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The Varsity acknowledges that our office is built on the traditional territory of several First Nations, including the Huron-Wendat, the Petun First Nations, the Seneca, and most recently, the Mississaugas of the Credit. Journalists have historically harmed Indigenous communities by overlooking their stories, contributing to stereotypes, and telling their stories without their input. Therefore, we make this acknowledgement as a starting point for our responsibility to tell those stories more accurately, critically, and in accordance with the wishes of Indigenous Peoples.
Marie Kinderman elected UTSU president
10.9 per cent of students voted, down from 12.5 per cent last year
Junia Alsinawi Deputy News Editor
Marie Kinderman has won the UTSU presidency for 2026–2027, winning 38.5 per cent of the vote. Kinderman won by 2.6 points — or 67 votes — edging out Adrian J. Lam for the top leadership position at the union serving 41,100 undergraduate students at UTSG. Presidential candidate Safia Zaman received 662 votes, or 25.6 per cent. Election results were posted on SimplyVoting on March 2, but an official announcement of the results has not yet been released by the union.
Only 4,498 students voted, of 41,187 eligible voters — 10.1 per cent. This is a decrease from last year’s turnout of 12.5 per cent, which itself was a decrease from the 2024–2025 election cycle.
Underdog Tony Guo will be the next VP Finance and Operations after Sammy Onikoyi, who received 39 per cent of the votes and runner-up Aliyah Kashkari, were disqualified on charges of “Egregious violations of Fair Play / spirit of elections.” Both Onikoyi and Kashkari appealed the decision, but the ruling has been upheld. Onikoyi and Kashkari did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Nadège Jackiw will be the next VP Public and University Affairs, with 26.6 per cent of the vote, beating out Eli Miller-Buza by a margin of six points. Incumbent Damola Dina received 11.5 per cent of votes.
VP Student Life goes to Verona Odhiambo, who received 37.6 per cent of the vote. After a previously unsuccessful campaign for VP
Student Life in last year’s election,
has won the VP Equity position
25.1 per cent of the vote. Nine of the 10 Board of Directors vacancies have been filled.
Referenda results
All three referenda passed with large majorities. 65.3 per cent of students who voted support raising the Students for Barrier-Free Access levy from $1.00 to $2.50. 74.9 per cent supported “the expansion of student and city music life, through funding, education, and opportunity across campus,” in the Faculty of Music Undergraduate Association referendum. 77 per cent voted in favour of the UTSU’s proposed fee increase of $1.25 to expand the Student Aid Program.
Hundreds protest at Queen’s Park against OSAP restructuring
Two demonstrators arrested and charged following a clash with police
Celesta Maniatogianni Associate News Editor
Last Wednesday, hundreds of students and demonstrators from across the province gathered at Queen’s Park to protest changes to the Ontario Student Assistance Program (OSAP), which will restructure the amount of funding students may receive in grants. The rally, organized by the Canadian Federation of Students-Ontario (CFSON), led to a clash between protestors and police.
Video footage from the protest shows clashes between protestors and police, with police forming a line in front of the Legislative Assembly building and shoving protestors away. CFSON have condemned the Toronto Police Service’s (TPS) “presence, violence, and criminalization of students and attendees,” calling it “heavy-handed and disproportionate,” “intentional,” and “calculated” in an Instagram post.
In the same post, CFSON alleged that demonstrators were also “dragged through the mud, shoved, and in some cases, even hit with objects ripped from the hands of other attendees.”
TPS confirmed that two demonstrators were arrested and charged. 22-year-old Rohtansh Saini was charged with damage to property under $5,000 for allegedly vandalizing a monument with spray paint.
While police attempted to arrest Saini, “a number of other protestors became aggressive towards the officers and interfered with the arrest,” according to a TPS media release. Mason Wallington, 21, was charged with assaulting a peace officer after allegedly spitting on an officer.
CFSON have confirmed in an Instagram story that both arrestees have since been released, with court dates scheduled in April.
their OSAP funding as grants and a minimum of 75 per cent as loans, compared to the current model, which allows for a maximum of 85 per cent as grants and a minimum of 15 per cent as loans.
The government stated it is restructuring OSAP, which will come into effect in fall 2026, to “strengthen [its] long-term sustainability,” and to “ensure financial assistance remains available for future generations.” The restructuring applies to the permitted grantloan ratio available to students.
One student told The Varsity at the protest that the changes to OSAP would be “pretty devastating” for them. “I need any help I can get,” they said. “It’s based on your parents’ income; I don’t have parents to begin with.”
“If I lose my OSAP grants, I might need to reconsider my study,” said York University student and Save OSAP organizer, Jerry Peng.
Peng told The Varsity that losing his OSAP grants may force him to drop out of school. Not everyone who attended the rally, however, was a student relying on OSAP. Many, including Jaz Raine, former Green Party MP candidate and President of the Trent Graduate Students’ Association, attended the rally in solidarity. “Education already is barely accessible for people,” Raine said to The Varsity, saying that cutting OSAP grants gives fewer students the choice of higher education.
CFSON called the changes a “devastating blow for students,” in an Instagram post, writing that they “will have significant ramifications for students” in Ontario.
Chants led by CFSON Chairperson, Cyrielle Ngeleka; and National Executive Representative, Omar Mousa, included “Hands off our education,” “Hands off our OSAP,” and “No cuts, no fees, no corporate universities.”
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Students from across Ontario protest OSAP changes
The planned restructuring of OSAP will restrict applicants to a maximum of 25 per cent of
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UTGSU tables policy on Board of Directors meetings, discusses response to OSAP cuts
Members debate outreach, democratic governance, petition changes
Matthew Molinaro Graduate Bureau Chief
On Monday, March 2, the University of Toronto Graduate Students’ Union (UTGSU) convened for a monthly Board of Directors (BOD) meeting. Directors came together to approve specific motions on workplace harassment, and the collection of and accountability for financial policies. They also approved the increase in the remuneration of the executives to reflect the work increasing from 15 to 17 hours a week after the resignation from the Vice President (VP) Finance position.
They began the session with a roundtable discussion on committee work, their experiences and feedback in the various committees on which each director serves. Directors especially noted their sense of empowerment and excitement for two of the more active, multi-year committees — Food Security and Base Funding. VP Internal Dominic Shillingford ended by encouraging directors to reach out to him for feedback on the committee process.
Funding questions
After the 2025 Annual General Meeting (AGM),
UTGSU members directed the Base Funding Committee to define the goals and mandate of their new caucus.
The approved definition goes: “Broadly defined, the Base Funding Caucus is a space for members of the UTGSU who perform unrecognized work at the University of Toronto as a requirement for completing their degree programs. Unrecognized work involves tasks such as research or internships that would typically be completed by a paid worker. Some of these Members receive stipends or fellowships to offset tuition and cost-of-living expenses.”
President Amir Moghadam emphasized the role UTGSU needed to play in contesting the Ford government’s cuts to the Ontario Student Assistance Program (OSAP). Moghadam made clear that these changes were made without consultation with students. He also asserts that the Cost-of-Living survey sent to graduate students gave UTGSU data to prove the risk of widespread OSAP cuts.
He then encouraged Directors and their constituents to attend the March 4 and 23 rallies and the March 10 town hall to raise their concerns.
Member petitions
A motion for the proposed policy on Board of Directors meetings and agendas sought to rescind the existing policy on petitions. The motion was eventually amended and tabled.
In the current policy, a petition of 300 signatures can compel the union to use council powers for a certain action. A petition cannot overturn a referendum, a decision from an AGM, break a legal agreement, violate the law, or do something unfeasible within the union’s operational and financial restraints.
The rationale to rescind this petition policy was that it allows members to compel the BOD to undertake actions against their best interests. Additionally, the UTGSU’s petition policy is not common in contemporary student unions. The union also already has existing avenues for members to bring their matters to the BOD’s attention, such as during elections and AGMs.
On February 11, the Governance Committee voted to recommend the adoption of a Member Proposals policy. Rather than a petition, members may use proposals to either request that a director submit an agenda item for a BOD meeting on their behalf, or to submit a Member Proposal directly to the VP Internal. They may use proposals as long as
they received 100 signatures and the Chair did not deem it out of order. Under the proposed policy, the member must submit a Member Proposal 10 days prior to a BOD meeting and has entitlements for speaking rights to motivate the proposal at the meeting.
The directors spoke at length about the implications of the policy. They questioned whether the number of signatures sufficed as a mandate, if the number of signatures adequately represented members across divisions, and if the proposal was accessible for students across satellite campuses.
An amendment sought to lower the number of signatures to 50, rather than the initial 100, at which point discussion of whether 30 signatures would be more adequate proceeded. Ultimately, the directors decided to table the motion, given some of the concerns raised.
Highlights from the 2026 SCSU Executive Candidates’ Debate
The slates lined up to answer questions on accountability, budgets, and co-op students
Team Impact and Team Amplify are facing off in the SCSU election. On March 4, executive candidates from each team debated transit issues, campus engagement, and financial transparency ahead of the election. The full debate can be watched on the SCSU’s Instagram.
Voting will take place on campus from March 9–11, 2026, with polling stations open each day from 10:00 am to 5:00 pm.
Presidential candidates
The presidential candidates were asked about what accountability measures they would put in place so the SCSU executives would effectively execute their jobs.
Amplify’s Kai Sealy said she would “make sure that all executives have clear written mandates at the beginning of the summer semester, the fall semester, and winter semester.” She continued, saying, “I will schedule one-on-one executive meetings, so I can track the progress of each of my executives and make sure that I’m following through with their promised deliverables, so that we are not making false promises to students.”
Impact’s De-Mario Knowles said next, “One good way to make sure we are doing our job is that the people that we are meant to serve are at the table as well. It’s one thing if you are working internally, it’s another thing if the people that are watching you do your job are either seeing you do what you’re supposed to do or seeing you not do what you’re supposed to do.”
The next question asked how the candidates would ensure the SCSU represents students who both support and critique the SCSU.
Knowles said he believed in analyzing through the framework of “intent versus impact.” He added, “At the end of the day, we’re all here to serve the students. And there may be a time where, as SCSU executives, we believe that this may be right, because we’re big union executives, we have so much experience. We can sometimes overlook how certain decisions that we make affect the students that we serve.”
When someone comes with criticism, “That’s not an opportunity for me to feel attacked. That's an opportunity to see how I can reflect
and express humility so I can get their input and better serve students,” Knowles concluded.
Sealy stepped up next. “In order for us to amplify the voices of students, we need to be collecting that data. When we’re taking that to the admin, we have to have quantifiable measures. We go to a research university, and this university loves having metrics, so making sure that I have that data available, making sure that we’re running the relevant surveys, we’re going through the anonymous feedback loops.”
Sealy added, “Additionally, making sure that we’re bringing students into those spaces, like the International Student Centre, making sure that students are actually engaging with the supports they create.”
VP Operations
The VP Operations candidates were asked what measures they would implement to ensure transparency in the union’s spending and budgeting.
Amplify’s Rakshit Hegde began: “First of all, I would make Bistro, the restaurant itself and the safe space of Bistro more accessible to clubs and student groups, because at the end of the day, the Student Center and the Bistro are a student space.” This included lowering the fee for the student groups to book the Bistro.
Additionally, he will “make sure that all the steps the money goes through from wherever it’s coming from, to the students or to clubs, would be extremely transparent and extremely easy to access for all students in all clubs.”
Impact’s Athisayaa Prabagar added that she wants to create a section of the website with the union’s fees, budget and finances, and create visual printouts and infographics for students to easily understand how money is being allocated. Prabagar also wants to standardize and publish funding criteria for clubs.
“Transparency isn’t just about publishing numbers, it’s about making sure students feel informed and involved in decisions that affect their experience. So my goal is to make sure that your next finances are more visible, understandable and accountable,” Prabagar concluded.
VP Academic and University Affairs
One question asked of the VP Academic and University Affairs candidates is how they would
support co-op students in securing meaningful employment opportunities.
“I want to champion the integration of structured experiential learning programs in every UTSC undergraduate program,” said Impact’s Maya Khan. Her ultimate goal is “to connect classroom learning with hands-on experience.”
Khan wants to implement initiatives like “hosting targeted networking events with alumni and local employers from the GTA, expanding workshops on resume building, interview skills specific to each field, and partnering with different companies, creating more diverse, high-quality co-op placements.”
If elected, Khan will “track co-op outcomes and the positions that are open right now so we can continuously improve opportunities and make sure every student finds a placement in UTSC that truly helps them grow professionally.”
Amplify’s VP Academic and University Affairs candidate, Kaitlyn Gallagher, was not present at the debate.
VP External
To the VP External candidates, one question asked how they would strengthen relationships with external stakeholders and advocate for students with the rising costs of housing, transit, and tuition.
Amplify’s Fawzia Elhag highlighted the SCSU’s pre-established transit bursary program, but argued that the demand from students exceeds the funding that has been allocated for the program.
“One thing about the services we have here at the SCSU is the TTC bursary, or transit bursary,” Elhag said. “There’s a lot more that needs to be done, and there has to be an expanded budget for these bursaries. We have over 150 students applying per round, and the budget isn’t reflective of the amount of students that we have.”
She also brought up discussions around a broader youth transit pass initiative that would allow UTSC to connect with multiple postsecondary institutions and work together to reduce transit fares for students.
“However, to bring in the youth pass, we would need a two-year plan of bringing together different colleges and different universities,” Elhag said.
Impact’s Khadijah Khan was not present at the debate.
VP Equity
The VP Equity candidates were asked how they would ensure the union enforces a safe environment for students of all spiritual belief systems, sexual orientations, gender identities, and racial backgrounds.
Impact’s Sukaina Abass proposed regular forums and engagement opportunities where students could share ideas directly with union leadership “to make sure students actually feel safe, heard, and supported when they speak up.”
Abass also wants to “actively rebuild the support that makes it easier to participate, share their experience, and feel like there’s safe people on campus.”
Amplify’s Amal Elcharbini began with, “Creating a safe and inclusive campus starts with making sure that equity policies are not just symbolic, but actually enforced. One of the first steps is strengthening how discrimination and harassment [are] reported and addressed.”
“The important part of my role is to give them a platform to champion the conversation, not necessarily to take any kind of conversation away from their voices,” Elcharbini added.
VP Campus Life
The two VP Campus Life candidates were asked how they would ensure SCSU’s club funding allocation is fair and transparent.
Amplify’s Emeka Okolo wants the Club Funding Committee to approve funding by itself so club reimbursements don’t have to wait until the next Board of Directors meeting. He also wants to increase committee meetings to between three and four meetings a month, “so that the clubs can get the money instead of having to wait at least two weeks from the end of the month, they can get their money within a single week.”
Impact’s Tarek Dennaoui said, “Emeka and I probably have the same goals. We just offer different perspectives, or we just have different personalities.”
“I’m just gonna increase the frequency of board meetings to stay on top of things as the year progresses, and to make sure that these reimbursements are always on time [...] At the end of the day, I want to maximize the efficiency of clubs producing events through the efficiency behind closed doors,” Dennaoui concluded.
The Graduate Student Union meets again at 16 Bancroft
Ashley Thorpe & Ella MacCormack
UTSC Bureau Chief & News Editor
Gap in SCSU health plan has left multiple students without insurance since January
“No accountability” from the SCSU, one affected student told The Varsity
Junia Alsinawi Deputy News Editor
Vidya Ramnarine, a fifth-year UTSC student registered with Accessibility Services, had her health coverage caught in limbo for two months as a result of gaps in the Scarborough Campus Students’ Union’s (SCSU) health plan, leading to over $500 in out-of-pocket health expenses and ongoing mental stress.
Ramnarine is taking two courses this semester — a part-time course load — and is registered with Accessibility Services, meaning she is eligible for coverage under the SCSU Health and Dental policy.
Despite this, in early January, Ramnarine learned that her coverage had been deactivated when she tried unsuccessfully to submit a claim to Greenshield — the health insurance company that the SCSU’s plan uses. She initially thought the deactivation was because it was before the SCSU’s healthcare opt-in forms were due on January 30.
It was only in late February, after multiple students had been left without coverage since January, that SCSU Internal Coordinator Koby Bamfo wrote to the students in an email that “The way insurance is charged to students is based on the course count seen in ACORN… the issue here is that the system isn’t smart [enough] to pick up when a student for example is full-time under AccessAbility [sic] services.”
“In the dark”
Even though Ramnarine was eligible for SCSU coverage, Greenshield did not have access to her disability status on ACORN, so it incorrectly thought that Ramnarine should be covered by
the Association of Part-time Undergraduate Students’ (APUS) health and dental plan.
Complicating matters was the fact that the SCSU was unaware of this major gap in its plan.
When Ramnarine emailed the union on January 30 asking if she should opt out of APUS coverage, Bamfo told Ramnarine to “hold off” on using her full-time SCSU health plan. In a February 2 email to Ramnarine, Bamfo said he was working with APUS and Greenshield to figure out what she should do, telling her that the issue would “hopefully” be resolved later that week.
It was at this point that Ramnarine realized she would have to pay out-of-pocket for the foreseeable future. In a typical week, Ramnarine — who deals with ongoing mental and physical health issues — can file multiple claims for her various therapies and medication.
“I had a lot of medical bills piling up. So I just needed to know what to do,” Ramnarine said in an interview with The Varsity. Despite the urgency of her situation, Ramnarine had still not heard back from Bamfo by February 9. Growing desperate, she tried calling the SCSU, but no one answered, and she was unable to leave a message because the voicemail inbox was full. When she visited the SCSU office on February 12, she was told that Bamfo would get back to her the next day, but by February 23, Ramnarine still hadn’t heard from him.
In an email to Bamfo on February 23, in which she CC’d SCSU president Lalise Shifara, Ramnarine wrote: “I currently have outstanding medical expenses awaiting reimbursement and additional necessary expenses that I have delayed due to uncertainty about my coverage status.”
In a responding email, Bamfo told Ramnarine that the problem stemmed from the fact that
Greenshield did not recognize her as a full-time student because it “doesn’t see specific cases like the Accessibility office.” Bamfo also acknowledged that Ramnarine was one of a number of students facing the same issue and that he and the union were “trying to tackle it across both APUS and Greenshield.”
When Ramnarine asked when she could expect to have her coverage reinstated, Bamfo wrote that he was “in the dark” about wait times. In an email sent on February 25 to all the students facing this issue, Bamfo wrote, “I’ve been working with APUS to get in contact with the service reps over at the Greenshield insurance company but we don’t have an ETA to provide for when this gets addressed since it looks like the company is undergoing some internal changes and updates to their structure.”
Ramnarine said that she herself had called Greenshield. “They told me, ‘We don’t handle this. It’s your administrator.’ ” Greenshield did not respond to The Varsity’s request for comment.
It wasn’t until March 4, during the SCSU Executive Candidates’ debate, that Ramnarine and the other students received an email from Bamfo confirming that the issue had been resolved and their SCSU health and dental plan was now active.
“My health was down the drain” Ramnarine has ADHD and autism, as well as physical conditions that require ongoing, expensive medical care. “I submit at least a few claims a week. That’s how often I use it,” she said, “I couldn’t even bill anything under [her mother’s insurance] because I technically [was] waiting on Greenshield. So I was just out of pocket, period.”
Financial constraints forced Ramnarine to forgo some routine treatment, adding physical stress to the emotional stress of not having
health coverage over January and February. This stress had academic consequences for Ramnarine, a neuroscience and psychology double major. “I had to skip a midterm. Luckily, it got rescheduled, but I had to skip it because [my] physical [and] mental health was down the drain — barely sleeping for two to four hours a night, barely eating one meal a day,” Ramnarine explained.
“I’m pissed off because there was no apology and no accountability whatsoever [from Bamfo],” she said. “The current [SCSU] administration did not do their job.”
Neither Bamfo nor SCSU Executive Director Sarah Abdillahi responded to The Varsity’s request for comment, but in a March 5 email to Ramnarine, on which The Varsity was CC’d, Abdillahi wrote, “I would… like to sincerely apologize on behalf of the Scarborough Campus Students’ Union (SCSU) for not identifying the gaps in our Health & Dental Plan sooner… I spoke with the staff responsible for administering the SCSU’s Health & Dental Plan. I also want to extend an apology on their behalf if any of the responses you received were unclear or unsatisfactory.”
In the same email, Abdillahi wrote, “we are actively working to address this issue and that our members registered with Accessibility Services remain a priority. I will personally ensure we follow up on this matter until a clear and fair solution is reached.”
In the last week, Ramnarine has submitted claims for all the out-of-pocket expenses that accumulated since January, but she remains angry about how the SCSU handled this issue. So is David Ojeifo, a UTSC student and close friend of Ramnarine, who has supported her during the stress of the last two months.
“The people who are in the current [SCSU] administration that let this happen are also currently running for the current SCSU elections,” Ojeifo said to The Varsity in an interview. “[They’re] ignorant. I don’t think they understand the full scope of their responsibilities as VPs. ”
The SCSU executives did not respond to The Varsity’s request for comment.
Largest gaming event in U of T history a smash hit UTSmash regional tournament hosts 239 attendees from across the country
Emma Dobrovnik Assistant News Editor
When Advait “McBlaze” Venkatesh attended his first UTSmash tournament, he never imagined he would be competing against players from Alberta, Québec, and even New Jersey.
As President of UTSmash — U of T’s official Smash Ultimate Club — Venkatesh has seen the club’s meteoric growth since its revival in 2023. What began as 10-person weekly tournaments has since developed into one of the Greater Toronto Area’s most prolific competitive gaming communities.
Its most recent regional tournament, Campus Clash 3: BARRAGE, hosted 239 attendees from across the country.
In an interview with The Varsity, Venkatesh described the lead-up to the tournament.
“We needed a production crew, a graphic designer, and staff for the event. It was eight months of work… and five months of telling people to come… I think I must have easily messaged 300 people.”
Super Smash Bros — a platform fighting video game series — has long been a cornerstone of esports, with grassroots communities allowing gamers to compete for cash prizes in local, regional, and international tournaments.
Campus Clash 3: BARRAGE was UTSmash’s largest event yet, and the biggest gaming tournament in U of T history. Held at Tartu College Event Space, the tournament featured a $100 pot bonus — an additional cash prize added to the entry-fee pool — attracting U of T and non-U of T players.
The event’s Collegiate Crews, which paired competitors from other schools in Ontario, welcomed players from 12 post-secondary institutions. Although many of those registered were U of T students, some players, such as New Jersey’s Syrup, travelled all the way from the US to compete.
In addition to their regional tournaments, UTSmash hosts free-to-play weekly tournaments and offers discounted rates for its monthly tournaments. In the clubroom at 21 Sussex Avenue, students can join gaming practice sessions every Friday free of charge.
UTSmash is the longest-running tournament series in downtown Toronto, and Venkatesh is proud to say that they’re attracting talent from all over.
“When I was in first year as an international student, I found it hard to meet people. I would have never met anyone from Wawa or Thunder
Bay if it weren’t for Smash and these free, accessible spaces.”
Although it was founded in 2019, UTSmash struggled to resume operations after the COVID-19 pandemic due to the rising cost of event spaces and a lack of funding from the university. Venkatesh noted that while Smash clubs at York University and Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU) receive funding from their schools, UTSmash relies on entry fees from its monthly and annual tournaments.
“[The university] could be giving us rooms for free so that we wouldn’t have to pay for these
UTM Campus Council approves proposed increases in fees — UTM Council Chambers
Byline: Arunveer Sidhu, UTM Bureau Chief
On February 24, the UTM Campus Council voted to approve a proposed $29.79 increase for full-time students and $5.96 for part-time students in operating and service fees. These fee increases await confirmation from the Executive Committee on March 12.
The sessional Health Services fee has a proposed 7.33 per cent increase — from $79.95 to $85.81 for fulltime students and from $15.99 to $17.16 for part-time students.
The sessional Recreation and Athletics fee has a proposed five per cent increase — combining a permanent two per cent increase and a temporary three per cent increase that will last for three years — bringing the fee from $223.01 to $234.16 for full-time students and from $44.60 to $46.83 for part-time students. Although this fee increase was not supported by the Quality Service to
spaces. Even just coverage, promotions, or anything that could bring us out there. That’s all we ask for.”
The club’s weekly tournaments now consistently see a turnout of at least 45 players, many of whom are in the same programs and classes. Riddles, widely considered the greatest Canadian Smash Ultimate player, is among the tournament’s regular attendees.
Despite the competitive nature of the game, Venkatesh feels that the sense of community at UTSmash is what keeps players coming back.
The
Students (QSS), it was within the range allowed without student endorsement.
The sessional Student Services fee will increase from $307.70 to $320.48 for full-time students and from $61.54 to $64.10 for part-time students — a total increase of 4.15 per cent.
Additionally, the University of Toronto Mississauga Association of Graduate Students (UTMAGS) fee will be modified beginning in the summer 2026 session to reflect an increase of $4.87 per fall and winter sessions for the MiWay U-Pass portion of the fee. The MiWay Summer U-Pass portion of the fee will undergo an increase of $2.44 per fall session and $2.43 per winter session.
U of T Alumnus awarded Order of Ontario — Mississauga
University of Toronto alumnus Ahmad Attia has been appointed to the Order of Ontario, the province’s highest
“Everyone comes to hang out every Friday and talks about how their week was, how they’re travelling to other tournaments. At the end of the day, the game is just something that unites us. If you come to one of our events, you’ll find people to talk to about school, jobs, or anything. I have made lifelong friends through this game, and it’s just a fun social environment.”
UTSmash has already begun planning next year’s Campus Clash, and Venkatesh hopes for an even larger turnout.
civilian honour, recognizing his leadership in strengthening communities, advancing civic engagement, and building public trust.
Attia graduated from U of T’s Electrical and Computer Engineering program in 2005 and is now CEO of Gestalt Communications. He has also held governance roles with Trillium Health Partners, Human Rights Watch Canada, and the Peel Police Services Board.
In an email to The Varsity, Attia reflected on how his time at U of T shaped his approach to leadership and public service.
“At U of T, the peers, mentors, and communities I engaged with on campus influenced how I thought about responsibility, leadership, and service,” he wrote. “My education in engineering shaped how I approach complex systems and problem-solving – skills that have remained central to my work in public service and leadership.”
Attia also pointed to the university’s Professional Experience Year (PEY) program as a pivotal moment in his career, which led to an internship at IBM and his first role at Deloitte after graduation.
Byline: Nguyen Bao Han Tran, Varsity Staff
Players compete at UTSmash’s biggest regional tournament yet. ADVAIT VENKATESH/THEVARSITY
President: Adam El-Falou
VP Equity: Tiffany Da Silva
VP External: Rajas Dhamija
“The student union is not the executives that have been elected, it’s not the staff members that are in the student center every day. Instead, the student union is every single student in the student body,” said Adam ElFalou, the Ignite presidential candidate.
El-Falou is a third-year majoring in geospatial data science and minoring in computer science and psychology. This past year, El-Falou has been on the board of directors at the UTMSU, installing bidets in the Student Centre and aiding in initiating the Palestine Committee. He is also an advocacy director at the Muslim Student Association (MSA), organizing fundraisers and awareness campaigns for global crises such as those in Sudan and Palestine.
If elected, El-Falou wants every UTMSU executive to have daily, one-on-one
Tiffany Da Silva, a third-year UTM student specializing in digital enterprise management, is running for the VP Equity position with IgniteUTM.
In an interview with The Varsity, Da Silva said, “I’m running for this position because I believe that all students should have equitable access to resources, opportunities and information on campus. It’s something I’m very passionate about… It’s been something I’ve been very involved [with] in terms of working with the student body throughout my time here at UTM.”
Da Silva’s experiences include working with the Centre for Student Engagement (CSE) and International Education Centre (IEC), peer mentorship with STEAM days, mentorship for prospective students, working as a Black Access to Educational Excellence (BAEE) ambassador,
VP University Affairs: Dana Al-Habash
“Students have trusted me once, and I’m sure I can do it again.”
Rajas Dhamija is running for re-election as VP External under the IgniteUTM slate. In an interview with The Varsity, he said he was running to “carry the momentum I’ve built in the previous years forward and all the work that I’ve done.”
Dhamija is a third-year UTM student pursuing a commerce specialist. In addition to his experience as VP External, he has been a part of many campus groups, including Digital Enterprise Management Association (DEMA), the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), and Enactus.
Dhamija’s campaign focuses are transit advocacy and tackling food insecurity. During this past term, he successfully advocated for
Fourth-year digital enterprise management specialist and professional writing and communication minor Dana Al-Habash is running for VP University Affairs with IgniteUTM. With her passion for student advocacy, Al-Habash hopes to foster a fair academic environment for students.
“I know what it’s like to be a student and not feel like you have the support that you need,” AlHabash told The Varsity, reflecting on her early years at UTM, “That’s why I’m running for this role. I’ve seen what it’s like to get that support.”
Al-Habash hopes to apply her experience as a LAUNCH Leader with the Centre for Student Engagement and an Institute of Communication, Culture, Information and Technology (ICCIT) Mentor to help students navigate university resources: “I
(Freya) Gao
Xingyi (Freya) Gao, a third-year student specializing in digital enterprise management, is running for VP Internal with IgniteUTM.
Gao’s experience with the UTMSU includes serving on the board of directors for Division I, as a VP Internal associate, and she is currently a WeChat Coordinator. In an interview with The Varsity, Gao said, “I’ve become familiar with the internal portfolio. And in this role, I’ve provided support… for many initiatives, but I'm running to be the VP now because I want to be the one leading these initiatives.”
As VP, Gao wants to represent the entire student body, sharing how, “as an international
conversations with students. In fact, his own campaign focuses emerged from talking with students: OSAP cuts, affordability of food on campus, and transit.
For food affordability, El-Falou, along with his slate, plans to introduce $5 meals at The Blind Duck and increase the frequency of Free Dinner Fridays.
On transit, El-Falou highlighted particular connections to campus that need improvement: the frequency of the 199 UTM Express North bus, the hours of the 126 Burnhamthorpe Express bus, and the lack of a GO bus connection.
Based on conversations with student groups like the MSA and Catholic Student Association, El-Falou will also advocate for bigger multifaith spaces on campus.
and she is currently co-president at Caribbean Connections and VP Administration of the Black Students Association.
Her campaign focuses on creating a club coalition where she wants “student voices, the clubs, to be at the forefront of most events and other things that we’re having on campus.” Da Silva also wants to create a global crisis committee, further adding, “We know a lot of students and their families are going through different things, especially being in Palestine and Congo, Haiti, Sudan, and other countries. We just want to make sure these voices are heard.”
If elected, Da Silva wants to “have a great relationship between clubs and the UTMSU, they should be at the forefront. We should be proactive and not have them as an afterthought.”
the implementation of weekend routes for the 110 bus.
His other points of advocacy include expanding the hours of operation for route 126, better service for the Brampton 199 bus, and a GO bus to UTM. Despite campaigning for these advocacies last year, he explains, “They’re still in progress… and work still needs to be done on those… Things don’t happen overnight… advocacy, especially in transit, it’s a slow, slow process.”
The UTMSU began Free Dinner Fridays at the Blind Duck last year, and Dhamija “want[s] to increase the frequency of free dinners on campus.” He also wants to “introduce something called $5 meal deals at the Blind Duck, because food on campus… [is] super expensive… I don’t get a meal for less than 15, 20 bucks.”
realized that for me, that was my goal, to enter a position where I can actually make those resources easily accessible for students.”
Al-Habash said that her involvement with the UTM Muslim Students’ Association, Digital Enterprise Management Association, and Women in Law Association has exposed her to the academic and professional needs of students. Her work with UTMSU’s Palestine Committee inspires her to continue UTMSU’s student advocacy initiatives for other student groups and students from diverse backgrounds.
If elected, Al-Habash would work with registrars and student unions across U of T’s campuses to eliminate exam deferral fees and make the Second Attempt for Credit policy applicable to failed courses instead of just passed ones.
student myself… I know how scary things can be coming to a new country, and not just [for] Chinese students, but all international students… I want to… make sure they feel at home on campus.”
Gao wants to focus on the UTMSU’s housing campaign, “when students move from a new country, they often don’t know the laws and regulations when finding a place to live, and many students face unsafe living conditions… we want to make sure that students are not exploited, and that’s why we are planning to lobby [the] city council to ensure that housing protection for students are strengthened.”
Editor’s note: The Varsity reached out to all nine UTM executive candidates, but only five signed up to be interviewed.
Business & Labour
March 10, 2026
thevarsity.ca/category/business biz@thevarsity.ca
U of T-Ericsson partnership positions Canada in high-stakes 5G economy
A $1 million investment in AI-powered mobile research signals strategic competition
Mariam Ayoub Varsity Contributor
The telecommunications market is projected to generate roughly $200 billion CAD in additional Canadian GDP from 5G between 2020–2040. U of T has secured a strategic industry partner that could shape Canada’s role in the next generation of wireless infrastructure: Ericsson, a Swedish multinational telecommunications company.
On February 18, Ericsson and U of T announced a new three-year framework agreement under which Ericsson will invest $1 million to accelerate research in AI-powered mobile communications technologies.
Projects under the collaboration will examine how artificial intelligence can improve the efficiency
and design of wireless networks. Examples include optimizing how limited radio spectrum is allocated, reducing the power consumption of network infrastructure, and improving system architecture for dense urban environments.
5G can greatly improve mobile infrastructure in Canada. Compared to 4G data, 5G networks offer dramatically higher mobile data speeds and lower latency, meaning data can travel across the network with less delay. This enables faster applications and operations ranging from industrial automation to remote healthcare and AI-integrated systems.
According to network performance analysis from Ookla — a company providing network connectivity insights — as of 2026, Canada ranks second among G7 countries for the share of 5G
standalone deployments. These are networks providing 5G that do not require 4G infrastructure to operate and are therefore not limited in performance by old technology. This growth reflects the rapid expansion of next-generation wireless infrastructure across the country.
Benefits of the partnership
For Ericsson Canada — whose Ottawa site is one of the largest wireless research and development (R&D) centres they have — the agreement strengthens its North American research ecosystem. The company competes globally with firms such as Nokia and Samsung in supplying telecom infrastructure.
Deepening collaboration with a top-ranked research university allows Ericsson to test AInetwork integration in an academic environment while reinforcing its long-term positioning in Canada’s wireless market.
For U of T, the partnership strengthens its role as a major research hub in engineering and AI. Professors Ben Liang and Ravi Adve in the Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering have collaborated with Ericsson for more than a decade on research related to wireless network infrastructure.
The partnership includes a talent development stream across U of T’s Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering, incorporating co-op opportunities and interdisciplinary programs. As AI and telecom infrastructure converge, the demand for engineers fluent in both machine learning and network systems is expected to grow. For students, this may translate into research placements and clearer pathways into high-paying R&D roles.
Economic and broader impacts
By 2040, mobile technologies, including 5G, could contribute over $65 billion annually to GDP,
Federal government invests $2 million into the Foodpreneur
equivalent to roughly 2.5 per cent of Canada’s economic output.
However, these gains are not automatic. Policies related to mobile network spectrums, regulatory timing, and infrastructure investment shape how quickly 5G benefits materialize. Delayed or limited access to key mid-band spectrum — the range of wireless radio frequencies commonly used for 5G networks — can slow rollout and reduce macroeconomic impact.
On the other hand, Canada’s telecom landscape remains highly concentrated, dominated by Rogers, Bell, and TELUS. According to the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC), the three companies together accounted for nearly 90 per cent of retail mobile phone revenues in 2023.
While the federal government reports that prices for some wireless plans have declined in recent years, affordability and competition in the sector remain during ongoing policy debates. Therefore, improvements in network efficiency and spectrum use can have economic consequences beyond research labs, because they affect how quickly telecom providers can expand capacity and deliver lower-cost services.
The future
Industry analysts continue to stress the financial stakes involved in next-generation network development. Partnerships between universities and telecommunications firms allow companies to test new technologies while universities gain research funding and opportunities for students to work on applied engineering problems.
The agreement between Ericsson and U of T builds on more than a decade of collaboration between the company and researchers in the university’s Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering. If successful, these projects could help shape how future 5G systems evolve and how early research on 6G technologies begins to take form globally.
lab
Funding aims to stimulate economy and break down system barriers
Audrey Kim Associate Business and Labour Editor
On February 27, Canada’s Minister of AI and Digital Innovation, Evan Solomon, shared in a press release that $2 million would be granted to Black and equity-deserving entrepreneurs in the food and beverage space.
This investment originates from the Federal Economic Development Agency of Southern Ontario (FedDev Ontario) and will serve business owners across major urban centers. This includes Toronto, Kitchener-Waterloo, and Hamilton, as well as smaller communities throughout the region.
This new funding represents only a small fraction of what FedDev Ontario has invested since 2015, with over $735 million deployed to businesses led by underrepresented communities across Ontario through nearly a thousand different projects.
The Foodpreneur Lab
The federal agency will not be responsible for accepting applications and deploying the funds, as that responsibility has been allocated to the Foodpreneur Lab — a Canadian non-profit organization with a national mandate to “advance racial and gender equity in the food sector.”
Its founder, Janice Bartley, stated on the organization’s website that her personal mission is to “level the playing field and open doors in underserved communities for ‘would-be’ and established food entrepreneurs.” To do this, she draws on decades of experience in entrepreneurship as well as non-profit ventures within the food and beverage space. Since 2019, she has led four cohorts of more than 95 Black entrepreneurs through the Foodpreneur Lab.
The funding will be channelled specifically into the organization’s Step Up Scale Up 16-week program. This will give 75 selected entrepreneurs the exclusive opportunity to scale their businesses through leveraging expert support. Participants will also gain access to physical resources like production spaces and distribution channels.
From pastries to hot sauces, entrepreneurs selected for this accelerator often root their products in cuisines, flavours, and ingredients connected to their heritage or background. This emphasis on cultural representation was a major motivator for Bartley to start the Foodpreneur Lab.
In a recent interview with Mississauga.com, she said, “What we stock on shelves sends powerful messages about identity, belonging and value. When Black food entrepreneurs are excluded from ownership in the food system, their cultures are reduced to trends rather than treated as living, evolving contributions.”
The state of the food and beverage industry
This $2 million investment comes at a uniquely challenging period for the food and beverage industry. Entrepreneurs building consumer packaged goods brands — as well as restaurants, bakeries, and catering businesses — have faced mounting pressure on their profits from high input costs and inflation, curbing consumer spending.
Since 2022, grocery costs have risen by 22 per cent, outpacing other consumer goods like clothing or electronics, which have increased by an average of 13 per cent. Such price spikes have placed additional strain on an industry already characterized by small margins, even under normal economic conditions.
To add insult to injury, from the consumer side, declining affordability has been creeping into the lifestyles of Canadians. Three out of four Canadians report eating out less — a trend that is even more pronounced amongst younger consumers. Together, these pressures have manifested into harsh realized outcomes. A recent Restaurants Canada report found that 44 per cent of surveyed restaurants were not profitable, while nearly a quarter were operating at a loss.
Operating a business in the food and beverage industry is layered with complexity, from navigating regulations and ever-changing tariff policies to dealing with labour shortages. In today’s hypercompetitive environment, scaling a profitable business has become increasingly difficult, with ongoing supply chain shake-ups and economic conditions compounding the challenge.
The government’s goals
Rising food costs have come out on top as the main financial concern for Canadian households in 2026. In response, the federal government has also been pursuing broader efforts to strengthen national food security. This FedDev Ontario funding represents an opportunity for the government to empower local communities by stirring innovation, job creation, and overall economic growth.
As best said by the minister himself in a press release, Solomon reasons for this significant investment by stating that, “By supporting organizations like Foodpreneur Lab, we’re building a more inclusive economy where all entrepreneurs have the opportunity to thrive and contribute to building a resilient Canadian economy.”
Arts & Culture
March 10, 2026
thevarsity.ca/category/arts-culture arts@thevarsity.ca
UTSC Improv Club’s Comedy Killer was its most ambitious performance yet
Neither a serial killer nor a fire alarm could stop the show from going on
Catherine Donkin Varsity Contributor
On January 23, the UTSC Improv Club put on their biggest performance of the year at the Leigha Lee Browne Theatre. Written by Eeman Chaudhry, UTSC Improv’s co-founder and president, this year’s show, Comedy Killer, follows the fate of an improv team from the fictional town of Scarsboro — a spoof on Woodsboro, the Scream franchise’s setting — as they are slowly picked off by a serial killer intent on their demise.
In an interview with The Varsity, Chaudhry said that in past years, the club’s largest performances have included shorter scripted skits. However, Comedy Killer is a two-hour semi-scripted play with various improv games written into the story, making it their most ambitious project yet.
After a short delay caused by a fire falsealarm, the show was underway. The meat of the show was various improv games based on themes suggested by the audience. Laced with
innuendo and ample toilet humour, the games played quite well with the audience.
Memorable scenes included a Secret Service member and their evil twin overseeing the US President’s ice-skating hobby, a Halloweenthemed love song about a vampire, and a prospective band member accidentally joining a polycule — for the third time this week!
Framing the improv games was the tale of the “Comedy Killer,” which featured a substantial number of cast members — alongside a variety of scripted scenes. These included two musical dance numbers, a lackadaisical police investigation, a handful of murders perpetrated by a scream mask-wearing villain, a murderous womanizing clown, a blood-ritual to save the town, and a news anchor covering it all.
Standout actors included Yvette Chester, Suki Chowdhury, Ness Schattman, Edward Kennedy, and Chaudhry herself. Chester’s self-absorbed attitude and flamboyant gestures perfectly sold the character of a preening news anchor. Chowdhury’s performance in the parodic “white
boy rap” musical number received some of the most applause of the most scripted segments of the show.
Schattman’s performance as an emotionally disturbed fish in an aquarium that needs to be urinated on to live was above and beyond.
Kennedy’s performance as the killer was, for a comedy, surprisingly creepy, as he lumbered onto the stage and towered far above his victims before stalking off behind the curtains.
Finally, Chaudhry’s performance in an improv scene where she progressively took on the role of all four members of the scene, including both parties of a divorced couple, their child, and the child’s bully, was one of the most impressive to watch. She additionally had the challenge of playing the main plot’s most straight-laced character: the only resident of Scarsboro who takes the killings seriously.
The UTSC Improv Club has been preparing for this show since October. While the club puts on shows containing both improv and sketches every January, this is the first show the club
Finding home in student exhibition sometimes i forget how to do things i say i like to do
The paralysis and struggle necessary to create
Jolie Chan
Varsity Contributor
sometimes i forget how to do things i say i like to do is a cross-disciplinary art exhibition exploring creative paralysis and unfinished art. Curated by Eejin Choi and Mario Zhang, the exhibition is on view until March 15 at Hart House on the second floor outside the Debates Room.
The exhibition is the latest iteration of the Hart House Student Art Committee’s ongoing Talking Walls series. Curated every semester, the exhibition series provides a space for students to share their artwork with the student body.
The opening night began with Choi and Zhang’s curators’ statement, explaining the theme and selection process of the exhibition. As Choi said, “This exhibition is our response
to the fact that difficulty matters; paralysis itself deserves to be seen.”
Choi recounted that, through studio art courses and conversations with other students, she had discovered that many U of T students felt so overwhelmed by academics and career pressures that they had lost touch with making art. Instead of focusing on completed works, she wanted this exhibition to be a space for the artistic expression of that dissonance between desire and action.
Creative struggle is captured by the unfinished paintings, half-rendered landscapes, photographs, and needlework.
Crossing the threshold of reflection to find home
A section of the night was dedicated to three of the artists and learning more about their artworks through a Q&A session. I heard from Stacey Joseph, whose “At the Threshold of Reflection” and “Have You Found Your Way Home?” represent the struggle to complete an artwork in fear of ruining the work in progress. Rather than viewing it as a loss, the exhibited works revel in their incompletion.
I saw “At the Threshold of Reflection” in the hallway before entering the Debates Room, and it had not occurred to me, then, that it was an unfinished piece. A willow tree stands among a grove of willows,
sheltering a vacant space, which was the spotlight of the piece. The line between a ‘finished’ work and an ‘unfinished’ one is fainter than I had thought.
“Have You Found Your Way Home?” struck me with its ominous red streetlight and vermillion webs against a dark backdrop that cannot be properly captured on camera. Interestingly, home is a place that you should be most familiar with and feel the safest in. Forgetting the way home is akin to forgetting how to do the things you love.
Synergy of arts and science
Beyond visual arts and art history students, I was told by the curators that the exhibition also received submissions from STEM students.
Sze Yin Shelby Wai’s “Columba livia, Lilium ‘Stargazer’, et Alstroemeria aurea” sends a message to all the students who feel that they have discarded their artistic passions for a comparatively pragmatic program.
Using watercolour and pencil sketches, Wai depicted a half x-ray structure of bird bones and muscles, with flowers blooming neatly out of feathers. Around this structure are labels found in textbook diagrams identifying the bird’s muscles and bones, expressing her love for art through her conflicting academic duties. This work acknowledges the tension many STEM students face: wanting to create but feeling constrained by schedules, expectations, or a sense that art no longer ‘fits’ into their lives.
By inviting viewers into a space that permits experimentation and imperfection, the piece offers a moment to reconnect with the joy of making art, to recognize that their analytical and artistic selves can
has attempted which features a plot that runs throughout the entire performance.
The long-form plot was an unusual addition to the short-form improv game format the show employed, which, in my experience, normally involves only disconnected scenes. In Comedy Killer’s case, the scripted plot was a strong success, which provided a throughline to the production and left a memorable impression because of its uniqueness.
Because Comedy Killer was about a group of improv performers, the improv games were diegetically justified and thus did not feel jarring. The script’s success at mixing both scripted and improvised comedic elements with the horror of the murders was impressive.
“Throughout the UTSC’s history, there have been different variations of an improv… club,” Chaudhry said. “This version, though, UTSC Improv, was founded by me a couple of years ago.” She continued to explain how she had co-founded the club with Sushani Mahindru (Secretary) and Yabsira Adgu (Vice-President) after a return to in-person events since the pandemic.
With her upcoming graduation, Comedy Killer was the last UTSC Improv production Chaudhry participated in. However, she, Mahindru, and Adgu will be handing over the reins to the club’s senior members. Chaudhry is confident they are prepared to take the club on and “can’t wait to see what they create.”
coexist and enrich one another. Arts and science are not opposites of each other; they are merely different languages for understanding the same world.
Returning home
The last artist to speak at the Q&A session was Amanda Veloso, who created “You’ll Always Be an Art Kid.” This piece is a canvas covered with common childhood objects — cartoon stickers, beads, and buttons — that encircle a person drawn on lined notebook paper. It suggests the artist’s return to a stage in life that is so easily forgotten.
This piece felt like a reassuring send-off message to remind artists that they have not lost themselves in the pursuit of their studies or careers, and that they can stay true to themselves as artists despite having less time for their art.
The exhibition was a testament to creating for the love of art. To find oneself again by depicting what’s often left unseen. Most exhibitions I have seen showcase completed works with thoughtful symbolism carefully hidden within. However, Choi told The Varsity in an interview that the exhibition “was meant to be full of incompleteness and failures of intention.”
sometimes forget how to do things i say i like to do is like a mise en abyme — an artwork within an artwork — particularly in what it stands for. The exhibition itself is meant to be incomplete yet invigorating, experimental yet expressive — just like the artworks it contains. Even the opening night of this exhibition is part of its collection; the conversations I had with the showcase artists there only enriched the experience.
“Columba livia, Lilium ‘Stargazer’, et Alstroemeria aurea” by Sze Yin Shelby Wai. SZE YIN SHELBY WAI/THEVARSITY
“You’ll Always Be an Art Kid” by Amanda Veloso. AMANDA VELOSO/THEVARSITY
“Have You Found Your Way Home?” by Stacey Joseph. STACEY JOSEPH/THEVARSITY
Taking “take any form” and “drive me mad” a little too seriously A Wuthering Heights review
Juliet Pieters
Associate Senior Copy Editor
This review contains spoilers.
In 2024, Emerald Fennell announced she was in the process of adapting Emily Brontë’s 1847 Gothic novel Wuthering Heights. Brontë’s novel follows the Earnshaw family, the toxic romance between Catherine Earnshaw and Heathcliff, and the revenge plots surrounding the estate of Wuthering Heights.
Fennell had already demonstrated an eye towards the twisted and the grotesque with thrillers like Saltburn (2023) and Promising Young Woman (2020), aligning perfectly with the gothic elements of Wuthering Heights. So, I had high expectations.
Given that this would be her third film, I hoped that she would improve on the creative and structural faults of her first films: poor dialogue, inconsistent writing, overly long montages of scenes with music, and inaccurate casting choices, to name a few. Indeed, following the casting announcements for Wuthering Heights, I knew I would be disappointed.
The players
The film only ‘adapts’ the first half of the novel, and many essential characters are also absent. For example, Cathy’s brother Hindley is not a character in this film. Hindley is a perpetrator of abuse in Brontë’s novel, and removing him minimizes the trauma that Cathy and Heathcliff suffer.
Additionally, the casting for the film’s leads was terrible. Margot Robbie as 15-year-old Cathy was not convincing at all, and watching Robbie, a woman in her thirties, throw teenage-hissy-fits was rather ridiculous to watch.
The decision to cast Jacob Elordi as Heathcliff is one of disturbing ignorance. Brontë depicts Heathcliff as Romani, subjecting him to racial abuse, which is what forms his angry and vengeful character. Neglecting to explore this facet of the story, to me, fails to tell the actual story itself.
The design
The film has also been criticized for its lack of historical accuracy in set design and costuming. However, I did find something compelling about the costumes and set design being ‘wrong.’
Fennell’s twisted, grotesque, and generally out-of-place sets and costumes align with conventions commonly used in the gothic genre. For instance, Cathy’s bedroom is wallpapered to resemble her skin and is meant to mirror what her body is experiencing.
However, Fennell only utilizes this design twice. Once, during a sex scene with Heathcliff in which he licks the part of the wall that resembles her chest, and again when she dies, and leeches are placed on both Cathy’s skin and the wall. Meanwhile, this motif is abandoned in scenes such as when Cathy is confined in her room during her illness; while Cathy suffers physically from her illness, and mentally from her love for Heathcliff, her room is still pristine.
This underutilization makes the interesting set choices seem more like a happy accident, rather than a deliberate artistic technique, further testifying to Fennell’s lack of creative direction.
Cathy’s costumes become more extravagant — and historically inaccurate — when she leaves Wuthering Heights. She wears long skirts with stays and riding boots at the Heights, but once at Thrushcross Grange, she wears what look like Dior ballgowns. Her makeup follows this pattern: a plain face at the Heights, but gems and winged eyeliner at the Grange.
The music
Another point of contention for critics has been the film’s music, which features an album by Charli XCX. I’ll confess that I quite liked the music itself, especially “Chains of Love” and “Always Everywhere.” But they do not fit in the movie, and the club beats overtop of Cathy rambling across the heath, or Heathcliff cutting wood, end up feeling like a really long music video.
The only two music choices that really fit were “House” by Charli XCX, featuring John Cale, with
its haunting monologue, and the folky ballad “Dark Eyed Sailor” by Olivia Chaney.
“House,” which played after the first scene, made Wuthering Heights feel abrasive and an oppressive intrusion, foreboding sinister events at the house. “Dark Eyed Sailor” played over a montage of Cathy preparing for her wedding to Edgar Linton (Shazad Latif). The melancholy music created a pause in the story, which allowed for some actual emotions to be felt by both characters and viewers.
The story
My primary annoyance with this film is how it disregards Brontë’s masterfully written characters and warps their disposition for the sake of heightening the romance between Cathy and Heathcliff.
In the novel, the maid Nelly is the narrator of the story, and while she is unreliable and can be vindictive towards those who have wronged her, she is not a villain. In Fennell’s film, Nelly (Hong Chau) is one of the primary villains who spites Cathy and Heathcliff, thwarts their relationship constantly, and by the end of the movie accepts the blame for Cathy’s death.
Isabella Linton (Alison Oliver) is also a complete reduction of the character in Brontë’s novel.
Isabella is meant to be the youthful sister of Edgar, a little naive but strong-willed. In the novel, Heathcliff manipulates her into marrying him and later abuses her. Isabella manages to escape his abuse and flees with their son, Linton Heathcliff.
Isabella, in this film, is an infantilized, hypersexualized young woman, portrayed with violent and perverse tendencies — for example, she has dolls of the inhabitants of her home and mutilates them when they ‘argue.’ Furthermore, she accepts Heathcliff’s abuse under the guise of a submission kink. Considering that the original character is a survivor of domestic abuse, this ‘revisioning’ of her character is particularly offensive.
I also question Fennell’s decision to portray the film’s only characters of colour, Nelly and Edgar, as villains, while portraying Heathcliff, the novel’s only
character of colour, as a white man. In the film, Nelly’s hostility towards Cathy has an undertone of class jealousy: Nelly feels that Cathy is ungrateful and scorns her as selfish and spoiled. Nelly is depicted as the bastard daughter of a lord, and insulting comments on her race make her spiteful towards Cathy.
Similarly, Edgar is portrayed as having a source of foreign wealth and is depicted as the cuckolded husband who becomes his wife’s captor. In the end, Fennell uses these plot points to paint Nelly and Edgar as tyrants, which is another slap in the face to Brontë’s complex and long-suffering original characters.
The classism, elitism, and racism experienced by Heathcliff are undercuts to the romantic aspects of Brontë’s Wuthering Heights, so Fennell completely removes these key elements, replacing them with sex scene after sex scene. I think lust has a place in Wuthering Heights; Cathy and Heathcliff are both passionate characters who love with every emotion, including hate. But this adaptation was not interested in portraying anything outside of lust for the purpose of shock value, which devalues the story.
The end?
Portraying abuse as something sexually gratifying is sinister, and robs characters like Isabella of their strength. Removing Heathcliff’s racialized identity, while also playing into the villainization of people of colour in fiction, is not just lazy, it is a microaggression.
To summarize Fennell’s film, Cathy is a forever 35-year-old, Heathcliff’s biggest struggle is that he is a poor, conventionally attractive white man, Nelly is a jealous saboteur, Isabella is a hypersexualized child, Edgar is an oppressive and loveless husband, and they all pose obstacles to Cathy and Heathcliff’s happiness.
Dear reader, this is not just a fundamental misreading. No, this is a deliberate bastardization of the story, which, at worst, serves the purpose of being a fantasy for Fennell, or at best, an extremely shallow take on a very complex story.
GABRIELLA CASTILLO/THEVARSITY
Inching forward
How different obstacles impede streetcar progress
Mikhala Enns Varsity Contributor
Running toward the intersection of Spadina Avenue and Nassau Street last Monday night, I channelled all of my energy into catching the 510 Spadina streetcar that Google Maps said would be at the stop within three minutes. When I finally arrived — hoping no one I knew had witnessed my frenzied sprint — I saw no streetcar. I peered up and down Spadina, but nothing arrived.
Suddenly, I heard the hissing of a bus behind me and turned to see the “510 to Broadview” in orange pixelated text. I assumed that there was some issue with the streetcar and hopped on the bus without a second thought. I got to
cities has centred around the idea of cars as the vehicle of the future. Thus, design choices related to transit signal priority, street parking, and lanes are made by prioritizing the car driver’s perspective.
The 2022 U of T report also exposes that although public transit can move many more people around downtown Toronto than cars, the TTC has been underfunded by the government for decades. This is also an effect of the ideal of car-forward cities — funding is not invested into transit because cars are seen as the main priority on the roads, and conflicts between politicians exemplify this.
In 2014, then-mayor Rob Ford opposed increasing spending on streetcars, arguing that as the population grew, cars should take
greatly increased streetcar reliability. However, the U of T School of Cities reported a daily average of 6,800 illegal turns on the corridor, 99.7 per cent of which are not ticketed.
El-Gewely added that small businesses are also concerned about TTC expansions, such as in 2025, when the Bathurst streetcar priority lanes were announced. “There was a lot of signage in storefronts that said ‘say no to the priority lines, this is going to destroy our business.’ ” A Reddit user explained on r/ Toronto how these business owners feared losing business because driving customers wouldn’t be able to park with the implementation of the RapidTO lanes.
El-Gewely exemplified how the opposite has been true in other places, like Vienna, Austria,
neighbourhoods are developed, their public transit network must be created so that residents are immediately accustomed to using public transit.
Toronto did this successfully with the implementation of North York Centre subway station on Line 1, which occurred before North York was revitalized as a medium-density residential and employment hub. This hasn’t been the case with the Port Lands, however, where the streetcar has not yet been developed due to a lack of funding, and residences have already been built and begun to house people. This forces new residents to design their lives around car use, which makes public transit redundant when it is eventually developed. The Canadian Centre for Economic Analysis
Clementine Fiorentino, a second-year global health student, recounts talking to people who live in Toronto or near streetcar lines who have never taken the streetcar because they are infamously unreliable.
One key factor that contributes to streetcar slowness is bunching, which occurs when several streetcars stop at once, causing a long wait time until the next batch stops in that area. This leaves increasingly large groups of riders stranded, and when they finally do get on, the streetcar is overcrowded.
Another issue with streetcars in Toronto is the lack of accessible infrastructure for riders. One main advantage of trams and streetcars should be their accessibility for wheelchair or other mobility aid users, or people with strollers. Streetcars with level platforms attached prevent riders from having to walk out into the road to board.
But Toronto’s streetcars lack such platforms, forcing riders to press a button to signal to the driver that the ramp is needed. The driver must stop driving, exit, and walk to the accessibility door to activate the ramp, all of which takes a long time.
A more accessible option for mobility aid users would be the levelling of the streetcar platform height to that of the streetcar floor. Trams in other cities, like the KitchenerWaterloo LRT line in 2019, have successfully implemented this.
Another streetcar problem unique to the TTC is the outdated track switches, which have caused
enough derailing incidents to introduce the convention of prohibiting streetcars from passing one another at intersections. This makes for much slower commutes, as sometimes, during route changes, streetcar drivers must step out of the vehicle to manually fix the switches. To top it all off, the switches are only produced by a single manufacturer, and their original design for the switches has apparently been lost in a fire.
Why pay for poor service?
Built-up frustrations with unreliable streetcar service experiences have prompted U of T students to question whether the fare for their commute is justified. “The TTC has a duty to [be reliable because] you pay an expensive amount,” said El-Gewely. The TTC fare for students is $3.30, which is the same amount as the regular adult fare using PRESTO. All those taps add up after daily commutes each semester. El-Gewely is frustrated with the expectation to pay because the unreliability often means riders turn to alternatives like Uber. “You can’t get to your work, you can’t get to your school, you can’t get anywhere, and then you have to pay an additional $10 [for Uber]... It’s exorbitant, and it’s not fair.”
Mayor Olivia Chow has proposed rolling out a system where, after a rider pays for 47 TTC trips in one month, they get automatically free rides for the rest of the month. By 2027, Chow plans to lower that threshold to 40; however, the original proposal hasn’t been approved yet. A similar discounted ride
already been implemented on GO Transit, calling into question why the TTC takes so long to catch up.
Jason Sagle, a second-year urban studies major, told The Varsity , “I feel like it’s very important that I’m able, as a student, to be able to use a low-cost means of transportation to get to and from campus.”
He said that when touring universities in high school, he found that many schools offered a local transit package that made transit free for students.
When speaking to Sagle, I was reminded of a time when my friend from the University of Guelph came to visit me. We hopped on the 506 streetcar, and she was shocked at the fact that I had to pay for public transit as a U of T student.
Reflecting on U of T’s significant TTC commuter population, Fiorentino recalled that most of the people she meets in her classes are commuters. “Especially after the first year, when it’s much rarer to find people living
construction delays can have the opposite effect.
“What comes to mind is Little Jamaica,” she continued, “and all the small businesses that were open and places that have been since demolished or just been under construction due to the Eglinton LRT. It kind of feels like it was for no good reason.”
In an article published this year by City News, Claude Thompson of Little Jamaica was interviewed about his experience being forced to close his small business, Natural Flavas juice bar, right as Line 5 opened. The prolonged construction drove patrons away from Thompson’s and many other small business owners’ stores on Eglinton.
To prevent incidents like these, El-Gewely argues that transit construction
Photo March 10, 2026
thevarsity.ca/section/photo photo@thevarsity.ca
“Daniel 5:5” scrawled along a telephone pole at Mutual and Shuter. ABBY RUSSCHEN/THEVARSITY
“Daniel 5:5” teenily written on a garage door at Cecile and Beverley. ABBY RUSSCHEN/THEVARSITY
“Daniel 5:5” spray-painted in red across a construction sign near the U of T bookstore. ABBY RUSSCHEN/THEVARSITY
“Daniel 5:5” sandwiched between the lines on a construction sign at Richard Bigley Lane and Jarvis. ABBY RUSSCHEN/THEVARSITY
The king watched the hand as it wrote
Abby Russchen Associate Photo Editor
For anyone who has travelled around downtown Toronto, the phrase “Daniel 5:5” may feel strangely familiar. You may have noticed it graffitied onto old buildings, plastered across construction sites or scribbled along sidewalks.
I first noticed it walking through St. James Town, and it was smeared on a garbage can. Then again, on campus. And once more on the subway. It wasn’t until I couldn’t walk a block without seeing it that I realized it had taken over the city.
But what does it mean?
“Daniel 5:5” refers to a passage from the Book of Daniel in the Old Testament Bible in which an unknown hand appears and writes a mysterious message on the wall of a royal palace, and “the king watched the hand as it wrote” — from the New International Version (NIV) of the text. The writing is later interpreted as a prediction of the downfall of King Belshazzar and is synonymous with impending doom and judgment.
In a city as established and grand as Toronto, it’s hard to imagine its downfall. This city is about growth and expansion, but when you get a little closer, hard truths begin to appear. High cost of living, food and job insecurity, and social inequities make the idea of a downfall slightly more realistic.
“Daniel 5:5” spray-painted on a sidewalk at Beverley and College. ABBY RUSSCHEN/THEVARSITY
“Daniel 5:5” scribbled on a city garbage can on U of
campus. ABBY RUSSCHEN/THEVARSITY
“Daniel 5:5” hidden behind a traffic sign at Beverley and Queen. ABBY RUSSCHEN/THEVARSITY
“Daniel 5:5” plastered on an electrical box outside of the Gooderham Building. ABBY RUSSCHEN/THEVARSITY
“Daniel 5:5” written in red across a bike lane guard rail on Church and Shuter. ABBY RUSSCHEN/THEVARSITY
Opinion
March 10, 2026
thevarsity.ca/category/opinion opinion@thevarsity.ca
Doug Ford’s OSAP cuts are a direct attack on accessible education
Reduced grants and rising tuition turn post-secondary education into a class privilege
Landon Sanderson Varsity Contributor
Low-income students and families who depend on the Ontario Student Assistance Program (OSAP) to pursue post-secondary education are facing a profound setback. The recent cuts introduced by Premier Doug Ford’s government represent a significant rollback of the principle that education should be accessible regardless of income.
Before these changes, OSAP allowed students to receive grants covering up to 85 per cent of tuition costs, with loans available to help cover the remainder. For many students from working-class families, these grants were the difference between attending university and abandoning the idea altogether.
However, the Ford government’s revisions reduce grant funding to a maximum of 25 per cent of total OSAP funding received by students, dramatically increasing the reliance on loans. This change follows the government’s decision to lift Ontario’s tuition freeze, placing further financial pressure on students.
Despite widespread criticism from students and community organizers, Ford has defended the policy, claiming that the previous system was “unsustainable.” At the same time, Ford suggested in a press conference, as reported by the CBC, that students pursue fields such as STEM, healthcare, trades, and technology, calling them “jobs of the future.” Ford has repeatedly dismissed other academic disciplines by referring to them as “basketweaving courses.” These comments and their rhetoric reveal the ideological framework underlying these cuts.
Ford’s approach reflects a narrow understanding of education that treats universities primarily as engines of labour market production. In this framework, the value of education is determined by how efficiently it feeds workers into sectors deemed profitable or economically productive. Fields that do not fit neatly into this model, such as arts, humanities, and social sciences, are cast as frivolous.
Basket-weaving and colonial logic
The “basket-weaving” metaphor has long been used to mock academic disciplines perceived as impractical. Yet the phrase carries deeper historical baggage. Basket-weaving itself is a practice embedded in Indigenous cultures across Turtle Island for thousands of years. Indigenous women in particular have historically practiced intricate forms of weaving for ceremonies and childcare. These practices represent knowledge systems rooted in land and intergenerational teaching.
The denigration of such practices emerged through colonial ideology, which systematically devalued Indigenous knowledge in the effort of elevating European conceptions of labour and value. By dismissing academic study as “basket-weaving,” Ford inadvertently reproduces colonial logic that knowledge is only considered legitimate if it conforms to marketoriented and colonial standards.
The comment also carries gendered implications. Historically, many crafts and cultural labour practiced by women were dismissed as simple or unimportant precisely because they existed outside of formal wage labour. When political leaders invoke “basketweaving” as a metaphor for uselessness, they
draw on this long tradition of belittling both Indigenous knowledge systems and women’s labour.
Class consequences
At the same time, the structural consequences of OSAP cuts are deeply classist. Financial aid programs such as OSAP disproportionately benefit students from low-income households. Many of them are Black, Indigenous, and other racialized students who already face systemic barriers to accessing post-secondary education.
When grants are replaced with loans, the burden shifts directly onto these students. Wealthier families may be able to absorb rising tuition costs without hesitation, but workingclass students must weigh the prospect of years of debt against uncertain career outcomes. The result is that many talented, intelligent students may simply choose not to attend university at all due to the additional financial burden.
This dynamic reveals how Ford’s rhetoric and policies reinforce one another. By portraying certain fields as economically useless, the government justifies cutting financial support that enables students to pursue them. In doing so, it reshapes higher education into a system that privileges those who can afford to take financial risks or who pursue ‘productive’ careers.
The role of universities
Although education has never been solely about economic return, universities play a critical role in producing knowledge that shapes public policy and social change. Sociologists, historians, artists, and researchers contribute
to understanding inequality and addressing urgent societal challenges. Many of the ideas that shape democratic rights emerge from the disciplines that Ford’s rhetoric dismisses.
Reducing education to a pipeline for labour is ultimately harmful for both universities and society. The backlash to Ford’s policies demonstrates that students recognize what is at stake. On March 4, hundreds of students gathered at Queen’s Park for the “Hands Off Our Education” rally, raising a collective voice against the government’s cuts.
The protest illustrated a growing frustration among students who see their educational opportunities being constrained by political decisions that prioritize economic thinking.
At its core, the debate surrounding OSAP cuts reflects two polarized views on education. One views education as a public good, where knowledge is pursued not just for economic benefit, but also for societal advancement. The other treats education primarily as a financial investment, valuable only when it generates measurable economic returns.
Ford’s “basket-weaving” comment makes clear which vision his government embraces. But Ontario students are making it equally clear that they reject it. Education should not be reserved for those who can afford it, nor should its value be dictated solely by market demand. A truly accessible education system recognizes that knowledge in all its forms has value, and that it is something no government should ever dismiss.
Landon Sanderson is a queer and Indigenous advocate, and a first-year undergraduate student studying critical equity studies, Indigenous studies, and education & society at U of T.
Op-ed: Now is the time to strike the U of T’s protest guidelines
U of T’s protests guidelines are
an attack on freedom of expression
Enzo Fouquet Varsity Contributor
Historically, the university has always been a site of political contestation. One where students, whether they are mobilizing for issues domestic or international, big or small, have made their voices heard. When effectively organized, students have been able to bend the powers that be to address their demands.
At U of T, there has been a long history of student organizing, from the anti-Apartheid movement of the ’80s, to opening the Robarts Stacks to undergraduates after a student protest in 1972 (to think there was a time when students had to occupy Simcoe Hall just to be let into Robarts is crazy).
Student movements are an essential part of a vibrant and democratic society. They fundamentally protect and enrich us all by providing a counterbalancing reaction to abuses of authority, envisioning new political possibilities, and expanding our horizons for what can be possible. The right to organize and protest should be held up and protected as one of the most fundamental of these rights.
That said, it is highly concerning that freedom of expression at U of T and beyond is under attack. Since 2023, in the wake of what international human rights scholars and UN special rapporteur on Palestine and the Occupied Territories, Francesca Albanese, have called a genocide in
Gaza, there has been a mass shift in opinion on Palestine, especially amongst youth.
After Columbia University’s 2024 encampment, similar student protests swept across North American universities and beyond, reflecting a broad and increasing discontent with institutional actors’ complicity in crimes against humanity. Calls for disclosure, divestment, and the cutting of institutional ties with Israel and companies complicit in its human rights abuses grew rapidly.
At U of T, the People’s Circle for Palestine, the pro-Palestine student encampment, lasted for over 60 days, only ending after a lengthy legal battle.
U of T filed an injunction against encampment organizers, with the court ruling in favour of U of T. The court argued that, despite U of T being a public institution, it functioned as a private entity and hence could restrict activities that may fall under charter rights.
In response to their judicial win, in October 2024, the U of T administration introduced new protest guidelines based on what the court deemed permissible in the ruling.
U of T states that these guidelines merely act as a user guide for existing policy. However, I believe that these guidelines present a more expansive range for prosecution of expression and assembly than U of T’s already in place code of conduct.
For instance, new restrictions on the specific allowable time and manner of protest. Gatherings between 11:00 pm to 7:00 am, and tents or the erecting of any sort of structure are not permitted,
Who
prohibiting any further overnight occupation tactics on university grounds.
The “certain poster and sign section” adds the use of chalk and video projections as forms of vandalism.
Although these specific guidelines do not exist in the official code of conduct, they serve as a deterrent to any protest action that may include any of these tactics. However, historically, it is these types of tactics used by organized student movements that have resulted in real change.
Most notably, the 18-day 2023 Victoria College occupation to force the divestment of federated college investments from fossil fuels was successful in obtaining its demands. Under these guidelines, such actions taken by students could put them at far higher risk of repercussions from the university administration, due to these more expansive and vague categories.
These kinds of restrictions on organizing and expression in light of the growing proPalestine movement are not restricted to U of T. “Bubble Zone Bylaws” have been cropping
gets made
a saint?
up in many Canadian municipalities, which restrict legal protest to a certain distance away from “protected sites.” These sites can include anything from schools to government offices. Toronto passed a version of such a bill despite public opposition and criticism from human rights groups last year.
In an era of OSAP cuts and Palestine crackdowns students organizing is ever more essential for a functioning and just society. The student body cannot allow for an erosion of fundamental rights. Student groups are organizing on campus to counter these guidelines, including Climate Justice U of T, which has called for a protest on March 13 at 4:00 pm in front of Sidney Smith.
It is time for U of T to strike the guidelines and create a truly democratic university.
Enzo Fouquet is a third-year undergraduate student studying geography with a focus in planning and political science at U of T. He organizes and works with Climate Justice U of T, Geography Student Union, U of T NDP, and Campus Co-op.
It’s time to make space for the full story of St. Káteri Tekahkwí:tha
Content warning: This article contains mentions of self-harm and violence.
“It is a peculiar irony that the most famous of all the Mohawks — arguably the most well-known nation of the Rotinonhsión:ni (Iroquois) Confederacy — is a seventeenth-century woman who, by her vow of celibacy, isn’t an ancestor to any of us.” — Darren Bonaparte, Mohawk author and historian
Honoured variously as ‘Lily of the Mohawks,’ ‘Geneviève of New France,’ and ‘Blessed Catherine Tekakwitha,’ St. Káteri Tekahkwí:tha (1656–1680) was baptized on Easter Day in 1676. She was declared venerable by Pope Pius XII in 1943, beatified nearly three centuries after her death by Pope John Paul II in 1980, and officially canonized on October 21, 2012, by Pope Benedict XVI.
She is the first Indigenous person from North America (Turtle Island) to be elevated to sainthood. Yet while Tekahkwí:tha is more richly documented than any other Indigenous person in colonial North or South America, she neither wrote nor spoke English or French, and no firsthand accounts of her life survive. Her legacy instead emerges through a complex negotiation between missionary authorship and Indigenous reinterpretation.
An inadvertent vehicle of nation-building after the War of 1812, Tekahkwí:tha’s life story underscores the power of white settler-colonial narratives surrounding Indigenous converts to Christianity and illustrates the projections of what ‘Indigeneity’ is imagined to be. Beyond the flattened portrait of a ‘noble savage,’ I argue for a more nuanced consideration of who Tekakwitha was — and what she meant, and continues to mean — for Indigenous peoples across Canada, the US, and Mexico.
What’s in a name?
Born in 1656 to an Algonquin mother and a Kanien’kehá:ka (Mohawk) father, Tekahkwí:tha is tied to both Anishinaabe and Haudenosaunee nations. Orphaned at four years old, Tekakwitha’s entire immediate family — her mother, father, and
baby brother — died in the 1661–1662 smallpox epidemic, leaving her scarred, sickly, and unable to stand bright light. She was taken in by her maternal uncle, a chief of the village, and raised as one of his daughters.
By the age of 10, she lived in eastern Mohawk country or Kahnawà:ke, meaning “At the Rapids.” It was the first Indigenous village destroyed by the French — an event objectively traumatic for her to experience as a child.
The name Tekahkwí:tha is a reference to the way she used her hands to ‘feel her way’ due to visual impairment. Her many names — Kateri, Catherine, and Tekakwitha — reflect linguistic negotiation.
When the Jesuits first met her as a teenager, they rendered her name as “Tegakouita.” Choosing between k and g was difficult because the Mohawk sound they sought fell between the two in French and English pronunciation. Hence, when English speakers later developed a written version, they inserted a w to approximate the French “oui,” producing the name “Tekakwitha” [Degagwitah].
At her baptism, Tekahkwí:tha was named for St. Catherine of Siena, canonized in 1461. Amidst her vow of celibacy, St. Káteri’s rechristening as Catherine likely resonated with First Nations
conceptions of personhood, insofar as the rite entailed complete adoption of a new personal identity and name, establishing a connection with the past through a Christian saint.
Religious devotion and social attachment
The Brain Opioid Theory of Social Attachment (BOTSA) suggests that early relational trauma may alter internally-produced opioid regulation, therefore motivating antisocial behaviours and influencing later attachment behaviours in adulthood. Having endured early-life trauma, I believe that Tekahkwí:tha likely developed a heightened drive to find an alternative, more secure, attachment strategy.
Infants learn to interpret the world through their primary caregiver; threats to self or parental abandonment shape later emotional processing and socialization. Tekahkwí:tha’s intense penitential behaviours and practices — undertaken in pursuit of closeness to Christ — may be interpreted through this neurobiological lens, as is the case for other people who experience grave challenges in their lives.
Much of Tekahkwí:tha’s life was recorded by Jesuit priest Pierre Cholenec. According to
Cholenec, Tekahkwí:tha engaged in extreme self-discipline, including self-flagellation and self-exposure to the extreme heat and cold, to name a few.
Acts of self-mortification — a practice of self-discipline often in the name of religious devotion — described within European religious biographies, may simultaneously be understood as attempts to regulate overwhelming emotional states. Arguably, non-suicidal self-injury, in intense passion for Christ, was a form of selfmortification for Tekahkwí:tha. This triggered endorphin release, and could connect to the Anishinaabemowin concept of sustaining trials “to open [oneself] to the store of mercy that is manitou [or sacred power].”
Making space for the both/and Tekahkwí:tha’s trials are undivorceable from the collective trauma experienced by the Kanienʼkeháka nation. Ultimately, St. Kateri's historic imitation of Christ’s redemptive suffering is positioned at the confluence of Indigenous theological agency and Jesuit biography.
To sanctify is to authorize a life as exemplary. In Tekahkwí:tha’s case, that authorization occurred within the Canadian nation-state that simultaneously suppressed Indigenous ceremonial life and legal traditions.
Who, then, gets made a saint?
Tekahkwí:tha’s life story invites us to sit within complexity rather than solve it. Past the porcelain icon, a more human portrait emerges: not of a saint, but of a young Indigenous woman forging meaning amid loss, devastation, and encounters with the Other.
Instead of treating ‘sanctified Indigeneity’ as a fixed singularity, Tekahkwí:tha’s subtle silence appears to allow one to see their stories through hers and, respectively, hold the multiplicity of her truths.
Sabrina Isabelle McLennon is an Indigenous Voices Columnist of Lokono-Arawak, Indo-Guyanese, and Jamaican Maroon descent, with ancestral roots in Orealla, East Berbice–Corentyne (Region 6), Guyana, pursuing a focus in law & history specialist.
Sabrina McLennon
Indigenous Voices Columnist
Káteri’s life story invites us to sit within complexity rather than solve it.
COURTESY OF WIKIMEDIA COMMONS
March 10, 2026
thevarsity.ca/category/science science@thevarsity.ca
The Tri-Campus Research Conference showcases undergraduate innovation
Students presented research from biomaterials to AI-driven motor control
Zuhal Olomi Varsity Staff
Disclaimer: The author is affiliated with the student mentorship team of UTSC URSA.
The Tri-Campus Undergraduate Research Conference (TURC) took place on February 18, 2026, at the Bahen Centre of Information Technology, bringing undergraduate students from all three campuses at U of T together for a multidisciplinary celebration of research. The Undergraduate Research Student Association (URSA) organized the event.
In an interview with The Varsity, URSA UTSC’s Co-Vice President Tinu Boboe emphasized the importance of students getting the “opportunity to network with each other from different campuses,” while showcasing current research in a single spot.
TURC’s goal was to “make sure that the undergraduate audience is a real focus,” said Aman Kohli, the Co-President of URSA. He highlighted that regardless of the discipline, TURC offers students the opportunity to present their work. The conference acted as a bridge between the classroom and the professional world, offering a platform for students to step out of the lab and into the broader academic community.
The event’s keynote speaker was Professor Molly Shoichet of the Institute of Biomedical Engineering at U of T. A member of the Order of Ontario and a world-renowned expert in
bioengineering, her presence underscored the high quality of research featured at the conference.
Falling at the intersection of engineering, chemistry, and biology, Shoichet’s work exists at the edge of regenerative therapeutics, a growing field that aims to repair injured tissues with cellular components and specifically designed materials.
AI and the multisensory gap
One of the day’s Lightning Talks was presented by Elena Osipyan, a third-year physical sciences and statistics major at UTSC. As a research assistant at the CoNSens Laboratory led by Professor Matthias Niemeier from the Department of Psychology, Osipyan presented a literature review exploring the intersection of AI and biological motor control.
Most undergraduate students will be asked to do a literature review at some point in their degree, but it remains one of the most misunderstood tasks in academia. Rather than a summary of sources, a literature review acts as a comprehensive map of the current research for a topic or research question. Diving into existing databases and research papers, a reviewer synthesizes established knowledge to show the reader not just what is known, but where the current research succeeds, where it falls short, and where the next breakthrough in the research may be.
Osipyan examined the current state of AIdriven motor systems over 178 papers, searching for terms that specified AI-driven motor systems,
The all-nighter is a cognitive illusion
Neuroscience suggests this study habit may be quietly undermining them
Mariam Ayoub
Varsity Contributor
Picture a classic all-nighter: you’re awake at 3:00 am, laptop open, notes spread across a desk — all hallmarks of a disciplined study session. However, sleep research indicates that over time, getting less sleep results in cognitive decline that goes unnoticed by our brains.
A 2003 study published in Sleep by Hans Van Dongen and colleagues examines what happens when people consistently deprive themselves of sleep. Participants limited to six hours of sleep a night for two weeks performed the same as those who didn’t sleep for an entire day. Both groups showed a progressive increase in attention lapses and slower reaction times.
Specifically, six hours of sleep every night didn’t cause an immediate decline in cognitive performance, but this performance deficit gradually increased each night. The National Sleep Foundation recommends that adults aged 18–25 sleep for seven to nine hours every night.
Initially, students who skip sleep to study may experience some academic benefit. But the impacts of losing sleep extend beyond reduced attention span. The costs of this tradeoff affect multiple areas of the brain, especially those involved in memory and executive control.
Memory does not consolidate while you are awake
Students may defend losing sleep as part of a greater academic strategy. More waking hours create more time to review material. However, neuroscience research shows that learning depends not only on time spent studying, but on sleep-dependent memory consolidation.
In the brain, memories are formed and retrieved by collections of specific brain cells, or neurons, firing together. In a 2010 Nature Reviews Neuroscience article, Susanne Diekelmann and Jan Born identified sleep as an active component of memory consolidation — the process of converting newly learned material into stable memories.
During slow-wave sleep — also known as deep sleep, neurons fire repeatedly, replaying the same firing patterns as when new information was originally processed. This occurs in the hippocampus, a key brain structure for forming new memories. From there, information is then gradually distributed to brain regions where longterm memories are stored.
Without sufficient slow-wave sleep, newly encoded memories are less stable, leaving your brain more vulnerable to forgetting new information — a critical function for students trying to retrieve facts under stressful exam conditions.
The executive brain under restriction
Functional neuroimaging research shows that sleep deprivation reduces activity in the prefrontal cortex — the region associated with working memory, reasoning, and impulse control. These functions are central to exam performance, for example, when a student must hold multiple pieces of information in mind, evaluate answer choices, resist selecting a familiar but incorrect option too quickly, and shift between problemsolving strategies under time constraints.
Data on student performance reflect that sleep deprivation causes more harm than good.
A 2018 study published in Nature Partner Journals Science of Learning by Kana Okano and colleagues found that consistent long sleep predicted academic performance more strongly than total study time.
specifically those designed to mimic the complexity of grasping and reaching. Her goal was to determine how effectively AI systems can model biological motor control. These systems are the root of life-changing technologies such as stroke rehabilitation tools that can ‘re-learn’ movement alongside a patient.
Osipyan’s findings highlighted a significant divide between artificial and biological systems. In her talk, she noted that most AI systems “optimize for success through trial-and-error reward feedback,” instead of employing the underlying mechanisms of human movement.
This lack of understanding makes it difficult to translate findings from AI into human neuroscience. In the brain, the action of movement is not limited to the end result, but the underlying process.
“Human motor control is fundamentally multisensory and predictive,” said Osipyan. For example, when you reach for a cup, your brain is simultaneously processing touch, muscle tension, and the neural feedback to predict the movement’s success in reaching the cup.
The results of Osipyan’s literature review revealed a striking lack of models incorporating the multisensory nature of human movement. Fifty-two per cent of the papers she analyzed only used visual output to guide AI models.
Why this matters
As autonomous systems become embedded in human environments, the stakes of these non-multisensory AI models grow. Without a
comprehensive foundation, AI failures can be abrupt and difficult to recover from.
Identifying the gaps in the literature, Osipyan’s research at the CoNSens Laboratory paves the way for a future where AI in neuroscience can guide more robust, ‘human-aligned’ designs that are safe and effective for real-world use, such as robotic surgical assistants.
The TURC was an event that underscores the importance of student-led inquiry. Beyond the posters and slide decks, the TURC served as a critical networking hub, allowing students to step out of their lab space and engage with faculty and peers from across all three campuses.
The culture of early-career research transforms undergraduates from passive learners into active contributors to the scientific community. The conference was a success in bringing together students and faculty from all disciplines to share knowledge on current research.
If additional waking hours do not reliably produce higher grades or improved test scores, then why is the all-nighter so popular?
Why does the all-nighter persist?
One explanation relates to how sleep loss alters selfperception. In the same 2003 study, participants’ subjective ratings of alertness plateaued after several days of sleep restriction, even as objective reaction-time lapses continued to increase. This mismatch suggests that individuals may feel cognitively stable even as measurable performance declines.
Campus ‘hustle’ culture may reinforce the idea that staying awake is part of a shared social
ritual. In a 2018 Life @ U of T blog post titled “The Social Event That Is an All-Nighter,” a fourthyear student described first-year all-nighters as a shared ritual, writing that “there [is] a real social culture surrounding all-nighters,” with group chats “livelier than a squirrel on caffeine” the night before assignments are due.
Sleep restriction does not immediately prevent task completion, which contributes to its short-term appeal. Although recovery sleep can mitigate some acute deficits, repeated sleep restriction produces cumulative effects that are not immediately reversible. In the end, sacrificing sleep to study may undermine the very mechanisms required for optimal academic performance.
As much as university life makes us feel like limiting sleep or not sleeping to complete tasks is necessary, this habit actually hinders learning.
ARUNVEER SIDHU/THEVARSITY
The Tri-Campus Undergraduate Research Conference brings UTSG, UTSC, and UTM together for a day of research and celebration of knowledge. ANNE ELLARDE/THEVARSITY
Sports
March 10, 2026
thevarsity.ca/section/sports sports@thevarsity.ca
Opinion: If we want medals, we need money
The harsh reality of sport in Canada
With the Winter Olympics recently ending, I have seen articles, such as Myles Dichter’s of CBC, wondering if there are enough resources to produce the next generation of athletes. I’m glad to see a growing media presence on a lack of resources being put towards high-level Canadian athletes, a topic that I have felt strongly about for a while now. However, it is saddening to see that awareness has only come along with a lack of results at the Milano Cortina Olympics for Canada. The team finished with 21 total medals, compared to 26 at Beijing 2022, 29 at PyeongChang, and 25 at Sochi 2014.
For several years now, I have been trying to explain to people that sport is, for lack of better words, ‘dying’ in Canada. As a former national-level rhythmic gymnast and certified and competitive judge, I have witnessed firsthand how national sport federations within Canada struggle to support their athletes, barely being able to provide the basic necessities for the sports they govern.
From conversations with peers, coaches, and professionals working throughout the Canadian sport system, I have noticed a common theme — every Canadian sport federation, ranging from athletics to figure skating, is lacking funding.
However, it would be naive of me to draw examples from any other sports other than the one I know best — rhythmic gymnastics. This is a sport that requires countless hours in the gym, specific facilities, and, as in any elite sport, good rehabilitation. These requirements are just the bare minimum of what is needed to reach the international podiums.
Top rhythmic gymnasts in the country only began receiving funding from Canada’s Athlete Assistance Program (AAP), or getting carded, following their last participation in the 2012 London Olympics. The carding is meant to aid in travel funds, maintenance of health, and sustain athletes financially, which is all meant to be covered with a small pool of money. As of late, the team is now also required to cover the cost of their coaches, their medical treatment, and basic equipment.
The kicker to all of this is that Gymnastics Canada has set ambitions to place on the Olympic podium at LA2028, after over a decade of not even qualifying for the games, in hopes of attaining more financial support. Just as Dichter of CBC wrote, “performance leads to funding. And when the results don’t come? Neither does the money.” Funding and results are an impossible Catch-22 situation that I’m certain every sport in Canada is currently facing.
For the longest time, I placed the blame on my sports federation, but at its core, the blame should be on the Canadian government. Results require an investment of resources — they cannot be expected or anticipated with minimal support.
Drawing on rhythmic gymnastics once again, the Brazilian group is an exceptional example of how investing in athletes pays off.
In a historically European-dominated sport, in the past few years, we have begun to see South American representation on the podium at the world stage.
In 2021, at the Rhythmic World Championships, the group placed ninth. At the most recent World Championships in August of 2025, the team took home the silver medal.
Their enormous feat is the direct result of the Brazilian government’s vast contribution to enhancing sport in the country. Within the past decade, this team has begun training in a centralized sports complex with meals and housing provided, receiving daily physical treatment, and engaging in strength training and routine physical testing led by seasoned professionals — all things that are unattainable with the budget Gymnastics Canada currently has.
A more current instance of our lack of funding would be Canada’s use of hand-me-
down bobsleds at the recent Winter Olympics. The Canadian sleds at these 2026 Games are the ones that Germany used in 2018, according to Morgan Campbell of CBC Sports.
In every Olympics since 2006, Canada has won at least one bobsled medal, but this year, there hasn’t been one Canadian team near the podium in any World Cup event.
Watching these conversations about funding for high-level athletes finally gain attention brings me a mix of pride and sadness — pride because people are finally starting to recognize what many of us athletes have known for years, and sadness because it took an anticipated lack of Olympic success for this issue to surface.
If we want to see Canadian flags rise again on international podiums, we need to start by rethinking how we value and support our athletes. Passion and hard work alone cannot sustain a sports system; meaningful investment, infrastructure, and leadership can. Until Canada begins to prioritize sport the way other nations do, we will continue to fall behind.
The conversation has finally started — now it’s time for action. Our athletes have given everything for the maple leaf. Now it’s time our systems do the same for them.
DOWON KIM/THEVARSITY
Emily Hranovich
Varsity Contributor
How the Varsity Blues became back-to-back OUA fencing champions
U of T’s fencing team curates team culture and comeback resilience
Julia Kochanski Varsity Contributor
From last-touch victories to 45-point leads, to 0–6 comebacks, the U of T’s fencing team proves that its dominance and success are built on more than consecutive Ontario University Athletics (OUA) championship banners. With collective “abilities to adapt,” strong coaching, intrinsic motivation, and unwavering support, the Varsity Blues fencing team has cultivated a tight-knit, ambitious team culture.
Back-to-back season highlights
Janna Elshakankiri, the team captain, has been on the team for the past four years and is currently in her first year of her Master of Health Science (MHSc) in U of T’s Medical Physiology program.
event as well as gold in all three team events on the second day of competition.
Community: Both on and off the piste
The Varsity Blues fencing team recruits talented fencers from both national and international backgrounds. When asked what contributed to their success, Wu wrote that their global recruitment process and “abilities to adapt mid-match and catch up from behind are some of the best in the provincial circuit.”
Elshakankiri also shared that she was incredibly proud of the growth she has seen from the whole team this year, “not only as fencers but as people and teammates,” and that the team has “built a culture of support where everyone shows up for each other.”
When asked how Elshakankiri first became interested in fencing, she wrote she got interested “by following in my older brother’s footsteps,” and that fencing has a “unique combination of tactics, technique, and athleticism.” She describes every bout as a mental and physical challenge that created a long-lasting love for the sport. Further, Elshakankiri highlights that the university “truly values both academic and athletic excellence.”
Elshakankiri wrote that after years of sacrifice and hard work, she is grateful for the opportunity to be a role model to younger aspiring athletes.
Familial support and special thanks Mucsi shared a heart-warming message about the positive influence that her family has had on her athletic experience. Mucsi explained that her
When interviewed by The Varsity, Elshakankiri mentioned that her most memorable moment was during the OUA sabre team final when she won the final touch. As soon as the final ended, Elshakankiri said, “All of my teammates ran onto the piste, and we hugged each other.” This powerful moment commemorated all of their “shared effort, emotion, and celebration that [she’ll] always remember.”
At the OUA, Elshakankiri experienced a setback while competing in the individual sabre competition quarterfinal when she found herself down 0–6. But with her strength, trust, and resilience, she was able to turn it around into something even better. With the stakes and pressure building for Elshakankiri, she looked back to her side of the piste to see her “coach and teammates still cheering [her] on.”
That vital moment reminded her that she had a “huge support system behind [her], even when I wasn’t winning,” and this had allowed her to “clear [her] mind, trust [her]self, and fence the way [she] always [did].” Elshakankiri fought hard, allowing her to not only win that bout but also go on to win the semifinal.
Catherine Wu is a fourth-year student athlete who is majoring in psychology and political science. Wu wrote that “it definitely means a lot to [herself] and the team to have won the [OUA] banner for the second time,” in an email to The Varsity.
The team faced steep competition from Waterloo and Western women’s foil teams. However, on the second day, the U of T was able to pull ahead of Western by 45 points and defeat Western in the foil finals. Wu further expressed just how hard the Varsity fencing team has been working on their strategic and technical skills this season, noting how “nice [it was] to have this hard work validated by our dominant performance during OUA weekend.” U of T went on to win medals in each individual
What makes fencing special
Lilla Mucsi, a fourth-year double majoring in ethics, society, and law, and critical equity and solidarity studies, shared their holistic approach to their journey in an interview with The Varsity.
Mucsi reflected that “part of what makes a competition so fun is reframing how I view victory.”
Despite being incredibly proud of themself and the fencing team for their performance, Mucsi also elucidates that “the most special [moment] to me as an athlete was when I could step out of the competitiveness and take the time to enjoy the community with my teammates and other fencers.”
brother used to be on the fencing team throughout his time at U of T and that her sister is currently on the fencing roster as well. Mucsi wrote that, “all of my siblings [Eszter, Ben, Ryan, and Anna] are huge inspirations and motivations, and are constant reminders of why I work hard, both in fencing and outside of it.” Mucsi adds that without the support, “[they] would not be able to dedicate so much time and energy into the sport without them.”
Although challenging, Varsity athletes can experience empowerment, fulfillment, and rewards of thriving in academics and athletic performance with the right coaching support and leadership.
When asked about the fencing coaches and staff’s influence on the team’s success, Wu expressed gratitude towards the Head Coach, Thomas Nguyen, as well as the Assistant Coaches and Assistant Managers, for all their commitment to training and coordinating schedules and competition accommodations to make the fencers’ remarkable performance possible.
“Blues on two”: What this season’s ending means Mucsi describes the 2025–2026 fencing season as bittersweet. Fencing was a major part of Mucsi’s time in university, so “of course it [also] feels nice to secure the OUA banner one last time.”
Mucsi signed off with “all I have to say is: ‘Blues on two… one, two, Blues!’ ” This is the cheer that the fencing team does every team match, and Mucsi wrote that “we have tried to reimagine it over the years [but] I love that it has been the same for all three seasons of my Blues career.” The consistency of the cheer mirrors the steady culture of support and unity fostered, not only grounded in their consecutive OUA championship banners, but also in their unmistakable care for one another.
As Wu wraps up her final year at U of T, she has received the Maitre Ken Wood trophy for the second time in her undergraduate degree as individual foil champion. Wu explains that all of her Varsity training has paid off, and that she is especially grateful for “the sense of close community” that the Varsity Blues fencing program has offered. The support has inspired Wu to keep coming back to fence each year. Wu noted “[that her] opponents on the piste (friends off the piste) were especially strong this year,” showing her “how fun fencing truly can be as a team and individual sport when […] fellow athletes and coaches support you in […] both success and failure.”
Advice to incoming Varsity athletes
When asked what advice the fencing team had for incoming or aspiring future Varsity athletes, Mucsi asserted the realities that being a studentathlete comes with demands and strict routines, but it is crucial to remember that rest is okay. They wrote, “[It takes time to realize] that not every second of my day has to be productive […] sometimes what I need is to curl up in bed with a good show and that is okay.”
Elshakankiri shared that she “would tell my first-year self not to stress so much about results and outcomes.” Being a Varsity athlete is a long-term commitment in which you need to remember that “growth doesn’t always show up immediately on the scoreboard.”
But “When you trust in the process, remain consistent, and work hard towards your goals, the results will come.”
Lastly, Elshakankiri wished to “remind [her first-year self and aspiring Varsity Blues athletes] to enjoy the journey more, the training, the teammates, and the everyday moments, because those end up meaning just as much as the medal.”
The team has “built a culture of support where everyone shows up for each other.”
COURTESY OF DAVID PICKERING CC VARSITY BLUES MEDIA
The University of Toronto Women’s team became OUA 2025–2026 Fencing Champions. COURTESY OF DAVID PICKERING CC VARSITY BLUES MEDIA
Team Canada men’s hockey team falls to USA in overtime, takes home silver medal
A recap of Canada’s performance at the 2026 Milano Cortina Olympics
Cameron Ashley Varsity Contributor
The Winter Olympics hosted NHL players for the first time in 12 years this February. The Canadian men’s hockey delegation headed to Milano Cortina as the subject of high expectations for success. Stacked with generational talent, ultra-competitiveness, and a best-on-best victory at the 4 Nations already under their belts, Team Canada had one objective: win gold.
However, after pushing through closequarter and semi-final games, Canada lost a devastating final match to American rivals, ultimately taking home silver.
The team started off strong in the preliminary rounds, opening the round-robin with a 5–0 win over Czechia. Canada went on to go 3–0 in the preliminaries, beating Switzerland 5–1 and France 10–2 and punching their tickets to the quarter-finals as the first seed.
There was a question of whether or not goalie Jordan Binnington — who has an .867 per cent save average this season with the St. Louis Blues — would be able to repeat the success he found at the 4 Nations Face Off last year. He briefly quieted down the conversation by making 26 saves on 26 shots, earning a shutout in the opening game.
Defence Josh Morrissey, an important part of Canadian Head Coach Jon Cooper’s defensive lines, suffered a lower-body injury,
which ended up ruling him out for the rest of the tournament.
Elimination rounds begin
In the quarter-finals, Canada faced Czechia for the second time. Both teams scored in the first 10 minutes, but a power-play goal from forward David Pastrnak had Canada trailing 1–2 after 20 minutes of play. Forward Nathan MacKinnon scored in the second period with his own power-play goal, bringing Canada back into the game.
That high turned low fast as Canada was dealt a devastating blow. Captain and forward Sidney Crosby took an awkward hit from Czech defenseman Radko Gudas, which ultimately sent him to the dressing room. He did not return to the game.
Things looked grim for Canada in the third period as forward Ondrej Palat gave Czechia a pivotal 3–2 lead. Team Canada rallied, and a wide tip-in from forward Nick Suzuki with just 3:27 minutes left tied the game 3–3 and called for overtime. A nailbiter extra period, which nearly saw Canada out of the medal race, ended after forward Mitch Marner skated through three Czech players and scored off the backhand to send Canada to the semifinals 4–3.
The penultimate game, which was played against Finland, got off to a rough start. The first period ended with Canada trailing after a goal from Finnish forward Mikko Rantanen. Things
did not turn around quickly in the second after forward Erik Haula scored shorthanded, putting Finland up 0–2. Canada managed to claw their way back later in the period with a power-play goal from forward Sam Reinhart, and Canadian defenseman Shea Theodore tied the game shortly in the third.
With yet another overtime looming, the pressure was on. Canada could not afford to take the risk of a three-on-three decider. MacKinnon, with 35.2 seconds on the clock, narrowly prevented overtime by slipping the puck between goaltender Juuse Saros and the goalpost, scoring the game-winner. Canada won 3–2 and would head to the finals, the highly anticipated gold medal match versus the USA.
The gold medal match
Despite some hope that Crosby could recover and return to play, Team Canada unfortunately would not have their captain back on the ice with them for the finals. Much like the previous two games, Canada began the game trailing.
On just their first shot of the game, Team USA scored, courtesy of forward Matt Boldy. Canada, once more, came back in the second period thanks to a goal from defenseman Cale Makar, scored off an assist from Colorado Avalanche teammate, defence Devon Toews. Despite several chances, Canada struggled to get the puck past goaltender Connor Hellebuyck.
At the end of 60 minutes of play, the game went where everyone was likely predicting: overtime. Three-on-three. Fifteen minutes. Winner takes gold.
The trends of the first three periods remained: Team Canada skated fast, made shots, but couldn’t bury them. The USA got a rush into Canada’s zone, and forward Jack Hughes snapped the puck past Binnington, ending the game 1–2 in their favour and taking gold.
Team Canada lined up, quietly received their medals, then slowly made their way back down the tunnel. It was time to go home.
What now?
NHL players made respective returns to their NHL teams after games resumed on Wednesday, February 25.
While this may mark an end to the Olympic careers of some Team Canada players — such as Sidney Crosby and three-time Olympian Drew Doughty — the future isn’t so bleak for Canadian hockey or best-on-best competitions. Before the Winter Games return in 2030, NHLers will play in the 2028 World Cup of Hockey, where Canada will have a shot at redemption.
With a stand-out performance from forward Macklin Celebrini in Cortina this year and players like forward Conor Bedard and rookie defence Matthew Schaefer showcasing incredible talent on their respective NHL teams, viewers can look forward to new generational talent on the ice for Canada in the next few years, at least once the sting of this loss eases.
