McGill Tribune Vol. 32 Issue 11

Volume No. 32 Issue No. 11

TRIBUNE THE mcgill

Published by the Tribune Publication Society

student of the week P9 cyberbullying p3

milton-parc p 10 martlet hockey p 17

curiosity delivers

@mcgill_tribune ­ • www. mcgilltribune.com ­

Tuesday, November 13, 2012

TNC stages The Life of Timon of Athens, rare piece from Shakespeare’s canon illustrations inside! (p.7)

P14 From left to right: Timon (Emily Murphy), Chorus (Christian Morey), and Alcibiades (Harrison Collett). (Alexandra Allaire / McGill Tribune)

M-SERT, CKUT fee increases pass in SSMU Fall referendum Fee increases to be implemented January 2013; groups initiating plans to maintain and improve service quality Erica Friesen News Editor Last Sunday, Elections SSMU released the results of the 2012 Fall Referendum period for the Students’ Society of McGill University (SSMU). Students voted in favour of fee increases for both CKUT Radio and the McGill Student Emergency Response Team (M-SERT).

CKUT With 57.3 per cent of students voting in favour of its referendum question, CKUT will benefit from a $1 increase in its opt-outable student fee, beginning in January 2013.

According to Carol Fraser, chair of CKUT’s Board of Directors, the current $4 fee has not increased or been indexed to inflation since 1988. She said the fee would go towards the station’s current priorities, including covering their deficit, rent, equipment repairs, and staff salaries.

“This means CKUT will continue to be an amazing community and campus resource, and its international prestige will be maintained,” Fraser said. “It means we can basically continue the work we are doing now … this win helps the station stay afloat and stay awesome.”

Fraser said she was grateful for

the station’s supporters during the referendum and throughout the past year. CKUT has run three referendum questions in the last 12 months.

Last semester, a question asking for its fee to become non-opt-outable failed to pass.

Fraser suggested that students supported this Fall’s referendum question because the fee will remain opt-outable. She suggested that many students use the opt-out system or agree with it in principle. According to Fraser, the nature of the group’s campaign also contributed to its success.

“We have done a lot of outreach to students this semester,” she said.

“It is also CKUT’s 25th anniversary.

Students have recognized that their station has been going so strong on such a small fee, [and] they were willing to open their hearts and minds and give more.”

M-SERT M-SERT’s student fee will also increase next semester, after 82.7 per cent of students voted in favour of the $0.50 increase for all students studying at the downtown campus.

M-SERT Vice-President Finance Patrick Tohill said the team is excited and relieved by the results.

“I think our greatest concern was that the referendum would not

reach quorum,” Tohill said. “Thankfully, we had some great campaigning going on to get the word about the referendum questions, and I also think the incentives for voting and advertising done by Elections SSMU probably helped a lot.”

According to Tohill, the additional money will go towards improving the quality of M-SERT’s equipment and of the first-aid courses M-SERT offers to the McGill community. The service also hopes to reduce the financial burden on MSERT volunteers—who pay for their own training, uniforms, and meals See “Voter” on p. 3

NEWS student government

PGSS discusses education summit

Rights of grad students as members of Legal Clinic also questioned Erica Friesen News Editor

Last Wednesday, the Council of the Post-Graduate Students’ Society of McGill University (PGSS) approved plans for a two-day series of panels and discussions as part of the McGill education summit this December. Other topics of discussion included the rights of graduate students as members of the Legal Information Clinic at McGill.

Education summit According to PGSS Vice-President External Errol Salamon, Council’s plans for the summit began in September, when councillors expressed concerns about their ability to participate at the provincial summit on higher education, scheduled for February 2012.

“A local, student-organized education summit at McGill [will] enable PGSS members to … voice the issues that are most important and relevant to them,” Salamon wrote in an email to the Tribune. “This summit will serve as the consultation that will inform the positions PGSS will submit to the FEUQ that will subsequently shape its positions for the Quebec Summit.”

The summit will be structured around five themes: the underfunding of universities; international and out-of-province students; the student and public contribution towards financing education; the role of research, teaching, and support staff; and public-private partnerships.

“We will aim to foster dialogue between McGill students, administrators, professors, support staff, unions, relevant external organizations (e.g., FEUQ, TaCEQ), and hopefully some Quebec MNAs [Members of the National Assembly]—many people who don’t typically talk to each other and who aren’t usually in the same place at the same time,” Salamon wrote.

Confirmed speakers currently include FEUQ President Martine Desjardins, McGill Principal Heather Munroe-Blum, and representatives from L’Association pour

une Solidarité Syndicale Étudiante (ASSÉ) and the Association for Graduate Students Employed at McGill (AGSEM).

After the McGill summit, the PGSS executive will write a document, to be approved at its next Council meeting.

“This document [will] probably include a summary of each theme, including the various positions of the different groups that presented at the summit, as well as the final positions that the PGSS adopts at the summit, which will be articulated as policy recommendations,” Salamon wrote.

PGSS will conduct this event separately from the series of consultations planned by the Students’ Society of McGill University (SSMU), but all events will be open to members of both Societies.

Legal Information Clinic Last Wednesday’s Council meeting also included a discussion with representatives of the Legal Information Clinic at McGill, currently in talks with PGSS on graduate students’ambiguous rights as members of the clinic.

PGSS members currently pay $4 every year to the clinic, a nonprofit organization that provides free legal information, presentations, and student advocacy. According to the clinic’s Executive Director Emily Elder, PGSS members currently do not clearly fit into the clinic’s categories of members as outlined in their by-laws. Although this does not affect their coverage at the clinic, it means that their rights as fee-paying members are ambiguous.

Elder said a subcommittee has been working on the by-laws since the problem came to her attention in July, and that she hopes the Board of Directors (BoD) will approve the amendments at their Nov. 19 meeting so that the by-laws can be made available to all members by the end of the month.

PGSS Secretary-General Jonathan Mooney said PGSS has been in discussions with the clinic about increasing the organization’s trans-

parency, including improving access to by-laws and financial statements.

He also expressed concern over the lack of PGSS representation on the clinic’s BoD. “We feel that meaningful participation in the governance of an association that one supports through the payment of a fee is essential to ensure accountability,” Mooney said.

According to Elder, however, organizations are not legally obliged to disclose their by-laws or have representatives on their BoD. She said the BoD has not explored the process of doing so because no one had made that request before PGSS did last summer.

“Historically, we used to have a PGSS representative on our board, as well as a SSMU representative,” Elder said. “My understanding is that it wasn’t a constructive relationship. We’re operating under significant legal constraints, [and] that’s not always clearly understood by student representatives.”

Mooney also said the clinic has never run a referendum question for graduate students about their student fee to the clinic. In 2009, they ran an existence referendum, but only polled undergraduate students.

“In effect, the university and the [clinic] agreed to continue collecting fees from graduate students based on a referendum polling exclusively undergraduate students,” Mooney said. “This indicates a fairly serious policy inconsistency.”

According to Elder, the McGill administration accepts a majority vote of undergraduate members as the “requisite threshold” for the continued existence of the clinic. She expressed hope that the two groups will be able to reconcile these concerns in the future.

“I really think that what we’re seeing is a communication breakdown rather than any real problem with our services,” Elder said. “I am open, willing, and wanting to mend that relationship.”

IN BRIE S W F NE Concordia part-time faculty association votes for unlimited strike mandate The Concordia University PartTime Faculty Association (CUPFA) voted for an unlimited strike mandate at a special General Assembly held Nov. 4. The vote follows unsuccessful negotiations with Concordia’s administration over a new collective agreement.

CUPFA’s former collective agreement with Concordia expired at the end of August. Since then, CUPFA representatives have met with university representatives more than 10 times.

Although the association is not currently on strike, the strike mandate means that CUPFA can now legally use pressure tactics such as work stoppages, sit-ins, and demonstrations. CUPFA President Maria Peluso also has the power to call a strike under the strike mandate, although she has stated that she will not do so without consulting CUPFA members.

Peluso expressed concern over the Concordia administration’s demands at the bargaining table. She said that the university is concentrating on clauses that would give them more control of professional development funds—funds that allow faculty members to complete research.

The university also wants CUPFA to call itself a union, rather than an association.

“We can’t understand why they have been so difficult with these normative clauses,” Peluso said.

“It doesn’t cost them any money. If you want to argue about my salary or cost of living, okay, we can argue about that, but what the university has presented is not salary.”

According to CUPFA Chair of Communications David Douglas, Concordia still hasn’t implemented

or respected parts of the last agreement. Peluso noted that CUPFA does not intend to alter much of the previous agreement, but that its concern lies in Concordia’s treatment of the previous agreement, and the lack of experienced academics on the university’s side of the bargaining table.

“It took us seven years to get that collective agreement that we currently have, and they are not respecting it,” Peluso said. “How do you want me to have confidence in the next collective agreement when the current collective agreement … is not even respected? We are certainly not waiting [another] seven years.”

Negotiations are ongoing between Concordia and CUPFA. Peluso expressed hope that the university will respond positively to the unlimited strike mandate.

“Nobody really wants a strike,” Peluso said. “We are prepared to do that only because we are so angry at the university. We don’t want to hurt anybody­—especially our students.”

“Every single bargaining entity at Concordia is in the same boat,” she added. “There is something pathologically wrong with how labour relations are conducted [at Concordia], in particular with regards to faculty.”

Christine Mota, Concordia’s Media Relations Director, said that Concordia’s administration does not comment on negotiations while they are still in progress.

“We will only say that we continue to negotiate,” Mota said. “The goal is to find a satisfactory solution for everybody.”

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Curiosity delivers. |

NEWS

| Tuesday, November 13, 2012

3

Voter turnout at 18.3 per cent during referendum period Continued from cover

FALL 2012 REFERENDUM RESULTS TURNOUT 4025 18.3%

Qu of estio ou Radi n re: t fe o C KU incre e T’s ase op t-

ion on Quest e of the s a e r c in fee base ill SSMU s the McG d cy towar t Emergen n Stude se Team n Respo

R

to a link, as in years past, instead of having to receive an email,” she said. “This made getting the vote out a bit harder.”

Yu expressed hope that the online voting system would be improved to facilitate student participation in the Winter referendum period. She also said Elections SSMU will use other methods to address voter turnout next semester.

“We’re definitely going to keep pushing to increase turnout next semester, and will probably do the gift card draw, [or] give free food or items to people who vote to make elections more exciting,” Yu said. “A lot of emails I receive from students [say] that all we do is run ‘popularity contests,’ or that people … don’t know who to vote for when they walk by our polling stations, so we’re really hoping to change that perception.”

M-SE

Voter turnout This referendum period saw 18.3 per cent voter turnout from students. Although it exceeded the 15 per cent quorum for referenda, voter turnout has decreased since last year.

For example, 24.7 per cent of SSMU members voted in the Fall 2011 referendum period.

SSMU Chief Electoral Officer Hubie Yu suggested that voter turnout may have been comparatively

low because the issues raised were not as contentious as some of last year’s had been. For example, CKUT’s question requested an increase in their student fee, rather than making their fee non-opt-outable. Yu also noted that the there was less discussion on campus about these issues because students did not establish a ‘No’ committee for either question.

“If anything, we tried to increase turnout this time … by having a gift card raffle for people who voted, [which is] something Elections SSMU used to do,” Yu said.

“While our turnout isn’t where we wanted [it to be] … I think we did well, given the circumstances.”

Fraser said CKUT was happy with the voter turnout, but expressed concern that some students had trouble accessing the link to the online voting system. “[Voter turnout] could have been higher if the SSMU voting system were a little more userfriendly—if you could simply go

T

NO

645 17.3%

CK U

T

while on shift—and expand student coverage and hours of operation.

Tohill added that the campaign period also allowed M-SERT to raise awareness of the group’s existence.

“I think one thing this referendum may have revealed to us is that there is a significant amount of students who don’t know who we are or what we really do,” he said. “I hope we can take the momentum of this referendum result and promote M-SERT as a relevant and useful service for as many students as we can.”

NO

1523 42.7%

YES

2042 57.3%

ABSTAIN 291 7.2%

ABSTAIN 469 11.4%

YES

3089 82.7%

Graphic by Susanne Wang

—Additional reporting

by Bea Britneff

news analysis

Students, politicians revisit cyberbullying as urgent issue Online harassment a national concern following B.C. teen suicide; policymakers discuss prevention tactics Bea Britneff News Editor The past month witnessed a renewed national dialogue on the topic of cyberbullying between youth, educators, and politicians across Canada. This new debate arose following the death of British Columbia teenager Amanda Todd, who took her own life after suffering through two years of cyberbullying and online blackmailing, as well as a physical attack by her peers.

According to Define the Line (DTL)—a research program based at McGill dedicated to the study of education, law, and policymaking surrounding cyberbullying—online bullying is “the use of a range of digital media and/or communication devices to post or distribute offensive and demeaning forms of expression.”

The DTL website notes that cyberbullying can be committed in many ways, and perpetrators and victims can be youths and adults alike. Cases can involve direct or indirect forms of exclusion and isolation, and of verbal abuse such as insults, rumours, and threats. Material posted and circulated online can include intimate pictures, videos, and information on the targeted individual.

According to the 2009 General Social Survey (GSS) on internet victimization, conducted by Statistics Canada, increases in the use of instant messaging and social networking sites have raised the instance of cyberbullying in a sample of Canadians aged 15 years and older.

Further results from the GSS survey indicated that seven per cent of Internet users over the age of 18 self-reported as victims of cyberbullying. The survey also found that girls are more likely to bullied online than are males.

Dr. Shaheen Shariff, associate professor in the faculty of education, international expert on cyberbullying, and director of DTL, explained why cyberbullying is a particularly difficult problem to prevent and address.

“Once bullying is online, anyone can participate, and it’s open to an infinite audience of adults and youth,” Shariff said. “Every time someone receives, reviews, saves, and passes on the abusive comments … the individual is revictimized.”

“The trouble is that the norms of online communication among kids have shifted to accept more joking and teasing, and youth don’t realize they are crossing the line to criminal harassment or defamation,” Shariff said.

Although the term ‘bullying’ is less frequently used in a postsecondary context, cases of online and physical harassment do arise on university campuses. To deter these, Articles 8b and 8c of McGill’s Code of Student Conduct and Disciplinary Procedures declare that no student may “knowingly create a condition ... [that] threatens the health, safety, and well-being of other persons.”

Associate Dean of Students Linda Starkey told the Tribune that McGill’s position on physical and online harassment is one of “no tolerance.” Starkey explained that, if a student is found responsible for a violation of Article 8b or 8c in an investigation, the disciplinary officer assigned to the case will issue an appropriate sanction, which could include an admonishment, community service, and expulsion.

According to the 2010-2011 Annual Report of the Committee on Student Discipline (CSD), there were 68 allegations of violations to Article 8 of the Code adjudicated by disciplinary officers in that academic year. The report did not specify which violations pertained to Articles 8a, 8b, or 8c.

“It would be ideal if there were no cases, but sometimes things happen,” Starkey said. “And it may be a learning experience. It may not

Cyberbullying affects both youths and adults. (Mike King / McGill Tribune) be malicious… it could be learning how others see one’s behaviour.”

Todd’s death also sparked debate in the House of Commons over what can be done to better address the issue of cyberbullying in Canada. On Oct. 15, New Democratic Party Member of Parliament (MP) Dany Morin called for the creation of a national anti-bullying strategy.

However, some critics claim that action initiated at the local level, rather than by the federal government, might be more effective.

Shariff, whose work centres on policy and legal issues relating to online social communications, believes the most appropriate step to dealing with the issue of cyberbullying is education.

“Children are not criminals, and we need to educate them in legal literacy,” Shariff said. “We need consequences with educational messages using [technology] to engage kids to come to their own understanding [of the issue].”

4

Tuesday, November 13, 2012 |

NEWS

| Curiosity delivers.

news analysis

McGill professors discuss implications of U.S. elections Gil Troy warns of ‘second-term curse’; Mark Brawley emphasizes limitations of presidents in international relations Jimmy Lou Contributor In the Nov. 6 American presidential election, Democrat incumbent Barack Obama secured a narrow win over Republican nominee and former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney.

Although Obama gained a 332206 lead in electoral college votes, his share of the popular vote—just over 50 per cent—was notably lower than the 52.7 per cent he had in 2008.

Although the unemployment rate in the United States has dropped from a peak of 10 per cent in 2007 to 7.9 per cent last month, the American economy remains a concern in light of slow GDP recovery, pending tax increases and spending cuts, to take place in late 2012 and early 2013 (known as the fiscal cliff), and a $16 trillion deficit.

Last week, several McGill professors explored the implications of Obama’s re-election, including the challenges he will face and the opportunity he has to redefine his lega-

cy as an American president.

McGill professor Gil Troy, who specializes in modern American history, keeps a blog aimed at informing students about American politics. In an entry posted Nov. 7, Troy describes several key challenges that Obama faces in his second term, including unemployment, health care, and the ‘second-term curse,’ which refers to presidents’ historically diminished effectiveness.

“The man who promised to change Washington and heal the nation cannot continue to be proof that Washington is gridlocked and the nation hopelessly divided,” Troy wrote. “Obama’s legacy will be shaped by his ability to live up to his 2008 vow to create a new kind of politics. Blaming Republican obstructionism for his failure is not good enough.”

Regarding U.S. foreign policy, professor Mark Brawley of the political science department argued that relations with Arab Spring countries, and countries whose foreign policies may significantly affect their regional neighbours—such as China, Iran

What happened last week in Compiled by Veronica Rozynek and ERICA FRIESEN

and Syria—will remain a concern.

However, Brawley said, Obama and Romney did not have significantly different views on foreign policy. He emphasized the limitations of U.S. presidents with regards to international relations.

“I don’t think it matters that much for international relations who wins the election,” Brawley said at a Bipartisan Symposium organized by the Political Science Student Association last Monday. “No matter what they want, they are constrained by other actors like Congress and Senate.”

Leadership transitions in China and an unstable Middle East leave many unknown variables these regions. Brawley pointed to Obama’s previous tactics in the face of terrorism, such as reducing conventional force in favour of drone strikes, as well as Obama’s moderate responses to unexpected events such as the Arab Spring. Brawley predicted that the U.S. president will remain reactive and diplomatic, rather than aggressive and heavy-handed.

On Nov. 6, McGill students

Students await the election results on Nov. 6. (Luke Orlando / McGill Tribune) gathered at venues around campus to follow developments in the election. As the winner became clear, a wide range of emotion surfaced among the students.

“I think Obama was a huge disappointment for us in a lot of ways in the past four years, but I’d rather choose [a moderate candidate] over one who is keen on alienating China, bombing Iran, and neglecting the poor,” Kate Walsh, an American U1 arts student, said.

Other students were disappointed with the results, including Rom-

ney supporter and U2 arts student Alex Greene.

“I get that lots of people—especially people here—think he’s a rich, out-of-touch phony, but I think the fact that he’s pragmatic and business friendly might actually be what America needs right now,” Greene said. “Obama screwed up things like XL pipeline, [No Child Left Behind], and basically left a huge mess with ObamaCare. I’m not too sure if having him for four more years is a great idea.”

Canada?

gerald tremblay resigns as montreal mayor

explosion at sherbrooke factory kills three

‘superbugs’ uncovered in canadian hotels

canada becomes home for cyber-crime

canada fosters relationship with philippines

Montreal Mayor Gerald Tremblay resigned on Nov. 5, following allegations of corruption made at the Charbonneau Commission. Tremblay stepped down, despite repeatedly denying the allegations made against him.

Quebec Premier Pauline Marois pressured Tremblay to resign as a result of accusations that the former mayor’s party engaged in bribery.

The mayor made his final speech in the city’s Hall of Honour, where he called his decision “the ultimate sacrifice” after 25 years of public service and blamed the corrupt nature of politics for his downfall. In his speech, Tremblay hinted that he was betrayed by some of his trusted associates and was forced to take responsibility, which ultimately led to his resignation.

The Montreal City Council will elect the next mayor in a secret ballot vote on Nov. 16. This interim mayor will hold the position until the next public election in Nov. 2013.

Last Thursday, an explosion at a biochemical plant in Sherbrooke, Quebec, claimed the lives of three people and hospitalized 18 others.

At approximately 1:30 p.m., a blast from inside Neptune Technologies et Bioressources Inc. ignited a fire that rapidly spread throughout the plant. Firefighters were able to get the fire under control by 3:45 p.m., but were concerned by the toxic fumes from the large quantities of acetone—a dangerous chemical—at the plant. While officials report that most of the debris is not toxic, a perimeter has been made around the site to ensure the safety of civilians.

While the cause of the explosion remains unknown, Executive Officer of Neptune Technology Michel Chartrand stated that the employees’ health is the company’s priority. Of the 18 injured, two are still being treated for immediate shock and serious burns in the Sherbrooke University Hospital. Four others were transferred to other hospitals in Montreal.

Antibiotic resistant bacteria have been uncovered in six major hotel chains assessed in tests by CBC Marketplace. Released last week, the study examined hotels in Montreal, Vancouver, and Toronto, including Best Western and Holiday Inn chains, according to CBC News.

The identified ‘superbugs’ are c. difficile and methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus (MRSA).

Although they are common, these bacteria have the potential to cause fatal infections, especially if contracted by people with weakened immune systems. According to the U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention, MRSA kills over 15,000 Americans each year.

The study found that areas of high bacterial contamination include comforters, faucets, and remote controls. Using hidden cameras, Marketplace also captured footage of hotel staff using cleaning practices that facilitate the spread of bacteria—for example, one housekeeper used a toilet brush to clean a sink.

Five of the six hotel chains have issued responses expressing shock at the findings. Both EconoLodge and Sheraton have indicated their intentions to re-assess cleaning practices at their hotels.

The Public Safety Department is concerned that Canada is becoming a host nation for cyber-crime activity, according to departmental briefing notes obtained by the Canadian Press under the Access to Information Act. While countries in Eastern Europe, East Asia, and Africa have traditionally been the locations of organized malicious online activity, the notes suggest this trend may be shifting to countries like Canada, the United States, and France. According to Websense, a digital security company, Canada ranked second in the world for hosted phishing sites last spring. The company also said malicious Canadian sites tend to stay up longer than those in other countries.

The discussion draws attention to the challenges inherent in regulating online behaviour without invading citizens’ privacy. According to a presentation prepared by the Justice Department, it is difficult for legislative changes to keep up with the fast pace of technological advancements, leading legislators to prefer ‘technology neutral’ laws.

Last Saturday, Prime Minister Stephen Harper signed a military memorandum of understanding that allows the Philippines to buy military equipment from Canadian firms. The deal between the Filipino defence department and the Canadian Commercial Cooperation is expected to enable the Philippines to better defend its territory.

Prime Minister Harper and President Benigno Aquino III signed the deal at Aquino’s presidential palace in the Philippines. At a news conference, both leaders emphasized how Canada’s involvement in Filipino security issues has cultivated a stronger relationship between the two countries.

The Philippines is currently the largest source of Canadian immigrants, and approximately 600,000 residents of Filipino descent currently reside in Canada. Acquino, who has been president since 2010, has initiated an anti-corruption campaign to encourage investors from other countries like Canada to do business with the Philippines.

Curiosity delivers. |

NEWS

| Tuesday, November 13, 2012

5

First year

Councils

A look at the different options for first-year representation at McGill Jonny Newburgh Contributor Freshman Events and Representative Committee

First-Year Involvement Team

Freshman Undergraduate Science Society

First Year Council

Inter-Residence Council

The Freshman Events and Representative Committee (FEARC) aims to promote the welfare and interests of first-year students in the faculties of arts and arts and sciences. According to FEARC Co-President Marta Canneri, FEARC also provides “activities and services to enhance the educational, cultural, environmental, and social aspects of the lives of its members.”

The FEARC executive is composed of nine members, all of whom are first-year students. The council also has a number of subcommittees, including the Publicity Committee, the First-Year Handbook Committee, the Fundraising Committee, and a group of Academic Councillors.

“Our priorities for the year are to ease the academic and social transition from high school [or] CEGEP to university, and to integrate first year students into the greater McGill community,” Canneri said. “We want to foster a sense of belonging and community among first years and create an environment that is conducive to both academic and social success.”

FEARC represents its constituents at the bi-monthly Arts Undergraduate Society Council meetings.

This year, FEARC also added two new executive positions to their council: a CEGEP representative and an International Student representative.

FEARC executives meet once a week, while the entire body—executives and subcommittees—meet as required. Subcommittees also convene separately with their respective heads.

FIT aims to increase first-year involvement in the Management Undergraduate Society (MUS) by relaying important information and hosting events aimed at easing the transition into university life for first-year students.

“The primary focus [of FIT] is to increase first-year involvement within the faculty,” a FIT executive wrote to the Tribune via Facebook account. “Overall, we aim to make first-year students feel more included and at home within the MUS and Bronfman.”

FIT is composed of 13 members, including students from five different McGill residences, as well as students who live off-campus.

Provincial, out-of-province, and international students are all represented.

“FIT is unique from other associations because of its role within MUS,” the FIT executive wrote.

“Not only is it directed [towards] management students, but FIT collaborates with other clubs and events within the MUS portfolio … to increase first-year awareness of all the opportunities the MUS has to offer.”

The team has a number of goals for the year, such as hosting events targeted at first-years, communicating regularly with the student body, and reaching out to the incoming class of 2017 to ensure that they feel welcomed before coming to campus next September.

FIT executives meet once a week to assess their progress and set goals for the week.

The Freshman Undergraduate Science Society (FUSS) aims to increase interaction between first-year science students by acting as a liaison to clubs and organizing various events throughout the year.

“The primary purpose of FUSS is to give the first-year science students a chance to interact with each other through various events that we will put on throughout the year, as well as [to] organize the NoteTaking Club, which sells notes that students can buy,” FUSS President Sukhmeet Singh Sachal said.

FUSS is composed of nine executive council members, all if whom are in either the faculty of science or the faculty of arts and science.

The society also organizes Judgement Day—an event that provides information about the various majors available to science and arts and science students, and helps first -year students apply to their major at the end of the year.

Sachal said the society is also going to host a series of seminars called the Freshman Interest Group for Students (FIGS), which is currently offered to only a few undergraduates due to limited space.

“This program will share information pertaining to the science field including internships, research positions, and volunteering,” Sachal said.

FUSS will host meetings once every two weeks, once the three other councillor positions have been filled.

Composed of six executive members, the First Year Council (FYC) works to represent all firstyear students at McGill by advocating for their needs, interests and concerns. FYC also aims to promote the involvement of first-year students both on and off campus, to ease their transition to McGill, and to expose them to Montreal life and culture.

According to FYC President Lucy Liu, FYC is unique among the other first-year associations because it the only body that represents all first-year students, operates under SSMU in dealing with student politics, and whose primary function isn’t to organize events.

“We are primarily representation and advocacy-based,” Liu said.

“We work on negotiating student issues, changing policies, and addressing first-year concerns.”

FYC’s priorities for the year include increasing advising and academic support to first-year students prior to their arrival at McGill, and organizing several events, including one that provides free massages to all first-year students during the exam period.

Another of FYC’s goals is to further facilitate cooperation between the other first-year associations by organizing round table discussions and subcommittees composed of representatives from each of the first-year councils. Together, they will organize several interfaculty events.

FYC meets at least once a week, while subcommittees meet when necessary.

The Inter-Residence Council (IRC) is responsible for ensuring that students’ experiences in McGill residences are positive and enjoyable. According to IRC President Kareem Ibrahim, the Council hosts events throughout the year for all students in residence, and provides networking opportunities. IRC also liaises with the residences’ administration as well as Rez Life.

IRC is composed of 27 elected members—seven members who are elected by students in McGill residences, including the presidents and vice-president externals from each of the Hall Councils. Each individual residence has a Hall Council, whose members are elected by the students living in that residence.

“IRC is unique because [it is] the only association whose sole purpose is to provide for students in residence,” Ibrahim said.

According to Ibrahim, the Council is given great flexibility in how they choose to fulfill this mandate. IRC is granted a yearly budget of $20,000 for its initiatives; this comes from a portion of the residence fees paid by each student living in residence.

“This year, we aim to ensure that our events and activities cater to a diverse audience within residence, and that everybody can leave this year feeling that the IRC truly cared about their individual concerns and preferences in terms of their time in residence,” Ibrahim said.

IRC meets at a different location each week—typically at the McGill residences—in order to “better connect with the places where everyone lives and [understand] how each living space is unique,” said Ibrahim

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opinion editorial

THE Mcgill

TRIBUNE www.mcgilltribune.com

Editor-in-Chief Elisa Muyl editor@mcgilltribune.com Managing Editors Carolina Millán Ronchetti cmillanronchetti@mcgilltribune.com Adam Sadinsky asadinsky@mcgilltribune.com

Individual sacrifice should remain focus of Remembrance Day In the past week, there has been considerable debate on campus about the role that Remembrance Day should play in Canadian life.

Some have questioned whether the annual event transcends remembrance, and instead, glorifies war and idolizes a willingness to die for one’s country. Here, a key question emerges: is it possible to separate political motivations from the act of remembering and respecting those who went to war?

Remembrance Day is, at its core, an observance rooted in personal reflection. For that reason, it has different significance for different people. For some, it is a day to honour loved ones lost in war, and to pay respect to those who continue to serve. For others, it is a time to acknowledge the fact that war is a part of Canada’s history that must never

be forgotten.

Although Remembrance Day presents a possible opportunity to question and critique how our society views war, there are other occasions both more pertinent and appropriate for such scrutiny.

Canada’s new $20 bill, released into circulation last Wednesday, features the Vimy Ridge monument as its key image. Undoubtedly, it is important to honour the sacrifice of Canadian troops in the First World War, but we must also question if we are prioritizing a romanticization of war at the expense of, for example, the promotion of peacekeeping efforts.

Notably, the current Canadian $10 note depicts a female peacekeeper atop the banner “Au service de la paix/In the service of peace.” A new $10 note will be unveiled in 2013.

In the same vein, the federal

government’s $60 million advertising campaign for the 100th anniversary of the War of 1812 calls the government’s priorities into question. Was the War of 1812 as important a ‘turning point’ in our country as the signing of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms? Remembrance is crucial, but we must consider what these signal about what we collectively value as a nation, and what impact it may have on future generations of Canadians.

Canadian history lessons are a fundamental fixture in primary and secondary education. Which stories we choose to tell—and which we choose to withhold—need to be thoughtfully and critically considered. Glossing over unjust relations with Indigenous peoples—as often happens when the ‘discovery’ of this continent is first presented in

school—is an egregious failure to educate about wrongdoing. So, too, is the selective, one-sided presentation of war. There is a pressing need to critique the way we teach history to children.

Remembrance Day is a day to remember those who died in the service of our country. That is not to say that the event—and the way we observe and remember past instances of war—is above criticism. But the focus of the day should remain on veterans and their individual sacrifice. At the same time, we should continue to question the extent to which our society glorifies war, and the level to which our government weaves narratives of war into national sentiment.

Letter to the editor Anthony C. Masi There has been some recent discussion on campus and in some of the student press about the process to appoint a new Deputy Provost (Student Life and Learning). I would like to correct some misconceptions that have been circulated about this process.

The Advisory Committee for the Appointment of a Deputy Provost (Student Life and Learning) was established to advise on this appointment, in keeping with McGill Statute 3.4.1, which states: “Before recommending an appointment for the office of Provost, Deputy Provost, or vice-principal, the Principal shall have consulted an advisory committee consisting of four representatives of the Board of Governors, four representatives of the Senate and two students. The Principal shall be ex officio chair of the advisory committee.”

It should be noted that, going beyond these parameters, I appointed two special advisors, representing the McGill Association

recommendations of the Principal’s Task Force on Student Life and Learning, and its administrative response, as well as the Principal’s Task Force on Diversity, Excellence, and Community Engagement.

As part of the review process, the Provost’s Office also investigated policies and practices at peer Canadian and U.S. research universities, with the goal of identifying relevant organizational elements and processes.

To dismiss, as some have, the Board of Governors as out of touch with current student needs is as insulting to these dedicated volunteers as it is inaccurate. Our Board members pay keen attention to all aspects of University life and do not merit such a cavalier, broad-brushed dismissal. As noted by the facts above, there has been significant consultation with students regarding the Deputy Provost (Student Life and Learning) position and search process. As the McGill Statutes require, the Board of Governors is represented on the Advisory Committee.

To suggest, as some have, that the current Deputy Provost as inaccessible and remote is similarly inaccurate, as anyone would know if they had spent some time checking

News Editors Bea Britneff, Erica Friesen, and Andra Cernavskis news@mcgilltribune.com Opinion Editor Anand Bery opinion@mcgilltribune.com Science & Technology Editor Leigh Miller scitech@mcgilltribune.com Student Living Editor Jacqui Galbraith studentliving@mcgilltribune.com Features Editor Sara Espinal Henao feature@mcgilltribune.com Arts & Entertainment Editors Chris Liu and Ilia Blinderman arts@mcgilltribune.com Sports Editors Steven Lampert and Jeff Downey sports@mcgilltribune.com Photo Editors Alexandra Allaire and Simon Poitrimolt photo@mcgilltribune.com Senior Design Editor Susanne Wang design@mcgilltribune.com Design Editor Heather H. Lee design@mcgilltribune.com Online Editor Victor Temprano online@mcgilltribune.com

Letter to the editor of Continuing Education Students (MACES) and the Macdonald Campus Students’ Society (MCSS). This brought the number of students who sit on the committee to four. (The special advisors do not vote, but participate fully in all aspects of the committee, including sharing their views.)

The establishment of this Advisory Committee was preceded by a year-long consultation process. I hosted many structured meetings with a wide range of individuals, including two retreats with leaders of the Student Societies and Faculty student associations. Students from Macdonald Campus and Continuing Studies associations actively participated in those retreats and offered significant contributions. Considerable and thoughtful feedback from students has thus been incorporated into the search process.

In addition to the representatives from the Student Societies and Associations, the Deputy Provost’s direct reports, and others with knowledge about, experience with, or a demonstrated interest in, student life and learning at McGill, also participated in this consultation.

This extensive review was designed to carry forward and strengthen the

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the record of his interactions with student groups who represent both graduate and undergraduate students at McGill. That he hasn’t always acted exactly in the way some might prefer in no way diminishes the quality of his valuable contributions to McGill.

Through his participation in the most senior levels of University administration, the Deputy Provost has been a vigorous champion of the need for a positive environment for student life and learning. For example, he was instrumental in the development of Service Point.

Over the past year, there has been broad consultation and much thoughtful consideration regarding the portfolio and position of the Deputy Provost (Student Life and Learning). These efforts are part of the University’s continuing commitment to be a student-centred University that puts student considerations at the forefront.

Anthony C. Masi is the Provost of McGill University. He chairs the Advisory Committee for the selection of a Deputy Provost (Student Life And Learning).

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Contributors

Tessa Bryant, Karen Chen, Julia Donahue, Trevor Drummond, Joshua Freedman, Emma Hambly, Justin Hung, Mike King, Ben Ko, Alex Kpeglo-Hennessy, Jimmy Lou, Remi Lu, Abraham Moussako, Luke Orlando, Jonny Newburgh, Zoe Power, Veronica Rozynek, Joanna Schacter, Bharat Srinivasa, Lauren Wray

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Hope and Change

Joshua Freedman

Commentary

Since leaving Canadian politics, Michael Ignatieff has been forceful, intelligent, charismatic, and well-spoken. In other words, he has become the diametric opposite of the Michael Ignatieff who led the Liberal party to its worst parliamentary showing in recent memory.

Speaking at the BBC’s annual Free Thinking Festival, Ignatieff decried the rapid centralization of power in the Prime Minister’s Office and called for party leaders to allow individual Members of Parliament (MPs) more freedom in voting and legislative tasks.

Without this decentralizing step, Ignatieff believes that the Par-

When, if ever, can speech be sanctioned?

Abraham Moussako

Commentary

Is there free speech on our campus? That depends on who’s talking.

According to the libertarian Justice Center for Constitutional Freedoms (JCCF), when it comes to protecting controversial speech, McGill University—like most Canadian universities—fails miserably. In the wake of these accusations, we must rethink the boundaries we set between offensive speech and simply controversial speech.

It’s worth noting that the report has received sparse coverage in campus media. Aside from an editorial the Tribune ran last week (“Safe Spaces on campus do not repress free speech”), there has been no mention from the other two main English campus outlets—the McGill Daily and the Bull and Bear. Nor did the news sections of any of the major campus papers reach out to either the Students Society of McGill

liament will fall further into dysfunction, as the needs of individual ridings are increasingly delegated to the margins. The tightening of party control has also led to increased antipathy between the parties, with squabbling and catcalls replacing civil relationships on the floor of the House of Commons.

It’s not hard to see where Ignatieff is coming from. The Harper government—like its predecessors—has been characterized by the fostering of animosity among parties, and MPs under his banner are hardly, if ever, permitted a free vote.

To be fair, all parties have fallen prey to the temptation of mindless opposition instead of providing constructive solutions. Ignatieff himself famously whipped the Liberal Party during the vote to eliminate the gun registry, against the wishes of some of his rural MPs. The continued rise of hyperpartisanship are not unique to Canada. The Obama administration faced

four years of obstinate opposition from the Senate and House Republicans, which made it incredibly difficult to pass legislation. And while effective opposition is one thing, setting a record for the most filibusters in one session of Congress—as the Republicans have, from 2009 to 2011—is nothing to be proud of.

So what does this mindless, party-line voting and hyper-partisanship get us? Does the 40 per cent of Canadians represented by the Conservative party have the monopoly on all good ideas? Has the impenetrable Democratic state assembly in California produced good policy without Republican input?

The answer to all three of the above questions is a resounding ‘No.’ In the absence of bipartisan policymaking, effective policy becomes much more difficult, and at times impossible.

The Affordable Care Act’s passage is instructive. The votes required to get the bill through Con-

gress were 99 per cent Democratic, with no Republican participation in its passage. The bill, while improving the health care status quo, is riddled with compromises made to industrial lobbyists because of this narrow support. Imagine if half of the Republican caucus had been on board with providing a solution to America’s health care problem. Not only would they have been able to have a say in the bill’s final shape, but the integrity of the bill could have been much stronger. Their mindless opposition failed completely.

What can be done to solve this problem? How do we allow individual members of a legislature more freedom? Political scientists have identified that longer-tenured parliamentarians and an increase in the number of parliamentarians overall usually lead to more independent thinking. To that end, some theorists have advocated paying individual MPs more money, to make the job

seem more desirable, and thus a potentially long-term career. Increasing parliamentarians’ salaries would also make the job more appealing to well-qualified candidates, who may otherwise have ignored a career in politics. In Canada, we are also seeing a new influx of MPs thanks to Canada’s growing population.

Hopefully larger caucuses will be harder for party leaders to control.

Ultimately, the power to end irresponsible partisanship lies in the hands of the individual voter.

As evidenced this past week, voters can penalize obstructionist parties, and usher in a group of representatives determined to reach across party lines, compromise, and get things done. At the polls, Canadians should prioritize qualities like responsibility and bipartisanship in candidates. By doing so, Parliament can change for the better.

University (SSMU) or the McGill administration for comment.

While the JCCF report devotes a significant portion of the report to discussing onerous protest regulations imposed by the administration, it reserves particularly pointed criticism for SSMU. Upon looking at SSMU’s Equity Policy, we are confronted with the clash of good intentions and good policy. Intended to create a safe and accepting campus environment for historically disadvantaged groups, the policy is criticized by the report for employing an overly broad definition of “oppression”—allegedly broad enough for the speech of students and clubs to be chilled because of nebulous conceptions of ‘offence.’

On its face, the Equity Policy, and the broader concept of a speech code, is incongruous with our conceptions of free speech. In the ‘real world,’ while there are sanctions for libelous speech and active incitements to violence against groups, we generally see speech as something that can and should be equally accessible to everyone regardless of one’s political views.

However, one of the major differences between the university and

the outside world is the fact that a person can walk away from hateful, prejudiced, or simply hurtful speech, in a way that one can’t meaningfully do on a university campus. On the university campus, one can’t meaningfully feel whole or accepted if there are not norms of tolerance.

This is why there was a justified uproar about some costumes worn at SSMU’s Four Floors Halloween party several weeks ago.

The focus of the controversy was the appearance of costumes depicting blackface. This particular costume is uniquely problematic because of its origins in minstrel shows—plays shown in the Jim Crow South that depicted blacks as generally inferior.

This is a case in which it is fair to declare something ‘out of bounds,’ not simply because it references such hurtful history, but also because it does not provide any redeeming intellectual value.

On the other hand, the party also featured costumes invoking Mexican stereotypes. When the Latin American students’ organization on campus was asked to comment on these costumes for a piece in the McGill Daily, they responded that while the stereotypes were bad, they did not constitute an offence

because the mockery was “not intentional.” This response was not printed in the paper, but it reveals the dilemma in trying to make campus a safe space for the marginalized; offence and oppression are all in the eyes of those who feel offended or oppressed.

This is the crux of the question.

As the Equity Policy stands, any perceived slight upon one’s identity can become grounds for sanction— as we saw in several incidents last year, such as with respect to a proIsrael event where organizers were sanctioned as “oppressive” because of the title of their event, “Israel AParty.” The challenge is to create a policy that limits discriminatory speech in circumstances when there is clear intent to harm—or actual harm—and to err on the side of free speech in cases in which the offence is less clear.

To this effect, the least disruptive solution might lie in simply interpreting the policy correctly and as written. There are two key questions on SSMU’s page for potential complainants: first, “Is the issue an interpersonal or political one that may not require SSMU involvement?”; second, “Is there an imbalance of power involved?” Several of

the more controversial applications of the Equity Policy, from the earlier-mentioned sanction against the pro-Israel event, to intra-executive disputes inside student organizations, would not have merited serious consideration under a more literal interpretation of those sections.

SSMU, for example, was under no ‘requirement’ to involve itself in the complaint over the Israel event, as the dispute was not even that the event’s content was discriminatory, but rather that its original title, “Israel A-Party”—which intended to counter-message Israeli Apartheid Week—did not sufficiently adhere to the political views of the complainant.

The pursuit of free speech and the pursuit of a tolerant campus are not inherently conflictual ideals.

What the JCCF report reminds us is that, while our campus is generally well-intentioned when it comes to student expression, it is too willing to craft vague, nebulous regulations that are used by some to stifle the speech of others. Solving this issue could come in the form of a rewritten Equity Policy, but the most immediate solution is to simply interpret the policy more strictly than it has been.

Tribune, illustrated

Tessa Bryant

It’s getting cold outside

Justin Hung

Ben Ko

Student living up close and personal

McGill soars to top; no magic needed at Queen’s McGill Quidditch team bound for World Cup in Florida after taking the national championship Jacqui Galbraith Student Living Editor Despite what you might think about Quidditch from the fantasy world of Harry Potter, it’s real, and it’s full-contact. The McGill Tribune catches up with McGill Quidditch President Jon Cohen, and first-year chaser Robyn Fortune, fresh off their championship win at Queen’s University this past Sunday.

McGill Tribune: How did McGill fare this weekend?

Robyn Fortune: There were 12 teams there, and we played Algonquin, University of Toronto, Carleton, and U of Ottawa. Our game against Carleton went into overtime; that was the semi-final. We were up by 30, but then they caught the snitch, and then we were tied. [During overtime, the winner is] the first team to 30 points—so either score three goals, or catch the snitch. If that hasn’t happened after five minutes, [the winner is] just who has the most points. Our [game with] Carleton was really tight; they’re a really strong team and that game was

neck-and-neck. We were glad to win that one; it was probably our most exciting game all year.

MT: What made you want to get involved with the Quidditch team?

RF: I heard about it during orientation week, and it sounded really cool, so I just wanted to try it. It was actually way more fun and more intense than I imagined.

MT: How far back does Quidditch go at McGill? How did it get started here?

Jon Cohen: It started in 2008, the year before I came to McGill. It was started by Reid Robinson, who’s a legend in his own right. It started out pretty small: [McGill’s] was the first Canadian team, [the] first international team outside of the United States, and was at the second World Cup. [This year, the World Cup] is in Florida. You have to vie for spots, and by winning the national championship, we now have one.

MT: So the team will be going to Florida later this year?

JC: Well it’s awkwardly right before finals in April, so the answer

is ‘hopefully.’

MT: Is this strictly a university sport?

JC: There is high school Quidditch now, and there’s actually also ‘Kidditch,’ which is for kids. But the International Quidditch Association is doing a really good job of promoting the sport, and setting up this organizational structure to allow for new teams to grow and succeed, which is great for the sport’s future.

MT: How did Quiditch get started as a university sport?

JC: I think it started as a whim almost. Some kids at [Middlebury College invited Vassar] to come play ... but USA Today also came with them, and that was that. Now [schools] like McGill have B teams, and it’s come beyond the imagination of the first people involved, certainly.

MT: So what exactly are the rules of Quidditch, the way you play it at McGill?

JC: It’s actually exactly like the books and the movies, except it’s running around and tackling instead of flying. Sort of takes a lot

of know-how, and [there are] a lot of finer points about legal tackling.

So, there’s a quaffle that you try to score with, and then bludgers [which are dodgeballs], which is kind of a separate game ... and then there’s a snitch, which is [someone] in yellow running around, and you’re trying to snatch a sock from the guy. There’s a tennis ball in it, it’s worth thirty points, and it ends the game.

MT: With this version of the game, are there limits to where the snitch can go?

JC: They’ll start off the field, for about ten minutes, and when they’re back on the field, it’s just chaos. There’s basically three games going on at the same time, and to the untrained eye it’s very difficult to watch, to say the least.

MT: In other sports, there are certain body types and skills that make a person suited to them. Can you speak to that in terms of Quidditch?

JC: Athleticism is number one. Number two is the ability to play a really complicated sport with one hand, because you’re holding

a broom between your legs the entire time. [That] obviously gives the whole game its flair. But, really: speed, tackling ability. We know a lot of people who played frisbee, who played soccer especially.

Rugby is a big one, basketball, but I would definitely compare it, at least in terms of sports knowledge, [more closely] to soccer or hockey.

MT: So this is a full contact game, but you’re all on brooms?

JC: They want to keep the game safe and accessible. There’s no tackling from behind, there’s no tackling certain areas, like above the neck or shoulders. [The International Quidditch Association] recognizes the danger, but they account for it in their rule book.

MT: How would you like to see the team progress next year?

RF: Well, this is my first year on the team, but I think we just want to keep up the Quidditch program because we had a lot of rookies come in this year. We were able to have two full teams represented at this tournament, and I think we just want to keep that up.

fashion

10 must-haves to complete your winter wardrobe

Cuddle up this winter in some of the Tribune’s recommendations for a stylish, cozy ensemble Karen Chen Contributor As the temperatures plummet heading into winter, the number of outfit options begins to soar. Colder temperatures call for a flurry of sweaters, parkas, and scarves. With so many choices, how do you go from simply ‘ready for winter’ to completely ‘wintachic?’ Never fear, the Tribune is here to help.

The chunky knit scarf: Whether it’s a plain wraparound or an infinity, a scarf is not only a chic accessory, but a necessity. Choose a chunky knit scarf to lend structure to your getup, or add texture to your parka. Use neutral colours to complement, and brighter colours for a pop. If you want optimum warmth, go for a blend that’s over 40 per cent wool.

Keep those ears warm: Protect your ears from the harsh Montreal cold with a stylish winter headband or a pair of earmuffs.

You can find a wide array of choices throughout the city, in stores like Little Burgundy, H&M, and Zara.

We love a headband adorned with a

bow to the side, or faux fur earmuffs that make a statement. Très belle!

The oversized coat: For coats, big is beautiful this season. Own the streets with an androgynous, double breasted coat, or go feminine with a flowy, gownesque choice. Topshop is a great haven for oversized coats, so head over to the Bay on Ste. Catherine’s to have a look at their selection.

With chunky knit tights and black boots underneath, even visiting Parisians will envy your style.

A velvet love affair: Velvet was a huge hit on the runways this season. Start your velvet experience off right with a simple pair of black or burgundy skinny pants and you’ll set your tights apart from the typical plain legging. Match with a polished top, and you’re ready for class—both kinds.

Perfect plaids: Winter is never complete without a healthy dose of plaid. Take your red, black, and white plaid out of the log cabin and onto the street for a festive feel. Dress it down with a boyfriend-fit button up shirt over a

white tank and leggings for a comfychic way to relax on a lazy Sunday!

The sneaker wedge: Athletic meets fashionable in this latest fashion innovation. The sneaker wedge offers the versatility of a sneaker with the stylish flair of a wedge. This glammed-up version looks fabulous with navy skinnyjeans and a warm biker jacket. Our favourite? Jeffrey Campbell’s black sneaker wedge—the patent accents are to die for.

Haute in houndstooth: Always classy, houndstooth is inarguably one of the most fashionforward patterns this winter. Channel your inner Coco Chanel or Alexander McQueen with a sweater, scarf, or purse, and incorporate a touch of houndstooth into your outfit for an extra dash of drama.

Fair Isle sweaters: Despite perks like fresh snow, Starbucks specialty drinks, and vacation time, what we love most about the holiday season are definitely Fair Isle sweaters. The knits, the patterns, the textures… what’s not to adore?

A baggy sweater ensemble with

tight leggings is a sure-fire way to cozy up to winter and show off your holiday spirit.

The faux fur vest: Take a bold risk and invest in a faux fur vest for your winter wardrobe. They look great with any dark, solid-colour top and a pair of jeans for bottoms. Accessorize with a long-chained silver necklace as a finishing touch. Club Monaco’s fur vest this season is catching our eye, as well as ones from Urban Outfitters and H&M, so head down to the shopping district if you want to investigate this trend.

Thigh high socks: Shy away from the typical leggings-jeggings-jeans getup this season and try something a little different. Black tights with thigh high socks are a very fashion-forward spinoff to the typical bottom. Go subtle with muted shades, or go bold with louder colours to add some flavour to your outfit. Wear them underneath a dark skater dress, and you’ll be sure to turn heads!

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Curiosity delivers. |

STUDENT LIVING

| Tuesday November 13, 2012

By Jacqui Galbraith

Snickerdoodle Recipe Prep time: 20 minutes Cook time: 8-10 minutes Makes two dozen cookies Ingredients: ¼ cup butter, softened ¼ cup shortening ¾ cup white sugar 1 egg 1 tsp. vanilla extract 1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour 1 tsp. cream of tartar ½ tsp. baking soda Pinch of salt 1 tbsp. white sugar 1 tbsp. cinnamon Directions: 1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees

Fahrenheit.

2. Cream together butter, shortening, and ¾ cup white sugar in a large bowl. Once the mixture is smooth, stir in the egg and vanilla extract.

3. In a smaller bowl, stir together flour, cream of tartar, baking soda, and salt.

4. Add the dry mixture to the wet mixture in thirds, stirring until the two are completely combined. Add more flour to make the dough firmer, if necessary.

5. Shape spoonfuls of dough into balls, and place on an un-lined baking sheet.

6. Mix the tablespoon of sugar and cinnamon into a shallow dish.

Roll balls of dough in the dish until they are completely coated.

Place back on baking sheets, two inches apart.

7. Bake 8 to 10 minutes, until edges begin to turn golden-brown. Remove immediately from baking sheets and leave to cool.

8. If you’re looking for a twist on the classic, use the back of a teaspoon to make a small depression in each ball of dough before baking, and remove cookies from oven after 6 minutes. Put a bit of Nutella in each depression, and return to oven for an additional four minutes of baking. Remove and let cool completely.

student week

9

Snickerdoodles done right. (http://yourmomcallsyouwhat.blogspot.ca/)

of the

Q: If you could be anywhere else in the world right now, where would it be?

A: My cabin in the Alberta Foothills.

Q: What’s the one quality you admire most in others?

A: Being assertive.

Q: What’s your good luck charm?

A: Well, I did my undergrad at McGill, and [for] every single midterm or exam that I’ve ever written, I’ve worn the same either t-shirt or sweater. It’s mostly worked out.

Q: What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever received?

A: It’s a rhyme and I can’t remember— but I remember the notion behind it....

It says something about ‘you can never have everything, but you just got to enjoy what you have in the moment.’

Tim Apedaile 1L – First year Law (Alexandra Allaire/ McGill Tribune)

with Jacqui Galbraith

to taste good – and there’s a starter, a main course, and a dessert. And at each round, someone gets chopped; but they’re actual cooks, whereas I’m scraping by and microwaving most nights.

Q: What’s your go-to stressbuster?

A: Going for a walk.

Q: Which historical figure would you most want to get a drink with?

A: Well I guess it’s sad to say, but I guess Jack Layton is [now] kind of a historical figure. People said, in the last campaign, that he was the only Canadian politician that people wanted to go have a beer with. I think regardless of politics, that was really true. So I’d have a drink with Jack.

Q: What’s one piece of advice you’d give McGill students?

A: Balance your life. Don’t just do school, don’t just not do school.

Q: What’s your favourite Leonardo di Caprio movie?

A: I really wanted to see Titanic 3D when it was re-released, but no one wanted to see it with me. But I’m still going to say Titanic.

Q: If you were a course at McGill, which course would you be and why?

A: POLI 450, Peacebuilding. I’m in law school in part to look into dispute resolution and things like that. I think we need more of that.

Q: Rank the Spice Girls from favourite to least favourite.

A: Can I phone a friend on that one?

Can we just name them and I can make sure I’ve got them all?

Q: What reality TV show would you be perfect for?

A: Not because I’m actually a good chef, but Chopped is really cool. Sometimes, getting random ingredients in my kitchen is how I have to cook, because I never really plan things out, so I’m kind of forced to cook weird things…. [On the show,] they give you random ingredients, there’s four people, and then you have to make whatever you can out of them – it has

Q: Can you name all five of them?

A: Baby spice, Sporty spice, Posh spice, Scary spice… Red head… Ginger spice. In rank order? Whichever order they drove around the Olympic stadium in, I can’t tell you on that one.

Q: Name one book you think everyone should read.

A: A Short History of Progress by Ronald Wright. I read it a few years ago and it just always left an impression on me. It’s a quick read, so if you’re in

[school] and you can’t take on a novel, take on this instead.

Q: What Guinness World Record would you have the best shot at breaking?

A: One of those ones where it’s just will power, where it’s not a skill like balancing things on your head.

Q: Like doing something for the longest amount of time?

A: Yeah. Well, no, because even holding your hand in the air—people do it for like twenty years, so I would not… I guess one of the group ones, like McGill hosted. I could cut some fruit and make a fruit salad for a while.

Q: Describe the McGill law school in three words.

A: Challenging, welcoming, and transsystemic. I feel like that’s a bit of a cop out, but that’s what they pride themselves on. I actually debated between U of T and McGill, but I’ve just found everyone [at McGill] is really up to meet new people, and you know the faculty are very approachable. It feels like a small sort of family; the upper years are nice. I’ve enjoyed McGill a lot.

Q: Who would star in the story of your life?

A: Is it bad that I have a rehearsed answer for this one because I’ve said it before? Jake Gyllenhall, just because I want him to. Some people say actually John Krasinski, but I would say Jake Gyllenhaal.

Q: What’s the first thing you think of when I say Movember?

A: Men’s health stigmas. Because now everybody has a moustache, so it gives you a reason to talk about things you wouldn’t otherwise talk about.

Q: If you could say one thing to

Taylor Swift, what would it be?

A: Please don’t ever write a song about me.

Q: Name a stand-up comedian you consider completely over-rated.

A: Dane Cook. He was funny. When you’re 13 it’s funny, but I just don’t see who he actually appeals to. It’s humour that’s supposed to be for like 20-yearolds but it’s just... I don’t know.

Q: What’s your biggest pet peeve?

A: Slow walkers. If I’m in a fast-walking mood.

Q: Why are you an asset to McGill?

A: Being nominated for [my role in organizing a team for] Movember I guess is one thing, but I think it’s just important, whatever it is, to get people together on things. In this case, being new at law, it was just fun to get my friends to join the team but then also people I hadn’t met before. And now we’re a whole team, 30 people in the faculty, and so, you know, to have something outside of class to get together for, and it’s a good cause.

Q: How has captaining the Mo’tion to Dismiss Movember team been so far?

A: We got an anonymous thousand dollar donation... and we’ve raised almost three thousand dollars so far.

We’re trying to be the top-raising university team in Canada, or at least at McGill.

Q: Do you know if there are a lot of teams at McGill?

A: I’ve seen a number. The med team is right behind us. I don’t know exactly, across Canada they’ve raised four hundred thousand dollars already, and there’s probably hundreds of teams. At McGill there might be 15 or something.

How a passionate group of citizens saved the neighbourhood from demolition

By Carolina Millán Ronchetti

forgotten The

For many McGill students, a walk through the Milton-Parc area is part of the daily commute to class, so ingrained in their routine that they no longer notice its grey-stone facades, charming staircases, and painted wooden details. What most students don’t know is that this beloved neighbourhood and architectural heritage site was nearly demolished in the 1960s. It stands today thanks to the tireless efforts of a passionate group of community activists.

T

he Milton-Parc district was constructed in the 1860s with the opening of the Hotel-Dieu hospital, and was originally based around Sainte-Famille Street. Over the next 30 years, British merchants and Anglophones settled in the neighbourhood, building ornate two- and three-storey grey-stone houses that demonstrated the area’s character as an upper-middle-class neighbourhood.

Following the Second World War, its wealthier residents migrated to Westmount, Outremont, and other Montreal suburbs. Rising real estate prices led landlords to subdivide dwellings into smaller rent units, attracting low-income

Illustration of the closing of the overpass.

(Ben Ko / McGill Tribune)

families, elders, immigrants, and McGill’s growing student population.

Despite the deterioration of the neighbourhood, as Claire Helman writes in her book, The Milton-Park Affair, the area retained a particular charm, and many of its residents “liked the old, somewhat run-down neighbourhood for its surprising sense of community … and urban village atmosphere.”

The origins of the Milton-Parc Citizens’ Committee

The coexistence of these very different groups was threatened in the mid-1960s, when four companies began to buy the buildings in the six-block area of Hutchison, Pins, Sainte-Famille, and Milton. These purchases were part of a ‘re-development’ movement in North America in the ’60s that promoted the construction of high-rises to stimulate urban development.

In 1968, members of the University Settlement— an organization that provided services to lower-income residents—discovered that the four companies in fact belonged to a single, major real estate company: Concordia Estates Ltd. Between 1958 and 1968, this company had purchased 96 per cent of the residences in the six-block area.

At this time, it came to the residents’ attention that Concordia Estates Ltd. intended to demolish the houses in the area, recalls Lucia Kowaluk, current president of the MiltonParc Citizens’ Committee, and one of the residents who played a primary role in saving the neigbourhood.

“Florence Bailin, [one of the members of the University Settlement] said, ‘you know, there’s a company buying up all of this property and they’re going to tear it down—they’re going to throw people out,”’ Kowaluk says. “She convinced the staff and other people that the University Settlement had to do something about it. And they did. We formed the Milton-Parc Citizens’ Committee.”

Thus began the Milton-Parc Citizens’ Committee (MPCC), a grassroots response to the news that the area was going to be demolished and replaced with high-rises that would drastically change the urban environment and the demographic composition of the area. Residents were additionally concerned that lower-income families would be pushed off the area.

story of the Milton-Parc Community

In the following four years, members from the Citizens’ Committee and the University Settlement worked in a movement that aimed to protect the neighbourhood they called home.

“Those were four years of a tremendous amount of work,” said Kowaluk. “There were demonstrations, and many people came … Older people, who had never in their lives gone on a demonstration, marched with us to City Hall. That really big one was a few thousand people.”

The residents organized petitions, knocked on doors to raise awareness, demonstrated in the streets, and held festivals and events to rally the community to protect the architectural value of the neighbourhood. Community members began discussing, for the first time, the possibility of forming housing co-operatives in the area, but the project was not feasible at the time.

During this period, Concordia Estates Ltd. began the first phase of their project. Tenants in designated blocks were forced to move out, and their houses were demolished to make room for the construction of the La Cité complex and underground mall, as well as an office building and the hotel that is now McGill’s New Residence Hall.

In May 1972, a dozen citizens organized a sit-in and occupied the offices of Concordia Estates Ltd. on Parc Avenue in protest. A total of 56 people, including community members standing outside of the office in support of the occupation, were arrested by the police and charged with public mischief.

Kowaluk herself was not arrested, but her partner and many of her friends were. In February 1973, a jury trial acquitted the group, but the arrests left the community exhausted and discouraged. “[Many] felt that they had failed, that they had not succeeded at doing what they wanted to do,” Kowaluk says.

It seemed that the movement had lost the momentum and energy that it needed to protect the area.

A new opportunity Over the next few years, a mixture of economic factors created problems for the developers. The Ford Foundation, one of the project’s financial supporters, withdrew its funding in response to the negative attention generated by the MPCC’s demonstrations.

In addition, the construction linked to the 1976 Montreal Olympics led to an inflation of building material prices that decreased the value of the funds that Concordia Estates Ltd. had set aside to develop the remaining two thirds of the area.

In 1977, the community learned that Concordia Estates Ltd. was interested in selling the rest of the area, and residents explored options to acquire the land. During this period, the Trudeau government gave Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) the mandate of developing housing co-operatives. Aided by a grant to research the feasibility of turning the neighbourhood into co-ops, and with support from the city-wide heritage conservation movement, community members submitted an application to the CMHC. In May of 1979, the CMHC announced that it owned the property and that it would divide it into co-ops, renovate all the properties, and turn them into subsidized co-op housing.

The co-operatives The process of transferring the properties from CMHC to the residents was lengthy. It wasn’t until June 12, 1987 that the members of the houses in question signed a Declaration of Co-ownership. The buildings and the land underneath are

mcgill.ca

owned by a legal ‘person’ called the Communauté MiltonParc (CMP), which governs as an assembly.

According to Kowaluk, who is as also one of the founders of the CMP, the community decided that a single co-op would be unmanageable, and divided the properties into 15 co-ops and six non-profit organizations. The rent is heavily subsidized by the CMHC. “I pay my rent to the co-op—I’m a tenant but I’m also a co-owner,” Kowaluk explains. “As a tenant, I can expect some work from the co-op, the co-op can take care of some things for me. But basically, I have to take care of the house the way an owner takes care of it.”

There are several strict stipulations that come with being part of the co-op. The houses must be available for people with moderate incomes who need housing, and coop members must maintain the architectural qualities of the buildings’ facades. Co-owners cannot sell an individual building under any circumstances. In doing so, the cooperatives have enabled low-income residents to enjoy the proximity to Montreal’s downtown, while preserving the architectural value of the area.

“We preserved six square blocks of housing downtown, in a large city,” Kowaluk says of the movement’s legacy.

“This is not only of benefit to the people who live there, but a benefit to the city as a whole because residential housing keeps urban areas safe, comfortable, and secure.”

A student neighbourhood?

Kowaluk emphasizes the importance of having spaces for long-term residents of the area.

“That residential area is now threatened with people selling, moving out [and renting out spaces to students]— that destroys the community aspect of the neighbourhood,” she says. “I think that everybody loses when that happens.

The students may gain in the short run, McGill may gain in the short run, but in the long run, I think it takes away the safety of an area. The students all leave in May, and then, who moves in? It’s not healthy.”’

Kowaluk also rejects the common term ‘McGill Ghetto,’ used colloquially for over 15 years to describe the MiltonParc area, as a misnomer.

“We don’t use that word,” she says adamantly. “It’s not a ghetto and it doesn’t belong to McGill.”

Photos by Alexandra Allaire and Simon Poitrimolt

The Milton-Parc Citizens’ Committee today

The role of the Milton-Parc Citizens’ Committee (MPCC) has shifted from its original purpose of protecting the neighbourhood from demolition. Today, the focus is on facilitating the community’s continued well-being.

“It’s a normal citizens’ committee, and we deal with a lot of issues,” Hélène Brisson, vice president of the MPCC says. “Some have to do with our neighbours, the students, and the university. We’re also concerned about other issues that pertain to urban life, such as parking, snow removal, being in contact with our elected officials, and maintaining green spaces.”

In addition to facilitating communication between different sectors that impact the community, the MPCC has remained involved in other improvement projects in the area. Among those was the dismantling of an overpass at Pins and Parc, built in 1959.

Neighbourhood residents challenged the expansion of the overpass in the ’70s, and in the ’90s, 23 associations

BEFORE

demanded its complete dismantling, as there had been over 50 accidents in 1989 alone.

“It was not at all adapted to today’s number of cars— it was becoming dangerous because of the curves and the ramps,” Brisson says. “Mostly people from the co-ops across the street were active in getting the ramp closed because there had been very deadly accidents.”

The committee’s efforts gained momentum after a 1999 report found that it would cost four to six million dollars to extend the overpass’ life another 10 years, as the it was in constant need of repairs. In 2001, a survey of the area found that 85 per cent of the residents of Hutchison and Parc Ave. were in favour of closing the ramp onto Hutchison because of the accidents. The City initiated a consultation process, and Brisson herself sat in a Comité de Bon Voisinage to ensure that the residents’ concerns would be heard.

The demolition of the overpass began in June 2005, followed by the re-development of the Pins-Parc area. The freed-up land has allowed for expansion of the JeanneMance Park, in addition to other green spaces and bike paths on Parc Avenue.

AFTER

The demolition of the overpass increased green spaces and safety in the neighbourhood. (www.geocaching.com)

Science & technology SCIENCE

Naturopathic medicine: health care boon or bane?

Homeopathy debate to come to McGill at the end of the month Leigh Miller Science and Technology Editor Last week, SUS hosted its annual Graduate and Professional Schools Fair. Some students were surprised to see the Canadian College of Naturopathic Medicine and the Ontario College of Homeopathic Medicine listed next to the McGill University Department of Human Genetics and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Sloan School of Management.

The Canadian College of Naturopathic Medicine offers a four year degree in naturopathic medicine.

While the first year is devoted to basic medical sciences, the program continues with courses that include homeopathic medicine (a form of treatment that is made with dilute remedies), hydrotherapy (a range of therapies that involve bathing in hot or cold water), as well as health psychology and clinical nutrition.

While the college bills itself as a program that produces primary care providers—a health professional responsible for diagnosis and treatment­ —many are skeptical of this claim. Some critics simply ac-

cuse naturopaths of quackery, and others point to fact that the wide range of alternative therapies that fall under the banner of naturopathy are inconsistent at best, and dangerous at worst.

Naturopathic medicine deals with not only diet and lifestyle, but also treatments like crystal therapy­—a practice using the ‘healing energy’ of stones­ —and drinking magnetized water. Proponents of naturopathy retort that naturopathic treatments are vindicated by individual results.

The National Institutes of Health released a study last week showing that chelation therapy may make patients slightly less likely to experience adverse heart effects.

Chelation therapy, a treatment used to remove heavy metals from the bloodstream, has been recommended for a variety of ailments by some naturopathic doctors.

Many cardiologists cautioned against drawing strong conclusions from the study. Skeptics cited some odd results, such as a two-year time delay before patients showed improvement, and the fact that diabetic patients were inexplicably more

likely to benefit from the treatment.

Dr. Joe Schwarcz, director of the McGill Office of Science and Society (OSS), is a critic of naturopathy and homeopathy. Last spring, Dr. Schwarcz debated Dr. André Saine, the dean and main instructor of the Canadian Academy of Homeopathy, on the question of whether naturopathic practitioners should be considered primary care givers in Quebec. The debate—a video of which is available on the OSS website—became extremely heated, as a largely pro-naturopathy audience shouted rebuttals during some of Dr. Schwarcz’s presentation.

Dr. Schwarcz attacked what he deemed a lack of reason in the naturopathic practice. He drew on examples of obvious quackery to illustrate his assertion that a naturopathic education does not distinguish between good and bad medicine. One example was a treatment that involved wearing a magnetic cup to augment breasts.

Dr. Saine presented examples of successful naturopathic treatments, and argued that recognizing naturopathic practitioners as primary care providers would help to

The Canadian College of Naturopathic Medicine booth at the SUS grad school fair. (Simon Poitrimolt / McGill Tribune) regulate the profession and improve Canada’s health care system overall by providing desperately needed primary care providers.

While Dr. Saine proudly defined naturopathic medicine as the combination of modern practices and traditional wisdom, Dr. Shwarcz was adamant that medicine should

not be a question of wisdom or anecdote, but rigorous testing and a constantly evolving understanding based on scientific fact.

Dr. Schwarcz and Dr. Saine will meet again at the end of the month to debate homeopathy. The debate will take place Tuesday, Nov. 27 from 7pm-9pm in Leacock 132.

SCience

The tentative link between autism and genius

Small-scale study draws parallels between prodigal behaviour and autistic spectrum disorders Bharat Srinivasa Contributor Jacob Barnett is only 13, but he is set to become a paid atrophysics researcher at Indiana Unversity-Purdue University Indianapolis. He believes that he is close to disproving Einstein’s theory of relativity.

Matthew Savage is now 20, but he was solving complex mathematical problems at the age of six, and by the age of 12 had released five jazz albums. Although neither of their parents had experience in mathematics, astrophysics, or music, both of these wunderkinds developed talents in these fields at very young ages.

Both have been diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD).

ASD is an umbrella term for a wide number of developmental disorders. Most common amongst them are autism and Asperger’s syndrome, which are characterized by limited social interaction and communication, as well as repetitive patterns of behaviour.

A genius, on the other hand, is traditionally defined by extraordinarily natural intellectual or creative

ability.

On the surface, there doesn’t seem to be an overlap between ASD and genius. However, many have speculated that some of the world’s greatest geniuses—from Einstein to Newton, Michelangelo to Mozart— had autism spectrum disorders such as Asperger’s syndrome.

Can special insight or genius arise from the inability to form strong social connections? Do attention to detail and constant repetitive patterns of behaviour result in genius when applied to music or to memorizing mathematical formulae at a young age? Is there really a link between autism and genius? Not all geniuses have autism, and not all autistic individuals are geniuses.

A study by Joanna Ruthsatz and Jourdan Urbach, published June 2012 in the peer-reviewed journal Intelligence, examines eight child prodigies, ranging from six to 23 years of age. These prodigies had a variety of specialties, ranging from cooking to computer programming, music to mathematics. They were tested on the Stanford-Binet intelligence scale, a measure of both

verbal and non-verbal intelligence, and also took the Autism-Spectrum Quotient (AQ) test. The results were surprising: generally, the prodigies’ IQs were only slightly higher than normal, ranging from 108-142 (the US average is 100), but they all had excellent working memories—an ability to store and sort information—in the 99th percentile.

Of the eight prodigies, only three of the eight had been diagnosed with ASD, but nearly all had family members with ASD. When tested for autism, however, these prodigies consistently displayed only one autistic trait: attention to detail.

The origin of childhood genius is part of a long-standing debate over development: nature vs. nurture. Individuals like Savage and Barnett, as well as Mozart, appeared to have an inborn talent at music or mathematics.

Others are prodigies and geniuses because they worked at it.

In his book Outliers, Malcolm Gladwell provides numerous examples of individuals who became exceptionally skilled after working for 10,000 hours.

Autistic children appear to have an upper hand in both cases: their brains may be better designed for certain tasks (nature), and an affinity for constant repetition is an important trait in the 10,000 hours it requires to perfect a task (nurture).

However, many prodigies, such as Alexander Prior (who became conductor at the Seattle Opera at the age of 17) and Andre Agassi (who was playing tennis by the age of 2) that do not fit within the diagnoses of autism. The link between autism and genius remains ambiguous.

There has been a dramatic increase in ASD across the U.S. according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The National Epidemiologic Database also reports increases in at least three Canadian provinces. Current prevalence in the U.S. stands at one in 88 children, a 79 per cent increase in ASD since 2002. The reasons for this increase are not yet known, but they are at least partly due to increased knowledge and diagnosis by physicians. Whether this result in a generation with more geniuses remains to be seen.

Mozart may have had an ASD. (www2.bon.de)

Curiosity delivers. |

science & technology

This week in Compiled by Leigh Miller

research

13

| Tuesday, November 13, 2012

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY CALENDAR Cosmic fireworks: supernova explosions and their aftermaths

Stephen Ng will lecture at the next Public Astro Night, hosted by the faculty of astrophysics. The lecture will be followed by a lab tour, and star gazing if it’s a clear evening. Thursday Nov. 15, at 19:00 in Rutherford Physics Building Room 103. Admission is free.

Cutting edge lectures in science: tunnels, bridges, and scaffolds HIV Vaccine Researchers at the University of Western Ontario and Sumagen Canada are one step closer to creating a marketable HIV vaccine. Last week, Dr. Chil-Yong Kang successfully completed the first phase of human clinical trials. The vaccine SAV001-H, is a genetically modified, killed whole-virus vaccine.

First, the virus is genetically altered so that it does not cause disease, and then inactivated with chemicals and radiation before it enters the body.

The human immune system works by producing cells that recognize and destroy invaders. When you contract a new virus, it takes time for the body to react and the delay results in illness. However, the virus will be destroyed immediately the next time it enters your system. The closer a vaccine is to the real virus, the more effectively it will prepare the body to defend against that particular attack. The advantage of a whole-virus vaccine like SAV001-H is that it closely mimics the real HIV virus. Because HIV mutates quickly, vaccines containing only parts of the virus are unsuccessful in guarding against the disease.

Patients participating in the phase I trial were already HIV-positive, so the test only proved that the vaccine does not produce adverse side-effects. The next two phases of the trials will test whether the vaccine effectivly prevents HIV infection. Dr. Kang’s lab will conduct the next test phases on volunteer patients who are HIV negative, but who are at high risk of contracting the disease. The researchers will give half the group a placebo, and the other half the vaccine. After several years, researchers will take stock of how many from each group contracted the disease.

Spanish researchers are currently developing another HIV vaccine—MVA-B. Scientists there say that the MVA-B vaccine has the potential to reduce the disease to a chronic mild infection, on par with the herpes virus.

` ‘Quantum weirdness’ in

computer chips

As electronic devices like cell phones shrink every year, the computer chips inside them are shrinking too. Physicists at McGill and General Motors R&D recently published a study in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences on stretching the limit of this trend.

Computer chips have gotten so small that some circuits are merely atoms in thickness, and these thin strips of metal are subject to strange phenomena.

McGill researchers measured the changes in current flowing between two types of metal—tungsten and gold. As the connection between the metals got smaller and smaller, they found that current losses were unexpectedly high after a certain point—a sign that there are challenges ahead for ultra-tiny electronics.

In a recent interview with the McGill Reporter, McGill Professor Peter Grütter, who worked on the experimental side of the research, described the behaviour with an analogy of water flowing through a hose.

“If you keep the water pressure constant, less water comes out as you reduce the diametre of the hose. But if you were to shrink the hose to the size of a straw just two or three atoms in diameter, the outflow would no longer decline at a rate proportional to the hose crosssectional area; it would vary in a quantized ‘jumpy’ way.”

Researchers often find unusual behaviour as they zoom in on tiny processes; this phenomenon is called ‘quantum weirdness.’ Jesse Maaseen, who works with a McGill Physics research group, used cutting-edge electrical modeling to back up Grütter’s experimental results.

While there are ways to work around quantum weirdness, by carefully choosing materials for example, this research sheds light on a host of new challenges that will face computer designers as we enter the age of nanotechnology.

75-year-old track stars McGill researchers are in the process of studying elite athletes over the age of 75 for clues on how they have managed to maintain fitness. Tania Taivassalo and Russell Hepple, both associate professors in McGill’s Department of Kinesiology and Physical Education, are in the process of studying athletes like Olga Kotelko—a 93-year-old track star who holds 17 world records in the 90-95 age group. Taivassalo and Hepple will then measure the athletes’ aerobic power (VO2 max), bone density, fat content, and muscle strength and endurance, comparing them with non-athletes in the same age range. The researchers will also measure cognitive ability, hoping to build on recent research that suggests a link between exercise and mental longevity.

Taivassalo and Hepple are interested in discovering how athletes like Kotelko have managed to retain impressive muscle mass. Usually, muscle fibres and the neurons that activate them deteriorate as part of the aging process. It’s possible that Kotelko’s body has a natural resistance to this deterioration that could provide important advances in antiaging medicine. Using samples of thigh muscles, the researchers will be testing the participants’ mitochondrial function (mitochondria are responsible for energy production at the cellular level), as well as their fat content. Researchers are also combining the athletes’ blood serum with non-athlete muscle, to see if it will improve regeneration.

Athletes from around the world will be participating in the ongoing study, and Taivassalo and Hepple are also looking for non-athletes to continue their work.

Photos from left to right: a syringe (blog.timesunion.com), a wormhole (quantumweird. wordpress.com), Olga Kotelko. (canadianmasters.ca)

Jacques Hurtubise will lecture on some exciting and surprising aspects of mathematics. Audience members need not fear a lack of mathematical background as Hurtubise will compensate with “a small amount of hand waving.” Thursday Nov. 15, 18:00 in the Redpath Museum. Admission is free.

McGill Energy Project: hot chocolate and TED

The McGill Energy Project, founded by students, is an attempt to focus the resources of interdisciplinary research at McGill on reducing the University’s energy expenditure. Join the group for two inspirational TED talks, information about getting involved, and free hot chocolate (BYOMug). Thursday Nov. 15, from 18:00 to 19:00 in Leacock 219.

Admission is free.

Freaky Friday: Supervolcanoes and the future

John Stix will lecture on how volcanoes can wreak havoc in the modern world, like the 2010 eruption in Iceland that crippled airtravel across Europe. The lecture will be followed by the science fiction disaster flick, 2012. Friday Nov. 16, from 17:00 to 20:30 in the Redpath Museum.

Admission is free.

– Leigh Miller

The tribune is now accepting applications for

opinion and

sciTECH editors.

Interested applicants should send a cover letter, cv, and three writing samples to editor@mcgilltribune.com

by Nov. 19.

arts & entertainment theatre

Pitfalls of generosity; or why best friends have their own credit cards Tuesday Night Café Theatre revives one of Shakespeare’s most obscure plays, The Life of Timon of Athens

Alcebiades (Harrison Collett). (Alexandra Allaire / The McGill Tribune) Zoe Power Contributor Front of house are still serving up interval drinks and the audience are taking their seats as, mere metres in front of me, an Athenian noblewoman—whose tribal dress from the previous act has transformed itself into a Dobby-the-house-elf-esque

toga—buries her sobbing form into the depths of the imposing construction that stands centre stage.

This is not your classic Shakespeare production. Rather, this is Shakespeare à la Tuesday Night Café (TNC) Theatre—a production set to challenge even the staunchest exponents of the ‘Shakespeare-isold-and-dull-and-belongs-in-high-

school-lit-class’ tradition. What TNC achieves with The Life of Timon of Athens is a dynamic reworking that brings to the fore the honest profundity and contemporary relevance of what is, unfortunately, one of the Bard’s lesser-known works.

The play is bleak and challenging, even by Shakespearean standards. Timon is an Athenian noble (nobleman, in the original) who treats her ‘friends’ with unrivalled kindness, offering patience, praise, loans, expensive gifts, and endless entertainment without asking or expecting anything in return.

She lives for the joy of giving and has no doubts that her less well-off friends would do the same were their respective situations reversed. Indeed, she states this belief repeatedly and even laments the distance which her superior wealth creates between them.

The play opens with scenes of her benevolence: lavish banquets and touching speeches on the beauty of friendship—until she is informed that her constant generosity has bankrupted her. She is subsequently

confronted with a crowd of debtors demanding repayment. A little embarrassed but unafraid, Timon confidently turns to the kindness of her ‘friends’—who refuse, one by one, to offer her the slightest degree of sympathy or assistance. Driven to despair, she shuns Athens, fleeing into the woods to live out her hateful rage against mankind alone. Cue the Dobby outfit and the emotionallycharged tail-end of the play.

The demands of near-constant stage presence—all but lead lady Emily Murphy appear as multiple, often drastically different characters—hardly show. The performance manages to maintain a high level of energy, even an impressive dose of subtle humour.

The production’s reworking is not limited to the camouflage set— dialogue is altered, scenes blurred, and genders reversed to maintain pace and interest throughout. Some of the bleaker scenes are supplemented with a musical soundtrack that, while minimal, goes a long way toward creating depth of atmosphere. This also reinforces the

passion of what may otherwise be quite inaccessible dialogue (this is Shakespeare, after all). The technical quarters also make effective use of lighting to create drama and guide audience attention, sometimes necessary given the proximity of the performers.

Overall, Timon is a highly polished performance, in which technical production, energy, and cast finesse combine to produce a refreshingly real, and engaging portrayal of a classic piece. Come prepared to be shocked, shaken, and confronted with mankind at his ugliest. But also come ready to be amazed at the strength and versatility of TNC’s talented cast and crew. The skill and passion behind this play allow the story itself to shine, and the treatment it is given here may be enough to make you fall (hopefully, fall back) in love with the genius of the English canon’s most famed man.

Life of Timon of Athens runs Nov 7-10 and 14-17 at 8 p.m., Morrice Hall (3485 rue McTavish). Tickets are $10 general, $6 for students.

visual art

Frances Foster: dream catcher extraordinaire

Selective Memory is a multimedia trip where fleeting forms meet in the realm of the psyche Joanna Schacter Contributor Frances Foster’s paintings are a look through the eyes of another—an exploration of mind and memory. The Montreal-born artist and Dawson college alumna has received much praise for her work, on display in U.S. and Canadian collections throughout the past 20 years.

Her solo painting exhibit Selective Memory marks Foster’s return to Montreal.

Selective Memory showcases Foster’s talent for conveying the ephemeral. The exhibit’s title alludes to Foster’s statement that her work is a “study in memory and

dream fragments threaded back together.” Drawing upon old memories, dreams, and daydreams, the exhibition explores the residue and impressions of past events, kept on as snatches of image and feeling.

Like half-forgotten dreams, Foster’s paintings are blurred, subdued, fragmented, but oddly and strikingly beautiful. Greens and blues dominate, undercut by neutrals that ground the fleeting images presented by the artist. Forms—faces, heads, bodies, landscapes—emerge from the colours like tendrils emerge from steam. It seems effortless, and as dream-like as the artist intends.

Oil paint is supplemented by beads, gold leaf, feathers, jewel

fragments, and glass. In addition, a number of techniques are put to outstanding use, adding to the show’s intriguing nature. Foster employs impasto, the technique of thickly layering paint to add a 3D effect, sometimes sparingly, sometimes with abandon. The palette knife seems to be one of her tools of choice, seen in her application of paint to imitate plaster. With thick and smooth brush strokes, as well as cracked paint, Foster adds to the impression of ancient, forgotten memory.

Though all her paintings are beautiful and engaging, one is particularly striking: blues, pinks, and yellow-greens are blended together to bring to mind a Renaissance

painting of sky and cloud near sunset. A small bald head, with empty background for eyes, thickly and Impressionistically pasted on with khaki paint and dabs of gold, adorns the centre of the canvas. The empty eyes stare out at the viewer, the implied nose and mouth stubbornly set.

A feather is placed to the right of the head, stark white in contrast to the rest of the painting.

Foster’s show is impressive: multi-media, multi-dimensional, multi-faceted, as well as deeply, remarkably, and gracefully layered.

She takes a great deal of the good in contemporary art and makes it even more emotive, even larger than life. Yet she also translates it into

something intrinsically human and makes it accessible, understandable, and meaningful. Everyone can relate to these paintings and that feeling of déja-vu, of trying to desperately grasp on to the memory of last night’s dream the moment you wake up, of trying so hard to remember that one little detail that someone said happened last night. Foster takes those feelings, paints them, and then shares them.

Selective Memory runs until Jan. 11 at the Wilder & Davis Gallery (237 Rachel est). Free admission.

could be good comedy Mike Delamont at the Mainline Theatre

theatre Di Komedyantn (The Sunshine Boys)

music Hip Hop Karaoke at Le Belmont

Dance Aszure Barton & Artists: Busk & Awáa

music HODIE (This Day)

Comedian Mike Delamont, who has sold out performances from coast to coast, brings a trio of shows to Montreal this week. Mike Delamont: Husky Panda, as well as the acclaimed God Is a Scottish Drag Queen and its sequel, will enjoy a four-day run.

Yiddish is dwindling, but the Segal Centre is keeping the language alive with its Dora Wasserman Yiddish Theatre series.

This week, viewers have a chance to see Neil Simon’s comic tale of two estranged vaudevillians brought together once more, translated to Yiddish.

Every third Thursday of the month, amateur rappers and karaoke buffs converge on Le Belmont. Pick a song from the event’s playlist or send your favourite track to the organizers, and rock the mic like Run, DMC, or Jam-Master Jay.

The renowned Aszure Barton, former Alberta native, brings two dynamic dance productions to Montreal this week. With Busk attracting worldwide acclaim, this is a rare chance to see one of contemporary dance’s master at work.

Musica Orbium, together with the I Medici di McGill Orchestra (McGill Medicine’s own staff and students) and the Concerto Della Donna women’s choir, presents several choral pieces, including Ralph Williams’ HODIE (This Day).

Nov. 15, Le Belmont (4483 St-Laurent Nov. 16 and 17, Theatre Maisonneuve Nov. 18, 7:30 p.m. Notre-Dame-deNov. 14-17, Mainline Theatre (3997 St- Nov. 13, Segal Centre (5170 Côte-Ste- Blvd.). Doors at 10 p.m., admission is (Place-des-Arts, de Maisonneuve Blvd). Lourdes Church (4949 De Verdun St.) $10 after 11 p.m.

Tickets starting from $30.60.

Student and unemployed tickets are $20.

Laurent Blvd.) Single tickets $17.

Catherine). Tickets starting from $12.

Curiosity delivers. |

arts & entertainment

| Tuesday, November 13, 2012

title

film

15

Bond is back: the man behind the code Subhead name

Sam Mendes resurrects 007; girls, gadgets, and guns galore Emma Hambly Contributor Skyfall, the 23rd entry into the 50-year-old Bond film franchise, brings the spy hero back to life. It features both a restored Bond (Daniel Craig), back for more action after being declared dead, and offers a revival of the classic 007 formula. If 2006’s Casino Royale was the origin of a 21st century Bond, director Sam Mendes’ Skyfall is a resurrection of the iconic tropes (The villain! The gadgets! The girls!) but with modernity, depth, and realism.

After a disastrous mission in Turkey, MI6 presumes Bond dead.

Our hero, however, survives both bullet wounds and falls, to investigate an explosion at British Secret Service headquarters. What unfolds next is a typical Bond plot: an action-jammed, international mystery with plenty of misdirection. But this time, the threat is internal. MI6 leader M (Judi Dench) is under government duress; and villain Raoul Silva (Javier Bardem)—deformed, deranged, and devious as per Bond

standards—is a former Secret Service agent gone rogue. Bardem’s performance is utterly captivating; he manages to make Silva horrifying, yet somehow sympathetic. Silva is out for M’s blood, making his revenge plans far less threatening to the globe than past Bond villains, but he is no less sinister. The name of the game in Skyfall is cyberterrorism, prompting the return of Bond tech-master Q, this time an internet-raised youngster with disdain for old-school spy work and exploding pens.

Of course, there is no Bond film without a Bond girl. Like many other successful entries in the franchise, Skyfall gives Bond two tempting ladies with whom to tango. Naomie Harries plays the sexy and spunky Eve, an MI6 agent and Bond’s sometimes-partner. Certainly not a passive character, she holds Bond’s life in her hands more than once.

Bérénice Marlohe, as Sévérine, is intriguing and vulnerable, though perhaps done away with too soon.

All James Bond films open with ambitious title sequences—a full

song and psychedelic imagery. Skyfall does not disappoint. The eponymous title song, sung by Adele, is moody, theatrical, and retro, recalling classic Bond songstress Shirley Bassey. The accompanying animation—bloody, haunting, and beautiful—sets the tone for the film’s action.

Skyfall presents viewers with some of the most breathtaking visuals to have graced the franchise to date. Turbulent elemental scenes of water, fire, and fog; fireworks and dragon lanterns in Macau; and an eerie ruined island fortress form plot pieces and backdrops. One of the more memorable fight scenes is obscured, filmed entirely in graphic silhouette.

With all its suavity, glamour, and intrigue, Skyfall shows the emptiness and pain behind the 007 blueprint. Skyfall’s Bond is not beaten, but almost broken. After returning to MI6 he fails his physical, and can barely shoot a static target. James Bond is a scarred and bruised shell fuelled by too much drink, too many pills, disposable women, and desper-

Author

Daniel Craig as James Bond. (james-bond-skyfall-movie-trailer.blogspot.com) ate patriotism. Daniel Craig’s brutal, yet human performance reveals the man behind the code name.

The combination of iconic features with a modern, qualified understanding makes Skfyall one of the best films in the Bond canon. It is a rollicking action movie as well

as a character study. It has all the fun and charm of a Connery film with a modern sensibility. Skyfall resurrects Bond—making the world’s favourite spy franchise into something deeper than a guilty pleasure, but without sacrificing any of its humour, wit, or action.

visual art

The introspective and the aesthetic

Acclaimed Art Mûr gallery showcases versatility and dynamism in seasonal exhibit Lauren Wray Contributor The temptation to force similarities is there, but the styles and aesthetics seem decidedly different.

Upstairs, blurred dreamlike photographs of the Danish landscape are in a room adjacent to motorcycle-inspired sculptures. A floor below, photographs with sharp geometric angles hang across from colour-coded diagrams with a sociopolitical focus. Similarities between these four pieces are few and far between.

“These are four solo shows in one single space,” notes Ève De Garie-Lamanque, a curator at the Montreal gallery, Art Mûr. Though its November exhibition might be without a unifying theme, all four pieces adhere to the gallery’s general philosophy—that is, aesthetics alone do not suffice; art also needs to provoke thought.

This is particularly clear in Nicolas Grenier’s exhibition: Proximities. His oil paintings explore the dystopia in society by showcasing the absurdity behind its current structure. After spending four years in Los Angeles, Grenier grew in-

Brandon Vickerd - Chopper. (K. Jennifer Bedford / Courtesy of Art Mûr) creasingly aware of the city’s strong balanced community.” The diagram social contrast. His studio was lo- serves as a legend to a larger oil cated in Skid Row, where the visible painting of urban arrangements. The presence of a large homeless popula- desolate landscape guides the viewtion served as a stark contrast to the er’s attention to the shell and structure of society, leading the viewer to city’s more affluent regions.

“Many people associate L.A. question the ideas of integration and with Hollywood and celebrities,” mindless adherence to the current comments Grenier. “They often societal framework.

Next to Grenier’s work is Jakub overlook the working class.”

In his piece, We Enjoy the Prox- Dolejš’ The London Set. His phoimity of Others, a colour-coded dia- tographs hold an enigmatic quality: gram depicts the division of society sharp angles composed of glass, through political affiliation. Though mirrors, lights, and occasional chrothe categorization seems neatly or- matic bursts all twist perceptions. ganized, the piece’s irreconcilable Photographs like Smoke and Mirtone mocks the strain of integrating rors hint at deception, but Dolejš a broad socio-political spectrum into suggests that his work is more about a simple diagram to create “a well empowering the viewers. His im-

ages carry clues to render his work less abstract and more contextual, but the opus requires the viewer to unravel its mystery. The observers themselves choose what to see, depending on their mental and physical state.

Ewa Monkia Zebrowski’s en passant also features photographs, though largely of a different nature.

In contrast to Dolejš’ strict, static structures, Zebrowski endows her images with a natural fluidity and dreamlike movement that resemble distant memories. Soft, blurred hues of the Northern Danish landscape mimic a half-painting half-photographic appearance, creating an image that seems equal parts memory and reality. Time, travel, and impressions all merge to create a sense of self against barren and powerful countryside scenery. Pinned to the wall on thin paper, her photographs evoke a different feeling from those of Dolejš’ that rest behind shiny glass and dark frames.

In addition to paintings and photographs, Art Mûr’s exhibition also includes a sculptural installment.

Brandon Vickerd’s Chopper features sculptures inspired by the mechanics of the motorcycle. Having

shared a studio with a custom bike shop, Vickerd noticed how many of the bikes remained “unrideable, yet beautiful.” The artist explained “in art, there’s often the debate between form versus function.” Vickerd’s work mainly centers on the former, with a whisper of the latter. The bare essentials of his abstract works diverge from their motorcycle origins, but the metals, steels and car paint still possess a dormant speed and power reminiscent of the sculptures’ ancestry. The sleek elegance of his work captures a craftsmanship that, in our age of disposables, seems too often forgotten.

With four distinctively different styles, Art Mûr’s November exhibition caters to diverse artistic tastes. However, each show relies on a combination of thought and sight that supports Art Mûr’s philosophy.

The enjoyment of the exhibition not only depends on the visual experience, but on the questions and ideas that each work stimulates.

Art Mûr’s fall/winter exhibition line-up runs until Dec. 22 (5826 rue St. Hubert).

16

Tuesday, November 13, 2012 |

Album

arts & entertainment

| Curiosity delivers.

opera

reviews

The Coup Sorry to Bother You

Donald Fagen Sunken Condos

Anti-

Reprise

The outspoken, openly communist The Coup did not produce their sixth album, Sorry to Bother You, with easy-listening in mind.

Rather than concerning themselves with typical hip-hop mainstays like money and women, The Coup use music to disseminate ideology The album keeps its distance from the over-produced hits often popular today, and offers a refreshing escape from mainstream radio.

Sorry to Bother You doesn’t stick to conventional ideas of rap. The Coup’s front man and producer, Boots Riley, chose unusual instrumentation to vary the band’s genreblending pieces. The album has a wide variety of musical contributors as well, from instrumentalists to groups like Das Racist.

“The Magic Clap” uses a signature clapping rhythm to drive speedy lyricism. The song’s original touch, however, comes with the accordion in the background. “Strange Arithmetic” is a catchy combination of synth and repetitive verse, forming Riley’s call for teachers to show students “how to fight for what’s needed.” “Your Parents’ Cocaine” would resemble a cheeky schoolyard chant with its heavy employment of kazoos if it wasn’t criticizing the aristocratic one per cent. “Violet,” on the other hand, is a more low-key affair. It feels intimate, and the call and response between Riley and Silk-E, alongside its addition of classical string instruments, makes it an interlude for the rest of the album. Another highlight is “The Guillotine” which has a memorable melody and enticing group chanting.

Sorry to Bother You’s title itself is, perhaps, a nod to listeners’ reactions to the album. As a creative effort, it dutifully delivers its message over, and over again. In combination with its heavy political views, however, it could alienate or attract on its views alone. Either way, one can’t help but notice that Riley wants more than to sell records.

—Alex Kpeglo-Hennessy

If one had to sum up Donald Fagen’s latest offering, Sunken Condos, in a single word, it would unquestionably be ‘smooth.’ From the funky five-minute opener “Slinky Thing,” the album establishes a mood of sultry reverie that holds (although admittedly not always so effectively). Nevertheless, the nine tracks constitute an accomplished, confidently suave release .

The album’s strength is Fagen’s lucid lyricism. He avoids the abstract un-interpretability of some former works, instead offering a series of insightful witticisms and enjoyable allusions (“Memorabilia” is a standout on this front).

Some tracks, “Slinky Thing” notable amongst them, exude the chilled-out jazz ambiance one may have come to expect from a Fagen album. The proficiency with which this is accomplished legitimizes the release as an evolution, rather than a mere continuation, of Fagen’s work.

Others—try “Miss Marlene” for a falsetto-heavy example—go further toward stretching the man’s repertoire, in this case through their dramatic emotional intensity.

‘Smooth’ is, however, by no means synonymous with interesting.

The album, while remaining innocuously enjoyable throughout, falls short of the originality or creativity that one hopes for, and expect, from such a mature and accomplished musician. The end result is somewhat uninspired, and comes across as perfunctorily lacklustre more than flawlessly mellow.

Despite this, Sunken Condos is an enjoyable and thoroughly listenable work from a man, whose impact on today’s music scene is undeniable. It’s worthy of at least a few spins, if only to experience just how ‘groovy’ a 64-year old can be.

— Zoe Power

The phantom menace, Wagner style

Opera captures the haunting love and despair of The Flying Dutchman

Senta (Maida Hundeling) charms the audience with a soaring Montreal debut. (Yves Renaud / Opéra de Montréal) Julia Donahue Contributor Written in 1841, The Flying Dutchman tells the story of a man condemned to roam the sea for all eternity, until he finds a woman who remains faithful to him until her death. Paired with a celebrated musical score, this dark love story requires virtuosic performances from the entire cast. Opéra de Montréal rose to this challenge with a group of extraordinarily talented soloists whose pronounced level of musical ability and acting prowess are rarely seen in the world of opera.

As the curtains rise at the beginning of Act I, the audience is confronted with a world that appears tipped on its side. The large set rests at an angle inclined from the stage, creating the illusion of a boat rolling on the sea. This unconventional staging works well for the opera’s visual aspect; the chorus members stumble and fall over each other on the unbalanced stage, creating a believable portrait of the sea torrents.

The confines of the set, however,

hamper the performance’s acoustics.

Just as the pit orchestra is muffled when located below stage, the soloist’s voices are smothered by the box wherein they perform. As a consequence, the audience pines for the glowing and sonorous acoustics characteristic of the hall, and the soloists struggle with projection.

Soprano Maida Hundeling, however, remains one of the few cast members unaffected by the constraints of the set. While the Dutchman (Thomas Gazheli) struggles to project his voice above the orchestra, Hundeling, as the phantom sailor’s love interest Senta, has a voice that resonates across the hall in all registers. From her dark and rich low notes, to her sparkling highs, she delivers a masterful and convincing performance, easily the highlight of the evening.

Throughout the opera, Gazheli walks with the weight of a man who has endured a thousand years of suffering, and his voice quavers under the heavy burden of the Dutchman’s sentence. While he proves to be a sympathetic character, Gazheli’s

performance feels tired at times, and slows the pace of the piece. However, in comparison to Erik (Endrik Wottrich), a hot-blooded huntsman in love with Senta, Gazheli’s minimalist acting draws the audience’s attention. Gazheli captures the Dutchman’s lack of hope for salvation and his fatigue after years of torment, making for a convincing and powerful performance.

In working around their stage set as well as the constraints of time, Opéra de Montréal is forced to make certain adaptations to the ending of the original opera. Although this modern interpretation may seems abrupt to the unsuspecting audience member, the performance was compelling and artistically refined—nothing short of Opéra de Montréal’s global reputation.

The Flying Dutchman can be seen at Place des Arts, Salle WilfridPelletier, Nov. 13, 15, and 17 at 7:30 p.m. Tickets from $50.

Read our blog. Now. www.mcgilltribune.com/ae

19

SPORTS

HOCKEY — Martlets 3, Concordia 1

Defending their No.1 ranking: Martlets stay perfect McGill extends winning streak to eight games; Weckman key in victory Remi Lu Contributor The Martlets entered McConnell Arena Saturday afternoon looking to defend their No.1 ranking in Canada and their conference-best 6-0 start to the season. In the end, the Concordia Stingers proved to be no contest for McGill, as the Martlets prevailed 3-1.

McGill jumped out to a quick 1-0 start, thanks to a goal by Leslie Oles only a minute into the game.

The Martlets continued the aggression on the offensive end, which resulted in a lopsided 16-1 shots on goal differential at the end of the first period.

This assertive Martlet play continued into the second frame.

McGill relentlessly challenged the Concordia defence. After a number of narrowly missed opportunities, the Martlets once again converted.

Mélodie Daoust fired a shot past Stingers’ goaltender, Carolanne Lavoie-Pilon—who faced 41 shots in the contest—with three minutes left in the period. Head Coach Peter Smith expressed satisfaction with his team’s offensive attack in the game.

“We wanted to move the puck, and we wanted to get lots of pucks toward the net. I thought we did a good job in doing that,” Smith said.

“Their goaltender made some good saves … but we generated a lot of scoring chances, which is the most important thing.”

Just a minute into the third period, Concordia’s Alyssa Sherrard capitalized on a powerplay that car-

Mélodie Daoust celebrates with her teammates after scoring a goal. (Luke Orlando / McGill Tribune) ried over from a roughing penalty in the second frame. The Stingers continued to trade blows with McGill, but the Martlets sealed the game on their own powerplay, thanks to a goal from first-year standout Gabrielle Davidson. She scored her sev-

THIRD MAN IN ‘Happy Hour’ on a Tuesday night—not exactly the time you would expect to pay $3 cover at Gert’s. But our thirst had to be quenched, and we couldn’t walk much further. My friend and I were in search of a simple study break and an escape from the ‘McLennan Madness.’ As we ordered our first pints, it became very clear that we had stumbled into something much bigger.

It was election night in the United States. Though we knew the circumstances, the abundance of Uncle Sam top hats did serve as an ever-constant reminder. The scene was reminiscent of any Montreal bar on the night of a Canadiens-Leafs game. Only this time, the blue jer-

enth goal of the year with less than eight minutes left to play. The Martlets applied further pressure after some careless Concordia turnovers, and preserved the 3-1 lead.

Throughout the contest, McGill appeared to be a cohesive unit

on both sides of the puck, executing clean passes on offence and playing strong defence on the other end.

Coach Smith lauded his team’s effort after the game, highlighting the play by fourth-year goalie Andrea Weckman, and forward Kim Ton-That.

“Andrea Weckman didn’t get a ton of shots, but when she did, she made some real good saves. She brought a lot of confidence to the team,” Smith said. “I [also] thought Kim Ton-That was terrific … she was involved in the play in all three zones … [she] did a real good job. I thought we got a real good effort by everybody out there.”

Second-year defender Brittney Fouracres also stressed the importance of McGill’s team-oriented approach to the game.

“I think that it was a strong game for everybody. Having that support, and the forwards and goalie behind you, makes it easier to play well and strong, and helps towards the victory,” she said.

The Martlets improved to 7-0 on the season, and solidified their spot atop the RSEQ leaderboard.

Ton-That was adamant that her team would stay focused despite dominating the competition in the early season. “[Coach Smith has] always really focused on the fact that we should take it one game at a time, so that’s [our] focus,” Ton-That said.

“Obviously we want to have a longterm approach to things, but in order to have a really good long-term approach you have to take it day by day. So that’s what we’re really focused on.”

The Martlets extended their undefeated streak again on Sunday afternoon, taking down Ottawa 8-3. They look to continue their hot streak against the Montreal Carabins at McConnell Arena on Nov. 17.

Beers, cheers, and tears: that’s politics

seys far outnumbered the red.

I got the sense that everyone was there for the same reason. Everyone wanted to celebrate something. The parallels between ‘Election Night in America’ and ‘Hockey Night in Canada’ were uncanny.

Attendees were rocking their team colours, decking themselves out in face paint, and waving their banners with pride.

The bar was decidedly in favour of the Barack Obama, erupting as though a goal were scored every time CNN projected Electoral College votes for the incumbent. Mitt Romney supporters were not shy either, and they huddled together like fans of the visiting team, and tried to

make their voices heard in the leftleaning crowd.

Soon, the line to get into Gert’s stretched out the basement doors of the SSMU building onto McTavish. It may have been my imagination, but as Obama’s lead grew, you could faintly hear someone starting the ‘Olé, Olé, Olé’ chant. In fact, the event started to seem incomplete without a tailgate party and the Goodyear blimp.

While the sports parallels continued to mount, one stark contrast began to emerge: politics is drastically more consequential than sports.

In both cases, roughly 50 per cent of the audience goes home happy.

However, the result of an election

can present serious ramifications in peoples’ lives. For the 50 per cent who go home defeated—or 47.9 per cent in this case—there are no more games left on the schedule. This is not a best-of-seven series. There is no rematch. This is of quantifiable importance.

It is because of its profound impact that politics can be so divisive.

Our differences of opinion over the Red Sox and Yankees, the Lakers and Celtics, or the Leafs and Canadiens don’t ultimately decide who we are as human beings. How we take care of the poor and the elderly, wage war on other nations, or utilize natural resources—these choices are far more telling of our identity than

whether our favourite teams win or lose. Just don’t remind me of that during the fourth quarter of the Super Bowl.

In the end, that is why people love sports so much. Sport allows us to pour our blood, sweat, and tears into something so trivial, yet seemingly so significant. We can despise the logo on someone’s sweater without holding any disdain for the man or woman wearing it. We can laugh, cry, fight, and make up, all in twoand-a-half hours—then do it all over again the next night. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said of politics— but it was nice to see us try.

—Trevor Drummond

18

Tuesday, November 13, 2012 |

sports

| Curiosity delivers.

CROSS COuntry — CIS Championships

McGill runs to respectable finish at Nationals Three Martlets finish in top 50; Guelph Gryphons sweep titles Jeff Downey Sports Editor On Saturday, members of McGill men’s and women’s cross country teams participated in the 2012 national championships at Western University. The event featured 17 female and 18 male teams from across the country. When the dust settled, the Martlets had finished seventh overall in their 5km race, while the Redmen, who ran 10km, finished 17th.

Guelph University’s Andrea Seccafien took home the gold and the women’s Athlete-of-the-Year award with a blistering time of 17:23. The Martlets’ top finisher was Jessica Porfilio, who capped off a strong campaign, and placed 24th with a time of 18:16. She was followed shortly thereafter by teammate Sarah McGuaig at 18:45, good for 39th place. Julien Flynn rounded out the top fifty performances for McGill, crossing the line at 18:51 in 44th place.

Guelph’s men and women teams claim their seventh and eighth straight CIS championship, respectively. (Geoff Robins) The seventh-place finish may come as a slight disappointment for the Martlets, who entered the tournament as the fifth-ranked team.

However, the real story of the championships was the Guelph Gryphons, who claimed the top two spots, as well as an additional three in the top

eight, en route to their record eighthstraight banner in women’s cross country. Joining Guelph in the top three were the McMaster Marauders and the Western Mustangs.

Over their season, the Martlets won three meets. The first came at the McGill Open, and the others at

the Vert-et-Or, and University of New Brunswick Invitational, respectively. In addition, they claimed fourth at the Western International.

Guelph runners stole the show once again, this time on the men’s side. They claimed second, third, and fourth place. This performance

ensures them another national banner, to add another to their previously established CIS record total of seven straight national championships. Individually, University of Regina star Kelly Wiebe dominated, claiming first place in a course record time of 30:21, beating the previous record set in 1997 by 36 seconds. Unsurprisingly, he claimed the men’s Athlete-of-the-Year nod.

For the Redmen, rookie Benjamin Raymond from Laval ran to a team best 56th place finish, coming across the line at 33:27. Rookie Charles Litwin joined Raymond in the top 100, finishing 91st.

The Redmen put forth strong performances all year. They finished second at the McGill Open, and recorded a pair of fifths in the Sherbrooke and New Brunswick meets.

The exciting, young speed of Raymond and Litwin bodes well for the future of the team, as they will be back next year for their sophomore campaigns.

can’t beat us? Join us. sports@mcgilltribune.com

Photos by Remi Lu, Sam Reynolds, Simon Poitrimolt

Sports swimming — RSEQ CUP 3

Bielby, Renaud, Benoit, De Broux win Four Medals each Steven Bielby and Valerie De Broux swam past the competition on Saturday afternoon, as the Redmen and Martlets competed in the third RSEQ Cup at the Université de Montreal’s CEPSUM pool.

The Redmen placed third out of six teams, finishing with 110 points.

Bielby’s four medals (three gold, one silver) earned him Swimmer-of-theMeet honours. The Redmen had a few other standout performances in Pierre-Alexandre Renaud (three gold, one bronze) and Marc-Andre Benoit (two gold, one silver, one bronze), who continue their strong campaigns.

For the third meet in a row, the Martlets finished behind the Montreal Carabins with 107.5 points. Five other Martlets joined De Broux with multiple medals, including freshman Kathleen Caldwell (two silver, one bronze).

The swim teams head to Halifax this weekend to compete in the AUS Invitational at Dalhousie University.

briefs

By Steven Lampert and Adam Sadinsky

basketball — Redmen 80, Laval 58

Redmen open season with Dominating Performance After a wildly successful preseason, the Redmen continued their success in the regular season opener. McGill blew out the Laval Rouge-et-Or 80-58 in their first RSEQ contest of the year.

Sophomore shooting guard Vincent Dufort led way for the Redmen, registering a double-double with 16 points and 10 rebounds. Adrian Hynes-Guerny also hit double digits, with 15 points in his McGill debut. The Redmen dominated the glass on defence, amassing 11 more boards than the Rouge-et-Or could

muster. This statistic might have been inflated due to Laval’s spotty shooting. The team only hit 37.9 per cent, while McGill made nearly 50 per cent. The Redmen also found success from downtown, going nine for 21 from beyond the arc. McGill will travel across the city to clash against UQAM and Concordia, before opening up the home schedule against Bishop’s on Nov. 28.

basketball — Martlets 52, Laval 49

Sylla scores 17 Pts., grabs 14 REB. in debut; Martlets win close opener Five fourth quarter points were just enough for the Martlets on Saturday night, as they opened their RSEQ schedule with a close 52-49 victory over Laval. Freshman Mariam Sylla was the star for

McGill, racking up 17 points and 14 rebounds in the winning effort.

Helene Bibeau joined her in double figures with 11 points, while Gabriela Hebert contributed nine off the bench. The Martlets never trailed in

rugby — Redmen 76, Bishop’s 15 McGill ADvances

to RSEQ Final

The McGill Redmen look poised to add to their trophy collection after advancing the RSEQ finals. They advanced with a resounding 76-15 victory over Bishop’s University on Sunday afternoon.

Second-year winger Robert Ashe led the way, scoring five tries for a total of 25 points. Third-year Cameron Perrin was right behind him, scoring 16 points on eight converts.

Seven other Redmen scored a try in the win.

McGill is on a five-game winning streak after forfeiting their first four contests due to an ineligible player sanction. The visiting Redmen will battle the Concordia Stingers for the RSEQ crown on Nov. 18. the game. Laval gradually chipped away in the fourth, but failed to make it all the way back. Combining with the Redmen win, McGill achieved its first weekend sweep at Laval in 15 years.

Curiosity delivers. |

sports

| Tuesday, November 13, 2012

19

UFC 154 Viewer’s Guide

Montreal set to welcome hometown hero

A veteran fan shares his experiences and tips for how and where to watch George St. Pierre’s return Joshua Freedman Contributor The NHL lockout has left a huge void in the lives of Montreal sports fans: we walk the streets on Saturday nights, expecting to see hockey on bar televisions, but all we find is college football. Luckily, there’s an opportunity coming up this Saturday night that will rival the atmosphere of even the tensest Canadiens playoff games.

Georges St. Pierre (GSP), Montreal’s MMA golden boy, is coming back for his first fight in 18 months to defend his UFC Welterweight title at the Bell Centre. Since he regained his title in Montreal in 2008, GSP has dominated the division, winning six straight title defences. Unfortunately, GSP has not fought since he tore his ACL in 2011 during a bout with Jake Shields. In his absence, the UFC created an interim Welterweight belt—won by Carlos Condit, who will fight GSP this Saturday in a title unification match.

Given Quebec’s pacifistic repu-

tation, it may surprise many to hear that this city goes absolutely wild during GSP fights—whether it takes place in Montreal or elsewhere. I caught his UFC 111 bout with Dan Hardy at Bar Bifteck, and it was the rowdiest bar atmosphere I had ever seen. The place was packed shoulder to shoulder with screaming fans, despite the $10 cover charge. Because it was so packed, fans were ordering pizza to be delivered at the bar. The place erupted when GSP came out on top—you couldn’t hear your own screams.

I had another opportunity to watch GSP fight—this time in the Bell Centre against Josh Koschek.

Again, the atmosphere was incredible. During GSP’s entrance, the fans in the stadium were so loud that bottles were visibly jumping up and down near ringside. Once again, GSP dominated the fight, and the fans went home happy.

With the next GSP fight scheduled for this Saturday, here are some tips for enjoying a good night out— even if you don’t enjoy MMA and

it’s just for the fun times.

Make sure you get to the bar early. The main card starts at 10:00 p.m., and GSP fights at around 11:45. However, you should arrive at the bar no later than 9:30 p.m., because it will get full. Champ’s and Bifteck on St. Laurent, or Peel Pub and McLean’s on Peel offer great experiences for fights. Barring a late arrival, you can walk up and down St. Laurent, hoping that some bars will let you in. Note that most bars will charge cover, as owners see this as a great opportunity to make some extra money. If the desire really strikes you, you can even head down to the Bell Centre to pick up the few tickets left unsold, or try your luck with scalpers.

The amazing atmosphere of these fights can only truly be appreciated in person. So head on down to local bars with the rest of Montreal as it admirably cheers on the hometown athlete. I’ll be at the Bell Centre, and I hope to see some fellow McGillians there.

Georges St. Pierre regained his title in Montreal in 2008. (media.ufc.tv)

Photos by Luke Orlando and Simon Poitrimolt

Jamais

N’oublions