October 19, 2015

vol. cXXXvi, no. 6

T he UniversiTy

of

ToronTo’s sTUdenT newspaper since 1880

19 ocTober 2015

STUDENT POLITICS

STUDENT POLITICS

UTSU fails to pass board structure

UTSU AGM rife with “procedural showboating”

Union’s legal status in question

Students argue over motions from the floor, voting thresholds

TOM YUN

ASSOCIATE NEWS EDITOR

ENXHI KONDI VARSITY STAFF

October seventh saw a lengthy Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the University of Toronto Students’ Union (UTSU) that failed to produce the necessary board structure moving forward in order to comply with federal law. Narrow defeat was ultimately snatched from the jaws of victory, after one of the two competing proposals was elected for ratification. However, it ultimately failed to meet the required two-thirds majority vote by the union’s membership.

Following the packed meeting, the UTSU’s legal status remains unclear.

LEGAL STATUS The UTSU is a federally incorporated, not-for-profit organization.

With the Canada Not-for-profit Corporations Act (CNCA) replacing the Canada Corporations Act, the union needs a new board structure in order to comply with the new rules and regulations of the act. There were two proposals on the agenda: one was moved by Arts & Science at-large director Khrystyna Zhuk and the other by former UTSU vice-president external Grayce Slobodian.

During the AGM, over half of the votes were in favour of selecting Zhuk’s board proposal over Slobodian’s; however, the vote to ratify Zhuk’s proposal did not meet the two-thirds majority requirement. As a result, the proposal did not pass.

Consequently, the UTSU is currently operating under a board structure that is not compliant with the CNCA. This has lead to concern that the union would dissolve.

Andrew Monkhouse, the UTSU’s legal counsel, reassured members at the meeting that the failure to ratify a board structure proposal would not lead to an immediate dissolution.

“There is not an immediate danger of the organization ceasing to exist or be dissolved,” said Monkhouse during the AGM. “We expect that the government would provide some notice to the organization prior to that happening.”

That being said, Monkhouse did stress the importance of eventually having a CNCA-compliant board structure.

Continued on PG 3

Amidst voting on the highly-anticipated board structure proposals, the appearance of the Lady Godiva Memorial Bnad and their subsequent eviction, and the chair’s constant calls for order, it was evident that procedural disputes were a prime source of controversy at the recent University of Toronto Students’ Union (UTSU) Annual General Meeting (AGM).

The disputes began during a motion to approve the agenda. This was the first time that such a motion has appeared at an AGM since 2012.

The meeting took place on October seventh, at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education.

Continued on PG 3

May supports the Calls to Action of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission and would legalize marijuana. LAUREL L RUSSWURM/CC FLICKR

FEDERAL ELECTION

May I have your attention?

INSIDE #elxn42 coverage

Federal Green Party leader Elizabeth May on Aboriginal issues, scrapping tuition, democratic reform, and weed

Varsity reporters interview candidates, discuss the issues for today’s federal election News PG 6

IRIS ROBIN

Should the show go on?

NEWS EDITOR

Elizabeth May hails from the Saanich-Gulf Islands riding in Vancouver. As the leader of the Green Party of Canada since 2006, and its first elected Member of Parliament in 2011, May is an environmentalist, lawyer, writer, and activist. She has extensive background in grassroots activism and working with Indigenous Peoples internationally, as well as with First Nations communities in Canada. In 1986, May served as senior policy advisor to Environment Minister Tom McMillan.

In recent years, her peers in Parliament have voted her Parliamentarian of the Year, Hardest Working MP, and Best Orator.

Anonymous blogger levels serious accusations against all-ages event organizers Johnnyland Arts PG 16

SCIENCE

REINVENTing health

Up in vapour?

THE STREETS OF TORONTO, AND THE LUNGS OF PEOPLE ACROSS THE COUNTRY, ARE FILLING WITH THE POPULAR NEW ALTERNATIVE TO TOBACCO, BUT, IS IT REALLY SAFER THAN CIGARETTES?

FEATURE PG 14 MALLIKA MAKKAR/PHOTO EDITOR

Global health students organize full-day conference on neglected diseases CONNIE LIE

VARSITY CONTRIBUTOR

Two panels, five concurrent sessions, and one keynote speaker later, the first REINVENT conference on neglected diseases was met with a reception of applause.

Continued on PG 20

2 NEWS

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M O N DAY 19 O C TO B E R 2 015

T H E VA R S I T Y

NEWS 3

var.st/news

Vote for Zhuk/Singh proposal did not reach required two-thirds majority CONTINUED FROM COVER

“It’s a political discussion in terms of what by-laws you have that are in compliance with the CNCA, but you should eventually pass bylaws that are in compliance with the CNCA,” said Monkhouse.

Ben Coleman, UTSU president, echoed Monkhouse’s sentiments. “It is important to pass compliant bylaws as soon as possible, and we hope all members act constructively at our next meeting to make that happen.”

The UTSU plans to have a Special General Meeting (SGM) in the coming months where Zhuk’s proposal is expected to be reintroduced.

“The next steps are that we need to have another general meeting to pass a compliant board structure. Details about that will be posted to utsu.ca/agm as soon as possible,” said Coleman. “We are making sure to doublecheck the details about how to appropriately proceed.”

THE VOTE The proposal that Zhuk moved was referred to as Appendix A throughout the meeting, while Slobodian’s was referred to as Appendix B. With 607 votes in favour of Appendix A, and 529 for Appendix B, the gathered membership elected to consider the board-endorsed Zhuk/Singh proposal for ratification.

However, following the inclusion of several friendly amendments, the proposal failed to meet the two-thirds majority vote required and therefore did not pass, with 562 votes in

Grayce Slobodian, mover of Appendix B, motivates at the UTSU AGM on October 7, 2015. MALLIKA MAKKAR/PHOTO EDITOR

favour of ratification and 455 votes against.

“There’s a lot of emotions right now,” said Zhuk after the meeting. “We’re happy we won the [board structure proposal] election, but frustrated we didn’t win the two-thirds vote.

We’re tired and it’s been a really long process so it’s unfortunate we didn’t get the outcome that we wanted,” she added.

“If you looked around the room, three quarters [of students] were in favor of the proposal. In terms of the proposal itself, we have consulted with so many student groups.

I cannot put that on my team because they literally put their blood, sweat, and tears into this proposal.” Zhuk continued.

She also stated that she will put the proposal to the SGM to take place in a few weeks’ time and hinted that it may be amended further before then.

Ryan Gomes, UTSU vice-president internal & services, said that he felt overwhelmed at the close of the meeting. “I don’t want to say I’m disappointed because I think over everything we have to respect our members when they speak. But I am disappointed because at the last AGM there wasn’t a lot of consultation,” he said, adding that Zhuk and Daman Singh, the seconder of Appendix A, consulted with the University of Toronto Mississauga Students’ Union (UTMSU) to ask what they

could do to make sure the proposal would be accepted by UTM in the future.

“All I can say is I feel very demoralized because I thought that we had come to a solution I thought was good for everyone and it turns out that I was wrong.”

Gomes stated that, moving forward, he plans to take more of a hands-on approach.

“There needs to be a lot of reconciliation between all the different groups on campus. A lot of different groups feel like they don’t want to talk to each other because they’re so ideologically apart. As a UTSU exec[utive] I need to place myself in a situation to bridge that gap because if we don’t bridge that gap, I am genuinely fearful for the long-term viability of this organization. If we’re not in compliance with the CNCA, we are going to be in trouble.”

The meeting adjourned shortly before 11:00 pm, before the remaining items on the agenda could be considered. These items include the receipt of the union’s audited financial statements, other by-law amendments, and member-submitted motions, two of which were submitted from the floor during the meeting.

This is not the first time that a meeting has adjourned prematurely; last year’s AGM ended in a similar fashion.

The remaining motions, unaddressed at the AGM, will carry over to the UTSU SGM, scheduled to take place later this year.

With files from Enxhi Kondi and Iris Robin.

This article has been updated from a previous version, published online the day of the AGM.

Points of order, information, personal privilege pepper AGM discussion CONTINUED FROM COVER

ADDING MOTIONS TO THE AGENDA Madina Siddiqui, president of the Afghan Students’ Association, challenged the chair when he ruled her attempt to add a motion from the floor to the agenda out of order.

Siddiqui’s motion was to include UTSU clubs in the UTSU’s budgeting process.

Brad Evoy, the chair of the meeting and UTSU speaker, explained that the issue with the motion was its timing. He later clarified in an interview with The Varsity, that motions for the AGM require a certain degree of notice, according to the UTSU by-laws and Canada Not-for-profit Corporations Act (CNCA). “Any motion which violates these provisions would not be binding upon the Board or Union generally, if passed.”

Siddiqui argued that she had submitted the motion punctually and that it was rejected. “As a member and club president, I submitted my first AGM motion on time to the UTSU VP Internal to be considered at the AGM but it was denied because he felt clubs couldn’t be incorporated into the UTSU budget process,” Siddiqui said. “It’s really simple to include us — and I felt I had to represent clubs at the AGM.” Siddiqui successfully challenged the chair, and the motion was added to the agenda.

A similar argument occurred when Jack Rising, a first-year student, also attempted to add a motion to the agenda. Rising’s motion called for the elimination of all tuition fees, but was ruled out of order by Evoy.

“This isn’t very democratic,” Rising said at the meeting. Much like Evoy’s ruling on Siddiqui’s motion, the ruling was once again overturned and Rising’s motion was added to the agenda.

Ben Coleman, UTSU president, votes at the UTSU AGM. MALLIKA MAKKAR/PHOTO EDITOR

The meeting adjourned before either motion could be discussed and with a substantial number of other items still on the agenda.

These motions will carry over to the UTSU’s Special General Meeting later this year. Siddiqui affirmed her plan to continue to pursue her motion: “Now that the board structure has been defeated, we can vote on the clubs motion and other issues’ motions at the next general meeting... I will continue to fight for clubs to be represented within the UTSU,” she said.

VOTING THRESHOLDS AND “PROCEDURAL SHOWBOATING” During the discussion of the election of a board structure proposal, Ryan Gomes, UTSU vice-president internal and services, called for a vote recount on a motion to call the question. A straw poll showed the motion to call the question had indeed passed.

A student then raised a point of order to claim that a two-thirds majority was necessary to call the question, leading Evoy to pause the meeting to review procedural guidelines.

Abdulla Omari, director for UTM, challenged the point of order, and a back-andforth ensued between members in attendance

and the chair to determine whether the vote to call the question was procedurally correct.

“It was clear that some students and UTSU executives tried to use procedure to stall and extend the meeting for their personal agenda,” said Siddiqui, adding that students did not get the chance to discuss motions on Black Lives Matter and sexual violence due to the long discussions on the board structure and agenda.

Auni Ahsan, director for Victoria College, added himself to the speaking list, asking that the meeting, “stop with the procedural showboating”, and that, “students’ time is worth more than this.”

The call to question eventually passed, but the motion to adopt the Zhuk-Singh proposal ultimately failed. Calls for a recount and a reconsideration of the motion followed, Afterwards, there were calls for orders of the day, which called for the meeting to end as it was past the 10:00 pm end time that was advertised on the UTSU’s social media outlets.

Gomes and Evoy debated the end-time, with Gomes claiming it was unofficial and not specified on the agenda. Gomes moved to overturn the orders of the day to allow the meeting to continue. Eventually, however, he

moved to adjourn the meeting due to what he saw as a lack of productivity. “It’s clear that nothing is going to pass. We need to go back to the drawing board,” he said.

In a post-meeting interview, Gomes explained his part in challenging the chair and calling for a recount. “Part of that stemmed from frustration and part of that stemmed from believing that if the meeting was extended things might go more favourably, which clearly was not the case. I do apologize sincerely… it was a very confusing meeting for a lot of people and a lot of people felt disengaged from the level of procedure.”

Throughout the evening, students raised numerous points of information, points of order, and points of personal privilege in order to question lengths of speaking times, the order of items on the agenda, and to contest other procedural matters. Ellie Adekur, the antiharassment officer for the meeting, stepped in to remind attendees that using Robert’s Rules of Order to prolong the meeting strategically alienates specific groups of students who are marginalized in terms of race and class.

Evoy echoed Adekur’s sentiments. “There is always, in student organizations, a disparity between those who follow the organization closely and those who want to newly engage. It is critical, then, that more experienced members keep this in mind and avoid the use of obscure terminology, esoteric motions, and acronyms.”

When asked for advice for those coming into the Special General Meeting, which is necessary following the failure to pass a board structure, Evoy said, “When considering procedure, we have to look beyond ‘the Rules’ and into the spirit of what will ensure a meeting runs successfully and fairly… If we conduct ourselves completely in accordance with the ‘legalisms’ of ‘the Rules’ but have even one member marginalized in the meeting space, then we have still failed and still have much to learn.”

4 NEWS

T H E VA R S I T Y

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FEDERAL ELECTION

“If not now, when?”

Adam Vaughan, Liberal Party candidate in Spadina Fort-York discusses housing, postsecondary funding, Bill C-51 IRIS ROBIN NEWS EDITOR

Before entering federal politics, Vaughan worked as a journalist at CBC and Citytv specializing in municipal politics. Vaughan also served twice as a Toronto City councilor, where he was involved in city planning and developing housing programs. Vaughan is the current Member of Parliament for Trinity-Spadina and is the Liberal Party’s critic on urban affairs and housing.

Adam Vaughan is the Liberal Party candidate for Spadina-Fort York. COURTESY OF THE ADAM VAUGHAN CAMPAIGN

The Varsity (TV): Why are you running for reelection?

Adam Vaughan (AV): I sought a seat in Parliament last year when the vacancy was created because cities in this country, Toronto in particular, had virtually no support from Ottawa on two critical issues: housing and transit. We have a very strong and very progressive infrastructure program for Toronto and Canada’s focused on spending $50 billion over the next 10 years to not only build a stronger economy, but [also] build stronger cities. I’m running to make sure that the platform that we’ve put together over the last year gets enacted in Parliament.

TV: Can you expand on your plans for housing and transit?

AV: The housing program is probably the most detailed one in terms of the range of specifics that have got to be achieved. Immediately what we need to do is renew and protect existing agreements with co-op housing and public housing providers across the country. The Conservatives have been allowing it to expire and people [are] losing their rent subsidies. Affordable housing is becoming unaffordable so we need to stabilize the existing housing agreements immediately and start enrolling back into the program the ones that have fallen off the table in the last couple of years.

In Toronto, we’re 92,000 households on the waiting list with a $2.6 billion repair backlog.

We need to start protecting existing housing stock and build new housing stock, and that involves working with provinces and municipalities and third-party providers to build a full range of affordable housing — from supportive housing to co-op and public housing — as well as to make sure that we stimulate the private rental market so that even affordable rental housing is built once again in this country.

The program breaks down to $6 billion in the first four years [and] is designed to immediately address the backlog of repairs, get at the waiting lists and at the same time start making sure that the whole housing spectrum of needs is met.

TV: What’s on your platform that students can look forward to?

AV: One of them’s housing. My daughter just started first-year university. The biggest

ticket in her budget in terms of price is rent. The housing program I just described includes provisions to build student housing again, and student housing as a way of reducing the cost of postsecondary education is probably the most important step you can take because other than tuition, which requires a new subsidy every year, and a subsidy that can disappear if a student drops out even though the university has already got the funds. It’s a really smart way to drive down the cost of education.

Another provision that we’ve proposed is to drop the requirement to pay back your student debt until such a time that you’re earning more than $25,000 a year, and so if you’ve graduated and can’t get full-time employment, or if you’re precariously employed we wouldn’t burden you with debt repayment requirement until you’re in a position where you can actually afford it.

We’ve also committed to making sure that universities and provinces and the federal government get together and make sure that the caps on the programs for endowments and research are topped up and that academic freedom is respected through unmuzzling of scientists and making sure that Stats Canada data is strong data again.

TV: Do you have any ideas as to how the provincial funding model for post-secondary institutions could be revised? Ontario has the lowest funding per capita in the country.

AV: We haven’t had a partner in Ottawa that has been prepared to sit down and talk to the premiers. So before I get in there and start re-wiring or re-financing postsecondary schools, we need to sit down with the provinces and figure out what all of the cost-share programs are and figure out which ones we need to get to work on solving. I’m not going to sit here as a Federal Member of Parliament and override or overcommit provincial funds. It’s a mistake when governments start to mess around in other people’s jurisdictions.

What I can tell you is that the party has committed to sitting down with the premiers working out where the cost-share agreements need to be strengthened and making sure that Ontario has the capacity to do better by everybody, including students.

TV: Can I ask you why you voted for Bill C-51?

AV: There are some elements of Bill C-51 [that] are needed. For example, we have 19 security agencies in the federal government that legally were not allowed to talk to each other. They’d have to go to parliament to get privacy rules altered in order for them to [share] information. Changing that is very, very important so that our security apparatus was updated.

The thing that was required was that the thresholds were changed so that when we had someone presenting a threat to Canada, we had a way of dealing with it. The existing laws before C-51 the threshold was so high that the warrant officer, he couldn’t get a detention order sworn out against them because the threshold was too high. Two days later, somebody died. So we have to change laws every now and then to model them around the threat, big or small as it may be, to protect Canadians and those are some of the things we thought were actually critically important.

We also thought it was important not to allow people to fly off to Syria to join in a civil war in a failed state in a chaotic situation when you’ve got Canadian military on the ground trying to act as peacekeepers. We thought it was wrong to allow young Canadians to go overseas and put themselves in harm’s way while they made the situation worse. What we did was we changed the ‘no fly’ rules which were designed to stop hijackers getting on airplanes, and so that the government has the ability to take people’s passports away if we thought there was a situation that was going to be made worse and more volatile if individuals joined the fight.

We also worked to get amendments through: things like taking away the arrest power for citizens. We also talked the government into taking the word “lawful” out of the descriptions for protests and artistic expression and defence so it wasn’t “lawful protests” that were exempt from the rules and regulations contained in C-51.

But there’s work to be done. We have to make a decision where we have to protect public safety in the short-term, as small as that may be or as real — I was on Parliament Hill when the shooting happened; that was real enough for me. It’s not a perfect bill and so we’ve committed, even though we supported the omnibus bill to get specific improvements in place. After the next election, hopefully

we’ll be in a position where we can do three more things that are critically important.

One of them is [to] establish civilian oversight. We also think there should be a sunset clause. As well, we think that the entire bill should be sent to the Justice Department for a charter compliance audit to make sure that provisions are consistent with our charter values.

At the end of the day, somewhere between this notion that there’s a spy in every wall or a terrorist under every rock—both of which are extr eme and [are] caricatures of the dynamics we’re facing in Canada — at some point there has to be a balance between the public’s right to safety and the public’s right to charter protection.

The politics of just simply saying yes or no oversimplifies the [extraordinarily] complex legislation. We took a very nuanced position; we continue to advocate for a review of the bill and fixes to the bill where there are problems.

TV: Do you think it is necessary to run a deficit in order to deliver the Liberal Party’s promises?

AV: When you have First Nations communities without drinking water for 19 years in parts of Manitoba even with an NDP government in power; when you have 1,200 missing and murdered Indigenous women in this country; when you have people with disabilities sitting behind a 92,000 person waitlist on housing; when you are watching five or six streetcars go by in the morning, to say that you’re going to balance the books first and make some talk show radio host happy, instead of making investments to grow the economy and serve Canadians and change the social configuration of this country, now is the time. If not now, when? Now is the time to step up and deliver change to this country.

This election is about change. It’s not just about making a point, it’s about making a difference. And the platforms matter and the speed at which change happens is critically important. We don’t have a lot of economic growth happening in the country. With 82 per cent of Canadians living in cities, we need to grow smarter cities faster. And that’s the urgency that Justin Trudeau has spoken to and that’s the urgency that’s put us in the first place in the polls. What we need on Monday night is a victory so we can get to work.

M O N DAY 19 O C TO B E R 2 015

T H E VA R S I T Y

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var.st/news

THE VARSITY INTERVIEWS ELIZABETH MAY CONTINUED FROM COVER

Elizabeth May would legalize marijuana and implement the recommendations of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. TAVIS FORD/CC FLICKR

The Varsity (TV): You’ve committed to eliminating tuition. How do you plan to do that?

Elizabeth May (EM): We said by 2020, we’d abolish tuition. It’s not complicated but it does require some steps. We would be working across jurisdictions because education is primarily provincial jurisdiction.

But the cutbacks in the federal provincial transfer payments in the deficit-cutting era under Paul Martin as finance minister were really the beginning of a serious crisis, which is now spiraling out of control in post-secondary education. Two things happened in the deficit-cutting era: one was the transfer payments were reduced so the universities had less money [and] as a result started putting more students into classrooms and increasing tuition. At the same time, the federal government started applying interest payments on student loans. So the combination of these has gotten to the point now where the average student has a $27,000 student debt.

How we would get rid of tuition is pretty straightforward. We’d sit down with the university administration — we need to work with them to figure out how much they need in stable predictable funding from the government to make sure that we don’t need to have tuition at all.

We start next year in our budget by removing tuition for low income Canadians and we immediately next year in the budget remove the two per cent funding cap for Aboriginal education.

TV: The Green Party changed its position on the Divorce Act in its revised platform. Why? EM: There was some language that could be misconstrued and it didn’t reflect the platform. It was a question of clarifying language; the politics didn’t change. We still believe the Divorce Act needs to be reformed and revisited. The BC Family Act [is] a very good model — if at all possible, it’s preferable to see mediated settlements and resolutions and less of an adversarial model. The concern is that families end up with a much worsened economic situation at the end of a matrimonial breakdown and it’s certainly preferable to ensure that partners in divorce proceedings end up with an equitable division of assets. In an acrimonious dispute that is very adversarial, everybody loses. We consulted with family law experts and we think it makes sense to revise the Divorce Act. The way it was drafted picked up on some language that looked as though we were advocating sort of a fathers’ rights position, which wasn’t our position. We do believe that the best interest of the child is paramount in any proceeding, and that language had to be clarified. We didn’t change the position.

TV: Where would you start when implementing the Calls to Action of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada?

EM: There’s a long list of things that are long overdue. One of course is the establishment of an enquiry into missing and murdered Indigenous women. Another key part of the Truth and Reconciliation Report is to work — and this is going to be done across provincial and federal lines together — but we definitely need to take action on the protection of Indigenous languages across Canada.

That was a key part of the recognition of cultural genocide within the residential school system.

But there’s a very long list of overdue aspects of the nation to nation reconciliation that needs to take place between those of us who are descendants from colonisers and the original Peoples of Turtle Island, so for Métis and First Nations and Inuit concerns, we believe we should actually reimagine what Canada is as a federation.

We’re advocating for the creation of a council of Canadian governments, which would include the Canadian government, provincial and territorial governments, representatives of municipal government, as well as Métis, First Nations, and Inuit leaders at the same table to deal with every issue, not just First Nations issues, every issue. That would mean that we’d be looking at a housing strategy for Canada with a specific focus on ensuring that the housing crisis in First Nations communities is dealt with urgently.

Also, there’s no question that the quality of education in First Nations, Inuit, and Métis communities is not as good as it should be to meet the national standards. The same thing is true for clean drinking water.

TV: How does your plan to legalize cannabis differ from that of the Liberal Party’s?

EM: It was a position taken many more years ago than the Liberal Party’s. I don’t know their specific details — I know ours. I’ve heard them say they want to legalize and I’ve heard the NDP say they want to decriminalize — both provisions are preferable to the Conservatives’.

Stephen Harper, in the midst of a campaign quite incredibly said that cannabis, marijuana is “infinitely worse” than tobacco, which really made me wonder if he knows the meaning of the word “infinite.” In any case, we want to legalize cannabis. It would be legal to grow it for yourself for your own use. If you’re getting into commercial production it would need to be regulated for quality, for safety, and labeled and taxed appropriately.

TV: Do you believe that you can balance the budget while achieving your goals?

EM: Yes, absolutely. We’ve presented a balanced budget, but we don’t have a fetish on balanced budgets. If we needed to go into a deficit because the economic situation altered, if the efforts we put in, if we were forming government — which we’re not going to form government — but if we did, we’re presenting a platform that’s credible and that would work.

As things now stand, we’ve put forward a budget in detail over a period of four years that remains in surplus. We’d also increase taxes on large corporations, which is how we’re able to maintain a surplus while expanding social services. There are a number of substantial and extensive items on our budget, but we cover those with increases in tax revenue from large corporations. We also have a significant and interesting revenue strain from legalizing cannabis and regulating it and taxing it.

TV: Would you put the proportional representation to a popular referendum?

EM: We have not taken a position on whether there should be a referendum first. Frankly, working in a minority Parliament if we were able to get Tom Mulcair and Justin Trudeau in a minority Parliament to agree to move more quickly to a system of proportional representation before the next election, that would be great. In principle, [if we were to] explore the idea of a referendum to make sure that Canadians know why we’re making the changes and to have a full discussion within Canada. It starts from the question [that] has never been put in any referendum: “do you want to keep first-past-the post?” That’s the first question.

That’s really what we learned from the New Zealand experience where they got rid of firstpast-the-post and brought in mixed member proportional. But they did do it with a series of referenda. But we’re not rigid on that point. If the other parties are ready to move, if they prefer a referendum, we’ll work with a referendum.

This is going to take co-operation across party

TV: Last time we spoke, we discussed democratic reform. Are you still in favour of getting rid of party politics?

EM: Absolutely, if we possibly could. I mean the political party system is what’s wringing the life out of democracy in Canada. I don’t know if when we spoke before I mentioned that Petra Kelly, who founded the German Green Party, one of them, used to call the German Green Party the “anti-party party.” I think it would be wonderful. But I think [that] with the stranglehold that other parties have, what we would more likely be able to achieve is to reduce the power of political party leaders, increase democracy within all the other parties, and in Parliament itself by empowering them as a Parliament to represent their constituents and not have to vote the way they’re told and say what they’re told, and so on. And of course we want to change our voting system from firstpast-the-post to proportional representation.

lines to make sure we get rid of first-past-thepost before the next election.

TV: What is the most important election issue to you?

EM: I think the most important issue is climate change, election or not. It certainly hasn’t gotten the attention it should have in this campaign. But it’s critical and it’s urgent.

Within 40 days of the end of this long campaign, we will have to be ready as a country to negotiate in the UN conference in Paris that begins November 30. We’ll have to be prepared with a different set of targets, a very different approach to how we operate in the world. It’s urgent and we won’t get another chance after Paris to have a negotiated treaty that has any hope of avoiding two degrees Celsius. Our view is, we should move the world as much as possible to avoid 1.5 degrees Celsius. This is not a small issue, this is not a political issue, it is the single largest challenge to human civilization at the moment and we should have made it a bigger issue in this election campaign.

TV: Is there anything else you’d like to say?

EM: Make sure that your readers know that our full platform is available with details at greenparty.ca. We are looking forward to the role of Greens in a minority Parliament to ensure that we have the kind of productive, co-operative Parliament. We see real potential in this election to have a Parliament that, for the first time in a generation, takes large steps to improve our social safety net to act for democratic reform and other platform items.

There certainly are many, including a $1 billion commitment to community and environmental service core, to hire young people across Canada, to deal directly with the current levels of unemployment for young people.

We’re looking forward what we hope will be a significant increase in young people voting and turning out, and that’s the best way to make sure that Stephen Harper isn’t Prime Minister come Tuesday morning, and we’re looking at more Green MPs in the house that can bring the policies we’ve just chatted about to fruition.

One big issue I should mention is that we wouldn’t prop up any party in the House of Commons unless they were prepared to repeal Bill C-51—that’s a critical issue for us; act on climate change of course, as well as the democratic reform items. That gives you a sense of what we would negotiate with a minority Parliament made up of larger parties, to ensure that we have a co-operative working relationship for ideally a four-year Parliament instead of a fractious two-year minority.

This interview has been edited for clarity and length.

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FEDERAL ELECTION

VIEWS FROM THE FRINGE Who is representing the smaller parties in this election?

ANDREW RICHMOND VARSITY STAFF

Three, sometimes four, parties have dominated election discourse. It is easy to forget the smaller parties whose campaigns are not as well funded and whose supporters may be fewer in number. The Varsity talked to University-Rosedale candidates Steve Rutchinski (Marxist-Leninist), Simon Luisi (Animal Alliance), Drew Garvie (Communist), and Jesse Waslowski (Libertarian), about their platforms and what they think is missing from the nationwide conversation.

COURTESY OF THE STEVE RUTCHINSKI CAMPAIGN

RUTCHINSKI: MARXIST-LENINIST A Marxist-Leninist for 42 years, Rutchinski thinks his most important task as a candidate is to empower voters. “Our democracy is really failing,” he says, “in terms of its core objective, or core purpose, which is to be a measure of the public will,” he says.

The blame, he says, falls partly on a system in which “the party in power doesn’t have to give a damn what the public will is.” He cites Brian Mulroney’s Free Trade Agreement, supported by approximately 30 per cent of the public, and Jean Chrétien signing the North American Free Trade Agreement in 1994, after he promised not to as examples of this behaviour.

Rutchinski believes that large corporations have too much political power: “They don’t make decisions based on what’s good for a country, they make their decisions based on what suits them.” He thinks the first steps in solving this problem are dismantling free trade agreements that favour corporations at the expense of Canadian workers and building a manufacturing economy whose profits benefit the Canadian people, rather than one that exports its raw resources to foreign corporations.

But before any of that can be accomplished, Rutchinski says that the public have to be empowered. “The problem that faces our society today is not whether we have socialism or not — the problem that faces our society today is to bring about empowerment of the electorate, so the decision making power is in the hands of the people.”

For Rutchinski, this empowerment involves giving the public the tools to influence policy.

He suggests that Elections Canada should advertise all parties’ positions; Canadians should have a ‘right to recall’ to impeach elected officials who fail to realise their promises, and that Aboriginal Peoples and Quebecois should be given the right to selfdetermination, including the right to secede if they so choose.

According to Rutchinski, once the electorate is empowered, people will come to socialist conclusions on their own.

COURTESY OF THE DREW GRARVIE CAMPAIGN

GARVIE: COMMUNIST A veteran of five Communist Party campaigns at only 30 years old, Garvie focuses less on democratic reform and more on economic and social policy, most of which falls under his slogan “People’s needs, not corporate greed.”

“Corporations have far too much power — economic and political — in this country,” he says.

Although some of the larger parties address this, Garvie does not believe their solutions get to the root of the problem. Raising and lowering taxes, or adding and removing subsidies, will make for very incremental change and will always leave room for corporations to take back power, he says. He cites the last 40 years of western democracy as proof that no ‘neoliberal’ market intervention can reduce poverty.

Instead, Garvie advocates for structural changes, namely public ownership, and democratic control. Public ownership means the ownership by Canadian citizens of natural resources, the energy industry, and the banks. According to Garvie, the profits from these industries would go into infrastructure, economic stimulation, and social services, says Garvie, bringing the benefits of Canadian industry and economy to the Canadian people, rather than corporations. According to Garvie, this is not an unrealistic plan — Mexico, for example, has had a nationalized oil industry for some time.

The Communist Party platform includes a number of policies Garvie thinks will be important to students, including a minimum wage of $20 per hour, full federal funding of tuition, the cancellation of existing student debt, and a “living stipend” for students. Garvie also thinks public ownership of natural resources will give us the power to curb our contribution to climate change.

“The central point of our campaign,” says Garvie, “is that corporate power needs to be fought back against, and voting Communist is an expression that you agree with this direction.”

COURTESY OF THE JESSE WASLOWSKI CAMPAIGN

WASLOWSKI: LIBERTARIAN At 24, Waslowski is the youngest candidate by far. He is running his first election on a platform of “greater respect for people’s rights to life, liberty, and property.” Three issues are essential for him this election: Canada’s foreign policy, border reform, and sovereignty of Indigenous Peoples.

Waslowski thinks that Canadian military should be removed from foreign conflicts, and refocused on national defence. On border reform, Waslowski believes that withdrawing from free trade agreements that introduce tariffs and barriers would encourage international trade. He also thinks we should adopt an “open border” for immigrants, meaning the only people barred would be violent and fraudulent criminals.

“Economists predict that the single most effective change for boosting GDP in the world is not free trade, it’s not removing subsidies, it’s free immigration,” says Waslowski The right to sovereignty and self-governance of Aboriginal communities, as well as their rights to land and resources, is also an important issue for Waslowski. This distinguishes him from the larger parties, some of which advocate for a “nation to nation” relationship with Aboriginal Peoples, but seem to think, Waslowski says, “that any exchange of property or rights or land needs to be done first through the government, rather than simply recognizing that these rights reside within these groups.”

The Libertarian economic policy calls for an end to corporate subsidies and a massive simplification of the tax code. The party believes most government intervention flies in the face of respect for life, liberty, and property, and that government intervention may create monopolies, and is often to the benefit of corporations.

Waslowski is nonetheless in favour of certain government interventions — for example, a tax on the rich to support a guaranteed minimum income for the poor — so long as they don’t distort the market and make things unfair (or more expensive) for other people, and so long as they respect the rights to life, liberty, and property.

COURTESY OF THE SIMON LUISI CAMPAIGN

LUISI: ANIMAL ALLIANCE Paricipating in his fourth campaign, Luisi advocates for environmental protection and animal rights. He sees hypocrisy in our treatment of animals. “There’s a lot of disparity between how we treat animals, and how we know we should treat animals,” he says.

He thinks any party advocating for the environment is wrong to ignore animal rights.

“If you do harm to the animals, you do harm to the environment,” he says.

Luisi cites animal experimentation, research, and consumption, as major issues.

The Animal Alliance party has wide-ranging platform, but most of their positions are related to animal and environmental welfare.

For instance, they advocate a “steady-state economy,” aimed at economising resources, a health care system that promotes a vegetablerich diet, and pollution control.

The party is also advocating for full government funding of all levels of education from kindergarten to post-graduate.

Luisi does not think he will win the election, but he says his party, and other small parties, have a serious role in holding the larger parties accountable. “Those bad politicians who supported cruelty to animals, or damaged the environment, they have to be held accountable, this is very important to us.

If there is no incentive for them not to damage the environment, they will continue doing it.”

He cites Karen Levenson’s work on ending animal research in Guelph, the impact of other small parties like the Greens, and the number of small party policies that are taken up by the bigger parties, as evidence of the impact of parties like his.

Interestingly, Luisi all but endorses Nick Wright, the Green candidate in UniversityRosedale, saying: “If anybody hesitates between two candidates, then go for Nick of the Green Party, that’s what I recommend this election.”

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FEDERAL ELECTION

Scarborough-Rouge U of T students appear on federal m i n fl ers n ittin Park Candidates Visit UTSC Conservative, NDP candidates cancel last minute

The Scarborough- Rogue Park All Candidates’ Panel took place at UTSC.JASON PARIS /CC FLICKR

ZUJAJAH ISLAM VARSITY STAFF

UTSC students had a chance to meet with Scarborough-Rouge Park candidates, Gary Anandasangaree (Liberal Party) and Calvin Winter (Green Party), at an all candidates’ panel hosted by the Scarborough Campus Students’ Union (SCSU).

In collaboration with the Highland Creek Community Association, the Centennial Community & Recreation Association, the West Rouge Community Association, and the University of Toronto, the event held on October seventh featured discussion on issues important to both students and community members of the ScarboroughRouge Park riding.

Although the panel organizers promised attendance of all the Scarborough-Rouge Park riding candidates, Leslyn Lewis (Conservative Party) and KM Shanthikumar (New Democratic Party) were not present.

Yasmin Rajabi, vice-president external of the SCSU, explained that they had to cancel last minute.

“Leslyn Lewis had to prioritize, but she did state that she will be present at her fundraiser. But the tickets are $200 minimum, which is too expensive for it to be accessible for students and even general members of the community. KM Shanthikumar did inform us that he had to cancel due to illness. But he was later found canvassing, claiming that the panel was cancelled,” she said.

Jane Veit, a community member attending the event tweeted her disappointment at Shanthikumar and Lewis’ absence: “Attendance at community and televised debates should be mandatory! #votesrp15 #elxn42 #listeningtoCanadians.”

Rajabi also expressed concern at the two candidates’ failure to attend.

“It’s really disheartening to see so many students excited and participating in our electoral system, but

the candidates themselves not reciprocating.”

Despite the absence of the other two candidates, Anandasangaree and Winter said that they were pleased to have more time to answer students’ questions. They debated issues ranging from tuition fees and youth unemployment to senate reform and social justice. “I am really happy that we could discuss the issues that we care about and were not limited,” Rajabi said.

The first question posed to the candidates asked how their party planned to benefit students at University of Toronto. Winter promised to eliminate the two per cent cap on tuition for Inuit and First Nations students and mentioned plans to eradicate post-secondary tuition fees by 2020.

Anandasangaree said he was concerned with the youth unemployment rate, which stands at 18 per cent in Toronto and that he planned to increase both the income threshold for eligibility for student loans and the grant proportion for those in more financial need.

The candidates also commented on their commitments to the Scarborough-Rouge Park ridings.

Winter emphasized his commitment to Rouge Park as an important landmark, while Anandasangaree said he would focus on access to education and the lack of jobs.

Anandasangaree also proposed that the three levels of the government should make time to meet in Scarborough once a year, to which the audience responded enthusiastically.

Winter and Anandasangaree closed the discussion by expressing their appreciation for the attendance and encouraging students and community members to come out to vote on Monday, October 19.

Students appeared on a Conservative Party campaign flyer without their consent. EMIL COHEN/THE VARSITY

Conservative University-Rosedale candidate did not ask for students’ consent ENXHI KONDI VARSITY STAFF

Unauthorized photos from a University of Toronto Students’ Union (UTSU) meeting were used in flyers for the campaign of Conservative University-Rosedale candidate Karim Jivraj. According to a statement released by the UTSU, Jivraj attended the meeting where photos were taken uninvited, and that he did not seek sufficient consent to use the photos for his campaign material.

Aidan Swirsky, a University College student who appears in the photo, explains that Jivraj did ask to take some candid photos, for the purpose of putting them on a Facebook post, but that he did not give permission to use them in a campaign flyer. “[This] was not believed by us to be construed as an endorsement, nor did we expect it to be included in campaign literature,” he said.

Farah Noori, a member of the UTSU Board of Directors for UTM who appears in the photo alongside Swirsky, also did not consent to having the photo used.

“I told him I felt uncomfortable and asked the photographer… to try not to include me in them. Not only did the Conservative candidate disregard my specific request, he didn’t mention that the pictures were for his campaign material for the federal election.”

Jasmine Denike, UTSU vice president, external and the chair of the Community Action Commission (CAC) meeting at which the photos were taken, has requested that these flyers no longer be distributed and that Jivraj’s campaign managers issue an apology to the students who appeared in the photo.

Given that the CAC meeting took place a month before the federal election was called, Denike was unaware that Jivraj was a confirmed candidate for the University-Rosedale riding and she said that she mistook him for an UTSU member and U of T student. Therefore, she did not feel that she could ask him to leave the meeting.

“I understand now, after the July Board of Director’s meeting, that it was in my right as chair to have him and his colleague removed from the meeting, but at the time I was unsure of my role as chair of the CAC,” Denike said, adding that the meeting in question was also her first time as the chair.

Denike condemned the use of these photos. “By using photos without the consent of all of the people in them, you are silencing them and using them. At an event like a UTSU Commission meeting, where students want to have their voices heard in the decision making process of events and campaigns, to use them without asking their consent for a campaign that they may or may not support is wrong and practically slanderous. These flyers are targeting the students in the photo and attaching them to the Jivraj campaign despite the political affiliations of the students in question,” she said.

“Student rights are being completely bypassed in this move to gain young votes. Again, by not giving these students the opportunity to give their consent to the photos being shared, especially in such a large capacity, their voices are being silenced and their faces are being used to represent a campaign that they may or may not support.”

Swirsky cited the commonality of election candidates taking photos with their constituents in order

to present themselves as engaged.

“I thought they would be simply used for the purpose of Mr. Jivraj presenting himself as getting engaged with the constituents of his university-centric riding of choice; this happens all the time within political use of social media platforms, and usually includes appearances by constituents, who, whether supporters of the candidate or not, are just happy to have been approached and have had their opinions considered by a candidate,” he said.

On the other hand, Noori said that she is “extremely offended” to be included in the pictures. “The fact that he took my picture, knowing that I was uncomfortable with it and then neglected to inform those of us present about his intentions shows how misleading his campaign is.”

Swirsky added that while he believes Jivraj meant well, he also asserted that Jivraj’s campaign was at fault for the non-consensual usage of the photo because it implies an endorsement from those present.

“This should serve as a lesson for any candidate running in a universitycentric riding to know their surroundings and be incredibly careful because electoral politics and university politics do not let such gaffes off easy,” Swirsky said.

Noori described the use of her image as “violating” and said that the incident conflicts with the struggle of building a consent culture on campus. “We are working to create a culture of gaining consent before engaging in actions with others.

When someone denies consent, you shouldn’t go ahead with the act. This Conservative candidate disregarded my refusal to consent.”

Jivraj’s campaign did not respond to a request for comment.

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STUDENT LIFE

ASSU elects new executives Representatives Stephanie Lim, Alex Verman share their goals for the union

NATALIE BOYCHUK VARSITY CONTRIBUTOR

The Arts & Science Students’ Union (ASSU) welcomed two new executive members at the first meeting of its council this year.

Stephanie Lim and Alex Verman beat out two other hopefuls to claim the vacant spots at the October fifth elections.

Stephanie Lim is a third-year student in the peace, conflict and justice studies program, and contemporary asian studies program. She became interested in an executive position after a positive experience at the ASSU Coffee Houses last year.

Lim told The Varsity that she would like to address problems of overpopulation and of understaffing at the St George campus, which she believes are the most pressing problems that students face today. Lim also wants to engage first-year students over often intimidating government structures. “First-year disengagement is particularly present at a large urban school like [UTSG],” she said.

According to Lim, the ASSU’s goals for the coming academic year are to foster relationships with course unions, advocate for a Fall Reading Week, and increasing the accessibility of ASSU services.

Alex Verman, a fourth-year political science student, believes that students are

Alex Verman, left, and Stephanie Lim, right, won ASSU executive positions. COURTESY ALEX VERMAN AND STEPHANIE LIM

generally unaware of the services available to them and when they are being taken advantage of. Verman highlighted a “general problem of isolation,” at UTSG. After writ-

ing for The Varsity for years, Verman became interested in the ASSU during the teaching assistant strike last year, remarking that the ASSU answered student emails, kept long

office hours for students, and advocated for the students while supporting the protesters.

In his first week on the job, Verman noted that the ASSU is more approachable than he expected. The organization focuses on the ground level in order to get things done for the students it serves. “I’m looking forward to actually to doing the work, I’m nervous but excited for the new experiences,” explained Verman. He draws from his own experiences in that it took him four years to learn what he wanted to do and in what capacity, which he commented is part of the problem of UTSG. In Verman’s opinion, the ASSU aims to deal with over-enrollment and to improve services to better suit the large population of Arts & Science students on campus. The syllabi, Verman claims, must be front and centre so that every student is aware of drop dates and assignments. Free events will be offered to students throughout the year in order to increase student awareness about the services the ASSU offers.

The ASSU serves around 23,000 full-time undergraduate students and comprises over 60 course unions. As a union, it offers support for academic grievances, houses a part test library, advocates for policy and program changes, and holds regular educational and social events.

Alex Verman is a contributor to The Varsity.

The UTSU is holding a Plebiscite.

The proposal you are asked to consider is: “Are you in favour of moving the start of Orientation Week to a few days before Labour Day in order to allow for the introduction of a Fall Reading Week?”

Polling days: October 27-29 Polling times: 9:00am-6:00pm Polling locations: Galbraith, Sidney Smith, Gerstein, Wetmore, OISE, TYP, Old Vic

@UTSU98

For more information, visit your Students’ Union website at utsu.ca or contact the Chief Returning Officer at cro@utsu.ca.

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UTSU launches Racialized Students’ Collective Students to discuss racism, white supremacy, respectability politics among other issues ARTICLE BY DEVIKA DESAI AND ILLUSTRATION BY CORALS ZHENG

Monday, October 19 marks the first event of the Racialized Students’ Collective (RSC), a new initiative created by the University of Toronto Students’ Union (UTSU) Social Justice and Equity Commission. The event, which will take place at Hart House from 5:00 to 7:00 pm, will be the first of many, in hopes of tackling issues faced by racialized students on campus by allowing them a platform through which they may express themselves.

Sania Khan, UTSU vice-president equity, proposed the formation of the RSC after engaging in a conversation with a few of her friends, who are also racialized students and active members in the U of T community.

“The discussion that ensued was one of the most organic, profound, and impactful conversations that I’ve ever had,” she said.

“For hours we shared our experiences on how we navigate U of T as visible minorities.

The feeling of camaraderie and compassion that [generated] from this discussion was what I had realized had been missing from the U of T St. George community.”

Khan pointed to her own experiences as a South Asian woman in a position of leadership as an example of one of the many issues faced by racialized students at U of T that need to be tackled on a public platform. “The most prevalent issue I deal with are micro-aggressions that are constantly being employed to undermine my opinions on the basis of them coming from a woman of colour,” she remarked.

“Since my opinions are informed by my lived experiences, I then find myself having to defend my lived experiences which is both exhausting and frustrating to continuously have to do,” Khan said, adding that she finds that the need to constantly explain herself

to a “demographic that is more interested in undermining [her] words than learning from them” is an issue that she deals with regularly.

It is in response to these experiences that has led Khan to aim for the RSC’s events to be student-led. “Racialized folks need to know that their opinions, their feelings, their stories matter – no matter how uncomfortable these experiences may make the privileged,” she stated.

Apart from holding monthly events that will foster discussion on topics such as white supremacy, assimilation, cultural appropriation, and respectability politics, the RSC will also be divided in sub-committees that are responsible for meeting regularly and organizing events outside of the main monthly RSC events. These include sub-committees for Indigenous identified, black identified, South-Asian identified, West-Indian identi-

fied, East-Asian identified, Latin-American identified, Middle-Eastern identified, and mixed-heritage identified students. “The term ‘identified’ is imperative in this context, as students should be able to join as many subcommittees as they personally identify with,” stated Khan.

Overall, the goal of the RSC is to provide spaces in which racialized students can come together to safely discuss personal experiences, concerns, and narratives as members of minority groups. “Only once we fully understand the issues and barriers faced by members of racialized communities can we begin to tackle these issues head-on and create an environment that gives folks from all racialized backgrounds the sense of belonging, acceptance and validation that they need to feel empowered,” said Khan.

ADMINISTRATIVE AFFAIRS

More than talking Dean Glen A. Jones speaks with The Varsity about Syrian refugee students SIGRID ROMAN VARSITY STAFF

The growing refugee crisis in Syria presents a challenge in how to best support students whose lives have been disrupted by the tragedy. To shed some light on the response of the Ontario Institute of Studies in Education (OISE) and University of Toronto, The Varsity sat down with OISE dean Glen A. Jones to talk about the existing efforts aimed at helping Syrian students and their families.

A SNAPSHOT OF THE CRISIS In March 2011, disillusionment with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad sparked a cycle of street protests and violent attempts to stifle the disputes. Sixteen months later, the Syrian Arab Republic was officially declared in a state of civil war by Red Cross, marking the beginning of one of the largest humanitarian crises in the last few decades.

According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, it is estimated that by mid-2014, 10.8 million of Syria’s population of 22 million was affected by the conflict. These numbers are only expected to grow in the coming months.

THE SYRIAN REFUGEE CRISIS & OISE While the growing need for refugee assistance has emerged, the question of how many refugees should be allowed to enter Canada has become highly contentious.

When asked if a regulatory system should be put in place, Jones explained that there has to be “some element of control” but that he wholeheartedly agrees with the notion of accepting more refugees.

“This is a country of immigrants”, he said, “a country of refugees in some respects and so, I think the notion of Canadians feeling a tremendous sympathy when they see pictures on the television, of people in tremendous distress, is kind of a natural Canadian phenomenon. So, yes, I think we should do what we can do.”

“In terms of bringing it in to this context, OISE has a very strong tradition of, I guess, interest in social justice, and this is a place where there is a lot of advocacy of social issues that takes place in this building, a lot of community connections, and soon after the television spots began to materialize, people, I think, began to realize how serious the situation really was, began to ask us what is it that we can do and what’s going on,” Jones said.

Although Jones stresseed the important intellectual contribution OISE has made so far to the conversation, he admits that when it comes to realistic efforts, U of T remains a more practical avenue.

“There are all kinds of places where people can give their money, so the notion is to simply point people towards some initiatives that seem to be positive and that seem to fit in with what the community is interested in.”

Although Jones says that OISE “carefully said that we are not trying to tell people what to do,” he suggests that the efforts U of T president Meric Gertler recently announced are a good place to start.

REFUGEE CRISIS & THE UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO Created in 1999, The University of Toronto Scholars At Risk Program is designed to provide humanitarian assistance for a small number of distinguished academics and outstanding students who have been the victims of violence and repression due to territorial conflicts or ideological differences.

JULIEN BALBONTIN/ILLUSTRATION EDITOR

To this end, the program’s goal this year is to fundraise $1 million to support 100 new bursaries of $10,000 each, which will be awarded over the next 10 years. As an incentive, the U of T will match all donations up to $500,000.

Although this might not seem like much in the grand scheme of things, Jones explains that “there are limits to what we can do” and that “the notion to the Scholars at Risk program is really about trying to provide special support for students and others so that they can... have... additional financial support to access the university.”

According to the dean, the matching funds will come from the university’s undesignated gifts, which come from people giving the university money to be used towards annual fund raising activities or other endeavours.

In terms of the recipients themselves, the students would be chosen through a process that takes their status as at-risk students and their academic credentials into account.

PARTNERSHIP WITH THE RYERSON UNIVERSITY LIFELINE SYRIA CHALLENGE Ryerson University has taken the initiative to support the goals of Lifeline Syria, a citizen-led organization that is coordinating the sponsorship of 1,000 Syrian refugees over two years in the GTA. It has been extended to include 25 new Syrian refugee families (or roughly 100 refugees). So far, U of T, York University, and OCAD University have all agreed to the partnership.

“The initiative Ryerson has sponsored is about finding ways of sponsoring families and bringing people here,” said Jones.

The refugees will be supported by 25 teams of volunteers who have offered to support the families for up to one year at an estimated cost of $27,000. Eleven Ryerson leaders have personally pledged more than $5,000+ and a year of their time to ensure the successful resettlement of a single Syrian family.

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A VEILED NARRATIVE Banning the niqab does little to protect the welfare of Muslim women RUSABA ALAM

VARSITY CONTRIBUTOR

A

fter fighting for months for her right to take the oath of Canadian citizenship while wearing a niqab, Zunera Ishaq has finally done so. The result of her case should not surprise us, since our Constitution protects freedom of religion and of expression.

What should surprise us, however, is that the niqab has become such an important issue leading up to today’s federal election.

On a strictly practical level, the niqab is a non-issue. For those concerned that the niqab prevents citizens from being identified during the citizenship ceremony, rest assured that women have always been obliged to uncover their faces to take the citizenship oath — it is merely done in private and before the ceremony.

As such, there seems to be little practical reason to make the requirement of bare faces a federal election issue. The intense discussion around the niqab, then, indicates something greater is at stake — namely, contestations over Canadian identity.

It is important to begin with the facts. In a Toronto Star article, Ishaq outlined her personal reasons for wanting to wear the niqab while reciting her citizenship oath, and it is clear that Ishaq is making a personal choice to wear it.

Despite this, public discussions, including fed-

eral election debates, continue to ignore Ishaq’s pressure to wear the niqab, this is not in itself voice and choice on the matter. sufficient grounds for Canada to ban the garPrime Minister Harper’s comments during ment. There is an important discussion to be had the French-language election debate epitomize regarding patriarchal forces controlling women’s this exclusion. Specifically, he mischaracterized bodily autonomy, but it is questionable why this the situation by saying: “Never will I say to my critique has been limited to the niqab. Women daughter that a woman has to cover her face are routinely pressured by partners, friends, or because she's a woman.” He shifted the con- society at large to wear potentially harmful or versation away from the issue under discussion limiting clothes and ornamentation. Yet, it does — Ishaq’s not follow freely made that Canada IF [HARPER] IS SO CONCERNED WITH WOMEN choice — should ban and toward women from BEING FORCED TO COVER UP, HE SHOULD BE a hypothetwearing EQUALLY ASHAMED TO DEMAND THAT WOMEN ical scenario these things BARE THEIR FACES FOR HIM. in which altogether.

Muslim CaSome may nadian women are forced to cover their faces, claim that this disparity arises because the presumably by Muslim men. niqab itself is “un-Canadian.”Suffice it to say, If the Prime minister’s daughter’s rights must however, Canada is a liberal democratic society be dragged into a federal election debate at all, in which what it means to be Canadian is, and we should consider what would happen if she should, constantly be shifting. chose to cover her face in public — would her Remember that there is more at stake here father forbid her from doing so? If he did, he than an election. In the final stretch of the would be exercising the same control over wom- federal campaign, this discussion has directed en’s bodies that he is condemning; if he didn’t, crucial time and resources away from other then there is no reason for him to categorically pressing issues, such as unemployment, student condemn women who choose to wear the niqab. debt, or the future of our environment.

What is more, even if Ishaq felt external This misframing also generates a fear and

distrust of Islam, with serious consequences.

In Montreal last week, two teenage boys approached a pregnant Muslim woman, Oumessad Khafouche, pulling her hijab and knocking her to the ground. Around the same time, a man assaulted a niqab-wearing woman, Safira Merriman, in front of her two children at Toronto’s Fairview Mall.

It is a student issue when identifiably Muslim women are made to feel unsafe in this city. It is a labour issue when Muslim workers at Fairview Mall, and across Canada, must live with Islamophobic violence where they work. It goes without saying that it is a gender issue when women are targeted for violence because of the way they dress. If the considerable anti-niqab sentiment in Canada were genuinely about the safety and wellbeing of Muslim women, then Muslim women would not be such frequent targets of Islamophobic violence as the election draws closer.

So, if you truly care about Muslim women, listen to us. Speak against the rhetoric that fuels violence against us, and on October 19, vote according to your conscience. We can’t afford anything less.

Rusaba Alam is a third-year student at Victoria College studying English.

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Bill C-24 creates a fractured landscape Pitting the “old stock” against “second-class citizens” fractures Canadian integrity

ELHAM NUMAN/ASSOCIATE ILLUSTRATION EDITOR

MALONE MULLIN VARSITY STAFF

Canada is a peaceful place. Specifically, we aren’t exactly a target for international terrorism: as Edward Snowden reminded a group of journalists last winter, lightning kills more Canadians annually than politically motivated violence, and it’s mostly home-grown radicalism responsible for our sparse history of terror attacks. On the opposite side of the coin, the world tends to look upon us fondly — to outsiders, we’re a land defined primarily by an abundance of syrup, snow, and over-vocalized contrition. For a few decades, we’ve also maintained an image of multiculturalism. In theory,

Canada is a “cultural mosaic,” a nation accepting of foreign people and traditions.

But things have changed. Amid the rampant Islamophobia dominating Prime Minister Harper’s election campaign, Bill C-24 — which was passed last June — adds to a laundry list of threats to these multicultural values. Under this legislation, we’re not the same nation we once were.

Consider, for example, how Zakaria Amara, a dual citizen born in Jordan but raised in Canada, had his citizenship revoked last month under Bill C-24 as a convicted terrorist. He had planned to fill rental trucks with explosives and detonate them at various locations in Toronto, an act that, apparently in

light of his foreign birth, encouraged Defense Minister Jason Kenney to claim Amara “forfeited his own citizenship.” Nine other C-24 cases are currently under review.

Thus, the bill that the media criticized for creating second-class citizens is now doing exactly that. C-24 garnered attention last summer from the left, who demonized it for creating a two-tier citizenship system, wherein constitutional rights become conditional for some but not others. Canadians who possess dual citizenship risk revocation should they be convicted of a terrorism offence and sentenced to five or more years in prison. Those born within Canadian borders, and others who immigrate and lose their original citizenship, can wreak all the havoc they want — they’ll remain Canadian citizens regardless.

It seems reasonable at first glance. If we can get rid of individuals willing to murder and maim, why shouldn’t we? But a closer inspection reveals disconcerting consequences for the institution of citizenship and basic human dignity. What it means to be recognized as a Canadian has been transformed by a bill that so audaciously claims to protect constitutional rights, while hinting at a Tory mentality comfortable with ethnicity-based discrimination.

The Liberal Party and the New Democratic Party have promised to repeal the act if voted into power. They seem to recognize its dangers. “As soon as you make citizenship for some Canadians conditional on good behaviour,” Justin Trudeau said in a leaked audio recording last summer, “you devalue citizenship for everyone.”

The Opposition aren’t the only ones against the Act. Legal experts too are wary of its re-

percussions. According to the work of Dr. Kent Roach, a law professor at U of T, we tend to define terrorists as “an external threat that must be defeated rather than as citizens who must be rehabilitated.” But four of Canada’s convicted terrorists fit the dual-national characterization. Many of them were born here, like Michael Zehaf-Bibeau, who was responsible for the 2014 shootings on Parliament Hill. So where does the idea of an “external threat” come from?

More generally, it doesn’t make sense that C-24 would act as a deterrent for potential terrorists. In fact, it’s difficult to understand why the bill exists in the first place. C-24 seems an unnecessary instance of fear-mongering and ethnic injustice. It really only succeeds in sending a message to Canadians that some of us are, by law, more valuable than others. And like Harper’s divisive beliefs about refugee health care and “old-stock Canadians,” it undermines a country with the institutional and cultural potential to abolish ethnic nationalism.

Terrorism is a fundamentally divisive act.

It aims, through fear and violence, to subjugate rival belief systems. It is ironic that Harper’s Canada, so shaken by the prospect of terrorism, would pre-emptively divide its citizenship using the very same tactic. As students in a multicultural city and campus, it is imperative that we reject this xenophobic Kool-Aid from the Harper Government, and stand opposed to their disappointing brand of “wedge politics.”

Malone Mullin is a fifth-year student studying philosophy.

‘Hire’ education

The problem with U of T's culture of self-branding

WINSTON LI/THE VARSITY

JEFFERY CHEN VARSITY STAFF

With increasing clarity, it seems that the image of the ideal university student no longer revolves around high academic achievement. Instead, the conception of success prevalent in higher education today is tempered by activities with such vague descriptors as “energy to use one’s talents to the fullest,” “sympathy for and protection of the weak,” “unselfishness and fellowship,” and “moral force of character and instincts to lead” — all phrases taken from the selection criteria for prominent scholarships.

However glamorous these well-meaning ideals may seem, in reality they have translated into

a mass culture of what Andrew Sullivan, in his article "All Rhodes Lead Nowhere in Particular," caustically calls “hustling apple-polishers” of “bland, eugenic perfection”.

Buoyant with the inspirational ‘you can be anything’ rhetoric of primary and secondary school, students are encouraged to take an active role in or to start initiatives, usually humanitarian, aimed at solving pressing global problems.

With a few organizations and student-led calls for social change under their belt, the doors to scholarships and internships swing open. Then, presumably, students’ interest in climate change or Syrian refugees fades.

There is nothing wrong with honing students’ business acumen and civic sensibilities carry on.

When these values become tied to students’ perception of academia, however, universities take on the role of corporate conveyer belts providing degrees — presenting students with keys to better career prospects. It is unsurprising that students with this view often see themselves more as marketable commodities than as individuals with multi-layered emotions, interests, and hobbies.

Campuses are littered with the products of this culture of self-branding. I know someone who, having only finished first year, moved to the US to start a company aimed at solving genetic diseases. Another sought to ‘revolutionize’ education and had started a private school before completing their post-secondary education.

Students face stifling pressure to update their LinkedIn profiles with long lists of volunteer and work experience in international and domestic spheres. This is done to ensure career advancement, rather than out of a genuine desire to improve the communities around them.

All of these resume achievements fulfil requirements for scholarship committees, but they come at a cost. When students are drawn to community-building iniatives with only their own self-interest in mind, not only are their intentions misguided, but the results are less productive than expected.

This is something that Houmdu Harouni elaborates on in an article for The American Reader, where he makes several worthwhile observations about the detriments of self-branding culture. To illustrate his point, he uses the example of the 2013 TED awards winner Sugata Mitra, whose humanitarian start up placed computer kiosks in slums so children in impoverished areas could teach themselves “math, English, and even molecular biology.”

The impoverished children that Mitra attempted to help are likely in need of basic shelter and bread more than they need access to the mysteries of microbiology. In fact, introducing computer kiosks into slums is about as useful as sending iPads to Aboriginal reserves or fitting solar panels on African schools, without taking their more pressing needs into account.

All of these groups face complex, multifaceted

problems that require insight and empathy to fully address. Yet in their quest to develop the perfect CV, many students will disregard this, opting instead for a solution that awards them credit without actually getting their hands dirty.

This supposed paragon of humanitarian concern and ‘sympathy for and protection of the weak’ is an example of the type of gross over-simplification found in most student-led humanitarian organizations. It is consonant with the culture of self-branding to simplify complex problems into manageable challenges that can be solved by ‘innovation’; such models place the emphasis on the innovator rather than the problem itself.

Because problems in the social sciences require decades of experience and study, student attempts at ‘solving’ or ‘innovating’ social problems often echo the Mitra model. Our incessant need to prioritize our career advancement means students often end up exploiting marginalized communities for their own benefit.

University offers a unique chance for students: unencumbered with the pressures of the outside world, they can find their own authentic brand of intellectual self-expression. The moment universities become just another line in a polished list of resumé fodder do they lose value as institutions of higher learning.

Jeffery Chen is a third–year student at Trinity College studying English and European studies.

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M O N DAY 19 O C TO B E R 2 015 comment@thevarsity.ca

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THE GAME WE CALL STUDENT POLITICS

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Students raise their vote cards at recent AGM. MALLIKA MAKKAR/PHOTO EDITOR

Bureaucracy trumps democracy at AGM

VOTE! Council of Athletics and Recreation General Membership

November 4 -5 Athletic Centre (55 Harbord) or http://voting.utoronto.ca For more information contact CRO: Susan Ivimey: susan.ivimey@utoronto.ca

EMMA KIKULUS SPORTS EDITOR

Student politics, I have come learn, are something of a spectator sport.

Before every event, fans prepare by brushing up on their favourite team’s statistics (or, in this case, board proposal). At the event, they are then given their foam fingers (voter cards), which they hold poised and ready for action. There are no shortages of rowdy antics during the show, and as half-time approaches, you refuel with a snack — as many samosas as it is socially acceptable to consume — to prepare for the final push.

Despite the many parallels, the pivotal difference between attending a Jays game for instance, and attending the University of Toronto Students’ Union (UTSU) Annual General Meeting (AGM) is that we, the spectators, are supposed to have a say in the outcome.

This agency comes in the form of a vote. Yet, that the seemingly endless bureaucratic obstacles in place at the AGM impede any sort of collective action is disheartening, to say the least. Voting — the most pivotal aspect of any federal, provincial, and yes, even student political meeting — gives students a say in how their elected representatives should act. When we don’t get the opportunity, to vote properly, nobody wins.

At the AGM, the system for actually casting votes is of principal concern. Presumably due to the immense time the AGM takes up in

a single evening (this particularly meeting took five hours), students often “proxy” their votes to a friend.

This means that some people with proxies do not cast votes simply for themselves, but — in violation of the “one person, one vote” principle — on behalf of up to ten of their peers.

This recently revised proxy system is inherently problematic. The only thing it ensures is the numerical, rather than substantive, nature of votes. There is no guarantee that a proxy holder will adequately represent their peers’ stance on the vote at hand. While people may certainly have similar ideological leanings, there were a number of items on the agenda that were up for fierce debate. Do we really believe that each person who proxied their vote would have voted yes or no for the motion at hand, had they been present at the meeting?

Proxy voting aside, another aspect of the AGM that would benefit from an overhaul is the way in which votes are submitted and tallied. The first vote of the evening was not tallied, which caused substantial uproar and demands for a revote from various members. The process of this revote, however, was the longest and most tedious of the entire meeting. With constant interruptions by “points of privilege,” “points of information,” and attempts to call the question, the revote process turned out to be

as problematic and redundant as the voting process itself, in which a preliminary vote on whether or not there will be a revote is necessary.

Between voting on whether or not to revote, and voting on an amendment to add free education to the agenda, there wasn’t much time left over to vote for what we were actually there to vote for: to choose a board proposal and structure in order to comply with the updated Canada Not-for-profit Corporations Act (CNCA). The only vote of the evening that made any headway was a vote to merely consider the Zhuk/Singh proposal for approval.

UTSU AGM’s don’t have the best track record with making it through their entire agenda, so the fact that over half of the meeting's business remained unaddressed should come as no surprise. However, we need not take this trend as an inherent flaw in the system.

There is as much a need to overhaul the AGM voting system as there is for a new board structure at the UTSU. Until this voting system is changed, a growing number of students will have to be content with sitting on the sidelines.

Emma Kikulis is a fourth year student at Innis College studying English and Sociology. She is The Varsity's Sports Editor.

var.st/editorial

EDITORIAL 19 O ctOber 2015

TO DEFEAT THE TORIES, THE LEFT MUST UNITE

editorial@thevarsity.ca

LETTERS TO

THE EDITOR Vol. CXXXVI, No. 5 October 5, 2015

Make a progressive choice this election day THE VARSITY EDITORIAL BOARD

A

MIRKA LOISELLE/THE VARSITY

s we stand on the brink of Canada’s 42 federal election, it is abundantly clear from polling data that a majority of Canadians are desperate for change in Ottawa. It is nearly ten years since Stephen Harper's Conservative Party took power; in that time, we have seen Canada's once sterling international reputation as a bastion of democratic values erode through a series of legislative and policy initiatives promoting ignorance and exclusion domestically.

Over the course of Stephen Harper's terms in office, the government has legislated second-class citizenship; gagged scientists; ended the long-form census to the outcry of nearly 500 organizations in Canada; backed away from the international Kyoto protocol; failed to protect domestic jobs; stigmatized Muslim Canadians for political gain; and callously refused to fund a public inquiry into the growing number of missing and murdered Indigenous women at the behest of the United Nations.

While mainstream media outlets may tout the Conservatives' stable economic record, it remains that the plethora of other issues young Canadians care about — including student debt, youth unemployment, social justice, and a reasonable policy on marijuana — have been sidelined. Yet, months of campaigning have only reinforced what many of us already knew: the Conservative government is not interested in student concerns.

In fact, they don’t want you to vote, and through Bill C-23, have purposely made it harder for you to do so.

At such a critical juncture, it has often behooved newspapers to make informed endorsements of candidates for the benefit of their readerships in advance of elections. Yet, the flawed nature of our electoral system means that to categorically endorse one progressive party would merely encourage vote-splitting on the left, and ultimately allow the Conservatives another four years. Consequently, we are supporting the next most effective tool at our disposal: strategic voting.

To write a soft opinion, merely reminding you of the importance of the democratic process and just urging you to go out and vote, would squander the opportunity before us.

We urge you to remember that in our current electoral system, not all votes are equal. In our first-past-thepost electoral system, it does not matter exactly how many votes a candidate receives, but merely whether they receive the most votes out of all competitors. So while the total progressive vote share in one riding may be (and often is) more than that of the Conservative’s, divisions between the Liberals, NDP, and the Greens split the vote, which leads to the election of a Conservative candidate.

Consider, for example, the Brampton Centre riding in Ontario. Polls show that the progressive vote is hovering around 55 per cent, while the Conservatives are at 39. Yet, since the progressive vote is split between the Liberals and NDP (36 per cent and 19 per cent respectively), the Conservatives end up winning the riding with the greatest share of votes.

Whether you are a dyed in the wool Liberal, a fortunate casualty of the 2011 ‘Orange Crush,’ or a fervent Green, you have been dealt a bad hand from a stacked deck. However, voting strategically can counter this flawed system. In the aforementioned Brampton Centre, NDP supporters can put their support behind the Liberal candidate, resulting in the ultimate ousting of the Conservative candidate. Replicate this strategy amongst the provinces, and country, and the net effect is to stop Harper from taking office again.

If you live in a riding with a strong Conservative candidate, then, we implore you to vote for the progressive candidate with the most realistic chance of succeeding. While we recognize there are many nuances between the progressive parties that might make people averse to voting strategically, it is an unfortunate reality that these nuances will never actually be realized if the Conservatives remain in power.

Consequently, the only way a remotely progressive government can be formed is if progressives of every stripe band together in direct opposition of the incumbent government. If anything, support them for their willingness to reform our electoral system, so we do not have to vote strategically in future elections.

We cannot abide another Conservative victory this October. The best way to oppose them at this time may be to set aside the small things that separate us, and embrace the big things that bind us against a flawed system that preys upon our division. Many of us find ourselves in a position to vote in a federal election for the first time; few of us can afford not to.

The Varsity's editorial board is elected by the masthead at the beginning of each semester. For more information about The Varsity's editorial policy, email comment@thevarsity.ca.

Re: Write what you know “This is a very well written article, but I can't in good conscience agree with it. White/privileged writers have a responsibility to write POC characters, but they don't necessarily have the right to write POC stories, or stories of oppression and marginalization they know nothing about. Write minority and marginalized characters, but not their stories. We should instead be making an effort to promote people of these backgrounds who have written their stories about their experiences and the experiences of those like them. POC/ women/queer/mentally ill/immigrant/and any others SHOULD be in stories written by white/ male/straight writers. BUT these writers shouldn't be blocking the place of POC writers trying to tell these stories. Which they do.”

— Benjamin Ghan (from web) Re: Blame the government, not the TTC “The Scarborough Subway extension may be considered foolish, but there is no mention of the Sheppard Subway (Yonge to Fairview Mall); the Pearson Express and the Subway extension to Vaughan which goes under an oil tank field, under an extensive University Campus, under Steeles Ave, under a power transmission line, under the 407 right of way, under Hwy 7 to terminate in a light industrial plaza, anchored by Walmart, jammed between the 400 highway and a large rail yard and NOBODY LIVES or can live in any of these places as noted. That Vaughan subway is fiasco to nowhere. Yorkdale is undergoing a large expansion anticipating all those customers seeking more than the Vaughan Mills Mall. Meanwhile North East Scarborough contends with buses, though we have Centennial College, University of Toronto Scarborough Campus, an Olympic size swimming pool and the zoo. A light rail extending from the Z00 to Fairview Mall along Sheppard Avenue (it is wide enough) would [have] removed a lot of cars and buses from the roads.”

— George Heighington (from web) Re: Drake concert at Ryerson cost $515,000 “I'm just saying but defederation from the CFS saves us 750,000.

That's a Drake concert a year.”

— Ahmand Ilyas (from web)

Re: White noise "I just wanted to send a brief email about Jeffrey Chen's comment piece in the September 26 article entitled, "White Noise". Everything about his article was bang on and I agreed with everything he wrote!"

— Marcella Bollers (from email) Re: Students vs time "Another good tool for students is Nifty (https://www.heynifty.com/).

A place for students to keep track of their work when collaborating in groups. It provides an overview of who’s doing what and let you share links and files from your favourite productivity tools.

It is quiet similar to Trello, but more customized for the needs of students and for free."

— Johannes Jacob (from web) Re: Animal testing is often an unfortunate necessity In laboratories, monkeys, cats, dogs, mice, rats and other animals are cut into, poisoned, crippled, deprived of food and water, addicted to drugs, infected with deadly diseases, and killed in cruel experiments whose findings are overwhelmingly inapplicable to humans.

A 2014 review paper co-authored by a Yale School of Medicine professor in the prestigious British Medical Journal documented the abject failure of experiments on animals to improve human health.

It concluded, “…if research conducted on animals continues to be unable to reasonably predict what can be expected in humans, the public’s continuing endorsement and funding of preclinical animal research seems misplaced.”

Thankfully, forward-thinking scientists are moving away from cruel and expensive experiments on animals in favor of more effective non-animal research methods like cutting-edge organs-on-chips that use human tissues and cells to create miniature, functioning human organs to study diseases and test treatments.

With close to one-third of Canadians now opposing experiments on animals, the tide is turning against this antiquated, cruel and wasteful practice.

To learn more about experiments on animals visit www.peta.org."

— Alka Chandna, Senior Laboratory Oversight Specialist (PETA) ( from email )

Letters to the editor should be directed to comment@thevarsity.ca. Please keep letters to 250 words. Letters may be edited for length and clarity.

THE RISING TREND OF VAPING, WHY IT IS EXPLODING, AND WHAT IT MEANS FOR PUBLIC HEALTH

V P P O R A U IN U

On season two of the Netflix drama House of Cards, when U.S. Vice President Frank Underwood gestured, electronic cigarette in hand, and uttered in his famous southern drawl, “It’s addiction without the consequences,” vaping society had already passed the point of no return.

Many assume the popularity of conventional cigarettes is maintained at least partly through smoking’s portrayal in the media; it is safe to assume, then, that vaping — the use of electronic coils as a heating mechanism for inhaling vapour which until recently may have been considered a passing fad — has thoroughly permeated the realm of niche culture and continues to work its way into the territory of normalization.

Views on this cultural trend are varied. There are those who swear by vaping as a way to stop smoking regular cigarettes. Others question its effectiveness, and decry the fact that there’s still so much we don’t know about the devices and their potential dangers.

Experts are still trying to paint a clear picture of various vaping products and their potential impacts on public health. In the meantime, there is no doubt that this trend is on the rise, which means that policymakers are under pressure to address e-smoking in an environment shrouded with uncertainty.

From smoke-ring blowing novelty users to lifetime researchers of smoking, U of T is home to people from all ends of the vaping scene.

Right now, the possibilities span from the widespread resurgence of smoking addictions to the eradication of conventional cigarettes, and everything in between, leaving the future of these devices decidely murky.

PICKING UP VAPE There are at least nine vape shops within walking distance of U of T. On my walk from Hart House and the EsmokerCanada at Yonge and Gloucester, I passed at least half a dozen people drawing on the curious and increasingly ubiquitous devices.

I went there to speak with Mario Martinasevic, the owner of the Canadian chain, to ask him about how he thinks the trend is evolving. When I arrived, I admit I was surprised to observe that the shop did not fit in with the ambiance of the surrounding downtown Yonge Street. EsmokerCanada is bright and spacious, with impressive glass displays lining the edge displaying hundreds of different products.

I found Martinasevic minding his shop, clutching an elaborate vape in hand. He invited me to sit and talk, occasionally dragging on an instrument which, to me, looks closer to a clarinet than a tobacco cigarette.

Martinasevic told me that he opened EsmokerCanada in 2011, and that the Yonge Street location is the one of the newest “brick and mortar” installations of the growing company.

“Our business has pretty much tenfolded since 2011,” Martinasevic says.

The clientele coming in are 70 per cent established smokers looking to quit, says Martinasevic, adding that he believes this is because the product has a higher success rate than other smoking cessation tools.

“This is due to not just giving you the nicotine fix but also giving you something to hold and actually gives you the physical satisfaction and also the psychological satisfaction,” he explains.

When a new client comes in looking to ease off of nicotine, Martinasevic will recommend they start with low vapour, high nicotine products and transition to ones that are lower in nicotine, substituting higher volumes of vapour.

The other 30 per cent of customers are reportedly hobbyists, or weekend users.

There are over 170 different products available at this shop, from simple, tubular systems with a battery, an atomizer, and a cartridge which resemble cigarettes (when I went, there was a sign out front offering these for free to new clients) to more sophisticated, systems with larger batteries and reservoirs for e-juice. Some of the products contain nicotine at varying strengths; others are just vapour fluids.

Kelvin Xu, a second year industrial engineering student, says he falls under the category of

those using vape products to stop smoking cigarettes. “[T]he smell, the taste, and the health benefit... are why I prefer it over cigarettes,” said Xu. While Xu said he picked up vaping on the advice of a friend, he doesn’t really see vaping as part of a cool trend.

“I would say there’s a slightly more edgier perception towards smoking cigarettes. Just because of movies and stuff,” Xu says, adding, “You kind of seem a bit cooler but also... it gives off sort of a bad feeling... So then vaping would be the not as cool alternative.”

At the same time, Xu is aware of a perception of vapers as a performative hobbyist group, as opposed to people who genuinely want to make healthier choices. “A lot of people rip on people who vape because of that,” he said.

One fairly recent user is Edmure,* a fifth-year U of T student who took up vaping about three weeks ago as a way to try to curb his reliance on cigarettes.

“This is not a sexy object. I always sort of took pride in being kind of like a cinematic smoker ...

I got a lot of compliments when I was younger,” Edmure said.

In contrast, Edmure described his use of esmoking as a utility, not a performance.

“When I first bought it my roommate made fun of me a lot because I guess he had a better sense of there being a culture or at least an understood scene for vaping [of] a lot of guys with neckbeards on Youtube trying to see who can blow the biggest cloud,” he said.

“It was never really about that for me.”

CESSATION, REPLACEMENT, OR NEW HEALTH HAZARD? While Martinasevic attributes the growth of EsmokerCanada to the product’s usefulness as a cessation device, researchers in the field don’t agree about whether this is the case, or if cessation is even the right term to use when referring to smokers seeking out vape products.

“It’s quite split the field,” said Dr. Roberta Ferrence, Principal Investigator and Senior Scientific Advisor at the Ontario Tobacco Research Unit (OTRU), and professor at U of T’s Dalla Lana School of Public Health. “There’s a group even among scientists who feel ...this may be a way out of the tobacco epidemic, or the cigarette epidemic, and there are others who feel that you need to look at the net impact,” Ferrence explained.

Ferrence works with Dr. Robert Schwartz, executive director of OTRU and principal investigator of RECIG, a Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH)-OTRU collaboration backed by provincial funding. The RECIG team is currently working on a widespread literature distillation and its own research, which will inform public policy decisions surrounding ecigarettes in Ontario.

For Schwartz, the question of e-cigarettes as smoking cessation tools simply cannot be answered at this time due to a lack of scientific evidence. “ …[W]e’ve just completed a systematic review of the literature that looks at studies of different sorts that have been done on whether people who are smokers of tobacco cigarettes successfully quit using e-cigarettes and whether we can attribute any increase in the likelihood of successfully quitting regular cigarettes to the use of e-cigarettes,” Schwartz explained. “And the answer is definitely no at this point.”

Schwartz went on to say that this doesn’t mean e-cigarettes might not still be useful for this purpose, but that the available evidence does not show that it is.

For Xu’s part, he feels that vaping has allowed him to reduce his dependence not just on cigarettes, but on the vape — and the nicotine it contains — itself.

“Personally...with cigarettes before it was a full on addiction. I ha[d] to smoke. Now that I have this vape pen on hand, and I don’t have to spend as much money to smoke it ...I haven’t done it as frequently,” he explained.

If the evidence did arise in favour of e-smoking

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cessation tool however, Schwartz says this d entirely change the role that e-cigarettes in society, especially in how they are sold. that event, he says “it should be brought a medicine probably and marketed in that

nother member of the RECIG team and cal director, addictions at CAMH, Dr. Selby, says that cessation might not even e right way to look at the of vaping in public health. would require [vaping] to me like a medicine which d then make it very dift for it to then develop n that path,” Selby said of evices as cessation tools.

What might be a better to think about it is... is od replacement for cigas?” by said that one way to at vaping is as a technoal advance. …[C]igarettes are techgies that potentially came being prior to the telee, just a little after morse . And we’re still using it. delivers 7,000 chemicals, ll requires combustion, es fires etc., and causes a f death and destruction, o much from the nicon the device but from the nicotine constituents of ette smoke.” goes on to explain that ng may be seen as a techgical alternative to this ated product, if it meets in qualifications. …[A]s long as this product mes as safe as it possibly nd does not lead to harm w it delivers the nicotine, doesn’t lead to harm by ylene glycol — which is other constituent [that] ead to problems — then we might have a afer product on the market that is more acble to smokers, and that creates the climate n cigarettes completely.” d while the idea of banning cigarettes comly is enticing, there are many questions that w Selby’s thought process of which he and olleagues are acutely aware. hat are the health effects of vaping in and elf? All other toxins aside, what problems from inhaling nicotine? Do e-cigarettes an addiction to nicotine the same way that cco cigarettes do? And, the “million doluestion” as Selby calls it, are e-cigarettes a way to using tobacco cigarettes, especially outh?

do not stop at the vaping devices themselves.

The evidence is inconclusive, according to Schwartz, as to whether vaping does lead to regular cigarette use, and notes that this is a concern among researchers.

Tobacco smoking rates are low among youth aged 12–18: six per cent according to Schwartz.

This rate increases, however, to 23 per cent for the university-aged demographic. Meanwhile, the ev-

“

is already illegal, according to Health Canada, to sell e-cigarettes and e-juices with nicotine, but, as Ferrence and Schwartz were quick to mention, this is seldom enforced.

For Schwartz, the precautionary principle –– a public health term which refers to proceeding cautiously with trends whose impacts are not yet known — applies here. “ …[I]deally the policy is evidence informed

“ …[T]hat’s problematic if... the other half are saying it’s a great cessation device. Because they’re trying to lure people in with flavours who are not [yet] cigarette smokers,” Schwartz said.

In some cases, it is big tobacco doing the selling. In our conversation, Ferrence brought up the fact that she thinks all three major tobacco companies in the US have now acquired vaping companies as their subsidiaries.

She is right. Philip Morris (Altria corporation) has the rights to NuMark, a vape company using the tagline, “An Altria Innovation Company.” R.J Reynolds has the inventively named “R.J Reynolds Vapour,” which makes Vuse e-cigarette products. Lorillard bought blu eCigs in 2012, and was recently acquired by R.J. Reynolds in 2014.

Should this be a concern?

As Ferrence pointed out, “Many times historically the tobacco industry have said, ‘we’re in the nicotine business.’ They never said ‘we’re in the cigarette business.”

[W]e might have a way safer product on the market that is more acceptable to smokers, and that creates the climate to ban cigarettes completely. ” ARTICLE BY ALEX MCKEEN AND ILLUSTRATION BY JULIEN BALBONTIN FEATURES EDITOR AMD ILLUSTRATION EDITOR

“ [T]he only real potential value of e-cigarettes

FUTURE OUTLOOK

So, what does the future of vaping have in store? It is a question that, Schwartz said, we would need a crystal ball to adequately answer at this point in time.

One benchmark to observe will be in January, when the Bill 45 legislation comes into effect. If the legislation is rigorously enforced, shops like EsmokerCanada will have to completely rearrange their store so as to comply with the rules prohibiting materials to be displayed.

Some of the advantages that e-smokers currently enjoy over tobacco smokers will also be taken away, including the ability to use their devices in indoor public spaces.

Schwartz also wonders whether the government will soon take a stand on the sale of eproducts with nicotine. “[T]he government is going to have to make a decision at some point,” he said.

I am curious to see — if shops like EsmokerCanada are really growing due to the desire to quit smoking — whether their business will remain as robust if smokers do, in fact, quit.

Ann Kennedy, another EsmokerCanada employee, thinks a certain customer base will remain. “Some people just continue to do it. They don’t see nicotine as harmful compared to say alcohol or caffeine or things like that,” she says.

Another factor is what Ferrence calls co-use with marijuana, which, even if it is not as common as use with water pipes, happens.

“And if the government does decriminalize or legalize cannabis, then that is another whole factor in the market analysis of what’s going to happen with these.”

Given that the Liberals and the Greens are promising marijuana legalization in the present election campaign, and the NDP are calling for decriminalization of the drug, this kind of speculation is imminently relevant.

What remains are lots of big questions. How harmful is e-smoking? Does it act as a gateway to smoking tobacco cigarettes? Is it a better replacement for tobacco cigarettes? If so, is its uptake equivalent to the population that would otherwise have been smoking tobacco cigarettes?

These are important questions for which we do not yet have answers. While the OTRU tries to sort them out, people like Edmure,* and Xu remain optimistic that the trend is, at least for them, a step in the right direction.

would be either to help people quit smoking or to be an alternative to smoking to people who might have smoked. But if they never would have smoked then it's certainly not an advantage.

WHAT DO WE KNOW?

ed Schwartz to shed some light on what now about some of these questions. He me that, while there are some things we ay conclusively, e-smoking still occupies normous grey area in research.

Well we know that [vaping is] not completely gn. We also can say with some degree of inty that it’s less harmful than regular ettes.” owing what we know about the impact of ettes, the space in between “not benign” “less harmful than cigarettes” is huge. nwhile, Martinasevic reports that cusrs regularly come to his shop seeking a hier lifestyle. …[T]hey’re trying to get the nicotine out of system, the tar out of their system, they’re g to do more walking and what not, and exercise... The nicotine is addicting but it n’t really kill us at the end of the day. It’s dictive, as bad as caffeine, for instance,” tinasevic says of his customers. e perception, if not the evidence, indicates e-smoking is an improvement to regular ette use. The effects of this trend, however,

er-use rates for vape are higher in both categories.

“There’s one good reasoned article from the states that track these people over time and they did find that a reasonable number then did pick up regular cigarettes after starting with e-cigarettes,” Schwartz said, adding that this one study is not sufficient to prove causation.

“Another concern is that people will start becoming regular e-cigarette users.”

Part of the reason this is a concern, according to Ferrence, is that there is a lot of misinformation about what e-cigarettes contain.

“You hear from people selling it that it’s just water vapour. That’s not true. There’s certainly propylene glycol which is a lung irritant. So you don’t really want to be inhaling that,” Ferrence said.

Schwartz also said that talking about esmoking as a singular, cohesive practice is, in and of itself, a myth. Vape products, after all, vary enormously, and Schwartz pointed out that some flavourings in e-juice may contain additional toxins.

To Ferrence, all of this is to say that we are dealing with a very risky product. “ …[A]s far as I know the only real potential value of ecigarettes would be either to help people quit smoking or to be an alternative to smoking to people who might have smoked. But if they never would have smoked then it’s certainly not an advantage, “ she said.

A RESPONSE IN THE FACE OF UNCERTAINTY

In May 2015, the Ontario Legislature passed Bill 45, the ‘Making Healthier Choices Act,’ which places restrictions on e-cigarette use akin to those placed on regular cigarettes.

Under the new law, which comes into effect January 2016, it will be illegal to sell e-cigarettes to minors under the age of 19 or to vape in indoor common spaces, and restrictions will be put on the products’ marketing and display. It

or evidence based. However, we have a situation now where the government is feeling pressure to do something about e-cigarettes when the evidence isn’t in yet.”

In Schwartz’ view, this precaution is a good idea.

Others are less sure. Dustyn Kennedy, an employee of EsmokerCanada, said that while some of the act’s measures — namely age restrictions and indoor use — make sense, he is less convinced about steps to restrict marketing and display.

“That would probably help out tobacco companies if anything. Because our products are very unknown so there is a lot of learning, seeing, feeling, touching,” he explained.

Kennedy also said that it is presumptive to place these controls on the sale of e-cigarettes when there is still much to learn about the products’ health impacts. “If it’s that bad, why don’t we have testing to show that?” Kennedy mused.

And yet, as much as these measures are a precautionary response to vape products themselves, marketing is also undoubtedly on the radars of researchers.

Currently, Ferrence explained, companies are free to advertize e-smoking devices in Canada, something that is not the case for tobacco cigarettes.

“But, how can you tell from a photo?” Ferrence asked. “So you can have a big picture of a[n] [electronic] cigarette and it’s legal to put it up... even though we ban cigarette advertising in Canada, generally. So a big advantage to the industry is the opportunity to advertise again.”

The marketing climate of e-cigarettes is further complicated by the fact that there is more to market about them. High on this list is flavouring. “ …[W]ho’s picking up bubble gum flavour?

All these fruit flavours and ice cream like flavours?” asked Schwartz. Though he says he cannot be certain, he suspects the vaping industry is attempting to appeal to youth.

”

*Name changed at student’s request

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ARTS&CULTURE

arts@thevarsity.ca

19 O ctOber 2015

Should the show go on?

A look at all-ages events in Toronto, and if they pose a threat to underage people ARTICLE BY COREY VAN DEN HOOGENBAND AND JACOB LORINC VARSITY STAFF

The Johnnyland Concert Series has featured local musicians from Toronto. BENJAMIN LAPPALAINEN/THE VARSITY

T

hroughout Toronto’s multifaceted arts scene, entertainment businesses seek to cater to as many demographics as possible. From concert series’ to art exhibits, the city is home to a number of all-ages events seeking to destroy the 19+ barriers that those that are underage face. But what happens when the venues for safe and inclusive art appreciation become the same ones accused of negligence, sexual assault, and substance abuse?

Earlier this month, a Tumblr blog titled “gushgoddess” released a long and detailed post outlining a series of allegations towards Johnnyland, an all-ages concert series founded to “serve the artistic youth of Toronto.” The post, which has since been removed due to legal threats by Johnnyland organizers, compiled several anonymous testimonies outlining a series of allegations towards Johnnyland executives and members of the community.

The allegations accused Johnnyland executives of being "rape apologists," and for having "had relations with intoxicated underage women."

Following a flurry of online backlash, Johnnyland responded to the blog post through a Facebook status. “To be absolutely clear, Johnnyland is not an organization that would ever condone rape apologists, sexual or physical assault,” it reads. “But at the same time, [Johnnyland] cannot apologize for things we are not guilty of, and cannot condone one misinformed anonymous blogger, however well intentioned, to make untrue accusations

that run against everything Johnnyland stands for.”

Regardless of the validity of the specific claims found in the Tumblr post, the controversy has opened a dialogue over social media about the lack of safety at similar allages shows. Many concertgoers have shared experiences – ranging from the unpleasant to the traumatic – which highlight the ugly side of shows like these.

Elliott Gallagher-Doucette, a Ryerson University student who’s attended Johnnyland shows both as a spectator and performer, recalls the underage drinking and use of illicit substances he frequently witnessed at the shows. In response to the concert series’ alleged reputation as an outlet for underage drinking, he tells The Varsity, “I can’t see a way that [Johnnyland] couldn’t have noticed.”

Gallagher-Doucette alleges that there were clear instances of underage substance abuse: “There were people being taken away in ambulances because they drank too much or had done too much M.” In an email to The Varsity, spokespeople from Johnnyland wrote: “The safety and security of Johnnyland guests is a top priority.”

They insist to have always upheld a zero tolerance policy for underage drinking, and are “well aware that it is illegal to serve alcohol to anyone under 19.”

“Security staff search the bags and coats of all guests upon entry for alcohol, illicit substances and weapons,” though “over the past three and a half years… a few incidents

of intoxicated guests were brought to our attention.” Johnnyland has also had a Safety Security Team and general code of conduct in effect since May of 2015, which encourages guests to report dangerous or inappropriate happenings, and warns that anyone caught under the influence will be removed from the venue.

Brooklynne Morrison, a frequent performer at Johnnyland shows, was not surprised to hear of the sexual assault accusations tied to the organization, saying that the scene is “literally just a bunch of grade 10’s hooking up while on M.” Unfortunately, the Johnnyland allegations aren’t a handful of horror stories in an otherwise safe and inclusive all-ages scene. Morrison, while displeased with Johnnyland’s supposed lack of crowd control, recognizes that things aren’t entirely different at other underage shows she’s played at. “Even the shows at the Cinecycle or the Kapisanan, kids were always getting too drunk,” she recounts.

“I just know for a fact that underage shows are just so bad.”

Nuit Blanche, a festival that seeks to transform Toronto into a city-wide art gallery, has in recent years become little more than an excuse for teens to consume mass amounts of drugs and alcohol. This staple of Toronto’s art scene took a hit this year after stabbings, reports of guns, and a standoff between police and a violent mob broke out at Yonge-Dundas Square.

Even the University of Toronto’s attempts

at all-age events have not been faultless. Frosh Week has long been equated with the same types of alcohol and substance abuse that are purported to plague the city’s all-age events.

Despite the strides Frosh Week event organizers have taken in recent years to implement safe and alcohol-free activities, the substances inevitably find their way into the festivities.

Can Toronto’s all-age scene bounce back from the accounts of substance abuse, physical and sexual assault that have been reported by people from these very same communities?

Morrison believes the only hope of progress is for these events to build a better supportive community. “There’s so much there that should have been in place,” she notes, referring to the Johnnyland shows. “Like, how to get home, or, what to do if someone’s sick, instead of just kicking them out.”

Johnnyland is adamant that they will continue to “provide safety and security at levels that exceed industry standards,” yet are “also open to learning new methods to make [their] events as safe as possible.”

“Gushgoddess," the publisher of the blog post that lit the flame for the entire controversy, offered their own proposal for moving forward in the original post. “We cannot fix these issues, especially when these spaces are rooted in this violence towards young women, trans and non-binary people. Instead we must boycott and burn down these spaces, and from the ashes build our own.” For the sake of the artistic youth of Toronto, perhaps a fresh start would serve them best.

BENJAMIN LAPPALAINEN/THE VARSITY

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U of T student photojournalist Norway Bound

Lan's catalogue ranges from landscape shots to fashion photography. PHOTO COURTESY OF ARNOLD LAN

A photo from Lan's trip to China. PHOTO COURTESY OF ARNOLD LAN

Arnold Lan’s photography skills have earned him a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity in Europe DANIEL SAMUEL

VARSITY CONTRIBUTOR

Toronto is full of photographers, and UofT's St. George campus is certainly no exception. On any given day, you’re bound to find swarms of people taking pictures around Convocation Hall. While for many, photography is a hobby, there are plenty of others who take the craft of picture taking quite seriously. I caught up with Arnold Lan, a 22-year-old U of T student following his return

Seven spots to take your profile picture on campus LISA POWER

VARSITY CONTRIBUTOR

to Toronto from DreamJobbing: Norway, a TV show based in Norway.

Having only picked up the camera a year ago, Lan managed to be featured on the show with barely any experience at all. He began photography solely on his friend’s suggestion that it would help improve his cinematography skills.

“The trip to Norway was absolutely phenomenal,” says Lan. “Some people might say that I took nice pictures of Norway, but I’d say ‘no, Norway is just really easy to photograph.’ If you turn the corner, you’ll see beautiful mountains, and clouds that are as low as the top of the buildings.”

Having initially been interested in theatre acting, Lan first picked up a camera in order to launch a

Youtube channel to develop his on-screen acting ability. “I had no knowledge of being on-screen when I first picked up a camera,” Lan said.

“I had to learn how to edit and how to shoot… because I had no knowledge about anything.”

Lan is now content to give up acting. “What I really want to do now is become a traveling photographer.” He has fond memories of his journey through Norway. “I have several favourite shots [from Norway],” Lan says, outlining a specific landscape photo he took. “I told our tour guide to sit at the edge of the cliff, and I went really far away and got a wide shot of his legs dangling over the cliff. I wanted him to seem like a tiny speck

compared to the vastness of the background. I really wanted for people to feel that they were right there with me, and experiencing it with me. I wanted them to feel how small or insignificant he was compared to the vast landscape.”

For budding photographers, Lan has four helpful tips to help hone your picture-taking skills:

yourself a mission to take one new picture every single day. Whatever it is, keep shooting. You’ll find that your pictures will only get better overtime.”

Shoot in manual: “Even if you don't understand what shutter speed, aperture, and ISO do, it’s worth taking the time to learn. You spent the money on an expensive camera — learn how to use it.”

Get uncomfortable: “Don't stick to all the conventional rules; take whatever picture makes you happy.

Try crawling on all fours to get a different perspective, or walk around with the camera on your face to see the world through a different lens.”

CON HALL See that pedestrian-only zone? It’s there for a reason. Have your picture taken in front of the former set from Mean Girls.

VICTORIA COLLEGE QUAD Beauty is fleeting, but not at the Victoria College quad. No matter the season, the quad featuring the pond and waterfall is consistantly the most gorgeous spot on campus.

VARSITY STADIUM Homecoming’s come and gone, but the sports season is still chugging along. Watch a game, take a group photo, and prove to the Internet that you’re a sociable creature!

AT THE LIBRARY Geek is great; capture yourself shamelessly devoting time to your studies in any of U of T’s study areas.

UNIVERSITY COLLEGE QUAD Channel your inner academic by sprawling out on the grass with some readings, and snapping a pic-

THE ATHLETIC CENTRE Go where the pros are. Nothing says 'pumping iron' like the classic postworkout mirror selfie.

Go out and shoot: “Regardless of your location, it helps to give

Learn post processing: “While you want your picture to be as good as it can be in camera, learning to edit your picture afterwards is essential to any kind of photography.”

ture with some tranquil scenery.

MEDICAL SCIENCE BUILDING Whether you’re a fan of brutalism or not, the double-helix sculpture in front of the medsci building is undeniably nifty, and the perfect place for a low angle shot.

18 ARTS & CULTURE

T H E VA R S I T Y

M O N DAY 19 O C TO B E R 2 015 arts@thevarsity.ca

The eight con hall commandments cry 'Havoc!', and let slip the dogs of door.

A guide to being a decent human being in an indecently sized classroom SHAHIN IMTIAZ

ASSOCIATE SCIENCE EDITOR

Like many of you who are reading this, I have had the unfortunate experience of having a class, or five, in Convocation Hall. After observing a variety of people ignoring a variety of social courtesies, I’ve compiled a set of ‘maxims’ to be carefully followed when attending a class in this mammoth sized building. Take heed, fellow brethren; descend from Sinai (or, the third tier of Con Hall’s seating arrangement), and disperse these rules amongst yourselves.

1. THOU SHALT NOT SAVE SEATS AT THE FRONT Most lecture halls are like the TTC: your bag doesn’t deserve a seat. Contrary to popular belief, in a country that values fairness and equality, one person is entitled to one seat in the front of a busy lecture hall. How do I know, you ask? Well, I consulted my book on being a half-decent human being. Would a decent person make people run all the way to the front only to say to them, “sorry, my bag is occupying the seat,” especially if it’s for a friend who won’t show up half the time?

I’ve heard the qualms and quips, and it might seem noble to save a seat for a friend who will be coming late, but it’s unfair to the person who showed up before and was deprived of a coveted front row spot.

JULIANN GARISTO/THE VARSITY

2. THOU SHALT BE ORDERLY UPON ENTRANCE Yeah, I get it. Unless you shove your way in as soon as the doors open, you probably won’t get a good seat. Even if you show up early, some entitled twerp will capitalize on your politeness and prevent your from sitting in the five front-row seats reserved by a single pencil each. But don’t fight fire with fire. A stampede killed Mufasa, and none of us want to be responsible for that. Let us all collectively agree to walk in like decent people, and give the look of death to any person who chooses to push. If you see them again in lecture, keep giving them the look. Give them the look when they are walking down St. George after class, and give them the look when you see them eating a hot dog in front of Robarts.

WORK YOUR DEGREE WITH A POSTGRAD

3. THOU SHALT REFER TO COMMANDMENT NUMBER TWO UPON DEPARTURE. Once again, I get it. You have another class on the other side of campus that you need to get to, or you’re hungry, thirsty, or simply want to go home. But you’re not the only one, and there’s a mass of people trying to make their way out through a few puny doors. Instead of pushing and shoving, be patient, and feel smug about your moral superiority.

4. THOU SHALT HOLD THE DOOR FOR THE PERSON BEHIND YOU It’s not so fun being smacked in the face by a door. There’s a stream of people flowing through these doors, so take the time to hold the door a second longer, so as not to

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5. THOU SHALT BE SILENT DURING LECTURE Friends are nice. I like friends. What I don’t like is when no one else can pay attention because you’re chatting with your friend through the entire two hours of lecture. Your life may be important to you, but we’re not sitting here because we want to hear about it. If you can put down your mirror, oh Narcissus, and give us the chance to hear the lecture, then you will be a decent person.

Perhaps you could pay attention, or, dare I say it, take notes instead.

6. THOU SHALT BE IN LECTURE, NOT IN GAME. This one’s pretty self-explanatory. In Con Hall, there’s no room for League of Legends, Defense of the Ancients 2, World of Warcraft, or even Candy Crush. Robart’s has better WiFi than Con Hall, so play your games there instead.

7. THOU SHALT NOT BE A HEAVY METAL DRUMMER I struggle with this sometimes. That being said, there are certain sweet spots where, if you bounce your foot, the row beside you can feel it as well. Sometimes, incessant pencil and foot tapping comes at the cost of people despising you.

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The books & the beats U of T DJ dishes on life as a student music producer AYAN KASSIM

VARSITY CONTRIBUTOR

Having recently played Jazz Cartier’s show here at U of T, Raajan Aery constitutes a fresh face in the local music scene. The Ottawaborn, Chicago-raised and now Toronto-based artist says these different experiences have shaped his perspective and approach to making music. The Varsity sat down with him to get his take on balancing school and music, his upcoming projects, and what it takes to be a great producer.

Raajan Aery started DJing in his third year of university. BENJAMIN LAPPALAINEN/THE VARSITY

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Tues. to Fri. 11AM - 10PM Sat. & Sun. 10AM - 10PM Dine in. Take out. Delivery.

TV: What would you say is the mark of a good DJ/producer, if there is one?

RA: With respect to production, I

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Robert St.

Harbord St.

The Varsity: When did you begin taking producing and DJ-ing seriously?

Raajan Aery: It wasn’t really until my first year of university, in which I began listening to house and hiphop, that I began producing things here and there. Though the last couple of years I have been doing this seriously; my third year I began Djing and doing events. Toronto is really emerging as a musical hotbed for talented artists to break, so being in a space that is energetic right now is inspiring.

RHIANN MOORE

VARSITY CONTRIBUTOR

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TV: If we were to look at your music collection (physical or digital), what artists would we see?

RA: My deepest collection right now includes Frank Ocean, The Weeknd, Partynextdoor, Odd Future, Drake, Disclosure, to name a few. Though I still find myself returning to artists of my past—I still listen to bands like Underoath. I’ve also been listening to Nas, Missy Elliot—basically anything produced by Timbaland or Phar-

TV: How do you balance your time as a full-time student at UofT and your DJing/producing?

RA: To be honest, I’m not very good at balancing time between school and music. I like to focus on what I am doing and ensure I produce a quality product, but unfortunately, when an essay needs to get turned in, that simply takes priority.

TV: What are some projects you have lined up that we can look forward to?

RA: Well, I recently released a 3-track hip-hop project titled “Wake Up” with AtMOS, a Chicago-based rapper. I plan on dropping some new mixes in the next few weeks; “Move that Dope” by Future, “Still Got It” by Usher ft.

Migos, and an Amy Winehouse x Biggie Smalls mash-up. I’ve also branched out a little bit and will be collaborating with a pop-vocalist from Toronto, which will be cool.

TV: Where can your music be found?

RA: [It] can be found on http:// www.soundcloud.com/Aery-remixes

Pay a visit to these lesser-known game-café alternatives

The two rooms on our second floor are great for parties, meetings and events!

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TV: Are there any songs that are your constant go-to’s for events you play?

RA: I’m really into any remixes or trap mixes of Southern songs. Songs I’ve noticed that get the crowd hype are Jumpin’ like Jordan by Rich the Kid ft. Migos (Gravez remix) and Bricks by DJ Carnage ft. Migos.

rell. I’m not too familiar with old school hip-hop, but my uncles are trying to get me into older discography, which has been an interesting undertaking.

The best of board game cafés

UofT Athletic Centre

Thurs. Oct. 22: 12 PM - 9 PM

think there are two kinds of ‘quality’ producers. The first is one who distinctly knows his sound in and out, and can make infinite iterations of songs without it getting boring.

The second kind of producer is one that can make any type of song, regardless of genre, effortlessly. DJ Dahi (Drake - Worst Behaviour) is a good example of someone who has pivoted his stuff so that he can work with hip-hop greats, but work with other legends, like Madonna.

Board Game cafés have become a staple of downtown Toronto. From bars with minimal games, such as The Central, to full blown gamer spots like Snakes & Lattes, the city has plenty to offer in regards to both board games and caffeine.

While Snakes & Lattes and its cousin, Snakes & Lagers, are the most popular of the crowd, here are a series of lesser-known spots that you may want to investigate.

BAMPOT BOHEMIAN HOUSE OF TEA AND BOARD GAMES 201 Harbord Street $5 to play, $3 if you order a meal as well Besides an interesting name, this café also features many secluded, curtained-off nooks you can hang out in to hide away for an afternoon. The place is covered in different fabrics, giving a cottage-like atmosphere for playing your favourite board games. In order to create an easier decision-making process for the customer, Bambot lists their favourite games in the menu, along

with the number of players required, difficulty level, and the ‘genre’ of the game (‘party,’ ‘casual,’ etc.). While Bampot has a charming atmosphere, the service is unfortunately a little on the slow side. It’s definitely a good place to hang out with friends, but you’ll probably want to eat elsewhere before-hand.

JULIEN BALBONTIN/ILLUSTRATION EDITOR

TIME CAPSULE CAFÉ 2183 Danforth Ave. Unfortunately for UTSG students, Time Capsule is a bit of a trek. But if you’re searching for the prime spot to hunker down and play some games, then going out east may be worth your while. Apart from the run-of-the-mill board games like chess, Jenga, or Settlers

of Catan, Time Capsule also holds a PlayStation, an assortment of video games, and the occasional Netflix movie night. If you’re feeling a certain competitive edge, you’re free to participate in their video game tournaments, or in a hilarious round of Cards Against Humanity.

CASTLE 454 Spadina Avenue $2.50/hr Castle is one of the most definitively game-focused cafés in the city. That means their collection is extensive, but there isn’t much focus on anything else. The café has an entire wall dedicated to games, which is great, but it could have been made easier with a compiled list, so that you don’t have to scan the wall for the better part of your visit. The attentive staff serve cute, coffee shop style snacks, a few thematic alcoholic drinks (“Apples to Apple Jacks” for $6), and classic caffeine-related beverages. Castle is the go-to café if you’re dedicated to the board game experience, but might be worth skipping if you were hoping for a more atmospheric venue.

19 O ctOber 2015

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Is stress stressing you out?

science@thevarsity.ca

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SCIENCE

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THE POWER OF LIGHT TO INFLUENCE HUMAN HEALTH The public lecture is presented by the Canadian National Committee of International Commission on Illumination (CN/CIE), featuring Dr. Brainard, who will be discussing the implications of light therapy in relation to circadian and sleep disruption associated with et trave spaceflight and shi t wor as well as lighting systems under development for the International Space Station.

Monday, October 19 6:30 pm to 8:30 pm Medical Sciences Building 1 King’s College Circle Room 3154 Admission: Free

MIA CARNEVALE/THE VARSITY

One expert explains the science of keeping calm during midterm season NYIMA GYALMO

VARSITY CONTRIBUTOR

With the onset of midterm season, students find themselves experiencing higher level of stress over the demands of approaching deadlines.

Lifestyle medicine expert Dr. Sher Bovay shares scientifically proven ways to train for stress endurance and capacity, thereby improving performance. Stress is a physiological response, and it’s normal for individuals to experience acute stressors everyday. Acute stress can help you abruptly brake your car to avoid collision or motivate you to get started on an assignment.

It is chronic stress, however, that becomes problematic.

“This [stress] is a primitive response to get the body moving, the stress response in acute phase is completely appropriate,” said Bovay.

The same response is triggered in modern life despite the absence of an immediate threat.

Over time, the strain of consistent stress on the body becomes detrimental to one’s overall health.

Bovay explained that perpetual stress can cause problems in the cardiovascular system, increase hypertension, induce gastrointestinal problems, eating disorders, and chronic mental health issues.

There are ways to train yourself to respond accordingly to stressors, whether your source of stress is midterms, demands of the workplace or personal relationships.

Some stressors pose real threats, and while other sources are merely

perceived, when unchecked, can become a cause of chronic stress.

“One of the things that you can do is to completely disengage from your work, from demands, having down time where one can give themselves mentally, a complete break,” said Bovay. While it might seem sensible to invest long hours in studying before a midterm, if a student finds themselves cramming, Bovay suggests that students approach study periods as a series of sprints rather than a marathon and to take mental breaks in between study period of ninety minutes.

A 2008 study by Richard Chambers, Barbara Chuen Yee Lo and Nicholas B. Allen shows improvement in attention and improved performance in test taking through the introduction of mindful meditation. Bovay suggests that students commit to a habit of practicing relaxation exercises like deep breathing, yoga, stretches, and meditation in their daily endeavours.

“Everybody is different” said Bovay, reminding us that susceptibility to stress and stress experience is specific to each individual. Aspects like the individual’s environment and genome vary, which affects the size of the amygdala. The amygdala is the gland responsible for producing stress hormones. Integrating relaxation exercises ten minutes a day has shown to shrink the amygdala, Bovay explained.

The three main stress management

techniques that Bovay emphasizes are rest, diet, and exercise. “For an athlete to perform, they need to train hard but they also need a break. Training harder does not mean they will receive better results. It’s that full engagement and full rest time[sic],” Bovay said while discussing the importance of rest and recovery in between intensive study sessions.

Dr. Bovay herself is the mother to a third-year university student and she shared her astonishment toward her son’s study habit; “when my son is studying he has music [with] like 10 different things going on, how do you focus? That actually affects the effectiveness and these multiple elements can induce a stress response.” “[The] mind can only entertain one thing at a time, so having all these things [going on], the depth of concentration will be affected by every interruption, and it takes about eight minutes to get back to that depth of concentration,” Bovay added.

To achieve this depth of concentration and to keep your stress levels in check, managing your diet plays an important role. Bovay suggested that students eat every three hours, leaning toward higher nutrient food, high quality protein and vegetables. She finds that it helps to think of your body as a car — you need to be fed well to achieve good mileage.

It’s also important to recognize that chronic stress is a precursor to mental illness like anxiety and depression. You might want to reward yourself after a long study session by having a talk with a friend, or spending time away from the stressor. Whether that is a short walk around the park, doing some push-ups in the middle of your living room, or even dancing by yourself in your room, it helps to rejuvenate even for a moment.“If you don’t have time, instead of going to the gym, even taking the time to walk to places helps. For example, get off one stop early and walk,” said Bovay. She also added that even walking ten to fifteen minutes, four times a week can help with sleep and stress.

Bovay explained that sleep and stress are intertwined, if you don’t sleep long enough it affects your stress level, you become easily irritable and are likely to feel overwhelmed. In the same way, if you are experiencing high levels of stress, it may be hard to fall asleep.

Physical activity, sleep, and diet are key components of healthy integrative treatment toward building stress capacity. Bovay believes that anyone can reap the benefits once they adopt these simple habits. It’s also important that students seek help if they are feeling overwhelmed and find someone to talk to during a stressful period.

THE SCIENCE OF PHARMACOEPIDEMEOLOGY AND CAREER OPPORTUNITIES Come out to the International Society of Pharmaceutical Engineering’s UofT chapter’s presentation series and social event featuring Dr. Suzanne Cadarette and Dr. Geoffrey Liu. Wednesday, October 21 5:15 pm – 6:30 pm Mars Discovery District 101 College Street Room: 4-204 Admission: Free

THE STEPHEN LEWIS CONVERSATIONS – THE AIDS PANDEMIC In collaboration with the Planetary Health Commission, Ryerson University presents a conversation between Stephen Lewis and Dr. Alan Whiteside regarding the subject of AIDS: AIDS in 2030, medicalizing AIDS, high susceptible groups and related matters.

Wednesday, October 21 7:00pm - 9:00 pm Ted Rogers School of Management Room: 1-067 Admission: Free

RACIAL JUSTICE MATTERS: ADVOCATING FOR RACIAL HEALTH EQUITY The 8th annual Student-Led Conference at the Dalla Lana School of Public Health focuses on racial health inequities. The twoday event invo ves eynote spea ers p enary panels, research showcases and more.

October 23 & 24 11:30 am – 18:00 pm Health Sciences Building 155 College St. Admission: $10, Limited pay-what-you-can options available

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SCIENCE 21

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SCIENTIFIC STANDPOINT

Ontario to fund In-vitro fertilization The Ontario government has announced that in-vitro fertilization will be funded provincially. Two science students weigh in with their opinions on the recent change.

CHRISTINA CHUNG/THE VARSITY

PROVIDING A STANCE AGAINST IVF TREATMENTS MISHKA DANCHUK-LAUZON VARSITY CONTRIBUTOR

The process of in-vitro fertilization (IVF) has recently received a lot of attention in the media. The province of Ontario has agreed to cover the costs of the IVF procedure, which normally costs tens of thousands of dollars.

For those unfamiliar with IVF, it can be summed up clearly in one sentence: IVF is the process by which an egg and a sperm are fertilized in a laboratory and then implanted into a human womb to develop.

Although Ontario is making an attempt to make an expensive procedure more available to the masses, it is my belief that the decision is not ideal.

The Ontario Public Health Unit has agreed to put $50 million of tax payer money into the IVF program. This sum of money could be put into other programs that are applicable to a larger portion of the population.

In one year, only 4,000 Ontarian women will be eligible for this service. In 2015, Ontario accounted for 4,730,300 women between the ages of 15 and 64. The program is only available for women who are 43 years of age or younger. This means that many women that have potential problems conceiving will not receive financial aid from the program.

Vague guidelines leave treatment in the

hands of doctors who determine, on a caseby-case basis, for which patients they will recommend treatment. At the moment, the question of which women will be recommended to receive treatment rests entirely in the hands of doctors. Some women may be prevented from gaining financial aid from the government because their doctors do not recommend IVF treatment.

As mentioned earlier, an age restriction has been imposed on the IVF program. Some researchers have pointed out that this age limit should be set lower to reduce the chance of side effects of IVF and improve the success of IVF births.

This would also prevent the disappointment and emotional side effects that may occur.

Ontario is only covering part of the treatment cost. The expensive drugs that are required by the program still need to be paid for by the patient. If the patient lacks these funds this may render them ineligible for the program, therefore it is still not accessible to every woman that might need it.

Mishka is a first-year student studying Life Sciences

A STEP FORWARD FOR ONTARIO SANDY WANG

VARSITY CONTRIBUTOR

IVF is often used to treat infertility — a condition estimated to affect one in six couples in Ontario. The procedure helps patients towards a successful pregnancy where they would otherwise not be able to conceivet is estimated that one round of IVF can cost up to $10,000, which can take an immense toll on individuals and families’ finances.

With this hefty sum, having a child is out of reach for many; however, starting this December, Ontario will fund one round of invitro fertilization for women up to 43 years of age. This is to counteract the effects of infertility caused for whatever reason, regardless of family status or sexual orientation. This move

by Ontario, if implemented and regulated effectively, will be a step forward for our health care system.

Many of those against the government’s announcement to fund IVF raise the issue of wasting tax dollars. These individuals argue that Ontario’s tax dollars can be better spent on other health issues; however, government regulated funding for IVF could actually save hundreds of millions of dollars in the long run.

What is more, many women undergoing IVF — for fear an unsuccessful procedure and its costs — receive multiple embryos in one single IVF. This can lead to an increase of multiple births which can not only be more costly but also dangerous for these women. These ba-

bies are more likely to be born pre-term, and require C-sections and additional expenses in care after birth. In funding IVF, the hope is that the procedure will be regulated, and funding will only be granted to implant one embryo at a time. This would help to prevent multiple births and make the overall process safer for patients. Certainly, those conditions that affect a greater number of people should receive more funding for mass effect; however, issues that affect a smaller number of the population should not be ignored. Furthermore, Ontario’s population is aging as a whole, with birthrates declining. This program will not only benefit individuals looking to start families, but can also help the entirety of Ontario’s population to grow and increase fertility rates for coming years.

Infertility is a health issue, and it is about time that was treated like one by our government. If regulated, this program will save money for our healthcare system in the long term, which can be used to fund future health services. Although there is much to fight for in the future for health care coverage of other medical conditions, the funding of IVF is a step forward for healthcare in Ontario.

Sandy Wang is a fourth-year studying Neuroscience and Psychology

work with us thevarsity.ca/

FALL OPEn HOUSE

22 SCIENCE

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RESEARCH IN BRIEF PUMP IT UP

UNDIAGNOSED DEPRESSION HARMS PRODUCTIVITY

SHOTS FIRED AGAINST WITCHWEED INFESTATION

ALARMING RATES OF SELF-HARM LINKED TO WEIGHT-LOSS SURGERY

The human body holds many secrets that have yet to be discovered. Recently, a team of researchers led by U of T professor Anthony Gramolini have made an important discovery involving the proteins present on the membrane of the heart.

An account of over five hundred proteins on the membrane were found to have a connection to the contractibility of the heart.

This discovery could eventually have a big impact on the way we treat cardiovascular health.

Gramolini explained that in the first paper published, the team had focused on one specific protein, called ‘Tmem65’, but the next step of research will focus on doing in-depth research for all of the proteins.

“Now, as we move forward with this information, we hope that we can provide a greater understanding of how the heart cells contact each other, how they communicate, and ultimately how they function,” Gramolini said. “Our goal is [to] gain greater insight into how cardiac cells function, how these new proteins may contribute to that function, and whether any of these proteins when defective might cause cardiac disease.”

According to a new study from the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH), as many as 40 per cent of Canadian workers show symptoms of depression — over half of whom do not recognize that they could benefit from treatment.

The inability to recognize depressive symptoms, which has also been reported in similar studies in the United States and Australia, is a significant factor affecting drops in productivity in the workplace.

“This barrier has a significant impact on health and work productivity, and is an area where employers can focus efforts to reduce work productivity loss,” said Dr. Carolyn Dewa, the lead author of the study and head of CAMH’s Centre for Research on Employment and Workplace Health.

The findings of this study are especially significant given that mental illness currently costs the Canadian economy an estimated $51 billion each year, with loss of productivity contributing to approximately a third of that figure.

The correlation between depression and productivity loss is neither new, nor surprising, as depression has long been shown to impede cognitive functioning.

What is troubling, however, is the number of workers with symptoms of depression who remain untreated.

The study also investigated the effect of treatment on productivity and found that those experiencing severe depressive episodes who received treatment were seven times more likely to be highly productive than those who were not treated, which suggests that the ability to recognize signs of depression and seek help should be a priority for workplace mental health strategies.

A biology professor and a chemical engineer from U of T have developed a new approach to study a parasitic plant that affects more than a 100 million people in sub-Saharan Africa.

Striga, also known as ‘witchweed,’ grows by invading the roots of a host plant and siphons off the nutrients and water intended for the host. The seed of the parasitic plant can detect the plant hormone Strigolactone (SL), which is released by growing crops through their roots, and, in turn, cause the parasitic seed to germinate.

“Striga infestations alone are responsible for billion dollar reductions in crop yields in the developing world,” said Dr. Peter McCourt, professor at the Department of Cell and Systems Biology at U of T. Along with Dr. Alexei Savchenko from the Department of Chemical Engineering, the two groups teamed up to study the biochemical pathways used by striga to detect plant growth. They have identified 11 SL receptors in striga that are possible candidates for eliciting the germination cue for striga.

Their discovery, which was published in the journal Science, was made possible by transferring all the striga receptors from striga to arabidopsis — a model organism used in biological studies.

“Arabidopsis is a lab friendly plant that is easy to manipulate for genetic experiments,” McCourt explained. “So putting the striga SL receptors into arabidopsis is a safe and efficient way to study these receptors.”

They hope to streamline the development of herbicides specific to striga germination.

U of T researchers conducted a study that suggests the occurrence of post-surgery self-harm trauma has risen by more than 50 per cent. Most importantly, the natures of these surgeries are all related to weight loss.

Weight-loss surgeries (otherwise known as bariatric surgeries) can include either bypass surgery or a procedure called gastric banding. These procedures are increasingly common as they have proven to be very effective at aiding morbidly obese patients to lose weight. However, it is the idealistic expectations for their recovery in the patients themselves that have become problematic.

With bariatric surgery it is easy to expect a better quality of life with increased opportunities, both of which are frequently achieved.

That said, sometimes patients have unrealistic expectations, which interacts with preexisting low self-esteem, to contribute to the increase in self-harm occurrences. The study, which was conducted using data from more than 8,800 patients, exposed an increase of 54 per cent in self-harm tendencies with patients who have been diagnosed with a mental health disorder, the most common self-harm act being intentional overdose.

These statistics emphasize the importance of pre- and post-operation psychological assessments. According to the National Health and Medical Research Council, there should be a “multi-disciplinary team” in place for patients undergoing bariatric surgery. This includes a dietician in combination with medical and surgical care and psychological council. Essentially, psychological wellbeing is a side effect that should and must be monitored just as much as physical side effects.

— Mishka Danchuk-Lauzon

— Indhu Rammohan

— Krishanth Manokaran

— Alaina Wallace

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CONTINUED FROM COVER

The full-day conference, which was packed with debates, thought-provoking inquiries, and avid discussion brought serious topics pertaining to global health to the table and scrutinized them through a kaleidoscope of perspectives.

REINVENT brought together intellectuals from public health, international development, political science, history, anthropology, sociology and public policy at the George Ignatieff Theatre to discuss and analyze, with the goal of shaping our understandings of neglected diseases.

“REINVENT is an interdisciplinary, academic conference that will push participants to question the social inequalities that allow neglect to proliferate in the context of global public health,” explained Jessie MacAlpine, who helped run and organize the conference.

The conference began as an idea to promote

discussion around neglected diseases, eventually receiving support from the Canadian Institute for Health Research via a grant in 2014.

“We went through revisions and revisions,” said Abtin Parnia, who is pursuing a masters of public health and was the conference coordinator of REINVENT. “We really tried to grapple [with] how to best create this discussion in a way that generates a better and more complex perspective of the issues we have to deal with and the challenges in issues of diseases and neglect.”

The goal of REINVENT was not only to spread awareness about the issue of neglected diseases, but to promote an entirely new way of thinking about them. In the organizers own words, the goal of the aptly-named conference is to “reinvent our way of thinking about these issues so we can apply it to a broader spectrum of problems.”

This statement pinpoints a core issue discussed during the conference: effectively

identifying the reason for the neglect of diseases. The conference challenged attendees to consider how we as a global society can drive change, when many of us have never even heard of the matters of concern.

It was brought to light how few people know about the 17 diseases discussed at the conference (to list a few: leishmaniasis, Chagas disease, schistosomiasis, and trematodiases) that affect more than 20 per cent of the world population.

“Awareness of this problem is a start towards, perhaps, reconceptualising how we deal with healthcare globally,” said historian Deborah Neil, who was one of the panelists at the conference.

How we deal with healthcare must not be solely based on knowledge in the medical domain, as diseases are not exclusively medical issues. They are matters that transcend the borders of sociology, history, economics, and politics as well.

The intersectional aspect of REINVENT allowed ideas and information to flow between these disciplines, ultimately promoting a comprehensive approach to neglected diseases.

Unlike other conferences, “it’s not about learning the facts, but about how to think,” Parnia explained.

When viewed in context of current and local news, perspectives often change.

“We grappled with some real issues in real time,” Parnia said. “As we were organizing, we were talking about the 2014 Ebola crisis. It wasn’t like looking at statistics; it was looking at things as they were happening.”

True to their word, the team constructed an innovative sphere for thoughts and discussion, complete with brilliant panels of insight from interdisciplinary specialists. “[The conference] reinvented not only my way of thinking, but my whole understanding of global health.”

Queen’s professor proven Nobel Prestigious physics prize awarded to Ontario researcher for neutrino research Queens scientist wins Nobel prize. SHANE ZURBRIGG/FLICKR

ALEXANDER GOMES AND SAMYUKTHA MOVVA VARSITY CONTRIBUTOR

The Nobel Prize committee has awarded the 2015 Nobel Prize in Physics to Arthur B. McDonald and Takaaki Kajita for establishing that neutrinos — a type of subatomic particle — possess mass.

McDonald has been the director of the Ontario’s Sudbury Neutrino Lab (SNOLAB) since 1989, and is also a professor emeritus at Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario. Kajita is the director of the Institute for Cosmic Ray Research and a professor at the University of Tokyo. They will split the eight million Swedish kronor (almost $1.3 million CAD) prize.

Working on opposite sides of the world, the two physicists both found that neutrinos are able to oscillate from one state to another, which is a distinctive characteristic of particles with mass. So far, the researchers have found three different states: electron-type, muon-type and tau-type.

“This discovery requires additions to the Standard Model of Elementary Particles, in which neutrinos were postulated to have zero mass,” McDonald wrote to The Varsity by email. “The new properties of neutrinos must also be incorporated into cosmology, or how the Universe evolves, as well as into the physics of stars and supernovae.”

In 1998, Kajita published his results from the Super-Kamiokande detector, which is buried 1 kilometre under Mount Kamioka in Japan, demonstrating that the state of cosmic ray neutrinos shifted as they entered the atmosphere.

In complementary fashion, McDonald and his team of researchers were investigating neutrinos emanating from the sun using

SNOLAB’s Neutrino detector, which is buried in an old nickel mine nearly two kilometres below ground. They also found that solar neutrinos shifted states as the entered the Earth’s atmosphere, confirming what Kajita’s results had postulated.

On the importance of SNOLAB’s location to solar neutrino detection, McDonald says, “At two km underground, it was the deepest site in the world available for the SNO experiment and it shielded out cosmic rays to the degree that they did not interfere at all with the detection of neutrinos from the sun.”

Neutrinos, Italian for “little neutral ones”, are universally plentiful, as they are constantly created by radioactive decay, supernovae, and solar nuclear fusion. Due to this abundance, it was puzzling to physicists that between one half and a third of the theoretical neutrino bombardment was reaching Earth. Kajita and McDonald’s observations that neutrino states oscillate as they enter Earth’s atmosphere shows that the missing neutrinos are there, just in a different state.

In their analysis of solar neutrinos, SNOLAB was also able to investigate and confirm various nuclear processes in the Sun’s core, which could be practically applied to the development of nuclear fusion and clean energy on Earth.

While the discovery of neutrino mass has been a triumph, McDonald says that there are many questions left unanswered including, he said, “attempts to determine the mass ordering of the three types, the absolute mass of all the neutrinos, asymmetries for neutrinos that can provide information related to how the anti-matter decayed away after the Big Bang, leaving a matter-dominated Universe as well as more detailed studies of solar models to refine models further.”

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SPORTS

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19 O ctOber 2015

sports@thevarsity.ca

DON’T BE A DOPE art o e o a er e e pla

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n the average university students’ vernacular, calling something or someone ‘dope’ has become synonymous with coolness, trendiness, and intrigue. The word dope carries a positive connotation for most millennials — a trend which has also inverted the meaning of ‘sick’ and ‘thirsty’. However, ‘dope’ has historically carried a far more harmful connotation, and has been regularly associated with drug use — rather than to compliment a new haircut or pair of sneakers, as it is used now.

In the world of sport, doping is the term used to refer to the use of performance-enhancing drugs. The practice has been prevalent in sport for decades, despite the establishment of numerous organizations like the World AntiDoping Agency (WADA) and the Canadian Anti-Doping Program (CADP), which were formed to help athletes ‘play true’ by committing to drug-free competition.

WADA’s most recent definition of doping, outlined in their code, is “the occurrence of one or more of the anti-doping rule violations.” Established in 1999, WADA is the only international doping agency authorized to enforce the standards of the World AntiDoping Code. The code was implemented amongst international sports governing bodies in 2004.

Violations of the code include, but are not limited to, the presence of prohibited substances, or its metabolites, or markers in a sample, refusing to submit to, or trying to evade sample collection, and tampering, or attempted tampering with any aspect of doping control — essentially; taking a drug that

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NICOLE BIANCHI

VARSITY CONTRIBUTOR

ANNIE DE GUZMAN/THE VARSITY

enhances your performance, refusing to take a drug test, or tampering with your sample — all of which can result in a suspension or a life time ban from sport.

Ultimately, it is the athlete’s responsibility to ensure that he or she is not violating any antidoping rules. This means that doping in sport can be labeled as either intentional or negligent.

Perhaps one of the most famous cases of intentional doping in recent years is that of the

lauded seven-time Tour de France champion cyclist Lance Armstrong. Armstrong, who retired in 2011, vehemently denied doping throughout his career. However in 2012 he was found guilty of, and finally admitted to, artificially enhancing his performance for competitions.

In combination with testosterone, Armstrong admitted to using erythropoietin (EPO) in order to increase his red blood cell

ru te t

port

count, a practice known as ‘blood doping.’

Instead of rapidly increasing muscle mass, like testosterone does, EPO and blood transfusions increase a user’s red blood cell count, thus improving their oxygen carrying capacity. This, in turn, means more stamina and less fatigue, which any endurance athlete would find appealing. Once convicted, Armstrong received a lifetime ban from cycling.

A negligent doping case that hits closer to home is that of former Canadian rower Silken Laumann who, allegedly, unknowingly took a cold medicine that contained a banned substance. A decorated athlete who won a gold medal at the 1995 Pan Am Games, Laumann and her quad sculls team were subsequently stripped of their medals after Laumann tested positive for pseudoephedrine, which is a stimulant compound commonly used in cold and nasal congestion medicine.

Because there is no unequivocal way to know if an athlete’s doping was committed unknowingly or intentionally, there is little athletes can do to protect themselves, other than making use of Therapeutic Use Exemption (TUE’s). Alternatively, they can bear through an illness like a cold or flu without the use of over-the-counter medications.

With stories as high profile as those of Armstrong and Laumann, it is clear that education and prevention must be active throughout an athlete’s career. With several amendments, additions, and exclusions being made to WADA’s code every year it’s hard to argue that an athlete is intentionally doping, when, they could actually be trying to play true.

Hockey: more than just a varsity sport SCHPA president George Bureta talks hockey, recruitment, and the success of UTSC’s tri-campus teams

UTSC’s women’s tri-campus hockey team looks to build on last season’s success. PHOTO COURTESY OF GEORGE BURETA

RAGHAD A.K.

VARSITY CONTRIBUTOR

Hockey season is getting underway and UTSC’s tri-campus hockey team is looking to build on successes from last season. The team’s goal is to establish themselves as a force to be reckoned with in the Ontario College Athletics Association (OCAA).

Tri-campus hockey at UTSC operates slightly differently than UTSG’s varsity or intramural programs. The league consists of five teams: the tri-campus team, B team, C team, R team, and women’s team — all of which differ in terms of skill and commitment level.

The teams are made up exclusively of UTSC students, who have the opportunity to compete in the OCAA.

The league is organized and overseen by the Scarborough Campus Hockey Players Association (SCHPA), which is led by president George Bureta.

Bureta, who is in his fourth year and completing a double major in economics and human geography, is also a senior member of the tricampus hockey team. Bureta spoke with The Varsity about the success of UTSC hockey.

The Varsity: How many years have you been involved with the SCHPA and how would you describe your experience as both a player and the president?

George: This is my fourth year on the tri-campus team but second as an SCHPA executive.

[In] my third year, I was elected vice president Continued on PG 25

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Know your treatment: cupping method

UTSC hockey “a tight-knit community.”

CONTINUED FROM PG 24

next to Eric Meggeson who ran the association with excellence. This year, I was lucky to be elected president.

My experience as a player is nothing short of amazing, the UTSC Hockey program creates a welcoming, competitive, but fun environment for all hockey players of all sorts of skill levels. In my first year, we went undefeated in our U of T tri-campus league. Winning the championship and going undefeated set the tone for the rest of my university career and set the standard of what the UTSC hockey experience should be like for everyone.

I tried to take that attitude over to the SCHPA, and… am trying to allow our roughly 65 players to have the same experience I [had].

Playing for the tri-campus team and running the SCHPA gives you a sense of pride and responsibility to represent the school, alumni, and yourself.

DIANA PHAM/ASSOCIATE ILLUSTRATION EDITOR

How suction cups can not only help your game, but relieve stress DORA AKCAY VARSITY STAFF

The latest medical treatment to make it big in mainstream athletic therapy is here: cupping. Like the acupuncture and kinesiology tape that came before it, cupping is the most recent craze to sweep the sports world, with both the New York Mets baseball team and Olympic gymnast Aly Raisman having embraced the treatment.

Cupping is an ancient practice that is used regularly in the world of athletic therapy. First used in antiquity, and retaining its popularity many centuries later, the cupping process is like no other in athletic therapy. During the treatment, suction cups are applied to the skin in order to aid blood flow. When they are removed, large circular welts, similar to hickeys, remain on the skin wherever the cups were placed. “Cupping can be applied either dry or wet,” explain therapists Erin Brooks and Ed Ratz. “[In] dry cupping, cups are applied to one location and remain there for a number of minutes. Wet cupping... is applied over an area of tissue restriction with the aid of massage oil or lotion.”

Brooks and Ratz, therapists at the David L. MacIntosh sport medicine clinic, weighed in on the pros and cons of cupping, explaining that the therapy is used for a number of different sports related injuries. “Often, [cupping] is used in sport when dealing with tissue adhesions, congestion of fluid, and [also] aids in local movement of tissue fluid.” The pair adds that by promoting movement of tissue fluid,

cupping can reduce sub-acute hematomas, which are linked to traumatic brain injuries.

Although the therapy has been known to result in dramatic, instantaneous results, cupping is not for everyone, and there are different conditions that can prevent an individual from receiving the therapy. “As with any type of therapy, there are contraindications to the treatment,” they explain. “You would avoid using [cupping] on patients with diabetes, congestive heart failure, kidney dysfunctions, blood clotting disorders, or medications that reduce blood clotting, and open wounds.”

If you fit the criteria for cupping, the treatment could be of use in rehabbing many sports related injuries like joggers heel (plantar fasciitis) or hamstring strains. Otherwise, cupping has been known to help alleviate back pain and increase circulation. Cupping is also used as a way to relieve stress — making it an ideal way for exam packed students to unwind and relax. Cupping is available at the MacIntosh Clinic after consultation with a sport medicine doctor and therapist.

So for those who are brave enough — and who don’t mind sporting octopus-sized hickeys on their skin for days — cupping should be a welcome addition to rehab, and can help get you back into the game.

TV: What makes UTSC’s tri-campus hockey team stand out from U of T’s other intramural and varsity teams?

G: The UTSC tri-campus [hockey team] has a rich history that creates a bond, almost a fraternity type relationship, between [its] players and coaches that sticks for life. Players... usually end up coaching or giving back to the program in other way including sponsoring the SCHPA’s golf tournament, that works as a fundraiser in memory of Steve Scheklesky, a player and leader in UTSC’s hockey program. Players that wore the UTSC jersey from 20 years ago still attend the golf tournament, chat-up the new players

and offer advice and personal stories from the times they played. The Tri-Campus team stands out because of this. We are a tight knit community that is held together by the common interest that is hockey.

TV: What is the SCHPA doing to promote hockey and athletics within the UTSC campus?

G: The SCHPA promotes hockey through our events. Every year, we host a player’s night, holiday party, pub nights, and our Steve Scheklesky memorial golf tournament. We also recruit at frosh events where we promote UTSC hockey and our association. We encourage everyone to come out because there is a spot for them on any of our five teams. We are a very accepting and fun association that wishes to improve the university experience for all UTSC hockey players.

TV: How well did the UTSC Hockey tricampus teams do last year?

G: The tri-campus, B, C, and R teams enjoyed successful seasons, but none better than the woman’s team which won their winter intramural league and finished second in the OCAA provincial tournament. The women’s team won their first extra-mural tournament in Orillia last year, which helped their provincial ranking to third. The girls then won silver in the OCAA provincial tournament.

Coached by program veteran Greg Danko and tri-campus winger Devin Bonk, the girls represented UTSC hockey very well and we wish to see the same success this year.

26 SPORTS

T H E VA R S I T Y

M O N DAY 19 O C TO B E R 2 015 sports@thevarsity.ca

Reinventing the Olympics onsi ers

ition of

e ne s orts to the

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m i roster

PETER NASH

VARSITY CONTRIBUTOR

With the thirty-first Summer Olympic Games just under a year away, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) will review the addition of five new sports to the Tokyo 2020 roster.

The five sports, which were proposed by the 2020 organizing committee, include baseball/softball, karate, skateboarding, surfing, and sports climbing.

If added, the five sports will add 18 new events to the 2020 games — as under the umbrella of each sport, come a multitude of different competitions. Skateboarding, for instance, would consist of park and street competitions, which would then be subdivided by gender — bringing the total number of events to four.

Fujio Mitarai, chairperson of the selection panel and the honorary president of the Tokyo Organizing Committee, revealed that there are two main factors of consideration for the inclusion of any of the five sports: international appeal, and a sport’s popularity amongst youth.

“Does the sport have the support of the younger generation and how big is the population of the sport worldwide?” said Mitarai regarding the selection criteria.

Skateboarding, surfing, karate, and baseball/softball all have an added advantage because, apart from being popular with young people, these sports are practiced

DIANA PHAM/ASSOCIATE ILLUSTRATION EDITOR

throughout Japan, ensuring that world-class facilities would still be used after the conclusion of the games.

Bowling, squash, and the Chinese martial art known as wushu were also up for contention, but failed to make the IOC’s short list

despite the fact the IOC is considering an increasing number of non-traditional sports.

When imagining the summer Olympics, the first thing that comes to mind is a large colosseum showcasing the world’s fastest runners, highest jumpers, and farthest

throwers. Images of Usain Bolt winning the 100 meter dash, or Michael Phelps and his 18 Olympic golds are the memories we remember when preparing for another Olympic year.

However, the diversity of the Olympics has grown to such a magnitude that the IOC has to keep

up — the better they can relate to a bigger audience, the more people will engage with the Olympics and watch the games.

Not only will the inclusion of nontraditional sports benefit the IOC, but the games will also be more meaningful to the host community, in this instance with the addition of baseball and karate — both of which are very popular Japan. After all, one of the main reasons for hosting sports mega-events like the Olympics — as Torontonians know from hosting the Pan Am Games — is to inspire the average person to become more physically active.

But there are factors other than organizational support and public appeal that can determine whether a sport is included or not. Baseball, for example, has a major conflict in North America between the MLB and the IOC. The MLB will not change its scheduling to accommodate the Olympics, therefore, many of the world’s best players are automatically out of the competition.

Twenty-eight sports are already on the Tokyo Olympic roster, and the IOC’s 2020 recommendations encourage the host cities to add sports that are popular in their area.

Now the biggest challenge is to expand the criteria based on which sports get to compete for Olympic medals.

The IOC will make a final decision on which sports will be added at the Rio de Janeiro Olympics in August 2016.

SPORTS IN BRIEF RAGHAD A.K.

VARSITY CONTRIBUTOR

JAYS BECOME ALDS CHAMPIONS

LEAFS WIN THEIR FIRST GAME OF SEASON

TORONTO FC CLINCHES FIRST PLAYOFF SPOT

On October 14, the Toronto Blue Jays defeated the Texas Rangers in game five action winning their American League Divisional Series (ALDS). The ALDS, between the Jays and the Rangers, began on October 8 in Toronto. Despite the Rangers stealing games one and two, the Jays’ spirits remained high. The Jays rallied and in a huge turn of events, won game three and four — forcing a fifth game in which the winner took all. Game five started slowly for the Jays, but everything changed in the seventh inning. The Rangers scored on a throwing error that was called under review — the umpires rewarded the Rangers with the run. At which point the Rogers Centre, packed with Jays fans, went wild.

When the game resumed Jose Bautista hit one of the most significant home runs of his life, which bat flip and all, put the Jays in the lead. The Jays defeated the Texas Rangers 6-3 to thunderous applause by Rogers Centre fans. The Jays will be playing game three of the American League Championship Monday, October 19 in Toronto.

The Toronto Maple Leafs secured their first win of the regular season on October 16, defeating the Columbus Blue Jackets 6-3. The game was also the first win for head coach Mike Babcock, who joined the team earlier this year. Jake Gardiner opened the scoring for the Leafs in the second period, a goal that was quickly followed by two more from James van Riemsdyk and Nazem Kadri. All three goals occurred within the first nine minutes of the period. The third period saw a goal by Joffrey Lupul followed by a pair of goals

by Leo Komarov. Leafs center Tyler Bozak was forced off the ice in the period due to a lower body injury. Veteran goalie James Reimer made 24 saves during the game, giving Leafs fans everywhere hope, after the team lost their first three games of the season. The Leafs will face off against the Buffalo Sabres this Wednesday on the road.

The Toronto Football Club (TFC) defeated New York Red Bull with a score of 2–1 at BMO field on October 14, clinching an MLS playoff spot for the first time in franchise history. This win was nine years in the making; it was a big day for TFC fans who cloaked BMO field in a sea of red. In the second half, Herculez Gomez and Sebastian Giovinco scored two beautiful goals for TFC. Similar to the success of the Jays, TFC was aided by the addition of two new players to its roster, Michael Bradley and Sebastian Giovinco. The pair have undoubtedly bolstered the team’s success. Giovinco, who had flown back to Toronto from Rome just hours earlier, returning after playing a qualifying match for Italy, brought the crowd to its feet with a goal during the last 20 minutes of the game. On his way to the net, Giovinco weaved through multiple Bulls defenders and fired the ball into the back of the net. Dubbed “a beautiful effort” by head coach Greg Vanney, TFC conclude their regular season play when they face off against the Montreal Impact on October 25.

M O N DAY 19 O C TO B E R 2 015

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Notice of fall meeting of members

VARSITY PUBLICATIONS

NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that the Fall Meeting of Members of VARSITY PUBLICATIONS (the “Corporation”), the V V ,

Room 200, 21 Sussex Ave. October 29, 2015 5:10 p.m. EST .

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All members of Varsity Publications Inc. are entitled to receive this notice.

DATED at Toronto, this 15th day of October 2015 By order of the Board of Directors Alec Wilson Editor-in-Chief

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