campus life from dusk to dawn - University of Toronto Magazine

Paying too much for your cell phone ?ALUMNI PLANS INC.offers special cell phone prices and plansEXCLUSIVELY for U OF T ALUMNISony Ericsson Z520Motorolla V3 RAZRNokia 8801Discountsoff the latest handsetsRate planstailored to your needsTo learn more:> visit: www.alumniplans.com> call 1 866 241-9944 or> visit us at U of T Bookstorein the Computer ShopTerms and conditions apply

President’s MessageMeasuring UpWhat university rankingsdo and don’t tell usALUMNI SOMETIMES ASK ME WHERE U OF T STANDS COMPAREDto other universities in Canada and worldwide. My answer isalways, “It depends.” It depends on what dimensions youmeasure and it depends on how you measure them.In 2005, for example, Maclean’s ranked the University ofToronto number one among Canadian medical-doctoral institutionsfor the 12 th year in a row. It’s a fabulous record. However,during my academic career in healthcare performancemeasurement, I learned to be wary of aggregate rankings ofinstitutions. Imagine a hospital that was superb at heart surgerybut had a mediocre obstetrics program. The combinedrating for those two programs would be useless for heartpatients and expectant women alike! It’s much the same whencomplex universities are reduced to a single score.For better or worse, the seductive reductionism of institutionalrankings still gets attention all over the world. One popular“league table” is published by the Times Higher EducationSupplement. The Times ranked U of T 29 th on its annual list ofthe world’s top 200 universities, up eight spots from our 2004ranking. We were the top Canadian university in biomedicine,science, social science and technology, but stood fourth in artsand humanities and ended up slightly behind McGill overall.Another popular global ranking is published by the Instituteof Higher Education at Shanghai Jiao Tong University.Their system put U of T 24 th in 2005, top among Canadianuniversities, with UBC and McGill respectively second andthird in Canada.Why the differences? The Times creates a composite scoreby combining reputation ratings, research outputs, proportionof international students and faculty, student-facultyratios and survey data from employers or recruiters. TheShanghai scoring system relies overwhelmingly on researchperformance measures.In January 2006, Alex Usher and Massimo Savino from theindependent Educational Policy Institute took a constructivelycritical look at university league tables worldwide. They notedthat within individual countries certain institutions invariablyrise to the top, regardless of the ranking scheme: Oxford andCambridge in the U.K.; Harvard, Yale, Princeton, MIT andStanford in the U.S.; Peking and Tsinghua in China; and theUniversity of Toronto in Canada. But the authors also cautionedthat the basis for this convergence remains mysterious.Their trenchant observations reminded me of Northrop Frye’sdescription of human thought – “a process stumbling throughemotional entanglements,sudden irrational convictions,involuntary gleamsof insight, rationalized prejudices,and blocks of panicand inertia, finally to reacha completely incommunicableintuition.”I am delighted, of course,‘‘that “incommunicable intuition”confirms our top to celebrate our “top-of-We’ve got good reasonsCanadian ranking. That the-class” ranking, butaside, we really need hardthere are some lowerdata to guide us as we strive’’grades on our report cardto make U of T an evenbetter university. That’s why U of T has worked for years todevelop and refine its own performance indicators. And that’salso why we publish an array of indicators that hold our institutionup to critical scrutiny.This year’s report is available at http://www.provost.utoronto.ca/English/PerfIndic2005.html. It offers both temporaland inter-university comparisons. The report alsoincludes new information from surveys of the student experienceat U of T. While our undergrads give U of T highmarks for academic standards, they tend to rate their overallexperience below that of some of our peers. In contrast, amajority of students in graduate and professional programsrate diverse aspects of their U of T experience from very goodto excellent.When it comes to performance measurement, as I mentionedearlier, how we’re doing depends on what gets measured.We’ve got good reasons to celebrate our overall “top-of-class”average. But there are some lower grades on our report card,and we’re committed to becoming a “straight-A” institution.One postscript: In healthcare I quickly learned that someof the most important aspects of institutional performancereceived the least attention. In universities, indexes of alumniengagement and support are among the measures that areoften overlooked. U of T’s alumni as a group must surely rankas our most capable ambassadors, our most effective champions,and our most constructive critics. To all of you, your almamater owes immeasurable thanks.Sincerely,DAVID NAYLORWWW.MAGAZINE.UTORONTO.CA 7PHOTOGRAPHY: LAURA ARSIÈ

LettersPaper of RecordWhy The Varsity mattersRAIN, SNOWOR SHINEThe article “125 Yearsof The Varsity” (New &Notable, Winter 2006)contains a serious oversightconcerning the roleof women in the paper’shistory.The late Betsy Mosbaugh(BA 1945 UC) ofHuntsville, Ontario, wasthe paper’s sole editor-inchiefin 1944-45. Betsymaintained a high standard and encouragedmany of her staff in their careers.(The late writer Hugh Kenner [BA 1945]is an example.)Betsy’s greatest triumph came duringthe huge winter storm of December1944. The university, indeed most of thecity, closed down: the TTC gave up, leavingstreetcars and buses abandoned in thestreets; the Toronto Globe, Telegram andStar made no attempt to publish.But Betsy insisted (as only she couldinsist) that The Varsity come out. It wasthe only Toronto newspaper to appearduring the height of the storm.George GarlandBASc 1947, MSc 1948Huntsville, OntarioTHE PRESIDENTWILL SEE YOU NOWAfter reading your article on The Varsity,I came across my grandmother’s copy ofthe paper from Dec. 8, 1905. It containedtwo items relevant to PresidentNaylor’s installation address, and to theimportance of providing greater contactbetween professors and students.An article noted that the student representativefrom the School of PracticalScience (now AppliedScience and Engineering)had complained tothe University Commissionthat there was onlyone lecturer for every25 students, but inthe Faculty of Arts theratio was one to 13.There also appearedan advertisement asfollows: “The presidentwill be in hisoffice daily, except on Saturdays, from10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.”David OuchterlonyBPHE 1962, MD 1966TorontoFIGHTING APARTHEIDAs someone who worked as a Varsityreporter between 1983 and 1987, I takeissue with Megan Easton’s description ofthe paper’s editorial stances in the 1980s,which she feels may have reflected the“more conservative ethos of the ‘me generation.’”During the early- to mid-1980s, The Varsity relentlessly attackedthe university for investing in companiesthat did business in apartheid SouthAfrica. We invited the South Africanambassador to speak on campus, andasked corporate executives with close tiesto U of T why they could tolerate doingbusiness with such a regime. The editorialboard pushed hard for “disinvestment”and demanded that the universityrecast its investment policies with a viewto human rights and corporate conduct.Hardly the work of a self-involved editorialstaff, I’d say.John LorincBSc 1987 UCTorontoA GREAT LEADERThank you for a wonderful article onJustice Rosalie Abella (“Just ‘Rosie’,”Winter 2006). Like so many people shehas inspired and mentored, I am one ofher fans. Unfortunatelyyou missed an importantpart of her career:she was chair of theOntario Labour RelationsBoard (OLRB)from 1984 to 1989.During her stintat the OLRB, Rosiebrought in new ideasand new blood, andinspired her colleaguesto be the best theycould be. I was fortunate to be part ofthat magical era and am still gratefulfor Rosie’s special inspiration.Janet J. RuzyckiOntario Labour Relations BoardTorontoTHE FUNNY MRS. CRAIGIE“The Bunny Party” (Campus Stories,Winter 2006) brought back memories ofProf. Craigie’s vertebrate anatomy course,which I took in 1949-50. The first termwas spent studying the anatomy of the8 UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO MAGAZINE / SPRING 2006

A SPIDER’S WILLI read the article “Dangerous Liaisons”(New & Notable,Winter 2006) with muchinterest. Professor Maydianne Andrade is tobe commended for her extraordinary workon the mating habits of redback spiders.However, it seems to me a little presumptuousto claim that the dying maleknowingly and deliberatelybreaks his copulatoryorgan in order toprevent other malesfrom copulating withthe same female. Isthe dying insect reallyconcerned about afuture lover? Perhapsthe rigid organ simplysnaps in the deathagony of the haplessmale.We then have the remarkable statementthat all this is the result of natural selection.Freely confessing my ignorance and naiveté,could someone tell me how natural selectionwould create this dance of death?Paul W. RobertsMD 1947Markham, OntarioProf. Andrade responds: “Deliberately” isshorthand, and is not meant to imply cognition.In redback spiders, the male sex organ has adefined breaking point and fits directly into thefemale’s genitalia in a way that prevents spermof subsequent males from entering. Even malesthat manage to survive the copulation (thosethat are not cannibalized) leave this structurebehind in the female.Accurate placement of the“plug”results in close to 100 per cent paternity.I suggest Richard Dawkins’ classic The SelfishGene for an accessible discussion of naturalselection and its implications.rabbit. The second term was devoted tostudies of other creatures. The textbookwas by Prof. Craigie, so if anyone asked aquestion, the invariable answer was “lookin the book” (pronounced in a Scottishbrogue as “luke in the buke”). I believeours was the first year without a bunnyparty. The lab assistants told us that theywere sad to see the end of this festiveevent. Mrs. Craigie, said to be the life ofthat party, was a noted comediennewho regularly appearedon the stage of Massey Hallat the Toronto Symphony’sannual Christmas concert.Christopher HelleinerBA 1952 UCHalifax, Nova ScotiaENGINEERINGBY A FOOTBOARDFond memories flooded backwhile reading about engineeringstudents’ annual chariot race (“U of T’sOddball Charms,” Winter 2006).I was reminded that the genesis forthis singular annual event probably datesback – way back – to the late winter of1948. All faculties were challenged to aone-lap race around the front campuswith beds on casters as chariots.Six students pushed each bed with aseventh aboard in a highly competitivejostling event marked by cheers, jeers,outrageous tactics and general mayhem.Letters may be edited to fit availablespace and should be addressed toUniversity of Toronto Magazine,21 King’s College Circle,Toronto,M5S 3J3. Readers may also sendcorrespondence by e-mail touoft.magazine@utoronto.ca orfax to (416) 978-3958.Or was it bedlam? In comparison, therunning of the bulls at Pamplona wouldhave been a walk in the park.As one of engineering’s six “horses”in that inaugural year, my recollection isthat meds and engineering led the packas the finish line approached. And ifmemory is not clouded by bias, engineeringwon by a footboard.William A. DimmaBASc 1948TorontoREMEMBERING REZNIKOFFIn “U of T’s Oddball Charms,” underthe heading “Deliciously Diabolical,”writer Graham F. Scott asserts that theU of T historical figure Reznikoff “lingeredin obscurity” until an eponymouscafé opened last fall.Poppycock!One of the U of T colleges hosted aregular pub/dance in the 1980s called“Reznikoff’s.” Not yet being of legaldrinking age, my friends and I used tosneak in sometimes to enjoy the dancing.Your “error” brought back somehappy memories.Peter MurphyLLB 1993TorontoGREETINGS FROM AFRICAAlthough I graduated from U of T in1992 and am living very far from Toronto,the magazine brings back fond memoriesand connects me once again with myalma mater. I always read the president’smessages, and through them grasp whatU of T is striving to be. Asante sana. InSwahili: “thank you very much.”Stella BenderaEdD 1992Dar es Salaam, TanzaniaWWW.MAGAZINE.UTORONTO.CA 9

Leading EdgeOutdoor SweatshopsU of T geography professor Ken MacDonald is challenging unfairlabour practices on the slopes of the Karakoram MountainsPHOTOGRAPHY: KEN MACDONALDin July 2004, anniversarycelebrations were held forINPakistanthe first summiteers of K2 –the world’s second-highest mountainand, with its severe glacial terrain, arguablythe deadliest. The government invitedhundreds to honour Italian alpinistArdito Desio and members of his 1954expedition. But one group did not receiveinvitations: the mountain porters whoaccompanied them – the local men whocarried the trekkers’ saman (food andgoods), provided knowledge of dangerousregions and were crucial to the expedition’ssuccess.As well, during those July celebrations,six porters died while accompanyingtourists on treks of K2. The sheernumber of hikers and climbers that summermeant inexperienced local men wereoffered double wages to carry loads, and,with only minimal government regulationson portering, they accepted. Theresult? Five drowned while taking ashortcut across a glacial stream; anotherfell, unroped, into a crevasse. Two of themen’s bodies were left on a rock in theBraldu River because authorities wouldnot pay to recover them.This indifferent attitude led KenMacDonald, a professor of geographyat U of T Scarborough, to start KhurpaCare: an organization that educatestrekkers about the injustices porters face,and also teaches porters about medicalconcerns, such as high-altitude sickness,and their rights as labourers. MacDonaldhas spent almost 20 years off and on inPakistan, many of them in academicstudy of the plight of porters. As a master’sstudent pursuing glaciological fieldworkin the late 1980s, he lived in villagesin the Karakoram Mountains of northernPakistan, and observed the disparitybetween the porters’ conditions and thoseof the trekkers. After completing hisPhD, he began investigating the politicaleconomy of labour relations in mountaineeringand high-altitude trekking.Porters are often outfittedin cheap shoes and clothingand required to carry up to35 kg on their backsThe average North American likelywouldn’t consider scaling an inch of the28,250-foot glacial mountain withoutfour-season tents, Gore-Tex jackets,proper trekking boots and a variety ofother mountain equipment. But portersare often outfitted in cheap rubber10 UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO MAGAZINE / SPRING 2006

“There is a lot ofpromise in this form oftourism, but whatporters want is a moreequitable distributionof the benefits”shoes, polyester sweaters, used jacketsand small plastic sheets that serve asraincoats. At night (in temperatures thatplummet to –25 C) up to a dozen porterssleep under a single tarp. They are sometimesrequired to carry boxes of suppliesweighing up to 35 kilograms on woodenframes strapped to their backs withropes. If porters are struck with highaltitudesickness, some guides will forcethem to continue the trek under threatof lost wages. The poor working conditionslead to serious health problemsfor porters, including respiratory infections,neurological damage and arthritis.Deaths occur regularly.The main reason for this abuse is therise of the “middleman,” or subcontractor,within the travel industry, saysMacDonald. Fifty years ago, mountaineersand trekkers would hire portersupon reaching Karakoram; now theyoften book their trips through a NorthAmerican company, which subcontractslabour arrangements to a Pakistani firm.Many of these brokers in both NorthAmerica and Pakistan have the soleaim of producing profit – resulting inwhat MacDonald calls “outdoor sweatshops”for porters. “In many ways, it’sa fascinating structure of ignorance.A lot of these North American firms dono monitoring whatsoever,” he says.“They’re basically using structures oflabour that we would put people in jailfor here if they contributed to labourdeaths the way that these companiesare contributing to labour deaths.”Travellers also reinforce the inequaltreatment of porters because they mayview them as “other” or the differences as“natural,” says MacDonald. This perspectivehas its roots in colonialism, he says,citing the writings of a French mountaineerwho climbed K2 in 1938: “Theirmisery was terrible to behold, but theydid not appear to feel this in the slightest.It seemed to fit them naturally, asnaturally as the rags in which they wereclothed.” MacDonald then quotes aBritish mountaineer he interviewed inKarakoram in 2001: “I think it’s fair tosay that they are different. That they arebetter able, for whatever reason, physicallyor mentally, to handle pain than weTheare. They are able to cross 6,000-metremountain passes in flip-flops when wewouldn’t even think of trying.”“When they’re saying they’re physicallydifferent or mentally different, they’reattempting to say, ‘They’re tougher, we’reweaker, they don’t need the protectionwe need’ – which is nonsense,” saysMacDonald.In order to put a stop to the exploitationof porters, mountaineers and trekkersneed to ensure that the porters haveadequate equipment and food beforethe trip begins, and oversee the guidesto ensure that the porters receive fullpayment, says MacDonald. If porterscome down with high-altitude sickness,trekkers need to see that these men getpaid regardless. “You are the ultimateemployer, even though you’re givingmoney to a company who is arrangingthings,” says MacDonald.He adds: “This has to be emphasized:nobody wants [portering] to stop. Thereis a lot of promise in this form of tourismand the economic benefits it could provide.But what people at the low end ofthe scale want is more equitable distributionof the benefits – and that’s not what’shappening now.” – Stacey GibsonDino’s “Duck Bill”Not Linkedto Sense of Smellmassive, hollow crestsof duck-billed dinosaurs(also known as lambeosaurs,which lived up to 85million years ago) might havebeen used to attract sexual partnersor warn of predators, butone theory about the crests isnow being sniffed at: that it wasthe main location of the dino’ssense of smell. David Evans, aPhD student in zoology at theUniversity of Toronto at Mississauga,reconstructed the brainand nasal cavity of the lambeosaurusing fragments of fossilbone, and determined thatthe system responsible for thesense of smell did not changedrastically in lambeosaur evolution.He also confirmed thatit is unlikely that the crestsevolved primarily to heightensensitivity to smells.Thesefindings add weight to twopopular theories: that the complexnasal passages inside thecrests were used to create honkingnoises to attract matesor warn of predators, and thatthe crests were used for visualdisplay in mate selection orspecies recognition. – Nicolle WahlILLUSTRATION: COURTESY OF THE ROYAL TYRRELL MUSEUM OF PALAEONTOLOGYWWW.MAGAZINE.UTORONTO.CA 11

LeadingEdgeILLUSTRATION:WARREN HEISE11, 2004, SteveKurtz – an art professorin Buffalo, N.Y., – ONMayawoke to find his wife, Hope, dead ofwhat was later determined to be a heartattack. After arriving at Kurtz’s home, aparamedic noticed lab equipment and“petri dish artworks,” and reported whathe deemed to be suspicious activity tolaw officials. Kurtz was, in fact, a memberof the Critical Art Ensemble – a collectiveof protest and performance artists –and the equipment was used to create hisartistic works protesting products ofbiotechnology, such as genetically modifiedfood. In the midst of dealing with thedeath of his wife of 20 years, Kurtz foundhimself at the centre of a Patriot Act bioterrorisminvestigation, in which he wasdetained for questioning; friends wereinterrogated; and his lab equipment andcomputers were confiscated. (Eventually,he was arraigned not on any bio-terrorcharges – but on wire and mail fraud.)Kurtz’s story is retold in a graphicnovelformat with text by Timothy Stock,Artist Steve Kurtzfound himself at thecentre of a PatriotAct bio-terrorisminvestigation, inwhich he was detainedfor questioninga PhD student and philosophy lecturerat the University of Toronto, and graphicsby illustrator Warren Heise, in thelatest issue of Alphabet City. The ideasorientedperiodical, edited by John Knechtel(BA 1987 UC), explores the politicsof suspicion in a post-9/11 world througha collection of photography, essays, filmstills and fiction. In his introduction tothe issue, Knechtel asks: “How does oneforgive for being made to fear? What isthe appropriate response to the suspect?The Politics of SuspicionCan anyone feel secure after terror?” Thequestions surrounding suspicion areexamined in an essay from U of T philosophyprofessor Mark Kingwell (BA 1985St. Mike’s), fiction from Jack McClellandwriter-in-residence Camilla Gibb (BA1991 UC), photography by alumnaRita Leistner (BA 1988 Woods, MA1990) and other works – raising newresponses to the intertwined world ofthose doing the suspecting and thosebeing suspected.– S.G.Rinse MayIdentify Risk ofGum DiseaseGum disease – which attacksthe bone and gums thatsupport teeth – will affectup to 70 per cent of North Americanadults during their lifetime. Buta new oral rinse developed by12 UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO MAGAZINE / SPRING 2006

Heavenly DanceThe universe may beexpanding, with mostgalaxies moving away fromone another, but not so for theMilky Way and neighbouringgalaxy Andromeda. They are on atrajectory to collide in three billionyears, and over another onebillion years will merge and bereborn as a single elliptical galaxy.Astronomer John Dubinski, whospecializes in the dynamics andformation of galaxies, has createda supercomputer simulation ofthe event on his DVD, “Gravitas:Portraits of a Universein Motion.”(Left, the galaxiesare shown a fewmillion years afterthe merge beginswith the smallerMilky Way on thebottom.)The DVD alsocontains eight othersimulations, rangingfrom galaxy formation,galaxy interactions,and starand galaxy clusters.Using the supercomputerat U of T’sCanadian Institutefor Theoretical Astrophysics,Dubinskihas captured the universe’s complexgravitational dances. Thepieces run from two to 8 minutes,and generally cover 50-100million years per second. “It’sakin to time-lapse photography,except you take one frame permillion years,” says Dubinski.He collaborates with composerJohn Kameel Farah – whointertwines such sounds asMiddle Eastern music, baroqueand electronica – to providean ethereal musical backdrop.The DVD is available atwww.galaxydynamics.org. – S.G.PlacentalProblems Linkedto Heart DiseasePregnant women who experienceplacental syndromes have doublethe risk of developing cardiovasculardisease later in life, according toa U of T study led by Dr. Joel Ray ofthe department of medicine.This riskincreases three- or fourfold if thefetuses experience impaired growth,or if there is fetal death.Researchers studied more thanone million Ontario women who werefree from cardiovascular disease beforetheir first delivery.While the increasedcardiovascular risk is associated withpre-eclampsia, gestational hypertension,placental abruption or placentainfarction, the reasons for it aren’tyet certain.“It has nothing to do withthe child that’s born, but it may reflectgenetics or the lifestyle of the mom –or both,” says Donald Redelmeier, aprofessor in the general internal medicinedivision at U of T, and senior authorof the paper published in The Lancet.Affected women should have theirblood pressure and weight assessedabout six months after delivery,and practise a healthy lifestyle, saysRedelmeier.They also should be checkedfor high blood cholesterol and highblood sugars – both of which can betreated after the mother has finishedbreastfeeding. – Elizabeth RaymerProfessor Michael Glogauer atUniversity of Toronto’s Faculty ofDentistry could help identify thoseat risk. In trials, the quick-actingrinse allowed periodontists to countthe number of infection-fightingwhite blood cells, called oral neutrophils,in patients’ mouths.Whenpresent in higher-than-averagenumbers, these neutrophils causedamage to bone and gum tissue.Glogauer administered therinse to both healthy patients andthose with periodontal disease.He found that patients with periodontaldisease had higher levels oforal neutrophils, but these levelsdeclined among the patientswho were successfully treated.“Patients who responded wellto treatment had a 43 per centreduction, while those who respondedpoorly showed no significant changes,”says Glogauer.“This non-invasive,painless oral rinse is an excellentresearch tool, and we hope thatdentists will one day use it to quicklyidentify patients at risk for bone andgum destruction.”– Elizabeth Monier-WilliamsILLUSTRATION: JOHN DUBINSKIWWW.MAGAZINE.UTORONTO.CA 13

Your Doorto a World ofPossibilitiesWest Entrance,Elevator & TTY416.978.2452 www.harthouse.utoronto.ca

ew& NotableNR ECENT DEVELOPMENTS ON CAMPUSPHOTOGRAPHY: JIM PANOUCulinary ConquerorsThe atmosphere may not have been as flamboyant as its is surprised,” says Afrekans member and New College Englishstudent Sheena Blake – who prepared the salmon.televised cousin, but U of T’s first-ever Iron Chef competitioncontained the same frenetic energy as the She credits her improved skills to teammates Rodney MillsFood Network cook-off show. In the Sidney Smith cafeteria,10 teams of three students battled to create a gourmet meal(each team used the same selection of ingredients) – whichwas then judged on taste and presentation by a panel of professionalchefs.Team Afrekans boiled and baked their way tofirst place with salmon in a red wine sauce, garlic mashedpotatoes and cabbage Cobb salad. The reward? 1,500 “flex”dollars valid at campus Sodexho food outlets, the companythat organized the November event.(centre), an economics and geography major at New College,and brother Denzel Mills, an information technology studentat U of T at Mississauga.The brothers often cook athome, where Denzel acts as head chef and younger brotherRodney performs as sous-chef.They took this approach in thecompetition, with Denzel creating the all-important sauceand Rodney preparing the potatoes.The two say they inheritedtheir passion for food from their mother, whose specialtyis African soups.“Cooking is in our blood,” says Denzel,“but“I used to be known for burning water, so everyone I know so is competing.”– Megan EastonWWW.MAGAZINE.UTORONTO.CA 15

New&NotablePHOTOGRAPHY: PAUL CHIASSON/CP; KEN ANDREYO; MACDONELL PHOTOGRAPHY; HENRY FEATHERU of T Brings HomeOlympic Gold, BronzeAtrio of U of T Olympians returned triumphantfrom the Turin Olympics in February. AlumniVicki Sunohara and Jayna Hefford (BPHE2004), members of the Canadian women’s hockeyteam, won gold medals, while figure skater JeffreyButtle, an engineering student (above), earned bronze.Hefford scored Canada’s final goal in the women’shockey championship match against Sweden. “Thismay be the most balanced team in the tournament,”she told CBC reporters. “It was a real team effort.”Buttle, Canadian men’s figure skating champion,rocketed back from sixth-place in the Olympic shortprogram to a bronze medal with his performance inthe free program.Skating to “Samson and Delilah,” Buttle scoredhigh marks for his difficult footwork and inventivespins. His free program scores were second only toRussia’s Evgeni Plushenko, who won gold.– Elizabeth Monier-WilliamsGoing GlobalNew AppointmentsThree of U of T’s largest faculties have appointed new deans. ProfessorCristina Amon, an expert in computational fluid dynamics,has been named the new dean of the Faculty of AppliedScience and Engineering. Amon was formerly thedirector of Carnegie Mellon University’s Institute forComplex Engineered Systems.Professor Mayo Moran (JSD 1999) was appointeddean of the Faculty of Law in December. Moran, anassociate professor of law and former associate deanAmonat U of T, teaches tort law, trust law and legal theory.Catharine Whiteside (BSc 1972, MD 1975, PhD1984) is the new dean of medicine. A graduate ofU of T’s Faculty of Medicine,Whiteside has soughtways to improve the student experience throughouther university career. In 2000, she became associatedean (graduate and interfaculty affairs).MoranAs the new associate vice-provost (students),Professor Tony Chambers’ first priority will be toevaluate the student experience at U of T and adviseon how to improve it.“The biggest challenge will betranslating what we learn about the student experienceinto programmatic and institutional change,”says Chambers, an assistant professor in the departmentof theory and policy studies in education,WhitesideOISE/UT.“It may require us to listen to each other in a different way.”– Jenny Hall, Kathleen O’Brien and Nicolle WahlThe Economist is TrinityCollege student GunwantGill’s second favouritemagazine. It’s The Toronto Globalistthat’s closest to her heart. Gill,21, is in her third year of internationalrelations, political scienceand economics at U of T. Sheis also editor-in-chief of the newundergraduate internationalaffairsmagazine launched inNovember.The publication (availablefree on campus and online atwww.globalistfoundation.org) hasa volunteer staff of 14 students,and joins a growing networkof Globalists at universitiesaround the world. (Rawen Huang,a student at Yale University,established the umbrella organization– the Globalist Foundation– in January 2005.)People often say that yourgeneration doesn’t careabout politics – so what’swrong with you?GG: I think it started at anearly age, always hearing my parentstalk about politics and howit’s important to participatein that process.Are they politicians?No. But my great-uncle, LachmanSingh Gill, was the premier ofPunjab, India, from 1967 to ’68.Tell me about the Globalist.The international network is whatreally sets us apart.To my knowledgethere’s no other network ofinternational-affairs magazines.16 UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO MAGAZINE / SPRING 2006

How will youmake adifferencethis year?U of T student Rahma Mohamedrecently travelled to Namibia toresearch the social impact of AIDS.Her journey was made possible in partthrough a gift from Marvin Katz,a returning studentand Annual Fund donor.In a simple act of generosity,he changed a student’s life forever.You can too!To find out how, visitWWW.GIVING.UTORONTO.CAE-mail: annual.fund@utoronto.caTel: 416-978-2173 Toll-free: 1-800-463-6048Fax: 416-978-3958

ATwistofFATERAYMOND REILLY WAS LOOKING FOR A BETTER WAY TODIAGNOSE BREAST CANCER. INSTEAD, HE DISCOVEREDA NEW WAY TO TREAT IT BY KRISTA FOSSThere are a few things you needto know about RaymondReilly. The self-effacing associateprofessor of pharmacydoesn’t give up easily. And he’s not givento dramatic exaggerations. So when hesays that his almost decade-long effortto bring his novel breast cancer therapyto the stage where it can be tested onhumans was a challenge, you can assumeit’s an understatement.Another thing to know about Reilly isthat he doesn’t turn up his nose at the giftsof serendipity. Consider this anecdote:The University of Toronto professor,who is also a scientist with the TorontoGeneral Research Institute, had beenanxiously trying to find a source for aPHOTOGRAPHY: KEVIN KELLYLeslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy professor Raymond Reilly (left)is developing a “Trojan Horse” therapy that could one dayhelp thousands of Canadian women like Cathie Long (above),whose type of breast cancer is difficult to diagnose and treatWWW.MAGAZINE.UTORONTO.CA 21

are biological substance that he neededbefore his therapy could proceed to clinicaltrials. He had exhausted his optionsthrough traditional avenues. He was, hesays, at wit’s end. So late one evening, asa last resort and expecting nothing, heturned to Google.Reilly typed “pharmaceutical qualityepidermal growth factor” into the searchengine and, to his surprise, the queryproduced three hits. The last link, froma biotechnology company in Ithaca, inUpstate New York, turned out to havethe stock, the quality of material and thedesire to supply research efforts suchas Reilly’s. Nine months later, Reilly’sunique targeted radiation therapy wasbeing tested on breast cancer patients inCanada, the first in the world to receivethe breakthrough treatment.To know Raymond Reilly’s story isto understand a lot about the story ofnew cancer therapies: they almost neverinvolve a smooth trajectory from stunninglaboratory results to patient benefits.More often, the tale is an epic ofwrong turns, aggravating switchbacksand the infrequent interventions of fate.Above all, the narrative is one of perseverance.But when researchers such as Reillyprevail, the world ends up with evermoresophisticated, effective therapies tobeat back mankind’s most flummoxingdiseases. In other words, the endings ofsuch tales can be very satisfying indeed.Cathie Long (BA 1971 Trinity)is an accountant, a mother andan avid French horn player.But ask her to explain Reilly’sDr. Katherine Vallis (left) asked Long if she would like totake part in an experimental new breast cancer treatment, andLong decided she would. “The approach of delivering radiationin a really targeted way made sense to me,” she saysunique treatment, and she sounds a lotlike a biophysicist. Long, 56, has a vestedinterest in understanding how and whyReilly’s approach has potential in the fightagainst breast cancer.Long, who lives in Cobourg, Ontario,found out she had aggressive breast cancerin 1995. She underwent surgery,chemotherapy and radiation, then enjoyednearly seven years of remission. But in2002, she felt a pain near her sternumthat turned out to be cancer; the diseasehad metastasized. Since then, she hastried radiation treatment and four separatechemotherapy regimens. She sufferedfrom fatigue, hair loss, gastrointestinaleffects and a blood disorder inthe process.The Canadian Cancer Society reportsthat nearly 150,000 people in Canadawere diagnosed with cancer in 2005.Although lung cancer is still the leadingcause of cancer deaths among adults,breast cancer continues to affect moreCanadian women than any other formof the disease.In the past 20 years, the understandingand treatment of cancer has beenhelped immeasurably by genomics. Thesequencing of the human genome, completedin 2003, has enabled researchersto identify a host of genetic targets incancer cells and develop new therapies.Recently, a related field called functionalproteomics has energized cancer research.This specialty identifies the proteins producedby genes, and proteins are oftenthe first warning sign of disease.Long has a type of breast cancer thatproduces a particular protein. Thosewith breast cancer producing this proteintend to have a poorer prognosisthan those with other forms of the disease.As it happens, Reilly’s novel therapytargets precisely the kind of breastcancer cells that are invading Long’sbody. His treatment takes the old workhorsetherapy of radiation and makes itmore deadly, more effective and lesstoxic by getting it inside these individualcancer cells.Long was asked to take part in theearliest human experiments with Reilly’stargeted approach, and she decided toopt in. “I had developed resistance tochemotherapy, and I wasn’t a candidatefor [the cancer drug] Herceptin,” she says.“The approach of delivering radiation ina really targeted way made sense to me.”Like so many researchers throughoutthe history of science, Reillystumbled on a new way totreat cancer while looking forsomething else.For much of his career, Reilly maderadiopharmaceuticals. These compoundsemit gamma rays that are captured by22 UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO MAGAZINE / SPRING 2006

An Esthetic MarvelThe Leslie L. Dan Pharmacy Building doesn’t opentill September, but it’s already turning headsIt’s only a few blocks from his office at 19 Russell St. but pharmacyprofessor Raymond Reilly’s lab at the new Leslie L. Dan PharmacyBuilding seems worlds away.The brand new $75-million facility at the northwest corner ofCollege Street and Queen’s Park Crescent is a sunlit cathedral ofglass and black granite. It’s a far cry from the cramped maze and winkingfluorescent lights of the circa-1960s Russell Street building thatthe Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy currently calls home.While faculty and students will soon be able to appreciate thestate-of-the-art research laboratories, the design by architects Fosterand Partners of London, England, is nothing short of an estheticThe new building, which opens in September, will enable the LeslieDan Faculty of Pharmacy to double its enrolment to 240 studentsin the undergraduate pharmacy program and significantly increasethe number of faculty, researchers and graduate students.“The private sector must play a greater role in ensuring thatwe help meet the need for a greater number of skilled professionalsin the province’s pharmacies,” says Dan. “On a personallevel, as a U of T alumnus, I feel it is incumbent upon me to givesomething back – something that will benefit the university andsociety.The University of Toronto provided a great start to mycareer, and now I want to make certain others benefit from thosemarvel.The panes of glass forming the five-storey atrium are so largethey had to be ordered from Luxembourg – thehome of the world’s only supplier that would cutthe panes that big.The glass allows an unobstructedview of the elegant heritage buildings next door –the Tanz Neuroscience and FitzGerald facilities.Inside the light-filled atrium, two large podsfloat overhead like smooth white eggs. Inside thelarger “egg” is a 60-seat classroom; the smaller onecontains a 24-seat computer training centre.Thesesuspended classrooms could not have been builtfive years ago, says Darren Lobo, the project coordinatorfor PCL Constructors Canada, the firmheading the construction.The computer softwareto design them simply didn’t exist.The spacious seven-storey cube on top of theatrium will house research and administrativeoffices, laboratories and unique teaching environments,such as the Herbert R. Binder/ShoppersDrug Mart Professional Practice Laboratory. Thislab will give pharmacy students practice in counselling“patients” (played by actors). Their interactionscan be taped and observed by classmates andprofessors through a closed-circuit television system.In the building’s basement are two large lecturehalls – 240 and 300 seats – stacked on top ofeach other, like the Elgin & Winter Garden TheatreCentre a few blocks away.Leslie L. Dan (BScP 1954, MBA 1959, DScP Hon.1997), chairman and founder of Novopharm,donated $13 million to the construction of thesame opportunities.”– Krista Fosscutting-edge facility. Apotex and Shoppers DrugMart are also major contributors, along with theprovince of Ontario and the University of Toronto.The $75-million Leslie L. Dan Pharmacy Building at College Streetand Queen’s Park Crescent houses state-of-the-art laboratories,lecture halls and two unique “suspended” classroomsILLUSTRATION: COURTESY OF FOSTER AND PARTNERSWWW.MAGAZINE.UTORONTO.CA 23

Cathie Long andRaymond Reilly visitReilly’s lab at theToronto GeneralResearch InstituteSo far, Phase 1 trials have confirmed that Reilly’snew treatment is safe for human use. If further trialsare successful, the therapy could be approved foruse by the end of the decadesophisticated cameras and produce imagessimilar to a CT scan. They help radiologists“see” disease, infection or injury inthe body. Different radiopharmaceuticalscan help visualize different ailments. Andearly on, Reilly began thinking aboutdesigning radiopharmaceuticals that helpdoctors detect specific kinds of cancer.His work in imaging and diagnosingdisease led to his interest in designinga radioisotope that would not onlylocate breast cancer, but also tell doctorsabout the idiosyncrasies of eachtumour. “Breast cancer is not just onedisease, though often it is treated thatway,” he says. “Tumours differ becauseof their biology. Some are more aggressivethan others.”Tumours, like cats, can be very finickyabout what they eat. Reilly wanted tounderstand the specific growth factors, orproteins, preferred by the tumours of differentbreast cancer patients. The rationalewas simple: the more informationdoctors can have about the specific dietof each tumour, the better they can usedrugs and other therapies to interferewith the diet that allows the tumour togrow unchecked.Cancer specialists were already wellaware that certain breast cancers have ahealthy appetite for the hormone estrogen.Inside these cancer cells are entitiescalled estrogen receptors, which attractthe hormone and absorb it directly intothe cancer cell nucleus, where it triggerscell growth.By the time Reilly began his doctoratework in medical biophysics in themid-1990s, these estrogen-receptor-positivebreast cancers were being successfullytreated with drugs such as tamoxifen,which inhibits the cancer cell’s abilityto take up estrogen and slows cellgrowth. But not all breast cancers arehungry for estrogen. Reilly became interestedin another kind of tumour, whichis harder to diagnose and treat. “I wantedto identify patients with a poor prognosis– those who don’t respond to tamoxifenand who might need to be treatedmore aggressively with chemotherapy,”he says.By poring over research literature,Reilly found that breast cancers thatdon’t feed off estrogen have anotherkind of receptor – one that attracts apeptide called epidermal growth factor(EGF), which is produced by the body’ssalivary glands.Reilly speculated that if he attacheda radionuclide to EGF, it would act likea homing device and take the imagingtracer directly to cancer cells with EGFreceptors. The radionuclide would causethe EGF-receptor-positive tumour tolight up on the camera image, creatingan easy, accurate and non-invasive wayto diagnose this more stubborn subsetof cancer tumours.So in 1996, Reilly was well on his wayto developing a helpful new imagingagent. Little did he know that the ficklegods of research had something a littledifferent in mind. In the midst of hisdoctoral work, Reilly attended a meetingof the Society of Nuclear Medicinewhere he noticed a research poster thatonly a radiopharmacist could love. Itdescribed how a decaying radiopharmaceutical(a form of iodine 125) coulddamage a cell’s DNA by emitting Augerelectrons. Named for the French scientistPierre Auger, who first publishedresearch on them in 1925, these electronshave a low energy and can onlytravel short distances – mere nanometres.But this is all that’s needed to wielda hefty blow within the confines of acancer cell nucleus.Reilly was dumbstruck by the enormityof the possibilities. He was usinganother Auger-electron emitting radioisotopecalled indium-111 for his work24 UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO MAGAZINE / SPRING 2006

Pinpoint DeliveryProfessor Christine Allen usesnanotechnology to ensure cancer-fightingdrugs get where they need to goMany new drugs under development havethe potential to do some good. But afterbeing swallowed or injected, they scatter,dissolve or disappear in the body beforemaking it to the site of the disease.This is where Christine Allen comes in.To get these drugs to where they’re supposedto go, the assistant professor of pharmacyat U of T is building nanoparticles toencase the drug molecules.Then she targetsthese nanoparticles to breast cancer cells inmuch the same way as her colleague RaymondReilly targets his radiotherapy. Sheattaches them to epidermal growth factorpeptides, which smuggle the nanoparticlesinside the cancer cells where the encaseddrug is released. Her creations are so smallthat she has to use an electron microscope to see them.Allen, whose doctoral work was in polymer chemistry, researchesher unique nanoparticles in a distinctly high-tech fashion. Usingsoftware that produces 3-D images, she creates virtual models ofthe new materials used to make up the particles on the supercomputerat the Molecular Design and Information Technology Centre,a leading Canadian academic bioinformatics centre devoted todrug design. Allen says the centre’s software predicts how thesematerials will interact with the drug they’reAllencarrying – helping her rule out certaindesigns and saving the inestimable expenseof making mistakes in the lab.While the work of this avowed “chemistrygeek” is still in the early stages, she isbeginning to test some of her unique compoundson animals. And she has plans tocollaborate with other scientists, such asReilly, to create hybrids of their targetedapproach.“As a material scientist workingin nanotechnology, I couldn’t be in a betterinstitution,” says Prof.Allen, who appreciatesbeing in close proximity to other like-mindedresearchers at the Leslie Dan Faculty ofPharmacy.“I can just walk down the hall andget answers to all sorts of questions.” – K. F.PHOTOGRAPHY: STEPHEN SIMEONon a new imaging agent. It occurredto him that the tool he was developingto better diagnose EGF-receptor-positivebreast cancer might actually end uptreating it.When scientists try to decode theircomplex drug delivery work to a layperson,they often use metaphors ofweaponry and stealth: the smart bombversus the carpet bomb, or the sniperversus the indiscriminate machine gun.Way back in 1996, Reilly started tothink of his potential new therapy asa Trojan Horse – a way of smugglinga deadly payload into enemy territoryunder the guise of something friendly.He had a good hunch that if he attachedindium-111 to the EGF peptide (to createan EGF conjugate) it would betaken inside EGF-receptor-positive cancercells. And he bet that when indium-111 started decaying in the cell, theemitted Auger electrons would be closeenough to the cell nucleus to irreparablydamage its DNA. In other words,he planned to exploit the cancer cells’appetite for EGF by feeding them whatPRODUCTION/PROJECTENGINEERSare you READY for an OPERATIONSLEADERSHIP ROLE?Call Tom KotsopoulosManager, Recruitment(416) 401-7516www.apotex.comSeeking highly motivated,results driven, engaging leadersfor our modern pharmaceuticalproduction facilitiesAIPOTEX NCCANADA’S PHARMACEUTICAL COMPANYWWW.MAGAZINE.UTORONTO.CA 25

they wanted – and smuggling a radioactiveambush into each cell.Back in the lab, Reilly found thatradio-labelled EGF could actually killbreast cancer cells. In fact, when Reillycompared his indium-111 EGF conjugateto the conventional chemotherapydrug methotrexate, the conjugate was300 times more toxic to cultured breastcancer cells. Never in his professionallife had he come this close to yelling,Eureka! “I couldn’t believe it,” he says.Last October, Long got her oneand-onlyintravenous treatmentof indium-111 EGF as part ofthe Phase 1 clinical trial for thetherapy. Her ears momentarily turnedred. Her blood pressure dipped slightly.And, for a brief moment, she felt nauseous.Small stuff.Long kept her sense of humour, especiallyabout the precautionary measures.She wasn’t allowed to sleep next to herhusband for the first week. She also hadto flush the toilet three times after usingit, keep her towels separate, stand backa few metres from anyone she encounteredand avoid public transportation.Because indium-111 is a radionuclide,it’s regulated by the Canadian NuclearSafety Commission – and that meanslots of precautions.“It was overkill really, but in terms ofinconvenience it is minor compared to sixmonths of chemotherapy,” says clinicalscientist Dr. Katherine Vallis, a U of Tassociate professor of radiation oncologyand medical biophysics.Several years ago, Vallis, who is also aradiation oncologist at Princess MargaretHospital, joined forces with Reillyto get his therapy ready for clinical trials.Together, they’ve spent much of theintervening years proving that indium-111 EGF is worthy and safe for testingon humans.EGF receptors are not only producedby specific cancers, they occur on thesurface of healthy cells in the liver andkidneys. The team had to show that theindium-111 EGF conjugate would notbe unduly toxic to these organs or thebone marrow. Once they developed animalmodels to test their therapy, theywere in for a happy surprise: even at 42times the planned maximum dose forhumans, the new therapy tested on miceresulted in no toxicity to the kidneys,liver or bone.Despite these cheery results, the processof obtaining Health Canada approvalfor their clinical trial had as many upsand downs as a barometer in spring.(Pharmaceutical companies have wholedepartments dedicated to ensuring thatpromising drugs make it through therigorous government approval process.Academic researchers, such as Reilly andVallis, must deal with all of the paperworkthemselves.) “Certainly there wasa point where we thought the regulatorswere demanding so much that we didsome heart-searching about what ourrole was – if, in fact, we should just doTraditional charm, eleganceand an inviting atmospheremake the Faculty Club anideal facility for special events, meetings,conferences, receptions and weddings.Enjoy fine dining in the WedgwoodDining Room or the Oak and BeaverPub. Relax in front of the fireplace in ourMain Lounge or entertain your guestsin the Fairley Lounge, where originalpaintings by Canada’s Group of Sevenartists are on view.thefacultyCLUBUNIVERSITY OF TORONTOYou can join the FacultyClub at the low alumni rateof $300 per year. For moreinformation, please call(416) 978-6325 or visitwebsite www.utoronto.ca/facultyclub/26 UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO MAGAZINE / SPRING 2006

How Much AreDrugs Worth?A FLEDGLING MEDICAL SCIENCE ATTEMPTSAN ANSWER BY JOHN LORINCILLUSTRATION: GRAHAM ROUMIEULast summer, Leslie Cowan, a41-year-old mother of two, lefther home in Toronto, travelledto Buffalo, and checked into amedical centre to be treated with a cutting-edgecancer drug called Herceptin.The drug had shown encouraging resultsin the U.S., but hadn’t been approved inOntario because of its high price tag:$35,000 to $45,000 per patient per year.To pay for her treatment, Cowan was preparedto remortgage her home, knowingshe may no longer be able to help pay foruniversity for her kids. But, as she said,“at least I’ll be alive.”Herceptin is now available in Ontario,but its long journey to market underscoresa profoundly difficult questionfor the people regulating the province’sstrained health-care system. Do the overallbenefits of such life-prolonging drugsexceed their considerable costs? For cancerpatients, the answer is a resounding,‘Yes, they do.’ But how much are we, asa society, prepared to pay for new drugsthat purport to save – or prolong – a life?Is the sky the limit?Dr. Murray Krahn, an associate professorin the department of HealthPolicy, Management and Evaluation atU of T, is an expert in cost-effectivenessanalysis, a relatively young science thatprovides quantitative measures to helpdetermine which drugs provide the mostbang for the buck. “Cost-effectivenessanalysis is kind of like a ConsumerReports for drugs,” says Dr. Krahn, theF. Norman Hughes Chair in Pharmacoeconomics.“It tells you whether a newdrug is a good deal.”In theory, says Dr. Krahn, cost-effectivenesscalculations are straightforward.Analysts compare the cost of prescribinga new drug to the cost of using an oldertreatment – which could be a well-establishedpharmaceutical, or a combinationof drugs and medical treatment. Expertsin pharmacoeconomics then examinehow the new therapy performs comparedto previous treatments. They comparehealth benefits, such as long-term survivalrates, tumour shrinkage, side effects anddisease recurrence. The point is to assigna dollar value to the improved healthpromised by the new drug. This dollarvalue is what provincial drug plans shouldbe willing to pay for the new therapy.In practice, such calculations involvea complex array of clinical data and economicestimates. To illustrate the difficultyof such calculations, Dr. Krahnpoints outthat a cost-benefitanalysis of aneveryday consumer product is trickybecause value is a malleable and fundamentallysubjective term. For example,is a Volvo worth more than a Hyundai?The price suggests that it is, but the extravalue offered by a Volvo may not beworth the additional cost. It dependshow you measure the benefits of owninga Volvo. “Shopping for a car is hardenough,” says Dr. Krahn. “Health is waymore difficult. There are millions of diseasesand millions of interventions.”Consider a new osteoporosis drug thatpromises to reduce the incidence of hipfractures. Among patients who are prescribedthe drug, one can presume thathospital expenses – emergency-roomvisits, surgery, nurses’ salaries, administrativeoverhead – will drop. You need toestimate the total reduction in hospital28 UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO MAGAZINE / SPRING 2006

expenditures and weigh it against the costof administering the drug.Mike Tierney (BPharm 1978), thedirector of the Common Drug Reviewat the Canadian Coordinating Officefor Health Technology Assessment, anindependent agency that conducts suchevaluations, says hospitalization costscan be estimated using data collected bythe Canadian Institute for Health Information.The tricky part is that hospitalizationrates vary significantly fromprovince to province (and even fromregion to region) due to, for example,home-care policies and different treatmentapproaches. The point: the relativevalue of a new drug may vary dependingon where it’s administered.Even more difficult is gauging theeffectiveness of a new treatment againstprevious therapies. Health Canadaapproves a drug based on how well it performsin experimental trials. The problemis that drugs behave differently in thereal world, where a patient’s lifestyle –whether he misses pills, smokes, drinks,or dines predominantly on potato chips– can undermine a drug’s effectiveness.What’s more, trials offer limited data onhow a new drug will fare in the long run.“This is one of the problems of goingthrough with this kind of evaluation,”says Dr. Krahn. “People are called uponto do economic evaluations when thedata isn’t as a mature as you’d like.”Dr. Andreas Laupacis, president andCEO of the Institute for Clinical EvaluativeSciences and a drug evaluation expertin U of T’s Faculty of Medicine, cites theexample of Iressa, a lung cancer therapythat was approved for use in 2003 on thebasis of its promising performance intrials. “My understanding is that when itwas evaluated in patients over the longterm, the benefits were marginal,” he says.The potential for miscalculation hassome clinicians and epidemiologists complainingabout the lack of standards inmaking evaluations, which are typicallyconducted by drug companies. Dr. Krahnsays this skepticism is well deserved.“Cost-effectiveness evaluations are exponentiallymore complex from a designpoint of view than randomized controlledtrials and more subject to the bias of theinvestigator.” In Australia, a 2000 reviewof 326 drug applications to the country’sPharmaceutical Benefits Scheme found“significant problems” with two-thirdsof the pharmacoeconomic evaluationsconducted for the board, including biasedor incomplete studies. In other words,evaluation experts may be basing decisionsabout whether or not to approve adrug on shaky economic analysis.Equally contentious is what such studiesactually reveal. When a new drug issubject to cost-effectiveness analysis, itresults in a number that purports to tellpolicy-makers approximately how much“ ”The fundamental question is howmuch benefit a particular drug shouldhave, and at what cost, before 13 millionOntarians are willing to pay for itextra cost a drug plan can expect to incureach year of a new treatment for onepatient to achieve an improvement inquality of life. In a highly controversial1992 paper that Dr. Laupacis wrote toprovoke debate, he proposed that newdrugs approved by Health Canada thathave a net cost of less than $20,000for each year of treatment per patientbe deemed affordable and included onprovincial drug plans, while those northof $100,000 be considered too pricey.“People asked, ‘Where did you come upwith those numbers?’ The answer is, ‘Wemade them up.’”Tierney insists that policy-makersdon’t rely only on hard-and-fast thresholdsto determine whether a new drug istoo expensive relative to the benefits itprovides. Still, many in the field regard$50,000 as the unofficial line separatingoverly pricey from affordable treatments.But, as Dr. Krahn observes, “No oneknows what threshold we should beusing. It’s a question of how we valuesome standard unit of health.”With very expensive cancer drugscoming onto the market all thetime, can Canada’s ailing health careinfrastructure continue to bankroll thesetherapies without forcing financial sacrificeson other parts of society?Most observers say the answer is political,but policy-makers still need to beable to tally up the actual costs and benefits.As Dr. Krahn puts it, cost-effectivenessevaluations are “a very powerful wayof supporting decision-making.” Yeta pair of McMaster University healthpolicy experts published a study in theCanadian Medical Association Journal in2003 that cast doubt on whether costeffectivenessanalysis serves to containoverall drug expenditures. Arguing thatthe use of such evaluations is “a prescriptionfor increased expenditures,” AmiramGafni and Stephen Birch noted that theaddition of a costly new drug to theprovincial drug plan tends not to accompanycost reductions elsewhere in the system.As Dr. Laupacis points out, “Mostdrugs don’t replace older drugs; theyexpand the market.” In other words, as agreater number of drugs are approved,more drugs are being prescribed – andthat means higher overall costs.“What you fund is not a purely technicalquestion,” says Dr. Peter Singer,the director of U of T’s Joint Centre forBioethics and the Sun Life FinancialChair in Bioethics. Drug approvals mustinvolve what he calls the “three Es” –evidence, economics and ethics. In hisview, a cost-effectiveness assessment isnecessary but insufficient. “The fundamentalquestion is how much benefit aparticular drug should have, and at whatcost, before 13 million Ontarians arewilling to pay for it,” he says. “There’sno straightforward answer.” ■John Lorinc (BSc 1987) is a Toronto writer.His book The New City was just published.WWW.MAGAZINE.UTORONTO.CA 29

MATH PROF AND AMATEUR COMICJEFFREY ROSENTHAL EMBRACES RANDOMNESS– BOTH ON STAGE AND IN CLASSGamesBY STACEY GIBSONChanceofIT’Sa snowy Friday night in February, andwind lashes at the clusters of young professionalson their way to the Irish pubsand Greek restaurants of Toronto’s trendyDanforth strip. But inside studio two of the Bad Dog Theatrea three year-old, hole-in-the-wall comedy joint – the heat ismaking the audience flush harder than an off-colour AndrewDice Clay routine.The ratcheting temperature can be blamed on the tinyquarters: the 400-square-foot windowless studio holds 25spectators and four maniacal comedians, who are performingimprov for the pay-what-you-can crowd. A comedic versionof rapier sword-fighting, improv is an intellectual sport inwhich each strike of an ad lib helps build a scene. The troupemembers play off one-liners (or “offers”) that they throw eachother, parrying and jostling their way to laughter or careeningdownward to a thud of silence.Perhaps the most boisterous troupe member is U of Tstatistics professor Jeffrey Rosenthal – a six-foot-three, scruffyfellow with broad shoulders, a head of curly brown hair and athunderous voice. (“He is Little John from Robin Hood,” saysimprov buddy Mike Ranieri. “A big, burly, lovable guy.”)Rosenthal ricochets from playing a son yearning for the acceptanceof his housepainter father to a jilted housewife. Then –channeling a bellowing, frenzied version of Mel Gibson inBraveheart and adding the most diabolical Scottish accent outsideGlasgow’s Barlinnie prison – he turns to a familiar role.He roars: “Alright then little boys and girls. It’s me first dayteaching so I don’t want anybody giving me a hard time. Thatincludes yew.” [looking at a cast member in a chair]Student [cast member]: “Yes, Mr. Angus.”Rosenthal: “Now look – I was told that you’re a difficultclass. So here’s what I want you to do. I want you to just cowerin fear and repeat after me: “I’m a miserable NOBODY.”Students [cast members], en masse: “I’m a miserable nobody.”Rosenthal: “You’re really not a bad class after all.”WWW.MAGAZINE.UTORONTO.CA 31PHOTOGRAPHY: LIAM SHARP

Two weeks earlier, in his U of T office, Rosenthal wisecracksabout what I will write if the performanceflops: “He said he did improv but I went to the showand he’s actually an idiot. All his other work must befraudulent, too.’” And comedy is a crapshoot, requiring a steelyself-confidence and high-spirited sociability. Rosenthal, 38,started improv classes in 1995 at Theatresports in Toronto andbegan performing gigs after almost three years of training.“There’s a lot of randomness in how it goes, but when it goeswell, and I actually make people laugh and enjoy themselves it’sexciting. And it also made me start thinking about other thingsdifferently…” He speaks of learning to “go with the moment”both on the stage and in the classroom. “Improv applies prettymuch to your whole life – you’re always being confronted bythings that you didn’t expect, or you couldn’t anticipate. Andare you going to let it throw you off? Or are you going toembrace it and go with it?”‘‘Embracing randomness –and being aware of its dangersand delights – is Rosenthal’sspecialty. His latest book, Struckby Lightning: The Curious Worldof Probabilities (HarperCollinsCanada 2005), shows readershow to use simple mathematicalconcepts – most notably,probability theory – to assess the odds of random events happeningto them. In other words, how likely are you to actuallyget walloped by one of those rare occurrences that obsess youon a sleepless Sunday night? If, for example, you worry excessivelyabout being the victim of a homicide, there is a chapteron how to assess crime statistics correctly. (According to Rosenthal,if we look at the difference between counts [total numberof homicides] and rates [homicides per 100,000 people], wecan see that the risk of being murdered in Canada has been ona slight decline since the mid-1970s – indicating it may be ourfear of violent crime that is on the rise.) And during those raginglate-summer electrical storms, it might be useful to knowthat only three Canadians died after being struck by lightning(as compared to, say, 74,824 of cardiovascular diseases) in 2001.If, on the other hand, you hanker to beat the house at crapsor 21 or blackjack, Struck by Lightning might help you calculateyour odds. (Hint: rein in your inner Ben Affleck, and stepaway from the table – you’re not going to get rich quick. Casinosguarantee that games are weighted in their favour byemploying probability theorists to calculate the average netpayouts.) The book also includes chapters on understandingthe margin of error in polling; interpreting medical studies;and – for those who vacillate over decisions large and small –utility functions (numerical ratings), which can help you decidewhether to buy house insurance, ask out an attractive colleagueor try a new medical treatment.The book has clearly hit a public nerve: last year, it reachednumber seven on the Maclean’s bestseller list, and is now slated32 UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO MAGAZINE / SPRING 2006for release in the U.S., Germany, Australia, New Zealand,Japan and Italy. Struck by Lightning is an example of a publishingindustry trend: books that merge an academic specialtywith the concerns of a general audience. “The book showshow we can understand and interpret the events of our livesusing simple math. If nothing else, it makes probability andstatistics interesting and accessible for the layman,” says RaduCraiu, an assistant professor of statistics at U of T.Rosenthal’s academic field is an exclusive one: he studiesMonte Carlo algorithms (his specialty within this branch is aneven bigger mouthful: Markov chain Monte Carlo randomizedcomputer algorithms). In simplest terms, Monte Carlo algorithmsare a way of using randomness to gauge quantities thatare too difficult to compute directly. As Rosenthal explains inhis book, they were first used at the Manhattan Project in NewMexico – birthplace of the atomic bomb – during the SecondImprov applies to your whole life –you’re always being confronted by thingsyou didn’t expect.Are you going to letit throw you off?Or are you going toembrace it and go with it?’’World War. Scientists needed to ensure the bomb contained thecorrect amount of uranium: too much, and it would explodeprematurely, killing those surrounding the project. Using someof the world’s first computers, scientists randomly simulated themotion of neutrons and the atomic-bomb chain reaction overand over again. This allowed them to deduce how the neutronswould behave on average, and what fraction would escape.Monte Carlo algorithms are now used in almost every spherewhere randomness exists: from managing investment portfoliosto gauging which medicines work during trials. “One neatthing about probability, as opposed to many branches of mathematics,is that it is connected to so many things on a personallevel and a professional one,” says Rosenthal.early chapter of Struck by Lightning, Rosenthalexplains how mathematicians invented Erdösnumbers – a chain-of-connections game in whichINananyone linked to the gifted Hungarian mathematicanPaul Erdös would be assigned a number value, withthe most direct link receiving a number one. A Hollywood variationof the pastime, Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon, is now ubiquitousin the pop-culture landscape. And, given the number ofU of T family connections Rosenthal has, anyone who hasstepped on U of T soil might be able to play a new version ofthe game: Six Degrees of Jeffrey Rosenthal. His father, Peter, isa professor of mathematics at the university who specializes inoperator theory. (For a decade, Rosenthal and his dad workedtwo floors apart in Sidney Smith Hall.) His mother, Helen,

ecently retired as a math lecturer at U of T Scarborough.Brother Alan is a computer science lecturer on the St. Georgecampus, while brother Michael is an instructional technologyanalyst at OISE/UT. Jeffrey’s wife, Margaret Fulford, is thefaculty librarian at the Faculty of Dentistry.While Rosenthal was growing up in Scarborough, Ont., hisnumerically minded parents introduced him to mathematicalconcepts at an early age: by the time he was eight, he couldprove the classic math idea that the number of prime numbersis infinite. He also had a working knowledge of probabilitytheory, which he used to increase his chances of vanquishinghis two brothers at Monopoly: he would compute the probabilitiesof his brothers rolling certain numbers on the dice andlanding on certain squares, to decide whether to buy housesfor his property. (Unfortunately, they employed the same tactics,making for some cutthroat Monopoly games.) And whenhe was a teenager studying math, physics and computer scienceat U of T in the late 1980s, he could envision “mathematician”as a profession in a way other undergraduatestudents didn’t seem to grasp. “For me, it seemed the naturalcareer choice to work in mathematical sciences,” he says.After graduating with a bachelor of science from U of T in1988, Rosenthal attended Harvard University, earning a PhDin mathematics at the tender age of 24. It was at Harvard thathe first began applying probability theory to everyday situations.In his second year, Rosenthal was slated to fly to theJohn F. Kennedy International Airport in New York to visitrelatives – but a week before his departure, a plane crashednear the airport, killing 73 people.Rosenthal was skittish about gettingon his flight, but found solace in thecurrency of cold hard numbers: hedetermined there were about 5,000flights a week to the airport – andthat the chances were probably lessthan one in 5,000 that, in the followingweek, there would be anotherdisaster. The odds were low enoughto convince him to board the plane.“At first I thought, ‘Oh my Godthere’s been a plane crash at JFK.’…It was only upon calming myself Ithought, ‘Wait a minute – I shouldstop and think about this more,’” hesays. “When you’re doing researchwork it tends to be so specialized thatit’s easy to forget the connections tothings around you. You’re workingon your subtleties and you don’t lookaround so much. It was a case of tryingto blend what I’m working onwith the everyday.’”Translating difficult concepts for ageneral audience, and playing to acrowd, are roles that come naturally to Rosenthal. Improvfriend Ranieri explains how, a few years back, Rosenthalbought a video camera and solicited his friends to write andact in amateur movies with him. (One of their most recentpieces is the “Night of the Living Dead Christmas Special,” inwhich Rosenthal sings about “slay rides” and chomps on giftsof “brains” made of cauliflower.) The friends decided to createa movie trailer for Rosenthal’s first academic textbook, A FirstLook at Rigorous Probability Theory. “At first I thought, ‘Whata stupid thing to do a movie on’ – a preview movie for this boringstats book. But we thought ‘That’s why it’s funny, right?’so we did Rigorous Probability: The Movie,” says Ranieri. Rosenthalnow shows the video to his graduate classes.first episode of the hit TV show “My Nameis Earl,” a two-bit thief finds a winning scratchticket worth $100,000. In sheer revelatory joy,INthe punches the air, whoops with glee and danceshis way out onto the road – where a senior citizen in a Buickslams into him, and sends his ticket casting off into the wind.While Earl is in hospital, his wife visits to hand him divorcepapers, inform him she is having an affair with the local barowner, and that her two children aren’t his. Stunned, druggedand imprisoned in a cast, Earl turns on the TV, and watches aninterview with MTV personality Carson Daly – who is talkingabout how karma changed his life. “Karmaaaa,” says a gobsmackedEarl, who undergoes a spiritual epiphany. Convincedhe is being paid back for a lifetime of bad deeds, Earl makes aWWW.MAGAZINE.UTORONTO.CA 33

list of all his wrongdoings – from siphoning gas to rigging ahigh school football game – and sets out to make amends withthe universe. The result? While crossing number 136 (“been alitterbug”) off his list by cleaning up a motel parking lot, hefinds the lost winning ticket in the detritus.Is there karma? Is someone above taking notes and keepingscore? When you’re a probability theorist, the idea of fate orthe existence of the karma gods of Earl’s universe appear, well,highly improbable. In fact, Rosenthal is a member of theHumanist Association of Canada, a non-theistic group thatbelieves life choices should not be guided by a belief in supernaturaldeities, but by human reason and compassion. Rosenthalspeaks on the discord between fate and probability. “Oftenpeople will point to certain statistic examples: Here’s a goodguy who almost died and then he didn’t and there must havebeen some divine intervention or master plan, but that’s whatwe the probabilitists would call a selection bias… You can justas easily find examples where the opposite happened: the badguy got away and the good guy got killed. I say, well that’s perfectlyconsistent with the idea that these things happened randomlyand that there is no all-powerful force controllingthem,” he says. “To me it seems more useful to understand anddeal with the world that we‘‘have and try to take actionsthat will improve the worldbased on what it is – ratherthan to ascribe things to itthat there’s not evidence of.”In October 1999, Rosenthalmarried Margaret Fulfordin a humanist ceremony at Hart House: the service tookplace in the Debates Room, and the reception in the GreatHall. Rosenthal, an amateur musician (he plays everythingfrom the trumpet and keyboard to the saxophone and bongodrums), sang and played guitar for his new bride. “The reallyromantic part was he sang a song that he had written for mewhen we had just been dating for six weeks, which was called‘Margaret, Won’t You Fly to P.E.I. with Me?” says Fulford. “Healso sang a Paul Simon song called ‘Kathy’s Song,’ which wasthe first song that he sung for me when we were first dating.It was very sweet.”IT’Sa Wednesday afternoon, week 17 of thefirst-year seminar class “Probability andUncertainty” in Sidney Smith Hall onthe St. George campus. The room, withits austere windowless surroundings, is oddly reminiscent ofthe Bad Dog Theatre studio. The crowd is slightly smaller,and the laid-back atmosphere has a Sunday morning sleepiness,with students – in oversized sweatshirts, baggy jeans andcaps – slouched low in their seats. Hardcover editions ofStruck by Lightning sit on the maroon tabletops.Rosenthal enters in a green sweater, khakis and beigesneakers. He begins talking at the hotfoot pace that he uses34 UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO MAGAZINE / SPRING 2006when he is enthused about something – which seems to bemost of the time. Today the group is studying the “p-value”(the probability that an observed result occurred by purechance) that is built into medical studies. Five per cent is thestandard p-value, but Rosenthal wants the students to reallythink about what this means. He wants them to understandthat it raises the possibility that one medical study in 20 mightbe wrong. “If we see something through observation, wealways have to wonder if they just got lucky – whether shootinghoops or conducting medical studies,” he says.He whips out a deck of cards, and his p-value performancebegins. He tosses one club, one diamond and one heart to thestudent next to him and asks him to put the cards face down.“Question: do I have psychic powers?” Rosenthal looks at theback of the card, thinks hard, and guesses “clubs” – it’s a diamond.He misses on all three. “That seems to indicate I don’thave psychic powers.”The mission extends to the students. With the enthusiasmof entering a game of Texas Hold ’em, they gather in groupsof two and three to try it for themselves. They do a series oftelepathic “tests” – from staring at a facedown card, to inhalingover it, to running their fingers across it – to see if theyWhen you’re doing research it tends tobe so specialized that it’s easy to forget theconnections to things around you. I try toblend my work with the everyday.’’can determine the card’s suit. (They must guess right threetimes in a row – 1/3 times 1/3 times 1/3 – to reach a statisticallysignificant p-value of 3.7 per cent.) The jokers in thecrowd make loud snorting noises during the inhaling segment.There are yells of “cheater.”At the end of the trials, Rosenthal asks, “Who, accordingto current scientific standards, has psychic powers?” Three ofthe 17 students raise their hands. The talk parlays into whatfurther experiments could be done to clarify results, and whattricks pharmaceutical companies could employ if they weredesperate to get a new drug approved. “There is a flip side,”says one astute student. “Maybe a drug that could have savedlives was lost because there was too rigid a standard.” Thestudents start thinking discriminately.Before they leave Rosenthal runs over next week’s assignment:publication bias. It’s a loaded topic dealing with themedical-study controversy surrounding Dr. Nancy Olivieriand the pharmaceutical company Apotex. But he also asksthem to read anecdotes in the book with names such as“Jumping Frog,” “Happiness Hat” and “Meditation MedicalMiracles.” Because even in the curious world of probabilities,there’s always room for a little improvised entertainment. ■Stacey Gibson is managing editor of U of T Magazine.

AFTERHOURSC A M P U S L I F E F R O M D U S K T O D A W NBYGRAHAMF. SCOTT“Pulling an all-nighter” is a quintessential university experience. But harried-looking students flipping through textbooks orstaring bug-eyed at their computers at daybreak are only part of the story. U of T bustles with activity after dark. Tag alongas we pull an all-nighter of our own (well, several, actually), to explore the nooks and crannies of a campus that never sleeps.University College

11:44P.M.Hart House Theatre10:52 P.M.There aren’t any cheering crowds –just the fluorescent glow of the ice andthe thrum of the Zamboni as captainMichael Georgas gears up his team tohit the ice at Varsity Arena.This is how most intramural hockeyis played at U of T: late at night withfew spectators. Tonight, the engineeringhockey team, the Skuleyard Bullies,is taking on U of T Scarborough. Thegame is played for fun, not glory.“I love hockey,” says Damien Frost,a third-year engineering student andthe Bullies’ right defenceman. “It’sgreat to play in an intramural settingbecause you know most of the peopleon your team. It’s like playing withyour buddies.”Georgas sends out his players towarm up with some passing and shootingdrills. “Our players are from alldifferent years,” he says. “It’s a way toget people together.” Continued on page 38“The Rocky Horror Show is a midnight kind ofexperience,” says Jenna Rocca, batting herfake eyelashes and adjusting her bowler hat.Rocca and her friend Bill Hulme have takenfront-row seats at Hart House Theatre forUC Follies’ production of the cult classic, andthey’ve dressed for the occasion. Rocca haschosen to wear a black bra as a shirt, andHulme has smeared gold glitter on his barechest. Rocca is what Rocky Horror veteranscall a “virgin”: it’s her first time seeing a theatreproduction of the campy rock opera.“But I’ve seen it at least six times on video,” she says.Rocky Horror is the raunchy tale of a transvestite alien, Dr. Frank N. Furter,who seduces an innocent couple, Brad and Janet, at his secluded mansion.While the Hart House Theatre crew are resetting the stage for the midnightpremiere, cast members speak about rehearsing for the notorious musical.“It’s like no show you’ve ever been in,” says Peter Jermyn, who plays Rocky,the doomed title character. Flesh-baring costumes heighten the racy vibe –Jermyn wears little more than a shiny jockstrap. Not surprisingly, rehearsalscentred on getting the actors comfortable with the revealing outfits.“We hadto become, um, familiar with each other,” says Claire Burns, who plays Columbia,one of Furter’s “assistants.”The hard work has paid off:tonight’s show is one of four sold-out performances.It’s almost midnight!” gasps Burns, checking her watch.“All the craziesare going to come out!”WWW.MAGAZINE.UTORONTO.CA 37PHOTOGRAPHY: FERNANDO MORALES

Continued from page 37Each year, about 8,500 studentsplay intramural sports, participating ineverything from triathlons to table tennis.While some of the teams play ata varsity level, there are divisions for alltypes and abilities – inner-tube waterpolo, for instance, for students whoneed help staying above the water-line.Anne Richards, one of the ninesleepy-looking spectators in the stands,is here to see her son Mark skate forthe engineers. “The teams only playfive games in a semester, so if you missone, you’ve missed a lot of the season,”she says. The late start time is finewith Richards: “It’s more convenient,actually,” she says, eyes on the ice.“This way, it doesn’t conflict withanything except sleep.”12:28A.M.Fiona Rankin studies a set ofgraphs scrolling across her computerscreen in the sleep laboratory atthe Toronto Rehabilitation Instituteon University Avenue.The graphsmeasure the breathing patterns,heart rates and brain waves of threepatients. Rankin points to a longflat section in one graph.“This manessentially stopped breathing fora full minute,” she says.Rankin, a technician, is workingthree 12-hour shifts this week.Most patients at Sleep ResearchLaboratory have sleep apnea, acondition that can cause them totemporarily stop breathing dozensof times a night. Heavy snoring isone indicator of apnea. In Rankin’soffice, three Fisher-Price babymonitors, one for each patient,emit a gentle rumble.“Did you hear that?” Rankin asks.“He started breathing again after81 seconds.That’s a very long apnea.”Dr. Douglas Bradley, a U of Tprofessor and the laboratory director,is investigating how sleep disordersrelate to cardiovascular problems.In a recent study, Bradley and hisresearch team found a link betweensleep apnea and the risk of stroke.As for Rankin, she says that therewards of assisting with this typeof research are high, but admits thatworking at night takes a toll.“I havea lousy sleeping pattern,” she says.Information Commons, Robarts Library38 UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO MAGAZINE / SPRING 2006

1:07A.M.“In this lab, we study nematode worms,”says Mariam Alexander, a second-yearmaster’s student in medical genetics. Sheand Alexandra Byrne, a third-year PhDcandidate in medical genetics, are usingthe tiny worms to determine how specificgenes affect muscle developmentand also how genes work together inthe context of a whole animal.Their lab is on the 12th floor ofthe sleek new Terrence Donnelly Centrefor Cellular and Biomolecular Research,which offers a shimmery, nighttimeview of downtown Toronto throughits floor-to-ceiling windows. On anygiven night, you’ll find a handfulof masters and PhD students in this3:24 A.M.In a reading room at the RobartsLibrary,the students look either bored,desperate or deep in concentration.Several are completely unconscious.Mai-Ling Truong, Joey Ng andKristin Eberth are staked out at atable in the main lobby.They allhave looming deadlines.“I’m working on an essay onthe Indian Act,” says Truong, a secondyearAboriginal studies student.“It was due today.”Ng, a fourth-year life sciencesstudent, is writing a book report aboutFilipino culture on the Internet.“It’s one of the most boring topicsever,” she groans.lab, completing experiments, crunchingdata and compiling results.“The worms have a three-day lifecycle,” explains Byrne, so for studentsengaged in a complex experiment, thatmeans working to the worm’s schedule.“It’s a biological organism,” saysAlexander, “so it’s not like we can turnit off and come back and continue theexperiment. The worm will die, andthen you lose everything.”Byrne and Alexander, who havebeen working in the same lab for abouttwo years, say the new Donnelly Centrelabs are a vast improvement over thewindowless rooms of the MedicalSciences Building, where they used toconduct research. “Here you can seethe sun rise and set,” says Alexander,“There’s actually daylight.”Eberth, a third-year politicalscience student, is supposed to be writingabout Quebec separatism for anessay that was due two days ago.“Myenthusiasm is unparalleled,” she says,while rolling her eyes.The three are no strangers tolate-night work, although Eberthsays that the frequency of theirmidnight study marathons varies.“Sometimes I don’t work late atnight at all and sometimes five nightsin a row.” It may not be for everyone,but it’s a system, says Eberth, herfriends typing furiously beside her.“We don’t usually wake up until1 p.m., so this is our time.”2:16A.M.“This is why we don’t have anyglue sticks left,” sighs ClaudiaCalabro, editor of The Gargoyle,reaching up to pull an erranttube of hardened glue off theceiling where an anonymousprankster has stuck it. Calabrois the editor of the Gargoyle,University College’s irreverent,often satirical and sometimesplainly juvenile newspaper.Tonight the paper’s staff isworking on its election issue.Part of the Gargoyle’s enduringappeal is its grungy, handmadelook, which comes fromassembling it the old fashionedway – by cutting out picturesand text with X-Acto knives andgluing them onto large sheetsof paper.About a dozen studentstaffers are gathered around theconference table – an abusedbilliards table, with the snookerballs lumped in the pockets –to survey the layout.“We can’t tell this joke,” sayssomeone at the far end of thetable, arguing that it’s too tasteless,even by the paper’s risquéstandards. An editor quicklyrenders the one-liner unreadableby crossing it out with a thickblack Magic Marker.“There are still four pagesleft to do,” Calabro hollers fromher desk, where she’s writing hereditorial.“We have to get everythingdone in half an hour or itwon’t be printed tonight.”Thirty minutes later, theedition is edited and glued down.Calabro shouts a victorious,“Somebody call a taxi!” Thestudents clear the billiards tableand bundle up the pages. Calabroand company head out into thecold and assemble on the frontlawn of University College tosee their baby into the cab thatwill rush it to the printer.WWW.MAGAZINE.UTORONTO.CA 39

4:05 A.M.In the deepest reaches of the McLennanPhysics Building on St. George Streetis a room that’s crucially importantto every student, and staff and facultymember – though few have ever seen it.Stored in this heavily air-conditionedbunker are the e-mail servers, payrollmainframes, Cray supercomputers andhundreds of other blinking, whirringand buzzing computers.Network Operations (as it’s called)is like Grand Central Station, and it’sSam Harrichand’s job as a shift supervisorto keep the trains running.“See that red light?” asks Harrichand,pointing to a blip on one of thefive monitors that indicate networktraffic. “That’s someone launching anattack.” The hacker, location unknown,can’t find a chink in U of T’s armour.But other hacks have broken through.“If the network goes down or themail servers fail, I have to wake peopleup in the middle of the night to fix it,”he says. While such hacker attacks presenta serious inconvenience, Harrichandsays they make his job interesting.“I have to act quickly to get the networkback in working order,” he says.Harrichand blocks about a dozenattacks during a 12-hour shift, but thethreats are mostly minor. “I like thework,” he says. “It’s quiet.”6:01A.M.It’s windy and well below freezing,but in the attic at 91 St. George St.,Jahmin Haye and Ricky “Turbo” Brownare heating up the airwaves with therhythms of the Caribbean.Their radioshow,The Morning Ride, is a mix ofreggae and dancehall. Every Monday,it broadcasts live from 6 to 9 a.m. outof U of T’s community radio station,CIUT 89.5 FM. But today is no ordinaryMonday: It’s Bob Marley’s birthday,and they’re dedicating a whole showto the music of the reggae legend.“Today is going to be an extraspecialcelebration,” says Brown,introducing the show.“We’re celebratingthe life of Robert Nesta Marley,born February 6, 1945, part of theJamaican group the Wailers.”CIUT’s signal has the largest broadcastreach of any campus radio stationin Ontario.Today’s first caller, fromBuffalo, requests “Could You Be Loved,”saying it’s his favourite Marley track.“The Morning Ride” is consistentlyone of CIUT’s most popular shows,reflecting both the size of the Jamaicancommunity in Toronto and theappetite for reggae generally. “Youcan’t stop the music, man,” saysBrown. Haye nods in agreement.After doing “The Morning Ride”for nine years, they still find gettingup at 5 a.m. a little hard to take, butthey’re dedicated.“It’s love, man,just a passion for the music,” saysHaye.“It’s still not like a job becauseit’s …” he turns to Brown and asks,“What’s the word I’m looking for?It’s a responsibility.”And with that, the red On Airlight is back on. Duty calls.40 UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO MAGAZINE / SPRING 2006

6:25 A.M.Athletic Centre7:55 A.M.Pat Cave is now working days as a portress at St. Hilda’sCollege. But she has seen an awful lot of night shifts sincebeginning her career at the Trinity College women’s residence40 years ago.“When I started working here, a young woman who wanted to be out aftermidnight had to go to the don and request a ‘late night out,’ and sign the book,” says Cave.“Then thedon would give her a key.” Now the residents – both men and women – have their own floor keys.And there’s no one keeping a log of their nightly comings and goings.In the 1960s and ‘70s, the women who lived at St. Hilda’s weren’t permitted men in their rooms,except on weekends. Weekday visits were restricted to “the pink room” – a large room on thefirst floor, where several visits often took place simultaneously.Cave, who came to Canada from Guyana in 1964, worked as a cook for two years before startingat St.Hilda’s.Cave figures that she met thousands of students during her career – and got to knowsurprisingly many of them.“Some of the girls that live here now, their mothers were here,” shesays. In February, Cave received a card from someone who had heard that she’ll be retiring in June.With another shift beginning, and visitors coming and going under Cave’s watchful eye, shesays she’s ready for retirement. But Cave intends to come back to visit.“Whenever I’m downtown,I can just drop in on St. Hilda’s and make sure it’s all in working order.”Through the windows of the AthleticCentre, the sky is a strip of dingy grey.Members of U of T’s swim team arewandering onto the deck of the poolfor morning practice. Every soundin the humid, chlorinated air echoessharply, yet it’s surprisingly quiet —just the sound of flip-flops on tile asthe team members yawn, stretch, andget the kinks out before plunging in.“I swim all five weekday morningsat 6:15, a little later on weekendmornings and then three nightsa week,” says first-year studentHannah-Jo Ryan.“But if there wasno coach on deck, I would have atough time getting in this early.”Each morning, the team spendstwo hours swimming laps anddoing exercises to build strengthand endurance and to improve theirtechnique. For second-year studentMarco Monaco, the training has paiddividends: he recently took silver andbronze medals in the breast-strokeat the Canadian InteruniversitySport championships in QuebecCity.The U of T men’s swim teamplaced third in all of Canada.Such success requires exceptionaldedication.“We train an extra halfhoura day just to take off tenths of asecond,” says coach Byron Macdonald.“Marco happens to be one of themore intense trainers on the team.“It’s the will to win,” says Monaco.“Getting up so early and havingclasses all day gets you really tired.But it all comes with what you do.”The concentrated training scheduleseparates varsity athletes fromother students.“You can’t really belike other people,” says Ryan.“A lotof my friends will stay up until 4 a.m.,sleep through classes, and get upand do it all again. I can’t do that.”The crack-of-dawn practicesbring their own rewards, though.“If you start the day off with a reallygood workout, you feel great,” shesays.“You feel like you’ve alreadyaccomplished something.” ■WWW.MAGAZINE.UTORONTO.CA 41

JASCHOOL OFZFOR U OF T MUSICSTUDENTS, IT’S ALLABOUT PASSION ANDTHE DESIRE TO PLAYHigh above Philosopher’s Walk, onthe third floor of the Edward JohnsonBuilding, Sandra Salverda idly playswith the valves of her trumpet. The24-year-old music student is beingtested in a third-year improvisationclass by her professor, QuinsinNachoff. To an outsider, Nachoff’sinstructions don’t make much sense.“Play a half-note diatonic line throughthe chord changes,” he says, and“Try a 5321 pattern.” But to the twojazz musicians – one professionaland one learner – the words providea route to what they hope will be theperfect musical expression of DukeEllington’s “In a Sentimental Mood.”“What tempo?” Salverda asks.“Whatever you think you canexecute,” Nachoff suggests.Accompanying Salverda are fellowZBY PAUL FRAUMENIstudents on standup bass, drums andpiano. Together they quickly map outhow they’re going to play, and the bassplayer mumbles, “One, two, three …”The music begins. What wasan informal exchange of ideasbetween players becomes a surprisinglyaccomplished rendition of astandard from the Big Band era.Closing your eyes, you’d think youwere in a real jazz club.But just when the musiciansare really swinging, Nachoff wavesat them to stop. They resume theirinsiders’ talk. Being able to improviseWWW.MAGAZINE.UTORONTO.CA 43PHOTOGRAPHY: KC ARMSTRONG

around a central melody is a key skill for any jazz musician,and learning how to do this involves constant playing andreviewing. “When you get to performing, you have all thefreedom you want,” says Nachoff. “But you have to practicespecific elements of a piece over and over.”The cluttered performance room at the Faculty of Music isnot far from Toronto’s downtown jazz clubs, but the journeyfrom one to the other is a long haul. Students enrolled inU of T’s four-year jazz studies program practise and performabout 40 hours a week while also writingessays and exams. Many do payinggigs on the side: Salverda plays in amariachi band at a Mexican restaurant;other students sit in on sessionsat The Rex, a downtown blues andjazz bar. They are required to composetheir own music, study music historyand theory, and arrange songs into ajazz format (reinventing the Beatles’“Yesterday,” for example, as a jazzinstrumental). On a practical level,students also learn how to marketthemselves as musicians and managetheir business affairs. Most will notmake a full-time living from jazz. Butthey are all committed to trying.‘‘Professor Terry Promane, the director of U of T’s jazz studiesprogram, says younger students usually find improvisationclass the toughest. “At first, most people can only handle a verybasic set of chord changes.” He illustrates by singing, “Five foottwo, eyes of blue,” emphasizing the nursery rhyme-like simplicityof the song. “By the time the students are finished, they’veprogressed to a sophisticated and professional level.”Students receive an hour a week of private lessons from afaculty member, which can yield significant skill improvements,says Promane. “Students come to you as a big block ofgranite, and every lesson you knock off another chunk. By thetime you get to fourth year, you hope the statue is complete.”Despite the gruelling work and high expectations, the youngmusicians seem to welcome the intensity of the learning experience.“Any one-on-one you get can only be beneficial if youreally want to learn to play your instrument,” says Salverda.But can jazz – the heady brew of syncopation, improvisationand rhythm created by African Americans in the early partof the 20 th century out of their other monumental musicalinvention, the blues – really be an academic pursuit? Isn’t itbest learned in a dark club over shots of bourbon?That’s something of a Hollywood stereotype, but Gage Averill,dean of the Faculty of Music, believes that students do have44 UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO MAGAZINE / SPRING 2006to make a serious decision about how they want to learn jazz.“If you want to throw yourself into playing 24/7, don’t dothis. This is for people who want a degree – who want tostretch their mind, to think about what modernism and postmodernismmean because they don’t think music is just aboutplaying. Our students get the university experience and theycontinue to polish their craft with really good teachers.”Those “really good teachers” are a major draw for students.“Everyone who teaches here is a jazz player,” says Promane, anaccomplished trombonist who playedwith Rob McConnell’s famed BossBrass. “We discuss the music as aclassical art form. The conversationalways circles around the large body ofthe jazz canon and the jazz mindset.”U of T’s Faculty of Music launchedthe jazz program in 1991 with the goalof providing an intimate kind of musicinstruction. “You have to get to knowyour students personally so you canhelp them artistically,” says Prof. PaulRead, the program’s founding director,who now heads up the master’s program.“With65 students, you have aSandra Salverda far better opportunity of doing thatthan if you have 300.” Read workedANY ONE-ON-ONE YOU GET CAN ONLY BE BENEFICIAL IFYOU REALLY WANT TO LEARN TO PLAY YOUR INSTRUMENT‘‘with Canadian jazz legend Phil Nimmons (who is still a facultymember at age 82) to design the program. They hopedtheir students would take an interest in different styles of music.“We wanted students who were interested in broadening theirscope,” says Read.Before North American universities began teaching jazz inthe 1950s and 1960s, most faculties of music offered programsin classical music and opera, which were considered a better fitwith a university’s academic approach. “That feeling kept jazzout of universities for a long time,” says Read. “But music ismusic. There are more similarities between learning to playmusic in the jazz idiom and the classical idiom than there aredifferences.” He says jazz has suffered from some unfair stereotyping.“This music has come a long way from the dance hallor the smoky bar. It still has those dimensions, but it is also avery sophisticated art form with a wide range of expressions.”Still, there are risks to submitting jazz to the rigours of academe.“One of the biggest challenges we face is to not kill offthe spontaneous street character of the music by taking anoverly academic approach,” says Read. “You can throttle it bytalking it to death and overanalyzing it.”Performance remains a focus of the program. And studentssay the daily exposure to veteran jazz musicians is crucial. LastOctober, Dan Fortin, a third-year bassist from Peterborough,

Ontario, was the accompanist with Canadianjazz guitarist Lorne Lofsky in a masterclass (where prominent professionalmusicians participate with students in amix of performance and detailed analyticaldiscussion). For Fortin to be able toplay alongside Lofsky is akin to an aspiringnovelist getting Margaret Atwood(BA 1961 VIC) to review a first draft.“This is the great thing about arts education,”says Fortin. “It’s about findingpeople who are working in the medium.They guide you and show what caninspire you. They don’t say ‘This is whatyou need to learn.’ They allow you to doyour own thing.”The program also balances the artisticexploration of jazz with the practical realitiesof building a career. Vocal instructorHeather Bambrick (Mus Bac Per 1997) –a recent winner of two National JazzAwards – says what she learned fromsinger and former U of T instructorCarol Welsman was invaluable. “I couldpick her brain and say, ‘How do I do ademo? How do I organize my first bandor my first record?’ The one-on-one timestudents have with the instructors ispretty amazing.”Another U of T faculty member isChase Sanborn, a veteran studio musician and former memberof the Ray Charles Orchestra. Sanborn encourages youngmusicians to consider the business side of music and to developa career strategy. At a clinic he gave for U of T students last fall,he offered advice on marketing, promotion, and finances andtaxes. “The program should be about learning to do what youdo, but you also need to keep your mind open to how to makea living,” says Sanborn.What drives these young people to pursue the life of a musician?Not riches or superstardom. Although several U of Talumni have gone on to international prominence, not manymusicians can devote their careers to playing only jazz. Thismight have been possible in the 1930s and ’40s during theSwing Era, when the bands of Duke Ellington and Artie Shawwere at the height of their popularity and Ella Fitzgerald andBillie Holiday topped the charts. But in the 1950s, rhythmand blues and rock ’n’ roll came along and captured the mindsand ears of a younger generation. Jazz continued to evolve,with the emergence of Charlie Parker, Miles Davis, JohnColtrane and such new styles as bop and fusion, but it neverregained its mainstream popularity. Although a vibrant jazzscene still exists around the world, most professional jazz musiciansflesh out their incomes with composing and arranging,teaching, corporate Christmas parties and stage musicals.The PlayersVisit jazz clubs or festivals, or enrol in a jazz program at a North American school,and you’re likely to encounter a graduate of U of T’s jazz studies program. Among themost well-known U of T jazz alumni are:Lina Allemano, trumpet2005 CBC Galaxie RisingStar AwardDavid Braid, piano2005 Juno Award winnerfor traditional jazz albumof the yearTara Davidson, saxophoneWinner of the 2005 Distillery Jazz Festival“Emerging Artist Award”Andrew Downing, bassEaton Graduating Scholarshipwinner from theFaculty of Music (1996).His band, Great Unclesof the Revolution, won the 2004 JunoAward for contemporary jazz album for“Blow the House Down”Mike Malone, trumpetOne of Canada’s leading jazz composers;member of the Dave McMurdo Jazz Orchestra;faculty member at Mohawk CollegeMark McLean, drumsJazz Report Post-SecondarySchool Musician of the Yearin 1998; has since playedwith Oscar Peterson, JaneBunnett and Molly Johnson, among othersAnthony Michelli,drumsJazz Report Post-SecondarySchool Musician of theYear in 1995; winner (withthe Nancy Walker Quartet) of the 2003Grand Prix de Jazz General Motors at theFestival International de Jazz de MontrealDariusz Terefenko, pianoFaculty member at the Eastman Schoolof Music at the University of RochesterFaculty member Phil Nimmons understands a musician’spassion for jazz and the drive to play, despite the financial difficultiesthat can come with it. For decades, his bands (Nimmons‘N’ Nine and Nimmons ‘N’ Nine Plus Six) practicallyowned the Canadian jazz scene. But that’s not how his careerstarted. While attending the University of British Columbiain the 1940s, Nimmons planned to become a doctor. As talentedas he was in the sciences, however, he couldn’t let go ofmusic. “I think this is something you can sense in our students.They have this desire. This is what they want to do.”Like Nimmons, most musicians – pro and student alike – findit difficult to put their passion into words. Jazz piano virtuosoBill Evans once described his interest in Zen Buddhism this way:“I don’t pretend to understand it. I just find it comforting – andvery similar to jazz. Like jazz, you can’t explain it to anyone withoutlosing the experience. That’s why it bugs me when people tryto analyze jazz as an intellectual theorem. It’s not. It’s feeling.”Third-year student Fortin spends a lot of time in class talkingabout jazz, but he says the difficulty of explaining the musicis part of its attraction. “Sometimes you can’t really explain whatyou love about jazz or why it affects you. And that makes itsatisfying and mysterious.”■Paul Fraumeni is the editor of U of T’s research magazine, Edge.WWW.MAGAZINE.UTORONTO.CA 45PHOTOGRAPHY: NADIA MOLINARI; COURTESY OF DAVID BRAID; MARC DOWNING; COURTESY OF MARC MCLEAN, ANTHONY MICHELLI

GreatGiftsAlumni Launch Campaignto Restore Convocation HallThe U of T Alumni Association (UTAA) has kicked offan ambitious campaign to refurbish Convocation Hallwith a $500,000 gift, announced by outgoing UTAApresident Brian Burchell (BSc 1987) at the association’s annualmeeting last November.Next year marks the 100 th anniversary of the opening ofConvocation Hall, and the UTAA hopes to spearhead therestoration of a building that has tremendous architecturaland historical significance for U of T and its alumni, Burchellsaid. “All alumni pass through Convocation Hall, so it is onlyfitting that the UTAA take a leadership role in inspiring othersto support this project.”As part of the planned renovations, the stage will be refinished,many of the auditorium’s 1,731 seats will be refurbishedor replaced and a new corridor of accessible washrooms willbe installed. Extensive decorative finishing will enhance thehistorical millwork – including the trim, baseboards, and casingsaround doors and windows. The walls and floors will bepainted and treated, and the exterior of the building will becleaned. Future plans include the creation of a pedestrian plazain front of Convocation Hall with trees and walkways.The UTAA hopes its gift serves as a catalyst for other donations– from individual alumni, corporations and other organizations– to make the complete renovation of ConvocationHall and its surroundings possible.President David Naylor (MD 1978) commended the associationfor its pledge, noting that U of T alumni were instrumentalin raising funds for the construction of ConvocationHall a century ago. At that time, the university hoped to raise$25,000 from alumni to build a hall in memory of those whohad fallen in the Fenian raids and the Boer War. The scopeof the project grew after alumni raised $50,000 and theprovincial government contributed another $50,000. Thebuilding design, by Frank Darling and John Pearson, wasinspired by the Sorbonne theatre in Paris; its cornerstone waslaid in June 1904.– Elizabeth RaymerWWW.MAGAZINE.UTORONTO.CA 47PHOTOGRAPHY: SUSAN KING

GreatGiftsPHOTOGRAPHY: BRUCE ZINGERLike many Canadians, Bluma Appel was moved by thecourage of the nurses who fought to contain the SARSepidemic of 2003 – and was saddened by the deaths thedisease caused. Now Appel, a social activist and philanthropist,has given $350,000 to help fund a state-of-the-art traininglab at the University of Toronto’s Faculty of Nursing.Appel says her gift reflects a personal commitment to Canadiannurses and an appreciation for their work on the front linewith patients. “I became very interestedin nursing during the SARS epidemic,”says Appel. “So many nurses got sick,and some even died because they weretaking care of sick patients. My friendJeannie Butler, who is a nurse and avery good friend of the faculty, saysbetter training with infectious diseasecontrol will help save lives.”The training lab is located in thenewly renovated home of the Facultyof Nursing at 155 College Street.The facility opened in January, andcontains an isolation room for infectiousdisease training – the only oneof its kind in Canada.48 UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO MAGAZINE / SPRING 2006Hats Off to NursesThe Evolutionof MedicineMedical education oftenfocuses on the latest scientificadvances, but a new chair inthe Faculty of Arts and Science willsupport the study of illness and medicalpractice through history.Professor Emerita Pauline Mazumdarand her husband, Dipak Mazumdar,have committed $3 million to createthe Pauline M.H. Mazumdar Chair inthe History of Medicine at the InstituteBluma Appel hashelped fund a new labfor nursing studentsAppel says it is particularly important to support trainingfor health-care workers now, as nurses will play a crucial rolein the event of a global influenza pandemic. “I think nursingis the most underappreciated profession,” she says. “Nurseshave great courage and commitment.” Appel and Butler arenow in the preliminary stages of developing a new fundraisingcampaign for the faculty called “The Flight of 1,000Nightingales.”– Laura Rosen Cohenfor the History and Philosophy of Scienceand Technology (IHPST). The centre’sdirector Paul Thompson says the chairwill deepen the organization’s expertisein life sciences and raise its internationalprofile.“This gift guarantees that theinstitute will play a key role in advancingour understanding of the origins andevolution of medicine, and in making itshistory available to students,” he says.Trained as a medical doctor inEngland before shifting her focus to thehistory of medicine, Pauline Mazumdartaught in the Faculty of Arts and Science

Centre for Sexual Diversity StudiesReceives $1 MillionToronto businessman and University College alumnus Mark Bonham(BComm 1982) has made a $1-million commitment to the Universityof Toronto’s Centre for Sexual Diversity Studies, the largest thecentre has received since its undergraduate program was founded in 1998.Located at UC, the centre offers both major and minor undergraduatedegree programs, hosts academic and community events, and promotesresearch into a variety of sexual identities, including gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgenderedand heterosexual. The centre – one of only a few in North America– acts as a hub for faculty and about 150 undergraduate and graduate students.It also serves as an academic resource for community members interested inunderstanding how society perceives sexual diversity and sexual practice.“Mark has been a strong supporter of SDS for years,” says the centre’s director,Professor David Rayside. “His generosity and commitment made a real differencefor our students in the early years of our undergraduate program. Nowonce again, and more dramatically than ever, Mark has shown great confidencein what we have accomplished, and in the dreams we have for the centre’sfuture.” Bonham’s gift will provide ongoingsupport for program expenses, distinguishedacademic visitors and conferences.Born in Guelph, Ontario, in 1959, Bonhamis chairman and CEO of Stoney RidgeEstate Winery in Vineland, Ont. He directsthe M. Bonham Charitable Foundation andserves on the advisory board of the annualInside Out Lesbian and Gay Film and VideoFestival in Toronto. In 1999, he received U ofT’s Arbor Award for volunteer service to theuniversity. “I’m proud to be able to supportthis important program at University College,and I’m pleased that this new endowmentBonhamfor 23 years. She retired fromthe IHPST in 1999, but continuesto teach and supervise doctoralstudents. Dipak Mazumdar, aneconomist, is an adjunct professoraffiliated with U of T’s Centre forInternational Studies.Pauline believes her academicspecialty has a unique and vitalmandate.“The history of medicineallows students to explore political,cultural and technical history,” shesays.“Owsei Temkin, a past W.H.Welch Chair in the History ofwill enable the program to carry on well intothe future,” says Bonham. – F. Michah RynorMedicine at Johns Hopkins University,used to say that all eras areworth understanding for their ownsake. I decided to fund a chair atU of T to perpetuate that ideal.”Professor Pekka Sinervo, dean ofthe Faculty of Arts and Science, saysthe history of medicine is an importantpart of the university’s teachingand research endeavours.“This giftensures that future generations ofstudents will be able to engage in acrucial area of academic and socialinquiry,” he says. – Diana KuprelHelp forScarborough StudentsUniversity of Toronto Scarborough hasteamed up with a local branch of theCanadian Federation of UniversityWomen (CFUW) to offer scholarships to studentsinterested in women’s issues. The first ofthe three awards will be given out this fall.“We are thrilled that we’ve been ableto strengthen our relationship with U of TScarborough by assisting students from ourcommunity,” says Kathie Krashinsky, theawards convenor for CFUW Scarborough.“This gift celebrates the importance of grassrootscommunity partnerships, which areat the heart of our chapter’s mission.”The new CFUW Scarborough EntranceScholarship will be open to any graduate of aScarborough high school entering the firstyear of a humanities program at UTSC. TwoCFUW Scarborough In-Course Scholarshipswill be awarded to students entering the thirdor fourth year of a major or minor programin women’s studies at UTSC. All three scholarshipsare open to men and women, andspecial consideration will be given to studentswho demonstrate a commitment to communityleadership and who support women’sgroups and women’s issues.For 30 years, members of CFUW Scarboroughhave contributed to a scholarship fundfor young women from local high schools.“Our initial intention was to relieve the financialburden facing young women who attenduniversity,” says Krashinsky. Over the years,the fund has grown to $56,000. The OntarioStudent Opportunity Trust Fund will matchCFUW Scarborough’s gift, creating a permanentendowment of $112,000 for future UTSCstudents – an opportunity that was too goodto pass up, says Krashinsky. “CFUW Scarboroughand U of T Scarborough share commongoals and values about education and aboutindividuals in this community.This arrangementis a reflection of our long relationship and willhave a great impact on students.”CFUW is a voluntary organization of morethan 10,000 women university graduates whoare active in such areas as public affairs, education,law and social education. – Anjali BaichwalWWW.MAGAZINE.UTORONTO.CA 49

GreatGiftsRenowned ScholarJoins DentistryOne of the world’s leading expertsin prosthetic dentistry hasjoined the Faculty of Dentistryat U of T, where he plans to introducethe latest teaching technology andforge greater links with the localdental community.Professor Asbjørn Jokstad, whoarrived in Toronto in October from theUniversity of Norway in Oslo, is the newNobel Biocare Chair in Prosthodontics.The chair was created in 2004 througha $2-million gift from the Swedish dentalcompany Nobel Biocare to promoteprosthodontics scholarship.Prosthodontists specialize in thereplacement of missing teeth or partsof teeth due to injury, aging or disease.“Dr. Jokstad is among the most highlyregarded academic prosthodontists inthe world,” says Professor David Mock,dean of U of T’s Faculty of Dentistry.“Heexcels at using information technologyto assist and augment learning, and isvery student-oriented. He’s going tomake our faculty more receptive to studentconcerns and orient our programsmore directly around the student.”Dr. Jokstad is also keen to bridge whathe sees as a gap between academics andthe dental community. He hopes toeventually establish more links betweenU of T and Ontario’s 7,500 dentists andto encourage more practising dentiststo engage in research and to sharetheir clinical experience. He replacesretiring professor George Zarb, the inauguralchair holder and North America’sforemost expert in implant dentistry.Heliane Canepa, president and CEOof Nobel Biocare, says her companyplaces a high value on its links to universities.“Werely on the dental professionto tell us what patients need,” she says.“Together we are strong.” – ElizabethMonier-Williams and Scott AndersonComing Soon to a Theatre Near YouPatrons and actors alike will benefit from a refurbished Hart House Theatre,thanks to a lead contribution from Saturday Night Live creatorLorne Michaels (BA 1966 UC) to the Hart House Theatre Endowment.Michaels performed in University College productions and directed andco-wrote the UC Follies while attending U of T. The musical revue, whichhe directed in 1964, provided a taste of the satireto come a decade later when Saturday Night Livemade its debut. “What I do now professionally,I first did here as an amateur,” Michaels told agraduating class at Convocation Hall in 2002.He said his happiest time at U of T was spent atHart House: “lunch in the Great Hall, readingMichaelsin the library, but most of all in the theatre.”As part of the theatre’s planned $1-million renovation, improved lightingand seating will be installed in the auditorium, and the green room and dressingrooms will be gutted and remodelled to give the actors more space. A barwill be constructed in the Lorne Michaels Lobby, and washrooms will beexpanded and made accessible. The foyer will be redecorated with theatrememorabilia and renamed the Macdonald Heaslip Performance Walkway, inhonour of a $500,000 gift from Nona Macdonald Heaslip (BA 1951 St. Mike’s)and the late William Heaslip. “The renovations will ensure a high-quality performancespace for student groups, and will continue to provide an outlet forcreative expression,” says Paul Templin, the theatre’s managing director.The Hart House Theatre campaign aims to raise a total of $8 million tocover the playhouse’s renovations, and to create an endowment to supportongoing operations. Donations from such high-profile alumni as NormanJewison (BA 1949 VIC), chair of the theatre’s Council of Patrons, andMichaels have helped Hart House raise awareness about the theatre’s plans.Renovations are slated to begin in 2007.– Carla DeMarcoILLUSTRATION: HOWARD RIDEOUT; PHOTOGRAPHY: MARCIE THURSTLIC50 UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO MAGAZINE / SPRING 2006

D E T A C HEXPLORE THE WORLDUNIVERSITY OF TORONTO ALUMNI TRAVEL PROGRAM 2006Each year we offer exciting new tours specifically for the University of Toronto community. In 2006, wecelebrate the musical genius of Mozart, travel the legendary Silk Road, and enjoy renowned California Bay Areacuisine. We invite you to explore the cultures, landscapes and histories of communities around the world.Prices quoted are in Canadian dollars, per person and based on double occupancy. Dates and prices are subject to change. Individualtour brochures are available approximately 4 - 6 months prior to departure. To request a brochure, please call 416-978-2367 or1-800-463-6048 or e-mail alumnitravel@utoronto.ca or visit us at www.alumnitravel.utoronto.ca or mail this coupon to:University of Toronto Alumni Travel, 21 King’s College Circle, Toronto, ON M5S 3J3Name: ____________________________________________________________ Grad Year: __________________Address: _______________________________________________________________________________________City: ______________________________Tel: _______________________________Province: ______________ Postal Code: _______________________E-mail: __________________________________________________Alumni ID number (printed on mailing address of U of T Magazine) ________________________________________Please send me additional information about individual trips: Yes No Please check off the trips for which you would like to receive information:Great JourneysMay 15 - 26In the Footsteps of Mozart(Vienna, Salzburg, Prague)$5600 + airMay 17 - 29Legendary Passage(Holland, Germany, France, Switzerland)From $4295 + airMay 20 - 29Alumni College in Sicily$2745 + airAug 31 - Sept 13The Blue Danube(Germany to Romania)From $4195 + airSept 16 - Oct 7China's Silk Road$7890September 19 - 27Alumni College on theAdriatic Riviera (Slovenia)$2545 + airOctober 21 - 29Exotic Morocco$2820 + airNovember 1 - 9Alumni College in Tuscany(Italy)$2745 + airNovember 2 - 19Romancing South India$7890June 13 - 21Village Life - DalmatianCoast (Italy & Croatia)From $3495 + airJune 20 - 28Alumni College in Portugal$2595 + airAlumni College in theUkraineJuly 1 - 10$1545 + airAugust 11 - 24Journey of the Czars(Russia)From $2255 + airSept 25 - Oct 3Cruise the MajesticPassage (Germany)From $2545 + airSept 30 - Oct 16Cruise Europe (Holland, Germany,Austria, Slovak Republic, Hungary)$5095+ airOctober 13 - 21Island Life in AncientGreece (Greece & Turkey)From $3530 + airOctober 16 - 23Best of the Bay(California Wine & Cuisine)From $2735 + airGreat CitiesGreat AdventureMay 19 - 26Berlin (Germany)$2990September 15 - 22Istanbul (Turkey)$2945October 6 - 16Peru’s Inca Trail$2150 + air

Come find out Jackie's story at Spring Reunion – the annual U of T alumni gathering that brings together formerclassmates and friends. Spring Reunion 2006 honours graduates of years ending in 6 or 1, with special events planned foralumni celebrating their 25th and 50th anniversaries. The President’s Garden Party and the Chancellor's Medal Presentation(honouring the 55th, 60th, 65th, 70th, 75th and 80th anniversaries of graduation) round out a weekend of rediscoveringfriends and places, old and new. For more information and to register for Spring Reunion, please visit the website orcontact: 416-978-5881, toll free 1-888-738-8876 or spring.reunion@utoronto.ca.UTAAspring ReunionJune 1 -- 4www.springreunion.utoronto.ca

llumniNotesAP ROFILES•NEWS•EVENTS•CALENDAREvery day is Earth Day at Anthony and Mary Ketchum’scustom-built sustainable house in Hockley Valley, Ont.,but they still enjoy celebrating April 22 by inviting visitorsto tour their weekend home. More than 1,400 peoplehave made the one-hour trip northwest of Toronto to see theresidence since its completion in 1998. “It’s successful, practical,attractive and comfortable – a great demonstrationof what can be done,” says Professor Dennis O’Hara, directorof U of T’s Elliott Allen Institute for Theology and Ecology,who has been bringing students to the house every EarthDay for the past five years.Living off the GridThe Ketchums’ house is not connected to the power grid andfunctions entirely on sustainable energy. “I’ve always had a verystrong bent towards preserving the planet,” says Anthony (MEd1974, EdD 1979), crediting his rural upbringing outside PortHope, Ont., for his commitment to environmental issues.When the Ketchums decided to build a country getawayon four acres of land in the Hockley Valley, the hilly terrainseemed to present a serious obstacle, says Anthony, a retiredEnglish teacher who supervised construction of the project.Then he and Mary (BSW 1961) met Greg Allen (BASc1970), an engineer who specializes in Continued on page 54WWW.MAGAZINE.UTORONTO.CA 53PHOTOGRAPHY: COURTESY OF TORONTO AND REGION CONSERVATION©

AlumniNotesContinued from page 53 sustainable design. Allen looked at aparticularly steep slope and saw an opportunity to use thehillside for warmth and shelter in the winter and cooling inthe summer. The colder sides of the house – the north andeast – are built into the hill for insulation, with two storeysbelow ground level.• The sun streams through 174 square feet of triple-glazedwindows on the home’s west and south sides. Krypton gasbetween the window panes prevents heat loss. Without anyactive heating, the temperature inside never falls below 10 C.In the summer, trellises of northern kiwi and grape vinesshade the windows and help keep the house cool.• For the coldest months, there is a seven-tonne masonrywood heater that extends between the main living area andkitchen. “If you get a good fire going, you only have to lightit once every 24 hours, even in the dead of winter,” saysAnthony. It also features a built-in bake oven.• Seven 64-watt solar panels provide the electricity, with a350-watt wind turbine as backup. “We’ve captured the sun’senergy in every possible way,” he says.• Rainwater travels from two flat roofs into a 9,000-litreunderground cistern, which provides water for bathing andwashing. After it’s been used, this “grey water”flows into a 30-square-foot lush indoor garden oftropical plants. “Our plants just thrive on it,” saysAnthony. Dry composting toilets produce fertilizerand eliminate the need for a septic system. Drinkingwater comes from a dug well.• The structural walls are constructed of Durisolblocks made from recycled wood chips and cementreinforced with concrete. Roxul, a mineral woolmade from waste slag from mines, provides additionalinsulation. Inside, brick walls and tile floorsprovide maximum heat absorption.• The 1,600-square-foot home has a living room,dining room, kitchen, office and spare bedroom onthe first floor, and two bedrooms and a bathroom onthe second floor. There is even a radio and 12-inchTV. “It has all the comforts of home,” says Anthony.“We don’t miss a thing.” – Megan EastonPHOTOGRAPHY: COURTESY OF TORONTO AND REGION CONSERVATION©;TERESA DECKMeet the PresidentThe new president of the University ofToronto Alumni Association (UTAA)wants to see the organization becomean even stronger force for supporting theuniversity’s mission.“We’re very proud of theUTAA’s recent $500,000 pledge to revitalizeConvocation Hall, and this is the type of significantcontribution we hope to continue tomake,” says Michael Deck (MBA 1990). TheUTAA directors elected Deck and their2005-2006 officers during a Dec. 14 meeting.Increasing awareness of the alumniassociation among the university’s morethan 400,000 graduates is another of Deck’spriorities, a task that he says can be challengingat a large institution with a college system.“U of T is an extraordinary place, withmultiple affiliations. Yet the people I meet arejust so proud of the place in general.”Deck served as a parish minister and programconsultant for the Anglican Church ofCanada for more than a decade before completinghis MBA at the Faculty of Management(now the Joseph L. Rotman School of Management).Whilethere, he developed an interestin business ethics.“Ethics gave me a conceptualbridge between the church and the world ofbusiness,” he says. Deck was on faculty at theschool from 1990 to 1996 and helped establishthe Clarkson Centre for Business Ethics &Board Effectiveness, where he served as thefirst executive director.After leaving Rotman he led the ethicsand integrity practice at accounting firmDeck54 UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO MAGAZINE / SPRING 2006

KudosOpera can be cool. ComposerJames Rolfe (BMus1983, MusM 1984), knownfor making operas a hot ticket witha wide audience, has received theLouis Applebaum Composers Award.The $10,000 prize, established bythe Ontario Arts Foundation, honoursexcellence in music compositionfor theatre, music theatre, danceor opera. Rolfe composed the opera sensation Beatrice Chancy, which was performedacross Canada between 1998 and 2000. George Elliott Clarke, the E.J. Pratt Professorin Canadian Literature at U of T, wrote the libretto for Chancy, while soprano MeashaBrueggergosman (Mus Bac Perf 1999) performed the title role. Rolfe’s new children’sopera, Elijah’s Kite, will premiere in New York in April.Four alumni have been appointed to the Order of Canada – the country’s highesthonour for lifetime achievement. Joining the order as members are Michael Macklem(BA 1950 TRIN), founder of Oberon Press, for communications; Lorna Marsden(BA 1968 UC), president and vice-chancellor of York University, for education/administration; Willy Norris (PhD 1956) of Calgary for science; and Clayton Ruby,partner, Ruby & Edwardh, for law.Professor Wendy Pfeffer (MA 1974, PhD 1979) of the University of Louisville hasa new title to add to her business card – Chevalier. The Government of France namedPfeffer a Chevalier in the prestigious Ordre des Arts et des Lettres (Order of Arts andLetters) for her work as a scholar of French literature.Naked ambition sometimes pays off. Actor David Julian Hirsh, star of the ShowcaseTV series Naked Josh, won a Gemini for Best Performing Arts DocumentaryProgram for producing a film about Canadian actors looking for their big break inLos Angeles. Camp Hollywood followsKPMG LLP and was a director in globalrisk management solutions at PricewaterhouseCoopersLLP. Today he is managingdirector of Ethidex Inc., a risk managementservice he founded with colleagues fromPricewaterhouseCoopers.Deck’s past volunteer involvements atU of T include serving as chair of boththe Joan E. Foley Quality of Student ExperienceAward selection committee and theToronto School of Theology board of trustees.He was elected to the UTAA board ofdirectors in 2001 and is a member of thePresident’s International Alumni Council.“Volunteering at the university has been anout-and-out pleasure,” he says. “I’ve beencontinually overwhelmed by the extremelyhigh quality of people at U of T.” – M.E.Rolfethe highs and lows of aspiring actors –including Hirsh himself – living at theHighland Gardens Hotel, a low-budgetlodging just off Hollywood Boulevard.Hirsh studied criminology at U of Tin the early 1990s.Mario Bento (BASc 1988) is helpingkeep an island paradise clean and sustainable.Bento is project manager ofAntigua’s first plastic and aluminumrecycling facility, the Waste RecyclingCorporation. The Rotary Club ofAntigua-Sundown, which opened thefacility last fall, won the United NationsVolunteers program award for “Volunteerismfor National Development.” Asthe club’s director of service projects,Bento accepted the award on behalfof the Rotary Club at UN House inBarbados in December. – M.E.SociologyAlumni Unitethe firstU of T sociologyIN1937,students receivedtheir degrees; almost70 years later, sociologygrads have their first alumniorganization at the university.The Sociology AlumniAssociation began unofficiallywhen the department’salumni developmentofficer, Linda Gardiner(BSc 1977 UTSC), organizeda dinner for graduatesand the department chairat the U of T Faculty Clubin December 2004.“Itstarted with a conscientiousgroup who wanted togive something back tothe sociology community,”says Gardiner. After severalmeetings and much planningamongst the group,the formal launch camethe following June duringSpring Reunion, whenthe association hosteda reception and talk bysociology graduate RobertSirman (BA 1968 VIC,MA 1969), administrativedirector of Canada’sNational Ballet School.Other recent activitieshave included a historicalwalking tour and anauthor-led book discussion,and there are plans toparticipate in the jobshadowingprogram forundergraduates. To join theSociology Alumni Associationexecutive or learn aboutupcoming events, contactGardiner at (416) 946-4058 or sociology.dept@utoronto.ca. – M.E.WWW.MAGAZINE.UTORONTO.CA 55

CalendarALUMNI EVENTSJune 1 to 4. Spring Reunion is the premierevent for alumni at U of T, with thousandsreturning to visit their alma mater.All alumniare welcome, but those from the graduatingclasses of 1926, ’31, ’36, ’41, ’46, ’51, ’56, ’61,’66, ’71, ’76 and ’81 will be honoured. Manyfaculties and colleges will also honour thosefrom ’86, ’91, ’96 and 2001. Chancellor’s CircleMedals will be awarded to those celebratingtheir 55 th ,60 th ,65 th ,70 th ,75 th and 80 th yearof graduation. Special events include the 25 thanniversary reception,50 th anniversary luncheon,the President’s Garden Party and thealumni book fair. Information packages will bemailed to all honoured years in March. (416)978-5881, spring.reunion@utoronto.ca orwww.springreunion.utoronto.caEXHIBITIONSDoris McCarthy Gallery,U of T ScarboroughMarch 16 to May 12.Return, Afghanistan,by photographer Zalmaï,is a dramatic personalaccount of the beginningsof reconstructionin a country still threatenedby factional violence,poverty and theresurgence of the Taliban.Tuesdayto Friday,“The First Harvest” is part of the “Return,Afghanistan” exhibit at the Doris McCarthy Gallery10 a.m.-4 p.m. and Sunday, noon-5 p.m. 1265 CONCERTSMilitary Trail. (416) 287-7007, dmg@utsc. Faculty of Musicutoronto.ca or www.utsc.utoronto.ca/dmg April 8. Wind Ensemble. Gillian MacKay,Hart HouseTo April 16. Installations and Interventions.The Hart House Installation Collectivetransforms parts of Hart House into creativespaces via contemporary art installations.7 Hart House Circle. (416) 978-8398University of Toronto Art CentreTo June 17. Frank’s Drawings: Eight Museumsby Gehry, curated by Larry Richards,former dean of the Faculty of Architectureat U of T. This is the first exhibition in twodecades devoted entirely to Frank Gehry’sdrawings. The Art Gallery of Ontario is presentinga parallel exhibition, Frank Gehry: Art+ Architecture, which runs until May 7. Generaladmission $5; $3 for seniors; free to allstudents, U of T faculty and staff and Art Centremembers. 15 King’s College Circle. Tuesdayto Friday, 12-5 p.m., Saturday, 12-4 p.m.(416) 978-1838, www.utoronto.ca/artcentreThe Thomas Fisher Rare Book LibraryMay 23 to Sept. 1. Pungent Personalities:Arts & Letters Club Drawings by ArthurLismer, 1922-1943.This exhibition includesnearly 200 caricatures created by Group ofSeven artist Arthur Lismer. The artworkswere executed by Lismer primarily at TheArts & Letters Club of Toronto – a favouritemeeting place for artists. 120 St. GeorgeSt., Monday to Friday, 9 a.m.-5 p.m. (416)978-5285 or www.library.utoronto.ca/fisher/index-exhibitions.htmlconductor. Philip Sparke’s Dance Movements,and works by Leonard Bernstein and DmitriShostakovich. The world première of acommissioned work by Brian Cherney, theMichael and Sonja Koerner DistinguishedVisitor in Composition. Tickets $13; $7 forseniors/students. 7:30 p.m.April 12.University of Toronto SymphonyOrchestra. The MacMillan Singers; DoreenRao, director. University Women’s Chorus;Robert Cooper, director. Master Chorale;Brainerd Blyden-Taylor and Lori-Anne Dolloff,directors. Raffi Armenian, conductor. Brahms:Ein deutsches Requiem. Tickets $17; $9 forseniors/students. 7:30 p.m.MacMillan Theatre, Edward Johnson Building,80 Queen’s Park.(416) 978-3744,www.music.utoronto.caU of T ScarboroughApril 9.Year-End Musical Finale features theUTSC Band and Choirs. 3 p.m. ARC Theatre,Academic Resource Centre. (416) 287-7076,www.utsc.utoronto.ca/culturalCONFERENCECentre for Reformation andRenaissance StudiesApril 22. Canada Milton Seminar II is aone-day conference on Milton scholarshipfeaturing Annabel Patterson of Yale, BalachandraRajan of University of Western Ontario,Nicholas von Maltzahn of University ofOttawa and Andrew Hadfield of University ofSussex. Tickets (with lunch included) are$25 for faculty, $10 for students. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Alumni Hall, Old Victoria College,71 Queen’s Park Cres. E. (416) 585-4484,crrs.vic@utoronto.ca or www.crrs.ca/events/conferences/milton/seminar.htmLECTURESHart House/Joseph L. RotmanSchool of ManagementApril 13. The Creative Economy lecturewith Professor Ajay Agarwal of Rotman andGreg Reed, former CEO of Altamira. 6 p.m.East Common Room, Hart House, 7 HartHouse Circle. hh.advancement@utoronto.caUTMApril 27 to May 25. The Canadian PerspectivesLecture Series offers a historical perspectiveon current issues and introduces newideas and technologies.The weekly series costs$40; individual lectures cost $10 each (exceptthe May 11 lecture, which is $15 and includeslunch). Lectures are held every Thursday at10 Matthews Auditorium, Room 137, KaneffCentre, UTM, 3359 Mississauga Rd. N. Formore information, contact Sue Prior at (905)828-5454 or sprior@utm.utoronto.ca56 UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO MAGAZINE / SPRING 2006

PuzzlePuzzle Crazes:The Appeal of SodokuBy Marcel DanesiBritish map-maker John Spilsburyinvented the jigsaw puzzle in the1760s to educate children aboutgeography. The puzzles became so popularin the U.S. during the Great Depression– they were an inexpensive form ofentertainment – that manufacturers hadto print as many as 10 million a week tokeep up with demand. The crosswordpuzzle became a cultural phenomenonin the U.S. in the 1920s, when clothing,songs and even a Broadway show featuredthe popular word game. In the1980s, millions of Rubik’s cubes weresold around the world.The latest puzzle craze to sweep theglobe is sudoku, a logic game invented inthe U.S. The first “number place” puzzle(as it was originally called) appeared inthe Dell Pencil Puzzles and CrosswordGames magazine in May 1979 but generatedlittle interest. Five years later, aJapanese magazine editor came across thepuzzle and decided to include it in hisown magazine under the name sudoku(meaning “single number”).Within ayear, every major daily Japanese newspaperwas carrying it. Sudoku’s popularityremained confined to Asia until WayneGould, a retired judge from New Zealand,discovered it while on a trip to Japan. Notknowing how to read or speak Japanese,he was drawn to the puzzle (which hethought was a crossword at first) andbecame hooked. He developed a computerprogram to devise his own sudokupuzzles and in 2004 convinced The Timesof London to begin running them daily.They’ve caught on so quickly that majornewspapers across the U.K. and NorthAmerica now carry the puzzles, and animmense industry has sprung up to meetdemand for the game. A Web site, www.sudoku.org.uk, offers new puzzles daily,as well as information on how to solvethem, news of sudoku championships,and descriptions of different kinds andstyles of sudoku puzzles (there are eventhree-dimensional versions).A typical sudoku appears on this page.The challenge is to fill in the grid of 81squares with the digits 1 through 9 sothat every row, every column and everythree-by-three box of squares containseach of these digits only once.There’s no right or wrong place to start– but we do have to start somewhere, solet’s look at the first row of three-by-threeboxes at the top of the puzzle and considerwhere in the very top row to place a2. It can’t go in either of the two columns7 3 6 52 67 1 3 8 27 2 18 4 13 4 5 73 7 2 8 48 2in the three-by-three box on the left,because that box already has a 2. Thesame goes for the three-by-three box onthe right. Therefore the 2 has to go in oneof the two squares in the top row of themiddle box. The left column of that boxalready has a 2 (second from the bottom),so the 2 must go in the middle columnof the top row. By process of eliminationyou should be able to determine how tofill in the rest of the squares in the grid.The puzzle’s difficulty varies with thenumber of digits included. This sudokuis of moderate difficulty. Be careful notto make a mistake; if you do, you willhave to start from scratch. Good luck!The answer appears on p. 61. ■WWW.MAGAZINE.UTORONTO.CA 57

Does anyoneever stop learning?Open your mind to a life of learning at the University of TorontoSchool of Continuing Studies. From Human ResourcesManagement to Management Information Systems at UTM,and Great Masters of Art to Speaking Contemporary Frenchon the St. George Campus, our courses will enrich yourthinking and your life.Join us for our Summer Writing School at 158 St. GeorgeStreet from July 10 to 14. This one-week intensive creativewriting program features panel discussions and workshopsessions led by well-known writers. Choose one of thesestreams: poetry, short story, novel, narrative non-fiction,or personal narrative. Those who attended last year’sSummer Writing School gave it top marks. In the words ofone student, it was “One of the most stimulating weeks ofmy life.”Registration is open for all Spring and Summer continuingstudies courses. For more information and to register, visitlearn.utoronto.ca or call 416-978-2400.

Campus S toriesGotcha!For students, every dayis April Fool’sILLUSTRATION: FRANCES BLAKE/THREE IN A BOXRUDE AWAKENINGSDuring my first year at Gilson House atSt. Mike’s, a third-year engineering studentgrew tired of the noise made by histwo frosh neighbours. A true engineer, hesnuck into their room when they were atclass, installed a small buzzer inside anunused phone jack and ran a wire backto his room. At all hours of the day andnight, he used the buzzer to create a loudand mysterious noise, causing many asleepless night for the two students.However, the frosh eventually discoveredthe source of the unwanted noise andimmediately began plotting revenge. Oneday, when the engineer left the residencefor a five-hour lab, the two recruited severalother first-years to help fill his roomfrom floor to ceiling with crumpled-upnewspaper. When the engineer returned,he was, of course, furious with the mess– but probably more upset to have beentrumped by the frosh next door.Mike DriscollBA 1989 St. Mike’sBuffalo, New YorkHANG IN THERE, RUSSTwo important facts about this story:First, our metallurgy lecturer was shortof stature. Second, the custodial staff –after cleaning the room’s sliding chalkboard– would leave it at its highestpoint, near the ceiling.At the beginning of each lecture, ourshort instructor had to make a gallantleap to seize hold of the chalkboard’slower handle, and ride the board downto the floor. We began applauding thisfeat, which our instructor acknowledgedwith a gracious nod.One day, however, one of our classmatesbanged two wooden wedges underthe board, immobilizing it. Our lecturer’sleap upward was not followed by a measureddescent, but by an indecorous hangingand wriggling, followed by a resigneddrop to the floor. No harsh words came,though, just good-humoured acceptance.David G. StoneBASc 1958Caracas, VenezuelaWATER WARSIn February 1961, a first-year studentfound himself in a water fight at TaylorHouse at University College. Not contentto use just bags of water, he decided toturn on the firehose – but turned it offquickly when he saw how much watercame flooding out. Little did he knowthat abruptly stopping fast-flowing watercan cause a lot of damage. A weak jointin the pipes burst and the basementbegan filling with water. Thankfully, helpwas called and little harm was done.The dean was not pleased, however,and dressed down the hapless studentwith the admonition that he would haveto bear the costs of repair. The story hasa happy ending, though: knowing thatit would be a struggle for the bursarystudent to come up with the money, theother residents of Taylor House chippedin and helped pay for the repairs.Forty-five years later, I still appreciatewhat those fellows did for me.Bob MeldrumBA 1964 UCOttawaICE, ICE BABYAs an undergraduate in the early 1980s,I and my fellow physics majors spent fartoo much time in the physics building.For entertainment, we occasional helpedourselves to chips of dry ice. We wouldkeep the ice fragments in a paper bag andtake them on the subway, where we’d popthem into our mouths. You can imaginehow our fellow passengers reacted as wesuddenly started breathing “smoke.”When you’re taking five physics andmath courses, it doesn’t take much topush you over the edge.■Glenn StarkmanBSc 1984 UCCleveland, OhioWWW.MAGAZINE.UTORONTO.CA 59

ClassifiedsA SINGING VACATION IN OXFORD!July 21-August 5. Join us, in our 13 th summer,for two weeks of the ultimate choral/travel experience.Every morning, sing church-music selectionsfrom the last thousand years in Balliol CollegeChapel. Total cost including air, collegeroom/ensuite bath, most weekday meals,side trips, tuition, music and taxes: $3,600(single), $3,350 (pp/double). For a brochureor further information, please contact Tim orMary Elia at Oxford Churchmusic, 209 HowardPark Ave.,Toronto, M6R 1V9, (416) 766-6136 orDebra House at Egan Travel (905) 272-3055 ore-mail oxfordchurchmusic@rogers.com Web site:www.oxfordchurchmusic.caACCOMMODATIONSAffordable summer residences. Furnishedrooms in shared houses. $455/month plus. Stepsto U of T. For more information, contact CampusCo-operative Residence Inc. at (416) 979-2161,ext. 222, or recept.asst@campus-coop.org Website: www.campus-coop.orgin London, Ont. For more information, please contact(416) 428-9000 or (519) 471-5247. E-mail:mdeantunano@canadamexico.com Web site:www.canadamexico.comOcean Educations Intro Marine Sciencefor ages 16-19. Grade 12 full credit and SCUBAcertification/upgrade. Pearson College,Victoria,B.C. July/August 2006. Seals, sea lions, orcas! Inassociation with Peel District School Board. Formore information, contact 1-877-464-6059.Website: www.oceaned.comU of T PowerMusic Camp. An exciting and funmusic day camp for students completing Grades 5to 9. University of Toronto’s award-winning musicfaculty teaches students to become power musicians.Daily activities include band, strings or choirrehearsals, drumming and recreation. Studentsmay register for either one or two weeks; July10-14 and July 17-21. Contact performance.music@utoronto.ca or the PowerMusic Camp Office at(416) 946-8467.Web site: www.music.utoronto.ca/English/Summer-Programs.htmlBED & BREAKFASTNiagara-on-the-Lake. Avoca House. Springand fall rates:weekdays,$99;weekends,$129.Summerrates: weekdays, $120; weekends, $145. Formore information, please contact 1-800-665-0119or (905) 468-5217. E-mail: avocanotl@aol.comWeb site: www.members.aol.com/AvocaNOTLCREATIVE HOLIDAYArtists Escape! Art vacations in beautiful PrinceEdward County. Beginners welcome. For moreinformation, please contact (416) 466-6099 ore-mail lauriemcgugan@rogers.com Web site:www.thecountyartworkshops.comDENTAL SERVICESDr.Valerie Stavro would like to invite you and yourfamily to her practice. She is committed to providingpersonalized dentistry in a caring environment.You deserve a healthy smile. Please contact us at(416) 923-8668.Web site:www.drvaleriestavro.comEDITORIAL SERVICESU of T alumna will provide professional proofreading,editing and word processing services at competitiverates. Contact Laura Wright at (613) 926-1428 or wright73@sympatico.ca.EDUCATIONForeign Language Teaching Certificate. Englishand Spanish specialization. Also, SPANISHCLASSES. Register now. U of T and new locationOur Victorian charm offersa perfect alternative toconventional, higher-pricedhotel accommodations.Rates From $92 - $145 (TAX INCLUDED)• All rooms feature private bath,kitchen amenities, cable TV,telephone, wireless internet, A/C• Close to shopping, dining,theatre and all major attractionsVICTORIA’SMANSIONGUEST HOUSE(416)921-462568 GLOUCESTER STREETTORONTO, ONTARIO M4Y 1L8 CANADAwww.victoriasmansion.com60 UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO MAGAZINE / SPRING 2006

LIFE/WORK COACHEncouragement and support provided for successful,timely completion of grad-student theses andmajor projects. Contact Reg Lang, Ed.D., at (905)727-4177.Web site: www.reglang.caPERSONALSFor a really good time join Science Connection,the singles network for people who can havefun and analyze it, too. Phone: 1-800-667-5179.Web site: www.sciconnect.comPRESENTATION SPECIALISTU of T alumna will provide quality PowerPointpresentations, reports and graphic support tolarge and small businesses. Contact Heather Shaw,Folio Design Company, at (416) 691-9581 orhjshaw@sympatico.caPSYCHOTHERAPYFeeling depressed,anxious,stuck? Not whereyou thought you would be in 2006? Therapy/coachingis a useful short-term tool to get you past thoseroadblocks. Complementary phone consultation.Contact Sandra Lewis, MA, at (416) 368-5395or e-mail sllewis@sympatico.ca Web site: www.artemistherapy.comSTUDY ON STUDENT ACTIVISMRemember the sixties? Researching studentactivism in the 1960s. Seeking people from studentmovements to interview. If interested, please contactRoberta Lexier (PhD student) at rlexier@ualberta.ca; (780) 439-1588; Department of Historyand Classics, University of Alberta.TAX CONSULTANTTax Questions Answered. Canadian CA willanswer your tax questions, via e-mail, at reasonablerates.Visit www.jamesjonesca.ca or e-mailaccounts@jamesjonesca.caVACATION RENTALSItaly.Island of Ischia.Bay of Naples.Centrally locatedtwo-bedroom apartment just two minutes from thebeach. From 300/week. Please contact Anna at(416) 653-3180, ext. 256, or frufola@hotmail.comLanguedoc, France. Magnificent hiking, interestingday trips and markets. Sleeps seven. $600/week.Contact (416) 925-7582 or lindsay_squire@hotmail.com Web site:www.francevacationrental.caMuskoka. Charming 1895 Bala family cottage onLake Muskoka waterfront. Southwest exposure.Walk to town.Sleeps eight maximum.$2,000/week.June or July. Minimum two-week rental. No smokingor pets. Photos available online. Please contactRebecca at (781) 791-7695 or e-mail mattbecky@earthlink.net Web site: www.flickr.com/photos/mattbecky/sets/72057594051724537/showParis. Charming, recently renovated, fully furnishedstudio apartment at Gobelins, availableweekly or longer. Full bath, cooking. Suits coupleor two singles. Non-smokers. $800/week. E-mail:louiseb@netvigator.comParis.Clean,comfortable and centrally located furnishedapartments in Notre Dame,Marais and SaintGermain.Please contact (516) 977-3318 or coopergl@gmail.com Web site: www.rentals-paris.comProvence. South of France. Furnished three-bedroomhouse, picturesque Puyloubier, 20 km fromAix.Available from June for short- or long-termrental. From $1,300/month inclusive. For moreinformation, please contact Beth at (416) 588-2580 or b.savan@utoronto.ca Web site: www.geocities.com/bsavanSan Miguel de Allende,Mexico.Weekly/monthlyrentals of premier estate in historic centre of17 th -century town and artists’ colony. Featured indesign magazines for outstanding architecture.Fullystaffed, 12,000-square-foot-walled villa sleeps upto10 adults. For more information or to makeAnswers to Puzzle (continued from page 57)reservations, please contact (917) 224-2175 ormitchell@modernsanctuaries.com Web site:www.casaencantada-sma.comTuscany. Bed and breakfast outside Siena. Run byCanadian and U of T alumna Ruth Colapinto.Twodouble rooms with ensuite bathrooms, and a commonbreakfast area with walkout to large garden.Contact ruthcolapinto@libero.it Web site: www.tuscanholidays.infoWANTEDRadio tubes, equipment and vintage hi-fi’s.Will pickup.Contact John Yeung in Toronto at (416) 876-8663PLACE YOUR CLASSIFIED HERE!NEXT ISSUE: May 29, 2006Text only: Cost per word: $5.50Contact information: $25 flat rateDisplay: 1" - $275 • 2" - $475 • 3" - $675For more informationcontact Susan WrayPhone: (416) 978-0838Fax: (416) 978-3958E-mail: susan.wray@utoronto.cawww.magazine.utoronto.ca1 9 7 4 2 3 8 6 52 4 8 1 6 5 3 7 96 5 3 8 9 7 4 2 17 1 9 5 3 8 2 4 64 3 6 7 1 2 5 9 88 2 5 6 4 9 7 1 39 6 2 3 8 4 1 5 73 7 1 2 5 6 9 8 45 8 4 9 7 1 6 3 2WWW.MAGAZINE.UTORONTO.CA 61

BackLookingBY F.MICHAH RYNORInstrument of WarPHOTOGRAPHY: MICHAEL VISSERThe tap-tap-tapping sound of fingers hitting these ivory white keyshasn’t been heard for many years even though a workable ribbonis still wound through the cogs. Silence, of course, isn’t somethingtypewriters are known for; when in use, this Corona from the FirstWorld War era is no exception. But it is a featherweight amongst“writing machines” (as they were occasionally called). Newspaperreporters often took these 10-inch by 11-inch portables – whichcan be folded inside a purse-sized carrying case – to the frontlinesand the high seas to record the horrors of battle. So importantwere they that “the captain of a battleship insists that there betypewriters on board before he feels fully equipped to meetthe enemy,” according to author Bruce Bliven’s book The WonderfulWriting Machine.Today, this Corona sits in the Trinity Collegearchives, a gift from the family of Professor William Selby Rogers(BA 1940). Rogers, who died in 2002, was a French professor atTrinity for more than 30 years and served as the college’s dean ofarts from 1974 to 1978.This particular writing machine is shroudedin mystery: could such an unassuming instrument, with its delicatekeys and tiny metallic limbs, really have been used to type thenames and tragic stories of those who didn’t come home? ■62 UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO MAGAZINE / SPRING 2006

AdvertisementProvincialhealth planscover lessthan you thinkBarb HendersonProduct Manager –Manulife FinancialThe days when an employeeremained with one company for acareer span of 25-30 years are longgone. Self-employment is on therise † . As a result, the loss of healthbenefits that corporations providefor employees and their familiesis leaving many Canadians withoutenough health and dental protection.Have you thought aboutyour insurance coverage recently?Did you know that, as a University of Toronto graduate, you and your familyare entitled to affordable insurance plans, thanks to your alumni status?Because this Alumni insurance plan is created to offer you exclusivecoverage as a benefit of your alumni status, it costs very little.■ Term Life■ DisabilityPlus, you have a comprehensive variety ofinsurance plans to choose from:■ Critical Illness■ Major Accident Protection■ Extended Health& Dental CareContact us today for your FREE no-obligation information package and join thegrowing number of alumni who use this plan to secure their families’ financial security.1 888 913-6333 orwww.manulife.com/uoftE5or e-mail am_service@manulife.comUnderwritten by:The Manufacturers Life Insurance CompanyMost people assume they arecovered sufficiently under theirprovincial health plan. What theydon’t realize is that provincialhealth plans cover less than theymay think. To ensure your healthand dental needs are covered,consider the Alumni ExtendedHealth and Dental Plan.Dental care, prescription drugs*,alternative therapies (massagetherapy, chiropractors, naturopaths,etc.) and vision benefits – thesehealth care items and services areessential for the well-being of yourfamily. Unfortunately, they are notcovered under provincial healthplans.The Alumni Extended Health andDental Plan features a variety ofoptions to fit all needs and budgets.The value-added ManuAssist , a24-hour emergency travel assistanceprogram, is included at no additionalcost to you. ■† As of January 2005, there were 2.47 millionself-employed Canadians out of a total of16.057 million in the labour force.There was also a 1.6% increase in selfemploymentfrom January 2004 to January2005. Source: Statistics Canada’s Labour ForceSurvey, February 2005.* Not available to Québec residents.

Home and auto insurancefor the University of Toronto CommunityPreferred group ratesand exceptional serviceAs an alumnus of the University of Toronto, you are entitled to our red carpettreatment, with exceptional service and preferred group rates † for yourhome and auto insurance. Take advantage of your privileged status today!Our home and auto insurance clients are automatically entered.1 888 589 5656tdmelochemonnex.com/utorontoContact us today!†Group auto insurance rates are not applicable in Newfoundland and Prince Edward Island. Due to provincial legislation, ourauto insurance program is not offered in British Columbia, Manitoba or Saskatchewan. The home and auto insurance programis underwritten by Security National Insurance Company and distributed by Meloche Monnex Financial Services Inc.*No purchase necessary. The contest is open to residents of Canada who have reached the age of majority where they reside.The approximate value of each vehicle is $35,000. The contest runs from January 1 to December 31, 2006. In order to win,each entrant, selected at random, must correctly answer a mathematical skill-testing question. For more details on the contestrules and on our company, visit tdmelochemonnex.com/utoronto.