:( ?
MASTER OF
TAXATION
Post-secondary TTC fare to potentially drop in response to Ford international attention and plan fu-
ture initiatives.
Ryerson president Mohamed
By Jonathan Bradley The motion was also prompted by Lachemi said that some of the
an open letter sent by the University priorities of the strategy include:
Post-secondary students could be of Toronto Students’ Union (UTSU) research and collaboration, in-
getting lower fares, after Toronto to Toronto City Council. creasing international student en-
City Council passed a motion at the Ryerson Students’ Union (RSU) rollment and innovation and incu-
start of the month to have the To- vice-president education Kwaku bation entrepreneurship.
ronto Transit Commission (TTC) Agyemang said the RSU signed onto “I know that a number of programs
board examine more affordable fare the letter and has plans to lobby the have opportunities for students, but
options for students. TTC to have discounted student fare not all students have opportunities
The motion, introduced by Ward passes that are available for purchase to go abroad and get that experience.”
11 University-Rosedale Council- on campus. The long-term goal is to said Lachemi.
lor Mike Layton, cited the Ontario implement a transit pass. RSU awaits forensic audit
government’s implementation of “It’s good to see that city councillors The forensic audit into allegations
the Student Choice Initiative (SCI), are moving in our favour [and] pass- PHOTO: ELENA EMER of Ryerson Students’ Union (RSU)
which cut monthly transit passes for ing a motion that supports students,” 2018-19 executives misspending may
post-secondary students without an said Agyemang. singling out post-secondary students, management student, commutes be finished by the end of the year.
agreement before Jan. 17, 2019. Toronto City Council has request- because they already have a fare con- from Mississauga, Ont. and uses Mi- According to RSU president, Van-
The provincial government’s re- ed the TTC board “take into account cession. He said other people would Way and TTC to make her trips. essa Henry, the audit should be com-
cent cuts to the Ontario Student As- provincial changes to university and have to subsidize a further discount Shah said that despite working pleted by December or early 2020.
sistance Program (OSAP) were also college fee systems, and report back for post-secondary students, such as two jobs as a full-time student, she The RSU created a forensic audit
cited as the one of the reasons for in the 2020 budget process on revi- other transit users or taxpayers. is still dependent on OSAP for al- committee during a July 25 Board of
bringing the motion to city council. sions to the system.” Layton disputed this position. most all of her expenses. Directors meeting.
It passed in a 22-1 vote and re- Ward 13 Toronto Centre Coun- “While I appreciate the concerns, “Every single cent for me counts, According to the meeting’s min-
quests that the TTC board review cillor Kristyn Wong-Tam, who rep there is no reason we should be pass- and it is also one of the reasons that utes, the committee is tasked with
options for lowering post-secondary represents the area surrounding Ry- ing the buck on to another vulner- I come to university three days in- “overseeing RSU staff and execu-
student fares. erson, seconded the motion. able service user. That is a backwards stead of five,” said Shah. “To save tive…[comply with the] audit into
“I introduced the motion because I Only one councillor, Stephen way of looking at the issue,” said money and time.” any expenditures and disbursements
have heard from students concerned Holyday, voted against the motion. Layton. “There are ways of ensuring “It’s important that TTC fares are of money made by the RSU in the
about the financial hardships they “I had concerns about the practicali- we are improving the quality of life affordable for post-secondary stu- past for impropriety.”
are facing,” said Layton. “Every bit ty of the motion,” said Holyday, coun- for all students, without making life dents to increase the likelihood of an The committee will also provide
the city can give back to help our stu- cillor for Ward 2 Etobicoke Centre. more expensive for others.” accessible education,” said Agyemang. bylaw and policy recommendations
dents we should take advantage of.” Holyday said he has concerns with Zainab Shah, a third-year business Read more online at theeyeopener.com. for financial reform.
4 ED, NEWS, THE WORKS
Up-Close & Personal: Why The Eye For more of our mental health package this week, visit us at
What does Ryerson get out of doing an entire month of cybersecurity awareness?
By Charlize Alcaraz Marcus Edwards, a member Ry- ments every day, and receives one cally entered into the draw. “So when we get those cyberse-
erson’s Cybersecurity Research Lab million password guessing at- Students that clicked on any of curity emails, I don’t think we even
Some Ryerson students feel that (CRL) said the awareness campaign tempts in one week. the attached links in the fake phish think about it because it’s like, ‘Okay,
those in their age group don’t think can be beneficial to students should emails will receive a follow-up I’m fine’ or you just never think it’s
about protecting themselves online they take the time to learn. “It’s im- email notifying them that the email going to happen to you,” said Smith.
as they’ve become comfortable with- portant in general that people are Nobody’s information is was intended to trick students for Edwards wants to dispel that
out education on cybersecurity. made aware of the vulnerabilities immune to being collected the intended purpose of educating myth. “Constantly being online [is]
“You just kind of know the steps of their data, particularly in this day them on cybersecurity. wonderful, but it gives hackers ac-
you take because you’ve been on and age where there are so many They are also asked to complete cess to an incredible number of
the internet for so long,” said Jade questions about what the near fu- This year, students and staff had a training module that provide tips processors, computers and cloud re-
Smith, a first-year arts and contem- ture will hold for future computing the chance to win $100 and a Google for detecting phish that takes 15 sources,” he said. Nobody’s informa-
porary student. technologies,” said Edwards. Pixelbook for detecting and report- minutes to complete. tion is immune to being collected.
October at Ryerson is the month According to the Computing and ing phish. The contest was open to First-year journalism student Ay- Students need to learn safe practices.
of cybersecurity awareness. The Communications Services (CCS) any Ryerson student enrolled in at leen Karamat clicked on one of the “The awareness thesis is impor-
university carried out a series of website, there were over 174 report- least one class in the 2019 fall semes- attached links in the phish emails. “I tant, but we’re also trying to answer
contests that encouraged students ed incidents of lost or stolen laptops ter. All eligible students who report- think five minutes later, I got anoth- questions of what threats actually
to report fake phishing emails that and mobile devices at Ryerson. ed three of the fake phish emails and er email saying like, ‘Oh, this is a pro- exist and now we’re trying to see if
were intentionally sent by the school Ryerson also blocks up to 500 didn’t follow the malicious of more gram that teaches you about being there’s anyway that we could stop
all throughout the month. malicious malware email attach- than two of them will be automati- more secure online,” said Karamat. them,” says Edwards.
6 • mental health
Young people between the ages of 15 to 24 are more likely to For students, on-campus resources often come with an added barrier. At Ryerson, some
experience mental illness than any other age group, according students have had to wait several months to gain access to counselling services on campus.
to statistics from the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health. As a result, some students who encounter gaps in professional treatment have turned to the
internet to find support in online communities.
At the University of Toronto, there have been three student Allison Dunning is the program manager for Bean Bag Chat, a free counselling app created
deaths in the past two years, sparking a conversation about by Stella’s Place, a youth mental health centre in Toronto. She says in co-designing their ser-
the need for more accessible mental health resources on vices with potential users, they found there was a large demand for flexible, online peer sup-
port. They also found an online service had the benefits of avoiding the long wait times and
campuses, The Varsity reported at the end of September. costs associated with in-person resources.
“The reason that young adults tend to find peer support appealing is because they’re speak-
At The Eyeopener we cover mental health as often and as ing with somebody who is speaking to them from a very similar level,” Dunning says. “They
want people who have lived experiences.”
inclusively as we can, but we can always do more. That’s Barati also found the component of providing support to others important in holding her-
why we’ve launched an online package where we talk to self accountable. It reminded her to take her own advice. “Being able to give it to someone else
Ryerson students about less obvious aspects of mental well- sort of made me stop and think about it, like maybe I should be doing this if I’m telling other
people to do it too.”
being that affect them in their daily lives. Here’s one of three
featured pieces.
W
hen Vanessa Amin** was 12, she was diagnosed
with generalized anxiety, secondary depression
and obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD). After
A
three years of therapy, she felt independent enough to man-
lly Barati* never asked for mental health age her mental health issues without regular sessions. When
support until she was in Grade 12. She things got rough again, she’d look into her condition online
couldn’t work or eat, and her entire and search for non-medicinal techniques and strategies.
body was sore. Her parents didn’t know what was The Eyeopener spoke to the second-year Ryerson stu-
going on with her and were frustrated that she dent via text message due to her health complications. She
couldn’t get out of bed. Burdened with suicidal said her situation worsened when she suddenly developed
ideation and undiagnosed depression, she found a chronic health condition a year after stopping therapy.
herself alone each night, left to reckon with over- While it isn’t fatal, the condition involves chronic pain
whelming mental and physical pain. that never really goes away. She’d wake up in pain, go out
Three months later, she finally mustered up the with friends in pain, go to class in pain. It was ever-present.
strength to visit a guidance counsellor at her high On a normal day, the pain was like construction happening
school. The counsellor recommended a youth centre with free walk-in services, but Barati outside her house—she learned to ignore it after a while, but other days, it was unbearable.
was not guaranteed a session or a consistent counsellor. Waiting was not an option in her The combination of physical pain, her mental health issues and the social stigma of her ill-
condition and a social worker who was a close family friend recommended a few places where ness made for an overwhelming combination. “In these moments of higher pain, [my mental
she could try private therapy. They wanted her to come in twice a week if possible, but each health tends] to drop. It reminds me a lot of when I first got diagnosed with the condition, and
session cost upward of $200, so the most she could afford at the time was once a week. After all the feelings tied with it,” she said.
a month of weekly sessions, she tried to cut it down to one appointment every other week. As Amin’s health worsened, online resources became more and more important. Her
Barati also decided to create a private Instagram account to bridge the gap between her ther- family didn’t understand where she was coming from. Kids at her school would make fun
apy sessions. Searching mental health related hashtags, she slowly built a community of peers of her, mocking her pain. Amin didn’t feel like a therapist could grasp the experience of
who were struggling with the same issues. While she didn’t know any of the people she met her mental health issues overlapping with her chronic condition and was reluctant to risk
through the account in real life, she found relief in the small gestures of support. When she trying therapy for that reason.
would post random pictures from her camera roll with captions detailing her current struggles “I’ve gone through that situation way too many times where people just don’t get it.”
and emotions, the comments and direct messages started rolling in. People would reach out to Now Amin still doesn’t feel the need to seek further professional help. As obstacles come up
tell her that they felt the exact same way. in her mental and physical health, she continues to use online resources to stay educated and
Now a third-year retail management student at Ryerson, Barati still has the account but remind herself that there are others who struggle with the same issues.
hasn’t used it in months. Barati now has a good relationship with her therapist, however she Lina Mansana conducted her doctoral research on the experience and management of
finds sharing only about her life can make it too one-sided. This is when she appreciates the chronic illness. She wrote in a 2017 research article that seeking help through online com-
mutual support aspect of using online resources. Since she found her online community, munities, self-help groups and blogs is becoming an “important source of moral, emotional,
she’s felt less alone. and social support” for affected individuals. People who share their common experiences and
While navigating mental health issues, licensed professionals are often recommended by ex- “even those who limit themselves to navigating without participating may also feel helped by
perts, but therapists are often inaccessible. Whether it be due to financial restrictions, unique reading others’ illness accounts.”
situations or therapy not resonating with someone, traditional therapy isn’t always enough. When Amin felt isolated and depressed, she would read the blogs written by others with her
mental health • 7
condition. While she wouldn’t often participate in forums, seeing other people with the same health illnesses.
complications live their lives freely was enough to ease her through the difficult moments. “It Although Liu had tried BetterHelp to avoid a breakdown before exam season, that’s what
sounds really weird, but reading someone else’s hardships makes me feel a little less sad about ended up happening. After the midterm, her issues snowballed. She encountered problems
my own, because I know someone is going through the same annoyances as me.” with her landlord, did poorly on other midterms and forgot about a 70-page lab report until
But there are also risks associated with participating from the sidelines. Mansana points out the day before it was due.
that “just reading can also turn into a depressing, frightening, or anxiety-provoking experi- Her TA and chemistry professor ended up being supportive in her situation. She emailed her
ence” for some people with chronic illness. TA about the lab report and how she had been struggling lately, and he granted her an exten-
Amin says she chooses not to read about others’ hardships when she’s feeling stable. “I won’t sion. And when she burst into tears in her professor’s office, he offered to take her down to
read them when I’m not upset about the condition, because I feel like that’s not a good mindset Ryerson’s counselling centre. “Not many people are as privileged as me that they have a prof
to permanently be in.” who’s ready to walk you down there and get you help.”
S T
iobhan Liu had just bombed an important chemistry midterm in the winter 2019 semes- hese days, Barati has a strong and trusting relationship with her therapist. She now
ter when she chose to try BetterHelp, an app with 24/7 mental health support promoted regularly seeks online communities for mental health, whether it be YouTube channels
by YouTubers and social media influencers with referral codes. or the Facebook post-traumatic stress disorder support group she’s part of.
The fourth-year chemistry student was diagnosed with depression at 16 and had already She had been doing better with her mental health until a few months ago when she was
gone through the traditional intake process: wait times, referrals, diagnoses and finally six sexually assaulted. While she had developed strong support systems with her therapist and
months of ongoing cognitive behavioural therapy sessions, a type of therapy that focuses on others in her life, trauma from the incident led to sleepless nights full of flashbacks.
thought patterns. She was then prescribed a “concoction” of meds, but she found it wasn’t When they were particularly bad one night, it was around 4 a.m. when Barati was dealing
helping. with old thoughts about self-harm. She couldn’t find sup-
Liu had to find her own ways to cope outside of clinical port neither in her house because everyone was sleep-
therapy. “Turns out it’s not really for me,” she remem- ing, nor call her therapist.
bers thinking. She ended up joining several groups on Finally, she went on Google, searching for re-
campus, participating in a video game community and sources for sexual assault surviors. She came across
filling up her schedule so she wouldn’t think about her an online hotline from RAINN, an anti-sexual vio-
mental health. lence non-profit. The service allows users to message
But at 3 a.m., the day after she messed up on her trained counsellors one-on-one. In order to access
midterm, Liu decided to give BetterHelp a try. When the services, she was put on a waitlist until a counsel-
she logged in, she was prompted to sign up for a pay- lor became available.
ment plan and chose one of 20 different kinds of li- In the meantime, Barati and several other survi-
censed therapists, meant to suit her conditions and vors from all across North America were put in a cha-
needs. The session she chose was 30 minutes long troom to speak to each other. The conversations she
and cost $60 USD with a student discount. This was had with the other individuals in the chat were invalu-
the cheapest option, allowing it to be covered by her in- able. Exchanging words of support with other survivors
surance. distracted her from the flashbacks until she was no longer in
After about 15 minutes of texting with a depression and anxiety counsellor, she could tell crisis. “I was able to sort of ground myself and come back.”
the conversation wasn’t going anywhere. Exhausted and disappointed, Liu went to bed. The One of the messages a woman sent resonated with Barati so deeply that she screenshotted it.
next morning, she went on the app again, seeing if she could learn anything from re-reading “The world needs more people like you. Don’t underestimate the power of your words,” part
the conversation from last night. Still, she found the advice bland and generic. “It was more of the screenshot reads.
like manufactured therapy in a sense—it wasn’t really specific toward [my] needs,” she says. “I kept coming back to it day after day when things were hard and I would read it again and
An Australian study on mental health apps found they are generally well suited to the needs again,” Barati says.
of young adults. But through the analysis of 27 different mental health apps, they found that The long wait time made Barati give up on speaking to a counsellor that night. But after
many didn’t follow evidence-based guidelines for self-help. However, the study recognized the chatting with other survivors for around 40 minutes, she found the support she was looking
importance such apps play in reducing the barriers of “future of mental health care, making for through community and she was calm enough to use a meditation app and fall asleep.
mental health care more accessible.”
A suggestion from the study included using transdiagnostic cognitive behavioural therapy *Surname has been changed
(TCBT) strategies. Currently, mental health apps mainly focus on treating a specific mental **Full name has been changed
health issue, but TCBT is an approach that focuses on common symptoms of various mental
Illustrations by Khaled Badawi
8 ARTS & CULTURE
Q&A: Meet the Ryerson student touring the globe with Daniel Caesar
By Alexandra Holyk ance counsellor. I was like, “What my friends—I visited Ryerson one
should I do? Should I just do all my day and hung out with everyone. I
Elise Mariah Armstrong-Peart is a classes online? Is there anything I ended up going into a lecture [for
third-year creative industries student could do?” She ended up telling me fun] and got yelled at by the prof
currently on tour with hometown that I should just take the semester because I wasn’t paying attention.
hero Daniel Caesar on his “Case off, because you never know when It was my fault. But yeah, basically
Study 01: Tour” as a background an opportunity like this will come just catching up with friends and
vocalist. Known on Instagram as @ again. Originally, singing and bal- family before I went on the Euro-
elisemariah, Armstrong-Peart shares ancing work in school was pretty pean leg of the tour.
pictures and videos—including cov- hard but I find that profs are really
ers of songs and pictures with Caesar understanding with everything. If Who inspired you to start sing-
himself—documenting her journey you need a bigger deadline they’re ing?
as a musician. usually pretty chill with it and even Artists like Prince really inspired
The “Case Study 01: Tour” kicked when it comes to me taking a se- me because he was so talented at
off back in July, and Armstrong- mester off—it doesn’t really impact so many things, like instruments,
Peart has since travelled beyond her me that much. I am missing a few singing, he also produced his own
hometown of Mississauga across courses that are only offered this se- stuff. I was really inspired by Adele
North America, Europe and parts of mester so I won’t be able to graduate too, because I’m someone who
Asia. Caesar performed two back- on time. Other than that, everything loves to sing slower songs and see-
to-back shows at Budweiser Stage at Armstrong-Peart with Daniel Caesar at Radio City Music Hall in New York City. We’re has been pretty chill. ing her make a substantial career
the end of September. Armstrong- not jealous at all | COURTESY: ELISE MARIAH ARMSTRONG-PEART singing ballads is really nice. Also,
Peart said the tour will return to Tell us about the challenges of Michael Jackson.
Canada for its final leg of the tour. ended up seeing the email and she He’s amazing. He’s such a talented being on tour.
The album Case Study 01 follows was like, “Elise, did you end up say- guy too. One challenge is getting used to Will you continue working as a
Caesar’s 2017 breakout debut Freud- ing yes or did you ask for more in- the jetlag and waking up in a differ- backup vocalist in the future?
ian, and features artists like Pharell formation?” I told her no, I turned it What does a typical day on tour ent city every day. Especially in the That’s a great thing and a bad
Williams and John Mayer. The down just because too many things look like? states, because there are so many thing about university, because
Eyeopener caught up with Armstrong- were going to be impacted by it. She Let’s say it’s a performance day. time zones. That was always a chal- in my program in particular, I’m
Peart, who is currently on tour in Eu- said, “Elise, you can’t think like that, The way it starts is to wake up at lenge. Also, living with people on learning about so many things I
rope, to chat about her career, tour because you never know what kind your own time. I usually wake up a bus—especially strangers—at the have interests in. I’m interested in
life and working with Daniel Caesar. of opportunities are coming your around 10 a.m. and we have a day beginning was sort of hard because television and in music. Ryerson
way. Just find out more informa- room, so I’ll usually get ready and you have to learn personalities and made me realize that. Right now,
How did you land a gig on the tion.” Once I found out it was for shower before sound check. Then how to deal with certain people. I’m taking everything as it comes.
Case Study 01: Tour? Daniel, then I was like, “Okay, I’ll we do sound check from around 3:30 You also have to learn how to I would love to continue doing
I was literally just posting covers drop anything for that.” p.m. until latest 5 p.m. Then we go change yourself just so you’re easy background vocals and working
on Instagram, honestly, and they back to the hotel or we can stay at the to live with too. But there’s actually with other artists, or even just con-
were in need of a fourth background What’s it like working with venue and get ready and do our hair not that many challenges...I love do- tinuing with Danny ‘cause I love
singer in a short time period. They Daniel Caesar? and makeup. Then 9 p.m. is when we ing what I do so it’s great. the team so much. When I wanna
ended up contacting me, but at first He’s so nice! It’s nice because do the show, and after the show we settle down, we’ll see if I see my-
it came across as so weird and sus- we’re all on the same bus, so we all just hang out backstage together. What do you do when you’re not self still being a performer or if
picious because they weren’t giving honestly all hang out. It’s so weird touring? I see myself doing the more busi-
me that much information. I initial- even just meeting him at rehearsal, What’s it like balancing tour, When I had like 10 days off, I ness side of television. I don’t know
ly said no because I had school and sitting and having coffee with him work and school? really just spent that time with my where I’ll be—I have so many inter-
also a full-time job serving at a res- in the morning on the bus. That Ryerson has been pretty good. family. I love hanging out with my ests. It’s hard to tell.
taurant—I didn’t want to have those was something I had to get adjusted I ended up having a giant heart- Nana, so I got to have that time Responses have been edited for length
two things be impacted. My mom to, ‘cause he’s such a normal guy. to-heart with my program’s guid- with her. Also just catching up with and clarity purposes.
Theatre alumni to publish picture book depicting queer families raising children
By Kayla Higgins conversation is vastly different from to parents to educate their kids on children’s book M is for Moustache, and a big part of Pride is family.”
family to family than for cisgender queer communities and body lan- the story of her own child and their Looking to the future, Hernandez
Ryerson theatre grad Catherine and heterosexual people,” said Her- guage is an integral part of leading experience at Pride. wants to see conversations about
Hernandez released a children’s nandez. “I really wanted it to be lyri- that conversation. “The big question that I always queer families happen candidly. “I’m
book about queer families raising cal and easy to read for when you’re “Those first few years of their life get is ‘When is it appropriate to hoping it’ll become quite casual and
children on Oct. 1 of this year. about to put your kid to bed.” is a very important time...they’re bring my kid to Pride?’ It’s like, what quite normal for people like my own
Hernandez, an award-winning The book touches on the myriad of going to be learning their politics do you think is happening at Pride? child to see themselves on the pages
queer Toronto author and actor, factors that go into parenting, and the around who deserves to live and There are children all over Pride— of a book like this.”
published I Promise, a 28-page chil- variety that each household experi- love and work and who doesn’t,”
COURTESY: CATHERINE HERNANDEZ
dren’s book about how queer fami- ences. “You might have a single par- she said. Often parents don’t realize
lies start with the promise to love a ent, different dads and moms, people the weight of their actions and body
child unconditionally. who are completely non-binary and language, according to Hernandez.
don’t identify with any gender, or “If they’re looking left and right, not
“Families come in even a large group of people that are wanting to shake hands and acting as
raising a child, and then you might if we have some kind of disease, all
many shapes, sizes have people that foster or adopt,” said of these things are cues that they see.”
and colours” Hernandez. “All of those possibilities Hernandez added that parents
are explored in the pages of the book.” and caregivers must first work on
I Promise is described as a book For Hernandez, being queer isn’t themselves before informing their
that “captures the honest and inti- simply an identity but a way of life— own children about the queer com-
mate moments of queer parenting a philosophy that remains present munity. “Go back to the time where
in all their messy glory” and “affirms throughout I Promise. “It’s a way that your uncle told you that men wear-
that famillies come in many shapes, we move through the world. It’s how ing skirts are wrong, or nail polish
sizes and colours.” we earn money, how we create fami- is only for sissies. Whatever your
“I wanted to turn that conversa- lies, love,” she said “To me, [being backstory is, put it down on a piece
tion about the birds and the bees on queer] is more of a verb than a label.” of paper, burn it and move on.”
its head because, for queer folks, that Hernandez said she believes it’s up Hernandez is also the author of
SPORTS 9
Thesis project provides portfolio piece and imposter syndrome. Yay! First years were excited
to move out, party, now
dissertations. I mean ‘GOOD’? She
might as well have spat in my face,” have no money or joy
he said. left
Aziz, a straight-A student, said he
was absolutely positive that his pro-
fessor and his classmates finally real- By Claire Donoghue
ized he was a giant fucking idiot. and Andrea Josic
“I don’t know how I made it
through the program all these years. Mollie Rey thought university
Sheer luck? Those good grades must was promising because she would
have been a coincidence. I’m an idiot, gain the freedom that so many
and after looking at my thesis project, people crave, until she was struck
everyone’s going to know it,” he said. with the existential dread and fi-
Jojo Kuji, Aziz’s longtime friend nancial burden of adulthood.
and fellow English student, helped “I was having a good time in the
edit the paper. beginning,” says the first-year so-
“He made me edit it like five ciology student. Going to parties
times, even after it looked great. Ev- without worrying about a curfew
ery time I’d open the Google doc I’d felt great, but keeping up with her
see his name floating there. I think bills has depleted Rey of all joy.
ILLUSTRATION: ELANA EMER
he kept that page open all day.” “I miss sitting in a small dorm
Kujo said Aziz would ask him to room with 15 sweaty 18-year-
By Lyba Mansoor 38,000-page dissertation titled “Talk- nearly a month at one point. edit drafts one moment and then olds and passing out after two
ing to your plants: Does it actually “His father and I were very wor- immediately tell him, “Wait no it Smirnoff Ices. Life was great be-
After months of head-scratching help them grow faster or are you just ried,” she said. “A strange smell start- sounds horrible—I need to fix it.” fore midterms,” she says.
nights filled with trips to the ER starved for face-to-face interaction?” ed emitting from his room. We real- “All he’d do was add a period or Although living alone is ex-
for panic attacks and consuming “I worked on the project for ized it was because he had stopped take out an oxford comma, and pensive, Ryerson ever so gra-
waaaayyy more than the recom- weeks. It should’ve been one of showering. We could hear heavy then send it back to be edited. Once, ciously provides free condoms
mended amount of Red Bull, Yousuf my greatest accomplishments, but sobbing at odd hours of the night while I was editing it in person, he around campus. Rey used to use
Aziz, fourth-year English student, halfway through, I still didn’t feel too. It was all deeply disturbing.” was watching me. His palms got so the free condoms at the front
finally finished his thesis project. like it was good enough. I felt like Despite his commitment, Aziz sweaty from the nerves of me read- desk of Pitman Hall as balloons
Despite the success, he’s left with a a fraud,” he said. was disappointed when he got his ing it, we had to go buy him a towel.” for her dorm’s weekly parties.
semi-decent portfolio piece and aw- Aziz’s mother, who cut up fruit professor to look over his work. Following his thesis submission, Now she just uses them to deco-
ful imposter syndrome. and brought it to his room through- “She didn’t say much. She told me Aziz revoked his grad school applica- rate her living room—one of the
Aziz recently completed his inde- out the writing process, confirms I had done a ‘good job.’ I just knew tion and dedicated his life to becom- mindfulness tactics she uses to
pendent thesis project: a whopping that Aziz didn’t leave his room for that everyone else had written better ing a mediocre lemon farmer. try and remind herself that ev-
eryday should be a celebration
PLEASE DON’T CUT YOUR OWN BANGS of life.
First-year engineering stu-
“Cut Your Own Bangs” club started for students going through it dent Lusinmy Mynd admits that
they’ve stopped throwing parties
after their last party went awry.
By Abbey Kelly “Partying and alcohol are ex-
pensive, especially as an engi-
The sound of a soft piano instru- neering major. I was having fun
mental version of Video Games by until I threw a party and shit hit
Lana Del Rey soothes the circle of the fan. My fridge was raided
students seated in a booked room and I broke my only table after
in the Podium building. On a table I fell into it during a keg stand,”
in the centre of the room are some said Mynd.
things that are typically at club Toronto has one of the high-
meetings: chips, snacks, juice boxes est costs of living in Canada
and club stickers. But there are also which makes it difficult for
some things that seem out of place: students like Mynd to allocate
hand mirrors, combs and scissors. money towards miscellaneous
Annie Damon, a second-year purchases, like furniture.
politics and governance student, Mynd admits he exclusively
welcomed the lost and confused shops at Dollarama. “I bought
last Thursday with the first meet- a bunch of placemats, stacked
ing of Ryerson’s new “Cut Your them on top of one another and,
Own Bangs” club. Damon created chef’s kiss, a new table.”
the club hoping to provide students Pleaz Halp, a fourth-year busi-
who just can’t handle what’s hap- PHOTO: ELANA EMER ness student and former Thurs-
pening right now with a healthy day to Saturday night partier, had
outlet for healing. The club’s slogan augural meeting. radio—beats to relax to. “If he doesn’t like me now, just to quit partying and curate an
is “A change to your hair, a change “I’m feeling lost, you know?” Safi Suddenly, another student ap- wait until he sees me with bangs!” aesthetically-pleasing rooftop-
to your world.” Utcht, a first-year photography stu- peared in the doorway, hovering Scope took a pair of scissors and ping Instagram to help pay for
Damon says she feels like she dent, says. At the meeting, she feels for a moment. Black mascara tracks ran to the nearest mirror. The rest school and living expenses.
“lost all sense of [herself]” in her the weight of the craft scissors in her ran down their face. “Give me the of the club crowded around them as Halp once tried to calculate
routine of school and work, which hand as she meets her own gaze in scissors!” they screamed. they hacked away at their hair. The the loss of hope in relation to
led her to her new look. the mirror. “The physical world is Hera Scope, a fourth-year biol- crowd chanted, “Snip, snip, clip, the increase in student debt over
“I was holed up in my room for all an illusion and subjective inter- ogy student, just got out of a five- clip, time for new shit!” the course of one school year.
four days straight, living off protein pretation,” she says as she takes the year relationship. Their sobs echoed If you are looking for something He said he opened his bank ac-
bars and the water that leaks from first cut. throughout the room. to ease the stress life is throwing count, but proceeded to stare at
the ceiling,” she says as she disinfects For a moment, all that can be Club members ran over, running your way, be sure to check out the his credit card statement for 10
the hair tools. “I wanted control heard in the Podium room are quiet with scissors in hand to their aid. “Cut Your Own Bangs” club that minutes, then threw his phone
over my life again!” sniffles and the snipping of hair as Utcht tried to give Scope tissues, meets every second Thursday in off the roof of the Ted Rogers
Over 35 students attended the in- the music changes to a lo-fi/hip-hop only for them to be slapped away. the Arts Lounge in POD 349. School of Management building.
11
RRYE
RY
YYEE FRIGHT NIGHT
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 31
9pm - 2am | Ram in the Rye
• Costume Contest
• Win Prizes
• Raffle for MLSE tickets
t
• Haunted House
• Photo Booth
12
BUILDING NEW
CONNECT1ONS.
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