Trinity College

In photos: �Թϱ�� campuses spring to life as students move into residence, head to first day of class

rahul.kalvapalle — Tue, 03 Sep 2024 13:00:15 +0000

In photos: �Թϱ�� campuses spring to life as students move into residence, head to first day of class

rahul.kalvapalle Tue, 09/03/2024 - 09:00

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Jacob Domingo Chan, third from left, was among many first-year students who received a helping hand as they moved into residences on �Թϱ��'s three campuses ahead of the new school year (photo by Polina Teif)

Rahul Kalvapalle

Topic

Our Community

Back to School 2024

Graduate Students

St. George

Trinity College

�Թϱ�� Mississauga

�Թϱ�� Scarborough

Undergraduate Students

University College

The University of Toronto’s three campuses are abuzz with excitement as students from the Toronto region, across Canada and around the world kicked off a new school year.

The fall 2024 semester marked the first time that students on the St. George campus, �Թϱ�� Scarborough and �Թϱ�� Mississauga had their first day of classes on the same day, Sept. 3 – part of an effort to align key academic dates across the university.

AskMe Anything volunteers were also out in full force to offer tips and guidance, especially to the thousands of first-year students navigating the first day of their post-secondary education.

�Թϱ�� President Meric Gertler welcomed new and returning students, as well as faculty, staff and librarians, in a video message released last week.

“[�Թϱ��] is an exciting place to be, and this is an exciting time to be a part of it,” he said.

Photographers were on hand across all three campuses in recent days to capture the sights – and energy – of a new academic year:

(photo by Johnny Guatto)

Welcome signs wrap �Թϱ��’s main gates on the St. George campus as students make their way to and from classes on the first day of a new school year.

(photo by Nick Iwanyshyn)

The weeks leading up to the first day of school featured plenty of enthusiasm as students and their families carted belongings into residences at �Թϱ�� Mississauga.

(photo by Polina Teif)

At St. George, volunteers and residence staff were on hand to provide a warm welcome, refreshments and help hoisting bins and boxes.

(photo by Polina Teif)

“I was nervous at first, but everyone’s been so welcoming,” said University College student Cassidy Smith, who posed for an Aug. 25 photo with her mother as she moved into her dorm.

“There’s such a good energy around the place and I can feel that this is going to be like a second home to me."

(photo by Terrence Tong)

At �Թϱ�� Scarborough, luggage carts – and several volunteers – helped ferry students’ belongings between the parking lot and residence buildings.

(photo by Polina Teif)

Gabriella Baichwal, who was born in Toronto and grew up in Chicago, joked that she “brought way too much stuff” to fill up her single room in Trinity College on the St. George campus.

“I brought all my clothes, a mini-fridge and all of this stuff, and I feel like a spoiled brat. But that’s OK – you’ve gotta do what you’ve gotta do,” said Baichwal, as her parents helped unload items from their vehicle’s roof.

Her father, Ravi Baichwal, whose own father went to grad school at �Թϱ�� in the 1960s after moving from India, said he was “incredibly proud” of his daughter for following in her grandfather’s footsteps.

“I have that incredible pit of anxiety and hope all mixed up into one,” he said.

(photo by Polina Teif)

There were plenty of opportunities for students to meet new friends, showcase their school spirit and learn about extra-curricular opportunities at the tri-campus cheer-off event and clubs carnival held on the St. George campus ahead of the Labour Day long weekend.

(photo by Polina Teif)

More than 300 �Թϱ�� clubs were present at the clubs carnival, an annual event organized by the �Թϱ�� Students' Union. There is also a Student Groups Fair on Sept. 5 and 6 at �Թϱ�� Mississauga, and a UTSC Clubs Fair at �Թϱ�� Scarborough on Sept. 23.

(photo by Nick Iwanyshyn)

Orientation programs at �Թϱ�� Mississauga included a painting activity that invited students to harness their creativity.

(photo by Terrence Tong)

It was all smiles at �Թϱ�� Scarborough as students, friends and family settled in for the fall term.

Philanthropists, volunteers and dedicated alumni, Brian and Joannah Lawson receive �Թϱ�� honorary degrees

Christopher.Sorensen — Fri, 21 Jun 2024 20:29:02 +0000

Philanthropists, volunteers and dedicated alumni, Brian and Joannah Lawson receive �Թϱ�� honorary degrees Christopher.Sorensen Fri, 06/21/2024 - 16:29

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(image by Lisa Sakulensky)

Scott Anderson

Topic

Our Community

Convocation 2024

Joannah & Brian Lawson Centre for Child Nutrition

Alumni

Faculty of Arts & Science

Honorary Degree

Trinity College

University College

Together, they have inspired countless others with their thoughtful leadership and generous spirit. And as donors, they like to think ahead. With an eye on future generations, Joannah and Brian Lawson have made climate change and child nutrition central to their philanthropy, including at the University of Toronto.

Today, for their outstanding service to the university as supporters, ambassadors and thoughtful advisers, and for their commitment to making a positive difference in everything they do, the Lawsons will each receive a Doctor of Laws, honoris causa, from �Թϱ��.

Raised in Toronto, Brian attended �Թϱ��, earning a bachelor of arts degree in 1982, with an emphasis on economics and computer science. After graduation, he joined Touche Ross (now Deloitte) and decided to study accounting, becoming a chartered accountant in 1985.

Joannah, who also grew up in Toronto, completed a master’s degree in industrial relations at �Թϱ�� in 1989.

Brian joined Brookfield, an investment firm, in 1988 and soon moved into senior roles, including chief financial officer of Brookfield Asset Management, which he held from 2002 to 2020. In 2013, he was selected as Canada’s CFO of the year by Financial Executives International Canada, PricewaterhouseCoopers and Robert Half International.

During Brian’s tenure as CFO, Brookfield evolved into a large, global investment firm, with assets under management of US$600 billion in 2020 and operations in more than 20 countries – principally in Canada, the United States, Australia and Brazil.

(photo by Lisa Sakulensky)

Joannah, meanwhile, worked in change management in the high-tech sector before launching a second career as a nutritionist in 2012 via her own consulting business: Appetite for Change.

She is also co-founder and president of the Brian and Joannah Lawson Family Foundation, which collaborates with other philanthropic foundations, not-for-profits, universities and think tanks to make food systems around the world healthier and more sustainable. The couple created the foundation in 2008 to advance two causes they believe in: addressing climate change and promoting healthy dietary patterns. Joannah has since shifted her focus to leading the foundation.

“Our particular emphasis is on supporting and sponsoring initiatives that improve the health and well-being of our communities [and] the environment,” Brian told the Globe and Mail in 2014.

In an interview with �Թϱ��, Joannah drew a connection between healthy food and sustainability, noting that “nutrient-empty foods take a heavy toll on the planet.”

These concerns are reflected in how the couple has supported �Թϱ�� philanthropically, with significant donations to establish the Lawson Centre for Sustainability at Trinity College and the Joannah and Brian Lawson Centre for Child Nutrition at the Temerty Faculty of Medicine.

They view their focus on child nutrition as strategic, adding that a person’s first few years is a critical window for lifelong health. “If you start changing things in childhood, you have the greatest opportunity to have a bigger impact on a person’s life,” Joannah told the Temerty Faculty of Medicine in 2017. “It’s going further upstream to get to the root of the problem.”

“It’s an inflection point for parents too,” Brian said in the same interview. “Parents often start trying to eat healthier when kids come along, so focusing on children benefits the whole family.”

“Ultimately,” Joannah said, “the number one thing we’re doing is setting out to prevent chronic disease. If you prevent chronic disease, you reduce suffering, improve quality of life and improve economic outcomes. It’s a win-win-win.”

Both Brian and Joannah have volunteered extensively with �Թϱ��. Brian is chancellor of Trinity College, co-chair of the Defy Gravity Campaign and a past chair of �Թϱ��’s Governing Council. Joannah is a past member of the Trinity College Board of Trustees and continues to serve as an adviser to the college. Together, they have served as co-chairs of the campaign cabinet at �Թϱ��’s Temerty Faculty of Medicine and on the Boundless Campaign executive

Both have received the university’s Arbor Award for volunteer service, and honorary doctorates from Trinity College.

In his speech today, Brian urged graduates of Trinity and University colleges to focus their efforts on opportunities that tick three boxes: what they’re good at, what they’re passionate about and where they can make a difference. “Think of how you want the world to be – and exemplify that yourself,” he said. “People around you will notice. And that might be the greatest impact of all.”

In her speech, Joannah encouraged graduates to draw inspiration from others. “Find out who is already working on the issues you care about most, and look for ways to contribute, either directly by working with them or indirectly by building on their work.”

And if no one else is working on the issue? “Lead the way.”

Building a better world: Three Pearson Scholars – and soon-to-be grads – reflect on their �Թϱ�� experience

rahul.kalvapalle — Mon, 03 Jun 2024 20:13:25 +0000

Building a better world: Three Pearson Scholars – and soon-to-be grads – reflect on their �Թϱ�� experience

rahul.kalvapalle Mon, 06/03/2024 - 16:13

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Left to right: Niha Burugapalli, Daniel Corredor Llorente and Ana Laura Noda González (supplied images)

Rahul Kalvapalle

Topic

Our Community

Convocation 2024

Faculty of Arts & Science

Lester B. Pearson International Scholarship

Subheadline

“An unsurpassable opportunity to study at one of the world's leading institutions, on a full ride, while joining a cohort of bright, passionate and driven changemakers”

An aspiring clinician-scientist who is reducing food waste across Toronto. A global health student who launched an NGO that connects students with seniors through art. And an international relations specialist who worked on an array of human rights projects.

Ana Laura Noda González, Niha Burugapalli and Daniel Corredor Llorente came to the University of Toronto from different regions of the world, with unique career aspirations and a wide assortment of volunteering causes.

But the three Lester B. Pearson International Scholarship recipients all share one trait: a commitment to making a difference. And all three are graduating from their respective programs this June.

Here's how they plan to use their �Թϱ�� educations to help make the world a better place:

Ana Laura Noda González

(photo supplied)

González, who is graduating with an honours bachelor of science in psychology with minors in immunology and Buddhist psychology and mental health in the Faculty of Arts & Science, says Canada wasn’t on her list of destinations for post-secondary studies – until she heard about the Pearson Scholarship.

“I ran into my school principal’s office and told her that she had to nominate me,” says González, who was born in Cuba and grew up in Mexico.

Upon arriving in Toronto, González says she was taken aback by rampant food waste – particularly given her family’s origins in Cuba, a country with widespread food insecurity. So she co-founded MealCare Toronto, a student-run non-profit that diverts surplus food from cafeterias and restaurants to shelters and food banks.

The Woodsworth College student says her academic interests evolved considerably while at �Թϱ��, and that she now plans to pursue graduate and doctoral research in psychiatry and mental health. “Psychiatry is a relatively new field of medicine – there are a lot of unknowns so I’d like to do something in that,” says González, who is currently working as a research assistant at SickKids Hospital.

Looking back on her time at �Թϱ��, González says she was pleasantly surprised by the ease at which she was able to forge connections.

“Even during the COVID times, I was able to find a community online … and I still have some of my best friends now from that time,” she says. “I’m incredibly grateful for the opportunity to have done my undergrad here.”

Niha Burugapalli

(photo supplied)

Burugapalli, who was born in India and raised in Connecticut, is graduating with a bachelor of science in global health and peace, conflict and justice studies.

While at �Թϱ��, the Victoria College student engaged in diverse experiential learning opportunities that ranged from working on the UN Sustainable Development Goals with the Reach Alliance to conducting neuroscience research in Sweden as part of a summer exchange program and spending a semester abroad in Granada, Spain.

Burugapalli is a co-founder of the EmpowART Foundation, an NGO that gives undergraduate students the opportunity to lead art workshops in nursing homes and hospitals – promoting healing through art while encouraging intergenerational connections.

“The goal was to empower the seniors as they engage in a new skill … while bridging the gap between students searching for opportunities to make an impact and the isolation experienced by many seniors,” she says.

Burugapalli says she’s grateful for the sense of community that �Թϱ�� had to offer. “The college system and being part of Vic was really nice to be able to make great friends easily and find a community and support in such a large student body,” she says.

“Overall, I have really enjoyed my time at �Թϱ�� and have been enriched by all the amazing opportunities like research and studying abroad and all the inspiring people I have had the privilege of meeting along the way.”

Daniel Corredor Llorente

(photo supplied)

Corredor Llorente, who is originally from Colombia, says he didn’t think twice about accepting �Թϱ��’s offer.

“No other university I applied to offered anything as promising – much less so in a country as welcoming as Canada and a cosmopolitan city like Toronto,” says Corredor Llorente, who is both a Pearson Scholar and Laidlaw Scholar at Trinity College, and is graduating with an international relations specialist with minors in economics and political science.

“My academic experience at �Թϱ�� was timely and top-tier, though not without its challenges considering the extremely complex – and often painful – issues of the day,” Corredor says, noting his undergraduate years coincided with global challenges from the pandemic to armed conflict and growing human rights concerns around the world.

Corredor Llorente credits his �Թϱ�� professors, coursework and research opportunities with helping him access hands-on experience in the field – including internships with the UN Special Rapporteur on the human rights for internally displaced persons, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights and the Compaz Foundation, an NGO founded by former Colombian president and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Juan Manuel Santos.

Corredor Llorente, who is currently working to advance human rights in the Americas via an Orlando Sierra Fellowship in Washington, D.C., says he’s grateful to the Pearson Scholars program for providing “an unsurpassable opportunity to study at one of the world's leading institutions, on a full ride, while joining a cohort of bright, passionate and driven changemakers committed to tackling society's polycrisis.”

�Թϱ�� grads aim to electrify - and simplify - the package delivery business

Christopher.Sorensen — Wed, 20 Mar 2024 17:33:25 +0000

�Թϱ�� grads aim to electrify - and simplify - the package delivery business

Christopher.Sorensen Wed, 03/20/2024 - 13:33

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GoBolt co-founder Mark Ang, who graduated from Rotman Commerce in 2017, says he and co-founder Heindrik Bernabe, an alum of �Թϱ�� Engineering, “wanted to be change-makers in an antiquated industry” (photo by Kemeisha McDonald)

Topic

Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering

Faculty of Arts & Science

Subheadline

GoBolt got its start as a storage solution for students living in residence, but co-founders Mark Ang and Heindrik Bernabe switched gears after deciding they wanted to have a positive impact on the planet

What started as a side hustle for University of Toronto graduate Mark Ang has since evolved into a multi-million-dollar third-party logistics company – one that aims to have a positive impact on the planet by using electric vehicles for package deliveries.

Ang’s startup GoBolt has raised more than US$160 million from investors to support expansion of its fulfillment, last-mile delivery and returns management services to major urban areas across Canada and the United States.

It’s also using the funding to increase the percentage of electric vehicles (EVs) it has on the road.

“I always tell the team, ‘We need to be fiercely competitive to win enough volume to have an environmental impact,’” says Ang, who earned his bachelor of commerce degree from �Թϱ�� in 2017 as a member of Trinity College.

GoBolt estimates that its approach currently prevents 20 tonnes of CO2 emissions each month, a number that increases as it adds more EVs to its fleet. The company also invests in tree planting and other restorative projects to sequester the emissions GoBolt does produce, with the goal of being carbon neutral by the end of 2023.

“What we do today is a great start, and it is a beacon for people, but it's not nearly enough to make a difference globally,” says Ang. “We're fiercely competitive in making this business a multi-billion-dollar global enterprise – and then we can start to effect real change.”

GoBolt Co-Founders Mark Ang and Heindrik Bernabe with one of their electric delivery vehicles (photo by Kemeisha McDonald)

The story of GoBolt began when Ang was a �Թϱ�� undergraduate student in Rotman Commerce. He founded Second Closet, a storage service aimed at international students who needed to clear out their dorm rooms for the summer. Ang’s team rented trucks and scurried around campus to collect hundreds of boxes and random items. It was a lot of driving, a lot of parking tickets and a lot of stairs.

By offering a convenient service for a fraction of its competitors’ prices and an effective, flyer-based direct marketing campaign, the venture soon experienced rapid growth. Within two weeks, Second Closet was making $20,000 a month – pushing its resources to the limit.

“Every year got progressively crazier,” says Ang. “We had a dozen five-tonne trucks around �Թϱ�� every day in April and September. We would do thousands of pickups. It was just bananas.”

They needed help and they needed it fast.

Enter Michael Hyatt of the Creative Destruction Lab, a seed-stage accelerator that was founded at the Rotman School of Management.

The angel investor raised US$500,000 for Second Closet in a single day.

“In the realm of exceptional founders, Mark stands out as an evangelist who possesses the acumen to drive the business forward,” says Hyatt, entrepreneur and CDL founding partner who sits on GoBolt’s board of directors.

“Mark's intelligence and adeptness at building relationships were readily apparent. His ability to hustle and propel the business forward was instrumental in leveraging the connections within CDL.”

Hyatt also connected Ang with �Թϱ�� engineering student Heindrik Bernabe, who went on to become a GoBolt programmer, co-founder and CTO.

The business thrived but Ang and Bernabe still weren't satisfied.

“I didn't want our legacy to be that we help people hoard their stuff more efficiently,” says Ang.

Ang and Bernabe wanted to make a difference in the world, and so, with their fleet of trucks from Second Closet, they pivoted to logistics and shipping with GoBolt. At the time, using EVs commercially was a novel idea, but the newly formed GoBolt already had relationships with EV makers in Ontario and Quebec, as well as goods producers who cared about the fate of freight and addressing climate change.

“We wanted to be a 21st-century business for 21st-century brands, shoppers and merchants,” says Ang, whose clients include Endy mattresses and Frank And Oak apparel.

“We wanted to be change-makers in an antiquated industry.”

GoBolt’s made-in-Canada electric delivery vehicles can travel up to 400 kilometres on a single charge, depending on the payload and the EV battery’s natural enemy – freezing weather. But range is just a minor speed bump as technology improves and GoBolt adds service hubs and charging stations on its busiest routes.

“We're excited about what we're doing,” says Ang. “We don't feel super altruistic about it – we just know it's the right thing to do.”

Uncovering untold stories: �Թϱ�� course explores Black Canadian history

Christopher.Sorensen — Wed, 28 Feb 2024 19:01:44 +0000

Uncovering untold stories: �Թϱ�� course explores Black Canadian history

Christopher.Sorensen Wed, 02/28/2024 - 14:01

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Archival photograph of the Emanuel African Methodist Church congregation, early 1920s, in Edmonton (photo by Glenbow Archives, University of Calgary, ND-3-1199, and via the research of Jennifer R. Kelly, professor emeritus, University of Alberta, for the Edmonton City as Museum Project)

Topic

Faculty of Arts & Science

History

St. Michael's College

Trinity College

How familiar are you with Black Canadian history?

“So many people educated in Canada, or external to Canada, don't know about the long-standing presence of Black people in this country,” says Funké Aladejebi, an assistant professor of history in the University of Toronto’s Faculty of Arts & Science.

“This breadth of knowledge on Black Canadian history often gets ignored or is not often inserted into broader courses on Canadian history.”

Determined to change this, Aladejebi is teaching a year-long course titled “Black Canadian History.” It’s part of a new Certificate in Black Canadian Studies offered through University College and open to all students in the Faculty of Arts & Science.

“Many of the students in this class come from health and science, equity studies and Indigenous studies, and a lot of them like the idea of being able to say they have specific expertise on Black Canadian studies more broadly,” says Aladejebi.

“It's trying to give students a broad overview of the movements and migrations of persons of African descent into the land that is now called Canada and thinking in complex ways about how people were living and existing in this country.”

Salt Spring Island's Central School, 1929 (photo courtesy of the Salt Spring Island Archives)

The course goes as far back as 1604, which marks the earliest records of persons of African descent in Canada. It also explores the experiences of Black Loyalists – people of African descent who sided with the British during the American Revolutionary War – passengers of the Underground Railroad, as well as lesser-known movements to the West Coast, the Prairies and Maritimes.

Funké Aladjebi (supplied image)

“We tend to forget about these regions where Black people resided in smaller numbers,” says Aladejebi. “But it's our responsibility as historians to show the breadth of where Black people have been and where they still are.”

For example, most Canadians are unfamiliar with the history of the Jamaican Maroons in Nova Scotia.

After a series of wars fighting for freedom from British control in Jamaica, more than 500 Maroons – men, women and children – were forcibly transported to Halifax in 1796.

Despite an inhospitable reception, the Maroons flourished and maintained a strong sense of community in exile, says Aladjebi, adding that they were connected to the city’s larger community, having been involved in the construction of the Halifax Citadel. However, many in the community spent years petitioning the colonial government to leave Nova Scotia, and in 1800, most of them left for the free Black colony of Sierra Leone in West Africa.

“But it’s widely believed some Maroons stayed behind and their continued presence is reflected in the surnames, accents, idioms, customs, oral histories and traditions of African Nova Scotians,” Aladejebi says.

The Halifax Citadel (photo by Ron Cogswell, CC BY 2.0)

The second half of the course dives into more contemporary issues such as racial violence, anti-Black racism, immigration trends, equity and inclusion for Black communities, and injustice in Canada.

“We never just stay in the history, we always bring it to the contemporary with these historical foundations and track why this continues to exist today,” says Aladejebi. “By the time we move through the course, students understand the roots of anti-Black racism in Canada, and they're able to navigate institutions in a clearer way.”

Aladejebi says she is intrigued by the range of emotions the students experience as she teaches the material.

“They move through emotional stages where they are surprised at first and then get frustrated because of what they didn't know,” says Aladejebi. “The Black students go through a variety of feelings, but at end of the class, they’re feeling like they know a little bit more about themselves and the experience of persons of African descent.

“Non-Black students also go through a series of emotions. They feel better equipped to talk about Black Canadian history, they’re able to better understand various social relationships that are part of Black experiences across the diaspora.”

There can be anxious moments.

“Students have to talk about, ‘What was my experience in school? What was my experience and engagement with policing and the judicial system?’ So we go through pockets where students are nervous about saying the right and wrong things.”

For many students, working through these tensions leads to knowledge and understanding.

“As a Black Canadian political science major pursuing a career as a policy analyst, the course’s material, conversations and activities are crucial to both my academic and professional development,” says Dacian Dawes, a third-year member of St. Michael’s College who is double majoring in political science and critical studies in equity and solidarity, with a minor in African studies and a certificate in Black Canadian history.

“It has increased my understanding of systemic inequalities, inspiring me to use this information to build on my political science studies and future career.”

Erinayo Adediwura Oyeladun, a second-year student in African studies and a member of Trinity College, says she has been empowered by studying the work of Black Canadian history scholars, and sees how historical understanding can be a powerful tool in creating change.

“The historians’ research teaches me the importance of situating your work as more than just an intellectual discovery. Your work should also represent your community and serve a broader purpose in making a positive impact for your community.”

For Aladejebi, teaching the course has been equally as energizing, with her students continually challenging the way she delivers – and receives – information.

“We all come with our limitations, biases and prejudices. This course is helping us to think about where they come from, why they exist, and how we can interpret them. It's about interrupting the cycles, unlearning what we thought we knew, and re-imagining something better.”

Classics students whip up a taste of ancient history

Christopher.Sorensen — Tue, 30 Jan 2024 13:43:52 +0000

Classics students whip up a taste of ancient history

Christopher.Sorensen Tue, 01/30/2024 - 08:43

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Students and professors ate some of the same foods ancient Greeks and Romans served at dinners thousands of years ago (photo by Teodora Mladin)

Sean McNeely

Topic

Our Community

Classics

Faculty of Arts & Science

Subheadline

From "Parthian chicken" to melitoutta, the flavours of ancient Greece and Rome took centre stage on Ancient Food Day – helping to connect students to the civilizations they study

It was a feast fit for the gods.

Professors, graduate and undergraduate students enjoyed some of the same foods ancient Greeks and Romans served at dinners thousands of years ago at Ancient Food Day, organized by the Classics Students’ Union.

“Ancient Food Day is more than just a culinary festivity,” says Teodora Mladin, president of the student union and a sixth-year student with a double major in classical civilizations and French linguistics who is a member of Trinity College.

“Food is one of the primary ways we share and retain our cultures. So, by indulging in these recipes, we momentarily taste the traditions, stories and experiences of ancient peoples.”

The Classics Students' Union held its biannual Ancient Food Day event earlier this month (photo by Teodora Mladin)

Tasting those traditions included enjoying dishes such as: “Parthian chicken,” cooked with leeks, red wine, dried dates, garlic and cumin; and parsnip fries, cooked with olive oil, honey, apple cider vinegar, cornstarch, celery seed, rosemary, pepper and fish sauce. The event’s organizers said the dishes were very popular in 224 CE.

A plate of asparagus, meanwhile, was prepared with marjoram, which, students said, tastes like smoked fish when mixed with coriander.

There were also plenty of choices for those with a sweet tooth such as enkrides – the ancient equivalent to Timbits. These fried cheese dough balls are cooked in olive oil and then covered in honey. Or there was melitoutta, which are honey cakes that resemble scones. Apparently, this was a dessert deceased souls would bring to the underworld.

Asparagus was prepared with spices to give it a fishy flavour (photo by Sean McNeely)

Attendees also enjoyed “pear patina,” frittatas made with boiled cored pears and prepared with eggs, honey, olive oil, grape juice and white wine, offering both savoury and sweet flavours.

The dishes were washed down with beverages such as “Nectar of the Gods” – a mango-nectar-based drink and a mulled pomegranate drink called “Persephone in the Underworld.” Inspired by the myth of Persephone’s abduction by Hades, its Greek description translates to “fire burning at night,” referring to its spiced quality as well as its dark, glittery colour.

The event was the culmination of weeks of preparation that included searching for original recipes, translating them and then preparing dishes as true to the originals as possible. The group also created placards for each dish that contained the original Greek recipe, the English translation and fun facts.

Each dish was accompanied by a placard with the original Greek recipe (photo by Teodora Mladin)

Izzy Friesen, a fourth-year classics and classical civilizations student, says translating recipes was an enriching experience from both a language and history perspective.

"Getting to translate recipes allowed me to engage with Latin in a different way,” says Friesen, a member of Victoria College. “It was particularly valuable for us to attempt our own translations and look for recipes that caught our eye. It’s useful and exciting for language-learners but not necessarily something we’d get to do in the classroom."

Madeleine Andrasic, a second-year student with a double major in classical languages and history, and a member of University College, also found translating the recipes to be rewarding.

“It really becomes evident that Greeks and Romans saw food in both similar and different ways to us,” says Andrasic. “So much cultural and environmental history can be revealed in these texts, [sparking] further questions about food availability and food preferences in the ancient world."

Pear patina sits next to an apricot dessert (photo by Sean McNeely)

For Tessa Delaney-Girotti, a fourth-year student with a double major in classical civilizations and archeology, preparing the dishes strengthened her connection to ancient peoples.

“It’s not only a unique experience to be able to eat the same kind of food as someone from thousands of years ago, but there’s also something about cooking those recipes, putting yourself into their shoes, that brings to mind the everyday activities of their lives,” says Delaney-Girotti, a member of University College who is vice-president of the student union.

“Most of the time we feel far removed from the people we read about, but this brings a whole new perspective.”

A serving dish of Parthian chicken beside a tray of enkrides (photo by Sean McNeely)

Mladin, too, says gathering to share a meal is a timeless human experience and organizing and hosting Ancient Food Day further connected her to the cultures she’s studying.

She added that the Classics Students' Union has seen so much interest in the recipes that it intends to create an ancient recipe blog.

“The dishes we present are an emblem of history, a testament to the cultural exchanges, advancements and the ever-evolving human story,” she says. “We are reminded of the depth and breadth of the ancient civilizations that shaped the very focus of our department."

Wars, Diaspora & Music: �Թϱ�� courses explores the role of music during times of war

Christopher.Sorensen — Thu, 07 Dec 2023 17:17:03 +0000

Wars, Diaspora & Music: �Թϱ�� courses explores the role of music during times of war

Christopher.Sorensen Thu, 12/07/2023 - 12:17

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Simon Bikindi, right, a Rwandan singer-songwriter, is pictured with his lawyers and a United Nations guard at the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda in 2008 (photo by STR/AFP via Getty Images)

Cynthia Macdonald

Topic

Our Community

Anne Tanenbaum Centre for Jewish Studies

Faculty of Arts & Science

Undergraduate Students

Victoria College

In the 1990s, Simon Bikindi was Rwanda’s most popular musician – a United Nations official even dubbed him the “Rwandan Michael Jackson.” A sometime wedding singer, Bikindi’s lyrics often told of love stories and his country’s beautiful landscape.

But Bikindi’s music could also be dangerous. Over the three months in which almost a million Tutsis were massacred during the Rwandan Civil War, the country’s Radio Télévision Libre des Milles Collines repeatedly broadcast the singer’s violent, inflammatory songs. In 2008, Bikindi, an ethnic Hutu, was convicted for his role in inciting war crimes.

The Bikindi story is but one of the case studies covered in “Wars, Diaspora and Music” – a University of Toronto course in the Faculty of Arts & Science that explores the important role that music often plays in ethnic conflicts, wars, exile and displacement.

“We look at how music can be a weapon – as military music and propaganda,” says course creator Anna Shternshis, the Al and Malka Green Professor of Yiddish Studies and director of the Anne Tanenbaum Centre for Jewish Studies.

“But we also look at songs created by people under duress – songs about love and the reclamation of humanity, when everything has been destroyed.”

Shternshis says she conceived of “Wars, Diaspora & Music” while working on Yiddish Glory, the Grammy-nominated album of Holocaust-era Yiddish songs she assembled with Russian performer Psoy Korolenko.

Anna Shternshis is the director of the Anne Tanenbaum Centre for Jewish Studies and is the Al and Malka Green Professor of Yiddish Studies (photo by Diana Tyszko)

Yiddish Glory is part of the course’s syllabus, along with music from many other conflicts of the 20th and 21st centuries. That includes music from Rwanda, Korea, Bosnia, Afghanistan, Ukraine and Palestine.

“I decided to take this course as I had never heard of anything like it,” says Anjali Joshi-Dave, who is in her third year as a member of Trinity College. “Although I do not play any musical instruments, I adore music and was interested to see its connection to violence and diasporas from an academic perspective.”

Gabriella Batikian is a fourth-year member of Victoria College. A member of the Armenian diaspora, she grew up listening to a wealth of music from her heritage – much of which was produced around the time of the 1915 Armenian genocide.

She says the course helped her contextualize such music, as well as that from other countries.

“We do a deep analysis of the lyrics that we’re studying,” Batikian says. “And it’s really interesting to learn how music can be used for good and for bad. We’ve learned how it can be used as a propaganda tool and to incite violence. But at the same time, music is also used to comfort survivors of war. That’s the main thing – discovering the power that music truly holds.”

War invariably involves displacement – hence its connection to diasporic communities longing for home. To this end, students learn about initiatives such as the U.S.-based Refugee Orchestra Project.

Shternshis is a scholar of refugee experience and a supporter of refugees in Toronto.

“In class, we’ve discussed what kind of music is created in refugee camps,” she says. “Listening to music like this becomes a way of learning what people really care about. And I think that when students examine events in future, they will count music among the sources they use to try and make sense of them.”

By studying music produced within different conflict environments, Shternshis has drawn several unique insights. She notes, for example, that the closer a musician is to conflict, the less “martial” the music becomes. That includes war songs in which soldiers sing about their loved ones back home, or joke about inferior army food.

“A lot of soldiers also learn to play a musical instrument, because they desperately need the emotional break,” she says.

Hearts of Pine by Joshua D. Pilzer (Oxford University Press)

The course also features a unit on Hearts of Pine, a book by Joshua Pilzer, an associate professor in the Faculty of Music. The book explores how Korean women used song as a means of coping with trauma while forced into sexual enslavement during the Second World War.

“When people live through sexual violence in war, very few songs describe the violence itself,” says Shternshis, noting it was a phenomenon she noticed when interviewing Holocaust survivors who were also musicians. “They sing about everything else but that.”

Shternshis has been teaching “Wars, Diaspora & Music” since 2018 and changes the syllabus every year to incorporate music from the world’s current wars. “I keep hoping that this will become a historical course,” she says ruefully. “But it is always contemporary.”

Last year, for example, she monitored music – emerging in real time on social media – created during the Russian invasion of Ukraine. This year, she and her students are keeping watch on music from the Israel–Hamas war with the help of a student translator.

While it is painful to engage with contemporaneous pain, Shternshis says it’s a valuable way of recording experiences and emotions that are easily forgotten with the passage of time.

What unites the music studied in the course is its enormous power – both to incite killing, as in the case of Rwanda’s Bikindi, but also to provide healing.

Shternshis says the latter may ultimately be stronger than the former.

“If a person who lives under extreme duress is able to enjoy music, that often gives them incredible strength to move on,” Shternshis says, adding that her course offers a glimpse of the human spirit at its most threatened – and most triumphant.

“We are asking: What are the things that people are saying, or singing, or even laughing about in conditions that are not designed for life at all?”

�Թϱ�� 'Horror Film' course keeps students on the edge of their seats

rahul.kalvapalle — Tue, 31 Oct 2023 15:20:29 +0000

�Թϱ�� 'Horror Film' course keeps students on the edge of their seats

rahul.kalvapalle Tue, 10/31/2023 - 11:20

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The "Horror Film" class offered through �Թϱ��’s Cinema Studies Institute examines movies spanning several decades, including early horror pictures (photos by LMPC via Getty Images, Movie Poster Image Art/Getty Images)

Topic

Faculty of Arts & Science

Subheadline

“Horror provides a structured, formal space to explore experiences like death, decay and monstrosity that may otherwise be dangerous, hidden or off-limits"

When Carrie Reese turned 10, she invited friends to her house for a sleep-over birthday party and chose a special film to mark the occasion.

Equipped with plenty of pillows to clutch and hide behind, she and her friends nervously pressed play and began watching Alfred Hitchcock’s iconic 1963 horror film, The Birds.

Carrie Reese (supplied image)

It was the beginning of a lifelong interest in scary movies that she is now sharing through her course, Horror Film, at the Faculty of Arts & Science’s Cinema Studies Institute (See a list of Reese’s picks for Halloween viewing below).

The course examines horror films through a critical thinking lens, exploring key elements such as gender and genre as well as notions of space, the home and ownership. That extends to discussing ways that horror connects to emotion and experience, and how emotions like fear and dread can be visualized.

“It's about getting students to learn through images and to understand the value in studying images,” says Reese, a sessional instructor who holds a PhD in cinema studies from �Թϱ��. “Rather than talking about whether a film is good or bad, we’re critically investigating it and seeing how it helps us to understand different modes of being.”

The class studies movies spanning several decades including modern films such as Us (2019) and Candyman (1992), to classics such as Jaws (1975), The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974) and early horror pictures such at Cat People (1942) and the original Frankenstein (1931).

(Photo by Universal History Archive/UIG via Getty images)

Reese says she loves the fact that every student’s approach, interest and reaction to horror movies is unique, and she feeds off this wide spectrum of experiences and perspectives.

“I encourage students to come to horror movies in different ways and through their own interests,” she says. “It's been rewarding to see students who maybe have never taken a cinema studies class before and are able to have their first experience with the discipline through horror.”

Part of the course requires a deep dive into the films’ stories, and the techniques and methods used to evoke a fearful response.

“One of my favorite things to look at in horror is editing,” says Reese. “If there's something that's edited in like a jump scare, why are we responding to that? Because it's put in at a time that’s not expected. So we’re breaking those things down and talking about our reactions, but also examining how this is created on screen – how there are patterns in horror that we come to expect, but nevertheless continually surprise us.”

When it comes to fearful responses, Reese sees them first-hand during her in-class screenings of the course’s movies as the crowd of students hold their breath together or sigh in relief.

“It’s absolutely delightful to engage in screenings as a community and I think it's such an important experience,” says Reese, adding that the screenings are paired with reflective discussions that follow.

“We’re looking at how these things are presented visually and stylistically, and I’m seeing firsthand the way these images have shifted ways of critically thinking about media, about emotion, and about politics.”

But why do we subject ourselves to being frightened?

(Photo by Movie Poster Image Art/Getty Images)

“This paradox, enjoying horror, has been studied in some of the canonical horror literature and it’s one of the things I had students explore in the first few weeks of the course,” says Reese.

“Horror provides a structured, formal space to explore experiences like death, decay and monstrosity that may otherwise be dangerous, hidden or off-limits. Part of the thrill is in seeing things we’re typically not supposed to see or experience. This is articulated in the ‘paradox of horror,’ or why we seek out and derive pleasure from frightening, horrific experiences, as articulated through the cinematic medium.”

Eric Kim, a second-year student and member of Woodsworth College with a double major in cinema studies and East Asian studies, says he is enjoying the class but admits he isn't a fan of horror films.

“I never really liked them growing up,” he says. “But over the past few years, I've really appreciated what directors like Jordan Peele (Nope, Us, Get Out) were doing with horror, and it made me realize what a strange blind spot it was in my understanding.

“What is it about a film that makes you want to scream in fear? I just wanted to dive into that question and confront that. And it's led to how I can start discussing my own anxieties through what I want to research in my other courses or what I create with my own stories and comics. Unknotting these emotions and finding a new creative perspective inside has been a delightful discovery.”

Addisa O’Brien Thompson, a member of Trinity College and a second-year student with a double major in cinema studies and international relations, says she adores horror films and being scared.

“I’m a fan of scary things,” she says. “Through this course, I’ve gained the ability to better analyze the variety of methods in which terror and disquiet are portrayed through film and instilled into the spectator. What I enjoy most about this course is how I have opportunities to explore the horror genre through these practical means.”

All of this analysis has inspired O’Brien Thompson to make a short film of her own for the course’s final assignment.

Similarly, Kim says he's inspired to create his own story. “It's forced me to reconsider everything I thought I understood about horror and encouraged me to start think about making one."

Six films Carrie Reese recommends for Halloween:

Ringu (dir. Hideo Nakata, 1998)

“A notorious Japanese horror film that I love for its take on the monstrosity of media. You may have seen the American remake, but the original provides a texture to its treatment of video and technology that I think is lost in the Hollywood version.”

Rec (dir. Paco Plaza, Jaume Balagueró, 2007)

“A scary, fun found-footage horror film that is a gruesome and increasingly relevant commentary on illness and quarantine.”

Raw (dir. Julia Ducournau, 2016)

“This film is known for its audience response to gore, but I promise it’s not as bad as the press makes it out to be. A coming-of-age cannibal story.”

Goodnight Mommy (dir. Veronika Franz, 2014)

“This is a film that has stuck with me for both its style and unique treatment of themes in the horror genre, including doubles, imposters, and cosmetic surgery. Worth a watch for the opening alone.”

Blood Quantum (dir. Jeff Barnaby, 2019)

“Another brilliant take on the zombie film that uses the genre to explore Indigenous heritage. The title refers to laws used to determine indigeneity. Shot in Quebec and New Brunswick.”

Nanny (dir. Nikyatu Jusu, 2022)

“This is a surrealist horror take that I have been thinking about because of the ways it so seriously and beautifully grapples with migration, work and care.”

In photos: Students settle into their new homes across �Թϱ��'s three campuses

bresgead — Tue, 05 Sep 2023 21:56:14 +0000

In photos: Students settle into their new homes across �Թϱ��'s three campuses

bresgead Tue, 09/05/2023 - 17:56

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(photos by Don Campbell, left, and Nick Iwanyshyn, centre and right)

Topic

Undergraduate Students

University College

Subheadline

From instant ramen noodles to lengthy goodbyes, it was a busy – and emotional – Labour Day weekend 2023 at �Թϱ�� residences

Incoming students from across Canada and around the world made the University of Toronto their home over Labour Day weekend, pulling up to their residences across the three campuses with boxes of belongings, preferred snacks and plush creature comforts in tow.

Returning students and residential staff welcomed �Թϱ��’s newest community members with enthusiastic cheers and a helping hand in hauling suitcases, boxes and appliances through the hallways and to their rooms.

Parents ticked off items on their to-do lists as they prepared to say goodbye, some admitting they were saving their tears for the trip home, while siblings and friends helped figure out how to decorate new quarters.

First-year students, meanwhile, settled into their surroundings and looked forward to writing an important new chapter in their lives.

Interactive Digital Producer Nick Iwanyshyn and Staff Reporters Adina Bresge and Don Campbell were on hand to capture the emotions and excitement of move-in day in photos at each of the three campuses.

(photo by Nick Iwanyshyn)

New arrivals at University College on the St. George campus were greeted with signs and cheers as they unloaded their cars outside Morrison Hall.

(photo by Nick Iwanyshyn)

Like many students, �Թϱ�� Mississauga’s Diore Thorpe stocked her dorm room with all the essentials – including a ready supply of instant ramen.

(photo by Nick Iwanyshyn)

Crystal Zhang, a first-year student at Trinity College, says she felt “mildly terrified” but “very excited” about living on her own for the first time.

While she’s comfortable doing her own laundry, she’s less confident in her cooking skills. “I’m glad I got a meal plan,” said Zhang, who is beginning her studies in Rotman Commerce.

(photo by Don Campbell)

Hundreds of students moved in to �Թϱ�� Scarborough’s new sustainable student residence, Harmony Commons, which is built to passive house standard – a type of building designed for energy-efficient heating and cooling.

(photo by Nick Iwanyshyn)

Sahil Basra, who is studying computer science, battled the heat as he lugged his desktop and monitor up to his room. “I’m exhausted,” Basra said, bracing himself for several more trips up and down the stairs.

(photo by Nick Iwanyshyn)

Mya Thompson brought an armful of plushies – a shark, a frog and a dinosaur – to keep herself cozy at Innis College.

While the life sciences student was thrilled to be in the big city, her mother admitted that she was holding back tears for the drive back to Port Dover, Ont. “I’m excited for her, though, to chase her dream,” Eva Thompson said.

photo by Don Campbell)

Luggage carts helped with the heavy lifting as students got to know one another at �Թϱ�� Scarborough.

(photo by Nick Iwanyshyn)

Staff and volunteers at �Թϱ�� Mississauga’s Erindale Hall residence ferried students’ belongings to their rooms in giant plastic bins.

(photo by Nick Iwanyshyn)

Esmé L. Wilson’s parents flew in from San Francisco to get her set up in her room. While she was ready for classes to begin, Wilson felt less prepared for the coming Canadian winter. “I have no idea what kind of jackets I’ll need,” she said. “I’ll probably have to buy a lot of new things.”

Robert Houle, who redefined contemporary Indigenous art, receives honorary degree

Christopher.Sorensen — Thu, 15 Jun 2023 17:02:20 +0000

Robert Houle, who redefined contemporary Indigenous art, receives honorary degree Christopher.Sorensen Thu, 06/15/2023 - 13:02

Cutline

(photo by Lisa Sakulensky)

Topic

One of the foremost artists and curators of his generation, Robert Houle has played a pivotal role in working for change against the continued effects of colonization.

His art, exhibited in leading museums and galleries around the world, blends Indigenous experiences and traditions with contemporary visual ideas. And his curated exhibitions have helped redefine contemporary Indigenous art and bring it to wider Canadian and international audiences.

Today, for his excellence in the arts as an internationally recognized Indigenous artist and curator, Houle will receive a Doctor of Laws, honoris causa, from the University of Toronto.

Houle was born in St. Boniface, Man. in 1947, the eldest of 15 children. With his family belonging to the Plains Ojibwa, or Anishnabe Saulteaux, Houle spent his early childhood in Sandy Bay First Nation on the western shore of Lake Manitoba and learned the Saulteaux culture and language. Raised as a Roman Catholic, he was forced to attend residential schools in Sandy Bay and Winnipeg. In 1972, he earned a bachelor’s degree in art history from the University of Manitoba.

After graduating, he attended the Salzburg International Summer Academy, where he focused on painting and drawing. He completed a bachelor of education degree at McGill University in 1975.

(photo by Lisa Sakulensky)

The time he spent in Sandy Bay at the residential school was difficult. According to Shirley Madill’s biography of the artist, Robert Houle: Life & Work, Houle was not allowed to paint sacred objects or experiences from his own culture – or to speak to his sisters, who also attended the school. After Houle joined his family for their annual Sun Dance ceremony, the priest would force him to go to confession for worshipping false gods. These experiences would inform art he created much later in life.

When Houle graduated from McGill, exhibitions of Indigenous art at mainstream museums and private galleries were uncommon. A 1975 show in Montreal organized by Professional Native Artists Inc. challenged colonial thinking – and represented Indigenous Peoples in a way that was eye-opening for Houle. “Before seeing this exhibition, I was not aware of work by contemporary Indigenous artists and was struck by the power of their work,” he told Madill, the biographer.

In the late 1970s, Houle worked for Ottawa’s National Museum of Man as its first Indigenous curator of contemporary Indian art. But after a few years there, he says he grew tired of how the museum treated ceremonial Indigenous objects. “Presented in a context that isolated them from life and reality, all I could think of was that I wanted to liberate them,” he told an interviewer at Muse magazine. He resigned, and decided that the best way for him to advance Indigenous art and representation was as an artist.

Around this time, Houle moved to Toronto with his life partner, Paul Gardner. During the 1980s, his art became more overtly political. He revisited the painful experiences of his childhood and youth in works such as Sandy Bay (1998-99.) He focused on the histories of Indigenous Peoples and recording the names of North American Indigenous nations, many of which colonization had erased. A trip to Amsterdam inspired a lifelong interest in the colour-field painting of Abstract Expressionism, which he found “perfectly suited to communicating his own Indigenous spirituality,” Madill observed.

Since then, Houle’s work has helped redefine contemporary Indigenous art and bring it to a wider audience in Canadian and abroad.

In 1990, he took on a newly established position as professor of Native studies at the Ontario College of Art (now OCAD University), becoming the first person to hold such a role. He taught there for 15 years, mentoring a new generation of Indigenous artists and curators. At the same time, Houle continued to create art that transformed audiences, such as his iconic Kanata (1992) which reworks Benjamin West's 1770 painting "The Death of General Wolfe" and the multimedia piece, Kanehsatake (1990-1993) and Kanehsatake X (2000).

Houle has curated and co-curated a number of influential exhibitions of contemporary Indigenous art, including at the National Gallery of Canada. He has been a member of the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts since 2000 and has received numerous awards including the Governor General Award for the Arts in 2015, the Toronto Arts Award for Visual Arts in 2001 and two honorary doctorates. In 2021, the Art Gallery of Ontario presented a major career retrospective of his work.

Trinity College

In photos: �Թϱ��� campuses spring to life as students move into residence, head to first day of class

Philanthropists, volunteers and dedicated alumni, Brian and Joannah Lawson receive �Թϱ��� honorary degrees

Building a better world: Three Pearson Scholars – and soon-to-be grads – reflect on their �Թϱ��� experience

Ana Laura Noda González

Niha Burugapalli

Daniel Corredor Llorente

�Թϱ��� grads aim to electrify - and simplify - the package delivery business

Uncovering untold stories: �Թϱ��� course explores Black Canadian history

Classics students whip up a taste of ancient history

Wars, Diaspora & Music: �Թϱ��� courses explores the role of music during times of war

�Թϱ��� 'Horror Film' course keeps students on the edge of their seats

Six films Carrie Reese recommends for Halloween:

In photos: Students settle into their new homes across �Թϱ���'s three campuses

Robert Houle, who redefined contemporary Indigenous art, receives honorary degree

In photos: �Թϱ�� campuses spring to life as students move into residence, head to first day of class

Philanthropists, volunteers and dedicated alumni, Brian and Joannah Lawson receive �Թϱ�� honorary degrees

Building a better world: Three Pearson Scholars – and soon-to-be grads – reflect on their �Թϱ�� experience

�Թϱ�� grads aim to electrify - and simplify - the package delivery business

Uncovering untold stories: �Թϱ�� course explores Black Canadian history

Wars, Diaspora & Music: �Թϱ�� courses explores the role of music during times of war

�Թϱ�� 'Horror Film' course keeps students on the edge of their seats

In photos: Students settle into their new homes across �Թϱ��'s three campuses