February 3, 2020

THE VARSITY The University of Toronto’s Student Newspaper Since 1880

February 3, 2020

“Human error”: Accessibility Services reveals students’ personal information in email

Vol. CXL, No. 16

U of T releases statement on coronavirus, bookstore apologizes for face mask sale Student unions address anti-Asian racism, public health officials say risk of virus is still low Kathryn Mannie and Andy Takagi Deputy News Editor and News Editor

The university released a statement on January 31 which had Vice-Provost Students Sandy Welsh reinforcing public health officials in emphasizing the low risk of the coronavirus to Canadians and that “assessment of risk should be based on travel and exposure history – not on race or ethnicity.” Health officials have confirmed three cases of coronavirus in Ontario, with several others in the province under investigation.

In an earlier message sent on January 26, U of T sought to quell student concerns regarding the virus, which originated in Wuhan, China. It wrote that, “We are monitoring the situation carefully, and are in communication with faculty experts who work in our affiliated teaching hospitals and in public health.”

However, it does warn that students who have both travelled abroad recently and are experiencing “fever, cough, and difficulty breathing” should avoid contact with others and seek medical attention.

The first confirmed case of the coronavirus in Canada was treated in the U of T-affiliated medical facility, Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre. Sunnybrook remains open and hospital officials have assured the public that all patients and those visiting the hospital are safe.

The Toronto man who contracted the virus had recently returned from Wuhan. He has been quarantined and hospitalized but is now discharged and isolated at his home. His wife, who travelled with him, was also confirmed to have the virus.

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U of T Bookstore apologizes, pulls masks from sale after student backlash U of T students expressed their outrage after photos were circulated online showing that the U of T Bookstore was selling surgical face masks and N95 respirator masks for $100 and $160 per box, respectively.

Former U of T student Yiran Li expressed concerns about the insensitivity of the bookstore’s sale of masks at a marked-up price in a direct message to the bookstores’ Instagram page.

In screenshots sent to The Varsity, the bookstore explained that the masks had been put up for sale due to student demand, and that the high prices were a reflection of the vendor’s surge pricing and cost for rushed shipping. In its message to Li, the bookstore wrote that it would be “removing [the masks] immediately.”

In an email to The Varsity, Vice President Retail of U of T Bookstore Lotta Lindblom confirmed the explanation given to Li via Instagram. Lindblom went on to say that, “We realize that the way the product was displayed in-store and the lack of explanation regarding the price point was a great misstep on our part.”

Lindblom expressed regret for the decision to sell the masks, writing that, “The display has been removed, and we deeply apologize for the impression it created. Our goal of servicing our community’s needs was not met, and for that we are truly sorry.”

“We never recommend wearing a mask in public,” David Williams, Ontario Chief

Medical Officer of Health, said during a press conference on January 27 — after the second presumptive case of the coronavirus had been identified in Ontario.

Williams cited the general public’s inconsistency and improper use of masks, and other public health officials have joined Williams in encouraging the public to prioritize handwashing, avoid touching the face and mouth areas, and seek medical attention when symptoms arise.

Similar masks can be found online for as low as $30 for 50 surgical face masks, and N95 masks can be found for $60 for 20 masks — however, N95 masks require proper training for fitting, which is key to blockage of airborne pathogens.

The U of T Bookstore is operated independently from the university by University of Toronto Press, a non-profit organization.

Unions respond to anti-Asian racism On January 28, the University of Toronto Mississauga Students’ Union (UTMSU) released a membership advisory calling on students to “debunk myths rooted in anti-asian racism” when it comes to the coronavirus.

It disclosed that a number of Chinese and other East Asian UTM students had come forward after facing racist and xenophobic comments connected to the racialization of this virus.

These comments have reportedly made assumptions about hygienic practices in China and the rest of East Asia, and have ridiculed these countries and their foods.

“While fear is an understandable and common reaction to a viral outbreak, it is important to remember that it is not an excuse for xenophobia and racism,” the UTMSU wrote in its statement.

Meanwhile, students from the Chinese Undergraduate Association at the U of T and the Chinese Students and Scholars Association have been boothing at Sidney Smith Hall throughout the week, handing out free surgical masks to students who are concerned about the coronavirus.

In a written statement made to The Varsity, University of Toronto Students’ Union (UTSU) President Joshua Bowman condemned the actions of the bookstore. He feels that students are being taken advantage of by a campus institution which has chosen financial profit over providing surgical masks and N95 respirators for free.

The UTSU is currently looking at options to provide free surgical masks in consultation with health authorities.

“For the Bookstore to condone such a blatant display of capitalistic opportunism, this is disheartening and unfair.”

Bowman went on to affirm that while fears regarding the coronavirus are serious, they have also led to “some equally serious instances of racism, orientalism, and discrimination that must be dealt with.”

The Varsity has reached out to the Chinese Students and Scholars Association for comment.

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Accessibility Services email accidentally reveals 40 students’ names, student numbers, registration

Mistake result of “human error,” recipients asked to “delete and confirm”

Hannah Carty and Andy Takagi Associate News Editor and News Editor

An email sent to students registered with accessibility services on January 10 accidentally included personal information of 40 students in a spreadsheet. The purpose of the email was to inform students that their advisor had changed, but attached to the email was a spreadsheet that included the names, student numbers, emails, and registration status of the students.

Alana Williams, a third-year student studying ecology and evolutionary biology, was one of the students who received the email. She wrote to The Varsity that, while the information was sent mistakenly, the leak of student information is indicative of a greater “general apathy towards students seeking assistance.”

Heather Kelly, Executive Director of Student Life Programs and Services, confirmed that the leak did happen and was the result of “human error.” She wrote in an email to The Varsity that those who received the document were asked to delete it and confirm that they did, but she

did not specify how many people received it or how many had confirmed. They also asked the recipients not to copy or share the information.

She added that “Accessibility Services is taking steps to reduce the risk of such errors happening in the future.”

For Williams, the reality of accessing mental health services is informed by her earlier time at U of T — when she received care from Counselling and Psychological Services (CAPS) before it had merged with Health & Wellness in 2015. Williams credits CAPS for the care and accommodations it provided her, but since coming back to U of T as a mature student, she wrote that “the services provided, or not, for students at health and wellness is horrible.”

The leak of information brought forward

by Williams comes just weeks after the Presidential & Provostial Task Force on Student Mental Health released its report and recom-

mendations, following nearly a year of student protests over the perceived lack of cohesive and supportive services at U of T. In an earlier interview with The Varsity, Provost & Vice-President Cheryl Regehr explained the redesign of the current mental health services at U of T that followed nearly six months of task force consultations. However, the university does not have a specific timeline for the redesign according to Regehr: “We are addressing issues as fast as we are able to.”

The task force’s report specifically outlined recommendations that address Williams’ concerns about U of T’s mental health supports, including training for teaching assistants, dons, and other “student leaders,” and more timely access to mental health care. However, in the administration’s response, while streamlining the system was made a priority, no mention was made toward improved training of professors and hired staff.

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Birds in tall grass 65. Where faces are masked 67. Star of Mr. Robot ____ Malek 68. The Hippocratic Oath forbids this 69. Child actor ____ Jackson 70. Subj. for first year Rotman students 71. Current regime in Syria 72. “___ this a dagger which I see before me” — Macbeth 73. With 34 ACROSS, U of T’s law library

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ACROSS 1. Victoria College library named after a Newfoundlander poet 5. A serious lung disease (abbr.)

7. ______ effect 12. Ninth letter of the Greek alphabet 13. When one closes another may open 15. A person worthy of adoration; a legend 16. These are often served with applesauce and sour cream 18. Fuss 19. Band whose name travels from one US coast to the other 20. Sedgwick and Falco 21. Department that maintains one’s image 22. College that is home to Caven library 23. They save lives (abbr.)

24. Most of the mature members of this genus have been killed by Dutch ___ disease 26. Noble gas above Ne on the periodic table 27. Orchestras usually tune to these 29. Ski town in Colorado

33. With 74 ACROSS, U of T’s law library 35. HMV sold this 36. They run many a tut.

38. A response that weds 39. Where 23 ACROSS sometimes work (abbr.)

40. Prefix for thermal and graphic 41. U of T’s science library 42. Prefix meaning internal 44. Slang for the first of his name 46. Common airline abbreviation 47. Its delays are the bane of a commuter’s am 48. A sassy response to a question 49. Harry Potter’s was the Nimbus 2000 50. To grind one’s teeth 52. Nintendo device succeeded by the 3DS 54. “I told you so” 56. A fallen one of these becomes a demon 58. The ___ Vinci Code 60. Of the mouth 64. _____ Artois

DOWN 1. Joins in on the criticism; _____ in on 2. Kerouac’s On the ____ 3. To attract (French) 4. Not single 5. Six points in the NFL (abbr.)

6. Wild pig 7. Babies and dogs do this a lot 8. The perfect complement to an Oreo 9. An eager employee’s response 10. Double negative 11. December birthstone 14. Naloxone is admin. when someone is experiencing one 17. Name on many a gas station 21. It’s used by a thespian on stage 24. Holds in high regard 25. Knead : dough :: _____ : muscle 26. Take the bull by the ____ 28. The Bata Shoe Museum is on this street 30. Michelangelo’s depiction of a famous mother and son 31. These occur before publication 32. A ranch with this is a residence advisor 33. Certain species of this are dying at an alarming rate 34. Where you might find 37 DOWN 37. This is long, and life is short 43. Los Angeles baseball team 45. Often accompanies bad and ugly 49. Don’t snap at the waiter to bring you this 51. Drag Queen Mrs. ____ Davis who said, “There’s always time for a cocktail” 53. Martin Luther King Jr. and others marched from here to Montgomery 55. Speedy postman 57. British equivalent of the Emmys (abbr.)

59. What one does with questions 60. Different kinds of raw minerals 61. Medieval torture device 62. Mine, in Montréal 63. Audio equipment company 66. A school principal gives morning announcements over this (abbr.)

69. A Spanish affirmative

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FEBRUARY 3, 2020

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Only 63 per cent of enrolled political science PhD students have graduated since 2000

Multiple years with over 100 enrolled students saw 10 or fewer graduates from 2000–2019 Hannah Carty Associate News Editor

Data obtained by The Varsity shows that between 2000–2019, on a combined average only 10.14 per cent of enrolled political science PhD students graduated each year. This is lower than the 2018 average statistic for PhD students at U of T, which stands at 22.17 per cent.

Of the approximately 453 students who were registered in the program from 2000–2019, there have been 284 graduates, resulting in 62.7 per cent of enrolled students graduating over 19 years.

Five years had 10 or fewer graduates, while other years also seem to have disproportion-

HANNAH CARTY/THE VARSITY

JOANA BARGAS/THE VARSITY

ately low numbers of graduates relative to the program’s intake. From 2001–2014, the average rate of enrolled students graduating was 9.57 per cent. Since 2014, the number of graduates per year does seem to be going up, but the average for those years is still only slightly over 10 per cent, at 11.2 per cent.

Jacques Bertrand, Associate Chair and Graduate Director of Political Science, wrote to The Varsity that PhD students in political science rarely leave the program without graduating, though they can take leaves of absence.

Currently, Arts & Science PhD students at U of T pay a yearly tuition of $6,900. Those in the humanities and social sciences receive $17,500 in base funding, set to increase next year. The faculty also launched several programs, such as the Milestones and Pathways programs, which aim to provide academic and practical skills to students.

Bertrand wrote to The Varsity that in his opin-

University action plan on student mental health presented at University Affairs Board Tri-campus review, incidental fees report among discussion items Kathryn Mannie and Shivani Ojha Deputy News Editor and Varsity Contributor

The University of Toronto’s University Affairs Board (UAB) met on January 27 to address a three-fold agenda: the final report of the Presidential & Provostial Task Force on Student Mental Health, an update on the tri-campus review, and a report on the compulsory non-academic incidental fees.

Recommendations implemented The meeting was led by Vice-President & Provost Cheryl Regehr as she presented the university’s action plan for implementing the recommendations made by the task force.

The university’s response to a number of student deaths on campus was centred around the formation of the task force. After a months-long consultation process, the task force released its final report on January 15.

In accordance with its recommendations, the university has put forward a multi-pronged approach to address and improve mental health services, partnerships, physical spaces, campus culture, and financial resources to combat the perceived mental health crisis.

The university has created the Mental Health Services Redesign Team, which will direct the overhaul of U of T’s mental health services. It will be led by former Principal of Woodsworth College, Professor Joseph Desloges, as well as two experts from the Centre for Addiction and

Mental Health (CAMH): Alexia Jaouich, Director of Implementation and Innovation, Provincial System Support Program; and Sean Kidd, Senior Scientist and Division Chief, Psychology.

The redesign team’s mandate is to “create an integrated tri-campus system with one Clinical Director, one website, one consistent approach to wayfinding, one online booking system, one electronic records system, and one institutional letter for accessibility services.” The aim of harmonizing services across campuses and colleges is to ensure a more efficient and accessible system for students to navigate.

The university will build a new partnership with CAMH in order to create “integrated care pathways” for students that use campus-based and CAMH services, provide professional development and clinical programs in student mental health for both staff and students, and establish a new initiative to encourage research- and evidence-based solutions for the student mental health crisis.

On physical spaces, the university is committed to reviewing mental health-devoted facilities at the UTM and UTSC campuses. At UTSG, the report notes that, “Planning is already underway to modernize the Health and Wellness Centre in the Koffler building… to keep pace with demand and to provide space better suited to the delivery of services.”

On campus culture, the university found “no conflict between a culture of academic excellence and a culture of caring” — however, it recognized

the importance of strengthening the latter. To achieve this, U of T will undertake a “revision of academic programs on best practices in assessment, academic support services and mental health accommodations.”

Its goal is to relieve student stress that arises as a result of institutional policies in recognition of the fact that they act as a barrier to mental wellness. The administration will also ramp up communications with student leaders to promote health literacy and improve student perception of the University Mandated Leave of Absence Policy (UMLAP).

Despite calls to repeal the policy, U of T remains committed to communicating its “compassionate intent” to students. The policy allows the university to place students on a leave from their studies if their mental health is determined to pose a threat to themselves or others. It sparked student protests before its establishment in 2018.

A new Centre for Graduate Mentorship and Supervision will also be established for the School of Graduate Studies.

On financial resources, the university will collaborate with the Division of University Advancement to devote further resources for mental health services and facilities. Mental health and wellness will also be a key priority in the forthcoming 2020–2021 budget.

Both Regehr and President Meric Gertler expressed their gratitude to the task force, faculty, and students who led the way in advancing the discussion on student mental health.

ion, the amount of graduates seems proportionate when compared to the intake of 25–28 new students per year.

He noted that the average student graduates in six to seven years, even though the timeline on the department’s website only goes up to five years. While graduate students lose department funding after five years, Bertrand noted that there are still other funding opportunities and opportunities within the department.

However, the department is making attempts to lower the graduation time, such as approving student proposals earlier, and it is “hoping these numbers will go down in the next 2-3 years.”

He noted that while the department has had some students graduate close to the cutoff of 10 years, none have ever reached that point, and that “very few students leave the program and don’t finish.” He added that the department is working on ways to provide more support for students.

Tri-campus review Vice-Provost Students Sandy Welsh presented an update on the tri-campus review. The current tricampus structure was created by the Tri-Campus Framework in 2002. Since then, the system has been subject to review.

Towards 2030, a university initiative to ensure long-term institutional success, expressed U of T’s ambition to “create a regional ‘University of Toronto system,’ characterized by three campuses with increasingly strong individual campus identities.” In April 2018, Gertler and Regehr commenced a review process of this system in view of new challenges faced by the tri-campus structure, and also explored how the university can best take advantage of emerging opportunities.

The Tri-Campus Review Steering Committee includes five working groups that have submitted final recommendations as part of the review process: Academic Planning and Academic Change, Graduate Units, Student Services, Administrative Structure, and Budget Relationships. The steering committee will take these recommendations and create a final report of suggestions for consideration by university governance.

Incidental fees reinstated Welsh also presented the Compulsory Non-Academic Incidental Fees Report for 2019–2020, which lists all of the mandatory student fees for this academic year.

Due to the Student Choice Initiative — the now-quashed provincial directive allowing students to opt out of fees deemed “non-essential” by the province — the fall semester incidental fees were divided between optional and mandatory categories.

The winter semester fees show a return to the status quo, currently listed “as they were prior to the Student Choice Initiative,” wrote Welsh in her report to the UAB.

The January 27 meeting was held in the Governing Council Chambers in Simcoe Hall and saw Provost Cheryl Regehr present.

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U of T now offers some kosher options at UTSG following Hillel UofT’s Kosher Forward Campaign

Jewish diet available at Robarts, Medical Sciences building, Goodmans LLP Café Ibnul Chowdhury Managing Editor

On January 23, Hillel UofT announced the partial success of its Kosher Forward Campaign, which aims to make kosher food options accessible at U of T. Kosher refers to food that is prepared in accordance with traditional Jewish law.

On January 27, U of T Food Services announced that food options that are certified by the Kashruth Council of Canada (COR) as kosher are available at the Grab ‘N’ Go fridge at Robarts Library food court and the Medical Sciences Building. A third location, Goodmans LLP Café, located at the Faculty of Law building, also began to offer kosher options on January 29.

Currently, the menu offers COR-certified wraps, sandwiches, and cold salads.

The campaign ran under the leadership of students Sofia Freudenstein and Chaim Grafstein.

It involved a public petition, which brought together students, allies, and campus organizations, as well as months of discussion between Hillel UofT and the university. The original petition aimed to establish kosher food options at both food vendors and at residences; the latter has yet to be achieved.

Hillel is a Jewish campus organization with chapters at universities around the world. At U of T, the organization represents 1,000 to 1,500 students.

Food as an accessibility barrier Hillel UofT Senior Director Rob Nagus wrote to The Varsity about the origin of the campaign: “Noticing a vital need for kosher food options, our Senior Jewish Educator and Campus Rabbi, Rabbi Julia Appel, along with some of our Hillel Student Leaders began conversations with many of our campus partners to explore the best way to move forward with a campaign to address said need.”

Nagus listed the Multi-Faith Centre and the Anti-Racism and Cultural Diversity Office as two major partners. “The plan was to gather a broad range of support for our campaign before approaching Administration.”

In a letter dated July 12, 2019, Freudenstein and Grafstein appealed to President Meric Gertler for U of T to live up to its commitment to diversity and inclusion by offering kosher food at

the university, similar to how it offers vegetarian, vegan, and Halal options. “We believe the University of Toronto loses much by not providing kosher food,” the letter read.

The two campaign chairs stressed that the unavailability of a kosher option poses an accessibility challenge for Jewish students, who they claim are excluded from enjoying food on residence and on campus. The two urged the administration to follow other Canadian universities that already offer kosher food, lest they lose potential Jewish students to neighbouring schools. It would also relieve the strain that is put onto organizations like Hillel UofT to bear the cost of offering these options.

Aside from the letter, which requested a meeting with the administration, the campaign included a petition form that undergraduate and graduate students, both Jewish and allied, were able to sign to demonstrate support. By the end of its campaign, the petition accumulated over 400 signatures over at least three months.

The university accepts the campaign’s demands On November 23, the public campaign ended and the petition was sent to the Office of the President. Hillel UofT further requested a meeting to discuss the petition.

On December 19, Hillel UofT members presented their campaign to the U of T administration, as represented by Vice Provost Students Sandy Welsh and Director Ancillary Services Anne McDonald. The university accepted the campaign’s demands on the same day, and committed to making kosher food available in the 2020 winter term. Its January 23 press release reads, “The strength of the partnership between Hillel and the U of T administration is testament to our collective ability to provide to our students with ongoing support and access to the services they need.”

While kosher food is officially available at three St. George locations, Hillel UofT looks forward to expanding the reach of the campaign in the future, possibly to UTM and UTSC. “We will look to reform a long dormant food services committee with the University to address long

term solutions for providing greater access to kosher food that will extend to more locations, potentially including UofT’s satellite campuses,” wrote Nagus. “This committee will also address other food equity issues that affect the broader campus community.”

Controversy with the UTGSU On November 15, Hillel UofT accused the University of Toronto Graduate Students’ Union (UTGSU) of anti-Semitism after the latter’s External Commissioner, Maryssa Barras, expressed hesitation to support the Kosher Forward Campaign due to Hillel’s “pro-Israel” views. The story received widespread media attention in Canada and abroad.

Hillel UofT condemned the UTGSU’s conflation of the accessibility needs of Jewish students with Israeli politics. These tensions follow a previous conflict over the UTGSU’s establishment of a permanent Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions Committee on Israel, which Hillel had opposed.

Following further discussions between the organizations, the UTGSU apologized for the incident in a November 21 press release. It further announced that Barras had resigned and that it would undergo anti-oppression training.

Hillel UofT responded positively, writing that the UTGSU had “expressed a willingness to bring forward a motion to support the Kosher Forward campaign.” In addition to its apology, the UTGSU “has begun working with Hillel and other Jewish communal organizations to ensure incidents such as this one will never happen again,” Nagus wrote.

At its Annual General Meeting (AGM) in December, the UTGSU held a discussion on anti-Semitism in response to the November controversy. The meeting featured members from Hillel UofT, Independent Jewish Voices UofT, and the Kosher Forward Campaign itself, who offered competing views on the question of anti-Semitism in the UTGSU and Hillel’s representation of Jewish students.

The discussion on anti-Semitism continued on January 27, when the AGM was readjourned due to a failure to meet quorum in December.

UTGSU Annual General Meeting addresses safety concerns, debates legitimacy of BDS committee

Motion to condemn Jewish Defense League passed, financial statements approved Mikaela Toone Associate News Editor

The University of Toronto Graduate Students’ Union (UTGSU) Annual General Meeting (AGM) was readjourned on January 27 after failing to meet quorum on December 5. It addressed a number of motions pertaining to the Boycott, Divestment and Sanction (BDS) campaign, including a motion by the committee to ban the Jewish Defense League ( JDL) from campus and a motion by a member to oppose the BDS committee altogether.

The wider BDS movement lobbies corporations, universities, and local governments to sanction the Israeli government and boycott Israeli goods to protest the country’s occupation of Palestinian territory. Some critics of BDS argue that the movement aims to delegitimize Israeli sovereignty, while others characterize the movement and its leadership as anti-Semitic. Previously, the UTGSU Executive Committee was accused of antiSemitism when it was hesitant to participate in Hillel UofT’s Kosher Forward campaign — which aimed to bring kosher food options to campus — on the grounds that the group was pro-Israel. This subsequently led to the resignation of External Commissioner Maryssa Barras, a position which

has yet to be filled.

Members of the BDS committee explained that the JDL, which the Canadian Anti-Hate Network has called an “anti-Muslim group on the extreme fringe of the Jewish community,” has disrupted BDS events in the past, and remains a safety threat to members of the committee.

As an indicator of the JDL’s threat level, BDS committee members highlighted an instance of violence by the JDL against individuals protesting a November 20 event which featured Israeli Defense Force reservists at York University.

The JDL had put out a call to disrupt the UTGSU AGM; however, no such disruptions took place.

A motion was passed at the meeting that stated that the “UTGSU membership condemns the JDL violence against York University student protestors and their allies on November 20,” and moved that the UTGSU membership put out a call to the U of T administration to ban JDL from campus.

An attempt by a member to amend the motion to not specify JDL, but rather oppose “all terrorist organizations” from campus was rejected by the membership.

The meeting began with a controversial motion by the Chair, Jeremy Rothschild, to strike the dis-

cussion on anti-Semitism; the discussion on BD; and the discussion on sanctions, divestment, or boycotts, from the agenda due to the fact that the meeting fell on International Holocaust Remembrance Day. He said that members should not have to “relive what their families [experienced] and the sort of discussions that surround the question of anti-Semitism on campus.”

Rothschild felt that the membership as a collective should have the right to decide whether it wanted to engage in such discussions on International Holocaust Remembrance Day. The membership rejected Rothschild’s motion to strike the motions, and thus they were kept on the agenda.

However, by the time the AGM arrived at the member’s motion opposing the BDS committee, only six minutes remained in the UTGSU’s booked time for the room. Chaim Katz, the mover, briefly explained his motion, noting that, “This is an opportunity to maintain a stance, of being active in human rights support, but not only singling out the Jewish state,” before the meeting was adjourned.

Internal Commissioner Adam Hill told The Varsity that the unaddressed motions can only be revisited at the next UTGSU AGM. The meeting also saw the UTGSU’s financial statements passed and next auditor approved by the membership.

UC Lit was informed of the decision and cost in an incamera meeting in January.

SHANNA HUNTER/THE VARSITY

UC Lit paid for part of car accident repairs during orientation

Total amount not disclosed, UC Lit president says organization still has a “prudent surplus” Andy Takagi and Mikaela Toone News Editor and Associate News Editor

The University College Literary & Athletic Society (UC Lit) used orientation funds to foot a portion of a vehicle accident repair bill, following a singlevehicle crash that occurred during 2019 orientation.

A member of the orientation team was behind the wheel of a rental car when the accident occurred. According to UC Lit President Danielle Stella, due to the “relatively high” cost of the repairs, and because the car was used for orientation-related purposes, it was decided that a portion of the costs would be paid by orientation and the rest by the individual responsible for the accident. The decision was made at an “orientation board meeting in an agreement between the individual involved, the UCLIT, UC Orientation, and UC Administration.”

Stella declined to comment on the specific cost paid by UC Lit because it pertained to the in-camera discussion.

“Council was informed of the decision during an in-camera discussion at our January meeting,” wrote Stella to The Varsity.

The UC Lit Council is made up of core executives, like Stella, as well as executives and representatives from across University College.

“Orientation Board equitably decided that the discussion would be in-camera in order to protect the identity and financial state of the individual involved,” Stella wrote, also noting that all parties involved were “informed properly and agreed upon the decision.”

Stella emphasized that the orientation budget is intended to break even, and that the UC Lit receives money from not only student fees, but also UC and U of T administration. This year’s orientation budget saw a profit and thus, after payment for the vehicle repair, there is still a “prudent surplus” for next year’s orientation. The UC Lit’s 2019 audited financial statements are not yet available on its website.

UC orientation faced controversy in 2017 when it was revealed that financial mismanagement in 2016 resulted in an unpaid invoice for breakfasts, costing $7,200. To remedy this, the UC Lit was forced to remove $8,000 from its contingency fund.

In order to rebuild the contingency fund, money for a variety of events, including pub nights and All Night Fung — which offered the Howard Ferguson Dining Hall as a 24-hour study space during exam season — was cut.

Business

February 3, 2020 var.st/business biz@thevarsity.ca

Members look to improve tricampus relationships at Planning and Budget Committee meeting Members discuss Tri-Campus Review, SCI, new KPE academic plan Nicole Shi Associate Business Editor

The Planning and Budget Committee (PBC) discussed key recommendations aimed at improving the relationship between U of T’s three campuses on January 9.

During the meeting, Vice-President and Provost Cheryl Regehr discussed updates regarding the Student Choice Initiative (SCI) and the Academic Plan Extension for the Faculty of Kinesiology & Physical Education (KPE).

The PBC is overseen by the Academic Board, and reviews and makes recommendations on the use of U of T’s resources like funds, land, and facilities.

Regehr noted that the university has been experiencing increasing friction between the three campuses.

“We’ve seen these tensions arising over a number of things, [with] one being the balance between autonomy and collaboration, [and] another being the balance between global aspirations and institutional roles,” said Regehr.

In 2018, U of T began a process called the TriCampus Review, which focused on five pillars of the tri-campus relationship: academic planning and academic change, graduate units, student services, administrative structure, and budget relationships.

The Tri-Campus Review identifies issues experienced between UTSG, UTM, and UTSC. After over a year of consultations and meetings, the working groups that focused on each of the five key pillars of the review identified the key problems faced by the tri-campus relationship, and put forward their recommendations to the steering

committee, which Regehr presented to the PBC. A recurring issue brought to the attention of members of the PBC was the miscommunication between the institution as a whole and the campuses.

This included the confusion around responsibilities of senior leaders on different campuses who share the same title, but have different roles at their respective campuses.

“So for instance, the role of the dean [at the] St. George campus, everybody reports to the Dean and the Dean is responsible for the entire vision,” said Regehr.

However, for the UTM and UTSC campuses, Regehr noted that the “[the policy] states very clearly that the principal is both chief academic officer and the chief executive officer on the [satellite] campuses.”

“What had happened over the years is that [it] created confusion around who should be in charge of various aspects of university life, such as budget, [and] such as faculty hiring,” said Regehr.

Another issues raised by the review was the hiring of graduate chairs, which is complicated by the fact that for some departments, the department chair is automatically considered the graduate chair, while for other departments the graduate chair has to be hired.

The working groups recommended that there should be increased clarity in terminology to outline clear responsibilities for senior leadership members, and to avoid miscommunication across the three campuses.

The recommendations have been submitted to the Tri-Campus Steering Committee, and a final report will be produced by the end of the academic year.

JACQUELINE RENEE/THE VARSITY

Student Choice Initiative on pause, KPE academic plan discussed Regehr reported that U of T will wait for the results of the provincial government’s appeal of the decision that struck down the SCI as unlawful before deciding on what to do regarding incidental fees for the winter term.

The SCI, which took effect last fall, had previously allowed students to opt out of “non-essential” incidental fees, as determined by the provincial government.

Access to the opt-out portal on ACORN re-

mains suspended.

The Dean of KPE Ira Jacobs presented the KPE’s academic plan extension for 2018–2022, which had been unanimously approved by the KPE’s Faculty Council.

The strategic goals of the plan include improving participation rates of of co-curricular physical activity and sport programs, strengthening research and scholarship, and investing in infrastructure and partnerships.

The next PBC meeting will be held on February 25, 2020.

Mental health apps are a booming business despite scientific and privacy concerns

Lack of regulation in the marketplace could lead to data breaches and false marketing dence, particularly as privacy breaches could pose a risk.

On the one hand, medical devices undergo stringent testing. For example, Apple spent years working to meet the Food and Drug Administration’s standards’ to be recognized as such before releasing certain features of its Apple Watch.

Since then, there have been reported cases of the watch detecting irregular heartbeats and even saving someone’s life.

But mental health apps are not necessarily held to the same standards as traditional health devices.

SKYLAR CHEUNG/THE VARSITY

Catherine Lu Varsity Contributor

In the age of wellness and self-care, apps that claim to improve mental health are proliferating in app stores.

Health apps, including apps that address mental health, were valued at eight billion USD in 2018. This growing market is expected to be valued at around 111 billion USD by 2025.

However, research is still needed to validate some of these apps’ promises with scientific evi-

Are mental health apps rooted in science?

In a 2019 review, researchers used topics like depression, self-harm, substance use, anxiety, and schizophrenia to find apps in both the Apple and Android app stores. The researchers found that of the 73 apps they analyzed, over 60 per cent claimed to be able to diagnose mental health conditions or improve symptoms.

But unlike medical devices, apps claiming to diagnose and manage mental health do not require government approval, and do not undergo years of testing. The same review reported that many such apps had little scientific backing and might even be using scientific jargon to mislead consumers.

Dr. Andrea Levinson, a psychiatrist and assistant professor at U of T, has found that her patients will tell her about the mental health apps that they are using or that they have found to be

helpful. When interacting with patients, Levinson might recommend an app in conjunction with clinical care if the patient finds it helpful in managing their symptoms.

In an interview with The Varsity, Levinson explained that in a session with a patient, she may review how an app has been used, ask about their experience using it, and go over the generated data with them.

The Anxiety and Depression Association of America lists recommended apps based on several criteria, including scientific backing. Out of the 19 apps that the website has reviewed, most were backed by little to no research evidence.

“The question is not to dismiss [mental health apps], not to say [that they’re] good or bad, but to really use evidence-based evaluation to determine the efficacy of these apps, [their] safety, [and] issues around privacy,” said Levinson.

Mental health apps spark privacy concerns While regulation of health apps may create a standardized approval system, the current market remains unregulated, and as such, consumers are still vulnerable to having their personal data sold and their privacy breached.

In a 2019 study, researchers found that out of 36 top-ranked apps, including ones that aim to manage symptoms of depression, 29 shared data with third parties. However, only 12 of them disclosed this in their privacy policies.

In fact, one mental health app called Moodpath shares user data with both Facebook and

Google — a fact which they disclose in their privacy policy.

While not an app, LinkMentalHealth is an online service that connects patients with mental health services that they might not be able to access otherwise.

According to co-founder Radwan Al-Nachawati, LinkMentalHealth was created as a response to long wait times for therapists, which its founders have experienced firsthand.

LinkMentalHealth seeks to streamline schedules between patients and providers, while also recommending therapists based on a short survey, which includes multicultural considerations. “[You are] able to choose all types of therapists for ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, all those other factors,” said Al-Nachawati in an interview with The Varsity. “That’s a really empowering thing to know.”

Because the website handles sensitive personal information, the startup consulted health privacy lawyers to protect user data, according to AlNachawati.

Protecting this information is important “not just from a legal perspective, but from a moral perspective as well,” said Al-Nachawati.

LinkMentalHealth’s website has a privacy policy and terms and conditions for both clients and therapists, but in the end, the burden of keeping private information secure falls on users.

Ultimately, more research is needed to evaluate the claims of mental health apps and keep personal data secure.

Comment

February 3, 2020 var.st/comment comment@thevarsity.ca

Pros

Cons

Laptop bans ignore the reality of choice in the modern age

Hit the off button and pull out a notebook: laptop bans help professors help you

Universities are places of great autonomy — laptop bans simply do not work

Professors should be allowed to set their own rules in lectures and tutorials

Andre Fajardo Varsity Contributor

In September 2016, two U of T political science professors, Jack Belot and Clifford Orwin, jointly introduced a laptop ban into their classrooms — and announced it to the world through an opinion piece in The Globe and Mail. This ban would see course lectures and discussion sections under their instruction rid themselves of electronic device usage.

The ban, and more particularly its accompanying piece, generated fervent discussion. In a Varsity survey just weeks after the implementation of the ban, students generally disapproved of the policy.

While course instructors are still able to implement these policies or similar ones in their classrooms at their own discretion, the professors have since eased the strictness of such policies.

A particular point of students’ criticism was aimed at its unintentional effect on students with disabilities, who have accessibility needs. An exemption from the ban for such students was agreed upon by the professors authoring the opinion piece, but nevertheless, this exemption would nevertheless inadvertently publicize students’ disabilities to classmates. Though not a restriction, the Accessibility Services webpage now reads, “[laptop bans are] discouraged because it reveals a student’s disability to the rest of the class.”

In 2017, a study conducted across the US found that only four per cent of students do not have access to either a laptop or desktop computer, and a significant proportion of that minority owns a portable tablet or smartphone.

By proportion alone, it is amiss to enforce electronic-free spaces for larger classes — it is a practice that is suited only to very small and specialized seminars.

Plenty of studies cement the possibility that note-taking on laptops as opposed to by hand can lower a student’s performance. Though the study does not make an explicit conclusion, it instead attributes the drop in results to multitasking on a device — that is, getting distracted by things like your Facebook feed. A significant portion of other studies produce similar claims in which laptop usage, one way or another, detracts from your learning quality.

The impact of these studies, however, has declined over the years, as the number of students that are being educated and formally trained under official curricula that recommend — or mandate, as mine did — the use of computer technologies over physical and paper materials is growing. Learning to use a word processor in place of a ballpoint pen was part of my first information and communications technology lesson

— 14 years ago when computers still took floppy disks and shared the same ugly shade of beige as the classroom walls.

And as much as marks can count for everything, it is a genuinely hard ask to produce an entire semester of notes — that I will have to deign to rewrite and bind together to read in one go — in a notebook, as opposed to a MacBook when folders and scroll functions exist.

Now, some points against the ban are intuitive, and the most prominent one I’ve seen is that laptops and screen devices can be distracting to a student’s learning in the same manner that secondhand smoke sucks for passers-by. That is, that they not only affect the student taking the notes, but the environment as a whole.

I’m inclined to believe it because you really can’t disagree. When possible, my note-taking is sparse and I tend to just listen, but I’ll always locate myself at the back of the class if I do have my laptop out. Should my screen light up, and colours flash as I switch tabs with a barely conscious swipe on my trackpad, that’s only a glance and five seconds to regain focus for the eagle-eyed student behind me.

At the end of the day, universities can be freeing. It’s in your hands whether or not you want to climb out of bed and go to class in the morning.

Professors should not have to cater their classes to make sure everyone’s got two thumbs up, but they should not be giving anyone more reasons to choose not to come.

Laptop bans are based on meaningful data and good principles, but they simply run afoul of the unspoken rule of university life — that class isn’t mandatory if the student says it isn’t.

You accept the syllabus as it stands on the first week of class and it’s on you if you can’t meet deadlines. But you cannot seriously be expected to conform to a laptop ban — not when a subject is dedicated in formalized curricula to learning how to use one, as mine was, and not when it’s stressed to you as a career skill. Not if you’re working shifts in-between classes and can’t afford any more time to redress your notes, and not if your laptop goes where you go more than your notebook does.

I do feel for the professors who want these policies in their classes, because I understand the principle behind it. But at the end of the day, you are teaching to people who have the capacity to choose for themselves. Don’t give them another reason not to pick your class.

Andre Fajardo is a fourth-year Political Science and Philosophy student at Innis College.

Marta Anielska Varsity Contributor

When I look around during my history lecture, I see that most students are typing notes on their laptops. Or at least they’re pretending to type notes. It’s guaranteed that at least someone will be watching a game of soccer, playing a video game, scrolling through Facebook, or working on a chemistry assignment.

These mindless distractions are usually funny to see. After all, these students are compromising their own academic success by not paying attention in lecture. However, distracted students are probably less funny to the professors, some of which have been teaching for years as experts in their fields.

I can imagine that it is beyond frustrating to have students brush off their effort and experience so easily.

This is not to say that students don’t have a strong case when they say that they know best when it comes to their own learning.

By the time we’re in university, we’ve gone through a dozen or more years of school.

That’s enough time to learn and revise our own study habits. Learning is a highly personalized process, and while I prefer to take handwritten notes, another student might benefit from the efficiency of typing.

The laptop ban — re-introduced to U of T discourse through a 2016 opinion piece penned by two political science professors for The Globe and Mail — aimed to prohibit the use of electronic devices in lectures, tutorials, and seminars. This ban has mostly been discussed in the context of effectiveness and equity. In fact, if anyone wants an analysis of the research conducted on the effect of laptops in the classroom, The Varsity has already published a number of news and opinion pieces that outline the different arguments for and against the ban.

Personally, I do not believe that this debate is about the positive or negative effects of technology in the classroom. If that were the case, we would be arguing about whether U of T should ban the use of all technology in the classroom. Instead, I’m going to build a case for why individual professors should have the right to decide to ban technology in their classrooms.

While students consider a range of factors when choosing a university, many would probably agree that central to their decision is the quality of the program and the reputation of the school. Both of these rely in some part on the university’s ability to acquire adequate resources, which includes a teaching staff of experts, able to teach in a comprehensive manner. The University of Toronto provides its students with well-organized courses, thrilling opportunities, and libraries full of information.

One of the greatest advantages it has is that it hires reputable and thoughtful professors. That’s why students are encouraged to go to office hours and engage in department activities. The university encourages you to benefit from the experience and understanding of your teachers. In many cases, your professors have been teaching the same course for years. They understand the tools that are necessary to be successful in that class and in that program.

A professor in a computer science class probably won’t ban laptops, because they’re essential to learning. But an English professor might decide that the retention and analysis that is often required when writing handwritten notes is a good way to develop and practice necessary skills. In fact, this sentiment is echoed in the opinion piece that started this whole mess. The political science professors who wrote it wanted their students to focus on the lecture so they could learn how to analyze the complex texts and concepts they were faced with.

Many of us still ask for advice from our professors and teaching assistants. We trust that they have the expertise necessary to excel in our chosen profession. While it is good to understand your own learning habits, to pick and choose the advice we want from professors would be to potentially ignore something that could help us. After all, turning off your laptop for a few hours is a pretty low price to pay for a good mark.

Marta Anielska is a f irst-year Humanities student at University College.

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FEBRUARY 3, 2020

Are professors openly ideologically biased? If not, they should be They won’t harm the learning environment by discussing their personal beliefs Jacob Harron Associate Senior Copy Editor

A couple of points regarding ideologies, of which I hope there can be no disagreement: first, the deeper your commitment to your opinion, the harder it is for you to recognize that opinions exist. The opinions you hold are facts; your opponents’ are dangerous emotional bias.

Second, your ideology is always the underrepresented one, and your enemies’ control the world.

We all like to fancy our perspectives as marginalized. That’s why there are still problems, after all — because we aren’t in charge.

These points come to mind whenever students, or certain professors, complain about ideological biases at universities. For every person who rages that academia is infected by radical leftists with Marxist or feminist agendas who don’t understand the ‘real world,’ someone else rants that academics are all too old, privileged, and male to be in touch with the ‘real world’ outside of their ivory tower. The implication is not merely that our enemies are everywhere, but that they’re in power, and using that power for no good.

Rather than debating which way the supposed bias faces, we could ask instead: is it even a problem? Should academics not be opinionated?

My first-year political science professor told the class that if his teaching worked, we shouldn’t be able to determine his politics. This is a noble aim, but it’s not infallible.

For example, let’s imagine a professor who believes in laissez-faire economics. They think the invisible hand of the market is the warmest hand to hold and have read every rebuttal to Marx ever written. Yet they wish to teach their students both perspectives equally and select literature they consider representative of each side.

Here, already, is a problem: if they have given more years to studying free-market literature than Marxist literature, they will have a far greater selection of anti-Marxist material to

draw from. They know the foundational texts of the ideology they oppose, but how much do they know beyond that?

If a professor announced, “capitalism is broken,” “the Illuminati controls our government,” “crime is worsened by inequality,” “the illuminati

ISABELLA CESARI/THE VARSITY

Even if they sincerely seek to give both equal attention, the odds are against them before the lecture even begins. It does little harm to students for them to disclose their beliefs. In fact, there are more insidious issues if they claim impartiality, but their lessons quietly favour particular viewpoints.

Of course, revealing one’s own opinion is not the same as being biased, but we tend to call opinions “bias” when they contradict our own.

If someone in a position of authority espouses a point with which we agree, we may not recognize it as a subjective opinion at all, but simply a fact.

should control our government but they don’t,” or “the Illuminati broke capitalism,” this would register to some students as a troubling intrusion of personal politics, and to others as clearly observable truths which need no explanation.

While it seems straightforward to tell professors to keep personal opinions out of lectures, it’s not so simple for them to do so. The deeper your research, the more likely you are to encounter topics on which there is debate, even amongst authorities.

We want our lecturers to be passionate and exceptionally knowledgeable about their sub-

jects. It’s difficult to imagine someone dedicating their life to learning about something, and emerging with no strong opinions.

If their subject interacts in any way with human society — which subjects tend to do — some of those opinions are going to be political.

So, let’s hear them. If anyone’s going to lecture us about politics, why not the people to whom we already pay large amounts of money to for their knowledge?

Good teaching forces us to confront our own biases. If we already knew everything we wanted to know about the world, we wouldn’t come to university. Learning from a professor who regularly says things you disagree with will ultimately be a greater learning opportunity than learning from one who confirms everything you already believe. Some of my most fulfilling moments at U of T have come after a professor said something that I opposed entirely, and I had to turn the statement over in my head for a long time. Even if I ended up holding firm to that initial opposition, I came to have a stronger grasp of my own opinion and why I stand by it.

Working in a university requires you to know a thing or two, unlike working in government — which requires you to be an illuminatus.

Your professor might not successfully convert you to communism, but you won’t have many opportunities in life to have a reasoned debate with a well-informed opponent whose job it is to encourage you to share your thoughts — cherish them whilst you have them. We’re in school to be challenged; no one expects you to follow blindly. And if you feel like your professor is trying to indoctrinate you, they must not be doing a very good job of it.

Jacob Harron is a fourth-year English student at Victoria College. He is an Associate Senior Copy Editor.

Why I quit the circus

Overworked, overburdened: hanging onto side gigs isn’t always what’s best for student health and academics

Dana Tors Varsity Contributor

Whenever my shy first-year self mentioned that I not only worked at a circus but performed there as my casual, part-time job, I would usually be hit with questions and looks of disbelief. It certainly wasn’t the typical side gig, and the release of the critically reviled but commercially successful film The Greatest Showman added yet another slew of questions. No, we do not cage animals at our circus. Yes, Zendaya and Zac Efron oscillating each other while “[rewriting] the stars” lacked realism.

And though everyone at my workplace poked fun at the inaccuracies of the movie, it did illuminate the glamorous facade that is often associated with the circus. While teaching circus classes had regular hours and a steady paycheck, performance gigs felt a little bit like a secret life. Seasonal events would often take place during off-work hours, and jobs for corporate parties inserted me into crowds of people I’d never see again.

The pay was good, the job gave me excellent stories for the hundreds of icebreakers all froshies endure, and aerial circus is an art form that I love.

So why did I stop?

Despite the fact that the extra bucks I was making lessened the impact of U of T’s outrageous tuition, I realized that being a full-time student, volunteering, being heavily involved in an on-campus club, pursuing my own aerial

training, and having a personal life in which I could be present with the people around me was just too overwhelming. This was not accounting for balancing circus gigs on top of that.

Saying no to a stream of revenue that allows for creativity sounds like the exact opposite of what our current culture tells us to do. We’re constantly bombarded with slogans telling us to “hustle.” Famous figures like Elon Musk urge us to push ourselves into the longest work hours we can possibly handle, and our peers are trapped in the same productivity-hungry cycle. Countless books have been written claiming to unlock the real key to productivity, and in turn the true path to fulfillment and happiness.

“Sleep less, work more” and “Don’t stop ‘till it’s done” have become daily mantras that people proudly live by.

However, as I know all too well, producing more isn’t going to make you happier. That’s not to say joy can’t be found in work and passions, but reaching ‘girl-boss’ status will not automatically raise you to a level of put-together, pre-packaged happiness.

This issue isn’t unique to overworked students either; being stretched too thin is an epidemic in all walks of life. You can see the conversation brewing with counter-cultural releases like the book To

Hell with the Hustle: Reclaiming Your Life in an Overworked, Overspent, and Overconnected World, which are attempting to challenge these norms.

I’m not telling you that not pursuing anything is the way to go, and that all work has to be laid aside during your time at university. But I’m also not telling you that as long as hustling is coupled with copious amounts of self-care it’ll be okay either.

You cannot anchor your self-worth, self-esteem, or identity solely to what you produce. As cliché as it may sound, existing and being a human being with thoughts and emotions already makes you worthy of rest and care. And that’s not to sound overly optimistic and removed from reality — there’s just so much more to reality than our small, centralized spheres of what we make and do.

Dana Tors is a third-year English student at Trinity College.

Dana Tors worked as a performer at a circus as a full-time student.

DANA TORS/THE VARSITY

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THE VARSITY

COMMENT

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Grade deflation is an unfair and discouraging practice

Following exposed class email about keeping average down, students are rightly outraged Sonia Uppal Varsity Contributor

Grade deflation is a practice that many students never truly come to understand, especially considering how its implementation varies from class to class. Consequently, this confusion has exaggerated an environment of instability and fear for students regarding grades.

A very recent and public example of grade deflation took place during the 2019 fall semester, as an email sent to CRI390 — Topics in Criminology and Sociolegal Studies students circulated on social media. In it, a professor addressed a change to the marking scheme for a final reading assignment as a result of higher-than-expected marks on the class midterm.

They conveyed that the criminology department expected them to keep the course average between 75–78 per cent, so as to not appear to be involved in grade inflation. The instructor then went on to say that since everyone in the class did well on the midterm, they felt it necessary to cap marking on a following assignment, to “systematically account” for this lapse in proportional grading.

The email said that the instructor felt the need to let everyone know about the grade deflation in case they were “discouraged” or thought that their lower grade meant that there was a decline in the quality of their work.

This final statement can be interpreted as evidence that student work is not solely being graded on the basis of quality, but also in relation to the department’s regulations for proportional grading — otherwise known as grading on a bell curve. The professor’s conclusion acknowledges the potential negative and demotivating effects of this change.

Intentionally lowering grades is extremely discouraging to students. Being told that a class has done ‘too well’ and that grades must now be stifled

SEOYEON LEE/THE VARSITY

complicates understandings of fair evaluation and fair treatment in the classroom. Education should be an area of life where students are encouraged to thrive through the support of their instructors.

It is important to note that a few days after this email went viral, the instructor reversed this change, reinstating the previous marking rubric.

This was likely, in my opinion, due to the uproar it caused on social media, but nothing has been confirmed.

The official reason for this kind of grade deflation is unclear, with little information readily

available. However, I wouldn’t be surprised if it is done to preserve the university’s prestigious status as an academically competitive institution.

From Reddit to Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook, there has been an enormous amount of student concern regarding these grading practices.

Many feel as though grade deflation is unjust because of the disregard for the actual quality of one’s work. Students on these platforms are angry at this practice since it implies that classes do not want students to thrive, and instead that they will go out of their way to do the opposite.

It is important to stress that this practice does not necessarily occur in every single course at U of T, and that instructors are not to blame in every case. As seen in the viral email, professors must follow the practices that their superiors dictate.

Concerns should be directed toward them, and through these channels students must demand transparency and fairness in grading.

Sonia Uppal is a third-year Equity Studies student at St. Michael’s College.

UTSG vegan options leave much to be desired

Moving toward campus sustainability and student health requires improved access to meat-free food options Harper Stewart Varsity Contributor

I have unsuccessfully been vegan for about two years now. My game plan has been this: meal prep on the weekend, eat my prepped meals throughout the week, and mission accomplished — I’m a vegan. As one could probably expect, my dream of being a meal prep queen is rarely realized because, like many students, I don’t have the time to properly meal prep. So, when plan A fails — which it frequently does — I move to plan B, which is finding a vegan meal on campus. However, this endeavour is not as easy as one would hope.

While there are some vegan options on and around campus, the selection is small and the prices are very high.

Over my two-year struggle, I have found a few vegan-ish foods that I have grown to love: plain french fries — which can be found at pretty much every food truck; Ned’s Cafe’s veggie samosas — which combine the nutritional value of a small variety of vegetables with the comforting quality of crispy, carby, dough; Café Reznikoff ’s overpriced pasta salad, which may or may not actually be vegan; and The Green Beet, which is delicious but unsustainably expensive.

Additionally, the Food Services website features a list of on-campus locations with certified vegan items.

These lovely options aside, finding a well-balanced, reasonably priced vegan meal on campus is not easy. Really any healthy meal of any kind is hard to come by, and those that do exist are usually far out of the price range of most students. Students should be able to find healthy meals on campus for a relatively low price. Currently, students either pay for overpriced and slightly healthy food, or restrict themselves to cheaper, greasy foods.

Research finds that cognition is greatly affected by a person’s eating habits. Increasing the availability of healthy, cheap, and plant-based options in cafeterias across campus will not only make

eating on campus more accessible to those who are vegan, but will also give the average student a greater variety of healthy options to choose from.

In 2018, the American College Health Association found that approximately 63 per cent of postsecondary students are not eating sufficient portions of fruits and vegetables. This comes as no surprise. I often find myself eating fries, bread, and other carbohydrates-filled snacks, unable to find or afford healthier options.

University students often reach for the closest options, factoring in portability and price in between classes, jobs, and study sessions. Poor diets have become a commonly accepted feature of the postsecondary experience. But this is an issue that the university has the power to improve.

According to one study published in the journal Science, going vegan is the single most effective way to reduce one’s environmental footprint.

While it is unrealistic to expect the majority of U of T students to switch to a vegan diet, it is in the best interest of the university to give students options to do so by providing students with increasingly accessible and varied vegan food options.

Seeing as U of T has already pledged itself toward the U7+ climate goals, promising to work toward “campus as a living lab, university as an agent of change, and curriculum innovation,” it would be prudent to consider investing in plantbased options.

If the university is to influence students and society toward sustainability, food must be a part of that effort. Exposing students to affordable, nutritious vegan food will not only increase awareness of the possibility of veganism as a sustainable diet, but also reinforce the university’s commitment toward student health — an action that is long overdue.

Harper Stewart is a fourth-year Political Science student at Innis College.

Students are left with limited meat-free options.

RACHEL GAO/THE VARSITY

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FEBRUARY 3, 2020

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Op-ed: The city balances its budget on the backs of students UTSU VP External on the postsecondary metropass fare increase and the growing disconnect between students and the city

Lucas Granger Varsity Contributor

It is hard to hide from the fact that the City of Toronto is facing an ever-increasing crisis of affordability right now. This crisis is affecting everything you could possibly need — rent, food, transit, and more.

Toronto City Council knows this. But some members of City Council seem to barely care.

In fact, highlighting student concerns around members of City Council feels futile. They either have no idea about it, no idea how their actions have impacted it, or no desire to fix their mistakes.

I’m going to focus on something that could be perceived as incredibly ‘minor’ in the grand scheme of things — postsecondary student transit costs. Students at U of T have a sordid history when it comes to negotiating lower transit costs, twice failing to pass referendums that would have introduced the UPass and greatly benefitted student transit across the city.

Unfortunately, the City of Toronto saw the UPass as their solution to a larger problem of affordable transit for students, and really hasn’t considered anything else since then. This is despite the fact that the Post-Secondary Student Metropass is only available to full-time students, and that many students don’t commute enough to warrant the already high cost of the pass.

After University of Toronto Students’ Union members first rejected UPass in 2008, the City of Toronto introduced the Post-Secondary Student Metropass the following year in order to ensure that full-time students from various institutions received some form of discount to use the TTC. In recent years, City Council has approached public policy through the means of austerity, service cuts, and cancellations of necessary projects. Due to budget constraints, the City of Toronto cannot be in a deficit, and as such some services increase in price every budget cycle.

This year they chose students to be their victim. Specifically, the 2020 TTC Operating Budget singled out the Post-Secondary Student Metropass, raising the price from $122.45 to

$128.15. This may seem like a measly sum of an extra $5.70 per month, but think clearly about the implications of this. This increase is proportionally larger than any other TTC increase that has been proposed this cycle. Additionally, the rising cost of living in Toronto continues to push students and other residents into substandard, illegal, or dangerous housing situations.

City Council has the power to levy various increases in other areas too, from a revival of the $60 vehicle registration tax — which would generate over $55 million — to minor increases in the property tax that amount to the cost of a few coffees per year. Funnily enough, City Council generally rejects these proposals, but is fine asking students to pay an extra $68.40 per year to use our public transit system.

These actions are despite a motion that was passed by City Council in consultation with Councillor Mike Layton and Councillor Kristyn Wong-Tam to begin a study on the reduction of postsecondary student fares on the TTC in October. This change also prompted me to reach out to Councillor Josh Matlow, who has started a petition against unjustifiable increases in student transit prices in response to this increase.

Students have been viewed as temporary fixtures of neighbourhoods across Toronto, often changing where they reside year by year. Increases in transit

costs force students to make tough decisions about where they live. On one hand, a student may choose to live with their family, or in a location further from school to save money on rent. On the other hand, they may decide to live close to campus despite the skyrocketing costs of living downtown, including the rising cost of their commute.

For some students, the financial benefits of living further from campus can be suddenly outweighed by the new cost of their commute.

The question becomes whether it is worth commuting. While rent remains high, increasing transit costs may no longer justify time spent commuting. These decisions can lead students into the hands of predatory landlords who promise cheaper rent downtown, but often leave very little protection for their residents.

So let’s be real. The City of Toronto’s actions tell students that they don’t matter, that our voices aren’t heard, and that they see us as ‘temporary’ residents of the city, so who can blame us for taking actions that they City of Toronto deems unacceptable? It is no wonder that in 2017, 40 per cent of students surveyed responded that they dodge fares on public transit, or that students live in substandard or outright dangerous situations which could lead to preventable tragedies.

It is time for City Council to get their act together — listen to students and actually consider our situations when creating widespread policies.

We need to make our voices heard as well — attend community meetings, email city planners, go to City Council, do deputations. Speak on the issues that you care about, otherwise City Council will remain ignorant to our concerns. We aren’t just temporary residents. We are the future of this city, and if Toronto wants to retain the talent and experience of its students, they need to make it worthwhile for us to stay.

Lucas Granger is a fourth-year student at Innis College studying History and Urban Studies.

He is the Vice-President, External Affairs of the University of Toronto Students’ Union (UTSU).

Disclaimer: Granger is a candidate running for Governing Council Constituency 1 - Full-time Arts and Science students.

Effective March 1, students will have to pay $5.70 more per month for a PRESTO postsecondary pass.

JACKY LAI/THE VARSITY

Letters to the Editor Re: “UNHhhh the swiss army knife of Youtube shows” “YES the recognition this show deserves!!!”

— Tyler Riches (from Web) Re: “Opinion: Participation marks pose an equity issue” “really important article; though as a formerly-shy-person-turned-extrovert, I’m strongly in favour of active learning methods, I now can understand that there’s much more to being able to actively participate in classes than simply getting rid of the feeling of being afraid of getting judged by others.

However, I still feel like the current emphasis on non-active forms of evaluation is so unreasonably high that the allocation of at least a portion of one’s marks to participation in a few courses should be highly encouraged for now, as almost none of my courses, except for two, has done so in my four years as an undergraduate student. I think that this traditional underemphasis would have harmful effect by discouraging students to critically think through what they hear from their lecturers/instructors.”

— Amir Ahmad Azhieh (from Web)

Re: “Ford government’s first Strategic Mandate Agreement hopes to tie funding to economic performance metrics” “We all complained that all education does is get kids ready for the factory...... and now we are actually only going to fund programs that ONLY do that! Where is literature, art, history, dance, theatre, culture, philosophy?

Can you imagine an institute of higher learning whose only purpose is a higher wage? This is what you get when a drug dealer high school drop out takes over. And those millionaires on Bay Street may have things and do amazing work, but I wouldn’t vouch for their character or vision with a wet noodle - and my evidence to defend that statement is the 2008 crash and the fact that the OSC prosecutes none of them!”

— Paul Newland (from Web) Re: “Six new capital construction projects in planning stages at UTSC” Fix the fuckig elevators in Myhal b4 doing anything else — Yoon Kim (from Web)

Re: “Between two worlds: rural students on transitioning to city living” “As someone who grew up rural, and is nonbinary, I can attest that this city is a terrifying and lonely place” — Taylor Thompson (from Web) Re: “Opinion: debunking the myths surrounding Greek life: a community of opportunities” “Greek life (fraternities/sororities) can be a community experience for those who can afford it. We need to think about who has access to these community experiences” — Chantel George (from Web) Re: “UTM lecturer criticized online for tying grades to social media, buying his book” “Making us buy their books is totally ok but following them on social media is where Uoft draws the line?

When professors come up with Canadian version of textbooks just so we have to buy new ones there’s no outrage eh!”

— Sare Persh (from Web)

“Honestly, university students need to set a policy that states no marks can be given for any aspect of teaching which can be purchased. You have to work for a mark, not buy it. So, no more online course access fees which are worth 5% for participation- each comment must be marked by someone. No more buy the book to be in the class or write the exam. Books can be purchased second hand, or offered online as part of the course fee like other materials. Professors obviously need to be paid more- they should at least get a teacher’s salary, ALL OF THEM! This is a fight worth having. Students deserve better than the “debt is the new slavery” model which OSAP and the banks currently enjoy, and universities abuse. Time to march, boycott classes, shut the universities down, all of them, and occupy the Dean’s office. It is time young people got loud!!!”

— Paul Newland (from Web) “Respect the hustle” — Ali Rizvi (from Web)

6

THE VARSITY

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2020 GOVERNING COUNCIL ELECTIONS: Student Candidates’ Statements Voting Period: Monday, February 3, 2020 at 9:00 a.m. to Friday, February 14, 2020 at 5:00 p.m.

Online voting will take place on U-electT at voting.utoronto.ca Full-Time Undergraduate Students, Constituency I (Faculty of Arts and Science, University of Toronto Mississauga, University of Toronto Scarborough) Sophia My name is Sophia Sainee Ayathurai and I am a third year student in the Mental Health Specialist Co-op Program at UTSC. Since starting my undergraduate degree in 2016, I have volunteered on and off campus and am currently the Vice-President of ShareNow, and a successful co-op student.

I learned how to be a UofT representative both on and off campus and navigated UofT relations within the community.

I am passionate about improving policies to aid students struggling with their mental health, female students, and minority students. I want to make being at UofT a fulfilling experience.

Laiba Khan Singing out loud is my all-time favorite hobby and embarrassing myself is my forte, therefore if you see me singing, please sing along. Hey UofT, my name is aiba Khan, I am a first-year student at University of Toronto, Mississauga pursuing Law and criminology as my major. I currently serve as the Division 1 Board of Director at UTM. For the past several years, I have been part of many organizations, clubs and currently serve as a Master Corporal in Cadets. I am running to be a part of the governing council to create a better university year for you!

Yufeifei Lei I used to be a grade 12 Representative in the student council in my high school. I planned many school events, such as Walk for Hope, writing session, and so on. I also entered DECA which is a business contest in North America and successfully reached the second round. In addition, I used to be a math tutor. I helped grade 9 and 10 students do math questions. Furthermore, I was a member of swim team and badminton club in my high school. In conclusion, I really want to join in it and I will make efforts do it.

Andrea Chiappetta Hi everyone! My name is Andrea Chiappetta, and I am currently a student at Woodsworth College, studying Political Science. With experience on our campus’ Academic Board, the UTSU, and my local college union (WCSA), I feel that I am ready to be a part of student voice as a member of Governing Council. As a member of Governing Council, I would push for reform to the credit/no credit mechanism, so that we can have clarity by having a large portion of a course mark prior to making these academic decisions. I ask for your trust to elect me to the Council!

Brady Liu Dear fellow peers, my name is Brady and I am an undergraduate life science student here at UofT. My primary motivation for joining this organization is to provide the Governing Council with the perspectives of students from the undergraduate student community. My ualifications for this role stem from my student service experiences as a Program Coordinator and Student Leader. More importantly, I possess an intrinsic passion for incorporating student voices into key decision-making processes, enhancing comprehensive support for mental health provisions, as well as improving the student experience overall. Feel free to connect with me at bradyb.liu@mail.utoronto.ca for any in uiries

Aisha Chohan As a Forest Conservation and Environmental Studies student in my second year here at UofT, I believe I have the ualifications, but more importantly, the motivation to represent students on the Governing Council. I have previous experience working in clubs on campus such as the UofT B.E.E.S and have experience working in a community nonprofit organization known as Youth Gravity. I hope to use this position to provide a student perspective based on student feedback and research. I also hope to promote policies in relation to awards, tuition, and grading practices that will benefit students the most

Daniel Mau As a fellow undergraduate student, I understand the challenges we face. While I cannot propose policy, I promise I will represent our view and ensure I will post questions to policies that are not in the best interests of us. If elected, I will use platforms where I will engage all of you whenever possible.

I will ensure you can contact me easily so I can represent your view. To address the issue of low student participation, I will use platforms like UserVoice to ensure easy discussion.

Also, I will increase engagement by participating in different platforms, like Reddit AMA. votedaniel2020.wordpress.com

Valerie Dawe My name is Valerie Dawe and I would like to serve on the Governing Council because the University of Toronto is a large and great institution and it is important to maintain certain facets of our education. The aspects that are the most important to me are equity, inclusivity, accessibility, sustainability with regard to our environmental footprint, and supports for mental health. The University of Toronto has been making steps in this direction and I hope to foster these issues and ensure that everything that can reasonably be done to support our diverse host of students will be done.

Nicholas Pagano My name is Nicholas Pagano, a third year Mathematics and Neuroscience student. I have served in student leadership positions as Vice President of Academic Affairs and Vice President of the St. Michael’s College Student Union, as well as involvement in Orientation planning and execution at my college. I have sat on many administrative boards, and have spent extensive time interacting with students to best represent them. My goal is to provide a voice for the undergraduate students, to ensure their experience at the University of Toronto is amazing, starting from the top down.

Vote for me!

Xiaoyi Du iaoyi is currently doing PEY till Summer 2 2 . As a PEY student who also taking course at same time, Xiaoyi strongly encouraging Department of Computer Science and Faculty of Engineer setting up evening course office hour for PEY students. Besides that, as an international student from China, iaoyi realizes that not much international student participates in school political events though they are paying a gigantic tuition. Xiaoyi wants to become a voice of international students and will working with international student association to let international students knows what rights they have and how to defending themselves.

Joy Fan To be a clear voice for students amidst within the Governing Council is a critically important role. There have been many calls for change within the past years I have been at UofT, yet few demands from students have been met, and even minor changes have taken much too long. Students’ problems need to be the university’s problems. UofT prides itself on being a first-class institution and needs to start acting like one to its students, rather than to just show the world. This is what I will champion and push for. This is our voice.

Lucas Granger Over the past four years I have had the opportunity to serve three terms on the Innis College Council, and currently as Vice-President, External at the UTSU. Through these experiences I have been able to advocate on behalf of real student issues like housing, transit, and student aid. As a member of Governing Council, I would ensure that students are properly consulted on policy, that the effects of MLAP on students are heard, and that the University of Toronto Act is amended to reflect the current reality that although UofT has three campuses, it only has two full-time student seats. https:// www.facebook.com/Lucas-Granger-for-UofT-GoverningCouncil-109072783953780 Roofaidah Durdana Haque I am a member of the undergraduate class of 2023. I would bring to this position many fine ualities; honesty, cooperativeness and etc. However, the most important one is being the voices of other peers at the University of Toronto. I have many things to share, but so do you. If I do get elected, my first goal is to let others share their experiences, opinions and etc. Make the sharing stage equal for all. I will work alongside my peers to bring focus to the needs of other students. Thanks so much!

You can reach me via email at roofaidah.durdana@gmail.com Jimmy Issa Jimmy Issa is a tall student attending the University of Toronto, Mississauga Campus, and sees his future in the sciences of molecular biology. He’s really interested in the origins of civilization, has done a bit of dancing, and is as confident as he is tall, hoping to represent you on the Governing Council.

Born in Quebec but living close to the campus today, his time for you is all the time, preferably Friday’s. Vote Jimmy.

Shayan Salesi I am in my second year studying mathematics, computer science, and economics. I have had immense opportunity to learn leadership through starting numerous companies, student clubs, teaching, and mentorship. I am confident that the skills I have garnered in these positions will carry over in my ability to dutifully represent the university in regards to maintaining and advancing academic quality, and improving the student experience. I am dedicated to creating a connected student body, and creating a community of prosperity and personal achievement. With your trust in me, I will be tireless in creating a University culture embedded with excellence. https://www.shayansalesi.com/Campaign Ralph Sayegh Having recently moved here from Lebanon I am eager to participate in our beautiful university community and give back to my society to the best of my ability. Having had model united nation experience as well as managerial experience through the Rotman Commerce FinTech Association, I believe I would be an excellent representative of the arts and science department as a member of this year’s governing council. As an international student, I believe I bring a new and fresh outlook to the table and the possibility of inspiring other intercontinental students that may be hesitant to voice their opinions.

Haolin Tong Haolin Tong is a second year student at Victoria College studying Political Science. He previously studied at UTSC and achieved Dean’s ist in his first year of study. He has actively volunteered for the UTSC Student Ambassador Program as a tour guide since the beginning of his university life, showcasing the university for prospective students. Studying at both campuses has given him opportunity to hear students’ concerns about their studying in both places. He is looking forward to the opportunity to speak on behalf of the students and bringing forth their concerns to the governing council. For more information, please visit haolin-tong.org Marium Nur Vahed After a year of personal loss and struggles, I know firsthand how many UofT policies are unnecessarily stressful and costly to our community. Through my background in policy reform and advocacy, I am eager to represent your voice by pushing for changes on the Governing Council. For years, I have worked to create spaces for marginalized voices to be heard, and I will continue to challenge people and systems that limit equitable representation. I believe that through academic policies that are more forgiving, trusting and empowering, we can move towards a positive campus culture that centres student wellbeing. mariumnurvahed.ca

Manchen Wang My name is Manchen Wang, a second-year undergraduate student studying nutrition and immunology. I am eager to help others from many different perspectives. As the president of IYSS, an NGO which I carried forward and raise more than $5000+ each year for local hospitals since 2017, I grow to listen, appreciate and take on actions to every voice. I am also a personal consultant who helps students manage extracurricular and have a fluent transition from high school to university. I want to share all positive thoughts to you and make our university a home away from home :) Aloysius Wong My name is Aloysius Wong. I am entering my fourth year studying Peace, Conflict and ustice and Computer Science.

I am running to become your representative at the Governing Council to become an advocate for you and issues that affect us as students. The mental health crisis and fossil fuel divestment necessitate action by the university, and we must work in solidarity with each other and create a community of collaboration and communication. Speak up and vote, and may we never fall silent at the expense of those who need our help and support. More information at the following link: www. aloysiuswong.ca/uoft-gc Vishar Yaghoubian As the Mental Health Director for Woodsworth College at U of T, I intend to represent YOUR VOICE. I have held roles leading and advocating for students for a consistent seven years, aided in community development in Ecuador, and am an advocate for student health and well-being. My goal as a member of the governing council at U of T is to ensure that student wishes are HEARD and mobilized into prompt ACTION. The U of T student experience should live up to the international reputation of our school, including mental health supports and value for our tuition dollars. http://vishar.tk Ziqing (Justin) Zhao Better Vote for Justin! I am a second-year student at St. Michael’s College studying Economic, Psychology and Computer Science. I did my first year at UTSC, as an international student and having studied in both campus, I know what do we really need, such as smaller class scale, more food court on campus with affordable, delicious food, especially more Chinese food. I will push more scholarships and funds to help you with our high cost. I am passionate about making some real changes to our place UofT. Better vote for me, vote for your better life at UofT.

Full-Time Undergraduate Students, Constituency II (Professional Faculties) Hatem Abdalla I have only been in University of Toronto for one semester, but I already feel at home. I want to give back to everyone by being their medium. As a high school clown, student body president, and a participant in the student council for five more years, I grew to listen and appreciate every voice in the room, no matter how loud or quiet. I plan on being easily accessible in person or through social media, so that I can forward your message. I want to be your microphone, but don’t yell pls :( Abnash Kaur Bassi Abnash Kaur Bassi is a first-year Engineering Science student within the Faculty of Applied Science and Engineering.

She is interested in policy-making and previously served on the Constituency Youth Council for MP and Federal Cabinet Minister Carla Qualtrough for three years. Abnash is dedicated to representing the perspectives of students at the University of Toronto, and brings valuable experience from extra-curricular leadership within student clubs. Her community involvement in high school led to Abnash being named one of 35 national Loran Scholarship recipients in 2019. She is currently involved in Engineers without Borders and the University of Toronto’s Aerospace Team.

Charlie Chen To my fellows, I am a third-year engsci in MI major. In the past years, I’ve led students to bring free, valuable events to AI students looking for opportunities and learnings. Now, I want to represent you in the governing council, where I will fight for personalized career planning guidance, opportunities to experience industry and research life as we study, as well as education on healthy and fruitful teamwork. I also care a lot about our mental pressure and will try my best to make mental health supports accessible to everyone in need regardless of their courage to speak up. https://www.facebook.com/ GetASayOnGoverningCouncil/ Spencer Julien Spencer Julien is committed to building a more fair and just University of Toronto. A committed activist and community organizer, Spencer will be a fighter for e uity and student concerns on Governing Council. Passionate about education, social justice, and community building, they previously served on the Minister of Education’s Student Advisory Council (2015-16), Nominating Committee, Board of Governors of Scouts Canada (2015-19), and are the Chair of the Coalition for Specialized Schools. Spencer supports climate-focused divestment, real solutions for the campus mental health crisis, and increased equity in university-wide hiring practices – they will always prioritize students’ interests. www.spencerjulien. ca/governingcouncil

Continued...

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FEBRUARY 3, 2020

2020 GOVERNING COUNCIL ELECTIONS: Student Candidates’ Statements Full-Time Undergraduate Students, Constituency II (Professional Faculties) Continued

Graduate Students Constituency I (Humanities and Social Sciences)

Graduate Students Constituency II (Physical and Life Sciences)

Chris Kwon My name is Chris and I’m a first-year engineering science student who loves interacting with people and helping them when possible. As someone with a longtime reputation of being energetic, creative and extroverted, I will put my strong interpersonal qualities to use in representing and serving my constituency. ‘Work hard, play hard!’ is the ideal that I personally embody in my own life and how I perceive my school community’s values, and I would love to contribute myself in keeping this a core spirit of our community. (It ain’t much, but it’s honest work)

Ada Adanna Governing Council is an opportunity for us to contribute to the long term vision of this University in our short time here.

I ask to represent you. In my spare time, I enjoy reading up on the history of the university, its many reports and its strategy for the future. I’ve been privileged to have insightful discussions with some of you over these findings. It takes informed research to ask questions, offer feedback and support long-term strategy. I figured I could put all that knowledge to some use volunteering on this council. So, here I am: www.voteADA.ca

Diana Li As a member of the Governing Council, I pledge to represent and voice for students and student groups within the Professional Faculties, especially the Faculty of Applied Science and Engineering. I commit to improve student experience by contributing to decision-making from an international student’s perspective and being the go-to person for student feedback. I will act upon my experiences as Mental Health and Wellness Director and First-Year Mentorship Director with the Chemical Engineering Council to support students transition into university. I will also relentlessly advocate for experiential learning and more opportunities that bridge the gap between theory and industry practice.

Hanné Becker My name is Hanné Becker, DMA Candidate in Organ Performance at the Faculty of Music. My interest in serving on the Governing Council stems from a desire to more deeply understand and contribute positively towards strategic planning and decision making processes involved in keeping university programs relevant in today’s fast-changing world.

I believe interdisciplinary conversations involving diverse faculties are integral to facilitate collaborative efforts towards building a better future together. Besides being a TA for three consecutive years, I have also been involved in leadership roles on campus as a residence Don and on the Knox College student committee.

Jasmine Carter As a Graduate Student in the Life Sciences Division I would like to run for a position on the Governing Council. Currently, I am a PhD student and Co-President of the Pharmaceutical Science Graduate Student Association in the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences at the Faculty of Pharmacy studying human health with focus on pharmacoepidemiology and molecular mechanisms. I have published in Psychoneuroendocrinology, Journal of Psychosomatic Medicine and Clinical Medicine. Formerly, I have been a Governor on the Academic Board and Academic Policy and Programs Board. Outside of my studies, I enjoy rowing and row on the University of Toronto Rowing Team.

Stephane Martin Demers Hello everyone! I am a student at the University of Toronto Faculty of Music. As a Faculty of Music Undergraduate Association (FMUA) board member as well as a Black Future Lawyers (BFL) Program Assistant at the Faculty of Law and a Toronto Pearson International Airport student ambassador for U of T, contributing to the intellectual and administrative growth of this university has been my primary goal and utmost pleasure. If elected, I will use my 3 years of experience on campus to be a trustworthy representative for the student body and a leader for change.

Akshay Mohan A flourishing student community is foundational to academic excellence. As a first year international PhD studying mental health, I have direct experience with and understanding of the financial, social and health needs of our community. For fifteen years, I have held student leadership roles to advance these complex issues, engaged stakeholders, built coalitions and launched initiatives to improve student quality of life, mental health and resource access. Your vote for me is necessary, so I can continue to use my experience and expertise to represent our needs, and ensure university policies and practices are aligned to building a flourishing community.

Sneh Shah Sneh Shah is a first year Electrical-Engineering student at the University of Toronto. He has graduated from ABWA (Alma mater) receiving an International Baccalaureate® Diploma.

Sneh was the captain of the cricket varsity team and has earned a scholarship training from a renowned club. Sneh has imbibed copious knowledge about leadership through the Ilead Troost Leadership workshops at his university. He loves taking up tasks that allow him to impact his surroundings.

Sneh recently led a village adoption project in association with NGOs wherein his team managed to raise $1000 for the provision of sanitation kits for teenagers in rural Maharashtra. www.linkedin.com/in/sneh-shah-13527a1a0 Gary Wei I’m an Engineering Science student dedicated to meaningful and impactful representation of the student body. I currently sit on the Engineering Society Board of Directors as a FirstYear director as well as its Academic Advocacy Committee.

Although I study in the Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering, this isn’t my first year at U of T; last year I pursued a degree in the Faculty of Arts & Science. As such, I bring a significant breadth of perspective to the table and the necessary experience to effectively advocate on and contribute to the Governing Council for our professional faculties constituency. Visit gxwei.ca

Mozynah Nofal I am a third year PhD student in Education Leadership and Policy at OISE. I have a Master’s degree in educational policy from the OttawaU, and a Public Policy Bachelors from Carleton University. Between these three institutions I have a combined experience of 10 years of students’ activism work, and 10 years of training in education policies.

Professionally, I have worked for a scholarship management company, two private schools, the United Nations and the World Bank. Besides my professional and academic training, I am passionate about providing an inclusive campus, with a mentally safe environment and fair policies for students.

Gaurang Paranji I am Gaurang Paranji, and I am a first year Masters in Finance student. As a graduate student I bring to the table experience gained living and working in 4 different countries, including previous leadership experience. I currently hold the elected position of MFin Director for the Graduate Business Council. I have previously acted as a liaison, and I promise to be proactive whenever I see something that could be improved, whether academically or otherwise. I assure you that your trust in me will not be mislaid. Vote for someone who will represent you. Vote for Gaurang Paranji. www.gparanji.com

Amin Kamaleddin “The Highest Result of Education is Tolerance”. Having your trust in me, together with my experience as the President of International Students’ Caucus and contributions to Neuroscience and Engineering communities will enable me to: Improve the mental health resources, Facilitate transparent access to information, and Create an environment where all students can thrive; Assure that UofT continues its efforts toward the improvement of students’ communication and interpersonal skills that are essential to their career development; Build a community of inclusion where EVERYONE is welcomed; and, Consult regularly with graduate students and Coordinate efforts centered around their common interests and concerns. https://www.facebook.com/Aminfor2020/ Sophie McGibbon-Gardner Sophie is a fifth year PhD candidate in Physics. She has served as the Academics and Funding Commissioner for Divisions 3 and 4, and as the Finance Commissioner at the Graduate Students’ Union. She has been involved in student governance throughout her post-secondary education, serving on six university governance bodies. On these bodies, she has focused on environmental justice initiatives, improving supervisory relationships, access to conference funding, and improving student mental health through community building and needs-based solutions. She hopes to continue to advocate for increasing the quality of the student experience as a Governing Council Representative.

Helen Yang I’m Helen Yang, an IMS MSc student. I had the privilege of serving on the A&S council and its subcommittees as an elected undergraduate student representative. When reviewing student appeals and policy changes, I provided a strong empathetic student voice to the faculty and staff. To date, I continue to be an active member on the A&S Mental Health Committee. I am also a Co-Chair on the LMP Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Committee. I will passionately advocate for academic, financial, and mental health support. I will also encourage open dialogue to better represent your voice. Please strongly consider my candidacy.

Branden Rizzuto Branden is a 5th year PhD Candidate in Anthropology.

He has been a student at the University of Toronto since 2008 and has served on over 20 university councils and committees. Currently serving his 5th term on the Arts and Science Council, Branden was also a 4-term Executive at the Graduate Students’ Union (GSU). Branden has played a lead role in the creation of new bursaries and awards for graduate students and currently spearheads the UTGSU’s legal proceedings against the Ontario Ford Government’s “Student Choice Initiative”. He is committed to strengthening graduate student representation and the voices of graduate students broadly.

Students registered at UTM and UTSC are also encouraged to vote in the elections for the Campus Councils and their Standing Committees.

Voting Period: Monday, February 3, 2020 at 9:00 a.m. to Friday, February 14, 2020 at 5:00 p.m. Online voting will take place on U-electT at voting.utoronto.ca.

Questions about the Governing Council elections process may be directed to the Chief Returning Officer, Mr. Anwar Kazimi (416-978-8427; anwar.kazimi@utoronto.ca), or the Deputy Returning Officer, Mr. Patrick McNeill (416-978-8428; patrick.mcneill@utoronto.ca).

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12

THE VARSITY

FEATURES

Writer: Willow Cabral Illustrator: Yoon-Ji Kweon

As students at the University of Toronto, we have each earned our place here. With our unique backgrounds, stories, and experiences, we all unite in having had our hard work validated and rewarded with an acceptance letter to the top university in Canada, and one of the top public universities in the world.

So why do so many of us feel alone and out of place here?

Imposter syndrome, the feeling that you’re inadequate and do not belong or deserve to be somewhere, is numbing. It is a phenomenon that plagues our minds and leads us to not only question our abilities and achievements, but our worth. I believe that much of the imposter syndrome felt by students, myself included, stems from the academic environment and standards cultivated and enforced by the university.

Being accepted into this school warrants a certain level of high academic achievement and many of us who were accustomed to such scholastic success during our days in secondary school have experienced a shock when coming here.

Furthermore, this sense of imposter syndrome has been compounded by the general reluctance of students to speak out about their mental health struggles.

I want to help dismantle this stigma however I can, and I believe that this process begins with sharing my own personal and emotional story. After all, my story is one chapter of many.

A personal story of vulnerability I never for a moment thought that I would experience imposter syndrome, but this assumption was completely shattered during my first semester at U of T in the fall of 2018. That isn’t to say that I didn’t expect the transition into university to be somewhat challenging — I did, but only to a certain degree.

I knew that transitioning from a small town on the west coast to the concrete jungle of Toronto would be like night and day. High school teachers had warned me to expect a somewhat dramatic dip in grades.

What I failed to prepare for, however, was the realization that I was wholly unhappy with the subject I was studying.

Rather than listen to my instincts, which were telling me to change my program, I began to live a lie. I desperately tried to convince myself that I enjoyed the material in life sciences.

In reality, I felt suffocated and lost; the idea of following this program and eventual career path made the future look dreary, and this same outlook eventually began to seep into my daily life.

Nonetheless, I continued with

the classes, labs, and total unhappiness. Unsurprisingly, my lack of passion for the subject resulted in a complete lack of motivation which led to poor grades. My days became a blur of internal struggle, which continued to build with the pressure that I felt to stay in my program and make my family happy. I felt so out of place, and yet had to continue to put on an elaborate performance.

It didn’t help that I lived in a Living Learning Community in residence during my first year which was focused on the program that I had grown to despise. I remember after every big test, everyone would huddle together in the common room or in the hallways and compare how they thought they did, and the process would repeat once grades actually became available. I feared the shame I would feel if my peers in residence found out how poorly I was doing in school.

At the time, I thought that I didn’t deserve to be at U of T. I felt like a failure. I felt like I had left my family back home and came all the way to Toronto just to hate my program and destroy my GPA. Looking back, I realize that this imposter syndrome was so intense not because I didn’t belong at U of T, but because I didn’t belong in that specific program.

At the time, I thought my failures stemmed from stupidity.

I have been no stranger to trauma and adversity in my life, but I can honestly say that my first semester at U of T was the closest I have ever felt to depression. In the past, I would find comfort and healing by centring my sense of self around my accomplishments, both academic and extracurricular. However, at the time I found myself in a place where that coping mechanism was no longer possible.

How could I possibly find healing from reflecting on my accomplishments when suddenly there were none to celebrate? I went from being independent and excited to start leading my own life, to desperately missing my family and any remnants of a time before university.

I began isolating myself from those around me and overthinking what I mistakenly perceived as their secret judgements. I had no motivation to even attend class, as simply looking at the program content was enough to stir my anxiety. Despite being a big advocate for mental health, I didn’t pursue any help for myself.

I was too ashamed to turn to peers, too embarrassed to approach residence and campus resources, and too scared to confide in my parents. I smiled, made jokes, and tried to repress the distaste for myself and my situation that was slowly brewing within.

I felt that I was not worthy of call-

ing myself a student at this university. Pair that with my high school friends’ accomplishments in their academic careers at smaller universities and I felt like a shadow to their success. Suddenly, the friends I learned and grew alongside were leaving me in the dust and there was nothing I could do about it — or so I thought.

It took a lot of internal deliberation, but I finally realized that I needed to break free from the imposter syndrome that was slowly consuming my happiness and sense of self. I dropped all of the classes I was lined up to take in second semester and replaced them with classes that actually sounded appealing and interesting to me.

For the first time, I listened to myself and it made all the difference.

I’m now studying geography and planning, with a specialist in human geography and double minors in urban studies and geographic information systems. While the jump to a completely different subject area was admittedly terrifying, I finally began to look forward to class again. I had a renewed sense of hope and felt I had made the first major step toward inner-peace and self-satisfaction.

It has been exactly one year since I made the switch and I have absolutely no regrets.

I’ve had the opportunity of making so many

Feeling like in a big

e a nobody g place

features@thevarsity.ca

wonderful, strong connections with peers, professors, and even myself as a result of being true to who I am and following the path of study that I was meant to be in. I stopped being governed by the fearful voice in my head and instead began listening to the hopefulness in my heart. For this, my life has truly changed.

The internal transformation I’ve experienced has allowed me to increase my capacity for involvement in extracurriculars, and it has helped me find a healthy work-life balance. In fact, I’ve managed to find success in both school and my personal life while managing two jobs, extracurricular projects, and on-and-off-campus leadership positions — and I know others can too.

We’re in this together A number of students shared their experiences with imposter syndrome on the condition of some form of anonymity. Varun, a second-year student studying computer science, wanted only his first name to be published. Sara, a secondyear student studying social sciences, requested an alias be used.

“I just don’t feel comfortable, partly because of imposter syndrome,” Sara wrote to me. “I’ve made myself to be a completely

different person in real life and when that’s published with my name [I] don’t have the mental strength to talk about it in person.”

Varun spoke about how his sense of imposter syndrome has begun to invade his life. “I first began to feel imposter syndrome when I started to hear all about the stress and difficulty of U of T computer science.

I continuously doubted myself and second guessed every single thing I did because I thought that I clearly didn’t belong in a place as challenging as this university,” he said.

The rigid structure at U of T sometimes felt unforgiving to Sara as well. In terms of personal growth, she felt mired and lost in the large campus — especially when coming from a small high school.

“It felt suffocating, [to be honest.] A constant identity crisis,” she wrote. “No one prepares you for this. There’s already traditions and… expectations in place and on top of trying to figure yourself out and what you want [out of university and your degree,] you also [somehow] have to figure out how you fit in a school that already has identities.” “[The imposter syndrome] would often really consume my thoughts and I’d barely be able to concentrate, which would make me stop paying attention in class, which only caused more problems,” Varun said.

Counteracting imposter syndrome is no easy feat. However, there are small steps that we can all take — steps that I have taken too — to show ourselves our own sense of self-worth.

Other than being in a program I enjoy, I’ve found that being involved either on or off campus in some capacity has helped me. By contributing to an initiative or community group with goals bigger than just your own, it is easier for you to develop more confidence through a sense of purpose. I believe that a stronger sense of self is absolutely vital for countering imposter syndrome, because the syndrome itself is rooted in feelings of inadequacy. By building self-confidence through means unrelated to academic achievement, resiliency is fostered in a way that can lessen the impact of unexpected personal struggles.

Becoming involved in extracurricular activities has led me to become closer friends with many former acquaintances. Building your personal network on campus is a great way to feel like you have a place amongst your peers and you really belong here.

However, I understand that finding likeminded people, building a friendship, and actually maintaining that bond can be quite difficult on a campus as big as ours, and it can be especially challenging for com-

muter students, who make up a significant portion of our student population. “[Imposter syndrome] is built into our culture as U of T students at this point, and the university always has a role to play in making a campus culture that is nurturing, proactive, and supportive,” Varun said. “Work has definitely been done, and there are multiple support networks, but there’s still no feeling of community on campus; all there is is competition, and that needs to be worked on.”

That’s why getting involved in groups that meet regularly — especially those on campus — can be a great opportunity for creating those connections and forming those bonds.

It’s about planting our own roots in this seemingly vast and impenetrable institution.

“As weird as it sounds, the only thing that got me out of imposter syndrome was owning it,” Varun said. “I owned the fact that I didn’t feel good enough, and I used that as motivation to work as hard as I possibly could. I can quite confidently say that now I feel like I truly belong here, and that I try [to help] my friends feel the same way too.”

Alternatively, you can also find ways to build confidence by pursuing professional opportunities — whether that’s by finding employment, connecting with a mentor in your desired industry, or attending events and conferences on campus and in the city more generally. It can be so easy to get caught up in academics and student life without realizing that there is a whole other aspect to life. “[Imposter syndrome is] definitely something [I’m] still dealing with, but what helped me was not letting it consume me,” Sara wrote. “That sounds easy but it really [wasn’t;] it took at least a year. I finally slowly put myself out there… [and] joined events such as Frosh to see if there were other people who shared my views and had similar interests.

And to my surprise, there were.”

I know so many people, especially those in programs such as computer science or engineering, who become completely engulfed in their degrees to the point where it becomes unhealthy and mentally damaging.

Many students feel as though their time at U of T is “all or nothing,” and that these years will either make or break their futures.

But that’s not the case. Although you’ve definitely heard this before, let me just say it one more time so you can remember: failures are an unavoidable part of life. Life goes on. And in the end, we will all be okay.

Arts & Culture

February 3, 2020 var.st/arts arts@thevarsity.ca

Stinging nettle and jasmine fill a series of planters, lit from above by magenta light, in Hito Steyerl’s Free Plots.

A land acknowledgement by Tea Base.

Raymond Boisjoly’s As it Comes.

A group of visitors plays mahjong in the Galleria Italia.

Photographer: Jadine Ngan

AGO All Hours The underside of Frank Gehry’s barnacle staircase, which protrudes from the face of the museum.

A small figurine on a journey through a landscape of trash in Joseph Beuys’ Hasengrab.

Hito Steyerl’s Free Plots explores themes of community solidarity in the face of neo-liberalism.

It’s Still Priviledged Art by Carole Condé and Karl Beveridge.

U of T alum Sandra Brewster engages with layered identities through photo-based gel transfer in Blur.

Tea Base remade the Galleria Italia into a tea shop rallying against gentrification in Chinatown.

A plant experienced from an alien perspective, from Today We Reboot the Planet by Adrián Villar Rojas.

var.st/arts

FEBRUARY 3, 2020

15

Theatre Review: Hart House’s Legally Blonde: The Musical

A production that’s just like senior year, only funner!

Eva Wissting Varsity Theatre Critic

Emma Sangalli is truly the star in Hart House’s Legally Blonde: The Musical. Every part of her performance, from vocals to acting to her connection with the audience, is brilliant. She enters the staged Harvard University with the same natural presence as Reese Witherspoon’s on-screen version. Sangalli’s interpretation of Elle Woods is simply irresistible.

In fact, Legally Blonde is carried most of all by its captivating characters. They’re all easily divided into the ‘good’ and the ‘bad,’ the nice versus the mean. Yes, these are stereotypes, but the main cast are so charming that you can’t even be annoyed with their predictability. And regarding the more unpleasant characters, Woods herself shows us how to deal with them: with compassion.

The thing is, we — the audience — love Elle.

We love her not because she’s pretty, which she is; not because she’s smart, though she’s way smarter than the uptight Harvard boys; and not even because she’s funny — that girl’s got humour. No, we love her because of her heart.

This is how big her heart is: when her boyfriend breaks up with her, she doesn’t react with denial or anger, and she doesn’t scream, cry, or even pity herself, which she would have every right to do.

Instead, she stays true to her heart, calmly but sadly saying to her disloyal boyfriend “I love you.”

Elle teaches us to do it for love, to stay true to oneself, and to do what you need to reach your goals — even if you end up at a party dressed with bunny ears and a negligee among a bunch of preppy law school students, or when the scariest professor on campus kicks you out of class day after day. Elle goes through all of these things with her head held high and her heart kept open.

If anyone thought Elle does what she does be-

cause she’s naïve, she proves them wrong at the final trial. There, she shows that she’s not only smart and a caring friend, but also displays how that very combination is a winning concept.

Other characters you will fall in love with in Legally Blonde are the endearing Emmett Richmond (Ethan Vasquez Taylor) and Paulette Bonafonté (Moulan Bourke), as well as Chelsea Jayne Bray’s Enid Hoopes. Rae Bernakevitch is another cast member worth mentioning, even though her role as Kate is a small one.

After falling in love with all these characters on the stage, after laughing and crying with them for over two hours, how can I care about the minor details that didn’t quite fall into place? That the energy sometimes fell flat in less than smooth bridges between songs and scenes, or that a couple of minor characters seemed more sleepy than anything else — how could I mind such details?

The opening scene isn’t quite convincing in the girly glitter it’s supposed to convey. What I saw on stage doesn’t live up to what I heard in the song.

However, Elle now sits on my shoulder and challenges me:

How to predict the Oscars 101 Get it right for Twitter: follow these five steps to game the system

Will Gotlib Varsity Contributor

For the film industry, awards season stretches for months. There are the major events, like the Screen Actors Guild Awards, the Critics Choice Awards, the Independent Spirit Awards, and the Golden Globes, on top of countless regional critic association picks. All this leads up to the crown jewel of the season: the Oscars. It’s a fun time of time of year to look forward to, at least for those of us who watch a lot of movies, and it gives an excuse to hang out with friends to yell at the TV. The Oscars are sort of like the Super Bowl of movies.

However, every time Oscars season rolls around, I’m reminded that while these months can be rewarding, they are also kind of toxic.

There seems to be an Oscar-winning breed of film, where anything too experimental or genrebased is frustratingly excluded from in spite of its quality.

There’s also at least one film per year where my experience is ruined by the onslaught of awards discussion. When I first saw Green Book last year I enjoyed it. However, after the complicated public discourse, it was hard not to think less of it. By the time it won Best Picture, it was surprising and maddening not because I didn’t like it — because I did, just not enough to be

Didn’t I see you shiver during the show? Didn’t you smile, and laugh, and cry?

The answers are yes, yes, yes, and yes — Emmett, I blame you twice for that last yes — during the show I did all of those things. Elle taught me that the feelings the performance gave me matter more than anything else. If there were things I felt were lacking in the beginning of the show, or here and there throughout, the overall performance made up for it.

Beyond the endearing characters and Sangalli’s excellent performance, Gregory Carruther’s choreography is also delightful all throughout the show. The rope-skipping dance number was the most impressive, not least because of how the actors seamlessly pause their skipping and then picking it up again, making it look like the easiest thing in the world.

The set design is hardly as avant-garde or creative as it could have been, but it serves the show well — both the geographi-

cal transportation across the US and the actual movements across the stage are combined with nice transitions. That the musicians are visible, even though just barely, through a door at the back of the set is a tiny detail that adds to the vividness on stage.

When Elle first encounters peer Harvard student Vivienne Kensington (Autumn-Joy Dames), she criticizes Elle’s pink fashion choices.

At the end, however, the newfound friend Vivienne has come to the realization that “being true to yourself never goes out of style.” What Hart House Theatre’s Legally Blonde shows us is not only that staying true to yourself is eternally fashionable, but also that it’s an essential life skill.

Audiences left Hart House Theatre feeling the power of love, law, and ammonium thioglycolate.

COURTESY OF SCOTT GORMAN/ HART HOUSE THEATRE

satisfied with the Academy’s selection.

The reality is that the Oscars — and don’t even get me started on the Golden Globes — are often not a great indicator of the best films of any given year.

While I don’t claim to be a great authority on what or who will win an Oscar, there are same strategies that you can use to give yourself an edge when making Oscar predictions.

Know who’s voting The majority of the Academy’s 8,000 voting members are old white men. Consequently, the awards often go to ‘safer’ kinds of films — ones you could picture being made back in the Golden Age of Hollywood, or ones with progressive elements that don’t go much deeper than the surface level. They also just really like movies about Hollywood.

Know how they vote For most categories, Oscar voting is straightforward — the winner is the film with the most votes. However, the coveted Best Picture award employs a complicated preferential ballot system. If no Best Picture nominee receives a majority of first-place votes, the one with the fewest is struck from the running, and process then repeats until a winner emerges. Because of this, it’s generally a bad idea to place your Best Picture bets on something divisive or remotely controversial — instead, try to find a nominee that’ll be pretty high on most voters’ lists.

Track the narratives Just as most movies have internal narratives, so too do award nominees amidst the news cycle.

As mentioned, the Oscars are pretty much the

final step in awards season, so whether or not Academy members are swayed by the results of the Golden Globes, for instance, it’s helpful to understanding the general direction a certain award category is leaning.

This year all four acting categories have very clear front-runners, which have been defined by sweeps through past awards ceremonies.

Certain nominees might also build their own narratives, hoping to be honoured for a yetunrecognized body of work or for breaking a glass ceiling of some sort — like a non-English language film winning Best Picture.

Being cynical usually wins When publications come up with Oscar predictions, they usually go with a dual ‘will win’ and ‘should win’ setup. Predicting the winners is less about what you really think deserves to win and more about using the above techniques to feel out what will actually happen, as unsatisfying as it might be.

See the movies!

To end on a slightly more upbeat note… it’s nice to be able to make educated decisions.

Sometimes your favourite nominee really does win, and it’s very satisfying! Having seen the nominated films makes you invested in the ceremony, which makes watching it a lot more fun.

As imperfect and exhausting as the Oscars are, sitting down with friends to watch an extremely long ceremony about the films of last year is really fun, and I’m very much looking forward to it.

The 92nd Academy Awards air at 8:00 pm on February 9.

BRITTANY GEROW/THE VARSITY

16

THE VARSITY

ARTS & CULTURE

arts@thevarsity.ca

Unnnnnahhhhhhh!

Wait, was that an orgasm?

Let’s talk about sex, the clit, and how to make girls cum

Alison Jeon Varsity Contributor

Personally, the female orgasm has always been an experience that eluded all description. Sex gave me many different sensations, both physical and emotional, but I could not confidently point out which of them — or if it was all of them — was the capital “O” orgasm that people talked about.

At some point, the orgasm started to feel like a myth looming in the misty blue yonder, seemingly reachable but never really so.

I did feel something and it was both abstract yet pronounced, carnal and spiritual.

Last March, I gained some new insight that has formed the basis of all my current understanding of the female orgasm.

I have not seen anyone give a more apt explanation of the topic than Doris Lessing does through the life of her character Anna Wulf in The Golden Notebook.

Lessing distinguishes a vaginal orgasm from a clitoral one. She says that physically, the clitoral stimulation creates a far more powerful sensation than the vaginal one. Orgasms achieved in this way appear to be the kind that many people harp on about as one the criterion for determining whether sex is ‘good.’

In my sex life, there were only a handful of instances where I have had a clitoral orgasm. The reason is simple. The process it requires is intrusively mechanical, something very unwanted in sex for me. Some keywords that can be associated with it are ‘technique,’ ‘fingering,’ and ‘dexterity.’ Clitoral orgasms can be achieved even if you’re not in love. Heck, they can be achieved without a partner, and might even be more powerful with the use of a toy.

This is why Ella, Anna’s alter ego in The Golden Notebook, feels that a part of her always resents clitoral orgasms, even though they physically excite her. When one individual resorts to external manipulations, it creates a sense that they do not want to wholly and completely commit. And, in my opinion, it does not matter whether they do so consciously or not.

Of all the expressions that can be used to describe intercourse, I like “love-making” the most. It represents exactly what I look for in sex. I believe that love is an active decision. It is a fully intended ‘yessayingness’ to the person whom one loves.

You say, “Yes, I invite you into my life. Yes, I will take responsibility for you as I do for myself. Yes, I commit to you. Yes, because I want you. Yes, because I need you.” Thus, to make love is to translate such a ‘yes’ into palpable action: to be able to see them, feel them, touch them.

This translation is pivotal in bringing about deep emotional connection between a couple during sex. This precise emotion is what Lessing assigns to the vaginal orgasm. Physically, internal stimulation feels like a dark embrace with a whorling, warm-bodied python. It is rather muted.

Softly immersive.

What is important, however, is a man’s desperate thrust of his body onto the woman’s body, expressing his need for her.

To re-emphasize Lessing’s words, heterosexual sex “is when a man, from the whole of his need and desire, takes a woman and wants all of her,” and this then allows her to experience a real orgasm. This is the foundation of the female orgasm.

There have been nights when I have had tears flowing down my cheeks as I made love. Overwhelmed and trying to calm both of our confused hearts, I groped at words to explain my tears. I only managed to say that they were coming from a warm and good place, but to say those words weren’t fully representative of what or how I was feeling. Now I know clearly. I have been fortunate to make great love.

TROY LAWRENCE/THE VARSITY

Ricky Gervais and award show politics: cancel culture ain’t dead yet!

Gervais holds those behind the silver screen accountable

Veronika Zabelle Nayir Varsity Contributor

Of all the things Ricky Gervais declared while hosting the Golden Globes in early January, his signature line, “I don’t care,” is perhaps the most unpleasant.

However, I think that we’re in need, culturally, of a little unpleasantry — and not just for comedy’s sake.

What Gervais “doesn’t care” about is, on the very surface, the risk of offending big-time actors, producers, and the film industry at large. But more than that, he has suggested that he doesn’t care much about their politics, at least not while they’re on stage, all dolled up and grasping their little gold statuettes. I, too, am losing faith in the performative politics of award shows.

Now, I’ll admit that in a certain way, I love celebrity culture. I love to see films and television shows compete against each other, I love to see what I love win, and I love to watch acceptance speeches — especially if they’re teary, and especially if I think that said tears are warranted.

But another part of me, some part of me that is political, despises it. Maybe even disgusted by it: sometimes by the choice of the winning film, sometimes by the volume of tears, but most of the time by what I believe are political performances.

This is the age of the quasi-presidential speech at award shows, those short — or long, if they’re mega-famous — calls to action, filled with the repetition of “we must” and customary finger-wagging.

For Gervais, celebrity culture is deserving of no praise because no celebrity deserves to cry political tears. For Gervais, celebrities are deserving of ridicule, the sort that comes from a political place. It’s a sort of disbelief; a “shut up, you don’t really care.”

Gervais’ message is a difficult one. In a way, it is one that might suggest that celebrities have no

business talking about politics. However, I don’t think that he would like to undermine the good that celebrities can do with their respective platforms; there is no doubt that they can do good, since causes can, and have been, brought to light

by Hollywood.

But as of late it can’t be denied that the intersection of politics and celebrity has been dark and disappointing. His is not an apolitical plea, but a request. Brash as it is, Gervais wants Hollywood to understand their problem with virtue signaling — that disconnect between their personal politics and that of the awards season.

I think that Gervais is speaking to a kind of cultural complicity of a Hollywood that has rubbed shoulders with the likes of Harvey Weinstein and Jeffery Epstein. It seems that he exclaims, “Shut up, I know he was your friend, but I don’t care” to those who are easily roused for superficial political causes, but slow to make

sustained contributions outside of the Hollywood bubble; to those who are slow to give up their ties to exploitative corporations and people and things.

Commenting Apple’s new drama, The Morning Show, Gervais declared that it is “a superb drama about the importance of dignity and doing the right thing — made by a company that owns sweatshops in China.” We should question the very clear divide between public and personal politics; it is that divide that manifests as the hollowness I have felt when observing the celebrity culture of recent years.

But still, many were displeased by Gervais’ hosting job: how dare he try to discourage political commentary? To that I say: he’s certainly not the only one.

Soon after what would be Gervais’ fifth, and latest, Golden Globes gig, it was announced that long-time collaborators Tina Fey and Amy Poehler would be hosting next year’s awards. Collective sigh? Well, Fey

SKYLAR CHEUNG/THE VARSITY

has something to say about political speeches, too.

She expressed a similar sentiment about the 2016 Oscars, where she told Howard Stern, “Halfway through I was like, ‘This is some real Hollywood bullshit’… Why are you yelling at me about corporate greed? You’re all so rich!”

And Joaquin Phoenix, who won the Globe for Best Actor in a Motion Picture, Drama, suggests in his winning speech: “Sometimes we have to take that responsibility on ourselves, and make changes and sacrifices in our lives… We don’t have to take private jets to Palm Springs.”

Phoenix received no pushback, perhaps because he occupies a space in celebrity culture that someone like Gervais does not. Or perhaps it was simply because Phoenix is charming in a way that Gervais is not.

But also, Gervais is the comedian host. His quips were anticipated, besides the one on Judi Dench.

This is Gervais’ brand: curmudgeonly, cocksure, apathetic. In no world would he have come on stage to swoon and worship and ‘ooh’ and ‘ah’ about the art of acting and the magic of cinema.

In that regard, Gervais’ comedy is diametrically opposed to that kind of high-minded praise we see for the industry, those praises that verge on being pretension, and become, I believe, dangerous when we face real crises. There is no more room to pontificate, no more room to pay lip service to the cause of the hour, to present and perform those politics that are fashionable.

I am reminded of the 2015 Golden Globes, where then-hosts Fey and Poehler mention the recent marriage of George and Amal Clooney, and then proceed to list Amal’s achievements in the realm of human rights. They concluded, “So tonight, her husband is getting a lifetime achievement award… Hollywood!”

Science

February 3, 2020 var.st/science science@thevarsity.ca

Learn the formula for studying math and physics What research papers and U of T professors say on how to best study quantitative subjects Valeria Khudiakova Science Correspondent

Is there such a thing as having a ‘math brain’?

It may seem like most people in your classes were born with a profound knowledge of vector space axioms and the ability to do impeccable epsilon-delta proofs in their sleep. This might be true to some extent — research from John Hopkins University suggests that there are in fact people who are able to grasp mathematical concepts quicker, something the researchers attribute to an innate “number sense.” But not having this ability doesn’t mean you can’t become proficient at math.

Dr. Alfonso Gracia-Saz, an associate professor at U of T’s Department of Mathematics, compared developing your mathematical abilities to training for a marathon. Just like “almost all healthy adults [would] be able to run a marathon with training and discipline,” he wrote to The Varsity, “almost all healthy adults are able to excel at and enjoy math.”

I can personally testify to this. I used to be a quintessential social sciences girl who dreamed of attending the Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy, and eventually work on Parliament Hill; I was convinced that math and physics were way beyond my reach.

The environment I was in wasn’t helping either — my grade 10 science teacher preferred talking about his homegrown tomatoes and missionary trip to East Africa over actually teaching.

Fast forward three years, and I’m a math major.

In her book Mindset: The New Psychology of Success, Dr. Carol Dweck, a professor at Stanford University’s Department of Psychology,

FIONA TUNG/THE VARSITY

argues that our beliefs about whether our abilities are completely innate or able to be improved can play a pivotal role in our success.

The “growth mindset is based on the belief that your basic qualities are things you can cultivate through your efforts,” she wrote.

Realizing that your math and physics skills can be boosted with effort and practice may help you change your relationship to encountering challenges and setbacks while learning.

Rethink your learning There is no doubt that grasping unfamiliar concepts or solving difficult math problems can be incredibly challenging and frustrating, but researchers argue that struggling and making mistakes is a crucial part of the learning process.

In other words, it may actually be beneficial for your brain and help you become a better learner.

Cristina Peter, a learning strategist at the Koffler Student Services Centre, spoke to The Varsity about difficulties with learning material.

She elaborated that “most challenging concepts are built on basic fundamentals,” and encouraged students “to unravel the basic concepts that the challenging concept is built upon.”

Gracia-Saz agrees with the importance of embracing the struggle, adding that being patient with your own learning is also crucial to getting to the bottom of a new concept. Some approaches to solving unfamiliar problems may not work at first, but eventually you will find the one that works, and this process of trying and failing “will help you develop good intuition and solidify your understanding.”

A few days after my first midterm of PHY151 — Foundations of Physics I, an introductory course to calculus-based physics, my professor Dr. Stephen Julian told us an anecdote from his undergraduate career, which he kindly recounted in an email to The Varsity.

“I was pretty ignorant when I arrived at university. Probably many of my classmates had properly learnt their high-school math and physics, but for me it was all new.

When the first set of midterm exams came up… the subject was special relativity, and I thought that the way to study was to read a book (it wasn’t even our textbook) about special relativity the night before the exam.”

“Of course, when I got into the exam I couldn’t actually do anything and I failed miserably,” he continued. “It was only in my third year that I really came to understand that in order to do well you need to learn the material as you go along (again, after every lecture you need to review and think about the material), and you need to practice solving problems.”

“Learning the concepts without the math is not going to work,” he added.

Why physics is so hard to learn, and how to handle it Unfortunately, the prevailing view of physics is that it’s a notoriously hard subject which only a lucky few can master. Even physics students who love the subject often struggle to get to the core of new material.

Dr. Edward Redish, a professor at the University of Maryland’s Department of Physics explained in a research paper on the cognitive science of teaching physics that one of the characteristics of studying cognitive science is that we tend to organize our observations and experiences of a particular subject into mental models or patterns, which we have to build upon to maximize our learning. This usually means that passively reading and re-reading the textbook, and going to lectures may not be enough to build a solid understanding of the subject.

Peter suggests taking a moment after class to reflect on what you’ve just learned and identify gaps in your understanding.

Other researchers also suggest testing yourself repeatedly on each topic and making a set of criteria for applying new concepts to ensure that you know when and how to use your knowledge. It’s also beneficial to verbalize your thoughts to check if you truly understand the material — you might find it helpful to pretend you’re talking to a younger sibling — and to try to relate it to your prior knowledge or real-life examples.

Julian highlighted the importance of giving yourself time to get your head around a new concept — he recommended “thinking about the concept as soon as it is introduced in lectures (or indeed the day before if you are assigned pre-class readings).”

He also emphasized that “you need to keep going back to it over the following days and weeks.

With time, and patience, the concept will take root and grow in your mind.”

Solve problems like a pro The expert-backed approaches to solving math and physics problems in this non-exhaustive list may help you power through your next problem set with a lot more ease.

If you find yourself stuck on a question, Julian recommends thinking “of a simpler version of the same question, and keep simplifying until you find something that you can solve, [then trying] to work your way back to the original question.”

According to Gracia-Saz, looking at many solved examples is a “trap” that won’t replace actually going through the problem-solving process yourself, which is a valuable learning tool.

He also stressed the importance of perseverance in learning math — “nothing is as satisfying as solving a good math problem after hours of struggling, except perhaps chocolate.”

Peter recommends rationalizing every step of solving a problem, such as creating a chart with your steps on one side and the explanation of your actions on the other.

George Pólya’s famous problem solving method is also worth looking into.

Getting help Your professors and teaching assistants will most likely be happy to help you with the course material. When taking advantage of this, Peter recommends planning your questions in advance to maximize your learning.

If you are interested in learning more about time management, note-taking, and problemsolving strategies, you can book an appointment with a learning strategist at your faculty or college, or visit them during their drop-in hours at the Sidney Smith Commons. You can also check out on-campus math and physics resources, such as the Math Learning Centre, Vic Peer Tutors, the Statistics Aid Centre, and college-specific math help centres.

If you’re looking for a community to learn with, you should also consider joining or starting a study group, where you can make new friends and review concepts.

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The renaissance man of botany

Looking back on the life and career of Dr. Spencer Barrett Fatima Minhas Varsity Contributor

As students, little did we know that a giant has been walking among us — or rather he’s putting on muddy boots to go trekking in China, South Africa, or the heart of the Canadian woodlands.

Some may remember him fondly as the first face they knew in university, as the longtime instructor of BIO120 — Adaptation and Biodiversity, and others may recognize him as a mentor or collaborator.

This giant of the plant evolution world is none other than Dr. Spencer Barrett, who retired from teaching the iconic course in 2018. In an editorial in New Phytologist, Drs. Daniel Schoen, Marc Johnson, and Stephen Wright outlined the contributions of Barrett, who is currently a professor emeritus at U of T’s Ecology and Evolutionary Biology (EEB) Department, to academia in plant evolutionary biology.

Schoen is a professor at McGill University’s Department of Biology, while Johnson is a professor at UTM’s Department of Biology. Wright is the chair of U of T’s EEB department.

A professor’s impact on pollination research Barrett worked on heterostyly — or, broadlyspeaking, pollination — and it has remained a favourite topic of his.

In an interview with The Varsity, Barrett fondly recounted his favourite research discovery in his career: when he went out with a local naturalist in South Africa — one of his favourite things to do when he arrives someplace new — and observed red tubular flowers on the ground called Babiana ringens.

One would first infer that there should be hummingbirds to fertilize the flowers, but there were none. Furthermore, most birds do not like foraging on the ground as it leaves them vulnerable to predation. Through experimentation, Barrett and his colleagues discovered that the plant had evolved perches to attract nectar-sipping sunbirds. The researchers did variations where they’d cut off the perch to see if it would affect fertility — and it did.

As a young student, Barrett had become entranced with invasion biology. The number of invasive species in Canada has been steadily growing.

“Where do they come from and why are they invasive?” Barrett asked. In the editorial, Schoen, Johnson, and Wright wrote, “Here again he combined ecological, evolutionary and genetic approaches to understand how species succeed in novel environments.” Some novel results included how certain plant species mimicked crops.

Those who took the first-year evolutionary biology course may remember Barrett’s emphasis on genetic drift as a huge contributor to biodiversity and as an evolutionary mechanism that doesn’t get much credit — in contrast to natural selection, that is. This has always been the theme with Barrett: to broaden the scope, tackle the big questions, collaborate all over the world, and take in all perspectives to really understand the true implications of what’s going on.

Barrett’s research today with Wright includes his long-standing fascination with the evolution of plant sex ratios and reproduction. Why are certain plants inter-sex and others separatesex? This is a condition known as dimorphism.

Many crops of significant economic importance, such as marijuana, are separate-sex species and

exhibit XY dimorphism. This enables producers to dispose of male marijuana plants during the commercial process.

It’s currently unknown why certain XY ratios exist in dimorphic species — plant or even human. “Why have [plants] evolved this way?

What’s really going on here?” He utilizes genomics heavily to understand these plant populations.

“I worked on one of his garden experiments,” Wright laughed as he recounted his experiences with Barrett as a younger student to The Varsity.

“He’s got a famous green thumb; he’d plant certain species in his front yard to see which and how many pollinators would come by at which flowers.”

Barrett’s impact on education Wright emphasized that Barrett’s influence extends beyond botany, noting, “it’s definitely his teaching style and mentoring [too].” Barrett has a very specific style of big-picture, big-question asking that is very exciting. He teaches his students to holistically conduct themselves both in the lab and the field, and it is common to see both quantitative analysis and fieldwork in the same study, in both his own papers, and those of his students, often leading to novel results and insights.

Many of his first year students tend to complain that they do not see the point of studying evolutionary biology when they intend to pursue medical sciences. To that, Barrett cheekily said, “Any student that is not interested in the ecological and genetic processes that have given rise to the astounding biological diversity on planet earth — including of course the human species — strikes me as very narrow minded.”

Dr. Spencer Barrett is a professor emeritus at U of T’s EEB department.

COURTESY OF SPENCER BARRETT

“Being outside and observing the natural environment should be a cause of endless curiosity, even if your goal in life is to be a dentist!” he continued. “And actually, being taught by experts in the field as to how biological diversity arises and [evolves] through time should give one a much better appreciation of both life and death.”

Barrett believes that evolution is everywhere — antibiotic resistance, invasive species, our own ‘gut flora,’ — and, as we’re still evolving, so too are the species around us. It never stops; as long as we live and there is life, evolution is an unending, unnerving force that doesn’t discriminate and consistently progresses.

Bridging the research gap on the sexual health of men in the LGBTQ+ community Findings could inform health policy, but professor warns against jumping to conclusions

Sarah Kronenfeld Varsity Contributor

Health-policy makers often make decisions that drastically impact people all across the country, but before they can do that, they need to understand what the population truly needs. That can be difficult, though, when policies affect specific groups with even more specific health needs — such as men who have sex with men.

Gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men (gbMSM) can be uniquely affected by sexual health-related policies, but it’s historically been very difficult to get information that truly represents their needs as a diverse population.

A major survey has asked questions about the mental and sexual health practices of European and Canadian men in the LGBTQ+ community.

COURTESY OF STANLEY DAI/UNSPLASH

A survey to bridge the gap A major initiative to gather information has been the European Men-Who-Have-Sex-With-Men Internet Survey (EMIS), which asks questions about the mental and sexual health practices of gbMSM all over Europe — and, in the 2017 version, also those of men in Canada. “This is really meant to be kind of a public health report,” said Dr. David Brennan, a professor and assistant dean, research at U of T’s Faculty of Social Work, who was instrumental in implementing the survey in Canada.

This was the first study in a long time to gather health information about the sexual health of gbMSM on a national scale. It contains results from both transgender and cisgender respondents from a variety of backgrounds all across the country. The survey’s questions were informed by health experts from across Canada, and cover topics like safe sex practices, drug use, depression, anxiety, and homophobia.

Some of these trends have been investigated by more specific studies in the past, and the new study is consistent with past results. For example, rates of anxiety and depression in gbMSM

were higher than rates in the general population, according to Brennan. There’s still, however, a wealth of new information to be found from the study, as it measured some things that have, frankly, not been measured before.

Reducing the risks associated with sex between men Today, gbMSM in Canada can find plenty of information online about safe sexual practices.

In fact, Brennan recounted that his research lab, CRUISElab, discovered that most gbMSM turn to Google for sexual education.

However, over the last few years, there have been a few very important developments for HIV-related sexual health, and it’s unclear how far this information has travelled. One of the goals of this survey was to measure the prevalence of knowledge and usage of pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), a drug that can be used to prevent infection in HIV-negative people who are at risk of contracting HIV. PrEP’s a fairly recent development that has only become widespread since the last EMIS in 2010, and it is not covered by provincial health insurance in most parts of Canada, including Ontario.

This may pose a significant barrier to men interested in using the drug, as evidenced by the numbers in the study — while only about 8.4 per cent of Canadian respondents had ever used PrEP, over 50 per cent said they’d be likely to use it if it were both available and affordable. More respondents had used PrEP in Québec and in British Columbia — where the drug is covered by the province — than in Ontario.

Another important area the study illuminated is ‘party-and-play’ sex, or ‘chemsex,’ in which participants use drugs to enhance their sexual experience. When injectable drugs are introduced in sexual situations, there can be a much higher

risk of participants contracting certain sexually transmitted infections.

Conclusions do not indicate a lack of concern with safe practices That being said, Brennan recommended that readers be wary about assuming chemsex participants are automatically less concerned with sexual safety. Some researchers have found that in gatherings where participation incurs a greater risk of sexually-transmitted infections, participants build up a community of sorts to take care of each other’s sexual health.

Not only should the general public avoid leaping to conclusions, but researchers should as well. It’s easy to draw conclusions that might be unconsciously influenced by our prior biases, especially when reading research on gbMSM. In Canada, the survey reached out to a lot of participants through dating apps, which could affect the study’s results, as these participants may be more likely to have more or more frequent sexual partners.

This doesn’t, however, mean that they’re necessarily being less safe than the general population.

“I’ve had many calls from reporters wanting me to tell them that people using these apps are actually having more unsafe sex. And, no, there’s really not much evidence to show that,” said Brennan. “It’s less about the venue or the location and more about… preferred behaviour.”

The survey is, of course, limited in its sampling methods — it can only collect data from participants who were willing to reach out in response to ads on dating apps, or at sexual health centres that the study has paired with across the country.

But that doesn’t mean the data is any less useful. This data could be instrumental in drafting a health policy that accounts for the realities of being a Canadian man in the LGBTQ+ community.

var.st/science

FEBRUARY 3, 2020

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Compassion and alarm: explaining the human responses to different types of suffering

U of T-affiliated study finds differences in reactions to physical and emotional suffering postdoctoral fellow at the University of California San Francisco.

Jeffrey To Varsity Contributor

Imagine you are invited into a lab to partake in a study concerning empathy. There, you are presented with one of the following scenarios: either you witness someone who has just fallen off a bike and injured himself, or you witness your friend being distraught over a recent breakup.

Each of these scenarios depicts some form of suffering, but the nature of the suffering is not the same. In the first scenario, you see someone suffering due to a physical injury, while in the second, you see suffering from an interpersonal rupture, which manifests itself more emotionally.

This inspires the question: will witnessing these two forms of suffering cause the same empathic response?

The answer is not quite, as these two forms of suffering could share similarities while still being distinct, according to a U of T-affiliated study.

Co-authors included Dr. Jennifer Stellar, an assistant professor at UTM’s Department of Psychology, Arasteh Gatchpazian who is a graduate student at UTSC, and Dr. Craig L Anderson, a

Inconsistent findings across research fields To date, the physiological, emotional, and behavioural markers of empathy have often been inconsistent across different disciplines, such as psychology and neuroscience, according to the paper.

The reason for this inconsistency, according to the co-authors, is that while empathic responses are usually aroused by stimuli depicting some form of suffering, much research fails to account for whether observers construe suffering as primarily physical — for example, injuring yourself — or emotional, like grief.

Thus, this study aimed to delineate the behavioural, emotional, and physiological markers of empathy. Importantly, the co-authors made a clear distinction between markers involving physical suffering and those involving emotional suffering.

Differences in the body’s reaction The emotional and physiological markers deserve the most attention. “We found that people were more likely to have emotions like compassion and sympathy when people were emotionally suffering, and were more likely to report anxiety and alarm and nervousness when people were physically suffering,” said Stellar in an interview with The Varsity.

This distinction, she emphasized, is important. Such research maintains that one’s attention should be directed to being other-focused and compassionate.

“If [someone is] physically suffering, there seems to be a useful component of being anxious and alert and alarmed that’s actually part of empathy, and not a hindrance to empathy,” she continued.

Another surprising finding of their study is the physiological empathic responses. According to

Gatchpazian, the paper “predicted that physical suffering would activate the fight-or-flight system (sympathetic activation) and emotional suffering would activate the rest-and-digest system (parasympathetic activation). In our studies, we actually observed that both systems were activated for physical suffering.”

“Witnessing physical suffering may be quite intense for individuals and more complex than we had initially hypothesized,” wrote Gatchpazian to The Varsity.

“It also reminded us that completely teasing apart emotional and physical suffering is difficult,” Gatchpazian noted. “For example, at first glance, an athlete who experiences a sports injury may be classified as physical suffering, but it also has an element of emotional suffering because the athlete may no longer be able to play the sport that they love.”

Behavioural markers also played a role. For these, the co-authors found that someone witnessing emotional suffering would more likely engage in “interpersonal emotional regulation” behaviours, such as injecting optimism or humour into the situation, in order to comfort the distressed individual.

However, for someone witnessing physical suffering, they are more likely to elicit “emergency mobilization responses” — hands-on behaviours that provide a practical remedy to the situation.

When someone falls off a bike, for example, an emergency mobilization response would be to call for help, or to try to bandage the wound.

to “allow for communication and reconciliation across disciplines that study empathic responding,” Gatchpazian continued.

For example, researchers could identify whether their stimuli depict emotional suffering, physical suffering, or a blend of both.

Overall, “empathy is not monolithic,” said Stellar. It contains many nuances — and as put forth by this paper, one of such nuances is that empathic responses vary based on whether the suffering is primarily physical, as when someone falls off a bike, or emotional, as when someone loses a friend.

“Empathy is not monolithic” Ultimately, the main takeaway of this research is providing a “clear, unambiguous conceptualization of empathy”

JAYLIN KIM/THE VARSITY

Child-appealing advertising for foods is associated with high sugar levels Growing evidence for the need of stricter legislation on advertising to children Roshni Ravi Varsity Contributor

Think back to your favourite childhood cereal.

Was it Lucky Charms, Froot Loops, or maybe even Cinnamon Toast Crunch?

Think back to the character on the front of the box, the commercials that came between your favourite television shows, and the colourful marshmallows in every spoonful. Now think of the fact that researchers have shown that food packaging is the primary way children interact with different foods.

Most of this child-appealing marketing, or ‘marketing to kids’ (M2K), is used on unhealthy foods that contain high levels of free sugar — or added sugar. A recent U of T-affiliated paper has linked the rise of this type of

marketing to a high concentration of sugars in breakfast foods.

The relationship between marketing to children and sugar Previously, the relationship between M2K and free sugars was not established due to the lack of research on free sugar levels.

The study, co-authored by Christine Mulligan, Dr. Jodi Bernstein, Dr. Anthea Christoforou, and Dr. Mary L’Abbé at U of T’s Department of Nutritional Science, aimed to fill this gap in the literature. They also investigated the potential impact of restricting M2K for products that exceed five per cent of one’s daily value (DV) of total sugar.

This cross-sectional study used the University of Toronto Food Label Information Program (FLIP), a database which was created in 2013 with over 17,671 prepackaged beverages and foods from retailers in Canada. Once the M2K on the product packaging became an object of interest, the researchers categorized all the FLIP 2013 products into sugar-focused categories and compared sugar levels across similar foods.

The co-authors found that 92 per cent of cereals with M2K have excessive amounts of sugar.

Therefore, the presence of M2K on products predicts high sugar levels in the product itself.

The link between marketing and sugar Unhealthy food, as defined by Health Canada,

includes products with a total sugar, sodium, or saturated fat content that exceeds roughly five to 10 per cent of the DV. Since ‘total sugars’ is an extremely broad term, it is important to specifically look at free sugars to isolate truly unhealthy foods. Researchers have shown that the marketing for these foods has influenced purchasing requests, taste preferences, and consumption patterns of children.

According to the World Health Organization, unhealthy foods and marketed preferences may contribute to a worldwide increased prevalence of non-communicable diseases, such as obesity.

Childhood obesity has been shown to be a strong indicator for adolescent and adulthood obesity, which can increase the risk of chronic diseases such as type 2 diabetes, cancer, hypertension, stroke, and heart disease.

“As of 2019, it is estimated that over 150 million children in the world are obese and that this will increase to 206 million by 2025,” noted the Childhood Obesity Foundation.

What is being done to prevent this?

In 2016, Bill S-228 — The Child Health Protection Act — was proposed by Health Canada as part of its Healthy Eating Strategy, with the ultimate goal of improving the nutritional quality of Canadian diets, and restricting the marketing of unhealthy foods specifically to young children.

“As of now, Canada doesn’t have nation-wide legislation restricting the marketing of unhealthy

foods and beverages to children. Bill S-228 failed to pass before Parliament dissolved for the 2019 federal election,” Bernstein wrote to The Varsity.

The results from the study support the five per cent total sugar DV proposed in Bill S-228, compared to the previous 15 per cent. Future steps include regulating product packaging to children and reducing the threshold for total sugars to five per cent, so products with excessive free sugar will not be marketed to children.

“Consumers may want to be especially [wary] of foods and beverages marketed to children as they may be higher in free sugars than similar products without the same marketing on it,” he noted.

NOOR NAQAWEH/THE VARSITY

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How the ‘fractal carbon trap’ calls for change in policymaking around the climate crisis

U of T political science professors explain how fossil-fuel reliance perpetuates itself Beverly Teng Varsity Staff

What is the fractal carbon trap, and how can the concept guide policy in reducing reliance on fossil fuels? Dr. Steven Bernstein and Matthew Hoffmann, professors at U of T’s Department of Political Science, published a paper in Nature Climate Change on how their concept can guide decarbonization.

The fractal carbon trap is a two-part metaphor which explains the difficulties of introducing sustainable technologies into society. The term ‘fractal’ refers to the complex nature of the carbon system. The ‘trap’ is created by the fractal nature of the system. When it comes to changing the system, there is a threshold point in the reduc-

tion of fossil-fuel use that must be crossed. Below that threshold point, any beneficial changes will be swallowed by the re-assertive forces of the system — this is the trap. However, above that threshold point, beneficial changes will be amplified by the systemic forces.

A local example of the fractal carbon trap at work is the Ontario government’s cancellation of the electric vehicle rebate program. Incentivizing the use of electric vehicles was a way of interrupting the system, but the political ideologies and economic concerns of those in power pushed back against earlier progress.

This paper is an introduction to their much larger project on analyzing climate politics and decarbonization, which is the reduction of fossilfuel dependence. Bernstein and Hoffmann explained to The Varsity what the trap is and what needs to be done in order to change the future of climate politics.

Why there is no singular, effective decarbonization policy The concept of the trap helps to address limitations on the road to decarbonization — that is, the process of minimizing the role of fossil energy in the fractal.

When it comes to big-picture climate politics — those on an international scale — Bernstein argued that the problem lies not with the trap itself, but rather with the framework in which the climate crisis is often thought of.

Much like a mathematical fractal, the carbon fractal has many levels and layers which can be exploited to further decarbonization. However, as long as policymakers and governments are hung up on collective problem-solving, climate action will continue to be bogged down. Leveraging the multilevel nature of the fractal metaphor allows for many possible positive interventions to push climate action over the threshold.

With all this in mind, it’s only natural to wonder what a good policy would look like. There is no singular, agreed-upon policy plan for the climate crisis and, upon reading this paper, it becomes evident that the expectation of such is unrealistic.

Hoffmann argued that “the key to success is thinking about the interdependencies across the domestic and global, between local and national, and thinking about how you can generate or catalyze broad transformation.”

“The reciprocity ideas, the worrying about enforcement and monitoring is a holdover from the older way of thinking about the way climate politics works as a global collective problem.”

G/

Understanding how to successfully protect and implement individual policies is equally as important as setting goals for overarching policy plans.

One of the main things that Hoffman and Bernstein’s project will attempt to answer is the question of whether or not the threshold point for the fractal carbon system is too high — that is, if it’s even possible to reach the point of positive reinforcement. In terms of this concern, both Bernstein and Hoffmann are generally optimistic about the progress being made to surpass that threshold point as more climate policies, such as the carbon tax, become more common.

As more people like Bernstein and Hoffmann work at the problem, the tides may be able to shift, and the way the climate crisis is thought of may transform to help break free of the trap.

Bringing the classroom to Bolivia: how engineering students bridged a community Engineers in Action complete humanitarian civil engineering project in Lipez Ryu Won Kang Varsity Contributor

A pedestrian footbridge, which was built by the U of T and the Western University chapters of Engineers in Action (EIA), offers a promising future of enhanced transportation during rainy seasons to Bolivians in the Cochabamba district.

The team constructed the Lipez Pedestrian Bridge across the Convento river over May and June. Flooding from November to April usually makes the river uncrossable, posing a dangerous situation for nearby residents that the EIA teams sought to solve.

Improving an entire community’s access to schools, markets, agricultural lands, and hospitals, the Lipez Pedestrian Bridge is as much an engineering feat as it is a cultural phenomenon for locals in Lipez and surrounding areas. The multi-dimensional project will prevent an estimated two to three injuries per year from unsafe crossings.

Stemming from a tradition initiated by the group’s parent organization, Bridges to Prosperity, the project has a clear mission: to empower rural communities while acknowledging that geographic isolation serves as a significant barrier to economic and social development. In short, the group envisions “a world where a lack of adequate infrastructure does not contribute to global poverty.”

A myriad of subdivisions and roles — including but not limited to fundraising, design, project management, construction, media, and safety — all contributed to create a lasting infrastructural staple in the Lipez community that is intended to serve its people for years to come.

The team, consisting largely of engineering students, worked tirelessly against a demanding timeline and persisted in the face of numerous challenges and setbacks. Despite material delivery delays and even a change in site location, the engineers constructed the bridge within six weeks, following a year of technical preparation.

The projects’ impact The impact of the project was two-fold: not only was the project beneficial for the Bolivians, but it was also an immensely positive learning opportunity for the students. Three engineers with first-hand experience with the project shared their involvements and opinions in an interview with The Varsity.

“It was such a memorable experience being able to see this bridge come to life,” said Cultural Relations Manager Michelle Leon, a second-year civil engineering student, reflecting back on the months of hard work. U of T EIA Co-President Saffa Ramsoomair, a third-year civil engineering student, added that, “Being a part of this team has taught me so much… we’re using our skills as engineers to actually make a difference.”

It’s not difficult to understand how working in a foreign country to improve infrastructure and, ultimately, the quality of life can alter a person’s worldview and bolster their adaptability.

“Physically going to Bolivia and building a bridge really changes your perspective,” said U of T EIA External Relations Manager Luna Amador, a second-year civil engineering student. “You come back and you feel like you are a different person.”

The future of EIA Moving onward and upward, the team is now embarking on the organization’s most ambitious bridge project. A joint project with three other institutions around the world — University College London, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, and Iowa State University — the bridge will be the largest that the team has ever built, and is expected to be situated in another region of Bolivia.

The team of student engineers and industry professionals will continue to invest their time and skills in rural communities, bridging previously unsurpassable barriers of all shapes and sizes.

UN CHE LAR Y SKY ARSIT V THE

Sports

February 3, 2020 var.st/sports sports@thevarsity.ca

Indoor cycling world cup held in the GTA Cyclists engage in multiple competitions in exciting weekend Theo Arbez Varsity Staff

From January 24–26, Canada hosted the indoor Track Cycling World Cup in Milton. Over the course of four hours, cyclists from around the globe took to the track to compete in 200-lap endurance races and shorter sprints. Canada won four medals in total.

One the first day of the event, Canada won a gold medal in the women’s team sprint event and bronze in both the men’s and women’s team pursuit. Kelsey Mitchell won a silver medal on the second day in the women’s team sprint. The World Cups are also used to qualify for the upcoming Olympics in Tokyo. Mitchell was selected and trained through the Royal Bank of Canada’s Training Ground, a program that identifies hopeful athletes to compete in the Olympics.

The cup also featured some unique races. One exhilarating race that took place was the omnium, in which the last rider in a group is eliminated each lap until one rider remains. The Keirin event, originating in Japan, had riders follow a motorcycle that gradually increased in speed until it exited the track and the riders raced for three laps. Some riders reached speeds of 70 kilometres per hour, and there were several crashes throughout the evening.

Canada swept the competition, taking home four medals.

THEO ARBEZ/THE VARSITY

The sport itself dates back to the late nineteenth century. Endurance events at that time included ones where riders would race for six days straight in teams, often without food or sleep. At its peak popularity in North America, the results of these races reached the front page of The New York Times, and drew tens of thousands of fans.

However, the popularity of the sport has declined due to the increased use of motor vehicles and perhaps as more mainstream sports like soccer and hockey gained increased recognition.

Meanwhile, road cycling events like the Tour De France grew in fame.

For interested students, the indoor track in Milton offers the option to try the track, structured training, and certification lessons. While there is no organization on campus for indoor cycling, there is the University of Toronto Road Racing Club, which offers an inclusive cycling community and the opportunity to participate in competitive cycling events. As the organization’s President Boris Dyakov pointed out, cycling is a fun way to stay in shape and build a network of friends.

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Do low-carb and high-fat diets impact athletic performance?

Research shows that endurance athletes on these diets require increased protein consumption Brooklyn Baly Varsity Staff

Diets play a large role in athletic achievement, as the right combination of fats, carbohydrates, and proteins can largely impact an athlete’s ability to perform. With this in mind, many athletes — especially endurance athletes — may be unknowingly compromising their ability to reach peak performance by following low-carb and high-fat diets.

Diets consisting of low carbohydrate and high fat intakes — similar to the ketogenic diet — have become commonplace due to widespread belief that they will help with weight loss, and could have further health benefits, such as normalizing blood pressure or helping with the appearance of acne. However, there are details to be considered when taking on the diet — especially as an athlete.

In a study published in Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise in November, Jenna Gillen, an assistant professor; and Daniel Moore, an associate professor, both at the Faculty of Kinesiology & Physical Education (KPE), found that training on a low-carb diet raises the need for protein among high-level endurance athletes.

Differences between low-carb and high-fat diets and high-carb and low-fat diets Low-carb and high-fat diets differ greatly from their counterparts — high-carb and low-fat ones. Specifically, a high-carb and low-fat diet consists of consuming up to 65 per cent of one’s daily caloric intake from carbohydrates, and up to 35 per cent from fat. Low-carb and highfat diets differ in that individuals on these diets consume only 25 per cent of calories from carbohydrates, and more than 60 per cent of their calorie intake comes from fat. Protein intake across the two different approaches remains steady, varying relatively little.

BRITTANY GEROW/ THE VARSITY

Low-carb and high-fat diets and their effects on athletic performance For endurance athletes, low-carb and high-fat diets can significantly impact performance. As Gillen pointed out in an interview with U of T News, though there is more fat available for energy with low-carb diets, muscles have less carbohydrates as a fuel-source during exercise.

According to Gillen, carbohydrates are more efficient for use during exercise than fat. This is because carbohydrates are able to produce more energy per litre of consumed oxygen than fats.

For this reason, low-carb and high-fat diets are less than optimal for performance, especially considering that athletes rely almost exclusively on carbohydrates for intense and high-energy expenditure activities, translating into overall lowered performance and results.

For athletes looking to manipulate their carbohydrate availability without compromising their results, Gillen suggested following a high-carb diet, and training endurance “under conditions of low-carbohydrate availability.”

Under this approach, athletes consume the optimal amount of carbohydrates required for peak performance, yet are still able to increase their energy-producing mitochondria in order to improve their endurance performance. This could, for instance, mean choosing to exercise in the morning before breakfast, which would allow your overnight fast to fuel this increase in mitochondria within muscles.

However, Gillen and Moore found in a recent study that athletes following low carbohydrate (low CHO) availability training need a larger protein intake in order to “en-

hance whole body protein synthesis.”

In the confines of their experiment, this increased protein requirement constituted an approximate 0.12 additional grams per kilogram per day. In reality, Gillen and Moore suggest that athletes “consume greater post-exercise protein than previously recommended (i.e., 0.4 versus 0.25 g per kg)” in order to “maximize recovery from and adaptation to low-CHO availability training.”

Recommendation for daily carb, fat, and protein intake Moore recommended varying carbohydrate intake according to the volume of training that you plan to undertake as well as your personal body composition. For most athletes, your carbohydrate intake should vary between six and 10 grams per kilogram per day for optimum performance. Moore also emphasized that most endurance athletes meet their protein requirements as long as they are consuming a sufficient amount of calories for their training sessions.

Moore spoke on how his research has suggested that, in the case of athletes following a low-carb and high-fat diet, initial protein requirements may be elevated during the adaptation period to this diet.

While Moore continued to emphasize that this diet is not optimal for athletes wishing to reach peak performance, he recommended that those currently on the diet increase their protein intake, as “the extra amino acids that are used as energy must be replaced through the diet.”

From food environments to food marketing: the science behind diets Expert panel informs what we “should, and could, and can do” about dieting Emily Saso Varsity Contributor

When trying to find the silver bullet diet, a few questions may pop into one’s mind. “According to whom? To us? To science? What is science?” asked Jessica Mudry, an assistant professor in Professional Communication at Ryerson University. She spoke about diets at a Royal Canadian Institute of Science panel titled, “New Year, New You: The Science of Healthy Eating.” The event took place January 26 at the JJR MacLeod Auditorium at the University of Toronto, and touched on subjects ranging from diet fads to how they tie into mental health.

Resolutions about finally getting healthy easily become quite puzzling. “Monday, eggs are good for you; Tuesday, [eggs are] not so good for you,” she explained. To make things worse, she continued, “comprehensive diets are even more confounding,” due to how consumers receive mixed messages all the time on what diets constitute healthy eating.

Diet fads and what our food eats Amy Botta, a postdoctoral nutritional researcher at York University, explained currently popular diets, namely the ketogenic diet, intermittent fasting, and veganism. She noted that such diets “have a place for certain pediatric conditions, but in terms of weight loss, the evidence is actually kind of mixed.”

Evidence is not only mixed, but lacking in quantity. Botta added that “we need a lot more research in order to be able to decide exactly what diets are appropriate.” Additionally, the vegan diet may decrease the overall risk for cardiovascular disease, but people who follow the diet have a 20 per cent risk increase in strokes, while also lacking

many vital amino acids that are only obtainable through animal products.

It’s also important to consider what our food is eating. Farmed fish lack 75 per cent of the omega-3 fatty acids that are present in wild-caught fish due to the simple fact that farmed fish are fed corn, a food which gives them unhealthy amounts of the wrong fatty acids.

Botta argued that “it’s not just about understanding the diets; it’s understanding our food system, and… specifically what the inputs are into that.”

Population health and food policy Our food environment is “the environment in which people make food choices,” as defined by Laura Vergeer, a PhD candidate at U of T’s Department of Nutritional Sciences who was at the panel. Food choices are influenced by nutrition facts tables and ingredients — two mandatory components of food packaging in Canada which aren’t always user-friendly, as Vergeer noted.

She highlighted countries with “good practice food environment policies,” such as front-ofpackage labelling for products that don’t meet certain nutritional standards and restricted marketing to children.

“These types of policies can prompt food companies to reformulate their products to make them healthier, so that they meet the criteria to be marketed to children, or so that they’re not required to display these front-of-pack symbols,” she said.

Although Canada has not yet successfully passed such regulations, Ontario has passed the Healthy Menu Choices Act for displaying calorie contents on the menus of fast-food chains, and by 2022 food products in Canada will not be able to contain artificially produced trans fats.

FIONA TUNG/THE VARSITY

The “psychological-biological bind” of diets and eating disorders Lindsay Bodell, an assistant professor at Western University’s Department of Psychology, was also present at the panel, and discussed her research regarding dieting and its ties to mental illness.

Beyond social media pressures to lose weight and obtain certain body ideals, the complexity of eating disorders include psychological and biological components. Bodell’s research focuses on “what’s happening when someone’s losing weight” — which is known as a ‘weight -suppressed state’ — and its impact on eating disorders.

Drastic weight changes are associated with negative eating-related thoughts and behaviours.

Within clinical samples, this is a predictor of

poor response to medical treatment. Leptin, a hormone produced by fat tissues that provides feelings of satiety, is decreased during weight; this is then associated with binge-eating symptoms.

“Our psychology is saying we need to lose more weight, but then when we are losing weight, our biology is pushing us up in the other direction,” she said. “And now individuals are stuck in what we call this psychological-biological bind that’s really contributing to maintaining these disordered eating behaviours.”

Amidst the unbalanced, chaotic life of a student, trying to eat a balanced diet can be difficult — but don’t fear. Meal prepping to set yourself up for the whole week and making sure to find time to enjoy your meals with others on a regular basis can make way for healthier and more enjoyable eating.

var.st/sports

FEBRUARY 3, 2020

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Blues go 2–0 in volleyball doubleheader Women’s team The University of Toronto women’s volleyball team came back from 2–0 down to beat the University of Western Ontario Western Mustangs in a 3–2 decision on February 1. The thriller, which pitted the nationally fourth-ranked Blues against Western, saw Toronto maintain possession of their second-place standing in the Ontario University Athletics (OUA) East Conference.

The first set showcased just how close and intense of a game it would be, as Western quickly took the first three points of the set against the seemingly beleaguered Blues. Service errors and poor defense against tip kills, combined with relentless defense from the Mustangs, saw Toronto struggle to break into the set. A pair of Alina Dormann’s aces, two nifty kills from setter Lidya Canturk, and big blocks from Hayley Goodwin and Mia Workman all pushed the Blues closer to Western, but they were unable to make up the deficit, and dropped the first set 20–25.

Western used their confidence from the first set win and ran away with the second set, dropping Toronto 12–25. Hope Kotun stood out with her kills, but the Blues were overwhelmed by the Mustangs and generated scarce offense.

Despite the game looking well out of reach by

Women pull off huge comeback to defeat Western, men hold on to stop Mustang comeback Sara Fredo Varsity Staff

Men’s team The University of Toronto men’s volleyball team overcame a late comeback from the Western Mustangs to win 3–2 on February 1. The Blues led for the first two sets before Western claimed the next two, leading to a close fifth set where Toronto came out on top.

Toronto seemed poised to run away with the game after a brilliant first set. Chris Towe notched the first of his game-high 18 kills early on, setting the mood for what would be a hardhitting and tightly contested match. Benedikt Licht and Alex Barnes also stood out with their precise hitting and unbeatable blocks, respectively. The Blues easily took set one by a score of 25–18.

The second set continued with more dominant playing from Towe and veteran setter Jordan Figueira, the latter of whom notched an ace on the first serve of the set. Despite the bright start, service errors from the Blues saw the Mustangs begin to creep back into the match. Strong attacks from Jasper Neale and Evan Falardeau were enough to keep Western at bay, and Toronto es-

caped the set with a 25–23 victory.

However, Western was undeterred by the margin and came out blazing in the third set, leading by a score of 16–12 by the technical timeout. Brilliant defensive plays from libero Daniel Tudor, tricky assists from Figueira, and a tireless work ethic from substitute Andrew Kos brought the Blues within three, but they ultimately dropped set three 22–25.

The Blues’ serving woes continued into the fourth set, where they struggled to gain their rhythm against the Mustangs. Toronto went on an offensive run towards the end of the set, but were unable to overtake Western, losing the set 22–25 once again.

Despite their struggles, the Blues were able to get it together for the last set. Evgeny Osokin set the tone with a beautiful ace, and Barnes stifled Western’s kill attempts. Neale, Falardeau, and Towe all notched kills as the Blues pulled away from Western to win the final set 15–9.

The Blues will spend one game on the road against York before returning to U of T on February 9 for a match against Trent University.

the third period, the Blues came out of the gates roaring. Kotun and veteran Caleigh Cruickshank shone offensively, helping build a 16–6 cushion for the Blues by the technical timeout. Western steadily chipped away at Toronto’s lead, but a laser of a service ace by Anna Licht sealed the third set win at 25–18.

Western was reluctant to relinquish their victory, leading to a back-and-forth affair for the fourth set. Jenna Woock used both her offensive and defensive talents to keep the Blues evenly paced with the Mustangs, combining with Dormann for some big blocks and monster kills.

Dormann, who had been stifled by Western’s defense for most of the game, came alive to help the Blues pull ahead and edge the Mustangs 25–22.

The final set was all Toronto. Canturk started the Blues off with a service ace, and the team never looked back, pulling ahead from a 6–6 tie midway through the set to beat Western 15–9 and complete the improbable comeback.

Toronto’s next home game will be February 9 against Trent University, and their final home match will be February 23 against the York University Lions. The Blues are looking strong heading into playoffs, and hope to use the momentum to qualify for a spot at the 2020 U SPORTS National Tournament, which will take place in March in Calgary, Alberta.

The Blues’ volleyball teams left it all out on the court to each notch a win.

COURTESY OF HENRY ZHAO/VARSITY BLUES

THE VARSITY

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