Under occupationWhat the Occupy movement fails to recognize Medium Opinion, Page 4

Beer and sex researchUTM professor wins parody Nobel Prize Medium News, Page 2

Open Mic NightThe Medium interviews the presi-dent of the Music Club Medium A&E, Page 5

UTMAC visits BuffaloUTM students enjoy a trip to see the Buffalo Bills gameMedium Sports, Page 11

THEY’RE

Shaila Kibria has accomplished many things since leaving UTM: running for the New Democrat-ic Party, publishing a children’s book, and writing for CBC Ra-dio—but she most recently made headlines over her choice to stop wearing her hijab.

Over the past year the “dejab-bing” movement has gained noto-riety in the media. “Dejabbing” is when a woman chooses to remove

her hijab (a headscarf). Muslim women wear the hijab when in public as a form of modesty. A hijab can cover a woman’s hair or it can be a niqab, which covers a woman’s entire head and face, leaving a rectangular opening for her eyes.

Every woman who chooses to “dejab” does so for unique and complex personal reasons. For Kibria, her controversial choice to stop wearing her hijab landed her in newspaper headlines.

Kibria started secretly wearing

a hijab more than 20 years ago at age 13, against her parents’ wishes.

For a few of those 20 years Kibria attended UTM, where she kicked off her activist and advo-cate career by establishing the UTM Food Bank, writing for The Medium, and joining the Students’ Union.

She didn’t end up graduating, but she did marry her first hus-band in 1992 at 17 and had her first of three children at 19.

FACEBOOK.COM/PHOTO

After years of wearing a hijab, Shaila Kibria chose to abandon the religious garment.

LORI-LEE EMSHEYASSOCIATE NEWS EDITOR

Debating dejabbing?The University of Toronto placed 19th in the 2011–2012 Times Higher Education World University Rankings, down two spots from last year.

In its mission to develop the most comprehensive, well-rounded standard in compar-ing university performance, THE modified the criteria over the past two years to avoid dis-advantaging smaller universi-ties. The new model of analysis considers five categories: teach-ing and learning environment, volume and quality of research, citations and research influence, industry income, and interna-tional outlook.

U of T achieved an overall score of 81.6%. In individual cat-egories, the university received its highest scores in research (87.4%) and citation (86.5%), followed by teaching (76.9%), international outlook (69%), and industry income (44.9%).

U of T in top 20 in new rankingsSTEFANIE MAROTTANEWS EDITOR

Last week UTMSU’s Ministry of Environment held Environment Week, an event aimed to educate UTM students about environmen-tal issues.

The events ranged from Farmer’s Market on Tuesday, pumpkin carv-ing and Green Arts on Wednesday, and a showing of the documentary Vanishing of the Bees on Thursday. The event was held in the Student Centre, where tables were set up with fun and engaging activities.

The pumpkin carving event provided a festive opportunity to learn about the importance of or-ganic food, as well as other healthy food options that do not harm the environment. Students could paint a “fruitful” portrait in hopes of get-ting in touch with their environ-mental side.

Dan Dicenzo, a third-year bio-physics student and UTMSU VP University Affairs & Academics,

described the event as a “stepping stone”. Environment Week pro-moted environmental issues to allow youth to engage in learning about what the Ministry of En-vironment has to offer. Campus Roots and Urban Agriculture also participated in the event, promot-ing ways to reduce the amount of

waste at UTM.“It’s the best way to provide the

youth with a proper understanding of the environment,” said Dicenzo.

Regarding broader environmen-tal issues like the climate-changing greenhouse gas emissions, Dicen-zo feels the first step in preventing the climate crisis from becoming

worse is education and awareness among youth.

“It is important to make sure people are engaged within the is-sues so they can work together in the future,” Dicenzo said.

SANA HAQ

EDWARD CAI/THE MEDIUMVP University Affairs Dan Dicenzo and his only friend love the environment.

Dejab continued on page 3Times continued on page 2

Enviro continued on page 3

UTMSU hosts Environment Week

The UTM Students’ Union held elections for its Board of Directors on October 3 and the results are in.

Fall Board of Director elections are for first-year student represen-tatives, as well as to fill any vacan-cies that have opened up over the summer. The winners are Division 1 first-year representatives Emile Sabga and Chia Assad, Division 3 UTMSU and UTSU Board rep-resentatives Abdi Ahmed Hassan and Andrew Ursel, both filling va-cancies, and Division 4 Part-time Board member Naureen Amirali, also filling a vacancy.

“First and foremost, let me say that the level of excitement from the candidates was great,” said Del-phino Gilbert Cassar, the president of UTMSU.

Several different portfolios were debated during the formal board meeting. One of these was the Part-Time Student Constitu-ency portfolio to represent part-time students’ perspectives on the Board of Directors.

JEROME JOHNSON

New Board elected in UTMSU

Board continued on page 3

Will we survive?A scientist says the end is near for the human species Medium Features, Page 8

«NEWS THE MEDIUM 10.17.20112

In 1983, Darryl Gwynne, a bi-ology professor at UTM, wrote a research paper about Austra-lian jewel beetles who were so determined to mate with beer bottles that they were willing to die trying. Twenty-eight years later, Gwynne and his partner David Rentz finally won an Ig Nobel Prize for their research.

The Ig Nobel Prizes are an American parody of the Nobel Prize, and is given out yearly to scientists whose research “first makes people laugh, and then makes people think”.

“It’s not a boring ceremony, with presentations and speech-es. They try to have some fun with it,” Gwynne said. What Gwynne found particularly amusing were the acceptance speeches. The winners are given one minute to deliver a speech on being presented their award, and should they go over the time limit, the or-ganizers have devised a clever way of getting them off the stage.

“They get a little eight-year-old girl to come up right beside you and she just starts yell-ing, ‘Please stop! I’m bored!’ ” Gwynne and Rentz decided

to have some fun with the sce-nario. They purposely went over their time limit and when the little girl came up on stage, Rentz turned around and hand-ed her a stuffed koala bear.

“We got a great bit of laugh-ter and an extra few seconds,” Gwynne said.

When he first won the award, Gwynne received a lot of media coverage, something he hadn’t expected.

“That was a surprise to me. I didn’t realize how such a lit-

tle story could cause so much press. I’ve done a lot of inter-views and gotten a lot of at-tention,” Gwynne said. Still, he admits he doesn’t mind the attention, and says that the press coverage has allowed him to get back in touch with students, colleagues, and rela-tives he had not heard from in a while. He called it an “added bonus”.

One of the interviews Gwyn-ne did was for Marketing and Communications at UTM, cur-

rently posted on UTM’s web-site. In the article, Gwynne is quoted: “I’m honoured, I think”—which he acknowledg-es was an attempt to be funny.

“I was being a bit facetious. It’s actually a great honour. The Ig Nobel Prizes use humour to attract people’s attention, but also gets across an important message,” Gwynne said.

Gwynne’s research brings an important issue to light: the improper disposal of beer bottles is killing off this spe-cies of beetle. It also brings up an important point of sexual evolution.

“It’s a perfect example of Darwinian sexual selection. Males are the only ones who make mating errors; females never do,” Gwynne said.

The Ig Nobel Prize has sus-tained several controversies in the past, with some scientists thinking that it belittles scien-tific work. Gwynne disagrees.

“It uses humour to attract people’s attention. Humour is so critical to get across an im-portant message. The Ig Nobel Prize allows people outside of the scientific community to see what it is we actually do. It makes things accessible, which I think is so important.”

Matthew Del Mei

UTM.UTORONTO.CA/PHOTO

Professor Gwynne and his test subjects.

UTM professor awarded Ig Nobel Prize for beer and sex research

Similarly to other university rank-ings, such as Newsweek, the meth-od of analysis developed by THE relies heavily on research criteria. In total, the research and citation categories amount to 60% of the total evaluation. Teaching qual-ity of learning environment are weighted to count for 30%, indus-try income for 2.5%, and interna-tional outlook for 7.5%.

A table on the THE website and an iPhone app allow users to manipulate the weight of each cat-egory. This changes the rankings based on the individual priorities of the user.

The University of Toronto hous-es 18 faculties, schools, and institu-tions, and boasts the fourth-largest academic library in the world.

Eight other Canadian universi-ties ranked among the top 200. Alongside U of T, the University of British Columbia and McGill Uni-versity placed in the top 50.

“Over the years, the Times Higher Education has consulted widely and strengthened their measurement systems with impor-tant innovations such as a survey of teaching and learning environ-ments,” said David Naylor, presi-dent of U of T. “I am delighted to see our dedicated faculty, and those of many sister institutions, recog-nized for their inspiring teaching and world-leading research.”

U of T receives top rankingTimes continued from Cover

Last Wednesday, the University of Toronto announced the opening of the India Innovation Institute, a think tank studying “frugal in-novation”.

The India Innovation Institute is a joint venture between the Munk School of Global Affairs and the Rotman School of Business. The purpose of the Institute is to study India’s “frugal innovation”—the invention of products and services under economic constraints—and to apply those concepts in Canada and worldwide.

“Frugal innovation is a new management philosophy that in-tegrates the needs of the people at the bottom of the pyramid and work backwards from there: strip down the products to their bare essentials and make them afford-able,” explained Shashi Tharoor, a member of the India Nation Con-gress party and renowned writer, who spoke at the launch event.

Tharoor emphasized that he hoped the Institute would not just look at technical innovation, but creative, social, service, and politi-cal innovation.

Tharoor cautioned not to un-derestimate the power of creative innovation. “Yoga, an ancient In-dian art, is now mushrooming around the world, adapting itself to Western taste,” he said. “There isn’t a small American town to-day without yoga class or a yoga clinic.”

Tharoor said he hopes the In-stitute does not take “innovation” too literally, so that all kinds of in-novation can continue.

“We bring together [a collabo-ration] from engineering, medi-cine, law, arts, and social sciences to look at the processes of innova-tion, understand them better, and put them in a global perspective,” said Janie Stein, the director of the Munk School.

Stein said that while the Insti-tute does not grant degrees, it is a place for researchers, students, academics, and post-doctorates from across the university to work on innovation.

“India is probably the leader of the world in frugal innovation. It’s an interesting concept for Cana-dians,” Stein said. She hopes the Canadian healthcare system can benefit from frugal innovation.

“We are about to renegotiate the health accord in 2014. It’s probably our biggest area of public expendi-ture. Think about a model that al-lows us to deliver services and de-vices that would be one twentieth of their current cost,” said Stein.

Dilip Soman, the inaugural director of the Institute, said he wants the venture to go beyond scientific and technical innova-tion. He would like to have ties with academic institutions in In-dia, industry partners, govern-ments, and policy boards.

Soman says the Institute is al-ready involved in a keystone three-way biotechnology collaboration with Canada, India, and China, and is currently looking for new partners at U of T and globally.

The Institute is up and running, and Stein says that for innovation, “the timeline is now”.

lORi-lee eMSheYASSOCIATE NEWS EDITOR

email: news@mediumutm.ca

Campus politics, clubs, pub nights, and more!

U of T opens the India Innovation Institute

310.17.2011 THE MEDIUM NEWS»

KayvanAlumnus, still studying

Thomas4th year, Computer Science

Ceren 2nd year, Political Science

Rhita2nd year, CCIT/Politics

“I’m all for the environ-ment. Don’t idle your car. Send love to the trees!”

“I print double-sided...Although I drive a car that kills a lot of gas.”

[Big sigh] “Hmm... Well, I don’t recyle... Oh! I recycle paper all the time.”

“I don’t really do anything. I still buy bottled water.”

»What do you do for the environment?

In 2007, Kibria was nominated to run as the NDP candidate in the provincial elections for Mississau-ga-Erindale. She hoped to become the first hijab-wearing woman to be a party representative, but votes fell short and Kibria lost to Harinder Takhar, the Liberal rep-resentative.

She wrote a children’s book, re-married, wrote for CBC Radio, and was an executive director at Islam-ic Relief Canada. She now works for the Service Employees Inter-national Union. Throughout all of her ventures she has remained an advocate of women’s rights and of Islam in Canada.

Kibria’s decision to “dejab” met with a dramatic response. The To-ronto Star published an article on Kibria’s decision only hours after an article supporting women who wear the hijab went up on their website. The first article defended Muslim women’s choice to wear hijabs and niqabs as a way of iden-tifying with their religion and as a form of empowerment.

This was not the situation for Kibria. She said she felt suffocated

and separated by the hijab, and that it failed to offer the identity, security, and truth it used to when she was a teenager. She became worried that her success—the in-terviews, the radio writing, the children’s book—had all been un-fairly helped because she chose to, in a visible and unabashed way, identify herself as Muslim.

“Everyone knew me as a Mus-lim leader,” Kibria told The Toronto Star. “Every issue was not a ‘hu-man’ issue, but a ‘Muslim’ issue.” After more than 20 years, Kibria decided to abandon the politi-cally, emotionally, and religiously charged hijab.

The worst criticism did not come from her employers, po-litical supporters, or her mosque,

but from her family, friends, and personal advocates. Her Facebook was flooded with negative com-ments and denouncements of sup-port after she made her decision public.

After the publication of the To-ronto Star article, Kibria has de-clined to comment further on the matter.

“Dejabbing is a social and psy-chological phenomenon; it’s not necessarily a religious thing,” ex-plained Imman Sarhan of the UTM Muslim Student Association.

“It’s not a new thing. I’m not sure why Shaila got so much atten-tion. Whether she wears it or not shouldn’t affect her cause,” Sarhan said.

Sarhan, who wears the hijab ev-ery day, says that no one has ever “made comments”, adding, “UTM is a pretty open-minded campus.”

Nida Tariq, a member of the MSA, chooses not to wear a hijab. She said that she has met with sim-ilar open-mindedness.

“I don’t wear it because I have certain religious goals I want to achieve before [that],” said Tariq. “Whether [Kibria] wears it or not, it’s not our job to judge her.”

Dejab continued from Cover

Former UTM student sparks debate over hijab

The Board of Directors is re-sponsible for overseeing finan-cial matters and holding UTM-SU accountable.

Directors become members of various committees at UT-MSU. These committees include a voicing committee, a clubs committee, a finance committee, and an organizational, develop-ment, and services committee. According to Cassar, these vari-ous committees work on spe-cific functions of the Students’ Union, and it is the responsibil-ity of each new member of the Board of Directors to affiliate themselves with at least one of those committees and their spe-cific functions.

It is expected that the newly elected Board of Directors will make themselves available to students through office hours

and other means, such as so-cial media, and are expected to take part in campaigns. Cassar stressed the need to adopt poli-cies regarding greater disclosure of information to the Board of Directors and students in order to make the institution more transparent and accountable, and to have policies in place that increase the responsibilities of the Board of Directors.

“The major objectives for this year, knock on wood: if I had to narrow it down, I would say Student Centre expansion, lean-ing for academic policy reform, such as issues around dropping a course, and other concerns students have raised, such as having to pay for their final exams and not having clear in-dication of how their marks are broken down and compiled, and other academic issues. And [all this] generally and organically,

through the Ministry of Uni-versity Affairs and Academics,” Cassar said.

“We’ve also been very active on engaging the students, we’ve seen our volunteers grow, and we’ve seen our ministries be-come very active,” Cassar notes. “We’ve been very successful at attracting student participa-tion.”

One of the main things Cas-sar hopes the candidates will achieve is shining a more posi-tive light on UTMSU, and to be more helpful to students by making things more open to students and ensuring that are aware of what UTMSU has to offer them in terms of fund-ing for programs, students, and clubs. Lastly, he emphasizes the need for students to get more involved.

“The Students’ Union is what you make it,” Cassar said.

The Department of Language Studies held the Annual Awards Reception and Music Gala on Fri-day, September 30 in the CCIT. The event kicked off with greet-ing and salutations from profes-sor and department chair Michael Lettieri, UTM’s vice-president Amy Mullin, and Anjeza Rexha, the president of the Language Studies Academic Society.

“Life does not come in subti-tles, and this is where we come in to ensure that we all can under-stand each other,” said Lettieri.

Prior to 2003, UTM only of-fered French, German, and Ital-ian languages to its student body, with occasional Slovakian and Russian courses. However, as the student demographics changed, the department felt the need to

expand the variety of languages. Lettieri took pride in noting that the language department has since expanded to also offer courses in Chinese, Hindi, Span-ish, Persian, and Urdu. They also teach Latin, Sanskrit, and experi-mental and theoretical linguis-tics.

“These are the areas of empha-sis that distinguish our language studies, and I feel that their syn-ergy places our department really among the nation’s very best in the field,” Lettieri said.

Last year, UTM officially changed the name of the Depart-ment of French, German, and Italian Studies to the Department of Language Studies. The lan-guages offered were all combined into one umbrella department which included new courses, in-cluding Modern Chinese.

Language department brings its communities togetherJEROME JOHNSON

New faces on the Board of DirectorsBoard continued from Cover

Sex blows minds—literally. The Jour-nal of Emergency Medicine reported a case of a woman losing her memory after having sex. Transient global am-nesia affects 3 to 5 people per 100,000 each year. Doctors don’t know what causes memory loss., but it seems to be tied to significant physical or emo-tional experiences. Depending on the experience, losing your memory from sex may not be such a bad thing.

Woman with transient global amnesia loses memory after sex

Source: Live Science

Harper and McGuinty met on Fri-day to discuss the economy, health care, and adding more Ontario MPs in the federal legislature. Lib-eral McGuinty won a third minor-ity government in the October 6 Ontario provincial elections. Due to population growth, McGuinty hopes to add another 18 to 19 MPs to the 106 seats Ontario holds in Ottawa.

McGuinty discusses adding more seats in Ottawa for Ontario

Source: Toronto Star

On Saturday, violent protests against stark economic inequalities took place in Rome. Masked protesters changed the tone of a peaceful dem-onstration by setting cars on fire and breaking windows. The protest was part of the Occupy movement origi-nating on Wall Street. “They [the radicals] must be condemned by everyone without reservation,” said prime minister Silvio Berlusconi.

Occupy Rome protest turns violent

Source: Reuters

The Avenue Autumn restaurant in New York City is serving meals on gold-plated dishes from Saddam Hussein’s palaces. “As symbols of the past, they represent the rich and complicated history of a place long misunderstood by its invad-ers,” the restaurant owner said. The meal, called “Spoils”, includes venison topped with date syrup.

Source: Fox

NYC restaurant puts Saddam Hussein’s plates to good use

Police arrested 49-year-old Toni Jo Silvey after she stalked her ex-boyfriend and damaging his house. Silvey allegedly called her ex over 1,000 times and broke the windows of his home with a sword. “I must admit, it is true: revenge is a dish best served cold. Am I a woman scorned? You betcha,” Silvey wrote in a blog post.

Woman attacks ex-boyfriend’s house with sword, is arrested

Source: Huffington Post

She felt suffocated and separated by the hijab, and it failed to

offer the identity, security, and truth it used to when

she was a teenager.

4

»

10.17.2011

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MEDIUM OPINIONEditor-in-Chief » Michael Di Leo

A city under occupationWhen I was at the Occupy Bay Street demonstration this past Sat-urday, I watched as two protestors, clearly affected by the cold, stepped into a nearby Starbucks and then emerged with a couple of pump-kin spice lattes. As they made their way back into the fray, all the while denouncing the evils of capitalism, I couldn’t help but think of the ex-traordinary statement they were making. Apart from the obvious hypocrisy of the situation, I think it shed light on an important aspect of our society and why many criti-cisms of the Occupy movement are right on point.

I would like to start by making clear that I do believe that the cur-rent state of affairs of our society is unacceptable. Bailouts, bonuses,

and all-time-high profits during a time of high unemployment, wide-spread debt, and the greatest divide in wealth ever seen is wrong, to say the least. Everyone can agree that something needs to change. Exact-ly what, however, remains unclear.

The Occupy movement that be-gan on Wall Street in New York City is a good example of this con-fusion. It has spread to hundreds of cities across the globe, demanding a great many things. The protes-tors want jobs, money, and health insurance. They would like their tuition paid, as well as such vague requests as “freedom” and “peace”. The movement has captivated the media: Is this the next Tea Party? What do they want? What will hap-pen next? Tune in at 11…

The only common theme among the protestors (from what I could tell) was their stance against capi-talism—the originator of corporate greed. Which begs the question: How does one make a stand against capitalism while simultaneously contributing to it as a member of our society? The two who stepped into Starbucks are representative of the rest of the protestors—and, for that matter, the rest of the popula-tion—who oppose bank bailouts and outrageous bonuses. Yet no one seems interested in looking at how we have all contributed to the problem we now face.

I think the protesters are, unfor-tunately, combining a general sense of entitlement with very little sense of what’s actually needed to ac-

complish their goals and what their own role is in solving the problem. It’s one thing to express your dis-content, but another thing entirely to rage against the system you so willingly contribute to.

That said, I believe that the movement is an excellent opportu-nity for democracy in action. The conversation it has opened (belat-edly, considering that the recession began three years ago) will speak volumes about our current state. I hope that somewhere in the con-fused mess of slogans and ideolo-gies we can find a solution that is both fair and realistic. I hope that the protestors will come to under-stand that they continue to par-ticipate in the very same system they now fight against and that

they realize that the bad guys aren’t necessarily those who work on Bay Street (a majority of whom, like the protestors, are just trying to make a living). Only then can constructive change occur.

Philosopher Slavoj Žižek spoke recently about Occupy Wall Street. “They tell you we are dreamers. The true dreamers are those who think things can go on indefinitely the way they are,” he said—and, per-haps more importantly, added that unless the protestors remember why they’re there, the protest will lose its meaning.

YOURS,

MICHAEL DI LEO

Nature on campusHello,

I just want to get a notice out to other students about UTM’s na-ture element! We hear a lot about how environmental we are. But how many of us actually know what it has to offer in concrete terms? Not feeling good as in “I saved a tree”, but feeling good as in “I’m among trees”? As far as I know, UTM has three easily acces-sible nature areas.

Level 1: The Pond, south of the Davis Building. Or as I still call it, the South Building. There are a couple of places to walk down and look out over it. True, it’s be-side a parking lot, which is not re-ally part of nature. But it’s actually kind of scenic, especially at night. And the geese seem to like it.

Level 2: Oldfield. Even further south, past the parking lot, there’s a broken part of the fence and a little path that joins a trail in the

woods. (So apparently you’re sup-posed to take the long way around, which opens nearer to the Alumni House, not the shortcut. What-ever…) Down the trail is a nice open field, and at the other end a gazebo and a Bridge Over the River Credit. Try sitting there and doing your reading, before winter, anyway. But go even further and you get to Oldfield, which has a lot of walking space, a long gravel trail for hiking on one side, and on the other side, a playground and a beautiful old church.

Level 3: UTM Nature Trail. And Lislehurst. This time, go north of the North Building, which still has a name that tells you where it is on the map. A bit down the road, you’ll see a paved road that goes into the woods and a sign for “Lislehurst”. Along this there are a few spaces where you can sit on the grass or a bench, and it doesn’t feel like our campus at all. There’s even

another small pond (decorative) with a stone bridge over it. Perfect for sitting and reading. Or doing cheesy photoshoots. That’s not the end of it, though. At the end of the road is a narrow trail beside a sign that says UTM Nature Trail. At a reasonable pace it takes half an hour to walk, and if you take your time maybe an hour. It goes right through the dark woods, is pretty rough in some places, goes awfully close to the steep chasm—and is really beautiful. You can leave it at an emergency exit that comes out near Davis or you can keep going until you arrive at the other side of Oldfield… an added bonus!

These are great little spots of na-ture on a campus that keep getting more technologically advanced, so take advantage of them before it gets too cold, and keep them in mind for spring! You’re welcome!

Kelly Ibsen

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MEDIUM A&EEditor » Nives Hajdin

Last Friday, the UTM Music Club held their first Open Mic Night of the semester. The event, held at the Blind Duck Pub, showcased a variety of student musicians and provided a space for students to hear some local talent. The club’s president, Nilabjo Banerjee, talked to The Medium afterwards about the event, UMC’s plans for the year ahead, and his love of Switchfoot.

The Medium: How does UTM Music Club prepare for an Open Mic Night event? What are some of the things you try to keep in mind?

Nilabjo Banerjee: UMC prepares for an Open Mic Night like most of our events: we set our dates early in the semester and plan out the roles of each executive in the club. Usually, two to three weeks before the show we notify our members of the event and that they can sign up to partici-pate through an online link we pro-vide. Once we get our performers, we create the event setlist, then ask the performers to let us know what they need for their own set. On the day of the show, we usually head to Long & McQuade for any additional equip-ment that we may need. While we do prep extensively, I feel the most important part of the show is the soundcheck beforehand, in which we have the performers come in an hour early to test their equipment and mic levels; it’s the only way to make sure everything runs smoothly, and it’s the only way to make sure the fun isn’t ruined by technical difficulties.

TM: How do you feel the night went? Were there any highlight per-formances that you felt the crowd responded well to?

NB: Overall, the night went extreme-ly well. We have a superb sound team that not only made sure everything ran smoothly but that the event ended on time. It’s really hard to give credit to one act. All the performers did well, and the crowd loved them. I mean, just as an example, Sterling Carter and her friend Jeffrey rapped their own lyrics to a remix track of Kid Cudi’s “Day ’n’ Night”. It was one of those creative moments that I re-ally love to see when we have events like this. Another act that definitely caught the attention of the crowd was Nash Marques’ performance. Nash covered a few songs that I heard one girl say “made her hearts melt.” We also got to see some groovy guitar playing from Uriel Romero, and some classic covers of Jimi Hendrix by Julien Falcone. Those are the types of performances that create a great atmosphere and mood. Yang played Nocturne on piano, and we also had some great original stuff

performed by two of UMC’s execu-tives Andrew and Michael—as well as a great vocal and guitar perfor-mance from James Murray. Nothing was off limits and there was so much variety. I loved them all!

TM: What other events does UTM Music Club plan to hold throughout the year, and how can students get involved?

NB: UMC has a plethora of up-coming events that students and members can get involved in. We have Open Mics, similar to this event, on the second Friday of every month. The performances are lim-ited to UMC members, but anyone can be in attendance and support their friends. We also have an An-nual Charity Dinner, where we raise money for United Way. This year, our theme is holidays. Our plan is to encourage music centred not just on Christmas, but holidays around the

world. Our goal is to showcase diver-sity of talent among our club mem-bers. We will be holding auditions for them shortly. Also, every Friday, we host jam sessions in room 250 of the Student Centre from 1 to 5 [p.m.]. This is where members can drop by and just rock out! We also have on-going guitar and vocal workshops, open to members, that provide les-sons in singing and playing guitar. Right now, because of overwhelming response, the workshops are limited to members this semester; however, we will have more spots next se-mester. So, if someone is interested, non-members can still sign up for membership and register for a spot next year.

TM: Can anyone be a part of the UTM Music Club? What does the club look for in new members?

NB: Anyone can be a member. We do get tons of emails wondering if

the club is only open to those who are musically gifted, and no, it is not. The club is an opportunity for talent of every kind and level to not only improve their skills but showcase their talent at different events. Be-ing the only music-related club on campus, the goal is to support UTM talent and provide the student body a platform to support their music as-pirations.

TM: What’s getting a lot of play in your iTunes or iPod right now? Who would be your dream artist(s) to col-laborate with?

NB: Oh, that is a great question. When it comes to iPod play, I hate to be cliché, but I listen to a very diverse list of muscians. Right now, I have the new Switchfoot album on repeat, but I’ve been shuffling in some Skril-lex and Porter Robinson. I also like to mellow out to this great folk band called Civil Wars.

If I were to collaborate with some-one for a song, my dream would be Jon Foreman from Switchfoot. In addition to being gifted with a great voice, his lyrics have a sense of hon-esty and vulnerability. He is one of my favourite songwriters... like, ever! It would be a dream come true to be in the same room as him. Can you make that happen? Please.. pretty please?

Nilabjo is the president of the UTM Music Club. By becoming a member of UMC, you get access to the club’s Open Mic events, vocal and guitar workshops, weekly jam sessions, and the opportunity to network with other musicians and music enthusiasts on campus. Drop by their office in room 231 of the Student Centre, or find out more about UMC on Facebook (face-book.com/umcmusic), on Twitter (twitter.com/umcmusic) or by email (music@utmsu.ca).

ARISTOTLE ELIOPOULOSASSOCIATE A&E EDITOR

Music club gets jammin’

EDwARD CAI/ThE MEDIuM

An alternative end for rock legendsLast month, legendary rock band R.E.M. announced on their website that they were “calling it a day as a band”. They did so not in feud or tragedy, but in the collective agree-ment that it was the right time. For lead singer Michael Stipe, “The skill in attending a party is knowing when it’s time to leave.” Unceremoniously, the band posted the announcement on their website, concluding the legacy of the 31-year-old band that changed rock music forever.

It was R.E.M. who laid the founda-tion for the college/alternative rock

scene. Throughout the 1980s their popularity grew, but their records showed no musical compromise. Infinitely influential to their peers and utterly unlike anything else at the time, they developed a cult following until 1987’s hit “The One I Love” ushered them into the mainstream.

The ’90s brought even greater success, culminating in the hugely popular album Automatic for the People—including the song “Man on the Moon”, which gave its name to the famous film for which they wrote the soundtrack. The second half of their career was more turbulent than the first, but little can be said to ar-gue for or against the overall timeless

quality of their music.The albums are eternal, but the

biggest loss is R.E.M. as a live act. I had the pleasure of seeing them in 2008. Two bands, whose existence and musical journey would have been wholly different without R.E.M, opened: Modest Mouse and The National. Each of the acts arguably represented a peak in alternative mu-sic for their respective decade: the 1980s, 1990s, and 2000s. The young-er bands played positively stunning sets, but R.E.M. still came out on top that night.

It’s a shame that audiences will never experience another R.E.M. show. Stipe was a wonder to see in

action. The show was revelatory for a casual fan, as I somewhat was. For serious fans, it just answered a ques-tion that there was no sense in ask-ing. The excellent songwriting gelled with the great performances of all the musicians, forever bringing the mu-sic to life.

The band has not announced future plans, but this will almost certainly not be the last we hear from these talented musicians. However, as long as Stipe, guitarist Peter Buck, and bassist Mike Mills are alive, R.E.M. could always reform. The last decade has seen far more reclusive bands and artists return (thank you, Jeff Mangum). Even bands that broke

up decades ago are reuniting, ready to claim their deserved respect (here’s looking at you, Pixies). One cannot lose faith that one day the world will see another R.E.M. show. Rock and roll has a way of never fully letting go.

For myself, this retirement hasn’t yet conjured the feelings of loss I would once have associated with it. By all accounts, the band is still on friendly terms. A few years is a long time, and a band of 31 years must be hard to give up forever. So we’ll have to wait and see if this disband-ing is final, or if it is only a break. For now, discover, rediscover, or remain locked in that R.E.M. groove. You’re in good hands.

MATTHEW LONG

10.17.2011«ARTS THE MEDIUM6

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Have you ever watched a movie or TV show and won-dered where it was filmed? What if it was filmed right in your hometown? Today, resi-dents of the GTA are noticing just that. Perhaps surprisingly, although the Toronto Interna-tional Film Festival wrapped up last month, other various film and television productions are beginning their principal photography shoots in the GTA. In the last decade, hun-dreds of big-budget film and TV productions have come all the way from Hollywood to shoot in our backyard.

Recognizable films that have been shot in Toronto include the Resident Evil films, Silent Hill, Cinderella Man, the Dawn of the Dead remake, all seven Saw movies, RED, Scott Pilgrim vs. The World, Kick-Ass, and even X-Men. Some television shows also shot here include Lost Girl, Being Erica, and Flashpoint.

Films and shows currently being shot in Toronto include

the $200-million remake of Total Recall starring Colin Farrell and Jessica Biel, the second season of Nikita and the fifth instalment of the Resident Evil film franchise, Resident Evil: Retribution.

So what is it that drives big-budget Hollywood produc-tions to Toronto? The answer is simple: tax credits. Because it is cheaper to shoot television and movie productions here in Canada, it comes as no sur-prise that Hollywood is gear-ing up to shoot several of their new productions here. In fact, Vancouver has already been named “Hollywood North” be-cause it too offers tax credits and large production spaces.

While Vancouver is num-ber one for extensive major film shoots, Toronto is now in second place for providing large studios with filming, tax credits, and open space for on-location filming. The majority of film productions shot in Toronto take place at Pinewood Studios and Cine-space Film Studios, both located in the east end of the city.

Hollywood eyes Toronto for filmingANDREW BOGATEK

Shakespeare and beyondIn addition to Stratford’s annual Shakespeare Festival, there are numerous other performances on the bill that are certain to entertain and provoke

In terms of cultural attractions in Can-ada, it doesn’t get much more presti-gious than the Stratford Festival. Held annually in scenic Stratford, Ontario, it’s the most well-known theatre festi-val in Canada.

Mixing traditional Shakespearean theatre with more modern fare, the festival always manages to bring in the top-level stage actors. Christopher Plummer starred in the festival’s pro-duction of The Tempest last year, and this year the Stratford Festival offers several Canadian and international acting heavyweights to the lineup.

Over the course of a weekend, I had the fortune to take in two very dif-ferent plays at Stratford. The first was Camelot, the well-known stage musi-cal based on the story of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table. Full of lighthearted musical numbers and melodramatic ballads, it’s likely to leave you humming songs such as “Camelot” and “Fie on Goodness!” long after the actors take their final bows.

Held at the impressive and aptly named Festival Theatre (the newer of Stratford’s two venues), Camelot is performed “in the round” (i.e., the stage is semicircular and allows seating from many angles). This allows the audience to feel more immersed in the action on stage, and director Gary Griffin makes good use of the 180-degree audience view. The main feature of the set is a large tree set on a cir-

cular track. The tree doesn’t move often, but when it does, it’s im-pressive to see King Arthur cir-cling the stage up in his perch. The actors also move (and often dance) around the stage frequently, so any seat in the house has a good view.

The love-triangle plot of Camelot is a familiar one, and it becomes the actors’ job to come up with a fresh take on characters that the audience knows so well. Leading man Geraint Wyn Davies makes for a King Ar-thur full of pathos, and Kaylee Har-wood brings plenty of humour to the stage as the hilariously self-absorbed Guinevere. But it was Canadian stage veteran Brent Carver who stole the show, playing both Merlin and King Pellinore. Carver has over 30 movie and television credits to his name, and he won the Best Actor Tony award in

1993 for his role in Kiss of the Spider Woman. Here, Carver plays the dod-dering old king; every time he tottered onto the stage, he added an extra spark to the performance. Mike Nadajewski is also a standout and received good-natured boos from the audience dur-ing the curtain call for his villainous turn as Mordred.

Camelot offers a fun, beauti-fully costumed take on a traditional story, but if you’re looking for some-thing a little less accessible, try Har-old Pinter’s The Homecoming. It will certainly leave you with a lot to think about.

Staged at the Avon Theatre, The Homecoming is set in post-WWII England and it tells the story of a highly dysfunctional family. When the eldest of three sons, Teddy, comes back to visit his father and brothers af-

ter six years, he brings his wife, whom the rest of the family doesn’t know exists. Needless to say, things don’t go smoothly when a woman is intro-duced into a household of backwards, intensely sheltered men. The play is often darkly funny and isn’t afraid to push boundaries, and it takes an unexpected descent into even stranger territory during its second act.

Luckily, The Homecoming has some top-notch actors to back up its cast of uniformly unlikeable characters. Not the least of them is Brian Dennehy, who plays the family patriarch, Max. Dennehy has appeared in dozens of movies, including The Next Three Days, Romeo + Juliet, Tommy Boy, and this past weekend’s new release, The Big Year. He has also won two Tony awards for his performances in Death of a Salesman and Long Day’s Journey

into Night. Here, he plays a verbally abusive old coot whose behaviour becomes increasingly bizarre as the play progresses. His performance is simultaneously repulsive and spell-binding, culminating in a dramatic final scene that showcases what a truly fantastic actor Dennehy is.

Other standouts in the small cast include Ian Lake as the Brando-esque youngest son who has just as much insecurity as swagger, and Aaron Krohn, who plays the salacious middle son (and seems to have borrowed his accent from Russell Brand).

But while the acting may take centre stage in this psychologi-cal drama, it’s certainly not all that The Homecoming has to offer. The set design creates a very effec-tive, grungy atmosphere. The set is just a family room with stairs leading up to an unseen second level and a front door and windows, but what starts off as a nice but nondescript common room soon feels oppres-sive. As we see some of what takes place in that room (and imagine what else could have happened in days gone by), the audience begins to hate it just as much as Max does. It’s challenging to grasp what exactly Pinter was trying to say with The Homecoming, as it’s left open to interpretation, but it’s a fascinating play nonetheless.

The performances run until October 30. Online tickets are available for a newly reduced price for the rest of the 2011 season. Visit stratfordfestival.ca for more details.

COLLEEN MUNROASSOCIATE A&E EDITOR

Not a very happy home in The Homecoming. CAnOE.CA

710.17.2011 THE MEDIUM A&E»

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Chuck Klosterman is a writer who’s made a living on his observant and of-ten self-centred memoirs, journalistic pieces, and essays. It all started with 2001’s Fargo Rock City, which was part memoir (based on Klosterman’s experiences growing up in small-town North Dakota) and part heavy metal history lesson. From there, he became a writer and editor for Spin magazine and he’s since published four more works of non-fiction. And for a writer who’s so focussed on the now of popular culture, fiction might not seem like a natural fit.

But in 2008, Klosterman released his first novel, Downtown Owl. And though the three intertwining nar-ratives in the novel are fictional, it’s easy to spot the influence from Klosterman’s own life. Most notably, the novel is set in small-town North Dakota in the mid-1980s (the time of Klosterman’s youth), and popu-lar culture references permeate the whole novel.

However, Klosterman’s latest novel, The Visible Man, is some-thing of a departure. The novel is set in present-day Texas, and it tells the story of a therapist, Vicky, and an especially strange client who she encounters. The Visible Man poses as the draft for a book that Vicky is writing about her client, who she re-fers to only as “Y____”. Y____ comes to Vicky under initially conventional

circumstances, but he proves to be an uncooperative patient. However, his strange behaviour is soon explained when he reveals to Vicky that he has created a skin-tight suit that allows him to become nearly invisible to everyone around him. And not only has he created this suit, he uses it to break into the homes of unwitting singletons to observe their behaviour.

If this sounds like a creepy prem-ise for a book, that’s probably be-cause it is... sort of. Y____ claims that he doesn’t spy on people for cheap thrills, but merely to see how oth-ers behave when they think they are truly alone. Y____ discovers some pretty interesting things in the pro-cess, which he relays to Vicky in their therapy sessions.

Klosterman depicts the lives of the lonely people that Y____ encounters in such detail and with such honesty that it’s impossible not to get invested in their lives, even just for the short time that Y____ observes them. Klosterman has always been good at pinpointing what makes people tick, and here he offers up some of the most profound, funny, and oddly moving observations on human be-haviour of his career.

Klosterman is not a flowery prose writer, yet he comes up with many elegantly crafted sentences in The Vis-ible Man. He’s also known for often expressing his ideas in purposefully twisty, contradictory ways—a man-ner that annoys some critics—but he keeps the stylized writing techniques

at a minimum here and leaves the syntax refreshingly uncluttered.

But while it’s packed with inter-esting ideas, The Visible Man is a novel that takes a while to get going. Klosterman spends a lot of time recounting the unfruitful early therapy sessions between Vicky and Y____. And because Vicky is the narrator of the story, the reader is subjected to several tedious passages of her pondering whether or not Y____ is telling the truth about his ability to become invisible. In real life, a person would obviously have enor-mous doubts about Y____’s claims, so it’s admirable that Klosterman is going for realism, even with such a ludicrous premise. But from an en-tertainment perspective, the reader knows that Y____ using the suit and observing people will become the crux of the novel, and all of Vicky’s initial fretting just feels like a hurdle to get to the “real” story.

While there is no conventional plot for the majority of the novel, Klosterman adds a strange nar-rative shift in the last third of the book. Without giving too much away, Y____’s ability begins to cause problems for several characters. Of course, when the writer introduces a character who can turn invisible, certain issues are going to come up with that, but the way that the last act unfolds feels out of place in an otherwise meditative story. Some of the interesting ideas about loneliness that Klosterman explored earlier on

fall by the wayside. This by no means ruins the book, and it’s not a horrible ending; it just feels a little strange.

While it may not be entirely suc-cessful, The Visible Man is a fasci-nating and engrossing read. Though some readers may be put off by its faux non-fiction format or the far-fetched premise, Klosterman makes his insightful observations easy to grasp. His narrative is layered enough to provoke some serious thought, but

it’s not so deeply philosophical as to put off the average reader. Anyone who enjoys Klosterman’s previous work should add The Visible Man to their reading list, and fans of writers such as Miranda July and Dave Egg-ers will probably also find a lot to like. It won’t be for everyone, but those who are willing to try something dif-ferent are in for a fascinating, if occa-sionally frustrating, treat.

MMMM

Klosterman returns with new novelCOLLEEN MUNROASSOCIATE A&E EDITOR

bOOkpEOplE.COm

10.17.2011« 8

MEDIUM FEATURESEditor » Larissa Ho

Will humans become extinct?Humans are unusually gifted at causing the extinction of spe-cies. Fossil record studies show that the rate of extinctions in the human era is 100 to 1000 times higher than that in any fossil record before us. Humans have even caused diseases to become extinct, with the eradication of smallpox in 1979 and of the ruth-less bovine disease Rinderpest in 2010. But could humans be next?

Many scientists think so.Professor Frank Fenner of the

Australian National University predicts that humans will be ex-tinct in 100 years. Dr. Fenner, professor emeritus of microbiol-ogy, helped eliminate smallpox. The 95-year-old has vast experi-ence in the study of extinction and its causes. He believes hu-mans are creating the perfect cir-

cumstance for disaster through unsustainable deforestation, re-source consumption, and most importantly, procreation.

“It’s an irreversible situation,” says Fenner. “I think it’s too late.” He adds, “I try not to express that, because people are trying to do something—but they keep putting it off.”

Global problems already cause a lot of worry. Over 80% of glob-al land biodiversity lies in Earth’s forests, and they also help absorb carbon dioxide emissions; since 1960, humans have destroyed over one fifth of the Earth’s for-ests, and the remaining forests continue to fall. Meanwhile, for-est burning and clearing, which contribute to carbon dioxide emissions, continue to rise.

Another source of worry is water supply. Earth has plenty of saltwater, but little freshwater to support the population. Many

scientists predict that future wars will not be over issues like weap-ons of mass destruction. They will be over freshwater. Canada holds 20% of the Earth’s freshwa-ter, and has the highest freshwa-ter count for any country in the world. As a result, Canada al-ready feels pressure to export its water to other countries in need, such as the United States.

The greatest worry for Fenner is our population’s uncontrolled growth rates. The planet is run-ning out of room for what will be 7 billion people by the end of 2011, forecasted to reach 8 bil-lion by 2025.

Some argue that the world can fit more people, and it can. How-ever, the question is not whether or not Earth can fit more people on the planet, but whether we can provide enough resources and shelter to each person.

Our current situation reminds

Fenner of the cautionary story of the Easter Islanders. The Easter Islanders were an isolated Poly-nesian people who, through un-sustainable resource use, over-taxed their supply and nearly decimated their entire popula-tion of 15,000. This small human population serves as a symbol of the importance of environmental conservation.

“Climate change is just at the very beginning,” says Dr. Fenner. “But we’re seeing remarkable changes in the weather already.”

Dr. Fenner does not say why he predicts exactly 100 years. Perhaps his extensive knowledge of other extinction rates has led him to calculate our supposed fate using current statistics. Or maybe it’s just a guess. Either way, the human population con-tinues to skyrocket, forests con-tinue to be cut down at an ir-replaceable rate, and freshwater

demand is already peaking in many countries.

Yet some scientists remain op-timistic.

Professor Stephen Boyden, a colleague of Dr. Fenner, says, “Frank may well be right, but some of us still harbour the hope that there will come about an awareness of the situation and, as a result, the revolutionary chang-es necessary to achieve ecologi-cal sustainability.”

For some, it’s the fate of the Earth that’s worrying. But scien-tists note that over the billions of years of Earth’s existence, the planet has encountered warming more extreme than our own, it has encountered global freezing that left much of the planet un-der sheets of ice, and it has seen meteors, solar flares, and violent global weather shifts. The Earth will be fine. It’s our fate that re-mains to be seen.

Emily AchEsonASSociAte feAtureS editor

Environmental awareness at UTM

In recent years, the importance of respecting, maintaining, and preserving the environment has been in the spotlight. Many com-panies and institutions are trying to become more eco-friendly, includ-ing UTM.

Our campus has been involved in several projects and campaigns that support the environmental cause. “Grow smart, grow green” is our official environmental motto, and many of us have invested a great deal of time and effort into raising en-vironmental awareness in our cam-pus community. Last March, Water Awareness Week was launched to raise awareness about water con-sumption and the privatization of water on campus. UTMSU worked with the UTM Green Team and the Ministry of Environment to launch a week of events and activities that focussed on what has been called the “world water crisis”. The week’s events included a public lecture by Dr. Harvey Shear on freshwater issues in Mexico, a documentary screening of Flow: For the Love of Water by Irena Salina, and a highly publicized Bottle-Free Day. March 10 of this year also marked a special occasion: vending machines were

cleared of water bottles and food outlets kept from selling bottled water. Bottle-Free Day motivated our campus to become entirely bottle-free, so for those of us who haven’t noticed yet, there’s a reason the Meeting Place and the Instruc-tional Centre (among other food outlets on campus) don’t sell water bottles.

Another important environ-mental campaign at UTM is the 20-minute Campus Cleanup. Last spring, Deep Saini, UTM’s vice president and principal, organized a “Spring Cleaning”. Saini and other members of the UTM commun-ity cleaned some areas on campus, encouraging student awareness of littering. With the environment at heart and a garbage bag in hand, Saini and the other volunteers spent a short yet meaningful amount of time picking up water bottles and plastic bags (among other sorts of litter, of course). This initiative was another great way to help the en-vironment.

The Green Team is another ex-ample that shows how dedicated UTM is to being eco-friendly. Oper-ated by the Environmental Affairs Office, the Green Team is a group of students who make the environ-ment number one on their to-do

lists. Members of the Green Team contribute by making posters, rais-ing awareness, and managing eco-friendly projects around the UTM campus. The collaboration not only motivates its own members to de-vote their time and effort to saving the environment, it also promotes the cause to other UTM students. After all, we’re more likely to join such initiatives if we see them in the words and actions of our friends.

It’s pretty clear that the UTM community is taking important steps towards making our campus more eco-friendly. In addition to water awareness and campus clean-ups, other eco-friendly projects in-clude seasonal tree-planting, nature walks, and hand dryers in place of paper towels (in the newer build-ings, at least).

Are all these means effective? Certainly. We should support all these projects because they help save the environment that we live in, and if we don’t help keep our environment clean, no one will. We now have water and litter covered, but what about all the cigarette stubs outside Davis? We should consider finding a solution for that. Also, it may be time for those paper towel dispensers to go from the wash-rooms in the old buildings.

yARA mATAR

features@mediumutm.ca

910.17.2011 THE MEDIUM FEATURES»

“Prescriptive and descriptive? Sounds like you’re trying to teach me something!”

(Well, briefly, okay? Go make some popcorn if it’s that bad.)

Basically, whenever people have written seriously about language, they either try to say what’s cor-rect (prescriptive), or what it is (descriptive). Hopefully you have some strong opinions about this.

If you don’t yet, here are some points against prescriptivism. It’s had such famous moments as call-ing non-standard dialects “cor-rupt”, forming an office in Québec to stop English borrowings from “polluting” French, and the prac-tice of policing “legal language” in the Soviet Union (just like 1984). After all, said Orwell, if you’re prevented from ever hearing cer-tain words, you can’t think them. Which is kind of frightening. So in today’s popular linguistics, there’s a ton of support for “all language is equally valid”. After all, you can’t stop language from changing, so why try?

But before we completely trash prescriptivism, has it got anything

going for it? Well, for one thing, dictionaries. Why do we have ’em? Apparently we trust them to tell us what our own words are supposed to mean. Samuel Johnson pointed out that “no [nation] has preserved [its] words and phrases”—a phrase that, conspicuously, appeared in the introduction to his magnum opus, A Dictionary of the English Language. Prescriptivism was also a factor in the development of to uniform spelling, which makes rec-ognizing words a lot easier on our brains. Finally, there are some ne-ologisms that, if we’re honest with ourselves, make us cringe when we really think about them (and I, for one, could care less).

True, prescriptivism came from the misguided idea of having a “prestigious”, “correct” language. But the wishy-washiness of de-scriptivism’s origins are also ac-cused of lacking solid ground. In either case, it becomes a matter of opinion—at least, coming from someone who hesitates to call one view or the other strictly correct.

Now that we’ve got the abstract preparation out of the way, tune in next time for some down-to-earth language stuff!

Luke Sawczak

Luke’s Languages

Upped security at the Instructional Centre

Our campus is unique. If you have ever been here in the early morning, you know that an eerie sense of isola-tion punctuates the otherwise friend-ly atmosphere. The silence, perhaps a welcome change to some, can be oddly unnerving. There is sometimes a strange sensation of being watched, almost as if you’re under surveillance.

Never is this more apparent than in the brand-new, state-of-the-art Instructional Centre. With 18 cam-eras in total, security guards, and computerized locks on all classroom doors, the newest structure on cam-pus evokes the spirit of the most un-nervingly attentive watcher of all: Big Brother.

The technology, especially in its relation security, can seem like a bit much. However, at the current rate of expansion, preparing for the future may not be such a bad thing. “There is definitely an increased police pres-ence,” says Special Constable Len Paris, a manager with Campus Police Services.

“Because of the amount of new equipment, I wanted to make sure that the officers made extra checks to ensure that the building is secure [and] people are safe, and to make sure that persons have left the build-ing after it closes,” he says. These are preventative measures that are cur-rently under evaluation.

Regardless of what effect the se-curity has on the space, one thing is certain about the campus’ newest addition: it’s different. A space built on modern technology and environ-mental awareness, the Instructional Centre is modern and stylish as well as futuristic and forward-looking. It

is a fitting monument to the transi-tion UTM is going through. One of many infrastructure projects on campus, the IB building came with a $70-million price tag. It is the prod-uct of a $35-million injection from the Knowledge Infrastructure Plan (KIP), a substantial $2-billion com-ponent in Canada’s Economic Action Plan. Similar government subsidies, such as the ones for the recently an-nounced $52.5-million upgrades to the Davis and North buildings, illus-trate the rate of growth and develop-ment on the Mississauga campus.

In October 2009, Tony Clement, a former Peel politician and the cur-rent Industry Minister, spoke of the progressive steps taken at UTM: “At one time, this campus was almost an adjunct to the downtown Univer-sity of Toronto, but no more… We’re building for growth and it’s going to be a place for research and instruc-tion.”

The remarkable 12,000 sq. ft. In-structional Centre includes a 500-seat auditorium, a 350-seat lecture theatre, 25 classrooms, computer labs, and individual student study spaces. That extra room makes a big difference on a small campus that currently provides service to around 12,000 students.

But for some, the larger classrooms are difficult to adjust to. Roxanne Vieira, a fourth-year English and his-tory major, finds the new building in-timidating: “I prefer smaller classes. It’s a lot more intimate. You become good friends with the students in the class and you actually get to know your professor. It’s not so intimidat-ing when you have a smaller class.”

darren Savage

Who do we have to thank?Thanksgiving may be over, but how did it begin?

What does Thanksgiving mean to you? To most Canadians, the Thanksgiving holiday means a long weekend spent away from work, school, and other regular routines, spent instead with family, friends, and long-lost “associates”. Some of the aftereffects are leftover turkey that will serve as lunch and dinner for the next three weeks, a hangover you don’t remember contributing to or deserving, a messy house to be cleaned, and lots of dishes to put away. Especially for those blessed with lots of friends and big families. Between all that, how can we pos-sibly find time to think about what this holiday truly means to us or how it even came to exist in the first place—right?

The history of Canadian Thanks-giving goes back several centuries. In fact, historical records indicate that various First Nations tribes cel-ebrated a ceremony of thanksgiving many years before the European settlers arrived. Their celebration included gift-giving and ceremoni-al dances performed in the spirit of thankfulness to Mother Nature for a successful harvest.

The first recorded European take on it is in 1578, when the English navigator Martin Frobisher held a formal ceremony in Newfound-land to give thanks for surviving his third voyage—the largest Arc-tic expedition in history. Frobisher was commissioned by Queen Eliza-beth I to discover gold in the New World, and was granted 15 ships and 300 ore miners. Although the only thing he ended up mining was worthless iron pyrite (also known

as fool’s gold), he was knighted and Frobisher’s Bay was named after him. Frobisher’s ceremony was not thanks for a harvest but a celebra-tion of homecoming and of hav-ing successfully endured the brutal Arctic. Nevertheless, it’s often rec-ognized as the first Thanksgiving ceremony in Canada.

A few years later, the arrival of French settlers brought another Thanksgiving ceremony. Samuel de Champlain and his settlers held a festival in 1606, mainly to cel-ebrate the fact that they had sur-vived a cruel Canadian winter and had escaped death of scurvy. They even formed “The Order of Good Cheer”, a society which consisted of the elite of the colony, in which each member in turn was required to bless the wild game served in the meals. Their feast was celebrated and they shared their meals with the local indigenous tribes, who were critical in helping the French survive in the New World. Togeth-er, they celebrated survival.

The history of Thanksgiving also links Canada with its south-ern neighbours. The Pilgrims are credited with initiating the Thanks-giving tradition in America. The Pilgrims were Calvinist Christians who fled to avoid religious persecu-tion in England, and who came to establish a permanent settlement in Plymouth, Massachusetts in 1691. The purpose of their gathering was to celebrate their survival and their harvest in the New World. Their tradition spread north around 1750 with the immigration of some Pil-grims to Nova Scotia.

The tradition of Thanksgiving continued in Canada for various

purposes and at various times. In 1763, the citizens of Halifax held a unique “Thanksgiving Day” after the Seven Year War ended. The first Thanksgiving Day as a civic holiday was celebrated on April 5, 1872, af-ter the Prince of Wales recovered from an illness. (This prince later became King Edward VII.) Start-ing in 1879, Thanksgiving was cel-ebrated every year, although it was still not quite what we know it as; it was always held on a Thursday, and each year the holiday was supposed to commemorate a different event. From 1921 to 1931, Armistice Day (or Remembrance Day, as we now know it) and Thanksgiving were celebrated on the same day, but afterwards they became separate holidays again.

Finally, on January 31, 1957—only 54 years ago—the Canadian parliament proclaimed “a day of general thanksgiving to Almighty God for the bountiful harvest which Canada has been blessed...to be observed on the second Monday of October”. Since then, Canadians have celebrated Thanksgiving an-nually.

Now that we have taken a few minutes to ponder the historical importance of this holiday, let’s consider what Thanksgiving means to you. Thanksgiving is celebrated in a spirit of gratefulness, a time to feel content with all that has been given to us and all that will be given—however and wherever it came from, if we can afford to be in this country, in our homes, at this university, we must admit we have been blessed.

Hakima Hazifa

Security continued on page 10 Thanks continued on page 10

1: Prescriptive/descriptive—I, uh, COULD care less

10 THE MEDIUM «FEATURES 10.17.2011

Does IB feel like a prison?Perhaps we need a building that fosters intimacy but can also accom-modate a growing student popu-lation and address the inevitable safety needs.

In many ways, the Instructional Centre does just that. With its open concept design, complete with a cavernous atrium and glass walls, the building is open and transpar-ent. However, it’s not really the sort of place one would expect to have such tight security. But it may be that very transparency that calls for an increased police presence.

“We do get thefts,” explained Paris. “Last year we did experience an increase in thefts of laptops and other devices.” He hastens to add that it was not a big increase, but that it’s still an issue that needs to be ad-dressed. “I don’t look to technology for security. I don’t try to fall into that trap—that because we’ve got cameras and because we’ve got card access it’s secure. It’s only as secure as the people who are using it.”

To this end, safety is largely the responsibility of the student body.As Paris explains, even though the so-called “Big Brother” effect makes it easier to manage the building, “We really depend on campus police and the students, faculty and staff when it comes to security.” It is the type of interdependence that only a strong community can effectively provide.

In the midst of all this change that togetherness may be profoundly af-fected. “I definitely feel that UTM is losing that close, intimate feeling,” said Vieira. “When I first started [here] I always found a spot on the bus; nowadays, I seem to be the per-son [to whom] the bus driver says ‘No room, wait for the next one.’ It’s way too crowed on campus. There’s just way too many people. I’m not at all impressed, but I can’t complain; I’m graduating soon.”

Professor Mark Levene of the English department takes a different view of the changes occurring. “My guess is that an incoming student will feel pretty good about his or her part as opposed to just being a

number or financial factor or some-thing like that,” he says. “A student’s sense of the essential activity of why they are there and how they are re-garded—that building is going to help rather than hinder all of it.” Per-haps not an Orwellian nightmare, the campus still possesses a privacy and intimacy that might eludes both Scarborough and St. George. Tas Jubran, a fourth-year student with a major in CCIT and minors in PWC and English, feels that the campus is still intimate, but that the heightened security may change that. “Though I understand that this is a security measure, the height-ened security makes me feel like the school could easily start feeling a lot

like a prison that is being regulated by the school itself,” she explained. “In a way, with the cameras being in class and the students never know-ing how the footage could be used—possibly even a research study about students—reminds of a Panopticon prison structure: we know someone is watching, but we don’t actually know when or why.”

For now, however, UTM remains what it has always been: unique. Per-haps the professor put it best: “If the security presence were prominent and the building very chilling, kind of non-human, that would be one thing, but I don’t find it that way,” said Levene. “For what it is, it seems to have been done extremely well.”

Giving thanksThe day gives us a moment to consider all that we have and all that is so easy to be taken for granted. This commemora-tion is especially precious in the time and age that we live in: a fast-paced industrialized society where the goal is to get the latest version of the iPhone, a new Gucci bag to match the Dolce pumps, or a new car. We should take this day to offer our own thanks for having sur-vived, and appreciate not only the food that nourishes us, but also the people who are part of our lives and who help us be-come better people as we grow.

Take a moment to reflect who you are, who you were, who you’ve become, and who you want to be and everything that has brought you to where you are and helped you be who you are. Whether you do it on the second Monday of October, or any other day, take a minute to practice the ancient wisdom of being thankful.

edward cai/the medium

They’re watching you!

Security continued from page 10

Thanks continued from page 10

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»10.17.2011 11

MEDIUM SPORTSEditor » Chris Callahan

On October 9, UTM students visited Ralph Wilson Stadium, home of the NFL’s Buffalo Bills, to watch as they took on the “can’t miss” NFC pick for the Super Bowl: the Philadelphia Eagles. The Eagles came into the game with a lot of hype and were favoured to win by three points. The team is filled with Pro Bowl players, led by Michael Vick, their elusive, cannon-armed, $100-million quar-terback, and prized free agent cor-nerback Nnamdi Asomogha.

Sunday proved to be a unique experience as UTMAC bussed 53 UTM students from campus to the stadium and witnessed the Bills’ 31–24 victory. This was their fourth win in five contests in a surprisingly hot start to the season.

The afternoon’s weather was un-characteristic for Buffalo for this time of the year: sunny with a wel-come breeze. The good weather al-

lowed many UTM students the op-portunity to cheer comfortably. Said fourth-year student Amanda Cho, “It was awesome. When we bought the tickets for a game in Buffalo in early October, we certainly weren’t thinking we’d end up wearing t-shirts and being treated to summer weather.”

The Bills did not disappoint the UTM fans (among a total attendance of 69,803). The defence intercepted Vick 4 times (a career high), and the Buffalo offence was just as ef-fective, capitalizing on many Eagles blunders and late-game penalties. Bills’ quarterback Ryan “Fitzmagic” Fitzpatrick was efficient, but it was the Bills’ running back Fred Jackson who left the biggest impression on the UTM audience, finishing with 111 yards rushing and 85 more yards of caught passes.

The coordination of the trip was not easy, but the demand was clear. All but three available tickets were sold. As a result, UTMAC is looking

to make this an annual event, and in particular to keep the trip in early October to help reduce the stress of midterms.

“We want to make this an every-year thing. The students loved it and it was just good to get out and see Buffalo,” said Kassim Baluch, UT-MAC’s VP Administration.

Having the chance to unwind, for even just an afternoon, was a welcome opportunity for the UTM crowd. Fourth-year student Jeff Legge commented, “It was good to forget about being stressed at school, and be in a new city with my friends from school. It was an added bonus that the game was so exciting and close until the very end.”

Baluch’s experience was eye-opening and helped create an ap-preciation for the Bills. “It was crazy,” he added. “I’m not even a Bills fan and it was so much fun. Random people giving you a high five—and the crowd was nuts.”

ISAAC OWUSUASSOCIATE SPORTS EDITOR

UTMAC’s Bills outing a big hit

LOUNGINGPASS.BLOGSPOT.COM/PHOTOS

UTM students were treated to a gorgeous day at Ralph Wilson Stadium.

Bills begin 2011 season with a fast startIf, on the last day of the preseason, you told someone the Buffalo Bills would be an AFC best 4-1, 90% of people would laugh in your face, the other 10% were Bills fans and were far too depressed to laugh. However, five weeks into the 2011 season, the Bills sit atop the AFC along with the New England Patriots and the San Diego Chargers.

The Bills were initially written off by most analysts—ESPN’s an-nual pre-season power ranking had the Bills ranked 31 out of 32, while Yahoo Sports predicted a 4–12 sea-son (the second worst record in the league). The Bills have surprised even the most optimistic fans. Led by their bearded (and what a beard it is) QB and fantasy football monster Ryan Fitzpatrick, the Bills are off to a terrific start.

The former Harvard Crimson quarterback spent his first four years

as a backup in St. Louis and Cincin-nati before signing with the Bills in 2009. After winning the starting job at the beginning of the 2010 season, “FitzMagic”, as he’s called by the Bills’ faithful, made the most of his opportunity by throwing for 3,000 yards and making 23 touchdowns in 13 games. Though the Bills went 4–12 that year, most fans got their first real look at “FitzDragon”, and though analysts certainly placed no faith in him, the organization clearly did, choosing not to pick a QB with the third overall pick of last year’s draft.

If last year was FitzMagic’s com-ing out party to the Bills’ fans, this year has been his coming out to the rest of the league. In five games he’s racked up 1,200 yards and 10 touch-downs, and he currently has the seventh-best QB rating in the league. His passing numbers, although not league-leading, are solid. He is cur-rently in the top 10 in TDs, QB rat-

ing, completion percentage, and in the top 15 in most other stats, cou-pled with his ability to avoid turn-overs—only four QBs have fewer in-terceptions per attempt—have given the Bills something they haven’t had since 2004: a QB that can win games for the club, rather than just not lose them.

Though Fitzpatrick (sorry, but I think we’ve gone a bit overboard with nicknames at this point) may be getting the media spotlight, the real secret to the Bills’ success has been fifth-year running back Fred Jackson. After putting up 1,000+ yards in 2009 and 900+ in 2010, Jackson is once again running all over opponent’s defences.

After five games, Jackson is fifth in yards per carry, third in total yards, third in touchdowns, first in yards for a 20-yard gain or more, and second in first downs, and he still hasn’t fumbled the ball. Last year Jackson was ranked the eighth-best

pass-blocking running back in the league, something that he is terribly underrated at. This year his skills have only improved, helping Fitzpat-rick become the least sacked QB in the league. With 480 yards already, Jackson will most likely eclipse the 1,000-yard mark for the second time in his career, while continuing to be the motor behind the Bills’ success.

As everyone should know, a foot-ball team is not made up of just a QB or RB, and the Bills’ supporting cast has perhaps been the biggest surprise this year. Last year the Bills’ often-injured offensive line (11 dif-ferent players suited up for the five-man unit) was one of the worst in the league, allowing the 11th-most sacks and fifth-most QB hits. How-ever, this year has certainly been a turn around as the Bills’ offensive line has been arguably one of the best in league.

Fred Jackson has been running all over defences, and despite run-

ning the ball 139 times, the tandem of Jackson and Spiller has only lost yards on 15 plays. Fitzpatrick has also benefitted greatly from the im-proved O-line, having been sacked a league low of three times.

The Bills’ defence may seem like somewhat of a paradox this year. On one hand, it seems they have no answer to anything the opposing teams do. They are 30th of 32 in to-tal yards given up per game. Oppo-nents are averaging almost 140 yards per game against them, giving them the fourth-worst rushing defence; their pass defence isn’t much bet-ter, allowing 283 yards a game, the seventh-worst in the NFL.

Though their yards per game is truly terrible, they are in the middle of the league in terms of allowing teams to score. If the Bills can win a few more division games and keep winning the turnover battle, the 11-year playoff drought could finally come to an end.

CORY CRABTREE

THE MEDIUM «SPORTS 10.17.2011 12

Although this summer has been marked with many free agency signings and talk of injuries, a few blockbuster trades have also taken place.

Burns for Setoguchi and CoyleThe Minnesota Wild traded

Brent Burns and a second-round draft pick in 2012 to the San Jose Sharks in exchange for Devin Setoguchi, Charlie Coyle, and a first-round draft pick in 2011 (which effectively translates to Zack Phillips of QMJHL’s Saint John’s).

Burns, 26, scored 17 goals in 2010 and had 29 assists. He was drafted 23rd overall in 2003 by

the Minnesota Wild, but battled through concussions early in his career. With a year left on his

contract with the Wild, Burns signed a five-year extension to his contract, worth $28.8 million.

Setoguchi has roughly the same level of skill as Brent Burns, and Setoguchi is two years younger. Setoguchi has 84 points in 267 career NHL games. He was traded to the Wild one day after signing a three-year, $9-mil-lion contract with the San Jose Sharks.

The other player involved in the deal, Charlie Coyle, is a 2010 first-round draft pick who played last season with Boston Univer-sity.

Carter to Jackets for Voracek and picks; Richards to Kings

On June 23, the Philadelphia Flyers traded 26-year-old for-ward Jeff Carter to the Columbus Blue Jackets in return for Jakub Voracek, a first-round draft pick, and third-round draft picks in 2011. Earlier that same day, the Flyers dealt Mike Richards and Rob Bordson to the Los Ange-les Kings for prospect Brayden Schenn and forward Wayne Sim-monds.

Jeff Carter was drafted 11th overall in the 2003 Entry Draft. He scored 36 goals this past sea-son. He has 11 years and $58 mil-lion left on his 14-year contract.

Mike Richards of Kenora, On-tario was drafted 24th overall in the 2003 draft by the Philadel-phia Flyers. The 26-year-old cen-tre was captain of the Flyers from 2008–2011.

Brayden Schenn, 20, became a household name after the last IIHF World Juniors, where he stole the show by racking up 18 points over the course of the tournament and was named MVP. Schenn last played for the Saskatoon Blades of the WHL. He was drafted fifth overall in 2009 by the Kings.

Wayne Simmonds, a native of Scarborough, was drafted 61st overall in the 2007 Entry Draft by the Kings. The 23-year-old scored 14 goals last season with the Kings.

Colorado acquires Varlamov from Capitals

On July 1, the Colorado Ava-

lanche traded a first-round draft pick in 2012 and a conditional second-round draft pick in ei-ther 2012 or 2013 in exchange for 23-year-old goaltender Semyon Varlamov. The Avalanche later signed Jean-Sebastien Giguère, 34, to a two-year deal. The Ava-lanche have taken a risk by trad-ing for Varlamov; he was limited to 27 games last season due to injuries.

Heatley traded to Wild for Mar-tin Havlat

Dany Heatley, 30, was traded to the Minnesota Wild on July 3 in exchange for Martin Havlat in a move that garnered a lot of at-tention. Havlat will play for the San Jose Sharks this coming sea-son.

Heatley, drafted second overall in the 2000 Entry Draft by the Atlanta Thrashers (now the Win-nipeg Jets), struggled through some injuries last season. He went from scoring at least 39 goals per season to an all-time low of 26 goals last season. His contract is worth $7.5 million for the next three seasons. There was a no-movement clause in his contract, where he was required to give a list with 10 teams that he would not want to be traded to. Evidently, the Wild were not on that list.

Havlat, a Czech forward, was drafted 26th overall in 1999 by the Ottawa Senators. The 30-year-old had 22 goals and 40 assists last season. The San Jose Sharks take on a $5-million cap hit for the next four years with this deal.

Ducks acquire Cogliano from Edmonton

The Anaheim Ducks have trad-ed Edmonton a second-round draft pick in 2013 in exchange for Andrew Cogliano. The 24-year-old from Woodbridge, Ontario has netted 57 goals and earned 89 assists in 328 NHL games. He had 11 goals and 24 assists last season. He was drafted 25th overall by the Edmonton Oilers in 2005. Cogliano signed a three-year, $7.17-million contract with the Ducks.

NHL off-season recap: major summer tradesMICHELLE DUKLASASSOCIATE SPORTS EDITOR

The UTM women’s Division Two volleyball team won their game 2–1 against University College (UC) on Tuesday, Oc-tober 11.

After losing the first set 20–8, the women, who play in Divi-sion 2, rallied together to win the second game 20–6 and took the third game 20–9.

Kayla Colling’s front row and back court shots helped UTM pull ahead of UC, while Nata-lie Hamshar and Alex Romeo’s serving runs gave the team an edge over their opponents. An-other huge factor was Anna Grabowiecki’s quick reflexes, which led to many digs, allow-ing UTM to finish off UC in their last two sets.

“I felt the team played great,” said coach Brittney Gee. “They played as a team and they all cheered for one another.”

Two weeks ago, UTM defeat-ed Pharmacy 3–0 in their sea-son opener. They won their first two sets 20-10, and their last set 20-19.

The Division Two women’s volleyball team plays on Tues-day evenings at the Sports Gym of the Athletic Centre at St. George. Their next game will be on Tuesday, October 18, at 8:05 p.m., against New College.

UTM volleyball wins again

MICHELLE DUKLASASSOCIATE SPORTS EDITOR

Team is off to a great start for the season

AJMAZZO.WEEBLY.COM/PHOTOS

Jeff Carter will no longer be wearing Flyers orange this season.

In their season opener on Oc-tober 12, the UTM Division 1 Intramural Basketball team, the UTM Blue, defeated the UTSC Maroons, the defending champi-ons from last season. The game was close—the final score was 60–56—but in the end UTM proved the better team.

Kent Bray was the top scorer for UTM; he ended the game with 20 points. Not far behind was Fedja K., who tallied 15 points.

“We didn’t have much time to warm up before the game,” said coach Ammer Askary. “The weather was bad and the traffic was heavy, so we arrived late. But the team played very well.”

The team had a few costly turnovers, which made the game closer than it should have been.

“We’re a better team,” Askary said. “We just missed some easy shots and turned over the ball too much.”

UTM Blue are missing two of their players due to ankle inju-ries. Both are expected to rejoin the lineup in time for next week’s game against the Faculty of Phys-ical Education and Health. The game is scheduled for 8 p.m. on Wednesday, October 19, at UTM.

MICHELLE DUKLASASSOCIATE SPORTS EDITOR

UTM Blue defeats UTSC