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Volume 49 - Issue 21March 23, 2016

theeyeopener.com@theeyeopener

Since 1967

PHOTO: JAKE SCOTT

YOU’VE

GOT THEGEAR.

NOW WHAT?Making ends

meet in a creativeindustry is tough.

How some studentsmake it work

P5



2 NEWS Wednesday, March 23, 2016

By Alanna Rizza

On average, 40 incidents — rang-

ng from sexual assaults to verbal

outbursts — are recorded by Ry-rson’s Integrated Risk Manage-

ment (IRM) security every week.

But students only receive an aver-

age of 1.6 of those reports in inci-

dent emails.

First-year history student Con-

nor McKenzie woke up in To-

onto Western Hospital on Oct.

24 after being assaulted on Gould

treet. He said he had no recollec-

ion of the night before and all of

his belongings were missing.

Three days later, he spoke to

ampus security. Security received

a call on the night of the assault

and then contacted the ambu-ance. He said they told him the

aftermath of the incident was

aught on camera, but the assault

occurred in a “blind spot” so the

uspect could not be identified.

McKenzie said witnesses, who

he met on the street days later, told

him he was hit and robbed. A pub-

ic security report was not issued.

McKenzie said he was

“shocked” to find out there was

no public report. “That’s informa-

ion we should know, I don’t see

why they should hide that from

us,” he said.

Ryerson began issuing incident

mails at the beginning of the2012 school year to increase trans-

parency and safety awareness. Ju-

ia Lewis, director of Ryerson’s

RM, said they determine which

ncidents are sent to students and

faculty using “risk-based criteria.”

“Some of the reports we receive

aren’t substantiated,” said Lewis.

“That’s part of the risk assess-

ment, is to really have a filter toensure we meet the goal of having

an informed sense of security.”

The criteria IRM uses is based

on whether the incident is consid-

ered an ongoing threat, accord-

ing to Daniel Paquette, account

director of IRM. If a suspect has

not been identified, it’s considered

to be ongoing. The exception, Pa-

quette said, is if an incident is con-

sidered “extremely” serious.

Tanya Poppleton, manager of

security and emergency services at

Ryerson, said that ongoing risks

do play a role in the assessment,

but whether or not the incidentis “a risk to public safety” is the

biggest factor. Serious incidents,

Poppleton said via email, are “cer-

tain assaults” — including sexual

assault, robbery, hate promotion

and some serial connected crimes.

Poppleton added not all inci-

dents are made public becausepeople would “be bombarded

with emails and then no one is go-

ing to read the ones that pertain to

[them].”

The Eyeopener has weekly

meetings with security where in-

cidents are discussed. Poppleton

said that providing campus papers

with the briefs that aren’t emailed

is an initiative for having a more

informed community.

The week of Nov. 23, there was

a report of a fight involving four

individuals at Church and Gould

streets. Two people were taken to

the hospital and one arrest wasmade. No public report was is-

sued.

The week of March 14, security

was called about a male trying to

escort a drunk female into a taxi.

Police were called due to concerns

about the female’s safety. No pub-

lic report was issued.IRM has records of all reported

incidents, but they do not release

statistics. York University posts

quarterly reports online, along

with five-year category compari-

sons.

“Statistical reports and edu-

cation initiatives are important

means of informing and engaging

with students on community safe-

ty issues,” Janice Walls, interim

chief spokesperson and director of

media relations at York, said in an

email. “It provides a transparent

means for the community to com-

pare trends.”The University of Toronto also

posts weekly and annual reports.

A log of all emailed incidents

can be found on Ryerson’s web-

site, but those only make up a

fraction of the cumulative total.

York, which has approximately

20,000 more students than Ry-erson, posted 830 public reports

from May to October 2015. Ryer-

son has 26 posted online from the

same time period.

Poppleton said anyone can

count how many specific types of

incidents occurred if they go on-

line, and that a stat report isn’t

necessary. “If you put out a num-

ber that doesn’t help anybody,”

she said.

Alyson Rogers, co-organizer of

the Ryerson Feminist Collective,

said that security transparency

is important, especially when it

comes to social activism on cam-pus. She added that she thinks

some institutions don’t share this

data to cover up a bigger problem.

“It’s easier to say, ‘Oh there’s no

problem here, because we can’t see

it,’ and I think that might be what

security is doing,” she said. “They

can address it as singular crimes,

as opposed to a systemic issue.”

Lewis said that IRM uses the

numbers to advance crime preven-

tion work on campus, and that’s

where the value to the public is.

“We do collect numbers, of course

we track everything, so that in-

forms our priorities and the need

to have crime prevention withinthe community,” she said. “The

value to the community is crime

prevention work, and it has to be

informed prevention work.”

With files by Nicole SchmidtRyerson security reports are selectively released in accordance with risk-based criteria. PHOTO: CHARLES VANEGAS

How much is Ryerson security telling you?Approximately four per cent of Ryerson campus security incidents are made public, an Eyeopener investigation finds

Soup and SubstanceGlobal events, local impact:

Ryerson's campus climate

Check out our website for more details, future

topics and past webcasts: ryerson.ca/soupandsubstance

Faculty, staff and students are invited to participate

in this discussion about Ryerson’s culture.

Wednesday, March 30, 2016

Noon to 1 p.m. | Podium (POD) Room 250

Faculty and staff experiences:Ways to improve the climate

@RyersonEDI #RyersonEDI





4 EDITORIAL Wednesday, March 23, 2016

Our cover model and online editor Tagwa Moyo knows all about the hustle. PHOTOS: JAKE SCOTT

t’s getting to be the end of the

emester. And for some students

hat also means the end of their

cademic career. For fourth-year

tudents, April looms with not

ust the classic crunch that comes

with papers and final exams —

t comes with the pressures of the

apidly advancing real world.

Perhaps the scariest version

of this apprehension comes forhose who are not planning to go

on to another degree, or any oth-

r kind of school. Knowing that

you are a month away from the

eal world, a month away from

dult responsibilities with no stu-

Time to look forwardThe real world might seem like a scary place. But our challenges can also be

our opportunities — make the gig economy work for youdent status to use as an excuse,

can be a terrifying moment.

In our arts section this

week, you’ll read about the strug-

gle that photography students

in particular face breaking into

a shrinking industry. And that

narrative has often been true for

many students that choose to

study fine arts — fine arts pro-

grams boast some of the lowest

employment rates among gradu-

ating students. But especially for

our generation, graduating into

a difficult economy still large-

ly occupied by baby boomerswith 30 or 40 years of seniority

on us, it can be scary no matter

what you’ve studied.

That’s the bad news. If you’re

a young person in university,

you’ve probably heard some ver-

sion of that a thousand times. But

you can relax, because I’m not

here to beat you to death with

another version of it. I’m here to

shine at least a little optimism on

your futures, no matter how com-

plicated your respective indus-

tries may be.

You all have the pieces that

you need to make your degree

work for you, and to grab that

job that you’ve been dreaming

about. You’ve heard people talk

about all the pieces, in conver-

sations that have probably hap-

pened so often you’ve begun tothink of them as clichés: be your

own brand, start your own busi-

nesses. If the mainstream parts

of your industry won’t hire you,

won’t listen to your ideas, do

your own thing. Above all else,

hustle.

You may have rolled your eyes

at speakers that have told you

things like that over and over

again — trust me, I did. But the

reality is that it’s good advice.

The economy we’re graduat-

ing into has been called the gig

economy for a reason. The days

of grabbing that comfy nine-to-five with benefits and a healthy

pension at the end of the line are

long behind us. We need to take

jobs where we can get them, and

do what we need to do to make

ends meet.

I know that can sound

frustrating, unfair and terifying.

But the truth is that while we may

Intern ArmyBen “Hippe” Hoppe

Victoria “Psyches out” SykesHannah “I don’t have a pun for

you, sorry’” Kirijianv

Lidia “The shoe’s on the other”Foote

ContributorsVictoria “Pretty please” Shariati

Badri “Got held up” MuraliSerena “Expired milk” Lalani

Kiki “45 minutes” CekotaOlivia “Get out of” Bednar

Bianca “Don’t stop the” BhartiHayley “Xibalba” HanksBrenda “Hasta la Muerte”

Molina-NavidadSarah “Enemigo” Krichel

Brittany “Doesn’t even lift”Rosen

Dan “Slamajama” YamamotoAnnaliese “Oscar” Meyer

Lindsay “Jorts” ChristopherEmily “Don’t take my picture”

BetteridgeBrianee “I forgot who you were”

Spiker Justin “Lost phone” Chandler

Noushin “Ziafunny” ZiafatiSierra “Has contracted thinkuba-

tor” Bein

Playing the part of the AnnoyingTalking Coffee Mug this week issnow that can’t decide whether ornot it wants to be hail. If you wantto have an identity crisis, fine. Justdon’t do it on my head.

The Eyeopener is Ryerson’s largestand only independent student news-

paper. It is owned and operated byRye Eye Publishing Inc., a non- profit corporation owned by the stu-dents of Ryerson.

Our offices are on the second floorof the Student Campus Centre. Youcan reach us at 416-979-5262, attheeyeopener.com or on Twitter at@theeyeopener.

Editor-in-Chief Sean “ParmiSeano-Reggiano”

Wetselaar

News

Keith “So quirky” CapstickNicole “Colourful” SchmidtAl “I’M GONNA GET SHA-

WARMA” Downham

FeaturesFarnia “Fantastic” Fekri

Biz and Tech Jacob “Oui Oui” Dubé

Arts and LifeKaroun “Mass Text-odus”

Chahinian

SportsDevin “Indiana” Jones

CommunitiesAlanna “Alannie” Rizza

PhotoAnnie “Mr. Noodles” Arnone Jake “Poor Choices” ScottChris “Blankette” Blanchette

FunSkyler “Cl” Ash

MediaRob “Worse than be” Foreman

OnlineIgor “Maguna Matata” Magun

Tagwa “It means no” MoyoLee “The rest of your” Richardson

General ManagerLiane “FUCKING DEBATERS”

McLarty

Advertising ManagerChris “Julia” Roberts

Design Director J.D. “You’re a poet and you

don’t” Mowat

BySeanWetselaar

be entering a tough workforce,

our challenges can also be our

opportunities.

Taking a lot of little jobs might

make your pay more sporadic,

but it also gives you the chance

to only work on projects thatmatter to you. If you’re free-

lancing, working part-time or

otherwise hustling in your indus-

try of choice, you have a chance

to try to focus on developping

specifically the skills that got you

interested in your field in the first

place.

Try to remember why you ap-

plied to Ryerson — what made

you excited when you got your

acceptance letter. Think about

what kind of work you dreamt

of doing while you were finish-

ing high school. Then, go out

and do exaclty that kind of work.Maybe nobody is hiring you to do

it full-time.

But nobody is stopping you.

The millenials have been often

criticsed for a laziness that the

older generations seem to have in-

vented for our ilk to bear. Let’s go

prove them exaclty how wrong

they are.

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WE’RE HAVING AN ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING!

OH WHAT FUN!

It’s time for the annual Eyeopener Annual General Meeting.

April 6th, 12pm, Margaret Laurence Room, Oakham House

There’ll be all kinds of interesting things said. Bring a friend!



Wednesday, March 23, 2016 ARTS & LIFE 5

PHOTO: JAKE SCOTT

By Stefanie Phillips

Breaking into the photography industryWhen Stephanie Noritz moved to

New York to pursue her photog-

aphy career, the only available job

was an unpaid internship with pho-

ographer Chris Buck.

Before leaving Toronto, sheworked and saved up enough mon-

y to support herself and work for

Buck for three months. She then

eft to intern with Alessandra Pet-

n, another photographer in New

York. She took the necessary risk

of working for free and finished

he internship with Petlin as a paid

photography assistant.

Now, living and working as a

reelancer, Noritz says the industry

s more difficult than she thought it

would be.

“We have to really hustle, espe-

ially in a city as saturated as New

York,” says Noritz. “As photog-aphers we really have to put our-

elves out there and really market

ourselves.”

In the past nine years that Noritz

has been in the business, the indus-

ry has changed “drastically.” Bud-

ets are getting smaller, companies

re doing their own photography

nstead of outsourcing and pric-

ng standards are being lowered by

oung photographers charging less

or shoots.

According to Service Canada,

he number of photographers has

decreased in recent years and it is

xpected to continue decreasing by

.2 per cent annually for the nextour years. One of the causes of this

eduction is the growing popularity

of image banks.

In 2011, Ryerson and the On-

ario Ministry of Training, Colleges

nd Universities collected employ-

ment rates and earnings of Ontario

university graduates and concluded

hat 83.9 per cent of fine and ap-

plied arts students, which includes

photography, were employed six

months after graduation.

Despite the shrinking industry,

Noritz has managed to make a

name for herself since graduat-

ng from Ryerson in 2006, havingworked for Samsung, New York

Magazine and Maclean’s to name

few. She was also profiled by

American Illustration - American

Photography and honoured by

The Magenta Foundation and the

American Society of Media Photog-

aphers.

Noritz says that if she hadn’t tak-

n a photography business course

n her time at Ryerson, she would

have been very lost in the real

world.

“Taking the photography busi-

ness course was what opened my

yes to a whole other side of the in-

dustry,” she says.

The course was offered through

he Chang School and — at the time

— was taught by a practicing com-

mercial photographer who “had a

lot of insight.” Noritz learned how

to quote jobs, keep track of ex-

penses and market herself. Today,

the Chang School offers a media

business course that covers general

business practices using a case study

approach, according to the course

description.Fourth-year photography student

Petrija Dos Santos is about to grad-

uate and feels that Ryerson has not

taught her how to properly market

herself.

“There is little emphasis on how

you get people to pay attention to

your work, or who those people ac-

tually are,” says Dos Santos.

She says she thinks that Ryerson,

and universities in general, forget

that students don’t want to start out

in the first paying job that comes

their way.

“Obviously [students] want to

put the skills that they’ve learned touse, they want jobs that are relevant

to their field. They don’t want their

degree to hang on a wall and not

use it,” she says. “Most [students]

do want to go into working profes-

sionally as commercial photogra-

phers or portrait photographers. We

don’t want to work at the Walmart

studio, we want to do good photog-

raphy because we can.”

Christopher Manson is a ses-

sional professor teaching two pho-

tography courses at Ryerson while

working on documentary photog-

raphy. When he graduated universi-

ty in 2001, he wanted to be an artist

whose work was featured in galler-ies, but he soon realized that that

dream wasn’t financially viable.

“I had to get a job like everybody

else. At one point I was catering, I

was working in a call centre, I was

taking portraits for fashion compa-

nies and I was doing all that while

I was trying to put together a [pho-tography] project,” Manson says.

“You shouldn’t expect ... at the be-

ginning of your career to get to the

top immediately.”

Manson then noticed an opening

in advertising at Crack Magazine

in Newcastle upon Tyne, England.

His work in the call centre gave him

enough experience to get the job.

He made connections while work-

ing there and eventually got a photo

in the magazine through network-

ing.

“I would go out for drinks with

the editor, would go and meet with

the photo editor, would always pass

by his desk and say, ‘What shootare you doing this week, do you

need anything done?’” he says. “I

became someone who was always

there, who was always available,

close at hand.”

Even though he didn’t have the

title he wanted and was only doing

a few shoots a month, working at

the magazine allowed him to builda portfolio — one that would con-

nect him to other jobs.

Bryce Julien is in his first year in

the photography program at Ryer-

son and wants to be doing the same

type of photography that Noritz

and professor Manson are doing

once he graduates. But unlike Dos

Santos, Julien isn’t as worried about

finding a job.

“I don’t think I’m more worried

than somebody in an engineering

program or even a science [degree]

or something like that,” said Julien.

He’s currently trying to strength-

en his portfolio and build up his

own equipment stock but is chal-lenged by the high price of gear.

Photojournalism professor and

veteran photographer Peter Bregg

advises students who are first start-

ing out to invest in an entry level

DSLR camera with a standard 18-

55mm kit lens before buying any-

thing else.

“As good as that is for general

photography, it has limitations and

if you have the desire, the passion,

the fire, you’ll recognize that you

need to buy [more],” Bregg says.

“Keep shooting with what you have

and eventually you’ll learn what

you need based on the pictures youwanted to shoot but couldn’t. Even-

tually you’ll say, I could have [got-

ten] a better shot if I had x, y and z

in my bag.”

Noritz says that to this day she

still rents equipment for shoots and

shares gear with other photogra-

phers in the industry instead of buy-

ing all of her own pieces.

She advises students in the pho-

tography program to apply to as

many online blogs and annual pho-

tography contests as possible when

they graduate and to have a web-

site at hand, ready to show poten-

tial clients whenever necessary.

“Don’t be afraid to put yourselfout there. Be humble. Shoot what

you love and don’t give up. If I’m

able to make it than any of [you]

can make it.”

“Don’t be afraid to put yourself

out there. Be humble. Shoot

what you love and don’t give up”

RYERSONRAMS RYERSONRAMS.CA#WeRRams



6 Wednesday, March 23, 2016FEATURES

K

eneca Pingue-Giles raises her hands while falling

on a slant to the left corner. With a flick of the

wrist she sends the ball arching above the de-

fender in front of her. The buzzer blares inside ofhe Mattamy Athletic Centre (MAC) and the rattle of the

Ryerson student section — draped in blue and gold — falls

ilent, collectively holding its breath while the ball floats

hrough the air.

The rim absorbs the impact of the ball as it falls short

of going in.

The red and yellow lights of the Coca-Cola court score-

board read 76-73 in favour of the visiting University of

Ottawa Gee-Gees. Pingue-Giles and the rest of the Rams

oster walk to the locker room, past the opponents howl-

ng in celebration near the massive Ryerson logo at center

ourt.

For the third time in the 2015-2016 regular season and

what seems like the thousandth time in program history,

he Rams feel the familiar sting of defeat.

There is no way to put it nicely — the Ryerson women’sbasketball team has been historically bad or average for 20

ears. At the start of this season, the rafters in the MAC

were bare, patiently waiting for a banner as they did when

he team first named Coca-Cola court home in 2012.

But in the 2014-2015 and 2015-2016 seasons, that all

hanged. Two consecutive appearances at the CIS cham-

pionships and the leadership of Pingue-Giles brought the

Rams just shy — exactly one win — of being the best damn

eam in Canada.

The Rams are fronted by an incredibly efficient

offense. In the OUA regular season they ranked

first in five shooting categories including points,

points-per-game and field goal percentage. The

offense flows through Pingue-Giles, who is able to suck

eams’ defenses into the middle of the key, allowing play-

rs like Mariah Nunes and Siki Jez to capitalize on open

hots from mid range. Though they are poor from behind

he 3-point line, they score the ball in a multitude of oth-

r ways and are able to capitalize on second chances —

hey’re the best offensive rebounding team in Ontario.

But the real secret to the women’s success lies in their

defense. They ranked second in defensive rebounding, first

in total rebounds, and fifth in blocks-per-game, thanks to a

six-foot-four Sofia Paska who emerged as one of the most

improved players on the team this season. They also fin-ished first in steals, a sign of the strong guard play from

point guards McKenzie Sigurdson, Cara Tiemens and

Pingue-Giles.

Fifth-year senior Pingue-Giles’ career at Ryerson has

been extraordinary. Crowned OUA and CIS Player of the

Year, and widely applauded by the university for her lead-

ership and academic skills, the five-foot-seven guard has

become the face of the program — a massive white-and-

gold banner of her greets everyone who walks through the

doors of the MAC.

Success is relatively new to the program. Ryerson

has won more regular season games in the last two

years than during all of 2011 to 2014. Given the

history behind the program, it’s no surprise. The

minor success that the Rams found during the 2001-2002

campaign was short lived — season after season rol led by,

each ending with a sub .500 win-loss record. A few years

later, in 2006-2007, they had the second worst season in

program history — a horrific 2-20 record.

Once long-time head coach Sandy Pothier gave up the

reigns, Ryerson transitioned through two more coaches.

The first, Charles Kissi, took over as interim head coach

from 2010-2012 and was responsible for recruiting Pingue-

Giles and Siki Jez, both vital members of this year’s team.

“When I got here I didn’t know what to expect,” admitsPingue-Giles, though in her first year the team finished

with an 11-11 record and made it past the first round of

playoffs. “When I first arrived here, Kissi recruited me. He

told me that he thought this team could be the first team to

win a national championship.”

Hired to continue and fulfill Kissi’s legacy, second and

current head coach Carly Clarke would go on to coach

the Rams in back-to-back CIS championship runs. With

the success of this season, she has helped cement Ryerson

as a national powerhouse. “It’s so exciting to be a part

of it. The university, the administration, the athletic de-

partment, everybody has put everything in place for our

student athletes to be successful and I’m really lucky to be

part of that,” says Clarke.

In the last minutes of the fourth quarter of the OUA

Finals, going up against the Ottawa Gee-Gees, Ryer-son knocks down shots and gains a seven-point lead,

forcing Ottawa to foul in an attempt to draw out the

match. So Pingue-Giles is sent to the line, with a chance to

seal the game. Her first foul shot is good, and as she ap-

proaches the line one more time she takes in a deep breath,

and calmly drains her second — giving the Rams a nine-

point lead.

Thanks to a victory over Windsor in the semi-finals, the

Rams have their shot to take down the group with home-

court advantage, and the team that last beat them — the

University of Ottawa.

“We’ve had a chalkboard with a couple of teams’ names

written on it that we fell to earlier in the season and we’ve

crossed most of them off,” says Clarke.

Ottawa goes on to make a last second three to bring

them within two possessions, but Ryerson inbounds the

ball to Pingue-Giles, who manages to avoid defenders on

way to the opposite side of half. As time expires in the

fourth quarter, she crosses the half court line and throws

the ball in the air — this time not in a last ditch effort

to tie the game but in excitement — while her teammates

TWO CONSECUTIVE

APPEARANCES AT THE CIS

CHAMPIONSHIPS AND THE

LEADERSHIP OF PINGUE-GILES

BROUGHT THE RAMS JUST SHY

— EXACTLY ONE WIN —

OF BEING THE BEST

DAMN TEAM IN CANADA

In the last two seasons, the women’s basketball team has risen above years of me-

diocrity to skyrocket to the second-best team in the country. By Chris Blanchette



Wednesday, March 23, 2016 7FEATURES

torm the court to celebrate their 66-60 win. They’ve just

linched a 12-game winning streak.

“Have you heard the Drake song Summer Sixteen?”

Pingue-Giles says, singing a brief part of the song and

aughing. “That song was the anthem for our game against

Ottawa and we were definitely looking for revenge.”

T

he Rams’ revenge tour rolls into Fredericton next,

fresh off of their OUA championship and looking

to capture the ultimate prize — a CIS Finals vic-

tory, branding them as the best team in Canada.

n their first game, Ryerson takes down the University ofRegina, then overcomes the number-one-ranked McGill

University in the semifinals and punches their ticket to the

finals against the Saskatchewan Huskies. It’s so close, they

an taste it. After an intense first half on Sunday, March

0, the Rams find themselves trailing 42-40. Unfortunately

or Ryerson, they face a Huskies team that’s having their

best game of the season at the right time — Saskatchewan

hoots an unbelievable three-ball in the third quarter and

ains an insurmountable lead.

Soon enough, Clarke calls a desperate timeout with un-

der thirty seconds left in the game. Surrounded by her

players, she makes one last attempt to rally them. But

despite 26 points from Pingue-Giles in her last game as a

Ryerson Ram, the team falls one victory shy of becoming

national champions.

While the Huskies celebrate with the championship ban-

ner and cup, Clarke slowly walks across the gym inside the

Richard J. Currie Centre. Her face is stern, trying to hide

memories of the last four years that are clearly weighing

on her. As she begins to speak during the media scrum, the

tern expression lifts from her face and her voice begins to

quiver. “It’s hard,” she says.

Clarke pauses momentarily. Throughout her tenure at

Ryerson she has been calm in both victory and defeat.

But on that afternoon, the entirety of a spectacular season

nd the wave of memories seem to catch up to her. “I’m

definitely emotional about it because I’m so proud of these

kids,” she says. “They’ve just worked so hard. You know,

we lost first, but we won second and they’ve come so far

and are deserving. Hopefully [they] are proud to wear the

silver medal.”

The players don their medals in front of a backdrop of

die-hard Ryerson fans, who made the trip all the way to

Fredericton to watch their team. “Everyone is so invested

in us [and] what we were able to do. The city itself, Toron-

to, the school, the community — it’s amazing,” says Jez,

another fifth-year senior who entered the program alongwith Pingue-Giles.

A few years ago, the team struggled to fill the stands at

home games; this year the attendance at home ranks sec-

ond in the OUA. Fans from Ryerson’s own “Ram Pack”

travelled across the country to watch the women try to

make school history, something that seemed unfathomable

just four years ago when Clarke took over.

Even the city of Toronto has taken notice of the Rams’

success. Toronto City Hall stood as the focal point of Na-

than Phillips Square, illuminated in bright blue and gold

lights for a night as a sign of support for the Ryerson bas-

ketball teams this season.

“It just goes to show the pride that Ryerson has. A lot

of people think we’re a commuter school that doesn’t care.

But all of those displays prove that the stereotypes aren’t

true,” says Pingue-Giles.

The Rams stand shoulder-to-shoulder, draped in

CIS silver medals for the first time in program

history. Players stare at the cameras quietly, some

battling back tears, others smiling while they

stand with their arms over one another. As fans chant

player names through the presentation of the trophy to the

opposing team, it suddenly becomes clear that the Rams

never needed to win gold.

“This is the best finish in Ryerson history, so at least

that’s something we can take with us and leave a legacy,”

says Pingue-Giles in her last media scrum as a Ryerson

Ram.

That OUA championship banner will look impressive

hanging over home court, and this team has left behind

something for future teams to build on. The Ryerson wom-

en’s basketball team has a reputation for winning now.

Through their incredible season, they made this campus

and an entire city care about women’s basketball. If a Ry-

erson women’s team ever lifts the CIS trophy — whether

it’s in the next season or after a number of years — they

will remember this team as the one that started it all.

2 0 1 5 - 2

0 1 6

2 0 1 4 -

2 0 1 5

20 13 - 2 0 1

4

Games won orange)

versus lost white)

y the women’s

asketball team

2 0 1 2

- 2 0 1 3

“WE LOST FIRST, BUT WE WON

SECOND AND THEY’VE COME

SO FAR AND ARE DESERVING.

HOPEFULLY[THEY] ARE PROUD

TO WEAR THE SILVER MEDAL”

9-23

11-19

27-9

29-8

Left to right: Ryerson gearsup for their game against the

Huskies (Chris Blanchette);Keneca Pingue-Giles standsin front of her banner at the

MAC (Sierra Bein); Pingue-Giles goes for a layup in her

final game (Chris Blanchette)



Wednesday, March 23, 2016BIZ & TECH8

Rye students mapping out Zika virusBy Justin Chandler

Ryerson students are working

with the organization BlueDot to

map the spread of infectious dis-

ases such as the Zika virus.

“It’s amazing that sitting at adesk from nine to five can really

ffect global policy,” said Sonya

Karamchandani, a fourth-year Ry-

rson geographic analysis student

who works with BlueDot as part

of her program’s practicum.

BlueDot works with other or-

anizations, such as the Centers

or Disease Control and Preven-

ion (CDC) in America and Glob-

l Affairs Canada to research

the spread of infectious diseases.

BlueDot uses publicly available

data such as recorded weather

and satellite images that show in-

dustrialization as well as private

data collected by organizations it

partners with to do its analyses,said BlueDot chief operating of-

ficer Albert Tseng.

Tseng said BlueDot is con-

stantly monitoring the spread

of diseases worldwide. In May

2015, BlueDot learned Zika was

in Brazil and began to study how

it could spread.

Karamchandani worked on

BlueDot research published in

The Lancet , a medical journal, in

January. The research maps ar-

eas in North America and South

America which are at seasonal or

year-round risk for the Zika virus.

The Zika virus is a mosquito-

borne virus first identified in

humans in 1952, according tothe World Health Organization

(WHO). It is spread to humans

by mosquitos of the Aedes genus

type, and can be sexually trans-

mitted between humans.

Most people infected with the

Zika virus have no symptoms. Ac-

cording to the WHO, people who

experience symptoms usually do

so mildly in the form of a fever,

rashes, muscle and joint pain and

headache. Such symptoms nor-

mally last a week or less.

But in Brazil, which will host

the Olympics this summer, Zika

has been tentatively linked to mi-crocephaly, a birth defect associ-

ated with underdeveloped brains

in newborns.

To determine which areas in

the Americas are most at risk for

the Zika virus, BlueDot research-

ers studied worldwide travel

data. By determining which busy

airports are located in climates

that support Aedes mosquitos,

BlueDot was able to figure out

where mosquito populations

could carry the virus.

According to BlueDot, most of

South America and Central Amer-

ica are at risk for the Zika virus

seasonally or year-round. Most ofthe eastern United States is season-

Zone Startups India funds vPhrase

Neerav Parekh received funding from Zone Startups India for vPhrase. PHOTO: SIERRA BEIN

Zone Startups India, the Ryerson

DMZ’s sister zone in India, has an-

nounced their first co-investment

through the accelerator based in

Mumbai.

vPhrase, an artificial intelligence

data analytics company, has re-

ceived an undisclosed amount of

money from Ryerson Futures and

the Chokhani Family Office, a

prominent Indian business family,

and is the first company of its kind

to join the zone.

Founded by Neerav Parekh,

vPhrase is a software that makes

data reports easier to understand.

With their platform, PHRAZOR,

they are able to analyze big data

and turn it into written reports

and natural language using artifi-

cial intelligence.

“We always believed in our idea

but when people put in their mon-

ey I think that is the biggest boost

of confidence that anyone can give

you,” said Parekh. “Being the

first company to be invested in by

[both Ryerson and the Chokhani

Family] also makes us proud.”

With new technology and acces-

sibility, people are starting to see

the value in big data. Big data is

the term used for data sets that are

so large and complex that regular

data processing is not able to read

it properly. Even Ryerson has re-

cently introduced the Privacy and

Big Data Institute.

Parekh, who is from Mumbai

himself, always had an interest in

business technology. After running

a digital marketing agency where

he prepared performance reports

and presentations, he found peo-

ple needed more than just num-

bers to understand data.

“I realized there is a challenge,there is a gap where people are not

able to interpret the visualizations,

the charts. So there needs to be

something that can be explored to

explain the charts in words,” said

Parekh.

He wanted to create a program

to help people understand big

data, the same way that he did

when he prepared reports and ex-

plained his findings to clients —

in a narrative format rather than

numbers from a computer.

He officially started working on

vPhrase in May 2015 and joined

Zone Startups shortly after that.

“They took me in, and I’m still a

part of that accelerator where they

gave us working space and helped

us with the business investment

and mentoring,” he said.

BlueDot started mapping out the Zika Virus in 2015. PHOTO: DOUGLAS FERNANDES/FLICKR

ally at risk. BlueDot recommend-

ed that people in areas at-risk for

Zika take precautions to avoid

mosquito bites.

Ryerson professor Tim Sly, who

is an expert in epidemiology, said

it is important to consider a vari-

ety of factors when trying to deter-

mine why a disease is more preva-

lent in one population comparedto another.

“At the moment, [Zika re-

search] is a wide open fishing ex-

pedition,” Sly said. He said the

kind of disease mapping BlueDot

does can be a “hypothesis-gener-

ating exercise” in which different

factors can be linked to diseases.

Important factors are time, place

and the characteristics of people,

which Sly calls the “three legs on

the stool of epidemiology.”

He said sometimes seemingly in-

nocent links can prove to be cru-

cial in determining the cause of

diseases and genetic deformities.

Tseng said it will be increasinglyimportant to understand ecologi-

cal variables that allow the Aedes

mosquito to survive. Income level

may be a factor in the likelihood of

a person to contract Zika. Wealth-

ier people may be less likely to be

bitten by mosquitos because they

tend to live in climate-controlled

buildings and have access to barri-

ers such as screened-in patios.

Karamchandani said she’slearned a lot working for BlueDot,

which she said brings together

people from diverse academic

backgrounds, such as web design

and disease modelling.

“When you bring that together,

the environment really facilitates

for a lot of growing and a lot of

learning,” Karamchandani said.

Tseng said the company con-

stantly has six to 10 positions

available for students. Some stu-

dents are paid and some, such

as students working as part of a

practicum, are not.

For more on BlueDot and the

students working with them, checkout www.theeyeopener.com .

By Sierra Bein



Wednesday, March. 23, 2016 SPORTS 9

Looking back at a career with the Ramily

The future of a program we know and love

This day was inevitable, but the

magnitude of it was nothing I

ould prepare for. Spending morehan a decade, more than half your

ife investing your heart and soul

nto a competitive sport, a day like

his never comes easy. Like many

people in my position, I wasn’t

ure how that weight would feel

on my shoulders, or how I would

manage the heaviness of it all. But

his morning, waking up to the un-

derstanding that the previous eve-

ning I had played the last Ryerson

University volleyball match of my

areer, I felt light.

In moments like this, I don’t find

myself thinking about little things,

ndividual plays, specific games,detailed exchanges. Instead, mo-

ments like this bring about a focus

on the bigger picture. They evoke

ntense feelings of gratitude, pas-

ion and fulfilment.

The weekend of March sixth

our team had a theme of playing

n the moment, even setting some

nstagram locations to “The Mo-

ment” but what I’ve realized is

hat The Moment is not singular,

t’s continuous and it’s vast, and it’s

not something you can hold onto.

But that’s why The Moment is so

ignificant, because while it is both

magnificent and fleeting, the feel-

ngs it creates manifests in memo-

ries that last a lifetime.

My volleyball journey has been

nothing short of complex, but the

complexity of it has allowed me

to learn and grow in ways I neverwould have been able to had it been

otherwise. I remember defying the

odds at the age of 15, winning pro-

vincial championships in both my

age group and the one above mine.

I can vividly recall being curled in a

ball on the bed of my dorm room,

sobbing to my mother on the

phone, trying to decide what I was

willing to sacrifice to keep playing

the sport I loved. I still have the

image of walking the track at the

Canada Games opening ceremo-

nies embedded in my memory. But

along with it comes the memory of

the school bus we took back to thevillage after losing our final match,

and the distinct smell of the vinyl

seats as I pressed my forehead into

the one in front of mine, trying

not to cry. I’ve memorized the ex-

hilarating feeling of a solid block,

and the fiery adrenaline of a close

match. Most recently, I can recall

the lump in my throat as I stood

on the baseline awaiting my silver

medal.

Sport is funny like that, it takes

you on physical, mental and emo-

tional roller coaster rides. It throws

you to the ground, and then pro-

pels you to the top of mountains

— sometimes within months,

By Emily Betteridge sometimes within hours or even

seconds. These last few weeks have

been all of that and more, but the

persistent reminder echoed from

coaches, family and friends alike,was that life is so much bigger than

the 9x9 court that I play on every

day. And they are right — volley-

ball is certainly a huge part of me,

but more than that, it is the catalyst

to so many relationships and expe-

riences. Between the moments on

the court, there lies lessons, friend-

ship, connection and passion —

those moments are what make up

who I am. And it is for that reason

that I am indebted to this sport.

I read an article recently that

explained how immediately after

their final season ends, many ath-

letes describe a feeling similar tothe one I felt, though it is almost

always followed by a profound

heaviness. Unsurprisingly, that

weightless feeling didn’t last long

— dissipating around early after-

noon that same day — and since

then I have most certainly felt the

immense reality of this chapter’s

ending, but I refuse to meet that

heaviness with fear. It would be of

disservice to myself and all those

whom I have learned from, if after

all these years I up and ran at the

first sight of rain. And besides, vol-

leyball has taught me that I am ca-

pable of withstanding storms. Themere fact that I could feel light is

proof enough of the brightness that

lies ahead. The lightness to me is

hope. It is the promise of a blank

canvas, it implies possibility, and

I know I am ready for whatever

comes next.

So as I sit here on this sunny

March morning, I feel the cool

breeze curling through the open

window beside me, and I feel light.

When the final buzzer sounded

t the bronze medal game during

he 2015 Canadian Interuniver-

ity Sport (CIS) Men’s Basketball

Championships at the Mattamy

Athletic Centre, Ryerson Univer-

ity has just won its first ever CIS

medal. That sound also represent-

d a new era for Ryerson athletics.No longer was Ryerson an easy

opponent. Years of hard work led

o that bronze medal moment and

ignified that Ryerson Rams teams

re ready to be taken seriously.

The Ryerson athletics depart-

ment has accomplished a lot in

the past five years both athletically

and recreationally. The Mattamy

Athletic Centre opened in 2012

and hosted the CIS national bas-

ketball championships two years

later. Several of Ryerson’s varsity

teams are ranked on the CIS’s top

ten lists and are making more ap-

pearances at the national level.

The top voices in the athletics

department agree that in the nextfive years the main goal is to have

a varsity team bring home the

university’s first national champi-

onship as well as increase school

spirit. Despite some of the depart-

ment’s most important voices hav-

ing differing thoughts about what

they want to see the university ac-

complish the most going forward,

they’re all in agreement that the

success of the Ryerson atheltics

program is capitalizing on the idea

of “the Ramily.”

Ivan Joseph, the director of ath-

letics at Ryerson, wants to make

sure that everyone who wants to

participate in athletics can and

have them feel like the opportunityis there for them to be engaged on

campus. In order to meet these

needs going forward, Joseph lists

alternative fundraising as an im-

portant component financially.

“We can’t rely on just the univer-

sity to fund our initiatives and our

programs,” he says. He suggests

reaching out to alumni as well as

corporate sponsorships, grants

and different revenue producing

programs like skate training and

camps as ways to help further fund

the increasing demand.

Joseph has also been looking to

find a permanent place for the Ry-

erson soccer teams to play, insteadof commuting to downsview park

for every game, disrupting any

sense of home field avantage they

hope to cultivate.

One of the most important

things Stephanie White, associate

director of athletics, wants to see is

more academic success from Ryer-

son’s student-athletes. White says

that academically, she wants to see

Ryerson’s student-athletes have a

higher grade point average than

the average student and increase

the number of Academic All-Ca-

nadians up to about 40 per cent.On the recreation side of things,

Anthony Seymour, recreation

manager at Ryerson’s Recreation

and Athletic Centre (RAC), says

the main thing is to be more pro-

gressive and not be complacent.

Seymour says the number of new

clubs is rising each year and many

of them are student driven. In re-

cent years, clubs such as baseball,

wrestling, curling, ping pong and

archery have been added. Seymour

mentions archery especially has

been a popular add on as it has

sold out the past two years and

the club is setting up competitions

with the University of Toronto andother schools.

One of the biggest goals for re-

cereation in the next five years is

finding the space to accomadate

the growing number of students

wanting to particupate in inter-

mural athletics. And while there

have been no definitive plans made

to expand to new buildings, for

now recreation is trying to maxi-

mize the space they ave. In trying

to fulfill the department’s goals,

they all realize there are challenges

and obstacles that won’t be solved

overnight. Joseph says that beingan urban campus has its bless-

ings and its challenges. With Ry-

erson being a commuter school,

the people mostly likely to attend

a Ryerson Rams game is the one

living on or around campus. One

solution White suggests is having

more games on weekdays when

students are on campus as well as

continuing to engage residence stu-

dents more.

The hope during the next five

years of Ryerson athletics is to

hear that final buzzer again at the

national championships with the

expectation it’s to celebrate the

university’s first CIS title. Ryer-son is the closest it has ever been

to winning its first title and the

department is waiting for that mo-

ment to arrive.

By Brianne Spiker

Betteridge spent three years with the women’s volleyball team. PHOTO: ANNIE ARNONE

V Mukama dunking at the Mattamy Athletic Centre. PHOTO: FARNIA FERKI

Emily Betteridge reflects on her time as a Ram on the women’s volleyball team and the impact the game has made on her life



10 FUN Wednesday, March 23, 2016

he “funky” socks in question. PHOTO: JAKE SCOTT

Funky socks cause office controversy

By Skyler Ash

A company is facing a lawsuitfter an employee was fired for

wearing “funky” socks to work.

Maddox Tyme, a 23-year-oldRyerson University graduate,works at Liright Finances in To-

onto. Last week, he wore ham-urger socks. This week, he’s go-ng to court after being fired for

his fashion choices.“I took a fashion risk,”

said Tyme. “I thought it felt

right, but I’ve never been morewrong.”

Tyme said his boss, Richard

Fort, pulled him into the confer-ence room after lunch where hewas told to “sit down and shut

up.” His boss and coworkers thenlaunched a “shameful tribunal”

in which they forced Tyme to puthis socks through a paper shred-der while they chanted “Hanes or

die.”“It’s insanity!” said Tyme.

“They’re just a pair of socks, I

don’t see what the big deal is.”“He doesn’t see what the big deal

is?” said Fort. “I’ll tell you what

the big deal is: this is a Hanes-onlyoffice. We wear plain white Hanes

One man’s hosiery is another man’s heartache or we don’t wear socks at all. Butyou should always wear socks, orthat’s just disgusting.”

Tyme reported the incidentto the Human Resources (HR)branch of Liright Finances imme-

diately after it occurred. “All HRdid was leave a box on my deskfull of the strands of my shredded

socks,” said Tyme. “A guy doesn’tneed this kind of prank when he’smourning the loss of his best pairof socks.”

Following the day of the ritu-alistic sock-shredding, Fort hada “sock safety” meeting with all

employees, where he made in-formational pamphlets and gaveeach worker a pair of plain white

Hanes after they completed thesock-safety workshop.

“We should have done this ear-

lier,” said Fort. “All the signs werethere with Tyme, we just didn’t tryand stop it.” Fort said the signs

of “fashion insubordination” in-cluded “edgy haircuts, flamboyantpocket squares, vintage cufflinks

and funky socks.”“Fort did the right thing with the

workshop,” said Cecilia Broyko-

va, CEO of Liright Finances. “Hecaught wind of a very serious situ-ation and he handled it with grace

and dignity.”Broykova said she received vid-

eo footage of the shredding after-

ward from one of Fort’s employ-ees. “I’m glad I got the footage,”she said. “My YouTube page has a

ton of hits because of it!”Tyme, who said he was unhap-

py with the lack of action fromBroykova, came to work thenext day in “all the things thatFort hates.” He got half of his

head shaved, wore a lime greenand pink pocket square, vintageanchor cufflinks and space catsocks.

“The guy looked like aschmuck,” said Timothy Grigg,a Liright employee. “He waltzed

into the place swaddled in somehispter get-up like he owned theplace and also the entire bon iver

discography.”When Fort saw Tyme, he imme-

diately fired him for “being a littletwerp.” Tyme packed his thingsinto a vintage leather hat box andbiked to his lawyer’s office to sue

Fort.“I’m taking this very seriously,”

said Tyme. “I’m good at my job, I

shouldn’t be fired because of whatI’m wearing.”

Tyme and Fort’s court date is

set for March 25. Tyme plans towear socks with cacti on them.“They represent Fort, because he’s

a fucking prick.”

How to have a good, long cry

A man who isn’t afraid to own his emotions. PHOTO: JAKE SCOTT

By Skyler Ash

Crying is a vital life skill. It’s a cop-ng device. It’s what you do when

ou fail a test, scrape your knee,ose a loved one or forget your carkeys in your car and then you’re

ocked out of your car and THATONLY HAPPENED THAT ONE

TIME, DAD!But it’s important to be good at

crying, because if you’re an emo-

tional wreck like me, you’ll spenda lot of time weeping dramatically.And so, here’s what you need toknow about how to have a good,

long cry (because we know it’s not

allergies).

Finding the right place. It’s all

about where you cry. Remember,nobody puts babies in the corner,so make sure you’re out in the

open. You shouldn’t be afraid toshow emotions — we’re all hu-man, after all. Cry in the middle

of the street, on a crowded bus, ata public pool or even at a familybarbecue. Assert your emotional

dominance by shedding sometears!

Wearing the right clothes. You

can’t cry in short sleeves. Wherewould you wipe away your wa-ter works and your ongoing

steam of snot? Long sleeves are amust. Make sure you’re cozy andwarm. You have to up your in-

ternal body temperature so thatyou have that rosy-cheek glowof a raging five-year-old who just

got his animal crackers taken.

If you don’t look the part, thenwhy even bother?

Sound the part. A good, long cryshould be full of moans, groans,mournful sighs and melodic highs.

And lots of whining. You shouldsound like a cross between asmothered goose and a wolf try-

ing to communicate with his packwho he’s lost after a long journeyon the road to discover himselfonly to realize that he needed his

pack all along. Don’t be too quietand don’t be too loud. Show your

octave range by being a humansynthesizer.

Have something to cry about.

This is probably the most impor-

tant part of crying. You can’t let

those tears flow for no reason, so

here are a couple of things worth

crying about: the last episode ofGrey’s Anatomy, because Mer-

edith’s finally putting herself backout there and Arizona is being un-reasonable! The fact that it looks

so lovely and sunny out but it’sstill cold and windy! It’s no longersocially acceptable to wear light

up sneakers past the age of eight!Finding Dory isn’t coming outfor three more months! Those are

things worth opening the flood-gates for.

Whereever the place, whatever

you’re wearing, whatever soundsyou make, why you cry — they’re

all important, but none are moreimportant than you. So cry if youwant to! But maybe just cry in theshower like everybody else, you

blubbering weirdo.

Connect the dots of the alligator (Mr. Jameson P. Willoughby) anddrop it off to the Eyeopener office (SCC 207) with your name, contactinfo and your stipper name (name of first pet and street you live on)

for your chance to win a $25 Indigo gift card!

Corner of fun!t s

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Colour me,

children!

They've been visiting us for thousands of years!They are peaceful and highly scientifically advanced!

Sightings and Crop Circles are signs that they are ready to meet us.

Free Presentation in Toronto:Saturday, April 2nd 2016 at 4:15 PM.

The International Living Learning Centre240 Jarvis Street, Room 212, on the 2nd floor via the elevator number 3Also online Presentation starting at 8:00 PM on Wednesday April 6, 2016

https://zoom.us/j/4188579113

ETembassyDay.org



Wednesday, March 16, 2016 11

of being student owned & operated.

Come Celebrate with Us!

Thursday, March 31, 2016

WhosE space? Students' space!

10+ yearsTons of activities, events, free food!Free BBQ, Scavenger Hunt, Ping

Pong and Gaming Tournaments.

Live Music.

All Day!!Student Campus Centre



Wednesday, Mar. 16, 201612

Education: Ten master’s and certificate programs

Counseling: Clinical Mental Health Counseling,

School Counseling and School Psychology

Online Programs: Developmental Disabilities, Special

Education and Educational Leadership

MBA: Ten concentrations including

Global Business and Supply Chain

Management, Strategic Marketing and Healthcare Administration

Master’s programs: Criminal Justice, Finance, Interdisciplinary

Studies, Sport Management

Ontario Programs: Teacher’s College, Educational Leadership,

AQ Course (online)

Ph.D. in Leadership and Policy

With graduate classes starting year-round, now is the perfect time to learnmore about a graduate degree from Niagara University.

Niagara University’s graduate programs offer everything you need to

advance your career: academic excellence, small classes, evening and

weekend classes and the hands-on, practical knowledge to help you succeed.

Saturday, April 2 • 10 a.m. • St. Vincent’s Hall

Graduate StudiesSpring Open House

Register online at www.niagara.edu/graduate800.462.2111 • [email protected]

Earn a Graduate Degreefrom Niagara University