How a house of worship neighbouring UTM became associated with paranormal activity
5 OISE Professor and UTGSU executives protest Bill 33 at Queen’s Park 14 The haunting of 21 Sussex 16 Blues Soccer teams secure Men’s and Women’s OUA Championships
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Vol. CXLVI, No. 8 MASTHEAD
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The Varsity acknowledges that our office is built on the traditional territory of several First Nations, including the Huron-Wendat, the Petun First Nations, the Seneca, and most recently, the Mississaugas of the Credit. Journalists have historically harmed Indigenous communities by overlooking their stories, contributing to stereotypes, and telling their stories without their input. Therefore, we make this acknowledgement as a starting point for our responsibility to tell those stories more accurately, critically, and in accordance with the wishes of Indigenous Peoples.
that most American media and banks “are owned by Jews” at Munk
Munk School Director to send letter to Slovenia about Nataša Pirc Musar’s “deeply offensive” comments
Cover: Border illustrated by Simona Agostino. Crochet spiderweb courtesy of Medha Surajpal.
Devin Botar Varsity Contributor
On September 29, the Munk School of Global Affairs & Public Policy held a private event in honour of Slovenian President Nataša Pirc Musar. While answering a student’s question during the event, Pirc Musar repeated a claim that perpetuates antisemitic stereotypes.
The Varsity ’s account of the president’s remarks comes from student and faculty descriptions and a transcript that was read out loud at an October 6 Munk School meeting with students about the comments.
The transcript of the event reads that the president then took questions from the room after giving her opening remarks. A student asked, “Why can’t we stop the genocide in Gaza?”
“I think there’s only one country on this planet who can stop this genocide in Gaza, and that is the United States […] I’m brutally honest with you today […] It was written in [an] article that 80 per cent of all the banks in the United States are owned by Jews, 90 per cent of the media in the United States are owned by Jews, and Jews are supporting Republicans and Democrats with millions of dollars in campaign [funds]. And that’s the world that we are facing today,” responded Pirc Musar.
After Pirc Musar’s comments, a “Munk School faculty member immediately and directly challenged the comments during the event,” Munk School founding director Janice Stein wrote to The Varsity
Vesna Drole, Slovenia’s Head of the Public Relations and Protocol Office, wrote in an email to The Varsity , “We acknowledge that, in the current climate, the words or the context in which they are spoken may well be misunderstood on occasions, or not well received. On the particular question she was asked, we must underscore that the topic is central to the President’s concerns since the Hamas terrorist attack on 7 October.”
“The quote you mention was primarily intended as a call to the Jewish community world-wide, particularly in the United States, with its considerable public influence, to do everything possible to stop the carnage in Gaza.”
“She has never said anything, publicly or privately, that could be described as antiSemitic, nor was by no means her intention to offend anyone during the lecture, but rather to draw attention to the atrocities taking place in Gaza and, as we reiterate, to call for contributions to peace from all sides, including members of the Jewish community,” Drole concluded.
Munk School reactions
Stein wrote to The Varsity that, “The Munk School of Global Affairs & Public Policy and the University of Toronto do not tolerate antisemitism or any other form of racism
CORRECTIONS
or discrimination. When I learned about the comments the President of Slovenia made in a Q&A session following a speech she gave at the Munk School on Sept. 29, I took immediate action to verify what happened and address the serious concerns being raised.”
“I invited students to share their reflections with me in writing and have included them in a letter that I will be sending on Monday to the President of Slovenia and the Slovenian Ambassador to Canada. That letter will convey that her comments have no basis in fact, conform to classic antisemitic tropes and are deeply offensive.”
“I believe that the approach we have taken upholds the Munk School’s and the university’s values of evidence-based discussion, civil discourse and inclusion,” Stein concluded.
Student reactions
The Varsity interviewed five students who attended the event with President Pirc Musar.
One student said, “It was unexpected of a world leader. We kind of idolize these people, especially in the Munk School […] What the President said fell into antisemitic tropes, and perpetuated antisemitic stereotypes […] It’s tough, in the context of Slovenia being one of the first countries to recognize Palestinian statehood. But being pro-Palestine does not have to mean being antisemitic.”
A public policy undergraduate student wrote, “It goes without saying that this comment made me uncomfortable, not to mention that this only undermined [Pirc Musar’s] previously stated position regarding the ongoing atrocities by Israel in Palestine.”
Another student wrote, “[Pirc Musar] not only painted the wrong picture of the Jewish community, but also hurt the Palestinian cause she was advocating for by drawing focus to her senseless statements rather than to the daily deaths of thousands of human beings at the hands of the Israeli state.”
A fourth-year student noted, “I would not characterize her remarks as anti-Semitic, but rather as poorly worded […] I believe that the point the Slovene president was trying to make was not a conspiracy that Israel controls America, but rather that America has significant political and economic incentives to continue its support of Israel.”
“Of course, what she said was inappropriate,” the fourth year added, “however, like I said, I do not believe that it was antisemitic and that assertions that she is an antisemite or parroting antisemitic speech detract from her greater argument.”
A Munk School student wrote, “I personally had hoped to hear more discussion about the Balkans,” which was one of the topics of the lecture.
In Issue 7, an Opinion article titled "Survivors call, but no one answers" has been corrected to reflect that all voicemail messages left had already been responded to and had been saved but not deleted. The inbox was not cleared and became full; therefore, students could not leave a voicemail. The Sexual Violence Prevention & Support Centre (SVPSC) switched to a system without space constraints after learning of the problem.
Eleanor Yuneun Park Varsity Contributor
Since being appointed in January 2024 as the Provostial Advisor on Civil Discourse, English professor and novelist Randy Boyagoda has chaired U of T’s Working Group on Civil Discourse and delivered a final report in May with eight recommendations — all of which have been accepted by Vice-President & Provost, Trevor Young.
Even after a year of monthly group meetings, consultation with over 1,500 participants, and compiling action items for the University to develop the environment for civil discourse, Boyagoda’s term has been extended to the end of December to facilitate the implementation of the recommendations.
The Varsity sat down with Boyagoda to discuss his past two years of experience in a unique position as U of T’s civil discourse advisor.
The Varsity: Let’s start with how this position came to be. What was the process of how you were appointed as a civil discourse advisor?
Randy Boyagoda: My position was created in January 2024 by the Provost. It is undeniable that the position was created following the conflicts, protests, and difficulties that our academic community experienced beginning with the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack on Israel, and Israel’s subsequent and ongoing bombing of Gaza and elsewhere.
But the challenges with having productive disagreement over Israel-Palestine didn’t create the need for an advisor on civil discourse; it revealed it in a much fuller way.
TV: Your working group’s final report provides six different working definitions of ‘civil discourse,’ such as that it engages with individuals who hold critical ideas respectfully and that it requires people to develop capacities for empathy and reason. Is there a central element to your definition of ‘civil discourse’ that has changed since the beginning of your term?
RB: That’s a really curiosity-driven question. I think of civil discourse as a commitment to thinking out loud together: our reckoning with disagreement and seeing these as good things to the degree that they increase shared understandings of an issue and aid in the pursuit of truth. That’s my working definition of civil discourse. What I have learned through this work is that my definition is not U of T’s definition, nor should it be. I learned just how skeptical people are of the concept of civil discourse. To some people, ‘civil’ suggests a chill on conversation, certain rules that you have to follow. Rules that make sense in rooms like we’re in right now, rules that make sense for people who are undergraduates at elite universities. The criticism is that there’s a certain level of security and privilege associated with civil discourse.
TV: The Canadian Association of University Teachers (CAUT) was very critical.
Note: In January, CAUT criticized Canadian universities adopting policies of “institutional neutrality” and alleged that methods to enforce “civility” undermined academic freedom.
RB: Yes, and I think there was also an implication that I’m some sort of czar, ruling things in and out. To that, I have two answers. First, not everything that happens at the University should be understood through the filter of civil discourse. Because if that were the case, then I really am ruling things in and out, which strikes me as wrong. Or, the definition of civil discourse is bent and expanded until it’s meaningless. If everything has to be nothingness, the term doesn’t have the same value.
Second, I don’t care what we call it as long as people are having good conversations with each other, driven by curiosity and goodwill, in and
outside classrooms. If we aren’t able to have curiosity-driven conversations in our teaching and research lives, I don’t see how this place advances its mission.
TV: The working group report’s third recommendation encourages U of T to create a common first-year curriculum for incoming students to learn about civil discourse and critical thought. How can the school be encouraged to teach about a topic when there is no established idea of it? Can civil discourse be taught?
RB: I think civil discourse can be taught in very specific contexts where it’s related to introducing people to a profession or a set of professional practices. But I agree with you that an ‘Intro to Civil Discourse’ in the Faculty of Arts & Science (A&S) doesn’t really make sense.
I’m currently chairing an advisory committee with academic leaders from every division across the University that has been asked to implement components of the working group report. In settings such as Rotman Commerce or the U of T Faculty of Law, I’ve heard that difficult conversations and productive disagreements are pedagogically important, so they offer programming for them.
But as an A&S citizen, you can imagine how difficult it would be to create a course like that when, in reality, what we want is rigorous, productive disagreement in any course when it makes sense.
When a question comes up, you don’t want to be afraid of answering, in case you look bad to your peers or your professor doesn’t like your politics. You want to be able to answer that question across the programs. What I’ve heard is that colleagues and students want to see models of this, as opposed to taking a course and getting a credential that’s not the right model.
TV: You earlier said your definition of civil discourse is and should be different from U of T’s definition. Do you see yourself and your role as a neutral advisor, and does civil discourse necessitate a neutral mediator or advisor?
RB: There are two versions of neutrality: neutrality that ratifies an unjust status quo, and neutrality that creates the conditions to engage with a disputed question on a level-enough playing field.
In my work, I think I have a ‘both and’ function. As an academic administrator, I have a convening responsibility to bring people together and sustain a conversation. For that to be the case, a certain level of dispassion is needed.
At the same time, I don’t understand myself as a bland technocrat just moving along a project. So it
would seem absurd to me to not demonstrate that I have a view, because then I don’t have any skin in the game. I don’t have stakes in this the same way if I’m just technocratically moving something along, but I also still have to move things along. I understand myself as contributing as it makes sense in both ways. There is my definition, but the idea of having my definition is that someone disagrees with it. The answer is somewhere in between.
TV: On a realistic scale, how does civil discourse come into play with IsraelPalestine and engaging the activist groups from multiple political perspectives that have expressed concerns about being silenced by the University?
RB: To begin with, both sides have more in common with each other than they do with the great majority of people at the University. One of my insights in this work has been that faculty who find themselves invested in the question of IsraelPalestine will say variations of, ‘administration only listens to the other side.’ There’s always this sense of a deficit position. There’s always a reason why the other side seems to be getting power and results, right?
In early 2024, I was in Sidney Smith when there was a pro-Palestine demonstration and a pro-Israel counter-demonstration in the main hall. Aside from the roughly 80 people involved, there were hundreds of people ignoring it and just walking by, not engaging. The question to my mind is, how do we first bridge the difference between the supercommitted and the much larger under-engaged university population? Are they not engaged because they don’t like the models of protesting for pursuing a difficult geopolitical question? Or have they got a three-hour commute to Northern Markham to help out at home with their families, and engaging is a luxury good?
TV: Many of the ‘super-engaged’ have said that they feel like discourse has not led to their actual political aims, and do not feel heard by the University. Is it necessarily correct to look at these ‘super-engaged’ as people who should be part of the civil discourse and try to bridge that?
RB: No, not necessarily. In other words, I don’t think civil discourse solves Israel-Palestine. It’s not built to do that. If your frustrations lead to an illegal approach or an activist approach, to use two examples, I don’t think the practices associated with our project and civil discourse are going to be satisfying because they’re not going to lead to divestment. They’re not going to lead to someone being fired for a divisive statement on social media.
Civil discourse isn’t a means to those ends. I think it is wrong to assume it is and then be frustrated that it’s not. Civil discourse shouldn’t be the hermeneutic for everything we’re trying to interpret at the University, because eventually it either proves itself so vague as to be pointless, or demonstrates that actually it’s ineffectual for these ends. It can’t be used for ends that it’s not meant for.
TV: So it’s a form of maintenance?
RB: ‘Maintenance’ is terrible — I see it as ‘sustaining’ rather than maintenance.
TV: I ask this because Harvard Professor Archon Fung had distinguished ‘civility’ into two senses: the first being a superficial type of civility of just being nice, and the second being a behaviour necessary for spaces like schools and democratic societies to work well — the civility that drives civil discourse. So, is civil discourse a form of maintaining?
RB: Speaking to you as a fellow English scholar, I like ‘sustaining’ because ‘maintaining’ suggests a kind of crappy status quo. Sustaining is keeping alive a willingness to ask a question without fear of consequence. You’re not asking the question to make a political point, you’re asking questions you generally aren’t sure of the answer to. I struggle at times with the encouragement of older generations for this project, from largely outside the University, saying, “Why can’t we go back to the way it used to be when you could freely say what you wanted?”
In my mind, that kind of recovery project is at odds with what it means to be in a pluralist twenty-firstcentury university, because that model assumes everyone is culturally, racially, politically and religiously more or less the same.
But intellectually, I get the argument. Even if we disagree with the sociopolitical conditions that sustained it, what they’re describing is a time where there were norms and shared unspoken understandings about what it means to engage each other on a question.
The civil discourse project at U of T intends to help recover those norms, but make sense for U of T in the twenty-first century. That strikes me as a worthwhile project. Finally — to go back to one of your core questions — it’s acknowledging when it makes sense and when it doesn’t.
Civil discourse doesn’t solve Israel-Palestine, but can we be unsure about those things, and then learn from scholars about how to understand these stakes? These questions seem to me like a good thing.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Matthew Molinaro Graduate Bureau Chief
On October 9, the University of Toronto Graduate Students’ Union (UTGSU) announced the results of the byelection for Division 1: Humanities Director spots. All five candidates who ran were elected to the five spots available: Jasmin Smith, Keturah Gray, Sadaf Sohrab, Thomas Vukovic, and YvetteYuefan Wu.
This byelection is the first in recent UTGSU history that has resulted in a full set of directors for Division 1. While STEM divisions, like Division Three (Physical Sciences) and Division Four (Life Sciences), often have all or most available positions filled, Division 1 has consistently struggled with student participation.
In the March 2025 general elections, no candidates came forward for Division 1 slots.
After the 2025–2026 elections, the UTGSU prioritized outreach in an attempt to add interim directors to the board, only for interim director Aditi Kolloru to resign on July 14, leaving the division vacant once again.
This sudden change is no coincidence. In an interview with The Varsity , UTGSU President Amir Moghadam wrote, “Building on our ongoing policy reforms and outreach initiatives, we identified several specific hypotheses for the historically lower representation of Division One: limited UTGSU engagement within these departments, smaller membership numbers from this division and relatively small departments, and accessibility barriers such as the 15-signature requirement for nominations.”
In response, the union implemented “targeted strategies,” such as reducing the number of signatures from 15 to five to be nominated, and increased outreach to the relevant departments in the form of postering, tabling, and email campaigns. Moghadam credits these efforts for the drastic increase in Division 1 engagement in October’s byelection. Looking ahead at a full slate of directors, Moghadam expressed optimism for the term ahead. “Having a complete Board brings
diverse perspectives that will strengthen our governance and better represent our entire membership.”
In an email with The Varsity, newly elected Division 1 Director Jasmin Smith drew on her experience as a U of T undergrad and as a volunteer with Amnesty International to emphasize her commitment to advocating for and voicing the concerns and needs of Division 1 in UTGSU. As a Division 1 director, Smith will focus on running events and hopes to foster a stronger sense of community among humanities students.
“In academic spaces, it can be so easy for students in the humanities to be overlooked, particularly given the prioritization of STEM and the misconceptions that humanities are not as valuable as other disciplines,” Smith wrote to The Varsity. “The humanities have been, and will always be, incredibly valuable in both academic and nonacademic spaces, and the voices of humanities students should be represented in student unions to ensure that choices made for the broader graduate student population reflect their needs as well.”
For Smith, a humanities education lends itself to leadership naturally. “So much of the curriculum in humanities programs focuses on representation, culture, and the ability to be critical, and I believe those voices should be represented in leadership on the UTGSU.”
Stronger together
For a term and a half, only one Director, Kanika Lawton, represented the entire Division 1 constituency. A fifth-year PhD Candidate in Cinema Studies and Sexual Diversity Studies, Lawton first started thinking about running for a seat on the BOD after they began getting involved in their course union. They were elected to a Director position in an emergency by-election in Winter 2024, and won re-election as a Director for a full term for the 2024–2025 year.
Reflecting on their experience on the Board of Directors (BOD), Lawton spoke to The Varsity about a few of the specific challenges that humanities students face when getting involved with UTGSU. Lawton pinpointed the individualism in humanities spaces and the increased isolation graduate students feel as they complete their degrees — experiences that are less common in STEM fields, which are inherently more collaborative.
Lawton explained that the culture of isolation among humanities graduate students “doesn’t bode well when it comes to... collective action, or when it comes to advocating for higher funding packages, or their health care, or things that actually affect us materially in the classroom.”
To the newly elected set of directors, Lawton offered words of advice for advocating for the humanities. In the face of the challenges of student governance, funding schemes, and the “wave of fascism in the United States… brushing up against our shores,” they urged Directors to not take things personally and to remember that unions work because of their membership.
“We need each other, even if we tell ourselves we don’t. But when it really comes down to it, we do,” Lawton said, “Our ability to actually enact change as an individual, it comes from working together towards a common goal that will help all of us.”
Maniatogianni Associate News Editor
At the most recent membership general meeting of United Steelworkers (USW) Local 1998, the U of T administrative and technical staff’s union, the membership approved spending up to $100,000 on a fightback to U of T’s announcement that a “critical mass” of in-person administrative staff must work full-time five days a week.
In an email to The Varsity, Local 1998 and Unit President John Ankenman and Vice-President Tamara Vickery wrote that the approved money will also be used to support Local 1998 members with alternative work arrangements.
On October 3, U of T President Melanie A. Woodin announced that the University would be carrying out plans to increase its in-person staff presence among U of T’s three campuses. In her statement, Woodin said that this change will be initiated in January 2026, “or sooner in some cases.”
Woodin also emphasized that the University would continue to honour its “institutional
commitment to considering alternative work arrangements.” She said it will also remain true to its commitment to “an academic community where students, faculty, librarians and staff learn, work, debate, and solve problems face to face.”
In the memorandum of agreement between U of T and the USW Local 1998 staff-appointed bargaining unit, full- and part-time administrative and technical employee alternative work arrangements “may include flexible hours, a compressed work week, a remote work setting, a hybrid-remote work setting, or altered work hours.” As explained in U of T’s Alternative Work Arrangement Guidelines, an alternative work arrangement is “not permanent, and includes a start, review, and end date.”
Ankenman and Vickery emphasized that since COVID-19 lockdowns ended, they believe “a balance between in-person and remote work has been reached, with many front-line employees working full time on campus and other staff working in hybrid arrangements. We have no doubt that the needs of faculty and students are being well served.”
This rally is the last event of Policing-Free Schools’ Ontario-wide campaign tour against the bill
On October 20, community-based organization Policing-Free Schools held a small but lively “No to Bill 33” rally in Queen’s Park from 10:00 am to 2:00 pm, the same day Ontario’s Provincial Parliament returned from an extended summer break. The protest was led by Policing-Free Schools Director and founder Andrea Vásquez Jiménez and featured school board trustees, teachers, professors, students, and live music from DJ CUR8.
“Fund our schools, fund our communities — not policing-in-school[s],” was repeated by Jiménez throughout the rally.
The same day as the protest, Policing-Free Schools Canada and Vásquez Jiménez’s petition “Mandate the Removal of Policein-School Programs and Policing-in-School Programs from Educational Spaces in Ontario” was submitted to Parliament by Member of Provincial Parliament (MPP) Kristyn WongTam. Two other petitions against Bill 33 were also tabled, with “Save Public Education” presented by MPP Alexa Gilmour, and “Hands Off Our Education” by MPP Peggy Sattler.
Vásquez Jiménez wrote to The Varsity , “we will continue to organize here provincially even beyond Bill 33 until Policing-Free Schools Ontario is a reality and that includes a strong public education system that is properly funded, supported and resourced not policingin-schools along with a Policing-Free Schools Canada.”
Leading the coalition
The University of Toronto Graduate Students’ Union (UTGSU) was in attendance. President Amir Moghadam wielded a large GSU flag while Vice-President Internal Dominic Shillingford and other union members held a painted banner that read, “U of T Students against Bill 33.”
“Defeating Bill 33 requires a united front,” wrote Moghadam in an email to The Varsity.
“When the government unilaterally rewrites the entire education system without consultation, students and workers at every level need to fight back together.”
Graduate students are particularly affected by Schedule 3 of Bill 33, the Colleges and Universities Act, which mandates that universities “develop and implement a research security plan to safeguard, and mitigate the risk of harm to or interference with, its research activities.” If passed, the Act would allow the Minister of Education to control what elements the plan must include and set deadlines for completion and implementation.
Schedule 3 also would allow the Lieutenant Governor in Council to regulate “any fees” charged to students. This threatens the main source of income for student unions like the UTGSU.
In 2024–2025, the UTGSU reported nearly $20 million in revenue, all of which came from student fees. That same year, the union spent $17 million on students’ health and dental insurance, $526,994 on services and student groups, and $304,073 on programming and advocacy.
“This [regulation] means fewer research opportunities, delayed degrees, and defunded essential services. Ontario ranks dead last in Canada for per-student funding, yet the Ford government… wants to control how we spend our democratically-approved fees. This hurts our education now and our working conditions as future researchers,” Moghadam explained.
At U of T, the UTGSU has been at the forefront of student opposition to Bill 33. “We’re leading the UofT coalition,” wrote Moghadam. On September 15, the union released a statement
the committee that will advise on the appointment of the new Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Science following former Dean Melanie Woodin’s appointment as U of T’s 17th president.
opposing Bill 33. On October 22, it also hosted a town hall with University—Rosedale National Democratic Party (NDP) MPP Jessica Bell to explain how Bill 33 will impact post-secondary students.
“Many graduate students don’t immediately connect provincial legislation to their daily lives. Student power comes from members understanding what’s at stake and mobilizing together,” Moghadam wrote.
Raising the alarm
Beyhan Farhadi, an Assistant Professor of Educational Policy and Equity at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE), also spoke at the rally about the threat to students posed by Bill 33’s requirement that police have access to school premises.
Reflecting on her experience, Farhadi wrote in an email to The Varsity that, “speaking at the rally was both grounding and galvanizing. It was powerful to stand alongside students, educators, and community members who are united in their vision for schools free from policing.”
lawn, and students were encouraged to bring lawn chairs, blankets, food, and nonalcoholic beverages to watch the games.
Farhadi is currently researching the incorporation of surveillance technologies, like behaviour-tracking apps and threat-reporting software, in public education.
“I’ve seen firsthand how the presence of police and punitive systems in schools undermines the safety and dignity of students, especially those who are already marginalized. Bill 33 represents a dangerous escalation of these harms, and I felt a responsibility to raise the alarm.”
In particular, Farhadi focuses on the disproportionate impact these surveillance systems have on Indigenous, black, racialized, queer, trans, and disabled students.
“These technologies don’t address the root causes of harm in schools, like poverty, trauma, or systemic inequity. Instead, they normalize constant monitoring and teach students to perform compliance rather than experience true safety,” Farhadi wrote. “My work emphasizes that these systems are not neutral; they reflect and reinforce existing power structures. That’s why I oppose Bill 33: it’s not about safety, it’s about control.”
address about free trade, which ends with, “America’s jobs and growth are at stake.”
The last day of the UTSG final exam period has been moved from December 23 to December 19. This change brings UTSG in line with UTM and UTSC, which both have fall exam periods that end on December 19. For all three campuses, the start of the fall final exam period is December 5.
Advisory Committee for Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Science appointment announced Simcoe Hall
Byline: Junia Alsinawi, Deputy News Editor
On October 29, Faculty of Arts and Science Vice-President and Provost Trevor Young announced who will sit on
The committee includes five teaching staff, two students, Deputy Chief Librarian Julie Hannaford; Executive Director, Experiential Learning & Professional Development Vicki Lowes; and administrators of the School of Graduate Studies, Temerty Faculty of Medicine, St. Michael’s College, and UTSC.
World Series playoff games livestreamed on Front Campus –– King’s College Circle
Byline: Junia Alsinawi, Deputy News Editor
U of T hosted a World Series watch party for each game between the Toronto Blue Jays and the Los Angeles Dodgers, which concluded with the Dodgers triumphing after an 11-inning seventh game. The games were livestreamed on a large screen set up across from the King’s College Circle
The UTogether webpage advertising the event read, “U of T is known for its academics — now it’s time to show our heart. Come for the game, stay for the community, and be part of an unforgettable moment for our campus and our city!”
Ontario airs anti-tariff ad starring Ronald Reagan, US responds with new 10 per cent tariff Queen’s Park
Byline: Junia Alsinawi, Deputy News Editor
US President Donald Trump posted on Truth Social, his social media platform, that he will add an additional 10 per cent tariff on all goods imported from Canada and end trade negotiations in response to an antitariff advertisement released by the Ontario government on October 14. In the ad, scenes of American workers and families are narrated by Ronald Reagan’s 1987 radio
The ad ran over the weekend, aired during the first two games of the World Series. It was pulled on Monday by Ontario Premier Doug Ford after speaking with Prime Minister Mark Carney, so that trade talks between the US and Canada can resume.
U of T’s Fanfiction Club declares “fanfic WAR on the dodgers.” Rogers Centre
Byline: Varsity Staff
Following the Blue Jays’ World Series loss to the Dodgers, the U of T Fanfiction Club posted to their Instagram story stating, “We WILL be writing omegaverse jays bitching the dodgers.” A following post read, “We hereby declare fanfic WAR on the dodgers. ONLY write Jays yaoi until they get back to the world series.” Pitcher-batter Shohei Ohtani has been spared from this fate, saying, “Ohtanis the only exception…look at my SWEET BABY BOY.”
November 4, 2025
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Where do your UTSU fees really go?
A few dollars on your invoice becomes millions for UTSU: how much of it comes back to students?
Wanthanai Phlaphongphanich Varsity Contributor
Every year, around mid-July, U of T releases invoices for the upcoming fall and winter sessions. Nestled among tuition charges, program fees, and residence costs are “ancillary fees” directed to the University of Toronto Students’ Union (UTSU), the primary body representing undergraduates at the St. George campus. Ancillary fees are mandatory charges that fund services, programs, and organizations beyond tuition, ranging from health insurance to campus events.
While the trivial amounts students pay may go unnoticed, collectively, it adds up to more than $25 million annually. In fact, the UTSU is one of the largest student-run organizations in Canada in terms of personnel.
The hidden scale of ancillary fees
The average full-time undergraduate pays approximately $350 in U of T ancillary fees each semester.
Instead of appearing as one large charge, these fees are scattered across the invoice in many smaller amounts. This year, for instance, UTSU fees included $142.41 for the health plan, which provides extended medical benefits in addition to basic coverage such as the Ontario Health Insurance Plan (OHIP) or University Health Insurance Plan (UHIP). Another $119.04 went toward the dental plan. Overall, health and dental coverage make up almost 75 per cent of UTSU fees.
Other UTSU fees include a general membership charge and a Student Commons charge. Together, these fees illustrate how each student contributes to sustaining the wide range of services and resources available at U of T.
How budgets are made
UTSU’s budgeting process mirrors that of larger institutions. Budgets are built around historical spending patterns and reviewed annually by the UTSU’s Board of Directors following recommendations from their Finance Committee. The committee oversees all of the union’s financial operations, including the budgeting process, before forwarding its guidance to the Board.
The Board itself is made up of 12 U of T students, mostly undergraduates, who, alongside essays and midterms, are also responsible for managing a multi-million dollar budget. For some, that might sound intimidating — the same people pulling all-nighters at Robarts are also deciding how your health plan is funded. For others, it is reassuring, a sign that the UTSU is genuinely run by students.
The UTSU strives to dedicate its funding to initiatives that help students. “The UTSU hosts a wide range of events throughout the year, including orientation sessions, social activities, and workshops, all of which are open to every student at no additional cost,” wrote Elizabeth Shechtman, Vice-President of Operations, in an email to The Varsity. Many programs are also designed to meet practical needs. “For example, we organize tax clinics, mental health and wellness workshops, and skill-building sessions to provide guidance and resources that directly benefit students.”
The health and dental plan is also funded through ancillary fees and provides healthcare coverage for tens of thousands of students, including medical and paramedical care. The UTSU also offers the Student Aid Program (SAP), a program designed to alleviate students’
financial burdens by providing direct aid to help with living and academic expenses, distributing more than $400,000 directly back into students’ pockets.
Additionally, clubs receive $250,000 in funding from UTSU to run events and have access to free space in the Student Commons. The union also runs the only food bank on campus and operates a subsidized café in the building.
UTSU financial statements show that the union often finishes the year with more revenue than expenses — in 2024, they had a surplus of $1.24 million, while in 2023, they had a surplus of $1.33 million.
These surpluses are not left idle, but are instead moved into reserve funds — savings accounts set aside for specific purposes. They allow the union to prepare for future costs, cover unexpected expenses, and ensure services can continue even if revenues fluctuate.
Currently, UTSU maintains three major reserves. The largest is the health and dental reserve, which holds about $5.7 million to protect against future increases in insurance premiums. The capital and operating reserve, worth $882,707, supports continuity of services. A third fund, the human resources reserve, was created in 2024 and currently holds $200,000 to help with staffing-related costs.
While these reserves may seem steep, Shechtman emphasized that “future financial stability and direct, immediate student service is a balance for any student association.”
When broken down into separate, smaller fees, UTSU fees may seem insignificant, but when added together, they sustain the programs and services that shape everyday student life.
How much debt is too much? Which gifts are clean enough to accept? Is the organization’s workforce truly representative? The U of T Business Board meeting on September 25 centred discussions around answering these key questions.
Debt and fundraising
The university’s fundraising team has raised over $361 million this year, consistent with their good performance in this area over the past five years, where they have raised an average $376 million per year.
However, the current uncertainty around the economy is something to be aware of. Trevor Rodgers, the university’s Chief Financial Officer, reported during the meeting that fundraising is often intrinsically linked with economic volatility — donations to the university may slow down when markets are providing unfavourable outcomes. Despite the current volatility, donations of $5 million and above have been growing. These are less likely to be affected by market conditions and can consequently help sustain growth.
U of T’s debt burden ratio, or the percentage of its revenue used to pay off debts, is approximately 2.3 per cent and remains well below the 6 per cent ceiling the university enforces. However, while S&P Global, an agency providing institutions with credit ratings, confirms that U of T is in good financial standing, the university is planning to take on an additional $1.4 billion in debt by 2030 due to a backlog in infrastructural project upkeep, which may create an obstacle for managing risk.
A changing donations framework after a controversial donation
Furthermore, the board discussed the formalization of new gift acceptance policies after a controversial donation in the 2021–2022 academic year 2021. The donation was from Amazon to the Faculty of Law and was treated as an anonymous gift. There was a concern that the incentive behind the gift was to support a conference on competition law. Concerns about corporate incentives resulted in the faculty eventually returning the donation. Under the new framework, donations made will be scrutinized thoroughly before approval, and anonymous corporate donations will no
Debt, donations, and EDI
A summary of the proceedings at U of T’s September Business Board meeting
longer be accepted. This is in line with the board’s greater aim to increase transparency.
While private individuals may still donate anonymously, they will also face much stricter rules. There will be different levels of anonymity — for example, gifts above $250,000 must be publicly disclosed. This new framework will help address the complex nature of some donations, as it will better outline what actions must be taken when dealing with confusing scenarios.
Diversity, equity, and inclusion at U of T Kelly Hannah-Moffat, Vice President of People Strategy, Equity & Culture, reported on progress and warning signs in her equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) Report. Although there was an overall increase in staff identifying as racialized and an improvement in their promotion rates, the number of employees with a disability decreased from 21.5 per cent to 19.8 per cent from last year. There was also a higher exit rate for differently abled faculty members.
Hannah-Moffat drew attention to neurodiversity in employees, which has historically been under-captured. She pledged
that her team would revise categories in the existing survey frameworks to allow more precise self-identification by employees to increase EDI data and statistical accuracy.
Results from the biennial Speaking Out survey conducted in 2024, which seeks to measure employee engagement to improve the workplace experience, found that 92 per cent of respondents found their work meaningful, 88 per cent felt safe at work, and 82 per cent felt satisfied at work.
However, the university observed that only 65.8 per cent of respondents felt engaged and dedicated to their work, marking a three per cent decline from the 2022 results. Fewer people also expressed feelings of belonging compared to previous years. While the drop was minimal, Hannah-Moffat emphasized that “small differences matter, and we need to pay attention to [them].”
The university believes that fostering diverse environments is important and will be pursuing various initiatives to achieve this, as noted in the 2024 EDI Report. They updated the Diversity in Recruitment Staff Manual and Toolkit and also offered community engagement programs that improve inclusivity.
November 4, 2025
thevarsity.ca/category/science science@thevarsity.ca
Madeline Deane Varsity Contributor
Fictional creations like Frankenstein’s monster — authored by Mary Shelley in the early nineteenth century — and Rocky — from the 1975 cult classic The Rocky Horror Picture Show — become the face of mainstream culture every Halloween. But as we reminisce about our Halloween celebrations, it is important to remember that monstrous stories exist beyond our nightmares.
In the modern day, scientific research on humans is seen as a carefully regulated practice. However, ethical standards in research were not always as stringent as they are today.
Within the last century, several unethical research escapades, including the Tuskegee Syphilis study, targeted participants who were either entirely unwilling or enticed by financial compensation. Many subjects were not told by researchers what their participation would entail, leaving them unable to provide informed consent without the knowledge of the treatment’s benefits and risks. Often, minoritized groups were specifically targeted, contributing to community distrust of research and the underrepresentation of these groups.
Medical experimentation during the Holocaust and the Nuremberg Code
One of the most well-known examples of medical research malpractice is the experimentation performed on prisoners throughout the Holocaust. In concentration camps across Europe, German doctors subjected many prisoners to an array of inhumane experiments, many of which resulted in severe complications or death.
One perpetrator of these crimes was Dr. Josef Mengele, a doctor and researcher at the AuschwitzBirkenau concentration camp. He claimed to be interested in studying biochemical and physical traits that could be used to separate the races that the Nazis deemed “inferior.”
Mengele targeted Roma and Jewish prisoners, who had been completely dehumanized by the Nazi party, and were not considered “human enough” to have ethics applied to them. Within these groups, Mengele pursued horrific experimentation, leading to extreme adverse effects and death.
Following the dissolution of concentration camps in 1945, Mengele fled to South America and passed away before facing consequences for his chief role in the criminal experimentation at Auschwitz-Birkenau.
Unlike Mengele, many other German scientists were tried for their roles in inhumane experiments during the Nuremberg Proceedings, specifically USA v Karl Brandt et al. Throughout this trial, German doctors cited the differences between legal and illegal human experimentation, believing that this justified their inhumane acts.
As a result, in 1947, the Nuremberg Code was created, a list of 10 points defining ethical medical research; one of the first steps toward solidifying ethical standards in research. It outlined the importance of patient consent for experimentation and avoiding suffering and injury, stating that “the degree of risk to be taken [for patients] should never exceed that determined by the humanitarian importance of the problem.”
The Tuskegee syphilis study
On the other side of the world, in North America, medical research was not immune to racial discrimination and unethical scientific practices. In 1932, a group of 400 Black men with untreated syphilis living in Alabama took part in a study led by the US Public Health Service with the Tuskegee Institute. While this study was designed to last only several months, it became a long-term study that followed the participants for 40 years to follow the long-term natural progression of syphilis.
Not only were the participants uninformed of the duration of this study at its inception, but the
researchers also did not make the goal of their study clear. Researchers incentivized subjects with the promise of free meals, medical exams and burial insurance, and were told they were being treated for their ailments, all while having no intention of administering any type of treatment.
In 1943, 11 years following the start of the study, the antibiotic penicillin became a widely available treatment for syphilis. The researchers did not offer the participants this treatment, leaving them untreated until the study finished in 1972 — decades after the creation of the Nuremberg Code.
The unethical treatment by researchers in the Tuskegee study led to the establishment of the Belmont Report in 1979, which outlined the importance of respect for persons, ensuring their safety, and making a conscious effort to secure their well-being throughout medical studies. Soon after, Institutional Review Boards (IRBs) were put in place to oversee all research concerning human subjects. However, these new ethical standards could not reverse the negative impacts caused by Tuskegee on minoritized groups.
Unethical medical research throughout history has disproportionately impacted marginalized groups, specifically racialized people. A 2004 study by Murthy and colleagues published in the Journal of the American Medical Association found that Black and Hispanic individuals were significantly less likely to enroll in clinical trials compared to their white counterparts.
Underenrollment in clinical trials appears to be directly linked to distrust in medical research, as a result of the mistreatment of marginalized groups in previous research studies. One participant who took part in a study on mistrust in research published in the Journal of Health Care for the Poor and Underserved in 2010 cited Tuskegee as a reason for their uncertainty about participating in research, stating that “awareness [about Tuskegee]
is enough to stand up generation after generation.” Many other individuals in the 2010 study also expressed distrust as a result of mistreatment by medical providers caused by racial biases.
Underparticipation in medical research studies by minoritized groups contributes to a negative feedback loop. Less recruitment of minoritized groups means scientific results may not be applicable to those groups, leading to further distrust of researchers and medical professionals. Even with the establishment of IRBs and the Belmont Report in an effort to make research safer, researchers must ensure members of marginalized groups are both motivated and able to safely participate in research trials.
One approach to improve participation is Community-Based Participatory Research (CBPR), which integrates researchers and medical professionals into communities to build strong relationships before a study begins. Community Research Advisory Boards (CRABs) at several institutions across America work to address community-specific barriers that might impact participation, and ensure participants are well-informed about all relevant aspects of the study. Canada has similar initiatives, like the Institute Advisory Boards, that are present for each of the 13 Canadian Institutes of Health Research. Encouraging representation of minoritized groups in decision-making and research positions is also vital to begin to repair these relationships.
While research ethics have come a long way, the inhumane actions of researchers exploiting marginalized communities have had a negative impact for many generations, leading to mistrust and inadequate representation in research studies.
When we think about ethics, it is important that we remember our history, which groups have been disproportionately affected, and the steps that we as science enthusiasts can take to make research a safe space for everyone.
A review of what Dr. Paul Kalanithi’s memoir teaches us
Writing at the edge of life
Everything changed when Dr. Kalanithi — the neurosurgeon, doctor, the caregiver of his patients, who’d always evaluated case studies during medical school — became the patient himself.
“Clocks are now kind of irrelevant to me. Time, where it used to have the linear progression feel to it, now feels like a space to me.”
These words — from a YouTube video posted by Stanford Medicine — said by late neurosurgeon Dr. Paul Kalanithi, offer a window into the altered perception of time that came with his terminal lung cancer diagnosis. A physician turned patient, Dr. Kalanithi’s experience and his 2016 memoir, When Breath Becomes Air , embody the collision of medicine and philosophy as well as life and mortality.
Dr. Kalanithi was a neurosurgery resident doctor practicing at Stanford University School of Medicine. After experiencing back pain, a cough, and developing night sweats, he was diagnosed with stage-four non-small-cell EGFR-positive lung cancer, a mutation in the EGFR lung cancer biomarker.
Before donning his white coat in 2007, Dr. Kalanithi earned a Bachelor’s in English Literature and a Bachelor’s in Human Biology. He pursued these fields to probe a central question: what makes life meaningful? He believed literature and philosophy offered rich insight into human purpose, while biology and neuroscience provided the physical framework for that meaning to emerge. It was this coupled curiosity that propelled him toward medicine.
Suddenly, the medical tools he once used to assess others became the framework for understanding his own mortality. Questions about survival and treatment effectiveness were no longer theoretical — they were deeply personal.
The Kaplan-Meier curve, often used by physicians and statisticians, measures the likelihood of patient survival over a period of time. These medical tools that he once used to assess others suddenly became a framework for understanding his own mortality. Numbers that once informed his clinical decisions now dictated his own personal future.
Numbers can not fully grasp the human experience: what is a 60 per cent chance compared to a 40 per cent chance of survival? These numbers are only predictions of fate. How does one balance hope, fear, and uncertainty in the face of mortality? How must one rely on abstract numbers and percentages to determine the outcome of one’s life?
As a surgeon, Dr. Kalanithi, who was fully accustomed to his scalpel, used words as his instrument of care. The words spoken by medical practitioners to patients and families colour the perception of these individuals moving forward and shape their perceptions of life and death. The change in perception often lingers long after events unfold.
For Kalanithi, the words he encountered as a patient carried immense weight: what hope remained, and how should it be measured? As a patient, he came to feel the power of words more intimately than ever before. Every phrase, every diagnosis, or prognosis, shaped his understanding of what hope meant — what life would look like.
Would he live to see his daughter walk? Publish the book he has always sought to write? Would he be able to teach while performing neurosurgery? Would he finish the book he had long dreamt of writing? These questions hung in the air, profoundly human but unanswerable.
Where healing meets humanity
Grappling with the devastating news of his diagnosis, Kalanithi pursued what first brought him into medicine — the writing craft. He authored a number of essays, such as How Long Have I Got Left? published in the New York Times Before I go in the Stanford Medicine Magazine using writing as a way to translate his own mortality into something comprehensible. Employing the strength that writing gave him, he returned to the OR, determined to continue living his purpose. “Until I actually die,” Kalanithi wrote in his memoir, “I am still living,” demonstrating that, despite living with the news that he was on the very brink of mortality, Kalanithi made the effort to still go on living.
Writing and neurosurgery, Kalanithi realized, were not opposing callings. Both required precision, empathy, and a sheer understanding of what it means to live and be fully human.
A legacy of thought and care
Kalanithi’s intellectual journey, spanning from literature to neuroscience and philosophy to surgery, was a lifelong attempt to bridge the mind and the body, thought and being. He sought to understand how the brain gave rise to produce consciousness, compassion, and meaning — how matter could make sense of itself.
Through his memoir, Kalanithi offers no easy answer to approaching life and mortality. Though perhaps that’s the point. His story reminds us that medicine is not only about prolonging life or measuring survivability using statistics, rather illuminating it.
Philosophy, he shows us, is not about abstractly pondering death, but preparing to meet it with dignity — just as Kalanithi had. In the end, the
Opinion
November 4, 2025
thevarsity.ca/category/opinion opinion@thevarsity.ca
Raymond Bhushan Varsity Contributor
Are you a member of a club on campus? Do you enjoy events hosted by student groups at U of T? If you do, it is imperative that you hear about Bill 33.
Bill 33, the Supporting Children and Students Act, was introduced by Education Minister Paul Calandra in May of this year. Bill 33 is multifaceted as it will put cops back in schools, replace democratically elected school board trustees with government-appointed supervisors, require merit-based admissions without defining “merit,” and could give the government potentially unchecked authority over post-secondary research in the name of “research security.” I would like to focus on an aspect of Bill 33 that would espe-
My concern is that student groups like the UTSU, college associations, and Engineering Society (EngSoc) collect these funds not just for their own operations, but to finance the operation of the over 1,500 student clubs at U of T. Many of these groups are reliant on student fees; the UTSU covers up to 50 per cent of operating budgets for recognized clubs, and other bodies like EngSoc can cover up to 100 per cent of club budgets through direct funding and levies.
You might be thinking to yourself, “This is great, I can save money and stop paying for services I don’t need.” However, there are two problems with this line of reasoning.
First, there are direct benefits from having these clubs and services. From athletics to arts to advocacy, student clubs enrich campus life, allowing students to make new friends and build commu-
In a world in chaos, we need stories more than ever
Jana Hilal Varsity Contributor
In a society that places more value on STEM in comparison to humanities and social science degrees, and artistic creativity is seeing a decline, it becomes crucial to emphasize the importance and necessity of media and film studies majors. We often overlook and downplay the difficulty and value of media and film in society as shallow and superficial, but many of the great things we enjoy in life are thanks to the arts.
Just think about how boring and mundane life would be without art. Art is a form of expressing the past, present, and future; capturing and expressing emotions and moments in time. Despite the jokes we hear at U of T about the ‘unemployed film major,’ the importance of media and film in our daily lives, in regard to social and political beliefs, geopolitics, and culture tells us otherwise.
Without the prevalence of media and art, people would live in their own bubbles, disconnected from the rest of the world. Media, film, and art allow us to humanize one another. Additionally, film is a reflection of major political, cultural and historical debates; therefore, it is evermore important that we continue to support this area of study.
Film and geopolitics
In light of recent geopolitical events, such as the protests in France and the toppling of the Nepali government, film and storytelling help remind us of the realities behind geopolitical events that can’t be encapsulated in a single article or headline.
An example of this is the film The Battle of Algiers. In short, the movie portrays the Algerian independence movement and highlights the adversity Algerians faced in overthrowing the French settler-colonial government in Algeria. The film demonstrates how workers and civilians partook in strikes as well as other revolutionary strategies to topple the government and kick out the settlers.
For me, watching The Battle of Algiers showcased two important lessons: that freedom is a necessary battle that must be fought and that the struggle for freedom is not easy or glamorized as sometimes portrayed in history textbooks. Movies like The Battle of Algiers are vital to preserving history and reminding the masses of the importance of perseverance, anti-colonial struggle, and a people’s right to self-determination.
Films’ cultural impact
Media and film also cultivate and preserve culture. Think about the references we make in our dayto-day life when making a joke or discussing a topic. Historical events, films, and media foster this tradition of reference, in turn creating a culture that adapts from generation to generation. Films portray the current values, ideals, and beliefs of a particular culture during a particular period of time. For instance, when Tollywood films such as RRR are nominated for and win Western awards like Oscars, Western audiences are exposed to different cultures, worldviews, and artistry. In this sense, films promote and preserve cultural diversity, impacting global trends and cultures.
Additionally, trends in fashion and style are promoted through media and film. Popular movies and TV shows such as Sex and the City (SATC) , Breakfast at Tiffany’s , and Euphoria , among many others, have shaped fashion and popular culture by becoming staple points of reference in today’s society. Essentially, a lot of what we wear is influenced by film and media. I believe that media and film challenge many cultural norms, thus portraying different and new perspectives on social issues. Shows like SATC detached the stigma of unmarried women who enjoy casual sex and changed the view of the single life, especially single women in their 30s. Despite misogynistic notions placing value on women's marital status still existing, shows like SATC have alleviated a lot of that stigma and opened doors to discussion of ‘taboo’ topics like sex, pleasure, and sexuality.
The myth of ‘useless degrees’ All this is to say that media and film studies majors aren’t useless. The impact that media and film have on our world and in our lives is severely overlooked and ridiculed despite being the backbone of pop culture, history, and society.
It is difficult to imagine a world run only by numbers and formulas. Every subject and every field has a place in society, and one cannot omit or belittle another and call it “unchallenging.” Our culture lies within the art we produce, and we owe it to media and film students who continue to share their creativity, set new precedents and preserve our history to recognize the importance of their degrees.
Jana Hilal is a fourth-year undergraduate student, double-majoring in political science, and near and middle eastern studies.
On February 24, 2022, infantry, armoured vehicles, and missiles poured over the Ukrainian border from Russia in the east and Russia-aligned Belarus in the north. Just moments before, Russian President Vladimir Putin claimed this was a “special military operation,” but to those of us watching, it was very evident what was happening: war.
Approximately 2,600 kilometres south of this conflict, another decades-long crisis has since hit a turning point. Following the Hamas attack on October 7, 2023, Israel and its armed forces have rained hell on the Palestinians living in Gaza, attacking civilian infrastructure, blocking off humanitarian aid, and indiscriminately bombing buildings and refugee camps. The United Nations (UN) commission has deemed this campaign a genocide.
The Ukrainian war has reminded us of the weakness of our international norms, such as sovereignty — which cements borders and defines who has authority over which landmass — that the UN pushed for to avoid future eruptions of violence and war. Similarly, the ongoing genocide of Palestinians in Gaza questions the power of international institutions and law, as shown by Israel’s effort to antagonize the UN.
The war in Ukraine and genocide in Gaza, on the surface, are seemingly different issues: both have different histories, combatants, allies, and objectives. However, these conflicts cannot be viewed as separate. They test the survival of the international order and the strength of UN organizations established after the devastation of the Second World War, to ensure that this level of warfare is not repeated. I believe that these conflicts have demonstrated to the world the lack of power our international institutions have and the urgent need to strengthen them.
War in Ukraine
As I watch the destruction of Ukrainian cities increase every day, I am reminded that international politics can at any point revert to old-school practices of conquest and imperialism.
As we approach the fourth anniversary of the invasion, and there remains no end in sight, how the world reacts is remarkably important. If Putin is successful in his takeover of Ukraine, and Canadian leaders back this by recognizing Russian annexation — in which Ukraine falls under official Russian control — I believe that the idea of sovereignty, which has been the very foundation of the international order, will be lost.
Canada must stand firm in its support for Ukraine, not only for the sake of Ukrainians but for the principles of international law itself. I believe that how Canada approaches this crisis will indicate to the global community Canada’s willingness to stand for international law or for ignorance towards it.
In the past two years, Israel, the ‘only democracy in the Middle East’, has continued its offensive operations in Gaza, and has received countless accusations of war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide. Israel’s willingness as a democratic country — according to Freedom House, an organization that advocates and researches the state of political and civil rights in
countries globally — to ignore international law and institutions should ring alarm bells, as it demonstrates the weakness of these institutions.
The International Court of Justice concluded in 2024 that Israel’s occupation of Gaza was unlawful, and demanded that it immediately withdraw, a demand which was rejected by the Israeli government. Furthermore, the US government has fully backed Israel’s operation, providing at least 16.3 billion dollars in military aid to Israel since the attacks on October 7, and has sanctioned the International Criminal Court (ICC) after it issued warrants for Israeli officials.
Despite the relentless bombing and lack of humanitarian aid allowed into the Gaza Strip, Palestinians have demonstrated their resolve during the course of these inhumane conditions, but their struggle has reminded Canada and the international community of our failure to stop genocide in its tracks. Even as the current ceasefire between Israel and Hamas holds on tentatively, there have been several cases of the Israeli military killing Palestinians over the last few weeks following the agreement.
As Canada has rightfully acknowledged the crimes Russia has committed in Ukraine by
imposing sanctions on Russia, I believe that Canada must also aid the Palestinians in their struggle. To do so, we must uphold international law, and stand firmly behind UN institutions — unlike the Canadian government’s previous defunding of the United Nations Relief Works Agency — even if it negatively impacts our relationship with our allies such as the US.
All hope is not yet lost. Both of these catastrophes have seen the ICC issue warrants for Vladimir Putin and other Russian officials for crimes against humanity, making Russia the first country to have a warrant for its leader while being a permanent member of the UN Security Council. The ICC is not turning a blind eye to crimes from liberal states, either, issuing warrants in November 2024 for Netanyahu and former Minister of Defence Yoav Gallant, accusing both of war crimes by using starvation as a method of warfare and other inhumane acts.
The validity of these warrants is heavily dependent on whether or not other world leaders abide by the foundations of international law. The response to the warrants against the Israeli officials has been met with large support from key actors, with both Justin Trudeau and Mark Carney supporting the court decision alongside the European Union, Britain, France, and Italy. Nevertheless, we still do not know the outcome of these warrants.
For every UN report accusing Russia or Israel of war crimes, every warrant issued, and every charge brought to the international court that is not upheld by UN member states, we are reminded of the decreasing power of these institutions. What we need now is for Canada and all members of the international community to step up and bolster their commitment to international institutions and law.
Cyrus Gazdar is a fourth-year undergraduate student at the University of Toronto Mississauga studying political science and history, focusing on American foreign policy and American Cold War history.
You step forward onto Front Campus. It’s your first week of university, and orientation ends with a club fair that might introduce you to your new community on campus.
You stare at the hundreds of tables with endless poster boards, abundant with free stickers, pins, and pamphlets to catch your attention and invite you in. The people behind the tables call out to passersby, asking if they’d like to become their club’s latest member. You see a person carrying a spear in full armour — is it fencing gear?
Suddenly, you hear representatives ask you, yes, you, if you’d like to join the university’s radio station. Football club? Black Students’ Association (BSA)? That’s when you realize that this university has something for everyone — including you.
U of T boasts a diverse range of clubs — with over a thousand registered clubs across all three campuses, practically every niche interest is covered by some student group. While popular clubs like the BSA or the U of T Marathon Club enjoy wide visibility, there are a multitude of lesser-known clubs for students with other interests.
Clubs can center around both hobbies and interests, like sports or gaming, or be a cultural haven for people of specific cultural backgrounds and ethnicities. Students are diverse people containing a multitude of aspects they might want to express, so these clubs are central to having a place where they might meet likeminded people to do that.
Writing your own friendship story
Zain Butt, creator and head of the U of T Fanfiction Club (UTFFC), works to promote a community of people who can simply share their interests. Fanfiction, or the art of writing stories using existing characters in popular media, may at first seem like a strange thing. Sites like Archive of Our Own (AO3) and Wattpad are notorious, especially on social media, for fan-written stories featuring things like noncanonical romances and hyperniche storylines.
Butt says the UTFFC has turned into a meeting spot for various fandoms, gathering to discuss whatever they are passionate about. “I was worried about [judgment] when I first started the club. Sometimes you do get some looks… But that was only a few people. Most people are kind enough that even if they think [fanfiction] is a little weird, [after I explain our club to them] they’ll be like, ‘Oh, that’s nice.’ ”
media followers has only grown since then, alongside the range of topics covered in the club.
That sense of welcoming goes a long way to attracting people who might not otherwise have a space to talk about their more niche interests. For Butt, one such interest is yaoi, a common trope in manga and anime fanfiction writing involving two young men in a romantic relationship, but he says that club members will discuss anything from common fanfiction tropes to popular media such as Dandadan, or Deltarune, a popular manga and video game series.
When he created the club, he was shocked by the 30 people who showed up at the first meeting. The number of members and social
UTFFC members gather most frequently at UTSG, where they know the wide variety of club events will welcome them with open arms. Finding and joining such a club can be as simple as hearing about them, looking them up online, finding the social media they use to communicate — often Discord or Instagram — and attending the next meeting that aligns with your school schedule!
Butt welcomes anyone to join the meetings, even if they have only a passing curiosity, and see if the community is for them.
UTFFC prides itself on offering space for community and allows for new friendships to bloom. It acts like a hot spot for friendship origin stories because it provides a space for people with more niche interests to nerd out about them. Butt himself proudly boasts that various members have stepped into leadership positions, taking on important roles out of passion and care for their community.
The Naginata Club is similarly enthusiastic about uniting members through a hobby many people don’t know of. Naginata, a style of Japanese spear, involves a long tradition of martial artistry and consists of two parts: Engi — choreography — and Shihai — sparring.
Club treasurer Wai Yuk Wong and VicePresident Erica Lai say that they are able to attract new members by telling them of the club’s existence and demonstrating how naginata works. After the curious arrive for their first meeting, many decide to stay long term!
Club meetings occur biweekly at Hart House, and involve a combination of sparring, training and choreography, along with an increasingly unhinged sense of humour, according to Wong. For most people, one of those two things will pique their interest, often encouraging returns.
Like UTFFC, the Naginata Club doubles as an interest-based social setting that allows
members to meet new people at U of T and build relationships with them. “Often after practice, we go out as a group to eat,” Lai explained. “This is open to all members of the club, including new members. We love chatting with each other on the way to restaurants and while eating. We usually get to know each other and our interests [beyond Naginata] through gatherings like these.”
Back on campus at the UTFFC’s headquarters, on the other hand, Butt hosts periodic calls for anyone to practice some storytelling idea or technique for that session. He works hard to ensure these environments are welcoming for all, dissuading the popular idea that clubs can be especially clique-y. “It was never ‘pick your own breakout group and talk amongst yourselves.’ [The way we structure meetings], if everyone has to talk to new individuals… then there isn’t any risk of the people who already know each other bunching together.”
If you’re interested in joining either club or any other club at U of T, the Student Organization
Portal is a helpful tool that allows you to sort through clubs by campus, name and category, which is useful for finding clubs for your specific interests.
Beyond that, the Club Fair at the beginning of each year is always a great way to learn about clubs through whatever eclectic means people come up with. For example, the Naginata Club can be seen each year in full armour, it’s often an amusing sight for those who aren’t familiar with the art. In fact, that’s how Lai joined the club during her first year!
Beyond being places to explore your hobbies, many U of T clubs offer a space to learn about and participate in the diverse cultural communities from around the world. These groups, generally open to people from all backgrounds, offer rich ways to connect with your unique culture.
Many culture-based clubs are vital in raising awareness for specific issues targeting these
cultural or ethnic groups. Larger clubs, like the BSA, are well known for putting on events and workshops that celebrate Black knowledge, cultures, and diversity.
Others, such as the Afghan Students’ Association (ASA), host regular meetings to “celebrate Afghan traditions, music, food, and history, but also through social gatherings, mentorship opportunities, and collaborations with other student groups,” according to the group’s president, Mash’al Jaghori. She explains how the ASA “often engages with [other] cultural clubs and equity-focused groups on campus,” which illustrates how cultural clubs do not often operate in their own vacuum, but former larger communities of cross-cultural support. “Beyond cultural outreach, we also collaborate with charity and volunteer initiatives, since many students are motivated by opportunities to give back to the community.”
According to Jaghori, the club provides a sense of belonging to students and a space
to celebrate their various identities, while also building a cross-cultural understanding. “Afghanistan is one of the most diverse countries in the world, from different ethnic groups to different languages and cultures. Our members have unique and beautiful backgrounds that we value, and we showcase what [and who] Afghanistan and the people really are, not what the media necessarily shows.”
Common media depictions of Afghanistan center on issues like staunch militarism or the Taliban. Jaghori, however, highlights the importance of not reducing a country and its people to media headlines, and hopes the emphasis placed on shared beauty and traditions by the ASA shows people the side of Afghan customs that people often miss.
SIMONA AGOSTINO/THEVARSITY
meet people from my own culture, but I couldn’t find any.” During his second year, he started the club alongside his two friends, and it’s been a place to share culture since then!
Like Jaghori, Persaud sees clubs as a chance to express and practice his own unique heritage. He highlights the abundance of cultures present at UTSC and the CCA’s goal to help nurture an appreciation for the various traditions of the Caribbean diaspora. Many Caribbean cultures “Ha[ve] deep roots in food, music, and social activities, so [club] events typically contain these core points of our culture for Caribbean identifying students, and people who want to learn and appreciate the culture.” The CCA hosts events like student mixers, eat-andpaint sessions, and movie screenings on prominent Caribbean figures.
Persaud attracts prospective members in several ways. Students either check out the club after seeing an ad for an event or are brought to a meeting by a friend who’s already a member. He also routinely invites other Caribbean students he meets on campus, and maintains an active WhatsApp and Instagram presence.
Jaghori employs a similar approach to garnering new members to the ASA. Rather than appealing exclusively to Afghan students, she welcomes anyone who is interested in Afghan culture. From what she’s noticed, Humanities students tend to be drawn towards the cultural and historical aspects of the club, whereas STEM students appreciate the community aspect of it. “Our focus is on inclusivity — we frame the Association as a space for anyone, regardless of background or faculty, who wants to connect and learn, as well as share Afghan culture.”
Both clubs regularly meet with and collaborate with other cultural clubs for joint events, which deepens ties to the cross-culturally diverse community at U of T. No matter how you discover these clubs, they exist to help people interact with and learn about the numerous societies on the planet we share.
Rather than being exclusive to the group each club focuses on, these clubs welcome anyone to participate in the cultural heritage of their members. Whether you know the culture well, are a part of it yourself, or simply wish to learn more about something new, each of these groups focuses on fostering a welcoming attitude to share a culture dear to them.
Like many students, Ryan Persaud, copresident and creator of the new Caribbean Community Association (CCA), was searching for his own space to share his culture. “As a Caribbean student, when I first came to UTSC, I had looked around for a space where I could
U of T clubs have a niche for everyone U of T is a colourful place boasting all manners of interests, cultures and people. In that diversity of choice, one may be overwhelmed by the sheer number of groups they might join, or worry that some clubs might not be for them. On the contrary, niche interest clubs like UTFFC and the Naginata Club, and culturally-specific clubs like the ASA and CCA, welcome all students as long as they’re interested in what the club has to offer. Everybody comes from a unique blend of traditions, histories and lifevvvstyles, and it may be hard to express every single piece of what makes ‘you’ you. Even so, a few minutes of social media searching or a visit with friends to the next club fair is almost certain to reveal new groups you hadn’t even considered before. If you’re looking to experience the vibrant side of university life or fight the isolation that sometimes comes from hours of studying, the myriad of clubs tailored to every niche interest are a great place to start!
November 4, 2025
thevarsity.ca/category/arts-culture arts@thevarsity.ca
The city’s all-night art festival showed what happens when creativity fills the gaps funding leaves behind
Alyssa Scocco Campus Arts Columnist
Toronto’s 19th annual Nuit Blanche took place from 7:00 pm to 7:00 am on October 4–5, bringing thousands of people into the streets to experience public art installations across the city. This year’s theme, “Translating the City,” invited artists to reflect on how Toronto’s languages, histories, and cultures shape our identity.
By reclaiming these scenes and naming the places they actually are, he reminded viewers how rarely Toronto gets to play itself. It was an apt starting point for a night themed around “Translating the City,” a theme that turned out to be more reflective of the audience than the official programming.
Built for art
Next, I headed to 401 Richmond St. W, where “Built for Art” opened its doors all night, showcasing mostly pre-existing Toronto galleries.
The Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU) student exhibits stood out, with several works predating Nuit Blanche and a few new, more interactive installations created for the occasion.
truck, passing out flyers and drawing a crowd. At 433 Dundas St. W, an independent dancer performed to live drumming on the sidewalk, creating a small circle of onlookers.
But what stood out this year wasn’t the official Nuit Blanche program. Since Scotiabank ended its sponsorship of the event in 2015, Nuit Blanche has shifted away from the larger-scale installations that once defined the event. This year, installations were sparsely spread throughout the city, forcing many onlookers to commute between concentrated pockets.
In the gaps, however, the crowds themselves became the most dynamic part of the event. Through music, dance, and spontaneous performance, much of the energy I so desperately longed for came from outside the official lineup.
The Torontonian identity
The most striking work I encountered came early in the night at 256 Dundas St. W, tucked near St. Patrick Street. “Dead Ringer” by Dave Dyment is a film built entirely out of other films, in this case, those that used Toronto as a set but pretended it was somewhere else. Through montage, Dyment brought familiar corners of the city back into focus: Nathan Phillips Square disguised as New York, University Avenue dressed up as Chicago, and anonymous alleyways standing in for everywhere but here.
A short walk west to Huron Square was the “Tower of Babel” by Shellie Zhang: a karaokeinspired LED installation made of stacked video screens, looping the Carpenters’ “Yesterday Once More” in dozens of languages. The piece clearly intended to make “Translating the City” visible; however, visually, it looked like a cold, glowing billboard ad, and conceptually, it came across as gimmicky, taking the theme of “Translating” a bit too literally without a notable angle or message.
“The People’s Dance Floor” at 324 Dundas St W was meant to be one of the more participatory works of the night. A sound system, lighting, and open space promised a collective moment of joy.
But when I arrived, people weren’t really dancing; rather, they were standing around swaying, waiting for something to spark. Mayor Olivia Chow made a brief appearance and speech, encouraging everyone to get moving and remarking on Toronto’s creative spirit, which drew a crowd but didn’t change the atmosphere.
But it wasn’t that people didn’t want to dance. Just a few blocks away, a family with two young kids and a Bluetooth speaker started their own impromptu dance party in the street just behind the dance floor, and soon they had drawn more energy than the official floor. It was an early sign that the most vital parts of Nuit Blanche were happening outside the program.
Among them was Everly Purvis’s haunting piece “She Took it to Heart,” an immersive performance in which a still performer lay on the ground with a blood-red papier-mâché heart protruding from her chest. Viewers were invited to open the heart and place slips of paper with prewritten messages inside until it overflowed.
Each message referenced the casual yet pervasive sexism women face in urban life. The piece forced audiences to confront both the memory of women who have lost their lives to gendered violence and the daily quiet harm of being told not to “take it to heart.”
The result was one of the most beautiful stops of the evening, but a deeper consideration of Toronto’s dependence on pre-existing art to fill Nuit Blanche’s map. The works themselves were rich and compelling, but if the city hopes to be a site of genuine cultural creation, meaningful public investment in new art must follow.
Unofficial highlights
Some of the most memorable moments of the night happened entirely outside the official program. At Spadina and Queen, the music duo Garçons, made up of Deelo Avery and Julian Strangelove, performed their song “Pink Dress” among others from the back of a parked
legacy of St. Peter’s Anglican
These spontaneous performances stood out precisely because they were simple, immediate, and crowd-driven. They didn’t depend on a production budget, but were some of the most effective works of the night.
Art at the scale of Nuit Blanche, of course, requires substantial funding to exist. However, even with the budget behind them, to me, many of the larger official Nuit Blanche installations felt less inventive and impactful than the smaller, unfunded work. Evidently, Nuit Blanche fell short for me this year, not just because of limited funding, but also because many works lacked risk and imagination.
The big picture
Nuit Blanche 2025 held two competing truths: on one hand, many installations were thoughtful, beautiful and engaged deeply with the theme of “Translating the City.” At the same time, the overall event felt sparse, overcrowded and stretched thin. Making up for these deficits, however, were the people of Toronto, who stepped into Nuit Blanche as creators in their own right.
Toronto’s hunger for art was clear by the scale of the crowds that turned up. People came looking for culture, and when the official installations fell short, they made their own. The city may not be getting the cultural investment it needs, but at the very least, Nuit Blanche proved that at the level of the people, Toronto’s creative energy is as alive as ever.
How a house of worship neighbouring UTM became associated with paranormal
Down the hill from the Davis Building at UTM, past the rustic Alumni Building and through the surrounding woods, lies a hidden-in-plain-sight cemetery that has been in use since 1827.
This is the cemetery of St. Peter’s Anglican — a church founded in 1825 by the pioneers of Erindale, a township you may recognize as the source of UTM’s original name: Erindale College. The building has remained a community hub for 200 years since then, through world wars, the Rebellion of Upper Canada, pandemics, and everything else that has made Mississauga into the city it is today.
The church is tied intrinsically to the land on which we study. And to some people, the connection is spiritual — and I’m not talking about religion.
Rumors
“I bike by there, and sometimes, I see something out of the corner of my eye, and I get a shiver up my spine,” confided one third-year UTM student, who told me there are rumours that St. Peter’s is haunted.
She’s not the only one who has heard these stories; I spoke with Matthew Wilkinson, a historian
who develops the popular Haunted Mississauga tours. Wilkinson works with Heritage Mississauga, an organization that aims to celebrate the city through research and learning. This year’s soldout event took place at none other than St. Peter’s itself, and advertised the opportunity to explore “the legends and mysteries” tied to the church.
I spoke to Wilkinson about the event and his thoughts on the alleged hauntings.
Haunted Heritage Mississauga
“Haunted Mississauga is the worst descriptor,” Wilkinson said. The focus is on the historical setting and people — the real local legends.
“It’s never been about just telling ghost stories.”
Is St. Peter’s haunted?
Wilkinson has heard this question many times before, and says his answer remains the same:
“Do I believe in ghosts? No. Are there things I can’t explain? Yes.”
Most of the chilling supernatural occurrences shared with Wilkinson came from locals exploring the church grounds. While he can’t verify any accounts, alleged evidence includes “orbs and energy” at St. Peter’s. According to him, some believe that the deceased leave behind “residual spirit energy,” which manifests in photos as balls of energy, sparkles of green light, and shadows.
Visiting
Hearing all this, I knew I had to explore St. Peter’s myself. On a sunny fall day, I trekked all the way up the infamous hill.
My first impression of the cemetery was how beautiful it was — nineteenth-century graves stood tall, with clean and smooth headstones that matched perfectly with those from recent years, all nestled in trimmed green grass. Among them were numerous benches and even birdhouses, creating a comforting environment for the bereaved.
The state of the grounds should come as no surprise; St. Peter’s Museum and Archives Chair, Kimberley Lemiski, informed me that their Cemetery Committee, headed by Thom Wigle, regularly cleans and repairs headstones, honouring the memory of the parishioners, veterans and others who are buried there.
Ghost orbs
I still had to investigate the allegations of ghostly orbs myself, so before leaving, I snapped a photo of the back of the church.
Lo and behold, there it was: a glowing green sphere in each photo, just like Wilkinson said. Right there, parallel to the sun.
These “orbs” are what photographers refer to as lens flare: the reflection of sunlight through the
multiple pieces of glass that modern camera lenses are made out of, appearing as spheres in different colours.
So, with the warm atmosphere and no convincing photographic evidence, I can’t say that I found St. Peter’s to be particularly eerie.
So why all the haunting rumours?
While culturally, people associate hauntings with tragedy, what Lemiski explained about the church’s history was anything but tragic. From the volunteer labour that built the church and continues to maintain the grounds, to the community supports such as The Deacon’s Cupboard food program, the church is what Lemiski describes as “full of life and powerful faith.”
So how exactly does a place with such a history get associated with ghastly hauntings? Wilkinson attributes it to a desire for connection.
“Exploring the spirits is a different way of connecting to the place in which you live, just like genealogy and property research.”
Perhaps that’s all there truly is to “haunted” historical monuments: the human desire to connect with those before us, meshed with cultural notions of spirits and ghosts.
I can’t tell you what to think. All I can say for certain is that St. Peter’s has been, and continues to be, a foundational pillar of the Erindale community.
The Word on the Street festival connects Canadian literature with its
On the last weekend of September, the Word on the Street (WOTS) festival took place at David Pecaut Square in downtown Toronto. WOTS is a free annual outdoor event and marketplace for bookstores, readings, author signings, and other programming for literary enthusiasts.
The two-day event was attended by a large crowd from Toronto and all over Canada. The festival brings together different corners of the Canadian literary scene and is the perfect introduction for newcomers to the industry. This year’s programming platformed a diverse group of publishers, businesses, and publications.
Independent publishers took centre stage at WOTS and represented the variety in the readership of the country. Brick Books — a Kingston-based poetry publishing house that aims to highlight urgent voices in poetry and reconnect the aesthetic of words with their political meaning — had a table full of Canadian poets.
Alayna Munce, their publisher, said in an interview with The Varsity that WOTS is great for their business. The festival boosts sales and provides exposure to their poets. It also allows the press to interact with customers and authors in person, which facilitates much-needed human connection. This connection, she said, is “really important to have a thriving, grassroots literary discourse.”
One of their poets, Ronna Bloom, author of In a Riptide, held a poetry prescription workshop on Saturday. In the workshop, Bloom would invite you to sit across from her, close your eyes and reach for an emotion inside that was bothering you.
I asked for a poem for some personal bravery. Bloom’s face lit up at my request, and she shuffled through her poems to retrieve the first stanza from “Variation on a Theme by Rilke” by Denise Levertov. She recited the stanza unfalteringly and instructed me to use the poem as many times as needed. This act of poetic theatre reinforced Brick Book’s mission to voice the feelings that cannot be expressed outside the literary form.
WOTS is also a great opportunity for literary newcomers to connect with employers. Britt Landry, a Publishing Assistant at Book*hug Press — a Toronto-based publisher of Canadian literary fiction, translated literature, poetry, and narrative nonfiction — got her start by interacting with the press as a festival-goer. She sees the festival as “… a safe space for literary people of all types,” and thinks it’s important for the community to see where the books are coming from.
The festival also allows small publishers who specialize in literary niches to promote their businesses and writers. Two such publishers at WOTS this year, Gordon Hill Press and Sick Stories, both centre disabled voices. Gordon Hill Press, who publish poetry, innovative fiction, lyric non-fiction, and literary criticism in Guelph, emphasize writers living with invisible disabilities.
Sick Stories is a Toronto-based micropublisher and bookstore that focuses on disability, chronic illness, and mental illness, and is rooted in the discipline of Mad studies. Sophie Lyons, their founder, told The Varsity, “Our mission is really to amplify disabled voices and give them more visibility in the bookshelf.”
She also mentioned how important WOTS was for raising awareness for them as a disabled-owned business. “We’re often seen as a charity place or expected to be a non-profit just because we’re
disabled. We don’t get access to government benefits very easily and have to support ourselves with paid work just like everybody else.” WOTS is an avenue for businesses like theirs to meet new customers and build connections that they wouldn’t otherwise.
Magazines
The festival also dedicated a section to Canadian magazines in Zone A. Eleni Zaptses, the managing editor of literary magazine The New Quarterly, told The Varsity, “I think there is something to be said of that face-to-face connection and really impressing on people the importance of the magic of literature.” She emphasized the importance of funding free events like the festival so that readers can continue to be exposed to the Canadian literary marketplace.
Riddle Fence Magazine, a literary magazine from St. John’s, was able to exhibit at WOTS through a grant from the Canada Council for the Arts. Executive Director Elisabeth de Mariaffi told The Varsity that exhibiting for even a day last year was such a success for the magazine that they decided to commit to both days this year.
“Something that I think is really important for people to understand is that in order for us to have literary cultural output, we have to support emerging writers, and literary magazines like ours are the first stage publication for emerging writers,” she added, on the role that small publications like hers play in the landscape.
Bookstores
WOTS also introduces festival-goers to independent bookstores that are an essential part of Toronto’s literary culture. One such
bookstore, Another Story Bookshop, with a reputation for championing social justice and community, is dedicated to highlighting books and literary events that truly reflect the diversity of Toronto’s population.
Saul Freedman-Lawson, a bookseller there, told The Varsity that the downtown location of WOTS allows the Roncesvalles-based business to connect with people who might not visit the East End frequently.
They echoed the importance of free events like this by saying, “I would love to see less funding going to prizes and awards and more going into grants and community events. Things that bring a lot of people together and raise the arts a lot of money.”
The role of the festival
The sizable impact of WOTS on the Canadian literary community is seen in how many people, publications, and artists diligently attend the festival every year. Because the festival is free and accessible to the public, it draws in a varied and ever-expanding audience.
WOTS helps to shape Toronto’s identity as a city by providing its artists with opportunities, connections, and jobs. Author and illustrator Jillian Tamaki said to The Varsity, “People want to visit big cities like Toronto for the culture, for the food, for the people, literature, for the art!… Give all the money to artists and make the rent cheap, and cool culture can happen that way!” Festivals like WOTS are integral to keeping the industry full of new blood. The importance it holds in Torontonians and Canadians shows how the arts can unite different communities in building a future that allows for difference and innovation.
Rayn Lakhani
Varsity Contributor
On Sunday, September 28, I had the pleasure of attending UNSILENCED: Anti-Palestinian Racism Shorts, which featured four short films at the TIFF Lightbox as part of the 18th iteration of the Toronto Palestinian Film Festival (TPFF). The series included Sara Balkis’ Between The Silence & The Noise, Paula Sahyoun’s The Silence They Taught Us, Rimah Jabr’s You’ve Seen it on TV, and Rodrigue Hammal’s Exception
The films centre on anti-Palestinian and anti-Arab racism, as well as the censorship of Palestinian identity in mainstream media. While each short is a different genre, they all comment on the lived realities of Palestinians. These wonderfully crafted films left me to reflect on the impacts of media censorship, and take action to amplify Palestinian voices and media.
The screening began with Between the Silence & the Noise. It centres on Julia (Tracy Hawchar), a Lebanese-Canadian journalism student who cares for her grandfather, Antoine. Initially, Julia dismisses the shock on Antoine’s face as he watches bombings in Lebanon on the news. However, after her class on the Lebanese Civil War, she becomes more interested in uncovering her family’s history.
The film has a warm aesthetic with film grain, and comments on the treatment of journalists who fought to defend the rights of Lebanese and Palestinian civilians during the Lebanese Civil War. On April 1 2024, Israel passed a law banning foreign media in Palestine, forcing Palestinian journalists to cover the genocide themselves. The film speaks to the importance of having access to one’s history.
The second short screened was Paula Sahyoun’s autobiographical documentary, The
Silence They Taught Us. The film began with a mix of live-action and animation, which spotlighted Sahyoun’s internal battle over whether to share with her friends that she is Palestinian. Rather than following a linear plot, this short takes us on Sahyoun’s journey of embracing her Palestinian identity.
The film contains interviews and animations to convey the challenges she faced in expressing her identity to others. As Sahyoun recounts, her father hid his identity, which she internalized as something to be feared. The film ends with a call to action, stating that reclaiming her voice is a powerful step towards collective liberation and that being Palestinian is the greatest gift of her life.
The third film was You’ve Seen it on TV, directed by Rimah Jabr. This short shifts between dark comedy, drama, and thriller to exemplify the broader issue of surveillance in suppressing digital actions and communications. The story centres on Zain, a graduate student, and his stalker and their two assistants who follow and interrogate him. In the short film the stalking never truly ends.
The film subtly references the ongoing censorship of Palestinian content on Metarun platforms. On some of the largest social platforms, such as Instagram and Facebook, Meta issued thousands of content takedowns, nearly all being peaceful expressions of support for Palestine.
In an article for The Breach, a former producer at CBC noted that despite the ongoing genocide of Palestinians, senior executives did not want to make hosts uncomfortable, and later warned her during a staff meeting for bringing up the topic. As a whole, there are strict guidelines surrounding digital advocacy for Palestine. It is clear that, like Zain, many face repercussions for even small attempts at speaking out.
What I admired about this film was its unconventional plot structure. Starting as a typical dramedy, it morphs into a dystopian thriller, with distorted images and surrealism. The film ends on an ambiguous note, leading viewers to wonder whether this monitoring now reflects Zain’s new reality.
The final film of the series was Exception by Rodrigue Hammal, which, at 32 minutes, was the longest short in the series. This film is a hard-hitting drama about the devastating consequences of the loss of free speech. This film discusses the rise of professors losing their jobs as a result of speaking in support of Palestine. The team behind Exception skillfully captures the struggle Karim (Waleed Zuaiter) faces while making a life-changing decision.
When pressured to either sign a pledge to revoke comments he made advocating for
Palestine, or lose his position as a professor, Karim must consider the two sides involved in this decision — his family and the administration challenging him. I was inspired by how Karim confronted authority, culminating in a plea to protect the university’s right to free speech and expression.
Walking away from the TIFF Lightbox, I learned four stories. Four new perspectives. Four lessons to carry with me, and above all, a responsibility to use my voice for social good. As a student who is heavily involved in the arts and media, on and off campus, it is my responsibility not only to create but also to amplify projects that combat these issues, such as the suppression of Palestinian voices. In a time when individuals are actively censored from speaking up for Palestine, artists cannot be silent. Not now, not ever.
Photo November 4, 2025 thevarsity.ca/section/photo photo@thevarsity.ca
November 4, 2025
Women’s team makes history with their first provincial title, men’s team earns their first title since 2010
William Kuk Varsity Contributor
On November 1, U of T hosted both the Ontario University Athletics (OUA) Women’s and Men’s Soccer Championship finals at Varsity Stadium. As the top seeds of the Eastern conference, the Varsity Blues Women’s Soccer team welcomed the Guelph Gryphons, who also finished top seed in the Western conference.
The Men’s Soccer final saw a similar set of circumstances. As first seeds in the OUA Eastern Conference, the Men’s team came into the match with a seven-game winning streak. Their opponents, the York Lions, also finished first in the Western Conference.
In this rare double-header OUA finals event hosted at U of T, both Blues teams made the affair all the more extraordinary by winning two gold medals. The Women’s Soccer team made program history by securing their first-ever OUA provincial championship title. For the Men’s Soccer team, this victory marks their first OUA title since 2010 and 51st in program history.
The Women’s OUA Soccer final
The first 45 minutes of play saw neither team make their mark on the scoreboard. While the Blues generated many scoring chances, Guelph Gryphon’s goalie Sabrina Spano and centreback Katie Kimens made a formidable defensive duo. Standing at six feet tall, Kimens neutralized multiple scoring opportunities by leveraging her height to header corner kicks and high lobs away.
The second half saw both teams level up their pace. During the 70th minute, the Blues’ tenacity paid off. The championship-winning play started with a corner kick from second-year Emilija Lucic. As the ball soared into the goalkeeper’s box, fifthyear captain Hannah Chown threaded the needle by cutting in front of Kimens to head the ball for the match-deciding goal.
For the last 20 minutes of the match, the Blues remained aggressive on both offence and defence. Although Spano restricted the Blues from scoring again, the Gryphons’ offensive unit was unable to score against Blues goalie Maria Godoy-Atrash. Having kept a clean sheet for the past two playoff matches, Atrash once again remained undefeated in the 90th minute by making two more critical saves to stave off the Gryphon comeback, and the final score remained 1–0.
The Men’s OUA Soccer final
The Men’s final match versus the York Lions was a long and dramatic one. After a scoreless 90-minute match, the Lions looked poised to eventually crack
second-year Blues goalie Filip Zendelek’s defence in overtime. The Lions had predominantly kept the Blues occupied at their defensive line for much of the overtime half.
However, at the 100th minute, a critical red card given to the Lions’ forward, Anthony Morano, proved to be a watershed moment. Once one of the Lions’ key attackers was ejected from the match, the tides turned quickly, and in the 107th minute, fifth-year Kingsley Belele broke through and scored the first goal in overtime. The Blues were not finished there, as third-year Mehdi Essoussi followed up at the 112th minute with another goal to make the score 2–0. With only eight minutes remaining, the York Lions were
not able to overcome the deficit, as Blues’ goalie Zendelek remained undefeated and closed out the game with a clean sheet.
What’s next?
With their monumental wins, both the Men’s and Women’s soccer teams now turn their attention towards competing in the U SPORTS National Championships. The Men’s team will stay on home turf as the University of Toronto will host the national championship from November 6–9. The U SPORTS Women’s national championship will be hosted by McMaster University in Hamilton during the same days.
Toronto searches for stability and playoff relevance
Emma Laratta
Varsity Contributor
The Toronto Raptors start the 2025–2026 season in an environment that seems both old and new. After finishing with a 30–52 record last year, hints of improvement were obscured by inconsistency and injuries. The team’s identity and attacking strategy are once again being called into question.
However, there is some cautious optimism: with a healthier lineup, greater chemistry, and a strong core formed around Scottie Barnes, the Raptors may finally be ready to power ahead. The Eastern Conference is congested at the top but open in the middle, which might allow the Raptors just enough room to reclaim contention.
Strengths: A maturing core and a defensive backbone
This year, Toronto’s most significant edge is consistency. The majority of last season’s key rotation stays intact, which brings a sense of familiarity that has been lacking since the 2019 championship period. The long-awaited return of Brandon Ingram, who was sidelined due to injury last year, provides much-needed offensive power and spacing.
On defence, the Raptors improved significantly after the All-Star break, finishing second in the league in defensive rating during that time. Jakob Pöltl leads the inside, while Barnes, with his length and flexibility, is the team’s pulse. Barnes, now in his prime, is
evolving as a playmaker and a leader, and if he remains healthy, the Raptors’ ceiling will rise with him.
Weaknesses: Offence and spacing limit potential
For all their defensive growth, the Raptors’ offence remains a work in progress. Last season, they were 23rd in scoring and at the bottom of the league in three-point shooting, often clogging the court and limiting Barnes’ ability to make plays. Ingram’s return should help, as he has increased his outside volume and made almost 37 percent of his threes last season.
Toronto’s success may be determined by Barnes’ and Ingram’s ability to share the floor without undermining each other’s abilities. The Raptors went 7–32 in the last two seasons without Barnes in the lineup. Until the Raptors demonstrate that they can remain healthy and rediscover offensive rhythm, their defensive advances may not be sufficient to take them through the East.
Offseason changes: Stability with fresh energy
Rather than overhauling the roster, the Raptors doubled down on stability. They re-signed Pöltl
to maintain their defensive anchor and picked forward Collin Murray-Boyles ninth overall, a high-intensity youngster who matches Toronto’s energy and length characteristics.
There has also been a notable cultural shift. Darko Rajaković, the team’s new coach, has prioritized speed, ball movement, and half-court discipline, which were the team’s weaknesses in the previous season. According to training camp reports, it might pay off quickly.
If the Raptors can maintain their defensive edge while improving their offence, they will have a solid chance of making the playoffs.
Outlook: A defining year for Toronto’s rebuild
This season feels like a turning point for the franchise. The Raptors have all the pieces: a rising star in Barnes, a proven scorer in Ingram, and a defensive unit capable of keeping them in games.
Yet, converting promise into results has been the missing link. Realistically, Toronto projects as a mid-tier Eastern Conference club capable of winning 40 games if players remain healthy. They are good enough for the playoffs, and potentially even more if everything goes as planned. Anything less, and the front office may need to reevaluate its long-term strategy. This year holds emotional significance for Raptors fans, who have experienced both the highs and lows of 2019. It’s a test of patience, growth, and whether this squad can ultimately make all of its “potential” a reality.
Women’s Soccer team advances to gold-medal match and secures a chance at National Championship
William Kuk Varsity Contributor
On October 25, the Varsity Blues’ Women’s Soccer team hosted the Western Mustangs at Varsity Stadium in a high-stakes Ontario University Athletics (OUA) semi-final playoff match. As the top-seeded team in the OUA East conference, the Blues continued their playoff run by securing a ticket to the finals and a berth at the U SPORTS National Championship with a tight 1–0 win.
What happened?
From the onset of the first half, both teams played aggressively as they jostled for the first goal. Blues’ third-year goalie Maria GodoyAtrash held her ground as she blocked all three shots against the goal, while the Mustangs’ goalie Samantha St. Croix matched her effort on the other side of the pitch to keep the score level.
The game-deciding moment came in the 31st minute as midfielder Maddy Mah made a scoring attempt in the Mustangs’ penalty area. The shot was blocked by St. Croix, and the ball rebounded into the air.
In the chaos and before the ball hit the ground, second-year midfielder Emilija Lucic was able to capitalize with a header, which sent the ball into the left side of the goal. The half ended with the Blues leading 1–0.
The second half remained intense as Western fought valiantly to even up the score. However, with solid team defence, the Blues were able to retain their lead. After 45 more minutes of play and a stoppage time of four minutes, the Blues emerged victorious with a final score of 1–0, and Godoy-Atrash claimed another clean sheet.
In a post-game interview with The Varsity, fifth-year defender and captain Hannah Chown spoke about what led to their victory today: “[Our coach has told us that] when it comes
Jordan Grey’s two goals lift Blues past Waterloo Warriors in historic semis win
Jean Patrick Vidad Varsity Staff
It has been over a decade since the Varsity Blues men’s soccer team last advanced to the gold medal match. The Blues left no stone unturned and secured their ticket to the provincial final for the first time in 14 years.
On October 25, in front of a polarized crowd at Varsity Stadium, the fourth-seeded Blues knocked off the Waterloo Warriors in the Ontario University Athletics (OUA) semifinals in a 2–0 shutout to send them to the OUA finals against the York Lions.
The Warriors came out firing out of the gates with forward James Arango criss-crossing through his defender, firing a shot that Blues goalie Filip Zendelek caught. Forward Kyler Monterroso also launched a couple of kicks, only to be saved by Zendelek and blocked by U of T’s defence. Despite persistent efforts from the Warriors, Zendelek held his own between the posts, and the defence stood their ground, buying some time for the offence to execute.
Midfielder Matthew Mills unleashed two corner kicks, with Zendelek grabbing the first one, while
to games like this, it’s all about your character. And I think [this game] just proved the sort of character that our team has. If you’re gritty, we’re not giving up. It doesn’t matter if it’s the 12th minute or the [80th] minute. We keep going, we keep going, and we just push until the end.”
What’s next?
The Blues continued their journey to forging program history in pursuit of their first OUA
the defence delivered a header to the second. Arango again tried to make a move around the defence, but the Blues managed to thwart his shot attempt.
14:39 minutes into the game, Blues forward
Jordan Grey netted the first goal of the night from midfielder Russell Stewart’s corner kick to put the Blues ahead, 1–0. The two teams exchanged tirades, with their respective defences stifling each other’s best chances.
In the 28th minute, the referees awarded Waterloo with a penalty kick in what was their most optimal opportunity of the night. Mills took the usual momentum-gaining steps as he booted the shot, but Zendelek made the most crucial save of the night to keep the Warriors scoreless.
The Warriors entered the second half searching for their equalizer, while the Blues awaited the dagger. Waterloo pounced on every opportunity that they got, but Zendelek’s netminding and the Blues’ cognizant defence balked their chances. With additional time, Grey tallied his second goal of the night as he
championship on November 1 against the Guelph Griffons. They will also compete at the USPORTS national championship hosted by McMaster University in Hamilton from November 6–9.
As for how the team will prepare for the gold-medal match, Chown makes it evident that they have clear goals in mind. “Have another good week of training. 100 per cent focus… It’s gonna be a battle. It just depends [on] who wants it more on the day.”
beat his defender on the way to burying the ball and bringing the final score to 2–0.
“It was very [motivating]. I didn’t play great last week, so I had the mindset of ‘What can I do to better support this team?’ And I’m happy to provide support for them tonight,” added Grey when asked about his mindset going into tonight’s match in a postgame interview with The Varsity.
What’s next?
“This means a lot for the team. I’m very happy that we won, and I want to provide them with their first nationals [in 37 years],” said Grey when asked about the importance of this win for the Blues’ program.
When asked about the team’s preparation for the next game, Grey answered, “[The] same way we’ve always been doing. [It’s always] a hundred percent on everything. We never stay complacent. We’re always hard-working and do whatever we can to achieve our goal.” The Blues next played the York Lions in the OUA Championship on November 1.
Canada’s team did the country proud in their first Championship appearance since 1993
Ashley Thorpe Varsity Board Member
The Toronto Blue Jays were never meant to be in the World Series (WS). All things considered, they were a postseason underdog. No one expected them to win the American League (AL) East, and no one expected them to crush the New York Yankees and Seattle Mariners on their way to the fall classic. The Blue Jays’ postseason journey has meant so much to baseball fans everywhere and will be remembered fondly for decades to come. Although it didn’t end the way everyone wanted, the Blue Jays’ 2025 postseason run will forever be an impressive part of the team’s history.
To celebrate the WS, The Varsity reconnected with MLB reporter Keegan Matheson. A WS appearance means the Blue Jays are finally being taken seriously around the league, after being underestimated for years by their American counterparts. “In the United States, the Blue Jays are still viewed as the “other” team in MLB, but this has reestablished them as a serious player and that will impact how they’re covered in the coming offseason,” said Matheson in an email to The Varsity.
American League Division Series (ALDS)
The Blue Jays’ magical postseason journey started during the last game of the regular season. With their backs against the wall, the team needed to pull out a win against the Tampa Bay Rays to win the AL East and earn a first-round bye to the ALDS. The Blue Jays crushed the Rays, beating them in a stress-free 13–4 game.
Despite battling for years in a competitive division, the Yankees and Blue Jays had never
met in the postseason. The Blue Jays came in hot, taking the first game of the series in an awe-inspiring 10–1 win. The Blue Jays never took their foot off the gas, dropping only one game to the Yankees throughout the series.
Blue Jays fans rejoiced everywhere as the Blue Jays won game four of the ALDS with a score of 5–2, sending the team to the American League Championship Series (ALCS) and winning their first postseason series since 2016.
American League Championship Series (ALCS)
After “DAAAAAA YANKEES LOSE,” the Blue Jays moved forward, facing the Mariners in the ALCS. The Mariners won their division, killing their division rivals with a 90–72 regular season record. Their dominant starting pitching rotation, as well as MVP-calibre catcher Cal Raleigh, made the Mariners tough to beat.
Raleigh is known for carving up the Blue Jays, hitting 11 home runs and a 1.062 on-base plus slugging (OPS) over the past four seasons against Toronto. His success continued into the postseason, with a .240 batting average, six hits, four home runs, four runs batted in (RBIs) and six runs scored in the seven ALCS games that were played.
The Blue Jays had the AL’s best home record during the 2025 regular season, but the team still struggled early as the Mariners took the first two games of the series in Toronto. Ultimately, the Mariners’ hot streak came to a halt, and the team blew their lead. The Blue Jays managed to take the series, utilizing all seven games to make it happen. The Blue Jays robbed Seattle of their first-ever WS appearance, returning to the fall classic for the first time in 32 years.
World Series (WS)
Now, the Blue Jays had the chance to win a WS against the juggernaut and defending champions LA Dodgers. Taking on a lineup with a top four of Will Smith, Freddie Freeman, Mookie Betts, and two-way player Shohei Ohtani seems like an impossible task. If anyone could do it, it would be the Blue Jays.
Going into the series, Toronto was buzzing. “There’s a special energy around Vladdy because he understands he’s the face of the franchise now,” Matheson wrote. “Any success or failure will be tied to him and he’s embraced life in Canada as much as any player on this roster…”
The Blue Jays made a statement in game one, smashing home runs, ending with a final score of 11–4. However, the Dodgers responded quickly, silencing the Blue Jays with a 5–1 loss in game two. Going back and forth between Toronto and LA resulted in a series tie of 3–3. Everything would come down to one final game seven.
Blue Jays rookie Trey Yesavage pitched a record-breaking game five. His 12 strikeouts were the most by any pitcher in WS history, all done without giving up a single walk. Yesavage has been a saviour for the team, providing successful starts throughout the entire postseason. The 22-year-old represents the future of the Blue Jays, a Toronto-drafted and developed talent with success in highleverage situations.
The last game seven of the WS was in 2019, when the Houston Astros took on the Washington Nationals. The Nationals won the WS with Max Scherzer on the mound. Nearly six years later, Scherzer started game seven for the Blue Jays. In the game, everything was
coming up Blue Jays. Bo Bichette hit a huge three-run home run in the bottom of the third inning. Andrés Giménez padded the lead with a double in the bottom of the sixth. Rogers Centre was exploding with cheering fans as the top of the ninth was played. Two outs away from bringing home a pennant, Jeff Hoffman gave up a one-run home run to Miguel Rojas, tying the game.
The Blue Jays couldn’t come up with any runs in the bottom of the ninth, sending the game into extra innings. The game concluded with a one -run home run from Smith in the top of the 11th inning. The Blue Jays failed to score in the bottom of the inning, bringing the final score to 5–4, and allowing the Dodgers to win their second consecutive WS.
What comes next?
Now that the fall classic is officially over, fans can look forward to a break from baseball stress. Hypertension headaches, chilly WS watch parties, and heartbreaking losses can be put on pause until MLB returns in 2026.
As for the next baseball season, Matheson wrote, “the Blue Jays should only be more aggressive going forward and their position as a World Series team will only make them a more attractive destination for free agents. I think we’re in Year 1 of a long championship window for the Blue Jays.”
Unfortunately, the “team of destiny” failed to do the impossible. They lost to the billion-dollar Dodgers after fighting them with the power of friendship. Despite the loss, this World Series will go down as one of the best in baseball history.
The Blue Jays made their first World Series appearance since 1993. ASHLEY THORPE/THEVARSITY
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1. Word after French or printing
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5. Concern for veterans: Abbr. DOWN
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PhD study participants are wanted to better understand the experiences of women who return to postsecondary education later in life. If you identify as a woman between the age of 55 and 70 who is currently attending or have attended, in the past two years, a postsecondary institution in Ontario you may qualify to participate in this study. Participants would consent to an interview conducted over Zoom.
Please contact Ursula Cafaro at ucafaro@laurentian.ca for more information.
This study has been approved by the Research Ethics Board at Laurentian University, REB # 6021821
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Event featuring author Yves Engler, UofT encampment organizer Sara Rasikh, and former CUPW president Mike Palecek
Fri Nov 14
7 PM
192 Spadina Ave
