Vol. CXXXVIII, No. 23 March 26, 2018 thevarsity.ca —— University of Toronto’s Student Newspaper Since 1880
Will U-Pass or fail?
NEWS: Students divided over public transport proposal page 4
COMMENT: Two writers weigh the pros and cons page 7
U of T remembers Emma Leckey Woodsworth student was involved in advocacy, social justice movements on campus Josie Kao Associate News Editor
Following week of campaigning, UTSU elections voting begins
Uncontested One UTM slate sweeps UTMSU executive elections
New board to be elected by Wednesday
Hundreds of ‘no’ votes, abstentions
Aidan Currie & Josie Kao Varsity Staff
every position. Over 600 demerit points were awarded.
The voting period for University of Toronto Students’ Union (UTSU) elections begins Monday and will continue until Wednesday, March 28 at 6:00 pm. Candidates have been campaigning since Monday, March 19, including 11 executive hopefuls who participated in the UTSU’s advocacy operations debate and The Varsity’s debate for the President and Vice-President Internal candidates. This year’s UTSU elections have seen the lowest participation among candidates in recent memory. Only seven races are contested, one more than the six previously reported by The Varsity following the reinstatement of Compass Professional Faculty Director atlarge candidate Christopher Dryden. There have been no demerit points awarded to any candidate. For comparison, last year’s UTSU election featured four slates, three of which ran executive candidates for
CRO and ERC rulings Dryden was previously disqualified for not attending the mandatory AllCandidates Meeting. He informed the elections’ Chief Returning Officer (CRO), Atoofa Arshad, via email that Anne Boucher, Compass’ presidential candidate, would be his representative at the meeting. He did not, however, sign the form provided in his nomination package to authorize Boucher as his representative. The CRO had no record of Dryden’s attendance at the meeting, and he was disqualified from the race. Arshad’s decision was appealed to the Elections and Referenda Committee, and Dryden was reinstated as a candidate on the basis that, while not submitting the form was “negligent,” he did provide notice to the CRO 24 hours in advance of the meeting. Other CRO rulings arose from complaints of precampaigning UTSU, page 3
Ilya Bañares Associate News Editor
The unofficial results of the University of Toronto Mississauga Students’ Union (UTMSU) elections were released on March 25 after a campaign period from March 12– 22. The One UTM slate, which ran unopposed, swept all five executive positions. Felipe Nagata, current UTMSU Vice-President Campus Life, was elected President with 1,482 ‘yes’ votes against 110 ‘no’ votes and 192 abstentions. Andres Posada won VP University Affairs with 1,390 voting in favour, 129 voting against, and 221 abstaining. Yan Li was elected VP Internal with 1,539 ‘yes’ votes, 98 ‘no’ votes, and 165 abstentions. Atif Abdullah, this year’s associate to the UTMSU Vice-President University Affairs, will be the new VP External after garnering 1,353 votes ‘yes’ votes, 131 ‘no’ votes, and 241 abstentions. Leena Arbaji, the current Sus-
tainability Coordinator, won the post of VP Equity with 1,407 votes in favour, 117 votes against, and 218 votes abstaining. One UTM ran on a platform of removing the $55 Student System Access fee, which the slate claims is unnecessary for students, as well as advocating for free postsecondary education and working on a U-Pass focusing on Brampton and Oakville. The election had a low turnout rate of about 13 per cent of its membership. The highest number of voters was the election for VP University Affairs, in which 1,936 votes were cast, including spoiled ballots — in contrast, the UTMSU represents over 14,000 undergraduate students. Voting was conducted in person using paper ballots. Although voting ended March 22 at 6:00 pm, unofficial results were not released to The Varsity until 9:00 pm on March 24. The Chief Returning Officer (CRO), Sahab Jesuthasan, still
EDITORIAL
SCIENCE
SPORTS
Where‘s the competition?
Farewell, Professor Hawking
Low electoral competition has concerning democractic implications
A tribute to renowned astrophysicist Stephen Hawking
Indigenous Studies Students‘ Union collaborates with boys hockey team
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page 14
Aamjiwnaang Jr. Hitmen receives funding for uniforms page 18
Woodsworth College student Emma Leckey, the victim of a hitand-run on the UTSG campus on March 15, has passed away. Leckey was a student in U of T’s Ethics, Society, and Law program. Her passing was mourned in an email from Professor John Duncan, the director of the program. “All of us in the major are unfathomably saddened by the passing of Emma, who was an excellent student and cherished member of our institutional family,” wrote Duncan. “Words fail me.” “Emma will always be a valued member of our student community. She will be fondly remembered for her advocacy projects, dedication to furthering social justice around campus, and her work with the Canadian Cancer Society,” wrote the U of T Ethics, Society, and Law Students’ Association. “Emma worked tirelessly and was always there for us if we ever needed a shoulder to lean on,” said Steven Worboys, her close friend. “Emma didn’t need to have her name attached to anything for it to matter to her. She truly believed in making the world a better place for many communities, in particular those that had their voices rarely heard. We have lost a beacon of light and many years of positive change that lay ahead.” Through the Canadian Cancer Society (CCS), Leckey was also involved with Relay for Life U of T, which is a fundraising event for the CCS. As a co-chair of the event for two years, she helped raise $40,000. According to Leckey’s co-chair and close friend, Julian Lamanna, “Emma was one of the Emma, page 3
UTMSU, page 3
FEATURE Due process for the digital Seeking redress for online sexual harassment page 10