McGill Tribune Vol. 33 Issue 10

Volume No. 33 Issue No. 10

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Tuesday, November 5, 2013

Midnight Kitchen and SSMU Daycare seek student fee increases

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Midnight Kitchen and SSMU Daycare cite increased operational costs as reason for fee increases. (Alexandra Allaire and Wendy Chen / McGill Tribune)

McGill students’ criminal case draws attention to disciplinary procedures Three Redmen football players face allegations of sexual assault, continued to play on team following arrest Mayaz Alam and Carolina Millán Ronchetti Sports Editor and Editor-in-Chief A case involving three McGill student athletes charged with sexual assault 15 months ago has drawn attention to the process by which McGill deals with the conduct of its students.

On Nov. 1, the Montreal Gazette reported that three current McGill students on the Redmen football team were arrested on April 26, 2012 for charges of sexual assault with a weapon and forcible confinement in an incident involving a former Concordia student. The students, now fourth-years, will appear in court next month for their preliminary hearing.

According to Deputy Provost (Student Life and Learning) Ollivier Dyens, the students told their coach that they were facing legal action following their arrest in April 2012.

The coach advised them to inform their parents of the situation and to

seek legal counsel.

The athletes continued to play for the squad in the following two seasons (2012 and 2013). Dyens said the students did not explain their charges in detail to the coach.

“If the students had said [they were] under criminal charges [...]

I think we [would have had] to at least look into it,” he said. “But we have to move carefully with these things because you don’t want to affect the inquiry from the police.”

According to Dyens, the university was informed of the criminal charges in May 2013. Dyens, who officially began his term in September 2013, learned about the case from his predecessor, Morton Mendelson. By this time, the case had already become a criminal investigation handled within the judicial system.

“There was nothing for us to move forward with,” Dyens said.

“We have to respect the process. If we start doing our own investiga-

tion—asking people questions and everything—we might make it difficult [...] for both the prosecutor and the defence lawyers; so we have to be really careful.”

He explained that all students are evaluated under the Green Book—the Code of Student Conduct. If there is an allegation that a violation of the Code has occurred, a disciplinary officer for the unit— in this case McGill Athletics—can impose a sanction or refer the issue to the Committee on Student Discipline.

Dyens added that McGill could not administer the Code of Student Conduct in this case because the alleged misconduct did not occur on campus or during McGill-related activities.

“If I see you doing something illegal—for example in a bar somewhere on St. Laurent Boulevard— and it’s not on the campus and it’s not part of the McGill context, you’re not breaking the McGill

Code of Rights and Responsibilities,” Dyens said. “At that point, it’s the responsibility of the court or the police.”

In addition to the Code, varsity athletes are subject to another code of conduct titled the Guide to Varsity Sports for Student-Athletes.

This document outlines provisions on McGill’s anti-doping policy, prohibits hazing, and forbids alcohol consumption on team trips, among other restrictions.

“It is considered a privilege and not a right to be a student-athlete, and every student-athlete is expected to conduct himself or herself in a manner that exhibits honour and respect to the team, department, university, and surrounding community for the duration of his or her tenure as a student-athlete at McGill University,” the guide reads.

The athletics disciplinary officer can establish administrative sanctions when the rules in the Guide are violated. According to

Dyens, these administrative sanctions could include a suspension from playing on the team.

However, the Guide does not address criminal charges, such as charges of sexual assault.

“You don’t need to put [sexual assault] in a document like this because it’s against the law,” Dyens explained.

Other universities, such as Bishop’s University and the University of Winnipeg, have codes of conduct that athletes must sign.

These documents outline the athletic department’s response to criminal behaviour committed by student athletes.

“I will refrain from any involvement in any criminal activity, on or off of campus,” the Bishop’s code reads. “I realize that my failure to abide by the standards described above may result in a temporary or See “Criminal case” on page 4

NEWS

CAMPUS

Students to vote on Midnight Kitchen, SSMU Daycare fee

Both services cite increased cost of operations as main reason for fee increase; SSMU constitution update put to vote Students will head to the polls Nov. 6 up to 15 to vote in the upcoming Students’ Society of McGill University (SSMU)’s Fall referendum period.

Four questions have been approved to appear on the ballot— two regarding the existence and a funding increase for the Midnight Kitchen, one regarding a fee increase for the SSMU Daycare, and the third requesting changes to the SSMU constitution.

Midnight Kitchen Midnight Kitchen is asking students to support both its existence and an opt-outable fee increase from $2.25 to $3.25 per semester.

The student-run service provides pay-what-you-can vegan lunches on weekdays. According to Midnight Kitchen Outreach Coordinator Vince Tao, the organization’s popularity has increased over the years, but its budget has remained the same since 2011.

“We’re serving about 250 people a day now,” Tao said. “We end up running out of food by the time we get to the end of the line.”

Tao also explained that SSMU’s implementation of a new pay equity policy in 2012 means that salaries now account for approximately 61 per cent of the Midnight Kitchen’s operating budget.

Kelly Schieder, chair of the referendum question’s “Yes” committee, said Midnight Kitchen aims to use the proposed fee increase to meet the current demand from customers and expand its services.

“The first thing we’re planning to do is to buy a higher quality and bigger variety of food for

our lunch servings,” she said.

“We’re also hoping to introduce breakfast servings.”

Despite concern about the organization’s funding, Arts and Science Representative Courtney Ayukawa, stressed that Midnight Kitchen ultimately provides a necessary resource that does not exist elsewhere on campus.

“I know of many people who can’t afford to buy or make lunch every single day because of financial or time constraints,” she said. “The convenience of an affordable, accessible, and timely lunch is a really important thing.”

—Anna Ma SSMU Daycare SSMU Daycare also seeks an increase in funding, and a “Yes” majority vote to its referendum question will raise its current non-opt-outable fee from $1.50 to $2.50 per student per semester.

The SSMU Daycare is a childcare service provided to the children of undergraduate parents at the cost of seven dollars per day.

Since the current fee was set in 2006, the daycare has faced a number of changes to the services it offers and its operational costs.

In 2009, the daycare opened a nursery, which accommodates babies aged four to 18 months. In the same year, the daycare’s rent to McGill increased.

Stefan Fong, SSMU vicepresident Clubs and Services and president of the daycare’s Board of Directors, said the daycare requires the fee increase in order to maintain its current level of service.

“If the daycare fee increase does not pass, the daycare will have no choice but to reduce

SSMU Daycare requests fee increase to maintain regular operations. (Alexandra Allaire / McGill Tribune) the amount of services it offers, which is a shame considering how much it has grown to accommodate students,” Fong said.

He noted that the student fee would be the best source of funding to adjust to account for the increase in costs. The daycare currently receives funding from three sources: a subsidy from the government, a fee from parents of children in the daycare, and the current student fee.

“The amount of funding the daycare receives is fairly fixed,” Fong said. “Out of these three, only the SSMU Daycare fee is flexible enough to be able to financially support the daycare in both a short-term and long-term way.”

—Jessica Fu with additional reporting by Eman Jeddy Constitution referendum Another referendum question will ask students to approve a series of changes to the SSMU constitution.

According to the referendum

motion, the changes to the constitution are based on suggestions made by SSMU’s legal council.

“SSMU has undertaken a multi-year governance document revision process with our legal counsel in order to ensure that our governance structure and processes are stable and legal,” the motion reads.

According to SSMU President Katie Larson, most of the changes are primarily formatbased in order to improve SSMU members’ understanding of the document. This includes the addition of two and a half pages of interpretations and definitions and a reorganization of many of the articles in the document.

“It’s a lot of moving things around [and] clarifying definitions, which was really important because you read through it now and it says one word like ‘council,’ but it’s not super clear what is council, who is council, what can they do, and how it’s similar and dissimilar from other bodies,” Larson said.

One significant change will

affect the way in which councillors are appointed to SSMU’s Board of Directors (BoD).

Quebec Law requires that SSMU have a BoD to act as the organization’s highest governing body and make decisions on its financial activities. In previous years, the BoD was formed through appointments within Council by councillors themselves. According to Larson, the new procedure would require that a General Assembly ratify these appointments.

“The structure will change so after councillors are elected […] they will then be appointed as board members for the following year, and they will have to be confirmed by all members and not just their faculty,” she said.

SSMU does not currently have a BoD, due to the failure of the Fall General Assembly to meet quorum and ratify Council’s appointments.

—Sam Pinto

Campus

Fire at Macdonald Campus destroys storage barn, two silos

Cause of fire still under investigation; quick action by students and employees prevented fire from spreading Emma Windfeld News Editor

A storage barn and two silos at Macdonald Campus were destroyed by a fire that started just before 6 a.m. Thursday morning.

The cause of the fire is unknown and remains under investigation.

Employees and students performing morning chores in the cattle barn spotted the flames and shut the firewall doors separating the storage barn, filled

with dry hay and feed, and the adjacent cattle barn housing 135 cows. The firewall, engineered to prevent fire from spreading between the two barns, successfully kept the cattle barn from burning.

Sixty firefighters and 12 fire trucks worked to put out the flames while staff and students led the cows to outdoor pens until the fire was under control.

No people nor animals were injured, and the cows were re-

turned to the barn later that day.

Chandra Madramootoo, dean of the Faculty of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, said the faculty plans to make repairs to the buildings after the damage has been fully assessed.

“It will take several weeks to get an estimate of the extent of the damages, and [it] also takes time for the insurance adjustors to complete their work,” he said.

“We have lots of cleaning up to do.”

According to Madramootoo, the incident will not affect students but will require modification to some research projects.

“There should be no effect on students [or] for professors who are doing research; we have already started to make adjustments,” he said. “The goal is to try and return to normal as quickly as possible, but it will be a slow process.”

In an email sent to staff and students, Principal Suzanne

Fortier thanked those who contributed to the group effort that minimized damage.

“Our employees moved fast to keep the blaze from spreading and affecting livestock in the adjacent barn, and a group of about 20 students practicing nearby with the Macdonald Campus Woodsmen team came to offer help,” Fortier wrote. “Thank you to everyone who quickly responded to [the] serious fire.”

Curiosity delivers. |

NEWS

| Tuesday, November 5, 2013

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CAMPUS

Undergraduate law students request paid compensation for work Lack of unions for undergraduate TAs and interns leaves law students unable to negotiate over salaries Shrinkhala Dawadi Contributor Undergraduate law students working as interns in legal clinics and Teaching Assistants (TAs) at McGill are asking to receive monetary compensation for their work.

A town hall was hosted by the Faculty of Law on Wednesday to address the current lack of procedural framework, raise awareness, and brainstorm solutions to the situation.

Currently, undergraduate law students with internships in legal clinics and teaching assistantships at McGill receive academic credit.

However, unlike graduates, they are not paid for their work.

Katie Spillane, organizer of the event, said that coordination of the town hall was prompted by her work as the coordinator of the Legal Clinic Course, which allows upper year students to intern at local legal clinics. In these internship positions, students provide assistance and legal advice in exchange for academic credit—but no pay—even though students in the course often work hours exceeding their credit requirements.

“Some students have a requirement of 200 hours for their credits, but at the organisation they’re working four or five hundred hours,” she said. “Should they be able to get paid for those excess hours?”

Daniel Wilband, a third-year law student and a panelist at the

Panellists discuss lack of compensation for undergraduate law students. (Wendy Chen / McGill Tribune) Olivier Jarda, a second-year considered employees due to Mcevent, said student work is particularly vulnerable to “exploita- law student, said that students face Gill’s labour agreement with the other issues due to the highly com- Association of Graduate Students tion.”

Employed at McGill (AGSEM).

“Student labour is an interest- petitive nature of these positions.

“We have to compete so hard Since the union only represents ing phenomenon because sometimes it isn’t clear who’s really for these positions so we take what graduate students, undergradubenefiting most from the work,” we can get,” Jarda said. “And the ate students like those in the FacWilband said. “Ideally, if it’s un- moment we actually get these po- ulty of Law have less negotiating paid or for-credit work, it’s just sitions [...] we’re not unionized power over salaries and academic a great educational experience so we don’t have that institutional credit received for work.

Jamie Burnett, an invigilator for the student. But it’s also pos- gravitas to fight for our rights colgrievance officer at AGSEM, said sible that the opportunity to use lectively.”

Undergraduate students the association is looking to excheap or free student labour can be abused, especially in a time of working as TAs and enrolled in pand its coverage to undergraduate the Legal Clinic Course are not workers, but the legal process is austerity and budget cuts.”

complicated and time-consuming.

“Our collective agreement with McGill defines the position of a TA to be a graduate student,” Burnett said. “We don’t think that makes sense [....] A lot of people who were doing work that was similar or identical to the [paid] work that was being done by graduate teaching assistants either had a different job title or were undergraduate students. It’s not exactly clear how the situation can be resolved.”

Sean Cory, president of the Association of McGill University Research Employees (AMURE), stressed the importance for both students and employers to be aware of salary standards and rates of compensation outside of the university.

“The first step is to know your rights and to be as informed as possible,” Cory said. “[Professors] will have committee after committee that will look at how they’re compensated [....] That doesn’t happen for students [and] a part of that is just [because] supervisors might not know what the standard is for salaries.”

Mark Phillips, third-year law, said unpaid student work is a “huge problem” that needs to be addressed.

“It’s crucial that we organize to make sure the faculty and university are places for accessible, safe, and dignified study and work,” he said.

CAMPUS

Peer Support Network to provide free counselling for students Director of student-led initiative cites lack of one-on-one support programs as primary factor in service’s creation Sara Cullen Contributor A free, on-campus peer counselling service for McGill students is set to launch Dec. 14.

Named the Peer Support Network (PSN), the student-run initiative will host drop-in sessions with volunteers who are trained to handle issues such as mental health, academic stress, and social pressures.

The PSN began when Emily Yung, a graduate student in psychiatry and the director of the service, applied for funding from the Mary H. Brown Endowment for student-run health initiatives.

According to Yung, the service is meant to fill the lack of oneon-one peer support programs at McGill.

“Many students come from across Canada without any social circles in Montreal, or from across the world and they don’t have a friend,” Yung said. “It can be scary [and] academic pressures are high. Sometimes, there is nobody to talk to [….] We felt that this was a definite need for McGill students.”

Staffed by a group of 24 student volunteers, the program will host drop-in sessions in the Chaplaincy Services room of the Brown Student Services Building every Wednesday and Thursday from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. Volunteers will offer one-on-one support and provide information on further resources available to students.

All volunteers must complete a 30-hour training course in order to become peer counsellors. Ac-

cording to Yung, McGill mental health specialists will lead this training to ensure that counsellors provide effective and non-judgmental service for students.

Elizabeth Cawley, member services officer of the Post-Graduates’ Student Society (PGSS), said the PSN will provide a different service than the mental health services McGill currently offers.

“The PSN volunteers are not professionals, and it isn’t expected to take the place of Mental Health or Counselling Services—nor should it,” Crowley said. “However, these volunteers are extensively trained and will be able to offer support to students in early distress.”

According to Yung, improvements to the program will be developed through evaluations from

both volunteers and students using the PSN. Organizers will also communicate with universities around Canada with similar programs.

“We’ve received a lot of help from Canadian universities, giving us the resources of their peer support programs,” Yung said.

“We need to have an evidencebased approach to this.”

Yung said the PSN also plans to anonymously track stressors in order achieve a better understanding of common issues for students.

Nancy Li, U1 Arts, said she applied to be a PSN volunteer because she recognizes the challenges facing students who are dealing with mental health problems.

“In a large community like McGill, it’s easy to feel lost and insignificant,” Li said. “I think it’s

crucial for everyone to realize that they have a voice that deserves to be heard. I find it extremely frustrating that seeking support for mental health is often stigmatized, accompanied by shame, and lacking representation on campus.”

According to Crowley, the creation of the PSN indicates a growing awareness of mental health issues on campus.

“From the very beginning it has been a mix of undergraduate and graduate students working together to solve a problem that transcends our level of education,” she said. “I think it is really amazing that we can come together, realizing that we have different experiences but that we are a community and we want to support one another.”

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Tuesday, November 5, 2013 |

NEWS

| Curiosity delivers.

Campus

Panellists talk barriers to women in politics Criminal case Topics include lack of access to childcare, media’s focus on physical appearance Samiha Sharif Contributor Barriers to the participation of women in politics were at the forefront of a panel discussion hosted at Thomson House on Oct. 28.

The event, “Yes SHE Can,” was co-hosted by the McGill Political Science Students’ Association and McGill’s Women in House program.

The panel featured four experts on women in politics, who addressed the unique challenges women face, including the media’s representation of female politicians and the lack of access to resources such as childcare.

“Just look at the caricature of political women,” said Martine Desjardins, a political activist and former chair of the Fédération étudiante universitaire du Québec (FEUQ). “They are always represented as someone working in [the] kitchen, whereas the men are portrayed as superheroes.”

Elisabeth Gidengil, director of McGill’s Centre for the Study of Democratic Citizenship, said women in politics face considerably more pressure than men to focus on their appearance.

“We never get to hear what a male premier or minister is wearing,” Gidengil said. “However, it is a different case for the women, and heaven forefend if she wears the same thing twice.”

Desjardins criticized the expectation that women should maintain a

polished appearance by drawing on her own negative experiences with the media during her time at FEUQ. “[The media] thought I was having bad negotiations because I had no make-up on, because they said I looked sick,” Desjardins said. “So after that, I learned to do my makeup.”

The panellists also emphasized the need for women in politics to receive support from their families and increased access to childcare. Janine Krieber, a political science professor at the Royal Military College of Canada, suggested a lack of childcare services is hindering women from political engagement.

“Women occupy lower levels of power because politics is not very family-friendly,” Krieber said. “Dysfunctional daycares are an example.

[Women] must consider their children and their parents. Women also need support from their home and especially their spouses to be successful.”

Another panellist was Patrik Öhberg, the principal investigator for the Swedish survey of the international Comparative Candidates Survey which examines the backgrounds of candidates in elections around the world. He said in comparison with other nations, the representation of women in Canada’s current political system is low.

“In Sweden, if a parliament does not have equitable representation, they better have a very good reason for it,” Öhberg said. “In Canada, it just seems

to be acceptable.”

To address this lack of representation, Desjardins said that women involved in politics should help bring other women into politics.

“Women need to learn how to support each other in leadership positions and not be competitive to each other,” Desjardins said.

According to Shaina Agbayani, one of the co-ordinators for Women in House, the goal of the event was to bring the double standards expected of female politicians to light.

“The impacts of these standards were discussed constructively by our panellists in a way that, hopefully, takes a step towards challenging them so as to contribute to the wider discussion of how we can work toward building a more equitable and representative democracy,” Agbayani said.

Devan Braun, U3 Arts, noted the importance of increasing the awareness of issues facing women in politics to the McGill community.

“It is important to create awareness for such biases in politics because people do not realize that such double standards exist until they are pointed out to them,” she said.

The event anticipates McGill’s Women in House annual two-day trip this November, when female students will have an opportunity to shadow female Members of Parliament and senators.

Continued from cover permanent loss of the privilege of representing Bishop’s University as a student-athlete.”

Dyens noted that all McGill staff and students have a duty to report student misconduct once they are aware of it.

“Everyone has a responsibility to ensure that the Code of Rights and Responsibilities is respected,” he said. “This being said, you have to be careful, because the Code [...] says [misconduct] has to happen [...] either on the McGill campus or in the McGill context.”

The university will decide whether the students will face charges under the Student Code of Conduct following the outcome of the judicial process.

Executive Director of Athletics and Recreation, Drew Love; Associate Director of Athletics and Recreation and Athletics Disciplinary Officer, Philip Quintal; and Redmen football Head Coach, Clint Uttley referred the Tribune to Dyens for comment.

—Additional reporting by Erica Friesen

news analysis

Could McGill have a Fall reading week?

Increasing number of Canadian universities implement mid-semester breaks, cite concern for student well-being Chelsey Ju Contributor As the Fall semester drives on towards finals, many McGill students look wistfully towards other universities that have implemented a Fall break in recent years.

While Fall reading weeks used to be unusual for Canadian universities, teh additional breaking is quickly becoming the norm. For the first time this year, a majority of public Ontario universities—11 out of 20— have decided to set aside two to five class-free days in October or November.

New universities to implement this strategy this year are Brock University, Carleton University, McMaster University, and Western University.

Others, however, introduced their break much earlier—for example, Trent University has had a Fall break since 1964.

An often-cited reason for the implementation of these Fall breaks is to address the rising concern over students’ mental health by offering an

opportunity for students to catch up on schoolwork and spend time with friends or family before final exams begin.

In a report by Western’s weekly newspaper, Western News, John Doerksen, vice-provost (Academic Programs and Students) said that Western implemented its Fall Break , an additional two days off before the last weekend of October, in order to allow students to focus on their studies and reduce academic stress.

“The Fall study days provide students with a block of time to begin endof-terms projects and essays, to catch up on other course work, or simply to catch their breath,” Doerksen said. “I’m hopeful the break will mitigate some ofr the anxiety that students may feel as important course deadlines approach.”

Dr. Perry Adler, associate director of the Teen Health Unit at the Jewish General Hospital, said he would support a Fall break at McGill based on his experience providing for university-aged patients.

“Most [of the patients’ stresses]

negatively affect their abilities to meet their academic responsibilities,” Adler said. “Having a break from school in the Fall semester would help many students.”

Julia Martschenko, a student at the University of Toronto, said that she appreciated having the break last year.

“The Fall break is great because it gives me another opportunity to go home and visit family and friends,” Martschenko said. “I really appreciated it last year as I used the days without classes to catch up on the work that had piled up during midterm season.”

McGill’s Deputy Provost (Student Life and Learning) Ollivier Dyens said the break would be beneficial to the McGill community, but that logistical issues complicate the addition of a break to McGill’s already full calendar. “[This decision] would involve all sorts of units—facilities, issues with residences, with dining services—[and cause] all sorts of pedagogical issues,” Dyens said. “The university is based on collegial governance. You [have] to get

a buy-in from everyone, [including] the academic sector, the dean, the students, and the graduate students.”

According to Dyens, the possibility of a Fall break has been discussed among the McGill administration and there could be potential for one to be implemented in the coming years if the Fall semester were stretched further into December.

“The Quebec government mandates a certain amount of contact hours between the students and professors,” he said. “A certain number of hours has to be [completed] in that small window [….] I believe we could have a Fall break but that would mean a longer semester—for example, until Dec. 23.”

However, some Quebec universities have been able to implement all fall break. In October, L’ École Polytechnique de Montréal has a week-long Fall break from Nov. 14-18. Instead of Finishing their semester on Dec. 18th like McGill, L’ École Polytechnique de Montréal finishes their semester on Dec. 20.

Dyens said that while the procedure is complicated, he is open to suggestions.

“If it is brought up enough by students, I would welcome them to come and see me,” he said. “We’ll organize a meeting with the registrar and we’ll discuss this—especially if it’s important for the students.”

When considering the possibility of implementing a fall reading break, SSMU Vice-President (University Affairs) Joey Shea stressed that although a few days off school would have an effect, this may not address the root of the issue of student stress. “[With] the overall intensity of McGill and the academic pressures, there are bigger factors that affect mental health,” Shea said. “I think we need to take a more general approach to mental health—being as important as your physical health and academics—rather than just [taking] a week off school.”

—Additional reporting by Annie Xie

THE Mcgill

Editor-in-Chief Carolina Millán Ronchetti editor@mcgilltribune.com Managing Editors Ben Carter-Whitney bcarterwhitney@mcgilltribune.com Erica Friesen efriesen@mcgilltribune.com Jacqueline Galbraith jgalbraith@mcgilltribune.com Production Manager Steven Lampert slampert@mcgilltribune.com News Editors Jessica Fu, Emma Windfeld, and Samuel Pinto news@mcgilltribune.com Opinion Editor Abraham Moussako opinion@mcgilltribune.com Science & Technology Editor Caity Hui scitech@mcgilltribune.com Student Living Editor Marlee Vinegar studentliving@mcgilltribune.com Features Editor Jenny Shen features@mcgilltribune.com Arts & Entertainment Editors Max Berger and William Burgess arts@mcgilltribune.com Sports Editors Mayaz Alam and Remi Lu sports@mcgilltribune.com Photo Editors Alexandra Allaire and Wendy Chen photo@mcgilltribune.com Creative Director Alessandra Hechanova ahechanova@mcgilltribune.com Design Editors Yael Chapman and Maryse Thomas design@mcgilltribune.com Online Editor Brontë Martin online@mcgilltribune.com Copy Editor Adrien Hu copy@mcgilltribune.com Advertising Executives Spoon Jung and Daniel Kang ads@mcgilltribune.com Publisher Chad Ronalds

opinion editorial

Incomplete athletics policies leave room for inaction Last Friday, the Montreal Gazette reported on a 2011 incident in which three McGill students were accused of an alleged sexual assault on a former Concordia student. The three men—who were arrested in April 2012—are McGill Redmen football players and have continued to play for the squad in the two seasons since their arrest. They are scheduled to appear before a Quebec court for a preliminary hearing next month.

Although the specifics of the incident will not be revealed until the trial unfolds, there are serious questions that need to be asked about how McGill handled this incident over the past two years.

The limitations of the current institutional framework appear to be the main factor in McGill’s evasive response to the alleged incident, including the decision to allow these athletes to continue to play.

Currently, McGill student misconduct is assessed through the Code of Student Conduct, which determines academic sanctions for violations of rights and responsibilities.

McGill Athletics is another matter. The official rules governing varsity athletes do not extend far beyond the general Code of Conduct, aside from a few stipulations in the Guide to Varsity Sports for Student-Athletes, which seek to address issues including performance enhancing drugs, hazing, and conduct on the field.

Varsity athletes are “chosen to represent

McGill wherever they are, and as such, should be held to the highest standards of conduct.

”

McGill Athletics has a disciplinary officer who deals with athlete misconduct. Whether this person ever addressed this specific case remains unclear. Interviews suggest that, because the alleged incident did not occur on McGill campus or during McGill-related activities, it would not rest under the university’s jurisdiction to respond. Rather, the burden would fall on the police to investigate the situation.

We believe that this is a flawed system. Other universities, such as Bishop’s University and the University of Winnipeg, have provisions for their student athletes which stipulate that they will be held responsible for criminal misconduct regardless of whether it happens on or off campus or in university activities.

Adopting such a measure would ensure that McGill has a framework to handle these situations and can hold students who represent the university to a higher standard. It would also bring the athletics program in line with the policies of many NCAA teams when their student athletes face arrest.

Apart from the framework, there are unofficial disciplinary measures available. Even if a player is on the roster, a program has no obligation to allow that student athlete to compete. The football program should have acted on knowledge of the arrest and instituted administrative sanctions, suspending the players from any involvement on the team until the case was resolved.

This is not a judgment on the in-

nocence or guilt of the players; it serves as a demonstration that McGill Athletics takes criminal allegations very seriously.

Varsity athletes are chosen to represent McGill wherever they are, and as such, should be held to the highest standards of conduct. Regardless of the outcome of the criminal trial, the university’s inaction only contributes to the devastating culture of silence that survivors of sexual assault already face.

While there is still much to come to light about the case, establishing measures for the future is one decisive step McGill can take.

McGill demonstrated its ability to amend its policies following a similar situation involving its student athletes, namely the football team hazing incident in 2005. In response to the controversy, McGill created new policies to maintain and promote the integrity of its athletics program.

We believe that this is a valuable opportunity to do so once again.

TPS Board of Directors

Shadi Afana, Anand Bery, Jonathan Fielding, Abhishek Gupta, Adrien Hu, Steven Lampert, Chris Liu, Carolina Millán Ronchetti, Elisa Muyl, and Simon Poitrimolt

Contributors

Morgan Alexander, Drew Allen, Prativa Baral, Max Bledstein, Leah Brainerd, Shrinkhala Dawadi, Wyatt Fine-Gagné, Abhishek Gupta, Keah Hansen, Evie Kaczmarek, Nivit Kochar, Lauren Konken, Kathy Liu, Chris Lutes, Anna Ma, Hailey Mackinnon, Luke Orlando, Nicole Rainteau, Aaron Rose, Samiha Sharif, Suvij Sudershan, Jack Tokarz, Diana Wright, Ruby Xia, Ruidi Zhu

Tribune Office Shatner University Centre Suite 110, 3480 McTavish Montreal, QC H3A 0E7 T: 514.398.6789 The McGill Tribune is an editorially autonomous newspaper published by the Société de Publication de la Tribune, a student society of McGill University. The content of this publication is the sole responsibility of The McGill Tribune and the Société de Publication de la Tribune, and does not necessarily represent the views of McGill University. Letters to the editor may be sent to editor@mcgilltribune.com and must include the contributor’s name, program and year and contact infor-

SSMU REFERENDUM ENDORSEMENTS The SSMU referendum period from Nov. 6 to 15 features questions on three distinct issues affecting the undergraduate student body. Below are the Tribune’s endorsements:

SSMU Constitution

One of the questions at issue this referendum period regards approving changes to the SSMU constitution, including a set of provisions focused on the Board of Directors.

These changes are based on an annual review

by SSMU’s general counsel on the legal compliance of the association’s constitution. The referendum would make appointments to the Board of Directors contingent on ratification

by General Assembly, introducing a new element of accountability to SSMU leadership.

The Tribune endorses a “Yes” vote.

SSMU Daycare

Childcare is an absolutely vital service to some students, and the SSMU daycare keeps this service affordable for all. Ensuring that the daycare remains financially stable and can continue to grow to meet demand will be a victory for accessible education. As such, the Tribune endorses a “Yes” vote.

Midnight Kitchen

Since its creation in 2002, the Midnight Kitchen has been an extremely successful venture in food accessibility on campus. By raising its fairly nominal semesterly fee by a dollar, it promises to consider serving breakfast as well as lunch, a step forward in its mission of “providing affordable, healthy food to as many people possible.” The Tribune endorses a “Yes” vote for both the existence and fee increase questions.

mation. Letters should be kept under 300 words and submitted only to the Tribune. Submissions judged by the Tribune Publication Society to be libellous, sexist, racist, homophobic or solely promotional in nature will not be published. The Tribune reserves the right to edit all contributions. Editorials are decided upon and written by the editorial board. All other

YES

YES

YES

opinions are strictly those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the McGill Tribune, its editors or its staff.

Please recycle this newspaper.

Have your say.

Write for

Meetings Mondays at 6 p.m. in the Tribune office (Shatner 110) opinion@mcgilltribune.com Opinion.

6

columnists Focus on the women, not the family Lauren Konken

Contributor

Why do we conceptualize women as needing a strong husband to suceed in politics?

On Monday Oct. 28, Women in House McGill and the Political Science Students’ Association (PSSA) hosted a panel discussion on women in leadership.

Towards the end of the evening, Janine Krieber, a political science professor at the Royal Military College of Canada, noted the importance of having a solid partner when engaging in politics, especially in the case of women. The three remaining panelists concurred.

Women, the panelists agreed, thought twice about their kids, their parents, and even their pets.

One panelist noted that men are expected to be more willing to run for office on short notice, while women have to consider practical issues, such as who would look after the children or parents, if they are in old age.

Men, however, don’t have to think about these issues because they simply expect the wife to handle them.

I found the anecdote irritat-

ing. Why couldn’t a woman run for office just as easily? Why are we expected to think twice?

The panelists concluded that if a woman didn’t have enough time to prepare alternative care for all the people she has to tend to, or someone in her life who could take over her responsibilities, then she wouldn’t engage with politics.

“The claim that

women need to take care of domestic responsiblities stems from the notion that politics is a man’s game.

”

This is inherently problematic to me. Even though the panel was meant to discuss women in politics, the underlying issue that came up throughout the evening was the gendered sphere of the political game. Krieber pointed out that women have a hard time engaging in federal politics because the closest daycare to Parliament is over 10 kilometers away. Government is no place for babies, it seems, but not all women come with children in tow, or for that matter, husbands.

Why should women be expected to think of the home first? Are we afraid as individuals to leave the kitchen and come home to a

mess? Are we even leaving the kitchen in the first place?

The claim that women needing to take care of domestic responsiblities stems from the notion that politics is a man’s game.

While the panel trumpeted gains for women in politics, it was apparent that Canada lags behind more progressive states. It was easy to see why. For all the progressive rhetoric, discussions circled around the obligations of women to the family. While there was some discussion of engaging women directy in campaigns, no one was talking about breaking with the gendered notion of where a woman belongs in society. No matter how we spin or try to look past it, society still believes a woman’s role is in the home, especially if she’s engaging in politics.

The notion that a woman needs a man to run for office is incredibly flawed. Anyone engaging in a campaign needs support, regardless of gender. Perhaps the underlying push for people with families, is what leads women to think they need husbands. Yet even then, does it really have to be a man? No person needs be defined by their children, or their spouse.

Furthermore, when it comes to the realm of politics, anyone running for election needs to engage in the critical questions of what they will leave behind when they run. Someone needs to teach

(Ruidi Zhu / McGill Tribune) men to look before they leap, and to consider the same domestic issues that women are prodded to consider today. For greater po-

litical engagement in Canada and elsewhere, this double standard needs to change.

Find the McGill Tribune online mcgilltribune.com

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Student living Movember Ready, set, grow!

How much does the moustache improve men’s health?

Kathy Liu Contributor This past weekend, men around the world shaved their faces baby smooth to embark on a hairy month-long journey to change the face of men’s health. Through the medium of a moustache, the annual Canadian Movember campaign raises funds for Prostate Cancer Canada, awareness of the disease itself, and, as of last year, more broadly of other men’s health issues such as testicular cancer and mental health.

At this time every year, the McGill campus is covered with facial hair ranging from adolescent wisps to full grown ‘Tom Sellecks.’ The campaign has garnered a lot of enthusiasm due to its college demographic appeal.

“Movember works in the same way a blogsphere works— in a hilarious narcissistic fashion with a political edge,” Kate Whiteway, U3 Arts and a supporter of the Movember campaign, says.

“The reason it gets attention is because it is so farcical, but still gets its positive communal message to work. It’s perfect for college.”

“Redefining what

constitutes ‘masculine’ does become important given Movember’s recent expansion into the area of male mental health.

”

According to Emannuel Sarantonis, a U1 Engineering student and an active ‘Mo Bro,’ Movember is both a competition between friends for laughs and a fundraiser for an important cause.

“You don’t have to grow a beard to support this cause,” he says. “There are many ways to fundraise.”

Beyond individual participations and friendly competitions, McGill has its very own Movember teams that raise large amounts of money through ‘Mo parties,’ and the involvement of on-campus athletics, faculty clubs, and ad-

ministration. ‘Mo Sistas’ can also get involved, by supporting and encouraging ‘Mo Bros’ and their new furry friends to break down conversational barriers on men’s health.

In 2012, the McGill network raised a combined $82,815 for men’s health awareness and has raised over $164,000 in the last three campaigns.

However, the Movember movement is certainly not without its share of criticism. According to Nathaniel Laywine, a PhD student in Communications Studies, people are too vague when they say that fundraising goes towards “Movember.” The spectacle immerses the student population in the Movember culture, whether it is the moustache shot glasses at Gerts or that guy in class with an impressive handle.

“Public awareness campaigns like such are more about the spectacle of it than it is about actually raising funds or educating people,” Laywine says.

A quick ask around the campus reveals that many are unclear about the purpose of the campaign behind the ‘stache. Such concerns may overshadow the tangible successes achieved by Movember. For instance, most people are likely unaware that in Quebec alone, the movement has been able to directly fund 42 research programs on male health.

Movember can sometimes be perceived as a mere excuse to grow a mustache and show off masculinity. Whiteway expressed concern that a campaign that hinges upon open discussions on universal male health boxes masculinity into old-age conservatism, with the moustache as the ultimate symbol of the “real man.”

Redefining what constitutes “masculine” does become important given Movember’s recent expansion into the area of male mental health. According to Dr. Denise Rochon, a psychiatrist at McGill’s Student Mental Health Service, the most obstinate barrier to seeking treatment for many men is the

fear of emasculation.

“There is a stigma, [and] there are definitely [fewer] males who seek mental health treatment,” she says. “Men are scared of talking about their feelings and feel naked when they are part of a treatment.”

She adds that male college students also face the danger of self-medicating through readily accessible alcohol and drugs to curb their depression and anxieties. Rochon said she would like to see campaigns like Movember seek to engage in the “demystification of male health.”

Despite these concerns about its method of raising awareness, Movember definitely generates conversation where there has been little before. As will be evident from the abundance of facial hair soon to be growing from students at McGill this season, there can be little doubt that the attention generated by Movember is a healthy stepping stone towards comprehensive conversations on men’s health.

Ruby Xia / McGill Tribune

1 in 7 men will develop prostate cancer

If detected and treated early, there is a 95 per cent survival rate associated with prostate cancer and 96 per cent for testicular cancer

Age range in which testicular cancer is most common in Canadian males proportion of men who will experience a mental health issue this year

Infographic by Alessandra Hechanova Information from ca.movember.com

Curiosity delivers. |

STUDENT LIVING

fried rice fried right This simple recipe is perfect for those days when you don’t feel like going to the grocery store to pick up those extra ingredients.

Ingredients

ate .co m)

tpl ho e h y.t (communit

Instructions

1. Cook rice.

2. Heat vegetable oil in a large skillet.

3. Add chicken, garlic, onion, salt, pepper, sugar, and soy sauce.

4. Stir-fry chicken until hot and tender.

5. Add cooked rice and stir-fry for 5 minutes.

6. Add vegetables and stir well into rice-meat mixture.

7. Just before serving, stir eggs carefully into rice, coating as much rice as possible, until eggs are cooked.

8

SIMPLE SAVORY SALAD Here is a tasty and colourful salad that is sure to tantalize your taste buds and renew your love for leafy greens!

Salad 1 package of mixed greens, washed 1 bell pepper, diced 1 carrot, shredded ½ cup cherry tomatoes, halved ½ cup cheddar cheese, shredded ¼ cup sunflower seeds, toasted

Dressing ½ cup olive oil 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar 1 clove garlic, minced 1 tsp Dijon mustard 1 tbsp dried onion flakes

Instructions

t. n ian ry g ung (theh

1 cup rice (or 3 cups already-cooked rice) 4 tbsp vegetable oil ¼ - ½ lb. chicken, cut into thin strips 3 cloves garlic, minced 1 large onion, chopped coarsely 1 tsp salt pinch of pepper 1 tsp sugar 1 tbsp soy sauce 1 cup leftover or frozen vegetables, (such as oriental mix or peas, green beans, and carrots) 2 eggs, beaten

| Tuesday, November 5, 2013

e t)

Wash and prepare all the salad ingredients and place in a large bowl. Set aside. Mix together all dressing ingredients and let sit for 20 minutes to allow flavours to blend. Toss the salad and add the dressing. Enjoy!

—Keah Hansen

—Leah Brainerd

xploring McGill’s libra e : t u o g n i h c ries Bran Book Scanner, and a paper trimmer.

The library also has areas with computers—one near the entrance with 10 desktop computers, and another near the Octagon Room with four computers. An elevator also makes the library wheelchair accessible.

Leah Brainerd Contributor As one of the most beautiful spaces on campus, it’s a shame that students often overlook the Islamic Studies Library when considering study location.

Situated in Morrice Hall, the library holds approximately 125,000 books in 12 different languages on anything relating to the Islamic world, including religion, philosophy, and theology. In addition, 10,000 titles from the collection form the reference section and offer a wide range of language learning materials.

Something special

History

In 2012, the Islamic Studies Library celebrated its 60th anniversary.

Professor Wilfred Cantwell Smith, a professor of comparative religions, founded the library and McGill’s Islamic Studies Institute in 1952. Legend says that the original library was made up of his personal collection of books on Islam in Indonesia and South Asia.

“I think [his focus] is why the collection of this library aims to cover the Muslim world as a whole, not only the Arab world,” head librarian Anaïs Salamon said. “It is much wider than that [.…] It is a very ambitious mandate.”

The library and the institute moved into Morrice Hall in 1983. The gothicstyle building was originally built in the

The octacgon room. (Laurie-Anne Benoit / McGill Tribune) late 19th century to house the Presbyterian College of Montreal. It was donated to McGill in the 1960s and has been home to the institute ever since.

Atmosphere

Beauty is not a word that is often associated with a library at McGill, but the Islamic Studies Library is certainly enchanting. The place radiates peace and calm as soon as you step in the door.

The dark wood of the staircase and the wood paneling of the Octagon Room— the buildings main quiet study area— help you de-stress even as you study.

During the day, the room fills with natu-

ral light from the large windows with stained glass insets. Browsing through the bookshelves, you will find unique volumes filled with calligraphy, making the books just as elegant as the space.

According to Salamon, the Islamic Studies Library is a serene place for everyone to learn, study, and relax.

“I like [the library] because it’s very inclusive,” Salamon said. “Anyone can come here.”

Salamon said visitors are welcomed without judgement, regardless of religious affiliation.

“I really have the feeling that it’s a quiet, peaceful kind of library,” he ex-

pressed.

Resources

While the collection in the Islamic studies library tends to be used by graduate students and faculty, it has many resources that can be utilized by everyone. The library has two librarians and two librarian assistants, all of whom are knowledgeable in the languages of the Islamic world, including Arabic, Persian, and Turkish.

The entire library is a quiet study zone, with 33 seats and 42 carrels available. In addition, the Islamic Studies Library has two photocopiers, a Spirit

According to Salamon, McGill’s Islamic Studies collection is one of a kind.

“In Canada, we are definitely unique. And [compared to collections] in the U.S., parts of the collection are unique as well.”

Salamon said the library was one of the earliest Islamic or Middle Eastern Studies libraries in North America.

Because of this, it possesses many volumes that are unique and no longer in circulation.

“McGill should be proud to have such an important collection on campus,” she said.

Hours of

Operation

MONDAY-THURSDAY 9 a.m.-7 p.m.

FRIDAY- SATURDAY 9 a.m.-5 p.m.

SUNDAY Closed

Curiosity delivers. |

STUDENT LIVING

| Tuesday, November 5, 2013

9

Restaurant Review

Pizza Navona

It’s close in proximity, but is the pizza worth crossing Sherbrooke?

(Suvij Sudershan / McGill Tribune)

Abraham Moussako Opinion Editor A fair amount of takeout pizza in Montreal—certainly from establishments along St. Laurent—can best be described in degrees of mediocrity. While there is an abundance of respectable, acceptably priced fast food in this city, pizza is a niche in a state of indifference. A market consumed by mediocre, standardized product from the national chains, and an unpredictable but similarly mediocre product from most independent pizzerias.

Into this market steps Pizza Navona, which set up shop this past summer across the street from McLennan Library. The

sign outside advertises two cheese pizza slices and a soda for just over $4 ($5 with tax).

In other cities, this would be a middle-of-the-pack price, but here in Montreal, it constitutes a deal of note. The real question is, does it taste any good?

The pizza slices at the restaurant—all nine varieties—are kept in a glass box and heated briefly in the oven before serving. Of the varieties, Mexican pizza is superior, but it is a bit smaller than the other slices; in contrast, the barbecue chicken pizza is better in concept than execution. Pepperoni is a solid, if unremarkable choice if the plain cheese slice simply won’t do. All slices can be topped with Parmesan cheese and spicy oil

(which the employees says is made on-site) at no extra charge.

Pizza Navona also serves up non-pizza options including paninis and salads.

I tried the cheese and Mexican slices, which came to $5.75 without a drink. Cheese slices alone are $1.99; topped slices are $2.99 each. Both were acceptable. The cheese slice had a soft crust, with a light crisp at the bottom. The cheese blends particularly well with the parmesan and oil, and the edge of the slice, which is sprinkled with sesame seeds, tastes particularly appetizing when folded over the last bits of cheese. The Mexican slice was a sharp, somewhat spicy fusion of flavour. The crust and the toppings—olives,

student

Selina Liu U3 Chemical Engineering (Wendy Chen / McGill Tribune)

Selina Liu has been interested in sustainability for as long as she can remember. Currently a U3 student studying chemical engineering, she has been involved in various outlets to promote sustainability across the McGill community.

Last year, Liu served as the finance coordinator for the McGill Farmer’s Market. As one of four coordinators, she helped organize the market that takes place on McTavish every Thursday throughout the months of September and October. It allows local farmers to showcase and sell their products, which range from fresh, organic vegetables to different types of honey, bread, and tea.

“It gives an opportunity for farmers and students to interact,” Liu said. “It lets students become more aware of what they’re eating and where their food is coming from.”

Liu’s favourite thing about the market is that it brings together farmers and students in support of locally grown food. She said she feels it is important to support the agricultural community by either buying vegetables at the market or signing up for the Com-

peppers, and ground beef—all blended effectively.

The atmosphere at Pizza Navona is just what you would expect. For a pizza joint, the relatively comfortable seats and five tables—an ample number for the space—make it a reasonably appealing place to stay and eat. A television in a corner of the eating area is often tuned to some disposable daytime fare, but occasionally live sports are shown. Either way, it isn’t particularly obtrusive.

While Pizza Navona may not stand out for its atmosphere or quality of food, it’s certainly a worthy destination for a quick lunch between classes, and the large variety of dressed pizzas should have something to offer

to any taste. The $5 price for two slices and soda is on the cheap end of downtown options. While Pizza Navona seems to harbour high aspirations, the result is just good enough; better than absolute mediocrity, but less than it first seems.

by Hailey Mackinnon

munity Supported Agriculture baskets, which are baskets of locally sourced food.

“It’s great because you pay for the baskets up front, which eases the start-up costs for the farmers,” she explained. “It also makes sure you get fresh, seasonal vegetables for eight weeks. It’s convenient, and it’s a great learning experience because you get to learn what grows in your region, when different vegetables are ripe, and different ways of cooking them.”

Liu has also been a sustainability coordinator for the Engineering Undergraduate Society (EUS) for three years. This year she is starting a committee called the EUS Sustainability Commission, which aims to build a network of students and groups on McGill campus, specifically in engineering, who are involved in sustainability.

“The committee is about getting engineers to find their niche,” Liu said. “So many engineers are already passionate about sustainability, but don’t know all the ways that are out there that they can get involved.”

The committee will be the link between engineering students who share this interest and like-minded organizations that are looking for volunteers.

Liu hopes to organize a sustainability fair sometime in the future, where engineers can see all the different opportunities available to them.

“I’m very passionate about empowering engineers in the world of sustainability,” she said.

“There is so much potential for engineers to get involved, both at McGill and after you’ve graduated.”

Her intention is that the committee will highlight how crucial engineers are to the creation of a sustainable society.

“Engineers are the ones who will be building the infrastructures and technologies that will allow us to take better care of the planet,” Liu said. “We’re such an important piece of the puzzle that most people don’t realize.”

Although Liu isn’t sure if she will pursue sustainability as a career, she knows that her passion for it will permeate into whatever field she chooses to follow.

What did you dress up as for Halloween?

A piece of bacon, which is funny because I’m actually a vegetarian for this semester.

If you could only eat one thing for the rest of your life, what would it be?

Oatmeal. But only the large flake kind, not the instant kind.

Who’s your favourite TV character?

Phil Dunphy from Modern Family. Or the girls from “Girls.” Those are the only TV shows I’ve been watching recently.

What’s your favourite vegetable?

Zucchini.

nominate a student of the week!

Email us at studentliving@ mcgilltribune.com

10 | FEATURES

THE PROLIFERATION OF EDM THE C O M PLIC ATE D CLA S S I F I CA T I O N O F AN EXPA N DI N G G E N R E B y B ront ë M a rt i n

We have all curated preferences as to what music we spend our time getting to know intimately, ultimately constructing our unique tastes in musical genres.

While some gravitate towards the legends of recent past such as Pink Floyd and Bob Dylan, others find solace in jazz or swing music that have consumed audiences as early as the 1930s.

Music categorization begins with the notion of the “genre,” a hulk term that generalizes and classifies defining musical elements to describe a sound. We are all familiar with genres like Pop, R&B, and Rock and Roll, which have dominated the industry for decades. A recent rising genre that has taken Montreal and much of North America by storm is Electronic Dance Music (EDM). With now big-name artists such as Flume and Cyril Hahn performing at venues across the city, EDM concerts have been selling out weekend after weekend without any sign of losing their popularity.

EDM, like other genres, are susceptible

to offspring—otherwise known as “sub-genres.”

This tendency of classifying music types like sub-genres is especially apparent on music blogs, which allows for EDM to remain static as an overarching genre, while new sub-genres frequently emerge from its roots.

EDM as an umbrella term has found substantial popularity, but as a descriptor, the notion lends itself to a slew of implications and generalizations within the music community.

As a solution, we find hundreds—if not thousands—of sub-genres that narrow in on particular sounds and styles. From “drum and bass” to “progressive house,” sub-genres within EDM have been multiplying as a constant display of innovative sounds, catching the attention of European, Australian, and North American audiences alike. Electronic artists experiment with their art forms, giving birth to new strains which, inevitably, must be named. Naming new sub-genres has

allowed for even more creativity in musical production across the board.

Electronic music as a whole is a moving target.

According to a recent McGill BA and Berklee College of Music graduate who goes by the artist name Wolfey, EDM as a term applies to “a vast range of sub-genres including dance, experimental, and ambient.” He described the genre in this sense as “extraterrestrial,” fusing the use of synthesizers, samplers and sequencers to form a bedrock of possibilities for musicians to take inspiration from and for music journalists and fans to identify with.

Like many other producers, Wolfey strives to create an innovative electronic sound that takes inspiration from the past and the present, creating a mixture of ambient electronica, future garage, and post-dubstep.

With this resourceful nature, electronic music production helps to expand what constitutes as EDM, resulting in the classification of various

sub-genres.

Artists like Disclosure and Rusko practice this categorization frequently.

Disclosure has curated a musical identity combining deep house and UK garage with a disco influence, while Rusko birthed a sub-genre of his own: “brostep.” The concept behind brostep is to feature middle register sounds rather than the subbass that original dubstep artists such as Skream and Benga usually highlight.

Electronic artists like Disclosure and Rusko speak volumes on how EDM as an existing genre can’t properly describe a newly innovative sound without over-generalizing.

Technically, both artists belong under EDM’s umbrella, but labelling each producer simply as EDM does nothing more than orient the listener. Every emerging sound deserves a more specific description, and this is where subgenres must attach themselves to specific musical combinations in order to solve the problem of broad generalization.

Limiting an artist’s sound solely to an

overarching genre pools together thousands of its own sub-genres that in reality deserve distinctions, especially on a reputable music blog. Appropriating proper sub-genres through music-oriented online platforms allows readers to know exactly what strains of EDM they like: perhaps minimal electronica or Intelligent Dance Music (IDM)—other sub-genres of electronic music—or what they dislike: maybe techno or brostep.

Sub-genres increase the necessary precision so desperately needed in EDM’s extensive musical diversity.

Music publications such as Pretty Much Amazing and Indie Shuffle are entities that professionally typify music with the use of sub-genres for searching and listening purposes. Jason Grishkoff, the founder of Indie Shuffle, deals with categorization constantly, and welcomes new sub-genres.

“With hundreds of thousands of songs being released every year, you’re going to start to see new ways of describing these emergent sub-genres,”

FEATURES Grishkoff said. Indie Shuffle, along with other music blogs, categorizes each song, remix, cover, LP, or EP they review to whatever sub-genres the writer sees fit, attempting to avoid over-generalization.

But what happens when one person’s categorization is seen by others as miscategorization? As an artist, Benny Morgentaler of Toronto-based DJ duo No Big Deal pointed out that even the grossly misinformed have an online voice.

“Some people know what they’re talking about and have a deep love of music, while others start a music blog for something to do,” he said.

In that same vein, Wolfey argued that “The best journalists are connoisseurs.”

He noted that the problem of miscategorization seems to be a combination of both laziness and a lack of knowledge of proper sub-genres. This is what drives ‘electronic’ to be the most generalized term in music classification.

This division between sub-genres offered by music blogs, iTunes, and streaming sites like Soundcloud,

Bandcamp and NPR, leads to healthy discussion within the online music community, just as opposing political communities foster. Wellformulated opinions about genre classifications help to nail down the thousands of EDM strains, which are often determined by the presence of elements such as synthesizers or varying beats per minute (bpm). Whatever Indie Shuffle labels an artist, Pitchfork might see otherwise; that difference in opinion is usually seen as perfectly valid as long as it is coming from another knowledgeable source.

Ben Ryder-Smith, the cofounding publicist of Native PR Group in London, UK attempts to catch publications’ attention with the artists he represents. As a public relations specialist, how an artist’s sound is presented to fans, journalists, and industry professionals is essential to artist development and recognition of genre.

“Everyone is entitled to their own opinion on what bracket a track or band falls under,” Ryder-Smith argued, adding that as long as people

are talking about his artists, he’s happy. Still, he reminded us that there are more reputable voices than others.

Those voices often belong to industry professionals who have the knowledge and means to articulate their opinions.

This open-minded attitude towards musical classification and discussion is what all music fans and professionals should strive to adopt. Genres continue to evolve, but not beyond recognition. The amplification of emerging musical styles which constitute sub-genres, empower fans, musicians, and journalists alike to explore music without boundaries in order to welcome fusion and collaboration. The coining of strains of electronic music is essential, allowing for specificity to be attributed to defining musical elements.

EDM as a genre exists solely as a father figure to its everexpanding offspring of subgenres.

The ever-growing realms of music might seem expansive or difficult to grapple with, but there really

is something out there that’s known as “industrial breakbeat orchestral electronica.” It’s our job as listeners to find it.

Full disclosure: Brontë Martin is a contributing staff writer at Indie Shuffle.

Photos courtesy of Embrace, grandbenders. com, Low-Life, SoundCloud, The Swingtop Circle, Velvet Speakeasy.

From the top, clockwise: Disclosure, Jason Grishkoff, No Big Deal, Wolfey, Rusko.

Science & technology this in

month

Known for its excellence in research, McGill University is home to a host of professors and scientists whose work contribute to scientific innovation. In tribute to the amazing research conducted within McGill’s walls, each month Science & Technology will feature student researchers who have helped contribute to the cutting edge science conducted at the laboratories. This series hopes to shine a spotlight onto the hard work of undergraduate students who dedicate themselves to research in the lab.

student research

By Caity Hui

Breaking down barriers in osteoarthritis Interview with Joseph Yang For many students, the first day of work entails filling out papers and easing into the new job.

But on Joseph Yang’s first day, he was handed a scalpel and was asked to collect cartilage from mice.

“I really wasn’t expecting to do so many things my first day,” he said. “It was kind of nasty at first— having to cut everything out—but eventually I got pretty good at it. [It got to a point] where I had to dissect around 15 to 20 mice a day.”

Yang, currently a U1 microbiology and immunology student, recently received a second place award for his poster in the Medical Sciences category at the Undergraduate Research Conference on Oct. 10. Submissions were mostly from fourth year students, so Yang was

surprised when he heard his name announced. His poster focused on the research he had conducted this past summer at the laboratory of Vice Chair of research at the University of Toronto and adjunct scientist in developmental & stem cell biology Benjamin Alman. Yang’s research was conducted under the supervision of Peter Kannu, a staff physician in the Clinical and Metabolic Genetic Department. The lab is located in Toronto at SickKids Hospital.

“The goal of my research was to see whether my protein, called aquaporin 9 [which regulates transport of both solute and water] was implicated in causing osteoarthritis [a degenerative joint disease],” Yang said. “We used a mouse model

ence in expression of the osteoarthritis marker COLX between wild type cells—those with the functional aquaporin 9 protein—and knockout cells—those without aquaporin 9. A ‘marker gene’ in this case is a gene that is known for its expression in a certain disease.

“We stained for COLX expression and one thing that was really interesting was that […] the COLX expression levels were only different in the articular cartilage of the joint [flexible connective tissue],” Yang explained.

This observation was very important to his project, as it helped localize where arthritis affects the joint. It also indicated a strong correlation between aquaporin 9 and osteoarthritis—the goal of Yang’s project.

As for many undergraduate students, this summer position was Yang’s first experience in research. One of the benefits of this experience was that it enriched his taste for research and enhanced his learning in the classroom. “[Now] when I am learning about PCR and DNA sequencing, I have physically done it before.

It’s not an abstract thing, because I have already done it. [My lab work allows me to] appreciate the basics of why we are learning about this technique.”

Having enjoyed his experience, Yang is currently working in a lab in the Institut de Recherches Cliniques de Montréal (IRCM) under the supervision of Director of Biochemistry of Epigenetic Inheritance Research Unit and associate IRCM research professor Nicole Francis,

and knocked out aquaporin 9 to see the differences in gene levels of osteoarthritis markers like COLX.” By knocking down the protein, Yang was able to observe what happened in mouse cells when this protein was no longer functioning. He paid particular attention to certain genes known for their involvement in osteoarthritis.

“What happens in osteoarthritis is that there are cells called chondrocytes in the joint area that are supposed to be in the resting state, but they start differentiating into a state known as a hypertrophic state,” Yang said. He explained that in the hypertrophic state, the cells change their morphology and produce collagenX, instead of collagen2 which is required for the proper structure of healthy cartilage.

This state leads to a breakdown of cartilage, resulting in the pain associated with osteoarthritis.

Yang’s project consisted of classifying whether or not the protein aquaporin 9 was involved in osteoarthritis. His results from this summer indicate that this protein does indeed have implications in the disease.

“We noticed that when we knock out aquaporin 9, [making the protein non-functional] the expression level of certain genes responsible for breaking down cartilage are overexpressed. Essentially, when we knock out aquaporin 9, these gene levels go up.” In other words, when aquaporin 9 is not functional, genes implicated in osteoarthritis make more gene products than they normally do in healthy individuals.

Yang also looked at the differ-

Favourite lab technique: “[Collecting cartilage from mice] takes a while because you have to be careful not to dissect other stuff [besides] the cartilage. It was tedious at first, but it is a really good technique [to learn]. You have to focus a lot. Also, [although it was not my favourite task] stacking pipette tips was [surprisingly] fun—[the summer students] raced each other!”

Joseph Yang is a U1 microbiology and immunology student

Most embarrassing moment: “I had a lot of embarrassing moments. For example, we were doing this project where we had to culture cells for 21 days and check them every three days. We had to compare the first three days with the 21st day. I contaminated the cells [on the 21st day] so it basically failed.”

If you were a mad scientist, what would you do in your lab?

“I would make a time machine and go back [in time]. I have a few people I want to meet.”

Wend

yC hen

/M

Advice for other students applying to a lab: “Apply early, because spots fill up. The applications [for my lab] were due at the end of January but I applied in early December. When I went home for the Winter break, I did my interview at the lab. A lot of positions are filled by people who have connections at the lab, so there are a really small number of spots available. If you don’t apply early they will fill up so fast.”

whose lab focuses on proteins involved in cell division of mitosis.

In the future, Yang hopes to apply to a MD-PhD program.

“I like research, but I think I would like to do [a] MD-PhD. I want to do more research to make sure that I really do like it. [It] can be frustrating.”

Yang emphasizes that, as an undergraduate student, getting involved in research can be a difficult process. However, he notes that perseverance is essential to acquiring the opportunity to become a part of a lab community. “[When I applied], I had just finished first year, so I had no lab experience,” said Yang. “My understanding of these biological techniques was pretty limited, so I knew I was in a [less advantageous] position to apply for these full-time positions over the summer.”

“I applied to a lot of labs—25 or something like that—and if I was lucky I would get a response from five. Three said they only took fourth or third year students, but luckily I got an interview at one lab, and that was the lab I actually worked at. I think it is important to keep trying— even if you might not get a response, don’t be upset by that. Apply to a lot of labs and really show that you want to do it.”

Yang said he admires the level of intellectual discussion and collaboration that occurs within both labs he has worked at so far, and he looks forward to the opportunity to continue acquiring a taste for research in his future years at McGill.

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Curiosity delivers. |

science & technology

| Tuesday, November 5, 2013

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TECHNOLOGY

Moving beyond the classroom as a budding entrepreneur McGill alum and Picsolve CEO reflects on his journey in business and computer science Abhishek Gupta Contributor Throughout his years at McGill, Jeff Kelisky never forgot his father’s advice, “Leave the world better than when you arrived.”

Now, as a global business builder, Kelisky continues to strive to make his mark in the world of business and computer science.

Kelisky graduated from McGill in 1988 with a B.Sc. in mathematics and computer science. Since then, he has been involved in multiple start-up and corporate foundations, including his current position as CEO of the company Picsolve— a company specializing in image capture and distribution. Kelisky attributes much of his success to the strong foundations he acquired at McGill.

“The power of the written word is not to be underestimated,” explained Kelisky, when asked about his experience studying at McGill. He elaborated that the writing courses he took outside of his mathematics and computer science degree really enriched his education.

“You learn to think logically and very early on learn to specify everything as precisely as possible,

and care for a wide range of possible scenarios,” Kelisky added.

He explained that the combination of computer science and writing courses equipped him with a set of tools from which to use in the business world.

There were some skills, however, that Kelisky acquired after graduation.

“I underestimated the power of raw confidence,” said Kelisky, “People are looking for answers, in terms of companies trying to sell something to customers or putting a proposal together [….] The [situations] where I accelerated the most […] were when I felt confident enough to say, ‘this is what I think needs to happen.’”

To him, the point where he moved on from being a student to an entrepreneur was when he gained the confidence to bring to the table a well thought-out solution.

In an earlier talk this year at McGill, Kelisky explained how his journey as an entrepreneur involved a balance between working towards a long-term goal and leaving some things to serendipity.

“You need to actively manage the role between them,” Kelisky said. “I absolutely would have a direction for myself [but those who

Research briefs Safety questioned in handsfree texting apps An article in the November issue of Scientific American revealed a surprising twist to the popularity concerning hands-free texting apps, such as Voice Text Pro and DriveSafe.ly. Developers assumed that, since drivers would not need to take their eyes off the road to use them, these apps would be a step towards greater safety.

Although talking on the phone while driving is not a safe idea, it isn’t solely the dexterity associated with handling a phone that causes accidents. Rather, what is concerning is the fact that the driver’s concentration is divided.

What does this mean for hands-free texting? A study released this past April by the Texas A&M Transportation Institute proved the assumptions of this socalled “safer” practice wrong. The experiment looked at three different groups: drivers texting by hand, drivers texting hands-free, and drivers that were not texting at all. The

results of the study indicated that there was no difference between the first two groups of texters, reporting, “response times were significantly delayed no matter which texting method was used.” Case in point, hands-free texting is definitely not a safer alternative, and these apps are no exception.

App developed to dispell surgery fears The Montreal Children’s Hospital hopes to help ward off fears of children’s first surgeries with the release of the app My First Surgery. The app is works on iPads and is currently free to download on iTunes.

My First Surgery is geared towards both children and adults who are about to undergo surgery for the first time. Developed by pediatric surgeon Robert Baird, there are two components to the app: an interactive child view that features bright colours and computer animation, and a parent view that provides further information on the surgery.

Jeff Kelisky (centre) is the CEO of Picsolve, which has developed image capture technologies including stand-alone green screens. (picsolve.biz) work hard] tend to be luckier than most.”

“The more you try and stick to a core [goal], the more you seek these opportunities out and the more you find such things to be serendipitous—they wouldn’t have happened if you weren’t [as] focused.”

One of the problems computer science graduates are facing is the decision whether or not to become

involved in pre-existing corporations or try their luck at starting up their own company.

Having had experience in the world of start-ups, Kelisky acknowledges that there is a tremendous amount of learning that comes from the experience. However, he cautions graduates to carefully analyze all the factors that will go into a start-up. These include market demand, potential for future growth,

and most importantly, whether or not investors back your idea.

“One of the most powerful things is translating what you know into solving real-world problems,” Kelisky added. “When you make the handshake at the end of the deal, that is when you know you have transformed something that was just an intellectual construct to something that matters and the world has acknowledged.”

In the end, Kelisky says he believes that perseverance is the key to being successful as an entrepreneur.

“In most cases, the difference between success and failure, whether it is a retailer creating a new concept [or] a techie starting a new software platform […] the distinguishing character is that they don’t quit.”

Kelisky explains that entrepreneurs will be told over and over again that their idea won’t work.

He advices students to listen to these criticisms and analyze what they are talking about. The important part is to be able to learn from this process of rejection and create a better iteration of the product.

Compiled by Prativa Baral and Caity Hui The app begins by asking the child how they feel about surgery, with which the child can choose between various teddy bears labeled with different emotions: “all cool,” “curious,” “scared,” or “confused.”

Next, a new screen pops up and a cartoon surgeon explains to the child what will occur in the operating room.

According to the Montreal Gazette, the app features instructional videos for patients that provide information about the necessary preparations for surgery, such as blood tests or fasting.

“I felt that this app would be the kind of tool that would augment things just a little bit more, maybe in some small way decrease the anxiety of both the kids and the families,” Baird told the Montreal Gazette.

Though currently available in English, the app will be translated into French, and made compatible with iPhones and Android devices.

SCITECH calendar International Research in Science and Engineering: Information session Learn more about finding undergraduate international research positions and hear from other Science and Engineering students about their international research experiences.

November 6th, 4:30 p.m. in Adams Building, Room 5 Annual BASiC Semi-Formal: The Great Gatsby Nov. 9th, 9 p.m. - Nov. 10th 2 p.m. at Thomson House Science Graduate and Professional Schools Fair Nov. 13th from 10 a.m. - 3 p.m. in the SSMU Ballroom McGill Science Games Hype Night Nov. 14th, 9 p.m. - 11 p.m. Bracelets will be on sale this week.

Osteopathic Medicine in Canada Join second-year medical students from Michigan State University (MUS) for a presentation on becoming a Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine (D.O.) Speakers include McGill Alumni and class of 2016 President, Bo Pang.

Nov. 15th, 6 p.m. - 8 p.m. in Leacock, Room 219 Medical Direction’s Annual Wine & Cheese Join Medical Direction for an evening where you have the opportunity to talk to professors, application advisors and current medical students. Check out their website for upcoming information on ticket sales.

Nov. 19th, 6 p.m. - 9 p.m. at Thomson House Ballroom

arts & entertainment THEATRE

NTS graduate Colm Feore graces local stage once again Canadian film, television, and theatre actor discusses career upon recieving prestigious Gascon-Thomas award Diana Wright Contributor It’s no secret that there is a healthy amount of tension between Anglophone and Francophone cultures in Montreal, but one place the two co-exist beautifully is at NTS, a school that fosters the acting, writing, and directing talents of young people of both languages.

Canadian actor Colm Feore graduated from the National Theatre School (NTS) in 1980, and last week received the 2013 Gascon-Thomas Award for his contributions to Canadian theatre and his status as a role model to students.

Although the award is an honour for Feore, it’s also a reminder of how long he’s been acting—and of his age.

“If you’re still doing it at my age, they think, ‘Well we better give him something,’” Feore laughs. “[However], it’s encouraging to younger people, I suspect, that you can keep working and making a living doing this.”

After over 30 years in the business, with success on the stage, TV, and in well-known movies such as Chicago and Bon

Cop, Bad Cop, Feore is the perfect example of a Canadian actor who has been able to diversify and adapt to different roles, while also remaining true to his roots.

“If you want to be Canadian, you need to start where you know,” says Feore. “The great advantage of being in Montreal is you have those two elements— French and English—that give you a better sense of who you are, and where you’re from. You can go to America and put on an American accent, but there’ll be 50 million people there already doing that.”

Having been determined to become an actor since a young age, Colm Feore unwaveringly pursued his career in the arts. However, he too had some doubts.

“I had applied to universities out of high school [....]

I was an indifferent student, and when I got accepted to the Theatre School I took it as an endorsement of what might be possible [....] I thought ‘I should

try this, and if it sucks I’ll go back to school and study something serious,’” he says.

It is because of this honesty, among other things, that Feore was one of the best possible role models to confront the National Theatre School students about the reality of finding a job as an actor, and the amount of hard work it takes to succeed in such a cutthroat environment.

“There are many, many more people trying to [act] now,” Feore explains.

“Some people get famous fast, and everyone else thinks, ‘Oh, it can work!’ But it doesn’t work like that; it’s horribly difficult and restrictive.

If you don’t have a foot in the door, or a friend on the inside who can guide you, you don’t have a chance.”

However, he With hard work comes hardware. believes that a (Wendy Chen / McGill Tribune) school like NTS can

help young actors get that footing, and actually have a chance— and that his schooling definitely helped advance his career.

“One of the things about NTS is that it has a reputation around the country. It started in 1960 and churned out the best people in the theatre,” says Feore. “The reputation rippled across the country and the rest of the world that this was the best place to be.”

While NTS fostered Feore’s career when he was young, a certain playwright helped inspire it— Shakespeare. Feore is adamant about the importance of keeping the bard relevant in schools today, especially because his writing can often seem inaccessible to an untrained reader.

“The best thing to do is study the best thing [Shakespeare], because then you know that all the effort that you put into it will be rewarded,” says Feore. “If you have muscled your way through King Lear, or Othello, or Macbeth […] you have a foundational understanding of what a good play is [.…] It becomes a foundational canon of your reference material.”

Spoken word

Oral tradition: Montreal edition

The multilingual stage finds a home in the Canadian Festival of Spoken Word Nicole Rainteau Contributor This year marks the 10th anniversary of Canada’s annual Spoken Word Festival, and the first time the festival has graced a Montreal stage.

Since its inception in Ottawa in 2004, the Canadian Festival of Spoken Word has grown from six teams of poets to 20, with a constantly growing audience appealing to viewers of varying ages and languages.

Originally a space to showcase spoken word talent, the festival has grown to incorporate a medley of performance events designed to facilitate the bright and dynamic Canadian spoken word and poetry communities.

Our vibrant city provides a fitting backdrop for the first multilingual festival. Moe Clark directs this year’s presentation, which includes showcases,

workshops, and panels, and brings together a collaboration of the stories of over 120 poets under the theme of “Diverse Languages.” The bilingualism that is so central to Montreal, and the larger tension between French, English, and Canada’s Indigenous languages, intersects directly with the festival’s through-line—the negotiation and diversification of language.

Under Clark’s artistic direction, the festival intends to honour the rich diversity of languages and oral traditions that are in danger of extinction by deconstructing frameworks of language.

Clark seeks to promote awareness about the multiplicity of language. By integrating different disciplines of what constitutes communication— visual, physical, spoken, lyrical—Clark hopes to widen the scope of the festival’s target

audience and their perception of language. Through a combination of poetry, storytelling, and dialogue, the acts in the festival show oral traditions as playing a crucial part in the transmission of history, while attending to both the conflict and interdependence of spoken and written work.

“We have chosen to make each showcase eclectic and diverse, to represent not only the diversity of voices that exist within spoken word, but also to highlight the cabaret style performances of Montreal,” Clark explains. “To do this, we’ve veered away from hosting more ‘token’ showcases, i.e. only Aboriginal artists, only queer performers, et cetera, by bringing spoken word poets from various genres and orientations together in the same event.”

The acts are structured to demystify storytelling and spo-

ken word in an effort to examine language and make its preservation and transmission more accessible.

Recruiting this community of artists was a key part of crea t i n g material and establishing a “collective conscious” for the festival. Clark describes how the individual diversity and dynamic energy of the contributors are “language keepers” who “keep the flames of language lit through generations” and build upon the stories that they are preserving.

The Canadian Festival of Spoken Word “Diverse Languages” runs from Nov. 4 to

Nov. 9 at Theatre Rialto, with events scheduled all day. The last event will showcase this year’s poets of honour: Jose Acquelin and Tanya Evanson.

Curiosity delivers. |

arts & entertainment

| Tuesday, November 5, 2013

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Book Reviews

Worms of the Big Apple Humans of New York creator Brandon Stanton takes his iconic photos to print Evie Kaczmarek Contributor In case you haven’t caught the barrage of social media buzz about it yet, Humans of New York ’ is an online photography blog made up entirely of portraits of people on New York City streets. The man behind the camera, Brandon Stanton, describes the blog as a “photographic census” of the city’s different neighbourhoods. He roams the streets, taking portraits of perfect strangers in their everyday passing moments, and, in effect, makes the mundane unique and beautiful through his lens.

Today, three years after kick-starting his project, Stanton has not only racked up more than 6,000 unique portraits, but also more than 1.5 million likes

on Facebook, tens of thousands of comments per day, and, most recently, a book deal. In midOctober, when the hardcover version of Stanton’s work took to the shelves, its sales surpassed all expectations as it soared to the number one spot on the New York Times ’ bestseller list after just one week.

The book, like the blog, is intelligently simple. Each crisp page features one to three photos, and most are supplemented by a caption that is either Stanton’s own, a single-phrase reaction to the photo, or a snippet from the conversation he had with the subject or subjects. These people act as characters in what seems to be an overarching narrative of the city itself.

Although we only get fragments of the “humans’’’ stories,

many are profound. In some instances, the narrative has political overtones: one photo spans two pages, showing two men kissing as the sun sets under a Statue of Liberty backdrop. Another shows a young man saying, “In Korea, the culture is much more centred around doing what you’re told. Here, everyone wants to argue and discuss and figure things out together.

But there’s a lot of pressure that comes with having that much freedom to make your own decisions.”

Each personal story buttresses the greater discourses in society and the political world.

The book features racial and religious minorities, immigrants, queer couples, single mothers, the elderly, the poor, the homeless, drag queens, and countless

individuals from other marginalized groups. Each person is given a voice, may it be moving, humorous, thought provoking, or intimate. Their photos are placed alongside those of the wealthy, white, and otherwise hegemonic individuals—all given the same amount of value and space on Stanton’s pages.

Aesthetically, the book is stunning. On a given page, the photos complement each other, often contrasting in colour, shape, and theme. From one perspective, the book is a fashion anthology, because it documents some of the best dressed in the city, inclusive of all socioeconomic levels. Stanton has included the fan favourites from the blog Today in microfashion... , a recurring caption that accompanies photos of the cutest and most

uniquely dressed children of the city. The print medium offers a more formal plane than its online counterpart; the blog offers freeform viewing style while the book has a stricter format, but the book’s well-designed pages make the transition from online to hard copy pay off.

Humans of New York highlights New Yorkers’ striking individuality and allows us to see how they all converge to operate as the powerful, humming, massive unit that is New York City.

For all fans of the blog and those desiring a humanistic view of the United States’ most famous cosmopolitan city, Humans of New York comes highly recommended.

Rock and roll heart A reflection on Lou Reed and his significance on the occasion of his passing Legendary producer Brian Eno once famously remarked, “The first Velvet Underground record sold 30,000 copies in the first five years. I think everyone who bought one of those 30,000 copies started a band.” These thoughtful words say a lot about the type of artist Lou Reed was—but not everything. While reflecting upon that quote, it struck me just how great the singular and idiosyncratic contribution he made to popular music was.

Eno’s quotation addresses the fact that Reed influenced many artists, but it leaves out that the way in which he exerted influence was what truly made him great. Sure, a lot of punk bands recorded songs that sound like “I’m Waiting for the Man”; however, his music was dynamic in such a way that one could feel his sway without necessarily wanting to write songs that sounded anything like his.

Certainly, one can desire to create something that rawly expresses sensation with the tangibility of “Heroin” or melancholically evokes longing like “Pale Blue Eyes” in any other style of music or artistic medium.

This phenomenon can be most recently seen in Kanye West’s Y eezus , an album which Reed himself glowingly reviewed just a few months before his death. Yeezus references a

plethora of genres, including hip-hop, soul, industrial, and dancehall—all styles that don’t immediately seem to have much to do with Reed’s work. The possible exception is industrial, but the two treat it so differently that to connect them musically would be a stretch. Yet, it’s hard to imagine an album like Yeezus existing without Reed as a spiritual ancestor. His fearlessness, commitment to his musical vision, and refusal to aesthetically compromise paved the way for artists such as West to have the freedom of experimentation at the risk of failing to meet popular expectations.

Eno’s quotation also doesn’t get to the heart of just how revolutionary Reed was. Just as Elvis redefined what a white man could sound like, Bob Dylan created a new style of popular singing, and Jimi Hendrix gave us a new notion of how the electric guitar could be used, Reed reinvented how a rock band could be defined and what they could aspire to be. Could a rock album have a track featuring an instrumental jam underneath a spoken word story about an accidental killing, as heard in “The Gift?” Could it have an 18-minute free-form ambient improvisation with lyrics about drug dealers and transvestites like “Sister Ray?” Reed’s importance depends not on whether

Pop ic r o t e h R

these became popular trends— they didn’t—but rather that they opened up a new realm of musical possibilities for the artists who followed him.

Finally, Eno’s quotation doesn’t capture the seemingly perpetual ‘newness’ of Reed’s output. Even though the earliest Velvet Underground recordings are nearly 50 years old, they sound like they could have been released last week and would still be avant-garde as hell. Their abrasiveness, disregard of traditional structures, and willingness to push boundaries would place them on the fringe of any era of popular music since its conception.

Amazingly, none of this boldness makes the work feel esoteric in the slightest. Even at its most experimental, his music always had something to keep it from feeling completely insular: a sense of humor, a powerful exhibition of passion, or a melody you just couldn’t forget—even if you wanted to.

Eno certainly made a valid point about Lou Reed, but he didn’t capture the scope of his importance to popular music.

Reed has been a vital figure since the release of his first recordings, and it’s difficult to imagine a future where he won’t continue to be one. Lou, you’ll be sorely missed.

— Max Bledstein

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Tuesday, November 5, 2013 |

arts & entertainment

ALBUM REVIEWS

DEEP CUTS Unearthing the hidden gems in today’s music Compiled by Max Berger Love Me Artist: Katy Perry Album: Prism Released: Oct. 21, 2013

Arcade Fire Reflektor

Ryan Hemsworth Guilt Trips

Son Lux Lanterns

Main Attrakionz Main Attrakionz x Tynethys

Merge Records

Last Gang Records

Joyful Noise

Independent

As Arcade Fire is currently riding the crest of their popularity, the band’s newest release could have consisted solely of white noise and people would have talked about how groundbreaking it was. Thankfully, Reflektor is so much more than that.

A big step up from 2010’s The Suburbs, the album feels like their most mature offering to date—both lyrically and musically. The instrumental arrangements are as complex as ever, but producer and LCD Soundsystem frontman James Murphy gives their sound a new edge, distorting and isolating different components of the music until it all dovetails into an euphoric climax.

Highlight tracks like “Here Comes the Night Time” and “We Exist” are both strongly reminiscent of Arcade Fire’s first album, yet they also manage to sound like something new entirely.

Those two tracks are particularly good, but the album as a whole might as well be a greatest hits compilation—there doesn’t seem to be a single weak song.

Reflektor is Arcade Fire’s longest album, with each song clocking in at about six minutes. The length of the tracks could have made the album sound bloated or unfocused, but instead it manages to be more on-point musically than The Suburbs riffing on a wide variety of influences from Haitian rave music to Greek mythology. Even glam rock is present—David Bowie makes a vocal appearance.

What results is an album that is both joyous and angsty; cacophonous and melodic; and above all, intimate. It sounds like nothing they’ve ever produced before, or anything that anybody has produced, and it’s all the better for it.

With a confusing mélange of tempo and genre, Ryan Hemsworth’s Guilt Trips is not a trip to feel guilty about, but rather a twisting, uncertain journey through EDM. Although technically well put-together, this short album could not possibly fulfill any function; Guilt Trips would not fit into any mood, situation or setting.

A producer and DJ from Halifax, NS, Ryan Hemsworth infuses strong hip-hop vibes into his music, but with Guilt Trips, his second album, he seems confused about how to make ‘chillstep’ and dance music simultaneously.

Each track focuses on drums of all varieties and Hemsworth includes other percussive effects, keyboards, extended bass synths, and short vocal samples as well. Some tracks fortunately include vocals, a necessary element to keep the listener interested and fill out the sound.

But Hemsworth makes up for the otherwise repetitive nature of the acoustic beat music by keeping the tracks short, the smallest being only 1:40 with the average lasting three minutes.

The album’s first track “Small & Lost” perfectly illustrates the idea of the entire album; alternating between escalating drum and bass and a soothing female vocalist over keys, the track could be classified as drone, dubstep, trap, or R&B. The album finishes with a surprise: “Day/ Night/ Sleep System” finally includes the rapping Hemsworth’s beats inherently demand. However, he keeps the track slow, focusing on the rapper’s flowing speech and keeping the listener confused about whether to dance, nod their head, or fall asleep.

Although each song impressively combines hip-hop, dubstep, trap, and other genre-specific sounds into a surprisingly harmonious product, the result exhibits why these elements are typically kept separate. This is not an album to dance to, it is not good background music, it cannot be used to study, and it does not present any strong mood.

If you want to listen to interestingly crafted electronic music then give this album a try, but if you’re looking for a soundtrack to some kind of activity then choose something else.

—Jack Tokarz

New York-based Ryan Lott of Son Lux consumes our ears with Lanterns, his third album to date. Available worldwide on Oct. 29, this brainchild is 43 minutes of magnetic yet often indecipherable instrumentation. To say the least, Son Lux’s approach is left-offield and transethnic, gravitating away from conventionality and familiarity.

This 10-track LP has nestled comfortably in a space slightly less ornate than what we saw on Lott’s previous albums, At War With Walls & Mazes and We Are Rising. Songs like “Lost It To Trying” and “Ransom” incorporate Son Lux’s newly found sonic juxtaposition, which allows for haunting electronica and striking orchestral additives to flourish. “No Crimes” embodies all of this and more, proving its existence as a finessed yet disjointed string arrangement. Lott’s classical musical background is an album theme, simultaneously alluding to his past training and Son Lux’s present sound.

Depicting diversity, peculiarity and sentiment, Lanterns tips its hat off to minimalist layering, evident within “Alternate World” and the highlight single, “Easy.” The latter, as well as “Enough of Our Machines,” particularly features Lott’s introspective vocal abilities, structured alongside the futuristic soul and nostalgic world music elements.

Throughout, Lanterns maintains a hazy, meditative aura, oozing warm complexity with chilling bass saxophone and gentle piano lines. Venturing into even darker territory than before, Son Lux explores a richer trajectory that amalgamates modern R&B and orchestral pop, welcoming us to a state of musical captivation—one that we resist ever leaving.

Oakland, CA rap duo Main Attrakionz, formed by Mondre M.A.N. and Squadda B, are poster children for the obscure cloud rap movement: an emerging genre known for ethereal lyrics and cascading synth lines hooked around amorphous beats. After losing their first mixtape when the hard drive holding their work crashed, Main Attrakionz—in collaboration with Sacramento producer Tynethys—have finally released their self-titled mixtape, Main Attrakionz x Tynethys.

In a phrase, this album can best be described as hit-or-miss. Unfortunately, the many misses strewn throughout the 10-track release outweigh the hits. The song “On1,” which was pre-released in September, is clearly the highlight. It’s the perfect embodiment of the cloud rap movement and an excellent example of Tynethys’ (pronounced “teen this”) prowess. The lyrics are light and gentle, playing off of Squadda B’s soothing vocals and allowing the song to float over the listener. However, the soothing moment is regrettably followed by “Life,” an angry and scratchy mix with weak lyrics accompanied by unoriginal sounds and beats.

Main Attrakionz mostly stuck with the trademark descriptors of cloud rap: effortless and breezy. But from the leaders of the cloud rap movement, I expect uniqueness and unpredictability like we hear in “USB,” not the sleepy vocals and elementary rhymes displayed in “Verbal.” Tynethys describes this collaboration as “simple like the title. Drugs, a whole lotta tree, some brandy with lemonade, some vodka, drugs, a keyboard, and a microphone […] then repeat.” The process shows in the mixtape—if your interest is in unoriginal lyrics and simplistic airy beats, then this is your album; if not, stick with their hits and hope for more consistency on their next release.

—Chris Lutes

—Brontë Martin

| Curiosity delivers.

—Morgan Alexander

Like current single “Roar,” Perry is focused here on responding to the adversity of self-repression—except on “Love Me,” her impressive vocals mix some crooning in with the roars. The song’s light verses are reminiscent of U2’s “Beautiful Day,” but contain a handful of delicate tones that demonstrate Perry’s prowess and sensitivity. As the song creeps into its chorus, the production picks up and resembles more of a typical upbeat Perry track, but it’s the calculated restraint of the verses that hit the right spots.

Open Ended Life Artist: The Avett Brothers Album: Magpie and The Dandelion Released: Oct. 15, 2013 “Open Ended Life” is a real barn-burner: it’s a fun and exciting track, and literally talks about burning houses to the ground. That is the verse subject matter that sets up the chorus lines, “I was taught to keep an open-ended life /and never trap myself in nothin’.” The 2:20 and 4:06 marks are where the song is funnest; the first kicks off a blustering instrumental break capped of by a slick electric guitar riff, and the second delivers a good old fiddle solo.

And It Stoned Me Artist: Van Morrison Album: Moondance (Deluxe Edition) Released: Oct. 22, 2013 Other than his beloved “Brown Eyed Girl,” Van Morrison hasn’t gained the same traction with the average young listener that other passionate vocalists like Bruce Springsteen or James Brown.

But Moondance is worthy of the four-CD, 60-track deluxe edition that was recently released, 44 years since it originally came out. It’s hard for the beauty of “And It Stoned Me” not to resonate—as Morrison belts out the sublime experience of being caught in an intense rain shower, we can participate in his cathartic moment.

Hells Kitchen Artist: DJ Khaled ft. J. Cole & Bas Album: Suffering From Success Released: Oct. 22, 2013 J. Cole owns this track. With a concentrated instrumental beat behind him, he exudes confidence with lines such as “Get smacked if you said I’m neck and neck with these square rappers,” and reveals some vulnerability with a line like “Cried myself to sleep on thousand dollar sheets.” He also sings the chorus hook, which unleashes the palpable frustration that is embroiled in the verses, yearning for a release from hell’s kitchen. Bas delivers a decent second verse, but this is the rare DJ Khaled song that may have been better off with just one feature.

19

SPORTS

Volleyball — Martlets 3, Laval 2 (25-22, 18-25, 19-25, 25-17, 15-10)

Martlets extend undefeated streak in five-set thriller

Virginie Hebert stars with team-leading 15 points; McGill tied for first place in RSEQ

learn, and we have confidence; […] but we need to be patient, we can’t put all the pressure on her to do what Marcela was doing right away.

Although it is still quite early, the Martlets have shown a strong balance of veteran leadership and team chemistry to challenge for the RSEQ title this season. After their bronze medal showing at Nationals two years ago, McGill hopes to ompete with perennial powerhouses Montreal and Laval once more, which is undoubtedly a tough task.

“Every game we play is going to be a solid fight. Our approach is that we’re going to take each game one by one and prepare as much as we can for the games we play,” Beliveau said. “It will be challenging, but fun.”

The Martlets are back on the road on Friday Nov. 8 against the Sherbrooke Vert et Or with the intent of keeping their streak alive, before traveling to Quebec City on Nov. 10 for a return matchup with Laval. McGill currently sits in a tie with Montreal for first place in the RSEQ, with 10 points apiece.

Ben Carter-Whitney Managing Editor After going undefeated on an extended road trip to start the RSEQ season, the McGill Martlets pushed their winning streak to five in a tight home opener at the Love Competition Hall against Laval on Friday. Victory over the Rouge et Or—who also entered the match undefeated—confirms McGill’s return to form after a disappointing 2012-2013 season in which they went 8-12 and missed the playoffs.

The match was pushed to five suspenseful sets, after the Martlets gave up a 25-22 first set victory by losing the next two to Laval, 18-25 and 19-25, respectively. However, McGill bounced back to tie it up in the fourth set thanks to a strong team performance, posting 10 kills, and a hitting efficiency of .292. This stood in stark contrast to the Rouge et Or’s fourth set hitting percentage of .029. The Martlets finished off the match 15-10 to mark just the 13th time in regular-season play that McGill has defeated Laval.

The game featured a highlight performance on both sides of the

Genevieve Plante spikes the ball past a Laval blocker. (Alexandra Allaire / McGill Tribune) ball from veteran Middle Blocker Virginie Hebert. She registered seven kills on 19 attacks and had a huge impact on the court. She also laid down six blocks and four assisted blocks, and finished the game with a team-leading 15 points.

Being in her final year, this season marks Hebert’s last opportunity to help the Martlets claim the RSEQ title.

“Virginie has improved every one of her four years […] since she came to us from College LionelGroulx […] and will be a big part of our team this year,” Head Coach Rachele Beliveau explained.

The team’s recent success comes in a season that could have been written off as a rebuilding year. The team lost setter Marcela Mansure—who held the position

Sports briefs

By Mayaz Alam, Steven Lampert, Remi Lu

Martlet Rugby The McGill Martlets’ rugby squad travelled to Quebec City this past weekend for the CIS National Championships. It was the first time since 2005 that the team advanced to the season’s final weekend. They began the tournament playing the no. 1 seeded St. Francis Xavier X-Women—a team they had split their first two matches with earlier in the year. The no. 4 seeded Martlets upset their opponents 1910 primarily behind the stellar play

of junior centre, Caroline Suchorski, who garnered game MVP awards.

On Saturday, with a chance to play for the Monilex Trophy on the line, the Guelph Gryphons dominated the Martlets by a score of 31-0 in an ugly affair.

Having been relegated to the bronze medal match, McGill faced the OUA champion Queen’s Gaels.

Suchorski once again led the team in scoring with two tries and won match MVP honours. However, this time her efforts came up short as the Martlets fell 32-24 in a back-and-

forth affair that was not decided until the 69th minute. In total, six lead changes were recorded during the physical contest.

Senior forward Julia White and sophomore winger Deanna Foster were named to the all-tournament team, while senior fly-half Brianna Miller was named CIS Player-of-theYear.

for five consecutive years—to graduation. However, third-year setter Yasmeen Dawoodjee has proven all season to be a capable replacement. In Friday’s game, the Ottawa native posted a resounding 37 assists and 13 digs.

“Yasmeen has been improving a lot after playing more regularly,” Beliveau said. “Following Marcela is a big step and [Yasmeen] will

Redmen Hockey The McGill Redmen hockey team secured their spot atop the OUA East division with a pair of wins on the road over the weekend against RMC and Concordia. David Rose and Ryan McKiernan paved the way for the 9-1 victory over RMC with two goals apiece, while freshman forward Jan Kaminsky led the team with four points. The Redmen offence generated a school record 75 shots in the blowout victory. Rookie backup goaltender Jacob Chouinard stood tall in net, stopping 19 of 20 shots to improve to 3-1-0 on the year.

In the second contest of the weekend sweep, the Redmen stifled the Concordia attack en route to a 3-1 win in the 27th annual Corey

Cup classic. McGill sent 54 shots at Stingers’ goaltender Antonio Mastropietro who was almost unbeatable and kept the game from getting out of hand. After trailing 1-0 heading into the final frame, the Redmen finally sent one past Mastropietro on the powerplay.

First-year winger Neil Prokop—who notched a goal and an assist—broke the tie with the game-winner just over 6 minutes into the period.

The Redmen return home for back-to-back games on Nov. 8 and 9 against OUA West divisional opponents Guelph and Western.

Redmen and Martlet Soccer The Martlet soccer team traveled to Stade CEPSUM on Friday evening for the division semifinal game against the RSEQ-leading Montreal Carabins.

McGill entered the match with an 8-3 record against conference opponents, having tallied one loss and one tie game against the Carabins this season.

On the day, McGill not only

had to go up against Montreal, but also the 100 km/h winds that blew through the city on Friday evening, wreaking havoc for the game plans of both squads. The teams remained scoreless until the second half, when Montreal’s 21-year-old Constance de Chantal scored a mere four minutes out of halftime. Despite the Martlets’ front-line effort to keep the team

in the game, McGill was shutout for the sixth time this season.

Carabins midfielder Steffy RoyOuellet put the game away for Montreal when she scored in the 87th minute of the game to seal the match, 2-0.

It was a similarly tough night for the McGill Redmen, as the team fell 3-0 to the divisionleading Montreal Carabins.

The Redmen have played well this season—despite their 4-5 record—and have shown the ability to play up to Montreal’s level in the regular season.

However, McGill’s game plan fell apart when the team was forced to shift from an offensive-minded attack to focus on defence after the Carabins’ Maxime Laurey scored in the 44th

and 70th minute of the game.

That set the table for Marcellin Bilali-Ibaku, who iced the game in the 83rd minute, dropping the Redmen out of post-season play.

Curiosity delivers. |

sports

| Tuesday, November 5, 2013

Rowing National Championships — martlets 5th, redmen 6th

18

McGill rowers navigate to impressive finish at Nationals

Martlets finish fifth, Redmen sixth in front of home crowd

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The Martlets placed fifth overall at the National Championships. (row2k.com) Remi Lu Sports Editor A brisk and windy weekend saw the Martlet and Redmen rowing teams compete in the Olympic Basin for the National Championships hosted by McGill. A record 25 universities arrived in Montreal on Saturday for the two-day affair, with over 300 athletes registered to compete in 12 different events. Although seven McGill teams advanced to the A-level finals, it was Western University who came out on top in both the men’s and women’s divisions, followed by the University of British Columbia (UBC). The Redmen rowers finished the weekend ranked sixth in the nation with 44 points, while the Martlets placed an impressive fifth overall with 51 points.

Kelly Donovan, a freshman out of Saint-Lazare, Quebec, led the way for the Martlets, finishing fifth in the heavyweight women’s single A competition with a time of 9:24.75. Adding to the results were the women’s heavyweight eight, who also finished fifth in a tough field that included UBC, Queen’s, and Western. Previous gold medal winners for the heavyweight women’s pair event at last year’s competition, junior Luce Bourbeau and masters student Kalyna Franco, fell short of their repeat aspirations, finishing in sixth place.

The Redmen notched four berths in the A-finals after Saturday’s time trials. Junior light-

weight single rower, Mark York, placed sixth in the contest despite winning a bronze medal at the OUA Championships. High hopes for sophomore heavyweight pairs Lucas de Gelder and Thomas Portsmouth were crushed after the twosome was excluded from the official results.

Despite the tough individual results, the Martlets and Redmen finished fifth and sixth overall respectively—a remarkable achievement for a team that is not yet fully-funded by McGill.

“McGill [finished] in the top six out of 26 teams in Canada for rowing,” Head Coach Philip Hedri said. “[This] is outstanding because we are one of the programs that is still volunteer run, and we’re going against programs that are level-one sports at their schools [….] The calibre of rowing in our program is getting stronger. I think that our ultimate goal is to become a level-one, fully-funded sport at McGill. I think that will allow us to take these results to a whole other level and be able to compete for the banner.”

The Martlets and Redmen entered nationals fresh off of strong performances at the Head of the Charles Regatta and the OUA Championships. This season’s results have exceeded Coach Hedri’s expectations for the team.

“On the women’s side, two bronze medals at the OUA Championships is huge,” Hedri said. “We have one bronze medal from [York] that was also a land-

mark moment. I’m really proud of the women who got a silver at the Head of the Charles. I think that those are outstanding results.”

Moving forward, the team has a bevy of young talent set to lead the program as it hopefully progresses to full-team status at McGill. This is a crucial stage for the rowing team, in which any and all experience against high-level competition is beneficial in moving the program forward. Portsmouth and de Gelder from the Redmen have been chosen to represent Rowing Canada at the National Rowing Championships Regatta, set to take place later this month. For the Martlets, Ester Jamison and Kelly Donovan have shown significant improvement, and look to lead the women’s rowing team in the future. “[Jamison] was a novice last year, which means that she had never rowed before,” Hadri said.

“She was basically initiated to the sport of rowing through [McGill]. And now one year later, she [won] two bronze medal crews at OUA [….] Same for [Donovan], who is a Montrealer.

This is her first season rowing with McGill. She made it into two bronze medal boats, and she placed fifth in the time trials in the women’s singles.”

It has been a season of definite progress for the rowing teams. McGill should build upon this year’s success and improve the program for the years to come.

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19

Tuesday, November 5, 2013 |

sports

POINT

| Curiosity delivers.

With the National Football League (NFL) moving into the second half of its 2013 season, neither the American Football Conference (AFC) nor the National Football Conference (NFC) has a runaway favourite to win the Super Bowl. Two contributors weigh in on which conference boasts the most talent in a league renowned for its parity.

COUNTERPOINT

NFC

AFC

Offence: No team in the NFC compares to the offensive powerhouse that is the Denver Broncos. Led by Peyton Manning and his new favourite target Wes Welker, the Broncos are on pace to shatter just about every scoring record, including most points in a single season. Manning is also slated to break Tom Brady’s record of 50 TD passes set in 2007. With weapons like Demayrius Thomas, Julius Thomas, and Eric Decker, no defence in the NFC—or AFC for that matter—has the personnel to match the Broncos for a full 60 minutes. Moreover, the top four AFC teams have outscored the top four NFC teams by a 933-877 margin, as well as 111 touchdowns to 98, respectively.

Defence: On the surface, it may appear that the AFC is disadvantaged because much of the media coverage focuses on the strong defensive units of the Seattle Seahawks and the San Francisco 49ers.

What many overlook, however, is Kansas City’s defence, which leads the league in points allowed, sacks, and fumble recoveries. Additional statistics prove the AFC’s defensive prowess. Seven of the NFL’s top 10 defensive teams in terms of points allowed hail from the AFC. Of the 10 teams that lead the league in sacks, eight come from the AFC. Seven of the top 10 stingiest units in terms of yardage allowed and yards-per-play also are from the NFC. Finally, four of the five worst de-

fences in terms of yardage allowed and points allowed are from the NFC, showing that there is depth from the top to bottom in the AFC. Coaching: In terms of coaching, the AFC stands well above its NFC counterpart. Andy Reid has taken a Kansas City team that went 2-14 last year and turned them into a legitimate Super Bowl contender, boasting the league’s only remaining undefeated record. Over in New England, Bill Belichick—one of the greatest football minds of our generation—has led a Patriots team decimated by injuries and free agency to an AFC East best 6-2 record.

No matter what players are lining up on the field, or what team they are playing, Belichick devises game plans that put his team in a position to win each week. In Indianapolis, Chuck Pagano, who overcame his battle with cancer last year, is leading a young Colts team to one of its best starts in franchise history. Having taken his second-year quarterback Andrew Luck under his wing, Pagano and the Colts have handed out huge losses to NFL powerhouses such as Seattle, San Francisco, and Denver.

VS

— Drew Allen

Offence: At the halfway point in the NFL season, it is clear that the league’s most lethal offences reside in the NFC. With the read-option tearing through defences and versatile quarterbacks dotting the conference landscape, NFC teams are virtually unstoppable.

The NFC North is home to the league’s top quarterback, Aaron Rodgers, while running back Adrian Peterson and wideout Calvin Johnson are also the standard bearers at their respective positions. Julio Jones, Cam Newton, and Drew Brees light up the scoreboard on a weekly basis and give the NFC South some of the most electrifying players in the league. The NFC East may lack an elite team, but with Dez Bryant, LeSean McCoy, and Robert Griffin III, it has no shortage of thrilling young offensive stars in intriguing systems. The future of the NFL resides in the NFC West as Colin Kaepernick and Russell Wilson both lead two of the NFL’s flashiest young teams.

Defence: Unlike in the AFC where defensive statistics are skewed by weak offences, NFC teams have the tough task of taking on a slew of talented offensive players each week. TThe truth is that the most daunting and imposing defensive players dwell in the NFC. Led by Richard Sherman and Patrick Willis, the Seattle Seahawks and San Francisco 49ers are two of the league’s premiere defensive units.

The teams combined to make up over half the All-Pro defensive team last season, and have continued to puzzle offensive coordinators and quarterbacks alike in 2013.

In the trenches, the NFC is anchored

by Ndamukong Suh and Jared Allen who make even the best offensive lines look like sieves. Linebackers DeMarcus Ware and Clay Matthews have wreaked havoc for opposing teams’ quarterbacks, while Lance Briggs, NaVarro Bowman, and Sean Lee have been spectacular at stonewalling rushing attacks.

In the secondary, Charles Tillman and Darelle Revis cause headaches for offensive coordinators with their shutdown defensive abilities.

These elite defences can dominate any AFC opponent.

Coaching: Ever since Lombardi and Landry roamed the sidelines in the 60s and 70s, the NFC has been home to the league’s best NFL minds.

Other than the presence of Bill Belichick, the AFC has merely a weak fraternity of coaches.

The New Orleans Saints saw the importance of coaching first-hand in 2012, as their record dropped from 13-3 in 2011 to 7-9 the following season in large part because of the absence of Head Coach Sean Payton. The NFC has offensive masterminds such as Mike McCarthy, who has taken his Packers to the playoffs in four straight seasons and looks to add another Lombardi trophy to his resumé. Mike Shanahan and Tom Coughlin are two of the biggest names in the business—with a pair of Super Bowl rings to back up their claim.

Jim Harbaugh and Pete Carroll represent the new wave of NFL coaches rising from the college system, and it won’t be long before their knuckles are lined with championship rings too.

— Aaron Rose

Editors’ pick: The NFC Although the AFC may have the statistics to back up offensive and defensive success, the conference’s numbers are skewed by the presence of a few elite teams, namely the Denver Broncos, Kansas City Chiefs, and New England Patriots. These teams have padded the score sheet thanks to weak schedules, in contrast to the excellent depth of NFC teams.

THIRD MAN IN Ever since he became the first openly gay active athlete in one of the four major North American professional sports, NBA centre Jason Collins has been widely praised and supported. However, at 34 years of age, his career seems to be nearing its end.

Despite word from his brother Jarron—a former NBA big man himself—that Collins is in the best shape of his life, there appears to be little interest from any NBA teams to sign the journeyman centre.

It’s worth asking, however, whether Collins should receive another shot.

The reason that Jason Collins remains unsigned is due to performance and money issues, not his sexual orientation. Some, such as Sports Illustrated author Jeff Pearlman,

Talent trumps the token

have suggested that the NBA is letting a golden opportunity for progress slip away by leaving Collins unsigned. However, if Collins is signed on the basis of his sexual orientation, it is not progress, but rather tokenism.

Upon his coming out, some compared Collins to Jackie Robinson. Robinson was the first African American to play in the MLB, ending racial segregation in the sport, while showing courage and poise in the face of blatant racism. However, a key difference exists between the two. Robinson was a Rookie-of-the-Year, MVP, and six-time all-star.

He is arguably a hall-of-famer based on his stats alone. He was not a token, a gimmick, or a utility player, like Collins is; Robinson was a top-tier base-

ball player.

Collins is a role player and has been for almost the entirety of his 12-year career. He has never been impressive statistically speaking, and has not played significant minutes in a number of years. At his best, Collins was sometimes referred to as the “Dwight Howard Stopper,” using his size and strength as a defensive menace against one of the league’s most dominating centres.

At this point in his career, Collins likely only makes sense for a team with a shortage of big men. A contender dealing with injuries at that position could take a flier on him, but he’d likely remain a minute-eater who is unable to contribute offensively.

Even if Collins could provide some value, a lot of teams

are hesitant because of the costs of signing such a player.

As a veteran player, Collins’ minimum salary is higher than a player with less experience.

About half the teams in the league are also above the salary cap, meaning that they would need to pay a luxury tax—on top of the salary—if they were to sign Collins.

There are also those who believe that the lack of interest shown by NBA teams is due to the media attention he would bring. This would certainly be a factor at first, but the frenzy would likely die down as the season moved along.

Others believe that concerns about locker room dynamics have caused teams to shy away from Collins. However, this viewpoint is shortsighted. The NBA is a very

progressive league. Upon his announcement, Collins was congratulated and praised for his courage by many big names stars in the league, including, but not limited to, Kobe Bryant, Steve Nash, Tony Parker, Jason Kidd, and Kevin Durant.

If a player were to speak out against Collins, he would likely be ostracized, branded as a homophobe, and reprimanded by the league office.

Signing Collins because he is gay would be exactly the kind of differential treatment that has no place in sport. If he is signed, I hope that it’s because he provides real value, and not just for his personal and incredibly courageous decision.

—Wyatt Fine-Gagné

SPORTS

lacrosse national championships — Redmen 11, guelph 14

Redmen high hopes end in devastating defeat Guelph Gryphons claim 2013 Baggataway Cup on McGill’s home turf Mayaz Alam Sports Editor It was an unfitting end to what was supposed to be a dream season. The McGill Redmen were riding a 19-game winning streak against CUFLA competition coming into the championship game of the Baggataway Cup. The match was held at home in Molson Stadium in front of raucous McGill fans. All that stood in their way from back-to-back trophies was a pesky Guelph squad that was hoping to win its third game in 48 hours. All season long the Redmen had mowed down their opponents through a combination of superior depth and offensive talent, but in their final game of the season, they were unable to do what they had done so often this season. The Guelph Gryphons were the ones to hoist the trophy following a thrilling 14-11 championship game.

The 14 goals represented the highest total McGill had allowed all season, surpassing the previous high of nine against Bishop’s University in their final game of the regular season. On Sunday, however, Guelph withstood the physicality of a stout Redmen de-

Sophomore Midfielder Rhys Burnell surveys the field. (Luke Orlando / McGill Tribune) fence that featured a whopping five All-Canadians, and used deft passing to expose McGill’s backline.

According to McGill Head Coach Tim Murdoch, Guelph took advantage of small lapses in his squad.

“We just got beat a few crucial times defensively; it wasn’t anyone in particular,” Murdoch explained.

“They have some really amazing shooters and scorers, and they were just hitting the net.”

Time and time again, McGill’s

offensive chances were thwarted

by Guelph goalie, Jeremy Snider.

In the last minute alone, the hosts were shocked as Snider managed to stop the ball from crossing the goal line after a wealth of quality chances. Throughout the game, the Redmen attack was patient and picked their spots carefully as they worked the ball around the perimeter, probing the Gryphons’ defence.

This strategy proved successful initially, as McGill jumped out to

an early 4-2 lead following the first quarter.

Connor Goodwin, a junior attackman, was the offensive engine for the Redmen, scoring three goals and adding three assists to cap off an excellent tournament.

Kevin Donovan, Leland De Langley, and Anders Bjella all chipped in with two goals apiece. However, the team’s efforts were not enough as the Gryphons turned it on in the second half, outscoring McGill 8-5

(Luke Orlando / McGill Tribune)

in the final two quarters.

Despite the final result, Murdoch expressed pride in his team and their historic record season they had achieved.

“As far as the end of the game, what I was happy to see was that our team never gave up. We were down by four goals and were able to get one back,” Murdoch said.

“This loss doesn’t mar an otherwise amazing season: going undefeated—the first time that’s ever happened at McGill—and making it to the National Championship game.”

The path to establishing a McGill lacrosse dynasty does not end here, as a whopping 37 out of 41 players are set to return next season. In addition, Murdoch has shown an unmatched capacity to recruit quality players across North America. Goodwin is one such player who expects to return and is conident that the squad will use the off-season to their advantage.

“We need to just work on our skills; [get] in the gym, get stronger, get bigger,” Goodwin said.

“We return most of our guys so we’ll definitely be gunning for a championship next year.”