Volume 53 - Issue 19

March 4, 2020
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CESAR to join the RSU’s legal claim against Ryerson
By Madi Wong
The Continuing Education Stu-
dents’ Association of Ryerson (CE-
SAR) announced on Monday that
the union has filed for intervention
in the Ryerson Students’ Union
(RSU) legal claim against Ryerson.
“It is our belief that...Ryerson
University is not acting in the best
interest of students,” said CESAR
president Nicole Brayiannis at a press
conference on Monday morning.
Brayiannis added that it’s not
CESAR’s intention to defend the
actions of the RSU, but to inter-
vene as an expert of the Ryerson
campus and act rationally to em-
power students and work toward
their best interests.
According to Louis Century,
CESAR’s lawyer, the union has
received consent from the RSU to
intervene, but not from Ryerson
as of yet. If Ryerson does not con-
sent, there will be a court hearing
on Tuesday to determine whether
or not CESAR will be allowed to
intervene ahead of the RSU’s court
date on Friday.
Century added that intervening
means the union is applying to be
a part of the court case, not neces-
sarily on the side of the RSU or Ry-
erson but to represent the interests
of their clients at CESAR and the
Canadian Federation of Students
(CFS). This includes reminding the
court of any important legal prin-
Rye’s emergency child care services to end this month due to lack of funding
By Abeer Khan
The Gerrard Resource Centre’s
(GRC) emergency child care service
is expected to end on March 31 due
to a lack of funding, according to
Ryerson’s Early Learning Centre.
GRC has offered emergency child-
care services to the community since
1987, said Catherine Moher, former
manager of the GRC. The emergen-
cy child care service, known as flex-
ible model child care, offers parents
the opportunity to leave their chil-
dren at the centre while they attend
appointments or school.
“Currently the program is still be-
ing offered through the GRC with
support from the Government of
Canada’s Poverty Reduction grant,”
said Jason Nolan, interim associate
director of the Early Learning Cen-
tre in an email to The Eyeopener.
Nolan added that the grant will
end on March 31, after which the
program will close.
According to Ryerson president
Mohamed Lachemi, the university
will continue to offer support for
community members who need
childcare through other programs.
“In addition to the GRC, Ryerson
community members can also re-
ceive support from the Early Learn- ILLUSTRATION: JULIA MLODZIK
PHOTO: ALEXANDRA HOLYK
President of CESAR Nicole Brayiannis said it’s the union’s belief that Ryerson is “not acting in the best interest of students”
ciples in context when the court is
making their decision.
“At a time where students in
Ontario are facing major cuts to
OSAP, cuts to university and col-
lege structures...Students need au-
tonomous student unions to rep-
resent their interests more than
ever,” said Sofia Descalzi, chair-
person of the CFS at CESAR’s
press conference.
”By joining the RSU’s legal inter-
vention we are showing students
across the country that an attack
against one is an attack on all.”
RSU president Vanessa Henry
did not respond to a request for
comment in time for publication.
ing Centre, which is a full day child
care and early learning program for
children that is located on campus,”
said Lachemi.
The GRC emergency child care
service was initially set to close in May
2019 after being defunded. This was
following the implementation of the
City of Toronto’s new EarlyON Child
and Families (EarlyON) programs.
In September 2019, the GRC se-
cured funding for their emergency
child care services through a poverty
reduction grant from Employment
NEWS
CESAR x Ryerson
On Feb. 6, Ryerson’s vice-
provost, students, Jen McMillen
mentioned that the university had
approached CESAR with an offer
about student services via a state-
ment it posted to Ryerson Today.
“An attack against one
is an attack on all”
The offer was to “provide CESAR
with additional resources to increase
the number of students the CESAR
advocate is able to represent,” but the
union turned down Ryerson’s offer
and Social Development Canada,
according to Christa Leeder, man-
ager of the Early Learning Centre.
The grant has funded the flexible
model child care program, while
also collecting data on the im-
portance of emergency child care
through focus groups.
According to their website, the
GRC has a special focus on “the in-
clusion of children with disabilities
and family supports.” In addition
to emergency child care, the fam-
ily support program provides a toy
on Feb. 6.
The next day, CESAR released a
statement to the union’s Facebook
page in response to McMillen.
According to the union’s state-
ment, Ryerson did not reach out
to CESAR ahead of their decision
to terminate their 1986 Operating
Agreement with the RSU.
In addition, CESAR alleged that
the university “offered money to un-
dermine employees” and extend their
services to students under the RSU.
Brayiannis said the union was put
in a “very strange position.”
“We basically said, ‘We don’t want
your dirty money, we’re not here to
take over this part for a few months,’”
lending library and child care infor-
mation and referral.
Kaitlyn Bolarinho, a second-year
social work student, said that offer-
ing these services allows for some
sense of relief.
“It allows people to know that
their child is being looked after and
they can still readily get their educa-
tion,” said Bolarinho.
In an email to The Eye, Ingrid
Anderson, senior media rela-
tions coordinator at the Ministry
of Education, said EarlyON man-
3
Brayiannis told The Eyeopener.
McMillen did not comment in
time for publication.
What about the RSU’s legal claim?
The RSU announced on Jan. 28 in
a press conference that they filed a le-
gal claim with the Ontario Superior
Court of Justice against Ryerson.
“We’re deeply disappointed that
we have to take this action. How-
ever, over the past year the RSU has
had to deplete its resources so that it
could continue to provide essential
services to students,” said Henry at
the Jan. 28 press conference.
In a statement posted on the same
day, the RSU stated their claim calls
for $2,700,000 in damages for breach
of contract, the release of the stu-
dent fees withheld by the university,
$100,000 in punitive damages and a
declaration that Ryerson is in breach
of its agreement with the RSU.
The statement also said the
claim includes the RSU’s legal costs
throughout the process.
Henry told The Eye that the RSU
will be in court March 6—the same
day as the results for Ryerson’s new
student government are expected to
be announced.
According to Ryerson president
Mohamed Lachemi, the university’s
legal counsel and McMillen will be
present in court March 6.
Lachemi declined to comment on
CESAR filing for intervention in
the RSU’s legal claim.
agers and boards are able to de-
cide where emergency child care
should be offered.
Anderson said this decison is
based on previous years’ funding
and local service plans, and com-
munity needs.
“Customized community con-
nection services, including respite
child care, should only be consid-
ered once the EarlyON core service
expectations are met on a regular
and consistent basis in a commu-
nity,” said Anderson.
Under EarlyON, emergency child
care must be offered as unlicensed
childcare, and cannot be held in the
same space as EarlyON program-
ming, Anderson states.
“The Ministry is not aware of re-
spite child care being offered under
the EarlyON program at the Ger-
rard Resource Centre.”
Moher said flexible child care
gives the ability to be responsive to
the needs of various families.
“We’re trying to remove barriers
that hinder someone from meeting
their goals, whatever those goals may
be, she said.
“Families are going to be with-
out support, but families are resil-
ient and will come to support each
other together,” said Leeder.
4 MASTHEAD

Editor-in-Chief Contributors
Sarah “Has Anyone Seen Parasite?” Kayla “Tenant Of The Senate” Zhu
Krichel Abeer “GRC-UL8R” Khan
Heidi “Strike, Strike, Baby” Lee
News Stephanie “Hsif Gib” Davoli
Emma “Pays For Her Own Netflix” Natalie “MiTchie” Michie
Sandri Manuela “Vlogmas” Vega
Madi “Gym Edits” Wong Aaliyah “In This Economy?” Dasoo
Alexandra “It’s Bagel Time” Holyk Kayla “Emails and Texts Galore”
Zhu
Photo Firi “We’re All In This Together”
Khaled “Font God” Badawi Fombo
Jimmy “Sarah, You Look Dead“ Abeer “Two Slices of Cake And
Kwan #studying” Khan
Pernia “Totally Done With White Arun “Dhriti’s Dad On Cover”
Guys” Jamshed Gupta
Kashish “Tiktok Famous” Hura
Online Min “Aha Ha” Angadji
Zach “Danger” Roman Julia “Still A Champ” Mlodzik
Kosalan “CHOO CHOO” Kathira- Jaime “They’re Back!” Strand
malanathan Jes “Cutie” Mason
Serina “Fast And Furious” Choi
Features Katie “Never Too Late” Swyers
Catherine “Oh There’s Gonna Be a Hayden “Recaps” Godfrey
Talk After, I Promise“ Abes Daniel “Are” Centeno
Joseph “Almost” Shenouda
Arts & Culture Donald “Done” Higney
Rhea “Fry Sharing Queen“ Singh Amelia Rose “Cat Cohen” Ritthaler
Lyba “Nov. 27” Mansoor
Sports Larry “Bean Boy” Heng
Libaan “Thottowa” Osman Tyler “I’ll Write A Book After
Prison” Griffin
Biz & Tech Karly “Quick Gas Me Up On My
Nathaniel “Gentleman And A Hair” Cywink
Scholar” Crouch
Hello. The annoying talking coffee mug
Communities is back again this week to send a very
Dhriti “Take Your Dad To Work simple message: “Calm down.” No, re-
Day” Gupta ally, CALM the fuck down and don’t be
racists. Actually, let’s repeat that once
Fun & Satire more for the people in the back: “DO
Andrea “Loose” Josic NOT BE RACISTS”—which is also an
excellent standard, even when there
Media isn’t a new virus wandering around.
Connor “Spicy Meatball” Thomas If you have a fever and a cough or short-
Parnika “Looking 4 A Subletter ness of breath, phone 911. Explain your
May-June” Raj symptoms and do what they say.
Stay calm, be brave and follow your
General Manager dreams, young one. Fun fact: COV-
Liane “I Love Kitty More Than My ID-19 is spread by droplets. Tasty little

The Eyeopener Own Children” McLarty

Advertising Manager
Chris “We’re In” Roberts
morsels that can be transfered from
sneezes, coughs, runny noses, or used
coffee mugs. Just don’t touch your face
and wash your hands. Which is ALSO

Annual General meeting

an excellent standard, even when there
Design Director isn’t a new virus wandering around.
J.D. “No Kick Today” Mowat Has anyone seen my Juul?

march 16
2 pm
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ryerson student centre
come for the meeting, stay for the pizza Our online editors are particularly unhinged on Twitter.
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 COMMUNITIES 5

Professors with accents have their jobs for a reason

Are teachers with accents too ‘hard to understand,’ or are Abeer Khan writes
students’ personal biases the one-inch barrier to learning? Dhriti Gupta reports

H ongbing Yu keeps two years’

worth of anonymous student
feedback in a polythene bag in a
“Students should sit down and be
like, ‘I should see that this professor
cannot really change their accent,
drawer in his office. so I should be able to accommodate
The notes, scrawled on scraps of for that.’”
lined paper and post-it notes, are Osborne explained that there is
students’ first impressions of the as- a “standard variety” when it comes
sistant professor of languages, liter- to language. This standard variety is
atures and cultures at Ryerson. They “unaccented.” Things that are out-
were submitted as part of an exer- side of this norm are deemed to be
cise he conducts to demonstrate the accented forms of dialect.
concept of “othering” in his course Osborne adds that when people
on intercultural communication. come from a perspective where
“If you hear or see someone they solely legitimize speakers
who’s different from you, or speaks of this “standard variety” in their
a different language, or speaks a minds, that excludes others who
language in a different way, you are different from having equal ac-
will probably think of this person... cess to that legitimacy.
as an ‘other,’” he says. “If you start out with the assump-
While many of the notes are con- tion that understanding is not pos-
structive, Yu has received feedback sible, that’s really problematic,” says
such as “weird accent,” “Chinese” PHOTO: JIMMY KWAN Osborne. “But if you say, ‘Okay,
and “timid”—specifically targeting well, you have something to say,
his accent and ethnicity. One that ing that those discriminated against cent with lower intelligence, even For people of colour with accents, and it’s actually my responsibility
particularly stood out to him was a are socially excluded and stigma- though that in no way speaks to a there is an added layer of racism that to an extent to...give you enough
note that read “typical Chinese pro- tized. When speakers experience professor’s ability to teach,” says plays into this. Yu says the com- space, in my mind, to be able to say
fessor from China.” this, they can experience “a nega- Humphreys-Morris. “They have ments he receives borders on rac-
While it no longer bothers him, Yu tion of one’s identity,” reducing their degrees, they got their job at ism. “I had this naive idea that stu- If you start out with
was surprised when he first read the self-esteem and perceiving them- Ryerson, they are obviously quali- dents who came to Canada would the assumption
latter comment two years ago, espe- selves to be lesser than. fied to be here.” be more open-minded and they’ll be
that understand-
cially considering the course he was While Yu has been a professor less racist than...some other cultures
teaching explored visible minorities at Ryerson for almost three years “I had this idea that that are perceived to be more homo- ing isn’t possible,
and people from different cultures. now, he says these sorts of com- students who came geneous,” he says. that’s problematic
ments made him momentarily Osborne says professors should
to Canada would
“You know, for a question himself. be able to trust that students will you have expertise.”
“You know, for a second I thought be less racist” recognize and respect their exper- Stutee Bhargav, a second-year
second I thought
there was something wrong with tise. “There’s a vulnerability that business technology management
there was something me,” he says. “I tried my very best to Like Humphreys-Morris, Dana professors have to have, especially if student, found herself passing
wrong with me” pass for a Canadian...But when I re- Osborne, a linguistic anthropolo- they’re coming from a different kind judgement on a professor with a
ceived that note I was like ‘Oh, okay, gist and professor in the languages, of linguistic or cultural context. strong French accent. At the be-
According to the 2016 census, I got it. I guess I will need to work literatures and cultures department ginning of the semester, she would
Toronto is the most linguistically more on my English.’” at Ryerson, says a person can come mentally question her teacher’s
diverse city in Canada, with over from a different place, speak a dif- ability to teach, frustrated by her
200 languages spoken. Further, 44 ferent variety of English, and still own lack of understanding. Look-
per cent of Torontonians have a have complete and utter expertise in ing back on it though, she realizes
first language that is neither English their field. that at the time, she wasn’t making
nor French. She also says that normalcy and the effort to understand.
In a study conducted at Georgia
State University, it was found that
teachers with “Asian-sounding”
a sense of belonging are connected
to power.
The study from 2010 also had in-
S oonalika Srivastava remem- She noticed when she started
bers a course where her pro- working harder in the class, it made
fessor had specifically addressed sense to her and she actually ended
names got lower scores on Rate-
MyProfessors.com than those A bbey Humphreys-Morris re-
members hearing students
teachers with common American mocking her statistics professor’s
dividuals from the U.S. with non-
native and native accents complete
a questionnaire that assessed their
his accent at the beginning of the up with a good grade.
course. He told students they can Yu says it comes down to both
raise their hand at any time to let students and professors trying to
last names. RateMyProfessors.com strong Turkish accent, at least a few perceptions of discrimination and him know if they can’t understand, understand each other.
is a review site that allows students times each class. They would imitate difficulties in communication. They and he would be happy to go over “Students should know better, and
to assign ratings and comment on the words he said and even laugh and found that “Asians and Latinos re- it with them. also, I myself should know better,” he
a professor’s teaching style, often snicker at him while he was teaching. ported higher levels of perceived Still, Srivastava noticed that stu- says. “I try my very best...to get rid of
informing other students and users One early morning lecture on a stigmatization than Europeans did.” dents who arrived to class early any kind of presumptions that the
on whether or not to take a course. Wednesday, another student raised Nicholas Subtirelu, the author would talk to each other about not the students are actually demonstrat-
“This professor has a thick accent their hand and condescendingly of the study, told National Public understanding the professor. ing a level of phobia or racism.”
and it’s very hard to understand. questioned everything the professor Radio (NPR) in an interview that She feels that online reviews for He says he keeps the notes from
If you appreciate your money and had just taught during the lecture. he thinks this reveals “a need for professors who speak differently his students not only to use as ex-
would rather use it towards a differ- “You got the sense that if he had a linguistic diversity at universities— are harsh and unwarranted, often amples on courses in intercultural
ent class, please do so…,” reads one local accent he would not have been to find ways to help people accept coming from a privileged point of communication, but also to remind
RateMyProfessors.com review from treated that way,” says Humphreys- and work across their differences.” view. She says students should be himself that racism and cultural in-
a user about a prof at Ryerson. Morris. The professor answered all He says that universities should thinking about how it might be sensitivity are issues that need to ac-
A study published in the Journal the questions properly but shut it be thinking about what students hard for those profs to go about tively be addressed.
of Language and Psychology from down quickly. Humphreys-Morris might do to better understand their their days thinking people don’t “We shouldn’t take it for granted
2010 found that accent discrimi- could tell the professor knew what instructors instead of allowing an understand them, and should be that cultural stereotypes and racism
nation “encourages the creation of was going on. accent to alter their overall percep- sympathetic toward that rather can just go away naturally, even in
mutually exclusive groups,” mean- “Students [seem to] equate an ac- tion of their teacher’s skill. than judgemental. Toronto and Canada.”
 High Functioning
6
While self-medicating with weed can help students make it through the day, the practice can be difficult to control
Words by Larry Heng | Reporting by Catherine Abes | Illustrations by Pernia Jamshed
Content warning: This article discusses addiction.
I remember laying down on the cold granite by the water bor-
dering my campsite in Algonquin Provincial Park. It was the
end of April in 2017—there was still snow in some parts of the
park where my friends and I failed to start a fire. Defeated, we
decided to smoke a joint and call it a night. I listened to Leon
Bridges and wrote my thoughts in a notebook using the glow of
the moon as I stared into the calmly rolling lake.
If I was still in high school, this would be the perfect place to
be ripped out of my mind. But it was cold, we were in the mid-
dle of nowhere and that’s when I realized I hated being high.
This moment came after about a year of using recreational
weed to subdue the symptoms of my clinical anxiety and de-
pression. When both counselling and upping the dosage of my
medication failed me, I turned to cannabis to deal with my
mental health. I began by using weed once or twice a week to
help with my sleep and appetite. Then, it crept into my daily
routine, eventually replacing my 10 mg of prescribed Trintel-
lix with a recreational bong rip instead.
It didn’t feel healthy, but I didn’t consider it substance abuse
either. All I knew was that it helped.
While more studies are needed to determine how effective can-
nabis is in treating physical and mental illnesses, it can offer an
immediate, temporary release for students. However, self-medi-
cating comes with consequences that could outweigh the benefits.
Geraint Osborne is a professor at the University of Alberta
who studies cannabis use and drug policy, in particular focusing
on the normalization of cannabis use. In his research, he’s found
university students use weed recreationally much in the same
way that they use alcohol—for socializing, a reward, relaxation,
etc. Some students, however, report self-medicating—meaning
using cannabis without a doctor’s prescription—in an ef-
fort to cope with stress, anxiety, sleep disorders and
other health challenges.
Results from the National Cannabis Survey
showed that in the first half of 2019, ap-
proximately three per cent of Canadians
aged 15 or older used cannabis for medical
purposes with no documentation.
Additionally, 3.9 per cent of Canadian
university students reported using canna-
bis products daily over a period of 30 days,
according to the spring 2019 American College
Health Association-National College Health As-
sessment II (ACHA-NCHA II) for Canadian schools. The
survey, which was distributed to over 55,000 Canadian
university students from 58 schools, doesn’t indicate how
these students were using weed.
A study based on the spring 2013 ACHA-NCHA
results, which surveyed 33,000 students, found
that Indigenous students attending Canadian
post-secondary institutions are more likely
to experience mental health issues as well as
higher rates of cannabis use compared to their
non-Indigenous peers.
L ast summer, Lydia Charron devel-
oped an after-work ritual. Once her
shift ended, she would stop at home, grab
a sushi roll from the place across the street,
then meet her friend at Riverdale Park. They
would sit at the top of the hill, giving them
a perfect view of the sunset, eat dinner, then
smoke a bowl from her friend’s pipe.
Charron had only ever smoked weed socially.
But as she started smoking more consistently
with her friend, she realized just one or two hits
would put her into a peaceful state of mind she’d previ-
ously struggled to attain.
“I would be able to recall memories I hadn’t known existed,
and in a safe space I was able to calmly talk them through,”
she says. “I could see the bigger picture, and reflect on myself.”
Charron, a second-year fashion communications student, was
diagnosed with complex post-traumatic stress disorder (CPTSD)
last May. She uses weed to help navigate daily tasks that her dis-
ability can sometimes cause to feel daunting. She says that some-
times her CPTSD leaves her “paralyzed”—not physically, but in
the sense that she’ll enter a state of mind where she’s incapable of
doing anything until she “wakes up.”
When Charron recognizes that she’s
entering this state of mind, she can smoke “It’s as legitimate
or take benzodiazepine (also known as a of a treatment as
tranquilizer), a medication prescribed by
her doctor to take as needed. She says they anything else, but
help her “get out of [her] head” so she can
move along with her day.
I feel like there’s
While her medication and cannabis es- definitely a risk for
sentially do the same thing for her, Char-
ron prefers weed. She says she developed escapism”
an aversion to pills following years of tak-
ing medication for chronic migraines. She only takes tranquil-
izers if she has to go to school or work, because she won’t go to
those places high.
“When you have CPTSD, you’re [at] a very high level of
constant hyper-vigilance...like on edge all the time,” Charron
says. “[Weed] brings me down from that.”
Charron says weed allows her to focus on school work as
well as ignore the relentless noise of renovation from her up-
stairs neighbours, which makes it difficult for her to feel com-
fortable in her home.
But while weed has proven to be useful for Charron, it’s a
habit she keeps to herself. The legalization of
cannabis in October 2018 allowed for easier
access to the drug, but failed to extinguish
the stigma around it.
“I still hold an internal stigma towards
self-medication and drug use in general,”
she says, adding that being high in pub-
lic is “very anxiety-inducing.” “I prefer to
use [weed] in my own time to avoid the
fear that others will be able to notice I’m
under the influence.”
Osborne says the more that non-users
come into contact with people who use can-
nabis responsibly, the more normalized it will be in
society. He connects responsible cannabis use to harm re-
duction, defining it as using in moderation, using it safely
(not while driving, for example) and not letting it interfere
with your responsibilities.
While weed has helped her to be more introspective and
work through her thoughts, she warns that it’s important to
be mindful and establish boundaries in self-medicating. She
plans on quitting weed and seeing how she fares without it.
She feels she’s “come full circle,” in the sense that now she’s
using weed to avoid her life rather than cope with it.
“It’s as legitimate of a treatment as anything else,” she
says. “But I feel like there’s definitely a risk for escapism.
You kind of have to know yourself really well, if you want
to intentionally self-medicate.”
Sarah Lees on the other hand doesn’t plan on quitting weed.
The third-year geography student “[doesn’t] trust Big Pharma.”
While medical professionals have told her to get a mental health
assessment, Lees fears they’ll tell her what she already knows,
sending her down a journey through traditional medication.
“I will be sticking to my self-medicating ways until there’s more
information from [medical professionals]. I would rather be ‘ad-
dicted to weed’ [than be] addicted to prescription drugs.”
Weed gives Lees a chance to lay down, light up and rest
uninterrupted. She has encouraged her friends to experiment
with pot, only if it doesn’t interfere with their lives. But, “if it
works for you, why wouldn’t you?”
Z ac Snowden was introduced to cannabis during the prime
time for freshmen university students to experiment with
new things: frosh week. On one of his first nights at Western Uni-
versity, Snowden was offered a joint. But what started off as a rec-
reational puff developed into over a decade of habitual smoking.
While weed has helped Snowden with social anxiety as well
as managing his attention deficit disorder in the past, he doesn’t
attribute his cannabis use to any external factors. Over time, it
simply became part of the “rhythm” of his everyday life, impact-
ing how he eats and how he sleeps. He got
to the point where he was smoking twice
daily.
“Basically, if I’m not supposed to be in
class or if I don’t have actual work to do,
I’m probably going to try and get stoned.”
Since starting at Ryerson last fall in
the politics and governance program,
Snowden has found his relationship with
weed to be a hindrance. While he doesn’t
go to class stoned, he says weed impacts fo-
cus, attention and time management—the
three things that most students depend on to be successful. It also
took him over a month to adapt to eating breakfast. He had to quit
smoking in the morning for class, but without it he struggled to
with appetite until the afternoon. Seeing the impact on his body
made him see his cannabis use go from responsible to dependent.
At the beginning of March, Snowden quit smoking weed
cold turkey. Partially for financial reasons, partially to “detach”
from the drug and start a new chapter of his life.
Snowden has managed to stop smoking for periods in the
past, so he’s confident he’ll be able to do it again—“it’s just a
matter of maintaining motivation.”
He says that as weed becomes more accessible—especially
on Ryerson campus with Tokyo Smoke down the street from
the Sheldon & Tracy Levy Student Learning Centre, Canna
Cabana a couple blocks north by College Station and HOBO
opening up just across the street—we need to think more
about when weed is appropriate and to what extent.
Osborne stresses that legalization was an important step in
working toward safer cannabis use. He says shifting from pro-
hibition to a harm reduction model is more effective in help-
ing people who have dependency issues.
“We need to...make that distinction between responsible use
and misuse, and then develop better policies for dealing with
those people who have substance abuse issues,” he says. “We can
learn a lot from people who are using responsibly, to find out
what’s key to their healthy patterns of use and to pass that on to
those who may be struggling.”
W eed created a sense of detachment from my friends,
who were not big pot users and didn’t fully understand
what I was going through. I started to feel lonely while simul-
taneously feeling that the high was only good when I was by
myself. I was stuck in a position that isolated me from my so-
cial surroundings, which contributed to the eventual downfall
of my self-medicating practice.
I officially quit smoking weed toward the end of my first
year of university. It felt like weed had boiled down to just a
medication to me, and abolished my ability to enjoy it recre-
ationally. The frequency of self-medicating led me to associate
the feeling of being high with my mental illness.
I’ve regained some of my social confidence and disbanded
some of the internal stigma. Once the anxiety lessened, so
did my need for cannabis. I haven’t touched weed in nearly
three years. Though, some nights I wonder what it would
feel like if I simply rolled a joint and smoked like how I used
to. Would it bring back that therapeutic feeling? Would I
still like it?
I like to imagine that moment by the lake in Algonquin,
and try to relive that experience as if I wasn’t high. I probably
could’ve seen more of the stars scattered in the sky, and rather
than the cynical thoughts echoing in my head, maybe I could
have heard the water rolling downstream.

‘We will fight back’:
Karly Cywink
If I try hard enough, I can remember
the Idle No More movement, vaguely.
I was 13 years old when the movement began.
In 2012, Idle No More began protesting for
Indigenous sovereignty and protesting against
using our land for economic exploitation.
Growing up, these issues weren’t talked about
in school or in my house, so I had to seek the
knowledge myself.
In Grade 10, I wrote a paper about
Idle No More, and it served as a personal
learning experience. It was the paper that
led me to throwing myself into my culture
of Indigeneity. I wanted to bring light to the
voices that are often overlooked.
The Wet’suwet’en rallies and blockades have
been calls for immediate action from allies and
beyond. The protests started from the idea of a
pipeline running through unceded territory—
territory that is not legally signed to Canada.
But it’s not just about a pipeline. These pro-
tests are backed by hundreds of years of oppres-
sion, neglect and unkept promises. Yes, it’s in-
conveniencing Canadians on their commutes to
work or home—but it’s nothing compared to the
disrespect that Indigenous peoples have faced
since the beginning of colonization.
Canada has always prided itself in its image
as being warm and welcoming to diversity.
But I wonder, how can we welcome different
cultures when we can’t even recognize the first
peoples of the land?
Now, people online threaten to “bulldoze”
land defenders, while others say they should’ve
killed us all off when they had the chance.
If you think Canada doesn’t have a racism
PHOTO ESSAY 7
If you recognize yourself or someone you know to an uncomfortable extent in any of these images, please
contact editor@theeyeopener.com.
problem and an anti-Indigenous problem, you
are part of the problem. When you choose to
ignore the oppression and become a neutral
bystander, you become the oppressor.
All we want is for people to hear us, recog-
nize us and follow through on the promises
that are owed to us. It is unfortunate that we
have to use rallies and blockades for people to
see us, but it is necessary. It’s crucial for Cana-
dians to educate themselves as much as possible
to understand where this fight is coming from.
I’m angry and terrified and worried for the
future—not only the future of Indigenous peo- Photo essay by Jimmy Kwan
ple, but of the next seven generations that we’re
supposed to protect. You can push a group to
the boundaries of society as much as you want,
but we will fight back.
Karly Cywink is an Ojibwe woman from White
Fish River First Nation and a third-year media
production student at Ryerson. She has completed
a documentary called Am I Indian Enough? that
focuses on Indigenous peoples living in Toronto and
their struggles with identity and self-determination.
She is currently working on a feature-length version
of this documentary as her thesis.
“When you
choose to
ignore
the oppression
and become a
neutral
bystander,
you become the
oppressor”
Page design by Pernia Jamshed
8

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The Office of the Ombudsperson at Ryerson

University presents its 2018/19 Annual Report

18 to the Ryerson Community.

The Ombudsperson’s Office is a place for students

19 to come to if they have a problem or a conflict with
the university that they haven’t been able to solve

18
themselves.

The Ombudsperson’s Office is

LISTENING •
•
19
Independent
Impartial

& LEARNING
• Confidential
• Fair

LISTENING
Read the report online at:
www.ryerson.ca/ombuds

& LEARNINGThe Office of the Ombudsperson at Ryerson University

63 Gould St., 2nd Floor, Room OAK 215, Toronto
416-979-5000 ext. 557450
ombuds@ryerson.ca

ANNUAL REPORT FOR JULY 1, 2018 TO JUNE 30, 2019 FOR THE OMBUDSPERSON AT RYERSON UNIVERSITY

Eternity Martis discusses racism,
college culture in new memoir
By Rhea Singh
When Eternity Martis started her first
year at the University of Western Ontar-
io (UWO), in London, Ont., the city was
ranked as having one of the highest rates of
hate crimes in Canada.
What began as wanting to experience
the party culture she missed in high school,
revealed to be something problematic un-
der the surface.
“At Western, people were like,
‘I’ve never seen a Black person “[At first, it]
was ignorant
before,’ or, ‘you’re funny for a
Black person,’” said Martis. “[At
first, it] was ignorant and subtle, and subtle, and ence as a Black student, who
and [then] turned into something
more malicious and hurtful.”
[then] turned
As soon as Martis started no- into something “I felt deeply humiliated and
ticing these issues surrounding more malicious angered that he said some-
and hurtful”
race, she began to write about
her experiences. It started as a
blog post, then a play, and soon
became They Said This Would Be
Fun, a memoir about being a per-
son of colour in a predominantly white
campus.
“I would go back home [to Toronto] and
tell people these things and no one would un-
derstand it, they’d say…‘I’ve never heard of it,’ on how to deal with racism,” said Martis.
or, ‘that kind of racism is over,’” said Martis.
Two years into her degree, in 2012, Tray-
von Martin was killed. And two months af-
ter she graduated, Michael Brown was killed.
In 2014, Martis graduated from UWO
and made her way back to Toronto to get
her masters in journalism at Ryerson.
She describes the change as ‘bittersweet.’
However, compared to her masters expe-
rience in Toronto, UWO had a problem-
atic foundation through its lack of atten-
tion to diversity.
“University towns are very white, Chris-
tian and conservative,” said Martis. “It’s so
hard for people to comprehend [these is-
sues], and a lot of people have not been in
that situation where they lived in or moved
to a small homogenous university town.”
For Martis and many students of co-
lour, representation was different 10 years
ago. “Black student associations [at UWO]
COURTESY ETERNITY MARTIS
ARTS & BIZ?
weren’t as active because we weren’t talk-
ing about it,” said Martis. “They didn’t
have as many events and panels as they do
now, mostly due to the lack of social ac-
ceptance when talking about race in main-
stream conversations.”
Nine years later, when Chizoba Oriuwa
called out her professor at UWO for saying
the N-word during an English lecture in
October 2019, she felt deval-
ued in a way similar to Martis’
experience.
“I instantly felt like my pres-
sat in [a] front-row seat, was
overlooked,” she told the CBC.
thing like this.”
Oriuwa believes that
UWO could’ve done better as
an institution when it comes
to creating safer spaces for
Black students.
“Since the students spoke up in defence
of [Oriuwa], the school and other student
groups have come together to create panels
In Oriuwa’s case, and many others, Martis
said when it comes to change and activ-
ism, students act upon those issues rather
than administration.
“What has changed is that students are
taking action,” said Martis. “By students
not standing for [these issues] in absence of
the school taking action, they are pushing
the school towards getting more involved.”
At Ryerson, it’s no different. The school
has a history of student-run activism. Last
semester, students held a one-day strike in
a protest calling for the repeal of the Stu-
dent Choice Initiative. In 2018, students
protested the Ford government’s free
speech policy, including members of the
Black Liberation Collective (BLC).
In her memoir, she also delves into sexu-
al violence in college party culture.
For the current generation of students,
Martis believes there is the perception
that they are ‘lazy’ and ‘self-indulgent,’
when in actuality, there many struggles
they face. “It’s one of the largest groups of
women who are assaulted by their part-
ners, we are cyberstalked at ridiculous
rates,” said Martis. “If we don’t take ac-
tion now, there will be permanent con-
sequences for this generation.”
According to an Ontario government
survey about students’ experience of sexual
violence, 71.6 per cent of its participants
disclosed some form of sexual harassment
at UWO. At Ryerson, it was 63.5 per cent.
“That culture of [college] partying has
enabled rape culture and I understand…
that you’re young you want to experiment
and [wonder] ‘what is it like to party,’ or,
‘what is it like to go drinking’ and that will
always be there,” said Martis. “A lot of it is
going unnoticed because we think students
are just having fun and having the time of
their lives.”
They Said This Would Be Fun is set to be
released on March 31.
SciXchange is leading the way in
improving science literacy
By Aaliyah Dasoo
Launched in 2017, SciXchange is the centre
for science communication, outreach
and public engagement within Ryerson’s
Faculty of Science.
For the folks at SciXchange, building a
network between professionals in STEM
and in communication is the priority. In
fact, according to its website, it’s “essential ence’s attention than just shovelling out
to developing a healthy and vibrant sci-
ence culture in Canada.” The development
of that culture is the push behind SciX-
change’s first-ever SCICom-
mTO conference.
Emily Agard is the direc-
“[Scicomm]
tor of SciXchange and an as- really points
sociate professor at Ryerson. out how
extravagant
“We’re all about making sci-
ence accessible and engaging
to a wide range of people,” we are in
said Agard at the conference.
Science Communication,
the science
more commonly referred to community
as “scicomm” is a discipline with all these
hard words”
that involves sharing scien-
tific findings in an accessible
way to audiences­ —which
leads to increased public en-
gagement and more support of research.
The conference highlighted science
communication as implementing accessi-
ble language. It named scientific jargon—
complex wording used by experts in a
field that’s usually meaningless to outsid-
ers—as one of the larger perpetrators of
academic gatekeeping and misinforma-
tion. A slideshow presentation filled with
technical terms is no help to audiences
outside of the field.
According to a study from Ohio State
University, jargon can disrupt an individ-
ual’s ability to understand a given scien-
tific issue, even if the term is defined to the lots of great reasons to be involved in sci-
reader shortly after.
Additionally, it made individuals partici-
pating in the study feel like they were less
qualified to engage in scientific conversa-
tions, or unable to see themselves as a per-
son who takes part in science.
“It really points out how extravagant we
are in the science community with all these
hard words,” she said.
9
PHOTO: AALIYAH DASOO
Kamyar Razavi is a journalist and PhD
student at Simon Fraser University who
studies the best ways to communicate
about climate change. On Global News’
podcast “Wait There’s More,” Razavi out-
lines the loss of interest jargon can cause
for important issues, such as the climate
crisis. Razavi points out that scientists
need more of a strategy to grab an audi-
facts. He adds that climate activist Greta
Thunberg is a good example of this strat-
egy. “She makes the climate crisis feel per-
sonal, she tells stories, she creates
this clear villain...that to me is
what really mobilizes her audi-
ence,” says Razavi.
A large part of SciXchange’s
mission statement is the sharing
of knowledge. To do so, know-
ing who makes up your audience
is essential, and part of this means
valuing their cultural background.
They also acknowledge that the
field of science has been largely
and historically dominated by
Western thought.
Amber Sandy is a coordina-
tor of Indigenous knowledge and
outreach at SciXchange. She says her moti-
vation for working with SciXchange is “to
bridge the gap between Indigenous knowl-
edge and western science and show that
there are two ways of looking at the same
thing.”
“Indigenous people have been living on
this land since time immemorial, so, for-
ever. We’ve had a lot of ways of living that
are just inherently scientific,” she added.
“It’s really important to share those things.”
Leigh Paulseth, the enrichment and
outreach coordinator at SciXchange also
helped organize the conference. “There’s
ence communication,” said Paulseth. “We
all kind of share a fundamental goal of
wanting to be able to include everyone that
wants to be part of this community.”
“[Jargon can] make sense when we’re
in the field but people outside of that
don’t quite understand. My general rule
is to keep things simple, because simple
is sexy!”
 10
Rye to use free weed as distraction from student government issues
By Zachary Roman
“Rye High” has a whole new meaning.
Last week, Ryerson signed a deal
with Live.Laugh.Bud.—to provide
free weed to any student who votes
for one of the new student govern-
ments and promises to forget the
Ryerson Students’ Union (RSU)
ever existed.
The collaboration is titled RU
HIGH and features weed strains
grown right here at Ryerson’s Urban
Farm. Plants are cross-bred at Ryer-
son’s Fat Blunt Innovation Zone to
find new and exciting strains for stu-
dents and professors.
“We’ll get them
high with crusty
dispensary weed
and they’ll just
let this whole
thing blow over”
Once a suitable strain is created,
it’s sent out to focus groups—con-
sisting of whichever students are
randomly standing in Kerr Hall
Quad that day—for testing and nam-
ing. Then, the plants are grown at
a greenhouse managed by the Ur-
ban Farm. Finally, they are hand-
trimmed and delivered to Live.
Laugh.Bud. by Greg from the main-
tenance department.
All you have to do after you vote
is show your OneCard to the ca-
shier at Live.Laugh.Bud, located
just beside the Yonge Street 7-Elev-
en. They’ll use your student num-
ber to confirm you’ve voted, and if
you have, you’ll get 3.5 grams of the
newest RU HIGH strain “Blue and
JOB HUNTING SZN </3
Student finally at peace after closing job application tab open for three months
ILLUSTRATION: ELANA EMER
Gold Dream” for free.
Other available strains are “Eggy
Kush,” “Urban Campus Poison,
“Kerr Hall Quadruple A” and “Alas-
kan Thunder Ram.”
“We’ve run the numbers and what
we are doing here with the Urban
Farm and Live.Laugh.Bud. is by far
the better financial decision,” said Ry-
erson president Mohamed Lachemi.
“Instead of fighting the students
in court and spending tons of money
on lawyers, we’ll get them high with
crusty dispensary weed and they’ll
just let this whole thing blow over.”
There are currently four groups
vying for your vote and so far only
one of them has broken campaign-
ing rules—which I suppose is a
start, considering the only way
people ever campaigned before was
by giving out Eggos.
The university also has a rule
where students aren’t allowed to
give away free stuff for votes dur-
ing campaigning. This collaboration
with Live.Laugh.Bud. goes against
that, but luckily for Ryerson, they
are exempt from their own rules.
The four teams are: the Ryerson
Undergraduate Students’ Alliance
(RUSA), Ryerson Graduate Stu-
dents’ Union (RGSU), Ryerson Uni-
versity Student Collective (RUSC)
and Ryerson First.
As The Eye previously reported,
the four teams are expected to cam-
paign over the next week leading into
March 4 and 5—the days that students
can cast their votes using an online fo-
rum, and in person in the RCC lobby
and the second floor of the SLC.
Ryerson First was the first new
group to break the rules. Coinci-
dence? Definitely not.
Some students took advantage of
the new promotion and they ap-
peared to be in high spirits.
LET’S HAVE...FUN........
The weed company Live.Love.Bud. has a promising new collab for Ryerson students
“I voted for Ryerson First, because
it was the obvious first choice,”
said Fred Icktable. “The name says
enough. I didn’t need to look into it.”
Other students said they had nev-
er even voted in a Ryerson election
until this promotion started.
“I love to complain on Facebook
about the RSU wasting my money,”
said Chip Ocrit. “But I’m just one
person—my vote never counts for
anything anyway.”
Live.Laugh.Bud. has enjoyed a
hefty increase in sales as a result of
its new partnership with Ryerson.
Store owners report that students
come in for their free weed and
leave with a $450 weed-infusing
coffee machine on a regular basis.
“We have an undeniable advantage
over our competition thanks to our
partnership with Ryerson,” said Mary
By Lyba Mansoor
Ryerson student Jolyni Cujoh was
finally set free from an impending
job application.
The fourth-year English student
is reported to have had the appli-
cation tab open for three months.
She would visit the tab once every
few hours, every single day for the
past ninety days.
“When I clicked on it yesterday,
I saw the deadline for applying
had passed. My eyes welled up, I
couldn’t believe it...I was finally
free,” she told The Eye through
tears, while smiling.
Cujoh, a notorious tab hoarder,
had been particularly attached to
that tab and her potential.
She held a small ceremony of
goodbye before closing the tab ear-
ly Tuesday afternoon.
| PHOTO: JES MASON
Jane, advertising manager at Live. doesn’t give me a hangover, I had a
Laugh.Bud. and former D.A.R.E. vol- change of heart. I knew I could prof-
unteer. “It’s almost too easy. Life is it off of it so easily.”
good as a legal drug dealer.” However, life for your friendly
neighbourhood drug dealer hasn’t
been so good, unfortunately. Many
Jane admitted she local plugs say they are seeing a
got into the legal drastic decrease in sales thanks to
weed business the plethora of legal alternatives
around the school.
after taking a “I used to know how all my buy-
weed yoga class ers’ classes and love lives were go-
ing,” said Guyler Triffen, a local weed
dealer and aspiring MDMA dealer.
Jane admitted she got into the “Now students look at me like we
legal weed business after taking a weren’t best friends last year.”
weed yoga class. She purchased the Ryerson’s collaboration with
store with some money she inher- Live.Laugh.Bud. will be going on
ited from her rich uncle. until March 6, when election results
“I used to be a wine mom and I will be posted. No matter what, this
genuinely supported the War on new student government will be
Drugs. But after I realized weed seeing a higher voter turnout.
“It was just a few of my close reported seeing her open up an-
family and friends, plus me and my other tab for a job application just
laptop. Nothing too fancy. My dad hours after closing the first.
hired someone to play the organ “I did open a new job application
while I hit exit, which I thought to fill out. Yes, I’ve opened it and
was very elegant,” she said. haven’t gotten a chance to look yet.
Cujoh said she felt the deadline I swear I’ll get around to this one
passing was finally her chance to though, I don’t see what the big
exit the tab, referring to her circum- rush is,” Cujoh said.
stances as a “fresh start.” Innuf said Cujoh has a long his-
“I just felt like I could breathe tory of leaving job applications open
again. It felt better than an orgasm. and then never finishing them.
Like, almost as good as when you “It was great to see her finally be
finally pick a popcorn kernel out of able to let go of that old tab, but
your teeth,” she said. I’m afraid she’s moving on too fast.
Her father said he too was im- I just don’t think she’s ready to let
mensely relieved once the deadline another job application into her
had passed and the tab was closed. browser yet,” said Iznuf.
“Seeing your kid like that, with Now that Cujoh has less of a
a tab they just can’t close, no par- burden on her shoulders, she’s ex-
ent should ever have to go through cited to spend her jobless summer
that,” he said. looking for new tabs to keep her
Enuf Iznuf, Cujoh’s close friend, on edge.
 11

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