Student motions to be addressed at SGMMotions originally put forward at the UTSU AGM last October will be voted on this month

UTM’s newest facility will be a modern, research-based green-house budgeted for over $3 million and is expected to be completed by February or March.

Located behind the library next to parking lot 9, the new structure is standing with a roof as glass plates are in the process of being installed.

“We have new faculty who are heavy greenhouse users and they have more specific environmental demands for their research,” said William Yasui, the senior facilities planner at UTM, when asked about the facility’s intended use. “It’s not intended to be a public space.”

In an interview with The Medi-um, Yasui stated construction is on budget for just over $3 million. The exact total of the project is not yet known.

According to the original pro-posal in 2013, annual costs to op-erate the greenhouse after it had

been built were estimated between $140,000 and $153,600.

As it stands, UTM’s current greenhouse is primarily used for teaching purposes but also doubles as a research facility. The original

greenhouse, located on the fifth floor of the Davis Building, will still remain operational and available for students.

According to Yasui, the new greenhouse will be “more practi-

cal” and the departments using the space will be “primarily biology, but also geography and anthropology, and any other researcher that needs controlled growing space”. Yasui also identified growth in UTM’s bi-

ology department as a factor caus-ing the need for a larger, indepen-dent research space.

In a vision statement outlining the purpose of the facility, it was stated that the greenhouse is ex-pected to aid in the understanding of climate change affecting biodi-versity and plant development.

“Plant biology in the Depart-ment of Biology at UTM integrates research from genes to ecosystems,” reads the statement. “A highly com-partmentalized research green-house therefore creates a unique facility that generates vital national and international collaborations for the Department of Biology and U of T.”

Due to the large budget, approval for the project needed to be sent to the Governing Council down-town. The proposal and plan for the project, including the budget, can be found online on the Governing Council webpage.

MAHMOUD SAROUJI/THE MEDIUMThe UTSU SGM will be held on January 28 at Sidney Smith Hall.

MENNA ELNAKAASSOCIATE NEWS EDITOR

New greenhouse on budget for over $3MThe new greenhouse will be located next to the library and is expected to open as early as February

ALICIA BOATTO

DELANEY ROMBOUGH/THE MEDIUMThe annual operating costs range between $140,000 and $153,600, according to a 2013 report.

UTSU’s upcoming special general meeting, scheduled for the end of the month, is slated to discuss the re-maining student-submitted motions on the agenda of the union’s annual general meeting, which took place last October.

Aft er failing to ratify a new board structure during UTSU’s AGM last October, UTSU held a SGM last No-vember focusing on passing a board structure compliant to changes made in the Canada Not-for-profi t Corpo-rations Act. A board structure was ratifi ed at the November meeting, leaving student-submitted motions on the union’s AGM agenda unad-dressed.

Scheduled for January 28, the third UTSU general meeting this academic year will consider 13 stu-dent-submitted motions, as listed on the meeting’s agenda.

MOTIONS ON THE CFSMotioned by U of T student Stepha-nie Spagnoulo, a proposal has been put forward calling on the UTSU to consider leaving the Canadian Fed-

eration of Students and strike a com-mittee investigating the relations be-tween the union and the CFS every year that the UTSU remains a CFS member.

Founded in 1981, the CFS is Can-ada’s largest student advocacy group. Over 80 student unions across Cana-da are members of the CFS.

In an email to Th e Medium, Da-

man Singh, UTSU’s University Col-lege director, explained that in order to leave the CFS, a petition must be signed by 20 percent of students in order to hold a referendum on whether to leave the organization. When entering the CFS, a petition must be signed by 10 percent of union members.

“Th is is a clear example of a corpo-

ration intentionally making it more diffi cult for one to revoke their mem-bership than it is for them to sign up for membership,” wrote Singh.

At the CFS annual general meet-ing held last November, Singh sub-mitted a motion to lower the referen-dum threshold to 15 percent instead of 20 percent of members.

“I was interested in lowering the

threshold because I believe having fair and democratic bylaws will en-courage healthy participation in the federation from the members,” Singh said. “I also felt that this was a neces-sary step the federation should have taken to address the growing disdain amongst members. Unfortunately, the motion failed.”

As worded in the motion listed on the SGM agenda, Spagnoulo refers to the CFS as “ineffi cient” and that it “restricts the democratic process”.

Supporters of the motion include UTSU Victoria University director Steve Warner, who explained the need to review UTSU’s membership to the CFS.

“We pay approximately $700,000 in yearly membership fees, as well as about $100,000 of our health and dental fees—about one percent of our premium each year—to the CFS,” said Warner in an email to Th e Medium. “It would be inappropriate and poor fi scal management to not routinely evaluate what is being done with our money and whether or not we wish to continue paying the CFS levy.”

UTSU continued on page 2

To divest or not to divest?

A Trip Into the Woods

Veterans on mental health

Come to The Medium’s AGM

Ping pong principal

News, page 3 A&E, page 5 Features, page 8Opinion, page 4 Sports, page 11

2 «NEWS THE MEDIUM 01.18.2016

January 11, 12:00 p.m.MischiefA UTM community member report-ed to campus police two separate oc-casions of his tires being punctured.

January 11, 4:15 p.m.Trespass to Property ActCampus Police received a report of a non-community member speaking to female students about their personal life and university. Campus Police located the male and he was verbally

trespassed from UTM campus.

January 12, 3:30 p.m.Medical CallA student slipped entering the In-structional Centre. Campus Police and ECSpert attended.

January 12, 4:20 p.m.Theft Under $5,000A professor reported to Campus Po-lice the theft of her USB from the classroom she was teaching in.

These reports are those that have been released to TheMedium and do not necessarily constitute an exhaustive list.

Students can contact the UTM Campus Police at 905 828 5200, Peel Regional Police at 905 453 3311, or Crime Stoppers at 1 800 222 8477.

More than 1,400 students and alumni attended the UTM Career Centre’s “Get Hired” job fair last Wednesday. Over 65 companies and organizations were present at the fair, including start-up compa-nies new to the fair this year.

“The uptake for summer jobs [is] pretty steady,” says Michelle Atkinson, the events and employ-ment services coordinator at the UTM Career Centre. She noted that at least 75 percent of compa-nies present were seeking students for summer internships or paid jobs.

Employment opportunities in-cluded seasonal employment at

the Royal Bank of Canada or Sta-tistics Canada, while other avail-able opportunities allowed stu-dents to develop careers in law enforcement with the RCMP or gain teaching experience.

According to Atkinson, the fair goes beyond simply finding jobs. “If you don’t have an idea of what you want to do, or would like to dip your toe into a different area, look at these types of jobs as skill development,” she said.

Atkinson also emphasized that the variety of companies and op-portunities on display at the fair were purposely brought to offer a range of opportunities to students. Among the opportunities, the fair also included approximately 15

start-up companies attending the fair for the first time.

Bagas Wicaksono, a second-year digital enterprise management student, noticed the additions and felt it was “cool to see start-ups”, but felt that the fair should have extended longer than one day to provide a better experience.

According to Atkinson, the Ca-reer Centre has made attempts to increase availability of the fair, and even increased the hours this year. However, the centre is always looking for more feedback from participants for upcoming years.

“We try to make it accessible to everyone—students and employ-ers,” said Atkinson.

RIAUD ABDUL

CHRISTY TAM/THE MEDIUMOver 1,400 students and alumni attended the job fair held on Wednesday.

Start-ups new to job fairSummer and seasonal work among opportunities present

Bieber motion removedAmong other motions on the agen-da is one moved by Singh, propos-ing that UTSU stand in solidarity with the students at Cape Breton University after a Cape Breton Uni-versity Student Union faced bank-ruptcy following a lawsuit with the CFS.

ELECTRONIC VS. PAPERMoved by Natalie Petra, an execu-tive for the Arts and Science Student Union, an item on the agenda is call-ing for the availability of computer-ized and paper ballots at the polls during UTSU elections.

In an interview with The Medium, Petra said she wanted to improve ac-cessibility during elections, claim-ing, “Not all students have access to a computer at home.”

According to Petra, the goal is not to eliminate paper ballots—which according to her would still be avail-able to students at the polls—but instead, the motion is intended to give all students more options and increase accessibility. Petra also ex-pressed the need for election poll staff to be trained to use software as well as undergo disability training.

Also on the agenda, a motion moved by Hashim Yussuf, a member of UTMSU’s board of directors, pro-poses that UTSU allow those who do not have access to a computer, do not live on campus, or do not have access to online voting, be given an option to use paper ballots at the polls.

NO MEANS NO CAMPAIGNMadina Siddiqui, president of the St. George Afghan Students’ Association, has put forward a motion against sex-ual violence, asking UTSU to roll out a “No Means No” campaign to chal-lenge and stand against all means of sexual violence including assaults, harassments, acquaintance rape, and dating and gendered violence.

According to Siddiqui, the “No Means No” campaign has existed for years, has stood up for the rights of women of colour, and has addressed issues of sexual, cultural, and gen-dered violence.

“I’ve noticed that a lot of the con-versations on campus around con-sent, sexual violence, and rape culture fail to consider or center the experi-ences of racialized and indigenous women,” said Siddiqui. “This includes within student groups that have popped up, with administration, even in the campus press.”

Siddiqui explained that the reason behind this motion is that there have been discussions around the UTSU to stop this campaign. As of press time, The Medium has not verified these claims.

“I hear oftentimes that we should be focusing on ‘Yes Means Yes’ but yes doesn’t always mean yes, whereas no always means no—there are many ways that people can say no without explicitly saying no. This campaign is valuable in educating about consent,” said Siddiqui.

Also moved by Siddiqui is a mo-tion calling for UTSU clubs and ser-vice groups to be part of the annual budgeting process of UTSU.

JUSTIN BIEBER MOTION Listed on the original agenda adver-tised by UTSU earlier this month was a motion proposing that UTSU con-gratulate Justin Bieber as the artist “has undertaken a dramatic rehabili-tation process” and “is now produc-ing bangers”.

Originally moved by ASSU presi-dent Abdullah Shihipar, the motion had been removed by the time the comprehensive agenda was published online last week. Shihipar requested it to be removed with concerns that people would be upset since it was not a “serious” motion.

Additional motions listed on the agenda include the endorsement of Black Lives Matter by UTSU, increas-ing accessibility to UTSU for profes-sional faculty students, accessible computer labs for the St. George cam-pus, and a non-binding motion call-ing for eliminating the tuition fees.

The SGM will take place on Janu-ary 28 at Sydney Smith Hall, room 2118 on the St. George campus.

UTSU continued from Cover

The original agendaadvertised a motion proposing that UTSU congratulate Justin

Bieber.

01.18.2016 THE MEDIUM NEWS» 3

Dan Goodman3rd year, CCIT, PWC, VCC

Paola Bronce2rd year, soc and history

Abdel Mouftah3rd year, bio and psych

Menna Elnaka3rd year, poli sci and PWC

Anyone but the guy with the bad hair.

Not Trump.

I don’t know the candidates well enough to choose.

Anyone but Donald Trump.

»WHO WOULD YOU VOTE FOR IN THE AMERICAN ELECTION?

UTMSU’s newest sponsored refu-gee student has yet to arrive in Canada.

Last November at the UTMSU AGM, VP external Naveed Ahmed announced the union’s intentions to sponsor a second student refu-gee this academic year. As of Sep-tember 2015, UTMSU had spon-sored a Kenyan student through the World University Service of Canada.

The second refugee student, a Syrian national currently resid-ing in Lebanon, has yet to arrive. According to Ahmed, UTMSU re-mains in touch with WUSC’s head office for her travel information and status of her arrival.

Ahmed said that the cost of sponsoring a WUSC student is $60,000, which will be covered en-tirely by UTMSU.

“When we approached the UTM administration regarding fund-ing for the second WUSC student, they could not make the neces-sary allocations since the expenses were not budgeted for during the 2016/17 fiscal year,” said Ahmed. “UTMSU decided to fund the entire cost related to the second WUSC student.”

According to Ahmed, UTMSU was able to fund a second refugee student from a surplus of money reserved from the WUSC student levy. Each student pays $1.10

for the levy, which according to Ahmed is not expected to increase in light of the second refugee.

“The WUSC levy is collected af-ter running a referendum at UTM and this fee cannot be increased without another referendum,” said Ahmed. The only increase that the fee can be adjusted to is the annual inflation rate (CPI adjustments) as per the approval of UTM students through [the] referendum.

“Over the past few months, we as a community have watched news of the Syrian refugee crisis with overwhelming distress, sor-

row, and frustration,” said Ahmed. “In the wake of this Syrian refugee crisis, UTMSU wanted to make an impact through WUSC.”

Aside from sponsoring stu-dents, UTM students have sup-ported the resettlement of Syrian refugees through fundraising ac-tivities organized by UTMSU and the Muslim Students Association. Last October and November, both student groups collected money and clothing from students in sup-port of the resettlement.

SIDRA WEQAR

Second refugee

student yet to arrive

The IT service desk has officially opened in a new location on the first floor of the CCT building, now pro-viding students with a BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) space. There is currently a contest underway to name the new space.

Replacing the computer lab previ-ously located in the CCT atrium, the IT service team envisioned extra sup-port for BYOD spaces, which allow and encourage individuals to bring their own mobile devices for educa-tional or work purposes.

According to information and in-structional technology director Susan Senese, an increasing number of stu-dents are bringing their own devices to school. As part of the IT team’s vision, their strategy was to enrich the student experience by provid-ing students with more study spaces that support their own devices, rather than providing them with additional computers.

In addition to the BYOD space

located in front of the new IT desk—which will also be used as a space for instructional activities by IT staff—the back of the new centre is equipped with six stations for full-time employ-ees working on special projects and hosting training sessions.

Also new to the IT service desk are different operating hours.

“We’re going from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. with the hopes of helping staff, fac-ulty, and students throughout the day,” said Michael Young, manager of IT customer service, on Wednesday morning during the grand opening of the service desk. Previous operating hours were 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

According to Young, the new pur-pose of the space formerly used to run the service desk on the third floor of CCT is yet to be determined.

“The use of the space will be deter-mined in consultation with our fac-ulties department,” said Young in an email to The Medium.

The IT service desk offers UTM staff and students with support re-lated to hardware, software, or class-

room technology issues, among other problems and services. TCard and shuttle bus inquiries can also be ad-dressed with the staff.

Currently, more than 10 student employees are being mentored by full-time employees. IT desk mem-bers are dressed in red shirts, which is part of the vision in creating a new space, according to Senese.

“When you go to the Apple store and you need help, you look for the employees in the blue shirts and for us, we wanted to provide a richer cus-tomer service experience by making it more accessible and easier for stu-dents, staff, and faculty to identify us,” said Senese.

The new IT service desk is also holding a contest to name the space. Students can enter by leaving their suggestions in a name suggestion box available at the front desk or by email-ing the IT desk at helpdesk.utm@uto-ronto.ca. The suggestion box will be available until 5 p.m. on January 20 and the grand prizewinner will be re-warded a $100 gift card.

FARHAT AMINI

The U of T community is awaiting U of T president Meric Gertler’s poten-tially historic decision to act on calls for the university to divest in fossil fuel financial investment.

Last month, the U of T advisory committee on the divestment from fossil fuels advised Gertler to conduct targeted divestment from companies “whose actions blatantly disregard the international effort to limit the rise in average global temperatures to not more than one and a half degrees Celsius”.

In a press release issued last month by Toronto350—an advocacy group lobbying the university to divest in fossil fuels, leading to the establish-ment of an ad hoc committee re-sponsible for advising Gertler on the issue—the group praised committee recommendations but called on fur-ther action by the university.

“This recommendation is a huge achievement for the fossil fuel di-vestment movement globally and in Canada,” read the statement. “Presi-dent Gertler should also take action for communities who are harmed by climate change and fossil fuel extrac-tion. These communities are not suffi-ciently recognized in the committee’s recommendation.”

Amanda Harvey-Sanchez, a sec-

ond-year U of T student and divest-ment campaign leader at U of T350, a chapter of the Toronto350, calls these communities “frontline communi-ties”, referring to Indigenous peoples and “low-income families or other marginalized groups who are either impacted first or less able to adapt [to climate change]”.

“We want to work with frontline communities and start a dialogue about how they would like to see their struggles with the fossil fuel indus-try addressed in terms of divestment at U of T, and how we can best sup-port them,” said Harvey-Sanchez, who added that it is the university’s responsibility to implement these changes.

“U of T has a lot of amazing fac-ulty producing research on climate change, Indigenous rights, and other social issues. That research clearly shows that we need to take stringent action to combat climate change and respect Indigenous land rights. For our university to go against what its faculty is saying doesn’t make sense,” she says.

In opposition to the recommenda-tion to divest, fourth-year St. George student Matthew Lau recently wrote an op-ed against UTSU’s involvement in the lobbying of the university to di-vest from fossil fuels.

“The campaign to have the Univer-

sity of Toronto completely divest from the fossil fuel industry, pointing to of-ficial endorsements from the [UTSU] and the University of Toronto Gradu-ate Students’ Union, claims to have the support of more than 64,000 stu-dents,” Lau writes, saying that “many” students hold opposing views.

Lau’s article “Let Students Divest from Student Union”, published in the Financial Post, argued that “restrict-ing the investment decisions cannot possibly improve the performance of U of T’s investment portfolio”, and that by fully divesting from fossil fu-els, the university runs a risk of higher tuition fees and services due to the re-duction of investment revenue.

The Medium has not verified these claims.

“If a portfolio’s performance could be enhanced by divesting from fos-sil fuels, the University of Toronto and other investors would have done so already out of financial interest,” wrote Lau.

When asked if he has approached UTSU with his concerns, Lau told The Medium he has no intention of doing so.

According to Althea Blackburn-Evans, director of media relations at U of T, it is unknown when Gertler’s final decision will be announced.

BYOD new to IT service desk

Gertler decision pending

The second refugee student, a Syrian national currently

residing in Lebanon, has yet to arrive.

HIBA TRABOULSI

ANDREEA MIHAI/THE MEDIUMMore than 10 student employees work at the IT service desk.

Committee recommends targeted fossil fuel divestment

4 « 01.18.2016

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Taking a second look at appropriationStudent responds to last week’s article, “Rhythmic workout or cultural red flag?”

Cultural appropriation is not a rela-tively new term. In fact, cultural appropriation has existed since the creation and clashing of various cultures over history. This term has recently regained prevalence, spe-cifically to combat the use of bla-tantly racist Halloween costumes, as well as the use of items and clothes of cultural or religious importance for fashion purposes. These of-fences proved to be disrespectful to the affected minorities, and these appropriating practices began to be shamed (and rightfully so) on outlets like Buzzfeed, Tumblr, and even various social pages that hold ties to UTM and U of T. I, myself being a visible minority of South American and Afro-Caribbean de-scent, am glad that North American society is becoming more aware of these, which could be called micro-

aggressions. It could be, however, that we are

starting to overgeneralize cultural appropriation. Let’s take a look at the definition of cultural appropria-tion: it is defined as the adoption or use of elements of one culture by members of a different culture. Though the definition of cultural appropriation paints a black-and-white image of what is and isn’t in-cluded in this term, the boundaries of offensiveness are not as clear as we would like them to be.

And here’s why, plain and sim-ple; we are not the U.S. We are not a melting pot. We do not expect our citizens to shed their cultural norms and adopt a “Canadian” way of living. We are a cultural mosaic. Canada (or at least the Greater To-ronto Area) encourages and expects its citizens to feel free to hold on

to their familial cultural practices, whether they be in religion, dress, dance, culinary tastes, or language. In such a diverse community, cul-tures will traverse. According to the definition, If I saw a white student walking in the halls listening to a reggae tune while on his way to buy some jerk chicken, I could techni-cally call it appropriative. But why would I shame another Canadian, who is enjoying the fruit of what my culture has to offer? Of course, the story would differ should that same student wear a “rasta-wig” and shout Jamaican obscenities he does not understand.

I am proud of the campus I study at and I am proud to belong to such an inclusive group of students who are mindful of one another. But we need to pick and choose our battles when it comes to the term “cultural

appropriation”. It is ridiculous to assume that by using music and dance moves typical of Latino, Bol-lywood, or Middle Eastern cultures (in a Zumba class, for goodness’ sake), that there is any mockery to be made of these cultures at all. I myself have attended several of these classes and felt no personal offence to the use of any Latin mu-sic or dance. We need to separate the term “cultural appropriation” from its negative connotation, as we are, in fact, a country that thrives off the inclusion of many different cultures. We as a student body need to be more open to discuss the topic of appropriation and its relation to cultural education, as well as to mockery or racism.

Alexander Nunez3rd year, psychology & criminology

Why you should attend our AGMThere are a lot of issues on campus, but we need to take the time to notice

It’s that time of year again; the second semester is in full swing, clubs are getting back into gear, and some of us are looking to the future.

But for all the fast-pacedness of university life, let’s take a step back for a moment and focus on the pres-ent. There are a lot of issues taking place on our campus that you might be surprised to learn about.

Take, for instance, the new green-house being built close to the li-brary—did you know that its budget is over $3 million?

Or how about the second refu-gee student that UTMSU plans to sponsor this year. Although the Syr-ian national hasn’t arrived yet, we’ve learned that it costs about $60,000 to sponsor a student through the WUSC program and UTMSU is allocating the surplus from its WUSC levy to cover the entire cost of the sponsor-ship. Kudos to UTMSU for such a re-sponsible decision for a very respect-able cause.

I could go on, mentioning, for ex-ample, Will Huggon’s comments this week in the article on healthy living, about students who visit him in office hours exhausted while looking ahead and preparing for graduate studies.

“They say that it’s to have a good job and life,” he says, adding that in his view, the answer “is to have a good life—not in the future, but right now”.

This last point about students’ well-being is an issue in itself, but is fre-quently overlooked because it is just so common among students today. And many of us are so caught up in the never-ending cycle of assign-ments, tests, midterms, and exams that it’s hard to notice what’s going on outside of our cocoons. But there’s a

lot, if we look for it.I will stop here for a moment to

thank Alexander Nunez for his letter this week in response to our article last issue about Zumba and cultural appropriation. I appreciate Nunez’s letter not only because he took the time to contribute to our newspaper, but because he stopped to take no-tice of an issue, reflect on it, and put forward a thoughtful response. How many of us can say we’ve done the same?

Well, it’s not too late and it doesn’t take a lot to notice issues and con-tribute a little time towards them. If you haven’t yet heard, The Medium is holding its very own annual general meeting this Thursday at 4 p.m. in the Presentation Room of the Student Centre.

We’re legally required to hold this meeting to present our financials to our members—you, and all UTM students who pay fees to us—and ap-point our auditors. But that’s not all; our annual general meeting (AGM, for short) is an opportunity for stu-dents and the people here at The Me-dium to get together and talk about what we do, what’s working, what’s not working, and what directions we can take in the future. So here are a couple of reasons why we’d like you to join us.

YOU PAID FOR ITAs I mentioned, UTM students pay a levy to us each year that allows us to publish our paper, pay our staff, and cover all the expenses of our corpo-ration. The Medium levy is $3.63 per semester, or $7.26 per year.

It’s important for us to hold an AGM for the express reason that we

have to explain to you, our members, how we’ve been spending our fund-ing. If you have any questions about it, this is your opportunity to ask.

WE WANT TO MEET YOUBelieve it or not, the staff here at The Medium is curious to know who our readers are. What do you like to read about? What do you NOT like to read about? How do you find our coverage overall? Do you have any suggestions for improvement?

You guessed it: we won’t know the answer to any of these questions un-less you tell us. And I would personal-ly be delighted to know that you took the time to read our paper and think about ways that we can improve.

Our staff will also be available to answer questions you may have in mind. Do you want to know how to get involved at The Medium? How to volunteer for us? How to improve your writing? How to run for our elections?

The AGM is a great place to talk to us in person and meet the people be-hind the sections you see each week.

ANNOUNCEMENT OF WINNERSWe’ll also be announcing the win-ners of our Writing & Photo Contest, which ended last weekend. So, if you submitted an entry, you can find out if you won! If you didn’t submit one, you can come to cheer on your friends and support the arts as a whole.

VOTE ON CHANGESYes, you actually have a vote at this meeting. There are some updates we’re looking to make to our consti-tution and we can’t do it without your help! We need 40 people to reach

quorum—which doesn’t sound like a lot, but ask us how many times we’ve reached it in recent years. In other words, your attendance matters a great deal.

Also, we don’t do proxies. So if you want to vote, you have to do it in per-son.

SHOW US YOU CAREIn all honesty, one of the major chal-lenges of running a student newspa-per is finding ways to publish stories that will catch students’ interest. There are a lot of things that happen on this campus that students should be aware of, but it seems that a lot of us are too busy to take notice. Com-ing to our AGM is one simple way you can show that you care about your student newspaper—and we will really appreciate it.

FREE FOODIf nothing else has convinced you so far, at least rest assured that you won’t need to pack a lunch that day or buy one on campus. The Medium will have you covered.

All in all, we really hope you come out and bring along some friends. We look forward to seeing you!

CORRECTION NOTICE

The Jan. 11 article “Saini returns to duties following sabbatical” originally quoted Principal Deep Saini as saying an enrolment of 20,000 was a “soft spot” that can maintain intimacy and community on campus. It should have said “sweet spot”.

YOURS,

MARIA IQBAL

01.18.2016 » 5

Lost something? Find it in the woodsHart House Theatre tackles inverted fairy tales, and they’re nothing like the Disney movies

What do you want? What do you want more than anything else in world? And to what ends are you will-ing to go in order to get it?

I believe there are three kinds of musicals: good, bad, and overdone. They overlap in a two-way Venn dia-gram—both good and bad musicals can be overdone, but good musicals cannot simultaneously be bad. In my books, Into the Woods is a good musi-cal. The lyrics are smart, and the mu-sic does as much talking as the people do. This is a good musical before it even gets off the page, and that makes the actor’s job that much easier be-cause the play is already doing a lot of work for you. It doesn’t mean the per-formers have an excuse to slack off, but the starting place is already that much more polished than a musical with a plot full of holes and awkward lyrics.

Into the Woods also plays with im-portant themes: wishing, wanting, getting and not getting, and the sacri-fices in between. Who deserves a hap-py ending? And define what “happy” means, while you’re answering that first question.

Needless to say, Stephen Sond-heim’s music and lyrics don’t cut anybody any slack. All performers have to be perfectly on top of the game at all times; put one note out of place and the whole thing goes up in flames. Get it right, and the result is just this side of magic.

Bringing Into the Woods to life goes into the hands of a large cast with

some pretty polished pedigrees; al-most across the board are people with professional training backgrounds, many of whom have done prolific work in professional and semi-profes-sional theatre. Particular stand-outs are Amy Swift as the Baker’s Wife and Colin Asuncion as Jack for their heartfelt, grounded, and yet undeni-ably human performances. But this is,

in essence, a company endeavour. All the intertwined plotlines—Cinderel-la, Little Red Riding Hood, Rapunzel, Jack and the Beanstalk, and the Baker and his wife—do not hold up without each other. There are few large group scenes, yet everyone is connected to everyone else. The talented cast han-dle this three-hour monster-musical with a baffling amount of energy and

good humour.The concept behind the design of

the show is both aesthetically and thematically a good idea: the whole thing happens inside a cuckoo clock. Characters emerge and disappear through the various mechanisms, trap doors, and ramps that might be seen in an elaborate clock, all while a giant clock face overhead signals the looming midnight countdown. The costumes are also beautiful when they need to be and wonderfully practical when they aren’t meant to be pretty, with special mentions going to Milky White (Maksym Shkvorets), Jack’s cow.

My issues with Hart House’s Into the Woods emerge from its strengths. The set is gorgeous, but gimmicky. The cuckoo birds who help Cinder-ella are distracting because there are so many of them and while most of them work, some of them don’t. Also, the big clock, the central thematic timepiece of the play, is stuck at mid-night. It still has some impact, but I don’t know that it was used to its full advantage. I think the fancy lighting was meant to make up for that, but for me, at least, less is more.

Into the Woods runs at Hart House Theatre until Wednesday.

SCOTT GORMAN/PHOTOThe stellar cast and stunning design make the show.

KATE CATTELL-DANIELSA&E EDITOR

Finding the meaning of independenceArtist Maryam Jafri digs through archives for photographic evidence of international independence

Street riots. Revolutions. Parades. New flags. Independence.

Maryam Jafri’s exhibit The Day After offers a comparative perspective of the decolonial moment in history, mark-ing a period when 150 new nations ap-peared in 30 years.

The Blackwood Gallery’s walls have been painted white for the exhibit. Jafri’s installation, Independence Day 1934-1975, is a large white wall that stands in the middle of the space. Images of riots and parades cluster together in non-chronological order on the wall. Jafri has placed photos of various countries’ independence moments in a broken grid that offers viewers a black and white patchwork storyboard, documenting the moment when colonies in Africa, Asia, and the Middle East gained their indepen-dence.

Not all the spaces in the grid have been filled. Jafri says she wanted to leave some blank spots because not all countries are represented. The broken grid also represents how fragile the new nations are after they gain their independence.

In 2009, Jafri began the ongoing project of gathering the photographs.

Her visual archive continues to grow as Jafri visits various countries and collaborates with native historians and journalists. Independence Day 1934-1975 displays some of the 500 photo-graphs she has collected, which Jafri plans to make into an artist book.

“Even though these are public im-ages, sometimes when you go to the archives, [archivists] get suspicious

because they’re used to dealing with journalists or academics,” she says about the challenges she experienced in gathering the images. “People have old-fashioned ideas about what artists are. They’re still used to artists doing painting and sculpture and they’re like, ‘Why aren’t you in your studio?’ It can be a pain.”

Behind the white wall, visitors can

see modules that reflect Jafri’s research process. Minimal, light metal struc-tures display books, photocopies of newspapers, and declarations of rights. The backstage area strikes a balance between providing digestible infor-mation and showing the richness and complexity of the research.

“[The modules] are in between in-formation and artwork; they are blur-

ring the lines,” Jafri said.Additionally, the e|gallery, located

in CCT, will host movie screenings and round tables as part of the exhibit.

The January 27 screening will in-clude director Goran Olsso’s 2014 doc-umentary, Concerning Violence, and director Ousmane Sembene’s ground-breaking 1965 film, La Noire De.The February 3 screening, to be intro-duced by the Erindale Campus Afri-can Students Association, will feature a variety of shorts. On February 10 and March 2, the e|gallery will host roundtables to encourage discussion of the topics presented in Jafri’s The Day After.

The first roundtable discussion, entitled “Decolonizing the Archive”, will feature Jennifer Bajorek, assistant professor of comparative literature, Hampshire College, Amherst, Mas-sachusetts; artist Sameer Farooq; John Greyson, filmmaker, associate profes-sor, York University; Julie MacArthur; and Leila Pourtavaf, writer, curator, and doctoral candidate in the Depart-ment of Historical Studies at U of T.

The second roundtable, entitled “Images in Dependences”, will discuss how history is framed by its represen-tations.

The Day After will run at the Black-wood Gallery until March 6.

ANDREEA MIHAI/THE MEDIUMJafri uses a combination of photography and sculpture.

ANDREEA MIHAISTAFF WRITER

6 «ARTS THE MEDIUM 01.18.2016

While observing professors in lec-ture, it’s probably hard to imagine that they spend time reading extra material besides essays and student projects—do they even have the lux-ury of free time to do so?

The Medium sits down with Dr. Michelle MacArthur, a women and gender studies professor at UTM, to ask her about what she’s reading.

The Medium: Tell us a little bit about what you’re reading.

Michelle MacArthur: I’m read-ing the book Carol, which was pre-viously titled The Price of Salt, by Patricia Highsmith. It was originally written in 1952 about the relation-ship between two women who meet kind of accidentally, and they fall in love during a time when women and queer people didn’t necessarily have the same rights that they have to-day and were not able to be as open about it. It’s kind of about how they deal with these feelings for each oth-er in a time when it’s very difficult to be public and to articulate this kind of desire.

TM: It’s a movie now, isn’t it?MM: Yes! I saw the movie and

I think it’s quite good. Not as good as the book, but it’s quite a beauti-ful movie and both actors give really strong performances.

TM: What made you pick up the book?

MM: Well, I hadn’t heard of this book, but then my friend who has a salon—she calls it a salon, but it’s re-ally like a book club—she picked this book for us to read and she gave me a copy for Christmas so I had no ex-

cuse to not read it. TM: Have you read any other

books by this author, or do you have any other writers that you prefer?

MM: This is the first time I’m read-ing Highsmith. She is quite a prolific author, and she’s written The Talented Mr. Ripley, which was also made into a film. Carol, I think, was actually an inspiration for the film Thelma and Louise, as well as the book Lolita. In terms of other authors that I enjoy, I kind of try to read a bunch of dif-ferent things. I like reading women authors and supporting their work. I also like reading humorous books.

TM: Do you find it difficult to find time to read with work and your per-sonal life?

MM: Growing up I was really

an avid reader, a total bookworm. When I started my graduate studies, I kind of stopped reading for plea-sure. I had to do so much reading for school, but I think once I finished my Ph.D. a couple of years ago, I started to make the time to do more reading of fiction. I think it’s so nice because it allows you to escape into a differ-ent world and to think about things in a different way.

This interview has been edited for clarity and length.

And first place goes to...

Last Thursday saw the 38th Visual Arts Mississauga Juried Show of Fine Arts. Tucked away in the corner of Mississauga City Hall, at first one could miss the Art Gallery of Missis-sauga completely, but once found it certainly is unforgettable.

The AGM is public and not-for-profit; anyone is free to explore the gallery and all it has to offer. The place was packed with friends, fam-ily, and even art connoisseurs. They gathered to marvel at the jury’s selec-tions and supported local artists by purchasing the art and celebrating the work.

First place was awarded to Grazy-na Adamska-Jarecka with her paint-ing Poised and Unbalanced. Second place was given to Margaret Sta-wicki’s Journey 8 and third place, pos-sibly the most memorable, was Susan Ross’s Halley’s Comet because of its abstract use of many vibrant colours. The oil paint came together to even

show multiple layers of texture and colour on the canvas.

However, one of the most interest-ing pieces there was the unique video piece by Nahed Mansour called Sat-telite Telefizyoon. The piece is a com-pilation of clips from an Egyptian game show called Fawazeer, which is

held during Ramadan. It showed an actress in various cultural garments engaging in different dances in each segment. Quotes were presented with the video, proposing that while every-one is different, women of the world form a sisterhood. This piece serves to discuss Egyptian media represen-tations of women and the modernity

of women. Sattelite Telefizyoon won the AGM’s Curator Award.

Jorge Luis Ballart’s Holes leaves a lot up to interpretation. It depicts an armoured tank with a golf club in lieu of its cannon. There is no one way to interpret this piece; whether it presents war as a game or simply the absurdity of armed combat is open to debate. Other interesting pieces in-clude Antonio Caballero’s Just Mar-ried piece. This was a side profile of a TTC bus with wood, plastic, and plexi-glass. While very entertaining to look at, it also provided a sense of locality by using a symbol of the GTA. One could assume that the symbolism between the words “Just Married” and the TTC bus could imply that a vehicle larger than a stretch limousine is required. With the bus adorned with balloons and cans dragging off the back as if for a wedding, this piece could also be about commitment to being a citizen as something to celebrate.

The 38th VAM Juried Show of Fine Arts runs until February 13.

SAMUEL KAN/THE MEDIUMThis exhibit is also a juried competition.

KEENA AL-WAHAIDI

“They fall in love during a time when women

and queer people didn’t necessarily have the

same rights that they have today.”

Content approved for immature adultsCandy-coloured animated movies do everything live action films do—and maybe they do it better

I like to watch kids’ movies. Okay, that’s not entirely true. I like to watch good kids’ movies. And sure, part of it is probably nostalgia. But another, equally large part is simply that kids’ movies can be interesting, complex, and emotionally moving. Sometimes, I would argue, more than Oscar-nominated grown-up films are.

For instance, Birdman won an Academy Award for Best Picture last year. And you know, good for Birdman. I enjoyed watching it; I re-ally did. Formally, it was brilliant. I looked for the cuts and had a lot of trouble finding them. But you know what movie really touched me? In-side Out. It’s that thing, that tug on the heartstrings, that really pulled me in and held me there.

This is the part where you tell me that Birdman and Inside Out are completely different genres of film that cannot really be compared to each other. I agree. But Inside Out is

not the only movie for the little ‘uns that made me feel something. Just a few weeks ago, I had a lengthy con-versation with a couple of coworkers about whether Tangled is a better movie than Frozen. We concluded that Tangled was a better adaptation of an old story, but in my opinion

Frozen takes the cake for feminist Disney.

I know everyone is sick to death of Frozen, mostly because of that one song that has caused a raging fever in the heart of every little girl under the age of seven. Even so, I’ll admit I had tears waiting to burst through

the floodgates at the end. I have sis-ters, okay? Don’t judge me. And I love more than anything that Elsa is perfectly fine, thank you very much, without a Prince Charming. Anna gets her guy, but he acts like a real person. He gets worried, and happy, and frustrated, and so does she. Elsa

is playful and shy and a little, well, cold. These characters are, I would argue, just as real as the “real” people who waltz across big screens every day.

Anything can happen in kids’ movies. Magic is a real thing that integrates itself seamlessly into the world of the film. So you have per-sonified emotions running around in your brain? Great. You kiss a frog and turn him into a prince? Even better. You’re born with hair that has healing powers? Why can’t I do that?

I recently watched The Croods, one animated film I’d been skeptical about. I mean, cave people? Serious-ly? But I was wrong. I laughed aloud it was so funny. And I almost cried—again. It’s about what’s really impor-tant: family, friends, and knowing what you’re good at and embracing that. So sure, I’ll keep trying to keep up with movies for people “my age”. Just don’t be surprised if you catch me sneaking into a movie theatre clutching popcorn and a ticket to The Secret Life of Pets.

KATE CATTELL-DANIELSA&E EDITOR

ADAM SAROUJI/THE MEDIUMAdmit it—you enjoyed Inside Out.

RIAUD ABDUL

One of the most interesting pieces there

was a unique video piece by Nahed Mansour called

Sattelite Telefizyoon.

8 « 01.18.2016

Code 9—what’s your first response?Haaka’s documentary looks at the increasing occurrence of PTSD among first responders

Reflecting on the aftermath of COP21The Medium rounds up UTM’s “green” initiatives, including the Green Team and volunteer efforts

If you’re like me, you actively used Facebook over the winter break and may have noticed a trending topic very close to our hearts: climate change, specifically the recent inter-national climate talks in Paris.

While Canada’s plans to com-bat climate change have often been dubbed “ambitious” or “unrealistic”, the government anticipates that the largest hurdle they may face is gath-ering public support.

“While the outcomes of the [Unit-ed Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change] may not affect initiatives that we see campus-wide, it certainly does increase global awareness of issues that we can help promote on campus,” says Eashan Karnik, the UTMSU sustainability coordinator.

Although many students remain skeptical about the role the universi-ty is playing, Karnik says, “Students and individuals on campus can en-courage positive outcomes by advo-cating for environmental causes and ensuring that their local community leaders are notified of key issues af-fecting us.”

An example that comes to mind is the recent decision regarding fos-sil fuel divestment at U of T. After

a year of consultations following the presentation of a petition to the Office of the President by the U of T chapter of Toronto350, an advi-sory committee at U of T has rec-ommended a targeted divestment of some fossil fuel companies. Al-though the final decision has yet to be announced, strategically, follow-ing the COP21 conference in Paris, this may be the major push towards Canada’s goal of 100 percent renew-

able energy in the next 50 years.Karnik mentions being ap-

proached by Earth Flag 2015 to send a UTM-inspired flag. After collect-ing 400 signatures from students in support of improving environmen-tal health, UTM secured its pres-ence at COP21, with the flag being stitched alongside flags from cam-puses all over the nation.

He further says, “Our responsibil-ities can exist in a variety of forms,

and many of these are small changes that we can make in our daily life-styles.” Referring to related projects on campus, Karnik suggests how reducing our carbon footprint is as simple as being conscious of the amount of excess and unnecessary waste we create.

An example would be the UTM Ecological Footprint and Campus Sustainability Assessment Proj-ect, which had been supported by

the Department of Geography for five years, supervised by Dr. Tenley Conway. The project analyzed and published progress reports with calculations concerning ecological footprints and the assessment of campus sustainability.

The most recent publication re-ports “a significant increase in the food footprint”, identifying that meat and dairy products are the most commonly consumed food products. The report also identifies natural gas to be the major contribu-tor to energy production on campus.

Following the suggestions made in the progress report regarding the establishment of bottled water–free zones on campus, Karnik says, “Our ban on plastic water bottles has ac-tually made us one of the first uni-versities to have taken the step for-ward in limiting plastic waste.”

Karnik describes the increasing use of recyclable and CSC-certified packaging for the food options on campus as the new standard for eat-ing on the go.

Initiatives such as the MiWay transit pass and the RideShare pro-grams have been integral towards promoting the use of public trans-portation and smart navigation around campus.

Whenever Kirsti Haaka has night-mares, she can rely on the aid of her service dog Patty to bring her back to reality. Haaka, a law enforcement vet-eran, is one of many in her profession suffering from the debilitating effects of post-traumatic stress disorder.

After pursuing a psychology de-gree at UTM and further education at Niagara University in New York, Haaka’s career in law enforcement took an unfortunate turn when she witnessed and investigated a series of “horrific events”, leading to the devel-opment of her PTSD.

In the more recent years, Haaka has been involved in the creation of Code 9—Officer Needs Assistance, a documentary exploring and promot-ing awareness of mental health sup-port needed for professionals in law enforcement. The documentary was funded through a 2012 Kickstarter campaign, after which Haaka became a co-producer and on-screen con-

tributor, sharing her story and afflic-tions surrounding PTSD.

“[The documentary] was merely an idea from the wife of a retired

New York State Trooper that some-thing needed to be done to help first responders know that they are not alone,” says Haaka.

The documentary features inter-views from officers, military offi-cials, and first responders who have experienced the crippling effects of

PTSD, such as anxiety and suicidal thoughts.

“I’ve had numerous friends in-volved in Iraq and Afghanistan who [have said] that police work is even more difficult,” says Vito Vincelli, an officer in Binghamton Police Depart-ment who was featured in the docu-mentary. “Combat is a set amount of time that ends, while being a cop is a 20-year career,” he explains.

“People dying in your arms, peo-ple [being] burnt alive […] Those sounds and sights, they never leave you,” says Sergeant Jag Soin of the RCMP. “There comes a point when you fracture.”

The statistics are startling. Accord-ing to the Centre for Suicide Preven-tion, 9.2 percent of the Canadian population will experience PTSD during their lifetime. Among first responders, 22 percent of paramedics will develop PTSD during their life time. Even more shocking is the fact that 22 first responders committed suicide in 2015 alone.

MAHNOOR AYUBASSOCIATE FEATURES EDITOR

YOUTUBE.COM/CODE 9/PHOTOKirsti Haaka shared her story in the documentary Code 9—Officer Needs Assistance.

PTSD continued on page 9

JEANLOUIS REBELLO/THE MEDIUM

UTM was present at COP21 as a flag alongside flags from other university campuses.

Green continued on page 9

KASSANDRA HANGDAANSTAFF WRITER

01.18.2016 THE MEDIUM FEATURES» 9

If your heart is pounding and your palms are sweaty, odds are that you’re either on a first date or stand-ing before a U.S. consulate officer applying for a visitor visa. But even if you think you have “game”, your chances of getting a thumbs-up are probably higher—at around 90 per-cent, according to the U.S. Consulate General in Toronto—with the officer behind the glass.

In fact, consular officer chief Scott Renner from the U.S. consulate gen-eral in Toronto, who, like many on his team, interviews approximately 100 applicants from over 50 differ-ent countries on a daily basis, says that last year alone 25,000 U.S. visa applications were processed from students studying in Canada. At institutions like U of T, a very high percentage of students intending to visit the U.S. are granted approval.

While many generally assume that the process of applying for a visitor visa is a daunting one, vice-consul Nina Murray provided UTM stu-dents with an informative presenta-tion to demystify the process, which may only take a week to complete, especially now during off-peak sea-sons.

This comes as good news to UTM

students like Bola Balogun, a first-year computer science student who is not a Canadian citizen and will require a visa in order to travel to visit relatives in the U.S. over the summer.

However, not all visa classifica-tions are the same and they vary de-pending on the intent of travel to the U.S., which must be clearly stated in the application process. Visa catego-ries are denoted with different codes, or, as Murray describes it, “an alpha-bet soup of visa classifications”.

Those participating in an intern-ship, summer work, or exchange program must apply for a J1 visa, while those who plan on studying in the U.S. will require an F1 visa. With an F1, students must obtain a signed I-20 certificate of eligibility from the institution they plan to attend and register in the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System, similar to Canadian citizens who wish to study in the U.S. but do not require a visa.

However, in her experience of ad-judicating visas, Murray says, “We see a majority of students just apply for their B1/B2 visas,” which permit travel intended for attending job in-terviews, workshops, visiting rela-tives, sightseeing, and shopping.

After determining the type of visa

that corresponds with their intended purpose of travel, applicants must then complete the DS-160—an on-line application form—pay the ap-plication fee, and schedule an inter-view with a consular officer.

Cue the sweaty palms.But the brief, one-minute inter-

view shouldn’t be that nerve-wrack-ing, especially when you have close ties to family in Canada, to a Cana-dian school, and a long-term plan for living in Canada, Renner assures. “These are all factors that will make your case for approval of a visa much stronger,” he says.

Why? Well, in most cases, regard-less of the type of non-immigrant visa a student applies for, under 214(b) of the Immigration and Na-tional Act, all applicants must suffi-ciently demonstrate to the consular officer that they plan on returning back to Canada and keeping true to their non-immigrant or “visitor” status.

Renner states that “all applicants for non-immigrant visas are viewed as intending immigrants until they can convince the consular officer otherwise”.

But above all else, Renner advises students to tell the truth about their intentions to travel.

AMANDA BORTHWICK

MADINA TURDIEVA/PHOTO

A visa session was held by the U.S. Consulate General on Wednesday.

Volunteer events for local environ-mental causes like those through SAGE and Student Life’s tree plant-ing initiatives are examples of active involvement of student organiza-tions promoting awareness on envi-ronmental issues.

Additionally, the UTM Green Team works in collaboration with the UTM environmental affairs of-fice to increase eco-friendliness on campus. As part of a tri-campus ini-tiative, the team implements Green Courses, which seeks to recognize courses that reduce their impact on the environment, focusing on paper reduction.

“I really was not very environ-

ment friendly when I joined the Green Team,” says Bansari Patel, a third-year student with a double major in biology and environmental studies.

Patel describes how she learned that sustainability is in fact a habit of small daily activities, collected together. “Now I unplug my laptop charger when it’s done charging,

because it still consumes electricity. And don’t throw your used paper plates in the recycling bin—they don’t need it!” she adds.

“COP21 and other climate change forums may always help guide our global leaders into a world in which environmental responsibility is the highest priority, but our role as stu-dents shouldn’t rely on these,” says Karnik, emphasizing the need for communities to ensure that envi-ronmental protection is not an af-terthought, and should not fall to rapid technological advancement and exponential resource depletion.

“Environmental importance will always exist and the significance of these initiatives will always be es-sential,” Karnik says.

“As simple as being conscious”Green continued from page 8

Visas continued on page 10

Advice from behind the glassDelegates demystify the U.S. visa application process

Therapy and support

For Haaka, the persistent effects of the disorder have led her to seek con-tinuous treatment; in addition to a hospitalization, she regularly takes medication and attends therapy.

“I think the greatest challenge I have faced is not being able to work at a job that I loved. I lost the ability to function in any job,” she says.

Fortunately, Patty assists her with the overwhelming feelings of the dis-order. Haaka says that working, play-ing, and taking walks with Patty en-courage her to enter a more “positive emotional state”. She also says that Patty guides her through crowded ar-eas, helping her avoid overwhelming situations and negative changes in her emotional state.

In terms of the improvement need-ed in the treatment of mental health

in law enforcement, Haaka encour-ages police services to assist their em-ployees who are struggling.

In addition, she is in favour of a suicide prevention program that “educate[s] employees to seek help rather than end their life by suicide”. Moreover, she advises those who are interested in pursuing a career in law enforcement or public safety to emphasize the importance of mental health just as much as physical health.

However, Haaka is not alone in thinking that more should be done for Canada’s first responders. MPP Cher DiNova is in the process of passing a bill that amends the cur-rent Workplace Safety Insurance Act. Her bill aims to provide more benefits and care to first responders. After all, if first responders assist us during our time of need, shouldn’t we assist them during their own crises?

PTSD continued from page 8

“Environmental importance will always

exist and the significance of these

initiatives will always be essential.”

YOUTUBE.COM/CODE9/PHOTO Haaka co-produced and starred in this documentary.

10 «FEATURES THE MEDIUM 01.18.2016

This week, Alysha Ferguson, the student

development officer responsible for UTM’s

Student Life programs, has provided her

favourite summertime recipe in hopes of

combating the recent chill. Luckily, Fergu-

son’s BBQ chicken can be prepared with a

grill pan, since it’s highly unlikely that we’ll

be heading outside to get an outdoor grill

ready anytime soon.

Personally, I’m not a fan of adding pine-

apples to my barbecued chicken. It’s a little

too sweet for me, but that’s a minor point

as this recipe has a slightly larger potential

problem. It’s the chicken itself—specifical-

ly, deciding how long to cook it. Ferguson

recommends cooking the skewered chick-

en for about 15 minutes, but all the same,

it’s easy to char the chicken, undercook it,

or both. (Remember the black coating on

your chicken at the last BBQ you went to?

Let’s avoid that.)

Since I’m not a grilling expert, I’m relying

on every family BBQ memory I have to help

remedy the situation. The key is patience

and remaining vigilant. Yes, you could lower

the heat and cook the chicken slowly. Or

you could be like me, staying alert and

springing into action every single time

the chicken threatens to catch fire. (Dis-

claimer: this is probably best left as a last

resort—always give this slightly tedious job

to another poor soul.)

But enough of my rambling—let’s take a

look at Ferguson’s recipe.

BBQ Chicken

INGREDIENTS

• 1/4 cup low sodium soy sauce

• 1/4 cup honey

• 1/4 cup brown sugar

• 1 fresh pineapple

• 1 lemon, juiced

• 1 cup ketchup

• 1 tbsp yellow mustard

• 2 whole garlic cloves

• 8 boneless skinless chicken thighs

• Kosher salt

• Freshly ground black pepper

• Extra-virgin olive oil, for brushing

• 16 wooden skewers (soaked in water

for 30 minutes)

METHOD

1. In a saucepan at medium heat, add the

ketchup, soy sauce, honey, mustard,

sugar, garlic, and lemon juice.

2. Bring to a simmer and cook gently until

thickened, about 10 minutes. Set aside

and cool. This will be used as the sauce.

3. Heat an outdoor grill or a grill pan.

4. Cut each chicken thigh into two pieces.

5. Peel the pineapple and cut it into 1 1/2”

chunks.

6. Alternating between the chicken and

pineapple, thread the pieces onto the

skewers. Brush the pieces with olive oil

and season them with salt and pepper.

7. Remove the garlic cloves from the

barbecue sauce and discard.

8. Put about half of the barbecue sauce

into a small bowl for later.

9. Brush skewers with some of the sauce.

10. Cook the skewers on the grill, basting

regularly with the barbecue sauce, until

cooked through, about 10 to 15 minutes.

11. Serve with barbecue sauce on the

side for dipping.

SERVES 6–8

Cooking up some funAttendees have a “grate” time cooking with Chef Sandeep

CHRISTY TAM/THE MEDIUMLast Thursday, Chef Sandeep led a UTM community cooking workshop.

If the only thing you can make for dinner is reservations, then the monthly kitchen workshops hosted by UTM Dining Services are some-thing you need to try.

Open to faculty, students, and the community, this free workshop of-fers those in attendance the knowl-edge and guidance to try their hands at making healthy and wholesome meals.

Last Thursday afternoon, UTM’s Gordon Ramsey, Chef Sandeep Kachroo, greeted students with recipe cards and aprons. Individu-als were then divided into groups and assigned various gluten-free and nutritious dishes to create, such as coconut brown rice pudding, pan-grilled chicken with pineapple salsa, and Greek lentil soup.

The theme for this month’s work-shop was “Winter Healthy Habits”, and the options were items that stu-dents, such as third-year environ-mental science student Urvesh Praj-apati, planned on recreating at home.

“I know this is going to help me

because it’s going to give me one more thing to cook other than pizza,” said Prajapati.

Everyone started working togeth-er—mixing ingredients, pan-frying the chicken, and presenting the final products on plates. It was messy, but everyone was clearly having a great time.

Finally, after many spills and mea-suring mishaps, groups presented their masterpieces and tried to sell the health benefits of their creations to the audience. Some audience members bought it and tried the dishes, and a few adventurous chefs tasted the work of their peers.

Thankfully, the chefs in the kitchen had prepared the same dishes, which students were free to help themselves to at the end.

The experience was more than memorable, not only because of the friendships made, but because it was a huge learning experience for many, like third-year environmental man-agement student Andrew Fenech.

“I had a lot of fun today; it was great learning how to sustain myself in a sustainable way. Using local food

and food from around the world re-ally expanded my pallet. This is my first time coming, and I can say it was a great experience in terms of mak-ing friends and engaging with UTM Dining Services,” said Fenech.

Fenech was a part of the team that recreated the Italian garbanzo salad with fennel and called themselves the “Whisk Takers”. Although I don’t think there was much “whisk” in-volved in making their salad, their “fennel” product still tasted delicious.

UTM alumnus Rahul Mehta also attended the workshop for the first time and said it was a great opportu-nity to make friends and have fun—something that more students should take advantage of.

“It is a great chance to learn how to cook, and it provides students—es-pecially those who live off campus—with quick and health-conscious meal options that they can easily make at home,” said Mehta.

So if you’ve been living off Mr. Noodles since the start of the se-mester, maybe it’s “thyme” you start building your cooking repertoire at the next workshop.

AMANDA BORTHWICK

“Students travelling during the holi-day season is something we expect to find, but if you’re unexpectedly leav-ing in the middle of your semester, be prepared to explain and provide evidence on what your true inten-tions are,” he says.

For students who have graduated and are offered temporary employ-ment in specialty fields in the U.S.,

the process is slightly different. The applicants must complete an H1B visa, which involves the employer petitioning for entry of the em-ployee. Although the H1B is a non-immigrant visa, it can also be recog-nized as dual intent as holders can later apply for permanent residency.

This plan of action is something that first-year management student Abhi Kalita considers in his future, as he feels the labour market in Can-

ada for graduates is looking grim.“I think it should be better to find

a job in Canada, considering the way the government supports you here, but I think long-term job prospects in the U.S. are more promising and financially rewarding,” he says.

Whatever your reasons may be, getting the information you need to initiate the visa application process is essential.

Visas continued from page 9

Several visa categories available

MADINA TURDIEVA/PHOTOStudents may be travelling for family, vacationing purposes, or for the U.S. labour market.

01.18.2016 » 11

Students play table tennis phenoms Nationally ranked table tennis student athletes Anqi Luo and Shannon Zheng battle in the RAWC

Anqi Luo and Shannon Zheng battle back and forth under extreme con-centration. Their movements amount to a dance class workout, and they smash the ping pong ball at speeds that make you bobble your head. The two student athletes showcased their abilities at UTM’s Table Ten-nis Challenge last Thursday. Luo and Zheng aren’t just nationally-ranked table tennis players with an Olympic dream—they’re also UTM students.

Everyone knows the game table tennis; most likely you grew up play-ing family members and friends, frus-trated you couldn’t smash the ball like Bruce Lee with nunchuks. Well, you may not recognize them yet, but the two young ladies walking next to you in the halls are the best in the country.

Anqi Luo is a 19-year-old table tennis phenomenon born in Foshan, China, who now resides in Missis-sauga. Luo has her own Wikipedia page. She won a bronze medal in the women’s doubles at the 2014 Com-monwealth Games in Glasgow and was also a bronze medalist at last year’s Pan Am Games in Toronto. Her mother is a former Chinese national team member and current Canadian women’s team coach.

Shannon Zheng is also a UTM student, doing a master’s program in hopes of a career in the healthcare sector. Zheng was the captain of the University of Ottawa table tennis

team when she was there for her un-dergraduate degree. She won a silver medal at the 2013 North American Collegiate Table Tennis Champion-ships and was a candidate for the London 2012 Olympic games.

Yan Tam-Seguin, project manager for Student Affairs and Services at UTM, helped organize the Table Ten-nis Challenge, which fundraised for the United Way Foundation.

“We want to let people know we’ve got an enormous advantage with two elite-level athletes here at UTM. For the first time, we have a recognized table tennis club at our school. We want to let students know that there

is this ability for students to come out and play,” said Tam-Seguin.

The primary objective of organiz-ing this fundraiser was to bring to-gether a community of students in a friendly way; people of any skill level, gender, age, and ethnicity can come and play one another.

Luo has wanted to raise the profile of table tennis as a sport at UTM since the beginning of the school year. She’s been able to combat the misnomer that table tennis is simply a basement game; she’s already brought in a larg-er community of table tennis play-ers that didn’t realize the commonly shared interest.

Tam-Seguin’s son has been prac-ticing at the same table tennis train-ing facility Luo trains at. “He comes back from table tennis training just as sweaty and exhausted as if he were to come back from a hockey practice,” she said.

Pritesh Patel, UTM’s table tennis club president, was in attendance at the event, looking on to see what kind of attention Luo and Zheng at-tracted. He was happy to see a large group of students participate and take on the two athletes in quick games. Even principal Deep Saini looked on proudly.

The Table Tennis Club is in its

first year of existence. The two events they’ve held so far have taken place in multipurpose room B at the RAWC. This semester, they look to bring in even more people and turn table ten-nis into a competitive sport here on campus.

“Our primary goal is to bring to-gether all the table tennis players. At our most recent tournament, we had around 20 players show up,” said Patel. “We’re hoping to expand our numbers and funding so that we can get more tables. I hope we can host events in Gym C that’ll bring more exposure to our club, and it’s some-thing more students can get involved with.”

In Zheng’s experience, the game has been a great way for her to destress and improve mental quick-ness. “Whether you’re athletic or not, anyone can play. Playing gives you that break from classes. It can be challenging, and it stimulates the mind and improves hand-eye coordi-nation,” says Zheng.

“I am glad to have the opportu-nity of experiencing an interesting and unique life that table tennis has brought me,” said Luo in a previous interview.

I took on Luo in a quick game, knowing she was going to make me fall to my knees. I’m still proud to tell my friends I got beaten badly (5-1) by a 5’3” 19-year-old female with a wick-ed serve, whom we’ll hopefully watch compete for gold at the 2020 Olympic games.

ERIC HEWITSONSPORTS EDITOR

MAHMOUD SAROUJI/THE MEDIUM

Anqi Luo and Shannon Zheng rally back and forth in a friendly match for students to enjoy.

The science behind healthy active livingPsychology professor Will Huggon explains the scientific benefits when maintaining a healthy routine

If your only physical activity is run-ning through the six with your woes, or the only marathon you’ve ever finished involves a Netflix account, you’re missing out on more than just the physical rewards that come from regularly working out.

According to psychology professor Will Huggon, the neurological pro-cesses that occur when we maintain a healthy active lifestyle influence our mood, academic performance, and overall quality of life for the better.

Working out not only relaxes our mind and body, but it can also prevent negative moods from arising, reduce anxiety, and counter depression.

“Exercise releases the neurotrans-mitter endorphin, the primary pur-pose of which is to inhibit the trans-mission of pain signals and produce a feeling of euphoria,” says Huggon in an email interview. In other words, it reduces stress and activates your

body’s metaphorical “chill pill”.But it doesn’t stop there—exercise

can also foster new brain cell growth through a process called neurogen-esis. Huggon explains that the hippo-campus is the learning and memory centre of the brain and is especially

receptive to new neuron growth in re-sponse to exercise. The good news for you is that by going to the gym, you can boost both your booty and your GPA at the same time. Unless you just go there to procrastinate—then shame on you.

Double shame on you if you’ve al-ready thrown in the towel for your fit-ness resolutions for the New Year. But Huggon says you’re not alone. “Re-search shows that people try five times in a row before succeeding in lasting at least six months on a resolution. On

a given New Year’s Eve, among those who make resolutions and fail, 60 per-cent will resolve to attempt the same self-change next year,” he says.

Many people focus on the end goal of their self-change, whether it’s losing 20 pounds or gaining a six-pack. But how you maintain that goal is more important that achieving the goal it-self, Huggon advises.

What it boils down to is realistic planning, which may make you more likely to stick with your goal. Just imagining the start and end of your goal without knowing how long it will take or the steps needed will most likely not lead to the fulfillment of this objective.

“If you don’t have the necessary information to predict a result, then you’re more liable to quit because you don’t know how to achieve those goals, just that you want them,” says Huggon.

AMANDA BORTHWICK

FACEBOOK.COM/UTMHCC/PHOTOWill Huggon presents the science behind a healthy active lifestyle to a group of students.

Science continued on page 12

12 «SPORTS THE MEDIUM 01.18.2016

Living well in the present

However, once you have a realistic game plan, the next step is to formu-late habits to stay committed. Most importantly, according to Huggon, “keep everything in mind as to why you’re doing it, and then stick to it for at least four weeks, which is the time it takes to form a habit”. But if you’re like me and the only thing that holds your interest at the fitness centre is the TV, then it might be time to try alternative ways of staying active, like going for a spin or yoga class. Addi-

tionally, getting friends to join you can also increase the likelihood of seeing your goal to the end.

But in my case, when I say friends, I’m referring to my pals Ben and Jer-ry. It’s not called cheating; it’s called positive reinforcement. And accord-ing to Huggon, rewarding myself with something I love in moderation after a workout works great to reinforce the exercise habits I want to continue—although I’m sure he would advocate for healthier options than ice cream.

Regarding being satisfied with life, healthy personal relationships and self-care appear to be two main fac-tors that are essential ingredients. However, Huggon feels students may misplace these values, and talks about how he often sees so many students come through his office feeling burnt out as they prepare for grad or medi-cal school.

“When I ask them why they want to do that, they say that it’s to have a good job and life. Well the answer, it seems, is to have a good life—not in the future, but right now,” he says.

In other words, the real key to success isn’t cocoa butter—sorry, DJ Khaled. But, as Huggon suggests, it’s in finding a balance between work and life—in preparing for the future and for living well in the present.

The upcoming MoveU Motivator event, taking place this Friday, is a perfect opportunity to start and build some healthy exercise habits by trying anything from Pilates to Tabata and Zumba, all in sets of mini-instruc-tional classes.

Healthy active living has a mul-titude of rewards, but ultimately it comes down to the hard work you’re willing to invest in maintaining your physical and mental wellbeing. So as you painfully trudge up every one of those stairs in the RAWC after leg day, just remind yourself that it is worth it. Or if that doesn’t work, think of the cafeteria you’re one step closer to.

Science continued from page 11

Blues’ big turn-around

OLIVIA ADAMCZYK/THE MEDIUMThe Varsity Blues defeated Windor 6-5 on Friday and Brock 4-1 on Saturday.

The Varsity Blues men’s hockey team gathered their thoughts after a couple of tough road losses, eager to win in front of the home crowd for the first time in 2016, on Friday night against the Windsor Lancers. In a tight battle, the Blues got the best of the Lancers, winning 6-5 thanks to Dean Klomp’s game-win-ning shootout goal.

The Blues now improve to 7-11-2, moving their way into a tie for seventh place, while the talented Lancers squad drops to 10-7-3, ranking them third in the OUA West division.

Thanks to third-year goalie An-drew Hunt and his 44 saves, the Blues were able to come out on top. Hunt stopped the puck 37 times in regulation and an additional seven times during overtime.

Fourth-year veterans Dylan Heide and Cristian Finch led the scoring charge with a combined eight points. Heide scored a pow-er-play goal nearly seven minutes

in, evening things up at one apiece. Finch had four assists, proving that his offensive line was no match for Windsor defenders.

The Blues had a dominant sec-ond period, scoring three goals. Midway through the third period, the Blues were up 5-3, but fell back and allowed Windsor’s Kyle Hope’s even strength goal and Julian Lu-ciani’s shorthanded marker, tying the game and making it head into overtime.

Toronto took advantage of the Lancers’ undisciplined play, a re-curring theme for the Lancers this season. Windsor sits second in the OUA in total penalty minutes (414). Even though Windsor was ranked fifth on the penalty kill (85.3) before coming to Toronto, the Blues scored four goals on the man advantage.

Fourth-year forward Patrick Marsh was relied upon heavily to create an offensive spark. Marsh didn’t disappoint, scoring a goal and tallying an assist. Marsh leads the team in goals with 10, which is top 20 in the OUA.

The future of the Blues program, Matt Campagna and Max Lindsay have been receiving plenty of ice time. Their growth and develop-ment are necessary if the team wants to be a championship con-tender over the next four years. Campagna and Lindsay had a great offensive night; Lindsay scored a goal in the second period, and Campagna had an assist.

Kenny Bradford is Windsor’s big shut down defender—he was the 2014/15 OUA defenceman of the year and was first-team all-star. Bradford’s two assists helped his team push the game into overtime, but he and the rest of the team couldn’t handle the Blues’ scoring prowess.

After the weekend doubleheader in which the Blues also played the Brock Badgers on Saturday night, winning 4-1, they will head back on the road to face the Western Mustangs this Thursday in London before coming back home to Var-sity Arena to play the Guelph Gry-phons on Saturday.

BURST YOUR TESTOSTERONETestosterone is an anabolic hormone that not only exists in men but also in women—about one-tenth helps positively balance estrogen levels. If testosterone levels in women are light, they’ll experience slowed me-tabolism, weak muscles, and a more difficult time losing weight or gain-ing muscle. In men, healthy levels of testosterone correlate with healthy sleeping habits, energy levels, and sex drive—to name a few effects. When men risk their testosterone because of lazy habits, they’re putting themselves up for risk of heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and erectile dysfunction. During the winter months, it may be difficult to experience the energy levels that you had in the summer. I’ll explain why and how you can fix it today to enjoy the best sleep, exercise, and sex you’ve ever had.

SUPPLEMENTATIONVitamin D has a strong relationship with testosterone levels. In the sum-mer, you receive Vitamin D from

natural sources like fruit and sun-light—sunlight is the most significant factor—and your mood is elevated, you’re moving more often, and your libido probably spikes. Vitamin D helps absorb calcium, iron, magne-sium, phosphate, and zinc, giving you more of the nutrients you need. Because of the lack of sunlight during these Canadian months, taking doses of Vitamin D may increase your abili-ties in the areas of your life you feel unmotivated or lacking.

FREE-WEIGHT MOVEMENTSYou can give yourself a boost in tes-tosterone by working out smart. High-intensity weight training—choosing weights you can accom-plish 10 repetitions with—stimulates testosterone secretion. Secretion oc-curs mostly from squats, deadlifts,

and bench press. Also, the larger the muscle you work, the more testoster-one you secrete. Stay away from the machines if you want to secrete tes-tosterone; when you use a machine, you’re initiating less stabilizer activity, but when using weights where core and back activity need to be activated, you’ll secrete more. Remember, lon-ger workouts are not better. Workouts lasting longer than an hour may begin to spike cortisol levels and decrease your testosterone levels. Keep your rest periods short; one minute of rest versus three minutes of rest between sets elicits higher acute hormonal responses. Work out at a high tempo and keep your time to under an hour.

NUTRITIONDiets with higher amounts of mono-unsaturated and saturated fats have shown to increase testosterone levels. Meals that include olive oil, almonds, avocados, and peanut butter increase the absorption of monounsaturated fats, and meals that include red meat, coconut oil, egg yolk, dark chocolate, and cheese increase your saturated fats intake.

ERIC HEWITSONSPORTS EDITOR

ERIC HEWITSONSPORTS EDITOR

Keep everything in mind as to why you’re [working out], and then

stick to it for at least four weeks.

Testosterone is an anabolic hormone that not only exists in men but also in women—

about one-tenth.