October 24, 2011

THE Varsity

Vol. CXXXII, No. 9

University of Toronto’s Student Newspaper Since 1880

hashin’ it out with

24 October, 2011

Harold and Kumar see page 16

Contents

9

HOW TO FIX CLASS SIZES

14 17 19

HALLOWEEN GUIDE TO FIGHTING EVIL

A BRIT, A YANK, AND A CANUCK WALK INTO A BAR…

COOPERATE WITH GENOMICS

(PICTURED)

A WINNING SENDOFF p23 Bernarda Gospic/THe VArsity

VARSITY NEWS

news@thevarsity.ca

monday, OCTOBER 24, 2011

3

Matthew or Samir: who would you hire?

New study says job applicants with “foreign-sounding” names receive fewer call backs Morgaine Craven

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According to a new U of T research study called “Why Do Some Employers Prefer To Interview Matthew, and Not Samir?,” job applicants with English-sounding names are more likely to receive call backs from employers than those with foreign-sounding names.

In their study, U of T researchers Philip Oreopoulos and Diane Dechief found that regardless of language proficiency, experience, or education, people with Anglophone names get the bulk of call backs compared to their counterparts with Chinese, Indian, or Greeksounding names.

The research explores why Canadian immigrants struggle in the labour market and is a continuation of a similar Toronto-based study conducted

by Oreopoulos in 2009.

To come up with the figures for their research, Oreopoulos and Dechief sent out roughly 8000 fake resumes online to different job offers in Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver.

Each business, with few exceptions, received four types of resumes that had: 1. an Anglophone name with experience and an undergraduate degree obtained in Canada, 2. a foreign name with Canadian experience and education, 3. a foreign name with an international degree and Canadian experience, and 4. a foreign name with inter-

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communication skills that might not be apparent on a resume.

“Most suggested that the bias was conscious and was out of concern for language problems and applicants potentially not fitting in,” Dechief said.

Oreopoulos said, however, that they observed a different form of discrimination in the study. He suggested the discrimination is “implicit” and done at a subconscious level.

“Someone who is going through resumes very quickly, without looking farther [than the name], gets an initial reaction. They immediately enforce a stereotype about social skills, no matter what else is on that resume that would address that concern,” said Oreopoulos.

“We suggest that for some people, the initial first reaction they get from the name drives that behaviour ... and for some people it makes the difference between getting an interview or not.”

Dechief and Oreopoulos recommended that firms and businesses should mask the names of applicants before the initial interview selection process. They suggested hiding names on online applications and asking for them to be written on a separate sheet attached to a hard copy of a resume.

“Given the results of the study, it seems that firms and businesses are likely missing out on some great talent,” commented Dechief. “It would not be difficult to explore this practice on a trial basis, to determine whether such practice leads to better hiring.”

Bernarda Gospic/THe VArsity

VARSITY CONTRIBUTOR

national credentials.

When the results came back, Oreopoulos and Dechief found that job hopefuls with English names are 47 per cent more likely to get call backs in Toronto but only have a 39 per cent advantage in Montreal and a 20 per cent one in Vancouver.

Write for News! news@thevarsity.ca

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Oreopoulos said that the results were a reflection of the Canadian immigration point system, which “lets in individuals based on their ability to assimilate.”

According to Dechief, a common explanation recruiters offered was that to employers, a name can signal a possible lack of language and

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VARSITY NEWS

monday, OCTOBER 24, 2011

news@thevarsity.ca

Expression Against Oppression zooms in on female injustice

Expression Against Oppression event line-up

Tuesday Oct. 18:

Headline event teaches self-defence to assert women’s rights

Film Screening: Born into

Dalana Parris

Wednesday Oct. 19:

VARSITY STAFF

On October 17–20, UTSU brought to light several equity concerns with their semi-annual Expression Against Oppression week (XAO), this year focusing on women’s issues.

Created to serve as a forum for students to discuss and challenge issues of oppression and discrimination, XAO events help empower marginalized voices and include them in a broader dialogue, according to UTSU President Danielle Sandhu.

And as one of this year’s XAO highlights, a drop-in Wen-Do women’s self-defence class aimed to do just that, said instructor Denise Handlarski.

“Taking self-defence classes is an opportunity for women to step

into the power we already all possess,” she said. “We still live in a world [where] women are perceived as weak … and are actively discouraged from fighting back.”

Third-year student and Wen-Do student Stephanie Abrahams agreed.

“We have been socialized to feel inferior and to be submissive,” she said.

She mentioned that it’s important for women to understand that they can assert their rights, make choices, and take control of unwanted situations, something that is ingrained in the three A’s of Wen-Do: awareness, avoidance, and action.

In the classes, students were taught to be alert of their surroundings, avoid potentially dangerous situations, and act when necessary, be it through physical resistance or accessing support

systems like U of T’s Community Safety Office and Campus Police, to name a few.

“We need to … create new norms wherein women are encouraged to speak up instead of subjecting themselves to uncomfortable and unwanted situations,” said third-year student Sana Ali. “We think that if we don’t make a big deal, we won’t expose our vulnerabilities, and instead we [blame ourselves].”

During her Wen-Do class, instructor Handlarski explained that self-blame is one of the biggest problems that lead women to succumb to oppression.

She told her students that women often blame themselves in an effort to explain or defend their attacker’s actions, highlighting that a large percentage of aggressors T:10” are usually people known to and

trusted by their victims.

“There are so many pervasive myths about violence against women,” she said. “It is easier to talk about stranger attackers out on the street than the much more likely reality of our attackers being partners or family members. But we have known for decades that we are most likely to need to defend ourselves against loved ones.”

After studying Wen-Do, Abrahams, who admitted to not knowing that she has a choice in unwanted situations, has developed a firmer grasp on her rights as a woman.

“Prior to Wen-Do class I was oblivious to the difference knowledge of choice can make, [but] now I don’t feel as powerless. I have options other than simply being submissive.”

Brothels

Women’s self-defense class (Wen-Do)

Thursday Oct. 20: The Spice: free lunch & discussion

Thursday Oct. 20: Night of Expression

Friday Oct. 21: Feb XAO Planning

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VARSITY NEWS

news@thevarsity.ca

monday, OCTOBER 24, 2011

5

The 100 Series: Meet Shawn Lehman The ANT101 professor jokes about Con Hall, anthropology, and lemurs Irina Vukosavic VARSITY CONTRIBUTOR

Behind a door plastered with anthropology-related jokes, Professor Lehman sits in his office with a friendly smile on his face. He is the lecturer for ANT101 and has been teaching the course for 10 years in Convocation Hall.

When asked about what really happens during his long Con Hall lectures, Lehman gives a mysterious answer.

“It’s gotten pretty crazy sometimes in that big space, and we’ll just leave it at that,” he says.

ANT101, he explains, is a basic, broad introduction to anthropology. The course teaches everything from the earliest primate origins to modern humans and forensics.

“As opposed to the upper year

courses that I teach, which are highly specialized, this is a sample course where I’m able to teach a broad spectrum of topics. It’s cool and I like it,” Lehman says.

His love for anthropology is something that helps him tackle the unique challenges of teaching in Con Hall, like relating to so many students and being enthusiastic and energetic while he’s at it.

Lehman recalls that his first time teaching the course was an overwhelming experience.

“At first, it was daunting. I had never stood up in front of so many people on a stage with a microphone,” he remembers. “It took me a while to figure out what worked, and I still tinker my lectures to make them better. I get an immediate response from students, from which I am able to change my lec-

ture material.”

Lehman’s teaching strategies mainly involve using humour and personal experiences, which he claims help with memorization.

When a joke is told, the idea is solidified regardless of whether or not the joke is funny.

By sharing jokes and personal anecdotes, Lehman tries to establish himself not as an unapproachable authority figure but rather as a resource that students can come to with questions.

“Students pay a lot of money to come to these lectures, so they most definitely should be able to talk to their professors. It’s just like if you’re discontent with a $5 coffee ­— surely you would want your money back,” he says.

Lehman also emphasizes to his students the importance of keep-

. wyatt clough/ THE VARSITY

ing up with the readings in order to avoid an all-too-familiar situation of cramming right before tests.

In an attempt to make his classes more fun, Lehman wrote the course textbook, in which he incorporates humour and his own experiences at the beginning of each chapter.

To improve his teaching style, he looks back to his time as an undergrad at the University of Calgary.

One professor in particular, who was a good public speaker and worked hard to make the class more personal, has served as Lehman’s inspiration through the years.

“I remember when I went to go talk to my first professor as a student, my hands were all clammy and I was really nervous. But now I look back at those times and

laugh. Students need to realize that professors are just like everybody else, but maybe a little clumsier and socially challenged,” he says, laughing.

Though now a seasoned professor, Lehman mentions that it was in his earlier years in university that he realized he wanted to pursue anthropology.

“Anthropology actually picked me. When I was a student and signing up for courses, one of my friends told me to take a monkey course that included trips to the zoo. I thought it sounded interesting and realized by the second class that it was what I wanted to do,” he says.

In addition to teaching classes at U of T, Lehman has spent the last 13 years studying lemur conservation biology in Madagascar.

monday, OCTOBER 24, 2011

VARSITY NEWS

news@thevarsity.ca

Wyatt Clough/THe VArsity

6

Antonio Strafella named Canada Research Chair Medicine professor recognized for his innovative work with Parkinson’s disease Akihiko Tse VARSITY CONTRIBUTOR

Antonio Strafella, a Department of Medicine professor, was awarded a Canada Research Chair (CRC) position for his groundbreaking work on Parkinson’s disease.

Strafella was one of three U of T professors honoured as a CRC, a national, government-funded program that recognizes excellence in research. The other award recipients include U of T Dentistry’s Céline Lévesque and Aerospace Engineering’s Prasanth Nair.

The trio will receive $500,000 over five years to use for their research endeavours.

“I’m very happy. It’s very difficult and competitive to get this award so it’s an honour,” Strafella said. “This chair will give me some insights on how to proceed and what is needed, what is lacking, and what direction to go. It’s a great opportunity to continue what I’ve done so far.”

Working at the Toronto Western Hospital with a laboratory at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH), Strafella focuses on using neuroimaging to identify the brain stimulations of patients

plagued by Parkinson’s disease.

Using positron emission topography (PET) and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), Strafella aims to identify the abnormalities underlying the behavioural and cognitive problems that arise in Parkinson’s patients.

“Sometimes we ask the patients to perform some motor tasks or memory, tasks and we are able to see the activation. We see these lights that show the parts of the brain that become active and parts that are less active, so we focus on the interaction between these areas,” he explained.

Parkinson’s disease is generally considered a motor disorder; sufferers experience tremors or slowness in movement. But, Strafella said, the behavioural and cognitive problems experienced by patients are often not given enough attention.

He added that the patients’ complaints are often not given enough attention so, through his research, he aims to shed light on these problems and bridge the gap of knowledge.

Another one of his concerns is the double-edged sword of Parkinson’s medication.

“One of the major problems with

[the medication] is that you can improve their motor symptoms but [their] behaviour can also worsen,” Strafella said, describing some of the problems that patients develop like gambling, compulsive shopping, hyper-sexuality, and eating disorders.

“If you have a patient who is developing these impulse control disorders but is doing better from a motor point of view, it is sometimes hard to stop these medications because they do not want to go back to the slowness, having tremors and being rigid because these are socially embarrassing,” he explained.

However, only 14 per cent of patients develop these problems. So, according to Strafella, his research’s next phase is understanding why exactly that 14 per cent of patients experience complications while the other 86 per cent don’t.

Strafella has dedicated his life to the study of Parkinson’s disease and he is grateful for the support that the CRC has given him in understanding such a complicated disease.

“If I was the reviewer from CRC, and if I saw someone addressing these points, I would definitely consider this as an important area to research,” he said.

VARSITY NEWS

monday, OCTOBER 24, 2011

7

Ryan Kelpin/THe VArsity

news@thevarsity.ca

Is Canada’s refugee policy lagging?

Panelists situate the country’s treatment of refugees in the global arena Semra Eylul Sevi VARSITY CONTRIBUTOR

Panelists and guests gathered at the Vivian and David Campbell Conference Facility on Thursday night to discuss and debate Canada’s refugee policy.

Co-sponsored by the R.F. Harney Program in Ethnic, Immigration and Pluralism Studies and the Munk School of Global Affairs, the wellattended event was headlined by panelists Jeff Crisp, Head of Policy Development and Evaluation Service of the United Nations High Commission on Refugees (UNHCR), Zachary Lomo, former director of Uganda’s Refugee Law Project, and Audrey Macklin, a U of T law professor.

To set the stage for discussion, moderator Michael Ignatieff explained that the 1951 UNHCR Refugee Convention is part of a structure to stop injustices and provide international security to those who have escaped persecution or danger. He went on to explain that

Canada has had its share of glorious and also horrific moments when it comes to opening its doors to refugees.

After Ignatieff’s remarks, the panelists agreed that signatories to the Refugee Convention should help more by giving asylum-seekers from all walks of life an equal chance to survive. They also concluded that a refugee’s country of origin or nature of arrival gives rise to disparities during claims assessment.

“Many countries in the global south carry a heavier burden of … refugees with fewer resources,” said Lomo, who also advocated for the free movement of refugees.

Macklin then went on to explain that Canadian immigration is constantly in flux, especially with impending legislation that authorizes the government to designate certain groups of asylum-seekers.

“Designated asylum-seekers will be subject to automatic, unreviewable detention for a year, and those accepted as refugees will be prohib-

ited from sponsoring family members for five years. They will be in limbo for five years,” Macklin said.

Refugees arriving by boat, she told her co-panelists, trigger people’s sense of moral panic, causing them to usually be denied entry to the country like the asylum-seekers who rode the 1914 Komagata Maru and the 2010 Sun Sea boat.

“It is not a crime to be a refugee,” Macklin said. “Their mode of arrival should not weaken their claim.”

Crisp, however, opposed Macklin by saying that the “moral panic ... explains did not happen in the UK in the same way it did in Canada.”

“In the late 1990s, the United Kingdom received 110,000 applications a year. There were lots of huffs and puffs in the press, but ultimately, the UK went along with it and the number of applications declined in time,” he said.

“Perhaps this is because Brits are better people,” Crisp added jokingly.

Editor’s challenge Did he give the newspaper to _____? a) you and I b) you and me

If it _____ up to me, I’d have 1000 cats. a) was b) were

Send your answers to copy@thevarsity.ca

Bernarda Gospic/THe VArsity

8

monday, OCTOBER 24, 2011

Bus Tours Spiritual Places This year we will be visiting a Roman Catholic Church, a Muslim Mosque, and a site Sacred to Pagans.

Learn the true origins of Halloween!

When: Sat Oct 29th from 10am-3pm Where: Bus leaves 10am sharp from Hart House, 7 Hart House Circle Tickets: $5 for students $10 for non-students (includes lunch) Sold at Hart House, Grad House, Centre for International Experience & Multi-Faith Centre

VARSITY NEWS

news@thevarsity.ca

NEWS in Brief Controversial reality show Lake Shore scrapped

Lake Shore, a Canadian spinoff of MTV’s Jersey Shore, has been scrapped before it even hit the airwaves. The controversial reality series received major media buzz yet failed to attract a network.

Argued by critics to be “un-Canadian,” Lake Shore was set to depict an image of Toronto that was far from its multicultural reality.

The show allegedly contains racist content as it profiles eight cast members by ethnic background — a major reason for the absence of network support.

According to the Toronto Star, cast member Sibel Atlug, also known as “The Turk,” claimed he “[hated] everyone equally — especially Jewish people.” Comments like the anti-Semitic ones made by Atlug led producers to question Lake Shore’s appropriateness for Canadian television, which serves a highly diverse population.

Lake Shore creator, Maryam Rahimi told the National Post that she blamed “circumstances” for the show’s demise.

“I have to be a bit more careful, and although it’s entertainment, some people really take what gets said to heart,” she said.

— Jennifer Gosnell With files from the National Post and the Toronto Star.

PM Harper nominates two U of T alumni to Supreme Court Prime Minister Stephen Harper nominated University of Toronto alumni Andromache Karakatsanis and Michael Moldaver to be the next additions to the Supreme Court of Canada.

“Both Justice Karakatsanis’ and Justice Moldaver’s candidacies were examined through a comprehensive process,” Harper said in a news release.

Under fire for choosing the 63-year old Moldaver, who doesn’t speak French, the PM stood by his decision by saying that both candidates “have the skills and qualifications necessary to serve Canadians as judges of the Supreme Court.”

Moldaver graduated with a law degree from U of T in 1971 and specializes in criminal law.

Called to the Bar in 1973, he was appointed to the Ontario Superior Court of Justice in 1990 — then the Supreme Court of Ontario — and to his current position on the Ontario Court of Appeal in 1995. Moldaver has also taught at Osgoode Hall Law School.

Karakatsanis, 56, is the first Greek-Canadian to be nominated to the Supreme Court. She was appointed to the Ontario Superior Court of Justice in 2002 before joining the Ontario Court of Appeal last year. According to The Globe and Mail, Karakatsanis lacks practical legal skills despite her extensive administrative experience.

The nominees are to replace Justices Ian Binnie and Louise Charron who have already retired.

Karakatsanis and Moldaver will appear before a parliamentary committee on October 19 when MPs will ask them questions as part of the appointment process.

— Maya Akbay With files from The Globe and Mail.

Friends and family mourn alumna Alexandra Dodger

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Alexandra Dodger’s friends, family, and professors are commemorating a U of T alumna who recently passed away. While crossing a one-way street in downtown Ottawa on October 15, Dodger was hit by a car travelling the opposite way. The driver of the vehicle is thought to have been drunk, though no breath sample was provided.

A recent graduate of McGill University’s law school, Dodger was an active member of the University of Toronto Student’s Union and other student organizations.

In her memory, McGill Law’s Student Affairs Office has set up a tribute website where people can leave their memories of Dodger. A similar page has also been created on the social networking site Facebook. According to the messages, Dodger was a vibrant, thoughtful and selfless person who was passionate about helping others.

Her grandmother, Cecile Wojciechowski, told the Ottawa Citizen that Dodger was “always trying to work it out so that the poor people would get it better.”

“I guess that’s the way she was born. That was her light,” she added.

NDP MP Dan Harris, a friend of Dodger’s, delivered a speech in the House of Commons honouring her memory, saying that “Alex was an extraordinary woman, who was passionate about life and was determined to improve the lives of those around her. She cared deeply about giving a voice to the voiceless.”

Dodger’s funeral took place on Thursday followed by a Friday memorial event hosted by McGill’s Faculty of Law. ­­— Rida Fatema Ali With files from the Ottawa Citizen, McGill.ca and danharris.ca.

Time capsule unearthed at Maple Leaf Gardens Construction workers might have uncovered a piece of hockey history at the Maple Leaf Gardens early last week. While removing the original date stone at the Gardens, workers found a time capsule buried during the building’s construction in 1931.

The capsule’s contents have yet to be confirmed, but some workers said that inside were a newspaper and a rule book from 1931.

Loblaws, the new owner of the building, took custody of the capsule and still has not released information on its contents.

“We have found articles during construction, but they are currently being assessed and validated. We will be in touch once we have more information,” said a company spokesperson to the CBC. Maple Leaf Gardens, where the Toronto Maple Leafs played hockey for over 60 years before moving to the Air Canada Centre in 1999, is now being renovated to accommodate a Loblaws franchise and the new athletic centre for Ryerson University.

— Charlotte Smith With files from the CBC.

comment@thevarsity.ca

Size matters

VARSITY COMMENT

monday, OCTOBER 24, 2011

9

Making a real commitment to post-secondary education David Woolley VARSITY STAFF

If you’re like me, you have probably taken a class in Con Hall. It’s a lovely building and hosts some very interesting professors — it also holds classes of 1400 people, a size at which it can be almost impossible to learn.

However, unlike many students at U of T, I was lucky enough to be part of the Vic One program in my first year. Vic One is part of an initiative undertaken by Victoria College to get students into small classes during their first year. Similar programs, such as Trin One and UC One, have been undertaken by Trinity and University College.

My experience in the Vic One classroom versus my experience in Con Hall is one that I have to assume is typical. I excelled, like most of my peers, when I got the close, focused interaction with a professor that only a small class can offer. Conversely, I performed very poorly in a class in which I could block the professor’s entire body out with my thumb.

I have a friend who is lucky enough to be attending Harvard University — let’s call him D. A short while ago, another friend, who we’ll call S, marvelled at how much better D was performing at Harvard, while also being heavily involved in athletics and clubs, than S was, despite going to (what one would presume to be) a less rigorous university than Harvard. S is by no means less intelligent than D; in fact, S won many more and

more prestigious scholarships than D did. Yet somehow S lagged behind at a prestigious Canadian university while D excelled at the most elite institution in the world.

To me, the reasons were abundantly clear. D had once told me that his largest class at Harvard had only 21 people. Harvard’s total undergraduate population is just over 7000, while U of T’s is over 33,000. Having taken part in Vic One, I knew that it was, in fact, easy to excel when you were interacting closely with the professor — having conversations, delving into topics of interest, discussing more closely the aspects you haven’t quite grasped. D’s Harvard classes were even smaller and, therefore, more involved than my Vic One class-

Students lucky enough to experience small classes in first year will excel, but as huge lecture halls consume them, their advantage all but disappears.

Bernarda Gospic/THe VArsity

es, which, in turn, were much smaller than S’s 100+ person lectures. This was the case because Harvard has decided to be the best university in the world. This means that it not only has to attract the best students from around the world, but it also needs to nurture them carefully to ensure they excel at school and, therefore, at their endeavors once they graduate.

This decision, however, comes with a price — a price Harvard deems acceptable but which U of T’s student population may not. Small classes mean one thing: higher tuition. Either more professors are hired or fewer students are accepted, but both require higher tuition fees be paid to offset the cost.

Studies have shown that children

who attend pre-school excel once they enter elementary school. However, their advantage disappears by grade five if they experience large classes and poor quality teaching.

They may get a head start, but it means little in the long-run to their success. The only way to ensure children succeed is to maintain a consistency of close teacher interaction throughout their education.

This is surely much the same in university. Students lucky enough to experience small classes in first year will excel, but as huge lecture halls consume them, their advantage all but disappears. This suggests that the current ‘One’ courses should be extended through the upper years at U of T. Indeed, Victoria College has just introduced Vic Two, a second year addition to their Vic One program.

However, this will be a costly undertaking for a program that can only accept a handful of students each year.

So we need to decide what the trade-off will be: are we going to be a university focused on small classes, grooming students to excel both inside and outside of university, but hiking up tuition and limiting access as a result? Or will we be focused on accessibility, ensuring tuition fees are low so that as many students can take part in a U of T education as possible, yet sacrificing the size of classes and, ultimately, the quality of that education? It is by no means an easy decision, but it is one that U of T and its student population will have to make.

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UTM Bookstore 3359 Mississauga Rd. N. Mississauga, ON T: 905-828-5246 UTSC Bookstore 1265 Military Trail, Scarborough, ON T: 416-724-8213 Campus Xpress at UTSC 1265 Military Trail, Scarborough, ON T: 416-208-4806

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THEVOL. Varsity CXXXII

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comment@thevarsity.ca

No rose for the Arab Spring?

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No. 9

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21 Sussex Avenue, Suite 306 Toronto, ON, M5S 1J6 Phone: 416-946-7600 Fax: 416-946-7606 www.thevarsity.ca

The history of institutions in the Middle East causes skepticism about whether the Arab Spring will lead to true democracy

Editorial Board

Editor-in-Chief Tom Cardoso editor@thevarsity.ca design@thevarsity.ca Design Editors Matthew D. H. Gray matthew@thevarsity.ca Mushfiq Ul Huq mushfiq@thevarsity.ca Photo Editor Bernarda Gospic photo@thevarsity.ca Online Editor Sam Bowman online@thevarsity.ca Senior Copy Editor Maayan Adar copy@thevarsity.ca News Editor Sarah Taguiam news@thevarsity.ca Comment Editor Alex Ross comment@thevarsity.ca Features Editor Erene Stergiopoulos features@thevarsity.ca Arts & Entertainment Editor Ariel Lewis arts@thevarsity.ca Science Editor Bianca Lemus Lavarreda science@thevarsity.ca Sports Editor Murad Hemmadi sports@thevarsity.ca Illustrations Editor Jenny Kim illustrations@thevarsity.ca Associate Design Editor Vacant Associate Photo Editor Rob Leone Associate Online Editor Patrick Love Associate Copy Editor Vacant Associate News Editor Vacant Associate Comment Editor Vacant Associate Features Editor Simon Frank Associate A&E Editor Assunta Alegiani Brigit Katz Associate Science Editor Ken Euler Associate Sports Editor Vacant

Contributors

Arvid Ågren, Maka Akbay, Assunta Alegiani, Rida Fatema Ali, Alex Baird, Cameron Becker, Zoe Bedard, Morgaine Craven, Ken Euler, Savannah Garmon, Nick Gergesha, Susan Gordon, Jennifer Gosnell, Mekhala Gunaratne, Ryan Hanney, Maleeha Majid, Craig Maniscalco, Meghan McCabe, Haley Park, Dalana Parris, Semra Eylul Sevi, Charlotte Smith, Jakob Tanner, Lily Tarba, Akihiko Tse, Irina Vukosavic, Sherryn Vykunthanathan Copy Editors Emily Dunbar Elizabeth Benn Jasmine Pauk Tina Hui Nancy Kanwal Daniel Smeenk Reshara Alviarez Nikita Gill Robert Boissonneault Designers Yasi Eftekhari Jenny Kim Suzy Nevins Michelle Yuan

Cover photo Bernarda Gospic

Fact Checkers Laura Mitchell Robert Boissonneault Nikita Gill

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JENISE CHEN/THe VArsity

Cameron Becker VARSITY CONTRIBUTOR

You don’t have to study authoritarianism to realize there’s something fishy about the concept of the “great people’s struggle” during the Arab Spring. In fact, with an understanding of authoritarian regime dynamics and the civil– military legacy within the Middle East, the idea that the Arab Spring was the overcoming of authoritarianism by the people leads to much more cynicism. In the beginning of 2011, when Tunisians and Egyptians rose up in massive protest against their authoritarian rulers, it seemed as if the likes of Tunisia’s Ben Ali and Egypt’s Mubarak fell after only two weeks of rioting and chanting. But with a deeper understanding of the exceptionalism that Middle Eastern autocracies have experienced, it is clear that more is at play in these revolutions and revolts then simply the power of an angry populace.

The Middle East since 1972 is the only region of the world that has not experienced widespread democratization. Freedom House reports that the Middle East today is less democratic than it was 30 years ago. What accounts for this exceptionalism? Eva Bellin, a scholar on authoritarian persistency in the Middle East, explains that the reasoning lies in a variety of factors ranging from the legacy of a Cold War patronage to the level of institutionalization held by the regime’s security appara-

tus. Despite all of the reasons for the sturdiness of autocratic states, the factor that explains the simultaneous fall of the Egyptian and Tunisian leadership lies not only in the actions of the masses of Tunisia and Egypt. Those in Bahrain and Syria are being killed in the streets while protesting en masse, there are key differences in the Tunisian and Egyptian militaries that have allowed for what may appear to be a sweeping peopleled revolution.

Looking into the different models of the military-regime relationship within Arab states experiencing unrest, we see key contrasts. Countries such as Bahrain and Syria, which experienced significant anti-regime protests, and in turn, considerable repression and lack of reform, bolster considerably fragmented military leaderships that tie their survival to that of the regime. The President of Syria, Bashar al-Assad, has implemented an equilibrium of varying societal sects (Sunni, Alawi, Christian) throughout the military structure to ensure that no single subset is able to attain enough power to challenge the regime. Bahrain utilizes different, yet similar means of maintaining the ascendancy of the regime over the security apparatus. During the brutal crackdown on Shia protesters in February and March, 2011, Bahrain employed foreign mercenaries (from both southeast Asia and eventually Saudi Arabia) to protect the interests of the ruling

Sunni elite.

The structures of the regimemilitary dynamics of Egypt and Tunisia are also different. Both militaries are considered to be highly institutionalized powerplayers, enough so that the survival of the military in Tunisia and Egypt was never tied to the survival of the regimes. Further-

The Middle East since 1972 is the only region of the world that has not experienced widespread democratization. more, the Egyptian military is seen within civil society as becoming increasingly separated from the regime’s dynamic. While the Egyptian army has historically played a powerful political role (In 1952, Colonel Gamal Nasser overthrew the Egyptian monarchy, instituting a military dictatorship), scholars like Mark N. Cooper have argued that since the 1970s Egyptian politics has experienced “demilitarization,” as the

military has receded into primarily economic and civil roles. Similarly, the Tunisian military holds many of the same characteristics, and the decision not to fire on protesters during demonstrations in 2010/2011 proves that it remains firmly tied to the civil structure, while remaining removed from the regime. Therefore, in terms of the Egyptian and Tunisian militaries, when the survival of Ben Ali and Mubarak came into question, the armies looked to maintain the status quo, not the regime.

So, what does this mean within the theme of the Arab Spring as being a grassroots, people-led movement of democratization?

For instance, the widespread acquiescence experienced within the military structure, following massive repression of popular demonstration throughout Syria and Bahrain, becomes less of an issue of pro-regime/anti-regime.

What becomes an issue is the interlocking of the regime-military structures within certain Arab regimes quelling unrest, and the concern the militaries have for their own believed survival. In another instance, the issue of the important role that the military is playing in the Egyptian and Tunisian “road to democracy” is becoming considerably more suspect, especially as continued discontent by both Tunisians and Egyptians is being met with deaf ears and further repression from military leadership.

VARSITY COMMENT

Repairing our broken society Patrick Baud VARSITY STAFF

Incomes are becoming increasingly unequal in Canada. While the rich (and especially, the super-rich) are getting richer, the rest of Canada is falling behind. Families that could get by with one income 30 years ago are now struggling with two. New graduates who can find jobs have to accept mediocre salaries and wonder how to repay their loans. Meanwhile, the richest Canadians have seen their incomes increase significantly, particularly in the past decade.

What is disturbing is not that the rich are doing so well; it is that the rest of us are not doing well along with them.

Rising inequality is not only a problem because it is unfair but also because of the serious negative effects it has on society as a whole. In their book, The Spirit Level, British social epidemiologists Kate Pickett and Richard Wilkinson argue that more equal societies have better health and social outcomes, as well as lower crime rates. An unequal Canada is worse for all Canadians, not just those who find themselves at the bottom of the economic ladder.

The Occupy movement, which began in New York City, and has since spread across the developed world, including to Toronto, has raised these concerns about inequality. While the movement includes people with disparate goals, they are united by a desire to

take action on inequality. This seems to have resonated with some Canadian leaders, most notably Mark Carney, current Governor of the Bank of Canada. In an interview given last week, Carney agreed with many of the concerns raised by the Occupy protesters.

He argued that the government should take action to stop the rise of inequality.

There are a number of measures the federal and provincial governments of Canada could take to stem inequality. For instance, they could introduce salary proportionality legislation.

The law would require that no employer pay any employee significantly more than they pay their lowest-paid employee. For instance, if the lowestpaid worker is paid $30,000 per year and the law would require that the highest-paid not receive more than 50 times more than the lowest-paid, then the highest-paid could not receive a salary of more than $1.5 million. This would obligate an employer wanting to pay his or her executives highly to increase the salaries of the lowest-paid employees.

Another option would be to introduce public salary disclosure for the all workers. This is done in Norway and serves as a disincentive for employers to adopt extremely unequal pay. This is already done in Ontario for public sector salaries in excess of $100,000 and could quite easily be expanded. The provincial governments could raise the minimum

wage to what would be an actual living wage and index it to inflation in order to make it harder for the poorest Canadians to fall behind.

The federal and provincial governments should also take steps to make the tax system fairer. They should ensure that the rich do not pay a lower percentage of their income in taxes than the rest of Canadians. They can do this by treating all income equally for Canadians earning more than $500,000 a year.

Currently, income in the form of capital gains and dividends is taxed at a lower rate. This is meant to encourage investment but has done little to do so. Instead, it merely provides the rich with an opportunity to reduce the taxes that they pay.

Reducing inequality is not about punishing the rich to benefit the poor. Instead, it is about making Canada a fairer and ultimately more successful country. The longer that Canadian governments choose to ignore inequality, the greater a problem it will become. In the meantime, most Canadians are being left behind as the wealthiest among us enjoy bigger and bigger paydays. The only solution is to take serious steps to ensure that all Canadians benefit from Canada’s prosperity, not just those at the top. If we cannot do that, it will mean that the social contract at the core of Canadian society has been irreparably broken.

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Rising inequality

monday, OCTOBER 24, 2011

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Write for Comment!

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comment@thevarsity.ca

Comment in brief No Candy For Me

Only Once A Year

I’ve never had a Halloween, not a real one anyway. The one attempt I’ve made (with fellow inmates at the boarding school I attended) resulted in the sum total of one piece of moldier-than-usual blue cheese, a few doors slammed in faces, and a half-hour lecture from the school’s staff about the ill-advisability of celebrating such an anti-Christian occasion. The opportunity has now passed, and Halloween is ruined for me forever. What’s more, Halloween is far too controversial a ‘holiday’ — this year, Canadian pastor Paul Ade has started a movement called JesusWeen that involves giving out Bibles in place of candy. That’s a conversation I’m not going to risk. So there’s no trickor-treating for me then. And all I wanted was some candy.

—Murad Hemmadi

“C’est l’Halloween!

C’est l’Halloween, Hey!” That’s the chorus of a hot jam I learned in kindergarten to honour the best holiday of the year. I still sing it with excitement. Unlike the other events in our calendar, Halloween is a purely fun occasion that doesn’t ask you to do anything you don’t want to do. If you want to be lame and opt-out, you can, no bigs. If you wanna be awesome, however, you can dress up how you want and have a great time.

Halloween lets us be creative for our own entertainment. In my group of friends, Halloween is a pretty big deal. We put in the effort to ensure a fabulous night for ourselves — how hilarious is it to party with a girl wearing a foam “Floreda” costume?! Plus, getting the references from everyone’s costumes adds an extra level of fun to the night. So get costumed up and have a great time. It comes but once a year!

—Meghan McCabe

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monday, OCTOBER 24, 2011

VARSITY COMMENT

comment@thevarsity.ca

The case for gender-neutral washrooms U of T can lead the way for the rest of Toronto if it changes its washroom policy Savannah Garmon VARSITY CONTRIBUTOR

Washrooms are funny things. Of course, they are an essential element of our human infrastructure; it’s difficult to imagine how we would go about our daily business (pun intended) without them being readily available throughout the day. We mostly take washrooms for granted, including the gendered manner in which they are usually structured: the little woman symbol, the little man symbol, and of course, if we see just one of these two, then we’ll expect to see the other somewhere nearby. It’s all very neat, orderly, and naturally intuitive — at least on the surface.

However, looking a bit more closely, we might notice that things don’t always perfectly fit this — I would argue — simplistic picture. For one, there is the question of gender identity: walking into either gendered washroom compels us to announce, “I am a woman” or “I am a man,” but there may be individuals for whom this question is not so simple. This may include trans, intersex, or other gender non-conforming people. Further, there is the question of gender parity: given this binary idealization of gender, is one gender grouping prioritized over another in a given circumstance? Although we are approaching this issue through the lens of gender, further questions naturally arise relating to parenting or supporting people with mobility needs. I will address these perspectives, along with the gender identity question, in a separate piece.

For the present, let us address the gender parity issue. I happen to work on the fourth

floor of the University of Toronto Chemistry Department. By the elevators on this floor (near my office), there is a men’s washroom on the immediate left and a women’s washroom on the right, a bit further down the hall. However, in my first few months working here I noticed that on about half the floors there is only a men’s with no complementary women’s washroom. Later, I discovered this is actually the result of a specific University policy coming out of the Office of Space Management.

Section 1.5 of a 2009 document entitled “Design Criteria for Classrooms” explicitly states, “The proportion of male to female fixtures [washrooms] will reflect the proportion of the anticipated users, if known.”

In other words, in traditionally female-dominated fields (humanities, social sciences), there will be a greater number of women’s washrooms and in male-dominated fields (such as chemistry), there will be a greater number of men’s washrooms.

In practical terms, the demographics in the hard sciences are indeed presently skewed towards the male population. However, I notice that during the semester when the halls are filled with undergraduates, it’s more difficult to notice the disparity. Only during class breaks does the gap become more apparent (i.e., at the graduate and faculty levels).

Let us imagine an undergraduate woman considering a career in math or science. She notices that while her class is mostly genderbalanced, most of her professors are men (and I assure you, a few of them will occasionally make sexist remarks). Further, she notices that she and her female colleagues spend more time looking around for a wash-

Robarts Library’s single user access washroom. Bernarda Gospic/THe VArsity

room than her male colleagues, with longer waiting periods once she finds it. What message does this convey?

It’s ironic to think we have numerous programs and awards specifically intended to invite women into the sciences in order to redress the gender imbalance. Yet this seems discordant with the fact that male dominance is literally etched into the structure of the building. For this reason, I strongly believe that these design standards should be removed, and eventually, gender balance should be obtained in all departments. Note

that other campuses are already taking steps in this direction.

This solution dovetails with the needs of other campus community members such as those with special mobility or medical needs as well as parents with young children.

I believe that our university should act as a model for the wider Toronto community.

If our campus is meant to show the way forward, why do we build it in opposition to our own ideals? We should build the university we want, not simply rebuild the one we found.

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VARSITY COMMENT

monday, OCTOBER 24, 2011

13

Occupy everything!

Why the Occupy movement is vital to restoring our democracy Meghan McCabe VARSITY CONTRIBUTOR

Occupy the world! After all, it is ours, is it not? What began with a seed of an idea, planted on the website of Adbusters, a not-forprofit magazine, to occupy Wall Street — “the financial Gomorrah of America” — has grown into a global movement in over 1500 cities. The initial Occupy Wall Street movement took Manhattan on September 17, when protestors set up camp in Zuccotti Park. Just one month later, Toronto and other major Canadian cities joined in solidarity on October 15, and no one is going anywhere anytime soon. As the G20 protestors repeated here in Toronto in June 2010, “this is what democracy looks like.”

The premise of the movement is quite simple. The system is broken, and it needs to be fixed. We, the people, the 99 per cent of society, are united in peacefully occupying the streets to force our governments to pay attention to us and start representing our interests rather than that of the grossly wealthy one per cent. It’s in the mandate of its originator, a magazine “concerned about the erosion of our physical and cultural environments by commercial forces” as stated on their website. It’s in the description on OccupyWallSt. org: a people-powered movement fighting back against the rich one

Occupy Wall Street has inspired similar demonstrations in 1500 cities, including Toronto. AIDAN GOWLAND/THe VArsity

per cent of people who are writing the rules of an unfair global economy that is foreclosing on our future. In a way, we are all to blame, for somehow, we let ourselves be exploited for so long. We couldn’t stop it. The voice of reason has been drowned in dollar signs and greed. Now it’s pouring onto the streets, in cities all over the world, even as authorities continue to try

to repress it. Protestors have been beaten and arrested by police in New York, but the people have a right to protest. It’s one of the tenets of democracy, and democracy is precisely what the Occupy movement is asking for.

Occupy Toronto has set up camp in St. James Park with daily meditation sessions, marches, and General Assembly meetings to organize the

movement and share ideas. The St. James camp, like others in the Occupy movement, is structured as a demonstration of the equal, collective society that is desired. Everyone helps out, with a communal kitchen receiving daily donations, a library, a media centre, and a live stream broadcasting the events over the Internet minute-by-minute. The movement is receiving a

lot of attention from the Canadian mainstream media, and numerous public figures are showing their support — from David Suzuki to Liberal leader Bob Rae. Even Ed Clark, the head of TD Bank group, has spoken in favour of the movement, advising protestors to stick to their guns because “we need people to talk about these problems and how we’re going to solve them.”

Many critics have pointed out a lack of organization of the protest and fault it for lacking clearly defined demands. But the culture of delineated demands for governments to comply with is part of what has created the mess to begin with. If there was an easy answer, presumably someone would have tried it already. This is the ultimate goal of the Occupy movement: to open up a dialogue that seeks to serve the interests of the 99 per cent in creating a better and brighter future. Since the late 1970s, the richest one per cent of Canadians have almost doubled their portion of the national income, while the income of the average Canadian family has not increased at all. Students are graduating with massive debts and dismal job prospects. A lack of strong environmental protection policies is destroying the earth. The Occupy movement exists to motivate our leaders to make a better world. So if you haven’t already, get to St. James Park and express your frustration.

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monday, OCTOBER 24, 2011

VARSITY FEATURES

features@thevarsity.ca

Halloween: a survival guide

Another Halloween approaches, and for some reason, U of T students seem to be going about their everyday lives like antelope in the Serengeti.

Be warned: there are many kinds of evil beings out there. Keep this article with you over the next few weeks as a reference — maybe even laminate it. text by Craig Craig Maniscalco Maniscalco graphics by Mushfiq Mushfiq ul ul Huq Huq

Quick Reference: how to destroy evil entities Blades or bullets (major trauma to vital organs) Melting (molten metal or lava) Vaporization (cellular deconstruction by explosion) Microscopic black holes (possible byproduct of the Large Hadron Collider)

VARSITY FEATURES

features@thevarsity.ca

monday, OCTOBER 24, 2011

Vampire

Ghost

A highly capable evil being who is fast, strong, motivated, and able to regenerate.

Its proliferation in pop culture has led people to doubt its existence in non-fiction.

The spirit of a being who was once alive on Earth. Its exact nature depends largely on the personality of the deceased. Ranges from useful companion to deadly adversary.

Risks:

Risks:

High. Death, conversion, falling in love.

Variable.

Recognition:

Recognition:

Fangs, nocturnal behavior, sexy eyes.

Transparency, violation of physical barriers.

How to destroy:

How to destroy:

A stake to the heart, sunlight (despite recent fictional adaptations, vampires don’t sparkle), and silver (won’t usually kill but will slow down its regenerative properties).

Call (212) 555-2368. If you have your own ghost-fighting equipment, don’t cross streams. Help it solve its problem. We haven’t tested this one, but many documentaries claim it works.

Zombie

Inventor

An animated corpse brought back to life.

This can be achieved in many ways: sorcery, science, or more popularly, a virus that kills the organic life processes but allows the body to remain animated.

A human associated with evil beings.

Some forms of evil have human creators, conjurers, or friends. In these cases, the inventor can be highly dangerous if his or her evil being is threatened.

Risks:

Risks:

Medium. Main risk is its persistence.

Incapable of reasoning and driven by its need to feed… on you.

Recognition:

Necrosis, disregard of external threats to its physical self.

How to destroy:

Decapitation, destruction of the brain stem, and burning.

Mutant Technically refers to any genetic mutation, but we are only referring to the extremely dangerous varieties. The greatest risk comes from natural mutation of monsters and scientific mistakes.

Risks:

The greater the mutation, the greater the risk. A human with extra fingers is only threatening in a guitar competition. A German shepherd-sized brown recluse spider with hawk’s wings and talons is slightly less manageable.

High, if you impede the evil beings.

Recognition:

Very difficult to recognize until attacked.

Constant vigilance is needed after encountering an evil being.

How to destroy:

If possible, arrest is preferable. If not, they are mortal humans just like you. Act accordingly.

Demon The most dangerous entity on our list.

Extremely clever, strong, and motivated.

A demon has the ability to shape-shift and can operate without alerting the rest of the population, giving it freedom of movement.

Risks:

Extreme. Physical and spiritual destruction.

Recognition:

In human form, super-human strength or knowledge with extreme evil intent. In original form, you’ll know.

How to destroy:

Unknown. Try any and all of the methods for other evils and more.

Recognition:

Variable. Look for parts that don’t match.

How to destroy:

These are organic, living creatures and can be destroyed in many ways. See general destruction guide.

Witch/Warlock

Trickster

A human with the ability to tap into supernatural or spiritual powers. These powers can be used for good or evil, so it is important to identify which type you are dealing with. This title does not refer to practitioners of Wicca or Paganism.

A self-serving, non-evil, or good entity who is not typically dangerous. Its primary goal is to violate rules and conventional behaviour for the sake of entertainment. Forewarned is forearmed.

Risks:

Medium. Bad luck, pain, transfiguration, or death.

Recognition:

Warts, a flying broom, a pointy hat, and a cat familiar.

How to destroy:

Water, burning, or decapitation.

15

Risks:

Low. Embarrassment, losing money, or minor injury.

Recognition:

Being presented with can’t-lose scenarios (genie) or encouraged to perform tricks with huge consequences in good fun.

How to destroy:

As it is not a typically harmful creature and in many cases can be a god or deity, attempts at destruction are futile.

16

MONday, OCTOBER 24, 2011

VARSITY ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

arts@thevarsity.ca

A very Harold and Kumar interview BERNARDA GOSPIC keeps it blunt with the stoner comedy legends

K

al Penn and John Cho weren’t always household names. Just a few years ago, you might have known them as “that guy from Van Wilder” and “that other guy from American Pie.” But after blazing through two wildly successful films, the two actors bring us the final installment of a classic stoner trilogy.

The Varsity: How did you guys get involved with Christmas in 3D? Kal Penn: We were contractually obligated.

John Cho: Well, oddly enough, we signed a three picture deal.

It was a really audacious move, but the writers kind of wrote it into the script.

KP: Yeah, which as an actor, you’re like, “Wow, this is awesome. If this movie actually does well, that means I get to do two more.” It’s always up to the studio, if and when they want to do it, but from the beginning, it’s a nice obligation to have as an actor, if someone is telling you that they may give you some career stability — especially with characters that we love to play.

It’s not a bad thing.

TV: Were you aware that it was going to be a holiday-themed film?

KP: When we got the script.

JC: I heard that they were thinking about doing a third one, and then when I talked to the writers, they mentioned that they were enamoured of a holiday picture idea.

TV: That being said, what does it feel like to compete with the holiday classics many have come to know and love, like Macaulay Culkin’s Home Alone series and Arnold Schwarzenegger in Jingle All the Way? JC: It feels victorious.

KP: [laughs] I never felt like we were competing as much as paying homage. The thing about the Harold and Kumar movies is…

JC: I feel like we’re defeating. Devastating. Raping and pillaging.

KP: There’s always a lot of love for the movies that we love. Like in the first one, there’s a reference to Karate Kid, you know.

And in this one, there’s a lot of love towards A Christmas Story and a lot of the claymated stuff we used to watch as kids.

JC: This is a movie made by and for fans of Christmas films.

We grew up on claymated holiday specials and enjoy the genre.

This is a movie that aspires to be part of that genre and I think we made one and I hope that people who enjoy those movies will enjoy our goof on those movies, you know?

TV: How much say do you guys have in the script? Is there a lot of improvisation or is it dead-set?

KP: Jon Hurwitz and Hayden Schlossberg, two guys that wrote these films, are so good at what they do that even if we wanted to, we wouldn’t have to improvise very much.

We sometimes add a line here or there, but for the most part, no. The movies are also very low budget, so we don’t have a lot of time to redo takes and try improvising.

JC: Our input is more, “Hey, this scene doesn’t feel quite clean, can we…” or “it’s not working at the end, and this line feels awkward.” It’s that kind of stuff, just the day-to-day actor stuff; we don’t really interfere with the big picture. I’m sure they would be open if we were to say, “Please don’t show my penis stuck to a frozen pole,” but I didn’t say that, for some reason, [laughs]. Why did I not say that?

TV: Do you feel as if you’re being objectified?

KP: Sadly, no!

JC: I don’t feel objectified, I feel humiliated.

TV: Were there any notable differences while filming in 3D? JC: Yes. The biggest difference was it takes a lot longer

TV: Where did you shoot it?

KP: On your campus, partially. Look for it.

TV: Do you like Toronto?

KP: Love Toronto.

TV: Why? KP: People are so friendly. The food’s really good. It’s just a great vibe.

TV: Do you feel at home here?

KP: Yes. JC: Actually, I do now. We’ve spent enough time here that it feels good coming back. It feels familiar. Toronto is a great city.

KP: I used to get veggie dogs on Spadina all the time… from a vendor.

TV: Having done The Namesake and Star Trek, is there a certain resistance to the idea that a lot of people know you as Harold and Kumar, or does that just come with the territory?

KP: The joy of being an actor, something that made me want to pursue it, was this magic that comes from being able to make somebody laugh or cry, or suspend an emotion or feel something they hadn’t intended to feel before. It’s flattering to know that people enjoyed the Harold and Kumar movies. My experience is that it’s opened doors in some really unexpected ways, [like] having a chance to have a little arc on 24, or audition for Superman Returns. It seems like the really smart producers and directors and writers are more willing to take a risk and see if you can play something different, rather than it being a real hindrance. The story with The Namesake is that I lobbied really hard to get in a room with Mira Nair, and the reason she didn’t want me to audition at first was because of Harold and Kumar. But her 16-yearold son kept lobbying, unbeknownst to me, before bed every night saying “Mom, you gotta audition Kal Penn,” and I wrote her a letter at the same time as her son was really beating her over the head with it, so she let me come in and audition.

JC: He didn’t really beat her over the head. There wasn’t— KP: They understand.

JC: There wasn’t any bludgeoning associated with that movie.

KP: Wow. JC: I’m sure it has probably closed a few doors, but the big story is that it’s opened many more.

TV: What words of wisdom would you have for university students who are jaded and don’t know what to do with their lives?

JC: Just give up. It doesn’t get better after graduation.

KP: Oh my God! JC: No, I didn’t mean that.

KP: Oh, my goodness. I think everybody is sometimes confused.

Look, I’ve had three careers so far, I cannot make up my mind.

I’m easily distracted. Sometimes that can manifest itself in legit confusion, like “what am I actually doing?” I think as long as you’re doing something that you love, you’re going to be true to yourself, wouldn’t you say? Who the hell am I to say some shit like that? Who the hell, who the hell are you to say some shit like that?!

JC: I would say, real-talk, realtalk, yeah, take your time. You know what? There’s a pressure on college kids. “Oh, you just graduated from high school?

Time to figure it out!” You know, relax. You’ve got time to figure it out.

TV: Jungian word association test. You ready?

JC: Okay.

TV: America.

JC: Opportunity.

TV: Christmas.

KP: Harold and Kumar.

TV: Neil Patrick Harris.

KP: Awesome.

JC: Sexy.

TV: Jugs.

JC: Sexy.

KP: Boobs.

TV: Wafflebot.

KP: Awesome.

JC: King.

TV: Canada.

KP: Fun. Bernarda Gospic/THe VArsity JC: Word.

to light, so we were even more hurried than the first two. You have to light for a much deeper depth of field, and the camera is just really much bigger, so when you’re doing over-the-shoulder shots, the crew would film us, and the camera would be right here doing your coverage. Typically, the actor is right next to the camera, and we could look at each other and say our dialogue, but because the camera is so big, I couldn’t be close to the camera and you’d have to say your lines to a piece of tape. So that, particularly for establishing this relationship was tough, it was complicated, but in the end, we made a masterpiece of American cinema! [laughs] So the story ends well.

TV: What was it like auditioning for the first Harold and Kumar movie?

JC: Rigorous.

KP: It was really long. It probably took place over the course of three to four months, which is rare. Usually, auditions are maybe a week or two, max, with the call-backs. But there is no shortage of actors to play these parts, and so they looked in New York, Toronto, Chicago, LA… JC: They came to a foreign country?! To play Americans?!

KP: We also shot the first movie here.

JC: I don’t care!

arts@thevarsity.ca

VARSITY ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

MONday, OCTOBER 24, 2011

17

Stand up with Steve

Canadian comic Steve Patterson hosts the Just For Laughs Comedy Tour: British Edition Lily Tarba VARSITY CONTRIBUTOR

Steve Patterson, a proud Canadian stand-up comic and best male stand-up winner at this year’s Canadian Comedy Awards, is touring Canada as the host of Just For Laughs Comedy Tour: British Edition, making its Toronto stop on November 4 at Massey Hall.

The all-British line-up is a first for the Just For Laughs franchise, so it only seems appropriate to broach the uniqueness of British humour.

What is the tradition of British humour and why is it unique? “[The British] have a longer tradition of comedy because they have a longer tradition of everything; they’ve been around longer,” explains Patterson. “I don’t know where British standup comedy first started but it was probably in front of the Romans for some reason, if any of the Monty Python movies are any indication.” He adds that “British stand-up comedy tends to have a lot of word-smithing; it’s very intense on the language — a different beat than Canadian comedy — I wouldn’t say that it’s better, but it’s different.”

On the flip-side, for Patterson, an integral part of Canadian humour lies in the audience.

“My favourite thing about Canadian audiences is they are willing to be self-deprecating…

I love audiences that can laugh at themselves, and Canadian audiences are definitely like that.

That’s why Canada’s comedians are pretty much always considered among the top ones in the world because we are used to doing shows for Canadian crowds that can laugh.”

Although Canadian audiences are known to be able to take a joke, there are always individuals who will refuse to laugh. When it comes to offending people, Patterson has a keen insight.

“You’re always going to offend somebody in the audience and you can’t worry about it, but what you can try to do, as a comic, is to bring your writing to a level where you’re at least being clever and you’re not just being mean. Comedy should be truthful, it should be funny, but [it] shouldn’t just be anger and mean because there are lots of other places in the world to go for that than comedy.”

For all of the insights and laughs that comedy can provide, it is often not classified as performance art in the calibre of theatre or dance, which is more than a mild annoyance for Patterson.

“There is nothing more performance based than stand-up.

It’s one person engaged in public speaking — if you can’t call that performance art then you can’t call anything a performance art.”

He adds that the misconception might stem from the fact that comedy is made to seem effortless by those who are masters of the art.

“Maybe everyone can be funny for a minute or two, but try sustaining that for 45 minutes or an hour and a half. I could probably make an incision, but I don’t think I could perform the whole opera-

tion… I don’t think stand-up gets the respect as an art form [that] it should … very rarely does someone show up at a ballet and yell ‘Hey, is that a plié?’”

Shifting gears from stand-up, Patterson is also the host of CBC Radio One’s The Debaters which has made its way onto CBC television on Tuesday evenings at 9:30 pm. The format of The Debaters is deceptively simple: two come-

dians duke it out on topics ranging from “Should Communism Make a ComeBack?’ to ‘Beer vs. Wine’ — all moderated by Patterson himself.

For Patterson, the format of The Debaters allows for serious dialogue to take place behind the guise of humour.

“When people start doing standup, they inevitably talk about what they know, and because they don’t know a heck of a lot, that generally boils down to [talk of] bodily fluids and too often, in the comedy club environment, that is what people keep doing. Whereas on The Debaters you get to talk about things people care about, that are relevant… The fact that you

can be smart and funny is the kind of comedy that appeals to me.”

The Debaters is distinctly different from any other comedy show on television today in Canada. When talking about the reason for the lack of original programming found at home — as opposed to our neighbours down south or across the pond — Patterson focuses in on the lack of risk-taking in the Canadian broadcasting world.

“Anything that inevitably becomes successful goes through trial and error, and I think we don’t have that attitude in Canadian entertainment… I can’t even describe the number of things that die in development in Canada without ever seeing the light of day because someone just gave up on it… That fear of not taking a chance on something new means nothing new will ever happen…

They definitely have more resources in the States; everything is multiplied by ten. That certainly helps, but creativity doesn’t necessarily come down to dollars and cents. I used to work in advertising, and the easiest thing in the world would be to cast a celebrity in an ad. The hardest would be to make an ad without a celebrity that would just be a great ad, for a tenth of the cost … We’re all part of the problem, I guess, but the decision makers in Canada have to make some bolder decisions.

Hopefully it’s starting to turn around, but it’s all up for debate!”

The Just For Laughs Comedy Tour comes to Massey Hall November 4. For more info on Steve Patterson, follow him on Twitter: @patterballs.

18

MONday, OCTOBER 24, 2011

VARSITY ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

arts@thevarsity.ca

reviews ART

CHAGALL AND THE RUSSIAN AVANT-GARDE AGO Exhibit The anticipated Chagall and the Russian Avant-Garde exhibit has debuted at the Art Gallery of Ontario this week. Flown in from Paris’ Pompidou Centre, it features 118 works of the Russian avant-garde artists that were chartering into the realm of abstraction and wild experimentation with color during a time of war and revolution.

The exhibition takes viewers step by step through Chagall’s life-long career, incorporating context of his other Russian contemporaries such as Kandinsky, Malevich, Goncharova, and Tatlin along the way. It begins with Chagall’s youth in Vitebsk, a town central to his influences, and culminates in his monumental circus series. “Blue Circus,” the “poster boy” for the exhibition, can be viewed in the last section of the exhibition.

The exhibition wonderfully displays both the Russian avantgarde’s love for traditional Russian folk culture as well as its collective progression and response to Russia’s Revolution and its new social outlook. Treat yourself and see it before it returns to Paris in January. Greater appreciation and understanding of Chagall, the “master of color,” is a guarantee.

—Haley Park

music SUBURBIA The Wonder Years When South Philly's The Wonder Years dropped The Upsides in January 2010, its warm and tightly woven pop-punk sound was refreshing and unexpected. It was earnest and vitriolic, and vocalist Daniel Campbell's repetitious utterance of the words “I’m not sad

anymore” were uplifting. Nearly two years later, the Alan Ginsberg inspired storytelling in Suburbia is significantly darker and wearier — a rumination to the key of pop-inspired hardcore, where dueling guitars shine in major keys atop pounding drums.

Suburbia tones down its moshpop demeanor in favour of striking an emotional chord. An immediate response to its forward-looking prequel (the bouncier “Local Man Ruins Everything” features a lyric that states, “what I learned was it's not about forcing happiness/It's about not letting sadness win”), Suburbia is for 2011 what The Promise Ring's Nothing Feels Good was for 1997: a poppy, melodic, but ultimately depressive album yearning for and lamenting smalltown suburban home.

—Nick Gergesha

A CREATURE I DON'T KNOW Laura Marling Laura Marling’s third album, A Creature I Don’t Know, reveals the young musician’s upbeat side and strays from her signature melancholic folk sound. Tracks like “I Was Just a Card” have ‘90s soft rock influences, warming her sound and making the album a little more accessible for anyone that found her previous two albums a little too morbid. However, for fans of her earlier work, tracks like “Night after Night” will somewhat satiate any desire for soft acoustic guitar and sobering lyrics.

Upon hearing her first album, it’s easy to assume Laura Marling is a seasoned musician, maybe around her ‘40s, because of the intense emotional depth and maturity of her lyrics. Musically, the same could be said for A Creature I Don’t Know, but much of the album’s lyrical content is comparatively abstract, lacking that emotionally charged Marling from earlier work. It is a pleasant album to listen to, but as a collective piece of work, not especially memorable.

—Sherryn Vykunthanathan

IN HEAVEN Twin Sister On previous EPs, Twin Sister have experimented and searched for their sound. On their debut album, In Heaven, the band has found it. Twin Sister are disco-y in

are loneliest when you know we’ll never meet” or “My weekends are so loveless and so dull.”

Most of the album flows with a funky vibe, notably tracks 'Stop' and 'Bad Street,' while others like ‘Luna’s Theme’ or ‘Kimmi in a Rice Field’ come off as synthesized lullabies. It’s all subtle enough to be background music, yet it doesn’t belong behind a conversation. In Heaven is the kind of album that deserves lying on the floor with headphones, pretending you’re travelling through space.

Otherwise, you might miss something rather nice.

—Jakob Tanner

ASHES AND FIRE Ryan Adams There is a baseline of quality on any album, the line against which each song is individually measured that determines which songs, are the standout tracks. The standard of quality on Ryan BLUE CIRCUS BY CHAGALL Adams’ new Ashes & Fire is pretty high. The songs are a post-modern sort of way; they’re well-written, tight, and poltoo cool to push you to the dance ished. Adams knows how to write floor but chill enough to make you a good song and on Ashes he’s asbob your head. sembled eleven of them. Which is Songs are layered with drum perversely my issue with it: nothcracks, brimming pianos, and ing here stands out. The album Andrea Estella’s youthful voice. is a plateau, not a mountain, and Thechildhood innocence is only that for me is the kiss of death. strengthened by the obvious yet With no high points, no summit poignant, lyrics like “Goodbyes upon which to sit and gaze out in

wonderment at all the beauty, the journey simply feels less satisfying. Which isn’t to say I don’t like the album. I do. I just feel sorry for it because I know that in six months time when I need a Ryan Adams fix I’ll still be throwing on Love is Hell.

—Ryan Hanney

JUNK OF THE HEART The Kooks The Kooks’ third album, Junk of the Heart, draws its sounds from the British pop-rock bands of the ‘90s. With the majority of the album characterised by clean guitars and vocals, both of which are driven by simplistic yet catchy hooks, the influence of groups such as Blur, Pulp, and Oasis is evident. However, what keeps this album from being dismissed as a mere knockoff is how The Kooks are able to collect the features of Britpop while putting a more gentle, updated spin on it.

That isn’t to say that this album is an enjoyable or memorable one. On this release, The Kooks have once again failed to distinguish themselves from many of their predecessors from the mid 2000s, such as The Strokes or Franz Ferdinand, who established similar but more ambitious sounds before them. Junk of the Heart is an album that you’ve heard before, even if you haven’t listened to it.

—Alex Baird

The $10 Restaurateur with Laura Kathleen Maize

Mystic Muffin, 113 Jarvis Street

M

ystic Muffin is a strange, delicious place. Every time I take a Greyhound or a Megabus out of Toronto, I pass by the corner of Jarvis and Richmond, and the signs always draw my attention, my favourite being: “Ask not what you can do for your tuna on pita but what your tuna on pita can do for you”; really makes you think, huh?

Mystic Muffin is the kind of place that you might put off going to for years — it’s not close to the subway, it’s not in a fun or

hip area, it’s kind of a hole in the wall — but once you go, it is more wonderful than you imagined.

It’s quite the lunchtime spot for office workers in the neighbourhood, so don’t go unless it’s later in the afternoon or you're eating out, because it gets packed in there. The service was still great, even though they were busy, and I felt comfortable enough to ask for some advice on what I should order for my first-time lunch.

“Egg salad with potatoes on a

pita,” the woman answered without skipping a beat, and my eyes grew larger as I thought of the breakfast-for-lunch themed meal I would soon be eating.

A sandwich and soup combo comes with a cookie, and the whole thing will run you under $8, or $9 with a soda or a coffee. I haven’t tried their apple cake, but they come in huge hunks, so they’ve got to be good. If you ever find yourself in the area, Mystic Muffin offers a worthy meal for a cheap food lover.

science@thevarsity.ca

VARSITY SCIENCE

monday, OctOBER 24, 2011

19

Genomics helps us all ARVID ÅGREN explores the genomics of cooperation

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JENNY KIM/THe VArsity

Normally when we think of cooperation, we think of individuals joining together to form groups.

This approach, however, misses one important feature of the living world: its hierarchical organization.

genomes of closely related species.

For example, why does the plant species Arabidopsis thaliana have a genome with 23 per cent transposable elements, whereas its close relative Arabidopsis lyrata has almost 30 per cent?

One hint could come from the fact that the two species differ in how they mate. So called outcrossing plants, like Arabidopsis lyrata, mate just like we do. A sex cell from one individual is transported to another, where it fuses with another sex cell (we have sperms and eggs while plants have pollen and ovules). Self-fertilizing Arabidopsis thaliana, however, mates with itself.

In other words, a given individual produces both the male and female sex cells and the fusion occurs in the same individual.

To understand why mating systems should matter, put yourself in the shoes of a transposable element.

Now, in a self-fertilizing species, you

are in the same genome group every generation, whereas in an outcrossing species, you end up in a new group every time. The idea is that the interests of the transposable element and the rest of the genome are more closely aligned in self-fertilizing species. As a consequence, the prediction is that transposable elements will evolve to be more aggressive in outcrossing than in selfpollinating species. In other words, transposable elements can spread like a sexually transmitted disease.

Thus, outcrossing species are expected to have more transposable elements than self-fertilizing species.

This is just one of many predictions that is currently being tested.

Whereas cooperation has previously been studied at the levels of individuals and groups, the genomics revolution has opened a gold mine of data, allowing the social interactions at life’s lowest levels to be fully understood for the first time.

SC ENCE n Br ef

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to social groups, such as groups of chromosomes and genomes. From this point of view, it follows that, just like at other levels of the hierarchy, cooperation cannot just be taken for granted. It is there and it must be explained.

Cooperation among genes usually works very well. The absolute majority of body functions require the coordinated effort of more than one gene. For example, at any given moment, almost 18,000 genes are involved in keeping the human liver going. So, why would genes not always cooperate? One reason is that not all genes are inherited in the same way. Take, for example, transposable elements. These are discrete DNA sequences with the ability to replicate and transpose (move) from one part of the genome to another, which has earned them the nickname ‘jumping genes.’ They do not obey the Mendelian rules that usually govern how genes are inherited.

The movement of transposable elements often causes severe problems. For example, in Drosophila (the fruit fly that geneticists love to play with), this movement is the greatest source of mutations.

In humans, transposable elements have been linked to Haemophilia and predisposition to cancer. Despite this, transposable elements are tremendously common. They constitute 45 per cent of all DNA in humans, and in some crops, like maize and barley, the figure is above 80 per cent. The prevalence of transposable elements is a clear example of when cooperation in the genome has broken down in favour of selfish behaviour.

Attempts to understand when cooperation is favoured in the genome have so far had a strong theoretical bent. However, now that more and more species have their whole genomes sequenced, it begins to be possible to attack this question with additional strength: testing mathematical models with actual data.

One way to do it is to compare the

Y

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enomics is the study of the chemical letters that represent the genetic code of a species. Often, discoveries in genomics are discussed in terms of their medical potential. Although the potential medical benefits are great, there are also many other areas of biology that use genomic data. One such field is, perhaps surprisingly, the study of cooperation.

Understanding cooperation is one of the greatest challenges facing evolutionary biologists. The reason is that Darwin’s theory of natural selection tells us that selfish behaviour is often the best strategy.

Normally when we think of cooperation, we think of individuals joining together to form groups. This approach, however, misses one important feature of the living world: its hierarchical organization. In the centre of the hierarchy is the individual. Then, above the individual in the hierarchy are groups; lions hunt together in packs and emperor penguins form compact huddles to stay warm during the cold Antarctic winters. At the next level up in the hierarchy we find groups of different species coming together in mutually beneficial relationships. For example, many plants act as a food and shelter resource for ants in return for protection against herbivores. Moving down the hierarchy, below the level of the individual, cells come together to form individual organisms, genomes come together to form cells, and genes form chromosomes that form genomes. At each level of the biological hierarchy, cooperation must thrive over competition.

A common metaphor for living organisms, like bacteria, plants, or animals, is that they are like machines. Under this metaphorical framework, it is assumed that a single organism functions as one integrated whole. Genes, then, are blueprints to build different components of the machinery. An alternative perspective, however, is to consider genes as members belonging

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Write for Science! science@thevarsity.ca

Don’t look now, diamond, there may be some competition In a recently accepted study in the journal, Physical Review Letters, researchers have successfully created a new carbon allotrope that resembles diamond. The discovery was made by the Stanford and Carnegie team of scientists after taking glassy carbon, similar to graphite, and compressing it with over 40 GPa, or more than 400,000 times normal atmospheric pressure. The extreme pressure caused the bonds in the glassy carbon to change in such a way that they formed diamond-like strength. The transition appears to be reversible as well when pressure is released. The new material

is amorphous and does not have a long-range order, meaning that it is not organized in the repeating atomic units seen in crystalline solids (such as diamonds and graphite). This new allotrope may have an advantage over diamonds if its hardness is equally strong in all directions, unlike in diamonds, where direction and orientation matters. This new highpressure carbon allotrope may open doors to new cutting tools, wear-resistant parts for transportation, and high-pressure and extreme environment research.

—Mekhala Gunaratne Source: Science Daily

Vertebrate ancestor had a sixth sense, and it has nothing to do with ancient aliens According to a study recently published in Nature Communications, a 500 million-year-old marine ancestor may have had a sixth sense: electroreception.

Spread over 25 years, the study has found that this ancestor was common to 30,000 species of land animals — including humans — as well as around the same number of ray-finned fishes and possessed an advanced electroreceptive system. Today, this type of system can be found in paddlefish, sturgeons, sharks, platypus, and other aquatic vertebrates that have electroreceptors

in their bodies. Electroreceptive systems help aquatic vertebrates detect weak electrical fields in the water in order to communicate and locate whatever unlucky prey happens to be in the area.

To jolt your memory, think of the iconic image of an electric eel giving a shock. The ability to emit an electric response may have been our ancestor’s trump card.

—Maleeha Majid Source: Science Daily

20 monday, OctOBER 24, 2011

VARSITY SCIENCE

science@thevarsity.ca

For better or for worse?

Drugs can alter your personality, science says SCIENCE EDITOR

A study in the September issue of the Journal of Psychopharmacology found that high doses of the hallucinogen psilocybin, the main psychoactive ingredient in “magic mushrooms” or “shrooms” led to a stable increase in Openness in personality. This may not come as a shock to people familiar with hallucinogens, but it is quite the eye-opener for personality theorists.

Many personality theorists believe that personality traits are stable and unlikely to change after adulthood.

Since psilocybin mushrooms are known to trigger life-altering changes in behaviours, beliefs, and values, the researchers used it to see if it could change the Openness personality trait in adult participants between the ages of 24 to 64.

Participants were given multiple sessions over the course of a few weeks and had changes in their personality measured using the NEO Personality Inventory (NEO-PI). Researchers assessed the participants’ levels of Openness, Conscientiousness, Extroversion, Agreeableness, and Neuroticism (abbreviated OCEAN). The double-blind study divided participants into moderate and high doses and issued questionnaires afterwards to gather information regarding the participants’ altered state of consciousness and level of mystical experience. Interestingly, there was also a scale called APZ that was designed to include states of consciousness that arise from hallucinogen use.

All participants reported feeling as though they had a “mystical” experience throughout the session, referring to the extraordinary psychical effects of the drug. When researchers followed up on high dose participants a year later, they found that Openness, the criteria that describes tendency towards creativity, imagination, curiosi-

ty, and intelligence, remained higher than initially reported. Cheesy as it sounds, psilocybin seems to deliver the infamous sense of “oneness.”

This observation of psilocybin influence on the mind is not the first of its kind. A study published in the same journal in May also found a strong reaction amongst participants. Similarly, when these researchers followed up a little more than a year later, all but two participants reported experiencing improved social relationships, increased physical and psychological self-care, and increased spiritual practice.

The idea that personality may be more malleable than we think makes some consider the idea that there is a mental universe that can only be accessed with hallucinogens like psilocybin. Is it silly to think that a person needs to take these “mind-blowing” substances to make absurd observations about an already absurd world? Or even if you have mystical experiences while sober, how would you know when you’ve reached the limit? Could altered states of consciousness really help you get over hardships in your life or overcome unrequited love?

When all is said and done, is it really the best way? Some philosophers might argue that hallucinogens are just another vice that impairs a person’s true connection to reality. It could be the case that a person loses virtue by relying on a hallucinogenic crutch for introspection. Then again, this judgement could be short-sighted.

The morality behind the use of psilocybin is complex. But if studies like these reveal how mystical experiences can bring you closer to who you are, then maybe signing up for these supervised studies might not be such a bad idea.

KIMBERLY KWAN/THe VArsity

Bianca Lemus Lavarreda

Psychopath discourse

What words can tell us about the psychology of psychopaths Ken Euler ASSOCIATE SCIENCE EDITOR

A person with a psychopathic personality disorder is a person who is wholly consumed by their own self-interest and has profound emotional deficits, including the inability to empathize with people and feel guilt or remorse for their actions. In other words, a psychopath is someone who lacks a conscience. While many psychopaths are not criminals (and in unique circumstances, can even use their ruthlessness to successfully climb corporate ladders), some inevitably turn to crime. When they do, there is potential risk that their escapades will result in monstrous offenses like the serial killings by Ted Bundy, Paul Bernardo, and Robert Pickton.

As psychopaths can be incredibly destructive within society, any information on their unique thought patterns and how they behave could help improve how they are identified

within the public or treated with mental health services.

To improve the information available on psychopath murderers, Dr. Hancock of Cornell University and Dr. Woodworth and Dr. Porter of the University of British Columbia published an article in Legal and Criminological Psychology that investigated the speech patterns of murderers.

Past research indicated that speech patterns can reveal important details about psychological functioning and reasoning. With this in mind, the researchers conducted a study which compared the speech patterns of convicted psychopath murderers versus non-psychopath murderers in hopes of identifying unique speech patterns which could be used to differentiate between them.

To identify these speech patterns, the researchers interviewed over 50 murderers from Canadian prisons and asked them to describe in detail the crimes that they committed.

They differentiated between psychopaths and non-psychopaths using

[Researchers] predicted that psychopaths would use less emotional terminology and speak more in the past tense in comparison to non-psychopaths because of their psychological detachment and emotional deficits.

the Psychopathy Checklist Revised, a psycho-diagnostic tool used to assess psychopathy.

The researchers hypothesized that psychopaths would use vocabulary such as because, so that, and since more often than non-psychopaths because psychopaths tend to reason their actions and view others as objects they can manipulate. It was also thought that psychopaths were more likely than non-psychopaths to use more words describing basic physiological needs (such as sex, money, and shelter) versus higher-order needs such as family, relationships, and spirituality when describing their crime. Lastly, they predicted that psychopaths would use less emotional terminology and speak more in the past tense in comparison to non-psychopaths because of their psychological detachment to past actions and emotional deficits.

Using the Wmantrix Linguistic Analysis Tool and the Dictionary of Affect and Language Tool, the transcripts of the interviews were

analyzed. The results indicated that psychopathic murderers do indeed use significantly more words that: support an instrumental orientation towards the world, are more focused on basic physiological needs, are less interested on higher-order needs, speak more in the past tense, and use less emotional terminology versus non-psychopath murderers. The results largely support the researchers’ hypotheses.

While the results are interesting and reveal unique ways in which psychopaths perceive the world, opposed to those who do not have the personality disorder, the project can be pushed further in the future. For example, research should examine whether a model based on the results of this project could be used to help identify psychopaths based on the way they speak alone. Predictive validity of the results would help corroborate the findings and perhaps even allow practical application of the research in the criminal justice system.

sports@thevarsity.ca

VARSITY SPORTS

monday, OCTOBER 24, 2011

21

Captain Fantastic Bernarda Gospic

“Coming back into my second season here, I was determined to give something back, because I felt I had owed something at that Varsity men’s soccer captain Darragh Mcpoint. More importantly, I felt like I had Gee has much more on his plate than just shown 30 per cent of what I could do, so part the pitch. In the two years that he has of me said, ‘Okay, Canada, I think we need to called Canada home, the charismatic Irishhave a talk about what I can really do in your man has found success in places game here.’ he never anticipated to since “When I came back, I was remaking the big jump over the ally determined to have a season Atlantic; one of those successes where I’d prove to people that was being part of last year’s OUA the player they thought they had, championship team. they didn’t, and that I was a much “I was 17 when I was offered better player than they thought. my first semi-pro contract, and That’s where I possibly had a role at that point, I’d been playing at to play and this season, at this county-level, which is slightly point, it’s been going incredibly smaller than regional here,” Mcwell.”

Gee recalls. “I was captain of my Despite the OUA Championshipcounty at the time at the under-18 winning goal last year, Darragh level.” regards wearing the big C as his The prospect of a successful caproudest achievement as a Blue. reer in soccer soon became reality “It symbolizes for me much more when the Donegal, Ireland native than soccer,” he explains. “It symwas called up to play for the Rebolizes me coming here and bepublic’s national squad at the age ing able to establish myself. It’s of 19. capped off the process of [going “That was an incredibly proud from] someone who hated the moment for me and my family. I game to someone who can lead the knew it was a great achievement, guys again.”

I was delighted, but I saw it very Soccer is, in many ways, a conmuch as a stepping stone” suming passion for the 25-yearAfter completing his underold midfielder on and off the graduate degree in Sport Excersise field. McGee is currently in his and Leisure, McGee decided that third year as a doctoral candidate a more intense relationship with studying for his PhD at the Facacademia would be his next step ulty of Physical Education and — but not without a little footy on Health at the University of Tothe side. ronto.

“I had the chance to train on The research for his doctoral an everyday basis, and more or thesis explores the inner workings less on a professional basis, while of exploitation in soccer, specifipursuing my Masters which was cally susceptible adolescent males something that I thought would be in West Africa who are brought to perfect for me, and it turned out to Europe with the false promise of a be ideal.” professional soccer contract.

Fresh from his Masters Degree McGee is set to depart for Africa in the Sociology of Sport in 2009 at this coming January for nine months the University of Loughborough, a to learn more about his area of study school known for its excellence in by working with a charity whose the fields of sports and sports scimandate is to provide education ence, McGee was extended an unfor youth and ultimately help them expected offer he could not refuse. make a career in professional soccer.

“I met a professor called MiMcGee will be teaching, coaching, chael Atkinson who, following and interacting with the children, a year of doing my Masters, was helping him to further understand offered a job at the University of the way they live. The trip will also Toronto, and over dinner one evegive him a chance to recover from ning, he put the idea to me, and the knee injury he sustained in a rebefore I knew it, I was on a plane cent match against Ryerson. here.

“My research seeks to understand “I literally finished my masters [their vulnerability] from a perspecin late August, moved home for tive where I immerse myself in that 12 days, and jumped on a flight life I become part of the culture, and [to Toronto], having never been I try to understand what it is about [to Canada]. I didn’t know anyone their everyday lives rather than me here and had no support system sitting at the university in Canada here whatsoever. I was 22 years of and saying, ‘well, we know that the age and it just felt right.” poverty rate is this, we know that the Ironically, the midfielder desunemployment rate is this.’ But to tined to win the 2010 Canadian really understand it, you need to be Bernarda Gospic/THe VArsity All-Star Defender of the Year there and see how their lives are, and Blues soccer captain Darragh McGee scored six goals in 12 games this season. The Varsity profiles McGee in the first of the End Game series.

Award had no intention of playing you have to hear their experiences.” soccer at the Varsity level before stubborn manner, said ‘yeah, yeah, sure, we showcasing his potential and natural leaderMcGee’s devotion to his work coming to Toronto to start his doctorate. have an open tryout on the 3rd of September, ship skills — but not without first overcom- both athletically and academically speaks “I must admit that this move was the point come along and I’ll see if you’re fit.’ ing a few barriers with the help of his new volumes about the importance participation at which I [thought I] was leaving soccer be“Within three days, I got another email support-group. holds in his personal progress. “Our … coach hind, which is kind of ironic given what was back saying ‘We’d be delighted to have you.

“The team carried me, and maybe I’ve had always says, ‘The journey is much, much bethappened since I’ve come here,” McGee ex- Is there any chance we could bring you over to carry the team at other times, but my first ter than the inn,’ and in this program a lot of plains. “This was me moving [on] from my earlier? When is your expected arrival date? year, I was not the player I am today. There guys, only when they’re done, realize what soccer career, and it was going to take a back- Can we help you in any way? Can we look were times on the field where I clearly was they’ve been through and what they’ve done seat to academics.” after anything for you?’ Turns out, I think not at the races. I was not happy with myself. and what [that] meant to them.”

Before leaving Ireland, McGee contacted he’d learned a little more about me online. I was injured all the time, so my first year “He has become the face of Varsity Blues Varsity men’s head coach Anthony Capotosto So when I arrived, he was pretty good to get here, the guys carried me not only on the men’s soccer,, as he personifies everything that to express an interest in getting some prac- me out here.” field but also off the field.” our program represents,” says Blues head coach tice time with the Blues.

McGee’s move to Canada meant starting Only six weeks into the season, #4 McGee Anthony Capotosto.

“I didn’t mention even the possibility of from scratch, leaving an incredibly support- wore the captain’s armband for the first time, “The leadership, maturity, and professionalplaying,” he recalls. “I was at that point where ive and tightly knit family in Ireland. Disil- proving that he was regaining his love for the ism that Darragh brought to our program over I didn’t want the team’s structure, I didn’t lusioned a first, he quickly grew accustomed game and had something special to offer to the years has been nothing short of outstanding, want the on-field stuff — I was just interested to the North American style of the game and the Varsity team. Things only got better from and to be perfectly honest, has helped me imin potentially training. And the coach, in his brought his vocal Irish spirit to the pitch, there, as the OUA accolades prove. mensely to grow as a coach.” varsity staff

“I literally finished my masters in late August, moved home for 12 days, and jumped on a flight [to Toronto], having never been [to Canada]…”

22 Monday, OCTOBER 24, 2011

Home Games Women’s Volleyball vs.

Lakehead University Fri. 28, 6 pm at Athletic Centre

VARSITY SPORTS

sports@thevarsity.ca

Blues fall to visiting alumni Men’s lacrosse team drops tight game to former U of T players

Men’s Lacrosse — Canadian University Field Lacrosse Association playoff game Sat. 28, 3 pm at Varsity Centre Women’s Hockey vs.

University of Windsor Sun. 30, 2 pm at Varsity Arena

Men’s Hockey vs. Nipissing University Sun. 30, 5:30 pm at Varsity Arena

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Blues and former Blues square off in a friendly game on Back Campus. Bernarda Gospic/THe VArsity

Susan Gordon VARSITY CONTRIBUTOR

The Varsity Blues men’s lacrosse team lost 9–10 to a team assembled from Blues alumni in the second annual alumni lacrosse game Saturday.

Daniel Fleming contributed three goals and two assists, while Michael Buwalda scored one goal and assisted three for the Blues. The alumni roster included Stephen Hoar, who plays for the Toronto Rock and Hamilton Nationals Lacrosse teams, and Angus Dineley, goalie for the same Hamilton team.

The relaxed atmosphere of the game was clear from the start, as Blues’ coaches Todd Wilfrong and Joe Nizich took on the roles of referees, instructing players to keep contact to a minimum.

The Blues’ immediately took pos-

session of the game, but could not score, allowing the alumni to do so instead. The momentum was clearly with the alumni, and within minutes they were up 3–0. With the alumni leading, the game became more physical as the Blues struggled to make offensive plays.

However, the Blues were able to overcome their frustration, with Fleming claiming his team’s first goal. Within the next few minutes, another three goals from the Blues were met by only one from the alumni, tying the game at 4–4. The alumni took a slim 6–5 lead into half time.

While the alumni were up 8–7 minutes into the second half, an alumni player received the only major penalty of the game, as he was taken out of the game for one and a half minutes for holding. However, the Blues were unable to convert on

their one-man advantage, and the alumni took the offensive during the penalty, retaining their first-half momentum. Midway through the half, the Blues were able to tie the score again at 8–8, but that was as close as they would get to a win; the alumni pulled away to win 10–9.

Post-game, the camaraderie between the two squads was clear.

They posed together for pictures, and Hoar gave the Blues tips for winning face-offs.

“We had a great time today. It’s great to get a win against the young guys and see some people you haven’t seen for years,” Hoar said.

“It was a lot of fun.”

The Blues remained optimistic despite the loss. “It was hard for [the Blues] to play well; it’s a sort of hit and giggle game. There was no body checking like there would be in a

normal game,” coach Nizich said. “[The alumni] also had two Canadian national team players. Overall, it was a good game.”

The two sides parted good-naturedly, as the focus of the Blues turned towards their last regular season game versus Bishop’s University on Sunday. “It’s an important game,” explained Nizich. “Our spot in the playoffs is set, but if Bishop loses, they’ll go [into the playoffs] in second place instead of tied for first.

It’s important for us to play well and finish the season strong.” “[We’re] confident,” said Fleming.

“We have a great group of guys, and we’re going to try to build off of our wins last weekend against Trent. If we want to end the season 7–3, we’ll go out and do our best. If we want to end 6–4, we’ll go out and play like we did today.”

Longboarding comes to U of T Assunta Alegiani VARSITY CONTRIBUTOR

It’s drizzling, but Cindy Zhou, firstyear commerce student and president of the newly-formed U of T longboarding club, skated to our meeting. “Honestly, I’m just too lazy to walk. You get so used to getting around much faster when you skate,” she explains.

With the longboard becoming an increasingly popular mode of transport amongst Toronto urbanites, it was only a matter of time before U of T would have its own longboarding club. Two months in, Zhou and vice-president Cristobal Alvadaro — a biological anthropology grad student — are still figuring out the logistics. While many people signed up on Clubs Day, they were surprised by the number of people who had never been on a board before.

“We thought we’d get more people who were already into the sport,” Zhou says. “That’s been

sort of a struggle for us, providing enough resources to accommodate all these people who want to learn how to ride.” At the weekly group sessions that the two have been holding since the beginning of the semester, they bring their own boards and safety equipment to allow curious first-timers to try out the sport. “If they like it, we encourage them to get their own board,” Alvadaro adds.

Zhou and Alvadaro met through Longboard Living, the Kensington Market-based longboarding shop that organizes weekly group rides and serves as a meeting point for local skaters. As an undergrad at U of T, Alvadaro saw the need for a hub to bring on-campus skaters together. This summer, as Zhou was about to start university, Alvadaro and Longboard Living storeowner Ryan Rubin approached her with the idea of starting a club on campus to get new people interested in the sport.

“We both have a deep love for it and it’s the kind of thing where you

want to share with people,” Alvadaro says. “There’s this slightly cliché saying in longboarding — ‘spread the stoke’ — and that’s essentially what we want to do.”

Outside of the university, there’s an Ontario-wide community, connected through the online forum ontariolongboarding.com. Skating crews within Toronto meet up regularly to skate together, and this “core scene” is actually very small, according to Alavadaro. “We’re basically the bridge [over the] gap [between] the two communities — U of T riders and the rest,” Zhou says.

Facebook is the club’s primary mode of communication. Times for group sessions, announcements for non–U of T related skate events, and advice about anything longboard — it’s all there. The group skating sessions so far have drawn an average of 6–7 people per meeting, and a surprising number of girls. “I’d say about 80–90 per cent [of those] who come out are girls,” Alvadaro estimates.

Though both Zhou and Alvadaro agree that the supposed differences between skateboarding and longboarding are more fiction than reality, they believe longboarding and its community are more approachable and inclusive than the maledominated skateboarding scene.

With winter approaching, the scope of the club will broaden. Zhou and Alvadaro hope to put on movie-nights to screen longboarding videos, run board-building workshops, and — for experienced riders only — organize late night garage skating sessions.

At this point, the club is still trying to gauge the demand. Zhou and Alvadaro hope to eventually establish a community where each member is actively organizing group rides, where there’s exchange and cooperation among members. Ideally, the club will act as a facilitator like the Ontario Longboarding Forum but on a smaller scale. Both agree that longboarding is all-consuming — and sometimes that’s just what you need.

VARSITY SPORTS

Offense clicks as football team ends season with resounding victory over Waterloo Warriors Zoë Bedard VARSITY CONTRIBUTOR

The Varsity Blues football team ended their season on a high note with a 45–6 victory over the Waterloo Warriors. Toronto outplayed, outscored, and totally dominated their opponents on Saturday at Varsity Stadium.

The Blues kicked off the season with an impressive 2–1 start. Going into Saturday’s game, however, the team was riding a four-game losing streak and desperately needed something positive to carry into next year.

The victory over Waterloo was the final game for several key Blues players. The graduates included receivers Sebastian Magalas and Michael Prempeh, quarterback Andrew Gillis, defensive back Dorian Munroe, and linebacker Wilkerson DeSouza.

Neither side had any hope of making the playoffs — the Blues were knocked out of playoff contention with their loss to the Western Mustangs in week five, and the Warriors at 0–8 were never truly contenders. Nevertheless, it was a game of passion and drive as both teams attempted to bid their seniors farewell with a victory.

Toronto’s offense appeared to move beyond their struggles to drive the ball into the end zone at times this season, bulldozing through the Waterloo defense for three first-quarter touchdowns.

The Blues, averaging nine points a game, had been outscored 3–58 in the first quarter before the game.

Refusing to revert to that pattern, Toronto held a 14–0 lead after 15 minutes. The first touchdown came from a Gillis 1-yard run, the final rushing touchdown of his Blues career. The second quickly followed, an 18-yard throw to third year receiver Paul de Pass, whose 51-yard catch and run set up the touchdown.

The Blues picked up where they left off in the second quarter. Aaron Mil-

ton rushed for his second touchdown of the season with a 2-yard run, set up by an impressive 32-yard run by fullback Stephan Boroniec.

Toronto got on the scoreboard once more before the half. A 38yard rush by Milton, his longest of the day, set up a 10-yard passing touchdown. It was a sentimental score, as Gillis found fellow fifthyear Sebastian Magalas in the corner of the end zone for the final time at Varsity Stadium.

Although they usually count on points from the foot of Andrew Lomasney — 1–3 on that day with a successful 33-yard field goal — the Blues provided fans with a thrilling four touchdowns and a defensive shutout in the first half.

“Finally [the offense] clicked.

It’s been so long since we’ve had that kind of game, but they finally clicked,” said first-year head coach Greg Gary. “We could have used that a couple weeks ago, but we’re so happy with the results today.”

The Warriors, who came into the game winless and left in the same position, had eight first downs and only 129 total yards in the first half.

Waterloo found themselves in the Toronto red zone on one lone occasion, and their lack of success was a result of the Blues’ defense.

Warriors’ quarterback Luke Balch was under pressure all afternoon, and on his team’s final possession before the half, was sacked on consecutive plays by Toronto’s Marra and Fehler. Balch was later benched for Brian Chris.

The Blues’ offense showed no sign of rust after the first half. On an exciting special teams play, Willie Sharpe successfully lead a punt fake and carried the ball down to the Waterloo 6-yard line, where Gillis found senior Michael Prempeh for his first touchdown of the season.

Gillis put in an impressive performance in his final game in blue and white, with three touchdowns

in the air and one rushing. Gillis threw his final pass as a Blue to Alex Pierzchalski at the start of the fourth quarter. The quarterback was then replaced by Richard Quittenton, and later Simon Nasar, as the Blues showed the crowd next year’s offensive potential.

Toronto averaged 69.4 yards on the ground over the season, but against the Warriors they carried two 100-yard running backs, with those yards coming across the goal line for majors. First-year back Emiljano Daci, with 137 yards on the day, scored a touchdown following his 57-yard run down to the 2-yard line.

That score capped off Toronto’s sixtouchdown performance, with a different player scoring each major.

The Blues’ defense kept Waterloo off the scoreboard for over 59 minutes of play. However, after two goal line stops on first and second downs, the Warriors found the end zone with a third down gamble pass to Marco Visentin as time expired.

“I’m happy for Waterloo. I was real happy to see them have a little success at the end there,” sympathized Gary, commenting on how close his defense came to a shutout victory.

The Blues’ 3–5 record matches last year’s, when they also missed the playoffs. However, the year-ending strong defensive and offensive performances are causes for optimism, heading into what is sure to be an off-season of great change.

“Both our backs are coming back,” said Gary. “Milton and Daci are coming back, [and] then you add Quittenton into that mix. Quittenton’s our future. He didn’t get a lot of time on the field as far as playing time, but we’re going to give him a lot of stuff in the off-season.”

Only time will tell what kind of team will call the Varsity Stadium home next year, but based on the evidence from this season, there is great potential in that locker-room.

TH

VARSIT HE

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Blues sign off in style

monday, OCTOBER 24, 2011

T

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The Varsity

What are your plans for Halloween?

photographed and compiled by Rob Leone

KAT, 3RD YEAR ARCHITECTURE

jack, 4th year philosophy

larissa, 4th year ecology & evolutionary bioLOGY

Alex, 3rd year English

Blaire, 4th yeaR Life Science

“Going out as a fox to seek out my Jimmy Hendrix.”

“Candy bandit.”

“Going to the bar with a bunch of middle-aged women.”

“Homework!”

“Packing and getting ready to move into my new place!”

VARSITY CROSSWORD

SCREENSHOTS by Catherine Friedman

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Modern day Persia “Rolling in the Deep” singer Cartoon canine superhero Whichever Rotman’s degree Everywhere Kanga’s joey “_ ___ your pardon?”

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