March 5, 2012

THE Varsity University of Toronto’s Student Newspaper Since 1880

Vol. CXXXII, No. 20

5 March, 2012

Bernarda Gospic/THe VArsity

No Holds Barred UTSU ELECTION 2012

Candidates clash over the undergrad bar, multi-faith spaces, and drop credit proposal Simon Bredin ASSOCIATE NEWS EDITOR

Shouting matches dominated UTSU’s fourhour all-candidates debate Wednesday night in Hart House, where a large yet divided crowd argued about issues like an undergraduate bar, clubs funding, study space, and budgetary transparency. The debate was a face-off between Team Unity, a slate led by current VP external Shaun Shepherd, and StudentsFirst, the first opposition team to qualify for office in two years headed, by Brent Schmidt. Public notice of the debate wasn’t issued until a day before despite the room being reserved since February 10. A “wrong version” of an announcement had been sent out and used widely, according to chief returning officer Daniel Lo, resulting in the short notice. Due to this, UTSU decided to live-stream the debate for viewers, Lo added. A UTSU staffer told The Varsity that the video would remain available for students to watch online but it was quietly removed from the website on Friday with no explanation.

Hostilities hamper proceedings Despite an opening plea for civility from moderator and Multi-Faith Centre director Richard Chambers, the raucous debate and heated rhetoric left many students disappointed. Chambers was forced to expel at least one student from the room. When Team Unity presidential candidate Shaun Shepherd spoke, some students jeered and held up posters saying “No More Dirty Tricks, Mr. Shepherd.” CRO Daniel Lo later penalized StudentsFirst over these tactics, although Schmidt had publicly denied his slate’s involvement in the posters’ production and distribution. Team Unity released a statement the following day, expressing their frustration with the “barrage of yelling, screaming, racist, and Islamophobic attacks” that occurred throughout the evening. During the debate, independent presidential candidate Rohail Tanoli repeatedly railed against the hostilities on display, calling it a “sad state of affairs.”

CONTINUED P7

election apathy

UTSU ELECTIONS 2012

VARSITY EDITORIAL

Is this the change we want?

Candidates weigh in

“A concrete and attainable platform”

James Finlay diagnoses why the UTSU elections are failing to connect with students see page 14

UTSU’s presidential hopefuls outline their visions for a better U of T see page 9

In this UTSU election editorial, The Varsity explains why this candidate is the best one for the job see page 10

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monday, March 5, 2012

VARSITY NEWS

news@thevarsity.ca

Presidential candidates speak compiled by Sarah Taguiam, photography by Bernarda Gospic

Brent Schmidt

StudentsFirst

The Varsity: U of T has had problems with campus bars. The Blind Duck Pub at U of T Mississauga loses money, and St. George’s Hangar was shutdown in the ‘90s. What will you do if liability issues and costs prevent the opening of a U of T undergraduate campus bar?

legal drinking. Also, ideally, we would lobby for the space for the bar; we wouldn’t need to purchase land. This proposition is consistently made to look more difficult than it actually is because it is our central platform piece. But there is a reason every school in the country manages to run one.

While it may have been disrespectful, the distinction is quite clear. I regret the atmosphere of the debates, as I have stated quite a few times before, but confronting your friends when they are offensive and racist is far different than asking someone to keep it down.

Brent Schmidt: There are a few key things to mention here. First, while Mississauga’s bar may lose money, it is far from a foregone conclusion that campus bars lose money. The campus bar at Queen’s is packed all the time and runs a huge profit.

TV: During the debate, you were critical of Shaun Shepherd for tweets that he was tagged in. Why didn’t you criticize your own supporters for their jeering, heckling, and the signs they were holding, or at least try to get them to stop?

TV: Name one idea from each of your opponents’ campaign that you like and that you would actually implement if you become President of UTSU.

In terms of liability, the issue was that the security at the time was negligible if existent at all. All of the liability could be mitigated by having effective (and if necessary, outside) security to ensure safe and

Shaun Shepherd

Team Unity

TV: Some students at the debate critiqued UTSU’s tacit support for controversial political causes. Where do you stand on supporting controversial political events? What role do you see politics playing in the union? Shaun Shepherd: The students’ union is a political space and serves the needs of the diverse membership, over 44,000 students. The democratic system set up allows multiple issues, controversial or not, to come through the students’ union through various ways. I don’t believe the students’ union should shy away from bringing issues to light, because any issue that affects students is one that the students’ union should be comfortable facilitating open conversation and debate about. TV: One of your promises is to pedestrianize St. George Street. The same promise

Rohail Tanoli

BS: First, during my opening speech I asked that people settle down. Perhaps I should have been more explicit. However, I think it is highly disingenous to compare offensive and defaming tweets to people cheering and booing.

BS: I think Rohail’s idea to lobby for lower textbook costs is admirable and an eminently good idea. I would also (if possible) continue the UTSU’s work trying to close down st George street.

was made two years ago by the Stronger Together slate and wasn’t implemented. How will you succeed where Stronger Together previously failed?

TV: Name one idea from each of your opponents’ campaign that you like and that you would actually implement if you become President of UTSU.

SS: Previous executives were successful in pedestrianizing Wilcox Avenue. We recognize that major victories such as these take time (it took the Ryerson Students’ Union years to successfully pedestrianize Gould Street). We will continue to work with municipal politicians and staff to make the case for a safer, more contained and sustainable campus. We will also work with other organizations and students’ unions that have successfully pedestrianized spaces to learn from their strategies. We will also try to bring other students’ unions and groups on campus into the campaign to increase pressure on the municipal government from various angles.

SS: I would definitely be advocating for expanding needs-based grants. In fact, I currently do! We won the tuition grant this year (however problematic) and successfully pressured the government to expand the grant to those who initially weren’t eligible by working with other students’ unions across the province. We’re really encouraged that minister of training, colleges and universities has publicly stated that he will be working on grants for mature and part-time students who are not eligible for the tuition grant. We’re also hoping to expand grants at the federal level.

Independent

TV: You have stated repeatedly that you want to remain in the middle. Do you foresee a circumstance that would have you pick side and not stay in the middle? Rohail Tanoli: On most issues, I would not have to pick a side because the incumbent slate and opposition slate often fall on such far sides of the spectrum that the middle ground is not hard to find. However, if there was a particular issue where a side must be chosen (can’t think of any), I would hold a referendum and support the majority of students. In accordance with democracy, minority views must be respected but majority views must be implemented. TV: You said that you have friends who support Unity and StudentsFirst. Choose

one promise from each slate that you fundamentally disagree with. RT: StudentsFirst — I would not promise to increase funding by 50 per cent. The simple reason being, we do not have access to a comprehensive budget of UTSU’s yearly expenditures. It may not be possible to increase funding by 50 per cent, but it should be increased. Team Unity — I disagree with closing St. George street. St. George campus is in the heart of downtown; closing the street could affect the transportation efficiency and economy of the city. It is an idea that will never be accepted by the city. Pushing for it is a complete waste of resources.

RT: Name one idea from each of your opponents’ campaign that you like and that you would actually implement if you become President of UTSU. Students First — I would review the paid positions. It is possible that there are unfair benefits associated with paid positions in the union. This issue needs to be addressed for transparency. Team Unity — I will continue to fight forms of discrimination. This is one aspect previous UTSU administrations have addressed, and the tradition should continue.

news@thevarsity.ca

VARSITY NEWS

UTM students feel ignored and underrepresented in UTSU elections

monday, March 5, 2012

Write for News! news@thevarsity.ca

Students less inclined to vote in because needs not considered by different slates Dalana Parris ASSOCIATE NEWS EDITOR

The historically low voter turnout for the UTSU elections can be partially attributed to unengaged UTM students who feel that some of the St. George slates don’t consider their campus. Although UTSU acts on behalf of all full-time undergraduate students on the St. George and UTM campuses, only a fraction of students choose to vote — last year, only 3,358 ballots were cast by approximately 45,000 students. UTSU’s executive director Amir Bashir said that it’s difficult to determine which faculties are more likely to participate in the elections. However, he said that the number of cast ballots is “dependent on the amount of engagement from candidates.” Agreeing with Bashir’s observations, some UTM students explained that they are less inclined to vote because some candidates do not campaign on the Mississauga campus. “I think that students just don’t know who these individuals are who are running. All they see are posters around the campus with faces,” said fourth-year UTM student Kamille Champagnie. “The UTSU candidates are hardly seen around the UTM campus engaging with students.” “Maybe if there [were more candidates present] on campus engaging with students, letting them know who they are, and what they will be doing, the voter turnout would be higher,” she suggested. Second-year UTM student Tayo Sofela agreed that the lack of information presented to the Mississauga campus discourages students from voting. He also said that some slates neglect UTM in their platforms, which further deters students. “In my opinion, the students at UTM are not given priority during campaigning. The candidates don’t seem to focus on UTM and don’t create their platforms based on the needs and wants of UTM students,” he said. Sofela admitted that out of all the parties, he was only aware of Team Unity’s campaign. He appreciates the slate’s promise to work with UTMSU and address issues affecting UTM students. Some students also said that they would like to see candidates engage in initiatives that are inclusive of the UTM campus. Fourth-year UTM student Andrew Ochran said StudentsFirst’s campaign proposal of a St. George campus bar excludes Mississauga students. “While the campus bar may sound like a good idea, most people from the Mississauga Campus don’t go downtown due to the distance — so I’m not sure how effective it will be [in connecting students],” Ochran said. Champagnie agreed. “There are many other things that can [be used] to connect students. But considering that it will be mostly St. George students using this service, the majority of the funds should come from the students of St. George campus.” Instead of a bar, Champagnie suggested the candidates explore opportunities to connect the campuses and join the student bodies. “There are three U of T campuses and yet it feels like three completely different schools. [UTSU] should look at ways to improve campus unity,” she added. In addition to collaboration with UTMSU and efforts to unify the campuses, UTM students said they hope candidates will consider better support systems for graduating students in search of employment and career guidance.

JENNY kIM/THe VArsity

U N I V E R S I T Y

O F

T O R O N T O

MULTI-FAITH CENTRE

MARCH EVENTS

SOMETHING FOR EVERYONE, WHATEVER YOU BELIEVE IN DO MUSLIMS BELIEVE IN JESUS? ???????????????

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MITT ROMNEY MIGHT BE PRESIDENT, LEARN ABOUT HIS FAITH HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

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CAN A MUSLIM CHEF, AN ARMENIAN CHEF, AND A JEWISH CHEF COOK TOGETHER 4 PEACE? ?????????????

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WHAT IF THERE WAS NO RELIGIOUS OR SECULAR DIVIDE? ???????????????

??????????????????????????????????????????? ?HHHHHHHH ?HHHHHH HHH ?HHHHHHHH HH HHH ?HH HHHHHHH HH HHHHHHHHHHH HHHH ?HHHHH KHHHHHHH HHHHH HH HHH ?HHHHHHH HH HHH ?HHHHH HHHHHH ?HHHHHHH HHH HHHHH ZHHHH HH HHH HHHHHHH AHHHHHHHH HHHH ?HzzHH HHHH? HHH HHH ??HH ???HH HHHHH? H??H HHHH HHHHHH 7 HHHH HHHHH HHHHHH

www.multifaith.utoronto.ca

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VARSITY NEWS

monday, March 5, 2012

news@thevarsity.ca

Is an undergrad bar possible?

Lack of space, sour history of union-run bars, and time are issues to consider Rida Fatema Ali VARSITY STAFF

StudentsFirst’s promise to build a UTSU-run undergraduate bar on campus has been a hot topic ever since the debate, but is a bar really possible? Building a bar would require finding space, which St. George lacks, said food and beverages manager Clayton Hillis. “An institution that is as tight for educational labs and office space as the University of Toronto is wouldn’t want to dedicate space to a non-educational forum like a bar when there are so many off-campus places within walking distance.” But StudentsFirst presidential candidate Brent Schmidt disagreed, saying that while student space is limited, “if UTSU made the [bar] a priority, it could be done.” “There’s been a proposal that’s been forwarded by the UTSU for the last few years to have a student commons. There is actually a space where this is going to happen,” he said. Another issue would be the great amount of liability that comes with running a licensed establishment. In September 2001, the Hangar, a licensed bar run by the Students’ Administrative Council — UTSU’s former name — was shut down. An article from The Strand reported that U of T terminated its agreement with SAC due to an incident involving underage drinking. This

William AHn/THe VArsity

incident, though over 10 years old, will likely cause U of T admin to hesitate in approving another studentrun licensed establishment. UTM currently has an on-campus bar called The Blind Duck, but according to Munib Sajjad, UTMSU’s VP of external affairs and Team Unity’s VP university affairs candidate, admin recently took away the establishment’s independent liquor licence. The pub is now signed with Chartwells, a university and college catering service. Though it still serves alcohol, Chartwells receives revenue from the sales.

Despite U of T’s sour history with student-run watering holes, Schmidt said that the main problem lies with being able to provide adequate security for student-run bars — something that StudentsFirst has a solution to. “If we get outside security and let the rest of the bar be student-run, that would essentially mitigate all concerns,” he explained. Elected candidates would also have trouble because of time constraints. UTSU executives only have one year in office, while a bar would take more than one year to finish. The union has to go through

Unive

Fede Canadian Local 98 •

With files from Sarah Taguiam.

n o i t c e l E G N I R P S 2012

s e t a D g n i t o V ts’ Union nto Studen nts rsity of Toro ration of Stude

the necessary protocols including negotiating an agreement with the university, finding a location, obtaining a liquor licence — or applying to be covered under the university’s present licence — and dealing with policing. They would also need a sizable budget. “It’s clearly ridiculous for us to suggest that by the end of a first term, the bar will naturally manifest itself,” Schmidt said. “This would obviously be a multi-year project, but we would dedicate ourselves to try and get it done.” The slate said that an on-campus bar would create an easily accessible

and equitable space for students to hang out, but two objections were brought up against the proposal. Shaun Shepherd, Team Unity’s presidential candidate and UTSU’s current VP external, pointed out that U of T already has several campus bars and others that are located in close proximity to the St. George campus. During the debate, some students said that having a bar would exclude those who can’t drink for religious reasons. “Can you please explain how a campus bar would fit into a framework of equity?” questioned Katharine Ball, Arts & Science Student Union president. Schmidt said he understands that some students wouldn’t want their student fees used for a bar and they shouldn’t be forced to pay. Due to this, StudentsFirst plans to introduce an opt-out option for the bar. “People don’t want to pay dues to the union for a list of different things, and they shouldn’t have to because we don’t believe people should have no consent,” he said. Independent candidate Rohail Tanoli, who at the debate raised the point that he himself is a Muslim, supported the bar’s creation, saying that it could boost school spirit. Candidates from Team Unity, on the other hand, said they would consider building one if there’s demand.

ates at St. undergradunt services such e im -t ll fu l al represents .T.S.U. provides importa iscounted TTC dents’ Union dd s. U The U of T StuMississauga campuse aries, clubs funding an ts to the central U of en rs d d u u b an k st e oo ts rg b n connects eo s, G ’ rights, and also represe Dental Plan as Health & s. Your Students’ Union advocates for students, campaigns and social Metropasseation and government, ork on common goals T administr ross all campuses to w students ac g. programmin

h t 8 h c r a M & h t 7 March 6th, March

St. George Campus Polling Stations: Sidney Smith Hall (2) Bahen Centre for Information Technology (2) Athletics Centre (1) Leslie L. Dan Pharmacy Building (1) Gerstein Science Information Centre (1) Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work (1) Isabel Bader Theatre (1) Edward Johnson Building (1) Gerald Larkin Building (1) Alumni Hall (1)

09:00 - 18:00 09:00 - 18:00 09:00 - 18:00 09:00 - 18:00 09:00 - 18:00 09:00 - 18:00 09:00 - 16:00 09:00 - 18:00 09:00 - 18:00 09:00 - 18:00

Mississauga Campus Polling Stations: UTM North (1) UTM CCIT (1) UTM Davis (1) Instructional Centre (1)

09:00 - 18:00 09:00 - 18:00 09:00 - 18:00 09:00 - 18:00

All locations are open from 09:00 to 18:00*

*Isabel Bader Theatre open from 09:00 to 16:00

For more information visit www.utsu.ca or email cro@utsu.ca

Please note that, at the time of this publication, “University of Toronto Students’ Union” and/or “U.T.S.U.” refers to the Students’ Administrative Council of the University of Toronto, Inc. (SAC)

VARSITY NEWS

news@thevarsity.ca

Study space at U of T Study space at U of T

infographic by Matthew D.H. Gray

infographic by Matthew compiled by D.H. Gray

monday, March 5, 2012

compiled by Morgaine Craven

Morgaine Craven

Scarborough Campus

St. George Campus

Mississauga Campus

Total students

Total students

Total students

10,565

55,411

13,120

226 10,339 14,229 41,182 538 Graduates

Undergraduates

Graduates

Undergraduates

Graduates

12,582 Undergraduates

U of T election stats compiled by Simon Bredin

0

demerit points assigned to Team Unity candidates to date

34

UTSU board of directors positions up for grabs

1,788 16.9% 11,500 20.7% 1,530 11.6% 16 percent is the Study spots

(not including lounges, cafeterias, etc.)

Study spots

Capacity

(not including lounges, cafeterias, etc.)

Capacity

Study spots

(not including lounges, cafeterias, etc.)

Capacity

News in brief Government quietly axes student job centres

Ontario undergrads say “no” to three-year degrees

The federal government confirmed Wednesday that student job centres across Canada will be shut down, in an attempt to save an annual $ 6.5 million. Human resources minister Diane Finley explained that more resources will be added to the website www.youth.gc.ca to help students find jobs. Critics are concerned that youth unemployment, already double the national average at 14.5 per cent, will worsen because of the decision. The centres have been a resource for students in search of summer employment, providing access to jobs at over 100 locations. Nonetheless, an online student job bank, with access to 135,000 employers nation-wide, can be accessed through the website. —Zane Schwartz

A survey conducted by Higher Education Strategy Associates has found that most Ontario university students prefer a four-year bachelor degree over a three-year one. The Ministry of Colleges and Universities is currently considering changing the length of degree programs the three years, and offering more year-round and online options. Over 850 students participated in the survey, and 64 per cent stated that they find the fouryear degree to be more valuable. Students say they prefer the pace set by four-year degrees despite the financial advantages of three-year programs. —Kimberly Shek

With files from the Toronto Star and The Globe and Mail.

With files from the Toronto Star.

Mount Royal University ex-student union president charged with bank robbery Mount Royal University’s former student union president Meghan Darcy Melnyk was arrested Wednesday for the robbery of a Calgary Servus Credit Union. Police located her SUV by helicopter and took her into custody shortly after she left the bank. Authorities said that she was charged with outstanding arrest warrants for fraud, forgery, and breaching her probation. Last January, Melnyk resigned as Mount Royal Student Association’s president following a periodic review that revealed some “anomalies.” “We don’t know the cause of her actions ... but we hope that she finds the support and the help that she needs,” said former colleague Michelle Dennis, the student union’s VP External. —Marie-Violette Bernard

With files from the Calgary Herald, Global News, Metro News and the CBC.

highest voter turnout so far (two years ago)

35

demerit points can be accrued by executive candidates before getting disqualified

100

demerit points sustained by StudentsFirst to date

1,000

posters can be posted by each UTSU executive candidate

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monday, March 5, 2012

VARSITY NEWS

news@thevarsity.ca

UTSC’s 18-hour network shutdown explained Broken cable connecting campus to St. George reason behind outage Morgaine Craven VARSITY STAFF

A cut fiber optics cable is to blame for the 18-hour shutdown of University of Toronto Scarborough’s internal network on February 24. The outage spanned from 2 am Friday morning to 8 pm that evening. The cable links the UTSC network to the St. George Campus network downtown. With St. George as the primary internet service provider (ISP), both UTSC and UTM’s networks must go through St. George to have access to their internet. The severing of the cable broke that connection, causing the outage. The network outage only impacted those working on the UTSC network at the school. Though it was reading week, and many students were unaffected, those students who were on campus found the outage an irritation. Gillian Worton-Scott, Scarborough Campus Students’ Union’s (SCSU) administrative assistant, worked the day of the outage and said that the outage affected her job. “I was unable to answer emails and [check the voicemail], which is

I was unable to answer emails and [check the voicemail], which is a large part of my job. Students were very unhappy with us at the SCSU for not being able to book them [for meetings] earlier, or at all.

a large part of my job,” Worton-Scott said. “Students were very unhappy with us at the SCSU for not being able to book them [for meetings] earlier, or at all.” Zoran Piljevic, director of IT at UTSC, said that the university has been aware of the risk of outages for some time. According to her, a new initiative called Network Access Redundancy Project, which will prevent further shutdowns, is already in motion. “It’s unfortunate that we had this cut before we had the chance to implement [it],” Piljevic said. “This was a very visible reminder of why this is important.” The Network Access Redundancy Project plans to wire a direct cable from UTSC’s instructional centre to nearby Centennial College to establish a backup network. If the primary connection between UTSC and St. George is interrupted, the network traffic will flow through the secondary connection with Centennial until the primary connection is restored. Piljevic said the secondary connection is currently expected to be established between the end of spring and the beginning of summer this year.

The Association of Part Time Undergraduate Students

ELECTIONS NOTICE SPRING 2012

Wednesday March 28, 2012 6:45pm – 8:30 Venue: New APUS Admin Office 563 Spadina Crescent Suite 236 12 Board of Director Positions Open: Six (6) Woodsworth College, two (2)from any of the following Colleges: New College, Innis College, Trinity College, St. Michaels, University College & Victoria College; 1 UTM, 1 UTSC & 2 At Large *ONLY Registered APUS Class Representatives/Assembly Members are Eligible to RUN for the Board of Directors For more information visit the APUS website: www.apus.utoronto.ca Formed in 1968, APUS offers a variety of programs and services, and provides political representation to all part-time undergraduate students at the University of Toronto. Last year, over 6,000 Winter and 11,000 Summer students pursued part-time studies in every college at all three campuses of the University. The APUS has great reputation and has achieved major successes where our members are concerned.

VARSITY NEWS

news@thevarsity.ca CONTINUED from P1 Build a bar? StudentsFirst’s proposal to build a campus bar drew numerous questions and comments from both sides. Shepherd pointed out that U of T already has a number of spaces to drink on campus: Sammy’s, the LLBO-licensed cafe in Hart House, the engineering faculty pub Suds, and the campus bar run by the Graduate Students’ Union. He also listed other watering holes near the St. George campus, such as The Madison, Molly Bloom’s, the Brunswick House, and Ein Stein’s. Schmidt, however, retorted that the campus lacks an “undergraduate UTSU pub for all students.” “This is a distinction Shaun fails to make,” said Schmidt. “If he tells me to suck it up and go to these other pubs where alcohol is very expensive, then clearly he’s not taking the issue very seriously.” The idea encountered harsh criticism, especially when StudentsFirst VP equity candidate Karthy Chin touted the bar as a multi-faith space. “Can you please explain how a campus bar would fit into a framework of equity?” asked Katharine Ball, president of the Arts & Science Student Union. Some Muslim students also expressed concern that as non-drinkers, a campus bar was not an inclusive space for them. But Tanoli, himself a Muslim, came out in support of the bar. He said that the bar could potentially help club fundraising and bolster school spirit. “York has it. Ryerson has it. Mississauga has it. McGill has it. Why can’t we?” he asked. Equity and inclusivity Equity, inclusivity, and political leanings were some of the most contested topics during the debate The VP equity candidates promised to make multi-faith prayer spaces a priority. But Team Unity’s proposal to create a prayer space in Robarts was taken by a vocal group of atheists as an affront, much as the StudentsFirst bar was to Muslim students. “Do you not recognize that a prayer space is exclusionary to those students who do not pray?” asked a questioner. “I’m not entirely sure of the relevance of that question,” Baig replied. “Multi-faith prayer spaces are for students who need prayer space.” The thorny issue of Israeli Apartheid Week (IAW) also came up numerous times. “I have a bit of a thought experiment for you, Noor,” said one student, directing his question to Baig. “If you were a Jewish student on campus and your student fees were going towards Israeli Apartheid Week, how would you feel and do you think that’s an appropriate role for a student union on campus?” “I don’t have any comments on how that relates to anti-Semitism,” Baig replied. “But I am opposed to anti-Semitism, and as VP equity, I will fight against it.” Shepherd was also grilled over IAW. “Do you personally support IAW on this campus, and the toxic, divisive environment that it creates — yes or no?” asked someone from the audience. Schmidt and Tanoli both responded with an unequivocal “no,” but Shepherd provided a more evasive response.

He said he would commit only to “listening to student concerns and acting appropriately,” which drew boos from the audience. Shepherd’s response also earned a sharp rebuke from Schmidt, who called it “indicative of a pattern at the union, where the answer you always get is ‘I will work for it in the future’ or ‘come and talk to me later.’”

Noor Baig was asked, “If you were a Jewish student on campus and your student fees were going towards Israeli Apartheid Week, how would you feel and do you think that’s an appropriate role for a student union on campus?” Drop credit proposal Munib Sajjad, Team Unity VP university affairs candidate, promised to lobby for “grade forgiveness” if elected. Under his proposed policy, U of T students can strike bad grades from their transcripts. “We believe students should be given a second chance,” Sajjad said. “That’s what the drop credit policy would be for.” The university currently allows students to take courses credit/no credit, provided they declare their intention to do so before the course begins. It also maintains a late withdrawal policy that allows students to remove themselves from a class after the drop date and up to six months after the class ends.

As it stands now, there are some problems with students knowing that their money is being spent well,” he said. “Having a sort of black box that says $800,000 on salaries isn’t good enough. —Dylan Moore StudentsFirst VP university affairs candidate Carmen Reilly appeared receptive to the idea but cautioned that while the policy would provide an initial GPA bump, employers and graduate schools might treat U of T graduates with increased skepticism. Questioned whether the policy can ever be a reality, Sajjad replied

monday, March 5, 2012

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that “it sure is possible.” “It’s happened at other universities, and it can happen here if we can continue to lobby administrators,” he said, adding that UTM, where he’s currently VP external, is implementing this program. Clubs funding and budget transparency StudentsFirst candidate for VP internal & services Dylan Moore committed to increasing clubs funding by 50 per cent if elected. “What we hear from clubs is that they need more funding to host the events that they want to host,” said Moore. Corey Scott of Team Unity, who is seeking re-election to the same position he currently holds, is running instead on his record. “I’ve increased clubs training sessions. I’ve increased the amount of clubs funding and the services available to them as well. And we’ve released clubs funding at the earliest date that [it’s] ever been released,” he said. The two candidates also discussed their stances on budget transparency. Scott claims that for the first time this year, the union published its budget online, fulfilling a campaign promise he had made previously. But Moore responded that these steps towards online transparency hadn’t gone far enough. “As it stands now, there are some problems with students knowing that their money is being spent well,” he said. “Having a sort of black box that says ‘$800,000 on salaries’ isn’t good enough.” If elected, he promised to publish comprehensive monthly spending reports and hold a full public review of all paid positions in the union. Racist undertones The divisiveness of the debate, and of the election in general, has left many students concerned about the state of campus politics at U of T. This year’s election was overshadowed by allegations of racism, race-baiting, and inflammatory rhetoric. StudentsFirst supporter Robert Boissonneault claimed to overhear current UTSU president Danielle Sandhu calling him a “racist.” Invited to explain her remark, Sandhu stood and responded that Boissonneault had once called her a “terrorist,” which she thought was “pretty racist.” Most of the room looked on, baffled at the exchange. A Team Unity Facebook statement released about the debate’s aftermath condemned racist undertones displayed by some students in attendance. Ironically, students seized on the statement, which was released as a Facebook note, leaving over 80 angry comments. The gridlock between supporters of the two slates meant that common ground was found in only one place: the independent candidate, Tanoli. At times, Tanoli appealed openly for some sign of unified approval from the assembled audience. “I don’t know what I can say to get some clapping from both sides of the room,” he said, appearing exasperated. It was one of the few universally well-received lines of the entire debate. Visit var.st/debate2012 if you would like to listen to the full, four-hour recording of the debate.

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VARSITY NEWS

monday, March 5, 2012

news@thevarsity.ca

Trinity revises election campaign rules New rules allow verbal, social media, and email campaigning Akihiko Tse ASSOCIATE NEWS EDITOR

Trinity College has revised its longstanding electoral policy of no campaigning and now permits the use of limited campaigning strategies in future student elections. The amendment comes after a Trinity College meeting held on February 2 that discussed the merits of maintaining Trinity’s traditional election rules — the last major amendment happened in March 1993 — over modernizing its campaigning policies to align it with the university’s other constituent and federated colleges. Under the new by-laws adopted February 16, verbal campaigning and free social media and email use, which were previously prohibited, are now permitted over a 14-day campaign period until election time. Hutchison said that without camCandidates, however, are still paigning, candidates were obliged banned from distributing campaign to run on their own merits and exposters or literature, spending any perience, but it now opens up the money on resources “not publicly possibility of qualifications being available to all candidates,” and re- “exaggerated or distorted.” ceiving monetary benefits from any “It was my concern that rather third parties during the course of than using a campaign to commuthe campaign. nicate effectively about issues, it Evan Hutchison, a fifth-year Trin- would cause the campaign to be a ity student, is against the changes. popularity contest where the only “Elected office is not a reward and criteria for selecting a candidate not a prize in a popularity contest. was their ability to mobilize their Tradition is our identity,” he said friends,” he explained in an interThe Varsity CDS Alan ad 11-0640_Layout 1 2/24/12 3:50 PM Page 1 during the meeting. view with The Varsity.

Bernarda Gospic/THe VArsity

Samuel Greene, who lost last year and is running for student head again this year, proposed the new rule changes according to last year’s DRO Jonathan Scott. “The rules that prohibited campaigning were unjust because they limited our free speech … If the best turnout for an election is 10 per cent, there is something wrong with that,” said Greene during the February 2 meeting. He could not be reached for comment. Last year, four allegations of mis-

conduct were raised against the current student head, James Park, claiming that he solicited votes on election day, eventually winning by 30 votes over his main opponent. Under previous rules, canvassing votes and using non-verbal media and “any other action deemed in contravention of electoral rules by the Chief Returning Officer (CRO) and Deputy Returning Officer (DRO)” were prohibited. Park said that because the allegations against him were raised anonymously and could not be adjudicat-

ed properly, the situation “devolved into a game of ‘he said, she said.’” Scott agreed, saying that it became hard to enforce the rules because evidence against the student was raised anonymously to the CRO. According to Park, both the CRO and DRO resigned after the election because the allegations could not be proven against him and the CRO’s decision that Park infringed campaigning rules was overturned. Park said that because CROs and DROs were the only ones allowed to advertise the campaign, a candidate who privately or publically announced even the date of the campaign would have broken the rules. The rule changes, according to him, will lead to more equity in future elections. “I think this will lead to a leveling of the playing field, as now candidates who are lesser known will have the opportunity to get more exposure,” he said. Scott said that with Trinity’s close-knit community, talk of the next appointed student heads would usually begin in December. He said that, with the changes, he does not envision major differences in how Trinity’s traditional methods of campaigning would continue. “What will happen now is people will be able to rally their vote on election day, which they couldn’t have done before, so that’s probably a fair compromise,” he said.

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Comment

ONLINE EXCLUSIVE

5 MARCH 2012 comment@thevarsity.ca

Candidates weigh in

The Varsity’s editorial board sat down with the three UTSU presidential candidates. For the full transcript and recording, visit var.st/act

photos by Bernarda Gospic

Walking down the middle path

We need to put students first

Bringing unity to U of T

Rohail Tanoli

Brent Schmidt

Shaun Shepherd

INDEPENDENT PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE

STUDENTSFIRST PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE

UNITY PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE

I believe I should be elected president of your students’ union because I put students’ needs before political agendas. In the past few years, the students’ union has consistently failed to provide an engaging campus for all students, and I am ready to make major changes. To start, I will push for discounts at the U of T bookstore, so that all students be they international, national, engineers, philosophy majors we will have the economic burden of paying for school decreased. Second, I would like to increase clubs funding. While I was asking for nomination signatures I asked students if they could have one thing from their student union, what would that be? A majority of students, who actually knew UTSU existed (many did not) asked for greater club funding. The student union levies a little over $1.2 million per year from members, according to their budget, of which $800,000 went to wages this year. As the president, I would look into a smarter method of allocating cash so students’ needs could be met. My third action would be to increase transparency by creating a more explicit budget and making the UTSU website more easily accessible. I would also invite campus newspapers to sit in on board of directors meetings and ask questions when appropriate. This would lead to a faster spread of information in the university. Lastly, I would build a U of T campus bar not so people can get belligerently drunk at will, but so students would have a common area to engage in. York, Ryerson, and McGill all have campus bars, and I have seen first hand how it fosters social networking. Most varsity and student clubs throw fundraising events at the Maddison Pub or Tequila Jack’s, but if we had a campus bar, the fundraisers could be thrown on campus and would lead to greater networking opportunities. My fellow students, this university needs someone who has no political agendas and shows no favouritism to particular groups for endorsing their slate. This university needs an independent, objective, and moderate leader — someone who is not confined to the limitations of being on a slate. I am that person. It is time we start breaking walls and building bridges. If you want to put students first, then you will vote Rohail Tanoli. If you want to achieve unity, then you will vote Rohail Tanoli. If you want to have memories and friendships which will last a lifetime, you will vote Rohail Tanoli. At the end of the day all of us, as students at this great institution, deserve more. Thank you and vote Rohail Tanoli.

UTSU elections are about voting for someone with a plan to make your university experience better. Your president needs to have a realistic and positive platform for how we can change U of T for you, and also needs to have the experience and the integrity to accomplish that plan. My name is Brent Schmidt, and I’m in my third year of studies here at U of T. As a student I’ve been involved in numerous different facets of campus life here at U of T. Last year, I was the training director for the United Nations Society, and serve as the communications director this year for the Hart House Debate Club. I also helped to found the charitable organization Strength in Giving and the Student Political Action Committee, whose mandate it was to increase participation in the UTSU and tackle apathy generally. I decided to run for president because of the frustration I have seen among students who don’t feel represented by their union, and because I also share this frustration. It’s your union; you pay for it and you should not only have access to all of its services, but you should also be aware of them. Currently, the union isn’t doing a good enough job of letting students know about what it can offer. It isn’t enough to offer the same promises year in and year out and never actually accomplish them, especially when we are talking about such critical issues as access to education and quality of education. I’m an OSAP student and I know as well as anyone else the incredible barriers things like flat fees and soaring tuition costs are for students at U of T. That’s why it’s so important to build a better relationship with our administration. The union should be fighting for students, but results for students are dependent on the administration and our relationship with them. Putting students first is about more than just rhetoric and campaign promises, it’s about achieving tangible results and having the leadership and integrity to do so. That’s why this election is so important. Each one of the candidates are going to promise you lofty goals and sweeping plans, so what you need to ask yourself before you vote is: “Who will actually get these things done?” Students First is a team with the experience and results to prove we mean what we say and will give you what we promise. When we say we will build a campus bar and will increase clubs funding by 50 per cent we don’t say it because we want your vote (though we do), but because we think these measures will make campus life better, and attending U of T a little bit easier. Leadership isn’t about making the easy decisions or fulfilling your promises when they are convenient, but about doing the work to accomplish the difficult things. During my stay here at U of T, during the debate and also the campaign generally I think I’ve displayed this type of leadership. So if you want the union of the last four years, you know who to vote for. But if you want a plan to make the university better and the leadership and integrity to back that plan up, then vote Brent Schmidt and put students first on March 6, 7, and 8.

My name is Shaun Shepherd and I’m running to be your UTSU President with Unity, a passionate and diverse team. We are comprised of students from professional faculties and every college. Students involved in clubs, course unions, athletics and mature students. Each of us has a range of experience and is dedicated to ending the politics of division at U of T. We want to unite students to improve this campus. Our platform is ambitious and comprehensive, but achievable. I encourage everyone to view our platform in its entirety on our website www.voteunity.ca. We will work to make education more accessible by uniting with other students’ unions to drop fees and curb student debt. We also want to stop the collection of flat tuition fees in all faculties on both campuses. Our team successfully lobbied the administration to review the flat fee tuition structure in 2013. We refuse to stop our advocacy until flat fees are dismantled. We will also advocate to stop the practice of charging students interest on deferred tuition fees. Students are often forced to pay interest on tuition fees twice, once while in study, and again in OSAP or student loan repayment. OSAP is awarded to students in two installments. As a result, students may be forced to defer their fees and are then subject to interest charges. This unfair policy must stop. Unity will lobby the administration to implement a drop credit policy so students can remove a credit of their choice from their transcript. Similar practices are already in place at McGill, Queen’s, Waterloo and other universities in Canada. This policy recognizes that students may have personal issues affecting the grade awarded at the end of a course that doesn’t reflect their academic ability. These marks should not hinder students’ chances of attending professional or graduate school. Our team is committed to the principles of equity. We want to foster a community where discrimination is actively condemned by our members. We will work with equity-seeking groups to develop strategies toward combating oppression on campus. We will also start an anti-racism collective to respond to incidences of racism on campus, to create structural changes to dismantle systemic racism, and to engage the campus in anti-racism education. Our colleges and faculties do an excellent job of welcoming new students through orientation week. We want to ensure that upper year students are also welcomed back through a Week of Welcome open to all students. We will move the UTSU orientation day to this week so college and faculty councils can plan a full orientation week for their first-years. In the Week of Welcome, we will also have more clubs days to give clubs more time to recruit new members from all years of study. If these issues are important to you, this week, vote Shaun Shepherd for president, Noor Baig for VP equity, Abigail Cudjoe for VP external, Munib Sajjad for VP university affairs, Corey Scott for VP internal and services and the entire Unity team. Because U of T needs Unity.

VARSITY COMMENT

10 monday, March 5, 2012

comment@thevarsity.ca

THE Varsity

EDITORIAL

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

Editorial Board Editor-in-Chief Tom Cardoso editor@thevarsity.ca design@thevarsity.ca Design Editors Matthew D.H. Gray matthew@thevarsity.ca Mushfiq Ul Huq mushfiq@thevarsity.ca Photo Editor Bernarda Gospic photo@thevarsity.ca Online Editor Sam Bowman online@thevarsity.ca Senior Copy Editor Maayan Adar copy@thevarsity.ca News Editor Sarah Taguiam news@thevarsity.ca Comment Editor Alex Ross comment@thevarsity.ca Features Editor Erene Stergiopoulos features@thevarsity.ca Arts & Culture Editor Ariel Lewis arts@thevarsity.ca Science Editor Bianca Lemus Lavarreda science@thevarsity.ca Sports Editor Murad Hemmadi sports@thevarsity.ca Illustrations Editor Jenny Kim illustrations@thevarsity.ca Video Editor Wyatt Clough video@thevarsity.ca Associate Design Editor Suzy Nevins Dan Seljak Associate Photo Editor Vacant Associate Online Editors Mimoza Haque Patrick Love Associate Copy Editor Jasmine Pauk Associate News Editors Simon Bredin Sunnie Huang Dalana Parris Akihiko Tse Associate Comment Editor Davin Leivonen Fok Associate Features Editor Simon Frank Associate A&C Editors Assunta Alegiani Brigit Katz Associate Science Editors Ken Euler Yasmin Sattarzadeh Associate Sports Editor Zoë Bedard

Contributors Marie-Violette Bernard, Beca Bookman, Rachel Bulatovich, Ethan Chiel, Elizabeth Haq, Dylan Hornby, Daniel Horowitz, James Finlay, Stephan Jayaratnam, Josh Oliver, Cristina Olteanu, Kelly Rahardja, Anne Rucchetto, Yasmin Sattarzadeh, Zane Schwartz, Monica Slovak Copy Editors Elizabeth Benn Chris Edwards Nikita Gill Ryan Hanney Tina Hui Nancy Kanwal Joshua Oliver Laura Mitchell Daniel Smeenk Fact Checkers Elizabeth Benn Nikita Gill Tina Hui Nancy Kanwal Laura Mitchell Joshua Oliver

Designers Yasi Eftekhari Matthew D.H. Gray Jenny Kim Suzy Nevins Mushfiq Ul Huq Dan Seljak Photo and Illustration Olga Abeleva William Ahn Wyatt Clough Bernarda Gospic Wendy Gu Shannon Hsieh Ryan Kelpin Jenny Kim Catharine Mansouri

Business Office Business Manager Arlene Lu business@thevarsity.ca Advertising Executives ads@thevarsity.ca Jamie C. Liu jamie@thevarsity.ca Kalam Poon kalam@thevarsity.ca ivana@thevarsity.ca Ivana Strajin The Varsity is the University of Toronto's largest student newspaper, publishing since 1880. The Varsity has a circulation of 20,000, and is published by Varsity Publications, Inc., a not-for-profit corporation. It is printed by Master Web Inc. on recycled newsprint stock. Content © 2012 by The Varsity. All rights reserved. Any editorial inquiries and/or letters should be directed to the sections associated with them; emails listed above. The Varsity reserves the right to edit all submissions. Inquiries regarding ad sales can be made to ads@thevarsity.ca. ISSN: 0042-2789 Please recycle this issue after you are finished with it.

Shepherd a sure bet The Varsity editorial board endorses Shaun Shepherd for UTSU president

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his week, we witnessed the lead up to another UTSU election with its requisite campaigning, mudslinging, and debate drama. The Varsity took some time to sit down with each of the three candidates running for UTSU president. From their responses to our questions (which you can read and hear in their entirety on our website), we arrived at a conclusion — Shaun Shepherd is the candidate most suited to the task of leading the UTSU next year. The decision to endorse Shepherd was the result of hours of discussion between members of the editorial board — three members of The Varsity staff elected by the masthead to choose amongst the candidates on behalf of the paper. Shepherd’s experience, professionalism, and well-grounded, concrete platform make him the most qualified candidate seeking the office of President of the University of Toronto Students’ Union. Both Brent Schimdt of StudentsFirst and Rohail Tanoli, the independent candidate in the election, have one specific idea on which they have based their campaigns. Sadly, the rest of their platforms don’t offer much to U of T students. Schimdt‘s most touted promise is the construction of a U of T campus bar; numerous financial, legal, and equity concerns call into question the feasibility of this promise. The Hangar, a student-run pub underneath Sid Smith, was shutdown by the administration in 2001 because of its failure to prevent underage drinking. Further, the Blind Duck

Pub at U of T Mississauga has continually proven itself a difficult financial and managerial problem for the UTMSU. A St. George campus bar would almost certainly encounter similar issues. Without the promise of a campus bar, StudentsFirst is left with a campaign lacking substance or concrete plans. Moreover, the behaviour displayed by StudentsFirst supporters — characterized by the aggressive Facebook pages, debate heckling, and personal attacks — reflects poorly on the slate. Tanoli wants to negotiate a discount on textbooks through the U of T bookstore. We do not foresee this happening. The margin of return on textbook sales is already low, and it’s highly unlikely that the bookstore would willingly offer permanent discounts on its flagship products to U of T students, its only clientele. While it is clear that Tanoli has charisma, his campaign lacks substance; he hasn’t published a comprehensive platform yet, and though his rhetoric concerning the need for compromise is heartening, he has yet to describe the concrete steps he would take to achieve this. Both candidates have also failed to show as much initiative as Shepherd in campaigning, postering, and reaching out to students in a timely manner. For days, Schmidt’s StudentsFirst lacked a website with a platform document; similarly, posters for Tanoli’s campaign are conspicuously absent across campus. These oversights demonstrate Schmidt and Tanoli are not yet prepared to lead. The highest student-elected office at U of T de-

mands logistical and practical political prowess, and Schmidt and Tanoli’s campaigns betray their inexperience in management and leadership positions. Shepherd presents a platform that is both concrete and attainable. An accessibility audit will provide real, hard numbers reflecting which spaces at U of T could be made more accessible. The creation of a U of T box office is a viable idea; it would provide a central location for clubs to sell tickets, reducing both planning and financial burdens. The box office would also expose more students to the services offered by the union. Shepherd has promised to make the board of directors a more salient part of the UTSU, so that students have access to them for basic information and for further promotion of the UTSU elections and other important events. Our endorsement of Shepherd is not without caveats. The pedestrianization of St. George Street, while certainly one of the most ambitious and creative goals put forward by Shaun Shepherd, may be the least achievable. Two years ago, the Stronger Together slate made a similar promise, and the closure of St. George did not materialize. Shepherd’s promise to make the board of directors more accessible is also a concern, as it remains unclear what exactly that would entail. This is not the first time that an incumbent executive running for the presidential seat has talked about electoral and managerial reform. But as the opposition have so vocally made clear,

On getting more participation in UTSU elections

On UTSU’s relationship with the CFS

Rohail Tanoli: “I think the main problem here is that people will vote if they feel it will make a difference. The best way to ensure that is to instill a sense of campus identity. I’m sure the voting turnout on the Mississauga campus is much higher than the St. George campus, and there’s a reason for that. Mississauga has a better close community than the St. George campus does, and we need to work on that.”

Shaun Shepherd: “I would say, in terms of the role of the CFS, I do openly agree with a lot of the things they do. I have disagreed as well. I voted ‘no’ on a few CFS motions, but overall I feel that they play a good role on this campus; they play an integral role. In terms of a number of the services that we access, the reason that we have access to those is because there’s the CFS, an organization that’s using strength in numbers, and that’s saving student’s money.”

little has been done to address real issues such as proxy use at board of directors meetings or the continual election of incumbents. Shepherd deserves the benefit of the doubt — perhaps his plans to make the UTSU more accessible are indeed sincere. UTSU history, though, suggests that students would be wise to ensure that the pressure to follow through on this particular promise is maintained. However, his strengths outweigh these particular weaknesses. Shepherd represents the continual evolution of the UTSU. There’s been a gradual shift in the student union’s culture over the past few years that has seen it focus on striking a balance between services and political rhetoric. Shaun Shepherd is perhaps the most candid and open UTSU presidential candidate in recent years, and we hope that trend continues. The great communications theorist James Carey once summed up democracy in a single phrase: “We’ll have that conversation.” This is the attitude that we want to see from the UTSU in the coming year. Democracy is not about division, as some StudentsFirst supporters’ actions might suggest, nor is it only about the conversations our community has today. Democracy is about conversations that carry it into the future. It is this spirit that we hope to see at the U of T: the spirit of dialogue and conversation that enlightens, emboldens, and embraces a better future. The Varsity hopes that Shaun Shepherd brings this same spirit with him to the office of UTSU president.

On the UTSU all candidates’ debate Brent Schmidt: “I think it was really unfortunate that what that debate’s going to be remembered for isn’t when me and Shaun were talking about issues; what it’s going to be remembered for is the cheering, the jeering, the signs — and that’s incredibly unfortunate. [...] [T]he university affairs portion of that debate was a very, very good portion of the debate. Carmen, my firstyear, had some very interesting discussions with Munib, and I think that because of the cheering and jeering, people aren’t going to remember that.”

The Varsity’s editorial board sat down with the three UTSU presidential candidates. For the full transcript and recording, visit var.st/act

comment@thevarsity.ca

VARSITY COMMENT

monday, March 5, 2012

11

RYAN KELPIN/THe VArsity

The real controversy

UTSU’s relationship with the CFS doesn’t get enough attention Joshua Oliver VARSITY CONTRIBUTOR

For all the recent debate on both salaries and fees there is another misuse of student money that has attracted far less attention. While many students have rightly raised concerns about the UTSU’s spending on salaries at the expense of student services, virtually no one is talking about the fact that our student fees are also paying for the union’s lobbying campaigns and protests. This problem arises from the dual role that the UTSU plays at U of T. The union is the successor to the Students’ Administrative Council, which drew a great deal of criticism for remaining neutral in campus debates. The SAC feared that having the central student government take sides would be divisive, and it seems that their fear was probably justified. Since the UTSU joined the CFS, its overly political stance has not only divided the student body but also given the organization itself two conflicting roles. The UTSU is required to function as a student government, collecting and spending student funds on services, but is now much better known for its action as a lobby group for the CFS. Supporters of the UTSU and the CFS may claim that as elected representatives of the student body the UTSU executive has a right to advocate on their behalf. This argument,

Supporters of the UTSU and the CFS may claim that as elected representatives of the student body the UTSU executive has a right to advocate on their behalf. This argument, however, quickly becomes ludicrous if we consider the farce that UTSU elections have become.

however, quickly becomes ludicrous if we consider the farce that UTSU elections have become. In order to claim any democratic legitimacy the UTSU elections must fulfill at least two basic requirements — they must draw a significant portion of the electorate to the polls, and the electorate must be confident that the elections are fair. Unfortunately, election turnout and voter confidence are both so appallingly low that the UTSU executive cannot and should not claim to represent U of T’s students. Nor should they spend student funds advocating on our behalf, since they have no indication of what the majority of students want them to say. There are, however, two facts that can give us some indication of how students really feel about the UTSU and the CFS. Firstly, the fact that voter turnout has sunk to somewhere around five per cent in recent years suggests that a vast majority of students are disillusioned or apathetic about the UTSU. Another suggestive fact is that only several hundred, out of U of T’s more than 70,000 students attended their “All Out Day of Action.” If all out for the UTSU is less than one per cent of students, it gives an indication of how little support their political actions really have. Given these indication, and the complete inefficacy of the UTSU’s elections students, are justified in feeling that the fees they are compelled to pay are being misspent.

Moreover, the CFS gains credibility by claiming, as they have repeatedly done, that they have more than half a million members in schools across Canada. While this is technically true, it is certainly misleading since anyone who wants to attend a school that, like U of T, has a CFS branch is compelled to join. Thus the CFS can claim to have a truly impressive number of members despite the fact that we have no way of knowing whether these members support the CFS or not. On top of the electoral reforms that are clearly necessary, a beneficial change would be to separate the student governmental, and lobbying functions of the UTSU. We have seen that their combination has created division and disillusionment in the student community, allowed student funds to be misspent, and student’s view to be misrepresented. Mandatory fees, tied with our tuition, should only be used to deliver student services, through an effective, democratic, and impartial student government. Any organizations for student advocacy, while their role is certainly important, should have voluntary membership and contributions. In the present system, anyone who doesn’t want their name and money supporting the CFS cannot attend this university. If education is indeed a right, then how can the UTSU justify making that right contingent on subscribing to their political agenda?

VARSITY COMMENT

monday, March 5, 2012

comment@thevarsity.ca

Raising our spirits Why the LCBO needs to be deregulated David Woolley VARSITY STAFF

Bernarda Gospic/THe VArsity

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The Ontario government is trying to get its fiscal house in order. To this end, the government commissioned the Drummond Report to suggest ways it could save taxpayer money. Among the ideas presented was the privatization of assets held by the Government of Ontario. It was announced on February 13, 2012 that the government intended to sell the LCBO’s headquarters in downtown Toronto. Too bad the sale of the LCBO itself will not follow. The Drummond Report recommended the Ontario

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government buck the trend adopted by Alberta and British Columbia and avoid privatizing liquor sales. While the Drummond Report may be filled with sensible policies to help pull Ontario out of its fiscal ditch, this is not one of them. Selling off the LCBO headquarters is a onetime injection into provincial coffers, but it only serves to delay the deficit while not offering long-term solutions. The Drummond Report argues against LCBO privatization because the government-owned enterprise brought in a net income of $4.6 billion last year. No paltry sum, to be sure, but simply because a GOE is profitable does not mean that the alternative would not be more so. When Alberta privatized liquor sales it actually increased revenue to the government by $87 million and reduced expenses by $67 million. How is this possible? Look at it this way: if the government told you that it could make more money by owning and operating all bars and restaurants in the province, would you believe it? Probably not, because while the government might gain all the profits from the businesses, it would also accrue all of the operating costs. In addition, there would probably be fewer bars and restaurants in the province because the decisions an entrepreneur makes when deciding how to invest his or her money are very different from those a government makes when deciding how to spend taxpayer dollars. Likewise, since volume purchases are cheaper, you would expect to only see the same namebrand products available at every bar and restaurant instead of those made by smaller microbreweries and vineyards. Luckily, this is not how Ontario handles bars and restaurants. Instead, the government simply charges them for a licence to sell alcohol, while leaving all other decisions to the business. This is what Alberta has done with the sale of alcohol in stores and what BC is moving towards. Instead of owning and operating a liquor control board, the government simply licenses private liquor stores. This means the government sheds from its books all costs associated with running the businesses, while maintaining — or, as has been the case more often, increasing — its income from the annual payment of licensing fees. Ontario, unfortunately, does not do this and is not moving in that direction. The people who suffer from this are consumers and taxpayers. While import agreements benefit local Ontario manufacturers, it is almost impossible to find rarer products from outside Ontario and outside of Canada. Have you ever had GlenLyon syrah, the California wine made by a former Ronald McDonald? What about Yamazaki, the 18-year-old single malt whiskey made in the Japanese Alps? You may have tried Crystal Head, the diamond-distilled vodka made by Canada’s own Dan Aykroyd, but if you had tried to get your hands on a bottle of it five months ago, you would not have been able to. LCBO — Continued ON P14

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VARSITY COMMENT

monday, March 5, 2012

13

Preserving free speech Israeli Apartheid Week can’t be dismissed just because it’s controversial

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Today marks the beginning of Israeli Apartheid Week. IAW describes itself as a week to “to educate people about the nature of Israel as an apartheid system and to build Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions campaigns as part of a growing global BDS movement.” Its opponents paint a different picture, calling it a hateful week that discourages healthy dialogue and unfairly singles out the state of Israel; some have called for the university to ban it on the basis that they are anti-Semitic. The administration of the University of Toronto has said that while they acknowledge that these events may be controversial and heated, there is a place for controversial and heated events on campus. I won’t focus on the legitimacy of each side’s arguments, but instead I applaud the administration for taking the right stand when it comes to defending free speech. Opponents of Israeli Apartheid Week have called on the administration to prevent such events from happening on campus. Their central complaints are that the claim that Israel is an apartheid state is not true and therefore has anti-Semitic undertones and that students feel intimidated on their own campus and are shouted down when they attend IAW events. Whether IAW is anti-Semitic or not is still the subject of vigorous debate, and because there is no clear consensus on this issue, we should give IAW the benefit of the doubt and allow it to continue. Regarding the intimidation, opponents of IAW point to the fact that when students pose opposing points of view, they are called “racist,” and are faced with chants of “shame,” and are

So what is clear is that there is no constructive dialogue between the respective sides. Both sides have talked about engaging in such a dialogue, but neither wants to take the steps to achieve it. The pro-Palestinian side only focuses on the Israelis and neglects to mention both that Hamas does target civilians and that some of the rhetoric it uses is anti-Semitic. The pro-Israeli side, on the other hand continues to characterize the conflict as one of anti-Semitic terrorists attacking a peaceful democratic state. They give no credence to the fact that the IDF has frequently overstepped the boundaries of acceptable self-defense, nor do they acknowledge that the Palestinians have legitimate grievances when it comes to their human rights and the way the state of Israel treats them (as documented by organizations like B’Tselem). Both sides need to look past their differences and find solutions. This involves looking at what your side has done and trying to understand why the other side feels the way it does — people don’t pick up a gun for no reason. But, if we cannot do this, then we should at least protect the rights of all groups to speak their mind freely on campus and prevent censorship.

shouted down. While these are all signs of an unconstructive debate, this is not a reason to ban the event. This name-calling and vitriol is not limited to IAW. Whenever you put together two opposing sides of a divide that are passionate about an issue this conflict arises. This behaviour occurs in the House of Commons and at political town hall meetings. Should we censor those? Debates, even if heated and radical, are part of a healthy democracy. Furthermore, IAW at U of T is fairly peaceful and is mainly consists of a series of academic lectures. We are not a campus where people holding opposing points of view are in danger of being attacked. Such a characterization of our campus — no matter what time of the year it is — is misleading. There are no big rallies denouncing Israel like the one held in 2009 at Vari Hall at York University. At this rally, both sides were guilty of contributing to the heated environment. Footage of the rally shows both sides engaged in shouting and chants, and the waving of flags with neither side willing to engage in a constructive dialogue about this issue.

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VARSITY CONTRIBUTOR

JE

Abdullah Shihipar

The need for honest dialogue Israeli Apartheid Week shuts down any reasonable discourse about Israel

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Dialogue: it’s a two-way street, and it’s what our university is based on. When was the last time you walked through campus without seeing people casually on their phones, on Facebook, or talking to friends? Conversations and their questions are an integral part of our intellectual pursuits. But every year, for at least one week, no one wants to talk. There might be some good reasons to avoid dialogue; when it comes to Israel, who wants to talk about the Middle East’s oldest democracy when the atmosphere on campus seems to provide anything but a welcoming and friendly environment for honest discourse? This page could easily be filled with facts about Israel being a humanitarian leader — taking in refugees and being at the forefront of disaster response around the world, from the earthquake in Haiti to the tsunami in Japan. Keeping closer to the topic of democracy and open discourse, this article could focus on Israel being a democracy that provides all its citizens with the right to vote and be elected. Arab members

serve in the Knesset and Arab judges serve on the Supreme Court. Further, Israel is interested in peace, even when lacking a genuine partner to have honest discourse with. And until peace can be obtained, it is working hard to minimize the risk of harming innocent civilians. The point of this article is not for me to continue with a list of facts but rather to trigger conversation. Maybe the facts were new to you and hopefully have raised questions. So why aren’t you asking them? For many, the answer is simple. A small fringe group has made the campus environment hostile and toxic. They’ve done so by claiming an entitlement to say whatever they want. This is not open discourse: these people are refusing to listen to others and are trying to enforce an environment where anyone that questions their statements with justified reasoning must be wrong. On the contrary, at an academic institution, we should value the principle that if you NN

VARSITY CONTRIBUTOR

JE

Beca Bookman

make a reasonable argument you will, at least, be heard. With attempts by some to polarize any discussion about Israel, who would jump into the conversation? There are many of us looking for an open, friendly, and honest space to ask questions and grow as individuals in academia and in the world. Fortunately, groups of students are continuously working towards providing this space through various campaigns. This year, Hot Chocolate, Hot Topic is one such campaign from Hillel’s Israel Committee with sponsorship from Hart House Good Ideas Fund, Truth in Context, and Israel on Campus Coalition with support from the Avi Chai Foundation. HCHT hopes to open up the discussion to all topics and any question that students have — from finding Israel on a map to the country’s worldly contributions and politics. Find us weekly at Sidney Smith, and visit Hillel U of T on Facebook or Twitter. A final thought — this set of editorials is a great stepping stone to considering what many have been looking for this year: school spirit. It will come, in part, when we all feel comfortable enough to enter into dialogue in our everyday lives and in our academic pursuits. Any hostile group that uses the cover of free speech to threaten a student’s identity, culture, homeland (yes, many this week will not even recognize Israel’s right to exist) threatens any progress towards a more welcoming, friendly campus atmosphere. If the university experience is about questions, we need to be able to ask all of them, including those about Israel. On campus, let’s bring the topic of Israel back to open, honest conversation.

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VARSITY COMMENT

monday, March 5, 2012

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Not the change we’re looking for Why the UTSU elections are failing to connect with students James Finlay VARSITY CONTRIBUTOR

Students across campus are fed up. They should be. Apathy is on its way to an all-time high. The incumbent (albeit inexperienced) UTSU slate looks set to win again while the StudentsFirst challengers continue their journey down a path PR analysts would call “misguided messaging.” Creating an opposition party that can outflank the incumbents, appeal to, perhaps, the most apathetic student body in Canada, and do it all while you’re a full-time student is no easy task. So, how can this be accomplished? From conceptually laying the groundwork of your campaign, to coming up with a wishlist of candidates, recruiting them, then agreeing on policy positions, it’s a process that should inevitably lead to a well-rounded and respected slate. Unfortunately no such slate exists. A team needs to develop the skills necessary to run a student campaign, and it needs to familiarize itself with the U of T landscape. It should be comprised of members who have participated in substantial elections before. Arguably, the most important aspect is to not resort to using “dirty tricks” or tactics. This sort of experience is almost absent from both slates. Next, your team needs to represent the diverse communities on campus. From UTM to engineers, from council presidents to UTSU employees, guarantee-

LCBO — Continued FROM P12 This was because the LCBO had banned the product in Ontario because its glass bottle was shaped like a skull. But the LCBO does not need to ban products to make them unavailable in Ontario. All it needs to do is decide that the average customer would not purchase the product en mass. This means they will not order the product and it becomes impossible to acquire. Private liquor stores, on the other

ing that experience would not be an issue either publicly or from a performance standpoint. This is something both sides haven’t convincingly achieved. Speaking from experience, an opposition slate cannot hope to win an election without the backing and support of the colleges. The 2010 Change slate understood very early that in order to win, it had to appeal to the only other electorate that participated on campus, those who voted in college council elections. Without them, it was forced to draw e-day voters. The only way to win those students is with a larger ground campaign than UTSU, something we knew we could not accomplish. You can thank Ryerson, York, and George Brown union executives for that. The March 2010 election witnessed perhaps the best campaign effort this campus has seen to date from both sides. We were all seasoned student leaders, the legacy of controversial UTSU and SAC decisions was still fresh, and the sound of defederation rang amongst the colleges and engineers. Change was ambitious and our plan for the union reflected that. Our position can be best described as working towards creating an inclusive and vibrant student experience; streamlining union operations; eliminating cronyism; reforming questionable electoral practices; rebooting UTSU’s nonexistent relationship with the administration; downloading controversial political advocacy to clubs; and finally, reorienting UTSU as a leader within CFS National / On-

tario rather than as a puppet to the whims of its leadership. None of this could ever be summed up by the catch phrase “Let’s build the campus bar.” This year’s contenders look largely inexperienced, focus too much of their energy squabbling over minuscule issues, and could end up pushing this and future campus elections into irrelevance. The Hart House debate further reinforced this perception. Although entertaining, it has absolutely no impact on the course of the election. I can’t help but feel upset that the next generation of Change we left in our wake chose to distance themselves from participating in UTSU elections. Most went on to attain leadership posts at their respective colleges, faculties, and clubs, resigned to the idea that it’s impossible to take down an institution that has made itself impervious to outside participation. We are now left with a UTSU that is a shadow of what it once was, still alive only because of measures taken in the past to protect its future. On the other side we have a youthful opposition group who has abandoned the best practices used before them in favour of a radical federal style of campaigning, missing the opportunity to prevail. Finally, there’s the independent candidate who I had the pleasure of recruiting into SMC and PFAC but who will serve only as a vote split against Brent. We can’t afford to lose our campus to mediocrity. We need change. Now go write that on your ballot.

hand, are free to specialize in more rarefied spirits. Instead of only buying in bulk what is sure to sell, they can appeal to the more adventurous desires of Ontarians and provide options we do not currently enjoy. Ontario producers have nothing to fear from this new arrangement, though. If they offer a quality product, there is no reason why private liquor stores would stop selling their goods. If anything, Ontario breweries and vineyards would increase their market share because they would have more businesses

to sell to. Let’s privatize the LCBO and legalize competition, so that all Ontarians can raise their glasses to a return to fiscal solvency, improved service, and greater selection.

Credit cards, are often approximated to drugs because they are addictive; and the banks that issue credit cards prefer customers who do not pay their bills on time because, interest paiments are a key source of revenue for the banks. However, it is important though to note that credit cards can be useful if for e.g. you are waiting for your paycheck and need to make a purchases.

Copy editor’s challenge! For The Varsity to maintain its high standard for student-produced content, messy submissions like the above need to be cleaned up. Do you have what it takes to tread knee-deep through dreadful writing and make it out sane and in one piece? Do your best to fix up this article excerpt and send your edits to copy@thevarsity.ca

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FROM HERE, GO ANYWHERE. BACHELOR’S DEGREES GRADUATE CERTIFICATES PATHWAYS TO FURTHER EDUCATION

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Arts & Culture

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5 MARCH 2012 arts@thevarsity.ca

ONLINE EXCLUSIVE

You have eyes in your head. You have feet in your shoes.The Lorax is out, so read our reviews! Read our interview: http://var.st/a7-

A look inside the Bloor Hot Docs Cinema p17 Bernarda Gospic/THe VArsity

Reviews

The Church of Rock and Roll by Foxy Shazam

Unexpected Victory

EVENT GUIDE

MAR 5–11

by Raekwon

When Foxy Shazam opened for Panic! At the Disco last June at Sound Academy the Cincinnati sextet rocked the stage with a charisma that had died long ago with Queen, glam metal, and the rise of the solo artist. It’s hard to place Foxy Shazam because of their great range and genre-neutral oeuvre, but this album is a defining moment for the band, not just in terms of their overall style, but also in terms of their roots. This is essentially a tribute album that is fresh, original, and devoid of nostalgia. For every snappy ‘80s-style song like “Holy Touch” and “Last Chance The only parts of Raekwon’s personality on his mixtape Unexpected Victory seem to be his tales of violence and the underworld. There is (again) no production from RZA and unlike previous albums and mixtapes, there is not a single feature from any WuTang Clan members. It seems that Raekwon’s main intention for this album was to give exposure to JD Era and Camoflauge, two upand-coming rappers from Toronto who are signed to his Ice H20 label. JD Era spits some intelligent rhymes on “Soldier Story” while

MONDAY

American Movies and the Politics of Idealism lecture series: The Clinton Era at Miles Nadal JCC 7 pm $6 for students Banksy and the History of Fine Art: Discussion by Nick Mount at Bloor Gladstone Branch Library 7–8 pm, rush line starts at 5 pm Free

At Love,” there are gorgeous melodic surprises like “Forever Together,” a sweet and sincere ballad about lead singer Eric Nally’s yearning for his family on the road. But nothing compares to “The Streets,” a bluesy, groovy, Springsteenesque anthem that would have even the Boss’s lighter out and waving over head. It must be frustrating for Nally, whose Mercurian voice has drawn innumerable comparisons with Queen. But Freddy would be proud. Amen and rock on. —Daniel Horowitz Camoflauge came with that street flow on “Gangsta Cazals,” talking about his violent past growing up in Scarborough. While most of the mixtape included mediocre and unnecessary songs (just listen to “MTV Cribs”), the 9th Wonder produced track “A Pinebox Story” has Raekwon narrating the tragic story of a fake thug, which leaves fans reminiscing of Raekwon on “Only Built 4 Cuban Linx…” and hoping that one day he may return to that prime. —Stephan Jayaratnam

Salmon Fishing in the Yemen

Dir. Lasse Hallström Late in Salmon Fishing in the Yemen, distraught consultant Harriet Chetwode-Talbot (Emily Blunt) responds to a catastrophe by asking how someone could do such a thing. The same could be asked about the movie itself, which is based on a 2007 novel by Paul Torday. Ewan McGregor stars alongside Blunt as Fred Jones, a UK-government scientist ordered to help Harriet and the wealthy Sheik Muhammad (Amr Waked) attempt the quixotic task of introducing salmon into the highlands of Yemen. Kristin

Scott Thomas is also present as a calculating PR director for the British prime minister. The cast give perfunctory performances constrained by a script that trades any hope of a compelling plot for easy jokes, stunted characters, and Yemeni characters that seem designed to piss off the ghost of Edward Said. The movie is really about faith, a point hammered home with help from more salmon swimming upstream metaphors than anyone needs. Those seeking salmon or inspiration are advised to buy some lox instead. —Ethan Chiel

TUESDAY

WEDNESDAY

THURSDAY

FRIDAY

SATURDAY

SUNDAY

Atlas Sound at Lee’s Palace 8 pm $16.50

Corktown Comedy’s 7-Year Anniversary Show at Betty’s 9 pm Free

A Ladylike Murder at Isabel Bader Theatre 8 pm $10 for students

Max Raabe at Koerner Hall 8 pm starts at $39

Opening of Studio Ghibli retrospective, selected films at TIFF Bell Lightbox runs until April 13

Sarah Schulman reads from her book The Gentrification of the Mind at Gladstone Hotel 7:30 pm Free

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MONday, MARCH 5, 2012

VARSITY ARTS & CULTURE

arts@thevarsity.ca

There are worse things than chastity Hart House puts on Tennessee Williams’ Night of the Iguana Kay Dyson Tam VARSITY CONTRIBUTOR

Regular student vices like excess caffeine and poor late night food are nothing compared to the depravity of the characters in Tennessee Williams’ Night of the Iguana. Hart House Theatre’s latest production centres on a disgraced priest charged with statutory rape who is plagued with alcoholism and who is in the midst of a nervous break down. Taking a “sabbatical” from preaching, the Rev. Lawrence Shannon serves as a tour guide in 1940s Mexico for a group of young Texan women (one of whom, a minor, he sleeps with, much to the disapproval of her chaperone). His loss of faith and fragile mental state send him on a bender that would rival any pub crawl on Bloor Street. This production of Night of the Iguana is a strong finish to the Hart House Theatre’s season. David Ferry provides an engaging performance as Rev. Larry Shannon, portraying him as a tormented but still relatable char-

acter. Like the spinster Hannah Jelkes and the widowed but fun-loving hotel manager Maxine Faulk, Shannon is “one of God’s creatures at the end of (his) rope.” As Jeremy Hutton, the Hart House Theatre Artistic Director, describes it, the play follows these three characters’ raw and ugly journey of spiritual healing. From the hammock to the rum-cocos, the set convincingly appears as a Mexican hotel. At times, the cluttered layering of the dialogue and the low volume of the actors’ voices made their lines difficult to understand, especially when it came to the uptight tour chaperone, whose voice often verged on being shrill. Some of the characters could have been more developed (the character Hannah Jelkes, in particular) as, in some scenes, the acting emotionally flat-lined and the characters seemed one-dimensional. Over all the cast was able to connect with its audience and recreate the world of a wandering poet and a faithless priest, of difficult struggles treated with light quips, of loneliness and “the potential for human contact.”

David Ferry as Reverend T. Lawrence Shannon

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Reintroducing the Bloor Cinema After a lengthy hiatus, the Bloor Cinema reopens as the Bloor HotDocs Cinema on March 16 Elizabeth Haq After an unexpectedly long hiatus, the Bloor Cinema, a neighbourhood institution, is set to reopen on March 16 with a brand new name and some slick upholstery. It will now be called the Bloor Hot Docs Cinema, a joint venture between the largest documentary festival in North America and Toronto-based Canadian film and television investment company Blue Ice Group. Hot Docs acquired the lease from the Bordonaro family last summer when the theatre was gasping for breath, and whispers of its end were making the rounds throughout the city’s art community. “When the future of the Bloor was in question, it was a priority for us for this venue to be around for Hot Docs films,” Hot Docs managing director Brett Hendrie explained. “The more we explored that idea, we realized there was more potential here.” Last summer, Hot Docs executive director Chris MacDonald maintained that the venue only required a simple facelift. But at a recent noontime press tour that was accented with guys in hardhats, alarm testing, and dust that had barely settled, it was clear that a lot has changed at the Bloor. The lobby area has been redesigned, with the concession area shifted to the side in order to showcase a central glass pane which looks directly into the theatre, a design flourish which is meant to recall the Bloor’s former life

that knows what it wants, a documentary-focused program has enticed and excited some, while confusing and alienating others. “Great documentaries are effective for all the reasons that great cinema is effective. They can have great stories, great characters, and they’ll move you emotionally,” Hendrie explained. But for those who cherished the Bloor’s role as a repertory cinema house, year-round documentaries may be a hard sell. “We’re looking into bringing Rocky Horror back: some of the tried-and-trues that people knew the Bloor for … I’ve been watching those films here for forever so I’d hate to see them disappear entirely,” programmer Robin Smith assured concerned Bloor Cinema diehards when asked about the theatre’s classic programming. “We’re not turning our back on [fictional films] but I have to be honest and say we’re a documentary festival and so that’ll be a big focus of what we do. It’ll be something like 75 per cent docs and 25 per cent fictional films. But it’ll evolve, it’ll be a progress.” Bernarda Gospic/THe VArsity

VARSITY CONTRIBUTOR

as a vaudeville theatre. The seats have been replaced with the same model of recliners that Michael Moore chose for his Traverse City Film Festival Theatre: these chairs are cushiony and have movable armrests. Speakers have finally made it all the way to the balcony, and the sound has been updated to Dolby 7.1 along with a screen that’s 10 per cent bigger — 40’ by 17’ (2.35:1 aspect ratio). The original 35mm rigs are now joined by a crisp new Christie Digital projector, and the booth can now accommodate virtually every format.

The reopening of the Bloor comes at a pivotal moment in the history of Toronto’s cultural development, as the city negotiates not only its role as a destination for filmmakers and filmwatchers, but also its aspirations as a world-class city with a unique cultural landscape. At a time when the city’s cultural identity crisis seems to have reached its peak, the renovation and reopening of a beloved institution like the Bloor Cinema is met with expectation. But not everyone is happy about the way it’s going down. Catering to a highly demanding film community

See full article online at thevarsity.ca. Bloor Hot Docs Cinema will host free open-house screenings of Lucy Walker’s acclaimed documentary Waste Land on March 12 and 13. It officially opens for business on March 16 with commercial engagements of Being Elmo: A Puppeteer’s Journey and Corman’s World: The Exploits Of A Hollywood Rebel. Complete programming can be found online, along with membership options.

A taste of Soupcans The Varsity speaks with one of Toronto’s favourite punk bands Anne Rucchetto VARSITY CONTRIBUTOR

Self-described on their Bandcamp as “punk avant garde erotic nightmare thrash psychedelic punk weirdo Toronto,” the Toronto punk band Soupcans is getting noticed. Dave (lead vocals and guitar), Nick (bass and vocals), and Gideon (drums and vocals) have mastered dynamic punk performances, playing shows so explosive that it is not entirely a rarity to spot small drops of blood on your shoes at the night’s close. Over the course of two years, the Soupcans have put out three albums and played with other local groups such as Strange Attractor, The Stoopid Idiots, Elle V Gore, and better-known bands such as The Spits. Although they are all from a variety of backgrounds, Dave, Nick, and Gideon appreciate the comradeship they are able to maintain as bandmates. “You can tell when bands are just sort of putting it on, and with us, it’s not a put on. Ultimately, we are here to entertain. It’s all about the live show.” The Soupcans contemplate the possibility of playing together full-time with split responses. “I’m a lifer,” Dave, a cook, reflects, “I don’t like much of anything, but music’s good.” “I think situations like ours are fairly unique,” Gideon, a bike mechanic originally from Montreal, remarks. “You get along because you know what you’re doing is worth it. Having a situation like that as well as something halfway decent musically, for me, doesn’t happen that often. I could do this until I lost my mind.” “I would do it for a little while,” Nick assesses. A web designer by day, Nick states that he

“would do it for a year and see what happens.” They describe their formulation as a “Craigslist Romance.” Dave and Nick both answered an ad about a month apart that needed members for a “raw punk band” Gideon had previously played for. Led by a Texan calling himself Count Brockula, the group claimed to seek a classic punk with “no rules.” However, the jams proved to demand a much more regimented brand of punk than Brockula originally advertised. “You would come home and get a three-page email about all the things we did that were wrong,” Dave commented. After Dave quit, Nick left shortly thereafter, realizing he had “had more fun playing with

Dave than the whole month I was in that other band.” When they met Gideon again at a bar through mutual friends, they discussed the possibility of collectively playing together, and The Soupcans were born. “I needed something to put myself into,” Gideon said, “I felt I could do something of value.” “A twist of fate,” Gideon and Nick joked, simultaneously. Aside from their chaotic sound, much of The Soupcans’ music is striking through its catchiness. As far as influences go, Nick and Dave admire Chrome and Hardcore Devo, much because they didn’t care about suiting a genre. “So much is lifted [from previ-

ous music],” Dave considers. Nick adds that “I read this really great quote from Jean-Luc Godard: ‘It’s not what you take but where you take it to.’” The Soupcans make their music accessible by playing affordable shows, allowing free download of their songs, and omitting the presence of lyrics. Except for a few lines provided for the five songs on their Free Garbage Mini CD, no indication of the words to their music is present. “Supreme minimalist,” Dave states, “I believe I should not interfere with the songs in any way. The lyrics should be as vague and as minimal as possible so you can project whatever you want onto it. I want nothing to do with it.” In regards to their song-writing process, Gideon gestures to Dave and remarks, “he kills them, we grill them.” But after the collaborative editing process, each band member acknowledges their collective ownership of each song. “The songs belong to the entire band.” A doubtlessly punk band, The Soupcans spend some time debating what the notion of punk means to them. It’s not about leather jackets, liberty spikes, and Doc Martens anymore. “The name [‘punk’] itself has lost its meaning, but the concept still exists,” Nick states. “A punk is someone who has sex with someone in jail for cigarettes. That’s where the name came from!” I suggested, to Gideon that being a bike mechanic strikes me as a fairly punk career. “It’s definitely more punk than trading bonds, and I’ve done both,” he replies. “Punk, to me, is like an abstract gurgle in the back of my throat,” Dave remarks, “Punk is packing your own lunch.”

Science

var.st/SCIENCE

5 MARCH 2012

ONLINE EXCLUSIVE

Dinosaurs love Pangaea in this week’s Science Illustrated

science@thevarsity.ca

New birth control options for dudes

Check it out at http://var.st/science20

KEN EULER explores options for a male birth control pill S

ince the successful introduction of “the pill” in the 1960s, there has been an increasing number of birth control options for women to prevent unintended pregnancies. These options have ranged from pills, injections, spermicides, diaphragms, sponges, and intrauterine devices, many of which act as a physical barrier during sex or temporarily render the female infertile. Men on the other hand have had a much smaller selection of birth control options — mainly condoms, vasectomies (male sterilization), and the much less effective “pull out” method. Aside from the sheer number of choices women have, the main difference between male and female contraceptives is that women have the option to become temporarily infertile while men do not. To help address this disparity in male birth control options, a number of different research teams have been investigating new compounds which might one day be used in a form of “the pill” for men. Dr. Joseph Tash and his team from the University of Kansas Medical Center is such group. He and his team have been conducting research over the past ten years on the compound H2-gamendazole, a chemical that can prevent sperm from being created in the testes. While their results thus far have been promising (the compound

wendy gu/THe VArsity

prevents the creation of sperm and is a reversible effect), the compound has only been studied in animals and has yet to be given the go-ahead from the US Federal and Drug Administration to begin clinical trials on humans. Drug trials take time, so H2-gamendazole

will not be commercially available for at least 10 years. Yet the prospects of a new type of birth-control for men raise many questions. What are the implications of such a breakthrough? One benefit of introducing male birth control pills is that

it could help substantially with family planning in monogamous couples. According to the World Health Organization, 87 million unintended pregnancies occur each year (approximately 42 per cent of all pregnancies). Typical use of common contraceptives

such as condoms and birth control pills are not always effective in preventing pregnancy; for instance, one study found that 8 per cent of women had unintended pregnancies with typical use of birth control pills and 15 per cent of women had unintended pregnancies with typical use of condoms by their male partners. While using condoms and birth control pills in tandem significantly reduces the risk of pregnancy, it is not always optimal because one partner may have an adverse reaction to one of the contraceptive methods. Male birth control pills would offer monogamous couples another method to overcome this obstacle in order to prevent unintended pregnancies. Nevertheless, while male birth control pills could help reduce unintended pregnancy rates, they would offer little in terms of protection against sexually transmitted infection (STI) in people looking for a one-night stand. While many STIs are treatable (such as chlamydia and gonorrhea), some are chronic and permanent, such as HIV. Condoms and other safe-sex supplies should always be used in these more risky types of encounters to ensure that disease are not transmitted. While developments are taking place in the realm of malefocused contraceptives, much research and time is still needed in order to verify their effectiveness and to ensure their safety.

SC ENCe n br ef 32,000 year old seeds come to life

Space elevator, ‘nuff said

PTSD and traumatic brain injuries are related

Two new blood types found

Seeds from a flowering plant named Silene stenophylla have been discovered in Siberian permafrost among bison and rhinoceros bones. Scientists have successfully extracted undamaged seeds and germinated the plants, leading to the reproduction of this ancient flora. This extraordinary study demonstrates that permafrost holds an abundance of genes that scientists can bring back into our world, even those of now extinct species. Future studies might involve discovering the precise conditions in which these frozen seeds have been kept deep in the permafrost layer in order to recreate these ideal environments in laboratory conditions. —Cristina Olteanu Source: Science Daily

Looking to go on an extraterrestrial voyage but hate dangerous rocket launches? If you’re willing to wait 38 years, Tokyobased Obayashi Corp. may have just the vehicle for you — a space elevator. It’s been dreamed of by space nerds for more than a century and the Japanese firm hopes to make the elevator a reality by 2050. Unlike a terrestrial elevator, the space elevator’s car would travel at 200 km/h along a 36,000 km cable. Obayashi’s engineers hope that the elevator will be made of carbon nanotubes, a material 20 times stronger than steel but that is not presently manufactured cheaply or efficiently enough to make the elevator possible. —Emily Dunbar Source: GMA news, Space.com

Researchers at the University of California Los Angeles have discovered a causal link between post-traumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injuries. One group of rats was made to suffer a traumatic brain injury while another was left alone. Then, two days after the blow, both groups of rats were exposed to frightening stimuli. The unscathed rats responded appropriately to the stimuli, while the brain-injured rats severely overreacted. The findings suggest that one traumatic blow to the brain primes us for another, even if one is physical and the other is psychological. —Emily Dunbar Source: Science Daily

An international team of researchers have identified two new blood types, named Langereis and Junior, which have implications for improvements in blood transfusions and organ transplants. These two new blood groups can be added to the list of internationally recognized blood types, which currently has 28 members in addition to the well-known ABO and Rhesus blood types. The scientists were able to identify the proteins that form the molecular basis of Langereis and Junior. These proteins, ABCB6 and ABCG2, function as transporters on red blood cells and have also been linked to anti-cancer drug resistance. —Kimberly Shek Source: Science Daily

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VARSITY SCIENCE

monday, MARCH 5, 2012

19

Life without a pulse Doctors create an artificial heart that doesn’t beat

Dennis Dobrovolsky VARSITY CONTRIBUTOR

The daily lub-dub of our hearts is associated with emotion, whether it’s that desperate beating in your ears brought on by fear or the synchronous heartbeat of two lovers intertwined. The human pulse has served as a symbol in literature and poetry for centuries. William Shakespeare supposedly even wrote his sonnets in iambic pentameter in order to mimic the heart’s constant beating. How could we ever live without such an essential aspect of our lives? By replacing the heart with a pair of turbines, apparently. Two medical researchers, Bud Frazier and Billy Cohn, working at the Texas Heart Institute, recently invented a device that can continuously pump blood through the body using a mini-propeller. This device called the HeartMate II, consists of a small turbine designed to move at a constant velocity inside a metal chamber connected to the body’s arteries with Dacron polyester. The HeartMate II was inspired by Archimedes’ screw, an ancient Greek device used to elevate water through its constant rotating motion. First tested in the bodies of over 50 calves, the HeartMate II eventually made its way into human patients as a replacement of the left ventricle that could assist the heart in pumping blood. The HeartMate II was a giant leap for-

ward from older artificial heart models because it didn’t have as many moving parts. The older models were cumbersome dishwasher-sized machines that the patient had to constantly be hooked up to. These older models also wore down quickly because the moving parts they used to mimic the beating of a natural heart caused a lot of friction. With its revolutionary constant-flow design, the HeartMate II quickly won popularity in the medical community. Its main critics thought that the rapidly-moving turbine would cause damage to the blood itself by shredding cells, but this never happened. It became standard practice to use the HeartMate II as a left-ventricular assist device, and it was implanted into numerous patients, among them former vice president of the United States Dick Cheney. The HeartMate II was put to the test in November 2003, when a young Central American man came to the Texas Heart Institute with partial heart failure. Doctors installed the HeartMate II to assist his failing heart, and instructed him to return for weekly checkups after his surgery; however, the man barely spoke any English, and disappeared without coming back for an extended period of time. When he eventually returned eight months later, doctors were astonished to find that when they put their stethoscopes to his chest, he had no pulse. The remaining half of his heart

CATHARINE MANSOURI/THe VArsity

had completely stopped working, and the HeartMate II was single-handedly providing blood flow. The patient hadn’t returned earlier because he felt absolutely fine. It was at this point that the doctors realized that life without a pulse is possible. The HeartMate II won approval by the FDA as a heart replacement in 2008. In March of last year, Craig Lewis became the first patient to have his entire heart surgically

A disease at large

replaced by two HeartMate II cylinders. He survived for five weeks before his medical condition caused his liver to fail. Life has been evolving for millions of years, but never have we seen a mammal living without a pulse. Perhaps humans should use imagination instead of copying nature directly, whether it comes to the design of artificial hearts, or to the creation of flying machines.

Facts and figures

YASMIN SATTARZADEH investigates the stark nature of eating disorders

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e don’t want to talk about them if we have them and we rarely want to acknowledge them if we see them, but the problem with eating disorders is precisely that they are so often swept under the carpet. The American Psychiatric Association defines all anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, and binge eating as diseases and medical risks. Although the symptoms vary, these disorders have one important thing in common: they control the patient’s life. Helene Morin, a registered dietician in Toronto, has experience dealing with clients who have eating disorders. Although the causes of an eating disorder change from person to person, the pattern of wanting control in one’s life is highly common. Morin believes that an eating disorder can make the individual “… feel like it is the only thing they can control in their lives. Sometimes it is the only thing

SHANNON HSIEH/THe VArsity

they can control under the pressure of things that they were feeling.” Morin once had a case involving a 16-yearold-girl who had already been diagnosed with anorexia over one year prior to seeking Morin’s assistance. Morin says that the patient was a vegetarian from the start, but wasn’t eating as well as she should have been. For this particular client, her eating disorder was a mechanism for control. “She knew more than I did how many calories were in her food,” said Morin. “She’d eat ten sunflower seeds and she knew how many calories were in there. I had to visit her before each meal because it was a battle with her. For breakfast, she had cream of wheat, but it was two tablespoons and she knew exactly how many calories were in it. She was a very bright girl, and usually it’s girls that are intelligent. Due to the pressure, it becomes a control issue.” Family and environment can take their tolls as well. Like many individuals who have eating disorders, Morin’s patient came from a “broken family.” In the case of her client, Morin says “we spoke to the mother, and the father wasn’t there. Her mom wasn’t very helpful; she wouldn’t recognize her daughter had a problem. She was from a dysfunctional family.” Family can control or influence attitudes toward eating. “It comes from the home, and now that people are busy, you don’t sit down to eat proper meals. That would be one factor that would influence it. And the parents not preparing a meal, or not being there, or foods are not available — [these can influence] the child too. Eating disorders run in all branches of society: high society or low society. It has no boundaries,” says Morin. When asked whether her client felt that friends had an influence on her eating, Morin said that “she didn’t talk about [her friends]; when I was there, she didn’t have a lot of visitors either. She was in and out of the hospital,

and she probably didn’t go to school at that point. We couldn’t help her at the end; she ended up going to a psychiatric hospital and she died there — her heart gave up because of the disease.” Two of the most common eating disorders are anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa. The APA defines anorexia as the refusal to maintain a normal body weight at a particular age and height out of the persistent fear of getting fat despite being dangerously thin. Bulimia nervosa, on the other hand, is the excessive eating of food followed by purging through vomiting or laxatives. Binge eating, a less common disorder, is characterized by out-of-control eating habits but does not include purging food. Binge eating disorder is found in the umbrella category of “not otherwise specified” eating disorders that do not fall under the category of bulimia or anorexia. Acknowledging the need to get help is one of the biggest obstacles for individuals with eating disorders — but doing so may help to elevate their quality of life. A study on the correlation between the quality of life (QOF) and eating disorders (ED) found that, after surveying patients with different EDs, all patients led lives of roughly equal low quality. The study was done by the National Centre for Eating Disorders in the Netherlands and the sample included anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, binge eating, and not-otherwise-specified eating disorder patients. Eating disorders are one of the hardest topics to bring up in conversation when you or someone close to you is suffering. Morin suggests advising that an affected individual “seek professional help, particularly psychological help. It is a psychological disease and it can go unnoticed; the sooner you consult someone the better it is. It can go on a long time before people can notice it. People are good at hiding such things.”

Chamber of love

Before reaching its four-chambered state, the fetal human heart first resembles a fish’s heart, then a frog’s (two chambers), and then a snake’s (three chambers).

72

In an average minute, your heart beats 72 times and you take in 15 breaths.

Outerspace invasion

Earlier this year, NASA detected “alien” hydrogen, oxygen, and neon particles making their way to our solar system. These particles give astronomers a glimpse into the makeup of neighbouring systems.

47 per cent

The brain of Homo habilis (the “Handy Man” hominid) was 47 per cent the size of a modern human’s brain.

0.33 mm

The world’s smallest flowering plant is the Wolffia angusta, with each of its fruits measuring approximately 0.33 mm in length.

Big bad beast

Polar bears are the largest predators on land. Their only predators are humans.

Sports var.st/SPORTS

5 MARCH 2012

ONLINE EXCLUSIVE

Alberto Bustamante examines Ronda Rousey’s impact on women’s MMA

sports@thevarsity.ca

“It’s better than just going to class every

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ndrew Kizito’s life wouldn’t be the same without hockey. Kizito is 25; he has been playing for 17 years. Five of those years were dedicated to the Varsity Blues men’s hockey team, two more to the Kingston Frontenacs of the Ontario Hockey League. Born and raised in Toronto, defenseman Kizito started playing mostly by chance. “One of my best friends used to play, and he took me skating once and I picked it up pretty quickly,” he explains. “His dad noticed and asked me to join the team.” Hockey ability does run in the family, though. “My brother played in the Quebec league for Victoriaville,” Kizito notes. Having played competitive hockey in Toronto, Kizito moved to Kingston after graduating high school to play for the Frontenacs. His time in the OHL led to his desire to play at an intercollegiate level: “On one level, I wanted to keep playing hockey, but at the same time I knew I wanted to get

an education, so I figured U of T would be a good place to do that,” Kizito says. The opportunity to live and go to school in Toronto was a welcome one for Kizito. He began playing for the Varsity Blues in his first year and was named the team’s rookie of the year. “After I was done in Kingston, I wanted a change of scenery: new city, new everything.” A common struggle for many intercollegiate athletes is the enormous time commitment required to play on a team, and that held true for Kizito as well. The Blues player is majoring in political science. “The hardest thing was definitely just the time commitment — coordinating school, hockey, keeping your grades up. Dealing with the time is hard,” he admits. Despite the pressures of sport and school, Kizito has only good memories of his time with the Blues. “I’ve made life-long friends … That’s the most I take from the program,” he reminisces. “Hockey

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Rachel Bulatovich profiles men’s hockey player Andrew Kizito in the latest in our End Game series has definitely added to my overall student experience. It’s not like some people who say they come here and never really meet anyone; I’ve made life-long friends and met alumni. “It’s definitely better than just going to class every day.” While it was difficult to keep a balance between school work and hockey, the team’s strong alumni and career programs made things easier throughout his degree, especially in his final year. The program allows Blues athletes to meet with prominent members of their prospective fields and to get to know their chosen industry first hand. “Hockey’s about networking too. The alumni that have come out of this program are amazing — just to keep in touch with them and know what they’re doing is great,” Kizito says. As for post-graduation plans, Kizito is keeping his options and mind open. “Everything’s so tentative now, I don’t even know if it’s worth writing down,” he laughs. “I’m going to try so many different things

Intramural fixtures Co-ed division one basketball Tuesday, March 6, Athletic Centre Field House PHE B vs. PT/OT, 8 pm

Tri-campus women’s indoor soccer Saturday March 10, Varsity Stadium St. George Blue vs. UTM, 2:30 pm St. George White vs. UTSC, 4 pm

Tri-campus men’s indoor soccer semifinals Saturday March 10, Varsity Stadium

Tri-campus cricket Saturday March 10, Varsity Stadium UTSC Maroons vs. UTM White, 5:30 pm Reds vs. UTSC White, 7 pm UTM Blue vs. Black, 7 pm

and I’ve applied to so many different jobs. I’m trying to get a job in finance right now, and I’ve got a bunch of interviews coming up. I think I’ll be alright.” His time as captain of the Blues hockey team can only help Kizito in his job search — playing at intercollegiate level has only taught him good habits that will stick with him his entire life. “That’s one thing I had to focus on: managing time,” chuckles Kizito. Although the last 17 years have been filled to the brim with rinks, road trips, and emergency skate sharpening, Kizito isn’t sure what his future in hockey will be. “I’d like to [keep playing], but I’m at a point in my life where it might be time to try something new.” Kizito cites his experience with the Blues as one of the most rewarding times of his life as well as one of the most valuable. He knows his dedication to the Varsity Blues will follow beyond his time as an undergraduate. “I think it will help. How? I don’t know. But I like to tell myself it will.”

“I wanted to keep playing hockey, but at the same time I knew I wanted to get an education, so I figured U of T would be a good place to do that.”

Varsity Blues OUA Coaches of the Year Jim Sheppard Men’s Baseball

John DeSouza Women’s Field Hockey

Darren Lowe Men’s Hockey

Anthony Capotosto Women’s Soccer

Byron MacDonald Swimming

VARSITY SPORTS

sports@thevarsity.ca

monday, march 5, 2012

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Intramurals

Triumph of the youth over experience SGS and graduate PhD students lose to Vic and PHE in quarterfinals Dylan Hornby VARSITY CONTRIBUTOR

Victoria College’s intramural co-ed ultimate frisbee team recorded a commanding 21–1 victory over the School of Graduate Studies (SGS) team Saturday at Varsity Stadium. SGS were conquered after 60 minutes of play and eliminated in the Division 1 quarterfinal round. Despite the final score, the rookie SGS team managed to stay quite competitive throughout the game. The players on the Vic team had nothing but praise for SGS’s performance. “They were a bit of an inexperienced team,” admitted Victoria’s ultimate captain Giorgio Traini. “But they worked really hard and challenged us with some great runners.” Things only began slipping in the second half for SGS as Victoria made some impressive deep passes and interceptions to secure the victory. Traini also credited “strong women players who were able to throw deep to score some points.” An SGS player suffered a sprained ankle near the end of the game but is expected to be fine. With the win, Victoria College — 3–2 in the regular season — advanc-

es to the semifinal to face UTSC next Saturday March 10. A few SGS players had more on their mind than just the loss after the game. A player who wished to remain anonymous discussed how intramural deposit fees are affecting their play. “We were only able to play three games this year, simply because teams didn’t bother to show up or had too few players,” he said. The rules state that ultimate frisbee teams must pay a deposit fee to play as an incentive to attend season games. The money is paid back at the end of the season, but many colleges “pay the team fees themselves so there’s no consequences for the players if they don’t show up.” On the north field, last year’s finalists, the Graduate PhD students, lost to the Faculty of Kinesiology and Physical Education (PHE) by a score of 20–13. The PhD students, many of whom are playing their final year of intramurals, attributed their loss to a younger and faster PHE team. Despite Saturday’s victory, PHE face a difficult road ahead as they advance to play Skule’s A-team in the semifinals next Saturday. Skule was undefeated in the regular season with a 5–0 record.

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Get in the game monica slovak fills us in on her experiences playing intramural soccer at U of T

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ords of wisdom passed down to myself and my fellow Frosh during our first week at St. Mike’s that I have never forgotten: “Do at least one thing to get involved on campus, and it will greatly improve your experience here at the University of Toronto.” Fast-forward three years and that still stands as one of the best pieces of advice I have ever received. Although I’ve made a point to get involved with various activities on campus, nothing has made a greater impact than my participation on both intramural and tri-campus soccer teams. I have been a member of the SMC Women’s Intramural soccer team since first year. Over the past three years, we’ve won multiple Intramural Championships (both indoor and outdoor) under direction of coach Marc Trepanier. This year has been another

successful one for SMC women’s soccer; we won the Division 2 outdoor championship, and as we near the end of our indoor season, we hope to add a Division 1 title to that haul. We qualified for playoffs, finishing second in our pool, and just last week we won our quarterfinal game over UTM 4–0. On Thursday, we play the grads in the semifinal. They finished first in their pool and will provide tough competition, so it should be an interesting game. In second year, I joined the women’s tri-campus soccer program I’ve played the past two indoor seasons with the St. George Blue team. Though there are just four teams in the league it’s very competitive. In both of my years on the team I’ve had the chance to work with coach Laura Machado, a member of the Varsity Blues women’s soccer team. She’s

passed down her experience and knowledge as an intercollegiate athelete to our team and everyone enjoys playing for her. Our main obstacle this season has been scoring goals; though the team has moved the ball well, our inability to score has left us going into our final season game still fighting for a playoff position. That game is next Saturday against first-place UTM, and we need a win to guarantee a spot in the playoffs. Through playing on both these teams, I have had the opportunity to work with a wide variety of individuals across campus. Everyone has a passion for the game that gives you common ground right away. In these final weeks of both the intramural and tri-campus seasons, I know I speak for all my teammates when I say that we are excited and ready for any and all competition coming our way.

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VARSITY SPORTS

sports@thevarsity.ca

Elliott turns pro Varsity Blues men’s hockey player Bryon Elliott was signed by the East Coast Hockey League Cincinnati Cyclones on Thursday, March 1. Fourth-year forward Elliott (#17) was the Varsity Blues rookie of the year in his first season and has scored 69 goals for the team. The Cyclones are affiliated with the NHL’s Florida Panthers and Nashville Predators, and the former Blue has played all three of the team’s games since signing. “We’ll certainly miss his scoring touch and level of play here at U of T, but we wish him well on the next step in his career,” Blues head coach Darren Lowe told varsityblues.ca. Elliot was named to the OUA All-Star second team this season, scoring 35 points in the regular season as the Blues finished fourth in the OUA East. Lowe is himself a former professional player, having turned out for a number of teams including the Pittsburgh Penguins after his time at U of T. The Blues head coach was named OUA East coach of the year this season.

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VARSITY SPORTS

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The reality television of the sports world Kelly Rahardja uncovers some of the world’s wackiest extreme sports illustrations by OLGA ALBELVA 1 Volcano boarding

3 Birdman suits

Here’s another one to add to the bucket list. Volcanoes are terrifying enough, but folks in Nicaragua have finally found a way to put them to good use. Volcano boarding involves people zooming down ashen volcanic slopes on a plywood board. It’s loud, dusty, rough, and most importantly, scary. Despite being a tourist attraction, the volcanoes themselves are generally still active. Beyond the fiery threat of being chased by lava, volcano boarding is not an easy sport; enthusiasts tend to fall off their boards and amass cuts and bruises from volcanic rocks and ash. For those true thrill-seekers standing, instead of sitting on the board is also an option. An extreme variant of sand surfing, volcano boarding is rarely practised and not for the faint of heart. Let’s face it — you have to be pretty dedicated to willingly exchange cash for ash.

Look, up in the sky! It’s a bird! It’s a man! No, it’s a Birdman! Who would have thought this idea would ever take flight? By adding fabric between the arms and legs, human kind has found a way to glide and soar just like your average eagle. If you’re tired of free falling through the air and would like to experience more horizontal movement, perhaps it’s time to throw skydiving out the window and, as they say, “suit up.” But don’t be fooled: despite its name, when worn, the suit resembles a flying squirrel far more than an actual bird. The webbed design of the suit enables the athlete to slow down and “fly” before opening a parachute and landing safely. I won’t get into the physics (and dangers) of it all, but if you’ve ever wondered what it would be like to be superman, this may just be the sport for you.

2 Zorbing

4 XARM

Unleash your inner hamster and take a tumble in what can only be described as a giant inflatable beach ball. If you have no problems with claustrophobia, zorbing is definitely worth a try. Originating in New Zealand in the ‘90s, zorbing is now a worldwide phenomenon. Granted, you might feel a little silly, but nothing sounds more fun than rolling down a giant hill. Naturally, the steeper the slope, the faster and more extreme zorbing becomes. The globe (or zorb) can even travel on snow and water with an interior harness always ensuring safety. To up the thrills and wackiness even further, some zorbing enthusiasts flood the insides of the globe as well. If you happen to get lonely, fear not — the zorb can accommodate up to three passengers within its sturdy plastic walls. It seems as if we’ve found a new mode of sustainable transport; instead of global warming, why not global zorbing?

It claims to be the roughest three minutes in sports, and you’ve got to wonder why more of us aren’t watching the madness that is XARM. A cross between arm-wrestling, martial arts, and kickboxing, this fusion sport is probably the ultimate test of raw physical strength. XARM consists of three one-minute rounds that pit two muscle men against each other in intense combat. It has a point system and rules as legitimate as any sport, and the winner is decided either by knockout or decision; fighters are always given the option to submit themselves to defeat. It seems that the added elements of mixed martial arts have taken arm wrestling to a whole new level. Techniques with names such as “The Skyscraper” and “Knife Hand” are now all part of the game. Of course, the question is whether or not to take it all seriously. Perhaps it would be best to just keep it at arm’s length.

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DIVERSIONS

In recognition of the upcoming UTSU elections, here is a relevant cartoon we ran in the ‘90s…

The Varsity

Weekly Horoscopes by Destiny Starr

Aries

March 21 – April 19

Mercury is telling you it’s time for bold moves and irrational choices. Rent all four seasons of Battlestar Galactica and watch them on mute as you attempt to render Queen’s Park in watercolour.

Taurus

April 20 – May 20

You’ve been avoiding something important in the past few weeks, and you know you need to buckle down and simply get ‘er done. Grab life by the balls! Also, order Swiss Chalet this week.

Gemini

May 21 – June 20

You know what you want, and you won’t take no for an answer. That full-body massage parlour is totally legit, so don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.

Cancer

June 21 – July 22

Neptune rules over your celestial court this week, so expect deep and inexplicable emotions to take over for the next few days. Not everyone understands your innate wisdom, but most people will dig your Mariah Carey playlist.

Leo

July 23 – August 22

The people around you are sending mixed messages, but don’t let yourself get frustrated. Instead, take some advice from fiery Mars and sign up for that co-ed pole dancing class.

Virgo

August 23 – September 22

Venus says it’s time to look for love in unlikely places. The freezer aisle at Metro will not be one of those places. However, you’d be well-advised to stock up on Easter chocolate.

Libra

September 23 – October 22

Don’t let this week’s blustery start ruffle your feathers — or your tiger print blouse, for that matter. Instead, experiment with new spices, both in and out of the kitchen.

Free pizza MISSING you seen this and beer! Have newspaper box? (for your thoughts)

Read The Varsity? We want to hear from you. We’re holding a 1½-hour focus group with about 10 students. We want to know what you think of our paper this year and how we can improve. Your thoughts will help guide our masthead, and we’ll give you some pizza and booze.

Last seen at 1 Bedford Road, outside of St. George Station.

Know your way around a dSLR?

We’re offering a free large pizza to anyone who returns the box or provides us with information leading to its eventual recovery. No box left behind! Email editor@thevarsity.ca with your leads.

Scorpio

October 23 – November 21

What’s that twinkling sound on the horizon? Can it be destiny? Yes! Seize it this week, and wear double-layer long johns for extra insulation.

Sagittarius

November 22 – December 21

They say Rome wasn’t built in a day, and the same can be said for your academic career. Be patient, and one day, your subject POSt will make sense. That, or you’ll finally decide to apply for clown school. Either way, the stars support your decision.

Capricorn

December 22 – January 19

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You’re feeling feverish these days, and if the feeling occurs primarily after dark, your diagnosis might be Night Fever. Capitalize with bell-bottoms and really white teeth.

Aquarius

January 20 – February 18

The word “aqua” is in your zodiac name, so hit the pool this week! Also, consider adopting a pet corgi. You’re worth it.

Join our video team today! video@thevarsity.ca

Pisces

February 19 – March 20

Like the god Dionysus, you’ve been known to indulge in the bottle. Take some time to reflect on your actions before your next big step. Also, make sure your shoes have good arch support.