York alumnus Robert Adetuyi (BA ’87) can’t sit down in front of a computer and write. He has tried, but says his scripts come out flatter than his computer screen, wrote the Sudbury Star Jan. 24. The Sudbury native, now a screenwriter and director, prefers laying out storylines with pen and paper. Rhythm was definitely required to create the script for the successful movie Stomp The Yard, now playing in theatres across the continent. Adetuyi wrote the screenplay for the urban dance film, which has topped box offices in North America for the second week in a row.
Adetuyi went to York University as a film student, but a couple of months into the program, he realized he had already learned the material covered at the university level when he was a student at Sudbury Secondary. He switched to sociology. "I did a double major in sociology and mass communications. I was using that as a source of knowledge for writing. At that point, I knew writing was going to be a big part of what I was going to do." When people started suggesting Adetuyi was a better writer than he was an actor, he took the advice and altered his focus.
Robert Pickton and the media
You say the media have "a responsibility to report fully…on a high-profile case such as this one," up to and including "many of the graphic details," wrote Eric Lawee, humanities professor in York’s Faculty of Arts in a letter to the National Post Jan. 24. Yet it was a year ago at this time that the Post, along with almost every other Canadian media outlet, refused to publish the Danish Muhammad cartoons, which were about as "high-profile" a story as they come, not only in Canada but worldwide. In the wake of that refusal, the solemn intonations by Canadian editors about the media’s responsibility to publish "graphic details," no matter how upsetting, ring more than a little hollow.
Now playing: Corporate sponsorship
Ashwin Joshi, professor of marketing at York University’s Schulich School of Business, said the recently announced customer rewards program from Scotiabank and Cineplex Entertainment seems like a smart move, wrote the Toronto Star Jan. 24. "It’s a very good idea because it will be attractive to young customers. A 25-year-old is asking, ‘Do I want air miles? Travel’s not high on my agenda or do I want movie passes? Movies are high on my agenda,’" Joshi said.
But Joshi was less keen on the bank’s plan to attach its name to the theatres. "Live theatre, maybe. But do I want to go see Rocky at Scotiabank Theatre? It doesn’t really do anything for me. I can’t see strategic value in extending in that direction," Joshi said.
Cantor joins law firm as an ‘ambassador’
Paul Cantor, a member of York’s Board of Governors, is the former executive director of the Toronto International Leadership Centre – a joint venture involving York University, the World Bank and the Government of Canada, noted the National Post’s Sandra Rubin, in her Jan. 24 column about his forthcoming appointment as an “ambassador” for Bennett Jones LLP.
A modern-day Socrates sells his philosophy door to door
After seven years of teaching environmental philosophy in York’s Schulich School of Business and tutoring at McLaughlin College, York alumnus David Berger (BA ’88, MES ’94), 42, realized that, as he says in his new book, "life and learning are part of the same thing", wrote the National Post Jan. 24. In Living Education: The Power of the Circle, which he’s been selling door to door, Berger sets out his rather New Agey philosophy of life and learning. He spoke to the Post’s Dave McGinn:
Q: So you’ve been going around door to door to drum up interest?
Berger: You know the philosophers back in Socrates’ day went to the marketplace to talk to people. It’s a great way to meet people, to meet neighbours and to talk to people one-on-one.
Q: What’s the response been like?
Berger: I’ve actually been amazed. I would have guessed that it would be more women that would be interested than guys. It’s been both – men, women, young, old.
Baby boomers seek the holy grail: a guaranteed payout with no risks
A study commissioned for Manulife Investments by Moshe Milevsky, professor in York’s Schulich School of Business, and Thomas Salisbury, professor in York’s Department of Mathematics & Statistics in the Faculty of Arts, found that the five to 10 years before and immediately following retirement – the "retirement risk zone" – are critical, wrote the Globe and Mail Jan. 24, in an article on Registered Retirement Savings Plans.
‘I still don’t believe he’s gone’
Tony Raponi never had a chance to say goodbye, wrote the Markham Economist & Sun Jan. 20. His son, York alumnus Dino Raponi (BA ‘00), 29, died instantly Jan. 20 after his Ford F-250 collided with a hydro pole in south Uxbridge, Ont., east of Goodwood near Coppins Corners. A graduate of York’s Faculty of Arts who grew up in Unionville and attended Brother Andre Catholic High School, Dino had been made a partner in the family business, Strap Drywall Inc., because he was so disciplined and business-minded, his dad said. "You couldn’t ask for a better son," Raponi said. "You could count on him 24 hours a day."
Art exhibit jury includes York prof
A juried exhibit, called Canadian Artists Without Borders, runs from Jan. 28 to May 13 showcasing the work of artists who have been in Canada for 10 years or less, wrote the Richmond Hill Liberal Jan. 20. Twenty-two artists from 15 countries will be featured in this exhibition of 37 new works. The exhibition jury includes Anna Hudson, professor in the Department of Visual Arts in York’s Faculty of Fine Arts.
Broomfield breaks indoor track record
York student Erica Broomfield made her mark at the Can Am Track indoor track & field classic in Windsor, Jan. 12-13, when she shattered a 24-year-old meet record in the 60-metre dash with a time of 7.46 seconds, wrote the Markham Economist & Sun Jan. 20. The Markham native and first-year humanities major was named the Canadian Interuniversity Sport’s VIA Rail female athlete of the week Jan.14. Broomfield’s time was the 11th fastest in the world for the distance this year, the fastest in the CIS this season and the third best in York history. The five-foot-six Lions speedster has qualified for the 2007 CIS championship in two events.
Author friend of Trudeau’s is speaking at library
A Stouffville author, who counted former prime minister Pierre Elliott Trudeau among his friends, is reading from his latest books at the Whitchurch-Stouffville Public Library Feb. 1, wrote the Stouffville Sun Jan. 18. B.W. (Bruce) Powe, a professor of English in York’s Faculty of Arts, reads from the Unsaid Passing, a book of poems, Towards A Canada of Light, a reflection on Canada’s hope and possibility in a time of terrorism and turmoil, and a work-in-progress, “Mystic Trudeau”.
On air
- Robert MacDermid, political science professor in York’s Faculty of Arts, spoke about Liberal leader Stéphane Dion and the prospects of a federal election this year, on CKNI Radio (Moncton) Jan. 23.
- Alan Young, criminal law professor in York’s Osgoode Hall Law School, spoke about the Robert Pickton trial on CP24-TV Jan. 23.
- Michiel Horn, history professor at York’s Glendon campus, joined a panel discussion on freedom of speech in universities, on TVO’s “The Agenda” Jan. 23.