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Turbah vandalized at Bahen Act likely carried out by non-minority sect Muslim, says Muslim Students’ Association
Vol. CXXXVIII, No. 17 Februrary 5, 2018 thevarsity.ca —— University of Toronto’s Student Newspaper Since 1880
University withdraws leave policy upon request from OHRC Upon request from the Ontario Human Rights Commission, the university withdrew the mandatory leave of absence policy from consideration of Governing Council, with the intention to rework it and reintroduce it at a later date. Story on page 3
Jack O. Denton News Editor
The Muslim Students’ Association (MSA) was alerted via its general contact form on February 2 that the turbah in the Bahen Centre for Information Technology’s multi-faith space has been vandalized, and an anti-Shia Muslim note was left at the scene. Turbah are clay tablets that Shia Muslims use in their regular prayers. Ammara Wasim, Vice-President Communications of the MSA, said that on the day the incident was reported, MSA President Ammar ElAmir went to the Bahen space at 2:00 pm to investigate. ElAmir found that the turbah and note were missing. The MSA then received a second email reporting the incident, and MSA Vice-President Internal Bilal Hasan went to Bahen to replace the turbah and tablets. When Hasan went to Bahen, the vandalized turbah and note had been returned to the room.
JANUARY 30, 2018 UTSU co-hosts panel discussion with Students for Barrier-free Access
JANUARY 29, 2018
Hours before the University Affairs Board was scheduled to vote on the policy, the UTSU co-hosted a panel discussion with Students for Barrier-free Access, an advocacy group.
Community continues to organize Spurred by the recommendation of the policy, community groups continued to push for Governing Council board members to vote it down.
Bahen, page 3
UTSU, UTMSU to renegotiate membership agreement Unions have 60 days to reach agreement before process of terminating AMA is triggered
JANUARY 25, 2018 DECEMBER 13, 2017 OHRC speaks with U of T, no changes OHRC Chief Commissioner Renu Mandhane spoke with senior administration, highlighting the commission’s concern that the policy fell short of the “duty to accommodate.”
Updated draft goes before the Academic Board The Academic Board approved the updated draft of the policy, which included few of the changes university community members wanted to be included.
NOVEMBER 23, 2017 Ryerson Students’ Union condemns policy
Jack O. Denton News Editor
The Ryerson Students’ Union passed a motion to condemn the policy, with the VP Equity calling it “shameful.”
The University of Toronto Students’ Union (UTSU) and University of Toronto Mississauga Students’ Union (UTMSU) are renegotiating the agreement that binds the two unions’ governance and fee remittance structure. The renegotiation was announced Friday in a joint statement. It reveals that the two unions agreed on January 25 to engage in a renegotiation process over the Associate Membership Agreement (AMA) with the assistance of a third-party facilitator. The AMA was first signed in 2008. Full-time undergraduates at UTM are members of both the UTMSU and the UTSU; full-time undergraduates at UTSG are members of just the UTSU. The agreement intertwines the governance of the two unions — a UTSU executive sits as a voting member on the UTMSU’s Board of Directors and liaison between the two groups, while a UTMSU Designate sits on the UTSU’s executive committee. In addition, a minimum of two and a maximum of eight directors on the UTSU Board of Directors are appointed by the UTMSU Board of Directors. The agreement also outlines the role that the UTSU should have at UTM. Chiefly, it describes that the relationship between the two unions should be one of cooperation and not competition, and that their respective advocacy efforts and services should not overlap. Under the agreement, the UTSU also diverts 85 per cent of the membership fees that UTM students pay to the UTSU over to the UTMSU, as well as 75 per cent of the UTSU Orientation Levy, 100 per cent of the UTSU Daycare Levy, and 100 per cent of the World University Service of Canada Levy that UTM students pay.
NOVEMBER 16, 2017 NOVEMBER 14, 2017 Community consultations begin Former UTSU VP External Lucinda Qu, former UTSU UC Director Aidan Swirsky, and current UTSU VP University Affairs Adrian Huntelar organized informal community consultations on the policy to seek student reactions.
University pushes back deadline Governing Council delayed voting on the policy for two months upon request from the UTSU, which wanted more feedback from the community.
OCTOBER 23,2017 JUNE 30, 2015 Policy announced in Ombudsperson’s Report
The Varsity breaks the story The Varsity broke the news of the policy, which received overwhelmingly negative reactions from the student body.
The mandatory leave of absence policy was first announced in the 2014–2015 Ombudsperson’s Report. According to the memo, the university had been considering the policy for a number of years.
Agreement, page 3
EDITORIAL
It’s time for the administration to listen to students
ARTS
SCIENCE
SPORTS
FEATURE
A flair for the dramatic
Please don’t eat Tide Pods
The Hermit Kingdom competes
Eating Disorders Awareness Week
Nine productions compete in the upcoming Drama Festival
The dangers of viral challenges, explained
Can North Korea’s participation in the Olympics ease tensions?
False perceptions make it easy for disorders to go unnoticed
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