Weekly Quiz: Art Activism, Superpower Strategy, and Evolving Energy Policy

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const title = "Weekly Quiz: Art Activism, Superpower Strategy, and Evolving Energy Policy"; const date = "March 28, 2026"; const data = [ { image: "https://walrus-assets.s3.amazonaws.com/img/WEB_ViolenceInOntarioSchools_MAR26-1536x1024.jpg", title: "Ontario Schools Are Getting More Violent. Don’t Blame the Kids", url: "https://thewalrus.ca/ontario-schools-are-getting-more-violent-dont-blame-the-kids/", question: "When Ontario premier Doug Ford’s government appointed provincial supervisors to struggling school boards in 2025, the choice of who would oversee the Toronto District School Board—one of the largest in the province—garnered interest. What is the professional background of Rohit Gupta, who was ultimately selected for the role?", options: [ "Technology", "Child Psychology", "Finance", "Policing", ], answer: "Finance", correct: "Instead of giving school boards the resources they need to address the growing problem of school violence, the province has invested its energies into finding ever-greater efficiencies. This past June, Ontario appointed provincial supervisors to four school boards, citing “growing deficits, depleting reserves, and ongoing cases of mismanagement.” They targeted some of the biggest school boards in the province. At the Toronto District School Board, the provincially appointed supervisor is Rohit Gupta, an adviser with a lengthy background in finance and no experience in education. In the eight months since he has taken control, he has removed caps for class sizes (as well as increasing the size of high-needs special-education class sizes) and has not moved to close the shortage of teachers, educational assistants, and support staff.", incorrect: "Instead of giving school boards the resources they need to address the growing problem of school violence, the province has invested its energies into finding ever-greater efficiencies. This past June, Ontario appointed provincial supervisors to four school boards, citing “growing deficits, depleting reserves, and ongoing cases of mismanagement.” They targeted some of the biggest school boards in the province. At the Toronto District School Board, the provincially appointed supervisor is Rohit Gupta, an adviser with a lengthy background in finance and no experience in education. In the eight months since he has taken control, he has removed caps for class sizes (as well as increasing the size of high-needs special-education class sizes) and has not moved to close the shortage of teachers, educational assistants, and support staff.", }, { title: "I Flew Across the Country to Look at the Most Controversial Work of Art in Canada", url: "https://thewalrus.ca/nan-goldin-stendhal-syndrome/", question: "Known for tenderly documenting marginalized communities, photographer Nan Goldin has also used her platform to challenge the institutions that exhibit her work. In 2019, Goldin led high-profile protests targeting major museums alongside her activist group PAIN. What was the main focus of this collective’s work?", options: [ "Calling for the repatriation of looted art works", "Protesting art institutions that accepted money from the Sackler family", "Demanding museums divest from fossil fuel sponsors", "Opposing the use of artificial intelligence in curatorial decision making", ], answer: "Protesting art institutions that accepted money from the Sackler family", correct: "In 2010, the Louvre gave Goldin after-hours access for eight months and commissioned her to take photographs of their collections. She then spun its collection into her own exhibition, which she debuted at the museum. In 2019, she and her activist group PAIN (Prescription Addiction Intervention Now) protested art institutions around the world taking money from the billionaire Sackler family, who made their fortune from the mainstream distribution of OxyContin, to which Goldin herself was briefly addicted. Goldin and PAIN waded into the fountain underneath the Louvre’s central pyramid, holding red banners demanding that the museum “Take Down the Sackler Name,” and they did.", incorrect: "In 2010, the Louvre gave Goldin after-hours access for eight months and commissioned her to take photographs of their collections. She then spun its collection into her own exhibition, which she debuted at the museum. In 2019, she and her activist group PAIN (Prescription Addiction Intervention Now) protested art institutions around the world taking money from the billionaire Sackler family, who made their fortune from the mainstream distribution of OxyContin, to which Goldin herself was briefly addicted. Goldin and PAIN waded into the fountain underneath the Louvre’s central pyramid, holding red banners demanding that the museum “Take Down the Sackler Name,” and they did.", }, { image: "https://walrus-assets.s3.amazonaws.com/img/greghouston_unintendedconsequences-copy.jpg", title: "Trump Tests the Limits of American Power in Iran", url: "https://thewalrus.ca/trumps-foreign-policy-is-all-fury-no-strategy/", question: "As Donald Trump continues to push the boundaries of US power in Iran, China seeks to benefit from its rival’s missteps. Which of the following actions does writer Michael Ignatieff cite as one example of China capitalizing on “America’s epic episode of self-harm”?", options: [ "Launching cyber attacks on American financial infrastructure", "Brokering a peace deal between Iran and Saudi Arabia to expand its diplomatic influence", "Channelling state resources into research and technology", "Forming an official military alliance with Russia to counterbalance US power", ], answer: "Channelling state resources into research and technology", correct: "China is obsessed with settling old scores, such as the Communist Party’s failure to absorb Taiwan in 1949, instead of accepting the democratic reality of the island and moving toward creating a new order in which its ascent as a world power is recognized and accepted. It has no vision of its hegemonic place to offer but is content to benefit from the mistakes of its competitors. As America bombs Iran, it is rapidly building up its nuclear arsenals. It is not hammering its universities and research institutes with ideological crusades, instead funnelling state resources into the research that produces new technology, while avoiding wasting its weapon stocks—and its limited store of global legitimacy—by raining death on weaker countries.", incorrect: "China is obsessed with settling old scores, such as the Communist Party’s failure to absorb Taiwan in 1949, instead of accepting the democratic reality of the island and moving toward creating a new order in which its ascent as a world power is recognized and accepted. It has no vision of its hegemonic place to offer but is content to benefit from the mistakes of its competitors. As America bombs Iran, it is rapidly building up its nuclear arsenals. It is not hammering its universities and research institutes with ideological crusades, instead funnelling state resources into the research that produces new technology, while avoiding wasting its weapon stocks—and its limited store of global legitimacy—by raining death on weaker countries.", }, { title: "After Intense Lobbying, Carney Allows Gas-Powered Data Centres in Alberta", url: "https://thewalrus.ca/after-intense-lobbying-carney-allows-gas-powered-data-centres-in-alberta/", question: "In November 2025, Prime Minister Mark Carney signed the Canada–Alberta Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), an agreement that not only supported a new Pacific oil pipeline but suspended clean-electricity regulations and proposed the development of gas-powered AI data centres. What did Alberta electricity company Capital Power announce less than two weeks later?", options: [ "A proposal to expand its renewable energy portfolio with new wind and solar projects", "A deal to export surplus electricity to AI data centres in the US", "Its plan to explore hydrogen-powered electricity-generation projects", "Its own MOU to supply 250 megawatts to an AI data centre developer", ], answer: "Its own MOU to supply 250 megawatts to an AI data centre developer", correct: "Twelve days after Carney signed the MOU, Capital Power’s chief executive officer Avik Dey was interviewed by Bloomberg, saying that, because Carney relaxed environmental regulations, it was now possible to build new gas fired power plants to support AI data centres. The next day, December 10, 2025 the Globe and Mail reported Capital Power had signed its own MOU to supply an unnamed AI data centre developer with 250 megawatts of electricity. The Canada-Alberta MOU “paved the way” to lock in long-term contracts for AI-data-centre-related-gas-generation, the paper reported.", incorrect: "Twelve days after Carney signed the MOU, Capital Power’s chief executive officer Avik Dey was interviewed by Bloomberg, saying that, because Carney relaxed environmental regulations, it was now possible to build new gas fired power plants to support AI data centres. The next day, December 10, 2025 the Globe and Mail reported Capital Power had signed its own MOU to supply an unnamed AI data centre developer with 250 megawatts of electricity. The Canada-Alberta MOU “paved the way” to lock in long-term contracts for AI-data-centre-related-gas-generation, the paper reported.", }, ];