The value of an educationPeople say that university teaches us to think critically. But does it re-ally?Medium Opinion, page 4

Prof is gone?UTM is keeping mum on why a prof is no longer here, and what hap-pened to his classes.Medium News, page 3

Beauty and bodiesOur arts editor writes about having her body painted so she could be-come walking artwork.Medium Arts, page 6

Max’s big ride to UTMAndrew Sedmihradsky and his son biked 600 km to raise money for Duchenne muscular dystrophy.Medium Features, page 8

Battle fought and lostU of T Varsity Blues suffers loss during their first game against the McMaster Marauders. Medium Sports, page 11

THE VOICE OF THE UNIVERSITY

OF TORONTO MISSISSAUGA

September 8, 2015Volume 42, Issue 1themedium.ca

NICOLE DANESINEWS EDITOR

Controversy over “reverse racism”UTMSU Facebook and Instagram post sparks online debate over racism

A social media post published by UT-MSU has sparked intense debate over racism and what it means for both white and racialized groups.

The Facebook and Instagram post was published on July 28 as part of a wider UTMSU campaign defining social equity concepts. The post in question defined the term “reverse racism”.

According to the post, “There is no definition for this term because reverse racism does not exist. An oppressed group cannot be racist to-wards those in the dominant group (white people) because though they may be prejudiced, they are not in a position of power to actually be racist towards them.”

Other terms included in what is de-scribed by UTMSU as an “educational campaign” include racism, intersec-tionality, xenophobia, respectabil-ity politics, and cultural appropria-tion, all of which were posted online throughout the summer.

Since being published, the reverse

racism post has received nearly 100 Facebook comments debating the definition. The other terms received zero to two comments.

According to UTMSU VP equity Zehra Ramsha, UTMSU did not ex-pect the post to receive the reaction

it did. “Nobody was expecting this kind

of backlash,” said Ramsha, who ex-plained that the campaign was in-tended to serve as an educational tool for students learning about equity. Ramsha, however, told The Medium

the term “reverse racism” should never have been included in the cam-paign and she did not approve the post prior to publishing.

“The term ‘reverse racism’ should not have even been put up,” she said, explaining that the term was too sub-

stantial to be posted and the defini-tion should have been written dif-ferently. “It seems more a personal definition rather than a generalized definition,” she added.

“It’s really sad but not surprising that many white people took this post offensively because it isn’t meant to attack whites at all,” said Sherry Gha-ly, UTMSU’s anti-racism coordinator. “It’s simply stating that white people are given privileges in society not af-forded to people of colour.”

Ghaly, who wrote the definitions, said that racism must be understood in terms of the broader social factors.

“When [people of colour] are dis-criminatory in North America, it’s meaningless; we do not have nearly the same political, social, or econom-ic clout to influence policies or cur-riculums, or make changes wherever we see fit. White people do possess such clout though, [and] their preju-dices have the ability to alter the lives of POC on a very grand scale, as it has for centuries,” she said.

Racism continued on page 2

FACEBOOK.COM/UTMSU/PHOTONearly 100 comments have debated the post on Facebook.

First-year students had several op-tions when choosing where to cel-ebrate their first week at UTM this year.

Aside from UTMSU’s annual frosh week, campus groups welcomed first-year students with festivities hosted by the Muslim Students’ Association and the Office of Student Transition, a new department at UTM, which or-ganized a free Eagles Take Off frosh week. The orientation week included campus tours, sessions on time man-agement and critical reading, a yoga class, and a tour of the nature paths on campus.

“I think the students really enjoyed it,” said Chrissy Sharma, a Campus Experience LAUNCH Leader who

helped organized Eagles Take Off.Sharma also said in a telephone

interview with The Medium that the Eagles Take Off orientation was in

response to feedback administration collected about first-year students in previous years and that the orienta-tion was intended to provide students

with a way to learn about the campus and discover resources available to them.

NICOLE DANESIWITH NOTES FROMFARHAT AMINI

MAHMOUD SAROUJI/THE MEDIUMUTMSU, the Muslim Students’ Association, and the Office of Student Transition host frosh events

UTMSU complains of competition as Office of Transition hosts new frosh week

Frosh continued on page 3

Orientation Weeks abound at UTM

2 «NEWS THE MEDIUM 09.08.2015

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

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

scene. A heat sensor in the north-east stairwell activated due to a high level of humidity.

September 1, 1:10 p.m.Medical CallUTM student was injured while par-ticipating in a frosh orientation activ-ity. Medical assistance was provided by ECSpeRT and EMS attended. Stu-dent was transported to Credit Valley Hospital.

September 1, 11:10 a.m.Motor Vehicle AccidentUTM student reported their vehicle was hit while parked in lot 8, lower deck.

September 2, 11:15 PMControlled Drugs & Substances ActCampus Police received a report of a marijuana smell at a unit in Oscar Peterson Hall. Campus Police seized marijuana found in the unit and sev-eral males were investigated.

August 24, 2:38 p.m.Medical CallA RAWC staff member reported an injury in the high performance room. An ambulance was dispatched and the injured person was transported to Brampton Civic Hospital.

August 24, 4:46 p.m.Fraud under $5,000UTM staff reported fraudulent use of a U-Pass that was handed over by a MiWay security officer.

August 27, 3:07 a.m.Medical CallA student reported having difficulty breathing. EMS was contacted and the student was transported to the Credit Valley Hospital.

August 30, 2015, 3:00 p.m.Fire CallA fire alarm in the RAWC was acti-vated. Campus Police and the Missis sauga Fire Department attended the

The term is highly debated even amongst academics.

“There is no such thing as reverse racism,” says Vannina Sztainbok, a U of T professor in the Depart-ment of Social Justice Education. “Racism is supported by a racial hierarchy. It means that the major structures in our society—econom-ic, political, legal, ideological—are dominated by, and benefit, one ra-cial group over another.”

Sztainbok also agreed with UT-MSU when it came to the wording of the definition.

“In our world today, we know it is white people, as a group, who benefit from the current political, economic, and ideological systems and that this is a direct result of set-tler colonialism, imperialism, and

the trans-Atlantic slave trade […] I believe that the UTMSU blurb explains very articulately that for there to be racism, there needs to be power.”

Other academics have taken is-sue with the term.

“To me the term reverse racism is a misnomer,” said Akwasi Owusu-Bempah, a recent U of T PhD grad-uate and assistant professor at Indi-ana University Bloomington in the

Department of Criminal Justice.“Racism is racism. To suggest

otherwise is to assume that racial-ized individuals and groups cannot and do not hold any power whatso-ever,” said Owusu-Bempah.

When asked about the term, UTM’s equity and diversity officer, Nythalah Baker, stressed the im-portance of generating conversa-tions on the issue of equity.

“The university encourages stu-dents to engage in conversations and academic dialogues and to have different perspectives on these issues, and it is within UTMSU’s rights to engage in these conversa-tions,” said Baker in an email to The Medium.

As of press time, the post re-mained on both UTMSU’s Face-book and Instagram accounts.

Students are having mixed reviews about the fall reading week an-nouncement made by UTM in the spring.

Starting October 2016, UTM students will now have two reading weeks during the academic year in place of one.

The added break is scheduled to occur during the four days im-mediately following Thanksgiving Monday and will extend the total length of the fall term from 12 to 13 weeks. While a fall reading week will not affect the teaching period during the semester or the dura-tion of the winter break, the addi-tion to the semester could shorten the length of the study period prior to December exams.

The traditional February reading week will remain as is.

According to Diane Crocker, registrar and dean of enrolment management, UTM administration had been in talks for approximately two years about the implementa-

tion of a fall reading week. After reviewing the fall schedules from a number of other universities across Canada, campus administration felt a fall reading week would serve the students’ best interests.

“I believe all students can be more successful if given more time to learn,” said Crocker, who also said the new break would especial-ly benefit first-year students, who are adjusting to the overwhelming transition from high school to uni-versity.

The idea was introduced dur-ing past town hall meetings and students were sent an online sur-vey to provide their thoughts and feedback on the proposal earlier this year.

Students, however, have mixed opinions about the new break.

Candice Dela Cruz, a third-year digital enterprise management stu-dent, agrees the break is exactly what students need in the midst of midterm season; however, she does not like the possibility of a short-ened study break.

“I’d rather have school start one week earlier and still have the study break before exams remain the same,” she said.

Alistair D’Cruz, a fourth-year digital enterprise management specialist, agrees with the UTM ad-ministration and believes a break would provide first-year students with the opportunity to refocus af-ter their first month as university students. However, he feels it may not be as useful to upper-year stu-dents, who would rather have extra time to study prior to exams.

A proposed schedule for the fall reading week has been released online, outlining the dates that it would occur on from 2016 through to 2020.

UTM joins Ryerson University, who initiated a fall reading week in 2012, and Wilfrid Laurier Univer-sity, who began a three-year trial period in 2014.

The effectiveness of the fall read-ing week will be reassessed in two years.

UTM principal and U of T VP Deep Saini is looking to determine his priorities for the campus while on a a six-month administrative leave following the announcement of his reappointment.

During his leave, Saini will fo-cus on publishing his research and planning his next five-year term as principal of UTM.

“As a senior administrator, I am focusing on the future direction of UTM,” said Saini in a telephone in-terview with The Medium. “There are a lot of possibilities and I am trying to establish priorities for my next five years here as principal.”

Saini was appointed for a second five-year term as vice-president of the University of Toronto and prin-cipal of UTM on February 26.

According to Saini, professors can take a one-year sabbatical after

six or seven years of service. Ad-ministrators can take one year of administrative leave after working five years.

In Saini’s place, chemistry profes-sor and UTM VP special initiatives Ulrich Krull was announced acting principal as of July 1.

When asked about his role as act-ing principal, Krull explained how different the job is from his regular administrative tasks and role of de-veloping new programs and courses.

“I do not commonly have such extensive opportunities to meet and work with the students at UTM,” Krull stated in an email to The Me-dium. “I am always impressed with the energy, skills, and ‘joie de vivre’ that the students at UTM bring to their many broad activities and in-terests.”

Krull will step back into his role as VP special initiatives on January 1, 2016, after Saini returns to office.

Breaking the fallStudents greet new reading week with mixed reactions

MAHMOUD SAROUJI/THE MEDIUMThe first fall reading week will be implemented next year.

KARUNA ISRANI

Saini goes on leave

MAHMOUD SAROUJI/THE MEDIUMPrincipal Deep Saini will return to UTM on January 1, 2016.

EESHA HASAN

Academics disagree on reverse racism definition

“I believe that the UTMSU blurb explains

very articulately that for there to be racism, there

needs to be power.”

Racism continued from cover

09.08.2015 THE MEDIUM NEWS» 3

Zahra Sina1st year, life sciences

John Ballantyne1st year, political science

Denia Hurst1st year, life sciences

Deniil Nesterenko1st year, life sciences

Modern Family.

The Brink & Ballers.

Prison Break.

Breaking Bad.

»WHAT TV SHOW DID YOU BINGE-WATCH THIS SUMMER?

Gun photos removed

Frosh continued from Cover

According to Sharma, the Office of Student Transition partnered with other departments, including the UTM International Education Cen-tre, the Health and Counselling Cen-tre, the Office of the Registrar, and the RAWC, to host the activities. Sharma also told The Medium in a telephone interview that many of the activities were hosted concurrently to provide students with the opportuni-ty to choose a session or activity that was of most interest to them.

Sharma was not aware of the total number of students who attended the Eagles Take Off orientation.

The theme of UTMSU’s frosh week was based on the 1996 Warner Bros. movie Space Jam. According to UT-MSU president Ebi Agbeyegbe, more than 1,107 students participated in the festivities. Early bird tickets cost $105 while general admission was $125.

“The participation of students at UTMSU organized events and work-shops has been phenomenal,” said Agbeyegbe.

UTMSU hosted a carnival, pub night, workshops, and pep rally as part of the week.

COMPETING FROSHESIn an email to The Medium, UT-

MSU president Ebi Agbeyegbe spoke against the Eagles Take Off frosh with claims that the new orientation gen-erated competition between the two organizers.

“This is precedent-setting and challenges the partnership we have developed with the university in pro-viding a mix of social and academic

programming for incoming first-year students,” wrote Agbeyegbe. “This has also led to an unhealthy competi-tive atmosphere between UTMSU orientation staff and leaders with student staff working for the Depart-ment of Student Affairs/Student Life.”

Sharma, however, claimed the de-partment did not intend to generate any competition between the two groups.

“It was never meant to be a com-petition,” said Sharma. “It is up to the students to pick and choose what they would like to do and create their own orientation experience.”

According to Agbeyegbe, UTMSU expects to investigate the cost of the Eagles Take Off orientation.

“We will seek to find out how much funds the university administration has spent on the conflicting orienta-tion week programming,” said Ag-beyegbe in an email to The Medium.

MATURE STUDENTS FROSH

UTMSU also hosted their first ma-ture students’ orientation this year for first-year students 25 years and older.

“[UTMSU] organized an event to create opportunities for mature stu-dents to meet other new students, meet industry leaders, and learn more about how they can succeed in the industry they work in,” said Ag-beyegbe.

UTMSU encouraged students to participate with their families in events such as a campus meet and greet and a Blue Jays game.

POSING WITH GUNSOn August 31 at 11:35 p.m., UTM-

SU posted photos to their Facebook page in an album titled, “Frosh Wel-

come Day Photobooth”.Numerous photos displayed indi-

viduals posing with two black replica handguns with an orange tip on the end of the barrel, including some showing students aiming the replica firearms at others.

According to Campus Police Ser-vices manager Robert Messacar, the photos did not infringe on any uni-versity policies and no complaints were filed. Messacar also informed The Medium that Mark Overton, UTM’s dean of student affairs, was in contact with UTMSU about the photos.

“I asked UTMSU to discourage the use of realistic-looking toy or sport weapons based on the possibility of someone thinking they might be real, which could result in an emer-gency services response,” said Over-ton. “UTMSU very quickly removed some related pictures from social media, in support of a safe campus environment.”

According to Agbeyegbe, the pho-tographs were outsourced from a vendor, which at this time cannot be confirmed. The Medium was unable to verify who uploaded the images to the UTMSU Facebook page.

“UTMSU ordered a photobooth from an external vendor,” said Ag-beyegbe in an email to The Medium. “Once we became aware of images and the presence of replica toy guns, they were removed due to concerns that students would find the depic-tion of guns offensive or traumatic.”

By September 2, the photos were removed from the UTMSU Facebook page.

Luis gone from U of T

Francisco Luis, a professor from UTM’s Department of Historical Studies, has left the University of Toronto for unknown reasons.

In a statement provided to The

Medium on last Wednesday, Jane Stirling, UTM’s marketing and communications director, con-firmed Luis’ departure.

“The matter you refer to was ad-dressed in the courts and Mr. Luis is no longer associated with the university,” said Stirling. “Students

were provided with appropriate supports as needed.”

It is currently unclear the cause for both Luis’ departure from the university, and the court case men-tioned by Stirling. It is also un-known when Luis departed from his role.

MAHMOUD SAROUJI/THE MEDIUMMore than 1,107 students participated in UTMSU’s Space Jam frosh week orientation.

Nicole is a fifth-year CCIT and en-vironmental management student excited to graduate this year and pursue a career in communications, philanthropy, or politics—she hasn’t decided yet.

Born and raised in Mississauga, Nicole is excited to travel the world post-graduation. After returning from her first trip (and first time on an airplane) to New York City this summer, Nicole has her eyes set on Paris as her next destination.

In her spare time, you can find Ni-cole listening to her all-time favou-rite artist, Taylor Swift (whom she has tickets to see for the sixth time in concert later this fall) or you can find her curled up watching Rory Gilmore rule the Yale Daily News on Gilmore Girls. In fact, after a summer of watching Gilmore Girls after her second year, Rory inspired her to join The Medium and give journalism a try. Two years later, Nicole is excited to be this year’s news editor.

Follow Nicole on Twitter and Ins-tagram @nicole_danesi.

NICOLE DANESINEWS@THEMEDIUM.CA

NEWS EDITOR

NICOLE DANESINEWS EDITOR

4 « 09.08.2015

Editor-in-ChiefMaria Iqbaleditor@themedium.ca

Managing EditorMaria Cruzmanaging@themedium.ca

NewsNicole Danesinews@themedium.ca

A&EKate Cattell-Danielsarts@themedium.ca

FeaturesFarah Qaiserfeatures@themedium.ca

SportsEric Hewitsonsports@themedium.ca

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PhotoMahmoud Saroujiphotos@themedium.ca

DesignSarah Yassinedesign@themedium.ca

CopyAkshaya Sharmacopy@themedium.ca

Online & BlogCorey Belford Kimberly Johnsonblog@themedium.caonline@themedium.ca

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To contribute, emaileditor@themedium.ca

You’d think that Maria, a fourth-year double major in English and profes-sional writing, would be better with words, but nope. Not too much is known about Maria other than that she spends half her paychecks in Chapters and is part of the minor-ity who think that Captain America is the best superhero. She has finally converted to liking poutine and had her first grilled cheese sandwich at 22. She also spends a lot of time avoiding having her photo taken.

Starting his third year at UTM and his second year as photo editor, Mahmoud has been taking pho-tos for The Medium since his first week at UTM. He’s always looking for more volunteers to help him take photos! He loves anything that has to do with movies and may have a slight unhealthy addiction to them. Mahmoud is majoring in criminology and sociolegal stud-ies and still has absolutely no idea what he wants to do with his life.

Akshaya is a third-year linguistics and Italian double major who also has varying levels of skill in French, Tamil, Spanish, and German. She is starting her second year as copy edi-tor at The Medium and is excited to see where this year takes her, with graduate studies on the distant hori-zon. When she’s not combing articles for grammar, spelling, and punctua-tion errors, Akshaya enjoys curling up with a good book or game control-ler in hand.

Mayank is in fourth year, special-izing in digital enterprise manage-ment. This is his third year working with The Medium and his first as advertising manager. He has always found the process involved with the making of advertisements and the messages they convey very intrigu-ing. Additionally, he loves to keep himself busy and prefers his Netflix account over free samples at Taco Bell.

PHOTOS COPY ADSMANAGINGMARIA CRUZ MAHMOUD SAROUJI AKSHAYA SHARMA MAYANK SHARMA

Email a section editor to get involved!

MANAGING@THEMEDIUM.CA PHOTOS@THEMEDIUM.CA COPY@THEMEDIUM.CA ADS@THEMEDIUM.CA

Our $28,000 investmentWe pay thousands of dollars for our education, but what are we getting out of it?Back in first year, I was asked to write a letter to myself outlining all of the things I wanted to accom-plish by the end of the year. I never ended up writing that letter, but it’s four years later that I understand the value of such an exercise…

To put things into context, I read an article in the final issue of The Medium last year by then-features editor (also a friend and colleague) Madeleine Brown, called “Why are you here?”. In it, Brown reflected on how often it seemed that stu-dents would “attend class, sign the attendance sheet, and never once check in”. She wondered why she seemed to be the only one who ever did the readings, never missed class, and actually enjoyed what she was learning.

We are, after all, paying $7,000+ per year to fund our tuition. And that’s not even counting the costs of textbooks or laptops.

So why do we bother? I guess it comes down to what we want to get out of it by the time we leave. I think we’ve all heard of the dan-gers of going to university simply for the career potential. (Where are the jobs now, anyway?) There’s also the argument that asserts that university will teach you how to think. But does it, really?

As a recent graduate from the English program, I guess I can safely say that I’ve learned how to think critically when it comes to

literature. But what about real life? Take last year’s strike, for ex-

ample. I had received no informa-tion from the university about the potential for a strike taking place at the end of the year. I didn’t even hear about it from my profs. By the time U of T decided to spill the beans about it, it was days before the strike actually broke out. And the notice came after an email from UTSU that week about a possible deadlock. Meanwhile, U of T and CUPE 3902 had been in negotia-

tions over the contract for several months. If they wanted us to know about it, they had plenty of time to tell us. But they didn’t. That’s where critical thinking comes in.

Even after the strike broke out, U of T refused to respond to some key questions about what was go-ing to happen. When were the two parties going to return to bargain-ing? What was going to happen to our courses? Would we still be able to graduate? When I tried ask-ing these questions as news editor

last year, I was expressly told that I couldn’t contact departments on my own and had to go through the Media Relations Department downtown. Worse yet, when I con-tacted MR, I either didn’t receive responses because they couldn’t meet my deadline, or I received vague, impenetrable non-answers that even the English major in me couldn’t interpret.

Another good example can be found in a recent article published in Harper’s Magazine. In it, Wil-liam Deresiewicz spoke against what seems to be the commercial-izing of postsecondary education. He opens his essay, “The Neolib-eral Arts—How College Sold its Soul to the Market” by looking at the mission statement at a U.S. col-lege and comparing it to the text written on banners posted around the campus.

The mission statement is writ-ten by the college’s founder and discusses the mandate of a college to teach students to “think clearly and independently”.

The second text is made up of four words: leadership, service, integrity, and creativity. Kind of like what was written on our old Boundless posters. As Deresie-wicz points out, the four words are vague enough to carry a wide ar-ray of meanings, yet the banners themselves don’t mention anything about learning how to think.

For Deresiewicz, the second set of words represents exactly what is wrong with postsecondary educa-tion today: it’s all about the buzz, and not enough about the learning. The flash without the substance.

That reminds me of how at the end of last year, UTM told its stu-dents that they could still get all of their credits—even for courses that had been shut down during the strike—despite the four weeks of missed classes. What are we learning about the value of our education? Perhaps it’s time for us to really think about why we con-tinue to pay thousands to fund our postsecondary education.

In any economic transaction, the consumer pays for a service. If the company’s service isn’t sat-isfactory, the consumer should call them on it. So, why don’t we do the same here?

Perhaps it’s because we’re too busy not attending class. Or sign-ing the attendance sheet and then logging into Facebook.

In the words of Deresiewicz, we need an institution “that rec-ognizes it has an obligation to its students”. It’ll be up to us to point the university towards this obliga-tion. And that’s something long overdue.

Postsecondary education seems to be all about

the buzz and not enough about the

learning. The flash without the substance.

YOURS,

MARIA IQBAL

09.08.2015 » 5

Political critique of Pan Am madnessAGM artists look beyond the facade of Panamania, mixing art, politics, and nationalism

Let’s imagine that Sports, Fine Art, and Politics are people and they all end up in a room together. All three know each other, probably though mutual exes or college roommates. It’s not like they don’t talk, but they don’t get to-gether on their downtime for drinks, either.

Now think about the Pan Am and Parapan Am Games. It’s a sporting event, but one that has been heav-ily endorsed by politicians. An event where Toronto’s infrastructure has changed to accommodate the events, and accessorized with a wide variety of arts-related events.

Now don’t get me wrong—I like sporting events. But as the Art Gallery of Mississauga’s exhibit Be a Sport sug-gests, there is more going on than just the games.

My favourite piece was NRA Spon-sored Rhythmic Gymnastics Competi-tion by Diana Thorneycroft. This series of three photographs first intrigued me because of the different approaches it encourages. I first read it left to right, like a comic strip, only to realize that it works the same right to left and cen-tre outwards. The centre panel features a half-dozen Ken-type dolls doing a rhythmic gymnastics routine in pink tutus and leotards. They are obvi-

ously American, from flags to national symbols—an eagle sits on the grass in front of the performers. To their right, the French stand looking at them, dressed in blue swim trunks, chests emblazoned with a large F. To the left stand the Canadians, clad in red shirts and snow boots. In the background, a Mountie figurine points a little girl in the direction of the American team.

Oh, and I forgot to mention—a few Ken dolls are carrying guns.

To me, this piece is about nation-

alism and competition, but it’s also just plain absurdity. The pictures are funny, yet awkward. Nothing like this ever happens and yet, in a way, it does. There is a performance art aspect to sporting events: tickets are sold, seat-ing arranged. And there is a military aspect too—the competition is all about where you’re from and who you’re rooting for, not to mention the concept of “beating” the other coun-try’s team.

A fourth photograph on the wall,

that in fact has nothing to do with the previous series, shows a green field on which American football players and Canadian hockey players engage in battle. A comment on how sports are treated with as much reverence as war, this piece also shows the conflicts that occur between Americans and Cana-dians—on and off the field

Another piece that caught my at-tention was Weber and Schneider’s Wimbledon-inspired quilt and video installation. A quilt with a green back-

ground and white lines covers the floor to represent a tennis court. At opposite corners, two TV monitors face each other. Playing on both is a video of two girls (one per screen) wearing sweat-bands and swaying back and forth in the frame. Periodically, they emit the grunting noises tennis players are known for, though on a half-hearted scale. The product is almost sexual, which admittedly has me feeling a lit-tle uncomfortable. I don’t really want to stand around and watch, and yet, as I walk through the galleries, this is the piece I keep coming back to.

I think Be a Sport is one of the most challenging shows I’ve seen at the AGM. It’s hard to be passive; this show forces the viewer to have an opinion.

The Art Gallery of Mississauga is comprised of three galleries: here, two rooms have been dedicated to Be a Sport. The third currently houses a photography exhibit, showing yet another side of the elusive Pan Am Games.

Assembled on the walls are individ-ually framed photographs, all in plain standard size. At first, I wonder who took all these pictures and why, but my question is quickly answered by a blurb on the wall. Each picture was taken by an amateur photographer, and there is one photo per country that participated in the games.

KATE CATTELL-DANIELS A&E EDITOR

Inside Out cleverly blends art and psychologyPixar’s latest flick offers a fun-filled adventure take on psychology and the workings of the brain

This summer set the bar for next year’s summer films. With strong storylines, performances, and special effects, summer releases kept viewers well entertained. Amid all the stand-alone critically acclaimed films and the massively profitable franchises, I decided to tap into my inner child and go for Pixar’s Inside Out. And as far as Pixar’s track record goes, it was simply outstanding.

Inside Out revolves around a pre-teen girl named Riley and her fam-ily’s relocation from Minnesota to San Francisco. However, the central characters are not Riley or her family members, but rather the five person-ified manifestations of her emotions: Joy (Amy Poehler), Sadness (Phyl-lis Smith), Fear (Bill Hader), Anger (Lewis Black), and Disgust (Mindy Kaling). They work in Riley’s con-scious mind, where they have the ability to control her actions and her memories. When they lose control over Riley, causing her to feel ex-treme sadness and apathy, they must collaborate and work together to un-derstand Riley’s state and ultimately

figure out their own purpose of be-ing in her conscious mind.

From a cinematic standpoint, this film is a masterpiece. However, I wanted to better understand the film’s focus on psychology and its accuracy on the subject. So, I turned to my reliable comrade for advice—Google. Psychology Today covered

Inside Out as one of its discussion topics for its articles.

According to the article, 11-year-old Riley begins showing symptoms of early Adjustment Disorder. She finds it difficult to pretend to be happy having left everything behind. The film’s director, Pete Docter, in-dicated a parallel with the film’s plot-

line and an incident from his own life. The director said that he expe-rienced similar behavior as a child when his family relocated to another region.

Riley’s five emotions are in fact the universally validated emotions that are experienced by human be-ings. The use of memory in the film

serves as an important aspect in plot development—memories are di-vided into long-term and short-term memories, which exist in the human mind. Inside Out works on a deeper level than just a summer kids’ movie. It is also an educator for both chil-dren and their parents—you can’t tell me you don’t understand your brain a little better after seeing this film, regardless of whether you took PSY100.

The film wraps up by giving us an idea of what goes on in an 11-year-old’s mind as the child inches to-wards puberty—and adulthood. The film also reminds us to pay attention to every emotion because that results in the proper functioning of an in-dividual and one’s overall wellbe-ing. The movie teaches us that every emotion is equally important, and that by numbing sadness, a person also numbs happiness.

Inside Out is one of Pete Docter’s and Pixar’s finest works yet. So if the film is still playing in a theatre near you, grab your 3D glasses and head there as soon as you can.

MAYANK SHARMA

MOVIES.DISNEY.COM/INSIDE-OUT/PHOTOEver wonder what goes on inside your brain? Look no further than Pixar’s Inside Out.

Pan Am continued on page 6

EN.WIKIPEDIA.ORG/WIKI/NATHAN_PHILLIPS_SQUARE/PHOTOAGM offers both hard-hitting politcal critique and a lyrical photography exhibit.

6 «ARTS THE MEDIUM 09.08.2015

AGO presents explosive new exhibit Camera Atomica documents the events and aftermath of Hiroshima, Nagasaki, and USA bomb tests

In keeping with my experiences at the Art Gallery of Ontario, I was duly impressed by their current ex-hibit, Camera Atomica. This year, art historian John O’Brian has cu-rated a collection of photos in the first part of an eight-part series currently exhibiting at the gallery, with further exhibts to come. He brings his opinions, perspectives, and challenges to the heart of art in downtown Toronto.

Camera Atomica showcases some of O’Brian’s rawest work yet. His aim is clear and simple, making the exhibit both historically appealing and original.

The photo gallery displays three sections of the first part of the se-ries: Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Test and Protest, and Radiation and Uranium. However, the first room doesn’t compare to what follows in terms of depth and perspective, and the subject matter itself proves to play an even bigger role in the last two parts of the exhibit.

O’Brian doesn’t hold back in his efforts to display the intense, and sometimes powerful, outcome of

human brutality. He’s not afraid to show the outcome of nuclear testing and the consequences of radiation, such as the severity of the Ameri-cans’ bombing of Japan in 1945.

The exhibit, one might find, is neither happy nor sad. Rather, it

is merely a reflection of a collec-tion of emotions. One particular example of this is shown through a photo of a boy, about 15, carry-ing his little brother on his back in the aftermath of the bombing in Hiroshima and Nagasaki. It’s tragic,

and it seems they’ve lost the rest of their family and only have each other. The viewer can see what dev-astating consequences the event has brought, as well as the desire be-tween the two brothers to help each other live.

Through the series, one can feel the bitterness of the Japanese peo-ple, but also their triumph, at least from the surviving members. This is also consistent throughout the third section, Radiation and Ura-nium. After the United States ran some nuclear tests at the Nevada Test Site in St. George, Utah, resi-dents were seriously affected. Some of their stories can be found in the series, photographed by Carole Gallagher.

The extremities of nuclear test-ing and bombs have been measured out to quite an extent through the photos put together by O’Brian. Not only does it allow the viewer to re-alize the barbaric effects of nuclear energy, but it touches on how frag-ile life itself is. We learn that human beings can come out of rough cir-cumstances alive and yet go on with their lives. For example, the photo entitled Mr. and Mrs. Kotani: Two Who Have Suffered from the Bomb, show a couple laughing with their child even after an event that will never fade in their memories.

Camera Atomica runs at the Art Gallery of Ontario until November 15.

KEENA AL-WAHAIDI

Painting a new pictureThe Human Canvas Project explores body love through paint

I open my eyes and I’m looking right at Matti Maclean. He’s my height, with piercing eyes and a black T-shirt that says “I PAINT PEOPLE” in white block letters. The experi-ence of having my skin painted is not something I can easily express with words. Sensual, but not sexual. Intimate. Comfortable.

I first found out about the Hu-man Canvas Project from my friend Courtney Keir, a UTM theatre and drama studies alumni. But it took me two years to work up the cour-age to go myself.

Bodies are so political. So much, these days, depends on how you look. As an actor, I know this. There are roles I “can’t” play because of my long brown hair, pale skin, and blue eyes. Slowly though, I’m coming to a different kind of conclusion. I look the way I look, and if you don’t like it, I don’t care. I refuse to starve myself, straighten my hair, or slath-er mascara on my eyelashes.

Today, I am a human canvas. I am joining the ranks of hundreds of others who volunteer their skin to Maclean, who invites me in, puts on some music, and asks me what colours I like. Maclean is a no-fuss kind of guy, and that makes me comfortable. He picks up a cake of purple body paint, rolls his brush in it, and starts laying colour on my neck and chest.

I was never the kind of kid who got dirty a lot. I avoided messy ac-tivities, and even as an adult I get a little squeamish about things like

digging seeds out of pumpkins at Halloween. But paint is different somehow. It’s cool, kind of refresh-ing. And covered in shades of blue and purple and silver, I feel like one of those blue people from Avatar. It was like I’d been born that way, and I was already feeling a little sad about having to go home and wash it all off.

Under any other circumstances, I wouldn’t normally be caught stand-ing in a bra and a pair of shorts in front of a guy I’d met 10 minutes ago. But in no way did the Human Canvas Project make me feel ex-posed. In fact, I feel significantly more exposed on a day-to-day basis whenever I try to wear a skirt or a tank top and walk in a public place. The Rose Will studio is a kind of sanctuary filled with half-finished paintings and friendly cats. It’s a good place to have time with my body. I’m not thinking about any-thing except the feeling of paint as my skin turns into an outward ex-pression of who I am on the inside.

There’s that overused quote about beauty being in the eye of the be-holder—this project takes that to a whole new level. Plus, I get a chance to ask the questions that have been

piling up. I ask Maclean about the demographic of people who come to the Human Canvas Project. Most participants, he tells me, are young Caucasian women. I wonder about why that is. Why don’t men want to be canvases? Why not people of colour? Is it some kind of het-eronormative “ideal” beauty thing? Maclean also paints relationships: he has several couples in his collec-tion, and he tells me he’s trying to get one of his canvases back with his twin. Based on what Maclean tells me, he wants as much diversity as he can get.

Regardless of being a white wom-an myself, I’m still incredibly happy just to be here. My painting takes less than an hour, covering me from hairline to the V of my bra, and all the way down both my arms. In some places, I shimmer with silver and gold. In others, black rings or speckles overlap the base colour. I feel both covered and exposed, flawless and incredibly vulnerable.

Maclean snaps a few pictures of me against a slat wall a few feet from the studio. When he’s finished, he looks at me and says: “Ready to see yourself?” Maclean has a point—I’ve seen my arms and some of my chest, but I realize I don’t know what I look like anymore. That’s kind of a refreshing thought.

I won’t even try to be modest. I look amazing.

Heading home on the subway, a lot of people stare. For twenty minutes on public transit, I am a walking piece of art. The only thing missing is Maclean’s signature.

KATE CATTELL-DANIELS A&E EDITOR

There’s that overused quote about beauty

being in the eye of the beholder—this project takes that concept to a

whole new level.

Art sharpens its claws

I like this exhibit for a couple of rea-sons: first, it provides insight on daily life as seen by an inhabitant of the country in question. It also makes the Pan Am Games about something other than sports—it’s about people, their nationalities, and their lives. It highlights the human side of things.

However, the layout is problematic.

Countries are grouped together, by no obvious logic, on three walls. And in order to look up which photograph corresponds to which country, I have to keep going back and forth to the little map on the wall.

The Pan Am Games have a right to their place—both critiqued and ideal-ized.

Be a Sport runs at the AGM until September 13.

Kate Cattell-Daniels is a graduate of UTM’s theatre and drama studies program (2015) and also holds an English major from UTM and a di-ploma in acting from Sheridan Col-lege. Kate spent her four years at UTM reading novels and plays and going to rehearsals. She has contributed to The Medium for three years, including

two years as associate arts editor, so Kate is very excited to join this year’s editorial team. Besides journalism, Kate also writes poetry, plays, and reads pretty much anything she can get her hands on. Currently, Kate is writing, acting, and getting a master’s of information at U of T’s iSchool on the St. George campus. In her spare time, Kate enjoys libraries and drink-ing more tea than is probably healthy.

KATE CATTELL-DANIELSARTS@THEMEDIUM.CA

ARTS EDITOR

WIKIPEDIA.ORG/PHOTONuclear weapons are devastating, but also hold potential for optimism.

Pan Am continued from page 5

8 « 09.08.2015

UTM father, son bike to raise $55,000Despite various challenges, Max’s Big Ride raised both awareness and funding for DMD

This summer, UTM’s Andrew Sed-mihradsky and his four-year-old son Max, who has Duchenne muscular dystrophy, pedalled 600 km from Ot-tawa to Hamilton, across the Trans-Canada Trail. During their 11-day bike ride, the cycling duo passed by several stops, including UTM, to raise aware-ness and funding towards research for the cure to the disease.

DMD is a debilitating neurodegen-erative disease that affects 1 in 3,500 boys. Victims have an average life ex-pectancy of about 25 years. Through Max’s Big Ride, approximately $55,000 were raised for Jesse’s Journey, a Ca-nadian charity dedicated to funding research for DMD around the world.

Sedmihradsky, who is a global mo-bility coordinator at UTM’s Interna-tional Education Centre, had done rigorous training to prepare himself for his biking adventure.

“I knew that I could do the ride physically, but I didn’t know what it would be like for Max,” he says. “I thought that I would place Max in his front seat, and ride him around the corner. Once the press was gone, I would put him in the car and then I would ride by myself.”

But Max insisted on joining Sedmi-

hradsky for the entire ride—despite the rough terrain, poor weather, and even swarms of insects.

“Once, we had to wake up at 5:30 in the morning to make it in time for the interview at eight at a radio station in Toronto,” says Sedmihradsky. “Max said, ‘I wanna go—let’s go!’ “

Throughout the entire journey, Max enjoyed himself greatly; he received ice cream daily and a massive number of presents. Near the end of the journey, their support van—driven by Sedmi-hradsky’s parents and his wife, Kerri—

was beginning to run low on space.It wasn’t all toys and fun though—

Max remained optimistic during the tougher of times too. “There was a day when there was a big storm,” recalls Sedmihradsky. “We spent hours talk-ing about ninja school and how to be-come a ninja.”

The pair set out from Parliament Hill, Ottawa, on June 21—which, co-incidentally, was also Father’s Day. “I hadn’t actually considered that,” says Sedmihradsky. “But I did plan to end on July 1 so that we could join in on

the Canada Day celebrations.”Sedmihradsky’s original plan was to

start early each day and ride for a few hours. Max and Sedmihradsky would then take a break with their family in a nearby park and then continue on-wards. On average, they biked about 55 km daily.

However, things didn’t always go according to plan. As the cycling duo left Perth and headed towards Arden, they encountered a rougher path of the Trans-Canada Trail. As Sedmihradsky continued biking along the Trail, the

water puddles kept getting deeper. At one point, he couldn’t continue riding since the trail was entirely flooded and the duo was being attacked by swarms of deer flies.

“Max had a cover on, so that meant that the deer flies couldn’t get to him. But every once in a while, they would hop in on the side and then all hell would break loose,” says Sedmihrad-sky. “At that point, I was asking myself: what am I doing to my son?” For that particular day, he chose to turn back and return Max to the comfort of the support van.

Despite the challenges, both contin-ued along their journey enthusiasti-cally and were met with overwhelming support.

When Sedmihradsky rode into Tweed with Max, he was shocked by the massive welcome: there were fluo-rescent signs, fire engines blaring their support, and several children pres-ent to celebrate Max’s ride. “ “When I made it, I was completely stunned,” says Sedmihradsky as he describes the scene. “I just told myself that I have to look busy—I didn’t know what to do!”

The duo reached the UTM campus on June 30. “Again, at UTM, I knew that something was happening,” says Sedmihradsky. “But that didn’t pre-pare me.”

FARAH QAISERFEATURES EDITOR

UTM MARKETING AND COMMUNICATIONS DEPARTMENT/PHOTO

On June 30, Andrew Sedmihradsky and his son Max stopped at UTM.

The rise of public shaming on the InternetWith hashtag use on the rise, public shaming campaigns now often result in online bullying

#Activism. Not familiar with the term? Try and recall #HeforShe, #Yesall-women or #Bringbackourgirls. Lead-ing to some of the most powerful so-cial media movements of the last few years, “hashtag activism” is now often referred to as Facebook revolutions.

However, have you heard of the re-cent Ashley Madison hacking scandal or glanced over Rachel Dolezal’s Twit-ter account? If you have, chances are you’ve noticed a significant number of angry comments from those who are using social media to express their ex-treme dissatisfaction.

Up until the late 1900s, public shaming in small communities was widely used as an official punishment. However, the evolution of the Internet, followed by exponential globalization, has widened the boundaries of who constitutes the “public” and the result-ing repercussions.

While often associated with politi-cians and celebrities, public shaming has crept its way into the lives of ordi-nary children and students, establish-ing its roots in social media and pre-

senting itself as online bullying. Justine Sacco’s example shows how

one careless comment can not only lead to a dismissal from your job and disappointment from your family, but also scornful remarks from strangers all over the world. “Going to Africa. Hope I don’t get AIDS. Just kidding. I’m white!” was the ill-considered tweet sent just before she boarded the 11-hour flight from Heathrow to Cape Town. It caused Sacco to become the

number one worldwide trend on Twit-ter, and also opened her up to enraged remarks from strangers criticizing her and her employers online. The uproar caused her to lose her job and the re-spect of her family and friends.

As students, a strong similarity to the Sacco incident can be seen by how easily students join in on “ridiculing-bandwagons” on social media, espe-cially Facebook pages in which they maintain anonymity.

“I find it surprising how often we forget [that] the person we collectively comment against on the confessions pages, while remaining anonymous, still remains a distressed student just like all of us,” says Rubani Qaumi, a fourth-year student pursuing a major in biology for health science.

A 2011 University of Toronto Scar-borough study, “Ironic Effects of Anti-prejudice Messages: How Motivational Interventions Can Reduce (but Also

Increase) Prejudice”, discusses how imposing antiprejudice ideas on others can in fact result in those people react-ing with increased prejudice. Para-doxically, while contributing to public shaming may seem like a good way to stop prejudice, it can actually have the reverse effect.

Although the motivations for par-ticipating in such public shaming acts may vary, the most frequently seen cause remains common: mental health.

“Students who are plugged in are exposed to content that has been digitally manipulated and retouched; fashioned to inspire envy and poised to aggravate insecurities,” says Jordan Foster, the team leader for Peer Health Education on mental health.

“Our mission is to create a positive and safe environment in which stu-dents can discuss a given issue,” says Foster.

The rise of the Internet has given us freedom of expression, but has it also robbed us of the freedom to make mis-takes? Being an empathetic bystander is increasingly becoming insufficient in the face of strong online resentment.

Max continued on page 9

MAHMOUD SAROUJI/THE MEDIUMWith the power of hashtags comes great responsibility: to be empathetic.

MAHNOOR AYUB

09.08.2015 THE MEDIUM FEATURES» 9

Does reverse racism exist? To kick off this year’s column, I’ll start by

sharing my own beloved recipe.

Now, I’ll be very honest with you all: I

can’t actually cook. Well, that isn’t com-

pletely true: I can prepare a variety of sal-

ads. I can make a tasty set of garlic bread

(yum), a rustic pizza (read: a bread with

melted cheese and veggies on top), and a

few other simple recipes.

You can go ahead and have a laugh, but

I’m the type of person who’ll head to lec-

tures with snacks, order pizza if there’s a

study group, live off my mom’s hot meals,

or just stare wistfully at food (beyond my

budget) at Deerfield Hall. I still haven’t

worked out why I love watching the Food

Network (I’m looking at you, Cutthroat

Kitchen and Gordon Ramsay—stop reeling

me in with the intense competitions and

those desserts!).

There is one meal that I am proud of,

though: my chicken fried rice.

I remember preparing that meal spe-

cifically for a cooking competition in high

school. My biology teacher had decided

that the winning duo with the healthiest

meal would get ice cream. I suppose it was

a little counter-productive to reward the

healthiest meal with junk food, but given

that this was a high school in the middle

of a desert—I lived in Saudi Arabia—it was

definitely the best way to motivate a class

of lazy high school students. My partner

and I decided to prepare chicken fried rice,

mainly because I adore fried rice and my

partner could handle the chicken.

Now I wish I could say that we won the

competition. But sadly, our meal was a tad

salty (I’m looking at you, soya sauce.). We

were beaten by the tabouleh—a Lebanese

vegetarian dish. (My wonderful chicken

fried rice lost to soggy veggies?! Unbeliev-

able.)

But anyway, enough reminiscing about

the past—here’s my recipe for chicken

fried rice. If a hopeless cook like me can

manage to make it, anyone can.

Chicken Fried Rice(Inspired by traditional chinese fried rice and adapted from my mom’s delicious cooking)

INGREDIENTS

• 3 eggs

• 200 g chicken filet

• 500 g long-grain rice (uncooked weight),

cooked and left to go cold

• 1 large capsicum, chopped

• 5 green onions, finely chopped

• 2 carrots, chopped into squares

• 200 g peas

• 2 tbsp ground white pepper

• 1 tbsp soya sauce

• 6 tbsp vegetable oil

• Spices: red chilli powder, black pepper

• salt and pepper

METHOD

1.Boil the chicken filet, adding appropriate

pinches of salt, black pepper, and red

chili powder for about 10–15 minutes.

Once the chicken is cool, shred the

chicken into smaller pieces.

2. Beat the egg, add the black pepper,

and place it to one side for later use.

3. Heat the vegetable oil in a large frying

pan. Once the oil is hot, add the chopped

carrots and stir fry for about 2–3

minutes.

4. As the carrot is cooking in the frying

pan, add in the cold rice and stir fry for

another five minutes until completely

heated through.

5. Add the chicken pieces, followed by the

chopped capsicum and green onions.

At this point, add the soya sauce, white

pepper, and the lemon juice.

6. Stir fry for about 3 minutes, making

sure to constantly turn the rice around

the frying pan.

7. Push the entire mixture to one side of

the pan. Pour the beaten egg mixture

into the newly vacated area, and allow

the egg to fry. Once the egg is set,

break it up into smaller pieces and mix

it with the rice and vegetables in the

frying pan.

8. While at low heat, cover the frying pan

with a lid for 5 minutes.

9. Serve immediately.

SERVES 6

Cycling duo stopped at UTM

UTM welcomed the two with a huge crowd—and more importantly for Max, an ice cream truck. As an ob-server present in the crowd that day, I can say that it was quite refreshing to see the support for Max at UTM. It was clear that both father and son were exhausted, but Max had nothing but smiles for everyone.

“The people who organised the welcome—especially my colleagues Veronica Vasquez and Zoya Tahir—were absolutely amazing,” says Sed-mihradsky. “Principal Deep Saini was

about to go on his sabbatical in a few hours but he came out to the event, so I was really surprised to see him there! Really, I was just amazed. I don’t even know what I was expecting.”

Their journey ended in Hamilton in time for the Canada Day celebra-tions. “The day it was over, I washed the bike,” says Sedmihradsky. “It was comfortable and fun—it was like a home.”

He says that his biggest challenge was not the continuous cycling or the rough terrain—it was about openly addressing Duchenne muscular dys-trophy. “One thing that I struggled

with was that I didn’t ever want to be in the spotlight,” he explains. “But I didn’t know any way to do this with-out putting myself out there to some extent. When I look back at it all, the biggest challenge was just taking it all in and saying ‘thank you’. I’m glad someone filmed the moments because I still can’t believe that it happened.”

Max’s Big Ride isn’t over though—this is only the beginning. Sedmi-hradsky is planning his next adven-ture. For his part, Max has already decided his own plans: he’s aiming to do a Mummy’s Big Ride.

When UTMSU posted a photo last week pertaining to “reverse racism”, comments immediately flooded in debating whether or not the term should even exist. However, when I searched the term on Google, one of the first few results displayed was from Urban Dictionary, which be-gan to put doubts in my head.

If being racist towards Cauca-sians existed, shouldn’t it just be termed racism? Why coin a new term for it?

When UTMSU posted a defini-tion of the term up on their Face-book page, it caused a lot of con-troversy. Most of the outrage and backlash was at how callous it was to believe that reverse racism—a term used to describe acts of racism against people who belong to the racial majority—didn’t exist.

When asked about her views on it, Diala Saab, a second-year psychology major, said, “If some-one discriminates against some-one [else] because of their race,

it’s racism,” regardless of how you want to label it. “Society shouldn’t be a jigsaw puzzle where pieces of human[kind] are acknowledged to be more dominant than others.”

Sherry Ghaly, a third-year psy-chology major who wrote the defi-nition for UTMSU, didn’t believe it was so simple. “[The term] isn’t meant to attack whites at all. It’s simply stating that white people are given privileges in society not af-forded to people of colour,” she says.

“Racism is fundamentally tied to the notion of dominance and pow-er, and people of colour do not have this position in society; only white people can truly be racist,” Ghaly added.

In other words, a minority group, such as Africans or North Ameri-cans who have had their history embedded in slavery and oppres-sion, cannot reproduce the kind of racism that exists at a kind of struc-tural and institutional level that af-fects their historic oppressor, i.e. a majority group, Caucasians.

“When people of colour are dis-

criminatory in North America, it’s [not as significant]—we do not have the political, social, or economic clout to influence policies,” she said, adding that racism committed by white people can impact the lives of people of colour “on a very grand scale”.

According to this view of racism, one form of it is an institution and the other is personal. When a ma-jority group is insulted, it does not affect them the same way it affects those who are a minority. When a minority group is stereotyped and insulted through years of a system that has been put into place, the result is a lack of basic rights, and reduced access to jobs, benefits, and much more.

We can get lost in the techni-calities behind the phrase “reverse racism” but one thing is for sure: racism has become a part of every-day lingo, but behind the six-letter word is a history that affects people today, individually and collectively. It isn’t tangible, but it is something we can see all around us.

MAHMOUD SAROUJI/THE MEDIUMUTMSU’s definition of reverse racism sparked controversy on their Facebook platform.

Max continued from page 8

UTM MARKETING AND COMMUNICATIONS DEPARTMENT/PHOTOA huge crowd welcomed Andrew Sedmihradsky and his son Max as they cycled to UTM.

MARIUM FAISAL

FEATURES EDITOR

Farah is a third-year molecular biol-ogy specialist and chemistry minor.

When Farah isn’t worrying about deadlines, she spends her time read-ing cliché YA books. She is also a full-blown TV show addict, with her top favourites being Game Of Thrones and NCIS.

Farah loves the winter. No, she isn’t deluded—after spending her entire life

in Saudi Arabia, Farah detests the sun with every fibre of her being.

Farah has recently entered the world of bird watching. She still can’t recognise different bird songs, but she’s slowly getting the hang of it.

As for the future, Farah has yet to decide her path. Grad school? Sleep-ing? Stay tuned to find out!

FARAH QAISERFEATURES@THEMEDIUM.CA

09.08.2015 » 11

Varsity Blues couldn’t sustain a half-time lead, losing 55-33 to the Marauders

The Varsity Blues football team seemed to shine as bright as the af-ternoon sky on August 30 during the first two quarters of play against the defending Yates Cup champions, McMaster Marauders. But to their dismay, a faulty second half cost them a lead, and they eventually fell 55-33 in their season opener at Var-sity Stadium.

A possible upset loomed over the McMaster faithful when the Blues led 26-24 at halftime, but the Ma-rauders pulled out on top.

The main thorn in the Blues’ side was CIS all-Canadian receiver Danny Vandervoort, who made ten catches for 168 yards and four touch-downs for the opposing squad. He connected with second-year quar-terback Asher Hastings, who went 26-34 and 383 yards and five touch-downs.

Blues quarterback Simon Nas-sar picked up right where he left off last year, when he led the league in many offensive categories, throw-ing 29-for-49 for 361 yards and one touchdown. His favorite target, fifth-

year receiver Boris Isakov, made six catches for 87 yards. Second-year receiver Domenic Battistella caught the only touchdown thrown that af-ternoon when Nassar threw it from the Marauders’ one-yard line.

Even though the Blues allowed the Marauders 55 points, there were exceptional standouts from the de-fensive side, including fourth-year linebacker Adrian Bernard, who had transferred from Susquehanna,

Pennsylvania. Bernard led all the players with eight tackles, adding a sack and forced fumble. Other standouts include Brittley Mokube, Jaiden McBride, and Trevor Harvey, who each had 6.5 tackles.

The Player of the Game for the Blues and the Varsity Athlete of the Week was second-year running back and UTM student Divante Smith. Smith had 18 rushes for 112 yards and three touchdowns. In the single game against the Marauders, Divante accumulated totals that took him half a year to accomplish last year.

“I’m the same guy as I was last year; I’m keeping my mind focused,” says Smith, adding that he’s positive that he can fill the shoes of Lukas Gavac, Blues fourth-year all-star running back who went down with an injury prior to the regular season.

“We looked at the first half of the game and saw that we were beating the defending [Yates Cup] champi-ons. We know we can play against the best; all we have to do is finish off the best,” Smith continued. “Look at the way McMaster was able to come back and beat us—they’re a good team. Now we learn from that and move on.”

The Blues are now suiting up against the Queen’s Gaels at Varsity Stadium on September 26 at 1 p.m. The Blues look to make the playoffs for the first time since 1995.

ERIC HEWITSONSPORTS EDITOR

JAMIE MACDONALD/VARSITYBLUES.CAIt was the first game of the year for the Blues, who have three home games left at Varsity Stadium.

UTM Eagle spirit soars to new heightsRevamped UTMAC executives plan to energize students through new approach to sports

August 31 was the start of orien-tation for the new academic year, and it happened with a bang. Frosh week began with a pep rally to in-troduce new students to the athletic side of UTM at the Recreation and Wellness Centre.

The pep rally started off with a basketball game, where the UTM men’s basketball team played against UTM’s alumni basketball team; it was a friendly contest that saw UTM Eagle spirit soar at its highest.

The start of a new school year also came with the new University of Toronto Mississauga Athletic Council. This year’s UTMAC team consists of nine individuals whose collective goal is to encourage stu-dents to get involved with sports programs and add a social aspect to athletics with events like Health Week, pub nights, and the annual Athletic Banquet hosted at the end of the year.

UTMAC’s director of health and wellness, Andrew Williams, says the main purpose of UTMAC is to highlight the importance of physi-cal activity and to emphasize inclu-

sivity by welcoming all students re-gardless of their athletic experience or skills.

“We want to ensure that students are emotionally, physically, and mentally balanced after a long day

of studying,” Williams says. What inspired this way of think-

ing is that he met former 15-year NBA veteran and Toronto Raptor Doug Christie, who is head athletic trainer and owner of the athletic

facility TERNION. In their conver-sations, they discussed the impor-tance of establishing a connection between mind, body, and sport.

“I want to incorporate all I’ve learned from Doug and Sly into UT-

MAC’s programs and boot camps,” Williams says. “This connection is not geared solely for athletes but provides a new, refreshing outlook on life to anyone willing to join.”

UTMAC also shared its plans to increase school spirit by intro-ducing its first promotional team, “Planet RAWC”, whose purpose is to create awareness and increase hype for all events, especially games.

Encouraging the theme of inclu-sivity, “the promo team will be the bridge between UTMAC and the students on our campus,” says UT-MAC director of public relations and communications Mustapha Hashi.

UTMAC president Bilal Raifai says that in addition to the promo-tional team, UTMAC is “introduc-ing a bunch of new events that have not been done in the past, such as UTMAC boot camps and free out-door yoga classes”.

The new UTMAC team encour-ages students to stay informed by following them on Twitter at @MyUTMAC, on Instagram at UT-MACEAGLES, or finding them on their University of Toronto Athletic Council Facebook page.

NOOR CHAUDHRY/PHOTOUTMAC, led by president Bilal Raifai, have new interactive events planned for 2015/16.

KARINA COTRAN

Blues lose to defending champions

12 «SPORTS THE MEDIUM 09.08.2015

Building on the Varsity Eagle empireUTM welcomes outdoor soccer teams, giving more opportunities for students to compete in OCAA

Last fall, UTM began competing within the Ontario Colleges Athletic Association, which is recognized as a leader in intercollegiate athletics in Ontario. UTM was sworn in as its 30th member, giving students the opportunity to become recognized as athletes.

The Medium spoke to UTM Ath-letics about the past season and plans for the new one.

Director of UTM Athletics Ken Duncliffe made a statement regard-ing the inaugural season, seeming happy with last year’s outcome and hopeful for its future.

“The first year of UTM’S partici-pation in OCAA varsity sport ex-ceeded our expectations. Student athletes proudly represented UTM in the games of badminton, cross country, and indoor soccer,” he said.

In 2014/15, UTM’s Varsity Eagles teams competed in badminton, cross country, and men’s and women’s in-door soccer.

“Men’s indoor soccer captured the Sheridan College Invitational Tournament championship while women’s indoor soccer made it to the semifinals in the same tournament.

UTM cross country athlete Lauren Brewster qualified for the National Championship by placing in the top 25 in the province,” says Jack Krist, UTM program coordinator.

This year, UTM is adding men’s and women’s outdoor soccer pro-grams. Looking to join the bunch in

2017/18 are men’s and women’s bas-ketball and volleyball programs.

For students looking for an athlet-ic edge beyond what is offered with UTM’s intramural programs, par-ticipating on a Varsity Eagles team offers students that opportunity, but Duncliffe warned they should be

wary of heftier responsibilities and time commitments.

“This new level of sport at UTM, in addition to existing opportunities with the Varsity Blues and all of the other levels of competitive and rec-reational sport, offer the new UTM student the choice of participating

at a level that meets their individual needs. Each level has different time and commitment requirements, with the varsity sports being the most de-manding,” says Duncliffe.

Even though the men’s and women’s varsity soccer teams have wrapped up their tryout dates, stu-dents still have the ability to try out for the varsity badminton team, coached by Lam Trinh, and cross country team, coached by Adam Hassan.

Badminton is holding its infor-mation session on September 15 at 7 p.m. with tryouts occurring the following week. Cross country has three more tryout dates happening in the next two weeks.

Students who are interested in participating in a varsity program at UTM but are not enrolled in full-time studies or did not make a var-sity team are encouraged to join a development league team. Men’s ice hockey and men’s and women’s vol-leyball, indoor soccer, outdoor soc-cer, and basketball will each take part in a four-team league consisting of UTM, UTSC, and two St. George teams.

Students wanting to find out more about each level should contact the program staff at the RAWC.

ERIC HEWITSONSPORTS EDITOR

MAHMOUD SAROUJI/THE MEDIUMUTM, an affiliate OCAA member, has four varsity sports, with two more to come in 2017/18.

SPORTS EDITOR

Starting his first year as sports edi-tor of The Medium, this former Var-sity Blues football player will provide students with up-to-date information regarding UTM and U of T Athletics.

Eric has written for The Medium for the past two years, holding the associate editor position for one and a half of those. Once on the inside looking out, Eric now ap-proaches varsity athletics with a whole new perspective. He dressed 16 games for the Blues, leading the team in points in both seasons. His experience, passion for sports, and valuable list of contacts make him a great representative at this posi-tion.

For the 10 percent of Eric’s life where he isn’t dreaming, thinking, watching, or actively participating

in athletics, he’s binge watching House of Cards, rooting for the no-torious Frank Underwood. Other notable favourites include watch-ing the Patriots on Sundays, Jays smashing home runs, and the Leafs scoring in their own net.

The native of Cambridge, Ontar-io sometimes remembers he’s also a fourth-year English and profes-sional writing major.

A sports fanatic that hopes to obtain a career in sports journal-ism, Eric also wants to do some traveling before he settles down with a career and family.

This is starting to sound too much like a Tinder profile, so just go ahead and follow him already on Twitter @eric_hewitson.

ERIC HEWITSONSPORTS@THEMEDIUM.CA