Harper’s comments on Islamism examinedAmir Ahmed disagrees on this divi-sive issue. Find out more. Medium News, Page 4

U of T ranked 23rdworldwideMoves up from 29th place—now second best in Canada. Medium News, Page 2

TIFF reviewedOur team of film reviewers look at the best TIFF has to offer this year. Find out what the verdict is. Medium A&E, Page 7

School suppliesYes, we have a take on this as well.Medium Features, Page 9

The first part of the tri-campus University of Toronto Lip Dub was filmed at UTM on Sunday. A lip dub (like a lip sync) is a music vid-eo of one continuous shot in which students sing along to a tune that is re-dubbed into the footage dur-ing editing. The organizing group, comprised of students, established the U of T Lip Dub to animate school pride and spirit.

The U of T Lip Dub Team, led by Aaron Liu and Sandra Zhou, held auditions in August in search of en-thusiastic singers and dancers. The tri-campus lip dub aspires to be the largest and most creative university video recorded thus far.

“[We] hope to achieve something that will create buzz, not only on campus but also around the world,” said Charles Wong, a member of the public relations team for the U of T Lip Dub. “We also hope that this video will help bring students

across this large and diverse cam-pus together to celebrate unity as U of T students.”

Over the summer, the team completed the storyboard for the lip dub. This year, the emphasis

has been shifted to promote the event and outreach to include a larger group of students on all three campuses. Individual entrants and clubs are encouraged to participate in order to achieve as much spon-

taneity and originality as possible.The Lip Dub is student-directed

and includes a few choreographed segments.

U of T Lip Dub filmed at UTM

With the Ontario election campaigns well underway, Andrea Horwath, the leader of the provincial New Demo-cratic Party, made an appearance at UTM on Tuesday morning without a platform on education. After pull-ing up to the entrance of the Stu-dent Centre in a bright orange car, Horwath stepped out to meet a few UTMSU executives and students involved in clubs and societies. She entered the congested Student Cen-tre to greet the crowd waiting in line for the U-Pass, where Horwath took the opportunity to announce that the NDP platform includes a promise to freeze transit fare for four years.

“I know that fees are getting too high for students to be able to af-ford. I know that students are wor-ried about transit costs. I know stu-dents are worried about jobs—not only while you’re in school, but once you’re finished school,” said Hor-wath. “Our platform is the kind of platform that puts students and ev-eryday people first.”

Whereas the Liberals and Conser-

vatives have released their platforms on education, the NDP has yet to include information regarding their intentions for post-secondary insti-tutions. Horwath reassured students that the NDP’s platform would in-clude an agenda for education and would be released in the coming days.

The Liberals, rather than freezing tuition as they have in the past, have promised to provide middle class families with a $1,600 grant to off-

set the cost. When asked for her re-sponse to the Liberal platform prom-ise, Horwath maintained that the NDP recognizes that students and their families are struggling to afford the cost of post-secondary education in Ontario.

“When students and parents see the NDP platform on education, they’ll see that we’ve been listening to the concerns that students have been raising with us,” said Horwath. “Education is becoming far too unaf-

fordable.”The NDP leader appealled to the

crowd to investigate their options and vote on October 6.

Gilbert Cassar, president of UTM-SU, and Munib Sajjad, VP External, led Horwath into the Student Union office to continue the discussion on topics such as OSAP reform and ac-cessible transit.

“We want to confront loans such as OSAP. There should be more grants instead of loans. Education

should not have a price tag,” said Sajjad. “This was a great opportu-nity for students to have their voices heard. We’re delighted to have the NDP candidate here to speak to the students about the issues in post-secondary education.”

Before posing for a group picture, the UTMSU executives asked on-lookers to perform the frosh cheer, asking, “UTM, what do we think of Andrea Horwath?” To which stu-dents responded, “We love Andrea Horwath!” And they blew her a kiss.

“I love you back!” Horwath said.Attendees laughed as Walied

Khogali, the Executive Director of UTMSU, interjected, “There are con-ditions to that: a better platform on post-secondary education.”

Michelle Bilek, the MPP candidate for Mississauga-Erindale, was also present to speak with students and pass around flyers. Bilek expressed her desire to inspire students to en-gage in politics and work toward the “change” for Ontario that the NDP would like to pursue.

“You can’t change anything sit-ting on your couch playing Wii,” said Bilek. “You need to get out there.”

Ontario NDP leader visits campus

SHErI VEIbl

NIVES HAJDIN/THE MEDIUM

Filming for the UTM segment of lip Dub took place on Sunday.

STEFANIE MAroTTANEwS EDITOr

ZOrAwAr wAlIA/UTMSU

ontario NDP leader Andrea Horwath

Lip Dub continued on page 3

Death in the NHlA look at the deaths of enforcers over the summer.Medium Sports, Page 10

2 « 09.12.2011

Following a move initiated by the University of Toronto two months ago, there will be a ban on the sale of bottled water on all three campuses. President David Nay-lor approved the proposal this past June, and the ban will take immediate effect at the St. George campus. U of T Mississauga and U of T Scarborough will phase out sales of bottled water, with a com-plete ban effective in 2014.

Bottled water has negative en-vironmental impacts, as it is gen-erally a single-use product, and if the plastic is discarded into a landfill it does not easily decay. As well, the plastic used to pro-duce bottled water requires a significant amount of energy to transport and manufacture. Nor, usually, is there any benefit; our local groundwater resources—the same source as tap water—are of-ten bottled and sold throughout the Peel and Halton regions, no-tably in cities such as Mississauga, Brampton, and Guelph.

Green alternatives include us-ing drinking fountains or drink-ing tap water from a reusable container. The university has dis-tributed stainless steel water bot-tles twice in the last year and has made improvements to the water fountains on campus, such as the new installation close to the Meet-ing Place in the Davis Building.

UTM is taking steps to upgrade

the drinking fountain infrastruc-ture on campus in order to ensure that the university is prepared to supply enough water to the entire population on campus. When the ban takes full effect in 2014, it will also coincide with the renegotia-tion of the next food service con-tract, which will exclude the sale

of bottled water.Environmental groups at UTM

have worked diligently on recent campaigns to encourage the use of reusable bottles and tap wa-ter. Groups such as the UTMSU Ministry of the Environment, the Green Team, the Student Associa-tion for Geography and Environ-ment Students, and the univer-sity’s Department of Geography have been calling for such a ban for years.

Brad Allen, an upper-year envi-ronment and geography student, has been dedicated to the cause and has advocated for improve-ments in the water infrastructure on campus.

“It is important that student activist organizations continue to apply pressure to the administra-

tion and keep the public informed of all updates,” said Allen.

The ban will be in effect in all U of T buildings all year, with the rare exception of emergencies in which a water advisory is issued by authorities. If that occurs, the sale of bottled water will be per-mitted during that time.

Many Canadian institutions have already taken steps towards becoming more environmentally responsible by instituting similar bans. By reducing and eventu-ally eliminating the consump-tion of bottled water on campus, they seek to eliminate the stigma placed on tap water, which is safe and affordable, and requires fewer resources.

The University of Toronto is Canada’s 14th campus to commit to the ban of bottled water and elevate the promotion of public water infrastructure.

“Access to safe drinking water is a basic human right which thou-sands of Canadians and nearly a billion people worldwide are de-nied,” said Elly Adeland, the Cam-paigns Coordinator of the Polaris Institute. “The momentum on campuses across the country to back the tap should be applauded.”

OnTap Launch Day, a celebra-tion to mark the return to tap water on campus, will be taking place on September 15, beginning at 1 p.m. at Willcocks Commons on the St. George campus.

U of T bans bottled water salesRohit Mehta

The University of Toronto was ranked 23rd Best University this year by QS World Univer-sity Rankings, published on Sunday. Rising six spots from the previous year, U of T is one of the highest-ranked universi-ties in Canada, beaten only by McGill, which is ranked at 17th.

U of T ranked 29th in 2009, 41st in 2008, and 45th in 2007.

The QS World University Rankings is a list of the top 300 universities worldwide and is published by Quacquarelli Sy-monds, a British firm special-izing in education and study abroad.

The list is published yearly to help international students decide which school to at-tend. Since QS believes that “education and career decisions are too important to leave to chance,” they want to “ensure candidates have access to the best tools and the best indepen-dent expert information before making a decision.”

The University of Cambridge tops the list, followed by Har-vard and MIT. U of T and Mc-Gill are the only two Canadian universities to make the top 50, a group full of universities from the United Kingdom and the

United States.QS also ranks the schools by

faculty and specific subjects, with U of T reaching as high as 14th in Arts and Humanities and 16th in Life Sciences and Medicine.

The ranking system is based on six indicators, which include academic reputation, faculty student ratio, and international student and faculty propor-tions. U of T specifically ranked 12th in academic reputation and tied for 15th in employer reputation.

Forty percent of the over-all ranking result is based on Academic Reputation, which is determined by a global survey. This year, nearly 34,000 people were surveyed worldwide in the peer review to determine each school’s academic reputation. All participants are academics and were questioned about the universities in their specific field.

This surveying technique is the subject of much contro-versy. Critics suggest that the survey grossly emphasizes peer review, and that opinion should not be so heavily weighted in the results.

Full survey results can be found on the QC World Univer-sity Rankings website.

U of T places 23rd in world rankingsMelissa CaRteR

“The momentum on campuses across the country to back the

tap should be applauded.”

—Elly Adeland

309.12.2011 THE MEDIUM NEWS»

Hani Al Management

Zoroark and BearLip Dub

Ceren Gumus Political Science/Economics

Hamza KhattakCommerce

“I have no life and I like UTM spirit!”

“We want UTM to have an awesome lip dub. Zoroark is a pokémon, FYI.”

“I thought it would be a good motivator for school spirit.”

“I want to showcase my femininity and show off my cleavage.”

»Why do you lip dub?Orientation Parade

The song list is comprised of hits, including Smash Mouth’s “All-Star”, LMFAO’s “Party Rock An-them”, and Lupe Fiasco’s “Show Goes On”.

The funding for the U of T Lip Dub came in a variety of forms. It began with a clubbing event that raised $2,600 and grew to attract larger corporate spon-sors. Through greater promotion, grants from different faculties and colleges have contributed to a budget of approximately $20,000. All the proceeds will be donated to the Sick Kids Hospital.

“Look forward to crowds, ex-plosions, an epic ending, and a few celebrities—including our own President Naylor!” said Wong.

To stand apart from previous

university lip dubs, U of T is tak-ing advantage of its large student population. Over 4,000 students are expected to attend over the course of the three-day event. This surpasses the number of partici-pants in any rival lip dubs thus far.

“I signed up for the U of T Lip Dub because UBC’s looked really cool,” said volunteer Janet Jamie-son. “It’s a great way to gather a large number of students who may not normally cross paths and unite everyone towards a common goal.”

For students that missed the filming at UTM, there are still two opportunities to get involved. Filming at U of T Scarborough will be held on September 17 and at St. George on September 18.

To volunteer or register, go to the official website, utlipdub.com, for more information.

Lip Dub at UTMLip Dub continued from Cover

Thousands converged on Tahrir Square, the epicentre of the pro-democracy protests that toppled Mubarak, after Friday prayers for what was billed as “Correcting the Path” protests. Demonstrators used hammers, large iron bars, and police barricades to tear down the Israeli embassy wall. Protesters scaled the embassy building, removed the Is-raeli flag for the second time in less than a month, and burned it.

Egyptian protestors tear down Israeli embassy wall

Source: Reuters

US military plane forced down by North Korea

A US military reconnaissance plane came under electronic attack from North Korea and had to make an emergency landing during a major military exercise in March, a po-litical aide said on Friday. The aide said the plane suffered disturbance to its GPS system due to jamming signals from the north. The plane was taking part in in the annual U.S.–South Korea military drill.

Source: MyFox New York

Miss Universe hopeful told to wear panties

Catalina Robayo, Colombia’s entry and one of 89 beauties from around the world competing to win the Miss Universe Pageant, has been reprimanded for making appear-ance in tiny skirts—with no pant-ies. “Colombia had to be spoken to and told she needed to wear under-pants,” a source told Fox News. The pageant earlier returned bikini bot-toms from sponsor Catalina Brazil Swimwear after they were ruled too skimpy for network television.

Source: NBC Miami

On Friday afternoon, three un-known individuals boarded the 110N bus route through the back door. The bus driver refused to continue along the route until the perpetrators disembarked. A full 20 minutes later, the bus driver decided to head to South Common Mall. He ordered the passengers to exit the bus and Transit Security was called. “This thing has taken on a life of its own,” said the bus driver.

Free riders anger Missis-sauga Transit bus driver

EdWaRd CaI/ThE MEdIUM

Frosh leader Jonathan Resendes and his hat pump up fellow froshies.

On Friday, froshies continued to party well after UTM Orientation was done. Students from all three campuses pa-raded through the streets of Toronto with UTM leading the way. As per tradition, UTM cheered off in friendly com-petition against other colleges from the St. George and U of T Scarborough. Sam Roberts, along with Land of Talk, performed outside Hart House. Afterwards, froshies headed to Guvernment Nightclub for the after party. For students that did not want to hit the clubbing scene, hypnotist Casey Jones held an encore performance at UTM.

UTM leads the parade back to Hart House.

Olympic ice dance champions Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir will compete at Skate Canada at the Hershey Centre in Mississauga. The pair won their first gold metal at the Vancouver Olympics last year. “Our programs will really live up to their potential that way, and we’ll really be able to peak at the world championships,” said Virtue.

Source: Mississauga News

Olympic skate champions compete in Mississauga

4

»

09.12.2011

MEDIUM II PUBLICATIONS3359 Mississauga Road,Room 200, Student Centre,Mississauga, ON, L5L 1C6Phone: 905.828.5260

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Opinions expressed in the pages of The Medium are exclusively of the author and do not neces sarily reflect those of The Medium. Additionally, the opinions expressed in advertisements appearing in The Medium are those of advertisers and not of The Medium.

MEDIUM OPINIONEditor-in-Chief » Michael Di Leo

A word about engagementWe published an article this week (see page 8) on the ever-present is-sue of student engagement (or lack thereof) at UTM. Now, you might argue that it wasn’t the most rigor-ously scientific of studies—we did not perform a double-blind test and our subject group was lim-ited to only 10 people—but nev-ertheless, it fulfilled its purpose. It showed that many UTM students are unaware, some willfully, of the individuals involved in providing campus services—the very same services students fight for every year.

Only two of the 10 students we polled were able to correctly iden-tify the president of UTMSU (Gil-

bert Cassar), and none fared any better in naming someone from the UTM administration (our dean is Amy Mullin and our prin-cipal is Deep Saini). Only six knew that The Medium was the campus paper (a shock, I’m sure, to those reading right now) and, most sur-prisingly, only eight thought it was important to “be involved.”

Don’t get me wrong, I don’t think this is such a bad thing. I mean, what difference does it re-ally make if someone knows who the president or dean or executive member is? It doesn’t affect wheth-er you attend your classes or are able to claim your dental benefits or U-Pass. It really doesn’t change

anything.I prefer to think of it as a little

added bonus. Paying for university is like paying for any other good. Any other really expensive good. Last year I dropped an equivalent amount of money on a nice vintage guitar—a 1966 Fender Custom Telecaster. But before shelling out that $4,500 I did some research: I found the facility where it was built, cross-referenced my sourc-es to make sure the pickups and neck were original, noticed that the three-way switch needed some work, etc.

The guitar still played great, regardless of whether I knew the details behind it. But I figured that

if I was going to spend that money I had better know as much as I could about it. The same goes for university. You could easily spend your money, go to class, pick up a degree four years later, and never know a thing about UTM. Many people think that’s fine. But how enjoyable does that sound?

In the American Ivy League system, involvement is part and parcel of the experience. Every-one is focused not just on studying but on getting the full value of the Ivy League experience. After all, if you’re studying in Harvard, don’t you want to make that time count?

I think this is because the Ivy Leaguers have a certain pride in

the institution of their university. Why we don’t have the same is beyond me. After all, we’re ranked the 23rd-best university worldwide and the second in Canada. U of T might not have the same cachet as Harvard—even the name “Univer-sity of Toronto” sounds more clini-cal than the bearded, pipe-smok-ing “Harvard University”—but it is a great school, and one that I think more people should participate in.

Our school is something to be proud of. It’s a story, and by partic-ipating in that story, we all benefit.

YOURS,

MICHAEL DI LEO

Last week, Stephen Harper called Islamism the greatest threat to Ca-nadian security. The PM insisted that, despite internal division in Al-Qaeda, flagging recruitment numbers, and 10 years of combat, Islamism is still more dangerous to our country than anything else.

To face this threat, Harper plans to revive articles in the Anti-Terrorism Act scrapped in 2007. These articles allow authorities such constitution-bending abili-ties as the right to hold citizens without a warrant for up to three days.

It took me a long time to come up with an articulate reason for why this frustrates me so much. Part of it is a knee-jerk reaction to the in-flammatory statement. Another part of it is probably my general dislike of Stephen Harper. Maybe another part of my frustration is that I have to write yet another one of these letters (after a similar one last year) about why Muslims really don’t want to blow you up.

I don’t care about what Harper said. Instead, I care about the com-ments on the Toronto Star website, and what I’m worried Harper’s worlds will do to Canada.

The majority of these comments read something like this “Harper is exactly right[…]This group that demands an apology is part of the problem, not the solution. They should be apologizing to all non-Muslim Canadians.”

Huh.I’m not going to argue with an

Internet commentator, because that would be stupid. Needless to say, the Muslim community worldwide does condemn terror-ism, and we’ve been doing so since Osama bin Laden and Al-Qaeda were declared enemies of the faith eight years ago. Whether the In-ternet wants to know that or not is not my concern.

My concern is with the PM’s words. When Harper says “Is-lamism,” his PR people will insist that he means militant organiza-

tions that want to—well, I don’t even know at this point, so I’m just going to say “blow shit up.” But what Stephen Harper means is not what people hear. When Harper says “Islamism,” people hear “Is-lam.” They think “Muslims.”

I believe these words will legiti-mize discrimination against Mus-lims, or at least make those Inter-net commentators a lot more vocal in the real world. This doesn’t do any favours for Muslims or non-Muslims in Canada.

Before I go on, I’d like to list some statistics. From 2005 to 2011, there were roughly 420 murders in Toronto. I’m not sure of the ex-act numbers, but I have heard the police declared that most of these were the result of gang violence.

Meanwhile, in the past 10 years, there have been two attempted ter-rorist attacks planned by Muslims: the 2006 terror plot, and the foiled 2010 attempt—although I haven’t actually heard anything about that one beyond the clandestine ar-

rests. So, while terror plots have been foiled by the police without the need for the Anti-Terrorist acts’ more sinister articles, the government has not been able to stop these homicides.

There was also an anarchist group that bombed a bank in Qué-bec in 2010.

Also, about 20 people are killed by cows every year in America.

The more I look at it, it seems that Islamic terrorists are not as much of a threat to us as, say, gang violence. Or cows. And the Mus-lims who are stupid enough to try and commit such atrocious acts have been or are being apprehend-ed. I’m not saying that there are no threats by Islamic supremacists to Canada, but that we’ve been able to deal with them, and that they don’t pose a greater threat than the other crazies in our society.

The first successful domestic terrorist act on Canadian soil was not committed by Muslims, but by the French and the FLQ. During

the FLQ crisis, Trudeau’s imple-mentation of the War Measures Act turned Québec into a police state, and it’s been theorized that the Bloc Québecois and the sepa-ratist movement were egged on by Ottawa’s disregard for Quebec-ers at the time. Yes, times are dif-ferent; 1963 is 1963, and now is now—but no one wants Muslims to feel disenfranchised by a gov-ernment that is supposed to act in their best interest as citizens.

This is not a time for the politics of division. Not now, when more and more Muslims are becoming citizens of this wonderful country, and not now, when the tenth an-niversary of the September 11th attacks should mean we’re through with violence and paranoia.

The Prime Minister’s words in this light are just stupid, and that’s coming from me—I once electro-cuted myself with an electronic tour guide.

—Amir Ahmed

Division is our greatest threat

5« 09.12.2011

MEDIUM A&EEditor » Nives Hajdin

The idiots are back for round twoRicky Gervais and Stephen Merchant are at it again with everyone’s favourite spherical-headed human-being, Karl Pilkington. After sending him to see the Seven Wonders of the World last year, they have suc-ceeded in convincing him to once again venture as far out of his comfort zone as physically possible.

“When we asked Karl to list his things to do before you die,” says Ricky, “the only thing he could think of was ‘work in B&Q part-time.’ So we decided to make a list for him.” I think we all know what happens when Ricky and Stephen are left to their own devices. While they pull the strings of this adventure from the comfort of their office, we watch Karl experience—and inevitably fail to enjoy—things in which some people could only hope to participate.

On Karl’s list of activities he included swimming with dol-phins, travelling along Route 66, and staying on a desert island,

but we can rest assured that these simple things won’t exactly happen according to what’s on the tin. And naturally, poor Karl won’t know what he’s about to go through until it’s too late.

In a recent interview, Karl was asked if he thought he would ever need counselling after all of the things Ricky and Stephen have put him through. He very candidly replied, “Maybe. I have been having odd dreams about sinking in quicksand. I don’t know what it means. I used to have one where Ricky kept open-ing the toilet door whilst I’m sat on it [sic] and he would bring in strangers to come and look at me. I think it was a dream; could have been real life.”

That definitely sounds like something that could hap-pen in real life—poor Karl! Be sure to tune into An Idiot Abroad 2: The Bucket List this fall on the Discovery Channel to watch the intrepid victim of a hilarious misan-thropy encounter confused and slightly amused locals, while battling with radical cultural dif-ferences.

ANDREA AMBROGI

BLOGSPOT.COM/PHOTO

Cirque returns to T.O.

It’s that time of the year again—that magical time when Cirque du Soleil makes its way around the globe and stops for two months to wow Torontonians. The Québec-based travelling circus is here until October 9, dazzling its audience night after night with its latest show, Totem. Cirque du Soleil is fantastically creative, constantly coming up with a variety of dif-ferent themes for shows which are sure to please the masses.

Totem reflects the evolution of mankind—from ape to the mod-

ern-day businessman, and every-thing in between. The show is divided into a series of acts, each of which focus on demonstrat-ing different and unique talents within evolving roles. Acts range from the awe-inspiring acrobatics of salamanders to the extraordi-nary strength and poise of bar balancing businessmen. There are roller-skaters, trapeze art-ists, unicyclists, and so, so much more. Plus, the entertainers that come onstage between acts are nothing short of hilarious.

Cirque du Soleil certainly deliv-ers an amazing experience; every single act delivers a nearly flawless

performance by highly trained and focussed artists. What’s more, the intricately designed costumes are absolutely gorgeous to look at. It is also worth mentioning that Le Grand Chapiteau is an ideal venue for the show, as every seat in the house provides the audi-ence with a fantastic view. It re-ally doesn’t matter how much you spend on tickets here—no matter where you sit, you are guaranteed to get an eyeful. Cirque du Soleil delivers a phenomenal show and is sure to leave you with a memo-rable experience. For tickets and show times, visit www.cirquedu soleil.com/en/shows/totem .

PAMELA KRAMER

CirqueduSOLeiL.COM/PHOTO

Karl isn’t too enthusiastic about the adventure Ricky and Steven are about to send him on.

6 THE MEDIUM «A&E 09.12.2011

ERINDALE COLLEGE COUNCILUniversity of Toronto Mississauga

The Council of Erindale College, also known as the University of Toronto Mississauga (UTM), exercises its powers and duties under the University of Toronto Act, 1971, as amended.

NOMINATIONS ARE OPEN FOR THE FOLLOWING POSITIONS: • Full-time undergraduate students – 50 positions available • Part-time undergraduate students – 14 positions available • Administrative Staff (non-academic staff other than department heads) – 2 positions available

Nominations may be submitted through the Council website starting September 6th at 9AM: www.utm.utoronto.ca/council/

Questions about the nominations? Contact: 905-828-5233 / council.utm@utoronto.ca

NOMINATION PERIOD for Erindale College Council Membership:September 6, 2011 - 9:00 AM to September 16, 2011 - 12:00 Noon

Elections*: Friday, September 23, 2011 - 9:00 AM - 4:30 PM

Nomination Period for Standing Committee membership for students: (student members of Council are eligible to be nominated onto the standing committees)

September 27, 2011 - 9:00 AM – October 4, 2011 - 12 NOON.Elections*: Friday, October 7, 2011 - 9:00 AM – 4:30 PM

*If the number of nominations exceed the number of available positions

BE RECOGNIZED

San Francisco-based indie band Girls return with their sophomore effort, Father, Son, Holy Ghost, and while the first track, “Honey Bunny,” mimics—if only for a sec-ond—the opening sound of The Cranberries’ 1993 song “Dreams,” the album soon transforms into the familiar surf-rock sound we’ve grown to expect from the band. Owens’ distinct voice keeps the gui-tars in check as he moves through the song with razor precision, each verse more catchy than the one before it, until the song eventually explodes into a ridiculously catchy chorus as Owens whines about the girls that don’t like his “bony body” and “dirty hair.”

As in the opening track, the song barely hits the two-minute mark, and it’s a moment of great pop craftsmanship that hardly appears again on the rest of the album. That’s not to say that the album isn’t good, but the duo worked hard to avoid repeating the same formula more than once. “Alex,” the sec-ond track on the album, hits high on the tragedy meter as guitars wail and Owens’ voice barely reg-isters higher than a whisper on the track. “Die,” a definite yet strange standout from the album, best rep-resents the genre-hopping that is Father. While “Alex” has moments of guitar screeches, “Die” takes that screech and extends it for the entire five-minute duration of the song, beginning with a great (if not uncharacteristic) guitar solo. In

fact, any fear that Girls would get too comfortable with their sound is dismissed in several of the album’s better moments. “Vomit” begins with a single guitar strumming, and while lyrically it stands on the same platform that “Hellhole Ratrace” may have stood on their debut, Album, it rises and falls with triumphant peaks in ways “Hellhole” never did. The album ends with “Jamie Marie,” a coun-try-tinged ballad with a bare guitar resonating through the track and Owens’ barer vocals lingering through the piece with an expected heartbroken tone—a suitable end-ing to an album that falls between the familiar and the unforeseen.

With Father, Son, Holy Ghost, Girls make an album that isn’t pre-dictable or expected, but still ap-pears as something that has formed organically from the existing sound of the band. It is a album that works on a pair of headphones but comes to life on a set of speakers—so lis-ten alone or with one, two, or even three friends, if the title inspires you. M M M ½

Girls’ sophomore release: Father, Son, Holy GhostARISTOTLE ELIOPOULOS

gorillavsbears.com/PHoTo

With young but fairly established artists like Taylor Swift and Adele claiming top spots on the music charts this year, it doesn’t seem quite so unusual that 21-year-old Laura Marling has just released her third album, A Creature I Don’t Know. But Marling is not an over-night success, despite what her age would suggest. And A Creature I Don’t Know is a great example of how much Marling has grown as an artist in just a few years.

Marling got her start perform-ing in the U.K. in her mid-teens and was a member of the popular folk band Noah and the Whale for a brief period. She appeared on their 2008 debut album, Peaceful, the World Lays Me Down, before splitting from the band soon after. Marling then released her debut solo album, Alas I Cannot Swim, later in 2008. Her backing band in those early days included mem-bers of Mumford & Sons (then a virtually unknown collective), and lead singer Marcus Mumford (to whom Marling was romanti-cally linked at the time) also pro-vided background vocals on her 2010 sophomore album, I Speak Because I Can.

Now, just over a year after the release of her last LP, Marling is back with her third album. Though the album is certainly rooted in the same style as her previous al-bums, this collection of songs feels

more expansive than anything else she’s done in the past.

From the first few seconds of A Creature I Don’t Know, it seems clear that Marling’s approach has become a little less tidy for this third effort. The off-kilter yelps that kick off the album’s opening track, “The Muse,” feel unchar-acteristic from her usually prim, en-pointe vocal style. Similarly, she pushes the higher end of her range on tracks such as “I Was Just a Card” to great effect. Though Marling has always had a way with words, her vocal delivery some-times felt a bit detached in the past (perhaps purposely so). Here, her voice sounds fuller than ever, and her willingness to push herself adds a new intensity to her songs.

Marling has also ramped up the instrumentation on many of her songs. Rather than relying solely on acoustic guitar and sparse backing instruments, Marling adds more instruments and cre-ates a fuller sound on A Creature I Don’t Know. This works especially well on the track “The Beast,” which begins characteristically stripped down, but it gradually adds electric guitar distortion and relentless, booming drums. It’s the longest track on the album, but Marling crafts a moody intensity here that suits her smoky vocal style well.

Marling offers many satisfying song arcs on this album, such as “Salinas,” which mixes banjo, elec-tric guitar, and a vocal choir to

create a stirring effect alongside Marling’s soaring vocals. Marling sometimes seems like a more in-ternal singer, and this song offers a refreshing sense of abandon.

Overall, A Creature I Don’t Know is a step forward in Mar-ling’s already impressive body of work. The songs may not be as catchy as some of her previous tracks (such as her first single, “Ghosts”), but Marling trades in hooks for a much more multi-faceted collection of tunes. The more complex instrumentation on this album adds a new layer to her music, and rather than distracting, it serves to highlight her voice.

A Creature I Don’t Know is the kind of album that will likely sat-isfy old fans, but will also usher in a new crop of admirers. It may not be a total career reinvention, but even though Marling is only 21, her music has grown immensely in less than four years. Here’s to a long and interesting career. M M M ½

Laura Marling: A Creature I Don’t KnowCOLLEEN MUNROassisTaNT a&e eDiTor

ribboNmusic.com/PHoTo

709.12.2011 THE MEDIUM A&E»

The Ides of MarchPerhaps the most hyped-up film of the entire festival, George Clooney’s The Ides of March boasts a stellar cast—Ryan Gosling, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Paul Giamatti, Marisa Tomei, Evan Rachel Wood, and even the direc-tor himself—all of whom deliver sensational performances as people looking out for number one in a cutthroat political world largely influenced by the media. Clooney plays Governor Morris, a shoo-in to become the next president through the support of a highly specialized campaign team. Led by Paul (Seymour Hoffman) and Steven (Gosling), there is no ques-tion that Morris will clinch the race. However, they soon learn that Morris may actually have cause to worry that the election is not yet in the bag for him; his opposition, headed by the incredibly cunning

Tom Duffy (Giamatti), secretly tries to recruit Steven to their side in order to take Morris down from the inside. Questions of loyalty are brought to the fore and ultimately cause the clockwork of Morris’ campaign to crumble in quite a de-structive way. While there is plenty of backstabbing and two-timing to go around, Clooney underestimates the audience’s ability to guess who let a huge story leak to the press, and as a result there is a slight dis-connect between what is expected of the audience and how viewers actually read the situation and re-act to it. Nevertheless, the script is clever and delivers a punch when necessary, and although it may not be a consistently nail-biting thriller, it still succeeds in provoking us to think about how far we are willing to go for something, especially if it means furthering our own ends. M M M ½ —Nives Hajdin

We Need to Talk About KevinWe need to talk about this thrill-ing new film by Lynne Ramsay that premiered in Toronto on Friday night. Tilda Swinton gives a powerhouse performance as a trau-matized mother in We Need to Talk About Kevin, in which her loveless relationship with her son is exam-ined in shocking and brutal detail. Her son, Kevin, played by newcomer Ezra Miller in an incredibly haunting performance, has been troubled ever since he was a baby. The film flashes between past and present, from Kev-

in’s baby years to adolescence, as we see Eva’s (Swinton) life in the after-math of a tragedy as well as her much happier life prior to raising Kevin. The atmosphere that Ramsay creates is dark and compelling; every disturb-ing image and eerie sound perfectly conveys just what the characters are feeling. While the Academy may not go for a film as sinister as this in its award for Best Picture, We Need to Talk About Kevin unquestionably de-serves to be recognized as one of the greatest films of the year. M M M M —Adriana Floridia

A Dangerous MethodA Dangerous Method is yet another one of the most anticipated films of TIFF 2011. To be sure, there’s a whole lot of talent involved, but besides all that, we folk here at UTM have a couple extra reasons to be excited. First, very few peo-ple make it through UTM with-out taking at least one psychology course, and A Dangerous Method explores the context surrounding the origin of some of the most influen-tial ideas of psychoanalysis. Anyone with even the slightest interest in the philosophies of Sigmund Freud and Carl Jung will find a compelling story here that explores a growing rift between student and mentor at the hands of Sabina Spielrein. Sec-ondly, the film comes from direc-tor David Cronenberg, a Canadian (from Toronto, no less) responsible

for some of the most memorable movies this side of 1986’s The Fly. Unfortunately, while A Dangerous Method is above average in nearly every way that counts, it falls below the best of Cronenberg’s incredible filmography, settling in somewhere around the middle overall.

A Dangerous Method takes place in 1904 during a time in which Carl Jung famously attempted to treat a Russian woman named Sa-bina Spielrein using the famous Freudian methods. Over time, Jung develops a relationship with Spiel-rein that causes a great deal of tension in his relationship with Freud, who argues that the illegitimacy of their relationship may publicly undermine the para-digm of psychoanalysis. As the film continues, the script introduces a bit of a role reversal, as Jung be-

comes a patient to Spielrein’s own influential ideas that audiences now regularly associate with the psychology of the age.

The story is told mainly through a combination of long stretches of dialogue and narrated letters, and while the film is definitely talky, it’s hardly boring. In fact, the added emphasis on substance over style lends to the authenticity of the production by giving leading men Viggo Mortensen and Michael Fassbender enough room to re-ally sink their teeth into the lives of these already rather well-known men. Keira Knightley also man-ages to hold her own (as she often does in period pieces), although there are a couple of moments in which her performance is some-what over the top.M M M ½ —Jeff Legge

MelancholiaThere isn’t anyone quite like Lars von Trier in the film industry. When he’s not getting kicked out of the Cannes Film Festival for mak-ing Nazi-sympathetic remarks, he’s using his troubled past to cre-ate truly disturbing films such as 2009’s Antichrist, which succeeded in shocking and angering people by its overly graphic and misogy-nistic content. His most recent film, Melancholia, premiered at TIFF this past weekend, and while von Trier considers it the most “optimistic” of his films, there is no shaking the glum sense of doom that the film leaves with you in its powerful

closing moments. Now, that’s not to say it isn’t a fantastic piece of film-making. The plot revolves around whether or not the immense planet Melancholia is on a collision course with Earth, but this is not a “run for the hills” kind of chaos that a typical disaster film tries to con-vey. Instead, von Trier slows down the pace and creates a frighteningly stripped-down encounter with the unknown, one that is both com-plete science fiction and also quite a realistic treatment of how help-less people are rendered when all they can do is wait and pray. The film is divided into two parts; the first showcases the troubled life of

Justine, an irreversibly depressed bride played masterfully by Kirsten Dunst (winner of Best Actress at the Cannes Film Festival), and the second shifts the focus to her sister, Claire (Charlotte Gainsbourg), who is petrified by the fact that the planet will soon mark an end to life as they know it. Although much of the plot is stagnant and merely fea-tures characters staring, waiting, and ultimately putting their lives on hold rather than making the most of them, von Trier somehow manages to transform the utterly depressing spirit into something breathtaking and chilling all at the same time. M M M M —Nives Hajdin

imgobject.com/PHoto

Doctor–patient relationships are always complicated.

mattfind.com/PHoto

Ryan Gosling doesn’t hear “no” very often.

macleans.ca/PHotoJustine (Dunst) just couldn’t care less about her train getting ruined.

wordPress.com/PHoto

Too much tomato soup is the least of Eva’s (Swinton) worries.

09.12.2011« 8

MEDIUM FEATURESEditor » Amir Ahmed

Last week I stood in line to get my U-Pass from the Presentation Room. I was bored, so I did what I always do: eavesdrop on the people in front of me.

There were two people in front of me: one guy and one girl. As the line failed to move ahead, the girl looked up to the second level of the Student Centre, where The Me-dium’s office is.

“The Meeediuuum,” the girl read. “What’s The Medium?”

The guy responded, without looking up, “I dunno.”

“What do you mean you don’t know?” the girl asked him.

“Well, it’s your school, too. Why don’t you know?” the guy replied.

I know what The Medium is. I as-sume you do as well. However, in an informal survey of 10 students, only six out of 10 people could correctly identify the name of UTM’s campus newspaper. Only two could identify the name of UTMSU’s president, and only two could identify a mem-ber of the U of T administration, such as the dean or principal. De-spite these answers, though, eight out of the 10 clearly said that it was important to be involved in cam-pus life. We stopped asking after 10 students because we get enough de-pression in our regular lives.

At the end of the year, colourful, annoyingly charismatic volunteers bombard passersby with ques-tions: Did you vote or not? Have you heard of our campaign? But do we really know, or care about what happens on our campus? I re-call reading that only 1,000 people

voted last year at the St. George Stu-dent Union elections.

A student can feasibly participate on campus without knowing the administration, student represen-tatives, or even the campus news-paper. But despite the assurance of the eight out of 10 that said involve-ment was important, are we actu-ally engaged? And is engagement even important to us?

“Being involved is a great way to get practical experience that you just can’t get in classes,” says Antara Ashra, a fourth-year English and CCIT major and Volunteer Coordi-nator at the UTM Women’s Centre.

“I think a balance is important,” says Catherine Lopes, a major in English and professional writing. “Organization and time manage-ment are key in university.”

This opinion, echoed by sev-eral others, implies that a univer-sity education is not simply made up of what you learn in class. We are constantly told, by professors, peers, Frosh leaders, Residence Life Staff, and countless others, that the so-called “university experience” comes out of what you learn out-side the classroom, too—or even

primarily, according to some. The term “university experience” is neb-ulous. It implies some sort of social change, not just an academic one, within the time a student spends as an undergraduate.

Many students believe that tak-ing extra responsibilities at UTM will strain their academics. How-ever, studies show students who participate in university activities are rewarded for lost time with superior critical thinking; an analysis of several studies done in the last decade in American univer-sities indicated that undergradu-ates involved in a range of campus activities enjoyed an increase in critical thinking abilities compared to students who were not involved.

Then again, there are several other activities that involve ex-cessive amounts of alcohol that also seem to fit under “university experience,” and none of us are obliged to partake in those in or-der to be considered well-rounded university students.

Personally, going into my fourth year at UTM, I realized that by the time I graduated I would have noth-ing to say for myself except that I had a university degree. While that’s definitely an achievement, it is a bit depressing. Some stu-dents may not feel ready to handle campus responsibilities in addition to academics until their fourth year. Others might want to jump in as soon as their first year starts. Still others might want to limit their experience to just attend-ing classes. A student may fit freely into any of these categories, but it’s definitely something to consider as you work your way up through the academics at UTM, and especially as graduation approaches.

Carine abouseif

WITH NOTES FROM

CaTHerine LoPes AND

JoDeLLe DeJesus

Student engagement at UTM

Disclaimer: This article is for en-tertainment purposes only. How-ever, if you see other students do-ing any of the below, feel proud that you’re not the typical slug-gish line-dweller, and relieved that you’re not the only one who took this list seriously.

• Sing the most obnoxious song you know. “Friday,” “Peanut Butter Jelly Time,” and the six-hour edi-tion of “Nyan Cat” are all accept-able choices. Bonus points if other people join in.

• Invade another student’s per-sonal bubble, preferably that of the student in front of you. If they ask you nicely to move away, just

smile. If they give you a dirty look, move closer and smile wider. Gig-gle like that creepy kid from The Shining. Repeat until the student decides to leave the line or you are arrested.

• Grab the thickest book you can find and flip through it care-fully. Bury your head in the book. Sniff each page and emphatically sigh. If you make it through the entire book and you’re still in line, you’ve done something wrong.

• Rearrange items in the book-store. Now, you have to do this subtly so you don’t get kicked out, banned, or scolded like a four- year-old. If done correctly you’ll get the satisfaction of watching first-year science majors wonder why they

have to read and hopelessly flounder in Kant’s Critique of Pure Reason, and seeing English majors trying to make sense of The Wealth of Nations.

• Whisper ominous religious phrases to the person in front of you. “ ‘Vengeance is mine,’ says the Lord” is a good one. If you don’t know any, make up an ominous, non-English chant.

• When despair starts creep-ing into your mind and the line is looking more tedious than your first-year calculus exam, bring a copy of The Medium with you. No, you don’t have to read it. Instead, fold it into an origami crane, fortune teller, or pirate hat. Bonus points if you can see anyone else wearing one in the line.

CHrysTaL CoLquHoun

How to survive the line at the UTM bookstore

We are constantly told, by professors, peers, Frosh leaders, Resi-dence Life Staff, and

countless others, that the so-called “univer-

sity experience” comes out of what you learn

outside the classroom, too—or even primarily,

according to some.

RAcHELDANgERW.FILES.WORDpRESS.cOM/pHOTO

909.12.2011 THE MEDIUM FEATURES»

That towers can fall down in 10.1 secondsBuildings collapse by licking firePopulations flounder in confusion as they are told thatWhat they hear is true Yet, not true Twin towers crumble despondently on the marriage mary eyes Coronation as the floodgates open for theMoonchild of Crowleyan Cabal miracles—mirrors Kill because it comes from the dogma Surrounding the doctrine of Ezekiel and Job—an atom& an Ev3—mourning and even-ion saint-rays Revelation or confession, by the time youPhi-niche redding this, we’d end up in aLunatic fringe world where Crazy psychopaths rule this realmUnder the guise of saving us from corruption at theHighest1eve1.

Xinyu Hu

Maul-Den-Ion-Ma-Chi-Ayin Magic

The Medium on School Supplies

Long-distance relationships seem to be the perfect solution for many couples entering university. But does this commitment really work as well as it should? Now that sum-mer is over and reality is looming, will those promises of faithfulness be kept? Will the “Skype every day” rule be observed? While some may argue that long-distance relation-ships are possible, they may prove to give more trouble than anything as time passes.

After graduating from high school more than a year ago, my friend Lisa was convinced by her boyfriend, who was going to attend university in the U.S., that they should contin-ue their relationship. However, their trust slowly turned into mistrust, and their daily communications changed into arguments. Lisa and her boyfriend ultimately spent one year in their long-distance relation-ship before they decided to go their separate ways.

The years that we spend in uni-versity change us. They expand our thoughts and let us discover new things about ourselves. It comes as no surprise, then, that Lisa and her boyfriend ultimately ended their relationship. Not only did they re-alize that they were each in love with a person who was undergo-ing personal changes, but they also discovered that their perception of what a significant other should embody had perhaps also changed. Physically meeting is, obviously, a huge problem; even phoning may be quite costly, and in uni-versity, finding time to connect at all may be difficult. Such circum-stances are out of the average individual’s hands, and they certainly take their toll on any two people in love.

Another contributing factor is

the waning of trust. Trust is the key to a successful relationship, and if trust is lost, the chances of maintaining a successful relation-ship are low. For couples in long-distance relationships, simply not speaking on a daily basis may be enough to shake a steady rela-tionship. Other entities, such as Facebook, may also stand in the way of mutual confidence (think of those pictures from last week-end’s rager). Furthermore, the time that a long-distance relationship couple spends apart may lead the two to the realization that there are other individuals in the world who may be a better fit for each of them. The world is full of differ-ent opportunities, and no campus

community experience falls short of changing how you think.

It is never easy to say good-bye to someone you’ve shared so much time with, but sometimes it is necessary to examine the bigger picture and make an objec-tive decision based on fact rather than emotion. For those who are brave enough to make such a difficult decision, do not dwell on negative thoughts. Instead, give yourself time to grieve and then move on with your life. For those who plan to defy the core message of this article (and there will be some few such individuals), be sure to focus on trust, con-sideration, and have a happy relationship.

Love at a distanceyara Matar

Keeping in touch is harder than it looks.losangelesfamilylawadvocate.com

Creative Corner

why we bought them and how we actually use them

10 THE MEDIUM «SPORTS 09.12.2011

MEDIUM SPORTSEditor » Chris Callahan

In a span of just four months, three Canadian hockey players have died.

The first, Derek Boogaard, died on May 13 after overdosing on al-cohol and oxycodone. The 28-year-old native of Saskatoon, Saskatche-wan was found by family members in his Minneapolis apartment just one day after leaving a rehabilita-tion centre for drug addiction treat-ment.

Boogaard, who played for the New York Rangers in his final year of NHL hockey, was drafted 202nd overall in 2001 by the Minnesota Wild. He suffered a concussion on December 9, 2010 in a game against the Ottawa Senators when he got into a fight with Matt Carkner. He was never cleared to play hockey after that.

When Rick Rypien committed suicide on August 15, there was much speculation about a possible connection between Rypien’s death and Boogaard’s.

Both players had had fighting roles on their respective teams. But Rypien, a 27-year-old native of Crowsnest Pass, Alberta, had been battling depression for the past 10 years. He played his last season for the Vancouver Canucks and had been recently traded to the Win-nipeg Jets. He signed a one-year, $700,000 contract with the Jets on July 2.

Rypien was not drafted into the NHL but worked his way up from the AHL to secure a contract with the Canucks.

A media storm really started forming when Wade Belak, 35, committed suicide on August 31. Belak, who also struggled with de-pression, was preparing to take part in the CBC reality series Battle of the Blades this fall.

He also had a job lined up as a ra-dio analyst for the Nashville Preda-tors. Belak’s death came as a much bigger surprise than the deaths of Boogaard and Rypien—perhaps because the NHL enforcer’s sense of humour was much more well-known than his battle with depres-sion.

Belak, who was born in Saska-toon, was found dead in his Toron-to condominium and sources close to the investigation say he hanged himself. The public may never know for sure, because the death has been ruled non-suspicious and so the police are not required to provide further details.

NHL commissioner Gary Bet-tman and Donald Fehr, executive director of the NHLPA, released a joint statement on September 1 to reassure fans that an investiga-tion will take place to examine the links between the roles Boogaard, Rypien, and Belak played on the ice—all three were enforcers—and their deaths.

A sombre summer in the NHL world

Michelle Kathryn DuKlas AssistAnt sports Editor

Move over, Brett Cecil and Eric Thames—there are some new side-burns in the Jays’ clubhouse. On September 6 against the Boston Red Sox, pitcher Dustin McGowan returned to the Rogers Centre from a three-year hiatus after a number of shoulder surgeries.

His road to rehabilitation was a long one, but hearing the crowd’s cheers and standing ovation as he ran onto the field in the fifth inning must have been worth it.

As expected, it took him a few

pitches for his arm to fully adjust to the pressure and high stakes of the Major League, but he eventu-ally found his stride and became the pitcher we all knew, loved, and missed.

His pitches had consistent move-ment—all in the mid-90s—and his mastery of all four pitches, especial-ly his slider and changeup, proved to be challenging to the opposing hitters.

The Jays lost badly that night, but for McGowan and for Jays fans ev-erywhere, it was a long-awaited and very emotional day.

Derek Boogard in an interview earlier this summer.

Amid blowout, McGowan shines

WikipEdiA.org/photo

chantal Pereira

When life gives you Lemon, change your quarterback. For the Toronto Argonauts, this adage holds true—more so now than ever before.

Mere moments before practice began at the South Field last Tues-day morning, following the 29-16 loss at home to the B.C. Lions, the biggest shocker of the CFL season was announced. The Argos had re-leased their only starting quarter-back for the season, Cleo Lemon.

On parting ways with Lemon, it was announced that Steven Jyles, a quarterback who was acquired in a trade last year with the Win-nipeg Blue Bombers, would be the starter heading into the second of two games against the B.C. Lions.

Jyles, who had not taken a live game snap this season, exuded confidence when speaking to The Medium after practice on Wednes-day: “Everybody has been good and receptive in the huddle; I think I can bring my mobility and lead-ership, not only by example but vo-cally, unlike before.”

Head coach Jim Barker proved to be a believer in Jyles’ swagger. Barker took the opportunity after practice on Thursday to illustrate the value of having the versatile Jyles at the helm going forward.

“The playbook expands, be-

cause he does things that the other quarterbacks don’t do. As soon as you start to add the element of the quarterback running and scram-bling, and what he does to the run game, that in itself expands the playbook.”

With the team’s record at a humbling 2 wins and 7 loses, Jyles may be just the spark the team has needed on the offensive end. Meanwhile, on the defensive side on the ball, Rickey Foley would like a win against his former team.

Foley, who played in B.C. prior to having stints with the Seattle Se-ahawks and the New York Jets of the NFL, may have made his fair share of foes on his old team.

Following Thursday’s practice, Foley reflected on the team’s first meeting and the conduct of his old teammates, who spoke about him in the press.

“Last week there was a couple of guys who had some stuff to say, but they didn’t say anything to me during the game—they didn’t say a word to me. You know, they said stuff to the media, but they didn’t say anything to me; so what does that say about them?”

It’s a situation that gives Foley and the Argos’ defence an added chip on their shoulder, but nobody wears a bigger chip than the CFL’s biggest little guy, Chad Owens.

Last week Owens won the CFL’s

Special Teams Player of the Week. He had a critical 91-yard kickoff return for a touchdown en route to setting an Argonauts record for kickoff return yardage in a single game at 245 yards.

A delighted Owens spoke to The Medium about his touchdown re-turn after the announcement of the award. “It was good stuff for our unit and it really shows all the hard work we’ve been putting in, and we finally got one.”

The 2011 Toronto Argonauts have displayed one prominent trait throughout the season: persever-ance. Adversity is commonplace for the team, be it in the form of injuries, quarterbacks’ controver-sies, unwelcome returns, or not playing up to the level they’ve ex-pected. Through the example of Barker, they continue to persevere.

Time isn’t on their side, but the chaotic scene at South Field sug-gests that this team is desperate to prove to the league that they won’t lie down.

On Saturday afternoon Barker, Jyles, Foley, and the rest of Argos went to BC to face the Lions at Empire Field for the rematch of last week. Unfortunately, the Argos lost 28-6.

The conclusion one can draw from this tumultuous week: there is still much room for work and improvement.

isaac Owusu AssistAnt sports Editor

Isaac’s Argos update

Quarterback cleo lemon was released by the argos this week.

Anarchy makes for an eventful week at south Field

nAtionAlpost.com/photos

This past Thursday night, football fans across Canada huddled around bars and living rooms to watch the birth of the 2011 NFL season. What makes being a football fan in Can-ada particularly special is that the predictability of our viewing habits is not one that stems from a domi-nant interest in one team.

Put simply, we can anticipate the behaviour of Canadians—sitting comfortably with cold beverages as they take in the game, for instanc—but there is never unanimity in the colours because there isn’t a single

team that the majority of Canadi-ans associate themselves with.

We don’t have a team that the bulk of the population can point to and identify as “ours.” The debate about Canada’s, or rather Toronto’s, lack of a presence in the National Football League is a lively one that this humble sports editor will save for a future issue.

It was on Thursday at UTM that I was reminded, as I am annually on the night that the NFL season kicks off, that the GTA’s inability to at-tach themselves with any one team has its perks.

The fact of the matter is this: without colours that most of us

claim to bleed, there is less bad blood on the streets.

Packer and Saint fans notwith-standing, most of us weren’t that infuriated or elated with the result of Thursday’s game because we have our teams that we care more about.

This allows us to sit back and ad-mire the spectacle that is the NFL. Drew Brees and Rodgers lit up some rusty defensive backfields on Thursday night and the game came down to the wire.

The next football chapter will be filled with new questions and lim-itless possibilities. One thing is for sure: we’ll all enjoy the ride.

11 09.12.2011 THE MEDIUM SPORTS»

The school year is fresh, summer is winding down, and a new group is looking to make its mark and create a new culture of athletics at UTM. The UTM athletics community has experienced its first major overhaul in over two years with the emer-gence of the new faction of stu-dents—this year’s University of To-ronto Mississauga Athletic Council (UTMAC).

The new council looks to not only enhance the benefits provided by their predecessors, but it also aims to be a catalyst for an athletic culture that all students can share, especially those who may have pre-viously felt neglected due to a lack of athletic experience on campus.

On Friday, I took the opportu-nity to speak with Kassim Baluch, UTMAC’s VP of Administration.

The result was an insight into the group’s platforms on improving integration of a greater number of students.

“We are mostly about athlet-ics, but mostly we want to make sure we do take care of students and give them what they want to see,” said Baluch. UTMAC looks to provide not only best resources for student athletic performance but also various forms of entertain-ment through social events, which Baluch outlined as a priority for the group.

As the school undergoes tangible changes such as new buildings and increased admittance, UTMAC looks to make 2011–12 represent a new standard for how students can most effectively balance the pres-sure of academic excellence and athletic fulfillment. After all, physi-cal activity and exercise is a great way to alleviate academic stress.

Love him or hate him, Aaron Rodgers has a spectacular smile.Thirdage.com/phoTo

UTMAC: Athleticism and academia collideIsAAc Owusu associaTe sporTs ediTor

Football returns and fans across Canada rejoice

cHRIs cALLAHANsporTs ediTor