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Rise Up UTSC wins all but three SCSU positions
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Vol. CXXXVIII, No. 18 February 12, 2018 thevarsity.ca —— University of Toronto’s Student Newspaper Since 1880
Play that funky music, engineers Music minor approved for Faculty of Applied Sciences & Engineering students
UTSC Voice candidate Nicole Brayiannis elected President
Kiana Shahbazi Varsity Contributor
Josie Kao Associate News Editor
The Rise Up UTSC slate has won all positions of the Scarborough Campus Students’ Union (SCSU) except for those of President, Director of Philosophy, and Part-Time Director, according to unofficial results released on February 9. Nicole Brayiannis was elected President and is the sole executive winner from the UTSC Voice slate, having defeated Rayyan Alibux 905–721. Rise Up UTSC’s presidential candidate, Deena Hassan, was disqualified. Rise Up UTSC won the other four elected executive positions. Ayaan Abdulle won Vice-President Academics and University Affairs, Hana Syed won Vice-President External, Chemi Lhamo won Vice-President Equity, and Desmond Chan won Vice-President Operations. Brayiannis said that UTSC Voice members had tried their best, but that “the odds were stacked against [them] from the start.” “The SCSU election always has the same people running every year. There is always a returning executive that brings in a group of people. This year UTSC Voice was a brand new team of students who challenged that. We tried our very best without the advantage of having any prior SCSU experience.” Despite the defeat of her slate, Brayiannis is still “looking forward to working alongside this team to do what is best for students on our campus.” Recounts, appeals for demerit points, and submissions for campaign expenses must be addressed before the results are sent to the Elections and Referenda Committee (ERC) for approval. After the ERC approves them, the results are sent to the SCSU Board of Directors to be made official — this will likely happen at the March 29 board meeting. The Director of Philosophy position was a tie and will be recounted, along with three other positions that also had narrow margins of victory: Director of Physical and Environmental Science, Director of Centre for Critical Development, and Director of Computer and Mathematical Sciences. Chief Returning Officer Sahab Jesuthasan said the unofficial voter turnout was 1,887, 954 of which were spoiled ballots. The election was conducted using only paper ballots. None of the executive winners from Rise Up UTSC responded to The Varsity’s requests for comment.
TENTATIVE AGREEMENTS REACHED Protesters at CUPE 3902’s strike countdown rally last week. ANDY TAKAGI/THE VARSITY
Day before deadline, St.Mike’s faculty, admin find middle ground
TA bargaining team, admin reach deal Ilya Bañares Associate News Editor
Aidan Currie Deputy News Editor
Following more than five months of negotiations, on February 8, the bargaining team of the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) 3902, Unit 1 reached a tentative agreement with U of T, two weeks ahead of the strike deadline of February 26. To avoid the possibility of a strike, the tentative agreement will have to be ratified by the union membership. An ascension meeting will be held today, Monday, February 12, at 6:30 pm in Convocation Hall. The bargaining team will present the agreement and recommend it to the unit’s membership. They will also field questions, host a discussion, and vote on whether or not to send the document to a unit-wide ratification vote. If the vote at the ascension meeting fails, the unit will return to the bargaining table with the same strike deadline of February 26. If it passes, voting stations for ratification will be available across all three campuses until February 16. If the full ratification vote fails, negotiations will resume with the university again. CUPE 3902, Unit 1 represents more than 7,000 academic employees across the university who work as teaching assistants, student and postdoctoral course instructors, and exam invigilators at all three campuses. Graduate funding was at the centre of negotiations. The unit’s bargaining team was seeking a roughly 25 per cent increase in the minimum graduate funding package, from the current $15,000 to $20,000 over the next two years, ending in 2020. Other issues included improved equity, health care, support for unfunded unit members, and working conditions. The details of the tentative agreement are not currently available to non-union members. Days before the tentative agreement was reached, the union held a strike countdown rally outside Simcoe Hall in support of the bargaining team on the last day of conciliation with a provincially appointed conciliator. The event drew more than 250 people, many of whom were waving flags, holding signs, and chanting, “Hey, hey, U of T, we won’t go quietly!” CUPE, page 4
The St. Michael’s Faculty Association and the University of St. Michael’s College (USMC) administration have announced a tentative collective agreement, which, if ratified by the members of the faculty association, will be in place until June 30, 2020. The deal comes after faculty filed for a no-board with the Ontario Ministry of Labour, threatening to set up picket lines on February 12. The two sides had been in negotiations since August 8, 2017. After the second negotiation meeting on August 9, the administration filed for conciliation. Meetings were held in September, October, December, January, and most recently on February 9. Michael O’Connor, the faculty’s Chief Negotiator, said there was little detail he could provide regarding the agreement. The tentative agreement must first be sent to the University of Toronto Faculty Association executive for approval, after which it will be sent to unit membership for a ratification vote. The timing for both of those steps is “yet to be determined,” according to O’Connor. “It was a long day and both sides worked hard to get things done,” said O’Connor. “All I can say for now is that we are pleased with the outcome and that the bargaining team will be recommending the agreement unanimously to our membership.” USMC President David Mulroney issued a statement expressing that he was “delighted” to report that the two sides had come to an agreement, and he reiterated that there would not be any disruption of classes or services at St. Mike’s. Faculty filed for a no-board after they were unsatisfied with negotiations during a meeting on January 19, triggering a 17-day timer for an agreement, after which either side could legally take job action, such as striking. The move was made to put pressure on the administration to negotiate a deal, O’Connor told The Varsity.
The Faculty of Music and the Faculty of Applied Sciences & Engineering (APSE) have approved an Engineering Music Performance Minor, which will allow engineering students to complete a degree in music performance and technology. The program received unanimous approval at the January 2018 meeting of the Faculty of Music Council and is set to start in September 2018. The curriculum touches on the crossover of music and engineering within “acoustics, signal processing (both physiological and technological) and noise control. Students can then apply this knowledge to further studies in music technology, cultural areas, or engineering applications,” according to the proposal memo released on November 8. This interdisciplinary initiative is part of the Faculty of Music’s five-year academic plan, which, since 2016, has aimed to expand the resources, research opportunities, fellowships, and exchanges available for music students and staff. Similar initiatives include joint programs like Music Technology & Digital Media. Auditions for a core course — which will be year-long PMU course — will begin as early as March 2018. An information session, hosted by U of T Engineering, will occur on Tuesday, February 13. Committed faculty members in attendance will include Professor Willy Wong of Electrical and Computer Engineering and Faculty of Music professors Ryan McClelland and Midori Koga. The minor will consist of three required courses, the core course, titled Applied Performance; TMU130H1 — Music Theory 1; and ECE446 #1 — Sensory Communication. A half-credit of 1.0 FCE in electives must relate to technology and music. The minor was created in response to student demand, according to the memo. Engineering students have expressed their interest through clubs like Skule Orchestra, Choir, and Stage Band, as well as by choosing music electives to fulfil their Humanities breadth requirements. “I’m excited that this is happening. Given the extensive role engineering plays in modern music performance and production, I think it’d be Bnad, page 4
COMMENT
SCIENCE
SPORTS
FEATURE
State of the union
Harmonies of the heavens
Dancing with the Varsity Blues
Summer internship advice
UTSC students reflect on the SCSU’s rocky elections
U of T planetarium turns TRAPPIST-1 star system into audiovisual show
Varsity Blues, OHDC fundraise for Free the Children
Upper-years discuss challenges, benefits, and more
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