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ANNA MARSZALEK

Information Warfare monitors RIM

Research in Motion (RIM) is a Canadian company recog-nized for its highly encrypted, top-notch security network that is the backbone of their popu-lar Blackberry smartphones. Even RIM cannot snoop on the considerable amount of data transmissions passing through their network, and this strict inaccessibility on the part of the company makes it impossible for third parties to request in-formation on customer commu-nications. Simply put, for RIM, tight privacy is policy.

Privacy policies however, are not universal and can vary greatly from country to coun-try, which is where RIM faces many of its challenges. While cyberspace confi dentiality is greatly valued and accepted throughout most of the world, the company’s expansion into

countries such as the United Arab Emirates (UAE) as well as Saudi Arabia, China and India has caused a lot of tension and confl ict between the company’s policies and foreign leadership. Prying governments, which are common within the company’s new controversial market, end up clashing with the secure na-ture of RIM Blackberry`s data streams.

RIM has two primary objec-tives: to respect customer priva-cy and if necessary, bend its ser-vice policies to conform with the laws of a given country. When in 2007, the governments of UAE and Saudi Arabia approached RIM in order to gain access into the Blackberry consumers’ web browsing and emailing activ-ity, which they claimed was re-quired for national security rea-sons, the company found itself in a contradiction.

First, RIM could not provide the information desired be-cause of their highly encrypted

network and second, because fulfi lling this request would contradict their renowned cus-tomer privacy policy. Failing to comply with state authorities, the governing bodies sent out a mass text to Blackberry users proclaiming a ban on the device beginning in October of this year.

More recent news however, re-veals that RIM is in the process of changing policy strictness and is now willing to cooperate with UAE and Saudi authorities con-cerning its Blackberry devices. The company, most likely feels that it cannot abandon such a large and potentially profi table market.

In a recent article titled “Lib-eration vs. Control” published in the Journal of Democracy, Ronald Deibert and Rafal Ro-hozinski ask a rather important question concerning technol-

MARTÍN WALDMAN

Legislation bans universities from hiring corporate lobbyists

Earlier this month, the Ontar-io NDP presented documents obtained through freedom of information requests that out-lined nearly $1 million spent by Ontario colleges and universi-ties on private lobbyists. The revelations came on the heels of a similar report that showed more than a dozen hospitals across the province are also hir-ing private sector fi rms to lobby the government for more fund-ing. Opposition parties were quick to draw parallels to last year’s eHealth scandal, and ac-cused the provincial govern-ment of once again squandering

taxpayers’ money because of an insider-lobbyist culture of en-titlement.

Last Wednesday, following a scathing report on the mat-ter from the provincial Audi-tor General, Ontario Minister of Health Deb Matthews an-nounced the proposed Broader Public Sector Accountability Act, which would bring in a new set of rules regarding the use of external lobbyists, consultants and expenses. In the context of the proposal (Bill 122) “Broad-er Public Sector” refers to any public sector organization that receives more than $10 million in government funding. The simple idea behind the legisla-

tion is to prevent institutions from using that taxpayer mon-ey to lobby for more taxpayer money.

While U of T was not among the list of institutions that hired lobbyists in recent years, the university does have an offi ce of Government, Institutional and Community Relations (GICR), which, according to its web-site, “is responsible for building and maintaining positive and constructive relationships with government, other public sector institutions, the private sector and community partners.” The site goes on to say that “the of-

Continued on page 2

DIANA WILSON

What the new mayor means

for you

If you fi nd yourself staring down the long tunnel of the next four (or should I say Ford?) years, wondering if the new cit-yscape will be right for you, we are here to help (a little). Short of a crystal ball, tarot cards, or a fi fth sense (can’t smell), we can-not tell you Toronto’s future. So here’s a primer on some of the promises Rob Ford has made to you and we’ll leave it to you to keep track of their fulfi lment.

Education

This one is easy because there isn’t much. We know that Rob Ford is the coach of a high school football team but other-wise his interest in education is fl agged. His campaign platform includes a provision to increase the number of School Resource Offi cers (Toronto Police’s hall-way monitors) to thirty. But since universities are provincial and federal matters primarily, Rob Ford doesn’t need to care about them. So don’t get your hopes up about cuts to tuition fees.

TTC

If you’re like the thousands of U of T students that rely on transit to get them to class be-fore that ten-after deadline, you may be biting your nails right now. The Transit City Plan, which favours streetcars, is on the chopping block with an ambitious plan for subways instead. So, if you live between Downsview and Scarborough Town Centre, you can expect some construction in your neighbourhood. You’ll probably have graduated by the time this is fi nished (2015). In the mean-time, you can enjoy taking the bus to the library for a quiet place to study.

Unions

While it’s hard to privatize a union with “public” in the title, as in CUPE (the Canadian Union of Public Employees), the one that represents huge portions of the U of T community, there are still plenty of teamsters to smash. Ford intends to make the TTC an essential service

Continued on page 2

Hart House housed one of the polling stations where students

performed their civic duty this past week.

SCARY STUFF INSIDE

October 28, 2010University of Toronto’s Independent Weekly Vol. XXXIII N0. 8

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fice defines the issues facing the University and provides effec-tive advice on the University’s strategic government relation activities.” In other words, it is an office dedicated in large part to lobbying. While the of-fice does publish some useful documents such as yearly per-formance indicators or general facts and figures about U of T, the amount of funds dedicated towards “relationships with government” is unknown.

In any case, it is still unclear how exactly the proposed law will impact the university’s funding over time. Danielle Sandhu, Vice President Equity of the University of Toronto Students’ Union (UTSU) points out that poor funding from fed-eral and provincial levels of gov-ernment are behind the need for lobbying in the first place, and that novel approaches to lobby-ing for better funding should be explored further.

“We’d like to see university administrations work together with students to approach gov-ernment, rather than hiring pri-vate lobbyists to do this kind of work.”

According to Sandhu, past at-

LobbyingContinued from page 1

tempts at this kind of partner-ship haven’t quite met with the desired response.

“We’ve approached the uni-versity president about this kind of collaboration, and he’s agreed to the idea,” she explains, “but only if tuition fees are NOT part of the discussion.”

“That’s kind of a deal-break-er.”

Joel Duff, Ontario Organizer of the Canadian Federation of Students, questions the deci-sion to hire private lobbyists when funding for Ontario uni-versities is already 24% below the national average.

“Should university adminis-trations be lobbying? Absolute-ly! It’s their job,” says Duff, “but university Boards of Governors are appointees with experience and connections in business, law, or government. They defi-nitely already have the govern-ment’s ear.”

Duff is equally concerned about the revolving door that seems to exists between gov-ernment and lobbyists. Private lobby firms often consist of peo-ple who have worked in govern-ment at some point, and in turn market and sell their govern-

ment connections to businesses when they return to the pri-vate sector. “Do we want public policy made because of politi-cal connections, or do we want universities to work to convince governments of the importance of this sector?” he asks. “Now is the time for administrations to join students and look at a long-range view of the importance of funding universities.”

What isn’t yet clear is the ex-tent to which the proposed new legislation will actually clamp down, in practice, on private lobbying for the broader pub-lic sector. While the legislation would, for example, force uni-versity administrations to post their expenses online, a possible loophole is that Section 4.1(a) of the legislation does not ban the broader public sector, such as universities, from hiring lob-byists in principle. Instead, it specifically prohibits the use of “public funds” for private sector lobbyists. That would seeming-ly imply that tuition fees, corpo-rate donations, and money from other private revenue sources could theoretically still be spent on lobbyists, which would make the new regulations useless. Whether this scenario actu-ally plays out, and whether Bill 122 actually diverts the flow of public funds to private lobbying firms remains to be seen, but as next year’s provincial elec-tion nears, and with opposition parties eager to point out any wasteful spending by the Liber-al government, this issue is not likely to be closed just yet.

ogy’s socio-political role within countries that have high ter-rorist crime, low human rights standards, and governments wanting power and total scruti-ny over their citizens: are these technologies of freedom or con-trol?

In light of the RIM debate, a new research project, RIM Check, has emerged to monitor how, and how much information leaves the RIM network within varying countries. Research is conducted by the Information Warfare Monitor, an indepen-dent cyberspace monitoring system. The collected data is published online (https://rim-check.org/), by the Citizen Lab at the Munk School of Global Affairs, located within the Uni-versity of Toronto. Through their research, the project hopes to observe how cyberspace and new technologies become in-creasingly influential on matters of government, national surveil-lance and censorship laws.

The Citizen Lab is an interdis-ciplinary laboratory that unites studies in digital media, global security and human rights. The U of T research centre an-nounced their motivations be-hind the RIM Check project in a statement released on the Infowar Monitor website: “De-cisions taken by private sector actors, often at the behest of governments seeking access to their data or assistance blocking Web sites, can have major con-sequences for human rights.” The project attempts to address the lack of “transparency and public accountability” these de-cisions can have.

Monitoring RIMContinued from page 1

(which means no strikes), and to privatize city garbage collec-tion so we don’t get a repeat of last summer’s stinky strike.

Bikes

At a city council meeting in 2007, Ford said this: “I compare bike lanes to swimming with the sharks. Sooner or later you’re gonna get bitten.... My heart bleeds for them when someone gets killed. But it’s their own fault at the end of the day.” And heck, as his transit plan says, “it’s time we faced the facts. Cars aren’t going away.” But, evidently, neither are bikes. So Rob Ford has a solution: put the bikes out to pasture. Who would want to cram into the dust and tumult of the city streets when she could breathe in fresh air while zip-zipping across the city on 100km of new off-road bike trails? So what if there’s no greenspace between your house and the campus! You can walk your bike safely along the side-walk so as not to congest the roads with your excessive three-dimensionality.

What new mayormeans for youContinued from page 1

The Meal Plan

3October 28, 2010 the column

The Reciple

Garlic-Lemon Seared TilapiaServes Two

Two 3-ounce tilapia fi llets (or other mild whitefi sh)One garlic clove, sliveredJuice of ½ lemon2 tablespoons oil (canola, saffl ower etc.)1 tablespoon butterSalt and pepper to taste

I recall vividly a memory from my childhood. I was fi ve years old, fi shing off a small dock down on Anna Maria Island in Florida, the sun beating down on my tiny naked back as I struggled to reel in my catch. The moment when that fi sh gave up, exhausted, and I reeled him in became my moment tri-umph –for the rest of that day I was the tiny king of the sea.

Every summer since then, I have fi shed. Not down in Flori-da, but up north in the waters of Georgian Bay. But the thrill of the catch now eludes me. Why? Because, quite simply, there is no catch. While this lack of fi sh in our local waterways remains a mystery to me, the increasing emptiness of our oceans is far from inexplicable. The answer to this lies in our eating habits: we really love fi sh, and we eat a lot of it. Quite simply, our con-sumption habits alongside in-effi cient trolling practices have contributed to a depletion of fi shing stocks worldwide.

ery kilo of growth.This is where tilapia comes in.

Tilapia is a fi sh of African origin that has been farmed worldwide for over 4000 years. In fact, tilapia are featured on ancient Egyptian tablets and it may also have been the fi sh Jesus is believed to have fed to his dis-ciples. So why are we just hear-ing about it now? It’s because of fi sh guts. Well, I should explain that one.

Tilapia are herbivorous and can extract nutrients from al-most anything thanks to their relatively massive digestive

tract. This combination makes them ideal candidates for eco-logically-minded fi sh farming. It also makes them dirt cheap, which appeals to the frugal yet hungry student in all of us. On that subject, tilapia are a great entry fi sh for the aquatically un-initiated. They’re fi rm and won’t fall apart from a little manhan-dling, and they’re mild and will take on whatever fl avors are thrown at them.

So what’s the catch? Because of their diet, tilapia are high in omega-6 fatty acids and low in omega-3s. You’ve probably heard of omega-3s and how good they are for the body – this isn’t always the case for omega-6s. Some studies link omega-6s to heart problems because they allegedly elicit an infl ammatory response in the body. This isn’t necessarily the case, in fact they may contain anti-infl ammatory agents, but just the same, it’s probably best to limit tilapia consumption to once or twice a week.

The real problem here is the sorry state of fi sh farm-ing in general. Lax regulations in some nations can translate to illness, heavy antibiotic use and the presence of hormones in commercially farmed fi sh – what’s good for the ocean might not be good for you. However, when you’re a student of limited means, your convictions and your dinner are often mutually exclusive.

So what’s society’s answer to this? Simple: fi sh farming. Over the past ten years, commercial fi sh farming has risen exponen-

tially worldwide in response to consumer demand. While this puts fi sh on our plates, it hasn’t solved the ecological problems that plague the fi shing industry. The problem lies in the diet of most commercially farmed fi sh. The vast majority of the fi sh we eat are carnivorous and rely on large supplies of wild fi sh for growth. Simon Cripps, director of the WWF, likened this prac-tice to “feeding sheep to lions – and then eating the lions.” In fact, the WWF estimates that fi sh such as salmon require up to four kilos of wild fi sh for ev-

ATTEND OUR WRITERS’ MEETING!HELD MONDAYS AT 12:30 AT THE NEWSPAPER OFFICE:

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There (aren’t) plenty of � sh in the seaIn his new column, Aaron Zack shares his thoughts and recipes on food, for those of us without a meal plan.

This week: the edible, delectable tilapia

Wash tilapia fi llets and pat dry over paper towels.

Season both sides of each fi llet generously with salt and pepper.

At the same time, heat a saucepan over high heat and add oil and butter.

Meanwhile, sliver the garlic clove and add to the pan. Sautee until fragrant, about 30 sec-onds, then remove and discard.

When the butter/oil has browned and bubbling subsides, add the fi llets and sear two to two and a half minutes per side, pressing down fi rmly on the fi sh with a spatula.

Add lemon and remove from heat.

Serve over mixed greens or pasta.

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AARON ZACK

This Halloween, The Walking Dead, Frank Darabont’s zombie themed TV series, will premiere on AMC. The series is widely anticipated, thanks in part to its relatively high production values – something previously unheard of in horror-based television production. But the zombies don’t stop there – World War Z, a fi lm about the survivors of an apocalyptic zombie epidemic is slated for release in early 2012, starring Brad Pitt of all people.

Zombies fi rst appeared on the big screen with fi lms like White Zombie and I Walked With a Zombie. These fi lms sprung from Haitian folklore and ex-plored the zombie as a mind-less automaton forced to do the

bidding of its voodoo master – a metaphor for the alienated la-bour force in the wake of early capitalist industrialism. Later, in the 1970s and into the 1980s, zombies enjoyed a brief popular resurgence with George Rome-ro’s zombie trilogy, among others. The second fi lm of the three, Dawn of the Dead, told the story of individuals trapped in a shopping mall, surround-ed by zombies. Here, zombies - still mindless - sought not to produce for slave masters, but rather consume endlessly. In this way, the zombie came to represent commodity fetishism and the dehumanizing impact of the rampant consumerism of the era.

Today, a rekindling of popular interest in zombies comes as we take our fi rst steps into an era of post-scarcity, eliciting anxiety

from many.So what exactly is post-scar-

city? Futurists and sci-fi writers describe a post-scarcity world where, as author Jason Pargin puts it, it is “like Star Trek, where matter replicators and fusion reactors have ended all shortages.”

While this is for now an im-possible unreality, we neverthe-less have entered into a post-scarcity society. Pargin uses the proliferation of e-books as an example of this lack of short-ages. To this day, libraries lend out books for free, which pub-lishers see as acceptable be-cause the libraries purchase the book, often in multiple copies, and eventually replace them as they begin to fall apart. Enter the e-book: an ‘improved’ book that does not degrade, does not cost anything to manufacture,

and can be made in unlimited quantities essentially instanta-neously – the e-book is a post-scarcity commodity. So what do publishers do? They insert code into the books that has them de-lete themselves from the library catalogues after a certain date or after being lent out a certain number of times. This conten-tious point stands at the crux of anxieties over post-scarcity so-ciety: if the books never degrade and exist in unlimited quantities that require no physical produc-tion neither the library nor the publisher need exist and the customer need not pay for the author’s book since infi nity has no concrete value. Here, in this simple chain of logic, entire sky-scrapers full of book publishers, libraries, their staff, the people who make the cars they use to get to work, the people who sup-

ply their food, all of them van-ish in the face of a post-scarcity product – and this is where the zombies come in.

Zombies today have come to represent this fear of societal collapse in the face of a post-scarcity economy, which is ex-acerbated by the fact that - like zombies - the vast majority of North Americans do not pro-duce but rather work in service industries particularly suscep-tible to post-scarcity issues. At the same time, this notion of mindless consumption in the zombie is the solution to these issues. Like the zombie that consumes only for the sake of consumption, our current eco-nomic models will only survive in a post-scarcity world, as Pagin puts it, if we can “build the concept of ‘paying just to be paying’ into a new morality.”

4 October 28, 2010the inside

Zombiance

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And now for something completely spooky...Election night of the living dead

What the surge of zombies on tv is all about

5October 28, 2010 the inside

When it comes down to trick, what’s the worst you’ve pulled on Halloween?(Or, for the meek in spirit: what’s the worst prank that was pulled on *you*?)

“ the campus comment ”

Josh, Environmental EconomicsHaving been pranked a lot when I was younger, I’ve be-come quite a trickster. Trick tip: pull a fart bomb and put it in someone’s candy bag.

Bob, EngSci, 1T2When I was 11, I was trick or treating in the suburbs. A guy came at me with a chain saw. I saw terrified. Terrified.

Pokey, Rocket SurgeryReplacing the glosettes with fish bowl pebbles. My dad’s a dentist.

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Jesse, EconomicsWhen I was a kid, I reached into a big bowl of candy, and a hand grabs me. They cut a hole in the bottom, and the hand was just waiting for me.

Alex, Industrial EngineeringWhen I woke up on November 1 last year, and found two condoms wrapped around the handlebars of my bike.(That’s what happens when you hand out shit candy.)

Raymond, MathI dressed up as my friend, and his girlfriend mistook me for him a few times.

DAN CHRISTENSEN

Playing along with the guise of Paranormal Activity 2 – that it is composed of “found footage” – we wonder about half way into the film: what happened? Could they not find enough interesting footage? Did they find too much footage and then get confused, put-ting the wrong footage in the mov-ie? Why doesn’t any of this footage show anything happening?

Katie, our possessed protag-onist from the previous film, apparently has a sister, Kristi, whose family’s experiences with evil spirits provide us with the story of our present film. Upon Katie’s appearance at the fam-ily home, we’re informed that we’re witnessing events occur-ring just months before those of the initial film.

This familial dynamic, includ-ing Kristi’s widowed husband Dan, his daughter Ali, the nanny Martine, and the baby Hunter, provides opportunity for a more robust and complex set of char-acter relationships, and more perspectives on the goings-on.

For example, being the prima-ry family cinematographer, Ali’s

point of view is that with which we’re most aligned through the film. This, along with casual conversations amongst the fam-ily (including frequent visitors Katie and her husband Micah) affords us direct access to char-acters’ reactions.

Alternatively, these ways into the characters’ feelings, while managing to be plausible in-stances of home-movie candid-ness, are still somewhat obtuse. This is to say, at the expense of naturalizing the camera’s pres-ence within the action, the film

Paranormal sequel could use more activity

suffers from a certain degree of “all tell no show” disease on the part of the characters.

This naturalization fortu-nately extends to the actors, at least for the first parts of the film. Everyone is enjoyable and believable enough during the

film’s long and winding set-up, giving us a comfortable sense of the family’s easy manner and disposition.

But it soon comes time for the hauntings, and the anxiety, fear, and emotional conflicts that go along with them. This is where the performances should approach their fever pitch, drawing the audience in to the dread; but sadly, the acting leaves something to be desired on this front.

This flaw definitely hurts the film’s fear factor, but by no means is it damning. Granted, all of the scare-tricks (bewitched people, haunted doors, and the like) are lifted directly out of Oren Peli’s original film, but they are employed effectively, allowing director Tod Williams to re-produce the suspense.

The biggest block to the film’s terror is that there’s not a trace of it until 40 minutes in. Had we spent a little less time on family poolside chats and a teenager painting her toenails, and a lit-tle more time on the phantoms running loose in the house, we may have had a picture that held us from beginning to end.

6 October 28, 2010the arts

SUZIE BALABUCH

“My dad does this thing where he likes to talk to people on elevators…” says Adam Mc-Namara, sketch comic. This particular habit of his dad’s got McNamara into improv, first at Second City Training Cen-tre, and then as part of various sketch comedy troupes at U of T.

McNamara is one quarter of the sketch comedy troupe Statutory Jape, and one third of another sketch comedy troupe, Reverse Oreo. Both troupes are involved in Toronto Sketchfest

Sketchy SituationStatutory Jape and Reverse Oreo bring the laughs to Toronto Sketchfest 2010

2010, a veritable smorgasbord event of sketch comedy. Last-ing from November 2nd to 7th at various locations across To-ronto, the 5th installment of this increasingly popular sketch comedy festival will feature over 40 troupes from across the con-tinent.

The city of Toronto has a strong comedic tradition, Sec-ond City being one of many examples of comedic genius. Sketchfest brings the funny in a whole new way. Not improv or standup, it is a hybrid of all the qualities most enjoyed by com-edy audiences: hilarious, short and relatable.

Statutory Jape, one of many Torontonian troupes perform-ing at this year’s Sketchfest, prides itself on its “high-refer-ence, low-brow” comedy. Mc-Namara self-deprecatingly re-fers to himself as the low-brow component in their sketches. Praising his collaborators Eric Turk, Simon Pond, and Aaron Hagey-MacKay as “really, really smart,” McNamara takes the credit for the fart joke compo-nent of his co-members’ politi-cal sketches.

Clearly, something about the troupe’s modus operandi has

paid off. At last year’s Sketch-fest, Statutory Jape won the Ar-bitrary Award of Merit, a great distinction at the festival. When asked how the troupe would bring it even harder this year, McNamara refers to Sketchfest as the “Super Bowl of comedy,” and divulges the troupe’s year-long polishing efforts in order to “bring their A-game.”

“We’ve tried some different themes out that are a bit more risky than last year, so we’ve just got to see if that goes over well.”

McNamara also chalks up his good chances at Sketchfest this year to the other sketch troupe he is a part of, Reverse Oreo. When asked to compare the two troupes, McNamara decides on this: “It’s a bit more wacky…not that we’re going to go onstage and go “waka waka” or some-thing like that…We offer the same thing, but a lot more pop-culture references.”

Some first-time Sketch-fest goers might be surprised to find that sketch comedy is not stand-up, and heckling is a major no-no (one of McNa-mara’s pet peeves). They will also be pleasantly surprised at the sheer variety and ingenuity

of each troupe’s performance. This festival is audition only, so comedy lovers of Toronto re-ally get to see the cream of the crop. “Super awesome amazing. Go, go, go. Go see it!” proclaims McNamara. Sounds like a no-brainer.

For more information of Statutory Jape and Reverse Oreo, visit staturoryjape.com and Reverse Oreo’s Facebook page. For more information on Toronto Sketchfest 2010, visit torontosketchfest.com.

7October 28, 2010 the arts

ALEX INGHAM

Last month saw the latest release from Toronto’s own Fucked Up, adding a brand new chapter to the band’s illustrious discogra-phy. Keeping with the theme of albums named after the Zodiac calendar, “Year of the Ox” sticks to the formula that prior install-ments initiated. The title track itself is a thirteen minute opus, cultivating a variety of musical tastes and flavours. The opening string section sets the pace for the majority of the track, even-tually adding distorted noises and psychedelic flanger pedals to the mixture. While this stylis-tic preference is a relatively re-cent departure from the band’s original hardcore punk ethos, it carries with a life of its own. In fact, holding this LP against any of the past releases within this series (there only being three,

When oxes �y

dating back to 2006), a mature and overall more organized composition can be detected. As evidenced on the b-side track, “Solomon’s Song”, a distant yet brash saxophone wails through the introduction, as well as the closing. The catchier melodies and near pop-like chorus soni-cally enthrall the listener. Al-though it seems uncommon to find this melodic aspect within the band’s catalogue, Fucked Up has integrated this style suc-cessfully into their sound. In terms of lyrical content, “Pink Eyes” grabs hold of the listener while conveying messages of an endless fight for solitude. Al-together, it is the introspective essence behind the music which definitely places Fucked Up higher than the average musical ensemble.

“I am the ox who broke my chains, so I could fly away.”

CARA SABATINI

“Education is a life and death issue,” says Chris Mbruru in A Small Act, the latest docu-mentary from award-winning filmmaker, Jennifer Arnold. Arnold’s work was the second film screened in Hart House’s current doc series.

Hart House’s annual “Con-scious Activism Doc Fest” com-menced its third series this month. Spanning until Novem-ber 10, the festival screens one film every Wednesday evening in the Hart House Library, sub-sequently featuring a speaker relevant to the doc’s topic. The series aims “to shed some light on people who are addressing these issues in creative ways that step outside the bounds of traditional adversarial strug-gle,” says one of the series’ or-ganizers, Zoe Dille.

What is conscious activism? Dille’s fellow programmer Day Milman answers, “It is activism that is conscious of intercon-nectedness, empathy and com-passion.” The series highlights people effectively and creative-ly addressing global problems

Show a little activismHart House’s Conscious Activism Doc Fest screens a small act

in an effort to solve social justice issues. Says Milman, “Some-times it’s fun!”

Each award-winning film is selected for its relevance to stu-dents and permeation in both local and global affairs. Dille explains, “We see a lot of films, we research, . . . we also look for diverse perspectives.” The documentaries explore a variety of issues from Canada’s impact on the environment to people’s

price paid in war.Selected for its global outlook

on education, A Small Act high-lights how one person’s near-ef-fortless expenditure became an-other’s inspiration – and means – for substantial change. Swed-ish schoolteacher, Hilde Back, sponsored young Kenyan stu-dent, Chris Mbruru for less than $15 a month to attend primary school. Thanks to Back’s mini-mal monetary backing, Mbruru

is a human rights lawyer for the United Nations, support-ing Kenyan students through his Hilde Back Education Fund. Harvard grad Mbruru explains, “When people are not educated, they can be exploited for politi-cal means. That is how we get violence and conflict.”

Arguably not the full picture of life for a Kenyan schoolchild, the documentary captured more smiles than tears. Instead

of evoking viewers’ guilt, the film focused on the far-reaching positive impact a little act of kindness can incur.

The Q&A following the film had OISE PhD student and en-trepreneur, Rumeet Toor, out-line her initiatives to support Kenyan schools. Following four years’ worth of working to build primary schools, Toor currently works to provide and improve teacher training for Kenya’s Mbooni Region. Integrating her studies and social aims, the businesswoman and educated activist realizes her project is only a steppingstone in the so-lution, but says, “every little step helps.”

Can A Small Act contribute to a larger impact? The film closed with a large round of applause from the audience. In a room packed with U of T students, the screening implicitly demanded how people receiving quality, higher schooling are responsi-ble in the global crisis of educa-tion. Even if no answer was pro-vided, the relatively small act of screening films leads to larger consciousness of an issue. It’s at least a step in the right direc-tion.

8 October 28, 2010the backpage

Across1. Car competition3. Perspiration5. Vegetable, olive, corn, mo-tor, etc.7. Fire starting material9. Soft, fuzzy stuffi ng11. Curly hairstyle12. Easy tennis shot13. Ideal15. Slice16. At this very moment18. Go down a snowy hill19. Not something21. Spectacles22. Pet doctor24. Golf goal25. Single26. Show emotion28. Is able29. Aluminium31. Become enraptured34. Not north37. Panache38. Pillaged39. Killer whale

Down

1. Shelter feature2. Snake-like fi sh3. Err4. “___ death do us part”5. On’s opposite6. Crust over a wound7. Strongholds8. Crowds9. Payment10. Hurl casually13. Personal14. Con-artists15. Human relative17. Massive ocean animal20. Salad artists21. Smirks23. Mouth protrusion27. Security number28. Centre30. San Francisco wine country32. Victory33. Paddle35. Ancient36. Also

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