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VOL. CXXVII, nO. 

Big ideas and small devices the future of nanotech

// SCIENCE, page 14

Womens Hockey snares bronze, Grinnell named MVP PLUS: U of T athletic year-in-review
// SPORTS, page 17

UTSC split by election tumult

Karen Ho
VarSITy STaFF

// THree TIMeS THe rOCK

Student leaders at SCSU are crying foul over perceived meddling from SAC staffers after the results of the recent election were scrapped at a board meeting last Friday. At print time, the Scarborough Campus Students Union will have no elected executives for the 20072008 year. No President, VP academics, VP external, or VP students and equity. The organization got to this point after the board decided not to ratify a report by the Election Committee containing, among other things, the recommendation that candidate Alexandru Rascanu be disqualified. Rascanu is one of U of Ts newly-elected Governing Council Student representatives and is currently SCSU VP operations. One of four candidates running for SCSU president, Rascanu won the most votes in the recent student election, with a 31-vote lead against opponent and current VP academics Rob Wulkan. In the process, though, he incurred nine strikes for offences such as negative campaigning, illegal club endorsement, and oversized campaign materials. Despite having successfully appealed four of them, the remaining five strikes were more than enough for a disqualification, which under SCSU policy only requires three. Upon the board of directors meeting whereby the Elections Committees recommendations would be ratified, Rascanu showed up to the meeting with Vlad Glebov, SAC VP UTM and Shaila Kibria, former SAC VP students and equity both students who would prove vocal in their support of Rascanu and of voting against ratifying the EC reccomendations. Many other students and candidates were also present. With the subject of the EC report the first topic of discussion regarding new business, it was soon apparent that the room was sharply divided between supporters of Wulkan, who favoured ratifying the EC report, and Rascanu backers who were opposed . The vote that took place at the meeting, would have, in effect, had the board choose whether to elect Wulkan president, current ViceChair Jemy Joseph as VP academics, current social sciences director Chris Smith as VP external, and Ahmad Jaballah as VP students and equity. Many in Rascanus camp argued over various points in the report concerning both the validity of the election and the strikes issued against Rascanu, claiming that they showed unfairness overall. Several attempts were made by

Indie-rock fests CMW, pitter patter and nexT battle for their bands, and fans win
// A&e, page 10

ITS WAr!

SEE SCSU ROW PG 6

Sailboats are White (above) played at The Boat on Saturday, as part of the pitter patter Festival. See page 10 for full March indie madness coverage.

JACQueLIne urBAnO

Monday, March 12, 2007

VarSITy nEWS

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Armborst slate sweeps SAC

The unofficial results of this years elections are in for SAC (soon to be known as UTSU), and on top of sweeping the left-leaning Your Team ticket into power in 20072008, students also voted in favour of the two referenda attached to the ballot. Each referendum will add a levy to the student union fees paid by all students. Thirty cents from each student will go to funding the Student Refugee Program, which supports displaced students from abroad continuing their university education in Canada. A 25-cent levy will fund Bike Chain, U of Ts student-run free bike repair service, which opened last year. Your Team candidate Andrea Armborst, last years VP internal, nabbed the chairperson slot, with fellow Your Team members Dave Scrivener (external), Sandy Hudson (equity), Faraz Siddiqui (internal and services), Michael Hay (university affairs), and Ahmad Khan (UTM) filling out the rest of the executive. The New Deal ticket, whose campaign was run by controversial 2004-05 SAC VP Sam Rahimi, failed to win a single position. Rahimi has stated he intends to appeal the results. The Your Team campaign was aided by another former SAC VP external and political provocateur, Alex Artful-Dodger. A large percentage of the ballotsaround 11 per cent for each VP positionwere spoiled, leading chief returning officer Eric Newstad to speculate that many students were more interested in the referenda than in the SAC elections. Students who only wanted to vote on the

Ben Spurr

referenda were also given ballots for the VP elections, perhaps prompting voters to spoil them. About 3,300 students voted for the VP positions and the referenda during the March 7-9 voting period, putting voter turnout at under ten per cent.

For full election results, see www.uoftsac.ca

// SAC CHAIrperSOn reSuLTS

Film fights for Filipino womens rights

Amy Smithers
aSSocIaTE nEWS EdITor

In nature there is no such thing as a purple rose. They are cultivated for the enjoyment of the elite few, said Joy Sioson, the chair of the Philippine Women Centre of Ontario. For a new campaign, the purple rose represents the use of Filipino women as commodities to be bought and sold in the brutal underworld of sex trafficking. Like the designer rose, women from the Philippines are reguarly mouldedphysically and mentallyto fit the desires of their buyers. For example, the Phillipines are the only predominantly Christian Asian country, and many men troll websites trafficking Filipino girls they feel are likely to honour traditional Christian family values.

On Thursday evening, a concerned group gathered to view Say I Do, a documentary chronicling the experiences of Filipino mail-order brides. The event was one of many put on by the Philippine Women Centre of Ontario, in conjunction with Concerned Students of POL 108 and SAC, as part of the Purple Rose Campaign, an international movement against the sex trafficking of Filipino women and children. A lot of [the men] have been divorced and dont want to go through that again, and they know divorce is not acceptable [in the Filipino culture], said SAC VP student life Camille Cendana. Its this perception of the Philippine women that drives the industry. The websites in North America are

privately run, and connected with recruitment centres in the Philippines. They arrange tours to the Phillipines and also operate a group of women you can meet while youre there, said Sioson. Some men will write letters to ten or more girls a year. They then book a tour to meet each of them and decide which potential wife they would like to sponsor. The immediate problem with Canadian law is that there is no limit to the number of women one man can sponsor. Theres no way for the women to screen the men, to find out that the man has already sponsored three wives, Sioson adds. Roughly one in nine Filipinos currently live abroad, sending home a total of US$12 billion in remittances each year. The increasing influence of globalization has made the Phillipine people themselves some of the most valuable exports that the country has to offer. Ultimately the problem is so much bigger than mail-order brides, said Francis Kiromera, a member of the Concerned Students of POL 108, a class that took it upon themselves to expose this issue to the campus community. It seems overwhelming, but one must try to support the little groups and NGOs to make a difference one step at a time.

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VarSITy nEWS

Monday, March 12, 2007

Left to right, noora Salim, a Masters student at the university of reading, england, Kathryn Gandolfo and Taso Giannopoulos, two undergrads from MIT, signal their offers to other traders during the open outcry competition at the rotman International Trading Competition last Friday.

Mike Ghenu
nEWS EdITor

After a weak morning session, the Rotman School of Business stock market was exceeding all expectations last Friday afternoon. And though the action was simulated, the traders were playing for real money

$20,000 in cash prizes, spread out over several competitions. I just went long the whole time. I made a killing, said Reagan Richards, from the Villanova School of Business, outside Philadelphia. He and 67 other traders had just finished jostling elbows inside a simulated trading

pit at the fourth annual Rotman International Trading Competition. The tournament brought 34 schools from Canada, the U.S. and as far afield as China and Australia. The torrid traders were bidding on a futures contractessentially guessing the future value of a fluctuating stock benchmark, which simulated a real stock mar-

Scarborough cop talk

community group talks about dealing with the cops
Gus Constantinou
SaTELLITE caMPUS BUrEaU chIEF

Do you have a legitimate reason to be here? Its a question that can often lead to misunderstanding or confrontation, especially in the context of power relations between police and youth. It prompted the Black Community Police Consultative Committee roundtable discussion on UTSC campus last Wednesday. The discussions aim was to get feedback from students and the community about the major issues in the city through BCPCCa volunteer organization that works as a community liaison with the Toronto Police. John ODell, one of the committees cochairs, has experienced such touchy situations himself. I get pulled over, too, but its important to never get angry, so that an innocent situation gets worse, he said. ODell said that Toronto Police in fact, receive diversity training to defuse such situations. Both ODell and Staff Superintendent Peter Sloly, the second co-chair, were quite explicit on the need for all citizens to educate themselves on their rights and to know how to properly file a complaint should police officers overstep their bounds. You should be able to get their name and badge number. That is mandatory. If you can, get a police number date, time, and location of the incident. Police officers even have visible name badges for such incidents, explained ODell. Sloly added that he encourages usage of the complaint system. But, like all things, he added, use it, dont abuse it. Sloly was the first to admit that power dy-

The Black Community police Consultative Committee visited uTSC last week.
namics between Toronto Police and young people, particularly those of colour, have indeed been difficult. He assured the audience that he was working to reduce the number of negative incidents regarding the police. They do happen. But if we reduce the negative instances, it will hopefully take the urban legend [aspect] out of police violence and ease the confrontation problem. He also took pains to say that negative confrontations also work both ways. The discussion turned to gun violence. The suburb of Scarborough has received increased media attention, including proclamations by CityTV and the Toronto Sun that 2006 was the summer of the gun. Lekan Thomas, a member of the anti-violence campaign I Will Not Be A Target, remarked that, while the record on police violence is not perfect, there is a greater threat amongst those from within the community, with no gun training, than risk from police. The police wont have fun with guns.

GuS COnSTAnTInOu

MIKe GHenu

Pushed by an invisible hand

ket. Seeing the fear and emotion on the face of the traders helps them understand what drives prices, explained James Jablonski, a seasoned ex-trader and the academic mentor of the Villanova team. Its a zero-sum game, he cautionedor taunted. For every dollar lost theres a dollar gained. In one room, two members of each team scanned a simulated news wire for tips that might spook or cheer investors. They then relayed this information to their partners on the floor, through an elaborate system of waves and hand signals. During bull runs, when the index climbed, the traders intensity would reach a deafening roar; during bear runs, the pit would go quiet as troubled traders pondered their next move. But the pit is not likely to play a role in their future money-making endeavours. Outcry pits are being phased out, explained Kevin Mak, who manages Rotmans financial research and trading lab, and who served as one of the referees on the hectic trading floor. Nowadays everyone just trades on computers. Another change: this year, far more of the traders were women, Mak remarked. According to Cari Lynn, author of 2004s Leg the Spread, a cheeky take on the trading pits, three kinds of women go into pit trading. Theres the women who are out to land a rich husband, the so-called tough women who Lynn calls as profane as truckers, and the genuinely successful ones, who earn their stripes through wit, sweat, and by steadfastly standing their ground against the chauvinists. Women are said to be more risk-averse, said Maureen Farley, a third-year from Villanova, whose team was half female. But there are some women who are every bit as aggressive as men. Im used to it. All of my friends are guys, said Kathryn Gandolfo, a third-year on MITs team, and one of the loudest voices in the pit.

Monday, March 12, 2007

VarSITy nEWS
// STuDenTS SInG FAITH CenTreS prAISeS

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ASTHMA RESEARCH STUDY

Primary Care Lung Clinic is currently seeking asthma patients, age 12 and older, to take part in a clinical trial. Qualified participants will receive study-related investigational medication and exams at no cost and compensation for time and travel. If you are interested in learning more about asthma research, please call Primary Care Lung Clinic Phone Number (416) 652-9336

The 35-strong U of T Gospel Choir practices in the newly opened Multi-Faith Centre on Friday. Located on the second floor of the Koffler Institute off Spadina Crescent, the series of bookable spaceswhich include an ablution room for cleansing before prayer, a meditation room featuring a green wall, and a kitchen with an adjacent sitting space

was renovated over the past year, at a cost of $2.2 million. Each of the rooms is soundproofed and features large movable doors, creating a safe selfcontained space for the groups of students inside, explained Dawn Britten, of the Centre for Community Partnerships, which oversees the space. She said that over the last few weeks since the cen-

MIKe GHenu

tre opened, students have been slowly discovering the place, and bookings are on the rise. We just moved over here. It just beautiful, remarked Rhonda Toussaint, the U of T Gospel Choirs treasurer, drawing a stark comparison with the groups previous haunts in the Koffler building above the U of T Bookstore.

Mob gives minister Bentley the slip

Megan Hall
Around 200 students gathered outside the offices of the Ministry of Training, Colleges, and Universities last Thursday to fire minister Chris Bentley. At 12:30 p.m., the crowd marked the one-year anniversary of the McGuinty governments lifting of the tuition freeze with a two-minute noise frenzy using horns, pots, and drums. Hey Bentley, youre fired! You said fees would go no higher! one of their chants went. Bentley has failed our students, said part-time student Shane Milne. Hes supposed to be a public servant. We want the fees reduced and frozen. Milne and other students from U of T, Ryerson, York University, and George Brown College proceeded to deliver boxes stuffed with more than 5,000 pink slips booting Bentley. Each slip contained a signed pledge from a student vowing to vote for a candidate who promises to reduce tuition fees and student debt, and increase government funding for colleges and universities in the next provincial election. The Day of Anger grew out of the CFSs national Day of Action last month. Student leaders have been canvassing students and amassing these signed slips ever since then. Ontario Chairperson of the Canadian Federation of Students Jesse Greener rallied the crowd. We want a minister who reflects the desires of the students, he shouted. In a press release, Bentley touted the 60,000 tuition grants for low- and middle-income students created last year. He also noted that enrollment at Ontario colleges and universities has risen 22 per cent on his watch. The CFS has retorted that for every dollar the provincial government invests in financial aid for students, it will claw back $1.30 through higher tuition fees.

Shaila Kibria, a former Vp at SAC, unloads a box of pink slips outside minister Chris Bentley on Bay Street last Thursday, at the CFSs student Day of Anger.

Money burning a hole in u of M engineers pockets

Engineering students at the University of Manitoba have spoken: their tuition fees are too low! In a landslide 430-239 referendum vote, the engineers at the university voted to ask the university to raise their tuition fees by up to 40 per cent, in order to rescue their bankrupt department. The results of the referendum are non-binding, but dean of Engineering dr. douglas ruth, along with 64 per cent of U of Ms roughly 1,200 engineering undergrads want the schools Board of Governors and Manitobas Minister of advanced Education and Training to approve the hike, which would break the provinces seven-year-old tuition freeze. Were about a million and a half dollars in the hole, said ruth in a presentation to students earlier this month. he warned undergrads and alumni that if the Faculty of Engineering loses its accreditation due to shrinking budgets and declining quality, the value of all their degrees would drop sharply. If things do not improve, were probably looking at a time frame of four to five years before we have serious repercussions, he said.

MIKe GHenu

AnDr BOVee-BeGun

MIKe GHenu

The Varsity

Monday, March 12, 2007

THATS ALL THE VARSITY IS ASKING FROM FULL-TIME STUDENTS.

VOTE YES TO GIVING YOUR STUDENT NEWSPAPER SOME BADLY-NEEDED FUNDING!
THE VARSITY currently has one of the lowest student levies of any campus publication in Canada, although we have the highest circulation. Founded in 1880, were this countrys oldest student newspaper With a levy of $1.25 per full-time student, we receive one-tenth as much money from students as other student-run publications in the country that have only half as many readers as we do, but that get $4 $10 per student The amount we receive has not changed in over 25 years, nor has it increased to reect the rate of ination Because this levy is our only dependable source of revenue, THE VARSITY has shrunk to half the size it was only a decade ago Weve had to cut some of our services to the university community, such as our free events listings for campus groups This year, we cut our budget by $17,000but were still short on funds Without a higher student levy, THE VARSITY will face a serious funding shortage

$ 1.25

THE VARSITYS LEVY: $1.25 (Unchanged since the 70s) WHAT WERE ASKING: An additional $1.25 (In honour of our 125th anniversary) THE TOTAL: $2.50 (tied to the rate of ination) We want to keep providing the outstanding news, commentary, and review that U of T students have come to expect. So much so, that IF STUDENTS VOTE YES, WE WILL PUBLISH FREE LISTINGS FOR ALL U OF T CAMPUS GROUPS AND CLUBS!

VOTE YES TO A LEVY INCREASE VOTE YES TO THE VARSITY!

Cast your vote: MARCH 2122

at voting stations on all three campuses
(stay tuned for locations!)

Monday, March 12, 2007

VarSITy nEWS
rascanu et al. defeat attempts to ratify election results
SCSU ROW conTInUEd FroM PG 1
these backers to launch appeals to the EC decisions regarding Rascanus offenses. Various contentions were also aired alleging problems with SCSU elections policy. This took place despite multiple reminders from officials that the vote for ratification was based on whether policy had been followed, not on the merits of the policy itself, and that the board had previously voted unanimously in favour of ratifying the same report many were now furiously debating. One of the looming topics of debate regarding the validity of the election was Chief Returning Officer Jule Benedicts rule that only ballots marked with an X would be accepted, with all others deemed spoiled. Despite clear instructions during the voting process and consultation with election officials, many students and candidates at the board of directors meeting argued that because of Benedicts decision, 142 ballots were unnecessarily deemed spoiled, disenfranchising 15 per cent of voters and providing grounds for an unfair election. Others questioned the assertion that all 142 ballots were spoiled for this reason. The first vote to ratify the EC report was deadlocked. When the vote came out six for, six against, with one abstention, SCSU Chair Susie Vavrusa broke the tie, voting in favour of the ECs report and recommendations, allowing it to pass. However, events that took place during a 15-minute recess immediately after this vote derailed the

news@thevarsity.ca
decision. Many students observed two SCSU directors voting to abstain from the vote, but the Chair only officially saw one and counted one (a ruling confirmed by minute-taker Helen Lee). After the motion to recess was quickly seconded with no objections, it was contended Rascanu tried to bring this to the attention of the group, along with two students, something which could not be fully confirmed. During the recess, the Chair was swarmed with requests and arguments, while first-year representative Ruby Lau was seen with various students trying to convince her to call for a Motion to Reconsider, which would necessitate another vote. At the end of the recess, the assembly heard arguments on whether to reopen the vote, despite the Chairs insistence that the recess had disallowed this. After many arguments and debates, the motion was put once more to the vote and failed, with six votes for, seven against and one abstention. Right before the second vote, life sciences director Maathavan Thillai entered the meeting in a hurry, apparently summoned by a phone call from management director Madiha Vaid, who had voted against ratifying the ECs recommendations. Thillai also voted against ratification. Management director Sean Kanjilal was seen by many observers to have first abstained, later changed his vote to no, after talking to other students who had also voted against ratification. Gillian Reiss, ex-officio director of the SCSU and full-time student member on the Council on Student Services, said she would be going to student affairs regarding this blatant violation of [SCSUs] own policies. If Student Affairs decides that the SCSU board of directors did not follow policy in this case, they could step in and take control of the organization. SCSU Chair Susie Varvrusa points out that due to the boards failure to ratify the election report and elect a new team of execs, hired positions such as VP campus life, VP operations and VP human resources cannot be filled, as the hiring committee for those roles consists of both current executives and the newly hired elected executives. With the term of current SCSU executives ending in May, there will be no executives to help run fall elections for next years board. The outcome of this particular board meeting has crippled the SCSU board of directors at least until the fall by-elections, whereby a full-scale election can take place. Who would run that election is an entirely different question. Discussions have been held regarding the possibility of having an election in the upcoming weeks, but scheduling conflicts such as essays, final exams, scheduled study break and the annual SCSU Continuity retreat make it a dicey proposition, since the new election might not garner enough votes to be valid. Former student leaders have also expressed disappointment at perceived meddling by SAC in SCSU affairs. I am thoroughly disappointed in the board of directors this year and the fact that they have shown an unashamed disregard for their own policies, remarked former SCSU President Lendyl DSouza. Furthermore, I am outraged that individuals from other campuses believe that they can manipulate and assume that they know what is best at the University of Toronto Scarborough. It sickens me. I am thoroughly pissed.

Susie Vavrusa, the chair of SCSus Board of Directors, reviews roberts rules of Order during a break at Fridays meeting. The board moved to dismiss the results of the recent student union election, meaning that it must be re-run.

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