^̂The University of Toronto’s Independent Weekly Since 1978 VOL XXXV Issue 5 • October 4, 2012the newspaper

First Muslim chaplain in Canada 2

Debate: Ban it or bag it? 5

Arts: Before I die ... 11

Dracula 101 10

INSIDE THE STACK 6

COVER STORY

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THE NEWS2 October 4, 2012

the newspaper

the newspaper1 Spadina Crescent Suite 245Toronto, ON M5S 1A1

Editorial: 416-593-1552thenewspaper@gmail.comwww.thenewspaper.ca

the newspaper is published by Planet Publications Inc., a non-profit corporation.

All U of T community members, including students, staff and faculty, are encouraged to contribute to the newspaper.

Editor-in-ChiefCara Sabatini

News EditorYukon Damov

Arts EditorVanessa Purdy

Photo EditorBodi Bold

Illustrations EditorNick Ragetli

Web EditorJoe Howell

Managing EditorHelene Goderis

Design EditorSamantha Chiusolo

ContributorsSuzanna Balabuch, Sarah Boivin, Bodi Bold, Dan Chris-tensen, Samantha Chiusolo, Yukon Damov, Lou Doyoun, Helene Goderis, Sebastian Greenholtz, John Han, Dylan Hornsby, An Hu, Christina Maravegia, Keely Maynard, Felicia Perricelli, Nick Ragetli, David Stokes, Emerson Van-

denberg

the newspaper is the University of Toronto’s independent weekly paper, published since

1978.VOL XXXV No. 5

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Faced with a budget shortfall, TTC has approved a 5 cent fare increase, the latest in a long history of fare increases. While the increase would not affect cash fares, the price of an adult monthly Metropass will go up by $2.50 per month. And for the estimated 85 per cent of University of Toronto students who commute, the increase could strain already tight budgets.

The increase comes less than

a week after Mayor Rob Ford restated on his radio show his desire to freeze TTC fares once and for all. This scenario is im-possible, responded TTC Chair Karen Stintz, if routes and ser-vice are to remain the same.

Corey Scott, UTSU Vice Pres-ident of Internal and Services, says the majority of students use public transit. The student union office sells discount-ed post-secondary student Metropasses to reduce those transit costs.

U of T commuter student

Sebastian Greenholtz

Olivia Dziwak, who has an hour and a half

commute from Mississauga, expressed concern about the increase. “I don’t know if I can be against it because obvious-ly I hear lots and lots of com-plaints about the TTC, but I’m sure they’re not doing it for no reason--I’m sure they need the money.” Without the TTC, her alternative route would “take a third longer,” which with the distance already traveled

would o n l y

make the morning commute

more exasperating.The TTC budget consists of a

30 per cent municipal subsidy and the rest is recovered from fares, so without an increase in government funding the TTC had to choose between increas-ing fares or decreasing service. TTC CEO Andy Byford stands firmly against the latter.

Scott sees the increase as yet another economic burden for students, on top of the highest tuition fees of any province. “Governments need to start pri-oritizing investment in public

sec-t o r s ,

i n c l u d i n g public transit in-

frastructure, to help offset these increasing costs,”

he said.The UTSU has been fight-

ing to expand public transit and keep costs low through government investment, rather than having to choose between higher fares and ser-vice cuts. “The UTSU has been meeting with Toronto City Councilors and the TTC Riders group to pressure all levels of government to invest in pub-lic transit,” said Scott, “And we continue to stress the impor-tance of protecting the student metropass.”

The TTC has yet to decide whether student Metropasses will also experience an in-crease.

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TTC fare increase puts finance burden on passengersU of T student union continues to fight for commuter student majority

ASSU nixes elec-tions from sched-uling conflictsElections slated to vote in three new members of the Arts & Science Student Un-ion (ASSU) this week were kiboshed when two out of five of the candidates dropped out. Jane Seto, Ex-ecutive Assistant of ASSU, said the reason for this was that both drop-out candi-dates had “conflicts with the meeting time.” Kevin Lunianga, Jacob Raggiunti, and Abdullah Shihipar, the remaining candidates, were appointed the three posi-tions on the executive team.

The ASSU comprises a to-tal of 7, normally, elected ex-ecutive members and 3 full-time staff members. If the elections had gone through this week, executive mem-bers and presidents of the nearly 40 course unions comprising the ASSU, would each have had their

the briefs vote for their three favour-ite candidates.

- Lou Doyon

Jarvis bike lanes voted down On Tuesday, October 2, City Council rejected efforts to save bike lanes on Jarvis Street, despite heavy left-wing lobbying. Instead, the city will start work in about a month to install a fifth car lane. Councillor Kristyn Wong-Tam, who motioned to the vote, commented, “You’re not going to remove cyclists by removing bicy-cle lanes. They’re still go-ing to be there, they’re just going to be riding very un-safely.”

While supporters of the lanes argue that they in-crease biker safety, those who voted against argue that the new lane, which will decrease traffic conges-tion, is a more important project.

-Sourced from Now Magazine, Sebastian

Greenholtz

Ontario is home to the MafiaOntario has become a safe haven for the Italian Ma-fia, who evade prosecu-tion under Canadian law. In the past two years over 30 Ontario men have been accused by the Italian au-thorities of having Mafia ties, with 10 sporting Ital-ian arrest warrants. The RCMP have labeled a fac-tion called ’Ndrangheta as a Tier 1 threat to the GTA.

Italian law includes a “Mafia association” law that helped authorities jail dozens of men with Mafia connections. The Canadian Criminal Code has no similar law. Experts say that Canada’s current laws cannot manage the complex nature of inter-national crime.

-Sourced from The Star, Sebastian Greenholtz

www.thenewspaper.ca 3 THE NEWS

First Muslim chaplain in Canada Amjad Tarsin aims to combat stereotypes at U of T

U of T Administration, Faculty, Student Union talk back to the Ministrythe newspaper breaks down latest feedback to the Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities

On Monday, October 1, the University of Toronto’s first full-time Muslim chaplain took up post, hoping to erase stereotypes of Muslim stu-dents. Canada’s first Muslim chaplain, Amjad Tarsin, will serve the fast-growing U of T Muslim population and en-deavour to provide guidance and create positive relation-ships with students of all reli-gious backgrounds.

Like a Catholic chaplain, a Muslim chaplain is a religious figure who is there to interact, form relationships and sup-port students through counsel. Of course, unlike a Catholic chaplain, a Muslim chaplain reaches into the Islamic tradi-tion, beliefs, and scriptures, in order to provide guidance.

“The Muslim chaplaincy and Islamic chaplaincies in Canada will really be a way of creating a new form of Islamic leadership in North America,” explained Tarsin in an inter-view with the newspaper. “[The chaplaincy] is creating a new field which has a lot of

potential . . . and hopefully can allow even greater society to recognize the value that Mus-lims can contribute to com-munities, society, and campus societies.”

Muslim Students’ Associa-tion President Aisha Raja said that before the new full-time chaplaincy, part-time chap-lains worked as volunteers. “We can now support Muslim students not only in terms of what they are already doing but also in terms of problems and issues they have in order to foster a healthy youth Mus-lim community,” Raja said.

Along with his “dynamic and unique personality,” Raja noted that Tarsin’s background and education made him aptly qualified for the position. Tar-sin graduated from the Uni-versity of Michigan where he studied Islamic Studies and English Literature. He also graduated from Hartford Semi-nary to become a chaplain.

With all these character-istics, Raja hopes Tarsin will help break down Muslim ste-reotypes that concern a large population of the U of T com-

munity. The Muslim Students Association raised $70 000 to create the position in an on-line funding campaign during the summer.

Coinciding with new Mus-lim Studies program at Emma-nuel College, Tarsin’s position involves encouraging, and participating in, interfaith-dialogue. “The world is becom-ing much smaller,” said Tarsin. “In order for there to be better cooperation and more har-mony in the world, interfaith relations are extremely impor-tant.”

Nevin Read, a professor of Muslim Studies at Emmanuel College, expanded on the defi-nition of inter-faith dialogue. “[Interfaith] dialogue is people

conversing with one another and understanding the Other and understanding oneself--so it’s self identification and it’s open ended,” said Read. “With dialectic, two people are argu-ing for different points, each one to prove the other wrong. Interfaith dialogue is different in that way--so its an idea that we are all part of a whole.”

Tarsin estimated that U of T has 5,000 Muslim students, which reflects the city’s diver-sity. Toronto hosts the high-est percentage of Muslims in North America, and the num-bers are not stagnating. Ac-cording to a study published last year by the Pew Research

Center’s Forum on Religion & Public Life, Canada’s Muslim population is expected to tri-ple in the next 20 years. As the Muslim population continues to grow, so does the demand for dialogue.

Tarsin is excited for his new position and has already in-teracted with U of T students and faculty. “One of the ways that I think the Muslim chap-laincy will be a positive contri-bution for Muslims and other students [is] to really serve everyone and to recognize the good that is in themselves and to share that with others,” he said.

In June, the Ontario Ministry of Training, Colleges, and Universi-ties (MTCU) released a discussion paper seeking feedback for its proposals to reform post-secondary education (PSE). The dead-line for submissions from individuals, student and faculty unions and associations, and institutions was Sept 30. The newspaper has compiled and highlighted points of the submissions of the U of T Administration, the Faculty Association, and the Students’ Union. Each submission is mostly critical of the proposed changes, such as increased online learning, three-year baccalaureate degrees, and an easier, simplified credit-transfer system amongst universities and between universities and colleges.

Christina Maravegia

Emerson Vandenberg, Dylan Hornsby, Sarah Boivin

U of T theology school Emmanuel College opens its doors to first Muslim chaplain.

Administration1. The Administration sees the discussion paper as driven by ‘cost-containment.’ MTCU is attempting to maintain qual-ity, affordability, and availabil-ity through technological and “process” innovation.2. Using the Bologna Declara-tion in Europe as a reference is problematic for the U of T ad-ministration. It was implement-ed across jurisdictions and has no equivalent in North America. Mobility between institutions is not as fluid as reported. Its ef-fective compression of a four-degree into a three-year degree has left students unprepared for post-grad or employment. 3. Three-year baccalaureate de-grees granted in Ontario would be unrecognized outside of On-tario. 4. U of T has already entered into a credit transfer consor-tium with six other Ontario universities and expanded its online course offerings.

University of Toronto Faculty Association1. The UTFA argues that research as a public good is not recog-nized. Instead, the paper focus-es only on the direct, commer-cial applications of research. There is no discussion of the link between higher education and advanced research.2. The UTFA criticizes the move to standardize courses, even at the introductory level, for not reflecting the strengths of vari-ous institutions and staff. The freedom to design programs and curricula is a hallmark of academic freedom.3. Online learning may not foster the kind of divergent thinking sought after in some programs. There is no acknowl-edgement of different types of instruction, nor the fact that some types of instruction do not translate well to online me-dia.4. The UTFA criticizes MTCU for not taking geographic and con-textual differences into account when using the Bologna Decla-ration in Europe as a model for a revamped transfer-credit sys-tem.

University of Toronto Students’ Union1. The UTSU systematically re-jects the Paper’s proposals and reiterates familiar goals, such as lowering tuition by 25 per cent and improving the student-fac-ulty ratio. 2. UTSU slammed the three-year degree plan for being in-flexible and restrictive as stu-dents struggle to enter a rapidly changing economy. 3. UTSU criticized increased online education, stressing that the ‘social and intellectual in-teractions’ of post-secondary experience are vital to educa-tional success.4. The Union’s qualms with the credit transfer system proposal range from claims of the ef-fect of the system on academic freedom to essentially mandat-ing institutionalized mediocrity. The statement emphasizes that the work of individual profes-sors defines the character of a university department; stand-ardization would impose on that academic diversity. UTSU criticized the validation of a system based on European models, along with the financial implications of such a move.

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THE INSIDE4 October 4, 2012 ^̂

CONJohn Han &Natalie Morcos

Vampires give lifeblood to new course in seminar seriesWhy U of T is offering non-traditional classes to first year students

Watch closely. This scene could be on your next exam.

To build social support make Queer Orientation earlier and

resources always available

The Comment: Queer Orientation

Queer and trans* youth can feel an overwhelm-ing feeling of differentness when put in a new environ-ment, and for many students no environment is newer than first year university. In order to com-bat these feelings the many and varied LGBTQ organizations on all three UofT campuses hosted Queer Orientation, a week of events to unite the queer and trans* community. While the events provided ample oppor-tunities for queer students of different interests and back-grounds to find camaraderie,

t h o s e opportunities were often lost in finding the time to attend them.

Queer Orientation excelled in providing different settings and contexts for building social bonds. For those who enjoy a party-like atmosphere LGB-TOUT Meet and Greet brought together all three campuses in one room, playing loud music and making physical content a spatial inevitability. I get in-

timidated by large groups

so I enjoyed the LGBTQase social, which provided a more casual set-ting plus a geekier group of kids. Oth-

er events catered to the athletic or those who love

the nightlife. By providing vari-ous types of activities, students can pick out what they enjoy and thus meet other students who enjoy the same things, ide-ally creating friendships.

Furthermore the Queer Ori-entation events were littered with information on how to find queer community after the week was out. My inbox and desk are overflowing with emails and pamphlets on drop-in centres, support groups, fur-ther social events, and office

hours for the LGBTQ support networks on campus. This en-sures that students find queer-focused support and social spaces, even if attending events did not result in a new group of friends.

However, building social inti-macy is difficult to do without connecting with the commu-nity, and connection-centred events are hard to attend when they occur during classes. Be-cause Queer Orientation occurs during the second and third week of school both lectures and tutorials are in full swing and professors are handing out mountains of reading. This makes finding the time to come out to events extremely difficult. There were at least five or six events that sounded both time-consuming to have planned and extremely enjoyable but which

took place during my lectures. If events could have been just a week earlier, before students have had time to fall behind on work, then they could be more accessible for building social bonds.

Overall, Queer Orientation serves an important role in the beginning of year events at UofT. The need for social inclusivity and connectedness in the siz-able queer community has to be addressed early on so no one will feel stranded or ostracized. Next year’s planners should improve accessibility by hosting events a week earlier, and make support information more readily avail-able outside of the events. With these two improvements Queer Orientation and the community it supports would go from fair to fabulous.

Sebastian Greenholtz

A university classroom is not the first place you would expect to discuss vampire dramas such as True Blood, but in Professor Erol Boran’s class it’s built into the syllabus. A German lan-guage, literature, and theatre professor, Boran heads a class called Our Vampires, Ourselves. From the title, it sounds like the course might be better suited to be held at an arts school, as a se-ries in some dingy hipster cafe where everything is organic, or even at Hogwarts. However, the themes and subjects explored in this first year seminar course on Dracula are actually on par with the University’s academic cur-riculum.

Boran’s course is just one of the 124 seminar courses offered to first year students this year. These non-traditional classes, capped at 24 students each, “allow [professors] to explore

areas not necessarily related to our research that we person-ally find interesting and which we believe will be of interest to the students,” explained Brock Macdonald, a senior lecturer at Woodsworth College. Macdon-ald is the creator of the course Roll over, Beethoven, which explores the cultural ripples caused by advancements in mu-sic technology.

Macdonald’s reasons for cre-ating the course echo those of Physics professor Bob Logan in terms of personal importance and interest. “I take the social re-sponsibility of the scientist very seriously,” he stated. Adding that he felt public levels of science literacy had lead to some bad decisions among politicians in recent years, Logan said that he created his humanities course ,The Physics of Poetry and the Poetry of Physics, to “contribute in the small way that [he] could.”

However, the motivation be-hind offering these courses is

not solely to allow professors and students to explore areas of interest. Macdonald explained that part of why these seminars are being offered to first years is to serve as “University 101 classes.” He added that the small class sizes increased participa-tion among the incoming stu-dents, as well as facilitated their familiarity with both professors and the university system.

Despite attractive pop-culture titles, the courses are academi-cally rigorous. Boran elaborates that Bram Stoker’s Dracula, one of the required texts for the course, deals with transnational issues, while the television se-ries True Blood deals with iden-tity, sexuality, and modernity. These issues along with colo-nialism and gender struggles all come together in Boran’s course.

The majority of seminar class-es transcend rigid discipline boundaries but can broadly be classed as Humanities. Students develop critical thinking skills

and the ability to develop an in-formed, personal opinions more than they learn concrete skills and facts. “It’s not like I teach them how to build a house or plant a tree; it’s more subtle,” Bo-ran said.

With these small, discussion based seminars the university aims to offer a unique classroom experience to students without

sacrificing the quality of the learning. Judging by students’ enthusiasm, it’s working. A for-mer first year student conceded: “I wrote the best paper I think I’ve ever written in my seminar class. The topics were just so interesting--unlike anything we were talking about in my other classes.”

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www.thenewspaper.ca 5 THE DEBATE ^̂PRO

Dylan HornsbyAfter Mayor Rob Ford tried to scrap the 5-cent plastic bag tax in June, Toronto’s city council took radical action. Instead of scrapping the tax, Council went the com-plete opposite way and voted 27-17 to ban all plastic bags in Toronto, starting in Janu-ary 2013. Why? While Ford is a business-man with right-wing beliefs, much of city council remains fixed in David Miller-era environmental politics. In this municipal tug-of-war, City Council saw the perfect opportunity to put the Mayor in his place and make Toronto a world leader for sustainability. They may have won the fight in June, but what they didn’t con-sider were the consequences.

Making matters worse, groups representing Ontario’s conve-nience stores and Canada’s plas-tic industry have threatened to take the city to court, spending even more public funds. If you consider how many plastic bags are used in this city of millions, as well as the jobs and industry that depend on them, this could be a minor economic crisis just wait-ing to happen. From a busi-ness standpoint, few local stores could afford to m a n u f a c t u r e their own cloth bags, and would inevitably turn to paper. Not only are paper bags more expen-sive for business than plastic, their m a n u f a c t u r i n g process harms the environment just as much.

Given these conse-quences, what was wrong with the original 5-cent tax? When it was imposed in 2009, many families bought cloth bags to avoid paying extra at the store. The result was plastic bag use dropping in half, meaning less impact on the environment and minimum inconvenience for taxpayers. Furthermore, the proceeds from the tax (which currently go back to the retailers) could be put into environmental programs instead. In the end, it seems that Toronto’s city council simply made a risky decision to satisfy a green agenda.It should be coun-cil’s job to get our finances in order and provide great public services, not to save the world from city hall.

The Debate: Bag it or ban it?Motion: City Council is right to ban the distribution of plastic

bags in Toronto

Another day, another story of Rob Ford vs. The World.

This past June, Rob Ford finally won the battle “for taxpayers” against the 5-cent charge on plastic bags. In retaliation, City Council proposed to ban bags altogether by January 2013. The motion passed.

Ford, eloquently evaluating the merits of council action, was quoted in the Globe and Mail to have proclaimed: “We’ve done some dumb things, but I think banning plastic bags, that’s just outright stupid, never mind dumb.”

The outcry to the banning of plastic bags has been substantial. People don’t know how they will carry on. The Ontario Con-venience Stores Association and the Ca-nadian Plastics Industry Association are threatening to sue, saying that the ban im-pinges on the Charter of Rights and Free-doms. The mayor thinks we’re all dumb.

But I think all Torontonians can be reas-sured that, just like the 5-cent fine, we did not come up with this calamitous plan all on our own. Several other places, includ-ing the state of South Australia, San Fran-cisco, and Fort McMurray, Alberta, have all banned bags, and are reportedly still standing.

Residents elsewhere have adapted to life with alternatives to readily available plastic bags, something I believe Torontonians are well ca-

pable of. Let us remember that the ban of distribution of plastic bags does not mean they will not be

sold elsewhere or you will be fined for possession. They will not disappear.

In terms of legal prosecu-tions, Council is still waiting to hear from their legal team on the threat of suing associa-tions. From this humble view, however, it seems that if Fort

McMurray was able to avoid be-ing crushed by Canadian Plastics

and the likes, a city with the size and influence of Toronto should be

able to manage.There are those who say the environ-

mental impact is negligible, and that it is an invalid reasoning for the ban. But really is

any environmental effort a bad thing? South Aus-tralia’s bag ban saw an enormous decrease in litter

production.The heart of this argument, however, is not the plight of

the everyday plastic bag-less existence, legal issues, or the en-vironment: it’s political. Ford struck back at city council on the bag fine and they decided to try to kick him down with something unpassable-- but it did pass. The war between Ford and council has brought council action on grocery transpor-tation to extremes.

If it’s good for the environment and sticks it to Ford, why are we complaining?

^̂

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Sarah Boivin

A few months ago Toronto City Council voted to ban plastic bags, following a trend

throughout several North American cities. On Wednesday Rob Ford’s allied counselors at-

tempted to reopen the debate in city council but fell short of the two-thirds vote need-

ed. Proponents argue that plastic bags are wasteful and unnecessary. Those opposed to

the ban claim it was too hastily passed, having been tacked onto another bill.

6 October 4, 2012 THE INSIDE

Inside the steam plantIt helps everybody; no-body knows about it. A mas-sively complex operation of millions of working parts. Miles of tubes. Intense heat. Explosive pressure.

This is U of T’s Central Steam Plant, located at Russell and Huron Street. You’ve seen the chimney towering over the St. George campus. On cold days, it’s what’s puffing out the gi-ant white cloud of vapour. The facility heats 75 campus build-ings and provides electricity. The plant is the reason class-rooms aren’t freezing and the lights stay on.

How it does this is simple: it boils water and sends it out. The heat stored in this water warms the air before returning to the plant, where the cycle

can start again. This is an effi-cient and uncommon system known as district heating. This year marks the 100th year that U of T has been heated this way.

The plant’s capacities are im-pressive. But more exciting is the day to day life within the plant itself.

Boon-Teak Lee is the chief engineer and head honcho of this place. Boon-Teak, a slen-der, short older man with glasses and a friendly voice, has been working at U of T since 1977 and it’s his steady direction that keeps the steam plant running smoothly. It’s evident that this has been his life’s work, and he, quite liter-ally, has run a tight ship: he got his start running the die-sel turbines of ocean freight-ers, as a marine engineer. “We

used to run from the Persian Gulf to Europe in a big tanker, 250,000 tonnes, the length of the CN tower, that’s how long the tanker was,” he says.

Boon-Teak is a certified oper-ating engineer, which means he has passed the government tests required to run the plant. “You can take a professor and he’s not allowed to run the plant.”

“We operate machinery; we don’t do design or study.” The steam plant is the St. George campus’ only working engi-neering site, a status that sets it apart and makes it a world of its own.

And it’s an active one: the plant is in operation 24 hours a day. “We never stop...it’s al-ways on.”

From his office, Boon-Teak tells me that I’d viscerally feel

the plant working. “It’s not that nice,” he warned. “It’s hot.” He hands me a pair of cellophane-packed neon ear plugs that I shove in my ears. Evidently, it would be loud too.

We walk out of his office and down a short hallway. What had been but a hum in his of-fice becomes a roar. This is the steam plant proper.

The inside of the plant is a visually confusing landscape of criss-crossing bright col-oured pipes, blinking light, le-vers, pulley systems, and knobs that surround in all directions. The smell is pungent and oily, and the noise is a thousand dif-ferent sounds trapped in one place, punctuated by loud re-leases of pressure. It feels like navigating the subconscious.

And then there’s the heat. Boon-Teak measured the walls

of a portion of the plant once and they were over 70oC. And yet, in the winter, it sometimes snows in the building, the flakes sucked in en mass by the air intake fans.

I was still adjusting to the psychic shock of the space but Boon-Teak was in his element, a Virgil guiding me through fa-miliar territory. He eagerly re-lated every aspect of building while ducking around pipes, walking up yellow metal cat-walks and staircases, passing hissing valves and clanking machinery. He has to yell over the noise, I have to strain to hear him.

Right away he points out the boilers. The boilers are enor-mous four-storey metal boxes, the largest units in the facility. And it’s within these that gas is ignited to turn water into

A look inside the technology that’s kept UofT hot for 100 years

www.thenewspaper.ca 7 THE INSIDE

BY DAVID STOKES Photos by Helene Goderis

Tunnels for the steam and hot water pipes run under-neath the entire campus like a giant subterranean web.

Photos of the University of Toronto Central Steam Plant. Sometimes a chimney is just a

chimney....

steam. When the building was built

in 1951, there were only two boilers; now, after a succession of building expansions and upgrades, there are four. The largest of these can generate 200,000 pounds per hour of steam.

The boilers used to burn coal until that practice was phased out in the late 1960s. Now they have been converted to burn mostly natural gas, consum-ing over one million dollars worth of gas a month. The ex-haust exits through the 300 foot chimney. The white va-pour visible in cold weather is water vapour condensing out from the gas exhaust, and not the exhaust itself, which rises invisibly.

In 1992 the facility acquired the ability to produce elec-tricity (6 megawatts, or about what’s used by 5,000 homes). And in 2000 the plant added a system that draws heat out from the exhaust to warm even more water. This is a major advance in efficiency, and the plant was an early adopter of this system. People have come to the plant to learn about this system, proving that it’s a leader in its field. In winter, the heat recovery system recovers 13 million BTU’s per hour. To put that in perspective, each one million BTU is 1,000 cubic feet of gas that you don’t need to burn or buy.

Walking through the plant, Boon-Teak opened an inaus-picious metal hatch in one of the boilers. Behind this seem-ingly inert hunk of metal was an inferno. The boiler cham-ber contains two jets that re-lease a whirling, roaring blue flame wide enough to drive a car through. The chamber has a negative pressure that can change unpredictably, which can result in flames flying out of the hatch. Given the danger and high heat, we can only ob-serve the flame quickly. The sight is super cool. All in all, the plant has eight of these massive jets, yet the pipe that brings in natural gas into the building is only 8 inches wide.

The intensity of the jets are regulated from the control room. Computers display real-time graphs of data. There are

giant electronic switchboards (a recent upgrade). But there are still some analog levers and knobs. An engineer made sure my backpack didn’t graze any levers and inadvertently cause a disaster during the tour.

As the season grows colder, the engineers increase the amount of natural gas that is burned. In fact, it’s one work-er’s job to check the weather every morning, like an enor-mous version of your moth-er setting the thermostat at home.

Buildings on the east side of St. George are supplied with steam; to the west, it’s hot wa-ter. The steam goes out at 200 pounds per square inch and 388oF -- and in the winter, the hot water goes out at 240 pounds and 375oF. This hot water is under such extreme pressure and is so energy dense that any leaks are potentially explosive.

Of course, there are emer-gency procedures that the crew can take to shut down in case of error, including a num-ber of big red emergency shut-off buttons. But more critical in the event of an emergency are the embedded physical safeties -- valves designed to burst past certain pressures and vent steam automatically out the roof. With Boon-Teak at the helm, there’s been no system failures.

And the system is enormous. Tunnels for the steam and hot water pipes run underneath the entire campus like a gi-ant subterranean web. When asked about the tunnel map, Boon-Teak is quick to respond: “We don’t show anyone - espe-cially students.”

But the tunnel network has been penetrated in the past. “There is a group, they call themselves Infiltration,” shares Boon-Teak. “They have our pictures.” He sounds be-mused and genuinely con-cerned for people’s safety.

I got a chance to experience the tunnels myself when Dom-inic, a U of T physics graduate who is a trainee at the plant, later took me through a por-tion of the tunnels referred to as the “free sauna.” Starting at the foot of the plant, we walk the cramped, ill-lit, impossibly

hot tunnels, winding around and eventually descending be-low St. George Street.

“Don’t touch anything that’s metal,” warns Dominic. He used to wear a gold chain around his neck, but because it absorbs the extreme tunnel heat, he got burned by it too many times.

Dominic shares that the as-sumption by outsiders is that the steam plant workers stare at a screen all day. “But it’s not like that at all.” The crew, made up of engineers and machin-ists, run around solving prob-lems all day and night. Rou-tinely, crew members weld, saw, and clean, among other tasks. “The work never ends - there’s always something to do in here.”

Boon-Teak comments that a lot of engineering students “study engineering but may never see any equipment.” Here, evidence of that equip-ment at work is obvious in the organized chaos of the plant floor: in every corner there are ladders, fans, half-filled bar-rels, cardboard boxes, air tanks, discarded gauges, and rusty metal. In his office, Boon-Teak keeps a pile of jagged, ruptured pipes to show visitors.

On the way out, Boon-Teak shows me photo albums of tur-bines on his computer. After a dedicated 35 years, he’s retir-ing next year.

Exiting onto the cool and quiet street, all is normal and dull like waking from a dream. The Central Steam Plant -- with its labyrinthine build-ing and committed crew -- is proof of the powerful forces at work that allow us to go about our studies in comfort. It expels warmth and electric-ity everywhere, but the energy that leaves the plant is a far cry from its inward intensity. Chances are, if you’re read-ing this on campus, the steam plant is physically affecting you too.

8 October 4, 2012

Plan Benefits

Your health

& Dental

Who is enrolled?All full-time undergraduate, professional faculty and theology students at St. George or Mississauga are automatically enrolled in the U.T.S.U. extended health and dental plans.

Plan members who are first year students or returning from a leave of absence are covered starting September 1, 2012. Although coverage is effective from September 1, new plan members will not be able to receive reimbursements until their accounts are activated by the end of November.

oPt-in & oPt-oUt

datesStudents starting

in September: aug. 27 to oct. 5,

2012 Students starting

in January: Jan. 7 to Feb 1,

2013

the U.t.s.U. offers tWo insUrance Plans An extended health plan; and a dental plan. Students who have comparable health coverage may opt-out of the health plan while any student may opt-out of the dental plan. Students are required to opt-out on an annual basis.

Students may enroll their spouse (including a common law or same sex partner) and/or children to both the health plan and the dental plan for an additional fee.

Opt-Out Online at stuDentplans.ca/utsu

enrOl by ViSitinG health@utsu.ca

get more info onlineVisit utsu.ca/health for benefits information.

once your account is activitated, register at greenshield.ca/studentcentre to get personalized claims forms, claims history, to print your Green shield ID card and to get discounts on dental and vision with exclusive Discount networks.

For more info please contact your students’ union: U.T.S.U. Health & Dental Plan Office 12 Hart House Circlehealth@utsu.ca

Provider info:1-888-711-1119

greenshield.ca/studentcentre

YoUr insUrance Provider is green shield. YoUr green shield id is:

sac (u of t ID#) - 00 i.e. sac 999999999-00

THE INSIDE

www.thenewspaper.ca 9THE INSIDE

Escher ain’t got shit on our steam plant.

10 October 4, 2012 THE ARTS

FU2: down to folk?Urban folk collective Fedora Upside-Down throws eclectic culture party

Before you get offended, FU2 stands for Fedora Upside-Down 2. Taking place this Sat-urday, October 6 at Toronto’s Ukrainian Culture Center between 2 pm and 2 am, FU2 marks the second in a tradi-tion of annual festivals put on by urban folk collective Fedora Upside-Down.

In the words of spokesper-son Mark Marcyzk, Fedora Upside-Down is “all about re-envisioning traditional folk culture--which is traditionally a rural thing--in an urban core that is really multicultural.”

Gaining their name from the image of the upturned hat of-ten seen accompanying street performers, FU began to take shape a year and a half ago as one-off performances by the Lemon Bucket Orkestra and

Freeman Dre &

The Kitchen Party. Frustrated by the profit-oriented and “cul-turally obtuse” music indus-try, they took promotions into their own hands. What then started small as a movement to “reclaim the streets” has now grown into a veritable or-ganization, spanning 17 musi-cal acts and having numerous other ties to folk communities.

This year’s programming is noticeably different than last year’s-- largely in an effort to align with FU’s mandate of creating an inclusive commu-nity space; one in which music is more a lifestyle experience than anything else.

“Last year we just had an evening thing,” said Marcyzk, “but this year we’re starting much earlier and trying to have an event that’s more all-ages.” FU2’s day programming includes a handful of work-shops – from Balkan folk danc-

ing to scarecrow making – as well as children’s’ activities and a musical puppet show run by The Frolick Theatre.

Though it’s been announced that the main room will fea-ture two stages (one made en-tirely of hay bales), Marcyzk won’t give away any more. When asked what FU had in store that could possibly top last year’s 30-foot garbage art and mini-forest installations, he only hinted that “there will be something as spectacular, and there will be things up-side-down.”

Marcyzk did provide a snap-shot of what to expect from the other rooms. For example, the Stray Cat Cabaret room, hosted by Kosa Kolektiv and based off the modernist Stray Dog Caba-ret of 1920s St. Petersburg, will be a candle-lit-café style space with an in-teresting

selection of vodkas and teas from around the world.

“This is the first time we’re inviting poets in and not just doing the crazy parade. We’re having a quiet space where people can listen to each oth-er in a different way.” Poets performing the half hour sets here will include Toronto’s for-mer Poet Laureate Pier Giorgio Di Cicco. A short film by Mar-cyzk will also be screened.

Though there is an argu-ment to be made against throwing a festival on Thanks-giving weekend, the Fedora Upside-down crew avoid this criticism by consciously

building it into their program-ming. Hosted by Impulse Six Clowns, FU2’s Thanksgiving dinner will take place in an-other side room, dubbed the Frolick space, and is poised to be the cherry on top of the inclusive sense of community this event was designed to fos-ter.

To purchase tickets and find out more, visit http://www.fedoraup-sidedown.com/

Over the past few years, the English Folk/Rock band Mum-ford & Sons climbed the charts to international acclaim, even though odds were against them. It seemed that the only music able to reach Top 40 was over-produced songs with hooks that stuck in your head for weeks after hearing them once. Mumford & Sons are amongst only a handful of bands that provide an aesthet-ic alternative on the popular music charts.Their second studio album, Ba-bel, saw its North American re-lease last week. Having already sold approximately 600,000 copies, they have taken the

number one spot for highest debut sales of 2012. Boasting an audience as large as any other, Mumford and Sons have opened up a new appreciation of real instruments and mul-tiple voices. Those that desire the high energy pace found in Mumford songs like “The Cave” and “Little Lion Man” will still get their fix from songs off the new record such as “Hopeless Wanderer” and “Below My Feet.”As for listeners who crave emo-tionally packed love songs, there are plenty of romantic lyrics to satisfy your senses. In fact, Babel seems to carry a theme of someone on a jour-ney of self-discovery. Many

of the lyrics portray a person who is lost and finding their way, often identifying with a lover. The feeling of their lyrics is palpable; Mumford & Sons have an admirable way of us-ing music to illustrate words.The band’s characteristic sound lies in the organic na-ture of their instrumentation and song writing as a whole. By incorporating changing time signatures and interest-ing chord progressions they are able to heighten the emo-tion of the song. Babel has simply further solidified the distinction of the Mumford & Sons sound from that of other popular music of today.

Babel towers over top fortyMumford & Sons’ latest Babel brings more of their signature sound

Jon Foster

SAMANTHA CHIUSOLO

Natalie Morcos

THE ARTSwww.thenewspaper.ca 11

All the right art in all the public spacesMural tasks pedestrians with confronting their own mortality

Joseph (Joseph Gordon-Lev-itt) is a looper. He’s an assas-sin who has only one type of victim – mafia targets sent back to him from the future.

But there’s one thick string attached: a little thing called ‘closing your loop.’ When your employer Abe (Jeff Dan-iels) wishes to end your con-tract, he sends your future self back for you to kill.

Sure you get the next thirty years to live out your wildest dreams, and a massive stack of gold bars (ominously at-tached to the back of your final victim) to pay for your constant vacation, but once the thirty years have gone by, no one can escape his destiny.

However, when it’s time for Joseph to close his loop, de-spite his best efforts to follow orders, old Joseph (Bruce Wil-lis) has other ideas, and he’s

prepared. A moment’s hesita-tion from young Joseph (can I call him YoJo for short? How’s about just Joe?), one gold bar to the gut and just like that Joe’s let his loop get away.

Alright, no time-travel para-doxes yet. But wait, in the very next scene, the scenario plays out again, and this time Joe

blows Joseph away no prob-lem. Well, turns out the first version we saw, where things did not go to plan, was actually the second time around, and now we’re seeing how it went the first time.

But how could there be a “first time” and “second time?” Isn’t time a single continuous

line? Are we confused yet? Joe finally summons Joseph to a diner and Joseph explains to Joe how his memories of what Joe is about to do go from fuzzy to clear as the possibilities be-come realities. But Looper has so much more to offer beyond the time travel.

Most obviously, Johnson is

a stylish director. Looper re-tains scaled-back versions of the noirish elements we saw in his debut, Brick, but he re-ally gets to show off with the telekinesis.

Some ten percent of so-ciety have TK, which usu-ally means they can float a nickel in their hand if they concentrate. But four-year-old Cid (Pierce Gagnon), has the power in spades, which makes for some memorable visuals. Cid explodes a body with his mind at one point, and Johnson makes the slow-motion scene nothing short of breathtaking.

Match Johnson’s efforts with some strong performances from the actors, artistic visual effects that impress without overwhelming, and we have bar none the best time-travel movie in recent memory. I should be careful though. My memory may change on me.

It’s time you found yourself...and killed himLooper’s take on time travel may leave you loopy

Dan Christensen

“Start a family.” “Go to space.” “Buy a slapchop.” This is a small sampling of the stories, aspirations and quirky com-mentary shared by fellow To-rontonians this week via the Before I Die interactive mural in Parkdale. The mural exem-plifies one way that public space (parks, sidewalks, pla-zas) can provide an outlet for personal expression, and spark dialogue between community members.

The idea for Before I Die, born to New Orleans artist Cindy Chang during a reflec-tive time after a loved one passed on, inadvertently asks pedestrians to think about death. The mural has been rep-licated in various cities around the world, and reflects her per-sonal goal of “making cities more emotional,” according to Chan’s website.

The large-scale chalkboard mural was installed last week on a disregarded, barren wall at a construction site at the corner of Dufferin and Queen

Street West. The repeating phrase “Before I Die...” and a stack of chalk invite pedestri-ans to publicly share the goals and dreams they wish to ac-complish before their lives end.

Local volunteers in Toronto’s Parkdale community, support-ed by Toronto’s Public Space Initiative (TPSI), are respon-sible for the installation. Of the project, TPSI’s CEO, and project director Jayme Turney said, “It’s a great example of animating public space and engaging the community in a creative, fun way.” TPSI is a Toronto-based non-profit that provides resources (such as funding and consulting) to residents who wish to enhance public spaces.

Turney sees public spaces as hubs of activity and engage-ment, which create commu-nities across social and ethnic divides. According to Turney, public spaces are critical to forming a democratic commu-nity, as they provide health, economic and social benefits to residents. “[Public spaces]

are one of the few areas where people can, in theory, protest and organize (almost) freely.”

Humanity’s historical desire for public expression can be observed even in our first cave drawings; depicting stories and culturally rich symbols, acting as language between viewers. The innate human desire for expression persists globally to-day, and the transformations it sparks can completely change the physical and emotional en-vironment of a community.

If public art and interactive spaces create deeper, richer communities, why aren’t simi-lar projects popping up on every Toronto corner? Surely, amongst designers, artists and the local residents who know their community best, a limit-less bank of ideas are waiting to be discovered and executed.

An idea is just the first step. From there, the idea needs an available space, and to agree with local policies. Then, it must be approved by its mu-nicipality, undergo the labour necessary to complete its exe-cution--not to mention receive

regular maintenance. All of these hurdles can be daunting, and funding is usually the big-gest.

For those left thinking that advocating for public space transformation is just a go-ahead for vandalism, it’s worth noting that the City of Toron-to’s Art Exemption Applica-tion authorizes maintenance of public murals. The Toronto Graffiti Management Plan validates public works when they are, “installed with the property owner’s permission, adhere to community charac-ter and standards, and aestheti-

cally enhance the surface that it covers.” Whether or not a particular art piece adheres to these standards is decided by the City of Toronto.

The Before I Die mural is just one example of a success-ful transformation project in a previously neglected area. Given Toronto’s size, diversity, and richness in culture, Tur-ney advised: “You need many different types, or a network, of public spaces to serve a city.” It is ultimately a matter of resources--both human and financial--to foster such space.

Mural at Queen and Dufferin: Before I die . . . I want to travel to Uranus .

SAMANTHA CHIUSOLO

Felicia Perricelli

THE END12 October 4, 2012

Dear Suzie

Dear Suzie,

I just broke up with my boyfriend who lives in the same res as me. What am I supposed to do - avoid him or be the friendly neighbour?

Dear Anonymous,

Let’s imagine you happen to run into your ex in the doorway. If you go the route of total avoidance, it will be a very awkward moment indeed, as you try to slink out of the door without making eye contact.

Now let’s imagine the friendly neighbour option: you don’t ignore him, and instead make forced conversation and fake smiles as you’re desperately making an escape plan in your head. Nei-ther of these situations are really ideal for your currently fragile state.

So why don’t you try the following: avoid a little, but not so much that you’re afraid to go do your laundry. Don’t seek him out for a cup of sugar (or anything else because this is a bad, bad idea), but do give a polite hello if you happen to pass him in the hall. Trust me, you’ll be surprised by how much easier it will get over time.

Best,Suzie

Got a question for Suzie? Submit it anonymously at the newspaper.ca in the blue box

Next Door Ex: What to do when you’re in close quarters with a former flame

the newspaper asked: Would you consider taking a majority of your classes online instead of going to lectures?

2

DASMOND Pathobiology, 4th year“I could definitely consider this as an alternative since I’m a commuter and sometimes it’s difficult to make it to class on time. Also I often record my lectures so if my courses are online I would not have to waste the time to look for a certain section as all the notes are going to be online.”

CATHERINE Life Sciences, 3rd year“I disagree with the idea of it as I enjoy my lectures as it is more personal, and I learn better by being there and absorbing the information. Online courses might be more applicable to other programs such as Humanities.”

PHIL Masters in Divinity, 1st year“I dislike the lack of communication and community with the class and I’ve always taken online classes and I must say I enjoy attending lectures much more. Online courses also make you less committed to the class as the hours are much more flexible.”

AN

HU

SIMON Masters in Urban and International Development, 2nd year“I think education should be kept more exclusive, there are way too many over-qualified individuals out there without jobs, and if we add the option of online courses, there are people paying less for an education and more competition for other people.”

ISRAH Specialist in Sociology, 3rd year“I think it’s a great option to have, especially for com-muters as it might be difficult to attend lectures at crazy hours. However, it doesn’t replace the learning process.”

the campus comment

“

“

DAREEN Pathobiology, 3rd year“I concentrate better with an actual professor, and if I’m taking an online course, I think I would get distracted much easily, especially since I’m on the computer.”

TALEEN Urban Geography, Alumni “I would personally choose attending lectures instead as I like the interaction with other students and professors. It is also more personal, and I learn better.”