MEDIA

The great living-together debate:
National Post columnists duke it out….
In an Oct. 5 op-ed piece in the National Post, Barbara Kay wrote that "the optics of my generation's attitude [towards marriage] are unappealing in an age of complete female sexual liberation. But consider the practical alternative: serial loveless hook-ups, open-ended cohabitation, late marriage often based more on age-related anxiety than love. Is all that any better than the Fifties, when marriage was the only way forward for a serious developing romance? I see no empirical evidence to suggest the situation is better, and plenty to suggest it is worse," wrote Kay, and cited the recently released Vanier Institute of the Family study by York sociologist Anne-Marie Ambert, which overturns the received wisdom that "trial marriages" end in stronger real marriage. "Amongst Ambert's findings are that cohabiting relationships produce lower expectations of sexual fidelity, less ability to problem-solve, greater violence and higher approval of divorce. As cohabitation rates go up, she predicts a mounting social toll on Canadian welfare, education and mental health systems," noted Kay.

To which fellow National Post columnist Adam Radwanski replied on Oct. 6: “Considering Ms. Kay pronounced singlehood to be a form of ‘failure’ in another recent column, it's safe to say that Ambert was preaching to the converted. By all appearances, my fellow columnist is mostly interested in arguing we can all find fulfillment if we're smart enough to follow her model for marital bliss.

“There is, to be clear, nothing wrong with that model. Getting married after a few months of dating has evidently resulted in a long and happy relationship for Ms. Kay. But to pronounce that the only ‘practical alternative’ to this approach is ‘serial loveless hook-ups, open-ended cohabitation, late marriage often based more on age-related anxiety than love’ is simply wrong. Implicit is the notion that men must somehow be roped into marriage -- or, as she puts it, that they won't be interested in ‘buying the cow’ if they can have the milk for free. As offensive as that turn of phrase may be to many women, the concept should be all the more off-putting to men. Apparently, we're not after fulfilling long-term relationships -- only sex without commitment and possibly a place to crash.”

…. And a letter writer notes that women also enjoy that 'free sex'
Regarding the column, "Shacking up not all it's cracked up to be" (Sept. 22): "What got my attention was the comment by the York University sociologist [Anne-Marie Ambert] that cohabitation benefits men more than women because men get free sex," wrote Shauna Gutoskie in a letter printed in the London Free Press Oct. 3. "The last I heard, men don't have to pay for sex in non-cohabiting relationships. And furthermore, women are also on the receiving end of that ‘free sex,’ and typically have few complaints. The sexual revolution may not have fully eliminated the double standard, but it definitely made it known and acceptable that most women actually enjoy and pursue sexual encounters with their significant other. If women are feeling used because of the ‘easy sex’ that living with their partner provides, then there is a bigger issue in their relationship than the fact they share the same bedroom before they walk down the aisle."

Grad ranks 20th of 25 most powerful women bankers in North America
Say one thing for Janice R. Fukakusa: in her 20 years at Royal Bank she has not limited her learning opportunities, reported US Banker Oct. 3 about the York grad it ranked 20th on its list of the 25 most powerful women in banking. She's held a record 15 jobs at North America 's seventh-largest bank by market capitalization, and since September of 2004 she has served as CFO of RBC Financial Group. "I was very fortunate," she said. "I had a huge range of experiences on both the retail and wholesale side."With an MBA from York ’s Schulich School of Business and a BA from the University of Toronto , Fukakusa began her career at PricewaterhouseCoopers, where she worked from 1978 to 1985. "The depth of her understanding of the business, plus her strong financial acumen, means that any issue that needs tackling is done extraordinarily well," said Barbara G. Stymiest, COO of Royal Bank, who supervises Fukakusa. "She's also a thoughtful leader and is strong at understanding the evolving nature of a CFO, including attracting top high-caliber talent."

MuchMusic to stop at York in search of next VJ star
The MuchMusic VJ Search Tour is scheduled to stop at York University Nov. 2, reported the Victoria Times Colonist Oct. 5. The first stage of the program is the massive MuchMusic VJ Search Audition Tour, which will stop at all major universities in Canada during the next two months. The open-call auditions are the first phase in the journey towards a lucrative position as a VJ/video host with the station.

York 's Bartel brings precision to major test of relativity theory
Norbert Bartel (left) is already getting the heebie-jeebies over his part in next year's moment of truth for Albert Einstein's general theory of relativity, reported the Toronto Star Oct. 2 in the first in a series of articles marking the 100th anniversary of the publication of the theory of relativity. Bartel and his small research group at York University are responsible for producing one half of "The Number" that could decide if Einstein's theory continues to rule as a central pillar in our current understanding of how the universe works. "And I don't want to be the guy who says that after 10 years of analysis I actually made a mistake two or three years ago. That would be absolutely horrible, and that is why I am so nervous now," he said.

By any rational standard, there's no justification for this nervousness. The 55-year-old astronomer-physicist in York’s Faculty of Science & Engineering was recruited for the most expensive space experiment ever – the US$700 million Gravity Probe B – because he and research associate Michael Bietenholz (right) enjoy an international reputation in astrometry, the science of pinpointing the location and movement of stars, supernovas, black holes and other denizens of the cosmos. (Aficionados of the TV show Star Trek Voyager may recall scenes in the ship's astrometrics lab.)

It was a fascination with precision that led Bartel to the field of radio astronomy, where arrays of giant dishes can capture far finer details of stellar phenomena than are possible with even orbiting optical telescopes. Supported by Bietenholz, Bartel has carved out a reputation for precision astronomy, including the first "movies" of a supernova explosion and the first ever detection last year of a supernova giving birth to either a black hole or a neutron star.

Harrumph to clickers in class
Howard A. Doughty of Richmond Hill wrote a letter to the Toronto Star Sept. 30 about its story (see Ylife, Oct. 3) on how York , among other universities, has added remote control clickers to certain classes, including at Osgoode Hall Law School , to get instant reaction from students. "I am appalled at this further denigration of post-secondary education,” he wrote. “Can students not concentrate on a lecture for more than 15 minutes without being awakened by a clicker? Do they need a ‘fun interlude’ to keep their attention? These folks have been watching entirely too much television. As for the courses, since when have multiple-choice questions insinuated themselves into Osgoode Hall? Isn't law an 'essay-type' profession? Most important, instead of using toys to ameliorate the burdens of higher education, maybe some clever people could figure out a way to avoid classes of 1,100 students in the first place."

York grad Fully Committed to 40 parts
For 90 minutes, one man will become 40 others when the comedy Fully Committed arrives at the Capitol Theatre for seven shows, reported the Port Hope Evening Guide Sept. 29. A twelve-time Gemini Award nominee and four-time winner, Peter Keleghan, best known for his roles as Ranger Gord on "The Red Green Show", the self-absorbed news anchor Jim Walcott in "The Newsroom" and the unpleasant Alan Roy in "Made in Canada", plays Sam Peliczowski, an out-of-work actor who mans the reservation line at a hot Manhattan restaurant. Sam fields threats, bribes and forceful persuasion from the high and mighty all the way to the wanna-be patrons who all strive for the prime reservation or the right table. Keleghan earned a BA in English from York in 1984.

Women often lose in office love
Recent career studies suggest more employees are admitting they've engaged in some sort of romantic liaison at the office, reported the Toronto Star Oct. 4 in the wake of the suspension of Toronto city bureaucrat Pam Coburn. Ronald Burke, professor emeritus of organizational behaviour at York 's Schulich School of Business, said workplaces with high numbers of female employees tend to be more susceptible to office romances. While the relationships those offices are most likely to spawn involve lower-ranking females and higher-ranking male employees, women, often perceived as home-wreckers, "get punished" more for their actions, Burke said. "There's a long history of the way women have been seen in these kinds of relationships," he said. "Men can fool around and women can't. They [the relationships] are destructive."

Although Ontario workers can't legally be fired for office dating, the boundaries are difficult to define, Burke said. Workers who plan on conducting relationships beneath the boss's nose should be discreet. "People in them had best not be in direct-reporting relationships," Burke said, adding couples can avoid "image problems" by voluntarily transferring to separate departments. He also said few companies have policies relating specifically to workplace dating and instead refer employees to general codes of conduct.

The invisible mature student
"I went from the front of the class as a teacher, to the back of the class as a student, ignored by most of the others," wrote York education Prof. Heather Lotherington in an essay in the Globe and Mail Oct. 4. "Now that I have switched places, I am beginning to better understand the fears that beset the mature learner, hiding in the not-very-long grass of the undergraduate classroom, where it doesn't feel very safe." During her sabbatical, she audited an intensive academic French credit course.

"I found my best conversational partners to be those who had travelled and experienced life outside of the confines of their own cultural backgrounds. It was not Anglocentricity that closed students; it was their youth and lack of exposure to life," wrote the 50-something Lotherington. "And now that the new academic year is here, and I am back up at the front of the classroom, I see them sitting in front of me: grey-haired women, portly men, whose faces and body language spell uncertainty. But now I know how they feel, and I hope my lessons at the back of the French classroom will better help me to ease them into our course with respect and grace."

Prof doesn’t teach on holiday, will poll students about religious days off
A York University professor says he will cancel classes on the major holidays of any religion observed by his students – including Islam, Baha'i, Buddhism, Hinduism, Zoroastrianism, Christianity, Judaism and Wicca – to be fair to all faiths, reported the Toronto Star in its online edition Oct. 6. History Professor David Noble said he will poll students in his courses to see if they want him to cancel future classes out of respect for any religious holiday they may observe. York did not hold classes on Tuesday and Wednesday due to the Jewish holiday of Rosh Hashanah and will suspend classes next Thursday for Yom Kippur, the Jewish day of atonement. While Noble earlier had said he would hold classes in defiance of York's practice, he said this week he changed his mind after a student filed a complaint with the University and he received threatening phone messages. York officials said if professors choose to cancel a class, they are expected to make it up at another time to ensure a full allotment of classes is held to cover the course material.

Peers honour film pioneer Doug Munro
Dream big. Take risks. That's former "Friends" star Matthew Perry's advice as a dedicated school teacher in the title character of The Ron Clark Story, now filming in Calgary . It's also the mantra of Calgary 's own Doug Munro, who received the prestigious David Billington Award Saturday for outstanding contributions to the Alberta film business and his dedication to the industry, reported the Calgary Herald Oct. 1. At the moment, the 1980 York film grad is working on virtually every movie filming in Alberta this fall. That includes four multimillion-dollar productions: The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, starring Brad Pitt; September Dawn, starring Jon Voight; Daughter of Joy, starring Robert Duvall and Thomas Haden Church ; and The Ron Clark Story, starring Perry. As a pioneer of HDTV, Munro risked his livelihood on the belief that movie and TV lovers will demand higher-quality film and television production. Considering nearly every Top 20 TV show is now filmed in HDTV, it seems he may have been on to something.

The Calgary Sun reported that during the past 27 years, Munro has gained international recognition as one of the top directors of photography/cameramen for film and video production in North America . His skills and expertise landed him an Emmy Award in 1994 for his work on Team Remote with CBS, a Canadian Society of Cinematographers Award for On the Edge of Destruction: The Frank Slide Story and countless others. That's pretty impressive for an Alberta boy who grew up in the 1960s and '70s in Grand Prairie and had high school grades he calls "barely passable." But, all that changed in the summer of 1975 when Munro first saw Steven Spielberg's thriller Jaws. "It was amazing – people cried, laughed and got scared all in the same movie. That's when I decided to go to film school ( York University ). That was the best time of my life." After graduation, Munro bought a 16mm camera, began shooting documentaries and moved to Calgary .

New CD chronicles The Band's music
Robbie Robertson (right) has become a master at reconstituting the musical motherlode that made The Band one of the most memorable and influential forces in North American pop culture of the 1970s, reported the Toronto Star’s Greg Quill Oct. 5. The Toronto-born guitar legend and songwriter headed up Martin Scorcese's massive, 1977 star-studded live concert documentary The Last Waltz, which was supposed to have been an elegant summary of The Band's vast legacy. Four years ago Robertson (a 2005 York honorary degree recipient) shepherded the digital remixing, repackaging and re-release of that concert – on CD and DVD – and oversaw its massive promotion. The Band's latest repackaged chronicle – a $130 boxed set called The Band: A Musical History – contains five CDs and one DVD of material that has never been heard, or officially released, accompanied by alternative and authorized versions of many of The Band's greatest hits. There are also song sketches, live cuts and a 108-page illustrated booklet of liner notes by York University music Prof. Rob Bowman (left), a Grammy-award-winning musicologist.