Durham Chronicle 18-19 Issue 01

I think it’s a beautiful thing that 

there can be a room full of people, 

kind of talking about love. 

Volume XLV, Issue 1 chronicle.durhamcollege.ca October 30 - December 3, 2018 

- See page 18 

Homeless 

for 8,000 

days. Now 

he has 

H.O.P.E. 

page 3 

Photograph by Dakota Evans 

DC bursary winners hit homer 

page 22 

Photograph by Janis Williams 

No football on 

horizon for UOIT 

page 21 

Campus kicks 

the habit 

page 7 

Photograph by Cam Bickle 

Photograph by Madison Gulenchyn 

Spaces and Places 

A series looking at special locations on the 

DC, UOIT campus. See pages 8-10, 15-17

2 The Chronicle October 30 – December 3, 2018 chronicle.durhamcollege.ca Campus 

Youth homelessness a troubling trend 

Cam Bickle 

The Chronicle 

“What would happen if our hope 

was smaller than the challenges 

we faced,” asks Daniel Cullen, a 

self-described homelessness ‘survivor.’ 

The answer to his rhetorical, yet 

dark, question is one that Cullen 

provided in striking detail. From 

being a victim of numerous rapes 

in the 1980’s to his drug-induced 

medical stay in the 90’s, the leader 

of the H.O.P.E. Coalition and former 

Green Party member is just 

one example of a large demographic 

in Durham Region. 

Of the 291 people who identify as 

homeless in Durham Region, nearly 

17 per cent identify as youth (49 

individuals), while another 20 per 

cent identify as children (58 individuals), 

according to the Community 

Development Council of 

Durham (CDCD). 

That combined 37 per cent demographic 

easily outnumbers every 

other group outside of adults, which 

is more than troubling, says UOIT 

professor Dr. Tyler Frederick. 

“Those numbers show us that 

homelessness is a problem that 

can affect anyone, regardless of 

age,” he says. “We know that a 

lot of families that live in poverty 

are only one economic issue away 

from losing their house, whether 

it’s something like job loss or even 

smaller problems like a car repair.” 

Frederick is an assistant professor 

in the faculty of Social Science 

and Humanities but has a strong 

involvement in homelessness projects 

in Durham Region. In his experience, 

he says youth are often 

brought onto the streets with older 

family members, but that individual 

homelessness is becoming more 

common in recent years. 

One of the largest reasons is drug 

abuse, which he says can lead to 

An Oshawa teenager sits in an alleyway in the cold. 

conflict within households and 

cause youth to feel unwelcome. His 

time spent at the Toronto Centre 

for Addiction and Mental Health 

was a big reason why Frederick 

chose to help tackle the rising issue 

in Durham. 

An equally disturbing statistic collected 

by the CDCD was the fact 

that 55 per cent of all homeless persons 

in the region spent time on the 

streets prior to age 25. According 

to the United Nations, the official 

designation of ‘youth’ is ages 15 

to 24, meaning that over half of 

all homeless persons in Durham 

could have identified as part of that 

demographic at some point in time. 


On a national scale, nearly 20 per 

cent of those on the streets classify 

as individuals under 25, according 

to Covenant House Toronto, the 

country’s largest homeless youth 

agency. 

Frederick says there are many reasons 

why Durham’s rate is higher 

than the Canadian tally, but that a 

lack of community involvement is 

likely the biggest contributor. 

“I would say that Durham is 

under-resourced for young people 

experiencing homelessness,” he 

says. “The two local agencies I’m 

aware of, The Refuge and Joanne’s 

House, both have limited capacity. 

This means that they’re more there 

for emergency support than anything 

preventative.” 

The Refuge Youth Outreach 

Centre in downtown Oshawa is 

the largest of its kind in Durham, 

but mainly targets community involvement 

through their website 

and various social media accounts. 

In most cases, homeless persons of 

any age rarely have access to the internet 

or any mobile device, meaning 

they are often unaware of the 

centre’s efforts. 

As for Joanne’s House, the Ajax 

location has a stronger ‘boots on 

the ground’ initiative by offering 

fundraising opportunities and 

youth employment partnerships but 

is self-described as only a ‘shortterm 

housing’ centre. 

Conversely, the Durham Region 

recognizes seven different longterm 

shelters and support centres 

for adult men and women, despite 

the adult demographic representing 

just six per cent more of the population 

than children and youth. 

Frederick also believes the system 

in place for at-risk youth largely 

contributes to the percentage of 

adult homelessness. 

“Young adults aging out of the 

system at 18 may not be ready for 

independence,” he says. 

“This lack of experience or education 

can make it hard to find a 

job in adulthood.” 

Despite youth and children combining 

for more than double the national 

rate in Durham Region, the 

city of Oshawa recently elected to 

forcefully remove its ‘tent city’ – a 

location where a number of homeless 

persons, including youth, found 

refuge. 

Though Frederick couldn’t offer a 

solution to the troubling problems 

in his hometown, it is clear through 

the CDCD statistics that a disproportionate 

number of youngsters 

are ending up on the streets. 

And while Cullen may look back 

on his experiences with a quote to 

inspire, many homeless individuals 

have not come away so lucky. 

Being 'flexible' key to staying safe on campus 

Jackie Graves 


Durham is under-resourced 

for young people experiencing 

homelessness. 

Whether you fight, flight or freeze, 

your best chance of keeping safe on 

campus is to be ‘flexible’, according 

to the director of campus safety, 

Tom Lynch. 

Lynch emphasized the ability 

to adapt due to DC and UOIT’s 

size and varying locations. 

“Your thought process has 

to be fluid,” he said. “There is no 

one concrete plan on how to get out 

safely.” 

At DC and UOIT, it’s more 

likely danger could come in the 

form of radical weather or plane 

crashes, due to the proximity to 

Oshawa Airport, according to 

Lynch. He recommends staff and 

students take the time to get to 

know their surroundings, so they 

can give themselves enough time 

and distance from potential danger. 

“We don’t know where the 

threat is or where it’s coming from,” 

said Lynch. “It’s good to know your 

environment.” 

There are multiple protective 

measures available to ensure students 

are safe. Outside DC and 

UOIT, there are Code Blue stations, 

9-foot poles with blue lights 

Tom Lynch, director of the Office of Campus Safety, behind his desk. 

students can use to alert campus 

security or emergency services. 

Campus Walk is a program 

where trained students escort 

people to their vehicles and residences. 

When Campus Walk isn’t 

available, security will provide escort, 

which is available 24/7. 

“There have been contributions 

not only by my office but by 

faculty and students,” said Lynch. 

“In general, we have a great campus.” 

DC and UOIT have exercises 

to help teach faculty and students 

to handle emergency situations, 

including practice lockdowns and 

secure-and-holds. However, senior 

Photograph by Jackie Graves 

We don't know 

where the threat 

is or where it's 

coming from. 

leaders from DC and UOIT also 

meet with security staff on an ongoing 

basis to discuss what should 

be shared with the campus community 

to avoid causing unnecessary 

panic. 

“Sometimes information can 

only harm or, out of context, cause 

more trauma and grief then its intended 

to,” said Lynch. 

CCTV cameras monitor the 

campus 24/7 but this doesn’t mean 

campus security doesn’t have innovation 

in mind. DC and UOIT 

used to have a mic-radio system 

which became obsolete and caused 

interference with police radios. 

Now, the system operates on a 

700-megahertz radio frequency, 

enabling anyone in the Durham 

Region emergency services with 

the same system to have full contact 

on campus. 

For more on campus safety, 

visit durhamcollege.ca under the 

Safety and Security on Campus 

tab.

Community chronicle.durhamcollege.ca October 30 – December 3, 2018 The Chronicle 3 


Daniel Cullen, who used to be homeless, is now the owner of the H.O.P.E. (Heroes Offering Pathways of Empowerment) Coalition 

which works to bring attention to homelessness. 

25 years. 8,000 days. Homeless. 

Now, finding H.O.P.E. in Durham 

Dakota Evans 


The worst experience was living on 

the streets for 25 years – the best 

experience was unwinding the 

trauma of those 25 years. 

In 1978, Daniel Cullen, who is 

now a published author and runs a 

program called H.O.P.E. (Heroes 

Offering Pathways of Empowerment) 

Coalition, left his home in 

Kelowna, BC at 16-years-old. He 

spent the next 25 years of his life on 

the streets, in emergency shelters 

and psychiatric wards. 

“Between 1978 and before 1980 I 

was raped three times, by three different 

people,” says Cullen. These 

experiences “messed up” Cullen’s 

head and he was diagnosed with 

PTSD. 

According to Cullen, one in 

three females and one in four males 

living on the streets are abused or 

sexually exploited. He says they are 

offered food or clothes in return for 

sexual favours. 

Cullen speaks from experience. 

A collection of data to provide the 

homeless community with a voice 

backs up his experience. This is the 

second-year a Point in Time (PiT) 

Count was conducted in the region. 

The data, collected from April 16 

to 20, 2018, is a snapshot of homelessness 

in Durham Region. The 

2018 PiT Count was funded by the 

Government of Canada’s Homelessness 

Partnering Strategy and 

the Regional Municipality of Durham’s 

Housing Services Division. 

There are 291 homeless individuals 

in Durham Region. More than 

half of those individuals are under 

25 years old. This was Cullen’s 

experience. Of the total number 

homeless in the region, 15 per cent 

are homeless due to mental illness. 

This was Cullen’s experience. 

Cullen says the homeless are the 

forgotten. 

The data recovered from these 

surveys will help determine the 

resources needed to help. 

“Over time we will really be able 

to track these individuals, and see 

whether the services we provide in 

our community are allowing them 

to get the help they need,” says 

Anika Mifsud, Social Researcher at 

Community Development Council 

Durham (CDCD). 

The PiT Count shows 13 per 

cent of individuals in Durham Region 

who are homeless experience 

‘episodic’ homelessness with less 

than 3 episodes of homelessness in 

12 months but no more than 180 

days total. 

Cullen says he has lived 8,000 

days on the streets. The number of 

days on the street were a result of 

the trauma he lived while homeless. 

For years following the trauma, 

Cullen says his “mind exploded 

on itself,” which led him to wander 

the streets doing any drug he could 

get his hands on and drinking anything 

to get inebriated. 

According to the 2018 PiT 

Count, of the 291 homeless individuals, 

38 per cent are in emergency 

shelters, and 28 per cent couch surf 

but don’t always find a way out of 

homelessness, says Mifsud who is 

now a Post-Doctoral Fellowship 

at the Canadian Observatory on 

Homelessness at York University. 

The top 3 reasons for homelessness 

in Durham Region, according 

to Mifsud, were being unable to pay 

rent, a conflict with a spouse and 

illness or medical conditions. 

Greg Avery, a homeless prevention 

worker at CDCD for the past 4 

years, says 21 per cent of the people 

in Durham Region’s homelessness 

count are Indigenous. Considering 

only 2 per cent of Durham’s population 

is Indigenous, “that’s a big 

number,” he says. 

“In major urban areas like Toronto 

that number can range from 

20 to 50 per cent, so when you 

think of Toronto when you walk 

by people who are on that street 

holding up Tim Hortons cup most 

of them could be Indigenous,” says 

Avery. 

The number is so high for the 

Indigenous population because of 

things like racism, oppression and 

poor health. Even going through 

school can be a traumatic event for 

Indigenous students, according to 

The Homeless Hub, a web-based 

research library supported by the 

Canadian Homeless Research Network. 

“Sometimes the best escape is to 

not be present,” says Avery, when 

Homes. That's the future. 

talking about the Indigenous population. 

Rick Kerr, who has been a city 

councillor for Oshawa since 2014, 

says, “Homelessness is everything 

from somebody with mental health 

issues, addiction issues, depression, 

no home, no shelter, no financial 

income, and then you have stages 

of homeless where you have a job, 

but no permanent address, that’s 

definition of homelessness.” 

According to Kerr, the city 

doesn’t get involved with the 

homeless situation because it’s not 

the city’s responsibility. “But that 

doesn’t mean that me as an individual 

councillor can’t get involved 

with citizens.” 

Individuals aren’t homeless because 

they don’t want to work, says 

Kerr who has worked with a group 

of citizens to create The Keepers 

Project, one of two initiatives Kerr 

is involved with to fight homelessness. 

Kerr says the project was started 

upon realizing that if you don’t 

have an address and you can’t get 

mail, “You don’t exist.” 

The Keepers Project provides 

homeless individuals with lockers 

and mail slots located at the Simcoe 

Street United Church. Solar 

panels are attached to the lockers to 

charge cell phones. Each individual 

gets their own unit number. 

“All of the sudden that becomes 

an address, so now you have one of 

these lockers. You have just taken 

the next stage forward out of homelessness, 

with the safety and security 

of your stuff and a place to 

receive job offers and mail,” says 

Kerr. 

The second initiative Kerr is 

working on is the Tiny Homes 

project. The plan is to have the 

city build a community of little 

apartment-sized houses equipped 

with power and hydro and on a 

contract-based system allow homeless 

individuals a place to live, says 

Kerr. 

“When you give someone a challenge 

or a hope that’s bigger than a 

challenge they face, they will rise 

to any level they need to get to,” 

says Cullen. “And that’s what I do.” 

Cullen proposed the idea of Tiny 

Homes and is currently waiting on 

the municipal election to finish to 

continue with the municipality on 

the project, according to Kerr. 

World Homeless Day is an annual 

event in Durham Region on 

October 10, this came into fruition 

when Cullen proposed the idea to 

the municipality. You can find 

more information on their website. 

In the last two months, Cullen 

and his H.O.P.E Coalition have fed 

2,000 people in Durham Region. 

When asked what Cullen thinks 

of the future of homelessness in 

Durham Region he says, “Homes. 

That’s the future.”

4 The Chronicle October 30 - December 3, 2018 chronicle.durhamcollege.ca 

PUBLISHER: Greg Murphy 

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF: Brian Legree 

AD MANAGER: Dawn Salter 

Editorial 

CONTACT US 

NEWSROOM: brian.legree@durhamcollege.ca 

ADVERTISING: dawn.salter@durhamcollege.ca 

Cartoon by Dakota Evans 

DCSI needs to be more communicative 

A student’s tuition at Durham 

College costs just over $3,000 per 

year. Of that amount, $1,245 goes 

toward different student fees, such 

as the Health plan, Dental plan, 

and the U-pass transit fee. Students 

can find a breakdown of the 

way the money is spent on DCSI’s 

website. 

The total amount collected in 

student fees from all students at DC 

comes to just under $5 million, according 

to a document on DCSI's 

website, now removed. According 

to DCSI's 2018-2019 breakdown, 

which was recently taken off their 

website, the fees also go toward 

DCSI expenses. 

Just over half of the revenue generated 

by student fees goes to the 

Insurance-Health Plan. The rest 

of the money is spent on budget 

lines such as governance, marketing 

and communication, outreach 

services, DCSI clubs, events and 

Riot Radio. Not many students are 

aware of these fees or the way they 

are divided up. 

DCSI needs to be more communicative. 

This includes telling 

students not only how their money 

is spent but also what is happening 

with DCSI's executive. 

Jaylan Hayles, former president 

of DCSI, Geoffrey Olara, Vice 

President of External Affairs, and 

Toosaa Bush, Vice President of Internal 

Affairs, were fired at the end 

of June, after being elected in late 

February. 

The former executives say they 

were not given any notice as to 

why they were being terminated. 

A judge dismissed their wrongful 

dismissal lawsuit and the former 

executives have since filed a human 

rights claim. 

The case is before the Ontario 

Human Rights Commission. 

The Chronicle went to DCSI's 

operating office more than five 

times to find out answers to where 

students' money is going. 

When asked about what is being 

done with the executives’ salaries, 

Parastoo Sadeghein, Director of 

Community Services and Health, 

the only director who was willing 

to talk to the Chronicle, says she 

couldn’t disclose that information 

due to the case being in process. 

In Feb. 2016, the Chronicle 

reported the salaries of the then 

joint student association (DC and 

UOIT). The salaries for UOIT’s 

vice president for the downtown 

campus, VP of the Whitby-Pickering 

campus, VP for college affairs 

and the VP of equity comes to 

$33,000 per year and a two-week 

vacation. 

The two institutions split in late 

2016, Hayles and his VPs were the 

first elected executives for Durham 

College. 

Students should be notified of 

any changes DSCI makes, especially 

if it involves student money. 

One of the most alarming budget 

lines which comes from the document 

that was removed from 

DCSI's website is the legal fees of 

$60,000 per year. 

Sadeghein says, “This is the 

budget that’s coming from students, 

it’s for anything that requires us to 

speak with our lawyers, any policies 

we want to put forward we always 

get legal counsel information.” 

The DCSI executives who were 

let go made a lot of promises during 

their campaign. The former 

DCSI president said Frosh Week 

was going to last a month as opposed 

to one week. There was no 

Frosh Week this year and students 

are not aware of where the money 

for the event went. 

Sadeghein says some of the 

money that was going towards 

Frosh Week is being used for other 

activities, like discounted Blue Jays' 

tickets for students. 

There needs to be better communication. 

Students are not aware 

of the changes DCSI is making. 

The last time students heard 

from DCSI was a letter posted by 

Andrew Nunez-Alvarez on the 

DCSI website. It said DCSI student 

board members "are working 

to ensure you all continue to receive 

the services we provide." 

DCSI needs to be transparent 

with how student fees are being 

spent and what plans are being 

made on behalf of DC students. 

Students have a right to know. 

Leslie Ishimwe 

EDITORS: Cameron Andrews, Justin Bailey, Rachelle 

Baird, Cam Bickle, Liam David, John Elambo, 

Dakota Evans, Cecelia Feor, Peter Fitzpatrick, 

Nicholas Franco, Kathryn Fraser, Jackie Graves, 

Madison Gulenchyn, Leslie Ishimwe, Morgan Kelly, 

Victoria Marcelle, Jasper Myers, Meagan Secord, 

Keisha Slemensky, Janis Williams. 

The Chronicle is published by the Durham College School of Media, Art 

and Design, 2000 Simcoe Street North, Oshawa, Ontario L1H 7L7, 721- 

2000 Ext. 3068, as a training vehicle for students enrolled in Journalism and 

Advertising courses and as a campus news medium. Opinions expressed 

are not necessarily those of the college administration or the board of governors. 

The Chronicle is a member of the Ontario Community Newspapers 

Association. 

PRODUCTION ARTISTS: Abishek Choudary, Abhinav 

Macwan, Aidan Miller, Alexandra Spataro, Andrae 

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chronicle.durhamcollege.ca October 30 - December 3, 2018 The Chronicle 5 

Opinion 

Let's put a shave on the pink tax 

Studies 

show 

women pay 

more for 

razors 

Gillette has recently launched a 

high-end $150 shaving product: 

the heated razor. 

The product is aimed at men 

who enjoy a hot shave but struggle 

with keeping the heat consistent. 

Despite the ridiculous price of 

this fancy hot razor, women are the 

ones who are feeling the heat when 

it comes to the amount of money 

they pay for everyday razors. 

In 2016, ParseHub data-mined 

Esports is great, but not at the cost of real 

athletes. 

When Durham College announced their 

plans for a state-of-the-art esports arena on 

campus in early September, it created a large 

divide amongst students on campus. 

On one side sat the gamers, beaming with 

excitement as they finally got the opportunity 

they deserved to show off their skills. 

On the other side sat the stereotypical 

“college kid” demographic, angered by 

the loss of their beloved E.P. Taylor’s pub. 

In between sat another group, and one 

that will likely be the sole casualty of this 

ground-breaking project, the student athletes. 

Varsity teams will have to get used to sharing 

the spotlight, as the time for an esports 

initiative was clearly long overdue. But the 

money being funnelled toward the new plan 

needs to be put into context. Consider the 

needs of the other teams on campus. 

The cost of building the continent’s 

second-largest post-secondary esports arena 

is unknown but the University of California 

spent over a quarter of a million dollars on 

the record holder in 2016. 

That’s not necessarily an issue, as the Campus 

Ice Centre and all-new Vaso’s Field turf 

were costly upgrades for Durham College 

and UOIT in recent years. 

However, the costs don’t stop there. This 

may just be the beginning for the still-unnamed 

esports facility. 

Technology is expensive. Devices merely 

two years old might as well be considered 

prehistoric. 

That’s not to say operating a hockey arena 

is cheap, but the lifespan of the facility is 

much longer than a building solely renovated 

for gaming. 

It’s fair to suggest that at least a portion of 

that expense could have been spent on minor 

upgrades to other areas of the Durham Lords’ 

3,199 personal care products in 

Canada from companies such as 

Walmart and Loblaws. 

They discovered products for 

Canadian women cost 43 per cent 

more compared to men’s products. 

Those numbers sum up what has 

been called the “pink tax”. 

The pink tax refers to the extra 

amount women pay for common 

personal care products 

such as deodorants, hair products, 

lotions, soaps and razors. 

It is not a real tax. You won’t find 

it on your receipts underneath the 

lovely 13 per cent harmonized sales 

tax (HST). 

program. 

The old basketball gym has become a historic 

icon amongst athletes but would benefit 

from upgrades, and Vaso’s Field still has 

limited seating for spectators. 

Another area where the Lords athletes 

could use a piece of the pie is in exposure. 

The fan base of each team is devoted but still 

falls short of expectations. A large reason 

why is the lack of exposure around campus. 

Even extramural sports, such as the Lords 

hockey team, find themselves struggling to 

gather enough funding for annual tryouts. 

The cost of equipment is worth noting. 

Players on the esports teams will be treated 

to 60 high-end gaming computers and all 

accompanying features. 

As for other sports teams, players’ costs 

can be insurmountable. 

Members of the Ridgebacks hockey teams 

will be quick to point out their hundreds – if 

not thousands of dollars in equipment that is 

almost entirely provided by the player. 

The Lords baseball and softball teams 

spend their fair share on bats and gloves. 

Even athletes on the basketball and rugby 

teams spend a few hundred dollars on their 

sneakers and cleats, something that is only 

multiplied every year they spend on the 

team. 

Unfortunately, esports players are caught 

in the unfair position of being blamed for 

something they did not cause. 

Gamers are not forcing their peers to pay 

more for equipment, instead they simply 

“lucked out” by finding a passion for a sport 

that costs less at the post-secondary level. 

The need for an esports team is larger than 

ever, and the players on each team deserve 

as much as their peers. 

But it’s the traditional athletes who find 

themselves at a disadvantage. Not the other 

way around. 

Awareness about the pink tax 

rose in 2014, after The New York 

Times released an editorial about 

a petition against shopping discrimination 

in France. 

The petition was created by feminist 

Georgette Sand, who asked 

the Monoprix supermarket chain 

to have equal prices for male and 

female hygiene products. 

A year later, many internet 

articles and discussion boards 

questioned whether or not the pink 

tax was real. Were women crying 

wolf? 

Well, ParseHub’s study confirmed 

the pink tax to be true. Shocker. 

The study also found female razors 

and blade replacements cost more 

than men’s products. Is it because 

they look more “girly”? Well, they 

cost 63 per cent more. Outrageous. 

The ParseHub survey was done 

two years ago but despite the 

Cameron 

Bickle 

awareness raised, the pink tax is 

still around. 

A 2018 study conducted by 

RIFT Tax Refunds found female 

razors still cost 6.3 per cent more. 

Although it is a great improvement, 

why are women paying more? 

Apparently, women’s razors are 

much more different than men’s. 

99 Cent Razor, an online company 

which sends affordable razors to 

your door monthly, says factors 

such as shape and blade angle separate 

the two types. 

Feminine razors have a more 

curved handle than male razors so 

women can see the backs of their 

legs better while shaving. 99 Cent 

Razor does offer their own feminine 

pack of disposable razors for a 

monthly subscription of $3.96 per 

month. 

Smooth legs can feel great, but it 

does not feel great realizing you are 

spending extra money for a pink or 

purple razor. 

It’s like you’re putting your 

money too close to a hot razor and 

it goes up in flames. 

It’s hard to believe the angle of a 

razor really helps women shave any 

better. If you’ve been shaving your 

legs for years, you’ll know how to 

get the job done. 

Harry’s and Dollar Shave Club, 

are also online businesses similar to 

99 Cent Razor. They offer reusable 

and affordable unisex razors and 

invite their female customers with 

open arms. 

Save your money rather than 

shave your money. Buy the male 

or unisex razors, they’ll still get the 

job done. 

Don’t worry about the bells and 

whistles, and definitely don’t worry 

how hot your razor can stay. Shave 

in a hot shower. 

Esports instead of E.P. Taylor's sparks controversy 

Gaming initiative overdue 

But not at 

the expense of 

real athletes 

Morgan 

Kelly 

No campus pub leaves a gap 

Simcoe House 

at arena not 

'students only' 

No more live music 

shows or karaoke. 

Meagan 

Secord 

A campus community is not complete without 

a campus pub. 

Durham College and UOIT students are 

missing out on an important post-secondary 

experience: going to the campus pub. The 

lack of a pub on the main campus creates a 

gap in the school community. 

Queen's University has The Queen’s Pub. 

Trent University has The Ceilie. York University 

has Shopsy’s. 

But Durham and UOIT only have 

The Simcoe House Ales and Grill, which 

is located at the Campus Ice Centre: 

a 450 metre walk across Conlin Road on 

a sidewalk that ends before it reaches the 

Centre. 

While this pub is (technically) on campus, 

it is open to the general public. 

Public skates happen Monday to Friday. 

There are bookable ice pads, girls’ hockey on 

weekends, Oshawa Minor Generals games 

and practices in the evenings. 

The last thing a college pub needs are 

parents and kids running around. 

Durham College and UOIT students need 

a “Moe’s Tavern” from The Simpsons: a 

place where stories are shared over drinks, 

friends are made, and maybe even a little 

bit of mischief happens. 

E.P. Taylor’s used to fill that void. But it 

closed in 2016. 

On the now-closed campus pub, E.P. Taylor’s 

Facebook page, commenters post about 

good memories future DC/UOIT generations 

will miss. 

One comment by Ryan Gordon reads, “I 

used to go there for Karaoke Nights on Mondays 

when I was doing a two-year Culinary 

Management program at Durham College... 

Sad, but I had good memories of the place, 

which was the best part of my second time 

as a college student. Miss it!” 

No more live music shows or karaoke 

nights: arguably, all things college/university 

students should be able to access on campus. 

What has been put in place of the pub 

doesn’t compare. 

The Esports gaming arena will house online 

gaming competitions. 

Who does that serve? 

According to Global Sports Matter, 75 per 

cent of Esports fans aged 13 - 40 are male 

and only 25 per cent are female. 

Is the Esports gaming arena going to offer 

the same gender diversity as a campus pub 

would? 

An article published on The Wireless in 

May talks about the toxic environment of 

online gaming and how women often become 

the target of these verbal assaults and 

even threats. 

How will Durham College make this 

space gender inclusive? 

The campus community needs a non-academic 

space to call their own: a place where 

the two campuses (Durham College and 

UOIT) can mingle and see themselves as a 

whole, not two separate entities. 

With all of the renovations, new builds 

and upgrades Durham College and UOIT 

are getting, an on-campus pub needs to be 

included. 

A campus community is just not complete 

without a campus pub and an Esports gaming 

arena will not fill that gap.


Opinion 

Fighting human trafficking starts with prevention plan 

Human trafficking is prevalent 

and thriving in Durham Region, 

as documented in the Chronicle’s 

human trafficking series by Shanelle 

Somers and Shana Fillatrau 

earlier this year. 

The Provincial Government 

says Ontario, specifically the 

GTA, is an epicentre of human 

trafficking. Two-thirds of the 

cases in Canada happen in our 

own backyard. 

By its nature, human trafficking 

is difficult to measure because 

of its hidden nature. According to 

Statistics Canada, police reported 

723 cases of human trafficking 

violations in Ontario between 

2009 and 2016. The number of 

reported cases is on the rise each 

year. 

While there are different prevention 

programs in place, such 

as Daughter Project Canada and 

Roots of Character run by the 

Durham District School Board, 

not enough is being done to inform 

young girls and their parents 

of this form of modern-day slavery. 

Prevention is the key to fighting 

human trafficking. Parents 

must be educated about human 

trafficking and the dangers of the 

digital age. Schools should communicate 

with parents alongside 

educating kids. Young girls need 

to be reached before they enter 

high school and general community 

awareness must be raised. 

While it is every parents’ intention 

to protect their kids from 

strangers and dangers, online 

accessibility is a lot like leaving 

the metaphorical front door unlocked. 

Children can easily access 

information on the internet and 

have open channels to communicate 

with friends and strangers on 

social media. 

While some may argue prevention 

begins at home with engaged 

parents who pay close attention 

to what their children do on electronic 

devices, school programs 

need to work with parents. 

Prevention strategies should be 

communicated through a newsletter, 

email, or school app, so parents 

are on the same page as their 

children. 

The Durham Regional Police 

Services human-trafficking unit 

give presentations to girls in high 

schools about human trafficking. 

This is a great starting point but 

doesn’t educate everyone who 

may need the knowledge and empowerment. 

Girls being targeted for human 

trafficking are between 11 and 15 

years old, with some cases being 

reported with girls as young as 9. 

High school presentations may 

come too late for potential victims. 

It is imperative adults as well as 

students are informed about what 

is happening in our community 

and gain the skills and knowledge 

on how to spot any warning signs 

to prevent this from occurring. 

Sharing knowledge about this 

important issue can help the community. 

Five girls who attended a 

program called Roots of Leadership, 

a summer program run by 

Roots of Character, put their artistic 

talents to good use and created 

informative posters about human 

trafficking. It was proposed 

the posters be put up in bathroom 

stalls in schools, theatres, malls 

and fast food restaurants across 

Durham Region. This campaign 

should go forward because it 

would open the public’s eyes about 

an issue not on the social forefront. 

Serious issues in our community, 

such as human trafficking, 

require preventative measures. 

There are programs in place but 

more could be done to help keep 

girls in our community safe. 

From home to school, our community 

must commit to protecting 

our children. Parents, students 

and the public need to learn about 

human trafficking in order to 

know how to best deal with it. 

Prevention strategies in the 

community and school system 

can help girls, rather than human 

traffickers, thrive. 

Professors on front lines of campus mental health crisis 

College professors are on the front 

lines of what has been called a 

campus mental health crisis in 

Canada. Professors need mental 

health first-aid training in order 

to help their students. 

Colleges need to mandate mental 

health training for faculty. 

According to Statistics Canada, 

young people aged 15 to 

24 are more likely to experience 

mental illness than any other age 

group. 

A Colleges Ontario overview 

reveals the average college student 

is 23 years of age. 

According to the Council of 

Ontario Universities, 75 per cent 

of mental health disorders first appear 

among people aged 18 to 24. 

If the average college student 

is 23, young people aged 15 to 

24 are prone to mental illnesses. 

Consider the fact that 75 per cent 

Cecelia Feor 


The United States, Mexico, 

Canada (USMCA) trade deal 

is set to replace NAFTA. It sees 

give and take on each side, but 

the dairy market saw a few more 

drops given to the U.S. than 

hoped. 

If the deal gets approved, 3.6 

per cent of the Canadian dairy 

market will be open to U.S. dairy 

imports. 

At least one Durham dairy 

farmer says it's unfortunate that 

market is now gone, because he 

doesn't think Canadian producers 

Janis 

Williams 

Madison 

Gulenchyn 

of mental health disorders first appear 

among people aged 18 to 24. 

College students are at a greater 

risk to mental health emergencies. 

A National College Health Assessment 

survey of post-secondary 

students reported that last year 46 

per cent of students reported feeling 

so depressed it was difficult to 

function; 65 per cent of students 

reported overwhelming anxiety 

and 14 per cent of students had 

seriously considered suicide. 

According to the Centre for 

Addiction and Mental Health 

(CAMH), 4,000 Canadians die 

a year to suicide. That equals 

will be able to get it back. 

"I can see there being months 

in the future where everybody 

else gets paid and I don't, because 

the bank account won't allow for 

me to have a take home salary," 

says Robert Larmer, a farmer in 

Nestleton, who has 250 dairy cattle. 

He says as a young farmer, he 

carries a large debt for the farm 

and the deal is a significant hit to 

revenue. 

Larmer has been a dairy farmer 

in Nestleton since 2014. He has 

known dairy farming his whole 

life, since his father and grandfather 

worked as dairy farmers as 

well. 

Canada historically operates 

its dairy industry on a supply 

management system. Dairy processors 

set quotas for farms, which 

are based on market demand. 

This system helps farmers stay 

in business, and maintains prices 

in stores for shoppers. 

roughly eleven people per day. After 

accidents, suicide is the second 

leading cause of death for people 

aged 15-24. 

If suicide is this prominent 

among the campus population, 

professors should be required 

to get Mental Health First Aid 

(MHFA) training. This would 

help professors recognize the signs 

and symptoms of mental illnesses, 

before it's too late. 

Much like physical first aid is 

provided until medical treatment 

can be obtained, MHFA is available 

until appropriate support is 

found or the crisis is fixed. 

The three main steps to MHFA 

are to recognize the change in behaviour, 

respond with a conversation 

and then guide the person to 

the appropriate resources. 

The outcomes of MHFA, according 

to its Canadian website, 

In Canada, the dairy industry 

is a $20-billion business. However, 

under the new deal, the per 

cent open to U.S. producers could 

mean $720-million will be lost annually. 

Larmer says the loss of the 

market will be felt not only in the 

next month, but in years to come. 

Ontario is the second-largest 

milk producing province behind 

Quebec, with 3,613 dairy farms 

in Ontario in 2016. 

Local dairy farmers are concerned 

about the effects of the 

USMCA, including Larmer. 

The 3.6 per cent of the US- 

MCA deal is not the only damage 

to the dairy industry. Two other 

trade deals, the Transpacific 

Partnership (TPP), and the Comprehensive 

and Economic Trade 

Agreement (CETA), coupled with 

the USMCA mean that 10 per 

cent of Canada's dairy market will 

be open internationally. 

Larmer says these deals won't 

are the increase of awareness, increase 

of confidence and decrease 

of stigma. 

This is why it is necessary for 

colleges to mandate mental health 

training for on-campus faculty. It 

is necessary for students to have 

someone who recognizes the 

symptoms of a mental health crisis 

before it escalates. 

The goal is to engage confidently 

where a person may be a 

danger to themselves or others. 

This way, help will be provided to 

prevent the mental health problem 

from developing into a more 

serious state. Therefore, promoting 

the recovery of good mental 

health and providing comfort to 

a person experiencing a mental 

health problem. 

This would help stop potential 

suicides by diagnosing the mental 

health concerns beforehand and 

change how he operates his farm. 

He says animal welfare, human 

welfare and economics are the 

three factors he makes decisions 

on. 

"We want to do what's best for 

the animals, we want to do what's 

best for us as a family, from a 

health perspective and of course 

our employees as well, and then 

obviously it needs to be economically 

feasible for us to make those 

decisions," Larmer says. 

He hopes to stay in the dairy 

market. 

Many say this dairy deal had 

to happen to save the bigger trade 

deal between Canada and the 

U.S. 

Bin Chang, program director 

of finance at UOIT, says the US- 

MCA is not as good as NAFTA 

for the Canadian dairy industry. 

However, she says the USMCA 

is better than no deal at all, and it 

is good it got done by the Oct. 1 

create dialogue around a stigmatized 

topic. 

In 2016, Ontario University 

and College Health Association 

(OUCHA) published the results 

from a survey of more than 25,000 

students. 

The survey found in the previous 

year, 65 per cent of students 

experienced overwhelming anxiety, 

46 per cent reported feeling 

so depressed they couldn't function 

and 13 per cent had seriously 

considered suicide in the previous 

year. College professors are on the 

front lines of what has been called 

a campus mental health crisis in 

Canada. Professors need mental 

first-aid training in order to help 

their students. 

Action needs to be taken. Providing 

training to those on the 

front lines will help stop an epidemic 

that is killing students. 

Durham dairy farmer weighs in on USMCA trade deal 

More U.S. 

milk coming 

to Canada 

deadline. 

"We give up something, but 

other countries give us more market 

access to their own market," 

Chang says, adding free trade 

deals like TPP and CETA are 

good for the economy. 

She says that in the USMCA 

negotiations, the dairy market 

was a priority on both the U.S. 

and Canadian sides of the deal. 

"From the U.S. side they wanted 

a more open market, but from 

Canada's side we want to protect 

our dairy farmers," she says. 

Supply management will remain 

the way Canada operates its 

dairy market, and perhaps help it 

maintain profits. 

"Our system is the envy of the 

world," Larmer says. 

The USMCA still has to be 

passed through the House of 

Commons and the Senate. 

The deal could come into effect 

as early as June, 2019.

Campus chronicle.durhamcollege.ca October 30 - December 3, 2018 The Chronicle 7 

DC, UOIT protecting free speech 

Janis Williams 


Free speech versus hate speech. 

It’s a political tightrope and new 

Ontario Premier Doug Ford wants 

the province’s colleges and universities 

to walk it. 

Ford has mandated post-secondary 

schools to develop and 

publicly post their own free speech 

policies by Jan. 1, 2019. 

“Colleges and universities 

should be places where students exchange 

different ideas and opinions 

in open and respectful debate,” 

Ford says in a statement. “Our 

government made a commitment 

to the people of Ontario to protect 

free speech on campuses.” 

What does this mean for DC 

and UOIT? Don’t expect to see too 

much change on campus because 

policies already exist and are put 

in place. 

One immediate change is a new 

committee put together to represent 

all 24 Ontario colleges, with one 

representative for DC. They will 

look at the University of Chicago 

statement on principles of free expression 

and develop their own set 

of principles and policies to adopt 

as a collective system. 

DC and UOIT are no strangers 

to dealing with the balance of free 

speech and human rights. 

Dr. Steven Murphy, UOIT 

president, says the university is 

well-practiced in the pros and cons 

of bringing people to campus. He 

says it is important speakers bring 

value to the students and push them 

to think in different ways. He says 

the individuals coming to campus 

should be open to being challenged 

themselves. 

“We’ve always been champions 

of free speech and will continue to 

be,” Murphy says. 

DC president Don Lovisa 

agrees with Murphy. He sees the 

importance of freedom of thought 

and the ability to express an opinion. 

“It has to be positive, it has 

to contribute to understanding, 

education and [bring] value and 

it doesn’t disparage one group versus 

another, a balance needs to be 

achieved,” says Lovisa. 

Murphy says free speech is a 

cornerstone of society and people 

look to push their platforms at universities. 

Because of this, UOIT 

needs to find a balance between 

free speech and upholding the Ontario 

human rights code. 

When someone wants to speak, 

Murphy says the school needs to 

keep a safe and civil space. He says 

this can be a grey area because 

there is a fine line between genuine 

concerns versus ideologies being 

challenged. 

Lovisa also carefully weighs 

the rights of individuals and the 

collective. 

“We all value free speech and 

I value free speech. Free speech 

is protected under our Charter of 

Rights and Freedoms but I do distinguish 

between free speech and 

hate speech,” Lovisa says. 

The most recent freedom of 

speech on campus issues to make 


Prime Minister Justin Trudeau shared his thoughts on free speech to reporters at UOIT. 

national headlines was at Wilfrid 

Laurier University about a year 

ago. Lindsay Shepherd, a teaching 

assistant, was reprimanded after 

showing her students a video clip 

of a debate with University of Toronto 

psychology professor Jordan 

Peterson regarding the use of gendered 

pronouns. The University 

ultimately apologized to her for the 

incident. 

DC and UOIT have not had to 

deal with controversies at this level. 

Lovisa says it’s important to 

keep this a Canadian issue, he 

says unfortunately, many of our 

political decisions are driven by a 

We need to 

have a country 

that is open, 

respectful and 

engages across 

the full range 

of diversity of 

views. 

U.S. lens. 

“We have to make sure that 

we’re developing policies for our 

institutions and society. Our society 

is different than the United States, 

our politics are different, our values 

are different in some cases,” Lovisa 

says. 

“So, whenever we develop policies 

we want to make sure they fit 

your needs as a student and not a 

student in the United States.” 

He says Canada is not as deeply 

politically divided as the Unites 

States. 

He says because of free speech, 

we learn from each other with 

understanding, even if we share 

different world views. 

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau 

was on campus in August and 

shared his thoughts on free speech. 

“We need to have a country that 

is open, respectful that engages 

across the full range of diversity of 

views and that includes a range of 

diversity or ideologies,” Trudeau 

says. 

There is no space for hate speech 

in Canada, Trudeau added. 

Some students lighting up on campus despite smoking ban 

Madison Gulenchyn 


Some people did not adhere to the 

new ban on smoking on the Durham 

College, UOIT campus. The 

Chronicle saw several students 

smoking early on Oct. 15, adjacent 

to the Student Services Building 

and in the bus loop outside of the 

Gordon Willey building. 

The smoke-free campus policy 

went into effect after being announced 

Oct. 12. 

The new policy was created to 

promote health and safety and applies 

to all members of the campus 

community, officials from both 

schools say. 

The college and university 

made the decision to implement 

this policy before the the legalization 

of cannabis on Oct. 17. 

A DC student smoker is Eric 

Linton, 19. He believes tobacco 

shouldn’t be banned because marijuana 

is being legalized. 

“They shouldn’t have made the 

law [they way] it is. It’s kind of unfair 

to ban everything just because 

of that one thing,” Linton said. 

The Office of Campus Safety is 

“not tracking” numbers of students 

in violation of the smoking ban 

policy, says Tom Lynch, director 

of the office. 

The campus has some exceptions 

when it comes to this new 

policy. Traditional burnings of 

substances that form a part of Indigenous 

culture and heritage are 

allowed. 

Individuals with prescriptions 

to smoke medical cannabis will also 

work with the campus for a solution. 

Individuals who wish to smoke 

must do so off-campus. 

New ‘no smoking’ signs have 

been put up on campus and posters 

can be seen on the walls of the 

hallways. Outdoor campus ashtrays 

have also been removed in the wake 

of the new policy, yet some students 

are still smoking on the property. 

Students like Sebastian 

Manczak, 23, of the pre-health sciences 

program, said he hasn’t heard 

a lot of the policy, and believes it 

should be publicized more. 

“It came a little out of nowhere, 

right? There are tons of smokers 

here and there were tons of waste 

disposals [for cigarettes],” Manczak 

said. “I now have to do a little more 

cardio to get my smoke, so I guess 

it’s not a bad thing.” 

DC and UOIT officials say the 

campus is currently in phase one of 

its smoking ban. This will last until 

Jan. 1 and will focus on awareness 

and educating the community 

about the new policy. 

Phase two will begin on Jan. 1, 

will consist of issuing verbal and 


Justin Stewart, 23, in the business fundamentals program, stands on DC's campus to smoke. 

written warnings for those who fail 

to adhere to the ban on smoking. 

The final and third phase includes 

issuing fines and initiating 

disciplinary actions, school officials 

say.

8 The Chronicle October 30 - December 3, 2018 chronicle.durhamcollege.ca Campus 


This is one in a series looking at special 

locations on the DC, UOIT campus 

Photograph by Jasper Myers 

Elaine Popp, vice-president, academic oversees all teaching and learning operations at Durham College. 

DC popping up opportunities 

Jasper Myers 

Morgan Kelly 


The world that we live 

in is becoming more 

and more globalized. 

The introduction of a new fall reading 

week at Durham College (DC) 

is just one example of what Elaine 

Popp does in her job. 

Popp, the school’s vice-president, 

academic (VPA), has been in 

charge of the teaching and learning 

experience at DC for the past three 

years, including the addition of a 

second school break for students. 

But her job requires her to bring 

expertise to a variety of areas. 

“As [VPA], I see my role really 

being divided up amongst five 

main responsibilities,” says Popp, 

who worked at Humber College 

prior to being hired at DC. 

She makes sure faculty are fully 

supported in providing the best 

education possible, constantly reviewing 

the programs offered by 

the college, providing students and 

faculty with international education 

opportunities, managing enrolment, 

and focusing on applied 

research and opportunities for students 

to participate. 

The Centre for Academic and 

Faculty Enrichment (C.A.F.E.) 

helps faculty of any experience 

update skills and learn new ways 

to engage students. Popp also says 

it’s important programs have the 

right teaching spaces, pointing to 

the new Chronicle room adjacent 

to the Pit and studio spaces as examples. 

She works on constantly updating 

and adding programs based 

on what industry and students require 

and makes sure the content 

ensures students are career-ready 

with experiential, hands-on learning. 

Popp also manages internationalization 

opportunities provided to 

staff and students, which she says 

is important. 

“The world that we live in is 

becoming more and more globalized,” 

says Popp, whose office is 

located in H-wing, between Tim 

Hortons and the bus loop. “It’s not 

such a small world that it used to 

be, everyone’s connected, businesses 

are connected.” 

She understands most students 

won’t get the chance to travel 

abroad for projects such as DC’s 

recent involvement in Kenya and 

Guyana, but still makes sure those 

at home get a global education, too. 

The Global Class at DC allows students 

on campus to connect, share 

and learn from experts and other 

students from across the world via 

live broadcasting. 

However, Popp says she works 

with a big team to get things done. 

She works collaboratively with all 

nine academic schools as well as the 

four academic departments such as 

the C.A.F.E. international education, 

Office of Research Services, 

Innovation and Entrepreneurship 

and Corporate Training Services. 

The team within her office plays 

a significant role as well, such as 

her executive assistant Karen Graham. 

“Oh, Karen? She keeps me 

sane,” jokes Popp. “She’s the only 

reason I can sleep at all.” 

Graham says she needs to make 

sure Popp has what she needs when 

she needs it. 

She makes sure Popp’s schedule 

is set, the VPA is on time and ready 

for whatever’s next. Graham says 

Popp’s schedule is one of the busiest 

of anyone else she’s worked for at 

the college, including DC president 

Don Lovisa. 

The future of DC, according to 

Popp, involves some new degree 

programs currently in the review 

and development stages, continuing 

to work on teaching practices 

and developing more classrooms 

that are not set up in the traditional 

manner - with row after row of 

desks.

Campus chronicle.durhamcollege.ca October 30 – December 3, 2018 The Chronicle 9 




Photograph by Kathryn Fraser 

DC President, Don Lovisa, sits next to his guitar chair inside his office. 

Lovisa: Global projects help DC's prospects 

Kathryn Fraser 



Don Lovisa describes his path to 

becoming Durham College (DC) 

president as a “fabulous journey” 

and is pleased it is ongoing. 

It’s an educational excursion 

that has taken him to many towns 

and cities across Canada, as well 

as many countries throughout the 

world. 

Lovisa became president of DC 

10 years ago. He said the road to 

get here was “a long one.” 

“It has been a fabulous journey,” 

Lovisa, 60, said. “And I’m 

still on a great journey.” 

He went to school part-time, 

and, as he would say, “forever.” 

Lovisa attended St. Francis Xavier 

University, Lakehead University, 

St. Thomas University, University 

of Toronto and Confederation College. 

He earned degrees in international 

management, adult education 

and has completed the course 

work towards a PhD in community 

college leadership. 

Lovisa said he seized every 

opportunity. He was always looking 

for ways to create new experiences 

and meet people. 

“That’s what the road is like. 

Making connections, getting the 

education you need, having fun and 

making it interesting,” he said. “But 

also, helping people along the way, 

knowing you have to make a contribution. 

You can receive but you 

also have to give.” 

Lovisa didn’t always have the 

busy life he has now in Durham 

Region. He grew up in Fort Frances, 

in northwestern Ontario. 

“Living in a small town, you 

have fewer opportunities. So like 

me and a lot of other people, to advance, 

you have to leave,” he said. 

“It is bittersweet. Small towns are 

a nice experience. You learn about 

yourself and community.” 

While pursuing his career, 

Lovisa found international work. 

He spent time teaching, training 

and consulting in areas such as 

globalization, trade, entrepreneurship 

and business. 

Before working for more than 

30 years in post-secondary education, 

he worked in Poland, Ukraine, 

Germany, Vietnam, India, Korea, 

China and the Caribbean. 

He learned both respect and 

teamwork were important when 

working with foreign counterparts. 

“[Working globally] broadens 

your perspective,” Lovisa said. “It 

helps you understand that there 

are different world-views. People 

see the world very differently and 

they react to situations, problems 

and questions very differently than 

I do. It’s [understanding] to respect 

that and [trying] to work together 

to achieve the mission that you’re 

there to achieve.” 

Lovisa said international travels 

teach an individual to gain respect 

for not only cultures but for people, 

too. This respect translates into his 

life as he applies his foreign experiences 

to his job at DC. 

“It’s a very rewarding experience,” 

he said. “As we have more 

and more international students, 

understanding that they’re going 

to bring different ideas here and 

we have to respect that, we have 

to learn from it. We also have to 

help them understand our value 

system and what it means to be in 

Canada.” 

Lovisa credits his office space 

as a place where he can work and 

help strengthen international and 

local relationships. 

“It’s a comfortable space,” he 

said. “[It’s] a quiet space when 

I want it to be [and] a fun space 

when I want it to be.” 

You can 

receive, but you 

also have to 

give. 

Lovisa enjoys personalizing his 

environment. A blue chair, made 

completely out of guitar parts, sits 

in his office. Lovisa built the chair 

and decided to auction it off. When 

it didn’t sell, he kept it. The chair 

acts as a reminder for his love of 

music. “It’s just part of me. I like 

music, I like to play,” he said. 

In addition to his guitar chair, 

student photography and sculptures 

fill the rest of his office. Lovisa is 

proud of DC’s students and surrounds 

himself with their work. He 

said the memorabilia is inspiring 

and motivational. 

He refers to his office as “a 

place of great pride.” 

“Thankful,” is the word Lovisa 

uses to describe himself. 

“For many things. For my job, 

for the life I get to live. For everything 

around me.”





Photograph by Cecelia Feor 

UOIT president Dr. Steven Murphy sitting in his office on the second floor of the UOIT Energy Systems and Nuclear Science Research Centre. 

Murphy: Putting more 'tech' in UOIT 

Cecelia Feor 



The University of Ontario Institute 

of Technology's (UOIT) new president 

wants to use his skills to push 

the Ridgebacks ahead of the pack. 

Dr. Steven Murphy has been 

UOIT president for a relatively 

short time, but he's taking a long 

term view about his new role. 

On the job since March 1, he's 

already thinking 15 years into the 

future of what the university can 

become - and he'd like it to be the 

MIT of the north, referring to the 

world-renowned Massachusetts 

Institute of Technology. 

Murphy was previously the 

dean of the Ted Rogers School of 

Management at Toronto's Ryerson 

University. 

He sees similarities between 

UOIT and where Ryerson was 10 

years ago. As a result, he believes 

It's (technology) not just in our 

name (UOIT) it's also in how we 

want to live. 

UOIT is on an exponential path 

for the future. 

He hopes to build on the use of 

technology to teach its 10,000 students 

better, in part by developing 

improved hybrid courses. 

"It's (technology) not just in our 

name, it's also in how we want to 

live and in our values and our dayto-day 

actions," Murphy says. 

It is important to integrate 

technology systems to better serve 

students, by having everything in 

one place, he believes. 

"We're really reaching the 

point where you need to be able to 

come to one spot that has everything 

to do with your university 

experience," Murphy says, noting 

all aspects of the student experience, 

including assignments and 

study groups, should be accessible 

through a central app or system. 

He's also interested in using 

technology to deliver education 

in an improved way. He says hybrid 

courses should become more 

the norm, where there is an online 

component and then an in-person 

portion for discussion. 

In addition, Murphy would 

like to see courses become modular, 

based on the length of student 

learning absorption levels. 

This would focus less on the 

traditional course model of a 13- 

week semester with four-week 

exam period. 

Murphy is also pleased students 

can experience different 

course and pathway options on 

the joint campus of Durham College 

(DC) and UOIT. 

Cathy Pitcher, assistant to the 

president, previously worked in 

the DC president's office, including 

for Gary Polonsky, the Durham 

leader who helped found 

UOIT. 

Pitcher says pathways are 

beneficial to students. 

"I think this campus brings 

tremendous opportunities to our 

students, the fact that you have a 

university and a college sharing," 

she says. 

Murphy meets with DC 

president Don Lovisa monthly 

to discuss how to enhance diploma-to-degree 

pathways but also 

to create other opportunities for 

students. 

Specifically, Murphy proposed 

a business training module for 

those who have graduated from 

skilled trades and apprenticeships 

looking to start their own business. 

"It's about doing a flexible delivery, 

thinking about really creative 

models of working together, 

and trying to figure out where our 

visions intersect," he says. 

As for his legacy, Murphy is 

more concerned with UOIT’s 

goals. 

“For me it’s far more satisfying 

to see our students walking across 

the stage (graduating) knowing 

that the value of their degree has 

increased because we’ve worked 

really hard as a team over 10 years 

than it is for me to say that my legacy 

after 10 years is that I pushed 

on 'x' or 'y',” says Murphy.


The chosen three representing DC 

Durham 

grads in 

line for 

Premier's 

Award 




What do a nurse, a journalist and 

a plumber all have in common? 

They've all been nominated for 

Colleges Ontario's 2018 Premier's 

Award. 

Lorraine Sunstrum-Mann 

who graduated in 1988 from 

DC's Registered Nursing program, 

Manjula Selvarajah, a 2014 

graduate of the Journalism - Print 

and Broadcast program and Brandon 

Bird, a 2012 DC graduate as 

a Level 3 Plumber Apprentice are 

among 118 nominees for the Premier's 

Award. 

The event recognizes notable 

alumni of Ontario colleges. The 

DC alumni were chosen for their 

career success relating to their 

college program and the impacts 

they have made. There are seven 

categories. DC's three nominees 

represent three of the seven 

groupings. 

Sunstrum-Mann is in the 

Health Services category, Selvarajah 

was nominated in the Recent 

Graduate category and Bird 

for the Apprenticeship category. 

Sunstrum-Mann is currently 

the CEO of Grandview Children's 

Centre. She has worked in senior 

leadership roles at various Ontario 

hospitals. 

Selvarajah is an associate producer 

for CBC, who advocates 

for the Tamil community, with a 

focus on feminist movements. 

Bird is the CEO of Bird Mechanical 

Ltd. He took over the company 

in 2016 as the youngest CEO 

ever in the company. The 2018 

Premier's Awards gala takes place 

Monday, Nov. 26.

12 The Chronicle October 30 - December 3, 2018 chronicle.durhamcollege.ca

chronicle.durhamcollege.ca October 30 - December 3, 2018 The Chronicle 13

14 The Chronicle October 30 - December 3, 2018 chronicle.durhamcollege.ca Community 

Oshawa helps storm victims 



On the shores of Lake Ontario in 

Oshawa, a call centre is doing the 

unexpected - saving lives, thousands 

of kilometres away. 

Concentrix, formerly known as 

Minacs, helped victims of Florence, 

the hurricane-turned-tropical 

storm, in the Carolinas, by taking 

Red Cross calls and connecting 

people with emergency services. 

“We've really taken an all handson 

deck approach to help the citizens 

of the U.S.,” said Amanda 

Bruce, the site leader of Concentrix 

Oshawa, which is involved with providing 

OnStar services for General 

Motors vehicles. 

When Florence made landfall in 

the United States Sept. 14, the company 

leapt into action, Bruce said. 

“General Motors got the call to 

assist the Red Cross and Concentrix 

willingly jumped in,” she said. 

Bruce said Concentrix has partnered 

with the Red Cross in the 

past. The Red Cross receives many 

emergency calls and to help balance 

the volume, calls are transferred to 

Concentrix employees in Oshawa, 

the only Canadian site to handle 

American calls. (The rest are taken 

at Concentrix sites in Michigan and 

North Carolina.) 

A team of approximately 65 emergency 

advisors in Oshawa took on 

Red Cross calls, crisis calls and 

emergency calls. Navigation advisors 

handled evacuation routes, road 

closures, finding grocery stores and 

shelters, Bruce said. 

“They’re very much an elite 

team,” she said. “Everybody is 

trained to be on their toes every 

single time.” 

Bruce said safety is the number 

one priority for Concentrix and 

GM. Crisis Assist, an initiative created 

by GM, allows GM drivers to 

access emergency assistance, even 

if they don't have an OnStar membership. 

“We open up the services to provide 

the customer with everything 

they need,” said Bruce. “So, if it’s 

a route, if they need to call a loved 

one, we'll provide complimentary 

data.” 

Emergency Team Leader Jennifer 

Hoffman said the employees were 

much more prepared to deal with 

Florence. 

“We were training people well 

in advance, staffing extra people 

because we figured something like 

this would happen,” said Hoffman. 

When Crisis Assist is active, Hoffman 

said open services can even be 

accessed by cellphone, as opposed to 

a vehicle's Bluetooth phone system. 

“We provide updated weather 

information,” said Hoffman. “We 

provide data to help people be able 

to look at things on social media, 

we make phone calls for them. The 

main rule is that we don't leave 

someone alone until we know that 

they are safe.” 

Taslima Gulshan, an emergency 

advisor, said answering calls is sometimes 

challenging and emotional. 

“A lot of these people who are calling 

in have lost sometimes family, 

lost their homes, pets or they’re injured,” 

she said. “Sometimes they 

call in saying ‘I am in my house with 

the water level up to my counter and 

I’m standing on my counter while 

talking to you'.” 

I am in my house with the water 

level up to my counter and I'm 

standing on my counter while talking 

to you. 

“If [emotion] affects you, you 

can’t really help them,” Gulshan 

said. “You have to put it to the back 

of your head. It can happen to anyone.” 

Even though most of hurricane 

calls were transferred to the Oshawa 

site, Kurt Leatzow, the senior 

director of telematics, said it’s bigger 

than Canadians helping Americans. 

I think it's bigger than that, I 

think it's people helping people. 

“I think it’s people helping 

people,” said Leatzow. “I think no 

matter where you're born, where 

you're from, what country you may 

claim to represent, during times of 

need and crisis everybody reaches 

out with a helping hand. I think it’s 

a great partnership and it’s a great 

story that the human spirit overcomes 

whatever your geography is 

or whatever your country of residence 

may be.”





A centre for innovation 

and collaboration at DC 

Cam Bickle 

Justin Bailey 


It was time to tear down Durham 

College's original building and replace 

it with a contemporary facility 

for students. 

That's how Durham College 

(DC) president Don Lovisa feels 

about the shiny new $40 million, 

Centre for Collaborative Education 

(CFCE), which officially opened its 

doors earlier this month. 

The four-storey CFCE, which 

fronts onto Simcoe Street just 

north of the main entrance to the 

campus, replaces the 50-year-old, 

one-floor, Simcoe Building. 

Site preparation and excavation 

started in Dec. 2016 and it opened 

to students this month. 

Lovisa hatched the idea for the 

new building in 2015. 

“The goal was to replace the 

Simcoe Building,” Lovisa said. 

“The building was just tired, it was 

time to replace it.” 

To help develop the idea, Lovisa 

brought together faculty who occupied 

the Simcoe Building along 

with Lon Appleby, director and 

founder of the Global Class, members 

of Health Sciences and others 

from the marketing and communications 

department. 

Lovisa asked the group to envision 

what a new space would look 

like. Everyone shared their ideas 

on this hypothetical new building, 

but it wasn’t a quick decision for the 

school president. 

“We sort of took the vision and 

the partnership and the idea to 

governments, and between myself 

and my chief of staff, we had 49 

meetings,” he said. 

The CFCE is now home to Fast- 

Start, an entrepreneurship centre, 

the DC Spa, First Peoples Indigenous 

Centre, the Global Classroom, 

simulations labs and the office of 

student diversity, inclusion and 

transitions. 

To get funding for the building, 

Lovisa had to make a compelling 

case to the provincial and federal 

governments. He said schools 

across Ontario and the rest of 

Canada all lobby governments for 

funding, but he was able to secure 

funding for DC. 

Between the federal and provincial 

governments, Lovisa secured 

$35 million in funding. The province 

announced it would provide 

$22 million in April, 2016 and the 

federal group announced in Sept. 

2016 it would throw in $13 million. 

In order to keep the funding, 

however, two criteria had to be 

met. 

The college had to raise $5 million 

on its own and substantial 

completion had to be done by the 

Photograph by Justin Bailey 

Durham College president Don Lovisa holds up a piece of the now demolished Simcoe Building. 

end of April, 2018. This meant 

the building had to be completed 

enough for intended usage, except 

for a few minor deficiencies. The 

reference is described as 97 per cent 

complete. 

“There’s still some things to do,” 

Lovisa said, “It’s going to take six 

months to finish.” 

The cost to build and furnish the 

76,000 square foot building will be 

close to $40 million after everything 

is complete. Some classrooms 

DC time capsule will be opened in 2067 

Chronicle newspapers, letters, and 

technology among the items preserved 

to be revealed decades from now 

are still waiting on back ordered 

items like whiteboards and chairs, 

Lovisa said. 

One of the featured rooms in the 

CFCE is the Global Classroom, located 

on the main floor just off the 

Galleria. The Global Classroom 

has been around at DC since 2011 

but has received a massive upgrade 

in the CFCE, said Appleby, adding 

there’s nothing like it anywhere 

else. 

“Nobody’s doing that. It’s a 

world first,” Appleby said, as he 

pointed to the room. “It gives us 

an experience of working together 

like never before.” 

The classroom features a large 

video wall with three state-of-theart 

monitor systems, each allowing 

students and faculty to connect 

with each other at the touch of a 

button. 

However, Appleby also plans to 

dive more into the room’s 'Global' 

name by connecting with different 

institutions from around the world. 

One example is the upcoming 

interactive screen event on World 

Polio Day, Oct. 24, which will see 

the Rotary Club connect with 

members from Chicago as part of 

a large event at the Durham College 

building. 

“It’s a recognition from top 

down, about the way we learn 

everything, that a revolution was 

needed because of technology,” 

Appleby said. “By using technology 

to help learn, we’re now designed to 

better reach out to the community, 

with collaboration being the key 

part.” 

Appleby said the upgrade from 

its former home at the Gordon Willey 

Building is significant. 

“Think of the old Global Class as 

junior hockey,” Appleby said. “This 

is the Stanley Cup.” 

Meagan Secord 


Not everything is new in Durham 

College's new $40 million Centre 

for Collaborative Education 

(CFCE) building that just opened 

on campus. 

As part of the grand opening, a 

time capsule was put in place just 

outside the entrance on the south 

side of the building. 

The capsule contains about 15 

items mostly marking the 50th 

anniversary of the school. It was 

sealed in the ground at the CFCE's 

grand opening Oct. 2 and holds 

memories for future generations 

to look back on when it is opened 

in 2067, DC's 100th year. 

Durham College President Don 

Lovisa says the capsule contains letters 

for future generations to read, 

including one from himself to the 

president 50 years from now. There 

are copies of the Chronicle, 50th 

anniversary DC memorabilia and 

an iPhone. 

He says they wanted to depict the 

current times in the capsule. 

“The idea for a time capsule 

came up during our brainstorming 

sessions for ways to celebrate 

the college’s 50th anniversary in 

2017," says Dr. Scott Blakey, the 

chief administrative officer at Durham 

College. 

"We were having so much fun 

exploring...and digging into the 

rich history of Durham College, 

it inspired us to take on a project 

that would both commemorate this 

milestone anniversary and contribute 

to DC’s centennial celebration 

in another 50 years.” 

Photograph by Meagan Secord 

Durham College president Don Lovisa (second from left) and 

the Board of Governors place the time capsule.






Sophia Mingram, an advertising and marketing graduate, stands outside the new FastStart office in the CFCE. 

FastStart: Helping student entrepreneurs 

Infographic by Dakota Evans 

FastStart offers many services for creative entrepreneurs. 

Peter Fitzpatrick 

Dakota Evans 


Among the many changes around 

Durham College (DC), the Fast- 

Start entrepreneurial program has 

moved out of its room in the B-wing 

and into the new Centre For Collaborative 

Education (CFCE). 

FastStart is a program for students 

under 29 and gives them the 

tools and resources they need to 

grow their own businesses. These 

tools include help with branding, 

logo ideas and getting students in 

touch with business investors. 

According to Sophia Mingram, 

the program’s marketing assistant, 

“most of the events that we do is 

mostly for you to get connected with 

your supporters in the community,” 

referring to the 12 business investors 

they associate with, including Spark 

Centre in Oshawa. 

The program has helped launch 

more than 15 student-founded 

businesses and supports more 

than 50 existing businesses, according 

to Mingram. One of the 

student-founded businesses they 

helped grow is OhhFoods, founded 

by Brittany Charlton, a DC Law 

Clerk graduate. 

OhhFoods makes allergen-free 

snacks, including bite-sized brownies 

and apple pie. 

Charlton said she found out about 

FastStart on her way to class. 

“I was walking down the hallway, 

saw FastStart, then it said ‘if you’re 

interested in starting or you have 

a business idea, come talk to us’ so 

that’s what I did,” Charlton said. 

FastStart offers networking events 

to help introduce students to potential 

investors. Charlton attended 

three of these events before and 

after she graduated her program. 

“I attended the last [networking 

event] that just happened and that 

was amazing too. Getting to speak 

on the panel and meet everyone 

that’s pretty much there that I didn’t 

get to meet (previously),” Charlton 

said. 

I still speak with 

them and anytime 

I need advice 

or anything I 

definitely do 

reach out. 

According to Mingram, some 

of these networking events involve 

students pitching their product to 

investors while others are competitions 

in which students pitch to 

an audience, who ask questions 

regarding things like pricing and 

availability. 

Prizes for the competitions include 

as much as $1,000, money 

that gets invested in the winner’s 

business, the amount depending 

on the size of the winner’s business 

requirements. 

Charlton is still in contact with 

FastStart. 

“I still speak with them and anytime 

I need advice or anything I 

definitely do reach out and ask for 

help,” Charlton said. 

OhhFoods is a growing business 

and has 32 followers on Twitter after 

joining last April. 

In addition to OhhFoods, the 

DC program has helped companies 

like jmd alterations and design, 

who occasionally host pop-up shops 

on campus to sell their clothing 

through #dcshops, which is also 

sponsored by FastStart. 

There are programs similar to 

FastStart at other colleges and universities. 

For example, Twitter users can 

find UOIT’s offering at UOITBrilliant 

and Sir Sandford Fleming College’s 

via FastStartPTBO. 

The program also provides support 

to DC faculty by adding entrepreneurial 

elements into courses 

and programs. FastStart has more 

than 25 partner programs across all 

DC schools.





DC helps craft brewers 

draft up bubbly success 

Meagan Secord 

Jackie Graves 


A Durham College initiative is 

helping local brewers produce 

suds and teach students more about 

beer. 

The Centre for Craft Brewing 

Innovation (CCBI) at Durham's 

Whitby campus is already brewing 

up success for the local industry 

after opening last spring. 

“Craft brewing is growing in 

leaps and bounds," said Chris 

Gillis, DC's manager, applied 

research business development. 

“It’s expected the number of craft 

brewers will hit the 500 mark by 

2019 - 90 per cent of those are small 

brewers.” 

Local brewers and those aspiring 

to join the beer business can come 

to the centre and receive guidance 

from experts like Erin Broadfoot 

and John Henley of Little Beasts 

Brewing Company in Whitby. 

Little Beasts opened Oct. 21, 

2017, as a second career option for 

the partners. Before getting into 

brewing, Broadfoot worked as a 

naturopathic doctor while Henley 

was a software quality assurance 

engineer. 

“It was a hobby for both of us, 

we were both home brewers and 

beer judges,” said Broadfoot. “We 

just loved it.” 

When the CCBI opened its 

doors, Broadfoot helped by teaching 

the first round of classes. She 

continues to offer ongoing advice 

to staff at the centre. 

According to Gillis, the CCBI 

doesn't offer a specific school program 

but it does give students the 

opportunity to work alongside experienced 

brewers. 

“What we really want to do is 

help the craft brewing industry expand 

the education on how to brew 

and also give them the resource to 

control their brewing process to 

make good brews consistently," 

said Gillis. 

Durham College’s Office of Research 

Services, Innovation and 

Entrepreneurship (ORSIE) saw a 

growing need for a facility able to 

support aspiring and existing craft 

brewers like Little Beasts. 

The CCBI was funded by a 

$150,000 grant from the Natural 

Sciences and Engineering Research 

Council, an agency of the 

federal government. Through OR- 

SIE, the CCBI offers technology 

brewers otherwise wouldn’t be able 

to access. 

“They often lack resources to 

ensure the quality and consistency 

of their beer,” said Debbie Mc- 

Kee Demczyk, dean of ORSIE. 

“They’re often very passionate 

about what they do, but because 

Little Beasts Brewing Company owners Erin Broadfoot (left) and John Henley. 

they’re small, they have small 

teams, they don’t have R and D 

departments (research and development).” 

The cost of equipment can pose 

as an obstacle for both aspiring and 

existing breweries when it comes 

to quality control, Broadfoot said. 

Without proper equipment and 

packaging, the risk of oxygen getting 

into the beer can become an 

issue of quality and safety. 

“A lot of that equipment you need 

for QC (quality control), we can’t 

afford,” said Broadfoot. “What 

they’re doing over there, it would 

bring in this instrumentation needed 

to conduct those tests to ensure 

QC, which is huge in our industry.” 

Without proper quality control, 

contamination from outside sources 

can create excess oxygen in beer, 

causing the taste to change or cans 

to explode, Broadfoot said. 

The CCBI ensures brewers can 

produce product safely and successfully. 

Access to the CCBI has already 

turned out a number of successful 

breweries, including Premium 

Near Beer, a craft brewery specializing 

in non-alcoholic brews. The 

brewery received funding after a 

successful pitch to CBC’s Dragons’ 

Den in 2017. 

“Premium Near Beer approached 

us looking for some support 

to develop a new recipe,” said 

McKee Demczyk. “They went to 

Dragons’ Den and they secured a 

Erin Broadfoot works on the equipment at Little Beasts Brewing. 

deal based on the beer we helped 

them produce.” 

ORSIE is continuing to apply for 

grants to bring more equipment to 

the CCBI to support craft brewing 

education. The centre gives 

students the opportunity to work 

in the brewery environment by 



giving them the tools to analyze 

and produce a quality product for 

a continually expanding market, 

said McKee Demczyk.

18 The Chronicle October 30 -December 3, 2018 chronicle.durhamcollege.ca 

Entertainment 

The man behind the mask 



Atticus is a poet some will understand 

and embrace - others not at 

all. He started on Instagram and 

now has a following of more than 

800,000. The catch? No one knows 

who he is. 

He’s known for wearing a reflective 

Guy Fawkes mask. He says the 

mask itself holds no importance and 

he’ll go through different ones during 

his career. 

He is known as an 'Instapoet', a 

poet who shares his work on Instagram 

and began his rise to fame in 

2013. After a few years of writing 

he's kept his identity under wraps, 

but his work has been shared on Instagram 

by people such as supermodel 

Karlie Kloss, actress Emma 

Roberts and singer Cody Simpson. 

The only few known facts about 

Atticus are that he's Canadian, 

from British Columbia, and in his 

'kind of older 20s'. 

He remains anonymous to protect 

the integrity of his work. He 

says he wants to write what he feels, 

not what he thinks he should feel. 

“Just the way he puts words 

together, it’s incredible how they 

touched me deep inside…He talks 

a lot about worthiness and courage 

and strength. I struggle with 

those, and it just felt like somebody 

out there understood,” said Kim 

Sifft, 48. 

Sifft travelled an hour from the 

Newmarket area to see Atticus at 

the Oshawa Centre Indigo Oct. 3. 

The event, which attracted about 

100 people, was a reading followed 

by a book signing by the masked 

author. She said she didn’t want to 

miss the opportunity. 

Kate Bracey, manager of the 

Oshawa Centre Indigo, said larger 

events like Atticus’ are hosted four 

times a year by the store. She said 

Instapoet Atticus delivers a reading at the Oshawa Centre Indigo book store. 

the events are special for fans. 

“I think books are really personal 

for people and when they start to 

follow an author, or a poet, or whatever 

you want to call it, they feel 

that personal connection," Bracey 

said. "Already tonight people have 

asked ‘Will he sign the page that 

has my favourite poem on it?’ You 

know, they really want to make it 

personal with that author or that 

poet or musician or whoever it is." 

The poet had just two Ontario 

tour dates - one in Oshawa and the 

next night in Toronto. 

“I’ve been following him on 


Instagram and I love his art with 

words. I’ve never been to an event 

like this. I was so thrilled that it was 

so local. I would drive two, three 

hours to see somebody I really like. 

I was so excited that he was coming 

to Oshawa. I understand Toronto, 

but I was really thrilled about Oshawa,” 

Sifft said. 

At the event he read poems from 

his previous book, Love Her Wild, 

and poems from his most recent 

book, The Dark Between Stars. 

“I think that with all the terrible 

things going on in the world, I think 

it’s a beautiful thing that there can 

be a room full of people, kind of 

talking about love. I think that’s 

really meaningful,” Atticus told the 

gathering at the start of the event. 

He went on to tell the room what 

he describes as “one of the most 

profoundly human, sad yet weird 

kind of beautiful things that I’ve 

ever been exposed to.” The room's 

mood turned as he told the story of 

a girl, named Alina, who had been 

diagnosed with terminal cancer. 

Atticus received a message over 

social media from her friend. She 

said the doctors didn’t think she 

would make it to the release date 

of his second book and asked for an 

early audiobook, as Alina was “too 

weak to read but strong enough to 

listen.” 

He offered to come read to Alina. 

He flew to Florida and although 

she was unconscious, Atticus read 

to her. He told the audience it was 

evident she could hear him as he 

was reading his poetry, and he even 

read her own poetry to her. 

“Towards the end, her mother 

said, ‘You know Alina would want 

you to have this, it’s a book of her 

poetry.' I started reading her own 

poems to her and I got to one of the 

last ones," he said. 

After finishing the poem - about 

goosebumps - the girl’s arm erupted 

in goosebumps. She died a few 

moments later, surrounded by her 

family, Atticus said. 

“I wanted to share that because 

it was so human, and I don’t think 

we talk about those human things 

enough. I think that we should,” 

Atticus said. 

Girl power in the Marvel Cinematic Universe 

When comparing the Marvel Cinematic 

Universe (MCU) and the DC 

Entertainment Universe (DCEU), 

it becomes apparent the MCU triumphs 

over the DCEU because of 

the way the MCU portrays women. 

Strong female characters from 

the MCU franchise include Black 

Widow, Gamora, Shuri, Okoye 

and Nakia. These are just the main 

characters. There are also several 

other supporting female characters, 

who have proven their strength. 

The MCU has turned the phrase 

“fight like a girl” around, making 

it a statement of power. 

Scarlett Johansson plays Natasha 

Romanoff, also known as Black 

Widow, in Iron-Man Two. For the 

majority of the movie she passes 

herself off as an assistant to Pepper 

Potts. 

At first, it seems she is your average 

office worker but she is actually 

a government agent with skills 

Rachelle 

Baird 

in hand-to-hand combat. We get 

to see these skills in the climax of 

the movie when she takes down a 

group of security guards with her 

bare hands. 

She doesn't even break a sweat. 

From Iron-Man to Avengers: Infinity 

War, Black Widow has shown 

she can be as strong as the men. 

Johansson has been credited for 

calling out interviewers who ask 

sexist questions about what she 

wears under her costume. 

Lady Sif, played by Jamie Alexander, 

is the only female in Thor’s 

team of Asgardian warriors. 

When Thor decides to invade the 

world of the Frost Giants, Sif follows 

him and his friends into combat; 

armed with her double-edged 

blade, she holds her own against 

the attacking giants, taking them 

out with ease. 

In Thor: The Dark World Sif 

saves another world from attackers, 

without the help of Thor. This 

proves she doesn't need her companion 

with the magical hammer 

and brute strength to save the day. 

Thor: The Dark World gives a 

deeper look into actor Renee Russo's 

portrayal of Queen Frigga, 

Thor and Loki's mother. 

Frigga shows off her strength and 

skill when the antagonist Malakeith 

invades the palace to retrieve his 

power source. 

She demonstrates her skills with 

a blade, and her ability to create 

illusions. 

Even though she dies in this fight, 

she still proves a queen dressed in 

a full-length gown can fight with 

courage and strength. 

Tessa Thompson plays Valkyrie 

in Thor: Ragnarok. She appears 

to be a scrapper but she is from 

a powerful group of female Asgardian 

warriors known as "The 

Valkyrie." 

Valkryie stands up against Loki, 

taking down the "God of Mischief" 

with ease. Later, she fights off the 

army of the dead. 

Doctor Strange introduces us 

to Tilda Swinton's "The Ancient 

One," a master of magic and teacher 

to Benedict Cumberbatch's character 

Stephen Strange. 

Guardians of the Galaxy gives us 

Gamora, played by Zoe Salanda, 

the only women in the group of 

intergalactic heroes. 

Gamora stands by her teammates' 

side and when it comes to 

saving the galaxy, she does not back 

down. In Avengers: Infinity War, 

she stands up against her adoptive 

father and villain Thanos. 

Most notably, Black Panther's 

army consists of all women. 

Okoye and Nakia show extreme 

strength, bravery and intelligence 

during combat. 

Shuri, Black Panther's fourteenyear-old 

sister is a technological 

genius: a role model for young girls. 

The DCEU has only given 

us Wonder Woman. Although a 

strong female character and a great 

performance from Gal Gadot, this 

single wonder is nowhere near what 

the MCU has put on screen. 

Unless you consider the overly-sexualized 

Harley Quinn, who 

is more of a sex symbol than intelligent 

villain. By comparison, a 

poor showing. 

In conclusion, Marvel's strong 

female characters are the reason 

why the MCU triumphs over the 

DCEU.

Entertainment chronicle.durhamcollege.ca October 30 - December 3, 2018 The Chronicle 19 

DC prof writing new chapter in music business 

Morgan Kelly 


A Durham professor is writing 

quite a story about his involvement 

in music. 

Jeff Dalziel, a professor in the 

Music Business Managment 

(MBM) program at Durham College 

(DC), recently won Producer 

of the Year at the Canadian Country 

Music Awards (CCMAs). He’s 

also in the process of writing a book 

about his 25 years in the music biz. 

Dalziel, 51, won the award for his 

work on the album “What We’re 

Made Of” by The Washboard 

Union. Dalziel says he did not 

expect to win, but is pleased and 

thankful to represent Canadian 

talent. 

Although it is a Canadian awards 

show, a lot of the CCMA winners 

had help behind the scenes from 

people from around the world, he 

says. 

“That’s still OK with me but it’s 

nice to go up and acknowledge and 

say I used Canadian players and I 

did just as well,” says Dalziel. 

Dalziel knew when he went onstage, 

he wasn’t the only person 

winning the award. He took the 

time to thank the band and the 

people who helped him on the album. 

“If I stood up there and thanked 

everybody, they would’ve just 

yanked me off stage,” he jokes. 

MBM students also congratulated 

Dalziel on his win — but they 

already knew he was a major player 

in the music industry. 

Dalziel has more than 25 years 

of music-related experience, working 

with Canadian artists such as 

rocker Ian Thornley and pop artist 

Nelly Furtado. He says he uses personal 

stories from his career to help 

teach his students. 

Some of these stories are featured 

in a book he’s working on titled, 

“Top 10 and Homeless”. 

“But it’s funny, it’s a funny book. 

It’s positive. It sounds like a negative 

book because that’s the perception 

of musicians,” says Dalziel. 

Dalziel says there’s a large stigma 

around those who want to pursue 

music as a career. He wrote the 

book to give insight on the music 

industry and to prove “music is a 

valid lifestyle. 

“Music can be as powerful as curing 

cancer,” he says. “It can be very 

uplifting, it can change the world. It 

can raise money, more money than 

you can imagine, to fix things and 

help things.” 

He is still working on the book 

in his free time, but is in no rush to 

finish it. Dalziel sometimes uses his 

book in class, because his students 

may not learn certain aspects of the 

industry — until it’s too late. 

“I’d rather teach them stuff 

people are not going to put in typical 

books about industry,” Dalziel 

says. 

Dalziel has been teaching at DC 

for more than five years, but has 

been working with colleges and universities 

for a long time. He says he 

enjoys teaching because he likes to 

influence a positive change in the 

music business. 

“If I can help these students 

understand better what happens 

in the industry,” Dalziel explains, 

“they can make better decisions 

which would help all of us as Canadians 

I think.” 

Students Dalziel has taught years 

ago still keep in touch or hire him 

for music projects. He says it’s nice 

to know he was part of helping them 

get to where they are today. 

“I’d rather have a moment like 

that everyday and never win another 

award,” he says. 

Currently, Dalziel is working 

on new singles for more Canadian 

country artists such as River Town 

Saints and Ryan Langdon, along 

with co-writing for some new projects. 

Dalziel says his future plans 

are to keep doing what he does, but 

also looking to improve his skills. 

He’s in between “rigid goal and 

whatever happens, happens. 

“I’m always just trying to find a 

new way to do what I’ve just done. 

I want to do it again, but not the 

same. And so I guess I’m always 

just trying to move forward,” says 

Dalziel. 

Durham College music business management professor Jeff Dalziel. 

Photograph by Morgan Kelly 

Pop-punk collaboration brings awareness to mental health 

Songs about 

depression 

or suicide 

give fans 

a safe place 

Celebrities are often considered 

inhuman, superheroes to most 

everyday citizens. 

But what if these heroes showed 

weakness? 

Seeing heroes weak and broken 

helps the everyday people who idolize 

them know they aren't alone. 

I'd rather teach them 

stuff people are not 

going to put in typical 

books about industry. 

Dakota 

Evans 

Vulnerability is something everyone 

feels. 

Musicians who write and sing 

about heartbreak, depression or 

suicide provide fans a safe place to 

retreat to during the four minutes 

(or so) of the song, even if they don't 

always know whether the inspiration 

for the music comes from personal 

experience or imagination. 

Pop-punk bands Neck Deep and 

Movements are part of a collaborative 

project for Mental Health 

Awareness month, which isn't until 

May. 

The project's album, titled Songs 

That Saved My Life, will be released 

Nov. 9. 

There are 12 artists in this collaborative 

project, each covering 

a song that "played a pivotal role 

in the lives of artists and fans," according 

to the project's website. 

The songs helped the artists 

during their hardest times. Groups 

with a song on the album include 

Dance Gavin Dance, Taking Back 

Sunday and Against Me! . 

Songs That Saved My Life connects 

fans to their favourite musicians. 

The album features songs such as 

"Torn" by Natalie Imbruglia, and 

"Losing My Religion" by R.E.M. 

Every purchase of the vinyl copy 

goes towards the project's four 

supporting charities: Crisis Text 

Line, Hope for the Day, The Trevor 

Project, and To Write Love on 

Her Arms. 

Despite the positive aspects of 

connecting fans to musicians and 

supporting fans during times that 

are hard, the project could also be 

a trigger for those suffering with 

mental illness. 

The songs have such heavy content 

that as a result, listening might 

spark bad thoughts. 

But despite these potential setbacks, 

the album and the meaning 

behind it are good. We need to be 

more open about mental health. 

Mental health needs more than 

just an album and more than just a 

month, it needs constant awareness 

and checkups. 

Something that could help is 

the bands posting on social media 

more regularly about hotlines and 

services or providing fans with 

their own version of an outreach. 

Overall, it is nice to see a group 

of musicians trying to help with the 

mental health stigma. 

Giving people an outlet for emotions 

and safe places in the form of 

music could help out fans.

20 The Chronicle October 30 - December 3, 2018 chronicle.durhamcollege.ca

Cam Bickle 


When news broke that the UOIT 

Ridgebacks would be adding a varsity 

basketball program in 2019, 

many students began to wonder 

what would come next. 

UOIT currently fields 16 teams 

in sports such as hockey, soccer 

and lacrosse, so it was logical that 

the school opted to expand into 

hoops, North America’s secondmost 

watched sport on TV. 

However, the sport that ranks 

ahead of basketball on that list – 

football – is still absent from the 

Ridgebacks' roster, and Athletics 

Director Scott Barker says that 

won’t be changing anytime soon. 

“To put it bluntly, it’s not in the 

cards,” he says. “The honest answer 

is that it just isn’t a priority.” 

While Barker admits he would 

love to see a football team on campus 

in the near future, he says the 

challenges the school would face 

are insurmountable. 

With roster sizes of nearly 100 

players, it would be difficult to draw 

enough talent to make the team 

competitive, he says. The smallest 

school currently employing a Ontario 

University Athletics (OUA) 

football program is Carleton University, 

whose enrolment of 16,000 

students would outnumber UOIT 

by nearly 6,000. 

The next biggest challenge would 

be funding. A media report from 

2010 indicates the average cost of 

a university football program was 

$300,000-$400,000. 

chronicle.durhamcollege.ca October 30 - December 3, 2018 The Chronicle 21 

In addition, the OUA requires 

each team have a stadium on campus. 

The average capacity for university 

stadiums is 5,500 people, 

it cost the University of Waterloo 

nearly $10 million to complete its 

5,400-capacity Warrior Stadium 

in 2009. 

A Ridgebacks football program 

at UOIT would require extensive 

renovation of Vaso's Field, the current 

home of soccer on campus, or 

a brand new facility, Barker says. 

“It’s such a premier sport for the 

OUA, but the costs are astronomical,” 

Barker says. “It just wouldn’t be 

a smart decision asking students to 

financially support it.” 

The school spent nearly $11 million 

on the Campus Ice Centre in 

2005, indicating the development 

of a football stadium isn’t impossible, 

but Barker says there was a 

Sports 

No plans to kick off UOIT football 

Despite its 

popularity, 

football 

simply isn't 

financially 

viable 

for UOIT 

Vaso's Field, home to the UOIT Ridgebacks and Durham Lords athletics. 

much higher demand for hockey 

than there has ever been for football. 

Another issue mentioned is 

the lack of a true sports culture 

amongst alumni compared to other 

schools, considering UOIT – established 

in 2002 – is still much younger 

than its Ontario counterparts. 

As for the possibility of the school 

expanding onto the gridiron in the 

future, he clarified that there has 

always been some level of interest 

from the athletics department, but 

that students should not get their 

hopes up. 

Instead, Barker revealed that the 

department is considering adding 

varsity volleyball teams in the 

coming years, while also channeling 

more funding towards existing 

Ridgebacks teams. 


The success of UOIT's existing 

teams also serves as an example 

of why they were chosen instead 

of football, he says, adding that 

success has helped transform the 

school into one of the premier 

sports institutions in the province. 

“It’s been a bit of an aggressive 

evolution,” he says, “but I think 

we’ve been very strategic in bringing 

on sports that are sustainable.” 

Barker says students determined 

to play football on campus should 

join the intramural flag football 

league, which he praised, while 

fans can still watch OUA games 

without being partial to any teams. 

The OUA has a membership of 

20 universities, 11 of which currently 

field varsity football programs. 

The Western Mustangs are the 

defending champions after winning 

for a record 31st time in 2017. 

No varsity hockey on the horizon for the Lords 

Who would've thought 

this was possible? Ontario 

colleges lack teams to 

start OCAA hockey league. 

Rachelle Baird 


It's one of our national pastimes, 

a sport in which Canadians take 

pride. 

But you won't find any varsity 

hockey being played at Ontario 

colleges. 

In fact, there hasn't been varsity 

hockey in the Ontario Colleges 

Athletic Association (OCAA) 

since 2004. The last time Durham 

College (DC) had a varsity hockey 

team was 1973, says Ken Babcock, 

DC's director of athletics and 

recreation. 

Costs to ice a team are one of 

The honest answer is that 

it isn't a priority. 

the reasons hockey is not played 

at a college level. Students do not 

want to pay the fees,and the funds 

could be used elsewhere, according 

to Babcock. The demand is also not 

as high when compared to other 

sports, he adds. 

If any sport was to be currently 

considered to be added at the varsity 

level it would be cross-country 

running, curling or badminton, because 

those sports are also played 

at a national collegiate level, says 

Chris Cameron, DC's sports information 

and special events coordinator. 

Durham was interested in bringing 

hockey back in 2004, but not 

enough colleges were to make it a 

reality, says Babcock. There needs 

to be at least five colleges within the 

OCAA interested in order to bring 

the sport back at the college level, 

according to Babcock. 

Students who want to play hockey, 

can do so through intramurals 

or get involved with a community-based 

team. 

Since there is no OCAA hockey 

league and the costs to have a team 

are high, the possibility of hockey 

coming back at a varsity level in the 

near future is slim, Babcock says. 

While there is no OCAA hockey 

on campus, there is university 

hockey being played by the men's 

and women's teams at UOIT. 

The Chronicle asked Scott Barker, 

director of athletics at UOIT, 

the costs associated with running 

the Ridgebacks' hockey programs. 

"We are not at liberty to disclose 

those costs, however, the budget is 

developed from a combination of 

student fees, university operational 

dollars, team fundraising and sponsorships," 

says Barker, in an email. 

The OUA regular season wraps 

up for the Ridgebacks men's team 

November 9th against the RMC 

(Royal Military College) Paladins 

while the Ridgebacks women's 

team season ends the following day 

versus the Ryerson Rams.

22 The Chronicle October 30 - December 3, 2018 chronicle.durhamcollege.ca Sports 

Snapchat helps catch banner bandits 



Durham Lords women’s softball 

head coach Jim Nemish was about 

to unlock his team’s shed when he 

discovered a broken key in the door. 

Someone, it appeared, had tried 

unsuccessfully to break into the 

shed. It turns out, that was the least 

of the problems at the diamond. 

The team's huge banner was 

missing from the bench. 

It was the Durham Lords banner 

from their home team dugout, 

gifted to them after one of their Ontario 

Colleges Athletic Association 

(OCAA) championships. 

Lords' players Ashley Black and 

Sarah Seifried were shocked by the 

incident. 

“I was quite upset, that’s our field 

and for someone to come in and 

destroy it was wrong,” Black says. 

“Why? Why would you want to 

vandalize one of your own teams?” 

Seifried adds; “It just goes to 

show you that they don’t really 

understand what the diamond and 

banner means to all of us." 

Removing the banner was no 

small job, says Dwayne Cristo, lead 

facility attendant at the department 

of athletics. 

“We’re not talking about a small 

banner, we’re talking about a 10- 

feet high by 30 to 35-feet long [banner],” 

he says. 

“It would have taken the person 

or people quite a long time to remove 

every cable tie there,” he says. 

Rosemary Theriault, assistant 

coach to the team, says the vandalism 

to the field on Sept. 20 left 

her and all the Lords in disbelief. 

“Durham is a great school and to 

play on a sports team here is fantastic 

and to have someone come 

and do that to our field, we call it 

our house, it hurt, it hurt the girls, 

it hurt everybody,” Theriault says. 

She decided to channel her frustration 

and try to find the culprit by 

posting about the incident on her 

personal Facebook page, which 

garnered considerable attention. It 

received 85 reactions, 16 comments 

and was shared 36 times. 

Theriault may have gained community 

support through social 

media but ultimately the person 

or people who took the banner displayed 

it on social media. 

“Snapchat was the one that 

found the banner,” Cristo says. 

Students aware of the incident 

came across a photograph with the 

banner hanging in the background. 

Photograph by Dwayne Cristo 

The Lords' banner wrapped and returned to the field, with a note left by the thief (or thieves). 

Cristo says the picture was taken at 

a student home near campus, on 

Dalhousie Crescent. 

The wrapped-up banner was 

found on the softball field bench 

Sept. 26, returned with a note that 

read ‘Dear Lords sorry we are the 

only ones who can get away with a 

It hurt, 

it hurt the girls, 

it hurt 

everybody. 

steal…sorry!!’ 

Campus safety was made aware 

by the athletics department about 

the vandalism and theft. 

Thomas Lynch, director of campus 

safety, says if the investigation 

identifies the individual(s) responsible 

for the theft and evidence supports 

misconduct charges, criminal 

charges could be laid by police. But 

he says this outcome is unlikely. 

Lynch says he would prefer to 

keep the investigation internal and 

if appropriate, would invoke the student 

conduct policy and procedure. 

Under the school policy, individual(s) 

could face a range of consequences 

from no penalty at all to 

suspension from the college. 

Cristo says within the year, they 

will add new cameras closer to the 

field to enhance security. 

With the banner back home 

where it belongs, the team travelled 

to Saskatchewan over the Thanksgiving 

weekend to compete in the 

Canadian Collegiate Softball Association 

national championship. The 

Lords claimed silver in the tournament. 

And then they returned 

home and won gold - their fourth 

straight - at the OCAAs, their record 

20th OCAA championship. 

One could suggest it was a banner 

way to end to the season. 

Softball games and bursaries, the Lords win both 



Ashley Black and Sarah Seifried 

were prepared for the Durham 

Lords softball doubleheader against 

Seneca. What they didn’t expect 

was to become recipients of the 

Gerry Theriault Memorial Bursary 

the very same night. 

Rosemary Theriault, assistant 

coach of the Durham Lords 

women’s softball team, managed 

to keep the secret under wraps. She 

brought the parents of both players 

to the Sept. 26 game, no easy feat 

because they live outside Durham 

Region. Theriault then presented 

each student with a $500 scholarship, 

a way to honour her late husband, 

Gerry, who passed away in 

March, 2017. 

Theriault says Gerry was a 

huge supporter of the team and 

the game. He volunteered his time 

and liked all of the sports within the 

Durham athletics program. 

Gerry had cancer and Theriault 

says when he knew he wouldn’t be 

able to beat it, he wanted to do 

something to show his love of the 

sport, so he came up with the idea 

of a scholarship. This is the second 

year the Gerry Theriault Memorial 

Bursary has been awarded and the 

first time more than one person has 

been honoured. 

“It honestly means so much to me 

because I’ve won bursaries in the 

past but to be able to actually know 

the person the bursary was from, 

knowing Gerry, it means so much 

more to me because I knew him as 

a person,” says Black, a pitcher and 

first baseman from Waterloo, in her 

fourth year on the team. 

Theriault narrows down the recipient(s) 

based on positive attributes 

Gerry stood for, on and off the 

field. Then, she and her four children, 

talk about the recommendations 

for the scholarship and decide 

the recipient(s) together. 

“For her (Rosemary) to select me 

and Ashley means a lot because it 

means she really thought about 

everyone’s qualities and thought we 

really deserved it,” says Seifried, a 

first baseman from Drayton, Ont., 

near Waterloo. 

Theriault says Black is everything 

Gerry respects in a player, 

level-headed and respects the game 

and everybody who plays it. 

Theriault says Seifried is a steady 

person who is always there when 

needed, with a smile on her face, 

much like her husband. 

“He was there if we needed him 

to rake the diamond or to do the 

barbeque,” says Theriault. 

Theriault raises the money for 


Lords' softball players Ashley Black (left) and Sarah Seifried, received $500 bursaries. 

the Gerry Theriault Memorial Bursary 

through golf tournaments. She 

says his memory lives on through 

this scholarship. 

“He loved the school, he loved 

what it stood for, he loved the 

people within the school and he 

liked the kids on the team,” Theriault 

says. 

Black and Seifried expect to 

graduate in spring 2019, this is 

their last softball season. 

Black and Seifried weren't the 

only winners of the night - Durham 

won both games against Seneca - 

9-2 and 15-0.

Community chronicle.durhamcollege.ca October 30 - December 3, 2018 The Chronicle 23 

The plight of the spooky kitties 

Rachelle Baird 


When a black cat crosses your path, 

it is bad luck. Or is it? 

According to Black Cats and 

April Fools: Origins of Old Wives 

Tales and Superstitions in Our 

Daily Lives by Harry Oliver, this 

belief started as early as the seventeenth 

century. 

People may not realize there are 

different variations of this superstition. 

One version says if you see a black 

cat walk towards you, it’s good luck 

but if the cat crosses your path, bad 

luck will come. 

According to Black Cats and 

April Fools, people in the 17th century 

who worked in dangerous jobs, 

such as mining and fishing, would 

not go to work if a black cat crossed 

their path. 

They believed something would 

happen to them while on the job. 

Oliver also writes about cats and 

nine lives and says that there is an 

idea witches can enter the body of 

a cat nine times and even turn into 

a cat. 

Other superstitions explored in 

Black Cats and April Fools, is the 

fact black cats are able to predict 

death. If a black cat refuses to enter 

a house, it means someone inside 

will die. 

To this day, there are people 

who still believe black cats bring 

bad luck. 

These superstitions affect the 

adoption rate of black cats. Potential 

adopters may often shy away 

from these black kitties for fear they 

bring them bad luck. 

Cindy Bennett, a volunteer for 

the Humane Society of Durham 

Region (HDSR), said, "Our black 

kittens are always the last chosen. 

Black cats and black dogs tend to 

stay in the shelter longer than other 

colours." 

A quick search on the HDSR 

website's adoption portal shows 

Hazel and Phillip, up for adoption 

since August, and Missy, up for 

adoption since September. Cheyenne, 

a domestic shorthair mix, has 

been there the longest: since April, 

2018. 

"It's a shame because they are 

just as lovable and deserving as any 

other colour," according to Bennett. 

According to the Ontario Society 

for the Prevention of Cruelty 

to Animals (OSPCA), not only do 

people feel black cats are unlucky, 

but there is also this notion black 

coloured animals are not as friendly 

as their lighter-coloured companions. 

They also feel black cats do 

not photograph well. 

Animal shelters such as the Georgian 

Triangle Human Society, located 

in Collingwood, Ontario 

have hosted events to help increase 

the adoption rate of black cats with 

low adoption fees. 

Some of the taglines used for reasons 

to adopt black cats included, 

"mini pather look-a-likes," "easy to 

find in the snow," and "love knows 

no colour." 

In the past, The Toronto Humane 

Society held a Black Friday 

event and waived the adoption cost 

for all cats, especially black ones. 

Adopters only needed to pay the 

15 dollar licensing fee. 

The HSDR hasn't held any events 

specifically tailored to black cats, 

but they often hold several other 

events to raise money for the shelter. 

This month, the HSDR is holding 

a "James Bond" themed gala, 

and proceeds will go towards the 

shelter, according to their Facebook 

page. 

Not everyone has negative feelings 

towards black cats, but there 

are a few who do. 

These feelings may prevent 

black cats from finding permanent 

homes. 

It's a shame because they are just 

as lovable and deserving as any 

other colour. 

Photograph by Emily Bowman 

Eliade proving black kitties 

take good pictures.


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Durham Chronicle 18-19 Issue 01

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