McGill Tribune Vol. 31 Issue 17

Tribune The McGill

Published by the Tribune Publication Society Volume No. 31 Issue No. 17

Tuesday, February 7, 2012

Asbestos GA editorial US elections Montreal microbrews Army ants Pinhole photography Redmen hockey

2 8 12-13 14 16 18 21

Newburgh & Steven v.

Tacoma (1 & 3)

Sparse attendance marks SSMU GA (see p. 3)

Motion regarding student-run cafe passes with overwhelming support. (Sam Reynolds / McGill Tribune)

J-Board hears case regarding referendum Newburgh & Steven v. Tacoma results will be released within 30 days Erica Friesen & Carolina Millán Ronchetti News Editors Last night, the SSMU Judicial Board (J-Board) heard a case submitted by former SSMU President Zach Newburgh and co-founder of the Prince Arthur Herald Brendan Steven, against respondent Rebecca Tacoma in her function as Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) of Elections SSMU. (Full disclosure: Newburgh sits on the Tribune Publication Society’s Board of Directors.) The petitioners requested that the results of the fall referendum question regarding QPIRG’s existence be invalidated, citing violations during the campaign period, the CEO’s alleged inability to fulfill her functions and

the unconstitutionality of the question posed by QPIRG. The case had been originally scheduled for Jan. 31 but was postponed for a week due to concerns that the structure of the J-Board conflicted with provincial laws. In the SSMU’s interpretation of provincial law, the Board of Directors will have to ratify the J-Board’s decision for it to be effective.

The hearing opened with introductory statements by Newburgh and Steven’s advocate, Carmen Barbu, and Tacoma’s advocate, Gabriel Joshee-Arnal.

The case then proceeded with the examination of witnesses by both parties. Barbu first examined former SSMU VP Finance Nicho-

las Drew, who analyzed a pie chart illustrating QPIRG’s finances. The chart showed that 11.74 per cent of QPIRG’s expenses are formed by opt-outs. When asked by Barbu if such an amount would constitute a threat to an organization’s existence, he said that, from his experience, over 50 per cent constituted a threat.

Barbu also called Eliana Schwartz to the witness stand, who was on CKUT’s mailing list and received an email regarding QPIRG’s referendum question.

“It struck me as inappropriate to use the listserv to [endorse QPIRG],” Schwartz said.

Barbu then cross examined Newburgh, who said that he had sent emails to Tacoma which noted that

there had been over 70 campaign infractions. The grievances included the conflict of interest of SSMU Council members who participated in ‘yes’ campaigns, the unsanctioned support of external organizations, and the unsanctioned publication of endorsement letters by both the Tribune and the McGill Daily.

“I expected that they would be considered, that each of the matters would be dealt with appropriately,” Newburgh said, referring to lengthy emails he sent to Tacoma that were not answered.

During cross examination, Joshee-Arnal questioned why, if he had complaints during the referendum period, Newburgh had not appealed to the J-Board until after the

referendum results were released.

“At no point did I ever consider [going to J-Board] until after the results,” Newburgh said. “There was no doubt in my mind [that the infractions would be addressed.]”

After Newburgh’s testimony, Joshee-Arnal called the respondent’s first witness, Tacoma. She testified that Steven had initially contacted her about forming a ‘no’ committee for the fall referendum questions.

Tacoma also explained the reason for not replying to Newburgh’s emails. “[This was a] very contentious referendum, I was receiving a lot of emails [and] couldn’t reply to all of them,” she said. “It would have See “J-Board” on page 3

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SSMU GA loses quorum after passing two motions Motion to establish a student-run cafe passes with overwhelming support from student body Anand Bery Science & Technology Editor SSMU’s Winter General Assembly struggled to maintain quorum on Feb. 1, barely reaching the 100 undergraduates needed to render votes binding. Two motions were voted on as a binding assembly, while the remaining were voted on as a consultative body.

A motion from the floor submitted by former SSMU President Zach Newburgh and U2 political science student Brendan Steven sought to amend the agenda to include a vote to reinstate SSMU’s Judicial Board.

Despite a second vote and discussion from the floor, the motion was defeated and was not added to the agenda. At the time of the GA, SSMU had suspended the Judicial Board’s activities, which included hearing Newburgh and Steven’s case regarding the fall referenda.

The Judicial Board was reinstated at a SSMU council meeting the following day.

After a report from each SSMU executive on developments in their portfolio, the assembly proceeded to vote on the selection of SSMU’s financial auditor, which passed with quorum.

The next motion looked to

gain student support behind the establishment of a student-run café in the Shatner Building, an endeavour which has been a cornerstone of Shyam Patel’s tenure as VP Finance and Operations of SSMU. When asked about the release of a business plan for the project, Patel promised that one would be released by the end of his term.

Molly Swain, a U1 women’s studies student, spoke in favour of the student-run café.

“I think the time is not only nigh, but also extremely right for this to happen,” Swain said. “We’re seeing a general rollback in terms of student-run spaces on campus without being consulted about it, so I think this is really a great initiative and this is the time we should be putting this together.”

The motion passed overwhelmingly.

A motion moved by Clubs and Services representative Adam Winer aimed to have SSMU work to limit how extensively corporations are involved in McGill’s governance, teaching, and research, particularly with regards to companies known to have committed ethical and environmental injustices.

“This motion does not attempt to lay out an overall systematic theory for what constitutes corpo-

rate influence and what does not,” Winer said in response to a question on how the motion would evaluate inappropriate pressure from industry on McGill research. “I think that we can see certain very egregious cases of inappropriate corporate influence over the research process at McGill and it’s those cases which this motion seeks to cover.”

The assembly was divided on the implications of the motion, with some speakers highlighting the benefits of corporate involvement at McGill in terms of academic funding and job prospects, while others denounced associations between McGill and corporations known to have committed social injustices.

“Given [that] SSMU’s already [opposed to] tuition increases and this resolution would seek to in some way lessen corporate investments, I’m just curious, where is the money going to come from?” Steven asked.

“Most students come to university to get a good education ... and ultimately graduate and hopefully get a job. Don’t you find that this resolution will have a major impact on McGill University to have partnerships with outside corporations so that we can allow graduates to actually get jobs, especially in the current economic climate?” Alexandre

SSMU speakers address students. (Sam Reynolds / McGill Tribune) Meterissian, a U3 political science student, asked.

Although it will not be considered binding due to the loss of quorum, the motion was passed by the assembly.

“We always draw the line where people are being hurt, where the environment is being destroyed, and where there are unfair corporate

practices,” a gallery member, who didn’t identify himself before speaking, said. “It doesn’t matter how many jobs they’re going to give, how much money they’re going to give your department. We cannot allow corporations that commit acts like that against the communities that they affect without drawing lines.”

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Asbestos exporter takes leave from Board of Governors Anti-asbestos activists ask McGill to take stronger steps against influence from the asbestos industry Erica Friesen News Editor Asbestos exporter and member of the McGill Board of Governors (BoG) Roshi Chadha announced last Wednesday that she will take a leave of absence from her positions on McGill’s BoG and that of St. Mary’s Hospital Foundation, in a move that follows calls for her resignation by anti-asbestos activists.

Chadha is a director of Seja Trade Ltd., a company that exported asbestos from the Jeffrey Mine in Asbestos, Quebec, until the mine’s activities were suspended last fall.

Seja is a branch of Balcorp Ltd., a company owned by Chadha’s husband that is currently involved in negotiations with the Quebec Government to facilitate the reopening of the mine.

Chadha’s announcement was followed by a letter submitted to McGill on Feb. 2, in which over 70 medical doctors and health research-

ers call for her resignation, citing the fact that she is “seeking to re-launch the deadly asbestos trade, and denies the clearly established scientific evidence that all asbestos is harmful to health.”

Kathleen Ruff, an anti-asbestos activist who has been petitioning for Chadha’s resignation since December, condemned the way that the Canadian government allows companies like Chadha’s to export asbestos to countries where people are unaware of its universally acknowledged health risks. While Ruff acknowledged that Chadha has made important contributions to protecting people’s health, she said that McGill implicitly endorses asbestos exports by having Chadha as a member of the BoG. “If you are appointing someone to a leading position on a board of governors you should ensure that that person supports the mission of that institution,” Ruff said. “You want to acknowledge someone who

sets an example to the students and to the world.”

McGill administration has remained quiet on the subject, apart from a public statement issued by Stuart Cobbett, Chair of the BoG. “Mrs. Chadha is a distinguished senior volunteer in the McGill community, and has given years of sustained service to the university through a range of important roles and contributions,” Cobbett wrote in the statement. “We respect her wishes, though reluctantly, and look forward to her return.”

McGill’s reluctance to remove Chadha from the BoG is only one of many criticisms recently directed against the university for its connections with the asbestos industry. In a CBC documentary that aired last Thursday, Professor David Egilman of Brock University accused McGill of allowing the asbestos industry to sponsor scientific studies that misrepresented the health effects of asbestos. Egilman said that

the government is using these same studies to justify the reopening of the Jeffrey Mine, which is “against the public interest and will lead to asbestos-related deaths,” according to the letter to McGill.

The authors of the letter also wrote that they were appalled by the discovery that the university has plans to use asbestos-cement storm pipes in the construction of the McGill University Health Centre.

“It is particularly cynical that McGill is using asbestos-containing materials in a hospital building,” the letter states. “As well as being willing to endanger its own workers and public maintenance workers, McGill will serve as a priceless “poster child” for the asbestos industry, whose marketing in developing countries will likely feature McGill’s new state-of-the-art hospital.”

Fernand Turcotte, professor at Laval University and lead signer of the letter to McGill, said that he is unimpressed with McGill’s response

to these issues.

“I have both a professional obligation and an obligation as a scientist to oppose any kind of avoidable threat to human health, of which asbestos is a good example,” he said.

“We need an institution like McGill [to make] a much clearer form of commitment.”

Ruff urged the McGill administration to reconsider its connections with the asbestos industry.

“I think it will seriously harm McGill’s image,” Ruff said. “McGill knows that asbestos is killing people around the world … These are unnecessary deaths and we know how to stop them. Instead, McGill is blocking efforts to try and stop these deaths … How can an institute that deals with facts and knowledge refuse to examine very serious ethical issues that have been put before it?”

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Student demonstration disrupts Public Services Job Fair Protestors against increasing tuition fees act against recruiting organizations with poor human rights records Bea Britneff Contributor Last Thursday afternoon, a crowd of approximately 100 demonstrators protesting against Quebec’s proposed tuition hikes entered the McGill campus.

The demonstration, organized by an autonomous committee of students from four different campuses—Cégep du Vieux-Montréal, l’Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM), Concordia University, and McGill University—began walking at 11:00 a.m. at Concordia and then moved towards McGill.

Professor Jim Nicell, Associate Vice-Principal (University Services), sent out an email around noon informing McGill staff and students that protestors were approaching campus, and that the march was peaceful.

“We felt it was appropriate for the entire community to know that this group was passing through campus so that they wouldn’t be surprised if they were to see or hear them,” Nicell said.

Upon arriving at McGill, the protestors walked up McTavish

Street and marched through McLennan Library, shouting through megaphones and chanting slogans in both English and French. They then entered the SSMU building and made their way up the staircases.

“They were very loud and obnoxious,” Darrell de Lara, U2 anthropology, said. “It seemed like they were trying to gather more people for the protest.”

A group of protestors remained on the second floor and proceeded towards room 202 where Career Planning Service (CaPS) was hosting a Public Service Jobs Fair. CaPS Administrative Assistant Jean Hepworth was taking registration at the door and was confronted by the demonstrators.

“I stood in the doorway and told them [that] this is a fair … you can’t come in here and disrupt,” Hepworth said. “They basically pushed me aside and marched in.”

“Two girls wearing masks came in first, carrying bins full of garbage and compost,” a U4 geography and history student attending the CaPS fair, who wished to remain anonymous, said. “They passed by each display, looking to see who was

present at each table.”

The girls approached the table facilitated by Correctional Services of Canada. One of the girls reportedly swept everything off the table, and together they emptied the contents of their garbage bins.

The crowd of demonstrators left shortly after. “[The disruption] was obviously not spontaneous … they came in with determination,” the anonymous U4 student said. “This was very shocking behaviour, especially at a [CaPs] Fair where students are hoping to meet potential employers.”

Other reactions to the intrusion at the fair included expressions of shock, disappointment, and confusion.

“I want to know why this happened … I don’t get the relation [between the fair and the demonstration] at all,” Hepworth said.

“I think this was incredibly unfortunate,” Nicell said. “Despite what they may feel about this particular event, I can’t see what right they have to unilaterally decide on what events can or can’t happen at McGill.”

SSMU VP External Joël Ped-

neault offered a plausible explanation for why the demonstrators targeted the CaPS fair.

“Organizations like Correctional Services and Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) have poor track records for human rights abroad,” Pedneault said. “Some of the demonstrators might have decided to disrupt the event because they don’t agree with what these organizations do … and denounce the idea of them recruiting at McGill.”

Hepworth will be filing a complaint about the incident with the Office of the Dean of Students Jane Everett and the Office of Executive Director, Services for Students.

“The fact that there was no security for me and the employers … is unacceptable,” Hepworth said.

“SSMU security should have been informed that [the demonstration] was heading into the building.”

After leaving the McGill campus, the demonstration moved to Cégep du Vieux-Montréal and spontaneously disrupted a conference on mining development in the north of Québec.

The demonstration ended at the UQAM campus.

“An interesting aspect of Thursday’s demonstration is that it revealed the horizons of what student activism might be,” Pedneault said. “People are organizing across the lines … this is unprecedented activism between anglophone and francophone students.”

The ongoing, growing student movement against tuition hikes has several future demonstrations planned, the next of which is scheduled for Feb. 16.

“A coalition of unions, community groups, and student associations are organizing a mass blockade of the Montreal Commerce Centre,” Pedneault said. “They will be protesting not just the [tuition] increases but other austerity measures that the [provincial] government has announced.”

Warning emails will not necessarily be sent out to the McGill community for all future protests.

“It will always depend on the circumstances at the time,” Nicell said.

A province-wide student strike could be declared as early as Feb. 20.

other duties,” Knight said.

When asked if she was contacted during the fall referendum regarding the CEO’s role, Knight said that she was addressed by the QPIRG ‘yes’ committee.

“I received some complaints from the ‘yes’ committee who were concerned that the respondent was exhibiting bias [against] them.”

Following the cross-examination of the witnesses, the justices heard additional witnesses who had been called by three interveners, third parties who have entered the suit for their own interests.

The first intervener for the QPIRG representative, Faiz Lalani, emphasized the need to ensure the referendum’s adherence to the constitution.

“This appeal is about student democracy and how we conceive of it,” Lalani said. We want to ensure that students have the right to participate ... and when they meet the constitutional safeguards that are in the constitution [such as the number of signatories], their democratic will ought to be respected.”

Lalani called on SSMU VP Finance Shyam Patel to confirm that the loss of opt-out-able fees would

have severe negative implications for a student body such as QPIRG. He also questioned Anna Malla, a member of QPIRG, who said that many alternative avenues had been explored to maintain the organization without switching to non-optoutable student fees.

“We didn’t come to this question easily,” Malla said. “It took us years to get to this understanding that we actually cannot continue to exist under the current circumstances.”

Adam Wheeler, a co-chair of the QPIRG Yes Committee, said that although they consulted Tacoma frequently to ensure that they were in compliance with the bylaws, QPIRG never considered her to be biased in their favour.

“At various times throughout the campaign we were actually concerned that she could be biased against us, because ... the sanctions that we received ... were quite significant ... especially in comparison with previous years’ [referenda],” Wheeler said.

CKUT intervener, Vladi Ivanov, emphasized the fact that organizations like CKUT are hurt by “blanket opt outs” that “do not re-

flect any kind of democratic will regarding the actual value of services

by CKUT.” Because students simply choose to opt out of all possible services online, they do not take the time to learn about the work done by the organization.

The financial harm that this kind of a system means to an organization, Ivanov said, shows that the issue of opt-out fees is instrumentally linked to the issue of the organization’s survival. If the two issues in the question were inseparable, she claimed, the referendum was constitutional, unlike Newburgh and Stevens’ allegations.

The hearing was concluded by Barbu asking the board to invalidate the referendum. Joshee-Arnal concluded by asking the board to consider why Newburgh and Steven did not raise the issue over the referendum question until after it took place. He also restated the concern of why the petitioners only sought to target QPIRG and not CKUT when both referendum questions were the same.

The J-Board will release its ruling of the case within 30 days.

J-Board cont. continued from COVER taken a lot of my time to adequately respond to [the emails]. I didn’t feel it was part of my duties to provide a written response, though I was open to other forms of discussion.”

Tacoma added that Newburgh did not visit her office hours to address his concerns. Barbu then cross examined Tacoma, questioning her fulfiment of her duties. Tacoma testified to interpreting the by-laws differently from the previous CEO, by not monitoring Facebook pictures and statuses, claiming she could not realistically monitor such campaigning.

Tacoma further explained that there was much illegal ‘no’ campaigning, including three Facebook groups. Barbu asked why there were no comments on the violations by the ‘yes’ committee on the ballot, and Tacoma stated that those sanctions were communicated via email.

She noted that the illegal ‘no’ campaigning was on the ballot because even though she closed down some Facebook groups, others could reappear.

Barbu then questioned Tacoma about her working relationship with SSMU president Maggie Knight,

and Tacoma testified that as CEO of Elections SSMU, she works under Knight’s portfolio but makes decisions independently. In their factum, Newburgh and Steven questioned the fact that Tacoma consulted with Knight at some points during the fall referendum period because, according to SSMU elections by-law article 2.2, Tacoma should have consulted VP University Affairs.

Joshee-Arnal concluded Tacoma’s examination by confirming that there is no mention of Facebook in the by-laws and that Tacoma is not bound by the decision of past CEOs. Joshee-Arnal then called Knight to the stand for examination, asking her if Tacoma was bound by any advice Knight gave.

“It is very clear in the by-laws that the CEO has ultimate authority,” Knight said. “I was very clear that, ultimately, we hired her so that the SSMU president doesn’t run elections.”

Knight further testified that she had recommended that Tacoma was physically present across campus to enforce election by-laws.

“It wasn’t necessary for her to provide written reasoning for every email she received because of her

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Strike committee creation sparks debate at AUS GA Students question assembly procedure throughout the night and call for removal of speaker McKenzie Kibler Contributor The Arts Undergraduate Society held its second General Assembly last Tuesday in the Stewart Biology Building. While the first motion, regarding the recognization of an AUS Strike Committee, was the subject of much debate, the GA lost quorum only minutes before calling the first question.

The motion calling to create an AUS Strike Committee was designed for the purposes of disseminating information to students about the Quebec government’s proposed tuition increases, in consideration of a possible strike vote by the AUS later this term. The committee would have conditional use of the AUS listserv and the ability to call another GA for an unlimited strike vote, while operating “according to a basis of unity.”

“Voting yes to form a strike committee does not mean voting yes to a student strike,” Jaime Maclean, one of the movers of the motion as well as president of AMUSE and U3 arts, said. She added that the intention of the committee was to promote dialogue.

However, the motion drew opposition from several members, who cited the term “basis of unity” as biasing the committee to be pro-strike and therefore incapable of objectively distributing information.

“It’s very unfair to suggest that we should create a basis for unity on this strike committee that marginalizes voices that don’t agree with the

nature of the strike,” Brendan Steven, U2 arts and a member of Conservative McGill, said. “We have to respect those voices, otherwise we as 150 people are taking on a mandate we don’t deserve.”

Those in support of the motion suggested that members who wanted to advocate their own anti-strike positions and distribute information about opposing views should form their own committee.

This suggestion was followed by the proposal of an unfriendly amendment for the creation of an equally powerful anti-strike committee. However, the amendment failed to pass, with the original movers of the motion labelling it unfair.

Around this time, members shouted that quorum had been lost.

The assembly began with 131 members, and eventually grew to 169, surpassing the quorum of 150. When the final vote on the critical motion was called and passed, however, there were only 143 voters, making the result a recommendation to the AUS Council rather than a binding resolution.

Other Business of the GA Following the contentious motion for the recognition of an AUS strike committee, the GA failed to regain quorum. Any motions that passed thereafter were to be discussed at AUS Council.

The assembly tabled the motion regarding accessible education until the next GA. A motion on Frosh reform passed as a recommendation to AUS

Council after it was amended to include the creation of workshops on anti-oppression and to make Arts Frosh events more accessible to underage participants.

A motion on moving the Hochelaga rock that commemorates the original settlers of what is now McGill campus to a more visible place also passed as a recommendation, following an amendment which requires the contact of related indigenous peoples.

On Feb. 1, at AUS Council, both the motion to move the Hochelaga rock and the motion to reform Frosh passed. However, quorum was lost after that.

Procedural concerns mark GA Some students questioned procedure throughout the night. The speaker referenced the Robert’s Rules of Order manual, accepted by arts council, which allowed him to prevent a vote if it would stifle new debate. The speaker asserted order in the GA’s proceedings, even threatening to censure members who were using expletive language and personal insults.

A later motion to replace the speaker with the President of AUS Council required a 2/3 majority but failed.

Supporters of the motion regarding the recognition of an AUS strike committee were frustrated and angered by the way the GA was run. In an email to McGill campus media, Kevin Paul, member of the Mob Squad, wrote that the motion “faced what amounted to a cam-

Students were vocal at the latest AUS GA. (Sam Reynolds / McGill Tribune) paign of obstruction and sabotage on the part of the AUS officials managing the GA.” Paul also criticized the conduct of AUS Speaker Ben Lerer, stating that “Lerer liberally interpreted Roberts’ Rules ... refus[ing] a motion to call the question (to choose to vote on the original motion) after a period of debate, because doing so would ‘stifle’ further debate.”

Other complaints included the choice of location for the GA and claiming that members were allowed to leave during voting procedure.

In response, Lerer explained that his aim going into the GA was to improve upon the previous one held last fall.

“At the previous GA, in the interest of time I [decided I] was going to allow motions to call the question ... And what I felt after the end

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BoG adjourned due to student disruptions

Students dressed as pirates interrupt Board of Governors meeting Carolina Millán Ronchetti News Editor Last Tuesday, an open session Board of Governors (BoG) meeting scheduled to discuss the Jutras report was adjourned after five minutes due to disruptions from students. The meeting was rescheduled for Feb. 6 and held in a closed session.

Following the chair’s opening address, a group of about 20 students dressed as pirates interrupted with a song. Members of the board started leaving a few minutes into the song, and soon after, the meeting was adjourned.

“Guys, you just silenced 35,000 members,” Roland Nassim, PGSS

president, said as he walked out of the room.

One of the student protestors, who declined to identify herself, explained the reason for the actions.

“We wanted to mutiny against the BoG. We recognize that as captains of our ship, they’re at best ineffectual and unrepresentative, and at worst, figureheads for a bunch of companies that are committing atrocities worldwide,” she said.

“We don’t want them or need them representing us. We can represent ourselves, we can take care of our interests.”

SSMU President Maggie Knight said that she was disappointed that there was no discussion, and

that other students expressed similar sentiments.

“I’ve spoken with a lot of students about [the protest], and the overwhelming majority didn’t understand why the disruption occurred, or felt that it was an ineffective way of critiquing decision-making at McGill,” Knight said. “Such protests can also alienate fellow students and cause backlash against all those advocating for changes in governance at McGill.”

Deputy Provost (Student Life and Learning), Morton Mendelson, expressed his disappointment at the situation.

“I think it’s a shame that a discussion with a governing body about

a very important topic that is of interest to the entire community … was disrupted by a small group of students,” he said. “I don’t see what kind of point this protest has, except to close down open discussion in this university.”

Mendelson added that the administration will remain open to dialogue with students.

“The administration is open for civil conversation with students who want to have a conversation,” he said. “What we saw today was not a conversation and was not students who are even willing to listen to what others have to say about something as important as the Jutras report.”

of last GA was that allowing this to happen the way it did, really stifled debate and prevents some people who wanted to express their opinion, who were often in the 1/3 minority, simply couldn’t because people in the 2/3 majority ramrodded through bills,” Lerer explained.

“My opinion is that I followed Robert’s Rules to the letter, which explicitly say that calling the question cannot go through if it is placed to stifle debate. And it is my opinion that it was stifling debate,” Lerer said.

Addressing the issue of the room selection, Lerer stated that it was simply a matter of finding a room closest to the desired time that AUS wanted to hold the general assembly.

—Additional reporting

by Kyla Mandel

m c g i l l t r i b u n e . c o m

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Summit focuses on student space

Space availability discussed at latest SSMU Strategic Summit Jonny Newburgh Contributor Last Friday, approximately 20 students gathered in the Shatner Breakout Room to discuss the future of student space on campus.

The summit aimed to determine the meaning of student space and to brainstorm ways for students and staff to improve the quality of underused space on campus. “[T]he goal is to create informal, productive conversations about what students would like to see at SSMU and on campus. This recognizes that the formalized processes (committees, Council, Senate, etc.) are not always accessible or interesting to most students,” Maggie Knight, SSMU President, wrote in an email to the Tribune.

One point of discussion raised by many students was the lack of space on campus, whether for academic or extracurricular purposes.

Paul Guenther, a physical planner with McGill’s Campus Space Planning, responded by pointing out the different types of student spaces.

“There are formal student spaces, but there are also a lot of informal student spaces,” Guenther said. “Most of your interactions with other students probably happen in these [informal] spaces—lower campus, for example, is the largest of these spaces.”

Formal spaces, however, became the target of student concern.

Maggie Knight among those discussing student space during Strategic Summit. (Duncan Hood / McGill Tribune) Josh Redel, President of the Engineering Undergraduate Society (EUS), spoke about his experience with the newly renovated basement in McConnell Engineering Building.

“The hardest thing we found … is that as we decrease work space and increase informal student space, we lose storage space,” Redel said.

Katie Larson, President of the Music Undergraduate Students’ Association (MUSA), explained the chronic lack of space that music stu-

dents experience.

“The amount of space we occupy is pretty ridiculous … [yet] everything in our building is booked from nine to five every day. It is nearly impossible to get in there [even] if you are a music student,” she said.

Larson added that the the needs of various campus a cappella groups make the chronic shortage even more pressing.

Carol Fraser, Vice President

Clubs and Services of SSMU, explained that the perceived lack of space is frequently cited by students as a major problem on campus. In the recent SSMU survey pertaining to space on campus, the highest ranked response was for increased space for clubs.

“The importance of multiuse space is something that people have been trying to preserve in the [SSMU] building, such as [the Breakout Room],” Fraser said.

Another topic of discussion was an initiative by the McGill administration called “Campus Greening,” a project that aims to improve the general conditions on campus.

Over the last few years, a number of projects have reached fruition on campus: the McTavish Street pedestrian zone, the University Street bike path, the no-car policy on campus, and the various building terraces, and James Square renovations.

Guenther explained that these projects are only some of many in the works.

“We try to make sure that whatever actions are happening meet the needs of the university in the longterm vision,” he said. “One thing that is very challenging is that a lot of students do not get to see the changes. By the time [students] are finished [their degrees], the projects might not be finished yet.”

While taking into account all differing perspectives on how to improve the use of space on campus has been difficult, executives are striving to move forward.

“We have a lot of things going on at once,” Fraser said.

“Several students expressed how happy they were [about being] able to hear directly what is happening with space in libraries and on McTavish St.,” Knight wrote.

“The discussions were very productive and [participants] came up with some great ideas that we’re going to follow up on.”

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CKUT to hold two questions on winter referendum QPIRG continues negotiations with the administration, could submit questions until Feb. 17 Carolina Millán Ronchetti News Editor Following the administration’s refusal to recognize the results of the fall referenda, Radio CKUT will hold two questions in the winter referendum, one on the organization’s existence and a separate one on changing the fee to be a non opt-outable fee. QPIRG has not yet taken a final position on the issue, but has until Feb. 17 to submit questions.

Myriam Zaidi, undergraduate representative to CKUT’s Board of Directors, explained that CKUT submit the questions to the administration for approval. The radio chose to do so because, after the refusal of the fall referenda, Morton Mendelson, the Deputy Provost (Student Life and Learning), recommended that the campus groups run their

questions through the administration. At the time of press, the administration had not confirmed whether it approved the questions.

Last fall, a majority of student voters responded ‘yes’ on referendum questions submitted by QPIRG and CKUT, which called for the organizations’ existence and for optouts to be offline. The administration announced that it will not recognize the referendum results, calling the questions “unclear.”

Every five years, the two organizations hold referenda in which the student body votes on the organizations’ existence. A ‘yes’ vote allows the two organizations to renew their Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) with the administration, a document that establishes the groups’ relationship with the university, enabling them to negotiate their leases and re-

ceive student fees. Both MoAs will expire in June 2012.

“Our MoA is ending and the administration seems really adamant on not accepting our results from last semester,” Zaidi said. “It’s not a battle we think we can pick.”

Zaidi explained that the second question, which would no longer allow students to opt out of CKUT’s fee, will allow the campus radio to sustain itself in the future. Other campus media organizations that are currently non opt-outable include the McGill Daily and the McGill Tribune.

“We’re a public good, recognized by the Canadian Radio-television Telecommunications Commission (CRTC). We have constant fees to pay as a radio, and we need to maintain certain standards and services [as members of] the CRTC,”

Zaidi said. “We’re accessible to everyone … and we have 24/7 media coverage.”

Achieving quorum was a major concern during the fall referendum, but Zaidi noted that this semester, quorum is not a concern.

“Last semester we were more worried about quorum, because it was only our questions that were being put forward, whereas this semester it’s going to be on the same ballot as voting for SSMU elections and other questions,” she said.

Kira Page, member of the QPIRG Board of Directors and McGill alumni, said that QPIRG is currently in talks with the administration to determine if the vote could be considered valid.

“We are looking for other ways to work with the administration to find a way that they can recognize

the vote as valid. There’s still a possibility that we’ll run another referendum, but it’s not a possibility that we’re excited about,” she said.

Page said she was unable to reveal the nature of the negotiations with the administration.

“I can’t really talk about what’s happening in the negotiations, but we are working [on] finding a solution that works best for both of us, and respects the [wishes of the] administration but also the fall referendum,” Page said. “We’re very much still trying to figure out if the compromises that we would be making with the administration would be better or worse than running another referendum.”

6

Tuesday, February 7, 2012

NEWS The McGill Debate Union spent the last weekend of January in Toronto competing in the North American Debate Championship alongside teams from Yale, MIT, and Princeton. Bringing six teams and two judges with them, the union enjoyed immense success—with two teams in the main break, or elimination round, two teams in the novice break, and a team competing in the grand finals.

After winning the semi-finals against Princeton University, the team of Joe McGrade and Cal Rosemund reached the finals, and were pitted against debaters from Carleton University on the topic of family law with the motion ‘This house would give preference to fathers in custody battles.’ McGill finalists lost narrowly, with votes from three judges against four voting for Carleton. Rosemund said that they “could not have lost to a more deserving team.”

Other McGill teams also expe-

NEWS

| Curiosity delivers.

in brief Debating Union succeeds at North American Championship rienced great advances. Two novice teams participating in their very first university-level debate championship earned spots in the novice semi-finals debating against each other. Caroline Mei and Erza Cohen proceeded to the novice final, facing a team from Queen’s University.

Lewis Fainer and the union’s president, Lauren Shadley, overcame great odds and reached the tournament’s octo-finals. They ultimately lost against one of Yale University’s top teams on the topic of Iranian nuclear technology. However, this result did nothing to lower the group’s morale.

“I can honestly say hearing that they advanced got me more excited than hearing that my own team did,” Rosemund said. “It was also really nice to see the support from other members of our club.”

Having hosted the tournament in 1991-1992 and taken home the championship win in 2003, achieving success in the North American

Debate Championship has come naturally to McGill participants. Canadian universities uphold a tradition of success, with an impressive record of five championship wins in the last ten years in face of fierce competition from top American universities. This is an astonishing feat considering that Canadian debaters are often grossly outnumbered by their American counterparts.

“We were fortunate to have a fellow Canadian team in the final with us, in a tournament with as many teams from Yale alone than from all the Canadian universities combined,” Rosemund said.

Overall, the McGill Debate Union returned to Montreal with significant additions to their long list of achievements.

“We are all very pleased with our performance,” Shadley said.

The news team is looking for contributors.

For more information, e-mail news@mcgilltribune.com

—Julia Chu

CAMPUS

Judicial Board reinstated despite legal concerns

Hearing results subject to BoD ratification to keep board in compliance with Quebec law Erica Friesen News Editor Last Thursday, the SSMU Board of Directors (BoD) voted to immediately reinstate the Judicial Board (J-Board) in order to conclude the J-Board’s upcoming hearing as soon as possible. SSMU will also draft a student referendum question that will bring the J-Board into compliance with Quebec Law. The meeting followed the Jan. 26 SSMU Council meeting where the J-Board was suspended due to legal concerns regarding SSMU’s structure. The J-Board, as SSMU’s highest authority, was operating against Quebec law, which mandates that the highest level of authority must reside with the BoD. The J-Board was scheduled to hear a case last week submitted by former SSMU President Zach Newburgh and co-founder of the Prince Arthur Herald Brendan Steven, who are questioning the constitutionality of the fall referenda. The SSMU Bylaw Committee met Jan. 30 to discuss possible courses of action to maintain fairness to both Quebec law and to the petitioners.

VP University Affairs Emily Yee Clare said that the J-Board hearing will resume as previously planned, but that the J-Board’s decision will need to be ratified by the BoD. “If we feel like there was unreasonableness due to the decisionmaking process, if 4/5 of us vote against this, then the decision can be overturned,” Clare said. “But the 4/5 is so high in order to ensure that there [is] a check, to make sure that people would have to have a very strong reason to vote against the recommendation of the J-Board.”

The decision to immediately reinstate the J-Board was largely determined by the semester’s timeline.

While J-Board could present their rulings on the case so far, giving the BoD the opportunity to ratify or not to ratify the proceedings in compliance with Quebec law, this course of action would be complicated by the upcoming winter Referendum Period and would cause confusion over the BoD’s future role. “[The Bylaw Committee has] concerns that this would set an unduly involved procedural precedent regarding the BoD with the J-Board, and it would take a very long time if

the board had to meet to ratify every procedural decision of the Judicial Board,” SSMU President Maggie Knight said.

Conversely, waiting to reinstate the J-Board until after the winter elections period would mean that the J-Board’s findings on the case would be released as late as April, at which point there would be little time for the student body to discuss the outcome.

Members of the BoD are aware that the J-Board’s reinstatement only temporarily fixes their problems, which include the need to balance legality with SSMU’s need for an unbiased body.

“It must be very clear under what circumstances the board could decide not to ratify a ruling of the J-Board, because obviously the point of having the J-Board is to objectively and unbiasedly evaluate concerns, including potentially concerns about the conduct of members of the council or members of the executive,” Knight said.

For these reasons, the motion also called for the creation of a working group to investigate alternative democratic avenues for resolving issues currently under the jurisdiction

Board of Directors meet to discuss J-Board. (Sam Reynolds / McGill Tribune) of the J-Board. For example, Knight said that expanding the J-Board to include two students outside the faculty of law could expand the board’s perspective.

The motion passed with eight votes in favour, one vote opposed, and three abstentions.

Knight, who abstained from the vote, has attempted to distance herself from the proceedings due to po-

tential conflicts of interest with the case, but said that she is pleased with the way that council has dealt with the matter.

“I [am] glad that the board was able to meet between meetings of council to address this issue in a timely fashion,” she said.

Petitioners Zach Newburgh and Brendan Steven declined to comment on the case.

NEWS Curiosity delivers. |

NEWS

Tuesday, February 7, 2012

7

SPEAKER on campus

UN Special Rapporteur discusses rights of migrants François Crépeau stressed the importance of the media and politicians in creating a dialogue Laura Douglas Contributor François Crépeau, UN Special Rapporteur on the Human Rights of Migrants, gave a talk on Feb. 1, hosted by the McGill Centre for Human Rights and Legal Pluralism.

The talk, entitled “Inception of a Global Migration Management Regime,” focused on some of the problems facing international migrants, and on what is being done to change the systems that create these issues.

Crépeau is the Hans & Tamar Oppenheimer professor in public international law at McGill’s faculty of law. His role at the UN involves investigating migrants’ rights and situations in various countries, drafting reports to the UN Human Rights Council, and recommending actions to resolve migrants’ rights issues.

“I’m less interested in per-

NEWS

manent residents, in migrants who come with money or skills or who will become citizens very quickly.

I’m more interested in vulnerable, irregular migrants,” Crépeau said.

Global migrants, particularly temporary migrant workers, are frequently denied basic human rights, but most governments are unwilling to discuss the issue on an international level.

“The hidden discourse is that migrants in irregular situations do not have rights,” Crépeau said.

According to Crépeau, there is less public awareness of the challenges faced by migrants than there is of many other current human rights issues. This is in part a result of politicians’ reluctance to discuss the issue.

“On the subject of immigration, politicians can say whatever they want, without consequence, because

in brief

Students skeptical of new Alertus System

On Jan. 30, the McGill administration and Emergency Measures Office sent an email notifying all students of their new emergency announcement system, Alertus. Citing the Jutras Report and its recommendation to enhance administration-to student-body communication, Alertus provides the administration with an additional tool if events such as Nov. 10 were to happen again. This system, when installed on a desktop or laptop, can be used by the administration to notify students of any emergency with the use of a pop-up announcement.

When asked if this system was worth installing, SSMU President Maggie Knight outlined a balanced perspective of its merits and a recognition that although she hasn’t downloaded it personally, some may find it useful. However, she also had doubts as to whether this system would be actually effective.

“I think this decision is up to each student, based on their own schedules and circumstances,” she said. “For instance, not every student has a laptop that they use to do work on campus. I would imagine that it makes sense for most students to sign up for at least one of the two systems (Alertus or the mass texting system).”

“A message making students aware of what was happening during the events of Nov. 10 could have been helpful, but presumably McGill might have had the same

concerns that led to the decision not to use the mass texting system,” she added.

The Jutras report stated that one of the failings of Nov. 10 was the fact that administrators did not inform students of events because of the risk that more students would join, rather than avoid, the protest.

Although the Tribune asked a member of the administration how this new system addresses this scenario, there was no reply at time of print.

Students shared similar scepticism about the Alertus system, especially in regards to its utility, convenience, and purpose.

“I don’t think I care enough to install it. But doesn’t it need Internet? Then what is the difference between sending us an email? Isn’t sending a text better?” Michelle Ma, a U1 cognitive science student, said.

Other students suggested a rethinking of the mass announcement system altogether, suggesting instead that students take charge of their own security.

“There needs to be participation from the student body for it to be effective. We don’t need the administration telling us this. As much as this ‘vertical’ component of security is essential, ‘horizontal’ participation by the student body, such as through student body twitter feeds are as essentially if not more so during events such as Nov. 10,” Keegan Chang, U2 political science, said.

—Kyle Ng

vulnerable, temporary, and irregular immigrants cannot vote … they are politically insignificant,” Crépeau said. “Because [migrants] are afraid of being deported, they do not complain either.”

Another factor contributing to the lack of awareness about these issues is their portrayal in the media.

“The media seeks short phrases, and on the subject of immigration that generally means [something like] ‘there are too many immigrants.’ That is a short phrase,” Crépeau said. “The role of the Special Rapporteur is to change the discourse, to change the vocabulary; to introduce complexity into the discussion of migrants, and to get away from a simplistic discourse.”

Crépeau noted that for more effective dialogue, people need to change the way they think about migration.

“I think the conceptual change that we have to do, like we did for women, for aboriginals, for detainees, and for gays and lesbians, is to go from an “us and them” discourse to an “I and we” discourse. That is what the human rights movement does,” Crépeau said.

A small group attended Crépeau’s talk, including students, fellow professors, and a representative from the Philippine Embassy in Ottawa, all of whom stayed past the official conclusion of the speech to ask further questions, and to continue the discussion.

Students expressed their appreciation for Crépeau’s extensive knowledge on the subject of migrants’ rights.

“I wanted to see the talk to learn a little bit more about the notion of a global migration management regime,” Bethany Hastie, a

doctoral student in the faculty of law with the Centre for Human Rights and Legal Pluralism, said.

“There are many events [like this one] within the law faculty that have the potential to interest people who are not in law,” Ludovic Langlois-Thérien, U4 law, said. “I think there should be a way for people who are not within this faculty to know about these events.”

Throughout his talk, Crépeau emphasized the humanity of migrants around the world.

“We are all migrants,” he said.

“The human condition involves mobility, and it is not migration that is the exception, it is sedentariness.

That is an important thing we seem to have forgotten.”

News meetings Mondays @ 5:30 p.m.

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opinion

Tribune The McGill

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Editor-in-Chief Shannon Kimball editor@mcgilltribune.com Managing Editors Kyla Mandel kmandel@mcgilltribune.com Ryan Taylor rtaylor@mcgilltribune.com

editorial

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The SSMU General Assembly needs a serious facelift Last week’s SSMU General Assembly (GA) once again failed to reach quorum for the majority of its motions. As the SSMU executives are only compelled to act on those that did—sadly consisting of just the distinctly tepid duo of motions concerning the selection of the Financial Auditor, and one in support of the student café—the GA was effectively relegated to a consultative body, endowed with little power to effect any actual change.

This was not an unexpected result. The Tribune has been consistently calling for the GA to undergo substantial reforms. Without it, the GAs will continue to be unproductive. Last week’s Winter meeting is just another reason why the GA in its current form is a total embarrassment to everyone involved, and a source of exasperation to those who are not.

Firstly, the GA as an institution suffers chronically from a fatal paradox: it is supposedly the democratic representation of the student body in SSMU’s affairs, and yet only a fraction of students are present, and even fewer are able to get their voice heard, let alone listened to. The result is an unrepresentative representative body. This is partly due to the limits of space, and partly due to the limited student desire to attend. A

maximum of 500 people can fit in the hall, a number that is rarely even reached and is only a small fraction of 22,000 SSMU members. Considering the quorum for most proposals lies at only 100, there is the possiblity that an even smaller fraction of 0.6 per cent of the student body can shape SSMU legislation on behalf of the rest. This is plainly not fair for those whose opinions are not represented because they are unable to attend, possibly for reasons of health, part-time jobs, researching, and homework. It is understandable that students have other uses for their evening apart from debating whether Karl Marx deserves a portrait in the student lounge.

The GA lends itself to a tyranny of a vocal and radical minority, one that can often be at loggerheads with the general opinion on campus. We question the legitimacy of those who dictate policy simply by virtue of showing up. No one elected them to vote on behalf of their absent fellow students. Therefore GA votes are not representative.

The absurdity of the GA is further compounded by the disingenuous and cynical attitude it encourages: the best way to exercise your right to vote at the GA is to sit through the meeting, fool your opponents into thinking quorum has

been reached, and then obstinately leave just as the vote is being counted for motions you don’t agree with, to deprive the GA of its power.

Last week’s GA also conformed to a recurring theme of recent GAs: the motions themselves were problematic. Some focussed on external issues that lay beyond SSMU’s purview (like the Federal government’s crime bill, C-10), while others concentrating on internal issues were either about divisive-yet-vague complaints, or concerned with the tediously practical issues which were coming into effect regardless of the GA’s endorsement.

The question is, what can be done to improve it? We offer three paths for how to resolve the GA: the path of expansion, the path of contraction, or the path of abolition.

The path of expansion would entail moving the GA online. As James Gilman, one of our in-house columnists, pointed out last week, a system of online voting would allow more people to be able to vote, and would create a more transparent GA. This expansion of the electorate can only be done well if coupled with better publicity. The GAs could be live-streamed online, accompanied by a live-stream of the minutes so that people around the university can not only get a grasp of what is

being said, but so that they can also comment on the minutes online.

That way, people who are unable to be there in person can still have their say in some form.

The path of contraction would involve the GA ceding any pretension to being a representative body, allowing the GA to focus on being a centre for dialogue, active debate, and a consultative assembly for SSMU. If people still feel strongly about any particular issue that should be enacted by SSMU, they should launch a referendum for this purpose. If it genuinely is a good idea, a resounding referendum mandate is a much more credible litmus test for student opinion.

Finally, there always remains the path of abolition. We respect the value of having a vibrant forum for debates over campus issues, but when most of these descend into a crudely partisan means for extreme groups of both sides of the political spectrum to push their own agenda against the interest of the majority of the student body, then it is may be time to call a halt to proceedings and look for other ways to create a more legitimate, egalitarian, and representative form of debate.

Proclaiming that the Grammy Awards aren’t the definitive measure of musical success isn’t exactly going out on a limb, but why is it that so many music fanatics approach this ceremony with either indifference or downright distain?

The winners of the film industry’s Academy Awards might not always coincide with winners in public opinion, yet we continue to hold that ceremony in high esteem in the face of their occasional missteps.

But the Grammy Awards are different. Within the yearly discussion of its categories and nominees the question of its legitimacy always comes with it. There is the looming suspicion that the award represents little more than the music industry’s self-righteous celebration of its most

profitable artists, as shown by a trend that loads major award categories— i.e. best album, best song, best new artist—with Top 40 pop stars year after year. While it’s true that the Grammys will have expanded their award categories in the past to recognize the best in alternative, country, electronic, and other genres, the artists within these new categories are usually mentioned with minimal pomp and circumstance compared to their pop-star peers.

What could salvage the respectability of the Grammy Awards is the Internet, where non-Top 40 bands such as Arcade Fire have dominated Internet music communities and frequently hold strong positions at the top of the iTunes album chart just as often as today’s more publicized entertainment sensations. And indeed, it seems like the music industry is listening to the web – Arcade Fire’s The Suburbs was awarded Album of the Year in 2011, beating out main-

Opinion Editor Richard Martyn-Hemphill opinion@mcgilltribune.com Science & Technology Editor Anand Bery scitech@mcgilltribune.com Arts& Entertainment Editor Nick Petrillo arts@mcgilltribune.com Sports Editors Steven Lampert and Christopher Nardi sports@mcgilltribune.com Photo Editor Sam Reynolds photo@mcgilltribune.com Senior Design Editor Kathleen Jolly kjolly@mcgilltribune.com Design Editor Susanne Wang design@mcgilltribune.com Online Editor Victor Temprano online@mcgilltribune.com Copy Editor Marri Lynn Knadle copy@mcgilltribune.com Advertising Manager Corina Sferdenschi cpm@ssmu.mcgill.ca Publisher Chad Ronalds

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James Gilman (Chair): chair@mcgilltribune.com Johanu Botha, Kathleen Jolly, Shannon Kimball, Iain Macdonald, Alex Middleton, Zach Newburgh

Contributors

Alexandra Allaire, Hrant Bardakjian, Ilia Blinderman, Johanu Botha, Bea Britneff, Noah Caldwell-Rafferty, Julia Chu, Lara Douglas, Trevor Drummond, Alissa Feingold, Grace Grosvenor, Emma Hambly, Anna Katycheva, McKenzie Kibler, Alex Knoll, Kathleen Masaki, Abraham Moussako, Jonny Newburgh, Kyla Ng, Simon Poitrimolt, Joshua Prizant, Ryan Reisert, Madeline Richards, Vanessa Salvo, Farah Hanani Sam, Linda Sarvi, Lucas Topham, Chloe Turner-Bloom

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OFF the board Nick Petrillo What’s a Grammy worth?

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stream superstars Katy Perry, Lady Gaga, and Eminem. Seeing Win Butler’s wide-eyed bewilderment during his acceptance speech last year, I wonder if he was humbled by his band’s latest achievement or simply astounded that the Academy resisted the urge to award just another pop sensation.

It certainly wouldn’t make him the only artist to view the awards with skepticism. As Justin Vernon of Bon Iver said last December, “We should not be gathering in a big room and looking at each other and pretending that this is important.”

Even Trent Reznor, who won two Grammys during his tenure with Nine Inch Nails, admitted that the process feels “rigged and cheap— like a popularity contest that the insiders club has decided.”

Fans and artists agree that the award holds little value in assessing the merit of the recording industry’s talent. And though the selection pro-

cess has expanded its reach to new genres, it continues to entrench itself too heavily in pop music. Popular music is by no means an inherently talentless art form, but focusing attention on it because of its wide appeal remains the Grammy Awards’ biggest defect.

I think Morrissey, lead singer for The Smiths, summed up perfectly how Top 40 has plagued music awards: “It’s very easy to be controversial in pop music because nobody ever is … pop music seems now to be exclusively for children.

If an artist is no good, why is it necessary to have that artist repeatedly rammed in our face?” It’s going to require honesty from fans, musicians, and the industry itself to bring legitimacy to the Grammy Awards, otherwise the line that separates critical acclaim from dresses made out of meat will continue to be blurred.

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columnists Oh, Canada?

Johanu Botha

jbotha@mcgilltribune.com

Are the USA and Canada tangoing to different music in the 21st century?

Canada-U.S. relations have enjoyed an eclectic array of descriptions since the International Boundary that separates the two countries was set up in 1783. Pierre Trudeau famously said that living next to the U.S. was like sleeping with an elephant: “No matter how friendly or temperate the beast, one is affected by every twitch and grunt.” John F. Kennedy just as famously described the relationship when he said that “Geography has made us neighbours, history has made us friends,

The view from Tuesday

Abraham Moussako

amoussako@mcgilltribune.com

Student Democracy: The agency of the few

The SSMU General Assembly last week was the latest installment of an institution at McGill showcasing both the theoretical promise of direct democracy and the reality of its own illegitimacy. The theoretical promise comes from the reasonable idea that the student body of a university should have a say in how the university is run. This runs head on into the reality of direct democracy at McGill, which is that it is highly unrepresentative of the student body at large. While I had taken a passing interest in watching how our student government works, seeing that the assembly was debating a painting of Karl Marx—satirically or not— was what motivated me to actually attend.

What I first found striking about the Assembly was its similarity to a Model UN conference.

Same placards, same stilted rules of

economics has made us partners, necessity has made us allies” (if only he knew that Prime Minister John Diefenbaker would decry him as a “son of a bitch” one year later). As we dig deeper into the 21st century, I wonder what best describes the dynamics north and south of the 45th parallel, or better yet, what best describes what they should be?

Some have likened the current relationship to the the continuing saga between the Boston Red Sox and the New York Yankees. The former has an inferiority complex, jubilant at any minor victory scored, while the latter sometimes forgets who the Sox are (no need to point out who’s who in this analogy). This contains a grain of truth. When’s the last time you heard an American exclaim, “Did you know that the premier of New Brunswick was actually born in the States?” Never.

Despite it being true, you have never heard an American say that.

On the other hand, you often

hear a Canuck reminding any and all that Jim Carrey, Seth Rogen, the guy who invented basketball, and so many more, are Canadian. As Cana-

debate, and the same generally impatient, almost restless buzz among some of the less committed attendees. The resolution under debate at the time was an amazingly dry one regarding the “Selection of the Financial Auditor.” There was not a particularly spirited debate on the idea, and it passed. The following resolution, regarding the formation of a student run café, was just as bland and inoffensive.

The resolutions then began to hint at the radical agenda at hand.

The resolution on frosh reform decried the current iteration as “heteronormative,” but was vague in terms of actual actions. In response to a question I posed, it was noted that the motion would simply act as a form of public approval over talks to reform frosh the SSMU was already having internally. There was a bit of a dust-up as one attendee fought to have included a redundant amendment that would codify that the event would be in accordance with the SSMU’s equity policy. As with some of the more passionate attendees to the Assembly, she spoke as if these words were all that would keep frosh from descending to a nest of homophobic misogyny. On that subject, someone else suggested adding rather dramatically-termed “anti-op-

pression” rape culture workshops to the resolution.

Midway through the debate on frosh reform, the assembly mercifully lost quorum and became a “consultative body,” presumably meaning that the printed minutes of the meeting were now worth slightly less than a roll of sanitary paper.

The debate on “negative corporate

“Not since Reagan and Trudeau have the offices of president and prime minister viewed each other from such different spots on the spectrum.” dian writer Will Ferguson put it: if you are remotely, possibly, and/or hypothetically connected to Canada

“The assembly mercifully lost quorum and became a ‘consultative body’ ... The printed minutes of the meeting were now worth less than a roll of sanitary paper.” influence on campus” seemed to be tailor-made for the members of the “protest class” in attendance. A spirited back and forth ensued, as some argued that McGill should free itself

in some way, we will claim you.

But that is nothing new. Canada has been lauding the Canadian-ness of achievements by its citizens—especially its citizens that live in the States—in an unapologetically enthusiastic way ever since it started reimagining the paltry war of 1812 as The Great And Glorious Canadian (Not British!) Victory That Put Those Arrogant Yankees In Their Place.

What is new at the turn of the century, however, is the contrast between the political philosophies the two countries have elected in their respective leaders. Not since Reagan and Trudeau have the offices of President and Prime Minister viewed each other from such different spots on the spectrum. The early 2000s saw Liberal Chretien glare across the border at conservative Bush, and relations were not rosy.

They were made even more not-rosy when Canada refused to declare war against Iraq. The political profiles of

the offices have since traded sides with Democrat Obama bristling his country’s right wing, and Conservative Harper upsetting (in Canada we prefer not to bristle) his country’s left wing. Despite appearing by all accounts to have struck up a warm friendship, the differing pressure from their respective constituencies was clear when Mr. Obama shut down an oil pipeline that Mr. Harper had vigorously fought for.

But do these political differences really mean anything new for the Canada-U.S. relationship?

Has anything really changed in the new century to justify searching for new ways to describe the countries’ relations, or what they should be?

The same variables Kennedy listed as binding the two states together are still at play. If anything, given a world connected with ever more complexity, they are more even more so.

from the yoke of purportedly corrupting corporate influence, while others pointed out the financial difficulty of reducing corporate partnerships. But these are the same voices that call for frozen tuition fees and higher wages for striking faculty.

The response, that the university should “reevaluate its administrative priorities,” was the sort of line that drew passionate applause from quarters of the audience—and completely absolved the speaker from engaging with the argument.

Later, an attendee ludicrously suggested the assembly was in violation of anti-sexism policies because only men had spoken. The suggestion was that the two women who at the time were in line for the microphone should be moved to the front; presumably the fact that they had stood up later than the others was a sign of an “oppressive power structure.”

Debate drifted on to the consideration of a “student strike ‘solidarity’ fund.” The proposed fund, to be paid out of general SSMU funds, was yet another symbol of the apparatus—and in this case, the money— of the majority of students appropriated to support the agenda of the vocal few. The last serious resolution of the night was a move to con-

demn the federal crime bill, C-10.

My own skepticism on the bill aside, the student union of McGill running a public advocacy campaign against it would be just about as effective as anything the government of Mauritius has to say on the U.S. elections.

The Harper government does not exactly court—or care about—the approval of left-wing college students.

After a debate on a satirical resolution on chess sets for Gerts, the motion on a Karl Marx painting was put forth. Some of the more rational students in attendance half-jokingly attempted to amend the resolution to require an equally-sized painting of Adam Smith. The amendment was declared “not topical,” and the resolution on the whole proceeded to a vote. The painting was eventually rejected by the assembly. A small and symbolic victory in an assembly that had been reduced to a small and symbolic body hours ago, but a victory for reason nonetheless.

What to do to fix the structure of student government is a topic for another column. What I can say here is that any structural reform of campus politics would do well to be accompanied by an attitude adjustment.

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OPINION

Tuesday, February 7, 2012

Commentary Chloe Turner-Bloom A Different Approach to Religion Around 80 people were shot to death during a political gathering at a summer camp in Norway in 2011.

Many have claimed this crime was fueled by religions and that it is exemplary of its faults. There have been mass suicides in the United States led by religious cults, and religion is generally seen as inconsistent with many liberal values. It’s repeatedly blamed for its role in terror, death, inequality and discrimination.

But these ideas are essentially so fictitious that they should be forgotten. Such a harsh picture of religion, besides focusing solely on people’s skewed negative perceptions, fails to separate religion and the extenuating circumstances that could lead someone to be prejudiced, abusive, or even a murderer.

It is too easy to blame religion as a whole for all the awful things that happen. We form a picture of it using these extreme acts since that is what we are exposed to the most.

Terrorist groups and polygamous colonies that find support through religious texts clearly do not fit the religion prototype. People who are deluded and want to abuse, hurt, and destroy will find a way to do it.

Religion should not be blamed for igniting these awful ideas. The exploitation of religion for manipulative purposes and doing evil is the result of the person and not religion itself. Evil precedes religion and, sadly, cruelty exists everywhere and has for all of time.

Atheism is an assertive view, and it includes an incompatibility of religion with all facets of life. For some, religion has many faults and is the root of numerous misguided actions. It brainwashes people and leaves them mindlessly tumbling around through space with no sense of reality. However, this fails to take into consideration all religion has accomplished throughout history.

If we can get beyond the seeming foolishness of religion, it becomes apparent that it is a beautiful thing.

Throughout history religion has driven society and provided people with a purpose in life. If someone

wants to believe that a loved one who passed away is in heaven and they will see them again, then so be it. As long as religion remains in its own sphere and does not obstruct the practises of science, or the freedom of expression and thought we so dearly value, then its existence is justified.

Besides, when atheists stand in opposition to religion, they cannot clearly see that their hate is just as

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“I am unquestionably an atheist, and I believe that it is incredibly important to establish a certain respect for religion.” negative as the exclusivity and disapproval they feel religion thrusts at them. Equality does not necessitate that everyone have the same ideals and values, but rather that each person’s opinions do not impose themselves in a harmful fashion on another’s.

I am unquestionably an atheist, and I believe that it is incredibly important to establish a certain respect for religion. I do not believe that religion should be involved in education or governmental affairs, but rather it is something that can help the mind grow. Even if we completely rid ourselves of religion, conflict will still exist due to the natural instincts of human beings.

Moreover, without religion, many people would live significantly less fulfilled lives. I am not implying that a fulfilled life necessitates religious practice; instead, I wish to convey that religion and atheism can coexist if there is a mutual respect and they are each seen as valuable in themselves. Even if it is impossible for the whole world to happily agree to be different, I would hope that all of us at McGill could strive for some sense of compatibility and equality.

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AUS and SSMU General Assemblies Photos by Sam Reynolds

key issues

understanding

THE U.S. Elections As the Republican candidate debates continue and the rhetoric gets heated, let’s take a step back for a moment to understand what’s actually going on in U.S. politics. Canadians know very well that what happens across the border can have a considerable impact on them, and many seem to watch the American elections closer than their own. So here’s a low-down on the election process and the key issues to give you a launch pad for critical understanding when watching the debates.

the election process

1

The presidential election will be held on Nov. 6, once each party has nominated its candidate. Delegates from each state vote for the winner of the primary election of caucus within their state at the Republican national convention in August.

To win the presidency, a candidate needs to reach the magic number of 270, the minimum number of electors they must win out of a total 538 electors.

Each state is divided into congressional districts based on its population. The greater the state’s population, the more congressional districts it has. The number of districts is added to the number of senators in the state (always two) to get the number of electors for that state. So, for example, if a state has 10 congressional districts, it has 12 electors.

As the public votes, the candidate with the most votes in a state wins that state. In

Kyla mandel

turn, the candidate wins the total number of electors from that state. The states with the most influence are California, New York, Texas, Pennsylvania, and Florida. Winning in these states gives a candidate a significant edge in the election due to their high number of electors. Once a candidate has won the majority of electors, 270 or more, they have won the election.

WHO are the candidates

Republican Party Candidate

mitt romney

Incumbent U.S. President

Barack obama

Republican Party Candidate

newt gingrich

Republican Party Candidate

ron paul

the economy In 2008, the sub-prime mortgage crisis hit when the housing market bubble burst. Thanks to spending on the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, combined with the 2008 economic downturn, the U.S. economy has been thrown into an unfavourable situation. Moreover, the unemployment rate has been exceptionally high for the past few years. This past Friday, Feb. 3, however, it was announced that 243,000 jobs were created in January, causing the unemployment rate to drop to 8.3 per cent, the lowest rate in three years.

healthcare On Mar. 23, 2010 the Obama administration enacted the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), sometimes referred to as ‘Obamacare.’ Its principal aim was to reform health insurance, and it remains a controversial topic. The reform plan laid out many changes which would gradually take place over a four-year timespan, with most reforms taking place by 2014. Under this reform, each state has a Medicaid program to provide health coverage to those of lower-income status, families, children, the elderly, and those with disabilities. A person’s eligibility varies by state.

Republican Party Candidate

rick santorum

barack obama

newt gingrich

mitt romney To solve America’s debt problem, Romney wants to cut federal spending, to reform entitlement programs, and to reduce the size of the federal government.

To create jobs and economic growth, he proposes cutting the top corporate income tax, promoting domestic energy production, weakening labour unions, and eliminating capital gains and dividend taxes for some. He argues that his superior business skills provide him with an advantage over others for solving the economic situation.

the stragglers Rick Santorum: He proposes reducing corporate taxes for manufacturers and expanding energy exploration to tackle the economic problems.

Ron Paul: He advocates for eliminating many taxes, reducing the president’s salary, and reducing the federal budget by one trillion dollars.

With regards to reducing the country’s debt, President Obama favours a combination of spending cuts and tax revenues. To help the economy grow, he seeks to provide job-creating investments in infrastructure, health care, energy, and education.

Gingrich emphasizes the need for economic growth to tackle the debt problem through methods such as reforming Medicare and Social Security and ‘freeing job-creators.’ Like Romney, he proposes cutting the capital gains tax as well as cutting corporate income tax rates and offering the American public the choice of opting into a 15 per cent flat tax.

what the candidates are saying barack obama

President Obama will continue to defend the PPACA. More specifically, he aims to make modest adjustments to Medicare and Medicaid to avoid, as he puts it, wasteful subsidies. In addition, he argues for a quicker approval process for generic drugs and higher pay for doctors.

mitt romney Romney seeks to re-

peal Obama’s healthcare reform. In its place, he proposes market-based reforms which he believes will reduce healthcare costs. He states that on his first day in office he will issue an executive order which would provide waivers from Obama’s healthcare reform to all 50 states.

newt gingrich Gingrich believes that Americans should be allowed to buy insurance plans provided in other states than where they live. He proposes tax credits and deductions for premiums. In addition, he advocates for the creation of a ‘High Risk Pool’ in each state to provide coverage for those too ill or otherwise unable to qualify for insurance.

The stragglers Rick Santorum: He seeks to fully repeal Obama’s health care reforms.

Ron Paul: Ron Paul also seeks to repeal Obama’s health care reforms and advocates for allowing citizens to purchase health care insurance from states other than their own.

There are currently four republican candidates: Mitt Romney, Newt Gingrich, Ron Paul, and Rick Santorum. So far, Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich are the two most successful candidates, with Romney gaining a considerable lead over the other three.

timeline of main election events March 6:

3

2

4

what the candidates are saying

“Super Tuesday.”

With more than 10 different primaries occurring on this date, including primaries in Texas, Massachusetts, and Virginia, it has the potential to determine the Republican nominee.

april 3:

Maryland, Wisconsin, and Washington DC primaries

april 24: New York and Pennsylvania primaries june 5: California primary

august 27-30:

Republican national convention in Tampa, Florida

october 16: Second presi-

september 3-6:

october 22:

dential debate in Hempstead, New York

Democratic national convention in Charlotte, North Carolina

Final presidential debate in Boca Raton, Florida

october 3:

november 6:

First presidential debate in Denver, Colorado

october 11: Vice-presidential debate in Danville, Kentucky

Presidential and congressional elections

immigration The issue of illegal immigration has always been a debated subject in the United States. With the unemployment rate high, many point to illegal immigrants as one of the sources limiting available jobs to Americans. Starting off the New Year, Obama announced a new immigration rule change which will allow family members of U.S. citizens to seek a hardship waiver from the government. This will allow them to avoid long periods of separation from their family in the U.S. while their applications for legal status are being reviewed.

what the candidates are saying barack obama

President Obama advocates for increased border security and penalties for companies hiring undocumented workers. He also seeks to expand immigration quotas. His recent change to immigration rules has earned him a leg up with Hispanic and Latino groups.

mitt romney

He seeks to set up a system ensuring employers hire only legal immigrants. In addition, he proposes building a border fence with Mexico.

newt gingrich Gingrich asserts that English should be made the official national language and promises strict border control. Also, he advocates for a streamlined visa process for legal immigrants. the stragglers Rick Santorum: Santorum proposes the construction of a fence along the border with Mexico.

Ron Paul: To tackle the problem of illegal immigration he seeks to eliminate welfare and to stop providing amnesty to illegal immigrants.

Student living

Around the Town

Multitudes of microbreweries available in Montreal Artisinal beers and creative flavours earns Montreal a well-deserved spot on the microbrewery map Noah Caldwell-Rafferty Contributor

E

very year as the Superbowl comes around I am painfully reminded of the cheap, watery, tin-flavored, mass-produced beer being consumed endlessly across the continent. The attraction of this yearly football phenomenon is synonymous with Budweiser and Coors, as countless advertising campaigns and beer sales will attest.

But now that the post-game smell of rancid low-grade lagers has settled, I find it all the more comforting to be living in one of the finest cities in the world for genuine artisanal microbreweries.

The current state of microbreweries in North America owes its origins to trail-blazing British brewers like Bill Urquhart, who in the 1970s rebelled against large faceless corporations with the hope of creating a new generation of beers crafted with an original flair and personality. Although cask ales were originally the main product, in no time the movement incorporated a full palate of lagers, stouts, pilsners, porters—you name it—with no two alike. New terminology invaded the industry

A variety of artisinal beers is available at Dieu du Ciel (amberwavesrally.com) which had previously known only the two extremes of tap houses and large distributors. Among them were a “craft” brewery, which is small and independent; a “microbrewery,” which is even smaller (15,000 beer barrels or less per year); and a “brewpub,” which both brews its beer and sells it on the premises (and is only considered a microbrewery

if the product is found elsewhere around town as well).

High concentrations of artisanal breweries began to define various cities as hubs of the new beer revolution. The obvious North American example is Portland, Oregon, which is home to over 40 microbreweries alone—a testament to the city’s understated ingenuity and

creative, young population. But our fair city on the hill, Montreal, has also proven itself as a veritable hotbed of progressive entrepreneurial beer-heads. The better known—and better tasting—downtown specimens around town include Benelux and Dieu du Ciel, but multitudes of other scrumptious examples abound.

Brasseur de Montreal, which opened its doors in 2008, recently opened a brewpub on Rue Ottawa.

Serving an eclectic mix of Belgian, Chinese, and Scottish beers, this new kid on the block doesn’t seem to be afraid of diving into the proverbial deep end. The cleverly named Broue Pub Brouhaha on Lorimier avenue serves an exclusive selection of its own crafts and other local brewers’ fares, showing that Montreal’s brewpub scene can support both camaraderie and competition. Outremont’s up-and-coming brewpub HELM crafts its beers exclusively from Quebec grains, and would surely become a McGill student favorite if any of us actually bothered to venture to the other side of Mount Royal for a night out.

The defining feature of Montreal artisanal breweries is their nontraditional approach to ingredients.

Talk to any beer purist and you’ll get an earful about the sanctity of the four main ingredients of beer (barley, hops, water, and yeast) and the blasphemy of adding anything foreign to this holy quartet. But anyone who’s had a Benelux spiced seasonal beer knows this is utter foolishness. The distinctiveness of Dieu du Ciel comes from their bold addition of, for example, fair trade cocoa and vanilla to their Aphrodisiaque stout. Brasseur de Montreal also experiments successfully with non-conventional ingredients such as ginger and various citrus fruits.

The bountiful cornucopia of Montreal breweries has proven that deviation from rigid traditional notions of alcoholic fare brings about products necessary to keep the industry on its toes. Granted, there is always room for creative renderings of traditional ingredients, as the Sam Adams brewers proved with the release of Infinium, a specialty beer made purposely to show the vitality of the original four elements. So, with this in mind, go forth and enjoy our city’s fine offerings.

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Tuesday, February 7, 2012

15

font commentary

Let’s put the Sans back in Comic Sans The one and only font that should never be used Iain Macdonald Production Manager When God, or Buddha, or the Fontmonster, or whoever created the standard computer fonts—actually, it was probably Al Gore— started typesetting font after font, he (or she—I’m all for gender equality in the typeface world), created most of them equally.

From Times to Tahoma, Arial to Verdana, most fonts are pretty great. Some of them are even sexy (I’m looking at you, Georgia). Even Courier has some legitimate uses (and some not so legitimate ones, you typewriter-lovingsnobs). Not Comic Sans. It’s clear that the FontMonster had a bit too much to drink one night and thought it would be a great idea to create a font which was a little bit more “fun” than all the others. The holiest-of-allfont-creators thought, “I’ll call it Comic Sans to reflect its cool, fun-loving nature.”

Well, Fontmonster, you screwed up. Big time. And now we all have to live with it. Comic Sans has become an unfortunate part of society with which we must all cope.

From first grade projects to birthday cards to diorama sets, children often

Say ‘No’ to Comic Sans. (thebarking.com) discover Comic Sans and declare it to be the greatest font ever. However, as kids age, (some of them) mature and discover new things.

Soon they realize what a dire mistake they have made in declaring their unwavering love for the one-and-only typeface.

Of all the suppressed memories every person has, there is only one that is shared by all of humanity; their one-time love affair with Comic Sans. Whether

it was in KidPix or WordPerfect, you wrote something in Comic Sans once, and it felt good. But like picking your nose, while you sat there grinning, the rest of society frowned upon the deed.

Computers were made for serious business, and Comic Sans is anything but serious. Comic Sans is like the guy who shows up to a black tie cocktail party wearing a bathing suit and a snorkelling mask, with a big dab of sunscreen on his

nose. Nobody is sure where he came from, and when he will leave; and they’re not sure if they should laugh or call the police.

Have you ever read something written in Comic Sans and thought “Hmm, that was a really insightful argument.” Nope. Ignoring everything on the page, what you thought was, “why is this written in Comic Sans?” I bet as soon as you opened this page of the paper, you thought “what is this article

in Comic Sans, and why is it in Comic Sans?” Well, I’m writing about a very serious topic, and you don’t remember a single word of it because it’s in Comic Sans. Tell me one complete sentence I wrote above without looking. I know I can’t remember anything, and I’m writing the piece. This font is such a joke that I can’t even believe my own argument because it’s printed in it. If this article was published in Times New Roman, though, it would be a totally different story.

I took a course in first year, and the professor used Comic Sans on his lecture slides. Naturally, I thought the entire course was a joke.

When I took the final exam, which was also in Comic Sans, I simply wrote “lol, good one prof,” and left. It turns out he wasn’t joking, and I had to take the course agian, all because of Comic Sans.

If you absolutely must have fun with your typefaces, please stick to Wingdings. At least then people will wonder what you’re actually trying to say, rather than immediately writing you off as a four year old.

See, I told you.

odds and ends

Learning the value of an active lifestyle, a lesson for all

One student gives up mindless TV and that extra glass of wine in exchange for hot yoga and cardio Grace Grosvenor Contributor Something has happened to my friends this semester, something that has managed to make me feel both guilty and inadequate. Everyone, and I mean everyone is exercising.

Whether Pilate-ing, spinning, or zumba-ing, all of my friends have morphed into gym-bunny versions of themselves. Perhaps I am exaggerating, but being suddenly surrounded by constant talk of aching thighs, calves, obliques and Kegels (which in my opinion can only really be complained about after birthing a large child) has made me realize that perhaps I can no longer get away with excusing myself from exercis-

ing. I can no longer avoid exercise for fear of “not getting my readings done,” by which I obviously mean watching mindless television.

My two roommates have both chosen to partake in this craze—one in the form of Pilates and the other in the form of the devil’s favorite pastime, spinning—for which she rouses from her slumber at seven o’clock every Tuesday and Thursday. Even my other house-full of friends do self-titled “roommate yoga” every Saturday afternoon. This week, while the healthy and active youth I call my friends took off to the gym, towels and water bottles a-flailing in their wake, I became wracked with guilt. It was at that point, while wallowing on my window seat cradling

a glass of cheap Beaujolais wine, that I decided it was time to finally succumb and sign up for some sort of class.

I have never been a particularly athletic person. My family leaves much to be desired in the sports department—memories of my brothers’ and my childhood will forever be riddled with tears and arguments with my dad on rainy Sunday mornings that inevitably ended unfavourably for us. This was followed by public humiliation on the soccer pitch where I, on occasion, would awkwardly swat the ball with my so-called ‘spaghetti arms’ instead of kicking it like the other kids. Except for skiing, a sport which my student MoneyMaster savings account sim-

ply cannot support, and swimming (which, for me, is inconceivable in this weather) there is only one other physical activity that I would say I actually enjoy: Moksha yoga—a hot yoga class which I have sporadically enjoyed. Though pricey, it seems far more appealing than the idea of jogging on black ice in Parc Lafontaine.

With the studio perched on St. Laurent, a convenient 10-minute march from my apartment, I have resolved to go at least three times a week, which, in addition to my 30-minute walk to class and 30-minute walk back should be a reasonable restorative answer to the weekends of student hedonism we “minds of the future” so enjoy.

After my first couple of classes

I not only enjoyed feeling healthier and better about myself, but I am now a proud complainer of aching muscles. And, the gratification of commiserating with everyone makes getting up a bit earlier and abstaining from watching MTV while gorging myself on wine and student food more bearable. I would recommend giving an ‘active lifestyle’ a go. Forfeiting an episode or two of nonsense TV shows, or even a reading or two (if you’re a sensible and diligent student like myself) is definitely worth it.

Science & technology research

McGill research sheds light on hidden genetic potential

Professor Ehab Abouheif discusses his research and its implications for future studies of evolution

Abouheif’s team was able to induce ant larva to become supersoldiers by exposing them to hormone at a key point in development. (Alex Wild / alexanderwild.com)

G

roundbreaking research at McGill is shedding light on the importance of environmental stress on evolution.

Researchers led by Professor Ehab Abouheif, a Canada Research Chair in Evolutionary Developmental Biology, recently created “supersoldiers” of the ant genus Pheidole morissi in the lab. The “super” ants sport huge, oblong, heads and ultrasharp mandibles. They measure about three times the size of a normal soldier ant. Abouheif’s study, published in Science, is thought to illustrate effects of what is known as dormant genetic potential—dormant qualities that are locked in place for millions of years, but may be invoked into existence by natural selection and allow species to realize hidden potential.

As a child, Abouheif aspired to be a heart surgeon, but his interest in answering philosophical questions—like why we have five fingers or why leaves are green and shaped the way they are—led him to the field of evolutionary biology.

The Tribune sat down with Prof.

Abouheif last week to discuss his research and its possible implications.

Congratulations on being published in Science. How do you choose what to send to the bigname journals?

I only send my best ones. To

publish in the top journals, like Nature and Science, it’s very competitive. They only accept about fiveseven per cent of the writings they receive. Then it’s like a lottery. You can be convinced that you’ve found something groundbreaking, but the editors and anonymous reviewers have to be excited about your work as well.

How do you manage to create these “supersoldier” ants in the lab?

On the last stage of metamorphosis, Pheidole larva release a certain amount of a hormone, called juvenile hormone. If the hormone level passes a certain threshold, the ant develops into a soldier. We thought that in the lab, if we introduce larvae with more hormones beyond the threshold just before the crucial switch, we might be able to produce supersoldiers. And we were right.

Without hormone intervention in the lab, why do rare “supersoldiers” occur in the natural environment?

What we observe is that Pheidole colonies use supersoldiers to defend their nests when other colonies attack. We also observed another ant species that live in the same exact environment with the Pheidole but don’t produce supersoldiers. So

why is that? It turns out that these other species use a different strategy to defend themselves. They use what is called “nest evacuation,” where they evacuate nests that they occupy.

This renders the need for supersoldiers obsolete. They have the potential to produce supersoldiers, but natural selection has given them an alternative strategy to survive. However, this doesn’t negate the fact that the potential is still there and is only brought to fruition under specific circumstances that can be created in the lab.

What do you think is the groundbreaking aspect of your published results?

We’ve heard about whales with hind limbs, snakes with arms, birds with teeth, and humans with an extra nipple. These are not weird features—they’re modern domesticated species that still display characteristics of their ancestors. Whales at one time lived on land (hence the limbs). Before, people thought that these anomalies popping out were just ‘slips’ in the evolutionary process, nothing more. What we are showing, for the first time, is that these anomalies are actually species’ hidden potentials that are locked in place for millions of years. They’re just sitting there all this while, dormant. Given the right environmental triggers, they can be unleashed.

You are opening a lot of doors.

What does the future hold for this research?

Now that we’ve said, look, there’s more to these anomalies—at least in Pheidole—the question is whether these implications extend beyond these ants. People can look for the same evidence in other species too, and that’s a different story.

Another reason why we can make this discovery in ants is because it was easily observable. The traits were distinctive—look at those humungous heads. Imagine if it was a missing limb, then it’s harder to detect. Another reason is the social aspect of ants. Like humans who take care of their less fortunate, ants will take care of each other no matter what. If these anomalies pop up in species that are individualistic, they will be wiped out completely due to competition. These anomalies won’t persist and we might have not been able to see them today.

Any advice for those who want to go in to the field of science? Some words of wisdom?

The most important thing is, first of all, embrace chance because we are all presented with opportunities that are completely random and we must seize them with passion.

You just follow your heart. Don’t do anything just for the sake of doing

it, do it because you are passionate about it and when the opportunity arises, grab it and then follow your heart and your senses. It’s that passion that will keep you floating through the downturns that occur.

Did you encounter failures over the course of the study?

All the time. What you see is the success, but this paper took eight years. The amount of failures varies—either due to some basic chemical that was missing, or having ants die on us because they weren’t fed properly. Once, we brought a colony of supersoldiers into the lab for observation. We were very excited, just very eager to see how they behave.

Then another nasty species of ants in the incubators got out, formed a trail, went in to the colonies and massacred them all, before we could come and actually see anything. It was frustrating. We had to go back to Long Island, N.Y., find another batch, scan the Pheidole colony for supersoldiers, and ship them in all over again. What you see is the end product, the result of failing with sparkles of success.

This interview has been condensed and edited.

—Compiled by Farah Hanani Sam

Curiosity delivers. |

sci&Tech

17

| Tuesday, February 7, 2012

research

St. Lawrence river may hold clues to the ocean’s future

McGill professor plumbs the depths of the lower St. Lawrence, finding acidification and oxygen depletion Leigh Miller Contributor A paper that was first drafted in a bar in Mont-Joli has been recognized by Quebec Science Magazine as one of the top 10 discoveries in 2011. The paper, written by McGill earth and planetary science professor Alfonso Mucci, is the result of a study on water quality in the St. Lawrence.

Mucci compared historical measurements—specifically dissolved oxygen concentrations and pH—with his own data to get a picture of how the river has changed over time. His results show that the deeper waters of the lower St. Lawrence have become steadily more acidic.

Studies like Mucci’s are giving scientists the chance to look at how changing atmospheric conditions and oceanic currents will affect the oceans of the world and their ecosystems. “[What is] really neat, but nearly catastrophic, is that what we’re seeing in the St. Lawrence now is what’s predicted to happen to the

ocean by the end of the century.

We’re getting an early glimpse of how the ocean will respond to this acidification,” he said.

In 2002, Mucci began to study the oxygen levels in the St. Lawrence River. He discovered that oxygen concentrations had been decreasing gradually for at least one hundred years.

Oxygen concentration is part of a chemical balance in the water related to CO2 levels. An important effect of high CO2 (and low oxygen) levels is acidification. When CO2 dissolves in water it becomes an acid; any Coke and Mentos demonstration will show this in action.

The Coke is acidic because of its carbonation, Mentos are basic, and the results of combining an acid and a base are explosive.

Hypoxic (low oxygen) zones under water are deadly to marine life.

“Cod can’t live for more than 90 minutes under those [hypoxic] conditions,” Mucci said.

Although fish can swim to better waters, shellfish and other bottom-dwelling sea creatures are not

so lucky.

In the St. Lawrence Estuary, the lower oxygen levels are largely the result of changing ocean currents.

The young, cold, oxygen-rich waters from the Labrador Sea that used to wash into the estuary have been replaced by warmer central Atlantic waters that are oxygen depleted.

The reason for the shift is hard to pinpoint because of the complexity of ocean current systems. But worryingly, a climate change model developed at Princeton University suggests that the Gulf Stream is shifting northward, meaning that the St. Lawrence Estuary may be receiving more central Atlantic waters in the future.

The problem is aggravated by an increasing demand for oxygen in the estuary. Over the last 80 years, the St. Lawrence has become much richer in organic matter, fed by municipal and industrial waste. These nutrients feed thriving plankton and bacteria communities that require increasing amounts of oxygen as their populations grow.

The result is a big change in chemical balance that hits the bot-

Bivalves could be among hardest hit by acidification. (oceanexplorer.noaa.gov) tom of the water column hardest.

“You are literally adding acid to the water. So the waters have become acidified about four to six times more rapidly than the surface ocean waters in equilibrium with the atmosphere,” Mucci said.

Acidification in the bottom waters is bad news for creatures like bivalves such as mussels and clams, as well as crab. Bivalve shells are made from calcium carbonate, a basic material. Crab use the same material to patch their battle wounds.

“The [water’s] pH is such that

these minerals are no longer stable, so basically their shells dissolve,” Mucci said.

His work has spurred research into the biological impact of the acidification. Partnering with microbiologists from Concordia and biologists at Laval University, Mucci is now studying the effects from the bottom up by looking at bacteria and phytoplankton.

“We’re looking at how more acidic waters will impact their productivity … and how that impacts the rest of the food chain.”

National

SOPA migrates north Science & Technology Calendar Canada attempts to reform copyright law Lucas Topham Contributor The fight between the entertainment industry and illegal file sharers has moved north of the border, with Bill C-11 set to reach the floor of Canadian Parliament this week. Bill C-11 is the latest iteration in a series of proposed amendments to Canada’s Copyright Act which aim to provide more powerful tools in governing copyright violations.

Bill C-11 is the fourth attempt to reform Canada’s Copyright Act and is one that, for the most part, is a fair and balanced compromise between the security demanded by the entertainment industry and the rights of consumers. For example, Bill C-11 would legalize the ability to record TV shows and make backups of media that people own. In acknowledgement of recent musical trends, there is also a remix provision that protects individuals who create mash-ups for their own noncommercial use.

One point of contention in the bill, however, is the proposed digital lock provision, that would prohibit

consumers from transferring media from one medium to another if there is a digital lock on the media. This would mean that moving content from a DVD to an iPod would be illegal. Currently, it is not prohibited to transfer media from one form to another, thus the digital lock provision would supersede the current fair use rights of the consumer.

There are also concerns amongst critics that lawmakers are pushing to include many of the elements seen in SOPA, like DNS blacklisting, in Bill C-11. However, none of these provisions are in the bill yet.

The last three attempts at reforming Canada’s Copyright Act have all been blocked by election calls and were never truly considered before the House of Commons.

The proposed bill underwent many changes over that period, but critics still feel that not enough has been done. Government House Leader Peter Van Loan stated that the government hopes to pass it within the next few months. It seems Bill C-11 won’t go the way of its predecessors.

Week of February 7th - 10th EUS Academic Week The Engineering Undergraduate Society (EUS) is holding its annual A-week—a week-long series of talks by professors, and other faculty events aimed at promoting post-graduate career options for engineers.

On Tuesday evening, the EUS will host a wine and cheese networking event for engineers interested in careers in management. Three speakers with degrees in engineering who entered the field of management will speak on their experiences. A second wine and cheese,

held on Thursday, will focus on professional degrees like medicine and law. Both events will be held in Frank Dawson Adams Building Room 5 from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.

On Wednesday at noon, Professir In-Ho Jung from the faculty of mining and materials engineering will speak on his research, “Recycling of Rare Earth Elements from NdFeB permanent magnets.” The talk will be held in FDA Room 5, from 12 p.m. – 1 p.m.

McGill Techfair The McGill Techfair, an annual technology career fair for students

Come to our Science and Technology meetings on

Tuesdays at 5:30 in Shatner 110

in engineering, computer science, and the physical sciences, will be held on Wednesday. A joint effort between the EUS, the Engineering Career Center (ECC), and the Computer Science Student Society (CSUS), the event aims to help undergraduates network with employers.

Corporate attendees at the last Techfair in Fall 2010 included: Bombardier Aerospace, Electronic Arts, IBM, Microsoft, and Research in Motion.

The fair will be held from 9:30 p.m to 3:30 p.m. in New Residence Hall.

arts & entertainment visual Art

A beautiful apocalypse Guy Glorieux’s pinhole camera photography exhibition makes Montreal uncanny Emma Hambly Contributor Guy Glorieux’s pinhole camera photography exhibition at the McCord Museum presents Montreal from a unique perspective.

The exhibition, Impressions of a City: Montreal Through a Pinhole, features pinhole photography by French-born Canadian artist Glorieux. The eighteen prints showcase Montreal transformed from a vibrant metropolis into a disjointed ghost town.

Pinhole cameras are simple: they feature a small aperture, in this case 1.5 mm, which allows light to filter through onto photosensitive paper or film at the back of the box.

The images are recorded as negatives, with light and dark reversed, and left and right mirrored. Most of the photographs in the exhibition were made with entire hotel rooms turned into makeshift cameras. Glorieux blocked out the windows, left a tiny hole, and covered the back wall in film. The result? Large, looming prints of Montreal, where dark is light, left is right, and black is white.

Glorieux photographs the most recognizable parts of Montreal: the Jacques Cartier bridge, the corner of St. Laurent and St. Catherine, and City Hall, to name a few. But the prints are anything but familiar. The reversal of light and perspective renders Montreal uncanny. It is a city

Glorieux’s pinhole photos show Montreal in a different light. (Guy Glorieux) of blurry edges, glass landscapes of warped funhouse mirrors, translucent wisps of passing cars, and glowing, phantasmal buildings.

The absence of life is haunting. The three-hour exposure time removes any memory of people— just vast and displaced buildings.

“The result is a barren, disquieting, ghostly city. A city draped in a stellar night, its buildings lit up as if for a final celebration. Its dwellers seem

to have fled in great haste leaving everything behind, even their cars.

A city is frozen in time,” Glorieux describes. The snow white vistas, ominous black skies, and utter lack of vitality suggests some kind of fallout. The streets are empty, the colours are gone, and everything is backwards. It’s an apocalypse, but a beautiful one.

The exhibition treats the photos like star performers. The space is

dim and the photos are illuminated by spotlights, further emphasizing Glorieux’s contrast between light and dark. Glorieux’s collection of different pinhole cameras shows how simple devices can produce beautiful things. One display holds pinhole cameras made out of a paint can, a handmade wooden box held together with Velcro, and even a cardboard box that housed fresh dates before it held camera film.

Just as the crude cameras produce stunning images, Glorieux makes art out of the city’s bleaker aspects. Many of the photos show the ugly sides of Montreal: a gaping construction pit, the Studio XXX advertisements for a peep show, and La Belle Province and its 95 cent hot dogs. These, however, are some of the best prints, with interesting perspectives and stunning contrast.

The feature piece of the show displaces viewers even more. The print is a five-metre long view of the Montreal Contemporary Art Museum, warped beyond recognition.

It’s an intentional distortion made by placing the photosensitive paper on a diagonal plane, rather than one perpendicular to the pinhole. The result is anamorphosis: the disruption of perspective used by painters such as da Vinci and Holbein. The museum appears deformed from almost everywhere, but when you stand on the designated spot, the elongated mass of a building stretches into place.

Glorieux’s work is about making the familiar unfamiliar. His unique pinhole prints turn Montreal into an eerie world where very little make sense. The photos are beautiful and fascinating, and all the more so because they are so chilling.

Impressions of a City runs until May 27. Visit www.musee-mccord. qc.ca for more information.

Music

Passovah turns four, celebrates with friends Anniversary show at Il Motore focuses on community Ryan Taylor Managing Editor Passovah is growing up and throwing a party at Il Motore this Friday to celebrate.

Founded by Noah Bick, a U2 English student, the music promotion and production company began organizing shows in late 2007 at the now-defunct Griffintown venue, the Friendship Cove. What initially began as monthly loft parties has since expanded into four or five shows each month. Four years later, Bick has put on over 90 performances with such notable acts as Braids, Women, and Marnie Stern.

Friday’s show features 12 local musicians from a variety of genres playing 15-minute sets throughout

the night, including members of Sunset Rubdown, Adam and the Amethysts, and many more.

“I love seeing weird musicians from across the music board,” says Bick. “Putting Lisa Gamble in the same room as Caroline Keating, it’s a funny little mixture.”

Bick has put on these types of multi-performer shows before, not only to showcase many of the bands he has befriended over the years, but also to break up the monotony that comes with traditional setlists.

“I find it’s fun because it’s an alternative format. People get bored of the three band bill,” he says.

As much as the show is a celebration of the anniversary of Passovah, it also aims to recognize the community beyond the musicians who have made it possible. When

Il Motore first opened in late 2008, its isolated location on Jean-Talon seemed miles away from Montreal’s traditional music hubs in the Plateau and Mile End. However, it has quickly become the go-to venue for independent music, and since then, places like Depanneur Le Pick-Up and Marché Soupson have sprung up and become local fixtures in the burgeoning arts community north of Van Horne. To celebrate this, the latter will be providing free soup for those who show up early.

“I probably ate there about 100 times in 2011, so I figured it’d be nice to include that,” Bick says.

“For me it’s not only about the music, it’s about the community.”

Apart from being the Director of Passovah, Bick also works as a production manager for fellow local

promoters Blue Skies Turn Black and as a production assistant for POP Montreal. Working with two other big name promotion groups might seem like a conflict of interest, but Bick asserts that he has found Passovah’s niche in drawing attention to young local bands and helping them grow.

“I’m still trying to book really good bands [and] bring in bands that I really like, but there’s this focus on community now … the purpose of Passovah is going to be still trying to book these cutting edge bands but help the bands that are not at the Blue Skies level yet.”

Friday at Il Motore (179 Jean Talon West). Doors at 8 p.m. PayWhat-You-Can. Visit www.passovah.com for a full list of performers.

(oharahale.com)

Curiosity delivers. |

Arts & Entertainment

Theatre

Meant for the stage

Players’ Theatre adapts Decemberists’ The Hazards of Love

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Alex Knoll Contributor Oscar Wilde once said, “Life imitates art far more than art imitates life.” Two McGill students have shown how beautifully art can imitate itself. After two full years of writing and planning, what started as an idea has finally become a reality for James Hugh Keenan Campbell and Charles Harries. Together, the two have written and directed The Hazards of Love: A Folk Opera.

Does the title ring a bell? The Hazards of Love is an album and folk opera by American indie-folk band the Decemberists. The band originally wrote The Hazards of Love with the intention of making it a musical, but the idea never materialized until Campbell and Harries took on the task themselves.

“It’s not every day that a really good band comes out with a really good album that tells a complete story,” Harries says. “There’s always this idea of concept albums; sometimes they loosely follow a theme which loosely follows a story, but this one actually put down a whole plot. All of the pieces were there. It just took us time to put them together and write a libretto.”

Using the album as their creative blueprint, the two had to use their imaginations to create a full script.

“The album was written with all these dramatic moments, but the storyline itself is quite ambiguous,” Campbell explains. “It took a lot of brainstorming and arguing to make strong decisions, but it was really cool to work within that structure and write in a connect-the-dots method.”

The story is presented as an “anti-fairytale.” It opens with two lovers (William and Margaret) too distracted by their own happiness to have another care in the world.

However, this happy beginning starts to fall apart with a pregnancy and the introduction of several villainous characters, including William’s jealous fairy queen mother and the evil Rake. This upside-down love story evolves and is of course interspersed with the music of The Hazards of Love.

One might think it risky to take on such an ambitious project in tandem, but Harries and Campbell found that collaboration helped make their shared project reach its full potential. Both operated together to envision scenes during the writing process.

“It was very funny considering

The Decemberists’ album takes to the stage. (Anna Katycheva / McGill Tribune)

(americansongwriter.com) many of the scenes are between two lovers. People would walk past and I’d be on my knees holding Charles’ hands confessing my love for him. It happened a lot. Professors that once respected me ... I’m not sure about that now,” Campbell jokes. “We were also able to take more risks with the writing because we knew we had each other. It’s very difficult to self-criticize, so if something didn’t work out then one of us would cut it out. It might have been a much more conservative script if either of us had written it alone.”

Listening to the duo discuss the play, their passion for the project is evident, even though there were some early setbacks.

“We pitched it to Player’s The-

atre once before, and we didn’t get it, which was fair because the script wasn’t done,” Harries says.

Despite this initial rejection, the guys didn’t throw in the towel.

“It was an exercise in tenacity.

It forced us to sit down and try again.

We got together three or four times a week and just sort of reworked it.”

It seems the “hazards” of hard work have finally paid off.

The Hazards of Love: A Folk Opera performs at Players’ Theatre February 8-11 and 15-18 at 8 p.m. Tickets are $6 for students. Email foh.players@ gmail.com to reserve tickets.

Steve Gates: A Bee In Her Mouth In the search for new music, I somehow always find myself drawn towards those artists that hail from the East Coast. It’s a fertile scene with many talented musicians, and Steve Gates’ debut record, A Bee in Her Mouth, is no exception. The album is full of collaborations with other Halifax-based artists including Jenn Grant, Dan Ledwell, and Rose Cousins, who each add a special touch to the overall feel of the album.

Gates presents his music with a truth that most artists lack, laying down the album as a collection of stories. Listeners will find themselves drawn further into Gates’ beautiful narrative as they listen to each song in sequence. Songs like “Bright Blue Candy Suns” entice the listener to delve into their own emotions, and more upbeat tunes such as “Keepin’ People Out” simply make you want to get up and dance.

You might find yourself listening to this leisurely on a snowy Sunday afternoon, or enjoying it as as a mellow harmony that lulls you to sleep. Those were the two ways I found myself enjoying Gates’ folky melodies and unique vocals.

Steve Gates has put together an album that doesn’t disappoint, with each song delivering what’s needed on cue. “Down to the River” provides the perfect ending to the perfect story, and one that’s well worth the journey.

Foxy Shazam: The Church of Rock and Roll Creating seemingly outdated music may seem like a lost cause in today’s world of music, but Foxy Shazam are skipping down the perfect path with their latest release of authentic and emotional rock music.

Their electric fourth studio album, The Church of Rock and Roll, has everything a great album should: sharp Freddie Mercury-esque vocals, copious amounts of intricate and distorted guitar solos, funky ska-influenced horn sections, and even a gospel-sounding chorus on some tracks. The album is capable of taking you through an entire era with each listen.

Their old-soul sound, most recently produced by Justin Hawkins, the flamboyant lead singer of the British band the Darkness, has taken a unique turn here. With a fusion of new ska, punk, soul, and classic rock, it’s not hard to follow this band like “a flock of sheep,” as Nally sings in the opening track.

Foxy Shazam don’t expect to appeal to the masses, but rather they poke fun at and accept their status as a niche band. The message of their music is still crystal clear; Foxy Shazam envision themselves as today’s leading preachers in the present-day Church of Rock and Roll, and we are simply believers.

—Kathleen Masaki

Follow us on Twitter @mcgill_tribune

—Vanessa Salvo

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Tuesday, February 7, 2012 |

Arts & Entertainment

| Curiosity delivers.

Film

In Darkness sparkles, but fails to shine

Director Agnieszka Holland creates an ambitious but lackluster tale of Holocaust survival Ilia Blinderman Contributor Despite my initial excitement for In Darkness, Agnieszka Holland’s Oscar-nominated depiction of a Polish man’s real-life efforts to save a group of Jewish people during World War II, I could not help but feel a tinge of disappointment when the film ended.

Holland knows that a film set during the Holocaust inherently evokes a sense of acute, almost sickeningly unbearable injustice in the mind of the viewer. With this in mind, she presents the story with a blunt, eastern European lack of embellishment. The film’s lynchpin, Leopold Socha (Robert Wieckiewicz), is a part-time burglar who encounters a group of Jewish exiles fleeing the ghetto. Ever the opportunist, Socha offers his help

for a price, hiding the exiles from the Nazis in the city’s labyrinthine drainpipes. Holland starkly chronicles their lives over the next 14 months—the Jews, living with the incessant fear of capture, and Socha, somehow transforming from greedy thief to selfless guardian. The film’s events need no maudlin adornments to evoke indignation and despair: a German soldier laughs as he rips off a middle-aged Jew’s beard on the morbidly grey streets of the ghetto, brandishing it like a scalp; the depiction of a young woman giving birth in the dark, putrid tunnels below the city’s cathedral, biting down on a filthy rag to swallow her screams, is even more visceral. Apart from several small inconsistencies, the score emphasizes these scenes perfectly.

Despite scant mention of religion in the film, the music can be an eerie reminder of the root cause of Jewish exceptionalism in a changing Eu-

rope. As children play, and life in the dark sewers drags along, the prayer of an orthodox man in soiled ritual garb and phylacteries fills the shot.

Despite a strong performance

by Wieckiewicz, whose corpulent build and expressive demeanor might remind one of a no-nonsense uncle, the script hampers the viewer’s connection with the film. Instead of an astute look at a circumscribed set of characters, Holland tries to do too much, and thereby neglects to address a number of salient questions. How is it that a man who is comfortable scavenging the houses of the taken and the dead, for example, who happily punches a German boy in the opening sequence, grows to repeatedly risk his own life to save a handful of Jews who struggle to pay him?

This lack of depth is noticeable through the film, which foregoes the psychological exploration of indi-

In Darkness tells a devasting, real-life Holocaust story. (metropolefilms.com) viduals and events necessary for us to establish the most direct and immediate connections with the scenario. The pervading sense that we are watching the horrific events of the shamefully recent past has, to a degree, allowed Holland to omit the more subtle aspects of a poignant picture. This reliance on a sense of history to provide the necessary

emotional cache is commonplace, but I cannot help but be somewhat reproachful—one comes away with an artificial sense of having truly understood the lives of people whose presence on screen was, in actuality, superficial.

A story of life during one of the worst tragedies of the twentieth century surely deserves more than that.

Visual Art

Three exhibits open at Museum of Contemporary Art Female artists address sexual norms and stereotypes through abstract works Linda Sarvi Contributor “Three grand artists, one shockwave” was the slogan at the opening of the new art exposition last Wednesday at the Museum of Contemporary Art. The title couldn’t be more fitting, as the works of Valérie Blass, Ghada Amer, and Wangechi Mutu impose an impressive presense, showcasing their latest masterpieces in three exhibitions that reflect their unique personas. Their over-the-top and otherworldly visuals are crafted works of the imagination and a feast for the eyes and soul of art enthusiasts.

The museum was abuzz with the sounds of conversation, music, and the clinking of wine glasses as dozens gathered to take a first look at the works of these esteemed female artists. Guests made their way

broke?

through the various areas of the exhibitions, alternating between different artistic worlds.

Wagechi Mutu touched on issues of sexuality, femininity, and politics envisioned in an African and Western context. Her works attempted to establish new conventional norms to undermine existing stereotypes portrayed in the media and the seemingly biased understanding of the world vis-à-vis a Western-dominated society. The works reflect a strong chemistry between living organisms, human beings, and the power of nature through a surrealist hybridization of female figures with animal prints, textures, and stylized bodies. Her repeated use of mixed media collages and delicate colour palettes illustrate hallucinatory and larger-than-life portraits of outlandish female representations that juxtapose the ideas of empowerment and femininity. The centerpiece

of her exhibition, entitled “Moth Girls,” includes rows of hundreds of half-insect, half-female ceramic figurines with leather wings and feather antennae attached directly to a wall. It evokes a strange and visually overwhelming beauty, reflecting the sad hierarchy established by human beings.

Adjacent to the exhibition was Ghada Amer’s collection. Amer’s works serve to challenge artistic norms and beliefs in the context of sensuality and autoeroticism through the use of embroidery against rendered female pornographic images that range in colour and scale. Her use of coloured threads sewn on top of repeated pornographic figures on large canvasses create a layered aesthetic and inspire contradictory feelings. Questions of eroticism and of cultural norms are striking; her work challenges conventional workmanship through electrifying

want to see free movies?

visuals, such as her most notable piece, “Revolution 2.0,” a dazzling explosion of kaleidoscopic colours spiraling from the centre of a massive canvas. Her bold use of provocative imagery and contrast of monochromatic rendering with brightly coloured and technical embroidery create pieces that are visually challenging yet beautiful in their ambiguity.

Quebec’s Valérie Blass concludes the exposition by demonstrating her own revolutionary sculptures. Blass has pioneered a unique artistic approach to sculpturing by traversing classical traditions of sculpture and incorporating diverse mass-produced materials as part of her media. Her approach has been termed “anachronic contemporary.” Her materials, found in antique shops, flea markets, and hardware stores, were used to create free-standing human-scale sculp-

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tures. Many of her works are optical illusions and their hybrid forms evoke wonderment similar to the imaginary creatures found in fantasy novels. The range of different aesthetics demonstrates her versatility as an artist, as her sculptures include a three-metre high monolithic creation, to two ceramic bottom-half figures intertwined against a mirror.

Together these unique and talented artists break down perpetuated notions of female stereotypes, sexuality, and artistic traditions through a resonant collection of works.

All three exhibitions run until April 22 at the Museum of Contemporary Art (185 St. Catherine). Visit www.macm.org for more information.

Write for A&E! arts@ mcgilltribune.com

SPORTS

HOCKEY — Redmen 2, Concordia 4 (Fri)

Redmen 4, Carleton 3 (Sat)

Redmen split hard fought weekend

McGill solidifies first overall position in RSEQ with win over Carleton following shocking loss to Concordia Christopher Nardi Sports Editor he Redmen played their last home games of the regular season this past weekend, and the result was a 1-1 split. The team came out flat Friday night and fell to the Concordia Stingers in a stunning 4-2 upset, but were able to right the ship on Saturday in a closely fought 4-3 win over the Carleton Ravens.

This season marks the fourth time in McGill history that the Redmen reached the 20-win plateau, and the second season in a row the team could finish first in the RSEQ division following last year’s 24-win, 50-point performance.

The weekend began with McGill hosting the Concordia Stingers (13-10-2), who are fighting to remain in the playoff race. McGill started strong and Marc-Andre Dorion scored the first goal with 39 seconds remaining in the period.

Concordia came back to tie it in the second period with a powerplay goal on a slashing penalty from MarcAndre Daneau, his first of three minors throughout the game.

The third period saw McGill play very undisciplined hockey, and they paid a steep price for their mistakes. Thanks to two tripping penalties to Picard-Hooper and Daneau 48 seconds apart, Concordia took the lead with two quick powerplay goals 32 seconds apart midway through the frame, making the score 3-1. McGill’s Francis Verreault-

T

McGill ends their 2011-2012 home season with a great effort against Carleton. (Ryan Reisert / McGill Tribune) Paul, the team’s leading scorer (Tthird in goals scored in the league), tallied with less than five minutes left to the game, but the Redmen’s comeback was stifled when Concordia’s Michael Stinziani scored an empty netter, putting the game out of reach for the home team.

“Their goaltending was really strong I think, and we weren’t able to solve them,” Head Coach Kelly

THIRD MAN IN On Jan. 23, the defending Stanley Cup Champion Boston Bruins made a commemorative visit to the White House in order to have their accomplishment recognized by the country’s commander-in-chief. This ritual dates back to 1865, when President Andrew Johnson invited baseball teams to the White House to celebrate their victorious seasons. Nowadays, it’s an annual tradition for the championship team in any North American sport to visit the president in celebration of their accomplishments.

However, in a shocking turn of events, the team visited the White House without their star goaltender and playoff MVP Tim Thomas.

Thomas, the primary reason that the team was being hon-

oured in the first place for his Conn Smythe-worthy goaltending, claims he believes the government has “grown out of control” and is acting “in direct opposition to the Constitution.” However, the goaltender also noted that his decision was “not about politics.”

Not about politics? Thomas refused to visit the centre of American politics to meet with the commander-in-chief, citing disagreements with the state of the government. I honestly don’t see how he could have made his statement more political.

Before addressing his reasoning, the decision itself must be debated. The trip to the White House is supposed to be a celebration of the team’s success. Tim Thomas

Nobes said. “After they took the lead, I still felt like we were coming off strong, we had good net-front presence, we were getting good scoring opportunities. Overall, I don’t think it was a poor performance, it was just a game where we didn’t get the bounces in the right areas.”

Saturday’s game against the Carleton Ravens capped what has been an exciting series between the

two teams all season, as McGill won the rubber match of the three-game series. McGill once again came out strong, this time notching three goals by Jean-Francois Boisvert, Alex Picard-Hooper, and Francis Verreault-Paul to end the first 20 minutes leading 3-0.

It was a heated second period as both teams received three minor penalties, but neither team could

profit from the man advantage. Carleton struck first in the period, but McGill captain Evan Vossen scored what proved to be the game-winning fourth goal for the Redmen late in the second to end the stanza 4-1.

“We had a real good start, I felt like we were really moving our feet in the first 40 minutes,” Nobes explained. “We were up 3-0 because we were moving our feet, we were driving the middle land and had good net-front presence. We were also strong in the second period.”

The Ravens came alive in the third period, suddenly remembering that this game was crucial to their path to the playoffs. McGill also played another undisciplined period of hockey, racking up eight more penalty minutes, while Carleton focused on getting the puck on the net.

The Ravens’ strategy proved much wiser as they scored two powerplay goals in the first five minutes of the period to cut McGill’s lead down to one. However, the Redmens’ goaltender Hubert Morin put on a goaltending masterclass for the rest of the period in order to keep McGill in the game, stopping 33 of the 36 shots he faced in total and leading the team to their 20th win of the season. “In the third period we took our foot off the gas a little bit, which we weren’t happy about because we want to play a full 60 minutes,” said Nobes. “Overall though, it was a good effort for us.”

There’s no “team” in politics was essential to the Bruins’ victory, and yet he decided not to attend.

Thomas, one of only two American-born players on the roster—the other being seventh defenceman Steven Kampfer—should have been front and centre to shake hands with Barack Obama. Instead, Finnish-born backup goalie Tuukka Rask, Czech defenseman Tomas Kaberle, and Canadian tough guy Shawn Thornton stood right behind Obama at the reception.

I will concede that Thomas has the right “as a free citizen,” as he said, to do exactly as he wants.

That said, playing a team sport is about unity of purpose and the pursuit of common goals. In deciding not to attend the White House event, Tim Thomas placed himself

above his teammates. He might as well have said, “My personal beliefs are more important than team accomplishments.”

What frustrates me most about the situation is Thomas’ refusal to address his decision or his political beliefs outside of a post on his Facebook page. If he truly believes that the state of American politics is horrible enough to influence his actions, then he should bring attention to the problems that exist, rather than hide from his own actions.

He should have taken advantage of his position in the public eye to discuss his beliefs and increase public awareness of what he considers problematic. Instead, Tim Thomas hid behind a Facebook post and refused to comment. He simply

clicked “not attending.”

As the NHL season enters its playoff stretch, the Tim Thomas story will fade into the past and will cease to be relevant as soon as the Bruins start winning hockey games. And, as I’m sure most others believe, the Bruins may very well defend their Stanley Cup title, which will only lead to another trip to the White House a year from now. As a Montreal Canadiens fan, and consequently a Boston Bruins hater, I hope that never happens.

But suppossing it does, what will Tim Thomas do then? “Maybe attending” for now, I guess.

— Trevor Drummond

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Tuesday, February 7, 2012 |

Sports

| Curiosity delivers.

BASKETBALL — Martlets 69, Laval 64

Making it look easy: Martlets win seventh straight McGill women’s basketball team defeats Laval in an all-around effort Steven Lampert Sports Editor Winning is becoming routine for the McGill women’s basketball team, as the Martlets defeated the Laval Rouge et Or on Saturday night in a game in which they never trailed. The 69-64 victory was McGill’s seventh straight to start the new year, and the ninth of their last 10 dating back to 2011, placing them atop the RSEQ standings.

The Martlets were again anchored by senior centre Anneth Him-Lazarenko, who recorded her second double-double in as many nights, with 19 points and a gamehigh 13 rebounds. Him-Lazarenko was particularly effective at the foul line, where she went seven for eight, a good sign for a team that has struggled of late from the charity stripe.

McGill started the game on a quick 11-4 run, helped by five quick points from guard Marie-Eve Martin, who continued her fine season with 12 points and three rebounds on the night. Laval closed the gap by the end of the first quarter thanks to their strong perimeter shooting.

This outside shooting prowess didn’t stop, as the Rouge et Or were extremely proficient from the outside (9/14 3PT) throughout the game, led by Elyse Jobin and Chanelle St-Amour, who finished

McGill remains perfect in 2012 with back-to-back wins against Bishop’s and Laval. (Sam Reynolds / The McGill Tribune) with 18 and 20 points respectively.

After McGill extended their lead to 10 with under four minutes to play in the first half, St-Amour and fellow teammate Sandrine Ducruc netted two threes to cut the Martlets’ lead to six at halftime.

McGill is becoming known around the RSEQ as a team that often falls behind early, but makes

late runs in the second half to come back. On Saturday, however, they were faced with a new task—having to defend a lead for an entire half.

They opened the third quarter with play that mirrored their first half—solid shooting, precise ball movement, and dominance on the glass. They maintained their composure throughout the frame, despite

a couple of pushes by the Rouge et Or. Him-Lazarenko scored eight of McGill’s first nine points of the half, extending the Martlets’ lead to nine midway through the quarter. Laval, led by their aggressiveness to the basket and their hot shooting, lessened the lead to just three before third-year forward Helene Bibeau caught fire, scoring seven points in

the last two minutes of the third.

The Martlets entered the final quarter with a 14-point lead and maintained their stranglehold on the game, despite a few late but insignificant baskets by Laval.

The contest was characterized by strong all-around play by the Martlets, as they received contributions from their entire team. One standout was freshman Tiye Traore, who contributed to McGill’s 40-28 advantage on the glass, grabbing a career-high 10 rebounds. Nine different Martlets scored during the game, and veteran guard Natalie Larocque wasn’t even one of them, a sign that this team has the depth necessary to guide them to the RSEQ championship.

The win comes a day after the Martlets dropped Bishop’s by a score of 63-55, marking another successful weekend for the women. The two victories leave McGill with 18 points, six more than second-place Concordia.

The Martlets need four points to clinch their second-straight division title with only four games left in the season, three of which come on the road. The Martlets’ last home game is Feb. 23 against Bishop’s.

From the cheap Seats As any Ottawa native knows, the 417 is as close as you can get to a parking lot before Sens games. It’s packed, parking sucks, and only a rookie thinks that taking Terry Fox Drive is a shortcut. However, last week for the NHL All-Star Game, sitting in traffic and the parking lot after the game for an hour felt almost magical as I basked in the festive atmosphere of the once-in-a-lifetime weekend.

For as long as I can remember, it has been a childhood dream of mine to see the NHL All-Star Game come to Ottawa. There is just something special about knowing that all these amazing players are in the same city as you at the same time.

I used to imagine meeting players like Joe Sakic, Peter Forsberg, Steve Yzerman and Paul Kariya skating down the Rideau Canal. The game itself, as I knew even back then, was a joke. The players don’t try hard,

defense is a four-letter word, and physical contact is non-existent.

So, needless to say, when Ottawa got the All-Star Game this year, I was mainly looking forward to the atmosphere and the nostalgia, not the hockey itself, and definitely not Drake.

When I first arrived at the arena, I could already tell it was going to be a special experience.

The parking lot was full of cars from all over the map, ranging from Florida to Saskatchewan. Once I entered the stadium, I saw mascots from five different teams, dancers from two, and a guy with a Nashville Predators jersey I didn’t even know existed. It really felt like the United Nations of hockey was holding its GA in Ottawa and I was invited to participate.

Before the game, all the players were introduced as they skated onto the ice. Undoubtedly, the introductions for the Senators players

were the loudest and most enthusiastic, which was to be expected, but expectations were even higher for Daniel Alfredsson’s entry. The fans did not disappoint, and neither did Alfie. The Ottawa captain got a huge ovation from the crowd, and Alfredsson waved back, saluting those who had been cheering him for so many years. I remember thinking there was no way this ovation could have been surpassed, only to hear the crowd erupt one more time when Alfredsson scored his first goal, splitting the defenseman and scoring on Montreal’s own Carey Price. After the goal, the crowd gave Alfredsson another long standing ovation and, when it was apparent that it wasn’t going to stop any time soon, the Sedin twins skated out of the face off circle to let Alfie have his moment. This was the highlight of the game, and indeed the weekend for me—seeing a player whom everyone in Ottawa

Ottawa played host to their first NHL All-Star Game. (Dave Sandford / NHLI) adores get his share of the spotlight.

For a guy who has never won a Stanley Cup, a scoring race, or even the game MVP (that went to Marian Gaborik), this was Ottawa’s way of showing Alfie that he was and will always be our city’s MVP. In all, it was a fantastic experience, and even though Team Chara walked away with a 12-9 victory,

nobody left disappointed. The game was great, the atmosphere was fantastic, and even though the hockey itself wasn’t the best, it was certainly an experience that I won’t soon forget.

– Joshua Prizant

Curiosity delivers. |

Around the

W

ater cooler

In case you were too busy leaving the GAs, here’s what you missed this week in the world of sports ...

HOCKEY — The NHL regular season returned to its normal NHL regular season schedule following the All-Star break, but what happened seems far from normal. To start, Sam Gagner tied Wayne Gretzky and Paul Coffey’s record of eight points in a game, in what could be known as hockey’s best overall performance ever. He then followed up his record performance with a threepoint game the following night.

Speaking of performances worth noting, we ask you this: what do

P

Hurricane’s goalie Cam Ward, Coyote’s fourth-liner Paul Bissonnette, horrible defenceman Brett Lebda, severely concussed centre Marc Savard, and ex-Canadiens “superstar” Ryan O’Byrne have in common?

They all have more goals than Scott Gomez in the past year. On Feb. 5th, Montrealers celebrated Gomez’ one year anniversary without a goal.

Congratulations Scott, we’re all proud of you!

SPORTS

FOOTBALL — If you don’t know what happened this past Sunday in football, then you must have had one heck of a weekend. Over a hundred million viewers tuned in to watch Super Bowl XLVI, which matched the favoured New England Patriots against the resilient New York Giants. The story of the week leading up to the big game was how this Super Bowl was a rematch of the 2008 final, where the Giants prevailed in possibly the biggest upset in Super Bowl history.

Not much changed on Sunday, as the Pats were unable to avenge their disappointing loss from four years ago, losing again to the Giants 2117. Giants quarterback Eli Manning was his typical clutch self, winning the Super Bowl MVP award for a second time. The Super Bowl is also known for its collection of prop bets and this year’s game was no different. Here are some of the results in case you missed them: a rare safety was the first score in the game, Kelly Clarkson’s national anthem lasted 1:34, and Madonna did not experience any wardrobe malfunctions during her halftime performance (see: Janet Jackson). Until next year, football fans.

BASKETBALL — The NBA season continues on with few surprises. The Miami Heat, to the chagrin of most, find themselves second just behind the Chicago Bulls in the Eastern Conference, while the Oklahoma City Thunder, led by Kevin Durant’s 27 points per game, lead the Western Conference with an 18-5 record. While there haven’t been many

| Tuesday, February 7, 2012

surprises in the league’s standings, there was one in New York this past Saturday, as little-known Harvard graduate Jeremy Lin helped resurrect the Knicks’ season, all the while helping Head Coach Mike D’Antoni keep his job for another day. Lin, a Golden State Warriors castoff, is the NBA’s only American-born player of Chinese descent. He tore up the New Jersey Nets defence, finishing with 25 points and seven assists.

Undoubtedly, Lin will become a fan favourite in New York, and his play earned him a spot atop Twitter’s trending list worldwide. We’re just waiting for him to coin the phrase, “Lin or go home!”

SOCCER — In more upsetting news, tragedy struck Egypt this past Wednesday when a riot ensued after a local soccer match between the country’s top clubs, al-Ahly and al-Masry. Reports claim that 74 people were killed outside of Port Said Stadium, and hundreds were injured. The media is calling it the biggest disaster in the country’s sporting history. The riot comes exactly a year after the Egyptian people began the revolution against former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak. Many Egyptians gathered for protests on Thursday, as fans and politicians accused the current ruling movement of failing to prevent the riot from occurring. In response to the event, three days of mourning were declared in the country. Unfortunately, for soccer and its supporters in Egypt, the sport looks like just another one of the casualties in the chaos inundating the country.

23

SCOREBOARD (Scores since Jan. 31) REDMEN BASKETBALL Won 61-44 @ Bishop’s Won 75-66 vs. Laval MARTLET BASKETBALL Won 63-55 @ Bishop’s Won 69-64 vs. Laval REDMEN HOCKEY Won 7-3 @ UQTR Lost 4-2 @ Concordia Won 4-3 vs. Carleton MARTLET HOCKEY Won 2-1 @ Montreal MARTLET INDOOR SOCCER Lost 1-0 @ Concordia REDMEN INDOOR SOCCER Won 3-1 @ Concordia MARTLET VOLLEYBALL Lost 3-0 @ Montreal Lost 3-1 @ Sherbrooke

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Join us.

E-mail: sports@mcgilltribune.com

ower Rankings NHL

4 - Pittsburgh Penguins

Week 16 With the All-Star game behind them, teams know it’s time to get it together and make the final push for a playoff spot. Let’s see where they stand:

1 - Detroit Red Wings

2 - Nashville Predators

3 - New York Rangers

5 - Boston Bruins

6 - Vancouver Canucks 7 - St. Louis Blues 8 - Philadelphia Flyers 9 - New Jersey Devils 10 - San Jose Sharks 11 - Chicago Blackhawks 12 - Toronto Maple Leafs 13 - Ottawa Senators 14 - Florida Panthers 15 - Calgary Flames 16 - Washington Capitals 17 - Tampa Bay Lightning 18 - Los Angeles Kings 19 - Buffalo Sabres 20 - New York Islander 21 - Colorado Avalanche 22 - Minnesota Wild

23 - Dallas Stars 24 - Carolina Hurricanes 25 - Anaheim Ducks 26 - Phoenix Coyotes 27 - Winnipeg Jets 28 - Edmonton Oilers 29 - Montreal Canadiens 30 - Columbus Blue Jackets

NBA

2 - Oklahoma City Thunders

3 - Miami Heat

4 - Philadelphia 76ers

Week 8 Is it just me or has the quality of basketball games this season been watered down? There are just too many star-studded teams blowing out the competition on a nightly basis, so bring the playoffs on already. Here’s how the league stands:

1 - Chicago Bulls

5 - Los Angeles Clippers

6 - Indiana Pacers 7 - San Antonio Spurs 8 - Boston Celtics 9 - Atlanta Hawks 10 - Denver Nuggets 11 - Orlando Magic 12 - Los Angeles Lakers

13 - Utah Jazz 14 - Dallas Mavericks 15 - Portland Trail Blazers 16 - Minnesota Timberwolves 17 - Houston Rockets 18 - Milwaukee Bucks 19 - Memphis Grizzlies 20 - New York Knicks 21 - Sacramento Kings 22 - Phoenix Suns 23 - Cleveland Cavaliers 24 - Toronto Raptors 25 - Golden State Warriors 26 - Detroit Pistons 27 - New Jersey Nets 28 - Washington Wizards 29 - New Orleans Hornets 30 - Charlotte Bobcats

–By Hrant Bardakjian

GLimpses of the Globe Edingburgh, Scotland (Alissa feingold / Mcgill tribune)

New York City, NY (alexandra allaire / Mcgill tribune)

san ignacio, mexico (Sam reynolds / Mcgill tribune)

reykjavik, iceland (Ryan taylor / Mcgill tribune)

Kuala lumpur, malaysia (Simon poitrimolt / Mcgill tribune)