Monday, March 29, 2010 Volume 36, Issue 23 Want to get it on while studying? We tell you where to do it. page 8 The Jaws of the University of Toronto Mississauga The Jaws of the University of Toronto Mississauga matt: d’you see my photos? the last 2 years have been grand. alain: just write. i love utm and i love the medium michael: masterweb that ahrch. sulyn: hey guys you sure you spelt that correctly? thanks medium-ites andrew: thanks for the memories Last Sunday, campus police found the remains of a deer lying on the Five Minute Walk. The stag, which the Mississauga zoo once tagged as “Rutherford,” was missing chunks of flesh from its flanks. Police believe Rutherford was slaughtered for its meat, and that the person(s) responsible for the murder fled the location to avoid capture when a student happened upon the scene. Following a police investigation, a residence student produced a pic- ture of an adult male wielding a santoku knife as he stalked a deer in the UTM woodlot. Mary Takeda, a fourth-year Scatology major, said she did not hand the picture to the police because she thought it was a harmless prank. “I was standing at the window of my room at OPH when I saw him,” said Takeda, who took the picture last Monday. “He looked very creepy and had a big knife, so I got my camera and snapped a pic, but it didn’t occur to me that he actual- ly wanted to kill the deer.” Police have asked The Medium to release the picture, hoping that someone on campus will recognize the as-of-yet unidentified male. At the beginning of the semester, police received an anonymous let- ter addressing the high expense and low availability of food at UTM. “I will have no choice but to do what it takes for me to eat,” wrote the author(s). “And beware: I’m not alone. I know others feel as desperate as I do. Some of us have hunting experience and some of us don’t. But it doesn’t matter. We can only afford so much chicken and so many hotdogs.” Constable Ness of the UTM cam- pus police said they initially disre- garded the letter. But when the squirrel population at UTM dimin- ished rapidly over the last few weeks, investigators began suspect- ing that the letter wasn’t a prank after all. “We took a few preliminary steps,” said Constable Ness, but he refused to provide more informa- tion on what those steps were. Constable Ness also said that the campus police will double their efforts to investigate the letter and the anonymous man after they dis- covered Rutherford’s remains. They have begun questioning members of the Facebook group “Deer Hunters of UTM,” and the one hunter-gatherer student at UTM, Grubh Chefanana, a native of Ladonia. Biology Professor William Cody denies the police did enough to prevent Rutherford’s murder. “Deer have been roaming around the woodlot and the Five Minute Walk far much more frequently the last four or five days,” said Professor Cody, who also runs the National Deer Foundation. “It’s obvious that someone has been baiting them.” Professor Cody said he doubted students would hunt deer because they can’t afford food at UTM. “They may want to sell the meet to local restaurants instead,” said the Professor. “And the antlers can fetch quite a sum of money as well. If this is what I think it is, I’m actu- ally afraid for my life. I certainly don’t want to fight the UTM Deer Butchers.” If you have any information or believe you might have seen the anonymous man, please contact the Deer Hotline at (905) 828-5379. 5° -3° -15° -38° 21° 8 ° -1° 12° -42° DY-ing for DY PAGE 3 Harry Potter science PAGE 5 Social smoking PAGE 9 RAWC the summer away PAGE 11 www.mediumonline.ca Deer slaughtered on Five Minute Walk This man is wanted in relation to the UTM deer slaughter. If you have any information regarding this tragedy, please contact the Deer Hotline at (905) 8285379. ALAIN LATOUR EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Photo courtesy Mary Taneka
Transcript
Monday, March 29, 2010 Volume 36, Issue 23
Want to get it on while studying? We tell you where to do it. page 8
The Jaws of the University of Toronto MississaugaThe Jaws of the University of Toronto Mississaugamatt: d’you see my photos? the last 2 years have been grand. alain: just write. i love utm and i love the medium michael: masterweb that ahrch. sulyn: hey guys you sure you spelt that correctly? thanks medium-ites andrew: thanks for the memories
Last Sunday, campus police foundthe remains of a deer lying on theFive Minute Walk. The stag, whichthe Mississauga zoo once tagged as“Rutherford,” was missing chunksof f lesh from its f lanks . Pol icebelieve Rutherford was slaughteredfor its meat, and that the person(s)responsible for the murder fled thelocation to avoid capture when astudent happened upon the scene.Following a police investigation,
a residence student produced a pic-ture of an adult male wielding asantoku knife as he stalked a deerin the UTM woodlot. Mary Takeda,a fourth-year Scatology major, said
she did not hand the picture to thepolice because she thought it was aharmless prank.“I was standing at the window of
my room at OPH when I saw him,”said Takeda, who took the picturelas t Monday . “He looked verycreepy and had a big knife, so I gotmy camera and snapped a pic, butit didn’t occur to me that he actual-ly wanted to kill the deer.”Police have asked The Medium to
release the picture, hoping thatsomeone on campus will recognizethe as-of-yet unidentified male.At the beginning of the semester,
police received an anonymous let-ter addressing the high expense andlow availability of food at UTM.“I will have no choice but to do
what it takes for me to eat,” wrotethe author(s). “And beware: I’mnot alone. I know others feel asdesperate as I do. Some of us have
hunting experience and some of usdon’t. But it doesn’t matter. We canonly afford so much chicken and somany hotdogs.”Constable Ness of the UTM cam-
pus police said they initially disre-garded the letter . But when thesquirrel population at UTM dimin-ished rapidly over the las t fewweeks, investigators began suspect-ing that the letter wasn’t a prankafter all.“We took a few pre l iminary
steps,” said Constable Ness, but herefused to provide more informa-tion on what those steps were.Constable Ness also said that the
campus police wil l double theirefforts to investigate the letter andthe anonymous man after they dis-covered Rutherford ’s remains .They have begun quest ioningmembers of the Facebook group“Deer Hunters of UTM,” and the
one hunter-gatherer s tudent atUTM, Grubh Chefanana, a nativeof Ladonia.Biology Professor William Cody
denies the police did enough toprevent Rutherford’s murder.“Deer have been roaming around
the woodlot and the Five MinuteWalk far much more frequentlythe last four or f ive days ,” saidProfessor Cody, who also runs theNational Deer Foundation. “It ’sobvious that someone has beenbaiting them.”Professor Cody said he doubted
students would hunt deer becausethey can’t afford food at UTM.“They may want to sell the meet
to local restaurants instead,” saidthe Professor. “And the antlers canfetch quite a sum of money as well.If this is what I think it is, I’m actu-ally afraid for my life. I certainlydon’ t want to f ight the UTM
Deer Butchers.”If you have any information or
believe you might have seen theanonymous man, please contact theDeer Hotline at (905) 828-5379.
On March 16-18, students at bothUTM and S t . George vo t ed toelect the student union that rep-resents over 40,000 U o f T stu-den t s . A l though r e su l t s we reclose, Stronger Together has wonal l f ive execut ive pos i t ions forUTSU, including Adam Awad asPresident, Danielle Sandhu as VPEqu i t y , Zex i Wang a s VPExternal, Rolli Adenmosun for VPInternal and Maria Pilar Galvez asVP University Affairs. S t ronger Toge ther ’ s goa l for
next year i s to work in uni sonwi th the s tuden t body a t bo thUTM and St. George campuses inorder to achieve more for less. The p l a t f o rm fo r S t ronge r
Together h ighl ights a ser ies o fgoa l s and i s sues tha t the t eamplans to address . Among issuesthat the team plans to work oninclude eliminating the flat feestuit ion structure, in which stu-dents pay a se t tu i t ion amounteven i f they take three or fourcourses instead of five. StrongerTogether ’ s p lat form a lso s tatesthat the team will be fighting toc r ea t e on l ine t ex tbooks u s ingBlackboard, creating a fund forc lubs to be u s ed f o r s tuden tevents, and working with TTC toat ta in discount t ickets for s tu-dents. Stronger Together a lso advo-
ca tes tha t i t w i l l work to f ightracism, sexism, ableism, homo-phobia and all forms of discrimi-nat ion on campus as wel l as inclassroom resources. The team’s platform also states
i t s focus on sus ta inab i l i t y andcreating a greener and more eco-friendly campus with an expan-sion of the BikeShare (also avail-able at UTM) and training clubsabou t g r e ene r op t ions . Morelocal, organic and vegetarian foodoptions are also in the works, aswell as banning water bottles andinstalling more water fountains. With roughly 10% of St. George
students travel l ing between thedowntown campus and the UTMcampus, Stronger Together’s plat-form states that they wi l l worktoward an e a s i e r and cheape rt r ans f e r b e tween campuse s .Stronger Together will fight theincrease of parking and food feesa t t he UTM campus and worktowards creating more tri-campusevents. Fo r more in fo rma t ion on
Thank you to all of the writers who contributed to the News Section of The Medium this year.
Special thank you to: Katherine Luczynski, Ovais Shah, Stefanie Marotta, Emil Jabbarli, Camille
Amigleo, Maya Shahid, Gurpinder Gaheer, Yanique Bird, Walied Khogali, AlainLatour, Emily Acheson, Carolina Salcedo, Mimi Zalat, Steve Khan, Tifa Strifheart,
Micheline Khan, Tiffany Chen and Phoebe Leung.
votestrongertogether.ca
UTMAC elections:Blackout or Blueprint2?
The UTM Athletics Council campaignperiod began last Monday. This year,Blueprint2, Team Blackout and anindependent VP Administration can-didate are vying for positions.Blueprint2 launched their campaign
last Monday at 12:01 a.m. with aFacebook group and flooded theMeeting Place with blue and red bal-loons to attract the attention of voters.Reiterating the platform points of lastyear’s Blueprint slate to increaseschool spirit, increase athlete recogni-tion and enhance communication,Blueprint2 promises to continue toimprove and expand upon these ini-tiatives. The candidates hope to bringprogression and victory to campusathletics if elected as next year’sUTMAC. Collectively, the candidatesof Blueprint2 claim experience inUTM athletics, UTMAC events,UTMSU affairs and involvement invarious clubs.Team Blackout promises to seek
student input to guide allocation offinances, an increase of on and off-campus events and to promote com-munity through athletics. The candi-dates insist that they have an effectiveplan and enough experience to take ontheir respective positions on UTMAC.As a team, Blackout has experience inUTMSU and UTMAC programs.Independent VP Administration
candidate Kasim Baluch also wants topromote student involvement anddiversity of events. The third-year stu-dent was approached by TeamBlackout, but made the decision tocampaign solo as a personal goal.Baluch has participated in a multitudeof campus sporting events and teamsand advocates for increased involve-ment and events.
The All Candidates debate was heldin the Blind Duck Pub last Tuesday togive students the opportunity toaddress the candidates. Candidatesanswered questions regarding theirplans to increase student and athleteinvolvement, promote school spiritand build awareness of athletic pro-grams and opportunities. One of the questions brought up
concerned pick-up games in theRAWC. Participants called “next” toenter the floor; however, often timesfemale athletes were neglected. Thecandidates expressed the need toimplement an organized system orauthority figure to ensure the gamesare fair.Each slate announced their slogan
for the coming academic year if elect-ed. Blueprint2 chose “We bleed blue,”inspired by Jay-Z’s “Empire State ofMind.” Blackout chose “D-Up,” andBaluch announced “Be true, so beblue.”“The campaign period has been
running smoothly. It’s great to see somany interested candidates,” reportedthis year’s Chief Returning OfficerDhananjai Kohli. “All candidates havebeen working hard on promotingthemselves and the platform that theystand for, and so far everyone hasbeen playing fair. I was very pleasedwith the crowd participation [at thedebate].”In contrast to last year’s contested
UTMAC elections, the executives ofthe present council decided to con-duct voting online. Kohli has been incontact with the administration to ini-tiate the new process. Candidate pro-files and platforms are available onposters around campus and onFacebook. Students will have theopportunity to cast their vote online atvoting.utoronto.ca from 12:01 a.m. onMarch 30 through to 11:59 p.m. onMarch 31.
SSTTEEFFAANNIIEE MMAARROOTTTTAA
FIRE AT UTM NEWSMONDAY, MARCH 29, 2010 THE MEDIUM 3
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The U of T Scarborough campus recentlypassed the option of the credit/no creditapplication to courses. UTSC students atcan now have the option of taking acourse without it affecting their GPAs andwithout the added pressures of doing wellin it. The UTSC administration believes that
this option allows students to take morerisks and experiment with their learningtechnique, as it will encourage them totake courses outside their program ofstudy. With this new policy, when taking a
course, students are required to attain aminimum of 60% as their final mark topass a class and receive a course credit.Failure to achieve a final mark of 60% willnot be counted as a failure on the studen-t’s transcript, and will not affect theircumulative GPA score. The credit/no credit option must be
chosen by a student before the final day ofcourse enrollment. Once chosen, the
option is irreversible. A course chosen as anon-credit course cannot be used to fulfillprogram requirements. Furthermore,professors are not told which students aretaking their course for credit and whichare not. This allows students to workwithout worrying about a bias from pro-fessors or TAs in terms of grading. Currently, the credit/no credit option is
limited to one credit per year. Executivesfor the Arts and Science Students’ Unionare working to push for two course equiv-alents for the no credit option. “It took a little while for students to
grasp a couple of its features, that theycouldn’t switch back if they were getting51 per cent or 90 per cent, and that theyshouldn’t be using this to avoid a non-stellar mark in one of their hard program-requirement courses,” said Assistant Deanof the Arts and Science Faculty GlennLoney in an interview with The Varsitylast week.The St. George campus carried the
credit/no credit option over in 2008 forArts and Science students, but UTM hasyet to follow suit.
Edward Cai/ The Medium
This spring, UTM will conduct a pre-scribed burn of a small parcel of land in itsnortheast section. The event, which willtake a maximum of 50 minutes, will occurbetween March 20 and April 30, weatherpermitting.Shrubs and small trees currently invade
the 1.3-hectare flat savannah habitat.According to Professor Nick Collins of theDepartment of Biology and co-chair of theUTM/Evergreen Naturalization SteeringCommittee, a prescribed burn is the mosteffective way to encourage the growth ofnative grassland plants, remove non-native species and restore the meadow-land character of the area. “This prescribed burn is part of a pro-
fessionally prepared long-term manage-ment plan designed to preserve andenhance part of UTM’s grassland habitat,which is an important resource for ourteaching and research activities,” saidProfessor Collins. “Without active man-agement, this area will continue to devel-op into a shrubland dominated by non-native invasive plant species.”A prescribed burn is a deliberately set
and carefully controlled low fire that con-sumes dried leaves, some seeds and smallstems without harming larger trees.Professor Collins called it “a well-recog-nized, established method of managingthe preservation and enhancement of cer-tain ecosystems” that is used “scores oftimes each year in Canada.” Professional firefighters will carry out
the procedure according to establishedstandards. The plans have been thorough-ly reviewed by Mississauga FireDepartment officials. Natural and man-made firebreaks will surround the burnsite.A professional fire boss will initiate the
prescribed burn only after determiningthat both the combustibility of the fueland the current weather are within pre-scribed limits. The burn may be post-poned if the weather conditions vary sig-nificantly from predictions. After the burn, the site will be moni-
tored continuously until the professionalfire boss declares the fire out. Regularoperations of the University will not beaffected.
KKAATTHHEERRIINNEE LLUUCCZZYYNNSSKKII
UTM will burn for nature
Las t Tuesday , Professor AnnArmstrong asked her Organiza-tional Design (MGT363) studentsto bring $2. At the start of the lec-ture, Armstrong explained that sheneeded the $2 to run an exercisethat would simulate the dynamicsof power , po l i t i c s and conf l i c twithin real organizations through apretend organization formed bythe s tudents—the “ToonieOrganization.” Armstrong gave a brief discus-
sion of the simulation rules, whichpertained to organizational struc-ture, role-assigning and communi-cation. Three students would holdupper management positions, fourwould hold middle managementposit ions and the remaining 25would hold the positions of work-ers. The upper management’s rolewas to establish an organizationalgoa l and rea l i ze i t . They couldcommunicate with both the middleand lower organiza t ion groupsfreely. The middle management’srole was to support upper manage-ment in achieving their goal andmanaging the workers—they couldcommunicate with the lower groupfreely, but needed permission to
speak with upper management .The workers’ role was to performthe tasks assigned to them by man-agement—they could only commu-nicate with middle managementand could choose to revolt and notperform tasks if they did not wantto. Armstrong contributed $20 tothe poo led money , d iv ided thetotaled $74 amongst the two man-agement groups respective to theirpower, and allowed the “ToonieOrganization” to begin its simula-tion exercise.Halfway through the two-hour
lecture, brainstorming and sharingof ideas amongst the two manage-ment groups yielded an unexpectedstrategic goal: to raise additionalfunds and use all proceeds towardsa cause that would make a differ-ence . The MGT363 ToonieOrganization collectively selectedHeifer International as the charitythrough which to make a donation.(Heifer International aims to endhunger and pover ty by g iv ingdonors the opportunity to buy live-stock that will help feed and sup-port families).With this goal in mind, the stu-
dents began to relax the rigid rulesthat their positions once forcedthem to adhere to. This allowedthem to increase communication,
cooperation and efficiency. Theyorganized themselves into smallgroups and explained their classsimulation exercise and the strate-gic goal they hoped to achieve tofriends, students and even theirformer professors in the SouthBuilding’s Hall and Meeting Place. The Toonie Organization had
expected to raise no more than anadditional $10 in the limited timethey had left, but the results washigh ly unexpected—they morethan doubled their wealth, raising$84 in less than 30 minutes. Thestudents decided to make a $160donation of a goat and two flocksof ch icken through Hei ferInternational.The exercise, meant to facilitate
the learning of the dynamics ofpower politics and conflict in anorganization to business students,ended instead with a move thathelped combat hunger and pover-ty. None of the MGT363 studentsor Professor Armstrong could haveforeseen such an outcome. Notonly were the course conceptsdemonstrated in a fresh way, butthe students’ active involvement inthe exerc i se took the c lass toanother leve l , br inging phi lan-thropic acts of business even to thelevel of a class simulation.
Management class donates to Heifer International NNAADDAA HHAAMMOODD
OPINIONTHIS IS ITMONDAY, MARCH 29, 201044 THE MEDIUM
Like many of you, I’m graduating inJune. This is therefore the last editorial I’llever write for The Medium. Knowing this,I’m tempted to write with a vengeanceand to touch on many topics. I’m tempt-ed, for example, to introduce next year’sterrific team, to reminisce about my expe-rience at our newspaper, to thank thecountless people who contributed to TheMedium this year, and to reflect on whatit’s been like to work in what many wouldconsider a dying industry. But I can’t do adecent job if I focus on so many differentissues—not in the space of one column,and not unless I want to bore you todeath.
So, after much consideration, I decid-ed to make my last editorial a sales pitchfor The Medium. Before I do that, howev-er, I do have to thank Amir, Michael, SuLyn, Andrew, Saaliha, Matt, Heather, andRomano, among many others, for helpingmake us a better paper, one that saw twicethe amount of online hits than in the pre-vious year. I also have to wish SaalihaMalik, my successor, the best of luck, andto publicly state my faith that both thenew team and her will do an amazing job.
Working as Editor-in-Chief of thisnewspaper has been one of the most fruit-ful experiences of my life. Ali Kasim, pre-vious EIC, wrote in his last editorial thathe had learned more on the job than heever did as a student at UTM. I won’t goas far, but I will say this: in the one yearthat I worked as EIC, I learned what Iwould’ve needed two years to learn atUTM. There are many reasons for this,but I can best sum it up with the followingold saying: “Tell someone how to dosomething and they'll forget. Show them,and they may not remember. Involvethem, and they'll understand.”
UTM has no journalism program, soother than a handful of ProfessionalWriting professors, we have no one to tellor show us how to make a newspaper.This leaves us with no choice but to getinvolved and to understand. We come tothe office every day, and since we don’thave anyone to teach us, we simply sitdown and do it. We don’t do a perfectjob—far from it. We pay for our mistakesdearly, more so than in any universitycourse—every time we make one, an
upwards of 5,000 readers notice, be it amisquote or typo splashed across thecover page.
But far from discouraging us, this limi-tation encourages us. In the process ofworking (and making mistakes), we learnabout interviewing and writing and edit-ing. We learn about time managementand about Robert's rules of order. Welearn about ourselves and our fellow stu-dents and our profs. More to the point,we learn about UTM, the one thing we allhave in common, and the one thing wewill all remember for our entire lives.
Look at this issue alone. Reading it,you will learn about an interesting experi-ment that involves a toonie and well-meaning management students, aboutUTM’s soon-to-happen prescribed burnand about the best secret on-campus loca-tions to hook up. You will learn about allthis and more, but you won’t learn asmuch as the students who wrote and edit-ed these stories—these students had to goout, meet the person they profiled face toface and visit new locations. They had tothink and focus. They had to get involved.They had to understand.
Many UTM students seem to think itshard to work for us. Stefanie Marotta, for-mer assistant news editor, told me lastweek that in her first year, she stood in themain floor of the Student Centre, twistingher hands and eyeing our office upstairswith apprehension. She eventuallyknocked on our office door, but I wonderhow many other lost the nerve and left.
Yet it’s not hard to work for us. Almostall UTM students have publishable writ-ing skills. And they all have skills that theycan improve, with our help and their ownperseverance. So please take a deepbreath, go up the stairs and knock on ourdoor. I promise you this: if you ever want-ed to do it, but end up not, you will regretit.
As I find myself nearing the end of mydays at UTM, I know I will miss manythings. I will miss this dusty office, and thefriends that I made, and the late nightPsychology classes and the CCIT labs andthe anticipation of reading a story aloudin a PWC class. But most of all, I will missnot doing the things that I always wantedto do, like enrolling in the debate club orgoing to the Olympic weightlifting semi-nars. Even if joining The Medium doesnot rank high on your personal list of things to do at UTM, you can bet your bottom dollar that working for our newspaper will allow you add new things to that list.
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ALAIN LATOUREDITOR-IN-CHIEF
A sales pitch
Letters to the Editor
AANNNNUUAALL GGEENNEERRAALL MMEEEETTIINNGG
The Medium will hold its Annual General Meeting on March 31 at 5 p.m. in the Board Room at the Student
Centre.The goal of the AGM is to discuss The Medium’s financialstatements and the auditor’s report thereon, as well as appointingauditors for next year and authorizing the Board of Directors to fixthe remuneration of the auditors. The last auditors’ report for The
Medium will be available for review by students during the editors’ office hours as of today.
All students who have paid their levy for this year for The Mediumare welcome to come to the AGM.
Dear Editor,
I am glad that our student newspaper cov-ered the elections in last week’s edition.However, it is important for us to reflecton the immense student turnout for thespring 2010 elections. This is symbolic ofthe excitement and enthusiasm thatplagued our campaign from day one.Over 30% of all eligible voters cast theirballot in this year's election, a turnoutunprecedented in UTM Student unionshistory, and in fact the highest turnout ofany election, not only in the GTA, but inthe province of Ontario. I would like tothank not only the students that cast theirballot in this historic election, but also allthe candidates.
This election would have not culminat-ed the amount of interest, participationand commentary if we did not have allthese diverse and committed candidatesrunning for the executive and board ofdirectors positions. I believe that studentsdeserve a discussion on the issues.TeamStudents United is committed to such aconversation. We all believe that as uni-versity students and future communityand professional leaders, we have theresponsibility to strive away from the dis-tractions and focus on the solutions.
So what does this election mean to us?It means that students care about theirstudent union and most importantlyabout the issues that each one of you havebrought to the center of the campaign.
Students are looking at the platformand basically saying, “This is what I wantmy student union to do.” But that shouldonly be the first step. I ran with a team thatis called Students United. There is a cheerthat is used by students and labor, thatgoes, “The students/workers united, willnever be defeated.” And that speaks towhat we believe in. We believe that whenstudents unite, we can get anything wewant. Imagine 3,000 students telling FoodServices that Chartwells needs to deliveron more food services, orthey should lose their monopoly. Imagine 3,000 students going to Erindale College Council and demanding lower park-ing/residence/meal plan fees. And why
should we be limited by the platform weran on? And why should we limit our-selves to 3,000 voices?
To vote is an avenue for students toindicate their interest on the issues theycare about. But voting is not the end, butthe beginning of the process; it is veryimportant for every student to participatein their student union.
What I'm trying to say is that there isstrength in numbers. United, we can getstuff done. And how do we decide whatneeds to be done? Together. We want tomake sure that students are consulted oneverything the union does. In fact, wewant the union to do what you, the stu-dents tell us to do. Because a studentsunion is nothing without the students.
The students union is here to serve you.Our team garnered the most votesbecause of your support (and there wasclearly a lot of support). But we can`t dothis alone. Join us in the next 12 months,and united we can tackle the issues thataffect us all.
In student solidarity,Vickita BhattPS – In last week’s issue of The
Medium, there was no mention of thebreakdown of the votes, so I thought Iwould include it here.
President Vickita Bhatt 1638 (elected)Henry S sali 1142 VP Internal Marc Bressler 814 Gilbert Cassar 1707 (elected ) Sunil Shah 256 VP UA and AcademicsNabeel Jafri 999Grace Yuen 1776 (elected ) VP ExternalStefanie Marotta 1010 Munib Sajjad 1759 (elected)VP EquityKumari Giles 1838 (elected)Amreet Kaur 923VP Part TimeAli Karim 17Marium Chowdhary 29 (elected)
In Solidarity, Vickita Bhatt
Post-campaign glee
As you all know, the UTMSU electionsended about two weeks ago. The results?Well, Students United (yellow) won by alarge margin. As for the demerit points,well, I think we all saw that accurategraph (do you sense the sarcasm?) onthe front page of last week’s paper.
In simple terms: Students Unitedexercised their right to appeal points andnone of the group members are facingdisqualification any longer. Now, is thata problem? It’s important to note thatthe demerit points are given withouthearing from the accused individual,therefore an appeal is an opportunity to“get rid of points” if the accusation is nottrue. What I found most interesting wasthe amount of complaints that werefiled. While Students United focused onoutreaching to students, UTM Renewfound it necessary to pinpoint every“infraction” made by Student United.
If Students United had filed as manycomplaints as UTM Renew, that graphwould have looked a lot different. Thedemerit points for both teams wouldhave probably been the same. However,during the campaigning period,Students United had different priorities.In the end, the unofficial election resultsreflect the efforts of the teams. IfUTMRenew had spent as much timecampaigning as they did complaining,
maybe the results would have been dif-ferent.
After multiple meetings, discussions,and notes on Facebook, I’m sure we’reall tired of it all. These elections havegone too far and if you take a look at thisUTM student’s response to a friend’sstatus, I think you would agree.
Is it really necessary to call the newlyelected unofficial president of UTMSU“the scum of the earth?” Comments like“I actually think I found a piece of you inthe bottom of my garbage can with apiece of gum stuck to you” are absolutelydisgusting.
We are all adults who attend theUniversity of Toronto and this is adowngrade to the U of T name.Immature and useless comments likethese are an indication that the electionshave gone too far. What has VickitaBhatt done to deserve this? Absolutelynothing. Students United ran a cleancampaign and in the end, they deservedthe win.
Every year in late March, students findthemselves in a transition. With the endof school nearing, they have assign-ments to finish, exams to study for, jobsto find and new schools to apply to.This makes for a very hectic time, espe-cially for graduating students.YetAlysha Woolner, a graduating studentin Sheridan and UTM’s Art and ArtHistory program, found the time to doall that, and then some. Artist at nightand curator by day, Woolner curatedBetween Shapes, a show of her prints,video, sculptures and sound works fromthe past year.
Those who are familiar withWoolner’s previous works (from plastercasts of wax bananas to what could bestbe described as tapestries of text) will besurprised. Using the open area of AnnieSmith Centre at Sheridan College,Woolner exhibits her engaging works ina well-planned and organized manner.
Between Shapes revolves around tran-sitions through various physical andmental states—specifically sleep and theprocess of falling into it. Alysha investi-gates the unconscious of the dream-ing/thought experience, asking viewersto recall their own fragmented memo-ries. She also investigates her existencein relation to those around her. Sheincorporates themes of conversation,physical wandering and the longing fora personal sense of where one is “meantto be” in the world.
Alysha creates work about and withher body in hopes of connecting peopleat a very basic level. Stuffed Pseudonymis a giant plushy of Alysha, slouched ina corner of the gallery space. To theright of this piece are prints of AlyshaandAlysha Pseudo.
Untitled, another work pertaining tosleep and states of consciences, is a2:29-minute video loop of Alyshawrestling to fall asleep. The bed, a placeof rest, shelter and intimacy, becomes a
type of stage, turning viewers intovoyeurs of a place where she feels pro-tected.Another work worth mentioning is
the simple yet beautiful digital prints oftrees. Following a very specific colourscheme and framed with delicate woodframes, these works are probably themost traditional in the show, but man-age to find their place amongst otherwork.
Between Shapes runs until March 30.
Stuck in betweenSheridan student showcases artworkNNIICCOOLLEE SSCCHHLLOOSSSSEERR
Thank you!We here at The Medium would like tothank all those who contributed to theA&E section this year:Greg FioriniKjartan HewittAmir AhmedPatricia FigueredoSaaliha MalikGordon FreemanPaola SavastaAdam ErbAdrian KliszAlain LatourReina ShishkuraPaul CastrodaleSu Lyn LiewMaya ShahidEmily Davidson
While many of us often wishHogwarts School of Witchcraft andWizardry was an actual academicinstitution we could transfer to, weunfortunately have to settle for J.K.Rowling’s meticulous descriptions ofthe Gryffindor Common Room orglorious views of the lavishly decorat-ed Great Hall in the film adaptations.That will no longer be the case in lessthan two weeks time. Harry Potter:The Exhibition will be unveiled at theOntario Science Centre on April 9,and fans will finally be able to stepinto the magical world of Harry Potterand experience just how painful abludger really feels if dropped on yourfoot. Although the Science Centre’s exhi-
bition will be much more modest thanthe lavish Harry Potter theme parkopening at Disneyworld on June 18, itis the only Canadian stop on the antic-ipated five-year world tour, which sofar includes just Toronto, Boston andChicago. The exhibition will primarilyinclude a display of props used in thefilms such as the Marauder’s Map inaddition to a wide array of costumes,and will also feature a few set con-structions, including the aforemen-tioned Gryffindor Common Roomand Great Hall, as well as Hagrid’sHut. Perhaps the exhibition’s only down-
fall prior to its opening is the timecontrol on admission—somewhere
from a mere half an hour to an hour—in which visitors are quickly usheredthrough the variously-themed areas inorder to make room for the next batchof Muggles. Another disappointmentis the ban on photography, as well asthe fairly steep ticket price of $27.50(thankfully general access to theScience Centre is also included), butthis won’t matter to the fans that havebeen waiting years for a corporealHogwarts experience. Visit www.ontariosciencecentre.ca
or call 416-696-1000 to pre-order tick-ets. The exhibition runs from April 9to August 22, so make sure to visitbefore it disapparates for good.
JAPANIMATIONARTS & ENTERTAINMENTMONDAY, MARCH 29, 20106 THE MEDIUM
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Anyone who made a Google searchin the past few days wi l l havenoticed that on March 23, theInternet giant changed its standardcover image to a black and whitedisplay featuring a Japanese manwearing glasses and a driving cap. Ifyou clicked on the image, the infor-mation that popped up informedyou that the temporary logo wasthere to celebrate Akira Kurosawa’shundredth birthday. But who is thisman, and why should we care?Akira Kurosawa is known as one
of the most influential directors inmodern cinema history. He workedfrom 1943 to 1993, producing clas-sics as diverse as the metaphysicalRashomon to the famous adventurefilm Seven Samurai . He exploredthe use of multiple cameras andframe wipes—staple techniques oftoday’s cinema—and had an obses-sion for realism that bordered oncriminal negligence. In Throne ofBlood, a feudal Japanese remake ofMacbeth , Kurosawa insisted thatreal arrows be shot at his starringactor to evoke a realistic reaction,and in his 1985 film Ran, he burnedan entire castle set to the ground,since a constructed ruin just would-n’t be the same.Kurosawa’s cinematography and
dedicat ion for real i s t ic act ingdeserves ovation to be sure, but histechniques aren’t the only reasonhe’s famous today. Have you heardof the Magnificent Seven? A Fistful
of Dollars? Or perhaps a little filmcalled Star Wars? They all drewfrom Kurosawa’s f i lms—in thiscase, Seven Samurai, Yojimbo andthe Hidden Fortress respectively.Kurosawa and his movies form anepicenter of cinema history—draw-ing from Shakespeare, Americanwesterns and traditional Japanesetheatre, and churning out classicsthat, in turn, became and continueto become the basis for new land-marks of commercial and criticalsuccess.
Even so, why should we watch thereruns of Rashomon and SevenSamurai on OMNI at midnight? IfKurosawa is so engrained into mod-ern cinema, can’t we just appreciatehis works by watching, say, StarWars: Revenge of the Sith, and leaveit at that?Not so, and this explanation of his
(arguably) most famous film, SevenSamurai, will show why.
Seven Samurai takes place in1500’s Japan, in a state of nation-wide warfare and political instabili-
ty. The men at the top are losingpower and the scum from the bot-tom are r is ing up to snatch i t .Bandits ride across the land, steal-ing rice from peasants and brawlingwith each other for control over ter-ritory. The movie opens on a deso-late plain. A gang of bandits ponderraiding a village for food and decidethat they will ransack it once thebarley is harvested. A villager over-hears this and runs back to tell histown of the impending invasion.The villagers decide to hire master-
less samurai to defend them, andtheir journey and the ensuing con-flict of those seven samurai againstthe horde of bandits has everythingyou ever need to see. It has brawls,romance, even an exploration ofmoral i ty and vict imhood. Butwhat’s important, and what makesit different from modern films, isthat Seven Samurai doesn’t talkdown to the audience.Let me clarify. When I watched
Avatar, I saw a simplistic metaphorfor colonizat ion and a vagueattempt to endorse a lame spiritual-ity around nature. When I watchedthe new Star Wars movies, I saw theJedi go from Buddhist Monkscrossed with medieval Knights toaction heroes spouting pithy wit.When I watched Twilight… I didn’twatch Twil ight , and good luckproving otherwise. What I didn’tsee were movies where the charac-ters are just as uncertain about theirpaths as the audience is. I didn’t seemovies that left the audience to fillin the gaps with their own interpre-tations. I didn’t see movies unafraidof their audience’s IQ.I’m not saying that special effects
are bad. I’m not saying that actionscenes are bad either. Neither am Isaying that Kurosawa’s moviesspout truth, but his movies doaccomplish something better withthe magic of optics and with skilledactors than just make them explodeeach other. Kurosawa believed thatmovies can entertain and engageviewers, and that’s why you shouldwatch his films.Plus, you know, swordfights and
In recent years, Flash web cartoonshave become an extremely popularsource of entertainment. Circulatedwith the same impact as many ofYouTube’s viral videos, online flashanimation is commonly known for itsseemingly innocent nature and itsbizarre, creepy and sometimes dis-turbing content. Yet the peculiarity ofthese cartoons is what makes them sointriguing, as does their hilarity, witand general randomness. The immensely popular Happy Tree
Friends started off as an internet phe-nomenon in 1999 before it became atelevision show seven years later(although the TV version only lasteda few months). The show surrounds agroup of cute and furry critters whokill each other in extremely violentand graphic ways, and a disclaimerexists to discourage children fromwatching the misleading TV-14 pro-gram. Nevertheless, the show’s origi-nal internet format has maintained itsviewership for over ten years and begsthe question if web cartoons shouldever cross over into the realm of tele-vision. Amy Winfrey’s Making Fiends is
another online animation-turned-subpar TV counterpart. The plotrevolves around a naive, light-heartedgirl named Charlotte, who is con-stantly in danger of being killed byVendetta, a hilariously wicked girl
with a Bulgarian accent who conjuresup evil fiends. Much less violent thanHappy Tree Friends (yet much moresinister and gloomy), Making Fiendsis an ingeniously crafted cartoon thatrelies solely on the distinct voices ofits creator and three other individu-als. It features simplistic, yet purpose-ly amateur character depictions (suchas colours bleeding over the outlinededges of Charlotte’s dress orVendetta’s pigtails). When MakingFiends was developed for television in2008, the rawness of the cartoon wasreplaced by an overly stylizedsmoothness that detracted quite sub-stantially from the modesty of theoriginal. One cartoon that never left the
comfort of its URL is Salad Fingers,but that’s probably because it is tooincredibly creepy to be diffused ontelevision. Salad Fingers is classifiedas a “psychological horror” cartoon,in which the eponymous characterreveals the pleasure he gets fromexperiencing the texture of variousitems, including rusty spoons.Although there seems to be a clear
distinction between violent, ominousand unsettling cartoons, and thatsome are indeed funny while othersare pathetic, they all share the abilityto draw in a crowd of people around acomputer screen and make us wonderjust how weird we are for liking theseshows. But that’s okay. You’re notalone.
Taking a look at some of the most popular Flash cartoons from our day
JAPANAMUSIC ARTS & ENTERTAINMENTMONDAY, MARCH 29, 2010 THE MEDIUM 7
Singer-songwriter Rufus Wainwrightis often praised for his theatricalvoice and lavishly arranged songs.But on his latest album, All DaysAre Nights : Songs for Lulu , themusic is noticeably stripped down.Jus t h im and a piano , wi thWainwright expert ly ba lancingEngl i sh and French languagesongs.Perhaps best known for his take
on the Leonard Cohen c lass ic ,“Hallelujah,” which appeared onthe Shrek soundtrack, Wainwrighthas also released five solo albumsof original material, starting withhis 1998 se l f - t i t l ed debut . Butwhile the relative simplicity of AllDays Are Nights feels a bit strangecompared to his met icu lous lyorches t ra ted pas t work , i t s t i l lexhibits Wainwright ’ s fantast icvoice. With the pounding pianobehind him on “Who Are You NewYork?” his voice soars as he reach-es the higher notes. Other songs,l ike “Martha” (about his s ister ,Martha Wainwright, who has animpress ive music career of herown), are more subdued, but evenwith the limited range of the song,Wainwright still gives an impres-sive vocal performance.The album’s most dynamic song,
“The Dream,” feels closer to theenergetic romps that can be foundon some of his previous albums,such as 2003’s Want One. It’s theone track on the album that reallys tands above the res t f rom thestart.Overall, All Days Are Nights is a
much more mature work fromWainwright, and though it’s niceto see him evolve musically, thealbum does lack some of the greatpop sensibility that his previouswork put forth. The ever-swirlingpiano gets a bit tiresome and, in away, his sound is too big to haveonly the one ins trument as hisaccompaniment for an ent i realbum. His usual, edgier pop styleis traded here for songs that some-times flirt with the “easy listening”label, a classification that does hisvoice a disservice.Despi te a somet imes under-
whelming style, All Days Are Nightis certainly a strong effort fromWainwright. Its intimacy workswel l to disp lay Wainwright ’ simpressive voice, and the emotion-al sting of his music is as strong asever. The album’s closing track,“Zebulon,” is a wistful tale aboutlove. Along with a couple of thealbum’s other tracks, it ’s one ofWainwright’s strongest songs todate. At times it meanders slightly,but All Days Are Nights is a per-sonal album that’ l l l ikely pleasefans of Wainwright’s style.
CCOOLLLLEEEENN MMUUNNRROOASSISTANT A&E EDITOR
All Days Are Nights:Songs for Lulu
RRuuffuuss WWaaiinnwwrriigghhtt
[Decca]
From college friends to unlikely hit-mak-ers, Andrew Van Wyngarden and BenGoldwasser of MGMT have had astrange, swift career trajectory. Theirdebut album, 2008’s OracularSpectacular, spawned three increasinglymassive singles (“Electric Feel,” “Time toPretend” and “Kids”) and appeared onRolling Stone’s “Best Albums of theDecade” list. Even fashion label Guccijoined the fan club, paying homage to theduo’s psychedelic fashion choices in amenswear show.Their songs popped up on shows like
90210 and Gossip Girl, and now thisunlikely success story starts a new chapterwith the release of their second full-lengthalbum, Congratulations. The officialrelease date is April 13, but after thealbum leaked online, the band streamedthe album for free on their website, who-ismgmt.com. Those looking for catchy singles are
likely to be disappointed by this decidedlyexperimental album. There’s nothing asimmediate as “Time to Pretend” to befound here. In its place, listeners get the12-minute freak-out, “Siberian Breaks.”While it’s admirable that the band didn’tstrive to write “Kids II,” a lot of the light-hearted fun that Oracular Spectacularoffered seems to have been lost in thetransition.Putting aside MGMT’s past work and
accepting Congratulations as a self-con-tained album, it must be said that it cer-tainly offers delectable song choices. Thealbum’s first single, “Flash Delirium,” isthe kind of scrappy, up-tempo gem thatfans of MGMT will love. It’s full of boldkeyboards and echo-ey vocals, and hear-ing it descend (or ascend) into madnessas the track progresses is one of thealbum’s more exciting moments. The self-titled closing track provides
another highlight. It’s the most conven-tionally tuneful song to be found onCongratulations, and the acoustic simplic-ity feels refreshing. The melody shinesthrough and it’s an unexpected note forthe album to end on.The anomaly of the last track aside, the
songs on Congratulations all seem tomeld into one extended jam session.However, the sense of atmosphere onCongratulations is well-defined. For sucha young band, MGMT seems to have avery clear vision of where they want theirmusic to go. While Oracular Spectacular got by
thanks to a handful of tracks that a widevariety of listeners could enjoy,Congratulations will likely be a far moredivisive record. Some listeners won’t findanything to like among the album’s ninetrippy tracks, while others will bask in itspsychedelic guitars and dreamy key-boards. Though perhaps not a totally suc-cessful effort, this oddball batch of songswill likely get people talking, and MGMTwill probably continue to be admired fortheir strange, but (sometimes) beautifulapproach to pop music.
CCOOLLLLEEEENN MMUUNNRROOASSISTANT A&E EDITOR
Congratulations
MMGGMMTT
[Sony/Columbia]
Down The Way
AAnngguuss && JJuulliiaa SSttoonnee
[EMI]
March 30 marks the release of Angusand Julia Stone’s second album, Downthe Way. It’s been three years sincethe Aussie sibling duo released theirdebut album, A Book Like This, in2007. For fans of the debut album’stracks, “Just a Boy,” “Stranger,” and“A Book Like This,” Down the Wayoffers more. The melancholic lyricsand simple sound of the new single“And the Boys” makes it hard not tosing along. “Black Crow’s” drumbeatwill keep your feet tapping andAngus’s breathy vocals will keep youyearning for more. The album’s open-er, “Hold On,” sung in Julia’s soft andhalf-whispered voice and accompa-nied with Angus’s voice to outline thechorus, marks the distinction betweenA Book Like This and Down the Way.The duo experiments with compila-tions of piano and violin, which intro-duces variations in tempo and style.At the same time, the siblings pre-serve their lyrical methodology—always simple, always longing andalways beautiful. I’m just glad we stillget some harmonica in “Hush.”
IIMMAANN MMOOHHAAMMMMEEDD
Albums in reviewWe checked out some great summer albums for when school’s over—enjoy responsibly
The next few months are going to begreat for English readers of Japanesefiction. Yoko Ogawa’s Hotel Iris isfinally coming out in English, MiyukiMiyabe’s The Sleeping Dragon is com-ing out in April and Norton is rere-leasing an old collection of RyunosukeAkutagawa’s short fiction under thename The Beautiful and the Grotesque. Since I ordered all these through
Amazon, and Amazon loves to keeptabs on its customers, I’ve received afew emails about other upcomingreleases in Japanese fiction. That’s howI found out about Kenzaburo Oe’s TheChangeling. I’d never read Oe before—I prefer novels about murder, psycho-logical torment or poop jokes to thedeep and literary—and while TheChangeling wasn’t really for me, it maybe for you.Kenzaburo Oe may be the most well-known Japanese author in NorthAmerica. He won the Nobel Prize forliterature in 1994 and has a literary
history that stretches to 1958, when hewon the Akutagawa Prize—the mostprestigious literary award for new nov-elists in Japan. He’s met Mao Zedongand Jean-Paul Sartre, and has coverednumerous themes in his writing, fromchildhood to war to sexuality. He’sgiven talks and published essays alongwith his significant literary output. Allin all, he’s an intellectual giant.
The Changeling was originally writ-ten in 2000 and has only just beenreleased in an English translation. Ittells the story of aged author KogitoChoko and his friend Goro Hanawa.One night, listening to a taped mono-logue by Goro, Kogito hears, “I’mgoing to head over to the Other Sidenow,” followed by a thud—the soundof a body hitting the pavement. Thetaped monologue is the first of manythat Goro has left Kogito, and Kogitospends an unhealthy amount of timelistening to the remaining Goro mono-logues on his oversized headphones,nicknamed “Tagame” for the waterbeetles they resemble. He stays up inhis study, even interjecting his owncomments to the recorded messages to
create a simulated conversation. It’s a pretty messed-up situation for
the supernatural and psychologicalimplications it brings up. This weirdnecromancy bothers his wife and son,who can hear him talking at night, andeventually Goro suggests via themonologues that Kogito take a trip toBerlin. On the other side of the world,Kogito ponders his past, his friend-ships and his art.I’m sure that there’s something inge-
nious to The Changeling, but I don’thave the tools to dissect it right now.Fans of high literature won’t be disap-pointed, and if you’re an Englishmajor who enjoys reading the likes ofOndaatje and Vassanji, then you’llprobably find plenty to like in thesweeping themes and grand scope thenovel takes on. On the other hand, ifthe ending semester has burned youout, if thinking straight is challengeenough without needing to grasp bigideas, or if, like me, you need a stringof zombies, murders or ghosts to keepyour attention, then you may fare bet-ter waiting a while to recover beforetackling The Changeling.
AAMMIIRR AAHHMMEEDDFEATURES EDITOR
Time for a changeThe Changeling might be the introduction you need to Japanese fiction
Next t ime you ’ re on your waydown to the Blind Duck from thesecond floor of the Student Centre,take a look above your head—youmight find some student art.
Digression , created by BreannRitchie, a Sheridan College stu-dent, hangs above the second floorwalkway and is composed of wax-covered cheese cloths, hung from
the ce i l ing by f i sh ing l ine .According to Ritchie , the piecerepresents the “progress ion o fthought from its pure state to amore saturated one,” where theprogression is shown through thechanging colour spectrum.To students though, the piece
represents a change from the ordi-nary. “It’s nice to have some cul-ture on these walls, it brightens upyour day , ” sa id Sarah Chiu , athird-year UTM student.
Summer is around the corner, and ifyou have your life on track, youknow exactly what you’re going todo. Maybe you’ll travel, take a fewextra courses or get a job. No matterwhich option you take, you’ll enrichyour life with experience, academicsor with sweet cash. But for the restof us, those with neither the moneynor the initiative to do any of theabove, the summer will be a long,boring train of oversleeping,overeating and general self-loathing.
But fear not. Just because you’reabout to spend four months doingnothing except live in only the mostliteral sense of the term, it doesn’tmean that you can’t do it right.There’s always something to fill yourdays with, and these five hobbieswill leave you with four monthswasted and no discernable talentswhatsoever.
VViiddeeoo ggaammeess
When I was thirteen, I spent myentire summer vacation in my base-ment playing Morrowind. To thisday I have no regrets; it was themost perfect game I’ve ever played.While Morrowind’s now outdatedgraphics will turn off gamers, newtitles like Mass Effect 2, Dragon Age,or the old MMORPG standardWorld of Warcraft can place you inan immersive world that beats yourregular reality by a long shot. I’lltake living vicariously through a
ripped dwarven version of myself toliving as an underpaid English stu-dent any day.
OObbssccuurree mmoovviieess
Do you know what game Death andthe Swiss Knight play in Bergman’sThe Seventh Seal? Do you know howmany ghosts teach Jackie Chan mar-tial arts in Spiritual Kung Fu? Doyou know why the last man in AbbasKiarostami’s A Taste of Cherry nevercommitted suicide? Well, maybethat’s why you aren’t happy withyour life. A few obscure movies will
not only fill your head with inanetrivia, it will fill the hole in yourchest where your hopes and dreamsused to be. Plus they’re great forconversations. Who doesn’t want tohear a discourse on Bhutani cinemafrom 2000-2010? Khyentse Norbueasily dominates that category, bythe way.
BBooookkss nnoobbooddyy rreeaaddss
The Western Canon encompasses ahuge, huge field of literature, andeven though we talk about MobyDick and The Odyssey constantly—
well I do at least—how many ofthese great classics have you actuallyread? If you read just one classic aweek, you’ll be acquainted with overthirty two works of literature by theend of the summer. Considering thatthe average Canadian reads two-thirds of a book per year, this willprobably give you superpowers.Plus, you’ll get all the tedium ofbeing an English major with none ofthe pesky financial rewards.
AAnniimmee
Did you know that you can find tele-
vision shows on the internet, for freeand without commercials? When Ifound out, and after I bought everypiece of spyware software imagin-able to keep the feds from findingout about my crimes, I immediatelystarted systematically committing tomemory every episode of every showthat I knew. The wonderful thingabout anime as opposed to regularWestern cartoons is that many ofthem just don’t end. This is nothyperbole; you could reasonablyexpect to hook yourself up to a con-stant stream of Bleach, only stoppingto eat and weep about your situa-tion, and still only get through onequarter of the current episodes avail-able. Also, you’l l learn Japanesephrases no one ever uses, even inJapan. Dattebayo!
SSttrraannggee ffoooodd
Whatever doesn’t kill you may killyou socially. Examples? Durian, thedangerous and odourific fruit, CasuMarzu, the toxic cheese, and KopiLawak, coffee beans fed to a civet(an African-Asian mammal sort oflike a weasel) and collected once itcomes out the other end. While yourfriends visit the tropics, you canexplore the realm of nightmares andchew on it. There is so much freaky,strange, barely edible sustenance outthere that by the end of the summer,you will be able to safely say that youhave gone to hell and back. Not thatanyone will want to be near you, Imean, you ate weasel poo. What’swrong with you?
How to spend your summer vacationAs a high school teacher once said, just because you’re a loser doesn’t mean you can’t be a successful one.Follow these tips to waste your time in the best way possible
Ever feel l ike the university l ifegets a bi t too boring? No won-der—there aren’t many places oncampus where students can hookup. Or so it seems. To help youspice up your routine, here aresome of the best secret locationsto have a little fun with your sig-nificant other—at your own risk.Rez students can thank us later.Those who have their own place—wel l , perhaps a l i t t l e danger i swhat you need to take your l i fefrom frump to fabulous.
TThhee CCCCIITT EElleevvaattoorr
It takes forever to open, so this isthe place for quick misdemeanors.Don ’ t t ake your c lo the s o f f ,though—you won’t have time toput them back on. It’s still an ele-vator, not a hotel.
AA RRaannddoomm CCllaassssrroooomm
Bes ide the door o f e ach c l a s s -room, a sheet of paper indicates
the time and day when there areno designated classes in the room.Pick a free time and get down tosome private studying. Close thedoor if it’s during the day, and trynot to be too loud. If it’s night-time, leave the door open; every-one’s probably at home already. Aword of advice—the one-seatedchairs are a bit uncomfortable, sopick a room with a table for com-fort.
TThhee DDeeaann’’ss LLoouunnggee
I don’t recommend hooking up inthis room during the day. It’s toopopu l a r . The en t i r e Nor thBuilding, however, is deserted atnight. With the big, comfy couch-es in the Dean’s Lounge, you maywant to make this room a top pickfor your nightly hookups.
TThhee BBaatthhrroooomm
Whether it ’s the men’s or wom-en’s washroom, hooking up in thebathroom is one of those thingseveryone should try before theydie , r ight a long with skydiving
and v i s i t ing Par i s . Tha t ’ s whythere’s a making-out-in-a-wash-room scene in every movie, or atleast the good ones, so this is yourchance t o make th i s f an t a sy areality.
TThhee LLiibbrraarryy This is the riskiest place of all, inbetween the stacks of books in thel i b ra ry . T ry the more p r i va t efour th f l oor . We s aw a coup l emaking out right in front of us a
few days ago, so remember to bepolite. If someone comes to thes t a ck s t o f ind a book , t ake abreather. I would save this placefor the nighttime; it’s more likelythat you won’t get caught.
Help recognize teaching, research and staff service excellence at U of T Mississauga
Submit a nomination and have an outstanding faculty, teaching assistant and/or staff member recognized for their excellence. The winner in each category will be recognized at a reception convened
by the Vice-President and Principal in the fall and will receive a special award plaque.
Nominations from groups and individuals are invited for four awards:
Teaching Excellence Award for FacultyTeaching Excellence Award for Teaching AssistantsResearch Excellence AwardStaff Service Award
Nominations from students are encouraged.
To nominate an outstanding faculty member, teaching assistant,and/or staff go to http://www.utm.utoronto.ca/council/ and
click on Excellence Awards, where you will find important information on how to assemble a nomination package.
Nonsmokers probably don’t thinksmoking can bring positive socialopportunit ies . Smokers , on theother hand, might be inclined to seewhat others would likely call their“disgusting habit” as a unique formof social networking.
Smoking is bad for your healthand those around you. No questionabout it. But this habit can opendoors to new levels of bonding.Take for example the Friendsepisode where Rachel takes upsmoking so she can chat with hersuperior on a more personal leveloutside of the office.
Similar situations can be seen inunivers i t ies , bars , c lubs , coffeeshops and other publ ic spaces .When someone is outside having acigarette break, an opportunity tosocialize with a complete strangerseems promising. Standing togetherin silence can be awkward, so begin-ning a conversation with anothersmoker becomes natural.
“I meet a lot of great people whenI take my smoking breaks. In fact, Ihave made some long-last ingfriendships,” says Angela Barranca.
Whether talking about the weath-er or the reason you decided to hitthe downtown clubbing district,smoking creates opportunities to
make new friends and acquain-tances . Also, many nonsmokerssometimes become occasional orsocial smokers while enjoying anight out with friends. As for theopposite sex, isn’t a casual openinglike, “Do you have an extra smoke?”a great conversation starter?
Undoubtedly, smoking is a health
concern for many people, but forothers, it allows for conversationsthat take place effortlessly. If youare attempting to kick this oldhabit, try engaging in a healthierhabit such as joining a gym. Thiswill still allow you to socialize withothers—just in a healthier circum-stance.
MMAARRIIAANNAA CCOOMMIITTOO
Matthew Fillipowich/The Medium
Amir would like to thank everyone who wrote for theFeatures section this year. He loves them all thiiiismuch.
Smoking and socialnetworking
Pizza on campus
The Blind Duck changed their menulast year, and among new additions isthe new of introduction of pizza.When I tried the pizza, I was pleas-antly surprised by the generous quan-tity, six small slices and a fountaindrink for $5.99.
The flavour of the pizza is far betterthan what’s offered at Pizza Pizza.With just the right amount of cheeseand sauce on their dough, the BlindDuck pizza is made to satisfy anyhungry student. The sauce is anauthentic Italian tasting tomato sauce,and accompanied by fresh mozzarella,it’s absolutely delicious.
You can also get their vegetarianpizza or pepperoni for an extra buck.The pizza is made for one, but caneasily be shared among friends as anappetizer.
I would warn you that sometimeswhen you get to the register thatthey’ve run out of pizza but, that’s notsurprising because it’s on such highdemand. Pizza Pizza, on the otherhand, may always have pizza ready,but it can sometimes be disappointingbecause their pizza can be stale andtaste like it has been out all day.
The Blind Duck staff is always kindand courteous to its customers.Although sometimes a bit slow it’salways fresh and I can’t think of anyother place on campus that servesbetter tasting food.
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*Sale on through the end of March 2010. **Not part of clearance sale.
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Spend $50 on clearance clothingand get a travel mug for 1¢*
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Mahjong, a game originating inChina, is similar to the Western cardgame rummy. There are now manydifferent versions of mahjong, but themost common rule set (and the onethe authors are most familiar with) isthe Hong Kong, or Cantonese,mahjong style. Four players, eachwith thirteen tiles, take turns collect-ing and discarding tiles. The ultimategoal of the game is to construct acomplete hand of fourteen, consistingof various combinations of tiles.Mahjong’s many rules, tiles and
variations can look complicated, butif our friends (whom we taught onenight, and who started beating uswithin the hour) are any indication,you should be able to pick it up in aflash. The key to mahjong is recogniz-ing the tiles and the combinationsyou can make.The tiles can be broken down into
four suites, where there are four setsof each suit. The suites include circles,bamboo, characters, and the honourtiles (further divided into wind direc-tions and red, green, and white drag-ons).A winning hand consists of a com-
bination of four melds and a pair.Melds are combinations of three tiles,and can be completed in two ways.You can combine three of the sametile (such as three north wind tiles), ormake a meld from three consecutivenumbers of the same suit (such as thethree, four and five of bamboo). Themelds can be made by drawing tiles
from the mahjong walls, or by steal-ing an opponent’s discarded tile.Stealing is fun—you get to yell out“pung” for the same tile melds, and“sheung” for the consecutive melds.The pairs can consist of any pair oftiles. The first player to complete ahand of fourteen tiles made entirelyof the four pungs or chows and a pair,wins the round. Many players assignpoints to different winning hands,depending on how difficult they areto construct.Mahjong can undoubtedly be a
gambling game, but it is often played
in social contexts in many parts ofAsia, where players vie against eachother in a game of skill, luck and cal-culation, while socializing, gossip andgripe about life. Mahjong has sincebecome popular in the West, creatingregion-specific variations.You don’t need to be an old lady or
a hardcore gambler to play mahjong.It’s a rewarding game of skill andchance that can make you look multi-cultural and sophisticated. Grab somefriends, some tea and a mahjong setfrom chinatown and get ready for along, long night.
A crash course in mahjong Creative Corner
SSUU LLYYNN LLIIEEWWAANNDD AAMMIIRR AAHHMMEEDD
I found it hard to believe the river;
your feet, like fish, were steady in the rush
of the waters. Sleek�bodied koi quiver
under their red�orange scales as they brush
against your skin. The paper shiver
of the leaves seems far�off. But still the hush
of morning hangs, heavy, above your head;
it was true, then, what the river had said.
The fragrance of jasmine and lemon tea
seems to mix with the breeze which rolled across
the hills and somehow brought you to me.
The rustic, indifferent baskets were glossed
with rainwater � forgotten � by the tree
under which you surmised the first frost
of the winter, many months ago. Now,
instead of snow, spring blossoms on your brow.
Your voice from that time also was slow and
sad, like the brushstrokes on the delicate blue
china. It took me eons to understand
the delicate incarnations that, through
the ages, would turn me into the sand
or the koi fish, and would even turn you
into springtime. You look at me with eyes
like moons, silent in a porcelain sky.
IncarnationsLLUUCCYY ZZEEMMLLJJIICC
In the night, when everything dreams,
The sails on the ships seem to slumber,
And the wind from the ocean seems to gather
The last of the daylight and the sorrow in your
Eyes, and scatters them both away into shadow;
It is then that I look for you, my eyes like
Sad nets, that cast themselves over the earth
To find your laughter.
Come this way,
So that I may soon find you, and cast my
Soul into the ocean of your body.
For we have lost even that darkness, which
Sometimes rose from the silence
On nights when we lived and died between
The colours of the sky and the sea.
Sky and SeaLLUUCCYY ZZEEMMLLJJIICC
Matthew Fillipowich/The Medium
Erin Doane, a 19-year-old Art andArt History student at UTM andMVP award recipient for women’sdivision 2 soccer, is living proofthat a solid athletic backgroundlends itself to opportunities andinitiatives in post-secondary life.Brampton-born Doane worried
that her academic performancewould suffer during her first yearat UTM, but sports was such animportant part of her life that shecouldn’t think of giving them up.“ I ’m g lad I d idn ’ t [g ive up]
because games and practices gaveme something to look forward toin the crush of essays and pro-jects,” said Doane.Doane aims to become a teacher
a f t e r graduat ion , but i sn ’ t se ton the idea. She wants to exploreother opportunities.In high school, Doane attended
F le tcher ’ s Meadow SecondarySchool and beat out her toughestcompet i t ion , her twin s i s t e rDevon , to win Senior FemaleAthlete of the Year.“I have always been committed
to playing sports, so in my firstyear of university, I told myself Iwould at least try out for a sports
team, no matter how intimidatingit might be,” said Doane.“I looked up the tryout times on
the school website and ended uptrying out for women’s flag foot-ball as well as women’s outdoorsoccer. I made both teams in thefall as well as both women’s indoortri-campus and division 2 soccerteams.”Doane made the easy transition
from life as a high school student-athlete to that of a university stu-dent-athlete with the abi l i ty tochoose teams that fit her schedule.She said her division 2 team wasvery “cavalier” and not as severe asthe t r i - campus team, whichenabled her miss some games ifshe needed to finish school work.Doane f inds tha t the bonds
made between athletes in intra-mural programs are much strongerthan bonds made in the classroom.In total, Doane, who is only into
her second univers i ty year , haswon four in t ramura l champi-onships.As a member of the division 1
women’s intramural outdoor soc-cer team, Doane came away withtwo championsh ip t rophies inback-to-back seasons. Her wom-en’s division 2 indoor soccer teamtook first place in their league, andDoane took home the MVP award
for her stellar play.Her most surpr i s ing accom-
plishment, however, was winningthe championship with the f lagfootball team, a memory she cher-ishes deeply.When asked about her favourite
athletic memory, Doane said, “Itwas the finals for my flag footballteam. We were ahead for most ofthe game, and then near the end ofthe final half the other team scoresand t ies i t up. At that point , i tlooked like we’d have to play over-
time. The last play was called; wewere defending, and the oppositeteam had the ball. The quarterbackon the other team threw the ball toher teammate, but I swooped infor an interception and pushed myway through, to the end zone.”
(The distribution manger is responsible for the paper’s distribution at UTM and at St.George every Monday morning. )
(The copy editor is responsible for copy editing grammar and style in all articles.)
UTM athlete profile: Erin DoaneThe second�year Art and Art History major has won four championships with UTM intramuralsSSAARRAAHH MMAALLAAGGEERRIIOO��BBRRUUNNOOASSISTANT SPORTS EDITOR
Summer opportunitiesat the RAWCBasketball leagues and umpiring jobs arejust some of the options for UTM students
Though you might be taking it easy thissummer, the RAWC continues to runstellar athletic programs and initiativesfor summer 2010.
Tournaments - Campus Rec Tourn-aments are open to all students andsummer fee-paying members.Tournaments run every other Fridayfrom 12 to 1 p.m. An updated tourna-ment schedule will be available soon.For more information, check out http://www1.erin.utoronto.ca/~w3physed/campusRecTourna.php
Softball - The RAWC also offers asummer Campus Rec intramural soft-ball league. Information can be found athttp://www1.erin.utoronto.ca/~w3physed/campusRecSball.php
Basketball - The very popular men'sand women's summer basketballleague, open to students, non studentsand community members alike, willrun again this summer. The league isvery competitive as players are com-prised of both UTM students andalumni. More information ath t t p : / / w w w 1 . e r i n . u t o r o nto.ca/~w3physed/slBasketball.php
Soccer – The casual rec pick-up soccerprogram will attempt to relocate this
year, as the North Field is under con-struction. RAWC suggests the CampusGreen may serve as the makeshift field;if so, the program will run Mondaythrough Friday from 12 to 1 p.m.
Jobs - Both the league and tournamentsneed student umpires, officials, con-venors and commissioners. Interestedstudents should contact Jack Krist inthe Program Office or at Tel. (905) 569-4607.
For students continuing their studies inthe summer months, RAWC member-ships are free. A RAWC summer mem-bership can be acquired for a nominalfee to accommodate students who arenot enrolled in summer programs.
SPORTS HOCKEY AND SOCCERMONDAY, MARCH 29, 201012 THE MEDIUM
The next Leafs captain?Assistant Sports Editor William Robertson discusses whichMaple Leaf player is worthy of donning the ‘C’ next season
Now that the regular season is coming toa close for the NHL, the Toronto MapleLeafs will have many voids to fill in theoff-season. One such void is the lack of aCaptain to lead the team. With such ayoung team, who after Mats Sundin isworthy of donning the “C”?The most logical choice would be
Tomas Kaberle. He is the longest servingLeaf and most of the fans in Torontolove him. Questions remain, however, ofwhether he will stay after July 1. Thesequestions will put a halt on giving himthe captaincy. Also, it has been saidKaberle is too shy and quiet in the dress-ing room to lead the team and handle aposition with themostmedia coverage.Around the league, the captaincy has
been given to the best player on theteam. Sidney Crosby and Alex Ovechkinboth wear the “C” for their respectiveteams. If the Leafs follow this trend, theCaptain would have to be Phil Kessel.But Toronto Maple Leafs general man-ager Brian Burke will likely balk at givingthe sniper the pressure of handling themedia along with high expectations onthe ice. To protect Kessel from the pres-sure, Burke will simply let him do whathe does best: score.During the 2008 Entry Draft, Toronto
traded their seventh pick overall alongwith two conditional picks to get thefifth pick overall from the Islanders. GMCliff Fletcher did this simply to draftLuke Schenn. Schenn was quicklynamed the future face of the franchiseandmade the opening day line-up.“[Schenn] is a great young player and
I expect him to be a great leader for thisfranchise for a long time,” said Burke toTSN when Schenn arrived. Burke alsorefused to trade him for anyone, as hebelieves in Schenn’s leadership ability onand off the ice.Schenn, however, is not quite ready to
make the step to become the true face ofLeaf nation. He is still only twenty yearsold and has had his fair share of strug-
gles in his sophomore year. Clearly, tak-ing Captaincy is a tough step to make,even for a leader like Schenn.François Beauchemin is also a candi-
date for the important position. He is asolid defenceman and a veteran in theNHL. He will be thirty next season andhas been an alternate captain for theLeafs throughout the year and was alsoone in Anaheim behind ScottNeidermayer. He would be a logicalchoice to lead the team as he is a provenleader and has played under tremendouspressure, winning the Stanley Cup inAnaheim.When Beauchemin signed with
Toronto, Burke called him “a rock solid,steady defender that will add characterto our team.” But Beauchemin needs tobe more vocal on and off the ice tobecome the Leafs captain.The Leafs need a captain who is not
only vocal, but also capable of standingup for his team-mates and showingthem he is a leader. The easiest and most
logical choice, then, is newly acquiredDion Phaneuf. In his first game as a Leaf,he got into a fight in the first period afterstanding up for a teammate. Phaneufcan handle the Toronto media andmakes his voice heard on the ice and inthe dressing room. He has all the mak-ings to be a great captain in Toronto andhad a great mentor in former teammateJarome Iginla.Phaneuf is physical when he needs to
be; he can change the pace of a gamewith a big hit and is not afraid to get intoa fight if his team needs a boost. Hisdominant characteristics make him notonly a great leader, but a respected per-son around the league. Phaneuf also hasa tremendous slap shot from the blue-line and a high defensive IQ, making fewmistakes when handling the puck orwhen the opposing team is supplying theharshest of offensive pressure.Phaneuf is what the Toronto Maple
Leafs need as a leader and should benamed the Captain sooner than later.
Let the riots beginDo the World Cup and fan violence go hand in hand?
As the 2010 FIFA World Cup quicklyapproaches, fans are excited to cheerfor their preferred countries. Aroundthe world, however, police officersand government politicians might besomewhat apprehensive for the riotsthat sometimes accompany theWorld Cup. The destructive behavior of fans
during soccer matches has promptedthe world to classify them as FootballHooligans, a violent association con-sisting of angry and violent soccerfans. Those who classify themselvesas Football Hooligans have beenlinked to supremacism politics,meaning they reject the concept ofsocial equality and believe that cer-tain groups or individuals are superi-or to others. From fistfights to shouting, many
people have been injured duringthese brawls. Some have been killed.The first recorded instance of a riottook place in the 1880s in England,when Preston North End and AstonVilla played a friendly match. Bothteams were attacked with sticks andone player was beaten so harshly thathe lost consciousness. Similarly, during the 1998 World
Cup, several people were injuredwhen Mexican football fans riotedafter Mexico lost to Germany. A riotbroke out, resulting in the death ofone man. Hoping to discourage riots,
authorities charge people who leadbrawls and attacks on players, teamsor referees. In 1998, for example, aGerman fan was arrested for attempt-ed murder and served five years injail. In June 2006, police detainedover 300 people in Dortmund duringthe violent clashes that followedGermany’s victory over Poland. In Toronto, when certain national
teams win, police take measures.These include closing down St. ClairStreet, which is close to Little Italy,when the Italian team plays an
important game. To keep the crowdunder control, police officers fill thestreet, demanding cooperation fromfans.These measures, however, are not
always met with success. As fans siton their cars, stand out of their sun-roofs waving their flags proudly andeven drink on the streets, police mayfind it hard to control what ensuesafter an important game. One wonders if officers need to
enforce harsher rules. FollowingSenegal's elimination from the WorldCup, Stoke City midfielder andSenegal native Salif Diao said he wasterrified after finding himself caughtup in a crowd. Diao described hisordeal as terrifying, claiming that hewas trapped in the changing rooms asangry fans invaded the stadium. "Thefrustration was too much to handlefor a lot of [the rioters,]” said Diao toThe Stoke Sentinel.With the 2010 FIFA World Cup
beginning in two months, can weexpect more riots, or have fanschanged their violent ways?
In the wake of the 2010 OlympicGames, in which decoratedOlympians collected anywhere from$10,000 to $20,000 per medal, onewonders whether professional athletesdeserve such an income. It is true thatathletes are an asset to a society. Theyare a source of entertainment, asource of regional and national pride.The question arises, however, whetherthese entertainers can be givensalaries larger than those given toindividuals who invest in our future.According to Adam van
Koeverden, two-time Olympic medal-ist in sprint kayaking, the fund theCanadian Olympic Committee(COC) has established shows that“the COC is recognizing that burden[the burden athletes carry when com-peting in the Olympics], and what anincredible asset more Olympic medalswill be for our communities and forCanada.” Indeed, athletes sacrifice their bod-
ies and spend whole lives dedicated totheir sport, training to be at the top oftheir game. Surely, the $2.2 milliondollars per year an NBA playerreceives takes into account their toils.But compared to those men andwomen who have given up their lives
for freedom and those who continueto endanger their lives for Canada,can the scrapes, bruises and sprains ofthe average basketball player be con-sidered physical sacrifice? Can selfsacrifice in the name of a game beequated to the self sacrifice made for anation?It has been argued that one earns a
salary in his profession proportionalto the value of his work. An MLBplayer makes a reported $1.74 milliondollars a year, while neurosurgeonsearn around $800,000. By allowingprofessional MLB players to garnermore monies than neurosurgeons, arewe suggesting that a baseball player’sjob is more valuable to our societythan a neurosurgeon’s? Teachers, whofoster the growth of our youth, arecrucial in the establishment of ourtomorrow; however, they are consid-erably underpaid when comparedwith athletes. Lawyers and police offi-cers who help maintain our societyare paid less than men and womenwho skate after pucks and run basesas a career. Are we to say then, thatentertainment is more important thatour future? Societal value, however, is not
determined by monetary worth. Some of the most valuable things in
our lives are not associated withmoney. Love, faith, family, even theair we breathe, don’t have a dollar
value despite their pivotal role in ourday to day lives. In contrast, thingssuch as diamonds and caviar, thoughassociated with luxury and high mon-etary worth, do not hold much signif-icance in the greater scheme of things.In the determination of income,
the economy and the means by whichthe salary is generated are significant.In the case of a professional athlete,the income is not only generated bythe owner of the team, but is in partthe money collected through the sell-
ing of merchandise, game tickets andthe successes of advertisements. Bywatching professional sports on TVand in stadiums, purchasing itemsaffiliated with athletes and variousteams, we are unconsciously con-tributing to the already sky high earn-ings of professional athletes.Nowadays, sports are highly com-
mercialised and have taken on a morebusiness-like organisation. Trillionsof dollars are generated by sportingevents. The athletes’ cuts, the sevenfigure pay cheques, are thus justified.These incomes, however, become lessacceptable when athletes fall fromgrace in the public eye.
Use and abuse of steroids and otherdrugs and scandals such tarnish thename of sports across the board. It isundeniable that athletes are role mod-els. They motivate individuals to stayactive and believe in the strength inones’ self and in numbers. The appar-ent shift in professional athletes’motivations in sports is disheartening.It seems as though the sport isn’tplayed for a love of the game, butmore with a love of fame and fortune. Are the million-dollar pay cheques
of big shot athletes today justified? I say nay. Bring back the likes of
Maurice Richard and Babe Ruth, andI’ll reconsider.
I am graduating this year and will not be returning for the SportsEditor position. My experience at The Medium has been a lot offun and has given me tons of memories. I would like to thank the
following writers and photographers for their contributionsto the sports section (in no particular order):
Sarah Malagerio�Bruno Matthew FilipowichWilliam Robertson Edward CaiMariana Comito Brandon FifieldAnila Qasim Jack KristMichael Di Leo Omar JbaihiHai Bao Anna BedionesAlain Latour Christopher Sa’dKeith Shankar Dave Esposto
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