Unlocking Our Potential - University of Toronto Magazine

The Watchman Samer Muscati’s quest for justice / What’s Your Scene? A new take on cities / Writing Contest WinnersPrince of Protocol The UN’s Desmond Parker / Better Living What makes life good? / Lit Junkie Everybody loves Nick Mountsummer 2011UnlockingOur PotentialLife’s early years mightbe even more importantthan we thought

Shop Shop Blue. Blue.Earn Cash Back 1% for for all allqualifying net retail purchases ‡ ‡More reasons to to use use it it every day. day.Support Your Your Alma Alma Mater. Show Show your your school school pride pride and and support support student student and and alumni alumni programs programs just just by making by makingroutine purchases —with —with no no additional cost cost to to you. you. When When you you use use your your University University of Toronto of Toronto MasterCard MasterCardcredit card, card, a a portion portion of of your your purchases purchases is directed is directed back back to to support support a variety a variety of student of student programs programs and and alumni alumniinitiatives.Visit Visit www.creditrsvp.com and and use use code code CKU8 CKU8‡ These are highlights of the MBNA PremierRewards program (the “Program”) as it pertains to this credit card. Complete terms and conditions describing eligibilityfor‡ Thesethe Program,are highlightsPremierRewardsof the MBNAPointsPremierRewardsaccrual, redemptionprogramof PremierRewards(the “Program”)Points,as itandpertainsothertoimportantthis creditconditions,card. Completelimitationstermsandandrestrictionsconditionswilldescribingbe sent aftereligibilityyour for account the Program, is opened.. PremierRewards Please read the Points terms accrual, and conditions redemption carefully of PremierRewards upon receipt. Points, and other important conditions, limitations and restrictions will be sent afterMBNA your account Canada is Bank opened.. is the Please exclusive read issuer the terms and administrator and conditions of the carefully credit upon card program receipt. described here. MBNA and MBNA Canada are registered trademarks of FIACard MBNA Services, Canada National Bank Association, is the exclusive used issuer by MBNA and administrator Canada Bank of pursuant the credit to card licence. program MasterCard described is a registered here. MBNA trademark and MBNA of MasterCard Canada are International, registered trademarks Incorporated,Card used Services, pursuant National to licence. Association, used by MBNA Canada Bank pursuant to licence. MasterCard is a registered trademark of MasterCard International, Incorpo-of FIA© rated, 2011 used MBNA pursuant Canada to Bank licence.© 2011 MBNA Canada Bank

Summer 2011Volume 38, No. 430 The WatchmanSamer Muscati helps citizens findjustice in war-weary Iraqby kevin charles redmon24 Unlocking Our PotentialLife’s early years mightbe even more importantthan we thoughtby alison motluk35 Alumni Short Story andPoetry Contest WinnersA nurse deals with adifficult birth in BrittanCoghlin’s winning story,“Delivered.” EmilySwinkin picked up topprize for her poem, “Thechildren of fishermen”cover illustration: jesse Lenz, contents photo: sandy nicholsonsummer 2011 1

Departmentssummer 2011 Volume 38 No. 4Editor and ManagerScott AndersonManaging EditorStacey GibsonArt Direction and DesignThe Office of Gilbert LiCommunications AssistantSuzanna ChangActing PublisherDavid Palmer, Vice-President,AdvancementEditorial OfficeT (416) 978-0838, F (416) 978-3958uoft.magazine@utoronto.caAdvertising InquiriesSuzanna ChangT (416) 978-0838, F (416) 978-3958suzanna.chang@utoronto.caHave a hot dog on theSid Smith steps at3 a.m. after a long nightof dancing– Computer-science student Peter Tran suggests something that everyU of T student should do at least once before graduating, p. 14All correspondence and undeliverable copies:U of T Magazine, 21 King’s College Circle,Toronto, ON M5S 3J3U of T Magazine, with a circulation of300,000, is published quarterly by UniversityAdvancement. All material is copyright© 2011 Governing Council, University ofToronto, and may be reprinted with writtenpermission. Alumni receive the magazinefree of charge. Donations accepted atwww.magazine.utoronto.ca under “Supportthe Magazine,” or send a cheque, payableto University of Toronto, at the above address.Publications Mail sales agreementNo. 40065699Non-profit postage paid Buffalo, NYPermit No. 3415. U.S. Postmaster send addresscorrections to P.O. Box 29, Lewiston, NY 14092Printed in Canada by TranscontinentalPrinting Inc. ISSN 1499-004014 “I didn’t choose painting, it chose me”: GovernorGeneral’s Award-winning artist Shirley Wiitasalo19 Should people get paid for losingweight and improving their health?Stay in touchDo we have your correct name and address?If not, please call (416) 978-2139 ortoll-free 1-800-463-6048 or email us ataddress.update@utoronto.caVisit us online: www.magazine.utoronto.caTwitter: www.twitter.com/uoftmagazineThe University of Toronto respects your privacy.We do not rent, trade or sell our mailing lists.If you do not wish to receive the magazine,please contact us at (416) 978-2139 or 1-800-463-6048 or address.update@utoronto.ca41 As chief of protocol, Desmond Parker brings peace ofmind to United Nations’ guests3 Letters Don’t Discourage Exercise5 President’s MessageMeeting Global Challenges9 Calendar Craft Beer Festival11 Life on Campus Literature Junkie17 Leading Edge Fighting Tooth Decay41 All about Alumni Rules of Conduct48 Time Capsule Sage of Aquarius2 WWW.MAGAZINE.UTORONTO.CA

Lettersmore physical activity (for example,Lee et al.). The authors of the CanadianHealth Measures Survey also cautionthat this tool is likely to underestimatevigorous activity.On the issue of estrogen, lowerestrogen was only one mechanism weused to explain the negative associationsbetween lifelong strenuousactivity and cognition. This is the samemechanism used to explain whystrenuous activity reduces the risk ofbreast cancer. The other proposedmechanism was long-term elevationsin circulating glucocorticoid levels,known to be toxic to the brain. We arenot proposing that lower estrogencauses menstrual-cycle abnormalities asonly 11 women in our sample reportedamenorrhea for short durations.Meeting MikeI was delighted to pick up the springissue and see the face of a man withwhom I have had no contact for some55 years: Prof. Michael Hare (“A CapitalAchievement”).It was my privilege to be acquaintedwith Mike from 1951 to 1955, while wewere enrolled in commerce and financeat U of T. We spent much of our timein the bowels of what was formerly theeconomics building, on Bloor Street.We last spoke at a classmate’s weddingthat we attended together shortly afterour graduation.My clearest memories of Mike arehis attempts to explain economic theoryto me in our graduating year. I mustsay that he was not entirely successful,but I did manage to graduate.I ascertained from the article that hehas refined his teaching skills overthe years, imparting his vast knowledgeto more than 32,000 students.I can only hope that he and I willmeet at least once more, with ourremaining classmates, perhaps, at our60 th class reunion in 2015!Morton (Morty) EisenBComm 1955, TorontoCriticisms, or Curios?Most government ministers are capableof earning brickbats, but it takesForeign Affairs Minister John Bairdto up the stakes to “bric-a-bracs,”as reported by Andrew Mitrovica in“True North” (Spring 2011).James GowBASc 1946, Fergus, ontarioDiminishing the PastI was astonished to read in the springissue that the visit of King George VIand Queen Elizabeth to the universityin 1939 is to be considered a “moreminor royal event” than the marriageof Prince William to Kate Middleton.Whether one is a monarchist or not,it should be obvious that a visit bythe then-reigning monarch was a verymajor event – considerably more sothan watching the marriage, via television,of a prince who is not eventhe heir to the throne. Maybe membersof your staff should take a coursein constitutional history.Janice YaldenBA 1952 Victoria, ottawaGroup of EightI wish to correct an error that appearedin the article “Body Double” (Spring2011). Although he worked closely withthe seven artists during his lifetime,Tom Thomson was not a Group of Sevenartist. The original members namedthemselves the Group of Seven in 1920,three years after Thomson died.Eileen PrettymanBA 1948 Victoria, torontoTiny TypeThe spring issue touts your new typefacesas “highly legible . . . for readers ofall ages.” One of them has “subtlequirks.” These subtle quirks make italmost illegible for readers of old age.The print in the sidebars is microscopic,and the non-white background addsto the problem. We older graduatesmay have eye problems, but we like toread – if editors allow it.Jean SonnefeldBA 1950 Victoria, Toronto“AIESEC is something youalways carry with you – theexperiences, the learning, thepeople and the memories.”-Tom Davies, AIESEC Toronto Alumnus, University of TorontoDelivery Executive, Global Technology Services, IBM Canada4 WWW.MAGAZINE.UTORONTO.CA

President’s MessageMeeting Global ChallengesU of T is teaching futureleaders to think creativelyacross disciplinesThis June, more than 12,000 students are graduating from theUniversity of Toronto in 24 separate ceremonies. It’s a joyoustime of year. And seeing all those talented students cross thestage, eager to make their mark on the world, is a wonderfulaffirmation of the evergreen purpose of higher education.The cycle of education and aspiration may be timeless,but our students are inheriting a world in transition atan unprecedented pace. Global economic competition andcollaboration are both intensifying. The next generationwill also be facing, among other challenges, the ongoingeffects of climate change, stunning shifts in the politicallandscape and economic influence of nations and regions,and a relentless multinational quest for sustainable energysources and raw materials.This fast-evolving situation helps explain why theUniversity of Toronto is working harder than ever to nurtureinnovation and creativity in all our students, and why weare also trying to give our students a level of global fluencythat was unthinkable – and arguably unnecessary – 20 or30 years ago.New issues are reshaping the university’s research landscapeas well. Throughout U of T’s history, dedicatedand talented faculty members have always responded toimportant challenges facing humanity and, in many cases,discovered practical solutions. Today, however, the problemsare more complex than ever. They require concertedeffort by people who are able to think creatively andcritically across subject areas and work collaborativelywith colleagues from other cultures, both in Canada andaround the world.In response, we have been recruiting more internationalstudents and faculty to U of T, and creating a greaternumber of small-learning communities that allow for moredirect interaction among students and faculty and moreinformal inter-disciplinary and cross-cultural exchanges.Looking ahead, we expect to expand the number ofinter national study and research opportunities for bothundergraduates and graduates alike. We are also providingmore opportunities for undergraduates to conduct originalresearch and to pursue topics, such as bioengineering ordigital humanities or quantum information processing, thatblur the boundaries between traditional disciplines.These boundary-crossing initiatives will expand in theyears ahead. U of T has identified several exciting areasof research where we hope to make strategic investments:early human development (featured in this issue of U of TMagazine), biopharmaceuticals and nanotechnology,to name a few.To safeguard standards, we ground trans-disciplinarycreativity in excellence across the full spectrum of disciplines.For example, the QS agency very recently surveyedthousands of professors worldwide to rank universityperformance by subject. U of T was not only in the top 15globally in medicine, psychology, biological sciences,engineering and computer science. The university didsimilarly well in English, modern languages, history,philosophy, and linguistics.These results are reassuring, but the university can’t becomplacent. Competition for the best faculty and students– and for financial resources – is intensifying as the marketfor knowledge goes global. Powerful, emerging economiessuch as China and India are investing heavily in postsecondaryeducation. China alone has some 20 millionuniversity and college students.Unfortunately, with Canadian governments fightingdeficits and trying to reduce debt, universities and collegesacross Canada are relying increasingly on tuitions and privatesupport. (It may surprise some to hear that provincialgrants now cover just 40 per cent of the university’s annualoperating budget, down from 70 per cent two decades ago.)U of T fares remarkably well compared to its internationalpeers on a fraction of the resources, but this disadvantageis persisting and threatens to grow worse. Since 2000,a dozen universities, all from the U.S., have mounted fundraisingcampaigns of $3 billion or more.We cannot afford to fall behind. Higher education andadvanced research in today’s world has a massive impactthat extends into every other field of human endeavor. AndCanada must have universities that can do two relatedthings: conduct the advanced research that will helpsurmount the grand challenges that humanity now faces,and offer the best and brightest students an educationthat will help them build a more successful nation and abetter world. No university in Canada is better positionedto meet those objectives. In future columns, I look forwardto sharing more details about how U of T intends to fulfillits leadership responsibilities.Sincerely,David Naylorsummer 2011 5

EXPLORE THE WORLDUNIVERSITY OF TORONTO ALUMNI TRAVEL PROGRAM 2012Explore the World withUniversity of Toronto in 2012!Join us as we explore the archeology, naturalhistory and contemporary politics on an expedition toNewfoundland, Labrador & Baffin Island. For thosewho love horticulture, don’t miss the Floriade, an eventthat takes place once every 10 years in the Netherlands.Music lovers can experience Dresden and Berlin withUofT alumnus Rick Phillips, host and producer of SoundAdvice, CBC Radio’s weekly guide to classical music.We are thrilled to introduce the Lifestyle Explorationsseries to Cuenca, Ecuador and Aix-en-Provence, France.These month-long stays allow you to immerse yourselfinto the lifestyle and culture enjoyed by the locals. OurGreat Cities program was developed for those who loveto explore all that the world’s greatest cities have tooffer and in 2012 we give you an Insider’s Perspectiveof London and Berlin.We hope you will join us as we explore the uniqueculture and history of communities around the world.TO REQUEST A BROCHUREplease call 416-978-2367 or 1-800-463-6048,e-mail alumnitravel@utoronto.ca, visit us online atwww.alumnitravel.utoronto.ca or mail this coupon to:University of Toronto Alumni Travel21 King’s College Circle, Toronto, ON M5S 3J3DETACHName: ______________________________________________________________ Grad Year: ______________________Address: _____________________________________________________________ City: __________________________Province: __________________ Postal Code: ______________________ Tel: ______________________________E-mail: _______________________________________ Alumni ID number _____________________________________9000... (10 digits, please see mailing label)Please send me additional information about individual trips: Yes r No rPlease check off the trips for which you would like to receive information:GREAT JOURNEYSr Treasures of South Americar Cruise the Lesser Antillesr Galapagos Islandsr Lifestyle Explorations: Ecuadorr Tahiti & French Polynesiar Treasures of the Mekongr Canary Islands & Iberian Peninsular Waterways of Holland & Belgiumr European Coastal Civilizationsr Alumni College in Austriar Yunnan & Tibetr Alumni College in Apuliar Baltic Sea & Norwegian Fjordsr Jewels of Antiquityr Great Journey through Europer Newfoundland, Labrador &Baffin Islandr Danube & Hapsburg Empirer Lifestyle Explorations: Provencer Alumni College in Normandyr Alumni College in Tuscanyr Waterways of Russiar Ancient Greece & Turkeyr Treasures of East Africar River Life: Rhine, Main, Mosel Riversr Nepal & Bhutanr Music in Dresden & Berlin withRick PhillipsGREAT ADVENTUREr Haida GwaiiGREAT CITIESr Londonr Berlin

GREAT JOURNEYSJan 12–24Treasures of SouthAmerica(Argentina, Chile)From $4595 US + airJan 16–23Cruise the LesserAntilles (Caribbean)From $3508 US incl. airJan 27–Feb 4Galapagos Islands(Ecuador)From $3595 US + airJan 29–Feb 28Lifestyle Explorations:Ecuador$2995 US + airFeb 16–26Tahiti & FrenchPolynesiaFrom $4995 US incl. airMarch 13–28Treasures of theMekong (Vietnam,Cambodia, Laos)From $3995 US + airMarch 28–April 8Canary Islands &Iberian Peninsula(Portugal, The Canaries, Spain)From $4895 US incl. airApril 10–18Waterways of Holland &BelgiumFrom $2395 US + airApril 15–23European CoastalCivilizations (Portugal,Spain, France, UK)From $3695 US + airMay 7–17Alumni College inAustria$2895 US + airMay 26–June 12Yunnan & Tibet(China, Tibet)$8988 incl. airMay 29–June 6Alumni College inApulia (Italy)$2295 US + airJune 5–17Baltic Sea &Norwegian Fjords(Baltic Countries)From $7695 US + airJune 8–23Jewels of Antiquity(France, Italy, Greece,Croatia)From $3850 US incl. airJune 28-July 8Great Journey throughEurope (Netherlands, Germany,France, Switzerland)From $3795 US + airJuly 10-23Newfoundland,Labrador & BaffinIsland (Canada)From $4995 + airAug 31-Sept 13Danube & HapsburgEmpire(Hungary to Poland)From $3995 US + airSept 1-30Lifestyle Explorations:Provence (France)$4995 US + airSept 10-19Alumni College inNormandy (France)$2695 US + airSept 19-27Alumni College inTuscany (Italy)$2695 US + airSept 26-Oct 9Waterways of RussiaFrom $3995 US + airOct 11–19Ancient Greece &TurkeyFrom $3295 US + airGREAT ADVENTUREGREAT CITIESOct 18–Nov 1Treasures of EastAfrica(Tanzania, Kenya)$5695 US + airOct 23-31River Life: Rhine,Main, Mosel Rivers(Germany)From $3295 US + airOct 27- Nov 13Nepal & Bhutan$10,988 incl. airNov 2-10Music in Dresden& Berlin with RickPhillips (Germany)$4595 + airJuly 14-22Haida Gwaii(Canada)$4400 + airApril 11-17London: An Insider’sPerspective(England)$2195 US + airJuly 21-28Berlin: An Insider’sPerspective(Germany)$2295 US + airPrices are in Canadian dollars (unlessotherwise noted), per person and basedon double occupancy. Dates and pricesare subject to change. Individual tourbrochures are available approximately4–6 months prior to departure.More detailed information is available atwww.alumnitravel.utoronto.ca

GetU of T Magazineonline !There are many ways to connectwith U of T Magazine online:Website Browse the current issue or the completearchive to 2000. Check out audio and video extras,and stories not in the print editionpDF and “Flip” edition Two easy-to-read replicasof the print edition – in environmentally friendlyformats. Available for download quarterly frommagazine.utoronto.caMobile App In development.U of T Magazine for iPhone, iPad and Androidmagazine.utoronto.caTrade your papercopy of U of TMagazine foran electronicone at alumni.utoronto.ca/emagazineFollow U of TMagazine onTwitter for dailyupdates aboutU of Ttwitter.com/uoftmagazine“Like” us onFacebookFacebook.comSearch forU of T MagazineAre you at least65 years old?Are you planningto get vaccinatedagainst influenzathis fall?If so, get vaccinated early andhelp with a research studycomparing the effectiveness of3 different approved influenzavaccines for older adultsWe are looking for study participants,65 years or older, who:1) are in generally good health2) have been vaccinated against influenza at least once in thepast 2 years3) are willing to be randomly assigned to receive 1 of 3 HealthCanada-approved influenza vaccines in September 20114) can commit to 3 study visits at Mount Sinai Hospital, each15 to 30 minutes in duration • 1st visit in early September• 2 nd visit 3 weeks later• 3 rd visit in March or April 20125) are willing to have a blood sample (about 8 mL) drawn ateach study visitRemuneration is providedFor more information, please contact Dr. Allison McGeer,Infectious Disease Research Unit, Mount Sinai Hospital416-586-4800 ext. 4161; email: idresearch@mtsinai.on.cawww.microbiology.mtsinai.on.ca/research

CalendarMORE EVENTS!Check out the latestcampus happenings atwww.utoronto.ca.Raise a glass at theCraft Beer FestivalJuly 16: The Secret Lives ofSummer Wildflowers. Thisday-long workshop will focus onwildflower identification anddiscussions about natural history,ecology and lore. Instructor:naturalist Richard Aaron. $60 perperson; includes a sandwichluncheon. 9:30 a.m.–4:30 p.m.Online registration is required.Please register each personseparately. Enrolment is limited,so sign up early. 17000 Dufferin St.(between Highway 9 and19th Sideroad), King Township.To register and for more info:http://ksr.utoronto.ca orksr.info@utoronto.ca.Special EventsJuly 28Hart House Craft Beer FestivalCelebrate summer at the fourth annual Hart House Craft Beer Festival, which will featuresome of the best craft brewed ales, lagers and Pilsners from small breweries acrossCanada. Hart House executive chef Marco Tucci will provide guests with an assortment ofbarbecued fare while DJs from CIUT 89.5 spin beats in the courtyard. Admission restrictedto those age 19 and over. $35 (students, $30), plus tax. Price includes eight beer samples(additional sample tickets can be bought on site). Purchase tickets at (416) 978-8849 orwww.uofttix.ca. 7 p.m. 7 Hart House Circle.For more info: Contact Nicole Pointon at (416) 978-7585 or nicole.pointon@utoronto.ca.AlumniJuly and August, Soldiers’ TowerThe Memorial Room in the Soldiers’Tower will be open to visitorson select dates in July and August.A carillon recital series, sponsoredby the McLean Foundation, featuresguest artists representing theFrench, Dutch and Belgian carillonschools. Evening recitals on July 6,13 and 20. Time TBA. 7 Hart HouseCircle. For more information,please contact (416) 978-0544 orsoldiers.tower@utoronto.ca. Visithttp://alumni.utoronto.ca/tower.ExhibitionsJuly 11 to September 16,Thomas Fisher Rare Book LibraryAn exhibition of books donatedby Ralph Stanton. Stanton, whodied in 2010, was one of the mostgenerous donors to the Fisher RareBook Library. His books span everytime period from the age of theincunable (15th century or earlier)to modern classics. Free. Mon. toFri., 9 a.m.–5 p.m. 120 St. GeorgeSt. (416) 978-5285 or www.library.utoronto.ca/fisher/exhibitions/current.htmlNatureJuly, Koffler Scientific Reserveat Jokers HillJuly 9: Bugs, Bees and Butterflies.This 90-minute nature walk is ledby Maydianne Andrade and AndrewMason, professors of biology atU of T Scarborough. Walks at 11 a.m.and 1:30 p.m. A kid’s bug huntat 12:45 p.m. Free, but onlineregistration is required. Enrolmentis limited; sign up early. 17000Dufferin St., King Township. Toregister: http://ksr.utoronto.ca orksr.info@utoronto.ca.July 15, U of T MississaugaFlicks on the Field: How to TrainYour Dragon. Free. Movie startsat dusk (approximately 9 p.m.)on the front lawn of the William G.Davis Building (South Building).In the event of rain, the movie willbe shown in the CCT Building,lecture theatre 1080. Free parkingin Lot 8. For info: (905) 569-4924or m.heide@utoronto.ca.TheatreJuly 20 to August 6,Philosopher’s WalkLysistrata: The Sex Strike.Germaine Greer’s adaptation ofAristophanes’ bawdy battle of thesexes, presented on an outdoorstage. One woman encourages anation of lustful ladies to denytheir husbands sexual attentionuntil the men put a stop to civilwar. Mature content warning:this is not a family show. $10(students and seniors, $8). PWYCWednesdays. Tickets availablethrough the box office, or beforethe show (cash only). Wed. to Sat.at 8 p.m. Philosopher’s Stage atPhilosopher’s Walk. 80 Queen’s Pk.Box office: (416) 978-8849 orwww.uofttix.ca.summer 2011 9

What if there were no curveballs?Alumni Insurance plans can help prepareyou for whatever life throws your way.Term Life Insurance Income Protection Disability InsuranceMajor Accident Protection Health & Dental CareCritical Illness InsuranceCall us at 1-888-913-6333Or visit us online at www.manulife.com/uoftmagUnderwritten by:ALUMNIINSURANCE PLANSThe Manufacturers Life Insurance Company

Life On CampusLiterature doesn’tget producedin a vacuumEnglish professorNick Mountp. 12Literature JunkieFrom street art to hip hop,Nick Mount connectsEnglish lit to pop cultureAsk Nick Mount what makes a good teacher, and he looksa little uncomfortable. It’s a boilerplate question that invitesthe gruffly gracious English professor to blow his ownhorn. And it doesn’t take long to figure out that cliché andself-aggrandizement are probably two of Mount’s leastfavourite things.But every time Mount wins an award (most recently, theprestigious 3M National Teaching Fellowship), the mediawants to know his secret – why he has been blog-checked bysome students as the best teacher they ever had; becomethe subject of a Facebook page called “I Heart Nick Mount;”and been showcased on TVO as a Best Lecturer finalist.“There really isn’t any one right way to teach,” Mount says.“But being able to remain curious about the content andthe students is essential. You have to stay open, so that yourlecture notes don’t become dogma.”The class that Mount is best known for is the first-yearsurvey course “Literature for Our Time,” and it exemplifieshis view that course material cannot be static. “When Itook it over, it was primarily dead white men from the 20 thcentury who I happened to like. I kept most of them,PHOTO: Derek shaptonsummer 2011 11

Life On Campusadded a few women and condensed themall in the first term.” The second termbecame something else entirely. Mount enthusiasticallycrowded it with young, livingwriters, such as Newfoundland author LisaMoore (Open) and graphic novelist Chris Ware(Jimmy Corrigan: The Smartest Kid on Earth).As time and money allows, he will even bringthe authors in to speak. He changes someof the books each year, he says – “which forcesme to stay fresh.”“Fresh” is a word he likes; “hip,” not so much.Even though Mount has received a great dealof attention for playing pop and rap music beforelectures and during breaks, he’s not doing itto curry favour. “I think if you’re over 40 and youtry to play music that you think an 18-yearoldwill like, you’ll look like an idiot,” he says.(Mount is 47.) “Students are not there so youcan be cool and be their friend. They’re therebecause you’ve spent a ridiculous amountof time studying the subject in which they’reinterested.” Indeed, his song choices are connectedto the work under study; prior to takingup Sylvia Plath’s Ariel, for example, he’ll playa confessional rap by Nova Scotia hip-hopartist Classified.And there, if anything, is the secret: Mount’sability to directly connect English literature tothe culture in which young people live. Informedby his past as a DJ, and as a “music junkie,” he’llreference street art or popular movies, or showhow Canadian poet Karen Solie has createdthe literary equivalent of a musical mashup. “It’sa way of demonstrating that literature doesn’tget produced in a vacuum,” says Mount, who isalso associate chair within the department.Add to which, Mount never forgets hisaudience. He didn’t even attend university untilhis late twenties (“It just didn’t exist on thepsychological horizon,” he shrugs), and says thatinstructors imperil themselves when they paymore attention to their books than to theoutside world and the students who will soonreshape it. Universities “miss something whenthey don’t have people from unorthodox careerbackgrounds,” says Mount, a former divisionmanager for Woolco department stores. “Peoplewith a sense that there are other ways of thinkingabout things.” – Cynthia MacdonaldWomen’s AdvocateChristine Kung’ufights for abusedwomen in hernative KenyaEPHEMERAChristine Kung’u, a master of lawscandidate, has always seenthe world through feminist eyes.Growing up in Nairobi, Kenya,she realized at an early age thatwomen weren’t treated as equalsand questioned the domesticviolence that was prevalent in hercommunity. “It wasn’t a secretwhen someone’s wife was gettingbeaten,” she says. “I’d talk to mymom and grandmother and askwhy this was the case.”After graduating from theUniversity of Nairobi’s law school,Kung’u worked as a legal officerand project co-ordinator at theWomen’s Rights Awareness Programmein Nairobi. It was thereshe came to understand whywomen weren’t fighting back. Kung’u learned that the money and timeit takes to prosecute (a court case can drag on for years), along with thestereotype of a wife as sexual property, were often impossible to overcome.Kung’u plans to return to Kenya after graduating from U of T andgaining some work experience in North America. She hopes to opena shelter for women and children, and offer services such as legal aid, legaleducation and advocacy work. Kung’u is writing her thesis on the criminalizationof marital rape in Kenya – which is not a sexual offense in thecountry. “It’s a norm,” she says. “In Kenya, when a woman gets marriedshe gives ongoing consent to have sexual relations with her husband.If she refuses to have sex with him, she might be beaten up and forced.”While working as a legal officer in Kenya, Kung’u repeatedly sawwomen try to escape their abusive spouses only to later return to them.This has informed her belief that criminalizing marital rape is necessary,but stereotypes about married women and the sexual relationship withinthe marriage also need to be addressed. She knows change won’t be easy,but says: “If I don’t help, I won’t make a difference.” – Sarah EltonAccording to Japanese legend, anyone who folds 1,000paper cranes will be granted a wish. In the spirit ofthis tradition, U of T students made colourful cranesto show support for the people of Japan and the PacificRim after the tsunami and earthquake in March. TheU of T student group FOLD (Fly with Origami, Learn toDream) and Hart House staff created them for a publicceremony, hosted by U of T in the Multi-Faith Centre.They urged guests to write a message of hope on thebirds, and also taught people how to make their own –resulting in a collection of delicate paper prayers.12 WWW.MAGAZINE.UTORONTO.CAphoto: Courtesy of Christine Kung’u

Life On CampusThe fourth floor of the Exam Centreon the St. George Campus is certifiedLEED Gold, the highest level of anybuilding at U of TIntellectual HubsNew instructional centresare opening at U of T’seast and west campusesU of T’s east and west campuses are opening state-of-the-artinstructional centres that will give them each a much-neededboost in academic space, while making a relatively smallimpact on the environment.U of T Scarborough is “emerging from behind the trees”with a building that will position the campus as an “intellectualand cultural hub” for the eastern GTA, says AndrewArifuzzaman, the campus’s chief strategy officer.Designed by Diamond and Schmitt Architects, the165,000-square-foot Instructional Centre boosts space perstudent on campus by 25 per cent. In practical terms, thenew facility means more study space, 13 new lecture hallsThe centres willgive a boost inacademic space,while makinga relatively smallimpact on theenvironmentand classrooms, additional servicessuch as computer labs, and anew home for the managementdepartment, co-op programs, andcomputer and mathematicalsciences departments. It also hasa restaurant and café, with streetfrontaccess and patios, designed toanimate Military Trail.The number of students attendingU of T has ballooned in recentyears, with a big chunk of thegrowth occurring at the east andwest campuses. In the past decadeenrolment at U of T Scarboroughhas doubled, to 10,400; at U of TMississauga it has expanded almost70 per cent, to 10,500.The vast majority of U of TScarborough students commute tocampus, so the architects designedthe Instructional Centre to includeplenty of welcoming spaces forstudents to congregate. The studentand faculty lounges have floorto-ceilingglass, which makes it feel“like you’re standing in the [campus’s]ravine,” says Arifuzzaman.The building pays tribute to theenvironment in another way: it isdesigned to meet LEED Silver standards.Much of the roof is coated with photovoltaiccells.A similar project, with a similaranticipated impact, is underway at theUniversity of Toronto at Mississauga.The west campus’s Instructional Centre, scheduled to openin September, will include a 350-seat and a 500-seat lecturetheatre, and seminar rooms of all sizes. Designed byShore Tilbe Perkins + Will, the facility will also feature athree-storey atrium, study areas, computer labs anda technology resource centre – all geared toward preparingthe “next generation of leaders,” says Jane Stirling, thecampus’s marketing and communications director. As withits Scarborough counterpart, solar panels are incorporatedinto the building’s architecture and it is LEED-certified.The copper exterior will complement the geological lookof the Communication, Culture and Technology building andthe earthy, wood-clad Hazel McCallion Academic LearningCentre. – Scott Anderson and Jenny Lassphoto: ken jonessummer 2011 13

Life On Campussound bitesWhat one thing should studentsdo before they graduate?Stroll down Philosopher’s Walk.Arrive at the meaning of life.Failing that, arrive at a decisionover what to have for lunch.myohmyRe-enact the balcony scenefrom Romeo and Juliet inthe Hart House Great Hall’sspiral tower.helene goderisShirley Wiitasalo’sBlack SunOil on canvas1994Attend a Blues football gameat Varsity Stadium and paintyour face.Student Steve MassePremier PainterDuring her successful career as an artist, ShirleyWiitasalo – a faculty member in the Departmentof Art’s visual studies program – has never consideredpursuing any art form other than painting.“I didn’t choose painting, it chose me,” Wiitasalohas said. “It’s a traditional medium but it stillposes challenges.” For her work, Wiitasalo hasreceived a 2011 Governor General’s Award inVisual and Media Arts. Winners receive $25,000and their work is exhibited at the National Galleryof Canada.Wiitasalo started out painting abstracts in the1970s, and then introduced figurative imagery toher work. Her pieces have been shown everywherefrom the Art Gallery of Ontario to the HamburgerKunsthalle in Bern, Switzerland, to the NationalMuseum of Modern Art in Tokyo.The Canada Council for the Arts, which grantsthe Governor General’s Awards, commended herart, citing, “From her evocative imagery to herrecent explorations that employ a more reductivevocabulary, Wiitasalo is interested in unravellingthe mystery of the painting itself.”Have a hot dog on the Sid Smithsteps at three in the morning aftera long night of dancing.Computer-science student Peter TranMake your own suggestion attwitter.com using #UofTMustDoPoll45%PeacockWhat animal do you thinkthe Robarts Library resembles?4%RobotLove it or hate it, the Robarts Library is one of the most talked-aboutbuildings on campus. Designed by the firm Warner, Burns, Toan & Lundewith Mathers & Haldenby and completed in 1974, it is a prime exampleof the Brutalist movement.Since its inauguration, rumours have circulated that the building wasdesigned to look like a peacock. Others have maligned its size and aestheticby likening it to a turkey. While the building wasn’t designed to look likeany bird, the urban legends regenerate with every incoming class.Although peacock and turkey were the most common responses, somestudents likened Robarts to other birds – from the graceful swan to theportlier penguin. Others thought it resembled such large creatures as theelephant or rhinoceros. Four per cent contested that it looked like ananimal at all: they were adamant that Robarts most resembles a robot.23%Turkey12%Other Bird16%Other AnimalThis highly unscientific poll of 100 U of T students was conducted onthe St. George campus in January.14 WWW.MAGAZINE.UTORONTO.CA photo: Robin Collyer

Life On CampusU of T’s augmented-reality video,used for student recruitment andfeaturing writer Malcolm Gladwell,won a 2011 Webby AwardJoin Us!U of T’s high-tech recruitmentstrategy is yielding moretop-notch applicantsA growing number of Ontario high school students are makingU of T their first choice for university, and universityofficials are crediting a new strategy for communicatingwith prospective students for the boost.First-choice applications from Ontario high school studentsacross all U of T first-entry programs have risen 15per cent in the past three years – more than twice as fast asthe provincial average. International applications to U of Thave also shot up – by 40 per cent.Among the very best applicants, the university has faredeven better. While 15 per cent of all Ontario high schoolstudents apply to U of T, 22 per cent of graduates with anaverage of 95 or higher make U of T one of their top choices.Jill Matus, vice-provost, students, says the improvedresults stem in part from a strategy that emphasizes U of T’sinstitutional strengths, harnesses new technologies andtargets top achievers. “We’re less interested in the sheervolume of applications,” she says. “We want excellentstudents who are keen to engage with all that U of T hasto offer.”The university has traditionally relied on printed brochuressuch as the “viewbook” (a publication universitiesuse for recruitment) to tell prospective students aboutU of T, but in recent years has invested heavily in an onlineinteractive presence, and has begun using social media.Last year, Matus’s office created a web portal for potentialstudents. By logging in with a university-provided password,U of T applicants can access information particular to theirinterests, including videos that explain student aid, how theadmissions process works and how to select a residence.They can also see what other applicants are saying aboutU of T. More than 59,000 prospective students logged intothe portal since it was introduced in January.A complementary website, “Discover U of T,” providesa broader overview of the university and highlights U of T’sdistinct advantages: its extracurricular and academic breadth;its highly accomplished alumni; and its location in a multiculturalurban centre, with three distinct campuses.These strengths are highlighted in both the Canadianand international editions of the viewbook, which last yearincluded a nod to a new technological trend: augmentedreality. The cover features a “quick response” code. Whenyou hold up the cover in front of a computer’s webcam, thecode launches a video of writer Malcolm Gladwell (BA 1984TRIN). He speaks about his experience at U of T and how itinfluenced his way of researching problems and his journalisticstyle: “I think I got my approach in university,” he says.The purpose of the augmented-reality experience wastwofold, says Matus: to engage a well-known grad to demonstratethe value of a U of T degree; and to use new technologyto pique students’ interest. “It helps put U of T at theforefront,” she says. – scott andersonPeopleUniversity Professor Keren Ricehas spent her career preservingCanada’s Aboriginal heritage:she is an expert on the Dene(Slavey) language of theNorthwest Territories, and hasworked tirelessly to revitalizeit. For her outstanding careerachievements, she has beenawarded a 2011 Killam Prize. Riceis founding director of U of T’sundergraduate Aboriginal StudiesProgram and the Centre forAboriginal Initiatives. She plansto use part of her prize moneyto support a community-basedresearch project in Deline, NorthwestTerritories.Prof. Domenico Pietropaolohas been named principal ofSt. Michael’s College for a fiveyearterm. Pietropaolo is chairof the Italian Studies departmentand a professor of drama.Prof. Roger Martin, deanof the Rotman School ofManagement, has been reappointedfor a third term.Prof. Cristina Amon, the firstfemale dean of the Faculty ofApplied Science and Engineering,has received a 2011 YWCA Womenof Distinction Award for contributingto advancements ofwomen in the field.For the fourth consecutiveyear, U of T has been namedone of Canada’s Best DiversityEmployers. The competitionis run by Mediacorp Canada Inc.in partnership with the Globeand Mail and recognizesemployers that offer Canada’smost inclusive workplaces.PHOTO: Kaldor Brand Strategy and Designsummer 2011 15

Life On CampusDefeating DementiaMark Tanz’s $5-million gift willsupport research into Alzheimer’s andother neurodegenerative diseasesHalf a million Canadians suffer from Alzheimer’s diseaseand dementia. As the population ages, this number isexpected to double over the next 35 years, imposing animmense economic burden on the country – and exactinga huge personal toll from families and caregivers.Although scientists are making progress uncovering thecauses of Alzheimer’s and dementia and understanding howthey progress, no effective treatment or cure exists. MarkTanz (BA 1952 UC) is all too aware of the tragic personal consequencesof Alzheimer’s, having witnessed his mothergradually lose her memory and other cognitive functionsafter she was diagnosed with the disease in 1983. Tanz beganlooking into the science of Alzheimer’s, and what he foundBy the timeAlzheimer’scomes to clinicalattention, it hasbeen present for10 years or morealarmed him. “I was hoping there wouldbe a cure – something that would slowthe disease down. Unfortunately therewas virtually no research being donein Canada.”This discovery – and a serendipitousconversation with then–U of T physiologistDonald McLachlan – prompted Tanz, in 1987,to donate $3.4 million to the university to helpestablish the Tanz Centre for Research intoNeurodegenerative Diseases. Since then, Tanzhas contributed another $6.1 million to supportthe centre’s research.Dr. Peter St. George-Hyslop, the director ofthe Tanz Centre, says his team is examiningmany aspects of neurodegenerative diseases,including how to diagnose Alzheimer’s earlier.“We know by the time the disease comes toclinical attention, it has been present for 10 yearsor more,” he says. “We want to be able to detectthe presence of disease at the preclinical level.”St. George-Hyslop and the Tanz Centre’sresearch scientists made international news inthe 1990s and again recently for discoveringgenes related to the production of amyloid-betapeptide, a substance that accumulates in thebrains of Alzheimer’s patients and is thought tobe a key factor in the progression of the disease.However, St. George-Hyslop cautions that there are processesinvolved besides the buildup of amyloid-beta, and these needto be understood before an effective treatment will be found.He cites the example of tau protein – another substancethat aggregates in the brain and kills neurons. Removing theamyloid after it accumulates does not eliminate the tau.St. George-Hyslop compares the situation to an arsonistwho uses matches and gasoline to set a house on fire. Oncethe fire is lit, putting away the matches does nothing toaddress the problem.St. George-Hsylop says the Tanz gift will allow the centre torecruit additional scientists and expand its investigation intothe role of amyloid and tau protein in Alzheimer’s disease. Buthe also hopes the gift will act as a catalyst for other donorsby underscoring the importance of the Tanz Centre’s work.“[The donation shows that] many people see Alzheimer’s asa major threatening illness and are willing to give their hardearnedmoney to enable us to do this work,” he says.U of T’s Faculty of Medicine and the Toronto General andWestern Hospital Foundation are in the process of raising$31 million for the Tanz Centre for NeurodegenerativeDiseases. Tanz is co-chairing the fundraising effort with hisfriend Lionel Schipper (JD 1956), who also lost his motherto Alzheimer’s. The Alzheimer’s Society is a major supporterof the Tanz Centre, having contributed $11 million sincethe centre was established. The society has earmarked anadditional $10 million for the current fundraising effort.– scott anderson16 WWW.MAGAZINE.UTORONTO.CAillustration: emily tu

Leading EdgeTrue revolutionscan only bedecided at the endHistory professorMohamad Tavakoli-Targhi on the uprisingsin North Africaand the Middle Eastp. 21Fighting Tooth DecayA new way of peering inside teethcould find lesions before theybecome cavities and eliminate theneed for “drilling and filling”It’s not easy for dentists to see what’s going on inside apatient’s teeth. They’ve traditionally relied on X-rays, butX-ray machines emit ionizing radiation that can pose ahealth risk with prolonged exposure (limiting the number ofX-rays a patient can have each year). Prof. Andreas Mandelis,a U of T engineer, has developed a promising alternative.His invention, known as “photothermal imaging radar,”can peer inside a tooth and produce a higher-contrast imagethan conventional X-rays, but without the radiation risk.And it can detect dental problems before they would bevisible on an X-ray.Over time, bacteria eat away at the material inside a tooth.This process of demineralization causes lesions, knownas caries; left untreated, the lesions can lead to infections,cavities and even the loss of the tooth. In photothermalimaging radar, the tooth is illuminated with a low-energy,pulsating laser beam, which penetrates several millimetresinto the tooth. The tooth then emits heat that can be detectedwith an infrared camera. Because caries have differentoptical and thermal properties than healthy regions ofteeth, the resulting image clearly distinguishes betweenhealthy and damaged areas. (The tooth never heats upphoto: Images from the History of Medicinesummer 2011 17

Leading Edgeby more than one degree Celsius, so thepatient doesn’t feel anything.)Mandelis, who teaches in the department ofmechanical and industrial engineering, hasspent the last 10 years developing the technology.Working with a dentist colleague, he started aspinoff company, Quantum Dental Technologies,which already markets a commercial versionof a simpler device. It’s called the Canary System– named for the proverbial canary in the coalmine – and provides an early warning of toothdecay. Mandelis describes the device as a“single point instrument:” The dentist usesa hand-held laser and infrared detector toexamine teeth one spot at a time. It’s alreadybeing used by a number of dentists in Toronto.While the Canary System provides data forone spot, Mandelis’s ultimate goal is to developa device that can image a whole row of teethat once, just like today’s X-ray machines. Withearly enough detection, caries can be filledwith special gels that can help remineralizethe tooth. “The hope is that you will see demineralizationat a very early stage, so you don’thave to ‘drill it and fill it,’ as dentists do today,”Mandelis says.With most of the technical hurdles behindhim, perhaps the greatest remaining challengeis to get the price down. Today’s dental X-raymachines typically sell for about $70,000.Mandelis is aiming to have a complete photothermalimaging radar package – includingthe laser and the camera – available at acompetitive price.The applications may reach beyond dentistry:The same technology could aid in industrialinspection processes – looking for cracks inmetal, for example – especially in the automotiveand aviation sectors, Mandelis says. – Dan FalkBetter LivingHappiness is often acomponent of a good life.But it’s not the only oneU of T philosophy professor Thomas Hurka’s pocket-sized book, The BestThings in Life: A Guide to What Really Matters (Oxford University Press),tackles life’s big concerns. It explores and offers answers to questionssuch as: How should we live? What brings us the most joy? What makesa life “good?”In addressing these profound issues, Hurka often challenges thethinking of “high-minded” philosophers such as Aristotle, Immanuel Kantand others. Instead, Hurka provides readers with a populist philosophicalguide to understanding what really matters in life.Hurka reasons that some combination of pleasure, knowledge,achievement, virtue and personal love can be cause for anyone to deemlife worthwhile and desirable. The means to create a good life is, Hurkasuggests, open to everyone since there isn’t just one ultimate good butmany, including the satisfaction of completing a challenging taskand knowing your inner self. That’s why a “good” life can take a varietyof forms. “There isn’t one life that’s best for everyone,” Hurka writes.As well, the pursuit of a good life, Hurka argues, requires that werecognize the everyday experiences and activities that will likely makeus happy, while understanding that happiness isn’t the paramountmeasure of a good life. “To live a good life you need to be happy, understandthings and achieve worthwhile goals,” Hurka writes.As for love, Hurka believes that it has been “the subject of some verysilly philosophy” by those who claim that the object of “genuine love”is always another’s moral character. For Hurka, love is a “splendid” aspectof a good life that can spring suddenly from “animal lust” and can diejust as quickly. “It can hurt and it can harm, but for most of us love’s gloriesare worth the gamble,” Hurka concludes. – Andrew MitrovicaRead an excerpt from The Best Things in Life at www.magazine.utoronto.ca.Lingo“Hint fiction”In his 1846 essay “The Philosophyof Composition,” EdgarAllan Poe famously noted thatthe ideal work of fiction was onethat could be read “in one sitting.”Recently, as our collectiveattention span has shortened,micro-storytelling formats seemto be flourishing. The 1990sbrought us flash fiction andpostcard stories. Now, in theage of Twitter, comes “hintfiction” – a term coined by theAmerican writer RobertSwartwood to describe stories of25 words or less. Although somehave called the concept gimmicky,Michael Winter, an authorand University of Torontocreative writing instructor,finds merit in the ultra-shortform. “I was once involvedin a one-word poem contest,and we had some incredibleentries,” he says. “The winnerwas the word ‘despite.’”– Scott Anderson18 WWW.MAGAZINE.UTORONTO.CA

Leading Edge1 in 4Canadian adults is clinically obese.That’s up from one in seven just20 years agoTHE BIG IDEAYour Loss Is Your GainShould people get paid forshedding weight andpursuing a healthier lifestyle?What can governments do to fight the escalating, and costly,health problems associated with the obesity epidemic sweepingNorth America and other developed countries?The policies that have been tried so far – public educationcampaigns, additive bans, and taxes on high-fat and sugaryfoods – haven’t put a dent in the problem, say Massey Collegefellows Neil Seeman and Patrick Luciani. If anything, theyargue in their new book, XXL: Obesity and the Limits of Shame(University of Toronto Press), some of these approacheswaste valuable resources and even may have exacerbatedthe crisis.What’s driving the epidemic is a complex and interconnectedlist of factors that includes inactivity, the widespreadavailability of high-fat foods, city design that leaves usdependent on cars, and society’s unique genius for creatingtechnologies that make life easier but also more sedate.It’s exceedingly difficult to isolate a single cause and effect,the authors say. Every obese person has their own story andNeil Seeman andPatrick Lucianipropose allocating$5 billion to$10 billion a yearto healthy livingvoucherstheir own struggle. “If we’re going tothink seriously about obesity, we have toattack the problem at the individuallevel instead of using population-basedapproaches,” says Seeman. “Thesehaven’t provided significant results.”The authors’ alternative? “Healthyliving vouchers,” which would rewardpeople for purchasing health-related goods and servicessuch as nutritious, low-fat food and gym memberships.Participants would be required to work with their primaryhealth-care providers to develop a regimen geared atachieving long-term weight reduction. “It’s a preventativecare model,” says Seeman, who has fought his own dietbattles. “Everyone would take advantage of it.”Currently, about two-thirds of Canada’s $230-billionhealth budget is directed to chronic disease treatment.Seeman and Luciani propose allocating between two andfour per cent of Ottawa’s annual spending – $5 billion to$10 billion – to healthy living vouchers. Everyone over 16would be entitled to participate, not just low-income peopleor those facing obesity problems. “The voucher is availableto everyone because we want to encourage a sustained relationshipbetween individuals and their doctors.”The authors argue that their system would provideindividuals with a direct financial incentive to improve theireating habits, their fitness level and their overall health.The vouchers would also engage market forces to allocate theresources needed to combat the obesity epidemic, ratherthan relying on government to determine the best approach.Yet the system could also face nagging regulatory andpolitical issues because it involves the transfer of hundredsor possibly thousands of dollars to every Canadian.Seeman acknowledges that health spending couldactually rise in the short term if the voucher system promptspatients to spend more time with their primary health-careproviders (although the proposal would allow individuals todevise health plans with non-physicians). Another potentialheadache: determining which services and products shouldbe included in the voucher program. Such a system maybe vulnerable to special pleading. For those living in poorneighbourhoods with no fitness facilities, for example,the authors note that vouchers should be permitted to defraythe cost of transit to gyms. But then why not gas costs, ifthey choose to drive?Despite these objections, the authors argue that theobesity epidemic has become so pressing that governmentshave no choice but to be bold in searching for solutions.“The return on investment will not necessarily be seen inyear one,” Seeman says. – John Lorincillustration: Robert samuel hansonsummer 2011 19

Leading EdgeStill LifeLook closely at the deerin this photograph, takenin 1852 by John DillwynLlewelyn in the woodsaround his estate. Noticeanything unusual?The deer is actuallystuffed, says MatthewBrower, a professor ofmuseum studies and theauthor of a new bookabout early Americanwildlife photography.While the modernviewer might consider this“faked” wildlife photography,taking pictures ofa taxidermied animal ina natural setting madesense at the time asa means of representing“wild” animals, saysBrower. “There was nosense of animals as partof a healthy habitat. Thedeer was simply an accentfor the landscape.”Llewelyn wouldn’t havebeen able to capturethe image of a live deer,even if he had wanted to.Cameras didn’t have shuttersand exposures lastedat least a minute. A wildanimal wouldn’t havestood still for even a fractionof the time required.Brower’s book, DevelopingAnimals, looks at howphotographing animalshas changed through time,and how it has alteredthe way humans relate toanimals. “We’ve cometo see wildlife photographyas ‘true’ representationsof live animals in nature,and we think it’s alwaysbeen this way,” saysBrower. “But it hasn’t. Ourthinking has evolved.”– Scott AndersonOntario Signs Up for HealthNew long-term study couldtranslate into better healthpolicy and clinical practiceTaking an innovative and far-reaching approach to medicalresearch, Ontario has launched an online study that ithopes will eventually track up to 30 per cent of the province’s9.5 million adults throughout their life. Directed by ProfessorLyle Palmer of U of T’s Dalla Lana School of Public Health,the Ontario Health Study is the largest of its kind everattempted in North America, and could, if successful, be thelargest in the world. “No other study has attempted to engagean entire society in the way we are trying to engage theentire province of Ontario – and no one has tried to do itonline before,” says Palmer.By asking participants to answer questions about theirhealth and personal history online (at ontariohealthstudy.ca)organizers hope to create a comprehensive database thatwill allow researchers to track the many different factors– social, genetic, environmental – that influence a wholespectrum of diseases, such as cancer, heart disease, asthmaand Alzheimer’s.Because the data being gathered is so comprehensiveand the study so large, scientists expect it to yield researchfindings that will translate into better health policy, healthpromotion and clinical practice. “If we are successful inrecruiting the number of participants we are aiming for,” saysPalmer, “it will put Ontario at the forefront of biomedicalresearch internationally across a broad range of disciplines.”Involving more than 70 U of T faculty and clinicians, thestudy will track participants using followup questionnaires(there’ll be at least one a year) and, in some cases, physicalexams at mobile mini-clinics or a central Assessment Centrein Toronto. A pilot mini-clinic was scheduled for June andthe Assessment Centre is expected to open in September.Online studyaims to track upto 30 per cent ofthe province’s9.5 million adultsthroughouttheir livesAt the moment, though, the study’sfocus is on swelling the ranks ofthe more than 30,000 people alreadyenrolled. “We are currently focusedon engaging as many people as possibleand getting them excited about thestudy,” says Palmer. – Brent Ledger20 WWW.MAGAZINE.UTORONTO.CAphoto: Royal Photographic Society/Science & Society Picture Library

Leading EdgeThe number of Egyptian youth aged15–24 has almost doubled sinceformer Egyptian president HosniMubarak took office in 198119819 million201117 millionQ&AArab SpringWill the uprisings acrossNorth Africa and the MiddleEast usher in lasting change?Earlier this year, a wave of protests across North Africaand the Middle East led to the ouster of the Tunisian andEgyptian presidents – and war in Libya. U of T Magazineeditor Scott Anderson spoke with Mohamad Tavakoli-Targhi,a professor of history and Near and Middle Easterncivilizations, about developments in the region.What is driving these protests across North Africa and theMiddle East? Arab civil society has grown in recent years,and has become increasingly cosmopolitan and invigorated.Many of the countries where protests are occurring havelarge, highly educated and web-savvy youth populations.With the communication revolution, these youth are breakingdown the state’s monopoly over information. Citizens’ cellphonesare like radio and television stations. People can shareuncensored news and information directly with each other.How important a role has technology played in these protests?Technology is important, but more important is the willingnessof citizens to go into the public square – to physicallybe there – and face the danger of challenging the state.Technology on its own does not do much. The communicationrevolution no doubt helps people to create networks,which is important. But the public protests are what causedauthoritarian regimes in Tunisia and Egypt to collapse.Tell me what you mean by the “emergence of civil society.”I mean neighbourhoods, students, workers and othergroups coming together to articulate their interests. Sincethe end of the Second World War, states in the Middle Easthave claimed to be the singular representative of their people.Now diverse voices are emerging and wanting to assertthemselves. That diversity – and the consequent discussionof what is Libyan, what is Egyptian, what is in the nationalinterest and what is in the popular interest – constitutes theinvigoration of the public sphere.Do you think we are witnessing true revolutions? Truerevolutions can only be decided at the end. The uprisings inTunisia and Egypt have elements of revolution, but to betruly revolutionary, they have to introduce radical socialtransformation: the rewriting of the constitution by aconstituent assembly and the empowerment of parliament.Decision-making should include popular participation atall levels. So far, we’re just at the beginning of this process.What do you make of the situation in Libya? It’s interestingto compare Libya with Egypt and Tunisia. The revolutionin Tunisia had already happened before the Western mediaand governments caught on. The Egyptians managedto push out Hosni Mubarak on their own. The situation inLibya is radically different. When the rebels began to advance,the European and North American states became engagedmilitarily. When that happened, Moammar Gadhafi repackagedhimself as the protector of Libya. This creates a crisisfor the Libyan people. On the one hand they want himto go, and on the other they see that the Western states havebegun attacking and their own leader representing thenational interest. We have seen this before in Iraq andAfghanistan. Saddam Hussein and the Taliban had lostall legitimacy; the invasions of their countries helpedre-legitimatize them.Was there a better option for the international community?With the importance of national sovereignty in MiddleEastern political culture, it’s best for external powers not toget directly involved in support of civil movements. Whendemocracy is depicted as a gift of foreigners, it cannotbecome a highly cherished cultural value. It only becomesa cherished cultural value if people fight for it, protect itand institutionalize it of their own volition.A longer version of this Q&A appears at www.magazine.utoronto.ca.photo: istockphotosummer 2011 21

Leading EdgeAncient Greek dentists used thevenom from the stingray’s spine asan anestheticRiding a stationary bicycle is greatexercise. But more than one riderhas wished that all that effortcould be put to some use besidesburning excess calories.Now Olivier Trescases, a professorof electrical engineering, isadapting the 20 exercise bikes atHart House to provide power tothe building.The electricity generated byeach bike will be relatively modest –about enough to run two laptopcomputers or an incandescent lightbulb, as long as someone is peddling.Nevertheless, the power willreduce the total electricity HartHouse pulls off the grid. On top ofthat, the conversion will help keepthe gym cooler, since the electricityThe “green gym” development team.From left: Chris Lea, Olivier Trescases,being fed back into the buildingAndrew Rosselet, Pete Scourboutakos.used to be vented from the bikes inthe form of waste heat.Mostly, though, the project, which got started last year, will educate gym-goersPROTOTYPEBicycle Power!Why not use exercisebikes to supply electricityback to the grid?about how much physical work is required to generate even a small amount of electricity.For example, Trescases notes that it would take about 17,000 hours on thebike to create as much electricity as can be obtained by burning a single barrel of oil.“My hope is that people will walk away and think differently about how they useelectricity,” Trescases says.Hart House facilities manager Chris Lea and former sustainability co-ordinatorDavid Berliner approached Trescases with the idea last year. The group received a$10,000 Green Innovation Award from the Toronto Community Foundation to developthe prototype. Another $40,000 came from Live Green Toronto for software development,converting the bikes in the gym and creating an outreach program to educateyouth about energy use. The Toronto Renewable Energy Co-operative is also a partnerin the project.The prototype uses a commercial exercise bike with a built-in generator thatnormally powers a computerized display and controls the resistance of the pedals.Trescases attached a device to the bike called a microinverter, which converts theelectricity generated by the bike into 120V alternating current that can then be fedback to the building. Each bike will also be networked to a computer server, whichcan calculate how much electricity was generated, and display it on a terminal.Eventually, riders might be able to compete against one another, or keep track of theirstats on a smartphone.Bicycle-generatedelectricity willhelp reduce thetotal electricityHart House pullsoff the gridThe Ontario Science Centre has had a bicycle that powersa light bulb for decades. Trescases says that the novel part of hisproject is that the bikes are modular – each individual bike can beconnected independently to the grid – and that information aboutthe amount of electricity generated for each bike is transferredwirelessly to a central computer. – Kurt KleinerFindingsNew StingrayDiscoveredA biologist from U of T Scarboroughhas discovered a new genus of tropicalfreshwater stingray in the upperAmazon – the first such discovery fromthat region in more than two decades.Nathan Lovejoy, of ecology and evolutionarybiology, says the new genushas a large, pancake-like appearanceand a pattern of lateral line canals onits ventral surface, which help it detectminute changes in water pressurecaused by the motion of other animals.Lovejoy has been studying aquaticspecies in the upper Amazon for10 years with a colleague from theUniversity of Sao Paolo. “This discoverytells us that there are likely other largefishes in the Amazon yet to be discoveredand described,” says Lovejoy.“Our understanding of the biodiversityof this region is not complete, by anystretch of the imagination.”Lovejoy’s paper was published in thescientific journal Zootaxa. – Karen HoRewarding the RightKind of GrowthResearch has shown that the bestkind of company growth for improvedshareholder value comes fromincreased profitability. Investmentrelatedgrowth, by contrast, destroyscompany value.Despite this, a new study has foundthat CEOs tend to be compensatedmore when their companies grow dueto investments rather than improvedprofitability. The study’s authorsspeculate that corporate boards maynot realize that they’re rewarding thewrong type of growth. “Most peopledon’t look long term,” says ParthaMohanram, the CGA Ontario Professorof Financial Accounting at the RotmanSchool, who wrote the paper with aColumbia Business School colleague.– Ken McGuffinThe complete study is available atwww.rotman.utoronto.ca/newthinking/execcompMohanram.pdf22 WWW.MAGAZINE.UTORONTO.CAphoto: Tanja Tiziana

Leading EdgeSettingthe SceneLooking for a tattoo parlour in Toronto? Head to QueenWest. A banking office? King and Bay. In many parts of thecity, specific kinds of establishments define the characterof a neighbourhood; together they create a “scene.” Butwhat are the characteristics of these scenes? Using theCanadian Yellow Pages database, Daniel Silver, a sociologyprofessor, has analyzed the amenities available in eachpostal code to create a cross-country “scenescape.”Using a classification system he developed, Silverassigns each amenity a score out of five on 15 dimensionsthat measure different forms of “theatricality” (presentation),“authenticity” and “legitimacy” (or what ethical visionan establishment promotes). A gas station, for example,would score low on “glamorous theatricality” but high on“utilitarian legitimacy.” The reverse would be true of anindependent high-fashion house. Compared to Montreal,says Silver, Toronto scores slightly higher on “selfexpressivelegitimacy” because of its many vintage-clothingshops, bookstores, and holistic-healing and meditationcentres, but lower on “exhibitionistic theatricality”because it has fewer sex shops, leather shops andmodelling agencies.Silver is interested primarily in the sociological aspectsof his research, but he says businesses might find it usefulfor determining where to locate a new store, individualsfor choosing where to live, urban planners for city-buildingand politicians for predicting voting patterns.– Scott AndersonFinancial DistrictHigh in:Utilitarian legitimacyCorporate authenticityLow in:Transgressive theatricalityTraditional legitimacyEntertainment DistrictHigh in:Glamorous theatricalityCorporate authenticityLow in:Neighbourly theatricalityLocal authenticityWest Queen WestHigh in:Self-expressive legitimacyNatural authenticityLow in:Utilitarian legitimacyCorporate authenticityChurch StreetHigh in:Transgressive theatricalitySelf-expressive legitimacyLow in:Formal theatricalityTraditional legitimacysummer 2011 23

Illustration by Jesse LenzLife’s early years mightbe even more importantthan we thoughtBy Alison MotlukBy the time a child sets foot in kindergarten, much abouther future life has already been set in motion – everythingfrom her ability to concentrate and learn, to her lifetimechances of suffering from obesity or heart disease or depression.Evidence is mounting that what happens in the firstfour years of life can be critical to long-term well-being.However, as a society we still don’t do enough to optimizethis important period, or even to stave off the biggest dangers.Now, a group of researchers at the University of Torontofrom a variety of disciplines – medicine, psychology, educationand genetics – is proposing to create an Institute forHuman Development. Its central mission will be to investigatehow to make the most of these early years. The question,the researchers agree, is no longer whether very early life ispivotal in determining later-life health and well-being –we know it is – but rather which experiences and exposuresare most important, which genes, in interaction with theearly environment, put a person at the greatest risks and whatpractical interventions can make the most difference.The new thinking ultimately aims to change how veryyoung children are cared for and educated. Rather thanwaiting for problems to appear before taking action, theseresearchers advocate stepping in to prevent them fromdeveloping in the first place. This will pay off down the roadsummer 2011 25

Even subtle differences in the waya parent behaves toward usin the early months of our livescan alter the way we developemotionally, socially and cognitivelyin improved health. “If we know what someone’s at risk for,”says Stephen Lye, a professor of obstetrics and gynecologywho studies fetal health at the Samuel Lunenfeld ResearchInstitute, “maybe we can do something early enough thatwe can prevent it.”Scientists have understood for decades that we inherita complement of genes that are a combined subset of thegenes of our biological parents. And while these genes givedetailed instructions about how we develop, we now knowthey will not dictate our fate. What has become increasinglyclear in recent years is that our genes are in constant conversationwith our environment, and they are modified bythe nutrients, pathogens and even experiences that weencounter throughout our lives.This gene-environment dialogue starts in the womb.“About 20 years ago, there was the beginning of a newunder standing,” says Lye. “The period of developmentduring pregnancy and early life is not just important for ahealthy baby, but also for a person’s well-being later inlife.” In short, the kind of experience we enjoy in utero willto a significant degree influence our health and welfarefor the rest of our days.The first strong evidence of this came in 1989 from workby David Barker, a British physician and epidemiologist.Drawing from a large population in the U.K., he looked atwhether birth weight affected how likely a person waseventually to die of heart disease. As babies, all the peoplein the study had been in the normal weight range. But itturned out that the less they had weighed at birth, the greaterat risk they were for heart disease. Exactly why this happensis still a matter of speculation – perhaps a fetus is preprogrammedin the womb to use calories sparingly, only tobe born into a world of plenty, or perhaps smaller babiesare less able to muster the resources to construct hearts andkidneys well.Since that landmark study, low birth weight has beenassociated with other features of what has now becomeknown as “the metabolic syndrome.” These include hypertension,stroke, insulin resistance, Type 2 diabetes anda combination of high blood sugar and high cholesterol.Intriguingly, psychosocial traits such as poor concentration,anxiety and depression can also be tied back to conditionsin our earliest days.Lye admits that these big epidemiological studies, whileprovocative, don’t provide solutions for individuals. “Populationrisk is not much use to parents with young children,”he says. “What they really want to know is how a particularenvironment will affect their children’s genes. We have to doresearch to more fully appreciate what these associations are.”Not everyone who faces adversity early in life is negativelyaffected by it. “The same environment can have a dramaticallydifferent effect on individuals, depending on theirgenetic makeup,” says Marla Sokolowski, a UniversityProfessor of ecology and evolution at U of T Mississauga.We used to think that a trait was the product of either natureor nurture, but research on fruit flies and other organismshas made it clear that the interplay between genes and theenvironment is important.For instance, in the 1980s, Sokolowski discovered theforaging gene in fruit flies, which influences several characteristicsin the fly. Like most genes, this one comes in differentforms, or variants. Flies with the “rover” variant of this geneproduce more of a foraging enzyme in the brain. As a result,they keep moving from food patch to food patch, eat onthe go, store less fat and have a stronger short-term memory.Flies with the “sitter” variant have less of the foragingenzyme, dine longer in one place, eat more overall, storemore fat and have a better long-term memory.Sokolowski points out that it’s important to rememberthat gene expression can be mediated by circumstances.The “rover” and “sitter” characterizations describe how theflies behave when food is plentiful. When food is scarce,however, Sokolowski and her research team found that roversturn into sitters. This is true not only in terms of behaviour,but at the molecular level of the gene as well: less of the foragingenzyme is produced in underfed rovers. In other words,the environment and genetics interact to affect what anorganism is like. What researchers working in the relativelynew field of epigenetics are finding is that environmentalinfluences can turn certain genes on or off, or modify theirexpression up and down like a volume control.What we also want to know, of course, is how geneenvironmentinteractions play out in humans. For severalyears, Lye has been collaborating with a team in Perth,Australia, which has been following a cohort of childrensince before they were born. The Raine Study, as it is known,recruited 2,900 women in week 18 of their pregnancy andcollected a wealth of data about what they were eating,their mental-health status and how settled things were athome in an effort to know as much as possible about theconditions of the fetuses they were carrying.After the children were born, data collection continued.The researchers were interested both in the inputs – howwell they ate, for instance, what their schooling was like andwhat kind of parenting they got – but also their outcomes:26 WWW.MAGAZINE.UTORONTO.CA

how they grew, how healthy they were, how well they faredin school and in life.As one might expect, some kids did well despite adversityand others were hampered by it. Some were healthy, othersless so. To try to explain these differences, Lye and hiscolleagues undertook a whole genome scan of 1,800 of thechildren. The kids in the study are now 19 or 20 years old –too young to have full-blown cardiovascular disease orType 2 diabetes, but old enough to be showing tendenciestoward these sorts of conditions.As part of the investigation, the research team examineda gene called FTO, a variant of which is known to be associatedwith obesity. In the Raine children, those who havethe gene variant linked to obesity tend to have higher bodymass index. But even more intriguing was what the teamfound when they looked specifically at the Raine girls whohad this variant of the gene but who were not particularlyoverweight. Preliminary analysis has found that the girlswith a near-normal body mass index all had something incommon: they were more likely to have been breastfed forat least six months. It’s a fairly simple intervention, but hashuge implications. “If [the analysis] is confirmed, it showsthat it is possible to alter the environment of the child andhave a more beneficial outcome later in life,” says Lye.But altering the environment cuts both ways. Just assimple interventions can change things for the better, so toocan they change things for the worse. Stephen Matthews, aprofessor in the department of physiology, has been studyingthe effects of stress hormones on the developing fetus. Onthe one hand we know that a short burst of the stress hormonecortisol, which happens late in gestation, is critical to thedevelopment of the lungs. It’s so important, in fact, thatmothers of babies at risk of being born before the naturalcortisol surge receive injections of synthetic cortisol.On the other hand, too much cortisol may do harm. Pregnantwomen who experience intense stress even for shortperiods are more likely to give birth to children who go on tohave disorders such as anxiety and learning troubles. So theresearchers were curious what other effects these injections ofsynthetic cortisol, or highly stressful maternal experiencesduring pregnancy, might be having. They were particularlyinterested in the effects on the infant’s brain.Matthews’ team used guinea pigs as their model animals,because they have similar placentas to humans and givebirth to similarly developed offspring. What they found wasthat when a pregnant guinea pig experiences stress or getsa stress hormone injection, her pups’ brains can be permanentlyaltered. The exact effect will depend on the sex ofthe fetus, as well as when the hormone surge happened.But the studies showed that the control centre for hormoneregulation is permanently changed, as are the brain neurotransmittersystems.Ultimately, this may be the mechanism by which stressduring fetal life can affect endocrine function and behaviourthroughout the rest of the animals’ existence. Matthews’research and that of others has found that adversity duringpregnancy is associated with offspring that tend to be morefearful, impulsive and inattentive. Perhaps most alarming ofall is Matthews’ discovery that sometimes these cortisoleffects can last beyond the exposed generation and affecttheir children – and perhaps their grandchildren. “Thereseems to be a trans-generational memory of adversity in earlylife,” says Matthews.he conversation between our genes and our environmentcontinues after we are born. Thoughwe are no longer in our mother’s womb, we arestill very much affected by her interaction withus. Even subtle differences in the way a parentbehaves toward us in the early months of our lives can alterthe way we develop emotionally, socially and cognitively.Landmark animal studies by Professor Michael Meaneyof McGill University found that reduced maternal careaffected how certain genes in the offspring expressed themselves.To find out more about how the early environment,including maternal behaviour, can affect child development,Matthews and Meaney are co-directing a large, multidisciplinarystudy that follows groups of mothers andchildren in Ontario and Quebec.Alison Fleming, a psychology professor at U of TMississauga who has spent her career studying parentingbehaviour, is collaborating with Matthews and Meaneyon the mother-and-child study. She is interested in how anew mother’s own early life experiences might interact withher genes to influence her parenting style. Over the courseof more than six years, Fleming and her colleagues havepaid 20 home visits to each of 204 mothers, observed theirparenting, and measured hormones. The study includeda session in which the researchers videotaped mother-infantinteractions and then measured, among other things, howattentive the mother was to her six-month-old baby.The researchers also took a cheek swab to do geneticanalysis and inquired through questionnaires about themother’s early upbringing. When they analyzed the geneticinformation and put it together with the mother’s ownbackground, the findings were intriguing. The mothers withat least one copy of a particular gene variant – best knownfor its association with depression and anxiety – turned outto be much more attentive to their babies. Mothers whoboth lacked this variant and had an adverse early childhoodwere significantly more likely to ignore their infants. Evena mother’s perceived attachment to her baby seemed to beassociated with interaction between her genes and her earlychildhood environment.Part of what makes the findings so provocative is thatthe gene variant that made for more attentive mothering haslong been considered a “vulnerability” variant, becauseit appears to put people at greater risk for depression andsummer 2011 27

Eric JackmanOpening DoorsGifts totalling $8 million for the newlynamed Dr. Eric Jackman Instituteof Child Study will help position U of Tas a global leader in the study ofearly human developmentStudents from the Dr. Eric Jackman Institute of Child StudyWhen Eric Jackman made Canada’s biggesteverprivate donation to early childhooddevelopment last year – a $5-million gift to theInstitute of Child Study, which now bearshis name – he was hoping to make a point.How we spend our early childhood, he believes,helps determine how we spend the restof our lives. “We know more and more aboutthe extraordinary importance of infancyand childhood to getting people off on theright start in life,” he says. “I wanted to shinea spotlight on that.”Jackman has long been interested in earlychildhood development. He earned hisundergraduate degree in economics and triedhis hand in the investment business, whichhe describes as “not satisfying for my soul.”Then, while travelling – and experiencing thecultures of Asia, the Middle East and Europe –he became fascinated with how people live.He went back to U of T for his master’s in psychology,earning his degree in 1962.But here in Canada at the time, rat mazesand pigeons pecking at dots were all the ragein psychology, he laments, and he wasn’tterribly interested in that. So he set off to theUniversity of Chicago, where, through the university’sCommittee on Human Development,he studied psychology, cultural anthropology,sociology and biology, becoming a “humandevelopmentologist.” He later practiced inChicago as a clinical psychologist, both in themental-health system and in private practice.Though Jackman eventually migrated back tothe world of finance, where he currently runsInvicta Investments, he’s kept his oar in psychologythrough philanthropy and volunteerwork with organizations such as the PsychologyFoundation of Canada. “That organization chosesome years ago to not get involved in cures,”he says. Instead it focused on prevention andhealth promotion, an approach championedby U of T’s proposed Institute for HumanDevelopment, and by Jackman himself. “Wehave to start kids off as happy, resilient,energetic, motivated people, who understandtheir mind, their body and their soul,” he says.Jackman’s own early education, and thatof his siblings, began at the Institute of ChildStudy, which at the time was called theSt. George Street nursery. He still remembersthe tricycles, the little sidewalks and thesand boxes. “The thing I didn’t like was naptime!”he laughs. “I wanted to play!”Prof. Janette Pelletier, director of theDr. Eric Jackman Institute of Child Study, saysJackman’s gift – and a $3-million contributionfrom Margaret McCain and the late WallaceMcCain – will support building expansion andrenovation, enhance community programming,and ultimately position U of T as aglobal centre of excellence in early humandevelopment. (Margaret McCain, a long-timechildren’s advocate, earned a bachelor’sdegree in social work from U of T in 1955. Sheco-wrote a report for the Ontario governmentin 1999 that underscored the importance oflife’s first three years.)The institute’s new wing – the Margaret andWallace McCain Pavilion – will feature modernclassrooms and a large auditorium-gymnasiumto better serve the Jackman Institute’s onsitegraduate program. The addition will alsoallow research activities in the Dr. R.G.N.Laidlaw Centre to expand, and it will providemuch-needed space to strengthen physicalactivity and health programming for thelaboratory school students in Nursery throughGrade Six. The Dr. Eric Jackman Institute isone of the few places in the world whereresearch, graduate teacher training and anelementary laboratory school occur in oneplace. It is seeking another $1 million to completeits fundraising campaign. – Alison Motlukother mental-health issues. But Fleming and others nowargue that rather than predisposing people to poor mentalhealth, this gene variant may just make someone moresensitive to environmental effects. “These gene variants arenot necessarily about enhancing effects of negative environments,”says Viara Mileva-Seitz, a graduate student whoworks with Fleming and carried out the study, “but aboutenhancing sensitivity to any environment, be it positiveor negative. You need to look at both sides of the coin.Presumably there’s a reason why these genes survived. It isunlikely that they are maladaptive in all environments.”Jennifer Jenkins, a developmental psychologist with theOntario Institute for Studies in Education, is studying howfamily relationships interact with various genes to affectchildren’s development. Evidence from other labs suggeststhat the context in which children grow up, including thefamily environment, can affect not only psychosocial wellbeing(such as how secure a child feels) but also the propensity28 WWW.MAGAZINE.UTORONTO.CA

to develop conditions such as diabetes or obesity. “Whatwe know about environmental effects provides us with plentyof room for intervention,” says Jenkins.he proposed Institute for Human Developmenthas set its sights beyond health. It will also tacklea variety of issues in learning, care and education,in particular to improve how young children selfregulate,says Carl Corter, who is another of theinstitute’s key players and a senior researcher at OISE. Thisability, which encompasses skills such as self-discipline,perseverance and emotional control, has been shown topredict later-life health, wealth and involvement in crime.Three-year-old children, for instance, who had low levelsof self-control, were significantly more likely at age 32 to bedrug-dependent, financially struggling or convicted of a crime.The province and the education system acknowledge theimportance of good self-regulation, says Corter. Teachersconfirm that kids with limited self-regulation present hugechallenges to schools, and Ontario’s guidelines for child care,family support programs and kindergarten all emphasizehow important it is. Newer report cards even try to measureit and suggest “next steps” for how the child can improve.“There’s increasingly the view that we have to think not justabout how core academic content is delivered,” says Corter.But educators have not been prepared to deal with theemerging knowledge about self-regulation in children. “Earlyeducation has long recognized the importance of creatingfeelings of attachment and security among children. Thatthinking has dominated so much of academic practice,”Corter says. This is still important to do but is being supplementedby new understanding about additional processesthat lead to healthy development. We’re now learning thatwhat kids really need is graded challenges, he says. Thisfosters self-awareness in children about their own actions.Corter would like researchers to spend time observingchild-care centres and full-day kindergarten classrooms tocritically examine what we are currently doing and how wecould improve strategies for helping kids regulate their ownbehaviour and make the most of their learning experiences.Initially, Corter says, ideas about how to foster selfregulationwill be tested through the university’s laboratoryschool at the Dr. Eric Jackman Institute of Child Study. Theinstitute is a hub where teachers, political and educationalleaders, developmental scientists and parents all meet in theinterest of putting research and ideas about education intopractice. “It’s a mini-institute of human development,” he says.The same approach used to study how early experiencesaffect physical and mental health will be used to tackleproblems of self-regulation. Researchers will also work handin hand with the Ontario Birth Study, which, once launched,will recruit pregnant women from Mount Sinai Hospital.The study will follow children starting early in their gestationand will continue to track and monitor them as they growThe proposed Institute for HumanDevelopment will bring togetherresearch scientists with the peoplemost able to deliver interventions:clinicians, social workers and educatorsup. It will be similar to the Raine study, but instead of beingrestricted to a single cohort, it will be ongoing. With the helpof DNA analysis, the researchers will explore how genes andenvironment work together to influence each child’s lifecourse – in terms of metabolic health, mental health and selfregulation,among other things. The goal is to use the datato inform doctors and educators about how to care for andpromote well-being in the next generation and how tointervene to mitigate problems and then monitor how thoseinterventions fare.In Corter’s larger vision, the schools won’t just be settingcurriculum or determining interventions to improve kids’self-regulation. Schools will help provide parenting classes,pediatric care and social services. “We’re trying to get theeducation system to think health,” he says. “There will bemore overlap in the future.”The proposed Institute for Human Development will bringtogether research scientists with the people most able todeliver interventions: clinicians, social workers and educators.With its scope reaching from basic scientific research intohealth and all the way into education, and then, uniquely,with those results channelling back into scientific research,the new institute will be unlike any other, says Sokolowski.“There’s nowhere else in the world where you will findthis kind of facility combining discovery and translationalresearch on this scale,” she says. The concentration of expertiseis also one of a kind, she adds. Sokolowski credits theCanadian Institute for Advanced Research (CIFAR) for bringingthe importance of early human development into themainstream. Dr. Fraser Mustard, the founder of CIFAR, hasalso been a driving force in this area for many years, she says.What will distinguish the institute, according to Lye,Sokolowski, Matthews and Corter, is its focus on preventionand promotion, rather than measuring or managing riskand disease after they have already begun to unfold. “We’revery determined that this isn’t just a research project,”says Lye. “There have got to be outcomes.”Alison Motluk (BA 1989 Trinity) is a journalist in Toronto.Read a feature article about the Dr. Eric Jackman Institute of Child Studyat http://www.magazine.utoronto.ca/feature/head-of-the-class/summer 2011 29

masked thugs as security forces stood idly by. “I met withtwo photographers who’d had their hands broken, anotherjournalist who’d had his ribs cracked,” Muscati recalls. “Andthese guys were just taking pictures.” Earlier, he’d seenfootage from Baghdad of security forces with batons beatingjournalists, smashing their cameras, and taking their memorycards. Even in Iraq’s post–Saddam Hussein era, Muscati says,“Freedom of expression has been under attack for a while.”Muscati is still in Sulamaniyah, where it is close tomidnight when I reach him on Skype. He’s tired, and his voicebetrays the kind of emotional exhaustion that comes withlooking for truths in the dense fog of war. He spent the daymeeting with victims and witnesses of the violent protest,but says this marks only the beginning of his inquiries intothe abuses. In the coming days, he hopes to sit down withthe city’s head of security to demand, in his quiet way, somemodicum of accountability: Were investigations beinglaunched into the brutality? “It’s not enough to just reporton the problems,” says Muscati, whose work for HumanRights Watch makes him a kind of professional witness tohuman suffering. “We need to make sure that changeoccurs as well.”Muscati, 38, is the last of his family in Iraq, a persistentleaf on a barren tree. Since the early 1970s, and then againsta backdrop of invasions and civil wars, waves of Muscati’scousins, aunts and grandparents have sought refuge abroad.“They fled during the Iran-Iraq War, during the First GulfWar, during the sanctions, after the 2003 war and the last onesfled after the sectarian violence in 2006,” he says. “Myparents understand why I’m here, but it’s difficult for them.They say, ‘We came to Canada to give you a better future.Why the hell are you going back?’”hough free from the tyrant’s grip, Iraqi citizenswho find themselves on the wrong side of the law− and even those who don’t − have reason to fearthe authorities. Torture was endemic in Iraq’sshadowy legal system under Saddam, who maintainedcontrol by keeping political dissidents locked up inbarbaric conditions or simply “disappearing” them. It’s noweight years since Saddam was forced from power, but injusticehas a long half-life. Torture − as both an interrogation techniqueand instrument of mass terror − was so much a part ofIraq’s misrule of law that it has proved difficult to eradicate.Last year, Muscati and Human Rights Watch uncovereda disturbing scene that could have been lifted straight fromBaathist Iraq: a secret prison, operating far beyond theMinistry of Justice’s reach, where special forces reportingdirectly to the prime minister’s office systematically torturedterrorist suspects to gain false confessions. Rumoursof the prison had been swirling among the families of thedisappeared for several months. In early 2010, Muscati anda colleague, following a lead from a Los Angeles Times story,spent hours arguing with guards for access to 300 men beingheld at the Al Rusafa Detention Centre (they had been movedthere from the secret prison). Finally, the guards strippedMuscati and his colleague of their recorders and cameras, andtold them they had three hours to speak with 42 of the men.During the interviews, as one prisoner after another showedMuscati the scars left by his interrogators, it becameclear that the abuses had been as routine as they were brutal.“Security officials whipped detainees with heavy cables,pulled out fingernails and toenails, burned them with acidand cigarettes, and smashed their teeth,” Muscati later wrotein his report, which captured national attention in Iraq.Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki quickly denied anyknowledge of the secret prison, but an internal memo fromthe American Embassy showed that the security forcesrunning the site were taking their orders from his office.Worse, the memo reported, the commandos, who regularlywork alongside U.S. special forces, were “involved indetaining prominent political figures as well as other Iraqiswho have little apparent connection to terrorism orinsurgent activities.”When American tanks rolled into Baghdad in 2003 andtoppled a giant statue of Saddam in Firdos Square, the liberatorswere said to be tilling the soil for a liberal democracy.But widespread looting, a feckless Coalition ProvisionalAuthority and sectarian civil war soon eroded any hopes ofan Iraqi Spring. Muscati offered me this assessment: “Thisis a place where violence is festering. The concern is, how doyou deal with it in a way that doesn’t create new terrorists,alienate a large part of the population or trample on people’shuman rights?” It’s an ugly truth that the security gainsin Iraq since late 2006, when some 2,800 Iraqi civilians werebeing killed each month, have come at the cost of democraticprinciples. The consequence of al-Maliki’s security trumpcard, Muscati says, “is less space for journalists to operate,less opportunity for protesters to dissent and harsh methodsfor those accused of terrorism.”As one voice of concern among Baghdad’s many nongovernmentalorganizations (NGOs), Muscati is asking Iraqiministers to elevate human rights – the paving stones of adurable democracy – to a place alongside counterterrorism.He finds allies when and where he can. “The governmentmay not be perfect, but it’s responsive,” he points out −and this makes Iraq different from other Arab states. Sincehis discovery at Al Rusafa, Muscati has found unambiguousevidence of torture in two more prisons, known − withoutapparent irony − as Camp Honor and Camp Justice. Eachprison holds hundreds of men swept up in broad counterterrorismraids that are now commonplace in Sunnineighbourhoods. The minister of justice and the minister ofhuman rights were both willing to speak with Muscatiwhen the new abuses came to light, and, in March, a parliamentaryinvestigative committee forced the closure of CampHonor. “We are making progress,” says Muscati. “It’s not allnegative. It’s just difficult − there’s so much more that needs32 WWW.MAGAZINE.UTORONTO.CA

to be done.” The prime minister continues to stonewallreporters on human rights. And no one expects indictmentsagainst the torturers to be handed down soon, if ever.In the face of such obstacles, Muscati possesses a kindof Herculean persistence; he has worked closely enoughwith the prime minister’s office in Baghdad to recognize howinternecine Iraqi politics can be. “Al-Maliki has one of themost difficult jobs in the world,” Muscati says. He’s inheritinga new institution, surrounded by religious leaders, politicalinterests and regional neighbours who all have a vestedinterest in meddling. “It’s a terrible predicament to be in.”Though the security situation is improving, Muscati wondershow long Iraqis will tolerate a government that allowsits citizens to be brutalized. Where lies the tenuous linebetween adolescent democracy and infant police state?uscati’s heritage is Iraqi, but he grew up in“sleepy Ottawa,” the eldest son of two ambitiousyoung scientists who left Baghdad in the1970s to pursue graduate school in the West.After pit stops in Iran, Germany and England,both his father (an electrical engineer) and his mother(a chemist) received their PhDs in Canada. “I joke with mybrother” − also a lawyer − “that we’re the least educatedpeople in our family,” Muscati says.The boys – watched most days by their grandmother,who spoke no English – were bilingual. Owing to parentaledict, Iraqi Arabic was their Canadian home’s lingua franca.But if Muscati stuck out in high school, it had less to do withhis language skills or skin colour than with his serious mien.“I was always kind of a nerd,” he says. “I was reading booksabout Gandhi and non-violence and pacifism when otherkids were doing what kids are supposed to do.” He quit eatingmeat at 14, a commitment he still keeps today, and began“trying to think of peaceful revolution.”While majoring in environmental studies at CarletonUniversity, Muscati worked on the student newspaper andbecame the parliamentary bureau chief for the CanadianUniversity Press’s news wire, covering Ottawa’s politicalscene. Once out of school, he interned with Reuters thenjumped to the Globe and Mail, where he worked as an editorfor three years. “To be honest with you − and I shouldn’t besaying this − the reason I became a journalist wasn’t becauseI had a love of writing or I wanted to be objective. I saw itas a great tool for promoting issues.” A mentor at the Globepushed him to pursue his interest in law, telling him thateditorial work could wait. He arrived at the Universityof Toronto’s Faculty of Law as a second-year transfer studentinterested in environmental policy. But a course inhuman-rights law left him deeply moved, so he turnedhis attention to that.After earning his law degree, Muscati went to work asa finance lawyer for a big firm in Boston. “It was the worstyear of my life,” he says. “It was horrible.” Telling himself“To be honest with you, the reasonI became a journalist wasn’tbecause I had a love of writing orI wanted to be objective. I saw it asa great tool for promoting issues”that he was merely renting − not selling − his soul to thecorporate world, he spent his days negotiating lending termsbetween banks and their commercial clients. In retrospect,he says, it provided him with a useful set of white-collartools, such as “how to deal with difficult people.” With hiseye on a master’s in international human-rights law atthe London School of Economics and Political Science, he“tried to lead a very impoverished lifestyle” and quicklypaid off his loans.Muscati had long resolved to pursue legal work in Iraqbut the dream remained an impossible one while Saddamwas in power. The 2003 invasion opened the door to development,humanitarian and rights groups, and, in January2006, after two years of hopscotching the globe with hismaster’s now in hand, Muscati arrived in Baghdad. As partof a private consultancy firm, contracted by the U.K.’sDepartment for International Development, Muscati andhis colleagues helped build Iraq’s first Cabinet Office fromscratch. Sectarian violence in the country was approachinga tenor pitch, and inhabitants of heavily fortified Baghdadlived under a siege mentality. Working out of the BritishEmbassy, Muscati, clad in ballistics vest and helmet, travelledwith bodyguards in an armoured vehicle and never leftthe Green Zone. Home was a concrete bunker. Getting fromthe compound to the airport – a distance of a few miles –required a helicopter. “Mortars were coming in daily,” hesays. “The security situation was horrible. Every fewmonths, one of the people we were working with would bekidnapped or killed.” Slowly, his team trained 16 newbureaucrats − the foundation of a new democracy. Then onesummer 2011 33

“To do this job, you have to bean optimist,” he says. “Otherwise,at some point, you have to stop”of the security guards blew himself up, maiming the deputyprime minister and killing a number of staff. When theHuman Rights Watch position came open in Toronto in 2009,Muscati happily gave up his itinerancy and moved home.n the ground in Iraq, Muscati’s linguistic arsenal,olive complexion and reporter’s instincts allowhim to move easily around the country. His hairhas gone silver early, perhaps from day-tradingin human sorrow, but the look lends him a worldwearyauthority. He’s as skinny as a carrot, with a strongnose and eyebrows that do enough worrying for two. Hissoft-spoken demeanour, bordering on shyness, may be hisbest weapon. “He likes to win people over with his humour,”says his partner, Sandra Ka Hon Chu (LLB 2002). “And heusually does.”Muscati – who tells me he sees more of Iraq from spendinga single day in the Red Zone than from living for monthsin the Green Zone – travels with only a satellite tracer,which registers his location every quarter-hour, for security.“It’s just me and my muscles,” he jokes. When a family ina far-flung province opens its door to find Muscati standingoutside, notebook in hand, they often look up and downthe street for his armed guards. “They’re always delighted.It shows that we do care and have come all this way − andare risking something − because we want to help. It gives ussome street cred.” (Other NGOs often ask their Iraqi sourcesto make the trip to the Green Zone, “which is a horrible processfor local Iraqis to go through, with all the checkpoints,”says Muscati.) Most Iraqis are familiar with Human RightsWatch, which spent the Baathist years reporting on theregime’s laundry list of crimes, and Muscati is often delugedwith testimony and information. He may do as many as20 interviews a day, or as few as three; because of Baghdad’smaze of checkpoints, he says, it takes an hour just to getacross town. Free from the capital, though, a month-longreporting trip will take him to at least a half-dozen cities.The carte blanche to travel is integral to deep investigativework, but it’s a source of constant anxiety back home. Everytime the media report a bomb blast, his cellphone inevitablyrings. “Of course, Iraq is a very big country,” he says.Life on the road can be solitary, and a little bleak. Muscatispends six months of the year in Iraq and the UnitedArab Emirates, and the other half at home in Toronto, whereHuman Rights Watch keeps a regional office. Working withan Iraqi “fixer,” a street-smart guide who knows the layof the land, Muscati spends hours in hospitals, homes andministry buildings, doing the exhaustive shoe-leatherreporting that the news media has all but forsaken in Iraq.To formally report rights violations, he needs hard evidence:firsthand testimony, photos, police reports, medicalrecords. He needs to interview victims or their grievingfamilies – but he also needs to seek comment from the allegedperpetrators. And any paper he writes goes through weeksof vetting – by specialists, regionalists, in-house lawyers –before it’s published. “All we have as an organization is ourcredibility,” he says.Human Rights Watch, whose mission is equal partsfact-finding and advocacy, has built its reputation on beingapolitical and single-minded in its concern for the basicand inalienable rights a democracy promises its citizens. Thegroup’s ability to press illiberal governments on concretepolicies – on female genital mutilation in Kurdistan, forexample, or migrant domestic labour rights in the UnitedArab Emirates – depends on simultaneously enfranchisingand criticizing them. Playing ally to some ministries andgadfly to others requires a certain delicacy. “Sometimes thesemeetings are tense,” Muscati says of the advocacy work.“It’s difficult to have an outside group coming in and tellingyou how to do your job.” While the politics of the job canbe challenging, the emotional toll can be especially draining.“People talk about the risks and dangers, but that’s not asdifficult to manage as the sadness,” says Muscati. “That’s whatreally gets to you. Given that there’s been two decades ofstrife, conflict, turmoil and sanctions, every family has beentraumatized.” The miles he’s travelled since leaving Bostonand its plush corporate digs have clearly affected Muscati.“My idealism has been tarnished somewhat since I left lawschool, after working in Iraq and Rwanda and East Timorand seeing what humanity is capable of. I’ve lost a lot ofmy innocence.”And so it is that Muscati’s job has become his life’s work.The nine-to-five has become a courtship with humanmalevolence and human goodness. But he can’t quit it. Onan investigative trip to northern Iraq this spring, he foundmuch of the region mired in desperate, frustrated anger:after bloody national elections in March 2010, bickeringministers put on a political sideshow that lasted morethan eight months as they tried to form a government.“Iraqis are pessimistic, and they have a right to be,” he says.American forces and advisers are beginning their final withdrawal,even as many of the political and social institutionsthey’ve spent eight years trying to seed have failed totake root and mature. The electricity still constantly fails,corruption pervades the government and essential goodsare in chronic short supply. But Muscati’s sense of possibility,of the good that may yet come, is unflagging. “To do thisjob, you have to be an optimist,” he says. “Otherwise, at somepoint, you have to stop.”Kevin Charles Redmon is a freelance journalist and was a 2008Middlebury Fellow in Environmental Journalism.34 WWW.MAGAZINE.UTORONTO.CA

The winners of the 2011 U of T Magazine Alumni Short Story and PoetryContest are Brittan Coghlin (BScN 2007) for her story “Delivered”and Emily Swinkin (BSc 2010) for her poem “The children of fishermen.”Coghlin and Swinkin each received $1,000.Deliveredby Brittan CoghlinThis story contains languagethat some readers may findoffensive. Reader discretionis advised.Kat placed her hands, palms warmed, gently onto theheaving belly. We never should have let Christinawipe the board clean, she thought to herself as thewoman before her trembled, a wave of pain rollingfrom her. Something was wrong. Kat looked at thefetal heart-rate monitor; everything seemed OK, not perfect,but OK. It was too much too fast, that was what nagged at her.The woman had gone from mild labour to severe pain in verylittle time. Kat tried to piece together what was happening.Working labour and delivery had a way of tucking doubt andmagic into the fog of late-night shifts and Kat’s superstitionsbegan to rise in her.That night had dragged on with no patients showing.Any woman that arrived was always noted on a chalkboardroster for the unit. The last patient’s name had been lefton the board, even though she had delivered hours before.PHOTO: Getty imagessummer 2011 35

Her responses had become automaticover the years. Kat turned up thevolume on the heartbeat monitor.It was a sound she heard in her sleepand the undertone of her wakinghours. Thump thump, thump thump,thump thumpChristina, badly tinted hair and lips pressed firmly in a tightline, had jumped up from her stool by the bank of screensshowing fetal heart rates from around the unit.“I’m cleaning the chalkboard,” she’d said. Numerousobjections erupted from around the desk. Everyone believedthat wiping the board was tantamount to calling forthdisaster. Kat remembered the last time the board had beencleaned, a woman came in psychotic from pre-eclampsia;she’d seized and then died.Christina had picked up the brush anyway, she’d cleanedthe whole board down, it gleamed at Kat, naked and unpredictable.It was only an hour later when Serena had walked in,already five centimetres dilated and ready to crawl out ofher skin from the pain.Kat approached Serena with a practiced quiet, movementlike someone coaxing a wild animal, every muscle careful.Her fingertips traced the baby’s head under Serena’s skin;it was low and facing down. The skin grew taut, a contractionstretching and tearing flesh within. Kat’s fingertips waited,the skin did not slacken. There was no reprieve for severalminutes. Kat listened to the galloping heartbeat from thefetal monitor.“Is everything OK?” Serena’s husband, Gerard, asked ashe stroked his wife’s hair. Serena was shaking again. “Shouldshe be doing that?”“Totally normal,” Kat replied. Her responses had becomeautomatic over the years. Kat turned up the volume on theheartbeat monitor. It was a sound she heard in her sleep andthe undertone of her waking hours. Thump thump, thumpthump, thump thump. A baby’s heart rate is fast and insistent.The next contraction took Serena again, her back arching,her eyes distant, lost in the excruciation. The baby’s heart ratedipped and formed a long U shape on Kat’s monitor.“I wanted to do this naturally,” Serena said as sherecovered. She looked at Kat imploringly, as if there weresome secret that Kat was withholding from her. Kat watchedthe screen, waiting for the next contraction.Serena’s words sat lumpy and cold in Kat’s stomach.Kat was tired of most everything these days. Shifts seemed todrag at her feet and pull on her lower back. Innocent questionsgrated on her nerves. Birth was not something you couldplan, but women insisted on trying, on itemizing andprioritizing their experience. They were afraid the doctorswouldn’t hear them. But life, Kat knew, was just too messy.Kat watched Serena try to cope with the next contraction.Serena gave off a controlled scream and writhed beneathKat’s palms.“It feels like my uterus is ripping apart!” Serena saidas she jumped up towards the head of the bed, unsure of whatelse to do but move, as if she could outrun it.“Take some breaths with me,” Kat urged and exaggeratedbig deep breaths, encouraging Serena to follow along with her.Serena was not getting through the contractions anymore,Kat could feel her starting to unravel, could see her mindstarting to unhinge from the pain. Kat herself felt bloated andstiff, she felt exhausted. Fuck Christina, she thought as shelooked at the clock.It was 4 a.m. Kat hadn’t been able to sleep that day beforeher shift. She recalled that at home that morning, she hadbled a lot more than ever before. No clots this time, the fetus36 WWW.MAGAZINE.UTORONTO.CA

had barely begun to form inside Kat’s body. She had lookedfor the clots in the toilet bowl when it was all over. Shecouldn’t see anything. She had tried, had wanted to see whatshe’d lost, to make it real.The memory was searing and Kat shook her head, tryingto come back to Serena and her job.She sat on the edge of the bed. Serena’s legs were bowedand pushed up around her hips. Kat reached inside Serena,her fingers grazed a small tuft of hair and slid aroundto find that, yes, the baby was facing down, right where itshould be. Serena had also dilated even more, the babywas coming soon.“I can feel your baby’s head,” she said. The couple lookedat one another with awe. She heard the baby’s heart ratedip again, the thumping slowed. She tickled the top of thebaby’s head, the heartbeat stayed slow. Kat got Serena tomove around, she opened up her IV, she did everything sheknew to help the heart rate recover. It continued to thudslowly, deafeningly, as another contraction drew tightaround the baby. Finally, Kat rang the call bell and asked forthe on-call doctor.“What’s happening?” Gerard asked.“The baby is just having some trouble with the contractions,I want it to be checked out,” she said, scribbling downthe events of the last few minutes into her notes.“It’s going to be OK, right?” Gerard asked, squeezing hiswife’s hand as she opened up into a star shape on the bed,the pain sending her limbs in all directions. Kat pretendednot to hear the question, she watched the beats on thescreen. They were intuitive to her, like reading lines of music.“The baby is a girl,” Serena spoke up between gasps.“We’re going to call her Cara.”The operating room lights glared at Kat as shehooked up Serena’s intravenous bag by the table.It was now 5 a.m. and Kat could feel the weightof sleep following her every step. She had justrushed down the hall with Serena on a stretcher.Christina was scrubbing in and Kat was preparing Serena forher C-section. Serena was crying a little now, she was scaredand Kat tried to keep her calm, she held her hand andbreathed audibly, in and out, it was one of the few things shecould offer women. Just keep breathing.The team splayed Serena out naked on the operating table,strapped her arms down as if laying her on a cross, her largebelly continuing to tense and seethe. She started to shakeagain, her whole body wracked with a deep cold in the starkroom. Kat took out a warm blanket and wrapped it on topof Serena’s shoulders.“The OR is cold, the shaking is normal,” she soothed.Serena’s eyes were darting around the room and Kat feltfor the first instant a moment of empathy, a moment ofThe children offishermenby Emily SwinkinThe children of fishermen laugh like saltwaterspilling over stony breakers. This is what they know –overflowing, the seafull of something it wants everyone to share.Sometimes they watch, their eyeslike gentle gulls, to seeif speckles on the horizon might be boatsbringing home their fathers.Wood, shells, bottles, and all scrapsof marine memory come to rest in this port –proof the ocean never ends.There, with the smell of brine so caught upin their tales, the pirate poetry they flinginto the wind, they count the leagues to bedand worship, tired, unconscious,the moon’s magic, bowingto the shepherd of tides.Emily Swinkin (BSc 2010 Victoria) happily split her undergraduateeducation between English and human biologyand is now studying medicine at Queen’s University.Her poems have appeared in several volumes of ACTAVictoriana and The Trinity University Review.Runners-Upand Readers’ ChoiceAwardsLaura Rock (BA 1986 St. Michael’s) won secondplace in the story contest for “Maquila Bird.” Rocklives in Lakefield, Ontario, with her husband andfour children. Her fiction and essays have appearedin the Antigonish Review, the Globe and Mail andthe Peterborough Examiner.Laboni Islam (BA 2002 UC, BEd 2003) is runner-upin the poetry contest for “The Mynah.” She is botheastern and western, both teacher and student, bothlearning to write and writing to learn.In online voting, readers’ opinions aligned with ourjudges’; they chose Brittan Coghlin’s “Delivered” astheir favourite story and Emily Swinkins’ “The childrenof fishermen” as their favourite poem.Read the runners-up at www.magazine.utoronto.ca.summer 2011 37

connection. She held Serena’s glance and spoke in a whisper.“Everything is fine, I’ll bring Gerard in soon, we’ll all meetCara together.” Serena nodded.It was these rare moments that brought Kat in to workeach day, despite her fatigue, despite how the babies madeher ache, how they made her feel rejected. Her own uterusbarren, empty, it often felt hollow inside like someone hadscraped it clean. Sometimes she saw it in her mind, likethe inside of a carved pumpkin, all the pulp scooped out. Shecouldn’t help but feel a sense that the women she helpedthrough birth were more worthy, they were softer somehow,plush and open. Like gardens in bloom, bursting withpapery, fluttering flowers.Kat had grown hard and closed, she found it difficult torecall her early days as a nurse, the way she had felt a kind ofpresence coaxing her to call forth life into the world. Therehad been beauty back then and power, a feminine divinityin her hands and the world a place of wonder. That wasbefore the miscarriages, before she lost the first, the one shewas going to call Grace. And then there had been three more,each one draining her of faith, sucking creation out of her.The resident came in then and painted Serena’s bellywith antiseptic wash. Kat pulled up drapes around the tableso Serena couldn’t see when the doctors cut into her. Serena’seyes followed Kat around the room.Christina looked over at the heart monitor. “Somethingis wrong?” she asked from behind her surgical mask. Katignored her and walked over to push the call bell.“Can you bring the husband in now?” she asked.The doctor swung through the OR doors with Gerardbehind her. Kat knew before they even opened Serena up thatChristina never should have wiped that board clean. Thedoctor made a small incision at the base of Serena’s belly andthen she and the resident reached their hands inside andpulled open the first layer of skin. It was better for tissue to betorn, rather than cut, and they proceeded in this way througheach layer of flesh, down to Serena’s uterus. Kat saw themtear at the uterus, shearing it like a piece of wrapping paper.“You’re going to feel a lot of pressure now,” she said toSerena, warning her of the sensation of the two doctorspushing down on the top of her uterus and simultaneouslypulling up on the baby.Serena groaned then and winced, she struggled to catchher breath as if punched in the gut. Kat waited for the soundof a small cry. She still held her breath until she heard it,the first cry. She waited. The room grew silent, the air deepeninginto an abyss of quiet. Serena continued to groanand the doctors continued to pull and push, still, nothing.“The baby is stuck in the pelvis,” Christina whisperedbeside Kat.The doctors continued to struggle, blood spilled overthe sides of the table and into the plastic gutters of thedrapes. The doctors remained elbow deep inside Serenafighting with her body.“The placenta detached?” the doctor asked in a whisper,Kat met her eyes, they were serious and direct.“I can’t get her out,” the resident replied.The seconds dragged on and Serena’s eyelids fluttered.Kat imagined that the baby was drowning inside and thatSerena herself was bleeding out. They still couldn’t get holdof the baby.Gerard was patting Serena’s cheek gently, trying to keepher eyes open. The room was so quiet you could only hearthe soft whirring of the suction machine.“Fuck Christina,” Kat said under her breath.Kat felt in her gut that the baby would die, and possiblySerena as well. In the years before she would have askedfor intervention from some unnamed force that she spoke toin her head, she would have pleaded to save them both.She didn’t do that this time. Her own losses bearing downon her as Serena’s blood began to splatter onto the clean,white linoleum. She thought about Serena, about how shewould mourn this child.She herself had never had more than clots to mourn.When she’d lost Grace she had been in bed, the clots passinghad woken her up, the sheets soaked in blood. Kat’s husbandhad come home from work that afternoon to find her staringoff the back deck, unblinking, unmoving, cradling theclots in the baby blanket her sister had mailed to her fromVancouver. When he’d tried to take it from her, she had flowninto a rage. He’d cried and begged her to come inside. Shewouldn’t speak to him. She stayed there all night, shelteringthe blanket when the summer rain had come. Kat didn’tknow how to mourn a clump of cells.No, she had no faith. She didn’t pray or speak to anyoneas she watched Serena’s body dismantle. Rather, Kat feltonly the unravelling, a deep void that was swallowing theoperating room and all of them in it.“Anyone have any ideas?” the doctor asked, herface exhausted.“Let me try to push,” Kat said as she grabbed a pair ofgloves. She wasn’t scrubbed in, but no one else was free to doso. The doctor nodded OK, and Kat reached up throughSerena’s cervix, pushing Serena’s knees back as far as shecould make them go at the same time. She felt the same tuftof hair on the baby’s head, the same rounded smoothnessand she pushed and pushed. The baby’s head budged, andfinally unlocked.The doctor pulled her out up through Serena’s abdomen.Kat withdrew and grabbed a baby blanket, holding herselfready, knowing she’d see the baby blue and unmoving. Shewas ready to resuscitate.Then there was a small cry. Kat took the baby to thewarmer. She looked down, and saw her, pink and squirming,38 WWW.MAGAZINE.UTORONTO.CA

Sometimes she saw it in her mind,like the inside of a carved pumpkin,all the pulp scooped out. She couldn’thelp but feel a sense that the womenshe helped through birth were moreworthy, they were softer somehow,plush and openThe JudgesPoetry ContestCatherine Graham is the author of four acclaimedpoetry collections: The Watch (Abbey Press, NorthernIreland) and the trilogy Pupa, The Red Element andWinterkill (Insomniac Press). She teaches creativewriting at U of T’s School of Continuing Studies. Visitcatherinegraham.com.Bruce Meyer (BA 1980 Victoria, MA 1982) is the authorof 31 books including 11 poetry collections, the mostrecent of which are Mesopotamia (YSP) and Dog Days:A Comedy of Terriers (Black Moss Press). He is a professorof English at Georgian College and the inaugural PoetLaureate for the City of Barrie.Zoe Whittall is the author of seven books, mostrecently the novel Holding Still for as Long as Possible(House of Anansi).Carleton Wilson (BA 2000 Innis) won the 2007 U of TMagazine Alumni Poetry Contest. He is a poet, editor,publisher and book designer in the Junction in Toronto.Note: Catherine Graham helped select the finalists butdue to a conflict did not help choose the winner.she cried out strong then, as if she’d had no trouble at allcoming into the world. Kat placed her stethoscope over thebaby’s heart and heard the reassuring, thump thump,thump thump. The baby reached out to Kat. She lookedcompletely healthy.Kat wrapped her tightly in a blanket. Serena and Gerardwere holding each other and crying on the other side ofthe curtain. She handed the baby to them. They greeted herjoyfully. Kat left them and returned to work as the doctorstapled Serena’s belly. Kat dressed the surgical wound andbegan to clean up Serena’s body.“That was a miracle that baby came out OK,” Christinasaid quietly to Kat as they took down the curtain fromaround Serena.Kat looked at the new family, they were huddled togetherand caressing each other. She watched the couple and feltno sense of awe or wonder, she couldn’t see a miracle. Shefelt only the cold creep back over her, sleep heavy on hereyelids and an ever-expanding emptiness. The baby cried.Kat left the room and erased Serena’s name from thechalkboard. In its place she scrawled: Delivered.Brittan Coghlin (BScN 2007) is an aspiring writer and registered nurse.She finds inspiration as part of a monthly writing group in Toronto.She works at Casey House in Toronto as a community nurse for peopleliving with HIV-AIDS.Short Story ContestKerry Clare (BA 2002 Victoria, MA 2007) is the winner ofthe 2009 U of T Magazine Alumni Short Story Contest.Her essays, short fiction and book reviews have appearedin various wonderful places, and she writes about booksand reading at her blog “Pickle Me This.”Lauren Kirshner’s debut novel Where We Have to Go(McClelland & Stewart) was a finalist for the 2010 Cityof Toronto Book Award and will be published in the U.S.in 2012. Kirshner (BA 2005 Victoria) received NOW’s“Best Emerging Author” award of 2009 and has twicewon the Hart House Poetry Competition.Rebecca Rosenblum’s fiction has been shortlistedfor the Journey Prize, the National Magazine Award andthe Danuta Gleed Award. Her story collection, Once,won the Metcalf-Rooke Award. Her second collection,The Big Dream, is forthcoming from Biblioasis this fall.Rosenblum (MA 2007) also writes a blog, atrebeccarosenblum.comMark Sedore (BA 2008 Victoria, MA 2009) is a staffwriter for U of T, and has previously worked as a writerfor the mayor’s office in Toronto. His novel, Snowmen(Arsenal Pulp Press), won the 3-Day Novel WritingContest in 2009.Note: Mark Sedore helped select the finalists but due toa conflict did not help choose the winner.summer 2011 39

All About AlumniI can’t even thinkback to when Iwas talking aboutThe Wonder YearsReality-TV expertMurtz Jafferp. 46Rules of ConductAs chief of protocol, DesmondParker brings peace of mindto United Nations’ guestsduring his career in foreign service, Desmond Parker travelledthe world. These days, the world travels to meet him.As chief of protocol for the United Nations in New YorkCity, Parker (BA 1976 UTM) ensures that the UN implementsits protocol policies in an orderly fashion and in a way thatis acceptable to all 192 member states, as well as UN agenciesand intergovernmental organizations. He and his team set theground rules for how discussions take place, how agreementsare arrived at and how people interact at the UN – and, byextension, the international community. During last year’sGeneral Assembly, for example, Parker’s team providedprotocol accreditation for 8,500 delegates – co-ordinatingmeetings, photo-ops and seating arrangements, among manyother functions. “We have to make sure that when they gethere, they’re comfortable,” says Parker, who was appointedin May 2010. “Then they can focus on substantive issues,and not issues of personal well-being.”Born in Trinidad and Tobago to a police officer andhomemaker, Parker decided to study languages at U of TMississauga (then Erindale College). “I had family inToronto, and I thought it would be one of the easier placesto settle,” he says.photo: ANDREW ROWATsummer 2011 41

All About AlumniLord of the LoavesSteve Gibson’s finalMBA project has lefthim rolling in doughSteve Gibson (MBA 1995) still wonders whyhe only got an A- on his business plan tostart an artisanal-bread bakery. Soon aftergraduating from U of T’s Rotman Schoolof Management, Gibson took his 20-pageschool project to the bank and receivedfinancing to launch Fred’s Bread. Gibsonand his spouse, pastry chef AndreaDamon Gibson, have since grown Fred’sBread into a multimillion-dollar business.“I should have gotten an A+,” he quips.The Toronto enterprise employs 35workers, including a team of bakers whotwist, shape and bake 30,000 loaves aweek. Every morning, trucks deliver freshlybaked bread to upscale restaurants,including Hart House’s Gallery Grill, andhigh-end grocery stores, such as Pusateri’s.Several years ago, Fred’s Bread started flash-freezing bread so aficionadoselsewhere in Ontario and in the northeastern U.S. can enjoy the loaves.In the mid-1990s, when Damon Gibson lamented the lack of quality bread inToronto, Gibson noted an opportunity and developed a business plan. In theirtiny apartment kitchen, Damon Gibson wrapped Concord grapes in cheeseclothand, by adding flour and water, created a sourdough starter.The plan’s marketing component emphasized all-natural, organic ingredientsand the baking methods of yesteryear. “We take up to 24 hours to make a sourdoughloaf, and almost no bakery will do that,” says Gibson.Last summer, he hired a farmer to grow organic Red Fife wheat. “It’s calledvertical integration,” says Gibson, tossing out a term he learned at Rotman.“It allows you to reduce costs and have more control over the process.” His wifecreated loaves that are rustic red and have a nutty flavour. And Gibson marketedthe new line with a catchy new name: Red Fred Bread. – Susan PedwellOVERHEARDWe [at the House of Anansi]thought we might sell threeor four thousand copies,but we knew that somethingwas afoot because Britnell[Book Shop] – which wasknown as ‘one-book Britnell’because they only everordered one copy of anybook – ordered two.Margaret Atwood(BA 1961 VIC),on the first signthat her seminalbook, Survival,was to be a hit.Victoria College,March 23Impassioned by travel and fluent in both French andSpanish, Parker earned a master’s degree and starteda career teaching French in Nigeria. But after 10 years, theworld traveller longed to return home. “I was 35, marriedwith four kids. I thought, ‘You’re a young man, and you canstill do something else for yourself.’” He then accepted apost with Trinidad and Tobago’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.Early in the 1990s, however, Parker’s peaceful homecomingwas interrupted. A coup d’état erupted in Haiti, andhe joined the International Civilian Mission to monitorthe human-rights situation in the region. In 1996, a move toLiberia saw him working as a UN peacekeeper in that country,then in the midst of civil war. He spent six years there,engaging in peace-building after the conflict concluded.Parker’s work has required great courage at times. He hasgone for long periods without basic amenities, and enduredforced separations from his family, who were in the UnitedStates during much of the time. He says it’s all part of hisjob. “When you commit yourself to working for the UnitedNations, especially in peacekeeping, you have to have apassion and an appetite for working in dangerous situationsfar from home,” says Parker, 61. “There is so much suffering inthe world – and there has to be a group of people committedto public service, so that the rights of disenfranchised peopleare protected.”Parker’s current job also affords him an extraordinarywindow onto different cultures and customs. “Politics playsa big role in showing the differences between people,” hesays. “But there is much more that unites human beings, thandivides them.” – cynthia macdonald42 WWW.MAGAZINE.UTORONTO.CAphoto: left, courtesy of steve gibson; right, george whiteside

All About AlumniEmma Ruby-Sachs writes politicalcommentary for the HuffingtonPost, covering everything from gayrights to Big OilIn the Name of the DaughterIn her literary debut, lawyerEmma Ruby-Sachs wonders aboutthe personal costs of activismHer parents embedded their radically different dreams forher in one name.Emma Ruby-Sachs is the daughter of the country’s ultimatelegal power couple: Clayton Ruby, the most celebratedcivil-liberties attorney of his generation, and Harriet Sachs,a top-tier human-rights and family lawyer elevated tothe bench. “My mother says I’m named for Jane Austen’sEmma,” says Ruby-Sachs. “But my father claims it was forEmma Goldman.”On the face of it, two more different characters are hardto imagine than this particular literary heroine, Austen’s“I’m proud of bothmy parents. ButI wanted to lookat what it wouldbe like to have amore complicatedrelationship”cosseted heiress, and the proto-feministfomenter of revolutions. So whichparent’s dream, which vision of Emma,to follow? Well, both.Ruby-Sachs has just completed herfirst novel, The Water Man’s Daughter(pursuing the Austen path), whichexplores what it’s like to be an activist(a touch of Goldman). And she doesn’t sequester her interestin activism between the covers: the Faculty of Law grad(JD 2008) currently works for Avaaz, the advocacy groupthat organizes global online petitions protesting everythingfrom commercial whaling to Uganda’s proposed anti-gaylegislation (which was shelved in May).The “water man” named in the novel’s title is a Canadianexecutive at an international water conglomerate, who ismurdered while on a business trip to South Africa. Hisdaughter, Claire, comes to South Africa to ensure that justiceis done. But seeing justice done isn’t as simple as she imagines.Claire is introduced to Nomsulwa, an anti-privatizationactivist who fought the water company to ensure that hernative townships were adequately supplied. At every turn,Claire is faced with the immoral choices her father made.For her part, Nomsulwa must struggle to understand howher own father, a hero of the anti-apartheid movement,could also have beaten her mother, and abandoned them.“I’m lucky in that I’m proud of both my parents,” Ruby-Sachs says. “But I wanted to look at what it would be like tohave a more complicated relationship.” She elaborates:“It’s all about the public-private divide. Mandela is a perfectexample – beloved by the world for what he did, but a prettyhorrible father by all accounts. The costs of activism, that’swhat really fascinated me.” In short: a Goldman questionexplored in an Austen forum. – Alec ScottPortrait ofGeneration YJulian De ZottiYou can often recognize a passion project byits lack of funding. But a tight budget didn’tstop Julian De Zotti (BA 2005 St. Mike’s) fromturning his screenplay into a feature-lengthfilm that was selected for the 2010 MontrealWorld Film Festival and had a successful runat the Royal cinema in Toronto this winter.In March 2008, in just 10 short days – withdonations from friends and family – De Zottiand director Phil Borg shot the movie inDe Zotti’s parents’ home in north Burlington.New Year examines the universal theme ofcusp-of-adulthood confusion, and follows agroup of friends who reunite after university toring in the New Year and share their anxieties.The script reflects De Zotti’s internal monologue.“I wasn’t completely sure about whatI wanted to do,” he says. “There were so manyoptions but also this pressure to find a nineto-fivejob, then settle down and have a family.”After graduating from the University CollegeDrama Program, De Zotti started his owntheatre company, the Original Norwegian. Now29, he is working on another screenplay – acomic re-imagining of King Lear, inspired byItalian culture.New Year has been released on Video-On-Demand across Canada, and will be releasedon pay TV networks later this year.– Sarah Treleavenphoto: top, courtesy of McClelland & Stewart; bottom, courtesy of Phil Borgsummer 2011 43

All About AlumniTHE TWO OF USJane andRoger BrownFor Jane (MA 1952) and RogerBrown (BASc 1952) of Midland,Ontario, first love becameforever love.Jane: I asked Roger to a high schoolSadie Hawkins dance in the fall of 1946. He said that he wasn’tsure because he and his family sometimes went away onweekends, but I think he was holding out for a better offer.He let me stew for a few days and then said yes.After we graduated from U of T, Roger found work as anengineer and I taught home economics. Then I stayed homewith our adopted children. We brought home our first child,Diane, at nine months. When she was two, the adoptionagency asked us to take a two-year-old boy. We had hoped for ababy, but we decided to meet Richard and when they broughtthis little guy in, he wanted to get right up on Roger’s knee.A year-and-a-half later, we welcomed Carol at 10 days old.Over the years, Roger has had a lot of medical issueswe’ve had to get through. He’s had a couple of brain tumours,lung cancer and diabetes. Our strong Christian faith hashelped us; we believe in the power of prayer. Recently, Rogermoved into an assisted-living residence and living aparthasn’t been easy. But he has settled in nicely, and I enjoyvisiting him every afternoon.Roger: During my first year, I was at the Ajax campus andJane was at Whitney Hall on main campus. Every Saturday,I would hitchhike to see her. We would spend the day goingto football games and eating our meals together. Oncewe had a late night at a U of T dance in Ajax and I took Janehome. The timing of the train made it impossible for herto be there by 2:30 a.m. closing, so I was given the key to thewomen’s residence – which I probably waved around a little.Over the years, we shared a love of boating, but we’re tooold now. Jane was just reading me our ship’s log, all aboutwhere we’ve been and what we saw. She would navigate forme – and Jane was a very good navigator – because I’mcolour-blind and I couldn’t tell whether the buoys were redor green. We ended up on the rocks once because of that.In July, we’ll be married for 59 years. We just love eachother and we manage to agree on more things than wedisagree on. We’ve had a good life.When Sarah Wilson wanted to dig deepand plant a vegetable garden at U of T,she looked upward. She, along with fellowcivil-engineering grad students Kyla Smithand Heather Wray, founded the UrbanAgriculture Society and created one of thelargest rooftop vegetable gardens in Torontoin 2008. Located on the Civil Engineeringbuilding, it has produced more than 200kilograms of food for the student community.For her volunteer work, Wilson receiveda Gordon Cressy Student Leadership Awardat Varsity Centre in March. The awards weregiven to 177 graduating students for outstandingextracurricular contributions toU of T and the wider community.Wilson is also involved in issues of wateraccess and safety. She founded the U of Tchapter of WaterCan – an NGO that helpsthose in impoverished countries gain accessto clean water and basic sanitation – andvolunteered with the U of T chapter of theOntario Water Works Association.To read about all the 2011 Cressy Award winners,visit http://alumni.utoronto.ca/cressy.44 WWW.MAGAZINE.UTORONTO.CAphoto: bottom, Mark Balson

All About AlumniCaitlin Kelly’s first book touched ona very different subject than retail:she wrote Blown Away: AmericanWomen and Guns in 2004FIRST PERSONAt Your ServiceAfter three decades as a reporter,Caitlin Kelly enters the low-wageworld of retailWork defines us. Whether we’re a PhD, MBA, JD, DDS, MD –or a SAHM (stay at home mom) – it’s often our primaryidentity after graduation. What happens, then, when a satisfyingor well-paid job in your field eludes you?In September 2007, I stepped away from journalism – myonly career since I began writing for the Varsity in 1975 – andinto the gruelling, low-wage world of retail work. For twoyears and three months, part time, I sold outdoor clothing atThe North Face in a suburban New York mall.I had never worked retail, was 20 to 30 years older thanmy co-workers and the only Caucasian female employeemuch of that time. (I had never before worked in a placewhere I was the visible minority.) Typical of many retailjobs, we were all poorly paid, no matter how well we sold.Yet two of my co-workers were supporting four childrenapiece on our wages, $9 to $11 an hour with no commission.One woman once sold $16,000 worth of goods in one shift,but there was no promotion or huge bonus for her.Retail was the simplest choice after I was laid off frommy job as a reporter at the New York Daily News. Weeksearlier, I’d had a front-page exclusive – “the wood” in tabloidterminology. But as 24,000 fellow journalists lost theirjobs in 2007-8, finding employment at another paperseemed hopeless.I needed cash. I also hungered for a place I would beprofessionally valued.How hard could it be to hang ski pantsand meet daily sales quotas?Retail employment taught me new definitions of (boring!repetitive! sweaty! tiring!) work. A manager inspected myhandbag every time I left the store. Security cameras caughtmy every move. Parking at the mall cost an hour of my wages.Writers often work alone at home, cocooned – or isolated –in silence and solitude. In retail, I had to be on, from theminute I clocked in and donned my plastic name badge tothe second, feet burning with exhaustion, I staggered home.Retail work resembles acting: employees are minutelyobserved by co-workers, managers, customers – and thoseever-present security cameras. Holiday-season shifts offereda Chaplinesque workplace frenzy as long lines of toe-tappingshoppers stared at us impatiently. Why couldn’t we workeven faster? And, oh, the fury when we disappointed them!A managerinspected myhandbag everytime I left.Security camerascaught myevery moveI had met impossibly tight deadlinesat the Globe and Mail and Daily News,but being shouted at for running outof gift boxes? Our job was the classicexemplar of stress – responsibilitywithout authority. Yet whether customersare finger-snappingly imperiousor monosyllabically indecisive, the associate must inveiglethem into actually buying something.The U.S., where I’ve lived since 1988, prides itself onbeing a meritocracy, where education and hard work canrocket the ambitious out of the working class. Most of my14 co-workers had attended or graduated from university, andsome were studying between their retail shifts. But we weremostly assumed to be stupid, and it was deeply demoralizingto be so unvalued, by customers and the company alike.Shoppers leaned over the computer when I entered theirname or address – I couldn’t possibly know how to spell.I lasted far longer than average; 50 per cent of retail workersquit within 90 days and 100 per cent, typically, withina year. I’m glad I did it. I sold well, and developed new skillsthrough working with a much greater diversity of colleaguesand customers than any newsroom I’d seen. Empathy andresponsiveness, patience and charm are all crucial in sales.Not in journalism, where a writer can easily grow enormousand admiring audiences (who will never meet you faceto face), even if you’re a nasty little egotist. In retail, somejournalists wouldn’t last a week!Now when I shop, I wonder who’s really behind thatcounter, when they started and why they stayed. They maywell be hard-working, smart, educated people. If only allmanagers and customers really understood that.Caitlin Kelly (BA 1979 VIC) is the author of Malled: My Unintentional Careerin Retail (Portfolio, 2011).photo: Victoria Phipps/getty imagessummer 2011 45

“I will achievemy goals. But Irealize I can’tdo it alone.”Philiz GohBSc in Nursing, 2010When you include U of T in your will, you’re helpingan exceptional student like Philiz Goh. Thanks to ascholarship from one U of T donor, Philiz is now pursuingher chosen profession. And with people like Philiz innursing today, Canadian healthcare is that much healthier.To find out more, contactmichelle.osborne@utoronto.ca or 416-978-3846give.utoronto.ca

Time Capsulesage of aquariusApril 1973Marshall McLuhan lecturesat the Centre for Cultureand TechnologyWhile puffing on a cigar, communications guru MarshallMcLuhan – once dubbed the Sage of Aquarius – holdscourt during one of his famous evening seminars at theCentre for Culture and Technology. The centre (of whichhe was director) was located in an architectural throwback:a coach house built in 1903. But McLuhan’s theories wereforward-thinking and prophetic: he recognized thatthe world had become a global village in its electronicinterdependence and divined the advent of the WorldWide Web in The Gutenberg Galaxy (1962). And in UnderstandingMedia: The Extensions of Man (1964), he firstposited that “the medium is the message,” pointing outthat the medium’s structure – how it relays information,as opposed to the information itself – is what shapessociety and our perceptions of reality.Few academics have infiltrated the collective psyche,intellectual realm and pop culture like McLuhan, whoworked at U of T for more than 30 years. To celebrate thecentenary of his birth (he was born July 21, 1911), theMcLuhan Program in Culture and Technology, the City ofToronto and Mozilla have arranged a year-long seriesof events. In October, Nuit Blanche will contain a McLuhancomponent, and, in November, the university will hostthe international conference “McLuhan 100: Then, Now,Next” to discuss the professor’s work and influence. Theevents leave no excuse for anyone to be on the receivingend of the famous McLuhan line in Annie Hall – when hedismisses a phoney intellectual with an exceedingly curt“You know nothing of my work.” – Stacey GibsonVisit www.mcluhan100.ca for event details.48 WWW.MAGAZINE.UTORONTO.CAphoto: U of T Archives B1998-0033 [731090B-40]

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PM40065699VOLUME 38 NO. 4WWW.MAGAZINE.UTORONTO.CASpring 2011ConvocationJune 2011Over the course of a few weeks this June,some 12,000 U of T students converged onConvocation Hall, where they were officiallywelcomed into the university’s alumnicommunity. Joining this year’s new gradsas they celebrated this milestone werethe 15 distinguished honorary graduandslisted below and to the right. As customdictates, each honorary degree recipientaddressed their convocation. Webcastsof these presentations are available atwww.convocation.utoronto.ca/webcast.htm.Spring 2011 HonoraryDegree RecipientsJohn H. Daniels(BArch 1950)Philanthropist and developer.Founder of The DanielsCorporation, a Toronto-basedreal estate companyDavid Montgomery Dunlap(BASc 1961)Moffat DunlapVolunteers and philanthropists.The Dunlaps’ endowedgifts to establish the DunlapInstitute of Astronomy andAstrophysics built on a legacythat began with their family’sestablishment of the DunlapObservatory in 1935Malcolm Gladwell(BA 1984 Trinity)Staff writer with The NewYorker magazine and theauthor of four books, mostrecently What the Dog SawCraig Kielburger(BA 2006 Trinity)Marc KielburgerCo-founded Free theChildren, an internationaldevelopment and youthempowermentorganization,and Me to We, a socialenterprise that supports thework of Free the ChildrenYong Guan Koh(BASc 1970)Singapore’s High Commissionerto Canada, chair ofSingapore’s national pensionfund and board memberof the Singapore CancerSciences Research InstituteArthur S. LabattSonia Labatt(BA 1960 UC, MA 1990,PhD 1995)Philanthropists and volunteers.Arthur is the co-founderand former president ofTrimark Financial, a financialservices company. Soniais an adjunct professor atU of T’s Centre for theEnvironment and an authorProfessor Michael Lapidge(PhD 1971)Author and one of theworld’s foremost scholarsin medieval studiesThe Right Hon.Paul E.P. Martin(BA 1961 St. Michael’s,JD 1964)Canada’s 21st prime ministerand former finance ministerNandan NilekaniCo-founder of Infosys,a global technology servicescompany, and chairmanof the Unique IdentificationAuthority of IndiaAnne Sado(BASc 1977, MBA 1981)President of George BrownCollege in TorontoMladen VranicProfessor Emeritus of thedepartments of physiologyand medicine at U of T andan internationally renowneddiabetes researcherBert Wasmund(PhD 1966)Executive director of HatchLtd. and an expert in makingmetallurgical and chemicalprocesses for smelting metalsmore efficient and environmentallysustainable