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Vol. CXLV, No. 23 MASTHEAD
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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.
Andrew Park elected 2025–2026 UTMSU President in InnovateUTM landslide victory Results
to be approved at March BOD meeting
member.
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Razia Saleh UTM Bureau Chief
On March 16, the University of Toronto Mississauga Students’ Union (UTMSU) announced the unofficial results of the 2025–2026 student elections, with InnovateUTM securing all executive positions. Voting took place from March 11–13, and the results are pending final approval at the upcoming UTMSU Board of Directors (BOD) meeting, which is expected to be held this month.
The presidential candidate’s vote is pending a recount due to a request that the Chief Returning Officer (CRO) received.
Election results
For the upcoming academic year, students elected Andrew Park from InnovateUTM as the UTMSU’s president with 1,679 votes. EvolveUTM’s Nehal Nakib secured a total of 965 votes, while independent candidate Aryaman Chopra received a total of 109 votes.
The rest of the winning executive positions were also part of the InnovateUTM slate. Miatah McCallum was elected vice-president (VP) equity with 1,591 votes; Rui (Owen) Zhang was elected VP internal with 1,601 votes; Rajas Dhamija was elected VP external with 1,619 votes; and finally Manaal Fatima was elected VP university affairs with 1,711 votes.
There is a sixth executive position, VP campus life; per bylaws, this position is appointed by the BOD based on the recommendation of the Executive Search Committee.
Voter turnout for this year’s election was approximately 19.2 per cent of eligible students — or about 2,880 students out of approximately 15,000 — marking a steady increase compared to the previous year’s turnout of about 16.3 per cent, and about 14 per cent in the 2023–2024 union election.
The presidential ballots were recounted following a request the CRO received from Chopra, noting a mistake made by the CRO.
In an email to The Varsity , the CRO wrote they “accidentally excluded” Chopra from an email notice sent to candidates regarding
ballot counting, resulting in Chopra being unable to appoint a scrutineer, who oversees the counting of paper ballots.
Due to this oversight, the CRO agreed to recount the presidential ballots. The recount decreased the number of votes for each candidate by a few points. Originally, it was reported that Park had 1,683 votes, Nakib a total of 968 votes, and Chopra 110 votes.
However, when EvolveUTM requested a recount for all executive positions, the CRO declined due to a high margin of difference between counts. The Varsity wasn’t able to confirm the reason for the slate’s recount request.
The CRO will present the final election report at the upcoming UTMSU BOD meeting in March. The exact date has not been announced.
Board of Directors
Every year, the UTMSU elects directors for its four divisions. Division I — First Year Representatives consists of first-year representatives on the board; Division II — Directors at Large refers to student directors enrolled as full-time undergraduates at UTM; Division III — Part Time Directors at Large is for part-time student representatives; and Division IV — Professional Faculties includes students registered in a professional faculty program at UTM, such as the Mississauga Academy of Medicine.
The election for first-year representatives will be held during the fall semester, once they’re enrolled as full-time undergraduate students.
For Division II, 20 candidates ran for the 11 available positions. Students elected were David Han, Jordan MacLean, Summer Qiu, Sarah Gamal El-Dean, Safa Shuaib, Saad Hussain, Enran Zu, Abeeha Imitaz, Adam ElFalou, Farzana Ishmael, and Suleyman Yusuf.
However, the CRO informed The Varsity over email that there is a less than five per cent difference in votes between the 11th, 12th, and 13th candidates, which triggers an automatic recount as per UTMSU’s 2025 Elections Procedure Code (EPC) to ensure accuracy in determining the final elected BOD
This policy is part of a newly updated version of the EPC that is not yet public on UTMSU’s website.
While the recount did result in some changes to the totals, the results stayed the same.
The only candidate for Division III directors, Ryan Ellacot, dropped out after being unable to attain a sufficient number of signatures — at least five signatures, per the union bylaws — from part-time student nominees. The two vacancies for the Division III directors will remain open until the union’s fall by-election.
Samantha Bestavros — who ran unopposed for the Division IV director — will be approved for the position at the union’s next BOD meeting. Her name hasn’t appeared on the UTMSU website among the winning candidates; however, in their email, the CRO mentioned “[the website] has been undergoing some upgrades, which… may have interfered with the presentation.”
Referendum on levy fee adjustments
UTM undergraduate students were presented with three referendum questions on adjustments to The Blind Duck Pub and UTM Student Centre levy fees.
All three referendums were approved. The first question asked all students permission to adjust the Blind Duck Pub fee to match the Ontario Consumer Price Index (CPI) — a measure that reflects the change in the cost of an average assortment of goods and services — annually, per session. This referendum passed with 1,156 votes in favour.
The second and third referendums asked full-time and part-time students respectively whether they also agreed to align their Student Centre fees with Ontario CPI annually, per session. The second passed with 1,089 in favour and the third with 1,103 votes in favour. Going forward, then, every session, the UTMSU can increase the Blind Duck Pub Fee and the Student Centre fee by an amount equal to or less than what is indicated by the Ontario CPI without a referendum, similar to yearly increases made to the union’s membership fee and food bank fee.
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InnovateUTM secures all executive positions, presidential election votes recounted. NICOLAS ALBORNOZ/THE VARSITY
The Breakdown: Who is Mark Carney, Canada’s 24th prime minister?
Taking a look at his financial background and vision for Canada’s future
contender for finance minister, or a potential future PM candidate if Trudeau stepped down.
On March 14, 2025, Mark Carney was sworn in as Canada’s 24th Prime Minister (PM), succeeding Justin Trudeau, who led the Liberal Party for the past nine years.
The Varsity broke down Carney’s background, his plan for Canada, and what U of T community members think.
Carney’s education and financial career
Born in Fort Smith, Northwest Territories, to two teachers, Carney was raised in Edmonton, Alberta, before pursuing a bachelor of economics at Harvard University. He later earned a masters and PhD in economics at the University of Oxford.
Unlike his challengers for the Liberal Party leadership, Carney stands out for having no history of holding elected office. Instead, he boasts a long and successful career in finance and banking.
Most notably, Carney served as governor of the Bank of Canada from 2008 to 2013, beginning his tenure during the worst global financial crisis since the Great Depression. His actions as governor are widely credited with shielding the Canadian economy from the worst of the crisis and setting a global example.
In 2013, Carney was appointed Governor of the Bank of England, serving a seven-year term and guiding the bank through the economic uncertainty of Brexit. In 2020, he became a prominent advocate for solutions to climate change, taking the role of United Nations Special Envoy on Climate Action and Finance.
Path to prime ministership
The first serious whispers of Carney’s political ambitions date back to 2020, when he served as an informal advisor to Trudeau on the government’s COVID-19 response. Around this time, Carney was regarded within the Liberal Party as a leading
On September 9, 2024, Trudeau appointed Carney to chair the Liberal Party’s Task Force on Economic Growth, praising his “unique ideas and perspectives” in advancing the Canadian economy — a goal that now sits at the forefront of Carney’s policies as PM.
Following Trudeau’s resignation on January 6, 2025, Carney emerged as the leading candidate for the Liberal Party leadership. Running against former MP Frank Baylis, Liberal House Leader Karina Gould, and former Deputy PM Chrystia Freeland, Carney secured a landslide victory, winning all 343 ridings — an important sign of nationwide Liberal unity as Canada faces annexation threats and a trade war from Washington.
CBC described his campaign as “largely a referendum on who is best to take on [the] U.S. President.”
The plan Carney’s policy plan focuses on building the “strongest economy in the G7” and addressing familiar economic challenges faced by Canadians — such as affordable housing and access to higher-paying jobs — through new approaches.
In his first move as PM, Carney cut the carbon tax, a policy many Canadians found ineffective. Carney plans to implement a new approach that incentivizes consumers to make sustainable choices while shifting the burden of the climate crisis to “big polluters” but doesn’t specify who.
Another key aspect of Carney’s approach is his plan to spend less and significantly expand Canada’s investment in infrastructure. Carney, who believes the federal government’s spending has been “wasteful and ineffective” argued that his investment will “create great jobs, higher incomes,” and yield downstream benefits for healthcare and social services.
He outlines four major areas for investment
in infrastructure to strengthen the economy: the construction of millions of new homes; clean energy technology; building competitive data centres and artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure to position Canada at the forefront of the AI revolution; and the “development of ports, supply chains and new trade corridors” to diversify the economy and reduce Canada’s reliance on the United States.
U of T reacts
Carney’s election “is most definitely a strategic choice by Liberal party members,” wrote Professor Elizabeth McCallion, an assistant professor in the Department of Political Science, in an email to The Varsity. “[T]hey want someone who is not too connected to Trudeau in the mind of the public, since in order to stay in power, they’ll need to move past the ‘Trudeau era’ of politics that many Canadians have soured on.”
When asked about Carney’s lack of experience in holding public office, those interviewed by The Varsity did not consider it to be a significant concern.
“He’s not a career politician, but he’s got experience working in government,” McCallion wrote. “He knows how the institutions work, but it remains to be seen whether he’s adept at campaigning and responding to Canadians’ needs.”
“[P]oliticians come from all walks of life with their
UTM professors deliberate Trump’s threat to Canadian sovereignty
Political science faculty panel discuss geopolitical challenges from climate change to NATO
Divine Angubua Arts & Culture Editor
As tensions between Canada and the US intensify, a panel of political science faculty at UTM gathered last week to discuss how shifts in American foreign policy under President Donald Trump have reshaped Canada’s security, global alliances, and international standing.
The panel, held on March 13 in UTM’s Instructional Building and organized by the Political Science Department, brought together six professors to examine Canada’s geopolitical challenges. They touched on several topics, including the ongoing trade war with the US, North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) commitments, environmental policies, and the war in Ukraine.
Setting the scene
Opening the panel, moderator Steven Bernstein — a distinguished professor and chair of the political science department — remarked on the second Trump presidency, “Things that we would normally read in [parody] outlets, now we read on the pages of the New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Guardian, in our daily news.”
Bernstein emphasized that “nowhere has the disruption been greater than it has been in Canada.” He pointed to an “unjustifiable” trade war between Canada and the US, Trump’s attempts to revisit “long-settled treaties” along the Canada–US border, and his threat to make Canada the 51st state through economic coercion.
The panel discussion then commenced, with
each professor presenting a five-minute opening argument before taking questions from the audience. Each professor framed the challenges Trump posed through the lens of their area of specialization.
Will Canada be invaded?
Professor Noel Anderson, an expert in international relations, focused on Canadian sovereignty and the potential threat of military invasion from the US. In his talk, he tried to answer the question of whether Canadians should worry about Trump’s annexation threats.
“We all know that Trump has often demonstrated disregard for Canadian sovereignty with repeated references to Canada as the 51st state and to Trudeau as its governor,” said Anderson. “He’s referred to the Canada–US border as an artificial line of separation, and he’s questioned the validity of the 1908 treaty that finalized that border.”
He added that “an unprovoked military attack on Canada would violate international law, but if [an invasion was] framed as a response to a fabricated threat, [by] invoking border security or counterterrorism, US military commanders would feel pressure to comply.”
If the US officially accuses Canada of something like being overrun by terrorist cartels, which is a claim Trump’s advisor Peter Navarro has made in the past, Anderson explained that it could create “an opening for military aggression under the guise of military national security.”
And yet, Anderson argued that an attempted US military annexation of Canada remained
unlikely because the “long and undefended US–Canada border would further complicate efforts to contain a Canadian insurgency” and “the 800,000 Canadians that currently reside in the US furnish additional opportunities for… espionage, sabotage, subversion within the US.”
How does Trump pose a threat to Canada’s environment?
Addressing the environmental challenges posed by Trump’s presidency, Professor Andrea Olive, an expert in environmental policy, environmental justice, and conservation policy, explored Canada’s struggle to maintain “its climate commitments” while Trump makes efforts to shift the focus away from these issues.
“The challenge will be, is Canada going to continue with its climate commitments — our net zero pledge, our Paris Accord commitments — or are we going to change the channel?” said Olive. “I think that a Trump presidency is really going to be a challenge to our natural resource extraction policies.”
Olive highlighted Trump’s interest in exploiting Canadian natural resources, including the Columbia River, Arctic minerals, and freshwater.
“If you remember the California wildfires, he kept talking about ‘Canada can turn on the tap,’” she said, emphasizing Trump’s ambition to redirect the Columbia River, which originates in British Columbia and flows from BC through the US Pacific Northwest.
How will the trade wars affect Canada?
Assistant Professor Spyridon Kotsovilis, another expert in international relations, spoke about tariffs
own expertise,” wrote Lisa Doan, a fourth-year sociology student in an email to The Varsity Jacob Axford, a fifth-year urban geography student, agreed and wrote in an email to The Varsity that, “I would rather support someone with less experience who has ideas that I agree and empathize with than a career politician who I disagree with on everything.”
However, students’ reactions to Carney’s policies are mixed. In response to the end of the carbon tax, Axford said he’s “never been a huge fan,” believing that “lifting [the tax] from individual consumers is a good idea,” but he stressed that the money should “continue going to people who are directly affected by the environmental damage they cause.”
Doan felt that for her and others, “who have to do part-time work to survive at UofT, Carney’s recent decision to scrap the consumer carbon tax was unfortunate… [T]he carbon rebates were supplemental to support the expenses I face on a monthly basis.”
With an election on the horizon, however, all of Carney’s plans are off the table if he cannot rally voters. Doan pointed out that to secure “a strong positive mandate,” as Carney said, he will need “to sway voters from other left-leaning parties like the NDP and the Green [Party], as well as Bloc Québécois to maintain a majority vote… I believe strategic voting in this election is more crucial than ever.”
and trade relations between Canada and the US.
Against the prospect that President Trump’s trade war with Canada is a form of economic coercion leading to annexation, Kotsovilis projected a grim outlook: higher manufacturing costs, as tariffs make it more expensive to purchase raw materials; slow or negative growth, as a result of consumers purchasing less due to higher prices; and a likely recession.
“There’s also supply disruptions, layoffs…” he added, “more broadly, retaliation, escalation, the unravelling of economic integration, and the erosion of trust among long-standing allies.”
What’s Canada’s role in NATO?
Professor Edward Schatz — the director of the Centre for European and Eurasian Affairs and an expert on Russia, Eastern Europe, and Central Asia — was the next speaker focused on how the rhetoric of Vladimir Putin’s regime — specifically the claim that Ukraine is “not a real country” — mirrors rhetoric deployed by the Trump administration against Canada.
Schatz argued that if Ukraine succumbs to Russia, ripple effects will be felt in Canada because under NATO, “we’re so tightly interconnected.”
“As long as NATO means something… and Canada is a key player, it has an obligation to the security and defense, the common defense, of the European members of NATO.”
Sessional Lecturer Arnd Jurgensen, an expert on Canadian and US foreign policy, analyzed the future of NATO and Canada’s role within it.
Jurgensen emphasized Canada’s “great stake” in preserving the “rules-based international order,” warning that without it, “the powerful do what they will and the weak suffer what they must.”
“We must recognize, as Canadians, that we are not among the powerful,” Jurgensen said. “In particular, with regard to our neighbour to the south, we are among the weak.”
Junia Alsinawi Varsity Contributor
Now-Prime Minister Mark Carney at a conference in 2013. COURTESY OF MORITZ HAGER CC WORLD ECONOMIC FORUM
The University of Toronto Graduate Students’ Union (UTGSU) is currently holding elections for next year’s executive team. Graduate students can cast their votes online from March 25 to March 28 through utoronto.simplyvoting.com.
This year, six out of the seven candidates are running under the GradForward slate,
UTGSU 2025–2026 candidate profiles
with the remaining candidate running as an independent. All seven candidates’ candidate statements can be found on the UTGSU’s website.
In interviews with The Varsity, six of the candidates delved further into their experiences, campaign focuses, and plans if they were elected.
Vice-President Internal
Dominic Shillingford
Kyla Cassandra Cortez Managing Editor, External
Amir Moghadam is a fourth-year PhD student studying biomedical engineering, who was previously elected as president of the UTGSU for the 2024–2025 academic year.
“I essentially delivered all of my promises in my last year’s campaign,” he said in his interview. “So now I just want to build upon them.”
Moghadam believes his previous experience as the graduate caucus chairperson of the Canadian Federation of Students–Ontario — a union representing domestic and international students at the college, undergraduate, and graduate levels — and his role in the Biomedical Engineering Students’ Association has equipped him with student governance knowledge.
If re-elected, Moghadam hopes to focus on four pillars: funding equity, transit and housing, food security, and community support.
Vice-President External
Seema Allahdini
Razia Saleh UTM Bureau Chief
Seema Allahdini is a second-year PhD student in social justice education at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education.
With over 12 years of advocacy experience in the nonprofit sector, such as with the Women’s Support Network, Allahdini brings extensive experience in “supporting folks who are experiencing multiple registers of harm and exclusion,” and connecting them to vital services. She is now committed to leveraging that knowledge to improve the lives of graduate students.
Currently working at the UTGSU as a campaigns and research assistant, Allahdini is leading the analysis of the 2024 Cost of Living Survey which has given her “a clear understanding of what exactly students’ challenges are around housing, food, transport, and funding.”
Vice-President Grad Life
Eliz Shimshek
Editor
Eliz Shimshek is a second-year PhD student studying cognitive neuroscience and psychology at UTSC.
In her first year as a PhD student, Shimshek struggled with feelings of isolation and decided to join U of T Student Life. There, she held roles such as the UTGSU’s building ambassador and grad life’s ambassador — roles that showed her she could “bring meaningful change” for students trying to find community.
Shimshek is also familiar with the isolation that UTSC and UTM students feel compared to UTSG, so she hopes to bring the opportunities, events, and initiatives that UTSG has to UTSC and UTM.
To support UTSC and UTM student organizations, she plans to provide financial contributions, volunteer assistance, and participate in the campuses’ events. She also intends to collaborate and facilitate joint events with major
He plans to continue his work in reducing living costs for students. His campaign prioritizes securing funding packages for all graduate students, building on the $40,000 funding package his campaign previously secured for PhD and Doctor of Juridical Science (SJD) students.
Moghadam will also work toward providing students with a subsidized transit pass, better access to affordable housing and food, accessible mental health support, as well as emergency funds for students facing an unforeseen crisis.
To ensure that students’ voices are heard, Moghadam promises that his campaign will hold regular town halls, regular office hours, and frequent visits to all three campuses.
Her campaign pushes for affordable, healthconscious housing options, including for families; raising awareness for tenant rights; and building support networks for students seeking roommates or assistance with housing.
She also hopes to strengthen partnerships with local organizations to provide free or lowcost meals, develop grocery gift card programs, and introduce holiday food baskets to combat food insecurity. On transit, she supports a GTAwide U-Pass, a subsidized transit pass, to ease commuting costs for grad students.
Allahdini emphasized, “It’s not just about… what I can accomplish in the year — we [want to] ensure that the work can continue beyond just ourselves.”
student organizations, such as the Graduate Students’ Association at Scarborough, to expand their influence.
Shimshek also wishes to establish a mentorship program for first and second-year graduate students, where they would be paired with students in higher years who they can turn to for academic and professional guidance while settling into graduate studies.
If elected, Shimshek hopes to provide graduate students with adequate mental health programs.
To do this, she’d arrange a “Wellness Week” dedicated to mental health initiatives in collaboration with other groups, such as the Multifaith Centre, Student Life, and Hart House.
Dominic Shillingford is a third-year PhD student in mathematics. Having served as a director for division three, physical sciences, on the union last year, Shillingford said that he’s excited about the work he’s done so far, which provided him with a “good understanding as to how the UTGSU works.”
Shillingford also credits his work as vice chair of the UTGSU’s Base Funding Committee — a subcommittee that works toward increasing base funding for graduate students.
If elected, Shillingford hopes to continue the work the union has done so far, particularly looking over the union’s policies and base funding. He noted that the base funding committee’s recent “win” —
Vice-President Academics
Nicholas Silver
Nicholas Silver, a fourth-year PhD student in biochemistry, has been involved with the UTGSU since he started grad school.
“For a long time [I’ve] had issues with how grad school… works. Lots of that comes down to issues with funding [and] Black mental health support,” he said in his interview.
At the UTGSU, Silver has served on the nowdefunct Council, the Elections and Referendum Committee, and, currently, as the Outreach Officer for the Base Funding Committee and interim board director for Division Four. He also sits on the Advisory Committee for U of T Library Systems as the UTGSU representative. In addition, he was the social media coordinator and later chair of the Biochemistry Graduate Students’ Union.
His campaign focuses on three pillars: increasing funding for master’s and professional students excluded from the funding increase through a
Vice-President Finance
Farshad Murtada
Ajeetha Vithiyananthan Managing Editor, Internal
Running for re-election as VP Finance is Farshad Murtada, a third-year PhD student in biomedical engineering studying nanotechnology.
“Last year, I spent a lot of time learning how to fill this role and what it meant to be a VP Finance,” he said in his interview. “This year [it’s] about taking that experience and applying it more.”
Murtada has four campaign focuses. Citing his previous work of increasing the student conference bursary from $250 to $400 per recipient, introducing the international graduate student bursary, and limiting the cost-of-living increase in the health and dental plan fees to 10 per cent or below while keeping the same benefits, this year, he plans to increase bursaries further and to ensure the health and dental plan fees doesn’t increase for the year.
Vice-President Grad Life Fateme Eskandry
referring to the $40,000 funding package secured for PhD and SJD students — still left out a few students. “I will continue to work to try to increase base funding for students in other categories,” he added.
Shillingford hopes to implement a program for graduate students to learn about housing rights and introduce a club system for student organizations to “become affiliated with [the UTGSU] and benefit from [its] institutional knowledge” and resources. A tenet of Shillingford’s campaign is to “mak[e] sure that every graduate student can feel like they’re getting value out of the UTGSU.”
targeted letter-writing campaign; expanding mental health support like the biweekly pet therapies — which he helped implement — as well as peer support programs to UTSC and UTM and increasing their frequency at UTSG; and advocating for a U-Pass by negotiating collectively with other student unions.
Silver also highlighted the disparities between the funding humanities, social sciences, and physical sciences students receive. Furthermore, he also noted that guidelines for supervisors — last updated in 2017 after a failed 2023 revision attempt — need reform, particularly regarding feedback timelines and professional behaviour.
With files from Sophie Esther Ramsey.
He also wishes to start a budgeting, investing, and finance series of workshops and to have a club-focused fund for events, as opposed to solely funding course unions and departmental groups for academic events and conferences.
In his interview, he emphasized the union’s need for a central, digital platform — currently in the works — that will allow people to correspond with the executives, book rooms, apply for grants or bursaries, and receive funds electronically rather than through cheques. He also looked forward to publicizing and using the union’s cost-of-living survey data to better advocate for graduate students.
did not respond to
Urooba Shaikh
UTSC Bureau Chief
President
Amir Moghadam
Sophie Esther Ramsey Features
Fateme Eskandry, a second-year PhD student studying biomedical engineering, is the only independent candidate running in this year’s election.
Eskandry
The Varsity’s requests for an interview.
Ajeetha Vithiyananthan Managing Editor, Internal
Opinion
March 25, 2025
thevarsity.ca/cateogory/opinion
opinion@thevarsity.ca
Ford is exploiting anti-Trump rhetoric to buy your support
Appeals to national identity hardly guarantee that Ford will deliver on his promises
Emma Dobrovnik Domestic Affairs Columnist
There is no shortage of opinion pieces about Donald Trump’s trade war. The threat of a 25 per cent tariff on virtually all US imports risks pushing Canada into a recession by the middle of 2025. In response, Canada has placed a 25 per cent retaliatory tariff on $30 billion in USimported goods, while Ontario has applied a 25 per cent surcharge on electricity exports to the US on March 10.
I think it goes without saying that the tariffs’ implications are far-reaching and potentially devastating. Canada’s economic prospects appear to be in limbo, which is no small feat to overcome for those fearing impending waves of unemployment and inflation.
However, what I find most concerning is how the trade war has conveniently allowed recently re-elected Premier Doug Ford to position himself as a charismatic defender of not only Ontario but Canada as a whole.
It’s easy to want to turn into a hero-type when things seem uncertain, but I worry that Ford’s everyman charisma and capitalization on anti-Trump rhetoric is simply distracting Ontarians from his growing pile of unkept promises.
Snap election: Ford vs Trump
I don’t think it’s a coincidence that Ford called a snap election at the height of the US-Canada trade tensions. Much of the Progressive Conservative (PC) Party’s platform during the recent provincial election focused on protecting Canada from Trump’s hawkish economic sanctions. While on the campaign trail, Ford was seen sporting a “Canada Is Not For Sale” baseball cap.
I also don’t think that Ford fashioning himself as the leader best equipped to take on Trump is a politically innocent act. It’s an ideologically charged appeal to national identity and industry: note Ford’s emphasis on protecting Canada rather than Ontario alone.
Despite being the Premier of Ontario, Ford has rapidly emerged as a self-proclaimed spokesperson for the everyday Canadian. By appearing on American Fox News to discuss Canada’s response to the tariffs, Ford
His appeal to national heroism goes hand in hand with his populist approach. Ford leans heavily into the idea that he’s just your average hard-working Canadian. I mean, he loves Tim Hortons breakfast sandwiches and advocates for Canadian-made goods.
Take the PC Party’s landslide majority in the 2022 provincial elections. Ford’s win was at least partially due to the migration of bluecollar support towards the conservatives. Private sector unions previously thought to be the domain of the New Democrat Party (NDP) endorsed the Progressive Conservatives and the PC Party seized several NDP seats in industrial regions.
Ford is no doubt aware that his national patriotic appeal transcends traditional political boundaries. His alleged commitment to maintaining Canadian values aligned with conservatives in 2018 but his win in 2022 proved that he’s also capable of reaching NDP and Liberal strongholds.
Protection Ontario and the politics of defence
It’s clear from his victory in the 2018 provincial election that Ford is adept at mobilizing Ontarians on the basis of national identity and blue-collar relatability. Unsurprisingly, the tariff war provides a prime opportunity for him to leverage this.
This is most overtly expressed in Ford’s recent electoral campaign. His final flagship campaign advertisement frames Ford as uniquely qualified to defeat the ‘Big Bad
When you look past the Canadian nationalist veneer, the overlap in Trump and Ford’s politics is jarring.
Trump’ with the following voiceover: “We need a fighter. Someone who protects us — our jobs, our families. That’s Premier Doug Ford.” This is immediately followed by clips of Ford shaking hands with tradesmen in blue hard hats, as well as his Fox News appearance.
The message is loud and clear: Canada is on the brink of collapse and only Ford can rescue us from imminent chaos. Things seem to be reduced to a ‘Trump Bad, Ford Good’ dichotomy. Trump’s half-baked plan to squander the Canadian economy is of no small consequence, yet I’m hardly convinced that Ford is our saving grace.
While Ford may view himself as diametrically opposed to Trump, their domestic policies aren’t that different.
Both are committed to ‘tough on crime’ attitudes and Trump has described his approach to homelessness as “cleaning up the streets,” in a similar fashion to how the PC Ontario government has been clearing homeless encampments. They are both in favour of a conservative-leaning education curriculum, with Trump accusing American curricula of indoctrinating young people with racial, sexual, and political material while Ford’s right-wing supporters criticized Ontario’s sexual education for its “radical agenda.” They both want to get rid of bike lanes. The list goes on.
When you look past the Canadian nationalist veneer, the overlap in Trump and Ford’s politics is jarring. Conveniently, they also both have a vested interest in privatizing public land.
The Greenbelt controversy
For someone who claims to be putting Canada first, Ford sure has come under fire for a number of extractive development and privatization projects. Perhaps the most controversial of these is Ontario’s Greenbelt controversy — this having been somewhat concealed in the recent provincial election.
Although Ford pledged that the protected land, which safeguards forests and wetlands, would be left untouched in 2021, he claimed only a year later that opening protected Greenbelt land would allow for further housing
Those who stood to benefit from opening the Greenbelt were not everyday Canadians, but rather the billionaire developer De Gasperis family, who owns 32 properties in three locations within the Greenbelt land that the government is proposed to open up for
development.
To Trump suggesting that Canada is prime real estate, Ford has staunchly declared “That property’s not for sale.” Yet, Ford’s actions with the Ontario Greenbelt suggest that Canada is in fact for sale, it’s simply a matter of who he deems worthy of exploiting it.
In addition to his backtracking with the Greenbelt initiative, Ford made a number of other promises that have gone unfulfilled.
In 2022, Ford’s Housing Task Force set out to build 1.5 million new homes in the next 10 years. Even so, Ontario’s homebuilding is still lagging behind other provinces and is not expected to meet its housing goals. Similarly, Ontario’s school repair backlog and hallway medicine crisis — when all available hospital rooms are full and patients have to be treated in hallways — have both been exacerbated since Ford took office in 2018.
However, it’s not just about the promises that weren’t kept, it’s also about the policies he’s implemented.
Without there being any mention of it in his 2022 campaign, Ford shut down the Ontario Science Center with one day’s notice. He also spent at least $600 million in provincial public funds to ensure that convenience stores could sell beer and wine sooner than anticipated — using roughly three times the amount his government said it would originally cost. For someone whose last election slogan was “Get It Done,” I find myself wondering what effective policies he actually got done.
To say that I believe Ford’s words and actions don’t align would be an understatement, though this is especially disappointing given the immediacy of the tariff war. You don’t need to be a political scientist to see that Ford’s politics are selective: his messaging aligns with whatever hot-button topic allows him to appear most favourable. The tariff war was his bread and butter this election cycle.
While the looming threat of a recession is a genuine and immediate concern, Ford’s decision to centre the tariffs is merely illusory. Whether he’ll deliver on his commitment to taking on Trump is yet to be seen, but his track record doesn’t inspire much faith in me.
Emma Dobrovnik is a fourth-year student at St. Michael’s College studying political science and criminology. She is the president of the Association of Political Science Students and a Domestic Affairs columnist for The Varsity ’s Opinion section.
We need to better engage Black youth in Canadian elections
Reflecting on voter disengagement after the 2025 Ontario election
Omolola Ayorinde Varsity Contributor
I recently worked as an Information Assistant at a polling station in Oshawa during the 2025 Ontario provincial election, where I excitedly anticipated youth turnout. While working through the election, I was interested in hearing about the issues most pressing for young Black voters. Issues of antiBlack racism have reemerged in Canada, yet addressing them has not seemed to be a top political priority in recent times.
My excitement quickly turned to disappointment when I saw the dismal turnout at my polling station — less than five Black youths came to vote.
This experience left me questioning why Black youth voter turnout is so low, especially when many Black youth already feel excluded from the political process. I believe Black youth are systematically apathetic toward Canadian electoral processes, and that this must be addressed if we are to achieve meaningful Black representation in Canadian governments.
The harmful implications of youth voter apathy
I made and sent a post-election survey to Black Canadian youth voters — two of the three respondents were UTSC students. In the survey, I asked if and why they had voted. One student voted, and another explained that they forgot to vote.
Yet, both of their responses concerning the decisions that went into their vote choices were incredibly vague — neither of them had put much thought into who they voted for. This made me wonder whether they voted for a candidate at random, which is a common trend
I’ve noticed among Canadian youth through my conversations with other young voters.
Another key trend was exemplified by the response of the third respondent who was a 26-year-old OCAD student. She said that she hadn’t voted, wasn’t familiar with the political scene, and believed her vote wouldn’t have mattered anyway.
This third respondent’s response reflects 21-year-old Queen’s University student Russell Van Raalte’s perspective he shared with Global News that Canadian ‘Gen Zers’ — people between the ages of 13 and 28 — may be unwilling to vote because they either view the government as indifferent or believe that their ballots are ultimately meaningless.
Many new voters have this mindset or are altogether uninterested in politics. In 2021, only 46 per cent of eligible youth voted in the federal election — while just two years prior, nearly 54 per cent of youth voted. This marked another year of continually decreasing youth voter turnout in Canada.
According to the 2015 National Youth Survey by Elections Canada, two primary obstacles contribute to low youth voting: a lack of motivation and limited access to the voting process.
But this survey is from 10 years ago, illustrating how youth across different time periods have consistently shown less interest in voting compared to older people. This phenomenon isn’t unique to today’s youth and may reflect a broader issue — Canadian politics’ longstanding underrepresentation of young people’s interests.
I fear that if the historical trend of growing apathy toward voting — contributing to the persistent decline in youth voting — is not
addressed or corrected soon, youth voter turnout will continue to decrease, and the representation of marginalized groups will never be achieved.
The unique case of Black youth voting
Research on race and specifically the implications of being a Black person in Canadian politics — whether as a politician or a voter — is limited, and while youth overall experience a profound sense of disconnection from the political system, the systemic barriers contributing to this sentiment have unique origins and manifestations for Black youth specifically.
Black youth perceive voting as futile. Many Black Ontarians want politicians to examine their policies specifically “through an anti-Black systemic lens.” Without this approach, Black voters tend to believe that the government does not truly have their best interests at heart.
Additionally, given the historical bureaucratic obstacles faced by Black voters in Canada, Black youth likely experience a deep sense of disenfranchisement and disillusionment, which further discourages their participation in elections.
The lack of Black representation in politics also reinforces feelings of alienation and skepticism. As of 2022, only 19 out of 338 members of Parliament (MPs) are Black Canadians. When Black youth do not see people who look like them in positions of political power, it becomes difficult for them to
Gambling companies are targeting the youth — and dealing us a losing hand
The
betting industry
Avin De Associate Opinion Editor
is
cashing
in on young players with little oversight
The digital transformation of gambling
Content warning: This article discusses gambling and addiction.
The house always wins — a lesson I learned all too quickly through my extensive experience playing poker and blackjack in my adolescent years. In gambling, ‘the house’ refers to the casino or the game operator, which designs ways to ensure they always have a statistical edge over players. It’s a common phrase among gambling skeptics: one I also emphasize.
Yet, the feeling of winning is addicting.
With the rush of dopamine and that feeling of gaining what feels like free money, you can convince yourself that you’ve managed to subvert the system and turned mere luck into skill. This ‘skill’ could apply to anything, whether it’s mastering a perfect poker face or becoming an expert in ‘statistical analysis’ in sports betting. However, the reality of gambling is far less forgiving.
Digital gambling has become the future of gambling. Where once gambling could be limited to a weekly poker game or the odd lottery ticket, gambling apps now are accessible wherever you go. This could be before you get out of bed, in class or work, or even while driving — all in the palm of your hands.
The appeal of these gambling apps especially caters to the younger generation who lead a life dominated by the digital media. As gambling blends seamlessly into daily life, its accessibility turns it from a high-stakes activity into a routine habit — one that feeds the illusion of control, keeping players hooked as they convince themselves that the next hand, next game, or next bet will finally pay out.
Despite the belief that skill or strategy can lead to big wins, statistics for online gambling tell a different story. A 2024 study from the University of California, San Diego found that 96 per cent of gamblers on sports betting apps were net losers: only four per cent made money — while others consistently made losing bets.
Gambling has been legal in Canada since 1985, and Ontario legalized online sports betting in 2022. Since 2023, there has been a 70 per cent growth in Ontarian online betting. This may be because of the provincial government’s lax gambling restrictions, or even insidious marketing from gambling companies such as Stake, which is essentially an online casino.
Gambling companies like Stake’s aggressive marketing strategies and partnerships with celebrities — putting watermarks on viral X (formerly Twitter) posts and using Drake in hidden ad campaigns — seem to market themselves to a primarily younger audience. In 2024, even Toronto’s subway cars were entirely wrapped in gambling ads, courtesy of Maltese betting app Betano.
This aggressive push to attract new gamblers isn’t happening in isolation — it’s part of a broader surge in online gambling, reflected in skyrocketing profits worldwide. Since Ontario legalized online sports betting, online betting has contributed $1.58 billion to Ontario’s GDP within a year.
The impact on younger users
With the relaxing of gambling laws online and the push towards a younger demographic, the gambling market is only set to increase. The more younger audiences become addicted to gambling, the more profits grow. A Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) report from [add year] notes that Canadian children and youth are especially susceptible to gambling advertisements.
According to CAMH, younger Canadians aged 10–24 have higher rates of “problem gambling” — gambling behaviour that is damaging to a person or their family or disrupts daily life and work — compared to adults.
This problem extends to video games, where players can purchase virtual items called ‘loot boxes’ through in-game currency, and even free-to-play casino-style games. This introduces younger children to the dynamics of gambling without having to spend ‘real’ money.
I believe this is a clear indicator that we need to radically change our mindset on how gambling is affecting us, especially among undergraduate students’ age and younger.
According to the University of Buffalo’s 2013 meta-analysis, a staggering 10 per cent of US college students exhibit signs of problem gambling, far exceeding the two to five per cent of the general US population that suffers from this disorder.
In a 2022 study, Statistics Canada also found that men are more likely to develop a moderate-tosevere risk of gambling dependency than women which, from my observation, is likely because online gambling tends to target men.
In my experience, peer pressure also plays a large role in the increase of gambling among youth. The fear of missing out plays heavily on the psyche of college students, making it increasingly difficult for them to resist temptation. For many, gambling even becomes a form of escapism fueled by a dangerous cycle of loss and desperation, sometimes at the cost of their financial aid money, academic performance, and relationships.
Tackling problem gambling
As it stands, the Canadian government addresses gambling harms by providing “responsible gambling” measures. This includes self-exclusion programs, pre-commitment tools
believe their votes will make a difference.
This sense of alienation is a lasting impact of the historical marginalization of Black communities in political discussions and policymaking, stemming from the ongoing exclusion of Black representation in Canadian politics.
Strategies for engagement
To increase voter turnout among Black youth, several steps must be taken.
We need to boost funding for civic education in schools, especially in marginalized communities. For Black students, these lessons could emphasize the power of their vote in addressing historical injustices and driving meaningful change.
And, importantly, political parties in Ontario must prioritize diversity in their candidate selection and create platforms that enable individuals from underrepresented groups to run for office. Overall, Black youth’s political participation is vital for addressing their concerns and shaping them into effective leaders for the future. Empowering marginalized youth to engage in and care about electoral politics is crucial for ensuring that the political system truly reflects the needs and aspirations of all Canadians.
Omolola Ayorinde is a fourth-year student at UTSC studying political science and public law.
for spending limits, and requiring licensed operators to follow responsible gambling policies. However, these measures rely on voluntary participation and place the burden of harm prevention on individuals, rather than addressing the structural factors that enable gambling addiction.
While there are age restrictions to gambling apps, the government must enforce stricter regulations on advertising and promotions targeting young people, increase oversight of offshore and unregulated gambling platforms, and strengthen enforcement against sites that bypass existing restrictions. And, since young people frequent the TTC, it should not be a place to promote gambling platforms.
Additionally, I believe we must introduce stricter oversight of online games — particularly those with loot boxes or gambling-like elements — which can help prevent these platforms from becoming gateways to harmful gambling behaviours.
In Ontario, organizations like CAMH provide free treatment and counselling services for people affected by gambling dependency. An example of this is CAMH’s Gambling Policy Framework, which gives recommendations for alleviating gambling-related harms through legislation, limitation, and stricter regulation. By increasing education on responsible gambling behaviours and improving mental health support, we can mitigate the negative impacts of gambling on vulnerable populations such as the easily influenced youth.
I’ve seen firsthand how unregulated gambling can quietly affect people, often in ways that aren’t immediately obvious. I believe it’s time we take a closer look at the risks to our generation and those who come after us, as well as start prioritizing support and regulation to help those who are struggling before it’s too late. Let’s not allow those unfortunate parlays to turn into bad days.
Avin De is a third-year student at Rotman Commerce studying finance and economics. He is an associate editor for the The Varsity’s Opinion section.
VICKY HUANG/THE VARSITY
Business & Labour
USW 1998 Residence Don’s unit sets March 26 as strike or lockout deadline
Negotiations between the unit and U of T are ongoing, union president remains hopeful
Rubin Beshi Business & Labour Editor
The USW Local 1998 Residence Don’s unit set March 26 as its legal “strike or lockout position” deadline against U of T. The strike or lockout position would allow the unit to begin a legal work stoppage.
This unit represents 200 dons in all residences across U of T’s three campuses. Currently, only the UTSG and UTM dons are involved in
bargaining. Dons are responsible for community development, policy enforcement, and the overall wellbeing of residents.
The unit’s legal strike or lockout deadline has been set after months of negotiations for a new collective agreement with the university, which is a contract set between unions and their employers.
In an email to The Varsity, unit President Jake Perreira and the Chief Steward and Bargaining Committee member Jack Lewandowski discussed the situation.
March 25, 2025
varsity.ca/category/business biz@thevarsity.ca
What happened?
The unit’s collective agreement with the university expired on December 31, 2024. This agreement was the first one the don’s unit negotiated with the university. Since then, both the union and the school have agreed to extend the terms of the agreement while continuing negotiations for a new one.
The unit’s bargaining proposals focus on improvements to the members’ compensation package. Non-monetary proposals include improving terms “dealing with job security, work-life balance, and housing security,” wrote Lewandowski in an email with The Varsity
In particular, the bargaining team is concerned with late notices from management about whether a don will be rehired for the next academic year, which Pereira noted raises significant stress and accommodation concerns. Their current agreement does not specify deadlines for the university to notify dons about rehiring decisions.
Pereira emphasized the important role dons play in the university community, as well as the stressful nature of the job.
“I have personally provided 1on1 support to students after a sexual assault, assisted in filing a police report after a safety concern, and I have provided multiple SafeTALK and ASSISTsuicide prevention support … my fellow dons have similar work experiences and stresses,” wrote Pereira.
Between March 10 and 12, the unit held a strike mandate vote among its members. The vote passed with 97.6 per cent in favour of the mandate and an 82.7 per cent voter turnout.
“So far, the university and the union have come to agreement on changes to several nonmonetary issues, but significant non-monetary proposals from the union are still outstanding,” wrote Pereira.
The unit is currently working with a conciliation
officer — an impartial third party — from the Ontario Ministry of Labour to help reach a tentative agreement with the university. Either party can request conciliation at any point during negotiations if they feel unable to reach an agreement independently.
The unit requested a “no-board” report from the Ministry, which indicated that a conciliation board would not be appointed. The report allows both parties to set March 26 at 12:01 am as the deadline for a strike or lockout, since an agreement was not able to be reached during conciliation.
Moving on
Periera explained that although a tentative agreement has yet to be reached, negotiations have been proceeding well between the union and the university. The strike or lockout deadline was initially set for March 22, but was extended to March 26 by mutual agreement between the two parties. “We have a couple of days [this] week set aside for more negotiations,” wrote Periera.
Pereira emphasized that the unit setting a strike or lockout deadline does not indicate stalled negotiations with the university. Instead, “having a strike deadline helps sharpen the focus on getting a tentative agreement,” wrote Pereira.
“We are confident that we will reach a tentative agreement with the University, but we have plans in place that will be implemented if bargaining takes a turn for the worse,” wrote Lewandowski.
When asked about the progress of negotiations, a spokesperson from the university wrote in an email to The Varsity that “labour relations matters are addressed directly with the relevant labour unions in the normal course, including through the collective bargaining process. The university has no further comment regarding ongoing collective bargaining at this time.”
Unboxing the obsession: exploring the blind box economy
From Sonny Angels to Smiski, blind box toys tap into our love for surprises and exclusivity
Edith Wong Varsity Contributor
You eagerly tear open the cardboard box to see what you bought. As the flap opens, a tiny cherub figurine with bunny ears peeks out. You’re ecstatic — you’ve unboxed a new figure!
From watching TikToks to visiting the mall near your house, blind box collectibles like Sonny Angels, Smiskis, and Labubus are currently everywhere. Sold in sealed packages, each box promises a small figurine or keychain — but which one you get is left up to chance. These figures are $18 to $30 per box, with some even going up to $59. Collecting them can be an expensive game, yet the surprise element keeps people coming back.
To understand the appeal and marketing of blind boxes, The Varsity spoke to U of T community members about this trend.
The psychology behind the toys Rotman marketing professor Pankaj Aggarwal noted that the mystery element contributes to the blind boxes’ success. While consumers are typically happy when making purchases, they experience “added joy from the thrill of opening and finding out [what figure you received],” he said in an interview with The Varsity.
Aggarwal adds that when purchasing a gift, the giver “wants to see happiness on [the receiver’s] face” as they open it. Similarly, buying blind boxes simulates the experience and excitement of gifting others by “surprising [the buyer]” instead of a gift-receiver.
For younger generations, excitement equals happiness. Aggarwal explained that while his idea of happiness is “common peace” as he approaches retirement, “For young people, it’s exploring the world” and “thrill-seeking” — “It’s the excitement.”
As a result, these blind box brands capitalize
on the excitement of younger generations, pushing them toward repeat purchases when they don’t unbox their desired figurine.
Justina So, a first-year life sciences student, collects Sonny Angels — small, wide-eyed cherub figurines — and Smiskis — glow-inthe-dark figurines. Her friends influenced her to buy her first blind box.
“It’s easily accessible at [the] mall [near my home]… and my friends also collect Sonny Angels,” So explained.
Anthropomorphism — the attribution of human characteristics or behaviour to an object — also contributes to the appeal. Aggarwal noted that “human connections [are] being built with the brand.”
For example, the Smiski brand releases various series, such as the “Exercising” series — which features figurines engaging in physical
activities like crunches, aerobics, and even attempting to lift a dumbbell. Another popular series, “@ Work”, depicts figurines working on laptops, presenting, or hurrying to work.
By giving these Smiskis human-like actions, the brand enhances relatability, creating a deeper connection with collectors.
“It’s [like] collecting a group of friends,” Aggarwal explained. “Humans are multifaceted,” and these series showcase “one character [in] different forms,” emotionally connecting customers to these human-like dimensions. By embodying anthropomorphic qualities, these figurines strengthen the brandconsumer relationship and sustain consumer loyalty.
Why do we keep collecting?
There are over 650 types of Sonny Angel figures
and 17 blind box Smiski series. Currently, elflike plush pendants called Labubus have taken over the market.
For So, she sees herself collecting more in the future “if [her] friends also collected [them]” or if there are “newer figures.” Some figures are rarer than others, and devoted collectors are determined to unbox them. “To me, it doesn’t matter, but I know… it matters to [my friends]… because they have repeats.”
Behind the growing trend of blind-box collectibles lie powerful psychological mechanisms and strategic branding. From a mystery aspect to anthropomorphism, these figurines have solidified their place in the market. Whether many young consumers buy them for the thrill or the collection, the surprise might be half the fun — but it’s also half the business.
Behind the growing trend of blind-box collectibles lie powerful psychological mechanisms and strategic branding.
COURTESY OF ESIN KEPME
Is there a story here?
A deep dive into U of T’s student publications
Ella
MacCormack Varsity Contributor
On 21 Sussex Avenue, behind Robarts, sits The Varsity newspaper’s office — two well-furnished floors with a broken espresso machine, rooms alive with barely-containable ambition and asbestos.
All the way across Queen’s Park in Goldring Student Centre is the office of Victoria University’s student newspaper, The Strand, housed in a high-ceiling office, complete with a kitchenette, a roomful of desks, and couches.
Nearby is Brennan Hall, home to a stale, windowless room where St. Michael College’s newspaper, The Mike, resides, fitted with a single desk and printer.
Compare that to The Gargoyle — currently operating out of a musty closet shared with all the ancillary University College (UC) groups. Boxes of leftover UC Orientation shirts threaten to collapse on their one desk, a surface lost under years’ worth of clutter. As I ran from office to office, out of breath and late to my interviews with each paper, I pretended not to notice the clear disparities between our student publications.
I am one of the lucky few editors who can add an “-in-chief” to my title. I am co-editor-in-chief (EIC) at the UC Gargoyle, and I still had no idea of the sheer number of student papers we have on campus.
Despite the decline of print media, all seven of UTSG’s colleges boast their own publications. That’s not to mention the other campus papers, the dozens of miscellaneous literary reviews, academic journals, magazines, and of course, the pages you are reading from now: The Varsity For these campus publications, each page, word, and drop of ink is funded by students. This money shapes everything — printing costs and editorial alike. Increases in funding can quickly become a leash tugged taut by media relations and administration, but a lack of guaranteed financial support threatens to make U of T’s unique variety of student papers yesterday’s news.
Money talks, but not to us
As I researched further into the funding and resource disparities among smaller campus publications, I noticed that, despite all our experiences of being EICs this year, we were running in complete parallel and I had not met
any of them before interviewing them. Although all of us are running a paper, we don’t talk much — or ever.
In writing this article, I relied on a mix of interviews, publicly available budgets from current and previous years, governing documents, and email exchanges with each publication’s EICs. Transparency levels varied wildly from publication to publication, with much of the financial picture having to be patchworked together from current incomplete records or last year’s budget.
Listed below are the 2023–2024 budgets for The Varsity, The Medium, The Underground, The Gargoyle, and Toike Oike, and the 2024–2025
budgets for The Mike, The Strand, The Innis Herald, and Trinity Times.
Neither Woodsworth College’s magazine The Howl nor their Student Association have public budgets. I reached out to The Howl for comment, but they declined to discuss “anything budget related” and did not respond to further questions regarding print circulation and frequency.
There is a large financial divide between the publications with a levy and those without one. A levy is a fee collected from students’ tuition each semester, and is designated to the levied group. Unlike a grant, usually a one-time payment you’d have to apply for, a levy is a consistent, compulsory payment intended to fund its cause. If a student
governments or administrators. Non-levied publications have to negotiate budgets each year with their respective student societies, who are under no obligation to provide them with funding. This lack of financial security strains these papers’ print circulation and schedules, making it harder to maintain readership and a larger team.
The table demonstrates that The Varsity’s budget overshadows all other student papers across campuses. Its $593,727 budget from last year comes from each full-time, fee-paying student at U of T, along with the year’s available advertising revenue, which is $88,000 to be exact.
Every U of T student pays for The Varsity because it is the official newspaper for the entirety of U of T’s community — not a college, campus, or program-specific publication. The Varsity’s budget surplus from 2023–2024 alone could run The Gargoyle, Toike Oike, The Innis Herald, and Trinity Times for an entire academic year, with some left over.
It’s hard not to feel jealous of this funding when every other paper runs on pennies and a dream in comparison. The Gargoyle spends all of our funding and then some, so knowing that The Varsity does not need to put each dollar toward printing feels blasphemous.
Media monitoring
How much funding a publication receives fundamentally shapes the attention it garners and whether it’s vulnerable to the influence of outside forces.
U of T’s Media Relations (MR) is responsible for maintaining and shaping the university’s public image, liaising with journalists at the global and local levels to do so. One element of its role is to comment on media requests or claims about the university.
MR is often in direct contact with The Varsity to raise concerns or request corrections about published articles. While other student publications may also reach out to MR for comment, MR tends not to initiate further communication with student publications other than The Varsity
To learn about MR’s processes and practices, The Varsity contacted U of T MR and spoke with its director, Philippe Devos. Devos explained that MR doesn’t “monitor any [specific news] outlet at all.” Instead, they receive two reports a day of all media coverage about U of T, generated by Cision, an artificial intelligence-powered public relations service that scrapes mentions of choice keywords in online and offline media. The reports include the full published world, from blogs to broadcasts.
Student media “might get caught up in [Cision reports] sometimes, but we’re not actively monitoring them,” Devos said. MR also logs any publication’s request for U of T information, so that it can respond with them.
The Varsity’s internal policy is to reach out to all involved parties in a reported article.
For example, for all university administrationrelated topics, The Varsity contacts MR for interviews with professors and staff or information and documents about U of T that are not publicly available. Each request is coupled with a brief overview of the in-progress article with the section editor’s name. This effectively means MR gets notice in advance of all Varsity coverage of U of T, leaving room for them to have an early say about articles before publication.
“Someone from Media Relations has called The Varsity’s editors on their personal phones to provide more information on our Media Relations inquiries, and added that there would be no point in reporting on the stories,” wrote The Varsity’s EIC Eleanor Yuneun Park in an email to me.
“They did not, however, contact us arbitrarily or obtain our phone number without our consent. Editors who were contacted provided their phone numbers upon Media Relations’ request.”
Even for this article, Devos asked, “I’m still trying to grasp, like, where’s there an interesting story in this?” While U of T MR is not directly preventing The Varsity from publishing a story, this can put pressure on the paper’s editorial autonomy.
According to Devos, only a few publications other than The Varsity have reached out to MR this past year: The Strand, The Medium, and the U of T Faculty of Law student newspaper, Ultra Vires. Other papers like The Gargoyle and The Mike do not require anyone to reach out for comment on articles, so writers and editors are not under the same obligation to contact U of T MR.
Essentially, except for the rare request for comment or information from non-Varsity publications, MR will only read published student articles about U of T if they appear in the two daily Cision reports.
Admin’s agenda
Theoretically, university administrations should not interfere with what student publications choose to print. Many of these student papers — such as The Medium, The Gargoyle, and The Varsity — have a clause in their constitution stating to protect editorial autonomy. Of course, this alone does not fend off editorial interference from administrators.
In fall 2024, after The Strand announced a special issue on Palestine, Victoria University President and Vice-Chancellor Rhonda McEwen emailed the editorial team ahead of publication. The college had received “concerns from members of the Victoria University community” regarding the upcoming issue.
To address these concerns, McEwen reminded The Strand to adhere to the university’s codes prohibiting “discrimination and harassment, such as antisemitism and Islamophobia.” The Strand’s EIC Michael Elsaesser joked to me, “I wasn’t planning on it, but thanks for the reminder.” McEwen’s email also recommended that if The Strand needs “support with this issue or future editions,” they should reach out to the college’s Director of Communications. While the offer of support was a gesture, not a demand, this exchange reveals the administration's interest in The Strand’s content.
The Strand’s “Palestine Special Edition” and The Gargoyle’s similarly themed “Liberation!” issues were printed within a day of each other in October, but both The Gargoyle’s announcement and publishing of the issue received total silence from the UC or U of T administrations.
The Gargoyle regularly prints politically radical and sexually provocative articles, and we have not heard a word from anyone ‘upstairs’ about it. No one important seems to read The Gargoyle and certainly not anyone important enough for concerns to reach our college president — exactly how we like it.
The politics of paper
Beyond administration hurdles, student papers also risk having funding denied by our peers in student governments. The relationship between campus journalists and student politicians carries an unspoken understanding: a publication’s funding can be reduced, delayed, or cut entirely due to editorial disputes.
Every student paper mentioned in this article was once tied to a student union, association, administrative council, or government — only gaining independence after actively fighting for it.
Even The Varsity was once under the University of Toronto Student Union’s (UTSU) umbrella.
As The Varsity’s publisher, UTSU, formerly the Student Administration Council (SAC), was in control of the publication’s financial and legal responsibilities. However, it did not have editorial or financial control once it approved The Varsity’s annual budget amount.
The Varsity pushed for separation from the UTSU, formerly the SAC, to control its finances and prevent the threat of financial punishment. The SAC, in turn, supported The Varsity’s independence to avoid legal liability for its publications and the burden of covering budget deficits.
In a Varsity advertisement from 1979, the SAC itself urged students to vote in favour of The Varsity’s independence, stating “a student government cannot actively participate in a newspaper’s decisions before its freedom to criticize is jeopardized.”
A successful referendum was held in the spring of 1979, and a year later, The Varsity formally incorporated as a separate entity — divorcing the student union and securing its complete financial independence.
For similar reasons, The Mike held a referendum in the spring of 1982 and separated from the St. Michael’s College Student Union. Its then-coeditors explained that the student government members would often enter The Mike office to review issues before publication — jeopardizing the paper’s editorial autonomy.
The Underground — then known as The Balcony Square — was frequently shut down by the Scarborough Campus Students’ Union for publishing editorials critical of the council. Eventually, they held a referendum in the fall of 1982 to become independent.
The Medium — formerly Medium II — followed suit in 1983, separating from the University of Toronto Mississauga Student Union, then called the Erindale College Student Union (ECSU). Its editors explained in an editorial they had published in February 1983, that they were compelled to hold the referendum due to the “very real danger that ECSU might use its control over purse strings to interfere with the freedom of the press.”
All the publications mentioned in this article — except The Varsity, The Mike, and The Medium — remain financially tied to their student governments. For levied publications, the student government holds the funds in trust and can reject budget requests. Non-levied publications are listed as a single line in the student government’s overall budget, leaving their entire funding subject to the council’s discretion.
At $3,300, the Trinity Times has the lowest reported budget of any active printing publication previously discussed — largely due to its status as a non-levied club under the Trinity College Meeting, its student government. Founded in 2020, the Trinity Times is also a newer publication. While it publishes monthly online, its budget only covers two print issues a year.
The three publications with the lowest budgets and lowest circulations — The Toike Oike, The Herald, and the Trinity Times — are also nonlevied organizations. While The Gargoyle has a levy, it cannot be adjusted to inflation without a referendum, unlike The Varsity’s and The Mike’s levies.
The more a publication tries to scale down operations to meet financial demands, the less cost-effective printing becomes. The cost for printing is initially for setting up the printing press, which is upfront and fixed, rather than based on the number of copies that end up being printed. This makes it more cost-effective for printing companies to scale up orders than scale down. The more copies you order, the less per copy you pay.
You can see this in The Gargoyle’s printing costs: 500 copies of a 24-page issue cost $1,013.61. Now, with 700 copies for the same number of pages, we are charged $1,047.51. For an additional 200 copies, the difference is 30 bucks and some change. As soon as you add another four pages and colour, the invoice costs go up more and more.
Cheaper printing deals require high minimums that far exceed the demand for any publications other than The Varsity
We can see the effects of printing costs on The Toike Oike. Their EIC Mila Markovski wrote to The Varsity that, while they used to print six issues a
year, they now print five due to “time and money constraints.”
The Trinity Times budget barely covers the two print issues a year. The Innis Herald would find a higher budget helpful “to print more colour in our issues.” Similarly, The Gargoyle’s aesthetic is blackand-white — fortunately, because we cannot regularly afford to print in colour.
The Gargoyle has a levy from UC students, which should ensure autonomy from our student government. However, the $1.50 levy per semester has remained unchanged since 1990, leaving the publication several thousand dollars short of its actual operational costs. Each UC Lit budget meeting reveals that The Gargoyle consistently exceeds its levy amount just to cover basic expenses. In the end, The Gargoyle must rely on the UC Lit to cover the shortfall out of goodwill.
Essentially, the publication’s printing is tied to the temperaments of students dressing up as politicians — the very group The Gargoyle is supposed to keep accountable. The Gargoyle held a referendum in UC through March 14–16 to increase its levy from $1.50 to $2.69, but the proposal failed by just 14 votes.
As the adage goes, “Freedom of the press is guaranteed only to those who own one.”
A healthy media ecosystem requires smaller publications to exist alongside The Varsity. The freedom afforded by our limited resources allows us to be unapologetically amateur — although, let’s be honest, a little more funding wouldn't hurt.
Compensation challenges
The role of an EIC, or any leadership position on a student paper, requires a substantial commitment. For a bi-weekly publication on campus, the EIC works an estimated 20 hours a week, often more. This time comes at the expense of courses, other jobs, a social life, and sleep — you get the picture.
Both co-EICs of The Gargoyle receive a $175 honorarium for the year. In comparison, The Strand’s co-EICs are paid $1,000, The Innis Herald’s EIC receives a $1,000 scholarship from Innis College, and The Mike’s EIC is paid $4,400.
These honorariums and scholarships are a step toward compensating students for their labour, but they do not fully offset the financial sacrifices required for the position. At smaller student newspapers, any significant compensation often begins and ends with the EIC. For example, a section editor at The Gargoyle earns $50 for a year’s worth of work, and a copy editor earns $25.
Comparatively, The Varsity’s EIC has a role closer to a full-time job in both commitment and compensation. The position is contracted for 37 hours of work per week during the school year, with an hourly wage of $18.02.
Not every publication has the resources or professional structure that The Varsity does, and smaller campus papers rely entirely on unpaid or minimally compensated labour. This creates an accessibility issue on campus: to take on such a role, a student must first be able to afford to work for symbolic wages.
It is a common dream for campus papers to pay their masthead more. As The Innis Herald’ s EIC Sam Guevara wrote to The Varsity , “In an ideal world, our finances would allow us to appreciate our hardworking masthead members more than we can afford to, and what they deserve.” Elsaesser shared this sentiment, writing he has a “dream of eventually extending honoraria and payment for more members of the masthead.”
The Mike pays its masthead the highest compensation among the smaller papers on campus. Salaries are its largest expense, thousands ahead of printing costs. To support this, The Mike operates beyond its levied income of $35,000, relying on unused budget from the pandemic years when the paper wasn’t printing to compensate staff.
“I am definitely worried about the sustainability as costs go up,” said EIC Darian Trabold about The Mike’s budget in future years, especially as the paper continues to dip into its dwindling surplus.
Funding, freedom, and the fine print
Financial security allows a paper to expand its coverage, increase circulation, and pay staff, but it often comes with strings attached. Larger budgets attract attention from administration and funding bodies, both of whom may want control over how they are portrayed in student media.
Smaller papers on campus with lower circulation have editorial autonomy in its rawest form, flying under the radar, and avoiding the level of external pressures that The Varsity faces.
While reporting on Palestine resulted in a few emails for other papers, The Varsity received a flood of backlash, not only from the U of T community but also from a vocal audience beyond campus.
“During The Varsity’s coverage of the proPalestine encampment at U of T in the summer of 2024, I received around 200 to 300 emails a day — some from people who accessed our articles through Honest Reporting and some personally,” wrote Park.
“I’ve received emails telling me that I have the blood of Israeli hostages on my hands… and some professors from different universities telling me that they know my name and that I will never get a job.”
Taking into consideration The Varsity’s relationship with MR too, other papers comparatively face less pressure on editorial decisions. It’s not that The Varsity can’t publish certain stories, but rather that its broader reach makes each article a riskier endeavour.
Voices beyond The Varsity
As for the smaller publications on campus, we are never first, and we are often not the best. If we tried to compete with The Varsity, in our current state, we’d publish the same stories weeks later, with half the resources and a fraction of the circulation.
But that’s the beauty of it: not every paper is The Varsity. Not every paper wants to be The Varsity. Not every paper should be The Varsity Smaller publications help fill the gaps in coverage, particularly on a more personal level within the colleges. The Strand was central to the All Eyes on Vic movement, advocating for Victoria University to divest from fossil fuels. The Gargoyle investigated UC Lit’s financial mismanagement over the past few years. While The Varsity covered the Innis café closure, The Innis Herald focused on the family running it and later followed up on its reopening as Acacia Café in Wycliffe College. At The Gargoyle, contributors are not restricted by any one style for writing, allowing articles to range from the grossly vulgar to the faithfully professional. The Gargoyle also has the creative liberties to experiment with more controversial content — such as the annual nudes contest in our Sex issues, a centrefold that would be pointedly out of place in The Varsity
A healthy media ecosystem requires smaller publications to exist alongside The Varsity. The freedom afforded by our limited resources allows us to be unapologetically amateur — although, let’s be honest, a little more funding wouldn’t hurt. Without stable financial support, student papers are precariously dependent on the goodwill of student governments and overreliant on unpaid labour. Guevara summed it up better than I can, expressing her hopes for a future where The Innis Herald is “creating without worrying about if we can afford to.”
I’m not the first to write about the U of T student papers — I’m not even the first to write about them this year — and I certainly won’t be the last. This is a living, breathing story with no final conclusion. The one constant is that we are all students, figuring it out as we go. Even those with multi-floored offices, are, in the end, playing pretend journalists, drawing on fake mustaches, and donning our dads’ oversized blazers.
Arts & Culture
March 25, 2025
thevarsity.ca/category/arts-culture arts@thevarsity.ca
Fashion as resistance: when clothing becomes a political act
From the runway to the streets, fashion is an expression of defiance
Fashion has never been just about looking good. It’s about expressing identity, challenging norms, and speaking out against injustice. Whether it’s the suffragettes marching in dresses of white, purple, and green or the Black Panthers in their black leather jackets and berets — clothing has long been used as a tool of resistance that signals rebellion, solidarity, and political intent.
Clothing as protest
Fashion activism has evolved. It’s in the work of climate-conscious designers who transform waste into art. It’s in cultural garments worn as acts of defiance against bans and stereotypes. Resistance is woven into the very fabric of what we wear. While the fashion industry thrives on trends, activism is embedded in the history of clothing—it’s not just an aesthetic; it’s a statement.
Last season, I had the chance to volunteer at Fashion Art Toronto — Toronto’s longest-running fashion week — and witnessed how fashion is being used to make powerful political statements.
One of the highlights of the week was a presentation by Aurélie Bérubé, the designer behind the fashion brand RéELLE. She presented her collection in a way that blurred the line between a fashion presentation and a protest. The models didn’t just walk the runway — they marched — each holding up a protest sign like a declaration of war against climate inaction. One sign read, “If not us, then who? Climate Justice Now! No fashion on a dead planet.”
The atmosphere was electric. The energy wasn’t just about the clothes, it was about the statement. As models strutted down the runway, papers printed to resemble newspaper clippings about climate change fluttered in the air, creating a visual metaphor for the urgency of the climate crisis. The garments were striking — not because of their flair, but because of their raw authenticity. They were made from deadstock materials and repurposed fabrics, a bold declaration against the fast fashion industry’s wastefulness.
Bérubé originally created this collection to culminate her time at Campus Notre-Dame-
de-Foy, a private college in Saint-Augustin-deDesmaures, Quebec. She explained in an interview with The Varsity: “I chose an industry that’s extremely harmful to the environment, so for my graduate collection… I explored ways to introduce more sustainability in fashion design.” She didn’t want us to simply admire her clothes; she wanted us to question what we wear and how it impacts the world around us.
Fashion has always been a platform for protest, but resistance isn’t always loud. Sometimes, it’s woven into the fabric of our daily lives.
The quiet and loud politics of what we wear Some forms of protest in fashion are unmistakable, but often the most powerful messages are found in the quiet details: a scarf wrapped a certain way or a symbol subtly incorporated into everyday outfits — like the keffiyeh, a traditional Middle Eastern headdress.
For Sara Rasikh — a member of Occupy for Palestine U of T and a master’s student in social justice education at OISE — the keffiyeh isn’t just an accessory; it’s a political statement. The blackand-white — or red-and-white — scarf has been long tied to Palestinian resistance and functions as a political symbol whether it’s worn on the runway or the street. Its presence alone sparks conversation — or sometimes controversy.
Rasikh wears the keffiyeh not as fashion, but as an act of resistance. “It represents the ongoing
Love after assault
A glimpse into the emotional landscape of dating after sexual assault
Sydnee Pullman
Varsity Contributor
Content Warning: This article discusses sexual assault and rape, and mentions suicide.
In all the rape crisis counseling, therapists, and call centers I’ve dealt with, I’ve never seen “how to date after rape” on the agenda.
It’s one of those things that you never think about until it happens. Like how doctors and midwives don’t tell you that you might shit yourself during childbirth.
One in three women is the victim of assault throughout their lifetime. And once you’ve been a victim of sexual assault, you’re more likely to be victimized again through something called revictimization.
It’s a concern that lives in my head both consciously and unconsciously. It is the phenomenon that has broken the once steadfast trust I had in myself. A state that I now yearn for, even if it feels like part of a distant past.
It is the reason for the uncertainty and confusion that can come from even the smallest touch, the slightest smell, or the slight glance at an octopus tattoo on a man’s neck that stopped me in my tracks outside my neighborhood Thai restaurant.
Some days, you think you're fine. Fixed even. That event that happened in my mid-teens is years
away now! How could it still affect me?
Until one day, something small devastates your world — like an unexpected touch sending you into a tailspin. Making you feel guilt, shame, and a simultaneous disgust for your body that makes you want to curl up into a ball, retreat into your dreams, and shrivel away.
So how do you move on, how do you wake up one day and decide to date again when there’s a base level of distrust and violation baked into all of your bodily tissues?
Some ‘victims’ choose to tamp it down, or lock it in a box in their subconscious — never to be thought of again. Some ostracize touch and romantic attention, and some break down and take their own lives. These ‘victims’ don’t always feel like survivors. Even if ‘survivor’ is the ‘proper’ term. Assault is not ‘proper,’ especially when the assaulted are stuck reliving the heavy emotions that make them feel victimized.
When’s the right time to start dating after something like rape? When’s the right time to talk to the person you’re seeing about your history? When’s the right time to think that you’re ‘normal enough’?
All of these questions permeate while you have to explain the actions of another, feeling grief and shame for something that is not your fault. These actions that the survivor shouldn’t have to explain, that the survivor did not have control over. The
struggle for freedom and the right to exist without occupation,” she wrote in an email to The Varsity. Each time she wraps it around her neck, she’s carrying a message of resistance against the erasure of Palestinian culture and existence.
This resistance hasn’t always been met with understanding, as Rasikh recalled moments on campus where she experienced instances of policing and negative reactions to her form of dress. “One example was during an academic event where a faculty member subtly suggested that wearing it could make certain people “uncomfortable” and might “close doors” for me professionally,” she wrote.
“It was a reminder of how Palestinian symbols are often framed as inherently controversial or disruptive, even in spaces that claim to value academic freedom and diversity.” Rasikh shared.
The keffiyeh’s place in fashion exists as both a symbol of solidarity and of ongoing resistance, which is undeniable. Yet, it’s also a reminder of how fashion can be policed.
Where fashion activism goes next Fashion has never been apolitical, and it’s not about to start. What’s changing is how activism is showing up in it. Instead of waiting for designers to speak out, more people are weaving resistance into their everyday style. Whether it’s supporting sustainable brands, wearing politically charged garments, or rejecting fast fashion altogether,
activism is becoming a part of our daily decisions.
“Fashion is not just for the runway, it's part of daily life too,” Bérubé said. That is where fashion activism holds its real power — it’s not just confined to runway shows or protests. It’s in the choices we make every day, in the clothes we wear, and how we express our values through style.
Rasikh feels the same way. For her, it’s not just about big gestures — it’s about everyday actions: “fashion can be both a tool for raising awareness and a means of creating change,” she wrote. “As more people realize the power of clothing and symbols, [it’s going to] play a bigger role in political discourse.” Her keffiyeh isn’t just a scarf — it’s a statement, an act of resistance.
Is fashion activism performative or powerful? It’s easy to dismiss fashion activism as a surfacelevel gesture. Can a T-shirt with a slogan really change anything? Can a runway protest lead to action? After seeing Bérubé’s work and hearing Rasikh’s reflections, it’s clear that activism isn’t about creating noise — it’s about taking meaningful action, even in small ways.
For Bérubé, this means challenging the fashion industry’s wastefulness — not just through public protests, but also by encouraging more sustainable practices on a personal level: “Capsule wardrobes, [buying] locally… shopping secondhand,” she said. “Sustainable fashion is not out of reach.”
In other words, activism isn’t just about making a spectacle; activism is about creating change through conscious, everyday choices.
Rasikh echoes this sentiment in her own way. While the keffiyeh she wears is undeniably political, it’s also a deeply personal choice. “I believe fashion can be both a tool for raising awareness and a means [for] creating change,” she wrote. “When fashion becomes a medium for political expression, it has the potential to spark conversations and shift public attitudes.” Every time she wears the keffiyeh, it’s a declaration of her belief in freedom and justice; a belief she hopes others will understand, even if it makes them uncomfortable.
Clothing has always been more than just something we put on. It tells a story. The question is — what story are you telling with what you wear?
actions that should make the perpetrator feel guilt, and shame, and fear. The actions that the assailant should be forced to disclose and feel the same embarrassment that I do every time I speak about it.
But that does not hold in this reality. Instead, the survivor sits there, hoping, crossing their fingers and toes, that their partner won’t see them as damaged goods or too much work for what they’re worth.
When do you tell your loved ones? While secretly hoping that they won’t look at you with pity? Even going as far as to make this life-changing event seem like it wasn’t as bad as it really is, just to calm your mother's nerves.
When you’re assaulted, you’re thrust upon an obligation to explain and coddle everyone else’s emotions
And there’s this look in their eye. Everyone gives it.
It’s the same look I get when I tell people my father is an alcoholic. It’s a simultaneous perplexion and pity. A look that tells you everyone knows you’re as broken as you feel.
Are they really loving me if they don’t see me as whole? Can they really love me if I’m not whole?
Divulging a rape history is a combination of emotionless words while every single nerve fiber of your being feels like it’s expecting a lightning strike. Even if you look calm on the outside, the
fate of your emotional stability rests in the hands of someone who doesn’t even know that they hold it. And you have to confide in your romantic partners — at least if you want to feel safe and want a relationship that feels real.
But there are too many choices. Do I say assault or rape? How much or little do I describe? Where do I tell them and when?
So what’s the right answer? I don’t think there is one. The only thing I know that comes from sexual assault is a fundamental change. A change that takes your being and throws it into the crash of a monstrous wave. Some weeks you’ll think of it every day, every hour, and other times you won’t remember it for months.
It changes how you receive and give love. Going through rape teaches you more than anything in any class or therapy appointment. It teaches you of the strength you have within, even if it is a strength you don’t want.
Love after assault is questions without answers. It’s feeling alone in the arms of someone you’ve divulged to, even when they think they’re giving you all the love in the world. It’s having your emotions attack your body at the worst possible time and place imaginable.
Love after assault is involuntarily changed.
This article is an updated version of an article that was first published in Issue 21 of The Varsity.
Chhata Gupta Varsity Contributor
Fashion has never been apolitical, and it’s not about to start. COURTESY OF AURÉLIE BÉRUBÉ
JAYLIN KIM/THEVARSITY
TCDS’s adaptation of Heathers: The Musical provides a bold take on the cult-classic musical
Sofia Moniz Associate Arts & Culture Editor
The
production succeeds through its commitment to community
Content warning: This article mentions violence, suicide, and murder.
From February 6–8, at Hart House Theatre, the Trinity College Dramatic Society (TCDS) presented Heathers: The Musical — based on the cult classic film starring Winona Ryder and Christian Slater.
As the lights dimmed, a crew member came onstage to present a list of trigger warnings attached to the performance, which was so extensive that the audience at my February 8 matinee couldn’t help but laugh. This opening set the tone for the show: Heathers is a black comedy — it’s all about coming together as a community and laughing in the face of tragedy because sometimes that’s the only way to get through it.
To make her high school experience more livable, Veronica (Isobel Arseneau), a quiet, nerdy student at Westerberg High, tries to get in with the most powerful girls in school — the Heathers. As Veronica begins her initiation into the clique, we quickly find out that survival really is what’s at stake: Heather Chandler (Jaidyn McFadden), Heather Duke (Hannah Evans), and Heather McNamara (Emma Simpson), much like the Powerpuff Girls, have cute little colour-coded uniforms.
But don’t let their looks deceive you — the Heathers are evil to their very core. Chandler, the group leader, enlists Veronica — and her talent for forgery — to provide behind-the-scenes help in terrorizing unpopular students.
Veronica also begins spending time with J.D. (Nomi Parsai), the philosophy-quoting, trenchcoat-wearing loner love interest, whose big plans to make the world a better place involve killing high school bullies and staging their deaths as suicides. J.D. quickly implicates Veronica in his evil schemes as well, having her forge suicide notes to cover up his crimes. Veronica finds herself torn between the social safety the Heathers provide and her growing feelings for J.D.
The movie Heathers has a cult following, and the musical was also extremely successful offBroadway, so it’s hard not to go into it with high expectations.
I truly enjoyed the TCDS production, mainly
because of the standout performances and powerhouse vocals from McFadden — who commanded the stage as Chandler — and Arseneau — who won audiences over with her awkward and endearing portrayal of Veronica. Parsai’s performance as J.D. brought back deeply repressed memories of my PHL100 tutorials, and Kurt (James Goldman) and Ram (Diego Martin Boetti) — the duo of dumb jocks who terrorize Veronica — were hilariously punchable. You love to see them coming, if only to revel in their downfall.
My favourite moment came early in the second act during the song “My Dead Gay Son,” a campy gospel number where Kurt and Ram’s homophobic fathers share a passionate kiss in the middle of their sons’ joint funeral — because nothing brings people together better than tragedy.
The way we deal with tragedy is an ongoing theme in Heathers. Chandler is J.D.’s first target.
After her death, copies of Veronica’s forged suicide note circulated throughout the school. The note proclaimed, “No one sees the me inside of me,” revealing that behind Chandler’s “mythic bitch” facade was a kindhearted and misunderstood little girl.
After reading the note, students and teachers romanticize her suicide, turning her into a martyr who died to bring the students of Westerberg High together. They fall into typical post-tragedy platitudes, like “Heather’s gone but she will live forever.”
As the narrative develops, Chandler’s image becomes more distorted: she is described as “the dove that sings outside my window,” “the twin from whom I’m separated,” and even “the horse I never got for Christmas.” These examples become increasingly absurd and far removed from the reality of Chandler, who, by all accounts, was a terrible person.
This is the space Heathers occupies: it walks the line between criticizing the absurdity of tragedy narratives without falling into the same violent patterns of representation it seeks to critique. This delicate balance can only be achieved with a deft handling of the heavy subject matter.
In an interview with The Varsity, Assistant Director Jake Zanth discussed his and Director Madeleine King’s approach to the show: “[Me and Madeleine have] always wanted to do Heathers,
but there’s never been a good time. There’s never going to be a good time to do Heathers, because it’s intense. It’s difficult on the cast, specifically, and it’s difficult to sit through if it’s not done in a way that respects the content, [the performers, and the audience.]”
The directorial team aspired to “make [the show] work in a way that was safe for everyone involved” through careful modifications to the source material, striking a balance between maintaining the tone and humour of the show while prioritizing the well-being of cast members and audiences.
Heathers: The Musical is a show about teenagers being horrible and the adults around them being somehow even worse. Jessica Wang gave us an utterly nauseating Ms. Fleming, the washed-up hippie school counsellor dripping with big feelings and post-tragedy bonding activities.
Ms. Fleming provides a shining example of what ‘not’ to do when faced with tragedy in her upbeat number “Shine a Light” — part of her suicide prevention strategy, which asks students to “shine, shine, shine a light / on your deepest fear,” in front of the entire student body and a camera crew.
Heathers is a story about surviving high school. It’s about differentiating yourself from the two other girls in your grade named Heather. It’s also about tragedy and the violence of the stories we tell. Most importantly, though, Heathers is a story
Navigating university life and the music scene
UTSC student and singer-songwriter Mahé Rabesa thrives in chaos
Ilyass Mofaddel
Varsity Contributor
Mahé Rabesa — a singer-songwriter originally from Réunion Island and Montréal — blends pop music with alternative styles. She has graced numerous stages across Québec and released several songs on Spotify, capturing listeners with her depth and musical flair. Her upcoming single, “Amours Automatiques”, explores the complexities of toxic relationships.
In an interview with The Varsity, she shares her journey, inspirations, and how she balances her studies as an arts management student at UTSC with her passion for music.
The Varsity : Could you tell us how your musical journey began?
Mahé Rabesa: My parents put me in music classes when I was around four. When I moved to Québec, I started playing piano, then guitar, bass, and drums. At first, I wanted to be a musician supporting other artists.
During a concert, I forgot the backing track for a song I was playing guitar on. Since I knew the song by heart, I just grabbed a mic and sang it. That moment changed everything. The next year, I started competing in music contests. By 14 or 15 years old, I was composing my own songs and using GarageBand to create music. Now, I don’t want to stop!
TV: From Réunion Island to Québec, to Toronto — you have moved to a lot of different places. How have these experiences and places influenced your music?
MR: They’ve helped me write songs that connect with a broad audience. When I compose, I try to find melodies and lyrics that can touch everyone — from my grandma to my younger brother. I don’t like being placed in a single genre; I mix styles so that anyone can relate to my music.
TV: You produce your own music while studying at university. How do you manage it all?
MR: Honestly, I don’t get much sleep! It’s all about time management and organization. Every morning, I send emails, reach out to people, and try to book shows. I also travel back to Montreal every one or two weeks because most of my work is based there. Even though I’m trying to develop a presence in Toronto, Montreal remains my main base. I thrive in chaos!
TV: Besides your own life, are there any artists or genres that inspire you?
MR: Definitely! I listen to a lot of pop and French pop. I admire Québec-based artists like Virginie B, as well as international artists like Christine and the Queens, Philippe Katerine, and Edi. I also find
inspiration from my artist friends. There’s a small but strong emerging music community in Québec, and I love supporting them.
TV: Every artist experiences highs and lows. What have been some of yours?
MR: One of my biggest highs is being in the studio — I love recording new songs and bringing ideas to life. Performing live is also a huge highlight for me. As for the lows, dealing with rejection can be discouraging. I applied to so many festivals and got a lot of no’s. I try to focus on the positives and use setbacks as motivation to keep going. When I feel low, I either create art or binge-watch Netflix!
TV: Has studying at U of T influenced your music career?
MR: Absolutely. I didn’t know what to expect when I came here, but my arts management program has been really useful. I’ve learned about the music industry, contracts, copyrights, and grant writing. I’ve also improved my professional skills, like writing proper emails and following up effectively. The program has given me a more structured approach to my music career.
TV: What advice would you give to students who want to pursue an artistic career?
MR: Just don’t stop! Yes, it’s hard, but for every
about community. Each character, in their own messed-up way, is fighting to be seen — whether to fit in, find love, be understood, or leave their mark on the world. Community building was also a big focus during the rehearsal process.
Choreographer Lindsay Costa — who had previously worked with many of the cast and crew members of Heathers in the Victoria College Dramatic Society’s production of Young Frankenstein — said in an interview with The Varsity: “I think that’s why so many of our cast members have come with us from show to show, because they know that we really care about them and that we’re trying to take care of them.”
Costa also explained that the cast worked with professional intimacy coordinators to ensure the intimate scenes were comfortable for everyone involved and mentioned that the crew made a point of checking in with actors after heavy scenes.
The directors’ commitment to the cast and crew’s well-being paid off. Through their performance, the cast brought me into the world of these characters and their interpersonal problems — ranging from the trivial to the potentially worldending — in a way that would not have been nearly as impactful without their palpable chemistry.
The TCDS production of Heathers was both intense and hilarious, a testament to the power of mutual care and functional communities.
seven rejections, you might get one ‘yes’ that makes it all worth it. A lot of people hesitate because they don’t have access to professional equipment, but you can start with what you have. I began making music on an old iPhone using GarageBand. There’s always a way to start — just take action and stop worrying about what others think.
TV: Looking ahead, how do you see your identity as an artist evolving?
MR: I hope to do more shows and extend my reach in Québec and Ontario. My main focus this year is releasing a single and performing in Montreal. I also have a show in France at the end of July, which is really exciting. In five years? Hopefully, an album!
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Heathers is about surviving high school. It’s also about tragedy. COURTESY OF VICTORIA ZHOU CC TRINITY COLLEGE DRAMA SOCIETY
“One of my biggest highs is being in the studio.”. COURTESY OF MYRIAM ARSENAU
March 25, 2025
thevarsity.ca/category/science science@thevarsity.ca
Anxious about climate change? You’re not alone
The pervasive nature of climate change and mental health
interview with The Varsity
Every time I open my social media apps, I am bombarded with images of devastating climate disasters, rising heat waves, and alarming policy choices made by our elected leaders — choices that continue to ignore the realities of the ecological crises.
In Canada, the past year alone has seen extreme heat, wildfires in Jasper, Alberta, and record precipitations in Toronto. The overwhelming number of catastrophic and extreme weather events caused by the climate crisis can leave us feeling despairing and hopeless, especially when they’re delivered through our intrusive digital landscapes.
These disasters can provoke a range of trauma-related and negative emotional responses in people who are directly impacted by them. However, research has shown that anxiety can also stem from awareness of climate-related issues.
The American Psychological Association referred to it as a “chronic fear of environmental doom,” eco-anxiety presents an interesting paradox: in an age where the media is a powerful tool for disseminating information and raising awareness, it also seems to be a source of mental exhaustion — especially when it comes to climate issues. University students and professors are also experiencing this paradox in real-time.
“We’re headed down a path that is leading us to a drastically increased number of disasters… and that’s really scary,” said William Fahy, a PhD student studying environmental chemistry, in an
“I use eco-anxiety as a sort of catch-all phrase… [for] multiple feelings of either distress, angst, sadness, anger, [and] hopelessness [about] the uncertain futures and possible disruption of future livelihoods,” said Simon Appolloni — an assistant professor at the School of Environment — in an interview with The Varsity
Measuring eco-anxiety
Anxiety is a normal human response. Evolutionarily, it serves as an adaptive reaction to the dangerous and unpredictable physical environments our ancestors had to navigate to survive. Anxiety helps us anticipate and adapt to future threats.
The particularity of the climate crisis is that it’s not a threat that can be easily avoided. Initial feelings of worry can escalate into extreme anxiety, which can become debilitating — affecting both our ability to take climate action seriously and to live our normal lives.
A 2020 study from the Journal of Environmental Psychology explored the link between personal well-being and climate anxiety by asking respondents through a series of questions to assess how often they engaged in specific thought patterns or behaviours. For instance, questions included: “I find myself crying because of climate change” or “thinking about climate change makes it difficult for me to concentrate.”
On a global scale, children and young adults have felt the burden of climate awareness on their mental health more than other populations. A 2021 global survey published in the Lancet
Planetary Health of 10,000 participants aged 16–25 found that a majority of respondents were worried about the climate crisis, with over 45 per cent noting that it impacted their everyday lives.
Instilling climate resilience
How can we combat this feeling of doom?
“I’ve been teaching courses in environmental studies for well over a decade, and a number of years ago, I got tired of teaching students the end of the world as we know it… I realized that I had to incorporate… some form of psychological resilience [into my course material,]” said Appolloni. “I have [my students’] journal for marks [because] journaling is being proven to alleviate anxiety and fears… [as well as doing] work outside round trees as close as possible to a wooded area.”
Building internal resilience and connecting students to nature are two cornerstones of combating eco-anxiety. Other strategies include taking action and finding social connections at the community level.
Opinion: CPR is a gendered practice
Medical misogyny, no matter how small, should never go unquestioned
Mashiyat Ahmed Associate Science Editor
I have participated in a Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) training program — a life-saving emergency procedure that aims to restore blood flow to vital organs — three times in the last five years. If you’ve participated in CPR training for certifications, you may recall that training for the procedure involves a short lecture on how the mechanics of blood flow work and how to externally pump the heart to keep the person alive before professionals can arrive.
While kneeling beside the rubber manikins, I learned proper hand placement, posture, and rhythmic chest-pumping techniques to hopefully restore blood flow to the manikin’s ‘heart.’ I didn’t realize it then, but I never once came across a dummy or diagram that
physically represented me, a woman, in all of my training sessions. While it’s true that breasts are not found two finger widths above the breastbone, in the centre of the chest — where CPR compressions are done — they do exist.
As a STEM student, I had absentmindedly dismissed the lack of representation of women’s bodies in scientific models and diagrams; it didn’t matter to me because I wasn’t going to become a doctor.
However, by my third attempt to renew my CPR certification, I could no longer ignore the blatantly obvious bias in my training. Upon further research on CPR, I realized that my instructors were simply regurgitating what they had been taught: men’s anatomy and experiences were the default in teaching, administering, and understanding medicine and healthcare.
How is CPR a gendered issue?
The heart is responsible for pumping oxygenrich blood throughout the body relying on a finely coordinated electrical system to maintain rhythmically timed heartbeats known medically as a sinus rhythm.
When a person enters cardiac arrest, their sinus rhythm is disturbed, compromising the heart’s pumping ability. Chest compressions — a key technique in CPR — aim to restore this rhythm manually. No matter what sex the CPR recipient is, chest compressions are performed in the same area of the chest, with the same rhythm and pressure.
So why is CPR a gendered issue?
Since their very inception, certain medical sciences have always used men’s anatomy, behaviour, and symptoms as the benchmark for what’s considered average and in the process, neglecting women’s bodies and experiences.
A 2024 study in Health Promotion Internationa l looked into CPR training manikins and the representation of sexual differences in them. The study looked at several manufacturing companies and found that 95 per cent of manikins available globally did not represent sex-based physical characteristics — such as breasts — properly.
This isn’t particularly a shock to me. Our scientific ethos has failed to give the same systematized attention, care, and funds to women’s health care as it has done for men — which naturally informs what manikins are in supply. The fact that 95 per cent of manikins that end up teaching millions of people CPR are flat-chested means that the majority of people that learn CPR have zero experience performing chest compressions on women. This includes me and everyone else I know who has received training.
To that end, Appolloni has his students write a letter to the Minister of the Environment or the Prime Minister. “Here’s this email. Send it. And then suddenly, before you know it, [my students] have sent a letter expressing their concerns about the environmental situation and the current political lack of action that’s going on amongst politicians,” showing students the tangible action they can take.
Lastly, instilling hope — though it may seem cliché — is absolutely essential for the fight against the climate crisis. Finding the positive stories amidst the crisis is crucial. In a time where the doom and gloom surrounds us with every swipe, hope must be our strongest companion.
“It’s actually important to hold [onto] the bad news… the storms, the weather patterns, the droughts, the floods, the fires — [because] they will get more frequent, intense, [and] longer in duration… But you [also] have to hold [onto] the good news… [which] allows them to know that there’s still a lot that can be done,” said Appolloni.
The bystander effect
In a 2024 study published in the Resuscitation — the official journal of the European Resuscitation Council — researchers found that anatomically, having breasts does not change the effectiveness or action of performing CPR techniques, but it does change whether a bystander will perform CPR in the first place.
This plays off the bystander effect: a phenomenon that describes how individuals are less likely to offer help to victims in the presence of others. Bystanders may perceive women differently from men, for example, a fear of hurting the woman or a false perception of fragility, leading to weak compressions.
The researchers from the study believe that one of the reasons women are less likely to receive CPR is because of concern some may have about touching the woman’s breasts in the process of administering CPR. In a recent casual conversation with a friend who is a man, I asked him if he would feel comfortable administering CPR to a woman. According to him, his hesitation stems from the paranoia that he would accidentally be violating — or sexually harassing — the woman by performing CPR.
The 2024 study also discussed how people, especially men, expressed this irrational fear because of the lack of transparency, representation, and conversations surrounding women’s health. When a life is on the line, everyone should feel safe enough to provide help without hesitation or fear of being labelled a harasser.
Incorporating both typical men’s and women’s anatomical representation into CPR training dummies is one step towards addressing the gendered difference in CPR practices. By manufacturing manikins that represent sex-based characteristics, teaching people how to be comfortable with them, and sharing our knowledge with others, we are not only chipping away at the insidious nature of medical misogyny but actively building a more equitable future for women, one chest compression at a time.
Carolyn Liu-Kang Varsity Contributor
JAYLIN KIM/THE VARSITY
Beauty and destruction at the Embodying Water Film Festival
Tracking the current of a water-themed film festival by a U of T Cinema Studies class
Jake Takeuchi Sports Editor
On March 8, the U of T’s Cinema Studies program hosted the Embodying Water film festival at the Innis Town Hall.
The festival was presented by students of a U of T Cinema Studies seminar class called Sensory Ecologies: Theory and Praxis in Environmental Media Studies, taught by Assistant Professor Nadine Chan of the Cinema Studies Institute. The film festival screened five short films of various genres from around the world, each about the central theme of water.
Threats to our water’s future
The festival was produced by Water Docs, a Canadian charity that hosts educational programs about water and a sustainable future.
“Our water is in danger and in turn… threatens all of the life that it flows through and upholds,” explained Aydan Dougall, a fourthyear student studying cinema and philosophy and the co-host of the festival, in her opening remarks.
Although clean drinking water is available for most Canadians, 33 Indigenous communities are still under long-term drinking water advisories — warnings issued by the federal government and First Nations communities that the drinking water is unsafe. Long-term advisories are any warnings that have been in place for longer than a year. Some communities such as the Neskantaga First Nation have had these advisories in place for more than 30 years.
According to the World Resources Institute, about 25 countries — home to 25 per cent of the global population — face extremely high water stress each year. Water stress occurs when demand exceeds the available amount of
water, or when poor water quality restricts its use, causing deterioration to the quantity and quality of freshwater resources.
The ongoing climate crisis poses an unprecedented risk to global water and food reserves as ecological destruction, extreme weather events, and increases in global temperatures disrupt the world’s water systems.
Dougall said that Embodying Water aimed to “[honour]… this resource right now by celebrating and engaging with water through creative human depictions of it, telling its stories… through film,” to “foster the awareness necessary to protect and improve our water resources for the entire planet.”
Finding the narrative current
The first film showcased was director Persia Beheshti’s Wetlands (2020), a short documentary about the mermaid subculture in the US. Beyond the US, however, mermaid subculture — where people of all shapes, sizes, genders, and creeds, enjoy dressing up as mermaids — is spreading its ripples around the world; and over the years, has become a space for transgender people to express and embrace themselves. The glamorous colours of the mermaid costumes and makeup, the ancestral and mythical storytelling, and the shimmering glow of the pool water in Wetlands combine to create a surreal commentary on the mermaid subculture.
Benjamin Fieschi-Rose and Kristen Brass’s The Lost Seahorse (2021) is a stop-motion animation about a white seahorse lost in the depths of the ocean who must navigate an ever-changing marine environment disrupted by human activities. Despite its short 11-minute runtime, you can’t help but wish the world for this clay seahorse. The colourful ocean-bed
The evolution of mRNA vaccines Did COVID-19 actually help the medical field?
Emma Appathurai Varsity Contributor
Although the COVID-19 pandemic was a period of grief and stress for most of us, it also created the necessary conditions to bring something out of science fiction to life: a cancer vaccine.
For years, scientists worldwide have been experimenting with messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccines, unable to secure the funding or interest to reach the answer. This is due to the fact that mRNA degrades very quickly, leaving vaccine companies hesitant to invest.
However, once it became clear that mRNAbased vaccines were necessary to curb the pandemic, governments around the world devoted all their resources to their development. Not only did this lift us out of our lockdown purgatory, but it also opened the scientific world to a whole new avenue of exploration.
What is an mRNA vaccine?
A molecule of mRNA takes the information from the nucleus of a cell — where the genetic code is kept — to where the proteins are made. Essentially, it carries the blueprints from the office to the construction site. Where mRNA vaccines differ from regular vaccines is that while regular vaccines use small amounts of the virus itself, mRNA vaccines do not contain any viral material. Instead, they just have proteins around their surface to make them look like they do. When used in a vaccine, the mRNA injected into your arm will have been made synthetically to contain a viral spike protein, like a virus’ clothes. Spike proteins bind and fuse with the target
and its diverse inhabitants remind us that the water belongs to all, including animals.
Moe Clark, Victoria Hunt, and James Brown’s Biolumin (2020) is an abstract underwater spectacle, whose unconventional and experimental styling reminds the viewer of just how little we understand water and the ocean. The film is an international collaboration between Clark — a Metis sound designer and vocalist — and Hunt, a Maori choreographer. The refractory and mirrored visuals pose powerful questions about our relationship with space, time, and water.
My favourite film of the festival was Violeta Paus’s Water Silhouettes, a haunting documentary about women in Chile’s ‘Sacrifice Zones’ — regions designated by the government that are subject to high pollution from industrialization and whose residents face illness, and social and economic marginalization as a result. Paus juxtaposes well-crafted shots of pollution, industry, and nature, which are intertwined and symbiotic in these zones. The Chilean women explain their precarious relationship to water, the landscape, and pollution, to capture a devastating snapshot of lives and ecology sacrificed in the name of
economic growth.
The screenings closed with Alkis Papastathopoulos and Kate Adams’ short film One Day We Will Dance With You. Set in a scenic lakeside field, the film follows two dancers preparing a community performance that embodies water. Unfortunately, in my opinion, this film was the weakest of the selections, with its light-hearted tone especially jarring on the back of the emotional and powerful Water Silhouettes
In the Q and A session following the festival, The Lost Seahorse director Brass shared a question about his film’s production with the audience: “How do we make [telling a story about the ocean] interesting and also leave audiences… without feeling so dreadful, giving people the feeling of hope in the end?”
However, despite the emphasis of these films on instilling hope, I walked away from the Embodying Water Film Festival feeling pessimistic — the films that moved me the most were the ones that filled me with dread. There is simply too much left to do, and the cinematic portrayal of the human capacity for destruction and the twisted beauty I felt was more powerful than any message of hope.
antigen’s membrane, appearing all over the cell so that it looks like a virus. Antigens are markers in toxins that evoke an immune system response. White blood cells — the immunity cells that protect you against disease — are trained to look for these spikes and attack the cells they identify. So, inserting this specific spike protein gene into the mRNA will teach your body how to kill the virus it presents.
Introducing your body to a virus as a vaccine teaches your immune system to recognize and kill it without getting overwhelmed, as with a real infection. To kill the virus-like protein the vaccine introduced, the body will produce antibodies that learn what the protein looks like and how to kill it. This is so that the next time the actual virus enters the bloodstream, the antibodies will recognize it, and the immune system will know how to defend itself.
Clinical advances
Lung, breast, prostate, skin, blood, and urinary tract cancers are all showing promising results from several mRNA vaccines currently being tested in clinics.
One of the notable lung cancer trials is in phase 2 of testing an mRNA vaccine on the antigens found in the lung tumours of patients. The results are encouraging, showing a robust activation of T cells — immune system cells — and meeting the requirements to be deemed completely safe for trial patients.
Early treatment is key to remission — abatement of symptoms in a patient — from breast cancer. A vaccine already circulating in one’s body would eliminate the cancerous cells
Since COVID-19, mRNA vaccine research has dramatically increased.
ZEYNEP POYANLI/THE VARSITY
the minute they appear rather than trailing the disease’s progression between checkups. One promising trial approaches the disease with the FixVac vaccine, a vaccine with breast cancerrelated antigens.
In this case, antigens such as MUC1, human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2), carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA), and WT1 are targeted. These are all produced by genes that, when too many copies are made, turn cancerous. This method is especially innovative because it specifically targets different tumour types instead of a general treatment for the cancer. Targeting specific tumour types is more effective because each tumour will produce its own specific antigen.
More advances have been made in the vaccines’ targeting of other types of cancers, all of which are moving forward with their clinical trials. mRNA vaccines are also advantageous for a number of other reasons: they are non-infectious and — most importantly during the pandemic — quick and cheap to produce!
Of course, some drawbacks are still being addressed. The foremost roadblock is the delivery of the mRNA into our systems — something that must be as efficient as possible so that not a single cancerous cell is allowed to proliferate out of control.
mRNA is not very stable, as their high production rate often results in mistakes in their coding. They are therefore designed to be very easily degradable to make sure no mutated mRNAs are encoded in our DNA. Researchers are addressing these drawbacks by exploring chemically modified genetic data within the mRNA, which would protect against degradation and generally enhance the expression of the proteins.
Despite these challenges, cancer vaccines are poised to revolutionize the world of medical oncology — saving millions of lives and alleviating a great amount of fear for ourselves and our loved ones. These vaccines could redefine the future of healthcare.
Sports
March 25, 2025
thevarsity.ca/section/sports sports@thevarsity.ca
The Varsity's second-semester Varsity Blues report card
Grading every single winter semester team’s season and their MVP
Women’s Sessional GPA: 3.39
Badminton
Grade: A+
Team MVP: Jackie Dent
Basketball
Grade: D+
Team MVP: Raya Hafez
Curling
Grade: C
Team MVP: N/A
With the winter semester coming to an end and exams just around the corner, it’s almost report card season — and the same applies to our very own Varsity Blues. With this season concluding, The Varsity presents the second semester Blues’ report card, subjectively grading each of the 10 men’s, 10 women’s, and two co-ed winter sports teams, their season placement, and this season’s MVP. It was a strong winter semester for both the men’s and women’s teams. Particularly impressive was the badminton team, who won the only national championship this year in any Varsity Blues sport. Eight sports secured a provincial title: badminton, men’s fencing, men’s water polo, women’s fencing, women’s hockey, women’s water polo, men’s swimming, and women’s swimming. Men’s and Women’s Sessional GPA: 3.34 | Cumulative Fall and Winter GPA: 3.2
Competing as one team alongside the men, the Varsity Blues women’s badminton team swept the national and provincial gold medals this season, grabbing backto-back provincial banners. The Blues are a badminton powerhouse and proved they are clutch when it matters most. At nationals, they avenged last year’s silver medal finish in a redemption rematch against the Waterloo Warriors. In the individual events, Varsity Blues’ Jackie Dent partnered with Waterloo Warrior Emily Xia to win gold in the women’s doubles event. Chloe Choi — who was defeated by Dent and Xia in the doubles semifinal — secured national bronze. Team Canada badminton player Dent won bronze in the mixed doubles event alongside her brother and Waterloo Warrior Thomas Dent.
Another high-flying season for the Blues. The badminton team are the only national champions from U of T this season.
Unfortunately, it was a quiet season for the women’s basketball team.
Fencing
Grade: A+
Team MVP: Lilla Mucsi
Figure Skating
Grade: A-
Team MVP: Gabriella Guo
Hockey
Grade: A
Team MVP: Lyla McKinnon
Squash
Grade: A-
Team MVP: Keira Rawlins
Swimming
Grade: A-
Team MVP: Nina Mollin
Track and Field
Grade: B+
The Blues finished the year with an overall record of 2–20; their two wins coming against Algoma and Lakehead. Second-year guard Raya Hafez led the team in scoring this year with 11.4 points per game and fourth-year guard Kaylee Williams was the team’s lead playmaker, setting team highs in assists and steals. The Blues have failed to record a winning record since the 2014–2015 season, when they were 10–9, but this year was their lowest record in the past decade.
This is the kind of season first-year Head Coach Dianne Ros would like to forget about and regroup for next year.
The women’s curling team finished their season with a 1–3 record during round-robin play at the OUA Women’s Curling Championship. This gave the squad an overall season record of 6–11, and 2–8 in conference play. While this was not an outstanding season, it is one that can be built upon — especially given the team’s youth. Highlights of the season included winning two out of three games at the U of T Intercollegiate Bonspiel and starting the Championship round-robin with a dominant 12–3 victory over the York Lions.
The women’s fencing team were dominant as ever, securing their sixth OUA banner in seven years this season. In the finals, the Blues were fueled by outstanding performances from the épée and sabre squads — both of which topped the podium — while the foil team contributed with a bronze medal finish. In the individual events, Lilla Mucsi claimed gold in épée, while Janna Elshakankiri earned bronze in sabre to consolidate the Blues’ points at the tournament.
After their five-year straight provincial championship streak snapped last season with a silver medal, the women’s fencing team bounced back this year to prove that 2024 was just a blip in their sparkling resume, capturing their 16th title in program history.
The Varsity Blues figure skating team are an OUA mainstay, with this season’s silver medal being U of T’s second-straight silver and ninth consecutive season with a podium finish. The Blues flexed their well-rounded roster, picking up medals in 11 of 14 events at provincials.
The medal rush had many Blues grabbing podium finishes in their respective categories: Katelyn Pavlidis nabbed gold in the 8–9 Dance alongside partner Hugo Li. Li and Gabriella Guo were good for gold in the Senior Pair Freeskate, along with Nicole Chan and Olivia Pulsifer in the Couples Artistic. Guo grabbed another gold in the Novice Short Program while Victoria Bocknek rounded out the first-place finishes in the Gold Freeskate.
A haul of five gold medals, 11 total medals, and a silver OUA finish — not too shabby for the graceful skaters.
The Blues had a dominant season, finishing strong to win the OUA McCaw Cup in a redemption game against Waterloo Warriors after falling last year in overtime. Their 20th OUA banner in program history is also their third title in five seasons, as Head Coach Vicky Sunohara’s team proved once again that they are amongst Ontario’s best with a perfect playoff tournament. Blues rookie goaltender Lyla McKinnon, who led all goalies in the playoffs with a remarkable .953 save percentage grabbed Finals MVP, while forward Ashley Delahey received OUA Second Team AllStar for leading the Blues with 25 points in 26 regular season games.
At the U SPORTS quarterfinals, the Blues shut out the University of New Brunswick Reds 2–0 but could not overcome Bishop’s University in the semifinal — falling 2–1 in a tightly contested battle. The Blues then secured the bronze medal, beating the Concordia Stingers 3–1, but they will no doubt be disappointed they could not match last year’s silver medal finish.
Still, it’s a testament to the high standard of the women’s hockey team that a national semifinal exit leaves more to be desired.
The Varsity Blues women’s squash team claimed a provincial silver medal, finishing a strong 6–2 record regular season with hardware. Falling 4–3 against the Mustangs in the gold medal match, the Blues were just one game shy of grabbing their first gold medal since 2014. Keira Rawlins and Shirin Batra grabbed OUA All-Star honours, while first-year Head Coach Amr Elmehelmi grabbed Coach of the Year.
The ever-prevalent Varsity Blues women’s swimming team had another strong season, winning the OUA championships and placing fourth in nationals. It was their 11th consecutive provincial win, exemplifying the Blues’ dominance in the pool.
Third-year Nina Mollin was named the 2025 OUA Women’s Swimmer of the Year, winning four individual and one relay gold at provincials. Mollin also put on a clinic at nationals, grabbing three national golds to round out her already impressive resume. Teagan Vander Leek and Angelica Bath also earned their first career individual U SPORTS medals, with silvers in the 50-metre freestyle and 200-metre backstroke respectively.
Still, for a program that was riding a streak of three national championships, missing the U SPORTS podium this year feels like the Blues came a little short. Despite the team’s dominance throughout the year, the Blues just didn’t quite meet expectations, even with various strong individual and relay performances. However, Blues’ swim has seen consistent success. With Byron MacDonald behind the bench, who has been head coach of the program since the 1978–1979 season, we trust that the women’s team will bounce back with his expertise.
Team MVP: Julia Agostinelli
Volleyball
Grade: B+
Team MVP: Julia Murmann
Water Polo
Grade: A+
The women’s track and field team had another solid season, with several newcomers and rookies showing out across the board, exemplifying the team’s phenomenal depth. The Blues put forth a strong effort to finish fourth at OUAs and eighth at U SPORTS. First-year Gloria Etim saw a strong season among a competitive field of sprinters, earning a provincial bronze medal in the 60-metre dash at her first OUA Championship. On the field, Emma Dale secured a silver and bronze medal in high jump at the provincial and national championships respectively. Most notably, Julia Agostinelli had an exemplary season with the distance group, picking up bronze medals in the 1,000-metre and 1,500-metre at OUA races, and a 1,500-metre gold at U SPORTS.
The women’s volleyball team went 12–8 in the conference: despite falling slightly under last season’s 13–7 record, the Blues redeemed themselves in a solid playoff run. Notably, the eighth-seeded Blues beat the top-ranked Queen’s in a huge upset in the OUA quarterfinal, but fell to McMaster during the straight sets in the semifinal round.
Veteran Julia Murmann had another great season, leading the team in kills with 289 and earning her fourth straight OUA First Team All-Star honours. She was also named to the U SPORTS Second Team All-Canadian, picking up national all-star honours for the third time in her career. Delaney Watson led the team in digs and was named to the OUA Third Team, while rookie Julia Liu earned All-Rookie Team honours.
The word dominant is an understatement when describing the women’s water polo team. The Blues secured an 11th straight conference title, winning the National Collegiate Water Polo championship gold after routing the Queen’s Gaels 21–2 in the final. The team concluded an undefeated season for the squad in which they had an overall record of 13–0.
The Blues averaged just over 18 points per contest while allowing under three points against. They showed nothing but outright dominance all year long. Several members of the team came away with accolades as well. Sarah August was named Championship MVP and Hana Truchla was named Outstanding Goalie for their outstanding efforts in the final. First-year attacker Julia Mic won the Rookie of the Year award while Head Coach Evan Price won Coach of the Year honours in his first year at the helm.
Team MVP: Sarah August
Wrestling
Grade: CR
A perfect season for the Blues.
The Varsity Blues women’s wrestling team is a small team — the women’s team only has four players on their roster compared to the men’s 12 — so it seems harsh to give the team a grade. Last year the Blues only sent one athlete to nationals, and have never won an OUA title.
Maya Salman was the sole Blues representative at the national championships. Salman was also only one of two Blues competing at the provincial championships, alongside Dany Wang. Salman collected a silver medal earlier in the season at the McMaster Open, while Wang claimed silver at the York Open and grabbed two bronzes: one at the McMaster Open and the other at the TMU Open.
The pair deserve praise as the Blues’ MVPs.
Team MVP: Maya Salman & Dany Wang
Men’s Sessional GPA: 3.28
Badminton
Grade: A+
Team MVP: Harold Tan
Basketball
Grade: C
Team MVP: Lenny Webber
Grade: B-
Team MVP: N/A
Fencing
Grade: A+
Team MVP: Leon Xiao, Mike Howard, and Matthew Teng
Jake Takeuchi, Caroline Ho & Taimoore Yousaf
Sports Editor & Associate Sports Editors
The men’s badminton team had a phenomenal season, securing a team gold at the national tournament 2025 YONEX Canadian University/College Championships.
The Blues also secured a gold medal in the individual events, with doubles pair Nathan Mills and Harold Tan crowned as men’s doubles champions. At the Ontario University Athletics (OUA) provincials, the Blues secured their second straight banner and their 11th program title. Tan and Peter Briggs secured provincial all-star nominations, while head coach Nicky Aung secured OUA Coach of the Year.
The team events for both the national and provincial tournaments are mixed events, with both the men’s and women’s teams contributing to the Blues remaining the premier badminton program in Canada.
The men’s basketball team had a rollercoaster season. Unfortunately, the Blues missed the playoffs just one year after their historic run to the OUA semifinals last season.
The Blues’ fourth-year duo of Iñaki Alvarez and Lenny Weber were sensational all season long, with the former breaking 1,000 career points and the latter leading the OUA in rebounds per game. At the end of the day, an eight-game losing streak in the middle of the season sunk the Blues’ playoff hopes, with the team being unable to catch up in the standings.
While falling short of expectations, the team played a fun brand of basketball and will look to rebuild for next year following the graduation of several key players. Overall, a lukewarm season.
Figure Skating
Grade: A
Team MVP: Hugo Li
Hockey
Grade: A-
Team MVP: Owen Robinson
Squash
Grade: B-
Team MVP: Will Harris
Swimming
Grade: A
Team MVP: Ben Loewen
Grade: B
Team MVP: Aiden Grout
It was a strong regular season for the men’s curling team, but the Blues fell short at the provincial tournament — bowing out in the quarterfinals. The Blues had a winning record at every intercollegiate tournament in the regular season, finishing 9–2 on the season with the highlight of the year being a tournament win at the McMaster Invitational Bonspiel in January.
Unfortunately at provincials, the Blues were knocked out by second-seeded Carleton Ravens in the OUA quarterfinals following two days of round-robin matches. Considering that the team’s stated goal was to secure a podium medal and better last year’s fourth-place finish, first-year Head Coach Susan Baird will no doubt be disappointed with a top-eight result. A phenomenal regular season with a hiccup at the final exam.
What more is there to say about the juggernaut that is the men’s fencing team?
The Blues secured their extraordinary ninth consecutive OUA banner this season. Their league-leading 39th provincial title means that the Blues have won 48 per cent of all available championships since the tournament’s inception in 1938. It was also a gold rush for the individual events, with Leon Xiao securing a gold in épée; Mike Howard securing a gold in foil; and rookie Matthew Teng securing gold in sabre at the
No notes for the fencing team. Perhaps this OUA tournament is becoming a bit of a bird course.
The Varsity Blues men’s figure skating team is quite literally a one-man army — fifth-year veteran Hugo Li is the only men’s figure skater on the Blues. While the men’s and women’s teams compete as one, Team Captain Li grabbed valuable points all season in the men’s and pair categories for the team.
The Blues secured a silver medal at the provincial championships, with Li impressing in multiple categories. The all-important skater grabbed a win in the Star 8–9 Dance alongside his partner Katelyn Pavlidis; a win in the Senior Pair Freeskate with his partner Gabriella Guo; a silver in the Open Men’s Freeskate; and a third-place finish in the Fours Freeskate.
The men’s hockey team’s season came to an end on March 15 when they lost against the Queen’s Golden Gaels in the OUA bronze medal game. It was a wonderful season for the Blues in what has been an ascension for the program over the last few years. They finished the regular season with a 17–11–0 record, placing second in the OUA West conference. The Blues entered the playoffs with a quarterfinal matchup against the Windsor Lancers, as their playoff journey began with an exciting 5–2 comeback win on February 27.
The Blues completed the sweep two days later to secure a semifinal berth against their rivals, the TMU Bold. Although Toronto showed tremendous effort in the series — including a gritty 3–2 Game 1 victory — they could not see it through and fell to the Bold in three games.
Forward Owen Robinson had a sensational playoff run with four goals and two assists, after finishing the regular season as the OUA scoring leader with 38 points. He was named a U SPORTS First-Team All-Canadian to cap off his year. Solid marks for the Blues, who will head into next season with unfinished business and the elusive championship on their minds.
The men’s squash team finished top four at the 2025 OUA Squash Championships in what was a solid season for the squad. After winning bronze at last year’s tournament, the Blues were unable to follow up with another medal as they were defeated by Queens with a convincing team score of 5–1. Shamil Khan became the second Blues men’s squash player to win OUA Rookie of the Year, while Will Harris continued his phenomenal career with his second OUA All-Star selection.
The Blues will look to build on this campaign next year, where they will hopefully make it to the finals and challenge Western’s 41-year title streak.
The historically strong U of T swimming program produced another fine season, winning the provincial championship and finishing second place at nationals. Securing the provincial championship is a bare minimum at this point, as the Blues have made it 21 years of consecutive gold medal finishes to add to their league-leading 71 banners in program history.
Ben Loewen had a terrific individual season. He was named the 2025 OUA men’s swimmer of the year and won four individual gold medals at provincials, three of which came in OUA record time. It was a Blues sweep of the OUA awards with Dave Ling, Brock MacDonald, and Byron MacDonald winning Coach of the Year, Nathan Thomas winning Rookie of the Year, and Jacob Gallant winning the Dr. Jeno Tehani Individual Medley Excellence Awards.
Grade: B
Team MVP: Jayden Talsma
Grade: A+
Team MVP: Omer Sayli and Aki Sayli
Grade: C+
Team MVP: Josiah Mayers-Noel
At nationals, the Blues finished in an impressive second place, securing ten silver and six bronze medals. Thomas was awarded national Rookie of the Year honours to complete his breakout season while Loewen picked up three silvers and a bronze to round out his phenomenal season. However, considering the Blues’ dominance in the OUA and their national title last year, they are graded on a harsh curve.
At this point, only a national title can secure the team an A+.
The men’s track and field team had a strong season, finishing fourth at the OUA Championships and then sixth at the U SPORTS tournament. The high jumpers had a particularly strong season, with veteran Aiden Grout securing his second U SPORTS gold medal and rookie Alec Brent earning silver at nationals.
The sprints program also saw great success, with second-year Logan Duley setting a new school record of 6.78 seconds in the 60-metre dash. Captain Phikelela “PK” Moyo came close behind with 6.80 seconds — becoming second on the U of T all-time record list.
Although the Blues fell short in earning team medals at OUAs and U SPORTS, they had a solid season considering the various injuries to the team that were sustained throughout.
The men’s volleyball ended their regular season scorching hot, winning their last nine games to secure third place in the OUA with a 15–5 record. The Blues’ run was halted in the OUA quarterfinals when they were swept in straight sets by the underdog Western Mustangs — losing with set scores 25–20, 25–19, 25–19. The defeat soured an otherwise positive season for the Blues, in which four players received OUA honours.
Jayden Talsma was named a First Team All-Star, Hunter Arulpragasam was named a Second Team All-Star, and first-years Iannis Toma and Luka Minic concluded their impressive debut season with OUA All-Rookie honours. Toma was further named to the U SPORTS All-Rookie Team.
The Blues have had a streak of regular season success, but after a second straight exit in the quarterfinals, the team needs to dig deep to get to the championship next year. With a promising crop of rookies immediately making an impact, the future’s looking bright.
The men’s water polo team had a great season, winning the provincial equivalent National Collegiate Water Polo (NCWP) gold medal after a successful 9–2 regular season. The Blues are a championship mainstay, securing their eighth straight provincial banner this season, and 37th in program history.
Attacker Omer Sayli was named Championship MVP for his clutch performance in the final against the Mustangs, while his brother Ali Sayli was named the NCWP Outstanding Goalie. Head Coach Emre Tali secured Coach of the Year honours in his debut season. The Sayli brothers were also named to the NCWP All-Canadian first team, while rookie Bowen Moravek was named to the second team.
The Varsity Blues wrestling team had a quiet season, finishing eighth overall in the OUA competition. The team then sent four wrestlers to the national U SPORTS Championships, where the Blues finished 11th overall in the team standings.
The highlight for the Blues was 76-kilogram weight class rookie Josiah Mayers-Noel, who picked up an admirable fourth-place finish in his firstever national competition. The other Blues wrestlers had solid results as Jacob Fritz placed seventh in the 72-kilogram bracket; Keegan McMartin placed eighth in the 82-kilogram bracket; and rookie Omar Al-Lahham placed eighth in the 90-kilogram bracket. There’s much to be hopeful for first-year Head Coach Dene Ringuette’s team.
The Blues had only sent one and two wrestlers in the previous two national competitions, and the emergence of youthful talent promises future success for the program.
“Look to the Western Sky”
Ashley Wong Varsity Contributor
ACROSS
1. Hoity-toity types
6. Key ______
9. ______ throat
14. To woo
15. Symbol of Athena
16. In the loop
17. Up and about
18. ______ de Janeiro
19. Euripides tragedy
20. An activity with a favourite book
22. Smooth
23. Iconic Wicked number
25. Superlative suffix
26. Ireland, for the Irish
27. To rise
30. Black and white killer whale
31. Opposite of 27-across
34. Alternative to queen
35. Gorilla-like
37. Word repeated after ‘Que’
38. Still
39. Citation abbr.
40. Shade used on uniform to camouflage with sand
41. French city known as the “Silk Capital of the World”
42. Middle Eastern ruler
44. Challenge for one taking their G2 exam
50. They all lead to Rome
51. Classic sandwich meat
53. “Adios, ______!”
54. Tool for a leatherworker
55. Resin used for incense
56. To dissuade
57. Founder of the People’s Republic of China
58. “When hell freezes over!”
59. To clear a chalkboard
60. Director Lee of Brokeback Mountain
61. Cook rice, say
DOWN
1. Sign of a past injury
2. Snoop around
3. Bizarre
4. Conference
5. Wandered off
6. Official currency of Hungary
7. In debt
8. Modern journalists
9. Hindu cycle of death and rebirth
10. Time that divides morning and afternoon
11. Half-diameters
12. Upright
13. ______ Blinders
21. Insult
24. Like brownies and billionaires
27. Where the sun is
28. What rock against rock results in
29. Fire ______
30. Like peanut and avocado
31. Mediterranean, e.g.
32. Biblical boat
33. Mai ______
35. Perched on
36. The big picture?
37. Small bush
39. Garbage dump, e.g.
40. Nursery rhyme characters who lose their mittens
41. Cliffhanger locales?
42. Alternative to digital
43. The Rockies, in brief
44. The “T” in WTO
45. The Odyssey author
46. Indian yogurt dish
47. Des Moines resident
48. Actor Christopher of Superman (1978)
49. The setting of Hercules’s first labour
52. Mattress specification
ANSWER KEY ISSUE 22
Milena Pappalardo Short-Form Video Editor Mini: Loss
As the weather gets nicer, The Varsity is bringing everyone together to enjoy art and celebrate the launch of our Spring magazine: Sugar!