The Concordian volume 29, issue 15

theconcordian

news

arts

Mind your belongings P. 2

Munsch ado about writing P. 12

Montreal for the holidays Our guide to the month s best arts and music events

Tuesday, Dec. 6, 2011

P. 9-13 and 16

life Exploring virgin territory at Concordia P. 8

music Sharing recipes and music is all part of Radio Radio’s ideology P. 14

sports Michael Noonan pins down Rhodes Scholarship P. 18

Volume 29 Issue 15

Photo by GIlda Pourjabar

Byelections smooth CSU councillors sailing for all involved stand behind CEO Candidates, fee levy groups and student union power through polling Jacqueline Di Bartolomeo News editor And, with a flash of colourful ballots, it was done.

There were no parties left behind at the polls last week as Concordia undergraduate students approved a series of fee levy increases and bylaw changes in the Concordia Student Union byelections.

In the same stroke, students reaffirmed their stance against tuition hikes, condemned downsizing of student representation on the university’s Board of Governors and filled four councillors’ seats.

Wide margins and little controversy characterized the byelections, which opened the polls to students from Nov. 29 to Dec. 1 and saw over 1,600 cast their ballots, representing nearly five and a half per

cent of Concordia’s 30,000 undergraduate students. The November 2010 referendum, in which students overwhelmingly voted against an increase in fees collected for the student centre fund, saw a voter turnout of 2,397.

Business students gave their stamp of approval to three new councillors, who were running to fill three empty seats. Their top pick was Eduardo Alves Dos Anjos, who with 130 votes was the candidate with the highest number of “Yes” votes. Thirty-two JMSB students voted against Dos Anjos, and 75 abstained. Museb Abu-Thuraia and Yassine Chaabi were also voted in – Abu-Thuraia with 81 “Yes” votes, 52 “No” votes and 98 abstentions and Chaabi with 92 for, 46 against, and 97 abstentions.

See ‘Over’ on P. 5

Student union continues to face complaints against their chief electoral officer and judical board Jamie Floyd and Alyssa Tremblay Contributor and assistant news editor

The Concordia Student Union council reaffirmed their confidence in their chief electoral officer Ismail Holoubi last Wednesday at a special meeting held midway through the byelections and amidst ongoing controversy.

With a vote of 13 in favour and two abstentions, the CSU passed the motion at a special council meeting which was held to discuss the impartiality of Holoubi and of judicial board chair Ceejay Desfosses, which was called into question by former CSU councillor Tomer Shavit.

“I think the council really didn’t take my accusation seriously,” Shavit said in an interview. “They

really didn’t come to this meeting with the intention of taking it seriously and of really discussing it at length.”

Shavit suggested that Holoubi was biased and therefore unfit to be CEO because he allegedly ran in last spring’s elections with the winning Your Concordia slate alongside CSU president Lex Gill.

Holoubi, however, told the council that he ran independently, but never campaigned.

“If you read the CEO report you should see that I wasn’t affiliated with any of the slates,” said Holoubi.

See ‘Questions’ on P. 5

theconcordian.com

news 2

Tuesday, December 6, 2011

Got a news tip? news@theconcordian.com

City in brief Alyssa Tremblay

CAMPUS

Students in res subject to noise disturbances

ConU student gets fundCultural nights can be ‘problematic’: raising award CIBC named Concordia student Daresidence life director lia Bosis as the top post-secondary fundraiser in Quebec in the 2011 Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation’s CIBC Run for the Cure. Bosis said she’s been participating in the Weekend to End Breast Cancer for five years. Representing Quebec, Bosis and McGill student Beatrice Britneff both received $10,000 awards for their fundraising as part of the CIBC Education awards presented to 15 post-secondary students from across the country. College and university students raised a total of around $470,000 in the Post-Secondary Challenge.

MUNACA strike is over

McGill’s support staff are returning to work this week, marking the end of the three-month long battle with the university’s administration.

According to a post on the McGill University Non-Academic Certified Association’s website, 71.5 per cent of union members voted Monday afternoon to accept the university’s latest agreement. MUNACA will receive a 13 to 16 per cent wage increase over their five-year contract, the Gazette reported. Another improvement is the number of years it takes for union members to receive maximum pay, which has been reduced from 37 to 12.

Bah, humbug to you, Scrooge

Complexe Guy Favreau will be allowed to deck its halls, in the end.

Human Resources Minister Diane Finley overruled a memo sent out three weeks ago banning Christmas decorations at the federally-owned downtown office building. In her email, Finley wrote that building administrators should “celebrate Christmas or the holidays as they please.” According to CTV Montreal, the change of heart came as a response to the “instant uproar” the decision caused in the House of Commons. The original memo said the idea behind prohibiting decorations would be to not offend those who don’t celebrate Christmas.

But why Toronto?

CTV Montreal news anchor Todd van der Heyden will be leaving the 6 o’clock news and joining the Toronto-based CTV News channel in January. The news came out on Twitter and was quickly confirmed by van der Heyden himself. A replacement for van der Heyden’s current position, the coveted weekday newscast’s co-anchor seat alongside Concordia alumna Mutsumi Takahashi, is set to be announced in the coming weeks. Van der Heyden has worked at CTV Montreal as both a reporter and an anchor for nearly 12 years. According to the Gazette, his last day at the station is Dec. 30.

Marilla Steuter-Martin Staff writer Concordia cultural nights are once again raising concerns about student drinking and behaviour in residence, after the first culturally-themed student union event of the year led to complaints about excessive noise.

Cultural nights have been held at the Hive on the Loyola campus since 2009 and are organized by the Concordia Student Union, often in conjunction with different cultural associations at the university. The most recent event, on Nov. 16, was hosted by the Latin American Student Association.

The fact that the events are held on weekdays and end at 11 p.m. pose a problem. D’Arcy Ryan, director of residence life at Concordia, feels that cultural nights are “problematic,” calling them a “free for all drink-fest.”

Ryan said that some students returning from the early-ending event are loud and disrespectful of others.

“When they come stumbling in, are they loud? Yes. Does it wake up students who are trying to sleep?

Yes.” Ryan said he usually expects a couple of incident reports directly related to cultural nights to come in the day after. There have been around 20 incident reports filed at

Graphic by Katie Brioux

Grey Nuns residence this semester.

Rich SwamiNathan, the manager of residence life at Loyola, was unavailable for comment as he is away from campus until Dec. 12.

Residence assistants will investigate and issue warnings to individuals. While possible fines range from $25 to $250, Ryan admitted they aren’t overly strict.

Ryan understands that students want to enjoy themselves, but when they get so drunk that they need to be carried back to residence by an R.A. is not acceptable. “I think cultural nights are a great idea, but not the way they are being run now,” he said.

CSU councillor and Jesuit Residence R.A. Anaii Lee-Ender brought

up concerns about cultural nights at a council meeting last month.

She feels that “the events are not reaching their full potential,” and that “we were concerned about encouraging a culture of excessive drinking.” Her comments were well received at council, and she hopes that it will lead to a more positive environment for everyone involved once policies are reviewed.

Ella Boucaud, a Concordia business student, said that as much as she enjoys cultural nights, they can get a little too rowdy. “I think it’s a really good idea to show off other cultures, but with the open bar, some people go a little crazy,” she said.

Normally she wouldn’t be out

on a Wednesday night, and suggested that perhaps there would be less trouble if the event was held a different day. “I think more people would be able to go if it was on a Friday, plus it wouldn’t disturb other people in residence as much.”

Tanya Babiuk-Henry is an R.A. in Hingston Hall who thinks the problem originates from everyone coming back at the same time.

“They drink as much as they can before 11 p.m. and then don’t have to worry about being sober enough to make it home,” she pointed out.

Babiuk-Henry is also an organizer for the upcoming Ukrainian cultural night, and said that she is pleased to see more club involvement in the planning this year.

CRIME

Expansion of metro station partly to blame for increase in campus theft LB building favourite target for sticky fingers Chris Hanna Production manager Incidences of theft on Concordia’s downtown campus have slightly increased from last year due in part to the expansion of Guy-Concordia Metro station into the university, according to interim director of security Jacques Lachance.

“I would say it was expected,” said Lachance, “because there was an increase in the number of tunnels.” He said thieves are able to flee quickly through these tunnels.

According to a security department report detailing thefts on campus between 2009 and 2011, obtained by The Concordian through an access to information request,

217 items were stolen from individuals so far this year, estimated to be valued at $90,105; 22 universityowned items valued at $29,695.93 were also stolen between Jan. 1 and Nov. 28, 2011. In 2010, 195 items were stolen from people and 20 from the university.

The LB building was the most visited by thieves, with more than a quarter of all reported incidents occurring there. University-owned property that was stolen this year included 13 computers ($15,000), laptops ($2,763.93), a DVCAM deck ($2,500), theatre masks ($2,200), an Apple iPad ($700) and a projector screen ($400). Floor tiles, printer paper, 18 dinner plates and toilet paper rolls were also stolen from Concordia.

The report only includes items that were reported as stolen to security. “It is not very frequent that [items are] recovered,” admitted

Lachance.

University spokesperson Chris Mota encourages all staff and faculty to file a report with security if their personal belongings get stolen.

“Some people feel that even if they report [items stolen], they will never find their materials, but by not reporting it makes Concordia a target. Thieves would know they can steal here because there’s little follow-up.”

According to the university’s security policy, “when the theft or loss involves university property, the police will be called and informed of the incident.” The university cannot report students or faculty members’ stolen items to police because Concordia is not the owner of the stolen property.

“We can work with the police,” said Lachance. “We provide all the clues [and evidence we gathered].

We go to the camera system and

look for the suspect and many times [the police] says, ‘Oh, we know these guys’” from another incident in the city. Lachance said less than 50 per cent of cases that security sees get reported to the police. “They visit pawn shops and everywhere where these materials can [end up]” and the likelihood of recovering the stolen items may increase.

“The full responsibility of not becoming a victim is students’,” maintained Concordia security investigator-preventionist Lyne Denis. “We’re just there to support them.”

Denis recommends students never leave their belongings unattended and always keep their valuables in sight. She also advises students to rethink whether they need to carry a laptop, smartphone and iPod on them, or if they just do out of habit.

“If you don’t usually need it, leave it at home.”

Tuesday, December 6, 2011

Follow us on Twitter: @TheConcordian IDENTITY

Let students choose their names Trans student looks to turn his personal struggle into Concordia policy Jacqueline Di Bartolomeo News editor

I

n order to help students who are tired with being continually outed in class, forced to deal with professors’ unresponsiveness and having to fight over which name they go by, one transsexual student is working towards finding better ways for the registrar to field requests like his. “What I would like to see from this is for Concordia University to have a laid-out guideline in response to people who do not fit into their given legality of their sex or their gender,� said Ben, a student who preferred only to be identified by his first name.

Working in conjunction with Gabriela Kamenicki, trans advocate at the 2110 Centre for Gender Advocacy, and Concordia Student Union councillor Michaela Manson, Ben is pushing to create that framework.

Ben gave the University of Toronto as an example, where students have to write a letter to meet with the registrar to initiate a name change on their transcript.

Kamenicki, Manson and Ben are in the research stages of the project, he explained, and will hold their first meeting in mid-December.

They intend to present the project to Senate in 2012.

“This is not just about trans people specifically - there are a lot of people that don’t necessarily fit into any binary,� he said. While describing his discussion with the ombudsperson, Ben also noted that non-Western students also sometimes wish to change their names, “because you know people are mucking up their names all the time, and they can’t pronounce it, and it just saves a lot of headaches,� he pointed out.

The initiative originates from Ben’s own personal struggle to have his preferred name on school records.

Having his legal name on school documents means that Ben is continually outed in class, despite reaching out to professors to explain that he prefers being referred to as Ben. When Ben first arrived at Concordia, he headed to the registrar’s office to ask them to change his transcript to avoid those situations. “When I went to registration, I gave them all my documents and I asked the registrar ‘listen, this is my situation, is there something that we can do so that I don’t have to get outed in my class or have any confrontations with my teachers’ and they just said, straight up, ‘No,’� he said.

Ben took his situation to the

TUITION

Fighting fees in 2012 Concordia’s Mob Squad plans for the future of their campaign against tuition hikes Alyssa Tremblay Assistant news editor Though the Nov. 10 day of action has long since passed, the fight is far from over for the Mob Squad, a Concordiabased group mobilizing students against the Quebec government’s plan to raise university tuition.

Approximately 20 people met last Friday in the Graduate Students’ Association lounge on Mackay St., passing several motions which clarified the Mob Squad’s role in the future of the student movement at Concordia.

“

10 demonstrations against tuition increases.

That is not to say that union representatives are barred from taking part in the Mob Squad. A motion proposing that CSU and GSA executives be prohibited from participating at Mob Squad meetings was unanimously opposed. CSU VPs Morgan Pudwell and Chad Walcott, GSA president Robert Sonin, and several CSU councillors were in attendance.

It was also decided that the Mob Squad will have no public spokesperson. Political science student and undergraduate senator Gene Morrow

university ombudsperson’s office.

He was told that he would receive a new I.D. from the registrar’s office within two months which would identify him using his preferred initial, then his legal initial, and then his last name.

When Ben went to pick up his I.D. card, he asked whether the changes were also reflected on his transcript. They weren’t. “What was the entire point of me going to the ombudsman, going to all these people, addressing my situation, while now I have this stupid piece of plastic with a bunch of non-important letters on it that, if anything, is going to create more problems for me?� Ben asked. “I essentially just have this random I.D. card that doesn’t match up to any of my other files.�

Ben went back to the ombud-

sperson, who said the registrar would also be able to send explanatory emails to his professors before the start of classes asking them to use his preferred name. Ben accepted, although he was already in the habit of doing so himself. “For me, when I choose to disclose to people I feel comfortable, I feel like I’m in a good environment.

It’s situational,� Ben explained.

Conversely, he said, �if I’m getting outed in front of 6,200 people in engineering or sciences then I can’t control what those 6,200 kids are going to think about me and I sure as hell don’t want to have to deal with that for the next three to seven years.�

Students with questions or an interest in supporting the project are encouraged to email trans.action. cu@gmail.com.

- Gene Morrow, undergraduate senator

“It helps to have a mandate because it gives us a clear focus,� said Rushdia Mehreen, a graduate student who attended the meeting. “It allows us to start the important work, which is mobilizing.�

The squad voted to define itself as independent from the Concordia Student Union. Originally an ad hoc group created by the undergraduate union, the Mob Squad worked with the CSU in the province-wide Nov.

attended the meeting and personally feels that the Mob Squad should have no central authority. “I see it as a place to coordinate action with a variety of people,� said Morrow.

Student activist Alex Matak facilitated the meeting and says that the next Mob Squad gathering will be “more action-oriented,� focusing on the idea of calling for a general strike and the potential for direct action.

Nation in brief Jacqueline Di Bartolomeo

One-night stand or booty call?

Researchers at the University of Ottawa have established that there are four types of casual sex encounters among the college-age set. Published in the Canadian Journal of Human Sexuality, the U of O study interviewed 18- to 24-year-old students as well as 900 respondents under 30 involved in online focus groups. It defined four categories of encounters: the one-night stand, the booty call, the friend with benefits and the fuck buddy. According to The Globe and Mail, the report found that about 50 per cent of post-secondary students interviewed had friends with benefits.

The study also found that FWB are the most sexually exclusive of the four types, and most likely to lead to a real relationship.

Berlusconi, step over

An agronomy professor at the University of Guelph was mistakenly appointed to the position of Italian junior minister for agriculture last week. According to Agence FrancePresse, the job which in reality was intended for Franco Braga, a civil engineering professor at Sapienza University in Rome, at first went to Francesco Braga, 53, who left Italy over 28 years ago.

Crack pipes wind up in sewage pipes

A new report by University of Ottawa researchers has found that used glass crack pipes are being thrown away in the garbage or onto the street, in parks and in sewers, instead of being disposed of properly, according to the Ottawa Citizen. The study stems from interviews with 655 users of crack cocaine who participate in the Ottawa Safe Inhalation Program (SIP). The program distributed 52,000 clean glass pipes free of charge to users in 2010 as part of a $300,000 initiative designed to reduce HIV and Hepatitis C transmission. The pipes should be disposed of in a drop box or returned to a distributor, but only 21 per cent and 13 per cent of users respectively said they did so. U of O did conclude that pipe-sharing has been reduced by the program, from 64 to 49 per cent.

Don’t trust those journalists

I see it as a place to coordinate action with a variety of people.

3

Former Chinese spy Li Fengzhi dished on the Chinese government’s espionage priorities at a conference on espionage on Wednesday. Li, who defected in 2009, said foreign politicians are a big focus for China’s Ministry of State Security. That’s why the Canadian government should pay attention to email exchanges like the one between Conservative MP Bob Dechert and Shi Rong, a female journalist for Xinhua news agency, according to the former spy. Li said targeting politicians and posing as reporters is the way things are usually done. He surmised that even if she wasn’t a spy, Shi might have had some relationship with state security.

4

theconcordian

Tuesday, December 6, 2011

World in brief Fighting wrinkles and cancer...with bile?

STUDY

Jacqueline Di Bartolomeo

Last dictator standing for Christmas

Nando’s, a restaurant chain based in South Africa, has withdrawn a controversial ad after it received threats from Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe’s youth militia. The ad, for the chain’s six-piece chicken combo, shows Mugabe setting out dinner name tags for his fellow dictators, now deposed. He then pauses to reminisce about his time with them, in a flashback set to Mary Hopkin’s “Those Were the Days.”

The president has a water-gun fight with Moammar Gadhafi, makes sand angels with Saddam Hussein and sings karaoke with Mao Tsetung before coming back to reality to find himself alone at his dinner table at Christmas.

Rubber on, L.A. porn

Actors in the Los Angeles adult film industry may soon be required to use condoms in their movies, if an initiative of the AIDS Healthcare Foundation is passed. The group gathered 64,000 signatures to ensure the initiative is put on a ballot.

However, not all are pleased with the effort, which is meant to reduce the threat of transmitting sexually transmitted infections on set, the Los Angeles Times reported. Free Speech Coalition, a porn lobbying group, says the testing currently offered by the industry is sufficient.

The initiative would also allow L.A. to charge a fee to inspect film sets.

World won’t end in 2012

The Mayan calendar is often said to predict that the apocalypse is in December 2012. But a new interpretation says that the calendar actually predicts the end of an era, and not the world itself. Mayan codes researcher Sven Gronemeyer told the Associated Press that the date marked the return of the Mayan god of creation and war. It would also mark the end of one of the 400-year periods into which the Mayan calendar is divided.

According to Mexico’s National Institute for Anthropological History, only two out of 15,000 Mayan texts mention the date, and no Mayan text predicts the end of the world.

Christmas cheer OD

Too much Christmas cheer in stores has a negative impact on the purchasing habits of shoppers, researchers from the University of Oxford have found. According to The Telegraph, as stress levels run high due to the pressures of the holiday season, people are less willing to spend money in stores which have gone overboard with the holiday spirit. Nancy Puccinelli, the researcher who led the study, explained the holiday atmosphere can actually make stressed shoppers feel worse. The result can be less traffic and fewer sales for retailers in the short-term and losing customers in the long run, Puccinelli said.

Professor discovers compound that may affect cancerous and aging cells Fatima Arkin Contributor

A Concordia genomics professor in pursuit of the science behind health and youth has uncovered a promising compound in the battle against both cancer and aging.

Vladimir Titorenko, research chair in genomics, cell biology and aging at Concordia, is the senior author of a paper published in Oncotarget Journal last month detailing the discovery of a new potential anti-aging and cancer fighting compound.

The compound, lithocholic acid (LCA), is a naturally produced bile acid in the human intestinal tract and selectively kills cells isolated from human breast cancer, human neuroblastoma and rat glioma tumours grown in tissue culture.

“We have a good feeling of this compound maybe even being some sort of magic bullet,”

said Titorenko. He said that ideally, LCA would increase human life spans in terms of years and decrease the frequency of age-related disorders like cancer. Last year, the same compound was found to triple the lifespan of yeast.

Troy Harkness, a principal investigator on the study and associate professor in the department of anatomy and cell biology at the University of Saskatchewan, said the discovery is significant because LCA gives cells the chance to stop what they’re doing and just look at themselves.

“Am I damaged?” said Harkness. “Is my DNA damaged? Are my mitochondria functioning right or how are my proteins? All the basic things you need for a healthy cells are just working better.”

Titorenko is less interested in the human application of anti-aging research and more intrigued by the science of aging. “We are not doctors, we are not [any] kind of medical research-affiliated people,” he explained. “We [are] scientists [trying] to understand why [...] we age.”

Titorenko warns that the study is still in its infancy and that testing on humans is a complicated matter.

“What is important is that a compound, which simply has a beneficial effect, [like] anti-

cancer or anti-aging, could [also] have a certain type of undesirable side effects,” he added.

Harkness agrees. He referenced the example of Flutamide, a prescription drug used to treat prostate cancer given to pregnant women in the 1960s. Flutamide reduced morning sickness in mice, but it resulted in massive birth defects in human babies.

“What happens in mice does not necessarily occur in humans, so you have to be extraordinarily careful when you go from an animal trial to a human trial,” said Harkness.

If approved for humans, it is uncertain how LCA would be administered. Harkness said the human digestive tract is quite toxic, so consuming the compound in a pill form might be tricky.

But even if LCA is eventually approved for humans, Titorenko said that people might not physically look like what they expect.

“Will the person still be sort of senior age, but inside being extremely youthful, healthy, energetic and so on and so on?” he asked. “It’s really hard to say because there are no known intentionally-used anti-aging drugs that have been tested on people.”

The next step in the study will include conducting independent trials of LCA on mice.

CAMPUS

2110 Centre radio project aims to teach about gender-based violence Sex workers rights group Stella joins forces for workshop Jamie Floyd Contributor The 2110 Centre for Gender Advocacy is taking the next step in its mandate of promoting equality and empowerment by continuing its Blue Print Project.

The initiative, which began on Oct. 11 and will continue until April 17, is a collaborative effort between CKUT Radio and the 2110 Centre with the goal of raising awareness about various gender-based violence issues affecting women from different backgrounds.

“It is our goal to create a sustainable structure for a radio show that will be hosted and produced by young girls and women of various ages, backgrounds and experiences who have participated in the Blue Print Project,” said Bianca Mugyenyi, the programming and campaigns coordinator.

In addition to the guest speakers, there are weekly workshops which alternate between teaching radio skills and technical training as well as exploring various genderbased issues.

On Tuesday, Dec. 6, a member of Montreal sex workers rights organization Stella will host a workshop in coordination with the Blue Print Project which, according to the centre’s website, will deal with “systemic violence and discrimination and the effects of laws and policing

on sex workers in Montreal.”

The centre is also a haven for those interested in these issues and who wish to volunteer.

“People often come to the centre to attend events, check out the books in our library, access confidential peer-to-peer support and find community,” said Mugyenyi. “People are often interested in volunteering, and there are a number of ways of getting involved.

We have campaigns that are always in need of more volunteers, we have a peer-to-peer support program that also centres on volunteers.”

The goal is to educate and help as many people as possible with regards to gender issues. One of the ways that the centre does so is by opening its doors to housing events.

The centre acquired a new space on 1500 de Maisonneuve Blvd.

West to host events, meetings, gatherings and to deal with campaigns such as their ongoing campaign to create a sexual assault centre at Concordia.

“Having two spaces allows all aspects of the centre to flourish and ensures peer

“

It is our goal to create a sustainable structure for a radio show that will be hosted and produced by young girls and women of various backgrounds.

- Bianca Mugyenyi, programming and campaigns coordinator

support appointments are confidential,” said Mugyenyi.

“Sex Work and Gendered Vio-

lence,” a presentation by Stella, takes place Tuesday, Dec. 6 at 6 p.m. at 1500 de Maisonneuve Blvd. West, suite 404.

Tuesday, December 6, 2011

Follow us on Twitter: @TheConcordian

5

Over 1,600 students cast their ballots Continued from cover

According to chief electoral officer Ismail Holoubi, Saradjen Bartley, who had previously applied to run for a JMSB councillor’s seat, withdrew her candidacy a week before the byelections.

In an email, Dos Anjos credited his win to “the fact that JMSB students saw in me someone they can trust and rely upon,” adding that he benefited from the campaign experience of his advisors. Chaabi called the victory “unexpected” and attributed her win to her class speeches throughout the campaign period.

Both of the candidates who responded to requests for comment expressed positive feedback for Holoubi. Both congratulated him on a job well done, and wrote that they were not aware of any electoral infractions committed.

The CEO did field questions from two concerned students. A few minutes after 7 p.m. on Nov. 29, Francisco Juarrero emailed Holoubi to voice his concerns regarding behaviour he considered to be possible electoral violations. Juarrero explained that two of his friends had pointed out non-regulation behaviour behind the polling desk. One friend told him that his ballots were put inside envelopes instead of into the box. Another friend, not paying

Over 1,600 cast their ballots, representing nearly five and a half per cent of Concordia’s 30,000 undergraduate students.

attention, handed the ballot to the clerk and did not see where the clerk placed it.

In reply, Holoubi said the first case of suspicious behaviour was due to “technical problems.” One of the stations did not have an Internet connection, he wrote, so the clerks put the ballots into an envelope until they could verify the eligibility of the voter.

Holoubi added that “it seems that such procedure is creating a mistrust and therefore, I announced that this procedure isn’t going to continue during this byelection.”

In the second case Juarrero referred to, Holoubi wrote that the clerks had no right to put the ballots in the box, emphasizing that it is the student’s responsibility to do so.

A second student approached Holoubi with the complaint that one of her ballots had not been given

to her. However, the CEO said there was no discrepancy in the number when the final tally of the ballots was made.

Independent students will also benefit from new representation at council meetings. Lone candidate Omar Abdullahi took one of the two available seats with 38 votes for and only six against.

CUTV and CJLO 1690 AM successfully lobbied to increase the fees they receive from the undergraduate population to $0.34 a credit from $0.18 and $0.25, respectively.

A majority of 946 students voted to increase funds allotted to the campus TV station, while 688 were against it. CJLO, which was denied a fee levy increase in the March general elections, found that the second time is the charm with students voting in favour of the increase 956 to 670.

THE BYELECTION HAPPENED BETWEEN NOV. 29 AND DEC. 1. PHOTO BY SARAH HOWELL

Questions raised about Holoubi’s participation in last spring’s elections Continued from cover When pressed by councillor Nadine Atallah about the fact that he misrepresented himself during his pre-appointment interview by not mentioning his involvement in previous elections, Holoubi stated that he had only worked as a clerk in past elections and reconfirmed that he ran independently last semester.

“I ran independently because I didn’t want to be on any of the sides, because honestly I had a lot of friends running from both slates and both of them were amazing slates and amazing people,” explained Holoubi.

VP finance Jordan Lindsay also pointed out the lack of evidence supporting the claims against Holoubi.

“I was on Your Concordia and I know that he was not on our team,” said Lindsay. “Also, on the affiliation papers that were submitted to the [former] CEO, he is not included on that and there are no affiliation documents that he submitted that have anything in relation to us.”

Council also voted not to overturn the judicial board’s recent ruling regarding the invalidation of former CEO Bram Goldstein.

“In order for council to overturn this decision it must be manifested unreasonable and/or one of those things regarded as racist, sexist and bribery,” said VP external Chad Walcott. “The decision made was

“

JB CHAIR CEEJAY DESFOSSES HAS BEEN ACCUSED OF NOT BEING IMPARTIAL.

No one at the meeting addressed the fact that [JB chair Ceejay Desfosses] did not address my appeal within the five allotted days.

- Tomer Shavit, former CSU councillor

none of those things.”

Shavit has been publicly critical of both Goldstein’s firing and of the JB hearing itself, filing an appeal with the board in November alleging procedural misconduct, a lack of impartiality, and collusion between the JB and some CSU executives.

“No one at the meeting addressed the fact that [JB chair Ceejay Desfosses] did not address my appeal within the allotted five days, said Shavit in an interview.

“No one addressed the fact that she broke the code of procedures

multiple times by first sending [the appeal] to council for anything but an overturn. I have no confidence in the judicial board.”

The JB said their three-week delay in responding to Shavit’s appeal was due to the fact that they were awaiting a response from CSU council, which they consulted for advice regarding how they should go about treating the appeal.

In an email, Desfosses described the idea of the JB judging an appeal of its own decision as “redundant.“ She wrote to CSU council asking for

THE IMPARTIALITY OF CEO ISMAIL HOLOUBI (TOP) WAS CALLED INTO QUESTION BY FORMER COUNCILLOR TOMER SHAVIT. PHOTOS BY NAVNEET PALL the creation of “a 3 person panel whose sole purpose is to hear appeals” in order to establish some sort of procedure for dealing with complaints against the JB itself.

According to emails exchanged between Shavit and JB member Nadim Kobeissi, the board met for three hours on Sunday, Nov. 4 to consider the appeal.

6

Tuesday, December 6, 2011

theconcordian

CITY

Hitting homeless where it hurts McGill student joins forces with Liberal MP with a shared vision for Canada’s poor Cameron Ahmad Staff writer Julia Gray is on a very ambitious mission.

The 20-year-old McGill University student has recently devoted herself towards one goal: eradicating homelessness and poverty in Montreal.

“There is a huge need for more resources for people that are living on the streets,” she said. “In a city of over 30,000 homeless people, there actually isn’t one place to eat lunch on the weekends.”

Gray is a long-time volunteer with local community organizations in Montreal, including the Old Brewery Mission and the Benedict Labre House. She recently started a student club at McGill called Getting Off the Streets, part of a broader effort on her part called the JGray Initiative.

Through GOTS, Gray has started a sports program for the homeless.

“Sport helps them learn life skills such as motivation, commitment, involvement, and trust,” she explained.

Gray’s commitment to issues such as homelessness comes from a compelling personal story. Her own uncle lived for years on the streets of Toronto, but his resilience inspired her to take action.

“His addiction to alcohol took over,” she

said. “He ended up homeless for seven years.

But it was because of places like soup kitchens and homeless shelters that he was able to make that long road to recovery.”

Gray also decided that the only way to gain national support and recognition of her efforts was through a partnership with a political figure, so she began contacting MPs across Canada.

Marc Garneau, Liberal MP for Westmount—Ville-Marie, jumped on the opportunity to join forces with Gray.

In June, he proposed Bill C-418, a private member’s bill aimed at establishing a national children’s commissioner, an independent body tasked with overseeing how the government treats issues related to child poverty.

Since meeting Garneau, Gray has been the most vocal supporter of C-418.

A national strategy, according to Gray, would ensure that federal resources are sufficient and fairly distributed.

“The money is never enough,” said Michelle Llambias Meunier, communications officer at the Old Brewery Mission. “Society often has the preconception that homeless people are lazy, so there’s obviously some awareness missing. I’m pretty sure, for the next years, the homelessness situation is going to stay the same.”

Dorothy Massimo, the director of development and communications at Dans la rue, stresses the need for co-operation. “Dealing with homelessness is a multi-faceted issue, which cannot be resolved by any one level of government,” she said. “We can only hope to bring together all levels of government, specifically in the health and education sectors.”

CHARITY

“ “ “

There is a huge need for more resources for people that are living on the streets. In a city of over 30,000 homeless people, there actually isn’t one place to eat lunch on the weekends.

- Julia Gray, Getting Off the Streets founder

The money is never enough. Society often has the preconception that homeless people are lazy, so there’s obviously some awareness missing.

- Michelle Llambias Meunier, communications officer at the Old Brewery Mission

Dealing with homelessness is a multi-faceted issue, which cannot be resolved by any one level of government. We can only hope to bring together all levels of government.

- Dorothy Massimo, director of development and communications at Dans la rue

In addition to the support from Garneau and other MPs, Gray’s initiative is being backed by United Way, Raleigh Rescue Mission, and various other shelters and organizations.

“I want to be able to deliver that message of hope and courage to other people,” she said. Her efforts have resonated with many of her fellow students, but she continues to stress the need for additional help and donations.

Centraide Concordia campaign raises $186,000 Funds will go towards fight against poverty George Menexis Staff writer As Concordia’s annual Centraide campaign comes to a close, it looks like it will fall just short of the $200,000 goal the university had set.

After a month of events and fundraising, the campaign has raised approximately $186,000, according to the university’s director of administration and public affairs.

“This campaign emphasizes the importance of uniting to fight poverty,” said Enza De Cubellis. “Also, it’s one of the few organizations that

CONCORDIA UNIVERSITY EMPLOYEES ANNA MICHETTI AND DANIELLE TESSIER VOLUNTEER TO SERVE SPAGHETTI FOR

EV PHOTO BY KAMILA

A FUNDRAISER IN THE BUILDING.

HINKSON

puts a substantial 87 per cent of every dollar to fundraising issues at stake.”

Concordia officially ended its campaign on Dec. 2 with a luncheon inviting all who wish to donate. The donations made at that event have yet to be counted.

“Reaching the goal is great, but every single dollar raised is done with pride and accomplishment. At the end, we do the best we can and we’re very proud,” added De Cubellis.

Last year’s campaign raised $192,097 over the month of October, surpassing the original goal of $185,000 and placing Concordia’s campaign in the top 50 fundraisers of Centraide Montreal.

“We set the bar very high this year considering last year’s success,” De Cubellis said.

The citywide Centraide campaign, which

aims to collect $59 million by Dec. 15, had amassed just over $50 million by press time.

According to De Cubellis, one of the most difficult parts of the annual campaign is getting student groups involved.

“It’s obviously one of our goals for next year,” De Cubellis said. “We understand that students are busy with extreme schedules, but we’re starting to look for ways to get the students more involved.”

Meanwhile, according to its website, McGill University raised $206,230 after setting an ambitious goal of $450,000, while the Université du Québec à Montréal has raised $160,000. They had aimed for $188,000.

Concordia is part of 360 agencies that take part in the annual fundraising effort in the greater Montreal area. Concordia has been involved with Centraide for nearly four decades.

life

Tuesday, December 6, 2011

7

Write to the editor: life@theconcordian.com FASHION

Glitter and glide through the holidays Steal the show at your work Christmas party Elysha Del Giusto-Enos Staff writer

LIGHTS, GARLAND, CHRISTMAS TREES – NOW, HOW ARE YOU GOING TO DECORATE YOUR WONDERFUL SELF? THE HOLIDAYS ARE CALLED “COCKTAIL PARTY SEASON” FOR A REASON. BARELY INTO DECEMBER, THE INVITATIONS ARE ALREADY STREAMING IN. A CONSIDERABLE AMOUNT OF ENERGY IS DEDICATED TO COORDINATING OUTFITS THAT ARE PERFECT FOR EACH EVENT, HOW TO ACCESSORIZE, WHERE TO INVEST IN NEW PIECES, AND HOW TO UPDATE OLD ONES. EXHAUSTING. SO HERE’S SOME FASHION ADVICE TO MAKE IT ALL A LITTLE EASIER TO NAVIGATE.

GUYS, GET HOLIDAY SLEEK Let’s start with men’s fashion. Designer Timo Weiland summed up a common problem men have in an interview with AskMen. com.

“Men dress either too sloppily, or they dress too contrived, stiff and over-polished.

There should be an ease to the way a man dresses, a cool factor.”

Fashion blogger James Andrew put it another way. “The biggest mistake men make is being boring. Men are afraid to wear certain colours and patterns, assigning them to one gender or sexuality. [...] Wouldn’t it be more masculine to have the confidence to wear whatever one wants?”

From holiday parties to simple get-togethers, here’s some advice for the guys.

Wear clothes that are appropriate to what you’re doing. If the day is going to be spent picking out a Christmas tree or meeting up with friends at a microbrewery, “Russian Winter” and classic American work-

wear are two similar styles that are easy and current. These trends are basic, they mean lose the brands, and don’t mistake clothes that are sized too big with casual comfort. Some good colours to look for are khaki, grey, olive, and camel. Military inspired jackets and sand-coloured boots are also a good option.

For more formal events, there are a wide range of options. For minimalists, throw on a nice T-shirt, high-end trainers, and either a tailored jacket, knitted sweater, or V-neck cardigan. This outfit would work well with a nice pair of jeans, but washed-out red or blue pants that were a hit this summer would carry over well, too.

And for fancy parties, Mad Men style is still a staple this season. A square-ended tie, silver tie clip, classic brogue or loafer, slim-fit trouser, crisp shirt and understated sweater would work perfectly. Party outfits inspired by the ‘70s are also coming back into the fashion cycle. Think dark velvet jacket, red shirt, and slightly flared trouser. But remember, the key is always confidence.

The clothes do nothing for the person who doesn’t own it.

LADIES, FIND THE OUTFIT THAT MAKES YOU HAPPY

Classics can be accented with uber of-the-moment pieces, or go all out and splurge on a new dress. If you’re going to take the plunge on a pricey item that isn’t for a specific event, personal stylist Jennifer Garces has some advice.

“If a person buys something and doesn’t wear it within the first week of purchase the chances of them ever wearing it are slim-to-none. I recommend returning those items if possible.”

Garces added that if you want to tear those price tags off and wear it out of the

Graphic by Katie Brioux

store, “those are the instant favourites and the keepers.”

When buying new clothes, Garces also suggests that women don’t get hung-up on the size that’s advertised. “Sizing is far from standard and it is way more important for something to fit than for the number on the tag to be low.” She adds that no one will know what’s printed on the tag, but everyone will notice if your body is trying to bust out of a tight purchase.

SHEER CLASSICS AND TRENDY PAIRINGS New styles this season are short leather dresses, or suede fitted and flared dresses.

Also fashionable are slightly see-though fabrics, such as lace and sheer (sheer skirts are incredibly fashion-forward and if done right, beyond sexy and feminine. But it’s a difficult style to pull off.)

For styles with legs – wearable for seasons to come – bold colours and metallics are in. A gathered, one-shoulder cocktail dress in a bold colour is perfect for any party. And bronze, gold, or copper cocktail dresses are big, too. But for girls who just can’t feel right in a dress, here are some pant options that are also on trend.

The holiday spin on the ever-popular skinny jean means a waxed, coated version in a metallic colour. Combine it with a draped top and fun, dance floor ready heels.

Or for the vehemently anti-girly, androgyny is making a comeback. Cigarette pant, crisp shirt, silk bow tie, and brogues. Okay, maybe a high-heeled loafer if you must.

ADD MORE SPARKLE TO YOUR PLAIN OUTFIT

But if the bank account won’t allow for a whole new outfit, then update a staple.

Get out your trusty LBD (little black dress) and accessorize. Buy a pair of holiday heels.

Gold, silver, and glitter heels are everywhere. A bow or buckle accent is right on trend, too. Beyond shoes, bags can update an outfit. Bright, sparkly clutches in fun shapes (rhinestone puppies, and cupcakeshaped sparkly clutches) are making the rounds.

Finish the outfit with some old world glamour via a swipe of red lipstick. And for a late-night party, pull out all the stops and go heavy on the shimmer eyeshadow, and load up on liner and mascara.

Above all, fashion has to be fun. Trying to look a certain way when it just doesn’t feel right makes someone awkward at best, and a fashion victim at worst. But anyone who just knows that they look amazing can pull off any creation. So go shop, dress up, drink, dance, make some mistletoe memories, and watch out for the punch bowl – that stuff is stronger than it tastes.

8

theconcordian

Tuesday, December 6, 2011

VIRGINITY

Holding on to your V card Why waiting isn’t such a bad idea Jamie-Lee Gordon Contributor Doing the popular dance with no pants for the first time is a huge issue for many people.

There are increasing societal pressures to lose one’s virginity sooner rather than later and thus, doing what is best for you tends to get overlooked.

Knowing whether or not you are ready to have sex is important to determine. For some, this sense of readiness comes quicker than others, seeing as there are different factors at play. “Society’s views on virginity have a big influence, especially on men,” said sex therapist Bernard Ouellet. “Even as young teens, many go around telling their friends about how much sexual experience they have, when really, they have none at all. They get it in their heads that being a virgin is a bad thing, when in reality everyone has to respect their own path.”

Some guys have a more judgemental look on 20-year-old virgins.

This is not the case for Jake Smith*, a Concordia student majoring in history who is also a virgin. Since he is a Jehovah’s Witness, he cannot have sex before marriage.

“I have religious reasons, but also I haven’t found the right girl. My beliefs do not allow me to have sex, but obviously I do want to do it, it’s not like I am wearing a chastity belt or anything. I have a level of self-control due to my respect for my religion,” he said.

As a therapist, Dr. Ouellet works largely with teens and young adults. He stresses to his patients the importance of making the right personal decision, advice others have taken to heart. External influences such as movies, television and peers are commonly cited as dominant factors for deciding when to first have sex.

Some official statistics do show that not all youth believe that it’s important to engage in sex at the first opportunity. A study in 2005

by Statistics Canada shows an increase in the number of young people trying to abstain from sex until they are ready.

Planned Parenthood Toronto found that between 2006 and 2007, five per cent of sexu-

Graphic by Phil Waheed ally active teens were 13 years old.

“I feel that in today’s overly sexual society, that young people who are in a relationship feel pressure to have sex earlier just because they think other people are,” said Kayla

George*, a second-year history student at Bishop’s University. This eagerness to keep up with others can lead couples to have sex before their relationships are mature enough to handle it.

“It can cause a breakdown because those involved don’t have a strong enough foundation that encompasses communication and trust,” said George.

Abstaining from sex is a way to work towards creating the strong foundation that many couples strive for. Despite the difficulties that may arise throughout the effort, one Concordia student couldn’t be happier with the decision. “Not having sexual relations helped us to discern if we were really the right person for one another,” said Miriam Reis Jorge Bergo, a member of the Catholic Student Association. “Sometimes sex can mask many things because we get emotionally attached and cannot think straight,” she said.

She admitted that she has been saving herself for marriage, after contemplating when the best time would be to have her first experience with her boyfriend and what the idea of sex meant to her. “Not having sex allowed us to mature our relationship. We learned how to express our affections in different ways and we grew in friendship, complicity and intimacy,” she said. “Sex is not going to be the centre of our relationship, but a crown that celebrates everything else, and I am sure we will grow in love more and more, especially when we will be too old to have sex.”

Despite all the positives that come from waiting, Dr. Ouellet feels that the effects society has on those who are still virgins don’t go unnoticed. “I see patients all the time who feel frustrated because they are still virgins. I try to show them that it’s not something to be upset about because they have chosen to explore other areas in life and many have found success. When the time is right, it will happen for them. There’s no rush.” * Names were changed due to the personal nature of the article and to respect confidentiality.

HOLIDAY

Seven websites to get you in the Christmas spirit Trolling the Internet for useful, funny and strange holiday content Jacqueline Di Bartolomeo News editor

PURVEYOR OF CHRISTMAS CHEER For most people, “‘Twas the night before Christmas” applies less to Clement Clarke Moore’s tale of Santa visiting a deserving household and more to the time when they get their holiday shopping done. With that in mind, here are sites to get you through the gift giving and the family reunions (not to mention the over-eating) without pulling your hair out, going overboard with the eggnog and winding up in the neighbour’s yard.

These seven sites, listed in no particular order, range from silly to creepy to, shockingly, useful. Here’s to the best Christmas yet.

SECRET SANTA DUTY MADE EASY The winner is: Elfster URL: www.elfster.com What to expect: Elfster lets you and your friends sign up for a gift exchange, then anonymously assigns a Secret Santa to each

one. Friends can give examples of what gifts they would like on their wish list. Elfster also has the option of asking a friend a question about their tastes anonymously.

YES, VIRGINIA, THERE IS A WEBSITE THAT TRACKS SANTA’S EVERY MOVE The winner is: NORAD Tracks Santa URL: www.noradsanta.org What to expect: A Santa tracking system on Christmas Eve. Using “radar, satellites, Santa cams and fighter jets,” the North American Aerospace Defense Command has been assiduously following Santa’s movement across the globe on the night before Christmas since 1958.

ALTERNATIVE CHRISTMAS The winner is: Buy Nothing Christmas URL: www.buynothingchristmas.org What to expect: Low on funds? Disagree with the idea that “I love you” can be translated into a pair of pearl earrings? Buy Nothing Christmas offers ideas for homemade gifts, swap circles and ways to reduce excess consumerism for the holidays.

WAYS TO GIVE YOUR PROFILE PICTURE A BIT OF CHRISTMAS CHEER The winner is: Elf Yourself

URL: www.elfyourself.com What to expect: You input a picture of yourself (or your brother, or your dog), and get an “elfed” version back. I can’t believe I just used elf as a verb.

HOW TO TRICK YOUR FRIENDS AND FAMILY INTO BELIEVING YOU KNOW WHAT THEY LIKE

FUNNY PICTURES ON THE INTERNET

The winner is: Sketchy Santas URL: www.sketchysantas.failblog.org What to expect: A Christmas twist on the crowd-favourite Failblog. Lots of pictures of creepy looking (or, alternatively, plain amazing) Santas.

The winner is: Shopycat app What to expect: Okay, so this isn’t technically a website, but if you can get past the fact that the app’s intended use is to collect Facebook data, it is actually pretty useful.

Shopycat is a Facebook application created

by Walmart that collects data from your friend’s pages about their likes and dislikes. Based on that information, it then suggests gifts you can purchase for them.

EASY ON THE RUM THERE, GRANDMA The winner is: Eggnogaholic URL: www.eggnogaholic.com What to expect: A repertoire of variations on a classic holiday beverage, including eggnog pound cake, truffles and popcorn balls. Who knew there were so many uses for eggnog?

Graphic by Valerie Brunet

arts

Tuesday, December 6, 2011

9

Write to the editor: arts@theconcordian.com CHRISTMAS

Let s run, and we ll have some fun now, before I melt away

Photos by Gilda Pourjabar

Your heart doesn’t have to be one size larger than normal to enjoy these holiday events Sofia Gay Arts editor

When the snow blankets the ground and cakes the bottom of your shoes and you call to cancel that doctor’s appointment because your hand is regaining some sensation after exams are over (so it wasn’t carpal tunnel after all—phew!) it can only mean one thing: holiday time is here.

While some might be perfectly content with planting themselves in front of the television and catching up on the latest Walking Dead season, the adventurous have plenty of options for when they’re not busy ripping open presents. Here’s a list of some events to check out before you’re back in the shackles next semester.

I FEEL LIKE DANCIN’...YEAH! We all work super hard during the semester, but other than Bible-length papers, what do we really have to show for it? Concordia’s dance department is a bit different, as students have their end-of-the-semester performances coming up, which they’ve been toiling away at for your viewing pleasure.

Catch one from Dec. 8 to 14 at the MB building. Check out dance.concordia.ca for more details.

When Barbie met her nutcracker prince (poor, forgotten Ken) in 2001, it became painfully clear that virtually everyone had heard of the classic story. You can catch the grownup—and considerably less pink version—The Nutcracker, presented by Les Grands Ballets, this month. There’s shows on Dec. 10-11 and 17-18, and an overdose amount from Dec. 20-30 with the exception of the 24-25, ’cause even the most inhumanely graceful among us need to make time for Santa, after all. Go to www.grandsballets.com for more information.

COMING SOON TO A THEATRE NEAR YOU Thankfully, there are more holiday time options for the big screen than whatever Ben Stiller and Robert De Niro have regurgitated for us this year (let’s face it—those films haven’t been funny since Barbra Streisand’s wig first made an appearance). Besides making us aware that a third Olsen existed, and that The Tree of Life is award shows’ kryptonite, the Cannes Film Festival also rounded up the best ads in the world once more this year. Reel Refreshing, the latest edition of the Cannes Lions International Advertising Film Festival, is showing at Cinema du Parc until Dec. 15. Visit www.cinemaduparc.com for showtimes.

If your dreary weekday night classes kept you from checking out the offerings at Blue Sunshine (that’s Montreal’s psychotropic film centre to you, bud), then now’s your chance.

From a tribute to Bob Clark’s Christmas movies, to screening Go Ask Alice (based on the book—think the plot line of Thirteen, but on steroids), they’ve got all your out-of-the-norm film needs covered. Not to mention their Christmas TV Trash Party, which promises to be “a six hour overload of rare retro Christmas TV specials, movies and ephemera.” Isn’t that what holiday dreams are made of, after all?

Go to www.blue-sunshine.com to get in on the magic.

ALL THE WORLD’S A STAGE If holiday cheer ain’t quite your thing, you can check out Urban Tales at the Centaur Theatre, a “naughty, anti-holiday storytelling extravaganza.” Featuring stories that range in anti-holiday titles from “The Hose and Dry Goods Specialty Store” to “Death & Co” (featuring Death’s Little Helper, no less), your inner Grinch might just break out into “Joy to the World” when seeing this one. It all goes down Dec. 8-10 and 16-17. Visit centaurthe-

atre.com for more details.

If you’re more Tiny Tim than Scrooge, you’ll want to swing by the Mile End to check out the Rialto Theatre’s musical take on A Christmas Carol. With 16 classic Christmas tunes being performed, and shows in both English and French, they’ve got the holiday spirit down for both sides of the language scale. The show runs Dec. 16-18, 20, 23, 2627 and 30. Check out www.theatrerialto.ca for more information.

OH HONEY, YOU ARE FUNNY SideMart Theatrical Grocery’s bringing the laughs to MainLine with One of Everything for the Boys, “a faux televised vaudeville” that will see the performers reporting from overseas in the Land of the Sun and Sand.

This will mark the first time the Whiteman’s Whiskey Comedy Revue “have left TV Town

to honour the bravery and spirit of our Boys fighting in the conflict overseas!” Think the love child of theatre and television, with a background of non-stop laugh tracks (but of live people, thankfully). It’s showing Dec. 7-11 and 14-18. Visit mainlinetheatre.ca for details.

NDG will welcome some of the world’s finest people—stand-up comedians, naturally—for its second Hilarious Holiday Hoedown on Dec. 8. It’s all going down at The Wheel Club, which is usually reserved for hillbilly and rock ’n’ roll nights (which, come to think of it, are also worth checking out if you roam NDG on a regular basis). The show will have a hand in that unmistakable holiday spirit of giving by using the event to support the NDG Food Depot. The Wheel Club is located at 3373 Cavendish Blvd., and the laughs start at 8:30 p.m. It’s a measly $5 for entrance, or free if you bring along a non-perishable food item.

10

Tuesday, December 6, 2011

CHRISTMAS

theconcordian

Don t be a square, get yourself to the fair Montreal’s artists offer gifting alternatives to overcrowded malls Rebecca Ugolini Staff writer

crushing, fluorescent halls of the Eaton Centre or Fairview, our city’s countless fairs offer the perfect gift for nearly anyone, and at any price range.

So if you’re looking for a gift that’s more ‘art fair’ than ‘mall fare,’ you might want to take this guide with you as you make the rounds.

Attention, shoppers: do you suffer from Holiday Seasonal Allergies? Do your eyes dry in their sockets at anything red and green, ears shrivel at the sound of chirpy carols, fingers exhibit with more will to tie a noose than another gift bow?

If you’ve answered yes to any of these questions, Montreal’s holiday art fairs just might be the cure. Providing exposure to local artists, encouraging creative and thoughtful gifting, and dissociating the buying experience from the soul-

Souk@SAT Taking its name from the word for a traditional North African or Middle Eastern market, Souk@SAT rounds up Montreal’s best fashion, accessory, jewellery, toy and decorative arts designers under one roof. Held in the Society of Arts and Technology’s loft-like space, the fair for those who “hate shopping in chain stores” urges shoppers to forego the cookie-cutter mall experience and to support local talent in purchasing

gifts that are “useful, decorative, innovative, and exclusive!” Now in its eighth year, the fair gets better every time, catering to every budget and niche: from chic toddler “petite couture” from Pompon to innovative furniture and sculptural chairs by Bluecony, to jams and preserves from Preservation Society. It runs Dec. 9-11 at the Society for Arts and Technology, 1195 Saint-Laurent Blvd. See souk.sat.qc.ca for more details.

Puces Pop: Holiday Craft and DIY Fair Quirky and fun, Puces POP is well-known to Montrealers whose tastes run a little to the indie side. Offering locally-produced products from over 85 vendors, Puces POP has it all at very reasonable and varied prices, boasting both $10 miniature stuffed animals for your recent acquaintances or bigger gifts for heavy-duty

friends. “Wooden furniture, knitted mitts, silver jewellery, pet toys, original photography prints, chocolate truffles,” and yes, even “vegan cupcakes,” are on the fair’s roster. If you’ve got kiddies, drop them off at the supervised DIY craft table as you shop, then stop for a coffee, chai tea, or hot apple cider as you wait for your gifts to be wrapped at the by-donation gift wrapping station. It’s on Dec. 10 and 11 at St-Enfant de Jésus Church (5035 St-Dominique St.) See www.popmontreal.com for more information.

Old Skool Crafts: Winter Fairs of the Artisan Elves Anyone who has received hand-knitted slippers or a home-baked pie knows it: there’s nothing like something handmade. Old Skool Crafts speaks to that truth, featuring over 110 artisans and their wares, ranging from “classical or elegant” to “quirky and whimsical styles of handmade creations.” Offering all the standard fair goods as well as more unique pieces— think pieces made by skilled wood-workers, hand-crafted toys and natural bath, beauty and baked goods—Old Skool Crafts is both hip and nostalgic. Running a canned good and gentlyused clothing collection alongside CTV’s Spirit of Giving campaign and offering a children’s craft area and workshops for adults and children, Old Skool Crafts brings back the old school sense of community, handmade goods, and charity.

It will be open Dec. 10 and 11, at St. Michael’s Church (105 St-Viateur St. W.) Visit www.oldskoolcrafts.webs.com for more details.

Prêt à Emporter IV Montreal is full of young artists whose talent often outweighs their reputation: if you’d like to snag one of their pieces while you still can, check out Atelier Circulaire’s Prêt à Emporter IV, the yearly fundraiser that gives shoppers the chance to pick up prints from upcoming Montreal artists for $100 or less. Focusing its repertoire on print-based artists who work with techniques such as lithography and engraving, Atelier Circulaire will be putting the money from the sales towards a new website and better print-

COMEDY

A funny alternative to strip clubs and Chin Co-producers of comedy show ‘Kosher Jokes for the Halaladays’ make religion palatable Marissa Miller Copy editor It’s not always appropriate to make digestive tract jokes, but it’s always appropriate to bring Jews and Muslims together during Christmas time.

Jewish stand-up sensation Jeff Schouela and Palestinian comedy queen Eman ElHusseini are doing just that. On Dec. 21, when Catholics, Protestants, heck, even atheists, will be adorning their coniferous trees with the most iridescent of ornaments, Jews and Muslims will have the opportunity to come together through laughter during this most religiously-exclusive of times at the Gesù Theatre.

The co-producers of the second annual show “Kosher Jokes for the Halaladays” aim to confront these groups’ religious differences head-on. Prepare to be entertained by some of Montreal’s biggest names such as Joey Elias, Dan Laxer, and host Ali Hassan.

“Everyone has that outlet of laughter,” Schouela said, making it the perfect remedy

to mend the world of its political ills. The only time laughter isn’t permitted, however, is when it results in the excretion of bodily fluids. “I made a fan laugh so hard once, he puked on my shoes. That wasn’t pleasant,” he reminisced.

El-Husseini, who has performed stand-up in the Middle East, knows about comedy’s unifying qualities firsthand, and how it is both a powerful and peaceful weapon. “People in the Middle East are very politically-savvy because they’re always airing the news,” she noted.

The core of hatred stems from ignorance, a fact that is common to groups on all ends of the stratosphere. “If people like the show, they’ll come back, but they also put a face to the opposition,” she said. The dopamine-inducing jokes emanating from these comedians’ routines has brought back audiences for more, because they address stigmatized issues that no one else has the courage to confront.

Comedy is not a defence mechanism, according to Schouela. It is a shrewd business technique that “everyone in the corporate world is using, because it gets messages across.”

In respect to our glorious provincial language, Schouela and El-Husseini have learned to perform in French. “The bright side is that [francophones] let you rest for 10 seconds because there’s always applause,” Schouela said.

It’s not always the easiest thing to walk up on stage and strip down emotionally, and

sometimes, physically nude in front of complete strangers. El-Husseini shared a heart-burning - I mean warming - story about how she copes with baring it all: “I once ate at this really amazing Pakistani restaurant in Toronto and forgot that I wasn’t a guy, so I ate a ridiculous amount. I had a set right after, and wanted to throw up the entire time.” She wound up taking a time out to chug water in order to avoid midsentence splatters. Schouela also “OCD checks [his] fly” to prevent unwanted appearances—a clear indication that these two both have their improvisational skills down pat.

What happens when comedians take a walk off the stage? Do they turn off their funny buttons, or untie their clown shoes?

“I’m not really schizophrenic, but my pet peeve is when someone will say ‘Tell me a joke!’ and it’s like, ‘Buddy, I don’t tell knock-knock

jokes,’” Schouela said.

A joke you’ll never hear come out of ElHusseini’s mouth, though, is one about poo.

“As a girl, I’d never talk about going to the bathroom. Sex is fine, but the bathroom stuff?

Ugh,” she shuddered.

Schouela quickly came to the dirty’s defence, stating that when you start out, you’re in survival mode. “People love dirty material,” he said, an honest ambassador to all of our subconscious minds.

Tuesday, December 6, 2011

Follow us on Twitter: @TheConcordian

11

AND invite you to a special advance screening

ing facilities for artists to use—so everyone wins.

Free gift wrapping and framing consultations will be available on-site, making carving this fair into your calendar a no-brainer. It runs Dec. 2-17 at Atelier Circulaire, 5445 de Gaspé Ave., espace 101.

Go to www.atelier-circulaire.qc.ca for more information.

CEASE Art Collective: Holiday Flea Market After their successful installation CEASE IT 2, Montreal art collective CEASE brings local artists and craftspeople to Fresh Paint Gallery for their second annual Holiday Flea Market.

“Rather than getting a mass-produced canvas from IKEA,” said organizer AJ Korkidakis.

CEASE’s Holiday Flea Market offers original art, photographs, high-quality prints and “local art that most people wouldn’t otherwise access, at really affordable prices.” Featuring fundraising gift wrapping services by Eleven Eleven Animal Rescue and some of the best talent in town, CEASE’s fair is your best bet for something good to the soul and easy on the eyes—and the

nese food

Due to the popularity of last year’s production, the team will be hosting shows this year in Toronto and Ottawa as well. They also plan to hit up Jerusalem next year to perform the show on Christmas day. Oh, the irony.

So Jews, Buddhists, Christians, aliens and ninjas alike, “Kosher Jokes for the Halaladays” awaits you as a great alternative to stuffing your face with Chinese food and spending last

wallet. Check out the action on Dec. 17 and 18 at Fresh Paint Gallery (180 Ste-Catherine St. E.) Visit CEASE Art Collective’s Facebook page for more information.

Salon des métiers d’art du Québec A little more conventional than some of the other fairs in this guide, the SMAQ has been a tradition for Quebec and Montreal artisans and their customers since 1955. Held in the giant Place Bonaventure and featuring 450 local painters, furriers, jewellery studios, clothing designers, and many more, shopping rounds in the SMAQ require time, determination, and most importantly—where was Kiosk 1700 again?—their exhibitor table map. With offerings as varied as high-quality chocolates from DouceSoeur to watches with watercolour-like hand-painted faces from Diane Balit, this fair will put the SMAQ-down on your shopping list, if it doesn’t tire out your legs first. It runs Dec. 2-22, at the West Exhibition Hall of Place Bonaventure (800 De La Gauchetière St. W.) See www.metiers-dart.qc.ca/smaq for more details.

week’s paycheque on a crappy lap dance this holiday season—but if you don’t come to the show, according to Schouela, “you are racist.”

Catch Kosher Jokes for the Halaladays at the Gesu Theatre (1200 Bleury St.) on Dec. 21 at 8 p.m. Tickets are $21.50. Call (514) 861-4036 or visit www.legesu.com for more information.

For your chance to win 1 of 5 double passes, send an email with the subject DRAGON TATTOO to promo@promoavenue.ca. Please include your full name, mailing address and the name of your school in the body of the email.

Winners will be contacted by email Contest ends December 13th Screening will take place Monday, December 19th, 7 p.m. at the Scotiabank theatre Subject to Classification

In theatres December 21 www.dragontattoo.com

12

theconcordian

Tuesday, December 6, 2011

PROFILE

Hey writers, Munsch on this!

Acclaimed children’s author Robert Munsch chats with The Concordian and offers students advice on how to succeed in the field of creative writing

Montreal gets dolled u tinsel, bows, and lights - lots and lots of lights

ALL OF T Madelon Kirov Contributor

Y

es, it can be frustrating, difficult, and extremely exhausting to cultivate a wonderful piece of writing. This is something that all writers deal with eventually. But not to worry, because along with the countless cups of coffee, the cursing, and the discouraging writer’s block, it is all just a normal part of the writing process. After hours, days, or even weeks of trying to polish that last thought to your satisfaction, you know it was worth the struggle when you look over your finished work with a wide smile and an excess of pride.

Many have grown up reading Robert Munsch’s short stories as children. Munsch, 66, is an American-born Canadian author who currently lives in the city of Guelph, Ont. A member of the Order of Canada since 1999, he has published over 47 children’s books and sold more than 18 million copies across North America. “I have over 200 unpublished stories that I am working on,” he said. Among his most acclaimed books are The Paperbag Princess and Love You Forever.

In an interview with The Concordian, the eccentric and beloved author shared details about his life in storytelling and offered young writers advice on the art of writing.

As an elementary student, Munsch almost failed grades one to five. In fact, he claims to have never learned how to spell properly and graduated from the eighth grade still counting on his fingers to do simple addition. He was generally “not a resounding academic success,” in his words. He began writing poetry in elementary school, which sparked his interest in literature. In high school, he did not get along with anybody and after seven years of studying to be a Jesuit priest, he decided that it was not his calling. On the topic of post-secondary education, Munsch said, “I liked university better than any other schooling. I think it was because I was interested in what I was learning and had finally taken responsibility for my education.”

Every successful writer begins small.

Munsch recalls how difficult it was to get published. “I never have had an agent and I sent stories to nine different publishers before one said yes,” he said.

In 2008, Munsch suffered a stroke that affected his ability to speak in normal sentences. Over the years, he has slowly recovered and can now do public readings again. His writing career has however been put on hold until a full recovery. I asked Munsch when he is at his happiest and he replied, “When I am with my family or with my dogs on long walks in the country.”

When asked what a writer’s greatest enemy is, Munsch answered, “Trying to find an agent or publisher!” He added that the most important skill needed as a writer is perseverance and a willingness to accept criticism. Criticism is key to improving your work and unfortunately, a lot of people who begin writing quit halfway through because they cannot accept criticism and eventually give up. And this skill is what draws a clear line between a person who is insecure about writing and an author.

How do I become an author? What steps do I take? Apart from practice, perseverance, and faith, there is no specific formula. If you take a look at different authors throughout history, they did not all climb the ladder to success the exact same way. To write a successful piece of literature, Munsch said to “write about something you love, something you feel strongly about or something you know about.” This makes all the difference

Graphic by Katie Brioux in the delivery of the piece; the higher the interest level of the writer, the more effort, care, and love is put into the writing. What do you want to get accomplished through your writing? This should be thought of before beginning something because it helps inspire ideas and acts as a base to the story.

Now comes writer’s block. Possibly the most frustrating part of a writer’s process, it feels as though it constantly lurks near your writing desk, but it is nothing discipline and diligence can’t take care of. Create an outline and get your thoughts on paper, even if they do not make sense at the time.

To help his writer’s block, Munsch makes up random unrelated stories on the spot and then his ideas expand and he gets inspired from the original material.

To those interested in children’s literature, Munsch shared some more of his insight on this specific target audience.

“Kids are so new. They’re so open-ended. I can look at a kid and wonder what they’ll be. The job of children is to be professionally appealing to adults. That’s how they get what they need,” he said.

After asking Munsch what aspiring writers should do to improve and maintain their writing and literacy skills, he provided wise and valuable feedback.

“Keep on writing. Write a diary, write short stories. You don’t learn to swim by reading about it and you don’t learn to write that way either. If you want to learn how to write, write a lot and you will get better at it,” he explained.

THREE GOLDEN RULES TO BEATING WRITER’S BLOCK 1. TAKE A BREAK WHEN WRITING AND HAVE A GLASS OF WATER TO CLEAR THE MIND. 2. GET INSPIRED BY EVERYDAY ACTIVITIES. WHEN YOU ARE NOT WORKING ON A PIECE, CARRY AROUND A CAMERA OR NOTEBOOK TO DOCUMENT ANYTHING THAT MAY CATCH YOUR INTEREST. 3. SEEK HELP AND INSPIRATION FROM A FRIEND OR FAMILY MEMBER. AN OUTSIDE PERSPECTIVE CAN SPARK A GREAT IDEA.

Follow us on Twitter: @TheConcordian

Tuesday, December 6, 2011

13

up with s

THE LIGHTS

HALLOWEEN MAY BE “THE ONE NIGHT A YEAR WHEN GIRLS CAN DRESS LIKE A TOTAL SLUT AND NO OTHER GIRLS CAN SAY ANYTHING ABOUT IT,” (THANKS, MEAN GIRLS!) BUT DECEMBER IS THE ONLY 31 CONSECUTIVE DAYS A YEAR WHEN YOU CAN BE EXCITED ABOUT TALKING REINDEER AND PLASTIC ORNAMENTS AND NO ONE WILL TRY TO PUT YOU ON PSYCHIATRIC HOLD. LIKE UNNATURALLY BEAUTIFUL PEOPLE, MONTREAL DOESN’T NEED TO DRESS UP TO LOOK STUNNING, BUT WHEN IT DOES, IT’S WORTH IT. TOURISTS AND LOCALS ALIKE CAN GAWK AT THE 63-FOOT TALL CHRISTMAS TREE THAT IMPERIOUSLY RISES OUT OF PLACE VILLE MARIE, OR TAKE A WALK DOWN MCGILL COLLEGE AVENUE AND TAKE IN THE SIGNIFICANTLY SHORTER TREES LINING THE ROAD. PHOTOS BY GILDA POURJABAR

music 14

Tuesday, December 6, 2011

Write to the editor: music@theconcordian.com PROFILE

Belmundo Regal s philosophy helps Radio Radio cook up a new attitude Acadian trio wrapping up tour with new approach to life, music and storytelling Sarah McMahon-Sperber Contributor

Granted, their Acadian accent is warm, quirky and endearing, but look past Radio Radio’s well-exploited hip-hop lingo and you’ll find daring sound combos, lyrics that mesh the deep and the absurd, and a rich cast of complex characters.

They’ll be rounding up their Belmundo Regal tour, which showcases their most recent album by the same name, at Metropolis on Dec. 16.

The album’s philosophy was inspired by a friend of the band.

When contacted by The Concordian, Gabriel Malenfant was cooking up some of his famous pepper jelly. His recipe, along with many others, can be found on the group’s website.

“Sharing just comes naturally for us,” explained Malenfant, when asked about the kitchen tips, stories and recipes. “Food was a particularly big part of this album. Cliché Hot [2008] was really a junk food album. We were on the road […] and it became really easy to be unhealthy. This time, we wanted to stay in line with Belmundo’s philosophy. He once told us that ‘a good place to live was where you could get fresh tomatoes,’ and we really did find that sitting down to a meal made all of the difference; it let us create regular reference points for ourselves.”

The Radio Radio dinner table has had quite a bit of come-and-go recently. Belmundo Regal had Gabriel and his two crew members, Alexandre Bilodeau and Jacques Doucet, working without former band member Timothée Richard for the first time. Conversely, the 2012 album has the band joining forces with musicians from Louisiana, Montreal and Nova Scotia—a first for them as well. “It definitely adds a twist,” Malenfant said with enthusiasm.

“Plus, I think our themes are widening, people are getting to know us more, we’re getting to know ourselves a bit better[…]and the myth around Radio Radio is kind of building.”

The album’s recent journey of selfdescribed ‘rap regal gypsy disco pow-wow’ has been action-packed and full of praise.

Since March 2010, Belmundo Regal has been shortlisted for the Polaris Prize and has picked up a Miroir Award, a Felix, two GAMIQs and a Nova Scotia Music Award along with a nod from Radio-Canada.

But praise for the trio hasn’t been confined to Canuck land, as they’ve been invited to perform in Paris, London, Louisiana, and Austin, where they performed at the famous SXSW Festival.

But can New Yorkers and Parisians possibly understand references in Radio Radio’s songs to Dekshoos (deck shoes) and Jacuzzis? “I think so, I mean the Internet has the world becoming so small,” he explained. “We really feel at home wherever we go. I think our travelling has also taught us to travel with humility

THIS ACADIAN TRIO FROM THE MARITIMES, PERFORMING IN MONTREAL ON DEC. 16, IS BRINGING THEIR OWN TOUCH TO HIP HOP AND THE WORLD.

and with social and cultural dexterity. Plus, we cover pretty timeless themes that we then mix with pop references. Look at Dekshoo and sailboats; the whole of America more or less began with sailboats in one way or another.”

For those interested in a healthy dose of Atlantic Canadian passion, humour and Friday night feel, be sure to catch the trio on their last show of the tour. “We’re pulling out the big guns on this one,” revealed Malenfant, as he continued his jelly. “Let’s just say it’ll be worth checking out, we’ve got quite a few tricks up our sleeves this time.”

Radio Radio will play the Metropolis Dec. 16 at 8:30 p.m. Tickets are available through www.metropolismontreal.ca.

“

We really feel at home wherever we go. I think oue travelling has also taught us to travel with humility and with social and cultural dexterity.

Plus, we cover pretty timeless themes that we then mix with pop references.

- Gabriel Malenfant

Tuesday, December 6, 2011

Follow us on Twitter: @TheConcordian

15

PROFILE

Yoshi’s tracks fuse entrepreneurship, sports and hip hop JMSB student relives his youth through rap Marissa Miller Copy editor Josh “Yoshi” Abramovitz’s fondest memories as a kid include sneaking crayons, hand sanitizer and sugar packets into his brother’s water at restaurants while he wasn’t looking. The two hyperactive brothers would then perfect their curve balls in the West Island’s Lake Park, and beat each other up playfully in their basement in between slap shots at each other, aiming for each other’s knees and dreaming of Montreal Canadiens status.

It may be safe to say that the two brothers have acquiesced and quelled their wired ways over the years in favour of a more professional and collaborative approach. With Josh Abramovitz spitting fresh rhymes on top of his brother Rico’s classic rock and jazz-inspired beats, the only animosity this duo could possibly produce is a rap battle.

“As a kid, I was all about sports,” Abramovitz said. “But I never thought my future would be all about music.”

Whether you prefer to call him Josh, Abramovitz, or Yoshi, you’re probably wondering how the latter name emerged. Not to be confused with the Super Mario Brothers’ character, Abramovitz’s moniker derives from his Hebrew name, Yoshua, which his grandmother used to call him. “My dad just twisted it up and made it Yoshi,” he said. “I would write Yoshi on all my high school tests. All my high school teachers and later elementary teachers would call me that.”

This marketing major at Concordia’s John Molson School of Business said that everything he’s learned in class about promoting, filming and advertising has structured his musical ambitions, and provided him with the tools to pursue his passion with sharper focus.

Abramovitz exploits social media as a

FOR PEOPLE LIKE YOSHI, MAKING A CAREER IN THE RAP GAME IS EASIER WHEN YOU HAVE A BACKGROUND IN BUSINESS. PHOTO BY NAVNEET PALL

vehicle to move him forward in the rap race.

Thanks to his YouTube channel, Montreal Gazette columnist Mike Boone linked his track “Habs in the Building” in an article, Virgin Radio played a snippet of the track, and CJAD’s Rick Moffat expressed interest in doing an interview.

Having a sense of business literacy is not a common trait in rappers who don tilted Detroit Pistons hats and Reeboks, but Abramovitz sees rap as a chance to apply and become familiar with business concepts. “I’m learning about promotion, management, film and other things firsthand through rap,” he said.

Abramovitz enjoys communicating to his peers through rap. “I think that people our age engage better through art,” he said, noting that the medium through which we convey messages are futile in comparison to what exactly we are trying to get across.

Montreal is notorious for its ever-emerging rap scene, but Abramovitz tries to stand out by talking about what’s real to him. “My childhood and the passing of time heavily influence my lyrics,” he said. He also aims to differentiate himself by filling songs with puns and plays on words.

His track “Grandpa Called” talks about the passing of his grandfather and describes the pain of losing a loved one, a universal emotion that connects him with his listeners. His messages of the passing of time and the longing for childhood’s naiveté lend a familiar tone to a number of his songs, like they’ve jumped out of the pages of your own journal and into his vocal chords.

Abramovitz looks to his successful influences to help craft a style and flow of his own, and believes that a crucial part of finding yourself as a musician is learning from others and

departure to more electronic territory. It’s a softer, slightly more melancholic album, but the arrangements are beautiful and singer-songwriter Zach Condon is more than able to seduce with his Balkan folk sensibility.

8. Feist - Metals: The long awaited third studio album from indie sweetheart Leslie Feist is a departure from her toe-tapping “1234” style into a darker, more introspective elegance. Metals doesn’t have the pop hooks of its predecessors, but it definitely has soul and showcases a real artistic development and maturity.

7. Björk - Biophilia: More of a musical project than an album, Biophilia was released as a series of iPhone applications and is designed to be viewed as a multimedia piece. In eccentric Björk style, the album revolves around the theme of humanity’s relationship with biology and science, each track focusing on a specific set of nontraditional instruments, one of which she describes as a “gravity harp.” ‘Nuff said!

Albums of 2011 Compiled by Paul Traunero Staff writer 10. Danger Mouse and Daniele Luppi - Rome: What happens when you combine an American music producer, an Italian composer and a spaghetti western? A brilliant record! Recorded entirely using vintage equipment and with a little help from famous friends Jack White (The White Stripes) and Norah Jones, Rome is an immersive auditory adventure that accentuates the romanticism of gunslinger cult film style.

9. Beirut - The Rip Tide: The Rip Tide is a revival of Beirut’s signature trinity of sound (piano, horns and strings), after a brief

6. The Field - Looping State Of Mind: A minimalist masterpiece, this album shines with subtle brilliance. Producer Axel Willner focuses on the loop as its form of expression.

Each track slowly expands and evolves, with a repetitive layering of ambient and electronic sounds, creating a lavish soundscape with such natural simplicity that you might hardly notice that you’ve been transported.

5. Armistice - Armistice: This definitely steals my Best EP of 2011 spot! Armistice is a collaboration between Bedouin Soundclash’s Jay Malinowski and Montreal native Béatrice Martin, better known as Coeur de pirate, with a little help from hardcore punk band The Bronx, under the guise of “Mariachi El Bronx,” playing - you guessed it the lush sounds of the mariachi style. It’s an indie fusion of reggae, flamenco and mariachi that will take you on a short tropical journey with these two young lovers.

incorporating many styles into your own.

“As a kid, I had to sneak around to listen to Eminem because of all the swearing,” Abramovitz said. “I’m a big fan of Eminem, Busta, J. Cole, and Tupac, who were all able to tell a story and bring truth.” That, he said, is the quintessence of great rap.

It seems as though Abramovitz’s childhood set the stage for his rap career, his child-like, wide and bright-eyed demeanour propelling him deeper into the world of business to finally realize his goal.

“Hi, I’d like something that resembles that French Vanilla cappuccino thing,” he told the coffee shop barista, half-kidding, half-serious.

His maturity hasn’t yet fully overshadowed his youthful sense of wonder.

Check out Abramovitz’s YouTube channel at Yoshi1681.

4. Lykke Li - Wounded Rhymes: An album of contrasts: fantasy versus reality, strength versus vulnerability, Wounded Rhymes shines past its contradictions, instead using them as assets. Propelled from Swedish obscurity, Lykke Li first appeared on the Twilight: New Moon soundtrack; although little good can be said about the franchise, this is one blessing. Filled with equal parts mournful sensuality and melodrama, this is an electro-pop gem.

3. Sondre Lerche - Sondre Lerche: You’re probably scratching your head wondering who the hell this is (and how do you even pronounce that!?). Norwegian singer-songwriter Sondre Lerche (pronounced Son-dreh Lur-keh) has had a surprisingly fruitful career, with seven albums under his belt by the ripe age of 29. With this self-titled release, his years of experience have definitely come to fruition. A solid mix of eclectic musical styles comes to play, creating a raw, candid and heartfelt album.

2. Tom Waits - Bad As Me: Step right up! Not quite number one, but pretty damn close. Bad As Me is vaudeville jazzman Tom Waits’ first proper studio album in the past seven years. With his signature whisky-soaked growls in full form, Waits is as bad ass as ever, blazing through the 13 tracks with such passion that you’ll commend his recent enshrinement into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

1. Adele - 21: Admit it, you love her! Statistics time: 21 has reached the No. 1 position on the Billboard charts in over 19 countries, it’s the best-selling digital album of all time, and it’s the first album to spend 39 weeks in the top five. If that doesn’t convince you, consider this: has Beyoncé ever told you that your voice is like “listening to God?” I didn’t think so.

16

theconcordian

Tuesday, December 6, 2011 PREVIEW

Ho Ho Holiday Harmonies Montreal’s merriest musical events Allie Mason Music editor

Andrew Guilbert Staff writer

Mastafeist? Feistodon?

In a cross over the masses were definitely waiting for, Mastodon and Feist will be collaborating on a special 7â€? single for Record Store Day 2012. In a recent interview with Hit Fix, the Canadian songstress recounted meeting with Mastodon’s Bret Hinds backstage on the Later‌with Jools Holland Show and suggested, “How about Metals meeting metal?â€? Mastodon’s Troy Sanders further detailed the venture explaining, “The idea is for Mastodon to cover a Feist song and throw some hair and dirt on it,â€? and for Feist to “take a Mastodon song and pretty it up a little bit.â€? Sanders added that they only had a short window of time to work on the project “but we’re going to do everything we can to work with Feist and have a split 7-inch to support independent record stores.â€?

BrĂźno Mercury

Sacha Baron Cohen, best known for portraying satirical characters such as Ali G and Borat, has been confirmed to play frontman Freddie Mercury in the upcoming Queen biopic. As for other particulars regarding the film, producer Graham King told Digital Spy, “I can tell you the working title is Mercury. Whether that ends up being the title of the movie we’re not sure yet.� King also commented on the task of respecting Mercury’s legacy saying, “He led such a big life and there’s just so much to tell. Then you’ve got all this fantastic music. You’ve got to fit that in. It’s not an easy one to put together but I’m pretty confident we’ll be shooting that next year.�

I

n an attempt to tide you over to the new year, we’ve compiled a list of musical events you should be sure to check out if you’re kickin’ around Montreal for the holidays.

While the full list is long, and the selection process difficult, we’re confident that we’ve selected something for everyone.

If you long for the days when doo-wop, funk and soul ruled the airwaves, then you’re in luck this month. The Rialto (5723 Parc Ave.) is hosting Motown Christmas on Dec. 14 and features the American-born and Canadian-raised ‘70s soul singer Alma Faye Brooks and La Gioventu Band. Famous for her funky, horn-heavy 1977 hit “Stop, I Don’t Need No Sympathy,� Brooks and La Gioventu Band guarantee to take audience members on a boogey-woogey sleigh ride back in time. At $40 a pop, tickets are a little expensive by students’ standards, but it’s definitely worth it if you’re looking for something a little different this holiday season.

Though this isn’t really a music event in that it’s not a band performing a concert, it’s still something that I think every musicphile and radiophile should see in their lifetime.

Stuart McLean, the host of CBC’s hit radio show The Vinyl Cafe, is presenting The Vinyl Cafe Christmas at ThÊâtre Maisonneuve, Place des Arts (175 Sainte-Catherine St. W.)

Photo by Gilda Pourjabar

on Dec. 19. McLean’s show tells the story of Dave, a secondhand record store owner, and his family and friends and features live and recorded musical performances by both unknown and well-known Canadian musicians.

Tickets range from $51-56, but it’s the type of show you’ll be able to convince your older family members to pay for. After all, it is the season of giving, right?

If free is more your price range, then some of the most festive events in Montreal this month are right up your alley. The Choralies of Notre-Dame-de-Bon-Secours Chapel (400 St-Paul St. E.) present hymns, carols and historic vignettes by six different choirs to get you into the holiday spirit. Every Saturday and Sunday this month until Dec. 18 you can catch a different choir free of charge. Performances take place at 1:30 p.m. and 3 p.m.

If you’re looking for a festive way to ring in the New Year, head on down to Place Jacques-Cartier at the Quays of the Old Port for their New Year’s Eve Grand Bal. Alain François brings traditional folk tunes to the Creemore Stage before and after the The Old Port’s musical fireworks at midnight, and Montreal quartet Raffy.

Other notable musical events worth checking out include Malajube and The Besnard Lakes at Metropolis (59 Ste-Catherine St. E.) on Dec. 14, Cancer Bats present Bat Sabbath at Foufounes Electriques (87 Ste-Catherine St. E.) on Dec. 16, Rusty Waters and the Broken Troubadours at Piranha Bar (680 Ste-Catherine St. W.) also on Dec. 16, and St. Vincent at the Corona Theatre (2490 NotreDame St. W.) and Karkwa at Metropolis (59 Ste-Catherine St. E.) on Dec. 17.

Us 2

Frontman for Ireland’s preeminent rock group U2 has admitted that he finds the sound of his own voice “annoying� in an interview on the Ellen DeGeneres Show last Thursday. Bono explained that he rarely listens to his band’s old songs. “If I hear our songs on the radio I tend to turn them down.

Not because I don’t like them or believe in them. Actually, my voice annoys me. I always think I could have sang it better,� he said, going on to explain that he finds U2’s earlier work particularly off-putting. “I am sort of a macho, Irish guy and particularly in those ‘80s songs, I think I sound like a girl.�

! "# $ % !& ' " "$ "%

Gnarled back-tree

In an interview with Q magazine, rapper Cee Lo Green admitted to walking out of a tattoo parlor in the middle of getting a giant tree inked on his back because he couldn’t handle the pain. “When you get your arms done... if you can see what’s going on, then maybe, psychologically, you think you can control it,� Green said. “Apparently you can because it doesn’t hurt so bad. With your back, you’re lying on your front getting the tattoo and you just feel totally out of control —you can’t get a gauge on whether they’re close to completion so I gave up on it.�

Though the tattoo, which was meant to be a family tree, is only half completed, Green said “I haven’t been in a rush to finish it.�

(

( " # ) " * * & ! " + # $ #$, - " " #

./00 - 1

1 2 ( 1 3 4 5 046 360 4307

Tuesday, December 6, 2011

Follow us on Twitter: @TheConcordian

17

MIXTAPE

Ah, the holidays. So it turns out there are – and don’t let anyone tell you

otherwise – two kinds of people in the world: those who enjoy Christmas music and those who don’t. The latter will find themselves with hefty dentist bills for grinding their teeth whenever they enter any commercial establishment in the month of December, while the former don’t need to down a bottle of wine to belt out what Santa does when you’re sleeping. Side A is meant to make Christmas bearable for those who’d run over Rudolph (and not call the SPCA) any day of the week, but who just can’t resist the call of Freddie or Zooey. Side B is for, frankly, everyone, including the grumpiest little Grinches.

Gettin jolly with it Compiled by Sofia Gay Arts editor

SIDE A: I’m a Grinch, get me outta here

SIDE B: Oldies (and nothin’ but goodies)

1. “Merry Christmas Darling” – The Carpenters – Christmas Portrait 2. “Sleigh Ride” – She & Him – A Very She & Him Christmas 3. “Up On The Housetop” – The Jackson 5 – Jackson 5 Christmas Album 4. “(It’s Gonna Be A) Punk Rock Christmas” – The Ravers – Punk Rock Xmas 5. “Blue Christmas” – Elvis Presley – Blue Christmas 6. “Thank God It’s Christmas” – Queen – Single 7. “December” – Regina Spektor – Gift Wrapped II: Snowed In 8. “O come, O come, Emmanuel” – Belle & Sebastian – It’s a Cool Cool Christmas 9. “Pretty Paper” – Willie Nelson – Pretty Paper 10. “Frosty the Snowman” – Fiona Apple – The Hotel Café presents...

Winter Songs

11. “Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer” – Gene Autry – Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer And Other Christmas Classics 12. “It Came Upon A Midnight Clear” – Ella Fitzgerald – Ella Fitzgerald’s Christmas 13. “Baby It’s Cold Outside” – Margaret Whiting and Johnny Mercer – Capitol Collectors Series 14. “Winter Wonderland” – Johnny Mathis – Merry Christmas 15. “Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas” – Judy Garland – The Judy Garland Christmas Album 16. “I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus” – Jimmy Boyd – First Christmas Record For Children 17. “Silent Night” – Bing Crosby – Merry Christmas 18. “All I want for Christmas is My Two Front Teeth” – Spike Jones & His City Slickers 19. “Jingle Bell Rock” – Bobby Helms 20. “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree” – Brenda Lee

Quick Spins

Carole King - A Holiday Carole (Universal Music; 2011)

Justin Bieber – Under the Mistletoe (Island Records; 2011)

The Summer Set - What Money Can’t Buy (Razor & Tie; 2011)

Boney M. - Nightflight to Venus (Sire Records;1978)

It’s official: Carole King is the new queen of the Christmas season. With her voice as smooth as eggnog, A Holiday Carole is a great compliment to your warm and cozy gatherings this yuletide season. King, a trailblazer for female vocalists, applies her soulful and groovy style to both traditional and original compositions for an album that can easily become part of your annual Christmas music rotation. Backed by great musicianship, King’s interpretations of holiday favourites such as “My Favorite Things” and “Sleigh Ride” will get your body moving as you decorate the tree.

Newer Christmas tunes such as “Everyday Will Be Like a Holiday” and “I Got My Love to Keep Me Warm” will set the mood as you snuggle with your significant other next to the fireplace. King’s performance is in top form, reminiscent of her landmark album Tapestry, and A Holiday Carole will ensure that you have a very merry Motown Christmas.

It’s no surprise that pop sensation Justin Bieber followed the path of his sugary musicmaking predecessors, like the Jackson 5 and ‘N Sync. It was strategic for Bieber to use Under the Mistletoe as a showcase for his ‘new’ voice and rap skills. However, whether he actually has any rap skills is still debatable.

Mistletoe includes a combination of original songs, which are annoyingly catchy, and classics with his own spin. The one song that is completely butchered? “Drummer Boy” featuring Busta Rhymes. Bieber spits some lines about how he is the drummer boy, and Busta raps totally incoherently about Christmas (I think?), though the rest of the album is well done. “Silent Night” and “The Christmas Song,” with Usher, present Bieber’s real talent while staying true to the classic Christmas style. The production of every song on the album is excellent; however, only buy Mistletoe if you’re under 18 or have the Bieber Fever.

With the release of What Money Can’t Buy, The Summer Set took a similar, yet distinctly different approach to their their new Christmas EP. It only features three songs, entitled “Old Mexico,” “Love By Our Side,” and “Something ‘Bout This Time of Year,” and stays true to The Summer Set sound: every song features an intricate combination of pop, rock and even a bit of country twang. Lead singer Brian Dales’ unique voice brings a new life to each track, adding an unexpected twist to holiday music. The record can only be purchased online, with a suggested donation of $5 to benefit the Toys for Tots Foundation, which helps give toys to underprivileged children for Christmas.

Any donation is welcomed by the band, and all proceeds go to the charity. With this heartwarming album, The Summer Set really does bring back the true meaning of Christmas.

Like great German inventions such as DDT, assault rifles or MP3s, Boney M.’s Nightflight to Venus is a force to be reckoned with.

Crafted from pure cocaine and a few hired singers, the 1978 masterpiece was built for a single purpose - to make you dance. The title track is five minutes of mercilessly surging drums slowly building into “Rasputin” - yes, that “Rasputin.” It hammers away for another six minutes until passing the beat to “Painter Man,” “Steppenwolf” and “King of the Road” with what soon occurs to you is fucking awesome disco. With a determination to make you party like the drug war never began, the second half of the album begins with “Rivers of Babylon,” an ecstatic reggae cover followed by three more tracks of ceaseless disco bliss.

The finale is a surprisingly poignant cover of Neil Young’s “Heart of Gold” that remains true to the dream of fucking shit up in a funky ass way unseen since Richard Wagner.

Trial track: “Christmas in the Air”

Trial track: “Home This Christmas”

Trial track: “Old Mexico”

Trial track: “Rivers of Babylon”

9.0/10

7.0/10

8.5/10

- Mike Beaton

- Leah Batstone

- Erica Commisso

- Patrick Case

sports 18

Tuesday, December 6, 2011

Write to the editor: sports@theconcordian.com Q&A

Wrestling time between school and sports CONCORDIA STINGERS WRESTLER MICHAEL NOONAN BALANCES TIME BETWEEN TRAINING, COMPETING AND STUDYING TO ATTAIN A ONCE IN A LIFETIME OPPORTUNITY. PHOTO BY CONCORDIA UNIVERSITY

Julian Mei Sports editor

excited for the whole lifestyle of being on campus and in a new country.

A great athlete and an even better scholar.

Concordia wrestler Michael Noonan, 24, was awarded the prestigious Rhodes Scholarship to attend Oxford University next fall where he will be studying zoology as a graduate student.

Noonan recently sat down for a conversation with The Concordian to talk about the upcoming season, his future and some of the stereotypes surrounding athletes.

So what will you be working on primarily when you go to Oxford?

I’m going to be working within the zoology department in the Wildlife Conservation Research Unit. It’s a research crew that does research on endangered species.

What was the first thing you did when you found out you won the scholarship?

I screamed, I was pretty excited. I was in the car with a bunch of friends so we all cheered and I went home right away and told my parents and they were pretty ecstatic.

What are you most looking forward to at Oxford?

Obviously the education will be great, but just living on campus at one of the best universities in the world will be amazing. It will be a different country, more European, and I’m just

Do you have a thesis or anything specific in mind yet that you want to achieve?

I have a thesis in mind but it still has to get accepted. But I would like to work on studying fish passage at dams.

Have you ever had to deal with the perception or stereotype that athletes are just “dumb jocks?”

Yeah, I have. Even the guys on the team, we don’t talk about school or grades or anything so this really surprised a lot of them. It’s definitely a stereotype that’s out there, but once I start to talk to people they sort of realize it’s not that true.

Has it been a challenge to balance school and athletics?

Yeah, for sure. We train twice a day, once during the day and once at night so that doesn’t leave much time in between for classes and homework. I actually had to take a reduced course load and finish university a year later to fit it all in.

Do you think it is a fair stereotype, whether or not it applies to you?

Definitely not. Some of the most intelligent people I know are athletes. One guy from our team is actually at Brown University writing a textbook now. We have engineers and a lot of very smart people on our team.

What advice would you give to athletes who

Do you think it will be more difficult to focus

Concordia played to a 7-2 win against Carleton on Friday night before losing 5-3 to the Ottawa Gee Gees on Saturday afternoon. Concordia now sits at 9-9 in the middle of the pack of the OUA’s East Division.

Concordia found itself trailing 1-0 after the first period on Friday night, but exploded for four goals in the second period.

Two of the second period goals came from the stick of George Lovatsis, including one shorthanded goal that swung the momentum of the game. Lovatsis completed the

Hockey in brief

struggle academically?

There are certain times when you can focus on your sports and your social life and there are also times when you really need to sit down and focus on your academics. Exam period for example is a time when you really need to set your priorities on school.

hat trick in the third period. He now leads the country in goals with 15 and trails only Mike Stinziani for the team lead in points.

Nicholas Champion stopped 36 of 38 shots in the victory.

After the blowout win over Carleton, the Stingers came out flat the next afternoon.

They were outshot 15-3 in the first period and as a result, found themselves down 3-0 after the game’s first 20 minutes.

Concordia woke up in the second period, outshooting Ottawa 15-13, but it was

on wrestling this year, knowing what lies ahead?

Yes, I think it will be because in the past you had this huge future ahead of you whereas now I’m limited to just this one year before my career here is over, so it’s going to be tough. On top of that I recently had ACL surgery so dealing with that on top of it will be difficult.

What are some of your goals for the season?

Well, first things first is to get back into the season. Because of the surgery I need to push myself hard to compete again. Then I really want to win nationals.

Because it’s your last year, do you think this season will maybe have a sense of urgency that wasn’t there in the past?

Not urgency, but it is very different. I look at it with more of a sense of calm and knowing.

When you’re young you kind of have this fear of all the guys being older than you. Now, though, I’m sitting here near the end and I’ve sort of seen it all. I’ve seen things come and go and I think that I can deal with whatever happens better than a lot of other people can.

the Gee Gees who scored the only goal of the period, taking a 4-0 lead.

The Stingers, possessing the CIS’ second best offence, broke through and made a game of things in the third period.

Lovatsis scored his fourth goal of the weekend just over two minutes into the final period. Dominic Martel cut the Ottawa lead in half at the 7:28 mark and CharlesAntoine Messier brought the Stingers within one goal exactly one minute later.

Unfortunately for Concordia, the comeback was just not meant to be. Matt White

scored for Ottawa into Concordia’s empty net in the game’s final minute.

While Concordia would have loved to head into the break on a winning note, the team has accomplished a lot in the first part of the season. They are one of the best teams in the country offensively, but they are also one of the worst teams defensively.

If Concordia can tighten up play in its own end and continue to get solid goaltending, this will be a team no one will be anxious to face come playoff time.

Follow us on Twitter: @TheConcordian

Tuesday, December 6, 2011

19

t s i L e c i N The h Stingers deserve Whic l ia c e p s g in h t e m o s Julian Mei It’s that time of year again. The fat, jolly old man up north, who is able to elude your home’s $3,000 security system every year to bring you presents and eat your food while you sleep, is making a list and checking it twice (though he may no longer have time to check it twice in the near future due to an expanding global population).

It’s time to review which Concordia Stingers will be making the “nice list” this year.

Kaylah Barrett - Guard - Women’s basketball

Kaylah is averaging 21.3 points per game, which leads the province and is good enough for third in the entire country. She has accounted for almost one-third of her team’s scoring and has been a huge reason the women’s basketball team, at 3-0, is off to its best start in a decade.

What she should get: Anything she wants (including the always elusive pony that has topped so many wish lists).

Véronique Laramée-Paquette - Forward - Women’s hockey

Véronique has been one of the few bright spots on a Concordia team that has started the season a disappointing 3-8. She leads the team with nine points in 11 games this season and has been the offensive leader for the Stingers.

What she should get: As much ice time as she desires.

Eric Bégin - Defence - Men’s hockey

Not only has the Stingers’ captain been a leader defensively, he is also one of the team’s top scorers with nine goals and 23 points, playing in all 18 games so far this season. He is second in the CIS for points by a defenceman.

What he should get: If Santa is a Stingers fan, some type of cloning machine would be nice.

Evens Laroche - Forward - Men’s basketball

Evens is averaging 16 points and 6.3 rebounds per game on a team that just recently made its way back into the CIS top 10 rankings. Evens’ solid play on both ends of the court is a big reason why the Stingers are cracking the top 10. He also brings a pleasant amount of swagger to a team filled with confidence.

What he should get: A stenographer to follow him around and document his usually entertaining quotes.

Michael Noonan - Wrestler

Epitomizing the term “student athlete,” Michael is hoping to help Concordia repeat as team provincial champions... oh, and he also won a Rhodes Scholarship last week. In 2010, Noonan came in fourth in his class at the CIS nationals. This will be his final year with the Stingers, and he’s hoping to make it count like no other.

What he should get: School supplies and a plane ticket to England for next September.

Kyle Desmarais - Guard - Men’s basketball

Kyle leads the Stingers in scoring this season and seems to have fully recovered from a pre-season ankle injury. Not only does he put points on the board for Concordia, but he is also one of the team’s top rebound getters, averaging 6.3 rebounds per game.

What he should get: Some Windex so he can keep “cleaning up the glass” so effectively.

Max Caron - Linebacker - Football

Even though Concordia’s season came to a disappointing end against Laval, Max was a standout all year long.

He took home honours for being the top defensive player in the entire country.

What he should get: A nice, big trophy case.

Graphic by Katie Brioux

opinions 20

Tuesday, December 6, 2011

Write to the editor: opinions@theconcordian.com EDITORIAL

A few things to think about in 2012 The byelection sent a clear message; let’s hope it’s adhered to The Concordia Student Union byelection is now over, exams are about to kick off and soon everyone will be able to get the hell out of here for at least two weeks (maybe even three for the lucky ones) of pure, holiday bliss.

The upcoming, much-deserved winter break also means that 2011 is on the verge of ending. It is a year Concordians will remember as packed with firings, severance packages, accusations of corruption, lack of transparency, hostile Board of Governors meetings, controversial student elections, and last but not least, tuition hikes.

The upcoming year offers Concordia students as well as the administration (don’t

think we forgot about you) the opportunity to essentially start over and make 2012 as dissimilar from 2011 as possible. That opportunity for change begins with the results of the recent CSU byelection, which concluded on Dec. 1.

During last week’s byelection, three JMSB students were elected to council, while an independent student claimed one of two seats that were up for grabs. By winning these spots on CSU council, these four students must realize that they have been given the mandate by their constituents to adequately represent students’ priorities and concerns to all of council.

What these new councillors must also realize is that by receiving a mandate, they are obliged to show their faces (and hopefully speak up) at every single CSU council meeting. Because let’s not forget that during this past semester alone, some councillors have missed several council meetings, while others stop by but say nothing at

all and some have even resigned, which is part of the reason this byelection came about.

If these four new councillors really want to implement change, they must perform their duties to the best of their abilities, and ensure that that the rest of council is doing the same.

Also during the byelection a majority of students voted to support the CSU’s position on tuition hikes and on cutting undergraduate representatives from four to one on the Board of Governors. In other words, a majority of students want their tuition to remain the same or even lowered, and they want to be properly represented on the BoG. When senior administrators and their entourage begin trickling back onto campus in January, they should take note of the very clear messages that Concordia students have sent them during this byelection. Students, so often accused of being apathetic to university affairs,

obviously want their fair share of the seats on the BoG. And why shouldn’t they, seeing as students do form the largest faction of the campus community.

As for tuition hikes, the position of students on that hot topic was already painfully obvious even before the byelection results but the Charest government is still turning a blind eye to students’ very pressing concerns.

Is it too much holiday-induced optimism to say that student, university and government leaders will take into account the message sent by students during this byelection and work to make things better? Perhaps, at least where university and government leaders are concerned.

But that only means that students can’t give up.

Concordia students have proven to be incredibly perseverant up until this point and there’s nothing to prove that this sense of determination will not remain in the new year.

be activated by levers on the handlebars or directly by the pedals: If not, $37 fine.

This information, including what to do when in an accident, when being stopped by the police or when contesting infractions, can be found in the Bike Rights pamphlet made by the CSU in collaboration with the bike coop Right to Move / Voie Libre.

the university property could also face academic sanctions by Concordia University.

During the actual Nov. 10 protest, the CSU set up a telephone hotline for anyone needing legal assistance and distributed about 2,000 civil rights and police declaration cards which students found extremely useful and reassuring when they were confronted by the police.

CSU Legal Information Clinic 514-848-7474 ext. 7375

CSU Legal Information Clinic 514-848-7474 ext. 7375

Stopped by the Cops: Protests, Fines & Rights

The rubber stamp council

In anticipation of the Nov. 10, 2011 student protest against tuition increases, the CSU Legal Information Clinic, in partnership with QPIRG Concordia, on Nov. 8, 2011 held a workshop entitled “Stopped by the Cops: Protests, Fines & Rights” which was well attended by an enthusiastic crowd of at least 25 students.

The workshop informed students as to their relevant legal rights and duties, and provided them with information on how to prepare for the protest. Most importantly, if a student is stopped and questioned by a police officer against their will, the student has the right to remain silent, refuse to answer any questions and be allowed to leave if the student is not accused of breaking the law. If arrested, a student should only provide their name, birth date, address or ID and insist on keeping silent until the student has spoken to a lawyer.

Renowned human rights and immigration lawyer William Sloan confirmed that international students have the legal right to protest and join demonstrations in Canada. Sloan reassured international students that even in the case of an arrest, their immigration status would not be affected until there was due process and only if there was a serious criminal conviction against them.

CSU Advocacy Services mentioned the need for students to advise their professors at least a few days beforehand that they would be absent for class because of their participation in the protest in order to avoid academic penalties. They also advised that any students charged by the police with criminal acts on

The latest development in the CEO-gate scandal was a special council meeting to discuss overturning the judicial board decision. Three councillors called this meeting and it was in accordance with the recommendations of the policy committee.

A big reason that the meeting was called was because of the conduct of the chair of the judicial board, Ceejay Desfosses. Desfosses has been accused of collusion with CSU president Lex Gill, who herself has been accused of breaking the judicial board code of procedures and the CSU bylaws.

Collusion accusations aside, council was supposed to discuss the fact that the judicial board chair broke the code of procedures and the bylaws and if this should warrant any action against her, or an overturn of the original judicial board decision regarding the CEO (which resulted in the previous judicial board chair resigning from her post).

These are serious allegations regarding the highest decision making body in the Concordia Student Union.

Instead of a serious discussion regarding the judicial board decision and the conduct of Ceejay Desfosses, what we witnessed can only be described as a “rubber stamp council.”

CSU councillor Kyle McLoughlin droned on about how “the judicial board did its job and they did it well” then CSU VP external Chad Walcott spoke about how the judicial board did its job and did it well, and then CSU councillor Melanie Hotchkiss called the question. Three speakers in all.

None of the CSU councillors addressed the

fact that Ceejay Desfosses was supposed to meet within five days with the judicial board to discuss my appeal and now it has been almost three weeks. The CSU did not address the fact that Desfosses broke the bylaws and invented her own procedure by sending the appeal to council for “deliberation.” The bylaws state that the judicial board cannot do that, especially not in this situation since the CSU council is a party in the case!

To Kyle and Chad I would like to say this: the judicial board is not mandated by God. They are not beyond reproach. They are just students and they can make mistakes.

The point of accountability is that people pay a price for their mistakes. Ceejay Desfosses is guilty of dereliction of duties and she needs to be held accountable for her actions, or lack thereof.

LETTERS

Successful completion of first annual Bike Rights, Bike Lights Campaign The CSU Legal Information Clinic is celebrating the successful completion of its first annual Bike Rights, Bike Lights Campaign. Here are some laws, rights and obligations associated with bicycling in Quebec. Failure to comply with any of the following rules constitutes a violation of the Quebec Highway Safety Code and may result in a fine, the loss of automobile demerit points (even if you don’t have a driver’s license) and/or legal repercussions: 1. Cyclists must stop at a red light before the pedestrian crossing or the stop line: If not, $37 fine and three demerit points.

2. Cyclists must make an obligatory stop at a stop sign: If not, $37 fine and three demerit points.

3. Cyclists must yield the right of way to other pedestrians and cyclists when turning in an intersection: If not, $37 fine and two demerit points.

4. Cyclists must ride with the flow of the traffic and on the far right-hand side of the roadway (except if the passage is blocked or turning left): If not, $37 fine.

5. Cyclists must not ride on the sidewalk (except when necessary or when directed so by a sign): If so, $37 fine.

6. Cyclists must not ride between two lanes of moving vehicles: If so, $37 fine.

7. Cyclists must ride in a single file when traveling in groups of two or more (in no case may a group be larger than 15 cyclists): If not, $37 fine.

8. Cyclists must comply with any and all road signals: If not, $37 fine. More details at www. spvm.qc.ca.

9. Cyclists must have at least a white reflector in the front, a red reflector in the back, a yellow reflector on each pedal, a reflector attached to the front wheel, and a reflector attached to the rear wheel: If not, $37 fine.

10. Cyclists must have a light at night (at least one white headlight in front and one red light in the back): If not, $37 fine.

11. Cyclists must ensure that their bicycle is equipped with at least one functional rear wheel brake system. The brake system must

Tomer Shavit

More pressing issues than JB/CEO decision I’d like to voice my concerns about the amount of resources (and subsequent media coverage) that have been dedicated to the so-called “CEO-gate” issue over the last few weeks. Right now there are more pressing issues to deal with, namely the impending tuition increase that will negatively affect many Concordians. I for one am dismayed to see the CSU and JB having to deal with this seemingly incessant wave of appeals and accusations for what seems to be a trivial issue in the face of the behemoth that is Charest and Beauchamp’s tuition hike.

The fact that the CSU was dealing with the CEO-gate issues the night before the demonstration against tuition hikes on Nov. 10 is stupefying. I expect that my student union should deal with the wide range of issues facing undergraduates and not have to respond to increasingly baseless claims and blatant personal vendettas. It is a waste of CSU resources at a crucial time for students in Quebec; for one squeaky wheel to get this much attention at the expense of over 30,000 other Concordia undergrads is aggravating to say the least.

Adam Veenendaal

Tuesday, December 6, 2011

Follow us on Twitter: @TheConcordian

21

ATM FEES

Access to your own money—at a cost, of course Banks need to eliminate pesky service fees Shaimaa El-Ghazaly Contributor If you’re as careful with your money as I am, you will choose to walk a distance to find your own bank’s ATM in order to avoid being charged fees just to access your own funds.

However, there are days when the weather is horrible, or you simply don’t have time, or there are just no ATMs from your bank within walking distance.

That’s when you’ll find yourself staring at the ATM, annoyed with the fees you have to pay just to withdraw own money. These fees are unfair because they burden low-income individuals such as students.

ATM fees come in different forms. When you use an ATM of a bank that is not yours, you are charged convenience fees. The amount can go up to $2.00 per transaction.

When you use an ATM that belongs to a private operator, the convenience fees can go up to $5.00 per transaction. Then, your bank charges you service fees that can go up to $1.50.

Some people say it is not much, and that might be true for transactions of $100 or more. But for the average student, charges up to $6.50 on a $20 withdrawal to get some food is a pain.

The fact that banks make as much profit off of small transactions as large transactions seems hardly reasonable. Based on Canadian banks’ gross revenue of 2010, service fees

make up six per cent of their profit. It is a large percentage considering that the net income of the six largest Canadian banks was $14.3 billion in 2009. Sure, their profits will be reduced, but it is a tiny amount compared to how much money they make.

“If people want to avoid paying those fees, they should use their own bank’s ATMs,” said Adrian Rotaru, a CIBC customer service representative.

The issue with that type of thinking is that it doesn’t take the elderly and the disabled into consideration. That type of reasoning puts them at a disadvantage due to possible limitations of how far they could travel in order to get money.

It does not take into account the fact that sometimes there are no available ATMs that belong to your bank. For instance, around the Loyola campus, there aren’t any Bank of Montreal ATMs within walking distance.

Most banks have student and senior plans to help them eliminate the monthly banking charges. Therefore, banks should do the same concerning ATM fees.

As for private operators, whose main goal is to make profit, there should be some government intervention to limit the amount of money they can charge. It is understandable that private operators install these machines in order to make money, but to make a 30 per cent profit on a $20 transaction is exploitation.

“They charge you so much. It’s definitely frustrating especially when you’re out at night and you need more cash than you have,” said Concordia student Elena Munteanu.

If more people were to voice their discon-

Graphic by Sean Kershaw

tent, perhaps something could be done. However, banks play a huge role in our economy and the government would probably avoid having disputes with them, and therefore, it

becomes a complicated matter.

It might not make a huge difference for banks to eliminate those fees, but every dollar would definitely matter to students.

SANCTIONS

Examining the need for international sanctions Economic punishments are lethal to a country’s population Myles Dolphin Opinions editor Following the European Union’s fresh wave of sanctions on Iran last week, the debate about the effectiveness of sanctions and embargoes has once again resurfaced.

Considering all of Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s faults (such as his reckless disregard for human rights and his support for Iran’s nuclear program), I can understand how some governments would want to punish his behaviour. Severing diplomatic ties are justified, sure. I don’t understand, however, the rationale behind imposing economic sanctions that, in this case, affect 78 million people, especially when they’re going through the same financial hardships many of us are.

These sanctions do way more harm than good. States apply sanctions to pressure certain countries for a variety of purposes, but more often than not, it’s the people of those countries who suffer badly.

There have been four United Nations Security Council sanctions against Iran in the past five years (resolutions 1737, 1747, 1803 and 1929). Furthermore, the European Union has imposed its own restric-

tions on Iran, and let’s not forget national sanctions by the United States, Australia, South Korea, Japan, Switzerland, Israel, and India.

Canada’s also on that list. “In response to the IAEA’s Nov. 9, 2011 assessment of Iran’s nuclear program, Canada is imposing further sanctions under the SEMA (Special Economic Measures Regulations); the new sanctions prohibit financial transactions with Iran, expand the list of prohibited goods to include all goods used in petrochemical, oil and gas industry in Iran,” according to the Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada website.

Robert A. Pape, a well-known American political scientist, wrote an essay entitled Why Economic Sanctions Do Not Work in 1997.

In it, he analyzed research that was carried out by Gary Hufbauer, Jeffrey Schott and Kimberly Ann Elliot (HSE) on sanctions the United States imposed on other countries between 1914 and 1990. HSE concluded that 40 cases out of 115 where sanctions were involved had been successful (34 per cent success rate), but Pape adjusted that number to five per cent after his research was done.

Nothing has really changed since 1997. Sanctions against Iraq, Syria, North Korea and Sudan have

Graphic by Phil Waheed

made things worse for the people of those countries. In many cases, food and medicine aren’t allowed into a country, leading to more deaths (UNICEF estimates that more than 500,000 children died during and after the first Gulf War because of economic sanctions).

The alternative is to do the exact opposite; open up more and more channels with those countries.

By doing so, imports and exports to and from those countries are increased, inevitably improving both countries’ economic situations. Oth-

erwise, the loss of a customer will weaken your economy over time.

Research conducted by the Institute for International Economics found that “U.S. exports to the 26 countries subject to U.S. sanctions in 1995 were $15 and $19 billion lower than they would have been in the absence of the sanctions.”

The research is a bit dated, but the principles remain.

The best ways to punish unruly dictators are to help international prosecutors build cases against them and eventually bring them to

The Hague to face the International Criminal Court. That’s exactly what Cindor Reeves did. An article published in the Feb. 7, 2011 edition of The Globe and Mail describes how Reeves, a Liberian, helped build a case against the country’s notorious former president and his brotherin-law, Charles Taylor. It worked Reeves fled to Germany before going to Canada, and the dictator is currently on trial “for 11 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity,” according to the article.

Cuba is another good example— an embargo that has lasted more than 50 years has failed to dislodge Castro from his position of power, and its only real impact has been to push Cubans further into poverty.

Let’s hope the European Union, the United States, Canada and other powerful nations can deal with embassy raids better in the future. Right now, EU member states are debating whether to extend sanctions to Iran’s oil sector. “The EU has added dozens of Iranian officials and companies to its blacklist and EU foreign ministers meeting in Brussels [last week] considered other sanctions against Iran,” according to a Dec. 1 article on The Voice of America’s website.

Hundreds of thousands of lives are lost because of these sanctions, and it’s definitely time for foreign policy reform to take place, including in Canada.

22

Tuesday, December 6, 2011

theconcordian

The Etcetera Page

ACROSS

1- Fissure; 5- Reveal indiscreetly; 9- Pursue; 14- Hebrew month; 15- Receiver Jerry; 16- la vista; 17- Richard of “Chicago”; 18- Draft classification; 19- Mary of “The Maltese Falcon”; 20- Small bud-like unit; grows apart from parent plant; 22- Act of anointing; 24- OPEC units; 25- Recompense; 26- Hire; 29- Kyoto’s country; 31- Chick of jazz; 32- Whimper; 33- RR stop; 36Spy org.; 37- Hawaii’s largest industry; 40- Baseball stat; 41- “Slippery” tree; 42- Dies ; 43- Freeze over; 45Meat option; 47- Slithery beasts; 48- Salty; 51- Collar fastener; 52Calamity; 54- Collection of weaponry; 58- Picture puzzle; 59- Author Seton; 61- Pith helmet; 62- Pitchers; 63- Resembling a red, say; 64- Not kosher; 65- Martinique volcano; 66Neighbor of Cambodia; 67- 3:00;

Tuesday, Dec. 6, 2011 Vol. 29 issue 15 JACQUES GALLANT

Editor-in-Chief editor@theconcordian.com

KAMILA HINKSON

Managing editor managing@theconcordian.com

CHRIS HANNA

Production manager production@theconcordian.com

JACQUELINE DI BARTOLOMEO News editor

ALYSSA TREMBLAY

Assistant news editor news@theconcordian.com

PAULA RIVAS

Life editor life@theconcordian.com

SOFIA GAY

Arts editor arts@theconcordian.com

ALLIE MASON

Music editor music@theconcordian.com

DOWN

1- Sturdy wool fiber; 2- Nice notion; 3- Grange; 4- Quiver; 5- Umbrella; 6- Queues; 7- “ Ventura” was played by Jim Carrey; 8- Boyfriend; 9- Brownish gray baboon; 10- Hurry; 11- John of “The Addams Family”; 12- Got up; 13- Makes; 21- “Das Boot” setting; 23- Scruffs; 26- Behold, to Brutus; 27- Drudge; 28- Baby carriage; 29Magistrate; 30- That’s !; 32- Free

JULIAN MEI

Sports editor sports@theconcordian.com

Puzzles provided by BestCrosswords.com. Used with permission.

from contamination; 33- Go after; 34- Authentic; 35- Sleeps briefly; 38- Greased; 39- Less; 44- Member of the Girl Scouts; 45- Numerical symbol; 46- Actually existing; 47Wanders away; 48- Throat problem;

49- ___ having fun yet?; 50- Trademark; 51- Decline; 53- Ship’s small boat; 55- “A Doll’s House” heroine; 56- Galoots; 57- Hoist; 60- Actress Long;

MYLES DOLPHIN

Opinions editor opinions@theconcordian.com

NAVNEET PALL

Photo editor photo@theconcordian.com

KATIE BRIOUX

Graphics editor graphics@theconcordian.com

SARAH DESHAIES

Chief Copy editor copy@theconcordian.com

MARISSA MILLER HEATHER RIMINGTON ELIZABETH TOMARAS Copy editors

SOPHIA LOFFREDA KERRY MACKINNON

Production assistants

EDITORIAL OFFICE

7141 Sherbrooke St. W. - CC.431 Montreal, QC H4B 1R6 514.848.2424 x7499 (Editor-in-Chief)

Here’s a collection of some of my favourite tweets this year. You’ll notice that I follow a lot of weirdos, and that’s purely reflective of my own personality. See you in 2012.

514.848.2424 x7458 (Newsroom)

@TheAwkwardTweet: The awkward

MÉLISSA KATE GAGNON

514.848.2424 x7404 (Production)

Business manager business@theconcordian.com

moment when you make eye contact with someone more than once and become paranoid that they now think you’re in love with them.

MARSHALL JOHNSTON

Advertising manager advertising@theconcordian.com

@trianglethief: Batteries: they were invented

Comic by Phil Waheed

@BestWorstAdvice: If you ask your

girlfriend what she wants for Christmas and she says “nothing,” don’t get her anything and see what happens. @BorowitzReport: BREAKING: In

Money-making Scheme, Greece to Marry Kim Kardashian for 72 Days @FirstWorldLife: My phone autocorrects

“KKK” to “Lol,” so when I’m trying to organize a klan meeting, people think I’m laughing out loud @rob_sheridan: If I’m required to “like” you

on Facebook in order to see your content, be amazed at how quickly I give zero fucks about your content.

@ItsAYYSIAN: Checking your phone to see

what time it is and checking it again because the first time you weren’t paying attention.

Solution issue 14 (Nov. 29)

in like 900BC, why are they still so expensive in 2011? #occupybatteries

BRENNAN NEILL EMILY WHITE CINDY LOPEZ RUBEN BASTIEN

Board of Directors directors@theconcordian.com

BUSINESS AND ADVERTISING

1455 de Maisonneuve W. - H.733-4 Montreal, QC H3G 1M8 514.848.2424 x7420 (Office) 514.848.7427 (Fax)

STAFF WRITERS AND CONTRIBUTORS Jamie Floyd, Marilla SteuterMartin, George Menexis, Cameron Ahmad, Elysha Del Giusto-Enos, Jamie-Lee Gordon, Madelon Kirov, Rebecca Ugolini, Amanda Shore, Sarah McMahon-Sperber, Paul Traunero, Erica Commisso, Leah Batstone, Michael Beaton, Patrick Case, Shaimaa El-Ghazaly, Phil Waheed, Sean Kershaw, Valerie Brunet, Gilda Pourjabar, Sarah Howell

theconcordian

Concordia s weekly, independent student newspaper.

Follow us on Twitter: @TheConcordian

+CINEMA - Reel Refreshing - Cinema du Parc - 19h00

+CINEMA - Reel Refreshing - Cinema du Parc - 19h00 +COMEDY - One of Everything for the Boys - MainLine Theatre - 20h00 +MUSIC - Street Dogs - Foufounes Électriques - 20h30 +MUSIC - Eddie Shaw and the Wolf Gang - l’Astral - 21h00

+DANCE - Concorcordia dance performance - MB Building - 20h00 +CINEMA - Reel Refreshing - Cinema du Parc - 19h00 +THEATRE - Urban Tales - Centaur Theatre - 20h00 +COMEDY - Hilarious Holiday Hoedown - The Wheel Club - 20h30 +COMEDY - One of Everything for the Boys - MainLine Theatre - 20h00 +MUSIC - Sarah Slean - La Sala Rossa - 20h30 +MUSIC - Sylvain Legacé - Piranha Bar - 20h00 +FAIR - Souk@SAT holiday fair - Society for Arts and Technology - 12h00-21h00 +DANCE - Concorcordia dance performance - MB Building - 20h00 +CINEMA - Bob Clark Christmas Tribute - Blue Sunshine - 18h15 +THEATRE - Urban Tales - Centaur Theatre - 20h00 +COMEDY - One of Everything for the Boys - MainLine Theatre - 20h00 +MUSIC - The National - the Bell Centre - 19h00 +MUSIC - Bonobo - Le Belmont - 20h00 +MUSIC - The Last Assassins - Métropolis - 20h30 +FAIR - Souk@SAT holiday fair - Society for Arts and Technology - 12h00-21h00 +FAIR - Puces POP holiday fair - St-Enfant Jesus Church - 11h00-18h00 +FAIR - Old Skool Crafts holiday fair - St. Michael’s Church - 11h00-18h00 +DANCE - Concorcordia dance performance - MB Building - 14h00 and 20h00 +THEATRE - Urban Tales - Centaur Theatre - 20h00 +FAIR - Souk@SAT holiday fair - Society for Arts and Technology - 12h00-17h00 +MUSIC - Clap Your Hands Say Yeah - La Tulipe - 20h00 +FAIR - Puces POP holiday fair - St-Enfant Jesus Church - 11h00-18h00 +MUSIC - Misteur Valaire - Métropolis - 20h30 +FAIR - Old Skool Crafts holiday fair - St. Michael’s Church - 11h00-18h00 +MUSIC - K-Os - Club Soda - 20h30 +DANCE - Concorcordia dance performance - MB Building - 14h00 and 20h00 +MUSIC - Horizons - Underworld - 21h00 +MUSIC - Alex Skolnick Trio - Upstairs Jazz Club - 21h00

+DANCE - Concorcordia dance performance (until Wednesday)- MB Building - 20h00

Rest of December

Dec. 17 +FAIR - CEASE Holiday Flea Market - Fresh Paint Gallery - 10h00-18h00 +THEATRE - Urban Tales - Centaur Theatre - 20h00 +THEATRE - A Christmas Carol - Rialto Theatre - 19h30 Dec. 14 +MUSIC - Malajube and the Besnard Lakes - Métropolis - 21h00 +MUSIC - St. Vincent - Theatre Corona - 20h30 Dec. 15 +MUSIC - The Devil Wears Prada - Métropolis - 21h00 +MUSIC - Karkwa - Métropolis - 21h00 Dec. 16 +CINEMA - Go Ask Alice - Blue Sunshine - 19h15 Dec 18 +CINEMA - Christmas TV Trash Party - Blue Sunshine - 17h15 +THEATRE - Urban Tales - Centaur Theatre - 20h00 +THEATRE - A Christmas Carol - Rialto Theatre - 19h30 +THEATRE - A Christmas Carol - Rialto Theatre - 19h30 +FAIR - CEASE Holiday Flea Market - Fresh Paint Gallery - 10h00-18h00 +MUSIC - Exhaust - Casa Del Popolo - 20h30 Dec. 19 +MUSIC - Missa Mystica - Salle Pierre-Mercure - 20h00 +MUSIC - Radio Radio - Métropolis - 21h00 Dec. 21 +COMEDY - Kosher Jokes for the Halaladays - Gesu Theatre - 20h00 Dec. 29 +MUSIC - Anonymus - Club Soda - 20h00