Eyeopenerthe

volume 44 / issue 19 Wednesday, February 16, 2011Ryerson’s Independent Paper

Since 1967theeyeopener.com

REZ CRACKS DOWN AFTER ONE PARTY COSTS $4,000

PHO

TO IL

LUST

RA

TIO

N: L

IND

SAY

BO

ECK

L

PAGE 3

THEPARTYIS OVER

The Eyeopener2 Wednesday, February 16, 2011

GRADUATING IN SPRING 2011?Simply completing your graduation requirements does not mean you have graduated.

If you are a student in your final year/semester/course, you are required to apply to graduate on RAMSS (my.ryerson.ca)

APPLICATION DEADLINES:

Monday, February 28, 2011Final date to apply for graduation on RAMSS for the Spring 2011 Convocation (with $40 graduation administation fee)

Friday, March 18, 2011Final date to apply in person to graduate for the Spring 2011 Convocation (with $40 graduation administation fee and $50 late fee for a total of $90)

Applications to graduate will not be accepted after March 18, 2011.

Eligible students who either have outstanding debts in excess of $10 or who have equipment, cage cards, library books or RESNET cards overdue as of May 11, 2011 will still be invited to attend their Convocation ceremony but will not receive their award document at that time.

Log in to RAMSS to determine if you have a 'Negative Service Indicator' (Withhold) and contact the appropriate department immediately to make arrangements to clear the outstanding debt.

For more information visit:www.ryerson.ca/curriculumadvising

Please remind your friends and classmates of these deadlines, especially those who

are not regularly on campus!

1ST- & 4TH-YEAR STUDENTS:

Voice your opinion!The 2011 National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) is underway. This is an important initiative to measure Ryerson’s performanceand improve the quality of the student experience. I urge first- and fourth-year Ryerson students to complete the online survey aboutwhich you first received an email two weeks ago. Please check your @ryerson email account which provides more details and the survey link.

Win an iPad or an iPod touchA 32GB iPad (Wi-Fi + 3G capable) and two 32GB iPod touch media players are available to be won at Ryerson, and students who complete the survey will be entered into the prize draw.

Your opinion matters. Thanks to each of you, in advance, for being part of this exciting initiative.

Sheldon LevyPresident

Your opinion will help us to understand how to improve the quality of the student experience here at Ryerson. This is an exciting opportunity for you to give us your input and ensure we have an accurate picture of student life. I urge you to complete your online survey promptly. This year, all universities across Ontario are participating in NSSE, a survey of first- and fourth-year students, which focuses on five key characteristics of a high quality university education:

• academic challenge;

• active and collaborative learning;

• student-faculty interaction;

• enriching educational experiences; and

• a supportive campus environment.

s

NSSE STUDY

NOW UNDERW

AY

The Eyeopener 3Wednesday, February 16, 2011 NEWS

Residence gets strict on parties after $4,000 rampage

Student Housing Services manager Chad Nuttall said residents’ recent behaviour has been against standards. PHOTO: LINDSAY BOECKL

Student Housing Services is enforcing policy after parties in residence reached a breaking point on Feb. 2 with thousands of dollars in damages from one floor

BY SARAH DEL GIALLONEWS EDITOR

Rye hires company to manage GardensBY EMMA PRESTWICHNEWS EDITOR

Ryerson Student Emergency Response Team unresponsiveBY SARAH JONES

Student Housing Services (SHS) is cracking down on residence parties after sixth-floor residents in Pitman Hall left over $4,000 in damages on the night of Feb. 2.

As a repercussion, SHS is consider-ing implementing community billing, a process that charges the entire floor for damage costs. This system hasn’t been used in years. The loss of guest privileges is also being discussed.

“The behaviour that has been ex-hibited over the past couple of weeks is absolutely against community stan-dards,” said SHS manager Chad Nut-tall.

“We need to find out who’s respon-sible for those damages. We know that people know who’s responsible, and we need to know who those peo-ple are so we can hold them account-able for their actions.”

Nuttall said a major part of the bill was cleaning, which totalled over $1,000. SHS had to hire external clean-ing services to help the employed staff. Many of the light fixtures were broken, garbage bins were pushed

The Ryerson Student Emergency Response team (RyeSERT) has taken a break from servicing the university’s three residence buildings to recon-struct their team of volunteer medical responders.

Since it was founded in 2005, RyeS-ERT has worked with Ryerson security to provide pre-hospital health care to first-year students living in residence.

When security receives an emer-gency call from residence, both a se-curity officer and a RyeSERT responder are dispatched.

But RyeSERT has been absent from residence emergency situations since September.

“The group is not currently active,” said Tony Conte, head of the office of

vice-provost of students. Conte acts as a liaison between the

upper administration of Ryerson and RyeSERT, helping the group navigate the university’s many rules and regu-lations concerning health and safety.

“They’re building up their volunteer base,” said Conte.

RyeSERT is made up of student volunteers with backgrounds as para-medics, firefighters, nursing students and lifeguards as well as students with an interest in community or health service.

“We are actively recruiting new members,” said Greg McGrath, the equipment officer at RyeSERT.

According to their website, RyeSERT is looking to recruit inoperative and active members.

Inoperative members are invited to attend meetings, training, vote during elections, and could run for the execu-tive position of administrative officer.

Active members are those who are available on-call and are able to re-spond to medical emergencies. There fore they must undergo extensive

over, and there was vomit in the car-pets, which required deep cleaning.

Despite rumours that parties have been banned, Nuttall said residents are being reminded of policies they agreed to when signing their con-tracts.

“It’s an understanding of policy. Parties in the sense that we saw two weeks ago, where all of this damage happened; where a hundred people are in a suite, and when they left, they wrecked the building, have never been allowed in the history of Pitman Hall or Student Housing Services,” said Nuttall.

The issue isn’t parties, but “out of control” parties, which are outlined in the residence community standards as a gathering that cannot reasonably be controlled by the host.

Also outlined are issues against un-acceptable noise, excessive noise, and underage drinking, all of which cost a resident demerit points if caught. If students reach nine demerits, they are evicted from the building.

Although the sixth floor of Pitman accumulated the most damage, floors

three, five and 14 were also an issue.Floor 14 president Trevor Coll said

the idea of community billing is un-fair, and a more reasonable solution would be to have security cameras installed.

“I think what they’re doing is trying to control an environment which is naturally uncontrollable,” he said.

Even though all of the problem floors on Feb. 2 were in Pitman, The International Living and Learning Centre (ILLC) and O’Keefe House are also facing stricter rules.

“I don’t think it is fair,” said Daniel Finlan, an O’Keefe House resident. “It’s part of the residence lifestyle. Students are more safe in residence then they would be partying out in the city.”

John Pilla is a first-year graphic communications management stu-dent who lives on ILLC floor eight.

On Feb. 5, he drank too much and passed out.

When his friends couldn’t wake him up, they called the residence ad-visors who called security. When se-curity couldn’t wake him, he was sent

to the hospital where he woke up, still drunk and in a diaper.

“I was still hammered when I woke up,” he said.

“I barely remember the walk back to rez.”

Pilla’s hospital trip could have had him evicted from residence because the demerits from excessive drinking and underage drinking would have passed the nine-demerit limit.

He was able to work out a contract at a meeting that restricts him from drinking for two weeks.

“If I drink, I’m out. The fact that I could be evicted scares the shit out of me.”

Despite the fact that Pilla recently woke up in the hospital after a rez party, he doesn’t think the crack down on policies are fair or realistic.

“Parties are going to happen any-ways, whether there are rules or not,” he said.

“I think as soon as reading week’s over, there’s going to be some may-hem that no one will be able to con-trol.”

— With files from Marilee Devries

training. “I’ve always wanted to have the

training to be able to help a person in distress, and RyeSERT allows me to do that by providing me with advanced medical training and equipment,” said McGrath.

RyeSERT is financially able to pro-vide training and obtain equipment because of their affiliation with the RSU.

Additional funding comes from the project funds allocation committee for students.

The group is not currently active.

— Tony Conte, office of vice provost

students

Ryerson is in final talks with a com-pany to manage Maple Leaf Gardens.

Global Spectrum, a Connecticut-based company that manages arenas and sports facilities, is in contract ne-gotiations with the university to oper-ate and manage the Gardens before and after it opens.

“There’s no question that we’ve been hired to provide management services,” said Frank E. Russo, senior vice-president of Global Spectrum.

“We’re not in a trial period.”He said the company, which was

hired in mid-December, will be re-sponsible for every aspect of the fa-cility’s management from preparing the budget to hiring and training staff and selling tickets.

The company is the winning bid in Ryerson’s search for a management partner through the RFP (request for proposals) process, according to Adam Kahan, vice-president of uni-versity advancement.

“We’re looking to improve on what we have through their involvement,” he said.

Russo was in Toronto Tuesday for a series of meetings with the university to finalize negotiations and to take a walk-through of the Gardens to make sure there are no operational issues with the design.

“Today is literally a kick-out,” he said.

Kahan wouldn’t disclose the amount of money negotiated in the contract, but said that it would be fi-nalized in the next two days.

One of the company’s big projects is to come up with strategies to boost and maintain student attendance at sports games when the facility opens.

“I think that’s a big challenge, to be honest,” said Ryerson president Shel-don Levy.

Russo said some of the company’s strategies will include providing en-tertainment before and after games, as well as promoting the Gardens’ ties with the past.

However, he said if the company can’t find ways to connect with stu-dents, that they’ll look elsewhere.

“If not, we’re looking to sell tickets to the outside community.”

Levy said that the idea is to make every game an event.

“Free wings or beer, or whatever it is, trying to bring students out,” he said.

The target date for the facility’s completion is Nov. 12.

4 EDITORIALThe Eyeopener Wednesday, February 16, 2011

• Intensive 60-Hour Program

• Classroom Management Techniques

• Detailed Lesson Planning

• ESL Skills Development

• Comprehensive Teaching Materials

• Interactive Teaching Practicum

• Internationally Recognized Certificate

• Teacher Placement Service

• Money-Back Guarantee Included

• Thousands of Satisfied Students

Teach EnglishAbroad

TESOL/TESL Teacher TrainingCertification Courses

OXFORD SEMINARS416-924-3240/1-800-269-6719

www.oxfordseminars.ca

President ...............................................................Caitlin SmithVice-President Education ...................................Melissa Palermo Vice-President Equity ..........................................Rodney DiverlusVice-President Operations .................................Sean Carson Vice-President Student Life & Events ..............Alyssa Williams

RSU ELECTION

RESULTS ARE IN

DIRECTORSFaculty of Arts Bulkhis Kalifullah (Reshma)Anna MonaenkovaAzar Masoumi

Faculty of Business Mamoun Awan Johann Keens-Douglas Ifaz Iqbal Kaleigh Newson Tsibbah Tesfai Andrew Yuhalogarasan

Faculty of Communication & Design Nora HassaanAndrew McAllisterMatt Mitchell

Faculty of Community Services Maimoona Ansari Jordan Dickson Patrick R. Garcia Kamala Gooroocharan Peter Haastrup Neda Hamzavi

Faculty of Engineering, Architecture & Science Durand Jarrett-Amor Mohammad Salman Ansari Syed Mohammad Mahmood Shagare Senthilgumar

This is YOUR Students’ Union www.rsuonline.ca 

GRADUATE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE

YOUR VOICE & YOUR VOTE

Chairperson Osman Hamid

Deputy Chairperson Finance El Naz Afatmirni

Deputy Chairperson Education Ronak Ghorbani Nejad

Deputy Chairperson Student LifeEbrahim Poulad

The following are the list of candidates elected for the 2011-2012 Board

MADE THE DECISION

Check out our QR code. Cool or what? Now you can find us online that much easi-er. So check us out and see what we’ve put online for your reading enjoyment...

Playing the role of the Annoying Talking Coffee Mug this week... Elections. Rude aggressive

people. Student politicians. Early deadlines.The Eyeopener is Ryerson’s

largest and independent student newspaper. It is owned and operated by Rye Eye Publishing Inc., a non-profit corporation owned by the students of Ryerson. Our office is on the second floor of the Student Campus Centre and you can reach us at theeyeopener.com

EDITOR-IN-CHIEFShannon “THIS” Higgins

NEWSSarah “IS” Del Giallo

Emma “THE” PrestwichASSOCIATE NEWS

Rebecca “SONG” BurtonFEATURES

Mariana “THAT” IonovaBIZ & TECH

Ian “NEVER ENDS” VandaelleARTS & LIFE

Gianluca “IT” InglesiSPORTS

Sean “GOES” TepperPHOTO

Marta “ON” IwanekLindsay “AND” BoecklASSOCIATE PHOTOChelsea “ON” Pottage

FUNKats “MY ” Quinto

COMMUNITYAllyssia “FRIENDS” Alleyne

The EyeopenerONLINE MEDIA

Lee “SOME” RichardsonONLINE GURUS

John “PEOPLE” ShmuelAleysha “STARTED” HaniffGENERAL MANAGER

Liane “CAT SEPTOR” McLartyADVERTISING MANAGER

Chris “SINGING” RobertsDESIGN DIRECTOR

J.D. “LOOKS....BERET” MowatCIRCULATION MANAGER

Megan “IT” Higgins

VOLUNTEERSLauren “RUBEUS” Fogazzi

Marilee “GINERVRA” DevriesSarah “SALAZAR” Jones

Abigale “MUNDUNGYS” SubdhanAlexa “NYMPHADAORA” Huffman

Vidya “A-TEAM” KauriRegan “HI MOM” ReidMichael “LEPTON” Chu

Shannon “FEATURE” Cuciz

As expected, the Students United slate swept the Ryerson Students’ Union election on Feb. 9.

But, like most ‘normal’ students, you probably don’t give a shit about this and you most definitely don’t follow petty RSU politics.

But I do (lucky me) and if you keep reading this editorial I’ll give you a $300, 000 reason to care about what’s going on in the Student Campus Cen-tre. Here’s what you need to know about the election:

• The results were boring and painfully predictable.

• Only one team or ‘slate’ had a chance in hell of winning.

• Almost no one voted (BIG SUR-PRISE).

• And the status quo of RSU pol-itics remains the same.

Yet again, the outgoing RSU ex-ecutives handpicked their successors. Well, whoopee. No new faces. I’m not surprised.

Ryerson student politics weren’t always this boring. Back in 2009 RSU infighting drove President Sheldon Levy to pay for thousands of dollars for an audit from Deloitte to look for

SHANNON HIGGINSEDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Students United celebrates at the pub after sweeping the RSU election on Feb. 9. PHOTO: LINDSAY BOECKL

the source of systemic RSU bullshit.That wad of cash might as well

have been flushed down the drain — the audit’s suggestions were largely ignored by the RSU.

Today, RSU political infighting has reached a cease fire. But that’s be-cause most dissenting and diverse student voices have been squashed by minions of the Canadian Federa-tion of Students. In my opinion.

Now, stop drooling and read my earnest and heartfelt suggestions for a better student union in five easy steps.

1) Give away more free shitStudents are poor. Most love free

shit — particularly free food. Stop wasting cash on buttons and posters and just give away free food. A sure-fire way to a student’s heart.

2) Stop taking stances on non-stu-dent issues and get local

The RSU lobbying about student fees, equity issues and Ryerson-specif-ic education issues makes sense. Be-coming involved in discussions about divisive international problems is just polarizing. Stay hyper-local, stop pushing an aggressive leftist agenda down our throats and students will connect better with your campaigns.

3) Ban slates during electionsThe RSU slate system stops keen

Ryerson students from becoming in-volved in student politics. It’s almost impossible for students to get elected

on their own within the current sys-tem. Candidates should be forced to run alone and gather votes the old-fashioned way.

And what happened to the fabled days of campus politics where de-bates over policy could flourish?

There is virtually no difference of opinion within the upcoming RSU ex-ecutive team.

This is a systemic problem and ban-ning slates in the next election would help solve it.

4) Trim the executive fat Why is the RSU spending approxi-

mately $30, 000 in salary for five ex-ecutive positions? Let’s channel Rob Ford here and cut the exec team down to three positions.

5) Defederate from the CFSFuck the approximate $300, 000 in

yearly CFS fees. Defederate and spend the cash on step one — more free shit.

Flip to page eight to read more on the RSU and the history behind Ryer-son student politics.

Have questions, comments or a burning

desire to yell at me? Send letters to editor@theeyeopener.com or

tweet me @murphyhiggins.

A better union in five steps

Grace “ALL I EVER WANTED” BenacGin “YAY” Sexsmith

Carly “VENDETTA” BasianSteven “MOVIE GURU” Goetz

Chris “BEST GINGA EVA” DaleJoe “BIG” Ball

Tim “TWO HOURS” AlamanciakMohammed “SPEEDO” OmarChristina “THANK YOU” DunTerry “MORE HAERT” Sparkes

Mike “RADIO IS BACK?” DuncanYeugenia “FURRRRRR” Kleiner

Want to be a winner? Scan the QR code below for access to contests at

theeyeopener.com

Station originally slated to go off-air Feb. 12 gets stay of execution, Alexa Huffman reports

The Eyeopener 5Wednesday, February 16, 2011 NEWS

Community station CKLN, located on the second floor of the Student Campus Centre will remain open until at least April. PHOTO: LINDSAY BOECKL

CKLN stays on the air, for now

Architecture program called out on ‘excessive workload’BY REBECCA BURTONASSOCIATE NEWS EDITOR

RSU Election Results:

Students United swept the polls

The results came in close to 2 a.m. on Feb. 10 with Students United taking all of the executive posi-

tions for the RSU.

But we would like to take credit for the 644 of you who spoiled your votes. Eyeopener action

works.

For the official results on all positions, visit

theeyeopener.com

Ryerson-based community radio station CKLN was granted a stay on Friday, allowing it to remain on air for the time being.

The station will continue to broad-cast until a federal judge determines whether the Canadian Radio-Televi-sion and Telecommunications Com-mission’s decision to revoke CKLN’s broadcasting license can be appealed by the radio station.

“Because of the submission of our materials to the court, the judge saw good reasons for the stay to be grant-ed,” said Lauren Speers, chair of the legal defence committee at CKLN.

“The most important part was demonstrating irreparable harm from not having a stay granted,” Speers ex-plained. “For us, it was if they pulled CKLN off the air before hearing the actual case, then it would not have an easy time getting its frequency back.”

CKLN also argued the process the CRTC used when deciding to shut down the radio station was a serious issue.

The CRTC decided to revoke CKLN’s licence after alleging the station did not meet CRTC regulations, such as filing financial returns correctly and on time.

The radio station said the CRTC didn’t use their usual procedure and brought issues from past dealings with CKLN into their decision to re-voke the station’s license.

“Besides the CRTC, another point brought up was that if the radio sta-tion were to close down, we would lose our relationship with the stu-dents,” said Speers.

“We would also lose listenership, programmers and volunteers. We wouldn’t be able to do what we’ve been doing quite well which is rep-resenting marginalized, underrepre-sented, and misrepresented voices on an alternative media outlet.”

Ryerson president Sheldon Levy said CKLN has nothing to do with the university.

“I just separate the affairs of the university from the affairs of CKLN,” he said.

Ron Nelson, the CKLN board chair, is happy Ryerson students and the community have not lost this media outlet yet.

“We are thankful that we got more time to get it together,” said Nelson. “It looks like it could be April or later before it makes its way to the federal courts.”

According to Nelson, during the next few months the station will pre-pare all its evidence and put through all the promises it made to the CRTC.

Nelson also said CKLN will work to-ward changing the station so an inci-dent like this does not happen again.

“People will have to start caring about what’s going on in the admin-istrative and management levels in CKLN even if they are just a program-mer,” said Nelson. “You can’t sit back anymore and let the station run itself or let a handful of people run the sta-tion for you.”

Nelson said it’s important to deliver good community radio. That means clear management, better publicity and marketing to promote CKLN, en-gaging the community by sponsoring and hosting events, and most impor-tantly, student involvement.

“The future looks brighter for

CKLN,” said Nelson. “By the end of the month, we are going to have a station manager. We have instituted a new set of bylaws that are a lot more clear.”

To run the radio station, CKLN uses finances from advertising and fundraising as well as money from a student levy at Ryerson. This year, the university collected $10.09 per student from the Ryerson Students’ Union, which in turn was re-distribut-ed to CKLN.

CKLN will continue to get their al-lotted money as long as they keep broadcasting.

“The fee is established for CKLN only. I imagine if CKLN didn’t exist than the fee wouldn’t exist either,” said Toby Whitfield, the Ryerson Stu-dents’ Union president who also holds a seat on the CKLN board.

Levy said that if the station shut down, the money should go back to the students.

“If there is a fee that students pay for CKLN, if that fee is not required, then it should be returned to the stu-dents.”

Nelson hopes that discussion never takes place.

“We have come so close to losing something but never again,” he said.

You know you’re in architecture when you lose your house keys and only realize one week later. And ‘sleep is for the weak’ becomes your mantra.

But these sort of student com-plaints may not be totally off-base.

A FIPPA filed by the Eyeopener revealed reports indicating that the Canadian Architectural Certification Board (CACB) is saying the program has “an excessive course load, a very concentrated weekly timetable, and numerous assignments,” that need to be addressed.

The Visiting Team Report issued by the CACB after their visit in March of 2010, showed this was not the only concern in the accreditation process.

“Every school gets at least five or six problems,” said Kendra Smith, chair of architecture.

Along with excessive coursework

the department was asked to fix the size of the drafting studios and to improve its students’ general writing and reading abilities.

Mourad Mohan-Said, executive di-

rector of the CACB, said there are no set guidelines or amount of correc-tions for each school because each evaluation is very different.

This was the accreditation board’s

first visit to Ryerson. The program’s status will only last for three years be-fore the team returns to Ryerson.

Neighbouring schools such as Uni-versity of Toronto or Waterloo Univer-sity have been accredited as early as 1993, just two years after the board initiated the accreditation program.

“The accredited body is concerned about the quality of [the program] and how prepared the students are to enter the workforce,” said Levy.

The program has already proved that it is in constant transition.

The current fourth-year students’ are considered the ‘guinea pig’ year after the program added an addition-al three hours of studio time to their week.

The grand total came to nine hours of studio time in order to meet the ac-creditation board requirements.

For the fourth year student, the average week amounts to about 21 hours of class.

But as fourth-year architecture stu-dent Michael Rosada said, the total time really comes to approximately 60 hours.

“It’s way too much. It should be five years,” he said.

Levy said a group of people will continue to revise the workload and change the curriculum before the next visit, which is scheduled in 2013.

“Beginning in winter of the 2011 term, the department will be assign-ing fewer but more targeted projects and the faculty are discussing how to combine courses with studios to bet-ter deliver the required material,” he said.

“A lot of work is going on to prepare for the next visit.”

“The school should sup-port it, especially since there are programs that involve broadcasting.”

— Michael Licey,food and nutrition student

ShouldCKLN stay on the air?

“We have a lot of journal-ism students here and we need a place to get prac-tice before the big game. Eliminating the station is eliminating opportunity.”

— Andrew Ellistonpolitics student

“It’s too bad they lost their licence, I hope they get it back.” — Eva Kukar

arts and contemporary studies student

It’s way too much. It should be five years.

— Micheal Rosada, architecture student

We have come so close to losing something but never again.

— Ron Nelson, CKLN board chair

The Eyeopener6 Wednesday, February 16, 2011NEWS

Pantaloons and Groaners

Rye admin heads downtown business group

Ryerson’s own Cate MiddletonBY LAUREN FOGAZZI

Julia Lewis is the chair of a business improvement group that includes Ryerson campus. PHOTO: YEUGENIA KLEINER

The engagement of Prince William and Kate Middleton seems to have created a media frenzy that jumps on anything, even if it’s only just a name.

Ryerson University’s own Catherine Middleton has been getting royal treatment from local papers with the hype of the upcoming royal matri-mony.

But Middleton, a professor at the Ted Rogers School of Management, knows it’s just a passing gag.

“It’s not really a big deal,” she said. “It’s more of an amusement than any-thing else.”

Even so, her colleagues in the mail-room have been referring to her as ‘princess’ and her students have taken notice as well.

But Middleton doesn’t think she’ll be receiving any more attention.

Kate Middleton is a common name and others around the world (as The Toronto Star reported) have been receiving the same recognition. The Kate Middletons in Australia, Ohio and Birmingham, England have had people comment, bow and even had their Facebook accounts suspended.

The social media sites suspended those accounts named ‘Kate Middle-ton’ after the site’s security identified them as imposter profiles. In response, annoyed Middletons have created a group “Don’t delete me facebook . . . guess what? There’s more than one Kate Middleton.”

Security was called to an Eric Palin classroom on Feb. 9 after reports that a homeless male entered the class. The male sat in the middle of the ongoing class and proceeded to remove his shoes. When security arrived they asked him to put his shoes back on and the man left. Looks like security will have to start carrying Dr. Scholl’s foot cream.

A disturbance was reported at Chang School on the evening of Feb. 10. A woman was upset that the school didn’t have any skates that her son could rent out so he could skate on Lake Devo. Sorry lady, this is a university. Our tu-ition is too high to start spending money on skates for your kid.

A student reported a stolen guitar in the first floor of ILLC. The stu-dent had been writing an exam and was asked to keep his be-longings at the rear. The student was one of the last students to finish writing and when he went to collect his stuff, the guitar was gone. Poor guy. We find it ironic that the option of musical heal-ing was literally stolen from him.

On Feb. 11 security arrived at the Kerr Hall Rye-O-Mat (AKA the dungeon) to catch a male stu-dent and four female students drinking in the building. Staff chatted to the students and they left. Security caught the same students in a verbal argument later that night but the students

ran away. If that wasn’t enough, security found them once again, this time in a physical fight on Gould St. They refused to stop fighting so Toronto police re-ported to the scene and even-tually everyone went home. We guess this is what happens when parties are veto’d in residence.

Security got a smelly surprise on the afternoon of Feb. 12 when they reported to Pitman hall to find a chair in the elevator littered with human feces. Main-tenence was called to clean up the mess which stunk up the elevator for the remainder of the day. Keep it in the toilet folks.

A “sketchy looking” homeless man was reportedly whispering to patrons skating on Lake Devo on Feb. 13. No reports indicate what exactly he was saying but we assume they were raunchy sweet nothings.

After reports that a woman was screaming in the POD building, security rushed to the scene. Turns out the woman was part of a charity event. That wasn’t screaming, they were cheering. A friendly warning to future char-ity events: ever hear of the boy who cried wolf?

On Feb. 8, security was called to the first floor of the TRSM build-ing to deal with an intoxicated non-community member. The male was making inappropriate

racist comments to students and said he had come to pick up a woman.

A student turned in another student after he saw him steal another’s iPhone. He confront-ed the man stealing and called security. Police finally arrived four hours later. By that time everyone involved finally gave up. Epic fail on police.

Two thefts were reported in the men’s change room on Feb. 6. The perp tore back the top of both locked lockers and stole a wallet from one and a cellphone from the other. Either this guy is crazy strong, or the Incredible Hulk has been visiting campus.

On Feb. 10 on the 9th floor of the library building a woman left her bag unattended. When she returned the bag was stolen. (Whoop, big surprise.) Another student found the bag later in the garbage of a men’s wash-room. Everything was returned except for the cash.

Thank you Toby. We asked and you listened. You had that disgusting toilet cleaned up. We can now breathe a little easier in the SCC second floor wash-room. And to you readers, we are sorry for that alarming photo last week. But come on, that was SHIT.

— Rebecca Burton

One of Ryerson’s top administra-tors is also the board chair of an as-sociation of downtown businesses responsible for Ryerson campus.

Julia Lewis, director of Ryerson’s centre of environmental health, safety and security management (CEHSSM), is also the board chair of the Downtown Yonge Business Im-provement Association (BIA) is a non-profit advocacy group that works with downtown businesses.

“I had the Ryerson reputation so it was simple [to be elected],” she said.

Lewis said she uses her professional background to provide governance and oversight to the organization to ensure it moves forward.

Ryerson president Sheldon Levy said he doesn’t know why Lewis in particular was elected to the posi-tion, but the university was asked to nominate someone who would have an understanding of the university.

“ I don’t know what particular ex-pertise she might have over some-one else, I don’t know what particular expertise the BIA was looking for,” he said. Downtown Yonge is responsible

for the land that Ryerson occupies, but Lewis said she doesn’t think this constitutes a conflict-of-interest be-cause she’s a volunteer and the orga-nization focuses on “strategic initia-tives” instead of certain businesses.

She said the organization is fund-ed by the tax-base of downtown and doesn’t own Ryerson land, so they still have to consult the university be-fore using it for events.

Levy said he is sure that the BIA has conflict-of-interest guidelines that every employee has to follow.

“You can imagine with the BIA

in particular, that they would have [guidelines] because every member there has reason to have economic interest in the success of the BIA,” he said.

James Robinson, executive direc-tor of Downtown Yonge, said he is grateful for the objectivity and open-mindedness that Lewis maintains with the organization.

“She does not push a Ryerson agenda but [instead] does a great job of lining members of the community around a common cause,” he said.

BY ABIGALE SUBDHAN

Increase your skills and competitiveness

in today’s job market with a Humber graduate

studies program in Applied Technology.

Project Management

Supply Chain Management

Wireless Telecommunications

Apply now!humber.ca/appliedtechnology/graduatestudies

Make your degree work for you

take it tech

12956 tech ad (4x7.5):Layout 1 12/23/10 6:09 PM Page 1

The Eyeopener 7Wednesday, February 16, 2011 NEWS

Student sues students’ union election official for $100,000

BY SARAH DEL GIALLO

NEWS EDITOR

Mark Single backs down from RSU lawsuit

A part-time image arts student is suing the Chief Returning Officer of the recent Ryerson Students’ Union election.

Frank Nyitray is suing Hakim Kassam for $100, 000 alleging defa-mation, libel, slander and vilification.

The suit was filed and served on Feb. 9.

Kassam has been advised by his lawyers not to comment.

Nyitray, who is representing him-self, is currently involved in a number of other lawsuits.

He and previous VP Equity candi-date Donna Ryder filed suits against the RSU, the Palin Foundation, the

An image arts student takes chief returning officer to the superior court for defamation, libel, slander and villification

general manager of the Student Campus Centre and the Continu-ing Education Students at Ryerson (CESAR) on Jan. 28. Those suits amass a total of $800, 000 and are not yet resolved.

Nyitray would not comment on circumstances that required a lawsuit because the information is eviden-tiary.

Frank Nyitray is suing Hakim Kassam for $100,000 PHOTO: MARTA IWANEK

BY SARAH DEL GIALLO

NEWS EDITOR

The small claims lawsuit Mark Single filed against the Ryerson Students’ Union was settled out of court in a meeting on Feb. 9.

Single, who was suing the RSU over the $290 cost of the health and dental plan said he was advised by the judge to settle and must now pay $200 of the RSU’s legal costs.

“[The judge] said I had a valid claim, but I would have to take it to superior court,” said Single. “I could have been viable for paying thousands of dollars in legal costs [to the RSU], so I decided to back out.”

Single said small claims courts don’t have the authority to say whether rules are right or wrong, and since the RSU’s rules on the health and dental plan are clearly outlined, he would likely lose his case.

Single filed the claim early last month. He wanted to opt-out of the

health and dental plan because he felt he could pay for his own health costs.

The RSU health plan will not allow a student who does not already have health insurance to opt-out.

“Our policies, I think, are pretty clear,” said RSU president Toby Whitfield. “I think it’s consistent with most student health and dental plans across the country.”

Whitfield said about half of students have opted out of the health and den-tal plan in the last few years.

Single said he thinks the plan is ben-eficial for students, but thinks students should not be forced to pay.

“I think the current system is fine, but they should let anyone opt out,” he said.

Single plans to pursue a case in su-perior court, despite the fact that it will cost him thousands of dollars.

“It’s not about the money, it’s about the principle,” he said.

First look at new Salad KingSalad King owner Ernest Liu and employees re-vamp the restaurant for its reopening on Feb. 22. The popular restaurant will now be located on the second floor of Foot Locker on Yonge Street. PHOTO: MARTA IWANEK

Discuss the upcoming budgetJoin Ryerson University’s provost and vice president

academic, Alan Shepard and vice-provost, university

planning, Paul Stenton to discuss the development

of Ryerson’s budget for the 2011-12 academic year,

including the current context, opportunities and

economic challenges.

We welcome all members of the Ryerson community.

If you wish to submit questions in advance, please

email them to provost@ryerson.ca. If you require

assistance, please email us five days in advance with

your accessibility requirements. The last town hall

will be recorded and broadcast.

Town Hall MeeTings

wednesday, February 9, 10 -11 a.m., LIB-072

Friday, February 11, 1-2 p.m., TRS 2-166

wednesday, February 16, 2-3 p.m., RCC-204

Come to the Ryerson Community Town Hall

The Eyeopener8 Wednesday, February 16, 2011FEATURES

When Toby Whitfield’s term as Ryerson Stu-dents’ Union president is up in May, he will head to Ottawa to work for the lobby group that has been influencing Ryerson student politics for the last ten years. As the new trea-surer for the Canadian Federation of Students (CFS), Whitfield will be managing the bank ac-count of the most powerful student advocates in Canada.

When it comes to student politics, the CFS calls the shots on more than 80 campuses across Canada. It has the power to help elect candidates into executive positions in student unions. Whether the average student knows it or not, the CFS has played a role behind the scenes at Ryerson for over a decade.

The CFS is the largest student advocacy or-ganization in Canada and was established in 1981 to lobby the government for policies that protect students and address their concerns. The federation has separately-run, regional branches like CFS-Ontario that put pressure on provincial governments for such initiatives like tuition freezes, elimination of poverty and the phase-out of bottled water on campuses. It boasts a membership of nearly half a million students and operates on fees from students’ unions like the RSU, which paid the federation approximately $300, 000 last year.

The relationship between the RSU (former-ly RyeSAC) and the CFS intensified in 1999, when president Erin George began aligning Ryerson’s campaigns with those advocated by the CFS. George was the Ontario chairperson of the CFS during her term as president. Since then, there has been only one candidate who has won the presidential seat without support-ing the federation. Dave MacLean, who ran and lost in 2003, beat CFS-friendly presidential can-didate Carlos Flores in 2004.

Over the last 10 years, The RSU board of di-rectors has squashed all real attempts to sepa-rate from the CFS. When MacLean took office,

his motion to hold a defederation referendum was shot down by the RSU board of directors.

More recently, 2007-2008 president Nora Loreto spoke out against fellow executive, VP student life and events, Abe Snobar, who put forward a motion proposing a defederation referendum in 2007. After a five-hour board of directors meeting, the motion was defeated by a 12-12 tie vote with one abstention. Later that term, Snobar ran for president but faced opposition from Loreto and lost the election to Muhammad Ali Jabbar, who supported CFS campaigns.

Three years later, Snobar says he thinks he lost the election because he made enemies by speaking out against the CFS.

“If you do not have the support from any CFS-affiliated individual, the chance of you

winning, especially in an executive seat, is highly unlikely,” Snobar says.

Like Whitfield, when CFS-friendly executives leave Ryerson student politics they often re-main intertwined with the federation. Rebecca Rose, RSU president in 2005-2006, went on to work as a Maritimes Organizer for CFS-Nova Scotia, while Loreto now works as CFS-Ontario Communications and Government Relations Coordinator.

Despite CFS links to Ryerson, David Mo-lenhuis, national chairperson of the CFS, says there is no truth to allegations that the orga-nization influences local political agenda and outcomes. He said the statement is “patently

false and a rather dubious accusation” made in “an attempt to scandalize where there is no scandal.”

Molenhuis says there is no political soli-darity within the federation. “There is no role of the federation in student unions. It doesn’t have any role in local elections nor should it, frankly.”

Two-time RSU president Jabbar (2006-2007, 2008-2009), also rejected the idea of a CFS-driven RSU agenda, saying group membership in fact helps students’ unions achieve their goals.

“You have to look at what are the goals that you want to achieve, what it is that you repre-sent, what do you stand for. If you stand for eq-uity, if you stand for social justice and student rights, you need a strong voice to represent

you,” Jabbar says. “A student union by itself is just a student

administrative council.” In his opinion, organizing together allows

students’ unions to represent student interests because, “you do advocacy when you have strength in numbers.”

Joey Coleman, a writer for the Globe and Mail’s globecampus.ca blog, has been covering post-secondary education issues for five years and has seen how difficult it can be for inde-pendent candidates to run a campaign against a CFS-friendly opponent. In his opinion, “it has become very rare for student union presidents across the country to actually be ‘students’. “

In the Feb. 9 RSU election, the CFS-friendly Students United slate and their supporters cheered in the nearly empty Ram in the Rye as the final numbers rolled in around 1 a.m., — revealing their overwhelming win. Current VP operations Caitlin Smith won nearly 79 per cent of the votes for the presidential seat. No member of the opposing executive slate, RU Change, received enough votes to even stand a chance at being elected. Almost no one from RU Change appeared to watch the results roll in.

A week before the election, Mark Single, who was disqualified from running for the VP operations position, said his slate had little hope of a victory.

“There is a zero per cent chance we are go-ing to win and we know that. Their posters are totally professional. They have a polished cam-paign and the time to do it.”

But, in Jabbar’s view, the reason why stu-dents with less experience and fewer connec-tions don’t get elected is because they have not made an effort to get involved in campus initiatives and political action in the Ryerson community.

“Of course you’re not going to get elect-ed because you don’t have a track record. It doesn’t mean that you didn’t have a fair chance. It means that you were not passionate, you never did [the] legwork,” he says.

Students who run as part of a CFS-friendly slate have one big advantage: there is a federa-tion on their side that knows what it takes to get a candidate elected. Coleman says in the past CFS-friendly executives from locals have campaigned on behalf of other CFS-friendly slates at different schools.

Last year, RSU and York Federation of Stu-dents (YFS) executives were reportedly dis-tributing election material at the University of Toronto. The Varsity, U of T’s student newspa-per, reported that Smith, Whitfield and other

IN BED WITH THE CFSAs Ryerson Students’ Union president Toby Whitfield prepares to head to his new job for the Canadian Federation of Students, his sucessor is another darling of the advocacy giant. For the past five years, RSU executive seats have been filled by CFS-friendly candidates. Vidya Kauri and Features editor Mariana Ionova investigate the intimate relationship between the RSU and CFS

If you do not have the support from any CFS-affiliated individual, your chance of winning, especially in an executive position, is highly unlikely.

— Abe Snobar,former RSU VP student life and events

Which

RSU presidents have

worked for the CFS?

2005-2006

Rebecca Rose

YES

2006-2007

Muhammad Ali Jabbar

NO

2007-2008

Nora Loreto

YES

9Wednesday, February 16, 2011 FEATURES The Eyeopener

executives were seen campaigning for U of T’s CFS-friendly slate March 2010.

Sam Rahimi, a former VP of U of T’s stu-dents’ union, wrote a letter to the Varsity after he graduated in 2006. In it, he detailed a similar experience while in office as a part of the CFS-friendly Unity slate in 2004. From the letter: “My trip to York especially stands out in my mind: I had received an urgent briefing from Alexandra Dodger, then a CFS-Ontario executive, about a bunch of ‘right wing extremists’ running for re-election to YFS, and asking for my help to defeat them. I was picked up in a white van driven by CFS staffer Ashkon Hashemi and taken to York, stopping at Ryerson, OCAD, and George Brown along the way to pick up additional campaigners. We were sent on our mission with strict instructions to pretend we were each there as a ‘friend’ of one of the candi-dates and plastered the campus with post-ers.”

Whitfield denies the CFS plays any role at all in local elections, and says each candi-date has access to the same funds and that fair procedures are followed at all times dur-ing campaigning. When he was asked why RSU executives would campaign to elect similar slates at other universities, he said it had nothing to do with political solidarity. “If you are asking if I have friends on other campuses, yes — I do have friends on other campuses.”

CFS-friendly slates often have seasoned, media-savvy, former student politicians helping manage their campaigns. Accord-ing to Whitfield, Smith lead the CFS-friend-ly Students United slate this year. (Smith interned at CFS-Ontario as an executive assistant-services in the summer of 2009.) Whitfield also helped with their campaign. Similarly, in 2008 Loreto helped manage the campaign for the Renew RSU slate headed

by Jabbar. Other students running for positions

alone don’t have that kind of advantage, says Coleman. “A ‘regular’ student can run in theory. However, the student has a very small chance of ever winning.”

Talk of too much CFS involvement in Ryerson politics goes as far back as 2002, when bitter internal fighting culminated in VP finance and services Sajjad Wasti’s resig-nation from the RSU. Wasti wrote an open letter to the Ryerson community accusing union executives of corruption, saying that their handling of business dealings was al-legedly tainted by their connection to the CFS. The letter said the union gave priority to an “external agenda”, which resulted in students’ interests being “sidelined.”

The RSU board of directors motioned and failed to impeach Wasti, but he resigned in November of 2002, after five weeks of conflicts within the union.

The long streak of CFS-friendly executives has prompted criticism that the RSU is sur-rendering its autonomy to the federation. But dissenting voices like MacLean, Wasti and Snobar have slowly disappeared from Ryerson’s political landscape. The 2007 mo-tion for a defederation referendum was the last organized effort to bring up the ques-tion of Ryerson’s link with the CFS.

Snobar says he wasn’t surprised that his defederation movement failed.

“It’s a movement that you have to build from scratch against a movement that’s been around for 25 years,” he says.

But there are campuses where defedera-tion isn’t dead yet. Over the last year, 13 col-leges and universities tried to defederate. In June, the Concordia University Students’ Union (CUSA) won a referendum to cut ties with the CFS.

CUSA was one of the founding members

of the CFS and had been Local 91 of the federation since 1981. But Katherine Giroux-Bougard, CFS chairperson at the time, reject-ed the results, saying the union had no right to hold a membership vote because it owed the CFS $1,033,278.76 in unpaid fees.

In 2006, Robin Mowat also struggled to raise concerns about the CFS on the Uni-versity of Saskatchewan campus. Mowat, a former president of the University of Sas-katchewan Students’ Union (USSU) won a lawsuit against the union and CFS regarding improper procedures during a referendum. Allegedly, the students’ union held the refer-endum asking students to join the CFS and the results narrowly called for federation. Despite concerns that referendum bylaws were not properly followed, USSU deemed the results valid and gained CFS member-ship. Mowat decided to sue shortly after and won the lawsuit in October 2006, causing USSU to lose their CFS member status.

Snobar says the CFS is not a bad way to advance student initiatives, in theory.

“If they took their constitution and their bylaws and they followed [them] strictly, then it would be a good organization.”

But, in Snobar’s opinion, their aptitude in organizing is most often used to exclude dissenting voices and not to further student campaigns.

Still, supporters of the CFS and CFS- Ontario maintain that the organization stands for important initiatives like the Drop Fees Campaign and the Poverty-Free Ontar-io campaign, which would not be effective if they were spearheaded by local, individual students’ unions.

To Jabbar, affiliation with the CFS is the only way to make your voice heard.

“You know that, when you’re together, your issues are heard better and more effec-tively. You have a stronger voice.”

2008-2009

Muhammad Ali Jabbar

NO

2009-2010

Jermaine Bagnall

NO

2010-2011

Toby Whitfield

YES

2011-2012

Caitlin Smith

YES

Cutting ties with the CFS

To defederate, students’ unions must go through a lenghty process that is riddled with obstacles and techni-calities. Here is a guide to how the defederation process works.

1. To be able to introduce a motion to hold a defederation referendum, CFS bylaws require a petition signed by 10 per cent of the student popula-tion requesting the referendum at least six months in advance. For Ryerson, approximately 2,800 signatures have to be collected before a motion is put forward.

2. Once enough signatures are collected, the motion is put forward and the students’ union votes on it. A majority vote means that the union must now hold a referendum and ask all students to vote on whether they agree to cease ties and monetary contributions to the CFS.

3. For defederation to move forward, more than half of the votes must be in favour of separating from the CFS. The CFS chairperson has the right to refute the results if they were obtained by means that breach CFS bylaws or constitution.

— Mariana Ionova

Students rally to support the CFS campaign for lower tuition fees on Nov. 5, 2010. PHOTO: ANTOINE TREPANIER (CUP)

The Eyeopener10 Wednesday, February, 16, 2011SPORTS

It was just another night in Ridge-way, a Mississauga governmental housing complex. As nearby police sirens went off and mothers yelled at their sons to come home for dinner, a vicious fight broke out across the street.

Amidst all of the noise, all Cowathamen Mohan could hear was the swoosh of a basketball going through his beaten-up hoop. He had just scored the game’s winning basket.

“We had this little Fisher Price net that we would play on every day,” he said.

“We would stay there for hours until our parents called us in for dinner. We had to keep fixing and re-setting the net up every time too, because the guys were so good, they would always be dunking,” Mohan said.

“We played on that same net for years.”

Most university students spend Thursday nights out drinking at a bar with friends or recreating a scene out of Jersey Shore at one of Toronto’s nightclubs.

But not Mohan. Instead of indulg-

ing in the city’s vibrant nightlife, Mohan and 30 other basketball diehards are usually begging the supervisors at the RAC to keep the lights on for just five more min-utes so that they could finish up their game.

“This is our home away from home,” he said. “People deal with

yelling, screaming and violence that you don’t want to go home to after school. In the gym, you don’t face that.”

Mohan knows how important it is to have a productive pass- time. The a first-year international economics and finance student has seen some of his best friends get involved with the wrong kinds people.

One of Mohan’s friends was recently released from jail after he was charged with possession of a weapon in school and is now on probation for a year.

Mohan initially came to Ryerson wanting to try out for the men’s varsity basketball team. But he found that playing intramural sports has helped him keep focused on his school work as well as his physical fitness.

“Every kid’s dream is to become a pro athlete, but when life hits and peer pressure comes into play, they give up on those dreams and try easier options,” he said.

“They turn their heads toward drugs and violence.”

The RAC serves as a safe haven for Mohan.

He is just one of the many dedicated players who commute over an hour and a half each day to play intramurals at the RAC — even on the days he doesn’t have class.

First-year graphic communications management student Ben Bonsu also commutes to Ryerson from the Jane and Sheppard area every day in order to play intramurals.

“Nowhere at home compares to this,” he said.

“I’ll devote my days to coming to the gym. It gives me something to look forward to.”

Not only do intramurals give students a chance to compete in a tame, yet vigorous environment, it also serves as an escape from the peer pressure that goes along with living in one of Canada’s largest cities.

Going to play competitive sports late at night with friends has become a popular alternative from the nightlife that so many students become addicted to.

“Downtown here, you feel con-stant pressure to go out, drink, and get involved in drugs,” Mo-han said. “I personally would rather

come here, sweat and feel good about what I did the next day. It’s an outlet for us to get away from the real lives we face.”

While intramurals have always been a part Ryerson athletics, this year has seen a the number of students that participate in intramu-ral sports skyrocket.

To accommodate the demand, Randy Pipher, the intramural and day camp coordinator, said gym times are being expanded and teams are being added to intramural leagues.

“This year our numbers have gone way up,” Pipher said.

“More and more commuter students are starting to show up on a regular basis. For some sports our team numbers have doubled.”

Even though the gym space is limited and waiting for a court has turned into a long process, students are flocking to the RAC in an attempt to escape their real world difficulties.

“It’s like an escape for your body and your mind,” said Mohan.

“You feel like a weight is lifted off your shoulders.”

It’s like an escape for your body and your mind.

— Cowathamen Mohan, first-year student

Downtown here you feel constant pressure to go out, drink, and get involved in drugs.

— Cowathamen Mohan,first-year student

A home away from homeTo some the gym is a place where you go to run around and break a sweat. But as Shannon Cuciz and Sports Editor Sean Tepper report, others use it to escape their everyday lives

PHOTOS: TIM ALAMENCIAKCowathamen Mohan spends a lot of his free time at the gym playing basketball and working out, but more importantly it helps him to escape reality.

The Eyeopener 11SPORTS

Maple Leaf Gardens is one of Cana-da’s most cherished landmarks.

Over its 60-year legacy it has housed such legends as Dave Keon, Darryl Sittler, Wendel Clark and Tim Horton.

But MLG is not going to revive Ry-erson athletics and it certainly won’t miraculously transform the student body from careless commuters into a tight knit Rams-loving community.

Why?Because of you, the apathetic com-

muters that, Ryerson’s student body comprises.

Senior admin at Ryerson see MLG as instantly fixing the school’s iden-tity crisis. In reality, MLG will just be a stepping stone.

The fact of the matter is that you cannot buy a school community with a building, not even a $60 million one.

Let’s face it. Unless you are a stu-dent athlete or an avid gym rat, you don’t really care about Ryerson’s $60 million acquisition.

You think you do, but all you care about is going to school, handing in your assignments, writing your midterms and heading the hell back home to your real life.

Now don’t get me wrong; upon its grand opening, MLG will be jam-packed with Ryerson students want-ing to walk its historic halls and you will probably be very excited to take part in the whole Maple Leaf — I mean Ryerson experience.

But the novelty will eventually wear off, and when it does, it will wear off fast.

It won’t fade because it’s 12 min-utes away from campus, and it cer-tainly won’t wear off because stu-dents don’t have enough time on their hands.

BY SEAN TEPPERSPORTS EDITOR

MLG won’t live up to the hype

No, it will wear off because Ryer-son lacks school spirit and students couldn’t care less about Ryerson ath-letics no matter how well or poorly the Rams are playing.

I think that MLG is an important acquisition for Ryerson athletics be-cause it will give the Rams a place that they can call home and it will help establish an identity in the heart of Canada’s most vibrant city. MLG will marginally increase the number of fans that attend games and maybe get students more excited about var-sity sports.

But what MLG won’t do is make students care about the Ryerson ath-letics.

That can only be achieved by somehow turning Ryerson into a campus oriented university.

Even Ryerson’s president Sheldon Levy, who believes that MLG is one of the “best athletics centres in Canada and maybe the world,” admits that the school’s greatest challenge will be keeping MLG relevant after all of the hype wears down.

Ryerson has even hired a company named Global Spectrum to essential-ly manage MLG, which shows that the school is very much aware of the tall task that lies ahead.

But offering free t-shirts and chick-en wings won’t attract the student population, at least not in the long run.

Unless it is managed properly and is handled with care, MLG will have the shelf life of Kris Versteeg’s stay in Toronto. It will look good at the start, but eventually fail to live up to the hype.

MLG’s success will be dependent on the student body and their will-ingness to embrace Ryerson’s culture and actively take part in their com-munity — not how much money was spent on it.

MLG is a significant step in the right direction but only time will tell if it can remain relevant in the long term.

See how Tessa Dimitrakopoulos and the Stingers fared this weekend and catch up on Rams’ games at theeyeopener.com. PHOTO: CHELSEA POTTAGE

Maple Leaf Gardens is set to open this fall. PHOTO: MARTA IWANEK

Wednesday, February 16, 2011

postgrad.sheridaninstitute.ca

One Year to a Great Career

FEB. 24, 2011

OPEN HOUSE!

Post-grad

Register online today!

6–7:30 P.M.

Your degree or diploma is a great foundation — now get the job-specifi c skills employers are looking for in as little as eight months.

Sheridan offers 22 post-graduate programs that will prepare you for a career in business, management, communications, or digital media.

A variety of other diploma and degree progams are also available.

Get the rewarding job you want & shine brighter.

The Eyeopener12 Wednesday, February 16 , 2011ARTS & LIFE

Inspired to push boundariesArts & Life editor Gianluca Inglesi and Colton Eddy look at the big ideas behind Ryerson’s shows

MASS EXODUS: ZENITH + NADIRFourth-year fashion design and third-year fashion communication

This year Mass Exodus will be using lights, darks, and projec-tions to bring the show to a whole new level. When producer Emma Truswell and head of set design Robyn Woytiuk sat down with their team to establish a theme for this year’s fourth-year fashion show they knew they needed something that would tie together all 57 graduating collections but also wanted something beyond. The final decision was Zenith + Nadir. They thought the attractive title would lure people in out of sheer curiosity.

Zenith refers to the highest or lightest and Nadir refers to the lowest or darkest. The show will take our minds on a journey from Nadir to Zenith said Woytiuk and Truswell.

“We are turning a generic theatre into a different world. By playing to the senses we are striving to make the audience feel like they’ve gone somewhere else,” Truswell said.

All the collections fit somewhere on the spectrum between Zenith and Nadir whether it be based on colour, composition, or the look of the pieces.

To illustrate this abstract theme, they will be incorporating projection-based technology into the show. Working along-side a company called Media Co. and the Ryerson Theatre School, they will be bringing Mass Exodus to a level it’s never been before.

The projections will provide a very dynamic setting with greater possibilities than a physical set. An exhibit of fourth-year fashion communication pieces will complement the show. The goal is to make sure all the communities of Mass Exodus are cohesive, from the posters to the runway.

“There are so many layers to the show. The set, the projections, the lights, the collections, the models, they are all layers that will create one incredible image,” Woytiuk said.

MAXIMUM EXPOSUREFourth-year image arts show

Trading in her paint brush for a camera lens, Alice Zilber-berg is constantly striving to translate the limitless nature of painting to her photography. For her current collection titled, “Dreaming Awake” she created abstract pieces that are images within images that play between fantasy and real life.

“The mind is so complicated and not totally explainable and I think that idea comes through in my work,” Zilberberg said.

Joshua Macdonald has always been an avid movie fan and hopes that after graduation he will break into film because he enjoys telling stories through his work. When searching for models for his latest project, instead he found a whole collec-tion of aspiring actors on Kijiji.com. Most of the actors had completely separate lives to support themselves before their big break — such as a real estate agent — and their stories are what stood out to Macdonald. His goal is to create portraits that work with the themes of their personal lives.

“You have to believe in your work. It helps when other people do too, like the actors I’m using for this piece. I can do so much more with the idea knowing that they’re willing,” Macdonald said.

Attempting to create contemporary work using analog ma-terials and historical processes is not always easy for Deanna Pizzitelli. Her current collection is a mix of all canons of pho-tography — from portraits to landscapes. A regular reader of graphic novels she does get inspired by the high contrast, ani-mated images of those pages even though it doesn’t directly translate into her work. She uses parts of that style when focusing on frames and aspects of her own photography to give the old methods that contemporary feel. When she feels challenged she just keeps going.

“I’ve learned to just keep shooting and you eventually get out of any rut you might be in. Just keep shooting.”

METAFourth-year new media show

Kristen Bunting’s pieces always revolve around the idea of mixing earth and technology. This year, her piece is a small eco-system that Kristen intends to “represent the life and death of our planet.” She hopes that her showcase will leave an impression on the students who come out, and understand the importance and value in learning the “need to do some-thing to make a difference.” She hopes they find inspiration to “strive to have their work showcased, whether they have a story published, make a scientific discovery or, like us, have their works showcased in a public art show.”

For Ajayen Paramalingam, META is more than the end result of a four year Image Arts Media program, it is “what we as students together have gone through, and what we learned from each other”. Her theme was inspired by the children she worked with at a special needs camp in Toronto this past summer. “The main aspect of the piece is to create an environ-ment that can be used to help kids with special needs in order to stimulate and develop senses affected by their particular disorder,” she said. “My hope is that a child will begin to notice patterns in my piece, which will prompt exploration of the environment and the formation of new associations.”

Follow the Eyeopener’s coverage of the Ryerson show season all the way until April

when students’ best work takes the spotlight.

A variation of the Mass Exodus: Zenith+Nadir poster that will be revealed this week. PHOTO: GALEN MILNE-HINES, ALEX FOX AND ISABELLE CHO

Come in or call today. Ryerson Student Campus Centre, Rm B04

travelcuts.com 416.977.0441

Save $75 off round trip flights to Europe through Transat Holidays, applicable new bookings only Feb 1 – Mar 31, 2011. Travel period Apr 1 – Oct 31, 2011. Promotion applicable to ISIC card holders and youth under 26 with the IYTC card, cannot be combined with any other promotion. Not applicable on child rates, last minute bookings (bookings must be made a min 21 days prior to departure). See www.travelcuts.com for full details and gateways ON–4499356/4499372 | BC–33127/34799/34798 | QC–7002238 | Canadian owned.

SAVE $75 on any flight to Europe with Transat Holidays.

Exclusive to students with the

• Complete 30-Hour Seminars

• Convenient Weekend Schedule

• Proven Test-Taking Strategies

• Experienced Course Instructors

• Comprehensive Study Materials

• Simulated Practice Exams

• Limited Class Size

• Free Repeat Policy

• Personal Tutoring Available

• Thousands of Satisfied Students

LSAT MCATGMAT GREPreparation Seminars

OXFORD SEMINARS416-924-3240

1-800-269-6719www.oxfordseminars.ca

The Eyeopener 13Wednesday, February 16, 2011 COMMUNITY

For fashion fanatics:The Fashion Design Council of Canada is currently looking for helping hands for the upcoming Fashion Week, from Mar. 28 to Apr. 2. Positions up for grabs include décor and event set-up assistants. This is perfect for anyone who is enthusi-astic about fashion show production and works well under pressure.

For animal lovers:Volunteers at the Toronto Humane Society play an active role in animal residents’ lives, from grooing and feeding to assisting with adotions. Administrative and customer service jobs are also available.

For country folk:Tucked away in Toronto’s east end, River-dale Farm boasts a sizable collection of animals, from rabbits to goats and cows. The farm is looking for volunteers to help with various events happening through-out the year, including harvest festivals and Halloween parties.

For LGBT activists: Consider giving your time to the Lesbian Gay Bi Trans Youthline. Volunteers have the chance to either provide peer sup-port to callers, or help with fundraising and event coordination. Volunteers must finish 40 hours of training in anti-oppres-sion, self-care, safer sex and other topics in order to prepare for the job.

For gym buffs: Why not turn your GTL lifestyle into a job? The YMCA of Greater Toronto accepts applications for volunteers year-round to run individual conditioning, group fitness and instructional programs. If customer service is a better fit for you, the YMCA also has positions in member-ship services and front desk operations.

For future teachers: The Toronto Public Library’s Homework Help for Teens program caters to high school students in need of assistance with their assignments. The library is looking for tutors who can relate well to teens, and science and math whizzes are in particular demand. If you don’t have the makings of a great teacher when you start, the program offers training to help volunteers brush up on their teaching methods. Among the pros of working at the library: all overdue fees are written off after 6 months of service.

For foodies: For some people, finding the next big poutine place isn’t as important as just finding a warm meal. The Daily Bread food bank, which has locations across the GTA, is always looking for volunteers, whether they’re looking to give their time occasionally or give a long-term commitment. Volunteers do everything from sorting and repackaging food to administrative work. If you’re too shy to go on your own, Daily Bread also allows people to volunteer in groups of up to 30, as long as they arrange their volunteer times in advance.

Study. Party. Save the world. Cold, damp February nights got you down? Try banishing the mid-winter blues by donating your time to a good cause. Grace Benac reports on opportunities for every interest

The YMCA is one of many places where Rye students can make the world a better place in their downtime. PHOTO: PAGE SABOURIN

JOB NAME: TS ‘11 YOUNG ADULT NEWSPAPER - ENGLISH

ART DIRECTOR COPY WRITER CREATIVE DIR. PRINT PROD. STUDIO MGR. ACCT. MGMT.

DOCKET/AD#: 10-HRB-047-BW-SB-E-4

DATE STARTED: Jan 18

ARTIST: CS

REV#: 3

LASER %:

DISKED:

LIVE AREA: –

TYPE SAFETY: –

TRIM: 8" X 10"

BLEED: –

BW

NEWSPAPERS:

EXCALIBURBROCK PRESS

hrblock.ca

For just $29.95, walk in with your taxes, walk out with your refund. Instantly. You’ll also get a free SPC Card to save big at your favourite retailers.*

Follow us on Twitter and Facebook

$2995

$ave big

© 2011 H&R Block Canada, Inc. *$29.95 valid for regular student tax preparation only. Cash back service included. To qualify for student pricing, student must present either (i) a T2202a documenting 4 or more months of full-time attendance at a college or university during 2010 or (ii) a valid high school identification card. Expires December 31, 2011. Valid only at participating H&R Block locations in Canada. SPC Card offers valid from 08/01/10 to 07/31/11 at participating locations in Canada only. For Cardholder only. Offers may vary, restrictions may apply. Usage may be restricted when used in conjunction with any other offer or retailer loyalty card discounts. Cannot be used towards the purchase of gift cards or certificates.

we make taxes easy student pricingfree SPC Card

Tyndale’s Bachelor of Education Program

Tyndale University Collegetyndale.ca/education | 416.218.6757

Reasons why:

○ 100 days of classroom experience throughout the school year, 3 different settings ○ Taught by educational leaders: teachers, principals, textbook authors and mentors ○ Cross-curricular emphasis in a supportive learning environment

Over 80% of the first graduating class has a teaching-related position.

Experience, Mentors, Community. Apply today!

Application Deadline: February 22, 2011

The Eyeopener14 Wednesday, February 16, 2011 BIZ & TECH

See something strange on campus? Administration got you down? If you’re on Twitter, use the #eyeforatweet hashtag to share your frustration, or just make us laugh. If we like what we see, we may just print it! And be sure to follow @theeyeopener for all your Ryerson news.

@VeeDeLuWay to go Ryerson for having two escalators on the same floor both going the same way. I’d call that brilliance. #eyeforatweet

@TheNessmiester#Ryerson, you are looking extra slut-tastic today. People are in desperate need of getting laid.

@nerdforeternityRyerson politics are like the cool kids vs. the misfits. You’d think at a school like ours, the misfits would stand a chance? #eyeforatweet

@SadafAbbasi”For the rest of your course the french are le scared”- A. Kislenko #ryerson

Ryerson’s entrepreneur-ship and strategy program is being stretched to the limits as students vie for an edge in workplace skills.

The program, the largest of its kind in Canada with more than 500 students, has proved popular, as many have flocked to the program. “We are absolutely maxed out on our ability to give quality teach-ing to all these interested students,” said David Valliere, chair of the Entrepreneurship and Strategy program.

“More and more students realize the importance of entrepreneurial thinking for taking charge of their future careers,” said Valliere.

There is such high demand for these courses by non-

business students that the department is planning to offer inter-disciplinary pro-grams — combining other majors with entrepreneurship courses.

In the meantime, students wishing to jumpstart their own careers have resources such as Students in Free Enter-prise Ryerson (SIFE), and Start-MeUp to get help ranging from developing a business plan to getting funding.

Tracy Leparulo, president of SIFE Ryerson said she’s seen more non-business students in the programs.

“We have way more engineering students, tons of students from the faculty of community service, as well as students from the arts

coming to our events. The interest from the other facul-ties is kind of overwhelming,” she said.

This demand comes on the heels of the federal govern-ment declaring 2011 the “Year of the Entrepreneur”.

But Ryerson president Sheldon Levy sees this as an opportunity for Ryerson to improve its reputation as a top-flight institution.

Levy claims Ryerson is becoming known as the one of the most entrepreneurial universities in Canada. “We are becoming a model on how to do this.”

Ryerson is set to unveil two new entrepreneurial projects, the Centre of Urban Energy and a new addition to the

Digital Media Zone, tentatively named the “Design Zone”.

“The Design Zone will be for students who have a par-ticular strength in architec-ture, engineering or FCAD” Levy said.

The Centre of Urban En-ergy will give students a place to pursue opportunities in researching green energy and technology.

Students have taken advan-tage of the Entrepreneurship and Strategy program. Yanina Chevtchouk, a fifth-year mar-keting and entrepreneurship double major and CEO of Paria Lambina, a women’s fash-ion line, was named a 2011 Ontario Entrepreneur Student Champion on Feb. 9.

Chevtchouk will now go on

to represent Ontario at the 2011 Advancing Student En-trepreneurs ( Regional Exposi-tion next month.

“It presents a good oppor-tunity to see what other entre-preneurs are doing and to see what I can learn from them,” Chevtchouk said

She will compete with the other regional champions to earn the right to compete nationally, at the ACE National Exhibition in May.

Chevtchouk said she will continue to develop her line by expanding into Quebec and British Columbia this year.

“Hopefully this will mean more funding opportunities for student entrepreneurs,” Chevtchouk said.

“It’s hard to get a hold of it.”

Chair: Entrepreneurship program ‘maxed out’BY MICHAEL CHU

PHOTO: LINDSAY BOECKL

The EyeopenerWednesday, February 16, 2011 FUN(ZO) 15

If you look, you can’t see me.If you see me, you cannot see anything else.

I can make you walk if you can’t.Sometimes I speak the truth.

And sometimes I lie.

Name: ___________________________

Email: ___________________________

Answer: __________________________

LAST WEEK’S “THE SHADY SAFE” ANSWER: IF NO ONE WAS IN THE ROOM, THE LEAVES WOULD HAVE BEEN FACING THE WINDOW.

WINNER: WENDY WONG!!!

ALLYSSIA THE PUN EDITOR

WANT TO WIN $50?SEND IN YOUR ANSWER TO THE LATERAL LOGIC PUZZLE

TO THE EYEOPENER OFFICE, SCC 207 (FIND THE COLOURFUL DROP BOX!)

EYEOPENER WORDFIND

WHAT AM I?

Never rip people off when dealing with the occult. If you don’t pay your exorcist,

you’ll get repossessed! Ha ha!

WTF IS IT?

a. dinosaurb. armadilloc. chicken

POEMS FROM MY BLEEDING <3 by L. Richardson

Sophie was wishing deathUpon the people with heavy-looking bagsStanding on the left side of the escalators

(Not walking)Fucking tourists

She was screamingAs she kept up her commuting facial expression

Of blankOn the outside

Little did she realizeThat if karma existed

She would be in trouble when sheWould end up in Delhi later that summer

For reasons of business

The Eyeopener16 Wednesday, February 16, 2011

ATTEND YOUR LECTURE ONMETABOLIC PROCESSESINVOLVED IN BIODEGRADATIONAND BIODETERIORATION ORGRAB A BURGER

& BREW

25 DINING ELECT IVESWITHIN A HOP, SKIP AND A SKATEBOARD!

NE CORNER OF YONGE & DUNDAS

Ok students, turn to 10 Dundas EastBagel Stop • Baskin Robbins • Bubble Tease • California Thai • Caribbean Queen • ChipotleHarvey’s • Jack Astor’s • Johnny Rockets • Jugo Juice • Juice Rush • Kitchen Food Fair Koryo Korean BBQ • Made in Japan • Milestones • Milo’s Pita • Mrs. Field’s • Opa! SouvlakiPumpernickel • Sauté Rose • Starbucks • Subway • Tim Hortons • Timothy’s • Woo’s Restaurant

10DUNDAS EAST

FREE AUTOGRAPH SESSIONMEET TORONTO MAPLE LEAF GREATS

COLTON ORR February 20 from 2 to 4 pm

WENDEL CLARKFebruary 27 from 2 to 4 pm

Located on Level 3

10Dundas Nov24 BC Ad_10Dundas Nov24 BC Ad 11-02-14 10:23 AM Page 2