MEDIA

Argos select York Lion's Simms in CFL draft
York student Sean Simms (right) was drafted by the Canadian Football League in the fifth round, 37th overall, by the Toronto Argonauts, wrote the North York Mirror and the Toronto Star May 3. Simms, 23, is a defensive lineman who played for three years with the York Lions.

• One of the most intriguing questions about the upcoming CFL draft is if Andre Durie, a former York Lions standout running back, will be selected, wrote the Mississauga News on May 2, the day of the draft. After rushing for 2,212 yards and 24 touchdowns in two seasons for York, Durie severely damaged his left knee in a game against Queen's Golden Gaels in September of 2005. The injury was so severe, doctors wondered if Durie would walk with a limp the rest of his life, never mind run.

Seven months ago, Durie underwent reconstructive surgery on the knee repairing both the anterior cruciate and medial collateral ligaments. Now, he considers himself more than 80 per cent recovered. [Durie was not drafted.]

• The Vancouver Sun cited Canadian Press May 2 in a story that said the BC Lions had offered to trade sophomore linebackers Jason Pottinger, who played at McMaster, and York University grad Ricky Foley for No. 1 pick defensive tackle J.P. Bekasiak and Hamilton's veteran Canadian linebacker Augustin Barrenchea. [They didn't.]

• Vancouver-area players that the Canadian Football League’s BC Lions are watching closely include York Lions running back Pearce Akpata (write), wrote The Vancouver Sun May 1.

Zamanek takes football skills to Europe
Former York Lions quarterback Bart Zamanek is one of only two Canadians on the Helsinki Wolverines in Finland's highest calibre football league, wrote the Times & Transcript (Moncton) May 3.

York nursing graduate benefits from province’s guarantee program
The future is bright for new nursing graduates like York student Shafiq Shah thanks to the Ontario Ministry of Health Nursing Graduate Guarantee, wrote the Hamilton Spectator May 4, in a story about an $89 million investment by the provincial government to help new grads work in a health care position immediately after graduation. Shah is one of those new nurses. Having completed his nursing degree at York’s Faculty of Health, Shah has moved to Hamilton to work in oncology at Henderson Hospital. [Shah will graduate in June.]

Deep Thoughts: studying boredom isn’t boring
Shelley Fahlman, a second-year PhD student in clinical psychology in York’s Faculty of Graduate Studies, is researching the development and validation of the multi-dimensional state-of-boredom scale, wrote the Toronto Star, May 1, in its Deep Thoughts feature. Fahlman's research certainly isn't boring: she's developing a new scale to measure boredom that can in turn be used for research in psychology.

Not much has been done in understanding boredom, she says. "Boredom is a really common experience and just for that sake alone it's a good idea for people to understand it," Fahlman says, adding boredom is often related to other destructive behaviours, like anxiety and depression. But without more research, psychologists won't understand how being bored leads to them. Fahlman says more in-depth studies can't be done on boredom until a scale is developed to measure it. This, therefore, is the foundation for future research on boredom.

Not all the usual suspects
Mike Daley (MA ’97) holds a degree in music from York University, has performed with Jeff Healey and is the leader of this own quartet, wrote the Owen Sound Sun Times May 3 in a story about an upcoming performance by the Hogtown Syncopators at the Tom Thomson Memorial Art Gallery. Daley has toured North America with the Series Classic Albums Live, is on vocals and plays guitar.

Basketball hall of fame pick Lockyer hails from Belleville
Belleville native and Moira Secondary School graduate Paula Lockyer will be inducted into the York University Sports Hall of Fame on May 31, wrote the Belleville Intelligencer May 4. Lockyer was a five-year varsity women’s basketball star at York from 1981-86, winning a provincial championship in 1982. On four occasions, Lockyer was named all-conference. Lockyer is now an accomplished runner with eight marathons under her belt.

York grad’s rise to Amex top job reflects her ambition
Fifteen years – and three maternity leaves – ago, Denise Pickett (right) strode into the American Express Canada Inc. lobby, dropped off a resumé, and made her pitch to "Amy, the lady at the front desk," began a Globe and Mail feature May 2 on the York grad. Amy evidently saw potential in the ambitious MBA just three years out of school. The resuméwas forwarded, Pickett got the call and she left her sales position at a technology firm to take on an entry-level role as assistant manager of retention marketing. Her job was to "save customers" who were thinking of leaving Amex, recalls Pickett, now 41 and newly installed in the corner office as president and chief executive officer of Amex Bank of Canada and Amex Canada Inc.

With tremendous backup from colleagues, starting with the now-retired Amy, and considerable support from her husband, Andrew – who mans the kitchen most weeknights – Pickett says she is managing to do it all. Corporate policies that support flexible work arrangements, such as working from home on occasion, have also helped along the way.

Pickett (neé Dalton), who studied physiology and human biology as an undergraduate before earning her masters of business administration degree in 1990 from York University's Schulich School of Business, says she has always been purposeful about making career choices. "I have been purposeful about doing different jobs and I have been purposeful about taking leadership development opportunities," she says.

PhD student wins Casino Rama award
York doctoral student Brent Debassige, a member of M'Chigeeng First Nation (West Bay), has won a Casino Rama Award of Excellence for postsecondary Aboriginal students, reported the Orillia Packet and Times May 2. Debassige, who is doing a PhD in education, won a $4,000 award for graduate students.

Research reveals Mickey Mouse was censored in BC
There was a time Mickey Mouse was considered vulgar and unsuitable for British Columbians and news reporting was censored by the provincial government. Welcome to the not-so-distant era of the British Columbia Censor of Moving Pictures, reported The Globe and Mail April 30. Stanley Fox, a former television producer and program director at the CBC and TV Ontario, film professor in York's Faculty of Fine Arts (from 1971 to 1984) and current documentary film consultant, recently spent several weeks examining the contents of eight boxes of letters and directives relating to film censorship in BC between 1914 and 1963. Considered through a 2007 lens, the correspondence appears arbitrary and rife with politics.

"There was a political agenda," Fox says, adding there is a common misconception that censorship activities were focused primarily on sex. He says BC censors cast a wide net and employed a loose interpretation of the act, censoring for not only sexual morality and political content but for social and even artistic reasons, too.

Marketing critics hop on TTC swag bus
The TTC is looking for a better way to promote its brand name by stamping its logo and images on everything from T-shirts to buttons and tote bags, wrote the Toronto Star May 4. And at least one expert says the TTC has a good shot at the kind of recognition generated by transit authorities in New York and London where subway logos, maps and slogans have become synonymous with their cities.

Ashwin Joshi, professor of marketing at York’s Schulich School of Business, thinks it's time the TTC got moving, so to speak. "I think the TTC has brand equity it hasn't capitalized on," Joshi said, calling the system's quiet cachet "an under-utilized asset." It's time the transit system got away from marketing its function and developed an image of itself that's more about bringing people together, with an underlying theme of its democratic value, Joshi said. "Any subway car is a good snapshot of the city."

Access to justice system denied in dog photo case
It was only a picture of a dog. But it was guarded like a state secret, wrote the Toronto Star, May 3, in a story about a reporter’s unsuccessful attempts to gain access to court files in a civil case as part of a series on access to the justice system for World Press Freedom Day.

In Ontario, journalists often have problems getting basic public information about the justice system – access to court exhibits is denied, photocopying charges are typically $2 a page and publication bans are sometimes imposed without notification, wrote the Star. It's not just a source of frustration for the media; the openness of the justice system is also a "critical" public issue, says Jamie Cameron, professor at York’s Osgoode Hall Law School and a vice-president of the Canadian Civil Liberties Association.

Public faith in the government depends on being able to scrutinize its operations and on the press for accountability when things go wrong, Cameron said. She noted the Supreme Court of Canada has endorsed this concept in "the strongest terms," saying court proceedings must be accessible, particularly to the media.

Shocking frugality
As taxpayers, we are shocked and appalled that Toronto Councillors Rob Ford and Doug Holyday might not be spending the entire amount of their annual office expense budgets, wrote T.A. Heinrichs, political science professor at York’s Glendon College, in a letter to the National Post May 3. That Holyday and Ford spent only $1,471 and $0 respectively of their $53,100 allotment is outrageous. Why are they using their own money to pay for expenses? What's wrong with our money? What's it for if not to spend? Let's hope the city's auditor-general and integrity commissioner get to the bottom of this scam – before it spreads any further. Keep this up and we'll (gasp!) soon have a surplus.

Bertha Wilson was an inspiration
In a letter to The Globe and Mail published May 2, Pam Marshall (LLB ’93, LLM ’98) of Winnipeg wrote: I was 36 when I entered law school in 1990. Learning that Bertha Wilson was also a "mature student" was an inspiration to me throughout my years at Osgoode Hall Law School. In my final year, I was fortunate enough to be a participant in the inaugural Wilson Moot, which was created in her honour. Imagine my delight when I learned that Bertha Wilson herself would judge the final and attend the banquet. I was thrilled to be able to talk with her. The photo taken that evening with her and my mooting team is a treasured keepsake.

Former FES dean wins Green Toronto Award
The Green Toronto Awards were launched three years ago and come with a $5, 000 prize, donated to an environmental organization of the winner's choice, reported the Toronto Star May 2. This year, 178 nominations were reduced to 30 finalists in 10 categories. David Bell, professor emeritus and former dean of environmental studies at York University, received the award for leadership in sustainable development.

Ontario’s RC school funding violates international law, says prof
In a letter to the National Post published May 2, York humanities Prof. Eric Lawee wrote: David Asper writes that "on the international stage, our government has agreed to a level of rights protection that we choose to ignore under our domestic law." He notes that the disparity is especially evident in the spheres of social and economic rights. Note, however, that Canada's failure to abide by its international commitments in the areas of religious rights is at least as glaring. In 1999, the UN human rights committee ruled that Ontario's full funding of one religion's schools to the total exclusion of others violates the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which was ratified by Canada in 1976, with written approval of all provinces. Since then, Canada has been in open violation of international human rights law.

Canadian Stage hires York production manager
Alistair Hepburn, currently production manager in York’s Theatre Department, joins Canadian Stage on June 4 as director of production, reported The Globe and Mail May 2 in a story about CanStage, one of Canada’s largest not-for-profit theatre companies, changing its management structure and returning to the name it used to have.

Camping out at Linux for the free Wi-Fi shuffle
Detlev Zwick, 39, a marketing professor in York's Schulich School of Business, sporting running shoes and urban scruff, has been shuffled before from his table by David Patrick, owner of Linux, a Harbord Street café offering free Wi-Fi internet access. Zwick's a regular who spends at least $10 per visit for a seat in his "downtown office." He doesn't feel as welcome at Starbucks or Second Cup, corporate coffee houses that charge obscene amounts of money to use free Wi-Fi – about $3 for 15 minutes. "Sometimes we have to squeeze and share a table," Zwick says. "It's manageable because for me this place is great. I can sit here for four to five hours at a time and it doesn't raise any eyebrows."

Bike helmet laws work, stats show
Laws requiring cyclists to wear helmets do increase helmet use and may also reduce head injury rates among young riders, according to a report evaluating various studies on this issue, wrote Edmonton RushHour May 1.

Alison Macpherson, a professor in York’s Faculty of Health, and Anneliese Spinks of Griffith University in Queensland, Australia, examined the effectiveness of legislation requiring bike helmets, which has been enacted in the United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. The Canadian study found a 45-per-cent drop in head injuries in provinces with bike helmet laws on the books, compared to a 27-per-cent reduction in provinces without such laws.

York nursing professor asks the right questions
The mystery of why an Alzheimer’s patient became distraught when a nurse threw out her collection of paper cups was one of a series of stories highlighting the need to show respect for elderly patients, published in the St. Catharines Standard May 1.

The woman, in a very advanced stage of dementia, had devised a way of keeping track of the passage of time by the number of cups she'd collected. No one had understood that. No one had asked. Then someone did. It was Gail Mitchell, a professor of nursing in York’s Faculty of Health. She asked the woman a simple question: "Tell me about the cups." And the woman did.

"We may not understand what's happening, but there's a reason it's happening," says Mitchell. Once hospital staff realized how important the cups were to the woman, they replaced every one of them. Understanding the person behind the disease is crucial, says Mitchell.

Why do songbirds start crooning so darn early?
"Songbirds have steamy social lives that would make most of us blush," wrote Georgia's Macon Telegraph May 1, the latest newspaper to publish a review of York Professor Bridget Stutchbury’s book, Silence of the Songbirds. Stutchbury, a biology professor in York’s Faculty of Science & Engineering, writes in her new book that songbirds are quickly losing their habitats. The rainforests and other disappearing nesting grounds hurt them, and so do city lights.

York professor says anti-Nazi blog raises defamation issues
More than 30 people in the Calgary region have been named as neo-Nazis by a group posting pictures and personal information on an Internet blog, wrote CBC.ca News April 30. But a York legal expert says the practice raises other legal issues. Calgary lawyer Martin Kratz, a regional director in the part-time LLM program in e-business law at York’s Osgoode Hall Law School, said freedom of speech rights are balanced by other laws. "The law of defamation is quite easy. One should not promote false, injurious statements about other people to the public." Members of Anti-Racist Action say they've been threatened many times before, both legally and physically, and they're not about to take down their Web site.

New immigrants taking longer to settle in
"Research for recent immigrants shows it is taking longer for immigrants to settle in and economically integrate," says York sociologist Paul Anisef, director of the Joint Centre of Excellence for Research in Immigration & Settlement at York. He was quoted by the London Free Press April 28 in a story about how Canada depends on immigration for population growth and is offering new programs to help them adjust. "But you need to compare the situation of immigrants arriving recently with those that arrived two or three decades ago," Anisef said.

Perhaps new communities are going through what others did before them. But perhaps it is more difficult, says Anisef. "The traditional source countries have changed and an increasing number of immigrants to Canada are non-white. So is it that these people are not used to the culture and values of Canadian society, or is it that there is outright discrimination taking place?" Anisef asks.

Higher taxes don’t hurt economic productivity: York study
As millions of Canadians prepare to file their income tax forms before the end-of-April deadline, The Vancouver Sun examined the pros and cons of Canada’s tax system. The April 28 column cited what it called a fascinating study that found high-tax Nordic countries are doing better in most ways than low-tax Anglo-American countries, such as Canada, the US, Britain and Australia. The report, by York’s Osgoode Hall Law School tax law Prof. Neil Brooks and York University tax specialist Thaddeus Hwong, found high-tax countries such as Norway, Finland, Sweden and Denmark have lower rates of poverty, a higher gross domestic product per capita, higher rates of education, less drug use and more leisure time compared to low-tax Anglo-American countries.

The real kicker, though, is high-tax Nordic countries have also been ranked by the World Economic Forum as doing far better than most low-tax countries on their "growth competitiveness" – which measures a country's economic performance, said the columnist. While the low-tax US ranked as the sixth most competitive economy in the world in 2005, high-tax Finland was the second most competitive. Sweden was third and Denmark fourth. Canada ranked only 16th. The message is higher taxes don't necessarily hurt economic productivity.

Province funds York pilot program
The Ontario government has announced it is spending around $600,000 this year on programs to help artists improve business skills, reported The Globe and Mail April 30. Among the programs: film-industry training labs at the Hot Docs festival, and a pilot postgraduate program for film and TV business people developed by York University's Schulich School of Business and the professional organization Women in Film and Television – Toronto.

Dancer performs work about rice
When Alvin Erasga Tolentino was in the process of creating Field 1, eyebrows were raised in the Philippines. Even the Filipino choreographer who commissioned Tolentino was concerned about an outsider, who had lived in North America for years, creating a dance work about rice, a food staple utterly central to the way of life in the Philippines, reported the Vancouver Sun April 28 in a feature about the York-trained dancer. Tolentino is performing Field: Land is the Belly of Man, in Vancouver then taking it to Toronto, Quebec City, Montreal and Winnipeg. In August, Tolentino will be performing it in the Philippines as well as in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. (Tolentino studied dance at York from1988-1990 and in 1991-92.)

Québecois artist is Canadian to the rest of the world, says York professor
Robert Lepage, Canada's favourite theatrical son, received the Europe Theatre Prize last Sunday (April 29), wrote the National Post May 4. At a symposium two days earlier, Don Rubin, professor in York's theatre department, Faculty of Fine Arts, had noted that, within Canada, Lepage was regarded as a Quebecois artist, while to the rest of the world he was simply Canadian.