says Quach. After working out she says she has more energy to do other things, like hang out with friends or do homework.But being active doesn’t have to mean “hit the gym.” There are plenty of ways to stay active, and in good mental health, without forcing yourself into a weight room. This is something Juannittah Kamera, co-ordinator for Ryerson’s Health
JUL JU ULIE IE E GERMAN GERMANSKY SKY | RYE RYERSO RSONIAN
Students shun tradiঞonal excercises to parঞcipate in an Ulঞmate Workout class.
JULIE GER GERMANSKY | RYE RY RSONIAN
Giant ঞres, along with ba ling ropes and sledge hammers, are used in Ulঞmate Workout.
t being active on a regular and mental health in significant — Andrew Pettit
Promotion Programs, understands and explains to students who may come to her office for help. “The challenge for most people is that they feel that they have to factor in gym time in order to get physical exercise time,” said Kamera, and “because they’re doing that they don’t find opportunities to do it any other way.”
The Student Health Assistance and Resilience Program (SHARP) is one of the initiatives set up by the Health Promotions Office. It is a peer-to-peer support service co-ordinated by Kamera. One of the pillars of SHARP is physical activity, and the SHARP team does its best to educate students on the ways regular exercise can improve their physical and mental well-being. Kamera and the SHARP team point students towards the resources available to them, like counsellors, but also dieticians and fitness trainers at the RAC, depending on a student’s unique goals. SHARP also collaborates with the Ryerson athletics department on wellness initiatives. Members of the SHARP team will set up at the RAC at least twice a month throughout the year to provide support to students and create more visibility on the interrelation between exercise and mental well-being. Some of the resources the SHARP team may recommend to students are intramural sports, which they say is a great way to keep active while building strong community bonds. Group fitness classes at the RAC are another example. Mood Routes is a weekly initiative set up by Ryerson Student Affairs that takes participants on a 30-minute walk through nearby green spaces to improve fitness levels. All provide a schedule to physical activity and accountability, making it more likely that students will follow through with their physical fitness commitments. According to Kamera, students can also incorporate physical exercise into their daily life. Choosing to walk instead of taking the subway, or climbing a few flights of stairs rather than using an elevator are simple ways students can stay active and in good mental health. “It’s about doing what you like and doing more of it,” said Kamera. “Because some is better than none.” @MDAlimonte
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R yersonian Arts & Life
Shadeism in the black community ryersonian.ca Wednesday, October 4, 2017
A reading week to-do list CHRISTINE CHUA RYERSONIAN
Tired of classes yet? Dreading midterms? Have you forgotten what the outside of a textbook looks like? Thanksgiving break and reading week are only a few days away and Toronto has no shortage of events to keep you entertained. If you’re planning on staying on campus, Ryerson’s library and the Student Learning Centre will be closed Thanksgiving Monday but will operate at regular hours for the rest of the week. The Eaton Centre will be open on Monday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. while Yorkdale Mall will be closed for the holiday. Other tourist spots downtown like the CN Tower, Ripley’s Aquarium, the Art Gallery of Ontario (AGO) and the Royal Ontario Museum (ROM) will be open on Thanksgiving and throughout reading week. If you’re looking for something beyond the EdgeWalk and Ripley’s jellyfish, here’s what’s going on downtown during the break: Between now and the end of fall break, movies like Blade Runner 2049, The Florida Project, The Mountain Between Us, Marshall, The Foreigner and Happy Death Day will be released. Alongside these releases, a handful of film festivals will be running through reading week. Reelworld Film Festival at the Harbourfront Centre focuses on films addressing social issues and runs Oct. 11-15. The After Dark Film Festival, celebrating all things horror, sci-fi and fantasy, runs Oct. 12-20 at the Scotiabank Theatre. Single tickets and all-access passes are available at the festival website.
JULIE FAYE GERMANSKY | RYERSONIAN
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Fans of director Guillermo del Toro (Pan’s Labyrinth, Pacific Rim) can walk through his AGO exhibit, “At Home with Monsters,” which closes on Jan. 7. Canadian DJ and music producer, Deadmau5, will be performing on Oct. 8 at the Enercare Centre and Pink Floyd’s Roger Waters will be at the Air Canada Centre on Oct. 13. A special presentation of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, with its score played live by the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, will be put on at the Sony Centre from Oct. 12-14 at 7:30 p.m. Toronto Pumpkinfest at
Downsview Park runs from Oct. 7-9 and features food trucks, stage shows and plenty of family-geared entertainment, but the majority of festivals happening downtown are completely food-related. Smoke’s Poutinerie’s World Poutine-Eating Championship will be held on Oct. 14 at Yonge-Dundas Square. The Jewish food festival, NoshFest, is on Oct. 9 at Artscape Wychwood Barns on Christie Street and a Vegan Oktoberfest will be held on Oct. 13 at the Lithuanian House on Bloor Street. There will also be a Kensington
Krawl Food Tour on Oct. 11 from 11:30 a.m.-3 p.m. Dundas Peak is always a scenic trip during the fall and perfect for reading week Instagram posts, but note that some parking lots on-site will be closed for Thanksgiving on Monday. There’s also the Draconid meteor shower, which reaches its peak on Oct. 7 and 8. It’s best viewed right before nightfall, far from the city and street lights. The baby giant pandas at the Toronto Zoo turn two years old and are getting a weekend-long birthday festival from Oct. 6-8, starting at 10:30 a.m.
There are ghost walks every Monday until Halloween at Old City Hall from 8 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. You can also take a look at the touring World Press Photo Exhibition, currently at Brookfield Place until Oct. 24. The gallery features award-winning photos and is open from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Whether you’re planning on studying or telling yourself to do so, Toronto has more than enough events and festivals to do this reading week to keep you busy. So busy, in fact, that you might just need another break. @ChrisঞCru
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Former Ram making his mark in France ryersonian.ca
Sports
Wednesday, October 4, 2017
RFR car gets one more ride MAGGIE MACINTOSH RYERSONIAN
The smell of gasoline lingers in the fall air while half a dozen engineers lean against the wire fence separating them from the track. They watch Ariel Gil dodge pylons as he drives the Ryerson race car around the Canadian Tire Motorsport Park karting track. Revs become faint as he finishes the first hairpin turn in the distance. Then, a thump. And another. “What happened?” Jake Holloway, Ryerson Formula Racing (RFR) project manager, rushes up to the fence. Members of the RFR team drove their 2016-17 student-built race car in its final competition Saturday at the University of Toronto Shootout in Bowmanville, Ont. The team conceives, designs and builds a formula-style vehicle every year to compete in the international university Formula Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) series. Holloway says they will be taking this year’s race car out for a couple more test drives before dismantling it down to its frame. This past weekend, Ryerson competed against 17 other teams, including Formula SAE teams from the University of Waterloo, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Montreal’s École de Technologie Supérieure (ÉTS). Ryerson placed 14th overall. Adressing the thump, the team does not break eye contact with the white, blue and yellow race car as they eagerly mumble among themselves about how they are going to fix it. In engineer lingo, one of the
MAGGIE MAGG A IE MACIN ACIN AC NTOSH OS | RYE OS YERSONIA YERS ONIA IA AN
teammates tells Holloway the body panel on the car’s right side came loose. “At least it’s still on,” he responds. Holloway and 11 other teammates speed walk over to meet the race car when Gil approaches the course finish line. A couple of team members position themselves behind the race car and push Gil to an open parking spot. Four RFR team members raced Saturday. Each driver completes at least four runs consisting of two laps each, the first being a trial run. The final rank is based off the average of the two fastest drivers’ laps. The team huddles around Gil to dissect his third run. He remains seated in the cockpit wearing a black helmet. They do this after every run to go over the driver’s performance,
mechanical issues and make any quick fixes if necessary. “This whole thing is a lot about reflection,” Gil says, after he finished his runs for the day. “When I’m designing, or even when we’re just talking in a team, you have to be open to criticism.” Today, Gil is dressed in a fireproof jumpsuit — mandatory for all drivers — with the words Ryerson Formula Racing and a ram stitched on the back. “I’ve had to realize I’m not a pro driver and I make mistakes,” he adds. “During a few of those laps, I probably wasn’t careful enough.” Even though Gil sometimes gets nervous about driving the student-built car, he says he has learned to trust it, because he trusts the people behind it. “It can be about the cars, and some of it is, but some of it is just the people, the problem-solving
and the creativity,” says Gil. Gil says he does not even really consider himself to be “a big car guy.” He says the project management aspect is mainly what brings him to spend hours in the Kerr Hall North basement garage every year. Keenan Harris, an aerospace grad, calls RFR a family. “You learn to work together even when things don’t go well, even when competition may not have gone well and the entire team may have averaged four hours of sleep, if that, for three days and you want to kill each other,” he says, laughing as he refers to the team’s biggest competition in Michigan last May. In one of their best competition performances to date, the team placed first out of all the Ontario competitors at the Formula SAE Michigan Competition
Series event. The judges evaluated their model’s cost, presentation, design, acceleration, skid pad, autocross and endurance. They came 25th overall out of 128 international teams. On the karting track sidelines, David Swain watches races in his Mobil 1 logo jacket. The Mobil 1 grassroots motorsports co-ordinator for Canada has been a RFR sponsor for the last 15 years. Swain says the adaptability skills students learn from being a part of a team like RFR are invaluable. “It’s exciting to watch and to see what they do,” he says. “Some stuff you see, it’s pretty exciting, you think, ‘wow, that’s pretty innovative,’ and other stuff you think, ‘wow, they’ve got some ways to go.’ But hey, it’s a learning process.” Harris says throughout the entire competition year, the team was challenged when applying theory to real life, particularly when they first test-drove the car. “Stuff breaks and things don’t quite work the way they’re intended to,” he says. Harris says the team worked together to take things apart, redesign them and remake them. Sometimes the solutions are simpler. While the team waits for Gil’s last run, Zac Campbell, another RFR alumnus who graduated in June, pulls out a roll of duct tape. Campbell kneels beside the car and takes off his aviators. He secures the loose side panel with one grey strip. It’s all fixed. @macintoshmaggie
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R yersonian Editorial
Read more Opinions and Editorials online ryersonian.ca Wednesday, October 4, 2017
EDITORIAL
Giving thanks: but for what? We’ve finally arrived at that time of year where we have the opportunity to give thanks for all that we’re fortunate for – and to gather with family and friends around an excess amount of turkey and mashed potatoes. Those who don’t wait for the arrival of Thanksgiving to express their gratitude are likely just as thankful for a day off. It’s astonishing that we require a designated day to remind us to be thankful, but even more astonishing is that many people likely don’t question how this day came to be. The most widely circulated origin story is that of American Thanksgiving: the pilgrims arrive on the Mayflower at Massachusetts Bay, and feast with Indigenous People there. Why has this falsified story of the origins of Thanksgiving Day carried forward? Most dominant narratives completely erase histories of genocide and land theft associated with the national holiday. These colonial roots are nowhere to be found in the Macy’s parade. Here in Canada, the holiday’s origins are not as directly linked to histories of genocide, but its true roots are still ignored. The founding of Thanksgiving in Canada is commonly credited to European settlers. But the truth is, Indigenous People had long been celebrating the fall harvest before the arrival
of Europeans. This history is lost in today’s modern-day meal, and people are far removed from the process of food production. Families are not farming their own turkey to bring to the table, and with the population rapidly growing, availability and access to sources of fresh food have been a rising concern. The issues surrounding the teachings of the origin of Thanksgiving are systemic. School children are introduced to Thanksgiving by tracing their hand on a blank sheet of paper to create a turkey, and only during this time of the school year are asked to share what they’re most thankful for. Although Thanksgiving is mirrored from the Indigenous Peoples’ celebration of the fall harvest, this practice of giving thanks annually is not accurate. In Indigenous culture it is customary to give thanks year-round. Those who celebrate should not be discouraged from doing so. But the holiday should also be a reminder of the work that still remains. Canadians should advocate to have the true history of Indigenous People written in our history books and taught in our schools, an omission yet to be corrected. Thanksgiving Day should be a time of coming together to be thankful, but also a time to reflect on the progress that has yet to be made.
SIMONA SIM ONA CATALANO | RYERSONIAN
OPINION
Time to invest ethically AIDAN MACNAB RYERSONIAN
University years can be those brief moments in life where the idealistic among us are comforted in the delusion that we won’t be part of the problem. Whatever most ails the Earth from our perspective – poverty, war, environmental destruction and meaningless soul-asphyxiating nine-to-five drudgery – they’re all like beds made by our parents. We won’t sleep in them. But how do we stay true to ourselves in a world that runs on fossil fuels? We know that without an end to carbon emissions, much of the world will be uninhabitable within a couple hundred years. We also know that racism, greed and arrogance still exist, and that our ancestors forced Indigenous People into residential
schools, off their traditional territory and away from their way of life. We know our elders thought like us. But they failed to change the world because, little by little, life happened. They sank into the quicksand of life’s demands, sucking them away from the clarity of young, radical adulthood. Responsibility led to money, children and mortgages, which commanded compliance with the status quo. How do we avoid slipping into self-defeat? By taking our money out of banks that invest in companies that profit from the expulsion of Indigenous People from their land. Members of the Secwepemc First Nation intend on resisting the Kinder Morgan Pipeline, which will cross through their territory. RBC, BMO, Scotiabank, TD Bank and CIBC are providing around $3.169 billion in credit to the project. Similarly, TD, Scotiabank and RBC provided about $806 million for the Dakota Access Pipeline.
Despite the fact that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau took a photo with an orange shirt on, his government still supports and facilitates the exact same thing, but it’s Indigenous People in Latin America who are being violently displaced now. So, it may seem like fleeing to the forest and joining a hippie commune is the only way to stay true to our beliefs. But we do not need our money tied to amoral institutions. Demanding on social media that Ryerson get rid of a statue may seem like a way to stand up for Indigenous People, but that’s just talk. If you want to walk the walk, switch to a credit union. Credit unions are co-operatively owned by their members. They are not intent on scouring the earth for profits, and will not put your money toward killing people or nature. There is one on campus: Alterna Savings, at 350 Victoria St. @AidanMacnab
R yersonian Voices
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Read more Voices online ryersonian.ca Wednesday, October 4, 2017
What Thanksgiving means to me as someone who doesn’t celebrate it ‘Everything I really knew about it stemmed from the way it was glamorized on TV.’ DEVIKA DESAI RYERSONIAN
The first time I ever heard of Thanksgiving was when I sneakily streamed an episode of Friends in middle school, without my mother’s permission. She refused to let me watch the series until I was appropriately old enough to hear the double-entendres. It seemed like a cozy time: people gathering with those they know and love around a table laden with the traditional roast turkey and stuffing, exchanging anecdotes and spending quality family time with each other. As a child of an Asian family who spent her childhood in the Middle East, everything I really knew about it stemmed from the way it was glamorized on my favourite TV series. It was marked as an obligatory life experience for anyone who lives in the West. While my childhood has been marked by our own annual family traditions and cultural holidays, I remained curious.
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My first month in Canada was a series of culture shocks, such as the way Canadians take left turns at traffic signals (why must we tempt death?), or the way people just generally seem to interact and form relationships with each other. Before I knew it, my first Thanksgiving weekend was fast approaching. My only plan was to while away time in my mostly empty campus residence, and procrastinate on school assignments. However a week before Thanksgiving, while standing in line at our university cafeteria, I was asked by a friend (who we’ll call “Mia”) if I’d like to come spend the weekend with her and her family. My first traditional Thanksgiving. Naturally, I was excited. It was a fantastic weekend. Mia’s family could not have been more warm and welcoming to me. I fell in love with her two dogs instantly. We spent the weekend playing board games at the family dining table, exploring her hometown and watching movies. The perfect refresher from the hectic rush of university life. It became an official yearly routine. With the exception of my second year, I spent every Thanksgiving holiday with Mia and her family. Every year they would continue to welcome me with open arms, and every year I would while away the weekend with Mia. Either we would finish up school work at the dining table or playfully compete with each other at a traditional round of Scattergories. It was a great break
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away from the school semester. Despite this family’s hospitality, I couldn’t help but come away feeling a tad isolated. This feeling was strengthened by the fact that every time her father would pick us up at the bus station, I would see his eyes light up at the sight of his daughter. I couldn’t help but wonder if, despite the invitations, I was intruding on quality family time with their daughter, who no longer lives with them. They always treated me like family, but the truth is I’m not their family, and they are not
mine. Acknowledging that, as well as the fact that my own family currently resides in a different continent, can make the holiday feel slightly alienating for an international student like me. To me, Thanksgiving is simply just a long weekend. I can either fill it up with a getaway from the city, or spend time being productive. In a Huffington Post article, titled “For Those Who Don’t Celebrate Thanksgiving,” Marianne Smallwood wrote that she has never felt the need to celebrate the holiday – despite
the “horrified looks and charitable invitations” immediately extended to her, should she dare say the words aloud. Just as with me, to her the holiday is no different from any other day in the year, and she chooses to spend it as such. As she says, “There are 41 million of us (in the States) out there who won’t cook or participate in grandiose poultry dinner … We’re OK.” I agree. @DevikaDesai1
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R yersonian
Full story available at ryersonian.ca
Wednesday, October 4, 2017
Campus Connection
Campus Comment
Events Oct. 4:
Q: Are the Ryerson security emails the best way to deal with campus security incidents? “Twitter or Snapchat would be a better way to warn us about incidents that happen more quickly because not all people check their email 24/7. Everyone checks their Snapchat and Twitter every five minutes.”
Creative Careers Café 11 a.m. - 2 p.m. Image Arts Commons
Youth Access to Justice Initiative 5 - 8 p.m. Sandbox, Student Learning Centre
Oct. 6:
–John Truong Behind the Seams: featuring designer David Dixon
“I was in a security incident last year. We just got stuck in an elevator and that email got sent out. If Ryerson really wants to talk about safety and things like that, people will go out of their way to listen.” SIM IM MONA CATAL CATAL CA T A AN N NO | RYE RY RSONIAN
10 a.m. - 12 p.m. Sandbox, Student Learning Centre
Oct. 10 - 12: Fall Convocation 9.30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. Ryerson Theatre
–Vania Dodoo-Beals
Oct. 12:
Roomate Horror Stories School is in full swing and by now you might be realizing that your new roommate isn’t exactly what you signed up for. The made-for-TV ideal roommate becoming your best friend storyline has been sha ered and maybe now you don’t even talk. Piles of garbage that won’t be cleaned up. A shower full of an exorbitant amount of hair. Random people sleeping over each night. The list of issues go on and on.
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12 - 1.30 p.m. Room 103, Rogers Communications Centre
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“I think most people don’t read the emails, but getting that notification maybe multiple times a day, whether it’s unconsciously or not, makes people think that campus is pretty unsafe.”
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