The Chronicle 18-19 Issue 03

To be a grad and to come back 

has probably been a bestseller. 

- See page 5 

Volume XLVI, Issue 3 chronicle.durhamcollege.ca February 26 - March 18, 2019 

24 

HOURS 

DC UOIT 

One day in the life of DC, UOIT 

Our student-journalists walked 159,740 steps to tell your stories. See pages 2-21. 

Photograph by Cecelia Feor

2 The Chronicle February 26 - March 18, 2019 chronicle.durhamcollege.ca 

24 

HOURS 

DC UOIT 

Welcome to a very special edition of 

the Chronicle. In this issue, in addition 

to our regular lineup of features in 

which we tell the stories of our campus 

and community, our group of secondyear 

Journalism - Mass Media students 

from Durham College tackled a special 

project - one we are calling '24 Hours 

DC UOIT'. 

On Feb. 5, 2019, the students, whose 

pictures can be seen below, visited 

particular areas of the Durham College 

and UOIT campuses, including 

north Oshawa, downtown Oshawa and 

Whitby. 

They talked to people, snapped pictures 

and gathered stories from students, 

faculty and staff about their 

campus experiences. The students conducted 

dozens of interviews and took 

several pictures. 

For all the facts and figures of their 

expedition, see our infographic on page 

15. The goal was simple - to give you 

a glimpse of what the entire campus 

looks - and feels like - on one particular 

day. 

We hope you enjoy their work. 

For even more coverage, check us out 

online at chronicle.durhamcollege.ca 

Regards, 

Brian Legree 

Program Coordinator 

Durham College 

Journalism - Mass Media 

The student-journalists of the Chronicle 

CECELIA FEOR 

MORGAN KELLY 

MEAGAN SECORD 

CAMERON ANDREWS 

JACKIE GRAVES JASPER MYERS KATHRYN FRASER LESLIE ISHIMWE RACHELLE BAIRD 

PETER FITZPATRICK 

JANIS WILLIAMS JOHN ELAMBO KEISHA SLEMENSKY MADISON 

GULENCHYN 

VICTORIA 

MARCELLE 

DAKOTA EVANS

Campus chronicle.durhamcollege.ca February 26 - March 18, 2019 The Chronicle 3 

They come to campus by 

the thousands every day 

By car, bus or on foot, 

students and staff at 

DC, UOIT find their 

way to campus daily 

Madison Gulenchyn 

The Chronicle 

Near, far, or wherever they are, students 

and staff somehow find their 

ways to the campuses of Durham 

College and UOIT daily. 

Whether it's in a car or on a bus, 

they find themselves travelling the 

distance to get an education and do 

their jobs. 

"Sometimes when I get here [to 

the campus], it takes a little longer to 

get off the bus because it's so crowded," 

says Carissa Gibson, a student 

in the pre-health sciences program 

at Durham College (DC). 

According to Gibson, it takes her 

roughly an hour to get to and from 

the campus from Whitby. This isn't 

an isolated occurrence. 

A collaboration between Toronto 

universities in April, 2016, called 

StudentMoveTO, found students 

in the GTA spend an average of 

40 minutes, each way, to and from 

their campus. 

Additionally, the study says commuting 

distance can be one of the 

factors when students pick courses. 

Students will tend to avoid early 

morning and late night courses and 

taking classes Mondays and Fridays. 

Ross Carnwith, who has been the 

manager of ancillary services at DC, 

UOIT for six years, adds credibility 

to the report. 

He notes campus parking lots are 

busiest Tuesday to Thursday. 

"It seems to be [the busiest] between 

10 a.m. and 2 p.m. [on those 

days]," Carnwith says. 

"Mondays are always quiet, because 

no one wants to come in on a 

Monday, or sometimes students will 

re-jiggle their schedules so they don't 

come in on Monday or Friday. 

The report also discovered, 33 

per cent of those who filled out the 

survey, spend two or more hours per 

day traveling to and from campus. 

DC video production student 

Chris Shkolnik says he prefers driving 

or even biking to class. 

He says he can get to the campus 

faster by bike than by taking the bus. 

"The buses [take] half an hour to 

45 minutes on a good day. On a bad 

day, anywhere from an hour to an 

hour-and-a-half," Shkolnik says. 

"Honestly, the hilarious part is, I 

can ride my bike here, in about 20 

minutes, if I book it. The fact that 

the bus is not only slower, but significantly 

slower is kind of dumb." 

Shkolnik says one of his bus rides 

took a turn for the worse when a 

student forgot her student I.D. 

The student refused to pay for the 

trip or leave the bus. 

"The bus was delayed for like, 10 

minutes, because they would not get 

off of it. We had another bus pass us 

24 

HOURS 

DC UOIT 

before she ended up getting off of 

the bus," he says. 

Maybe buses and cars aren't so 

different. 

Carnwith, who manages parking 

on campus, has seen many odd experiences 

with cars on campus. 

"Somebody years ago parked in 

a fire route, and because there has 

to be someone in the vehicle, they 

had taped a dummy to the steering 

wheel, just to make it look like somebody 

was there," says Carnwith. 

"Cars lose their brakes and just 

start rolling through the lot, that's 

happened a few times." 

It's not only students who park 

their cars in the campus lots. 

Sonya Winkworth-Chmatil and 

Lindsay Smith are both staff members 

at UOIT who drive to the Oshawa 

campus daily. 

Both staff members are from the 

Bowmanville and Newcastle area,. 

They rack up a total of at least 30 

minutes of commute time each way. 

"I park over at Campus Corners, 

I used to park over in Founders lots 

two and three, but crossing the road 

there is very dangerous," says Winkworth-Chmatil. 

"You have to be very careful, it 

tends to be very busy over there." 

who works in accounts payable, 

UOIT finance. 

Smith, an academic skills coordinator 

at the UOIT Learning 

Centre, says her most difficult parking 

issue was when the Ontario college 

strike happened in the fall of 

2017. 

Picketers slowed down access for 

motorists trying to get on the campus. 

"I do remember parking was difficult 

then, but also it was a strike 

so I respect people who were doing 

that as well," Smith says. 

Both of them agree, when you 

drive to campus it is easier. 

They say there's not much to 

complain about. 

Whether it's driving or busing, 

crowded buses or taping a dummy 

to your steering wheel, transportation 

is something the campus community 

depends on, to get from 

Point A to Point B. 

Photograph by Madison Gulenchyn 

The bus loop swarmed with members of the campus community making their ways home, or 

into the college and university. 

Commencement Drive on a Tuesday afternoon. 

A student getting off of a bus in the bus loop at the Oshawa campus. 

Photograph by Madison Gulenchyn 

Photograph by Madison Gulenchyn

4 The Chronicle February 26 - March 18, 2019 chronicle.durhamcollege.ca Campus 

Photograph by Kathryn Fraser 

First year 911 Emergency and Call Centre Communications student, Mandy Yim, applies mascara in her dorm room. 

Stories from South Village Residence 

Kathryn Fraser 


She's been stuck in an elevator 

during a fire alarm - and received 

a noise complaint for arguing over 

the television show The Bachelor. 

Mandy Yim is well-versed on 

the interesting moments around 

life in residence. 

The first-year 911 Emergency 

and Call Centre Communications 

student from Toronto, lives 

in South Village Residence and 

attends classes at Durham College 

(DC). 

"Everyone is kind of jumbled," 

she says. "We have Trent students, 

UOIT and Durham College 

here." 

The building is located on the 

southwest corner of campus, includes 

a dining hall and is adjacent 

to forests and a pond. 

24 

HOURS 

DC UOIT 

"It's a pretty nice view," she 

says, looking out from her fifth 

floor dorm window. 

The view comes with a price. 

Yim says it's expensive living on 

residence and her meal plan alone 

costs $5,000. 

Overall, depending on location 

and options, students can spend 

about $7,500 for a year in residence. 

Yim walks to the Shoppers 

Drug Mart across from campus 

regularly with her friends to supplement 

the food options available 

in the dining hall. 

"Chips, candies, a lot of Annie's 

mac and cheese, noodles, bread," 

Yim says of her regular purchases. 

If she treks to NoFrills and Walmart, 

"it's a day trip." 

During the day, Yim says there 

isn't much noise because students 

are in class. But when the sun goes 

down, Yim says tenants in the 

building become active. 

"At night is when you really 

start to hear a lot of things," 

she says. "On this floor, we have 

people who run. We have a group 

of people who play tag on this 

floor, around 10 p.m.-ish, sometimes 

11 p.m." 

Yim also becomes active in 

the evenings, running tracks of 

her own, playing music to relieve 

stress weeknights. 

"We had dance parties, we'd 

blast music. It was 11:30 p.m. and 

we didn't have noise complaints 

but we had a song request chart 

outside of our door and that's what 

we got busted for," she says. "The 

RA's [Resident Advisors] are 

pretty chill with the noise." 

RA Jamie Chan calls the fifth 

floor of South Village the "party" 

floor. She's a first-year Networking 

and IT Security student at UOIT 

and dealt with a residence violation 

last semester. 

"Some residents brought out a 

whole table to play beer pong outside 

in the middle of the hallway," 

Chan says. 

"Drinking games are banned 

here. It was pretty funny having to 

shut that down." 

Despite the wild stories, Yim 

says the best thing about residence 

is developing friendships. 

"I remember me and my roommate, 

we knocked on people's 

doors and [one of] the doors that 

we knocked on, they ended up 

being one of our closest friends," 

she says. "I think living on res has 

changed me. I've gotten a lot more 

involved." 

Chan agrees. She's learned to 

be more extroverted because of 

her RA position. 

"My boss told me something 

that stuck with me," she explains. 

"It's the fact that our comfort zone 

is almost like a rubber band. It 

gets stretched every time but it 

never decompresses so your comfort 

zone grows and grows. [When 

you live on residence] you grow as 

a person." 



Mandy Yim answers her telephone in residence. 

Mandy Yim (left) speaks with RA Jamie Chan about life in residence.


Many paths lead 

to Durham, UOIT 

24 

HOURS 

DC UOIT 

Meagan Secord 


There are two roads serving the 

main campus of Durham College 

(DC) and UOIT - Simcoe and Conlin 

- but there are hundreds of paths 

people have taken to come here. 

Consider Vinicius Albanas Marcis, 

a 29-year-old graduate student 

earning his master's in electric 

transportation at UOIT. 

"The first thing that comes to 

my mind is that I cannot see stuff, I 

have to understand what's going on. 

Marcis completed his undergraduate 

degree in his native Brazil 

at the Federal University of Technology 

- Parana. 

During his studies, he went to 

Montreal's Concordia University on 

a scholarship and met a professor 

who now works at UOIT. 

Professor Sheldon Williamson 

began teaching at UOIT in 2014 

after eight years at Concordia. 

The reason Williamson switched 

to UOIT? The school offered more 

research opportunities in the electric 

transportation field. 

Marcis tagged along with his professor, 

who is mentoring the master's 

student. 

"Right now the program is growing 

in leaps and bounds but the intake 

quality has become better. The 

quality of students we're getting is 

getting better every day as well as 

growing," says Williamson. "So we 

are now competing with some of the 

top universities in Ontario as well 

as Canada in engineering." 

Engineering is one of 90 undergraduate 

and graduate programs at 

UOIT. Meantime, DC offers 123 

programs. 

According to Deborah Schuh, a 

professor in the practical nursing 

program at Durham College, the 

yearly intake for nursing has gone 

from one in September to four 

throughout the year due to rising 

application numbers. 

Her road to Durham has come 

full-circle. 

Schuh graduated from the RN 

program at DC in 2000 and began 

teaching part-time in 2003. She 

pursued a full-time teaching position 

with the nursing program in 

2006. Schuh continues to coordinate 

the personal support worker program 

and maintained her nursing 

career outside of the college for 18 

years. 

"What more can I say, to be a 

grad and to come back has probably 

been a bestseller," she says. "I always 

tell students, once you graduate 

you can do anything." 

She says she gave up nursing to 

focus on teaching last year but her 

students love hearing the stories 

from her time in the hospital. 

Second-year practical nursing 

student Parastoo Sadeghein, 30, has 

also done a full loop and returned to 

Durham, having previously graduated 

from DC's paramedic and prehealth 

programs. 

Sadeghein has also completed 

her certificate in sign language 

through the School of Continuing 

Education. 

"I know that their nursing program 

is a great program," Sadeghein 

says. "It's very collaborative 

as well with UOIT and they have a 

lot of great placement opportunities 

as they have built a lot of community 

bases." 

She chose nursing because she 

says there is a large opportunity to 

advocate and care for people, something 

she has always done. 

"I knew Durham was the place I 

wanted to go," says Sadeghein. 

Photographs by Meagan Secord 

(Top two photos) 

Nursing students are taught 

how to administer insulin to 

patients by their professor. 

(Four headshots to left) 

Nursing student Parastoo 

Sadeghein (top right), and her 

professor Deborah Schuh, 

(bottom right). 

Electrical Engineering 

graduate student Vinicius 

Albanas-Marcis (top left) and 

professor Sheldon Williamson, 

(bottom left).


Dishing food on campus 

Victoria Marcelle 


24 

HOURS 

DC UOIT 

When students grab a coffee before 

class or a pizza slice at lunch, it's 

easy to forget about the people who 

spend their days making it possible. 

Todd McKinnon, who works for 

Aramark as the company's food 

services director at Durham College 

and UOIT, ensures all bellies 

on campus are full every day. Mc- 

Kinnon says he enjoys working at a 

busy location and serving a trendy 

crowd. 

"Between the four cashiers at 

Marketplace, 2,500 POS (point of 

sale) transactions are done a day. 

We sell 10,000 [slices] of Pizza Pizza 

a month," says McKinnon. 

Aramark makes 70 per cent of its 

daily profits during lunchtime. Peak 

business times are between 11:30 

a.m. and 1:30 p.m., he says. 

McKinnon manages the day-today 

operations of every food location 

on campus. He says 13 managers 

report directly to him and he 

is responsible for 180 employees. 

“My daily duties are to make sure 

that we are fully staffed, we have 

all the food we need to serve the 

students, that our locations look the 

way they're supposed to look and 

coach my staff and managers,” says 

McKinnon. 

Developing business strategy 

and meeting company standards 

around clean food guidelines are 

McKinnon's responsibility, while 

Lisa Whitlock, assistant director, is 

in charge of implementation. 

Her approach to work is more 

hands-on, because she is physically 

present on the floor, says McKinnon. 

“I’m trying to be out there more, 

because I want to see what we're 

doing right and what we're doing 

wrong and trying to make sure that 

we are providing the best customer 

service we can. Sometimes that 

is tough when I have spreadsheets 

to build," says McKinnon with a 

laugh. 

Who makes the final decision on 

what food reaches students' plates? 

Menu options and pricing is determined 

by each branded partner, 

such as Pizza Pizza, Smoke's 

Poutinerie and Extreme Pita, says 

McKinnon. 

"Because we're in a unique environment...we 

have a little bit of 

leeway [as far as dietary restrictions 

go] because our clientele is so niche. 

A regular Pizza Pizza out on the 

street is a traditional location, we're 

non-traditional," says McKinnon. 

Certain products such as gluten-free 

pizza, available at traditional 

locations, is not possible 

because of the lack of facilities 

available on campus. Aramark tries 

to make up for that with its proprietary 

brands, such as Pan Fusion, 

says McKinnon. 

"We have total control over that 

menu and try to do more vegetarian 

and healthier options. While 

Smoke's and Pizza Pizza are 

Marketplace's best-selling brands, 

and represent the biggest source of 

revenue, they're not the healthiest," 

says McKinnon. 

"That's why we implemented the 

vertical salad bar." 

Each branded partner has reps 

who do audits to ensure their brand 

is being represented properly for 

everything from food presentation 

to employee clothing. 

During the bi-weekly audits, 

McKinnon can make suggestions 

based on customer feedback. That 

doesn't guarantee changes will be 

made, for example, on menu items. 

From customizable pita wraps to 

chocolate zucchini muffins, Mc- 

Kinnon strives to provide the best 

food experience for students. 

Photographs by Victoria Marcelle 

(Top left photo) Todd McKinnon, food services director at Durham College and UOIT. 

(Top right to bottom) Marketplace's pizza-making process.


Catch some ZZZZZs at the CFCE 

24 

HOURS 

DC UOIT 

Peter Fitzpatrick 


Places like the Solace Centre are 

a prime example of a location on 

campus students can unwind at 

Durham College. 

But if you are looking to catch 

some real ZZZZZs, you might 

look at the napping pods in the 

Centre for Collaborative Education 

(CFCE), the new $35 million 

building that fronts onto Simcoe 

Street. 

Photograph by Peter Fitzpatrick 

DC pre-health sciences students Ali Lalani (left) and Nicole Harriott (right) use the napping pods to work with their study group. 

[We're here] 

really until the 

building closes, 

it just depends. 

The Solace Centre offers couches, 

chairs and soft lighting for 

leisure time, but the pods in the 

CFCE have been popular since the 

building opened in the fall and may 

top the list of places for student to 

relax on the DC, UOIT campus. 

Some students have already seen 

the benefits of the space and use it 

frequently. Nikita Bennett, a DC 

pre-health sciences student, told the 

Chronicle on Feb. 5 she and her 

classmates use the space to work in 

a study group or just to pass time. 

"[We're here] really until the 

building closes, it just depends. 

Right now we're going to probably 

be here until about 9 p.m. just 

finishing assignments for all of our 

classes," Bennett said, adding they 

come to the pods often. 

The pods are also great for students 

with a long commute, according 

to Ali Lalani, another student 

in the pre-health sciences group. 

"I've seen a lot of students that 

come from Toronto and Ajax that 

just can't go home after their first 

class...I see them chilling here for 

two or three hours taking a nap or 

something," Lalani said. 

The napping pods are a comfortable 

addition to DC's and UOIT's 

list of places for students to relax, 

according to the group of prehealth 

sciences students. 

Nicole Harriott, another student 

from the pre-health sciences study 

group, thinks spaces to relax are 

important for students. 

"You kind of need to destress 

yourself from the hard work that 

you're putting through to get 

through school," Harriott said. 

They're also an important place 

to get work done, according to 

group member, Annabel Iyawe. 

"I think a change of scenery really 

is important as well. It's outside of 

the classroom so it's another place 

that you can come and sit and do 

your homework," Iyawe said. 

In addition to the napping pods, 

students can spend their free time 

on campus in other locations, such 

as the lounge above the computer 

commons in the South Wing of the 

Gordon Willey building as well 

as the new lounge in the Student 

Centre. 

Students at UOIT can be seen 

unwinding in the atrium in the Science 

Building, along with available 

seating in the Energy Systems and 

Nuclear Science Research Centre 

and Business and IT Building. 

Students also enjoy lounging on 

the couches overlooking the school 

gym. 



(From left) DC photography students Tegan Sonley, Hang Bui and videography student Travis 

Bennett use the couches above the Computer Commons to study. 

Students use the benches along the walls on the third floor of 

the A-wing to hang out and work.


Photograph by Cameron Andrews 

The DC, UOIT north campus library. 

Library is 'heart and soul' of campus 

Cameron Andrews 


The library at DC and UOIT was 

a busy place Feb. 5, with students 

from both schools studying for midterms. 

While studying is a traditional 

reason for students to access 

the library, the building as DC 

and UOIT offers other uses, says 

Catherine Davidson, chief librarian. 

Policies at the library are different 

and they are experimenting 

with things some libraries don't 

have like a graphic novel section, 

recording rooms and 3D printers, 

she says. 

Davidson has been working at 

the north campus library for 18 

months. 

"Libraries are the heart and 

soul of the university and college," 

Davidson says. They also try to 

make students feel welcome. 

"They need a break, it's an important 

place to decompress," 

Davidson adds. 

The library has 108,000 physical 

books and 300,000 E-books. They 

also have records of when DC and 

UOIT were created. The library 

features a full record of the Chronicle 

newspaper at Durham College, 

Davidson says. 

The oldest physical book they 

have in the library is an engineering 

journal that dates back to late 

1887. The book has been digitized, 

says Emily Tufts, associate university 

librarian, scholarly resources, 

24 

HOURS 

DC UOIT 

who started working at the library 

in October. 

The library also holds events like 

Long Night Against Procrastination, 

which is a night for students 

to be productive and get assistance 

with their education from both 

schools, says Davidson. 

Davidson says there is not a typical 

student or person that comes 

into the library. She also says faculty 

don't usually come into the library 

but just access files from their 

computers. 

The library also has study rooms 

that can be booked online for 

groups of students who need a quiet 

area to study and finish work. They 

also have study rooms for individuals 

that can be used throughout 

the school day. 

"We are here to serve the Durham 

Region community," says 

Tufts, adding alumni and people 

from the community also come and 

access some of the files that are in 

the library. 

DC and UOIT librarians, Emily Tufts (left) and Catherine Davidson. 

Photograph by Cameron Andrews 

We are here to serve the Durham 

Region community. 

Students studying at the library in a group study area. 

Photograph by Cameron Andrews

Campus chronicle.durhamcollege.ca February 26 — March 18, 2019 The Chronicle 9 

Photograph by Morgan Kelly 

Michelle Hutt (left), dean of School of Science and Engineering Technology and Elaine Popp, vice-president, Academic have a 

chat before Alumni in The Pit. 

Popp is an academic powerhouse 

Vice-president 

is responsible 

for academic 

programs 

at Durham 

Morgan Kelly 


Elaine Popp has one of the most 

challenging jobs at Durham College. 

She is the school's vice-president, 

Academic - meaning she's responsible 

for ensuring quality programs 

for DC's 12,000 students. 

But with a love for learning, active 

lifestyle and well-maintained 

schedule, Popp makes it look easy. 

Her day normally begins when 

her alarm sounds at 5 a.m. 

Sometimes she'll squeeze in an 

"hour for herself" in the morning 

and exercise in the basement gym 

of her Uxbridge home, depending 

on her schedule for the day. 

Then, she gets ready for her commute 

which takes 27 to 35 minutes 

between campuses. 

"Most of the times I am coming 

to Oshawa campus, sometimes I'm 

going to Whitby first thing in the 

morning," says Popp, who arrived 

at DC four years ago after working 

at Humber College. 

Her day officially begins at 9 

a.m. where she's occupied in meetings 

until 5 p.m. or 5:30 p.m. Popp 

says she can be in six to eight meetings 

a day. 

"What the day looks like will 

vary, very much from one day to 

another and one week to the next 

week," says Popp. "I would not say 

there's a typical." 

There's a lot of re-occurring 

events Popp takes part in such 

as the deans' meeting, meetings 

with different leadership teams, 

program coordinator meetings, 

along with weekly and monthly 

touch points with staff. 

"The best part of my day I think 

is when we're meeting as the (aca 

demic) leadership team (ALT)," 

says Popp. "You can feel the collective 

excitement and engagement." 

The ALT also includes 

school president Don Lovisa and 

other senior managers. 

The "wealth of knowledge and 

skill sets" the leadership team has 

goes towards making decisions to 

help improve all that goes on at the 

college, she says. 


Elaine Popp (left) speaks at the deans' meeting while executive assistant, Karen Graham, takes 

notes. 

As for the least enjoyable part of 

Popp's day - that's easy - dealing 

with emails. 

"Email's just not fun, I enjoy being 

with people, I'm a relater, I like 

talking," she says with a smile and 

a chuckle. "Email's just not that." 

Popp adds a lot of work can be 

completed through email though, 

but it does occupy a large chunk of 

time. She usually addresses email 

for a couple of hours in the evening. 

Outside of work, Popp lives an 

active lifestyle with her husband, 

24 

HOURS 

DC UOIT 

Willie Popp, the councillor of ward 

four in Uxbridge. 

"We participate with the Uxbridge 

Cycling Club. He's much 

more of a serious rider than I am, 

I would call myself a beginner," she 

jokes. 

She also enjoys spending time on 

Uxbridge's many trails - specifically 

during warmer weather. Popp 

and her husband are also "foodies" 

and enjoy dining at Bistro '67 or 

other local restaurants. 

Yet, even outside of campus Popp 

is still hard at work. 

"It is a pretty busy job...I enjoy 

my job too, so it's hard to shut down 

and turn the volume down a little 

bit," says Popp. 

Although her work is demanding, 

Popp's love for learning pushes 

her through and allows her to take 

great pride and love in her career. 

"Recognizing how important 

learning was to me, I always keep 

that in mind when thinking about 

our students," she says.


Alumni take over The Pit 

Dakota Evans 


Photograph by Dakota Evans 

James Hammond and Melissa Farrow speaking to prospective students at Durham College. 

Durham College has found a way of 

engaging successful graduates with 

current students in a personal interaction 

that doesn’t feel like a lecture. 

It’s called Alumni in The Pit. 

On Tuesday, Feb. 5, the event was 

held for the sixth straight year. 

The event allows prospective students 

the opportunity to interact 

with individuals who have walked 

in their shoes and shared similar 

experiences. 

Alumni in The Pit was started 

by Don Lovisa, President of DC, 

in 2014. It has featured guests such 

as Manjula Selvarajah, a journalism 

grad, who now works for CBC 

and ex-Oshawa General Brandon 

Nolan, a business administration 

student, who runs 3N Clothing Apparel 

with his father and brother. 

“We wanted to find a way to do 

something in a more public forum 

for students to have access to our 

alumni, 

hear their stories, hear what 

it is like to be a student with that 

transition from school to job,” said 

Lovisa. 

DC’s alumni office invites two 

graduates every year to speak in 

front of an inquiring group of students. 

The alum are more relatable 

to students and can, therefore, be 

more engaging, according to Lisa 

McInerney, director, alumni engagement. 

More than 100 students attended 

this year to hear featured guests 

James Hammond, managing 

24 

HOURS 

DC UOIT 

director of Cleeve Technology and 

Melissa Farrow, a child and youth 

psychiatrist, tell their stories about 

their placements and moving into 

jobs after graduation. 

“We research our alumni and our 

faculty who have a special relationship 

with the students recommend 

guest speakers,” said McInerney. 

The questions students ask show 

just how engaging the alumni 

speakers are, McInerney added. 

According to Hammond, entrylevel 

jobs aren’t the most glamorous, 

but if you do the best you can and 

find a mentor who acknowledges 

your work, you won’t be held back. 

This year the two alumni shared 

the steps they took to come to Durham 

and the journey they took to 

attain their current jobs. 

“For a very long time, colleges 

didn’t engage alumni. We engaged 

them at a level that wasn’t personal 

with getting them involved inside 

the college,” said Lovisa. 

Lovisa’s idea for Alumni in The 

Pit was to change that and make 

being DC grad a more personal 

achievement. 

Photograph by Dakota Evans 

James Hammond replying to questions asked by students at the Alumni in The Pit event. 

Photographs by Dakota Evans 

(Photo on the left) Melissa Farrow reacts to James Hammond's interaction with the crowd, (photo on the right) while a student asks a question to the alumni.


DC plants international 

roots for development 

Jackie Graves 


International Development Week 

at Durham College (DC) celebrates 

opportunities for - you guessed it 

- international development and 

education. 

Bogumila Anaya, DC’s manager 

of international projects and partnerships, 

says the purpose of the 

week is to celebrate opportunities 

in development and education. 

“These are opportunities for our 

students, DC community, faculty, 

staff, to ask can I do to change the 

world?” says Anaya. 

These things can be as small as 

buying art made out of recycled 

material or as large as studying in 

another country. 

Anaya says the events are building 

around the United Nation's 

17 sustainable development goals 

(SDGs). 

These goals look to tackle multiple 

global issues such as inequality, 

lack of education, climate change 

and poverty. 

As part of International Development 

Week, a documentary called 

“I Am” was played in the Global 

Class in the CFCE building Feb. 5. 

The focus of the film is to emphasize 

the human impact on the world 

told through the lens of award-winning 

director Tom Shadyac. 

Shadyac, who produced films 

such as Ace Ventura and Bruce Almighty, 

released the film in 2010 

24 

HOURS 

DC UOIT 

after a cycling accident left him 

injured. 

He made the documentary to ask 

“what’s wrong with our world?” and 

“what can we do to make it better?”. 

Anaya says the film “touches on” 

many of the SDGs by getting people 

to think about how they can get involved 

in the world around them. 

“It’s a documentary about who 

we are on the planet,” she says. 

“What are our responsibilities? 

What is our purpose? How can 

I contribute to the world around 

me?” 

Anaya says DC’s international 

education office has partnerships 

and projects around the world. One 

includes the education abroad initiative, 

which lets students study 

around the world. 

She says on the project side, the 

office works on assisting education 

in Kenya and Vietnam by working 

with polytechnics and ministries of 

education to change the way they 

teach students through “hands-on” 

learning. 

“You don’t see it around the world 

as much (hands-on learning). A lot 

go to university and study theory, 

and a lot of people don’t even have 

access to education,” she says. 

“We’re going to these countries and 

saying, ‘hey, we can share with you 

our best practices’.” 

According to Anaya, faculty and 

students went to Kenya last year 

to work on projects to build skills 

training and education. 

Students and faculty from DC’s 

journalism program produced a 

documentary on their efforts, which 

was screened this past November. 

As part of International Development 

Week, it was screened again in 

the global classroom Feb 8. 

Anaya says she wants students 

to “be aware” of the 17 SDGs. 

So much so, her department developed 

an app called the SDGs in 

Action, which allows users to select 

the goals in which they are most 

interested and follow a news feed 

connected to them. 

SDGs in Action allows students 

to see how other users of the app 

are achieving their goals around 

the world. 

“We want students to think beyond 

what’s happening in the classroom 

to look at the global picture 

and the global perspective of who 

they are and their actions for today 

and tomorrow,” she says. 

Photograph by Jackie Graves 

Bogumila Anaya, left, talking to a student about the 17 SDGs. 

Bogumila Anaya, centre, addressing students. 



Bogumila Anaya, left, sitting with a colleague. 



Bogumila Anaya, DC's manager international projects and partnerships, showing the 17 SDGs. 

Bogumila Anaya leading students into the Global Class.


Photograph by Janis Williams 

Elder Carolyn King, founder of the Moccasin Identifier Project, visited UOIT Feb. 5, to discuss the Indigenous initiative with future teachers. 

Future teachers get Indigenous education 

Janis Williams 


Elder Carolyn King regularly visits 

schools Ontario-wide to deliver a 

message to students of the importance 

of Indigenous history. She 

spent her time in downtown Oshawa 

Feb. 5, with a first-year class of 

58 future elementary educators at 

the University of Ontario Institute 

of Technology (UOIT). 

King came to promote the Moccasin 

Identifier Project, an education 

and awareness initiative she 

created for the school system. 

The Mississaugas of the New 

Credit First Nation Elder says it is 

a “simple little program to educate 

all levels of school.” 

The concept is straightforward - 

education followed by an activity. 

Her goal is to introduce her program 

to schools across the province. 

Ideally, during the month of 

24 

HOURS 

DC UOIT 

June, students would learn about 

the traditional land and territories, 

King says. 

Schools would receive a kit filled 

with information and educational 

tools, including stencils of four 

unique sets of moccasins, which 

represent four First Nations - Cree, 

Nishnawbe, Huron-Wendat and 

Iroquois. 

Then students would mark their 

school’s territory by stencilling the 

moccasin, using washable paint, on 

school grounds, either outside on 

the pavement or on a wall. 

The symbol is a visual reminder 

of the traditional territory of Indigenous 

peoples, King says, who 

views the activity as both a conversation 

starter and a step in the 

right direction. 

The Elder’s hope is this education 

happens annually, so students 

“will forever know whose land they 

are on.” 

It’s a regular reminder of the 

traditional territory of Indigenous 

peoples, a concept King says is 

fragmented in the school system. 

King sees opportunity in reaching 

future educators because they 

will teach new generations. 

Her hope moving forward is children 

will turn into better informed 

adults. 

Kimberley Briggs, a current 

UOIT student and future primary/ 

junior teacher, says she was moved 

by the Elder’s class visit. 

“It is important for us as new 

teachers to learn the real history of 

Canada and what better way than 

to hear it right from the mouths of 

those who lived it,” Briggs says. 

Following the presentation, 

Briggs says she feels “better armed 

to incorporate Indigenous perspectives 

into my classroom.” 

The Elder’s visit is one of many 

initiatives organized by the staff at 

UOIT’s Indigenous Education and 

Cultural Services. 

Indigenous programming specialist, 

Carol Ducharme, says the 

Moccasin Identifier Project is important 

on many levels. 

Ducharme says it not only encourages 

questions and engages 

dialogue, it also strengthens relationships 

for reconciliation between 

Indigenous and non-Indigenous 

people. 

“It is the responsibility for all 

Canadians to understand the history 

and impact of colonialism,” 

Ducharme says, “you cannot move 

towards any direction unless you 

first know where you are coming 

from.” 

For her part, King has served 

her First Nation community for 

35 years but her work continues 

by sharing her message – know the 

land where you stand. 

“I encourage that all people 

check to see whose first nation is 

in their land, what treaty land you 

are on or whose traditional territory 

you’re on,” says King. 

The Elder was speaking at 

UOIT’s Faculty of Education, 11 

Simcoe St. N. in Oshawa. UOIT 

sits on the lands of the people of the 

Mississaugas of Scugog Island First 

Nations, within the traditional territory 

of the Mississauga and in the 

territory covered by the Williams 

Treaties. 

Photograph by Janis Williams 

UOIT’s Indigenous Education and Cultural Services building in downtown Oshawa. 

Elder Carolyn King addresses a class of UOIT students. 

Photograph by Janis Williams

Campus chronicle.durhamcollege.ca February 26 – March 18, 2019 The Chronicle 13 

Paul Champagne, a janitor in the Centre for Food (CFF) at Whitby campus. 

Brad Abel (left) and Maria Revita are in the Food and Farming program. 

Bradey Brears is in the mobile crane apprentice program. 

Photograph by Cecelia Feor 



Whitby campus 

covers ground 

and sky 

operations 

Cecelia Feor 


From gardens to cranes, Whitby 

campus has it all. 

But the campus itself has changed 

immensely since its opening in 

1993. 

The Centre for Food (CFF), the 

campus's most recent addition, 

opened its doors in 2013. 

But Paul Champagne has been 

working there since before there 

were doors. 

Champagne is a janitor at the 

CFF, and helped clean it before 

it was a finished building and the 

final doors were put in place. 

His day is anything but typical. 

"Organized chaos is about the 

best way to describe it," he says with 

a laugh, "but I wouldn't want it any 

other way." 

His shift starts at 11 a.m., but he's 

"ready to go" at 10:30 a.m. 

"Money is secondary now, for me, 

you have to enjoy what you do, and 

I love what I do," he says. 

Associate dean of the CFF, Tony 

Doyle, says "he thinks he owns 

the place," with a smile, adding 

Champagne takes a lot of pride in 

the CFF. 

It's not working 

for the people, 

It's working with 

the people, and 

we all pitch in. 

24 

HOURS 

DC UOIT 

But Champagne isn't the only 

one. 

Doyle says being at the campus 

is energizing. 

"It really is an amazing place to 

be," he says. 

Doyle considers the CFF a community 

hub, with people coming for 

a variety of reasons - lunch in the 

highly-regarded Bistro '67 restaurant, 

a class or even a wedding. 

There are also many opportunities 

for students to grow on the 

campus, including in the greenhouses. 

Students grow vegetables and 

other food for use in the restaurant, 

which lives by a 'field-to-fork' motto. 

Many programs work together 

in Whitby. 

The campus has five schools: 

Skilled Trades, Apprenticeships and 

Renewable Technology (START), 

the CFF which has Culinary 

Management and Hospitality Skills, 

Business, IT and Management, Science 

and Engineering Tech and 

Health and Community Services. 

The campus also welcomes the 

Ontario Youth Apprenticeship Program 

where students can finish high 

school while also learning at college 

to gain knowledge of a skilled trade. 

"(The faculty) are passionate 

about their trade, and they take that 

into their classroom experience," 

says Pam Stoneham, associate dean 

of START. 

She says the campus has two 

unique programs not commonly 

offered at other colleges. 

Crane Operation, Rigging and 

Construction Techniques is a certificate 

program and allows graduates 

to operate a crane of up to eight 

tonnes. 

The other program is Mechanical 

Technician - Elevating Devices, 

which involves work on elevators 

and escalators. 

The program will have its first 

graduates this spring. 

There are also other programs 

that build off each other. 

In addition to the Building Construction 

program, Stoneham says 

there will be a renovation diploma 

program offered to this fall students 

interested in fixing up houses as well 

as building them from the ground 

up. 

"(The faculty) that built the programs 

are fabulous, they were experts 

in their field," Stoneham says. 

Faculty are what helps the school 

function, Stoneham says. 

"They're looking for innovative 

ways of bringing the learning to life, 

they care about the students they 

teach," she adds. 

There are other resources on 

campus to help students. 

Two buildings on the campus 

were gifted for learning purposes. 

One is a house from the 1950s 

and the other new build. Students 

studying different trades, such as 

electrical or HVAC can go in and 

look at how housing construction 

has changed over time. 

"It's kind of like a field trip but on 

campus," Stoneham says. 

One thing is clear - it's the people 

behind the programs who are critical 

in Whitby. 

"It's not working for the people, 

it's working with the people, and we 

all pitch in," Champagne says.


Photograph by Keisha Slemensky 

A student talks with an employer at a booth for Princeton Review at the job fair at DC and UOIT on Feb. 5. 

DC, UOIT brings employers to students 

Keisha Slemensky 


The doors to the Job Fair at Durham 

College (DC) and UOIT 

opened at 11 a.m. on Tuesday, 

welcoming students to about 70 

booths hosted by employers hiring 

for part and full-time jobs. There 

was a steady stream of students 

coming and going throughout the 

entire event. 

DC and UOIT students filed in 

and out, dressed in their most professional 

outfits. 

Alexandra Carson, 20 is in the 

social service worker program. She 

was one of the hundreds of students 

who attended. 

Carson says she has attended 

job fairs before but was pleased to 

see there was a lot of space in the 

booths to talk to employers. 

“As students, you don’t really 

know where to start looking for 

jobs. It’s hard to get your foot in,” 

says Carson. She says the event was 

good for students looking for work 

when they graduate as well as parttime 

positions. This marks the 22nd 

year this job fair has been hosted at 

Durham College and UOIT. 

Devon Turcotte is the outreach 

coordinator in the Career Development 

and Co-operative Education 

office. She has worked at Durham 

College for seven years and has 

been in the Career Development 

office for two-and-a-half years. She 

says she has noticed considerable 

growth in the event. 

Turcotte says the job fair is a 

good way for students to conquer a 

possibly scary concept: networking. 

“Networking is a word that scares 

a lot of people and it doesn’t have to 

be scary,” says Turcotte. 

She says finding a job is about 

meeting people, communicating 

effectively and developing relationships. 

“The job fair is a good opportunity 

for students and alumni to 

engage in real conversations with 

24 

HOURS 

DC UOIT 

employers,” says Turcotte. 

Upon entering the doors to the 

gym students were greeted with a 

entry form and a name tag. Once 

registered, students were free to 

browse employer booths. A wide 

variety of employers attended this 

year including businesses like Bell, 

YMCA, Flanagan Food Service 

and York Regional Police. 

Some booths were manned by 

students as well like the Princeton 

Review that helps students with 

standardized testing. 

Many services were offered to 

students such as the opportunity to 

meet alumni. Career Development 

student representatives were available 

to answer questions and take 

professional head shot photos for 

students with their own cameras. 

For students who weren’t able to 

make the event or would like more 

information, Turcotte says the Career 

Development office located 

is the Student Services Building 

in SSB212 .It offers services like 

mock interviews and one-on-one 

appointments to help students with 

resumes, cover letters, LinkedIn 

and portfolios. 

Online resources are also available 

at hired.durhamcollege.ca. 

Turcotte says a good practice is 

to search on LinkedIn for people 

working where you are interested 

in and contact them. She says as 

awkward as it is at first, the more 

you practice networking, the easier 

it gets. 

Alexandra Carson, 20, attending the job fair. 

Devon Turcotte, outreach coordinator in the Career Development office. 


Photograph by Keisha Slemensky

Campus chronicle.durhamcollege.ca February 26 – March 18, 2019 The Chronicle 15

16 The Chronicle February 26 - March 18, 2019 chronicle.durhamcollege.ca Campus

Campus chronicle.durhamcollege.ca February 26 - March 18, 2019 The Chronicle17 

Photograph by Rachelle Baird 

The piping to service the campus stretches for kilometres. The red pipe is for the sprinkler system. 

Ensuring there's a good flow on campus 

Rachelle Baird 


24 

HOURS 

DC UOIT 

While students are busy learning 

and professors teaching, the maintenance 

department is hard at work 

taking care of the university and 

college campuses. 

The maintenance department is 

made up of 21 workers. 

There are three plumbers, three 

HVAC technicians, three electricians, 

two BAS technicians, two 

locksmiths, two carpenters, two 

trade helpers and four general 

maintenance workers. 

Rey Theophille is a plumber 

who has been employed at DC and 

UOIT for 14 years. 

He says not only does the staff 

take care of the Oshawa campuses, 

they also maintain Whitby, the 

Pickering Learning Centre and 

other areas. 

"We also do the satellite campus, 

Uxbridge and Bowmanville. So we 

give them some support as well," 

Theophille says. 

According to Theophille, maintenance 

of the university takes 

up most of their time. "It's funny, 

the university is a newer building. 

So you think it would require less 

maintenance," he says. 

There have been a few issues 

with flooding, such as two eroded 

fire hydrants which exploded and 

caused flooding in the roadway, a 

frozen sprinkler in the UA building, 

and a few floods during renovations, 

according to Theophille. 

As for how much piping, there are 

kilometres serving the campuses. 

Theophille says plumbing problems 

have been caused by items left 

in toilets that shouldn't be found 

there. 

"We have removed pop cans, 

cellphones and jewellery from the 

toilets," he says. 

They even found half a chicken 

in the toilet once, says Theophille. 

And one semester some time ago, 

someone frequently defecated on 

the floor of the now-demolished 

Simcoe building, he says. 

The plumbing department maintains 

the backflow system which ensures 

no contaminated water gets 

into the drinking water. 

The plumbing department also 

helps flush out the HVAC system, 

which maintains temperatures of 

the buildings. 

Theophille says there have not 

been many problems with heat, 

but at one time there were issues in 

keeping the buildings cool but they 

have since replaced the air conditioning 

system. 

Theophille says the staff are busy 

all year long. Work shifts start as 

early as 8 a.m. and finish at 10 p.m. 

as that is when most classes end. 


Backflow systems prevent bad water from entering good water. 


Durham College and UOIT's 

lead plumber Rey Theophille 

working in his office below the 

UOIT Science Building.

18 The Chronicle February 26 - March 18, 2019 chronicle.durhamcollege.ca Campus 

Chronicle 

up for 

Ontario 

news 

award 

The Chronicle has been nominated 

for a provincial news award by the 

Ontario Community Newspaper 

Association (OCNA). 

The Chronicle's website is one 

of three finalists for best news site 

among Ontario colleges and universities. 

The other two finalists are Algonquin 

College in Ottawa and 

Niagara College in Niagara Falls. 

"We are pleased to be nominated 

because it reflects not only 

the appearance of the site for our 

users, but more importantly the site 

is being judged for the quality of the 

content - stories, photos and video 

- produced by our students," says 

Brian Legree, professor and program 

coordinator of the Journalism 

- Mass Media program at Durham. 

Durham was selected for having 

the best news site at the awards a 

year ago. 

The site, chronicle.durhamcollege.ca, 

has been revamped during 

this academic year. 

Durham has a long history of success 

at the OCNA awards, including 

winning for general excellence 

in the best newspaper category and 

for student writing. 

The winners will be announced 

at the Ontario Community Newspaper 

Association annual spring 

convention in April in Toronto. 

The journalism program is one 

of Durham's longest-running, established 

45 years ago. 

Graduates of the program are 

working in a variety of news and 

communications-related jobs 

throughout Canada, Legree says. 

Find more stories at chronicle.durhamcollege.ca

Campus chronicle.durhamcollege.ca February 26 - March 18, 2019 The Chronicle 19 

Photograph by Leslie Ishimwe 

A couple of students have the ice to themselves during one of the public skating sessions at the Campus Ice Centre. 

Campus skating fun for students 

Leslie Ishimwe 


Rachel Goodman, a student at 

Durham College in the sports 

business management program, 

has been working at the front desk 

of the Campus Ice Centre for about 

four weeks for her internship. 

For the most part, it's pretty routine 

work. 

Her 9-5, Monday to Friday shift 

starts with answering phone calls 

and providing skates to students 

and members of the general public 

who want to take advantage of 

the public skating opportunity each 

24 

HOURS 

DC UOIT 

day from noon until 2 p.m. 

Students can access the Ice Centre 

by using their student card and 

other adults can pay a $2 fee. 

Goodman says her experience 

has been good so far and she likes 

the atmosphere of her work environment. 

"Having your job being in sports 

all day is really cool and all of the 

people who come in for hockey so 

it's been a lot of fun," Goodman 

says. 

On this particular Tuesday, Feb. 

5, the public skate isn't that busy. 

About 20 people came to skate. 

Although Goodman doesn't work 

weekends, she knows Sundays are 

busy at the Ice Centre because 

that's when hockey leagues have 

their games. 

While much of the work can be 

routine, there are moments when 

it's anything but routine. 

Goodman says recently there 

was an incident involving a DC 

student and she had to perform 

CPR before security arrived. 

"During the public skate, a kid 

slipped and hit his head and really 

cut his eyebrow open and he ended 

up getting stitches," she explains. 

She says the student was fine after 

but it was the first time something 

like that had happened since 

she's been working there 

Most of the time, the public skate 

is occupied by people trying to take 

their minds off their studies, even 

if it's only for a short time. 

Ken Finn, a second-year DC student, 

says he usually comes to skate 

every Tuesday with his friends before 

classes. 

"I've been skating for nine years 

and I like skating mainly now because 

of the nostalgia," he says. "I 

liked playing hockey and kind of 

grew out of it so I really like the 

skating aspect." 

Goodman says the Ice Centre 

has acquired a new set of rental 

skates and the public find them 

"cool" - better than the old ones. 



Rachel Goodman talks about her daily tasks at the Campus Ice Centre. 

Ken Finn is all smiles at public skating.


Photograph by Durham Athletics 

Durham Lords' guard Maddie Dender brings the ball up the court during OCAA women's basketball action. 

John Elambo 


It is a night with lots of energy, 

loud music playing during timeouts 

and at half-time with songs 

like Meek Mill's '24/7' to keep the 

crowd pumped up. 

Every time the Durham Lords 

made a long range three-pointer, 

the crowd goes crazy and is really 

loud. 

Welcome to a night of basketball 

at Durham College (DC). The 

men's and women's teams only play 

nine regular season home games 

in their Ontario Colleges Athletic 

Association (OCAA) league. 

Each night at DC has a special 

vibe. 

Walking into the Durham gym, 

the team and individual achievements 

are visibly evident to spectators. 

On the walls there are dozens of 

banners that remember the accomplishments 

of DC sports teams and 

players. 

There's a banner for the Lords 

women's and men's basketball 

teams each winning an OCAA 

championship back in 1997. That 

'97 men's team also won the lone 

Canadian title in the school's hoop 

history. 

There are also four retired numbers 

for the men, #3 Ken Upshaw, 

#40 Augusto Duquesne, #5 Bill 

Crowdis and #32 Anthony Batchelor. 

The women have two, #44 

Julie Goedhuis and #15 Bonnie 

24 

HOURS 

DC UOIT 

Slaughter. 

The gym also honours one of the 

media graduates from campus. At 

the top of the stands there is a yellow 

wall with a sign dedicated to 

Kate Beirness. Beirness now works 

on TSN as a host on Sportscentre. 

She was the PA announcer for the 

Lords, also did radio broadcasts 

during her time as a student and is 

a UOIT graduate. 

On this Feb. 5, 2019 evening, a 

strong and vocal crowd is on hand 

as the women took care of business 

against the Seneca Sting, beating 

them 64-57. 

The two teams had an intense 

battle in the paint for rebounds 

throughout the night, the Lords 

eventually beating Seneca 45-41 

in that department. 

Durham's bench was also a 

huge part of the win, outscoring 

Seneca's 28-8.The Lords were led 

by forward Marie Stasiuk who 

dropped 13 points and 14 rebounds. 

Two other players followed her in 

double-digit scoring - point guard 

Dekota Kirby had 10 points and 

fellow point guard Victoria Brody 

also had 10 points. 

Other players that stepped on the 

court scored at least one basket. 

Lords' guard Emily Glendinning 

says teams need to watch out when 

DC has a strong offensive game. 

"We have so many people on our 

team that can put the ball in the 

net and teams need to be careful 

because we are a dangerous team 

when we're hot," she says. 

Glendinning is confident her 

team can take a big step. 

"We are a team that has the ability 

to be a championship team, we 

just need to act like it. We need to 

never get down on each other and 

play to the best of our abilities." 

For the men it was a different 

story, suffering an 85-69 loss at the 

hands of the Seneca Sting. 

This matchup featured two 

teams on a winning streak. The 

Sting, first seed in the East, came 

into the game winners of eight 

straight, while the Lords had been 

undefeated in six. 

The Lords gave up too many 

turnovers - surrendering the ball 

11 times - and the Sting turned 

that into 22 points.Lords' point 

guard Brandon Halliburton was 

disappointed with the amount of 

turnovers DC committed. 

"We need to take care of the ball 

better. We are not in sync on the 

court, the ball needs to move more," 

Special vibe at Durham hoops 

Photograph by Durham Athletics 

Durham forward Lewis Shamar (31) goes to the net, while 

teammate Julian Hinckson Jr. (21) looks on during OCAA play. 

he says. 

The battle in the paint was also 

a win for the Sting, outscoring the 

Lords 40-22 even though the Lords 

out-rebounded Seneca 41-33. 

Halliburton says his team's effort 

was sub-par - noting the Lords 

didn't give 100 per cent and weren't 

prepared. 

"Coming into the game we approached 

it like it was one of the 

bottom teams. They knew what 

we were doing defensively and they 

countered it and we didn't know 

how to adjust to it." 

To borrow from Meek Mill, the 

Lords will have to stay committed 

to their hoop dreams '24/7' if either 

team wants a shot at winning the 

title this year.


No dancing in the dark at DC, UOIT 

24 

HOURS 

DC UOIT 

Jasper Myers 


It’s a typical winter night in Oshawa. 

The sun goes down - early, but 

stays with us long enough to suggest 

spring is around the corner. 

For students at the north campus 

of Durham College and UOIT, 

reading week is on the horizon. 

On this evening - Tuesday, Feb. 

5 — as the day turns into night the 

campus lacks the life and energy 

seen during the middle of the day. 

The final classes finish at 9 p.m., 

and within a half hour the school, 

bustling with students during the 

day, is nearly empty. 

The piano in The Pit of the Gordon 

Willey Building almost never 

goes two seconds without being 

played during the day, but at 9:45 

p.m., it sits untouched. 

The Pit itself is devoid of students 

entirely, excluding the two students 

working the Campus Walk - a program 

run on all DC and UOIT 

campuses weeknights at various 

hours depending on the campus. At 

north Oshawa, the program runs 7 

p.m. to 11 p.m. 

“Campus Walk is essentially a 

program that we provide for anyone 

who feels uncomfortable walking 

to their car, the bus loop, or 

even, like, the ice rink,” says Marylin 

Boyle, a Fire and Life Safety 

Systems Technician student at DC, 

who works for Campus Walk. 

Boyle says a lot of people don’t 

seem to be aware of the program’s 

existence. But anyone who wants 

to use it can either approach their 

table in the Pit, or go to security 

and ask, and security will contact 

Campus Walk. 

They can even come meet you 

where you are to walk you where 

you need to go. 

Meanwhile, the atrium in the 

UOIT Science Building is deserted 

and Polonksy Commons is 

covered in a blanket of darkness. 

The silence throughout the hallways 

of the school is deafening, 

although that silence is sometimes 

interrupted by the faint sounds of 

a security guard’s footsteps. 

In DC’s South Wing, one student 

sits alone. 

José Flores, 23, is used to late 

nights on campus. 

The second-year Sport Management 

student says he’s usually at 

school late about three times a 

week, with Thursday being his 

longest day. 

“I play on the soccer team. We 

have training on Thursdays, so 

usually I’m here all day from 8 a.m. 

to 7 p.m. in class, and then I’ve got 

training 9 p.m. to 11 p.m.,” says 

Flores. “So, sometimes I’ll be here 

for like, what, 15 hours.” 

He has classes Tuesdays, Wednesdays 

and Thursdays, and says 

he’s usually on campus each of 

those nights. 

Flores, who’s played soccer for 18 

years, says he’s always dreamed of 

playing professionally, and might 

try to pursue opportunities after 

college. If he doesn’t go that route, 

he’d like to work in the industry 

instead. 

“Hopefully work for MLSE 

(Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment), 

and the TFC (Toronto 

FC), so that will be an aspiration 

of mine,” says Flores. 

On top of school and soccer, he 

also works two jobs. One is teaching 

dance at Arthur Murray Dance 

Centre in Ajax, where he teaches 

ballroom and club Latin dance. 

“I grew up with it, I’m from a 

Spanish background, so I grew up 

dancing bachata, salsa, and cumbia, 

and then I started ballroom not 

too long ago,” Flores says, adding 

he believes it helps him with soccer. 

On this night, if Flores wanted 

to practice some of his dance 

moves, the halls were so quiet, he 

would have a difficult time finding 

a partner. 

The Pit at DC is devoid of energy the night of Feb. 5, 2019. 

Ice and darkness cover Polonksy Commons at UOIT. 

Photograph by Jasper Myers 




José Flores, 23, is used to long nights on campus. 

The atrium in the UOIT Science Building at approx. 10 p.m., is quiet.

22 The Chronicle February 26 – March 18, 2019 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 Victoria Marcelle 

Break the stigma and support the homeless 

Now that winter is in full swing and 

temperatures are dropping, those 

who are not able to stay in shelters 

are finding other ways to get warm. 

On Jan. 8th, a Toronto homeless 

woman sought shelter from 

horrid, subzero weather conditions 

by shielding herself in a 

clothing donation box. Crystal 

Papineau, 35, was trapped in the 

donation box and suffocated to 

death. 

What is equally saddening 

is the negative attitudes and ignorant 

thoughts expressed in the 

comment section of online news 

articles regarding the incident. 

People wrote demeaning commentary 

and tweets accusing Papineau 

of trying to steal clothes, 

completely oblivious to the reality 

of what it's like to sleep on a 

city street in January. In January 

2019, temperatures have dropped 

to what feels like -39. 

People's perspectives on the 

homeless are disheartening. Consider 

the 2018 Royal Wedding 

officials clearing the homeless off 

the street for the $46 million wedding 

procession or think about the 

2010 Olympics in Vancouver jailing 

the homeless during the period 

of the event. 

Collective attitudes and societal 

beliefs about the homeless need 

to change and as soon as possible. 

There is a growing concern regarding 

homelessness in Canada. 

So much so that Toronto Councillor 

Kristyn Wong-Tam wants 

Toronto City Council to declare a 

state of emergency regarding the 

city's homelessness and housing 

crisis. 

According to Advocacy Centre 

for Ontario Tenants, 35,000 

Canadians are homeless on given 

night; 235,000 experience homelessness 

country-wide in a year. 

It is evident homelessness in 

Canada is progressing beyond 

serious. This is an important social 

issue. 

According to the Durham 2018 

PIT Count Report, 291 individuals 

in Durham are experiencing 

homelessness. 

The number of people living 

on the street is reflects how cruel 

society as a whole has become. 

Humanity as a whole does not 

view homelessness as a priority or 

an urgent matter. But it needs to 

be dealt with immediately. 

Providing homeless people 

with a place to stay, warm clothes 

and a hot meal is not the only way 

to help. Emotional support is simple. 

If you see a person asking for 

change, do not yell at them to get 

a job, call them lazy, or spit out 

other harsh words. 

The 2018 PIT Count Report 

states, "31 per cent of individuals 

had either some post-secondary 

education or were a post-secondary 

graduate. 29 per cent were 

a high school graduate or had 

a GED." Earning a high school 

or secondary school diploma is 

usually not an indicator of laziness. 

Stop and think about them for 

a moment, place yourself in their 

shoes. Not everyone is able to find 

a job, and it’s not from lack of trying. 

Some industries are not hiring, 

hours get cut back and not all 

jobs offer sustainable wages. 

Other reasons people cannot 

hold down jobs may be due to 

physical conditions, mental health 

and stress. Long hours can be 

hard to maintain with an illness. 

One could struggle with essential 

employment skills such as time 

management or interpersonal 

skills. Untreated anxiety may 

prevent a person from interacting 

with the public. 

The report also indicates 58 

per cent of those surveyed identified 

having a mental illness with 

34 per cent identified having a 

chronic or acute medical condition; 

31 per cent were struggling 

with an addiction or substance 

abuse problem. 

While it is true the government 

needs to allocate more funding to 

mental health services, a simple 

shift in perspective can happen. 

Now. 

If you see someone asking for 

change, do not pass judgement. 

A little empathy, a hot cup of 

coffee and a smile can go a long 

way on a cold winter's day. 

Rachelle Baird, 

Victoria Marcelle 

EDITORS: Cameron Andrews, Rachelle Baird, 

John Elambo, Dakota Evans, Cecelia Feor, Peter 

Fitzpatrick, Kathryn Fraser, Jackie Graves, Madison 

Gulenchyn, Leslie Ishimwe, Morgan Kelly, 

Victoria Marcelle, Jasper Myers, Meagan Secord, 

Keisha Slemensky, Janis Williams. 

PRODUCTION ARTISTS: Abishek Choudary, Abhinav 

Macwan, Aidan Miller, Alexandra Spataro, Andrae 

Brown, Andrea Willman, Aritra Ghosh, Brandon 

Arruda, Brianna Dunkely, Emily Southwell, Indraneel 

Bhosale, Kevin Brown, Lewis Ryan, Rayaan Khan, 

Rosalie Soltys, Sedale Rollocks, Shelby Dowe, Jamie 

Ryll. 

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. 

ACCOUNT REPS: Amanda Cummer, Ashley Gomes, 

Dana Heayn, Devante Smith, Elyse Duncan, Emily 

Kajuvee, Isabella Bruni, Jacob Clarke, Jordan Stojanovic, 

Joe Ukposidolo, Justin Harty, Matthew Hiscock, 

Andrew Jones, Julian Nirmalan, Kayla Benezah, Kaela 

Wilson, Lisa Toohey, Marlee Baker, Meagan Olmstead, 

Noelle Seaton, Pooja Pothula, Rachel Enright, 

Rebecca Thomas, Sarah Saddal, Sahithi Mokirala, 

Sheila Ferguson, Tatiana Sorella. 

Publisher: Greg Murphy Editor-In-Chief: Brian Legree Editor: Danielle Harder Features editor: Teresa Goff Ad Manager: Dawn Salter 

Advertising Production Manager: Kevan F. Drinkwalter Photography Editor: Al Fournier Technical Production: Keir Broadfoot

chronicle.durhamcollege.ca February 26 – March 18, 2019 The Chronicle 23 

Opinion 

CBT needs to reach younger students 

Ontario Shores at the DC, UOIT 

Campus Health Centre launched 

a Cognitive Behaviour Therapy 

(CBT) pilot program, offering 

therapy services to students free of 

charge in August 2017. 

CBT is a type of psychotherapy 

focused on reframing negative 

thought patterns into positive ones. 

It’s great that students at Durham 

College are able to learn 

CBT at no costs, but why is it that 

students have to wait to learn the 

benefits of CBT as young adults? 

Cognitive behaviour therapy 

should be incorporated into elementary 

school curriculum because 

CBT teaches individuals how to 

implement the coping strategies 

needed to face adversity in their 

daily lives. 

Tracy Holz, a registered nurse 

Victoria 

Marcelle 

and registered psychotherapist 

working with the demo project, 

says CBT looks at the connection 

between thoughts, emotions and 

behaviours. The idea is to build 

awareness of this chain reaction 

and how it influences one’s decisions 

and motivations. 

According to British Columbia 

online resource Anxiety Canada, 

cognitive behaviour therapy is 

an “evidence-based psychological 

treatment.” Research has confirmed 

the treatment is based on 

what proves to help patients, not 

what people think may work. 

CBT teaches people how to 

function in life by learning how to 

correct distressing thoughts and 

improve self-talk in order to build 

more confidence and overcome 

difficulties. 

The psycho-education model 

discussed in CBT helps clients to 

relate to emotions differently. In 

learning new, life skills, people are 

able to change how they interpret 

life stressors, says Holz. 

Coping strategies learned in 

CBT also help clients improve 

self-regulation. CBT not only gives 

a client the opportunity to talk 

things out, but offers a chance to 

analyze automatic responses and 

discuss how to respond in a more 

proactive manner. 

CBT is much like going to class. 

Clients are given weekly homework, 

consisting of workbook readings 

and reflection exercises. There 

are self-evaluations during the 

process. The therapist also holds 

people accountable for their development, 

just as a teacher would. 

Holz says the CBT pilot project 

at Durham College began due to a 

long-time need in the community. 

“It simply wasn’t accessible to 

people. There was a high cost associated 

with it. So [the project 

started] from a number of people 

needing this service and it wasn’t 

available,” says Holz. 

This high demand for the treatment 

demonstrates why it should 

be mainstreamed into the school 

system. CBT can benefit children 

by developing their emotional 

intelligence. CBT can teach children 

to express how emotions feel 

in their body by drawing pictures, 

story-telling or role-play. 

Emotions are viewed as a guidance 

system rather than something 

to avoid if unpleasant. 

The earlier children learn how 

to cope with life stressors, the less 

likely they are to turn to negative 

coping mechanisms such as negative 

self-talk, behavioural disengagement 

and suicidal ideation as 

teens. 

Preventative action is always 

much more effective than dealing 

with the damage afterwards. 

Students should not have to wait 

to learn the benefits of CBT as 

young adults. Arming children 

and teens with the proactive tools 

embedded in CBT will set them 

up to succeed. 

OHIP+ equals a financial obstacle course 

All you need is a health card and 

a prescription to receive provincial 

coverage for your meds in Ontario. 

While OHIP+, which went into 

effect January 1, 2018, is meant to 

make prescription medications 

more accessible for everyone 24 

years and under, the well-intended 

program has actually created 

challenges for some people to 

access their medications. 

OHIP+ needs to work better 

with private insurance companies. 

Proposed changes by the Ford 

government will make it so children 

and youth 24 years and under 

who don’t have private insurance 

will be covered by OHIP+. Those 

who have private insurance will 

be billed through their private insurance. 

Last year, after OHIP+ began, 

Jasper 

Myers 

my private insurance refused to 

cover my testosterone prescription, 

citing it should be covered 

under OHIP+. 

And it is — if you’re born male, 

which I was not, hence the need 

for the testosterone prescription. 

In February of last year, my 

school insurance covered the testosterone 

after I didn’t qualify for 

government coverage. Then all of 

a sudden this year, the insurance 

refused coverage, citing the doctor 

needs to apply for exceptional access. 

This process could take up to 

six weeks. 

I have to get a testosterone shot 

every week to keep my hormone 

levels steady, I can’t go six weeks 

without a shot while I wait to see if 

the government will cover it. 

When I had private insurance, 

I paid 12 dollars for testosterone. 

This month, I paid 72 dollars. 

Prior to OHIP+ accessing the 

hormones was no issue, now it’s 

just hurdle after hurdle. 

This is the case for a lot of other 

medications as well, such as birth 

control. 

There are at least 49 different 

birth control pills, devices 

and shots available in Ontario. 

Website Teen Health Source put 

together a chart showing which 

ones are covered, not covered, or 

covered in special circumstances. 

Such circumstances may involve 

having to prove the particular 

birth control pill is needed: if a 

woman has tried other forms that 

didn’t work, or if she has had adverse 

effects related to the medication, 

or if the generic version, 

many of which are covered by 

OHIP+, doesn’t work. 

Imagine trying medication after 

medication to treat something, 

and finally finding the one that 

works only to have to either repeat 

this process, or go through a new 

process just to prove you need it 

covered. 

OHIP+ has created obstacles 

for accessing medications or, if 

you’re like me, your drug just isn’t 

covered for the use you need. 

Maybe you have to pay out-ofpocket 

while you wait for the government 

to go over an exceptional 

access application because private 

insurance won’t cover until OHIP 

refuses. 

Or, worst case scenario, you 

just go without the medication 

because you can’t afford to pay 

out-of-pocket while you wait to see 

who will cover the cost. 

The intention behind OHIP+ 

was genuinely good. The previous 

government wanted to help 

improve access to and reduce the 

cost of medications. 

But improvements to the program 

are needed, such as more 

medications covered and an easier 

to process to go between private 

and government funding. Ford’s 

changes, making private insurance 

the first payer for those who 

have it, is one way to do this. 

Chronicle reserves the right to unpublish 

At The Chronicle, we pride ourself 

in producing work that is fair, balanced, 

and accurate. It is enshrined 

in our journalistic values to produce 

content that is respectful, impactful 

and, above all else, truthful. 

Under normal circumstances, 

we would not remove any stories, 

pictures or information from our 

website, to preserve said truth. 

However, there are some circumstances 

in which we may be 

required to take another look. 

Reporters for The Chronicle 

had a debate on Riot Radio which 

started as an in-class exercise concerning 

unpublishing and in what 

circumstances they should remove 

information from a story or the 

entire story itself by request of a 

source. 

Both sides set up by one of the 

journalism professors made their 

stances very clear, representing 

being for or against unpublishing 

to extreme lengths, regardless of 

personal beliefs. The points that 

Dakota 

Evans 

Peter 

Fitzpatrick 

were raised all offer good insight 

into the pros and cons of the issue. 

Ultimately, we at The Chronicle 

support unpublishing under special 

circumstances. 

Being transparent with readers 

has been a rapidly growing change 

in journalism. The Star and other 

organizations have been the roots 

of the movement. 

We at The Chronicle have joined 

that movement. 

The Chronicle removed graphics 

from a story about the death 

of UOIT student Rhyss Glenfield 

after being politely asked by the 

parents. 

While some may say unpublishing 

will alter the trust between us 

and our readership, we believe our 

duty to service the reader goes beyond 

our reporting. 

It is our duty to report the truth 

for the sake of public to make 

thoughtful opinions and informed 

decisions, but we are a college news 

organization, rooted in our community. 

We grieve with everyone else, 

and out of respect, chose to comply 

with the wishes of Glenfield's 

family. Post-secondary education 

is, in essence, a stepping stone to 

reach a career. 

We have removed a source from 

a story in the past due to the source 

feeling he would be negatively perceived 

outside of his post-secondary 

learning. 

If a source or subject in a story 

were to be negatively affected by 

our reporting, such as being unable 

to get a job because of their 

involvement in a story, we will, in 

some cases, take a story down or 

amend information within, provided 

the subject's involvement is not 

substantial. 

A few years ago, a former student 

reporter for The Chronicle had a 

featured image on the front page 

of our newspaper for a story about 

sexual assault. 

The image was staged and involved 

two fellow reporters, one 

male and one female. 

Many in the campus community 

were upset with the picture used, 

where both subjects' races were a 

concern due to the woman being 

perceived as white and the man, 

black, covering her mouth. 

This particular photo was staged. 

Both subjects were, in fact, people 

of colour. Race had nothing to do 

with the published story, rather it 

was about giving victims of sexual 

assault a voice. 

In this case, we opted not to unpublish 

the story but rather remove 

the image and use the secondary 

photo that accompanied the story 

as the featured image. 

While we felt the photo was appropriate 

to use, we decided to listen 

to the community, as our goal 

is to serve the readers. 

Some may say the trust we build 

in our audience is founded in always 

siding with our readers. 

However, we need to ensure that 

our information is accurate. If we 

were to unpublish everything that 

may be harmful to someone's public 

appearance, we would essentially 

be censoring the truth, and in 

turn, altering the trust between us 

and our readership. 

In conclusion, we at The Chronicle 

have recognized there are times 

we may find unpublishing necessary 

and hope our viewers will 

support our decision.


DC, UOIT now in the safety zone 

Safety zone 

put in place 

around 

campus 

after death 

of university 

student 

Janis Williams 

Rachelle Baird 

Jackie Graves 


It is something many students at 

Durham College (DC) and the 

University of Ontario Institute of 

Technology (UOIT) do without 

thinking – walk across Simcoe 

Street to visit Campus Corners. 

The thought of danger might not 

even cross a student’s mind. 

Corey Lakshmanaswamy, 20, 

knows this first-hand. The firstyear 

journalism student walked 

across Simcoe Street just after 3 

p.m. on Nov. 14. Out of nowhere, 

he heard what he describes as 

what sounded like a bomb, over 

the music of 50 Cent blaring on 

his headphones. 

“I was going to get lunch from 

Subway, listening to my music and 

I remember hearing a loud bang … 

I didn’t know if I was hearing it in 

my music or not,” he says. 

What Lakshmanaswamy heard 

was the sound of a collision between 

a car and a pedestrian. 

Rhyss Glenfield, a 19-year-old 

UOIT student in the Gaming Development 

and Entrepreneurship 

program, was killed at the intersection 

of Simcoe Street and Conlin 

Road. 

According to Durham Region 

Police Service’s (DRPS) crime 

Safety is a two-way street, pedestrians need to be aware when crossing the streets. 

mapping tool, there have been four 

incidents at that intersection in the 

past six months: two hit and runs 

and two motor vehicle collisions, 

including the accident which resulted 

in Glenfield’s death. 

The intersection continues to see 

issues with safety. 

Samson Chung, part-time professor 

in the School of Business, IT 

& Management at Durham College, 

recently tweeted @DRPS after 

nearly being hit while crossing. 

He received no response from 

the DRPS Twitter account and says 

he, along with other colleagues, 

have reached out before with concerns 

about the intersection. 


Corey Lakshmanaswamy heard the car accident which caused 

Rhyss Glenfield’s death. 

Anything put in place to prevent an 

event like this one that happened 

would be positive. 

“I’ve been reaching out to DRPS 

for the last six years,” says Chung. 

“Every day as I cross here at Conlin, 

I always see danger.” 

Chung says he was heading toward 

the Campus Corners building 

on Nov. 26, when the walk signal 

turned and he began crossing. As 

he was crossing, a woman in a 

vehicle began making a right turn, 

coming up on him fast. 

He says he tried to make eye 

contact with the woman as she got 

closer, but she didn’t notice him. 

Chung was forced to step back 

to avoid being hit and says he was 

“right by her passenger door” when 

she passed him. He says the woman 

“apologized” with hand motions 

before driving off. 

He says, “At least she didn’t give 

me the finger.” 

Since Glenfield’s death, Oshawa 

councillors voted in favour of 

creating a community safety zone 

surrounding the DC and UOIT 

campus. 

Sue McGovern, Vice President 

of External Affairs and Advancement 

at UOIT, has been working 

with the city of Oshawa and the 

Region of Durham to make the 

areas around the campus safer for 

students. 

The City of Oshawa is responsible 

for Conlin Road whereas the 

Region of Durham is responsible 

for Simcoe Street North and they 

are working together to ensure safety 

measures are in place to keep 

students safe, says McGovern. 

Penalties will be doubled for anyone 

who speeds within the designated 

area. 

Const. George Tudos of the 

DRPS says he sees the decision to 

make the campus a safety zone as 

a step in the right direction. 

“Anything put in place to prevent 

an event like the one that happened 

would be positive,” he says. 

Tudos also said if the safety zone 

is successful, he would like to see it 

implemented in “other places” to 

prevent any more accidents. 

It isn’t just drivers who need to 

be aware of road safety measures. 

Tudos says pedestrians also have a 

role to play in keeping themselves 

safe. 

“In this case, I don’t feel this 

person [Rhyss Glenfield] was in 

the wrong,” says Tudos. “In other 

cases, people are crossing when 

they aren’t supposed to be, they’re 

wearing dark clothes, they’re darting 

across roads, they’re not being 

safe. It’s a shared responsibility, we 

don’t want to blame the drivers or 

the people crossing.” 

The campus safety zone covers 

Conlin Road, Bridle Road and 

Oshawa Creek, east of Simcoe 

Street North and the Oshawa 

Creek and Founders Drive, west 

of Simcoe Street North, according 


to the Durham Region website. 

According to 2015 statistics from 

the 2017-2019 Traffic Services 

Branch Roadway Safety Strategy, 

one motor vehicle collision happens 

every 48 minutes. It also reports 

one person is injured every five 

hours in a collision on Durham 

Region’s roads. 

Pedestrians and drivers both 

need to look both ways. Road safety 

is a two-way street. 

“A very good saying is, We 

should all share the road,” says 

Chung. “As a pedestrian, you 

should pay attention so you don’t 

get hit. However, as a driver, you 

should also be paying attention so 

that you don’t hit anyone.” 

McGovern’s work on road safety 

has contributed to the new community 

safety zone. 

She says what is needed is a sign 

to let drivers know they are entering 

a school zone. 

“We need a sign that is very 

visible, that you are driving into a 

place, a small city, slow down,” she 

says. “Earphones off, put your head 

up, take a look and pay attention.” 

The night of the accident, Lakshmanaswamy 

says he couldn’t sleep. 

It was his mother’s birthday and he 

thought to himself, ‘What if it had 

been me’? 

Lakshmanaswamy says the community 

safety zone around campus 

is a good start for the community. 

“I’m glad speed limits are being 

reviewed. Maybe now if there was 

an accident, it could prevent someone’s 

death,” he says. 

For his part, Lakshmanaswamy 

says this accident made him more 

aware of his surroundings. He says 

he will turn his music down, not 

jay-walk and be mindful when 

crossing intersections. 

Since the fatal accident, he has 

yet to venture across the intersection 

where Rhyss Glenfield lost 

his life.

Campus chronicle.durhamcollege.ca February 26 - March 18, 2019 The Chronicle25 

Diane Landry has participated 

in CBT therapy several times, 

both individually and in a 

group setting. 

Photograph provided by Diane Landry 

Ontario increases psychotherapy 

Jasper Myers 


At 19 years-old, Diane Landry has received 

cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) several 

times in her life. 

A few days at the hospital in grade 10 began 

her long road of psychotherapy treatments, 

including CBT. 

CBT focuses on the here-and-now—on 

the problems that come up in day-to-day life. 

CBT helps people examine how they make 

sense of what is happening around them and 

how these perceptions affect the way they 

feel, according to Centre for Addiction and 

Mental Health (CAMH). 

Landry has done both group and individual 

CBT therapy. She says she found the 

group very helpful in one specific round of 

therapy, adding the group would bond during 

breaks between sessions, which made 

therapy easier. 

“It was easier to open up in the group at 

that point, because it was like okay these 

people, they’re not judging me, you know, 

we’re here to help each other, we’re here to 

listen to each other and give off our own 

strategies,” says Landry. 

Dr. Nicole Elliott, a psychologist at Ontario 

Shores working out of Durham College, 

says it’s good to have services available for 

people when they need them. 

“A lot of times it’s either they have to go 

to inpatient programs, or it’s through private 

practice as well, and it can be quite expensive,” 

says Dr. Elliott. 

“Being able to have that [psychotherapy] 

available for people to get it when they need 

it, rather than waiting until it’s in a crisis 

or through other things as well, it’s good to 

have.” 

This would have been good for Landry. 

The provincial government has a plan 

to make this therapy more accessible on an 

outpatient basis. 

In October 2017, the government of Ontario 

launched a demonstration project to 

increase access to mental health services 

across the province. The project is similar 

to a psychotherapy program started in 2008 

The important part to this is that it's all 

publicly-funded. 

in England. 

Anyone looking for therapy can go to a 

community partner or their doctor based 

on the service area they’re in, and get a referral. 

The referrals go through the hospital 

heading their area and everything will get 

set up through it. 

Then the therapy will take place out of 

the community partner location. So, someone 

doesn’t have to visit the hospital just to 

receive therapy. 

Beth Brannon is the director of the Integrated 

Community Access Program at Ontario 

Shores, one of the project’s community 

partners. 

Brannon says the demonstration project 

improves access to therapy because it is provided 

at no cost. 

“The important part to this is that it’s all 

publicly-funded. So, people aren’t having 

to pay, which has been a huge barrier for 

many, many people in terms of accessing 

the therapy that they need,” Brannon says. 

The Increasing Access to Structured 

Psychotherapy (IASP) program is headed 

by the specialty mental health hospitals — 

CAMH, Ontario Shores Centre for Mental 

Health Sciences, The Royal Ottawa Mental 

Health Centre, and Waypoint Centre for 

Mental Health Care. 

The four hospitals work with community 

partners in their service areas to provide 

CBT. 

Diane Landry first received access to CBT 

when she was an inpatient at Ontario Shores. 

“While you are an inpatient somewhere, 

you are required to attend every day, they 

will, like, drag you there if they have to,” 

Landry says. “It’s a group thing if you’re an 

inpatient.” 

Group CBT is essentially CBT therapy, 

but done with others who are struggling and 

in a setting where everyone can support one 

another. 

CBT can take place in individual settings 

or group settings. 

Ontario Shores has over 30 sites for the 

demo based out of various community organizations, 

institutions and family practices 

across the Central and Central East Local 

Health Integration Network (LHIN). The 

Central and Central East LHIN cover a 

large area including the Durham Region, 

Kawartha, Northumberland, Haliburton, 

and parts of Toronto. 

“We have some in Peterborough and some 

in York Region,” says Brannon. “We have a 

couple of positions that are in our indigenous 

communities.” They also have “non-traditional” 

partners such as Grandview Children’s 

Centre. 

There are two sites on campus: at Durham 

College, in the Campus Health Centre, and 

UOIT, in the Student Life Building. 

Dr. Elliot says the presence of these clinics 

makes therapy more accessible to students. 

According to facts and statistics from 

CAMH, 34 per cent of Ontario high school 

students reported moderate to serious levels 

of mental distress, with 14 per cent reporting 

serious levels. CAMH also says people 

15-to-24 years-old are more likely to experience 

mental health issues than any other age 

group. 

Landry says access to CBT wasn’t as difficult 

for her as it can be for others. 

“It [accessing CBT] was a lot easier since 

I had pre-existing services, but it can take 

months to get on a list,” says Landry, who 

participated in individual and group CBT 

therapy. 

Upon discharge from Ontario Shores, 

Landry continued receiving CBT on an outpatient 

basis as well as receiving dialectical 

behaviour therapy (DBT), a specific type of 

therapy derived from CBT, usually used to 

treat borderline personality disorder.. 

CBT involves becoming aware of behaviours 

and thoughts, unlearning them, and 

then developing strategies to stop the behaviours 

and thoughts from happening, Landry 

says. 

It’s a goal-oriented type of therapy where 

the focus is on building skills to cope with 

situations and change thought patterns, says 

Dr. Elliott. 

“So, it’s really helping us focus on building 

in better ways of coping when we are 

feeling distressed, but also identifying what 

certain thought patterns we might have or 

ways we interpret situations can affect how 

we feel and being able to catch those thoughts 

when they’re happening,” Dr. Elliott says, 

adding CBT is more effective for treating 

various mental illnesses such as depression 

and anxiety. 

Landry says journaling was most helpful 

when she received CBT. It allowed her to 

record what was happening in her crisis moments, 

and then reflect on it after and know 

what to do the next time. 

As of Sept. 2018, Ontario Shores has 

received over 12 hundred referrals for the 

whole project, according to Brannon. 

“I think that speaks to the need,” says 

Brannon. She hopes the IASP program can 

demonstrate the need for publicly funded 

psychotherapy and show the positive impact 

it has on people’s lives. 

Landry made a friend during CBT therapy, 

one she credits with helping her succeed. 

“And like one person, like, stuck with me. 

Like I’m still best friends with them now, to 

this day. And they were the one person that 

kind of showed me in the group, like you can 

do this, don’t worry.”


Arts activist, 

volunteer 

and mom: 

Barbara 

Murphy 

Meagan Secord 


“I haven’t had careers at all, I was 

a stay-at-home mom for obvious 

reasons, and then when they got 

old enough so they didn’t need me 

all day, I’ve volunteered ever since.” 

Barbara Murphy has dedicated 

her life to others. Not just in her 

home, but outside of it as well. 

The 91-year-old arts advocate 

lives in a bright, art-filled home 

in Uxbridge, Ont. She is a mother 

to eight children, grandmother 

to 23 grandchildren and has six 

great-grandchildren. 

Greg Murphy, Dean of the 

School of Media, Art & Design 

and Murphy’s son, says his mom 

is the reason he got into the arts 

community. 

“It’s exactly because of my mom. 

I wouldn’t know what I know now 

if it wasn’t really natural to me as 

a child,” he says. 

Murphy says the arts were always 

encouraged at home. 

“I encouraged that (arts) from 

day one…and not colouring books, 

I wouldn’t buy coloring books,” she 

says. “I didn’t want them to learn to 

colour in the lines. I’d sooner they 

do something artistic.” 

The Murphy house had a balance 

of arts and other activities, 

according to dean Murphy, one of 

eight children. 

“My dad coached hockey when 

I was a little kid. My dad would 

take us and play hockey, he’d flood 

a rink in the backyard and he was 

a good hockey player,” he says. 

“Then we’d come in and paint and 

make stuff. We just thought it was 

normal.” 

Although Murphy says she didn’t 

have a career other than volunteering, 

dean Murphy is adamant she 

did. He says she was an illustrator 

before getting married and having 

children. 

“She sort of blows it off like it’s 

no big deal,” says dean Murphy.”It 

was a very big deal.” 

He says his mother was successful 

right out of college and went on to 

work for Canadian Art Studios and 

Templeton Art Studios. 

She was one of the only women 

in the studio and in her class at the 

Ontario College of Art where she 

studied in 1945, he says. 

According to Murphy, all her 

kids were encouraged to participate 

in the arts. Some took to it more 

than others. But they all tried. 

She says several of her children 

still dabble in the arts today, dean 

Murphy being one of them. He 

paints and he is an active member 

of the arts community in Oshawa 

and at DC. 

Two of Murphy’s daughters still 

do art at home and one of her sons 

is a part-time actor. 

Murphy grew up in the east end 

of Toronto with four brothers and 

one sister. She then lived in Scarborough 

where she and her husband 

Ted started a family before 

moving to Uxbridge in 1973. 

She says growing up in Toronto 

isn’t the reason she loves the art 

Barbara Murphy in her home in Uxbridge, Ont. 

community. In fact, she is adamant 

geography has nothing to do 

with it. 

She and her late husband Ted 

Murphy were married in 1951 and 

welcomed their first child, Maureen, 

the next year. 

Volunteering has been a large 

part of her life and she still volunteers 

it to this day. 

Recently, at the age of 85, Barbara 

traveled to Honduras with 

Habitat for Humanity and helped 

to build houses. 

She was originally hesitant to go 

but her nephew, who organized the 

trip, convinced her she would be a 

huge help. 

She says she has volunteered for 

organizations such as the Library 

Board in Uxbridge where she was 

Chair for ten years. 

She also volunteered with the 

Uxbridge Celebration of The Arts 

and won Uxbridge Citizen of the 

Year in 1997 for her work in the 

community. 

Currently, she volunteers with 

The Lucy Maud Montgomery Society 

of Ontario and has spent a lot 

of time looking into the history of 

the famous writer of Anne of Green 

Gables. 

With the Lucy Maud Montgomery 

Society, Murphy has assisted in 

the restoring of her original home. 

She assisted by raising money and 

helping with details like house 

decor that matches the time period. 

Murphy’s home in Uxbridge is a 

ten-minute drive from Leaskdale, 

which is where Lucy Maud Montgomery’s 

house is. 

“I think if you put a circle around 

any area you’ll find there’s lots of 

history,” she says. 

Photograph by Meagan Secord 

Aside from history, she participates 

in activities such as the Port 

Perry Dragon Boat festival where 

she and two other female family 

members raced in 2007. 

She says the reason she loves 

volunteering is because she finds 

helping the community fascinating 

and fun. 

Murphy loves talking about the 

arts and all the volunteering she 

has done in her life but when asked 

what she is most proud of she says, 

“My children.” 

While speaking in great detail 

about her kids and what they were 

like growing up, what they’re like 

now and what they do for a living, 

Murphy had the biggest smile on 

her face. 

One can only describe the luminous 

glow of her smile as the face of 

a very proud mom. 

(Left photo) Barbara Murphy 

and her late husband Ted 

Murphy in 1951. (Right photo) 

Barbara Murphy in high 

school (upper right). 

Photographs provided by Greg Murphy

Entertainment chronicle.durhamcollege.ca February 26 - March 18, 2019 The Chronicle 27 

Entertainment 


Former regional and city councillor Amy McQuaid-England returns to the DC hallways as a filmmaking student. 

Finding the right angle 

DC graduate turned city 

councillor returns as a 

filmmaking student 

Cecelia Feor 


Sometimes all it takes is the right 

pair of shoes. 

Amy McQuaid-England has 

hung up her heels for the year, in 

favour of “filmmaking” boots – 

footwear she hopes will help her 

transition back into being a student. 

While McQuaid-England started 

off this year, and the past seven 

years, as a regional and city councillor 

for Oshawa, she will finish it 

as a filmmaking student at Durham 

College (DC). 

But this isn’t McQuaid-England’s 

first time at DC. 

She was a student in the Journalism 

– Web and Print program from 

2006 to 2008. During her time 

with The Chronicle, she covered 

the housing beat. 

McQuaid-England then ran for 

student government out of frustration 

around student housing issues. 

She became president of the then 

Student Association (SA) when it 

was still joint between DC and 

UOIT. 

Greg Murphy, the Dean of the 

School of Media, Art & Design, 

has known McQuaid-England 

since 2009. He describes her as 

audacious, not afraid to speak her 

mind, and an advocate. 

“When you hear her speaking, 

you’re really aware she’s looking 

out for the folks who need her assistance,” 

Murphy says, adding she 

can articulate issues. 

Coming to the end of her term 

as SA president, McQuaid-England 

knew someone had to run 

for council to get any real changes 

for housing. She says she and a 

few others drew straws to see who 

would have to run – and she drew 

the short straw. 

McQuaid-England served as a 

councillor for two terms, from 2010 

to 2018. In the recent fall election, 

she abstained from running again. 

“I felt like I wasn’t in the headspace 

to be in government anymore,” she 

says. 

Why? McQuaid-England says 

there are a few reasons. 

First, she made a promise before 

she became a councillor eight years 

ago; she would only do two terms 

in one council position. 

The second reason is her daughter. 

McQuaid-England gave birth 

just before the last election in 2014, 

and says she took two weeks off before 

she was back in the chamber. 

The final reason. She is sick of 

politics. 

She was known as an advocate 

for the constituents in the south 

end of Oshawa, as well as having 

strong opinions on both transit and 

rent-related issues. 

Advocating lead to a lot of frustration, 

and she says she didn’t always 

deal with it in the moment. It 

is just affecting her now. 

“Politics is a very in your face 

career choice,” she says. 

McQuaid-England says it takes a 

certain personality, almost a mask 

for politics, something she decided 

she doesn’t have. 

On regional council, Mc- 

Quaid-England says she struggled 

to get support for her ideas. 

She tried to “break tradition” by 

implementing electronic voting 

on regional council in 2016. She 

received the support of one other 

councillor. 

The system was already in place 

but it was not in use. Rather than 

tallying votes in a roll call, where 

councillors would stand or raise 

a hand, McQuaid-England suggested 

council votes be recorded 

electronically. 

The motion was passed in June 

of this year – nearly two years after 

McQuaid-England pushed for it. 

At a city level, McQuaid-England 

was vocal on many issues, such 

as Oshawa’s rat problem. 

McQuaid-England brought 

forward the notice of motion in 

Sept. 2017. She wanted to have a 

communication plan developed 

Amy McQuaid-England films a student. 

through Service Oshawa so inquiries 

and complaints tracked. A 

third item was to explore potential 

solutions to the problem. 

The first two items of the motion 

were passed a month later with full 

council support. 

One of those supporting votes 

came from city councillor, Rick 

Kerr. 

Kerr was on council with Mc- 

Quaid-England from 2014 to 2018. 

He describes his time with her on 

council as interesting, adding they 

didn’t always agree on issues. 

However, Kerr says they always 

disagreed respectfully, and worked 

together to get work done for Oshawa. 

In Nov. 2017, McQuaid-England 

stepped down from her position as 

chair from the corporate services 

committee on Oshawa council. She 

appointed Kerr in her place. 

“Without me stepping down, he 


wouldn’t have had the opportunity 

to be chair,” McQuaid-England 

says, adding she is glad he got that 

opportunity. 

These weren’t the only challenges 

and changes McQuaid-England 

faced on council. 

In 2014, she gave birth to her 

daughter and took two weeks off. 

She then returned to council with 

her, and breastfed her daughter 

while in council chambers. 

McQuaid-England says she received 

“the most hateful emails” 

as well as death threats. 

“I knew if I didn’t stand there 

and do something the woman that 

came next was going to have a 

worse time,” she says, adding she 

pushed boundaries that needed to 

be pushed. 

McQuaid-England says she is in 

recovery mode, and leaving Oshawa 

politics is “like a break-up.” 

She now finds her time spent as 

one of the oldest in her program, 

compared to her time on council 

as one of the youngest. 

McQuaid-England is currently 

working towards an graduate certificate 

in advanced filmmaking. 

She says it’s a nice change. 

Murphy says as a filmmaking 

student, McQuaid-England came 

into the program focused, and not 

many students come in that way. 

To that point, McQuaid-England 

already has a script written 

for a movie about a woman on a 

first date who has misophonia – a 

overwhelming sensitivity to sounds. 

As for her own sound, Mc- 

Quaid-England says to deal with 

frustration she likes to sing karaoke. 

“Everyone accepts you, you can 

sing the songs you want, and you 

can just have fun,” she says. 

“Sing it out,” she adds with a 

laugh."

28 The Chronicle February 26 - March 18, 2019 chronicle.durhamcollege.ca Entertainment 

Durham theatre in the spotlight 

A backstage look at how community and professional theatres in Durham Region choose their productions 

Kathryn Fraser 


Siobhan Kelly and Shane Kelly in the final week of The Addams Family at OLT. 

Shane Kelly creeps onto the stage, 

holding a ukulele and staring 

wide-eyed at an intent audience. 

He begins to strum and sing a 

song about love. The orchestra 

joins and the music swells. The 

curtains open. 

There stands Siobhan Kelly, 

doing all she can to prevent herself 

from breaking character and 

cracking a smile. She is proud of 

her father and "Uncle Fester" is 

proud of her too. 

A production filled with darkness, 

kookiness and comedy, The 

Addams Family was the most recent 

musical to hit the Oshawa 

Little Theatre (OLT) stage in late 

November to early December. 

The show was selected last year 

alongside three others to create 

the 2018/2019 theatrical season. 

The Addams Family follows 

the life of Wednesday Addams 

after she has grown up and fallen 

in love with a 'normal' boy. 

Antics ensue and true colours are 

revealed when her ghoulish family 

meets her fiancee for the first time. 

Shane Kelly, the set designer 

and projection designer, played 

the notable role of 'Uncle Fester' 

and used to be on the OLT Board 

of Directors. Both of his daughters 

were also involved in the show 

- Siobhan acted on stage as an 

'Ancestor' and Aibhilin worked 

behind the scenes. Kelly said he 

was excited The Addams Family 

was selected. 

"I like how it has lots of lead 

characters," he said. "Most shows 

usually have a handful of leads 

and a bunch of supporting cast. 

Where this one, it feels that every 

character has a lot. They have 

their own song, they have their 

own scene." 

The selection of community or 

professional theatre shows, such as 

The Addams Family, are important. 

Not only do theatres provide 

entertainment in the form or 

musicals or plays, they can shape 

a community. 

The right show will generate 

the right profit and will appeal to 

the membership demographic. 

According to the OLT Production 

Overview of the 2017/2018 

season, musicals earned more 

profit compared to the plays. 

$193,256.67 were collected from 

the two musicals (Anne of Green 

Gables and Beauty and the Beast) 

while $138,122.78 were collected 

from the two plays (Noises Off 

and One Flew Over the Cuckoo's 

Nest). Combined, the total 

reached $331,379.45. 

The show Beauty and the 

Beast, a Disney production, was 

the most profitable show in OLT 

history by receiving $105,480.72. 

Overall, the shows varied in style 

but each earned money from respective 

audiences: Show selection 

matters. 

But how is a unique show, like 

The Addams Family, selected? In 

broader terms, how do community 

theatres and professional theatres 

pick their shows? 

Each theatre has a different 

process and each theatre strives to 

choose shows they know will draw 

in audiences. 

Former OLT vice-president 

Liz Pask said the theatre has four 

shows in a season and executive 

prouder Michael Schneider brings 

show ideas to board meetings. 

Shows are discussed and a decision 

by the entire board is made 

to select shows which will benefit 

the theatre. 

Specifically, OLT is adamant 

about selecting a lighter musical 

during the holidays. 

"For the musicals, they always 

want something a little bit more 

family-oriented something a little 

bit more fun in the November-December 

time frame because that's 

leading up to Christmas. They 

don't want anything dark or sad," 

she said. 

Pask said OLT looks for shows 

which haven't been put on in the 

last ten years. As a result of being 

non-repetitive, some popular 

shows are unavailable because of 

licensing. 

"[There is] a specific guideline 

around who qualifies to get 

[rights] or not," Pask said. "Sometimes 

you have to be a professional 

theatre group, paying your actors, 

and of course, we don't. That 

would be our biggest problem, 

trying to get the rights to shows." 

At Whitby Courthouse Theatre 

(WCT), shows are selected 

through another process: a play 

reading committee. 

WCT Youth Program board 

director, Nicole Vezeau, said the 


play reading committee is created 

by the theatre's artistic director. 

The members meet once a month 

and discuss plays and musicals 

they've read separately, together. 

They decide which shows are 

their favourite and then the artistic 

director brings the selections to 

the board. 

"We try to find musicals that 

don't need a cast of 40 because 

that's a lot of people on not that 

big of a stage," Vezeau said. "As 

well as trying to keep a balance 

of male versus female casting. 

There's always 70 women who 

will audition for one role and 

there will be 12 guys who come 

out for 12 roles." 

The play reading committee 

used to be smaller but Vezeau said 

it has grown in size. 

"This year we've expanded it 

to have more people and more 

diverse age ranges to get younger 

voices on there," she said. "Anybody 

in the world can suggest a 

play for the play reading committee 

to read. It really depends on 

the artistic director's vision." 

Theatres over the years have 

been moving away from performing 

narrow-minded and 

old-fashioned pieces. 

As a result, the focus in modern 

society highlights shows which inspire 

acceptance and equality, a 

theme which theatre expresses 

well. 

Carey Nicholson, artistic director 

for Port Perry's professional 

company Theatre on the Ridge, 

said factors such as context, quality, 

profitability, talent and Canadian 

content influence the decision 

of a show. 

"[We want plays that are] well 

written but artistically satisfying 

and challenging for both the artistic 

team and audiences," she said. 

Alongside choosing four Canadian 

shows for the next season, 

Nicholson tries to find shows that 

can leave a lasting impact on audiences. 

"I'm looking for plays that 

present and explore issues and 

ideas without being exploitive," 

Nicholson said. "I'm really wrestling 

with a lot of plays that deal 

with abuse or women's issues or 

mental illness. You want that topical 

issue but you don't want to be 

cashing in." 

Nicholson said she tries to pick 

at least one show that examines 

these social issues. She wants the 

audience to learn something from 

the performance, maybe even 

learn something about themselves. 

"Does a piece move the audience 

itself forward in any way?" 

Nicholson asked. "When people 

leave, have they shifted from 

where they might've been, either 

on a personal level or on a [global] 

level? Have we moved them on 

their own spectrum? Have we 

made a change, so that they're not 

leaving as the exact same people 

they came in as? If [the play] causes 

some kind of change in their 

own behaviour or thought process, 

that is awesome. Not every 

play can do that. I think that's the 

power of theatre." 

Community theatres are already 

following suit by selecting 

shows that invoke change and influence 

larger discussion. 

For example, Doubt, A Parable 

is a play which addresses sexual 

misconduct and analyzes abuse 

and distrust within the Catholic 

church and it will soon play at 

the Scarborough Village Theatre. 

Legally Blonde, a feminist musical 

that breaks stereotypes about 

gender and sexuality was performed 

at OLT in 2017. Next to 

Normal is a musical about mental 

illness and how it affects families 

and changes lives. It was performed 

recently at WCT. 

In contrast to the heavy social 

themes, Nicholson said she includes 

'family-friendly' work because 

theatre should 'be fun.' 

In the end, The Addams 

Family was truly a family affair. 

Siobhan Kelly has been in other 

shows with her father and she 

enjoys performing with him. 

"I'm proud of him and he's doing 

so well," she said. "This is the 

first show where he's really gotten 

the spotlight and I'm his background 

dancer. It's cool to see the 

perspectives of working together." 

Shane Kelly agrees. "I don't 

think a lot of fathers and daughters 

have this opportunity to be 

on stage every night together," 

he said. "A lot of dads don't know 

what their teenage daughters are 

interested in or doing. We have 

this certain common bond and I 

really love it a lot." 

Theatre connects family and 

theatre creates family. When selecting 

the right shows, you're 

unifying people with shared ideals 

who can help transform the minds 

of audiences.

chronicle.durhamcollege.ca February 26 - March 18, 2019 The Chronicle 29 

Sports 

Retired DC and UOIT soccer 

coach, Vaso Vujanovic, 

standing in front of the field 

named in his honour, 'Vaso's 

Field'. 


A coaching legend: Vaso Vujanovic 

After three 

decades 

coaching 

DC and 

UOIT teams, 

Vujanovic 

says soccer 

is his life 

Keisha Slemensky 


Vaso Vujanovic, 77, came to Canada 

in 1966, knowing little English, 

and now he has a soccer field 

named in his honour. 

Vujanovic grew up in Bosnia, 

which at the time was still Yugoslavia. 

In 1965, he emigrated to 

Austria. While in the country, Vujanovic 

says they put him to work in 

a factory. “I’m not a factory worker,” 

says Vukanovic, “it wasn’t for 

me.” 

During his stay in Austria, 

he says he lived with a group of 

friends. The group had poker 

nights together. He remembers 

one night his friend suggested they 

immigrate to Canada. 

“That’s life,” says Vujanovic, 

“you make a decision in a fraction 

of a second and you go and you take 

chances.” 

In one snap decision over a card 

game, Vujanovic immigrated to 

Oshawa and started a new life. 

Vujanovic recalls it being difficult 

to find a job in Oshawa. He 

attended Durham College to get his 

high school diploma and to better 

his English. 

He recalls the program being 

a fast track version of high school 

and in the tenth grade course, they 

blended their class with a class of 

Canadian adults who went back to 

finish their high school degree. 

“That’s where I met my wife,” 

says Vujanovic. “we’ve never separated 

since.” His wife, Barbara, was 

born in Canada and helped Vujanovic 

with his English. He describes 

their relationship as school buddies. 

In 1967, Vujanovic came back 

to the college, enrolling in the 

two-year Business-Accounting 

program. After graduation, he 

was offered a job in the financial 

department at DC. 

All the while Vujanovic was a 

soccer nut. 

“Soccer is my life,” he says. 

Vujanovic says although soccer 

has always been such an important 

part of his life, he had to set it aside. 

“I had to find a life,” he says. 

In 1973, he became the head 

coach for the Durham College 

Lords’ soccer team. He says working 

for DC is what gave him the 

opportunity to put so much time 

He's been an incredible 

contributor to the history of the 

Durham College soccer teams. 

He's a remarkable person and a 

remarkable coach. 

into being a coach. 

Ken Babcock is the director for 

the Athletics and Recreation Department 

and worked closely with 

Vujanovic for many years. 

“He’s been an incredible contributor 

to the history and the overall 

success of the Durham College 

soccer teams. He’s a remarkable 

person, a remarkable coach,” says 

Babcock. 

Vujanovic has lead both women 

and men’s soccer teams and DC 

as well as the UOIT men’s soccer 

team. During his time with DC, 

he helped the team win 12 OCAA 

medals including two gold, and five 

silver and bronze. 

He guided his team to championships 

all over Canada, including 

BC and Alberta. 

Babcock remembers traveling to 

tournaments with Vujanovic. “One 

thing that’s always enjoyable is that 

Vaso likes wine,” he says. He says 

they always enjoyed wine as a celebration 

during the championships. 

“There’s some great stories over 

some bottles of wine I was able to 

share with Vaso over the years,” 

says Babcock. “I cherish those 

times.” 

Vujanovic was inducted into the 

Durham College Sports Hall of 

Fame in 1997. He was also inducted 

into the OCAA Hall of Fame in 

2011. 

Babcock says Vujanovic’s coaching 

style and knowledge of the sport 

is what allowed him to be so successful. 

He describes Vujanovic as a 

soft speaker who carried a lot of experience 

with him. He says Vujanovic 

was “the most caring coach.” 

Vujanovic says during his time 

coaching, he made it clear to his 

athletes that their studies came before 

sports. 

After Vujanovic’s successful and 

long history with both DC and 

UOIT, Babcock says it was an easy 

choice and a unanimous decision 

to name the soccer field “Vaso’s 

Field”. 

“Someone who contributed such 

a great amount of time and personal 

effort in contribution to a 

program, it was only fitting that 

we name the field after him. There 

was no one else we would name the 

field after. It was just a no brainer,” 

says Babcock. 

Vujanovic says the field makes 

him feel proud and honoured to be 

remembered for his hard work and 

“being a soccer nut.” 

He retired in 2015, due to back 

pain which led to an operation. He 

describes this as a “kind of message 

for my body saying ‘hey, you have 

to stop being in the field and take 

care of your body’.” 

Now, Vujanovic is living a happy 

and healthy retired life. He is married 

with three children and has 

two grandchildren. Even with his 

back pain, Vujanovic puts two 

hours a day into fitness. He says 

his wife worries over him and his 

back. “Don’t worry! Don’t worry,” 

he tells her, “when I croak, just 

make sure you bury me! That’s all.” 

Babcock says Vujanovic was a 

remarkable coach. “I’ll cherish the 

time spent with Vaso because he’s 

one of a kind.”

30 The Chronicle February 26 - March 18, 2019 chronicle.durhamcollege.ca Sports 


16-year-old Ana Padurariu, practises her balance beam routine at Gemini Gymnastics in Oshawa. 

Whitby gymnast balances 

with love and support 

Young athlete, 

humble with 

a full heart 

Morgan Kelly 


The team members were wearing 

their Gemini Gymnastics gear with 

either “Go Geminis” or “Go Kristina” 

written on their foreheads as 

they sat on the floor watching their 

own, Kristina Vaculik, on TV perform 

at the 2012 Olympics. 

It was then among the cheering, 

16-year-old Ana Padurariu, felt 

something click inside her. She 

realized performing at the same 

level Vaculik did was something 

she wanted to do. 

As the youngest finalist at the 

2018 Artistic Gymnastics World 

Championships in Doha, Qatar 

on November 3, Padurariu was on 

her way to earn a silver medal for 

her balance beam routine. 

Padurariu has been a gymnast 

for 12 years, earning 13 awards 

varying between team and individual 

competitions. 

She started her journey at Gemini 

Gymnastics when she was four 

years old. Her parents described 

her as energetic and signed her up 

for an array of sports and activities. 

“I did swimming but I got sick all 

the time, like after one practice I’d 

come home with an ear infection 

or the flu,” recalls Padurariu. “I 

did piano and guitar, I did dance, 

I did quite a few (things).” 

Gymnastics was the one activity 

that stuck. 

“When I was little, I was really 

fearless,” said Padurariu with 

bright eyes. “I don’t remember 

ever getting nervous or scared for 

anything until I was like 10.” 

Being at Gemini Gymnastics for 

so long, Padurariu says she considers 

everyone of her teammates and 

coaches as part of her family. 

She says before she leaves for a 

competition, her teammates give 

her little gifts or cards with ‘good 

luck’ written inside. Little things 

like those really touch her heart 

and make her feel like she’s cared 

about, she says. 

“I try to support them as much 

as I can and they support me and 

that’s all what gymnastics is about,” 

says Padurariu “It’s not just an individual 

sport … you have to be close 

with your teammates.” 

Former Olympian, Gemini 

Gymnastics owner and head coach, 

Elena Davydova, has been at Gemini 

Gymnastics for 27 years. She’s 

watched many of her students grow 

up and considers them as her own 

children. 

“I’m really emotionally involved 

in everything that they do and definitely 

care about them a lot,” says 

Davydova. 

While her team and coaches fill 

Padurariu’s heart with their kind 

words, she knows they’ll be there 

in tougher times as well. 

She says there’s been many times 

where she’s felt unhappy about a 

routine but the most recent was the 

team finals at the Artistic Gymnastics 

World Championships. As the 

only one who fell, she felt as if she 

let the team down. 

“It’s not the best feeling,” says 

Padurariu. “Elena and all my 

teammates like, even though I felt 

like I let them down, they were so 

supportive.” 

Davydova also takes pride in 

her coaching because she is always 

encouraging her students to give it 

their all. She says if they do their 

best, they should be happy with 

their progress, even if they don’t 

feel well. 

As for her students’ outlook on a 

performance, the former Olympian 

understands it can be easy to get 

frustrated. 

“They can choose to behave 

different, choose to be frustrated 

and slap their legs and give up,” 

says Davydova. “I’m saying no, it’s 

not OK for athletes to behave this 

way.” 

Davydova explains sports are 

You have to be close with your 

teammates. 

about self-discipline. 

Athletes can choose to have a 

bad attitude, but should take their 

frustration and put it into their 

work instead. Be “feisty”, not frustrated. 

Even though Padurariu fell, the 

opportunities she’s been able to 

have in her career makes it difficult 

for her to feel anything but ecstatic. 

She’s been able to travel across the 

world to places such as Italy, France 

and the most recent, Qatar. 

“It’s pretty crazy … not a lot of 

people get the opportunity to travel 

the world and to do it by doing 

something you love,” says Padurariu. 

She goes on to explain how she 

didn’t understand how fortunate 

she was until she spoke with other 

people who never been outside of 

Canada. 

Even though she travelled to 

Doha, Qatar for the Artistic Gymnastics 

World Championships, 

Padurariu felt star struck when she 

met 21-year-old Simone Biles. 

Biles was in the 2016 Olympics 

and earned two gold medals 

for her vault and floor routines 

and a bronze medal for her balance-beam. 

Biles also earned a bronze medal 

for her balance-beam routine at the 

Artistic Gymnastics World Championships. 

Padurariu scored 14.100 

for her silver medal routine which 

was .500 points more than Biles’. 

Davydova says it’s a big achievement 

for a Canadian team to earn 

a medal at the Artistic Gymnastics 

World Championships. 

“We didn’t even think of it,” says 

Davydova. “(It’s) a result of those 

trainings (they) go through everyday 

… and some days it’s really 

tough … but I’m not letting her 

give up.” 

Neither are her parents, who immigrated 

to Canada from Romania 

before Padurariu was born. Padurariu 

jokes about how she would ask 

her parents why they let her keep 

going for so long but other days she 

thanks them immensely. 

“My teammates, my family and 

my coaches, they’re a big part of 

this experience,” says Padurariu. 

“Without them I wouldn’t be where 

I am."

chronicle.durhamcollege.ca February 26 - March 18, 2019 The Chronicle 31

32 The Chronicle February 26 - March 18, 2019 chronicle.durhamcollege.ca

The Chronicle 18-19 Issue 03

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