The Concordian volume 29, issue 14

theconcordian

AIDS hits close to home P. 7

life

Elmo loves you P. 13

arts

Read the fine print

Full byelection coverage P. 3

Editorial P. 20

Tuesday, Nov. 29, 2011

music Bassnectar brings the bass P. 14

sports Men and women top basketball leagues P. 19

opinions Should journalists belong to a professional order?

P. 21 Volume 29 Issue 14

Graphic by Katie Brioux

CEO impartiality to go Occupy Montreal returns to under the microscope People’s Square after eviction Special council meeting Wednesday will focus on motion to overturn JB decision on CEO Jacques Gallant Editor-in-chief A special Concordia Student Union council meeting has been convened for this Wednesday evening to discuss a motion to overturn the judicial board’s decision dismissing former chief electoral officer Bram Goldstein.

In an email from council chair Nick Cuillerier, members were informed that the special meeting, which will be taking place right in the middle of the CSU byelections, came about after three councillors called for it on Saturday night. The meeting comes amid accusations from former CSU councillor Tomer Shavit that neither current CEO Ismail Holoubi nor JB chair Ceejay Desfosses are impartial.

Shavit, who ran unsuccessfully

for a council seat in last year’s general election with losing slate Action, represented the former CSU council during a recent JB hearing that resulted in the invalidation of the appointment of CEO Bram Goldstein, whose original hiring by last year’s council was deemed to be flawed.

Ultimately, Shavit is hoping for council to overturn the JB’s Goldstein decision, which would require a fourth-fifths majority vote.

“I think this entire thing has been an attempt by [CSU president] Lex Gill to appoint her own CEO,” said Shavit on Friday, referring to Holoubi.

Holoubi ran unsuccessfully for an independent seat on the CSU council in last year’s general election.

See ‘Tomer’ on P. 5

Protesters committed to the future of the movement Alexander Reid Contributor Occupy Montreal participants at Saturday’s general assembly expressed disappointment at the police-enforced eviction of their tent village on Nov. 25, but are committed to the future of the movement as it shifts to ‘Phase 3.’

At least 300 people, including two school buses packed with bugle-blasting, banner-waving Confédération des syndicats nationaux workers on their lunch break, migrated back to Victoria Square on Saturday afternoon to attend the assembly. Police cars were stationed throughout the square and officers kept an eye on the proceedings.

“We came to support the cause,” said CSN union member Patrice Caron. “We need to [make

some demands], we have to tax the richest people and corporations and give to the poor.”

It was the first GA since the eviction and while the tent village is gone, the spirit of the movement remains intact, with ambitions to become more than a two-month experiment in occupying a public square.

Speakers, accompanied by an enthusiastic drumline, continued to denounce the elitist values within society and issued words of encouragement echoing the belief that the ‘Occupy’ movements have already changed and will continue to change the world for the better.

“Part of me is mourning the camp,” said general assembly speaker Alain Berger, who had been living in Victoria Square for 27 days before the eviction.

See ‘Big’ on P. 5

theconcordian.com

news 2

Tuesday, November 29, 2011

Got a news tip? news@theconcordian.com

City in brief Alyssa Tremblay

Phishing scam targets ConU email service

Concordia’s Instructional & Information Technology Services are warning anyone with an email account on Alcor Webmail to beware of a phishing scam. The fake email poses as a message from IITS telling users that their accounts have been compromised, requesting usernames, passwords and other email ID to ”fix” the problem. IITS advises people on its website to suspect these types of messages as “Concordia University will never ask for your personal information by phone, e-mail, or URL unless it is in response to a support request you have initiated.”

CSU en français

The CSU’s policy committee will look into the costs that the union could incur if it were to translate all of its bylaws and standing regulations into French. The move comes after a motion presented by arts and science councillor Irmak Bahar was adopted at the CSU council meeting on Nov. 23. CSU president Lex Gill indicated that the translation could end up costing thousands of dollars. Bahar’s motion also called for the CSU to step up its efforts in communicating with Concordia’s francophone student population. During the meeting, VP advocacy and outreach Morgan Pudwell said she would try to have the major points of the updated bylaws translated into French before they go to referendum on Nov. 29.

CAMPUS

Guy-Concordia cockroach problem doesn’t affect university: spokesperson Infestation caused mainly by water leakages and food, STM says Joel Ashak Staff writer Despite the underground tunnel connecting Concordia University buildings to Guy-Concordia Metro station, the cockroach infestation discovered last week on the metro platforms is not affecting the campus, according to Concordia spokesperson Chris Mota.

She said the university’s facilities and management department was conducting regular inspections.

When asked to see the reports of these inspections, Mota replied that “it was not in [the university’s] practice to share any type of inspection reports, pest control or otherwise.”

The Concordian has filed an access to information request for the reports.

An article published last week

UQAM to study effects of homophobia

Premier Jean Charest announced last week that the Université du Quebec à Montreal’s department of sexology will be examining the consequences of homophobia, the first research chair of its kind in North America.

UQAM professor Line Chamberland told CTV Montreal that the department plans to study the social isolation and alienation felt by sexual minorities in order to gain a better understanding of progress on the issue as well as of the obstacles ahead.

Led by 20 researchers, the project will receive $475,000 from the provincial government on top of donations from the private sector.

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The problem is mainly concentrated near the tracks because of cracks in water pipes and food thrown on the ground by users.

- Marianne Rouette, STM spokesperson

told AQMI the problem was likely caused by the metro station food court; several fast-food restaurants, including Treats and Tim Hortons, have locations there. Rouette refuted the argument, saying the problem is mainly due to the water on the tracks and the platforms. A food court employee, who preferred to remain anonymous, concurred.

“I have never seen any cockroaches up here,” she said. “The only thing I know is that last time I was waiting for the metro, an STM agent told me I should lift up my bag because ‘things’ could be on the ground.”

Measures implemented by the STM to fight the infestation include getting the extermination company

to intervene in the station once a week instead of once a month and ensuring their employees treat the problem every night. The public transit authority has also been working on fixing the water pipes and moved the garbage bins from the platform level to the mezzanine to avoid having food residues next to the tracks.

“You also have to understand that Montreal is an island and that we are underground,” Rouette concluded. “The results have been good so far but we will never get rid of the problem entirely.”

The university and the STM recommend students avoid putting their bags on the ground and not throw garbage and food on the floor.

business

‘Fight club for startups’ takes off

McGill principal racks up Startupifier $124K in expenses McGill reimbursed its Principal and caters to student Vice-Chancellor Heather MunroeBlum for $124,167 in expenses over entrepreneurs a one-year period, according to documents obtained by Le Journal de Montréal through an access to information request. Between June 2009 and June 2010, Munroe-Blum spent more than $21,000 on her housekeeper’s salary and another $3,000 for her gardener, all of which was covered by the university. Munroe-Blum’s salary is currently in the range of $360,000.

McGill is defending the expenses, saying that they are an anticipated part of Munroe-Blum’s contract.

by Agence QMI pointed out a strong presence of cockroaches at GuyConcordia Metro station, where passengers have spotted insects on a regular basis at the bottom of walls and stairs along the platforms. In an interview with The Concordian, STM spokesperson Marianne Rouette said the transit authority was aware of the problem as it noticed last summer that Guy-Concordia was one of the “principal sources” of cockroach nests.

“The problem is mainly concentrated near the tracks because of cracks in water pipes and food thrown on the ground by users,” said Rouette. “We have not heard of any spreading beyond the mezzanine, towards restaurants or the tunnel to Concordia, and we have put paste and traps on the footbridge to avoid any chances of propagation.”

RMB Extermination, the pest control company hired by the STM, would not comment on the bugs possibly spreading, saying the information is confidential.

An exterminator working for ABC Pest Control and Extermination

Jacqueline Di Bartolomeo News editor Computer-savvy Montreal students looking for a leg up in starting a high-tech business will be pleased to hear that Startupifier, a fledgling student-run group, is starting to take off.

The group played host to around 40 interested parties last Wednesday at Notman House for a workshop on Software as a service, or SaaS, metrics.

Notman, which gives the community access to free Wi-Fi in their downstairs “cafe” area while also doubling as office space for startups and event venue, is the type of place where you take off your shoes at the door. Once inside the building, situated on the corner of Sherbrooke Street and Clarke Street, you are greeted by a long hallway leading to winding stairs at the other end.

Besides the rows of shoes at the entrance, the only other object in the hall is a Red Bull vending machine, plugged in but with empty shelves.

The clattering of fingers on computer keys emanating from the two rooms on either side of the hallway

temporarily ceased for the course of the workshop, taught by serial entrepreneur turned investor Mark MacLeod, who has been a partner at seed fund Real Ventures for the past year.

Founded two years ago, the organization has only in the past year or so started hosting events geared towards providing young entrepreneurs with the connections and the know-how to start their own company.

Startupifier offers four services to students: an academy, an internship program, hackathons, and a garage (also described as an “incubator without money”). The group mostly reaches out to students through its online mailing list, Facebook group, and Twitter account.

Jordan Choo, a Concordia economics student with a penchant for technology, is part of the second generation of Startupifier members; he’s in charge of organizing the workshops.

Nine people are listed as the group’s founders on its website, while five more, including Choo, constitute its “2011 crew.” Choo specified the number of people involved is closer to 20 at the moment.

Both Choo and co-founder Karel Ledru-Mathé expressed a firm belief that what they were doing isn’t taught in post-secondary institutions.

“Universities and companies are two disconnected words in Montreal,” Ledru-Mathé said.

Ledru-Mathé was a business student at HEC when he met cofounder Riku Seppälä at a startup networking event two years ago.

“I was at school [at the time,] working on some ideas to connect students with companies, so I just loved the idea of organizing events for startups among students,” Ledru-Mathé, now a web developer, explained.

“The main thing we’ve been doing is organizing events that show students that it is pretty easy to start something, to do something, and to do it out of school, so don’t only spend your time studying but you can also have a project of your own on the side,” he added.

Startupifier fills a gap in the knowledge necessary for students to become successful entrepreneurs, Choo said.

“We are taught how big companies are run [at school],” Choo explained. “A high-tech startup is run totally differently compared to big organizations, from a cultural level to programming, to just running the business in general, so we are trying to fill that gap so that if a student does decide to start their own company, they are not in the middle of nowhere not knowing

what to do.”

In an interview, MacLeod agreed. “We [Real Ventures] invest in tech startups and therefore they are started by people who come from a software background. And I find that the curriculum is totally unrelated to what’s needed practically, right, so you are still learning C++ and really old languages at school whereas most web apps are built on Rails, and Javascript and other interpreted languages so you end up having to learn those on your own,” he said.

He pointed to Stanford University, in the United States, as a model example for how universities should be structuring their classes.

“Computer science students have a course where they build an iPhone app and they are graded on how well it does,” he said. “That, to me, is amazing, and we’re not doing anything like that here. It’s all textbook, it’s all theoretical, so all of the best entrepreneurs that we back are soft top and it would be great if the schools could do more.”

Nonetheless, MacLeod said a university degree does provide “a baseline and set of skills and also gives you a set of relationships.”

Visit theconcordian.com for tips from investor Mark MacLeod for student entrepreneurs.

Tuesday, November 29, 2011

Follow us on Twitter: @TheConcordian byeleCtionS

CSU referendum questions spark a digital debate Students take to Facebook to voice criticism of bylaw reform Alyssa Tremblay Assistant news editor A Facebook event sprung up last week encouraging students to vote against the two referendum questions regarding the Concordia Student Union’s revised bylaws in this week’s byelections, opening up a lively online discourse.

Created last week by Ace Szmolyan, a political science student at Concordia, the event is listed online as “Demand Knowledge: Vote NO for the CSU Bylaw changes.”

“I meant to raise awareness by this campaign,” wrote Szmolyan in one of many posts on the event’s wall. “I feel like this page could be a great place for students to raise any questions or concerns they have regarding the upcoming referendum.

The topics debated on the event page range from the re-naming and re-purposing of the student centre fund, the changes made to the elections process, and the removal of the Senate of Faculty Associations, a body made up of representatives from each faculty association.

Some users also noted an alleged lack of public awareness about these bylaw changes when compared to

the campaigning seen in the lead-up to the Nov.10 tuition fee demonstration.

CSU executives and council members have been posting direct responses to concerns on the wall of the Facebook event in back-andforth conversations that have so far remained civil.

Morgan Pudwell, CSU VP advocacy and outreach and official chair of the “Yes” committee for the bylaw-related referendum questions, wrote that although she’s excited about the new bylaws, it’s good to see students engaging within their union.

“In general I think students have been asking meaningful questions, and I’m happy to engage in that sort of discourse,” Pudwell wrote.

The event has over 140 members listed as “attending,” including several executives from the Arts and Science Federation of Associations.

ASFA VP internal Schubert Laforest said in an interview that some of the new bylaws lack clarity. He pointed to the the wording of one proposed new bylaw in particular, which states that candidates for CSU executive positions, the council of representatives, the Board of Governors, and the Senate, will run individually. The bylaw would effectively put an end to the slate system, where candidates are voted in as a team.

His concern is that unless the wording is made clearer, someone

Morgan Pudwell says bylaw changes are overdue. Photo by navneet Pall could use the rule to prevent candidates from affiliating with each other and running as a group.

“I’ve seen a lot go wrong when things are left up to interpretation,” said Laforest, referring to the CSU’s history of contentious elections.

Former CSU president Heather Lucas joined the “Vote No” event despite having been a part of the reform process during her time in office.

“If the ‘No’ campaign had not created their Facebook page, there wouldn’t be the essential discussion and documentation that students need in order to not be going to the ballots uninformed and voting blindly,” wrote Lucas in an email.

CSU council passed a motion on Nov. 23 and a document displaying

all revisions made throughout the reform process has since been made available. The CSU has also created a “Vote YES” event which has over 100 people attending as of press time.

Students will be able to vote on whether to accept the new bylaws during byelections this week on Nov. 29, 30 and Dec.1.

“Reform is much needed at the CSU, and for too long it has been put off,” Pudwell wrote. “If any changes are to be made to the CSU electoral policies they would need to be approved during this byelection in order to effect the upcoming general elections in March.”

To view the comprehensive proposed changes to the bylaws, visit csu.qc.ca.

CJLO and CUTV gunning for fee levy increases Alyssa Tremblay Assistant news editor The futures of Concordia University Television and campus radio station CJLO 1690 AM are in students’ hands this week.

The student-run media outlets are asking for students to approve an increase in their fee levy—the amount of funding they receive from students—to $0.34 per credit, in this week’s Concordia Student Union byelections.

Both CUTV and CJLO are fee levy groups and non-profit organizations which exist separately from the university.

“What fee levy groups do is they provide services that the university either can’t or won’t provide,” said Justin Giovannetti, president of the Concordia Student Broadcasting Corporation. The CSBC oversees the governance of CJLO and CUTV, as well as Concordia’s HAM radio club.

“There’s this entire ecosystem that’s been built around Concordia in fee levy groups,” said Giovannetti.

SGW campus, meet CJLO If the fee levy passes, CJLO plans to use the extra funds to expand their sound to a clearer FM frequency.

“Not all of Concordia can actually hear CJLO. With this fee levy we’d actually be able to get onto a small FM signal downtown,” said station manager Stephanie Saretsky.

The frequency would span the Sir George Williams campus east to west from about Atwater Avenue to de la Montagne Street.

The fee levy would help cover the costs of buying and installing the antenna, which according to Giovannetti can range anywhere from $20,000 to $50,000 depending on the building it sits on.

“If we get a big prominent building like the MB building, a modern building with a roof that doesn’t need much bracing, you’re looking at a much cheaper antenna,” said Giovannetti, citing the long-term costs of leasing space for the antenna as part of the reasoning why CJLO is asking for sustainable funding in the form of a fee levy increase rather than just taking out a loan.

Available for online listening since 2001 and on-air since 2008, CJLO routinely picks up awards at the CMJ Music Marathon & Film Festival College Day Awards in New York City, winning Station of the Year in 2010 and Best Student-Run Non-FM Station in 2008. They were also the only

Nation in brief Jacqueline Di Bartolomeo

No more violence against women on campus

byeleCtionS

Undergrads to decide whether media outlets receive more yearly funding

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With this fee levy we’d actually be able to get onto a small FM signal downtown.

- Stephanie Saretsky, CJLO station manager

Space and infrastructure are the two biggest things that are holding us down right now.

- Laura Kneale, CUTV station manager

Canadian radio station invited to the International Radio Festival in Zurich, Switzerland this past summer.

“Only three years on-air and we’ve been doing really impressive work,” said Saretsky.

With the increased fee levy, she says the station hopes to reduce the amount of on-air advertising and set the groundwork for large-scale fundraising drives.

CUTV in your home CUTV is looking to expand its content too—in its case, to cable TV. Broadcasting on Vox, a public access channel owned by Videotron, is just one of several goals that CUTV outlined for itself in a strategic plan drafted last year and that the fee levy increase will be going towards.

“Space and infrastructure are the two biggest things that are holding us down right now,” said station manager Laura Kneale, explaining that

the older building on Mackay where CUTV is located is not able to handle their electrical needs.

On campus in various forms since 1969, CUTV currently produces six different shows, while providing equipment and training to anyone interested in film. According to Kneale, approximately 400 students used their services in the last year and a half.

The station also live streams CSU council meetings online, a service which Kneale says they hope to extend to the university as a whole.

“There’s a need at the university for better meeting and conference rooms,” she said, describing “a room that would be a multi-purpose room for meetings, for press conferences, that would be fully equipped with the means to either project or fully live stream” as a potential solution to this problem and “a big investment in the long run for Concordia.”

The federal government is now soliciting ideas directly from student groups on how to reduce violence against women across university and college campuses. It will accept proposals for projects under $200,000 until Jan. 27, the Canadian Press reported. Federal Minister for the Status of Women Rona Ambrose expressed concern last week that a complacent attitude might be hindering the struggle to eliminate violence against women on Canadian campuses. One in four women has reportedly been a victim of a sexual assault, while women aged 15 to 24 are almost 18 times likelier to be assaulted than women aged 55 and older.

Nenshi mouths off on Twitter

Calgary Mayor Naheed Nenshi has joined the growing list of public figures making headlines for their freewheelin’ comments on Twitter. The Globe and Mail reported that Nenshi told blogger Werner Patels last weekend that he was “off [his] meds” after Patels criticized Nenshi’s stance on Occupy Calgary. Nenshi has defended the right of protesters to occupy the public space. The mayor is also known for engaging in debates on the social media website with other users. Patels and some mental health workers rebuked the mayor for the comment. Nenshi later apologized for the comment.

Élargis your horizons

An online poll of 2,400 Canadians has found that unilingual anglophones are the least likely group to appreciate Canada’s two official languages, the Montreal Gazette reported. The survey, conducted by Léger Marketing for independent think tank the Association for Canadian Studies, shows that six out of 10 unilingual Canadians have a negative perception of relations between anglophones and francophones. The survey also found that 46 per cent of anglophones who are somewhat uncomfortable in French think of the relations in a negative light, versus only one in three anglophones who are comfortable in French. As a whole, francophones are less likely to hold similar negative opinions.

Canada might pull out of Kyoto Protocol

The federal government has no plans to renew its commitment to the Kyoto Protocol, while Environment Minister Peter Kent remains mum on whether it would withdraw from the accord altogether. On Sunday night, CTV News reported the government would pull the plug on the accord. Kent would neither confirm nor deny those reports on Monday.

Industry Minister Christian Paradis told question period that the government remains committed to reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 17 per cent of 2005 levels by 2020. Paradis said the Kyoto Protocol would not work because it does not include some of the world’s top emitters — a condition Canada continues to push for in future accords.

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theconcordian

Tuesday, November 29, 2011

World in brief

CFS

Jacqueline Di Bartolomeo

Dry bar opens in UK

CFS marks 30th anniversary, prepares for new day of action

Liverpool, the “recovery capital” of Britain, is now home to the country’s first “dry” bar. Brink, a selffunded, alcohol-free bar, caters to those recovering from drug and alcohol addictions. The establishment, which has been open since September, stems from an initiative by a charity called Action on Addiction. The city has the highest level of alcohol-related hospital admissions in the country, and plays host to 33 AA meetings every week. According to The Guardian, the bar is popular among single women and members of the Muslim community.

The bar also works to reintegrate recovering alcoholics into its staff.

Hands-free video game

Video games installed at the urinal stands in a UK bar have proven to be both popular and profitable. Captive Media installed digital screens above urinals in a Cambridge bar, where men can play one of three games which are controlled by the flow of pee. On average, a man spends 55 seconds staring at the wall while using the urinal, according to Business Weekly. The screens (which are fully splash-proof) play ads before and after the video game which feature a drink that can be bought at the bar.

Once they are done, men can post scores to Twitter and to a leader board to compete with their friends. Captive Media intends to place the screens in other venues early next year.

Worse than a cream pie

India Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar was slapped by an angry citizen last week in Delhi, the BBC reported. Harvinder Singh said he slapped the minister because he is upset about corruption and high inflation. Singh was taken away by police after the hit. He said he also tried to attack former telecoms minister Sukh Ram, who received a fiveyear prison sentence for accepting a bribe. Other high-profile government employees assaulted in India include Home Minister P Chidambaram, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Leader of the Opposition LK Advani, who have all had shoes thrown at them.

Like Steve McQueen

Six inmates living in the Mexican penal colony Islas Marias were recaptured on Thursday after they escaped and tried to swim to shore using empty plastic gas or water tanks to stay afloat. According to the Associated Press, the inmates were 90 kilometres away from coastal resort Puerto Vallarta when a boat saw them and tipped off the navy. The stunt seems to be straight out of the 1973 movie Papillon, where Steve McQueen’s character escapes from a penal colony in French Guiana using largely the same technique. Islas Marias, which lies about 110 kilometres from the mainland, has been the last island penal colony in the region.

There are between 1,000 and 1,200 inmates living in small houses there.

They are not usually locked up.

“

around 250 student delegates Met in gatineau for the four-day conference. Photo by antoine tréPanier/cuP

Delegates at general meeting elect new execs, plan February national day of action for accessible education Briana Hill CUP Ottawa bureau chief OTTAWA (CUP) — The Canadian Federation of Students (CFS) celebrated its 30th anniversary last week at its 60th semi-annual national general meeting held just outside of Ottawa. Nearly 250 delegates convened in Gatineau, QC to discuss student issues at the twice-yearly event, this time held from Nov. 22 to 25.

feb. 1, à la rue!

Campaigns, budgets and executive reports were all debated and passed, but the overarching theme of the four-day-long conference was the upcoming national day of action on Feb. 1, 2012.

Keynote speakers Justin Trudeau, Liberal member of Parliament, and Nycole Turmel, NDP interim leader of the Official Opposition, both pledged their support for Feb. 1, much to the appreciation of delegates.

“This year is really defined by the national campaign,” said CFS national chairperson Roxanne Dubois.

According to the CFS, the Feb. 1 protest will be multifaceted, targeting the reduction of tuition fees, reduction of student debt and increased education funding.

For Dubois, two topics stood out at this year’s national general meeting.

“The ‘Education is a Right’

campaign and the day of action obviously are one, because we’ve actually been able to talk about it in various caucuses, and different constituency groups were able to identify some materials that would enable them to connect to the campaign more directly,” she said.

The second was the soon-to-belaunched “No Means No” website and mobilization to prevent violence against women in the lead-up to the Dec. 6 commemorative events in remembrance of the École Polytechnique massacre in Montreal in 1989.

election of a new national chairPerson

During closing plenary, delegates voted for their new national executive for 2012–13: the national chairperson, the national deputy chairperson and the national treasurer.

Candidates in each category ran unopposed and all were elected.

Adam Awad, current national deputy chairperson, and originally from the University of Toronto Students’ Union, will take the position of national chairperson. Jessica McCormick of the Memorial University of Newfoundland Students’ Union will become national deputy chairperson and Michael Olson of the Vancouver Island University Students’ Union will become national treasurer. All three will officially assume their new positions next spring.

“I’m actually really excited to have such a diverse [team of] at-

I think it’s really important to not just have an Ottawa-centric, and Ontariocentric, perspective on how to get the message out.

- Adam Awad, national chairperson-elect

large members ... I’m really excited to be able to work with three incredibly strong provincial components and to bring the lessons that they’ve learned from the different parts of the country and I think it’s really important to not just have an Ottawacentric, and Ontario-centric, perspective on how to get the message out,” said Awad on his election.

“I’m really excited to be able to continue working past this year, to continue working for students all across Canada.”

thoughts froM a newcoMer Mark LaRiviere of Trent University had the last words from the floor at closing plenary and though his first experience at a CFS national general meeting left him feeling motivated, he had some reservations about its structure.

“I was told, odds are if you’re a white, male, undergraduate student, [and] heterosexual, then there’s very few constituencies that you can fit in,” said LaRiviere.

Constituency groups are “composed of individual delegates who share a common characteristic as recognized by the federation,” such as students with disabilities, francophone students and international students.

“It’s very established within the

structure of the federation to create a space for groups that are traditionally excluded from many decision making processes, and so that’s the recognition of very evidenced social inequalities that we recognize and that we allocate a space for,” said Dubois.

“I feel strongly towards many of the issues ... it was a bit of a downer, just because I felt like I could definitely be an advocate for a lot of them,” said LaRiviere, who did not end up participating in any of the constituency groups.

Overall, the meeting was characterized by a strong sense of unity among delegates, and there was very little variance in discourse.

For the next two months, the national office will be concentrating on the planning and roll-out of the upcoming national day of action.

“Over the next two months, the work of the national office ... will be to [provide resources to] all of the local communities and campuses that will be organizing for the day of action, with whatever they need,” said Dubois. “And to try and keep a national vision for our goal and for our campaign of putting ‘Education is a Right’ out there — and really trying to garner public and media and community support for accessible education in Canada.”

Tuesday, November 29, 2011

Follow us on Twitter: @TheConcordian

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Tomer Shavit also wants JB chair Ceejay Desfosses to resign Continued from cover

Shavit had originally accused him of being part of the winning Your Concordia slate, of which Gill was leader, but Holoubi denied it in a statement to council, saying “I wasn’t affiliated with any slate. I ran independently.” Gill has also denied the accusation.

Holoubi was appointed at a special council meeting on Nov. 2, the day after the JB invalidated Goldstein’s appointment. Shavit filed his appeal to overturn the JB’s decision on Nov. 11, citing arguments which included criticism of the JB’s fasttrack procedure and alleged hostility shown toward him by current JB chair Ceejay Desfosses.

Desfosses assumed her position following the resignation earlier this month of Cassie Smith, who cited a “toxic environment” as a reason for her departure. Smith was criticized

by Shavit for the way she handled the original hearing into Goldstein’s appointment. But it is Desfosses who especially concerns Shavit. He has accused her of being a corrupt official.

“I think that Ceejay was put on the JB by Lex Gill to move decisions

in her favour, which is why I don’t have faith in the JB,” said Shavit.

Due to the accusations levelled against her, Desfosses recently emailed CSU council asking for suggestions to deal with Shavit’s appeal. At the council meeting held on Nov. 23, a special council meeting was suggested as one of the routes to take to deal with the JB/CEO matter.

In a statement sent to council and the media on Nov. 27, Desfosses said the JB would deal with Shavit’s appeal, but not with the accusations made by Shavit against her. No date for the appeal was given. The announcement of the special council meeting to discuss overturning the JB’s decision came on the same day as Desfosses’ email.

In an email sent to The Concordian on Nov. 26, Gill responded to Shavit’s accusations by saying they had no basis. With regards to Desfosses in particular, Gill wrote that “the extent of my communication with Ceejay has basically been sitting near her in a political science class almost a year ago. I don’t

Former CSU councillor Tomer Shavit wants the JB’s decision overturned. Photo by Navneet Pall think baseless, illogical, politicallymotivated attacks are a reason for Ceejay, or anyone, to resign. I’m really disappointed with the way she’s been treated through this process.”

Shavit has accused Gill of being one of the main orchestrators behind the invalidation of Goldstein’s

appointment.

“My first and foremost argument is that Lex is trying to make this whole thing seem as if council wanted Bram fired. She brought this to council and said that this was something that needed to be addressed. The idea of council versus

Bram is disingenuous,” he said.

When Shavit brought up these same accusations at last Wednesday’s council meeting, councillor Michaela Manson responded that it was indeed council’s decision to refer Goldstein’s appointment to the JB, and not solely Gill’s.

#occupymtl

Big public demonstrations expected for ‘Phase 3’ O’Callaghan said treatment he received at the hands of police was unexpected and shocking.

“We were peacefully resisting [to leave] a public space that we have every right to be in. I didn’t think that with police in Canada you would have this kind of pain imposed on people trying to use their right to assemble and discuss,” he said.

Police officers stationed near the GA on Saturday said they are not at liberty to discuss Friday’s eviction.

O’Callaghan, along with about 15 others, had decided to protest

“

Visibly upset occupiers were forced to leave Victoria Square last Friday. Photos by Navneet Pall

Continued from cover “At the same time, there’s the hope that this will give us the opportunity to expand and take the movement further.”

The GA focused on maintaining feelings of unity and solidarity within the movement after the loss of the village, and coming up with new ideas for how to implement ‘Phase 3.’

“The goal today is to gather ideas from people about where the movement should go and what they think the movement should be about,” said Berger.

Activists highlighted attempts

by Occupy Wall Street protesters to ‘occupy’ the New York Stock Exchange after being evicted from Zuccotti Park as the type of action to expect from Occupy Montreal in the near future.

I was screaming. There was an officer whispering,‘If you want the pain to stop, you’re gonna start walking.’

- Adam O’Callaghan, musician and protester

“Big huge public demonstrations. That’s what Phase Three is all about,” said Jay, an occupier who declined to give his last name, on Friday.

Montreal police officers in both regular uniform and riot gear arrived at 9 a.m. on Friday and told the residents of the tent-village to pack up and get out. While most occupiers left without incident, 16 were apprehended during the eviction for refusing to cooperate, at least one of whom claims he

was mistreated in the process.

Musician Adam O’Callaghan claims to have sustained an arm injury Friday when two officers forced him to cooperate with eviction orders by bending his wrist downward while the other officer squeezed pressure points at the back of his neck beneath his ears.

“I was screaming,” said O’Callaghan. “There was an officer whispering, ‘If you want the pain to stop, you’re gonna start walking.’”

the eviction by tying himself to the village’s food tent and later refusing to comply with officers’ demands to walk out of the camp.

Those apprehended during the eviction were photographed and banned from the premises for 24 hours, then released at Vendôme Metro station where police paid for their fares and sent them on their way.

A free concert was held in Victoria Square after the GA, showcasing local acts, including political comedians Les Zapartistes and members of Bran Van 3000.

6

theconcordian

Tuesday, November 29, 2011

CoMMUnity

NDG and Côte Saint-Luc playing tug of war for school Proposal to relocate Royal Vale High School pleases some, infuriates others Myles Dolphin Opinions editor Last Wednesday’s English Montreal School Board meeting drew out droves of concerned parents from both sides of a controversial plan that would involve moving the high school section of the Royal Vale School from Notre-Damede-Grâce to Côte Saint-Luc. Royal Vale is one of 20 schools in the EMSB in danger of either closing down, merging or relocating to another location. In this case, the EMSB proposed relocating the high school to the Giovanni Palatucci Facility (formerly home to Wagar High School) in Côte Saint-Luc. With its large and predominately English-speaking population, Côte Saint-Luc residents are claiming that their facilities are in excellent condition, and ready to accommodate the high school students.

NDG parents aren’t so sure. When RVS parents were polled about the proposal, 88 per cent of them responded against it.

“I would like to know how you as commissioners find it just and logical to continue the consultation process to move the secondary

portion of Royal Vale when the outpouring of support and the obvious reaction of our parent and student body has been very clear that we are opposed,” said RVS parent Joanne Adler during question period.

They’re worried about a number of issues.

Not only would they have to travel further than they already do to bring their kids to school, but the new facility in Côte Saint-Luc isn’t equipped to deal with the type of education Royal Vale currently offers. The school is unique in the sense that it operates under a special permit which allows it to offer an enriched math and science program to its students. Enrolment takes place exclusively by way of an entrance exam. There is also concern over the supposed presence of asbestos in the CSL facility.

So far, the EMSB has not given any information regarding the cost of this potential move, nor has it provided parents with a concrete reason why the move would take place.

Parents at the board meeting were furious; they brandished homemade signs and yelled from behind a glass partition, aiming most of their quips at chairperson Angela Mancini.

Mancini was visibly overwhelmed by the barrage of questions during question period, and used most of her time trying to calm people down instead of directly answering them.

Earlier in the day, councillors for Côte-desNeiges—Notre-Dame-de-Grâce Susan Clarke, Peter McQueen and Marvin Rotrand as well as

CAMPUS

Student advocacy centre soldiers on in pursuit of more nuanced code of conduct Jacqueline Di Bartolomeo News editor Over the past academic year, the CSU Student Advocacy Centre has embarked on a number of ambitious campaigns to promote student rights, and has already started to see results, according to a new report published this past week.

The third part of a five-phase campaign initiated by the advocacy centre which aims to reform aspects of the Concordia Academic Code of Conduct is underway, according to a report released on Nov. 23 which reviews the centre’s progress on several fronts in 20102011.

For one, the report outlines the steps taken towards advancing its academic fairness campaign, previously termed the intent clause project.

The third phase has revealed that universities are noting an uptick in plagiarism in universities, with international students accounting for a disproportionate percentage of the cases on campus. The report cites University of Toronto legal aid clinic lawyer Karen Bellinger, who noted that while international students make up 12 per cent of that university’s student body, they are involved in over 50 per cent of the academic misconduct cases brought before her.

The lack of a “no intent to deceive” clause in the university’s code of conduct can lead to students being severely sanctioned for honest errors, the report states. The centre also seeks to draw attention to the plight of international students, as punishment for academic offences can often result in disproportionate financial and academic costs.

Reasons given for the discrepancy include a variance in educational experiences from country to country, and cultural differences that account for different notions of what

constitutes plagiarism.

The first phase involved examining the policies of other Canadian universities when it comes to academic offenses, while in the second phase the centre conducted a review of 406 random misconduct cases that were brought to them.

That second step, conducted as of August of this year, was conducted with the goal of determining the factors that increase a student’s risk of being charged with academic misconduct. As it was unable to do so conclusively, the centre therefore established a new system for managing data to measure those factors more effectively.

The centre found that nearly 60 per cent of academic misconduct cases involved plagiarism—234 out of 406 cases brought to the centre were related to the offence. Meanwhile, other charges such as cheating and having a cell phone during an examination accounted for 20 per cent and 13 per cent of the cases, respectively. Unauthorized collaboration accounted for eight per cent of the cases.

In the fourth phase, the centre will speak to faculty and administrators to gather input (slated to take place in November, according to the report). In the final stage, the centre will present its findings to Senate.

The centre was successful in asking the university to remove a student’s permanent code in the official transcript because of the private information such as the student’s date of birth and sex that could be accessed.

That privacy rights campaign was embarked upon along with the support of student union president Lex Gill.

In the last school year, the centre also embarked upon a campaign to reach out to non-governmental organizations with the goal of potentially creating relationships and collaborations so that its clients may also benefit from these organizations’ services.

borough mayor Michael Applebaum had joined Royal Vale parents in a march to the EMSB. The school board has lost approximately 6,000 students in the past decade. Roughly a dozen schools have enrolments of 200 students or less.

Hearings will be held next month on a series of recommendations that the EMSB long-term planning committee has made to the commissioners. A vote will take place in January, and if the move is approved, it would likely take place during the 2012-13 academic year.

life

Tuesday, November 29, 2011

7

Write to the editor: life@theconcordian.com

AIDS: The story behind the statistics 30 years later, the fight against AIDS continues in Montreal Paula Rivas Life editor To commemorate the 30th anniversary of the discovery of HIV-AIDS, I could spit out impressive statistics on medical advancements, virus containment or life expectancy.

Or, I could share more worrisome statistics like according to the Public Health Agency of Canada, between 2005 and 2008 there was a 14 per cent increase in the number of people living with HIV in Canada. Or, how every eight hours, a Canadian contracts HIV. But would this really make people stop, think and change the way they protect themselves? Do people really grasp the reality of what it feels like to get this life altering disease, to be socially outcasted, to feel helpless -- through statistics?

On June 2, the Canadian Foundation for AIDS Research (CANFAR) partnered with the Social Research Centre and commissioned a survey about Canadians’ attitude towards HIV and AIDS prevention. The study showed that 93 per cent of Canadians believe that they are knowledgeable about HIV and AIDS, but only half of those surveyed said that they believe that condoms help reduce the spread of HIV. Half. What’s more, almost 57 per cent of the

“

each other in Uganda with similar backgrounds, doing similar work. “It was the perfect relationship. We understood the demands of each other’s jobs, we could have conversations about home, we could appreciate each other’s driving force to be in the field and to do this work. I was in love,” she said.

After a few months of dating, they decided to move in together and marked this step in their relationship by getting tested for HIV. During this time, they were both working for UN agencies and Silva decided to begin a master’s program in the U.S. For nine months, she travelled back and forth between the U.S. and Uganda while her boyfriend had an affair and got infected with HIV. For Christmas 2008, Silva went back to her home in Uganda and was unknowingly infected with HIV. “It took me a while to figure out that something wasn’t right in our relationship but I had a feeling in my gut. I started piecing clues together and six months after, we broke up,” said Silva.

After the break up, Silva left Uganda and began another mission in another African country. “Life went on as they do for everyone post-breakup. There were new jobs, new countries, new friends, and new men. I had no idea that I was infected.”

In 2010, Silva accepted a position in Iraq.

Upon her arrival she learned that the government of Iraq tests all people coming into the country for HIV. So she got tested, and it

We understood the demands of each other’s jobs, we could have conversations about home, we could appreciate each other’s driving force to be in the field and to do this work. I was in love.

people surveyed (that have two or more sexual partners) admitted to not using a condom the last time they had a sexual encounter.

“It is clear that Canadians’ attitudes have shifted in the past 30 years, but this hasn’t necessarily affected behaviour,” said Christopher Bunting, president of CANFAR. Therefore, it is true that Canadians today are more informed people than they were 30 years ago. They understand that HIV weakens the immune system, making people susceptible and that it leads to AIDS. But understanding definitions does not mean people understand what it is like to have and live with HIV. And as made evident in the CANFAR study, it also does not mean that people necessarily practice safe sex. Many people do not realize it could happen, until it happens to them.

Meet Roxanne Silva*. She does not fit the stereotypical profile of someone infected with HIV. She is an average 31-year-old woman, but only last year, she found out that she was HIV-positive. This is her story.

Silva finished her undergraduate degree with a BA in political science. Right after graduation, she travelled around Europe, like many young people do, to explore and to get inspired. This led to her becoming a humanitarian aid worker and she has since spent eight years working and living in Africa.

“Every day I felt like I was doing exactly what I was supposed to be doing with my life,” she said.

Then, Silva fell in love. He was born and raised in Ottawa but they somehow found

seemed to be fine. However, months later, she travelled to another part of Iraq and had to be tested again, so she did so without hesitation.

This time it was not okay.

Silva described the worst day of her life when after a morning meeting, her boss pulled her aside and announced to her that her HIV test came back positive. He explained that the men standing next to him were there to take her away.

Baffled, Silva was taken to the deportation office. “This all happened in a minute.

“

tion office. And that’s when the nightmare began,” said Silva.

“I was put in jail, stripped of all communication methods and my passport. No one spoke to me in English. I had no food, little water, no toilet facilities and remained in the same clothes for days. The guards only visited me to throw stones at me. I was so scared and in shock. I didn’t know if I would ever get out of there. I didn’t know what would kill me first, and I didn’t know how I could have been infected. I remember thinking ‘this is a mistake.’ Eventually I was deported to Jordan where I was jailed once again. And then sent to the U.S. where I was detained at the airport. And then, one week

“

Condoms are not optional, they are required. And everyone (both men and women) are responsible for bringing them into the bedroom.

Photo by Navneet Pall

later, I arrived in Montreal. And then I cried. I cried for three months.”

In Montreal, Silva confirmed the test results; it was not a mistake, she was HIVpositive. It took Silva a week to tell her family and although they were devastated by the news at first, they were extremely supportive and were willing to become informed and continue to love her unconditionally.

After researching HIV in Montreal, she turned to AIDS Community Care Montreal.

“I needed help gaining access to resources, health facilities and support. And ACCM sup-

I didn’t know if I would ever get out of there. I didn’t know what would kill me first, and I didn’t know how I could have been infected.

I was taken to the deportation office and managed to negotiate a three-hour stay in order to collect some of my belongings, etc. under the condition that I would voluntarily return within three hours. Otherwise I would be subjected to the Iraqi criminal code,” she said.

“I went back to my office, called a friend in Ottawa to inform her of what was happening, packed a few things, took a few guzzles of gin from the freezer, stared at myself long and hard in the mirror, got a phone call from my head office in the U.S. to inform me that since I was HIV-positive and could not work in Iraq (the job I was hired to do) that I was now fired, and then went back to the deporta-

they are required. And everyone (both men and women) are responsible for bringing them into the bedroom,” she said. And finally she said to listen to your intuition. “It is your own personal alarm system, your red flag, your opportunity to stop and re-evaluate.”

Silva’s story is one that echoes the struggles of many other HIV-positive people.

One that no statistic could ever encompass.

It is true that HIV is a clever virus that adapts and mutates a person’s cellular composition making it difficult for medicines to remain effective. However, the treatment options for HIV have developed rapidly. Antiretroviral drugs help stop the reproduction of the virus inside the body in three locations at

ported me as much or as little as I needed at different times. I attacked my own recovery like a full-time job, determined to dig my way out of this awful, diagnosis-induced rut. And ACCM was there every step of the way.”

Silva’s involvement with ACCM presented her with many opportunities such as co-facilitating a support group for people who are HIV-positive, delivering presentations at the centre as well as telling her story on ACCM’s behalf at schools and other venues.

Silva stressed the importance of understanding that everyone who has unprotected sex, even if it is with one person or only happens one time, is at risk of HIV. Therefore, Silva emphasises, “condoms are not optional,

the same time, making it extremely difficult for the virus to adapt and replicate. Today, there are a variety of combinations to choose from. As a result of tri-therapy and incredible advancements in HIV research and medicine, people who are HIV-positive are now living and ageing with HIV, they are not dying as quickly of AIDS as they once did.

When the AIDS epidemic began in the early 1980s, it was a death sentence. As the few remaining survivors will tell you, they were often told they had five years to live.

Today, due to the development of safe and effective drugs, people who are HIV-positive can lead longer and healthier lives. Though there is no cure for HIV, adherence to a treatment regime that your body responds well to reduces the amount of virus in your body, allowing your immune system to regain strength and ultimately prevent the development of AIDS. Silva’s final words touched on the stereotypes that come with the idea of having HIV. “Every person who has HIV in Montreal, in Canada, in the world…we are all guilty of the exact same thing: we trusted someone. Who in this world or on your campus hasn’t at some point trusted another person? No one.

But it is not more complex than that. HIV is not a comment on risky behaviour, it is not a reflection of the kind of person that you are, it is not worthy of judgement. It is simply a consequence of trust.” * The name was changed due to the personal nature of the article and to respect confidentiality.

8

theconcordian

Tuesday, November 29, 2011 food

Your brain loves breakfast Skipping the most important meal of the day can affect your grades Brenda Raftlova Contributor It is Monday morning and you are sitting in your most boring and tedious class of the semester. You are tired as a dog and all you can think of is your warm cozy bed and your lavender silk sheets you have left behind to come to school. You are so tired that you must try every technique possible not to fall asleep. But your nostrils start to flare and your mouth starts to tremble. You yawn. And by the end of the class, you know you have not learned a thing.

Are you familiar with this scenario? Most students report that they are. According to a recent study conducted by King’s College London, such exhaustion and decline in attention and performance can be caused either by not eating the right breakfast or by skipping it completely.

The research also highlighted that cutting out breakfast could not only affect your academic performance, but also your visual perception and spatial memory.

Catherine Naulleau, a sports nutritionist from VIVAÏ Nutrition, agreed with the research and said that breakfast should be eaten on a regular basis.

“Breakfast starts you off,” said Naulleau.

“It helps to speed up the metabolism and gives the first energy to the body, brain and cells. Those who don’t eat breakfast will be more tired and have less energy. The brain simply misses glucose to function well and wants to shut off.”

While the King’s College study focused mainly on cereals as the right type of breakfast, Naulleau said there are plenty of other options. Ideally, the meal must be healthy and nutritious, must always contain a source of carbohydrates and proteins, and have at least three food groups found in Health Canada’s Food Guide.

Graphic by Katie Brioux

“Whole grain toast with peanut butter and a glass of milk or yogurt or orange juice is a great choice,” said Naulleau. “Cheese or eggs, as long as it does not have too much butter or fat added, are another great source of proteins. You want protein and fiber for breakfast because it will energize your brain and will help you last longer through the morning, so you don’t feel too hungry to get to lunch. Oatmeal is another great choice because the kind of carbs oatmeal has take more time to digest and therefore you have more energy.”

Despite all the benefits breakfast can provide, many students still pay little or no attention to it. Audrey Caramanico, a Concordia translation student, blames her partial morning fasting on her digestive disorder and heritage.

“I’m French and Italian and we don’t eat breakfast,” chuckled Caramanico. “I also have digestion problems and mornings are the worst for me. So what I find light and

comforting are my two amaretti biscuits and my cappuccino.”

Other students include their lack of time and effort as one of the main reasons for skipping breakfast.

“I’m very busy and lazy in the morning, so I don’t eat. But if I feel somewhat hungry then I’ll just grab a muffin because it’s quick to finish,” said Chris Rodi, a Concordia student majoring in English and history.

But if you are among those who make breakfast part of your daily routine, then you should make sure you are eating it at the right time in order to get all the benefits. According to Naulleau, your first meal should be before 10 a.m., as it will keep your metabolism regulated. Even the night owls who wake up after 10 a.m. should have at least a small portion and then adjust the timing of all other meals.

If boosting your concentration is not enough of a reason for you to start breakfasting, here is something that might perhaps

change your mind: eating breakfast will help you maintain your weight and shed some unwanted pounds.

“Breakfast is the most important meal for dieters,” said Naulleau. “Skipping it creates a large energy deficit and your body will compensate later on in the evening, in front of the TV either with chocolate or chips. It will also create sugar cravings in the morning and the envy to eat less nutritious food.

People who don’t eat breakfast, [find that] their metabolism will tend to shut down and slow down, and with a slower metabolism you put on pounds more easily. A breakfast with carbs and proteins, on the other hand, helps dieters feel full longer and less tempted to eat sugary and fatty food choices later in the day.”

So eat a healthy, low in sugar breakfast and you will not only improve your brainpower, but you might also lose those dangling love handles. Can you think of any better deal?

coming out

Knocking down the closet door Being honest about your homosexuality can lead to a happier you William Pelletier Contributor I always thought that the expression “coming out” was pretty hilarious. Coming out of what really? I don’t remember having been locked up anywhere, but maybe my memory is faulty.

By convention, gays come out of the closet just like Harry Potter and Shakira’s inner she-wolf once did. Only abnormal and strange things seem to come out from the closet if you ask me.

The bottom line is that gays need to stop being treated like circus freaks. Everyone needs to stop going up to people asking them “Are you gay?” or whispering in their friend’s ear “Is he or she finally out?”

The harshest part about those questions is not the individuals’ concern or curiosity about your sexual orientation, it’s the big doe-eyed face they make when asking you.

Honestly, every time someone asks me if I’m gay, I always wonder if there’s something stuck in my teeth that make people look at me in such a funny manner.

The problem is linked to the expressions we use in our everyday life. Coming out wouldn’t be so hard if it wasn’t so, well, official. Doing your “coming out” is frankly intimidating!

Consequently, I did some research and got tips from many other individuals to ease one’s coming out process.

My first realization is that many different variables come into play in an individual’s life that makes each coming out experience extremely personal. Therefore, it is impossible for me to offer you foolproof advice that will make your coming out pain free. I will try my best though!

I realized this after interviewing Xavier Tremblay*, a gay Concordia student currently studying sociology. “I am trying to get into politics, something like this [revealing his sexual orientation] wouldn’t help my chances quite yet,” said Tremblay.

For those reasons, Tremblay has only told a select group of friends that he liked men. His situation doesn’t get any easier, though. “My parents are very old Catholics,” said Tremblay. “Only one cousin knows [that I am gay] but she is a lesbian who was outcast by the family five years ago.”

There is no magical solution to help in cases like these, but two of Queer Concordia’s board members shared some helpful

“

The reason I told my parents wasn’t so much to get it off my chest, but more so because I wasn’t being myself. I wanted them to accept me for me.

- Andrew Figueiras, Queer Concordia board member

thoughts.

Andrew Figueiras’ parents weren’t too keen on homosexuality, but he still felt the need to tell them about his sexual orientation. “The reason I told my parents wasn’t so much to get it off of my chest, but more so because I wasn’t being myself,” said Figueiras. “I didn’t want to go on with them having another perception of me. I wanted them to accept me for me. There is no solution but be true to yourself and be honest.”

Barb Charalambides, another of Queer Concordia’s board members, suggested that weighing your living conditions in the balance might help out. “I had been living on my own for two years, so I wasn’t at the risk

of being kicked out,” said Charalambides. “I had already established myself as an independent person. It depends on the personal situation and how emotionally strong you feel about dealing with it.”

Queer Concordia is an on campus resource centre for queer, lesbian, gay, trans, two-spirited, bisexual, asexual, intersex, questioning, and allies. Might I add that they are extremely welcoming. Support systems just like Queer Concordia help deal with severe issues like homophobia.

Two types of homophobia exist: external homophobia is shared by the people surrounding you as opposed to internal

Continued on P. 9

Follow us on Twitter: @TheConcordian

Tuesday, November 29, 2011

9

residence

Step into the shoes of a res student Is residence life an academic advantage or one big party?

Audrey Folliot Contributor By the time high school finishes, the teenage years end and the exciting yet stressful university years begin, a whole new life is about to start.

Those three or four years promise to be among the most fulfilling years of a young person’s life.

For many, university is just another school year, with lots of homework, lots of parties, and lots of new friends. For others, it also means leaving home.

Leaving home can sound scary to some people, especially when the university they are attending is a thousand miles away from their hometown, in a different city, a different province, or even a different country.

It might also be hard to find someone to share an apartment with when you’re new to a place. This is the reason why many first-year students choose the easy way: living in residence.

Concordia has three residence buildings to accommodate students from every program. The Hingston Hall residence and the Jesuit Residence, situated on the Loyola campus, are put in place to accommodate a total of 183 full-time firstyear undergraduate students. The Grey Nuns Residence, situated on the Sir George Williams campus, accommodates 241 undergraduate students.

According to D’Arcy Ryan, residence life director, living in residence is a smart choice and is very advantageous for students.

“Some quick ones off the top of my head include increased academic success, superior convenience and proximity to services, exciting events and activities, broadened social network, enhanced safety and security, accelerated growth and development, and comprehensive transitional support,” he said.

Many choose living in residence over getting an apartment because living in residence is a fast and easy way to meet new people.

“I think in the first year, you should live in residence to network and create a group of friends that you’ll have for the rest of your university career,” said Adam Mohr, a first-year

commerce student. “It’s just so much easier, you can make friends, and I didn’t get the chance to come here beforehand to visit and meet people,” said Eric Philippona, an electrical engineering student.

Res life is also the life of the party, in some way. There are activities organized at night from Thursday through Saturday outside of residence, and the residents often go out together. Partying a lot is a good way to meet people, but for some, this sometimes interferes with their schoolwork.

“There’s a party three nights a week, at least. I go out three to four nights a week, when I should only be going out two. It does interfere with my schoolwork, I have to start getting more studious,” Mohr laughed. “I discovered that if you want to be productive, you can’t be productive in res, you have to go to the library.”

However, just because there’s a party going on doesn’t mean you absolutely have to go.

“I think that’s a personal choice. If I have a lot of work, I mean I’m not going to go party that night anyway,” laughed Jenna LaRose, a fine arts student. “I would like to think that I’m a responsible person, so I take care of my work,” she added.

But Ryan doesn’t think partying is a problem.

“People have a stereotypical view of residence in that it is just one big dorm party after another. This is not the case,” he said. “Do students have fun? Yes. Just like any other typical 18 to 22 year old first-year undergraduate student living in Montreal.”

Living in res seems to be all about fun and friends, but there is also a downside to it. For one thing, the Concordia residences don’t allow students to cook their own meals.

“There is a mandatory meal plan (choice of four plans) that students need to purchase in order to live in residence,” explained Ryan. The meals are served at the Loyola Service Centre or at the Zest dining room on the 7th floor of the Hall building on the SGW campus. A few microwaves are also available to students. Meal plans are interesting, but some students said they would love to cook their own food.

“I have a lot of friends who complained about not having a stove, they said they wish we could have days that we could all just cook together and have real food, but it doesn’t really bother me personally,” said Carolyn Donnelly, who is majoring in studio arts.

Graphic by Sean Kershaw

Since they moved in res at the beginning of the semester, many students said they have been eating worse than back home.

“I’ve been eating definitely worse. The caf doesn’t have good fruits and veggies or anything like that. I go grocery shopping but there’s only so much you can get at the grocery store that you can eat without a stove,” Donnelly added.

Those worse eating habits have impacted some students’ weight more than others.

“I eat at the caf, their food is not that great, and I lost 15 pounds actually,” said Mohr.

Another thing about residence life is that all students must use the common gender-designated showers and facilities located on their floor.

Only private rooms in the Jesuit residence have a private bathroom/shower. All others have to deal with the common ones, which can be quite an experience.

“I find it a little awkward, but it’s not the biggest deal either,” Donnelly said of the showers.

“It’s a little uncomfortable at times, but you

get used to it,” LaRose agreed.

No matter how bad it might seem, all the students interviewed said that living in residence was probably the best decision they made, or else they never would have met that many people that fast.

“I like res, I like that it’s always busy, and if you want to do something with someone, you have like a hundred people that you know that you can hang out with without having to go out,” said Maxwell Turner, a philosophy student.

“So I think in terms of convenience, res is pretty unbeatable, I mean we have big rooms, even compared to people who live in an apartment.”

In the end, the residences are very conveniently located and the rooms, single or double, are gigantic. Life with a roommate isn’t always easy, mainly because as students study in different programs, some might have very different sleeping schedules. But it’s definitely an experience to live, and none of the students I asked regretted their choice.

Continued from P. 8 homophobia which is hate that consumes your own thoughts (and consequently leading to hating yourself for being gay).

“Internal homophobia can lead to many psychological problems,” said Dr. Catherine St-Aubin, who teaches medicine and has studied homosexuality for her conference Homosexuality: From Pathologic to Normal.

“Shame, hostility, and self-hatred are all possible consequences.’’

“What is even more worrisome is that homosexuals have between two and three times more chances of committing suicide than heterosexuals,” said St-Aubin.

Discrimination may be one motivating factor, but homosexuals may be at the source of it. “Coming to Montreal, I found that there was much more discrimination in the queer community,” said Charalambides.

“I’m from the West Coast of Canada and it’s

*Some names were changed due to the personal nature of the article and to respect confidentiality.

Nobody knows in my class that I am a lesbian. I don’t introduce myself to people like that. If they figure out that I am gay, good for them. If not, it doesn’t matter.

- Freja Kershaw, communications student

Graphic by Valerie Brunet

“

a smaller community there, so everyone is more interested in supporting each other.”

Everyone I have talked to seemed to agree that you should still be open about your sexual orientation with a select few people. It takes a major weight off of your shoulders and helps you deal with these harsh social issues.

I’ll finish off by talking about a conversation I had with a lesbian communications student who asked to be called Freja Kershaw* for this article. “Nobody knows in my class that I am a lesbian,” said Kershaw.

“I don’t introduce myself to people like that.

If they figure out that I am gay, good for them. If not, it doesn’t matter.”

arts 10

Tuesday, November 29, 2011

Write to the editor: arts@theconcordian.com fair

All I Want For Christmas Arts review Rover solves holiday gifting woes with its second annual arts fair Rebecca Ugolini Staff writer Montreal’s new garb announces the holiday season: snow and ice, bright lights and decorations.

With final exams to write and celebrations to plan, the task of finding the perfect present for that special someone on your list becomes especially daunting.

For those among you with an artistic giftee, you’re in luck: just in time for the giftgiving season comes the second annual Rover Art Fair, featuring works from 14 local and international artists.

Hosted by online arts review Rover, known for their quality features on theatre, the arts, literature and film, the Rover Art Fair offers Montrealers the chance to meet with artists, discuss and purchase one-of-a-kind or limited-edition pieces at very fair prices, and attend open public lectures on arts-related topics.

It’s an event that Rover founder and fair coordinator Marianne Ackerman says is a positive opportunity for Rover, the artists it promotes and features, as well as potential customers.

“Events like these are our way of sustaining ourselves and developing a sustainable

business model,” Ackerman explained, “and also allow us to maintain our mandate to stimulate discussion of the arts and to bridge the gap between artists and their public.”

“Our fair is organized differently from many other fund-raising events, which often have the artists donate the works,” Ackerman continued. “We split the profits 50-50 with the artists, and they get to come and speak to customers and show their pieces personally and in a gallery setting, which customers also enjoy.”

The fair’s catalogue, available on the Rover website, showcases the variety and high calibre of the participating artists.

Linda Rutenberg’s night-time floral photography, produced by holding a flashlight over flowers to capture the ‘dawn’ effect, is eerie and beautiful; internationally-successful, her work is available as prints and high-quality photography books.

Chelsea School of Art in London graduate and Montrealer Isa Dawson marks her debut as a visual artist with her series of drawings of exotic mushrooms entitled “Boletus.”

Rover’s description of her art “drawn with fine strands of copper and silver on painted birch panels” intimates that Dawson’s fascinating work is to be seen in person at all costs.

Ackerman emphasized the reasonable prices and friendliness to students for which the Rover Art Fair is known.

“Our prices for original art and limited prints are very reasonable, and there are also smaller pieces and books for sale,” explained Ackerman.

“We are also opening on Thursday, the

day before the sales start,” she continued, “to allow people to come by between 6 and 9 p.m. and preview the works they’d like to get the next day.”

Arts students and aspiring artists will also be treated to a free series of public talks sponsored by Rover and moderated by Isa Tousignant, a writer for Canadian Art and Border Crossing and former Hour writer.

“It’s a public lecture environment, and the best time during the Rover Art Fair for participants to find out about art and hear from people who are professionals in the field,” said Ackerman. “It’s a rare chance for many people, and we hope that students interested in the arts take advantage of it.”

Concordia’s finest talents also get a chance to shine at the Rover Art Fair: Jane Stewart, a professor emeritus of psychology at Concordia, will be exhibiting her ethereal and dream-like paintings and giving a talk Saturday about her journey from a career in science to the vocation of an artist.

Other talks given on Saturday include

Linda Rutenberg speaking about entrepreneurship and art, a subject of much interest to aspiring art students, and painter Fiona Ackerman and multidisciplinary artist Luc Paradis speaking on the future of painting.

There’s little that the Rover Art Fair doesn’t offer: the chance to discover and purchase new art, meet with reputable artists, attend informative and rare public lectures, and mix with other art lovers. Ackerman also hopes the fair can bring the public to a new experience of the consumer experience of art.

“We think the art should sell itself,” she explained, “and that’s why we hope that people will feel comfortable, see something they like, and fall in love with it.”

The Rover Art Fair opens Dec. 2 at 6 p.m. and is ongoing through Saturday and Sunday (1 to 6 p.m.) at 135 Van Horne, second floor. The preview is Dec. 1 at 6 p.m. Suggested donation is $10. For more information and the lecture schedule, visit www. roverarts.com/artfair2011/.

theatre

Female bandits? What next? Rubbish...

Robin Hood Redux bends genders with a new take on the classic Marilla Steuter-Martin Staff writer

D

amsels in distress step aside, there’s a new bandit in town, and she’s got the tights to prove it.

A humourous retelling of the classic tale Robin Hood Redux: There Will Be Tights incorporates a female heroine who, with a little help from her merry band of women, must rescue her love and defend the kingdom of Sherbrook, all in a day’s work.

In this light-hearted parody, written and directed by Montreal-based playwright Tali Brady, Robin steals from the rich and gives to the poor with a stylish charm all her own.

The play originally debuted at Montreal Fringe in 2008, and is being remounted at MainLine Theatre on Nov 30. Production for the show began in October and features an intimate cast of nine, including a cameo by the director.

The play begins in the Queendom of Sherbrook, which is at risk of being taken over by the evil Princess Eileen, along with her fellow conspirators Lord Fang and the Sheriff. Rachel, the rightful ruler, is away at

war and only Robin Hood stands between Eileen and her sinister plan to kidnap and force Lord Marion to marry her.

Brady sees the show as a comedy that doesn’t have to adhere to specific structures.

“The main objective is to entertain,” she said. Brady calls it “anachronistic,” accepting that like most folktales, historical accuracy isn’t the main focus.

Upon writing the play, Brady designed many of the roles with cross-casting in mind. “I just wanted to create some female characters I enjoyed. I read a play sometimes and I want to play all the men and none of the women.”

She also included characters who could be played by either men or women. “I find there are always way more women auditioning then men. Also, I thought it would be more fun to switch it around,” she said.

It was especially important to Brady that the show convey a message of empowerment. “One of the main themes is to stand up for what you believe in. It’s about people asserting themselves and learning to do so.”

Having done several productions of the play before, she enjoys watching the show change each time. “I always want to see what the actors bring to it, because if you’re too attached to an idea, you might not get to see how it might unfold otherwise. It’s definitely collaborative.”

As both playwright and director, she

feels very grounded in her knowledge of the show. “I guess I have a lot more insight into the characters since I made them,” she said. When casting, she looked for attitude as well as talent. “It was important to me to have actors who wanted to listen and engage.”

Franco de Crescentis is a first-year theatre performance student at Concordia and plays the Sheriff of Sherbrook. He was drawn to the show primarily because “it’s something new and interesting.” De Crescentis calls the play “funny, short and sweet” and would happily recommend it to anyone.

Set designer Michael Panich, a Concordia grad, worked on a small budget to create a playful design. “We do most of our supply shopping at the Dollarama,” said Brady.

She said they tried to create something “a little cartoony with an old time medieval flavour.”

Overall, Brady hopes audiences will find

the show as much fun as she does. “The cast is excellent, they are such fun to watch.

It’s just a wacky good time.”

Robin Hood Redux: There Will Be Tights opens Nov. 30 and runs until Dec. 4. Tickets are $12 for students. For more information visit www.mainlinetheatre.ca

Tuesday, November 29, 2011

Follow us on Twitter: @TheConcordian

11

cinema politica

I am woman, hear me roar Cinema Politica ends the semester with feminism and art Brandon Judd Staff writer Prejudice is a bizarre thing: entire generations can be characterized by it, or by their fight against it, but subsequent generations often forget just how recently the world was a less tolerant place.

So it’s always interesting to be reminded of the equalities our generation too frequently take for granted.

Lynn Hershman Leeson’s !Women Art Revolution or !WAR—and it really is her film here: she is writer, director and editor—reminds its viewer that blatant male chauvinism dominated not only households, but also seemingly liberal institutions like art, as recently as the late 1970s and early 1980s. And while the film offers little in the way of technical prowess or style, it provides as much of an education as could fit into its lean 82-minute runtime.

An early sequence in the film shows Leeson near various art galleries, asking a simple question of passersby: can you name three female artists? The editing of the scene leaves enough blank space to guarantee that viewers will attempt to answer the query, and in a rare moment in film, be as embarrassed as Leeson’s targets.

Inevitably, everyone begins with brash confidence, jumping at the opportunity to mention Frida Kahlo, assuming the rest of the answers will flow out as easily as the first. And then, just as inevitably, they are stumped. This is a useful launching point for the documentary, as it clearly illustrates just how under-publicized female artists have, and continue, to be.

Leeson then takes us back to the early 1960s, when organized effort for social change was at its zenith, to show how this ignorance

of female artists is a result of institutional denial rather than a lack of eligible artists.

Running parallel to the more visible demonstrations—the Civil Rights marches, the Black Panthers, and the New Left—was a group of female artists fighting against an establishment that actively denied female participation. This group of women responded by creating a group, which they named Women Artists in Revolution, and created highly political feminist art.

In a time where minimalist art, which actively eschewed any political meaning, was dominant, this aggressive feminist art was shocking. And the women involved were more than happy to turn heads and create discomfort within the establishment.

Eventually their work even spurred a now

infamous debate in Congress. When Judy Chicago’s piece “The Dinner Party” arrived for a showing in Washington D.C., it created a storm within the conservative elements of Congress. The work was, and remains, provocative: 39 dinner plates, arranged in a triangle, each representing a significant woman in history through a highly explicit symbolic vulva.

While it’s unsurprising this created a storm, the attention it received in Congress is shocking. Ninety minutes of old men delivering incensed, and largely narrow-minded, denunciations of the work actually resulted in it being banned from exhibition in the District of Columbia. This is but one of many moments in !WAR that cause viewers to shake their heads in disbelief.

While the film’s breadth of material and pedagogical power are impressive, it is technically choppy and suffers from a raw style characterized by inexperience. But like many documentaries, as opposed to narrative films, it’s more than worth ignoring the film’s lack of aesthetic prowess to revel in its content.

Leeson compiled an astounding 52,000 minutes of film across decades, and the 82minute fresco she distills from this gives much needed publicity and credit to a movement that, for some reason, has been sidelined in our collective memory of feminism. !WAR is showing on Dec. 5 at 7 p.m. at 1455 de Maisonneuve, room H-110. For more information, go to www.cinemapolitica.org/ concordia.

theatre

Something wicked this way comes Concordia’s theatre department takes on Witchcraft Amanda Shore Contributor

L

ong before Arthur Miller penned The Crucible, there was another play about witch hunts gracing stages. So often overlooked in the theatre world, this may be the only time you’ll ever get to see Joanna Baillie’s Witchcraft.

Co-directed by professor Louis Patrick Leroux and PhD student Cristina Iovita with dramaturgy by Joanna Donehower, this rare and complex piece has been brought back to life by a talented cast of student actors.

Concordia’s version of this 19th century work has been cut down from its original four-hour length. The drama of Witchcraft revolves around the peril of Violet, a young girl who is accused of being a witch by Annabelle, the woman who covets her beau, and she is condemned to die. “This play is written like nothing that is written today. It’s a rare opportunity to see a piece from that era. It’s a theatrical play, it’s not naturalistic,” said Leroux.

Leroux began working on this play threeand-a-half years ago as part of a scholarly

study on Baillie’s text, and guided by the interest of Concordia’s theatre department, started rehearsals for the stage production in October.

Since then, this large cast of 23 has worked tirelessly on perfecting their Scottish dialect, studying 19th century gestural work and memorizing lengthy prose dialogue.

“I have thoroughly enjoyed the experience of working on this show. It was challenging for me on a number of different levels which is really exciting as a student actor,” said Miriam Cummings, who plays Grizeld Bane.

According to their cast, Iovita and Leroux worked seamlessly in their co-direction of Witchcraft, with Iovita working with the actors in rehearsal while Leroux focused on the design and production aspects.

“Cristina is just really awesomely energetic and Patrick is always very positive and pushing us to improve,” said Greg Walker who plays Wilkin the village idiot.

Leroux is likewise enthusiastic about his cast. “I’ve been very excited about their commitment. We spend hours and hours together and everyone is absolutely committed to this.”

Preparing for these roles has been a completely new experience for many cast members. Rehearsal involved not only the adoption

of a Scottish dialect, but also work in 19th century gestural work. The gestural work was used as a tool for exploring character portrayal, which Walker says was extremely helpful in his role as the village idiot.

“Without me really thinking about it, it did affect my posture and the way that I move and these little details,” he said. “We would look at this image and say ‘okay this image here means hunger’ and my character, one of his main goals is to get food. Embodying that physically, the gestures that we were shown helped a lot, I could exaggerate it or have it be more of an undertone.”

The culmination of three and a half years of study and creative effort, Witchcraft is a rare production, combining the modern technology of film with 19th century acting style and speech. An opportunity to view a production like this isn’t likely to come around again.

Previews for Witchcraft start Nov. 30 at 8 p.m. The show runs Dec. 1 to 4 at D.B. Clarke Theatre (located in the Hall building). Tickets are $5 for students and are available only in person at the D.B. Clarke Theatre, the Oscar Peterson Concert Hall and at the door.

12

theconcordian

Tuesday, November 29, 2011

theatre

All the fine young cannibals Big Plans serves up a story about human drama Sofia Gay Arts editor It’s the reaction that comes involuntarily and naturally. A shudder, the closing of eyelids so tight little wrinkles form around the eyes, maybe the lips retracting back inside the mouth. It’s pure defence, and everyone knows it. It’s the knee-jerk feeling that springs up at times like when you see the deformed cannibals in The Hills Have Eyes feasting on eyes and ears.

Back in 2003, the media was awash with headlines following the trial of Armin Meiwes, also known as the Rotenburg Cannibal. Meiwes posted a Craigslist ad “looking for a wellbuilt 18 to 30-year-old to be slaughtered and then consumed,” and found a willing victim in Bernd Jürgen Brandes. Without getting into the gnarly details of the death, Meiwes kept the body for 10 months and regularly ate from it. The duo recorded their actions, but the two-hour video tape was never made public.

It’s not exactly the type of story that we would immediately associate with being worthy of being translated into theatre. But that’s where the new production Big Plans comes in.

“My reaction to the real story was [that] I wanted to know more about who these people were,” said playwright Jeremy Taylor.

“And how two human beings, just like you or me, could end up getting themselves to a place in their lives where this was something that they wanted to do.”

Reading books like American Psycho and Alive (which is about the plane that crashed

fair

in the Andes, where the survivors had no choice but to eat the dead), Taylor said the writing process was “disturbingly, maybe easier than you might think.”

Adding a level of rawness to the play is the fact that it is only being rehearsed one week prior to the first performance. Director Tanner Harvey explained this was born out of financial limitation at first.

“We figured we’d be better to keep our resources limited on that front and just focus on creating the task at hand and whatnot, and do a limited preview in hopes of generating some interest for the production in the future,” he said.

Rehearsals will go on every day the play is performed, which leaves room for a different kind of theatre creature as well.

“There’s something very appealing about the rawness that will come from that and the vulnerability that the actors will have and the incredible challenge for them that I think will really fit with this play,” explained Taylor. “[...] The hypothesis is that the result will be more alive and more magical than just your average piece of theatre.”

But the actors won’t be the only magicians in the room, as the play requires active participation from the audience, who act as the witnesses, or jury. This is helped by the setting itself.

“When you go there and sit down, you’re gonna be pretty much sitting on the stage,” described Harvey.

Albeit the play is not your usual fare in terms of subject matter, it does not capitalize on the sensationalistic aspect to a campy point, which is something Taylor and Harvey emphasize.

“It’s not gory, and that’s very important.

We’re not a slasher play, we’re not trying to gross anybody out. The horror all happens in

“

We’re not a slasher play, we’re not trying to gross anybody out. The horror all happens in your imagination - Jeremy Taylor, playwright

your imagination, really,” said Taylor. “With the way that everything happens on stage, it’s really largely happening in your imagination.

And that’s been very important to us from the beginning.”

Ultimately, Harvey believes the message is worth passing on, regardless of the less-thanappealing elements in the delivery.

“I think it’s important to acknowledge this, there’s the potentiality for all of us to go over the edge in that way and when people do do that, it’s not because they’re monsters

“

or evil, but because they’re confused, and that doesn’t make them any less capable of loving, or being gentle, or any of the things that we identify with being a good person,” he said. “I think there’s equal parts of both in all of us.”

Big Plans runs at the Freestanding Room (4324 Saint Laurent) Nov. 29 to Dec. 3. at 8 p.m. Tickets are $15. RSVP to boxoffice@ freestandingroom.com or (514) 418-1848 is required. For more details, go to bigplans. freestandingroom.com.

There’s the potentiality for all of us to go over the edge in that way and when people do do that, it’s not because they’re monsters or evil, but because they’re confused.

- Tanner Harvey, director

Text by Sofia Gay. Photos by Gilda Poorjobar

We’re going to see the king

Tuesday, November 29, 2011

Follow us on Twitter: @TheConcordian

13

film

Get tickled by Elmo Documentary tells the story of how Kevin Clash got to and beyond Chris Hanna Production manager Kevin Clash had an enormous impact on your childhood.

The name doesn’t ring a bell? He’s the man behind and under the scenes at Sesame Street and the puppeteer responsible for making Elmo one of the most beloved characters of all-time and the children’s show’s biggest star.

Being Elmo: A Puppeteer’s Journey tells Clash’s story, from beyond-humble beginnings in Baltimore, Md., to being one of the most sought puppeteers in the world; from dreaming about being on Sesame Street, to running the show.

Narrated by Whoopi Goldberg, the 80-minute documentary includes interviews with Clash’s parents, George and Gladys, Frank Oz, Cheryl Henson and Rosie O’Donnell, among others. Clash is so humble; his shyness makes you wonder how someone like him can voice Elmo, a three-and-a-half-year-old furry red monster.

There isn’t a moment in the film that seems lost. Every interview and archival video helps to tell his story. But to say that the documentary only tells Clash’s story would be inaccurate: it also tells Elmo’s, who wasn’t always as popular as he is today. In the ‘70s and early ‘80s, before Clash had his hand in him, Elmo spoke like a caveman and the puppeteers and writers on Sesame Street dreaded coming up

with storylines for him. No one knew what to do with Elmo until 1985, when Clash gave the puppet the high-pitched falsetto and iconic laugh that made Tickle Me Elmo one of the most popular and best-selling toys in history.

In the doc, Rosie O’Donnell, who had Elmo on her talk show regularly, says she got a call from television mogul Aaron Spelling asking her if she could get him a Tickle Me Elmo doll.

In less than a decade, the red monster no one wanted turned into the Sesame Street character no one could get enough of.

Sesame Street producers wanted to get another puppeteer to meet the demand for Elmo

appearances, but Clash refused. For 26 years (and counting), he has been the sole voice and hand for Elmo in North America. Frank Oz said his inspiration for Miss Piggy was to think of her as a truck driver who wanted to be a woman. Clash thought Elmo should represent love. People love Elmo because Elmo genuinely loves people.

When he was 10, Clash created his first puppet, a monkey named Mundy, by repurposing one of his father’s favourite suits that he found in his parents’ closet. From then on, he was hooked. He wished he could crawl through his family’s television set and onto

Sesame Street and work with Jim Henson, his hero and inspiration. He continued making puppets with the materials he could find and afford, but he realized that the eyes were never quite right, and the great furs, threads and fabrics were too expensive. “With the Muppets,” he also realized, “you never saw the seams.”

Though his puppets weren’t perfect yet, Clash was getting work on a local children’s television program. Suddenly, the people teasing him at school about playing with dolls were silenced. On a high school trip to New York City, he broke from his group to meet with Kermit Love, the man who built Big Bird and Mr. Snuffleupagus and would later introduce Clash to master puppeteer Jim Henson. There, he learned that the secret to the Henson stitch was using fleece; the fabric is fantastic at hiding seams.

Being Elmo is a must-see, and not just for nostalgia’s sake: it is an inspiring look at a man who followed his dreams when naysayers mocked him. It’s a feel-good, happy film that will have you smiling from beginning to end with just enough emotional punch to tug at your heartstrings. Check your pulse if scenes of terminally ill children meeting Elmo don’t make your eyes water. There is no doubt that Clash has come a long way from his Baltimore days financially, but there is also no doubt that Clash would be doing what he does even if he wasn’t getting paid. In Being Elmo, he finally receives the credit he deserves.

Being Elmo opens at Cinéma du Parc (3575 Parc) on Dec. 2. Visit www.cinemaduparc. com for more information.

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music 14

Tuesday, November 29, 2011

Write to the editor: music@theconcordian.com review

For the love of bass, turn that up!

Bassnectar attracts beat seekers with loving vibrations Myles Dolphin Opinions editor

L

orin Ashton, better known as Bassnectar, has no idea how to describe his sound. And that’s something he’s really happy with.

“Once you can define music, it’s confined to a limited space, and for me I feel like I’ve been able to stay outside of those limitations and basically be free to love and share everything I create,” he said. “When people ask me to describe it, as opposed to using catchphrases or sub-genres, I refer to it as a balance between what I consider to be ultra beautiful and ultra intense.”

If you had to describe his sound, think of it as taking dubstep, breakbeat, and drum and bass, putting them in a bag with a pack of hungry wolves, and shaking it up a bit.

Growing up in San Jose, Calif., the 33year-old’s musical roots lie in death metal, but he started DJing and producing more dance-oriented tracks 15 years ago after he attended his first rave. He’s articulate and weighs every word of his sentences with the same care devoted to and replicated by his work.

For the past 10 years he’s been producing and touring, but he’s proudly never given in to corporate greed, or what he refers to as “selling out.”

Asked whether the lack of an association with a genre made it harder for him to sell records, he paused for a few seconds, then answered confidently. “I love not being labelled,” he said. “Fortunately for me, marketing my sound has never been much of a concern. That’s because for more than a decade, people have passed around my music authentically to each other. I’m not interested in marketing my sound as if it were a product. I’m more interested in creating experiences for people to inspire positive social impact in their lives.”

Ashton is well-known for his energetic live performances, and tailors most of his songs to those events specifically.

“I customize each set to a massive amount of variables,” he said. “Not only do I consider the audience and its size, but just like a mad scientist or witch doctor, I put a lot of care into my experiments and my live shows have become an overwhelming experience, kind of a like a fun canvas to paint on.”

His show at the Metropolis on Nov. 25 certainly reflected that approach and dedication to delivering a memorable performance. A fired-up Ashton hit the stage around 10 p.m., following narcoleptic efforts by local artists FunkyFalz and The Dooze Jackers, and he belted out a threehour set that had the crowd headbanging the entire time.

The build-up was carefully orchestrated; the lights went out, and Laurence Fishburne’s instantly recognizable “let

Bassnectar gave a bass-thumping performance at Metropolis on Friday, Nov. 25. Photo by Shai Shotts

me tell you why we’re here” speech from The Matrix queued up. With strobe lights blasting at a machine-gun pace, a relatively small-framed figure with hair down to his waist and an impressive goatee walked on stage. Once he felt the crowd was sufficiently ready, he jumped into a remix of Rage Against the Machine’s “Wake Up” (only on steroids), and the rest is history.

Ashton’s bass-drenched beats were complemented by David Lynch-esque visuals, which were perfectly synced up to his tracks. Surrounded by four LED screens of various sizes, Ashton displayed, for the most part, computer-generated imagery which was sometimes punctuated by stock footage of life at its weirdest.

We watched bombs explode during one song and what looked like DNA double helices flying around in another; the classic journeydown-the-wormhole was used on occasion, which is always pretty hypnotizing and effective at making one contemplate existence.

Ashton figured prominently on stage, going back and forth between two laptops and a mixing board, waving his arms emphatically throughout the show and encouraging the crowd to do the same. His en-

ergy levels never plateaued, one audiencerousing hit after the last. He was impressed enough to comment on Twitter following the show: “MONTREAL! GADZOOKS! That was one of the sickest mosh pits i’ve ever seen. when Gogol dropped the entire room erupted into a human burst. :)” By the end of the show, Ashton had convinced every single person in attendance that his love for music is genuine, and his passion is undisputed, which echoed something he said before.

“It’s so much fun knowing I’ll be playing all these sold-out shows to enthusiastic fans night after night,” he said.

“I’ve gone crazy, I’ve gone wild in my studio preparing these tracks, so when I get up there I know which beat is coming up and it just gets me so pumped up.”

Bassnectar’s latest album Divergent Spectrum is out now.

Tuesday, November 29, 2011

Follow us on Twitter: @TheConcordian

15

review

Making music or making love, is there a difference?

Monogrenade puts Montrealers in the mood Sabrina Daniel Staff writer

M

onogrenade make love to their instruments, plain and simple. Their theatrically sensual gestures and their intensity are both mesmerizing and oddly tantalizing.

Generically characterized as indie pop, their sound is actually much richer and more complex than that. The quartet’s songs blur the lines between musical genres, blending classical, jazz, alternative and folk music into structured chaos. The band’s melancholic melodies, fused with sudden bursts of surmounting energy, prove that opposite sounds do attract.

Monogrenade is a foursome of multi-talented musicians. Lead vocalist Jean-Michel Pigeon is the heart of the group. On keyboard and guitar, he took centre stage during their performance at cabaret La Tulipe on Nov. 23. At his sides, Marianne Houle played the cello and sang backup, Mathieu Collette was on drums and François Lessard rocked the guitar and bass.

As the band’s lyricist, Pigeon gathers inspiration from the music they create during their jam sessions at La Traque, their studio in Rosemont.

Their first album, Tantale, has been getting a lot of attention since its release last March.

They have a large Montreal fan base and were nominated twice in the past year, for Best Alternative Album of the Year at ADISQ as well as at GAMIQ, Quebec’s Indie

“

JeAn-michel pigeon seduced his Audience At lA tulipe with sensuAl sounds And gestures. photo by nAvneet pAll

Music Awards.

The three boys grew up together in Portneuf County, Quebec. Though they had fallen out of touch for a long time, they knew they would eventually come together to form a band.

“I immediately thought of François because he’s a fantastic musician,” said Collette, praising his bandmate as he put him in a headlock. “He’s very versatile and that’s just what the band needed.

Plus, he’s really handsome and he’s got a marvelous moustache.”

“Yup. I tell you, he’s really a musical prodigy,” Pigeon interjected as the trio began to play-fight.

Houle joined the group after meeting the guys in CÉGEP. She

fell in love with Pigeon’s music style and reached out to him over MySpace.

“I found his music very different,” said Houle. “At the time, I was looking for something creative, not your standard project.”

They’ve toured around Quebec and played shows in Ontario, France and the Yukon.

Reflecting on their funniest moments on the road, the band reminisced about their latest mishaps. On their way to a gig in Gatineau, they left behind Pigeon’s left-handed guitar, forcing him to play backwards, à la Jimi Hendrix.

Their séjour in the Yukon was another particularly jarring experi-

[François Lessard] is very versatile and that’s just what the band needed. Plus, he’s really handsome and he’s got a marvelous moustache.

- Mathieu Collette, drummer

ence. The tour took them to Dawson City during the solstice and they spent five days and six nights in broad daylight. After playing their shows and getting wasted at The Snake Pit, they wandered the sunny streets with other drunken locals.

“I’ve never been so drunk for a show,” said Collette. “We went during Saint-Jean-Baptiste and the

9. “Disco Inferno” – The Trammps: There’s no doubt about it; disco was on fire in the ‘70s. This song combined the carefree disco sound with delicious guitar licks making it memorable and catchy enough to still be heard today.

Soulful and hot, indeed.

8. “Shake Shake Shake (Shake Your Booty)” – KC and the Sunshine Band: With its smooth vocals, strong brass section and non-stop rhythm, “Shake Shake Shake” is a sexy ode to late night dancing. KC, one of the foxiest men of this genre, made you wanna get up and, well, shake your booty.

Disco songs Compiled by Elizabeth Tomaras Copy editor

10. “Funkytown” – Lipps Inc.: Although it came out in 1980 rather than at the height of disco, its keyboards, violins and horns were enough to make it an anthem.

Everyone wanted to grab a partner (or two) and take a trip to Funkytown.

7. “Knock on Wood” – Amii Stewart: Initially written in 1966 by Eddie Floyd, Stewart took this song, dipped it in disco and made it relevant once more. It was obvious this hit had star power as even David Bowie covered the original.

6. “The Hustle” – Van McCoy: The unmistakable piccolo melody was a call for everyone to get on their feet. Though it didn’t have the most intriguing of lyrics, it became extremely popular and brought back line dancing to both pop culture and nightclubs alike.

5. “I Will Survive” – Gloria Gaynor: The ultimate song about triumph, “I Will Survive” became an instant classic.

To this day, women flock to the dance floor singing at the top of their lungs. Men might not want to admit it but

francophone community living there really take that holiday seriously. Man, they get destroyed.”

“A group of anglophones were also at the show,” said Pigeon.

“They didn’t really understand the lyrics but it’s a good thing because we had forgotten most of them anyway.”

Gaynor’s powerful voice makes them want to join in the fun, too.

4. “Dancing Queen” – ABBA: This hit for the Swedish quartet is likely one of the most recognizable songs of the era. Just like “I Will Survive,” it may not be a song for the guys, but ABBA sure knew how to get people up and moving. Don’t you wish you were 17 again?

3. “Stayin’ Alive” – The Bee Gees: They were three brothers from England who gave everyone Saturday night fever.

As soon as the opening of this chart topper is heard, it’s impossible to remain seated. The punks of the time shouted “death to disco!” but The Bee Gees knew this genre was here to stay (alive).

2. “I Feel Love” – Donna Summer: Heralded as the Queen of Disco, Summer has a permanent place in the genre’s history – and rightfully so. Her ethereal voice is enough to give you chills. “I Feel Love” was innovative as it had more of a techno feel compared to other disco songs which had heavy orchestral influence.

1. “You Should Be Dancing” – The Bee Gees: No evening at Studio 54 would be complete without this track showcasing Barry Gibb’s unforgettable falsetto voice which defined a decade of music. Needless to say, if this trio didn’t get you on the light-up dance floor then you ain’t nothin’ but a jive turkey.

16

theconcordian

Tuesday, November 29, 2011 profile

A pretty little bug is set to infest Casa Del Popolo

Gabrielle Papillon Andrew Guilbert launches The Currency Staff writer of Poetry alongside East I guess Something is Shocking Coast cast after all

Jane’s Addiction frontman Perry Farrell pissed off Brazilian fans last week when he said that they were “uneducated about music.” Farrell made the comments in an interview with the country’s biggest newspaper, Folha de S. Paulo.

In the interview, the singer addressed the Lollapalooza Brazil ticketing debacle in which hackers got a hold of purchasers’ private information and published it on the web. After the interview was published, Brazilians went on Twitter to express their anger at the perceived slight. “My wife took me to Twitter. I was going crazy,” said Farrell. “I said, ‘My God, Etty, they hate me! They are very angry with me.

I messed up?’” The singer then tweeted back, saying he had been misquoted and denying he had called Brazilians musically uneducated.

Farrell says he was hurt by the whole affair.

“I’m sensitive, man. I’m leaving Brazil, and I swear, I lost a few years [of life].”

If they file two more, the next one’s free!

In the latest chapter of the Gallagher brothers’ ongoing dispute, Noel Gallagher has filed a countersuit against his brother Liam, accusing him of irresponsible behavior leading up to Oasis’ breakup in 2009. This suit comes at the heels of Liam taking legal action against his brother for dragging his name through the mud after their band backed out of a gig headlining the V Festival that same year. In a 14-page writ filed

by Noel, he accuses his brother of, among others things, leaving abusive voicemails, disrupting performances due to intoxication and trying to attack him with a guitar in his dressing room during the band’s heyday.

Though Noel had reportedly apologized for the slanderous comments he made regarding the V Festival, a spokesman for Liam said: “The matter is now in the hands of lawyers.”

Hopping like a moron in front of your TV: the game

The Black Eyed Peas have a new game out for Wii and Xbox 360. The Black Eyed Peas Experience allows players to wiggle and gyrate uncontrollably in front of their TVs to a slew of their greatest hits, including “Boom Boom Pow” and “Don’t Phunk with My Heart.” Rapper Taboo said that having his own video game was a “surreal” experience. “Me being a Mexican kid from East L.A., I never imagined I’d be playing the Superbowl or performing on Oprah. And now, having my own video game, that is the ultimate feeling,” he said. Fergie, ever the class act, commented, “I’ve always liked playing with the joystick, from an early age.”

Ozzy F*cking Osbourne gets a f*cking radio show Metal’s crown prince of darkness Ozzy Osbourne will be hosting his own show on SiriusXM Radio later this year. Ozzy’s Boneyard will give the Black Sabbath frontman a chance to play his favourite songs, sprinkling in personal stories and appearances by family members Sharon, Jack and Kelly. “After everything I’ve been through in my career I never imagined I’d end up with my own radio channel on SiriusXM. This is fucking amazing!” said Osbourne. “Does this mean I can play whatever I want?”

Allie Mason Music editor Gabrielle Papillon, a petite-framed, all-Canadian, guitar-strumming songstress who calls Montreal her home, sipped on her coffee 550 kilometres away in Toronto. She’s on the tailend of an extensive Canadian tour that took her and her fellow folk-singing comrades from coast-to-coast on over 40 dates.

Though The Currency of Poetry is her latest release, she’s been previewing some of her songs from her upcoming album, which she’s set to begin recording with her bandmates here in Montreal at the Treatment Room in 2012.

Her new songs have grown when compared to the tracks featured on The Wanderer (2010), and especially compared to her much earlier release Songs for a Rainy Day (2001), which featured half acoustic, half punk tracks.

“The arrangements are just more developed than what I’ve done in the past,” she explains. “Maybe because I’m growing as a musician.”

But growth isn’t always constant for her.

The dedication required to push on in a field over-saturated by talent can sometimes be daunting, resulting in one feeling like a tiny speck in a vast sea. So much so that Papillon has not only one, but two songs by the name “Little Bug” that speak to the insecurities and feelings of insignificance she’s experienced on her journey.

“Both of those songs, in a way, have to do with me feeling small and maybe the growing pains of being in the music industry,” she admits. “[It’s] really easy to get started and to say that you’re going to do this, that’s one thing, but to keep going— for me the struggles have come a lot more recently.”

“You know, you don’t quite know who to talk to or you have to talk to bigger industry people, and maybe you get the brush-off, or maybe you don’t get the reception you want, and you just feel small. It’s harder to go on,” Papillon trailed off. “It’s a bit of a play on words because of my last name. You know like butterfly is this really elegant thing but sometimes I really just feel like a little bug.”

She’s careful not to be too self-deprecating and tries not to let negative thoughts dominate her psyche. “It’s kind of about being small, but being a fighter,” she laughs.

After all, nobody suspects the butterfly.

Gabrielle Papillon is playing Casa Del Popolo on Nov. 29 with Kim Wempe and Roxanne Potvin. Doors open at 8:30 p.m.

win A pAir of tickets to see gAbrielle pApillon live!

Tweet “@theconcordian I want to win the #giveaway #gabriellepapillon” to win a pair of tickets to her show at Casa Del Popolo on Nov. 29.

Two people will also win a copy of her CD, The Currency of Poetry

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Tuesday, November 29, 2011

Follow us on Twitter: @TheConcordian

17

mixtape

This is a mix for all the world travellers/explorers/globe-

trotters living the vagabond life. The first 10 songs are the places you’ll

visit, where you’ll drink cheap wine and speak Spanglish fluently, go on pub crawls and cliff dive, search for schnitzel stands and get horrible sunburns. Side B is all about the tunes that will get you through your voyage, no matter what continent or tiny village you’re travelling through. This is a particularly useful playlist for when you get stranded in the French Riviera, when you spend an entire day on a train just to make it to Venice by nightfall, when you’re cruising down Route 66 and when you just missed the last bus out of town.

Happy trails, my little explorers of the world.

Globetrottin’ Compiled by Chloe Deneumoustier Contributor

SIDE A: The places you’ll go

SIDE B: Songs to get you there

1. “Brazil” – Arcade Fire – Funeral (2004) 2. “Hiroshima, mon frère” – Bad Flirt – Virgin Talk (2008) 3. “Calgary” – Bon Iver – Bon Iver (2011) 4. “Mykonos” – Fleet Foxes – Sun Giant (2008) 5. “Munich” – Editors – The Back Room (2005) 6. “Amsterdam” – Peter Bjorn and John – Writer’s Block (2007) 7. “Holland, 1945” – Neutral Milk Hotel - In the Aeroplane Over the Sea (1998) 8. “Australia” – The Shins – Wincing the Night Away (2007) 9. “Chicago” – Sufjan Stevens – Illinois (2005) 10. “Impossible Germany” – Wilco – Sky Blue Sky (2007)

1. “Modern Drift” – Efterklang – Magic Chairs (2010) 2. “Wicked Blood” – Sea Wolf – White Water, White Bloom (2009) 3. “Take it Easy” – The Eagles – Eagles (1972) 4. “The Way We Get By” – Spoon – Kill the Moonlight (2002) 5. “Hard Sun” – Eddie Vedder – Into the Wild Original Soundtrack (2007) 6. “Take Me Home Country Roads” – John Denver (1971) 7. “So So Freely” – Agesandages – Alright You Restless (2011) 8. “5 Years Time” –Noah and the Whale - Peaceful, the World Lays Me Down (2007) 9. “Swim Until You Can’t See Land” – Frightened Rabbit – The Winter of Mixed Drinks (2010) 10. “Lost Coastlines” – Okkervil River – The Stand Ins (2008)

Quick Spins

Retro review

Tegan and Sara - Get Along (Warner Bros; 2011)

Mary J. Blige - My Life II... The Journey Continues (Geffen; 2011)

Rihanna - Talk That Talk (Def Jam; 2011)

Fleetwood Mac - Rumours (Warner Bros; 1977)

Get Along, a DVD/CD combo, is Vancouver sister act Tegan & Sara’s latest effort. The set is packed with three films chronicling the sisters’ latest tour and a recording of a live and intimate show played at The Warehouse Studios in Vancouver, in front of 75 lucky fans. The full-length album is made up of live versions of 15 of their catalogue’s hits, including fan favourites like 1999’s “Divided” and 2004’s “I Know I Know I Know.”

Fans of the Canadian twins, including those who lean more toward the band’s infectious pop songs like 2009’s “Alligator,” won’t be disappointed with the new arrangements and acoustic transformations on Get Along.

Sampling songs from each of their previous recordings, Tegan and Sara present us with an album that has something for every single one of their fans; a fond retrospective of more than 10 years of their soul-barring songs.

“My Life is a classic,” Diddy (who produced the 1994 classic back when he was Puff Daddy), warns Mary J. Blige on the intro to My Life II... The Journey Continues. “So if you wanna do it, you gotta come with it, girl.”

MJB definitely brings it, but My Life II doesn’t hold a candle to its predecessor; My Life is just too good. Blige is still crooning about life, loss, love and pain in her signature hip hop/soul style. With guest appearances

by Drake and Rick Ross, among others, Blige proves she has longevity by making a modern album and staying true to her sound on ballads like “Love a Woman,” a duet with Beyoncé, and up-tempo tracks like “25/8.”

Still, no track comes close to making the listener feel the same pain they felt on 1994’s My Life’s “Be With You,” “I’m Going Down,” or “Be Happy.”

Does it seem like Rihanna is always on the radio and television? If so, it’s because she is. Since 2005, Rihanna has released one album per year and she’s back with her sixth, entitled Talk That Talk. It’s interesting when an artist like Rihanna who just landed her eleventh No. 1 single with “We Found Love” seems so adamant to prove something when she has nothing to prove. With this album, things get messy and overexposed.

She incorporates dubstep elements throughout the album, mixed with electro and rave inspired beats, and a nasally icy cool tone that compromises her Barbadian enunciation (except on “We Found Love”). She sounds neither bored nor engaged. The exception to that is when the topic revolves around sex, which it does for 70 per cent of the album. “You shouldn’t have hit it like that” and “Suck my cockiness, eat my persuasion” are just some of her tamer lyrics.

Recorded during the summer of 1976 in California, Fleetwood Mac was hoping to cash in on the commercial success of their previous self-titled album Fleetwood Mac in 1975. However, Rumours surpasses that as it reflects the broken state that Fleetwood Mac was in. The tension and fights between the members of the band inspired an album that is both cheerful and anguished. The harmonies are blissful, but the lyrics give way to anger, resentment and heartbreak. This made Rumours not only beautiful, but one of the most personable and popular albums of the 1970s. “The Chain” and “Go Your Own Way” are powerful in a mellow way that not only speaks to listeners but pulls them right in. The blend of acoustic and electric instruments and emotional songwriting highlighted by passionate vocals is what makes Rumours something never to be forgotten.

Trial track: “Call It Off (Live)”

Trial track: “Mr. Wrong” feat. Drake

Trial track: “We Found Love”

Trial track: “Go Your Own Way”

8.5/10

- Chloe Deneumoustier

8.0/10

- Chris Hanna

5.0/10

- Jamie Floyd

- Kalina Laframboise

sports 18

Tuesday, November 29, 2011

Write to the editor: sports@theconcordian.com Feature

Coming out of the locker room An athlete’s struggle with homosexuality Kalli Ringelberg Contributor Almost 100 years after the first NHL season in 1917-18, the reputation of hockey being a “man’s sport” is still very much upheld. The sport teaches boys from a young age what it means to be a man and to be tough. With expressions like “don’t be a fag,” the sport also demonstrates some homophobic tendencies. So where, in such a “manly” sport, does a gay man fit in?

Because of the stigmas surrounding the sport, many gay players feel that it is easier for them to just stay in the closet rather than go through the hard phases of looking for tolerance and, perhaps more importantly, acceptance.

Jeff McDonald* used to play hockey at the university level. He’s played hockey since he was six years old, and has known he was gay since about the age of four. His parents were accepting and supportive from the very beginning.

Sadly, the hockey community did not express the same message and he suppressed any feelings he had for fear of being seen as different than his friends and teammates. For years, he managed to hide his homosexuality, and act out all the rituals and attitudes of a straight athlete. He dated women up until the age of 23.

It was all a guise, though, which led to emotional and physical suffering. He blew out his knees and would not properly take care of his body due to the depression and anxiety he was suffering from.

The locker room banter that often included homophobic slurs was a primary reason McDonald kept his feelings hidden. “As a teenager all your friends play hockey, you

go to school with them, you see how they react to other gay people and how they attack their opponents with banter,” he said.

McDonald didn’t want that to happen to him. He didn’t want to be different or to not be liked. “[Athletes] have that ‘I’m the greatest complex.’ [They feel] that if one of their teammates, whom they shower with, is gay, then [the gay athlete] will want him, just like all of the girls.

There was the fear that I would check them out in the locker rooms. They are my brothers, just like family, I never wanted them to feel uncomfortable around me.”

When he was growing up, he pretended he was straight and called people “fag” just like his teammates did. The attributions to the word meant weak and less manly. The language that is used in sports to insult the opponent is a big problem and a big part of the stigma behind being a gay athlete.

“Of course there is always that type of gay man, the flamboyant, more ‘girly’ stereotype, but there are also a lot who aren’t like that. I don’t fit into that stigma. I’m 200

pounds and I can beat anyone on the rink.

I’m different,” said McDonald.

He believes that homophobic slurs should be treated more seriously on the ice.

“You don’t hear people dropping ‘n-bombs’ on the black players in the league, so saying ‘fag’ shouldn’t be allowed either,” he said.

McDonald eventually got accustomed to who he really was. He did research and found other athletes that had gone through

the same process. The information and the feeling of not being alone were what allowed him to come out and accept himself. He suggests that the league make it mandatory to have information sessions and anti-bullying seminars with regards to racism and sexuality.

He doesn’t like the word “tolerance,” because he believes homosexuality isn’t something that should merely be tolerated, but accepted entirely. McDonald believes that it’s better to have awareness for an issue than try to pretend that it’s not there and that it’s not a real problem.

He has talked to many people associated with the game and many say that if it weren’t for his injuries he would be in the NHL right now.

His injuries symbolize the fear and lack of acceptance of himself. He wishes every day that he had had the strength he does today to admit who he is while he was growing up.

Maybe things would be a lot different for his career.

Today, though, McDonald is happier than he has ever been. He retired from professional hockey this year, and it has been a struggle not to play the sport that he loves; but he is himself now. He no longer cries every day on trips, in the hotel rooms, without knowing why. Deep down he always knew where the depression and anxiety came from; he just didn’t want to admit it.

To stay in professional hockey, he would have had to re-closet himself and it wouldn’t have felt right. Heterosexuals don’t have to answer for their sexuality, so why should homosexuals? * Name changed to protect subject’s identity.

hockey

McGill continues to impress with solid win over Concordia

Stingers drop fourth game in a row Daniel J. Rowe Staff writer

The McGill Martlets gave themselves a little cushion atop the university women’s hockey standings with a decisive win over the Concordia Stingers on Sunday. McGill is now three points ahead of second place Université de Montréal.

For Concordia, it was a tough loss that started out all wrong.

A mere 38 seconds in to the game, McGill’s Leslie Oles scored putting the Stingers on their back foot for the fourth straight game.

The Martlets dominated the opening frame outshooting the Stingers 12 to two, scoring twice, and leaving the Concordia women wanting.

The second goal of the period came just after the eight-minute mark by Martlet Kim Ton-That.

Concordia was desperate to halt a recent skid of three straight losses including one to Carleton less than 24 hours earlier, and came out of the gates in the second period fighting.

The team’s leading scorer, Véronique Laramée-Paquette, started the charge back with a goal 16 seconds into the second period on a pass from Hayley Boyd.

The goal brought the Stingers’ bench to its feet, as sticks started smacking the boards.

“I thought once we got down there for a moment we really picked ourselves back up,” said Stingers captain Alynn Doiron. “I think the team this year is so much better than all the other years I’ve played because we’re so determined to come back and really strong mentally,” she said.

While the Concordia women were fired

up in the beginning, they couldn’t hold the momentum as a soft shot through the five hole of Marie-Pier Rémillard by McGill’s Jordanna Peroff killed the Stinger buzz three minutes later.

Peroff scored her second goal of the night when she streaked down the left wing and put one behind Rémillard again with a slick wrist shot to make it 4-1.

McGill converted on a quick power play goal after a checking to the head penalty by Meghan George, and scored again to end the period 6-1.

“We’ve got to step it up a notch,” said Martlet captain Cathy Chartrand. “It’s still a game, and there’s still 40 minutes to go, and we have to play a structure like we’ve been practicing, and I think that’s what we did.”

A period that had started off so promisingly for Concordia was not to be.

The Stingers got a late consolation prize in the form of a power play goal with five

minutes remaining in the third period, from Audrey Gariepy off a set-up by Meghan George to end the game 6-2.

Concordia’s captain was optimistic in the face of defeat.

“Our team showed a lot of determination even if the score didn’t show how we were playing,” said Doiron. “It was good to see us win the last period and finish the first half of the season on a good note.”

For McGill, the season just keeps getting better.

“We’re working every day each practice to get better as a team,” said Chartrand. “I think since the beginning of the year we’ve been improving a lot. We just try to get better as a team every day. Hopefully we’re going to get there.”

Concordia is now in a tie for last place in the RSEQ. The Stingers face off against McGill again on Jan. 13 at 7:30 p.m.

Follow us on Twitter: @TheConcordian

Tuesday, November 29, 2011

19

basketball

Concordia heads into holiday break in first place Stingers perfect after first three games Julian Mei Sports editor The Concordia Stingers and Bishop’s Gaiters men’s basketball teams were evenly matched for every quarter except one last Friday night.

Concordia outscored Bishop’s 25-15 in the third quarter, enough to propel the Stingers to a 71-59 victory. The win keeps Concordia perfect after its first three games. Bishop’s, on the other hand, will head into the Christmas break winless.

Concordia looked a bit off early on and went into halftime with a slim one-point lead over a team that it is, quite frankly, much more talented than.

Whatever coach John Dore said to his team at the break must have worked.

After Bishop’s took a 29-28 lead early in the third (it would be the last time the Gaiters led in the game) Concordia, led by forward Evens Laroche and guard Kyle Desmarais, finally took a hold of the steering wheel and put the pedal to the floor.

The Stingers outscored the Gaiters 22-7 in a span of just over six minutes to take a commanding 51-37 lead. Laroche and Desmarais would finish with 17 and 14 points respectively, leading the team.

The win sends Concordia into the winter break in sole possession of first place, something coach Dore was stressing at halftime with Concordia lagging.

“It was something he just kept telling us,” said Desmarais. “It really hit us hard because we wanted to win that game to go into the break on a high note. We had a lot riding

on that game.”

The Stingers are still waiting to see if they have been able to crawl into the CIS Top 10 rankings. The team still feels it was unfairly left out of the rankings.

Laroche commented last week that the team’s goal is not just to win, but to win big.

Desmarais echoed the feelings of Laroche after Friday’s contest.

“We do care [about the margin of victory] because it will effect our ranking nationally,” he said. “Right now we’re not in the top 10 and that’s something that resides with us. We’re not very happy about that; we feel we’re a top five team. But in order to send a message to the rest of the country we need to be beating teams by 30 or even 40 to show people we’re in a league of our own over here.”

The fact that this year the Quebec conference is very weak makes it even more important for Concordia to assert its will over its opponents.

“That’s exactly why we need to be beating teams by that kind of margin,” said Desmarais. “If we play every team really close we’ll look like we’re just as good as the rest of the teams here but we know we’re much better than that.”

Concordia now has over a month off before its next game.

While the team has built up some early season momentum, the month long break is still welcomed. Forward James Clark, the Stingers’ best inside scorer, has been sidelined with a broken wrist. The vacation, though, should give him the time he needs to heal and he is expected back when the Stingers return in January.

Concordia will travel to UQAM for its next game on Thursday, Jan. 5 at 8 p.m.

EvEns LarochE risEs for a Layup in concordia’s 71-59 win. LarochE scorEd 17 points. photo by chris hanna

basketball

Stingers move to 3-0 for first time in over a decade Concordia picks up big win to remain perfect Julian Mei Sports editor

The last time a Concordia women’s basketball team was 3-0, George W. Bush was embarking on his first term as U.S. president, PlayStation 2 was just released and the Earth had a billion fewer people residing on its surface.

So, yes, it has been a while since the Stingers were off to this hot of a start.

After eking out a two-point win last week against Laval, Concordia was in tough again on Friday night against the visiting Bishop’s Gaiters.

Trailing the Gaiters by two heading into the final quarter, Concordia was able to do just enough to come away victorious.

Kaylah Barrett sank three free throws in a row to stretch Concordia’s lead to five with just over four minutes remaining. The Stingers, though, would see their lead evaporate as the Gaiters’ Gabrielle Chamberland hit a

game-tying three-pointer with 1:39 left, evening the score at 54 apiece.

Barrett continued her strong play just a few seconds later grabbing a clutch offensive rebound (one of her four offensive boards on the night) off as Natasha Raposo missed a three-point attempt. Barrett then got the ball out to Anne-Marie Prophete who got Concordia’s lead back, making a crucial jump shot.

Trailing 59-56 with only four seconds remaining, Bishop’s had time to set up one last play to tie the game.

The ball landed in the hands of Chamberland who was left to launch up the game-tying three-point attempt. The Stingers’ hearts must have been in their stomachs as they watched the ball sail towards the basket.

Fortunately for Concordia, the ball clanked off the rim leaving the perfect season intact.

Perhaps the two biggest reasons for Concordia’s success early on have been the stellar play of Kaylah Barrett and an ability to get the ball inside and get to the free throw line.

Barrett is fifth in the entire country in scoring, averaging 21.3 points per game this season. She had 17 points, eight rebounds and four steals against Bishop’s.

thE concordia womEn arE off to thEir bEst start in ovEr a dEcadE. photo by chris hanna

Barrett was also 11-for-15 from the free throw line, on a night where Concordia shot 33 free throws, but only made 18. The Stingers are presently leading the CIS in free throw attempts.

Concordia will now enjoy a long holiday break before stepping back on the floor on Thursday, Jan. 5 at 6 p.m. at UQAM.

opinions 20

Tuesday, November 29, 2011

Write to the editor: opinions@theconcordian.com editorial

A little bit of reading can go a long way The bylaws up for referendum are a crucial part of your union; it’s important for you to understand them

A

chief electoral officer’s impartiality is being called into question, candidates are vying for council seats, two media outlets are looking for more funding, and new bylaws are up for approval.

There is so much to consider during this week’s Concordia Student Union byelections, happening between Nov. 29 and Dec. 1. All of the issues mentioned above should be looked at by students very carefully before they head to the polls.

Because after all, a student wants to make sure they voted with total confidence, right?

One issue in particular that has been

gaining much attention this past week is the CSU’s attempt at having its updated bylaws approved in a referendum. This document, which can be found on the CSU’s website, is the result of months, even years of work of successive CSU executives and other concerned parties.

But whether you should actually approve these bylaws, which will more or less chart the future of the CSU if adopted, is a whole other matter.

There are now two vocal parties that have emerged in the lead-up to the referendum on the new bylaws. The “Yes” committee, chaired by CSU VP advocacy and outreach Morgan Pudwell, will tell you that these bylaws are needed to enact major reform in the union. In other words, the Yes team will tell you these new bylaws are for the good of the students.

On the other hand, you have a “Vote No” group that has sprung up on Facebook.

Supporters of that group will tell you that many of the clauses in the new bylaws

are vague, including those pertaining to campaigning in general elections and to the renaming of the student centre fund.

While both these groups hurl differing views in your direction, the one thing that is important to remember is that you should be first and foremost informing yourself about these new bylaws. You can certainly take into consideration what both the Yes and the No camps are saying, but you definitely don’t have to take what they’re saying to heart. A better suggestion would be to read the updated bylaws yourself and consider the new clauses very carefully. Are these bylaws truly going to contribute to a better student life on campus? Will they make the CSU an even stronger union than it is now? The answer, in reality, lies with you and your ability to cast your vote between Nov. 29 and Dec. 1.

The current climate surrounding the byelections is worrisome, to say the least.

Former chief electoral officer Bram

Goldstein was dismissed amid much controversy on Nov. 1, only to be replaced the following day by Ismail Holoubi, whose impartiality has now been called into question by a former CSU councillor.

In fact, a special CSU council meeting is being held this Wednesday evening to discuss a motion to overturn the JB’s original decision regarding Goldstein.

It’s difficult to predict whether the decision will actually be overturned, but it is definitely a situation that is worth following by all Concordia undergraduates.

A decision regarding the chief electoral officer directly affects you, because it deals with one of your fundamental rights on this campus, and that is the right to vote.

A decision to adopt the updated bylaws also directly affects you and the students who will follow in your footsteps as members of the CSU. These are not matters to be taken lightly. These are matters that are worth at least a few moments of quiet contemplation.

weak “YES” campaign trying to divert the attention of students from the negligence and incompetence of their executive team by telling us how “cool” the bylaw changes are and filling the page with articles about tuition… anything to get out of an actual debate or discourse regarding the actual proposed changes.

In this upcoming byelection, please join me and hundreds of like-minded students in showing the CSU that if they want our support, they need to involve us, they need to inform us and they must not keep information from us. Vote NO for the bylaw changes.

And check out the unofficial No page to see the debate rage on!

which serves as the checks and balances of the union. The use of this decree has been abused in recent years when presidents were reluctant to call special council meetings. The new bylaws guarantee that a decree cannot be used to bypass council.

The proposed bylaw changes also simplify the procedure to remove an elected executive member from office by replacing the recall procedure by an impeachment procedure. The recall procedure has never been used successfully because the people in office could easily interfere and delay it long enough to finish their mandate. The impeachment procedure would allow students to replace an elected official that is not working in the best interests of students or not fulfilling his or her mandate. In this case, the person will have to leave office immediately after a vote takes place in a special general meeting duly called for that purpose.

The new bylaws also empower CSU council and individual students to keep the CSU executive in check. The frequency of council meetings has been increased to ensure the executive’s transparency and accountability due to their need to report to council, the media and to students at large in these public meetings.

I am thrilled to see this opportunity to promote and uphold direct democracy at Concordia. Quorum for special general meetings has been decreased from 2.5 per cent to 450 students (representing roughly 1.5 per cent as approved by the SGM at the WHALE in Feb. 2011). This will facilitate the calling of these meetings more frequently to consult students and so that they can make important decisions directing the union.

I hope that Concordia undergraduates will approve these changes so that going forward they can actively hold their elected representatives accountable to their mandate.

On Nov. 29, 30 and Dec. 1, I encourage I encourage YOU to empower yourselves! Vote YES! to the proposed changes to the CSU

bylaws!

letters

Demand Knowledge: Vote NO for the CSU bylaw changes Today Concordia students will be going to the polling stations and casting their votes in the annual CSU byelections. There are many interesting and important questions on the ballot like the increased fee levy for CJLO and CUTV and the position of the CSU in regards to tuition hikes and accessible education.

One question seems to fall between the cracks. Its importance is marginalized and its repercussions unexplained.

This question is, does the student body wish to change their bylaws to a new set of bylaws that were penned primarily by current CSU President Lex Gill?

I’ve already probably lost most readers by this point. Who cares about bylaws?

Well that seems to be the assumption of the CSU since there has been no serious attempt to educate the student body about these bylaws and changes. Our bylaws are like our constitution. They are changed once every decade and should not be tampered with lightly, and without all the information available to students. The CSU has posted the “new and revised” bylaws on their website as if they had already passed referendum, and they removed the current bylaws so no student could access them. I find this to be unacceptable.

A student named Ace Szmolyan started a Facebook page where he provided all of the missing documentation to students. His unofficial “NO” campaign is called “Demand Knowledge: Vote NO for the CSU bylaw changes” and it was the first place where students could get their hands on the old bylaws, the new bylaws and the proposed changes.

The CSU then scurried to launch a very

Tomer Shavit

Vote Yes! for responsible governance, accountability and student empowerment After several drafts and numerous lively discussions on CSU council, it is now time for Concordia undergraduates to vote on proposed changes to the CSU bylaws. As a member of the CSU council for two years I have seen the proposed amendments and have been privileged enough to be a part of this process. These changes will give more power to individual students to hold their elected representatives accountable.

These bylaws limit the powers of the executive of the CSU and in this way ensure better governance and accountability.

According to the current CSU bylaws, the president could use a presidential decree to make decisions, bypassing CSU council

Melanie Hotchkiss CSU arts & science councillor School of Community, Public Affairs & Policy Studies

Get informed and vote yes on the bylaws Dear Concordia students, You are reading this letter today on the first day of an extremely important CSU byelection. I have written many letters in the past about CSU elections each one full of hope and promises - this byelection is possibly the most important culmination of all of these promises: an opportunity to finally institutionalize meaningful change in our union. This Nov. 29, 30 and Dec. 1 you have the opportunity to vote on an entirely reformed package of the CSU bylaws. These reforms mean a more accessible, representative, accountable and democratic union. I have spent the majority of my time at the CSU over the past three years pushing for reforms like these and am so excited to finally have a chance to give you the union you deserve.

Please, read the documents made available to you at elections.csu.qc.ca, get informed, and vote YES to bylaw reform.

Also, CUTV and CJLO are some of the most accessible and supportive groups in this community that I have had the honour of working with.

Please vote yes to their referendum questions as well. I am confident that their expansion of services and resources will only strengthen our community.

With high hopes and great respect, Morgan Pudwell VP advocacy & outreach of the CSU Chair of the CSU policy committee Chair of the Yes committee

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Tuesday, November 29, 2011

21

concordia

Chartwells nourishes, but at a cost Unpromising financial statements should cause the university to rethink its contract Radu Diaconu Contributor

T

here has been a lot of controversy at Concordia surrounding the last Board of Governors meeting and the implications of the financial report that was presented to the public. Notwithstanding the high salaries that executives enjoy, the focal point has been placed on a company called Chartwells.

Chartwells, which is a division of Compass Group —a food service company with an operating budget of over $1.4 billion—has been distributing food on campus since 2002.

It was announced that the company, which is part of food services, a subset of ancillary services which also includes retail stores, parking, advertising and residences, has been losing money since last year: $51,000 to be precise.

The controversy has been as to why the university keeps funding a company that is losing money. Of course, the issue is slightly more complex than first reported.

“The university does not fund

Chartwells,”said Concordia spokesperson Chris Mota. “Chartwells bids on a contract, like multiple other companies, and a committee at Concordia then makes a decision based on what is best for the university.”

In this regard, Chartwells operates independently under the umbrella of the university. The university takes into account the financials of the company under its food services division, but it does not fund the company directly.

A list of questions were submitted to Chartwells and to Roger Côté, vice-president of services at Concordia, but answers were not provided by press time.

At the BoG meeting, Côté explained that the $51,000 liability comes from investments made under its food services division; some related to food outlets, and spaces at Loyola that are not performing well and various renovations on campus.

He also said that the university eventually expects to see a return on its investments.

Chartwells offers various meal plans for students on residence. The students are required to sign up for a meal plan with Chartwells in order to guarantee their room in residence. The price, which varies from $3,640 to $3,980 for a 34-week meal plan, amounts to about $10 per meal for 10 meals a week.

In that sense, the contentious issue that needs to be debated is not whether the university should terminate its contract with

Graphic by Phil Waheed

Chartwells, but whether providing students with one single option for meals on residence is acceptable.

More choices—healthy choices—should be offered to students on campus, whether in residence or not.

We should not kid ourselves as to how a university operates. Its goal, like any other company or corporation, is not only to provide a service for a certain price, but to make money. Profit is and will always be the bottom line.

journalism

Here’s my card: professional journalist

Proposal to create a professional order of journalists is dangerous Myles Dolphin Opinions editor I would consider Italy to be a fairly liberal country, and Italians are pretty open-minded people. The Italians I meet on holiday are always so laid back, carefree and they seem happy. I guess if you compared Italians with Canadians you would find a lot of similarities, and that’s why I am going to use Italy’s model as the basis for my argument against the creation of a professional journalist order in Quebec.

In Italy, there are approximately 100,000 journalists, according to an article published by the European Journalism Centre. To become one, though, you have to belong to the Ordine dei Giornalisti (ODG), the Association of Journalists. The ODG was an idea originally conceived by none other than Benito Mussolini in 1928, and the association was controlled by the Fascist Union and the Minister of Justice in order to control who could become members.

Most of us are aware of the crippling economic situation in which Italy is currently finding itself, and thus, more and more people are calling for the ODG and other professional associations to make it easier for people to get into the fields they’re interested in.

As a consequence of the onset of citizen journalists in the past decade, there are only about 23,000 professionisti, or full-time journalists in Italy. Scarier still, “only about 25 per cent of them actually practise their trade, while the rest use their membership cards to get free access to public museums,” according to the same article.

This is partly why the creation of a professional order of journalists in Quebec is an awful idea.

It’s the brainchild of Christine St-Pierre,

Graphic by Katie Brioux

Quebec’s culture minister. Not only would this create a class system and prevent a lot of smart, articulate people from becoming journalists, it would severely taint our beloved “freedom of speech” ability.

Granted, the order would be managed by organizations representing journalists such as the Quebec Press Council, and not the government. But the Quebec Press Council and the

Fédération professionnelle des journalistes du Québec are still unsure of how or who would manage such an association.

There are a lot of people with great ideas out there. It’s inaccurate and downright insulting for someone like Université Laval professor Dominique Payette, a former Radio-Canada journalist hired by St-Pierre to carry out a report on the state of Quebec’s media landscape,

to imply that the Internet is not yet a source of “original information that respects the journalistic method.” I know a bunch of bloggers who report with great accuracy, and I’m sure you do, too. My Twitter feed is full of them.

Alex Panetta, news editor for The Canadian Press in Montreal and a journalism professor at Concordia, agrees with the idea in principle, but is wary of its vulnerabilities to succumb to an abuse of power. “The job [journalist] means being a paid storyteller,” he said. “It’s an incredibly opaque characteristic in an age where quality information can come from Twitter, blogs and Facebook.”

If St-Pierre gets her way, it’ll lead to a train wreck; press conferences will no longer be open to journalism students, or any other “non-journalists,” Canadian journalists working abroad would probably have a lot of trouble accessing government documents, and so much more. It makes no sense at all.

Graeme Hamilton of The National Post said it best a few months ago: “The basic rules of reportage can be taught, but the ability to rapidly synthesize disparate pieces of information into an intelligible, easily digested whole is the fruit of individual talent, curiosity, insight and ambition, coupled with on-the-job experience.”

There’s no need for a regulatory body.

There are laws available when people break them. We don’t need to be told which journalists to trust, or whether one journalist is more credible than another. I prefer to access a mix of reputable media outlets as well as smaller, independent bloggers and social media to complement my need for news.

A professional order of journalists is certainly not a panacea, especially not in today’s volatile environment where emerging technologies are allowing more people to report than ever.

The Canadian Association of Journalists is against the idea and many mainstream journalists have voiced their concerns over the proposal. What’s left to say?

22

theconcordian

Tuesday, November 29, 2011

legislation

Harper’s crime bill: trouble lies ahead The bill is right in one sense—it will create criminals Shaun Malley Contributor

Federal Bill C-10 is many

things: a disaster waiting to happen.

Whether you call it the “Omnibus Crime Bill” or the much more suburban, voter-friendly “Safe Streets And Communities Act,” this piece of legislation adds another item to the list of reasons why Harper is not suited to lead a democratic country: complete disregard for fact.

Time and again, sociologists, social workers and activists remind us that programs empowering individuals are pretty much the only reasonable way to cut down on future crime. And then, rioters prove us wrong in a not-so-polite fashion. The more cynical among us might say those groups have a vested interest because they want to keep their jobs. So, it comes as a shock that a group of Texan conservative lawmakers are amongst the loudest group telling the Harper government to nix his bill.

Yes, that Texas. The one whose governor’s response to the execution of a likely innocent man was a twangy “meh.” Rick Perry, cartoon caricature of George Bush Jr. and current governor of the state, may not be part of the group trying to warn Harper, but his colleagues in government are.

They’ve seen nothing but trouble arising from tough-on-crime legislation.

So how did it all go Pete Tong in Texas?

The Republicans imposed mandatory minimum sentences on offenders, built

jails and siphoned off cash that had been earmarked for rehabilitation programs. Before they knew it, they were faced with a frightening budget crisis. At one point, five per cent of adult Texans were in prison.

Let’s take this to its logical conclusion and apply it to this country. You know your 420 connection? Under Harper’s new bill, he would go to prison for a few years if ever caught by the police with his wares. All the cash used to keep him in that newly-built prison could have gone to something important, like transfer payments to Newfoundland, or a bureaucrat’s salary. And I won’t even speculate what would happen to him in prison. Watch Oz if you can stomach it.

Also take into account the many studies which have shown that most people who go to prison will return, and in fairly short order. And all this over a couple of ounces of oregano sprayed with Windex by the Hells Angels. Does that seem fair?

I’d say it’s time for us to rise up and declare in one voice that Harper has to stop, but we missed that opportunity. Thanks to a quirk of the Westminster system, a man with 54 per cent of the seats in Parliament can decide over the fate of 100 per cent of us. The Libs and the NDP have 44 per cent of the vote, but they could barely come together for a game of Texas Hold ‘em, let alone agree on anything.

Until a viable coalition or alternative party can form the government, this behaviour from the esteemed MP for Calgary Southwest will continue. We all want peace and security. Unfortunately it’s going to cost us, in monetary and human terms.

The provincial governments are our only allies at this point, as they’re the ones who have the power to enforce their own laws.

Graphic by Katie Brioux

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Following UC Davis protesters being pepper sprayed by callous police, Megyn Kelly thinks “pepper spray is a food product, essentially.” This clown has obviously never been sprayed in the face by that chemical compound, which “essentially” irritates the eyes to cause tears, pain, and even temporary blindness.

Maybe someone should “essentially” spray some in her face and ask whether it’s suitable as a condiment or not.

@hollychrome: So I should start cooking with pepper spray? @droogie6655321: Guns are essentially long-distance paper hole punchers #MegynKellyEssentially @drdryskull: Mustard gas is essentially a condiment #MeganKellyEssentially @aeligature: Cannibalism? It’s enjoying dinner with your neighbors, essentially. @hieronymus: Megyn Kelly on waterboarding: “It’s a loofa treatment, essentially!” #megankellyessentially @deborahblum: RT @danfagin: Mushroom cloud just a mushroom, essentially. #MeganKellyEssentially

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+THEATRE - Big Plans - Freestanding Room - 20h00 +MUSIC - Gabrielle Papillon - Casa Del Popolo - 20h30 +MUSIC - The Sheepdogs - La Cabaret du Mile End - 19h30 +PARTY! - Mo’ Money Movember! 10$ (or 8$ with a moustache) - The Hive - 19h00

+THEATRE - Robin Hood Redux: There Will Be Tights - Mainline Theatre - 20h00 +THEATRE - Big Plans - Freestanding Room - 20h00 +THEATRE - Witchcraft - D.B. Clarke Theatre - 20h00 +BOUTIQUE - Puces POPup Boutique - Studio OFF Interarts - 17h00-21h00 +FILM - The Road Ended at the Beach and Other Legends: Parsing the “Escarpment School”- Segal Centre - 19h30 +MUSIC - Digitalism + Data Romance - SAT - 20h00 +MUSIC - Tandoori Knights + Crystal Stilts - Il Motore - 20h30 +DINNER - C.A.S.E. is S.H.A.C.king-Up for Winter! (tickets 10$ at CASE office (LB-656)L’Académie (crescent) - 19h30

+THEATRE - Robin Hood Redux: There Will Be Tights - Mainline Theatre - 20h00 +FILM - The Road Ended at the Beach and Other Legends: Parsing the “Escarpment School”- Segal Centre - 19h30 +MUSIC - Devon Williams + Kathryn Calder - Casa Del Popolo - 20h30 +MUSIC - Corey Taylor - Theatre Corona - 19h30 +MUSIC - Michael Mooney + Citizen Ship - La Sala Rossa - 20h00 +THEATRE - Big Plans - Freestanding Room - 20h00 +THEATRE - Witchcraft - D.B. Clarke Theatre - 20h00 +THEATRE - Robin Hood Redux: There Will Be Tights - Mainline Theatre - 20h00 +FAIR - Rover Arts Fair - 135 Van Horne - 18h00-20h00 +THEATRE - Big Plans - Freestanding Room - 20h00

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