The Concordian Volume 29, Issue 8

theconcordian Tuesday, Oct. 18, 2011

arts sports

Step into the acting ring P. 15

Stingers golden against ‘Hawks P. 21

Consider Montreal occupied

P. 7

Photo by Navneet Pall

life Low-calorie beverages: drink smart P. 9

music Montreal band raises the Barr with debut album P. 17

Photo by Sarah Deshaies

ASFA judicial committee will deliberate alleged electoral violations this week

CEO claims JC knew former executive was being hired as byelection polling clerk Jacques Gallant Editor-in-chief

opinions Addicts are in dire need of safe injection sites P. 24

Volume 29 Issue 8

Photo by Navneet Pall

The judicial committee of the Arts and Science Federation of Associations will deliberate this Wednesday evening and next Monday on alleged violations committed by the chief electoral officer in last week’s ASFA byelection.

On Saturday, the Concordian broke a story revealing that at least one polling clerk in the byelection, Nicole Devlin, last year’s ASFA VP internal, was ineligible to perform her duties. According to ASFA’s An-

nex A, all current and former ASFA executives are barred from acting as electoral officers.

JC member Justin Famili confirmed in an email Monday evening that “two requests for a formal opinion” regarding the Oct. 12 and 13 byelection had been received and that after preliminary inquiries, the three-member judicial committee would meet to deliberate the first contestation on Wednesday, Oct. 19.

That first request was filed by newly-hired CEO Marvin Cidamon and current ASFA VP internal Schubert Laforest, who indicated

on Saturday that he made sure the issue of Devlin’s hiring was referred to the judicial committee as soon as it was brought to his attention postbyelection.

“I don’t know what happened exactly. It was a huge oversight by everyone,” said Laforest. “We’re going to send this on to JC and see what they say. The Annex doesn’t actually say what happens when these kinds of violations take place.”

The second contestation of complaint was filed by last year’s ASFA CEO Nicolas Cuillerier, and will be

heard by the JC next Monday, Oct. 24. Cuillerier said he had filed the contestation “out of concern over the numerous violations that took place and the questionable oversight of Annex A.” In his contestation, Cuillerier is seeking the JC’s ruling on four items: whether the byelection is still valid given the electoral violations, whether to consider punitive measures for the CEO, the deputy chief electoral officer and any other eligible electoral officer, whether the

See ‘Electoral’ on P. 3

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Tuesday, October 18, 2011

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City in brief Alyssa Tremblay

Controversial Islamic group coming to ConU

This Friday, a conference organized by the Islamic Education and Research Academy, a British group that is generating controversy for its speakers’ homophobic and anti-Semitic remarks, is set to take place at Concordia. The same conference, scheduled for Oct. 23 at the Sheraton Centre Hotel in Toronto, was cancelled by the hotel last Thursday after the organization failed “to satisfy a contractual requirement,” the Toronto Star reported. The Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center for Holocaust Studies issued a press release on Sunday expressing concern that Concordia would host an IERA event. The academy asserted in a recent press release that none of their speakers, staff, or volunteers have ever made derogatory remarks towards Jewish or gay communities.

CUTV up for fee levy

CUTV Montreal, Concordia’s campus and community television station, will be asking students for an increase in the CSU byelections in November.

CUTV is proposing that their fee levy be increased from $0.18 per credit to $0.34 per credit. A petition calling for the fee levy to be added as a referendum question was signed by 720 undergraduate students. The extra $0.16 that CUTV is asking for would go towards improving the station’s programming and services.

ConU putting $450k into Quartier renovations

Concordia will be contributing $450,000 to ongoing renovations in the City of Montreal’s Quartier Concordia project. According to university spokesperson Chris Mota, the money will go towards paying for renovations that directly affect Concordia’s property, including parts of the area in front of the Hall building on De Maisonneuve Blvd. Mota explained that normally the city stops work at the municipal line where their territory ends, but after speaking with the university, the decision was made to work together and repave the sidewalk along De Maisonneuve right up to the Hall building itself.

Province greenlights safe injection sites

The provincial government has begun promoting the creation of drug-injection centres for intravenous drug users in both Montreal and Quebec City as early as next year, after the Supreme Court of Canada ruled unanimously against the federal government’s attempts to shut down a safe injection site in Vancouver. CTV reported last Wednesday that Quebec Health Minister Yves Bolduc has already contacted needle exchange group Cactus Montreal, as well as a similar group in Quebec City to collaborate with them to provide government-regulated service to drug users.

campus

CSU supports creation of sexual assault centre

Concordia policy on sexual assault is unclear, says 2110 Centre coordinator Jacqueline Di Bartolomeo News editor

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he Concordia Student Union council threw their support behind the creation of a sexual assault centre on campus at a meeting last Wednesday in the hopes of remedying what some see as a gap in the resources offered to sexual assault survivors at Concordia University.

Council unanimously approved a motion presented by councillor Irmak Bahar, endorsing the creation of a sexual assault centre on campus to be funded by Concordia, a cause championed by the 2110 Centre for Gender Advocacy in their sexual assault centre campaign.

As a result, the CSU executive will be writing a letter of support requesting that the university

That was fantastic,” said Bianca Mugyenyi, the 2110 Centre’s programming and campaigns coordinator.

The centre kicked off their campaign in the spring of this year, the bulk of their efforts directed to furthering public education and awareness with the ultimate goal of “increasing the pressure on the university to fund and give space to a sustainable sexual assault centre, as well as to address the lack of clear and accessible policies relating specifically to cases of sexual assault,” Mugyenyi explained.

Twelve cases of sexual harassment were brought to Concordia’s Office of Rights and Responsibilities in 2009-2010, one of which resulted in a formal complaint, according to their annual report. Mugyenyi called that figure low, saying it alluded more to the fact that students are not

asfa

Suzuki, Jerajian, Zahar come out on top in ASFA byelection VP communications and promotions

VP external and sustainability

Sexual aSSault caSeS at conu (2009-2010)

12

Number of cases of sexual harassment brought to Concordia’s Office of Rights and Responsibilities

1

Number of formal complaints filed as a result of those sexual harassment cases

create a permanent space on campus for a sexual assault centre with constant and sustainable funding. The motion also requested mandatory sensitivity training programs for security, counseling and development staff, and other faculty or staff who would wish to participate.

“The administration hasn’t received any communication regarding the discussion and endorsement at the CSU Council meeting, but the issue will be looked into,” university spokesperson Chris Mota wrote in an email.

“It was clear to us that the student union understood that it’s a responsibility of the university to ensure a safer campus for everybody, for all students. It was important to get that passed and to have that clearly stated and we were very happy at the unanimity of the vote as well.

reporting cases of harassment or assault (the two are conflated in the annual report and Concordia policy).

Mugyenyi compared the number of cases at Concordia to those at the University of Alberta, which has a student population of 29,100, an established sexual assault centre and, according to Mugyenyi, around 200 cases of reported sexual assault every year. A 2001 survey of University of Alberta students stated that 21 per cent of respondents reported at least one unwanted sexual experience in their lives.

A 2004 Statistics Canada survey found approximately 512,200 Canadians aged 15 and older had been the victims of a sexual assault in the 12 months preceding the survey. That is equivalent to 1,977 incidents of sexual assault per 100,000 people aged 15 and older.

Independent councillor

For full byelection coverage, go to theconcordian.com.

Tuesday, October 18, 2011

Follow us on Twitter: @TheConcordian Continued from cover

Electoral violations risk setting a dangerous precedent: former ASFA CEO appointment of the CEO was a valid appointment, and whether the CEO should continue in his duties for the rest of the year.

“I filed this contestation with great concern regarding ASFA’s electoral system, a system I helped improve last year as CEO by making many recommendations to Annex A,” said Cuillerier on Monday night.

Another violation committed early in the polling period was the failure to ensure that executive summaries were present at all polling stations. These short paragraphs describing the candidates were ordered to be visible at all stations by the previous ASFA council last April.

Cidamon immediately rectified the case of the missing executive summaries upon notification from Laforest on Oct. 12.

As for Devlin’s hiring, Cidamon maintained on Saturday evening that it was his “prerogative” to hire who he wanted to work at the polls, and that he would take full responsibility for violating ASFA’s Annex A, a 10-page document that details how ASFA elections are to be carried out.

“I feel it would be almost crazy if I didn’t hire her. If anyone knows how to run an election, it’s her,” he said, claiming that members of the judicial committee were well aware of Devlin’s hiring, but said nothing at the time.

The judicial committee declined the Concordian’s request for comment.

Given that the JC already allegedly knew of Devlin’s hiring but remained silent on the issue, Cidamon said he only sent the request for investigation to the JC because “somebody complained” to ASFA’s executive.

Not yet appointed by council

According to Annex A, the CEO must be appointed by ASFA council, though this has yet to actually happen. At its September meeting, council mandated the internal and administration committee to appoint an interim CEO until this selection could be ratified at the Oct. 13 council meeting.

The committee originally selected Paul Goubko, who is also ineligible to act as CEO because he is a former member association executive and ASFA councillor. Upon realizing this, the committee soon replaced Goubko with Cidamon, a former member association CEO. But the decision was never ratified at last Thursday’s council meeting as originally planned, with Laforest explaining that the vote was postponed because the meeting was taking place at Loyola while Cidamon was still at the downtown campus counting ballots.

“We felt he had to be at the meeting,” said Laforest. “But technically he is still a legitimate CEO. The idea is that between council meetings, oversight committees have the power of council. Our decision just has to be re-approved by council.”

In an email sent shortly after midnight on Tuesday, ASFA’s chair informed councillors that the ratification of the CEO’s appointment would take place at a special council meeting scheduled for this Thursday.

Asked whether his committee was now reconsidering its choice of Cidamon given the alleged violations, Laforest said the decision to take Cidamon on as a permanent

CEO now lies with council.

The version of Annex A currently posted on ASFA’s website is outdated, stemming from council’s December meeting. When asked if Cidamon had consulted this document rather than the updated version, which was approved in April, Laforest confirmed that he had indeed gone over the most recent version of the Annex with Cidamon during CEO training in late September.

Waiting for the results There were also some other stipulations in Annex A that may or may not have been respected, depending on the interpretation. For instance, the document indicates that the polling period must run over three consecutive days. The recent byelection only ran for two days.

“We struggled with that one a lot. The three consecutive days applies to general elections, but it doesn’t explicitly say byelections,” said Laforest, indicating that this is something he is hoping to clear up this year.

“I will be meeting with the administration and internal committee as well as policy review to go over and revise the electoral proceedings of ASFA, from hiring electoral officers to the actual administering of the election,” said Laforest. “ASFA is getting bigger and becoming more complex, so we need to stop relying on convention and have tighter, more explicit, legislation.”

Another stipulation in the Annex says that the CEO must announce the results of the election

within 24 hours after the counting of the ballots, although it doesn’t specifically say how the results must be announced.

In Cidamon’s case, Laforest said he “understood” that the CEO had emailed the candidates and student media with the results, but was unsure if the results had actually been posted by the CEO to a platform accessible to the general public.

“We kind of let him do his own thing. We wanted to respect his chronology and let him count all the ballots,” said Laforest.

Cidamon explained that he texted the candidates with the results, and later emailed them. He also emailed the results to members of the student press, but only after this information had been requested.

“To be honest, I wouldn’t have even given you guys the results if you hadn’t asked,” said Cidamon.

Contacted on Friday, ASFA president Alex Gordon said he “had taken a step back from the elections,” allowing Cidamon and the polling officers to run the byelection.

“As far as the validity of the process, we try to follow by the book as much as possible. If there were any violations or problems, we would have to look at them as an executive. The proper venue might be the JC,” said Gordon.

“But I don’t think these violations are on the same level of seriousness as a candidate’s violations.”

As it stands, the winners of the byelection are Alexis Suzuki for VP communications and promotions, Paul Jerajian for VP external and sustainability, and Yasmeen Zahar for independent councillor.

lecture

The web can’t bring people together to fight HIV/AIDS: documentarist Alex Juhasz expresses mixed feelings on using digital media for activism Alyssa Tremblay Assistant news editor

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n our tech-driven world, the key to HIV/AIDS activism still lies in the human body, according to film director and activist Dr. Alexandra Juhasz, who came to Concordia last Thursday as part of the university’s ongoing community lecture series on HIV/ AIDS. “Something happens that’s absolutely imperative for activism in real rooms where people feel things together,” she said, inviting the audience to let their thoughts wander during her lecture “Remembering AIDS Online: Networking, Viruses, Virality, and Arteries,” which analysed the advantages and the shortcomings

of the web as a medium for AIDS documentaries and activism.

Juhasz, who has a doctorate in cinema studies from NYU and teaches media studies at Pitzer College in Los Angeles, performed rather than presented her hour-long slideshow of documentary clips and text, occasionally reading aloud quotations from other activists in between gaps of dramatic silence.

However, it was in the Q&A session that Juhasz expressed her real frustrations with using the Internet as a medium for activism, calling it “an unimaginably vast and incredibly powerful resource to bring things together — but not people.”

“I showed you clips of things that are not made to be shown as clips,” said Juhasz, agreeing with one

audience member’s complaints that HIV/AIDS documentaries lose effect when viewed in parts, criticizing her own digitally-based presentation for not accurately expressing the complex emotions that these videos should provoke in viewers.

According to Juhasz, the problem is that online information is typically consumed by individuals sitting alone in front of a computer, clicking too rapidly to allow for the deeper thought or emotion to occur. In order to achieve this, she said that people need to interact body-to-body in marches and protests, rather than in sterile environments like online discussion boards or YouTube comments.

She did praise the Internet for helping filmmakers expose their works to a much larger global audience.

“Digital documentaries allow links and movement across boundaries of time and space and material,” said

Juhasz.

Because HIV/AIDS documentaries often double as memorials for those featured in them who later die of the virus, uploading these videos to the Internet also serves to archive the memory of those who have been lost.

Juhasz’s lecture was sponsored in part by the Fine Arts Student Alliance and is the first of four upcoming lectures in the 19th annual community lecture series presented by HIV/ AIDS Concordia, which also offers a six-credit course on HIV/AIDS for students.

Lecture series coordinator Elvira Parent explained that the guest speakers take the topic of HIV/AIDS “out of the classroom.”

“It allows us to meet with people who are in the field every day, either living with HIV/AIDS or working with people who have it,” said Parent. “In our academic lives, that’s not something we get to do every day.”

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Nation in brief Jacqueline Di Bartolomeo

Preschoolers included in newADHD guidelines

The American Academy of Pediatrics is expanding the accepted diagnosis age for ADHD to include children as young as four and adolescents as old as 18, the Gazette reported. Critics are worried that children will be prescribed unnecessary drugs with potentially serious side effects. The academy released an updated version of their guidelines this weekend, replacing the previous decade-old guidelines which limited the age for ADHD diagnosis to children aged six to 12. The report emphasized that behavioural therapy should be the first treatment option for preschoolers. Critics argue busy doctors will ignore the caution not to go to drugs as the first treatment option ADHD is the most frequently diagnosed behavioural disorder for children.

Anti-abortion vigils are not for academic credit

A Winnipeg Catholic school principal is on paid leave after planning to give students academic credit for attending abortion protests. According to the Winnipeg Free Press, principal David Hood of Christ the King School wanted attending prayer vigils organized by the Campaign Life Coalition to count as part of students’ community service requirement. The school’s board of directors stated the school would not be involved in anti-abortion vigils in any way, saying that participation was a family decision. The school offers classes for students from kindergarten through grade eight.

You’re hired, Mr. Smith

Job applicants with English-sounding names are favoured by employers compared to those with Chinese, Indian or Greek names, the Vancouver Sun reported. A Metropolis BC study sent identical resumes to employers in Vancouver, Montreal and Toronto.

Resumes with English names on them were 35 per cent more likely to receive a callback. Canadian employers are concerned that those with immigrant-sounding names might not sufficient English language skills, the researchers said. They also think there is ethnic discrimination at play, since callback rates did not vary even if a CV emphasized fluency in English. The researchers recommended recruiters call the applicant if they are concerned about language skills and mask the names on CVs before making interview decisions.

Centenarian runs marathon British citizen Fauja Singh is the first centenarian to ever complete a marathon. He finished Toronto’s waterfront marathon on Sunday evening with a time of eight hours, 11 minutes and 5.9 seconds, according to the CBC. Singh set a record in 2003 in the 90-plus age category after finishing a race in five hours, 40 minutes and one second.

Singh, who was born in India in April 1911, took up running after his wife and child died two decades ago. He runs to raise money for local charities.

At 5’8”, Singh weighs 115 pounds, eats mainly toast and curry, drinks tea, and is in better shape than you.

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theconcordian

Tuesday, October 18, 2011

World in brief Quebec receives a chunk of research

Jacqueline Di Bartolomeo

Accidental baby swap discovered 12 years late

Canadian research grants

It’s a parent’s worst nightmare come true: finding out the child you are raising is actually the result of a swap at the hospital. Two families in Kopeisk, Russia are suing a hospital for five million roubles ($158,300) after discovering their daughters had in fact been given the wrong name tags in the maternity ward, the BBC reported.

When ex-husband of mother Yuliya Belyaeva refused to pay alimony for their daughter on the grounds that she did not resemble him, they ordered DNA tests which revealed the girl was not related to either parent. Too much time has passed since the incident for the families to legally be able to press criminal charges. Neither child wants to leave their home, but will visit their biological parents from time to time.

Putin the scuba-diver

A Vladimir Putin-led diving expedition which resulted in the discovery of two Greek urns earlier this week is being ridiculed by the Russian independent media as yet another photo op for the Russian prime minister. According to the Guardian, Putin found two amphorae while scuba diving on the floor of the Black Sea and was praised for his findings by the state-controlled media. A sarcastic editorial from the Novaya Gazeta newspaper pointed out that Putin was diving at a depth of two metres in a place archaeologists had been combing for two years. Critics hypothesized the urns were planted there for the prime minister to find in an attempt to boost his popularity before elections in December and March.

Impressive, this story is

The people at the root of modern language probably spoke like Yoda, according to a recent study published by two linguists. Merritt Ruhlen and Murray Gell-Mann, co-directors of the Santa Fe Institute Program on the Evolution of Human Languages, used a language family tree to trace the relationships between languages of the world. They a language spoken by an East African people is the common source of the more than 2,000 modern languages in existence, CBS reported.

That original tongue used a different word order than English - instead of saying “I like you” they would say “I you like,” a pattern similar to that of the diminutive green Jedi master.

The researchers also found a pattern in how words are re-ordered as languages branch off and evolve, but are unsure why such changes occur.

She must be new here A New Mexico woman has been arrested and charged with criminal solicitation after asking to buy weed on Craigslist. According to the Toronto Sun, 29-year-old Anamicka Dave posted an ad in the “casual encounters” section which said that she was new to Albuquerque and “looking for Mary Jane.” Officers posing as sellers arranged to meet her through text messages and arrested her in a parking lot. The police sergeant expressed his surprise that someone would actually advertise for weed online.

Senator larry Smith announced laSt week a number of new canada reSearch chairS, including Seven for concordia. photo by writer

Senator Larry Smith makes announcement at Concordia’s EV Sarah Deshaies Chief copy editor

Q

uebec universities are the recipients of 50 new Canada Research Chairs, a sizable chunk of the 253 federally-sponsored research grants awarded across the country. The total cost of the funding is just under $204 million, of which Quebec will get 30 per cent.

Concordia University played host to the announcement on Oct. 12, with Conservative senator and former Alouettes president Larry Smith and Chad Gaffield, chair of the CRC program steering committee, speaking on the 11th floor of the EV building.

“Over the past 11 years, the Canada Research Chair program has become a cornerstone of national strategy to make Canada one of the world’s top countries in research and development. It has given an incredible boost to researchers at every part of this country,” said Concordia president Frederick Lowy.

Concordia was awarded seven CRCs, with McGill winning 24, Université de Montréal receiving 12, Université du Québec à Montréal receiving six, and École Polytechnique receiving one.

After researchers are nominated, experts from around the world consider each one.

The new CRCs at Concordia cover a variety of research topics, running the gamut from investi-

gating how players react to video games, to creating new tools to treat cancer, to better understanding the autism spectrum.

One of the CRCs awarded to Concordia went to Zachary Patterson, a professor in the geography and planning department. His focus is on how transportation can shape how we use land.

“We’re pretty conscious of the important relationships between transportation and land use, how transportation structures land use, and there are many different levels to that in terms of sustainability,” he said after the announcement.

Patterson and his students are also examining the relationship of the implementation of metros, and the gentrification of neighbourhoods.

Marta Cerruti, an engineering researcher at McGill, received the CRC in bio-synthetic interfaces.

Her research will hopefully lead to a better way for implants to interact with peoples’ bodies. It could benefit people with tumours or bone fractures, she said.

“Scaffolds are implants that can be used to seed and house cells. And then the idea of the scaffolds is that we modify the surface of this material so that they can speak the same language of the body,” explained Cerruti after the announcement. “And then the idea is that this kind of interactive interface makes the body regenerate itself, and finally, hopefully, once this has happened, the material will degrade.”

campus

ASFA steps it up in fight against tuition Council approves two-part motion to involve arts and science students Sofia Gay Arts editor

T

he Arts and Science Federation of Associations has stepped up its involvement in its fight against tuition after passing a two-part motion at its Oct. 13 council meeting.

The motion, put forward by Charlie Brenchley, the community outreach coordinator for the School of Community and Public Affairs Student Association, stipulates that ASFA will support the tuition fee campaign the CSU is waging and will hold a special general assembly sometime in the week before the Nov. 10 mass student demonstration against tuition hikes. The assembly will inform and mobilize students about the event and how they can best participate in it.

CSU VP external Chad Walcott made a presentation prior to the motions where he discussed the student union’s campaign against tuition increases, including last September’s demonstration when over 1,000 red bal-

loons were released in the Hall building. CSU president Lex Gill also attended the council meeting to speak on the subject.

“Personally, I think Chad is doing an amazing job with the tuition fight, and I didn’t put forth this motion, but I really support it,” said ASFA president Alex Gordon. “I think that it’s a great way to help mobilize arts and science students, and get them fully backing the CSU and the school as a whole [...] when it comes to fighting tuition. So I’m all for it.”

While a date for the SGM has not yet been set, once the decision is made students will be able to find more details on ASFA’s website and on Facebook, as well as through student associations.

Member association budgets were not presented at the meeting because ASFA’s fee levy funds were only received on Thursday morning. ASFA will vote on the budgets at a special council meeting this Thursday.

The next regular ASFA council meeting takes place on Nov. 10.

Tuesday, October 18, 2011

Follow us on Twitter: @TheConcordian

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campus

BoG cancellation reason ‘vague’: student reps Wednesday’s meeting cancelled due to ‘potential quorum issues’ Jacques Gallant Editor-in-chief The cancellation of this Wednesday’s Board of Governors meeting has student representatives searching for a concrete reason, while the administration has remained vague about the decision.

An Oct. 7 email sent to all governors by Danielle Tessier, director of board and senate administration, indicated that the Oct. 20 meeting had been cancelled “due to potential quorum issues.”

The news of the cancellation was only officially communicated to the wider campus community in an Oct. 12 email from Tessier’s assistant Evelyne Loo, who never specified the reason. When asked in a follow-up email from the Concordian, Loo responded that she didn’t know why the meeting had been cancelled,

but confirmed that the next regularly scheduled meeting on Nov. 17 would still be taking place.

According to university spokesperson Chris Mota, quorum for BoG meetings is 21, and the board is required to hold a minimum of five meetings during the academic year. She said that it was not unusual for at least one meeting a year to be cancelled.

Unsatisfied with the administration’s official answer, graduate student governor Erik Chevrier inquired further, and on Monday was told by Tessier that it looked like a number of governors couldn’t attend, though she never specified that number. She also reminded Chevrier that there are currently four vacancies on the BoG. “I found out that the recommendation was made by her to the chair and the Executive committee to cancel the meeting,” said Chevrier.

“I also asked her if it was mostly members of certain constituencies that couldn’t make it, but she said that was not relevant to the question of quorum.”

Concordia Student Union president and undergraduate governor Lex Gill, who sits on the Executive committee, wrote in an email that she was not consulted on the decision to cancel the meeting, but indicated that she had been unable

to attend the committee’s most recent meeting.

Chevrier is awaiting his chance to present a motion to the BoG to increase transparency at the university’s highest governing body. The motion calls for, among other things, a question and answer period at the end of each BoG meeting, increased seating in the actual BoG meeting room, and permission for media such as CUTV to broadcast meetings live.

There was no time to discuss the motion at the September board meeting, and now due to the Oct. 20 meeting being cancelled, Chevrier’s motion has been pushed even further down the calendar to November.

Chevrier sent a tweaked version of the motion on Monday to the BoG’s Executive committee in the hopes of having discussion on the updated version added to the November meeting’s agenda. The modified motion was unanimously adopted at the Graduate Students’ Association Oct. 14 council meeting.

The new motion quotes several key passages from the external governance review committee’s report, a document that the Board of Governors has said it is committed to respecting. New items in the motion include calling on the board to follow the EGRC’s recommendation to place

closed sessions at the end of the meeting. The closed session was held at the beginning of the Sept. 28 meeting, lasting for about 20 minutes.

The now cancelled Oct. 20 meeting was set to be the first BoG meeting to take place since undergraduate student representation on the board was voted to be decreased from four to one. That particular vote sparked outrage among students during the heated Sept. 28 meeting, where 27 governors voted through a secret ballot in support of diminishing the number of student governors.

Undergraduate governor AJ West wrote in an email on Monday that despite requests made by all four undergraduate representatives, none have yet to receive a clear answer as to why it was seen as reasonable for successive governance committees to recommend shrinking student representation on the BoG. “Moving forward, we plan to formally request an explanation as to why some factions on the Board were weighed more when choosing the numbers,” he wrote. “We don’t need another lecture about how everyone is losing representation — they’re ignoring the question, which continues to be, ‘Why are we losing proportional representation?’”

politics

Montrealers hopeful for NDP in the midst of leadership race Passing of Jack Layton in August left some concerned Joseph E. Leger Contributor

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he death this past summer of NDP leader Jack Layton, whose force of character drove the party’s record success during the last federal election, has left many questioning how his loss will impact the NDP’s popularity.

“It’s going to have a big impact,” said Dylan Watson, a Vancouver native currently working in Montreal. “He was a very personable character and was very warm and friendly.”

Watson went on to say he thinks the current leadership campaign will create a power struggle within the party, resulting in a loss of public support.

Sylvia Poulin, an editor with a Montreal publishing house, thinks people need to give the NDP more time before coming to any conclusions. “I don’t think it’s going to change much right away. I think they’ll [Quebecers] give them a chance, because there wasn’t just Jack Layton in the party.”

A recent Nanos Research poll, completed for the Globe and Mail and CTV, suggests Poulin’s assessment may in fact be correct.

The poll, conducted between Sept. 25 and Oct. 2, shows a 4.1 point drop in Canada-wide NDP support, from 33.1 per cent to 29 per cent. An earlier poll, taken shortly after Layton’s death, saw a 6.3 per cent spike in NDP popularity between August and September 2011, from 26.8 per cent to 33.1 per cent.

Meanwhile, Quebec remains the largest NDP stronghold with 48.9 per cent support in August.

Poulin also added that she feels the NDP’s recent surge of popularity is “a flash in a pan.”

“It’s my opinion that the party will lose its popularity with the loss of Layton, but I also think we may be surprised,” she said.

The NDP leadership race officially kicked off on Sept. 15, with an election scheduled for March 24. There are presently five registered candidates for the NDP leadership race: Paul Dewar, Thomas Mulcair, Romeo Saganash, Martin Singh, and Brian Topp.

Topp and Mulcair are regarded as the most likely candidates to take over as party leader.

Brian Topp, the current NDP president who declared his intentions to run for party leader in September, has extensive political experience, but has never been elected to public office.

Thomas Mulcair announced his candidacy last Thursday and is an experienced campaigner and debater, as well as being widely considered the face of the NDP in Quebec.

But do Topp or Mulcair have what it takes to continue what Jack Layton started?

“It’s too early for me to tell,” said Ivan Vasilinin, a student at Marianopolis College.

“Each one of them has their own strengths, but I can’t tell you if anybody is suited for the part.”

Montrealer Jose Withmer acknowledged it isn’t going to be easy replacing Layton.

“Jack Layton was big, he was a great man with a big vision and I hope someone is going to fulfill his vision,” said Withmer. “We will never have another Jack Layton.”

Claire Massari, who works as a medical writer in Montreal, admitted she didn’t know much about Topp, but was less than impressed with Mulcair.

“This is for me personally, it’s just my opinion,” said Massari. “[But] I don’t get carried away when Mulcair is speaking. It doesn’t have the same effect that Jack did.”

Nonetheless, Massari remains optimistic.

“Quebecers are really counting on the NDP to help them through, so if there is someone who can sort of get them going again, I think they have a good chance,” she said.

thomaS mulcair announced hiS candidacy bid at a packed community centre in hiS riding of outremont on oct. 13. mulcair will be running againSt five other hopefulS, including ndp preSident brian topp, who iS the other top contender predicted to win the march 24 vote. topp boaStS endorSementS from ndp heavy hitterS Such aS former party leader ed broadbent, former SaSkatchewan ndp premier roy romanow, and deputy party leader libby davieS, and iS alSo being backed by the united SteelworkerS, canada’S largeSt private Sector union. mulcair haS So far garnered endorSementS from a greater number of ndp mpS, but they are moStly inexperienced. mulcair will alSo need to recruit more people to the party aS Quebec only haS a few thouSand regiStered memberS, deSpite holding 59 of the ndp’S 102 SeatS in the houSe of commonS.

6

theconcordian

Tuesday, October 18, 2011

conference

Indignez-Vous! conference billed as alternative to government agenda Two-day event will bring different Quebec groups together to hash out progressive solutions Kalina Laframboise Contributor The upcoming INDIGNEZ-VOUS! HOPE IN RESISTANCE conference is focused on providing an alternative to the Conservative government’s agenda, according to Maude Barlow, the national chairperson of the Council of Canadians.

“We are very keen to build a closer working relationship between progressive forces in Quebec and the rest of Canada, so that together we can move forward with an alternative vision for all,” she said. “The people of Quebec clearly identified themselves as progressive in the last election and we need to build on this momentum together.”

The council hopes to address the social injustices and inequalities Canadians face on a daily basis at the conference taking place on

Oct. 21-22 at the Marriott Chateau Champlain Hotel.

Held in collaboration with several Quebec and First Nations organizations, as well as student and labour groups, the two-day event is slated to tackle various issues that affect Canadians and Quebecers alike with an emphasis put on building solutions through a progressive movement.

Panels will focus on protecting democracy, equality, the environment, public services and civil liberties with social change on national and provincial levels. One of the many issues emphasized is the growing gap between the rich and poor, which goes hand in hand with the Occupy movement currently in motion.

The council has officially declared their support for the demonstrations, which has people across the world rallying to voice concerns over issues such as corporate greed and financial inequality.

“I am thrilled that our conference is taking place so soon after the launch of the Occupy World movement and we will be marching to the Montreal site several times and providing support and solidarity there,” explained Barlow. “We join this movement in saying

author and activiSt

maude barlow iS national chairperSon of the council of canadianS.

that workers, students, retired people and the unemployed should not have to carry the burden and pay the price for a crisis made by the private sector, for the benefit of the private sector and aided and abetted by most governments around the world.”

Barlow extended the invitation to Concor-

dia University students, emphasizing that all students are welcome to attend the conference.

A free public forum will take place Friday, Oct. 21 from 7 to 9:30 p.m.

For more information about the conference, visit www.canadians.org/about/AGM/

campus

QPIRG ended last fiscal year with a net loss Members draft financial statements and vote in new board at AGM

lot of hard work, but it’s also many times a pleasure,” wrote QPIRG Concordia staff members Noah Eidelman, Ashley Fortier and Jaggi Singh in the organization’s report. “We look forward to building on a successful 2010-11 in

the coming 2011-12 year.”

QPIRG members also voted to pass five amendments to their constitution, including one which will allow the fee levy group more control over referendum procedures.

The changes are available to read online at qpirgconcordia.org.

QPIRG’S 2010-2011 annual report is expected to be posted online in its entirety sometime this week.

Alyssa Tremblay Assistant news editor For the second fiscal year in a row, Quebec Public Interest Research Group Concordia is projecting a net loss, according to statements presented at their annual general meeting on Oct. 13.

In their unaudited draft financial documents for the last fiscal year, which spans from Oct. 2010 to Aug. 2011, QPIRG Concordia predict they will be in the red to the tune of almost $11,000. Last year’s 2009-2010 annual report listed a net loss of $8,784.

“A number of the expenses for our core projects, including for our two main publications (School Schmool and Convergence), was spent in the summer while much of our fundraising revenue for these projects is only received in the fall,” said Ashley Fortier, QPIRG’s administrative co-ordinator. Fortier explained the loss “will be accounted for in the coming year’s budget.”

QPIRG Concordia also elected their new board of directors at last week’s meeting, attended by around 70 people, including roughly 30 Concordia students. Members voted in six students and six external community members to serve on the board for 2011-12.

This year’s board is made up of eight new and four re-elected directors. QPIRG staff member Jaggi Singh praised the mix of old and new faces because it “ensures continuity in the organization” and also allows for new ideas and perspectives.

Singh described this year’s election as “competitive” with seven students vying for the six available positions on the board, a trend that he’s noted over the last three years.

The next month will be spent training QPIRG’s new board, teaching them how to run a non-profit organization and learn about QPIRG Concordia’s long history as a centre for research and grassroots activism dating back to the 1980s.

“Working at QPIRG is challenging, and a

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Tuesday, October 18, 2011

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7

#occupymtl

Montreal occupies ‘People’s Square’ Occupy movement brings out 1,000 protesters

(CUP) - Montrealers have been arriving in peaceful droves since Saturday to protest financial inequality and injustice, and bring the Occupy Wall Street movement to the city’s Victoria Square or, as it may now be known, the People’s Square.

Occupy Montreal was one of 15 protests held across Canada on Oct. 15 that emulate the OWS movement in New York City’s Zuccotti Park, which is in its sixth week. As Zuccotti Park is in the heart of Manhattan’s financial district, Victoria Square is a small, tree-filled green space in the midst of the towering Montreal Stock Exchange and several banking and corporate buildings.

While people began arriving and setting up on Saturday morning, the name change passed as a resolution at the general assembly held that afternoon. Jaggi Singh, a local activist, proposed the change as an effort to “decolonialize” Montreal, as the square was originally named after British monarch Queen Victoria.

The general assembly, the sixth in a series that began a few weeks ago, voted on a few resolutions. One speaker admitted that “democracy is complex; direct democracy even more so.” The GA passed a motion to set up two subcommittees: one to decide on individual actions conducive to the OWS movement, the other to suggest collective actions.

William-Jacomo Beauchemin, a philosophy student at Université du Québec à Montréal, helped run the meeting and felt that the first GA of Occupy Montreal had gone well, though he admitted that the meeting could have run more smoothly.

“We’ll improve our methods of collective decision making, and that’s how we’ll make decisions and move forward,” said Beauchemin.

Nevertheless, a few hundred took up a peaceful march while the subcommittees met.

With the police blocking off streets, the march wound up to Ste-Catherine St., a main artery for Montreal’s downtown shopping district, and continued west, ending at Concordia University.

The event was largely peaceful, drawing out a mix of individuals and groups: students, senior citizens and families with young children, as well as anarchist groups, Decolonize Montreal, immigrant rights groups, and labour groups like Canadian Union of Public Employees and McGill University Non-Academic Certified Association.

Like other OWS protests, there was no chief organizing body or one leader. A few volunteers helped grease the wheels, like Zena Antabli, a social science and mathematics student at CEGEP de Saint-Laurent, who spent the day scurrying around with a megaphone, organizing different services, and later facilitating the large GA. “We helped organize the event,” she said.

“But today, there are so many people now coming out of nowhere offering to bring food or get a tent. [...] They want to get involved because they believe in change.”

Occupy Montreal had a lively atmosphere with live music, child-friendly activities, and a “département de bouffe” table where food dropped off by volunteers was handed out.

Ben Stewart-Smith, a writer, baked 12 loaves of Irish sourdough bread to bring to the demonstration when he came to meet up with his friends.

“Largely the reason I’m here is because I like

“

“

Sarah Deshaies CUP Quebec bureau chief

montrealerS proteSted againSt corporate greed, among other iSSueS. photo by navneet pall

There are so many people now coming out of nowhere offering to bring food or get a tent. [...] They want to get involved because they believe in change. - Zena Antabli

to see public space being used for public use, as opposed to existing as pre-conceived notion of neutral space,” he said. “So something like this brings a human element back to design in the middle of downtown in a way, and it’s probably also the first time they’ve had a group of people outside the financial sector.”

Montreal police spokesperson Daniel Lacoursière said Sunday afternoon that no major incidents had taken place at the demonstration so far.

Protesters intend to continue to occupy Victoria Square, and GA meetings have been scheduled for every single day of the occupation.

Photo by Chris Hanna

Photos by Navneet Pall

8

theconcordian

Tuesday, October 18, 2011 health

Needle exchange program cut from Head and Hands Meanwhile, Quebec will open safe injection sites

H

ead and Hands, a clinic and social services organization for youth aged 18-25, has scrapped its Streetwork needle exchange program in Notre-Dame-de-Grace, potentially leaving hundreds of users in the west end without clean needles and other forms of support.

Juniper Belshaw, fundraising and development co-ordinator, said that the organization was told by Montreal’s Directeur de santé publique last August that the $75,000 required to fund the two programs had been slashed from their budget. Other organizations also lost their funding in the round of budget cuts, said Belshaw.

A spokesperson from public health confirmed the cuts, saying they were ultimately made for budget reasons, though the results are unfortunate.

By Aug. 19, Streetwork closed down, leaving the two street workers out of a job and potentially hundreds of people without their services, which includes referrals to counselling and other services.

“

the harmful risks of drug consumption without requiring users to abstain. With needle exchange programs like Head and Hands’, street workers are mobile, visiting clients at their apartments, metros, parks and the street. Whereas safe injection sites are stationary, and users can safely shoot up and receive medical attention and other resources, without the fear of being arrested for violating drug laws.

Groups have been anticipating the announcement of more safe injection sites across the country since the Supreme Court of Canada granted on Oct. 1 an exemption to allow InSite, a Vancouver safe injection site, to remain open in spite of federal drug laws. The ruling has left the possibility for safe injection sites to pop up without problem in the rest of the country.

Speaking in an interview less than a week before Bolduc’s announcement, Marianne Tonnelier, director-general of Cactus, said that her organization was looking to set up a safe injection site before the end of the year and was working on a request for an exemption.

Dr. Julie Bruneau, a researcher in drug addiction at Centre hospitalier de l’Université de Montréal,

“

Sarah Deshaies Chief copy editor

We need an array of services for those who are hard to reach. This is one of the many services that can help with that.

- Dr. Julie Bruneau, drug addiction researcher

“I like to think of these street workers as these harm reduction fairies,” said Belshaw. “At Head and Hands, we work with a harm reduction approach, which has a lot to do with meeting people where they’re at. […] If someone is having sex, we want to talk about how to have safer sex. If someone’s using drugs, we want to say, ‘Hey, here’s some information about how to smoke more safely, how to inject more safely.’”

The workers distributed 360 needles, 64 crack pipes and over 6,700 condoms between March and July of this year, and touched base with nearly 700 new contacts.

Ironically, while Head and Hands has had to cut its needle exchange program, it has gone public just over a week after it was announced that a provincial pilot project will see the launch of two safe injection sites. Health minister Yves Bolduc said he had consulted and will work with needle exchange services Cactus and Point de Repères to set up safe injection sites in Montreal and Quebec City.

Both needle exchange programs and safe injection sites are based on the “harm reduction” model, which attempts to reduce

was one of those who welcomed the announcement of the sites.

“We need an array of services for those who are hard to reach.

This is one of the many services that can help with that,” she said.

A survey a few years ago estimated the number of drug users on the Island of Montreal at between 10,000 and 15,000 people. But, said Bruneau, each city is different when it comes to drug use patterns. Montreal, unlike Vancouver, does not have a concentrated group of drug users in one place. It may be that there will be more than one safe injection site in Montreal, potentially helping the users who received support from Streetwork out in the western part of the island, she suggested.

But Belshaw still hopes to begin another needle exchange program, this time by seeking out diverse sources of funding instead of relying on one government source. There has almost always been a form of the service in the 40 years that Head and Hands has been operating, she said.

“I think what we’re really focusing on right now is the impact this has on our clients, and the way that we can bring this service back,” said Belshaw.

thiS SharpS collector, a container for the diSpoSal of needleS, iS part of the Street worker’S kit.

By Jeffey Hutchings

SCIENCE COLLEGE PUBLIC LECTURE SERIES Canada is an ocean nation with the longest coastline in the world. By law, ocean life belongs only to society. This level of stewardship carries with it a horrendous burden and responsibility of international leadership in the protection, conservation, and sustainable exploitation of marine biodiversity. It is crucial to ascertain how fisheries and aquaculture affected Canadaʼs past and present ocean life and what is the consequence of climate change it in the future?

Biological depredation of waters bordered by the worldʼs longest coastline ultimately reflects ineffectual leadership and disingenuous commitment to environmental sustainability. The speaker will discuss what will motivate Canada to shift from laggard to leader in sustaining marine biodiversity?

I N F O R M AT I O N : 51 4 - 8 4 8 - 2 4 2 4 E X T . 2 5 9 5 TH E SCIEN CE CO LLEG E O FFER S A PRO G R AM M E F O R G I F T E D A N D M O T I V AT E D S C I E N C E S T U D E N T S .

life

Tuesday, October 18, 2011

9

Write to the editor: life@theconcordian.com alcohol

If you’re going to drink, do it right The skinny on your favourite alcoholic beverages Marissa Miller Copy editor

A

student walks into a bar.

No, this is not my lame opening joke. This is reality for the multitude of students who binge drink weekly and suffer the consequences on their waistlines.

Binge drinking is characterized by consuming five drinks in one sitting for men, and four drinks for women, an activity that McGill sociology and communications student Sydney Alexander is no stranger to three times a week.

Besides the drunken texts, dreaded skullcrushing hangover, Alexander fears that the calories in her drinks and late-night stops for poutine caused by decreased inhibitions will lead to weight gain. “[I will] never [have] fruity drinks. I’ll drink beer, but I mostly go for white wine, or vodka soda or just shots with lime,” Alexander said as she described what she believes to be healthy options.

In a scholarly analysis, Harry G. Levine, a PhD in sociology, discovered that there are four distinctive categories that compose the American outlook on drinking. Each was manifested in a certain socio-political era of American history, though none have dissipated from our current practices.

Drunkenness, the first and more serious of the characteristics, permeates all throughout our modern culture, and never used to be stigmatized in colonial America.

“Alcohol did not permanently disable the will; it was not addicting, and habitual drunkenness was not regarded as a disease,” Levine found.

Come the early 19th century, reports of alcohol addiction began to skyrocket exponentially. Now, more than ever, moderate drinking needs to become part of our vocabulary if we want to stop mental and physical degeneration in their tracks.

The following beverages are your best picks, and they are to be enjoyed responsibly.

Throw back a couple Anchor Porter beers, at 209 calories or a McEwans Scotch Ale at

295 calories per 12-ounce serving, and you’re better off with a three-course meal.

Calories are most satiating when chewed, not sipped. Conveniently enough, health specialists recommend that you pair your drink with food to aid in alcoholic absorption.

“Alcohol itself increases acid secretion in the stomach and that can make you feel nauseous. Having food in your stomach will help minimize impact of that acid, and will help buffer the effect of alcohol,” Aaron White, an assistant research professor in psychiatry at Duke University Medical Center in Durham, North Carolina told MSNBC.

Beers under 100 calories Per 12 oz. serving Budweiser select 55 – 55 calories Molson 67 – 67 calories PaBst extra light – 67 calories anheuser Busch natural light - 95 calories Now that we’ve covered the brews, it’s time to talk about the fruity drinks. Bethenny Frankel, one of the original housewives from The Real Housewives of New York, recently lost a ton of her baby weight, which she credits to drinking smartly. She was featured on The Ellen DeGeneres Show boasting her 100 calorie Skinnygirl Cocktail beverages, which contain blends of wine and spirits to attract more women to the alcohol company Beam, that for 216 years, mainly targeted men.

However, this company’s archaic and sexist marketing strategy is not to be ignored.

Now, with approximately 555,000 men and 365,000 women dying of heart attacks each year, some attributed to alcohol’s excessive sugar content, it is time for both genders to step up to the cup.

You don’t have to be in post-baby weight status like Bethenny to try out these skinny recipes, you just have to straight up, no chaser, be ready to turn your belligerent drinkscapades into nights your body won’t hate you for.

Flavourings are calorie bombs that people drop in their drinks mindlessly. If you’re too tipsy or enamoured by the blue-eyed stallion or leggy fox in front of you, who even cares what sugary flavour it is? Luckily, these recipes won’t force you to sacrifice health for taste.

Graphic by Valerie Brunet

If you’re stuck in the mindset that it’s better to consume excess sugar calories than to substitute them for equally tasty diet alternatives that contain aspartame, think again. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has tested aspartame in 200 studies over a span of three decades, and has determined the chemical to be completely safe. So let’s go ahead and skinnify our drinks with it.

snow white skinny sangria

Mini Margarita

1 bottle Chardonnay (the lightest of the whites) - 90 calories per 4 oz.

1 litre Diet Sprite – 0 calories ½ cup orange juice (make sure it says “juice” on the carton, as opposed to “beverage.”) – 55 calories ¼ cup vodka – 128 calories Thinly sliced oranges and peaches, and a handful of raspberries and blueberries for added fibre.

Pour contents in a large pitcher and refrigerate for at least 2 hours. Serve and enjoy.

2 oz. Tequila – 128 calories Splash of orange juice – 10 calories ¼ cup Spice Exchange Sugar-Free Raspberry Margarita Mix (0 calories) or Acai White Peach Papaya Crystal Light mixed with water (0 Calories) Lime juice Combine all ingredients with crushed ice in a shaker. Shake well and strain into a glass.

Skip the salt-crusted rim and top it off with an actual fresh strawberry or frozen grape, instead of a sugar-saturated maraschino cherry.

Virtually any cocktail can be thinned down a notch if you pair the spirit with a waist-friendly flavour. With a traditional 8 oz. Margarita costing you up to 600 calories, it’s a mystery how some people can still celebrate donning the tackiest of sombreros.

“Tequila is actually not bad, sugar-wise,” says Cloe Rubinfeld, a bartender at Chez Serge on St-Laurent and Typhoon Lounge on Monkland. “Margaritas made fresh and obviously easy on the syrup are a good choice.”

No one says you have to adhere to the same cocktail-cutter templates over and over again. Get crafty at the counter and customize your own cocktail using these skinny tips.

Olivia Kelner, a bartender at Fats on SteCatherine, advises to start by choosing lighter liquor as a base.

“The higher the alcohol proof, the higher there are calories, so 100 proof is 50 per cent alcohol, versus 80 proof which is 40 per cent for vodka, for example,” Kelner explains.

“The 100 proof has more calories.”

To jazz up the flavour, Rubinfeld suggests whipping up some vodka shaken and muddled with fresh lime, blueberries, cucumber, and lemon.

“Using Stevia as a sugar replacement is the best option, by mixing it with water and adding it to the cocktail,” she says. “It’s an all-natural sweetener that’s way better than any other option.

You can buy boxes with single serving sachets at almost any grocer.”

Remember dudes, a glass of red wine or a couple beers a day won’t kill you. It’s the increase in hunger after downing a pitcher that will lead you to the nearest La Belle Province that will come back to bite you.

“Another good tip is to try to adjust your daily caloric intake, for example, if you know you’re going to have a couple of drinks that night, and try skipping dessert to compensate for the calories you’re going to consume,” suggests Carol Haberman, a registered dietitian who studied family relations and applied nutrition at the University of Guelph.

Despite having started off university with not the healthiest of habits, Alexander leaves us with wise insight to sip on.

“If you’re seriously trying to lose weight, drinking is stupid altogether. Now that I’m just maintaining [my weight], I just try to go for those lighter options and chew gum so I don’t eat late-night poutine.”

Cheers to that.

Photo by Amanda Laprade

10

theconcordian

Tuesday, October 18, 2011

DaNcE

From the newsroom to the dance floor A former Gazette editor gave it all up to follow a dream in tango Paula Rivas Life editor I was walking my dog through Girouard Park on Sherbrooke St. in NDG on a sunny day when I noticed that near the dog park, at an opening that looked like a little dance floor in the park, there were about a dozen people paired up who seemed to be dancing tango.

The music was unmistakably tango music; there was the sweet sultry sound of the violin and the low mysterious bass followed by the piano.

The people appeared to be watching one couple, a blond woman and a Latino man, make their way towards the centre. “These must be the leaders of the pack,” I whispered to my dog.

The man then placed his hand elegantly on the woman’s upper back. She extended her long leg, and her tango heels began to tease the floor in circular motions as if slowly stirring coffee. The man, his back straight as a wall, then began to take fast, long walking strides and she followed as if they moved as one, so poised and in unison. With every flick of the foot, the woman commanded attention.

This performance left the other people on the dance floor speechless, including myself.

My dog’s jaw probably even dropped. Everyone around the couple seemed to just linger there awkwardly for a moment like teenagers at a school prom. When the main couple stopped dancing, everyone clapped. From that moment on I knew I had to find out the story behind this “Tango in the Park” that caught my eye so unexpectedly.

It turns out that “Tango in the Park” is one of many events that the dance school MonTango creates to offer free tango classes and spark an interest in tango. MonTango is conveniently located directly across the street from the park, on Sherbrooke St., so naturally I couldn’t resist the temptation to talk to them.

I sat down at a cafe to speak to the owners, the couple who danced at the park, Wolfgang Alatrista and Andrea Shepherd. I learned that Alatrista (known as Wolf), was born in Argentina and raised in Peru, and he grew up dancing. On his arrival to Montreal, he began to excel at tango. In 2001, he started going to La Tangueria, a Montreal tango studio where he perfected his technique. Since then, he started leading classes, attending tango events,

and he worked as co-ordinator of the Société Culturelle Argentine Québec Canada. In 2003, at La Tangueria, he met the love of his life, Andrea Shepherd.

I found Shepherd’s story to be particularly fascinating. Shepherd grew up dancing as well and studied translation at Concordia. At the age of 19, she landed a career at the Gazette where she worked her way up from clerical work to the editorial IT department, helping with page layout, before finally spending six years as a copy editor.

“I worked there for a really long time, so I felt like part of a family, part of a team,” she said.

Through contacts at the Gazette, Shepherd even got a job teaching desktop publishing in Concordia’s journalism department.

During her last years working for the Gazette, print journalism became a rapidly shrinking industry. The Gazette started to downsize, leaving employees with low morale, unsure about the direction their jobs would take. The Gazette started offering buyout packages, and Andrea took it.

At age 38, Andrea left her 19-year career at the Gazette to pursue her passion for dance and open up her very own tango school with her partner in both dance and in life, Wolf.

“Mostly I was following a dream, pure and simple. Wolf and I just figured it was our one and only shot at the dream, so we better go for it. And we did. And we have no regrets,” Shepherd said.

She admitted that owning her own tango school is not always easy. “It’s scary to manage financially without that regular paycheque. Sometimes there’s a lot coming in, sometimes very little,” Shepherd said. “But I’m also a lot happier. I liked my job before, but now I feel I’m doing what I was born to do. Dance is my passion.”

“Whether I’m teaching or performing, I like sharing my art with others, but it also is therapeutic, in the work I do in my own body, to the music, and in the connection with my partner,” she said.

When I attended one of the Tuesday classes, I watched a class of about 20 people, with students of ages ranging from their 20s to their 50s, join together on the hardwood dance floor at MonTango. There was a very cozy vibe present. The students all looked like they were having fun as they swayed to the soothing tango beats.

Taking part in the swaying was Pedro Avella, a McGill communications student. Avella explained to me how dancing tango is such an art, where you have to dance directly from the

andrea and wolf were driven By their Passion for tango. Photos By navneet Pall

heart. He chuckled, saying, “I love dancing tango. It is so elegant.”

Another student, Louise Overy, has been dancing for two years with her husband Guy Richard at MonTango and said she loves every minute of it. “For me, tango is calming and it lets me be free.” She also said it helped her with her balance and posture.

For the people that still feel intimidated (as I was) when watching tango professionals fly through the dance floor like a spinning dreidel, Wolf has some encouraging words: “If you can walk you can dance, and that is

especially true when it comes to Argentine tango,” he said. “A dance should feel as easy and pleasurable as a stroll around the dance floor, which in turn should be as easy and pleasurable as a walk in the park.”

Wolf and Andrea are incredibly proud of MonTango, a dance school that truly shows that it takes two to tango, but it takes one bold move to make a dream a reality.

For more information on MonTango, 5588A Sherbrooke St. W., visit their website www. montango.ca or call 514-486-5588.

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199,999

Tuesday, October 18, 2011

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11

fooD

Kono: traditional pizza with a twist With cone-shaped pizza, this restaurant gives a whole new meaning to ‘food on the go’ Alex Giubelli Contributor

I

f there is one meal that we thought couldn’t be reinvented, it’s pizza. Even if pizzerias seem to have thousands and thousands of toppings it is always the same round and greasy thing in the end.

If, like me, you are tired of the boring traditional pizza and all the calories that come with it, I have the perfect solution for you.

Kono Pizza, located on Ste-Catherine St. near Concordia’s downtown campus, offers the changes you need.

Created in 2002 by the renowned Italian culinary master Rossano Boscolo, Kono Pizza is a unique project of its kind. The ‘Pizza da Passeggio’ (walk-away pizza) in the form of a cone, is the result of advanced studies and research both of a culinary nature and in terms of technological innovation.

As soon as you walk through the door you can feel the influence of Kono’s Italian heritage.

The white walls and pale floor contrast with the bright red accessories, creating a young, modern setting which gives you the impression of sitting in a lounge, not a pizzeria.

There are a few tables spread around the narrow shop if you decide to stay. You can even sit in the small mezzanine, which gives you a good view of the entire restaurant. But if you feel

more relaxed and don’t want to sit at the regular tables, there are plenty of comfortable, stylish sofas for you to choose from.

If this is your first time, don’t worry, the staff will eagerly explain the menu to you in detail and even offer some recommendations.

The menu is really simple, offering four types of pizza cones.

First, there are breakfast cones (typical egg, bacon, cheese) if you go in the morning.

Then the regular pizza cones are pizza classics (such as margherita, pepperoni, pesto), deli cones, which have a certain Italian flair to them (including ingredients such as prosciutto, italian cold cuts, and olives.), and sweet cones, if you have space left for dessert that is. For the dessert cones you can can choose from ingredients such as fresh fruit fillings, yogurt or custard, or rich Nutella.

The menu is simple and easy to understand, maybe a little too simple, as it might seem that the choices are really limited. Five types of pizzas and only four choices of meats, but Kono Pizza vary the options intelligently by changing the combinations per pizza.

If you are a meat lover, then I recommend the Carni pizza (made with tomato sauce, cheese, sausage and bacon), as it is filled from the bottom up with delicious melted cheese and mouth-watering meats. If you are vegetarian, there’s the Vegetarino pizza (made with tomato sauce, cheese and different kinds of vegetables).

Each pizza is approximately $6, which is a bit expensive for the size of the cone. However, if you take the trio at $10 (including a cone, a dessert or a salad and something to drink), then it really is worth it. I certainly couldn’t have eaten anymore when I was done.

For the people watching what they are

try soMe futuristic Pizza with a fresh italian twist at kono. Photo By caMille nerant eating, it is good to know that nothing is fried and that everything is cooked in the oven from fresh, not frozen. The total amount of calories per pizza cone is only 250! Even if you are not counting those calories, you will still enjoy Kono Pizza for its excellent taste and fresh ingredients which really make an incredible meal.

Though I was very impressed by Kono Pizza, their location isn’t the best as they are right next to La Belle Province and a McDonald’s.

This could explain why the restaurant is mostly empty at rush hours.

Overall, if you are in a hurry or just want to hang out with friends, I highly recommend that you check it out. The atmosphere, tasty food and interesting concept will make you forget about the hamburgers and poutine next door.

Kono Pizza is located at 1446 Ste-Catherine St. W. Open every day.

Did you know… …that you can apply NOW for the 2011-2012

Undergraduate In-Course Bursary Program!

The online In-Course Bursary application is now available on the MyConcordia Portal.

The Concordia University Foundation, along with various corporations, private individuals, and alumni, contribute funding to the In-Course Bursary program, which is restricted to Undergraduate students in Bachelor’s programs in their second year of studies or higher. All candidates must be in acceptable academic standing with a Last Annual GPA of at least 2.00.

For further information, consult the online In-Course Bursary application which is available through the MyConcordia Portal, or visit the Financial Aid and Awards Office website at http://financialaid.concordia.ca To apply for the Undergraduate In-Course Bursary Program, log on to your MyConcordia Portal account, then follow the Financial > Financial Aid links to the web applications section.

Students already receiving an Entrance Scholarship, Entrance Bursary, In-Course Scholarship, or In-Course Bursary at Concordia University for the 2011-2012 school year are not eligible to apply for the In-Course Bursary program.

Applications will be considered in late November 2011 and candidates will be notified in December by letter.

APPLICATION DEADLINE: Sunday October 16 2011 at midnight Apply today! Don’t delay!

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theconcordian

Tuesday, October 18, 2011

sorority

Becoming a sorority girl One student’s journey into the true colours of the Delta Phi Epsilon Shai El-Ghazaly Contributor

nce you start university, it becomes essential to socialize in order to cope with the long lectures, endless reading and the occasional but inevitable all-night study sessions. Many people decide to join school organizations or sports teams, but have you ever thought about being part of a sorority or a fraternity?

We’ve all been fed stereotypes about sororities and fraternities from movies. They’re typically portrayed as well-kept rich girls and drunk muscular jocks doing keg stands. Truth is, the public perception is tainted by negative media coverage of what the Greek life is all about. I’ll admit it; I had no intention of becoming another perky in pink Elle Woods. But after running into one of the Delta Phi Epsilon sorority girls, I realized that I had no idea what they’re all about and I decided to give it a shot.

The sorority holds recruitment events twice a year, in September and in January. I ended up finding out that the depicted image of sororities in Hollywood is far from real. I was welcomed by an amazing group of down-to-earth women who made me feel comfortable at every step.

Sitting in a room playing get-to-know-each-other games and smacking up a piñata were the last things I expected to be doing during my first recruitment event.

Nervous smiles filled the room as I looked around and anticipated the moment I had to speak up. The girls were passing around a sombrero and once it landed on you, you had to answer two questions about yourself. There were uncertain looks on many of the faces in the room as each one of us tried to make a positive first impression.

By the end of the night, all the girls were laughing and enjoying themselves. In another event, we went on an unplanned scavenger hunt. The thrill of the competition gave me a rush of adrenaline as we crossed challenges off the list. The sisters spent a lot of effort trying to get to know us and being incredibly sweet during these events. As the rest of the events went on, I started learning more about the sorority and I knew that my decision to join was worthwhile.

Delta Phi Epsilon is an international sorority, meaning there are different chapters in Canada and the United States. They hold many philanthropic events to support different organizations

and charities. The main two organizations that they regularly support are the National Association of Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders and the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation.

One of their annual events is called Pie-ADeepher, literally. Among other things, people get to throw pies at members of the Delta Phi. Having a pie thrown at your face is not exactly something you imagine a Hollywood-sorority girl would be willing to do. Aside from the fun of it, it is all for a good cause as proceeds from this event are donated to Anorexia and bulimia Quebec. People who attend are informed by the sisters about the cause.

Just to give you guys a little history, Delta Phi Epsilon was founded by five women from the New York University Law School on March 17, 1917. It is a sorority that started small, but grew substantially over the years, and by 1922 the first Canadian chapter was installed at McGill.

Delta Phi Epsilon now holds a staggering 50,000 members with chapters stretching throughout the United States and Canada.

The morals and values they still hold true are to “promote good fellowship among the women students among the various colleges in the country...to create a secret society composed of these women based upon their good moral character, regardless of nationality or creed...to have distinct chapters at various colleges...” with the motto Esse Quam Videri: to be rather than to seem to be.

“Joining Delta Phi Epsilon has helped me become a more well-rounded woman. It gives me the opportunity to do a variety of charity

“

“

O

Graphic by Maya Pankalla

Joining Delta Phi Epsilon has helped me become a more well-rounded woman. It gives me the opportunity to do a variety of charity work and meet new people.

- Amy Frost, president of the Delta Phi Edison sorority at Concordia

work and meet new people,” said Amy Frost, president of the Delta Phi Epsilon sorority at Concordia.

There is more. This sorority is not for slackers. In order to be part of Delta Phi and remain an active member of it, you must maintain a GPA of at least 2.25. The sorority cares about your academic success and if you start slacking off, they will no doubt point you back in the right direction.

Don’t get me wrong – there are still parties and mixers that the sorority partakes in (and they are so much fun). However, contrary to popular belief, they have a strict no-hazing policy. Being an international sorority, they have a reputation to uphold and drunken girls are definitely not a part of it.

A prominent question that was constantly on my mind during the pledging process was how exactly do the sisters pick the girls. The answer is quite simple: the selection process is mutual.

If you like them, and you show interest in being one of them, which means attending the event and helping out, they will like you too. Although that seemed quite genuine to me, I was still nervous about it. I kept wondering if they were ever going to pass judgement on me, but they never did. It turns out that you don’t have to be pretty,

blond and skinny. They do not discriminate.

There is no specific criteria to become a member and no limit to the amount of girls chosen.

Aside from having fun, there are many advantages of being part of a sorority. You are bound to make a solid group of friends that will always have your back. If you’re looking to get involved but you don’t want to be tied down to one cause, a sorority is a great way to do so.

“This sorority has been my family away from home and I have made friends for life,” Frost said.

Being in a sorority is also a fantastic way to expand your networking connections and they do come in handy. One day you might want some amazing internship position and chances are one of the older sisters can help you get it.

One more upside of being part of a sorority like Delta Phi is that it could help you build leadership skills once you have a position within the sorority.

By giving the sorority a chance I gained an experience that will last a lifetime. While I have no desire in turning into a House Bunny anytime in the near future, I found a place where I belong. This is all to say that you should be open-minded and not stick to stereotypes; who knows, maybe you will end up liking it.

EXCELLENCE WITHIN YOUR REACH MCGILL OPEN HOUSE 2011

SUNDAY, OCTOBER 23 M.D.,C.M. Program Info Session @ 12:00 McIntyre Medical Building (1200 Pine Avenue West)

Application Deadline for M.D.,C.M. Program November 1, 2011

www.mcgill.ca/medadmissions www.mcgill.ca/openhouse

arts

Tuesday, October 18, 2011

13

Write to the editor: arts@theconcordian.com TheaTre

Exploring new forms of storytelling Concordia theatre’s The Explorer mixes a doomed Arctic quest with a Greek myth Elysha Del Giusto-Enos Contirbutor “I’m glad it’s going to be cool out for the show, because it just wouldn’t feel right in the summertime,” jokes Jennifer Cressey, production dramaturge for the Concordia theatre department’s upcoming show The Explorer. Cressey has been working on the play since the spring, but its director, Cathia Pagotto, began almost a year ago. “[Pagotto is] steering the ship,” says Cressey.

“But she periodically opens up the process and takes new ideas in, new material in, then she pulls it back and fine tunes it. [...] The vision is hers but there are contributions coming from across the board.”

Pagotto has been exploring methods of collaborating on visual narratives for a decade, and brings this experience to the students and the production.

Dialogue is sparse in a play where the style has been inspired by dance and silent films, but Cressey says, “when you take the words away you realize how much energy you can put in the other things. [The play] is very beautiful and

moving.”

The Explorer unfolds along two axes that come to intersect. On one, there’s the true story of Sir John Franklin’s doomed 1845 expedition to chart a route through the Arctic. England funded the journey hoping that it would link Europe with the west coast of the Americas and Asia.

Franklin intended to be in the Canadian Arctic for three years, but he and his crew of 24 officers and 110 men disappeared after only their first. Little confirmation of what happened to them has ever been found.

The second storyline involves the mythical northern creatures, the Hyperboreans. Their civilization is the product of Greek myth. Where they live, Hyperborea, is a paradise. The Greeks even believed that the god Apollo would spend his winters there. In Hyperborea the sun is always out and there is no aging, illness, or conflict.

The student collective of designers, collaborators, and actors have brought Franklin’s doomed voyage into this paradise of Greek myth. But through that meeting of worlds, the fate of the Hyperboreans’ utopia was changed.

“The reason they’re using the 19th century is because that’s a time before scientific answers were found to a lot of the questions,” says Cressey. “A lot of the scientific theories around the Arctic were a little outlandish [...] because it was unmapped and because it was unknown.”

Hindsight makes the reality Franklin faced clearer, but at the time, people believed the fanta-

a stuDent coLLective brings frankLin’s DoomeD voyage into this ParaDise of greek myth. sies about what existed in the Arctic.

The Explorer is a play which Cressey says uses this 19th century veneer to “always come back to the idea that [the Arctic] is a place of the imagination, where an alternate story is offered about Franklin’s expedition.”

Concordia has a history of producing interesting, creative, and moving pieces of theatre, but often the Montreal community, and even the Concordia community, are unaware that these shows are even taking place.

“It’s a problem that’s endemic of any theatre community in Canada,” says Cressey. “How do you do the work, develop the relationships, promote the work, and keep the people coming out

without pandering - and keep it exciting?”

While Concordia may struggle to promote the work emerging from its theatre department, Pagotto and her student collective have succeeded in creating an exciting and uncompromising piece of theatre.

“People interested in art, fine art, and interdisciplinary art will especially enjoy this show,” says Cressey based on The Explorer’s non-text based narrative. But, “everyone will enjoy it because it’s very beautiful and very moving.”

The Explorer is being performed Oct. 20 to 23 at the F.C. Smith Auditorium on the Loyola campus. Student tickets are $5.

visual arTs

It’s all in a day’s work ConU prof snags Quebec nomination for Sobey Art Award Sofia Gay Arts editor In Canada, to be nominated for a Sobey Art Award is the pinnacle of recognition in the national arts community for visual artists.

The award, created in 2002 by the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia, rewards the work of contemporary Canadian artists who are 40 years of age and under. The winning artists this year, Daniel Young and Christian Giroux (representing Ontario) received $50,000, and all the finalists received $5,000 each.

This year’s finalist for the Quebec region was none other than Montreal resident and Concordia photography professor Manon De Pauw.

“I feel very lucky that I was nominated because I’m aware that there are so many good artists across Canada,” said De Pauw.

“And just being able to be in contact with the gallery staff, curators, technicians, of the gallery of Nova Scotia was a really, really good experience, and I think any one of the five nominated artists on the shortlist could have won.”

The award splits Canada into five regions, and a chosen curator for each region must submit five names to the jury in Halifax for the long list. The jury then chooses one finalist from each region for the shortlist. This year, the chosen curator for Quebec was Gaë-

tane Verna, the executive director and chief curator of the Musée d’art de Joliette, who included De Pauw in the list.

A Concordia graduate from the studio arts program, De Pauw does not limit herself to just one medium, and her creations include video, photography and performance.

“It’s really an interdisciplinary process, so there’s not really one medium I use the most,” she said. “I think with my hands, so I guess my hands [are] the medium I use the most.”

It is with that same hands-on spirit that she describes what she considers the most rewarding moments of her career so far.

“My favourite moment is just working in the studio and collaborating with other artists, and just doing my job. I like going to galas and vernissages, but really what I enjoy the most is just doing my work,” she shared.

“And what’s the most rewarding is actually when you’re in the studio and something works out, and you know that it’s going to be good art. And you’ve done your research and you’re experimenting, and suddenly things happen and you get the result you want.”

With using different mediums also comes differing experiences in terms of exhibiting.

De Pauw explained that there is a contrast between her performances and regular museum exhibits.

“Doing performance is more on the edge, because when you do an exhibition, you control all of the elements—the lighting, where you put everything in the space. Unless something goes wrong with some form of equipment, it’s there,” she said. “If I’m happy

De Pauw’s L’aPPrentie no. 3 from her coLLection at musée nationaL Des beaux-arts Du Québec. with the result I’m not nervous, but when I do perform there’s always a part of improvisation, so anything can happen, in a sense.

I’m nervous but it’s also very exhilarating, because there is a really unique contact with the public, and this idea that something happens only once.”

Next up for De Pauw is some welldeserved time off, where she will work on various projects and take care of her newborn child.

Among these projects is an exhibition at

the Canadian Cultural Centre in Paris, which will run next year, showing works from a show she held at Galerie de l’UQAM in 2009.

For now, De Pauw is happy to have been nominated for the Sobey Art Award, and the opportunities it brings, such as meeting the other finalists.

“There was a really nice camaraderie feeling when I met the artists,” she said. “For me, that’s very precious. The human part of our professional function as artists is really important.”

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Tuesday, October 18, 2011 film

theconcordian

And now for some Thing inhuman Latest installment of The Thing reincarnates human-mimicking alien Rebecca Ugolini Staff writer Candid photographs, old home videos, voice recordings: most people have experienced the eerie double-self British playwright Samuel Beckett describes when he says, “I say me, knowing all the while that it’s not me.”

Under the guise of terrorism, religious indoctrination, or cultural assimilation, personal identity is an issue that pervades much of modern culture, from serious news coverage to editorial cartoons.

It’s also one which Tony (XidiouX), webmaster of fansite Outpost #31, sees reflected in the symbolism of a gape-mouthed, many-tentacled alien undergoing its third movie incarnation in Matthijs van Heijningen Jr.’s October release The Thing.

Based off John W. Campbell’s science-fiction novella Who Goes There? and modeled as a prequel to John Carpenter’s 1982 release of The Thing, Heijningen’s film tells the tale of a group of Norwegian and American scientists who travel to Antarctica to study a frozen alien specimen, realizing all too late that it is still alive.

Thawing from the ice, the ambiguouslyshaped monster devours crew members with its many-toothed mouth—then mimics human genes and appearance, and lives among the staff, waiting for another chance to strike and spread again.

Paranoia, fear and suspicion mount in the research cabins, as determining which of the remaining members are truly human transgresses the bounds of mere appearances.

“Everyone, at some point in their lives, has had this experience,” Tony wrote from the U.K. “They look at their hands and they seem entirely alien.”

“Everyone also realizes that the biological processes upon which they depend will betray them,” he continued. “The separation between

the mental and the physical, and the doom of the mental due to the physical, is writ large in The Thing.”

“The really fundamental underlying question never explicitly stated in Carpenter’s movie,” Tony remarked, “is this: How would I know if I was the Thing?”

It’s a question addressed in Heijningen’s new movie by Mary Elizabeth Winstead’s character Dr. Kate Lloyd, the scientist who leads the investigation at the cabin to single out and eliminate infected researchers. Ironically, it is human nature itself which introduces rivalry, suspicion and tragedy.

Although Carpenter’s 1982 film made fitting use of the terror and psychological madness of Campbell’s original novella, it received backlash as a gore-happy remake of the 1951 Hawks and Nyby camp classic The Thing from Another World.

“I take every failure hard,” Carpenter once

said in interview, “and the one I took hardest was The Thing. It was hated even by science-fiction fans. They thought I had betrayed some kind of trust…”

Tony explained that when Carpenter’s movie came out, critics didn’t get it. They “called it a ‘video nasty,’” Tony explained. “But the truth is, if you join together all the effect sequences, they would last about 10 minutes total. But time is a great healer. There has since been a complete critical re-evaluation of Carpenter’s movie, and many consider it the best sci-fi horror movie of all time.”

Heijningen works closely with the keen sense of psychological terror present in Campbell’s work, as well as with the fantastic balance between special effects and suspense that was Carpenter’s trademark, to create a movie that is terrifying, nerve-wracking and intelligent.

“Carpenter’s movie

perfectly encapsulated the fear of the ‘other,’ and the fear of one’s own body,” says Tony, “and it was not deliberately allegorical, but at the time it was closely associated with the nascent, terrible medical condition we now know as AIDS.” “The parallels were striking: you got ‘infected’ in the dark, the scenario of Carpenter’s movie was all-male,” he continued, “and you could be proven as one of ‘them’ with a blood test.”

Like Carpenter’s movie in his time, Heijningen’s also speaks to the great psychological terrors of the past decade: terrorism, privacy invasion, and loss of human identity amid technological advancement.

“Any work of art that makes a serious attempt to tackle the human condition must have a component of what we might call horror,” Tony says, “and as long as there is a reason to fear the ‘other’, The Thing will be socially relevant and applicable.”

Graphic by Sean Kershaw

comedy

You can have your eggs and eat them too Improv may be hard, but the performers made it seem like a piece of cake Sofia Gay Arts editor

W

ith nothing but a bare stage, it was a bit hard at first to imagine how the performers at the Montreal Improv Festival could possibly make the audience feel like they were anywhere other than that room last Friday.

Happily, all the performers proved to be more than capable for the task. Comedy duo Venezuela started off the night, speaking in their own gibberish language (a hybrid of French, English, Italian, and words of their own device).

While they were entertaining, it may have paid off better to keep silent, as the made-up language did little more than buzz incomprehensibly in one’s ears after a while.

However, the visuals of their performance, helped largely by their miming skills, compensated for the auditory shortcoming. Oh, to think of all the things they accomplished with nothing but silly hunting hats and a rubber hot dog.

Winnipeg group Outside Joke was next up and they performed what they called an “antimusical,” made effective by the group members’ fine-tuned vocals. Going off the audience’s

suggestion of slaughterhouse (after asking them for the last place they’d want to go on a first date) they put on a multi-scene skit, complete with annoying picketers and a bestiality joke, to a hilarious effect.

Last up was Toronto duo Kris Siddiqi and Marcel St. Pierre’s Egg Zeppelin. The set-up (easily the most elaborate of the night) consisted of just a small counter with food and a hot plate, and another small table with two chairs. That, it turned out, was all they needed to make the audience feel as if they were sitting in a greasy spoon off the highway.

The show was conceived from St. Pierre and his wife’s wish to open an actual diner back in the day. “And then I realized running a diner is actually a lot of really hard work,” said St. Pierre.

“And because I do improv, I was looking for a show for myself to do and it just developed out of that.”

The performers definitely get the best from both worlds, as they cook a full all-day breakfast with every show, which they serve to their guests. Friday was no exception, as the smell of sizzling bacon made its way from the hot plate to the welcoming noses of every audience member.

Going off the audience suggestions of

“poutine” and “someone’s childhood story about falling through ice into the freezing water underneath,” the show gave audience members’ smiling muscles a rigorous workout with the jokes sprinkled along the performers’ conversation, as they slipped easily into the roles of diner workers Dude and Man. Improv is a hard thing to master, and it was

astounding how Siddiqi and St. Pierre were able to keep the ball rolling, touching on everything from the language debate to the ridiculously high sugar content in a serving of Fruitopia. So what is it that draws comedians to this form?

“It’s the spontaneity of it, and it’s just whatever you say you’re responsible for right away,” said St. Pierre. “I think it’s an adrenaline rush.”

besiDes serving the Laughs, egg ZePPeLin cookeD breakfast on stage. Photo by writer.

Follow us on Twitter: @TheConcordian

Tuesday, October 18, 2011

15

workshop

If this is your first night, you have to fight Actors hone their dramatic skills with weekly Actors Fight Club Tara Brockwell Contributor

D

on’t expect to hone your stage combat skills nor be inspired by a Tyler Durdenesque character while attending a Montreal Actors Fight Club meeting.

The only relation this club has to the film is the gusto displayed amongst its members and a strict adherence to a certain set of rules – non Project Mayhem-related.

The first rule of the club: leave your ego at the door. The second rule of the club: leave your ego at the door.

“People get so caught up with themselves in this business,” said Vince Benvenuto, Actors Fight Club president and Concordia theatre graduate. “It’s not about us, it’s about the story. The audience either believes it or they don’t.”

The Actors Fight Club tries to ensure the latter never happens.

They are a group of passionate actors and actresses, ranging in age from 20 to 55, who gather every Wednesday in a rented lot on St-Laurent Boulevard to work out their acting muscles and provide each other with observational critique in a safe and warm environment away from the eyes of the casting directors who hire them.

“A boxer’s not going to get in the ring and say ‘I haven’t been in the gym for a whole two months,’” said Benvenuto. “Before, they fought with their trainer and sparred with other fighters

because it revved them up and got their muscles ready for what was to come.”

Members are expected to show up, memorize lines in pairs with a short monologue, and audition for a scene to present in front of the club. After the actors have showcased their piece, the real fight may begin.

Members turn into emboldened spectators whose goal is to help the performer discover exactly what their character is fighting for.

“Let’s say I’m fighting for your love, I’m fighting to get free from a relationship that hurts,” said Actors Fight Club member Marjolaine Lemieux. “If I’m not fighting for it, it’s going to be boring for the audience to watch.”

That fighting philosophy is based on the teachings of acting coach Tom Todoroff who was inspired by another teacher, the late Stella Adler. Adler coined the phrase “To be an actor is to be a fighter.” She also founded reputed acting academies in New York City and Los Angeles whose alumni include the likes of Mar-

Graphic by Carlo Tudino

lon Brando and Robert De Niro.

Actors Fight Club members can learn these battling principles for a small price. In a world where acting workshops average over a hundred dollars a pop, five dollars to attend one session of the Montreal Actors Fight Club is a steal—so much so that Benvenuto doesn’t mind taking money out of his own pocket to cover the rent of the club’s space when membership fees don’t quite cut it.

“Out of all the money I spent in

it, I made it all back in 10 per cent of the time I’ve invested,” said Benvenuto.

Since starting the club, Benvenuto has received more acting work. He believes the club has made him more “real.” It has also taught members to be more aggressive and branch out and make their ideas come to life.

Club member Nicole Jones was able to sell her idea “City Lites” to CTV. Her segment, which was picked up a year ago, highlights

Montreal’s artists, entertainers and designers. It broadcasts on television twice weekly.

The final rule of the club is: if it’s your first night at Actors Fight Club you have to tell us about yourself. Oh, and you’re allowed to talk to other people about this fight club.

If you’re interested in joining, check out their Facebook page at Actors Fight Club Montreal or email afcmontreal@gmail.com.

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theconcordian

Tuesday, October 18, 2011

TheaTre

The fresh prince of Montreal

The Little Prince offers audiences a purely delightful experience Marilla Steuter-Martin Contributor

I’m sitting in the darkened theatre and the first thing I notice is that there are children in the audience. I glance beside me, behind me, and I can’t keep from smiling when I see the excitement on their little faces. I scan through the director’s note and return my attention to the empty stage. I have no idea what to expect. It starts, and it’s perfectly lovely.

Geordie Productions’ season opener, The Little Prince, adapted from Antoine de SaintExupéry’s book by Luciana Burcheri and directed by Dean Patrick Fleming, brings the whimsical story to life at the Centaur Theatre.

Originally published in 1943, the book has sold more than 80 million copies worldwide, making it one of the best-selling books of all time. Geordie’s synopsis describes it as “a simple story filled with profound messages,” and that is just what it is.

When a crash-landed aviator meets a little prince from a far away planet while stranded in the desert, his life is about to change for good. A story filled with imagination and heart, the miniature hero shares his experiences travelling through space and ultimately, helps the aviator discover what is truly important in life.

Artistic director Dean Patrick Fleming calls it “a beautiful story” which can appeal to all types of audiences. Although sometimes qualified as a children’s show, Fleming feels that The Little Prince has a message anyone can appreciate: “We tell our kids one thing and we do another, and I think this book has always tried to remind people what’s important, and that’s love.”

Considering the state of the world today, he believes every once in a while people need to remember what it feels like to be a child again and “[there isn’t] a better story out there to do that than The Little Prince.”

Multiple adaptations of the popular novella have been created for the stage, but when Luciana Burcheri approached Fleming with her version, he knew immediately he wanted to be involved. They had collaborated well together in the past and, as he said, “her passion was to stay true to the book and that was the most important thing to me.”

The show itself features a versatile ensemble cast who pop in and out, stepping from one role to another with admirable speed. The little prince, played by Daniel Brochu, can only be described as an absolute delight and a pleasure to watch from start to finish. The moment he burst onto the stage, his energy was palpable, and his portrayal effortless.

Fleming commented that he has worked with Brochu before and thinks very highly of his skills. “I’ve known Danny forever. When this project came up, he, to me, was the little

Dean Patrick fLeming is making the stage aDaPtation of the beLoveD chiLDren’s book. prince. There was just no doubt about it,” he said.

In the mounting of this production, Fleming wanted to give the book a starring role and he was very aware of the expectations that audiences would have coming in.

“The images from The Little Prince the book are so iconic,” Fleming said, “that you can’t just go and change something or create

something completely different.” On the whole, the designers at Geordie managed to create a happy medium with visually engaging and colourful scenery, as well as simplistic yet imaginative costuming choices.

The Little Prince is being performed at Centaur Theatre, 453 St-François-Xavier St., on Oct. 22 and 23. Tickets are $16 for students.

cinema poliTica

Drawing the fine line between radicalism and positive change Can an environmental organization be classified as a terrorist group?

Brandon Judd Staff writer It could be said that terrorism was the word of the last decade: nothing evoked memory and emotion quite like it.

But few of us think of environmentalism as a cause that could produce the kind of radicalism we associate with terrorism. The U.S. government, however, thinks it is, proving it when they classified ‘eco-terrorists’ as the greatest domestic threat in the country.

If a Tree Falls: A Story of the Earth Liberation Front traces the story of the most prominent radical environmentalist group through the proxy of Daniel McGowan, who was charged with terrorism after taking part in one of the group’s arson attacks. Through him, our view of this organization and its members becomes simultaneously disillusioned and sympathetic.

Spurred by cues from McGowan’s memory, the film shows, in wisps, the narrative of peaceful environmental protesters transforming into radical Earth Liberation Front arsonists.

Anger over deforestation is amplified by the police force’s protest-breaking tactics, which include point-blank pepper spray to the groin and eyes. Disillusionment with the U.S. Forest Service dissolves faith in working within the system. And the success of radicalism solidifies the movement’s transformation.

The film shows how easy it is to be swept up with radical sects of any ideals-based organization. A small group of hard-line environmentalists decided they were done with talks and non-violent protests after repeated failures. So they picked a target: a Cavel West meat packing plant that processed so many horses, the film says, that the groundwater of the nearby town

was routinely tainted with their blood.

After ELF member Jake Ferguson and his crew burned the building to the ground in a nighttime raid, protesters saw the cold efficiency of militancy. Ferguson’s radical tactics did what decades of letter writing and protests couldn’t: Cavel West was never able to rebuild the facility; it was gone for good.

This is one of many moments in If a Tree Falls where director Marshall Curry uses specific events from the ELF’s history as launching pads for huge ethical questions. At what point does peaceful, democratic resistance reach its limit?

Our faith in its power may be inflated after this year’s extraordinary events, but for every Arab Spring there are dozens if not hundreds of failures.

Is radicalism that can effect this type of seemingly positive change without causing anyone physical harm morally or ethically defensible?

The personal story of McGowan complicates this question. Though he fully admits to the arson, he faces a draconian sentence: life plus 335 years for what amounts to large-scale arson.

The government classified the ELF as a terrorist organization, and thus McGowan is being tried as a terrorist.

This raises another weighty question: is the word terrorism too radical? The line between ideal-motivated arson and terrorism is razor sharp in terms of acts, but in terms of association, objectives and repercussions, it’s a bit more pronounced. Nevertheless, the judge in McGowan’s case invoked a ‘terrorism enhancement,’ meaning McGowan will be labelled a successful federal terror case for the rest of his life.

It’s easy to see this as another example of overreaching laws surrounding the PATRIOT Act. But as the film begins to explain how the ELF worked, its resemblance to a terrorist organization is uncanny. A loose network of dissociated cells operating without a central command or communication structure, it trained its

when Does tree-hugging turn into arson anD other acts of vioLence? members to build improvised explosive devices, construct rock-solid alibis and communicate with a complex cipher. McGowan describes how a book would be chosen for each operation to act as a decoder. Numeric messages would be sent, with each digit corresponding to a specific word somewhere in the book. Not the methods of your average protesters.

But the ELF was responsible for no human deaths, and McGowan’s legal team argues this should exempt him from a grouping with figures like Timothy McVeigh, responsible for the Oklahoma City Bombing in 1995. Defining terrorism does not, however, require the infliction of human harm.

A brief interview clip with an executive from a ELF-targeted lumber company speaks of feeling the need to constantly look over his shoulder after the attack. He and his colleagues installed alarm systems in their homes. Things we never

used to think about, as he characterized it.

Isn’t this what terrorism really is? Inspiring a type of fear in the trusting public, causing them to question the relative faith they put in their fellow person and in their government? It’s hard not to agree with the label, but its ramifications are extreme. McGowan’s crime pales in comparison to other acts we’d call terrorism, but the sentence he faces doesn’t.

The emotionality of If a Tree Falls is astounding. And I don’t mean it’s overwhelming or extreme; it’s multidimensional and, above all, confusing. The film answers few questions and makes even fewer judgements. Rather than trying to persuade or instruct, it forces viewers to consider a host of ethical, legal, political and semantic questions. Active viewing at its best.

If a Tree Falls: A Story of the Earth Liberation Front plays on Oct. 24 at 7 p.m. in H-110.

music

Tuesday, October 18, 2011

17

Write to the editor: music@theconcordian.com profile

The Barr Brothers get fresh with tradition

The Barr BroThers achieve a rusTic, genre-melding sound afTer spending Time aT uncle Tom’s and in Their homemade plaTeau sTudio, known as The “TorTure chamBer.”

Montreal-based band releases an exciting debut album of downto-earth tunes Lindsay Briscoe Staff writer

B

rad Barr was just 19 when he travelled to Oregon to visit his Uncle Ted. Uncle Ted was a painter and blues musician – the black-sheep of the family – and Barr looked up to him.

It was in his uncle’s pile of records that Barr stumbled upon Blind Willie Johnson—some of the best in traditional American gospel and blues, and a source of awe and inspiration to Barr and his band as makers of down-toearth, roots-inspired music.

“It’s almost like you can hear what was about to happen in rock and roll and rhythm and blues, funk and soul,” says Barr. “And it’s just him and his guitar.”

Johnson’s music has the lonesome and haunting depression-era blues sound that brings you to your knees. The Barr Brothers play it with the fire and gusto to put you back on your feet.

Their rendition of Johnson’s “Lord I Just Can’t Keep From Cryin’” is a boot-stomping mix of gospel-infused blues driven by Andrew Barr’s bold and sassy percussion, Andres Vial’s sexy-smooth bass and Brad Barr’s drawling slide guitar. The song made its way onto The Barr Brothers’ self-titled debut album released this September on Secret City Records. It’s the kind of sorrow-melting, gritty blues that begs to be cranked up. If this song doesn’t get you moving, I suggest you check your pulse.

The quartet use their years of experience playing both together and with a range of other bands to make really smart and inspired music. Their album is the perfect example of

how not to get stuck making predictable or genre-specific tunes. Barr talks about he and his brother’s earliest influences, ranging from Chuck Berry to Led Zeppelin and AC/DC to bebop pioneers like Max Roach and Jimmy Raney, and the Grateful Dead, with their tendency to layer genres and perform within an open framework.

“We went through a big Grateful Dead phase,” says Barr. Their understanding of the traditions of their music and knowing how to craft a real down-home, country-music-fromthe-land vibe is “a great departure point for a band.”

The Barr Brothers’ songs like “Beggar in the Morning” with its sweet, meandering introduction, and “Give the Devil Back His Heart” with its multitude of personalities, are fine examples of their knack for writing traditional music with plenty of room for modern, experimental and individual touches.

“We’ve just written the improvisations into the songs,” says Barr.

It’s in the ups and downs, in not always knowing what to expect, that make this album fresh and exciting. On “Deacon’s Son” the band’s harpist (yes, they have a harpist), Sarah Pagé, skillfully melds one of the world’s oldest stringed instruments with the quintessential island percussion sound of the steel drum and makes it work.

Pagé explains that she put toilet paper between the strings to dampen them and then put distortion on the harp to alter its sound.

“You get a couple of different sounds there and you can’t quite ever tell what’s what,” she says. The result is a wild, Afro-beat rock fusion that puts a little hop in your step for days after the first listen.

The Barr Brothers’ homegrown approach seeps not only into their music. Their studio, a demi sous-sol Plateau location, was in its early days what Barr describes with utmost affection as “the dripping, cave, torture chamber-like room.” After a few coats of paint, construction, and a lot of love from the

band it became the place where they learned how to mix and record their own music.

“That whole CD came out of a learning process,” says Barr. “This is real music made by real musicians and we really love doing it.”

The Barr Brothers’ labour of love has created quite the buzz lately. Their first release has been well received by critics, fans and music-surfers lucky enough to stumble upon it online. Some people are calling it the soundtrack to their morning cup of coffee,

and others, one of the best debut albums of the year.

The Barr Brothers make music rich in tradition without losing sight of what people really need in music right now.

Check out The Barr Brothers with The Low Anthem on Oct. 18 at La Tulipe (4530 Papineau). Doors open at 7:30 p.m. and the show starts at 8:30 p.m. Tickets are $15 in advance, or $18 at the door.

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theconcordian

Tuesday, October 18, 2011

mixtape

The easT coasT-wesT coasT rap rivalry is defined by feuds. I’d like to say it’s

for the better, but the sheer volume of the fighting drowns out many of hip hop’s best voices to this day. Not to say that they don’t have their fans; far from it.

But what I’ve tried to compile here is a list of great rappers who rarely participated in public feuding, and stayed relatively clear of the poisonous coastal fighting. The rivalry here is simply about which side of the United States can claim to produce the better rappers. It’s yours to decide.

Side A flies us out to Sacramento to hear the inimitable flow of Blackalicious, before driving down the coast for the cocky intelligence of Oakland’s Hieroglyphics and its many associated acts.

For Side B, we return to the birthplace and mecca of hip hop: New York City. KRSOne and Rakim provide the old school rhymes that started it all, while A Tribe Called Quest and De La Soul push hip hop’s musical style into new territory.

There’s a pretty clear stylistic difference here, which illustrates what each coast has to offer, and does so much better than the gun-play ever did. Enjoy.

Listen here: 8tracks.com/the_concordian/east_west_rap_love

While you were fightin’... we were rappin’ Compiled by Brandon Judd Staff writer

SIDE A: Out West

SIDE B: Back East

1. “Cab Fare” - Hieroglyphics - Hieroglyphics Oldies Vol. 2 2. “Passin’ Me By” - Pharcyde - Bizarre Ride II the Pharcyde 3. “Fear No Evil” - Casual - Hieroglyphics Oldies Vol. 1 4. “A to G” - Blackalicious - Blazing Arrows 5. “What’s Golden” - Jurassic 5 Power in Numbers 6. “Same Ol’ Thing” - Del tha Funky Homosapien - I Wish My Brother George Was Here 7. “Legal Alien” - Freestyle Fellowship - To Whom It May Concern 8. “Keep it True” - Aceyalone feat. Abstract Rude - All Balls Don’t Bounce 9. “Drop” - Pharcyde - Labcabincalifornia 10. “93 ‘Til Infinity” - Souls of Mischief - 93 ‘Til Infinity

11. “Musical Massacre” - Eric B. and Rakim - Follow the Leader 12. “Rhymes Like Dimes” - MF Doom feat. Cucumber Slice - Operation: Doomsday 13. “Shook Ones Pt II.” - Mobb Deep The Infamous 14. “Step into a World” - KRS-One - I Got Next 15. “’95 Freestyle on Stretch and Bobbito” - Big L - Harlem’s Finest 16. “Breakadawn” - De La Soul Buhloone Mindstate 17. “Jazz (We’ve Got it)/Buggin’ Out” - A Tribe Called Quest - The Low End Theory 18. “Vivrant Thing” - Q-Tip - Amplified 19. “Criminology” - Raekwon - Only Built for Cuban Linx 20. “Shadowboxing” - GZA - Liquid Swords

Quick Spins

Retro review

Van Hunt - What Were You Hoping For? (Thirty Tigers/GodlessHotspot; 2011)

M83 - Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming (Mute US, Naïve; 2011)

Cuff the Duke - Morning Comes (Paper Bag Records; 2011)

Joy Division – Unknown Pleasures (Factory Records; 1979)

After being dropped by his previous record label, Blue Note Records, Grammy Awardwinning songwriter Van Hunt has released his first independently-produced, fourth studio album. What Were You Hoping For? paints a portrait of someone wholly and thrillingly free.

Made entirely on his terms, this album sees a departure from Hunt’s signature neo-soul sound into something so eclectic that it almost defies categorization. Blending R&B, funk, soul, psychedelic, new wave, rock and even some country, this album is so raw it’s almost punk in nature. What Were You Hoping For? simultaneously rejects and answers the question that its title poses. Lyrically, Van Hunt is brilliant.

“Designer Jeans” talks about how people wear their prejudices like designer brands, be it sexual identity, politics or religion. This album lacks direction and focus, but its bravery certainly makes up for its shortcomings.

The eagerly anticipated sixth album by M83 is nothing short of an opulent electronic exodus.

It surges and fades relentlessly for 22 songs as Anthony Gonzalez summons the greatest aspects of past works along with intricately crafted original material. Gonzalez’s narcotic pop has a raw drive; the meticulously composed album has synths reaching heights unseen since Jean-Michel Jarre, while drums and guitars prowl gauzy soundscapes beginning with an elegant intro, featuring Zola Jesus. “Raconte-moi une histoire” is a surreal march into a dreamland led by a child’s voice and “Splendor” backs up a beautiful piano piece with M83’s signature reverb-obscured vocals sinking into waves of noise. Still, the album’s lofty electronic maelstrom isn’t for everyone. The unabashed pop coursing through most of the album could be off-putting, but any fan of modern electronic music can appreciate the ecstatic sound and fury of Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming.

The fifth studio album of the Ontario alternative-country band takes a soft melodic approach to dealing with loss and loneliness. Cuff the Duke’s take on country blends it with rock and indie vibes making for an undoubtedly unique sound that even non-country listeners are sure to enjoy. The first of a two-part album, Morning Comes emphasizes the struggles of heartbreak and easily reaches out to those who have experienced the emotional roller coaster of infatuation, romance and loss. From bittersweet and slow songs like “Brightest Part of the Sun” to a more upbeat “Count on Me” to fiery and passionate “Bound To Your Own Vices,” the album captures the range of emotions that often go hand in hand with losing someone.

Any good band can make catchy melodies, but a great band pairs those melodies with lyrics and meaning that sneak in and touch your heart without you even knowing it.

Many bands have managed to create lasting legacies over their careers, but none quite like Joy Division. Unknown Pleasures was the first of only two albums released by the British post-punk outfit before the suicide of singer Ian Curtis in 1980. Although the band was initially unsatisfied with the production of the album, the record came to define their sound. It didn’t reflect the aggressive nature of their live performances, but instead lent a dark, spacey quality to the music.

Many of the songs have a slow, pulsating groove to them, complemented by heavily produced drums, melodic bass lines and sparse guitars.

Curtis’ lyrics are tragic yet beautiful, expressing the pain of dealing with epilepsy as well as hints to his looming suicide. Despite the band’s short life, they inspired legendary acts like U2, and started a post-punk movement that lives on today in groups like Interpol and The Killers, who released a cover of Joy Division’s “Shadowplay” in 2007.

Trial track: “Cross Dresser”

Trial track: “Midnight City”

Trial track: “Time Is Right”

Trial track: “Day of the Lords”

5.0/10

- Paul Traunero

8.5/10

- Patrick Case

8.0/10

- Kalina Laframboise

- Robert Flis

Tuesday, October 18, 2011

Follow us on Twitter: @TheConcordian

19

review

Breakin’ new hearts with old tricks Bob Dylan releases new collaborative album from a briefcase of Hank Williams’ notes Philippe Ostiguy Contributor

W

hen country legend Hank Williams died on his way to perform a concert on New Year’s Eve in 1952, he was carrying a briefcase filled with notes—ideas, thoughts, lyrics. Decades later, when they had become something of a myth, Bob Dylan got his hands on the notes, and decided to complete and record a handful of these songs. The Lost Notebooks of Hank Williams, released Oct. 4, is a fascinating exercise in music, of course, but in ethics also.

Dylan, in the end, contributed only one song to the set, a strong but understated waltz titled, “The Love That Faded.” Because he found the entire project too much to take on — and who wouldn’t? — he instead served as the executive producer, assembling an A-list cast of singer-songwriters to each carry the weight of one song.

To receive lyrics penned by Hank Williams and the task to compose their music from Bob Dylan could very well be the most daunting challenge one could throw at any musician, but one that seems most irresistible. Alan Jackson, who turned in the album’s stand out “You’ve Been Lonesome, Too” (surely the closest we’ll ever get to a new Williams tune), has said collaborating with Dylan himself on an original song was an opportunity he simply couldn’t pass up.

And, coming from a country veteran, that’s understandable. Despite the temptation, some artists passed up the opportunity. Bruce Springsteen and Neil Young were approached but opted not to participate and many praised them for their decision.

Perhaps their reluctance is in part due to the backlash that was felt after British musician Billy Bragg released Mermaid Avenue, a two-volume album (1998 and 2000), using Woody Guthrie’s unpublished lyrics. In fact, even Guthrie’s own daughter was uncomfortable with the idea.

Not everyone is happy about the Williams project either. A Facebook group named “Stop the Desecration of Hank Williams Unfinished Songs” has almost 700 “likes,” with some angered fans likening Sheryl Crow singing Hank Williams to “a

blind man preaching to deaf people,” while others more delicately referred to the work as a “shit sandwich.”

The editorial director of CMT and CMT. com Chet Flippo best summed up the debate when he asked, “If you were a painter and were asked to execute a painting based on a very rudimentary fragment of sketches

by Picasso, would you do that?”

For many, the analogy is as accurate as you can get. Still, the fact of the matter is: we now have a collection of 12 songs, of which some are pretty darn good. Jack White is a solid spokesperson for both Williams’ humour and the 21st century’s musical aesthetics on “You Know I Know,” and Lucinda Williams strikes on “I’m So Happy I Found You” with a startling balance between strength and delicacy.

Does the fact that Williams never approved these songs, or potentially could have bettered them, make them deplorable, or is the creation and transmission of quality music the dominating principle? The list of contributors surely provides Dylan with strong backup; the set features country superstars Merle Haggard, Patty Loveless and Vince Gill, as well as other established musicians like Sheryl Crow and Norah Jones, and Williams’ granddaughter Holly (his son, Hank Jr., provides background vocals).

Both Crow and Jakob Dylan, the music legend’s son, argued their side saying they aimed to write a good song, not a Hank Williams song.

“I wouldn’t be so lofty or arrogant to think I was actually co-writing with Hank Williams,” Dylan told The New York Times.

“This was one way to interpret the lyrics, but I don’t think it defines the song.”

Crow even described her relationship with her lyrics as that of a teacher with their student: “I think whenever you’re playing tennis with John McEnroe, it ups your level a little, so I hope this did something for my own art.”

That’s why, though the debate and project centre on a man whose work I hold very dear to my heart, I ultimately find myself supporting it: it was executed with heart and much effort to honour, of course, but also to share a part of Williams we never knew. That so many artists were passionate about collaborating on an original record inspired by Williams is more concrete a reminder of how powerful and influential his songwriting was than any tribute album could be. There’s just no gettin’ over “Lonesome Hank.”

BoB dylan (aBove) and oThers come TogeTher To puT The laTe hank williams’ words To music.

A DIFFERENT CHOICE FOR YOUR MASTERS. STUDY IN SCOTLAND. Come and meet us in Toronto: Sunday 16 October The Gladstone Hotel 1214 Queen Street West 12-5pm.

Montreal: Saturday 22 October McGill Postgraduate Student Society David Thomson House 3650 McTavish 1- 6pm.

Scholarships available. Register at www.studyinscotland.org.uk/canada

FAITES UN CHOIX DIFFÉRENT POUR VOTRE MAÎTRISE. ÉTUDIEZ EN ÉCOSSE. Venez nous rencontrer à Toronto: le dimanche 16 octobre Gladstone Hotel 1214 Queen Street West de midi à 17 h Montréal: le samedi 22 octobre la McGill Postgraduate Student Society Maison David Thomson 3650 McTavish de 13 h à 18 h.

Des bourses d études sont offertes. Inscrivez-vous à www.studyinscotland.org.uk/canada

The LosT NoTebooks Track lisT 1. “You’ve Been Lonesome, Too” alan Jackson 2. “The Love ThaT Faded” - BoB dylan 3. “how manY Times have You Broken mY hearT?” - norah Jones 4. “You know ThaT i know” - Jack whiTe 5. “i’m so happY i Found You” - lucinda williams 6. “i hope You shed a miLLion Tears” - rodney crowell and vince gill 7. “You’re Through FooLing me” paTTy loveless 8. “You’LL never again Be mine” levon helm 9. “BLue is mY hearT” - holly williams

10. “oh, mama, Come home” - JakoB dylan 11. “angeL mine” - sheryl crow 12. “The sermon on The mounT” merle haggard

20

theconcordian

Tuesday, October 18, 2011 anniversary

CJLO celebrates three years on 1690 AM Wisconsin songstress Zola Jesus plays exclusive live on-air show to commemorate milestone Andrew Guilbert Staff writer

Because TV doesn’t suck enough already

Fred Durst, frontman for 90’s nü-metal group Limp Bizkit, has signed with CBS to star in a new sitcom, which he will also coproduce. The show will be about a faded rock star dealing with his own celebrity while trying to raise his family. The program, which is currently under the working title Douchebag, is still in development, but may show up as part of CBS’ fall lineup.

Mötley Scrüed

Mötley Crüe fans in Indonesia were suckered out of an estimated $60,000 after a fake concert promoter sold them tickets for a non-existent gig. More than 1,500 tickets were sold at $40 a pop before a local English language paper, the Jakarta Globe, broke the story. A message on the band’s website denied they were playing anywhere in Indonesia, advising their fans “that any concert rumors are false, and to be wary of any vendors advertising ticket sales. Mötley Crüe are currently on tour in Australia and then are set to play dates in Japan.”.

Hipster-palooza!

Internet music tastemaker Pitchfork announced last week that it would be hosting its own festival called Forms. The event will be a four-day multi-media event in New York, which, according to Pitchfork’s website, “celebrates and explores the interconnected and growing worlds of independent music, art, and gaming.”

Artists, game designers and musicians will all be brought together in a variety of styles and mediums in order to “go where other music-centric conferences haven’t by giving equal weight to these mediums.” No set list as of yet, but the curious should stay tuned to www.formsfestival.com for more info.

No Love for Kurt Cobain

Courtney Love talks about her dreams of marrying rich and finding her missing Nirvana money in the November issue of Vanity Fair, her first interview for the magazine since 1992. When asked if she was mad that her late husband Kurt Cobain committed suicide, she replied, “Mad? Ya think?! If he came back right now I’d have to kill him, for what he did to us. I’d fucking kill him. I’d fuck him, and then I’d kill him.” The interview focuses on her failures as a parent and subsequent estrangement from 19-yearold daughter Frances Bean Cobain as well as the $250 million of Nirvana’s money she can’t find.

Allie Mason Music editor

T

he CJLO studio on Concordia’s Loyola campus is usually fairly quiet on Saturdays, but this weekend was different. The studio was buzzing with excitement as staff celebrated the third anniversary of their first official live broadcast on 1690 AM and prepared for an exclusive live performance by the Russian-American genre-defying musician, Nika Danilova.

Danilova, who performs under the stage name Zola Jesus, rushed into the studio to perform a beautifully haunting, stripped-down version of “Sea Talk” from her 2010 LP Stridulum II. She stuck around for a quick interview with “Hooked on Cake” hosts, Omar and Beansie, where she admitted that despite feeling terrified of releasing so much of herself to the public through her music, it’s something she has to do. “I feel like people need to do that,” said Danilova. “You need to give yourself up in order for people to study it or for people to feel it.”

Brian Joseph, CJLO’s program director, was elated. “We’re the first station she’s given a live per-

formance and interview to [since releasing her new album],” he said. “She’s refused 50 per cent of her media requests, so this is a really big deal for us.”

Danilova’s in-studio performance was just another proverbial notch in CJLO’s extra large belt of accomplishments over the past three years, which includes live performances by other highprofile musicians like P.S. I Love You, Fucked Up, Wintersleep, and You Say Party! We Say Die! The station has come a long way since broadcasting Canada’s national anthem three years ago, followed by the song “Left of the Dial” by The Replacements, a tribute to college radio by what head music director Omar Husain refers to as “the most famous college radio band ever.”

But to Joseph, it’s not just about recognizing the amount of time they’ve been on the air, it’s about how much they’ve achieved in such a short period of time. At noon on Oct. 15, 2008, Joseph and Husain “flipped the switch,” broadcasting Concordia’s student voice, with 1,000 watts of power, as far west as Ottawa and as far south as Burlington, Vermont.

Joseph has been volunteering at the station for the past five years and says that he’s seen change on more than just a technical level. “Everyone in general

Photo by Alex Menjivar

Brian Joseph and omar husain aT The cJlo sTaTion on The loyola campus.

actually gives a crap now,” he said, explaining that the apathy that once seemed to plague the university’s student body has all but disappeared. “The students are more involved than ever.”

CJLO, with its global following of online listeners, provides

free advertising for student groups and they’re beginning to plan workshops for Concordia students to learn the ins and outs of radio broadcasting and how to use the studio equipment. Students have even created their own opportunities with the station. One Concordia student in the studio arts program has reached out to CJLO to renovate their soundproofing as a for-credit course project.

The high level of student engagement is reflected by the serious amount of acclaim the station has received from the College Music Journal Music Marathon and Film Festival. Since 2008, CJLO has received numerous awards, including: “Best Student Run, Non-FM Radio Station” in 2008, “Best Music Director” and “Best Specialty Music Director” in 2009, “Best Group Effort” in 2008, 2009, and 2010, and “Station of the Year” in 2010. Even the Huffington Post has taken note, naming CJLO first on their “Nine Best College Radio Stations” list.

The CJLO crew were busy with more than just celebrations and live performances this weekend; they were also prerecording their programs in preparation for this year’s CMJ Music Marathon and Film Festival, which takes place in New York City from Oct. 18 to 22.

This year, they’ve been nominated for seven College Music Awards, including: “Station of the Year,” “Music Director of the Year,” “Specialty Music Director Of The Year,” “Outstanding Leadership in College Radio,” and more. And if the past three years are any indication, they’ll be returning to Montreal next week with even more reasons to celebrate.

sports

Tuesday, October 18, 2011

21

Write to the editor: sports@theconcordian.com hockey

Stingers score four in the third for 5-4 win Huge third period propels men’s hockey to win over Laurier Joseph Czikk Contributor

T

he Stingers can add one more win to their 2011-12 season after a goal and an assist in the third period lead them to triumph over the visiting Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks.

However, sloppy defensive play and the strong presence of Golden Hawks forwards led them to a 4-1 lead heading into the second intermission. A valiant effort lead by the Stingers veteran players made way for an exciting comeback. With just over a minute of play left, Samuel Morneau scored the winning goal.

Stingers head coach Kevin Figsby praised his senior leaders on their third period presence.

“When things got down, those were the guys that jumped up and took charge, and that’s your veteran leadership,” he said. “When guys like that step up, your captains step up, your leaders step up and your rookies contribute and buy in, you’re going to have success.”

Midway through the third period, captain Eric Begin provided a much needed spark on the power play, when his point shot found the back of the net.

Less than a minute later, Begin would feed a beautiful cross-ice pass to Alexandre Monahan, who found himself unaccounted for in front of the net. Monahan buried the shot upstairs, cutting the deficit to one goal.

Monahan would strike again, tying the game, with seven minutes left, when he finished a nice passing play on the rush, scoring

in a Bobby Orr fashion, going airborne after the puck left his stick. Francois Lanctot-Marcotte was Monahan’s partner in crime on the play, providing Monahan with a quick pass before the puck sailed past Golden Hawks netminder David Clement.

Though they came away with the win, Concordia will have to learn to play a full 60 minutes this season as the team was sloppy most of the game.

The Stingers couldn’t capitalize on four firstperiod powerplays and a lacking defence forced goalie Nicholas Champion to stop two clearcut breakaways in a two minute span.

A shorthanded goal by Laurier forward Mitch Lebar gave his team the one goal lead after 20 minutes, capping off the lackluster period for Concordia. Champion stopped the initial shot with the puck sitting under his left pad but Lebar was there to take it all the way.

The Golden Hawks continued to dominate in the second period, adding a goal to their lead when Thomas Middup took a clean pass in the slot from Tyler Stothers, capitalizing on the one-timer.

Evidently Figsby must have provided his young men with a convincing speech as they were heading into the third period. The complete momentum swing as well as the four goals scored spoke volumes about his team’s character and their willingness to battle back from such a deficit.

After losing their first two games on the road, Concordia is now back at .500, having also defeated the Brock Badgers 5-1 at home on Friday night.

Concordia will play host to UQTR on Wednesday, Oct. 19 at 8:30 p.m.

Football

Sports Briefs

Sherbrooke 31 Concordia 11 The fourth-ranked Vert et Or proved too much for the Stingers to handle on the road Saturday afternoon, as Concordia fumbled their way to a 20 point loss.

The Stingers had four fumbles on the day, three of which Sherbrooke were able to recover.

Sherbrooke opened the scoring just over five minutes in to the first quarter when Jérémi Doyon-Roch threw an eight yard touchdown pass to Simon Charbonneau-Campeau.

Concordia responded quickly as Reid Quest led his team down the field on a seven play 83-yard drive, which ended in Quest punching the ball in from just one yard out for a touchdown, evening the score.

The Stingers went into halftime trailing only 12-9, but just couldn’t hang with one of the premier teams in the country.

After the Stingers conceded a team safety to make the score 14-9, Ismael M-Bamba returned the ensuing Stingers kick-off 86 yards for a touchdown giving Sherbrooke the momentum, and a 21-9 lead.

Another seven yard touchdown pass

Charles-antoine Messier (top) sCores to give ConCordia a 1-0 lead. photos by navneet pall

from Doyon-Roch early in the fourth quarter sealed the fate of the Stingers.

The loss dropped Concordia to 3-4, although the Stingers are still sitting in the final playoff spot in their conference, two points ahead of the Bishop’s Gaiters.

Concordia also holds the tiebreaker over Bishop’s, meaning the Gaiters will have to win their remaining two games to leap-frog the Stingers—an unlikely feat as Bishop’s plays their final game against a 6-1 Laval team, who crushed Bishop’s this weekend 57-9.

Concordia’s next game is Saturday, Oct. 22 at 1 p.m. at home against Montreal.

Women’s hockey Concordia 4 Ottawa 2 Carleton 3 Concordia 2

The Stingers picked up their first win of the 2011-12 season in Ottawa on Saturday against the Ottawa Gee-Gees.

Concordia found themselves in a hole early after Ottawa scored just over a minute into the game. In the second period, though, Audrey Morand answered for Concordia tying the game at one.

In the third period, it was Concordia’s turn to score early. Just under 90 seconds into the final frame, Emilie Bocchia gave Concordia a 2-1 lead on her unassisted scoring effort.

After seeing their first lead of the season disappear on an Asha Kauffeldt goal for Ottawa, Concordia put themselves back in the driver’s seat at the 12-minute mark.

Véronique Laramée-Paquette, like Bocchia, required no help, recording another unassisted goal, which proved to be the winner.

After allowing seven goals in a losing cause to McGill, goalie Marie-Pier Remillard-Paquette stopped 27 of the 29 shots she faced to pick up the win.

Facing Carleton on Sunday was not home-sweet-home for the Stingers.

Playing their first game at Ed Meagher Arena, the Stingers fell 3-2 to Carleton, despite outplaying the Ravens in the third period.

Trailing 2-1 in the third, Véronique Laramée-Paquette continued her successful weekend, scoring her second goal of the game to even the score.

Concordia just couldn’t hold on, though, as they allowed Carleton the goahead goal just under three minutes later.

The Stingers are now 1-2 on the season.

The Stingers next game is Sunday, Oct. 23 at 2 p.m. on the road against Carleton.

Women’s rugby

Concordia 54 Sherbooke 16 The Stingers ended their season on a high note after losing to Laval last week.

Playing their final game of the season, Concordia dominated Sherbooke and clinched second place in their conference.

They will now host McGill next week in the RSEQ playoffs.

Jenna Guiliani played a crucial role for the Stingers, scoring five tries in the winning effort.

Concordia is ranked sixth in the CIS with their only two losses coming to Laval.

McGill is also ranked in the CIS top 10 and will be hoping to exact their revenge from a regular season loss to the Stingers.

The start of the playoffs will also suggest that Concordia’s quest to win the national championship, after losing in the finals a year ago, will begin on Saturday.

The game time has yet to be determined.

22

theconcordian

Tuesday, October 18, 2011

baseball

Ravens say nevermore to Stingers’ conference title hopes Concordia loses best-of-three series to Carleton Julian Mei Sports editor The Concordia Stingers baseball team hopes to put Sunday’s long, cold, damp and disappointing day behind them before the CIBA National Championship begins this weekend.

Concordia was unseated from their throne as two-time defending conference champions by the Carleton Ravens, losing the first game 4-3, winning game two 6-4, before losing the decisive third game 4-0.

The team expected to play two games Saturday, and if necessary one game Sunday, in a best-of-three series, to decide which team would be crowned CIBA Northern Conference champions. Mother Nature refused to clear her schedule for the series though, as Saturday’s game was rained out, forcing a triple-header on Sunday.

It was a lot of baseball in one day for any team to play.

“It was a long day for us,” said Stingers pitcher Matthew Jacobson, who started game three. “I mean, both teams had to play under the same circumstances, but still, it was tough.”

Despite losing the conference championship, under the new CIBA structure, both Carleton and Concordia will be playing for the national title this weekend in Moncton, N.B. Although, the Stingers were unable to win the series arguably because of the automatic berth.

“I’ve been in the game for 40 years longer than any of the players and it was tough for me to stay prepared and focused,” said Stingers manager Howard Schwartz. “So it was definitely tough for the players.”

“I don’t necessarily think it was a lack of focus, but definitely the intensity wasn’t like it normally is,” said Jacobson.

Ideally, the team didn’t want to lose their way into the championship, but neither Jacobson nor Schwartz were too concerned with the loss. “I know we’ll be ready to play [at nationals],” said Schwartz.

“Maybe it was good in a way, because it showed us we need to come ready to play or we’ll get beat,” said Jacobson.

Game one saw the Stingers carry a 3-2 lead into the sixth inning with star pitcher Alex Kechayan on the mound. Unfortunately for Concordia, though, the team decided to take a page out of the Milwaukee Brewers’ book of fielding and defence.

Three Concordia errors in the seventh handed Carleton the lead and eventually the first game of the series.

Much like he did against McGill in the previous round, Marco Masciotra used his bat to propel the Stingers to victory in game two. Masciotra hit a three-run home run in the first inning and added a two-run double in the third to put Concordia up 5-1.

Andre Lagarde was making a rare start on the mound and held the Ravens in check before running into trouble in the fourth inning. With Concordia leading 6-3, Lagarde was replaced by Brandon Berkovits who was able to close out the game, and send the series to a game three rubber match.

In game three, it appeared that no one told Ravens starting pitcher, Charlie Crabb, that his team already had a berth at nationals.

andre lagarde (top) winds up to throw in ConCordia’s only viCtory in the ConferenCe finals against Carleton. photos by navneet pall Crabb pitched an inspired game, going the distance, striking out nine and only allowing one hit in the Ravens 4-0 victory.

“I don’t know if it was the cold or what, but I haven’t seen a guy pitch like that in a couple years,” said Schwartz.

Crabb’s impressive performance made game one even more frustrating for the Stingers in retrospect.

“If we win game one the series is ours because we wouldn’t have had to face [Crabb],” said Schwartz.

The Stingers will travel to Moncton, N.B. this weekend to play in the CIBA National Championship.

Games begin on Friday.

The Stingers last won a national title in 2009.

Tuesday, October 18, 2011

Follow us on Twitter: @TheConcordian

23

rugby

Stingers fall one point shy in loss to Vert et Or

the rain poured down as ConCordia and sherbrooke players prepared for a line-out. sherbooke won the gaMe 12-11. photo by navneet pall

Concordia loses their third straight game, 12-11 to Sherbooke Stefani Forster Contributor The Concordia Stingers men’s rugby team lost to the Sherbrooke Vert et Or by one point on Friday night, after playing a tough game in the pouring rain.

An unlucky kick by Concordia at the start of the game hit the goal post, but Adriano D’Angelo gained the lead and three

points for the Stingers with a kick at the 18:05 minute mark.

Sherbrooke was quick to answer back and scored the first try and two-point conversion at the 26:24 minute mark.

Another kick by D’Angelo earned Concordia three more points, but once again Concordia couldn’t keep Sherbooke off the board for long.

A second try by Sherbrooke at the end of the first half gave the Vert et Or a six-point lead over Concordia, making the game 12-6 at the break.

The rain made execution difficult for Concordia, but Stingers coach Clive Gibson said the rain shouldn’t have affected their

game as much as it did. “As far as I know it was raining on both teams, not just us,� he said.

The slippery ball made passing difficult, and proved challenging for a team of speedy, quick-handed backs. “Our backs are the strength on our team, and when you can’t move the ball quickly and easily it takes away that aspect of the game,� said Gibson. “We couldn’t react to it, we couldn’t respond, and we couldn’t deal with the weather conditions.�

The Stingers came back in the second half with pressure in Sherbrooke’s end.

Hooker William Felderbaum scored a corner try and five points for Concordia

ÉvÊnements

at the 69:15 minute mark, but a difficult conversion attempt from the wide angle was unsuccessful.

Despite two yellow cards for Sherbrooke - and over 20 minutes of a one-man advantage for Concordia - the Stingers couldn’t make the push for another try. “The boys just simply didn’t do enough,� said Gibson. “When for 20 minutes you have a one-man advantage because [Sherbrooke] had two guys in the sin bins, and you don’t score, it calls into question the tactics being used.�

It’s been a rocky season for the Stingers so far. They coolly beat Sherbrooke the last time they faced each other with a final score of 17-5, but they couldn’t secure the win against them this time, despite a strong show in the second half. “Unfortunately that’s the nature of our season,� said Gibson. “We spent the better part of every game we played pressuring in their end, and were not able to finish.�

Outside-centre Jonathan DextrasRomagnino said he was disappointed over the loss. “We came out thinking we were going to score four tries and we got a lucky one, so we underestimated them,� he said. “The rain killed us. Our game plan shouldn’t be screwed by the weather.�

A rare guest was also in attendance Friday night to see the game. McGill coach Craig Beemer showed up to see the Stingers in action before his Redmen face Concordia next weekend.

The Stingers lost to the Redmen three weeks ago, but eight man David Walsh is optimistic. “He was watching us but I don’t think he saw much today,� said Walsh. “We’re saving it for next week. You’ll be surprised.�

Concordia plays host to McGill on Sunday, Oct. 23, at 3 p.m.

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opinions Tuesday, October 18, 2011

Write to the editor: opinions@theconcordian.com editorial

“

24

ASFA would be wise to stick to the rules Electoral violations in the recent byelection expose a lack of accountability

L

ast Saturday the Concordian broke a story describing how several electoral violations had been committed by the chief electoral officer himself during the Arts and Science Federation of Associations’ Oct. 12 and 13 byelection.

Information brought to the newspaper’s attention showed that at least one polling officer, Nicole Devlin, was ineligible to work as an electoral officer because according to ASFA’s Annex A, former and current ASFA executives are barred from working in elections. Nicole Devlin is a former ASFA VP internal.

The CEO isn’t hiding this. In fact, Marvin Cidamon openly admitted to breaking the rules when interviewed by the Concordian. He indicated that it was his “prerogative” to hire who he wanted to work at the polling stations, and that he would take the blame for violating ASFA’s Annex A by hiring Devlin.

The matter has now been referred to ASFA’s judicial committee, which will deliberate on the alleged electoral violations this Wednesday evening and next Monday. It remains unclear if the above mentioned violation warrants declaring the recent byelection invalid. But what can the JC do anyway?

Cidamon has already said the JC was aware of Devlin’s hiring since the beginning, and yet they said nothing. Cidamon indicated that the only reason he found himself referring the matter to the JC this past weekend was because “somebody complained” to ASFA. In an email to the Concordian, JC member Justin Famili indicated that the JC will not be commenting further until the JC’s investigations have been completed. But if Cidamon’s

statements prove to be true, a serious lack of accountability has just been exposed at ASFA, the second-largest student association on campus after the Concordia Student Union.

On the surface, breaking one rule regarding who works at a polling station may seem to be very minor in nature. It certainly looks that way to everyone involved. ASFA’s president Alex Gordon even said during an interview that this type of violation is still not as serious as if it was a violation committed by a candidate.

On the contrary, the violation of any rule clearly outlined in an organization’s bylaws is wrong, without exception. ASFA’s Annex A, a 10-page document, exists for a reason. It is there to clearly explain to CEOs how to carry out fair and transparent elections. Again, these are rules to be followed, not to be discarded “just to make things easier.”

Once a person breaks one rule, more or less out of convenience, how many more rules are they allowed to break before they get caught? How many more electoral rules were broken during this recent byelection by the CEO? Apart from Devlin’s hiring, we also know that Cidamon failed to ensure that executive summaries were placed at every station on the first day of polling, although the situation was soon rectified by ASFA’s VP internal Schubert Laforest.

What’s even worse are the claims that ASFA’s JC members knew the rules were being broken, but remained silent. The judicial committee is in place to act as the guardian of ASFA’s bylaws and ensure they are being followed, yet the committee’s members seemed to have failed in their duty this past week.

Cidamon was appointed as CEO at the last minute, and only had about a week to prepare for the byelection. There are plenty of opportunities to make mistakes when rushing to get everything ready for election day. But this excuse does not apply to the judicial committee. The three committee members have been

“

Students - or should we say, voters - should not be denied the results of the election in which they voted for candidates who will now be paid honorariums stemming from student fee levy funds. at ASFA longer than one week, and, hopefully, know the rules better than Cidamon. To sit idly by and allow the CEO to violate ASFA’s annexes is unacceptable.

Equally unacceptable is the fact that there is no direct way to contact the judicial committee. There is no centralized email address, in contrast to the CSU’s judicial board. Although the JC members’ names are a matter of public record - Nikos Pidiktakis, Justin Famili, and Shawn Millman - their email addresses are not, and the ASFA executive is hesitant to hand them over. The Concordian was only able to contact Famili after the paper received his email address through other channels. So how exactly does an ordinary ASFA student get in touch with the JC if they have a matter they need judgment on? But that’s a whole other debate.

The recent ASFA byelection has shown that things have yet to really improve at the federation, despite the large number of recommendations made to improve the system last year by former CEO Nicolas Cuillerier, who was widely praised for his role as a CEO by the book.

Apart from the violations mentioned above, the CEO also kept the general student population in the dark with regards to the election results. Annex A clearly says that the results must be announced within 24 hours of the closing of the polls. Cidamon says he texted the candidates with the results, and then emailed them. He later emailed the results to

members of the student media, but only after this information was requested. If journalists hadn’t asked for the results, Cidamon admitted he would have never given them out.

This bizarre stance, as well as Cidamon’s failure to post the results to a platform accessible to the general public, had many arts and science students take to Facebook and Twitter the day after the elections musing about the missing results. Students - or should we say, voters - should not be denied the results of the election in which they voted for candidates who will now be paid honorariums stemming from student fee levy funds.

When asked, both Gordon and Laforest said it was their “understanding” that Cidamon had posted the results, but neither of them were able to pinpoint where, both indicating that they had decided to give Cidamon some space to run the elections.

At least ASFA is trying to make things better. Laforest has promised to meet with his internal and administration committee as well as the policy reform committee to ensure that “tighter, more explicit legislation” is in place and that ASFA “stop relying on convention.”

Let’s hope this actually happens. Let’s hope that the results of these efforts to better ASFA’s electoral system include a judicial committee, a CEO and ultimately an executive who are more accountable to students, and who read the bylaws much more carefully the next time they decide to organize a byelection, let alone a general election.

drugs

Some insights into Insite: the benefits of a safe injection facility W

Why users need a safe place to shoot up in Montreal and why Harper should back off

Shaun Malley Contributor

hile it’s true that drugs are a dirty business, they are an unfortunate fact of life throughout much of the world. I remember seeing a homeless man smoking crack on the steps of a church near Berri-UQAM metro about ten years ago. It was shocking to a naive 20-year-old, and I won’t share some of the stupid snap judgements I made. But I came to understand that some people have a problem with substance abuse and that there is no quick fix.

The default reaction for many people is that hard drug abusers are inherently bad and should be tossed in jail. The thought that these people should have any kind of comfort when they consume hard drugs,

not to mention support, becomes appalling.

It’s against the law, people will say. Or they truck out the old canard that if drugs were legal and/or tolerated, people would be more likely to use them. First, these people need to grow the hell up. Unpleasant things happen all the time in the world, and their lives would probably be a lot happier if they learned to accept that. Second, their arguments fly in the face of fact.

The Insite clinic in Vancouver has been a test-bed for research into the pros and cons of safe injection sites. They provide sterilized hypodermic needles and have nurses on site to help users.

Over 20 peer-reviewed scientific journals, including such heavy-hitters as the New England Journal of Medicine and the Lancet, have come out in favour of the site.

They noted that the transmission of bloodborne diseases like hepatitis C and HIV

Continued on P. 25

Tuesday, October 18, 2011

Follow us on Twitter: @TheConcordian

25

occupy

Occupy Wall Street moving in uncertain direction Planning and coordination lacking, yet crucial for success Patrick Case Contributor

Continued from P. 24

“

Hundreds of angry Montrealers descended on square Victoria saturday during occupy Montreal. pHoto by saraH Howell emies. Even while satellite protests spring up in Spain, Los Angeles, Tel Aviv and Montreal, there is little sense that the activists in New York are sparking the Egyptian-style popular uprising which inspired OWS. No one can say what it is being fought for. Some want to overturn the government.

Others want the rich to pay more taxes. Some simply don’t want to have the enormous burden of school debt. The protests remain largely meaningless to the depoliticized majority of

“

As markets fall, dragging countries with them, cities around the world are lighting up with frustration, helplessness and fury both understandable and unintelligible.

Explosions of cruelty - usually on the side of police and dictatorships against those with understandable anxieties - haunt the headlines.

Amid this, the Occupy Wall Street protests unfolding in New York City (and now nationwide in Canada) have gained public attention since they began Sept. 17.

With no central leadership, the protests were planned with a vague goal of holding the financial sector responsible for the damage it inflicted on world markets. A myriad of different aims drive the protests, such as demands for an end to the intimate relationships between governments and banks, along with bringing attention to the ever-growing disparity between rich and poor.

Their claims are real. The need for something new is obvious. Since 2001, 75 per cent of American corporate profit margins have come from depressed wages, according to J.P. Morgan. The Institute for Policy Studies reports that in 1961, U.S. corporations had a tax rate of 40.6 per cent. Since then, the rate has fallen to 10.5 per cent. Hypocrisy is rampant; conservatives frothing about debt ignore the fact that 71 per cent of American debt has been accumulated under Republican presidents, according to Harper’s Magazine. Banks were essentially rewarded for risky behaviour instead of changing the roots of the system which allow what are sophisticated pyramid schemes to thrive.

There are terrible things happening, but no one seems to know the cause. There are triumphs everywhere and no one can say why.

That much is clear from OWS’ failure to bring a single coherent demand against its many en-

Montreal is set to get its own safe injection site next year and it’s about time. [The Harper government] is dead set against all safe injection sites and would rather stiffen jail sentences than do something useful.

diminished significantly.

There were over 453 overdoses at the clinic, but zero deaths due to the presence of trained medical professionals.

If that wasn’t enough, a report commissioned by the RCMP came out in favour of the site. Yes, that RCMP, the first one that came to your mind; the cops with the red uniforms were initially in favour of a safe heroin injection site. They withdrew their support for Insite at the last second without a reason. Dark rumours of political pressure continue to swirl, but I’m not a gossip columnist. Much.

The link between poverty and criminality is a strong correlation. It doesn’t mean that poor people are destined to be junkies, nor that the rich are immune from using hard drugs. It does, however, mean that incidents of hard drug use will go up in times of economic stress. That makes the

necessity of a clinic like Insite all the more pressing.

Montreal is set to get its own safe injection site next year and it’s about time. The Harper government, with its recent plan to take a tough law-and-order stance, is missing the point entirely. It is dead set against all safe injection sites and would rather stiffen jail sentences than do something useful.

Do you want to lower crime rates? Make social programs that empower individuals, especially children? You want to keep kids off drugs? Educate them. Law enforcement is reactive rather than pro-active. It’s not a solution. Neither is slashing budgets for education and social programs.

If the Conservatives want law and order, what better way than by building an educated, empowered citizenry? Oh right, it takes time, effort and willpower to do that.

Sorry, my bad.

Americans absent from the protests. Even with support from labour unions, their aims are sporadic as ever.

Protesters point out the stark contrast between mainstream media’s near-total blackout of occupation coverage and the oversaturation of anything Tea Party-related, yet when the public gets glimpses of the protests, the protesters seem as unrealistic and misguided as the Tea Party members rambling about the need to abolish the federal government.

OWS is steadily becoming a mirror image of the Tea Party bringing together frightened, angry citizens looking for someone to blame for the economic storms eating away at their communities. While Tea Party members call for tax cuts, OWS calls for the rich to pay more.

It remains to be seen whether OWS will be the catalyst for the peaceful, popular uprising it desires just as the uprisings in Tunisia and Egypt were once terrible gambles.

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Tuesday, October 18, 2011

tuition

Out of province students getting the shaft Why is Quebec the only province with three different tuition rates?

Stefani Forster Contributor The calamity over Quebec’s tuition hikes has divided students. Residents are understandably up in arms over the hike. Out-of-province students are bitter about the gap that still exists.

Both are right. The implementation of tuition fees in Quebec is overly simplistic, and fails to acknowledge that Quebec students and institutions are one of the most diverse in Canada. Each institution has unique aims, and one blanket tuition fee for the entire province isn’t an adequate solution.

Quebec residents pay the lowest tuition fees in the country. Full-time students who are residents pay around $2,168 a year in tuition, while an out-of-province student pays about $5,866 a year – more than double. According to a Macleans OnCampus post from earlier this year, “tuition fees for Quebec residents will now rise by $325 a year, over five years, beginning in fall 2012. This will increase tuition to $3,793 per year for Quebec residents,” a rate that is still substantially lower than the fees for out-of-province students.

University heads have been calling for the increase for years. In 2003, the Quebec conference of university rectors and principals (CREPUQ) released a statement saying, “Quebec

universities would require an amount of $375 million to reach their competitive ability compared to universities in the other provinces.”

Underfunding in Quebec has made universities less competitive, according to Denis Brière, chair of the CREPUQ board of directors. Increased funding is necessary for Quebec universities to “attract the best students and have a high quality curriculum.”

Most importantly, Brière said appropriate funding is necessary for attracting national and international students, one of CREPUQ’s priorities. Universities like McGill and Concordia receive many non-Quebec and foreign students and compete directly with other institutions across North America. They do not have the same mission as other Quebec institutions, like the Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières, which focuses on attracting French and resident students, according to a 2004 study by the Montreal Economic Institute.

Herein lies Quebec’s unique dilemma.

Quebec’s blanket tuition for all “residents” is a problematic system, firstly because Quebec residency and the resident tuition are arbitrarily determined. As the system is now, anyone who was born in Quebec - including those who have spent most of their lives living elsewhere in Canada - can still take advantage of the cheap tuition rates and attend a Quebec university, even a big, internationally competitive one like McGill or Universite de Montreal.

This hardly seems fair for the smaller francophone universities who don’t compete

Graphic by Phil Waheed

on the same national and international level.

A cheaper tuition rate for these universities is justifiable in this context.

The tuition fees that are mandated across the board for all Quebec institutions fail to

address the unique aims and needs of each university. Quebec universities should have the choice of whether to impose higher fees based on the mandate, but also on the mission they set for themselves.

transportation

Calling all STM bus drivers: put your calls on hold STM needs to make example of drivers who put lives at risk Bradley Martin Contributor

G

It is illegal in Quebec for drivers to use cellphones while operating a vehicle, due to the obvious risks involved. Indeed, it is an issue of general welfare for drivers to have their full attention on the road in order to reduce incidents caused by negligence. This is even more relevant to drivers of public buses, who are responsible for the lives of many, both inside and outside of their vehicles.

It is important that these public concerns be properly addressed, especially involving a system that transports several million people every year.

Unfortunately, the STM seems to be placing a higher value on the careers of its drivers rather than the security of its passengers. STM spokesperson Marianne Rouette explained in an interview that provincial and STM policies prohibit the use of cellphones while driving. Rouette even provided documentation attesting to how a ban on cellphones on public buses even took place before the provincial ban and that the official policy went as far as for-

“

“

rievances against the Societé de transport de Montréal have simply gotten out of hand. The Gazette has pointed out that between Aug. 2010 and March 2011, there have been 189 complaints against STM bus drivers who used their cellphones while driving.

Graphic by Phil Waheed

Secrecy is simply not acceptable for a public transit enterprise such as the STM. Transparency is essential, not only because our tax dollars help fund the STM, but because people’s safety is at hand. bidding STM drivers from using Bluetooth headsets.

When asked about punitive measures taken against drivers who break these rules, she was clear that disciplinary action

is done privately. Drivers are dealt with on a case by case basis and judged according to their records and other circumstances, with room for appropriate leniency. None of these proceedings are revealed to the

public in order to protect the privacy of the drivers.

With all due respect to Rouette, secrecy is simply not acceptable for a public transit enterprise such as the STM. Transparency is essential, not only because our tax dollars help fund the STM, but because people’s safety is at hand.

Montrealers have a right to know whether the public employees they directly or indirectly support are engaged in dangerous behaviour. A person’s right to privacy must be protected, but when that person’s negligence puts the lives of dozens of people at risk, they need to be reprimanded in a way that sends a message to other drivers as well.

As the complaints keep piling on, promises don’t cut it. Since we don’t know for sure whether these drivers are held accountable for their actions, it is perfectly logical for the STM to continue the trend of disciplining its drivers behind closed doors.

It is time for all public transportation users to demand an increase in transparency from the STM; the stakes are too high. Will they wait until a pedestrian is run over, or for a bus to crash into other vehicles in order to make the message clear? The attention of bus drivers, as with any other drivers, should not be compromised by cellphone use. STM drivers who break the law must be severely reprimanded even though they work for a powerful enterprise.

Boycott may be too severe a recourse for users of the STM, since we need the service, and drivers haven’t exactly mowed down any pedestrians yet because of carelessness. However, better measures need to be put into place so that accidents are prevented before it’s too late.

The Etcetera Page

Tuesday, Oct. 18, 2011 Vol. 29 issue 8 Jacques Gallant

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staff Writers anD contriButors Kalina Laframboise, Joseph Leger, Alex Giubelli, Shai El-Ghazaly, Marie J. Kelly, Brandon Judd, Rebecca Ugolini,Tara Brockwell, Elysha Del Giusto-Enos, Marilla Steuter-Martin, Lindsay Briscoe, Philippe Ostiguy, Andrew Guilbert, Patrick Case, Paul Traunero, Robert Flis, Joseph Czikk, Stefani Forster, Shaun Malley, Bradley Martin, Sean Kershaw, Phil Waheed, Valerie Brunet, Carlo Tudino, Maya Pankalla, Camille Nerant, Sarah Howell, Amanda Laprade, Alex Menjivar

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+ MUSIC -- RUCKUS FO’TET (every Tuesday!) - Jello Martini Lounge -- 22h00

+ THEATRE -- The Explorer - F. C. Smith Auditorium - 20h00 + LITERATURE -- Daniel Clowes and Seth - Ukrainian Federation - 18h30 + THEATRE -- The American Dream and The Sandbox - Players Theatre - 19h00 + POETRY -- Poetry Slam - Prestige Studios - 20h00 + LITERATURE -- Farzana Doctor reads from Six Meters of Pavement - Concordia Community Solidarity Co-op Bookstore - 19h00 + STINGERS -- Men’s hockey- vs. UQTR- Ed Meagher Arena- Loyola Campus -- 20h30

+ THEATRE -- The Explorer - F. C. Smith Auditorium --20h00 + THEATRE -- The American Dream and The Sandbox - Players Theatre -- 19h00 + FILM -- The Buffy Sing-Along - Blue Sunshine Psychotronic Film Centre -- 19h15 + ARTS PARTY -- Arts Matters Info Party - La Sala Rossa -- 20h00 +VERNISSAGE -- Memorial for a Stranger - FOFA Gallery -- 17h00

+ THEATRE --The Explorer - F. C. Smith Auditorium -- 20h00 + THEATRE -- The American Dream and The Sandbox - Players Theatre --19h00 + ARTS PARTY -- Artists Against Apartheid XVII - La Sala Rossa -- 20h00 + VERNISSAGE -- W. I. P.- Occurrence --17h30

+ THEATRE -- The Explorer - F. C. Smith Auditorium -- 14h00 and 20h00 + THEATRE -- The Little Prince - Centaur Theatre --13h00 and 15h00 + STINGERS -- Football- vs. Montreal- Loyola Campus -- 13h00 + THEATRE --The American Dream and The Sandbox - Players Theatre -- 19h00 + STINGERS -- Women’s rugby playoffs- vs. McGill- Loyola Campus -- Time: TBD

+ STINGERS --Women’s soccer- vs. Bishop’s- Loyola Campus -- 13h00 + STINGERS--Men’s rugby- vs. McGill- Loyola Campus - 15h00 + STINGERS -- Men’s hockey- vs. McGill- Ed Meagher Arena- Loyola Campus --15h00 + THEATRE -- The Explorer - F. C. Smith Auditorium --14h00 + THEATRE --The Little Prince - Centaur Theatre -- 13h00 and 15h00

+ CINEMA POLITICA -- If a Tree Falls: A Story of the Earth Liberation Front - H-110 --19h00