The Eyeopener — October 26, 2011

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2 October 26, 2011The Eyeopener

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Mice scamper through the hall-

ways of the Podium building.

Rats roam around Esso, tunnel-

ing through the fence in hopes of

sneaking in the George Vari Engi-

neering and Computing Centre.

Cockroaches dart through the rst

oor of the Library building and

sneak in cracks and crevices.

According to documents ob-

tained by the Eyeopener through a

freedom of information request,

persistent and escalating pest

control issues in several Ryerson

buildings have been plaguing fac-

ulty, sta and students for years.

The university spends $22,000annually on campus pest control

and sta from Orkin Canada PCO

Services is on campus every Fri-

day, checking mouse traps and

laying down rat poison but pests

still lurk around campus.

“It’s not to say it isn’t a problem

or it is zero, but I would suggest

that it is by and large under con-

trol, that it is not too serious,” said

Ryerson President Sheldon Levy.

“We should be aiming for perfec-

tion — I doubt we’ll ever get per-

fection but you should have that as

your goal.”

Tonga Pham, director of Cam-

pus Planning and Sustainabil-

ity, said in an email that, although

eliminating pests is impossible, the

university puts

“constant eort”

into ghting in-

festation.

“In an urban

seing such as

ours it is nearly

impossible to

‘ c o m p l e t e l y

eradicate’ pests

on campus, therefore we also re-

spond to concerns by taking action

as quickly as possible once an issue

is reported,” she wrote.But, even with control measures

in place, some buildings on cam-

pus have been experiencing pest

problems for years. The South

Bond Building [SBB] at 105 Bond

St. requested pest control services

from CPS several times since Au-

gust 2010 because mice droppings

were found.

The problem is still ongoing,

according to Gabe Nespoli, re-

search operations coordinator at

the psychology department, which

is housed in the SBB. He has been

working in the building for four

years and mice — in varying num-

bers — have been present for the

beer part of his time there.

“It comes and goes,” he said.

“I think maybe

with the time of

year.”

Nespoli said

sta routinely

nds mouse

droppings on

the ground and

some desks in

the building. He

said some students are unwilling

to work in one of the labs where

mouse droppings are regularly

found.Although it doesn’t bother Ne-

spoli too much to nd droppings

in the building, he is worried at

times about the cleanliness of the

SBB. “I mean, it’s kind of gross,”

he said.

Although PCO pest control

technicians come by the building

whenever sta members request

a check, he said the traps they set

do not seem to permanently deter

the mice.

“They keep coming back so I

don’t know how eective (the

measures) have been,” Nespoli

said.

But Pham responded that results

are usually not immediate.

“When a concern is identied by

building users responsive action is

taken immediately, however it can

take some time for this action to

have a positive eect.”

Sta and faculty on the second

and third oors of Eric Palin Hall

were also plagued by mice last

year and sta emailed CPS a total

of 22 times to report mice sightings

and mouse droppings between

Jan. 13, 2010 and

Aug. 16, 2011.

Lynn Reyn-

olds, mechani-cal engineering

administrat ive

coordinator, sent

several emails

urging CPS to

send a pest con-

trol expert to the

d e p a r t m e n t ’ s

second oor EPH oces last De-

cember. Even though inspections

were done regularly, the problem

persisted.

“But it was never more than one

at a time every few days or once a

week,” said Reynolds.

The problem worsened during

the university’s holiday break,

when pest control was not in-

specting. After Ryerson reopened,

measures were taken and the mice

were cleared until April, when

sta reported mice sightings again,

according to emails addressed to

CPS. The problem was resolved

after that, said Reynolds.

“We haven’t seen another one

since then,” she said. But she still

keeps her food in a sealed plastic

bin under her desk.

Even though

pest control

sta does rou-

tine checks oncea week, some

buildings have

had to wait for

extermination

for more than

half a year. The

Theatre School

rst reported

signs of termite damage to the

west wall of Room 101 in Septem-

ber 2010.

A pest control technician inves-

tigated the problem but, in Febru-

ary 2011, the school emailed CPS

to say nothing had been done since

the initial visit and termites were

continuing to eat away the walls

of the classroom. One sta mem-

ber emailed jokingly that, if action

is not taken soon, the university

“might need to build a new The-

atre School.”

Finally, an exterminator was

brought in late April 2011, which

cost the university $1,800.

But Pham said the wait was be-

cause the termite treatment is most

eective in the spring.

‘The most eective, and least

invasive, treatment for termites

involves ground injections that

are required at the exterior of the

building,” she said in an email.“These treatments are less eective

in the winter, and cannot be done

when the ground is frozen.”

Levy said, although the ideal

scenario is no pests at all, the uni-

versity is doing its best to control

the situation on campus.

“Other than bringing in the ex-

perts and doing what you can, I

can’t think of anything else you

can do.”

3October 26, 2011 The EyeopenerNEWS

Rye fighting losing battle with pests

Rye’sworstoffenders

Eric Palin Hall

Faculty and staff in the School

of Social Work were complain-

ing that “mice [were] marching

in the third oor of EPH” since

January 2010. In November,

staff continued to email CPS,

saying “we continue having

mice running around our ofce

and disrupting our work.” But

some staff members were not

as harsh towards the critters.

One wrote an email to custodial

staff, saying there was a “cute

mouse scampering around.”

Podium

Since January 2010, staff in

the basement and rst oor of

the building was complaining

about nding mouse droppings

in ofces and seeing mice in

the staff lounge area. One staff

member even reported seeing a

“pretty brave mouse run across

the oor during a Senate meet-

ing in POD 250” on Nov. 3, 2010.

Traps were set but, in July 2011,

CPS was still receiving emails

about the issue.

South Bond

Staff at the South Bond build-

ing were plagued by mice April

2010. By September, psychol-

ogy chair and dean of arts Jean

Paul Boudreau sent an email

to CPS asking for more power-

ful pest control than the “small

chemical traps that seem to

have little to no impact.” In his

email, he wrote the problem is

“getting substantially wors[e]”

and “the problem is becoming

a health hazard to many of our

people.”

Kerr Hall West

Kerr Hall West tops the charts

for its diversity of pests. Staff in

the building reported spotting

numerous mice, a “foot-long”

rat, and a cloud-like y infesta-

tion in the men’s washroom.

One complaint to CPS also said

there was a silversh problem

under the mats and around the

lockers in the Pool Ofce. An-

other email said that mice were

running around the Health Cen-

tre on the ground oor of the

building.

It is nearly impossibleto ‘completely eradi-cate’ pests on campus.

— Tonga Pham,Campus Planningand Sustainability

Here are someo the buildingswith the mostunwelcomecampus pets

Some buildings on campus are overrun by rodents and insects scurrying around ofces, classrooms and Senate meetings.News Editor Mariana Ionova investigates Ryerson’s resident critters

ILLUSTRATION: LINDSAY BOECKL

I mean, it’s kind of gross.

— Gabe Nespoli,research operations

coordinator



EDITOR-IN-CHIEFLauren “BLERGH” Strapagiel

NEWSMariana “LESBIFRIENDS” Ionova

Rebecca “BECKY” Burton

ASSOCIATE NEWSCarolyn “CARAVAN” Turgeon

FEATURESMarta “DROP BITCHEZ” Iwanek

Playing the role of the AnnoyingTalking Coffee Mug this week...Stuff.

The Eyeopener is Ryerson’slargest and independent studentnewspaper. It is owned and oper-ated by Rye Eye Publishing Inc.,a non-prot corporation owned bythe students of Ryerson. Our of-ces are on the second oor of theStudent Campus Centre and youcan reach us at 416-979-5262 orwww.theeyeopener.com.

4 October 26, 2011The Eyeopener EDITORIAL

LAURENSTRAPAGIELEDITOR-IN-CHIEF

‘Yes’ on radio

When CKLN moved out of the

SCC, many of us at the Eyeopener

did a silent cheer. It’s not that we

have a vendea against community

radio, it’s that we were glad to be

done with the shitshow that CKLN

became.

Never have we faced more failed

lawsuits or libelous online com-

ments than when it came to stories

to do with CKLN.

So when a group of students de-

cided to take up the cause and cam-

paign to revive radio on campus, Icouldn’t help but cringe. Not this

again, I thought. And I suspect I’m

not the only one who had the same

reaction.

But what I’ve concluded, and

what you should to, is that New

Ryerson Radio is not CKLN’s evil

spawn.

If New Ryerson Radio is run as

campaigned, students will actually

be at the helm. Rather than what

turned into a largely inaccessible

clusterfuck of “community” ra-

dio, this station will actually have

student programming run by stu-

dents. A novel concept for a station

based on campus, I know.

Plus let’s consider that Ryerson

has both a journalism and radio and

television arts program with no fre-

quency to broadcast on. SPIRITlive

has been a force in online radio and

shouldn’t be discounted here, but

unless you’re in RTA you’re going

to face some roadblocks to geing

in front of a mic.

As for the $10.35 levy, I hope you

all know that you’ve been paying

it since you started at Ryerson and

it’s all been going to a station that

couldn’t even hold onto its license.

Now that money is siing in a

fund, untouched. Think you’ll ever

get that back?

If we decided CKLN was worth

$10.35 per year, then New Ryerson

Radio should be a shoe-in.

Campus radio has been a staple

of the university experience thatRyerson students have been shaft-

ed on for years. This is your chance

to make it happen.

The biggest obstacle to seeing

this through isn’t the desire of the

student body, it’s your willingness

to take a few minutes to vote. Un-

less a minimum number of stu-

dents vote, this referendum will

be another exercise in apathy and

your funds will remain locked up

in pergatory.

I can’t vote. Despite spending

most of my waking hours on cam-

pus, I graduated and don’t have

that option. But you do.

Vote yes on New Ryerson Radio.

You literally have nothing to lose.

BIZ & TECHSarah “MASKED” Del Giallo

ARTS & LIFEAllyssia “ONLY WRITER” Alleyne

SPORTSSean “BRONER” Tepper

COMMUNITIESNicole “WOOOOOOOOO” Siena

PHOTOChelsea “PASTA BANDIT” Pottage

Lindsay “PASSPORT TO :(” Boeckl

ASSOCIATE PHOTOMohamed “MOOD MUSIC” Omar

FUNSuraj “INEVITABLE BETRAYAL” Singh

MEDIALee “IN A RELATIONSHIP” Richardson

ONLINEEmma “PEW” Prestwich

John “PEW” Shmuel

GENERAL MANAGERLiane “BIRTHDAY GIRL” McLarty

ADVERTISING MANAGERChris “LONG ISLAND” Roberts

DESIGN DIRECTORJ.D. “FUNNY BONE” Mowat

INTERN ARMYAshley “ASH” Sheosanker

Rina “BROCK” TseSadie “MISTY” McInnes

VOLUNTEERSKai “CTHULU” Benson

Bree “POKEMO” Lawrence

Sean “UXBRIDGE” Wetselaar

Jessica “NOT AROUND” Murray

Gabriel “I SUCK AT 2K12” Lee

Charles “INTERVIEW” Vanegas

Imran “JUST DO IT” Partap

Charles “YESMAN” Blouin-Gascon

Dasha “ZOLTAN” Zolota

Correction: The Eyeopener mistakenly reported that PaulCheevers ran for the board of governors as an alumni memberin the years after Ryerson bought 111 Gerrard St., when in fact

he sat on the board at the time the sale closed.

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Ryerson dishes out $11 million

each year to sustain itself, but the

cash isn’t for scholarships or ath-

letics. It’s used to x your door-

knobs.

The maintenance budget may

seem like a hefty amount to a stu-

dent, but in reality it isn’t enough

to maintain a university.

Campus planning is alloed

$3.5 million of the budget for

maintenance, while the remain-

ing $7.5 million covers all other

campus maintenance, custodial

and groundskeeping costs.With all that money being

dropped, you’d assume campus

is up to date on all of its maintain-

ing, right? Not quite.

Like most Canadian universi-

ties, Ryerson has a backlog, mean-

ing there’s work to be done and

orders to be lled, all of which

have been building up over time.

The Canadian Association of

University Business Ocers es-

timated in 2009 that universities

had deferred maintenance of

more than $5 billion from more

than decade of delays, $2.4 billion

of which were marked urgent.

Understandably, there’s al-

ways something to x and older

buildings, like Kerr Hall and Jor-

genson Hall, continue to show

their age.

Sheldon Levy, Ryerson presi-

dent, said, “You end up increas-

ing the amount of dierent types

of maintenance by [the] age of the

scal plan.”

Then why is minimal progress

all we have to show for the mon-

ey being put into our campus?

We haven’t killed these back-

logs, so the list of things to x just

keeps growing, no maer how

much holiday work is done.This summer, 11 renovations

took place to improve labs, stu-

dios, oces and meeting rooms.

“Every year, in the budget, we

allocate funds for maintenance

and retrots normally to be com-

pleted in summer months,” said

Levy.

The renovations were in Kerr

Hall, Eric Palin Hall, the Archi-

tecture building, Podium, the

Theatre School and the reformed

Image Arts building, whose fab-

ric and cooling system from its

original structure proved too old

and in need of replacement.

There goes more money.

The federal budget in 2009 in-

cluded a $2 billion investment for

the infrastructure of post-second-

ary schools. The money was for

repairs and construction in all

universities and colleges across

the country. Not much for us to

share, and not enough to get rid

of the urgent backlogs if the ear-

lier estimation was accurate.

So where’d all the money go?

The shared funds couldn’t

have put a big dent in our ever

present backlogs, and even with-

out federal help there’s loads of

work left.This is why over the next cou-

ple of weeks, we will continue to

investigate campus maintenance.

First, we’ll look at the Student

Campus Centre, six years old but

already requiring heavy mainte-

nance.

The following week will focus

on Kerr Hall and how retroing

a 48-year-old building is costing

the university money they never

expected to spend.

5October 26, 2011 The EyeopenerNEWS

Rye hunts for higher marksMaintaining a campus

Ryerson ranks rst in the prov-

ince with a nine to one ratio for the

number of applications to the num-

ber of available spots for the fth

year in a row.

But the 70 per cent required av-

erage won’t cut it anymore as com-

petition heats up to get the limited

spots Ryerson can oer.

For the 7,000 available spots, the

university received 63,642 applica-

tions this fall.

Among those applications the

mean average of the 2011 class ad-

mied for this academic year was

82 per cent.

Most of these averages were ac-tually higher during the interim

stages of checking marks, says

Charmaine Hack, executive direc-

tor of undergraduate admissions

and recruitment.

Unique to Ryerson is the consid-

eration they give to non-academic

requirements in addition to marks.

The university still lists a 70 per

cent average as the minimum re-

quirement to be considered for a

spot.

“Competition drives the actual

average required for admission,”

says Hack.

Mark Tonon, a second-year busi-

ness management student, applied

to Ryerson, his rst choice, after

high school with a 90 per cent av-

erage.

“I knew people that had gone to

this program before and I thought

it was beer than anything else be-

ing oered out there,” he said.

He chose Ryerson over other

programs such as York’s Schulich

School of Business and Western’s

Ivey School of Business.

Tonon said most students he’smet graduated from high school in

the 80s range.

A friend of his graduated with a

79 per cent and didn’t get in to the

business management program.

Business management receives

the most applications with 10,000

applications this year alone.

It also accepts the most appli-

cants at 1,200 available spots.

Since 2006, 80 per cent averages

or higher when applying have in-

creased by 45.3 per cent, at approxi-

mately 5,235 students.

Applicant with an average of

90 per cent when applying has in-

creased by 104 per cent, at approxi-

mately 1,371 students.

During this time the amount of

students applying with a 70-74.9

per cent average has signicantly

declined, said Hack.

Some smaller programs have

even higher ratios than the overall

9:1 statistic.

In psychology there is a 25:1 ra-

tio, criminal justice a 17:1 and nurs-

ing with 14:1, to name a few.

The Ontario government prom-

ised to increase enrolment by

60,000 new spots in post-secondary

education by 2015-16 to reect the

expectation that enrolment will in-crease over the next several years,

said Paul Stenton, vice-provost of

university planning.

“Ryerson does plan to grow to

help meet this increase in demand,”

said Stenton. “The university has

commied to increase enrolment

by 1,600 full-time students by 2015-

16.”

Not only has the number of students applyingto Ryerson gone up, their grades have as well.News Editor Rebecca Burton reports

CAROLYN

TURGEON

ASSOCIATE

NEWS EDITOR

MaintenanceSeries

Y O N G E S T R E E T

G E R RA R

D S T R E E

T

D U N DA S

S T R E E T

E L M S T R

E E TB A

Y S T R E E T

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6 October 26, 2011The Eyeopener NEWS

Rye grad’s death unsolved after two years

The death of Ryerson gradu-

ate Christopher Skinner remains

unsolved after two years of in-

vestigation, but police still believe

someone will come forward with

information.

The 27-year-old died on Oct.

18, 2009, from injuries obtained

through a violent encounter at the

corner of Victoria and Adelaide

streets.

Skinner was out celebrating his

sister’s 23rd birthday when the oc-

cupants of a black SUV assaulted

him and then proceeded to run

him over.

It was suspected that Skinner,

who was openly gay, was the vic-

tim of a hate crime.

The investigation regarding

Skinner’s death remains open and

the Toronto Police Service contin-

ues to actively examine evidence

and search for the perpetrator.

“No one has been identied as

of yet,” said media relations o-

cer, Const. Tony Vella.

“[But] we’re encouraging any-

one who has any information on

the identity of the killer to come

forward.”

There is a reward of approxi-

mately $150,000 oered for any

information regarding Skinner’s

death.

Since 2009, the police have ex-

amined video surveillance, cell

phone records and Highway 407

billing records.

“I think it’s incumbent on any-

one who has any information to

come forward,” said detective Sta-

cy Gallant, who has been assigned

to the case since 2009.

According to an article pub-

lished in the Toronto Star in Janu-

ary 2011, only 44 per cent of homi-

cides were solved in 2010. Of the 60

cases reported in 2010, 26 arrests

were made.

Gallant added that the police be-

lieve the conscience of those with

information will eventually com-

pel them to share with 51 Division.

“I know for sure that whoever

was responsible for this has told

others,” Gallant said.

Despite the amount of time that

has passed since Skinner’s death,

Christopher’s father, Warren Skin-

ner, believes that the case will be

solved.

“I think it’s a maer of time,”

he said. “I think it’s a maer of

people growing and maturing and

relationships changing. Relation-

ships and allegiances will change.”

Gallant also remains positive.

“I’m always condent,” he said.

“It just takes time. Regardless of

how long it takes, the right infor-

mation will come to us.”

Two years ago, Ryerson grad Christopher Skinner was attacked and murdered not far from campus.After the anniversary of his death, Sean Wetselaar looks into how the investigation has progressed

Hundreds gathered on Church Street to honour Christopher Skinner in October 2009. FILE PHOTO

Briefs &Groaners

Security was calledto a ght at the Ram on

Wednesday, Oct. 19. Itturned out to be a bellig-

erent man who claimedthe pub was not thesame anymore. He re-fused to ID himself andleft to hide in the Vic

building. He was arrest-ed, injuring himself andtwo ofcers. We hope he

learns to handle changebetter.

A staff member re-quired medical attentionwhen a stamp press fell

on their foot. We’re go-ing to assume this wasone of those old fash-

ioned metal contraptionsand not the compactplastic things that scrap-

bookers use, but whoknows.

On Sunday, Oct. 23,the Ryersonian ofce fellvictim to “non-hate graf-

ti.” Chalk was used to

depict the ‘Sonian asmale gentalia. The Eye

would like to add a dis-claimer stating that we

weren’t involved and ifwe had chalk we wouldn’tshow it to you anyway.

»

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LEARN MORE ABOUT:

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Travel subsidies of up to $85 are available for students

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Bill Reid says:

Mahmoud should havebeen paid for his training.Unpaid training is a com-

mon practice, but is legalonly in specic circum-stances. Mahmoud’s situ-

ation doesn’t sound like itfalls within them.

It’s not clear whether the

promise of a raise appearedin a written agreement,however an employee

should always ask that sucha promise be made in writ-ing — if an employer hesi-

tates to do so, the promiseprobably isn’t sincere. Ifsuch a promise is in writing

and the employer doesn’tfollow through, the em-ployee would have the right

to consider the agreementbreached and could sue forthe wage differential. A rea-

sonable employee wouldallow the employer timebefore taking such a step,

but if that didn’t seem to behappening, the employee

would have to choose be-tween enforcing, or forego-ing, his or her legal rights.

Bill Reid says:

Charles was obviouslythe victim of workplace ha-rassment and discrimina-tion, of the kind prohibitedby Ontario’s human rightslegislation. He was right toreport that harassment anddiscrimination to the at-

tention of the owner. Theowner appears to have rec-ognized that the manager’sbehaviour was inappropri-ate, and he took certainsteps to curtail it, but notto the extent that he com-pletely extinguished thatbehaviour, as he had anobligation to do. Charlesaccordingly could still haveled an application with theHuman Rights Tribunal,and chose instead to tol-erate a perhaps reducedlevel of harassment anddiscrimination — which no

employee legally has to do,but many choose to do as apractical matter, rather thanto undertake the process ofenforcing their rights.

7October 26, 2011 The EyeopenerBIZ & TECH

If you could have done it differentlyYour rights still count, even when your job is just a job. But when your rights were overlooked oryou were treated unfairly, you might look back and wonder what you could have done. LawyerBill Reid gives his advice

Mahmoud Bin ShikhanEngineering student

Working: Security

Early on in my university career,

a friend’s advice led me toward

security as an ideal job; generally

weekend hours, not much supervi-

sion and lots of time to yourself. I

applied for a job as a security guard

with G4S Securicor in the summer

of 2008.

After completing three days of

mandatory (and unpaid) training,

I met with Mal Jones. He gave me

the address of the site of my new

place of employment and my start-

ing rate. I was to start at $10 per

hour and given my 14 months of

security experience beforehand, I

would be given a 50 cent raise to

$10.50 per hour after a three month

probationary period.

Three months came and went.

I opened my pay stub and saw an

unchanged pay. Giving Mal the

benet of the doubt, I waited for

my next stub, but my pay stayed at

the same rate. I tried several times

to call Jones in his oce, but he

seemed to be engaged in a perma-

nent business meeting that lasted

all day long, ve days a week, even

through his scheduled lunch hour.

The fall semester was in full swing,

so I let this issue slide for the time

being.

After nine months, I nally de-

cided to fax the G4S oce a memo

reminding them of the agreement

we reached and that if they chose to

not honour it or continue to ignore

me, that memo could dual as my

two-week’s notice. The next day,

Mal gave me a call. At rst he tried

to explain himself by telling me that

he was in the middle of re-negotiat-

ing the contract with the landlord

of the property I was assigned to

and suggested that was the cause

of my lack of raise. I reminded him

of our agreement and that contract

negotiations have nothing to do

with me. He agreed and oered me

a raise to $11 per hour.

Geing back into work the next

weekend, I updated my co-worker.

She told me that she had similar

diculty geing a raise that was

promised when she was hired.

When she nally got it, she went

a step further and demanded they

pay the amount she lost in themeantime, and demanded she get

it in one lump sum. With some ex-

pected diculty, she claimed she

actually got the money she was

owed. I was a bit taken aback, but

decided to follow suit. I was, after

all, owed somewhere in the region

of $900 had I goen the raise when

I should have.

Knowing full well Mal’s phone

was mostly likely o its hook

again, I faxed another memo mak-

ing the same request my co-worker

had and, again, if he did not wish

to give me what I asked for, this

memo can also double as my two-

week’s notice. Mal didn’t call me

back, so two weeks later I called HR

and informed them of my intention

to quit.

TWEETSOF THE WEEK

Want to vent your frustrationor make us laugh? Use the#eyeforatweet hashtag. Ifwe like what we see, wemay print it! Be sure to fol-low @theeyeopener forall your Ryerson news.

@alexiskallisontoday’s @RyersonU over-heard quote of the day,

while on phone: “Don’t askquestions this early in themorning” @ 3:30 p.m... @

theeyeopener

@smokes_de-grassWho is the stunning red-head on the cover of @

theeyeopener ? I think I’min love. #ryerson #occu-pytoronto #eyeforatweet

#scarletfever

@thisissamrashidWatching “Kidnapped byUFO’s” in class and this girl

is knitting! So disrespectful.#eyeforatweet

F R E E

A P P S

O F T H E W E E K

Charles VanegasJournalism studentWorking: Domino’s Pizza

When I was 16 I got my rst job

at a Domino’s Pizza. The rst six

months were great. I got lots of

hours, the work was simple, and I

developed a great relationship with

the owner. The problem was his

girlfriend Holly, the manager, was

a racist.

Her cousin, who also worked at

the store, had a crush on me. Hol-

ly stopped me one day and said,

“When I had a black boyfriend, her

dad and mine beat him with a base-

ball bat.”

Over the next year, I overheard

her say things like “I really like this

town because there are no ni--ers

here,” “I wish we still had slaves,”

and, “I don’t hire people with dark

skin because they have bad work

ethnic.” (No, she actually thought it

was ‘work ethnic’).

I had a major problem with the

racism, but I never went to the la-

bour board because I heard it took

over six months for them to even

look at your complaint. Also, I

didn’t want to jeopardize my job because it’s nearly impossible to

nd jobs (even shiy ones) in Lind-

say, Ont.

One day, she went on a rant

about how “she always sees half-

breeds when she goes back to Os-

hawa.” She had met both of my

parents (I’m half white, half afro-la-

tino), and still thought it was okay

to talk about “half-breeds.”

I spoke to the store owner and let

him know what was up. He called

her and blasted her. Co-workers

later told me she was cursing my

name for hours afterwards.

She tried to re me on a number

of occasions, but the owner told her

“it’s my store, he stays.”

Then she would try to get me to

quit by giving me dangerous tasks

and cuing my shifts.

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...two weeks later Icalled HR and informedthem of my intention toquit.

—Mahmoud BinShikhan, engineering

student

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8 October 26, 2011The Eyeopener ARTS & LIFE

Brother, can you spare a Twix?

My name is Allyssia Alleyne, and I am a

20-year-old trick-or-treater.

Even though I have a job and bills, I plan

to put together a rad costume and go door-

to-door begging for candy with my closest

friends and my brothers.

Let me be clear: I do not do this as a soci-

ological experiment, or to shock people or

to challenge social norms, and I sincerely

hope this is not a manifestation of a latent

Peter Pan complex.

For most people, trick-or-treating is like

running around without a shirt on: it’s fun

while it lasts, but we all stop when we get

to a certain age.But whereas I’ve moved on from sprint-

ing around the park topless, I’ve never felt

any desire to stop trick-or-treating. Even

though I no longer eat most of the candy (I

usually give it away), I’m glad to keep the

tradition alive year after year.

But things can get complicated. Take the

common introduction, for example. When

you’re a kid, “What are you supposed to

be?” is one of those questions meant to get

kids to say cutesy things in cutesy voices.

But by the time you hit 16, people are actu-

ally asking for clarication.

Last year, my brother’s friend showed

up for the festivities in an oversized black

sweater, planning to tell people he was the

Unabomber. But when one particularly

adorable lile girl inquired about his cos-

tume when we got to her porch, he was

forced to rethink his strategy.

“Lile girl,” he said. “I am a hooded

man.”

I was in hysterics until she turned the

question on me. I didn’t have the heart to

tell her I was dressed as rapper cum sex

symbol Nicki Minaj, so I took the coward’s

route and said I was a princess.

But my costumes rarely generate as

many double-takes as my age. Most older

people are bemused when they see me and

my cohorts. Sometimes they dole out ex-

tra candy and an accompanying wink. In

other situations, they just frown and give

the bare minimum.

Fellow young adults, on the other hand,

seem to go out of their way to make things

awkward. There’s never a shortage of

scong high school seniors or college boys

with leering eyes and sexual innuendos.

But regardless of their age, people al-

ways seem to wonder, “Aren’t you a lile

old for this?”I typically brush it o with some sort

of quip about being young at heart, or ex-

plain that I’m just sharing the experience

with my youngest brother. Both are true,

but I can’t deny that I’ve asked the same

question of myself. Every year the number

of houses I hit seems to get smaller and

smaller.

As of now, my tentative end date is

whenever my youngest brother grows out

of it. After that, I’ll probably focus on get-

ting a good night’s rest, handing out can-

dy to other veteran canvassers or geing

smashed in a pair of bunny ears like some

of my more mature peers. Last year, my

then 17-year-old brother decided to lm

the whole experience documentary style,

which scored him points with the moms.

But until than, I’m happy to go around

with my pillowcase and over-the-top cos-

tumes, stocking up on Twix Bars and Pop-

eye Sticks.

So if you see me on your doorstep this

year (I’ll be a magician or a ‘50s prom

queen, depending on my mood), don’t

hate. Please, just humour me and give me

some fucking candy.

Arts & Life Editor Allyssia Alleyne muses on the challenges of being

an adult trick-or-treater

The adult trick-or-treaters like the author (above) are a proud people.

My name is Allyssia Alleyne, and I am a20-year-old trick-or-treater.

PHOTO: CHELSEA POTTAGE



9October 26, 2011 The EyeopenerARTS & LIFE

Ghostsand the City

Communities Editor NicoleSiena has your guide toToronto’s spookiest locales

FORT YORKAFTER DARKTour Fort York at night from thehaunted lighthouse to the bloody baleeld. Hear stories and thehistory that surrounds it. Not rec-ommended for children under 8yrs. Complimentary refreshmentsare included. Pre-registration is re-quired. Phone: (416)-392-6907

Oct. 28 & 29, 7:30 to 9:30 p.ma 250 Fort York Blvd. Adults$12.50

SPIRIT WALKTake a tour through the alleys andlaneways of downtown Toronto tosee some of her haunted buildings.Then go back to Mackenzie Housefor more spooky stories. Pre-regis-tration and pre-payment required.Phone: (416) 392-6915

Oct. 29, 6:30 p.m., 7 p.m. or 7:30p.m. at 82 Bond St. Adults $12.50

THE GHOSTSOF THE UNIVERSITYOF TORONTOHear the story of twostonemasons who were“bloodthirsty”competitors.

You’ll also hear the tale of thefamous Canadian author whopromised to return from thegrave to haunt Massey College,and all about the biscuit makerwho locked his mistress inside asecret chamber. Must call ahead.Phone: (416)-487-9017

Mondays and Wednesdays at10 p.m., Fridays at 7 p.m.; Oct.7 to 31. starting at 10 p.m. Mid-night tours from Oct. 28-31.Starts at Royal Ontario Muse-um. Adults $20

GHOST TRACKINGAT CASA LOMAGhost Trackers Michelle Desro-chers and Patrick Cross host thetours. They have been featuredin several television programsand magazine articles includ-ing: Creepy Canada , YTV’s GhostTrackers and Haunted Canada 3: More True Ghost Stories.

Participants will take partin a one-of-a-kind investiga-tive tour. Cameras and ghosttracking equipment are encour-aged! Pre-registration required.Phone: 416-923-1171 ext. 205 or215

Oct. 26 and 27, 7 p.m. at 1 AustinTerrace. Adults $25

ILLUSTRATIONS: CHELSEA POTTAGE

ILLUSTRATIONS: MOHAMED OMAR



SPORTS October 26, 201110 The Eyeopener

Mark Harris will kick your ass into shape

This past Thursday evening,

each member of the Ryerson’s

women’s volleyball team was car-

rying an exercise mat from Ryer-

son’s Athletic Center (RAC) to the

hallway beside the Lower Gym in

preparation for what they expect-

ed to be a gruesome pre-season

workout with Mark Harris, Ryer-

son’s newly appointed strength

and conditioning coach.

At rst glance, Harris, 28, re-

sembles a WWE wrestler: broad

shoulders, a chiseled core that is

complimented by his arms which

are larger than most Ryerson stu-

dent’s thighs. Due to his hulking

physique, his instructions came asa surprise.

“Today is going to be a mental

detox day,” said Harris. “You need

days like this in contrast to all the

stress your body takes in.”

With that, Harris began conduct-

ing an impromptu yoga session

with the team; constantly remind-

ing the ladies to let the stress of

midterms and the upcoming sea-

son fall by the wayside and con-

centrate on the task at hand. With

students walking through Harris’

workout, the trainer’s imposing

presence was critical in keeping

the team focused.

“As I count down from 10 to one,

think about going down an escala-

tor slowly,” he said in a calming

tone.

Harris’ ambition to become a

personal trainer started at Birch-

mount Park Collegiate, his high

school in Scarborough, when one

of his teachers identied his an-

ity for helping others in the weight

room.

Throughout his high school ca-

reer, Harris was amongst the top

runners in Canada for the 400 me-

tre dash. He ran that in a blister-

ing 47.27 seconds when he was

17, about four seconds shy of the

world record (43.18 seconds).

He was fast enough to receive

an invite to represent Canada at

the 2002 International Association

of Athletics Federations (IAAF)

World Junior Championships in

Kingston, Jamaica. However, a

lack of funding from the Canadian

government, coupled with the -

nancial constraints of ying half-

way across the world, forced him

to stay at home and imagine what

could have been.

At that event the world wit-

nessed a 15-year-old Usain Bolt

become the youngest gold medal-

ist ever to win the 200 metre dash.

Bolt also competed in the 400

metre dash, an event that Harris

would have participated in.

Despite the minor setback, Har-

ris still received a full athletic

scholarship to the University of

Northern Iowa, where he gradu-

ated with a B.A. in exercise sci-

ence as well as a minor in athletics

coaching.

If he hadn’t accepted Northern

Iowa’s scholarship, Harris could

have stayed in Canada and trained

to be a potential Olympic competi-

tor. He was running fast enough

out of high school to receive fed-

eral carding, which is money the

government pays athletes to be

able to continue running at the de-

velopmental level.

“It was an exciting thing and a

fun accomplishment to get but theone thing people may not realize

is that when you sign that [schol-

arship] contract in the United

States you’re going to work,” said

Harris. “I’d never go back and

change the experience but I’d take

a second look at it if I were to do

it again.”

During his college years, Harris

started his own personal training

business on campus, charging stu-

dents $15 per hour. At one time,

Harris was training 10 people two

to three times a week, and he man-

aged to get his university profes-

sor to award him a practical credit

for it.

After he graduated, Harris took

a second look at his life and decid-

ed to distance himself from com-

petitive running.

“I realized I was very good at

running but I wasn’t great, I was

sort of realizing life goes on and I

had to start moving on,” said Har-

ris. “Maybe get a job and do some

normal things, be an active part of

society.”

He gave running one last shot at

the semi-pro level before retiring.

Shortly after he founded Design

Fitness, his own personal training

company.While he may not compete at

the same level he used to, Har-

ris remains a prominent gure on

the Canadian running scene. He

currently guides Brandon King,

a visually impaired athlete who

qualied for the 2012 Paralympics,

around the track and was an am-

bassador for Lululemon for a year,

training a group of runners for 10

weeks to compete in a ve kilo-

meter run in exchange for $1,000

worth of Lululemon apparel.

Growing up, Harris’ dream was

to be the head strength and condi-

tioning coach for the Toronto Ma-

ple Leafs; but he had no idea how

to aain his dream.

Although Ryerson isn’t on the

same level as the Toronto Maple

Leafs, Harris enjoys the challenges

that come along with training ath-

letes from a multitude of dierent

“I’m always looking at the fun-

damental movements and see-

ing how I can add a fundamental

weight room practice [to it],” he

said. “Few people ever get the op-

portunity to truly do what they

studied and love.”

Wrapping up his half-hour

yoga workout with the women’s

volleyball team, Harris calls the

team in for a huddle, eager to hear

their thoughts on his dierent ap-

proach.

“It was great especially after all

the hard work we’ve been put-

ting in as a team,” said Lauren

Sokolowski, a second-year outside

hier on the women’s volleyball

team.

“Mark works closely with us

and is so good to have as a trainer

because he really gets what we’retrying to do as a program and is

pushing us towards that.”

I realized I was very good at running but Iwasn’t great. I [sort of-realized] life goes onand I had to start mov-ing on. —MarkHarris,strengthandconditioningcoach

Having once had the opportunity to race against Usain Bolt at the world junior championships, Mark Harris is now helpingto bulk up Ryerson’s athletes and train them for the upcoming seasons. Gabriel Lee reports

Walking back to the RAC after

the workout, Harris is more than

satised about his session.

“I feel like if I can bring them

their results and a smile at the same

time, then I’ve really achieved

something because I’ve hit them

physically and I’ve hit them emo-

tionally. “

With that in mind, Harris can’t

help but think about the drastic

changes that the athletes will be

going through while under his

watch.

“Keep pushing ladies,” hescreamed. “We’re trying to create a

winning culture ... dial in, focus.”

PHOTOS: LINDSAY BOECKL



SPORTS October 26, 201111 The Eyeopener

Is the RAC female friendly?

My rst trip to Ryerson’s Recre-

ation and Athletics Centre (RAC)

did not go exactly as I planned.

With my OneCard in hand and

my gymbag slung over my shoul-

der, I swiped my way on into the

RAC. As I made my way to the

weight room, I peered through the

glass doors and realized that there

were no other women to be seen.

Cowardly, I detoured away from

the testosterone-lled room and

found myself on the treadmill, amore gender appropriate piece of

gym equipment (or so it would ap-

pear to be at the RAC).

After a couple of weeks, I soon got

over my intimidation of the weight

room (and of the people inside it).

However, each visit to the RAC still

produces the same sight: lile to no

female participation in the over-

whelmingly male-populated room.

Anthony Seymour, Manager of

Recreation at the RAC, has wit-

nessed the same sight for years.

“In general, if you’re walking

through the weight room you are

lucky to see 15 to 20 per cent [of

those working out] to be women,”

said Seymour.

To encourage a larger female

turnout, the RAC oers programs

such as ‘Ladies!!!’ levels one and

two, where females can learn about

weight training and how to conduct

an eective workout. Currently,

three females have come out to

participate in level one, and no one

have signed up for level two.

Out of the 4,891 RAC student

members, approximately two-thirds

are male and one-third is female.

This disproportionate number

extends to the court as male partici-pants dominate intramural sports.

Nick Asquini, the Intramural,

Camps and Clubs Specialist for the

RAC, reports that out of 900 student

intramural participants, about 75

per cent are male and 25 per cent are

female.

Aside from a modest presence in

the weight room and in intramurals,

female members are still prominent

throughout the RAC in general. Sey-

mour reports that over half of the

athletic drill classes provided by the

RAC consist of females. Addition-

ally, males and females are matched

for personal trainer use.

“I think a lot of the girls tend to

stick to the track and cardio, and

guys tend to stick to muscular en-

durance exercises and the courts,”

says Momina Ishfaq, a rst year en-

gineering student and regular at the

RAC.

“There are a lot of guys [in the

weight room], and I don’t know

how to use the machines in there so

I feel a bit intimidated,” says Ishfaq.

Even women who know how to

use the equipment and machines in

the weight room usually choose to

stay away from it.

“There are too many guys inthere,” says Corina Chen, a second

year early childhood education stu-

dent. “Even if guys are not looking

at me [while working out], I feel self-

conscious.”

To the girls who worry about the

looks they may receive as they ap-

proach the bench press, perhaps

those aren’t judgmental glares.

“If anything, guys would be im-

pressed if they saw a girl working

out,” said Josh Kohn, a second-year

business management student and

member of the Ryerson soccer team.

“When guys see girls in [the weight

room], they look at them because

there are so few of them.”

Whether or not the men glaring at

us are being judgmental or just sur-

prised to see a woman venture into

their forbidden territory, we will

never know for sure. However, I am

proud to say that I have conquered

my fear of entering the weight room,

and I hope that others will soon fol-

low suit.

Conversation witha Ram

Generally volleyball doesn’t

bring in the biggest crowds,

how do you feel about that?

It gets frustrating at times.

...What can you do? I wish

Ryerson was more involved

with sports. It’s great to see the

people that come out to games,

they’re denitely true fans, but

I wish we had a lile more.

What do you spend more time

on, school or volleyball?

We have practice every day

for two hours, twice on Tues-

days. Plus weights. So volley-

ball ends up taking about 20-25

hours a week. I have 15 hours

of class, but I’m trying to get

into grad school, so most free

time I get is for doing home-

work. It’s prey close.

You’ve changed your number

from 12 to one, what’s the sig-

nicance?

I feel like it’s a new begin-

ning. I’m in more of a lead-

ership role this year, so the

change is just to symbolize that.

I’ve grown as a person and as

a player. Right now it’s about

leading the young guys, just

showing them the ropes and

around campus. With volley-

ball, school, social life – I just

wanted to emphasize that, I’m

here for them.

As a fth-year player, it’s

likely that you’ll never playat Maple Leaf Gardens (cur-

rently scheduled to be ready

in April) as a member of the

Rams. How does that make

you feel?

I’m kind of upset about it be-

cause that was one of my big-

gest motivations. I guess it’s

not that big of a deal but I was

hoping to be part of that rst

year of volleyball players to

step on the court there.

Charles Vanegas sits down with Roman

Kabanov of the men’s volleyball team

PHOTO: LINDSAY BOECKLRoman Kabanov outside of the RAC

People working out at the RAC PHOTO: MOHAMED OMAR

BY: JESSICA MURRAY

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12 The Eyeopener October 26, 2011FEATURES

Drip drop, goes the fee movement

On the glass walls of the

Student Campus Centre, a

red-and-white poster cov-

ers one of the panes. The silhouees

of a few students, sts raised in re-

bellion, are framed by the words

“Drop Fees End Poverty.”

There was a time when the poster

was new, promoting the Canadian

Federation of Students Ontario’s

campaign that lobbied the provin-

cial government to drop tuition

rates to 2004 levels. The poster’s co-

lour and relevance have now faded.

In 2010 CFS-Ontario dismantled

the Drop Fees campaign, choosingto focus on the national Education

is a Right campaign, which lobbies

the federal rather than provincial

government for lower tuition fees.

A tired campaign, but one the

RSU wants to bring back to life.

The RSU is going to join the CFS in

reviving the Drop Fees campaign

starting this week with an initial

workshop to educate students

about the economics of free post-

secondary education on Oct. 27.

Over the two years of the initial

campaign, gains were made, but

tuition fees continued to rise until

Ontario became the province with

the highest tuition fees for under-

graduates. Students continue to feel

left out of the movement and some

say it will only meet the fate of its

predecessor.

“I think it’s something that reso-

nates with people,” said Melissa

Polermo, vice-president education

at the RSU. “We had Education is

a Right, but everybody kept talking

about Drop Fees.” Palermo says it

will be dierent from the Drop Fees

that roused about a 1,000 students,

workers and community activists to

march to

Q u e e n ’ s

Park on

Nov. 5,

2009 in a

urry ofcolourful

signs and

rhyming

couplets.

This time

a r o u n d ,

the event

will cul-

minate in a National Day of Action

on Feb. 1, 2012 and unite students

across the country instead of just

Ontario students.

That being said, Ontario univer-

sities will centre their campaign

around the recent provincial elec-

tion, using Drop Fees to call-out the

Liberals, who frequently told the

media that they would be reducing

tuition fees by 30 per cent, when

in fact they were only oering the

deal to certain students in the form

of a grant. “We’re sort of like, you

know what? You called it this. Let’s

hold you to your promise,” Paler-

mo says.

In spite of Drop Fees’s magni-

tude, tuition fees have been

neither decreased nor frozen.

The last freeze happened in 2004,

under the Ontario Liberal govern-

ment, but

was lifted

in 2006.

Pa lermo

d o e s n ’ t

think thiss h o u l d

discour-

age po-

t e n t i a l

p a r t i c i -

p a n t s .

“ J u s t

because

we didn’t get a tuition freeze or

reductions doesn’t mean we didn’t

have victories,” she says. She cites

the fact that since the Drop Fees

campaign, OSAP has instituted a

six-month interest-free period af-

ter graduation and $310 million in

funding was added to the Univer-

sity and College sector in the 2010

Ontario budget. That being said,

she hopes that this campaign will

lead to a tuition reduction this time

around.

Alex Gill, an instructor at Ry-

erson and founder of Mendicant

Group a Non Prot consulting and

charity management rm, says that

although lowering tuition fees and

making education more aordable

is a “laudable goal” governments

usually ignore the campaigns. This

is because they know students

don’t vote and “being a student is a

temporary issue for them and their

parents” he wrote in an email. Aftertheir education is over, it’s no lon-

ger an issue.

Jesse Greener, was chairperson

for CFS Ontario between 2004 and

2007 is now a post-doctoral fellow,

researching chemistry at the Uni-

versity of Toronto. He was part of

the campaign to reduce tuition fees

that later morphed into Drop Fees.

He sees rst hand how the day-to-

day grind can put political issues on

the back-burner for many. “When

you get into a work environment,”

he says. “People tend to lose their

connection to political issues that

they were impassioned about as

students and they just kind of are

dealing with the daily grind.”

However, it’s not the students

losing interest he says, but the

government nding it easy not to

listen. “[H]ow students organize

themselves, that’s actually the one

thing that I think is actually very,

very positive. What I’m cynical

is about the politician interest in

what student’s are saying.” It’s easi-

er for politicians to cut taxes, ratherthan explain why “a well-funded,

public education system is going to

benet society in economic terms.”

But no maer how well inten-

tioned the campaign, the RSU will

need to pull their weight if they

want to get the student body be-

hind them. In the two years since

the campaign, many supporters

have graduated, replaced by stu-

dents for whom Drop Fees is noth-

ing more than a poster on a win-

dowpane.

J

oanna Dass, a second-year

photography student, came

to Ryerson after the original

Drop Fees campaign, and is consid-

ering geing involved on the Day

of Action if her schedule will al-

low. “It feels like everybody needs

lower fees,” she says, even though

her parents

are foot-

ing her tu-

ition. “And

there is that

drive and

c o m p a s -

sion that

comes with

w o r k i n g

in a group

t o w a r d ss o m e -

thing.” But she’s also afraid that her

eorts will just be a waste of time.

“All that protesting for nothing?”

she says. “That would turn me o.”

But even if the past campaigns

had been successful, Carmen Gal-

van would have no desire to get

involved with the Drop Fees cam-

paign even though, on paper, she

seems like the perfect candidate.

The daughter of Latin American

revolutionaries, Galvan aended

her rst rally when she was four

years old (“It was for the release

of Basque prisoners”). During the

2010, G20 summit in Toronto, she

was one of the many peaceful pro-

testers who took to the streets to

draw aention to their own causes,

walking under the banner calling

for increased maternal rights and

abortion funding overseas. She’s

currently completing a placement

at the AIDS Commiee of Toronto.

She also works 20 hours a week

as a sale associate at a Mississauga

Value Village to pay o her OSAPloans. But still, ghting for lower

tuition has never been a priority.

When her professor gave her class

the chance to leave the lecture to

aend the 2009 Drop Fees protest

at Queen’s Park, she didn’t aend.

Instead, she went home and took a

nap before work. “It seemed really

lame. I would never have a rally

about that,” she says. “Women are

forced to have back-alley abortions,

while we want cheaper textbooks?”

she says. “It just doesn’t compare.”

Though Palermo acknowledges

that the issues are dierent, she

doesn’t think that it’s necessary to

neglect one cause at the expense of

another. “I don’t think it’s an either

or sort of thing, and it’s not puing

one issue over the other,” she says.

The campaign rhetoric has argued

c o n t i n u -

ously that

m a k i n g

education

more ac-

cessible by

dropping

tuition fees

would lead

to a more

equi table

society.F i r s t -

year social work student Alana

Shaw, on the other hand, has no

doubts she would get involved

because, in her eyes, tuition fees

will aect students for a long time.

Her only worry is that she won’t

even know when the campaign

kicks o. Though she has walked

by the myriad posters plastered

inside the SCC, she doesn’t know

how she personally can take part

Drop Fees is back, but will it actually drop anything this time around? Arts and Life Editor Allyssia Alleyne takes a look atwhat the movement’s revival means

We had Education is a Right, but ev-erybody kept talking about DropFees.

— Melissa Palermo,VP education for RSU

Women are forced to have back-alley abortions, while we wantcheaper textbooks?

— Carmen Galvan,third-year social work student

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13October 26, 2011 The EyeopenerFEATURES

in campaigns. She also says lack

of publicity around opportunities

discourages rst years like herself

from geing involved, and sends

the message that the RSU is content

to function without their participa-

tion. Palermo says the RSU is only

beginning to craft its message. It

will be a Drop Fees revival, but the

union will also advocate its Educa-

tion is a Right campaign as well.

There have been dierent forms

of geing the same message across

she says “so you can talk to people

about the same thing in dierent

ways.”

But with Ryerson’s com-

muter culture, it’s doubt-

ful that people will be

motivated to stick around to do

so. Alicia Sikora recalls how active

students were in movements at res-

idence-focused Western University,

where she studied before transfer-

ring to Ryerson’s retail manage-ment program this fall.

Sikora, who lived in residence for

one month before moving into her

own apartment, thinks that a lack of

school spirit and group conscious-

ness at Ryerson — which she ari-

butes to the fact that Ryerson has

low residence numbers and doesn’t

have a gated campus — could im-

pact her desire to get involved with

a campaign. “There’s not much of

a student community,” she said.

“There are just a lot of commuters

here.”

“We’re cognizant to the fact that

we’re part of a commuter campus,”

said Polermo. Though she couldn’t

oer any denitive solutions, aside

from trying to oer teach-ins andother related events at diverse

times of day. She herself was rst

introduced to the Drop Fees cam-

paign as a rst-year new media stu-

dent living on residence, where the

campaign was promoted through

posters and members of residence

council.

In spite of any doubts that

students may have about the

revived Drop Fees campaign,

Palermo is hopeful that many will

take advantage of this opportunity

to make their voices heard and stu-

dents will shake their

sts once more. “[Drop

Fees was a success be-

cause we were] show-

ing the government that

students are angry,” she

says. Tuition debt fol-

lows people long after

they are done univer-

sity, adds Greener. And

people who “poo, poo”

the movement are miss-

ing the bigger picture.

“My point is that if students aren’t

the ones who are going to be bring-

ing forward challenging ideas that

are complicated and important such

as those economic and social con-cerns that come with high tuition

fees, then who’s gonna do it?” And

Gill sees potential at the moment

too. “Now that we have a minority

government provincially, they may

have a beer opportunity to have

governments listen to them.”

ILLUSTRATION: LINDSAY BOECKL

All that protesting for nothing?

— Joanna Dass,

second-year photogra phy student



14 October 26, 2011The Eyeopener COMMUNITIES

TODO

Wednesday, Oct. 26JAZZ GOES TO THE MOVIES

WITH THE OSCAR PETER-

SON FOLIO 3RD ANNUAL

JAZZ GALA. 8 p.m. @ Toronto Centre for the

Arts. 5040 Yonge St.

$20 with student ID

INTERNATIONAL PINK

HIJAB-DAY

11 a.m. - 3 p.m. @ Student

Campus Centre, 55 Gould St.

GRADUATE SCHOOL AND

SPECIALIZED STUDIES

INFORMATION FAIR

11 a.m. - 3 p.m. @ POD 250

and second oor of the HUB

cafeteria, Podium building

WOMEN’S SOCCER ROUND

ONE OUA PLAYOFF GAME vs

UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO,

6 p.m. @ U of T Varsity

Centre

Thursday, Oct. 27FULL MOON PUB NIGHT.

Doors at 10 p.m. @ The Ramin the Rye

PUMPKIN CARVING COM-

PETITIONNoon-3 p.m. @ In frontof Student Campus Cen-tre . Prizes available. Email

[email protected] to reg-ister

THE ALTERNATIVE SPRING

BREAK 2011-12

INFORMATION SESSION

6:30 p.m. @ Ted Rogers School

of Management. Room TRS-

1-067

MEN’S BASKETBALL

vs DALHOUSIE

7 p.m. @ Kerr Hall Gym

MEN’S SOCCER ROUND ONE

OUA PLAYOFF GAME vs

TRENT TIme and place TBA

Friday, Oct. 28MEN’S BASKETBALL vs

MANITOBA

8 p.m. Kerr Hall Gym

WOMEN’S HOCKEY vs

WESTERN

7 p.m. George Bell Arena

Saturday, Oct. 29NIGHT OF DREAD

4 p.m. Parade at 6 p.m. Pagent

at 7 p.m. @ Dufferin Grove Park.

Dress Code: Black & White &

Dreadful. Pay-what-you-can

WOMEN’S HOCKEY vs

WINDSOR

2 p.m. @ George Bell Arena

MEN’S HOCKEY vs ROYAL

MILITARY COLLEGE

7 p.m.@ George Bell Arena

Sunday, Oct. 30WOMEN’S VOLLEYBALL

HOME OPENER vs

LAKEHEAD

2 p.m. @ Kerr Hall Gym

By Arts and Life editor Allyssia Alleyne Ryerson farmer’s market: A letter of farewell

I remember when you rst came to campuslast June. I’d heard good things about you fromfriends but I was hesitant to let you into my life.I’d assumed you were just after my money, eventhough everyone was raving about how you hadthem trying things they’d never even dreamedof. I couldn’t help but wonder: were you really that good?

So, one Tuesday after work, I dropped by. Youlooked so wholesome and healthy, and I was im-mediately taken by your old-fashioned charms.

You were simple and quaint. I knew that we were meant to be.

Throughout the summer you convinced methat with enough effort, any vegetable could be-come a lling edible meal; and that there areother cheeses on the market aside from ched-dar, brie and provolone. You gave me owers just

because. I’ve never had anyone care about me somuch.The best part of our time together was how

you bettered me as a person. I started to careabout the people who grew the spinach I put in

my salads, the apples I put in my pies and thestrawberries I put in my Magic Bullet.

But I was clear from the start that I wasn’t per-fect, and that monogamy would be a constantchallenge for me. I’ll be honest: I cheated every now and then. Yes, you were great on Tuesdays,but where were you when I needed my x on Wednesdays and weekends? I started getting my organic honey from other markets, but only because they reminded me so much of you.

I know you’ll be back next year, but I can’t wait that long (a girl has needs, you know). My other markets are closing too, so I’ll probably have to step outside of the box again and crossinto the bourgeois haven known as WholeFoods or start shopping the organic section atMetro. But no matter where I end up satisfy-ing my appetites, I’ll always know that it was

you who readied me for them. And who knows?Maybe we’ll pick up where we left off when youreturn.

Love, Allyssia Alleyne

VISIT THEEYEOPENER.COMTO READ UP ON MARKETS

OPEN YEAR-ROUND!



15October 26, 2011 The EyeopenerFUN

Corgi-saurussaysTrick or Treat!

You’ll nally get to relax this week

and focus on your never-ending

hunger for brains without worry-

ing about school.

The monsters under your bed will

team up with the monsters in your

closet to stage an intervention for

your World of Warcraft addiction.

The police won’t seem to care that

you’re a vampire, dating high

school kids is still against the law.

Many ghosts have unnished busi-

ness but it seems a disproportion-

ate amount only come back to call

you fat and make fun of your shoes.

You’ll survive the zombie apoca-

lypse but die shortly after because

you really have no idea how to sur-

vive without grocery stores, Star-

bucks and the internet.

You’ll discover that you’ve been a

werewolf for years, but just never

noticed because you were always

passed out drunk by sundown.

Blending in perfectly during the

zombie apocalypse will be an unex-

pected but welcome benet to your

heroin addiction.

You’ll be bien by a very drunk

werewolf who will forget he’s eat-

ing you, pee on your leg and then

go to McDonald’s.

Your week will be cloudy with a

chance of Cthulu. One hundred per

cent chance, to be exact.

Witches will inform you that your

diet of high quality, organic food

made with fresh ingredients has

unfortunately made you into a high

quality, organic ingredient.

Faer, lazier witches will inform

you that your diet of fast food, sug-

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You will dress up like Batman and

oer candy to children, just like ev-

ery other day of the year.

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JOHNNY DEPP

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“JOHNNY DEPP

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“JOHNNY DEPP

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Wednesday, November 2nd, 4:15pm

OISE auditorium

main oor, 252 Bloor Street West

St George subway

Please go to

www.oise.utoronto.ca/ro/letstalk.html

to sign up for the event

OISE

Ontario Institute for Studies in EducationTHE UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO

Teacher Education Information Night

Thinking of becominga teacher?

Let’s Talk.



16 October 26, 2011The Eyeopener

10

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Enter to WIN* four tickets to The Addams Family.A new music comedy, presented by Dancap Productions,on

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The Eyeopener — October 26, 2011