TMU School of Journalism announces new live journalism course

Students can enroll in the course starting Winter 2023

By: Krishika Jethani

Sonya Fatah (left) and Janeyce Guerrier (right) performing in Harmed in Hamilton,  a stitched! Production on Oct. 22 at the Theatre Aquarius in Hamilton.  (Aloysius Wong/stitched!)

A live journalism course is coming to Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU) in the Winter 2023 semester. The course, named Special Topics in Journalism, will be offered by the Creative School’s School of Journalism.

Live journalism, unlike traditional journalism, requires a live audience. Instead of publishing a story in a newspaper or magazine, a story is performed on stage while engaging the audience.

The course will be found as “JRN 319” for the upcoming semester. In the following year, it will have its own course code and will be known as “Journalism: Live on Stage” and will be taught by Sonya Fatah, an assistant professor at the School of Journalism.

Aru Kaul, a fourth-year journalism student who is assisting in promoting the new course, says live journalism differs from traditional news by providing audience members with an experience. “Live journalism shows them what is happening,” Kaul said.   

stitched!, founded by Fatah, is a live journalism lab at TMU that encourages students to perform journalistic practices in front of a live audience. 

The underlying notion is to bring news to the stage. Journalists employ oral storytelling techniques to share stories before audience members, who become news consumers.

While the course is open to all journalism students that have completed the prerequisite courses JRN272 and JRN273, students from other programs can also obtain permission from Fatah to enroll.

Through exploring an oft-underrepresented form of news and information dissemination, students will be able to practice journalism in a different and innovative way. In a journalist fellowship report on live journalism and its capacity to re-engage audiences, Jaakko Lyytinen cites theatre as “the last oasis of undivided attention.” To bring journalism to theatre means bringing the media apparatus into a “shared place and time for experiencing something corporeal with words, pictures, sound.”

Professor Fatah says this course serves as a “unique” opportunity for journalism and non-journalism students alike. Live journalism allows students to learn how to communicate issues to an audience as a way of practicing storytelling.

Although live journalism is practiced differently by individual organizations, it still follows the same reporting approach as traditional journalism, as “you still need to go out there, meet people whose stories you’re sharing and come report it and bring it back,” said Fatah.

Those enrolled in the course in the Winter 2023 semester, will have the opportunity to work with the climate disaster project based at the University of Victoria– a project led by environmental journalism professor Sean Holman.

“He runs this program that is established across 13 schools in North America and the students in those 13 schools have been collecting testimonies of climate crisis survivors… and we have access to that archive,” said Fatah.

Students will also break up into different groups and work with those who have shared these stories.

There are also more live journalism shows produced in the U.S. and Europe including Pop-Up Magazine, The Black Box, and Live Magazine in France, among others.

“The goal of some of our work is to create a space where you can have a post-show engagement to push the conversation beyond the story itself,” said Fatah. “And to consider how we as a community, as a society, really discuss this issue.”

Fall 2022 fashion: What are you wearing?

Forget the runway, TMU’s Gould Street has all the fashionistas

By: Fatima Raza and Daniella Lopez

As temperatures cool and the leaves turn shades of red, orange and yellow, fashion trends are gradually changing too. As we say goodbye to crochet tank tops, low-rise micro mini skirts and Bermuda shorts, we enter fall fashion. During this chilly season, it’s all about layering. Writers Fatima Raza and Daniella Lopez interviewed Toronto Metropolitan University students about what they are wearing and their go-to fall fashion essentials. Check it out!

(Graphic by Ishitaa Chopra. Video by Daniella Lopez and Fatima Raza)

Toronto Metropolitan University students share what they love about their favourite books

A look at the reasons behind our favourite books

By: Sania Ali

(Unsplash)

Books have always been a means to learn, experience and be exposed to more outside knowledge. It can be easy to lose yourself in the world of fiction or non-fiction, characters and worlds to escape our own — after all, who knew books could be so impactful? 

According to the Canadian Leisure and Reading Study, Canadians read more broadly in 2020.  There are loads of reasons why books mean what they do to the people who love them. There’s no doubt about it, people have been reading and loving more books every day. So we decided to speak to students at TMU to ask them what they like about books, and what their favourite books may be. 

There are often unexpected reasons why some books are desired by certain people more than others. My favourite book is A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini. Although the book is extremely graphic and a difficult read, I try to reread the book once a year. The uncomfortable experiences delivered from the perspective of the characters are so intriguing to me, and I find the approach to conveying those characters and feelings extremely encapsulating.

While I like A Thousand Splendid Suns because of its unrelatable plot and approach to writing, other students may have different reasons for their favourite read. 

Jed Kevin Perada, a second-year media production student, said that his favourite book, The Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkien, inspires bravery. “There's a part where Bilbo Baggins walks down this little quarter, and he carries a sword and he's shaking and he's about to approach the dragon,” said Perada. “That's just an inspiring scene for me. It motivated me to take more risks in my life.” 

Oftentimes, books can act like reflections that encourage readers to question their life while also allowing readers to see themselves through the books. Second-year TMU fashion student, Samantha Gietl, feels a connection to her favourite book for that exact reason. Gietl’s favourite book is #GIRLBOSS by Sophia Amoruso. The story follows author Sophia Amoruso’s journey from dumpster diving to founding the fast-growing clothing business Nasty Gal. As a fashion student, Gietl feels inspired by Amoruso’s rise in the fashion industry. “It’s really empowering for females, especially in the creative world, just to go out and do something that wouldn't stereotypically be seen as a career option. She defied the odds and made it possible.”  

Gietl isn’t the only one whose favourite book reflects her career aspirations. Audrey Persaud is a first-year photography student whose favourite book is actually a photo book that documents images around the world. Accidentally Wes Anderson by Wes Anderson is a #1 bestseller on Amazon, reflecting the filmmaker’s personal photography of real-life places that look like they belong in the director’s films. Persaud finds inspiration from Anderson’s works as a student of photography herself. “I draw a lot of inspiration from them, but I also really like travelling and it kind of combines the two,” she said.

At times, readers find that authors can put complicated feelings and situations into words and this draws them to indulge in books that cover difficult topics. Yousif Hassan’s favourite book is set in Egypt, a place where he’s also from. The second-year Media Production student finds the narrative of manifestation extremely insightful and finds the read an “underrated book.”

Although there are many reasons why a book may be your favourite, whether it may be connecting to a character, drawing career aspirations from the plot or falling in love with the storyline — we can all agree that books bring all sorts of people together in unexpected ways. The humanization of the characters we consume allows individuals to see themselves in novels while also sympathizing with emotions and unfamiliar characters. 

So, what’s your favourite book?

Toronto Metropolitan fashion graduates showcase bold collections at Mass Exodus 2022

With ‘Metamorphosis’ as the theme, this annual fashion show made a long-awaited return to being hosted in-person.

By: John Vo

Logo for Mass Exodus 2022

Runway shows have been making a glorious comeback to in-person venues once again. With most of this year’s fashion week holding extravagant shows in live venues, fashion lovers and industry professionals could not be more excited. For many individuals interested in the fashion industry, having the opportunity to watch models walk down the runway in stunning garments is a dream come true. One of the shows that made its return to an in-person format this year was Mass Exodus 2022 — Metamorphosis.

What is Mass Exodus?

Mass Exodus is an annual event where the graduating students of Toronto Metropolitan University’s fashion design and communication program showcase their capstone work and collections. The runway show goes alongside an installation featuring designs and multimedia pieces, all correlating to the theme chosen.

The 34th Mass Exodus exhibition took place at the Sheldon and Tracy Levy Student Learning Centre (SLC) on April 9. This is in stark contrast to last year’s show that was presented in the form of a virtual livestream. The virtual format did not fully disappear — those who could not attend the in-person show were still able to tune in for the livestream presented on YouTube. 

The whole event was a collaborative effort between the fashion program and a number of programs across The Creative School, the university’s faculty specializing in media and communication, design and the cultural industries. Mass Exodus is a part of the Live Event Supercourse I, a course providing students the opportunity to work on a high-scale fashion showcase and develop the skills necessary to work in an array of creative fields. Students from the RTA media, professional music, performance production and graphic communication management programs all assisted in various aspects to bring this gorgeous show to life.

The Theme of ‘Metamorphosis’

The theme was inspired by the idea of a metamorphosis, a term referring to a complete change in form mainly associated with insects. Mass Exodus directly places emphasis on the motif of butterflies, utilizing the delicate insect in its concept art and photoshoots. A rush of emotions and concepts come to mind when picturing butterflies and metamorphosis. The life cycle of butterflies bears resemblance to the ever-changing hurdles and growth humans face in our lives.

In addition to the theme, the show contained imagery related to nature and, in a broader sense, intended to “rekindle a sense of unity within our fashion community through the principles of decolonization, encouraging optimism, and sustainability” according to their official website.

Not only does the show’s theme immediately lure audiences in, there is an extreme amount of relevancy for the theme of metamorphosis given how the COVID-19 pandemic has changed the world’s perception. The uncertainty of the world and all its pleasures came to a head during the peak of the last two years. 

Does fashion and expressing oneself through style hold importance when the world is amid social inequities and a global health crisis? The last two years have been a transformative year for many to examine their connection to fashion and how their choices impact themselves and the world around them. The decision to have “metamorphosis” be the theme for the first in-person show since 2020 was a stroke of genius. The theme presents the opportunity to delve into the evolution of fashion during and after the pandemic with their fashion collections.

Unless you have been to past Mass Exodus’ shows, nobody could have anticipated the high level of creativity and panache embedded within this year’s runway show. 

To start, this show was a mosaic of beautiful garments worn by a great cast of models. An unfortunate reality of most runway shows is the blatant fatphobia and lack of diversity when casting models. Thankfully, we saw a diverse cast walk down the runway, all of them looking amazing in their ensembles. Hopefully, we can see mainstream fashion make strides towards inclusivity in fashion that isn’t performative or close-minded. 

The individual pieces themselves were immaculate, in concept and execution. With most high-fashion brands, their runway shows typically try to retain a sense of unity and maintain the brand’s signature DNA with all the looks. This show is a departure in the sense that this isn’t just one designer’s work but a showcase of up-and-coming youth designers. Thus, every collection contained a unique point of view and style stemming from the designers’ interests and strengths. There truly was something for everyone in this show to like.

If you have a penchant for tulle and colours, many of the looks contained those elements. Want swimwear and inspiration for summer outfits? Look no further than some of the collections here. Ballgowns and formal wear? Got it! There were even tons of looks for those interested in the avant garde and eclectic side of fashion.

I could go on for eons — but my point is this show was brimming with personality and flair. The experimentation seen here was on the level of high-level professionals working in the industry. The boldness in the collections definitely stems from the fact these are young designers experimenting and honing their craft, something that any artist or creative can relate to within their own artform. These talented individuals all made daring statements with their constructed garments they presented on the Mass Exodus runway.

Many rising trends in high fashion and modern style could be found within the looks. Not to be confused with micro-trends or fad pieces that die after a week — these were bold and timeless choices. Retro-futurism and post apocalyptic-esque fashion is a rising trend in the fashion sphere and the influence was noticeable in the designers’ collections. The use of unconventional cutouts and wide-ranging fabrics were in line with retro-futuristic fashion.

Colour wise, the show was filled to the brim with lush and vibrant colours. Jewel tones and bright hues made frequent appearances, only interspersed with a few collections rooted in neutral tones. Rather than being reliant on what is considered “trendy” in fast fashion and the general public, the designs in this show are the trend-setters using references from past decades and making it their own.

Akin to bringing a stage musical or dance showcase to life, a fashion show requires the production elements to work sufficiently and be cohesive to the desired theme and atmosphere. As previously mentioned, this runway show was helmed by students in the different The Creative School programs and their collaboration brought life into the show. A favourite was definitely the music produced by those in the professional music program that set the eclectic and modern energy of the show. The graphic design management program created the futuristic logos and projected images that surrounded the whole runway, livening up the space.

Circling back to the concept of “metamorphosis” and what it means, this show and the collections of the designers perfectly encapsulated that theme. The designers embraced their own perspectives and relationships with fashion and channeled that into the looks. Breaking down gender norms, sexuality and the state of the climate crisis were all seen here through the use of silhouettes and unconventional materials. Those themes play into metamorphosis and how the world is changing in both beneficial and detrimental ways. Especially after so much external and internal struggle during the last few years, the show still celebrates the progress made and how fashion sparks joy within us all. The playfulness of certain looks and beautiful outfits reminds us all that fashion is a powerful and always changing medium.

It would be criminal to not mention the installation paired alongside the show. Another floor of the SLC was reworked for people to take their time to walk around and partake in all the works created by the students. There was a variety of work, from magazine publications to jewelry collections to set pieces with a story. I never would have imagined seeing a garment made entirely out of paper butterflies but I can now say with absolute delight that I have. This installation was a physical manifestation of personal stories and life experiences.

Final Thoughts

Mass Exodus 2022 triumphed as a runway and installation exhibition that celebrates aspiring designers and artists. The runway show contained experimentative designs that fit with each designer’s own point of view and every production element was truly on point. It’s clear the level of time and intricate care that went into producing the show and the tenacity of the students involved should be commended. This year’s showcase felt like an ode to fashion and solidified two notions: that fashion is a powerful tool that holds true significance in our world and that runway shows are back and better than ever. 

Visit Mass Exodus’ official website to see all the information on the show, view the profiles of the designers featured and to watch the recorded livestream of the show.