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THE VARSITY
NEWS
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Letter from the Editor: The Varsity’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic Vol. CXL, No. 22 21 Sussex Avenue, Suite 306 Toronto, ON M5S 1J6 (416) 946-7600 thevarsity.ca
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The Varsity
MASTHEAD Josie Kao Editor-in-Chief
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Julie Shi Creative Director Ibnul Chowdhury Managing Editor Ilya Bañares Managing Online Editor
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Ori Gilboa Senior Copy Editor
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Andy Takagi News Editor
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Angela Feng Comment Editor Stephanie Bai Features Editor Kashi Syal Arts & Culture Editor Adam A. Lam Science Editor
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Srivindhya Kolluru Business Editor Megan Brearley Deputy Senior Copy Editor Kathryn Mannie Deputy News Editor
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William Xiao Design Editor
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Aditi Putcha Design Editor
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Dina Dong Photo Editor
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Iris Deng Illustration Editor
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Nathalie Whitten Video Editor
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Kevin Lu Front End Web Developer
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Stephanie Zhang Back End Web Developer
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Osobe Waberi Public Editor
Jacob Harron, Nicola Lawford Associate Senior Copy Editors
Josie Kao Editor-In-Chief
When I first picked up the proverbial pen at the beginning of the year to write to you, our readers, I never would have guessed that the next time I would address you would be under such circumstances. A pandemic has made it so that our U of T community has been thrown into chaos, and many of us are dealing with stressors that we never could have imagined. During this time of great uncertainty, The Varsity will persevere in bringing you the most accurate and up-to-date news. We have decided to cancel the print run of our last two issues of the year, but we will nonetheless continue posting PDF versions online for all to read. While we never thought that we would cancel issues because of a pandemic — we were placing our bets on the Student Choice Initiative instead — there is no reason to keep printing when our campuses are nearly deserted and,
moreover, when we want to encourage them to stay that way. However, we are continuing to produce our paper online for the purposes of documenting the times we live in. In this issue, you’ll find print-exclusive roundups of all our COVID-19 coverage in news, as well as movie reviews to keep you company while social distancing, pieces on why you should even be social distancing, and how to be kind to yourself and practice compassion during this difficult period. At this time, I want to give my thanks to our dozens of writers, editors, illustrators, designers, and more who have gone to great lengths to keep the U of T community informed. The Varsity is entirely student-run, which means that none of us are exempt from the confusion that all U of T students are experiencing right now.
Even though many of our masthead and contributors have had to hastily leave campus and scatter across the world, and many more are scrambling to complete assignments in the midst of upheaval, they have nonetheless managed to continue producing high-quality and valuable content because they care about keeping you informed. I am forever in awe of the brilliant people who work at The Varsity and I want them to know that their contributions do not go unnoticed. As such, please enjoy our last two issues of the year, made entirely by our editors while working from home. I hope you are taking care of yourselves and those around you at this time. We can all get through this together by doing our part not only for ourselves, but for our community.
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Silas Le Blanc Sports Editor
Reliable news and social distance journalism
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Laura Ashwood Sara Fredo Associate Sports Editor
Lauren Alexander, Hannah Carty, Mikaela Toone Nicole Shi Associate News Editors Associate Business Editor Hafsa Ahmed, Nadine Waiganjo Associate Comment Editor
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Jadine Ngan Associate Features Editor
Victoria Lee, Samantha Yao Associate Photo Editors
Liam Bryant Associate A&C Editor
Fiona Tung Associate Illustration Editor
Javiera Gutierrez Duran, Tahmeed Shafiq Associate Science Editors
Haley Sheh Associate Video Editor
Lead Copy Editors Valeria Khudiakova, Khyrsten Mieras, Maya Morriswala Copy Editors Marta Anielska, Toryanse Blanchard, Angela Bosenius, Amanda Cheung, Joy Fan, Amira Higazy, Teresa Wang, Eva Wissting Cover Iris Deng
BUSINESS OFFICE Algimantas Janusis Business Manager
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Nicole Qian Advertising Executive
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The Varsity is the University of Toronto’s largest student newspaper, publishing since 1880. It is printed by Master Web Inc. on recycled newsprint stock. Content © 2020 by The Varsity. All rights reserved. Any editorial inquiries and/or letters should be directed to the sections associated with them; emails listed above. The Varsity reserves the right to edit all submissions. Inquiries regarding ad sales can be made to ads@thevarsity. ca. ISSN: 0042-2789
Closures rampant as U of T, Canada respond to COVID-19
Robarts to remain open while residences, labs, borders close Lauren Alexander, Hannah Carty, Kathryn Mannie, Mikaela Toone Varsity News Team
In a torrent of closures over the past week, UTSG is shutting down all libraries except for Robarts Library, asking students to leave residences, and closing its labs. This comes as the federal government announced Monday that non-citizens would not be allowed into the country, with the public safety and emergency preparedness minister confirming days later that international students, as well as workers on visas, will still be able to enter the country. Library closures As of March 18, Robarts is the sole library open on the St. George campus, and it has closed access to stacks, course reserves, and all in-person services. Floors one through five remain open for computer services, and access to the building is restricted to U of T students, faculty, and staff. Previously, the university had intended to keep the Gerstein Science Information Centre open as well, as written in an email that was circulated on March 14. Robarts and the libraries at UTM and UTSC will be the only three libraries open across all three campuses. As of March 22, the closures are expected to be in place until April 6. The UTM library is also only open for computer and wi-fi services, and is restricting its hours to 8:30 am to 2:00 pm on weekdays. The UTSC library is open as a study and wi-fi space from 10:00 am to 6:00 pm Monday through Friday. U of T’s library system will extend all loans and waive fees, though it is unclear how long the loans will be extended, or when late fees will begin to apply again. The library system simply notes that “there is no need to return your books at this time.” The due date for inter-library loans has been extended to June 15, 2020. Students can still return books to the libraries that will remain open. All libraries are undertaking social distancing measures by turning off every other computer. Lab closures In an email sent on March 17 to U of T employees, Vice-President and Provost Cheryl Regehr and Vice-President Research and Innovation, and Strategic Initiatives Vivek Goel revealed their plan for operations going forward. This in-
cludes urging all employees to work from home if possible, as well as shutting down all lab-based research operations by 5:00 pm on March 20. Administration acknowledged that some employees will still be required to come to campus, though they are changing practices to allow more employees to work remotely. “At the core of our actions is our commitment to enable students to complete their term and start the summer session,” Regehr and Goel wrote. Employees may also be given different responsibilities going forward. These updates follow Premier Doug Ford’s declaration of a state of emergency in Ontario, which is part of the ongoing efforts to curb the spread of COVID-19. Lab-based research operations were advised to close down by March 20, though exceptions have been made for research on COVID-19 and some time-sensitive projects. These projects had to apply through their departments by 1:00 pm on March 19 in order to continue operation. Research that can be conducted off-campus is also allowed to continue. These changes are part of larger university efforts to curb the spread of COVID-19 and provide accommodations, which include moving all courses for the remainder of the semester online and moving the drop deadline for all courses to April 25. Student residences Victoria College required students leave by March 19, while New College, Innis College, Trinity College, University College (UC), Woodsworth College, St. Michael’s College (SMC), UTSC, and UTM required students leave by March 21. Graduate House is requiring students leave by March 25. Dean of Students at Victoria College Kelly Castle wrote in an email that exceptional circumstances would allow a student to extend their stay. This includes students with travel restrictions; international students,;out-of-province students who need extra time to organize their move; students who are self-isolating; and “students with other complex personal circumstances.” These circumstances were echoed in the email sent to UC students. Students of several colleges, including Victoria and UC, who leave by their respective deadlines will be provided with a partial refund of their residence and meal plan fees. In addition, Victoria College students are not permitted to dine in Burwash Hall, where meals
are now “pick-up-and go.” Common spaces are closed, and outside visitors are barred save for short-term guests assisting students with their move. Similarly, the Howard Ferguson Dining Hall at UC will only offer take-out options for students, Reznikoff ’s Café and common spaces will be closed, and outside visitors must be approved unless they are helping move a student out of residence. The Varsity has also confirmed with students at UTSC residences that students were asked to return home if they are able. Melinda Scott, the dean of students at UC, emailed residents urging them to update their emergency contact information on ACORN. She further noted that while the university remains open, student services, including the Health & Wellness Centre may face “disruptions to services or changes to operating times” and recommended students check directly with each service. Maintenance requests, the porter’s desk, and emergency dons on call will all continue to operate as normal at UC. Border closures In a press conference on March 16, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced that, starting on March 18, Canada would be closing its borders to non-citizens and those without permanent resident status. At that time, exceptions to the border closure were made for American citizens, immediate family members of Canadian citizens, air crews, and diplomats. A number of international students at U of T would have been affected by these new measures. In the wake of in-person exam cancellations and the transition to online course completion, many were considering travelling abroad to return home. In doing so, international students without permanent residency would not have been able to return to Canada for an indefinite period of time. However, on March 18, federal Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness Minister Bill Blair confirmed that international students, as well as workers on visas, will be able to enter Canada amidst the travel restrictions. On the other hand, that same day, Trudeau went back on his earlier message by announcing that the Canada-US border would be closed to non-essential travel. These new restrictions to the Canada-US border took effect on March 20.