TAble of Contents

4 Streeters 6 Reflecting on Toronto’s identity 7 Exploring campus archictecture 11 An interview with rapper John River 14 Student debt in Canada 16 University is not for everyone 18 The future of the TYP 20 Wishing wells of the world 23 Gentrification in the Junction 26 Sitting down with artist Mony Zakhour 29 U of T’s Olympic ice dancer 30 Pursuing a career in eSports 32 Everyone, stop being DJs 34 A music festival for Toronto 36 Who are the futurists? 37 Peace psychology 38 Cult films and aspiration 39 “Expectations,” artwork by Eric Chung

The Varsity Magazine has a circulation of 20,000, and is published by Varsity Publications Inc. It is printed by Masterweb Inc. Content © 2013 by The Varsity. All rights reserved. Any editorial inquiries and/or letters should be directed to the editors associated with them; emails listed above. The Varsity Magazine reserves the right to edit all submissions. Please recycle this issue after you are finished with it. THE Letter from Letter from VARSITY MAGAZINE the Editor Design Vol. VII No. 1 21 Sussex, Suite 306 I don’t know what I want to be when I grow up. Aspirations are a hard thing to visualize. Toronto, ON, M5S 1J6 For as long as I can remember, people have Whether we’re trying to imagine where we’d (416) 946–7600 been asking me what my plans are for the fu- like to be in five hours, what our dream house thevarsity.ca ture, and while I’ve done my best to say some- would look like, or even how we’d like our hair thing convincing, I’ve never really known for cut, picturing the things we desire is difficult. sure. Not all of us have a perfect blueprint for It seems like the things we want become more Editor-in-Chief our lives laid out, but most of us are overflow- tangible when we can see them, but with that Joshua Oliver [email protected] ing with dreams — fantasies that seem so ab- tangibility come all the anxieties of possible fail- surd that we’re afraid to say them out loud. ure or dissapointment when we are presented Magazine editor For this magazine, we asked what your with the realities. Danielle Klein [email protected] dreams are. Why did you come to U of T, or In designing the cover of this issue, we were Production manager to Toronto — what were you longing for that faced with many anxieties about it. Every time Dan Seljak [email protected] brought you to where you are standing right we finalized a concept, we doubted whether now? The narratives in these pages explore or not it was our best work, and whether its managing online editor our secret wishes and wildest aspirations. We message would carry to our audience. We pho- Murad Hemmadi [email protected] talked to people who are going for it — wheth- tographed and discarded around five different DEsign editor er trying to make a living playing video games concepts before we finally settled. Shaquilla Singh [email protected] (p. 30), painting (p. 32), rapping (p. 11), or ice The image we finally decided on is one we dancing (p. 29). want to represent those fears and anxieties that photo editor Sometimes, the chances of failure are high. surround our aspirations. The figure on the left Carolyn Levett [email protected] James Flynn investigated student debt and reading a map represents the logical side of our how it can stand in the way of success (p. 14). desires — tactfully planning the best route to Senior Copy Editor Samantha Relich talked to students at the success. The figure on the right represents the Catherine Virelli [email protected] Transitional Year Programme who are strug- more emotional side of our hopes — attaching illustrations Editor gling to keep it from being shut down (p.18). them to sentiments rather than reason. Nancy Ji [email protected] It’s easy to feel like we should keep our aspi- The cycle between these two aspects of our rations quiet, lest we validate the labels being aspirations represents all of us, as well as the bal- associate Magazine editor tossed around about our generation — “en- ance we strike as post-secondary students — at Victoria Banderob titled,” “lazy,” “millennials.” But our greatest once grounded in reason and, at the same time, hopes may not be as ludicrous as they seem. lost on the winds of hopeful emotion. associate Design editor When we try to pursue them, when we want Mari Zhou things fervently, we have a shot at realizing — Shaquilla Singh associate Senior Copy editor them. The age of figuring things out at 18 is Design Editor, 2013-2014 Lucy Genua past — we will all go through different jobs, Copy Editors & Fact checkers change our minds, fail, or triumph. We may Lucy Genua, Elena Gritzan, Jennifer Hurd, not have perfect plans, but we have longings Nicole Sconza, Kelly Turner, Catherine Virelli and dreams that spill out onto the streets of our city like frantic energy, whether we share DEsigners them or not. Kawmadie Karunanayake, Emerald Misquitta, For now, you’re here. In a few years, you Dan Seljak, Shaquilla Singh, Mari Zhou could be anything — even exactly what you Cover want to be. Michael Chahley photo & Illustration ­— Danielle Klein Julien Balbotino, Michael Chahley, Eric Magazine Editor, 2013-2014 Chung, Wendy Gu, Courtney Hallink, Trevor Koroll, Jacob Lorinc, Lucinda Ro, Ann Sheng, Jennifer Su, Nicole Regina Wong, Alice Xue, Shijie (Tina) Zhou Contributors Nicholas Carlson, Katherine Dupont, James Flynn, Emma Hansen, Jesse Hildebrand, JP Kaczur, Emma Kikulis, Daniel Konikoff, Sofia Luu, India McAllister, Claudia McNeilly, Ishita Pektar, Corinne Pryzbyslawski, Samantha Relich, Kate Hale Wilkes, Alec Wilson, Theo- dore Yan, Adam Zachary Special Thanks Michael Chahley, Kerrie McCreadie, Theodore Yan, Wish Cat, Molly McGillis, Cameron Findlater, Shmucks, Squirtle, Fortune cookie donors, Family dinner, Wish Cat again, Danielle’s half mug of wine, India, Future Bakery, Zebra Katz, Drake (kind of) — 4 — — 5 — THE VARSITY MAGAZINE THE VARSITY MAGAZINE Defining the city Is Toronto in a state of cultural limbo, or can the city be understood?

By Emma Kikulis | Illustration by Nancy Ji

Toronto a.k.a...

T.O. Taken from the first two letters of the city’s name ­— earth-shattering. Hogtown References the once ubiquitous pork process- ing plants in Toronto. Not a comment on the city’s current leadership.

The Big Smoke We are slowly killing the earth, but at least we have the decency to make sk 10 people in Toronto ter is not as clear-cut. The lack major global cities, or a pin- light of the situation. where they’re from, and of a collective identity in To- pointed feature to draw peo- Aprepare yourself for 10 ronto inspires nostalgia for the ple to it. The CN Tower, which El Toro different answers. In a city places people come from and is now pretty much irrelevant where you can walk through ambivalence about the future. (thanks Dubai), fails to serve Literally created in a several cultural districts in This ambiguity is particularly this purpose, as do Casa magazine contest. This is only a few blocks, and 50 per frustrating for students who Loma, City Hall, and all the what we’ve come to. You cent of residents were born are desperate to define them- other sights that tourists am- are forgiven your tears. elsewhere, this cosmopoli- selves in a place where there is ble by before hopping back on tanism isn’t surprising. What no mould to do so. their City Sight Seeing Toronto is notable, however, is that Because Toronto is such a bus. What genuinely defines people often don’t directly mosaic of people, places, and Toronto are the little boroughs The Centre of the associate themselves with cultures, we have to work that and neighbourhoods that Universe the city. much harder than a city with make it unique — the distinct Toronto’s identity is a sub- less diversity to establish an corners of the city that appear QED ject of much discussion, but identity. How do we form a disjointed at first glance, but so far no one has been able definition for the most mul- come together to make up an to make a snazzy slogan or ticultural city in the world alluring whole. tion, Baldwin Village, and so singular characteristic stick without excluding anyone or Ironically, Toronto’s iden- on. It’s not the skyline, the mu- to our city and put us on the anything? There is a desire for tity is its constant identity seums, or the lake that make proverbial map. You can visit a clearly defined identity, but crisis — the city refuses to be this city special — though the Big Apple, Sin City, or the it is complicated by the costs defined by one word or single they certainly add to the ambi- City of Love — or you can vis- of attaining one. characteristic because it can- ance — it’s the discord and the it Toronto, period. Toronto wants something not be contained. Toronto’s instability of the neighbour- New York City is the cultural to cling to — an inclusion- diverse constituents animate hoods and the architecture, the capital of the world; Paris is ary definition that will make the streets of Kensington multiplicity of cultures, and teeming with art and historical people feel as if the city is ori- Market, Little Portugal, Greek the difficulty of attempting to significance; Toronto’s charac- ented in the context of other Town, the Annex, the Junc- pin it all down.

— 6 — THE VARSITY MAGAZINE Constructing aspiration Exploring the architecture of U of T and how it affects the mindsets of students

By Katherine Dupont & Adam Zachary Photos by Alice Xue | Doodles by Nancy Ji, Kawmadie Karunanayake & Mari Zhou

— 7 — THE VARSITY MAGAZINE eaving through the reflective of the greater city of A university in a city schools — and each consists tree-lined paths Toronto. It is sure to provide at of one clearly defined campus Wthat cross our cam- least a few buildings to please The University of Toronto is that dominates the surround- pus, one might look to either each bright, young, studious notable for outstanding aca- ing small cities of London and side and feel as though they set of eyes — but how does demics and brilliant achieve- Kingston respectively. These are walking between differ- it affect our minds? Is scrib- ments in all fields of research. towns are known to us as ent worlds: namely, Univer- bling out a test in a fluorescent, Ours is consistently ranked “university towns,” a category sity College — our oldest whitewashed, cinderblock cellar among the world’s greatest of which there is no risk of To- labyrinth — and the brutal- really so different from lazily universities — in 2013, we ronto becoming a member. ist pile that is home to our writing in a fine oak-panelled were ranked eighth in the U of T has a far greater pop- medical faculty. These paths parlour? We learn the same world for scientific perfor- ulation than these schools, could be passages between things in either room, cough- mance by NTU; seventeenth and is spread across three buildings or centuries. The ing up the same information, so in the world overall by QS; and large campuses — each pro- landscape is unified by the why do we favour the high ceil- twenty-first internationally by viding a thoroughly different changing seasons and the ings and shadows of the older Times Higher Education. Ac- experience. At the St. George CN Tower. buildings over the banal Sid cording to most rankings, our campus, the student body is Our university is a beautiful Smith and McLennan labs? school is unmatched by any split up into seven undergrad- place: often hopeless, hellish, Architectural determinism is other in Canada. uate colleges and many more and hectic, but surrounded by the concept that our built envi- What we lack compared to subdivisions of professional beauty nonetheless. The cam- ronment can affect and modify the Ivy League and Oxbridge faculties, theological colleg- pus is housed in the heart of our behaviour. The most no- universities that we rank side- es, and so on. There is little Toronto and built up in waves table and quotable example is by-side with is a distinct char- opportunity for students to that spill from the central the theoretical “panopticon acter and a cohesive communi- come together meaningfully. towers and cloisters of Uni- prison,” in which inmates may ty. The Canadian universities An overwhelming majority versity College. The buildings be observed at all times from a that rank near us, such as of students live off campus, surround us in an architectural guard tower that sprouts from Western and Queen’s, seem to some commuting as many as mosaic as diverse as the stu- the middle of the circular com- our outsider eyes to have very two hours every morning. dent body, packed full of exem- plex (not to draw too strong tight-knit student bodies that There is also an absence plars of Gothic, Romanesque, a parallel with the watchful wear their school colours with of a uniform aesthetic in ar- neoclassical, modern, and post- arrow-slit windows of Robarts). pride, both on and off campus. chitecture and planning that modern styles. Is it possible that our experience These universities seem to have could reinforce our identity. This variety in the built envi- of the university is a result of the more of a team spirit — per- There is little to differentiate ronment is both interesting and forms that its buildings take? haps because they are smaller the St. George campus from

— 8 — THE VARSITY MAGAZINE tively long when they fell maining houses have become victim to the movement. The part of Woodsworth College. brutalist anthill we know as the Medical Science Build- “A quintessentially ing (1969) now stands on the postmodern campus” site of the original Biologi- cal Building and the original Leading geographer David Skule; both were demolished Harvey writes that the post- in 1966 — long before they modern “…urban fabric [is] reached 100 years of age. necessarily fragmented, a pa- limpsest of past forms super- Identity loss imposed upon one another...” Was U of T moving to- By his definition, U of T has ward a distinct identity? become a quintessentially The old Biological Build- postmodern campus. ing, replaced by the plain Why has the university fol- and disappointing Ramsay lowed the path of fragmenta- Wright Laboratories, was a tion while other top schools Romanesque stone mansion have held fast to their roots in that recalled the windows of architectural tradition? Yale University College and the University recently commis- heavy but soft shapes of the sioned the world-renowned his- Victoria College castle. The toricist-architect Robert Stern, old Skule was a Gothic block responsible for the gleaming that echoed the Royal Con- white condominium that casts a servatory and St. Michael’s morning shadow down Charles College. Street, to design two new resi- Neoclassicism was also dential colleges that will heavily common to the School of borrow from and fit in with its Household Sciences — now nineteenth-century neighbours. the Lillian Massey build- Newer colleges at Oxford, such ing, the demolished “new” as Green Templeton (2008) and King’s College, and the de- Kellogg (1994), opted to reno- molished Chemistry Build- vate old homes and institutional ing. The university had not buildings rather than demolish yet settled on a style, but it and build anew. The University was still young. of Tokyo — which is perhaps of Much of St. George Street more comparable age, size, and and Huron Street were once global status to U of T — has opt- other parts of downtown To- and Elmsley Hall (1955). At lined with residences built ed to shift most new construc- ronto that feature a few beau- first, these must have seemed for Toronto’s upper- and tion to its periphery to preserve tiful relics of the past in val- like embassies of a blind and middle-classes, professors, its nineteenth-century core. The leys bordered by sheer cliffs heavy-footed alien race. Soon and fraternities — for exam- university is long past having of concrete and plate glass. they were joined by a dozen ple, 24 homes once stood on decided against preserving its similar buildings, such as the the half block now occupied archictectural heritage — but Modernism takes over McLennan Physical Laborato- by Sid Smith. As many as with the adoption of fragmen- In keeping with the twentieth- ries (1967) and the much-re- 200 did not survive the rap- tation, it will soon have even century trend in North Ameri- viled Sidney Smith Hall (1961). id expansion of our campus. less of a stylistically defined can urban planning, rapid over- We accept these buildings now Many of them were standard core to discern. development in the postwar as unfortunate facts of the St. bay-gable or Second Empire Dealing with construction is era led to the abandonment of George landscape, but rarely row houses, but some, espe- just as much a part of life on heritage preservation as a pri- consider the noble arches that cially on the western side campus as it is across the rest ority in building the campus. fell to make way for them. of St. George Street, were of the city. In our lifetimes, the Toronto adopted modernism, The modernist movement grander homes that could Bahen Centre has risen at the and its university followed. carried with it an indomi- have been repurposed rath- south end of St. George, and Modernist architectural theo- table egotism that insisted it er than bulldozed. the Leslie L. Dan Pharmacy ry embraced buildings as “ma- was revolutionary. Its disre- For an idea of how the Building has newly crowned chines for living” that should gard for the preservation of street once looked, walk the the southern corner of Queen’s be efficient, insular, without old buildings and their styl- northern end of St. George Park. On the north end of cam- ornament, and isolated from ing was akin to an erasure of Street, where some of them pus, the new Munk Centre has the streets: criteria often ful- history. Unlike others, U of T were indeed preserved and just opened in the thought- filled with the aid of stern and was easily wooed by modern- integrated with the campus. fully renovated Meteorological featureless exterior walls. ism, and since it is not as old The mansion that now cor- Building, and before many of us On the St. George campus, as most of the world’s other nerstones the new Rotman graduate, the angled columns modernism was first exem- great schools, most of the addition was once home to of the new Goldring Centre for plified by the Mechanical original core buildings had the Department of Classics, High Performance Sport will Engineering Building (1947) not been around for rela- and a stretch of three re- loom over Devonshire Place.

— 9 — THE VARSITY MAGAZINE It is an exciting time to watch the campus change around us, but all of this new development is still not moving in any one distinct direction. The univer- sity administration seems to have no desire to unify campus; rather, it seems to be more inter- ested in simply commissioning whatever is in vogue at the time of planning. Our walks to class have become walks through an exhibition of architectural fash- ion over time. Consider how dif- ferent these four new buildings are, and what different impres- sions they would give if a new student were to see one of them upon first visiting the campus.

Towards coherency New construction at St. George does not present or suggest any specific aspirations as U of T’s oldest buildings do. is ongoing. Few of us could fect, from the raising of roofs winter. In our little world The neoclassical columns and deny the science fiction ap- to the falling of leaves. The sun from College up to Bloor, we heaven-minded towers which peal of the Donnelly Centre’s begins to set at 5:00 pm, and think that winter is more once decorated the campus, dna patterns or the soaring the rapidly changing colours beautiful. Snow covers our nodding to the Greeks and atrium of Victoria College’s cast different lights across the campus like an equalizer, Romans studied within the new Goldring Centre. Maybe gargoyles of University Col- covers each hard line of buildings, have been re- U of T was nearing an archi- lege. Every tower’s peak casts windowsill and soft curve placed by modernist stand- tectural archetype before the a long shadow across streets of roof in a white together- ins. Elegant feats of stone and crush of modernism and mess and quads, like a sundial that ness. Everything feels more metal that could once inspire of its aftermath, and maybe it counts down the sun setting like a home, connected by a passing young engineers are is unknowingly nearing one on another school day. common thread. Hopefully, also long gone. once again. Some think that fall is the in the long and bright future Much of our campus is visu- Though incoherently, our most picturesque season on of this school, our planners ally unpleasant, full of tired school is redefining itself, and our campus, with the fall- and architects will find brashness — but we are still our lives will change with it. ing tide of orange and red some common threads and surrounded by the beauty that Every physical cause has an ef- leaves bringing promises of tie them tighter together.

— 10 — THE VARSITY MAGAZINE “You’ve got to work your miracles” An interview with 19-year-old Toronto rapper John River on chasing his dream

By Corinne Przybyslawski | Photos by Jennifer Su

atthew Derrick-Huie, who goes by the name John River, is a former Mhigh school runner and soccer player from the GTA whose pursuit of a dream, rather than a finish line, had him taking down license plates, stalking ve- hicles, and idling at airports. With a self- produced mixtape and his charity, Hope City, the 19-year-old’s remarkable humility and drive steered the odds into his favour. When an interview with J. Cole, organized by Hip Hop Canada, fell through, Derrick- Huie decided to chase down the celebrity to meet him as well as Ibrahim Hamad, presi- dent of Cole’s label, Dreamville Records. Derrick-Huie met J. Cole at Pearson Airport on his way back to Toronto. Soon after, the two met at Hamad’s New York City home, where Derrick-Huie rapped a verse for him. Derrick-Huie’s years of patience, in con- junction with his extraordinary route to the industry’s doorstep, has earned him brotherly recognition and respect from Cole and Hamad, as well as the Toronto rap com- munity. The Varsity caught up with him in Mississauga to discuss rap in Toronto and how he has pursued his dreams.

— 11 — THE VARSITY MAGAZINE “Understand that despite my success, it could have been anyone. We got downtown, we ran into the president of Dreamville, and that was pure luck. Will Smith said once that the universe moves to you. He was sounding a lit- tle weird to me then, but how wrong was I? Everyone has their own secret, their own story. Let me tell people that if you want it, go get it.”

— Matthew Derrick-Huie The Varsity: Who is John River? Canada. People said he sucked and would TV: And that was when you decided to never have any success, but he’s laughing follow them? Matthew Derrick-Huie: “John River” is a now. Maybe he couldn’t fill the genre he name that started with hope. When I left wanted to, fine. He went and just reinvent- MD: A couple of weeks before the show, Europe and turned down a career in soc- ed it, though, so he could. You’ve got to be I crossed very narrow paths with 40 and cer, I had my future in front of me. I made proactive rather than praying: “I’ll be the Future around the block from where the that sacrifice — that’s automatic credibility. one.” Do it yourself, man, Home Depot. show was at. Knowing that by chance, I There’s a greater purpose right now. Sending was able to get my CD to both of Drake’s back money wasn’t going to cut it. I wanted TV: What’s your best advice to others right-hand guys was the biggest, most defi- to make an impact at the grassroots level. I with a similar dream? nite sign in the world. I had to find J. Cole. shouldn’t have to be a billionaire and “come After the concert, we followed the cars on back” to my city. My job is to connect people, MD: Understand that despite my suc- foot. It was crazy, but there was so much especially if they feel like there’s nothing cess, it could have been anyone. We got traffic for a couple of blocks to follow, so as else they could be doing. John River is the downtown, we ran into the president of they started to turn, we hopped into a cab artist to mobilize that movement. Dreamville, and that was pure luck. Will and told [the driver] to follow those cars. Smith said once that the universe moves He actually kicked us out and told us that TV: Considering how disjointed the To- to you. He was sounding a little weird to shit only happened in the movies. We were ronto rap community is, it would almost me then, but how wrong was I? Everyone back on foot, so we started running. Three seem delusional to pursue a career in it. has their own secret, their own story. Let blocks later we break stride, but we figured What compelled you? me tell people that if you want it, go get it. they had to be headed home. Logically, the You’ve got to work your miracles. J. Cole airport was our next stop, and so there we MD: I’ve always liked the ability to express was that miracle route, but it didn’t have were, 2:00 am, waiting for our guy [J. Cole] myself. I had an opinion about the world, to be me first. in Departures [at Toronto Pearson Interna- and I was looking for a platform. I’ve never tional Airport]. looked at it like, “I’m a musician.” It was just TV: When you decided you wanted this something I did. Rapping wasn’t anything career, did you have an initial course of TV: After following J. Cole down to like it is today when I started out. There were action in mind? the airport, doing a verse, and finally maybe 10 kids listening to it. It wasn’t a prof- meeting Ibrahim, what was your head- itable job market — you just did it because MD: I never had a direct path of getting space like? you loved it. where I am now. In the summer when Drake was recording at Metalworks, I was MD: I was embarrassed. I caught up with TV: How did you know that rap was the waiting there from 1:00 am until 6:00 am Bas after all of it, and he told me, “Ibrahim style for you? four nights a week, hoping to see 40 [Noah kept saying that you kept apologizing. What Shebib]. Every night, the bouncer would were you sorry for?” Just because I have a MD: I started with beat boxing. I never wrote come out around 4:00 am and tell me to story to tell doesn’t justify crossing the anything down, but by high school, when fuck off, so I would grab my skateboard, boundaries I did. Who was I to be profiting people started getting into the genre, I knew make the 20-minute ride home, then come off someone’s privacy? I just want people to I was really good. At Clarkson Secondary, back the following night. One night, Future look at this as a motivationally driven story. we used to hold 200 people in the stairwell The Prince came out, Drake’s right-hand The guys at Dreamville are so brotherly to and have two people go at a freestyle against guy. He comes up to me and says, “Hey, accept what I did and understand where I each other. Bets started going around in this you’re that kid,” and so I hand him my CD. was coming from. I only did what I thought too. People always thought I had my stuff He actually took it. Man. That was that. I had to do, for the people I thought I had written down, so I started going off what to do it for. people were wearing — you can’t script that TV: What happened between Future tak- without seeing them. At that point, people ing your CD and the J. Cole concert? TV: You chose to pray on a miracle to get knew I hadn’t been training for that mo- your way. Did that [take a] toll [on] your ment or nothing… I never wanted anyone’s MD: Everything happened on the fly. An optimism at all? money, though. It was enough to know that interview I was supposed to attend with people were recognizing me for something J. Cole got cancelled, but I knew I had to MD: There are so many parts to the story I was really good at. get it done. That encounter held the op- where I think, “I could have stopped there.” portunity to give me the break I needed. I didn’t know I was going to take it as far as TV: Is the industry as exclusive as outsid- If all it was going to take was rapping for I did, but that’s exactly what made me real- ers believe? him, I’d better find a way. Now we’re at ize how badly I wanted it. There is no not the J. Cole concert in August, at Starbucks making it. I think if I was only doing it for MD: It is and it isn’t. You’ve got to go to the and charging the phones, getting ready for me, I would have been too scared… The day big guys and start. Kanye, Kendrick, Jay-Z, the big follow. We knew they had to have I decided I’m not going to settle for a no, I’m Drake, J. Cole. You choose one, but let’s say come in some vehicles, and we knew that going to work hard and try and get J. Cole, I that road closes for whatever reason. Then those vehicles, once we found them, would run into 40 on my way there. You give and you go to the next masthead, and your fash- be carrying our man, so I took down the you shall receive, man. ion of getting to them will have to be com- license plates as soon as I saw what I pletely different each time. Take Drake, for thought I was looking for. Thankfully the This interview has been edited for length example. He got booed at a lot of places in odds were in my favour. and clarity.

— 13 — THE VARSITY MAGAZINE The cost of being here

By James Flynn

n his first year at the University of Different effects received after filing a Freedom of Information Toronto, Dan (name changed) was request — advocates the implementation of Ia model student. He had a 4.0 GPA, According to University of Toronto Students’ per-semester, per-course tuition. At pres- wrote for a campus newspaper, and was Union (UTSU) Arts & Science director-at- ent, U of T operates under a flat-fee model, in on his way to earning a history degree large Ben Coleman, “the point of OSAP is which students pay the same tuition whether and beginning a career in education. socioeconomic mobility — an opportunity, they take three, four, five, or six courses. Cole- However, due to struggles with student through education, to do better than your man believes that changing the current model debt, Dan was forced to drop out of uni- parents. Where’s the equal opportunity when will “help OSAP students greatly.” versity. He is still paying off $18,000 in you have to start your adult life with a debt Dan agrees: “If I was able to take and pay loans that he incurred while in school. burden and richer students don’t?” for three courses, I could work a part-time job Dan attributes his struggles with stu- Student debt limits opportunity, causes while attending school.” Under the flat-fee dent debt to the Ontario Student Assis- stress, and inhibits educational attainment. system, this is not feasible. tance Program (OSAP). Under the pro- Many students with high debt loads are Another option is to change the interest rate gram, financial aid is allocated based forced to take on jobs that limit extracurricu- charged to students. At the moment, both the on a formula that takes into account lar involvement and academic achievement. federal and provincial governments charge the student’s income, tuition, and book Student debt also has spillover effects interest on student loans. In Newfoundland costs. It also considers parental or spou- into other areas of a student’s life. Students and Labrador, where tuition fees have been sal income, if applicable. The maximum with high debt loads are often forced to frozen since 1999, and in Prince Edward amount a student can receive is $560 delay important life decisions. For example, Island, students pay no interest on student per week. they are less likely to start a small business loans. A similar system is in place in other Dan asserts that this figure does not or pursue further educational opportuni- countries such as New Zealand. properly take into account cost of living. ties, such as graduate school. They are also In his second year at U of T, for example, more likely to delay home ownership and Benefits of widespread access OSAP only offered a loan of $5,000, but retirement saving. to education his tuition was more than $6,000. “[I was] going into debt every month,” Dan Advocating change Allowing widespread access to educa- says. “I don’t think that’s fair.” tion promotes innovation and economic According to the U of T Governing “Students see the worst effects of student growth. More people have the opportu- Council’s 1998 Policy on Student Finan- debts after graduation. Students who end up nity to attain the skills necessary to fill cial Support, “No student offered ad- repaying their loans after graduation end up labour gaps and shortages. According to mission to a program at the University paying a lot more than students who end up Statistics Canada, there are currently 5.3 of Toronto should be unable to enter or paying up front,” says UTSU vice-president, unemployed people for every job vacancy complete the program due to lack of fi- equity, Yolen Bollo-Kamara. in Canada. Many of these people cannot nancial means.” To this end, U of T pro- Bollo-Kamara advocates increased provin- afford to attain the skills necessary to fill vides non-repayable grants to students cial funding for post-secondary education. the vacancies. Education also promotes whose financial needs exceed the capa- At the moment, Ontario’s spending on post- economic mobility. Students with higher bilities of OSAP. Yet some students, like secondary education per student is the lowest education are more likely to determine Dan, still drop out of university due to in the country, while Alberta’s is the highest. their own economic outcomes, as opposed financial concerns. Bollo-Kamara also advocates changes to simply taking on the economic position Today, a record 48 per cent of U of T’s to U of T’s institutional interest on tuition of their parents. undergraduate students receive OSAP fees. “Under the current system, students Ontario asserts that it is committed to funding. By graduation, these students have to pay 60 per cent of fees up front to making post-secondary education acces- owe over $20,000 to the government. be enrolled in classes. After November 15, sible to all families, regardless of financial On average, it takes these students nine they start incurring interest on the bal- position. To that end, the Ontario Student and a half years to pay off student debt, ance of their tuition,” Bollo-Kamara says. Access Guarantee offers bursaries, scholar- at a market-like interest rate of 3.5 per “If students are unable to pay tuition fees ships, work-study programs, and summer cent. That amounts to $6,448 in interest up front, they end up paying almost credit- employment programs to students who over the course of the repayment period. card level interest rates for their tuition.” are unable to fully cover their expenses Student debt is a reality of education in Under OSAP, students are allocated financial under OSAP. countries around the world. In Canada, aid in two installments: in September and Still, student debt is a difficult reality outstanding student loan debt currently in January. According to Bollo-Kamara, this of life for many Canadian students. “All stands at over $15 billion. In the United system penalizes disadvantaged students who I wanted was the chance to get an educa- States, outstanding student loan debt are unable to pay their tuition fees up front. tion,” says Dan. Under the current system stands at over $1 trillion. This is more Coleman — referencing student debt data of student loans, this goal is unattainable than their outstanding credit card debt. for the U of T St. George campus, which he for many Canadian students.

— 14 — THE VARSITY MAGAZINE A profile on student debt in Canada and the financial burden of U of T students

4.3%

Tuition increases (%) ALL OF CANADA across the provinces 2011 – 2012

2.9% 0% NEWFOUNDLAND & 1.4% LABRADOR ALBERTA 4.5% 2% MANITOBA 3.1% BRITISH COLUMBIA QUEBEC SASKATCHEWAN 5.1% Incidence and Average Amount of Debt to only2.5% 3.6% PEI Non-Government SourcONTARIOes at Time of Grad4.3%uation

Class of 2005 NEW BRUNSWICK NOVA SCOTIA

DOLLARS Incidence and average amount of debt to PER CENT 30000 non-government sources at the time of graduation 60 25000 Class of 2005 50

20000 40

15000 30

10000 20

5000 10

0 0 COLLEGE BACHELOR’S MASTER’S DOCTORATE

Source: Statistics Canada Average debt at graduation Percentage of graduates with only non-government debt

— 15 — THE VARSITY MAGAZINE University is not for everyone Why getting an undergraduate education is not always the best option

By Alec Wilson | Illustration by Julien Balbontin

hen my grandfather was 19 years with my grandmother. My grandfather took the debt they incurred more than 25 years old, he walked through the front a year-long accreditation course at McMaster ago when they first entered university. W doors of Stamford Collegiate High University to become a guidance counsellor There are approximately 818,000 full- School in Niagara Falls, Ontario, and applied before going back to complete a BA once he time undergraduates currently enrolled for a job. He was one of eight children, all found a paying job. in classes at Canadian universities. Many boys, who were born and raised on a small Both of his daughters went to university in of these students are contributing to the Ontario farm during the Great Depression. Ontario, one of whom, my mother, went on nation’s growing national student debt — Barely out of high school himself, he was to earn a doctorate degree at the University which, according to the Canadian Federa- hired on the spot as a gym teacher and guid- of Toronto. While her father, with no experi- tion of Students’ website, has long surpassed ance counsellor. He would spend the rest of ence to speak of, was able to walk to the local $15 billion and continues to grow. More and his adult working life at Stamford, coaching high school and get a job, my mother’s work- more students are enrolling in universities soccer and basketball. He raised two daugh- ing life has been complicated by changes every year, university tuition rates continue ters, was able to purchase a new car every in employers, locations, and lengthy com- to rise, and the debt keeps mounting. few years, and had a summer cottage up mutes. My mother and father, in the prime In a piece on its website earlier this year, north to which he would eventually retire of their working lives, only recently paid off the CBC indicated that Ontario has the

— 16 — THE VARSITY MAGAZINE enrolled in a practical discipline, like en- vice to their students and to society as a The likelihood is that gineering or certain sciences, university whole if they continue to offer degrees to you will graduate from is not about preparing for the working anyone who can pay. world, nor is it about developing essen- Universities cannot be advertised as a way university in four or tial skills for employment. station to fulfilling employment; they must The four-year-degree structure is ulti- be considered centres for higher learning, more years with some, mately about developing responsible, in- institutions dedicated to the development telligent citizens. This is not to say that of well-rounded citizens, and that is all. The if not significant, employers are not looking for intelligent, truth is, you do not need to be well-rounded reasonable people — they certainly are, to find a job in Canada right now — you debt and no more but it is not nearly enough. University is need skills. You need to be able to make employable than you about developing critical thinking skills or fix things. There simply is not enough and gaining a specialized education. At the room in the job pool for a thousand art his- would have been if you risk of sounding elitist, students dragging tory majors. their feet through arts degrees, sleeping Most of the change needs to take place in had spent those years in lectures, and waiting on OSAP or other homes and high schools. Parents, teachers, loan payments to make tuition are simply and guidance counsellors need to reexam- doing something else. wasting their time if they think a job is ine the way that university is presented to waiting for them. students. University is expensive, it is hard, Year after year, a class of indebted young and it is not for everyone. Students need to worst youth unemployment statistics in people is unloaded from the university have a sober and objective understanding of the country. “There is only one in two On- system in Canada, smiling in their gradu- what they are getting into before they accept tarians between the ages 15 and 24 who ation pictures, diplomas in hand. The sad admission offers. It is a significant expense, have paid employment. What that is, is the truth is that very few of these bright-eyed either for the family or the individual, and worst numbers we’ve seen since Statscan graduates will make a seamless transition it represents a significant opportunity cost: has kept these numbers since 1976,” said into the working world, where their experi- there will be substantial lost wages in return Sean Geobey, a doctoral candidate in so- cial and environmental finance at the University of Waterloo. Geobey’s research contributed to the findings covered in the Year after year, a class of indebted young article. While Canada has fortunately not experienced the same kind of economic people is unloaded from the university system lag that is still devastating other nations in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis, the in Canada, smiling in their graduation pictures, country is still struggling to make up lost diplomas in hand. The sad truth is that very few ground. In the city of Toronto alone, 18.1 per cent of youth are currently without of these bright-eyed graduates will make the paying jobs. Amidst these discouraging statistics, the seamless transition into the working world, where government of Ontario has been embattled with partisan platforms looking to make their experience is relevant. A shift in society’s fundamental changes to the province’s post-secondary education system, in an perception of the value of a university education attempt to better prepare the next genera- must happen, and it must happen soon. tion’s workforce. Last year, for instance, the provincial Progressive Conservatives, led by Tim Hudak, released a white paper titled “Paths to Prosperity: Higher Learn- ence is relevant. A shift in society’s percep- for your undergraduate efforts, and you will ing for Better Jobs.” The controversial tion of the value of a university education have lost time that could have been spent policy paper has been the source of much must happen, and it must happen soon. A developing other skills or pursuing other debate over the future of Ontario’s employ- new emphasis should be placed on educa- experiences. The likelihood is that you will ment market since its release. The cur- tion in the trades and other practical skill graduate from university in four or more rent Liberal government, under Premier sets. There are simply too many people in years with some, if not significant, debt and Kathleen Wynne, has yet to respond with Canada today without jobs, and too many no more employable than you would have its own proposal. jobs without people. been if you had spent those years doing There is virtue in proposing a funda- The universities themselves are complic- something else. mental shift in the way Canadian society it in this crisis. As institutions admit more What Ontario and Canada need now are thinks about post-secondary education. and more students and collect tuition fees, fewer universities. We need to foster and For decades now, a university degree has they devalue the degrees and certifications develop institutions that provide young widely been considered a prerequisite they grant. If the only criteria for receiving people with the skills they need to support to a fulfilling work life. A generation of a degree are that you are able to pay and themselves financially. I would personally young Canadians has been misinformed satisfy the lowest standard of achievement, much rather enjoy my life as a pipefitter, about the value of the university experi- then the degree is worthless. It is a simple welder, or plumber — making a respectable ence, and our economy is suffering as question of supply and demand: the more wage with which I can support myself and a a result. Canadians need to stop and BA students there are floating around the family — than I would working at a coffee reconsider the purpose and reality of job market, the less valuable the degree shop, without an office wall upon which to a university education. Unless you are becomes. Universities are doing a disser- display my degree.

— 17 — THE VARSITY MAGAZINE A fighting chance Transitional Year Programme students share their stories and express fear for the program’s future

By Samantha Relich | Photos by Michael Chahley & Courtney Hallink

Transitional Year Programme class of 2011-2012. Courtney hallink/THe VArsity

f you could ask students and alumni of terview clearly. “I grew up thinking that said Cheyenne. She now aspires to become the Transitional Year Programme (TYP) I would never be anything… When they a film director. Ias children what they wanted to be when asked me why they should accept me, I said, Rehema, also a current student of the they grew up, you would likely get typical ‘Just give me a chance, a chance to try.’” He program, immigrated to Canada from Ke- answers: a zoologist, boxer, dancer, or pe- went on to complete his Bachelor of Arts at nya four years ago to find work to support diatrician. If you asked the same question U of T, and his Bachelor of Law at Osgoode her family back home. With the help of to them as young adults, you’d get a very Hall in York University. the TYP, she hopes to someday return as a different answer: alive. Current TYP student Cheyenne is pursu- doctor to an orphanage at which she pre- Since its inauguration in 1976, the TYP ing post-secondary education to provide viously volunteered to help children born has been in place to assist adults with- a better life for her four-year-old son. She with HIV/AIDS. out formal educational qualifications in grew up in subsidized housing with a single Alumna Michelle Jarvis credits the building the foundation needed to suc- mother and spent her teenage years living program with changing her entire out- cessfully attain an undergraduate de- with whichever friend’s parents were kind look on life: “The program is completely gree from the University of Toronto. The enough to take her in. inclusive. Here, all voices are relevant.” program, however, goes far beyond its “I realized that I was repeating the choic- Shazali Samah, also an alumnus, written mandate. Behind the walls of 49 es my mother made and decided I needed agrees. To him, the program provides St. George Street, the central TYP office, to make a change for my son’s sake,” she a space where students from margin- there is a palpable sense of community reflects. “This place is like a family. Every- alized backgrounds can pursue their and cooperation — the building is also a one wants to help.” dreams without fear of authority or feel- home, and a symbol of renewed confidence This is especially true for the tight-knit ings of inferiority. While Samah hopes and access to opportunities. community of single mothers: “Last year to pursue law school, Jarvis, like many “This place is special,” comments Mi- before an exam I couldn’t find a babysitter, undergraduates, isn’t quite sure of her chael, a TYP alumnus from 27 years ago. and I knew I could leave my son here with career path, but knows she wants to Michael still remembers his admission in- the other moms and he would be safe,” help people.

— 18 — THE VARSITY MAGAZINE View of the Transitional Year Programme house on St. George Street. MICHAEL CHAHLEY/THe VArsity Helping others is a value emphasized and The program is completely adds Samah. He worries that the move will strengthened by the experience of study- eliminate easy access to support from alum- ing through the TYP. Samah notes: “We’re “inclusive. Here, all voices ni and faculty, and compromise the unique very family-oriented. This place is a home nature of the program and the safe space it for most of the students, and alumni come are relevant.” provides for students. back because they want to support and give — Michelle Jarvis, TYP alum Samah expressed concern that if students back to this place.” lose the sanctuary the program currently This sense of home is what students growing anxiety among students who want provides, they may feel too overwhelmed to and alumni now fear losing, as the U of a promise from the administration that their achieve their full potential: “It’s intimidating, T administration has proposed a merger needs and voices will not be ignored. coming here [to the downtown campus].” of the TYP with the Faculty of Arts & Sci- “I’m concerned that the change isn’t what’s For 37 years, the TYP has been, and contin- ence. The move would entail relocating to best for the program. The discussion [with ues to be, dedicated to supporting individuals Woodsworth College, which also houses the university administration] has been one- who need the help in achieving their aca- the Academic Bridging Program. sided. There’s been a lot of talking with staff demic goals. More than its practical impact, The TYP Preservation Alliance (TYPPA) is and no talking with students to hear their the TYP has served as a boon for its students a group dedicated to ensuring the program’s perspectives and needs,” said C.C., a program and alumni, providing an understanding, continued existence. Rather than contest alumnus and active member of the TYPPA. close community on the St. George campus. the physical relocation of the program, the Michelle, a 2012 alumna, laughed as she Changes to the TYP, for better or for worse, group is more concerned that the new space described her sometimes difficult relationship seem inevitable. The move to eliminate the and the loss of autonomy will damage the with the program: “It was hard, but it was program, however, is unlikely to withstand integrity of the program and, by extension, life-changing. This place became a home. The the opposition of the strong cohort of stu- its ability to support students in their goals. people here became family, and the support dents that testify to the impact of the pro- The TYPPA has several concerns about the was what kept me on track.” gram upon their lives. The TYP goes far proposed space at Woodsworth, includ- Michelle’s fear is that the program will beyond building academic foundations and ing the facility’s decreased size. This will eventually be phased out or amalgamated supporting career aspirations. It rekindles impede alumni from visiting to the same with the Academic Bridging Program: “Los- students’ dreams and provides them with extent that they have so far and prevent stu- ing this program would mean a huge loss the hope that their aspirations can become dents from having drop-in access to faculty of knowledge, and it would silence so many reality. It gives people a home, a community, and advisors — the exact kind of support distinct voices that deserve to be heard.” and a chance — and they are determined that is a hallmark of the program. “When I first got here, I was lost. I had to fight to ensure that it will continue to With rumours swirling that the TYP will people helping me, the older alumni, and exist and offer these same opportunities be forced to move this December, there is that’s what has inspired me to give back,” to incoming students in need.

— 19 — THE VARSITY MAGAZINE Withou star t witnes i, yo ca alway paus t mak wis . Wishin Well €er’ somethinƒ abou fountai, thoug , tha conjure up sens tha makinƒ wis befor i wilˆ somehow mak tha wis com tru.€i strang fait i manifeste‰ an‰ celebrate‰ i uniqu way throughou th worl‰. of th  Varsit ‹plore‰ som of th mŒ famou place peopl visi t mak wis . Worl

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— 20 — — 21 — THE VARSITY MAGAZINE THE VARSITY MAGAZINE 6. Trevi Fountain draws visitors in with its legacy of gran- Rome, Italy deur and mysticism.

Legend has it that if you make a stop at 11. Lam Tsuen Wishing Trees this cultural icon and throw a coin over Hong Kong your shoulder with your right hand, you’ll be sure to return to Rome. This world- Beside the Tin Hau Temple in Hong Kong famous fountain gathers over 3,000 euros grow two large banyan trees. It’s an age-old in revenue per day, most of which is do- tradition to write your wish on a piece of nated to a local supermarket for the needy. joss paper, tie it to an orange, and throw it to see if it will hang on one of the branches, 7. Hagia Sophia Wishing Column signifying that your wish will come true. 1.Shoe Tree Today, wish-makers tie their wishes to Istanbul, Turkey wooden racks and imitation trees beside

Middlegate, Nevada In Roman times, rumour had it that Em- the banyans in order to preserve them. Although vandals chopped down this em- peror Justinian’s headache was cured by blem of love in 2010, this shoe tree was once leaning his head on this column. People the largest in the States, and inspired a cult- from all over would touch the hole in the like following. People came from all over the column to their afflicted body parts to country to throw their shoes into the tree as heal them. Today, visitors to the Hagia So- a sign of solidarity in times of hardship. phia delight in making wishes by rotating their thumb clockwise around the hole. 2. Snow White’s Wishing Well Anaheim, California True to Snow White’s belief in her own wishing well, this spot in California’s Dis- neyland grants wishes to children all the time. Surrounded by marble statues of Snow White and her seven dwarves, the money thrown into the wishing well is do- nated to a variety of children’s charities. 12. Erawan Shrine 3. Covadonga Sanctuary Bangkok, Thailand Cangas de Onís, Spain When the construction of the Erawan lux- In Asturias, Spain, there’s a little cave; ury hotel was plagued by catastrophes in and in that cave, there’s a little chapel the mid-1950s, the superstitious workers re- to the Virgin Mary; and underneath that fused to continue working unless the spirits chapel, there’s a beautiful wishing pool. of the land were appeased. The shrine was This sacred site is also the burial place for 8. Western Wall the hotel’s answer. It pays homage to the the founder of Asturias, Pelagius, and his Jerusalem, Israel Hindu god Brahma, and invites thousands family. of visitors of all faiths to make ceremonial Continuing a tradition more than 300 wishes at the shrine, with everything from 4. Pont de l’Archevêché years old, visitors to Jerusalem slip flower garlands and fruits to teakwood el- Paris, France notes inscribed with their prayers in ephants. the crevices of the ancient wall, once The more famous of Paris’ two bridges the site of the Jewish Second Temple. 13. Osun-Osogbo Sacred Grove featuring love locks, Pont de l’Archevêché Osogbo, Nigeria is filled with padlocks with names written 9. Qutub Minar Iron Pillar on them, locked with keys that now lie at New Delhi, India The Osun-Osogbo Sacred Grove is one of the bottom of the river Seine — signifying the last remaining sacred forests in Nige- the undying nature of love. This bridge is Built to honour the Hindu god Vishnu and ria. Established over 400 years ago, it is a meant for lovers — particularly the un- the passing of King Chandragupta II, tra- place of worship for the Osuba, Yoruba’s married ones. ditional lore states that if you can hug this fertility goddess. iron pillar with your back against it, your 5. The Fountains of Peterhof wish will come true. 14. Fountain of Love St. Petersburg, Russia Montevideo, Uruguay 10. Qianqiu Pavilion There’s no place more grand to make a Beijing, China The plaque beside this fountain reads: “The wish than among the 64 different foun- legend of this young fountain tells us that if tains, complete with brass statues and Located within the Forbidden City itself, a lock with the initials of two people in love decorations, that make up the complex of the Qianqiu Pavilion boasts a beauti- is placed in it, they will return together to fountains outside the Grand Palace. The fully structured, ancient wishing well, the fountain and their love will be forever Grand Cascade fountain is particularly im- which guarantees love and prosperity posing, and is the first sight visitors see as to the wish-maker. With such unique By Ishita Pektar they arrive by sea to Peterhof. and mysterious surroundings, this well Illustrations by Ann Sheng

— 22 — THE VARSITY MAGAZINE On the fast track Gentrification in the Junction and Toronto’s changing neighbourhoods

By Kate Hale Wilkes

Photos by oronto is a city of neighbourhoods. ied in Toronto by the condos on Bloor Each one has its own character and Street, the sale of Mirvish Village, Nicole Regina culture that separate it from the and the heavily contested discussion Wong Tothers. If the city has one universal fea- of bringing a Walmart to Kensington. ture to blend it all into one, it’s the col- Queen Street West, Leslieville, and lision of old and new on every corner. King Street West are also examples Wedged between trendy, hip streets lined of areas undergoing gentrification. with condos and coffee shops are old, Gentrification entails turning cheap, mangled buildings, touting the badges grungy, and usually avoided areas of of history and graffiti tags. cities into swank hotspots housing Another merging of opposites occurs yuppies in condos, lofts, or renovated in neighbourhoods where old homes, Victorian houses with hip new bars slashed into mice-ridden apartments, and restaurants tailored to the latest stand beside sky-high condos with stain- culinary trends. Cafes are filled with less steel appliances. strollers and sidewalks with joggers Gentrification — the creeping in of decked out in Lululemon, their pets the middle-class milieu — is embod- dressed in similarly expensive attire.

— 23 — THE VARSITY MAGAZINE Showing the signs The Junction is another pocket of Toron- to where the term gentrification is being tossed around. At first glance, it seems that the Junction, at the intersection of two railways, is the perfect candidate for gentrification. It has hip people, trendy stores, and a catchy name. It also features empty warehouses, ideal for loft conver- sions, and a rich history that lends the area a unique, charming character of particular appeal to the affluent. New businesses along Dundas West, between Keele and Runnymede, are in- dicative of this change. The cafes, or- ganic and local grocers, vegan brunch spots, and home décor and antique shops make the Junction a perfect Sat- urday destination. This past Nuit Blanche, there was an exhibit on Bloor and Lansdowne illustrating the vibrancy of this new cultural centre emerging in the west of the city. The area is increasingly at- tracting young entrepreneurs, resulting in thriving new businesses throughout. Aboveground Art Supplies has found a second home on Dundas West, and Articulations ­— an art supplies store, studio, and gallery hybrid — has also sprung up in the area. The negative aspects of gentrification are easily forgotten on a visit to the stylish Displacing the community tural thriving draws a middle-class crowd neighbourhood. Customers and baristas In spite of the excellent strolling potential with competitive middle-class incomes. exchange chuckles and conversations in of the area, there are downsides to its gentri- The original community is often forced out cafés, and neighbours greet one another fication. A typical issue with gentrification by the high cost of living, or because the in the streets. The Beet, an organic, fair- is the inevitable displacement of the origi- neighbourhood’s identity no longer suits trade grocer and café is a particular gem nal community. The Junction has a long their needs. of the area, offering delicious, healthy history preceding its recent transformation Already, the Junction has the fastest meals across a range of dietary restric- into an attractive and hip neighbourhood. rising real estate values in Toronto. New tions — gluten-free, vegetarian, vegan, and It begins with artists, who are attracted by stores, restaurants, and entertainment so on — and a plethora of local produce. affordable rents, but then become victims venues have generated buzz, and have It’s a haven for hipsters and yuppies alike. of their own cool appeal as the area’s cul- caused many to deem the area Toronto’s

— 24 — THE VARSITY MAGAZINE next big neighbourhood. Embedded with- in this up-and-coming reputation is the problematic corollary effect of displacing community members. Gentrified neighbourhoods come to em- body a consumerist lifestyle. Only those who can afford this lifestyle can actively participate in the community, at least fi- nancially. Furthermore, once-thriving busi- nesses, catering to specific local demands, are ousted. Cultural signifiers and ethnic businesses also suffer, and sometimes disappear, when gentrification occurs. Cultural establish- ments cater to the unique population and define the neighbourhood. The working class population of artists and young adults in the Junction also has cause for concern as fewer and fewer local businesses remain to cater to its financial bracket. Barriers to gentrification While this narrative may seem clear, vari- ous factors are already standing in the way of gentrification in the Junction. The neighbourhood is unique because it is surrounded by less appealing industrial areas, as opposed to the chic areas that typically attract gentrification. West of Runnymede, Dundas is uninspir- ing. The wide lanes, fast traffic, box stores, Many of the original, iconic storefronts re- ing population in the area, which may be and plazas with asphalt parking lots are main. While it seems that their future may forced to move to more affordable areas in not conducive to pedestrians. To the north, be short, one must remember that they the sprawl of the GTA. St. Clair West is similar. Once known as have stayed firm for years amid the ongo- The narrative of the Junction follows the the stockyards and meatpacking district, ing process of gentrification, appealing course of the city, as areas gentrify con- St. Clair West has been developed into a to both middle- and low-income families stantly, uncomfortably brushing up against motor-centric area with big box stores and and individuals. the aging architecture of the past, but never seas of parking spaces. South of the Junc- Gentrification isn’t entirely a menace, managing to completely stamp out the tion, however, are High Park and Bloor West although some uncomfortable realities co- remnants of the city’s heritage. While the Village, which have both been established incide with it. Building community identity wrong side of the tracks in the Junction as affluent neighbourhoods for decades. through cozy cafes, chic boutiques, and hip may continue to get shinier, urban history Additionally, the influx of new busi- new bars is the sign of a lively city — but the indicates that the area may yet hold tight nesses has rebranded the area a great deal. cost of that progress falls upon the exist- to its character.

— 25 — THE VARSITY MAGAZINE Pints and paintbrushes A look inside the studio of Toronto artist and part-time bartender Mony Zakhour

By Claudia McNeilly

Photos by Shijie Zhou etween the tangle of cafes and Por- other with sharp precision. Each icon, 2008. I was taking a business course at tuguese bakeries on Dundas West, an although from a different era, rests com- a community college in Halifax. On my Bempty space with hardwood floors fortably beside his or her neighbour. In lunch breaks, I would go to a local gal- and stark white walls overlooks Toronto. On these humble confines, Jay-Z and Einstein lery and see Justin Bua’s paintings. He’s the walls, a modest selection of paintings look like the best of friends. a Brooklyn artist. They were amazing; I are hung sparingly. Two homemade wooden We make our way back to the gallery was blown away by him. In the time that benches are positioned in the centre of the space, slinking into the wooden benches I did have off, I wanted to do paintings room, rising out from the hardwood. as we begin hashing out the realities of like those. I wanted to mimic him. And I “Back here is where our studios are,” the lives of Toronto artists, who supple- thought, because I had always drawn, that says 29-year-old Toronto-based artist ment their income by doing double duty maybe I wouldn’t be as good, but I could Mony Zakhour, welcoming us into his as bartenders and baristas. do my own thing with it. I was living with work space. Zakhour is one of the artists Zakhour divulges how Toronto plays a my cousin at the time and decided to pick who uses Erin Kjaer’s Dundas West gallery role in both his work and the work of other up a canvas and start.” and studio space, Creatures:Collective. artists based out of our city: “I love that it’s It took some time for Zakhour to hone He leads me through the empty, light- fast. I grew up in a small town, so I always his skills: “Everything turned out horribly soaked room to his studio, where a gaggle looked for a busier, bigger city. I love just wrong. I couldn’t for the life of me get a of canvases are woven together by spray walking the streets with a coffee and kind painting right. I finally did a Bob Marley paint cans, easels, empty Perrier bottles, of taking it.” painting. I tried doing the painting at and the heavy pigmented smell of acrylic Reflecting on how he started out as an least eight times and finally it worked. paint. Portraits line the walls, staring out artist, Zakhour recalls: “I never knew what It actually worked. That got me painting at the studio’s inhabitants. Mona Lisa, I wanted to be when I was a kid. My parents even more.” Albert Einstein, Jay-Z, and Bob Marley had a pizza restaurant, so I was raised in Zakhour was particularly inspired and smile and squint at me through canvases that industry. Working with them in the influenced by urban milieus. “As a kid of melted colours and disjointed shapes. pizza restaurant, I always wanted to open growing up watching films by filmmak- The circles, squares, and triangles that up my own restaurant and work in the ers like Spike Lee, I thought everything compose each portrait snap into one an- food industry. I only got into painting in filmmakers like him did was absolutely

— 27 — THE VARSITY MAGAZINE amazing. I was always drawn to that. I element involved in creating art is revealed of the studio to paint, he leads us to an was also always drawn to urban culture and our talk begins to take on the compo- exposed brick hallway outside. like New York City.” sition of a Zakhour painting — each part “I’ve actually never graffiti spray-paint- A highlight of his career was when he of the conversation rests comfortably on ed before. This is my first time doing that. gave Spike Lee one of his paintings at the the last as it starts taking on the shape of I think it turned out alright,” he muses as director’s request. a distinct icon. he observes the portrait. Zakhour’s time living in Japan in 2009 Zakhour continues to work, bartending His willingness to expand and be seen was also a major influence on his work. Monday to Friday. “It’s the interactions as an artist begins to peer out through the “Being away from the Western world, I with people and their different stories that portrait’s wet paint eyes. I ask him what he found I really missed it — I missed the you take in. I think interaction with people thinks about artists of all forms reaching culture, so I started reaching out to films in general kind of keeps you going and the levels of iconic success that they had that I hadn’t seen in a while. I tried to listen keeps your mind going. As artists, we’re once aspired to. to music that I had been neglecting as a lucky that we have the freedom to do what “It’s no longer the struggle,” he says. “As child growing up… I was also doing a lot we love. Really, I just want to continue to an artist, you’re someone documenting of painting. It was all fueled by missing paint,” he says. your life and what you’re doing. When [art- the culture.” He sits beside me in a hoodie and jean ists] become successful, they’ve done that, Longing for Western culture, idolizing jacket, squinting at the sunlight beat- and they forget about it. What they’re doing Justin Bua, and working as a bartender ing into the empty room. I ask him if he is new but… it’s no longer the struggle.” all bleed into the final products that are would be open to doing a bit of painting “They’re no longer the outsider looking Zakhour’s paintings. As we go on in our on camera and, after a brief phone call to in?” I ask. discussion, the interconnectedness of each get permission to use the wall in the back “Exactly.”

— 28 — THE VARSITY MAGAZINE Dancing for the gold Olympic ice dancer Paul Poirier on his skating career and goals for the future By Elizabeth Benn and JP Kaczur

Most common types of ice dancing 1976 206 6 + 5 16 8 2 11 4 1 Ice Dancing became a part of the Number of Canadian athletes that 6 types of jumps Winter Olympics participated in the Winter Olympics 1952 5 types of throw jumps Ice Dancing became a part of the 0.0000059% 16 types of spins World Figure Skating Champion- Percentage of Canadians that ships competed in 2010 Winter Olympics 2,566 8 types of step sequences Number of athletes that competed 2 types of spiral sequences in the 2010 Vancouver Olympics

11 types of pair lifts

6 types of dance lifts

4 types of death spirals

1 type of dance element

aul Poirier is a 21-year-old University required from me was constant effort and Poirier was considering taking a year off of Toronto student majoring in lin- that I was enjoying [skating].” because, he said, “at 19, it was my last shot Pguistics — who happens to also be Poirier acknowledged that he wasn’t al- to find a new partner.” He wouldn’t settle an Olympic ice dancer. ways the model child athlete, but his par- on just anyone. Luckily, he found a new Poirier’s skating career started in ents were there to keep him focused on his partner in Piper Gilles. Unionville, Ontario, where his family dream: “I had my slacky days here or there Gilles, an American-born skater, has Ca- moved shortly before his fifth birthday. and I got my stern talking tos.” However, nadian citizenship and has been competing Unionville presented opportunities for Poirier didn’t need his parents to hold his with Poirier since his breakup with Crone. him that his hometown could not, such as hand throughout his training: “For the The two are aiming for a chance to repre- hosting a competitive figure skating club. most part, I’m pretty self-motivated.” sent Canada at the Sochi Olympics. Poirier Although Poirier started at a young age The team effort between Poirier and noted that he and Gilles are athletically thanks to the nearby facility, he insisted his parents manifested itself in his great “compatible” and specified that they are that his parents did not move to Union- success as an athlete — specifically a four- both “quick-twitch” athletes. However, he ville with any grand plans of raising an teenth-place finish at the Olympics, as well was also reserved in his overall assessment. Olympic ice dancer: “They just found a as Canadian National titles. When Poirier “For Piper and I, our goals at this point house they liked and moved there. I was was 19, he felt as if he had plateaued with for our skating and where our skating fortunate enough to live near very good his previous partner, Vanessa Crone. needs to go, we lack what I call finesse training facilities.” “I think we were at the point in our straights — we won’t step at the same time, Poirier has a strong relationship with careers where we weren’t working well our legs won’t be at the exact same height. his parents, and attributes much of his together. We competed at the Olympics, We’ve got a lack of polish, but it’s something success to their constant support, with- finished in the top ten at the world cham- we are working towards,” said Poirier. out which his training would not have pionships twice — which is a great achieve- With Gilles, Poirier looks to the next step, been possible. ment,” he explained. which is qualifying for the Olympics. Po- According to Poirier, skating can cost Despite their success as a pair, Poirier irier is not in a medal-or-bust mindset: “It’s upwards of “$30,000 – $40,000 a year,” felt he was not able to reach his full po- really easy to get sucked into results-based and therefore financial support from tential as a skater with Crone, who he ac- thinking. Everyone does it.” parents or other sources is vital. He also knowledged was a very talented skater. He adds: “We want to compete at Sochi. stressed that he is not a product of over- According to Poirier: “...[We] were heading But [we know] that’s not our [only] shot at bearing sports parents: “All [my parents] in different directions.” a medal.”

— 29 — THE VARSITY MAGAZINE Defense of a passion

The plights and possibilities of pursuing a career in eSports

By Theodore Yan | Illustration by Dan Seljak

n August 11, 2013, five men won Dota 2 is, on the surface, a simple A lot of people say things Oover $600,000 playing a video game. game. Two teams of five players, each The International, Dota 2’s world controlling a character (called a “Hero”) “like, ‘Well, you’re making a championship, had come to a close, chosen from a pool of 102, fight to de- living playing games, that’s and Natus Vincere (Na’Vi for short), stroy a large structure called an “An- perhaps the most storied team in the cient” in the centre of the other team’s fantastic that you’re getting history of the game, had just claimed base. What distinguishes the game, that formidable sum by coming in sec- however, is how immersive it is. This anything at all,’ but that’s ond place to the Alliance. results, in part, from the number and Alliance got $1.4 million. diversity of heroes players can choose the wrong way to look at ESports, the industry term for com- to play from. There are infinite ways the it, because, playing games petitive video games, has gained a characters can interact with each other prominence that nobody could have and the Dota landscape. By the time the for a living, you’re sacrific- imagined less than a decade ago. Valve, first minute of game play has passed, the developer of Dota 2, can afford each game of Dota is different from any ing a lot. For a lot of people, to give out over $2.8 million in prize other game of Dota ever played. they won’t have the support money at an annual tournament. Simi- Blitz graduated from Purdue with a lar amounts of money are available for double major in management and clas- of their families; they have champions in Starcraft and League of sical literature. He had reasonably good Legends, and professional League of grades, took the LSAT, and was ready to work another job; they Legends players are now recognized as to go to law school. He has also sunk professional athletes for the purposes countless hours into Dota and is fa- might be giving up a better of visa distribution by US Citizenship mous for being the single best “Storm job for this, because playing and Immigration services. Competitive Spirit” player in the world. He has gaming is profitable; it is professional; thought about attempting to pursue a Dota is really demanding.” it is, dare I say, cool. career playing the game professionally. In the middle of all this fanfare, how- Stories like his abound, but eSports — William “Blitz” Lee ever, are the same people who were al- are a young phenomenon, and very ways there. few players can make enough money grew up loving video games and found, People who love video games. to survive. “I’d say about maybe five in the end, that there is nothing they love People like William Lee, more often to ten per cent of players could make more — must work day jobs. They need known as “Blitz” — because the Dota a livable wage,” explains Blitz, “livable to find some way not to starve while they community, like that of every eSport, meaning about 2,3­00 or 2,400 dollars pursue their dream, and so, they have refers to players by their screen names. a month, right?” less time to practice — making it even “I grew up in a traditional Korean “A lot of people say things like, ‘Well, less likely that they will succeed. home with divorced parents,” says you’re making a living playing games; “I’d like to be optimistic and tell myself I Blitz. “I lived with my mom, and she that’s fantastic that you’re getting any- can do anything and accomplish anything,” was really against me playing video thing at all,’ but that’s the wrong way said Blitz of his chances of ever winning The games in general, and so, up until the to look at it because playing games for International, “but, realistically speaking, time I was about 15 or 16, I didn’t ac- a living, you’re sacrificing a lot,” he goes there’s so many things that are against me.” quire a PC or anything. I actually had on. “For a lot of people, they won’t have “You know what’s always confused to go to my father’s house just to be on the support of their families; they have to me, on a side note? It’s this whole thing a computer.” work another job; they might be giving like if you believe enough, you can do it. “My sister’s ex-boyfriend randomly up a better job for this, because playing But isn’t every other person in my situa- took me to play DotA 1 one day, and Dota is really demanding.” tion also trying really hard, and putting I remember very clearly I was play- The very best players in the world can their all into it? I was always confused by ing Sven, a really simple hero at the make hundreds of thousands of dollars a that. Sure, I can believe in myself, and time, and I just absolutely fell in love year and can afford to play full-time. The say: ‘Yeah, maybe I can!’ But realistically with the game.” vast majority of eSports players — who speaking, the odds are low.”

— 30 — THE VARSITY MAGAZINE Blitz is a reasonable person. Most professional Dota players are. He, like his peers, acknowledges that his chances of making enough money to live on playing Dota are slim, and his chances of making enough to live comfortably are almost nonexistent. An additional caveat is that video games are still stigmatized. Dropping every other priority in the attempt to become a professional athlete in more traditional sports is comprehensible to most people, as is pursuing a dream of becoming an artist. “Playing video games” is very often still shorthand for being an immature, directionless slob. If Blitz fails, then he will have wasted years of his life developing no marketable skills and will have a résumé that will be laughed out of the door by most employers. He realizes that, statistically speaking, he will almost certainly fail. In November, 2013, William “Blitz” Lee boarded a plane to fly to Korea to begin his Dota career.

Dota 2 by the Numbers

1.4 Million Dollars First prize at The International

600 Thousand Dollars Second prize at The International

Pudge (the butcher) The most-played character

Chen The Least-played character

6,218,934 Unique Players August 2013

— 31 — THE VARSITY MAGAZINE Everyone’s a DJ Canadian DJs on their influences, origins, and why anyone can spin these days

By Nicholas Carlson | Photo by Carolyn Levett

n a sweaty swarm of nerves and in- ries of expression, sometimes because of a their music, without the added require- Rather, he claims music: “…was an escap- Rose transitioned away from punk Saver also expressed confusion regard- stincts, people move, smile, sway, desire to positively affect themselves and ment of an inherent musical talent or the ist intention to get away from… doing sci- rock to appreciate more hip-hop and ing the phenomenon of large concert-style Ibump, grab, dance, make out — not the people they play music for. ability to play a musical instrument. ence at university when I started. Making electro. House is now his genre of techno shows: “I’m not asking people to stare noticing that the sounds burrowing into The obvious answer to why there has “The electric guitar was a popular in- music has since become what I do with choice. Saver’s style incorporates ’80s at me as if they were at a rock concert … the their ears are creating and sustaining a recently been a rise in the number of self- vention for twentieth-century musicians, most of my time, so it’s not as escapist, but pop, classic rock, funk, and soul, be- records should be the focus, not me.” common sensation among them, syncing proclaimed DJs is the advent of accessible and was neglected by many when it was more of an outlet for creativity.” yond an electro sound. Holland agreed: “I feel that people are their emotions for that instant. music production technology. Saver com- first popularized, much like the use of a Toronto DJ Mike Rose revealed an alterna- At present, there is plenty of dis- starting to view DJs as a spectacle, like a West Coast DJ Cooper Saver is engaged ments, “People are probably very excited laptop today… Everything progresses,” tive origin: “I used to play in a punk band, so agreement over what a DJ is and does. band, where you’re a physical perform- in an existential search for the manifes- and intrigued by this phenomenon that added Vancouver DJ Patrick Holland, this was new territory for me — just another Holland suggested that an important er… Playing live electronic music and DJing tation of this scenario: “I want people to hasn’t existed until now due to technol- who goes by 8prn. The advent of a greater way to express myself.” distinction is needed between DJs, who is honestly, in my opinion, not exciting to interact with each other while I’m provid- ogy. Right now, you can download soft- preponderance of DJs in musical culture Saver explained that he started out by mix existing music, and producers, who view, but instead enjoyable to listen to.” ing a vibe for them to get lost in.” ware today and get started, but before you today is less a break from past modes of making mixtapes in high school before make the music that is used. Someone Undoubtedly, there are a wide range Electronic music and its entanglement needed access to a professional studio.” production than it is an extension of the moving on to produce his own music: could be both, but by lumping the two of perspectives on what constitutes a DJ with nightlife culture have exploded into a The impulse to create music to facilitate timeless urge to make aesthetic noise with “I never really look for anything else terms together, Holland felt that “it’d today, some of which are problematically formidable milieu over the last several de- celebration, ingathering, and community the now-added benefit of a home studio. besides self-satisfaction.” Holland de- be like calling a curator and a painter broad. Still, there is a cohort of people cades. There are many young artists, DJs, is nothing new. What is unique is that, in If some generalizations can be made scribed his original influences as “mel- the same thing.” striving to push electronic music in a and producers like Saver who are turning our day and age, people can be DJs instead among DJs, their status as individuals low hip-hop and slow surf rock,” but Rose and Saver felt that DJ was a broader different direction by taking advantage to music-mixing and electronic music pro- of members of a band simply because ac- is reaffirmed by their differences in ap- now his work is inspired by an array of term, encompassing anyone who plays re- of the accessibility of creation brought duction to add to what has already become cess to newer technologies has allowed proaching electronic music and how they sources — from hip-hop and trance to corded music for other people, although on by modern technology. Saver sum- a thriving community. Today, there are them to pick from a wider set of choices interpret music itself. Holland said he electro-pop. A recent mix of his used the this is a decidedly modern conception. Sav- marized the common drive to create a more and more people turning to elec- than past popular music forms. This pro- had no intention of becoming a DJ when opening theme from David Lynch’s TV er added that a DJ is, “…supposed to create new sound that these artists share as, tronic music as opposed to other catego- vides them with a public platform to share he started producing electronic music. series, Twin Peaks. an atmosphere… make people have fun.” “a universal longing.”

— 32 — — 33 — THE VARSITY MAGAZINE THE VARSITY MAGAZINE A music festival for Toronto Why Toronto isn’t yet a music city, and how it can become one

By Sofia Luu

Photos by Carolyn Levett

eff Cohen doesn’t believe that Toronto has the potential to be a world-class Jmusic city, because the reality is that we’re already there. Toronto is both the fourth-largest city and the third-largest music market in North America. In 2012, The New York Times claimed Toronto was having a “Seattle” moment based on the number of its critically successful home- town heroes — such as Drake, Feist, and Fucked Up, to name a few. There are many aspects of the music scene in Toronto worthy of a pat on the back or two. We have a vast number of quality venues — such as Massey Hall, Horseshoe Tavern, and El Mocambo. You are never more than a stone’s throw away from seeing a friend of a friend of a friend play in an impromptu side project. What’s missing from the picture is a large-scale, weekend-long outdoor music festival to pull it all together. Al- most every city, big or small, has one; Montréal has Osheaga, New York City has Governors Ball, and Manchester has Bonnaroo. Los Angeles (techni- cally, Indio) is home to the “godfather” of all North American music festivals: Coachella, which has been so success- ful that organizers decided to expand it to run for over two weekends. Toronto has been without a music fes- tival for years — is it time for us to have a festival for us to call our own? And if it is, can we actually pull it off? Ghosts of festivals past The closest thing we have had to our own Osheaga in Toronto was the UK-imported Virgin Festival (V Festival). The festival began in 2006 but, after a rocky four years, the 2010 festival was cancelled due to poor ticket sales and unforeseeable lo- gistical problems.

— 34 — THE VARSITY MAGAZINE Since then, other festivals such as ket,” explains Cohen, owner of the legend- that Toronto does. 4479 is a Music Canada- Edgefest and the hugely popular Veld ary Horseshoe Tavern and Lee’s Palace and founded initiative that, according to its web- have taken place. However, such festivals main booker of Collective Concerts and the page, seeks to establish Toronto as “one of cater to a specific genre of music and, in Toronto Urban Roots Festival (TURF). the greatest music cities in the world” and short, cannot be considered in the same When it comes to booking for a festival “create energy and action around the con- light as Osheaga or Coachella. in Toronto, it comes down to the overall cept of Toronto as a music city.” Perhaps the real problem with V Fest quality of the line-up — not the number of Toronto does not need to be the Seattle or was that it was not built from the ground Grammy Award-winning acts with stadium Austin of the North. We have already proven up. It lacked support from Toronto’s huge- sell-out potential. ourselves to be a world-class music city and ly diverse music community. The acts that Kate Killet, a Toronto-based music there is no need to define our music identity were signed on to perform — those that blogger who has been to music events based on what we do not have. The problem did not cancel at the last minute — were all over North America, believes that To- isn’t in getting people to the festivals or cre- massive: Björk, The Smashing Pumpkins, ronto already has great festivals. How- ating a line-up that works: “All the difficulty Oasis, and The Killers, to name a few. Al- ever, many of them don’t receive the is behind the scenes. Government interfer- though they had the potential to draw attention they deserve: “Just because ence, insurance, silly laws, AGCO rules, the massive crowds, these choices were ge- the headliner isn’t a huge name doesn’t City Municipal Standards and Licensing are neric, mainstream, and failed to pull from mean it’s not a great festival.” the biggest pain in the arse — I call ‘em the Toronto’s impressive resources. no-fun police,” explains Cohen. Calling on City Hall All we really need is for City Hall to open Small festivals in Toronto What works for Montréal or New York its doors to the music industry — embrace V Festival has proven that having a major might not work for Toronto, but there are the music festival as an event that has both headliner or two is not the secret to having other cities we can learn a few things from: cultural and economic benefits. Becom- a successful festival: “The kind of bands namely Austin, Texas — otherwise known ing a fully realized music city will foster a that would play a large-scale event already as the “Live Music Capital of the World.” stronger, more defined identity for Toronto. do. That’s not always the case in Austin, With 842,592 people, the city’s population The city has both citizens with a passion for small-town Tennessee, Ottawa, or Montréal. is about three times smaller than that of music and a hipster appeal to artists across When Depeche Mode or The Cure play Aus- Toronto. However, according to 4479, Aus- different genres — with support from City tin City Limits, it’s a big deal. Here, it’s likely tin generates three times the amount of Hall and the logistics sorted out, everything their second play on that record in the mar- economic activity in the music industry else will fall into place.

— 35 — THE VARSITY MAGAZINE Who are the futurists? The science of predicting the future — and getting paid for it

By Jesse Hildebrand | Illustration by Wendy Gu

hange is everywhere. Even for professionals, “singularity” (where artifi- ture from what’s happen- Mankind is fundamen- figuring out the future is cial intelligence surpasses ing today, we like to think Ctally in its technologi- fraught with difficulty. Our human intelligence), futur- forward. It is easy to see cal and scientific infancy. moon bases, jetpacks, fly- ism is an attempt to envision why — our abilities to plan, Every day we are presented ing cars, and robot servants a greater tomorrow. Khanna imagine, and create make with new gadgets, medicines, have all failed to appear. said that his aim was to: “… us unique. Through trying means of transportation, and Some predictions, however, help make people and or- to envision possible futures, ways of looking at the world. have been extraordinarily ganizations healthier, more we set ourselves up to cre- With such an overload of spot-on. We now have the ca- resilient, and successful… to ate the ones that make our novel information, it is often pacity to bring species back be a force for good.” world better. Futurism is a hard to make sense of it all. from extinction, as seen in Looking ahead can be a reflection of the human de- What to buy, what to invest in, Jurassic Park (though sadly, difficult proposition, and sire to dream, and to dream and what to worry about can not dinosaurs). Star Trek yet everybody does it. From big — even if those dreams become overwhelming. In re- gave us a sneak peak of the everyday speculation on seem outlandish and risky. sponse to this feverish activity, cell phone and 2001: A Space what tomorrow will bring In doing so, we create a there are futurists — individu- Odyssey contained precur- to professional scientists foundation to make those als who specialize in synthe- sors to the touch screen. trying to decode the fu- dreams a reality. sizing all the chaotic activity With futurist predictions, and data, working to make we find all the traits that sense of it all. As practitio- make us the interesting spe- ners of an interdisciplinary cies we are — visions of great approach to global trends, hope and predictions of im- futurists are more than arm- pending doom, guesses of chair predictors; they try great insight and others with to look insightfully at what a little less (Thomas Edison changes are most likely to oc- tried to create and market cur, and how best to prepare concrete furniture, for one). for them. Our desire to figure out Perhaps surprisingly, their what will happen next is insight is highly valued — in- universal and extends back dividuals such as James Han- to pre-history: before sci- sen and Ray Kurzweil have ence fiction and futurists, achieved success through there were oracles and sages. their forecasts of environ- Before them, cave paint- mental change and techno- ings and ceremonies logical progress, respectively. tried to change or Massey College has even ap- “see” what the fu- pointed a “Resident Futur- ture would bring. ist,” Sanjay Khanna, who is Whether that meant studying the Ontario health a bigger harvest, a more -care system as well as cli- successful hunt, or more mate change in Africa. recent speculations on the

— 36 — THE VARSITY MAGAZINE Pushing and shoving Using peace psychology to make Toronto a more pleasant place

By Emma Hansen t rush hour on the ttc, people do Scientist in November 2008 praises war for flict. A recent paper in Science studies three what they have to do to get onto a increasing the level of cooperation required modern and distinct “peace systems,” each Apacked subway train. The hustle among allies, which implies that war has of which has six features that are hypoth- and bustle of the city provokes stress in the played an essential part in humanity’s esized to be necessary to create and main- minds of Torontonians. The violence that development. According to this view, ag- tain inter-societal peace. These features stems from aggression is usually mitigated gression and violence are adaptive — they completely leave violence behind, and in- by societal influences, which suppress the were needed at some point in our develop- stead implement the belief that a society of desire to shove a fellow Torontonian in fa- ment, and likely always will be. Critics have peace is what is necessary. vour of a mumbled curse word. When soci- complained that these interpretations will Peace psychologists and evolutionary etal influences fail to diminish rage, the re- become self-fulfilling prophecies in society. biologists won’t have an immediate im- sult can be an outright violent act towards Conversely, some have suggested that pact on the frequency of violent actions others, as demonstrated in the recent Nuit peacekeeping was and is adaptive. The that take place worldwide, and these pa- Blanche stabbings — the good spirit of a thought of lessening our collective ten- pers certainly won’t bring down Toronto’s united community was tarnished, and the dency towards violence by just thinking disheartening crime statistics right away. night’s beauty decayed quickly. about doing so is the subject of peace psy- Nevertheless, they do suggest a new way of Aggression and violence in humans is chology. This is a relatively new field that, looking at violence that in turn suggests a best demonstrated by the role that war has according to social psychologist Dr. Bern- more hopeful future. Maybe just thinking played in the evolution of our species — a hard Leidner, aims to use psychology as a about our society as a peaceful place could common theme studied in anthropology normative force to “...mitigate violence and impart thoughts of peace and goodwill. and evolutionary biology. The impact of war and promote nonviolence and peace.” — With files from The New York Times, war on human evolution is interpreted dif- Anthropologists also adopt a peacekeep- New Scientist, sciencemag.org., Leidner, ferently among scientists. A piece in New ing-oriented approach to the study of con- Tropp, et al.

— 37 — THE VARSITY MAGAZINE The appeal of escaping Save Ferris the everyday in cult films

By Daniel Konikoff | Illustration by Lucinda Yae-Rim Ro

arely has an audience received such conflicting desire to break free from that After jeopardizing his chance at profound wisdom from a fictional by any means possible. getting into Princeton, Goodson Rcharacter as when Ferris Bueller, lay- Take, for example, the beginning of does not seem terribly fazed — his ing waste to the fourth wall, proclaimed: Ferris Bueller’s Day Off. On a beautiful satisfaction in having excelled in his “Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop spring morning, Ferris looks out his win- extracurricular pursuits as an entre- and look around once in a while, you dow and says: “How can I possibly be ex- preneur provides him with all the could miss it.” pected to handle school on a day like to- fulfillment he needs. Although grand Throughout its run time of approxi- day?” Brief shots of Ferris’s school show theft auto and prostitution are not mately 103 minutes, Ferris Bueller’s Day a droning Ben Stein, whose monotonous the best ways to shatter monotony, Off is an exercise in youthful imagina- delivery has left the class (and, intention- it is worth noting that, sometimes, tion — a fairy tale played out in a bus- ally, the audience) on the verge of a Haw- reaching to a risky fantasy can be tling metropolis. More than anything, ley-Smoot Tariff Act-induced slumber. We just as, if not more, rewarding than Ferris Bueller teaches us that a world of have all had those lectures worth skipping, plateauing in academic reality. possibility is readily available if we seize and we have all been tempted to break the Ferris Bueller, Joel Goodson, and it by our own volition. What awaits us, shackles of alarm clocks and timetables Max Fischer from Rushmore are all ir- though, lies for the most part outside the and go about the day differently. resistible by virtue of their ability to mundane drill of attending school. In a similar vein, Risky Business, starring fulfill the mundane wish of so many The tension between remaining ground- a pre-couch-jumping Tom Cruise, features young people; that is, they manage to ed in education and ultimately transcend- the ironically named Joel Goodson, an up- escape the social mores that dictate ing it, taking advantage of what lies be- per–class prospective Princeton student who how our youth plays out. They embody yond the pressures of academic success, is participates in an extracurricular activity in what most of us are too afraid to do, a conflict often explored in films that go on which students start small businesses. When dissolving the tension between what to achieve cult status. Ferris Bueller’s Day his parents go away on vacation, Goodson we think we ought to do for the sake Off, Risky Business, and Rushmore are all breaks free from academic pressures and of our academics and what we want to inherently different, but are tied togeth- lets loose, taking his father’s Porsche on a do for the sake of our happiness. Life er by a common comedic thread. These pleasure cruise; running around in his un- is only as mundane as we make it, so if films show the mundanity of everyday derwear; and, ultimately, opening up a prof- we don’t stop to look around once in a existence, scholarly or otherwise, and the itable brothel in his parents’ home. while, we might miss it.

— 38 — THE VARSITY MAGAZINE “Expectations.” ERIC CHUNG/THe VArsity

— 39 — THE VARSITY MAGAZINE