CBCN - Saturday, May 25, 2024 - 12:00 a.m. (ET) - Segment #37

>>> Summer is just around the corner and that means the epidemic of class is in -- end of class is in sight. Valedictorian addresses are a longstanding tradition. But one of those touched off a wave of backlash at one canadian university when it became political. >> I ask that you join me in calling for an immediate and lasting cbcease-fire in palestinian. >> Reporter: those remarks are at the heart of this controversy. He called on fellow grads to speak out on the israel-hamas war and asked them to speak out on the unfolding crisis in gaza. The school removed the video of his full speech online after a complaint by a prominent donor. That donor's is the largest in the history of university of manitoba. He donated the money to rename the medical department after his father. He called the words hate speech and lies. While dr. Newman responded by saying, it is frankly incredible to me that advocating for cessation of hostilities is seen as controversial and hateful. What happens for the freedom of the valedictorian to express what they want. Let's bring in an associate professor in the department of general education and humanities at mount royal university, in calgary. Thank you for making time for us. >> Thank you for having me. >> Deana: professor talked about this incident at the university of manitoba, how do post-secondary institutions balance the right to free speech, particularly if you're a valedictorian, you're supposed to sum up the atmosphere, the concerns of your generation, which arguably dr. Newman was attempting to do. How do you balance that with the university's financial interest and the need to keep their donors? >> Yeah, I think this is a really difficult question to answer in terms of balance. I think generally the way institutions handle this is by limiting who gets access to the valedictorian speech at their institution. So you rarely see student activists, for instance, be the valedictorian, be chosen as valedictorian and that's for this reason in particular. Sometimes students will sneak in some things like this student did, but usually the protests at convocation take place in different ways where they may walk out on the speaker or other protesters. But the donors is where it gets tricky. Universities have faced major cutbacks from the public sector over the last couple of decades and are increasingly reliant on these donors, so will do a lot of things, including censure their students to staff the donors. I -- satisfy the donor the. They both have the right. I agree it's not controversial to call for a cease-fire, but you know, besides that. And the donor has the right to withdraw that contribution. The problem is that there is a power imbalance here and that the university requires the funding and so the donor gets more priority in this conversation. >> Deana: I have to ask you, I mean, what do you think of the university's response of removing this speech? I mean there are chunks of it floating online and certainly you can track down transcripts of it before it was removed, but so many people rely on streaming to see what somebody said. To remove this in its entirety, how appropriate do you feel that response was? >> Yeah, I think the university has taken the wrong approach to the controversy and that should be in quotation marks. I don't think it's as controversial as people are making it out to be. This was a statement at the end of a long speech, nine minutes as you said. It's not particularly controversial to call for a cease-fire. There was no hate speech in that speech as far as I know. And I think partly it's important for universities to have this place for discussion and debate and to talk about issues that might be

what I say about this, universities are meant to challenge and question the larger society. Universities as institutions are very much entangled with the larger political structures, of course. They're sometimes funded by government, though less and less as I already mentioned. You know, they have a lot of donor connections, research connections. But at the same time institutions of higher learning are very intentionally meant to be separated from society so that they can challenge and question the structures of our society. And I think, you know, from my perspective, universities should be very pleased with what their students are doing here. Whether they agree or disagree with the issue at hand, the students to me are showing they're doing what we asked them to do. They're thinking critically about the world, their place within it and how to possibly change it. I think that's a really important piece. I also think that freedom of expression is an incredibly important value within a democratic society on campus and off campus. And the students are not really obstructing much in the way of operation. There is no violence going on in these encampments that we've seen from the research. And so I think universities really just need to let their students have a moment to say their piece and that they should listen to them and debate and negotiate, rather than calling the cops or, you know, trespassing injunctions and such. >> Deana: I want to ask about a harvard university, another centre of a major encampment protest that saw dozens of students actually boycotting commencement over the war in gaza. How likely do you think we will see scenes like this play out at school graduations, not just in the u.s., but canada as well, similar as to what unfolded in the university of manitoba and what we saw at harvard? >> I think we're going to see as we enter graduation season, a lot more of these moments. It's difficult for valedictorian to get access to this stage. Generally, they limit that before. But we see this other kind of protest. Boycotting, maybe not walking across the stage. Many students will refuse to shake hands with the president or the dean or whoever else in protest. Students may protest the speakers that are invited to give commencement speeches. And in my perspective, this is all free speech. As long as nobody is interrupting or stopping other people from participating, then I think this is covered under freedom of expression and should be allowed and we're going to see a lot of it at the high school level as well as the university level. >> Deana: really appreciate that. Roberta alexier, a professor at mount royal university in calgary.

>>> Leaders have filed an anti-trust lawsuit against live nation. They say the practises have resulted in poor outcomes for consumers. >>The Great Canadian Baking Showis back. >> And the winner is... >> Alan, no, it's too soon for that. [upbeat jazz] >> How about after? >> Give me that. >> Ok, sure. A new arrival alarms the brotherhood of muscle. Muscular features signal power and performance. Attributes they've never seen in this build. ( ) Behold a new breed. Ready to swarm, ready to sting, ready to electrify. ( ) The defiant power packed hybrid electric Dodge Hornet r/t. Performance electrified. Parrots are incredible animals. [Parrot] Another overdue bill! Yeah. They're also extremely intelligent. [Parrot] Forgot to pay again! They also repeat things they hear a lot. The new bmo eclipse rise Visa card rewards you with points for paying your bill on time every month to help build a routine. [Parrot] Rewards you with points! And you get 5x the points on things like groceries, dining and recurring bill payments. [Parrot] For paying your bill! —But also you can... — [Parrot] Every month! —And just remember. —[Parrot] Build a routine! [Parrot squawking] He is a talker. When a bank helps you make real financial progress. That's the bmo Effect. Bmo (Keys jingling, click of light switch) Your boss' name is Heather And she made you have an awful day Let me sing all your problems away Get started for free on eharmony. Must be 18 or older to join. Get who gets you. eharmony. ( ) Some people say there are doers, and there are dreamers. But what's wrong with a little dreaming? Especially when it's shared. With hard work, little dreams grow into big ones. At Kubota, we know that your work never stops. And we're inspired by those who dream - But our equipment is built for dreamers and doers, like you. Kubota, built for those who do. Pain makes a lot of noise. There's the "Ow, ow, ow, ow" The “twist and ahhhhh” And the “*deep exhale*”. Tell pain to pipe down When pain says you can't... Advil says you can. >> Deana: this week the government announced it is suing live nation accusing it of maintaining a monopoly over the concert industry. They say it's kept out competitors leading to higher ticket prices and worst customer service. Live nation has long been the controversy of fan outrage, including when the site crashed during pre-sales for taylor swift. The executive music editor for "variety" joins us from new york. Thank you for making time for us. >> Thank you. >> Let's start with the lawsuit itself. I mean this is something fans have been saying for a long time. We know many bands and music artists have protested against this very same thing, but this is the department of justice here. What are the big takeaways, the U.S. government head-to-head with live nation and ticketmaster? >> They make a compelling case. It's a 125-page legal complaint levelling allegations against live nation, monopolyistic practises, unfairly. And it's a very strong case. But the question is will this make any difference for fans? >> The department of justice accuses live nation of a monopoly over the live music industry, we know that live industry for musicians do depend for their livelihood because they're not selling records these days. Would you agree with this, that there is a monopoly going on? >> It seems to fit that definition. They're very aggressive and very integrated. They not only own ticketmaster 100%, they own a number of venues, they have a management company, they own a lot of concessions. So they're making money almost every step of the way. Is that a monopoly? By some metrics, I say definitely it is. But the question is, would anyone do this better? >> What ply indicates this, back in -- complicates this, back in

2010 the department of justice gave the go ahead to live nation and ticketmaster merger. What changed? >> Live nation has gotten much bigger and diverse. I think they expected at the time -- because there wasn't a company like that in the past -- and I can't remember what the definition was, but in the press conference announcing the lawsuit on thursday, the assistant attorney general said that what they're looking at now is violations of the sherman act which involves anti-trust. But at the time they were looking at a different act. I can't remember what it was. It wouldn't have been -- it wouldn't have taken a lot of foresight to see where we are now. >> Deana: if the lawsuit is successful, will breakup of the company fix the problems for the fans? High prices -- here in toronto we've been talking about canadians who have gone to europe to see taylor swift because buying a ticket to europe, staying in a hotel and seeing taylor swift there is still less than seeing her in toronto, even if you live in toronto. These are the things that we've not seen in history before. If this lawsuit is successful, and they're made to dissolve, are we going to see lower ticket prices prices? >> The justice department thinks, yes. I asked some officials that question myself. And they said traditionally, when a monopoly is broken up, things improve for all parties except for the stakeholders in the monopoly, of course. Ticketing is such a dark art and it's so hard to understand. It is so -- there are so many potential places for it to become corrupt that it's hard to know what the solution is or if this break-up would actually make the difference. Because one of the things people complain about the most is exorbitant prices on the secondary market. The fact that ticketmaster went offline when all the tickets for taylor swift went on sale. They did remedy that to their credit. I'll get back to that. But the other problem is, you know, the long wait times and things like that. Almost none of those things are addressed specifically. Let me put it this way, there are almost no specific solution for this. In the lawsuit, they're just saying break it up and that will solve the problem. A lot of people are not convinced it will. I'm not trying to be apologist for live nation, but not many are set up to serve venues in this size. In a lot of cases it looks like ticketmaster is the only one that could do it at this scale. Again, I'm not trying to make apologies for them or excuse that behaviour, but will it make things better for fans, I'm not convinced it would. >> Deana: that's a good point. Who would fill that vacuum of power. You also talk to a lot of musicians, music managers, labels, how do they feel? >> They're in the same boat as everybody else. Nobody really understands it. Nobody knows how to fix it, they just know that something's wrong. >> Deana: thank you so much. Really appreciate that. Gem aswad. Thank you. The national hockey league playoffs continue. Edmonton was able to steal a game in the western final opener on thursday night. Game 2 goes tonight in dallas. >> Knocks it down. [cheers and applause] >> And in the eastern final last night, the new york rangers knocked a 2-1 win. That levels the best of seven 1-1. The teams now move south to florida for game 3 tomorrow afternoon.

>>> The pwhl finals continued last night for game 3 of the walter cup final between boston and minnesota. The teams split the first two games in boston before heading west. >> Centre, control on the backhand, she scores! >> Deana: minnesota would add an empty-netter to lead boston 4-1 and take a 2-1 series lead. They play again sunday night. >>> The town of cumberland house has declared a state of emergency and people have been unable to leave. Heavy rain has washed out the only road to and from the village. The mayor says essentials like milk, bread, baby formula and prescription medications are in short supply. Community leaders are calling for emergency meetings with the provincial and federal governments. >>> A massive hailstorm pounded parts of mexico on friday. The storm covered the streets with thick ice amid an unusual heat wave. People were seen shoveling and removing hail, all this taking place as the country experiences its third heatwave just a week after the send one ended. It's also facing severe drought. >>> 20 people, including children, have died after a massive fire broke out in an amusement park in india. The park is usually packed with families enjoying the vacation. Many structures have collapsed. The fire is under control and rescue efforts are under way. The police will file a case of negligence against the park's owner. The cause of the fire is under investigation. >>> Pope francis kicked off the first world children's day at rome's olympic stadium. The pope, who is an avid soccer fan kicked off the festival. He appeared in high spirits greeting children from more than a hundred countries. Earlier he met with children from war-torn countries spreading a message of hope. We're back in Hey, let's go, man. [laughter] You're one of my favourite interviewers. Announcer: q with Tom Power. Available now onCBC Listen or wherever you get your podcasts. The Jeep No Limits Eventis here.Which means more trailsto blaze. More challenges to meet. And right now enjoyno payments for 90 days. Get into a Jeep Compass. With best-in-class horsepower. Or Jeep Grand Cherokee,the most awarded suv ever. ( ) Jeep No Limits is here. Time to test your limits. Get up to 10% off msrp for up to eighty sevenhundred dollars in discounts. And no payments for 90 days. Wall paper or paint.We make thousands of financialdecisions every day. Stay on top of it all withalerts and insights from the cibc Smart Account. When arthritis pain makes the stairs feel like a summit... There's Tylenol Arthritis. With 2 layers of pain relief, one acts fast, one lasts for up to 8hrs and it's gentle on your stomach. Tylenol Arthritis: made for everyday moments. ( ) Get that ojo Feeling with all your favourite games and no playthrough requirements, what you win is yours to keep. ( ) feel the fun play ojo a delicious McWrap can be hard to put down. But with new Creamy Avocado Ranch sauce, it's even harder. So what'll it be Sarah? Juicy text, or juicy bite? Obviously. For the McWrap fans. ( ) Happy birthday, big guy. Your old minivan? Your old minivan. It still runs? Like new! And thanks to Fountain Tire's trusted, reliable service, you'll be driving this for a loooong time. Never getting rid of this baby. Great. And of course! Quality tires. Why's that guy there? Because honey. Wherever you go, Fountain Tire's right there with you.

Do you like music? I made a mixtape! (Parents excitedly chuckle) ( ) The following program is availabe in described video. [theme music playing] [Charlsie] Feeling the burn? More like feeling the germ. One time, I found snot on a piece of equipment. The grossest thing I've seen involved a shower. [Charlsie]We're testing what you're touching at the gym. [woman] Dumbbell stand. [Charlsie]Counting down the surfaces with the most germs. [man] The pink color is bacteria. The level of contamination was a lot higher than I expected it to be. [Charlsie]And after your workout, do you really need those pricey protein powders? The obsession with immediate post-exercise consumption is probably overdone. [Charlsie]It's time to kill the buzz. [energetic music playing] Hey, let's get swabbing. We're getting down and dirty at some of your favorite gyms. Swabbing services to see what you're really touching when you're working out. Changing color. Dumbbell stand. [Charlsie]Hitting up three popular chains, visiting nine locations in all. Can you pass me a swab? Taking over 50 samples of surfaces you touch when you sweat. Okay, what's next. Mats? [woman] Okay, perfect. Okay, lots of ellipticals over here. [Charlsie]And counting down five pieces of equipment to find out which is weighted down... Oh, God, that's heavy. ...with the highest count of bacteria. Right, what's next? We're checking to see if gyms are doing enough to keep equipment clean and if they're giving us everything we need to do our part. [upbeat music playing] We're packing up our samples and sending them off to the lab. Meantime, we're visiting athletes who are pretty familiar with gyms. I'm in the gym maybe 9 hours a day. Talk to me about the equipment that you use. I am actually a trainer. So, I touch everything. -I love the leg press. -Okay. That's my favorite. [Charlsie]And they have some horror stories. One time, I found snot on a piece of equipment. -Snot? -Yeah. People throw up in the gym because you're doing too heavy of a lift. [Charlsie]When it comes to ick, can it make you sick? No one knows more than microbiologist and self-described Germ Guy, Jason Tetro. Why does it matter if the gym equipment that we're using is clean? Our own microbes are absolutely fine. But the minute that we start touching other people's microbes, especially if they're pathogenic, it can lead to infection. So there are a couple of things that we need to be concerned about. The first are any kind of skin bacteria that cause infection. Staphylococcus aureus is the big one, but there are others, such as yeasts and possibly molds as well. And what is it about the nature of working out and touching and using equipment that makes having clean equipment even more important? The big problem is the sweat. It makes it really easy for you to be able to deposit something onto a surface but also pick it up. [Charlsie]What will we find on our swabs? Our results are in. Coming in at number five for the germiest piece of equipment, the elliptical. The least germs was the elliptical. [woman gasps] You like, drip all over it. You start going, your nose starts running. -Whoa! -Really? When you think about it, there's not a lot of contact going on. The surface is really easy for you to get that cloth on there and you're going to put on some really good pressure in order to clean it. [Charlsie]That brings usto number four on our list, the dumbbell. It actually is a matter of logistics. A dumbbell has a restricted space because, -essentially, of the weight. -Okay. And it's really difficult to get enough pressure in there with the wipe to actually clean it down. [Charlsie]But do these fitness fanatics know how to clean properly? We're putting them to the test. We want to see how you guys -clean your stuff. -Here we go. So, here you go. We have some wipes. We load up these dumbbells with Glo Germ, a spray that mimics microbes and glows under a black light. It's going to show us the spots that you missed. So, how did they do? [woman] Gross. It feels like even if you try to do a good job-- Yeah, you literally have to, like, get, like, a brush in there. [Charlsie] Little bit of a miss there. You got to really get in those crevices, but that's hard to do. Especially with the texture itself.

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